§ SIR THOMAS ESMONDETo ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state who is the officer of the Commissioners of Public Works resident in county 1028 Wexford for the purposes of the supplies of fuel to public buildings in the smaller towns; by what Act of Parliament or by what Treasury Minute is the procedure of the Commissioners in the matter of contracts for the supplies to public buildings in Ireland regulated; and if, in advertising for contractors for such supplies for public buildings in county Wexford in future, he will see that the advertisements are inserted in county Wexford newspapers.
(Answered by Mr. Victor Cavendish.) The officer of the Commissioners of Public Works who has charge of the district, of which the county Wexford forms part, is one of their assistant surveyors, and resides in the city of Waterford. The procedure of the Commissioners in the matter of contracts for supplies to public buildings is not regulated by Act of Parliament or by Treasury Minute. The practice of inviting tenders for works and supplies by competition has existed for years, and from time to time it has come under review by the Treasury and by Parliamentary Committees. Coal supplies are practically the only supplies obtained locally for buildings in the country, and, therefore, the arrangement indicated in the Answer to the hon. Baronet's Question on the 18th instant† applies only to them. It is not at present proposed to make any other change in the arrangements.