§ MR. T. W. RUSSELLI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the statements in the Irish newspapers of the boycotting of the Reverend Matthew Kerr, Presbyterian minister of Cork; and if he can state whether the reports are accurate; and, if so, what the nature of the boycotting is?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThere has been, and is, so far as I know, no boycotting, either in the proper acceptation of that word or in the modified sense of exclusive dealing, of the reverend gentleman in question. I understand that he thought he was looked coldly on by his clerical brethren, and, further, that he was not appointed to a prison chaplaincy to which he considered he had a claim. These would seem to be the proceedings which he chooses to describe by the very inappropriate term of boycotting.
§ MR. SEXTONHas the right hon. Gentleman adopted the obvious course of inquiring from the reverend gentleman himself?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURNo, Sir.