§ Brought from the Commons.
§ Moved, That the Bill be now read 1ª.—(The Earl of Donoughmore.)
§ LORD DARLINGMy Lords, may I beg the indulgence of the House in somewhat peculiar circumstances? I desire to ask the House to take the Second Reading of this Bill to-morrow. Your Lordships will recognise that it is a very important Bill, and that it is necessary that, if it can be done, it should pass through all its stages by Wednesday. Therefore, I would at the same time to-morrow ask your Lordships if you would suspend Standing Order No. XXXIX in order that the Bill may be proceeded with in all its stages and concluded to-morrow.
§ EARL BEAUCHAMPMy Lords, I think something should be said from this Bench in regard to the most unusual course of procedure suggested by the noble and learned Lord, though perhaps it will be more convenient if we take the discussion to-morrow. I am entirely in the hands of your Lordships' House, but I hope, if we take it to-morrow, that we may be informed what precedent there is for a Private Member's Bill being rushed through your Lordships' House at the very fag end of the Session in this kind of way. I recognise the special nature of the case, and it is not entirely for noble Lords on this side of the House to express too strong an opinion. But it is quite clearly a matter on which we ought not to proceed without a very well thought out opinion from the Leader of the House, or the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack. I appeal to the noble and learned Viscount, in the absence of the Lord President of the Council. I am sure that he will see that a Private 1533 Member's Bill is in a very different category from a Government Bill, and to ask your Lordships two days before the adjournment to pass the Bill through its first stage to-day and all the remaining stages to-morrow, is a very unusual procedure, which I think ought to be received with a little caution and explained fully to your Lordships' House.
§ VISCOUNT HALDANEMy Lords, in the case of an unopposed Bill like this I think very much the same considerations may apply as in the case of a Government Bill, and I would like to know whether there are any other measures, Government measures for instance, for which the suspension of Standing Orders is required because it might be well to take them along with this one. Perhaps the noble Earl opposite can answer that question.
§ THE EARL OF PLYMOUTHMy Lords, there is one Bill, the Palestine and East Africa Loans (Guarantee) Bill, which it is hoped to pass through all its stages to-morrow. There is also the Housing (Rural Workers) Bill, which will reach Report stage to-morrow and to which it would be desirable to give a Third Reading on the same day. I think those are the only two Government measures which are affected.
§ VISCOUNT HALDANEHas the Loans Bill passed through all its stages in the other House?
§ THE EARL OF PLYMOUTHThey hope to pass it to-night.
§ VISCOUNT HALDANEI think that the Motion might well be taken to-morrow, as suggested, and taken with a view to making it possible to deal with those measures. It is true it is an alteration of our normal procedure, but towards the end of the Session that is not only very common but very desirable and I, for one, should be quite prepared to look sympathetically on any proposition made to-morrow.
§ On Question, Bill read 1ª, and to be printed.