§ CAPTAIN CRAIG (Down, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has considered the statement on oath, sworn before a magistrate, of William Welsh, a Protestant, father and only surviving parent of the two Protestant boys, William J. Welsh and Samuel Welsh, who are detained in Nazareth Lodge Roman Catholic Industrial School, Belfast, against his expressed wishes and conscientious convictions; and whether he will now make the necessary order for their immediate discharge to their father's custody under the circumstances that he is anxious and well able to maintain them.
§ MR. BIRRELLI have received from the hon. and gallant Member the statement referred to in the Question, but as I have informed him by letter, I have found it necessary to direct further local inquiries to be made before arriving at a decision in the matter.