§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. On Wednesday last the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Jones) raised a point of order in connection with the national land fund and the National Heritage Bill. I promised that in due course I would give him a ruling. My office has this morning been in touch with the hon. Gentleman. He expresses regret that he has a very important constituency engagement but is quite agreeable to the statement and the ruling being made this morning.
The hon. Member is correct in stating that at his request I advised him that there was no objection to his proceeding with his Private Member' Bill. This advice was given solely on the grounds of order. I have no views on the merits of the hon. Member' Bill, nor have I any power to accelerate or delay its progress through the House. Any hon. Member is entitled to object to a Private Member' Bill at the appropriate time, and the hon. Member' Bill must take its chance in the same way as Bills of other hon. Members.
On the question of the Treasury evidence to the Expenditure Committee, any witness has the right to give any evidence that he thinks fit. I have no responsibility whatsoever for it.
1839 On the final point, as I have already written to the hon. Member, the House passed a resolution on 17 April 1946 authorising the issue from the Consolidated Fund to the national land fund of £50 million. It is that which influenced me in my opinion that no further charge was created by the hon. Member's Bill. How my opinion may affect the Treasury and its Ministers in their attitude to the Bill is entirely a matter for them to decide.
§ Mr. FellOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. At the beginning of your statement you said that the hon. Member concerned had a very important constituency engagement and that was why he was not in the House. The way in which our standards are declining is dreadful. The first duty of any hon. Member is in Parliament and nowhere else.
§ Mr. SpeakerIn fairness to the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Jones), I should say that he did not know until this morning that I was making this statement. Any one of us might have been caught out in those circumstances. I must say that I am very surprised to see some hon. Members here on a Friday.