§ MR.. JOHN O'CONNOR (Kildare, N.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware of any correspondence that has taken place between the superintendent registrar of deaths in the Naas union district and the Under-Secretary for Ireland and the Registrar-General for Ireland, on the subject of the furnishing of Annual Returns of the deaths of adults with reference to the carrying into effect of the provisions of Section 16 of the Parliamentary Registration (Ireland) Act 207 of 1855, and if he will state how under the circumstances stated in the superintendent registrar's letter of the 15th instant, addressed to the Under-Secretary for Ireland, superintendent registrars are to comply with the law; and whether the Government would consider the propriety of making provision for the payment of remuneration to superintendent registrars for preparing the Returns, and allowing for any out-of pocket expenses incurred in attending at the several registration stations for this purpose, there being no obligation on them to attend at any other place than their offices.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Government are aware of the official correspondence referred to. It is established that a local registrar is not bound to attend at the office of the superintendent registrar to enable the latter to extract from the registers the information required to carry into effect the enactment quoted. It is also the fact that there is no section of the Births and Deaths Registration Acts, nor any regulations made by the Registrar-General, obliging the superintendent registrar to attend at any place other than his office. It is evident, however, that the superintendent registrar, though he may not be specifically directed to do so, must, in order to comply with the Registration (Ireland) Rules, attend at the registrar's offices to get the necessary information to enable him to prepare the Death Returns. Upon the subject of remuneration, I beg to refer to my reply to the Question of the hon. Member for South Down on June 21st. There is no power to authorise the payment of' remuneration.