§ MR. DE COBAIN (Belfast, E.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, As to whether official information had reached him concerning a most savage attack having been made upon the Reverend William P. Kearney 1167 one of the curates of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Chapel, Drogheda, by a band of ruffians, accompanied by a number of the prostitutes of that town, and that the Reverend gentleman only escaped with his life by taking refuge in the house of a Protestant named Gardiner, who, at his own risk, protected him from further molestation; and, as the consequences may be very serious, the Reverend gentleman being since confined to bed, wholly unfit to attend to any duty, and if the above be correct, what steps Her Majesty's Government propose to take in order to bring the perpetrators of this assault to justice?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY (Mr. JOHN MORLEY) (Newcastle-on-Tyne)I am sure the hon. Gentleman will be glad to know that he has been misinformed. The Inspector of Police has called on the Rev. Mr. Kearney, who states that the whole affair is a fabrication, and that there is no truth in any portion of it.