§ BAIRD TRUST ORDER CONFIRMATION BILL.
§ Order for Third Reading read.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Bill be now read the Third time."
§ Mr. KirkwoodI raised this question yesterday, and I want now to know from the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the meaning of this Bill. When I objected to it yesterday, the Bill was not even in the Vote Office, and it is a Bill of 17 pages. Surely the House is in duty bound to object to a Bill being put through without any explanation or the House knowing anything about it?
§ The Chairman of Ways and Means (Sir Dennis Herbert)If I may answer the hon. Member, I am afraid then: is an apology due to him and to other Members of the House for the printed Bill not being available yesterday. That is due to printing difficulties in this time of emergency, which will result in our having to have some revision of the time table as to when these private Bills are put down. At any rate, I will see that it does not occur again. So far as the Bill is concerned, it is to confirm what, as the hon. Member will know, is a Scottish Order, which has been dealt with by a Scottish Committee under the Scottish Private Bill procedure. The only effect of the Order is to incorporate the trustees of the trust, to bring their administrative powers up to date, and to define more particularly and precisely the objects of this very valuable and useful charity. The only alteration which may, perhaps, be regarded as an alteration in the way in which the money is used is that under the original trust some of the money had to be used for purposes which are now dealt with by the national Exchequer, and, therefore, it was thought right and proper that a charity like this should be 2060 relieved from the necessity of merely contributing to the national Exchequer.
§ Mr. KirkwoodWith that explanation, as far as I am concerned, I will withdraw my objection.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Bill read the Third time, and passed.