work will devolve upon stipendiary magistrates; who, in the more populous districts at any rate, have their hands so full that in more than one instance representations have been made as to the necessity of providing them with assistance. Would-be pensioners, too, must be put to a good deal of trouble to prove their claims, and in many cases will have to call evidence in support of their declarations from places far distant from those in which they at present reside. As to the question of age, the investigating magistrate is allowed to exercise his own power of observation; but it will be by no means an easy or brief task for him to discover from applicants what amount of truth attaches to their statements that they are of sober and reputable habits, of good moral character, or that their income or the amount of their property is sufficiently small to entitle them to receive a pension. Naturally, the police will be called upon to speak as to their knowledge of the applicants, and in view of that contingency it is perhaps just as well that Parliament last session voted money for an increase in the numbers of the police force. In short, to prove what is required to be proved, each applicant is attended by a small army of witnesses, whose evidence needs to be carefully checked by the police authorities, and probably by those who are or have been concerned in the distribution of charitable aid. The official view of the matter appears to be that applicants, generally speaking, are not inclined to depart overmuch from the truth in the statements they make in support of their claims. The majority of the public, however, are inclined to be less charitable in their opinions.
Under the supplementary Regulations, the Deputy-Registrar is required to file all claims sent in, and to forward them to the stipendiary magistrate presiding at the court held at the place nearest to the residence of the
