HC Deb 13 April 1899 vol 69 cc990-1
MR. H. D. GREENE () Shrewsbury

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the Act for the relief of jurors from unnecessary attendance at Courts of Quarter Sessions in. Ireland (1897) has been found to work successfully; whether Her Majesty's Government would facilitate the extension of a similar Measure to England whereby all persons liable to serve as jurors at Quarter Sessions may by notice be relieved from attending the court when it has been ascertained, as in Ireland, before the day for which they are summoned that, owing to the state of business, their services as jurors will not be required; whether Her Majesty's Government is aware that expense and inconvenience are incurred frequently by grand jurors and petty jurors in unnecessary attendances; and whether any remedy can be suggested?

THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY

My right honourable and learned Friend the Attorney-General for Ireland tells me that the law to which my honourable and learned Friend refers has worked well in Ireland. The Home Office authorities tell me that they think it is worth considering whether something analogous should not be done in England, although the cases are not exactly parallel. But I cannot make any pledge with regard to legislation in the present Session.