§ SIR J. WALSHobserving that the Attorney General was in his place, begged to repeat the question he had put to the hon. and learned Gentleman last night—namely, what was the present state of the law with respect to the power of changing the venue in criminal cases in Ireland, and whether the law of Ireland on this subject differed from the law of England?
The ATTORNEY GENERALstated, that since the hon. Baronet had put this question last night, he had looked into the subject, and was now prepared to answer his inquiries. There were, both in England and in Ireland, many statutes which provided that, in the case of felonies or misdemeanors, offences might be tried either in the county in which such offences were committed, or in the county in which the offenders were apprehended. By the law of England and of Ireland, the place of trial, both of felonies and misdemeanors, might be changed in every case where there was reason to believe that a fair and impartial trial could not be had. The course of proceeding was this: after a Bill had been found by the grand jury the indictment was removed into the Queen's Bench by writ of certiorari; when the proceedings were thus taken into the Queen's Bench grounds must be stated on affidavit to show the Court that there was reason for granting the application; and, if the grounds so stated were satisfactory, the venue was directed to a foreign county.