§ MR. JOHN O'CONNOR (Tipperary, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has seen the statement in the newspapers that Mr. P. D. Kenny, of Birmingham, who lately visited his relations at Kilkelly, Mayo, was "shadowed" by the police during his stay in that country, although his only object in Ireland was to visit his friends; whether he belonged to any organisation of an Irish character, or joined in any demonstration, or made, or attempted to make, any speeches whilst he was in Ireland; whether he is aware that, while Mr. Kenny was sojourning at his sister's house, two policemen came each morning, watched the doors till he came out, and then followed him wherever he went, keeping constantly within hearing distance, and stopping to listen to his conversation when he spoke to friends whom he met, and that when Mr. Kenny was engaged in changing some clothing in a shop the policemen entered the room where he was and stood staring at him while ho was engaged in undressing and re-dressing, and whether he will take stops to have visitors to Ireland protected from being thus followed by the police?
§ MR. M'CARTANI have also to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether his attention has been called to the paragraph in the Echo of the 24th instant, under the heading "Shadowing in Ireland;" whether he is aware that Mr. P. D. Kenny, of Birmingham, complains that during a recent visit to his friends in Kilkelly, County Mayo, "his life was rendered unendurable by the persistent shadowing to which he was subjected;" whether two policemen came each morning to his sister's house during his stay there, and watched the doors till he came out, and then followed him wherever he went, and kept constantly within hearing distance of him, and came and listened to the conversation 214 when ho happened to meet a friend on the road; that these policemen followed him into a shop where he went to order a suit of clothes, and pursued him into the room where his measure was taken, and remained there all the time he was in the room, and that this shadowing continued until he left the place; and whether he will state by whose directions, and on what ground, Mr. Kenny was thus subjected to a continuous system of "shadowing"?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe Constabulary Authorities report that owing to statements in the Nationalist Press that Mr. Kenny had addressed meetings of a National League Branch which was suppressed as an unlawful association, his movements were watched by the police when he entered the proclaimed district, but that it is not the case that they watched his sister's house, nor was any supervision exercised over him there. The police did not enter any room where Mr. Kenny was changing his clothing.
§ MR. CLANCYasked how the Chief Secretary could pay attention to the statement that Mr. Kenny had attended a meeting of a suppressed branch of the Irish League when he had repeatedly alleged that those branches were things of the past?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI only spoke of the desire of Mr. Kenny to appear to have attended, and not of his success.
§ MR. J. O'CONNORI wish to ask whether the right hon. Gentleman has seen by the Daily News of a few days ago that I have taken this question word for word from that newspaper; and will he inquire of the editor of the Daily News from what source he got his information?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI do not think that I can add to my responsibilities that of keeping the Daily News straight in all its assertions.