§ Mr. HORNERasked how many police were on duty in Belfast on 8th February last; how many of these were extra police brought into the city; from what counties were the extra police drafted, and how many from each county; and by whom, or out of what funds, were the costs of the extra police paid?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo extra police were employed on duty in Belfast on the 8th instant. The only police on duty in Belfast on that date were the local force, consisting of 1,028 sergeants and constables.
§ Mr. SWIFT MacNEILLasked whether any of the members of the mob who assaulted Lord Pirrie at Larne when embarking on board ship there, pelting him with eggs and calling him opprobrious names, had been identified; and, if not, what steps had been taken to trace them, with a view to their prosecution, in accordance with law, for this outrage?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe incident appears to have been exaggerated in the newspaper reports. There were few police present— 1530 about six or seven—and the opportunity of identification was slight, and none of those who flung missiles from the back of the crowd could be seen by the police. In these circumstances it would not be possible to sustain a prosecution.
§ Mr. CHARLES CRAIGIs the throwing of rotten eggs at people in a political matter of this kind peculiar to Larne? Is it not a very ordinary way of expressing one's political opinion?