THE EARL OF LEITRIMmoved—
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the Propriety of the Loan Fund Board having ordered that the Cloone Loan Fund should be closed and the Funds confiscated, and to inquire into the State of those Funds, the Manner in which they have been employed, and how far the same can be appropriated to the Benefit of the Poor of that Locality.
§ EARL GRANVILLEconsidered it absolutely necessary that a primâ facie case should be established against the Loan Commissioners before an inquiry was ordered into their conduct. There did not appear to be a shadow of ground for the accusations which had been levelled against them. The power of appeal existing, in case of the dissolution by them of any local loan fund, had not been exercised in the case of Cloone, to which the noble Earl referred. The dissolution complained of undoubtedly took place at a period of distress; but the inhabitants of the dis- 1928 trict did not suffer inconvenience, for a committee, consisting of the magistrates resident upon the spot, aided by the Protestant and Roman Catholic clergymen, had been intrusted with the administration of the funds. What was the action of the noble Earl? He was informed that having been written to by one of the clergymen, the noble Earl, in return, expressed a desire that the writer would never communicate with him on any subject whatever.
§ EARL GRANVILLEcould only state what he had been informed. The funds administered by the committee amounted to £1,800; and he was assured that the noble Earl actually advised some of his tenants not to repay the advances made to them.
§ EARL GRANVILLEhoped the noble Earl would be good enough to express himself in Parliamentary language. From everybody, except the noble Earl, he had received the facts as he had just stated them to the House, He must say, that he had never heard a more idle accusation against a body so respectable as the Loan Fund Commissioners.
THE EARL OF LEITRIMdid not deny that the Loan Commissioners were very respectable in name; but the members of that Commission rarely attended to their duties. The Board was a mere farce, the whole business being in the hands of one gentleman. As regarded the correspondence to which reference had been made, the fact was, that having applied for information at the outset, he received a letter stating that his interference was not required. Subsequently, when all the funds had been expended, one of the clergymen wrote to him, asking for additional contributions, which were to be expended in the very manner of which he had all along expressed disapproval. Not unnaturally he returned a refusal. Conceiving that there had been an improper use of public money, when applied to for advice by several of his neighbours, he advised them to resist payment of sums with which they were improperly charged. But he never recommended any man to withhold money that was legitimately due.
§ On Question, Resolved in the Negative.