§ MR. COCHRANEI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the latest Census Returns, which show that the population of Scotland is slightly in excess of that of Ireland, and that, whereas Scotland is represented in this House by seventy-two members, the number of members returned by constituencies in Ireland is 103; and whether the Government will appoint a Select Committee during next session to inquire into the whole of the circumstances, and report what steps should be taken to remove this inequality.
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR, Manchester, E.)It is a fact, as my hon. friend states, that the population of Scotland is now slightly in excess of the population of Ireland, but, curiously enough, I find that the male population of Ireland is slightly in excess of the male population in Scotland. I do not know whether my hon. friend would regard that as an argument for female suffrage. The anomalies in our electoral system are grave and undoubted, but whether a Select Committee would be the proper method, or machinery, for finding a remedy is very doubtful. I cannot give my hon. friend any promise as to that part of the question.