§ MR. BIGGARasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been called to a case tried at Templepatrick, on the 29th ultimo, before Mr. F. C. Montgomery, R. M., and Mr. S. W. Perry, J. P., in which a man named John Stormont was fined one pound, with five pounds compensation, for accidentally setting fire to some furze on the roadside, by which some heath on a mountain was burnt; whether Stormont, being unable to pay the fine and compensation, has been sent to gaol for one month; and, whether he will advise the remission of the remainder of the sentence?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. LAW)Sir, this case was heard at Templepatrick Petty Sessions on the 29th of June last, not on the 29th of July This man, John Stormont, was prosecuted by Henry Donaldson for maliciously and unlawfully burning the heath and grass growing on the complainant's mountain on the 9th of June, 1881. The case was tried before the magistrates mentioned in the question, and, the charge having been proved, Stormont was sentenced to pay a fine of 10s. and costs, and also £5 compensation to the complainant. In default of payment Stormont was arrested under warrant, and his term of imprisonment expired yesterday.