ROAD TRAFFIC BILL. [H.L.] (Hansard, 25 July 1930)

§ LORD PONSONBY OF SHULBREDE
My Lords, I beg to move that the Commons Amendments be now considered.

§ VISCOUNT BRENTFORD
My Lords, I wish to make one protest against the 824 sixty-three pages of Commons Amendments being hurled at this House at this time. The Bill passed in the other place only on Wednesday night, the Amendments were only printed yesterday and your Lordships have only just been able to get them. There are more than four hundred Commons Amendments. On the other hand, I know that there is congestion of business. I would suggest to your Lordships that the noble and learned Lord on the Woolsack might put the Amendments en bloc by clauses. My noble friend Lord Howe desires to speak on Clauses 6 and 21, and I wish to say a word or two on the Amendments that I shall propose. Those are the only points with which I intend to trouble your Lordships.

§ LORD PONSONBY OF SHULBREDE
My Lords, I agree with what the noble Viscount has said. It looks a rather formidable volume of Amendments. Indeed this Bill in the course of its passage through the two Houses has had 2,546 Amendments put down to it. It looks, however, more formidable than it is. The noble Viscount suggests that these Amendments, when they are drafting and consequential, or mere matters of machinery, should be put en bloc, and if noble Lords would trust me to put those in such a way as not to interfere with any point which may need discussion or consideration, I shall be very glad to do so. My noble friend who is helping me will do the intellectual work, and I will do the mechanical.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
My Lords, we want, of course, to co-operate with the Government in the passage of business. I am quite certain that your Lordships will have no objection to drafting and consequential Amendments being put en bloc. That is very often done in this House, and at the same time when we come to machinery Amendments we must, of course, trust the Government. We have, of course, absolute confidence that they will treat your Lordships quite fairly. It would, however, be very easy to go too far in putting Amendments en bloc, because although my noble friends on this Bench might be satisfied, there might be noble Lords in other parts of the House who might wish to raise questions. That would not be the case upon drafting or consequential Amend- 825 meats, but on machinery Amendments, unless it is a very obvious matter, I do not think we ought to go too far in that respect. I am, of course, not speaking in the interests of the Front Bench, but of other members, and we must be careful not to set too many precedents.

THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (EARL RUSSELL)
Your Lordships will realise how very difficult this matter is with this mass of Amendments, but we will both watch and see as far as possible that they are put in the proper way.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
We will, of course, trust the noble Earl in the matter.