§ SIR THOMAS ESMONDETo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he has received a number of resolutions within the last few days from county councils, harbour boards, and public meetings in Ireland, requesting the Government to pass the Bill now before the House to extend the Marine Works (Ireland) Act to districts outside the congested districts; and if, in view of the fact that nobody opposes this Bill, the Government will take it up and pass it before the House rises.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) I am afraid that the hon. Baronet is hardly correct in suggesting that this Bill, which proposes fresh demands on the Exchequer, is unopposed. But even if no such objection applied, the Government at the present period of the session could not undertake to give facilities for the passage of the Bill.