The trial of William Coll, the man charged with the
murder of District-Inspector Martin, ended on Tuesday, at the ad- journed Maryborough Assizes, in a verdict of "Manslaughter." Mr. Justice Gibson, in summing up the evidence, commented strongly upon the fact that the defence had not called Miss MacFadden, the priest's sister, who must have seen what hap- pened, and could have given most material testimony. The refusal to call Father MacFadden, however, he regarded as perfectly reasonable, since to have done so might have greatly prejudiced the priest's own defence. A great deal has been said about the packing of the jury because there was no Roman Catholic upon it. The same thing, however, has happened in America, where the six weeks' wrangling has ended in the empanelling of twelve Protestant Anglo-Saxons to try Irish Roman Catholics. The securing of an independent jury in both cases eliminated the Roman Catholic element.
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