The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-11 00:00:00

' that the sentence would be carried out in all its inte-
grity, when the persons they had sentenced were sent
to the colonies ; it was quite impossible to do so, be-
cause the assignment system had been proved, as his
Honourable Friend had stated, to be a system of
slavery; and at Bermuda the convicts were employed
at hard labour in the harbour. One judge, on circuit,
might sentence two persons to transportation. One
might go to Bermuda, and the other to Australia.
They would undergo two different sentences, but' the
sentence of the judge would not affect either of them,
one way or the other. That was the change. When he
was Secretary of State, he put a stop to the system of
assignment, and Lord Stanley, when be came into office,
propounded an elaborate system of probation, conjoined
with labour upon the public works. But the Act was
not changed. The sentence of transportation,
wherever carried into effect, as the convict by
despairing of acceding to the assignment system in New
South Wales, whether on the public works in Bermuda,
or whether on the system of probation in Van Dieman's
Land, whichever plan was carried out the sentence of
the judge remained the same. And then the Honour-
able Gentleman had stated, and others had done so
before, that they were to have another system by which
a certain period of time was to be spent in confinement
here—that the employment of some on public works in
this country, and of others on the public works in
the colonies, was not only highly unconstitutional but
illegal.—(Hear, hear.) One system might be wiser
than the other, and more efficacious; but that there
should be any difference legally between one system and
anothei was what he was utterly unable to conceive.—
(Hear, hear.) And then, with respect to tickets of
leave, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman represented
that a person with such a ticket might travel where he
liked; but a ticket of leave like the assignment system,
was a system of severe restriction by the colonial law,
and by means of colonial officers; it
was a system
different from exile or banishment, it might
be a good or bad one, but it was not
a system in which the sentence of the Judge had any-
thing to do. The question is one as to what is the best
system, when the sentence of transportation had been
passed, of carrying it into effect ; and having stated
thus much for the purpose of vindicating the Govern.
ment from the charge of introducing a system
at variance with the law, he was content to
rest the defence of the measure upon the
speeches of his Hon. Friend near him (Sir G. Grey),
the Under Secretary for the Colonies, and of the Judge
Advocate (Mr. C. Buller.) He thought that the system
now proposed would be an improvement upon the pre•
sent system. They must, he thought, adopt some system
or another. The state of Van Diemen's Land—the horri-
ble accounts which were received from it would not allow
the late Government to continue transportation with the
same prospects as those which attended it some years
before. Being abandoned, it was obvious that they must
have devised, for the two years for which it was proposed
to suspend it, some means of employment for the per-
sons who would have in this altered state of things to
stop in this country. The Hon. Baronet the Member
for Dorchester stated that there were not sufficient
gaols for the imprisonment of all those who might be
sentenced to transportation. If this was so, then they
must have some subsidiary means, as, for instance, work
in the hulks, employment of some kind in connexion
with the public works, or of such a nature as to be
industrial and reformatory in its character.
He thought that as many years ago they had taken
away the punishment of death for various offences, so in
like manner they should do away with the punishment
of transportation for other offences. But that change
was not to be done without great deliberation, and it
would have been therefore unadvisable to introduce in
this session any Bills doing away transportation alto-
gether for a variety of offences, or for clearly
defining to what offences only transporta-
tion should apply. With these explanations he
trusted the House would consent to go into Committee
of Supply. It had been too much the habit not to con-
sider that while they were enacting that certain colonies
should be constituted penal settlements, they were for-
getting that in transferring crime from their own country
they were thrusting upon the colonists the very off-
scourings of society.
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the
House divided, when there appeared--
For going into Committee 124
Against it . 76
Majority
—4B
CORN IMPORTATION ACT.
On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EX-
CHEQUER, the House resolved itself into Committee
on the Corn Importation Act, when a resolution was
agreed to for extending the importation of corn free of
duty to the Ist of March.

The House resumed, the resolution was reported, and
was ordered that a Bill be brought in founded thereon.
BATHS AND WASHHOUSES BILL.

This Bill went through Committee, and was reported.

LEITH HARBOUR AND DOCKS BILL

This Bill was read a third time and passed.
STOCK-IN TRADE EXEMPTION BILL.
This Bill was read a second time.
COMMUTATION OF TITHES IN ENGLAND

AND WALES.
Sir W. SOMERVILLE obtained leave to bring in a
Bill to amend the Acts for the Commutation of Tithes
in England and Wales, and to continue the officers ap-
pointed under the said Acts for a time to be limited.
The Bill was afterwards brought in and read a first
time. It was ordered to be read a second time on Mon-
day next.
OUT-PENSIONERS (CHELSEA AND GREEN-
WICH BILL.)
This Bill was read a third time and passed.
POLICE CLAUSES BILL.

The report on this Bill was brought, up and received.
PASSENGERS ACT AMENDMENT BILL.
This Bill was read a third time and passed, and several
amendments agreed to.
HIGHWAY RATES BILL.
On the order of the day for the third reading of this
Bill,

Sir W. JOLIFFE opposed the further progress of the
measure. The operation of the Bill was to throw the
cost of what were mere parish roads upon the public.
After a few words from Sir GEORGE GREY,
The Bill was read a third time, and passed.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of,
and the House adjourned at Half-past One.