It would be unpardonable if I did not say a word or two on the demolitions which have been effected under powers obtained by railway bills and bills for other public improvements, and with respect to the duty that devolves upon Parliament, of seeing to these matters, and of insuring that the injustice and misery which have been inflicted in the past are not repeated in the future. (Hear, hear.) I need not dwell at any length upon this subject, because it is so familiar to hon, members, and because they know that railway after railway taken through London has displaced a very large number of working people, who have thus had to find other habitations, and to over-crowd places already too full.
Let me direct the attention of the House to the precedent laid down by the Metropolitan Street Improvement Act of 1872. When that Act was passed, there were bills before Parliament which would demolish 1,152 houses and displace 3,870 persons, nearly all of whom were working people. A clause was then introduced into it, very much I believe at the instance of the member for Maidstone, which obliged the Board of Works to set aside certain plots for dwellings of the poor in connection with the clearances they made for streets.[1] Now I hope we shall insist in this House that similar clauses are inserted in bills which are attended by this mischief. I am very glad that the right hon. gentleman, the Home Secretary, has taken one step in that direction, in the case of the Midland Railway Bill of the present Session, and I hope he will take others.
This is a matter that we ought not to leave to be dealt with in another place. The House of Lords' Standing Order on the subject provides that before the second reading of any of these bills takes place, a return shall be furnished of the number of houses it is proposed to pull down, and the number of persons it is proposed to remove under the compulsory powers to be given.[2] This Standing Order has no doubt acted beneficially, but it is not enough; and we ought not to leave a matter of this kind to be dealt with in another place. We ought to deal with it ourselves. And not only ought we to know how many people are going to be displaced, but in passing such bills we ought to see clauses inserted, which would compel the companies to provide space
