§ Mr. MEAGHERasked whether in the Castle comer union the clerk of the union had this year and last year to make out 1333 returns by visiting the registrars' offices at his own expense for the purposes of the Parliamentary Registration Act; whether, in the case of the application of Section 16 of the Parliamentary Registration (Ireland) Act, 1885, all clerks of unions at that period and up to the passing of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, had the preparation of the voters and jurors lists, and were of themselves, with a couple of exceptions, superintendent registrars; whether he is aware that superintendent registrars as such have no salary whatever but a small fee of 2d. per name per quarter for every name registered; whether he will have proper remuneration paid to such union clerks for this duty, or, as an alternative, will he see that a salary is attached to the office of a superintendent registrar; and whether he can point out in what part of a superintendent registrar's duties it is laid down that the superintendent registrar must visit registrars' offices and extract such returns from the books in the custody of the registrar, the custody of such books while being filled with entries being the source of remuneration to registrars for taking charge of them?
§ Mr. BIRRELLUnder the Order in Council of 18th May, 1906, the superintendent register is required to send on or before 1st July to the secretary of the county council a return of persons who have died within the year. This information is contained in the quarterly returns furnished to the superintendent registrar, but in the case of the quarter ending 30th June he has to seek it at the local registrars' offices as the quarterly returns are not available. Clerks of unions who, up to 1898, had the preparation of voters and jurors lists, as some still have, are with hardly an exception superintendent registrars. The remuneration of superintendent registrars is by fees fixed under Statute, and there is no power to authorise any further payment. There is no Statute or Regulation obliging the superintendent registrar to attend at any place other than his office, but it is evident that, in order to comply with the Registration Rules, he must attend at the registrars' offices to get the necessary information to enable him to prepare the death returns, as the local registrars are not bound to attend at his office to supply it.