§ MR. LONSDALEI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been directed to the remarks of Lord Justice Fitzgibbon at the Cork Assizes on 16th July; whether the learned Judge called attention to a number of cases of intimidatory attacks upon people in dwelling-houses, for which no person had been brought to trial; and what steps he intends to take in the matter.
§ MR. BIRRELLI have seen a newspaper report of the remarks attributed to Lord Justice Fitzgibbon. In calling attention to four cases of intimidatory attacks upon dwelling-houses in which offenders have not been brought to justice, the learned Judge is stated to have said that in cases of the kind they found that the police were making inquiries and endeavouring to trace the culprit but could not get evidence. It is obvious that in the absence of evidence, the Government can take no action in these cases. I may mention that the learned Judge also called attention to the fact that there had been a decrease in the number of persons under police protection, and a decrease in the number of derelict evicted farms, and stated that in respect of these matters there was no reason to suppose that Cork was in anything but a satisfactory condition.
§ MR. MOOREMay I ask whether the difficulty of procuring evidence is due to the fact that witnesses know they will not receive adequate protection from the law?
§ MR. BIRRELLNo, Sir, it is not due to that.