§ SIR THOMAS ESMONDEI beg to ask the Attorney General if any sub-committee has been appointed to promote the representation of Irish industry at the Chicago Exhibition; and, if so, who are the members of it; what portion of the £60,000 granted to the Royal Commission for the Chicago Exhibition is to be devoted or has been devoted to Ireland; whether any statement has been made of the receipts and expenditure 1921 of the Royal Commission; and, if not, when it will be made public; and, what the heads are of the expenditure of the Royal Commission, what revenue do they derive from advertisements printed on the official prospectus, and if it is a fact that no postage is charged on their letters?
§ MR. JOHN O'CONNOR (Tipperary, S.)Before the Attorney General answers this question I wish to ask him whether the grant of money has been increased from £25,000 to £60,000; whether the charge for space has been abolished; whether the Commission have appointed a Committee in Dublin with a salaried secretary; whether the Commission have been enlarged by the addition of representatives of Irish exhibitors; and whether the right hon. Gentleman or the Commission can suggest any further means whereby Irish interests in the Exhibition may be assisted?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir E. WEBSTER,) Isle of WightIn reply to the hon. Baronet I have to say that a sub-committee has been appointed to promote representation of the Irish industries at the Chicago Exhibition, but I have no list of the names. The Committee was, I believe, appointed in Dublin by the action of the Chambers of Commerce, the Corporation of Dublin, and the Royal Dublin Society. No portion of the grant to the Royal Commission will be specially allocated to Ireland, but a very considerable amount will be expended in connection with Irish industries and exhibits from Ireland in accordance with their requirements. No statement has yet been made public of the receipts and expenditure of the Royal Commission, but the Secretary, Sir Henry Trueman Wood, will be only too glad to give the hon. Baronet, or any other gentleman interested in the matter, full information. It is a fact that no postage is charged on outgoing inland letters. On foreign letters the postage has to be paid. In reply to the questions of the hon. Member for South Tipperary, I am able to state that the grant has been increased from £25,000 to £60,000. Steps are being taken for the purpose of providing an increase of Irish representation on the Commission. The charges for space have been abolished. The 1922 opinion of the Irish exhibitors was taken on the question of providing a separate Irish exhibit department, and they were almost unanimously opposed to such an arrangement—only two, I believe, being in favour of it.