I move amendment No 5: To delete lines 8 and 9. The Treasonable Offences Act is being repealed in Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Bill.
Long Title.
Bill entitled an Act to provide for the punishment of treason and certain ancillary offences, and to repeal the Treasonable Offences Act, 1925.
Has the Minister any reason to give for the moving of this amendment?
We think it is more appropriate that the Act should be repealed in the other Bill.
If the Minister will pardon me, I happened to be here for the first reading of this Bill and I thought that the whole excuse for it was due to the necessity for repealing the other Bill and putting this one in its place. When I am now asked to assent to the passing of this Bill, after the repeal of the other Bill I am in a bit of a quandary. On the First Stage it was said "we have passed a new Constitution; the Act of 1925 is out of date, and we will have to put something in its place and we are doing that." But, so far as this Bill is concerned, the Act of 1925 still stands. Is not that the position?
Yes.
Therefore the excuse that the Minister gave for the first reading seems, to a certain extent, to have vanished, so far as this Bill is concerned.
No. That matter can be argued on the Offences against the State Bill.
Will the Minister say whether the offence of treason is not continued in the Treasonable Offences Act of 1925 after this Bill has been passed. After the passage of this Bill, will we not still have on the Statute Book the Treasonable Offences Act? The Minister will tell us that in Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Bill provision is made for the repeal of the Treasonable Offences Act of 1925, but unless these two Acts are law on the same day, there is going to be a period when, in fact, we are going to have this Treason Act and the Treasonable Offences Act of 1925 in operation at the one time. What is the objection to leaving in Section 4 in this Bill? It may be dead timber after a while, but it is not dead timber to-day and cannot be until such time as the Offences Against the State Bill is enacted.
We think that it is more appropriate that its repeal should take place under the Offences Against the State Bill. The contention is that since the passing of the new Constitution the Treasonable Offences Act is inapplicable, at least to the new constitutional position. A number of matters are dealt with in the Offences Against the State Bill that were in the Treasonable Offences Act. We think that it is more appropriate that that Act should be repealed in this Bill rather than in the other.
It is refreshing to find the Minister so innocent as to think that there is no repressive legislation that could possibly be in conflict with the new Constitution.
Amendment agreed to.
Title, as amended, agreed to.
Bill reported with amendments.
Report Stage ordered for Tuesday, 21st March, 1939.
I would like to know from the Minister if the other matter that was referred to will get consideration in the meantime?
Yes, it will.