HL Deb 10 December 1968 vol 298 cc480-1

6.18 p.m.

THE LORD BISHOP OF DERBY rose to move, That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Prayer Book (Further Provisions) Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent. The right reverend Prelate said: My Lords, I do not think that I need detain your Lordships with a speech in explanation because a Motion in identical terms was passed by your Lordships' House on October 22. On that occasion, my right reverend friend the Bishop of Worcester explained the content and purpose of the Measure. It did not, however, prove possible to get the appropriate Motion passed in another place before the end of last Session. For that reason, this Motion has to come before your Lordships' House again, and I therefore move it formally.

Moved, That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Prayer Book (Further Provisions) Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.—(The Lord Bishop of Derby.)

LORD SANDFORD

My Lords, I am sure the House will be only too ready to accept the Motion of the right reverend Prelate and I should like to thank him for his explanation. I should like to raise one one small point that arises from the explanation he gave. It is this. I believe that we are at a moment which is significant in the development of the relations bewteen Church and State, occasioned by the fact that the denominations are drawing together. Those who are not Anglicans are finding that some of the difficulties and dangers which they had thought the Church of England laboured under as an established Church are proving to be less than they feared, and some of the advantages and opportunities are proving to be greater. I think it would be a pity, if I may say so, if the relatively minor faults in procedure, and the one or two (I do not think it is too strong an expression to use) instances of mismanagement which have led to this Motion appearing no fewer than three times on our Order Paper, were allowed to act as an irritant in this rather significant stage in the development of relations between Church and State.

On Question, Motion agreed to.