§ MR. ARTHUR O'CONNORasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is true that the police authorities in Ireland informed him, before the Protection of Person and Property (Ireland) Bill had passed this House, that they would, on its becoming law, be in a position at once to arrest a hundred persons against whom they could bring an amount of evidence sufficient to secure their conviction at the hands of an ordinary English jury; and, whether, since that they have not proved themselves unable to redeem their promise?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTERIt appears to me, Sir, that the hon. Member, in putting this Question, was misled by his own imagination or by some mistaken rumour. I must decline to give him any information as to confidential communications received by me from the police authorities.
§ MR. ARTHUR O'CONNORWith reference to the answer just given by the right hon. Gentleman, Sir, I may be allowed to explain that I did not draw on my own imagination; and that I would not place the Question on the Paper, but that I derived my information from a source which I believe to be thoroughly reliable.