COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 12 August 1887)

THE EARL OF GALLOWAY
, in rising to move as an Amendment— That it is inexpedient for the House to proceed further with a Bill of so crude and delusive a character in such a hasty manner at this period of the Session, without the opportunity of first ascertaining the genuine opinion of all classes of agriculturists in Scotland with regard to its provisions, said, he knew something of the feeling, not only of agriculturists, but of labourers; and he could say that everyone was of opinion that this was an unnecessary Bill. If he might use a vulgar expression, he would say that, as this Bill now appeared before them, the viscera had been taken out of it. It simply proposed to insist on a holiday being given to agricultural labourers in four specified months of the year and the farmers were not allowed to choose those months. The Bill, therefore, would only have this effect, which he believed was at the bottom of its production—namely, of stirring up unnecessary animosities between farmer and labourer, of which, 237 unhappily, there had been enough of recent years, and to stir up animosity between the owners of land and the occupiers; and he did not think at the end of the Session, on the 12th of August above all, they should bring forward a measure of this character, affecting the whole of Scotland. It was really what he might call rather monstrous. But he would simply say that he knew, for a fact, that in a great many agricultural parts of Scotland, it was the last thing the labourers themselves wanted. The effect of it would be to curtail the number of their holidays after all. It was notorious that in Scotland New Year's Day had been a holiday from—well—the days of Adam. Then there were still in some parts of Scotland two Fast days, though in others, only one; and there were always two fair days. Moreover, in addition, there were all over Scotland local Agricultural Associations; and the farmers always gave their labourers a holiday on the annual show day of these associations. But under the Bill a stop might be put to these voluntary arrangements because it insisted on every farmer giving certain holidays, and this, he held, would be an act of folly, which would be anything but desirable. The noble Earl concluded by moving his Amendment.

THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWN
said, he was perfectly well aware that to-day was the 12th of August, and a very inconvenient day to deal with important legislation. But as long as it was not in their Lordships' power to control the progress of Business in "another place," they had to take the Business as it came up to them. He hoped the noble Earl would not press his Amendment to a Division for this reason. There were two Fast days in Scotland at present; but they were in process of being abolished, and the agricultural servants in certain parts of Scotland feared that that if these were abolished, the holidays which they represented would be abolished also. It was to ob- 238 viate that fear that the Bill was introduced. He thought if their Lordships would accept the Amendments he intended to propose in Committee, they would find that no objection could be taken to the Bill.

THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (The Marquess of LOTHIAN)
said, he did not think that the Bill would either do good or ill. The only point he had intimated on the second reading that he would strongly object to was the clause which provided that no reductions should be made from the wages of servants in respect of these holidays. That seemed to him to introduce a new principle, and in a Bill of this kind a very objectionable principle. Now that the noble Earl in charge of the Bill proposed to omit the clause which provided that no deductions should be made for the holidays, he hoped their Lordships would agree with the Bill, because the Amendment of the noble Earl (the Earl of Galloway) was taking too much notice of a Bill of this description, it having passed through the other House. The noble Earl who moved the Amendment said in one breath that the Bill was worth nothing at all, and in the next that it was so important that there was no time to adequately consider it at this period of the Session.