§ SIR CHARLES CAMERON (Glasgow, Bridgetown)I beg to ask Mr. Attorney General for Ireland, whether the provisions of The Fine or Imprisonment (Scotland and Ireland) Act, 1899, have yet come into operation in Ireland; and, what steps have been taken, or are proposed to be taken, to make known its provisions to prisoners committed in default of payment of fines.
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (MR. ATKINSON,) Londonderry, N.The Statute referred to will become operative in Ireland when the General Prisons Board are informed that the Rules framed under the Act, which were laid on the Tables of both Houses of Parliament on the 5th February ultimo, have been laid before each House for a period of forty days. The Board have been informed that the Rules have been laid before this House for the proscribed period, and as soon as they receive a similar notification from the authorities of the other House, a circular will at once be issued to governors of prisons directing them to see that every prisoner to whom the Act applies is, without delay, made fully aware of its provisions.