§ MR. THORNE (West Ham, S.)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to a public notice issued by the West Ham overseers stating that certain persons who occupy certain parts of houses and pay their rent to other persons residing in the same house were lodgers, and not entitled to be registered as householders, and have been omitted from the burgess roll as occupiers for the ensuing year; and whether the Local Government Board has any power over the overseers to compel them to place the names of all persons occupying parts of houses on the burgess roll, even if they pay rent to persons residing in the same house, in accordance with the Devonport appeal case.
† See (4) Debates, clxii., 681.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. JOHN BURNS, Battersea)I have seen the notice referred to, which states that in consequence of a decision given by the West Ham revising barrister last year, the overseers have omitted from the list of voters persons occupying part of houses and paying rent to other persons resident on the premises. The notice, however, informs all such occupiers desiring to be registered either as householders or as lodgers that they may claim to be so registered, and that all such claims sent in to the assistant overseer for registration before the 20th instant will be laid before the revising barrister. I understand that the overseers consider that the circumstances at West Ham are different from those in the Devonport case, and that at West Ham the sub-tenant is in most cases under the control of the landlord, and is in fact a lodger. The correctness of the view taken by the overseers will no doubt come before the revising barrister in connection with claims made by persons affected. The Local Government Board have no control over the overseers in the matter.