HL Deb 15 March 1934 vol 91 cc232-46

Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.

Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Lord Temple-more.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House in Committee accordingly:

[The EARL OF ONSLOW in the Chair.]

Clause 1:

Issue of capital by undertakers.

1.—(1) The Board or Trade may, on an application made in that behalf by any undertakers being a company, authorise the applicants, notwithstanding anything in any enactment relating to them but subject to such conditions as the Board think fit to impose, to offer for subscription by the public any share capital to be issued for the purposes of their gas undertaking after the commencement of this Act before, or in lieu of, offering that capital by public auction or tender.

(2) Where, on an application under this section, it appears to the Board that the share capital of the applicants, being capital of the same class as that to which the application relates, is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and has been dealt in on that exchange during the month immediately preceding the application, the Board shall not authorise the capital to be offered as aforesaid at a price less than the average market price of the applicants' share capital of that class during that month, and, in ascertaining the said average market price, the mean daily quotation recorded in the London Stock Exchange daily list of officially quoted securities shall be taken, but due allowance shall be made for any accruing dividend.

LORD TEMPLEMOBE

moved, in subsection (2), before the first "quoted," to insert "officially." The noble Lord said: This Amendment is designed to make it clear that only stocks or shares which are officially quoted on the Stock Exchange fall under the procedure in subsection (2).

Amendment moved— Page 1, line 19, after ("is") insert ("officially").—(Lord Templemore.)

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE

I have been asked by Lord Bertie of Thame, who is unfortunately unable to be present, to move his Amendments for him, and therefore if my arguments are not as cogent as they should be I hope your Lordships will excuse me. On the Amendment moved by Lord Templemore, to insert the word "officially," might I have a little more information as to why unofficial figures are not to be allowed to count? I have later on an Amendment to put in "unofficial," and if the noble Lord will give me some good reasons now why the word "official" only should stand I shall not be obliged to move my Amendment.

LORD TEMPLEMORE

I hoped that the noble Lord would perhaps take this course. The reason why I propose to insert "officially" and why I cannot accept the Amendment of the noble Lord is that the share capital of the gas companies which are included in the Supplementary List, that is, the list of securities which are not officially quoted on the Stock Exchange, is very infrequently dealt in. It appears from a Supplementary List of March 3, for instance, that in many cases dealings, not only of gas companies but of other companies, had not taken place for many months and in some cases for nearly a year. His Majesty's Government are accordingly inclined to think that in these cases the Stock Exchange dealing is not a reliable guide as to the actual price of these shares. Therefore, they prefer that they should fall under the procedure of subsection (3).

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE

I understand the noble Lord to say that the reason for his Amendment is that they want the figures to be as up-to-date as possible, and not possibly, six or three months old.

LORD TEMPLEMORE

Yes, that is the reason.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 2 and 3 agreed to.

Clause 4:

Limits of renewal fund.

4.—(1) Where any undertakers, being a company, are authorised by any enactment to establish and maintain a renewal fund subject to certain limitations, the annual contributions to, and the amount of, the fund shall, instead of being limited as provided by that or any other enactment applying to the undertakers, be limited as follows, that is to say,—

  1. (a) the aggregate amount contributed to the fund in any year shall not exceed one-half per cent, of the capital of the undertakers; and
  2. (b) subject to the provisions of this section, the amount of the fund shall not exceed five per cent, of the capital of the undertakers.

(3) In this section the expression "capital," in relation to any undertakers, means the aggregate amount of the paid up share capital of those undertakers, created and issued for the purposes of their gas undertaking, of any premiums paid in respect thereof, and of any sums which have been raised by the undertakers for the said purposes on mortgage or by the creation and issue of debenture stock and have not been paid off.

(5) Nothing in this section shall apply to any undertakers who carry on, or are authorised by any enactment or by their memorandum of association to carry on, any business in addition to that of a gas undertaking, unless the accounts of the undertakers are in the opinion of the Board of Trade so kept as to enable the amount of their capital, as defined by this section, to be ascertained.

LORD TEMPLEMORE

moved, in subsection (1), after "shall," to insert "subject to the provisions of this section." The noble Lord said: This is a drafting Amendment, consequential on my Amendment to subsection (5) of Clause 4, which I will explain, if your Lordships agree, when I get to that Amendment.

Amendment moved— Page 4, line 33, after ("shall") insert ("subject to the provisions of this section ").—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD TEMPLEMORE

moved, in subsection (3), after "undertaking," to insert "and not redeemed." The noble Lord said: This Amendment is required to make it clear that any share capital which has been redeemed shall not be included in the expression "capital" for the purposes of this clause. Such capital, although it has been created and issued, has been redeemed either by paying off or by the issue of other capital in place thereof, and is not live share capital of the undertakers unless it is reissued under the provisions of Clause 3 and the First Schedule to the Bill, and ought not to be part of the capital on which the contribution to, and maximum of, the renewal fund is based.

Amendment moved— Page 5, line 29, after ("undertaking") insert ("and not redeemed").—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD TEMPLEMORE

moved, in subsection (3), to leave out "thereof" and insert "of share capital created and issued for the said purposes." The noble Lord said: This is consequential.

Amendment moved— Page 5, line 30, leave out ("thereof") and insert the said new words.—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD TEMPLEMORE

moved, in subsection (5), after "Nothing in this section," to insert: (a) shall affect the right of any undertakers under any enactment to contribute to their renewal fund in any year, or to maintain the fund at, an amount larger than that authorised by the provisions of this section; or (b)

The noble Lord said: This is the Amendment to which I referred just now. It proposes that nothing in Clause 4 shall affect the right of any undertakers under any enactment to contribute to their renewal fund in any year, or to maintain the fund at an amount larger than that authorised by the clause. The Wrottesley Committee were insistent that their proposals shall not restrict powers which undertakers already possess, and, although it was not clear from their Report that this general principle applied in the case of contributions to, or the maximum of, the renewal fund, the Board think it is desirable that any existing powers in excess of these granted by the clause should be saved.

Amendment moved— Page 6, line 1, after ("section") insert the said paragraph.—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 4, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 5:

Publication of prices by undertakers and consequences thereof.

5.—(1) Any thermal unit undertakers may, at any time after the commencement of this Act and from time to time thereafter, give notice in writing to every local authority stating the price per therm at which they are prepared for the time being to supply gas to persons who do not enter into a special contract for the supply thereof:

Provided that—

(3)Where a notice has at any time been given under this section by any thermal unit undertakers, the following provisions of this subsection shall apply to them, that is to say,—

  1. (b) the undertakers shall exhibit and keep exhibited in all their showrooms and offices which are open to the public a copy of the latest notice given by them to the local authority or local authorities under this section, and shall, whenever they publish any general statement of their charges in respect of gas, include therein the price or prices stated in the said latest notice;
  2. (c) if the undertakers fail to comply with the provisions of the last foregoing paragraph, they shall for each offence he liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds or, in the case of a continuing offence, five pounds for each day during which the default continues;

LORD TEMPLEMOREmoved, in subsection (1), after "who", to insert "are entitled to a supply of gas from those undertakers and". The noble Lord said: Clause 5 (1) permits thermal unit undertakers to publish a price at which they are prepared to supply gas, but there are usually some potential consumers of gas within the authorised limits of supply of undertakers who are a considerable distance from existing mains and who cannot demand a supply under the provisions of Section 11 of the Gasworks Clauses Act, 1871. Without this Amendment such persons might acquire a right to demand a supply if the undertakers publish a notice that they are prepared to supply gas at a certain price, and the Amendment is proposed to make it clear that any such person who is under the existing law unable to demand a supply shall not acquire such a right by reason of the publication of the notice.

Amendment moved— Page 6, line 15, after ("who") insert ("are entitled to a supply of gas from those undertakers and").—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD TEMPLEMORE

moved, in paragraph (b) of subsection (3), after "in", to insert "a conspicuous position at".

The noble Lord said: This Amendment is proposed to make it clear that one copy only of the notice, exhibited in a conspicuous place, shall be necessary in each set of showrooms and offices. Fears have been expressed that under the clause as it stands a copy of the notice would have to be exhibited in every room of a showroom or office to which the public have access, which would, of course, be an intolerable nuisance to the concern that had to do it.

Amendment moved— Page 7, line 5, after ("in") insert ("a conspicuous position at").—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE

moved to add to paragraph (c) of subsection (3) "after conviction therefor." The noble Lord said: This clause deals with the "Publication of prices by undertakers and consequences thereof", and the paragraph which I wish to amend says: (c) if the undertakers fail to comply with the provisions of the last foregoing paragraph, they shall for each offence be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds or in the case of a continuing offence, five pounds for each day during which the default continues. As I read paragraph (c), unless my Amendment is accepted undertakers who are found to be guilty of a continuing offence may have to pay not only from the date of conviction but from the date at which the offence is alleged or proved to have begun. Is that quite fair?

First of all, an undertaker may quite genuinely think he is keeping within the law. It may be a border-line case, and he may consider that he is complying with all the rules and regulations. It would be very hard in such circumstances that he should suddenly find himself liable to a penalty of perhaps £5 a day for some months from the beginning of the offence. It might be also that the case against him was for some reason delayed over some weeks or even months, and he might be liable to this continuing penalty for a considerable period of time. No doubt the noble Lord will say that we must trust the Court. I am all for trusting the Court, but I think it is much better to put it into an Amendment like this, which, after all, does not largely diminish the option of the Court, and certainly may prevent an undertaker from being unjustly convicted.

Amendment moved— Page 7, line 19, at end insert ("after conviction therefor"). — (Lord Mount Temple.)

LORD TEMPLEMORE

I regret that I cannot accept this Amendment. This is the usual form of such a clause, and if examples are required I could give the noble Lord a good many. For instance, Section 7 of the Business Names Act, Section 15 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, and a certain number of others. The result of the Amendment would be that the penalty for a continuing offence would only apply where, even after a conviction for failure to exhibit the notice, still no notice was exhibited. A clause in this form is found more rarely, for example, in Section 6 of the Trade Boards Act, 1909, and Section 8 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920. I also resist the Amendment on its merits, as its effect would almost certainly be to multiply the number of prosecutions required to ensure compliance with the Act.

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE

If the noble Lord will not accept the Amendment I am afraid I must ask leave to withdraw it; but I thought your Lordships' House was an institution to make precedents, not to follow them.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 5, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 6 agreed to.

Clause 7:

Imposition of statutory powers and duties on non-statutory undertakers.

(4) If any non-statutory undertakers upon whom a notice has been served under this section fail to make an application as required by the notice or withdraw or fail to proceed with the application or submit an order which is not approved by the Board of Trade, the Board—

  1. (a) shall themselves prepare a special order containing the provisions required by the notice and such other provisions (being provisions which those undertakers could have included in an order submitted in pursuance of the notice) as the Board may think necessary or expedient; and
  2. (b) shall send by post to those undertakers a copy of the draft order prepared by them and take steps to make the order as if those undertakers had applied for it to he made under Section ten of the principal Act; 239 and the provisions of subsections (3), (4) and (5) of the said Section ten shall apply accordingly, except that the reference to the undertakers concerned in Section eighty of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, as applied by the said subsection (3) shall be construed as a reference to the Board of Trade.

(5) Where a notice under this section has been served on any non-statutory undertakers, the Board of Trade may—

  1. (a) serve upon those undertakers a demand in writing requiring them to furnish the Board with such returns and other information relating to their gas undertaking as the Board may think necessary or expedient; and
  2. (b) authorise in writing any person to enter at all reasonable times any premises occupied by those undertakers for the purpose of inspecting any works used by them for the purpose of their gas undertaking.

LORD TEMPLEMORE

The next three Amendments are drafting Amendments. The order is a draft order until it has been made by the Board of Trade after approval by Parliament.

THE LORD CHAIRMAN

With your Lordships' permission, I shall put the following three Amendments en bloc.

Amendments moved—

Page 11, line 10, leave out ("special") and insert ("draft")

Page 11, line 20, leave out ("an") and insert ("a draft")

Page 11, line 23, leave out ("special") and insert ("draft").—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendments agreed to.

LORD MOUNT TEMPLEmoved, in paragraph (b) of subsection 4, after "by," to insert "registered." The noble Lord said: The clause as it stands at present says that the Board shall serve upon those undertakers connected with the draft order a notice by post. The post is very efficiently run by the present Government, but letters do not always arrive, and if you are going to send the copy of a draft order to undertakers you should send it, surely, by registered post and not by ordinary post. That is the purpose of the Amendment, and I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 11, line 30, after ("by") insert ("registered").—(Lord Mount Temple.)

LORD TEMPLEMORE

The Government do not think there is any necessity in practice for proof that this draft order has been sent, but I have been rather unkind to my noble friend up to now and he is so persuasive that I shall be glad to accept this Amendment.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE moved, in paragraph (b) of subsection 5, after "person," to insert "after production of his authority if so requested." The noble Lord said: The point of this Amendment is that, where a notice has been served on any non-statutory undertakers, the Board of Trade may authorise in writing any person to enter at all reasonable times any premises occupied by those undertakers for the purpose of inspecting any works used by them for the purpose of their gas undertaking. What I wish to do is to insert after the word "person" the words "after production of his authority if so requested." I think it is not unreasonable, if someone says "I want to inspect your premises, and I am so and so," that you should take some steps to find out whether he is the person he declares himself to be. People might come in with bad intent to facilitate a burglary, and I think that if a person is asked for his credentials he should have some sort of card in his pocket to show he is the person authorised in writing to enter these premises. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 12, line 9, after ("person") insert ("after production of his authority if so requested").—(Lord Mount Temple.)

LORD TEMPLEMORE

I am afraid my noble friend is not going to be so successful this time. This Amendment appears to be unnecessary, and I am afraid I cannot accept it. Anybody who came around to inspect premises would no doubt produce a card or letter of some sort to show who he was, and I submit that no offence would be committed by refusing to admit a person until he had furnished evidence that he was the person authorised to enter by the production of his written authority.

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE

In answer to my noble friend my distinct recollection is that in some Motor Acts it is distinctly stated that no one may enter your garage and inspect a car for the purpose of seeing if an offence has been committed unless he produces authority for so doing.

With that excellent precedent before him, my noble friend who is so fond of precedents should accept this Amendment, but since he does not accept it I would ask leave to withdraw it.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE

The next Amendment is consequential on the one which has already been accepted and I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 12, line 31, after ("by") insert ("registered").—(Lord Mount Temple.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 7, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 8, 9 and 10 agreed to.

Clause 11:

Appointment of gas examiners.

(2) on the application of not less than five consumers of gas supplied within the area of a local authority, being gas which is required by any enactment for the time being in force to conform to certain standards of calorific value, purity, pressure or composition, Quarter Sessions, if satisfied that no gas examiner has been appointed for that area or that the testing of gas in the area has been imperfectly attended to, may appoint a competent and impartial person to be the gas examiner far that area for such period and on such other terms as they think fit.

LORD MOUNT TEMPLEmoved, in subsection (2), to substitute "twenty-five" for "five." The noble. Lord said: This Amendment deals with the appointment of gas examiners. The local authority may appoint a competent and impartial person to be the gas examiner for their area…. and the Bill goes on in subsection (2) to say: On the application of not less than five consumers of gas supplied within the area of a local authority…. there can be put up to the local authority a demand that "a competent and impartial person" be appointed gas examiner for that area. I submit, in view of the thousands and thousands of gas consumers in an area, that to put the number at five is putting it unduly low. For the sake of the local authorities themselves the number is too low. They are going to be approached by every five people who have a fad or think they have a grievance, and for that reason I am moving to insert "twenty-live" instead of "five." It might be that fifteen or twenty would be a better number, but I submit for the noble Lord's consideration that five is an unduly small number, and will lead to a great deal of correspondence and some expense.

Amendment moved— Page 14, line 24, leave out ("five") and insert ("twenty-five").—(Lord Mount Temple.)

LORD TEMPLEMORE

I am afraid I cannot accept this Amendment. We consider it is very desirable that gas should be tested to ensure that gas consumers get the full measure of heating value for which they pay and that there should be an appeal against the failure of a local authority to appoint a gas examiner or to see that he makes a proper number of tests. It is obviously much easier to get five consumers to join in such an application than to get five times that number. In fact, it may be very difficult to get twenty-five consumers to join in and the Board of Trade think that the present number should be adhered to. Your Lordships know how difficult it is in any community to get people to join in any matter. In answer to the noble Lord's remark about such a lot of gas examiners being appointed, I may say that in the last report received from the gas referees it appears that gas examiners have been appointed in only 881 local authority areas out of the 1,633 areas in which examiners should be appointed. I am sorry I cannot accept the Amendment.

Amendment, leave, withdrawn.

Clause 11 agreed to.

Clause 12:

Amendment as to deficiency in calorific value.

(2) Whenever, for the purposes of the last foregoing subsection, the average calorific value of the gas supplied in any quarter in an examination area by any thermal unit undertakers is to be ascertained, it shall be ascertained by the gas referees or (after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine) by the Board of Trade from the reports of tests prescribed under subsection (1) of Section five of the principal Act or specially prescribed by them for the purpose:

Provided that, where separate tests of samples of gas taken on separate occasions are prescribed, no average calorific value shall be deemed to be ascertained, unless it is ascertained from the reports of not less than six such tests made in that quarter.

LORD TEMPLEMOREmoved, in the proviso in subsection (2), after "are," to insert" the only test for calorific value.' The noble Lord said: This Amendment is necessary to make it clear that six tests in a quarter shall not be the minimum number for the determination of an average calorific value in cases where means other than "separate tests of samples of gas taken on separate occasions" are prescribed. There are means other than by separate tests by which the average calorific value of gas supplied can be ascertained and if such means are prescribed in conjunction with separate tests the proviso to subsection (2) of Clause 12 should not operate. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 16, line 34, after ("are") insert ("the only tests for calorific value").(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 12, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 13 to 15 agreed to.

Clause 16 (Notice to be given by gas consumers before quitting premises):

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE

This Amendment is consequential on the Amendment which was accepted in Clause 7. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 19, line 32, after ("by") insert ("registered").—(Lord Mount Temple.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 16, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 17 to 20 agreed to.

Clause 21:

Use of anti-fluctuators and valves.

21.—(1) Where a consumer of gas supplied by undertakers uses the gas for working or supplying an engine gas compressor or other similar apparatus (hereafter in this section referred to as a "compressor") he shall, if so required by the undertakers by notice in writing, fix in a suitable position and keep in use an appliance provided by him which will effectually prevent pressure fluctuation in the supply mains and any other inconvenience or danger being caused to other consumers of gas by reason that they and the first mentioned consumer are supplied with gas from the same source.

LORD MOUNT TEMPLEmoved, in subsection (1), after "fix," to insert "not less than eight weeks after the service of the notice". The noble Lord said: Clause 21 says: Where a consumer of gas supplied by undertakers uses the gas for working or supplying an engine gas compressor ….he shall, if so required by the undertakers by notice in writing, fix in a suitable position and keep in use an appliance provided by him which will effectually prevent pressure fluctuation in the supply mains …. That may be an excellent proposal, and one which is legitimately in favour of the undertaker, but in the clause as it stands there is no time-limit—that is, they could say if they liked: "Within a week or three days you have to fix one of these compressors". It is rather a complicated form of instrument, and I want to ensure that a little breathing space is given to the consumer of gas who is using it for supplying an engine. I suggest that after he has received the notice he should have two months' breathing space before he is liable to a penalty for not having fixed the compressor in position. I do not set any great store by eight weeks more than any other particular time, but I think something ought to be put in so as to enable a man to make his arrangements. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 22, line 11, after ("fix") insert ("not less than eight weeks after the service of the notice").—(Lord Mount Temple.)

LORD TEMPLEMORE

I am afraid I cannot accept this Amendment. In the circumstances contemplated by the clause the necessary apparatus to prevent inconvenience to other consumers or danger to life and property should be fixed as soon as practicable, and this is the effect of the common form clause now frequently inserted in Gas Bills and Orders. My advisers are not aware of any complaint with regard to the operation of this clause.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 21 agreed to.

Clause 22 [Expenses and powers of the Board of Trade]:

LORD MOUNT TEMPLEmoved to insert the following new subsection: (3) For subsection (2) of Section sixteen of the principal Act there shall be substituted the following subsection: (2) Any rule made under this section shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament forthwith; and if an Address is presented to His Majesty by either House of Parliament within the next subsequent twenty-eight days on which that House has sat after any such rule is laid before it praying that the rule may be annulled, it shall thenceforth be void, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or the making of a new rule.

The noble Lord said: I believe the noble Lord, Lord Templemore, is going more or less to accept this Amendment, but he prefers the form in which he has put it down in his own name. I am very glad that he has agreed to the substance of this Amendment which is of considerable importance, and I thank him.

Amendment moved— Page 24, line 4, at end insert the said new subsection.—(Lord Mount Temple.)

LORD TEMPLEMORE

The Amendment which I have put down is in words which we consider the best for the purpose, and I hope my noble friend will withdraw his Amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

LORD TEMPLEMOREmoved to insert the following new subsection: (3) For subsection (2) of Section sixteen of the principal Act, there shall be substituted the following subsection: (2) Any rules made under this section shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament as soon as may be after they are made, and shall cease to have effect if either House, within the next subsequent twenty-eight days on which that House has sat after the date on which the rules are laid before it, resolves that the rules shall be annulled, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the making of new rules.

The noble Lord said: This Amendment relates to the control to be exercised by Parliament over rules made under the Gas Regulation Act, 1920. By Section 16 (2) of that Act any rules are to be laid before Parliament as soon as may be after they are made and shall have the same effect as if enacted in that Act. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 24, line 4, at end insert the said new subsection.—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 22, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 23 and 24 agreed to.

Clause 25:

Interpretation.

25.—(1) In this Act the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them:—

"Non-statutory undertakers" means companies, bodies or persons who, though not authorised by any enactment (other than the Public Health Act, 1875) to supply gas, are engaged in supplying gas to the public, and for that purpose make use of pipes or mains laid in any street as defined by the Gasworks Clauses Act, 1847:

Provided that if any such companies, bodies or persons, not being local authorities or rural district councils, show to the satisfaction of the Board of Trade that they are not primarily engaged in supplying gas, or gas and water, or gas and electricity, or gas, water and electricity, to the public, they shall not be deemed to be non-statutory undertakers;

LORD TEMPLEMOREmoved, in the definition of "non-statutory undertakers," to leave out "street as defined by the Gas Works Clauses Act, 1847 "and insert" highway." The noble Lord said: This Amendment is really a drafting one. It is necessary because the definition of "street" in the Gasworks Clauses Act, 1847, is not appropriate to non-statutory undertakers who have no authorised limits for the supply of gas. It is thought that the inclusion of the word "highway" is sufficient for the purposes of this definition.

Amendment moved— Page 25, line 19, leave out ("street as defined by the Gasworks Clauses Act, 1847 ") and insert ("highway").—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 25, as amended, agreed to.

Remaining clauses agreed to.

Schedules agreed to.