§ Mr. RAWLINSONasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the income of certain professors of the Queen's Colleges, Cork and Galway, who were fellows and examiners in the late Royal University, has been seriously reduced by their acceptance of equivalent offices in the new University College; whether they have the same duty of examining students in the National University as they had in the Royal University of Ireland, whether the compensation awarded by the Joint Commission is only a small fraction of the loss sustained; and if he will grant a Return of their incomes from collegiate and university sources for the last seven years?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI am informed that six of the professors of Queen's College, Cork, and Queen's College, Galway, who were Fellows of the late Royal University, have been awarded by the Dublin and Belfast Commissioners, acting jointly, compensation for loss of their offices in that university, their salaries as professors not being equivalent to their combined salaries as professors and fellows before the passing of the Irish Universities Act. The compensation has been estimated in accordance with the provisions of the Superannuation Act, 1859, and on the assumption that the fellowships, the tenure of which was for a period of five years, were renewable while the holders held office as professors, but is less than the salaries attached to the office of Fellow of the Royal University. The awards were confirmed by the Lord Lieutenant in Council in four cases in which appeals were taken. The Dublin and Belfast Commissioners, acting jointly, decided that examiners whose appointments 2642W were for one year were not entitled under the Act to compensation for loss of office. This decision was confirmed on appeal by the Lord Lieutenant in Council. Professors of the University Colleges of Cork and Galway may, under the statutes of those colleges, at their option be continued at their previous salaries with additional remuneration from the National University of Ireland for the examination of student members of the colleges, and also for the examination of matriculated students of the late Royal University of Ireland who are not members of the colleges. The statutes of the university provide that "a university professor or university lecturer who at the time of the coming into operation of the Act was a professor or lecturer in the Queen's College, Galway, shall not be bound by virtue of his office as a professor or lecturer of the university to examine students other than those of the constituent college in which he shall be a university professor or a university lecturer." The Return asked for in the concluding paragraph of the question would not appear to be of sufficient public utility to justify the expenditure of time and labour which would necessarily be involved in its preparation.