To ask the Minister for Defence whether he is aware that on the entry of the Free State Troops into Balla, Co. Mayo, on 11th August, the officer in charge placed the Station Master (Mr. R. Mellet) under arrest, without giving him time to close the office or lock up the cash on hands, amounting to over £400; whether Mr. Mellet was detained in a stable for five days and nights, without removing his clothes or without sleeping accommodation of any kind; whether on the following Sunday he was paraded through the streets to attend Mass covered with a revolver, with his clothes smeared with the dirt of the stable and without being permitted to wash or shave for five days; whether at the end of that period he was released, with a statement to the effect that he had been arrested on local information, which was found to be incorrect: Further to ask the Minister for Defence whether the officer referred to has since been removed in custody and charged with the murder of one of his own men; whether the Minister is prepared to recommend the Government to recompense Mr. Mellet for the loss in salary he sustained during the period of his detention.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. - ARREST OF MAYO STATION MASTER.
LIAM O DAIMHIN
General MULCAHY
Mr. Mellet was arrested on the 11th August for persistently assisting the Irregulars in the Balla area. He was allowed time to close his office, and lock up the cash, and he actually did lock up. Half an hour after his arrest his nephew called for the keys, which Mr. Mellet handed over. Mr. Mellet was placed in the Guard-room occupied by our troops, where he was afforded any convenience and comfort possible in the circumstances. He went to Mass on Sunday with the other prisoners. His dress was not unpresentable, and there was no unnecessary display of firearms. He was released on signing the usual form of undertaking, not to further assist the Irregulars. Regarding the last, paragraph of the question: this case is sub judice, and in the circumstances a statement at the moment would be inadvisable.