§ MR. DILLONI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state what steps have been taken by the employers on the Queen's Island and in other establishments in Belfast, where Roman Catholic workers have been attacked, to protect these workers and preserve the peace?
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURThe managers of Messrs. Harland and Wolffs, Queen's Island, have given notice that they will reduce the hours of work in case of renewed disturbance, and have offered a reward of £500 for proof of assault on Roman Catholic workers in the mills. Quiet generally prevails, and the employers and managers are most anxious to ensure the safety of their Catholic workers.
§ MR. DILLONI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that Roman Catholic girls in several of the mills in Belfast have been attacked, beaten, and driven from their work; whether any public meeting of the respectable Protestants of Belfast, or of the employers of labour, has been held to condemn these proceedings; and whether the Lord Mayor and magistrates of the city have taken any steps to condemn and put a stop to these proceedings.
§ MR. G. W. BALFOURI am aware that assaults were committed, on the 8th instant, on three Roman Catholic girls employed in mills in Belfast, by a crowd of women. Four of the accused have been convicted by the magistrates; two of them were sentenced to a month's imprisonment each, and the remaining two were fined in a sum of £2 each, with costs. I have no information as to the second paragraph. No meeting of the magistrates has been considered necessary by the Lord Mayor, the city having been quiet for some days past.