§ MR. REDMONDasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is a fact that when in 1872 the Royal Irish Constabulary were introduced into the city of Londonderry in place of the old local police, the rule was laid down that of the two officers to be stationed there, namely, the county inspector and the sub-inspector, one was to be a Catholic and the other a Protestant; whether for some time this condition was observed, but for the last five years it has been departed from and both the officers have been Protestants; whether the position of sub-inspector in Derry is worth some£50 or£60 a-year more than that of an ordinary one; and, whether he will state 1399 the reasons for not observing the rule made in 1872?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, the Inspector General informed him that he was not aware of any such rule as that referred to in the Question. For some years subsequent to 1872 one of the officers stationed in Derry was a Roman Catholic. In 1876 a vacancy occurred, which was filled up by the appointment of a Protestant. That was the only change which had been made since 1872. The salary and allowances of the Sub-Inspector stationed in Derry were precisely the same as those received by Sub-Inspectors elsewhere. It was true that he received a small additional remuneration for the discharge of duties in connection with the inspection of weights and measures; but it did not come out of the Constabulary Votes, and did not amount to£50.