Re Frederick Byrne

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 31 January 1848
• Date: 31 January 1848
• Court: Queen's Bench Division (Ireland)

Queen's Bench.

In re FREDERICK BYRNE.

Rex v. York and FieldingENR 5 Burr. 2684.

In the matter of Peerless 1 Ad. & El. N. S. 143.

Coster v. WilsonENR 3 Mees. & Wels. 411.

Wickes v. ClutterbuckENR 2 Bing. 483.

In re WalkerENR 1 Sess. Cas. 182.

In the Matter of Tordoft Ibid, 171.

538 CASES AT LAW. H. T. 1848. Queen's Bench. In re FREDERICK BYRNE. Jan. 29, 31. -- 4 The 1 & 2 Vic. Mu prisoner was brought up under a habeas corpus directed to the c. 56, s. 59, (Poor-lawAct) governor and keeper of the Richmond Bridewell, in the county of the provides that if any person city of Dublin. The return made to this habeas corpus by the gover shall desert his wife or child, nor was, that he had the body of Frederick Byrne in his custody so that they become reliev- under a warrant of commitment, of which the following is a copy : able in a work- " Police District of Dublin "ouse, eve You are hereby required to detain house " Metropolis, such offender shall, on con- "to wit. "in your custody the body of Frederick viction before Justice of " Byrne for the space of one month from the date hereof, who stands a the Peace at Petty Ses- "convicted convicted before me, one of the Divisional Justices in and for said sions, in open "district, upon oath, for that he the said Frederick Byrne, on the Court, be com mitted to gaol, " 8th day of August 1845, at Henry-street, within said district, did to be kept to hard labour for cc desert and leave his wife Anne Byrne and his four children, namely, any term not exceeding "Francis Byrne, Mary Anne Byrne, Eliza Byrne and Lucy Byrne, three months. 10 & 11 Vic. "whom he was liable to maintain, as that they became destitute, and c. 84, s. 1, repealed that " were on the 29th day of December last past admitted into the South clause, and provided that " Dublin Union Workhouse in James's-street, in the said district, every person who should "and were and are still relieved in said workhouse, contrary to the desert or wil fully neglect "form of the statute in such case made and provided. to maintain his wife or child, " Therefore the said Frederick Byrne you are in safe custody to so that they "keep for said period above mentioned, and for so doing this shall became re- lievable in or " be your sufficient warrant-Given under my hand and seal this out of a work- house, should cc 24th day of January 1848. 44 THOMAS F. KELLY, be committed to gaol and " One of the Divisional Justices of the Rotunda Division kept to hard " of Police of and for the said district. labour for a term not ex- 44 To the Keeper of Richmond Bridewell at South Circular-road." ceeding three months. A committal, bearine date in 1848, and stating that B., on the 8th of August 1845, at Henry-street, within said district, did desert his wife and children, and that they became destitute, and were on the 29th of December last past admitted into the workhouse in said district, and were still relieved there :-Held, a bad committal, there being nothing in it to show that the destitution and the relief afforded were connected with the particular desertion in i845 ; and the statute not having passed until 1847, the offence must have begun after the passing of that statute. Field also, Divisional Magistrates of the Police District of Dublin have jurisdicÂtion, in every case of offences committed within their district, that are punishable by a Justice. CASES AT LAW. 539 Butt, on behalf of the prisoner, now moved that he be discharged from custody. The prisoner had been convicted under the Poor Law Acts _for a desertion of his wife and children, whereby they became chargeable on the funds of the South Dublin Union ; and this committal is bad, because the...