CROWN LANDS BILL. (Hansard, 24 March 1892)

§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Sir JOHN GORST,) Chatham
In answer to the invitation of the hon. and learned Member for South Glamorgan (Mr. A. J. Williams), asking me in introducing this Bill to state its contents, perhaps it may be sufficient for the hon. Member at present if I tell him what is not in the Bill. It has nothing whatever to do with the burning question of gold mining in Wales. It is a Bill simply founded on the Report of 1890, when a Select Committee was appointed to inquire into the administration of the Department of Woods and Forests and Land Revenues of the Crown, and on the Report of that Committee the Bill is based. There is nothing whatever in the Bill which in any way affects the powers or functions of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests in regard to gold mining. I ask leave to bring in a Bill to amend the Law relating to the management of the Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues of the Crown.

MR. PRITCHARD MORGAN (Merthyr Tydvil)
I hear from the right hon. Gentleman that the Bill does not deal with this question, which is of such importance to Wales, and may be of importance to Ireland and Scotland, 1698 and possibly to England. I beg to tell the right hon. Gentleman this—that so long as the Department of Woods and Forests has not legislative powers that Department will be in very great difficulty in dealing with this matter. It has reached a peculiar phase, which I endeavoured to show in the question I addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. At the present moment the Crown is legally entitled to these precious metals, and what they are doing is, practically, to make the landowners—

§ MR. SPEAKER
Order, order! That is not the subject of the Bill as I understand.