§ MR. JORDAN (Meath, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether it has been brought to his notice that District Inspector Finery, of Enniskillen, on the 3rd January last, ordered the pensioners to take off their hats while he was paying them; that he retained the pension of ex-Sergeant Robert O'Hara for two days for not complying with his order, and subjected him to other annoyances; has the Inspector General held an inquiry into the matter, if so, with what result; and will he say what Regulation of the Code governing the Royal Irish Constabulary makes it necessary for a pensioner to uncover to a District Inspector who hands him his pension?
§ *THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. J. MORLEY,) Newcastle-upon-TyneI believe the facts are as stated, though it is right to observe that the incident referred to took place in the office of the District Inspector. There is no Regulation in the Code requiring a pensioner to uncover to an officer who hands him his pension, but there is an unwritten code of courtesy nowhere more generally observed than in Ireland, and I confess that in this case my sympathies are with the Inspector.