MR. P. O'BRIENOn behalf of the hon. Member for East Clare, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state the number of extra police in Clare, and what is their cost; and whether, in view of the peaceable state of the country, they can be dispensed with.
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. G. W. BALFOUR,) Leeds, CentralThe number of extra police in the County Clare is forty men, and their cost to local rates amounts to about £1,350 per annum. These forty men are employed exclusively in affording special protection to certain individuals, a duty which cannot be performed by the normal or free force of police in the county; and so long as the necessity for such special measures continues to exist, the extra force cannot be dispensed with. I may add that there has been a reduction of 103 men in the extra force of Clare since the present Government entered office, and that this large reduction is equivalent to a saving to local rates of about £3,550 per annum.