Lords Sitting of 11 May 1897

PREFERENTIAL PAYMENTS IN BANKRUPTCY ACT (1888) AMENDMENT BILL.
Reported from the Standing Committee with Amendments: The Report thereof to be received on Thursday next; and Bill to be printed us amended.—[No. 74.]
TRUSTS (SCOTLAND) BILL.
Reported from the Standing Committee, without Amendment, and to be Read 3aon Thursday next.

QUARTER SESSIONS JURORS (IRELAND) BILL.
Considered in Committee.
Clause 1,—

QUARTER SESSIONS JURORS (IRELAND) BILL.

  SPECIFICATION OF DIVISIONS FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE ACT.
  (1.) The Lord Lieutenant may, when it appears to him desirable for the relief of jurors from unnecessary attendance at Quarter Sessions, by Order in Council, declare the provisions of this Act to be in force in any specified Quarter Sessions division as from the dale of the Order, and the provisions of this Act shall, after the said date, be in force in such division, and that division shall be a specified division within the meaning of this Act.
  (2.) Any Order made under this section may be revoked by a subsequent Order made in the same manner.
  Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
  Clause 2,—

  PROVISION FOR LODGING NOTICE OF BILLS OF INDICTMENT AND CRIMINAL TRIALS.
  Where it is intended to present a Bill of Indictment at a Court of Quarter Sessions in a specified division, or to proceed at such Court with the trial of any person on a Bill of Indictment previously found, the prescribed notice of such intention shall be lodged by or on behalf of the person having the conduct of the prosecution in the office of the Clerk of the Peace not later than three clear days (exclusive of a
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  Sunday) previous to the day appointed for the trial of criminal causes before that Court.
  Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
  Clause 3,—

  JURORS TO BE RELIEVED FROM ATTENDANCE IN CERTAIN CASES.
  (1.) Where in a specified division no such notice has been so lodged as aforesaid, the Clerk of the Peace shall forthwith report to the Sheriff to that effect, and the Sheriff shall thereupon notify in the prescribed manner all jurors summoned to attend the Court for the purpose of criminal business that their attendance will not be required.
  (2.) Every person so summoned and subsequently notified under this section shall be given credit for an attendance as if he had attended in pursuance of the summons.
  (3.) Where it is the duty of the Clerk of the Peace to summon jurors to attend at a Court of Quarter Sessions, the duties imposed by this section upon the Sheriff shall be discharged by the Clerk of the Peace, and it shall not be necessary to make a report to the Sheriff.
  *LORD MORRISsaid he had an Amendment to propose to the clause, with the object of providing for the expenses of the Sheriff in connection with the duties imposed upon him under the Bill. As the Bill stood, there was no provision; the matter was by the proposed Amendment left entirely in the discretion of the Grand Jury. It was necessary that some provision should be made in the Bill for the new duties east upon the Sheriff. He moved accordingly, as a new Sub-section to Clause 3:—
  (4.) The expenses of this Act, incurred in connection with the duties hereby imposed on Sheriffs and Clerks of the Peace, shall be defrayed out of the county cess, and it shall be lawful for the Grand Jury of every county, and for every Town Council empowered to make presentment, as the case may be, from time to time, at the next ensuing assizes or presenting term, and they are hereby required, without previous application at presentment sessions, or otherwise, to present all such sums of money as they may deem reasonable and necessary for defraying such expenses.
  THE EARL OF DENBIGHsaid there was no objection to the Amendment of the noble and learned Lord except that it would be better, as a matter of drafting, that it should be moved as a, new clause.
  Amendment agreed to, and inserted as a new clause (Clause 4) after Clause 3.
  *LORD MORRISfurther moved, after the clause last inserted, to insert the following new clause:—
  Clause 5,—
  (5.) The Clerks of the Union shall, in compiling the lists of jurors each year for revision, set forth, as far as practicable, in a separate column on the said lists, after the name of each juror, the name of the post office nearest to his residence.
  The noble Lord pointed out that the Sheriffs' list did not require that the post town of the juror should be given, and it was obvious that without such a provision as that embodied in this Amendment the letter might miscarry and not reach a juror at all, and it might be impossible for the Sheriff to carry out his duty completely.
  THE EARL OF DENBIGHsaid the Amendment was somewhat out of order in connection with this particular Bill. It was really an Amendment to Section 9 of the Jurors (Ireland) Act, 1871, and, as such, it was outside the scope and not covered by the title of this Bill. It was the opinion of the Irish Office that it was not necessary to deal with the matter in a fresh Act of Parliament, but that it was competent to the Department to deal with it as an ordinary Instruction, if it were found necessary to do so, as a matter of general convenience to the Sheriffs of Ireland, and in consequence he regretted to say he could pot accept the Amendment.
  *LORD MORRISasked leave to withdraw the Amendment, intimating that he should bring the subject up again when the. Bill came before the Standing Committee.
  Proposed new clause, by leave, withdrawn.
  Clause 4,—

  POWER TO ADJOURN TRIALS.
  (1.) In the case of any person returned for trial, or whose trial has been adjourned to a Court of Quarter Sessions in a specified division where the jurors have been notified under this Act that their attendance will not be required, the Chairman or Recorder presiding over the Court shall adjourn the trial of such person to the next ensuing Court of Quarter Sessions for any division of the county in which the specified division is included, or to the next ensuing Court of Assize for such
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  county, and tiny recognizance entered into in respect of such trial shall, without renewal, be valid and binding in respect of the adjourned trial.
  (2.) Such Chairman or Recorder shall have, in addition to all powers already vested in him, power to admit such person to bail until the sitting of the Court to which his trial is adjourned.
  THE EARL OF DENBIGHmoved, in Sub-section (1), to leave out the word "shall"—["shall adjourn"]—and to insert the word "may." The object of the substitution was that the Chairman or recorder presiding over the Court might have full option of discharging the prisoner if there should be any sort of idea that there had been wilful delay for the purpose of annoying the individual in question.
  Amendment agreed to; Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
  Clause 5,—

  RULES. 40 & 41 VICT. C. 56.
  The power of making rules and orders conferred by section seventy-nine of the County Officers 'and Courts (Ireland) Act 1877, shall be exercised for the purpose of carrying this Act into effect.
  Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
  Clause 6,—

  DEFINITIONS.
  In this Act—
  The expression "Clerk of the Peace" includes Clerk of the Crown and Peace where the offices have been united;
  The expression "Sheriff" includes Under Sheriff; and
  The expression "prescribed" means prescribed by rules and orders in pursuance of this Act.
  Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
  Clause 7,—

  SHORT TITLE, AND EXTENT OF ACT.
  This Act may be cited as the Quarter Sessions Jurors (Ireland) Act 1897, and shall extend to Ireland only.
  Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
  Bill re-committed to the Standing Committee; and to be printed as amended.—[No. 75.]

LAND TRANSFER BILL [H.L.]
Read 3a (according to Order); Amendments made; Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.
House Adjourned at a Quarter before Five o'clock, to Thursday next, a Quarter past Ten o'Clock.