351 French Expeditions in Niger {COMMONS} Company's Territories. 352 MR. J. BRYCE: The circumstances Colonies what are the British Acts or referred to by the hon. and gallant Ordinances which give power to search, Member have not been brought to my notice. If the Company do not afford reasonable facilities, the law provides a sufficient remedy. Under Section 2 of the Railway Regulation Act, 1854, and subsequent Acts (1873 and 1889), establishing and giving jurisdiction to the Railway Commission, the Railway Commissioners have power to entertain complaints by traders in respect of such a grievance. RATEABLE VALUE OF LONDON. fine, or imprison the citizens of a friendly State who are suspected of entering the United Kingdom, having in their possession the lawful current money of the State to which they belong; which of such Statutes or Ordinances he relies upon as furnishing a precedent for the Boer Law by which British subjects are made liable to be searched, fined, and imprisoned for entering the Transvaal with English silver money in their possession; and whether, in view of the unfriendly character of the Boer Law referred to Her Majesty's Government will make representations to the Boer Government with a view of procuring its early repeal? MR. SYDNEY BUXTON: The Act of the United Kingdom, to which I referred the other day, was the Customs Act of 1886, which prohibits, under Proclamation, the importation of all coins coined in any foreign country other than gold and silver coins; I also quoted somewhat similar prohibitions which MR. R. G. WEBSTER: I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the total rateable value of London is more than one fifth of the total rateable value of the country, and that London received in 1890-91 only one-ninth of the additional sum contributed to the relief of local rates by the readjustment of the basis of Exchequer contributions towards the expenses incurred by the local authorities; and, if this distribution still continues in have been enforced in some of the the same proportion, whether the Government will take steps to remedy this state of things? Colonies. I gave these facts in reply to the question of my hon. Friend, but specially refrained from treating them as precedents for the action of the Government of the South African Republic. We have not received any complaints in reference to the Act referred to in the Question, namely, the Mint Act of the South African Republic of 1891. MR. H.O. ARNOLD-FORSTER: The hon. Gentleman has not answered the last part of the Question—namely, whether it is proposed to remonstrate against Acts of this unfriendly nature, rendering British subjects liable to be searched for British coins in the Transvaal? MR. SHAW LEFEVRE: It is the fact that the rateable value of London is slightly more than one-fifth of the rateable value of England and Wales; but it is not the fact that, in 1890-91, London received only one-ninth of the difference between the grants which were not discontinued in consequence of the passing of the Local Government Act, 1888, and the sums which were paid to local authorities out of the Local Taxation Account for 1890-91. These sums were £3,148,231 in excess of the discontinued grants, and the amount received by London in excess of the dis- MR. SYDNEY BUXTON: The Act continued grants, was £498,748. London was passed in 1891, and was not proreceived, therefore, between one-sixth tested against by the then Government. and one-seventh of the additional relief We have not thought it necessary to afforded to local taxation by the finan- protest against it, inasmuch as we have cial arrangements in question. I have not received any complaints with regard no power to alter those arrangements. I to it. may add that the population of London in 1891 was very little more than oneseventh of the population of England and Wales. ENGLISH MONEY IN THE TRANSVAAL. MR.H.O.ARNOLD-FORSTER: I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for the FRENCH EXPEDITIONS IN NIGER COMPANY'S TERRITORIES. *SIR E. ASHMEAD - BARTLETT (Sheffield, Ecclesall): I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether it is a fact, as stated by Reuter's Agency on Wednesday, that EXPORTED SPIRITS. two large French Expeditions have arrived within the Niger Company's MR. SHIRESS WILL (Montrose territory, or sphere, the one at Bagibo Burghs): I beg to ask the Chancellor of and the other at Boussa? the Exchequer (1) whether a payment of SIR EDWARD GREY: The Niger 2d. per gallon is made, out of moneys Company have informed us that they have received information to this effect, and a communication on the subject will be made immediately to the French Government. CASTLEREA AND BALLAGHADER- raised by Imperial Taxation, to exporters of spirits manufactured in the United Kingdom; (2) whether he can state the amount so paid during the last financial year; (3) whether he will state to the House the reason for this payment, and since when it has been made; and (4) whether he will consider the propriety of the abolition of such a bounty? MR. L. P. HAYDEN: I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, whether THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXhe has yet forwarded to the promoters CHEQUER (Sir W. HARCOURT, Derby): of the Castlerea and Ballaghaderreen (1) The fact is as stated. (2) The Railway any reply to the answer for- amount so paid in 1893-94 was £26,011. warded by them to the Treasury Memo- (3) Such payment is made to compensate randum. The same hon. Member asked traders for the loss estimated to attach the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieu- to this portion of their business by tenant of Ireland, whether he has re- reason of Excise Regulations. Their ceived a copy of the Resolution passed claim was established to the satisfaction at the large meeting held in Loughglynn of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue on Sunday last, in favour of the Castle- in 1860, and the allowance granted by a rea and Ballaghaderreen Railway, both Resolution of this House in the same as a relief work and one opening up a year. The reasons which led to their large district of country; whether he is being granted seem to me still to exist. aware that the engineer of the line has stated that the amount to be spent on labour in a thickly populated district MR. E. F. VESEY KNOX: I beg would be £60,000; and, whether, with to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the view of providing employment whether he is aware that the Perjury during the summer, he will recommend Bill [Lords], although introduced as a the Treasury to grant the comparatively Consolidating Act, creates a number of trifling guarantee asked for ? PERJURY BILL. misdemeanours hitherto unknown to the law; and whether, having regard to the wide scope of the measure, he will undertake that the Second Reading shall not be taken without affording the House an opportunity for discussion. COLONEL NOLAN: I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, if a guarantee under the Tramway Act for a railroad from Ballindereen to Castlerea has been refused by the Treasury; if the sum asked for is only £600 a year; THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir whether he is aware that an enormous R. T. REID, Dumfries Burghs) replied, number of people in the locality are in that this Bill was certainly not intended favour of this line; and, if the Midland to create any misdemeanours, but inasGreat Western Railway Company has much as in it there was a gathering up offered to work the line on favourable of something like 150 specific statutes, terms? it was possible there might be some new SIR J. T. HIBBERT: The answer misdemeanour created. He would unof the promoters of the railway men- dertake to move to strike out any part tioned in the first question has been of the Bill which appeared to be controreferred to the Irish Board of Works, versial if the House would allow it to go and until the Board's Report is received, through a Grand Committee. no detailed reply can be given. As the point at issue bears directly on the subject of the other questions, it might be more satisfactory if those questions were postponed for a few days. SCOTCH ADMINISTRATION. receives a salary of £2,000 without resi- with the most lenient judgment, as undence, that the Chief Secretary to the satisfactory, and has also recommended Lord Lieutenant of Ireland receives a that the school managers were entitled salary of £4,425 and residence, and that to the portion of the grant withheld, the salaries of the Lord Advocate and £20 4s., whether the Department has the Solicitor General for Scotland have paid the managers the sum of £20 4s. so recently been augmented, it is proposed withheld; and, if not, for what reason it to make any alteration in the remunera- is still withheld; if he can state who is tion paid to the Secretary for Scotland? responsible at the Education DepartSIR W. HARCOURT: I have re- ment for the refusal in the first instance ceived no application from the Secretary to send down the Chief Inspector in for Scotland on the subject mentioned in response to the appeal of the managers; the question. whether he has taken, or intends to take, any action with regard to Her Majesty's Inspector; and whether he has taken, or proposes to take, any steps at the Department to prevent a repetition of such circumstances in the case of any voluntary school appealing to the Department against the report of the Inspector? MR. J. G. WEIR desired to know whether, if the Secretary for Scotland made such an application, it would be considered? SIR W. HARCOURT: That will depend upon who, in the future, may be the Secretary for Scotland. MR. G. J. GOSCHEN (St. George's, Hanover Square) expressed the hope that it would be put down as the first Order of the Day, and treated as a Bill of considerable importance. He knew great interest was taken in it. SIR W. HARCOURT intimated that he recognised the importance of the Bill. SCHOOL ACCOMMODATION AT MR. A. H. D. ACLAND: The additional grant referred to in the question was paid on the 10th of January. No appeal was made by the managers for the Chief Inspector or any other InSpector to be sent, and, therefore, no such appeal was refused. *MR. H. FOSTER: I would ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that a letter was sent to the Department in June, 1894, by way of an appeal against the report of the Inspector, and asking the right hon. Gentleman to receive a deputation, and that a reply was sent by the Department refusing the deputation? MR. ACLAND: That is a different point. The question asks whether an THE CASE OF GEORGE NEWMAN. MR. H. LABOUCHERE (Northampton): I beg to ask the Attorney General whether his attention has been drawn to the case of George Newman, who was found guilty of having fraudulently *MR. H. FOSTER: I beg to ask pocketed £10,000, this being the differthe Vice President of the Committee of ence between the amount he gave for Council on Education, with regard to the some land he leased from the Commisfact that the senior Chief Inspector has sioners of 1851 and the amount for now visited the Clapham Road School which he sold it to George Newman & for Infants, Lowestoft, and has reported Company (Limited), and who is now that he sees no reason for reducing the undergoing a sentence of five years' accommodation on the eight feet square penal servitude; whether he is aware basis, thereby allowing accommodation that the Lords Justices have declared that for 223 places to the school, whereas the on this point he was wrongly convicted, local Inspector had pronounced the as he had expended the bulk of the accommodation and the equipment, even £10,000 to obtain the contract for the Mr. J. G. Weir. land from the Commissioners; that Lord done in the way of equalising the reHalsbury, in delivering judgment of the numeration of the gardeners in the Court of Appeal in regard to this matter, Royal Gardens at Kew with the resaid, that the money was spent in a pro- numeration given to similar officers in cess described by various polite names, the Royal Parks in London. The other but which, if facts are as he (Newman) day the First Commissioner of Works alleges, amounts to bribing different per- said the matter was under consideration, sons, some of them named, for the pur- and he desired to know whether the pose of obtaining this contract; and that right hon. Gentleman had come to any it was perfectly manifest that, consider- conclusion. ing the circumstances of the case, and THE SECRETARY TO THE TREAconsidering the mode in which the con- SURY, Sir J. T. HIBBERT (Oldham) tract was obtained from the Commis- was sorry his right hon. Friend was not sioners, the matter urgently requires in- present at that moment. He could say, vestigation, and in the public interest it however, that the matter was still under is positively necessary that some investi- consideration, and it was not improbable gation should be held in respect of the the concession would be made, though obtaining of that contract; and what he was not able to say definitely for the steps are intended to be taken in order present. that this investigation shall take place? MR. ASQUITH said, he had directed an investigation to be made as soon as the judgment of the Court of Appeal was given, and the Report which he had just received was now under consideration. ROYAL PATRIOTIC FUND. MR. H. E. KEARLEY (Devonport): I beg to ask the Patronage Secretary to the Treasury what is the cause of the delay in nominating the Committee to inquire into the Royal Patriotic Fund and other similar funds; and whether he can now state when it will be appointed? THE PATRONAGE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. THOMAS ELLIS, Merionethshire): The names will be placed upon the Paper to-night. ORDERS OF THE DAY. SUPPLY. VOTE ON ACCOUNT. *Sir A. K. ROLLIT (Islington, S.), on Vote 13, called attention to the question of the non-rating of Government property. The matter, he said, was one which he had brought before the House on a previous occasion and it was a subject deserving the serious consideration of the rating authorities in the interest of those who had to pay the contributions, not only in the Metropolis, but throughout the Country. Latterly there had been a strong contention that undue burdens of taxation were cast upon certain localities, and those who had gone into the relative contributions made on the one hand by the Government and on the other hand by private property, must feel that if the matter were thoroughly investigated it would be found that localities were subjected to burdens which, if removed, would lighten very greatly the amounts which had to be paid by the ratepayers in every parish of the Metropolis and elsewhere. Claims were frequently made for subsidies on behalf of local rates, but it was sometimes forgotten that here was available much more than any subsidy to which, as a matter of justice, the ratepayers were fairly entitled, and which, if made by the Government, The House went into Committee of would be the means of the readjustment Supply. Mr. MELLOR in the chair. and lightening of the pressure of local taxation. Under the present system the Government had the unique privilege of valuing its own property for rating purposes. If every Government was its valuer, and other authorities were in a like position, he did SIR R. TEMPLE (Surrey, Kingston) not doubt they would equally take desired to know if anything had been advantage of their privilege, and the Own If, result would be that the receipts for | was entitled to some credit for having local rating purposes would be further materially improved the position, and for materially diminished. It would be no having, from his point of view, acted in exaggeration to say that in London alone a liberal spirit. The only observation a sum of £40,000 or £50,000 a year he would make on that was, that the inmight be gained for the local authorities crease in the contributions of the Govif this grievance were thoroughly recti- ernment, which had been large in some fied. Even that estimate was too low cases, only emphasised the gross magniif it was borne in mind that in the calcu- tude of the injustice under which local lation only the rateable value of the sites authorities had previously laboured. was taken into account, no addition as he found, there were instances in being made for the buildings upon them. which the Government contribution had He believed the same remark might be been increased by half, one-third, or even made with reference to the provinces, a quarter, it only showed how tolerant and in the like proportion. There the local authorities had been for nearly was one group of buildings in the 50 years past. He expected that the constituency which he represented which statement made on former occasions illustrated the anomalies of the position would be repeated again by the right forcibly. He found, for instance, that hon. Gentleman-namely, that the Govthe County Court, Pentonville Prison ernment had acted liberally to local and Holloway Prison, the Post Offices authorities in this matter, and that they and Sorting Offices, the Telegraph were satisfied and had not been coerced Factory and Offices, and the Office of by the official argument that the Governthe Surveyor of Taxes at Islington were ment being free of rates they ought to valued by the Government for the pur- be thankful for whatever they might pose of contribution to rates by them- receive. Now, he had taken the trouble selves at £4,246 per annum. He did to communicate, within the last few not hesitate to say that almost any two days, with several of the chief local of those buildings, which would let well, authorities in London, and he might being in the midst of a dense business add that he had also communicated population, might be made to make a with some in the country. In considerably larger return. But a con- Hull, for example, there was a trast would show how unfair the present strong feeling indeed that the Governsystem was. The acreage of Holloway ment did not deal fairly with local and Pentonville Prisons was about 22 authorities in rating matters, and that acres, the former being rated, or rather the Government contributions were much valued by the Government, at £1,250 too low compared with the ratings and the latter at £1,600 a year. In of private properties What did the immediate neighbourhood was the local authorities in London say? He Holborn Union Infirmary, which covered admitted, in the first place, that there only one-seventh of the area, but, being were some, not many, who said that on subject to parochial assessment, was the whole, and having regard to the cirrated at £3,084 a year; while Islington cumstances, they were fairly satisfied, and Workhouse, having little more than half that they had no strong ground of comthe area of Holloway Prison, had a rate-plaint. There were others who took a able value of £2,709, and the Cornwallis different position. He would not think Road Workhouse, covering about one- it fair to mention the names of particular half Pentonville Prison area, was rated authorities, but he would quote verbatim considerably higher. Moreover, struc- from letters addressed to him. In one turally all these Government buildings case it was stated-were of much higher value, apart from their sites, than those which rated so much higher. He was in- other at £84, which is only about half their market structed that the Islington Vestry con- value. The Receiver of Police contends that he sidered that there was room for a sub-is entitled to entire exemption, and only assents stantial increase in the Government con- to these ratings as an act of grace," on the tributions in respect of the buildings to authority of cases decided ; ” were very the "The question of Police Stations is an important one. We have two-one rated at £125, the which he had particularly referred. He and so on. In another case the local admitted the Secretary to the Treasury authority wrote that the Vestry had Sir A. K. Rollit. |