§ Mr. LANE-FOXasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, seeing that the Report on the financial position of the Sligo Corporation was described by him as a confidential document which could not be published, he will explain why it had been already published by the Local Government Board and appeared in the Dublin "Daily Express"; and whether the Local Government Board have now written to the corporation pointing out that £587 was due to the town in respect of rates from certain members and officers of the corporation, and stating that unless the corporation can extricate themselves from their present state of financial embarrassment the affairs of the town will have to pass into the hands of a receiver?
§ Mr. BIRRELLPortions of the Report in question are confidential and have not and cannot be published. The part relating to the finances of the borough of Sligo was sent to the corporation in February last with a covering letter from the Local Government Board to the effect stated in the question. Under Article 19 (4) of the Local Government (Application of Enactments) Order, 1898, any ratepayer may peruse and take copies of any documents in the possession of local authorities. The solicitor to the Sligo Ratepayers' Associa- 559 tion, on application to the Local Government Board, was furnished with copies of their letter and of so much of the Report as had been sent to the corporation. These are presumably the documents published in the "Daily Express," but the whole Report has not been published.
§ Mr. LANE-FOXWhat steps, if any, will the right hon. Gentleman take in the matter?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Local Government Board have the whole matter under consideration. I can assure the hon. Member that the state of things revealed by the Report will not be lost sight of.
§ Mr. MOOREAre the Government going to take any steps to recover the rates due by Nationalist members of the corporation, or are they going to be let off because they are Nationalists?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe hon. Gentleman must wait.