§ MR. JASPER TULLYI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state if the Local Government Board Inspectors visited the distressed districts of Beihy, Keeldra, and Cattan, in South Leitrim, and whether any report was made in the case of Thomas Colreavy, of Drumhass, in Cattan division; whether he is aware that this poor man, Colreavy, died on Saturday last from the effects of hunger, and the priest who attended him in his last moments found that he, his wife and family, had not a morsel of food in the House; whether the Local Government Board Inspectors allege, when cases of extreme destitution are pointed out by the local clergy, that there is no money available; whether he would consider if drainage works could be started with advantage in this district; and whether, to prevent further cases like Colreavy's occurring, he will order relief works to meet the acute poverty existing there?
*MR. JOHN MORLEYTwo of the Board's Inspectors visited the divisions named in the question last month, and carefully inquired into the condition of the people. No exceptional distress was found to exist in the district. I am informed both by the Local Government Board and by the local police that the man referred to did not die from hunger, as alleged, but from comsumption, from which he had been suffering for the past two years. The police also state that there was food in the house at the time of his death, and the neighbours of the family also state there is no truth in the allegation that the man died from hunger. The Inspectors assure me that they never stated there was no money available to meet cases of extreme destitution. The relieving officer is supplied with funds for providing for any cases of sudden and urgent necessity that may arise. The Local Government Board advise me that no necessity exists at present for undertaking relief works in this district.