§ After these references the Lord President went on to answer the question put by Lord Snell—namely, whether he could make any statement on the subject of coal legislation.
§ VISCOUNT HALIFAX saidMy Lords, I must now turn to the more formal part of my duties which is to answer the noble Lord's question on the subject of coal legislation. My Lords, it was the desire and the intention of His Majesty's Government that the legislation necessary to give effect to their proposals for the unification of coal royalties under public control should be introduced and carried into law during the present Session of Parliament. Your Lordships may remember that on April 26, in announcing in another place the Government's acceptance of the findings of the Tribunal on the global purchase price of the royalties, the Prime Minister said that it was the intention to introduce the necessary legislation as soon as possible. It has, however, unfortunately become clear that the state of Parliamentary business will not permit of the passage of this measure, which will inevitably be lengthy and complicated, during the present Session.
An alternative form of procedure is, however, possible which will, I hope, obviate any serious delay. The unification of coal royalties must inevitably involve a great deal of preliminary work—in particular, the ascertainment of 316 existing proprietary interests in coal and associated rights. The Government have accordingly decided that this preliminary work shall be proceeded with at once by means of a Bill to provide for the collection and registration of particulars concerning the units of separate ownership of coal and associated rights, and of existing working leases. It will be obvious that this task is an essential part of any scheme for the unification of the property concerned; and that such progress as can be made towards its completion will, pro tanto, shorten the period required for collecting information and assessing individual claims for compensation under the main Bill. It is intended, therefore, that a Bill providing the machinery for this purpose shall be introduced in your Lordships' House almost at once, and I hope that it will be possible for it to become law before the Summer Recess. The main Bill embodying the coal policy of the Government will be introduced at the beginning of next Session, with a view to its passage into law before the end of the present year.
§ THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRYMy Lords, may I ask the noble Viscount whether there is any precedent for the introduction of a Bill of this character, and if he can give us any indication of what will be the provisions in the Bill?
§ VISCOUNT HALIFAXI am not quite sure that I correctly appreciate what my noble friend has in mind in asking if there is any precedent. There are plenty of precedents, of course, for the introduction of important measures into your Lordships' House, and this Bill will not be concerned with finance. In answer to the second part of his question asking what the Bill will be, it is not in my power at the present moment to define the purpose of the Bill more closely than I defined it in my answer. I hope that it will not be long before it will be possible to introduce the Bill for a First Reading, after which, of course, my noble friend will be able to see and study it at leisure.