§ MR. HARRY T. DAVENPORT (Staffordshire, Leek)asked the President of the Local Government Board, When the arrears of the Treasury contributions towards the cost of roads will be paid to the County, Highway, or other Local Authorities; whether this contribution will be given, as heretofore, for the year ending March 31, 1888; and, if so, when the Local Authorities will receive this payment; and, whether, under section 121, sub-section (2)—(1), of the Local Government Act, the Local Authorities will be entitled to claim a contribution from the Treasury for the year ending March 31, 1889, calculated on the expenditure of the previous year; and, if so, whether the Local Authorities are to make this calculation, and to send in this claim to the Treasury during the current financial year?
§ THE PRESIDENT (Mr. RITCHIE) (Tower Hamlets, St. George's)The payments to Local Authorities in respect 1031 of the current financial year on account of main roads will be made by the Local Government Board on the same principles as the Parliamentary grants for main roads have hitherto been distributed. The payments for the current year will be based on the expenditure repaid by the County Authorities to the Highway Authorities during the year ended March 25, 1888, on account of the expenditure of those Authorities during the year ended March 25, 1887. The payments on this basis have been commenced; and these are the only payments to which the Highway Authorities are entitled for the year ending March 31, 1889. The Local Authorities will have no other claims in respect of that year. In the next financial year the cost of the maintenance of the main roads will be undertaken by the County Councils.