Mr. CHANCELLORasked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that in Paddington a large number of registration forms are being returned without the names of the wives of the tenants; though on comparison with the food registration cards there are found to be wives; whether he is aware that this registration officer proposes under these circumstances to omit the names of the wives from the list of voters; and whether, in this and similar eases, he will instruct the registration officer to cause a house-to-house inquiry to be made in order to rectify the omissions on such forms?
1879W
Mr. FISHERI am informed that the statement in the first part of the question is correct in certain districts; but that the statement in the second part of the question relating to the omission of the names of wives is incorrect. I understand that when the services of the rate collector are not available the registration officer has caused a list of names to be abstracted from the Food Register and a house-to-house delivery of Form A to be made, with instructions to correct the list at the house and to ascertain if the woman bearing the same surname as a man be the wife, daughter, or other relative, and that when rate collectors are able to assist there has been, from the commencement, an exhaustive house-to-house inquiry in their respective districts. I may remind my hon. Friend that, in the Memorandum of Instructions already issued the overseers or other persons engaged in the preparation of the lists are informed that a house-to-house inquiry will be essential in practically all cases.