§ MR. JASPER TULLY (Leitrim, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1) whether his attention has been directed to the arrest, in the town of Boyle, on Monday 17th February last, of Mr. Patrick M'Manamy, a shop assistant, for inability to pay law costs incurred by him in an action in which he was unsuccessful for arrears of salary; (2) whether it is legal to keep the man, who has no visible means, in confinement, under the Debtors' Act, for non-payment of law costs; and (3) whether under the circumstances, the Lord Lieutenant; for Ireland will direct Mr. M'Manamy's release from Tullamore Prison?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURMy attention had not previously been drawn to the arrest of this man, but I now learn he was arrested on. the date mentioned, under an Attachment Order issued by the Queen's Bench Division for non-payment of a debt incurred by him in an action for wages. Whether, or not, he is unable to pay it is not for me to say. The case has been tried before a jury, and it is no part of my duty to express an opinion as to the legality of the man's imprisonment. The reply to the last paragraph is in the negative.