THE MONAGHAN SHRIEVALTY CASE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Your article on the above subject contains an error which has also crept (in various degrees) into some other London papers, and which I think it important to correct.
You say the Sheriff " impanelled a jury consisting of none but Protestants," and affirm that on this ground the panel was set aside. Now, in fact, the panel contained the names of 49 Catholics and 201 Protestants, or in round numbers, one-fifth were Catholics. Of those qualified to serve on juries in the -county 792 were Protestants and 423 Catholics, or in round numbers, one-third were Catholics. The whole unfairness of the panel is, therefore, measured by the difference between one-third and one-fifth. But on the occasion in question, out of 72 gentle- men who answered to their names 24 were Catholics ; conse- quently, had the trial of WICenna proceeded, he would have had the legitimate proportion of Catholics on his jury, or rather some- thing more, for he would, no doubt, have employed his right of -challenge to reduce the proportion of Protestants.
M'Kenna was afterwards tried in Louth by a jury consisting, I believe, exclusively of Catholics. They found that his homicide of Clarke was justifiable. Many persons thought this a failure of
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