HC Deb 31 March 1890 vol 343 cc274-5
MR. O'HANLON (Cavan, E.)

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the trial of James Daly, a large merchant in the town of Carrickmacross, and three others from the same place, before Judge O'Brien, at Londonderry, on Thursday, for having boycotted the Great Northern Railway (Ireland), three of them getting six months each hard labour, the other three months; whether he is aware that they were taken from the County Monaghan to the City of Derry; that all Catholics were asked to stand aside, some of the Catholics being Justices of the Peace, and that the greater number of the jury who tried the prisoners were Orangemen; whether the report is correct that a local solicitor, not employed in the case, advised the Solicitor General as to the Protestants who should not be allowed on the jury, and that a gentleman connected with the Derry Sentinel newspaper also advised Mr. Ross as to keeping off a Protestant named Hatrick; and whether care will be taken in the future that Catholics shall not be excluded from juries?

MR. A. J. BALFOUR

My attention has been called to the conviction referred to in the question. It is the fact that the venue was changed from the County of Monaghan to the City of Derry in order to obtain a fair and impartial trial; but I have no information as to the religion of the persons who composed the jury, or of those who were directed to stand aside. The report mentioned in the third paragraph, that a local solicitor advised the Solicitor General as to the Protestants who should not be allowed on the jury, does not appear to be correct.

MR. SEXTON

Can the right hon. Gentleman throw any light on the fact that three of the prisoners, who were not members of the National League, only got three months' imprisonment; while three others, who were members of the League, got six months' imprisonment, although the Lord Lieutenant has never exercised his full powers in that county?

MR. A. J. BALFOUR

No, Sir; I cannot throw any light upon it.