The Report of the Committee appointed to consider the attempt
made to serve a summons on Mr. Sheehy, M.P., within the precincts of the House of Commons, was presented on Thursday, and stated that the action of Serjeant Sullivan was a breach of the privileges of the House, " inasmuch as it was an attempt to serve a summons on a Member within the precincts of the House ;" and the Report went on to remark that "general instructions should have been issued to the Irish police as to the observance of due care and respect for your House in serving or executing process against Members within the precincts of the House." As the Government proposed to take no action on the Report, but simply to move that the House do pass to the orders of the day, a sharp discussion arose, during the course of which Mr. A. J. Balfour stated, that he hardly thought the Report strong enough in con- demning the impropriety of Serjeant Sullivan's conduct, but that he thought it too strong in regarding it as a breach of privilege, since the summons, even if it had been accepted by Mr. Sheehy, would have had no legal validity at all, and might have been disobeyed without any legal con- sequences. He had sent very strong instructions against the course pursued, which he thought highly improper ; but the issue of a summons had been adopted instead of the issue of a. warrant, —which would have had legal validity,—by the wish of Irish Members themselves, who said that they only needed a summons, and would themselves attend any Court of Law where their conduct was to be adjudicated on. A summons issued in Ireland would have had no more legal validity in England than an advertisement in the Daily News. Even- tually, Mr. Whitbread's motion to concur in the Report of the Committee was negatived by 182 against 130,—majority, 52,— after a hot debate.
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