Orders of the Day — WHALING INDUSTRY (REGULATION) BILL [Lords]. – in the House of Commons at on 24 July 1934.
Lieut-General Edward Fitzroy
, Daventry
Before calling this Clause, I think I should point out to the Committee that it imposes a charge which
is not covered by a Ways and Means Resolution. It is provided that:
Any whale fishery inspector specially authorised in writing in that behalf by the Board of Trade may go on board any British ship to which this Act applies which is used for treating whales, and shall, during such period as may be specified in his authority, be entitled to remain on board the ship, to be provided with subsistence and accommodation therein and to be present at all operations in connection with the treating of whales on board the ship.
I brought the matter to the notice of the Government, through the Board of Trade, and I was informed that it was intended that this billeting, if I may use the term, should be paid for, but there is no provision to that effect in the Clause or elsewhere in the Bill at the present time, and therefore the Clause as set down is not in order. It will be observed that there is on the Order Paper an Amendment in the name of the right hon. Gentleman the Minister of Agriculture which would put it right, by bringing the Clause within the Resolution, and there are precedents for amending such a Clause in Committee so as to bring it within the terms of a Resolution. I propose, therefore, to call the Clause in order that it may be so amended, but I must point out that unless it is so amended, I shall be unable to put the Question that the Clause stand part.
Mr Archibald Skelton
, Combined Scottish Universities
I beg to move, in page 7, line 5, at the end, to insert:
A whale fishery inspector shall, in respect of each day during which he is provided in pursuance of this Sub-section with subsistence and accommodation on board a ship, pay to the master of the ship such sum as may be prescribed by regulations made by the licensing authority with the approval of the Treasury.
As you, Sir Dennis, have pointed out, the Amendment is necessary to make the Clause in order. Its object is to ensure that in the case of inspectors who by the Bill will be placed on ships and, in your own words, have to be billeted by the master of the ship, there shall be remuneration for the billeting. It will, in fact, be paid to the inspectors by the licensing authority or by the Department by whom they are employed. On the question of Order, I do not think I need say anything more on behalf of the Government than that it will make in
order a, Clause which, without it, would not be in order.
Sir Stafford Cripps
, Bristol East
It would be very unbusinesslike to object to this because it has to be done in order to get the Bill through. The only thing it seems to me to show is that the Parliamentary draftsmen's office is being overworked, and a little strengthening of it might be worth considering.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
The order paper is issued daily and lists the business which will be dealt with during that day's sitting of the House of Commons.
It provides MPs with details of what will be happening in the House throughout the day.
It also gives details of when and where the standing committees and select committees of the Commons will be meeting.
Written questions tabled to ministers by MPs on the previous day are listed at the back of the order paper.
The order paper forms one section of the daily vote bundle and is issued by the Vote Office
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
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.
