Might I add my voice to the appeal that has been made to the Minister and the Government Party? I would ask the members of the Government Party and other Deputies to realise what we are asked to do at this hour in the morning. If there is any Department that should represent the word "democracy", it is the Department of Justice, which lays down the principle of the equality of all people under the law. We are asked now, at almost 3 o'clock in the morning, to put through all the Votes concerned with the Department of Agriculture. We are also asked at this hour of the morning to put through all the Votes dealing with the Department of Justice and with the Army. Now, about one-third of the total expenditure on all the various Estimates for this year is concerned with these Estimates on which we are now asked to vote at 3 o'clock in the morning; and we are supposed, in this Assembly, to be the responsible representatives of the taxpayers. There is no getting away from the fact that, if the gun is put up to our heads, in effect, and if we are told that all these Votes have to be cleared up by 6 o'clock in the morning, it will only mean the imposition of a punishment upon us and the people whom we represent, because, as has been said, this Dáil has spent six days in discussing the main, primary, and principal industry in this country—namely, agriculture. I suggest that we have often spent months in discussing cheap political Bills, and it was not regarded as a waste of time; but now, because we have spent six days in discussing the Vote for Agriculture—the most important Vote that could come before this House—the people whom we are supposed to represent are to be punished by not giving adequate time for a proper discussion of the remaining Votes.
I must admit that the Minister for Justice has always displayed, both inside and outside of this House, a very firm sense of justice; and, therefore, I put to him the question: is the proposition that has been put up to us now, a just one? The Minister for Justice has never had any trouble since this emergency began—nor has his Government—in getting through any Estimate associated with the Department of Justice, the maintenance of law and order, or the safety of the country generally. Since the emergency began, Votes connected with the Army or the Department of Justice went through as speedily as possible, and with all the efficiency at our command. Therefore, I suggest, that it is unreasonable to ask us to devote our attention, in an alert and intelligent manner, to these Votes at this hour in the morning. I realise that we ought to release the Minister for Agriculture from his seat on the Front Bench, since he has been sitting here all those days listening to the debate on agriculture and fisheries. It is unreasonable to expect him to sit here any longer, and I think that it would have been quite a reasonable thing to release him, even at 9 o'clock, so that the House might be enabled to take up the other Votes. I would be prepared to agree to sit all night, in order to release the Minister for Agriculture, and take up the other Votes in the meantime, but I do not think it is reasonable to ask us to do this now, at this hour in the morning, and I would appeal to the sense of fair play of the Minister for Justice and of the Government.