ground for any apprehension on that score was a provision adopted from a Bill introduced by his noble and learned Friend (Earl Cairns) in 1878, that permanent investments of savings from subscriptions should, after the lapse of a certain number of years, be regarded in the same light as original endowments. He was willing to modify that clause, if necessary, by extending the time, and also to provide that it should not apply to a reserved fund set apart to meet future deficiencies of income. He disclaimed all intention of injuring these charities. It had been said that ever since the passing of the Act of 1853 the Charity Commissioners had been seeking to increase their power and extend their operations. No doubt they had always endeavoured to extend their operations within proper limits; but no one ought to blame them for that, because if such a body as the Charity Commissioners was to exist at all it must be their duty to exercise their functions in all cases in which they found charities improperly or unwisely administered, and to seek from Parliament the removal of all impediments to their efficiency. Without question, the operation of the Act of 1852 had been most beneficial. The manner in which the Charity Commissioners had discharged their duties entitled them to public confidence. The Commission had been in existence for 28 years, and out of 7,100 orders which they had made only six had been appealed from, and out of those six appeals only two had been successful. That showed the value of their labours. The present Bill proposed, in several respects, to extend their powers, but not, he thought, in any way which the experience of the past did not justify. It contained 26 clauses, of which 16 were taken from the Bill of 1878, introduced by the late Government. The most important of the proposals not taken from the Bill of 1878 were, to enable charity funds to be vested in the official trustees, without in any way interfering with their administration, by the authority of the Commissioners, though no application might be made to them for that purpose; to enable the Commisssioners to settle schemes for the better administration of charities, according to existing trusts, subject to an appeal to the High Court of Justice, though the trustees of the charities might not themselves desire it, and

The Lord Chancellor

though the income might exceed £50 a-year; to enable the provisions of Acts of Parliament-he proposed to limit this to Private Acts-to be altered by such schemes; to enable the Commissioners, when it appeared by the accounts of charities rendered to them that monies had been misapplied, to order payment of such monies, subject to an appeal to the Court; and to place the appointment of new trustees of charities by co-optation under such regulations as would secure the appointment of fit persons, and prevent unnecessary expense to the charities. He should be willing to exempt incorporated charities, such as the great hospitals, and others like them, from those provisions which seemed to have excited their alarm, and which were really intended for cases of a very different kind. The objects of the Bill had been very much misunderstood in certain quarters; and he thought that, when this misunderstanding was removed, on a fair consideration of the provisions of the Bill, it would be approved by the country.

Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a.” -(The Lord Chancellor.)

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY said, his noble and learned Friend had given a faithful account of the Bill; but by a dexterous distribution of light and shade, in touching on its various provisions, he had withdrawn from the view of their Lordships the enormous change it made in the position of the Charity Commissioners towards the various charities of the country. Their Lordships must remember what were the original functions of the Charity Commissioners. The function of the Commissioners was, with the consent of the trustees, to deal with charities all over the country, modifying provisions which had come down from remote times and were no longer suitable to the circumstances of the localities. Absolute power was subsequently given to them to deal with charities of a lower value than £50 ayear. For that there was a great deal to be said, because it could not be expected that charities of an insignificant value would receive the same attention as larger ones at the hands of trustees. But what was proposed now was to take all the charities of the country, from the largest hospital to the smallest village foundation, and hand them over abso

lutely to the direction of the Charity Commissioners. When he said direction, he did not mean that their daily administration would be in the hands of the Charity Commissioners; but if this Bill passed, the Charity Commissioners would have the power of re-writing the will of the founder, and not only that, but of re-writing the Statutes made since in respect of those charities, and even the schemes which had been sanctioned by the High Court of Chancery. It came to this-that whereas before they required that the trustees and the Charity Commissioners should concur, they now set the trustees aside and gave general and absolute power to the Commissioners. He was not arguing in favour of what was called the "dead hand," or of an absolute unalterability of the provisions of a trust, for he was well aware that as time went on the alteration of circumstances was such that trusts must frequently need modification; but he argued against the assertion that the Charity Commission were so very superior to the trustees of the great charities that it was right to dethrone the trustees and set up the Charity Commission in their place. While entirely agreeing that the Charity Commissioners had done good service, and disbelieving that they would make any misuse of powers placed in their hands, they could not, on the ground that the present members were excellent men, justify giving them such vast powers. It was impossible not to see that the effect of this great change would be to diminish every where the local supervision of the charitable trusts, and sweep them all under the direction of one central body-a central body which would be appointed by the Minister of the day; and the persons who enjoyed the benefits of these trusts and those who took an interest in them would see with alarm the result that the private and independent exercise of these trusts would disappear, and the vast revenues of the charities would be more and more administered in obedience to the behests of the central authority. There were clauses in this Bill for providing new schemes, which would have a very considerable effect. The trustees of all charities, however large, respectable, or important, must in future have their names sent up to the Charity Commission to be approved. Distinguished gentlemen, who devoted a great deal of

their time and attention to these charities, might very well decline to have their names sent up to the Charity Commission, who, like other mortals, might cast a slur upon candidates by objecting to the names sent up. If it were not sufficient to be elected by those who were entitled to elect them, such gentlemen would, of course, retire. That would be the very general feeling; and great discouragement to the elected trustees would be the result. Again, some of the charities had a large property in land; but under this Bill in the smallest reference to a Court of Law, for getting the rent, perhaps, of a 2s. 6d. cottage, it would be necessary for the Charity Commission to institute a suit; and where injunctions were required, for instance, to prevent the value of house property being destroyed by building in front of it, it would be necessary to go to the Charity Commission to allow immediate reference to be made, lest delay should make the process useless. He thought the Bill would produce alarm and disgust among a large number of those who took pleasure in the administration of these trusts; and he believed that those who now conferred a great public benefit by much self - denying sacrifice of time and labour would withdraw from their independent administration when they found it transferred to the management of a Central Board in London. The noble and learned Lord on the Woolsack might have every confidence in the excellent intentions of the Charity Commissioners, and he did not wish to doubt their good intentions; but he could not help calling attention to one recommendation in their last Report, which showed the kind of spirit by which they were actuated. They recommended that a number of inspectors should be appointed, and they added that it would be a matter for consideration whether it would not be advantageous that they should be ex-officio governors of the educational endowments in the district. The result of this proposal would be that the officers of the Commission would have votes, and might be supreme in the government of those educational charities. He did not wish to say a word disrespectful to the Charity Commissioners; but with all their burning desire to do good, and their seeming confidence that they alone could do good, they still required the greatest

this kind had been known; but he replied that it would cause the mother still greater anxiety were the child to have small pox; and, whether such a course of proceeding is justifiable by any, and what, law; and, if not, whether he will not at once express disapproval of it?

MR. DODSON: I find that Dr. Stevens did suggest that children born in the workhouse should be vaccinated before leaving; and that, subject to the opinion of the medical officer in any particular case, this should be done on the sixth day after birth. Dr. Stevens did not express any opinion of his own as to whether the Guardians could enforce this without the consent of the mother; but he did refer to an opinion of the Poor Law Board to the effect that they could. This opinion seems to have been given

so far back as 1848.

MR. HOPWOOD asked whether the order was a legal one?

MR. DODSON: The hon. and learned Member asks my opinion on a point of law. My own opinion is that vaccination cannot be enforced in the circumstances if the mother objects.

CRIMINAL LAW-RE-PUBLICATION

OF THE " FREIHEIT."

MR. BELLINGHAM asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, If it is a fact that, under the auspices of the Social Democratic Club, the "Freiheit" has reappeared as an English instead of a German newspaper; whether Herr Most's famous article on the Assassination of the Tsar, for which he has been prosecuted by the Government, has been reprinted in English under the title of Regina v. Most; whether the paper states that the publication is intended as an answer to the attempt to suppress "our German contemporary; ' and, whether Her Majesty's Government intend to take any steps in the

matter?

SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT: I believe that there is such a paper as that alluded to by the hon. Member's Question, and that an English translation of the article referred to did appear in that paper. The article professes to appear in the form of a report of the proceedings in the Bow Street Police Court. In answer to the last Question, I have to say that I do not think it desirable to take any steps in this matter-at all events, until after the trial of Most.

CROWN AGENTS FOR THE COLONIESMEMORANDUM OF SIR PENROSE JULYAN.

MR. ANDERSON asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, If there is in the Colonial Office a Memorandum which Sir Penrose Julyan, while one of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, addressed to Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, explaining the position of the Office; if Copies of that Memorandum were sent to the Colonies; and, if there is any objection to lay it upon the Table?

MR. GRANT DUFF: We cannot give this particular document, which is of a purely confidential character, prepared by the orders of the late Secretary of State for his own information; but, as the subject seems to excite some interest, I will presently lay on the Table Papers which will explain the duties and status of these officers more fully than can be done by answers in this House.

ACCIDENTS IN MINES-REPORT OF

THE ROYAL COMMISSION. MR. MACDONALD asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, It there be any prospect of the Royal Commission which was appointed to inquire into the prevention of accidents in mines several years ago making a Report this year before the close of the Session; and, whether he is aware that a similar Commission was appointed some time ago in Belgium, and that the Belgian Commission reported in one year and six months from date of its appointment?

SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT, in rePly, said, he had a letter from the Secretary of the Commission, who said that before the end of the Session he would present a preliminary Report, along with a valuable body of evidence. The Secretary gave as a reason why the proceedings of the scientific inquiry had been so much prolonged that it had been necessary to repeat the experiments on the safety lamps and coal dust in va

rious districts. With reference to the

Belgian Commission, it only indicated the inquiry, and suggested the employment of a permanent Commission.

NATIONAL EDUCATION (IRELAND)—

TEACHERS OF MODEL SCHOOLS. MR. JUSTIN MCARTHY asked the Secretary to the Treasury, If, on the