[BILL 34.] SECOND READING. (Hansard, 23 January 1878)

MR. FORTESCUE HARRISON,
in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, it was a measure to enable the corporations and public bodies in Scotland to acquire lands for the purpose of making parks and recreation grounds in Scotland for the benefit of the working and other classes in that country. There was no new principle in the Bill. It was exactly the same as the Bill which he introduced last year, and which the House then permitted to be road a second time. Unfortunately he had been unable to get it into Committee on that occasion, and the result was that he now asked the House to extend the same indulgence to him as it did last year by agreeing to the second reading. There was great need in Scotland for a measure of this character. In that country there were large towns containing great numbers of the working classes, without any recreation grounds for the people. He had endeavoured by his Bill to place Scotland in the same favourable position in this respect as England. In fact, every clause in the Bill was already law in this country. He might mention that the Lord Advocate, as representing the Government, was not only willing that the measure should pass, but had afforded him valuable assistance in arranging its clauses. He would not further occupy 360 the time of the House, but merely move now that the Bill be read a second time, and reserve any further information it might be necessary to give until it was in Committee.

§ MR. BIGGAR
said, he had last year opposed going into Committee on this Bill for a number of reasons, which he need not now explain. On the present occasion, however, he did not intend to offer any objection to the second reading of the measure. He thought that, on the whole, the Bill was necessary and desirable; but, at the same time, there were some of its provisions which would require, in his opinion, to be modified in Committee. Certain of its clauses were perfectly proper, those, for instance, which referred to cases in which lands could be taken by compulsion; but in connection with which, notwithstanding the compulsion, there must be proper notice given by advertisement and otherwise. In cases, however, where land was proposed to be taken by agreement, no provision was made for advertisements, and thus an opportunity might be offered for jobbery on the part of town commissioners or town councillors, in burghs in Scotland. He did not mean to say in a general way that parties in Scotland were disposed to jobbery; but it would be well if no opportunity was given for it, but a subsection of Clause 6 stated that no notice was required in cases where land was to be taken by agreement. In the same clause, in another sub-section, when property belonged to two or more owners in common, it was proposed that it should be sufficient to serve three of them with notice; but those three might be obscure persons not likely to take any interest in the subject, and they might act in opposition to the interests of the majority. Practically speaking, a notice to three only might be giving no notice at all. That, therefore, was an objectionable feature, and should be amended. Then, again, power was given to town councils to let land to private persons on lease, and no provision was made that that should be at a fair rent. An Amendment should be introduced in that clause, making it imperative that the rent to be 361 given by the person who took the land from the town council should be fair and reasonable. He would go further, and would say that if afterwards it could be shown that the land was not let for a fair rent, the lease should become null and void, and the person who took the lease should not be able to take advantage under it. There must always be a certain amount of temptation to town councillors to be friendly to their connections and political friends. In passing Acts of this nature, the Legislature should guard very strictly against the possibility of anything unfair or unreasonable in the way of the rates being aggrieved for the benefit of certain parties. Clause 10 gave power to the council to charge the rates with the expenses that were legitimate under the Act as carried into operation. That would be perfectly legitimate if the Bill wore to be carried into operation, but if a town council made an application for certain powers, and that application proved to be unsuccessful, presumably from some fault of their own, the members of such a body should be made liable for the charge, which should not in such a case be put upon the rates. If the Bill were carried into force, then the expenses should be borne by the ratepayers; but there was always the possibility to be guarded against that the solicitor of a town council might encourage his friends in it to involve themselves in an application which was untenable and uncalled for, and it would only be fair that a council in framing any project under a Bill of this sort should have clearly before their eyes the risks which were being incurred. Another objectionable provision of the Bill was that which gave power to add to taxation for the purpose of making public parks. This was an important point— much too serious and important to be carried into operation under a Provisional Order. Of course places of recreation were very good in their way, but they might entail upon the ratepayers an amount of expense which it would not be desirable for them to bear. Certainly it should not fall upon them without their opinion being asked upon the subject. The application might be made when no election was pending, and in that case the ratepayers had no opportunity, except at considerable trouble and cost, of disputing the dictum of the town council, and the property of the 362 borough might be mortgaged to a serious extent for all time to come. He would not, however, make any Motion against the second reading.

THE LORD ADVOCATE
said, hoshould offer no opposition whatever to the passing of the Bill, which he believed would be a useful one. It was framed very much upon the lines of the English Statute, the Public Health Act, 38 & 39 Vict., and would upon the whole, he thought, be found serviceable in Scotland. But in the working of the English measure some limitations had suggested themselves as necessary and desirable, and it might be requisite to move Amendments in that direction when the Bill was in Committee.