§ MR. MURNAGHANI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1) whether his attention has been called to the verdict of the coroner's jury recently given at Belfast at the inquest on the body of Mrs. Beggs, who died in the Belfast Lunatic Asylum; (2) whether he is aware that the eminent doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination found a number of her ribs and breast bone broken, and that the jury found that the bones were not broken at the time she was taken from her home to the asylum; (3) whether the doctors of the asylum had at any time, and, if so, at what date, discovered that her bones were broken; and (4) whether, considering the facts disclosed at the inquest, the Government will, in the interests of inmates of lunatic asylums, have further inquiry made into the matter?
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe facts are as stated in the first and second paragraphs. The verdict of the coroner's jury was that the injuries were not received at the patient's house, and that there was no evidence to show when and how they had been received. Deceased was admitted to the asylum on the 5th January, and on the 21st January the asylum doctors discovered the injuries. An Inquiry has been held into the matter 678 by the Inspectors of Lunatic Asylums who will forward their Report to the Board of Governors of the Asylum.