The Casement Appeal (Beforc 3a. JCTIsTC DALro, MaR. JUsCEa BRAY, DIR. JUSTICE A. T. LAWRENCE, MR. JUSTICE SCRU*oN, and NIn. JusTic ATICn.) - The Court of Criminal Appeal sat yesterday to to hear anF applications that mnight be made ariging out of the appeal of Itoger David Casement ogalnst his conviction of highi treason. For sveral minautes after their Lordships had taken their scats they remaiied in consultation. 31a. JusTicE DI)jxo then said that thc Court had as- semblcd because they had been told some time ago by the King's Coroner that the solicitor representing thc conLvict Casement had had an interview with him and had said that it was proposed to makc somnc application for the consideration of the second ground in the notico of appeal. Serjeant Sullivan, after arguiiig the main point in the case, abandoned in Court the other point, becauso he said that, after careful consideration, he had conic to the conclusion that he could not ask the Court to quash thc con- viction on it. Such an application as that suggested. if mnade to any Court, must be made to the Court of five Judges who had heard the appeal and before twhom. Scrieant SuUivan had made that statement. For that reason the Court had assembled. The Court had been left in considerable doubt from Clay to day. They had not been able to get definite information whether ib was -intended to make the application or not.. They had assembled so that it might be publicly knowvn whether an application Was to be made or not.. If it was to be made there was an opportunity to make it. His LonIDSiP then said that the Court had that morning received a letter from Casement's solicitor. The letter said T.ie King's Coroner i Informne quite dfini'tcly that 3ir. luffyr will not rro^red with the aslinatiln wvhich lie mentioned to the King'sCoroner1ampo3Sibc application. That persons might fully understand the position the Court desired to say that they were in no nay surprised when Sericant Sullivan stated at the appeal that lie wished to abandon the second point in the notice of appeal. It had been conveyed to the King's Coroner-and that was why the matter had been treated so scriously-that Serjeant Sullivan had no authority from those who instructed him to abandon tho point. But after Serjeaut Sullivan had argued with very great ability the main ground of appeal, and after he had stated that he abandoned t.he other ground, the Court retired to consider whether thev bhould call on the Attorncy-Gencral not only to reply to the arguiment adduced on behalf of the appellant, but to (teal wvith anv matter concerning wvhich the Court felta difficulty. The Court at the hearing of the appeal had conic to the same conclusion as that to which Serjeant Sullivan had comc-narmcly, that there wras nothing in the second ground of appeal. }lis Loitlsal' concluded :-It could hardly be alleged vith anything approaching plausibility that Serjeant Sullivan liad no authority to a;bandon these points. When he stated that he wished to do so there were present in Court the solicitor instructing him and his two junirs, 3fr. Artemus Jones and 31r. Morgan. If Sericant Sullivan had no authority for making that statement it is inconceivable that during all the time while the Court were discussing the case-20 minutes-neither his solicitor nor his juniors told him so. It is impossible to believe that we were allowed to go away-some of us on circuit- without the slightest intimation that these matters were not abandoned with the full cognizance of everybody. There is no more to ho said this morning. We have now a definite assurance from the defence that it is not desired to raise any question whatever before us. A Pmmso-NAL EXPLAxyA'EOR. MIr. PowVELL, K.C., who had been sitting in Court, then asked if he might mal; a personal explanation. le said that he had found that his connexion vith the Casement case had become common knowledge. There were persons, including officers of justice,who, had bcen under a misapprehension. He had been retained to argue in the Nouab of Lords the points of law arising in the Statute of Edward III. if the necessary certificate were granted. HIe had been in consultation on tho matter, but was not briefed on the present occasion. He was there out of respect to their Lordsbips. and because he had been given to understand that they had thought he ought to be present. lc Aviws not there in any capacity as repre- senting Casement. Counsel never contemplated making tho applica- tion to which 1Ir. Justice Darling had referred. Casement's solicitor no (loubt applied to Master Kershavw. and said that Serjeant Stullivan was in the West of Ireland. Mr. J3nes was in Wales, and Mr. Morgan in Dorset. Hlo asked to know what steps it woull be necessary to take if he wished to raise the question of the consideration of the further ground of appeal. Counsel had never intended that the appli- cation should bc made. Ile ('Mr. Powell) had learned that the proper officer of the Court had been informed definitely two days before by Mr. Duffy that the application would not be made- M1n. JtLsTicE DARLLeG.-This is passing the lmits of at personal explanation. It is reaUy attacking the King's Coroner. MIr. Powu.-I desire to mako it perfectly plain that I do not in the least attack the King's Coroner, or any oflicer in his department. He has done every- thing that could be done. Mli. JusTrcE DAnraye.-Both I, personallv, and two of my brethren knew stop bv step and day by day what was passing in the office of the K'Ing' Coroner and what were the commnunications made by bim. The Court then rose. "THE POINT OF LAW." Mr. G. Gavin Duffy, who was solicitor for Case- enint. writes with reference to the case:-" Thc pro- ceedings in the Courts relative to this case to-day and yesterday are, perhaps, unique in legal history. Twico an array of learned Judges along with the Attorney-General assembled to hear an application the possibility of which had only been communicated to them unofficially, and its grounds quite privately, and which they had been told definitely two days ago would not be made. "Nothinlg more is sought from the Court of Criminal Appeal. What is wanted is that the point of law already raised should be determined by the highest Court, and it is surely worthy of being so determined. In a nutshell, it is this:-lRoger Casement was in- dicted for the crime of high treason under the Statute of Edwvard 111. because of acts committed in Ger- many, and there only he was said to be adherent to the King's enemies, but wlhat is declared to be treason by the statute (which gives an exhaustive list of treasons, and enacts that nothing else shall be treason) is ' if a niian be adherent to the King's enemies in his reatlt, giving to them aid and comfort in his realm or ctsewhere,' and nothing ,as in the indictment alleged to have been done in the King's realm. "But to get the ease before the House of Lords at all it is necessa that the Attorney-General, and none but lie-in this case not a disinterested State lawyer. but the leading counsel for the prosecution-should certify that thero is 'a point of law of cxceptional public importance, and that it is desirable in the public interest that a further appeal should bh brought.' If the determination of what is high treason is not 'of exceptional public importance,' the statute being worded as it is, wvhat can be ? And is it not in the public interest of this country that the point should be dealt with and settled by thc highest Court in the land, and that no man, and, particularlv at this period of Irish history, no Irishman, should have the power to say that the determination of such a mattcr-one on which the life of an Irishmnan de- pends-was withheld ? Yet Sir F. B. Smith (from whom there is no appeal), whose antecedents in Ulster are well rememnbered, has refused the certificatc, and shows no inclination to reconsider his determina- tion." THE CASEMENT APPEAL AN ABANDONED APPLICATION. STATEMENT BY 1IR. JUSTICE DARLING.