§ 13. Sir E. CARSONasked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that, on 6th December, 1911, John Dalton was indicted for assault and not at the Limerick Assizes, the assault alleged being that he forced his way into the house of a loyalist named John Long, pulled down a Union Jack displayed by Long in honour of the Coronation, and burnt it publicly before a crowd in the streets of Limerick, and that Dalton was convicted and sentenced by the Right Hon. Mr. Justice Dodd to a month's imprisonment with hard labour; that counsel for Dalton applied to have the hard labour remitted from the sentence as it would cause Dalton to be disqualified from his membership of the Limerick Urban Council; that the judge refused to do so, and Dalton served his sentence accordingly; and whether the Irish Government have now granted Dalton a free pardon to enable him to again stand for the Limerick Urban Council, and, if so, will he state on what grounds and by whose suggestion?
§ Mr. JOYCEBefore this question is answered may I point out that there is m such body as the Limerick Urban Council. It is the Limerick County Borough Council.
§ The PRIME MINISTERThat seems to be accepted. Dalton and two others were the ringleaders of a disorderly crowd which acted as stated in the question. They were indicted at the Winter Assizes, 1911, for riot, unlawful assembly, and assault, but were only convicted of the offence of unlawful assembly, for which they were sentenced to one month's imprisonment each with hard labour. On the question of the legality of this sentence being raised in Parliament, the present Master of the Rolls in Ireland, who was then Attorney-General, advised that unlawful assembly, being only a common law offence, was not punishable by imprisonment with hard labour, and that if the prisoners had moved the High Court for a Writ of Error the judgment would probably have been set aside. The sentence of imprisonment with hard labour entails dis- 1478 qualification for membership of a county or district council or board of guardians, unless a free pardon is granted. In the circumstances the Lord Lieutenant decided to grant these prisoners a free pardon to remove a disqualification imposed on them by a sentence of doubtful legality.