§ Order for Second Reading read.
§ MR. COURTENAY WARNER (Stafford, Lichfield)Surely it is not usual to take Bills on a day allotted to Supply.
MR. T. M. HEALYI opposed this Bill last year, because it seemed to be against the wishes of the then body of Kingstown Town Commissioners, and against the wish of my right honourable Friend the Member for South Dublin, who is an old constituent of Kingstown. But I do not propose to renew that opposition this year. At the same time, I do not think that Kingstown is making such a good bargain as it might have done. But the commissioners have been put under pressure to a considerable extent in a way I think unworthy of a Government, though I believe that the present Government are not immediately responsible. What happened was that Mr. Hibbert, when he was Secretary to the Treasury under a Home Rule Government, tried to force the Kingstown Town Commissioners to keep up a road which they were not legally bound to keep up, and he withdrew from them a sum of £200 a year, which they were entitled to in lieu of rates that should have been paid by the Government. That was as shabby an act as I have ever known any Government guilty of. The right honourable Gentleman has offered to make some reparation, and is now willing to hand over arrears amounting to more than £1,000 if the commissioners would take the road over. Well, I think the Treasury are getting the best of the bargain. But where a body like the Kingstown Town Commissioners—a body of intelligent men, consisting partly of Nationalists and partly of Conservatives, acting on their own responsibility—their clerk 391 and their chairman both being strong Conservatives, join in an agreement that this Bill is a beneficial Bill, which ought to be introduced, then I do not feel, however much I object to the Bill, I should be right in renewing my opposition to it. I refrain from doing so then with a clear conscience.
§ DR. CLARKWill the First Lord of the Treasury explain how it is that this Bill is being taken in spite of the understanding that on days allocated to Supply no Bills are to be taken?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURYI am more anxious than anybody to preserve immaculate the days allotted to Supply, but the understanding is that on such days nothing shall be done to curtail the normal hours between the end of Questions and midnight. But I do not think there can be any objection to taking an uncontroversial Bill of this kind, and certainly the privileges of the House in the matter of Supply are not being entrenched upon in any way.
§ DR. CLARKI do not think we should take Bills on Supply days, seeing that soon Supply will be closured.