The Sun.
London, England, 1840-07-20 00:00:00

1837 1838 1839

Ist Class, Offences against
the person 12.1 dee, B'l inc. 8.1 inc.
2d „ Offences against
property, committed with
violence 6.8 inc. 9.8 inc. 6.9 dec.
3rd „ Offences against
property, committed
without violence
4th ~ Malicious Of-
fences against property 32.1 dec. 21.9 dec. 17 9 inc.
sth „ Forgery, and of-
fences against the cur-
rency 27. inc. 101 inc. 13'3 dee.
6th „ Othtr offeneet,
not included in the above

classes .

• .... 1. inc. 20'4 dec. 47.3 inc
•_

The principal increase in the last year, in the Ist class,
has fallen chiefly on the lighter offences of assaults, and
assaults on peace officers. There is an increase in the
attempts to murder; but muder itself, and manslaughter
have &creased. In the 2d class, burglary, house, shop,
..nd counting-house breaking, have decreased ; robbery has
slightly increased. In the 3d class, which includes nearly
four-fifths of the whole number of commitments, all those
offences of most frequent commission have increased—such
as larceny, larceny in dwelling-bosses, from the person,
and by servants (which latter offencri has increased 20 per
cent, last year, and has been progressively increasing for
several years), embezzlement, fraud, and receiving stolen
goods ; horse, sheep, and cattle stealing have decreased.
In the 4th class the increase has been general, though,
compared with the preceding five years, the numbers are
far below the average. The sth class shows a de-
crease, which has been very marked in coining, and
having in possession coining implements; while at
the same time, the increase for uttering forged Bank
of England notes, has been equally remarkable,
though the commitments for these offences are so few, that
the proportion is doubled by the addition of two or three
offenders. The 6th class has (=inside rably increased, and
this may in a great measure be attributed to the political
offences connected with Cha►tism, which are placed in this
class under the head riot, sedition, &c. But the Chartist
offences for trial at the Monmouth Special Commission,
and many other pi osecutions of this description, do not
find a place in these tables. They will be inserted in
the tables for 1810, in which year they remained for trial.
The great amelioration of the Criminal Code which
was effected by the Acts of the Ist Victorioa, is more
clearly exhibited by the tables of 1839 than by the tables
of the preceding year, those Acts having come more gene-
rally into operation. The capital convictions amount to
fifty-four only, a number con siderably less than the ave-
rage of executions ten years previously. They were, for.—
Murder
Attempts to murder, attended by dangerous bodily

injuries
Sodomy

Rspe, and abusing infants uncle); ten years of age
Burglary, attended with violeruce to persons 1
Robbery, attended with cutting and wounding.... .. 1
Arson . . 2

Riot, and feloniously demolishing buildings 4
And there were, in addition to these numbers, two
capital convietions for offences (one of simple burglary,
and one of simple robbery), committed before the passing
of the Acts of 1 Victories, aad therefore not capital at the
time of conviction. Of tEese fifty-six capital convicts
eleven were executed—ten for murder, and one for an at-
tempt to murder his wife by poisoning. Two of these
executions took place in Middlesex, and two in Kent;
and one in each of the folio wing counties :—Durham,
Essex, Gloucester, Hertford, Norfolk, Nottingham, and
Somerset.

The Acts of the Ist Victoria have also had a very bene.
ficial effect upon the result of prosecutions ; Juries being in
all cases less unwilling to 'convict when they knew that
capital punishment will not. follow. By these Acts, capi-
tal punishments were abolished in the crimes enumerated
below, for which at that tiine, executions were not unusual :
and the greater ploport,on 'of convictiozeiuniatthieosne
acreimmens:
which has resulted trom the recent alteration in the law is
very remakabie. Li the following
parisai is made of the cente3inial proportion of convictions,
with reapt•ct to these off.'t.t.:ers, in the three years preccd_
ing the :abolition of the cavit,al punishment, and in the last
year :

Average of
1835.6.7. 1839.
Attempts to murder
Saerile.;e
Burglary.. .......... 73'68 77'77
..........
Robbery
. 56 03 62 93
Arson ...........................29 73
Comparing the same
periods, the variation which took
place in convictions generally did not amount to 2 per
cent. ; the proporcion b,:ing in the first period 71.31. In
the latter 72.95. In cases of horse.stealing, sheep-steal-
ing, cattle-stealing, larceny in dwelling-houses, and house..
breakibg, executions bad in practice ceased before the ac-
tual repeal of the capital sentence ; the effect, therefore,
produced by the abolition of the capital punishment for
these offences had only a slight effect upon the proportion
of convictions, which. did not begin to increase till execu-
tion was more rare.