§ MR. PICTON (Leicester)May I be allowed to ask the President of the Local Government Board a question in regard to the interpretation of the terms of reference to the Royal Commission on the Vaccination Laws. Paragraph 5 refers to inquiry into the working of the provisions of the Act in respect to repeated prosecutions for non-compliance with the requirements of the Vaccination Act. I have to ask, will not the insertion of the word "repeated" before "prosecutions" lead to the exclusion of what I understood was intended, inquiry into the principle of compulsory vaccination pure and simple?
§ *MR. RITCHIEI am glad the hon. Member has put the question, because the word "repeated" might undoubtedly be understood as the hon. Gentleman suggests. It is not intended so to narrow the reference. The word appeared in the original draft copy of the reference, but subsequently the word "repeated" was struck out with the view of showing there is no intention of limiting the inquiry in that sense.