§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee, read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee:—(Viscount Haldane.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ [The EARL OF DONOUGHMORE in the Chair.]
§ Clause 1:
§ Amendment of 60 & 61 Vict. c. 43. s. 1.
§ 1.—(1) Any area may, if the council of the county or borough in which it is situate consent, be included within the limits specified in any Order in Council made under section one of the Military Manœuvres Act, 1897 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), notwithstanding that the area has been specified in an Order in Council made under that section within the preceding five years.
§ (2) If an Order in Council is made under the said section, but no military manœuvres are executed thereunder, that section shall have effect as if no such Order had been made.
§ (3) Where the draft of an Order in Council under subsection (2) of time said section is sent to the authorities specified in that subsection before the thirtieth day of April in any year, the time which under that subsection must elapse before the Order comes into force shall be reduced from six to four months.
§ VISCOUNT HALDANE had an Amendment on the Paper to insert at the end of subsection (1) the words, "Provided that, in the case of any area situate in the New Forest, the consent of the Court of Verderers shall also be required." The noble Viscount said: I propose to move this Amendment in a slightly different form from that in which it is drafted. Its purport is to ensure that notice shall be given to the Court of Verderers and their consent obtained in the case of any area situated in the New Forest being included. The Office of Woods and Forests suggest that they should have notice as well as the Court of Verderers, and we agree to that. I propose, therefore, to insert the words, "Provided that, in the case of any area situate in the New Forest, the consent of His Majesty's Commissioners of Woods and the Court of Verderers shall also be required."
§
Amendment moved—
Page 1, line 11, after ("years") insert ("Provided that, in the case of any area situate in the New Forest, the consent of His Majesty's Commissioners of Woods and the Court of Verderers shall also be required").—(Viscount Haldane.)
§ LORD MONTAGU OF BEAULIEUI am much obliged to the noble Viscount for inserting these words, as I suggested he should do on Second Reading. Being a verderer myself, I would also like him to give an undertaking that the position of the New Forest will be in no way prejudiced or altered from what it is under the Manœuvres Act of 1897.
§ VISCOUNT HALDANEExcept so far as the provisions of the amending Bill expressly alter the term of notice I am able to give the assurance that the position with regard to the New Forest is not affected.
§ LORD MONTAGU OF BEAULIEUI thank the noble Viscount.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ VISCOUNT ST. ALDWYNI move to leave out from subsection (3) the words "thirtieth day of April," and to insert "thirty-first day of March." I understand the noble Viscount is prepared to agree to that.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 1, line 17, leave out ("thirtieth day of April") and insert ("thirty-first day of March").—(Viscount St. Aldwyn.)
§ VISCOUNT HALDANEI accept that Amendment.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.
§ Clause 2:
§ Amendment of 60 & 61 Vict. c. 43. s. 2.
§ 2.—(1) So much of proviso (1) to section two of the principal Act as provides that nothing in that Act shall authorise entry on or interference with any enclosed wood or plantation shall be repealed: Provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising entry on, or interference with, any enclosed wood or plantation, unless that wood or plantation is included amongst the authorised lands by the Military Manœuvres Commission:
§ (2) Nothing contained in the said proviso shall be construed as prohibiting the entry on or interference with any park if that park is included amongst such authorised lands as aforesaid.
§ LORD HAVERSHAMMy Lords, I wish to say one word on this clause to allay misapprehension on the part of proprietors of parks and enclosed woods who may be alarmed at the prospect of troops being quartered upon them and at the presence of troops in their woods and parks. I 427 believe I have had more experience of troops being quartered upon my land than anybody in this House, residing as I do near to Aldershot. Troops have gone through my woods frequently, and my property has never on any occasion sustained damage. They always leave a large party behind them to fill up any holes that may have been made and take away all the debris, and the last time they came to me they posted a sentry over the gardens and the stables and the entry to the woods—in fact, over any part that I wished to retain the privacy of; and, as I say, I have never sustained the slightest injury or damage from the presence of troops. Lord Down-shire, my immediate neighbour, recently had a large body of troops quartered on his property, and he sustained so little damage and inconvenience from their presence that he voluntarily invited a large body of Yeomanry to come to him the next year. With regard to the suggestion that troops disturb the game, nobody shoots until November. The troops come in August, and therefore if the pheasants have been disturbed at all they have plenty of time by November to get back to their covers. I can assure the House that the visit of the troops is very popular in my neighbourhood, and I have never heard of any proprietor sustaining damage either to his woods or his game or his property during manœuvres.
§ Clause 2 agreed to.
§ Clause 3:
§ Amendment of 60 & 61 Vict. c. 43. s. 3.
§ 3. The power of justices of the peace under section three of the principal Act by order to suspend any right of way, shall include a power by order to authorise any commissioned officer in command of the authorised forces or any part thereof to make an order suspending for a time not exceeding six hours in any one day the use of any road or footpath within the specified limits and within the jurisdiction of the justices, and where any such officer in exercise of the power so conferred on him makes such an order, he shall take such steps as in the circumstances he may consider practicable for giving publicity to his intention to make the order, but need not give such public notice as is required by subsection (2) of the said section, but all reasonable facilities for traffic shall be given whilst the order is in force.
§ VISCOUNT HALDANE moved to leave out "commissioned"["The power of justices of the peace under section three of the principal Act by order to suspend any right of way, shall include a power by order to authorise any commissioned"], and to insert "general or field."
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§
Amendment moved—
Page 2, line 6, leave out ("commissioned") and insert ("general or field").—(Viscount Haldane.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ VISCOUNT HALDANE moved to leave out "road or footpath"["suspending for a time not exceeding six hours in any one day the use of any road or footpath"], and to insert "specified roads or footpaths, or parts of any specified roads or footpaths."
§
Amendment moved—
Page 2, line 9, leave out ("road or footpath") and insert ("specified roads or footpaths, or parts of any specified roads or footpaths").—(Viscount Haldane.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD MONTAGU OF BEAULIEU had on the Paper an Amendment, after "justices"["within the specified limits and within the jurisdiction of the justices "], to insert "except the roads mentioned in the schedule of this Bill"; and later on stood an Amendment in the noble Lord's name to insert the following Schedule—