View report page

68
always obtain the best men to represent the interests of the
ratepayers. Under these circumstances the Government had
felt that the County Councils could be trusted to select the
members to be placed on this trust. (Hear, hear.) In the old
times it was objected that the Metropolitan Board of Works
could not make such a selection, but that was not a popularly
elected body. That could not, he thought, be said of the
London County Council. The election of the County Council
was a popular election, and would make the indirect representation
upon this water trust sufficiently in touch with the ratepayers.
The Government had felt that it was not necessary
that the members of the water trust should be members of the
respective county councils or bodies by which they were
elected. He had heard the London County Council had great
and important duties cast upon them, and, however meritorious
their efforts to discharge them might be, they pressed
heavily upon them. Further, it might be the wish of the county
councils to select from outside their body men of great knowledge
and experience in these matters, There remained one
other great question. Having formed this body under the bill,
what were the powers and duties they were going to vest in it.
He knew there were some persons who anticipated that this bill
would solve every difficulty. The Government had made every
attempt to see how far the bill could solve the difficulties which
had arisen, and it had been found impossible by a public bill to
bring all these matters to a solution. When what they had
to deal with was recognised it would be seen that this bill could
not solve every difficulty. The interests of the water companies
must be acquired in some way. They must receive compensation,
the terms under which the transfer of their interest was to
take place must be so arranged, and, he said it with all
deference, these were matters which could not be dealt with in
a public bill, but which would have to be dealt with by subsequent
private legislation. The body being created, they had
endeavoured to give it a very wide power, trusting to its judgment
and discretion entirely. It would be for this body, whenever