The Spring Assizes for the Monaghan era commenced today with the Right Honourable the Chief Justice presiding over the Crown Courts and the Right Honourable Mr Justice Koch in the Uncord Court. Addressing the Grand Jury, the Lord Chief Justice remarked that neither in the nature nor the number of cases brought forward for investigation, nor in the general condition of the county, was there reason for any misgivings regarding its state. He disclosed that the total number of bills intended to be submitted to the jury was five. The reported cases from the past year numbered 3, compared with 11 during the preceding year, a difference deemed practically negligible and insignificant.
The noteworthy aspect concerning the specifically reported cases was that they emanated from a particular locality within the county. Were it not for the trouble arising from this specific area, the county would have maintained a commendable record for obedience to the law. However, there still seemed to persist in this particular district a considerable amount of agrarian unrest, a circumstance viewed with great regret in the present era of legislative provisions safeguarding property rights. The Lord Chief Justice expressed his concern over the existence of individuals within the community who sought to take matters into their own hands regarding property distribution or title devolution, actions inconsistent with legal provisions.
Such attempts, he warned, were detrimental to the community and the county at large, imperilling the security of property tenure for owners or occupiers. Such actions not only harmed individuals but also depreciated the value of land across the entire country.
Regarding ordinary yet comparatively trivial crimes, the reports presented a favourable contrast with the preceding year. In 1915, there were 1,058 cases where drunkenness formed the basis of a criminal charge, a figure deemed alarming for the county. However, the Lord Chief Justice was pleased to announce that in the last year, these figures had fallen by over 50%. It corroborated the widely acknowledged experience that drunkenness often correlates with poverty.
His Lordship expressed hope that this marked improvement would persist into the future, allowing for congratulatory remarks at the next Assizes.
In summary, while the Assizes commenced with a relatively low number of cases, the persistent issue of agrarian unrest and the reduction in drunkenness-related crimes were notable points of discussion during the proceedings.
Dublin Daily Express – Thursday 08 March 1917
