§ MR. O'NEILL (Antrim, Mid)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, if he is aware that inconvenience and unnecessary expense is caused to farmers in the County of Antrim, who desire to procure bulls, by the action of the Agricultural Department in Ireland in selecting the show of the North-East Agricultural Association in Belfast as the only place where premium bulls can be selected for the country; and if he will consider the advisability of recognising for that purpose the annual show of the Ballymena Agricultural Association which is held in the centre of the county, and is therefore more accessible to the farmers and ratepayers, who contribute one-half of the amount allocated under the agricultural scheme.
§ MR. WYNDHAMBelfast is one of the four centres at which premium bulls may be purchased for any county in Ireland under the scheme of the Department. The Department does not object to the selection of Ballymena as a place for holding a spring exhibition of local bulls competing for local premiums, but it sees no sufficient reason for selecting Ballymena as a centre for the purchase of Lulls under the larger scheme referred to.