§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether the Secretary for Scotland is aware that the entrance to the house in the district of Ness, island of Lewis, in which a man named Mackay died of typhus fever on the 14th September last, is so near other houses that it was impossible to get a coffin inside the house, and that the body of Mackay had to be taken out before it could be coffined; will he state whether the Local Government Board for Scotland have approved any bye-laws such as will admit of the early destruction of similar insanitary houses in the island of Lewis; and, if not, will he state what steps the Local Government Board propose to take in the matter.
MR. A. GRAHAM MURRAYThe Secretary for Scotland is not aware of the facts as stated by the hon. Member. On the contrary, the Secretary for Scotland is informed that the body of Mackay was coffined in the room where he, Mackay, died. The Local Government Board has no bye-laws, or power to make such bye-laws, as the hon. Member suggests. In this particular ease, however, permission has been obtained from the heirs of deceased to destroy the house in question.
§ MR. WEIRI can only say that the information supplied to the right hon. Gentleman is absolutely false.
§ MR. SPEAKEROrder, order!
† See page 595.751