§ 17. Mr. LINDSAYasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he received from the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland an account of the massacre of Protestant families at Altnaveigh in June, and an appeal on behalf of Protestant residents in Donegal which called attention to the indignities inflicted upon them; what reply has been sent to the Moderator; and if any considerable delay took place in sending such reply?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI have received the two letters to which my hon. Friend refers. The former was acknowledged within a few day6 of its receipt. The 1884 reply to the Moderator's second letter was deferred until I should have received from the Provisional Government an answer to a letter which I was addressing to them on the general state of affairs in Donegal. In this letter I incorporated the substance of the Moderator's representations. The subsequent rapid developments in Ireland caused me to postpone addressing the Provisional Government in the sense intended, and I regret that any semblance of discourtesy should have been shown to the Moderator by the omission to inform him of the action which I contemplated.
§ Mr. LINDSAYDoes the right hon. Gentleman know that the massacre referred to in the question meant the death of six people, and has he made representations to the Provisional Government in regard to that?