§ SIR F. BANBURY (City of London)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer how many loans advanced by the Treasury to public bodies or private persons in Ireland have been written off as bad debts within the past fifty years; and what is the aggregate amount of such bad debts.
§ MR. LLOYD-GEORGEThe only loans made by the Treasury in Ireland which have been written off in the last fifty years were the loans for Tithe Relief under the Act 3 and 4 Will. IV. c. 100, amounting to £900,000, the whole of which amount was remitted in 1881 under the Act 44 and 45 Vict., c. 32. 90 The circumstances are explained in the schedule to that Act. The Departments which in modern times have been responsible for Government loans in Ireland are the Public Works Loan Commissioners, the Commissioners of Public Works, Ireland, and the Irish Land Commission. For particulars of the loans made by those Departments which have been remitted, I beg to refer the hon. Baronet to the Annual Account of the Local Loans Fund (House of Commons Paper No. 48 of the present session, pages 21–25).
§ MR. JOHN REDMOND (Waterford)Have not the Government made a considerable profit on loans advanced to Ireland?
§ MR. LLOYD-GEORGEI should be surprised to hear that the Treasury had made much profit.
§ MR. WILLIAM REDMONDIs it not a well-known fact that the Irish people have been very punctual in the repayment of loans, and that as far as land loans are concerned, although a large sum has been advanced, there are hardly any arrears at all?
§ MR. LLOYD-GEORGEI believe that is correct.