§ MR. MORTON (Peterborough)I beg to ask the hon. Member for Penrith (Mr. J. W. Lowther) whether the atten- 1288 tion of the Charity Commissioners has been called to the recent exposures as to the Charities in the parish of Lambeth, as set forth in a Report prepared by Mr. Henry Dann, at the request of the overseers of that parish, and as published in the South London Press; whether the Commissioners have been requested to institute an inquiry into the administration of the Lambeth Charities, or any part of them; and whether they are willing to grant such an inquiry, and to consider the advisability of placing the whole of the Lambeth Charities under an Administrative Board representing the whole of the inhabitants of such parish?
MR. J. W. LOWTHER (Cumberland, Penrith)The Commissioners were requested to institute an inquiry into the matters mentioned in Mr. Dann's Report on the Lambeth Charities, or to nominate an accountant by whom such inquiry should be held free of charge to the Charity. The Commissioners accepted the latter alternative, and they believe the inquiry is now in progress. They have long been of opinion that the administration of the Lambeth Charities should be concentrated, as far as possible, in the hands of a single body of Trustees, largely constituted on a representative basis, and they are taking steps to procure the necessary applications enabling them to proceed in this matter.