§ MR. PINKERTON (Galway)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he is aware that frequent complaints have been made by millowners in Galway to the Commissioners of Public Works with regard to the failure of the Drainage Trustees to maintain the drainage and navigation works on Lough Corrib; that, in response to these complaints, an engineer was sent down to inspect the works, and reported to the effect that there is a considerable accumulation in the channel which should be removed by the Drainage Trustees; and if, in consequence of that report, the Commissioners communicated with the Trustees with the view of having this order carried out; and whether the Trustees have taken any steps to comply with the orders of the Commissioners of Public Works; and if he can state the amount of assessment levied on the locality for the maintenance of these works, and the amount expended by the Drainage Trustees in improvements and repairs.
§ MR. HANBURYNo complaint has been made as to the navigation works, which do not affect the mills, but other- 713 wise the statements in the first paragraph are substantially correct. The Trustees have given an assurance that immediate steps will be taken to remove the accumulation. The secretary to the Trustees states that, on an average, about £300 a year was spent by the Drainage Board on works of maintenance between 1895 and 1898, and that in 1899 over £600 was so spent. I have no information before me at present as to the amount of the assessment.