An Asterisk (*) at the commencement of a Speech indicates revision by Royal Bank of Scotland Bill [H.L.]; General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Limited, Bill [H.L.]. Presented; read 1a; and referred to the Examiners. Renfrewshire Upper District (Eastwood and Mearns) Water Bill [H.L.]; Glasgow Corporation Bill [H.L.]; Aberdeen Corporation Bill [H.L.]; Electric Supply Corporation (No. 2) Bill [H.L.]. Presented, and read 1". Birmingham Corporation Bill [H.L.]. A witness ordered to attend the Select Committee. Byrne's Divorce Bill [H.L.]. The LORD CHANCELLOR acquainted the House that the Clerk of the Parliaments had received by post from the Lord Justice of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in Ireland, a Report of the proceedings upon the inquiry before him in the case of Byrne v. McDowell. The same was ordered to lie on the Table. Middlesbrough Corporation Bill [H.L.]. Report from the Select Committee, That the Committee had not proceeded with the consideration of the Bill, the opposition thereto having been withdrawn; read, and ordered to lie on the Table. The orders made on the 25th and 28th of February last discharged, and Bill committed. Bill. Order of the Day for the Second Reading read, and discharged. Ordered that the Bill be not further proceeded with. Burnham (Somerset) Pier Bill [H.L.]; Manchester Corporation Tramways Bill Bill [H.L.]; Tyne Improvement Bill [H.L.]. Report from the Committee of Selection, That the Lord Headley be proposed to the House as a member of the Select Committee on the said Bills in the place of the Viscount Iveagh; read and agreed to. RETURNS, REPORTS, ETC. COLONIES: ANNUAL. No. 519. East Africa Protectorate (Report for 1905-1906). BOARD OF EDUCATION (VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, ETC.) Report for the year 1905 on the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Colleges of Science and of Art, the Geological Survey and Museum, and on the work of the Solar Physics Committee. EDUCATION (SCOTLAND). Code of Regulations for Day Schools, 1907; with Appendices. Minute of the Committee of Council on Education in Scotland, dated 9th March, 1907, providing for the distribution of the General Aid Grant. TRADE REPORTS, ANNUAL SERIES. UNIVERSITIES (SCOTLAND) ACT, 1889. Annual report on the state of the finances of the University of Glasgow under the provisions of Section 30 of the Universities (Scotland) Act, 1889, for the year 1905-1906. SUPERANNUATION (PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.) Treasury Minute, dated 5th March, South Lincolnshire Water Bill [H.L.]. 1907, declaring that for the due and effiThe CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES informed cient discharge of the duties of the the House that the Promoters do not offices of salaried official receiver in intend to proceed further with the bankruptcy and inspector of official VOL. CLXX. [FOURTH SERIES.] 2 T receivers, professional or other peculiar the powers of the Court in relation to qualifications not ordinarily to be ac- maintenance and alimony, and leave to quired on the public service are required. intervene, and to amend the Evidence Further Amendment Act, 1869; and NATIONAL DEBT (SAVINGS BANK AND FRIENDLY SOCIETIES). Account of the gross amount of all sums received and paid by the Commissioners for the reduction of the National Debt on account of banks for saving and friendly societies in Great Britain and Ireland, from their commencement at 6th August, 1817, to 20th November, 1906, inclusive. Account of the several transactions which have taken place during the year ended 20th November, 1906, in the investment of all moneys which came into the hands of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt for savings banks and friendly societies. Statement showing the aggregate amount of the liabilities of the Government to the trustees of savings banks and friendly societies respectively on 20th November, 1906, etc. Laid before the House (pursuant to Act), and ordered to lie on the Table. PRIVATE LEGISLATION PROCEDURE (SCOTLAND) ACT, 1899. Report from the Committee of Selection, that the following Lords be proposed to the House as the panel of Lords to act as Commissioners under the Act, viz. :— V. Falkland. L. Templemore. Agreed to; and the said Lords appointed accordingly. NEW BILLS. RULE COMMITTEE BILL [H.L.] (No. 11). A Bill to amend the Judicature Acts, 1873 to 1894, with respect to the persons in whom the power of making rules of Court under those Acts is vested. MATRIMONIAL CAUSES ACTS AMEND MENT BILL [H.L.] (No. 12). A Bill to amend the Matrimonial Causes Acts, 1857 to 1866, by extending PRIZE COURTS BILL [H.L.] (No. 13). A Bill for amending the law relating to the administration of oaths for the purpose of proceeding in prize Courts, Were presented by the LORD CHANCELLOR; read 1; and to be printed. SUNDAY TRADING. *LORD AVEBURY: My Lords, I rise to move "That this House reiterates its opinion that the subject of Sunday trading requires the serious and earnest attention of His Majesty's Government, and urges them to legislate in accordance with the unanimous Reports of the Committees of 1905 and 1906." is not intended as any censure on His Let me, in the first place, say that this Majesty's Government. I had, indeed, hoped that they would have brought in a Bill in accordance with the recommendations in the unanimous Reports of the Committees of 1905 and 1906. Still they might fairly say that, with all the other subjects which they have before them, they wished to take more time for consideration of details. Our object is to urge them on, and to encourage them by showing, as we hope we shall, that in dealing with the question they will have your Lordships' support. There is, perhaps, no subject on which shopkeepers are more thoroughly agreed. The late Committee proposed certain alterations to which they would, I believe, assent; but the Bill, as I introduced it in 1905, is that of the shopkeepers themselves, and is earnestly desired by the shop assistants. The Committee published in their Blue-book (p. 251) a list of over 300 Shopkeepers' Associations by which the Bill is supported, and since then some fifty more have expresssed their approval. On the other hand, there are only two or three who oppose it. I dwell on this because Sunday closing has roused some opposition in 66 there cannot be the least doubt of the im portance of one clear day's rest in seven.' France. It seems to have been passed | Richard Douglas Powell, who was good rather hastily. In our case, however, enough to come and express his opinion, every clause, every line, of our Bill has which, he said, was that of the whole been examined by the Shopkeepers' medical profession, thatAssociations, and approved by them. No doubt there are some exceptional trades. Refreshment houses must, it is thought, be excluded. Tobacconists, also, are in a special position, as the publichouses sell tobacco. They would, many of them, wish for six days licences. Hairdressers, we thought at first, might wish to be open on Sunday mornings, but the Hairdressers' Associations all over the country are keenly in favour of Sunday closing. Our Bill was read a second time in 1905 without a division, and referred to a Select Committee by which it was unanimously approved. When it came back to the House no notice of opposition was given, no Amendment was put down, but on a snap division it was thrown out by a small majority. My noble friend, Lord Lansdowne, thought there were some points on which further information was desirable; and, under these circumstances, last year I proposed a Resolution which was unanimously agreed to, and a Joint Committee of both Houses was appointed. That Committee held a long inquiry. The shopkeepers reiterated their strong desire to see their Bill passed into law. The Committee, or at least the majority, differed on some minor points of detail and procedure from that of the previous year, but on all the main issues they were agreed, and their Report also was unanimous. They said that they"concurred generally with the Report of the Committee of 1905.' They were satisfied of the great importance of maintaining the Sunday as a day of rest, not only on religious and moral grounds, but also as necessary to the preservation of the health and strength of the community. Almost all the witnesses who appeared before the Committee-even those who, on various grounds, objected to the proposed legislation-were agreed on the necessity for maintaining one day's rest in seven. Though the Committee had no doubt as to the importance of the Sunday rest from the point of view of health, they thought it well to consult the President of the Royal College of Physicians, Sir They reported that they had heard all the Shopkeepers' Associations which wished to give evidence, and, with one exception, they all supported the Bill of 1905. Moreover, they went on to say- "The Bill of 1905, as the Committee of the House of Lords last year pointed out in their Report, is supported by a large number of the principal Trade Councils and Trade Unions, by the Corporations of Belfast, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesborough and Swansea, by the Executive Council of the Urban District Council Association, representing 490 urban districts. The Corporations of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Dundee, Aberdeen, and over fifty other Scottish cities and burghs also support Lord Avebury's Bill, whilst preferring that introduced by Mr. Cameron Corbett. The Committee are satisfied that Sunday shopping has increased, and are disposed to concur with most of the witnesses that this increase is likely to continue unless some steps are taken to prevent it. The present state of the law is unsatisfactory. It has been suggested that the best way of dealing with the evil of Sunday trading would be to limit the hours of labour of shop assistants. The shop assistants are naturally anxious for their Sunday rest. Parand workshops, and the shop assistants claim liament has intervened in the case of factories that their health and happiness equally deserve the attention of Parliament. This view was strongly urged on the Committee by the two the Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants and principal Associations of Shop Assistants-viz., the National Society of Grocers Assistants. This, however, would not benefit the small shopkeeper. At present many of those who open on Sunday do so very reluctantly. If one shopkeeper opens, those in the same way of business in the same neighbourhood must open also, or they will see their business and their customers leaving them and going to their rivals." The Committee also expressed the opinion that the greater part of the opposition was based on a misapprehension, and added technical grounds, and moved the final clause of the Report as follows "The Committee do not consider that the words of any particular Bill come within their terms of reference, but they recommend strongly that legislation, subject to such modifications in the existing law as may be necessary, should be initiated in general accordance with the increasing feeling against Sunday trading in this country." To this I gladly assented. It shows that my noble friend who ably represented the Government on the Committee was convinced that legislation was urgently required, and I hope, therefore, that we shall have the support of His Majesty's Government for the Resolution. My Lords, I do not dwell on the religious aspect of the question. I should not presume to do so in the presence of his Grace the Primate and other right rev. Prelates. Nor will I again urge its great importance from the point of view of health, because your Lordships have allowed me to lay these considerations before you on two previous occasions. But I content myself with urging this Resolution on your favourable consideration as representing two Parliamentary Committees and as the mouthpiece of 350 tradesmens' associations, who believe that such a measure is urgently required, and that it would greatly add to their health and strength, and to the happiness of their own lives and those of their assistants. Moved, "That this House reiterates its opinion that the subject of Sunday trading requires the serious and earnest attention of His Majesty's Government, and urges them to legislate in accordance with the unanimous Reports of the Committees of 1905 and 1906."(Lord Avebury.) *LORD ZOUCHE OF HARYNGWORTH: My Lords, this question is no doubt one of very great difficulty from whichever side it is approached. There is, as the noble Lord has pointed out, a strong feeling on the part of shopkeepers, of various trade associations and trade unions, and of the working classes generally, that Sunday labour should as far as possible be curtailed, and that the working men of the country should not Lord Avebury. be deprived of one day's rest in seven, and that, if possible, that day should be Sunday. Speaking generally, I think your Lordships will be inclined to sympathise with the view that has just been expressed by Lord Avebury as to Sunday trading. It is impossible, however, not to see that, unless great care is taken, hardships may be inflicted upon very poor and deserving members of the community with whom it is already a matter of great difficulty to make a sufficient amount of money for their daily bread. Therefore, while, on the one hand, we should endeavour to do as much as possible to afford at least one day's rest in the week to the general body of workers, we should not, on the other hand, fall into the error of acting hardly towards these poor traders. The subject can be looked at from three points of view―(1) the hygienic side, (2) the trading side, and (3) the religious side. The presence of a large number of Jews in the East End of London and in As Therefore our large towns adds a great complication to the treatment of the question. your Lordships are aware, the Jews are mostly a religious people and faithfully observe their Sabbath, as they call it, on Sunday; and in a great many which takes place on Saturday and not. instances, if not the majority, they do cease work, however valuable it may be to them, on their Sabbath. they object very strongly to being obliged to close their business on Sunday, because in that case they would have to close on two days a week instead of one. The subject is further complicated by the fact that the Jewish Sabbath instead of including the whole day usually ends at sunset on the Saturday, which may be taken as 6 p.m. After that hour their shops may be opened and they pursue their trade as usual, so that in any attempted legislation these very intricate points should be taken into consideration to avoid any show of injustice one way or the other. By the kindness of my noble friend Lord Onslow, I have been furnished with a valuable contribution to our knowledge of this subject from Mr. Rupert Guinness, who has inquired as to the feelings of the people in the district of London called Haggerston. I will read to your Lordships what he says "I have discovered that the opinion in Haggerston among shopkeepers, street hawkers, costermongers, etc., as regards Sunday trading is that they would be quite willing to accept the principle of no trading on Sunday provided it were applied to the Jews; but if the Jews were to be allowed to trade on Saturday after 6 o'clock when the greatest business is to be done and also on Sunday when Christians would not be able to compete with them, a great injustice would exist. They consider that in a Christian country there should be one law for Jew and Christian." Mention has been made of the strong feeling of labour unions, of shopkeepers in general, and, it may be said, of the vast majority of the working-classes, who seem to be favourably inclined towards some legislation on the subject. We have also the assistance of the valuable Report made by the Joint Committee who sat last year. It would seem, speaking generally, that it would be for the benefit of the whole community that Sunday labour should be discouraged, and, as far as possible, discontinued. But certain exceptions, no doubt, should be made, especially in regard to the provision of the necessaries of life and those articles which may be classed as half way between necessaries and luxuries, such as tobacco, sweetmeats, and so forth. With regard to the religious side of the question, I do not think I am competent to say much, although I feel very strongly about it. I have no doubt the most rev. Primate will address your Lordships on that aspect of the subject. The working people of this country regard Sunday in the light of a great Charter, the sanctity of which should be preserved. I venture, with very great deference, to support the Motion which has been moved by the noble Lord, and to express the hope that this very important subject will very soon receive the consideration of His Majesty's Government. *THE LORD BISHOP OF WAKEFIELD: My Lords, I rise to support the noble Lord's Motion as one who had the privilege of acting on the Committee appointed by your Lordships to look into this question, and also as one who has had some experience in past days of the habits of the very poor, which is one of the important considerations that must always surround this question. The noble Lord who has just sat down re 1 In a very ferred to the case of possible hardship to the small trader. I am certain that all who sat on the Committee must have felt that no more stringent application of the law regarding Sunday observance could possibly take place without some case of hardship arising. But there is a great deal of misapprehension with regard to the hardship which is supposed to fall on the small trader. large number of the cases of those small traders whose shops are at present open throughout Sunday the kind of goods sold are those which would undoubtedly fall under a schedule of exemption in almost any Act which could possibly be passed on the subject, looking to the requirements of modern life. In support of this I might say that the Committee took special care to call representatives of the small traders in order that every opportunity might be given for their case to be fully set forth. Very important statements and statistics were laid before the Committee; and what did they amount to? The representative of the Small Traders' Association, which has been specially called into creation in order to resist the imposition of any further restriction on Sunday trading, came before us and stated that he represented some 8,000 traders, of whom more than half carried on their trade in the Metropolis. Of these 8,000 he admitted that 50 per cent represented sweet shops, 25 per cent. shops that sold sweets and tobacco, or sweets and newspapers, 10 per cent. small general traders, and 15 per cent. fruiterers and the like. Therefore, it is not too much to say that in all probability 75 per cent. of the small traders who would be affected would fall under a schedule of exemptions in almost any Act that could be passed dealing with the subject. While I sympathise very strongly with these poor people, I think it would be unfair to press too hardly the case of the small trader, looking to the fact that he would, to a great extent, fall under a schedule of exemptions. One of the witnesses before the Committee was the Mayor of Birkenhead, who stated that out of 2,600 shops in his borough, on a particular Sunday, 609 were found to be open. Twelve months after that the number open had increased to 683. This is one of the many evidences of the undoubted increase in Sunday trading at the present time. Of those 683 shops, |