§ (1) Where any land or any interest therein has by virtue of this Act been acquired by any Government Department, 2352 the Department may at any time thereafter sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the land or interest.
§ (2) Where any such land is, disposed of, then on the execution and delivery to the purchaser by the Government Department concerned of the necessary or proper assurance of the land disposed of, the purchaser shall notwithstanding any defect in the title of such Government Department thereto stand possessed thereof for such estate or interest as may be expressed or intended to be assured to him, freed and absolutely discharged (save as in the assurance may be expressed) from all prior estates, interests, rights, and claims therein or thereto:,
§ Provided that if at any time after such disposition any such prior estate interest right or claim as aforesaid is established by the person entitled thereto, there shall be paid to such person compensation to be determined in manner provided by the Land Clauses Acts, as modified by this Act, with respect to interests in lands which by mistake have been omitted to be purchased.
§ Sir R. ADKINSI beg to move, ac the end of Sub-Section (1), to insert the words "as superfluous land within the meaning of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845."
The effect of this Amendment is to make perfectly clear that the right of preemption is given to the owner from whom this land was originally taken. I understand that my right hon. and learned Friend is prepared either to accept this, or to accept a Clause in which this is set out definitely and which stands in the name of several of my hon. Friends. I move this now to give my right hon. and learned Friend an opportunity of telling the Committee at the earliest possible stage what his decision is.
§ Sir G. CAVEI am prepared in substance to accept the view of my hon. and learned Friend, but I do not know that this Amendment is quite in the best form, because it only gives the right of preemption by reference to another Statute, subject to certain conditions. I think that it would be far better to put the right of pre-emption in the Clause itself. That being so, I shall propose to accept the Amendment on the next page when we come to it, which gives to the original owner or an adjoining owner the right of pre-emption.
§ Sir R. ADKINSIn view of that I will ask leave to withdraw my Amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Mr. HARDYI beg to move, in Sub-Section (2), to leave out the words "as modified by this Act."
The procedure under the Lands Clauses Acts is modified in this particular case of the acquisition of land, and modifications are introduced for the first time into the Lands Clauses Acts of a more severe character than would have been adopted by this House at other times when we were engaged in an extreme party fight. I feel a difficulty in moving this Amendment, because I understand from an earlier statement of the right hon. and learned Gentleman that he is going to alter to some extent the Schedule, and perhaps this may alter to a large extent my objection which is raised by this Amendment. Therefore I formally move it with the view of getting an assurance from him on the point.
§ Sir G. CAVEThere are very few modifications which will apply to this particular case, and I would prefer to keep the words in, because there is a provision later on to deal with these small interests. As we agreed to modify the Acts for some purposes in an earlier Clause, the words should remain here.
§ Mr. RAWLINSONThe question of procedure is not really what my hon. Friend refers to. What is wanted is to have the question of a tribunal settled. The Lands Clauses Acts give a tribunal of an arbitrator appointed by the parties. Unless you get these words in, the tribunal is somebody who is nominated by the Commission.
§ Sir G. CAVEI will consider this matter to see if I can do anything.
§ Mr. HARDYThat is really the point, that there should be some power in reference to the tribunal before which we go. The Schedule does give unduly large powers to the Commission. In view of the promise of the right lion, and learned Gentleman I will not press the Amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ Sir J. HARMOOD-BANNERI beg to move, at the end of the Clause, to add
"(3) Before any Government Department sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of 2354 any land or interest therein they shall first offer to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the same to the person then entitled to the lands (if any) from which the same were originally severed; or if such person refuse to purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire the same, or cannot after diligent inquiry be found, then the like offer shall be made to the person or to the several persons whose lands shall immediately adjoin the lands so proposed to be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of.
(4) If any such persons be desirous of purchasing, leasing, or otherwise acquiring such lands, then within six weeks after such offer they shall signify their desire in that behalf to the Government Department concerned, or if they decline such offer, or if for six weeks they neglect to signify their desire to purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire such lands, the right of pre-emption of every such person so declining or neglecting in respect of the lands included in such offer shall cease.
(5) If any person entitled to such pre-emption be desirous of purchasing, leasing, or otherwise acquiring any such lands and such person and the Government Department concerned do not agree as to the price thereof, or other consideration therefor, then such price or other consideration shall be determined by the Commission."
The object of this Amendment is really to carry out the right of pre-emption. There is no doubt that where lands are acquired this power of sale as it stands in the Bill as it is will operate very mischievously to the former owners.
§ 6.0 P.M.
§ Sir W. ESSEXI cannot quite see how the public are protected here. Take it that in the exercise of these powers the land is offered by the officials having to deal with it at a price considerably lower than it might have fetched in the open market, will that great advantage accrue by right of pre-emption to the previous owner, and are we to have machinery in such a case for preventing the public from entering into the increase which might belong to the land? I am extremely anxious that persons previously owning the land, or even adjoining owners, should be the first persons to whom land should pass in the event of a sale. But I do not want machinery to be set up, so that if a very much better price can be got, or if it is imagined it might be got outside of the owner, the 2355 public would not get the advantage which I think they should get of that extra price.
§ Sir J. HARMOOD-BANNERI would call the hon. Gentleman's attention to Clause 5, Sub-section (1), which says "the Department may at any time thereafter sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the land or interest." The hon. Gentleman will see that provision is made in that Sub-section.
§ Sir W. ESSEXSupposing the Government, first of all, go to the original owner, and say, "We have no further interest in this land; will you take it off our hands?" The original owner might reply, "I will give you so much for it." The Government Department might say, "Very well; that saves us all further trouble," and let it go. There may, however, be a dozen persons within reach who might be very glad to give some price appreciably higher, but the ease would not go to the Commission, and the bargain might be concluded without anybody knowing about it, except the Government officials and the persons who made the bargain.
§ Sir G. CAVEA Government Department, so far as I am aware, would certainly be unwilling to let land go if they could get a better price from somebody else. They would go to the best purchasers in the market, and having got the highest price offered, they would say to the original owner, "Unless you can buy at that price, we have got a purchaser at that price." I think the Government Department would be very careful indeed to get a fair price.
§ Amendment agreed to.
Mr. D. WHITEThe Amendment which I have next upon the Paper is one put down at the desire of the Corporation of Glasgow.
§ Sir G. CAVEThe Amendment is not relevant to this Clause, and on Clause 4 we have already adopted something of the kind.
§ Question, "That the Clause, as amended, stand part of the Bill," put, and agreed to.