§ MR. KENNYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If he will state why the police hut erected and the constables stationed for 947 upwards of nine months, at Rathfaland, Newmarket on Fergus, county Clare, have not yet been removed; if Mr. Denis O'Neill, for whose protection they were provided, has repeatedly declared to the authorities that he requires no such protection, and requested their removal as a useless and heavy burden upon a peaceable locality; if it is a fact that not only this district but also the surrounding places have been free from serious crime within the time which has elapsed since the erection of said hut; and if, bearing in mind the peaceful character of the neighbourhood and the cordial feelings which exist between Mr. O'Neill and the inhabitants of the locality, immediate orders will be given to remove both hut and police?
§ MR. TREVELYANSir, it is the case that Mr. O'Neill states that the police at Rathfaland are not required for his protection. However, they do not appear to be there for that special object. I am informed that they are stationed there for the general preservation of the peace of the district, and that their presence is considered necessary to secure a continuance of the peaceable conditions now prevailing. The hon. Member is mistaken in supposing that the cost is charged upon the locality.