§ On the Motion to postpone the Second Reading of this Bill to 16th March,
§ MR. STUART (Shoreditch, Hoxton)With regard to our proposal not to proceed with this Bill at present, and without touching upon the substance of the Bill itself, I think it will be for the convenience of the House that I should extremely briefly state the course which I, acting on behalf of the London County Council, intend to take with regard to it. We were not without hope that the news of the Royal Commission on the question of purchase might become known at a fairly early date, seeing the efforts which are being made by that Commission to conclude the consideration of the evidence submitted to it. While recognising that it is the House itself that must decide the question on its own responsibility, we propose to defer the consideration of the Bill to a date which, while it will enable us to proceed with it this Session, will be one on which the House may reasonably expect to know how matters stand.
§ Question put.
§ Motion carried.
§ Bill postponed accordingly.