§ MR. CHIOZZA MONEY (Paddington, N.)I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the successful working of the State insurance system of Germany and of the character of the Report on the subject presented to Parliament by a Departmental Committee, he will appoint a Select Committee of this House to consider and report upon the matter.
§ MR. GLADSTONEI beg to answer this Question on behalf of my right hon. friend. I remain of the opinion I expressed on the 4th April last year in the course of the debate on the Amendment moved by the right hon. Baronet the Member for the Forest of Dean, to the Motion for the Second Reading of the Workmen's Compensation Bill, namely, that further inquiry was needed before any scheme of compulsory or national insurance could be adopted, and that there should be no unnecessary delay in 889 commencing a practical inquiry directed to that end. I cannot state at this moment the precise form the inquiry will take, but it should be conducted by a body whose status and composition are commensurate with the great importance of the subject.