§
MR. CALLAN moved for a Return
Of the Offences reported in the County of Louth, specifying the dates thereof, from the commencement of 1881 up to the period when it was proclaimed under the provisions of The Peace Preservation (Ireland) Act, 1881,' specifying those for which Convictions were obtained,
And, Copy of the Correspondence as to the said Proclamation, which has passed between His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant and the Magistrates of the said County.
The hon. Member said, he believed there would be no objection to this Return; and, with regard to the second part, his principal reason for wishing to have the Return was that he thought the Return would be nil, as he believed there had been no correspondence whatever between the Lord Lieutenant and the county magistrates of Louth. It was not from any curiosity to see the correspondence that he moved for it, but simply to have an authoritative statement that there had not been any correspondence. He would not, under other
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circumstances, move for what might be deemed confidential documents; but he wished to have either the Return or some statement made that the correspondence had been confidential, or that no correspondence whatever had taken place between the Lord Lieutenant and the magistrates of the county. With reference to the correspondence between the magistrates, no district in Europe was so peaceable, quiet, and orderly as the county of Louth; and when a man had applied for leave to carry arms to protect himself, leave was refused, on the ground that there were no outrages in the county. Therefore, he wanted to know why the county had been proclaimed? When the Arms Act was passed through the House in March, 1881, the late Chief Secretary, among other pledges which had been broken since by himself and by his whole Executive, pledged himself that no county should be proclaimed unless there was some absolute necessity for doing so. The Act passed in March, 1881, and the county was not proclaimed until September, 1881. Between the passing of the Act in March, 1881, and the proclamation of the county in September, no outrages occurred, and there was nothing to justify the Proclamation. He wished to know upon what ground the Proclamation was issued, because the first part of the Proclamation showed that there were no such crimes and offences in the county as to justify such an outrage on the county? He wished to see upon whose advice the Proclamation was issued, and hoped the Government would not refuse this Return.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. W. M. JOHNSON)said, he had no answer to give the hon. Member; but there was no objection to give the Return moved for.
§ Motion agreed to.
§ House adjourned at Three o'clock.