§ COLONEL HUGHES (Woolwich)I beg to ask the President of the Local; Government Board whether he is aware that the register of Parliamentary and County Council electors is in Westminster and the majority of London? boroughs printed in one list, with proper divisions, so that the register is available-for either Parliamentary or County Council elections; also, that in some-London boroughs, especially in Woolwich, Greenwich, Lewisham, and Deptford, a different practice prevails, so that the-parishes are put to the expense of paying for preparation and printing separate lists for County and Parliamentary purposes, although the bulk of the names 417 in each list are the same, and whether entirely separate lists are legal; and, if so, will he take an early opportunity to amend the Law, and cause the practice to be uniform throughout London, following the Westminster plan and saving the unnecessary expense of a double or separate list?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. RITCHIE, Tower Hamlets, St. George's)I have been able to refer to the registers of Parliamentary and County Council electors of some of the Parliamentary boroughs which are mentioned in the question, and I find that the practice has been as stated. I am not prepared to say that entirely separate lists for Parliamentary and County Council elections are illegal, but the arrangement by which the registers of the two classes of voters are in the metropolis printed in one list is a convenient one and has the advantage of the saving of expense; and I am not aware why the arrangement should not be generally adopted. The list in the Kent part of London appears to be printed in such a way as to entail unnecessary cost, and I hope that, attention having been directed to the matter, a practice similar to that followed in other parts of the metropolis will in future be adopted.