SECOND READING. (Hansard, 16 May 1882)

THE EARL OF ROSEBERY

, in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, he did not think he need detain their Lordships long. It had fallen to the lot of a Liberal Government to propose the Bill; but it was really intended to carry into effect the recommendations of the Royal Commission which was appointed during the term of Office of the late Government. It appeared from the evidence that had been taken before that Commission that there were originally 284 Municipal Corporations in this country, and that the Act of 1835 had dealt with 178 of them. Others had come under the operation of subsequent Acts, and there now remained 76 which had not been touched in any way. The Commission, after collecting a mass of evidence on the subject, had come to the conclusion that great changes in these bodies ought to be effected. The members of these ancient boroughs held their offices under various titles; sometimes they were bailees, sometimes they were mayors, sometimes portreeves; but in nearly all cases they were men of a low class, regarded as magistrates, having the cognizance of crimes in their districts. It was true that these ancient boroughs were very picturesque both in their origin and their nature, and their officials presented a very curious appearance, and their customs were more or 817 less strange; but they were the occasion of certain evils that ought to be put an end to. In one case, where the population of the borough was some 7,000, the mayor or portreeve was nominated by a Member of their Lordships' House, while in others there was no property whatever belonging to the Corporation, who possessed no privileges, and who had no duties to perform. Another interesting fact connected with these bodies was that they had occasionally been in the habit of depositing both their maces and their consciences in the keeping of some neighbouring potentate, who exercised their powers in their names, and who in return expended a certain sum per annum in providing dinners for them. Besides mere quaint anomalies there were serious inconveniences arising from the position of these boroughs, and especially from the possession of the powers of licensing magistrates by councillors who were persons of a low class. In one borough which was unable to deal with its own drunkenness, the habit was to push drunken men across the borough boundaries, so that they might be dealt with by the county police. In other boroughs the Corporation property was either squandered or was mismanaged. The Bill divided the boroughs dealt with into two classes. The first contained those which still had some elements of vitality, and some recuperative power, and which might be placed under the Municipal Corporations Act. As to the remainder, the Report of the Commission showed that they were no longer entitled to retain municipal functions; and they would, therefore, be deprived of them on the 1st of January, 1883, and the administration of their funds would be placed under the Charity Commission. In the first class municipal functions would be suspended on the 1st of January, 1883; and, as soon as possible, inquiries would be made as to the expediency of future incorporation. By the end of 1885 all the places that had not received Charters of incorporation would cease to be corporate boroughs. Power was given to the Local Government Board to supervise the management of these places during the period of transition. The measure was not a very large one; but as it would remove a considerable anomaly he trusted their Lordships would give it a second reading.