§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN (Birmingham, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board by what words in the Royal Commission the functions of the Commission on the Aged Poor are limited to inquiries in 894 England and Wales; and whether Paragraph VI. of the Commission implies the extension of the inquiry to all parts of the United Kingdom?
§ *MR. H. H. FOWLERThe system of Poor Law Relief into Which the Royal Commission is appointed to inquire is the system now in force in England and Wales, to which alone the powers and duties of the Local Government Board extend. Scotland and Ireland have separate and different Poor Laws, with separate control authorities for their supervision. The paragraph in the Warrant to which the question refers, empowering the Commissioners to visit such places in the United Kingdom as they may deem expedient, follows the usual form. It will enable the Commissioners to inspect any workhouse establishments in Scotland and Ireland which they may deem expedient.
§ DR. KENNY (Dublin, College Green)Arising out of the answer, may I ask the Chief Secretary if he will reconsider his decision, and add an Irish representative to the Commission, and extend the scope of the inquiry to Ireland?
§ [No answer was given.]