I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The purpose of this Bill is I think sufficiently described in the Long Title, but the need for it may require a little explanation. Borough corporations were in the early years of their existence the recipients of many grants of property, particularly land, and to-day the older corporations still hold such property for the benefit of citizens. Before 1840 they were the owners of the property, and could virtually do as they chose with it, but a little over a century ago those corporations were converted into trustees, and the borough funds from that time could only be made applicable to certain defined statutory purposes. Those local authorities which have come into existence within the last century or so are not in so favourable a position as the older authorities in regard to property. What they need they have to acquire and in several codes, such as those relating to housing and public health, provision is made for the acquisition, either by agreement or by compulsion, of such land as they require. The present position, therefore, is that local authorities may acquire property, either by agreement or in certain instances by compulsory sale, but they have no power to acquire it by way of gift and to administer such gifts apart from their ordinary revenues as local authorities. This Bill will enable a local authority to accept gifts, but only on condition that they adopt schemes for the civic improvement of their areas, and devote the gifts to the purposes provided for in such schemes.
Under the Bill, the local authorities, as defined in it, may frame civic improvement schemes so that the gifts which they accept will be administered for the purposes of such schemes. It will be seen from the definition clause that the expression "civic improvement scheme" includes anything which tends to improve local amenities or is otherwise conducive to the welfare of the people. A civic improvement scheme may be made in respect of civic improvements generally, a particular class or classes of civic improvement, or a particular civic improvement, but it must provide for the establishment of a separate fund into which any moneys given for the purposes of a civic improvement scheme must go. Revenues arising from such moneys, if not required for the purposes of the fund at any particular time, may be invested, and the proceeds would go to the credit of the fund. The adoption of a civic improvement scheme will be a reserved function, that is, it will be a matter for the decision of the elected members of the local authority. When a scheme is adopted, the local authority will be bound to give publicity to the fact that there is such a scheme, and every year will give notice that the scheme continues in existence, and that any person may make contributions to the civic improvement fund. Once a scheme is framed, then, under the provisions of the Bill, it cannot be varied except by an Order of the High Court.
The need for a measure of this sort will be better appreciated, I think, if I remind the House of the legal difficulties which now confront a public-spirited citizen who wishes to make gifts in trust for the benefit of the people of a particular locality. We had, for instance, an example in the case of the late Mr. Daniel McGrath, who died in 1941, and who bequeathed over £48,000 to be expended in improvements of the town of Muinebeag and for the benefit of the people of that town. In that case, on the application of the trustees of Mr. McGrath's will, the High Court settled a scheme for the administration of the charitable trusts, and another body of trustees— the McGrath memorial trustees—were appointed to assist and advise the trustees of the will. Again, some time ago I had occasion to observe the difficulties which arose in Bandon in connection with the trusteeship of the Bandon town park, which was bequeathed by the late Sir John Arnott to the town of Bandon. In that town it had become the custom for the town commissioners, after they had finished their statutory duties, to resolve themselves into a meeting of the trustees. A difficulty arose because the commissioners as a statutory body were not the trustees.
The most noteworthy example, however, of the present anomalous position arose last year, when our great compatriot, the unique Mr. George Bernard Shaw, proposed to hand over property which he owned in Carlow to the Carlow Urban District Council. He wished to make this the nucleus of a permanent voluntary civic improvement fund, to which any citizen could contribute. It was found, however, that under the existing law effect could only be given to Mr. Shaw's ideas through the medium of a body of trustees, but the council was not in favour of the idea of a charitable trust; neither was Mr. Shaw, and he said so most pungently. The only satisfactory way of meeting the wishes of both is by general legislation on the lines proposed in this Bill, which indeed might be referred to as "the Shaw Bill", for it was he who suggested the main feature of it, which is the establishment of a voluntary civic improvement fund. The scope of the Bill, of course, is not confined to Carlow, but embraces all local authorities, including vocational education committees and county committees of agriculture.
The provisions of Section 2 of the Bill, as may be seen by reference to the section, will enable a permanent voluntary improvement fund to be established by the Carlow Urban District Council. The capital of this fund, I think I should explain, will not be limited to Mr. Shaw's gift. It will be open to anyone who wishes to improve the amenities of Carlow to contribute. In this connection, I should perhaps stress the significance of the word "amenities", and emphasise that the fund cannot be applied towards the reduction of the Carlow rates. What is in fact proposed here— if I may paraphrase a letter written by Mr. Shaw to the Carlow Urban District Council—is to give legal sanction to a new way by which those who wish to benefit their fellow citizens by making gifts or leaving legacies to municipal authorities can give effect to their wishes. People who have money to bequeath are sometimes at a loss in selecting suitable objects for their benefactions, or even if they know what they want to do have to incur considerable expense in giving effect to their purpose. The establishment of improvement funds which we hope will, in the course of time, come into existence in every town and county under this Bill, will make it easy for benefactors to act together with a common public purpose and so secure for local communities gifts which otherwise might not be so applied.
These are the main purposes of the Bill. They are comparatively simple, and I think the intention and effect of every section of it are clear on the face of the measure. I should say that on the Committee Stage I shall have some small drafting changes to make, the first being to make it optional for local authorities, other than the vocational and agricultural committees, to defray the cost of advertising a scheme out of the rates, and the second being to make commissioners of towns bodies corporate for the purposes, and only for the purposes, of the Bill.
