§ CAPTAIN DONELANOn behalf of the hon. Member for South Down, I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, with reference to the attendance of implicated prisoners at coroners' inquests, whether he is aware that such attendance is allowed in England under a rule of the Home Office, and 460 not by any exceptional law, and whether he is aware that an absent prisoner may be indicted by a coroner's court in Ireland, and a Bill sent forward against him to the Court of Assize; and, whether, under the circumstances, he will now consider the desirability of having the practice in England followed in such cases in Ireland, in order that the prisoner may be present at this portion of his trial?
§ THE SOLICITOR-GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. DUNBAR BARTON,) Armagh, MidWith my right hon. Friend's permission, and in the absence of the Attorney General, I will reply to this Question. I am aware that, under a rule of the Home Office, prisoners who so desire it, may be produced before a coroner, where this can be done without injury to the administration of justice. A different rule prevails in Ireland. And I am not aware that any prisoner has been prejudiced by the Irish practice, or that any general desire has been expressed in favour of a change. It is true that a prisoner may be prosecuted for murder or manslaughter on a coroner's inquisition, but I am informed that there is no record of any case in Ireland where a prisoner has been so prosecuted. The invariable practice is, after depositions have been taken, to proceed by Bill of Indictment. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.