§ MR. M'GHEE (Louth, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Treasury is making a profit out of the loans under the Glebe Loans Acts; whether he is aware that the Treasury admit that circumstances of hardship are suffered by glebe loan borrowers; and whether, in view of the fact that the Government are making a large reduction in the tithe-rent payable by Irish landlords, he can see his way to recommend the Treasury to make a substantial reduction in the annual instalments payable by glebe loan borrowers, in Ireland.
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURI understand the statement in the first paragraph is disputed by the Treasury. The second paragraph presumably refers to the pas-sage in Sir David Barrel's letter of the 6th May, 1898, which expressly points out that, in the opinion of the Treasury, any hardships suffered by present incumbents are not of a kind calling for relaxation of the terms of the loans to borrowers. The whole matter has been fully placed by the Irish Government before the Treasury, and any further 85 questions on the subject should be addressed to that Department.