COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 7 August 1879)

§ MR. KNIGHT

hoped that the Bill might not be proceeded with, as it was a Bill containing many important provisions. It was a Bill granting money for various purposes to the Local Government Board—the Bill was money, money, money! There were some other things in the Bill which were very objectionable. The 7th clause gave power to alter the boundaries of parishes—parishes that had gone on as long as the British Constitution, and he thought might be allowed to go on one year longer. Clause 8 was a very mysterious clause, and he could not understand it; but he was assured by a great supporter of the Bill that it would enable the Guardians to take a large proportion of lunatics out of the hands of the Commissioners, and confine them in some workhouses or other large places. He was further told that that would very much diminish the cost of maintaining pauper lunatics. If that were really the object of the provision, and the Guardians would be enabled to make lunatic asylums of workhouses without being under the control of the Commissioners, he thought the power was indefensible. If money had to be spent in that way, there was great reason for not going on with the Bill without very much further consideration. In Clause 9 a power was given to the Local Government Board to alter Local Acts. He had not sufficient confidence in that Board to wish to give it power to alter Local Acts. Clause 10 was, again, taxation; power was taken to enable local taxation to be increased for certain purposes. In the next clause provision was made for borrowing money for purposes for which 483 it could not now be borrowed. The following clause provided that the money so borrowed should be repaid in 30 years. Then, in Clause 13, the managers of local Poor Law districts were given many powers which they did not possess at present. Then, Clause 14 was, again, a provision for money.