§ Sir WILLIAM DAVISONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the recent Return issued by the Registrar-General, in which it is stated that during the last quarter, for the first time since the establishment of civil registration, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births by 79,443, and that out of 161, 775 births during the said quarter no less than 10,367 were illegitimate; and whether, under the above circumstances, he will take immediate steps to remove the penalty on marriage and the consequent restriction on the birth of legitimate children occasioned by the present provisions of the law relating to the assessment of Income Tax, whereby the income of a husband and wife are added together and assessed at the joint total?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As has already been indicated, the question of the assessment to Income Tax of married women will be one of the subjects to be dealt with by the forthcoming Royal Commission.