§ MR. SEXTONasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether persons now imprisoned on suspicion in Ireland under warrants of the Lord Lieutenant will be allowed to be present, either personally or by counsel, at the investigations into the causes of imprisonment which the Lord Lieutenant is directed by the statute to hold, in every case, at the end of three months from the arrest; and, whether, if the persons imprisoned are not allowed to appear, either personally or by counsel, what guarantee, if any, will be afforded that these investigations will be adequate to the occasion, and not mere official formalities?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, that he believed that Mr. Boyton, one of the prisoners in Kilmainham Gaol, was in a bad state of health, and that he had ordered a careful inquiry to be made, especially with regard to his eyesight. He could not undertake that the prisoners or their counsel should be present while their cases were being reconsidered. The hon. Member would remember that this question was discussed by the House while the Act was passing, and that it had been decided by a large majority not to allow such a privilege. The cases would all be carefully considered, but to do more would be contrary to the spirit of the Act.