§ Mr. NEWMANasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can state the total number of signatures, whether on petitions, letters, postcards, or telegrams, that have been received at the Treasury praying against certain portions of the National Insurance Bill being passed into law?
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEThe answer is in the negative.
§ Mr. REMNANTMay I ask whether all these petitions are brought to the notice of the right hon. Gentleman?
§ Mr. NEWMANHas the right hon. Gentleman noticed that most of those petitions come from the fair sex, and surely the gallantry of the Treasury would see that they would be considered?
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEWhat I have noticed is that a good many of them are in the same handwriting.
§ Mr. CLYNESMay I ask whether those petitions indicated any knowledge of the benefits of the Bill in respect of the particular parts against which they protested, and whether his Department will take steps to convey the knowledge to the petitioners?
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEI think that is very important. Certainly, the letters which I have received, protesting, display the grossest ignorance about the very elements of the Bill.
Mr. MacCALLUM SCOTTIs the Chancellor of the Exchequer aware that I have not received a single protest of any sort against the Bill?
§ Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSHaving regard to the serious accusation made with regard to those petitions, may I ask whether it would be possible for him to refer them from the Treasury to the Petitions Committee of this House for report?
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEThat is exactly what I proposed to do until I observed that the petitioners took very good care to put them in the form of memorials, so that they could not be investigated.
§ Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSCould it not be done by a request from the Treasury?
§ Mr. LLOYD GEORGEwas understood to reply in the negative.