THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Lord BALFOUR), in moving the Third Reading of this Bill, said he had given notice of the insertion of two or three Amendments to Clause 1, in order to make the language of the Bill more clear and precise. Those of their Lordships who were present in the Stand- in, Committee last week would remember that Lord Herschell made some remarks on the drafting of the Bill to the effect that the objects for which a ship could be detained under the Section 459 of the leading Act were not suitable to the special provisions of this Bill That criticism had been met by the Amendments which he had put upon the Paper. Under Section 459 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 a ship could only be detained for the purpose of being surveyed. The words which he proposed to insert in the Clause were to make it clear that in a case of undermanning, the ship could he detained for the purpose of ascertaining the sufficiency of her crew, and under the same section an order could be made for the detention of a ship for the purpose of survey, alterations, or repairs, and for the loading or unloading of cargo. The Amendments 132 purposed to add to the conditions which, were contained in the leading Act, other conditions applicable to the control of the sufficiency of the manning of a vessel. The Amendments made no real change in the substance of the Bill, and they were simply proposed for the purpose of meeting the criticism made by the noble Lord opposite (Lord Herschell) who, he understood, was satisfied with the amendments now proposed.
§ LORD HERSCHELLsaid the alterations would entirely meet the criticism he ventured to make before the Standing Committee. He thought that as the Bill now stood it would be a great improvement in point of drafting it; and, moreover, it would have the great advantage that when the time for consolidation came, and it must come before long, it would be perfectly simple as the Bill now stood. Some re-drafting would have been required if the Bill had passed as it stood in its original form.
Read 3a (according to Order); amendments made; Bill passed, and returned to the Commons.
Amendments made:—
§ Clause 1,—