§ Mr. PATRICK WHITEasked the Chief Secretary whether he was aware that the Kells sub-committee granted a pension to Mrs. Bridget Meehan, but that, on appeal by the pension officer to the Local Government Board, her claim was disallowed because no baptismal certificate could be found, although she produced the testimony of a man, admittedly over eighty years of age, that he knew her from childhood, and that she was over seventy years of age; whether she also submitted her marriage certificate showing she was forty-three years married and thirty years of age when she got married; and whether, having regard to all the circumstances, the Local Government Board would again consider her case?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Local Government Board disallowed Bridget Meehan's claim on the ground that the evidence submitted as to her age was not sufficient to show that she had attained the statutory age. It is the fact that a man claiming to be over eighty years old stated that he had known the claimant from her childhood, and that in his opinion she was "over age," but no evidence as to this man's age was submitted, and in any case his statement of belief cannot be regarded as conclusive evidence. The claimant was married forty-three years ago, but her age at that time was not entered on the marriage certificate. It is not open to the Board to reconsider their decisions.