§ MR. HEMPHILL (Tyrone, N.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the inconvenience caused by the delay of the Treasury in giving a decision as to granting a loan of £15,000 to the Strabane Urban District Council for the construction of gas works in the town of Strabane, which loan has been duly sanctioned by the Board of Works in Ireland so far back as the month of August last year, and brought under the notice of the 1039 Treasury; and whether he will take steps to have the recommendations of the Board of Works carried into effect, so as to enable the urban district council to proceed with the construction of the gas works.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINThis loan was submitted by the Board of Works for Treasury sanction on the 9th November last. The Treasury hesitated to sanction it because the figures given on behalf of the urban district council appeared to make it doubtful whether the proposal was financially a sound one from the council's point of view. It has therefore been thought necessary to refer the matter back to the council, through the Board of Works, in order that they may clearly understand the financial effect, and may then decide, after further consideration, whether they wish to proceed with the loan.