§ MR. JOHN REDMOND (Waterford)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will state when it is proposed to nominate the Select Committee on Valuation in Ireland as promised last session.
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. WYNDHAM,) DoverThe pledge given by the Government on 14th August, was explicit, and will be redeemed forthwith if the hon. Member so desires after weighing the facts which I submit for his consideration. (1.) The Report of the Royal Commission on Local Taxation in Ireland will contain a chapter on Valuation. (2.) The principal witness whom such a Committee would probably wish to call at the outset, Mr. Barton, would not, owing to his official duties, be in a position to prepare a statement, still less to appear, until after March 1st. The complete Report of the Commission cannot be issued until after Easter, but the chapter on Valuation could be published separately within a fortnight, or at most, three weeks. The selection of the Committee and drafting of the reference would, I submit, be facilitated if we had the Report before us. If the hon. Member shares that view, the Report will be separately published.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDThe position taken up in the answer is a reasonable one, but inasmuch as valuation proceedings are under the arrangements of last year, suspended until after this Committee has reported, I hope there will be no unnecessary delay.
§ MR. WYNDHAMHear, hear!