§ MR. AINSLIE (Lancashire, N. Lonsdale)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether the Registrar General has issued instructions to local registrars of deaths to discontinue the practice of sending notices of deaths to country newspapers, and if he is aware that this practice gave great satisfaction to the poorer classes, who looked to it as the sole means of com- 1430 municating to their relatives such notices of deaths; and, if such instructions were given, will he take means to ensure their withdrawal, seeing that no charge is made by country newspapers for their notices?
§ * THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. RITCHIE,) Tower Hamlets, St. George'sAs I have already stated, in reply to previous questions on this subject, I am informed by the Registrar General that registrars of births and deaths have always been forbidden to furnish for publication any statement of facts respecting the births or deaths registered by them, and his attention having recently been called to a violation of this rule by certain registrars, by a complaint from private individuals that particulars furnished for registration purposes had appeared in a local newspaper without their consent and contrary to their wishes, he has reminded the registrars who have contravened the regulations on this subject that the particulars are given to them for official purposes only, and he has insisted on the rule which has always been in existence being duly observed. I entirely concur in the course adopted by the Registrar General, as I am clearly of opinion that when a statutory duty is imposed upon persons to furnish information for registration for public purposes there is good ground for complaint if the officers who act as registrars supply the particulars to the local Press.