§ DR. TANNER (Cork Co, Mid)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been directed to the net expenditure as shown in the Sixty-fourth annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, from which it appears that, while a decrease in expenditure in Class I, Public Works and Railways, to the amount of £52,390 is shown, an increase in Class II., Public Works Office, of £728 is likewise given 682 on comparing the expenditure in 1894–5 with 1895–6: and, whether it is a rule in the Irish Office of Works that officials should obtain more pay when there is shown to be a substantial falling off in moneys voted for Public Works services?
§ MR. HANBURYOwing to the gradual completion of railway schemes under the Act of 1889, there was a reduction of expenditure in 1895–96 of £52,390 as compared with 1894–95. Moneys are provided for public services from other sources in addition to Votes, and the total payments by the Board of Works for 1895–6, show an increase of £39,405 over 1894–5, and their receipts an increase of £7,142. On the 31st March 1896, there were nearly 3,000 more loan accounts open in the books of the Board than on the 31st March 1895. The increase in the Vote for the Board of Works for 1895–6 is partly due to automatic increments of salary, partly to increased provision for professional services, chiefly those of engineers and architects, and to increased travelling to expedite the inspection and reports on works and loans.