'A
Page
1773
Resolved,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
1774
18 DECEMBER 1974
If he is. the question cannot be debated
That this House authorises the Secretary of State to pay or undertake to pay by way of financial assistance under section 8 of the Industry Act 1972 in respect of a guarantee or guarantees to be given to the bankers of British Leyland Motor Enrporation Limijed and any of its subsidiaries covering borrowing facilities made available by the bankers to those companies, insofar as the amount paid or undertaken to be paid under the guarantee or guarantees is in excess of £5 million but does not exceed £50 million.
Ordered,
WEALTH TAX
That Sir John Hall be discharged from the Select Committee on Wealth Tax and that Mr. Peter Rees be added to the Committee.- [Mr. Walter Harrison.]
STANDING COMMITTEE ON STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
Motion made,
That Standing Order No. 73A (Standing Com mittee on Statutory Instruments) be amended as follows:--
Line 41, after the word 'hours insert the words (or, in the case of an instrument or draft instrument relating exclusively to Northern Ireland, two and a half hours) '.—Mr. Waiter Harrison.]
Rev. Ian Paisley (Antrim, North): On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Is it in order for us to discuss this motion?
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Oscar Murton): No, it is not exempted business. It will not be in order to debate it.
#
Mr. J. Enoch Powell (Down, South): Further to that point of order. Mr. Deputy Speaker. As it was difficult to hear what you said, I wonder whether you would tell the House whether we are on the motion dealing with Statutory Instruments or the motion dealing with Public Accounts.
Mr. Deputy Speaker: We are now on the motion dealing with Statutory Instru- ments. The question has not yet been proposed. Does the right hon. Gentleman wish to speak?
Mr. Powell: I await your proposing the motion in order to speak to it.
Mr. Deputy Speaker: Is the right hon. Gentleman desiring to object to the order?
8 R 27
now.
Mr. Powell: Object.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTA
Ordered,
Richard
That Mr. Guy Barnett, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Edward du Cann, Mr. Cant, Mr. A. P. Costain, Mr. David Crouch, Mr. Denzil Davies, Dr. John Gilbert, Mr. Peter Hordern, Mr. James Lamond, Mr. John Maca Gregor, Mr. John Moore, Mr. Maurice Orbach and Mr. David Price be members of the Com mittee of Public Accounts.
Ordered,
That the members of the Committee of Public Accounts nominated this day shall cona tinue to be members of the Committee for the remainder of this Parliament.
Ordered,
That this be a Standing Order of the House. -[Mr. Walter Harrison.]
ADJOURNMENT
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.~[Mr. Dormand.]
12.41 a.m.
HONG KONG
Sir Paul Bryan (Howden): I shall be visiting Hong Kong in January. I am particularly glad to have this oppor tunity to hear the right hon. Gentleman's views on various topical subjects before I go.
As the right hon. Gentleman's noble Friend, the Under-Secretary of State, is also due to visit the colony shortly, this debate may also provide an opportunity for his colleague in this House to express the Government's atti- tude to Hong Kong's problems in advance of his arrival.
From time to time Hong Kong comes under a wave of criticism. Such criticism is almost always based on failure to re- cognise that all economic thinking there is related to one basic reality--its depen- dence on foreign trade.
Hong Kong is almost wholly depen dent on imported food, it produces no in- dustrial raw materials, and its domestic market is not big enough to absorb more than a small proportion of its industrial production. Food is imported from
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