§ MR. SMITH-BARRY (Hunts, S.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether, on 4th February, attacks were made by Moonlighters upon the houses of farmers, named Murphy, Philpott and Kelleher, living in the neighbourhood of Mill-street, in the County of Cork, the hair of daughters of these men was cut off by the Moonlighters; and, in the case of Murphy's daughters, tar was poured upon their heads; whether the alleged reason for these outrages was, that the girls had been seen speaking to policemen; and, whether his attention has been called to a speech made at or near Millstreet by the Member for Mid Cork (Dr. Tanner) on 22nd January, and reported in The Cork Daily Herald of 25th January, in which he said—
He would be sorry to hear that a Millstreet man or woman Spoke to an emergency man, and that any Millstreet man or woman spoke to a policeman; and he would ask fathers and brothers to see that girls did not speak to policemen in the district.
§ DR. TANNER (Cork Co., Mid)said that arising out of the Question of the hon. Member, he wished to ask the Chief Secretary whether the hon. Member for South Huntingdon was Chairman of the Cork Defence Union; and whether it was a fact that since the extraordinary number of the employés of that union and additional Royal Irish Constabulary had come to that district that the statistics of illegitimacy and immorality had enormously increased?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY (Sir MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH) (Bristol, W.)Sir, I do not think that the Question of the hon. Member is one that I could properly answer. With reference to the Question on the Paper, it is the fact that the house of a farmer named Murphy, residing in the neighbourhood of Millstreet, was attacked, and that his daughters were assaulted in the manner described, and warned not to speak to policemen again. It is also true that a meeting had been held in the vicinity a few days previously, and that The Cork Daily Herald of the 25th of January contains a report of the proceedings, attributing to the hon. Member for Mid Cork (Dr. Tanner) the use of the words quoted in the Question; 1214 but I cannot say whether the report is accurate. [Dr. TANNER: It is accurate.] The police have no information as to the alleged attacks upon the other farmers named in the Question.