§ Whereas it is expedient that the principal of the several local loans specified in the schedule to this Act should, to the extent specified in the last column of that schedule, not he reckoned as assets of the Local Loans Fund established under the National Debt and Local Loans Act, 1887: therefore the principal of the said loans shall, to that extent, he written off from the assets of the Local Loans Fund, and the provisions of Section fifteen of the said Act shall, so far as applicable, apply thereto.
§ MR. T. P. WHITTAKER (York, W.R., Spen Valley)asked for an explanation of the clause.
§ * MR. HANBURYsaid that it was only for the purpose of replenishing the coffers of the Local Loans Fund by wiping off the assets specified, and replacing them by funds upon the Exchequer, that this clause was introduced.
§ MR. WHITTAKERasked whether the amount to be written off the assets of the Local Loans Fund was irrecoverable?
§ * MR. HANBURYsaid that the sum was not written off as irrecoverable.
§ MR. WHITTAKERthought they must make up their minds that these 1325 amounts were written off as bad loans, and he trusted that this would be a warning to the House not to make loans of this character.
MR. PARKER SMITHwished to know for how long these loans had been running, and whether, calculating the rate of interest payable under the Local Loans Fund, any allowance was made for bad debts. Was the rate of interest sufficient to cover bad debts?
§ * MR. HANBURYreplied that the possibility of bad debts was taken into consideration in calculating the amount of interest. The loans in question had only been running since 1886.
§ Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Clause 6,—