POST OFFICE SITES BILL. (Hansard, 19 July 1900)

§ MR. CALDWELL (Lanarkshire, Mid)

did not wish to weary the House, but there were two or three points he desired to have on record. He understood that although the Secretary to the Treasury was unable to assent to the striking out of Sub-section 3 of Clause 1, he was prepared to recommend that, as far as possible, the Treasury should pay the local authorities the rates during the demolition of buildings until the post office was built. He further understood that in future the plans should be made accessible to Members of the House. The right hon. Gentleman also promised to give some information as to the persons to be displaced, and it was further understood that the special privileges given to the City Corporation should be extended to the other local authorities affected. As to Clause 9, it would be an improvement if it were omitted altogether, as it was absolutely unnecessary.

§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE, TREASURY (MR. HANBURY,) Preston

thought he had satisfied the hon. Member when the Bill was in Committee. He was perfectly ready to give the assurance with regard to the rates. With regard to the number of persons to be displaced, the Standing Order did not apply in London if less than twenty houses were taken. That did not happen under the Bill, as in Whitechapel there were only three and in Southwark fourteen. There was, however, one case in which, if this were an ordinary private Bill, the Standing Order would apply, and that was the case of Bristol. There forty houses were to be taken, thereby dispossessing about 194 occupants. It was not really possible to enforce any such Order on the Crown, but he agreed that it was perfectly right and just that a rule which applied to private bodies should hold good as regarded the Crown in a case of this kind, and the Solicitor to the Post Office agreed with 583 him that in a case of this kind provision should be made for the people displaced.