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HOUSE OF COMMONS
Oral Answers
TAXICABS, LONDON (HIRE REGULATIONS)
16. Mr. John Lewis asked the Secre- tary of State for the Home Department if it is his intention to introduce legislation to amend the Acts relating to the opera- tion of taxicabs in the light of the recent High Court judgment to the effect that taxicabs are not compelled to stop on being hailed when in motion.
18. Captain John Crowder asked the Secretary of State for the Home Depart- ment whether he will consider introducing legislation to amend the law regarding taxicabs which at present cannot be com- pelled to accept a fare unless they are stationary.
19. Mr. Norman Bower asked the Secretary of State for the Home Depart- ment if his attention has been drawn to the recent decision of the Divisional Court in the case of Hunt v. Morgan, relating to the legal position of taxicabs plying for hire, and the intimation by the court that a change in the present law is desirable; and if he will introduce legis- lation for this purpose.
Mr. Ede: I am informed that in the Metropolitan Police district the police have always acted on the view of the law which has been established by the recent High Court decision. The question of amending and consolidating the Statutes dealing with London cabs is one which I have noted for consideration at a convenient opportunity but, in the present state of Parliamentary business, I fear I can hold out no hope of early action.
Mr. Lewis: Is the House to under-
stand from my right hon. Friend's reply that the police have always held the view that it is not necessary for a taxicab to stop when hailed? Is it not a fact that the police have prosecuted when taxicab drivers have not stopped when hailed? Does not my right hon. Friend agree that taxicab drivers and members of the public have always been under the impression that when a taxicab is hailed it is neces- sary for the driver to stop?
Mr. Ede: No, Sir. The view held by the Metropolitan Police has always been that which the Lord Chief Justice has recently confirmed.
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Captain Crowder: Will the Hoe Secretary do something about this matter as soon as he can? I think he will agree that these regulations were made in the days of horse-drawn cabs, and the position is quite different today.
Mr. Ede: It is not a question of regulations. This is a question of law, and it would involve an amendment of the law. There are certain other things which can be amended by regulation, and I am in consultation with the trade with
regard to that aspect of the matter.
Professor Savory: Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware of the repeated com- plaints that unless one has the appear- ance of being an American a taxicab will not stop when hailed?
Mr. Ede: I have heard complaints of that nature. I have also heard complaints by Americans that the meters on taxicabs appear to be very unreliable when they are in them.
PRISONERS (OFFICIAL
LETTERS)
17. Mr. Janner asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that a letter from him to the hon. Member for Leicester, West, which was enclosed by the latter in a letter to a constituent at present serving a prison sentence in Norwich Prison was not given to the prisoner but was read aloud to him; and whether he will make it clear to Prison Governors that official letters dealing with matters which prisoners have raised with their Members of Par- liament should be handed to prisoners and count among the letters they are privileged to receive.
Member of Parliament is a personal com- Mr. Ede: Yes, Sir. My reply to a
munication to him, and I see objections to a personal reply of mine bearing my autograph being placed in the possession of a prisoner. I have, of course, no ob- jection to a Member passing on to a prisoner in a letter of his own the con- tents of my reply to him, or sending the prisoner a copy of my letter provided in either case the contents are not confi- dential.
Mr. Janner: While appreciating my right hon. Friend's reply in so far as the use of his own signature may be con- cerned, may I ask whether he is aware
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Oral Answers
9 DECEMBER 1948
that was not the explanation given to the prisoner concerned? What differ- ence is there between enclosing a letter, and putting the contents of that letter in the original letter addressed to the prisoner? May I further ask whether my right hon. Friend is afraid that if his letter is retained by the prisoner, his morals will be affected?
Mr. Ede: No, Sir. A predecessor of mine in office was seriously embarrassed by the fact that a prisoner who managed to get hold of an autograph letter from the Secretary of State to another person went about claiming that he was person- ally known to the Secretary of State. I have given instructions that where a letter is sent to a Member, a carbon copy shall be enclosed so that the carbon copy can be sent and the real difficulty thus over-
come.
Mrs. Leah Manning: Is this the only question that has to do with the sending of letters to prisoners, or is it only some- thing to do with my right hon. Friend's own Department? I think that my right hon. Friend will find that most Members send the top copy. It looks so much more respectable.
Mr. Ede: I have pointed out the diffi- culty that may arise if the top copy, as it is called-the copy with the autograph signature is sent to a prisoner with a Member's letter. I should have thought that it is a reasonable request to make that a carbon copy should be sent, and not the original, if it is felt that the letter should be sent.
Mr. Walter Fletcher: Does the right hon. Gentleman think there is any fear of forgery?
POLICE WAR RESERVISTS (RE-EMPLOYMENT)
20. Mr. Eric Fletcher asked the Secre- tary of State for the Home Department how many of the 137 war reservists being dismissed from the Metropolitan Police on 31st December are being retained for duties analogous to police duties.
Mr. Ede: A few men have already been given employment on the civil establish- ment of the Metropolitan Police and in the industrial staff of the Receiver, and the Commissioner of Police is now examining the possibility of giving em- ployment to others.
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Oral Answers
GERMAN EX-PRISONERS OF WAR
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21. Mr. Skeffington-Lodge asked the Secretary of State for the Home Depart- ment, how many German ex-prisoners of war have applied on compassionate grounds to stay in this country after the end of the year; how many applications were granted; and what grounds were recognised as qualifying apart from marriages to British women.
Mr. Ede: No separate record has been kept of applications by former German prisoners of war to stay in this country on compassionate grounds. Most of the applications granted have been from former prisoners who have married British women, but a few have been granted in cases where the applicant was supporting a woman and child in this country, though marriage was out of the question; where the applicant's only rela- tive was living here; or where the appli- cant proposed to join relatives in another country.
Mr. Skeffington-Lodge: Is it still pos- sible for applications to be considered? If so, will my right hon. Friend favour those from German ex-prisoners who have no home, are Stateless, and who would like to stay here to help in the matter of working in this country?
Mr. Ede: No, Sir. I gave an answer ---I think a week, or, possibly, a fort- night ago-in which I said that these people were due to be repatriated upon 13th December, and urged that they should apply as soon as possible. I think that answer still holds good. I would point out that it is getting very close to the time now.
LEGITIMACY ACT, 1926 (AMENDMENT)
22. Mr. Janner asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is prepared to introduce a Bill to amend the Legitimacy Act, 1926, in order to legitimise the birth of children of parents who have gone through a form of marriage which is later annulled on the grounds that the marriage was null and void.
Mr. Ede: I am considering this matter in consultation with my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General.
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