Lords Sitting of 27 January 1931

Preamble
The House met at a quarter past four of the clock, The EARL of DONOUGHMORE on the Woolsack
EDUCATION (SCHOOL ATTENDANCE) BILL.
Brought from the Commons; read 1a, and to be printed.

PRIVATE BILLS.
THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE): My Lords, I beg to move, that Standing Order No. 86A be dispensed with in respect of all Bills to be read a first time this day.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.

ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, STALY BRIDGE, AND DUKINFIELD (DISTRICT) WATERWORKS BILL. [H.L.]
BACUP CORPORATION BILL. [H.L.]
BRIGHTON CORPORATION BILL. [H.L.]
CORBY (NORTHANTS) AND DISTRICT WATER BILL. [H.L.]
COVENTRY EXTENSION BILL. [H.L.]
DAGENHAM URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL BILL. [H.L.]
DONCASTER CORPORATION BILL. [H.L.]
EPSOM URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL BILL. [H.L]
HACKNEY BOROUGH COUNCIL BILL. [H.L.]
LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY BILL. [H.L.]
LONDON SQUARES PRESERVATION BILL. [H.L.]
MIDDLESEX COUNTY COUNCIL BILL. [H.L.]
NORTHAMPTON EXTENSION BILL. [H.L.]
OLDHAM EXTENSION BILL. [H.L.]
PRESTON CORPORATION BILL. [H.L.]
ROMFORD URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL BILL. [H.L.]
ROTHERHAM RURAL DISTRICT COUNCIL BILL. [H.L.]
SCARBOROUGH CORPORATION BILL. [H.L.]
STOKE-ON-TRENT EXTENSION BILL. [H.L.]
TROWBRIDGE, MELKSHAM, AND DISTRICT WATER BOARD BILL. [H.L.]
Presented and read 1a.

AMALGAMATED SOCIETIES FOR THE BLIND BILL. [H.L.]
FELIXSTOWE AND DISTRICT WATER BILL. [H.L.]
GAS LIGHT AND COKE COMPANY BILL. [H.L.]
GRAND UNION CANAL BILL. [H.L.]
LONDON ASSURANCE BILL. [H.L.]
LOWER AVON NAVIGATION BILL. [H.L.]
LOWESTOFT WATER AND GAS BILL. [H.L.]
NEATH CANAL NAVIGATION BILL. [H.L.]
ROYSTON AND BRODSWORTH GAS BILL. [H.L.]
YORKSHIRE (WOOLLEN DISTRICT) TRANSPORT BILL. [H.L.]
Presented, read 1a and referred to the Examiners.

THE LATE PRINCESS ROYAL.
THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (LORD PARMOOR)THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (LORD PARMOOR) rose to move—
That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty:
To express the deep concern of this House at the great loss which His Majesty has sustained by the death of Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, and to condole with His Majesty on this melancholy occasion:
To assure His Majesty that this House will ever feel the warmest interest in whatever concerns His Majesty's domestic relations; and to
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declare the ardent wishes of this House for the happiness of His Majesty and of His Family.
The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, I rise to move the Resolution which stands in my name upon the Paper. I regard this as the first effective day of the meeting of our House since the adjournment. It was fully understood that no business of any kind would be taken on the 20th. I propose this Address of Condolence to His Majesty the King on the occasion of the death of his eldest sister, Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, and I am sure that it will receive the unanimous assent of all members of the House. I do not think it is necessary to read the actual terms of the Resolution, because they are upon the Paper and everyone present in the House will have a printed copy already before him. Not many words are needed in order to bring both the Resolution of Condolence and the message of sympathy to His Majesty the King before the House. Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal did not take any prominent part in public life. Her place was mainly in the family and the home, but those are touchstones which, not inaccurately, test the influence of the higher ethics on the wider sphere of our national life. It was from the centre of her home and family that Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal made the far-reaching appeal to many quiet and humble homes in all parts of the country.
Her early years were mainly spent at Sandringham, but those of us who carry our memories hack to what has been called the Victorian era will not forget her constant companionship with her mother, then Princess of Wales, in our London life at the end of the nineteenth century. After her marriage—a marriage of true affection—she spent much time in the homely atmosphere of her Scottish home. About eighteen years ago occurred the tragic wreck off the coast of Morocco, followed shortly by the death of her husband. Since then, Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal has lived a life of quiet retirement. To His Majesty we desire to express our unanimous and sympathetic condolence in the terms of the Resolution to which I have already referred. Human sorrows ever evolve a sense of human sympathy. It is hardly

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necessary to add that this House will ever feel the warmest interest in whatever concerns His Majesty's domestic relations, or to declare in any formal manner our ardent wishes for the happiness of His Majesty and of his Family. I beg to move the Resolution in the terms upon the paper.
Moved, That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty:
To express the deep concern of this, House at the great loss which His Majesty has sustained by the death of Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, and to condole with His Majesty on this melancholy occasion:
To assure His Majesty that this House will aver feel the warmest interest in whatever concerns His Majesty's domestic relations; and to declare the ardent wishes of this House for the happiness of His Majesty and of His Family.—(Lord Parmoor.)
VISCOUNT HAILSHAM: My Lords, I am sure that every member of your Lordships' House will welcome the opportunity of associating himself with the Address of Condolence and Sympathy which has been brought before your Lordships by the noble and learned Lord the Leader of the House. As the noble and learned Lord has said, Her Royal Highness the late Princess Royal had not for some years taken any active part in public affairs. She had elected rather to devote herself to the intimacies and the duties of her own domestic circle. But that very fact must surely make the sense of loss all the keener in the hearts of those who were privileged to form part of that circle. One of the strands—and that not the weakest strand—in that strong bond of dutiful affection which knits the people of this land to the Throne and to the person of His Majesty, consists, I think, of the knowledge that their Majesties do permit their people to share in their private joys and griefs. Each one of us appreciates profoundly the assurance that His Majesty will welcome the sympathy of His people even in an intimate and private sorrow such as this. I speak for every member of the Party to which I belong when I say that we desire to support wholeheartedly the Resolution which has been moved in such eloquent terms by the noble and learned Lord the Leader of the House.
EARL BEAUCHAMP: My Lords, I beg permission to be allowed to associate my noble friends and myself with the tribute which has been paid by the noble and learned Lord the Leader of the House and also by the noble and learned Viscount, Lord Hailsham. In speaking of the character—so sympathetic, so straightforward—of Her late Royal Highness, few words are really necessary from me to-day. It was a very great misfortune that for so many years ill health prevented Her Royal Highness from taking a leading part in the life of this country and so prevented the people of this country from being acquainted with her character. She was—if I may be allowed to speak from personal recollection of a time when I had the honour of being in the Household of His late Majesty King Edward—invariably kind and considerate to all those who came into contact with her. The ill health from which she suffered so long was, as it were, a kind of veil which prevented intimate acquaintance on the part of the people of this country with her character. No one who came into contact with her Royal Highness, as I had the privilege of doing, could fail to recognise how lovable and how loving was her character. The ill health which prevented her from taking part in the public life of this country must all the more have thrown her back upon family life. It cannot but feel that that very fact must have intensified the loss to His Majesty the King and the Royal Family. For these reasons I feel that the loss is all the more serious to His Majesty; the characteristics of Her Royal Highness must have made her very dear to him. Therefore I would lay emphasis upon that part of the Resolution which expresses sympathy with His Majesty in the loss he has sustained.
THE LORD SPEAKER: My Lords, I am sure it would be your Lordships' desire that it be recorded in the usual way that the Resolution was acceded to unanimously.
On Question, Motion agreed to nemine dissentiente.
Address to be presented to His Majesty by the Lords with White Staves.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
LORD PARMOOR: My Lords, before we proceed with the other matters on

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the Order Paper I think it would be convenient if I made a statement. There was originally upon the Paper the Committee stage of the Improvement of Live Stock (Licensing of Bulls) Bill. Unfortunately, we only heard late yesterday that Earl De La Warr was an influenza patient and could not be here for some days, much to our regret. Therefore, that Bill, of course, cannot be taken this afternoon. There was also on the Paper the British Museum and National Galleries (Overseas Loans) Bill. I do not know how it was—I suppose it was my fault—that that came to be upon the Paper, but after consulting those people who are chiefly interested and whose interest I knew, I found that the day for which they desired that Bill to be put down was to-morrow, Wednesday. Therefore, I would ask your Lordships' permission to put the Bill on the Paper for to-morrow.
LORD STRACHIE: My Lords, I think I have some reason to complain of the statement which has just been made by the noble and learned Lord, the Lord President of the Council, in which he says that the Improvement of Live Stock (Licensing of Bulls) Bill will not be taken to-day but put off till another day. The day mentioned in the Notice circulated to your Lordships was February 10, and I understand it is now going to be put off till the 11th. I do not complain of that alteration, but I do complain very much indeed of the way in which it has been put off. I understand that the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry Agriculture intimated either on Saturday or Sunday to the Ministry of Agriculture—and I suppose to his Whips—that it would be impossible for him to be here to-day. One would have thought that it would have been, I do not say a matter of courtesy, but a matter of consideration, that the noble Earl would have communicated not only with my noble friend the Earl of Lucan but also with my noble friend Lord Stanmore. Apparently he communicated with nobody except the noble Earl, Lord Lucan, and I understand he was only communicated with late on Monday. I only heard of it purely by accident at five o'clock and afterwards—at six o'clock—the noble Earl, Lord Lucan, was kind enough to come and see me and tell me that the Bill had been put off till another day.
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It has caused great inconvenience not only to myself, but also, I know, to some noble Lords who were coming here to support my Amendments. I do not want to make this a question of discourtesy, but I do think that there was want of consideration on the part of the Government, and especially of the noble Earl, in not taking the trouble to telegraph to myself and to other noble Lords. I understand that this is not the first time that your Lordships have been treated in this way in matters of this kind in being given very scant notice, and I feel that I must protest on behalf of other people as well as myself at the want of consideration with which we have been treated by the Government and especially by the noble Earl.
VISCOUNT BRIDGEMAN: My Lords, I should like to associate myself with the sense of grievance which the noble Lord who has just spoken has expressed. It is especially hard on people who live in the country—and after all those interested in the licensing of bulls are more likely to live in the country than in town—that they should be brought up to town in order to listen to a debate on this Bill and should find when they get here that it is put off indefinitely. If, as the noble Lord said, there was reason to suppose that the noble Earl who was going to conduct the Bill in Committee was unwell on Saturday last, I think that something might have been done to give your Lordships Notice of the difficulty yesterday. Otherwise it was impossible for country people to know what was happening.
LORD LOVAT: My Lords, as a Peer who lives at very considerable distance from this House I wish to associate myself with both the noble Lords who have spoken from these Benches and with my noble friend Lord Strachie. I think that both the Front Benches are equally blameable in this particular respect. I live at a distance of some 500 miles from Westminster and I came down specially to attend this sitting and to vote, if necessary, on the Bill. I know that a considerable number of stockbreeders also came down to hear the proceedings: I came down in the same train with two or three of them. I think that those of us who live in the country and are able to attend this House deserve some consideration. I have often complained to our own Front Bench in the

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past as a Back Bencher and I must repeat my complaint at the present time. I think we ought to have been given longer notice or else that this very simple Bill should have been taken upon the date arranged for it. It is the kind of Bill that anybody could conduct in this House and it is a great pity that we are not to go on with it to-day.
LORD PARMOOR: My Lords, I am very sorry about this matter, but I think there is some misapprehension. I do not know where the noble Lord, Lord, Strachie, obtained his information, but the first that I knew of my noble friend's illness was about three o'clock yesterday afternoon, and my noble friend Lord Marley immediately communicated by telephone with Lord Lucan. He could not do so before, but he did his best to prevent any inconvenience. I think this should be clearly understood. I regret as much as anyone that there should be any inconvenience but it was a case of sudden illness. We only heard of it at three o'clock yesterday afternoon, and we at once communicated with the Opposition Whip. What more could we have done? I apologise to the two noble Lords opposite and to Lord Strachie for having caused them inconvenience, but I do not think we could have done more. I am told that Lord Lucan agreed to communicate with Lord Strachie as well as with the members of his Party. I do not know whether Lord Strachie received a communication.

MARRIAGES PROVISIONAL ORDERS (No. 2) BILL.
Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
THE UNDER-SECRETARY or STATE FOR INDIA (EARL RUSSELL): My Lords, this is one of the Departmental Bills emanating from the Home Office with which your Lordships are familiar, for the purpose of confirming three Provisional Orders made by the Home Secretary. Apparently the path of those who desire to get married by a clergyman of the Church of England is full of the most unexpected pitfalls and those who should be expected to know their way about continue constantly to fall into them. As a result Bills of this character become necessary. The first Provisional Order relates to the Church of St. Mark. Londonderry, which I understand was formed for spiritual purposes only.
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According to my instructions those apparently do not include getting married. The officiating minister in his innocence applied to the Registrar-General for the marriage registers, and they were duly supplied under the misapprehension that he had been licensed to solemnise marriages. He had not in fact been so licensed, and he had unfortunately solemnised several marriages before that fact was discovered. The registers have now been returned, and the first Provisional Order is for the purpose of removing any doubt as to those marriages.
In the case of the second Provisional Order, the position seems to me to be still more curious, and one which might easily lead people astray. The Church of St. Mary, Shirehampton, was destroyed by fire. The Marriage Act, 1823, provides that in cases where a church is unusable for that reason, or on account of reconstruction or similar cause, marriages may be performed in any place within the limits of the parish that is licensed by the Bishop for divine service during the period when the church is out of use. In cases where he has not licensed a place within the parish for divine service, marriages may be solemnised in the churches of adjoining parishes. In this case, apparently, he had licensed the parish hall for divine service within this parish, but in ignorance of that fact the incumbents of certain neighbouring parishes solemnised several marriages which they were not in fact entitled to solemnise. I think your Lordships will agree that this justifies my statement that unexpected pitfalls lie all around in these matters.
In the case of the third Provisional Order, there was a mistake in fact as to whether a particular place was in the parish of All Saints, Falsgrave. In fact the place was not in the parish, but in another parish, and in order to remove any doubt it was thought desirable to make a Provisional Order. This Bill contains those three Provisional Orders and confirms them. As the matter is entirely non-contentions I should propose, if your Lordships agreed, to take the Committee stage next Thursday and the Third Pending on the following Tuesday. I beg to move.
On Question, Bill read 2a and committed.

PHARMACY AND POISONS BILL. [H.L.]
Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
EARL RUSSELL: My Lords, in this case I am glad to think that I shall escape the reproaches that have been made in connection with the other Bill because I did cause Notice to be circulated, I hope in time to reach your Lordships, to the effect that the Second Reading of this Bill would not be taken to-day. I understand that a good many people are interested in it, but I cannot at present tell the House when it will be taken. I am therefore proposing to let it remain on the Order Paper, and I will give as long notice as I can of the date on which it is proposed to take it.
Moved, That the Motion for the Second Reading be adjourned sine die.—(Earl Russell.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.

IMPROVEMENT OF LIVE STOCK (LICENSING OF BULLS) BILL. [H.L.]
Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.
LORD PARMOOR: My Lords, I do not want to get into trouble again about the future course of business, but I should like to take this opportunity, if I may, of saying a word about the Education Bill. We thought first of all of putting down the Bill for Second Reading for next Tuesday. I understand that the noble and learned Viscount, Lord Hailsham, and those who act for him would prefer it to be put down for Tuesday, February 10, in order to give a rather longer interval. I am very glad to concur with that request and to say that we will put the Bill down for Second Reading for February 10. In regard to the Bill now before your Lordships, I beg to move that its consideration in Committee be postponed until Wednesday, February 11. I hope that my noble friend Lord De La Warr will be better before that date.
Moved, That the Committee stage be postponed until Wednesday, February 11 next.—(Lord Parmoor.)
VISCOUNT HAILSHAM: My Lords, only desire to say that I am very much obliged to the noble and learned Lord
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who leads the House for meeting me in regard to the Education Bill. It is, as your Lordships know, a Bill of some complexity and importance, in which, I understand, alterations were made in another place at a comparatively late stage. Accordingly I and those who are associated with me felt that it would require a little consideration before the Second Reading was actually taken. I am obliged to the noble Lord for his courtesy in meeting me in the matter.
On Question, Motion agreed to, and Committee stage adjourned accordingly.

BRITISH MUSEUM AND NATIONAL GALLERY (OVERSEAS LOANS) BILL. [H.L.]
Order of the Day read for resuming the debate on the Amendment to the Motion for the Second Reading, namely, that the Bill be read a second time this day six months—moved by Lord Han-worth on December 16 last.
LORD PARMOOR: As I have already intimated, I propose for the convenience of all parties concerned that the debate be put off till to-morrow. I therefore move the Motion standing in my name.
Moved, That the adjourned debate on the Amendment to the Motion for the Second Reading be put off till tomorrow.—(Lord Parmoor.)
On Question. Motion agreed to, and debate adjourned accordingly.

HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICES.
THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE: My Lords, I beg to move that Lord Passfield be added to the Select Committee on the House of Lords Offices.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question. Motion agreed to.
The Loan CHANCELLOR The Loan CHANCELLOR acquainted the House, That the Clerk of the Parliaments had laid upon the Table the Certificate from the Examiners that the Standing Orders applicable to the following Bill have been complied with:
London County Council (General Powers).
The same was ordered to lie on the Table.
House adjourned at ten minutes before five o'clock.