§ MR. MORRELL (Oxfordshire, Henley)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he has yet made inquiries into the case of the labourer, David Nicholls, occupying a cottage near Edenbridge, in Kent, who, after applying for land under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act, is about to be evicted from his cottage; whether he is aware that David Nicholls was admitted by the farmer who is about to evict him to be a decent and respectable man, who has paid his rent regularly, and that no satisfactory reason has been assigned for the action that is now being taken against him; and whether, if the facts are as stated, the Government will consider the advisability of inserting a clause in the Housing Bill giving the Local Government Board special powers to deal with urgent cases of this kind.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. JOHN BURNS,) BatterseaI have no authority to interfere in a case of this kind, and I do not gather the nature of the powers which my hon. friend thinks the Local Government Board should be authorised to exercise in such circumstances. I doubt, however, whether the matter could be dealt with by means of a clause in the Housing Bill.