§ Amendments reported (according to Order).
§ Clause 5:
§ Payment and allocation of fines and lees.
§ 5.—(1) A court of summary jurisdiction in fixing the amount of any fine to be imposed on an offender shall take into consideration, amongst other things, the means of the offender so far as they appear or are known to the court; and where a fine is imposed the payment of the court fees and police fees payable in the case up to and including conviction shall not be taken into consideration in fixing the amount of the tine to be imposed in addition to the fine, but the amount of the fine, or of such part thereof as may be paid or recovered, shall be applied as follows:—
- (a) in the first base in the repayment to the informant or complainant of any court or police fees paid by him;
- (b) in the second place in the payment of any court fees not already paid by the informant or complainant, which maybe payable under the table of fees set out in the First Schedule to this Act;
- (c) in the third place in the payment of any police fees not already paid by the informant or complainant; and
- (d) the balance (if any) remaining after the aforesaid payments have been made shall be paid to the fund or person to which the fine is directed to be paid by the enactments relating to the offence in respect of which the fine was imposed, or if there is no such fund or person, then to the fund into which the court fees are paid.
§ (2) Nothing in this section shall prevent the court front adjudging the offender to pay in addition to any fine imposed by the court any sum in respect of costs or expenses, other than such fees aforesaid, properly incurred by the informant or complainant or other person in respect of the proceedings or in respect of any compensation which the court may have power to award.
§ (3) In this section the expression "police fees" means all duly authorised fees payable to any constable in the execution of his duty.
§ LORD PARMOOR had on the Paper an Amendment to subsection (2), after the word "proceedings," to insert "But such sum shall not be imposed as part of the fine, and the offender shall not be liable to imprisonment for the non-payment thereof." The noble Lord said: I explained in Committee my objection to subsection (2) of Clause 5, on the ground that it is not fair to add costs to the amount of the fine so that in the result a defendant who could not afford to pay the costs might be imprisoned in respect of costs as distinct from fine. I have put down an 458 Amendment in order to secure that no such result should follow. But if the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack could assent to the omission of subsection (2) altogether, that would, in my opinion, be a better way of dealing with the difficulty.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR (VISCOUNT HALDANE)I am quite prepared to meet the noble and learned Lord by omitting subsection (2).
§
Amendment moved—
Omit, subsection (2).—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 18:
§ Consecutive sentences of imprisonment.
§ 18. Where a sentence of imprisonment is passed on any permit by a court of summary jurisdiction, the court may order that the sentence shall commence at the expiration of any other term of imprisonment to which that person has been previously sentenced, so however that where two or more sentences passed by a court of summary jurisdiction are ordered to run consecutively the aggregate term of imprisonment shall not exceed six months.
§ THE EARL OF DERBYI move to add, at the end of the clause, the words standing in my name.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 12, line 36, after ("months") insert ("unless such sentences included at least two sentences for indictable offences dealt with summarily by consent or on a plea of guilty, in which case the aggregate term of imprisonment shall not exceed twelve months").—(The Earl of Derby.)
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORThis is an Amendment for which there is a good deal to be said, and I am glad to accept it.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 34:
§ Appointment and remuneration of and accounting by justices' clerks.
§ 34.—(1) Clerks to justices shall continue to be appointed as heretofore, but no appointment made after the commencement of this Act shall be valid unless and until it is confirmed by the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State shall, before confirming any such appointment, take into consideration any representations that may be made to him, in the case of the appointment of a clerk to borough justices by the council of the borough, and in the case of the appointment of a clerk to county justices by the standing joint committee of the county.
459§ (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other general or local Act to the contrary, the salaries of clerks to justices shall be fixed and may from time to time be varied
- (a) in the case of a clerk to borough justices, by the justices of the borough; and
- (b) in the case of a clerk to county justices, by the standing joint committee of the county:
- (i) in the case of the salary of a clerk to borough justices, the council of the borough or the clerk; and
- (ii) in the case of the salary of a clerk to county justices, the county justices for whom the clerk acts or the clerk,
§ (3) If the justices for any petty sessional division make representations to the standing joint committee of the county with a view to the variation of the salary of their clerk, the standing joint committee shall at a meeting of which special notice has been given take into consideration the question of varying the salary.
§ (4) The authority by whom the salary of a clerk is fixed may allow him such special remuneration in addition to his salary as they may, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State, determine, in respect of any duties which were not taken into account in fixing his salary.
§ (5) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to clerks at metropolitan police courts nor to the clerks to the justices of the city of London nor to the clerk to any stipendiary magistrate other than a stipendiary magistrate appointed under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882.
§ (6) If any clerk to justices fails without sufficient reason to account for or pay over any suns within one month from the time when he was required to account for or pay over the suns under section six of the Justices' Clerks Act, 1877, he shall be deemed to have wilfully omitted to account for or pay over that stun within the meaning of that section, but no person shall sue for a sum recoverable under that section as amended by this section, except the person or authority to whom the account or payment is required to be made.
§ LORD PARMOOR had on the Paper an Amendment to delete from subsection (2), the words "Provided that" down to the end of the subsection. The noble Lord said: This Amendment has reference to a matter which was also discussed the other day—namely, leaving to the local authority the fixing of the amount of salary to be paid to the clerk to the justices of the peace. With the assent of the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack I will not move the Amendment which is down in my name, but will support, if I might, the Amendments standing in the name of the Lord Chancellor, which carry out what I desire.
460
§
THE LORD CHANCELLOR moved to amend the proviso so that it would read—
Provided that—
The noble and learned Viscount said: The Amendments standing in my name to this clause are to meet the point to which the noble and learned Lord (Lord Parmoor) has referred.
may appeal to the Secretary of State against the decision of the justices or standing joint committee, as the case may be, and the amount of the salary shall thereupon be determined by the Secretary of State.
§ Amendments moved—
§ Page 18, line 25, leave out ("or the clerk")
§ Page 18, line 27, leave out ("or the clerk")
§
Page 18, line 27, at end, insert ("and
(iii) in either ease where the proposal is for a reduction of salary, the clerk to the justices").—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Amendments agreed to.
§ Clause 42:
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORThe Amendments standing in my name to Clause 42 are merely consequential upon Amendments made on the last stage of the proceedings here and in the other House.
§ Amendments moved—
§ Page 21, line 39, leave out from ("1890") to ("an") in line 1 of page 22.
§ Page 23, line 29, leave out from ("shall") to end of line 34, and insert ("not apply.")
§ Page 23, line 35, after ("5") insert ("Subsection (1) of section four of this Act shall apply as if references to proceedings for enforcing bastardy or maintenance orders were omitted therefrom").
§ Page 24, line 3, after ("Scotland") insert ("from and after such date as may be prescribed by the Secretary for Scotland").—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Amendments agreed to.
§ Drafting Amendments also agreed to.
461§ Clause 43:
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORThe Amendments to this clause are also consequential.
§ Amendments moved—
§ Page 25, line 3, after ("1902") insert ("and")
§ Page 25, line 8, leave out from ("1877") to the end of line 11.
§ Page 27, line 17, at end insert ("regulating and prescribing any other matter or thing which for the purposes aforesaid requires to be regulated or prescribed, and").—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Amendments agreed to.
§ First Schedule:
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORMy Amendment to the First Schedule bears on an Amendment which was inserted in Committee on the motion of the noble Viscount, Lord St. Aldwyn. It was a good Amendment, and we wish to make it clear that it extends to costs up to the time of conviction.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 29, line 24, after ("duties") insert ("up to and including conviction").—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Then (Standing Order No. XXXIX having been suspended) Bill read 3ª, and passed, and returned to the Commons, and to be printed as amended. (No. 211.)