HL Deb 05 August 1909 vol 2 cc951-5

Order of the Day for the House to go into Committee, read.

Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Lord Hamilton of Dalzell.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House in Committee accordingly.

[THE EARL OF ONSLOW in the Chair.]

Clause 1 agreed to.

Clause 2:

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY had a number of Amendments on the Paper to Clause 2, which ran— 2.—(1) The Board of Trade may make general regulations with respect to the management of labour exchanges established or assisted under this Act, and otherwise with respect to the exercise of their powers under this Act, and such regulations may, subject to the approval of the Treasury, authorise advances to be made by way of loan towards meeting the expenses of workpeople travelling to places where employment has been found for them through a labour exchange. (2) The regulations shall provide that no person shall suffer any disqualification or be otherwise prejudiced on account of refusing to accept employment found for him through a labour exchange where the ground of refusal is that a trade dispute exists, or that the wages offered are lower than those current in the trade in the district where the employment is offered. (3) Any general regulations made under this section shall have effect as if enacted in this Act, but shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament as soon as may be after they are made, and if either House of Parliament within the next forty days after any regulations have been so laid before that House resolves that the regulations or any of them ought to be annulled, the regulations or those to which the resolution applies shall, after the date of such resolution, be of no effect without prejudice to the validity of anything done in the meantime under the regulations or to the making of any new regulations. (4) Subject to any such regulations, the powers of the Board of Trade under this Act shall be exercised in such manner as the Board of Trade may direct. (5) The Board of Trade may, in such cases as they think fit, establish advisory committees for the purpose of giving the Board advice and assistance in connection with the management of any labour exchange. He first moved to insert, after the word "prejudiced" at the beginning of subsection (2), the words "in being afforded facilities under this Act for obtaining employment." He thought the subsection as it stood was exceedingly vague. The particular occasion on which it was sought to protect a workman from disqualification or prejudice was vaguely stated, and the particular disqualification or prejudice was not stated at all, and it might be a disqualification or prejudice having no relation to labour exchanges whatever. Neither this Amendment nor the others standing on the Paper in his name were of an aggressive kind; they were really little more than drafting.

Amendment moved— In page 2, line 14, after the word 'prejudiced,' to insert the words 'in being afforded facilities under this Act for obtaining employment.'"—(The Marquess of Salisbury.)

LORD HAMILTON OF DALZELL agreed that none of the noble Marquess's Amendments on the Paper were of a hostile character, but at the same time he thought many of them were unnecessary. With regard to the Amendment now under discussion, the noble Marquess had stated that as the clause now stood it might be held to mean something altogether outside the labour exchange. He did not think that if the clause was carefully read that view could be held, because the clause dealt with the regulations that might be made by the Board of Trade, and such regulations could not affect anyone outside the labour exchange. The Government were of opinion that the words proposed by the noble Marquess were quite unnecessary.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY intimated that he would not press his Amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY moved an Amendment in the same subsection to insert, after the words "a trade dispute," the words "which affects his trade." His object was to secure that only in a trade dispute "which affects his trade" should a person not suffer disqualification on account of refusing to accept employment found for him through the labour exchange.

Amendment moved— In page 2, line 16, after the word 'dispute,' to insert the words 'which affects his trade.'"—(The Marquess of Salisbury.)

LORD HAMILTON OF DALZELL said that, in the form in which the noble Marquess had moved this Amendment, the Government were prepared to accept it.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY then moved to amend subsection (3) by inserting, after the words "within the next forty days," the words "on which that House has sat." He said that the Government had inserted in the other House a proper provision that the regulations should not take effect until they had lain for a certain number of days on the Table of Parliament; but it might easily happen that the regulations were laid the day before the Prorogation, and in that case the spirit of the provision would be violated. He therefore thought their Lordships should insert the words "on which that House has sat."

Amendment moved— In page 2, line 23, after the word 'days,' to insert the words 'on which that House has sat,' and to leave out the words 'that House' and to insert the word 'it.'"—(The Marquess of Salisbury.)

LORD HAMILTON OF DALZELL said that here, again, the Government did not object to the object of the noble Marquess. In the case of their Lordships' House however, it was not the invariable custom to sit on every day of the week, and therefore the words "forty days on which that House has sat" might mean a long period. He suggested that the Amendment should read "during the session of Parliament." In that form the Government would be prepared to accept it.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY amended his Amendment in accordance with this suggestion.

On Question, Amendment, as amended, agreed to.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY intimated that he would not move the other Amendments to this clause which stood in his name.

Clause 2, as amended, agreed to.

Remaining clauses agreed to.

Standing Committee negatived.

Moved, That Standing Order No. XXXIX be considered in order to its being dispensed with. —(Lord Hamilton of Dalzell.)

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY

My Lords, we shall raise no objection to this Motion on the present occasion, though it is, of course, of an exceptional character. The object of the noble Lord is to finish the remaining stages of this Bill to-day. We understand that it will be of convenience to the Government and to the country as a whole that this Bill should pass into law as quickly as possible, and we shall, therefore, raise no objection to the noble Lord's Motion.

THE EARL OF CREWE

We are obliged to the noble Marquess for what he has said. I need not assure the House that we do not like making a practice of passing Bills through several stages in one day, but this course is necessary in the present case on account of the fact that your Lordships are about to adjourn for some days.

On Question, Motion agreed to.

Amendments reported: Bill read 3a, with the Amendments, and passed, and returned to the Commons.