Star. — London, England, 1819-03-03 00:00:00

men must deeply deplore. And here, . I s hall not be told Tani a rash aud ape- ' pe, whose object, however laudable in other re must necessarily afford to the guilty mind the impunity for offences hereafter to be corn in what was last night denominated by the the golden age of crime. —(A laugh.)—l the more anxious to guard against any mist*- : on so important a subject, as it would highest degree absurd to propose any thing tat had been termed a new code of Criminal to a country enjoying, under the present Ad of the laws, every blessing which ren lay happy and free.—(Hear, hear, hear.), a proposition would be extravagant and ridicti: b:u such is not mine. I would not even propose lition altogether of the punishment of death for When other means fail to deter, or when • is no longer safely to be tolerated in so from the enormity of his offence, then un )tedly the law may justly deprive him of a life ' to the maintenance of good order. The of discretion in the judicial, administration of law' ay be said to be an evil, so may the Crimi- Law itself; but if that discretion be reposed in I.secative to prevent the infliction of an injustice : ,, dy an evil not foreseen. or provided against, -ea it ray fairly be pronounced to be a good ; and -hcold be the pride of the House to'restore to the ;a, and its true representation, the Judges on dr Bench. that most endearing and splendid privilege qt t ie Throne—the dispensation of mercy! which it tin ktanately has been the object ofTecent times to rob t of almost altogether. I am far from expecting, or ere t wishing, to establish any thing like an universal F ax. * ;pie to regulate punishment; my object is solely tut of attaining practically beneficial results to so cety, so as to enable the laws to be enforced without re;ar.ing the sympathies and outraging the feeling; t i man towards his fellow•crcatures. Upon this prin ks!e, remission in the many, and punishment in the cr cases would be the result ; whereas now, pu :inarnt was almost au. exception to the rule for ue administration of the law—(llear, hear, hear!) object is only to induce the Legislature to adopt reles-of punishment different in their nature, and Japted to the proportion of offences, which though den ominated by the same generic name, are as widely :cart from each other in degree of enormity as of taces of al altogether different class : such a classi., i.ation of crime, as would render all good and so-thy men the voluntary defenders and zealous i..pporters of the laws. Much consolation must ac oze to the country at large from the assurances given by the Noble Lord, that whatever unfavourable as pect the offences against property had assumed, the aacient and national character had not suffered from tie comparative frequency of crimes of a higher m ute, and more immediately levelled against she Face of society—(Hear, hear).—l am as willing as the Noble Lord to suppose this has arisen from the ereporaty distresses of the times, and should be :;try that any thing but ocular proof convinced me ts the contrary. My situation and that of the Noble Lord in this respect is singular and even whimsical. Soree of those causes which he thinks temporary, I am disposed to.thiuk permanent ; and some which I t h 1 permanent, he treats as if they were temporary. had hoped the prosecutions on the commission cf forgery would have ceased with- the resumption gush-payments. The Noble Lord leads us to ex pect no thing. The progressive increase of the manufactures of the country was last night the sub ?:t cf ceadolement on the part of the Noble Lord. i caraot help wishing these evidences of our wealth nay be perpetual. Another subject of his condole. mat was the increasing population of the country ; et this subject much misrepresentation has taken p.ace. The population of London, for instance; trough amazingly increased, has by no means rela tve:y increased since the year 1700. The great causes of the increase of crime arose, I imagine, from mistakes d errors in the policy of our enactments. Me Ga:ne Laws, the laws against contraband trade, aad smugglers, have, by their severity, tended much to increase the number of victims to offended justice. It is true, the Right Honourable Gentleman says, no revenue can be spared, yet many of the pro tecting duties and drawbacks, which afford no re venue, may be lopped off: both create crime. Smug- Oers and poachers are reciprocal' aids to one another. ;,t may be impossible at once to change the system orcommercial law in such a country as Great Bri tain, but it does look suspicious, that in the fourth year of peace, nothipg has yet been attempted, with a view to change a system of revenue, the enforce. fluent of which not unfrequently ended in the corn. Fission of violent assaults, outrages, and atrocities. It is worthy of remark, the great increase of crime, as exhibited by the papers before the House, arrived at its acme in 1808; from this standard it sometimes varied, but never decreased since; and this was the era of the enormous issue of Bank -notes, which was most ably proved by an anonymous writer, whose ii_towled ge o f t h e su bj ect, i n a l etter wr i tten to t h e Right Honourable Robert Peel, appears to have been only equalled by his classical and general jaimma lice. This period, so fatal to the morals of the reentry, was remarkable as an epoch in which the note . fer one ponpd ster li ng ft.* in value to fourteen nalimgs, and the commonest labourer found the se cret agency of some malignant but occult demon had robbed him of one-third of the means to support his 1 ,.,"ni1Y, without his knowing how it happened.—' pr,,etice of the law for the last century had been co m pletely at variance with the letter of it. And so extraordinary was the decrease of convictions tad executions, upon the average of later years, that ia London and Westminster, out of two hundred ca pital felonies there have been convictions and execu tiogs upoo not more than forty-five, leaving the re maining 155 a dead letter upon the statute book.— Per ;h e last thirteen years, in England and Wales, t e27 allY, there have been convictions upon not more elan t4irty capital felonies out of the before mcetioned ‘2,20. So that out of 170 capital offences, ac: elle conviction has taken place during the space gi " -C CII years. The enormous growth of these highly penal statutes has, it is to be regretted, occurred during "e best period of our history, since the year 1614 4'7; other words since the country has had a Parlia y Government. Since which i t has been the r l3 'tion of ma n , of otherwise little note, at all events to lire created a capital offenc e i s said e statute, as Mr. to nave been arrested by a Mornher on 44 :;=Fehls to le..ve the House on a division, witl) the tent with justice, indulges that the necessity for capital punishment may, by progress of religion and good morals, ultimately el., This, Sir, is a hope with which good men have various times consoled but be the opinion respect phy or the hopes of of men who neither nor criminals to our taped from an (Hear, hear.}—l own to me adapted fuctoost to persuasive assurance, the subject would not detainlttrehg the abo titian of the African Slave Trade—a him a motnent, as it was only for passing an Act, body * whose. practice wants only to become general inflicting the penalty of death without benefit of In order to render the Infliction of capital punish - 'clergy—(A laugh.) , enactments • have since ,` meut altogether unnecessary ."— (Hear, hear,) The however, btu motet - la i r corrected, if not altogether Honourable Member sat down amidst cheers from rendered obsolete by the increased humanity of the both sides of the House. age in which we live. Nothing can be adduced Ripe- After. the motion had been read from the Chair, nor in authority to the dictums of that most argu- Lord CASTLEREAGH began by acknowledging tneneative, ingenious, and sound lawyer (Sir William his sense of the very able and candid manner in which . Grant), who said, in one instance, that the law and the Honourable and Learned Gentleman had treated the practice are diametrically at variance; that of this important subject. He had discussed the sub. the two, the practice was right; and, therefore, as ject in that manner which was to be expected from the practice could not safely be wound up to the law, his general talents and legal habits ; and withal had the law ought to be brought down to the practice.— handled it with a temperance and moderation dewy. A general conspiracy had therefore been formed by ing of the highest priuse—(Hear, hear, hear). The prosecutor, Jury, and Judge, that the law should view which the Honourable And Learned gentleman not take its ordinary course, If such• then be the had taken of the subject, did not differ from his own case, as adititted by the highest authority, why in that degree which might be expected from the oir should not the Legislature prevent these cruel and in- cumstance of his opposing the motion now before the human acts remaining any longer in existence, as House. One of the chief grounds on which he must proofs of its folly and fatuity ? From the 'date of oppose that motion was, that he felt it might be con- Lord Thurlow and Lord Rosslyn's ascent to the chief sidered as a reproach on the system of our Criminal magistracy, executions had decreased to one-half the Law as too sanguinary, and afford an argument former number, from thence to one-third, one-eighth, against the severity of that law as it stood on the and even to one-eleventh. In justice to the question, Statute.book. But the Honourable and Learned I must protest against the mode which the Noble Gentleman had distinctly stated that he did not intend Lord has taken for ascertaining the supposed decrease to propose any new Criminal Code—that he had no of executions for felony. It is not fair to take the intention of taking away entirely the punishment of principal felonies, and, compounding them with the death. He had been equally distinct in disclaiming lesser, present a flattering aggregate of the unfre- any intention of withdrawing from the Judges and quency of the number of executions, when almost the Crown the prerogative of pardon or of mitigation all those executions were well known to have taken of punishment. The general question involved in place under eight or nine Statutes for principal felo- this discussion was as to the reformation and regula nies, in which cases there was rarely a possible chance ;ion of those laws imposing the punishment cf death, of escape ; such as the offences of murder, shooting and the particular question now for decision was, and stabbing, arson, highway robbery, burglary, what species of proceeding the House should adopt and piracy. The Black Act, and other Frightful to arrive at that wise, and salutary conclusion ? enormities in legislation, have but too successfully He must admit that the Honourable and Learned operated, both at home and abroad, to designate Gentleman in support of his proposal had quoted out criminal code as most inhuman and sanguinary. two precedents of unquestionable authority. Yet he Many instances have occurred where the very persons would venture on an argument from these very pre whose property was sought to be protected, had sue, cedents, to prove that the course proposed by this cessfully applied to Parliament to repeal the Penal motion was not now advisable. He would assert Statutes which protected themselves and their proper- that the experience of those very precedents was ties, as in the cases of the owners of bleach-grounds, against the motion. As to the first precedent quoted, bankers, and others. To quote again the great per- that of 1750, the authority of this precedent was un son whom I have already quoted, I agree with Sir questionable. But what did it prove as to that part William Grant, that the due execution of the Crimi- of the Honourable and Learned Gentleman's argu nal Law is a part of the moral education of mankind, ment which went 'to support his motion a g ainst the but I agree with him alio in thinking that this takes course which he (Lord Castlereagh) had pursued? place only when the punishment 'coincides with the Against the latter course the Honourable and Learned general opinion that it is proportioned to the offence. Gentleman had contended that it would occupy too If, however, we look to the opinions delivered by the much time, and could not be concluded in one Ses greatest men whom this country has produced from sion. But the old precedent shewed that the inquiry the time of Sir William Blackstone down to the pre- then instituted had occupied two Sessions. And af sent day, we shall find that their opinion has been ter having occupied two Sessions, what was the re that the Criminal Law of this country is at variance salt ? A Bill had been introduced, which passed with public feeling on the subject.— (Hear, hear.)— through the House. The Honourable and Learned Such it will be found was the opinion of those great Gentleman had not stated that the end was, this Bill men Mr. Fox and Mr. Pitt, and Lord Grenville, who, was thrown out in the House of Lords. His princi in a former Session of Parliament, delivered as'able pal objection to the project now proposed by the Ho and eloquent a speech on this subject, as I ever re- nourable and Learned Gentleman, wa's, that it took member to have heard—(hear, hear). ff it is not, I an abstract instead of a practical view of the ques ad mit a proof of error that an abstract and speculation. From the precedent of 1770, the Honourable tive opinion should for a short time be at variance and Learned Gentleman had not contended that any with popular clamour, but that the systetn'of Crimi- practical benefit had resulted. In short, if he had nal Law should in such a country as Great Britain sought for precedents to •be avoided, and not to be be at variance with the general feeling of the wisest imitated, none could have been found more appro and best members of the community during a series They for that purpose than those of 1750 and 1770. of years, certainly does appear to me a proof that They were precedents which did not lead to any prat. there is something in the system viten, wrong. k tical conclusion. He could not go along with the is from this view of the subject principally, , that tionourable and Learned Member in thinking that I have offered myself to the House. It is not my. the inference could be fairly drawn, that the present wish to oppose the Civil Laivs of the country, but state of the law tended to encourage offences. The to promote them: It is in order to render the exe- late Sir Samuel Romilly, whose efforts to mitigate cteion of the laws easy, that I implore the attention the rigour of the law had been so conspicuous, had of the House to the proposed amendment of them.— succeeded in having his Bill passed into an Act to So notorious is the practice of undervaluing property - alter the punishment of stealing from' the person to by Juries; in order to evade the severe penalties of transportation instead of death. What had been the the law, that Sir William Blackstone, in his classical effect of that alteration? According to the position Work, calls the practice a pious perjury—(Hear, of the Honourable and Learned Member, the effect hear!) Should any statesman endeas our to postpone should have been to diminish the number of such of the time of that reform which is so desirable in the fences. But the fact was, that they had increased Criminal Laws of this country,' it may happen that It appeared from the returns, that the number of he will have cause to rue the consequence. I have persons tried for that i pffence since passing the Act now nearly done; but before I sit down, I wish to' had been:—ln 1810, 136; in 1811, 194; in 1812, add one word more, with respect to the petitions 924; in 1813, 272; in 1814, 311; in 1815, 277; in which have been presented on this subject. 1 believe, 124 6, 4021 in 1817, 509; in 1818, 531. So that Sir, that the more the names of the petitioners are they had gradually increased to boar or five times the examined, the more will it be found that they are of amount at the time when the Act was passed for mi the most respectable description. if the subject con- tigating the punishment. The, proportion of convic cerning which these petitions have been presented re- tions in these years shewed the same increase, They ferred merely to a matter of individual suffering, it were:-64, 83, 88, 133, 138, 197, 234, 257, 262. • might be desirable that the names of the petitioners . The argument therefore that the operation of laws should be very numerous; but on a subject of this which denounced the heaviest punishment was to in general nature, I conceive that the authority and crease the crime they were intended to prevent, was character of the petitioners should be looked to, ra- not founded on fact. But then the Hononrable and ther than theif extensive numbers—(Hear, hear,)— Learned Gentleman asked why the consideration of With respect to the Petition from the City, who are the laws mentioned in his motion should be joined to, the Petitioners? They are the Magistrates ane Ju- an inquiry into the state of prisons? To this he Tors of a Court in which capital punishment exists to must reply, that . there was every reason for conjoin areater extent unfortunately than perhaps in any ing the inquiries. Out of 13,000 p e r sons c o nfined in other one in the world. To their experience, there- the gaols throughout the kingdom, 10,000 were com ' fore, on the subject of Criminal. Law, considerable mitted for offences under the very laws to which the importance sliould be attached ; but still further, it motion related—(Hear, hear J.—The Honourable and is to be considered that they are peculiarly liable to Learned Gentleman had said that there were no less the depredations against which the law provides, and than 200 capital felonies imposed by laws which may therefore reasonably be supposed as attached to could not now be enforced. For his own part he the system by which their property is protected, mm'' had no conception there were so many. It must be less that system has been proved by experience to be considered those statutes which had been described at variance with the principles of t justice, and eves 'as denouncing death for .fantastic offences, were with the objects which it professes to attain. I says obsolete. Whether they were repealed a little sooner . Sir, that this may be reasonably supposed, for it is ' or a little later, or at all, was of no consequence, 'the nature of man generally to be favourable to those tseeing they had become a dead letter—(Hear, hear). . means by which his wishes ate most speedily and ,It was contended that. the Committee could not insJ effectually secured. The authority of the Citizens !quire into both subjects at the same moment.-1 of London, therefore, on this subject, apparently in i That was true. But they could inquire into both 0 opposition to their own interests, must be considered subjects before they made up their Report.—.e of the highest importance.—(Hear, hear, hear).—r It was desirable that it should be as speedy as possi- With respect to the Petition from the Society 'of ble, and for that purpose nothing could he more ad- , Friends, commonly called Quakers, it may be necess [viable than that both subjects should be referred to nary for me to say, a few words. This Petition praya ; the same Committee. Nothing could be snore inju- . for such a change of the Criminal Law as is conic. rime with a view to the great object as to. which. • ' and it also -in some hopes' they seem all than - that the subject should be eras* at . , agreed, ______ disposed through a variety of hands who must ne `ceisirily take It * divided and narrow view of' it. It was - 'of hi' that he had not, submktod - ' - - ' Com:lli:tee. , . den= should succeed In persitadiot the Hat3e 41 separate the inquiries, he could only say, that in his opinion it would be more convenient that they shonl4 be combined. He concluded by Moving the previous question. • Mr. BUXTON said, that on a former occasion he had taken an opportunity of stating tliereason which; in his view, ought to prevent the House from entrust ing the enquiry proposed by the present motion:to a Committee, which was already tasked to an enquiry into six subjects, namely-1. The state of all the Pril, sons in England, Scotland, and Ireland-2. Thestna nagement of Prisoners in all those Prisons-3, The Police of the - bole Kingdom-4, Transportation-- ,5. The Hulks ; and 6. The state of a Colony at the Antipodes. The Noble Lord thought we ought to consider the question from cause to consequence front beginning to end. This however would be inipossi: ble. If it should be said that the cause of the incrense• 'of crime wai the want of religious 'education, the principle of the Noble Lord would be to refer that subject to his ComMittee, and say that he thought : the subject Of Religious Education a very fit one for the consideration of the Committee—(hear.) — The Honourable Member then went oe to prove: Ist. That the severity of the Criminal-Law, as it how stood, was an innovation of the old system, in which he followed principally 'the argument and instances of Sir James Mackintosh.-2clly. That the severity was against National Justice,-3cily. That it was im politic, and had raised up a power in the State which abrogated the law—namely, public opinion ; that all classes of those employed in the administration of justice combined to prevent the execution of the law. Re illustrated these positions by a variety of cases, selected with much ingenuity, and stated with great effect—lt was a melancholy fact, said the Honour able Member, that there were persons living in this country at whose birth the Criminal Code contained not more than 60 capital offences, and who had therefore lived to see that number quadrupled: Acts ; had been passed making offences capital by the donee and by the score. The most trifling and the most atrocious crimes—murder and indiscretion—had been bundled together (he could use no other term) in the same enactment. He held in his hand 17 Acts of this description. In one it was made a capital effence maliCiously to shoot at a man—in another to shoot a rabbit !—(hear, hear.) —ln one it was made a capital offence to set fire to a house, in another to cut down the head of a fishpond !—(hear, hear.)—Crimes, as totally different in their nature as day and night, were subjected to the same sad punishment of death. This was not the wisdom of our ancestors—it was the wisdom,of our own times. It was a strung pre sumption—the thing did not admit of proof—that the great increase of crimes in the present day was owing to'our present Penal Code being, first, at va riance with the old law of England ; and 2dly, at equal variance with the principles of natural justice, The Honourable Member then stated the eperatien which the confinement together of numbers had pa the moral feelings of criminals. It would be curious to learn the calculation:s which those adventurers formed in the progress of crime. They encouraged each other by the following do,ctrine of chances 'Tis 5 to 1 (after the commission of a crime) you are not charged—'tis ,50 tp 1 you are Oot imprisoned— 'tis 100 to 1 you ate ,not.convicted—'tis 500 to are not capitally convicted—'tis 1000 to Iyon are not executed! Here they appeared not only as a gang of thieves or pickpockets,. but as a gang of gainblea r —spotting not only with the property of others, but with their own existence. Thus the opera. tions of our Criminal Liw become a sort of inverted lottery, if he might tie allowed the expression...-. As to the effect of an execution, it made no impres sion on those hardened criminals. It was next to nothing. towards the amendment of their morals. They termed it their harvest—for while the eyes of the spectator were fixed upon the victim above, their hands were pilfering his pockets below ! A Lady (Mrs. Fry) whom an Ilonourable Gentleman had justly described as both the glory and the oppro brium of the country,--(Hear), and of whose bene volent exertions he could speak with sincerify:aeere he not proud of being her relative—at the same time that he knew, that what she feared most was a publicity of her good deeds—had entered on her be nevolent course, without having formed any previous opinion as to the question of our capital punishments. She was led, however, to the conviction of their total inefficacy, in consequence of what she tvitnessed :a her more immediate acquaintance with the situation and conduct of the sufferers, She uniformly found, that when an offender suffered the punishment of death, the geeeral impression amongst the surviving associates was,. that he went to heaven. They con cluded that the deprivation of life, under such cir cumstances, pardoned all previous crimes; and thus the execution of the law, in place of reforming by its example, hardened aid corrupted those who might be supposed to feel the effects which such examples were presumed to produce. 'For instance, a boy some time ago was executed for snatching a watchsat a funeral. '1 wo Gentlemen who wished to ascertain whether any circumstances could be found favourable to applica tion for his pardon, had actually visited the gang of thieves to which he beloneed. They found t he m en gaged in gambling,,drinli s ing, and swearing—(llear, pear).—They repeated their •visit at a future day, and again found them engaged in the same course of debauchery and crime, The result was, that the boy was executed, and within a short period after the execution, thirteen of that gang were taken up for various crimes —(Hear, heari,--There was ano ther instance in the recollection of the Members of .that House. He alluded to the execution of a young man for forgery (the case of Weller), over whose breathles s : body, when delivered to his friends, the .rolice Officers found his associates actually engaged loathing to each other forged Notes—(Hear, hear). should not trouble the House longer ; but be contended that the House must feel that some- Awes must be done—the question could not re. Inain as it at present stood, He had endeavour ed. to give Ins op inion, not on any theoretical view, Alt as founded, on the evidence of _facts.- - • clashes • found to sec insectuity. t" i I +W • No am, rctitioncrs nC rcercifu ir , ve , I -du dor, whc nets, must C pe o f imp ;stud, in %v. ;„bi e Lord die MON I sentatiOrt i 3 the big i . e. %%hat h, 1 1, to a c • i s truzion , • s ociety .;cb a Prop' bat sue *,t abolition L. o ffender • , v, from bebtedly • • ited to cise of d • t e law 'may 0 1 Law itse Ge Ksecutir e remedy a • 0n it way • !should be C row n, and Bench, that r ite Throne- ktunately 1 t of almost c an wishing pr;nciple to tut of atta e.ety, so as 1 Tiering th el man tow: :emis fWCT cases :tenant w e adminis t',.y object nodes of pi Japted to I oenominate ;.art from ;:aces of al i.asion of sc,rthy me i..pport,cll tize to the by the Nol pect the off aicient and ine compar tare, and Face of so he Noble ] temporary :511'y that ; n the conti Lord in thi Some of tl ara dispost C.r.l: perm •-•I had ho cf forgery • cash-Pal pect no s:c roanufactu 'sett cf cot cannot may be pe r.tat WAS CI this si TI tllough an ttvely inc causes of mistakes The Ga:n; aid smug to increa,l It is true no revert tecting d venue, ma Oers and tray be Of COIIIMO taro, but Tear of p; a view to roent of mission o It is wort as exhibit at its aca varied, II era of th most ahl imowled Right only equ tier. 'll country, note for shiliino s, cret alter robbed .:,oe pr. been cc! And so ;lad exec is Lond Pital fcl bog s up maittiq Fe: ;h e tea:ral ILO% MCZiier eIIC eith;:te peaal St best o t 1 of mencre. to 'aar e kzrite 4.tomp! a ope wit which good men ave at was complained of him tisat he had not. submkted ed w give pi s consoled themselves ; but whatever may • any formed plan to be submitted to the Commk.tee• view/ bit as .1 on respecting the speculations of phPoso. But all that he wished was to put the matter „in train. „Even. those cla :lopes of religion. I did trust that a body •., Lie dici t tlat bold out that he had any plan ready for manufacturers. neither send pauper's to our workhouses •.reratintsg — thispart DI. the Law. The . House badness for instance the Is to our prisons, would have at leOt 6. to choose betweso the two courses proposed. He were framed to an attempt to ridicult. or ceaiute tivisii.; the teasonelorthei proposed by Musa Be wits insecurity .)—I own that such i body did not setil'' ' therefor* atet4lhb . motioit- of the , kluswerable don proved'ho 31 ted for ricEcule—* body which ass./ho' i t teepgq-Lll4oolloi. bp frotoring the previous country. No I buns fOrstot knitibi ptott_st!twillsa; ip raseagii-111441 lisillesselestali sat Leisset tles. than these roi .. es of the ccuptnunity, cunt us.the ound . by expeticlee that The afrecting blotching grouucis t olfish ecure property, contributed 4ri ct ly The Petition from the City : o'l4n. the question was sousiderest kyle r au cou s t l o d b be o i su c rpose a7 d itysip,l7l4e4 I!