HC Deb 26 October 1916 vol 86 cc1318-9
19. Mr. CHANCELLOR

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether parents in Ireland who conscientiously object to vaccination are being fined and imprisoned repeatedly for the same child; and, if so, whether he will put an end to this violation of one of the first principles of Magna Charta by instructing boards of guardians not to prosecute a second time for an offence which has once been purged?

Mr. DUKE

I am informed that defaulters under the Vaccination Acts are frequently brought before the local justices and fined for failing to comply with the provisions of the Acts. Imprisonment in vaccination cases is, I am told, exceedingly rare in Ireland. Imprisonment can only be once inflicted for an offence. I have no control over the discretion of boards of guardians as to the cases in which they ought to direct prosecutions.