§ Read 3a.
§ Clause 135:
§ Provision of concerts, entertainments, etc.
§ 135.—(1) The Corporation may provide or arrange for the provision or carrying on of suitable concerts, lectures, entertainments, athletic meetings, exhibitions, and amusements, and for the sale of refreshments in any public buildings, halls, or rooms belonging to them or for the time being vested in them or under their control or hired for the purpose or upon any land belonging or leased to them, and may make such charges as they may think fit for admission thereto, and the Corporation may let any such building belonging to them for the purpose of such concert, lecture, entertainment, athletic meeting, exhibition, or amusements, or for the sale of refreshments for such periods or occasions and upon such terms and conditions as the Corporation may think fit: Provided that nothing contained in this section shall enable the Corporation themselves to use any public buildings, halls, or rooms for the purpose of the performance of stage plays by professional companies of performers or to carry on therein the business of a cinema theatre:
§ LORD JESSEL moved to leave out all words in the proviso after "Provided 268 that" and insert "nothing in this section contained shall enable the Corporation themselves to use any public hall, pavilion, bandstand, assembly room or other public building erected under the powers of this Act for the purpose of the performance of stage plays by professional companies of performers, or enable the Corporation themselves to carry on therein any performance in the nature of a variety entertainment or the business of a cinema theatre."
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, I must make some excuse for moving this Amendment on a Private Bill. Very briefly the story is this. This Bill came up to the House as an unopposed measure and the reason why it was not opposed by the Theatrical Association was that their secretary was ill and, accordingly, due notice was not given. The Chorley Corporation introduced a clause into their Bill allowing the Corporation to provide theatrical entertainments, cinema shows and variety entertainments out of the rates. Your Lordships may remember that a Public Health Bill was passed last Session after being successfully piloted through this House by the noble Lord, Lord Emmott, who accepted an Amendment on behalf of those with whom he was associated excluding theatrical plays, cinema shows and variety entertainments from the scope of the Bill. The Chorley Corporation and one or two other corporations have, however, brought forward in their Private Bills this Session what is tantamount to a reversal of the legislation that was then passed.
§ There is no particular reason why Chorley should have this power. They did offer, in fact, an amendment of their original proposal in the form of striking out the reference to theatres and cinemas, but they reserved to themselves the right to continue variety entertainments. This has been strongly objected to by the Association of West End Theatrical Managers, the Theatrical Managers' Association and the Entertainments Protection Association. The Amendment that I have put upon the Paper, if accepted by your Lordships, will restore the position to that which existed when the Public Health Bill was passed last year. I hope to obtain your Lordships' support, in view of the fact that this matter was so adequately discussed last year and that it seems somewhat prema- 269 ture, after such a short interval of time, again to bring forward what is, after all, a very vital alteration in the existing law. I beg to move.
§
Amendment moved—
Clause 135, page 74, line 36, leave out from (''that") to end of line 39, and insert ("nothing in this section contained shall enable the Corporation themselves to use any public hall, pavilion, bandstand, assembly room or other public building erected under the powers of this Act for the purpose of the performance of stage plays by professional companies of performers, or enable the Corporation themselves to carry on therein any performance in the nature of a variety entertainment if the business of a cinema theatre").—(Lord Jessel.)
THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE)My Lords, I am sure that my noble friend need offer no apology for moving an Amendment to a Private Bill. Of course, all classes of Private Bills are entirely in the hands of your Lordships for any action which you think desirable. My noble friend has explained in moving this Amendment that he is asking you to enact that the exact words of the Public Health Act passed last year should be maintained in this particular borough. As a broad general principle one naturally would assume that it is desirable that in cases such as this uniformity should be maintained, especially in view of so recent a decision by Parliament. One can conceive that there may be exceptions in particular parts of the country where it may be desirable for special reasons shown that a departure should be made in a certain case, but this is certainly not one of those cases, in my humble view. Your Lordships are aware that it often happens, when an Amendment is proposed on the Third Reading of a Private Bill to which the promoters object, that great activity is shown in bringing to your Lordships' notice what those objections are. In the present case I have seen no such objections and personally I see no objection to passing the Amendment in the form in which it is proposed, if your Lordships, think fit.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.