§ 43. Mr. CLANCYasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the application of Lord Talbot de Malahide for an Order prohibiting the taking of sand from the seashore at Malahide, county Dublin; whether a sworn inquiry will be held in the matter before any such Order is made; whether a representative of the Board of Trade paid a visit to the part of the foreshore in question some days ago; whether this visit is to be regarded as the holding of an inquiry; and whether, in view of the fact that the tenants on the Malahide estate have from time immemorial enjoyed the right of taking sand and gravel from the foreshore in question, and have recently entered into binding agreements to purchase their holdings under the Land Purchase Acts, and have thus become owners in equity of their lands, the Board of Trade has any precedent or any justification for making any Order of the kind mentioned?
Mr. ROBERTSONThe Board of Trade have before them an application by Lord Talbot de Malahide for an Order prohibiting the taking of sand from the seashore at Malahide, county Dublin. The Board have no power to order a sworn inquiry in regard to applications of this nature, but one of the professional officers of the Board, in accordance with the usual practice, visited the spot on the 13th instant, 1639 and held a conference with representatives of Lord Talbot de Malahide and certain tenants of the estate who had objected to such an Order being granted. The Board are now considering the report of this officer, but, before coming to a decision in the matter, they are taking legal advice on the question of the alleged rights of the tenants to take sand from this foreshore, particularly having regard to the agreements stated to have been entered into by the tenants to purchase their holdings.
§ Mr. WEDGWOODIf these tenants continue to take sand from the foreshore will they be sent to prison?