§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland why Alderman William O'Brien, of the Dublin city council, has been arrested; 1568W where he now is; whether he is a member of the Irish Coal Commission, to which he was appointed by His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant; and whether it is intended to bring him to trial?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONI would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to the question asked on this subject to-day by my hon. Friend the Member for the Wellingborough Division of Northamptonshire (Mr. W. R. Smith). Alderman O'Brien is a member of the Irish Coal Commission.
§ Mr. W. R. SMITHasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the reason for the arrest of Alderman William O'Brien, secretary of the Irish Labour party and Trade Union Congress; whether Mr. O'Brien, who is lame, was conveyed in a military wagon from Dublin to the boat at Kingstown with his hands chained to a beam over his head; will he state the reason for this action on the part of the authorities; where Mr. O'Brien now is; and whether it is proposed to formulate any charge against Mr. O'Brien and bring him to trial?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONunder an Order made in pursuance of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, Alderman William O'Brien has been deported from Ireland and interned in Wormwood Scrubs Prison as a person suspected of having acted, and being about to act, in a manner prejudicial to the public safety and the defence of the Realm. There is no foundation for the allegation that the hands of Alderman O'Brien when being conveyed in a military wagon were chained to a beam over his head. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.