"3. If the Company fail within those three "5. This section shall apply to any local authority or person empowered to supply water within the district of another local authority or person as if the first-mentioned authority were a Water Company." He hoped that the House would allow these clauses to be inserted then, in order that they should be re-printed in the Bill. There would be plenty of time for the consideration of the matter at a later stage, when the Amendments would be incorporated into the print of the Bill. He was most anxious to do nothing which would injure the rights of Water Companies; but it would be a great convenience that the Bill as a whole should be re-printed, including these clauses. SIR HENRY HOLLAND moved to report Progress. The negotiations. which the hon. Member had had with reference to these matters had signally failed, and he objected to these clauses being inserted. Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Chairman do report Progress, and ask leave to sit again."-(Sir Henry Holland.) HOUSE OF LORDS, Tuesday, 27th May, 1879. MR.A.H.BROWN said, that, of course, if anyone objected to the insertion of the clause, he could not insist. He might, however, point out, that as the Public Health Act did not apply to the Metropolis, so this clause did not apply at all to the Metropolis. Still, as there was an objection to the Bill being re-printed MINUTES.]-PUBLIC BILLS-First Readingin the amended form, he would agree to report Progress. Motion agreed to. House resumed. Committee report Progress; to sit again upon Thursday 12th June. Mr. A. H. Brown Costs Taxation (House of Commons)* (99): Second Reading-Parliamentary Burghs (Scot- | able to call attention to-Whether the land) (90); Prosecution of Offences (74). Committee Disqualification by Medical Relief (6). Committee-Report-Statute Law Revision (Ireland)* (80). Royal Assent-Consolidated Fund (No. 3) [42 Vict. c. 14]; Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1867, Amendment [42 Vict. c. 15]. PRIVATE BILLS. Ordered, That the time for the Second Reading of any Private Bill brought from the House of Commons, limited by the Order of the 4th day of March last to the 10th day of June next, be extended to the 17th day of June next. PRIVATE AND PROVISIONAL ORDER CON FIRMATION BILLS. letters patent in the commission, which define the functions, powers, and jurisdiction of Sir Bartle Frere have been cancelled, or rather revoked, by Her Majesty's Government, in order to be issued in an amended form? Your Lordships will not forget that Sir Bartle Frere has hitherto held office, not only as Governor of the Cape, but has exercised jurisdiction over the Provinces of Natal and the Transvaal, and has exercised power as High Commissioner over the Native tribes in these particular districts. My Lords, I have no desire to raise any discussion on the subject; but, at the same time, I think it right to address myself to one point which appears to me to be of great im Ordered, That Standing Orders Nos. 92. and 93. be suspended; and that the time for deposit-portance. I have not a word to say ing petitions praying to be heard against Private and Provisional Order Confirmation Bills, which would otherwise expire during the adjournment of the House at Whitsuntide, be extended to the first day on which the House shall sit after the recess. against the appointment of Sir Garnet Wolseley. I have the highest opinion of him, both as a military man and a civil administrator; but I am extremely desirous that at this conjuncture Her Majesty's Government, while looking at the SOUTH AFRICA - NATAL AND THE military aspect of affairs as a first con sideration, should not close their eyes to what is almost of equal importancenamely, the civil government of those Provinces. If Sir Garnet Wolseley is called on to discharge military duties, as senior commanding officer, and take an active part in the campaign, it would be clearly impossible for him to give his attention to civil affairs. On the other hand, I think it would be very undesirable at this moment, if it could be avoided, to spare from Natal the services of a Chief of the great experience, knowledge, and clear head of Sir Henry Bulwer, and I think it would be dangerous to leave the Transvaal to the administration of any mere local subordinate official, who might be without knowledge of the temper of the population or of the antecedents or requirements of the Province. I cannot, therefore, but hope that, while Sir Garnet Wolseley has been placed in the supreme command, Her Majesty's Government will pay earnest attention to the necessity of securing the services on the spot of able and experienced officers in the Transvaal, and, if possible, also in Natal. THE EARL OF CARNARVON: My Lords, I wish to put certain Questions to my noble Friend the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, of which I have given him private Notice. I do not quite understand, from the explanations given last night by the noble Earl at the head of the Government, or from the statement reported as having been given by the Secretary of State in another place," what is the precise position of Sir Garnet Wolseley towards the Lieutenant Governor of Natal and the Administrator of Affairs in the Transvaal. I would, therefore, ask my noble Friend, in the first place, Whether Sir Henry Bulwer and Colonel Lanyon have been recalled or superseded, or whether they still retain their positions in South Africa? I wish, in the second place, to know, Whether the Colony of Natal and the Province of the Transvaal will be administered as a single Colony or State, and, if so, what EARL CADOGAN: My Lords, in reply place will be the seat of government? to the first Question of my noble Friend Thirdly, I wish to ask my noble Friend-namely, whether Sir Henry Bulwer -though this is a matter of less im- and Colonel Lanyon have been recalled portance, but still one which it is desir- or superseded-I have to say that they have been neither recalled nor super- that the Bill stood in a very peculiar seded, but are retained in their present situation for some time. It was an unpositions as Lieutenant Governor of opposed Bill, and as such had come Natal and Administrator of the Trans- before the Committee over which he vaal, but under Sir Garnet Wolseley, presided, and had also been made the who, by his commission, becomes Go- subject of a Resolution of their Lordvernor of the two Provinces. I think ships' House with regard to the adopthis arrangement will carry out the tion of the narrow-gauge principle in views of my noble Friend. His second Ireland. The Resolution which had been Question is, whether the Colony of Natal come to by the House was that they and the Province of the Transvaal will should have a Report from the Board of be administered as a single Colony? Trade on the subject of the Bill. There No; those two Colonies will remain in | had, accordingly, been a Report made by their present state. In reply to his the Board of Trade; but he was sorry third Question - whether Sir Bartle to say that the Report of the Board of Frere's Commission has been cancelled Trade appeared to him to be exceedingly for the purpose of being re-issued in an unsatisfactory. The engineer of the comamended form-I have to say that Sir pany had been examined, and, of course, Bartle Frere's commission has not been gave strong evidence in favour of the cancelled. It will be kept in full force, Bill, and gave some reasons why the except in those districts over which by line should be constructed on the narrow his commission Sir Garnet Wolseley gauge. But the Board of Trade had would have jurisdiction. All this, and not inquired into some matters which further information, will be found in appeared to him (the Earl of Redesdale) the Papers which I laid on the Table to be of very great importance in coming yesterday, and which, I trust, will be in to the conclusion to sanction a railway the hands of your Lordships within a on a less than the standard gauge. For inday or two. stance, the engineer said in his evidence that dangerous gradients ought to be avoided; but no questions were put to him as to where the gradients might not be modified. He considered this matter was an extremely important element in such an application. Then, again, it was an extremely important matter to inquire whether a company applying for power to construct a narrow-gauge line should not be compelled to take sufficient land to construct the line on the standard gauge, if it was afterwards found desirable; but no such questions had been put to the engineer. Their Lordships must bear in mind that in Ireland a great deal of evil had arisen from the construction of very small railways; but the evil had been greatly reduced by the amalgamation of the smaller lines into the larger ones. With regard to the present Bill, the existing railway of 12} miles was constructed on the broad THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY: May I ask the noble Earl, Whether the Papers to which he alludes will contain the Instructions to Sir Garnet Wolseley? EARL CADOGAN: No; the Instructions given to Sir Garnet Wolseley are not included in these Papers for a reason stated in “another place" by the Secretary of State-namely, it was thought that if those Instructions were made public, either in this or in the other House of Parliament, they would be telegraphed to the Cape, and would reach the Cape before the officer who is to carry them out would have arrived at the Colony. WEST DONEGAL RAILWAY BILL. [H.L.] COMMITTEE. Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee, read. Moved, "That the House do now re-gauge, and it was proposed to make 15 solve itself into Committee." THE EARL OF REDESDALE (CHAIRMAN of COMMITTEES) said, he thought it would be convenient if he explained why he had adopted the course of referring this unopposed Bill to a Committee of the Whole House. Their Lordships would, no doubt, remember Earl Cadogan miles, or thereabouts, on a different gauge. If that were sanctioned, it must necessarily interfere with any proposals of amalgamation with another line. All these matters were really very serious; and it was also important to point out that this railway did not, as it had been stated, receive very general approval throughout the country. He had looked at the Returns; and he found that out of the owners five assented, one dissented, five were neutral-and one of those, who was the most important, as the line went through a very large extent of his property, had since expressed to him his dissent-and nine gave no answer at all. Of the lessees, seven assented, eight dissented, one was neutral, and three sent no answer at all. Of the occupiers, 28 assented, 27 dissented, 33 were neutral, and 12 gave no answer at all. That was the state of feeling in the district through which the railway was to pass. As, however, the Report of the Board of Trade recommended that the line proposed should be made, he did not wish to offer any opposition to the Bill, especially after the Resolution of their Lordships to which he had referred; but he, nevertheless, still continued to think that such lines were not advisable. In this case, there had been no examination made on the spot by any officer of the Board of Trade; and, therefore, he had thought it his duty, in all the circumstances, to refer the Bill to a Committee of the Whole House. He desired to say a few words with regard to another Bill which came before him as Chairman of the Committee on Unopposed Bills, and with regard to which he believed that the course he had adopted had been misunderstood. The Letterkenny Bill did not stand in the same position. That railway had been granted on the standard gauge, and it was proposed to be converted into a narrow gauge. There was no difficulty in constructing it on the standard gauge, for which almost all the land required was already purchased, and as the promoters had got an Act last year for an extension of time, without asking for more capital or change of gauge, they must then have thought it would be remunerative if so constructed, and, therefore, he did not feel justified in passing the Bill. THE LORD CHANCELLOR said, he was glad that his noble Friend (the Chairman of Committees) had taken the course of referring the Bill to a Committee of the Whole House; because, as he understood his noble Friend's view, if he had not done so, it must have shared the fate of the Letterkenny Railway Bill. His noble Friend had referred to the Letterkenny Railway Bill, and their Lordships would remember that on a former occasion his noble Friend had reported that, in his opinion, or, rather, that in the opinion of the Committee over which his noble Friend presided, that Bill should not be proceeded with. The House on that occasion arrived at the conclusion that it was desirable that the authority of his noble Friend as guardian of the Private Business should be maintained; and he was bound to say, as his noble Friend still seemed to wish to convert their Lordships to his opinion, that he had heard nothing to convince him that his noble Friend's decision was wrong. On the contrary, he believed the decision that had been arrived at was a right decision. The proposal which their Lordships determined was that narrow-gauge railways ought to be sanctioned where railways on the national gauge would either be impossible in construction, or unremunerative. With regard to the Letterkenny Railway, his noble Friend said it was not impossible to construct it on the national gauge, because they had the land taken, and that there was no difficulty about the levels. That was quite true, and, therefore, that part of the case failed. But what about the other case? Would it have been remunerative? His noble Friend thought it would, because the Company had the power to raise an amount of capital which would have been sufficient to make a broad gauge. But there was one statement in Colonel Yolland's Report which his noble Friend had entirely overlooked, and which he (the Lord Chancellor) took to be the key of the whole Report to the Board of Trade. Colonel Yolland said the question referred to the Board of Trade seemed to be-should there or should there not be a railway? And from the evidence placed before them, Colonel Yolland concluded that there was no prospect of raising the money for making the line on the standard gauge; and, therefore, under the circumstances, Colonel Yolland concluded that the construction of a narrowgauge railway would be beneficial to the district. That really seemed to be the key to the whole matter. No doubt, it would be much better to have a railway on the standard gauge, if it were possible, and their Lordships had affirmed that principle by a Resolution of the House; but when it was not possible it was better to have a narrow-gauge matter. LORD WAVENEY supported the Bill; but, at the same time, he thought it very desirable that the investigations should be made in Ireland, where the truth as to any point could be more easily ascertained. railway than no railway at all. With Prosecutor. It was the opinion of those regard to the present Bill, his noble most conversant with the subject that Friend had spoken with regard to the in the administration of our Criminal Report of the Board of Trade, and had Law there was no necessity for a genesaid that there had been no investiga- ral and thorough change; but some of tion on the spot. That was not what the most eminent of the witnesses-incould be expected, seeing that the offi- cluding the Lord Chief Justice and cers of the Board had the surveys before others-examined by the Commission them, and upon that point he did not thought that some change was required; see that any exception should have been aud that, although the system worked taken by his noble Friend. He trusted generally well, there were frequently that their Lordships would have no diffi- cases in which offenders escaped justice culty in coming to a conclusion on the owing to the disinclination of individuals to take up the prosecution. The object of this Bill was to meet those exceptional cases-such as large commercial frauds, in which private persons could not be expected to undertake the expense of prosecutions. In order to effect that, the Bill proposed that the Secretary of State should appoint an officer who would be called the Director of Public Prosecutions, and who would have the status of a permanent Under Secretary of State. It would be the duty of the latter, under the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, to carry out prosecutions undertaken by the Government. It was proposed that the Metropolis should be under his direct control, and that the Provinces should be mapped out into certain districts, each having an officer under the Director in London. The proposals of the Bill were rather intended to meet exceptional cases than to disturb the general system at present prevailing; and regulations would be made by the Attorney General, with the approval of the Secretary of State, as to the excep be undertaken, and as to the mode in tional cases in which prosecutions would THE EARL OF REDESDALE (CHAIRMAN of COMMITTEES) said, in the Letterkenny case the money powers of the Company were ample. There had been £80,000 expended on the line already, and of the £100,000 they had at command to complete it, the first £50,000 was to have a preferential dividend, and the next £35,000 was guaranteed. Motion agreed to. House in Committee accordingly. THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY said, in the Board of Trade Report, Colonel Yolland stated that the speed should be limited to 25 miles an hour. He asked whether the noble Viscount (Viscount Lifford) would insert some Amendment in the Bill to that effect? VISCOUNT LIFFORD said, he did not intend to propose any Amendment. Amendments made: the Report thereof to be received on Thursday next. PROSECUTION OF OFFENCES BILL. (The Lord Chancellor.) (No. 74.) SECOND READING. which the Director of Public Prosecutions would give advice. Solicitors would be appointed for the Assizes, and there would be a staff in the Director's Department, the number of which would depend on the work to be done. It would not be large at first. For the Order of the Day for the Second Read- first time, the Law Officers would have ing, read. THE LORD CHANCELLOR, in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, it had already received the sanction of the other House of Parliament. Its object was to give effect to the recommendation of a Commission appointed last year to consider the subject, and to establish a Public The Lord Chancellor an Office in London, and there would be a continuity of rules in their Department. The noble and learned Earl concluded by moving the second reading. Moved, "That the Bill be now read 21." -(The Lord Chancellor.) LORD ABERDARE said, though the Bill fell far short of what had long been called for by those who were in favour |