§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If his attention has been called to the sworn evidence given at an inquest held in the townland of Drum-bear on Saturday last, by Dr. Reed, coroner for county Monaghan, and to the following circumstances detailed by the different witnesses:—That the house of Thomas Stewart, a tenant on the Roscommon estate, was visited on the 18th of March by Mr. John Johnston, the under agent of Lord Rossmore's estate, and a number of bailiffs; that the under agent approached the bedside of Mrs. Stewart, the wife of the tenant, who was in an advanced state of pregnancy, and ordered her to rise and dress herself; that Dr. William Woods, her medical attendant, found her, as a result, suffering from excitement and heart disease, and threatened with premature confinement, and asked the under agent and bailiffs to retire; that the under agent and some bailiffs repeated their visit on April 29, and Johnston again went to the bedside of the woman, again ordered her to rise and dress herself, and called upon the bailiffs to remove her; whether the woman, in consequence of these threats, fainted in presence of the under agent and the bailiffs; that, on the 29th, the bailiffs again were in the vicinity of the house; that, on the 30th, Mrs. Stewart was prematurely delivered of a dead-born child; that the verdict of the jury was that the premature birth was brought about by the great excitement through which the mother had passed; and, whether he will take any steps for bringing the man, Johnston, to justice?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, he saw a statement in The Freeman's Journal yesterday, and he lost no time in writing to obtain full information with regard to what was stated to have happened. He would be glad if the hon. Member would repeat the Question. It certainly did appear that there had been unjustifiable hardship; but he was glad to see that the police were not mentioned as having been present on the occasion.