Scottish Rights of Way. MR. J. RAMSAY MACDONALD (Leicester): I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been drawn to the resolution of the Dunkeld Parish Council, passed on Saturday, 23rd February, to remove from its right-of way notice boards the fact that they were officially erected, and also to the discussion at the council by which it was indicated that this might be the first step to removal of the boards altogether; and whether, in view of the frequent attempts now being made to close these rights-of-way and ancient privileges of access to historical objects, mountain tops, etc., in Scotland, he can inform the House whether any legislation on the subject is contemplated. THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Mr. SINCLAIR, Forfarshire): My attention has been drawn to the proceedings referred to, and I regret that anything should have occurred to revive local feeling upon this subject. I understand there is no intention to remove the boards which indicate the road in question. As the hon. Gentleman is aware, I have no power to interfere in this matter with the discretion of the parish council. In putting up notice boards the parish council is only exercising its statutory rights. The desire to preserve to the public all existing rights-of-way has the hearty sympathy of His Majesty's Government, but I cannot give any undertaking now as to future legislation. Ballymacarberry Game Prosecution. MR. POWER: I beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland whether his attention has been called to a case recently heard at the Ballymacarberry petty sessions, county Waterford, where a tenant on Lord Ashtown's property was prosecuted for killing game; that it was deposed by a witness that he saw one of Lord Ashtown's keepers, named Robert Dunne, setting a snare or trap, and putting a dead pheasant in the snare; that it was further deposed by Mr. Nugent, whose father was the chairman of the Waterford County Council, that, on examining the pheasant, seven shots were found lodged in the body of the pheasant; and whether, as the prosecution sought to prove that the pheasant had been snared, inquiries will be made to sift this case, and to institute proceedings for perjury if it appears that the keeper did place the pheasant in the snare. FOR THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL IRELAND (Mr. CHERRY, Liverpool Exchange): The case referred to was a private prosecution by Lord Ashtown, with which the Government had nothing to do. I gather from a newspaper report of the proceedings which has been fur nished to me, that there was a conflict of evidence between the witnesses for the prosecution and those for the defence. The Bench was divided in opinion, but the majority of the magistrates were in favour of the defendant, and the case was accordingly dismissed. It is open to the defendant to institute proceedings for perjury, if he is so advised, or he may commence a civil action against the prosecutor, but I do not think the interference of the Executive is in any way called for. MR. POWER: As the magistrate's clerk took the evidence down in longhand, will the right hon. Gentleman get a copy of it? MR. CHERRY: Yes. Ballinahouna Farm Sale. MR. BRIDGEMAN (Shropshire, Oswestry): I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has received a full police report concerning the proposed sale by a Mrs. Bradley, of Ballinahouna, of the interest in a farm which was advertised for auction in Galway on 17th December, 1906, and 25th January, 1907; and again on whether he has been informed that a grave was dug close to the public road on 8th December, and that a threatening notice was posted on 9th December; and whether he can state if there were any bidders at the adjourned sale. THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. BIRRELL, Bristol, N.): I have received a police report to the effect stated in the Question. I am informed that there were no bidders at the sale on the first occasion, but at the adjourned sale the tenant's interest was purchased by the landlord. Lord Ashtown and his Tenants. 648 Ireland whether the Estates Commis- several gentlemen for appointment; and if sioners are aware that Lord Ashtown has so, will he say what steps the Lord recently bought two estates in the county Chancellor has taken to meet the wishes of Waterford, and that he refuses to sell his the public bodies concerned. own estate to the tenants, and issued writs against seven of his tenants who went as a deputation and asked him to open negotiations for sale to the tenants, and compelled them to pay the hanging gale, which has run for over fifty years; whether Lord Ashtown also competed with the Estates Commissioners in county Galway for the purchase of untenanted lands from the Land Judge, so as to prevent the congestion in the locality from being relieved; and whether the action of such landlords as Lord Ashtown will be considered in framing any amending Land Bill. MR. BIRRELL: The Estates Commissioners inform me that they have no knowledge of the purchase by Lord Ashtown of any estates in county Waterford, or of any proceedings for the recovery of rent which he may have instituted against his tenants. It is the case that Lord Ashtown made an offer to the Land Judge for the purchase of an estate in county Galway of which the Estates Commissioners eventually became the purchasers. This offer, however, was made long prior to the Estates Commissioners' offer, and Lord Ashtown can therefore scarcely be said to have competed with the Commissioners for the purchase. I am not at present in a position to make any statement as to the possibility of amending legislation on the subject of Irish land. MR. BIRRELL: The Lord Chancellor informs me that he has received representations in favour of the appointment of a number of gentlemen to the magistracy for county Kilkenny and has submitted to the Lieutenant of the county the names of those whom, after inquiry, he considered to be best qualified for appointment. The Lieutenant has the matter at present under consideration. Gentleman aware that while 95 per cent. MR. MEAGHER: Is the right hon. of the population are Nationalists, 75 per cent. of the magistrates are Tories ? Will the recommendation of public bodies on this matter have attention? Is this the sort of Home Rule we are to get? MR. BIRRELL: Resolutions to the MR. REDDY (King's County, Birr): effect mentioned have been received. Ast Is it not the fact that Lord Ashtown my predecessor informed hon. Members previously bought two properties over last session, the Government deem it the heads of the tenants? Is he not a necessary to consider carefully the centre of disturbance in Galway? [No Answer was returned.] Kilkenny Magistrates. MR. MEAGHER (Kilkenny, N): I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord! Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware of the demand for the appointment of magistrates in the several districts in North Kilkenny; and whether the Lord Chancellor of Ireland has received resolutions from the public bodies in that constituency recommending the names of Commissioners' recommendations as a whole before undertaking the necessary legislation to give effect to them. This will occupy a considerable time, and I am, therefore, not in a position to make any definite statement in the matter. Evicted Tenants MR. MURPHY (Kerry, E.): I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the LordLieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners will supply a Return giving the names of the applicants whose claims as evicted tenants have been set aside, and the reasons for so doing in each case. MR. BIRRELL: The Estates Commissioners think it premature at present to furnish a Return of the evicted tenants whose claims for reinstatement have been rejected. When all the applications have been inquired into, the Commissioners will consider the feasibility of preparing a Return showing the names and the reasons for rejection. Skibbereen Magistrate. MR. MOORE (Armagh, N.): I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the LordLieutenant of Ireland if Matthew Flanagan, of Skibbereen, has been appointed a magistrate; and, if so, on whose recommendation; if he is aware that there is a judgment for £300 and costs outstanding against this gentleman since 1905 at the suit of Lizzie O'Driscoll, in respect of which the sheriff made a seizure and returned nulla bona, and that there is also an order in force against him under the Debtors (Ireland) Act, 1872, for payment of this sum by instalments, and if £250 is still due; is he aware that this man is an assistant in a drapery shop in Skibbereen and is a member of the United Irish League; and will he state if these facts were within the knowledge of the Lord-Chancellor of Ireland at the date of making the appointment, and what action he proposes to take. MR. EDWARD BARRY (Cork County, S.): Was not this an appointment made by the Lord-Lieutenant of the County, and did not the local public bodies protest against it? MR. BIRRELL: I have referred this Question to the Lord-Chancellor, who informs me that steps for the appointment of Mr. Flanagan as a magistrate were being taken, when the fact came to his notice that a judgment against Mr. Flanagan for breach of promise of marriage remained unsatisfied, whereupon the Lord Chancellor stayed the issue of the Commission. Mr. Flanagan is manager to an important local firm, and apart from the circumstance before mentioned, the information received by the Lord Chancellor was entirely favourable to Mr. Flanagan, and does not bear out the statements contained in the Question. Roscommon Untenanted Land. MR. HAYDEN (Roscommon, S.): I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Congested Districts Board have decided not to enter into negotiation for the further purchase of untenanted land in county Roscommon, pending the Report of the Royal Commission on Congestion; can he state on what date this decision was arrived at, and by whom; if by a meeting of the Board, can he state who were present on the occasion, the reason for this decision, whether it is intended to confine this policy to the county Roscommon or to extend it to other districts in Ireland; and whether, in view of the fact that in the county of Roscommon there are over 100,000 acres of untenanted grass lands, and the urgency and importance of expediting its acquisition for distribution, he will have this decision at once reconsidered, and at the same time communicate with the Secretary of the Royal Commission to expedite the issue of its Report. MR. BIRRELL: A short paragraph Member's non-oral Question of 26th contained in my Answer to the hon. Member's non-oral Question of 26th February has led to some misapprehension. The statement that the Congested Districts Board are not negotiating for further purchases is not of general application, but applied to the case of particular estates in county Roscommon which have been offered for sale to the Board, the negotiations for the purchase of which The Board are still prepared to purchase have been postponed for the present. estates which are specially suitable for their purposes, and, as a matter of fact, have recently purchased such property, and are negotiating for further purchases. The Government are most anxious that the Report of the Royal Commission should be presented as soon as possible, but a considerable quantity of evidence remains to be taken, and it is impossible at present to say when the Report can be issued. Telegraph Office for Aghnacliffe. MR. J. P. FARRELL (Longford, N.): I beg to ask the Postmaster-General what is the cause of the delay in extending the telegraph line from Dring post office to + See (4) Debates, clxix., 1416. Aghnacliffe, for which a signed guarantee our relations with the Colonies and has been sent to his Department. India, with a view of cementing Imperial union. MR. SYDNEY BUXTON: The guarantee has now been signed, and the extension will be proceeded with as quickly as possible, but there are certain statutory formalities to be gone through before the actual work can be begun. Telegraph Office for Lanesborough. MR. J. P. FARRELL: I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether he will consent to extend the present telegraph service either from Kenagh or Killashee to Lanesborough, where a weekly market and several important fairs are held. MR. SYDNEY BUXTON: I have offered a telegraph office at Lanesborough under guarantee, and a draft deed has been forwarded for consideration. Lanesborough Postal Arrangements. MR. J. P. FARRELL: I beg to ask the Postmaster-General if he can state the grounds upon which a Sunday delivery of letters to Lanesborough was discontinued; whether he is aware that fully 3,000 people are served by this office; and will he now direct that the service be resumed. MR. SYDNEY BUXTON: I do not quite understand the hon. Member's Question, as there has never been a Sunday service to Lanesborough, and I find that the circumstances are not such as would justify me in instituting such a service. MR. J. P. FARRELL: The right hon. Gentleman's information is wrong; there has been a Sunday delivery. THE PRIME MINISTER AND FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Sir H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN, Stirling Burghs): The Colonial Conference has been convened in order to give opportunity for the discussion of questions affecting Imperial interests on the lines of and following the precedent of former Conferences; and it is not possible or expedient to suggest to the Prime Ministers that they should adopt a course which would be entirely novel and contrary to all precedent as well as to the usages of the House of Commons. NEW MEMBER SWORN. George Birnie Esslemont, esquire, for the Parliamentary Burgh of Aberdeen, South Division. SELECTION (STANDING COMMITTEES). Sir WILLIAM BRAMPTON GURDON reported from the Committee of Selection : That they had discharged the following Members from the Standing Committee on Law, and Courts of Justice, and Legal Procedure: Mr. Maddison and Mr. Cathcart Wason (added in respect of the Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister Bill); and had appointed in substitution : Mr. W. E. Harvey and Mr. Stephen Collins (in respect of the Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister Bill). Sir WILLIAM BRAMPTON GURDON further reported from the Committee: That they had added to the Standing Committee on Law, and Courts of Justice, and Legal Procedure, the following fifteen Members in respect of the Education (Provision of Meals) (Scotland) Bill: Mr. Lough, Mr. Ramsay Macdonald, Mr. Wilkie, Mr. Arthur Henderson, Mr. Barnes, Mr. McCrae, Mr. Halley Stewart, Sir Henry Craik, Mr. Munro Ferguson, Mr. Sinclair, Mr. Harold Cox, Mr. MR. J. P. FARRELL: It is not true. Tyson Wilson, Sir William Collins, Mr. MR. SYDNEY BUXTON: Well, I have given the hon. Member the information I have received. Visit of the Colonial Premiers. James Mason, and Mr. Bridgeman. NEW BILLS. HOURS OF LABOUR (BAKEHOUSES) "To restrict the Hours of Labour in Bakehouses to forty-eight hours per week," presented by Mr. Wilkie; supported by Mr. Steadman, Mr. Gill, Mr. Bowerman, Mr. Bell, Mr. Barnes, Mr. James Haslam, Mr. Shackleton, and Mr. Thorne; to be read a second time upon Wednesday, 17th April, and to be printed. [Bill 93.] PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO "To amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, 1904," presented by Mr. Bramsdon; supported by Mr. Cave, Mr. Isaacs, Mr. Luke White, Sir Henry Craik, Mr. Godfrey Baring, Mr. T. P. O'Connor, Mr. Arthur Henderson, Mr. Courthope, Mr. Maclean, and Mr. Barrie; to be read a second time upon Tuesday next, and to be printed. [Bill 94.] FEUS AND BUILDING LEASES (SCOT "To amend the Law relating to Feus and Leases for Building in Scotland,' presented by Mr. Findlay; supported by Sir Andrew Torrance, Mr. Beale, Mr. Hodge, Mr. John Deans Hope, Mr. Laidlaw, Mr. Murray Macdonald, Mr. Menzies, and Mr. Eugene Wason; to be read a second time upon Friday, 12th April, and to be printed. [Bill 95.] JUDICATURE (IRELAND) BILL. "To provide for the abolition of two Judgeships of the High Court in Ireland, and to reduce the Salary of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and for other purposes connected therewith," presented by Mr. Birrell; to be read a second time upon Monday next, and to be printed. [Bill 96.] PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE. SUPPLY (NAVY ESTIMATES). *THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIR ALTY (Mr. EDMUND ROBERTSON, Dundee): I am sure that I shall be consulting the convenience of the House if I address myself without preamble, and without prolixity to the leading points in the think is finance. The financial situation Navy Estimates. The first of these I is somewhat complicated and difficult. The dominant factor is, of course, the abandonment of the system of raising money for naval works by means of loans. The fact is that there are to be no more Loans Acts passed. But, in the first place, our unexhausted borrowing powers will be used as far as they will loans works, meaning by that the works go; secondly, beyond that point the sanctioned by statute, will be put upon the Estimates; and, thirdly, the Esti mates will bear, as now, the special annuities in repayment of loans. As to the borrowing powers, according to the last Estimate there will be on 1st April unexhausted borrowing powers amounting to £1,916,000, of which about £1,478,000 will be spent mainly in completing works already authorised, and the balance will be spent in the following year. The total Estimates of the loans works to 31st March amounted to £32,206,933. We have reduced that to £29,840,000. Deducting £27,593,000, which will all be used, there is left a balance of £2,246,180 for the ordinary purposes of the Navy Estimates, and of that amount £977,091 will be spent in 1907-8. The amount of the special annuity in repayment of loans will be £1,214,000 this year. In the following Ordered, That Mr. Holden be dis- year it will be approximately £1,300,000. charged from the Public Accounts Committee. I have a twofold purpose in giving the House these figures-first, to explain the change, and, secondly, to deduce the true Ordered, That Sir Robert Hobart be amount of the reduction in the figures. added.-(Mr. Whiteley.) HOUSE OF COMMONS (KITCHEN AND REFRESHMENT ROOMS). Ordered, That Sir Robert Hobart be discharged from the Kitchen and Refreshment Committee. On the face of it, the Estimates only show a net reduction of £450,000. If we add the naval works, transferred from loans to the Estimates, that makes £1,000,000 more. But besides that there are certain automatic increases to be considered. I called the attention of the House last year to the automatic increases, and I think it is only fair, in comparing Ordered, "That Mr. Osmond Williams this year's Estimates with last year's, be added."-(Mr. Whiteley.) that they should be taken into account. |