§ MR. SHEEHAN (Cork County, Mid.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to a statement contained in the evidence of Mr. H. R. Barry, solicitor, Kanturk, at the hearing on appeal of the malicious injury application of Lieutenant John MacCarthy O'Leary against the Cork County Council, to the effect that some writs were being served a very short time ago on some of the applicant's tenants, and that these writs were taken from the bailiff and revolver shots were fired over his head; whether he can state the time and place at which this outrage is alleged to have taken place; have the police any information of this occurrence; and, seeing that the tenants on the estate of Mr. MacCarthy O'Leary have purchased under the Land Act of 1903, can he explain the necessity for serving writs on behalf of a landlord whose interests in the property had ceased to exist.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) I have seen a newspaper report of the evidence referred to. The process server alleges that at about 8.30 on the morning of 15th July he was stopped on the road at Drominarigle, in the Kanturk district, by two disguised men, who took two writs from his pocket and tore them up, and 836 then fired two revolver shots and decamped. The process server passed a police station shortly afterwards, but did not report the matter to the police, who only heard of it casually on the following day. The police have made careful inquiries, but have been unable to obtain any corroboration of the process server's statement. I understand that the writs were against two tenants of Mr. O'Leary who have not purchased their holdings.