On behalf of Senator Milroy I move:
That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Standing Order 85, the Report Stage of the Merchandise Marks Bill, 1931 be taken to-day.
Suspension of Standing Orders.
I second.
I would like to call attention to the fact that during the past year Senator Milroy has been constantly putting down motions of this kind and that he has never attended himself to move them. That has had to be done by some other Senator. Senator Milroy never attends the House, but gets some other Senator to move these motions which he puts down in his own name. Would it not be better that motions of this kind would be put down by some Senator who attends here? Senator Milroy has been doing this while he has made it a regular habit for a year not to attend here.
Cathaoirleach
I am not Senator Milroy's guardian.
I rise to oppose the motion. This motion is only one of a number of a similar character that appear on the Order Paper to-day. This rushing of legislation, like water through a mill race, is assuming such proportions that it is rapidly making this House a farce. Really, it would be far decenter and far better to abolish the Seanad and have a small revising committee of the Dáil rather than have this sort of humbug with motions of this character put down in regard to practically every second Bill that we have dealt with recently.
Cathaoirleach
There were no amendments suggested for the Committee Stage of this Bill except the two Government amendments that we have just passed.
It is against the principle that I am protesting. There are some Bills on the Order Paper to-day to which a similar motion is attached. I am enthusiastically in favour of it in these cases. It is the principle of the thing that I protest against. It is really becoming a scandal. Anyone who has been a member of the House for any length of time knows that it has become a scandal.
The difficulty that we have with regard to motions of this kind is that we have no statement from anybody as to what exactly is the position with regard to our business and what is the reason for these motions. No one wants to rush these things through unless there is a reason given. I do not know exactly what the proposals are with regard to the meetings of the House.
Cathaoirleach
As I said at the beginning, one reason, apparently, is that the Dáil proposes to adjourn to-night and wants to have these Bills with any amendments that may be passed to them put before the adjournment. That is one reason. There may be others that I am not aware of.
I want to support this protest. The case has been made that the Dáil wants to adjourn to-night. If that is so, then the Dáil could have given us these Bills a fortnight ago. The whole position of the Seanad in this matter is one of importance, and if it is not we ought to be abolished. If we are not abolished, then so long as we remain in being we ought to have a sense of responsibility regarding any legislation that is put before us. While in this case there have been no amendments put down for the Committee Stage, that does not seem to be a factor that weighed with the promoters of these motions, because similar motions have been put down in respect to other Bills, some of which are only down for Second Reading to-day. I think that as a matter of general principle the Seanad ought to oppose these motions with the idea that we shall meet to-morrow.
I have nothing to do with the principle that is under discussion, but I want to point out the application of what is being considered to this special measure. The Dáil, for reasons best known to itself, is likely to adjourn to-day. If that is so, and this measure is held up until to-morrow for the purpose of considering it, as it is now and without any further amendments, the Dáil cannot get it. It will not then become law until the Dáil meets again. That will not be until some time in the new year. The particular emergency to which I referred earlier, necessitating the changes made on the Committee Stage, is likely to warrant action on my part before the new year. I do not care how the principle under discussion is decided, but I just want to point this out, that if the Report Stage of the Bill is not taken until to-morrow I shall have the necessity of moving the deletion from it of the amendments just passed to enable the Bill to run its course, and of not going back to the Dáil. I would rather have it in its unamended form, so that I could take some sort of haphazard action instead of the correct action that would be possible if I get the Bill as amended.
That is the reaction of this discussion to this special piece of legislation. If the Bill in its amended form is not passed by the Seanad to-day, then it cannot become law before Christmas. The amendments passed to-day are, as I have pointed out, for the purpose of meeting a particular emergency. If the Bill in its amended form is not going to be given to me in time to go back to the Dáil this evening, then I shall have to move to-morrow to delete these amendments and make whatever use I can of the Bill as it stands. I have referred already to the circumstances of the particular emergency which moved me to get a change made in the Bill to-day.
I do not think the Minister really understands the minds of members of the Seanad. In one sentence, what is the Minister's speech? "Now, my good little boys, we have a few little amendments here, and if you will kindly pass Senator Milroy's motion I shall accept these amendments, but if you do not pass Senator Milroy's motion and allow me to get on with the serious business of my life, then I will not accept your amendments at all."
My amendments.
These amendments are worthy of legislation or they are not. If they are sound amendments, then the Minister, the Seanad and the Dáil must wait to have them properly debated.
They have been debated and passed.
They must be properly debated, and reconsidered if necessary. I will make no further protest in reference to the practice that has grown up here of suspending Standing Orders. I have said my last word upon it and will say no more. I really do think that legislation ought not to be rushed through in the way that it is rushed through this House.
I think that my friend Senator Comyn has misunderstood what the Minister has said. Personally, I am strongly opposed to motions of this character unless there is some very substantial reason for them. To my mind the Minister has given us a very substantial reason. He has told us that if the Bill does not go through to-day, with the very useful amendments which he has asked the House to accept — amendments which the House has accepted — then the Bill, with these amendments, will be of no use, or at least will be delayed. That being so, I very reluctantly intend to vote for the motion.
Question put and declared carried.