Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 15 Gorffennaf 1925.
With great respect, I submit that my hon. Friend is wrong. This Amendment would not render the Clause nugatory, because it would still enable the wife to be a, competent witness. This Amendment, while allowing the husband or wife to be a competent witness, would not compel them to give evidence against one another. I believe in going back to Conservative principles. One of the old fundamental principles of our common law, which has been incorporated in Statutes repeatedly, and has been hardly impinged upon by any legislation in modern times, is that husband and wife cannot be compelled to give evidence against one another. It is deeply rooted in English law, and is based, not upon caprice, but upon a great principle dear to Members on this side, namely, the sanctity of the home. What will be the effect on any English home if a husband or wife is forced to give evidence against his or her spouse? It is bound to lead to disturbance in the home, bad blood and ill-feeling, and will rankle, and I say, before you impinge upon one of the elementary principles of English law, you want a far stronger case than my hon. Friend has made out. The number of cases in which the Sub-section could be applied is exceedingly small, and it seems altogether an insufficient reason for interfering with what has been one of the historic principles of English law, which is based, not on mere caprice or legal technicalities, but on long experience as to what effect husband and wife giving evidence against each other would have upon them and the home. For that reason, I doubt whether any lawyer in the House, or, indeed, any Conservative would vote against the Amendment.