IDIOTS, &c. (IRELAND) BILL—(No. 148.) (Hansard, 26 July 1878)

§ LORD CARLINGFORD
, in moving that the Bill be now read the second time, said, that the object of the measure, which had passed the other House, was to give to Boards of Guardians in Ireland substantially the same powers as were possessed by similar bodies in England in regard to the disposal of blind, deaf, and dumb, or imbecile paupers, who 344 might, under proper regulations, be domiciled where they would be better cared for than in the workhouse. There were certain words in the Bill which apparently extended it beyond the English law; but those words he would, at the next stage, agree to omit.

THE DUKE of RICHMOND AND GORDON
would offer no objection to the second reading of the Bill, although Clauses 3 and 4 appeared to go further than the English law in respect to imbecile paupers. He believed the late Lord Chancellor of Ireland introduced a somewhat similar Bill last year, which was not proceeded with in consequence of a Commission being issued in Ireland to inquire into the whole question. He was informed that the labours of the Commission had now terminated, and that the Commissioners had drawn up their Report. In assenting to the second reading, therefore, he must give Notice that in Committee, in the 4th clause, he should propose to insert words empowering the Local Government Board, if they thought proper, to impose such regulations as might be deemed necessary to give effect to the Report of the Commissioners to which he had alluded.
After a few words from Earl NELSON and Lord O'HAGAN,

§ LORD CARLINGFORD
observed, that this Bill was far more restricted in its operations than that introduced last year by his noble and learned Friend. Ho had no doubt that in Committee he would be able to agree to such an Amendment as that which the Lord President of the Council had sketched out.