§ SIR EDWARD STRACHEYTo ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the total cost of the police force in Ireland is borne by the Imperial Exchequer; whether this proportion is greater than in the case of England and Wales; and, if so, whether he proposes to make any equivalent grant to England and Wales.
(Answered by Mr. Ritchie.) Nearly the whole cost of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and more than half of the cost of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, is borne upon the Votes. As regards the police in England and Wales, no part of the cost falls upon the Exchequer, but one-half of the cost of pay and clothing in the extra-metropolitan districts, and a similar proportion in the metropolitan district, is charged upon the funds assigned to the local authorities from the local taxation account. A contribution is also made from the local taxation account in respect of police superannuation. The answer to the last clause is in the negative.