§ SIR JOSEPH M'KENNA (for Mr. MELDON)asked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether any representations have been made to the Treasury by the late or present Registrar of Deeds in Ireland on the subject of uncompared documents, and what reply or replies have been made thereto; whether a special report was at any time made on this, amongst other subjects, relating to the office in the year 1865; and, whether a consolidated Dictionary Index on paper from the year 1870 to the present has not been compiled and is now in official use, and what steps the Treasury have taken to have such Index placed in the hands of the public, and how much of the surplus earnings of the office, amounting to £42,000 in the year 1867 and upwards, has been applied to render 264 the office more useful and convenient to the public?
§ MR. W. H. SMITHSir, it is true that representations have been made to the Treasury from the Registry of Deeds in Ireland on the subject of uncompared documents. This matter was reported upon, among others, by a Departmental Committee in 1865. I am not prepared to lay their Report, which is a confidential document, on the Table of the House. A consolidated Dictionary Index has been prepared, and is in official use, but at present it is not intended to place it in the hands of the public. I am aware that the office claims that up to 1867 its surplus earnings amounted to the sum stated—namely, £42,000—but during the last 10 years the total annual cost of the office has largely increased, and, instead of a surplus, there has been a deficiency, amounting in the 10 years to about £26,500. The deficiency is annually increasing.