§ MR. SPEAKER acquainted the House that he had received the following letter from the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland relating to the imprisonment of Mr. 1062 Patrick Aloysius M'Hugh, a Member of this House:—
§ In the High Court of Justice in Ireland,
§ King's Bench Division,
§ Four Courts, Dublin,
§ 22nd April, 1901
§ Sir,—I have the honour to inform you that Mr. Patrick Aloysius M'Hugh, Member of Parliament for North Leitrim, having been prosecuted by the Right Honourable the Attorney General for Ireland, by ex officio information, for publishing in his newspaper the Sligo Champion certain seditious libels charged as calculated to prejudice and affect the administration of Justice, and having been found guilty was this day sentenced by me to six calendar months imprisonment as a first-class misdemeanant for such offence, and committed to Kilmainham Prison accordingly.
§ I have the honour to be, Sir,
§ Your obedient Servant
§ Brien,
§ Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
§ To the Right Honourable
§ The Speaker of the House of Commons
§ MR. JOHN REDMOND (Waterford)May I be allowed to ask you, Mr. Speaker, whether, as a matter of privilege, it will be competent for me to draw the attention of the House to the circumstances of the conviction.
§ MR. SPEAKERNo; not in the case of a criminal conviction.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDUnder those circumstances I will presently ask the First Lord of the Treasury to put the Attorney General for Ireland's salary down for discussion on an early date.
§ MR. SPEAKERNotice of that question must be given in the ordinary way.