Lords Sitting of 28 March 1923

Preamble
The House met at a quarter before four of the clock, The LORD CHANCELLOR on the Woolsack.
SMETHWICK CORPORATION (GAS) BILL. [H.L.]
Read 2a.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH PROVISIONAL ORDERS CONFIRMATION (No. 2) BILL. [H.L.]
Read 2a (according to Order).

HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICES.
Order of the Day read for the consideration of the First Report from the Select Committee.
The Committee reported inter alia:—
1. RE-APPOINTMENT OF LIBRARY SUB-COMMITTEE.
The Committee re-appointed the Library Sub-Committee consisting of the following Lords:—Viscount Haldane, Viscount Finlay, Lord Wigan (Earl of Crawford), Lord Colebrook, Lord Stuart of Wortley and Lord Ernle.
2. RE-APPOINTMENT OF SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE REFRESHMENT DEPARTMENT, AND CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF SUBCOMMITTEE APPOINTED IN 1922.
The Sub-Committee on the Refreshment Department was re-appointed consisting of the following Lords:—Marquess of Lincolnshire, Lord Muir Mackenzie and Lord Lambourne, with the Clerk of the Parliaments.
The Lord Great Chamberlain, as Chairman of the Sub-Committee appointed in 1922, reported:—

(1) That from the commencement of the next financial year the Treasury, in addition to withdrawing the subsidy of £500 had also withdrawn free issues of crockery, plate and linen, which would involve a considerable extra expense.

(2) That the present arrangements could be continued if a sum of £350 could be raised from Peers as a subsidy.

(3) That in the opinion of the Sub-Committee, this was the best
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course to pursue, and that the sum should be raised by subscriptions from Peers, and that the minimum contribution should be £1.

The Committee authorised the sending of a circular letter to Peers asking for such a contribution.
3. ACCESS TO THE COMMITTEE ROOMS IN THE LORD CHANCELLOR'S HOUSE.
The Chairman of Committees explained to the Committee that in connection with an arrangement by which the upper floors of the Lord Chancellor's house can be made forthwith available for his occupation, it was proposed to instal a lift estimated to cost £1,200, and that provision had been made in the Estimates of the Office of Works for this expenditure.
The proposal to instal a lift had to be considered not only from the point of view of the arrangements for the Lord Chancellor's house, but also from the point of view of affording convenient access from this house to the Committee rooms on the first floor of the Lord Chancellor's house.
The Chairman of Committees explained that owing to difficulty of access, these rooms could not at present be made as useful as they ought to be, and that it was extremely desirable that better access should be afforded in order that the rooms should be put to the most advantageous use. By making a small structural alteration, the cost of which was estimated at about £60, direct access could be obtained from the corridor of the present Committee rooms to the lift, which would itself give direct access to the Committee rooms in the Lord Chancellor's house.
By means of this comparatively small expenditure, and by means of the installation of the lift, the Committee rooms in the Lord Chancellor's house would thus be made accessible, and could be used in a way in which at present it was impossible to use them.
The Chairman of Committees explained that the installation of the lift, coupled with the small structural alteration for the purpose, would thus become of great advantage from the public point of view as well as from the point of view of the arrangements for the use of the upper floors of the Lord Chancellor's house by the Lord Chancellor, and he recommended the Committee to support from this point of view the installation of the lift, supplemented by the small structural alteration for affording access to it.
The Committee, having heard the Chairman of Committees' explanation, agreed that the proposal to construct the lift should be supported warmly on public grounds, and that the Chairman should be authorised to communicate their opinion to the Office of Works.
The installation of the lift and the proposed small structural alteration would, of course, be subject to the warrant of the Lord Great Chamberlain.
THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE): My Lords, I beg to move that the Report be now considered and adopted.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.

MINES (WORKING FACILITIES AND SUPPORT) BILL. [H.L.]
Read 3a (according to Order).
Clause 1:
Power to grant right to work minerals which would otherwise be unworkable.
1.—(1) Where there is danger of minerals being left permanently unworked—
(a) by reason of the minerals being comprised in or lying under land which is or has been copyhold land, or land subject to a lease reservation restriction, restriction covenant or condition, or otherwise not being capable of being worked without the concurrence of two or more persons;
THE EARL OF CLARENDON THE EARL OF CLARENDON moved, in subsection (1) (a), after "lease," to insert "exception." The noble Earl said: My Lords, there are two small Amendments which I must apologise to your Lordships for not having moved last Monday. They are purely drafting Amendments—in page 1, line 15, after "lease," to insert "exception," and in line 16, to leave out the first "restriction." The words appearing in the Bill are "reservation restriction," whereas
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the word "exception" should be after "lease." I beg to move the first Amendment.
Amendment moved—
Page 1, line 15, after ("lease") insert ("exception").—(The Earl of Clarendon.)
On Question, Amendment agreed to.
Amendment moved—
Page 1, line 16, leave out the first ("restriction").—(The Earl of Clarendon.)
On Question, Amendment agreed to.
THE EARL OF CLARENDON: I beg to move that the Bill do now pass.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Bill passed; and sent to the Commons.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY): My Lords, I think it will be for the convenience of your Lordships that we should meet at half-past eleven o'clock to-morrow morning in order to receive the Consolidated Fund Bill and pass it through all its stages in this House. I beg to move, therefore, that this House do now adjourn until half-past eleven o'clock to-morrow morning.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.
House adjourned at five minutes past four o'clock.