§ Order for Second Reading read.
§ (4.58.) MR. LEES KNOWLES (Salford, W.)This is a small Bill, dealing with a technical subject—the payment of the expense of registration in an area between the boundaries of a municipal and Parliamentary borough. Under the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843, all registration expenses in a Parliamentary borough were made payable out of the Poor Rate. Under the Parliamentary and Municipal Registration Act, 1878, the List of Parliamentary Voters and the Burgess List in a Parliamentary borough were to be made out together, and the expenses incurred by the Town Clerk and the Overseers were made payable, half out of the Poor Rate and half out of the Borough Fund. And the expenses in respect of an area exclusively Parliamentary were made payable out of the Poor Rate. That is to say, that before the County Electors Act the whole of the expenses of so much of a Parliamentary borough as extended beyond a municipal borough were made payable out of the Poor Rate. The County Electors Act, 1888, is to be construed as one with these Registration Acts, and under that Act the Lists of Burgesses, County Electors, and Occupation Voters for Parliamentary elections are to be made out together; and all expenses with respect of county electors incurred by Town Clerks were made payable out of the Borough Fund. Doubts have been expressed, and a difficulty has now arisen, as to the payment of expenses of registration in an area—a parish or part of a parish—beyond the municipal and within the Parliamentary area of certain 1000 boroughs; and this Bill provides, following the analogy of the Act of 1878, that half those expenses shall be defrayed out of the County Fund and half out of the Poor Rate. I may say that several Petitions from Municipal Corporations have been presented in favour of the Bill, which also has the support of the Association of Municipal Corporations.
§ Bill read a second time, and committed for Monday next.