LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (PRESENTATION OF SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION) BILL

Order for Committee stage read.

4.29 p.m.

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr SPEAKER in the Chair]

Clauses 1 and 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

The Schedule-

The Attorney-General (Mr E. P. Shanks): Sir, I move,

In page 2, line 47, to leave out from "Delete" to the end of line 52 and insert -

'the words "laid before" appearing in the fifth line of subsection (2) of section 61 thereof and substitute therefor the words "presented to";'.

Sir, the purpose of this amendment is to correct a mistake that was made in the drafting of this part of the Schedule.

Amendment agreed to.

Mr Shanks: Sir, I move,

In page 5, line 4, to leave out "one month" and insert "three months".

It was by an unfortunate mistake that the period one month was put in in this Bill at the time when the draft was being prepared, with a view to obtaining rather more uniformity than was in the event found possible. The period of three months appears in the present Prisons Ordinance and, to be consistent, that period should be retained in this Bill.

Amendment agreed to.

Mr Shanks: Sir, I move,

In page 5, line 13, to leave out from "Delete" to the end of line 24 and insert -

'subsection (3) of section 9 thereof and substitute therefor the following:-

"(3) Every order made under this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to the Legislative Assembly as soon as may be after publications and if a resolution is passed pursuant to a motion notice whereof has been given for a sitting day not later than the first available sitting day of the Assembly next after the expiry of three months from the date when such order is so presented annulling the order or any part thereof as from a specified date, such order or such part thereof as the case may be shall thereupon become void as from such date but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder or to the making of a new order."'.

Sir, unfortunately when this Bill was drafted, yet a further mistake was made, and in what is at present paragraph (b) of this part of the Schedule on page 5, some words were used which had been considered that were not, in the event, finally adopted. The amendment that I now propose will, in that respect, keep the wording consistent with the remaining parts of this Bill and what we hope to see in future in the laws of the Colony.

There is, however, one other matter in which an error has crept in and which may be the subject of an amendment moved by another Member of the Assembly.

Question, "That the words proposed to be left out, be left out", put, and agreed to.

Question proposed, "That the words proposed to be inserted, be there inserted."

The Chief Secretary (Mr E. B. David): Sir, I rise to move a drafting amendment to the amendment -

In line 3 of the amendment, after the word "section", to insert the words "which relates to a class of persons".

Amendment to the amendment handed in.

Sir, I move this drafting amendment with the agreement of my hon. Friend the Attorney-General. This Bill is not intended to make any changes in the substantive provisions of the Ordinances which it seeks to amend, but purely procedural changes to bring the provisions in line with procedure in this House. In the amendment moved by the Attorney-General, there was unfortunately omitted from the draft these words which relate to a class of persons and which qualify the section as it stands in the Ordinance at present.

Amendment to the amendment agreed to.

Original amendment, as amended, agreed to.

The Chairman: There is a Note - in page 5, line 25, to leave out "(c)" and insert "(b)". That will be done.

Mr Shanks: Sir, I move,

In page 5, line 35, to leave out "one month" and insert "three months".

This again is a mistake that crept in as a result of an attempt to obtain more uniformity than has been found possible. "Three months" appears in the present Ordinance.

Amendment agreed to.

Mr Shanks: Sir, I move,

In page 7, line 44, to leave out "three months" and insert "one month".

This differs from the last amendment I moved, Sir, in that in the provisions of the Probation of Offenders Ordinance at present, no period is mentioned but the phrase used is "at the next meeting of the Assembly" after the laying of the rules. It is appropriate and consistent with the rest of the Bill that for the expression "next meeting", we should now insert the period "one month", not "three months".

Amendment agreed to.

Mr Shanks: Sir, I move,

In page 9, line 36, before "Delete", to insert -

'(a) Delete the words "laid before" appearing in the penultimate line of subsection (2) of section 9 thereof and substitute therefor the words "presented to";'.

This, Sir, is to correct a mistake in the drafting. The amendment to this Ordinance which is already shown in the Bill deals with the section of the Ordinance which relates to presentation of rules, but it had been overlooked that there is another section dealing with the presentation of accounts which also uses the words "laid before", which should now be changed to "presented to".

Amendment agreed to.

The Chairman: A consequential amendment will be made, in page 9, line 36, at the beginning of the Second Column to insert "(b) ".

Mr Shanks: Sir, I beg to move,

In page 10, line 14, to leave out "one month" and insert "three months" The reasons are as for those I gave for one of the earlier amendments I moved to leave out "one month" and insert "three months". "Three months" at present appears in the Wages Councils Ordinance.

Amendment agreed to.

Mr Shanks: Sir, I move,

In page 10, to leave out lines 24 to 35.

The Ordinance referred to in those lines has recently been repealed by the Shop Assistants Employment Ordinance and so ought no longer to remain in the Schedule.

Amendment agreed to.

Mr Shanks: Sir, I move,

In page 11, line 9, to leave out "at its next sitting" and insert "as soon as may be".

This, Sir, is again an unfortunate mistake which was made in the preparation of the Schedule.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendments made:

In page 12, line 6, to leave out "one month" and insert "three months". - [Mr Shanks].

In page 12, line 24, to leave out "one month" and insert "three months". - [Mr Shanks].

In page 13, line 18, to leave out "one month" and insert "three months". - [Mr Shanks].

Mr Shanks: Sir, I beg to move,

In page 13, line 44, at end, to add - 'Cap. 205 The University of Delete the words "laid Malaya before" appearing in Ordinance the first line of sub-section (2) of section 11 thereof and sub-stitute therefor the words "presented to".'

Sir, in preparing the Schedule, the University of Malaya Ordinance was inadvertently omitted.

Amendment agreed to.

Further amendment made: In page 14, line 25, to leave out "three months" and insert "one month".-[Mr Shanks].

Mr Shanks: Sir, I move,

In page 16, line 44, to leave out "possible" and insert "maybe".

This, Sir, is for the sake of uniformity.

Amendment agreed to.

Further amendments made: In page 19, line 3, to leave out "one month" and insert "three months".-[Mr Shanks].

In page 19, line 22, to leave out "one month" and insert "three months".- [Mr Shanks].

Bill reported with amendments; read the Third time and passed.