MR. J. O'CONNOR(for Dr. TANNER) (Cork Co., Mid)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether all passengers arriving in Cork from England are liable to have their portmanteaux and packages opened by the police, and their contents emptied out and not necessarily re-packed; whether the same method of procedure is carried out as regards passengers going to Dublin from England by the Mail or London and North-Western Steamers; whether an English gentleman named Williams, on his arrival in Cork from Milford on the morning of Sunday the 13th ultimo, had his portmanteaux and packages opened, and the contents strewn about the deck by two detectives in plain clothes; whether it is usual for policemen in plain clothes to search passengers' luggage on arrival in the port of Cork; and, whether he will inquire into the circumstances of the case?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY(Mr. A. J. BALFOUR) (Manchester, E.)I am informed that passengers' luggage is not examined by the police at Cork, but that it is sometimes examined by Customs officers at the request of the police. This was done in the case of Mr. Williams, referred to in the Question. The luggage of passengers going to Dublin from England is examined when the Police Authorities think it necessary.