§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(The Marquess of Salisbury.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly:
§ [The EARL OF DONOUGHMORE in the Chair.]
§ Clause 1:
§ Punishment of abuses in connection with the grant of honours.
§ (3) Any person guilty of a misdemeanour under this Act shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not Acceding five hundred pounds, or to both such imprisonment and such fine, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to both such imprisonment and such fine, and where the person convicted (whether on indict- 1059 ment or summarily) received any such gift, money, or consideration as aforesaid which is capable of forfeiture, he shall in addition to any other punishment be liable to forfeit the same to His Majesty.
§ VISCOUNT BERTIE OF THAME moved, in subsection (3), to leave out "which is capable of forfeiture." The noble Viscount said: The object of this Amendment is to prevent any guilty person from being able to retain his ill-gotten gains.
§
Amendment moved—
Clause 1, page 2, line 5, leave out ("which is capable of forfeiture").—(Viscount Bertie of Thame.)
§ THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY)I quite understand that the noble Viscount's intention is to make this clause more effective than it is, but I think I shall be able to convince him that his Amendment would not be workable, because he will notice that the words of the clause are:
where the person convicted…received any such gift, money, or consideration as aforesaid which is capable of forfeiture, he shall in addition to any other punishment be liable to forfeit the same to His Majesty.The Amendment would be quite right in respect of a gift or in respect of money, but when you come to the word "consideration" it could not possibly be worked. How could a consideration be forfeited to His Majesty? For example, the giver of the consideration might give it in this way: he might make the recipient a director on a board on which the remuneration might be very good, and so bribe him in that way. It is clear that this consideration could not be forfeited to His Majesty. I hope my noble friend will not press the Amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Clause 1 agreed to.
§ Remaining clause agreed to.