At this stage I take occasion to refer to the Schedule of this Bill. The Minister for Industry and Commerce to-day in piloting another Bill before this House adopted a different method to that which is adopted in this Bill. The Minister for Agriculture is aware that his colleague is not a person who goes out of his way to meet the views of the Opposition or the views of his colleagues but at all events he has recognised how unfair it is to legislate extensively by reference. On more than one occasion he reproduced the whole section of the original Act in its amended form. But in this Bill we have three sections extensively amending an earlier Act. It is only right that it should go on record that not a single Deputy in this House knows the effect of any one of those amendments. No Deputy could know its effects but by sitting down with the original Act and spending three or four hours reading them with the amending Bill in his hand. I desire to put it on record that the introduction of legislation here in that form is undesirable and that it ought to be avoided particularly in non-controversial Bills of this kind where the Minister has no reason to believe that by setting out the amendment in extenso he would be in any way embarrassed by the Opposition.
Committee on Finance. - Agricultural Produce (Fresh Meat) (Amendment) Bill, 1935—Committee Stage.
Bill passed through Committee without amendment and reported.
Question: "That the Bill be received for final consideration"— put and agreed to.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
Dr. Ryan
I should like to remind the Deputy that I did circulate a memorandum on this Bill, because I recognised that it would be rather inconvenient for Deputies to have to look up the Principal Act, and go through the various sections to see what these amendments meant. That was pointed out on the Second Reading, and I undertook to circulate a memorandum, which was done.
That memorandum will not be sold along with the Act when it is passed.
I may say that we very much appreciate the memorandum which the Minister circulated. I think it was a great improvement on previous procedure, but I suggest that where possible it is better to resort to the practice of setting out the new sections.
Question put and agreed to.