View report page

69
it came into existence, to meet and deliberate, and to do what
it could to acquire the great interests the care of which would
be placed in its hands. Of course, it must do this subject to
the sanction of Parliament. They could not give it compulsory
rating powers until the powers it sought were known. When
the new body asked for this or that power it would be for those
who were interested in relation to the exercise of these powers
to be heard also, and then for Parliament to give its final
decision. With this object in view they gave this body power
to enter on any negotiation and make any agreement they could,
and take over the interests of the companies by adoption; but
they had purposely left this discretion and power in as general
terms as possible, in order that the new body might be unfettered
in its action. As a preliminary matter he would place in their
hands all the existing powers of control over water companies
now in the hands of the London County Council under the Metropolitan
Acts, and which might be usefully exercised until the property
passed into their own hands. He was aware that when this
body came into existence there would be some objection made
to it probably by the representative of outside areas. They
might say, "You are joining us too closely with Central
London; we represent rural districts; let us manage our own
water supply; let us be free to make our own arrangements;
we do not want to go far afield to supply our rural districts."
There might be great force in all these objections, but these
rural districts could not be left out; they could not dissect the
water supply, and say one county should take so much and
another so much. That must be a matter of arrangement, and
must be approved by Parliament. Therefore they had put into
the bill a clause which would enable the outside districts to
make arrangements for autonomous rights, and so to fall out
of the trust. That clause was inserted in the hope that it
might facilitate these bodies maintaining their freedom of action.
He believed he had now mentioned the principal provisions
of the bill. There were other provisions for facilitating the
action of the new body, but he did not think it necessary to