On behalf of the hon. Member for Mid. Armagh, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that Haire, the holder of the Crannagh farm, is still boycotted, that on his going to the Roman Catholic church on a recent Sunday the greater part of the congregation left the building and waited for him outside, that on his leaving the church he was assaulted, and that the magistrates before whom the case was brought refused to convict his assailant; and, if so, whether he proposes to take any action in the matter.

The police authorities inform me that John Haire, who holds a portion of the Crannagh farm, is not boycotted, but it has been found necessary to afford police protection to him and his family. Haire himself has not recently attended the Roman Catholic church, but on Sunday, 21st May, one of his sons when returning from the church was assaulted with an umbrella by a woman. The police prosecuted the offender, but the magistrates, who considered the offence to have been trivial, dismissed the case with a caution, the defendant having given an undertaking that she would not again interfere with the Haires. It is not intended to take further action in the case.