HC Deb 23 June 1890 vol 345 c1645
DR. TANNER

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the manner in which the police escort behaved to two political prisoners, Messrs. Thomas and William Kent, who were brought from the County Court Gaol to a Court held in Fermoy on Monday the 16th of June, under the Criminal Law and Procedure (Ireland) Act; and why and for what reason were the prisoners handcuffed?

MR. A. J. BALFOUR

The Constabulary Authorities report that the prisoners mentioned were handcuffed at the request of the prison officer who had them in charge with the object of producing them in Court under a writ of habeas corpus. The handcuffs were only used when passing through crowds with a small police escort. On the return journey handcuffs were not used, the escort having been increased.