HC Deb 17 July 1884 vol 290 cc1399-401
MR. SEXTON

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, How many persons the Lord Chancellor of Ireland has appointed since the beginning of the year to act in the commission of the peace; what are their aggregate religious denominations; how many of them were appointed on the recommendation of lieutenants of counties, how many to act in counties without such recommendation, and how many to act in boroughs or cities; how many of those appointed on the recommendation of lieutenants of counties were so recommended, in pursuance of any public or representative expression of opinion by the corporations, boards, or inhabitants of any county or district, or otherwise; and how many by virtue of private representations, without reference to public opinion; how many of those appointed by the Lord Chancellor, without the recommendation of lieutenants of counties, were so appointed in pursuance of public recommendations; and how many in pursuance of recommendations of a private and personal nature; and, whether, in case of a public recommendation, the lieutenant of a county, or the Chancellor, explains, on being applied to, the cause of a refusal to appoint?

MR. GIBSON

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, How many Irish county magistrates has the present Lord Chancellor of Ireland appointed since his accession to office; how many of such magistrates were appointed by the Lord Chancellor without the recommendation of lieutenants of counties; and, does the Lord Chancellor of Ireland sanction the statement that such last-mentioned appointments amount to the number of two hundred?

MR. TREVELYAN

The expression I used—that a great number of magistrates were appointed over the head of the Lord Lieutenants of the counties is inaccurate, and it does not represent the facts of the case. The policy which the Lord Chancellor has adopted is vigorously and strenuously to encourage the appointment of proper persons to the Commission of the Peace; and in this policy, which he has carried out in a manner for which I must say I think he deserves great credit, he has very generally received active assistance from the lieutenants of counties. Since the beginning of the year he has appointed 208 county magistrates. Of these, as far as their religious persuasion is known, 99 are Roman Catholics, 64 Episcopalian Protestants, two Wesleyans, and one of the Jewish persuasion. Of these the Lord Chancellor has been memorialized with regard to about 50 gentlemen. In only four cases has the Lord Chancellor found it necessary to appoint gentlemen without the concurrence of the lieutenants of counties, who have in most cases shown themselves forward in meeting his wishes to have all religious denominations represented on the Bench. In no case does the Chancellor state his reason for not naming gentlemen unless they are disqualified by some existing rule. Since the beginning of the year, 17 gentlemen have been placed on the Commission of the Peace in boroughs, of whom nine are Roman Catholics.

MR. SEXTON

said, that on the Vote for the Chief Secretary's salary he would endeavour to ascertain three facts—first, how many persons were publicly recommended for the magistracy; how many of these were appointed by the Lord Chancellor with the assent of the Lord Lieutenants of the county; and how many were appointed without their assent?

MR. TREVELYAN

said, he had already stated that only in four cases were appointments made without the concurrence of the Lord Lieutenants of the county.

MR. J. LOWTHER

Has any complaint been made as to the unfitness of some of those appointed?

MR. TREVELYAN

I have no doubt that the Lord Chancellor, in making his inquiries as to whom he would ultimately appoint, in some cases received unfavourable opinions; but I have heard of no complaint otherwise than in the shape of Questions addressed to me in this House.

MR. O'BRIEN

Of all these appointment, was there a single one of them the appointment of a Nationalist?

[No reply.]