Part of Orders of the Day — Local Government (Scotland) Bill. – in the House of Commons at on 26 April 1929.
Cannot we have a definition given by an authority on the law on the other side of the House? If so, it may have some relation to the point which is now being placed before you. The Rating and Valuation (Apportionment) Act states distinctly what is the meaning of hereditament. An hereditament has never been defined in law, but the word "hereditament" appears in the English Bill. It says:
For any reference to a hereditament there shall be substituted a reference to lands and heritages within the meaning of the Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act, 1854.
That is to say, where the word "hereditament" appears in the English Act, "lands and heritages" shall appear where the Bill refers to Scotland. That is all that is included in the Rating and Valuation (Apportionment) Act. When we come to the Clause, which, I am glad to say, you have pointed out to us this morning, I am not sure whether it would not have been better to have discussed it before we discussed the first Amendment on the Paper. If one looks at this Clause, he will find that there are words which extend the definition embodied in the Act. A point of substance has been placed before you in seeking your Ruling as to whether it is competent for Amendments to come from another place which really relate to another Act of Parliament. I submit, as far as I can
judge, that the Clause to which you have referred is an Amendment of the Rating and Valuation (Apportionment) Act. When one consults the Bill, these words are clearly defined by the words to which I have referred. They are strictly circumscribed and governed by the English treatment of hereditaments. In the English Act, the word "hereditament," interpreted within the strict meaning of the Act, does not in any way include the proposals embodied in the Amendment. It is a very difficult point, and if we could have a statement from an authority on Scottish Law from the other side of the House, it might clarify the position.