§ MR. PETER M'DONALD (Sligo, N.)asked the Secretary to the Board of 1766 Trade, Whether, of the 12 head offices of collectors of Inland Revenue in Ireland, three collectorships are at present vacant, and a fourth expected to be soon abolished, thereby reducing the number of Irish collectors to eight; whether the Chief Inspector has reported in favour of the abolition of the Sligo office; and, if so, whether the entire West Coast of Ireland, from Londonderry to Cork, will have only one collector, and thereby cause very great inconvenience to the trading population of the ports of Sligo, Ballina, Westport, Kilrush, and Tralee; whether the aggregate amount of Customs and Inland Revenue collected at Sligo is considerably greater than the amounts collected at each of two of the eastern ports where collectors are to be retained; and, whether the Sligo Harbour Board and the Corporation have by Resolution and Memorial protested against the contemplated abolition of the Sligo office?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. JACKSON) (Leeds, N.)(who replied) said: Three Inland Revenue collections are vacant in Ireland. Of these Cork is one, and the vacancy there will be filled up in the ordinary course. The question of filling up Coleraine and Sligo is under consideration; but no decision has been come to by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue in the matter. Should the abolition of Sligo be determined on, it would not inconvenience Ballina, Westport, Kilrush, and Tralee, as, besides the collector at Cork, there will still be a collector at Galway and Limerick. The amount of Customs and Inland Revenue collected at Sligo in the year ending March 31 last was about £120,000, and is considerably less than the amounts collected at each of the two eastern ports referred to where collectors are to be retained. The Memorial of the Corporation of Sligo against the abolition of the Sligo office and the copy of the resolution of the Harbour Board were received; and when the proposal for the abolition of Excise collections is submitted to the Board of Inland Revenue, the Memorial and Resolution will be carefully considered.