Delightful as it would be for us to visit the charming constituency in Shropshire, I am sure that, technically, Mr. Deputy-Speaker would regard me as out of order if I ventured to discuss any constituency other than the two with which the Bill is concerned. Therefore, much as I like Shropshire and regret that Shropshire people are disfranchised, I cannot discuss the matter.

I want to say a few words about these two particular cases. They are not identical. They have certain similarities and certain dissimilarities. The similarities are that both gentlemen are business men. One is a company director and the other a chartered accountant. They are both highly placed in the business world, occupying positions of financial responsibility and trust. It is a fair inference from that that they are both educated in a business way, and possibly in other ways as well. Yet, in face of that, the Select Committee takes the view that when they did not disclose the affiliations which bring them within the Statute they did it by inadvertence.

I will not contest the finding of the Select Committee, but I say that this House is not necessarily or slavishly bound by the finding of a Select Committee. This sovereign body will decide for itself. It is fair to expect that both these gentlemen were fully cognizant with the positions which they held in various spheres of human endeavour at the time when they were nominated for Parliament. It is fair to surmise that they knew the nature and scope of their duties and that they were sufficiently methodical to disclose them for purposes relating to insurance and Income Tax, if not for purposes relating to their nomination and election to Parliament.

The differences between these two gentlemen include the fact that one was never a Member of Parliament before. Perhaps he may be excused on that ground, but the evidence that has been adduced and the speeches that have been made indicate that though he never rose to the dignity of being a Member of Parliament he was at least a very astute business man and a company director who was able without inadvertence to make money in industry, trade and commerce.

The other gentleman has been for many years a respected Member of Parliament. Having regard to the differences between them, one would have expected that the Select Committee would have dealt with them differently, but the Select Committee did nothing of the kind. The Select Committe has dealt with them both in the same way, and as a result of its recommendations the Government have brought forward this Bill to validate the election of both of them and to indemnify both from the penal consequences that are involved.

For the reasons that I have given, I do not oppose the Bill, but I submit that the House should scrutinise the Report and the Bill with the very greatest care and make up its own mind in a deliberate and judicial way before deciding what it will do with the Bill. The one thing that emerges from the Report and the Bill and from the whole of this discussion is that, however we may excuse the two gentlemen involved, we cannot excuse the Government who have been culpable in this matter.