§ MR. WILLIAM ABRAHAM (Cork County, N.E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will inquire into the circumstances attending the arrest by Sergeant Shelley, Royal Irish Constabulary, of Mr. Jeremiah Magner at the fair of Kildorrery, County Cork, on the 29th ultimo, on the charge of interfering with the sale of ponies; whether he is aware that, on being taken to the police barracks, Mr. Magner was at once released, the charge against him being devoid of foundation; and whether Sergeant Shelley will be directed to exercise reasonable care and discretion in future before subjecting a respectable man to the indignity of being arrested and taken through a public thoroughfare upon a groundless accusation.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) On the occasion in question a complaint was made to Sergeant Shelley that a man was kicking ponies which were for sale in the fair. The sergeant went to the spot and saw a man still kicking the animals. On 1450 being remonstrated with the man again kicked one of the ponies, whereupon the sergeant demanded his name and address with the object of summoning him for cruelty. The man gave a name which the sergeant believed to be false, and he thereupon took him to the police station where his correct name was ascertained to be Jeremiah Magner. He has since been summoned for cruelty to animals, and the case is pending. Sergeant Shelley's action in the matter was quite regular.