§ Mr. HEALYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If he would state who the persons were that received the reward in the case of Constable Kavanagh's murder; in what proportion the £1,000 will be distributed amongst them; and, whether it will be paid out of the Secret Service Fund or become a charge on the Estimates; and, if the latter, whether it will be set down as a separate item or be included under the head of Law Charges and Prosecutions?
§ MR. TREVELYANI must claim the indulgence of the House and respectfully decline to answer the first portion of this Question, as I feel that I could not give the information asked for without danger, and certainly great inconvenience and discomfort, to the persons on whose evidence a conviction was obtained. With regard to the final portion of the Question, I beg to say that 849 expenses of this kind are properly chargeable to the Vote for Law Charges and Criminal Prosecutions, and will not form a separate item in the Estimates.
§ MR. HEALYexplained that his reason for putting the Question was this. He desired at a future Sitting of the House—next Session, perhaps—to call attention to the evidence upon which this man was hung, and contrast the evidence of the paid witnesses with the evidence of unpaid witnesses.