§ MR. MELDONasked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether the salary of Dr. John Hughes, the visiting physician of the Central Asylum at Dundrum, county of Dublin, is included in the Estimates or Supplementary Estimates, and if not, for what reason is such salary excluded; if it is not the fact that Dr. Hughes was appointed to the office of visiting physician to the said asylum by warrant of the Lord Lieutenant in the month of February 1874; if he has since discharged the duties of such office; and, was the salary of Dr. Hughes placed on the list of Irish Estimates furnished to the Treasury by the Irish Executive Government, and was such salary expunged at the instance of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland or the Chief Secretary; and if not, under what circumstances was such salary struck out?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHSir, if the hon. Member will refer to the Estimates presented to Parliament for the current year, he will see that no provision has been made for the salary of the visiting physician. I must ask to be allowed to defer giving an explanation of the circumstances until the Vote is taken in Committee of Supply. That seems to me to be the proper occasion for hon. Members to ask for information respecting the Estimates, and I shall always be ready, for my own part, to give them all that I possibly can; but it seems to me most undesirable to occupy the time of the House at this moment with an explanation which would necessarily be somewhat lengthy, and which can be much better given when the Vote shall be under discussion.