§ MR. D. MACALEESE (Monaghan, N.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland—(1) whether the seven sergeants and three acting sergeants of constabulary, who in 1892 were drafted into the Belfast force, have been since promoted to be sergeants and attached permanently to the strength of the city force, although the Inspector General assured the City Commissioner that the appointment of those 10 sergeants would in no way interfere with the ordinary promotion of senior men in Belfast; (2) where are those ten sergeants now doing duty; and (3), has the Inspector General invited constables to volunteer from the Belfast force for service in county Mayo, promising that the promotion of those who volunteered would be favourably considered?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. GERALD BALFOUR,) Leeds, CentralIn April, 1893, not 1892, 50 men were drafted into Belfast as a reserve force, and of these seven were sergeants and three acting sergeants. Two of the acting sergeants were subsequently withdrawn and replaced by constables. In May 1894, the free or permanent force of the city was increased by 100 men, and the reserve force of 50 men was absorbed into the permanent 1027 force. Consequent on this increase the aggregate strength of sergeants and acting sergeants was raised by nine, and a number of promotions were made accordingly, the men promoted being all senior constables with lengthened previous service in Belfast, and not men only recently drafted into Belfast. The men referred to in the second paragraph are still serving in Belfast with the exception of the two acting sergeants who, I have stated, were withdrawn. Application having been made to the Inspector General for some senior constables for service in Mayo, he offered to transfer any good senior men of that rank who wished for the change, but only one constable of the Belfast force has volunteered in response to the offer.