(NO. 6.) SECOND READING. (Hansard, 16 April 1888)

§ LORD HOBHOUSE,
in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, 1294 said, that its object was to enact certain clauses which were in the Bill of last year as it left the Select Committee to which it was referred, and as it was passed by the House, but which, by a mere accident in the House of Commons, were dropped out then. They affected the Stamp Duties, and therefore had to pass through a Committee. It was the purest formality, because the Treasury had assented, and the same clauses had passed through Committee in two previous years. Still it was necessary, and it was overlooked until too late. The clauses in question enabled a copyholder, after the amount of compensation had been settled by agreement, to have a memorandum of enfranchisement entered in the Court Roll, which should have all the effect of an award by the Land Commissioners. When the Bill got into Committee, he proposed to move Amendments which would have the effect of substituting for the existing scale of compensation to stewards, the scale settled by the Incorporated Law Society and adopted by the Select Committee last year. The stewards had been surprised, and felt aggrieved, by the alteration of that scale in the House; and they protested against new duties being thrown upon them at the same rate of remuneration. The present Bill would give them some new duties, and it would very much enlarge the range of cases to which the statutory scale would apply. The Law Society's scale effected a substantial reduction upon the former rate of charge, though it, again, was higher than the scale enacted in 1857. As it was now proposed to enlarge the range of duties for fixed payments, he thought it was fair to reconsider the then action of the House.

§ EARL. DE LA WARR
said, he understood that, as regarded the stewards' charges and fees, the Bill restored the Schedule agreed to by the Committee of their Lordships' House last year. He would not, therefore, oppose the Bill after the noble Lord's undertaking to provide thus for the proper remuneration of the stewards.

THE EARL OF MILLTOWN
said, he wished to point out that although the 1st clause made it clear that the 1295 stewards' compensation was to be paid before the memorandum of enfranchise-ment was handed over to the tenant, it was silent with regard to the lord's compensation, which he was left to recover as best he could. He was quite sure that this was not the intention of the noble and learned Lord.

§ LORD HOBHOUSE
thought the Amendments which he would introduce would be sufficient to meet the views of noble Lords.