Lords Sitting of 2 April 1947

Preamble
The House met at a quarter before four of the clock, The Lord Chancellor on the Woolsack.
Prayers.
  LORD DUKESTON.
  Charles Dukes, Esquire, C.B.E., having been created Baron Dukeston, of Warrington, in the County Palatine of Lancaster —Was (in the usual manner) introduced.

CHAIRMANSHIP OF BRITISH OVERSEAS AIRWAYS CORPORATION.
3.57 p.m.
Lord HATHERTON: My Lords, I beg to ask His Majesty's Government a question of which I have given private notice: Whether they have any statement to make as to the chairmanship of British Overseas Airways Corporation?
The MINISTER Of CIVIL AVIATION (Lord Nathan): My Lords, as already announced in the Press, the noble Viscount, Lord Knollys, intimated informally some months ago his inability to continue as Chairman of British Overseas Airways Corporation beyond June 30 next, the expiry date of his term of four years for which he was released from his city business. I have regretfully accepted his decision. In view of suggestions that have gained a certain currency in the Press and elsewhere, I desire, with the concurrence of Lord Knollys, to make it clear that the reason for his ceasing to be Chairman is neither more nor less than that I have stated; and I may add that the relations of Lord Knollys with myself, both personally and officially, have throughout been, and are, of the best. I wish to take this opportunity of testifying to the devoted service given by Lord Knollys to British Overseas Airways Corporation and to civil aviation in general during his period of office, which has coincided with the critical phase of transition from war to peace.
Following upon the vacancy thus created in the chairmanship of British
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Overseas Airways Corporation, I have made the following appointments:—
To be Chairman of British Overseas Airways Corporation: Sir Harold Hartley, K.C.V.O., F.R.S., at present Chairman of British European Airways Corporation.
To be Chairman of British European Airways Corporation: Mr. Gerard d'Erlanger, at present Chief Executive of that Corporation.
The Board of British Overseas Airways Corporation have appointed Mr. Whitney Straight to be Managing Director (Chief Executive). They have also appointed Major J.R. McCrindle, at present Deputy Director-General of British Overseas Airways Corporation, to be Managing Director (External Affairs). The Board of British European Airways Corporation have appointed Mr. J. V. Wood, who has a long experience, both operational and administrative, in civil aviation and is at present with British Overseas Airways Corporation, to be Managing Director of British European Airways Corporation. The above appointments will take effect on July 1 next; when it is my intention to appoint Mr. Whitney Straight to be a Director of British Overseas Airways Corporation and Mr. Wood to be a Director of British European Airways Corporation. The appointment of Mr. Whitney Straight to British Overseas Airways Corporation will create a vacancy in the Deputy Chairmanship of British European Airways Corporation, and I hope shortly to be able to announce an appointment to that position.

VISITS TO AUSTRIA.
4.2 p.m.
Lord DENHAM: I beg to ask the following question of which I have given private notice: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have yet been able to provide facilities for Members of Parliament and other persons of like standing to visit the British Zone of Austria, as well as the British Zone of Germany.
Lord AMMON: My Lords, I am glad to be able to announce that facilities are now available for Members of both Houses and other persons of like standing to visit Austria for legitimate public purposes. The facilities include travel to and from Austria, the reservation of accommodation in Vienna and Klagenfurt, and the provision of motor transport in Austria,

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although the great shortage of vehicles is a limiting factor. Visitors will be expected to pay their travel costs, together with standard charges for their accommodation and transport in Austria. The conditions under which these facilities will be provided, and the arrangements, are generally similar to those which I announced on December 18 for travel to Germany. Applications should be addressed to the Central Secretariat, Control Office for Germany and Austria, Norfolk House, St. James's Square, S.W.I.
LORD DENHAM: Whilst thanking my noble friend for that reply, may I ask whether he could give the House any indication of the fares?
Lord DENHAM: Whilst thanking my noble friend for that reply, may I ask whether he could give the House any indication of the fares?
Lord AMMON: I think I can help the noble Lord in that respect. The fare from London to Vienna, return, costs by Orient Express £46 12s.; and by Arlberg, £36 l0s. London to Klagenfurt, return, costs by Orient Express via Vienna, £50 19s.; or by Arlberg Express direct, £33 17s. 6d. The above are first-class fares, with travel by the Golden Arrow between London and Paris, and sleepers. London to Vienna, return, by air costs £41 8s.

TRAFALGAR ESTATES BILL.
Brought from the Commons; read 1a, and referred to the Examiners.

MOLD GAS ORDER.
Lord CHORLEY: My Lords, I beg to move that this Order be approved.
Moved, That the Special Order, as reported from the Special Orders Committee yesterday, be approved.—(Lord Chorley.)
On Question, Motion agreed to

WINTER SUPPLIES IN SCOTLAND.
Lord FAIRFAX OF CAMERON: My Lords, I beg to ask the question standing in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Tweedsmuir.
[The question was as follows:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in view of the repeated warnings given them by those qualified to know the local conditions and in view
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of the example of the past devastating winter, they will produce or, better still, delegate powers to those conversant with the native difficulties, to produce a workable scheme for the storage of necessitous supplies for the winter which will mitigate the totally unnecessary hardships caused to the inhabitants of the glens and far outlying districts of Scotland.]
Lord HENDERSON: My Lords, such arrangements already exist. Since 1943, people living in outlying districts, whether in Scotland or any other part of the United Kingdom, have been allowed to lay in stocks of rationed foods, in advance, at the discretion of local officers of the Ministry of Food. Divisional food officers have full discretion to give assistance to isolated areas, and any case of hardship caused by lack of stocks can have arisen only through failure to apply. So far as coal supplies are concerned, arrangements exist whereby premises which are inaccessible during the winter, or which involve a long haul, are permitted by licence from the local fuel overseer to stock their full year's supplies during the summer. Coal merchants arc, moreover, required to stock a proportion of their summer receipts to meet winter requirements. These arrangements, which have proved generally satisfactory, should be adequate to prevent any undue hardship to the inhabitants of outlying districts of Scotland.
As regards rationed feeding-stuffs, provision is made for an advance to hill sheep farmers, on application, for feeding mountain ewes. Other livestock are normally fed on unrationed feeding-stuffs which are not controlled. Adequate stocking of non-controlled necessaries is a matter for wholesale and retail traders, who are accustomed to making special provision to maintain supplies against winter weather. The storms and floods of this past season, have, of course, been phenomenal, and transport difficulties might have overwhelmed even an abundant supply position.

LINSEED AND WHEAT IMPORTS.
Earl DE LA WARR: My Lords, I beg to ask the question standing in my name.
[The question was as follows:
To ask His Majesty's Government what quantities of (i) linseed and (ii) wheat have been imported during the

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last three months; from what countries they have come, and what was the cost delivered to main ports of each purchase?]
Lord HENDERSON: My Lords, during the three months to the end of February, 1947, 6,426 tons of linseed were imported from India at an average landed price of £53 per ton; 726,523 tons of wheat from Canada at an average landed cost of £20 per ton, under the terms of the wheat agreement already announced to Parliament; and 97,261 tons of wheat from the United States, for which a comparable figure is not available, as some of the cargoes were received in replacement of wheat loaned by the United Kingdom to needy countries and the price of the replacement wheat has not yet been agreed with the United States of America Government.
Earl DE LA WARR: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that reply. I have no doubt that if I put down a question a little later the noble Lord will be able to give us the price of the American wheat when it has been ascertained.

TIED COTTAGES.
4.8 p.m.
Lord TEVIOT: My Lords, I beg to ask the question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
[The question was as follows:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of tied cottages held by the Forestry Commissioners for the accommodation of foresters and agricultural workers, and by the Coal Board for the accommodation of workers in the coal industry?]
The JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY Of AGRICULTURE And FISHERIES (The Earl Of Huntingdon): My Lords, all dwelling houses held by the Forestry Commissioners are let on tenancies ranging from one week to a year, with the exception of 364 cottages which are let rent free to foresters and foremen as part of their emoluments. As regards the second part of the question, I regret that no statistics are yet available as to the number of cottages held by the National Coal Board for the accommodation of workers in the coal industry. In no case
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is it the practice of either the Forestry Commissioners or the National Coal Board to dispossess a tenant without a Court order.
Lord TEVIOT: I thank the noble Earl for his reply. I take it that it means that the Government are to take steps to see that these houses or cottages will be retained for the purposes for which they are now being used.
The Earl Of HUNTINGDON: Yes, I think the noble Lord can rest assured on that point.
Earl DE LA WARR: Could the noble Earl be a little clearer on that? It does not mean to say that the Government are going in for a policy of tied cottages, does it? Could the noble Earl give us an answer?
The Earl Of HUNTINGDON: I think I have given a fairly full answer. I should like to call the attention of the noble Earl to the fact that the expression "tied cottage" is a colloquial term which has various definitions. What I understood the noble Lord, Lord Teviot, to ask was whether the dwellings in possession of the Coal Board and the Forestry Commissioners would continue to be used for miners and foresters. Obviously they will.

SUNDAY ENTERTAINMENTS ACT, 1932.
Rural District Of Whitby Order.
Lord WALKDEN: My Lords, I beg to move that this Order be approved.
Moved, That the Order made under the Act by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for extending Section 1 of the Act to the said area, be approved. —(Lord Walkden.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.

HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICES.
4.10 p.m.
Order of the Day for the consideration of the Second Report from the Select Committee read.
The Committee reported as follows:
1.—RESIGNATION AND APPOINTMENT.
The Clerk of the Parliaments informed the Committee of the resignation of Mr. C. M. Walker from the Parliament Office and of the

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appointment of Mr. Algernon P. D. Smyth as a Junior Clerk to fill the vacancy. The appointment to date from March 1, 1947.
The Committee sanctioned the salary payable to Mr. Smyth.
2.—GRATUITY TO LEGAL PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF SENIOR OFFICE ASSISTANT.
The Clerk Of The Parliaments informed the Committee of the death on January 28, 1947, of Thomas Reginald Taplin, Senior Office Assistant in the Printed Paper Office.
The Committee sanctioned the payment of a gratuity under the Superannuation Acts, 1909 and 1935.
3.—RETIREMENT OF PRINCIPAL DOORKEEPER.
The Committee sanctioned a pension and an additional allowance under the Superannuation Act, 1909, to Mr. Thomas William Haynes, First Principal Doorkeeper, who is due to retire on April 27, 1947, at the age of 65, after 27 completed years' service.
4.—INTRODUCTION OF PEERS.
The Committee authorized a payment for alterations to one of the sets of Robes kept in the House for the occasion of Introductions, etc.
5.—ACCOMODATION FOR VISITORS.
The Committee proposed that the Chairman of Committees and the Whips of the three parties' together with the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod should consider a scheme by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod for seating arrangements for peeresses and visitors in the Chamber.
6.—LIBRARY SUB-COMMITTEE.
The Lord Lindsay of Birker was appointed a member of the Library Sub-Committee.
7.—ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN.
The Clerk of the Parliaments informed the Committee of the resignation of Mr. F. G. G. Carr, Assistant Librarian.
The CHAIRMAN Of COMMITTEES (The Earl Of Drogheda): My Lords, I beg to move that this Report be now considered.
Moved, That the Second Report from the Select Committee be now considered. —(The Earl of Drogheda.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
The Earl Of DROGHEDA: I do not think there are any points in this Report to which I ought to draw your Lordships' special attention. I beg to move that it be agreed to.
Moved, That the Report be agreed to.—(The Earl of Drogheda.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
House adjourned during pleasure.
House resumed.

ROYAL COMMISSION.
The following Bill and Measure received the Royal Assent:

Civic Restaurants,

Church Commissioners Measure.

House adjourned during pleasure.
House resumed.

STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE.
Report from, That the Standing Orders not complied with in respect of the Petition for the following Bill ought to be dispensed with, and leave given to introduce the Bill:
LUTON CORPORATION.
Read, and agreed to.

HAVANT AND WATERLOO URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL BILL. [H.L.]
Reported from the Select Committee with amendments.
GOVERNMENT OF BURMA (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) ORDER, 1947.
Laid before the House (pursuant to Act) for affirmative Resolution and referred to the India and Burma Orders Committee.