§ MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN (Monaghan, N.)I beg to ask the Attorney General 266 for Ireland whether he has received a communication from a man named John H. Pollock, residing at 25, Polmadie Street, Glasgow, asking permission to remove from a house the property of Mr. Pollock, in Glenlough, County Monaghan, to his residence in Glasgow, some old arms, consisting of a couple of flint-lock pattern guns, one of which has no lock, and three old rust-eaten swords, which 20 years ago formed part of the armoury of an Orange Lodge of which Mr. Pollock was a member, and which he now, in his 75th year, values only as curiosities; whether the reply conveyed to Mr. Pollock's son, through a police officer in Smith borough, was that if he attempted to remove them he would get three months in gaol; whether it is illegal to have arms in that portion of the County Monaghan; and, if so, why is not Mr. Pollock prosecuted; and if it is legal for Mr. Pollock to have those arms in his possession, why is he not at liberty to remove them to Glasgow, or wherever he pleases; and whether he will give Mr. Pollock permission to remove the arms?
§ MR. MADDENThe communication was duly received, and the Constabulary Anthorities were quite prepared to grant the necessary licence. But as the arms are in the possession of a Mr. Robert Brown who claims the ownership and positively refuses to surrender them, the Inspector General does not feel that he would be justified in issuing the licence until the question of ownership is settled. The reply conveyed to Mr. Pollock's son is not, I am informed, accurately represented in the question. The difficulty in the way of issuing the licence was communicated to him in courteous terms, and it was merely in reply to an express inquiry of his own that he was informed of the penalty in the case of a contravention of the statute. It is not illegal in that portion of the County Monaghan to keep arms, but it is illegal to carry them without a licence. Upon Mr. Pollock establishing his claim to the arms the necessary authority to enable them to be removed will be forthwith issued.