Lords Sitting of 25 June 1896

Preamble
In the absence of the Lord Chancellor, the EARL of MORLEY (Chairman of Committees) sat Speaker at a quarter after Four o'clock.
EARL OF GRANARD (CLAIM TO VOTE FOR REPRESENTATIVE PEERS FOR IRELAND).
Ordered and directed, that a certificate be sent by the Clerk of the Parliaments to the Clerk of the Crown in Ireland, stating that the Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom has reported to the House of Lords that the right of the Earl of Granard to vote at the elections of Representative Peers for Ireland has been established to the satisfaction of him the said Lord Chancellor; and that the House of Lords has ordered such Report to be sent to the said Clerk of the Crown in Ireland. And it is hereby also ordered, that the said Report of the said Lord Chancellor be sent to the Clerk of the Crown in Ireland.
The Lord Stuart of Castle Stuart (the Earl of Moray) sat first in Parliament after the death of his kinsman.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
  CHELSEA WATER BILL.
  Read 3a, with the Amendments, passed, and returned to the Commons.
DERELICT VESSELS (REPORT) BILL.
Returned from the Commons with the Amendment agreed to.
STATUTE LAW REVISION BILLS AND CONSOLIDATION BILLS.
Message from the Commons that they have committed the Friendly Societies Bill and the Collecting Societies Bill to the Joint Committee on Statute Law Revision, Etc., Bills.
MILITARY LANDS PROVISIONAL ORDERS BILL.
Committed. The Committee to be proposed by the Committee of Selection.

CABS (LONDON) BILL.
LORD BELPER,who rose to move the Second Reading of this Bill, said that it was an attempt to put down what was technically called "bilking." The clause of the Bill which dealt with this matter was drawn so as to include three classes of "bilkers"—(1) the man who hired a cab having good reason to know he had no money to pay for it; (2) the man who, having hired a cab, fraudulently endeavoured to avoid payment of the fare; and (3) the man who, having refused to pay his fare, also refused to give his proper address. All these cases, it was provided, could on conviction be summarily disposed of, and a penalty not exceeding 40s. might be disposed of, or, in the discretion of the Court, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 days. These provisions had been carefully considered, and were really founded on the Report of a Committee appointed by Mr. Asquith two years ago; that Committee dealt with a number of provisions with regard to regulations for cabs, and this was almost the only recommendation in their Report which had not been already carried out. At present the only power which a cabman had when defrauded of his fare would be to bring a civil action against the person who had defrauded him, which was naturally a somewhat cumbrous process, and which had no deterrent effect. He thought it would be admitted that it was only reasonable that a body of men who were subject to somewhat stringent regulations with regard to the conduct of their business should also be reasonably protected by Parliament against fraud on the part of those whom they had to

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drive, and it was worth while remembering that a cabman could not refuse to take any one who wished to take him for hire. One clause of the Bill repealed a section of a former Act of Parliament, which compelled a cabman to drive the hirer to the nearest police-station in case of dispute; that provision had been considered to be somewhat onerous by cab drivers, and he believed it had hardly ever been put in force, so that it was proposed to repeal the power. Under the ordinary law the hirer, if he had money, could tell the cabman to drive him to a police-station if he wished. He begged to move the Second Reading of the Bill.
THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYsaid he had no objection whatever to make to the provisions of the Bill, but he hoped the noble Lord would look carefully to its phraseology before the Committee stage. A sub-section of the Bill provided that any person having hired or used a cab fraudulently, etc., and he did not understand how a cab could be used without being hired unless a man stole the cab.
LORD BELPERthought that the subsection referred to a man who hired a cab and subsequently attempted to defraud the cabman of his hire. He would, however, look into the matter.
Read 2a (according to Order), and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Tuesday next.

FISHERIES ACTS (NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK) AMENDMENT BILL.
Read 2a (according to Order), and committed for To-morrow.
PUBLIC HEALTH (SEWERS AND DRAINS) BILL [H.L.]
Amendments reported (according to Order), and Bill to be read 3a on Tuesday next.

HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES (IRELAND) BILL.
Read 3a (according to Order), and passed.
House adjourned at Twenty minutes before Five o'clock, till Tomorrow, Four o'clock.