§ MR. BYLES (Salford, N.)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board how many persons in London have been sent to prison in the year 1907 for non-payment of rates; and 1694 can he give the totals for England and Wales, for Scotland, and for Ireland.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. GLADSTONE,) Leeds, W.I beg to answer this Question on behalf of my right hon. friend. I can only repeat the Answer I gave last Tuesday to a somewhat similar Question by the hon. Member for Darlington—that the figures are not available, and that even if it were possible to get accurate returns, their collection would, I fear, give the local authorities more trouble than the result would justify. The prison records do not distinguish rate defaulters from ordinary civil debtors. As regards Scotland and Ireland, the question is one for the Secretary for Scotland and the Chief Secretary respectively.