§ MR. DE COBAIN (Belfast, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether, as there are two Stipendiary Magistrates for the city of Belfast, he could state on what ground those gentlemen leave the Court in charge of a Local Justice on Fridays, one of the most important days for hearing cases; and, as the business of the Court on that day is disposed of in a way eminently unsatisfactory to the general public and the members of the legal profession at present, would he give directions that in future the Resident Magistrates must not leave the dispensing of justice exclusively in the hands of Local Justices on Friday or any other day?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURAccording to the Report I have received the Resident Magistrates referred to appear to attend the Court regularly on all the days of the week, Friday included, and they have only been absent on exceptional occasions which were unavoidable; so that there seems to be some misapprehension on the part of my hon. Friend in regard to the case.