HC Deb 02 May 1929 vol 227 cc1863-5
Mr. PALING

I beg to move, in page 6, line 27, after the word "Act," to insert the words "other than an award made under any Inclosure Act."

We think that one of the first powers exercised by the Central Board should be to make the smaller drainage authorities do the work for which they were created. Under Inclosure Acts lands were given to various people and very definite duties were set out in the Acts to be performed in return. Hon. Members should understand that in the Doncaster area, within a radius of 25 miles, there are scores of these small local authorities. A Question was asked a week or two ago, as to how many of these awards had been carried out in Doncaster and district. The right hon. Gentleman did not quite know, but he knew there were 14 or 15 of these people who had these lands given to them with definite duties and who had not carried out those duties at all. The whole thing is very complicated, but there is no reason why, when this Central Board comes into operation, it should not use those powers on the local authorities who have defaulted and make them do the work they ought to have done years ago. The purpose of this Amendment is that, before there is any altering or revoking, these little authorities should be pulled up and told what their duties are. There are old awards of the 17th and 18th centuries laying down in specific terms what they have to do, but they have evaded their duty for generations, until the land has become in some cases little better than mere swamps. It it is found out after a period of years that because such a large number of small boards are acting it is necessary to get them out of the way and bring them under the Central Board, that central body will be in a better position to do it then than they are to do it immediately.

Mr. GUINNESS

I can reassure the hon. Member that there is no question of letting anybody off their legal liability, but it is impracticable in fact to compel the observance of some of these inclosure awards. If anybody is going to get off liability, there is a provision in the Bill that commutation has to be assessed and paid, and for the efficient working of the Central Board they must get the power to do the work themselves and to charge the commuted liability of those who were responsible for the work under the Inclosure Acts.

Mr. T. WILLIAMS

May I remind the right hon. Gentleman of the last few words of Sub-section (1) of Clause 7, where it says:— The Central Board may, subject to the provisions of this section, by Order revoke, vary or amend that provision in any award under any public or local Act? That means that of the 25 awards in the proposed area, where 14 of the awards are not being observed, the Central Board will have power to vary or revoke an award completely. Taking this as one's guide, here is an award in my own division, under an Inclosure Act of 1765, the award being made in 1766, where certain families were granted an area of land and, having received the land, certain obligations were imposed upon them to keep the drains, ditches, hedges, and so on in a decent state of repair, in perpetuity. No words could be clearer. The mere fact that 14 of the awards are not being observed and have not been observed in the past is no reason at all for the right hon. Gentleman to say that they ought to be ignored in the future. The right hon. Gentleman referred us to the commutation Clause. That, I suggest, is by the way. One of the persons referred to in this particular award is known to have sold large amounts of land in this area, and the duties and obligations should have fallen upon that individual at least to do his share to keep the drains, ditches, hedges, and so forth, in decent repair. Having had the benefit of the land for 160 or 170 years, having sold the minerals from underneath it, is it now suggested that we ought to relieve the heirs of the original trustees of their obligations? We do not want to hold up the Bill, and, if the right hon. Gentleman agrees to that point, we merely say this: Exclude awards under the Inclosure Acts until the Central Board has had time to examine the area under their control. After having secured the necessary experience, having possessed themselves of all the local knowledge of the persons on whom they can force these responsibilities and obligations, then the Government might very well, by a short amending Act in a year or two, include awards under the Inclosure Acts. Until we have ascertained how many of these people, who have benefited for 160 or 170 years, who have become fabulously rich—some of them in this particular area—as the result of the sale of royalties, be made to pay and meet their definite obligations according to the terms