§ Read 2a (according to order), and committed to a Committee of the Whole House; Standing Orders Nos. XXXIX. and XLV. considered (according to order), and dispensed with.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee; agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ Clause 17.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORI propose to omit, in Clause 17, all after the words "promoters shall be aided by a capital sum out of public money," and to make the clause read thus:—
Where the Treasury in pursuance of the Light Railways (Ireland) Act, 1889, have agreed with the promoters of any light railway that the undertaking of the promoters shall be aided by a capital sum out of public money, the promoters, before the arbitrator has framed his draft award, may enter upon any land which they are authorised to take, on depositing in the Bank of Ireland such sum as may be certified to be proper by such valuer as may be appointed for the purpose by the Commissioners of Public Works, and the Treasury on the request of the promoters shall cause to be paid into the Bank, out of such capital sum, any sum required to be deposited in the Bank for the above purpose, and the Railways Acts (Ireland), 1851 and 1860, and the Acts amending the same, shall, as amended by this section, apply accordingly.I may mention that the object of the Amendment is to harmonise the Bill 687 with Irish legislation. The draftsman has apparently taken the analogy of the Lands Clauses Act of England, and has made the machinery of that Act apply to the Bill. He seems to have forgotten that the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act for Ireland is a totally different measure, and that its machinery is different, and the effect of my Amendment is to restore the Bill to a form which will make it in harmony with the Irish legislation.
§ Amendment agreed to; the Report thereof received; Bill read 3a with the Amendments, and passed, and returned to the Commons.