The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-15 00:00:00

MORNING _EDITiON

IMPERIAL PARLIAMEN'T.
HOUSE OF LORDS, June 14.
Their Lordships assembled at Five o'Clocl:.
. Messorgers from the Commons brought up several
which were severally read a first time.
Lord LYNDHURST presented a petition from Wigan,
complaining that the Corn-law' question had been intro-
duced merely for the sake of turning the tide of popular
opinion in favour of her Majesty's Ministers, and
.praying the House to withhold its confidence from.
the Government.
The House of 'lndustry (Ireland) Bill was read a se-
cond - -•
The litho Composition (Ireland) Bill was read a third
time and passed.
The Administration of Justice Bill was real a third
and passed.
The Insolvent Debtors (Ireland) was read a second
time.

The Wide-streets Dublin Bill was read a second time

and passed.
A number of other Bills were forwarded a stage.
BILLS OF EXCHANGE CONTINUANCE BILL.
The Earl of CLARENDON moved the second read-
ing of the Bills of Exchange Continuance Bill.
ord KENYON said that the present Bill would not
exri:e until 1843; he did not therefore think this step
necessary.

After-r. few words from the Earl of WICKLOW and
Lord WYNFORD, the Bill was read a first end second
time, and passed through Committee, read a third time
and passed, the standing Orders of the Day having been
suspeotled to allow it to pass through these stage§.
The Duke of ARGYLL said he should, early in the
next Session, bring in a Bill cu the subject of Church.
leasrenage in Scotland.
In answer to a question from Lord WHANCV.FFE,
Earl TITZW/LIsIAM said that he. thought it would
be inconvenient to the House to being his motion on to-
morrow. lie should, therefore, postpone it ; but he
could not tell on what day he should be able to bring it
forward. The Noble Earl then presented petitions from
Middlesex and other places in favour of the- measures
proposel hy her Majesty's Government, the petitioners
stating that they attributed (he present depression in
trade to the state of the import duties.
A fter a few words from Earl Stanhope, Lord
Belle, toil Lord Wharneliffe.
Earl FITZWILLIAM said he wished to call the at-
tcntioa of their Lordships to a fact which perh4s had
sems to their knowledge, in reference to the present
sion of trade. He would «sly inention the counties
eeefferd:lll:c and Salop, in svhieli not less than sixty
furnaces here lately been put out of blest.
Lord ASHBURTON said that so feu', from'the iron
trade being in a depresSed state, it was now and had
been for a long time, one of the principal trades of the -
country. He (Lord Ashburton) had heard of indivi-
duals who from the iron trade were receiving 60, 70,
and e0;0001. a-year.--(Hear, hear.) How, then, could
the Noble Earl say, that the present Corn-laws affected
and injured the iron trade ? If they they made any
enactment whereby to damage that trade, the persons
who were dependent on that trade would in a few years
petition for the purpose of breaking clown other branches
of the industry of the country.
Earl PITZWILLIAM said that he had never stated
that the distress of eke iron trade wds caused by the
Corn-laws: lie had never said any such thing, nor did
the petitioners say so. What they said was that trade'
generally was injured by the Corn-laws, and that the
iron trade, as one, must be injured to a certain degree by
the operation of these laws. They stated that a system
of trade !enerally restricted with regard to imports was
generally injurious to trade with regard to exports.
Led lIATHERTON presented a petition from West
IlroeoAch, praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws ; ilso
a pedtion from the females of West Bromwich to the
same effect.
SUNDAY TRAFFIC ON CANALS.
The cosr.r. Loan said he had been desired Icy
the Committee' appointed for the purpose of inquiry
into the expediency of restricting traffic on canals on
Sundeesetheoughout the kingdom, to report to their
Lardsliip4 the evidence they had taken on the subject.
The Cokimittee had obtained evidence from paeties
capable of giving information relative to the whole line-
of canals from the Thames to the Mersey ; they had
examined the proprietors of those canals, and the car-
riers thereon, and they had come to the unanimous
opinion from that evidence, that the subject required the
interference of Parliament.
The Marquis of NORMANBY said he had read the
e:idencc, and he thought a sufficient case had been
reads out to call for some enactment in the next Ses-
sion of Parliament. The Noble Marquis presented a
petition, from the parish of Newington, in favour of a
repeal of the Corn-laws. Also a petition, praying for a
better observance of the Sabbath.
PUNISHMENT OF DEATH BILL
Oa the motion of the Marquis of NORMANBY, tEe
House resolved itself into Committee on the'Punishment
of Desalt Bill.
On clause 2 being read,
Lord WYNFORD moved as an amendment that the
clause be exp-auged. He thought that for such enor-
mous crimes as arson, the extreme punishment should
still remain in force.
Lord BROUGHAM said that no one doubted the encr-
may of the offence; but if for those offences, they enac red
punishments which did not carry the public feelings with
them, convictions became seldom and more difficult, which
calculated to increase the offence.
After a few words from the Marquis of Westmeath,
the Marquis of Norrnanby, and Lord Wynford, the
amendment was negatived.
The clause was then put and carried.
On clause 3 being read,
The Marquis of WESTMEATH said he objected to
that part of it which removed the crime of rape from the-
list of capital ofS'ences. If their Lordships agreed to ex-
tend that portion of the clause to England which it ap-
pcare.l. to hira would be an etc of eravated
tirar. to -Is,, :se before they cr,:tded it to J,-elal .d. He
fon e from authentic return.-, that t!v nu eller of as-
satltS upon females with inte,.lt to ci,ma-C- a capital
off'enoe, which occurred in England i:, 1840 1-2114 69.
(S,Lveral Noble Lerds, " 1.1)f rt:pc ? et' mpe ?'') °Crape,
or intent to commit en assault—(oh, oh)---out of a
population of fourteen millions, and the number in Ire-
land was 173 out of eight millions. He moved that
cases- of rape should be omitted from the operation of the
clause.
The Earl of MOUNTCASHEL considered that it
would be a reflectiop on the character of the House to
pass such a clause.
The Marquis of NORMANBY believed that the effect
of removing capital punishment for the commission of
these offences would be materially to lessen its amount.
That had been found to be the case where capital pu-
nishment had been abolished, and that was the object of
the Government in proposing the present clause..
Lord ABINGER said he had been for a long time
cf opinion that our Criminal Code had been too san-
guinary, and he rejoiced in any attempt to mitigate its
severity. In his opinion the certainty of punishment
would tend to prevent the crime more than the law as it
at present stood, where every one calculated upon his
chance of escape, which was in too many ins Lances
realised.
The Earl of WINCHILSEA supported the amend-
ment.
The 'Earl of WICKLOW could not support the clause,
for it, if carried, would abolish the punishment ,af death
in even the most aggravated cases.
Lord BROUGHAM warmly supported. the clause, on
the ground that the abolition of the punishment of death
for the crimes included in it, would tend greatly to dimi-
nish the-number of offences by making some punishment
certain ; and, life not being at stake, juries would unhe-
sitatingly perfuem their duty. He wished to see the
law effectual, and therefore he supported the Bill.
Lord W NFORD thought the House would do well to
leave the law as it now stood with respect to the crimes
enumerated in the clause. He would therefore support
the amendment for striking out the clause.
The LORD CHANCELLOR defended the principle
of the Bill, which was intended to secure that justice
should be done, and crime prevented. Nothing could be
more true than that it was the certainty of punishment,
and not its severity, that prevented crime.
The Earl of HADDINGTON had come down to the
House with a strong inclination in his mind to vote for
the omission of the clause named, but from what. he had
heard in that House from those so well acquainted with
the subject, he would now beg his NOble Friend to with-
draw his amendment. He would also hope that the
third reading of the Bill would be postponed till Thurs-
day or Friday, so that words might be introduced to re-
tain the capioil punishment in very aggravated cases.
The Marquis of WESTMEATH replied, and with-
drew his' amendment in order to support that of the
Noble Earl below (the Earl of Winchilsea) for the re-
jection of the whole clause. -
The Earl of CHICHESTER supported the clause as
it stood, for if they excepted any one crime from. the pu-
nishment of death, they would only give the counsel for
the prisoner an additional topic for his appeal to the hu-
mane feelings of the jury, and render a conviction almost
impossible.
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw. The House
divided, when there appeared-1-
For the clause
Against it
-Majority for the clause —4
The Bill then went through Committee, and. was or-
dered to ha read a third time on Thursday.
The e\larquis of WESTMEATH wished to ask if
there would be any provision rr. ade in th e clause for a
private assault ?
The Marquis of NORMANBY said there would not.
Their Lordships then adjourned
o'Clock. at a Quarter to Eight

not
dc?pr,

era

HousE OF COMMONS June 14.
The SPEA sEn took the Chair at the usual hour.
The Abing,loui Glebe Estate Bill and Lord Glamis'
Awe were read a second time and ordered to be
committed.
The South Metropolitan Gas Bili, Lark la's Divorce
Biil, and Goring's Divorce Bill were read a thifd time
and passed.
Mr. BLACKSTONE presented petitions from sigh
parishes ill Ox:ordPraying for repeal of the Corn-laws.
Lord GRIMSTON presented fmiy-one petitions
from places in Hertfordshire, in favour of the sliding
scale of duties on Corn. Also several petitions in favour
of Church Extension.
Mr. BYNG presented a petition from Essex in favour
of Church Extension.
Sir J. Y. BULLER presented a petition from De-
vonshire against the repeal of the Corn-lawis.
Mr. VILLIERS presented the followino. petitions
praying for repeal of the Corn•laws petitions
from eleven different.ivz,rishes
.in tha county of .I\7(ltting-
ham ;from Crielf
_itors of the Poor (Kirriemuir) ;
; Arbroath • s„tiaza\ .fr ce.rnrie' Tainradiee, in Elgin (in
om oath IDA
in bane Ei,d, t.tork ;. front 2,000 persons
utie London, and from
worLen in the ernplpaoyrisohf M2ssrA. Carpenter
and Neville, in the
district in the borough Willenhall (a
erh a.upton ;• from the '