§ MR. SAUNDERSONsaid, he wished to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whether the attention of Her Majesty's Government has been called to outrages said to have taken place in the county Fermanagh, against Mr. D'Arcy Irvine; whether, in the opinion of Her Majesty's Government those alleged outrages ever took place, or are not imaginary; and, whether it is true, as reported, that Mr. D'Arcy Irvine appeared at the fair of Irvinestown, on the 9th of this month, at the head of one hundred men armed with Snider rifles; and, if this report be found correct, whether it is not necessary to put an immediate stop to such proceedings? He begged further to ask, Whether, as Mr. D'Arcy Irvine, who now always carries firearms in his carriage, was proceeding through Enniskillen, he discharged two shots in the air before the house of Captain Butler, the Stipendiary Magistrate, which collected a large crowd, who, to show their sympathy, followed him through the town, cheering vociferously? Also, whether Mr. D'Arcy Irvine had called a meeting for Friday next to censure the conduct of Captain Butler, the Stipendiary Magistrate, by the following placard:—
Rise, sons of civil and religious liberty, Orange and Green! Meet me in Enniskillen on Friday next, in Fair Green, in defence of The Queen and Her Throne, in defence of your lives and rights, in defiance of all party government, in defiance of ascendancy and police magistrates who write in the Press that peaceable inhabitants are shocked to see loyal men carrying arms to defend themselves against assassination. United we stand, divided we fall.—Yours sincerely,D'ARCY IRVINE.
§ MR. CHICHESTER FORTESCUE, in reply, said, his attention had been called to the outrages or outrage alleged to have been committed, not upon Mr. D'Arcy Irvine personally, but upon his servant. The story was, that a gun had been snapped at the servant in the darkness of the night, as he was standing outside Mr. D'Arcy Irvine's hall door. He confessed, from all the information he had obtained, he agreed with his hon. Friend that the outrage was purely imaginary. It was not for him to explain how the mistake arose. With respect to the latter part of the Question, he had no official information. He should be inclined to believe that there was a good deal of imagination about 814 these stories also. It was difficult to believe that Mr. D'Arcy Irvine should have appeared at the head of 100 rifles; but if there was any truth in the story, it would be highly desirable that some influence should be used with Mr. D'Arcy Irvine to moderate the state of excitement which such an act would indicate. He should be afraid to employ any influence, as he believed no one connected with the Government of the country would be a fit person to approach Mr. D'Arcy Irvine; but if there were other gentlemen who could bring their influence to bear on him, they would do a great deal of good to that part of the country.