§ MR. MACARTNEYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been drawn to a report in The Roscommon Herald, of 27th February 1886, of the proceedings of the Longford Branch of the Irish National League, in which Mr. Wilson, the Vice President, is reported as follows:—
The League is averse to public or open boy-cotting, I believe, and they want country branches to do things quietly till we see what Parliament will do for us, and hence we are admonished to be as little aggressive as we possibly can for a time;and, if so, whether the Government intend to take any steps to protect the public against the less aggressive form of "Boycotting" indicated in this statement?
THE CHIEF SECRETARY (Mr. JOHN MORLEY)The hon. Member will excuse me, but I do not quite see the object of this Question. Surely the less aggressive "Boycotting" is, the better; but the hon. Member may rest assured that whenever there is evidence to sustain a prosecution for a breach of the law in respect of intimidation the law will be put in motion. I do not take the hon. Member as regarding the present as a specific instance of "Boycotting."