§ MR. MACVEAGHI beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland whether he is aware that the Belfast Water Commissioners propose to prohibit, after May 1st, the letting of lands within the Mourne catchment area; whether he is aware that before the Commissioners obtained their Bill the parties concerned were led to believe that no local industry would be prejudicially affected; whether he is aware that the operations of the Commissioners have since resulted in the closing of several granite quarries, and that the prohibition of the letting of lands will now injure the sheep-breeding industry, the two chief means of livelihood in the district; and, if so, whether any steps can be taken by the Estates Commissioners or the Department of Agriculture to safeguard the rights of the residents.
§ MR. ATKINSONI am informed by the secretary to the Water Commissioners that the catchment area of the waterworks comprises but a very small portion of the lands in the district available for sheep grazing, and that the Commissioners when acquiring the lands compensated the parties interested in the 585 grazing. In order to avoid any danger of pollution of the water supply they have also decided to discontinue in future the letting of the lands for grazing. No quarrying has been done on the Commissioners' lands during the past two years, and no persons have the right of quarrying there. Neither the Department of Agriculture nor the Estates Commissioners have any jurisdiction to interfere in the matter.