CAPTAIN CRAIGI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has yet communicated with the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) regarding his public statement on behalf of the Government that cattle-driving after all did no harm either to man or beast; and, if so, in view of the increasing number of cases brought to light of cows being with calf being driven during the darkness of night as far as ten miles, he will now issue an official repudiation of that statement.
§ MR. BIRRELLMy hon. friend informs me that the only speech which he has made on cattle-driving—that is, having any reference to it—was in October last at Manchester. The substance of what he said was that cattle-driving was illegal and intolerable, and that it must be put down. But he deprecated any panic about it, and said that, having lived through two periods of fierce agrarian strife when murder, outrage, and savage boycotting were quite common, he was thankful that this form of war had reached a stage which was comparatively harmless—in which neither man nor beast was injured. This latter statement was true at that date.