§ MR. D. MACALEESE (Monaghan, N.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade, has his attention been drawn to the unprotected condition of 1375 portions of the Belfast Harbour, and in a particular manner to the Clarendon and York Docks; has he seen the report of an inquest held in Belfast on the body of a man named Connolly, who was drowned in the Clarendon Dock; is he aware that the Coroner censured the Harbour Commissioners, and expressed regret that those gentlemen could not be tried on a charge of manslaughter, also that the Harbour Commissioners were the only public Board in Belfast that treated the verdicts of juries without consideration, and that they were morally, if not legally, guilty of the death of Connolly; and will he communicate with the Harbour Commissioners to the end that some protection may be afforded for the public, particularly at the ends of streets abutting on the harbour?
§ THE FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS (Mr. A. AKERS-DOUGLAS,) Kent, St. Augustine'sMy right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this Question in his absence. The following is his reply: No, Sir; my attention has not been called to the unprotected condition of any portions of Belfast Harbour, nor have I seen the report of the inquest referred to. The Board of Trade have no jurisdiction over the Harbour Commissioners in these matters, but I will put myself in communication with them with a view of ascertaining the facts of the case.