Mr Douglas Johnston: May I register mine too?
Mr Douglas Johnston: Am I right in thinking—
Mr Douglas Johnston: Am I right in thinking that this is the Eighth Report of the Law Reform Committee for Scotland, that in seven of those Reports recommendations for legislation have been made by the Committee, that in only two cases has legislation followed and that on both occasions the legislation was initiated by the Opposition? In these circumstances, is there any reason to think that this Report is more...
Mr Douglas Johnston: The right hon. Gentleman says "the usual speed and energy". Are we to expect that the usual speed and energy will result in legislation on one of the earlier special Reports, that on intestate succession which has been outstanding for nine years?
Mr Douglas Johnston: Does not the difficulty in pronunciation which the right hon. Gentleman experienced show the folly of his leading on questions of law such as this, which might be better dealt with by the Lord Advocate, to whom the Question was originally addressed?
Mr Douglas Johnston: In an earlier intervention the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that it was no part of his policy to dismantle the Revenue's defences against avoidance of Estate Duty. The task of dismantling the Revenue's defences in the case of larger estates has already been done by the legal profession, to which I belong. There is no doubt that no one, except an eccentric or a person who is badly advised,...
Mr Douglas Johnston: The points desired to be raised by my hon. Friends in this Prayer are substantially the same as those which have already been dealt with in discussion of the English Prayer. The first point has been dealt with by amending Regulations. I understand from what has been said by the Solicitor-General that the second point is likely to be met by further amending regulations. In those circumstances,...
Mr Douglas Johnston: Is there any reason to believe that, if Colvilles were asked to allow such an appointment by the Minister, they would not agree to the Minister making the appointment?
Mr Douglas Johnston: May I, very shortly, add my words to the general congratulations which have been so properly offered to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Scotstoun (Mr. Small)? He has accomplished a difficult task well. The purpose of the Bill is to make certain that those who have the difficult task of assessing the proper sentence to be passed on a person, of whatever age, will require to give...
Mr Douglas Johnston: They have certain powers of appeal. A convicted person has a certain right of appeal in Scotland, I think I am right in saying, in courts of summary jurisdiction, but they are extremely limited.
Mr Douglas Johnston: I intervene only for a moment to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell (Mr. Lawson) on bringing to the notice of the House, and I hope to the notice of the whole country, the avoidance and evasion of the intention of the House when the hire-purchase Acts were passed. What he has said has given life, meaning and explanation to the startling rise in the number of decrees...
Mr Douglas Johnston: I apologise, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier, I am convinced that the intention of the House in passing the hire-purchase Acts, for the enforcement of which the Law Officers of the Crown in Scotland are responsible, is being avoided in some cases and evaded in others. I hope that wider publicity will be given to the debate so that persons will not enter into those commitments. I hope that we...
Mr Douglas Johnston: I should like to make it clear that, so far as I am concerned, the majority of credit traders trade honestly and behave well. My complaint, from my knowledge of my constituency, is confined to a comparatively small group of traders.
Mr Douglas Johnston: The hon. Gentleman's ground for congratulating the Secretary of State is, I understand, that he fought a battle in the Cabinet for a strip mill in Scotland. How does the hon. Member know that? I always understood that what happened in the Cabinet was secret.
Mr Douglas Johnston: We are grateful that the Government have accepted in some small measure the suggestion we put forward that crofters should be represented on this Commission, but I am rather disturbed by the very limited representation that is being given. After all, crofters are receiving only one-twelfth of the representation. Let us look at the composition of the Commission. There are to be two members...
Mr Douglas Johnston: I wish to say a word about the general question of penalties to which the Lord Advocate has referred. Hon. Members on this side are very much obliged for the careful consideration which the Government have obviously given to the suggestions we put forward in Committee. The method of dealing with penalties suggested by the Lord Advocate is much the best one. As lie said, at this stage of the...
Mr Douglas Johnston: I beg to move, in page 3, line 30, to leave out "substantial". Will it be convenient, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, to deal also with the next Amendment, in page 3, line 31, after "land", to insert: exceeding in amount the sum of one shilling per acre of the area over which it extends". These two Amendments go together.
Mr Douglas Johnston: The House will know that Clause 6 empowers the Commission to take steps to deal with marauding deer. Marauding deer are deer which come down from the hills, go on to farm land and do damage. As the Clause stands, the Commission is empowered to deal with those marauding deer only if the damage is substantial. I suggest that it is inadvisable to have adjectives or adverbs in Acts of Parliament,...
Mr Douglas Johnston: Does the noble Lord mean that, in his view at any rate, the yardstick of 1949 and the earlier yardstick of 1906 is too small, that the figure should be increased to 5s., 10s. or £1? Is that what he means?
Mr Douglas Johnston: I am sorry about the reply which the noble Lord has given because it means that Parliament is abrogating its duty. The primary duty of Parliament when passing legislation is to pass clear legislation which is not certain to give rise to controversy and difficult points of law. This word will certainly give rise to controversy and difficult points of law, and for this reason. The Commission,...