The Irish standard., 1901-11-09

4
machine; and, that being our opinion,
it is our duty to proclaim in public and
i'll private, in the press and on the plat
form, before friend and foe alike, that
the present system of administering
justice in Ireland is deserving of all
the odium and contempt that can be
heaped upon it; that jury-packing,
which is settled practice in that ad-
ministration. is kissing and re-
proach in the land; and that it is our
duty to protest against it, to denounce
1t and to resist it in open defiance Of
any threats that may be hurled against
us, or any punishment that can be in
f1icted upon us, for the honest dis.
charge OF that duty (hear, hear. Now,
what is our demand in this matter?
1t ds simple. 1t is just. It can only
be denied by the violation of the consti-
tuition under which we are supposed to
| live. We demand that the law in re-
gard to trial by jury should be admin
istered in Ireland as 1t is administered
in England (hear, hear. That does
not seem to be an extravagant or rev.
olutionary demand. Yet, for over a
hundred years we have been making
that demand, and we are still making
it in vain. To shield himself and his
mal-administration of Justice from
public censure and condemnation the
Encouragement charges me with sedi-
tious Libel. Here today 1 charge
the night honorable gentleman with
having i'm the case of Muffeny
and Mcguire violated the funda-
mental principles of the English
Constitution (applause). It is a max
i'm of English law that every man
should be deemed innocent until he
was proved guilty (hear, hear. 1t is
maxim of the law as administered
in Ireland that every man accused of
an agraran or political offence should
be assumed to be guilty until his in
nocence is proved (hear, heap In
England the benefit of the doubt is
given to the prisoner In Ireland
packed juries always give the benefit
of the doubt to the Crown (hear, hear).
Better that ninety-nine guilty men
should go free than that one innocent
man should suffer punishment is the
maxim Of English law. With packed
iuries i'm Ireland it lis better that
ninety-nme innocent Nationalists
should suffer punishment than
that one guilty Nationalist should
so free Qlear, hear. In the case of
Muffeny and Mcguire the right of trial
by jury was suspended, and they We're
accordingly, deprived of that safe
guard and individual liberty which is
the constitutional right of the vilest
and meanest criminal in Great Britain.
When taken to task in the house Of
Commons in connection with the case
of Muffeny and Mcguire, the attorney
general enveloped himself in cloud
of quotations from ancient law books,
and exhausted the resources of quib-
bling and sophistry. If he had a
clean conscience he would have looked
facts in the face and given a straight
answer He took proceedings against
me because 1 said the Sligo jury was
packed. 1 put in a plea of justifca-
tion-that is to say. I offered to prove
lin court that my statement was true.
He refused ito meet the straight issue
(hear, hear). He applied to the courts,
and had my plea struck out.
When 1 first came up for trial twen-
ty-four jurors answered to their names
but he was afraid to proceed. He,
thought that number would mot give
him sufficient material for packing
and he applied for and got postpone
ment of the trial. I don't think he
will he nble. no matter what quota
tons he makes from law books, to
reconcile his action on Those occasions
with the hypocritical pretence that tn
administration of the law is the same
in Ireland as it lis i'm England. Every
one will admit that Crown and pris-
0ncr should have the right of challenge
for cause No one but the foreign gar
rison who administer the law in Ire
land contends THAT the Crown has, or
should have, THE right of unlimited
challenge without cause assigned Zap
plause). 1t is understand, the opin-
ion of eminent counsel that no such
right lis vested in the Crown. and that
1t lis simply usurped in Ireland. But 1t
Is mot for me to argue such a question.
l confine myself to facts. One fact is
that the law. relating to trial by Jury
is not administered in Ireland as it is
administered In England. So much
has been admitted by the attorney
general The confession was wrung
from him that The was iury-packer.
In the House of Commons on the 18th
of May he said: 'It is ridiculous to
SAY that it lis not absolutely necessary
to use this power" that is the power
of iury-packing by unlimited challenge
l say that julylpacking is resorted to !
in Ireland not for the purpose of vindi-
eating Justice hut for political pur-
poses (aprlausc>. Everyone who sees
what is going ON i'm Ireland Mt the pres
emit time. and everyone who has read
THE history of agrarian and political