The Express.
London, England, 1849-06-26 00:00:00

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING THE AMEND-
MENT OF TEE LAW.

Yesterday evening an adjourned meeting of this
Society took place at the rooms, 21, Rsgeut street.
M. D. HILL, E:q., Q.C., occupied the chair during the
early portion of the incttiog, but Lord BROUGHAM entered
the room soon after the encomeneement of the proceeding.,
end acted as president to their close.
0. B. Allen, Esq., Alderman Sidney, and Jchn Marten,
Esq were enrolled as members of the society.
The discuislog on the propriety of appointing authorised
reporters for each of the superior courts of law and equity
Mr. C. PEARSON, then addretted the media at
was adjourned to the. first meeting of the society which shall
beheld subsequent to tie 10fiff vacation.
considerable length, in elncidat:?n of suggestions is regard
to an improved system of prison diacipline, which have been
extensively distributed among the members of the society.
lie etated that it was not his intention to olieinate soy
formal resolution cm the subject, but merely to ask the meet.
iog to consent to refer it to a committee of the society, whi
should have power to report on it on a future occasion to the ge-
neral body. He begged the ms.ding to keep in vie a the distine-
Con existing between infractions of the laws of society and of
the divine law., and to recollect that human law addresead it-
self to the correction of the hand which committed the crime,
while the law of God was framed with the view of amending
the heart which conceived it. Having given several illustra-
tions in supped of the correctness of this proposition, he pro-
ceeded to show that the essential principle of the old deterring,
incapacitating, and comper sating system of punishments,
which obtained until the time of Howard and Bentham, was
vindictiveness, and expressed considerable alarm at
the symptoms which had been recently evinced of a ten-
dency to return to this exploded System, by the intrcelue.
tinn of the punishment of whipping. He was pre-
pared to prove in the clearest manner the following
proposisions That, for the purpose of more economically
and effectually punishing, deterring, and reforming criminals,
it is expedient to award, in proportion to their crimes,
labour instead of time sentence., and to render the
duration of their imprisonment, and the quantity
and quality of their diet, dependent upon their conduct
in gaol, and upon the amount of their labour, having regard
to their age, sex, and strength. That, by a judicious appli-
cation of this system, any number of prisoners, of the avenge
age, health, and stieng.h of the criminal class, may be made
to produce food and clothes sufficient for themselves and the
officers of the establishment, by labour on land, end will be
rendered more willing and more able to maintaiu themselves
by honest industry when restored to a state of freedom.
lie was prepared to show that if 1 000 persons were placed
in a prison conducted on this system, and having 1,000 acres
el land attached to it, which should be purchased at the
hilliest value of agricultural land. it could be carried out
at a cost of 1101. a prisoner, while in the motel prisons
at Pentonville and Reading, with all their acknowl deed
inrtficiency, the coot was from 2201, to 2401. a prisoner.
lie concluded by proposing that his suggestions be referred
to a committee of the society for consideration.
Mr. HILL seconded the motion, and
Lord BROUGHAM in putting it from the chair. said
that he would give a formal Lome in hie place in the House
of Lords of his i itention to bring the whole question of
prison discipline bets re the house on some given convenient
deg, and he would then press on the attention of the legisla-
ture the views NI; forward by Mr. Pearson.
The motion was then carried um nlmously, and the meet
log adjourned.

CONSECRATION OF THE WEST LONDON

SYNAGOGUE.

Yesterday the ceremony of meliorating the new
West London Synagogue in Margaret-street, Cavendish-
square, was performed by the 1t.,. D. W. Marks, in the
presence of • large assembtage of India ant gentlemen,
chit tly cf the Jewish persuasion. The building, which hat
been erected under the superintendence of Mr. David
Mocatta, the architect, presents an interior of ex-
treme elegance and beauty. The design is simple-,
and the arch:teetural rroportions have been arranged with
considerable taste and judgment. The artist has ado;,ted
many improvements upon the ordinary modes of decoration
which characterise toe various places of liehrew worship,
wed be has produced an eff..et which is remarkable fur eim•
pheity of device cud an elegant combinati,n of colours. Be-
fore the ark are candlestick., in which lights are kept
burning, and in front ef them it paced a rasgi.ili,:ent
candelabra, richly gilt, and comprising eight semi-
circular tubes, surmounted with small lamps. The de-
sign is au: gelded by similar ornaments in ono of
the Jewish temples. The pulpit and readineedeeks are
covered with rich blue velvet, and the " scrolls of the law "
(which, as pin of the ceremony, were deposited in the ark)
are decorated with gold and crimson, fashioned by Ike ladies
of the congregation.
The et remony was of a very imposing charae'er, and nume-
rous prayers in addition to certain p otinno of the ordinary
service were given. A prayer was offered up for the Queen,
Prince Abt rt, and the royal family, and an eloquent address
f,r the ea-lesion was deliv.rctl by Or: Rev. Mr.
Parks, who stoted that the ajeet of this c digregaticn
was not to weaken but to strengthen their faith, and t. con-
solidate the form of their worship. Their synagogue bad
not originated is any factious opposition tt established
but in an earnest desire to carry out certain improvements
which they considered absolutely necessary for the mainte-
nance of their religion. The mineeer vats nis text from the
28th chapter of the let book of Chronicles, 20th verse. A
long list of subscriptions which ha 1 been raised towards
paying the 'armee of the bulling .ere announced at the
' close of the service, and it appeared that the Damn de add-
amid, and the family of the late Benjimin Eakin, EN.,
were =ergot the principal contributes....

PROVINCIAL

LIiNCABILIRE.

CIIOLERA AT IWANCIIESTER.—There is no longer
any doubt about this dreaded disease having eabibited itself
in Manchester. The wi'e of an Ind, iumigraret, named
Bernard llgns, died on Thursday last, and the neighbours
rep.iried that she had been se.s Ilith the cholera. A sur-
ge,-n. wh sew the enrpte, also expressed his opinion that she
hail died of Asiatic holera; bat thr husband denied it, and
attributed his wife's death to the want of fo d. A sub-
inspector of police visited the lime where he
sod his four children were lodging, No. 2
Back New Mount-street, on Saturday, and caused
the htuse to be whitewashed and cleansed. Oa Stinday,
Byrne attended service at St. Chad's Catholic Chapel, and
whilst there was @cis. d witei cholera himself. He was re-
moved to the hospital fitted up by the board of gusrdiana, in
Canal-street, and Mr. Noble, surg• on, was called in to visit
him as soon as possible; but he died in the course of a few
hours. His son was gels d with tie same d EOSIN after-
wards, and has been placed in th t same litspital, under the
care of Mr. Noble, but is likely to tee ,ver. The oath: r three
children of the unfortunate man have been removed
to Tib-street workhouse, as a place of refuge. This
morning, a few hours before our torreT•mdeat wvete
the above facts, a women residing in the name house
where Byrne had been lodging, was stir :el with
cholera—making the Ipirdt case in that one house.
From the statement of Byrne it appears that he and his
family, in all six persons, were shipped from Ireland at a
charge of 101. per Lead, and lended in Liverpool,
in a complote state of &squid .n, where they took
up their abode in Porter-street, a neighbourhood in
which the cholera had made its appearance; and
they le ft Liverprol sad came is Manchester at the com-
mencement of last week. lle reused to apply to the board
of guardians fur relief on Sa•urday, when pressed to do so
lay the police inspector, on the Around that they would pats
him back to Ireland. It was expected there wool I bo a
meeting of the surgeons topointed to attend the cases in the
hospital last night, to maks arrangements for any future
cans, end wi.h a view to putting into practice as strict.), as
poesiblti the recommendation of the Board of Health.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN iVNE 25

The Pope has ror.tributed 20,000 frarce for the re—
lief of the poor in the west. The Art is anmunce.d
in a letter from Archbishop M'Hale. There •,,u
good policy in the subscription after the large sums
given hire to help bin Ho'inc.&
Cnolera is said to have broken out on br,ard the
convict-411'p Mounts:omit Elphinstone, note lying in
the Cove of Cork, for the purpose of conr,ts ;plc the
"Young Ireland" convic'e to the place o their desti-
nation. The Cork Reporter, of Slteadav, states the
cabin in which Messrs. Martin at O'boherty aro
confin.d is email, to r, and unreutilarod, and imme-
diately adjoins the cabin whr.re the cholera patients
are treated.

The Prftrince of lfunat.•r announces, on " the very
best authority, that her .hale a y will visit Ireland
immediately on the pror,,kation of p trliament. This
state me nt may be resie/i on as oMitotic."
On Saturday last a very curious cue was tried be-
fore the Chief Bartle and a special fury. It was an
action brought to r elver the price of arms supplied
to as anti-insurrer.tionary association, Rot up during
the sx:itement 'if last year. Mr. IVhiteieide was
counsel for thr plait tiff, and eta'cl the case at
great length, in a speech which caused roars
of laughter at the expense of the valorous defendants.
Though lud'ecrous in reading, the speech, when set off
by Mr. W. 's humorous ?cheery, was still more droll.
Toe case had not conclad d at night, and Was ad-
joarred Ls this morniug.