MR. BENTINCKSir, I wish to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether he will lay upon the Table an Estimate of the sum of money which will be required to purchase the sites of the ecclesiastical residences under the provisions of the 27th clause of the Irish Church Bill; and whether he will also lay upon the Table a Return of the number of ecclesiastical residences referred to in the said 27th clause, specifying the building charges affecting such residences respectively? I wish, also, to ask the right hon. Gentleman another Question on this subject, of which I have not given him notice; but I shall be glad to defer it till another day if he requests 1352 me to do so. My further Question is this—Whether he will lay on the Table an account showing the particulars of the private endowments proposed to be vested in the representative body of the Church under Clause 29; and, how he makes out the amount of such endowments to be the sum of £500,000, or thereabouts?
MR. GLADSTONEWith respect, Sir, to the first branch of the hon. Member's Question, I have no means whatever of estimating the sum of money that would be required for the purchase of the sites of these ecclesiastical residences. I am not aware that the sites are valued apart from the buildings, nor of what amount of land, together with the actual sites of the fabrics, it may be desirable for parties to purchase. Therefore I am wholly without the means of estimating the quantity of the land or its price. All this is matter for negotiation, and all I can do is to point out the facilities for obtaining it. As to the second part of the Question—whether I will lay on the table "a Return of the number of ecclesiastical residences referred to in the said 27th clause, specifing the building charges affecting such residences respectively," all these ecclesiastical residences are already set out in the Report of the Church Commissioners of Ireland, and the building charge attaching to each residence is likewise there set out and printed for the use of Parliament and the public. For the purpose therefore of reference in every particular case the information given embraces all the particulars that the Question would require; and I do not think, therefore, it would be desirable to print it afresh, nor probably would it be asked by my hon. Friend that we should pick out and print afresh all those minute particulars which have been given already, and, I believe, with perfect accuracy. We have no means of improving the statement; but should it be the wish of my hon. Friend to have this information classified or printed in a summary form in order to deduce results—if he will be kind enough to state what is the precise object he has in view, and will communicate with my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary for Ireland or myself as to the way in which it may be carried out—we shall be happy to give his suggestion our best attention. With regard to the third Question, as to 1353 the probable value of the private endowments since the year 1666, that is not capable of being made the subject of a Return. I stated, indeed, in my opening speech, that with respect to that particular item of Church property, the estimate partook so much of the nature of conjecture that it was necessary to allow a wide margin. Any inquiry as to a particular point I would readily answer were it in my power to do so; but with regard to the amount of glebe lands or any other description of property referred to in the Question, it is of so vague a character that it could not be made the subject of a Return to this House.