§ MR. SEXTONI beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how it is calculated that the Exchequer contribution of £40,000 a year places Ireland on a footing of equal treatment with England and Scotland in regard to the grant of the proceeds of local taxation licences for local purposes; and whether he will make good the amount due to Ireland under this for the interval between the passing of the Local Government Act and the end of the financial year 1889–90?
§ MR. GOSCHENThe hon. Member will recollect that, under the English and Scotch Local Government Acts, the Exchequer, on the one hand, surrendered the receipts from licences to the Local Authorities, and, on the other hand, ceased to be liable for certain local grants. As the produce of the licences exceeded the amount of the grants, the Exchequer lost, and the Local Authorities gained, on balance by this transaction. No similar transaction was effected in Ireland, but it was agreed that Ireland should receive for local purposes a sum proportionate to the net gain of Local Authorities in England. This sum was calculated on the Probate Duty basis of 80 per cent. England, 11 per cent. Scotland, and 9 per cent. Ireland; and the figure of £40,000 is the result of this calculation. With reference to the hon. 167 Member's second question, I must refer him to the answers I gave him on the 1st and 10th July last.