MR. PATRICK O'BRIENI beg to ask Mr. Attorney General for Ireland, as representing the Chief Secretary to. the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, whether the authorities have been bringing pressure on any members of the Dublin police force to volunteer for service in South Africa; whether he can say if any and how many members of the force have volunteered; whether, seeing that the corporation or the ratepayers of Dublin are chargeable with a share of the maintenance and pensions of the Dublin police, their sanction was obtained before these police were asked to volunteer; whether the superannuation to the men who go to the war, and part of which the ratepayers of Dublin will have to pay, will be allowed to the police for their services during the time they may be absent at the war; and whether, in case any of the men should come back wounded or otherwise incapacitated for police duty, their pensions will be chargeable in whole or part on the 1421 rates of Dublin, or will be borne by Imperial Exchequer; if not, whether the Government will consult the Corporation of Dublin on these points before sending any of the metropolitan police to the front.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. ATKINSON,) Londonderry, N.With one exception, the only members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police Force who can be called Volunteers resigned their position in the force before leaving for South Africa. The exception consisted of a constable who volunteered for service with Lord Iveagh's ambulance corps. His case is under consideration. I need hardly say that no pressure whatever was put upon any of these constables to take the action they did take.