The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-09 00:00:00

MARYLEBONE PAVING BILL.

Colonel THOMAS WOOD said that he should, at the
solicitation of the Secretary of State for the Home De-
partment, postpone the second reading of the Marylebone
Parish Paving Bill.
Sir B. HALL trusted that, the Hon. and Gallant
Member would divide the Bill into two parts.
Mr.WAKLEY trusted that the Bill would never pass a
second reading. The affairs of the parish had hitherto been
managed in accordance with the wish of the inhabitants.
He wished to know if they were now going to place the
management in the hands of a minority, and take it
away from the majority ? Where was the necessity of
the change ? Would the minority now obtain power to
legislate for the majority ? He trusted, that with regard
to Private Bills, a different system would be pursued
from that heretofore adopted. Bills were brought into that
House, and the practice was, that Government did not in-
terfere. They were then read a second time, and
they remained in Committee at a great expense to
the parties. He hoped the same regulations would be
adopted with respect to private Bills, which were adopted
with reference to public Bills of the same description.
The present Bill had produced such a commotion
throughout the extensive parish of Marylebone, as
he (Mr. Wakley) never before saw exhibited. The
people there were astonished to find the county
Member bringing in a Bill ; and they believed he
must have been eamigged by a small minority, and that
when he was better informed of the facts he would not
persevere- A more objectionable, or a more unneces-
sary Bill he (Mr. W.) never saw, and he hoped, upon
reflection, the Hon. Member would withdraw it.
Colonel WOOD said it was very well for the Hon.
Member to say that the whole parish was excited, but a
great many respectable parishioners called upon
him and begged that he would introduce the Bill,
and in such circumstances he could not see how he could
do otherwise.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. MACKINNON said, that having been a church-
warden of the parish of Marylebone he wished to make
a few observations. The present was a Bill with which
the Government had nothing to do, and the hardship
that was complained of arose from the Bill introduced
by the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Nottingham.
By that Bill scrutineers were appointed and five different
poliing places were selected, the consequence of which
was that one of the districts was overlooked, and there
was no security for the proper conducting of the election.
The feeling was that the vestrymen were not elected
by the people at large.
Sir J. C. HOBHOUSE felt himself called upon to say
a few words after the allusions which had been made by
the lion. Gentleman who had just spoken to a measure
which he --(Sir J. Hobhouse) had the honour to
introduce. Their laws were not like the laws of the Medes
and Persians, and therefore if there were anything de-
fective in the present law let it be altered. If the act were
defective as regarded the. appointment of scrutineers,
let that defect be remedied, but this Bill did not confine
itself to that point. With regard to the general work.
ing of the Act, which, as an Hon. Member had justly
observed, had passed almost without opposition, he (Sir
J. llobhouse) must sar:- that in the parish with ho was
connected he had found it to work well.-2(Hear,
hear.) If the complaints of the working of the Act in
Marylebone were well founded, the Gallant Colonel
was right in endeavouring to improve it. But it should be
remembered that this was a private Bill, introduced for
the purpose of getting rid of Act—(Hear, hear,)
—and therefore it was necessary that it should be
watched most jealously. He protested against the prin.
eip:o of endeavouring, by means of a private Bill, t.) put