§ MR. ALBERT GREY (Northumberland, Tyneside)asked the Secretary to the Treasury, Whether he can inform the House what is the amount of the loans guaranteed or advances by the Government, for Irish purposes, since the year 1840 to the present time; what amount has been paid off; what amount has been remitted; and, what is the total amount still outstanding?
§ MR. SEXTON (Sligo, S.)asked the Secretary to the Treasury, with regard 909 to the Question of the honourable Member for the Tyneside Division, Whether he will distinguish between the amounts lent and the remissions granted to owners of land and occupiers of land respectively, as well as the amounts due and outstanding from owners and occupiers of land respectively; and, whether the amounts of loans and of remissions due to the occurrence of the famine of 1846 to 1849, and the distress of 1879 to 1881, will be separately shown?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. HENRY H. FOWLER) (Wolverhampton, E.)It will be convenient to divide the loans advanced for Irish purposes since 1840 into those guaranteed and those which have been directly advanced. The only loans guaranteed are those raised for the purposes of the Irish Church Act, 1869, and other Acts relating to the Irish Church surplus. The total of these loans was £12,276,362, of which there has been paid off £4,673,318, leaving outstanding £7,603,044, nothing having been remitted on account of these loans. There is also charged on the Irish Church Fund £1,300,000 for Teachers' Superannuation Fund, and also an annual charge of £20,000 for the Royal University. Of loans actually advanced by the Government the total is £33,608,127; there has been paid off £17,693,820, and remitted £9,140,002, leaving a balance of £6,834,305. The loans due to the famine of 1846 to 1849 amounted to £8,166,230, of which £7,029,304 was remitted. The loans due to the distress of 1879 to 1881 amounted to £1,267,307, of which £19,069 was remitted. If these sums of £7,029,304 and £19,069 be deducted from the £9,140,002, it leaves only £2,091,629 as remitted in respect of loans other than those for the famine and distress. The loans to owners of land amounted to £7,500,961, of which there has been remitted £1,207,737, and there is now outstanding £2,93'2,539. The loans to occupiers of land amounted to £1,379,943, of which nothing has been remitted, and there is now outstanding £870,410.
§ MR. T. M. HEALY (Londonderry, S.)I would ask the hon. Gentleman why he has not included the remission of the tithe loan made to the parsons by the Act of four years ago; and is it not the fact that the partial extinction of the famine loan was accounted for by 910 the bargain made by the Government of 1884 with the then Irish Members to allow Ireland only to be taxed for matters which, by the Act of Union, they had been exempted from?
§ MR. HENRY H. FOWLERsaid, that the tithe loan, though recently extinguished, had been made prior to 1840, the period mentioned in the hon. Member's (Mr. A. Grey's) Question; and as to the famine loan, he could not answer the inquiry.