§ Order of the Day for the Second Reading, read.
LORD TWEEDMOUTHsaid, he moved the Second Reading of this Bill in no official capacity, but simply at the request of Members of the other House who had promoted it there. Its object was to extend to Irish towns and townships having Commissioners the same privilege of establishing public libraries as was enjoyed in England. By the Act of 1885 applying to public libraries in Ireland, the limit of population in towns to which the Act applied was 5,000. This Bill would enable 118 towns instead of 46 to have public libraries. Its provisions differed in no way from those at present in force in England except that an alternative was given to the Urban Authorities of bringing the Act into force, and a petition of 10 ratepayers would enable the Commissioners to take a poll of the inhabitants. In the other House the Bill was referred to a Select Committee, by whom it was carefully considered. It was approved by the Irish Office, and was backed by the names of Members representing such various sections of the House of Commons as Mr. Field, Mr. Carson, Mr. J. Redmond, Sir Thomas Esmonde, Mr. W. Johnston, Sir J. Lubbock, and Mr. Arthur O'Connor.
§ Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a."(The Lord Tweedmouth.)
§ LORD ASHBOURNEsaid, in face of the startling list of names given by the noble Lord, it would require a very daring man to get up in their Lordships' House and oppose the Second Reading of a Bill so backed. He certainly was 1116 not that man. An Irishman himself he fully recognised the significance of the union of names sometimes strongly opposed. The Bill had been introduced lately, and he had not yet been able to give it more than a cursory reading; but he hoped to read it in more detail later on, and trusted it would pass their Lordships' House without the enunciation of any serious difficulty.
§ Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next.