§ 38. Mr. Keelingasked the Home Secretary the result of his consideration of the question of requiring persons who make charitable appeals by circular or advertisement to be registered?
§ Mr. H. MorrisonSince my hon. Friend raised this matter in the Question which he put to me last June further restriction has been placed on charitable appeals by Defence Regulation 79D, which prohibits any appeal outside the United Kingdom except with my permission. While I am aware of the considerations which my hon. Friend has in mind, the inquiries which I have made do not show that the case for elaborating additional methods of control over charities is so strong or urgent as to justify at the present time measures which would impose additional duties on local and other authorities.
§ Mr. KeelingCan my hon. Friend explain why the British public should enjoy less protection against bogus British charities than Americans and foreigners do under this new Regulation?
§ Mr. MorrisonThere were reasons related to the relations between this country and foreign States. Moreover, it was a fairly simple thing to administer. If we were to impose control of every charity in this country I know from personal experience in the London County Council that the clerical and investigating work entailed on local authorities would be very big. After all, the public must think for themselves up to a point before they contribute to charities.