STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATES, IRELAND. (Hansard, 16 February 1844)

§ Viscount Ebrington
said, that in order to set at rest the recent disputes upon the subject, he begged to move for a return of the appointments of all the Stipendiary Magistrates in Ireland, from the 1st January 1839, to September 1, 1841, with the dates of their appointments, and of the periods when any of them were removed from service.

§ Lord Eliot
said, the statement made by his noble Friend behind him was on the authority of a memorandum with which he furnished him, and he was responsible for it. In consequence of the observations of a noble Lord elsewhere last night he had thought it right to make a more searching inquiry. The result was, that seven magistrates had been appointed, but he found by the Dublin Gazette that three of the magistrates appointed within the last three months of the late Administration were to fill vacancies which had taken place. But there was an addition of seven magistrates made in the course of 1841. In the year 1839 there had been fifty-seven magistrates. The year 1841 had been a year of perfect tranquillity; but still in that year there had been an increase of seven Magistrates, and four of them were appointed within five weeks of the dissolu- 1097 tion of the Government. He thought he had now accounted for the error into which he had been led. He had, however, stated correctly, that seven magistrates were appointed in the eight months, and four of them were added within five weeks of the dissolution of the Government.

§ Mr. Labouchere
had heard, with regret, the speech of the Secretary for the Home Department. He had brought a grave charge against the late Administration in Ireland, founded on facts which, it appeared, were not accurately stated. The gravamen of that charge was, that seven magistrates were added to the number of Stipendiary Magistrates in Ireland, under circumstances leading to the imputation that they were so added, not for the benefit of the people of Ireland, but as a job on the part of the Government. It now appeared that so far from these seven being additional nominations, three had been vacancies which had been filled up by the late Government. He much regretted the absence of his noble Friend Lord Morpeth, since he was sure he would have been able to give a still more satisfactory explanation on the subject.