§ Read the Third time, with the Amendments.
§ LORD TWEEDMOUTHsaid he had some Amendments to propose to the Bill, but they were not animated by any hostility to the Southwark and Vauxhall Water Company, nor by any desire to restrict their facilities for obtaining, water with which to supply their customers. But there were points in the Bill which were against what he might call public polity. The Government hail decided that the whole subject of the London Water Supply should be referred to a Royal Commission; and it seemed to him to be desirable that, pending the Report of that Commission, nothing should be done by Parliament which might prejudice or prejudge t he subject referred to the Commission or encourage a long and costly fight during the next Session of Parliament while the Commission was holding its sittings. He was afraid that by passing the Bill as it stood there was a danger of both these undesirable things arising. The history of the Bill was a somewhat unusual one. The Southwark and Vauxhall Water Company had for some years been taking from the Thames water largely in excess of the amount allowed them by Parliament. They were allowed 24½ million gallons per day, and they had been taking upwards of 40 million gallons per day: and it was said that a large portion of that water had gone, not to better the supply of the consumers, but to make up the deficiency caused by leakages in the mains of the company, which leakages had greatly damaged or destroyed the roads under which they occurred. The Queen's Bench Division had, on the application of the Thames Conservancy, granted an injunction against the company forbidding them to continue taking 1390 this excessive water from the Thames, but at the same time giving them a year of grace in which they might make arrangements to get out of the difficulty under which they would be placed by the injunction. It was too late to give the usual notices to both Houses, and Parliament came to the conclusion that the matter pressed, and therefore suspended the Standing Orders and allowed this Bill to be introduced without the usual notices. The Bill canto before the other House at a somewhat unfortunate time, and it was evident to the Committee that unless they hurried their proceedings, it would be impossible for the Bill to pass; consequently, without hearing the opponents, they granted the prayer of the promoters. On the Report to the House of Commons, a Motion was made to re-commit the Bill, and there appeared to be a desire on all sides of the House that the status quo should be maintained. It seemed, however, that the status quo had not been maintained. In Clause 4 of the Bill, a power was given to the company to raise and apply such capital as might be necessary to make proper provision for
the obtaining, drawing, impounding, and taking of water from the river Thames (including water from Platt's Eyot) in such quantities as may, after the expiration of this Act, be required by them.It seemed to him that that was one of the very subjects which would come before the Commission, and that it was not right that Parliament should now step in and direct this company to apply for an Act, which gave them power to take more water from the Thames, until they had a decision from the Commission as to whether it was good policy that such additional water should in future be drawn from the Thames. Under the same clause, a duty was imposed on the company of next year introducing a Bill to obtain these additional powers, and he did not think it desirable that an expensive contest should go on on the very subject with which the Commission would be dealing at the same time. He Would therefore propose to strike these provisions out of the Bill, and in order that the company should not be placed at a disadvantage with regard to its consumers, he would ask them to extend the time in which the company might take 1391 additional water from the Thames in spite of the injunction to four years instead of two years as in the Bill. He would suggest that the whole question of when the company should apply to Parliament for a Bill, what the terms of that Bill should be, and whence the water should be taken, should remain perfectly open. He begged to move the first Amendment standing in his name, which was to leave out the second paragraph in the preamble,—And whereas the hereinbefore recited Acts were repealed by the Southwark and Vauxhall Water Act 1852, but the Company notwithstanding such repeal were by such Act continued and placed under obligations to supply water within limits thereby prescribed and being the same as had been theretofore prescribed as aforesaid and authorised to obtain, draw, and impound for the purpose of such supply water from the river Thames above Teddington Lock.and to insert,—And whereas the Conservators of the River Thames (hereinafter called "the Conservators") lately commenced an action (1896, T. No. 436) in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court against the Company claiming an injunction restraining the Company their agents or servants from taking, diverting, or impounding from the River Thames a greater quantity of water than 24,500,000 gallons in every twenty-fours hours from midnight to midnight.And whereas on the 18th day of January 1897 judgment was given in the said action for the Conservators granting them the injunction claimed in the terms in which they asked for it.And whereas the Company now take water from the River Thames in excess of the quantity to which they are restricted under the said injunction, and it is expedient that notwithstanding the said injunction and without prejudice to any other questions the Company be temporarily authorised to take water from the said river in excess of such quantity subject to the provisions of this Act.And whereas a Royal Commission has been recently appointed to inquire and report upon the question of the acquisition and future management of the undertakings of the Metropolitan water companies and is about to commence its sittings.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§
Clause 2,—
INCREASE OF COMPANY'S POWER TO TAKE WATER FROM RIVER TITAMES.
Subject to the provisions of this Act and to the provisions of Section 297 of the Thames Conservancy Act 1894, the Company may from and after the passing of this Act by means of
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their works whereby they are now authorised to obtain, draw, awl impound water from the River Thames (including water from Platt's Eyot) above Teddington hock, obtain, draw, impound, and take such quantity of water from the said river (including water from Platt's Eyot) in any day of twenty-four hours calculated from midnight to midnight and whether or not in excess of 24,500,000 gallons as may be required by them for the purpose of fulfilling obligations imposed upon them by statute with respect to the supply of water within their limits:
Provided that unless and until otherwise authorised so to do by Parliament the Company shall not in any half-year ending on the twenty-third day of June or the twenty-fourth day of December as the case may be, obtain, draw, impound, or take from the River Thames (including water from Platt's Eyot) any quantity of water in excess of a quantity equal to the aggregate amount of 45,000,000 gallons in respect of the several days of twenty-four hours calculated from midnight to midnight during such half-year.
And provided that the Company shall not obtain, draw, impound, or take from the River Thames (including water from Platt's Eyot) in any day of twenty-four hours calculated from midnight to midnight any quantity of water in excess of 24,500,000 gallons when the flow of water over the weir about to be constructed by the Conservators of the River Thames (in this Act referred to as "the Conservators") across the said river at Penton Hook is in such day less than 300,000,000 gallons, or pending the construction of such weir when the flow of water over Bell Weir is in such day less than 265,000,000 gallons:
Provided further that when in any such day as aforesaid the flow of water over the said weir at Penton Hook is more than 300,000,000 gallons or pending the construct-ion thereof the flow of water over Bell Weir is more than 265,000,000 gallons the quantity of water in excess of 24,500,000 gallons which the Company will in such day be entitled to obtain, draw, impound, or take shall not exceed the quantity flowing on that day over the said Penton Hook Weir or Bell Weir, as the case may be, in excess of 300,000,000 gallons or 255,000,000 gallons, as the case may be:
Provided also that the Company shall not obtain, draw, impound, or take the water of the river Thames at such times, in such manner, or to such extent as to prejudice or affect the rights respectively of the Lambeth Waterworks Company, of the Grand Junction Waterworks Company, of the West Middlesex Waterworks Company, or any of those companies respectively under their respective Acts or agreements with the Corporation of the City of London or the Conservators, or to prejudice the right of the East London. Waterworks Company under the East London Waterworks (Thames Supply) Act 1867, to take or so as to prevent the East London Waterworks Company from taking water from the Thames as in that Act provided.
Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to confer upon the Company any priority of right to take water from the river Thames or any tributary thereof as against any company,
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body, or person already, or who may hereafter be, empowered by statute to take water therefrom, or any of the following companies already empowered, by who may hereafter be empowered by statute, to take water therefrom, that is to say, the East London Waterworks Company, the Lambeth Waterworks Company, the Grand Junction Waterworks Company, and the West Middlesex Waterworks Company, or to affect in any way the stipulations and provisions, either expressly or in fact, contained in the Staines Reservoirs, etc., Act 1896 for the protection or benefit of the said companies or any of them.
§ Amendment made: Paragraph (3), after the words "conservators," omit the words, "of the River Thames (in this Act referred to as 'the Conservators')."—(Earl of Morley.)
§
Clause 3,—
PAYMENT TO CONSERVATORS.
§ Amendments made: Sub-section (2), after the words "any other Act or under," to omit the words, "the herein-before recited," to insert the word "an."—(Earl of Morley.)
§
Sub-section (2), after the words, "fifty-two," omit the word "or" and insert the words,—
between the Company, and the Mayor and commonalty and citizens of the City of London or under an."—(Earl of Morley.)
§ Sub-section (2), after the words "eighty-six," insert the words "between the company and the conservators."—(Earl of Morley.)
§
Clause 4,—
DURATION OF ACT.
The Company shall, in the Session of Parliament to he held in the year one thousand eight hundred. and ninety-eight, introduce a local Pill for the purpose of obtaining such statutory powers of acquiring lands, constructing within eight years from the passing of this Act storage reservoirs told other works,
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and of raising and applying capital as may be necessary to make proper provision for the obtaining, drawing, impounding, and taking of water from the River Thames (including water from Platt's Eyot) in such quantities as may, after the expiration of this Act, be required by them for the purpose of fulfilling obligations imposed upon them by statute with respect to the supply of water within their limits.
Nothing in this Act shall prejudice or affect any question which any body or person other than the Conservators and the Company may at any stage of such Bill desire to raise with respect to the said Bill or any of the provisions thereof, or may desire to raise before the Royal Commission on Water Supply in the districts within the limits of supply of the Metropolitan Water Companies, or may desire to raise elsewhere; and
Nothing in this Act contained shall be held to prejudice or affect as against the Conservators or the Company the terms provisions to be inserted in the said Bill as to the obtaining, drawing, impounding, and taking water from the River Thames or the minimum flow of water to be left in the said river or the point of gauging such minimum flow.
This Act shall, from and after the passing of the said Bill, be, ipso facto, repealed, and shall in no case be in force after the first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine.
§ LORD TWEEDMOUTHrose to move his first Amendment to Clause 4, namely, to leave out the first paragraph of the clause from "The company" to "their limits."
THE EARL OF MORLEYsaid that, without going into the merits of the question, he would point out that the Bill had a curious course through Parliament in some ways. This clause was carefully considered by one of their Lordships' Select Committees, it was opposed in that Committee, and the last three paragraphs of the clause were inserted in order to provide the safeguards that his noble Friend desired, namely, to prevent questions in dispute being prejudiced by anything contained in the Bill. He ventured to think it was somewhat late to alter on the Third Reading the drafting of the clause which had been deliberately arrived at. He was informed that the Conservators very strongly objected to the proposed prolongation of time, and pointed out that large sums of money had been spent in rendering the Thames navigable for a long distance, and that to take a large quantity of water from the river at certain times rendered it un-navigable. He thought it was of importance that the company should be 1396 bound to come to Parliament as soon as possible, and that the shortest possible limit of time should be given to them to prepare the works which would obviously be necessary in the future. If the noble Lord would consent not to move the omission of the whole of the first paragraph of Clause 4, he would be prepared not to insist on the words to which he specially called attention, and would move to omit the words,—
for the obtaining, drawing, impounding, and taking of water from the River Thames (including water from Platt's Eyot) in such quantities as may after the expiration of this Act be required by them.
§ LORD TWEEDMOUTHsaid he was, of course, in the palm of his noble Friend's hand in that House, and his best course was to accept whatever was offered him and to be as thankful as possible. He admitted that the suggested Amendment would meet one of the points which he had raised, but he was very sorry that the noble Lord had not met him also on the other point. The result would be that next Session they would be practically face to face with a prolonged contest between this company and the various local authorities and the other water companies with regard to their proposal to take more water from the Thames at the very time that the Royal Commission was inquiring into the same subject. If his proposition had been accepted there would have been no further difficulty about this Bill in the House of Commons. He could say nothing now, but there was pretty sure to be some discussion on the point on which his noble Friend had not been able to meet him.
THE EARL OF MORLEYmoved to omit from the first paragraph of Clause 4 the words "for the obtaining, drawing, impounding, and taking of water from the River Thames (including water from Platt's Eyot) in such quantities as may after the expiration of this Act be required by them."
§ Amendment agreed to.