§ MR. MACALEESE (Monaghan, N.)I beg to ask Mr. Attorney General for Ireland whether he is aware that the Bally-gawley Bench on the 17th July instant adjudicated in the case of a man named M'Donnell, summoned before them for drunkenness, and sent the accused to Omagh gaol for fourteen days without the option of a fine; whether he is aware that, in employing vehicles for the conveyance of prisoners from Ballygawley to Omagh, the police engage those of a magistrate, who is a posting master; and that other persons than the prisoner and the escort occasionally ride on those vehicles; and will these matters be inquired into.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. ATKINSON,) Londonderry, N.The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. The summons having been amended at the hearing, the accused was convicted of having been, while drunk, guilty of disorderly conduct. The conviction was therefore legal. Vehicles for the conveyance of prisoners have been hired by the police at the posting establishment of a local magistrate. There does not appear to be anything objectionable in this practice. On four occasions persons other than the prisoners and their escort have been accommodated with seats on these conveyances, but the police have been directed not to permit this to occur in future.