§ MR. KEIR HARDIEI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the case of David Evans, who was recently sentenced by the stipendiary at Aberdare to one month's imprisonment for alleged assault; whether he is aware that, owing to an inadvertence on the part of a clerk to the solicitor who defended Evans, notice of appeal was not properly lodged within the time specified by the Act; that the prosecuting counsel agreed to waive this objection to the appeal being taken, but the stipendiary himself briefed counsel to oppose the application; and whether, seeing that Evans is a young man of good character and reputation, who claims to have been the party assaulted, and produced strong and uncontradicted evidence at the trial in support of this, under all these circumstances, he will cause him to be immediately released.
§ MR. GLADSTONEI have made inquiry into this case, but on the in- 272 formation before me, I see no sufficient reason for interference. It does not appear that any fresh evidence would have been called if the defendant's appeal had been heard, and the fact that, owing to the mistake of his solicitor, it could not be heard, does not seem to me to afford sufficient ground for advising any interference with the sentence.