HC Deb 12 August 1898 vol 65 c11
MR. MACALEESE

I beg to ask the Attorney General for Ireland how many magistrates have been commissioned to be peace in county Monaghan since the appointment of the present County Lieutenant, and how many of these, if any, are Catholics?

MR. ATKINSON

I gave the honourable Member the best answer I could a short time since in answering a similar Question. I then stated that the Government were perfectly willing to consider the claims of all gentlemen recommended for appointment to the Commission of the Peace, and that the Government did not take the religious persuasion of those gentlemen into consideration in making appointments to the magistracy.

MR. MACALEESE

Does the right honourable Gentleman think that a proper reply to my question?

MR. ATKINSON

Yes. If I did not think it a proper reply I would not have given it.

MR. MACALEESE

I shall not forget it when I return to Ireland.