The Committee stage of the Parliament Bill was continued on
Tuesday. After the defeat of an amendment to provide that Bills passed under the Parliament Bill must have had a majority of at least a hundred in the House of Commons, the "kangaroo" closure was moved by Mr. Asquith. This was its second application since the Bill has been in Committee' and proposed that the Chairman should have power to select among the amendments to the first eighteen lines of the second clause. The motion was carried by 110 (293 to 183). Sir A. Cripps's proposal that disputed Bills should be referred to a Joint Session of the two Houses was next considered and rejected. A little later the first amendment from the Minis- terial benches was moved by Sir H. Dalziel, who proposed that the period of delay allowed to the Lords should be reduced from three Sessions to two. Mr. Churchill, in de- clining the amendment on behalf of the Government, said that the powers of the House of Lords under the Bill were undoubtedly very great and substantial, and if vexatiously used would place the Liberal Party at a disadvantage.
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