MR. SEELYasked the President of the Local Government Board, Whether a Bill "to confirm certain Provisional Orders of the Local Government Board relating to the districts of Bristol, Cardiff, Ealing, Idle, Lincoln, Newport (Monmouthshire), Shipley, Warrington, Wigan, and Wrington," which passed unopposed through this House, is likely to become Law during the present Session; and, if not, whether the failure of the Bill will not inevitably postpone the sanitary arrangements dependent upon the confirmation of those Provisional Orders?
§ MR. STANSFELDThe Bill cannot become law this Session, and its failure will probably postpone the sanitary and other arrangements dependent upon the confirmation of the Provisional Orders which it contains. The statute requires that the notices to be given by the local Boards shall be given in the months of November and December. When these notices have been given the local Boards have to frame their Petitions to be laid before the Local Government Board. The Petitions are then to be considered by that Board, and if the Board think proper to entertain the Petitions, inquiries are to be held on the spot by Inspectors of the Board duly appointed for this purpose. The inquiries frequently take much time and are often matter of very serious contest. The Inspector in each case has to make his Report to the Board. When the Report is presented the Board might, no doubt, act upon it at once, and issue the order as a mere Ministerial act. They have not deemed it right to do so. They have examined the Report thoroughly; they have communicated with the Petitioners or their agents. They have heard persons who have to make opposition or to suggest proposals, and they have taken means to prevent the occurrence of contests in the Committees of either House. The result has been that all the Orders which they have issued could not be executed in sufficient time to enable them to be introduced into one Bill which could be read a second time before the 25th of June, the time fixed by the Standing Order of the House of Lords.