§ MR. GREGORYsaid, he wished to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whether he has received any fresh accounts on the subject of the distress prevalent in the West of Ireland, and what course the Government is taking in dealing with this calamity; and, if he will lay before the House a Copy of the Memorials presented to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by the Proprietors of Lands adjacent to the River Suck, and by the Town Commissioners of Ballinasloe, and the Reply of the Government to these Memorials?
LORD NAAS,in reply, said, he did not know whether the Question referred specially to Connemara or to the West of Ireland generally. [Mr. GREGORY: Connemara.] As regarded Connemara, the Government had received from time to time various accounts of distress said to be prevailing there; and the Treasury had ordered the commencement of certain works, which would, in the ordinary course of things, be undertaken next year. The works were confined to the erection of two new piers, and to the enlargement of one or two existing ones. At Spiddal the sum of £6,000 would be spent upon works of this character, and at Clifden £1,200, to be supplemented in each case by sums derived from local sources to the amount of one-fourth of those grants. There were also small works at Lenane which would cost £240, and at Barnedarrig £100. These works would be undertaken under the provisions of an existing Act of Parliament, and a Vote would be submitted to the House for this purpose. He had great hopes that the em- 1663 ployment thus given, together with the any objection to state the decision to which efforts made by the proprietors of the district, would be sufficient to alleviate the distress. With regard to the distress existing in the county Mayo, he had last week received a copy of resolutions passed at a meeting held on that subject, and the Poor Law Inspector had been instructed to visit every portion of the Westport Union, and particularly the islands which lie along the coast. It was principally to the proprietors and to the local resources of the district that the Government must look for the alleviation of distress, and every effort would be made on the part of the Poor Law Commissioners to impress upon the guardians of these unions the necessity of using their utmost exertions with this object. With regard to the Westport Union, the affairs of that union were in a comparatively prosperous state, and they had at the present moment a considerable sum of money to their credit. As to the second part of the Question, he had asked for information, and would be prepared to answer it to-morrow.