§ (1) A town council may, after giving such notice of intention to enter as is hereinafter provided—
§ Mr. MUNROI beg to move, in Subsection (1), after the word "council" ["a town council may"], to insert the words "or parish council."
This Amendment was withdrawn in Committee on an undertaking being given that the matter should be considered before Report. It is not an Amendment of prime importance, because the cases with which it deals are admittedly few, but it seems desirable that, if there should be land suitable for the purpose, parish councils should enjoy the same rights of entry upon it which the Bill proposes to confer upon town councils. On consideration of the whole matter, I see no reason to differentiate between these two bodies. The Committee seemed to desire that the Amendment should be made, and I have given effect to their desire.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Mr. MUNROI desire to read the following statement:
I have it in Commission from His Majesty to signify to the House that His Majesty having been informed of the purpose of the Allotments (Scotland) Bill gives His consent as far as His Majesty's interests are concerned, and the House may do therein as it may think fit.Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Bill be now read the Third time.
§ Mr. HOGGEBefore the Bill be read the Third time, I should like to raise one question. My right hon. Friend will remember that the Bill was read a Second time on a Friday, and the work has been done in Committee upstairs. There is one point, on Clause 3 which is important from the point of view of my constituency and one or two other constituencies in Edinburgh, which arises out of a position that occurred during the War, My right 1360 hon. Friend will remember that parts of the Royal Park in Edinburgh were taken for allotment purposes when it was necessary to grow greater supplies of food. There was a question as to how long these allotments should obtain as a result of peace. It is, perhaps, undesirable to hand over large areas of a Royal Park for the purpose of allotments, but in a park of the size of the Royal Park at Holyrood there is ample room for allotments. These allotments almost adjoin the houses which surround the park, and do not interfere in any way with the purposes for which the park should be used. Several questions have been put to the hon. Member for the Pollok Division (Sir J. Gilmour), representing the First Commissioner of Works, and an arrangement was made by which a limit of time was put on a Large number of these allotments. As these provisions in Clauses 1 and 2 do not apply to Crown land, and the allotments on Crown land came in a new category, I should be obliged to my right hen. Friend if he could make a statement of policy in regard to these allotments in the Royal Park. All I am asking is that there should only be such allotments permitted as do not interfere with the amenities of the park, or the other purposes for which the park is used. Subject, to these two conditions, would it not be possible, as well as desirable, that in these large parks that amount of land should be given for allotments. The utility of allotments during the War is well known, and the pleasure they have given to the people concerned is also well known, and it would be a pity if they were scrapped as a result of any idea of keeping the park purely and simply for the purposes of sport and recreation.
§ Mr. MUNROI desire to acknowledge the fairness with which this Bill has been treated by my colleagues from Scotland, and by the House. It is a non-contentious Measure, and the time spent upon it has not been undue. I quite agree as to the utility of the allotments in the Royal parks, and so convinced was I of their utility that I made representations to the, First Commissioner on two separate occasions asking if he could see his way to extend the time during which the allotment holders might continue their tenure. He was good enough to agree to both extensions, but the last extension was the furthest length to which he could go, and 1361 it would not be fair to press him further. These parks are dedicated by statute to public uses, and it required the intervention of regulations made under the Defence of the Realm Act to divert them from the statutory uses to which they were dedicated, and to permit of their use for allotments. At the end of the second extension I am afraid that we have no option but to allow these parks to revert to their statutory uses. If I remember rightly, arid my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Advocate (Mr. C. D. Murray) confirms me, the second extension which has been granted will not expire until next February. I hope that my hon. Friend and the allotment holders who are interested in this matter will think that they have been fairly treated, and that the Government in dealing with them have gone as far as it is possible to go in the direction of assisting them.
Captain SENNI should like to thank the Secretary for Scotland for the manner in which he has conducted this Bill, which marks a very important step forward in the encouragement which is given to allotment holders. There was one little disappointment. We hoped that travelling facilities would have been provided. That is opposed by some people; but it has to be borne in mind that sometimes it is impossible to provide allotments in any central spot, and it might have been a means of making available for this useful purpose land which otherwise and now will not be used for that purpose. Although that particular Amendment was not divided on in the Committee—
§ Mr. MUNROMy hon. and gallant. Friend will forgive me for interrupting. My recollection is quite clear that there was a Division on the Amendment. My hon. Friend the Member for Lanark (Mr. R. Maclaren), speaking on behalf of the allotment holders, told the Committee that they did not ask for this privilege, and when the Amendment went to a Division the only person who voted for it, was the right hon. Member for West. Fife (Mr. Adamson). My hon. and gallant Friend voted against it.
§ Sir H. CRAIKIt was defeated by 20 to 1.
§ Sir H. CRAIKYou were not there.
Captain BENNI was there, and I voted against it. If the right hon. Gentleman will consult the OFFICIAL REPORT or the Standing Committee, he will find that that is so, I attended the Committee throughout the consideration of the Bill.
§ Sir H. CRAIKAnd you voted against it?
Captain HENNYes. The reason was that the Secretary for Scotland informed us that the local authorities already had these powers, if they wished to use them. I hope the Debate will be sufficient to draw the attention of the local authorities to these powers, so that they may exercise them if it appear desirable. It was on these grounds that I voted against the Amendment, because I hoped that the existing powers would be suitably exercised. On behalf of those associated with me, I desire to thank the Secretary for Scotland for the courtesy and ability with which he has met the case of the allotment holders.