§ MR. NEATEsaid, he would beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether he has received a statement of the amount of the sum raised by private subscription for the relief of the sufferers by the Clerkenwell Explosion, and of the past and proposed future application of such sum; and, whether he will lay such statement upon the Table of the House?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, in reply, that the Papers to which his hon. Friend referred had only just come into his hands, and he must have time to consider whether they were of such a nature that he could lay them on the table as public documents. He thought they were exceedingly indebted to the gentlemen who had undertaken the duties of the Relief Committee, and who had shown the greatest and most philanthropic assiduity and kindness in dealing with the cases of distress which had come under their notice; and there could be no doubt that the sufferings of those who had been the victims of the explosion had been very much alleviated by the exertions of the Committee. It would be necessary to propose to the House in the course of the present Session an Estimate of the damage done to the owners of property through the explosion, and he hoped that on that occasion he would be able to make a state- 1924 ment of what had been done by private subscription towards the relief of the sufferers.