§ MR. DILLON (Mayo, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if it is the fact that to-day the Chief Magistrate of Waterford attended at the gaol of that city, but that the Governor refused to take the recognisances which were tendered on behalf of Mr. Redmond and Mr. Fisher, two bail prisoners, unless a Resident Magistrate were present; and, if so, whether he will telegraph at once to have these gentlemen released on bail?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI know nothing about the circumstances of the case, but I will make inquiries.
§ MR. DILLONWill the right hon. Gentleman undertake, if the facts are as I have stated, to have these men let out to-night? It is a most unpleasant thing to he detained in gaol in defiance of the law.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI will take care, if anything illegal has been done, to have it remedied as soon as possible. I am not aware at present that anything illegal has been done.
§ MR. FLYNNIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is no necessity for the presence of a Magistrate at all?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI am not familiar with the law.
§ MR. CONYBEAREWhen I was in Derry Gaol the presence of a Resident Magistrate when recognisances were entered into was not required.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI have already given the only answer to the question I am able to give.
MR. TATE'S PICTURES. DR. FARQUHARSON (Aberdeenshire, W.)I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Trustees of the National Gallery accepted Mr. Tate's generous offer subject to the condition that the Government should provide sufficient space to accommodate the pictures; whether the Collection consists entirely, or almost entirely, of works of the modern British School, and whether, under these circumstances, they must have been of necessity kept together, and whether there are already several precedents in the National Gallery, such as the Reel and Turner Collections, for groups of pictures to be hung by themselves in separate rooms; whether, even if Mr. Tate had handed over his pictures to the nation quite unconditionally, and allowed them to be dispersed in different rooms, space could have been found to hang more than half a-dozen of them; whether the Trustees have repeatedly pressed on the Government the desirability of enlarging the existing building; and whether he will lay the correspondence regarding Mr. Tate's offer upon the Table of the House?
§ *THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. GOSCHEN, St. George's,) Hanover SquareI will answer the first part of the question by replying to the last part. Correspondence will be laid on the Table of the House which will show in detail all that has been done in 454 the matter. It is true that the Trustees of the National Gallery have repeatedly urged on the Government the desirability of enlarging the existing building, and arrangements have been made for providing additional accommodation with a view to a permanent Gallery for British Art.