§ 24. Mr. PATRICK MEEHANasked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that, on the 27th instant, at Edenderry (King's County) Sessions, three men were fined £60 each for poaching in the River Boyne and, in default of payment, sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment with hard labour; if he can state the names of the justices who adjudicated; the exact offence or 1543 offences with which the defendants were charged; the names, ages, and conditions of life of the defendants; and whether defendants paid the fine or were committed to gaol?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI am informed that at Edenderry Petty Sessions, on the 25th instant, three men were fined £60 each for illegal fishing in the River Boyne, and in default twelve months' imprisonment with hard labour. The magistrates who adjudicated were Messrs. Tyrrell, Fay, Hamilton, Potterton, and Colonel Dunne. The exact offence with which the defendants were charged was unlawfully using a net for the taking of trout in the River Boyne without being duly licensed. Under Statute the minimum penalty for the offence is double the amount of the Licence Duty, which is £30. The defendants were Lawrence Bell, aged thirty-five; George Walker, aged thirty-two; and Thomas Hunt, aged thirty, all of no occupation. They have not paid the fines or been committed to prison, as a stay of fourteen days was placed upon the warrants.