I am conscious that this is probably one of the last speeches that I shall make on behalf of the city of Dundee, which I have had the honour to represent for nearly 20 years. I remember that one of the first speeches that I made in the House on behalf of Dundee was on the Consolidated Fund Bill at about one o'clock in the morning when the House otherwise consisted of only the Leader of the House, the late Mr. Harry Crook-shank, who, while I made a rather long speech, ostentatiously took out a large gold hunter which he kept dangling in front of my eyes. I assure the Scottish Minister, whom I am glad to see in his place, that I shall not weary the House with a long speech tonight.

The reason for the debate is that the hon. Member for South Angus (Mr. Bruce-Gardyne) has put down an Amendment—"That the Bill be read the Third time upon this day six months". In effect, he is seeking to have the Bill rejected. I understand that his reason for seeking this debate is to reflect object- tions to the Bill by Angus County Council. I wait with interest to hear exactly what those objections are, because the county council had ample opportunity to raise objections in the way normal to county councils that conduct their business efficiently.

Because the county council and one other person objected, the Secretary of State set up a public inquiry, which was to have been held in March or April, but Angus County Council withdrew its objection on 17th February. I am therefore surprised that at this late stage the objection is resurrected.

I am all the more surprised because the Bill originated in planning permission granted by the Angus County Council for the building of 400 houses on a site on the south side of the Kingsway ring road around Dundee. Angus County Council asked Dundee Corporation to provide the sewers, water supply, lighting and education services for those 400 houses, services that it was not itself on a position to provide.

It therefore seemed reasonable that an area entirely dependent on Dundee for local authority administration for those services should be made part of Dundee. It is perfectly true that the area included in the Bill extends beyond the site of the 400 houses, but the Bill's proposals have the great advantage that they straighten out the boundary between Dundee and Angus in a way that makes sense of a boundary that on the map now seems as tortuous as anything straight from a map of the Balkans.

In any case, apart from the simplification of the boundary involved in the order, we are all aware that we are on the eve of major local government reform. There can be no doubt that when that takes place in a year or two, the area that we are now discussing will be part of the Dundee district. Apart from that, both the Dundee district and the Angus County will be part of some great new regional local government unit.

It would therefore not make much sense to attempt to hold up this sort of change at this stage. But, of course, if the Bill were to fall as a result of the Motion of the hon. Member for South Angus, the House must be made aware of the consequences. As I understand it, one of the major objections to its passage has come from the county councillor for the area concerned, who is quite properly anxious to look after his electors' interests as he sees them. But if the Bill were not to succeed it would mean that families in the council estate on the fringe of the great Menzies Hill estate in Dundee would find no public transport to take their children to the nearest primary school in Muirhead-Birkhill. They would find when they got them to that school that there were no places in the school because Angus County Council had not planned provision at primary level. At the secondary level a ludicrous situation would exist in which youngsters from these new houses would have to travel 14 miles to Forfar Academy rather than a few hundred yards to the high school at Menzies Hill.

On the basis of these arguments there is no rational case for refusing to give the Bill a Second Reading. But, apart from that, there are procedural considerations which should be mentioned. My right hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. George Thomas) raised the question of principle whether these important issues which are often inherent in Private Bills should be taken in the House late at night after a hard day when many hon. Members have departed. The House should not be asked to decide the matter at midnight in this way because it makes a nonsense of the democratic procedure which was well established, which was there to be used but which was not used by those who now seek to raise objections.

I have already indicated the sequence of events and I shall not weary the House by repeating it. With greatest respect, I say to the hon. Member for South Angus, who is defending the interests of his constituency quite properly—and about that I make no objection—that I am proposing that the Bill be read the Third time without having heard the case he wishes to put. If he is wishing to put objections which should have been raised at an earlier stage, the House is in no position to weigh the pros and cons of the objections, however valid they may be. That is what the public inquiry is for. A public inquiry was called off because the county council did not wish to press its objections. Therefore, I hope that after the hon. Member has explained his anxieties to the House he will feel able to withdraw his Motion and that the House will give an unopposed Third Reading to the Bill.