§ MR. A. H. BROWNasked the President of the Local Government Board, Whether, having regard to the numerous Private Bills which have for their object the supply of water, and which Parliament every Session has to deal with, he proposes to take any steps to carry out the recommendations of the Select Committee which sat last year upon the Public Health Act (1875) Amendment Act, and especially that one which says that when a Water Company or a Sanitary Authority go to a rural district for water, or when their mains pass through a rural district which is in want of water, they shall be compelled to supply such district on proper terms; and, whether, to carry out the views of the Committee, the officers of the Local Government Board will be instructed to present to Parliament Reports to guide the various Committees which will be appointed to consider these Water Bills as to the wants of the districts from which the water is taken, or through which the water mains will pass?
§ MR. SCLATER-BOOTHSir, whenever I have the opportunity of intro- 1514 ducing a Bill to amend the Public Health Act (1875) Amendment Act, I will not fail to give careful consideration to the recommendations of the Committee, and especially to the one referred to in the Question. As to the suggested Reports, they would necessitate careful local inquiry in every locality to which Water Bills refer, and there is no staff at my disposal adequate to such a duty. In their Reports to the Committee on Water Bills, however, the Local Government Board are this year drawing attention to the difficulties in which sanitary authorities may be placed by the inclusion of their districts in the limits of supply of a company unless the company bonâ fide intend to afford the district a proper supply, and we suggest that if this intention is not proved the district should not be included in the Bill. We further point out that if the district is not supplied by the company within a prescribed time the prior right of the company to supply should cease.