The Marquess of Normanbypresented a petition from the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of Birmingham, praying that the powers under the bill might not be transferred from them to commissioners, and to be heard by counsel against the bill. Although he did not think the change made by their Lordships a wise one, he was not disposed at that stage of the bill to move its restoration tr:t the state in which he originally brought it in, in accordance with the prayer of the petitioners; he trusted that if the alteration should be made elsewhere, their Lordships would agree to it. 317 He would, therefore, now move the third reading of the Buildings Regulations Bill. He wished for one moment to call the attention of the noble Duke opposite to a subject intimately connected with the public health, and, therefore, with the object of this bill—the state of the public burial grounds. He had, in the last Session, in answer to a question, stated his intention on the part of the then Government to bring in a bill on the subject. Since that he had received communications from many places in favour of some regulations and among others, that very day from Mr. Fripp of Bristol, a gentleman well known in that town for his participation in the statistical inquiries, pressing for a legislative measure; and the right reverend Prelate (the Bishop of London,) had urged its propriety. If he now declined to introduce a measure, it was not on account of the labour incident to such a task, but because he thought that success would be better attained if the bill were brought in by her Majesty's Government, and because there must be some parts of the bill which made it desirable that it should originate elsewhere.
Bill read a third time and passed—as was also on the motion of the Marquess of Normanby, the Borough Improvements Bill.