MR. MAC NEILLI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been directed to a series of resolutions passed at a meeting of the Raphoe clergy, held in Letterkenny on 31st March under the presidency of the Most Rev. Dr. O'Donnell, Lord Bishop of Raphoe, which resolutions describe the condition of the poor over wide areas in North Western Donegal, from Gweedore to Swilly, to be one of perilous destitution in the absence of assistance; request the authorities not to allow the distress to become more acute by the refusal of public employment; and urge on the Government the construction of a railway from Letterkenny to Gweedore, which would give employment in parishes where the potato blight of last year was exceptionally destructive; and what steps, if any, do the Government intend to take with a view of meeting the suggestions of the Raphoe clergy, and relieving this distress?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe resolutions referred to have been brought under the notice of the Government, who have also before them Reports regarding the condition of the different portions of the County Donegal to which the Resolutions relate, and the entire matter is engaging- careful attention.