MR. O'BRIENasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, What are the arrangements with the new Crown Solicitor for Dublin, by reason of which Mr. George Bolton's special services in connection with the administration of the Crimes Act are to be dispensed with; is it part of the functions of the Crown Solicitor for Dublin to undertake investigations in distant parts of the country, as in the cases of 1842 the Maamtrasna, Clonbar, and Ballyforan murders; if it be, why did not Mr. Anderson perform that duty; if it be not, why is Mr. Coll asked to undertake it; for what reasons was Mr. Bolton selected from the county Tipperary for these special duties; did he receive an autograph letter of thanks from Earl Spencer for his services; and, why have his services in this special department been discontinued?
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. WALKER)Mr. Anderson was appointed in 1859. His duties were confined to criminal business arising in the County and City of Dublin. He resigned his office last month, and Mr. Coll was appointed in his place. A Commission appointed last year to report on the existing system of Crown Solicitors reported that it was desirable that the Crown Solicitor for Dublin should be required to devote his entire time to the duties of his office, and be bound on the direction of the Attorney General to take up the conduct of any special case or special legal business. Mr. Coll was appointed on those terms, and the conduct of any special case will henceforth devolve upon him. Mr. Bolton was selected for the special cases referred to on account of the ability and efficiency with which he had always discharged his duties in the County Tipperary. After the close of the Maamtrasna case Lord Spencer sent to several of the officials engaged, including Mr. Bolton, a letter expressing his sense of the services they had rendered in the unravelling of a great crime and bringing its perpetrators to justice.