§ THE EARL OF RIPONsaid, it would be in the recollection of the House that the noble Marquess near him (the Marquess of Clanricarde) put a Question to him the other evening relative to a riot at Kinsale in which the Antrim Militia were said to be concerned, and accompanied his Question with some remarks. He the Earl of Ripon had received a letter on the subject from Lord Massereene, the commanding officer of the Antrim Militia, which he would take the liberty to read to the House:— 4
My Lords,—I have this moment seen with much surprize in The Times almost exaggerated statement of Lord Clanricarde's in the House respecting the late riot in Kinsale; there was no such thing as an attack by the Antrim Artillery on either convent, chapel, or priest. The officers, although denying altogether their liability, and under the strongest protest, have paid the Magistrates £50, the sum demanded by them for damage, and so strongly were they impressed with the falsity of the reports which had been circulated, and which no doubt induced Lord Clanricarde to use the language attributed to him, that they have employed an eminent solicitor, in order that the most searching inquiries might be made into the conduct of both officers and men. A letter has been received from a most respectable and influential resident in the town, stating that the attack was premeditated against the regiment by the inhabitants, and I am confident that the impending court of inquiry will fully elucidate these facts. I left London on Thursday immediately on receiving a telegram about the riot, and assumed the command of the regiment. Having learnt the true state of the affair, I beg your Lordship will, in justice to me, take the earliest opportunity of affording the information I have deemed it my duty to give you to the House.I beg to remain your Lordship's very faithful servant,MASSEREENE,Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the Antrim Artillery.
THE MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDEsaid, it would be in the recollection of the House that he merely stated what had appeared in the papers. There had been two reports taken from the local papers, in which there was a slight variation in terms, but the purport of both was the same.