§ MR. HEALYasked Mr. Solicitor General for Ireland, When the prisoners charged with the Ballyfarnon murder were arrested; how many remands were granted before their committal; can he quote any precedent for a similar number in ordinary English practice; what evidence was produced before the magistrates in the course of the investigation which might not have been tendered weeks ago; had the series of remands the effect of making the case too late for the Spring Assizes, and throwing the trial over till June or July; will the prisoners thereby be detained four months additional; what expense did these adjournments entail on the Country; and, will the expenses of prisoners' solicitor going from Ballinasloe to Galway on each occasion be defrayed by the Crown; if not, does he propose any change whereby the expense which this remand system entails on poor prisoners may be avoided? I must say that the most important part of this Question was struck out. It was, how much Mr. George Bolton got for each remand he procured?
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. WALKER)Four of the prisoners charged with this murder were arrested on the 27th of January, 1884. There were eight remands before the committal, which took place on the 28th of March. One of the prisoners, Thomas Nolan, was only arrested on the 27th of February. The evidence was, to a considerable extent, circumstantial, and only developed as the case proceeded; and in he course of the inves- 1658 tigation one very important witness had to be traced out and brought over from England. Another important witness was only discovered a few days before the 28th of March. In no event, therefore, could this case have been ready for trial at the Spring Assizes on the 22nd of March. The murder was committed on the 16th of October, 1879, when the body was put into a sack and thrown into the River Suck, and it was not discovered till the 19th of May, 1880. Not much expense was occasioned by the adjournments. There is no precedent for payment of the expenses of a solicitor at a preliminary investigation. I am informed that many precedents exist in England for an equal number of remands. In Gallagher's case there were 11 hearings in the police courts.