§ MR. ALEXANDER M'ARTHUR (for Mr. P. A. TAYLOR)asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether it is true that at the last Dunfanaghy Petty Sessions, two men, father and son, named Hagney, were charged by Mr. Stewart, J.P. of Hornhead, with being unlawfully on his preserves in pursuit of game, and having in their possession two rabbits, and were sentenced to be imprisoned in Lifford Gaol for three months without the option of a fine; and, if so, whether he will order a mitigation of the sentence?
§ MR. J. LOWTHERThe facts are, I believe, correctly stated by the hon. Gentleman, though it should have been added that the men are notorious bad characters, who had been previously convicted of acts of plunder, such as robbery of potatoes. They had also been distinctly warned against trespassing upon the land in question, and had recently been let off upon a promise not to offend again. In these circumstances, neither the conviction nor the sentence appears to call for any action on the part of the Government.