§ COLONEL NOLANsaid, he wished to explain the object of the Motion he was about to make, which involved a question of considerable importance to certain districts in the Province of Connaught. There were seven or eight towns in that Province where tolls were levied upon cattle and other supplies which were brought into them; and of those towns there was only one at which the tolls collected went to the benefit of the parish. The tolls were heavy, and would amount, for instance, to 4s. or 5s. on a drove of cattle. They were generally taken up by some large proprietor in the district. The tolls levied in the case of two towns of his constituency were taken up by two Peers, one of whom did a good deal, while the other seemed to take a pride in doing nothing whatsoever for the town. He desired to know in what way these tolls became vested in the proprietors? Possibly they were old feudal grants, which had come down to the present day; but however that might be, he wished to ascertain why it was that these proprietors did nothing for the towns, seeing that they received money on everything which the poorest people of the district had to sell? He simply asked for a Return, giving a summary of the Charters under which these tolls were levied. 1115 It was, no doubt, quite right; and he I did not suppose that the tolls, which had been levied for hundreds of years, could be taken without compensation, nor did he suppose that the Charters under which they were levied could be got at without some difficulty; nevertheless, he believed this to be in the power of the Government, and he trusted, therefore, that the Returns asked for would be furnished.
§
Motion made, and Question proposed,
That there be laid before this House, a Return of the values of the Market Tolls, of the Rates, and of the other sources of local revenue of each of the towns in Ireland with a population of under 50,000:
Return to state whether such towns enjoy the whole of the Tolls and other sources of revenue, or whether such income is mortgaged, and what is the amount of such mortgage:
Return to state the date of such mortgage, and the purpose to which the money so raised was applied, particularly as to whether it was applied for local development or for the advantage of individuals:
Return to state where the Tolls belong to one or more private individuals, and to state where those so belong, whether it is by feudal prescription, by grant from the Crown, or by purchase, and where the Tolls so belong to a private individual to give a summary of the grant or other document under which the Tolls are so leviable by private persons:
Form of Return as follows:—Name of Town; Amount of Tolls leviable in such Town in 1883; Amount of Rates in 1883; Other Sources of Income in 1883; To whom Tolls belong; and, if not belonging to the Town, by what Title; Date and Application of Money when Mortgaged:
Summary of grants from Crown, &c. where the Tolls are held by private persons."—(Colonel Nolan.)
§ MR. COURTNEYsaid, he understood the hon. and gallant Member to say that he had received a letter from his right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to the effect that the Government could not give the Return asked for. [Colonel NOLAN: No, no.] He was not prepared to say that the Return could not be furnished; but, looking on the face of the matter, he could see that there would be considerable difficulty in granting it, because, in the first place, they would have to make inquisition into the rights of ownership; and it was well known that there was no power to force persons to show their titles. He was not then informed sufficiently to say how far the Irish Government was prepared to grant the Return asked for by the 1116 hon. and gallant Gentleman; and he hoped, under the circumstances, that he would not object to the adjournment of the debate.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Debate be now adjourned."—(Mr. Courtney.)
§ COLONEL NOLANsaid, if the Government would give an early night for the resumption of the debate, and afford facilities for its being taken before half-past 12 o'clock, he should not oppose the Motion of the Secretary to the Treasury.
§ MR. COURTNEYsaid, the Government would do what they could to meet the wishes of the hon. and gallant Gentleman; but he could make no specific engagement.
§ MR. HEALYasked, if it was not hard that they should be left without the presence of the Chief Secretary? Irish Members were, a few nights ago, obliged to agree to a similar postponement, simply because the right hon. Gentleman was not in his place.
§ Motion agreed to.
§ Debate adjourned till Tuesday next.
§ House adjourned at a quarter before One o'clock till Monday next.