§ MR. ROCHE (Galway, E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that, although the Local Government Board had issued a sealed order excluding the representative of the Western News from the meetings of the Ballinasloe Urban Council, a magistrate of the Ballinasloe district has signed summonses charging councillors for putting the order in force; and whether, in view of the inconvenience and expense caused to defendants, he will say what action he proposes to take in the matter.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) The Local Government Board, acting upon a resolution of the Ballinasloe Urban District Council, have issued a sealed order to the effect stated, under the powers conferred on them by Section 15 of The Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1902. I am informed that a summons, at the suit of the proprietor of the Western News, has been issued against five members of the council for conspiring to injure him in his trade. The Government cannot interfere with magistrates in the discharge of their judicial functions.