§ MR. JAMES STUART (Shoreditch, Hoxton)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the Chairman of the Shoreditch Vestry, which held a meeting on Tuesday last, when the Chief Secretary for Ireland visited the Shoreditch Town Hall, requested the assistance of the police to protect the members of the Vestry against the aggressive attitude of persons in the crowd; whether six policemen arrived at the Town Hall, in response to the written request of the Chairman of the Vestry and the Vestry Clerk, and were sent away by the Inspector of Police present at the Hall without coming and reporting to the Chairman of the Vestry; and, whether it is or is not the duty of the Metropolitan Police, when called on by a Vestry to protect its members, to afford the protection required?
§ MR. MATTHEWSI am informed by the Commissioner of Police that police assistance was asked on the occasion in question, and that, accordingly, six constables were sent. They were not allowed by the Superintendent who was present to go inside the building, but they patrolled outside. These orders were in accordance with usual practice, and I cannot see that the Metropolitan Police failed to afford the required protection.