§ DR. C0MM1NS (Cork County, S.E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the 425 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the refusal of the Valuation Commissioner to grant his certificate, under the Local Government (Ireland) Act, Section 58, Sub-section 4, to urban councils, such as Kinsale, entitling them to relief of half the surplus over 6d. in the £, to be paid by them on a harbour charge guaranteed by them before the passing of that Act; whether he is aware that such refusal is based on the technical point that the authority by which such rate has to be raised is the urban district, and not the general county council; and whether he will consider the advisability of taking the necessary steps to secure that an area under an urban authority shall have the same relief in such case as an area under a county council.
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURSection 58, Sub-section 4, was deliberately confined to charges created by the grand juries. Charges created by urban authorities where they exist are generally of a reproductive nature, the small area being recouped for the outlay by the immediate benefits.