§ Mr. RAMSAY MACDONALDasked the President of the Local Government Board, whether his attention has been drawn to an announcement recently made by the chairman of the Sittingbourne bench of magistrates to the effect that the justices would in future refuse to grant exemptions from the Vaccination Act unless application was made at the ordinary weekly sittings of the court; whether he could issue a 820 circular pointing out to magistrates the nature and intention of the amending Act of 1907; and, if this be of no avail, will he introduce legislation to secure for parents the right to obtain these exemptions on application from individual magistrates?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Herbert Samuel)I beg to answer this question on behalf of my right hon. Friend. The Secretary of State would refer to the reply which he gave on 10th May to a question on this subject by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for West Carmarthen-shire, a copy of which I will send to the hon. Member. The views which he expressed in that answer have long been well known and widely disseminated. He regrets that he cannot undertake to introduce legislation of the kind suggested by the hon. Member.