MR. HATCHELLsaid, he wished to ask the Attorney General for Ireland Whether it is the intention of Government to introduce a Bill, next Session, for the purpose of withdrawing protection from arrest from official debtors in Ireland, in accordance with the recommendation of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce?
§ MR. J. D. FITZGERALDsaid, he presumed that the question had reference to certain judicial officers who were protected from arrest for debt. That protection was originally given for the public good; but, since he had received the Report of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and that of the Solicitors' Society, his own impression was, that the time had arrived when the public good did not require that such protection should exist any longer, while, on the other hand, much evil arose from its existence, enabling persons to contract debts without any intention of payment. He expected early next Session to bring the subject before Parliament.