MR. O'BRIENasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is a fact that one of the persons entrusted with the printing of the Supplemental Lists for the county of Armagh is Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of the county of Armagh; is the paper, of which he is one of the proprietors, and in which the lists for North Armagh and Richhill polling district in Mid-Armagh were printed, the local Orange organ; is the manager of that paper an Orangeman and Conservative Registration Agent, who acted in that capacity at the last Revision Court held in Armagh; is it true that the Supplemental Lists for the polling place of Loughgall were at least four days before 20th July exhibited publicly on the counter of the shop in which they were printed; did a notice appear in the same paper last Saturday that claims would be filled at that office for Loyalists and Conservatives; were the Supplemental Lists for the Charlemont and other polling districts in Mid-Armagh exhibited by Conservative agents and others in these districts at least two days prior to the 20th of July; is it a fact that there are no ordinary printers to the Grand Jury, and that the work is done by contract, the lowest tender being accepted; was a notice issued by the Secretary to the Grand Jury inviting tenders for so much of the Supplemental Lists as the Grand Jury had control of; were tenders received or a contract entered into publicly; was it illegal for the Secretary to the Grand Jury and the Clerk of the Crown and Peace to enter into a private arrangement for disposing of the work; if so, will a prosecution be instituted; and, will there be any further inquiry into the irregularities above referred to before the printing of the 828 Claimants' Lists is entrusted to the same printers?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY (Sir WILLIAM HART DYKE)I cannot undertake to inquire whether persons are Orangemen or not; but if the hon. Member will name the person he refers to in the first part of his Question I may be able to answer as to known matters of fact. Some of the lists for North Armagh were printed in the office of The Ulster Gazette, which is a Conservative paper. The Clerk of the Crown and Peace informs me that the lists for Loughgall and other districts were issued on the 17th ultimo, and were largely circulated; but he has no means of knowing where they were exhibited after they left his office. The printing for the Grand Jury is done by contract after application approved at Presentment Sessions. I have already explained that no such application could be made beforehand in this case, but that the account for the printing must come before a future Sessions, when the Justices and cesspayers will have full power to allow, disallow, or modify the accounts. The Clerk of the Crown and Peace was bound to have the work executed.
MR. O'BRIENasked the right hon. Gentleman whether he did not inform him that they were not Orangemen? He would now ask him whether one of these printers was not Grand Secretary to the Orange Lodge of the county?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARYI am not supposed to make that inquiry.
MR. O'BRIENI will ask the right hon. Gentleman on what authority he undertook to say that the printers were not Orangemen?
§ [No reply.]