§ Order of the Day read for the consideration of Commons Amendments.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR, INDIA (LORD OLIVIER)My Lords, I beg to move that this House do take into consideration the Amendments of the House of Commons to this Bill. Those Amendments are two in number. The first is to Clause 1, page 2, line 18, after the word "vacant" to insert "in the case of a person granted leave for urgent reasons of public interest as from the termination of that period and in any other case." The reason for this Amendment is very simple. The Bill as passed by this House provided that if any officer came on leave for any reason and did not return at the end of such leave his office should be vacant as from the date on which he came on leave of absence. That was not the intention of the clause, and there must have been some failure in drafting. Obviously, it would be unjust that when a public officer, say, a Viceroy or Commander-in-Chief, had come on leave of absence for public reasons at the request of the Government, the office should be deemed to be vacant, because it would stultify any act which he might have done in his official capacity if the office were deemed vacant during the whole of his leave of absence. The Commons Amendment rectifies that little clumsiness in drafting.
The second Amendment is on line 25, after "shall," to insert the words "unless the Secretary of State in Council otherwise directs." The clause in its original form prescribed that if an officer did not return after leave of absence he should be bound to repay any leave allowances which he had received during his leave, in such manner as the Secretary of State might direct. It was held by the House of Commons, and the Government agree, that that might in some cases work very unjustly; that is to say, assuming a man had come on leave of absence on the 92 ground of his own ill-health, and that ill-health terminated fatally, it would be very unjust that the widow should be required in all cases to refund the leave allowances which he might have obtained. Consequently, the Amendment provides that the refund shall not be obligatory, but that the Secretary of State shall have a dispensing power, so that the refund shall be made unless he otherwise directs. I beg to move.
Moved, That the Commons Amendments be now considered.—(Lord Olivier.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.