§ MR. MACVEAGH (Down, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the fact that the clerk of petty sessions for Ballycastle District, county Antrim, follows ten other avocations, including land steward, gamekeeper, pier overseer, pier pay clerk, mining pay clerk, bog bailiff, land agent, auctioneer, shipping agent: and manager of his father's business, and that these occupations compel him to discharge by deputy most of the duties of petty sessions clerk; whether it is permitted by the regulations governing such appointments to hold so many other appointments or to discharge his duties by deputy; and whether any steps will be taken in the matter.
MR. BRYCEThe registrar of petty sessions clerks informs me that the petty sessions clerk referred to is also engaged in the following occupations and no others, viz.:—Auctioneer; agent for a small coasting steamer; agent to a local landlord; and cashier to a local mining company. The registrar states that the clerk performs his duties in that capacity satisfactorily, and has never performed them by deputy. The regulations in force when the clerk was appointed did not prohibit the following of the occupations mentioned. In rural districts the duties of petty sessions clerks occupy but a limited portion of their time, and their remuneration is on a corresponding scale.
§ MR. MACVEAGHHow does he carry on all these avocations?
§ A NATIONALIST MEMBER: He's a Poo Bah.