§ MR. RYLANDSasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been called to the fact that Mr. Justice Hawkins, at the assizes at Aylesbury on Friday last, inflicted a fine of £20 upon a juryman for sending a telegram to the effect that he was unable on account of illness to attend; and that on the same day the same judge fined another juryman £10 for clapping his hands in the gallery while under momentary excitement; and, whether he is prepared to advise Her Majesty to remit these penalties?
MR. ASSHETON CROSS, in reply, said, he had received a letter from Mr. Justice Hawkins upon the subject. The learned Judge expressed great surprise that the Question should have been put 1237 without the hon. Member having, in the first place, taken some trouble to ascertain what the real facts of the case were. He was bound to say that in the observation of the learned Judge he agreed, and for this reason—the Question would be seen by many persons who would probably not see the answer; and great harm would be done to the administration of justice if care were not taken to investigate matters of this kind before Questions were put in the House. As to the juryman who sent the telegram the facts were these. A very heavy case was being heard and was adjourned to the next morning, when a telegram was received from the juryman stating that he was ill and could not come. This was not a very courteous way of treating the Court. Owing to the absence of this juryman the trial had to be put a stop to and another juryman sworn. The learned Judge said that he should be bound to inflict a penalty of £20 upon this juryman for not appearing in Court at the proper time; but if it afterwards appeared that there was a proper medical certificate that the juryman was ill, he would, of course, remit the fine at once. In his opinion, that was an extremely proper course to take. In the second case, it was asked whether the learned Judge did not on the same day fine another juryman £10 for clapping his hands in the gallery while under momentary excitement? It so happened that a man was found guilty of perjury, and one of the persons in Court immediately began to clap his hands loudly. It turned out to be a juryman, and the learned Judge thought a person occupying that position ought not to set such an example in Court as to applaud because a prisoner was found guilty, and, as he (Mr. Cross) thought very properly, he fined the offender £10; but finding, subsequently, that he was a person in poor circumstances, he reduced the fine to 40s.