§ Mr. KINGasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been given to the practice of a certain bench of magistrates who have agreed that none of them will on any occasion sign the form for conscientious objection to vaccination if applied to individually; whether, in consequence, every conscientious objector is obliged to apply to the bench at sittings of the Court, thus being obliged, in many cases, to travel long distances and to lose a day's wages; and whether he will inform clerks to justices that this practice is a breach of the spirit of the law, and is calculated to shake the confidence of the public in the administration of the law?
§ Mr. McKENNAYes, Sir; but I have no authority to give instructions to magistrates in this matter. I fully agree with my hon. Friend that poor persons should be enabled to make these declarations without unnecessary expense or trouble, and I cannot think that there are many magistrates who desire to refuse them facilities for this purpose.