HC Deb 29 February 1844 vol 73 cc393-6
The Earl of Lincoln

rose to bring in a Bill, the substance of which he would convey to the House in a very few sentences. His observations should be, not in vindication of the Measure, but in explanation of its enactments. He was relieved from the necessity of saying more from what had passed in the House in legislating upon a similar subject. The voluminous reports made to the House as to the population of large towns must be so fresh in the recollection of the House, and the facts produced so strong an effect upon the minds of Members, that it would he useless to recapitulate the statements in the reports, or to make extracts from them. In the report of a Committee which sat in 1840, and over which the Member for Shrewsbury presided, the Committee stated, that with a view to remedial Measures, they considered that an Act should be passed for the regulation of Public Buildings in the Metropolis. It; further stated, that such an Act not only for the metropolis, but for other large towns, would be of essential but primary importance. The first Bill upon the subject was introduced by a noble Lord, then the Secretary for the Home Department, in 1841. It was brought down from the Lords to that House, but from the dissolution of Parliament happening immediately after, it made no progress. In 1842, the Bill was again brought into the House of Lords, and thence to that House, but before it was carried by the consent of all parties—not only with the consent of the Secretary for the Home Department, but with that of the Member fire Perth,—it was found so deficient in its provisions, that by the consent of all parties it was sent to the Committee then sitting up stairs. That Committee eventually reported the evidence which it had collected without giving an opinion thereon. At the close of the session, by the desire of his right hon. Friend the Secretary for the Home Department, he had undertaken to examine the subject, and to introduce a Measure. For that purpose he had consulted architects and surveyors of eminence, but looking to the complication of details, the number of towns that would be affected by such a Measure, and the fact that some of those towns, such as Liverpool, had Local Acts of their own, he thought that any general Measure would be inapplicable to different places. With these views he had brought in a Bill during last Session for regulating the buildings of the metropolis alone; but from the important Measures before the House, the Session became so far advanced, that it became impossible to proceed with the Bill. He ought to state that he did not regret that event, as it gave him fresh opportunities for introducing important improvements not only in the details but also in the form, and bringing it forward in a shape inure likely to be useful than last year. He would now state the provisions of the Bill. The House was aware that the last Act passed for the regulation of Buildings in the Metropolis was in the reign of George III. An enactment of seventy years must be wholly inapplicable to the present circumstances of the metropolis. He therefore proposed to repeal it altogether. That Act contained provisions for the prevention of fires. He, however, would produce a separate Measure for that purpose in the present Session. It was not necessary to trouble the House with details which were not only not interesting, but unintelligible, such as those relating to party walls. That subject had been examined with the greatest care by men able to judge, and he hoped that the provisions with respect to it would prove palateable to the community at large, and be willingly adopted by parties whose will it was intended to restrict. In the Bill of last year several clauses were introduced for the regulation of Drainage, which were intended to promote the health of the people. In the present Bill he had introduced a clause of a general nature as to Draining, but he had omitted several or the clauses, because the question of Draining and the supply of water, not only as to the metropolis, but as to other large towns in the kingdom, was under the anxious consideration of the Commission for the Improvement of Towns and Populous Places; and he hoped, before long, that a report would be made which would enable the Government to deal with these subjects. On these grounds he thought it unadvisable to enter on that subject. The only regulation he had introduced into the Measure as to Drainage was, that for the future no house should be erected without a proper provision to secure adequate drainage. He also proposed to provide for the width of streets and alleys. Hitherto such enormous mortality had been caused by the crowded state of the large towns, that for the purpose of preventing such, he intended to introduce a clause that the streets and alleys should be of a certain width. He also proposed to prohibit buildings for the purposes of trades injurious to the health of the people, such as were likely to produce fever. These were the details of the Bill, but he hoped that Members would reserve any observations they might have to make for the second reading. The present Building Act was carried out by district surveyors. In the new Bill he would not interfere with the appointment of these officers; he would not deprive the Magistrates of the power of appointing them, but there had been great abuses in the appointment of these surveyors, and the interests of the country had, by the appointment of young men, almost boys, been grossly neglected. He would propose to place some restrictions on the appointment, such as that the office of district surveyor should not be held by a Magistrate—that no person should be appointed to it who was under thirty years old, and that the consent of the Secretary of State should be obtained to all such appointments. The Bill would also contain clauses for the appointment of "official referees," who would constitute a tribunal to which disputed questions arising out of house surveys should be referred. By this plan much time, litigation and expense, would be avoided. On another point, namely, the limits to which the operation of the Bill was to be extended, he would propose that the Commissioners should have power to ex tend them to any distance round the metropolis not exceeding twelve miles from Charing-cross. In conclusion the noble Lord expressed a hope, though the proposed Bill did not possess such claims on the attention of the House as others which had occupied its time, that in the course of the Session they might pass a Measure which would promote the health and comfort of the inhabitants of the metropolis.

The noble Lord moved for leave to bring in the Bill.

Mr. T. Duncombe

said, he did not rise to offer any objection to the introduction of the Bill, but to call the attention of the noble Lord to complaints which had been made by many persons residing in the localities in which houses had been pulled down to make way for the intended improvements. They complained that they were put to great loss in business and otherwise to much inconvenience by the length of time allowed to elapse between the pulling down of the old buildings and the erection of the new. One consequence of this delay was, that the rating of some of the parishes in which those buildings had been pulled down had been increased. He thought that where buildings were pulled down, they should be replaced as soon as possible.

The Earl of Lincoln

was quite aware of the inconvenience to which the hon. Member had adverted, but it was one which it was impossible altogether to avoid, and he could assure the hon. Member that it was not caused by any want of diligence in the office over which he presided. There were many things to be done, such as the preparation of proper sewers and other improvements, before the rebuilding of the houses could be commenced, but when completed it would be found that the individual rating in the parishes alluded to would be diminished.

Leave given.