MR. O'BRIENasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been called to the letters addressed by the Rev. H. Kellaher, P.P. Grenagh, county Cork, to the Under Secretary for Crime, complaining of the misconduct of the local police in forcing their way, without payment, into the seated portion of the church, and in stationing Protestant members of the force offensively in the chapel yard, during Mass, to spy upon members of the congregation; whether the reply of Mr. Jenkinson was, as to the first charge, that the police had no money; and, as to the second, that these constables were not guilty of any misconduct; and, whether he will make any further inquiry into these complaints?
§ MR. TREVELYANSir, I have received the Rev. Mr. Kellaher's letters, and also reports as to the matters he complained of, which were fully inquired into by the district inspector, and do not, in my opinion, call for further notice on the part of the Government. It is true that on a Sunday in last September two constables attending Mass at Grenagh stated to the collector that they had no coppers with them, and were unable on that day to pay the usual charge of 1d. for pew accommodation. They had not refused to pay on previous occasions. I do not see in the correspondence any justification for the charge that Protestant policemen were offensively stationed in the chapel yard, and I see no reason to question the propriety of the statement that the constables complained of had not been guilty of any misconduct. I do not propose to take any further steps in the matter.