§ MR. T. M. HEALYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the contracts for supplying meat to the Belfast Union Workhouse, the Belfast Asylum, and the Antrim Asylum were last year given by the governing bodies of those institutions to one contractor, 309 Mrs. M'Bride, of York Street, Belfast, at prices fur the three institutions respectively of 44s. per cwt., 5¾d. per lb., and 6½d. per lb.; and that a flesher named Robert Burke, of Cromac Street, Belfast, tendered for the contracts at the prices respectively of 41s. per cwt.,? 5¼d. per lb. and 5½d. per lb., but that although his tender was the lowest it was rejected; and whether, in view of the loss to the ratepayers and of the fact that, notwithstanding the Local Government Act, 1902, the Committee this year again gave the contract to Mrs. M'Bride at a price in excess of that quoted by Mr. Burke of five-eighths of a penny per lb., the Local Government Board will order a sworn inquiry; and will he explain why action is not taken in this case such as was taken recently by the Crown against the Mullingar Board of Guardians.
§ MR. WYNDHAMI have no information in respect of the Asylum contracts for the present year; otherwise the facts appear to be as stated. The Local Government Board has no power to order a sworn inquiry respecting the acceptance of tenders by the governing bodies of lunatic asylums. There is no analogy between the action of the Belfast and the Mullingar Guardians. The former rejected the lowest tender I because the names of the persons proposed as sureties were unknown to them, and they did not consider that the contract could be satisfactorily carried out at the lower prices quoted.