THE MARQUESS OF READINGMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government, whether the statements made by the Attorney-General to the Haldane Society, as reported in The Times dated July 24, 1947, represent the views of His Majesty's Government as a whole, and in particular whether his statement that they must increasingly submit the administration of the legislation which is passed to expert tribunals outside the hierarchy of the ordinary courts of law represents their settled policy; and further, whether they share the Attorney-General's belief that "the methods they are using have protected the fundamental principles of our Constitution from a breakdown which would in some measure have paved the way for some totalitarian system," and, if so, in what circumstances and in what form such a breakdown was expected to occur.]
939§ THE LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, I did not see the report of this speech in The Times but I have read the full transcript of the speech. The Attorney-General was careful to point out that he was expressing a purely personal point of view and I am in no way qualified to act as a censor. If the noble Marquess were to read the speech as a whole—and I should be happy to lend him my transcript—I feel sure he will find it a thoughtful and well-balanced speech, with which he would be, as I am, largely in agreement. The only principle in the sphere of justice to which His Majesty's Government are committed is that impartial justice shall be administered to all the lieges, and that in selecting the particular tribunal to administer that justice the wishes of the persons principally interested, together with questions of expedition and cheapness, shall be considered. So long as these principles are observed I see no reason to anticipate any breakdown in our system.
THE MARQUESS OF READINGI am much obliged to the noble and learned Viscount, but may I ask a supplementary question to his reply which was in expectedly general terms? I should like to ask whether the words in inverted commas in my question were in fact part of the Attorney-General's speech, and if so, whether I could have a reply to the last part of my question.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORI cannot remember whether those words are actually reproduced in the transcript of the speech, but the breakdown to which the Attorney-General was referring was that of the Parliamentary system. He was pointing out that unless we had in reserve some power such as the closure or the guillotine, or something of that sort, we should be unable to get our Bills through, and in that event we should be unable to cope with the emergencies of the present situation. In that respect I must say I entirely agree with him.