§ MR. P. M'DONALD (Sligo, N.)asked Mr. Attorney General for Ireland, Whether, at the time when the late Official Assignee of the Irish Court of Bankruptcy, Mr. Lucius Henry James, absconded, there were found in his desk deposit receipts for £30,000; whether £6,000 of that amount, as being countersigned by the Chief Registrar, could, at any moment, be converted into cash; whether the general orders of the Court prohibit the assignee from holding, at any time, more than £250; and, if so, why this order was not enforced; whether better provision is now made for the prevention of this abuse; whether the Chief Registrar now reports to the Court any departure from the Rules; and, whether any system of audit now exists for the due verification of the £40,000 annual expenditure of the Irish Bankruptcy Courts, and the due distribution of the assets?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. HOLMES) (Dublin University)said, that in reply to the question of fact in the first three paragraphs, his answer was in the affirmative. Up to the time of Mr. James' default, there was considerable carelessness in enforcing the general orders; but he was informed that since then they had been strictly observed, and the Chief Registrar always reported at once any departure from the Rules. New Rules were under consideration, with a view to making the audit more effective.