§ MR. HARRINGTONasked Mr. Solicitor General for Ireland, Whether the special jury panel at the late assizes for the county of Antrim, containing a population of 421,000 souls, was composed of 48 persons, of whom only two were Roman Catholics; and, whether he will consider the advisability of legislating to secure a larger panel for the disposal of the special jury business at 435 this, the largest Assize centre in Ireland, and a more equitable representation of the Catholic body, which comprises one-third of the population?
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. WALKER)The Sheriff reports that the special jury panel was framed strictly in accordance with the Jurors' Act of 1871. The special jurors' book contains 1,157 names, from which, as the law requires, 48 were taken. The Sheriff has no knowledge of the religious profession of any of these special jurors, and the law makes it impossible jurors should be summoned by any reference to religious persuasion. The names are taken in an alphabetical series.