§ MR. SYNAN (for Mr. EVELYN ASHLEY)asked Mr. Attorney General for Ireland, What was the cause of the delay in introducing the Bill for confirming certain Provisional Orders relating to Waterworks for Downpatrick and Sligo, whereby the Bill has been lost for this Session?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. GIBSON), in reply, said, the Sligo Provisional Order proposed to revive powers conferred on the Town Council by a local Act in 1869. Besides compulsory powers to interfere with the waterworks, the draft Order proposed to enable the local authorities to take quarries and other private property without compensation. Before the introduction of such an exceptional Order in the form of a Bill, it became necessary to consider how far it affected the Public Health (Ireland) Act. A Bill to confirm the Order was introduced in sufficient time to be passed if it were unopposed; but a Petition was presented afterwards, which precluded the possibility of its becoming law this Session, and would have had the same effect if the Bill had been introduced at a considerably earlier period. The reason of the delay was the time that was necessarily occupied by the Local Government Board in. its preparation, and the subsequent consideration by the Law Officers of Ireland of the difficult questions which had been raised. It 857 did not follow that this had been the cause of the loss of the Bill, as it was not certain that such an Order, being opposed, would have had any chance of being passed this Session. The Down-patrick Order was included in the same Bill, and therefore shared the same fate as Sligo; but care would be taken in future to avoid placing an Order not likely to be opposed in a Bill with another Order to which opposition might be expected.