§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR (VISCOUNT SANKEY)My Lords, I have to read to your Lordships' House a letter which I have received from Sir Edward Alderson, dated the 2nd of June:
§ "My dear Lord Chancellor,
§ "As your Lordship is aware, an age limit is attached to the appointment of the Clerk of the Parliaments, and as to-day I have reached the prescribed age it is with great regret my duty to inform you that the time has come for me to lay down my office. In accordance with precedent this announcement is communicated to the House.
§ "I have had the honour to serve at the Table for more than thirty-three years, and I would ask you to express, to their Lordships the very deep and heartfelt sense of gratitude I feel to them for the extreme kindness and consideration which has always been shown to me during my long term of office, the memory of which will remain with me till the end of my life.
§ "I have the honour to remain,
§ "My dear Lord Chancellor,
§ "Your obedient servant,
§ "EDWARD ALDERSON."
§ I beg to move that this letter be now considered.
§ Moved, That the letter from Sir Edward Alderson be now considered.—(The Lord' Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
781§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (VISCOUNT HAILSHAM)My Lords, I assume that your Lordships assent to the proposal from the Woolsack. I have, therefore, as Leader of your Lordships' House, to move the following Resolution:
That this House has received with sincere concern the news of the retirement of Sir Edward Hall Alderson, K.C.B., K.B.E., from the office of Clerk of the Parliaments, and they think it right to record the just sense which they entertain of the zeal, ability, diligence and integrity with which the said Sir Edward Hail Alderson, K.C.B., K.B.E., has executed the important duties of his office.The Motion which I have to bring forward is couched in language hallowed by long tradition, but I am sure that every one of your Lordships will feel that in the present case it is no idle formality and that the words used express in dignified language the real sentiments of every member of your Lordships' House.We are all proud of the flexibility of our procedure and of the fact that the House itself is the only authority which controls and regulates our debates, but it is essential to the maintenance of that usage that we should be able to rely on the advice and experience of the Clerk of the Parliaments and of his Assistants to furnish to any member of this House the knowledge of its rules and precedents which they alone possess. Sir Edward Alderson has devoted his whole life to the services of this House. As he has reminded us in the letter which has just been read by the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack, for thirty-four years he has been at the Table, and there were times during the War when he was alone there, to carry out the responsible duties which appertain to that position. My own experience only goes back for some six years, but during that time I have had to discharge responsibilities as Lord Chancellor, as Leader of the Opposition, and as Leader of the House which rendered me peculiarly dependent on the help and information of our officials. We are all glad to know from the letter which Sir Edward Alderson has addressed to the Lord Chancellor that he leaves this House with such happy recollections of the time he has spent here.
782 I am sure that I only express the experience of every one of your Lordships when I say that Sir Edward has always been ready to place the whole of his knowledge and ability at the disposal of every one of your Lordships. He has never spared himself any pains to ensure that every information in the Minutes or records of the House should be made available for our assistance and guidance. He has shown unfailing courtesy and patience in dealing with the problems which he was asked to solve. He carries with him into his retirement our sincere appreciation and gratitude for what he has done and our best wishes for many happy years of well earned leisure.
§ Moved, That this House has received with sincere concern the news of the retirement of Sir Edward Hall Alderson, K.C.B., K.B.E., from the office of Clerk of the Parliaments, and they think it right to record the just sense which they entertain of the zeal, ability, diligence and interest with which the said Sir Edward Hall Alderson, K.C.B., K.B.E., has executed the important duties of his office.—(Viscount Hailsham.)
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, I am sure I am expressing a regret that every one of your Lordships feels at the retirement of Sir Edward Alderson. For many years he has been one of the most familiar figures in this building. He became secretary to my predecessor, Lord Halsbury, nearly forty years ago. From 1900 to 1917 he was the Reading Clerk in this House, and from 1917 to 1930 he was Clerk Assistant of the Parliaments. Since 1930 he has been Clerk of the Parliaments. There must be very few of your Lordships who have not at one time or another been indebted to his great knowledge of the procedure of this House, his unvarying kindness, and his old-world charm and courtesy. We have often been grateful to him for the smooth and satisfactory manner in which the machinery of the House has worked. Both on personal and on public ground we are sorry that we should no longer have the benefit of his help. I should like, if I may be allowed to do so on this occasion, to place on record the great debt which I myself owe to him personally. I came to this House without any political experience, and after many years spent on the Judicial Bench. It is largely owing to Sir Edward Alderson that I have 783 been able to avoid many of the mistakes both in and out of the House which an unknown and an untried man must inevitably have committed in finding himself suddenly placed upon the Woolsack. I shall be voicing your Lordships' feelings in wishing him many years of happiness and of life.
§ LORD PONSONBY OF SHULBREDEMy Lords, on behalf of the Opposition I desire to associate myself with the expressions of opinion which have been so aptly voiced by the noble Viscount the Leader of the House and the Lord Chancellor. I always feel that there is something a little ironic in the way members of both Houses of Parliament express their approval of the retirement of civil servants 'and Parliamentary officials at an age which the members themselves, many of them, far exceed. My experiences in your Lordships' House are short, but I have sat on the Government Bench and on the Opposition Bench, and I would like to express my sincere appreciation of the very kind help and guidance and unfailing courtesy which I and my colleagues have received from Sir Edward Alderson. The intricacies and, if I may be allowed to say so, the elasticities of procedure in this House are somewhat difficult to master. I have made it a practice to watch Sir Edward Alderson's face, and when I have seen his eyebrows reach a certain height I have felt it incumbent on me to intervene, as I did not very long ago when a noble Lord was making a very eloquent speech without having any Motion whatever before the House.
In losing Sir Edward Alderson we are losing a friend and a devoted servant of this House, who, like the admirable staff that he has had under his authority, has always been ready to place his services at the disposal of any Peer, irrespective of Party. In communicating the Royal Assent to the passage of Bills through Parliament I have always felt there was an impressive finality about Sir Edward Alderson's declaration that Le Roi le veult, however often he has had to repeat it. Indeed, in his tone, there seemed to me to be a solemn satisfaction mingled with a certain note of warning, if not defiance, to possible law breakers. In expressing our sorrow at Sir Edward Alderson's retirement—and I hope that he will enjoy that retirement for many years to come—we are only endorsing what I believe to be the general opinion 784 of those of your Lordships who are frequently attending our debates
§ THE MARQUESS OF READINGMy Lords, after the eloquent tributes which have been paid to Sir Edward Alderson, I desire merely to state on behalf of those who are associated with me that we join most cordially in the expressions which have been used by the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition and by the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack, which I am quite sure express what all your Lordships feel. On behalf of the Party with which I am associated, I desire to express my thanks to Sir Edward Alderson for the unfailing courtesy that he has always shown, for his admirable patience, and for the assistance he has given us in many ways and on many occasions. He is retiring at an age to which reference was made by my noble friend the Leader of the Opposition, who, with the arrogance of youth, referred to some of us who are a little older. I only wish to say with regard to Sir Edward Alderson's association with this House, that I can recall him many years before I was a member of this House, in the days when he occupied a position under a great and distinguished Lord Chancellor, the late Lord Halsbury. At that time I was comparatively a young junior at the Bar with no thought of entering the hierarchy of the law. I have always found Sir Edward Alderson ready at any moment to give all the assistance in his power to those who sought his advice. I support most cordially all that has been said, and I hope that he will have happiness in his retirement and a long enjoyment of it.
THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF ONSLOW)My Lords, I do not wish to take up your time, but I feel I cannot allow this occasion to pass without adding a word or two to the tributes which have been so eloquently expressed by the four noble Lords who have preceded me. As the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack said, Sir Edward Alderson has devoted the whole of his public life to the service of your Lordships' House. I have been a member of your Lordships' House now for nearly twenty-four years. When, as private member on the Bench behind me or on the opposite Bench, I had to apply to Sir Edward Alderson, I have always 785 been met with the greatest kindness and courtesy.
It is not, however, so much in that capacity that I wish to record my gratitude. When your Lordships elected me some three years ago to the position which I now hold I found that I had a great deal to learn. I went to Sir Edward Alderson and I did not go in vain. As your Lordships know, the duties which I have to perform are somewhat complicated and often of a difficult character. They deal largely with that elastic procedure to which my moble friend opposite referred and on which Sir Edward Alderson is so great an authority. I would like to say how grateful I am to Sir Edward for all the help given me during the years I have held this office. The Clerk of the Parliaments and the Chairman of Committees have a great deal to do with each other outside the Chamber, in the office. I would like to say again how grateful I am to Sir Edward for the help given me in my official duties outside the Chamber. I am sure that this expression of gratitude will be shared by all noble Lords who have served upon Committees of the House and have had occasion to consult Sir Edward in regard to procedure or on any other point.
There is only one other thing I want to say. I would like to associate myself with the sentiment of good wishes for Sir Edward in his retirement so eloquently expressed by the noble Lords who have addressed your Lordships before me. Sir Edward Alderson will carry with him the good wishes of every member of your Lordships' House, whether here to-day or absent. My noble friend opposite referred to the fact that Sir Edward is retiring at a comparatively early age, as compared with some of those who remain in active life in this House and in another place. I hope therefore that he may have many years of leisure before him and I am sure that all members of your Lordships' House will be pleased to see him if he returns to the scene of his former labours.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to, nemine dissentimnte.
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I desire to move that the Lord Chancellor do communicate the said Resolution to Sir Edward Hall Alderson, K.C.B., K.B.E.
§ Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to, and ordered accordingly.
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I beg to move that an humble Address be presented to His Majesty laying before His Majesty a copy of the letter of the said Sir Edward Hall Alderson, K.C.B., K.B.E., and likewise of the Resolution of this House, and recommending the said Sir Edward Hall Alderson to His Majesty's Royal Grace and Bounty.
§ Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to nemine dissentiente,
§ Ordered, That the said Address be presented to His Majesty by the Lords with White Staves.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, I have to acquaint the House that His Majesty has been pleased to appoint, by His Letters Patent dated the second day of June, Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, Esquire, C.B.E., to the office of Clerk of the Parliaments, vacant by the retirement of Sir Edward Hall Alderson, K.C.B., K.B.E., the late Clerk of the Parliaments.
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, as Leader of this House I should like to offer to Mr. Badeley our congratulations on his appointment to this high office. I have already said something of its importance to the satisfactory conduct of our business. Mr. Badeley has been Clerk Assistant throughout the term of office of Sir Edward Alderson. Before that he was for a great many years in charge of our judicial business, and I knew him in that capacity long before I ever expected to find myself a member of your Lordships' House. I speak from personal experience when I say that he has shown in the discharge of his various duties an ability, a zeal, and a courtesy which clearly marked him out for promotion and which afford convincing guarantees that he will be a worthy successor to the long line of distinguished public servants who have preceded him in his new office. I know how ready he is to help and how efficient his help is likely to prove, and I am certain I speak for the whole House when I assure him of our confidence, and tender him our congratulations and best wishes.
§ LORD PONSONBY oF SHULBREDEMy Lords, on behalf of the Opposition I want to express our pleasure at the appointment of Mr. Badeley to the high 787 office of Clerk of the Parliaments. I was somewhat apprehensive lest so high an office might be given to what I may call, without any an offence at all, an outsider, because I felt that anybody strange to the ways of this House would take some time to get accustomed to our procedure and our debates. Mr. Badeley knows this House thoroughly. We know Mr. Badeley and he knows us, and there is no doubt whatever that he will be able to thread his way with complete composure through the tangles which we sometimes make. Mr. Badeley is known to us all as a man of great distinction, of good judgment and of high abilities. We are glad that this high post should have been offered to him.
§ THE MARQUESS OF READINGMy Lords, those noble Lords associated with me desire also to join in what has been said by the noble Viscount the Leader of the House. I am glad to do that and I hope that Mr. Badeley's tenure of the office will be a long and successful one.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, I should like to be permitted, on behalf of my colleagues the Law Lords, to congratulate Mr. Badeley on his promotion and to hope that he will have many years of service in front of him in this House. Mr. Badeley has been of the greatest assistance to all the Law Lords for many years. He knows the practice and procedure thoroughly. He is a man, if he will allow me to say so, who has often been tried in the balance and has never been found wanting. We all give him a. very hearty welcome to your Lordships' House as Clerk of the Parliaments.
THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, I do not wish to occupy the tune of your Lordships for more than a moment. I would only re-echo the words of welcome which have been so eloquently expressed by those noble Lords who have preceded me. Like all of your Lordships, I have been acquainted with Mr. Badeley for as long as I have been a member of this House, and I have much to be grateful to him for, especially for the assistance which he, along with his late colleague Sir Edward Alderson, has given me in carrying out the duties of Chairman of Committees of your Lordships' House. I would like to re-echo the welcome which has been accorded to Mr. Badeley and to express, if I may humbly do so, the very great satisfaction which I person 788 ally feel, and which is felt I am sure by all noble Lords who are associated with me in Committee work, at his having been appointed to the high office which he will take over to-day.
Patent read; and the said Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, Esquire, C.B.E., then made the necessary declaration (which declaration is set down in the Roll amongst the oaths of the great officers), and took his seat at the Table.