SECOND READING. (Hansard, 2 July 1863)

§ SIR WILLIAM DUNBAR

—The Duchy possessions, as the House is aware, were conferred by Edward III. on the Black Prince and the heirs of the Crown, being Dukes of Cornwall. The charter conferring the estates, which is one of a peculiar character, contains among other restrictions an express provision rendering the property inalienable. So strictly were the intentions of the founders interpreted, and especially in this latter respect, that as far back as the time of James I., I believe in the 20th or 21st year of the reign of that monarch, a question arose whether, consistently with the restrictions imposed by the charter, leases could be granted by the then Prince of Wales that would be good beyond his own tenure. To remedy the practical inconveniences and uncertainties thence arising, it became the practice of Parliament, on each successive devolution of the Duchy, to pass what were called Duchy Leasing Acts. By these Acts the owners of the Duchy for the time being were empowered to make grants, either in possession or reversion, dependent upon lives, on which fines might be taken and the revenues anticipated. I need not tell the House that these powers, which continued down to the birth of the Prince of Wales, in due time bore their legitimate fruits in the serious depreciation of the value of the Duchy estates. From 1783 to 1830, when the late Prince of Wales, George IV., was in possession of the Duchy, the fines taken upon the renewal of leases amounted to about £370,000. In the year 1810 the fines received by that Prince exceeded £69,000, £55,000 of which was a single payment, by way of fines, on the renewal of the lease of a single estate. 138 Again, from 1820 to 1837, when William IV. was in possession of the Duchy, the fines amounted to £171,000. These several amounts passed to the privy purse of the Duke of Cornwall or the Sovereign, and ended materially to diminish the income derived from the property—so much so, that on the accession of Her Majesty the income did not much exceed £11,000 per annum. Shortly after the birth of the Prince, however, a new system of management was introduced under the sanction of the Queen. A Council was appointed to administer the affairs of the Duchy, subject to certain rules prescribed by Her Majesty, which rules included the important restriction that grants for lives, or otherwise than for a term of years, should be discontinued, and the practice of taking fines upon the granting of leases should be abandoned. These instructions were strictly carried out. No fines upon farming leases have been taken during the minority of the Prince of Wales, and the result has been to increase the income of the Duchy from £11,000—which I have already stated it stood at on the accession of Her Majesty—to £50,000 per annum. Besides the large increase of income, accumulations have been made during the minority of the Prince, which in November last amounted to about £550,000. It was unquestionably in the power of Her Majesty to have appropriated the surplus revenues of the Duchy to her own uses during the minority of His Royal Highness, but with a self-denial which had not been practised by any former Sovereign under the same circumstances, Her Majesty directed that those revenues should, from time to time, he paid over to trustees and accumulated for the benefit of the Prince; and, let me add, also for the benefit of the country, which would have been called upon to make a larger grant to His Royal Highness, but for the considerate forethought of the Sovereign of these realms. It must be obvious to the House, that although the instructions issued by Her Majesty were binding on the Duchy Council, they ceased to be operative on His Royal Highness attaining his majority—with that event all the powers which had been granted to and exercised by his predecessors revived in full force in his person if he felt disposed to act upon them; for although a change in the mode of dealing with the Duchy property was in contemplation at the period when the last Duchy Leasing Act was passed in 1842, it was not thought advisable to make any alteration in the powers 139 which had been previously conferred by Parliament on successive owners of the Duchy in this respect, except with the sanction of His Royal Highness, which could only he given on his becoming of full age. Under these circumstances, and it being thought desirable that a system of management which had been attended with the beneficial results I have referred to should not be discontinued, the Council deemed it their duty to insert a paragraph in their Report to Her Majesty (November last) to the following effect:— In an early part of our Report we have referred to the existence of powers under the Leasing Act of 1842, which was passed shortly after the birth of the Prince, enabling His Royal Highness to make grants either in possession or reversion upon which fines might be taken, and the revenues anticipated as his predecessors had been enabled to do, and thus to create anew the evils which the instructions issued by Her Majesty to the Council were intended to avert. The operation of these instructions will cease with the existence of the Council, and we deem it our duty before closing the Report very respectfully to advise your Majesty and His Royal Highness that these objectionable powers should be abandoned. It will be satisfactory to the House to be informed that Her Majesty and also His Royal Highness have promptly and cordially assented to that proposal—a proposal which, being embodied in this Bill, puts a limit, for the first time during the last two hundred years, on the extensive leasing powers hitherto granted to the Dukes of Cornwall. Let me farther point out to the House, that in relinquishing, as His Royal Highness cheerfully relinquishes, powers which have been exercised by his predecessors to his own hurt, but from the continuance of which he might largely have increased his own resources, he gives the best proof of his desire to subordinate his own immediate interests to the interests not only of his successors in the Duchy, but of the country. Henceforward no fines will be taken; no farm leases will be granted for more than thirty-one years, or for more than ninety-nine years in the case of building leases. I now come to another important provision of the Bill. The Duchy property, as is probably known to the House, is scattered in detached portions over various counties, entailing very great expense besides other inconveniences. With the view, therefore, of consolidating and economizing the management, an Act was sanctioned by the Legislature in 1844, whereby the Duchy Council were authorized to exchange and also to sell lands and to invest the money arising there from in other lands 140 which were to be annexed to the Duchy in the same manner as the original possession. The powers thus conferred have, from various circumstances, but chiefly in consequence of the bulk of the property being still held under beneficial leases, not until latterly been acted upon as extensively as is desirable. Estates to the value of £300,000 have been sold, and others lying adjacent and convenient to the Duchy possessions have been purchased; but as the powers have expired, it is proposed to renew them for thirty-one years—a period which it is believed will be sufficient for the purpose of consolidating and otherwise improving the condition of the Duchy estates. It is further proposed to enable His Royal Highness to apply a part of the monies realized by sales to the improvement of the estates, which, from their being held on long leases which are no longer renewable, will fall into hand in a condition more or less dilapidated. The sum to be so applied is limited to £30,000, which will be repayable in annual instalments spread over thirty years. The 11th clause in the Bill makes the sanction of the Treasury necessary to any exercise of the powers of alienation, and all purchases of estates, except in cases where the purchase does not exceed £500. The Bill further enables the Duke of Cornwall to settle disputed questions by arbitration or compromise, to accept the surrender of beneficial leases upon agreement, and to grant annuities on the relinquishment of any leasehold or other subsisting interest in the Duchy property, and also to make free grants of sites for schools and school-houses, burial-grounds, and chapels, whether in connection with the Established Church or Dissenting bodies. These are among the leading provisions of the Bill, and I am happy to be able to state that they have met with the acceptance and approval of those who take an interest in the satisfactory administration of the Duchy possessions. Though I have referred thus in detail to the management of the property, I have not attempted, because I feel that it would be presumptuous in me, to pass any encomium upon the illustrious Prince who so long and so ably presided at the Duchy Council Board—there, as elsewhere, he has left behind him substantial and abiding proofs of his great practical abilities and wisdom, of the far-reaching powers of his intellect, and of the disinterestedness of his motives; but having for some years witnessed the deep interest and unceasing 141 energy with which he applied himself to the management of the affairs of the Duchy, I trust that I may be permitted to express the hope—or rather, I would say I have the well-grounded conviction—that, stimulated by the example of his illustrious father, and endeavouring to emulate his great qualities, the Prince of Wales will, with the aid of the powers which it is proposed to confer by this Bill, make it the object of his earnest concern so to administer the Duchy property as to promote not only his own advantage—and in so doing the benefit of the country—but what is not of less importance, the well-being and happiness of that numerous body of persons—including the tenant and the labourer—who have just been brought into closer relationship with him by his succession to the Duchy.