§ Mr. FIELDasked the Chief Secretary whether 44 per cent. of bankruptcies in Ireland came before the Belfast Court; whether the assets there realised on an average 3s. 11d. in the £; whether he can state what is the average in the £ of assets returned in the bankruptcies which occurred in the rest of Ireland; whether he can give the numbers of Presbyterians in Ulster in the Census of forty years since, and the number returned in the last Census; and whether he can give the emigration figures during the same period?
§ Mr. BIRRELLDuring the year ended 31st December, 1911, the latest date for which statistics are available, there were 121 cases of bankruptcy initiated in Ireland, of which 39, or 32.2 per cent., came before the Belfast Court. The amount of assets realised in these cases cannot be given until the estates are finally wound up. As regards the state of bankruptcies not finally wound up on 31st December last, full particulars will be found at pages 49, 50, and 51 of the Judicial Statistics for 1911. The number of Presbyterians in Ulster, according to Census of 1871, was 477,729, and at last Census 421,410. The natives of Ulster who emigrated from Irish ports during the forty years ended 31st March, 1911, numbered 649,676. In 1871 the number was 28,066, and in 1911 it was 12,032.