§ MR. J. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, is he aware that, in a complaint at the suit of the Ballyshannon Loan Fund against a borrower, heard before Mr. J. M. Hamilton, R. M., and the local justices at the Ballyshannon Petty Sessions (county Donegal) on the 30th April, Mr. Mackey, an official of the fund, swore that the rate of interest charged by the fund was 9d. per pound on each pound borrowed for 20 weeks; what steps does he propose to take to compel the officials of this and other loan funds established under Act 6 and 7 Vic., c. 91, to comply with Section 27, which limits the rate of interest to 4d. in the pound on each pound borrowed; and whether, if on investigation he comes to the conclusion that an excessive rate of interest has been charged, he will take steps to secure that the sums thus exceeded be refunded?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURMr. Mackey states that, at the hearing of the case in question, he mentioned that a 1335 borrower of a sum of £2, actually received £1 18s. 5d. He was not asked to account for the disposal of the sum of 1s. 7d., representing the difference between these two sums, and had this been done he would have pointed out that the interest chargeable on the loan amounted to 1½d. for each pound repayable by five monthly instalments, or 1s. 3d. in all; and in addition, 2d. for the promissory note stamp, 1d. for the card, and 1d. for the application form. The rate of interest charged on the loan in this case was strictly in accordance with Section 28 of the Act 6 and 7 Vic., cap. 91, and is applicable to the repayment of loans by monthly instalments. The rate of 4d. in the pound mentioned in the Question is prescribed by Section 27 of the Act, and applies to loans repayable by twenty weekly instalments.