Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 15 Gorffennaf 1925.
Sir Robert Newman
, Exeter
I beg to move, in page 29, line 30, after the word "may," to insert the words "with his or her consent."
Possibly I am championing a hopeless cause in this Amendment after the Division which we have just had, but move it in the hope that between now and the Report stage, what I say may have some influence upon the Minister in charge of the Bill. Nor do I like to run away from an Amendment which I have put on the Paper. I feel strongly against this part of the Bill. Here we have an offence which may possibly be committed either by a husband or a wife and without his or her consent, husband or wife, as the case may be, can be called upon to give evidence against the accused partner. I disagree with the argument of the Minister, and with every respect, he only seemed to strengthen my opinion against the Clause as its stands. He said he desired to have this provision retained in the Bill because it is the only way of convicting a husband or wife in these cases. I think that is a very serious matter to have on the Statute Book a Clause which is admitted by the responsible Minister to be the only possible way of convicting a husband or wife, and which does so by putting the other partner into the witness box. We do not wish to encourage perjury in our courts of law. I only speak as a bachelor, but I put it to any married man in this House that if he were called upon against his will to give evidence against his wife, it would only be human nature to tell a lie if he thought it would get her off. I should not think very much of the husband if he did not, and yet if he did, he might make himself liable to a charge of perjury. I go further and I put this proposition to any legal Member of the House. If either husband or wife were charged with perjury and found guilty and if the perjury had been committed in a case of this kind in which either husband or wife had given evidence unwillingly, I do not believe there is a Judge on the Bench who would send that person to prison. My Amendment does not go as far as that of the hon. Member for East Middlesbrough (Miss Wilkinson). It will be possible under my Amendment to call a husband or wife for the prosecution; and all I seek to provide is that they should not be called one against the other without consenting to give evidence.
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.
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.
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The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
