§ Mr. AUGUSTINE ROCHEasked the Chief Secretary whether he has received a resolution from the Cork County Council strongly complaining of the action of the authorities in refusing to allow the chairman of the council to vote at a recent election for petty sessions clerk at Schull; whether the Law Officers were consulted before this decision was arrived at; and, if not, on whose authority was it given, seeing that by statute the chairman of a county council is, by virtue of his office, a justice of the peace for the county, and has the right to sit and vote at every petty sessions within the county?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Irish Government have been advised by the Law Officers of the Crown that the vote of the chairman of a county council at the election of a clerk of the petty sessions should not be accepted unless he resides within the petty sessions district or has attended the petty sessions at least once during the 12 months preceding the date of the clerkship becoming vacant.