§ Grampian Electricity Supply Order Confirmation Bill [Lords],
§ Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Mental and Nervous Disorders Order Confirmation Bill [Lords],
§ Considered; to be read the Third time To-morrow.
§ Heriot-Watt College and George Heriot's Trust Order Confirmation [Stamp Duties].
§ Considered in Committee.
§ [Captain FITZROY in the Chair.]
§ The CHAIRMAN of WAYS and MEANS (Mr. James Hope)I beg to move
That in lieu of the Stamp Duties which would have been payable upon the deeds or instruments which, in case the Heriot-Watt College and George Heriot's Trust Order had not been confirmed, would have been required to pass to and vest in the Governors of the George Heriot's Trust or the Governors of the Heriot-Watt College, as the case may be, certain property, interests and rights, there be charged a Stamp Duty of £5, and such duty shall be impressed upon a copy of the Act confirming the Order to be produced to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue under the seventy-second section thereof.This is a small matter of a like nature to the Motion which I made in regard to the Perth Bill the other day. There is an institution in Edinburgh called the Heriot-Watt College which is carried on for educational purposes and is an amalgamation of a very old foundation with a modern institution which was known as the Watt School of Art. They were amalgamated in 1885. As time has gone on, the governors have deemed it expedient to give representation to various outside bodies and the extended order proposes that there should be a number of elected or appointed representatives by certain bodies such as the 1538 Edinburgh Corporation, the University of Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Trades' Council, the Edinburgh Education Authority, the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, and so on. This entailed a new governing body being set up, and consequently there had to be a transfer of the property of the old trust to the new body. If the strict law ran its course, a heavy Stamp Duty would have to be paid on the transfer from the old governors to the new, but, as it is a matter of general public interest, this is one of those cases where the Treasury sees fit not to insist upon the payment of the whole Stamp Duty, but to allow a nominal token duty to be paid instead. Although the amount is larger in this case, the principle is exactly the same as in the Perth case. What I have to propose is that we allow the property to be transferred to the new governors on a Stamp Duty of £5.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Resolution to be reported To-morrow.