§ MR. WARDLE (Derbyshire, S.)asked the President of the Local Government Board, Whether, seeing that the new County Electoral Divisions cover in many instances three, and in some cases part of four, polling districts, he will, in order to avoid the practical disfranchisement of great numbers of the labouring population, advise the Returning Officers to adopt, as far as practicable, the polling districts formed under Section 47 of "The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883"?
§ THE PRESIDENT (Mr. RITCHIE) (Tower Hamlets, St. George's)It is the duty of the Returning Officer, when he deems it necessary, to divide an electoral division into polling districts; but each polling district must be an area, or a combination of areas, for which separate parts of the register of electors are made out. I do not doubt that the Returning Officers, in determining as to the polling districts, will have regard to the reasonable convenience of the electors, so far as the circumstances in connection with the lists of voters admit; but the matter is not one in which I could give any instructions to the Returning Officers.