that the despatch should be made with IRELAND - MR. CLIFFORD LLOYD · MR. SEXTON asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, What course the Government propose to take with respect to County Inspector Smith, of Clare, who issued the Circular Smith, of Clare, who issued the Circular of the 4th of March, addressed to the sub-inspectors under his command; whether any communications have been addressed to the sub-inspectors of Constabulary in Clare, instructing them that the Circular in question has been withdrawn; and, whether a copy of such communication will be laid upon the Table, or its substance imparted to the House? MR. W. E. FORSTER: The Inspector General of Constabulary informs me that, acting on his own responsibility, he has ordered the withdrawal of the Circular to which the hon. Member alludes. As regards the other part of the Question, I am in communication with the Lord Lieutenant on the subject, and I will take care that the House is informed of the conclusion at which we MR. SEXTON: I am sure the House will believe that it is with extreme reluctance that I resort a second time in this matter to the use of the Forms of the House. ["Order!"] SIR JOHN R. MOWBRAY: I rise to a point of Order, Sir. It will be in the recollection of the House that the hon. Member for Sligo, on Thursday last, put a Question to the Chief Secretary for Ireland with reference to this matter, and moved the adjournment of the House in order to discuss it. I am quite aware-[Cries of "Order!" from the Home Rulers]-I am explaining the point of Order which I wish to put-I am aware that it is the practice of the House, under the exigencies of the moment, to extend its indulgence to any moment, to extend its indulgence to any hon. Member who wishes to raise a Question upon a Motion for Adjournment; but I submit that when an hon. Member intends a second time to make use of the Motion for Adjournment on the same Question it is an abuse of the indulgence of the House, and an excess of even that outrageous licence which has grown up of late years. MR. HEALY: On the point of Order, Sir, I-[Cries of "Order!"] MR. SPEAKER: As has been stated by the right hon. Gentleman who raised the point of Order, this case is certainly without precedent. The House is very indulgent to hon. Members in allowing the adjournment of the House to be moved before the commencement of the appointed Business of the day. That step was taken by the hon. Member for Sligo upon an occasion last week, when STATE OF IRELAND-OCCUPATION OF discussed; and I am bound to say that the same subject now raised was fully HUTS BY PERSONS EVICTED-IN-I consider that to raise again the same arrive. But, in the meantime, I must state that no proper precautions for the protection of Mr. Clifford Lloyd in the performance of his arduous duties will be neglected. TERFERENCE OF THE POLICE. Question upon this occasion would be a gross abuse of the privilege ordinarily conceded to hon. Members. At the same MR. SEXTON asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether Government will under-time, I am not prepared, without direct take that in future there shall be no interference with persons building or occupying huts on sites properly procured, or with evicted tenants availing themselves of the shelter thus provided? MR. W. E. FORSTER: Where the huts are merely for the shelter of the persons building or occupying them there will be no interference; but in all cases the action of the Government must depend upon the particular facts of each case. instructions from the House, to say that the Question of Adjournment shall not be put from the Chair. MR. SEXTON: Mr. Speaker, I shall not proceed, as I originally intended, considering the nature of the remarks you have addressed to the House, and especially the considerate manner in which you, at the close of your statement, guarded the Privileges of the House. I shall merely ask leave to read a letter from a parish priest of Tulla, with respect to an interview which he had with the right hon. Gentleman the Chief Secretary on the subject before the House "DEAR SIR, AS I had a large share in the erection of the wooden huts in the parish of Tulla, I take the liberty of sending you the following facts in connection with them. When the Chief Secretary visited here, I asked him if it were legal for me to assist the lady (Miss Kirk) who had just arrived from Dublin for the sole purpose of erecting huts for the evicted tenants and giving them temporary relief. Here are Mr. Forster's words-'It is perfectly legal, and nothing could be more legal than for man to assist man, and so long as the lady confines herself to these duties she should not be molested.' I then promised the Chief Secretary that I would act as a special policeman, and see that this lady did not in any way incite the people to pay no rent. I now assert that this lady did not, either directly or indirectly, interfere in anything outside what Mr. Forster had declared to be perfectly legal,' and that she always declined to answer any question outside the building of the huts and the distribution of a little charity. Miss Kirk is now in Limerick Gaol for acting legally. With regard to the erection of these huts, Miss Kirk and I were opposed to them whenever lodgings could be procured. Now, we erected them on sites for the most part where both landlord and occupier had given full and free consent. Only three of the entire number have been erected on land without the consent of the landlord, which consent would be applied for had we known his address. On the day of eviction the owner and occupier of a fee-simple property voluntarily came forward, and offered sites for huts for all evicted tenants. Several huts are erected, and others in course of erection, on that fee-simple property. Some of the evicted, with families of 10 and 12, first went into lodgings with neighbours who had large families and small houses. These lodgings were convenient to the holdings from which they had been evicted, and yet, as they had not sufficient accommodation, they went a considerable distance to wooden huts. This does not look like watching the farms. I know nothing about some of the evicted having paid their rents and are afraid of returning to their farms. Intimidation and outrage in the district have ceased. By Miss Kirk and myself telling these people that if any outrage or intimidation took place we would immediately break off all communication with them, we brought about a condition which the vast police, and military force too, had failed to effect." Mr. Speaker, I submit that letter to the consideration of the House. I thank you sincerely for the manner in which you have guarded, on this occasion, our Privileges in this House; and I give Notice that I shall, on the earliest available occasion, call attention to the subject. MR. REDMOND wished to put a Question arising out of an answer given by the Chief Secretary a few moments ago. Had the attention of the right VOL, CCLXVIII. [THIRD SERIES.] hon. Gentleman been called to Section 41 of the Code for the regulation of the Royal Irish Constabulary? The section in question provided that— "Before issuing any orders of a general nature to police officers under his command the County Inspector will submit them to the Inspector General for his approval." What he wished to know was, whether the order directing the issue of County Inspector Smith's Circular was submitted to the approval of the Inspector General ? MR. W. E. FORSTER replied, that he was quite cognizant of the section of the Code referred to by the hon. Member, and that the Inspector General was not aware of the Circular before it was issued. He hoped that on a future occasion he should be able to give the House much information on the subject. STATE OF IRELAND - THE REMOVAL OF PLACARDS BY THE CONSTABULARY. MR. REDMOND asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is a fact that, on Sunday the 9th instant, the constabulary tore down and destroyed placards which were posted in Lady's Island, county Wexford, inviting the tenants on two neighbouring estates to meet, in order to discuss the best manner of protecting their interests; and, whether he has sanctioned such action on the part of the police; and, if so, whether the Irish Executive intend to prevent, in the south of Ireland, meetings of tenants similar to those constantly held, unmolested, by the farmers of Ulster? MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, it was the duty of the police to remove placards of an unlawful character. Placards had been posted announcing a meeting at this place, and a meeting had been held at which a "no rent resolution was unanimously adopted. [Mr. HEALY: Hear, hear!] When the placards were put up for the second meeting the police considered that the adjourned meeting would be of a similar character, and removed the placards, as was their duty. PROTECTION OF PERSON AND PROPERTY (IRELAND) ACT, 1881-MARTIN SCANLAN AND OTHERS. MR. LABOUCHERE (for Mr. O'SHEA) asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord 2 S Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether No. 452, | they may not now safely return to the Martin Scanlan, No. 453, John Gregg, state of things which existed up till No. 454, Matthew O'Brien, No. 456, the end of last year, under which aniMichael Minogue, No. 458, John Clune, mals sold in the Metropolitan Market and No. 459, Martin Crotty, are correctly may be taken into the country for included, and whether the grounds for slaughter. their arrest are correctly stated, in the Return of all Persons detained under the statute 44 Vic. c. 4, dated 1st April 1882 ? PROTECTION OF PERSON AND PRO. PERTY (IRELAND) ACT, 1881-POLICE PROTECTION (CARETAKERS) — CASE OF RICHARD ROCHE. MR. CHAPLIN asked the Chief Se MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, the grounds of the arrest were incorrectly stated, but were given in the Return. They were originally arrested for treason-cretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, felony, but not under the Protection Act. They were remanded to Ennis Gaol, and were re-arrested under the Protection Act on the expiration of their term of imprisonment. CONTAGIOUS DISEASES (ANIMALS) ACT-RESTRICTIONS ON THE MOVEMENT OF CATTLE. MR. ALDERMAN W. LAWRENCE (for Sir SYDNEY WATERLOW) asked the Vice President of the Council, Whether, having regard to the high price of meat consequent upon the restrictions placed upon the movement of cattle after exposure for sale in the Metropolitan Market, and seeing that only one case of foot and mouth disease has appeared in the Metropolitan Market since the 23rd January (that case about 19th February), and that at this season of the year and during summer months the Home Counties draw the greater part of their beef supplies from the London Cattle Market, can he hold out any hope of an early modification of those restrictions, in order that the London Market may be placed on the same footing as the markets in other large towns, viz.: Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Wakefield, Birmingham, &c. ? Whether it is true that, in the case of Richard Roach, a caretaker in the employ of the Emergency Committee in Dublin, and who was shot dead on the night of the 17th, on the property of Mr. Caldwell, near New Pallas, county Limerick, that special police protection had been applied for and refused by the Irish Executive; and, whether he will lay upon the Table the Correspondence between the Emergency Committee and himself, the Under Secretary, Mr. Clifford Lloyd, and the Inspector General of Constabulary, with regard to the granting of special police protection to the men employed as caretakers by that Committee? MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, that the protection applied for was not thought necessary by the authorities at Dublin. The murder was not committed at or near the house, but at some distance from it. There had been no application for protection for these persons in going to and fro, and police protec tion would not have been required for three or four well-armed men if they kept together; but, unfortunately, three out of the four went away, leaving the other man by himself. MR. MUNDELLA: We cannot admit that the high price of meat is caused IRELAND - THE ROYAL IRISH CON by the restrictions placed on the Metropolitan Market. The price of beef in that market was exactly the same during the three months which preceded the imposition of the present restrictions and the three months during which they have been in force. The price of mutton here, as elsewhere throughout the country, has been higher during the last three months. The Privy Council, however, are fully alive to the inconvenience caused by the restrictions, and are considering whether STABULARY - PENSION TO WIDOW OF SERGEANT KAVANAGH. MR. MITCHELL HENRY asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, What pension the Government has determined to award to the widow of Sergeant Kavanagh, who was assassinated whilst performing his duty at Letterfeach, county Galway? MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, he was glad to be able to say that a special pension of £40 per annum had been awarded to Mrs. Kavanagh so long as she remained unmarried, and of £2 10s. | on the subject of bulkheads; but the to each of her children until they attained the age of 15 years. minimum required by a Statute is apt to become the maximum in practice; and since the Compulsory Clause was re CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT – THE NEW pealed the number of bulkheads has WAREHOUSING SCHEME SURVEYORS. BARON HENRY DE WORMS asked greatly increased, and they have also become more efficient. PERTY (IRELAND) ACT, 1881- MR. the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, PROTECTION OF PERSON AND PROWhat is the number of surveyors of each class to be added to the Outdoor Department of Her Majesty's Customs consequent on the transfer of work from the existing Warehousing Departments to the Outdoor Department; and, whether it is the intention of the Treasury that the whole of the surveyorships thus created shall be given to the clerks of the Warehousing Departments who consent to be transferred with their work? LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISH: Nine surveyors will be added to the first class, 12 to the second, and 24 to the third; but I cannot at present say how far these posts will be assigned to the outdoor and clerical branches of the Service. MERCHANT SHIPPING ACTS COLLISIONS AT SEA. MR. REDMOND asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether it is a fact that Mr. Moloney, at present confined as a suspect in Grangegorman Prison, Dublin, has been refused permission to see his wife except in the ordinary cage, and for fifteen minutes only each day; whe ther these rules have not been modified in the case of other prisoners who have been permitted to receive visits from their wives of an hour daily, and without the presence of warders; whether it is a fact that upon some occasions when Mr. Moloney had already received visits from friends from the country, even the visit of fifteen minutes in the cage was refused to his wife; whether there is any special reason for these rules being more rigidly enforced in the case of Mr. Moloney than in the case of other prisoners; and, whether the continued imprisonment of Mr. Moloney is due to the fact that Mrs. Moloney is a member of the Ladies' Land League, tion the Government would release her and that if she retired from that associa husband? CAPTAIN PRICE asked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether his attention has been called to the numerous collisions which take place between steamships, and the great loss of life and property arising therefrom; and, whether he would consider the expediency of amending the Merchant Shipping Act so as to make it compulsory for all vessels carrying passengers to be MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, fitted with longitudinal bulkheads so as that Mr. Moloney was at present conto subdivide their water-tight compart-visits of his wife, he was allowed to see fined as a 66 suspect." As regarded the her just in the same way as other "sus"" were allowed to see their friends. pects The Rules were not more rigidly enforced in his case than in the case of others. His continued detention was not due to the fact that his wife was a member of the Ladies' Land League. ments? MR. CHAMBERLAIN: I am fully aware of the number of collisions between steamships. It is, however, satisfactory to know that the number of lives lost by collisions at sea has decreased considerably during the past two years, notwithstanding the great increase in the number and size of seagoing steamships. For the greater security of life and property, I look rather to the strict observance of the Rule of the Road than to any attempt to regulate the details of construction of ships by Act of Parliament. This view is supported by experience. At one time the Merchant Shipping Acts contained an enactment PROTECTION OF PERSON AND PRO- MR. REDMOND asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ire MR. CHILDERS: In reply to the hon. and learned Member, I have to remind him that I answered a general Question on this subject some days ago, and on Friday I stated that the delay in paying the pensions at Plymouth, which I was at a loss to understand, had led to an officer being specially sent there. We also found delays at Chatham, and sent an officer on Saturday there; and I hear by telegraph to-day that the issue to 2,700 pensioners (Army, Navy, &c.) is now concluded. These delays, as I have already informed the House, will not occur again. MR. PULESTON asked whether there was any objection to allowing these pensioners to go personally for their pensions? It would save both time and expense. Corps and General List officers in attain- | pensioners have been accustomed to ing the higher grades of substantive rely? rank; yet every one of them had the option, in 1866, of joining the Staff Corps, and thereby placing themselves on an exact equality with the officers of whose more favourable promotion they now complain. That they did not take advantage of this is probably due to their desire to preserve the present advantage of considerably higher unemployed and furlough pay than that drawn by the Staff Corps and General List officers; and, secondly, to their hope that their ordinary Cadre promotion would, as has proved to be the case with the Infantry, prove more favourable to them than the promotion by fixed periods in force with the Staff Corps. As a fact, their promotion has been considerably less favourable than that of the Staff Corps and General List; but they are protected from supersession by the grant of Army-that is, brevet-rank, on the completion of the same periods of qualifying service as the Staff Corps and General List. Their rights and privileges have been strictly maintained, and there has been in no degree a contravention of the Parliamentary guarantee. Still, there is no doubt that the position of the local Cavalry officers, especially in the junior grades, is so depressed that some exceptional and remedial measures are needed. I have, therefore, recently addressed the Government of India on the subject, and have suggested a measure, which will, I believe, prove efficacious. Until I receive their reply, I do not think I could properly lay the incomplete Correspondence before the House; nor would it be right that I should indicate the remedial measures which I had suggested, until the Government of India has had an opportunity of considering and expressing an opinion on it. NAVY-PAYMENT OF NAVAL PENSIONS. MR. GORST asked, Whether it is a fact that the payment of Naval Pensions due April 1st has in the Chatham district not yet commenced; what steps will be taken by the Admiralty to expedite the payment of these pensions; and, whether measures will be taken to prevent on a future occasion the inconvenience and distress caused by the non-receipt of moneys upon which the MR. CHILDERS: The present system was established in order to remove the temptation which existed previously to pensioners to go and spend their money as soon as they received it. There is no intention to return to the old arrangement. MR. MACLIVER asked whether it was a fact that the pension papers must be signed by four Staff officers? MR. CHILDERS: I am unable to reply to that Question without Notice. BARON HENRY DE WORMS asked whether it would not be desirable to station a Staff officer at Woolwich? MR. CHILDERS: I do not think that it is necessary that an officer should be stationed at that place. CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT-THE NEW WAREHOUSING SCHEME. MR. ANDERSON asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, If it be the fact that, in reorganizing the Customs Service, the Indoor Warehousing Department is being abolished or greatly reduced, and the servants are offered only the ordinary terms of retirement, or the acceptance of outdoor service, involving longer hours, nightwork, and exposure in duties not strictly analogous to their former employment; and, if it be the fact that, when similar changes were made in the Admiralty and War Office, an Act was passed (41 and 42 Vic. c. 53) giving gratuities to those who were thus retired, and why the |