HL Deb 12 June 1896 vol 41 cc939-42

(1.) In the Public Health Acts, unless the context otherwise requires— The expression "sewer" means any pipe or conduit used for the drainage of any house, building, or street—

  1. (a) which is situated in or under any street, and is used, or intended to be used, for the purpose of the general drainage of the street, or of the houses or buildings therein, and has been constructed in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the local authority; or
  2. (b) which, whether so situated or not, has been before or is after the passing of this Act purchased by or constructed at the ultimate expense of the local authority; or
  3. (c) which has been declared to be a sewer under the Act.
The expression "drain" includes any pipe or conduit which is used for the drainage of any house, building, or street, and is not a sewer within the meaning of this Act.

(2.) The Public Health Acts shall be construed as if the definitions of "sewer" and "drain" contained in this section had been contained in the Public Health Act, 1875, and any Act repealed by that Act instead, of the definitions contained in that Act, or any Act repealed by that Act, and no pipe or conduit used for the drainage of any house, building or street shall be deemed to have vested in or been under the control of, or to belong to, a local authority under the Public Health Acts, except such pipes or conduits as are sewers within the meaning of this Act.

(3.) So much of Section 4 of the Public Health Act, 1875, as defines "sewer" and "drain" is hereby repealed.

* LORD HARRIS

rose to move in Subsection (2) to leave out "and any Act repealed by that Act." He said that the Bill as it stood was very comprehensive and made to apply to any Act which had been repealed by the Act of 1875. The object of the Measure was to lay upon certain private persons the liability for the maintenance and repair of certain conduits, which had been hitherto, in the wording of the Act applicable to them, "sewers," and which the courts had recently held ought to have been maintained and repaired by the local authorities. The local authority, with the able assistance of the noble Earl, were now trying to get rid of this important duty and to impose it for the future upon private individuals, and they sought to do this in a retrospective way, and to throw this liability upon private persons in respect of what had been legally sewers since 1848. The Local Government Board considered that the provisions of Clause 1 were far too sweeping and would cause some injustice, or, at any rate, hardship. They proposed, therefore, that nothing contained in the section should apply to any sewer or drain constructed before the commencement of the Public Health Act, 1875.

EARL BEAUCHAMP

appealed to the noble Lord to defer the consideration of his Amendments, on the ground that they had not been circulated that morning in the Order Papers, and that they had only just now reached his hands?

* LORD HARRIS

regretted that his Amendments had not been circulated at an earlier hour. He did not know the reason for the delay. The Amendment which he had explained was not a very elaborate one, and as the House had now gone into Committee he thought they might proceed with it.

LORD HERSCHELL

thought it would only be reasonable, in the circumstances, to postpone the Amendments until a later stage, the Standing Committee on the Report. The noble Lord in charge of the Bill, who perhaps was not as yet very familiar with the practice of the House, might naturally require a little time in which to consider the character of the Amendments.

THE PRIME MINISTER

did not think they could resist the appeal of the noble and learned Lord. After all it would be easy to move the Amendments in Report.

EARL BEAUCHAMP

said that he had just heard that the Associations of Municipal Corporations considered the first Amendment of the noble Lord so serious that in their opinion it would be a question whether it would be worth while proceeding with the Bill if that Amendment were agreed to.

THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON

suggested that the simplest course to take would be to postpone the further consideration of the Bill in Committee. If the Amendments were deferred until the Standing Committee Stage a great many of their Lordships would be deprived of the opportunity of discussing them.

THE PRIME MINISTER

said that there was no reason why the present stage of the Bill should be deferred. The Amendments would be put off until the Report stage.

Further consideration of Amendment deferred.

Clauses 1 to 4 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

EARL BEAUCHAMP

moved to insert the following new clause after Clause 4:—