§ MR. P. A. MCHUGH (Sligo, N.)I beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland whether he is aware that, at the last Winter Assizes for Connaught, at Sligo, in the case of James Ward, of Castlebar,
† See (4) Debates, clvii., 1265.77 who stood charged with seditious libel, Mr. Garvey, Crown Solicitor for Mayo, ordered all Catholic jurors who answered to their names, to the number of sixteen, to stand by, and empannelled an exclusively Protestant jury; whether he has called upon Mr. Garvey to explain the grounds upon which ho excluded all Catholic jurors from the jury box in Ward's trial; and whether he is aware that Ward was convicted and is still in prison.
§ MR. CHERRYI am informed by the Crown Solicitor referred to that he was not aware of the religious convictions of any of the jurors ordered to stand by on the occasion in question, or of these of the jurors who tried the case. I was not Attorney-General at the time of the trial, and I am in no way responsible for what was done, and have made no inquiries except for the purpose of answering this Question. I do not know whether Ward is still in prison or not.