§ MR. MACKARNESSI beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether, in view of the interest felt in the question of an Old-Age Pensions Bill and the close connection of that question with the matters under investigation by the Poor Law Commissioners, it is possible to accelerate the Report of that Commission.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSI have made inquiry on this subject, and I find that, except for brief periods of vacation, the Royal Commission have been sitting week by week since the beginning of last year and are using every effort to expedite their investigation; but I understand that, in view of the wide scope of the reference to them, they have still a considerable amount of ground to cover. They are anxious that their Report should be made without any unnecessary delay, but they are equally anxious to secure that it should not be either incomplete or inadequate.