LORD ARTHUE HILLasked the Secretary of State for War, "Whether his attention has been drawn to The Belfast Evening Telegraph of the 6th instant, and to The Belfast News Letter and Northern Whig of the 7th instant, in all of which papers appears a report of some exceedingly unsoldierlike conduct on the part of some privates belonging to the 2nd Battalion Royal Enniskilling Fusiliers, at Newtownards, county Down; and, whether, as it would appear that the disturbance of the 5th instant is by no means the first one occasioned by them, he is prepared to direct that those men be punished for 1344 disturbing the peaceful inhabitants of Newtownards?
§ MR. SEXTONsaid, that before the Question was answered, he desired to ask whether the soldiers of this battalion were not mostly Catholics; whether three of them had not been lately set upon, and one savagely beaten; whether the Orangemen of the Castletown True Blue Lodge did not indulge in exasperating conduct towards them; whether those Catholic soldiers, on their way to and from Divine Service, had not been mocked by cries of "To h——with the Pope;" whether they were not harassed and beaten by Orangemen; and whether the Government would take any steps to prevent these Orange rowdies from further molesting the soldiers?
THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTONSir, I have received a Report from the General Officer commanding at Belfast as to the occurrence referred to in this Question. The riot took place on the 5th; but it was provoked originally by the ill-treatment of some soldiers by the town roughs, known as corner boys. A Court of Inquiry is sitting, and steps will be taken to punish the offenders, if identified, and to prevent any recurrence of further acts of disturbance. I cannot ascertain that bad feeling has existed between the military and civilians at this station. In reply to the Question of the hon. Member below the Gangway, as the Report is not voluminous, I cannot undertake to give a specific answer to each of his inquiries. There is reason to believe that a considerable number of the soldiers of this regiment are Roman Catholics, and the riot was provoked by insults which they received.