§ MR. CONDON (Tipperary, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the 1272 Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that on Tuesday last, on the occasion of the trial of eight respectable young men at Cashel the police under the command of County Inspector Rogers charged the people in the streets with batons, knocking down men, women, and children, indiscriminately, striking some of them while on the ground, batoned one old woman who tried to protect a man from their violence, and that at night the police paraded the streets of Cashel, burst into several houses, and batoned the inmates; whether the police arrested a number of people who were returning from a dramatic entertainment held in the town hall; and whether County Inspector Rogers is the same police officer who ill-treated the people at the Watergrass Hill, County Cork, evictions, and who subsequently corroborated the version of the explosion at Glenahiery given by Lord Ashtown as against the sworn evidence of Captain Loyd (Home Office expert), the evidence of the local police, and the district inspector who was specially told off to inquire into the Glenahiery explosion.
§ MR. BIRRELLOn Monday, 23rd November last, at Cashel eight men were returned for trial without bail upon a charge of riot and unlawful assembly at Holycross. After the hearing, a crowd of 600 or 700 persons, which had assembled, attacked the police with stones, severely injuring a district-inspector and two constables and striking others. The stone-throwing continued until the crowd had been dispersed by repeated baton charges. In the evening; the rioting was resumed, and a determined attack was made on the police barracks. Further baton charges were necessary to disperse the rioters. I am informed by the county inspector that it is absolutely untrue, so far as his knowledge goes, that women and children were knocked down by the police in the baton-charges, or that either women or children were struck. Several of the offenders were arrested, and are awaiting trial at Assizes. The whole matter will therefore be the subject of judicial investigation. County-Inspector Rogers was in charge of the police in the earlier part of the day, and District Inspector Hardy was 1273 in charge in the evening. County Inspector Rogers is the officer who dispersed a mob at Riverstown, County Cork, four years ago, shortly after the Watergrass Hill evictions. His conduct on that occasion was highly commended by the Judge who tried a civil action arising out of the matter. He also gave evidence in connection with the Glenahiery explosion.
§ MR. SHEEHY (Meath, S.)Was the information the right hon. Gentleman has just given supplied by Rogers himself?
§ MR. BIRRELLNo, it has been supplied in answer to a question of my own which I addressed to the Inspector-General. No doubt Rogers had a concern in making the answer. Who else could give better evidence of what occurred in a transaction in which he had a part?
§ MR. BELLOCHas the right hon. Gentleman got information from the popular side as well as from the police side? Are there no witnesses on the popular side?
§ MR. BIRRELLWell, really, I am asked a Question relating to a collision between the police and what the hon. Member calls the popular side, and Questions are put to me as to the conduct of the police on that occasion, and I naturally inquire from the police what their conduct was.
§ MR. BELLOCWhy? Is there really no machinery in this part of Western Europe for finding out both sides to a question? It is amazing — perfectly amazing.