§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether the Secretary for Scotland is aware that a number of cottars, fishermen, and other residents in the Island of Lewis have recently presented a petition to His Majesty setting forth that the depredations of steam trawlers, foreign and British, have rendered line fishing in the seas around the coast unremunerative, and that they are threatened with destitution; and, seeing that they assert that there are large tracts of land now practically waste from which the landless cottars could earn a living, will the Secretary for Secretary of Scotland advise the Congested Districts Board to open negotiations with the proprietor of the Island of Lewis for the purpose of acquiring land with a view to ameliorate the condition of these people.
MR. A. GRAHAM MURRAYThe Secretary for Scotland is aware of the petition referred to. As I stated in reply to a similar Question on the 23rd 143 October, the Congested Districts Board do not at present think they can usefully open negotiations in Lewis of the kind suggested by the hon. Member.