§ MR. M'CARTAN (Down, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the address of Mr. Justice O'Brien to the Grand Jury of Louth, as published in the Freeman's Journal of yesterday, in the course of which the Judge said—
There was no account of crime in their county, either detected or undetected. The total absence of crime, which would be signified by the interesting ceremony now being prepared by the sheriff, was not always to be accepted as certain proof of the satisfactory state of things, and sometimes peace was only the result of tired-out lawlessness. He was happy to say such was not the case in that county, and the absence of crime was the result and expression of a general state of peace.His Lordship was then presented with a pair of white gloves; and whether it is for an alleged crime committed in this county that the Parliamentary represen- 1688 tative for the county and the hon. Member for East Clare have been called upon to appear before a Court at Drogheda on Monday next?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI understand that the newspaper report of the remarks of the learned Judge is substantially correct, except that it would appear he used the words "no crime of account," instead of "no account of crime." The synopsis of the return of crime presented to him by the constabulary showed that since the previous assizes six offences had been specially reported, in addition to which there were 388 minor offences not specially reported. The offence for which the hon. Members mentioned are being proceeded against was not committed in the county of Louth, but in the county of the town of Drogheda, which is never included in the Judge's address to the Grand Jury of Louth.