§ MR. J. P. FARRELL (Cavan, W.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland—(1) whether any vacancy exists in the Board of Governors of the Mullingar District Lunatic Asylum by reason of the continued absence of certain members from meetings of the Board; (2) whether he will grant a Return of the number of attendances of Governors at the Board meetings for the year 1895; and, (3) has the Lord Lieutenant yet considered the advisability of appointing the Most Rev. Dr. Hoare, Bishop of Ardagh, a member of the Board.
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. GERALD BALFOUR,) Leeds, CentralMembers of Asylum Boards are appointed for one year only, and the continued absence of a member from meetings held in that year would not necessarily operate as creating a vacancy, though no doubt the fact would be taken into consideration by the Lord Lieutenant in constituting the Board for the following year. It is not considered necessary to lay on the Table of the House the Return referred to in the second paragraph, as the Mullingar Asylum Report for the year 1895, which will shortly be published, will contain such a Return. As regards the third paragraph, I stated on the 12th March last that the Lord Lieutenant would be happy to favourably consider the recommendation made to his predecessor in office on behalf of the appointment of the Most. Rev. Dr. Hoare when a vacancy arose among the county Longford representatives on the Asylum Board. That opportunity has not yet arisen.