HL Deb 31 May 1949 vol 162 cc1249-58

2.37 p.m.

Order of the Day read for the consideration of the letter from Sir Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, K.C.B., C.B.E., announcing his resignation of the office.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR (VISCOUNT JOWITT)

My Lords, I beg to move that the letter be now considered.

Moved, That the letter be now considered.—(The Lord Chancellor.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (VISCOUNT ADDISON)

My Lords, I am sure it will be the wish of us all that we should take this opportunity of paying our tribute to Sir Henry Badeley, and I beg to move to resolve:

"That this House have received with sincere concern the news of the retirement of Sir Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, K.C.B., C.B.E., from the office of Clerk of the Parliaments, and they think it right to record the just sense which they entertain of the zeal, ability, diligence and integrity with which the said Sir Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, K.C.B., C.B.E., has executed the important duties of his office."

For fifty-two years Sir Henry has been in the service of this House. I do not know whether that is unprecedented, but I should think it must be so. For nineteen years he has been at the Table of the House, and for fifteen of them as Clerk of the Parliaments, before which for several years he was head of our Legal Division. It is a remarkable record of long and valuable service to this House. Nobody is prouder than Sir Henry of the place that this House occupies in the records of Parliaments and he was a master of its procedure, as many of us know to our advantage. In this long time he must have witnessed many dramatic events. I will recall only one recent service that he rendered to the House—namely, that when during the war we had to move our Sittings to another building he was in charge of the many and complicated arrangements attaching to that alteration. Everyone will agree, I think, that the arrangements were carried through so easily and smoothly that we scarcely noticed there was a difference. I, myself, for the time being having the honour to occupy the place of Leader of the House, am indebted, and have been many times, to Sir Henry Badeley's wise and helpful guidance, and I am sure that the noble Marquess opposite, like every other member who has preceded us in these offices, has had the same experience. Sir Henry was willing, indeed anxious, at all times to give service, advice and help to every member of the House, of all Parties, without regard to anything but his service and his duty.

My Lords, I hope that during the greater leisure that Sir Henry will now have at his disposal he will perhaps be able to collect some of the records of which he must have a unique collection. I feel that it is a privilege to be able to pay a tribute to the service of so distinguished a servant of the Mother of Parliaments, and I have the honour to move the Resolution.

Moved to resolve, That this House have received with sincere concern the news of the retirement of Sir Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, K.C.B., C.B.E., from the office of Clerk of the Parliaments, and they think it right to record the just sense which they entertain of the zeal, ability, diligence and integrity with which the said Sir Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, K.C.B., C.B.E., has executed the important duties of his office.—(Viscount Addison.)

2.42 p.m.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY

My Lords, I hope your Lordships will allow me to add a few words to the notable tribute which the noble Viscount the Leader of the House has paid to Sir Henry Badeley. The resignation of a Clerk of Parliaments is always a sad event for the members of this House, which, by nature if not always by politics, is, I think it would be true to say, a conservative body. We do not like change, especially in the management of our own domestic affairs as a House. Moreover, on the present occasion I know that this feeling will be especially strong, because we are losing more than an Officer of the House. We are losing an old and tried friend.

It is almost impossible for most of us to imagine this Chamber without Sir Henry Badeley. In an age when a great many things have altered, he has appeared to be the one unchanging element, and that shrewd kindly face has seemed as much a part of the House of Lords as the Table at which he sat. But for the fact that he did not technically qualify, I think he might certainly have been described as the Father of the House. To most of us—I think I may say all of us—he has been a guide, philosopher and friend during the whole time we have sat here. We have gone to him with our troubles, and he has given us all—irrespective of Party—the benefit of his wisdom and experience. Whether Sir Henry has any personal political views is, of course a matter wrapped in his own breast; certainly he has never allowed them to emerge or in any way to bias his judgment. No doubt there have been times when we have tried him rather highly, especially when unwittingly, or perhaps impulsively, we have committed some deplorable breach of the rules and customs of the House. On such occasions—I am glad to say fairly rare ones—we have all witnessed a remarkable phenomenon: not a muscle of his face changed, but one knew instinctively, by some extraordinary telepathy, how deeply one had erred; and one made haste, so far as lay in one's power, to repair the error.

I suppose Sir Henry knows this House as no one else does. As the noble Viscount the Leader of the House has said, he has always been a jealous and worthy custodian of its privileges and traditions. He knows the members, too, for he has listened with imperturbable courtesy, for over fifty years to all our speeches, good, bad and indifferent. For that alone we owe him our most sincere thanks. Now, as your Lordships have heard, in the fullness of time he is making way for another. We shall miss his kindness and his courtesy; we shall miss his wise guidance; and, if I may use such a term in this context, we shall miss the tang of his personality. But he will leave to all of us who have had the privilege of knowing him the memory of a great public servant. Wherever his future activities may carry him—for it will, I am sure, be to activity, and not to leisure, that he will look for-ward—we all wish him well.

2.45 p.m.

VISCOUNT SAMUEL

My Lords, we on these Benches would wish to join in supporting the Motion proposed on the occasion of the deeply regretted retirement of Sir Henry Badeley from the post which hears the fine old title of Clerk of the Parliaments. For 700 years there have been Principal Clerks of your Lordships' House. In the old prints of the times of the Tudors, and even earlier, one may see the clerks kneeling on the floor, supporting the papers on which they wrote on divans, exactly like the one we have here, evidently regarded as being unworthy to be allowed to sit at a Table in the presence of their illustrious Lordships. Afterwards, from that uncomfortable and undignified position, they were promoted to the comparative ease which we now observe. I cannot imagine that during all those centuries there has ever been an Officer of the House more popular with the members than Sir Henry Badeley. He has always been helpful and friendly; he has been a guide to the junior members—and, indeed, to the senior members also—through the intricate corridors of our ancient procedure. When some fresh question has arisen for decision he has always been ready with some gentle indication of what might possibly be the right course to pursue; and by an odd coincidence that has almost always been the course that has ultimately been followed.

The Clerk of the Parliaments is ex officio the guardian of the accumulated traditions of all those centuries, and it is right that in a place of authority there should be a faithful trustee and a staunch defender of those traditions. If ever some revolutionary innovator were to be found in that chair, the British Constitution would be rocked to its foundations. But with him, shining through the mists of the ancient there were occasional and perhaps frequent glimpses of the rays of the modern. It is in friendship and in gratitude that we now say farewell—not altogether, we may hope, but in our official relations—to a highly esteemed and very greatly valued servant of your Lordships' House.

2.49 p.m.

THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF DROGHEDA)

My Lords, it would be wholly wrong if this occasion were allowed to pass without a word being said on behalf of Sir Henry's colleagues. In the work of this House many of the duties of the Clerk of the Parliaments, and certainly not the least important duties, are necessarily performed, as it were, behind the scenes, as he is the official responsible for the administration and the welfare of practically the entire staff. I must confess that until I became intimately concerned with the work of the House I did not realise what an extraordinary happy relationship exists among all the members of the staff of this House, of whatever grade. I am quite certain that all Sir Henry's colleagues—and in that word I include all the officials of the House, in whatever capacity they serve—would agree that this very happy state of affairs has been largely due to the personality of the Clerk of the Parliaments to whom we are saying good-bye to-day.

We are all indebted to him for countless acts of friendship and consideration. We have all drawn very often on his unique fund of wisdom and experience, and we all have for him the warmest feelings of friendship. If I may borrow from the noble Lord, Lord Morrison, one of his cricketing metaphors, I would say to Jack Badeley: "When you have to your credit a score of seventy-five, very much not out, and when you retire still full of runs, having earned the admiration and affection of everyone who has taken part in the match, then, indeed, you have played an innings of which you have every right to be very, very proud."

2.50 p.m.

THE LORD BISHOP OF NORWICH

My Lords, as the only representative of the Peers Spiritual present to-day, may I be allowed to add one word to the tributes which have been paid? I am sure that the Archbishops and Bishops who are members of this House would not like such an opportunity to pass without expressing their deep appreciation and gratitude, mingled with regrets, on this occasion. As members of this House, Bishops come and go, but as I look back on the day when I first entered it, now some fifteen years ago, and remember how kind Sir Henry Badeley was in explaining the ways of this strange land, I recall now, as I realised then, that "even a fool shall not err therein." It is perhaps not often that a man of such great ability, such amazing devotion and such knowledge gained from experience, has also an outstanding gift for personal friendship; and it is for that quality, as much as for his services to this House, that to-day we should like to thank one of whom so many of us dare to speak as "Jack Badeley."

2.52 p.m.

LORD TEVIOT

My Lords, I wish on behalf of the National Liberal Peers to say how entirely I agree with everything which has been said about our dear old friend with whom we are parting. There is just one thought I would like to leave in your Lordships' minds—for I am sure that we all part with him with regret—to show how much he is in our hearts, and that is that we will always remember him as "Jack." Very soon after I became a member of your Lordships' House, it was not "Sir Henry," but always "Jack." That demonstrates our great affection for him and also for his kindness in allowing us to call him by that very intimate name.

2.53 p.m.

LORD HAWKE

My Lords, I do not think it would be right to allow this occasion to pass without a few words from these humble Benches. It is on these Benches that the bad boys sit, and it is to these Benches that the Riot Act would have had to be read if Sir Henry had not been able to use his eye. He has always been most accessible to all of us who have sought his guidance at any time. The awesome ceremony of taking our seats has been rendered less awesome by the matter-of-fact way in which he approached it on our behalf. I think I can let you into the secret of his influence over this House: it is that he not a large man. He exercised the historic power of the small man over the large—David over Goliath. He had the magnetic eye of the lion-tamer. The attribute of men of such stature is very long life, and I believe that we shall from time to time see him with us for many, many more years.

2.55 p.m.

LORD O'HAGAN

My Lords, I should like to say a few words supporting this Resolution in appreciation of our good friend, Sir Henry Badeley. I am one of the few people in this House who sat under the three previous Clerks of the Parliaments, Sir Henry Graham, Sir Arthur Thring and Sir Edward Alderson, and I can say with simple assurance and truth that our good friend Sir Henry Badeley more than filled the position, maintaining the fine traditions that were established by these earlier occupants of the office. As a Back-Bencher also, I should like to say that when we find those on the Front Bench looking, upon Sir Henry Badeley as a guide, philosopher and friend, it will readily be appreciated how much greater help he has been to those who do not sit on those exalted Benches. As the noble Lord, Lord Hawke, has said, we feel very strongly our appreciation of the great help and encouragement that Sir Henry Badeley has always been to those who sit on the Back Benches. Not merely for his ability, for his capacity and for his deep knowledge of the traditions of the House, but also on account of his friendliness, his courtesy and his constant readiness to help all members in the Parliamentary work which lies before them, I am glad to have this brief opportunity of saying something to one whom I have learnt to appreciate as a friend, not only in this House but outside it as well.

2.57 p.m.

VISCOUNT SIMON

My Lords, there is another aspect of Sir Henry Badeley's service to the House of Lords which ought to be mentioned, and my excuse for mentioning it is that none of the Law Lords is able to be present to-day. They are all engaged on their special duties, either hearing an appeal in another room or sitting in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Several of the Law Lords who were here just before we sat pressed me to mention to the House the very great respect and gratitude which they have, one and all, for Sir Henry Badeley's service in yet another capacity.

Your Lordships must not allow the exceptional arrangements of the last year or two to cause you to forget that the House of Lords has two functions: it has a judicial function and it has also a function as a place of legislation and debate. By custom none of your Lordships, except the Law Lords, the Lord Chancellor or the ex-Lord Chancellors attends when the House of Lords is acting in a judicial capacity, but, both as Lord Chancellor and, at the request of my noble and learned friend, as an ex-Lord Chancellor, I have constantly had to preside in appeals to this House from the courts in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. I am saying no more than the bare truth when I state that the services which Sir Henry Badeley has rendered in the conduct of the judicial proceedings—because he always sat here when we were discharging that duty, as well as during our debates—cannot be over-estimated.

He has been complete master of the rules which have to be applied—perhaps rather more strictly than in our debates—when these appeals are heard. Difficulties of a very technical kind have sometimes presented themselves, but Sir Henry was always well informed and ready to suggest the best way of handling them. He was always available to everybody; and there is not a single man who has had to take part in that judicial work in my time who does not feel just as much indebted to Sir Henry Badeley for what he did and knew in that capacity in the Supreme Court of Appeal as for his services to us in connection with our debates.

I do not seek to add a single word to what has been said on the other and better-known aspect of Sir Henry's work. But if we are trying to add together the sum of gratitude which we feel we owe, we should remember that for many years hitherto, until the last few years, Sir Henry Badeley has rendered this service with the greatest possible skill and judgment. For that aspect of his work, we all owe to him a debt of gratitude which we shall not forget.

3.1 p.m.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

My Lords, the task falls to me to sum up. All these things which have been said are true. I feel that I have lost from that chair a very dear friend; and that. I believe, is what all your Lordships feel. I suppose it is true that no man is a hero to his own valet, but, if your Lordships took the opinion of the humblest servants we have in this House, the doorkeepers, those who sweep up the crumbs, or whoever it may be, you would find that their opinion of Sir Henry Badeley would be exactly the same as ours. I venture to suggest that that is not a bad test.

Sir Henry Badeley has had the task of breaking in" a series of Lord Chancellors. Any man who has had that task and can still smile is a very remarkable man. Sir Henry Badeley has always faced life—and does always face life, for after all, thank God! this is not an obituary notice—with a smile. He never gets rattled or angry; he is always cheery. And that is the secret of his charm.

When I came to your Lordships' House, b knowing nothing about the Rules of Order, not knowing how to put the Question, or anything of that sort, I soon discovered that he was the man on whom I must rely. He is separated from the Lord Chancellor by a great distance; and between the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Lord Chancellor are the amply-proportioned feet of my noble friends. Sir Henry was an athlete in his early days, and he used sometimes to do a sort of hurdle race to reach the Woolsack. Then he and I discovered that that was not quick enough, so we developed a system of signalling. What the future has in store, heaven only knows—if I could tell what the future had in store, even next Saturday, I should be relieved of a great many embarrassments! But if misfortunes should descend upon Sir Henry Badeley and myself, I understand that there might be an opening for us as a couple of tic-tac men, because he had contrived a perfect system of signalling.

My Lords, I agree with what has been said this afternoon. No one can imagine that Sir Henry Badeley would want to be idle; and I am perfectly certain that, whatever the future has in store for him, it will certainly be a pretty busy future. It has been really touching, I think, to realise that all sections of the House are united in love and regard for a very great public servant.

On Question, Motion agreed to, nemine dissentiente.

VISCOUNT ADDISON

My Lords, I beg to move that the Lord Chancellor do communicate the said Resolution to Sir Henry Badeley.

Moved, That the Lord Chancellor do communicate the said Resolution to Sir Henry Badeley.—(Viscount Addison.)

On Question, Motion agreed to, and ordered accordingly.

3.5 p.m.

VISCOUNT ADDISON

My Lords, beg to move that an Humble Address be presented to His Majesty laying before His Majesty a copy of the letter of the said Sir Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, K.C.B., C.B.E., and likewise of the Resolution of this House, and recommending the said Sir Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, K.C.B., C.B.E., to His Majesty's Royal Grace and Bounty.

Moved accordingly and, on Question, Motion agreed to nemine dissentiente: the said Address to be presented to His Majesty by the Lords with White Staves.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

My Lords, I have to acquaint the House that His Majesty has been pleased to appoint, by His Letters Patent dated the thirty-first day of this instant May, Robert Leslie Overbury, Esquire, C.B., to the office of Clerk of the Parliaments, vacant by the retirement of Sir Henry John Fanshawe Badeley, K.C.B., C.B.E., the late Clerk of the Parliaments.

Patent read; and the said Robert Leslie Overbury, Esquire, C.B., then made the necessary declaration (which declaration is set down in the Roll amongst the oaths of the great officers), and took his seat at the Table.

THE EARL OF DROGHEDA

My Lords, may I, on behalf of the staff of the House of Lords, say that they are delighted at the appointment which has just been announced by the Lord Chancellor, and at those which he is about to announce. And may I say to Robert Overbury that his promotion gives us the greatest pleasure; that he can count on our loyal support to the fullest extent; and that we wish him a very happy and successful term of office.