§ MR. HAYDEN (Roscommon, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he has received resolutions from Public Bodies in Ireland in reference to the rates of interest for loans for the; improvement of land in Ireland: and whether the Treasury will take into account the agricultural depression and the reduction in the rate of interest payable by the Government since those loans were granted, with the view, by a reduced rate of interest and the extension of the time for repayment, of making the payment of the instalments easier?
§ SIR J. T. HIBBERTNo, Sir; I have not been able to trace any such resolutions; but I must point out that the reduction in the rate at which the Government can borrow since the time at which the loans were granted is irrelevant to the question, the rate of interest fixed for borrowers being of course determined with reference to the rate at which the Government could borrow at the time. I may also add that the terms of repayment, being fixed by Act of Parliament, cannot be altered without legislation.