LORD LAWRENCEMy Lords, I beg to ask His Majesty's Government if they are now satisfied that the three officers and 945 one private captured at Macroom, County Cork, have been murdered; and, if so, what steps have been taken to bring the murderers to justice. I wish to bring one point before your Lordships' notice. The excuse given at the time was that these officers were not on duty. It was afterwards admitted that they were on duty. I cannot see that it makes any difference, when soldiers are stationed in Ireland, whether they are on duty or not. Should anything happen to them, it is the duty of His Majesty's Government to cause the fullest inquiry to be made at once. Had that course been immediately adopted in this case, there might have been a possibility of these men being found alive.
THE FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS (THE EARL OF CRAWFORD)My Lords, I do not quite appreciate the nature of the quotation of the noble Lord, but, although the Government has received no official confirmation of the death of these three officers and the private, the weight of probability that they were murdered is unfortunately so strong that their relatives have been informed that no furl her hope of their survival can be entertained. The responsibility for bringing these murderers to justice rests with the Provisional Government. The powers of the British Government are directed to urging upon the Provisional Government the vital necessity for securing the apprehension and the punishment of the culprits. No opportunity has been lost, no exertion has been spared, to impress upon the Provisional Government the obligation which rests upon them, and the Government here have no reason to think that the Provisional Government have any desire to shirk their responsibility.
It is clear, however, that the essential preliminary to effective action is a lull local inquiry, actually held on the scene of the outrage and in its immediate neighbourhood. Unhappily it is a matter of public knowledge that the condition of Macroom and the neighbourhood is now such, owing to its being occupied by the rebel forces, that no inquiry could be made until the Provisional Government is in a position to establish its authority in that part of County Cork. When that takes place, I have every reason to hope, that an inquiry will be held, and that these recreants will be brought to justice.