§ LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILLasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been directed to the "Irish World" newspaper, printed and published in New York; whether he is aware, or whether it is with the sanction of the Government, that that newspaper is circulated weekly all over Ireland, partly through the agency of and by the officials of Her Majesty's Post Office Department, and partly through other well-known channels; whether he is aware that incitements to murder Irish landlords, land agents, and land 883 grabbers and others are set forth in every edition of that paper; why proceedings similar to those which have recently been directed against the "Freiheit" newspaper in London have not been directed against those parties who are concerned in the circulation, sale, and distribution of the "Irish World" in Ireland; and, what difference, if any, exists between incitements to murder Her Majesty's subjects and incitements to murder persons who are not Her Majesty's subjects, which should warrant a prosecution in the latter case and not in the former?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTERI need not say that The Irish World is not circulated with the sanction of Her Majesty's Government. I have reason to believe that its circulation is mainly, if not entirely, through other channels than the Post Office. As to another part of the Question, I should have thought the noble Lord would have been aware that, in the case of a newspaper which transgresses the law, it is very much easier to stop it if printed in the United Kingdom than if brought in from abroad; and that it is impossible to institute similar proceedings, in this instance, to those directed against The Freiheit newspaper. I may anticipate a question of which Notice has been given by the hon. Member for Leitrim by stating that if The Irish World containing the article from which he has read were published in the United Kingdom—certainly if it were published in Ireland—I should not lose an hour before taking the opinion of the Law Advisers of the Government on the subject. I am well aware that the circulation of The Irish World has been productive of evil consequences; but it has been found by all Governments to be one of the most difficult matters to prevent the introduction of mischievous newspapers from abroad.