Oral Answers to Questions — Germany. – in the House of Commons at on 12 March 1924.
Mr George Bowyer
, Buckingham
asked the Prime Minister whether the British Government were consulted as to the revocation of the orders enforcing an eight-hours day in occupied territory; and, if so, what instructions were given by His Majesty's Government on this matter?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply which I gave on 10th March to the hon. and gallant Member for East Fulham. Neither His Majesty's Government nor the Inter-Allied High Commission are concerned with the application in the occupied territory of German Laws except in so far as such laws may affect the maintenance, safety and requirements of the troops of occupation. In raising no objection to the application in the occupied territory of the German decree of 21st December, 1923, His Majesty's High Com- missioner was acting in accordance with his general instructions.
Mr Philip Lloyd-Greame
, Hendon
Is it correct to state, as was stated by the Minister of Labour, that there is an eight-hour day in force in Germany?
Mr Ramsay Macdonald
, Aberavon
I am sure anything the Minister of Labour states on that matter is sure to be correct.
Mr John Remer
, Macclesfield
Is it not a fact that the hours in Germany are something like 60 a week?
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
