§ CAPTAIN DONELAN (Cork, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the provisions of the 33rd Section of the Act 5 and 6 Vic., c. 106 (which provides that the expenses of applications for change of season for fishing in Ireland, and all proceedings consequent thereon, shall be defrayed by the person or persons who shall have signed such applications), have been complied with by the Inspectors of Irish Fisheries; and, if not, will he say why this law has not been observed; and, will he direct that in future the Inspectors of Irish 660 Fisheries shall not entertain any such applications until all the expenses consequent thereon shall have been defrayed by the persons making them?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. GERALD BALFOUR,) Leeds, CentralI am informed that the expenses referred to have not been defrayed by the applicants, because the Inspectors were of opinion that if such a course had been insisted upon the poorer classes of fishermen would have been precluded from making applications, but I will inquire further into the matter.
MR. T. M. HEALYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland, is he aware that, by order of Dr. Stewart, Sanitary Inspector, a fisherman named James M'Namee, of O'Meath, County Louth, had his fish taken from his cart in Portadown on Monday, 12th August, and destroyed, on the ground that they were unfit for human food, without an opportunity being afforded him of procuring independent testimony as to the soundness of the fish, which he alleged to be quite good; is it the case throughout the Kingdom that fish sold on Mondays must necessarily have been caught not later than the previous Friday night or Saturday morning; and, as Dr. Stewart has previously condemned the fish of O'Meath dealers on Mondays in Portadown, will the Government see that some precaution is taken by the police to secure this class of men from unnecessary interference with their calling?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURI am informed that a prosecution at the suit of the Sanitary Authority is pending against M'Namee in this matter, and under the circumstances it is inexpedient to discuss the case at the present stage.