Lords Sitting of 25 August 1881

MINUTES.
PUBLIC BILLS—First Reading—Consolidated Fund (Appropriation)*.
Second Reading—Solent Navigation (219).
Second Reading—Committee negatived—Third Reading—Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act, 1878, Amendment (232); Army Acts Consolidation, and passed.
Committee—Report—Irish Church Act Amendment* (227).
Third Reading—Regulation of the Forces* (221); India Office Auditor (Superannuation)* (222); Newspapers (Law of Libel) (223); Sale of Intoxicating Liquors on Sunday (Wales)* (224), and passed.

CATTLE DISEASES (ANIMALS) ACTS— FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE.
  PERSONAL EXPLANATION.
  THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY: My Lords, in consequence, I have no doubt, of my having been imperfectly heard yesterday, I am reported in The Times of this morning to have stated that the foot-and-mouth disease was prevalent in some parts of Ireland. What I intended to say yesterday was that foot-and-mouth disease unfortunately prevailed to a considerable extent in certain counties in England, and that measures would be taken to arrest its progress. With regard to Ireland, there is no report of foot-and-mouth disease having broken out there, and importation of cattle from England into Ireland is prohibited.
NEWSPAPERS (LAW OF LIBEL) BILL— "THE TIMES" NEWSPAPER.

  PERSONAL EXPLANATION.
  LORD DENMANwished to explain, in reference to what he had said yesterday regarding his proposal for excluding The Times reporters from the Gallery of the House of Lords on the ground of the inaccuracy of the reports of his speeches in the House which ap-

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  peared in that journal, that he had himself been guilty of a gross mistake in stating that the Serjeant at Arms had power to exclude the reporters of that newspaper from the Gallery. He should have stated that that power rested with the Ushers of the Black Rod, and not with the Serjeant at Arms. He had seen an order for admission to the Re-porters' Gallery signed by Sir William Knollys. He believed the Speaker of the House of Commons had power to allot seats to the different reporters; and as the Standing Order only allowed reports "by the leave of the House," he thought that truth might be secured. The condition on which newspaper reporters were admitted to the Gallery was that their reports should be truthful, and the reports of his speeches which appeared in The Times were certainly not truthful. The Times had 14 places in the Gallery; and, therefore, that journal should take care that its reports were accurate.
  THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY: I beg to state that I make no complaint of anybody with regard to the inaccuracy of the report of what I said yesterday. The imperfection of the report, I have no doubt, arose from my not having spoken very distinctly.

SOLENT NAVIGATION BILL.—(No. 219.)
(The Lord Sudeley.)
SOLENT NAVIGATION BILL.—(No. 219.)

  SECOND READING.
  Order of the Day for the Second Beading read.
  LORD SUDELEY, in moving that the Bill be now a second time, said, that its object was simply to enable the Board of Trade and the Admiralty jointly to mark out a fair way with buoys within half-a-mile from Cowes and Ryde, within which no vessel might anchor. At present there was no authority to regulate shipping in the road, and in consequence there were great delay and considerable danger when steamboats which plied frequently by day and by night from the mainland wanted to approach and land passengers and goods at Cowes and Ryde. Vessels had been run down off Ryde and lives lost from want of some such provision. Railway Companies who owned the steamboats contributed £400 to the expenses. The only outlay would be for laying down the buoys. The Bill would be a great boon to all yachts and
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  steamers frequenting these roadsteads. He begged to move the second reading of the Bill.
  Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a"—(The Lord Sudeley.)
  Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly; and Standing Order No. XXXV. to be considered To-morrow in order to its being dispensed with.

HIGHWAYS AND LOCOMOTIVES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1878, AMENDMENT BILL.—(No. 232.)
(The Lord Sudeley.)
HIGHWAYS AND LOCOMOTIVES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1878, AMENDMENT BILL.—(No. 232.)

  SECOND READING.
  Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
  LORD SUDELEY, in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, it was introduced merely to amend one clause of the Highway Act of 1878, which was creating a considerable amount of hardship. The Isle of Wight, having a separate Act, passed in 1813, and its own Highway Commissioners, was specially exempted, under the Act of 1878, from receiving anything from the county of Hampshire rates towards its main roads. Unfortunately, in Clause 13. the name of "Isle of Wight" was left out from the list of exemptions who have not to contribute to the county rate. The result was that the Isle of Wight was in the peculiar position of having to pay, and, at the same time, to be excluded from receiving any benefits whatever from it. All parties were agreed that this glaring injustice should be rectified, and he trusted the House would agree to pass the Bill.
  Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a."—(The Lord Sudeley.)
  Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly; Committee negatived: Then Standing order No. XXXV. considered (according to Order), and dispensed with: Bill read 3a, and passed.

ARMY ACTS CONSOLIDATION BILL.
(The Earl of Morley.)
ARMY ACTS CONSOLIDATION BILL.

  SECOND READING.
  Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
  THE EARL OF MORLEY,in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, it was a simple Consolidation Bill,

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  and was brought forward this Session, because it was thought that it would be far more convenient to refer to by those parties who might be concerned in the administration of the law than their having to refer to a great number of Acts of Parliament on the subject.
  Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a."—(The Earl of Morley.)
  Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly; Committee negatived: Then Standing order No. XXXV. considered (according to order), and dispensed with: Bill read 3a, and passed.

NEWSPAPERS (LAW OF LIBEL) BILL.
(The Lord Waveney.)
NEWSPAPERS (LAW OF LIBEL) BILL.

  (NO. 223.) THIRD READING.
  Order of the Day for the Third Beading read.
  Moved, "That the Bill be now read 3a"—(The Lord Waveney.)
  THE EARL OF REDESDALE (CHAIRMAN of COMMITTEES)said, that the clause in reference to the registration of proprietors was defective. He wished for an explanation as to what course would be taken in case of the sale by one proprietor of his share in the newspaper to several persons. The Bill had been drawn in such a careless manner that Amendments were absolutely necessary.
  THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYwas understood to say that Clause 11 provided for the registration of all persons in accordance with the Schedule B in the case of a transfer of proprietorship in a share.
  Motion agreed to; Bill read 3a accordingly, and passed.
  House adjourned during pleasure.
  House resumed.
  The Earl of CORK—Chosen Speaker in the absence of The LORD CHANCELLOR and The LORD COMMISSIONER.

  CONSOLIDATED FUND (APPROPRIATION) BILL.
  Brought from the Commons; read 1a; to be read 2a To-morrow; and Standing Order No. XXXV. to be considered in order to its being dispensed with.—(The Earl of Kimberley.)
  House adjourned at half past Three o'clock, till To-morrow, Twelve o'clock.