§ MR. M. J. KENNY(for Mr. JORDAN) (Clare, W.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been drawn to the Correspondence and dispute between the Local Government Board of Ireland and the Board of Guardians of the Ennistymon Union, County Clare, in reference to, and arising out of, the appointment to the Protestant Episcopal Chaplaincy of the Ennistymon Workhouse of the Rev. J. J. Cooke, at a salary of £10 per annum, on his personal application, and in direct opposition to the remonstrances and Resolutions of the Board of Guardians of the Ennistymon Union of the 2nd June, 1885, 16th June, 1885, 11th July, 1885, 16th November, 1886, 14th December, 1886, 21st December, 1886, 4th January, 1887, and 31st May, 1887, and to the reply of the Local Government Board, by letter dated 27th July, 1885, refusing to take any steps at present to fill up the vacancy; whether he is aware that the grounds on which the Guardians insisted that no permanent chaplain should be appointed, and to which the Local Government Board then assented, were that there were no Protestants in their workhouse; that there were few in the union; that the services of the late chaplain during nine years were never called for; and that the Guardians proposed that, should it happen that any casual Protestant required clerical ministrations, they were prepared to pay the Rev. J. J. Cooke a capitation grant of 10s. per head for his services; whether he is aware that the Board of Guardians have agreed with the Report of a Committee appointed by them condemning the appointment; and, whether, in view of the whole circumstances of the case, he will advise the Local Government Board to reconsider their recent action in this matter, with a view of annulling an appointment considered by the Board of Guardians to be a sinecure and an unnecessary tax on the ratepayers of their union?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR) (Manchester, E.), in reply, 786 said, he believed the facts were substantially as stated in the Question. The wish of the Guardians to pay for occasional services, instead of paying a fixed salary, was a very reasonable one; and the only reason why the Local Government Board declined to accede to it was that they were advised they had no legal powers to do so. As it appeared to him the Guardians were very reasonable in the matter he would make further inquiries.