§ 47. Mr. SEXTONasked the Minister of Health if his attention has been called to the charges published by the relieving officer of the St. Helens Union respecting the alleged illegal administration of outdoor Poor Law relief in the St. Helens district by a guardians' committee of 15 members, 10 of which, it is alleged, are Labour members; if he has received representations to this effect from any body of ratepayers; if so, what is the number and status of the signatories; is he aware that there is a general board of 47 guardians, only 12 of whom are Labour representatives; that the scale of outdoor relief and regulations to that effect adopted by this board are applicable to the whole of the Poor Law union which governs four other townships; that, in the interests of uniformity, a general relief committee of 12 members, only four of whom are Labour representatives, has been in existence for 2246 the past 15 years; that any relief in excess of the regulation scale must be approved by the general relief committee; and, seeing that no complaint has been lodged by the relieving officer for the district except through the public Press, will he undertake to inquire into the matter?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINMy attention has been drawn to a newspaper cutting on this subject, but I have not received any such representations as are suggested. J have asked to be supplied with an early report upon the present situation.