HC Deb 25 March 1884 vol 286 cc741-2
MR. O'BRIEN

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been drawn to a notice in the following terms, served on Patrick Cotter and other tenants on the property of Mr. Hamilton, at Anna-kissy, near Mallow, with respect to the pending election of Poor Law Guardian for that division: — Ballyfree, Glenealy, county Wicklow, "11th March 1884. Patrick Cotter,—Mr. Hamilton hopes and expects you will vote for John Buckley, as Poor Law Guardian. I will expect to hear that you will do so. Your friend, E. Smyth Dickson. Mr. Hamilton and I have requested Mr. Roche to let us know you vote; whether Mr. Dickson is the landlord's agent, and Mr. Roche the sub-agent; whether he is aware that some of the tenants so noticed owe arrears of rent, and are thus in the power of the landlord, and that Patrick Cotter has declared that, in consequence of the notice, he will be obliged, against his will, to vote for Mr. Buckley; whether he is aware that, since receipt of the above notice, and while the voting paper for the election was in his house, Patrick Cotter received a solicitor's letter demanding sixty-one pounds, arrears of rent, at the suit of the landlord; whether steps will be taken to prosecute, under the Intimidation Clause of the Prevention of Crime Act, the persons responsible for suggesting, writing, serving, or enforcing the notice; whether the Mr. Roche who is charged with seeing that the tenants obey the direction of the landlord was a Sub-Commissioner under the Land Act, and, as a Justice of the Peace, signed a protest against the dismissal of Lord Rossmore; and, what notice will be taken of his conduct? The hon. Member further asked, without Notice, whether it was true that the sub-agent was present during the counting of the votes?

MR. TREYELYAN

, in reply, said, the hon. Member must imagine he had the power of ubiquity if he supposed that Question could be answered without Notice. With regard to the Question on the Paper, it was the fact that three tenants had received such communications, and that two of them were in arrcar, and that one had received a solicitor's letter. He had on a previous occasion stated, in answer to the hon. Members for Cork (Mr. Deasy) and Mallow (Mr. O'Brien) on the one hand, and the noble Lord the Member for Down (Lord Arthur Hill) and West-meath (Mr. Harrington) on the other, that the Government did not think these a class of cases the Prevention of Crime Act was intended to meet. He intended to bring the conduct of Mr. Roche, who was a Justice of the Peace, before the notice of the Lord Chancellor.