§ MR. LANE (on behalf of Mr. MAURICE HEALY,) Corkasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland how many unions are at present included within the circuit of the County Cork Sub-Commission, including the Waterford unions recently added to it; what is the average number of Poor Law unions at present included in the circuit of a Sub-Commission; how many fair rent applications from the county Cork were unheard up to the end of February 1889; how many of the county Waterford unions are included in the circuit of the Cork Sub-Commission, and how many unions lie partly in the County Waterford and partly in the county Cork; whether the Chairman of the Sub Commission and the Registrar have, under the present arrangement, to act with the Waterford Lay Commissioners as well as with the Cork Lay Commissioners, and sit alternately in the county Waterford and in remote parts of the county Cork; whether, within the past month, in consequence of this state of things, the Chairman and Registrar had to go from a sitting in Bantry, county Cork, to one in Lismore, county Waterford, then to one in Skibbereen, county Cork, then to one in Dungarvau, county Waterford, and next to one in Mallow, county Cork; and, 21 whether he was aware that the effect of these inconvenient arrangements had been to greatly hamper the Sub-Commission and to lessen its capacity for the disposal of business?
§ *MR. MADDENThe Land Commissioners inform me that there are 15 unions wholly within the county of Cork, three unions partly in that county and partly in other counties, and three unions wholly within the county of Waterford, and four partly in Waterford, and partly in other counties. There is, therefore, a total of 18 unions and parts of seven unions in the circuit of the Cork Sub-Commission. The average number of unions included in the circuit of a Sub-Commission is 16. There are about 5,041 fair-rent applications from the County Cork which were undisposed of by the Land Commission at the end of February, 1889. The necessity which exists for the Chairman and Registrar of the Sub-Commission to travel backwards and forwards to each of the pair of lay Assistant Commissioners is one which must exist where there are three pair of lay Assistant Commissioners presided over by them, unless the three pair were to work in adjoining unions, which would cause parties in distant unions to be dissatisfied. The necessity which exists does not hamper the Sub Commission or lessen its capacity for work, although it does throw additional labour on the Chairman and Registrar.