§ MR. KENNEDY (Westmeath, N.)I beg to ask Mr. Attorney General for Ireland if his attention has been called to the Report of Mr. Patchell, disqualifying the entire urban council of Nenagh because of the payment of rates for voters under £4 valuation by the Trade Labour Association, on the ground that this was a corrupt practice; and will he lay this Report and the shorthand writer's notes taken at the trial upon the Table for the information of the House.
§ MR. ATKINSONIt is true that Mr. Patchell held that the payment of rates under the circumstances mentioned was a corrupt practice, and declared void the election of the councillors in whose interest the payment was made. No application was made to have the question of the soundness of the decision in point of law by case stated, or otherwise, reserved for the opinion of the Superior Court. There is no precedent for laying the Reports and the shorthand writer's notes on the Table of the House in such a case as this, and no good purpose could be served by it. In addition, it is now under consideration whether the parties reported guilty of these corrupt practices should not be prosecuted, so that in any event it would be undesirable to have any discussion on the matter at present.