§ MR. SHEILasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether he is aware that the ratepayers of the Union of Oldcastle, in the county of Meath, are burdened with the sum of £150 for the maintenance of an illegitimate and deserted child named James Farelly; that the magistrates of the Oldcastle Petty Sessions signed a warrant for the arrest of the mother of the said child, which they afterwards cancelled; that by so acting the magistrates enabled the putative father, a wealthy Protestant, to avoid the payment of maintenance for the child; whether the conduct of the magistrates was legal; and, whether redress will be given to the ratepayers of Oldcastle?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANA complaint similar to that described in this Question has been made by the Board of Guardians of Oldcastle Union 857 to the Lord Chancellor, who, after investigating the circumstances, has arrived at the conclusion that the magistrates were perfectly right in recalling the warrant, which, on the face of it, was illegal. He adds that by so doing they did not in any way enable the person who by law was liable to pay for the maintenance of the child to avoid that payment.