§ The registration officer shall also consider all claims of which notice is given to him, in accordance with these rules, and in respect of which no notice of objection is given, and, if he considers that the claim may be allowed without further inquiry, shall give notice to the claimant that his claim is allowed.
§ If the registration officer is not satisfied that any such claims can be allowed without inquiry, he shall give at least five clear days' notice to the claimant of the time and place at which the claim will be considered by him.
§ Sir G. YOUNGERI beg to move at the end of Rule 18, to add the words,
The registration officer .shall hold sittings at convenient places in each constituency or local government area to deal with the claims which have not previously been allowed, the objections and the other matters necessary for the correction of the lists, and in the case of registration units situated in i"Parliamentary borough, and in an urban district with a population of not less than ten thousand forming part of a county constituency, shall hold at least one evening sitting commencing not earlier than 6 p.m. or later than 7.30 p.m. 2297 Such public sittings shall be held not earlier than the tenth day of March in the case of the spring register, and the seventh day of September in the case of the autumn register. Due notice thereof shall be given not less than seven days before the holding of the first sitting.I think some such provision really ought to be made. In the first place, it is necessary to have the inquiries held in convenient places. This is more essential now that you have added so many of a class who find it difficult to attend in the middle of the day. The system has worked extremely well in Scotland. Our officers hold local Courts, and people have no difficulty in attending them. It is also desirable to make it clear that it is to be a public sitting, so that there may be no suspicion of the officer being biassed, and every confidence that every man will have a fair chance. An officer might easily fix his own office or some place convenient to himself, and not suitable for the purpose. It is desirable to provide against that being done. There is an old Act, the Parliamentary Voters' Registration Act of 1843, which deals with this very point, and from my own experience I am quite sure that the provision is desirable.
Mr. HEALYI beg to second the Amendment.
This was fully discussed in Committee, and I thought it was agreed, so far as possible, to make the new system as convenient for voters as the old system Under the existing law, the greatest pains are taken to bring justice home to the doors of voters. How monstrous it would be if the registration officer of a large county area were to say, "I will sit in my own office." It would be scandalous. Under the present law, the revising barrister, who has a much higher standard, is not too proud to go from town to town holding Courts of Revision and giving the voters in each locality the opportunity of having their cases heard at their own doors. With regard to late sittings, they were provided for by a special Act as far back as 1895. They are an established feature of the Revision Courts in every large city and centre of population where there is a substantial artisan vote. They are not held at the pleasure of the revising barrister. He is compelled to hold them. I am surprised that this matter has not been dealt with by the Government. It is plainly necessary, and I hope that they will not resist the Amendment.
Mr. FISHERA similar Debate took place on the Committee stage, and I then said that while I thought the registration officers generally would be most anxious to consult the convenience of the public both as to the time and place at which claims and objections could be dealt with, yet now and again you might have a registration officer who, perhaps, had got tired of his work or who for one reason or another was not willing, courteous, or obliging, and we did desire to have something in the Bill to assure the public of proper facilities with respect to the hearing of their claims and objections. The hon. and learned Gentleman says he is surprised that we have not put anything into the Bill. The memory of the hon. and learned Member is generally very accurate on these matters, and I would ask him to remember that on Clause 11 the Government did put down an Amendment empowering the Local Government Board to give any special or general directions with respect to the arrangements to be made by the registration officer for carying out his duty as to registration. We thought it far better to make it a general instruction directing these registration officers as to the means that they ought to take both as to time and place in making arrangements convenient to the general elector, so that he might be quite sure that he would be justly and fairly treated. My objection to the Amendment is that it is too particular. It is too full of details. It is taken from an antiquated Statute, and now that we have a much larger number of electors—voting, perhaps, under rather new conditions—we ought to be exceedingly careful that the Local Government Board, after thoroughly surveying the situation, issues a code of regulations and instructions covering all the points—many of which are in this Amendment—necessary to ensure that the voters generally may be quite certain that they are treated fairly as regards their claims and objections. I can hardly imagine any registration officer who is really doing his duty failing to consider the convenience of the public both as regards place and time at which these very important matters are discussed and heard. I hope that I have satisfied my hon. Friend and the House that it is the full intention of the Local Government Board to provide such instructions and regulations, and that the voters may rest assured that every facility will be given 2299 them, both as to time and place, to put forward their claims and also their objections, if they desire to do so.
§ Amendment negatived.