§ MR. AIRD (Paddington, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he can state the amount of the Church property in Ireland which it is proposed in Clause 15 of the Government of Ireland Bill to give over to the control of the Irish Government?
MR. J. MORLEYInvestigations made in 1890 have shown that there is a sufficient margin left between the charge on the Irish Church Temporalities Fund and the income to afford a good security for its liabilities. But it is not practicable to form an estimate of the capital value of the un appropriated residue, inasmuch as the annual income of the fund alters from year to year from causes beyond the control of the Government, such as the redemption of annual charges by moans of capital sums paid to the fund by those liable for payment, and similarly by the conversion of perpetual income into Terminable Annuities. A full description of the property of the fund will be found in the Report of the Irish Church Temporalities Commission for 1880 (C. 2,773 of 1880), and the charges upon the fund appear in House of Commons Paper, No. 130 of 1890, in regard to which the only appreciable change which has since arisen is in the first item, "The Church Loan," which has been reduced by about £750,000.
§ MR. GOSCHEN (St. George's, Hanover Square)Do I understand the Chief Secretary to say that, in the opinion of the Treasury, there is an available surplus in the fund, which would be a sufficient margin upon which to make further advances?
MR. J. MORLEYThat is not what I said. There is margin enough to meet outstanding liabilities. As to further advances, the answer might be different.
§ MR. SEXTON (Kerry, N.)Will the right hon. Gentleman lay on the Table a Return of the receipts and charges on the fund at the present moment?