§ MR. JOHN ROCHE (Galway, E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the fact that at the trial of the Riverstown prisoners at Limerick on Tuesday last the Crown ordered thirty-one jurors to stand by; and whether, in view of the pledge given by the Attorney-General for Ireland in this House, he will say what action he proposes to take in the matter.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) My right hon. friend the Attorney-General has inquired into this matter. The Crown Solicitor for the County of Sligo informs him that the reason why he ordered so many jurors to stand aside in the case referred to was because he had trustworthy information that an active canvass of the jurors had been made on behalf of the prisoners, and that persons had actually come from Sligo to Limerick for the purpose of influencing the jurors. The Crown Solicitor was bound to exclude from the jury all persons whom he had reason to believe 50 had been influenced by this improper practice, and who would, in his opinion, have been hindered thereby from giving an impartial verdict. In taking this course the Crown Solicitor was acting strictly within his instructions and not in violation of any pledge given by my right hon. friend in this House or elsewhere.