§ MR. P. A. M'HUGHI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland—(1) is he aware that the Local Government Board for Ireland have issued a sealed Order, closing the Old Abbey Burial Ground, Sligo, against further interments; (2) by what authority has the Board taken this action; (3) is he aware that a strong feeling prevails amongst certain classes in Sligo against the Order; and (4) how does the Local Government Board propose to carry their Order into effect in the event of the Urban Sanitary Authority refusing to obey it.
MR. J. MORLEYThe reply to the first paragraph is in the affirmative, and I have also received a protest to the effect mentioned in the third paragraph. The Order was issued in pursuance to the powers vested in the Local Government Board by Section 162 of the Public Health Act of 1878, after the Board had satisfied itself, by careful inquiry, that, owing to the overcrowded and unsanitary condition of the ground, further burials therein would be detrimental to the public health. In reply to the last paragraph, I am advised that under Section 167 of the Act referred to, persons burying in the closed ground in violation of the Order are liable to a penalty of £10. In the event of an infringement of the Order, the penalty would be sued for and inflicted.