§ MR. BOLANDI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, can he state what progress has been made by Dr. Atkinson in the compilation of the Irish dictionary; how many years has it been in hand; and can he state how much money has been paid from State funds for this object to the Royal Irish Academy.
§ THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY (Mr. VICTOR CAVENDISH,) Derbyshire, W.I am informed that since 1880 transcribers skilled in the Irish language have been employed to extract from all branches of Irish literature the materials for this dictionary, and that this preliminary stage is now so nearly completed that it is hoped to begin the printing of the work after the summer vacation. The amount expended for this purpose since 1880 out of the annual grant in aid to the Royal Irish Academy is £3,790. 9s.