§ MR. FIELDTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state what legal qualifications, if any, are required for the position of resident magistrate in Ireland; and whether he can state how many resident magistrates have been appointed who were barristers or solicitors, and how many who were formerly in the Army or Navy or political service.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) No legal qualifications are prescribed by statute or otherwise, but the Lord-Lieutenant selects for these appointments persons of whose competency he is satisfied. Of the sixty-six resident magistrates now serving, twenty-two were barristers or solicitors, eleven were in the Army or Navy, and twenty-five were constabulary officers.