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[LORD PITT OF Hampstead.] now. That is what the French have done. consequence a black Martinican man has more rights in this country than a black man from Montserrat. Montserrat is a British colony and because that black man comes from Montserrat which is a British colony he will not have any right of abode here--he will have no right to enter this country. However, the black man from Martinique, because he is a Frenchman and France is in the EEC and Britain is in the EEC, will have a right to come here and look for work and to stay. That is the difference.
One realises I am very sad about this—that this country is in the process of repudiating its history. That is a very sad sight for any country. I believe that Great Britain was great, is still great and will still be great. I wish that the Government could believe that.
5.17 p.m.
Lord Boyd-Carpenter: My Lords, I do not begin by apologising for seeking to address your Lordships with- out my name being on the list of speakers, because I did my best last week to put it there but apparently something went wrong. It is a mistake in this House, as no doubt elsewhere, to think that anyone remembers one's speeches except oneself. But those of your Lord- ships who were present as long ago as the Second Reading may possibly be reminded that I did say in an intervention then that I thought that this was a pretty poor Bill and that I might have some difficulty in supporting it at later stages if improvements were not affected. It is only fair to say that considerable improvements have been affected.
In the first place, the highly restrictive provisions of Clause 3 in respect of our fellow countrymen working abroad in private employ or self-employed have been very greatly improved. Although there is still some disparity which I regret between the automatic rights of those in Crown service, which are given in Clause 2, the disparity between their treatment and that of the non-Crown servants covered by Clause 3 has been very substantially reduced and I welcome that.
There have been a number of other improvements resulting from the interventions, pressures and speeches of noble Lords in all quarters of the House and, if I may be allowed to say so, this Bill has been a classic example of the value of this House as a revising Cham- ber. There has been also a further amendment carried against the wishes of the Government--the amendment referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Aylestone, in respect of Gibraltar. I do not know what the Govern- ment's intentions in another placc may be, but I do hope that my noble friend will take very seriously the warning given by the noble Lord, Lord Aylestone. This is a matter on which some of us in both Houses feel very strongly. I would only differ from the noble Lord, Lord Aylestone, when he suggested that if the Government acted foolishly in this matter there might be a constitutional crisis. There will be nothing of a sort. If the Government like to wait a year and use the machinery of the Parliament Act they can get their way, but, of course, this particular Bill would be lost.
As I see it, there is no question of a constitutional crisis. This House has a right to its view on any
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provision of this Bill, subject, of course, to the Parlia- ment Act procedure, with a year's delay. After long debate this House came to a view on the Gibraltar question. Perhaps some noble Lords will attach weight to the fact that a substantial majority voted to put in what is now Clause 10 against the strong efforts of the former Leader of the House, a most formidable and admirable character, and against the arguments of the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor who, in my personal view, is the greatest advocate of the day. So no one can say that this was not a carefully con- sidered decision, and I venture to express the opinion that it is a decision that this House would be unlikely to be persuaded to reverse.
It would be only fair when we are talking of these improvements-apart from the particular one which my noble friend Lord Belstead did his best to prevent— that I should join with other noble Lords in expressing my enormous admiration for the way in which my noble friend Lord Belstead has handled this Bill. First, he argued the unarguable and defended the indefensible with superlative skill, as did, let me say at once for I do not wish to be discriminatory-my noble and learned friend the Lord Advocate. But my noble friend Lord Belstead, having defended with great vigour, then always did what he promised: he went back, I hope and believe bullied his officials, and has certainly returned with a remarkable number of improvements. I hope that I am not guilty of imperti- nence when I say that my noble friend's conduct of this Bill has been a classic example, which I hope Ministers will follow in the future.
Several noble Lords: Hear, hear!
Lord Boyd-Carpenter: My Lords, having said that, I must admit that this is still not a very good Bill. One cannot ignore the general expressions of criticism, regardless of party alignment or of party questions, which it has aroused, can one? I, for one, cannot help being impressed by the attitude of the Churches. We all listened this afternoon with very great respect—a respect due both to his office and to his personality-to the most reverend Primate. One cannot overlook the fact that opinion outside, academic opinion, opinion among the ethnic minorities, opinion in the press and opinion generally is still intensely critical of the Bill.
It is perfectly fair to say-as my noble friend Lord Belstead has sometimes said that a good deal of that criticism is still founded on misunderstanding of its effect. However, we are almost at the end of the road with this Bill. It has had its proceedings in the Commons. It has had proceedings in this House, which no one has criticised on the ground of brevity. If it has been impossible for the Government to satisfy opinion outside-opinion in the Churches and impartial opinion in may quarters—if the Government, with all their powers of advocacy and all their technical means of persuasion, have been unable to convince people, perhaps it must raise a doubt even in their minds as to whether this is a particularly good Bill or whether, indeed, there may not still be very substantial defects in it.
I am unhappy about many aspects of it, with which I shall not weary your Lordships at this stage. How- ever, I was very struck by one remark in the very
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