§ Mr. ARTHUR LYNCHasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the fact that there are a great number of discrepancies and omissions in the Census Returns of 1841 and 1851, of which the following is an example: Margaret King, Kilmihill, no trace in Census Return of 1841, 10 years of age in Census Return of 1851, certificate of baptism proving her birth on 18th March, 1838; and whether, in view of the unreliability of the Census Returns, he will issue instructions to pension officers not to lodge objections founded on no better evidence than the Census Returns, but to defer to the opinion of the pension committee unless he can produce indisputable evidence to the contrary?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Hobhouse)I regret to be unable to accept the suggestion of the hon. Member. Although discrepancies may have been found in the Census Returns, I am unable to admit that they are in general unreliable.