The Express.
London, England, 1864-04-23 00:00:00

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

Tie Meal of KLUX— BOROCGH Intllrina the table •
Misr the asnmehmet ell the law with regard to noteaces
el Anse. Resent meats had? he said, impreised upon hies
tie mownity far ea ainestson at an early period of the
bre is thisieeaasf, and it esereed to him most desirable
laiMeyaloali give all the weight and authority that
vas pitta le tie &take, whatever it might
Mi 4 iL carping ire execution the capital sentence.
▪ yeassiit three miners were in the hands of
Minis SosionnT, who acted upon hie own opinion ; bat
vim the Bien • lemma being was concenied, the decision
Anil sot dimmil epee the peculiar views or peculiar tem-
gromessat sayreee (Hear, hear.) In eedemoer.
inglaapply •a be the evils of the present practice
ant le gim are than now appeared to exist in
tie decisises win& were gives, he had only to look to his
ens imperienes,W thee& what he had to propose had not
the merit ct rive y. anther had it the inommenienee of
nemity. Looking to what was the course of promoting 35
ago, he remembered What the Recorder of the
Ms of Leedom presented hie report of the m-
Messes fee the decision of gio goverment
ese ern all the member of the government sad
Me Lord Chief JaitiOn of the liteg's Bench were summand
to attend the king, who himself took part in the discus-
noss, sad he could recollect George IV. putting on one oc-
anon very pertinent question. He did not remember that
coder any cirannsiances was there distrust expreined of the
decision at that time ; on the contrary, the practice ap-
peared to give very general satisfaction. (Hear, hear.)
Thucoarse of proceeding cautioned until the socenioo of
her present Majesty, when it was deemed expedient--and
he did sot question the expediency—that a youthful female
sovereign should not be meseot to adjudicate 000ceroing
some crimes then capitally punishable. He sat in that
hone beside the Duke of Welliogton when the bill to give
effect to that view was brought in, and though the duke
admitted the change to be neceseary, he deeply regretted
the neceleity for as alteration in the course of
graeolare which had existed for so many
years. The penalty of death no longer attached
to those particular crimes which it was thought expedient
not to bring under the notice of her Majesty, and therefore
the reason+ for which the act was paned no longer ex-
isted. At the same time he did oot propose to place upon
her Majesty any additional burden, hat he thought it
expedient to place the law in such a position that there
should be • solemn proceeding of a committee of Privy
Conseil with respect to the final decision in the case of goa-
tee., of death. -The bill proceeded upon the expedisacy of
a revival of the ancient practice, and an extension of it to
all cases in which sentence of death was passed.
The bill wee read a first time.

METROPOLITAN RAILWAYS AND THE WORKING

CLASSES.

The Eex! of DERBY, in moving that it be an instruction
to the committee oo every railway bill providing for the con-
ntruction of any new railway within the metropolis to insert
in the bill provisions analogous to thaw contained in the
North London Railway Act, 24th and 25th YOU, cap. 196,
sect.fir the purpose of securing to the labouring claws
a cheap t_ wait to and from their labour by • morning and
evening train, with such modifications as may appear
to be required by the circumstances of each case,
mid that there could be no doubt whatever that the
construction of so many new railways within the metropolis
bad indicted very serious inconvenience and injury not only
upon the labouring alums who had been turned out of their
bosses, but to the small shopkeepers of the neighbourhood
in which the railway was made, who ie consequence of the
removal of their customers lost all their trade connection.
It was difficult to propose any remedy which would meet the
cam of the small shopkeepers but with respect to the
artisans and labourers who bad been turned out of their
homes, they might, he thought, adopt some measure which
would not only diminish that ineonseoleoce, but which
might eves result in some increased advantage to themselves
and their families. In these days the distance be-
tween a man's residence and the place of his owe.
patios did not altogether depend upon the actual mileage
between the two places, but upon the facilities which
existed for a rapid transit. He had recently presented peti •
Low from large parishes in London praying their lordships
to adopt some measure which would diminish the ilicoove.
Either felt by the labouring classes in coosequeuce of the I
demolition of their dwellings, and the mode of meeting the
difficulty. suggested was that a train should be run morning
and 'moan at conveuient blurs, and at such a rate as
should be more than covered by the difference in the price i
of the lodgings. By such an arrangement the working '
dome would at all °yenta have the advantage of sleeping
oat of Loodoe, and also of passing their Sundays in the
parer air of the suburbs. He noticed at the time that he
presented the petition that the directors of the London,
&than., and Dover Railway, which appeared to him to
come from everywhere and to go everywhere, bad volunta-
rily adopted a clams of that description, pledging them-
selves to run a train for the purpose of bringing people in
to their work in the morning and taking them back io the
evening at le. per week, or a penny for each journey, the
distance being within ten miles. He wee not aware that
there was soy other line which had adopted a similar pro-
vision but be attention having been called to the North
London: Eadway Company's Act, he found that that com-
pany had also bound themselves to run a train every morn-
ing and evening, between Liverpool-street and Kiumleod.
at Id. per passenger, under the regulation of the Board of
Trade, and with a provision that when the passengers by
such trains fell below 100, they should be discontinued. He
thought that if a similar provision were applied to all exist-
ing metropolitan railways, to all extensions of such lines,
and to all future railways entering the metropolis, it would
meet the j•istice of the cam' and therefore he begged to
propose as a sauteed order, that there be emoted sock a
provision in every bill that was introduced into the home
for the purpose of giving increased facilities for railway com-
munication in the metropolis, so as to mecum to
the labouring classes easy transit to and from their
work. Of course, the trains would be run with
etch modificatioas as might be determined on
by the Board of Tiede. He hoped that such a provision
would no: be injurious to the railway companies, but even
if it did eatail some slight sacrifice on their part, they must
remember the sacrifice. which their works bad entailed
upon the labouring classes, who were usable to protect
themselves.

Lord STANLEY of A LDERLEY said that the govern-
ment had no objectify° to the motion. and he quite cos-
caned with the noble earl opposite that WWII such provi-
sion should be made.
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY said that one of the
greatest difficulties was t►at of providing fitting resideocee
foe the labouring classes. At present they had none in the
suburb,. and consequeetly. when the houses in which they
•end to live in the metropolis were pulled down by the
railway companies, it only led to still greater crowding in
the neighbourhood. A society with which he wag con-
nected had endeavoured to remedy the evil by building
large blocks of model lodging-house. and homes for
the labouring dames on Rod adjoining the vari-
ous lines of railway, but the obstacles which
they had to overcome arose chiefly from sinoog the labour-
ing claw. themselves. At present, being dispersed.. they
wer. in various parts of the metropolis, the wives rod
children of labourers bad many mane of earning some
addition to t►e wages of the labourer himself. either by
the mother and daughters going out charfog, or in some of
the malty other occupations by which the labouring poor
eked on: a living. The poor people were not unjustly
apprehensive that if they went to live in bounce built on
the line of railway they would lose those advantages they
at present enjoyed. It was calculated that somewhere
about 60,000 pence* immigrated to the metropolis annually,
and he thought that tome measures might he taken which
would induce them to stop at these model lodgings and
dwellings for the labouring classes. At all events it w.s
very desirable that the experiment should be tried, and the
model lodging houses encouraged by every meatus in their
power. ( I Isar.)
The resolution was then agreed to.
RETIREMENT OF NAVAL CAPTAINS.

Lord CHELMSFORD directed attention to the effect of
the order in council of August 1, Isllo, upon certain cap-
tains of the royal navy.
The Duke of SOMERSET contended that on injustice
Lad been dose by the order referred to, which, together
with several previous orders, hod been pawed for the gene.
ral benefit of the service. In fact, the officer:, who made
(complaint. bad, by throe orders, been placed in a position
which. ander the cooditions oo which they had entered the
service, they could not have expected to attain for some
Jean to come.

The go•atiou elicited some further discussion.
CONSOI.IDATEIS FI•ND 15.000,0001. BILL.
This 1411 wus read a seeond time. and

Their lonishipe adjourned at 7..d:c1-oe-Ir.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—FRIDAY, APRIL 22.
iPPARER took his seat ►hortly before 4 o'clock.
NEW MEMBER.

Sir 1:. A rorreurgra trek the oaths sod hie teat for
Yileshire, to the room of Mr. Wimp's, deomised.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following bills were reed a 'bird time Lad passed :
Cbeheeter Harbour Embankment, Hertford Gan, New•
eaelle•epoe-Tree and Gateshead Gas, Nmtli-Essiern Rail-
way lYint sad Doncaster ltrancb), fled the West Grinsteed,
CoCkfieki, arid Hayward's Heath Junction Railway.
THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT AND MR. HOME.
Mr. ROEBUCK gave notice that oo Monday next, oo
gulag late committee of supply, be would ask whether
Mari Reatell's attootion had been called to tbecoodust of
W Roman government towards Mr. Home, and whether at
wee isteided to take any stops thereupon.

AMERICAN AFFAIRS.
Mr. HOPWOOD save entice that roe Monday be would
awe the First Lord of the Treasury • gaieties with regard
in Aeseriles aMaire.