§ MR. J. DEVLINTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to a speech made by the Rev. Dr. McKeon, ex-moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, at a meeting of that body held on the 7th June, when, dealing with the attitude of the Southern Catholics towards Presbyterians, he stated that, with one or two exceptions, ministers in the South were unanimous in speaking highly of the tolerance and goodwill shown to them by those who differed from them in faith; that the disturbance which had occurred in Athenry and the surrounding district was all in connection with the agitation against the grazing system; that, in dealing with the landlords, the people made no distinction of creed, and instanced a case where a Catholic landlord had to go on a public platform and was compelled to give up a farm; and whether in view of the attempts made in some quarters to represent the majority of the Irish people as bigoted and intolerant towards their Protestant countrymen, he will state if Dr. McKeon's views were in agreement with the official information available on this matter.
§ MR. J. DEVLINTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to a speech of the Rev. Dr. McKeon, ex-moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, at a meeting of that body held in Belfast on 7th June, in which he stated that in Central Ireland from 1,000 to 1,500 acres of land were in such bad condition during wet weather that a cow could not walk on them, and that he thought it a strange thing that a Government which was ready to invest money in Ireland would not invest it in draining the land; and 137 whether, in view of the fact that Dr. McKeon voiced in this matter the practically unanimous opinion of Irishmen of all creeds and sections, the Government will consider the advisability of dealing with this question without delay.
§ MR. J. DEVLINTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to a statement made by the Rev. Dr. McKeon, ex-moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, at a meeting of that body held on 7th June, in which he stated that the grazing system was doing more injury, not only to the Presbyterian Church but to the whole Irish people, than any other condition of things that he had seen, and that what the Presbyterians had to do was to keep the manhood of the country in Ireland; and whether, in view of the unanimity of all sections of Irishmen in favour of the abolition of the grazing system, the Government will use its influence towards that end.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) My attention has been called to the Rev. Dr. McKeon's speech. I am glad to hear of his testimony to the spirit of toleration which prevails in the South of Ireland. As regards the question of arterial drainage I would refer to my Answer to the hon. Member for North Kilkenny on 12th instant.† The question is a large one, and it will be necessary to consider the recent Report of the Arterial Drainage Commission in all its bearings before undertaking legislation in the matter. As regards the grazing system, I would remind the hon. Member that the question forms part of the problem at present under the consideration of the Royal Commission on Congestion in Ireland. I have already indicated that it is the intention of the Government to introduce a Bill to amend the existing laws, after they have had the advantage of studying the Report of that Commission.