The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-11-29 00:00:00

CRIMINAL LAO'S.

REPORT.
the l..lett Committee of the House of Commons sprinted
In cousider of so mssrh of the Criminri Laws as relates to
Capital Punishment oleo, and to report their Oh-
servati tttt s and Opinton ~; the .Am., from time to locr,
to the Ilmote; and to wlsoni the several Petitions on
triter. she
soliject were referred:—have, poi...stoat to the % of
the Fluuer, considered the NI dices to shun referred; nod
It.ave agreed opus the full.isroig Report
Yoor Committee, in execution of the trust
delegated in
item by the Howse, have endeavoured strictly Its cordite
themselves within the limits mese:ll)rd 1., t hens by the Into*
of their appointment. In tome cases they hare latelame,' re-
strictions fur themselvts, which the letter of the Resolution of
the House slid not impose. They have:ol4lollrd from all eon.
situation of those capital felonies which may be Mist to be of
a political 1131111/e, being directed against the authority of go-
vernment, and the general licere of society. To tear 'Wore and
efficacy of the secondary pisiii.hmmits, of trnivitioi tot :srio soul
impriloonsesti, they have directed nu, Pitt rif their inqui-
✓ies, Incense another Committee hod •p; tell In
investigate them, mot lirrilite rigs part the fart• or 31-
glllllOlll/ to he elated is this Ft.-port, will be tomtit to de-
rod, either on the prevTitt state of these tertmairry pu-
nishments, or un the degree of improveno:nt of ratites
they may be funnel copal, e. With sonny extrusive and
important parts of the criminal law; such, for eximple,
as that which regolatis the trial of offendc•s llwy
air
entirely satisfied, mill they should not h•va an:jested
any changes in these ileonetmesdo, s yea if they hail heti,
wilhix the appoint, II 1111111111 l of this Committee.
lan
other mlll5 of the sulijcet ; no for example, in the de6lnitlsrn
awl as rongement of Crillses. dill have iccionsocuiliol n ro4-
001iiinliMs ..f the laws iespectilig only mice class est of tires,
and have resumed only to • apresx t VII!' fel Op. I the
mail) fifth.• like cur./nil:dation ns wow us Its r eases. They wish
expressly to 410fleilll sill duubl sit the light of the l.cgis-
Wore to inflict the pitilUilionviit of death, whoever 11..5s rt.
IliShlllClll, aml that Omit., seems ennoble of prolt et the
comintinity from enormous snot atriititirst ctimee The
object of the Committee has been to ascertain. ns far as
the nature of the rase admitted by evidence, whether, in
the present state of the sentiments of the ue.-ple of Eng..
land, cnpital punishment lit mist espies or "Reimers 111501-
tended with violence, lw a metes.. try or even the must elTec-
teal security against the prevaleote of crimes

In the *nit place, they eilileiivonreil to collect ofrseial
counts of the state of crimes and the ailniiiiistrat 00000 of cri.
mina, law throughout the kingdom, from the earliest prriud
to which authentic information reach... The summit
tunas of commitments, convictions. and rxersitions, first pro.
e meg by addressee from this Honse, and ..ince ri wood he
no further hack than MM. Ai counts, tlitiiizio
not perfectly satisfactor, of the saint partii ulars, firing !Am-
ami and If iddlrsex, from 173 t) to the pi root! time. hsvi• been
ninety laid before Peri *norm, which, with an •OOS.
"WV of the rtf 'trim of Eii2land nail • frow will
he inserter) in the Appendix of this Itcp•ii t.
A full snit *atheistic seconot of Coneirt;nos and rsecu-
lions for Loudon and si!ditiesrx, from 1699 to Pint...Main-
eft, for the latter part of riot time riots, the Clerk of Air:otitis
at the Ohl Bailey, and for the former part from the officers
of the City of Laudon, is insert..l in the App. udir The
Corporation of the City of Loudon h ‘ire slso*u ou this
occasion a liberality mid public spirit worthy of iicknow.
tedgment ; sod it is to be hoped, that they will combine
their researches as far back as their terorils extend, mid
thus complete returns, probably ouparalk led iu the history
of Criminal Law.

The deputy clerk of emir,. fur the hem, circuit, hos laid
before yonr Committee a retorts of cunnnil ntrnt•, couvirtiotts,
and executions on sisal rirr ail, which comprehend% Ihe coon.
ties of Hefts, E,.. z, K,ot,Stininolt, and Surrey, from 18911 so
1718, form 1755 to lib 4, nod from 172; 1., /..14 The es—
teems of the intermediate period from 17IS to /75,i, he will
doubt', ss furnish err! won. From this iinportasit return it
appears, that, for the lirvt 30 years *kick followed the Kivu-
lotion, the overage proportion of conviction,' to earentirois
was ad Is, 29; that from 17:/S to 1724, it was 48 to 13;
and that (ruin 11144 to 1%11, it ass 74 to 19. It is worthy
or remark, that the whole number or efinvioinus for
murder, on she Hone Cireail, iu the fwid period W. 411
123; that the mentions for the same period were S 7:
that it the steroid. the cutirictruas for the same offence
were 1.7, and the executions 57 ; and It, it in slur third,
the convictions were f, I, nod the sociitiolit 44. If
the Mecca*, of the populition during a prosperous
pc-
riud of a bundled and slit, ty ye.or., be IA( ii tutu the
account, sod if we hear to mind that a ition flu,' time
a considerable city has grown up int the NIP ihrtte hnuk
of ilw Thames, we shall he disposed to consider is is nu cx-
aggeratiou to affirm, that in this district (not one of the
mra favourably situated in this respect) molder has sbated
in the remarkable proportion of three if not boar to one.

hi the thirty years. from 1755 to 1784, the whole convic-
tions I'u► murder is London and Middlesex were 71; and iii
the thirty years front 1754 to 1814 they were 118. In the
years 1815,1831, and 1817, the whole convictions for murder
its London were 9, wlide 14 the three prsceilinie year. they
were 14. Mo►t of the other retwriis sedate 111 too short a
period, or too Darrow a dist, iet to afford nusteriais for safe
coisclusi 00000 with respect so the comparative. fit irrocy of
crimes at digerent p. hint*.
1n gt nerd, however, it appears that twirlers, snit other
crime of violence and cruelty. have either divitinii.lost, ur
not increased; and that the deplorable increase of ermi-
nes is not of such a nature as to indicate soydtminnlwin i■
the humanity of the people. The practice of timinslostely
publiokiiie the cireumstsuces of co, ry atioeiito. crime, and
. . .

of circulating 10 various hiring au act:omit of eves y Ptare of
the piocreilings which relate to it, is far tsetse prevalent in
Engloud thaw in auy other country, tool iu our thaw in
auy former age. It is on the whole cagiest utility, not only
as a control ea marts of joilicAtnre, but also ►s a means of
reordering. it esdremely difficult fur odious ci iiii i i sal. to
escape. la Cols country, tin atrocious erasures rernaia
secret ; with these advautages, however, it cumin' he rte-
orierbtirst by publishing the cireuenstaaces of all er loom., ear
modern practice trade to iu.ilte oar atte and 11.1110 U appear
arum criunual Ono iu conipsrition with others it really is.

In considering the subject or nor penal law, your Com-
mittee will first lay before Ow House their sdniervatimis on
gist part whirl, is the lease likely to give rise to difference
of opinion. Thal many softiies denouncing capital punish-
ments might be safely and wisely reps sled, has long hero a
prevalent opinion. It is vandalised by Ihr of too
successive Guanuitters of this House, comp...ea of eh. .l
eminent men of their age, and in some measure by the au-
thority or the House itself, whirls passed several Inns on
the fteulaillentlallun of their Committers. A. a general

positron, the propriety of repealing sock statutes seems
scarcely to have beer disputed ; respecting the number and
choke of thee, (Lacteal sentiments moist always he expect-
ed. Your Cousenittre have not attempted ■ complete rim-
Nitration, which much time and considerable deliterration
woold be required to accomplish. They selected some Ea.
pital felonies, for tb: coolinuauce of shirk they cannot anti.
cipate any serious argenteul, ahtd which to them to
/ROAM NO purpose hot that of enrimiliering and olsorreililitog
the Statute Bunk. Various considerations here limed 10
guide slum choice; sometimes mete leeity ail !miry have
raised an insignificant offence, or an al se ilditterent
act, halo a capital aisle; in other acts liar ell has
been inanifestly sad indeed avowedly temporary, though it
■nfortonately produced a peemauctit twos 11 brie the loutish.
meet of death was evidently %meet-meaty at time time of its
original establishment, and store, if it was originally justi-
fied by • temporary darter, aim-used by a Irsesyss.rery fear,
it has long bees acknowledged to be altogether
portioned to the offence, your Committee conceive them.
selves warranted is cuidideutly recommending its abo-
lition. But they have also adverted to another anwider.
alio. ; if is addition to the intrinsic evidence, of unwar-
rantable severity is. a law, whirls arises fitim Ilse comparison
of the act forbid/ea, with use punishment threatened, Hwy
dad oleo that the law hes scarcely ever barn executed
fillet WI drat coottoteat, or if it has tallies ham damming' the
nation hoeing stare hawser sod roserally enlighlescd,
year Commeitteecomider oblarelves as authorimil to u5e.....
weed ale types!, by bog experience, and by the detibrrate
Judgment of tits whole soars. In OM spplkalion sf thee

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