§ SIR BENJAMIN HALLIn the absence, Sir, of the noble Lord the Member for Tiverton, I wish to ask a question of the hon. Gentleman below me, the Under Secretary for the Home Department, in reference to the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers. It was reported in the newspapers about three weeks ago, that all the unpaid Commissioners had tendered their resignations in consequence of circumstances to which it is unnecessary now to allude, leaving the whole of the business to be conducted by the paid Commissioner and the executive officers of the Board. It is now reported that on Tuesday last these gentlemen who had resigned, or had intimated their intention to resign, again met for the purpose of transacting business, and passed a resolution that they would proceed with drainage works, the estimated cost of which is not less than 3,000,000l. sterling. They also passed a resolution to levy rates over various parts 1270 of the metropolis; and the question which I wish to ask is, whether the plans, in accordance with which these works are to be executed, have received the sanction of the noble Lord the Secretary of State for the Home Department; and, if so, whether there is any objection to lay these plans on the table of the House?
MR. FITZROYI think, Sir, that the hon. Gentleman has fallen into an error with respect to this question. The sanction of the Secretary of State is not requisite for the recommencement of any works undertaken by the Commissioners of Sewers. The Metropolitan Sewers Act gives no control to the Secretary of State over the works to be commenced by the Commissioners of Sewers, or over the manner in which their functions are performed, they being Commissioners under the Great Seal, and responsible for the due discharge of their duties. The only supervision exercised by the Secretary of State over the Commissioners of Sewers is that kind of general supervision which is exercised in the case of magistrates. With respect to the question which my hon. Friend has asked, and the statement he has made from reports in the public journals, he does not appear to be quite accurate. I have before me a short memorandum which has been furnished by the chairman of the Commission, with respect to what took place on Tuesday, which will put the House in possession of the facts, and which I will, therefore, take the liberty of reading:—
On Tuesday, the 22nd, the Commissioners of Sewers entered into a resolution to the effect that, considering the great public inconvenience likely to ensue from a suspension of the ordinary business of the Commission, the Commissioners consented to resume the exercise of the powers given to them by the Sewers Acts until their successors can be appointed. The resolution did not refer to the commencement of the main drainage works; but it did not negative the commencement. It was generally understood, though no direct expression was given of such a conclusion by any resolution, that works of a subordinate character (some of them of great magnitude and importance, however,) should be entered upon and proceeded with by the present Commissioners. The rates which, on Tuesday, were ordered to be advertised, are partly to meet engagements already entered into, and partly to enable the Commissioners to execute works now greatly needed. The amount of subordinate works alone now urgently required far exceeds the resources which the Commissioners could now command.
§ SIR BENJAMIN HALLIn consequence of the answer given by my hon. Friend, from which I understand that the 1271 Commissioners of Sewers are not under the control of the Secretary of State, I beg to give notice that I shall on Monday move that plans and estimates of the works intended to be carried out by those Commissioners be laid upon the table of the House.