§ MR. LONSDALEI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the facts that in December, 1906, there was an increase of deposits and cash balances in the Irish joint stock banks as compared with the corresponding period of 1905, amounting to £2,477,000; that the total of the balances in the Post Office and trustees' savings banks in Ireland is the highest amount of which there is record, and has nearly trebled since 1886; that the number of depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank in Ireland has more than trebled in the course of twenty years; and whether, in view of these evidences of improvement in the condition of the Irish people and the threat of a vigorous and sustained agitation in Ireland during the coming autumn and winter, he will take special measures, if necessary, to uphold the law and maintain order so as to prevent interference with the rights of individuals and the development of trade and industry.
§ MR. CHERRYThe Question correctly states the facts as shown by the banking and railway statistics for Ireland recently presented to Parliament. Independently of any question as to the prosperity of Ireland, the Government will in the future, as they have in the past, take all 1150 proper measures for upholding the law and maintaining order.