HC Deb 10 March 1885 vol 295 cc620-2
MR. O'BRIEN

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether the inquiry held by two resident magistrates under the Crimes Act, at Londonderry, with reference to the attack by an Orange mob upon two Sisters of Mercy, proved abortive owing to the four defendants, who were in attendance, not having been brought properly before the Court; whether any prosecution of an agrarian character under the Crimes Act, in the South of Ireland, has failed owing to a similar mishap, or was left in charge of an inferior police officer; whether the Crown Solicitor was instructed to attend, as in the case of the late prosecutions at Drangan, county Tipperary; who is to blame for the miscarriage of justice; and, whether, in any fresh proceedings that may be taken, care will be taken to have the Crown represented by a com- petent legal official? In putting this Question he would like further to ask the right hon. Gentleman, whether the persons who witnessed the attack did not belong to the Orange faction; and whether any steps had been taken for the discovery of evidence by holding a secret inquiry under the 16th section of the Crimes Act?

MR. LEWIS

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether the alleged attack by an Orange mob upon two Sisters of Mercy, really consisted of an attack, by word of mouth, of four little boys, three of whom were eleven years of age, and the other only fourteen; and, whether such a case is within the provisions of the Crimes Act 1882?

MR. SEXTON

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, How it happened that the cases reserved for hearing by a Crimes Act Court at Derry, on Thursday last, fell through; were the police concerned in the prosecution afforded professional advice; if not, why was it withheld from them; why the Crown was not professionally represented in Court, and why the prosecution was left to be conducted by a constable of police, whose intervention in the case was objected to by the solicitor for the defence; and, what further steps are being taken to have the cases duly dealt with?

MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERAN

The defendants in this case, who are described in the depositions as young boys, were members of a disorderly crowd which used insulting language towards two nuns; and one of them, it appeared, raised a stick over the ladies' heads. They were summoned by the police for using language calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, and for obstructing the highway. On the case coming before the magistrates, the latter, under the mistaken belief that the case was one coming within the provisions of the Crimes Act, ordered that the defendants should be brought before a Crimes Court. The Government, however, were advised that the case was not one coming within the Crimes Act, or which could be prosecuted under its provisions, and in consequence of this the Sessional Crown Solicitor did not receive instructions to attend. There is no intention, however, to allow the offenders to escape; and the Sessional Crown Solicitor has been instructed to take immediate steps to make the defendants amenable to the ordinary law.

MR. O'BRIEN

Might I ask again whether the account the right hon. Gentleman has given of the occurrence is not that of persons who belong to the Orange faction; and, whether any steps have been taken by the Government, under the 16th section of the Crimes Act, to discover evidence?

MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN

The account I have given is an account I have received from the police and other parties.