§ MR. BRYCE (Aberdeen, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to the digging up and obliteration on the Hill of Tara, in Ireland, of the ancient mounds and ridges which mark the sites of the various erections which existed on that spot in remote ages before the introduction of Christianity into Ireland, and whether he will take such steps as may be in his power to prevent the destruction of these historical monument, which are among the most remarkable and interesting in the British Isles.
(Answer.) My attention has been directed to the excavations carried out at Tara. These ancient mounds are amongst the works included in the Schedule to the Ancient Monuments Protection Act of 1882. When similar excavations at Tara were brought under the notice of Government in 1899, there appeared to be an impression that the fact that the mounds were so scheduled vested the guardianship 303 in the Commissioners of Public Works and empowered the Commissioners to interfere with the action of the owner. This is riot so, however; and to create the power there should be a formal deed, executed by the owner, vesting the earthworks in the Commissioners. No such deed has been executed. A Dublin newspaper of this morning states that the owner has entered into an arrangement, under which the excavations will be conducted by the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. This, of course, will afford a guarantee for the preservation of a national monument of unique interest. It is of the highest importance that the surface of the ground should be in no way disturbed, since its features confirm in every particular the ancient accounts of the Regal buildings which once stood at Tara.—(Irish Office.)