§ Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
§ LORD AMMONMy Lords, the Bill is non-controversial and deals mainly with what are purely legal difficulties. It affects only what are known as British Settlements. As your Lordships are aware, the Colonies are more or less divided into four or five heads—that is, into those known as Settled Territory, Protectorates, Conquered Territory, Ceded Territory and Mandated Territory. In some instances it happens that over a course of years there is a combination of two or more types. It is in order that there should not be the inconvenience of having separate Constitutions for each of those various types that this alteration is made. It reduces the number and increases the area of jurisdiction. For instance, the Gold Coast and the Gold Coast Colony are separate types. The British Settlements Act, 1887, provides that there shall be three persons who will be nominated to act as representing His Majesty. This Bill proposes to do away with that provision because it may possibly happen that all three persons will not be resident in the same Settlement. The Bill provides that Section 3 of that Act shall have effect as if any reference therein to an instrument passed under the Great Seal included a reference to an Order in Council; and as if for the reference to three or more persons within the Settlement there were substituted a reference to any specified person or persons or authority. That is the main change which the Bill makes; it provides for convenience of handling and for arranging that there may be only one representative instead of several in the same Settlement.
§ Moved, That the Bill be now read 2a.—(Lord Ammon.)
§ On Question, Bill read 2a, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.