§ MR. SLOANTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the application made to District Inspector Potter, of Ballymoney, on behalf of Constables Seery and Healy, who recently secured the conviction of a man called Devlin for the manslaughter of the late James Brown, station master on the Ballycastle Railway, has yet been placed before the Inspector-General; and whether, seeing that the application was made in July last and no reply has been received, he will bring the matter before the proper authority, with the view of giving those constables the benefit of the police code, which provides for awards where difficult duties have been performed.
§ (Answered by Mr. Bryce.)The Inspector-General informs me that the reply to the first part of the Question is in the negative. Under the regulations of the force, officers are enjoined not to send forward applications for rewards in cases which, in their opinion, do nor call for special recognition, and in the present case the district inspector reports that he did not consider special recognition to be called for. If the constables were aggrieved by the decision of the district inspector, it was open to them, under the regulations, to submit through their officers a statement of their case for the consideration of the Inspector-General, but this they do not appear to have done.