§ 71. Mr. STANTONasked the President of the Local Government Board if he is aware that, owing to omissions from or inaccuracies in the register of electors in the Aberdare Division of Merthyr, many hundreds of electors were prevented from voting at the recent elections; if he is aware that this is partly due to the registration officer not having been supplied with a proof of the register for correction before copies were finally printed, as would have been the case if the printing had been done locally; and will he see, if the printing must be done in London or Birmingham, that such printers shall submit a proof for correction to the registration officers?
§ Mr. BALDWINI have been asked to reply to this question. Proofs of the List of Electors were dispensed with at the suggestion of the Local Government Board owing to the fact that the final "copy" for this division was not in the hands of the printers until after the date on which the publication was due. As far as the "Register of Electors" was concerned, however, definite instructions were issued to the printer to supply proofs, and proofs are issued in all similar cases. If they were not supplied in this instance it must apparently have been by arrangement with the Registration Officer. Any imperfections in the list could have been rectified before the register was finally printed.
§ Mr. STANTONWill the hon. Gentleman accept it from me that there are a few thousand electors entitled to vote who are off the register, and that the result might have been that a pacifist might have been elected against me?