HC Deb 15 August 1857 vol 147 cc1709-11

Order for Committee read.

Motion made, and Question proposed,

"That Mr. Speaker do now leave the Chair."

MR. AYRTON

said, that as he understood the object of the Bill, it was to declare that wherever two or more persons chose to reside together in a house or part of a house, and they were not within certain very limited degrees of consanguinity, their dwelling was to be treated as a common lodging-house, exposed to the visitation of inspectors, and brought within all the stringent and arbitrary clauses of the Act, for the regulation of lodging-houses. That appeared to him to be a great infraction of the liberties of the humbler classes, and, however benevolent the object might be it was their duty to take care that they were not carried away by their feelings to pass a law which would place the people entirely under the power and control of the Executive Officers of the Government, who were to regulate all their social affairs.

MR. COWPER

said, that words had been introduced into the Bill since it had come down from the Lords which would entirely obviate the objections taken by the hon. Member for the Tower Hamlets. The provisions of the measure would only apply to dwellings which would come under the designation of common lodging-houses. All that the Bill attempted to do with the Lodging-houses Act was to define the word "family," and how far it would extend in order to exempt a common lodging-house from the operation of the Act. So far as the operation of the common Lodging-house Acts was concerned, it had been found to be beneficial to the keepers of those houses as well as the lodgers. The right hon. Gentleman read some extracts from the Report of the Commissioner of Police, showing the wretchedly crowded state of some of the lower class of lodging-houses, and the scenes of profligacy and indecency which they presented, and as the present Bill was simply an Amendment in one very small respect of the existing Act, he hoped the House would consent to go into Committee on the Bill.

MR. HENLEY

said, he would remind the House that it was expressly slated by the noble Lord at the head of the Government on the previous night that the Bills to be dealt with in the sitting that day would be those only which were unopposed.

MR. COWPER

said, under those circumstances he would postpone proceeding with the Bill until Monday.

MR. RIDLEY

suggested that the Bill should be postponed altogether for the present Session, inasmuch as otherwise it would be impossible to collect the opinion of the country on its probable operation before it passed into a law.

Motion, by leave, withdrawn.

Committee deferred till Monday.

House adjourned at Two o'clock.