§ COLONEL TOMLINEasked the First Lord of the Treasury, By what authority two Volumes have been published by the Queen's Printers in 1870 and 1871, purporting to be "The Statutes, Revised Edition, by Authority," from Henry the Third to the tenth year of George the Third; and, if the contents of these two Volumes are now the binding Statute Law of the Land?
MR. GLADSTONEsaid, in reply, that the circumstances connected with the preparation of these two volumes had been stated in Papers which had been laid on the Table, and in the preface to one of the volumes. They might be briefly given as follows:—It was under the authority of Parliament itself that the work had gone forward. Parliament had no less than three times expressed its desire for the preparation of a revised edition of the Statutes, and measures had been taken accordingly. It was, in fact, with that view that Parliament had been engaged in the task 560 of repealing obsolete Statutes. The work had been carried down to the tenth year of George III.; it was intended to carry it further, and Bills had been prepared for the purpose. When a certain stage had been reached the Lord Chancellor of the day expressed an opinion that it was desirable to go on with the preparation of the revised edition, and the consent of the Treasury was obtained. The first and second volumes had been produced, and they comprised all the unrepealed Statutes up to the date he had named. The third volume would, he understood, comprise all the Statutes down to the present time.