§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee, read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(The Earl of Crawford.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ [The EARL of DONOUGHMORE in the Chair.]
§ Clauses 1 to 3 agreed to.
§ Clause 4:
§ Interest on compensation awarded.
§ 4. Where a decree is made against a county council after the passing of this Act for compensation for criminal injuries, the amount recovered (excluding therefrom any sums recovered for costs or expenses) shall carry interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum from the date of the service of the preliminary notice of application upon the secretary of the county council where the compensation is awarded in respect of a murder or maiming, and from the date of the decision of the county court in other cases, and payment of such interest may be enforced in like manner as if it were part of the amount recovered.
§
LORD ORANMORE AND BROWNE moved to leave out "maiming," towards the end of the clause, and to insert "criminal injuries to the person." The noble Lord said: The word "maiming" was inserted, I think, as the result of an Amendment in another place, and it has, I am told, a technical legal interpretation which would not protect the person to the same extent as the words which I suggest should be substituted for it. In every other instance in the Bill the words "criminal injuries" occur, for instance in Clause 6 (3) which reads—
Where an application is made in respect of a murder or other criminal injuries (whether to person or property) …
I believe I am right in saying that the Government do not object to this alteration.
8
Amendment Moved—
Clause 4, page 3, line 39, leave out ("maiming") and insert ("criminal injuries to the person").—(Lord Oranmore and Browne)
THE EARL OF CRAWFORDI am prepared to accept this Amendment, and also the second Amendment on the Paper, provided that the noble Lord will grant me permission to look into the matter closely between now and the Report stage.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§
LORD ORANMORE AND BROWNE moved, at the end of the clause, to insert—
The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply also in the case of decrees made before the passing of this Act for compensation in respect of criminal injuries, whether to person or property committed or inflicted at any time after the first day of January nineteen hundred and seventeen, but only as respects so much of the amount recovered as shall have remained unpaid at the time of the passing of this Act.
Amendment moved—
Clause 4, page 4, line 3, after ("recovered") insert the said words.—(Lord Oranmore and Browne.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 4, as amended, agreed to.
§ Remaining clauses agreed to.