§ MR. SEXTON (Belfast, W.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Irish Local Government Board have decided to make the law costs in the case of "Macrary v. the Coleraine Board of Guardians" (an action which arose out of the construction of the Gastlerock Sewerage Works) a charge upon the ratepayers of the rural sanitary districts of the Coleraine Union, instead of a special charge upon the contributory area of Castlerock only, and have refused the request of the Coleraine Board of Guardians to grant an inquiry into the whole subject, with a view to have their decision re-considered; is he aware that there are two precedents in the Coleraine Union where law costs for defective sewer construction and waterworks were charged on the contributory areas; and, if so, how have the Local Government Board arrived at the conclusion to make the costs in Macrary's case a charge on the entire union; whether the plan of the Castlerock sewerage scheme was sanctioned by the Local Government Board after receiving the approval of their engineer, and did not the Coleraine Board of Guardians carry out the plan exactly as sanctioned; 1257 if so, what blame is to be attached to the Coleraine Board of Guardians; and whether the Local Government Board will grant the inquiry asked for, seeing that it is urgently and unanimously demanded by the Coleraine Board, the representatives of the ratepayers interested?
§ MR. MADDENThis question appears on the Paper for the first time to-day. I will bring the matter under the notice of the Local Government Board.