§ MR. LEAHYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If it is true that a Commissioner of National Education in Ireland negotiated with the landlord of Athy Model School Farm for the sale of the new buildings; and, if the Commissioner who sold for £200 the buildings, which cost nearly £2,000, and the landlord are the same person?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER,in reply, said, he had no doubt that the allusion in the Question was to the Duke of Leinster; and he thought it would have been better if the hon. Member had openly said so. But any innuendo which the Question contained was unfounded. The buildings referred to by the hon. Member were put up in 18–18. They were designed for educational purposes, and their original cost was £962, not £2,000. A Committee of the Board of National Education, of which Committee the Duke of Leinster was not a member, resolved to surrender the farm and advise the Board to request the Duke to accept the surrender and to state his terms. This he did, paying £200 for the offices. The surrender was authorized by the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. The Duke of Leinster, as a Commissioner of National Education in Ireland, had had nothing to do, either directly or indirectly, with the negotiations of the Board.