§ MR. R. G. WEBSTER (St. Pancras, E.)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board, whether it will be needful for the Government to take any steps to carry out the provisions of the Equalisation of Rates (London) Act, 1894, which, by Clause 3, Section 1, enacts that a census shall be taken for the purpose of ascertaining the number of persons present within each parish in the, administrative county of London on the night of Sunday, 29th March 1896, or if this census will be carried out by officials appointed by the London County Council; and whether, if Parliament should so provide, there would be any practical difficulty in having taken at the same date in 1896 a religious census of the inhabitants of Wales and Monmouthshire, where the population by the last census in 1891 was 2,051,647, or less than half that of the population of the county of London?
THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. G. J. SHAW LEFEVRE,) Bradford, CentralNo further legislation will be needful to enable the census required by the Equalisation of Rates (London) Act to be taken. The Act provides that the census shall be taken by the Registrar General, and that the cost shall be defrayed by the London County Council. It will not be possible, therefore, under the Act of last year, to obtain a religious census for Wales.
§ MR. WEBSTERWill the right hon. Gentleman answer the second part of the question?
§ MR. SHAW LEFEVREI think it will not be possible, under the Act of last year, to obtain a religious census in Wales.
§ MR. WEBSTERBut if a Bill be passed for that purpose, will there be any difficulty?
§ MR. SHAW LEFEVREI do not know whether Parliament this year would pass such a Bill.