The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-16 00:00:00

PENAL SERVITUDE.

T
on thehe following7 fof a circular addressed,
i
January,
s a copylB63, by the Secretary of
Statee to
Recorders, and Chairmen of Quar-
ter o
t
gswcit'll respect to the remission of rSessions,
sen-
tences of penal servitude in the case of convicts
under a second or subsequent sentence of penal
servitude :

" Whitehall, Jan. 27, 1863.

"Sir,—With reference to a circular letter ad-
dressed to the Judges, Recorders, and Chairmen of
Quarter Sessions by Secretary Sir George Grey, on
the 27th of June, 1857, a copy of which is enclosed,
I am now directed to acquaint you that instructions
have been given that the regulations therein set
forth as to a remission of a portion of the sentences
of penal servitude to be passed under the statute the
20th and 21st Victoria c. 3, shall not apply to per-
sons sentenced for a second or any subsequent time
to that punishment.
"I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
" H. WADDINOTON."

" (Circular) "'Whitehall, June 27, 1857.
" Sir,-1 have the honour to transmit to you the
copy of an Aet which received the Royal assent on
26th inst., and which will come into operation on
the Ist day of July, entitled " An Act to amend the
Act of the 16th and 17th years of her Majesty, to
substitute, in certain cases, other punishment in lieu

of transportation."
" The following are the principal alterations in
the law made by this Act :
" 41. It extends the provisions of the Act above
mentioned, of the 16th and 17th years of her Ma-
jesty, by substituting in all cases the sentence of
penal servitude for the sentence of transportation;
"' It extends the terms of penal servitude so as
to make them correspond in duration with the
terms of transportation to which convicts might

formerly have been sentenced ;
" 3. It gives a power to pass sentences of pena
servitude of a shorter duration than the former
minimum term of transportion, but of not less than
three years;
" ' 4. It attaches to the sentence of penal servi-
tude the liability of the convict to be removed
while under sentence from this country to a colony,
there to be dealt with in all respects as if he had
been sentenced to transportation.
" The second and third of these alterations have
been made in accordance with the recommendation
of a Committee of the House of Commons appointed
in 1856 to inquire into the provisions and operation
of the Act 16th and 17th of Victoria, c. 99.
" The last and most important of them will
enable the Government to avail itself to the fullest
extent, of facilities which may from time to time
exist for removing to a penal settlement abroad
convicts sentenced to penal servitude. But
although the sentence of penal servitude will here-
after subject the convict to the liability to removal
under such sentence to a penal colony, the number
of convicts who can be thus dealt with must
depend on the facilities existing at any given period
for their employment and absorption in a colony and
on the willingness of the colonists to receive them.
For this reason, and for the additional reason that
those only can be sent to a colony who from age,
physical strength, and other circumstances, are fitted
for the employment which can be there found for
them, it is impossible to determine at the time when
the sentence is passed whether a prisoner sentenced
to penal servitude can be removed by virtue of such
sentence to a colony.
" ' As a considerable discretion has therefore been
left in the hands of the Executive Government as to
the manner in which such sentences are to be car-
ried into effect, I feel it right to inform you of the
general rules which it is proposed to adopt with
regard to prisoners on whom the sentence of penal
servitude will hereafter be passed.
"' In the earlier stages of their sentence all con-
victs under sentence of penal servitude will, as a
general rule, be dealt with alike. They will be sub-
jected to separate imprisonment for a period of eight
or nine months, after which they will be removed to
one of the penal establishments created under the
sth of George IV., o. 84, there to be employed in
hard labour upon public works. From among the
prisoners so employed a certain number will be se-
lected from time to time for removal to a penal
colony, such selections being made, as far as pos-
sible from among these whose sentences are for
terms of not less than seven years.
" ' The Committee of the House of Commons, in
recommending the extensions of terms of penal ser-
vitude to a duration corresponding with former sen-
tences of transportation, expressed an opinion that
euery punishment by penal servitude should, besides
a fixed period of imprisonment, or hard labour on
public works, include a further period, capable of
being abridged by the good conduct of the convict
himself. In accordance with this recommendation,
which appeared to meet with the approval of Par-
liament, it is proposed that, while a certain fixed
term of the sentence shall in all cases be inflicted, a
remission of the remaining portion of it shall be
granted to those convicts whose conduct in prison
is such as not to deprive them of this in.
dulgence. In carrying this into effect it will be
necessary to make a distinction between those who
are removed to a penal colony and those who are
retained in this country. In the case of the former
it is proposed that the period of imprisonment and
hard labour upon public works here shall be con-
siderably shorter than in the case of the latter. They
will be removed to a colony after having undergone
about one-half of their original sentence, and they
will become eligible by good conduct, shortly after
their arrival, to a ticket of leave, followed, after a
certain interval if their conduct continues to be good,

3 years ..
4 years ..
5 years
6 years ..
7 years
8 years
10 years ..
12 years
15 years &
upwards.

Five sixths =-- 2 yrs, 6 mths.
Four fifths = 3 „ 3 „

Do. = 4 „
Three fourths= 4 „ 6 „
Do. = 5 „ 3 „
Do. --= 6 ~
Do. =7 „ 6 „
Do. =9 „

Two thirds

THE INSURRECTION IN POLAND.

A letter from Posen of the 11th inst., contains
the details of a sanguinary action which took place
between the Russian troops and the Polish insur-

gents under the command of Langiewitch. Two
very numerous Russian corps set out from Kielce
and Radom to attack the insurgents posted at
Wouschock. One of these corps met about 60 in-
surgents in the village of Sch'edniow, where there
are extensive ironworks. After a slight skirmish
the Russians occupied the village, where they are
accusid of having massacred the unarmed inhabi-
tants without distinction of old men, women, or
children. Their first victim was the landlord of the
inn where the insurgents had lodged. The house
itself was burnt, and with it a pact of the village.
This event took place on the 3d inst. The follow-
ing day the columns sent from Radom and Kielce
formed a junction in front of IVouschoek, which
they attacked on two sides. A detachment of in-
surgents deployed as light infantry from the village
of Mielitza, and held their ground courageously for
three hours against repeated charges of the Rus-
sian dragoons, who lost many men. The insur-
gents, encouraged by their success, abandoned their
position in the wood, and scattered themselves over
the open plain, where the Russians covered them
with a murderous fire of grape-shot. After an
heroic effort to capture the cannon, the insurgents,
armed only with scythes, were forced to retreat in
the direction of the town of Opatow. The Russians