§ MR. SYDNEY GEDGE (Walsall)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, in view of the pledge given to the House on the 4th August last by the Attorney General that no steps should be taken before the 1st January, 1898, towards putting the provisions of the Land Transfer Act, 1897, into force with the express purpose of giving the right to prevent its operation in any county to the County Council to be elected in March next, the Government will undertake that the notice given on the 26th November last to the London County Council shall not be acted upon?
§ THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL (Sir RICHARD WEBSTER,) Isle of WightI am informed that my hon. Friend has already been in correspondence with the Lord Chancellor, and that the Lord Chancellor has informed him that, in the Lord Chancellor's opinion, there is nothing in the action of the Privy Council inconsistent with anything which I said last Session. I certainly had no intention of giving the right of veto to the new more than to the old County Council. The course proposed by the hon. Member is not possible, but I repeat that which the Lord Chancellor has already told the hon. Member, that the Privy Council would give most careful consideration to any representation made by the County Council within three months from 1st January, 1898.
§ MR. GEDGEWith regard to that answer, I will bring the matter before the House upon the first opportunity that offers itself for my doing so.
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (RIGHT HON. A. J. BALFOUR,) Manchester, EastI have nothing to add to information already before the House as to recent negotiations.