§ MR. BOLAND (Kerry, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether he can state if the Inspectors of Irish Fisheries 1137 have power to hold inquiries with a view to changing the close seasons; and, if not, what is the cause of their inability.
MR. BRYCEThe powers for holding such inquiries are now vested in the Department of Agriculture. The 33rd Section of the Act 5–6 Vic. cap. 106 enacts that "the expenses of the application and all proceedings consequent thereon shall be defrayed by the person or persons who shall have signed such application." For over forty years inquiries relative to the change of close season were held without enforcing this proviso. In the year 1895, however, objection to this practice was raised in Parliament; and, as there is no way of estimating or assessing the expenses, the holding of such inquiries has since been suspended pending an alteration in the law.
§ MR. BOLANDWill the right hon. Gentleman inquire further.