HC Deb 26 February 1883 vol 276 cc838-9
MR. O'DONNELL

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If he will state the number of cases during the past two years in which coroner's juries in Ireland have returned verdicts of wilful murder against agents and officials of the Government; of the number of cases in which the Government applied to the Queen's Bench to quash the result of the coroner's inquisition; of the number of cases in which the Queen's Bench granted such applications by the Government; in how many cases the murdered persons were men, and in how many women; and of the number of cases in which the Government allowed the verdicts of coroner's juries charging Government agents or officials with wilful murder to be made the subject of trial according to law?

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. PORTER) (for Mr. TREVELYAN)

In five different cases within the last two years verdicts of wilful murder were returned by Coroner's Juries in Ireland against members of the Royal Irish Constabulary. In three of these, the inquisitions were quashed in the Queen's Bench, on the application of the Crown. These were the only cases in which such application was made. In four cases the persons whose deaths were inquired into were men (6); in one they were women (2). In two cases there was no prosecution. In one, informations were applied for and refused. In one informations were granted and the Crown Prosecutors came to the conclusion that there was no case, and did not send up a bill. In the remaining case the bill was ignored by the Grand Jury.

MR. O'DONNELL

Do I understand that there wore three cases in which applications were made to quash the convictions, and two cases in which there was no prosecution? Am I to conclude from that that in the five cases in which verdicts were returned against officials there was no prosecutions whatever against the incriminated servants of the Crown?

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. PORTER)

That is not the case. In three cases the inquisitions were quashed. In one of these proceedings were directed by the Crown before the magistrates, but informations were refused.