Lords Sitting of 16 March 1863

MINUTES.
— PUBLIC BILLS—First Reading — Leases and Sales of Settled Estates Act Amendment [H. L.] (No. 42).
Second Reading—Union Relief Aid Act(l862) Amendment (No. 35); Salmon Exportation (No. 39).
Third Reading — Malt Duty (No. 38), and passed.

LEASES AND SALES OF SETTLED ESTATES ACT AMENDMENT BILL [H.L.]
A Bill to amend the Settled Estates Act, 1856— Was presented by The LORD CHANCELLOR; and read 1a. (No. 42.)
BLEACHING AND DYEING WORKS ACT AMENDMENT BILL.
Brought from the Commons, and read 1a. (No. 43.)
UNION RELIEF AID ACT (1862) CONTI NUANCE BILL—(No 35.)

  SECOND READING.
  Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
  EARL GRANVILLEsaid, he rose to move the second reading of this Bill, the object of which he would briefly explain. Their Lordships would remember that an Act was passed towards the close of last Session enabling certain unions of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire to exercise borrowing powers with a view of meeting the prevalent distress under certain conditions. The different unions throughout the counties, with the assistance of charitable committees, had laboured diligently towards the mitigation of evils so extensively felt, and nine of the unions within the distressed districts had taken advantage of the Act and had either used the rate in aid power, or, the power of borrowing on the security of the rates. But, as their Lordships were aware, an immense amount of distress still existed. A large number of persons were supported by means of the rates, and he believed a still larger number derived assistance from those generous contributions which had been made from nearly all parts of the world in aid of the distress in the cotton districts, and without which it would have been absolutely necessary to exercise the borrowing powers in a much larger degree. He trusted, that the general prospects of the country were improving; but it was impossible to say when the crisis would be at an end, and in the mean time there was a great deficiency of the raw material. From week to week

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  The supply was something like twenty as compared with forty-eight bales; and even if some of the mills were kept working half-time, it was impossible to suppose that such relief was generally extended, because, of course, a proportionately large supply of cotton was procured in particular places, while in others the operatives were almost unemployed. The employment thus afforded was, moreover, not a steady process; it depended very much on the price of the raw material and the value of the manufactured produce, and clearly also upon the expectations caused by political events. Consequently, it was necessary that the powers conferred upon unions by the Bill of last year should be continued, at all events, for two quarters; and, with some alterations which the experience of its working in the interval had suggested, the present Bill was a re-enactment of the measure of last year. The most important alteration was that the period allowed for repayment of loans borrowed under the Act was extended from seven to fourteen years; leaving unions to repay the amount voluntarily at an earlier date if they thought proper to do so. By the 4th clause provision was made for the cases of unions in more than one county; and by the 5th clause the parishes comprised within the Mansfield Union, in the county of Notts, were exempted from the operation of the 1st section of the Act. He believed their Lordships would cheerfully give their assent to this measure. He trusted there would be a continuance of the good conduct which had been so remarkable hitherto on the part of all concerned in this great calamity, and that the same co-operation which had been extended by individual effort to the exertions of the unions for the relief of distress would be apparent in the future as it had been in the past. This was a subject to which he could not allude without expressing his regret at the absence of the noble Earl (the Earl of Derby) whose exertions had been conspicuous in this national emergency. The noble Earl then moved that the Bill be now read 2a.
  Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House To-morrow.

SALMON EXPORTATION BILL.

  [NO. 39.] SECOND READING.
  Order for the Second Reading read.
  LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEY, in
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  moving the second reading of the Bill, said, the measure had passed through the other House of Parliament without opposition, and might he considered as supplementary to the Act of 1861. The operation of that measure had been most satisfactory. As their Lordships were aware, the sale of salmon was prohibited within a certain portion of the year; but the object of the prohibition, he was sorry to say, had been considerably evaded by the exportation of salmon captured in this country to various foreign countries. By this Bill it was proposed to enact that no salmon caught during the time at which the sale is prohibited in the district in which it is caught, shall be exported, or entered for exportation, from any part of the United Kingdom to parts beyond the seas. The infraction of this law would be visited with the penalty of £5 for every salmon, and the burden of proof was placed upon the intended exporter; and he thought it was a measure which would receive the assent of every one of their Lordships.
  THE EARL OF MALMESBURYsaid, the object of this Bill clearly was to prevent salmon from being sold during close time, and he did not think they would succeed in this object unless they not only prohibited the exportation of the fish abroad (which exportation was very large), but prevented the importation of Dutch salmon into this country, as the poached salmon was frequently sold as Dutch salmon. The only way of stopping the consumption of this fish during the close season was by preventing both its importation and exportation. He was not prepared with any proposal to carry that out; but he made the suggestion for the consideration of the noble Lord between this and the period when they would go into Committee on the Bill.
  LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEYsaid, he would consider the point, and see if it was possible to introduce a clause into the Bill to carry out the object the noble Earl had in view, though he feared it was impossible to do so—namely, the prevention of the sale of poached salmon under the name of Dutch salmon.
  THE EARL OF MALMESBURYobserved, that there was an analogous case under the Game Laws. The ptarmigan, by the present Game Laws, could not be sold after the 10th of September; but the sale continued under the name of Norway game, though half the birds came from Scotland.
  THE EARL OF DALHOUSIEtrusted the noble Lord would not consent to prohibit altogether the importation of Dutch salmon.
  Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Thursday next.
  House adjourned at a quarter before Six o'clock, till To-morrow, halt past Ten o'clock.