HC Deb 05 June 1893 vol 13 cc200-1
MR. STANLEY LEIGHTON

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he can inform the House how many parishes geographically within the operation of the Welsh Suspensory Bill are exempted from its Suspensory Clause; and if he can state what is the proportion of the population who will be thus excluded from participation in the benefits proposed to be conferred by the Bill?

THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. W. E. GLADSTONE,) Edinburgh, Midlothian

I have no official means of getting at the knowledge which the hon. Gentleman desires to obtain; but if the hon. Member has any great anxiety on this subject, as is testified by his repeated questions, I venture to make this communication to him and to others—that the Government do not, in the slightest degree, object to introduce an Amendment into the Bill at the proper stage, which would allow private advowsons to be brought within the scope of the Bill by consent of the person interested in the advowson; and I can also promise him, as to one parish with which I am intimately connected, that that consent will be given.

VISCOUNT CRANBORNE (Rochester)

After the important communication just made by the right hon. Gentleman, I wish to ask when we shall have an opportunity of inserting those Amendments in the Bill?

MR. BARTLEY (Islington, N.)

I desire to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he can inform the House when he proposes to take the Second Reading of the Local Veto Bill, or whether that measure is to be dropped?

MR. W. E. GLADSTONE

I am sorry the answer is to this effect—that I can throw no light whatever upon the stages or the progress of the Bill, or of any Bill, until we have made effectual progress with the Home Rule Bill.

MR. BARTLEY

Are we to understand that the Local Veto Bill is really dropped?

MR. W. E. GLADSTONE

No more than all the other Government Bills, the whole of which are practically suspended, and with respect to which I have no communication to make.

MR. THEOBALD

That means, I presume, that they are all dropped?

MR. ALBAN GIBBS (London)

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether it is intended by the Welsh Suspensory Bill, in the case of a benefice in private patronage, where the incumbent has jure officii rights of patronage, to suspend the vested interests of any incumbent nominated by the clergyman, and to reserve the vested interests of any incumbent nominated by the lay patron?

MR. W. E. GLADSTONE

was understood to answer in the affirmative, adding that the question correctly interpreted the Bill as framed.