§ MR. B. C. MOLLOY (King's Co., Birr)On behalf of the hon. Member for Londonderry (Mr. VESEY KNOX), I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether it is proposed to take from the clerks of unions, who are also registrars of deaths, the duty of preparing the list of Voters, and to confer it upon officials who have no experience of the work; and whether he will consider the possibility of appointing, especially in the boroughs, officials performing duties similar to those performed by the assessors in Scotland, and of thus lessening the work to be done by revising barristers.?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe duties hitherto devolving on the clerks of Unions in relation to the preparation of the Voters' lists are proposed to be transferred to the clerks of the different rate-collecting authorities. In Scotland, the Assessor is appointed to make out the valuation roll, a duty which is done in Ireland by the Commissioner of Valuation; the Assessor also makes up the Parliamentary Register and the Local Government Supplement in counties, but in Royal Burghs, sending Members to Parliament, the Town Clerk makes out the municipal list. I think it would be more convenient that any statement on matters such as are raised in this Question should be deferred until the Local Government Bill is under consideration by the House.