HC Deb 20 March 1882 vol 267 cc1286-7
MR. JUSTIN M'CARTHY

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been called to the arrest and imprisonment of Mr. John M'Carthy and Mr. John Harte, of Killoe, in the county of Longford; whether Mr. M'Carthy has not been three months in Armagh Gaol, and Mr. Harte nearly the same period in Omagh Gaol: whether these men, arrested on "reasonable suspicion," were men who had borne a good character; whether the part of the county to which they belong is peaceful and free from outrage; and, whether, under these circumstances, he will give directions for the release of Mr. M'Carthy and Mr. Harte from prison?

MR. W. E. FORSTER

, in reply, said, that Mr. M'Carthy was arrested on the 6th of December and Mr. Harte on the 1st of March. They had since been removed to Enniskillen. He was sorry the hon. Member had asked him about the character of the men in question. He did not wish to say anything against their characters; but he could not report that they had borne a good character. One of them had been convicted of having unlicensed arms. Their cases, however, were being reconsidered, and he would communicate the result in a few days.

MR. LEAMY

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If it is true that Mr. James Hegarty, of Falcurragh, county Donegal, recently confined in Derry Gaol in default of finding sureties to be of good behaviour, was deprived of the privilege of receiving visits oftener than once a week; was not allowed to receive newspapers sent to him by his friends; was compelled to take exercise with prisoners committed for trial on serious charges; and was sentenced to twenty-four hours' solitary confinement on a charge of whistling in his cell, although the warder of that part of the prison in which Mr. Hegarty was confined declared that the charge was untrue; and, if he can state why Mr. Hegarty was subjected to such exceptional treatment?

MR. W. E. FORSTER

, in reply, said, he found, on inquiry, that the Governor had misconstrued the Prison Rules in the case in question. He was under the impression that he was dealing with the old Rules in the treatment of this prisoner. He (Mr. W. E. Forster) had taken every possible care to avoid the recurrence of any such cases in the future.