Captain CRAIGasked the Chief Secretary if he will state what amnesty was granted, on the occasion of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne, to men serving in the Navy and Army and suffering punishment for offences; whether any similar privilege was granted to the men of the Royal Irish Constabulary suffering from unfavourable records when Queen Victoria celebrated her Jubilee; and whether His Majesty's Government will consider the advisability of blotting out unfavourable records standing against the names of head and other constables of the Royal Irish Constabulary on the approaching occasion of the King's Coronation?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI understand that the amnesty granted to men serving in the Army and Navy on the occasion of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne consisted of various remissions of punishments to men undergoing sentences of imprisonment, and it also included a pardon to deserters. On the occasion of the late Queen Victoria's Jubilee, which was a special and quite exceptional event, all unfavourable records standing against the names of all ranks of the Royal Irish Constabulary were cancelled. No such order was made on the Accession to the Throne of the late King Edward, and there does not appear to be any special reason why a different course should be followed on the approaching occasion of the King's Coronation.