THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE)My Lords, I beg to move the Motion which appears on the Paper with reference to this Bill.
§ Moved, That the Order made on the 25th day of March last, "That no Private Bill brought from the House of Commons shall be read a second time after Tuesday the 29th of June next," be dispensed with, and that the Bill be now read 2ª.—(The Earl of Donoughmore.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to, and Bill read 2ª accordingly, and committed: the Committee to be proposed by the Committee of Selection.
§ LORD STRACHIE had given Notice that in the event of the Bill being committed, he would move to resolve, That it be an instruction to the Committee to 112 which the Bill shall be referred, page 70, line 11, after "may" to insert "with the consent of the local authority concerned subject to the right of the Corporation to appeal to the Ministry of Health for such power of inspection." The noble Lord said: My Lords, I have a. Motion on the Paper that an instruction be given to the Committee with reference to the Bristol Corporation Bill, but I am given to understand by the Chairman of Committees that it is desirable that my instruction should be moved at a later date—that is to say, after the Third Reading of the Bill. I am quite ready to agree to that suggestion. Owing to circumstances over which I have no control my instruction only appeared on the Paper to-day and that is very short notice. Therefore I shall not now make this Motion, but I shall move it after Third Reading, though it may be in a different form to that in which it now appears on the Paper.
THE EARL OF DONOUGHMOREMy Lords, I am very much obliged to the noble Lord for meeting me in this matter, as he does in all these matters, if I may say so. I ought to tell your Lordships that the question in which the noble Lord is interested is raised in a Petition against the Bill, and I understand that the Committee will sit on Monday to enter into the question raised, though not, on behalf of my noble friend. It is raised by parties other than my noble friend. Of course he is not going to be heard before the Committee and his position, as he has been good enough to indicate that he will postpone moving the instruction till a later stage, is unaffected by that postponement. He is unprejudiced by any discusion that may take place before he raises the matter again himself. I always prefer this procedure—that we should have a discussion on Third Reading after the promoters have given their evidence. That evidence, of course, will be printed and will be available to all of us. I would like to mention one other point, without prejudicing myself or announcing whether I am in favour of the Amendment of my noble friend or not. I am a little anxious about the actual wording, but as he has not persisted in moving it to-day that gives a little more time to consider the matter.