§ SIR W. FOSTER (Derby, Ilkeston)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has received a request from the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the British Medical Association to receive a deputation, on behalf of that body, in conjunction with the Irish Medical Association, the Irish Poor Law Union Medical Officers, and the Royal Colleges of Physicians and 1815 Surgeons of Ireland, on the subject of certain serious grievances and hardships of the Irish Dispensary Medical Officers; and if he will explain why he has declined to receive such a deputation and to take those grievances into consideration with a view to remedying them?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. JACKSON,) Leeds, N.I have not had time to communicate with Dublin, but my recollection is that a deputation waited upon the Vice President of the Local Government Board in Ireland and presented to him a draft Bill which they desired the Government would introduce. I received this with a communication from the Local Government Board, and as I saw there was no prospect of our proposing any such Bill to the House, it seemed to me only wasting time to ask the deputation to come and see me. Of course, I shall be quite willing to consider carefully any suggestion submitted to me.
§ SIR W. FOSTERMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman if the deputation should desire to wait upon him, but not with any cut-and-dried scheme in the form of a Bill, would he be inclined to consider a favourable answer to their request?
§ MR. JACKSONI could not promise a favourable answer to the request voiced by the draft Bill, which contains clauses the Government could not accept. I shall be glad to consider any recommendation made.