§ MR. MOOREasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether the Government intend to take any step to represent Catholic interests on the Ballymena bench of magistrates; whether a Mr. Mallaghan was strongly recommended by Lord Waveney some two years ago to the then lieutenant of the county; whether Lord Waveney, the present lieutenant of the county, now refuses to recommend this same Mr. Mallaghan to the Lord Chancellor; and, if so, what charge is alleged against Mr. Mallaghan in the interim; and, whether the Irish Government are aware that this gentleman's appointment has been recommended by the bishop of the diocese, by several deputy lieutenants, many magistrates, and others of all shades of politics?
§ MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMANIn answer to my hon. Friend, I can only say that Lord Waveney did some years ago append his name to a recommendation of Mr. Mallaghan for the Commission of the Peace; that recently, when fuller circumstances were before him as Lieutenant of the county, he did not think it would be expedient to recommend Mr. Mallaghan for the Ballymena Bench; and that both the late and the present Lord Chancellor, with full knowledge of the case, felt that they would not be justified in this instance in overruling the opinion of the Lieutenant of the county. The Lord Chancellor is, I believe, most anxious to secure a Roman Catholic magistrate for the Ballymena Bench.
§ MR. T. P. O'CONNORgave Notice that, in consequence of the unsatisfactory answer of the Chief Secretary, he would call attention to the matter at the earliest opportunity.