The Sun. — 1856-02-14 (London, England)

IRELAND.  DUBLIN, WEDNESDAY MORNING.  THE IRISH JUDICIAL BENCH.  The Evening Post has the following remarks apropos to the motion of Sir J. Shelley in reference to the state of the Irish judicial bench. Referring to the case of the venerable Baron Pennefather, whose great mental faculties are as unimpaired and vigorous as they were a quarter of a century ago, the Post maintains that his defective vision—especially as regards the trial of criminal cases—is a disqualification so positive that it cannot be got Over :  " As an illustrative ease, we may refer to a remark. able circumstance on the trial of Kirwan for the murder of his wife at Ireland's-eye. The Jury, after they had been some tune in deliberation, returned into court and sought an explanation of a passage in the evidence. Mr. Justice Crampton, one of the presiding judges, told them he had left his notes at home, but, as he had a perfect recollection of the matter, he would state it from memory. And the learned judge did so. the memo, rial on behalf of Kirwan referred to this proceeding on the part of the judge, which was strongly objected to, o r the ground that hts notes were not actually produced, and the irregularity was relied upon as the chief point in favour of the criminal, whose sentence subsequently was commuted from death to transportation for life. It is clear that Baron Pennefather, from the loss of sight, courd take no notes in a criminal or any other case, and, as such a duty could not he delegated, blindness necessarily involves complete disqUalification for the ditcharge of judicial functions, no matter how clear and vigorous may be the faculties iu other respects. It is a singular coincidence that the two oldest judges in Ireland or any other partof the globe,, Baron Pennefather ao,d Mr. Justice Torrens' are to be the judges of assize at the approaching North-West Circuit—the former being in his 85tb, and the latter in his 84th year. Chief Justice Lefroy is the junior of both, being in his 82d year. Mr. Justice Crampton is younger, but only by a • very few years, as he was, we believe, a Fellow of Trinity College 'when the foundation-stone of Nelson's Pillar was laid, and the Bank of Ireland was opened in College-green. 'We need scarcely say that we have no desire to utter a word reflecting in, the least degree on any one of those learned judges. Some time since, as we have already mentioned, when strictures of the same kind were uttered by a portion of the press, we deprocated such conduct, urging that functionaries like Baron Pennefather, who had spent a long life most usefully in the public service, were entitled to forbearinee, even when they somewhat exceeded all reasonable limits in their accustomed vocation. We cannot, however, help admitting that, since we 'addressed that remonstrance to our contemporaries, time has been running_ his e)uNe, and we are no longer in a position to assert that men who Lave exceeded by 20 years the grand climacteric are competent to discharge the onerous, delicate, and deeply responsible duties of judges, not alone affecting the property, hat-the liberties and the lives of the Queen's subjects."