§ SIR JAMES WOODHOUSE () HuddersfieldTo ask the President of the Local Government Board what, in the event of the Education Bill becoming law, will be the position of municipal corporations who, under the powers of the Technical Instruction Acts, 1889 and 1891, and the powers of expenditure conferred on such corporations of the grant under the Local Taxation (Custom and Excise) Act, 1890, have incurred continuous liabilities which may be objected to by the auditor of the Local Government Board.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) If the liabilities referred to have been legally incurred in exercise of the powers conferred by the Acts mentioned, there will be nothing for the auditor to object to. If he disallowed any payment included in the accounts under audit as being in his opinion illegal, an appeal could be made to the Local Government Board against the disallowance, and the Board could then deal with the matter on equitable grounds. Further, if the auditor intimated that some item in the accounts before him appeared to him to be open to legal objection, application might be made to the Board to sanction such item, and if it was sanctioned no disallowance could be made.