§ Mr. LONSDALEasked the Attorney General for Ireland, whether his attention has been drawn to the decision of the magistrates at the Caledon Petty Sessions, county Tyrone, on October 8th instant, dismissing without prejudice a summons brought, under Section 4, Sub-section 2, of the Irish Education Act, 1892, by the Dungannon rural district school attendance committee against Edward M'Mahon for 1161W non-compliance with an order previously made for the attendance at school of his child Ellen, on the alleged ground that a copy of the attendance order should have been served on the defendant prior to the issue of the further summons; and whether, seeing that the Act makes no provision for service of the attendance order, that the defaulting parent is presumed to know whether an order was or was not made, and that the expense of serving such orders on defaulting parents would add considerably to the rates, he proposes to take any action in the matter?
§ Mr. CHERRYI understand that the facts are, as stated, in the first paragraph of the question. I have no power to interfere with the discretion of the magistrates in dismissing a case. It was open to the school attendance committee to ask the magistrates to state a case if the committee considered the decision was wrong in point of law.