HC Deb 20 February 1899 vol 66 c1451
MR. GILHOOLY (Cork Co., W.)

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the fact that men from the Castletown Berehaven district were compelled by summons to attend as jurors at the Bantry Quarter Sessions recently held; whether he is aware that a few of them, whose annual poor law valuation is £6, had to travel a distance of 45 miles to Bantry, making a total journey of 90 miles; whether he will direct the sheriff of the county of Cork to exempt men of this class from future attendance as jurors at Bantry; and whether, in view of the fact that in Ireland the attendance of jurors causes great hardship and inconvenience, the Government will have legislative provision made for the payment of jurors' travelling expenses there.

MR. GERALD BALFOUR

I am informed by the Clerk of the Peace that four jurors from the district of Castletown Berehaven attended the recent Bantry Quarter Sessions. Only two of these jurors travelled the distance mentioned in the second paragraph, and in none of the four cases is the juror rated at an annual value of less than £11. I have no power to act as suggested in the third paragraph. As regards the last paragraph, the question is a general one affecting the United Kingdom as a whole, and I am not prepared to recommend special legislation in the matter for Ireland.