§ MR. SHEEHY (Galway, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the case of Lord Clanricarde's emergency men, who were tried at Woodford, on 5th of May, at the prosecution of Mr. Patrick M'Dermott for stealing turf, the property of complainant, which was dismissed by the Magistrates on the ground that plaintiff had his remedy by civil action; whether these same Magistrates fined evicted tenants of Lord Clanricarde some time previously for digging potatoes which they had sown in their lands previous to their eviction; and what action, if any, the police have taken with regard to the turf thefts of Lord Clanricarde's employ°s?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR, Manchester, E.)I am informed that the Magistrates, after hearing the evidence, dismissed the case without prejudice, stating that they considered it a case for a civil remedy, as they believed the caretakers did not act with guilty intent, but in the belief that the turf was the property of their employer. In 1888 one evicted tenant was fined for illegally removing the peat from a farm which he previously occupied, but which at the time of the removal was in the occupation of Lord Clanricarde. The Magistrates, who heard the case now in question, did not, as a matter of fact, adjudicate in the case heard in 1888. No action has been taken by the police.