Lords Sitting of 19 June 1900

Preamble
The Earl of MORLEY—Sat Speaker.
The Duke of Argyll sat first in Parliament after the death of his father.

PRIVATE BILL BUSINESS.
The LORD SPEAKER acquainted the House that the Clerk of the Parliaments had laid upon the Table the Certificates from the Examiners that the further Standing Orders applicable to the following Bills have been complied with:—
Ilfracombe Improvement.
London County Council (Improvements).
And also the Certificates that the Standing Orders applicable to the following Bills have been complied with:—
Buenos Ayres and Rosario Railway [H. L.]
Costa Rica Railway Company, Limited [H.L.].
The same were ordered to lie on the Table.

CHARING CROSS AND STRAND ELECTRICITY SUPPLY BILL.
A petition of Sir Prior Goldney, Remembrancer of the City of London, praying for leave to present a petition of the Corporation of London praying to be heard by counsel against the Bill although the time limited by Standing Order No. 93 for presenting such petition has expired; read, and ordered to lie on the Table; and Standing Order No. 93 to be considered on Thursday next in order to its being dispensed with in respect of the said petition.
ABERDEEN CORPORATION TRAMWAYS BILL.
The CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES informed the House that the opposition to the Bill was withdrawn. The orders made on the 18th and the 25th of May last discharged, and Bill committed.
SOUTH SHIELDS CORPORATION BILL [H.L.]
Reported with Amendments.
NORTH BRITISH RAILWAY BILL [H.L.]
Reported from the Select Committee with Amendments.
WITHINGTON URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL BILL [H.L.]
Reported with Amendments.
WATER ORDERS CONFIRMATION BILL [H.L.]
Reported from the Select Committee without amendment, and committed to a Committee of the whole House on Friday next.
CITY OF LONDON ELECTRIC LIGHTING BILL.
Read 2a, and committed.
ABERDEEN POLICE AND IMPROVEMENT BILL.
  CHARING CROSS AND STRAND ELECTRICITY SUPPLY BILL.
  Read 2a, and committed. The Committees to be proposed by the Committee of Selection.
  LATIMER ROAD AND ACTON RAILWAY BILL.
  Read 2a, and committed.
SOUTH EASTERN METROPOLITAN TRAMWAYS BILL.
  EAST LONDON WATER BILL.
  Read 2a, and committed. The Committees to be proposed by the Committee of Selection.
  CITY OF LONDON (VARIOUS POWERS) BILL.
  Read 2a, and committed, The Committee to be proposed by the Committee of Selection.
  LIVERPOOL CORPORATION BILL.
  Read 2a, and committed.
  WOLVERHAMPTON GAS BILL.
  Read 2a, and committed for Monday next.
  LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY BILL.
  Read 2a, and committed. The Committee to be proposed by the Committee of Selection.
GLASGOW BUILDING REGULATIONS BILL [H.L.]
  BURY AND DISTRICT WATER (TRANSFER) BILL [H.L.]
    SHEFFIELD CORPORATION BILL [H.L.]
    Read 3a, and passed, and sent to the Commons.
SALFORD CORPORATION BILL [H.L.]
  GLASGOW DISTRICT TRAMWAYS BILL [H.L.]

    DUBLIN, WICKLOW, AND WEXFORD RAILWAY BILL [H.L.]
    PRESTON CORPORATION BILL [H.L.].
    Read 3a, and passed, and sent to the Commons.

CENTRAL LONDON RAILWAY BILL.
Read 3a, and passed.
STOCKPORT CORPORATION TRAMWAYS BILL.
  WAKEFIELD CORPORATION MARKET BILL.
  Read 3a, with the Amendments, and passed, and returned to the Commons.
OSSETT CORPORATION GAS BILL.
Read 3a, with the Amendments; further Amendments made; Bill passed, and returned to the Commons.
GREAT YARMOUTH PORT AND HAVEN BILL.
Read 3a, with the Amendments, and passed, and returned to the Commons.
BRITISH GASLIGHT COMPANY (STAFFORDSHIRE POTTERIES) BILL.
  LANCASTER CORPORATION BILL.

    RICKMANSWORTH AND UXBRIDGE VALLEY WATER BILL.
    SAINT DAVID'S RAILWAY ABANDONMENT BILL.
    WEST BROMWICH CORPORATION BILL.
    Brought from the Commons; read 1a; and referred to the Examiners.

GREAT BERKHAMPSTEAD WATER BILL [H.L.]
  MENSTONE WATER (TRANSFER) BILL [H.L.]

    NEWPORT CORPORATION BILL [H.L.]
    NEWTOWN AND LLANLLWCHAIARN
    URBAN DISTRICT GAS BILL [H.L.].
    Returned from the Commons agreed to, with Amendments.

LANCASHIRE INEBRIATES ACTS BOARD BILL [H.L.]
Returned from the Commons agreed to, with Amendments. The said Amendments considered, and agreed to.
GAS ORDERS CONFIRMATION (No. 1) BILL [H.L.]
Read 3a (according to Order), and passed, and sent to the Commons.
RETURNS, REPORTS, ETC.
  PRISONS (SCOTLAND).
  Report of the Departmental Committee on Scottish Prisons; with minutes of evidence, appendices, and index.
  Forty-third Annual Report of the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery, 1899–1900.

  BOARD OF EDUCATION (NORTH-WESTERN DIVISION).
  General Report for the year 1899, by the Rev. F. F. Cornish, Chief Inspector.
  Presented (by Command), and ordered to lie on the Table.

  INDIA (LOANS RAISED IN INDIA.
  Return of all loans raised in India under the provisions of any Acts of Parliament chargeable on the revenues of India outstanding at the commencement of the half year ended on the 31st March, 1900 with the rates of interest and total amount payable thereon, etc.

  SUPERANNUATION.
  Treasury Minute dated 30th May, 1900, declaring that for the due and efficient discharge of the duties of the offices of (1) Junior Inspector, and (2)

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  Instructor in the Royal College of Art, Board of Education, South Kensington, professional or other peculiar qualifications not ordinarily to be acquired on the public service are required.

  RAILWAY COMPANIES POWERS ACT, 1864.
  Report by the Board of Trade on an application made during the year 1899 under the Act, and of the proceedings of the Board of Trade with respect thereto.
  Laid before the House (pursuant to Act), and ordered to lie on the Table.

  EDUCATION.
  Return of the various Voluntary Schools Associations in England and Wales, with the number of children in average attendance in the schools in each Association, differentiating between rural and urban schools, and showing the total amount of Aid Grant allotted in respect of each class of schools; and further giving the rate of Aid Grant per head of average attendance, and the gain or loss to each Association under the present differential mode of allotment as compared with an allotment of 5s. per child in all schools; ordered to be laid before the House.— (The Lord Heneage.)

  NAVAL RESERVE (MOBILISATION) BILL.
  [SECOND READING.]
  Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
  Moved, "That the Bill be now read a second time."—(The Earl of Hopetoun.)
  *EARL SPENCER: I do not rise to offer any opposition to this Bill. In fact, I desire in every possible way, not only in the interests of the Admiralty but of the Reserve men themselves, to give facilities for the modification of any very strict rules with reference to the calling out of the Reserve. When this Bill was introduced elsewhere several objections were taken to it. One objection—I do not think there was any foundation for it, but I should like to be assured on the point—was that there was an intention, by the Bill, to dispense with the notification, on the part of Her Majesty, of the
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  necessity for mobilising the Reserve when the powers were put in force. I trust that is not so. I do not possess a legal mind, but I really cannot see how the necessity for this Bill arises. We heard the other night from the noble Marquess the Secretary of State for War that it often happened that some regiments wanted their Reservists of the Second Division long before other regiments wanted the same Reservists, but that under the law as it at present stands a regiment which is deficient in respect of it3 Reservists cannot call up any one of its Second Division Reservists until all the other regiments who might not require them have called up the Reservists of the same class. And the noble Marquess added that, in order to enable one Line regiment to get the men it wanted, the War Office were obliged to call up the whole of the remainder of the Reservists of that Division, and, as they did not require them, to send them away on furlough. No doubt, to avoid a thing of that sort, it is desirable to give similar powers to the Admiralty; but when I turn to the Act which regulates the calling out of the Reserve it appears to me that the powers given in this Bill already exist. Clause 4 of the Act gives the Admiralty power—
  "to order and direct that the Volunteers under this Act, or so many or such part of them as Her Majesty may deem necessary, shall be called in to actual service."
  It may be said that they are all called out for a specified time—three years; but in Clause 14 of that Act there is a power given to the Admiralty to "discharge Volunteers raised under this Act." I therefore do not see why it is necessary to give these new powers under this Bill. If, however, according to legal interpretation, such a necessity exists, I should not for a moment wish to oppose the Bill; but as there is some doubt on the subject in the minds of people who are interested in it I would ask the noble Earl who has introduced the Bill to satisfy me on that point, as well as the first one to which I referred.
  *THE EARL OF HOPETOUN: I think I can give an assurance to the noble Earl on the first point. There is no intention of interfering with the Proclamation in any way. With regard to the second point raised by the noble Earl, I hold in my hand a very strong opinion from the

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  Law Officers of the Crown that the alterations proposed are absolutely necessary. If the noble Earl will allow the Bill to pass its Second Reading I will undertake to again confer with the Law Officers of the Crown and place their further opinion before him at some future date.
  On Question, agreed to. Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

  COUNTY COUNCILS (ELECTIONS) ACT (1891) AMENDMENT BILL.
  House in Committee (according to Order). Bill reported without amendment; and re-committed to the Standing Committee.

  COLONIAL MARRIAGES (DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER) KILL [H.L.]
  House in Committee (according to Order).
  Clause 1:—
  LORD JAMES OF HEREFORD: The object of my Amendment is to restore the wording of the Bill to that of the Bill of 1898 as it left your Lordships' House. As originally introduced, it did not carry out the intention of its promoters, who desired to limit the operation of the Bill to the marriage of persons actually domiciled in the colonies and to exclude that class of persons known as "carpel baggers," who might visit the colonies simply for the purpose of getting married there and evading the law. My noble friend Lord Strathcona fully intended to introduce the Bill this session as amended in 1898, but by a strange accident, for which no one, I believe, is responsible, the original Bill was substituted.
  Amendment moved—
  "In Clause 1, page 1, line 7, to leave out 'between a man and his deceased wife's sister'; and in line 9, after' possession' to insert' between a man and his deceased wife's sister, both being domiciled therein.' "—(Lord James of Hereford.)
  On Question, Amendment agreed to.
  Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.
  Clause 2 agreed to.
  Standing Committee negatived. The Report of Amendments to be received on
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  Thursday next; and Bill to be printed as amended. (No. 110.)

  LAND CHARGES BILL [H.L.]
  Returned from the Commons agreed to, with Amendments.
BURIAL GROUNDS BILL. (No. 111.)
  ECCLESIASTICAL ASSESSMENTS (SCOTLAND) BILL. (No. 112.)
  Brought from the Commons; read 1a; and to be printed.

  LAND REGISTRY (NEW BUILDINGS) BILL.
  Brought from the Commons; read 1a; to be printed; and referred the Examiners. (No. 113.)
  The House adjourned at a quarter before Five of the clock, to Thursday next, half-past Ten of the clock.