§ MR. FOLEY (Galway, Connemara)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has given any consideration to the resolution recently adopted by the Guardians of the Clifden Union, in which they call attention to the distress existing in the Division of Errislannan, and the many applications made by this Board for relief works in said division, particularly the construction of an old road which connects the north and south roads, terminating at Boatharbour, and impress upon the Under Secretary the great importance of at once starting relief works in the Errislannan Division, so as to relieve the distress existing in the district, distant over seven miles from the Clifden Railway, where at present no relief in the way of works is afforded; and will he state what action the Government will take in reference to the same?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe condition of the Errislannan Division has engaged the careful attention of the Government, who are of opinion that no sufficient grounds have been shown to exist for supplementing the machinery of the ordinary Poor Law by opening relief works. The division is in close proximity to the railway at Clifden, where there is plenty of employment to be had by able-bodied labourers in need of such. The charitable fund is also relieving many in the division who are precluded from obtaining work.