§ Mr. SHEEHANasked the Chief Secretary upon whose instructions the movements of certain Nationalists are watched by plain-clothes policemen, and more particularly by detectives at railway stations; whether these detectives have any right to demand from Irish railway servants the destination of these Irishmen; upon what grounds, political or otherwise, are these men kept under strict surveillance, and is any attempt made to interfere with their correspondence in the post offices; and whether the fact that they are officers or members of a friendly organisation which is viewed with special disfavour by the Board of Erin, Ancient Order of Hibernians, has had anything to do with the system of espionage to which they have been subjected?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Inspector-General informs me that no persons are watched by the police because they are Nationalists or members of a friendly society. The police only watch those whom they suspect to be engaged in enterprises of an unlawful character. There is no foundation for the suggestion contained in the last paragraph of the question.