§ MR. SHEEHAN (Cork, Mid)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state in what manner the lodgments are made by the collectors of poor rate in Cork County, and whether the sums collected by them are lodged to the credit of the county council at the close of the half-year or as they are received from the ratepayers, and, if the latter course is adopted, can he say by what method the interest which accrues on these lodgments is allocated amongst the different unions, and how many collectors have lodged their collections in banks different from the accredited treasurers of the county council, and whether this proceeding is sanctioned by the Local Government Board.
§ MR. WYNDHAMThe secretary to the county council states that the collectors are required to lodge their collections to the credit of the council fortnightly, or oftener when the sums collected amount to £100. The county at large is credited with the interest on 917 the lodgments, and it would not be practicable to allocate the interest to particular districts. The collectors of one union, instead of lodging the moneys to the credit of the council, lodged them to their own credit with a branch treasurer. This irregularity was corrected by the county council, who did not, however, bring it under the notice of the Local Government Board.