§ Mr. CRUMLEYasked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that, on the occasion of the recent trial of a Fermanagh postman named Armstrong before Mr. Justice Wright at the late Fermanagh assizes, held in Enniskillen, the foreman of the jury was a Mr. Montgomery, a near relative of the accused, and that another juryman named Armstrong was a cousin of the accused; whether, although Mr. Justice Wright charged the jury strongly in favour of conviction, a verdict of not guilty was returned; were all Catholic jurors called in the case, with one exception, ordered to stand by; and what steps the Government propose to take for the better administration of justice in Fermanagh county?
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§ Mr. BIRRELLThe police have no knowledge of any relationship between the man Armstrong, the accused in the case referred to, and the two persons who acted as jurors indicated in the hon. Member's question. The police do not know the religious persuasions of the persons ordered to stand by, nor are they aware of the religious composition of the jury. The order to "stand by" was directed principally against persons from the locality who would be likely to be influenced by local feeling, and was given altogether irrespective of the question of religion.