COMMONS AMENDMENTS (Hansard, 22 October 1985)

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, we now come to Amendments Nos. 95 to 101. and I think to the end of this saga. They have all been spoken to and I can give details of the amendments with which they are already connected. I therefore beg to move that this House do agree with the Commons in the said amendments.

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, I should like to thank all the noble Lords who have taken part.

§ Lord Elwyn-Jones
My Lords, perhaps I may have the leave of the House to thank, on behalf of the House, the noble and learned Lord for his infallible courtesy. There were one or two moments earlier today when perhaps there was a slight departure from his normal high standards but I have no doubt that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Denning, will now find that all is forgiven.
It has been an important Bill. Administration of Justice Bills tend to be pot-luck. The Lord Chancellor tends to put in all he can and get by without his Cabinet colleagues noticing that he is putting a lot in. That is my recollection from my own experience. However, this has been an important Bill. It has provided, among other things, for a new profession of licensed conveyancers, which has given rise to some concern but now we wish that profession good fortune and a successful service to the public.
Then, as in all administration of justice Bills, there are surprising items like the provision which reduced time limits for actions for libel and slander from six years to three years, again a desirable step from the point of view of public understanding and the common weal, I think on the whole. However, I must not take up more time, save to thank the noble and learned Lord again for his guidance and assistance in this Bill.

§ Lord Renton
My Lords, I think there is one very small lesson for even my noble and learned friend to learn from this Bill and it is this: A Bill which starts as quite a modest measure of less than 40 pages, and can be described—as I think my noble and learned friend described it, in effect—as a Bill dealing with a few fairly minor points, can grow and grow like Topsy and increase its length by 50 per cent. by the time we say goodbye to it.

§ Lord Denning
My Lords, I should just like to say one word and to thank my noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor for getting through a relatively large number of helpful provisions in this Bill. Although I have made one or two errors, and although I have not done my homework, the Lord Chancellor, as always, has been able to correct me and put me right. I thank him for it and I wish the Act well.

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, by leave of the House, I can only say thank you very much to all who have spoken. If I occasionally earlier this afternoon showed mild signs of irritation, I can only say that I am duly sorry. I agree with my noble friend Lord Renton that there are always important lessons to learn. However, I should never get these matters through at all without the co-operation of the House on all sides. I should like to express my great gratitude to all those who took part in this debate and not least to my noble and learned friend on the Cross-Benches. Thank you all very much. I remember that Solon said in the latter part of his life: "I am always learning, however old I get."