§ MR. HORACE PLUNKETT (Dublin Co., S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Board of Control of Lunatic Asylums in Ireland invited 12 architects to submit anonymously designs for the proposed Portrane Lunatic Asylum; that the letter of conditions inviting competition stated, amongst other things, that a Committee of Selection would select not more than three out of the 12 competitors, and place them in order of merit; that the Committee of Selection did select three, and stated that they were of equal merit; that the Board of Control thereupon obtained estimates upon the three designs, and when they were obtained adopted the design which would cost, according to the official surveyor's report, £30,000 more than one, and £48,000 more than the other of the designs which had been adjudged by the Committee of Selection to be of equal merit with that adopted, thus imposing a grave additional burden upon the ratepayers; that the methods pursued in the conduct of the competition for designs and in their selection have been condemned by the Council of the Institute of Architects of Ireland as violating certain fundamental conditions regulating the competition, on the faith of which generally the competitors submitted their designs for adjudication; that they had hold that, in view of the facts no adjudication has taken place within the meaning of the conditions; and, whether representations 1330 will be addressed to the Board on the subject, with a view to their adopting steps for holding a fresh competition?
*MR. JOHN MORLEYThis question is to be brought before the Board of Control at its meeting to-morrow; but I think my hon. Friend will be good enough to postpone the question until they have come to a decision.