§ MR. FLYNN (Cork, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the fact that the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Ireland state that a portion of its public work is to undertake inspection of lands on which minerals are believed to exist, the officials of the Department will explain whether such inspection can be satisfactorily carried out without prospecting or, in regard to coal deposits, without the use of a boring drill.
§ MR. WALTER LONGThe Department hold that inspection by a fully qualified and experienced mining engineer, who has made himself thoroughly acquainted with the local geological formation, is sufficient to show whether prospecting for coal by means of a boring drill could be undertaken with any prospect of success or not.