§ CAPTAIN PECHELLbegged to ask the Commissioner of Poor Laws—" Whether 1184 in consequence of the recent decision in the Court of Queen's Bench having upset the opinion given by the law officers of the Crown upon the construction of the Poor Removal Act, it is intended to cancel the instructions, founded on that opinion, issued to the board of guardians on the 20th day of October, 1846; and whether provision will be made for the repayment to unions and parishes of the expenses incurred by them respectively, in the maintenance of poor belonging to other parishes, whose relief was withdrawn in consequence of those instructions? "The parish of Brighton had been put to an expense of more than 1,000l. for maintaining paupers imposed upon them improperly.
§ MR. BAINES, in reply to the question which had been put to him, said that the facts which bore upon the question now before the House were these. Very soon after the passing of the Poor Removal Act, the 9th and 10th Victoria, c. 66, the Poor Law Commissioners received applications from the guardians of a great many unions for advice as to the construction of one particular provision of that Act. At that time no judicial decision had been pronounced on the subject. The Poor Law Commissioners did their best to furnish the most trustworthy advice to the guardians who so applied. They laid a case before gentlemen of the highest eminence—law officers of the Crown—and took their opinion on the subject. Having obtained that opinion, they forwarded it to the different hoards of guardians. Very recently, indeed, the Court of Queen's Bench had decided that the true construction of the provision of the Act was different from that which was put on it by the law officers of the Crown. What had been done to make the decision of the Queen's Bench known was this: the decision having been pronounced must he taken to constitute the law of the land, and the Poor Law Board had lost no time in making the parishes and unions acquainted with the fact. The attention of all had been called to the subject in the annual report of the Poor Law Commissioners, and there was on the point of being issued the official circular, which was addressed to all boards of guardians throughout the country, stating the decision of the Queen's Bench, and calling attention to the fact. They had also directed that they should be furnished with an abstract of the decision which the Queen's Bench had pronounced 1185 on this Act of Parliament. They had lost no time in communicating to the different parishes. With regard to the latter part of the hon. Gentleman's question, he was not aware of any authority by which the repayment of expenses could be made.
§ CAPTAIN PECHELLasked, whether it was intended to take into consideration the repayment of those expenses which had become serious in many cases?
§ MR. BAINESSince the hon. Member had furnished notice of his Motion, the attention of the Poor Law Board had been directed to the subject, and they had come to the conclusion that they had no power in point of law to make any provision for repayment.