§ MR. MACALEESEI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that on the night of 28th August 1896 a riot took place in Tempo, county Fermanagh, in which 17 houses tenanted by Roman Catholics were wrecked by Orangemen, 717 that the residence of the parish priest was smashed, and the church attacked; has his attention been drawn to the fact that John Breen, Tempo, in his statutory declaration forwarded to the Attorney General, deposed that an attempt was made by the Orangemen to burn his house, and that his child was twice struck by stones in its cradle; is he also aware that the police were frequently attacked with stones during the night by the Orange crowd, and that two women in their houses were seriously assaulted; and, in view of the fact that the police gave sworn testimony that between 150 and 200 Orangemen took part in the riot, will he state how many of these alleged rioters have been brought to justice?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe facts are generally as stated in the question, though very slight injury was done, I am informed, to the Roman Catholic Church, and no serious injury was sustained by any person on the occasion. Five of the most prominent rioters of each party were prosecuted and tried at the Belfast Winter Assizes, the trials resulting in nine convictions, carrying terms of imprisonment varying from 14 days to four months, and one acquittal. The decision of the Government to proceed against five of the principal rioters of each party was arrived at after a full consideration of all the circumstances of the case. I may mention that in the earlier stages of the rioting both the Roman Catholic and the Protestant parties were nearly evenly matched, and were equally to blame; the Protestant party, it is true, was afterwards reinforced, and got the upper hand. By the course followed by the Government peace and good order have been happily restored at Tempo.