§ MR. MOONEY (Newry)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that during the year 1905, there were reported to the police 3,822 indictable crimes in the county of Stafford, including one case of murder, three attempts to murder, four cases of conspiracy to murder, twenty-one cases of malicious wounding, three cases of unnatural offences, six cases of indecency with males, thirty-five cases of indecent assault on females, sixteen cases of larceny of horses and cattle, and cases of killing and maiming of cattle; if he can state when the figures for 1906 will be available; if he can state how many of these crimes were committed in the Kingswinford division of the county; and if he can now state whether there is any diminution of these classes of crime in this county or in the parishes comprising the Kingswinford division of the county.
§ MR. GLADSTONEThe figures given by the hon. Member correspond closely to those in the Criminal Statistics for 1905, though there are one or two slight inaccuracies. The figures for 1906 will be available in two or three weeks time. I have no information as to how many of the crimes were committed in the Kingswinford division.
§ MR. MOONEYasked whether the right hon. Gentleman could not obtain the information asked for from the ordinary police records of the county.
§ MR. GLADSTONEreplied that there were no separate criminal statistics available for different constituencies.
§ MR. MOONEYasked the right hon. Gentleman to answer the last part of the Question on the Paper.
§ MR. GLADSTONEI am quite aware that there are differences of administration in Ireland and England; but I am dealing with an English question, and my hon. friend must show that there is good reason for his request before I can put the officials to the 1081 trouble and expense of getting out the information he asks for.
§ MR. J. DEVLIN (Belfast, W.)Will the right hon. Gentleman arrange for a day for a debate on the state of crime in England?
§ MR. STAVELEY-HILL (Staffordshire, Kingswinford)asked as to these figures which concerned the whole county, whether there was any difficulty in obtaining convictions.
§ MR. GLADSTONEI am not aware that there has been difficulty in obtaining convictions.
§ MR. J. MACVEAGH (Down, S.)Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether in a large number of these cases the juries refused to convict?
§ MR. GLADSTONEI am quite aware of the motive for asking these Questions; but I do not think anything is to be gained by my attempting to reply.
§ MR. STAVELEY-HILLCan the right hon. Gentleman tell us how many convictions there were, having regard to the number of indictable offences?
§ MR. GLADSTONEI have not the figures in my head, but I will get the figures if the hon. Member wishes for them.
§ MR. POWER (Waterford, E.)Can these people whose cattle have been killed or maimed obtain compensation from the rates?
§ MR. GLADSTONEI must ask for notice of that Question.
§ MR. JOHN REDMOND (Waterford)Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether there is any county or any division of a county in Ireland where there has been anything like as much crime of a serious character as is indicated here?
§ MR. GLADSTONEThere is a great deal too much crime in England, but I cannot give any statistics offhand.
§ MR. JOHN REDMONDYou know the fact very well.
§ MR. COURTHOPE (Sussex, Rye)Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many of the persons concerned were of Irish extraction?
§ [No Answer was returned.]