Orders of the Day — ELECTRICITY (SUPPLY) BILL [Lords].

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 25 Gorffennaf 1922.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr George Balfour Mr George Balfour , Hampstead

I beg to move, in Subsection (1), after the word "mentioned" I "For the purposes hereinafter mentioned "], to insert the words "the Electricity Commissioners may by Provisional Order authorise."

This Amendment, standing alone, might appear quite ridiculous, and I would, therefore, explain that it is the first of a long series of Amendments put down in the Committee stage. I purposely do not enter into them, because I know they will not be accepted, and I put the first of them on the Paper in order to preserve my right to raise a point which was raised in Committee, which I took up with the Parliamentary Secretary, and which he indicated he would be willing to look into in some form between that and the Report stage. I wish to deal with the control of this House over the financial matters connected with the joint electricity authority. I must refer hon. Members to the Debate which took place on the Second Reading in this House, when the Parliamentary Secretary agreed—I think he will not dispute my representation of the case—to endeavour to find sonic machinery between the Second Reading and Committee stage in order to make sure that Parliamentary control is preserved over the finances of he joint electricity authority. We then arrived at the Committee stage, and I am sorry to say this is the sort of procedure that has followed me all through this Bill—promises from stage to stage, bargains with certain other people, without, I am afraid, my having had much luck myself. But in the Committee stage the hon. Gentleman again agreed to do something to achieve this end, and he undertook to make favourable representations to the Chairman of Ways and Means to see whether anything could be done by way of alteration of the Standing Orders. I thought, and I still think, that was quite a reasonable method of approaching this matter. It displayed, I thought, a very fair frame of mind and a very fair attitude on the part of the Parliamentary Secretary.

7.0 P.M.

Following that, a proposed Standing Order, No. 191, appeared on the Papers in another place. I am not quite sure whether I am in order—though I think I am—in referring to this matter, as I understood that a like proposed Standing Order would appear on the Papers of this House. This proposal was to provide that any Special Order should lie on the Table, but that Petitions against the Order might he deposited in the House on or before the seventh day after the day on which the Order had been so laid, and petitioners should he allowed to appear and oppose, as in the case of a Private Bill. There are other provisions in the Standing Order, but that is the principal one to which I call attention. My sole object in moving this Amendment is to raise this point, and to ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether he is prepared to put a Standing Order on the Papers of this House, and to arrange with the Chairman of Ways and Means that an Order, similar to No. 191 in another place, should appear here? I also wish to ask the Government whether they will give facilities—so far as I can see, it would take but few minutes—to, pass such an Order through both Houses. That would fulfil the undertaking given by the Parliamentary Secretary on the Second Reading and the indication that he gave to the Committee. It would be received by nearly all hon. Members of this House gratefully as a clear indication of the intention of the Government to retain control over the finances of these great concerns.