§ MR. DIXON-HARTLAND (Middlesex, Uxbridge)asked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether information has reached him that Mr. Constable is building his new boat-house at Hampton of concrete, brick, iron, &c., and is adding a large porch; whether the Commissioners of Woods and Forests have sanctioned the plans under which the new building is being erected; and, if so, why they approved plans for brick, &c., when the licence was for timber only; what steps the Commissioners of Woods and Forests intend taking to prevent Mr. Constable from proceeding with the building, in case the plans, now being acted upon, have not been approved by them; whether he is aware that in September, 1885, at a large, representative, and unanimous public meeting, a strong Resolution was passed against Mr. Constable's application to the Local Rural Sanitary Authority for permission to erect a building on the recreation ground, similar to the one now in dispute, a copy of which, together with a strong letter of protest against further encroachments, was, at the same time, forwarded to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests from the parish officials; why, with such Resolution and letter of protest before them, the Commissioners of Woods and Forests did not cause local inquiries to be made before the present grant was confirmed; on what grounds could the Crown give Mr. Constable license to build, after letting the land to the Rural Sanitary Authority; and, whether, in case it is found that the erection prevents the construction of the river terrace, the Crown will give the necessary notice to terminate the lease?
§ THE SECRETARY (Mr. JACKSON) (Leeds, N.)It is the fact that Mr. Constable is, to a great extent, building his new boat-house of brick, while the consent of the Commissioner of Woods was only obtained to a wooden building. The alteration was, it is understood, made to comply with the bye-laws of the Rural Sanitary Authority, who declined to pass the plans for a wooden building. Under all the circumstances, the Commissioner of Woods sees no 1081 reason to interfere on account of the change made in the material. The building will, in other respects, be practically in accordance with the authority given by the Commissioner of Woods. The resolution of 1885 protested against a proposal that Mr. Constable might be allowed to build on part of the land held by the Rural Sanitary Authority. This proposal was abandoned. The Commissioner of Woods took into consideration all the circumstances of the case before giving his consent to Mr. Constable to extend his boatsheds, and no further local inquiries were considered necessary. Mr. Constable's building will not be on any part of the land let to the Sanitary Authority, but on that which was let to him prior to the Sanitary Authority becoming tenants of the land now held by them. The Commissioner of Woods would be disposed to favourably consider a definite scheme for the construction of a river terrace, and to assist such a scheme so far as he may be able, having regard to the provisions of the Acts under which the land revenues are managed, and to Mr. Constable's reasonable claims.