MR. MAC NEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been directed to the election by the Magistrates, on the 7th of July, of Mr. Hay, as Petty Sessions Clerk of the Kilna district; whether the late Petty Sessions Clerk of this district obtained his appointment on the condition of residence in Kilrea; whether Mr. Hay, who has been appointed in preference to several other candidates, fills the office of Petty Sessions Clerk in Coleraine, a town 18 miles distant from Kilrea; and whether this dual position is compatible with the due and efficient discharge of the duties of either post; whether he is aware that Mr. Hay had been previously dismissed from the clerkship of Petty Sessions in Coleraine in consequence of 1368 several grave irregularities in connection with that office, and was only reinstated to the post after two elections by the Magistrates; and what action, having regard to the circumstances of the case, does the Government propose to take with reference to the ratification of this gentleman's election to the Petty Sessions clerkship at Kilrea?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOB IRELAND (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR,) Manchester, E.The Registrar of Petty Sessions Clerks reports that the late Clerk of Petty Sessions of Kilrea obtained his appointment on the condition of residence in Kilrea. He held that clerkship alone, and in such cases the rule is that a clerk must reside in his district. Mr. Hay, the present clerk, resides at Coleraine. He is permitted to do so because he holds the clerkship of Coleraine as well as that of Kilrea. Care will be taken that he makes adequate attendances at Kilrea, which is connected with Coleraine by rail. In many instances the duties of two or more districts are satisfactorily discharged by one clerk, and there is no reason to doubt that Mr. Hay's dual position is compatible. It is true that in 1867 Mr. Hay was dismissed from the clerkship of Coleraine, for irregularities resulting-from intemperance. He was re-elected at one, not two, elections, in November, 1888. The Lord Lieutenant, after long and careful consideration, approved of his re-appointment, all claims against Mr. Hay having been fully discharged, and it being shown that his life during the 21 years between dismissal and re-election had been steady and respectable. His conduct since re-appointment has been excellent, and His Excellency does not propose to interfere with his holding the clerkship of Kilrea.