MR. O'BRIENasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been called to the conviction of Mr. H. J. M'Farlane, Local Government Board Inspector for Donegal, at the Southern Police Court in Dublin, on a charge of attempting to defraud an English Railway Company by travelling on a ticket out of date; whether he was ordered to pay a fine of £2 and costs, together with the full railway fare; whether it was on this gentleman's reports that the Government formed their opinion as to the character of the distress in Donegal; and, whether Mr. M`Farlane will be retained in his position?
§ MR. TREVELYANSir, my attention has been called to this case. I find that Mr. M`Farlane, having travelled on the Great Northern Railway, on a return ticket which was out of date, was decreed at the suit of the Company for the price of the ticket for the journey, and £2 2s. costs. He was not fined, as stated in the Question. The magistrate who heard the case inflicted no penalty, as he believed that it was a mere misunderstanding on Mr. M'Farlane's part. I do not think, therefore, that the transaction calls for further notice. Mr. M'Farlane was only one of the Inspectors on whose Reports the Local Government Board formed their opinion as to 2088 the character of the distress in Donegal, and nothing has transpired to throw the least doubt on the accuracy of the information the Board obtained as to the condition of the poor in that county.
MR. O'BRIENMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman, whether lie thinks the infliction of a penalty of two guineas costs was meant by the magistrate as a delicate complimentto Mr. M'Farlane's veracity; and, also, whether Mr. M`Farlane was not supposed to be on duty in Donegal, when he was discovered travelling on a ticket out of date on an English railway?
§ [No reply.]
§ MR. TREVELYANIt was not an English railway.