§ MR. LANE (Cork Co., E.)asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether Constable Edward Swindell, against whom a verdict of wilful murder has been found by a Coroner's Jury in Midleton, has been placed under arrest; whether it is correctly reported that, at the inquest, District Inspector Creagh, of Midleton, swore that he did not consider it any part of his duty as a police officer to take any steps to discover who killed Patrick Ahern, and that District Inspector Seymour, representing the Crown, stated that he would not produce any evidence as to how Ahern came by his death; and, whether, under these circumstances, he will give the Crown Prosecutor for the district special instructions to take the necessary steps to have Swindell brought to trial at the next Cork Assizes?
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. MADDEN) (Dublin University)asked that (as he had not received sufficient Notice of this Question) it might be deferred.
§ MR. LANEMight I ask, with regard to the second part of the Question, whether, in the Solicitor General's opinion, it is not the duty of the District Inspector of Police to take some steps to discover who committed the homicide in his district; and, also, whether it is not the duty of the Crown Prosecutor, or the representative of the Crown at a Coroner's inquest, to produce some evidence as to how the deceased came by his death? I ask him to give information on these points for the guidance of the public officers of the Crown in Ireland.
§ MR. MADDENsaid, he was afraid that a general statement by him on matters of which no particulars were given would be of little value.