MR. O'BRIENasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is a fact that, on the 23rd of January last, 281 persons were approved of by the Glenties Board of Guardians as emigrants under the scheme of assisted emigration embodied in the Arrears Act; whether, on the faith of such approval, the intending emigrants disposed of the interest in their holdings and realised their other means and purchased their outfits; whether no further step was taken in the matter by the authorities until the 8th of March, when Mr. Redington, one of the Emigration Commissioners under the Act, met the intending emigrants at Dungloe; whether it was then for the first time intimated to them or to the Guardians that, before shipment, the emigrants must be provided with a written undertaking from some friend in America to take charge of them on landing; whether 1157 several of them, who happened to be in possession of such letters, submitted them to Mr. Redington, who informed them that they must wait until the rest should have received similar undertakings; whether any step has been taken since by the Government in the matter; and, whether these 281 persons are still left in uncertainty and idleness, living on the remnant of their means?
§ MR. TREVELYANIt is a fact that some time about the 23rd of January the Glenties Board of Guardians entertained the applications of over 600 intending emigrants; but they did not forward the list of such persons to the Local Government Board until the last day of the following month. The Emigration Committee could do nothing until the list was received. Within a week after its receipt Mr. Redington, one of the Committee, was able to go to the district, and he was at Dungloe on the 8th of March. All Boards of Guardians concerned had previously been informed by Circular, dated March 2nd, that persons who wished to go to the United States should be able to show that they had friends or relations there in a position to put them in the way of procuring employment, and to help them to maintain themselves in the meantime. The desirability of such a condition was abundantly proved to the Government, and will, I think, commend itself to the House. There is no such condition required if the place selected by the intending emigrant is Canada. The number of persons who were able to produce the requisite letters was 120; but it is not the case that they were told by Mr. Redington that they would have to wait until the others applying would have procured letters also. On the contrary, they were at once recommended for the grant, as were a number of other persons, conditionally on their subsequently producing the required undertaking. Mr. Redington left the lists of selected persons with the clerk of the Union on the 10th of March, in order to have necessary particulars filled in; but he did not receive them again until Friday last, and he is now proceeding to deal with them finally as quickly as possible. If any persons disposed of the interest in their holdings, and realized their oilier means on the faith of their original approval by the 1158 Board of Guardians, and without waiting to know whether they were selected for emigration, their action was premature, and I cannot think that many such cases occurred.