§ 64. Mr. N. MACLEANasked the Secretary for Scotland whether political agents are supplied with a free copy of the prepared list of electors; whether he is aware that the registration officer for Glasgow refuses to supply political agents with a free copy of the complete register; and whether he will state if the political agents of candidates for Parliament are entitled, under the Representation of the People Act, to receive such free copies; and, if so, will he issue instructions to the registration officer to supply such copies if re quested?
§ Mr. MUNROWith the concurrence of the Treasury, registration officers have been authorised to supply political agents with a certain number of free copies of the electors' lists. This course was taken to enable these agents to assist registration 1623 officers to make the registers as complete and accurate as possible. The arrangement does not extend to the supply of free copies of the register, and the registration officer for Glasgow is, therefore, entitled to refuse to supply such free copies.
§ Mr. MACLEANCan the right hon. Gentleman tell the House why he gives free copies of the register when it is being made up and incomplete, and not the complete register to the political agents of the candidates?
§ Mr. MUNROI think my answer covered that point. I have said that a free copy of the electors' lists is given to enable the register to be made up as complete as possible. So far as the full register is concerned there is no very good reason for doing it.
Mr. MacCALLUM SCOTTWould it not facilitate the preparation of the next register if political agents were supplied with copies of the existing register?
§ Mr. MUNROI will consider that point of view, but I really do not think it is necessary. The arrangement I have suggested is an economical arrangement, and the House desires economy!
§ 65. Mr. MACLEANasked the Secretary for Scotland whether it has been the custom hitherto in publishing the lists of voters in Glasgow to state the occupation of the elector; whether in the forms sent to electors they are asked to state their occupation; whether he is aware that the registration officer for Glasgow has issued the autumn register without this statement of occupation despite the protests of several political agents; and whether he will give instructions that the custom be pursued in the issue of future registers to publish the occupation of electors, and thereby secure their proper identification?
§ Mr. MUNROThe answer to the first three parts of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last part I have recently had under consideration the whole question of the retention of the occupation column. The column is not required by Statute, and is not in use in England and Wales, and urgent representations were made to me by the Stationery Office and the Treasury that in the interests of economy it should be omitted. After careful consideration, and notwithstanding the arguments advanced on the other side, I came to the conclusion that I could 1624 not justifiably resist the proposal that the occupation column should be omitted, and I have now issued instructions to registration officers accordingly.
§ Mr. MACLEANIs not this a departure from use and wont to the make-up of the Scottish registers? Can the right hon. Gentleman inform us whether it is due to this economy panic that is going over the country; and how much is the saving owing to the deletion of the "occupation" column from the registers?
§ Mr. MUNROI think I am right in saying that something like £6,000 per annum will be saved in this way, and I appeal to the hon. Gentleman to support not only economy in the abstract, but ill those concrete cases in which the Government endeavour to do it.
§ Mr. MACLEANIs it necessary to put forward a saving of £6,000 over the whole of Scotland as a saving that is likely to bring this country out of its financial difficulties? Can the right hon. Gentleman not see his way to have the "occupation" column put back again on the registers? [Hon. MEMBERS: "No, no!"]—I am asking the right hon. Gentleman—[HON MEMBERS: "Hear, hear!"]—whether ho can see his way to have the "occupation" column put back for the purpose of the identification of the electors in the various constituencies?
§ Mr. MUNROI have already stated that there is no statutory obligation to have this column, and that it is not used in England and Wales, and that I cannot, there fore, believe it is necessary in Scotland.
§ Mr. WATERSONFor what purpose, then, was it used previously?
§ Mr. MUNROFor a certain purpose. The question now is whether it has served its purpose to such an extent as to justify this expenditure, I think it has not.