§ MR. J. P. FARRELL (Cavan, W.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, can he state what was the number of policemen employed in county Cavan in the years 1875 and 1895 respectively; what is the present number of extra police employed there; and, in view of the peaceful state of the county and the depressed state of the farming interests, will he consent to a reduction of the police force which on inquiry may be found to be unnecessary?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe police establishment of county Cavan numbered 285 men in 1875, and 243 men in 1895. There are no men of the extra force stationed in the county. The existing establishment entails no charge whatever to the local rates, and, consequently, no relief to the farming interests would ensue upon a reduction of the present free quota.