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Clause 14. — (Superintendence of Secre tary of State.)

Orders of the Day — Government of India Bill. – in the House of Commons at on 5 March 1935.

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10.41 p.m.

Photo of Mr Donald Somervell Mr Donald Somervell , Crewe

I beg to move, in page 9, line 11, to leave out from "shall," to "be," in line 13.

This and the following Amendment are purely drafting. This omits words in the body of the Clause, and the next inserts them in a new Sub-section in a slightly clearer form.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: In page 9, line 19, at the end, add: (2) Before giving any directions under this Section the Secretary of State shall satisfy himself that nothing in the directions requires the Governor-General to act in any manner inconsistent with any Instrument of Instructions issued to him by His Majesty."—[The Solicitor-General.]

Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause

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.

Amendment

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.

Secretary of State

Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.