SIR JAMES LAWRENCEasked the President of the Local Government 10 Board, Whether it is true that the Local Government Board have required the London School Board to prosecute, at the expense of the ratepayers of the Metropolis, an appeal before the High Court of Justice, in order to obtain a decision as to the correctness of the opinion expressed by Her Majesty's Attorney General, that the School Board are empowered, under their Act of Parliament, to obtain temporary loans in order to enable the School Board to carry on its operations, while the amounts levied on the City of London and the Metropolitan parishes are being collected in the manner prescribed by Parliament?
§ MR. SCLATER-BOOTH,in reply, said, it was not the case that he or the Local Government Board had required the prosecution of this appeal at the expense of the ratepayers. It was true he had expressed an opinion that the question was one of very considerable importance; and, as high legal authorities differed about it, and as the legal advisers of the Local Government Board had a strong opinion on one side of the question, it was desirable that it should be settled by a proper authority. With regard to the costs, he had only stated that in the event of the costs being disallowed by the auditor he should, taking all the circumstances into consideration, order the surcharge to be remitted.
SIR JAMES LAWRENCEgave Notice that he should move for the Correspondence on the subject, including the opinion of the Attorney General.