§ MR. LONSDALEI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will inquire from the Inspector-General whether in some cases serious outrages, such as firing at the person and firing into and outside dwelling-houses, were not brought to the knowledge of the police until several days after their occurrence, and then not by the individuals whose persons or property were attacked, but by others; whether the Inspector-General attributes this condition of affairs to the fact that the individuals in question were too terrorised to report such outrages; and whether he will state what action he proposes to take to secure that the operation of the ordinary law will overcome incidents of this nature.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Inspector-General of the Royal Irish Constabulary informs me that it sometimes occurs that offences of the nature referred to are not reported to the police by the aggrieved persons, but come to their knowledge from other sources. The failure to report such cases is, the Inspector-General believes, usually attributable to other causes than that suggested in the Question. There is no reason to believe that such cases have 292 increased in number, or that it would be possible to prevent them from occasionally happening.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Inspector-General informs me that the reasons are not those suggested in the Question.