The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-01 00:00:00

THE PLOT TO ASSASSINATE THE EMPEROR

NAPOLEON.

The Earl of WESTMEATH referred to the trial of
Greco and his fellow conspirators in Paris, and asked if the
Government had a moral conviction that the evidence in.
criminated M. Mazzini, and if it would take measures
with regard to it?
Earl RUSSELL replied that any one guilty of conspi-
racy in this country to assassinate the Emperor of the French
was guilty of a indictable crime. He had no evidence
that any one was so engaged, and consequently he could
not take the matter up.

THE METROPOLITAN RAILWAY COMMITTEE.
Earl GRANVILLE laid upon the table the report of the
joint committee of the Houses of Lords and Commons that
had been considering the question of metropolitan railways.
He had great pleasure in stating that the committee had
been unanimous except upon one point.
THE DA...NO-GERMAN WAR.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH gave notice on a
future day of his intention of asking her Majesty's Go-
vernment whether any steps were to be taken to afford ma-
terial aid to Denmark ?

INSANE PRISONERS' ACT AMENDMENT BILL.
Earl GRANVILLE moved the second reading of this
bill. In doing so he explained its provisions; but, as these
have so lately been under discussion in the House of Com-
mons, it is unnecessary to enter into a detailed statement of
them,

Lord ST. LEOTARDS said the house was aware that
this bill had been rendered necessary by the Townley case,
and it was therefore necessary to refer to that case. After
showing the absurdity of supposing that Townley was in-
sane...of which, he added, not a single particle of proof had
been adduced—the noble and learned lord commented
severely upon Dr. Forbes Winslow's evidence, which, he
said, was opposed to both law and justice, and was calcu-
lated most mischievously to unsettle men's minds. The
doctrine of uncontrollable impulse was an absurdity; but
unless they had recourse to it, there was no pretence for
saying that Townley was insane, for there was no trace of
any delusion on his part. What had happened in To wnley's
case had taken place several times before within the last few
years, without the crime attracting particular attention.
Nor would such attention have been attracted in this case
had the criminal been a person in low life. Having received
the certificate of two medical men and two magistrates that
Townley was insane, the Home Secretary considered that,
under the Act of 1840, he was bound to respite the crimi-
nal; but he (Lord St. Leonards) doubted whether that act
was imperative. Moreover, in previous cases, when a
man having been respited had been ultimately relieved
from the execution of the capital sentence, the criminal
had really become insane after his sentence. But in
this instance the criminal never had been insane, and
there was not, therefore, the same reason for commut-
ing his sentence. He trusted that the course taken in
this case would not become a preeedant. This bill would
be a great improvement upon the present state of the law,
for it distinctly conferred upon the Home Secretary a
discretion as to acting upon the certificate of the justices
and the medical men. There was, however, one defect in
it—it omitted to say what was to be done with the man if
the Home Secretary declined to act upon the certificate and
to issue a warrant for his removal to a lunatic asylum.
Was he to remain in prison, or was he to be hanged ?
Lord WODEHOUSE thought it doubtful whether the
machinery of the visiting justices should be employed in the
case of a prisoner sentenced to death. If the visiting jus-
tices were to put the law in motion in such a case, it might
be possible that some one or two gentlemen might be found
who would not possess the requisite knowledge or discre-
tion. The medical officers whose advice they took might
also not be persons whose opinion was worthy of respect.
It would be much better that, whenever a prisoner was re-
ported to be insane, the Home Secretary should issue a com-
mission to such persons as he might deem most worthy of
his trust, and thus institute an inquiry of his own, upon
which he might act with confidence.
The bill was then read a second time, and the house ad-
journed.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evening.
The SPEAKzx took the chair at 4 o'clock.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION.
Mr. 11. SEYMOUR gave notice that on an early day lie
would bang on a motion on this subject.
THE MALT TAX.
Mr. MORRIT r gave notice that on early day ho would
move a resolution declaring that the malt tax ought to be
repealed.

RAILWAY COMPANIES.
Mr. ALCOCK asked the President of the Board of Trade
if he contemplated during the present session to amend the
85th clause of the Lands Claucs Act, which enabled rail-
way companies to obtain compulsory possession of land
under order of magistrates.
Mr. GIBSON said he had no intention to introduce such
a bill.

DEPORTATION OF PAUPERS,
Mr. ALCOC l( asked the President of the Poor-law Board
whether he had any intention of proposing an alteration in
the law of settlement, so as to prevent a recurrence of the
case which lately occurred in the deportation of a pauper
(William Adey), who, having passed 67 years in Guernsey
as a respectable labouring man, being worn out and unable
to maintain himself, was taken out of the hospital of the
parish of St. Peter le Port, and sent to the union of Christ-
church (the placo of his birth) at the age of 77.
Mr. VILLIERS said the Poor-law department had no
urisdiction in the matter. The present law pressed very
hard on the people of Jersey, and it had been recommended
that the laws of Jersey should be assimilated to those of
England,