The Queen v Rowan M'Naghten

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 21 November 1845
• Date: 21 November 1845
• Court: Queen's Bench Division (Ireland)

Queen's Bench.

THE QUEEN

and

ROWAN M'NAGHTEN.

Rex v. SalomonsENR 1 T. R. 249.

Newman v. Metcalf 10 A. & E. 11.

Lee v. ClarkeENR 2 East, 233.

Regina v. Houston 3 Ir. Law Rep. 445.

ex parte RansleyUNK 3 D. & Ry. 572.

The King v. KillettENR 4 Burr. 2063.

CASES AT LAW. 93 M. T. 1845. Queen'sBench. THE QUEEN v. ROWAN M'NAGIITEN. Nov.14, 21. CERTIORARI to certain magistrates at Petty Sessions, desiring that in- a Where an dditdh at it should be certified to this Court the cause of all proceedings had formation before them on an information exhibited against the defendant for eharatryge harbour r the recovery of a penalty, for having knowingly harboured, kept and Ialson gly did permit t concealed a certain quantity of foreign manufactured tobacco, contrary conceal, and to the form of the statutes in such case made and provided, together with the evidence given on the hearing thereof, and the judgment or baned hsanrffbeoruretod and concealed, order pronounced thereon, and all things touching or relating thereto and commanding them to return the said information, together with bcearntdainacrotinctlreas, and the con- the judgment or order of conviction had thereon, with all things diction thereon adjudged him touching or relating to the same, in as full and ample a manner as the same remained in their custody. This certiorari had been guilty of the obtained on the affidavit of the defendant. charged; so Held, char offence mation The return to this writ was prefaced thus :-" The return to the that this infor. did two "within writ appears by the annexed copy, information and conic- charge not " tion, and the evidence from the Petty Sessions book, being the offences, and that there was "only documents touching the matters in our custody, save the no duplicity in "original information and Petty Sessions book." This was signed the conviction. In a return by the magistrates, and then followed a statement of the evidence to a certiorari given before them. The first witness proved personal service of a removing a undern i the ethx; notice on the defendant. The next witness deposed, that he was an c officer of excise on the 13th of September, and that he, on that day, ce conviction ctin evidence on visited the defendant's premises in Newry, and found in his shop ten which that ounces of what he believed to be foreign manufactured tobacco in a conviction was founded need drawer in the counter ; but he did not see the defendant at that time. not be stated; ut b if set On cross-examination, he stated that, to the best of his belief, all the the forth on face of tobacco he found was foreign ; that the drawer was not locked, and the return, con Court he would give no opinion as to the tobacco being concealed ; he consider it would not say that it was unshipped without payment of duty. A insufficient to sustain the witness was then examined on the part of the defendant, who stated conviction, the that he was a manufacturer of tobacco ; that he found part of the conviction will be quashed. tobacco which was shown to him not manufactured at all, and a small portion, such as would be manufactured in Ireland ; that there was more than one ounce of manufactured tobacco ; but he would not say there was ten. On cross-examination, he stated that he never manufactured any tobacco like that which had been produced, and he could not say whether it was British manufacture. The return then stated the information-" That Rowan M`Naghten "being a subject of her Majesty within six months last past, to wit, " on, &c., within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, " to wit, at, &c., did knowingly harbour, keep and conceal, and did " knowingly permit and suffer...