§ MR. MONSELLsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, If he has any recent information from Birmingham? He (Mr. Munsell) had received a letter stating that apprehensions were entertained of an attack upon the houses of Catholic Priests and the Catholic Churches. He would also ask whether the Mayor of Birmingham had applied for any advice from Her Majesty's Government; and, if so, what instructions have been given to him?
§ MR. GATHORNE HARDYsaid, he had received a letter from the Mayor of Birmingham, dated 11 o'clock on Tuesday night, and it stated that all was quiet, and that the troops were being withdrawn. He (Mr. Gathorne Hardy) presumed from that that the disturbances had come to an end. The real culprits had not been very numerous, but they had acted together. Although there might have been 50,000 or 100,000 persons in the streets, the numbers who were really disposed to break the peace did not apparently exceed 200. No legal proceedings could however be taken in respect of the language which had been used, because it would not of itself necessarily lead to a breach of the peace; but he could not say how much he regretted that such language had been used. It was a most deplorable thing that language should be 89 applied to a large body of persons seeming to impute that they were a body of thieves and murderers. The language which was said to have provoked the outbreak could not be too strongly condemned.