HL Deb 26 July 1883 vol 282 cc506-7
THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY

said, he had received a Petition, signed on behalf of the Petroleum Association of London, a large and very influential body, against the Bill, the Order for the Second Reading of which had just been read and discharged. He trusted no day would be fixed for the resumption of this Bill. That Bill had been introduced at a very late period of the Session, and it appeared to be a measure which affected the trade very seriously. The Petitioners stated that— As the enactments in this Bill will virtually annihilate the Petroleum trade, we trust they will not be passed into law without considerable modification. The Bill stood on the same footing as the Merchant Shipping (Fishing Boats) Bill, which was read a second time the other night. These Bills might or might not be bad. He did not know. They might or might not be necessary; but it could not be necessary for the Government to introduce them in the last week of July, when it was impossible to inquire into their merits, and the effects they might have on important industries, and when there was every danger of hasty and ill-considered legislation.

Petition presented; read, and ordered to lie on the Table.