§ Brigadier-General SURTEESasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that, apart from those who are purely refugees, there is a large number of able-bodied Irishmen 1032W who are in receipt of Poor Law relief in this country; whether he will see that the cost of their maintenance is made a charge on the local bodies in Ireland to which these men belong; and whether, in the adjustment of accounts between England and Ireland, this question of accountability will be borne in mind?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI have no doubt that a proportion of those who are in receipt of Poor Law relief in this country are Irishmen, as has always been the case, but it does not follow that the cost of their maintenance ought properly to be a charge on Irish local funds. If my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health should, from the information before him, hold the opinion that substantial expenses not properly chargeable to them are being imposed in tae manner suggested upon local authorities in this country, he will no doubt bring the matter before the Cabinet Committee appointed to consider questions arising out of the change of Government in Ireland. In any case in which relief is given to any person who is purely a refugee from Ireland the guardians concerned should communicate with the Irish Distress Committee.