COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 31 July 1860)

THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE
complained that this Bill gave corporations power to appoint coroners who should have the exclusive right of holding inquests within the jurisdiction of the Corporation, without reserving the rights of the existing coroners. He hoped his noble Friend when they got into Committee would introduce a proviso to save the rights of the present coroners.

§ LORD MONTEAGLE
said, the Bill was intended to amend the following defect in the Irish Corporations Act. By that Act there was no power in the Corporations to 417 appoint a coroner, unless they had a recorder and a Recorder's Court. Now, many of the Corporations did not wish to have either, because they enjoyed the benefit of the Assistant-barrister's Court. Their only alternative, therefore, in the matter of the coroner, was to take the county coroner; and this was often attended with great inconvenience, as the county coroner could not always be secured when an inquest was required to be held. The Corporation of Limerick, in particular, had been put to much inconvenience on that account. The present Bill proposed to give the Corporations power to elect a coroner, even though they had no recorder. He hoped the House would agree to the measure, and would not condemn them to the alternative either of appointing an officer whom they did not want, or to go without another officer of whom they stood in urgent need.

THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE
moved the insertion of a proviso taken from the Municipal Corporation Act, with a view to protect the interests of coroners in certain cases.

§ LORD MONTEAGLE
said, it was impossible for him to assent to the proposal of the noble Earl. The effect of the Amendment would be simply to continue the county coroner in office where he was non-resident, whereas the object of the Bill was to enable Corporations to appoint a coroner in their own neighbourhood.