§ MR. JUSTIN M'CARTHYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been lately drawn to the case of Mr. Joseph Smith, of Aughnacliff, in the county of Longford, who was arrested in last October, and sent to Dundalk Gaol, on a warrant charging him with being reasonably suspected of having incited other persons to intimidate other persons, with a view to prevent them from selling to and dealing with yet 1693 other persons, none of the persons or classes of persons being named or distinctly described; and, whether, considering the nature of the charge, the condition of Mr. Smith's health, and the peaceful state of the county, he will direct that Mr. Smith shall either be brought to trial or released from prison?
§ MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said he could not at present recommend that Mr. Joseph Smith be released. He regretted to say that the district was not in such a satisfactory state as that represented by the hon. Member. The only resident landlord there was completely "Boycotted"—the only servants he had being strangers. With regard to the state of Mr. Smith's health, the medical officer of Dundalk Gaol stated that he had been suffering from a mild form of dyspepsia, accompanied by sleeplessness. The former complaint had, to a great extent, left him, and he had increased in weight since his imprisonment more than a stone and a half.