§ Mr. MACLEANasked the Attorney-General on what grounds he refused his fiat for leave to appeal to the House of Lords in the case of Rex v. Bryant, in view of the fact that the principles laid down for the guidance of the Court of Criminal Appeal on the question of onus of proof in capital cases by the House of Lords in the recent case of Rex v. Woolmington were departed from by the trial judge and the Court of Criminal Appeal in dealing with this case?
The ATTORNEY-GENERALI do not accept the statement that the principles laid down in Rex v. Woolmington were departed from in the case of Rex v. Bryant, neither was any application for a certificate of appeal made to me on this ground. I refused my certificate because in my opinion the points raised did not involve points of law of exceptional public importance on which it was desirable in the public interest that a further appeal should be brought.