§ Mr. HAZLETONasked the number of persons convicted in Ireland of indictable offences in 1907, the number of convictions per cent, of such offences known to the police in that year, and the number and percentage of such offences for which no persons were made amenable?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe number of persons convicted in Ireland during 1907 for indictable offences was 4,156. The number of such offences committed during the year, so far as is known to the police, was 9,418. These figures are not, however, strictly comparable; many of the convictions in 1907 were for offences committed in 1906, and many persons who were apprehended in 1907 were not tried till 1908. It is not possible to segregate the cases belonging to each year as the annual Returns of proceedings at Assizes and Quarter Sessions do not show the dates of the offences. The percentage of convictions to offences cannot therefore be stated; 6,653 persons were proceeded against for indictable offences in 1907. The results of the proceedings as recorded by the police were as follows: Discharged, 596; tried summarily and acquitted, 1,123; tried summarily and convicted, 2,813; committed for trial, 2,095; otherwise disposed of, 26.