On Monday, after a variety of amendments had been defeated,
and the Irish Secretary had accepted one which provided that no district should be proclaimed except where it appears necessary to the Lord-Lieutenant to proclaim it in order to ensure either the prevention or the detection and punishment of crime and outrage, and also another which provided that the passing of an address by either House praying that the proclamation should not continue in force, should ipso facto cancel the proclamation, the fifth clause was at length agreed to. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the only amendment accepted by the Government to Clause 6 was moved by Mr. Finlay. It requires the Lord-Lieutenant to specify, by name or description, in his pro- clamation, the Associations which he regards as dangerous to the order of the country. A variety of other amendments were negatived. Mr. Finlay's amendment, which was discussed partly on Tuesday and partly on Wednesday, was accepted by the Government after various modifications of it, moved by Mr. Chance and Mr. Healy, had been negatived. On Thursday, the whole time of the House was occupied by Mr. Dillon's motion for adjournment in order to draw attention to the character of the Bodyke evictions. The waste of the day was needful to enhance the grievance of the Closure of yesterday.
