§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTER (Belfast, W.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to 332 the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that, at a meeting held on 18th April at Hay's Cross, County Cork, at which the parish priest of Meelin. Father Keefe, and his curate, Father Brew, attended, a resolution was proposed to the effect that any man taking grazing on the Langford estate was as bad as the landlord, and should be treated accordingly; and that, on the same night as the meeting, 11 armed and disguised moonlighters entered the house of a man named Brosna, who had taken grazing upon the estate; that one of the moonlighters said, "We have you now, you grass grabber," and, despite his brave resistance, Brosna was terribly beaten, had one eve destroyed, and barely escaped with his life; whether it is true that the moonlighters, after Brosna's escape, fired shots in the house, smashing the contents; whether Brosna's servants had been terrorised into leaving Brosna by a threat that their father would be murdered unless they did so; and whether he has any evidence that the outrage was a consequence of the meeting referred to; if so, whether any of the persons present at the meeting will be prosecuted?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. J. MORLEY,) Newcastle-upon-TyneThe meeting at Hay's Cross was, I am informed, secretly convened, and there is no evidence yet forth-coining as to what happened at it. It is believed, however, so far as the police have been able to learn, that a resolution of the purport indicated in the question was adopted at the meeting, and they believe that there is some connection between the outrage and the proceedings at the meeting. At the same time, it should be stated that the police have reported that the two clergymen referred to in the question have always condemned outrage, and that their object in attending the meeting was, it is believed, to expedite a settlement between Mr. Langford and his tenants. The police are using their best endeavours to trace and bring to justice the perpetrators of this cowardly and brutal outrage. It is hoped that the result of intelligent police action will be successful in this matter.
§ MR. ARNOLD-FORSTER, who was nearly inaudible in the Gallery, was understood to ask whether there was any evidence to show that the two rev. gentlemen were present at the meeting, and that 333 they protested against the passing of the resolution?
§ MR. J. MORLEYAs I have said, there could be no evidence whether they did or did not protest against the passing of the resolution, as the meeting was a secret one. The police, however, knew that they did attend the meeting.