§ MR. G. DRAGE (Derby)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is any complete printed register of the convictions obtained by Her Majesty's Inspectors under the Factory Acts; and, if not, whether he will consider the desirability 1242 of providing each of Her Majesty's Inspectors and Inspectors' assistants with such a list for the better prosecution of offenders; whether any register is kept of unsuccessful prosecutions, and what is the percentage of such prosecutions; and, what degree of responsibility attaches to an inspector for prosecutions which a magistrate considers vexatious?
§ SIR MATTHEW RIDLEYA complete Return of all convictions under the Factory Acts is printed in an Appendix to the Chief Inspector's Annual Report, which was in the hands of all the inspectors. In the year 1894 the number of cases dismissed was 75 out of 3,220—i.e., less than 3½ per cent. No prosecution can be instituted by an inspector without the consent of the Chief Inspector or the Superintending Inspector of the district.