§ MR. PINKERTON (Galway)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If his attention was directed to a meeting of the Bann Drainage Trustees, held on Friday, November 9, in the Imperial Hotel, Belfast, where, after the routine business was disposed of, the engineer submitted his Report and Estimate for maintenance of works in 1889, and the Board directed an assessment for a rate of £1,000; is he aware how many of the above Board are agents and do not pay any of this assessment; how much of this assessment will be expended to pay officials, and how much for the maintenance of the works; and, what amount has been assessed for the last five years on the owners and occupiers of lands from the weir at Movanagher to the Cutts at Coleraine?
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. MADDEN)(who replied) said (Dublin University)The Secretary to the Lough Neagh Drainage District informs me that seven of the Trustees of the district are agents. They represent proprietors who contribute £395 out of every £1,000 raised for maintenance purposes. Of the sum of £1,000 ordered to be assessed for 1889, £275 will be paid for salaries, and the balance, with the exception of a small sum necessary for incidental expenses, will be expended on the maintenance of the works. The total amount assessed on the owners of lands between Movanagher and the Cutts at Coleraine for the last five years is £278 16s. 1d., being an average sum of £55 15s. 2d. per annum. He adds that the Lower Bann River, between the two points mentioned, is entirely in the charge of the Lower Bann Navigation Trustees, both for drainage and navigation purposes.