CAPTAIN AYLMERasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether Bernard Kane, recently appointed Court Valuer by the County Court Judge of the County Leitrim, is the same person who was dismissed under a sealed order of the Poor Law Commissioners in 1867 as unfit to hold the office of poor rate collector; whether such order bears date 8th May 1867; and, whether Bernard Kane resides with his brother Thomas, a small farmer occupying a farm of 23 acres and £16 5s. valuation, in the townland of Sheffield, County Leitrim, and to what amount (if any) is he himself rated for the relief of of the poor?
§ MR. TREVELYANI find, Sir, that Mr. Bernard Kane, referred to in this Question, was dismissed from the office of poor rate collector under a sealed Order of the Poor Law Commissioners, which is dated the 8th of May, 1867. The circumstances of his employment by the County Court Judge for Leitrim are that at the April Quarter Sessions the County Court Judge required the assistance of a valuer. The Land Commissioners were unable to supply one, and he asked the Clerk of the Peace and Sub-Sheriff of the county to recommend some person on whom he could rely. The Sub-Sheriff recommended Mr. Kane, and the County Court Judge states that no one objected to him, and that, be far as he is aware, there have been no appeals in the cases in which he acted as valuer. He lives with his brother, who holds a farm of 23 acres, the Poor Law valuation of which is £16 5s., as stated in the Question. He holds no land of his own, and is not rated for the relief of the poor. His occupation is that of a land surveyor, and he has been employed in that capacity and as land valuer both by landlords and tenants.