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COLONEL WILSON PATTEN moved the following Resolution:—
That it be an Instruction to the Committee of Selection that they have power to refer every Gas and Water Bill of the present Session, except those relating to the Metropolis, against which a Petition indorsed for hearing before the Referees has been presented, to the Court of Referees instead of to a Committee of the House, with power to the Referees to inquire into the whole subject-matter of the Bill, and to report the Bill, with or without Amendments.
§ MR. WALDEGRAVE-LESLIEsaid, that he did not rise to offer any opposition to the Instruction, but to throw out a suggestion to the hon. and gallant Member. By the present practice of Committees on Private Bills, it is not competent for a Select Committee on a Private Bill, whether opposed or unopposed, to make any inquiry into matters which by Standing Order No. 92 were ordered to be inquired into by the Court of Referees. In this way several Bills passed through the House with too little inquiry as to the engineering merits of the scheme. Sometimes inhabitants of a town or parties interested did not like the expense of opposing a Bill, and thus schemes of very inferior merit often passed into law. The suggestion he would like to make was, that every Private Bill, whether opposed or unopposed, should be referred to the Court of Referees for inquiry as to the matters detailed in Standing Order No. 92. That Standing Order required the Referees, in the case of all opposed Bills, to inquire into the engineering details and efficiency of the works, and the sufficiency of the estimate for all railways, &c.; also in the case of Waterworks Bills, into the proposed source of supply, the quality of water, and the storage reservoirs; and in the case of Gas Bills, into the quality of the gas, its supply and price, cost of production, &c. He merely wished to throw this proposal out as a suggestion to the hon. and gallant Member as Chairman of the Select Committee on Standing Orders.
§ COLONEL WILSON PATTENsaid, that if his hon. Friend would bring the matter forward before the Standing Orders Revi- 1229 sion Committee, they would be very glad to consider the suggestion.
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Resolution agreed to.
Instruction to the Committee of Selection that they have power to refer every Gas and Water Bill of the present Session, except those relating to the Metropolis, against which a Petition indorsed for hearing before the Referees has been presented, to the Court of Referees instead of to a Committee of the House, with power to the Referees to inquire into the whole subject-matter of the Bill, and to report the Bill, with or without Amendments, to the House.—(Colonel Wilson Patten.)