§ MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN (Monaghan, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Lord Lieutenant made any inquiry, and, if so, of whom, to satisfy himself that Charles Mitchell, of Shantonagh, County Monaghan, was a person of good character, before he caused the Board of Inland Revenue to grant Mitchell a temporary licence; whether it was represented to the Lord Lieutenant that any convictions were recorded against Mitchell in the Petty Sessions or Quarter Sessions Courts of County Monaghan; and, if so, what were the offences; and whether these convictions, if any, were before the Lord Lieutenant when he recommended Mitchell as a proper person to conduct a licensed house?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR, Manchester, E.)The Lord Lieutenant had before him a Report from the Local Constabulary officer that Mr. Mitchell's character was good and his premises suitable. No mention was made of convictions having been recorded against the applicant, nor can it be found, as the result of inquiries now made, that any such convictions exist with the exception of one which occurred nine years ago. The conviction was for poaching. A single conviction of the nature mentioned, and occurring so many years ago, would not, in the opinion of the Lord Lieutenant, disqualify a person from holding licensed premises.