§ MR. HEALYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If it is the case that in consequence of some party disturbance in the village of Drum, county Monaghan, a Catholic named Mullin was committed to Dundalk Gaol without bail, by Mr. Murray Ker, J.P., although bail to any amount was forthcoming, is Mr. Ker the magistrate who advised the Monaghan Orangemen, on the occasion of Lord Rossmore's reception, "never to fire their revolvers unless they were aiming at somebody," is it the fact that in the case of the Newry Orangemen charged with the much more serious offence of shooting with intent to kill, bail has been accepted, will the Government take care, in the absence of Catholic justices in Ulster, that party cases shall only be adjudicated upon by resident magistrates; and, can he state whether the prisoner in the present case must remain in custody till the trial takes place?
§ MR. TREVELYANI am informed that this case was not a Party one, but an ordinary street disturbance, in the course of which Mullin struck a man named Dawson on the head and rendered him insensible. Moreover, Mr. Murray Ker did at first allow Mullin out on bail; but subsequently, upon its being ascertained that Dawson was confined to bed and in a critical state, the District Inspector directed that Mullin should be rearrested and objected to bail being taken. When the injured man got better, the prisoner's friends were so informed with the view of their renewing the application for bail if they saw fit; but they did not do so. The remand was for eight days only, and the accused will be brought again before the magistrates to-morrow. As to the alleged words used by Mr. Murray Ker, I believe that he was quite misrepresented in the papers at the time. In consequence of a Question which the hon. Member for Galway (Mr. T. P. O'Connor) had upon the Paper, I looked 1668 at these remarks, and received an explanation of them. I was informed that the object of these remarks was to dissuade these persons from bringing their revolvers to the meeting, and I quite believe that explanation.
§ MR. HEALYI would ask the right hon. Gentleman what were the exact words used if these were not the words?
§ MR. TREVELYANI think it is very likely that these were the words used, but the revolvers were not brought for the purpose of being put to any practical use. It is a very dangerous and irritating practice to bring them to public meetings.
§ MR. HEALYMight I ask the right hon. Gentleman would any Nationalist be permitted to use similar language?
§ MR. TREVELYANUndoubtedly, if his object were the same—namely, to dissuade persons from coming armed to public meetings.
§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORMight I ask the right hon. Gentleman what other interpretation he could put upon the words addressed by Mr. Ker to murderous parties of men who were watched by armed Constabulary and excited to the extremest by the violent language of their leaders, who advised them "to keep a firm grip of their sticks and not to fire their pistols unless they were certain to shoot somebody," except as murderous incitement to a breach of the peace by one whose duty it was to preserve order?
§ MR. TREVELYANsaid, that these and many other specimens of violent language had been quoted before, but upon inquiry he found that the words bore a different interpretation to what had been put upon them.
§ MR. HEALYwished to ask whether in the case of the Newry Orangemen, in which the evidence was much more serious—that of intent to kill—bail had been accepted, and also in the case of the Tyrone Orangemen, and that the magistrate did not consider that the application in the case of Mullin should be accepted?
§ MR. TREVELYANsaid, that bail was accepted in the case of Mullin, and was only refused on account of the dangerous state of the injured man. The same course would have been adopted in the other cases had there been danger.