§ MR. POWER (Waterford, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether, seeing that the Local Government Board have stated that five tenants of cottages erected under the Labourers Acts who have been elected to the Kilmacthomas Rural District Council are disqualified from acting as rural district councillors, the Local Government Board have decided that they are also disqualified from acting as guardians; whether steps will be taken to have a test case under Article 12(5) of the Order in Council on the subject decided; whether the members of the Kilmacthomas Rural District Council referred to had acted for a considerable time before the Local Government Board called their attention to the above-mentioned view of the law; and, if it is found that these five tenants of cottages are disqualified from acting as district councilors or guardians, will the 290 Government insert a clause on their proposed Amending Act dealing with a matter of much interest in most parts of Ireland.
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURThe Local Government Board's attention has been called to the fact that tenants of labourers' cottages, acting as district councillors, have voted for a reduction in the cottage rents, and the Board have been advised that tenants of these cottages are disqualified by the provisions of Article 12(4)(e) of the Application of Enactments Order from being members of a district council, by reason of their being concerned in a bargain or contract with the district council. Disqualification from acting as a rural district councillor would carry with it a disqualification from acting as guardian. The Local Government Board are about to take steps to obtain a judicial decision on the subject in order to test the correctness of the opinion which they have expressed on the subject.