§ Order of the day for the Second Reading read.
LORD HELPERMy Lords, this is a small Bill, which has passed the other House, the object of which is to empower the Commissioners of Woods and Forests to sell pieces of land in the New Forest for sanitary purposes. The case for the Bill is this: The soil of the New Forest is vested in the Crown, and it appears that the Commissioners of His Majesty's Woods and Forests have no power to sell any land without an Act of Parliament. As long ago as 1884 it was found that the sanitary arrangements of Lyndhurst, which is within the limits of the New Forest, were very bad, and the Local Government Board came to the conclusion that not only the sanitary arrangements, but also the water supply, were deplorable. Since that time a proper water supply has been provided, but great difficulty has been experienced, in consequence of there being no land, in carrying out sewerage works, and this Bill is for the purpose of giving the Commissioners power to sell land, and the parish authorities power to purchase it in the interests of the public health of the locality. The Bill is carefully guarded in the matter of the consent of the Local Government 640 Board and a proper local inquiry. The provisions of the Bill are practically concurred in by all the persons locally interested, and have been accepted by the Commons Preservation Society.
§ Bill read 2a, and committed for Monday next.