SECOND READING. (Hansard, 17 August 1894)

LORD MONKSWELL

My Lords, the object of this Bill is to provide facilities for the sale of land to tenants by the Board. Clause 1 provides two methods whereby, when the Land Commission advance the purchase money, cither the guarantee deposit need not be retained or the provisions of the Purchase Act of 1891 as to the purchaser's insurance money shall not operate, i.e., the annuity shall not be more than 4 per cent. By the first method the Board may guarantee the payment of an amount equal to the guarantee deposit. Under Section o of the Purchase Act of 1885 the Land Commission are empowered to retain out of the purchase money a guarantee deposit of not less than one-fifth of the advance. By the second method the Board may guarantee the payment of such sums as would otherwise have been set off by the Land Commission against the purchaser's insurance money. Under Section H of the Purchase Act of 1891 when the advance is less than 20 1375 times the annual value of the holding, then for the first five years of the term the annuity must be 80 per cent, of the annual value, and the excess of such annuity over an annuity of 4 per cent, is the purchaser's insurance money. After five years the annuity may be reduced to 4 per cent., and after 18 years to 3 per cent, or less. By Sub-section 2 the sums payable by the Board under a guarantee are to be paid out of the moneys at their disposal and are to be applied as if they were the guarantee deposit or the purchaser's insurance. Under Sub-section 3 these sums are to be debts from the purchaser to the Board and are to be a charge on the holding. Under Sub-section 4 the Treasury are to fix the amount up to which the Board may give guarantees. Clause 2 proposes, for the purpose of taking laud by the Board, to incorporate the voluntary provisions of the Lands Clauses Acts. These provisions include powers for entering into agreements for the purchase of laud, for ascertaining the amount of compensation in case of parties under disability, for applying the purchase money, for dealings by parties having limited interests, &c. Under Clause 3 the Bill also proposes additional powers with reference to the appointment of officers for the Board—the provisions of the Purchase Act of 1891 in that behalf having been found to be inconvenient and inadequate. Under Section 40 (1) of the Purchase Act of 1891 the officers of the Land Commission were to discharge duties for the Board. The clause proposes to enable to Lord Lieutenant with the sanction of the Treasury to anther is the Board to appoint their own officers who are to be on the permanent staff of the Land Commission and also to employ such persons as they may require temporarily who are to be paid out of the votes. The Bill has a supplemental provision in the same direction as the Congested Districts Board Act of last Session. This Act enabled the Board to acquire land and constituted them landlords of any land so acquired. The land is to be held by two members of the Board as Trustees. I may add that the Bill is an absolutely non-contentious measure, and was introduced in the Commons by the Chief Secretary and Mr. Arthur Balfour, and passed through that House without 1376 opposition. I ask your Lordships to give it a Second Reading.