View report page

80
It will be remembered that the Bankruptcy Bill, as introduced,
proposed to repeal existing legislation, which provided for the preferential
payment of parochial rates. The Vestry brought the
matter under the notice of the Government with a view to the Bill
being amended so as to continue this provision. The Government,
however, did not take any action in the matter, and the Vestry
therefore embodied their views in a petition which was presented to
the House of Commons by the Right Hon. W. H. Smith. The
Bill was referred to a Standing Committee, and Lord Algernon
Percy, one of the Members for Westminster, placed on the Paper a
notice of an amendment, with the object of continuing the preferential
payment of rates, which was eventually agreed to by the
Government, and passed into law. The Vestry have to acknowledge
the courtesy with which Lord Percy received their representations
in this matter.
A similar question has arisen this session upon the Companies
Acts Consolidation Bill, and the Vestry, failing to see any reason
why a liquidating company should stand on a different footing to
an insolvent individual or firm, have asked his lordship to move a
like amendment to this Bill.
With respect to the Infectious Diseases Notification Bill, which
was introduced by a private member, the Right Hon. Sir Charles
Dilke, President of the Local Government Board, stated that the
Government agreed in the desirability of cases of infectious disease
being at once notified to the local sanitary authority, but they were
not prepared to support the Bill unless its scope was limited to
affording facilities to the application of its provisions by local
authorities, instead of making such notification universally compulsory.
The Vestry entirely concurred in these views, and therefore
did not deem it necessary to take any action in the matter.
Petitions were presented by the Vestry as follows:
In favour—of the Steam Boilers (persons in charge) Bill, providing
for steam boilers being placed in charge of certified qualified
persons only. This Bill, however, did not pass.