Lords Sitting of 15 May 1907

Preamble
The Viscount Goschen sat first in Parliament after the death of his father.

PRIVATE BILL BUSINESS.
Worthing Gas Bill, Read 2a and committed. The Committee to be proposed by the Committee of Selection.
Burnley Corporation Bill; Shanklin Gas Bill; Bristol Corporation Bill; Brig-house Corporation Bill; Pasley Children Legitimisation Bill [H.L.]. Read 2a, and committed.
Simon-Carves Bye-Product Coke Oven Construction and Working Company, Limited, Bill [H.L.]. Read 3a; Amendments made; Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.

ALTON MILITARY HOSPITAL.
Moved, that the order made on the 20th March last "That this House will not receive any petition for a Private Bill later than Thursday, the 2nd day of May next "be dispensed with, and that leave be given to the right hon. Sir William Purdie Treloar, Knight, Lord Mayor of the City of London, to present a petition praying for leave to introduce a Bill "to enable the Alton Military Hospital to be utilised for the purposes of a cripples' college," agreed to. Petition, together with a copy of the proposed Bill annexed thereto, read, and referred to the Examiners.

PRIVATE AND PROVISIONAL ORDER CONFIRMATION BILLS.
Ordered, That Standing Orders Nos. 92 and 93 be suspended; and that the time for depositing petitions praying to be heard against Private and Provisional Order Confirmation Bills, also the time for depositing Documents relating to any Order under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act, 1899, which would otherwise expire during the adjournment of the House at Whitsuntide be extended to the first day on which the House shall sit after the Recess.
Marriages Provisional Order Bill; Metropolitan Police Provisional Order
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Bill. House in Committee (according to order); Bills reported without Amendment; Standing Committee negatived; and Bills to be road 3a To-morrow.

RETURNS, REPORTS, ETC.
  COMPENSATION FOR INDUSTRIAL DISEASES.
  Report of the Departmental Committee on Compensation for Industrial Diseases; Report, minutes of evidence, and appendices.

  TRADE REPORTS, ANNUAL SERIES.
  No. 3784. United States (Hawaii);
  No. 3785. Greece (Trade, etc. of Piræus and district);
  No. 3786. Greece (Corfu, Cephalonia, and Zante);
  No. 3787. Roumania.

  FISHERIES (SCOTLAND).
  Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Fishery Board for Scotland, being for the year 1906. Part I. General Report.
  Presented (by Command), and ordered to lie on the Table.

  EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN BILL [H.L.] PRIZE COURTS BILL [H.L.]
  Read 3a (according to order), and passed, and sent to the Commons.

  NATURALISATION.
  EARL RUSSELL: My Lords, I rise to call attention to some incidents of naturalisation in the United Kingdom and in the Colonies, and to ask the Lord Chancellor whether he will introduce legislation with a view to removing doubts as to the effect of naturalisation and anomalies in the status of naturalised British subjects.
  The Act of 1870, which deals with naturalisation in this country, has certain provisions for effecting the naturalisation of aliens in the United Kingdom, and it contains, among others, a provision, to which I take it there can be no exception, to the effect that the person so naturalised shall be entitled to all the rights, powers and privileges, and so on, to which a natural born British subject is entitled, with this qualification, that he

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  hall not within the limits of the foreign State of which he was a subject he deemed to be a British subject unless he has ceased to be a subject of that State. That avoids what might be unfortunate conflicts between the country of his origin and this country.
  But the provision to which I wish to call your Lordships' attention is at the beginning of Section 7, to the effect that an alien who takes advantage of the Naturalisation Act will in the United Kingdom be entitled to all the rights, powers, and privileges, etc. On the face of it such a provision would appear to mean that he is not a British subject anywhere except in the United Kingdom, and the unfortunate person who has taken advantage of that Act is left in considerable uncertainty as to his status and nationality. Such a man would be a British subject in the United Kingdom but not in the country of his origin unless a treaty with that country allowed it. He may, and probably would, be a British subject in some other foreign country, but what is the status of this unfortunate person in any other part of British Possessions or in our Colonies? Is he a British subject in Australia, or in India; and, if he is not, what is he? That is a position which presents considerable difficulty.
  The Acts of most of the Colonies contain similar provisions to the effect that the naturalisation shall only take effect within the limits of the Colony, and that a person naturalised in the Colony acquires the rights of a British subject only within the Colony, a sort of local naturalisation. What his status would be elsewhere is not denned. In these days, when we are anxious to draw our Colonies closer, this matter might be set right by some legislation providing that if a man is a British subject here he shall be a British subject throughout the British Empire. It was for the purpose of drawing attention to those anomalies that I placed this Notice on the Paper. It is desirable that the principle of Civis Romanus sum should extend throughout the Empire, and I desire to ask the Lord Chancellor whether he will introduce legislation with a view to removing doubts as to the effect of naturalisation and to set right these anomalies in the
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  status of naturalised British subjects. I can quite understand that it might not be possible to introduce legislation without consulting the Colonies, but I think the matter is one which should receive immediate attention.
  THE LORD CHANCELLOR (Lord LOREBURN): My Lords, the Question which the noble Earl has asked relates to a most complicated subject. A study of the laws of marriage and of naturalisation together is enough to drive an ordinary person to distraction. In regard to the question of naturalisation, I admit there are undoubted anomalies such as the noble Earl has referred to. A person naturalised as a British subject within the United Kingdom may, according to some opinions, be considered a British subject all the world over, but if naturalised in one of our Colonies that naturalisation only takes effect within the limits of the area of that particular Colony. That is, of course, a very great anomaly, and is fatal to the idea of unity of citizenship within the British dominions.
  Of course, the first and obvious suggestion would be to pass a law authorising naturalisation all over the British dominions to any person naturalised in any part of those dominions. That seems very nice in theory, but in practice it cannot be done. In Australasia, for instance, it has been resolved to have a white Australia, and Australia will not accept the naturalisation of a coloured person naturalised in any other part of the British dominions. And so it is in New Zealand. This is only one of the multitude of difficulties surrounding the question and practically bringing about an impasse.
  In the circumstances the noble Earl will not be surprised if I say that the Government have no immediate intention of introducing legislation on the subject. I may, however, inform the noble Earl that this matter was brought before the Colonial Conference, and, after some discussion—not very much—during which the difficulties mentioned by the noble Earl were referred to, it was agreed that there should be a subsidiary conference for the purpose of considering the whole of this intricate, difficult question, and to see whether anything could be done in

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  the direction of unifying the laws of naturalisation and common citizenship all over His Majesty's dominions. The matter stands in that position at present. I hope some good may arise from the deliberations of the subsidiary conference, but I can assure the noble Earl that no more thorny question could be imagined than that upon which it is about to embark.

  BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
  LORD JAMES OF HEREFORD: My Lords, I should like to ask the noble Earl the President of the Council whether he cannot allow a longer interval before taking the Second Reading of the Bill which he introduced last night enabling women to sit on public bodies. The Bill is down for Second Reading on 30th May, two days after we reassemble, but in view of the importance of the debate that will take place upon it, I think a little longer time should be allowed.
  THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (The EARL OF): My Lords, I need not say that I am entirely in the hands of the House in this matter. Although the subject-matter of the Bill is important, it is an exceedingly short Bill; it is by no means of an intricate character, and the points to be debated, although, of course, of great importance, are not numerous. However, if the noble and learned Lord desires to have the Second Reading postponed for a short time, and noble Lords opposite agree with him, I will certainly put it down for a later day.
  THE EARL OF HALSBURY: Although I quite follow what the noble Earl says as to its being a short Bill, still there is considerable difference of opinion in regard to it, and I think the day proposed for taking the Second Reading is a little too soon after the House reassembles.
  THE EARL OF CREWE: I will put the Bill down for a later day.
  House adjourned at a quarter before Five o'clock, till To-morrow, half-past Ten o'clock.