§ MR. SUMMERBELL (Sunderland)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board if his attention has been called to the co-option by the Tynemouth Board of Guardians of a member who was defeated at the election, as also the suggested co-option of a defeated member by the Easington Board of Guardians; and if so, will he state whether he proposes to take any action in the matter.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. JOHN BURNS, Battersea)A Board of Guardians are empowered by Statute to co-opt a Chairman, or Vice-Chairman, or both, and not more than two other persons from outside their own body but from persons qualified to be guardians of the union. I have no control over the guardians in the matter, but I under stand that at Tynemouth the person co-opted had been an elected guardian during the preceding three years, that his business knowledge had been found to be valuable, and that at the recent election he only lost his seat by ten votes. In the Easington case the matter appears still to be under the consideration of the guardians.