§ MR. J. DEVLIN (Belfast, W.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord- 1013 Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the sale of the Brown Linen Hall, Donegall Street-Belfast, for the sum of £1,050; and whether, in view of the fact that the premises known as the Brown Linen Hall form one of the few remaining relics of old Belfast, and one intimately and honourably associated with the staple trade and the history of the city he will take steps to secure its preservation as a national monument.
(Answered by Mr. Runciman.) The Board of Works can only take charge of ancient or mediæval buildings if the owners propose to hand them over, and they inform me that no such proposal has been made in this case. Even if it were made, the Board state that they could not accept it, since this building (apart from the question of its date) has no architectural features', and its antiquarian interest is not of a national but only of a local character.