§ MR. ACKERSasked the junior Member for Leeds, Whether it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to drain the deep gales of the Forest of Dean, and so bring into active working the great mineral wealth of this Crown property, and by so doing afford employment to a large number of persons, so desirable in this time of depression and scarcity of work?
§ MR. HIBBERT(who replied) said: The deep gales are in the hands of private owners, whose interests therein are of the nature of real estate, and whose tenure of them is conditional on the observance of certain regulations, one of which requires the owners to open and work the gales within a limited time. In these circumstances, the Crown obviously cannot undertake to spend money on drainage. The Crown, however, desires to see these gales developed, and with this object a Bill was presented last Session dealing with the subject; but this Bill, though approved by the gale owners, received no actual support from them, and had to be withdrawn. The hon. 1637 Member is probably aware that various conflicting local interests are involved in this matter, and that there is not yet an agreement of local opinion upon it.