Tuesday, 24 November 1931
The House met at a Quarter before Three of the Clock, Mr. SPEAKER in the Chair.
Provisional Order Bills (No Standing Orders applicable).
1. asked the Secretary for Mines whether the methods of regulation introduced in the Coal Mines Act have in their experimental working shown any need of modification; and, if so, along what lines?
2. asked the Secretary for Mines the number of fatal accidents at mines under the Coal Mines Act for the year 1930, giving separate figures for surface and underground and showing how they...
4. asked the Secretary for Mines the latest figures of the number of boys below the age of 16 years who are at present employed and working underground in the coal mines; can he say what number...
5. asked the Secretary for Mines the average number of days worked each week by mine-workers in Great Britain during the year 1929, and the average each week during the first nine months of 1931?
6. asked the Secretary for Mines what quantity of coal was in stock on 1st April, 1st July, and 1st October, 1931, in various parts of Great Britain?
7. asked the Secretary for Mines what statistics the Department has as to the condition of miners in Yorkshire as regards nystagmus; whether it is increasing or decreasing; and what steps are...
8. asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs if, on his proposed tour through the Dominions, he will set himself to find or develop new markets for British manufactured cotton goods and...
9. asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is aware that the Minister for Finance of the Irish Free State has refused to grant the pensions of £30 per year claimed by...
12. asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether, before making arrangements for his tour of the Dominions, any steps were taken to ascertain which of the Dominions, if any, would...
13. asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the importation of gravestones into this country; whether he can state the country from which these gravestones...
15. asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made with the setting up of the organisation to promote the sale of British goods to which the late President referred on 7th...
17. asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he has taken with regard to the recent increases in French import duties which discriminate against British products and manufactures?
19. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the expectation among Continental countries of this country adopting a tariff policy, any proposals have been received from any...
21. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the importance of encouraging purchasers to buy British goods, he will consider the advisability of taking steps to compel...
23. asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will favourably consider the advisability of reduced tariffs on foreign goods carried in British vessels?
20. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any negotiations have recently taken place with regard to tariff reductions by other countries; and whether any offers or proposals of such a...
27. asked the President of the Board of Trade what proportion the imports of iron and steel into the United Kingdom bear to the total of iron and steel manufactured in the United Kingdom in...
32. asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of countries which limit the amount of British coal to be imported and under what international agreements they do so?
35. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the wholesale price of Accra cocoa has fallen 40 per cent. between December, 1928, and November, 1931, and that the retail...
Miss CAZALET: 37. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give the House the figure of the total value, for each of the last three years, of the preferences given by the...
Lieut.-Colonel Sir FREDERICK HALL: 44. asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state with respect to what industries Safeguarding Duties have been removed during the period from...
47. asked the Prime Minister if he is aware that orders for aeroplane engines for naval aircraft are being placed in this country by Japan; and whether he will consider the advisability of...
Sir F. HALL: 72. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Government of Yugoslavia have promulgated a new Act prohibiting the importation of goods which can be...
14. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will set up without further delay a Departmental Committee to deal with the defects in the Companies Act, 1929, revealed by the Hatry and...
Major SANDEMAN ALLEN: 25. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will consider setting up a committee, formed of representatives of this House, representatives of the shipowners,...
36. asked the President of the Board of Trade what arrangements exist for supervising the efficiency of the Imperial lighthouses in the Bahama Islands; and what is the annual cost to the Exchequer?
40. asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state the total number of persons prosecuted to date for non-compliance with the quota provisions of the Cinematograph Films Act, 1927; how...
45. asked the Prime Minister if he is 'aware that many candidates for election to Parliament, previous to the General Election, were asked to sign a document which renounced their rights to vote...
49. asked the Prime Minister what changes have taken place in the personnel of the Economic Advisory Council since the inception of that body?
50. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of War Certificates falling due for redemption next year; and what steps he proposes to take in connection therewith?
52. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of the Beer Duty paid to the Inland Revenue for the month of October, 1930, and the amount paid, or payable, at the increased...
55. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether His Majesty's Government will abolish forthwith the organisation which was recently established under Part III of the Finance Act, 1931?
Mr. HUTCHISON: 57. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in view of the number of manual and other workers who will be subject to Income Tax in consequence of the provisions of the...
59. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the annual total contribution from Scotland to the national revenue; and what is the proportion allocated to Scotland, including the defence...
60. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the intention of the Government to defer stabilising the value of the pound sterling until the present bank rate of 6 per cent, has been...
61. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government has in view any steps towards regulating the value of silver in a fixed proportion to gold by co-operation with the chief...
63. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any estimate has been made as to the probable revenue, if any, from the duties levied under the Abnormal Importations (Customs Duties) Act?
64. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the credits granted to the Bank of England for approximately £50,000,000 by the Bank of France and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York...
69. asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that branches of firms abroad sell articles which are taxed under the Safeguarding and McKenna duties to branches of the same...
70. asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the total accumulated surplus in hand at the beginning of the present month from the Widows', Orphans', and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act,...
71. asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that many manufacturers of proprietary medicines are evading the patent medicine duty by ceding their proprietary rights, at the...
51. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Members of this House have availed themselves of the opportunity to travel third class between Westminster and their constituencies?
68. asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if, in the interest of economy and for the guidance of new Members, he will state the approximate average cost, in the last financial year, of...
66. asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what steps have recently been taken by his Department to dispose of the remainder of His Majesty's factory at Queensferry, Flintshire; and...
67. asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will, in the interests of economy, request the trustees of the National Gallery to close the new western rooms, in which pictures...
73. asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, in view of the present need for economy, he is prepared to abolish Territorial Associations and to place the administration of the...
76. asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office why the widow of the late Lieutenant John Timoney, of 26, Apsley Place, Glasgow, has been refused a pension, seeing that while he was serving...
77. asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether there have been any casualties among the British troops during the recent disturbances in Cyprus; and what is the total establishment...
78. asked the secretary of state for Scotland how many Borstal institutes there are in Scotland and how many inmates?
79 and 80. asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether, in view of the losses sustained by Scottish fruit growers 'as the result of the imports of foreign fruit, he is prepared to take...
81. asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is prepared to urge the Second Scottish National Housing Company to reduce the rents of grant-aided steel houses at Sandyhills, Tollcross, Glasgow?
82. asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the dissatisfaction which exists among the second-class clerks in the Department of the Registers and Records of Scotland, owing to...
83. asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he can state the reasons for the delay in bringing to trial the persons arrested in connection with the unemployed demonstration in Glasgow on let...
84. asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to protect the large numbers of unemployed in Scotland from the sufferings confronting them during this winter, owing...
85. asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Government proposes to set up a committee of inquiry into the working of the Local Government Act, 1929, in Scotland?
86. asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now in a position to give the House any information with regard to the corporation for agricultural credits in Scotland?
May I ask a question upon Business before the Motion to suspend the Eleven o'Clock Rule is put? Can the Leader of the House inform us what Business it is proposed to take after eleven o'clock?
Mr. William Nicholson reported from the Committee of Selection; That they had agreed to the following Resolution, which they had directed him to report to the House:
Mr. William Nicholson reported from the Committee of Selection; That they had selected the following Eight Members to be the Chairmen's Panel, and to serve as Chairmen of the Five Standing...
Mr. William Nicholson reported from the Committee of Selection; That, in pursuance of Section 1, Sub-section (3), of the Parliament Act, 1911, they had appointed Mr. Cape and Mr. William...
Mr. William Nicholson reported from the Committee of Selection; That, in pursuance of the provisions of the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act, 1899, they had selected the following...
Mr. William Nicholson reported from the Committee of Selection; That they had selected the following Eleven Members to be the Panel to serve on Standing Orders Committees under Standing Order No....
Mr. William Nicholson reported from the Committee of Selection; That they had selected the following Eight Members to be the Panel to serve on Unopposed Bills Committees under Standing Order No....
Considered in Committee.
I beg to move, in page 3, line 3, at the end, to add the words: Provided that such laws do not conflict in their terms with laws prevailing in the United Kingdom or in other Dominions which have...
I beg to move, in page 3, line 8, after the second word "that," to insert the words "the Parliament of." If my Amendment is accepted the Clause will read: No Act of Parliament of the United...
Mr. HOPKIN MORRIS: I beg to move, in page 3, line 16, at the end, to add the words: Provided that this Section shall not come into operation until a convention as to merchant shipping in the...
I understand that the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Burton (Colonel Gretton) and the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Marjorihanks) wish to move their Amendments in a somewhat different...
I beg to move, in page 5, line 12, to leave out the word "thirty-one," and to insert instead thereof the word "thirty-two." The object of the Amendment, which stands in my name and the names of...
"Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to authorise the Legislature of the Irish Free State to repeal, amend, or alter the Irish Free State Agreement Act, 1922, or the Irish Free State Constitution...
"It shall not be lawful for any alteration in the law touching the succession to the throne or the Royal style and titles to be made without the consent of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
Lieut.-Colonel MOORE: I beg to move, in page 1, line 14, after the word "British," to insert the words "Empire or." I think possibly this is the second Amendment to-day which the Government may...
Resolution reported, That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to extend by three years the period during which the powers of the Commissioners appointed under the Educational...
Resolved, "That this House do now adjourn."—[Sir F. Thomson.]
Debates in the House of Commons are an opportunity for MPs from all parties to scrutinise government legislation and raise important local, national or topical issues.
And sometimes to shout at each other.