§ MR. SEXTON (for Mr. HEALY)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is true that members of the Royal Irish Constabulary Force have been sent from Dublin and elsewhere, at various times for the past four months, to shoe horses for private individuals throughout Ireland; whether the shoes are provided out of the Constabulary Depôt Store, Dublin; if, when a policeman is sent to shoe horses for private persons, his Railway fare and other expenses are paid by the Government; and, whether there exists a regulation under which constabulary policemen are compelled to shoe horses for the public?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTERSir, we were informed that certain persons who had made themselves obnoxious to the Land League had found it impossible to get their horses shod, and as that was a very serious inconvenience, we thought it right in that case to make an exception to the general rule that the constabulary should do nothing for private individuals. Two or three farriers were accordingly allowed to shoe horses for private individuals, receiving their material from the constabulary depôt, but charging current prices for it and for their work. No regulation exists under which the constabulary are compelled to shoe horses for the public.