§ Mr. LONSDALEasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware of the fact that at the Munster Winter Assizes of 1906 the Crown ordered 45 jurors to stand aside without cause assigned in the case of R. v. Meany, 21 in the case of R. v. Ward and Casey, and 15 in each of the two cases R. v. Leary, and R. v. Healy; whether he is aware that at the late Munster and Connaught Winter Assizes the practice of challenging jurors without cause was also freely resorted to by the Crown, as many as 66 jurors having been ordered to stand by in three cases from Sligo tried at the latter assizes; and will he state whether it is now proposed to 1568 cancel the rule of February, 1894, in pursuance of which such challenges were made?
§ Mr. CHERRYI am informed that the numbers of jurors ordered to stand aside at the Munster Winter Assizes of 1906 are correctly stated in the question. As to the cases mentioned tried at the last Winter Assizes for Connaught, I desire to refer the hon. Member to the answers which I gave to the hon. Member for North Sligo on the 14th day of December last. It is not proposed to cancel the rule referred to in the last part of the question.