The Local Government Bill (England and Wales) is in the
Committee stage, and it is significant that after keen discussion in a well-attended House it remains substantially as it was when Mr. Neville Chamberlain made his memorable speech five weeks ago. Mr. Sidney Webb has apparently decided to withdraw his heavy artillery, for on Thursday, December 13th, he confined himself to moving an amendment on a matter outside the main provisions of the Bill. He is now anxious that the new Poor Law authorities should be empowered to deal with the question of the able-bodied unemployed, i.e., those covered by the Unemployed Workmen Act of 1905. There may be something in this suggestion, but that is for the future. Mr. Chamberlain has been quite equal to his critics, as, for example, when he disposed of the objection that County Councils have not enough knowledge of varying local conditions to administer the Poor Law in the smaller districts. He pointed out that there was nothing to prevent the County Councils delegating their administrative functions to non-county Borough and Urban and Rural District Councils, and that in some cases it would obviously be necessary for them to do so, but that this could not affect the guiding principle of the Bill which was that the charges should be spread over the wider areas so as to ensure high rateable values. * * * *
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