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79
Bankruptcy Law Amendment.
Churchwardens' Admission.
Employers' Liability Amendment.
Factory and Workshop (1878) Amendment.
Free Libraries.
Imprisonment for Debt.
Infectious Diseases Notification.
Parliamentary Elections Corrupt Practices.
Parochial Charities (London).
Parish Churches.
Police.
Steam Boilers.
Steam Boilers (Persons in charge).
Theatres Regulation.
The Vestry have petitioned against the first clause of the
Theatre3 Regulation Bill, which would repeal the Act relating to
the prosecution of keepers of disorderly houses, and also against the
Imprisonment for Debt Bill, by which it is proposed to restrict the
power of imprisonment under the fifth section of the Debtors Act,
1869, to the Superior Courts of Law or Equity, and in favour of
the general principle of the Parliamentary Elections (Corrupt and
Illegal Practices) Bill.
On perusing the Bankruptcy Bill, it appeared to be the intention
of the Government to repeal existing legislation by which poor and
other parochial rates are made a preferential claim on an insolvent
estate. Such an alteration in the law would in a highly-rented
Parish like St. James's probably lead to a heavy annual loss,
besides causing serious inconvenience with regard to the balancing
of the accounts, and as Parochial Authorities cannot like an
ordinary creditor exercise any option in the giving of credit, the
Vestry called the attention of the President of the Board of Trade,
who introduced the Bill in the House of Commons, the President
of the Local Government Board, and the Members of Parliament
for Westminster, to the subject, with a view to the Bill being
amended in its passage through Parliament.
No action was taken with regard to any of the other Bills,
several of which wore still under consideration on the 25th
March.