§ MR. SEXTONasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether, on the 7th instant, one James White, of Ballinful, County Sligo, reported to the police that, while walking on his farm, he had been fired at and 748 wounded in the leg; whether White fixed the time of the attack upon him at four o'clock in the morning, but did not inform the police until eleven, though they were quartered in a hut a few paces from his dwelling-house; whether, on the report being made, the police arrested and lodged in Sligo Gaol two men, James Hartt and Michael Merrick, the latter of whom had been evicted from the holding in the possession of White; whether three doctors, who examined White's injured leg, concurred in the decision that the injury had been caused by the application of a red-hot iron, and not by a gunshot, as stated by White himself; whether the local resident magistrate directed the release of Hartt and Merrick, after they had been ten days in gaol; and, what action, if any, the Government have taken, or propose to take, in reference to White?
§ MR. TREVELYANSir, with the exception of a few inaccuracies, the facts of this case appear to be correctly stated in this Question by the hon. Gentleman. Instead of 4, the time stated in the Question, White fixed the time of the attack upon him at 2 o'clock in the morning, and did not report the occurrence to the police until noon. The wound was examined by one doctor only, who seemed to think it was not a gunshot wound, but a burn. White swore positively in his depositions that Hartt and Merrick were the persons who fired at him. They were taken before the magistrate, and committed to Sligo Gaol for eight days on remand, but were then discharged by order of the Resident Magistrate. The case is one of considerable suspicion, and will be very fully inquired into.
§ MR. SEXTONasked whether the inquiry would be made with a view to the Government prosecuting White for perjury?
§ MR. TREVELYANYes.