HC Deb 06 July 1871 vol 207 cc1218-9
LORD CLAUD HAMILTON

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whether the Government has received any Memorial from the Inhabitants of Dungannon charging the local magistrates with partiality in the discharge of their duty, and sympathy with certain drumming parties, and praying for an inquiry into the conduct of the magistrates; and, if so, whether the Government has forwarded a Copy of such Memorial to the magistrates accused; whether Captain Ball, R.M., stationed at Dungannon, has communicated to the Government any facts in support of a charge made by him at a late police investigation at Dungannon against the said magistrates of partiality in the discharge of their duties, and sympathy with the aforesaid drumming parties; and, whether the Lord Chancellor of Ireland has informed the Government that he had received an application from the magistrates so inculpated asking for an inquiry into their conduct, and requesting that Captain Ball should be ordered to supply the facts and circumstances on which he founded his most serious charges, and whether the Government have received any communication from the magistrates themselves?

THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON

replied that the Government had received a memorial from the inhabitants of Dungannon charging the local magistrates with partiality in the discharge of their duty, and that a copy of that memorial would be forwarded to the magistrates for their consideration. It was inaccurate to speak of a charge being made by Captain Ball, for he simply made a statement, on oath at an inquiry into the conduct of the constabulary, but he had not communicated to the Government any facts in support of that statement. They had received a copy of the correspondence between the magistrates and the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and a communication from those magistrates, requesting an inquiry into the facts of the case. He had not had time to consult the Lord Lieutenant upon the subject, but he should do so, and as soon as any decision had been arrived at he would communicate it to the noble Lord.