§ MR. BIGGARasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is a fact that on the evening of the 25th of December last a serious assault was committed at Belfast upon a young lad named Andrew Downey, while passing through Sandy Bow, by a number of boys who infest the neighbourhood; whether it is a fact that upon the evening named Downey was felled to the ground by the blow of a stone which inflicted a severe wound, and kicked by several members of the crowd while on the ground; whether Downey has gone deranged owing to the injuries he received on that occasion, and is now confined in the Belfast District Lunatic Asylum, with little or no hope of recovery; whether, it having been proved in court that James M'Ilveen was a member of the crowd from which the stones were thrown, and who admitted to the sergeant of the police in charge of the barracks in Sandy Bow that he was the boy who threw the stone which struck Downey, the magistrates, Messrs. M'Carthy, Johnston, and Andrews, were justified in releasing James M'Ilveen; whether it is a fact that, upon the 9th of January, Mr. John Downey, the father of the injured boy, wrote to the Bight honourable gentleman, inclosing a Report of the case, and calling his attention to its serious nature; and, whether he has taken any stops to have the guilty parties punished; and, if so, what are they?
§ MR. TREVELYANSir, it is the case that a boy named Andrew Downey was struck by a stone on the head. No evidence has been produced that he was knocked down or kicked. The stone was thrown from among a crowd of boys, of whom Richard M'Ilveen (not James) was one. He was summoned for the assault, but no evidence of identification was produced. One witness 1840 swore positively that he had seen the stone thrown, and that the accused was not the boy who threw it. The injured lad was among the witnesses examined. He did not appear to be seriously hurt; and, in the absence of evidence to identify the accused, the magistrates dismissed the case, without prejudice to any further proceedings that might be taken. There is no foundation for the statement that the boy M'Ilveen admitted to the sergeant of police that he had thrown the stone. Andrew Downey has since become affected with religious mania, and is now in Belfast Asylum. John Downey, the boy's father, addressed a letter to the Government on the subject on the 9th of January, and the case was at once inquired into, with the result that the foregoing facts were elicited, which do not show any way in which the Executive could interfere. The police were advised that it was open to them to bring on the case again if they could obtain any further evidence of identity, either as regards the boy already charged, or any of his companions.