Lords Sitting of 24 October 1940

Preamble
The House met, The LORD CHANCELLOR on the Woolsack.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
LORD SNELL: My Lords, I beg to move the Motion that stands on the Order Paper in my name.
Moved, That Standing Order No. XXXIX be considered in order to its being suspended for this day's sitting.—(Lord Snell.)
On Question, Motion agreed to, and ordered accordingly.

CONSOLIDATED FUND (No. 3) BILL.
Brought from the Commons, endorsed with the Certificate from the Speaker that the Bill is a Money Bill within the meaning of the Parliament Act, 1911, and read 1ª.
Then, Standing Order No. XXXIX having been suspended, Bill read 2ª: Committee negatived: Bill read 3ª, and passed.
House adjourned during pleasure.
House resumed.

ROYAL COMMISSION.
The following Bill received the Royal Assent:
Consolidated Fund (No. 3).
House adjourned during pleasure.
House resumed.

Frederick Cyril Nugent, Lord Bishop of Lincoln—Was (in the usual manner) introduced.

SUNDAY ENTERTAINMENTS ACT, 1932: COUNTY BOROUGH OF BIRKENHEAD ORDER.
LORD TEMPLEMORE: My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend the Duke of
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Devonshire I beg to move the Motion which stands in his name.
Moved, That the Order made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department under the Sunday Entertainments Act, 1932, and laid before the House on the 8th instant, be approved.—(Lord Templemore.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.

CLYDE LIGHTHOUSE CONSOLIDA- TION ORDER CONFIRMATION BILL.
Considered on Report (according to Order).
Then, Standing Order No. XXXIX having been suspended, Bill read 3ª, and passed.

FIFE COUNTY COUNCIL ORDER CONFIRMATION BILL.
Considered on Report (according to Order).
Then Standing Order No. XXXIX having been suspended, Bill read 3ª, and passed.

SECURITIES (VALIDATION) BILL. [H.L.]
Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
THE LORD CHANCELLOR (VISCOUNT SIMON): My Lords, this is a small Bill introduced to remove a doubt which has arisen about Regulation 6 of the Defence (Finance) Regulations, 1939, which were made on September 3 of that year. It was a Regulation requiring Treasury consent to the issue of securities in the United Kingdom. Ordinary mortgages were not mentioned, and it was not originally intended to cover ordinary mortgages at all. Later it was decided to bring mortgages under control and the Regulations were amended in November, 1939, for that purpose. It was provided that as from the 23rd day of November, 1939, references to securities should be treated as including mortgages. Certain ingenious people have, however, doubted whether mortgages have not all along been covered by the earlier Regulations, and as it is highly desirable to remove all doubt on the subject, as otherwise parties to mortgages between these two dates will not be certain where they stand, this Bill

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is introduced. It is not possible by Defence Regulation to clear the matter up because Defence Rgulations do not have retrospective effect. Consequently this Bill is needed, and it is so drawn as to make it quite clear that ordinary mortgages are not covered by that Regulation if they were entered into before November 23 last year.
Subsection (2) of Clause 1 of the Bill, the only operative clause, clears up another point which has been regarded as in doubt and declares that
"No security issued before the twenty-third day of November, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, shall be invalid by reason that the consent of the Treasury"
was not given to it. Up to that date the restriction imposed by the Regulation is enforced by the liability to a penalty. As from November 23, this position is already established and made clear by the language of the Regulations. In brief, therefore, the Regulation was amended in the respects I have mentioned from November 23 onwards, but it is necessary to legislate to secure that the proper
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application of the original Regulation before that date should be clear and beyond dispute. I beg to move that the Bill be read a second time.
Moved, That the Bill be now read 2ª—(The Lord Chancellor.)
On Question, Bill read 2ª: Committee negatived.
Then, Standing Order No. XXXIX having been suspended, Bill read 3ª, and passed, and sent to the Commons.

SECRET SESSION.
LORD SNELL: My Lords, I beg to move that the further sitting of the House this day be secret.
Moved, That the further sitting of the House this day be secret.—(Lord Snell.)
On Question, Motion agreed to and ordered accordingly.
The Official Reporter then withdrew.
House in Secret Session.
House adjourned.