The Sun.
London, England, 1832-08-14 00:00:00

FORGERY.

PlP'43tr3erdi4al hada
on on
The LORD CHANCELLOR paid, he thought it ne-
cheasds abreyenbriefly t
toto etzhiediari nLotrhdes
Lordships
fordosmoithwehoicthherthiHs.Busilel
of Parliament. 'Whatever was the original intent of the
laws against forgery, it had of late years become abund-
antly evident that they did not operate to produce the in -
tended effect. Instead of an effectual punishment, they
had become a mere statutory regulation. He was oki
enough to remember the time when it was a maxim that
forgery was never pardoned ; that when di=covered, and
the offender convicted, the offence was universally followed
by the punishment of death. The reverse of that maxim
was now the rule of public conduct. Offenders, when
convicted, were not punished. In the first place, how-
ever, there must be fewer convictions, for the people
were unwilling to convict. It was said, too, that juries
were unwilling to convict. He thought that wes a mis-
take;. however unwillingly, juries strictly performed their
duty when the cases were laid before them; but he be-
lieved most fully that persons injured were unwilling to
prosecute. But when prosecutors had a
juries had convicted, what was the result? Out of 217
one-ninth
tcbonhvaidctedsuffineredthetbe.eoueirite4eonif
nseoopue.lenesalys•etyaatrshs.a,tuflolne6tlh7yrese2sip4uaelwotr-r
In the nine years ending in - ,
preferstlo beeni
ne
sc capital pr'btiideir
Why, that only one in ten escaped_-s fact which showed,
ladllis;ecfesoin,hraocrtgwohemie.nng: i
Btiontnue:ltry owoonbnffre-tenini hicsielicl:fhveruigibem:
became bi
litultet
hd°entloY custom
to
in the clearest manner, the great difEculties,, of one kind or
another, that existed with respect to conviction for the
capital offenc-. But, after c,)rviction, what had been the
course pursued with respect to criminals convicted capitally

of offences against property ? In the year 1821, there
then being many capital punishments on the Statute
Book affecting various offences against property, there
were 1,108 persons capitally convicted under these laws ;
et only II were executed. With the exception of those
laws against forgery, the Parliament had thought fit to
repeal the capital punishment in cases of the kind he had
alluded to; and they were now asked to render the law
more effectual, by repealing it in that case. While steal-
ing. from a bleaching-ground was a capital offence, one in
twenty of those who were convicted had been executed.
Since the repeal of that law, and the substitution of another
punishment, one-half of those who had hen tried were
convicted. The fact was, that sentence had gone forth against
those capital punishments for offences against property ;
and that that sentence had been pronounced, not by vain
theorists—not by men influenced by exaggerated notions
ef humanity—but by persons who were interested
in the suppression of the crime. He had himself,
when in the other House of Parliament, presented a peti-
tion from 261. bankers, representing 735 persons, partners
with them, and 1,000 provincial banks, all d, alers in this
paper currency, praying that for their protection alone
these capital punishments might be repealed Such was
the opinion of those men for whose especial protection it
was said the Statutes were kept on the Statute Book. It
was to be recollected that the Bill which he now presented
to their attention had passed twice through the House si
Commons. What then, after that, was the chance that
men would prosecute or juries convict, or if both were
done, that the law would be strictly carried into execu-
tlbn It was hardly to be supposed that that which had
been formerly almost a dead letter should now he anything
Snore than a dead letter. Under these circumstances, he
now proposed that the Bill to abolish the Punishment of
Death for Forgery should be committed.
Lord WYNFORD said he should not oppose the Bill,
for he was anxious, after the experiments that their Lord
ships had been pleased to make with regard to other of-
fences against property, that this experiment should be
made with regard to the crime of forgery. He should he
rejoiced to find it made" successfuly ; for he had always
teen averse to the punishment of death where that puni*h.-
went had not been ?Jr-joked by the most urgent necessity,
and justified by evidence of its efficiency. He was Cecid-
sally of opinion, that as the Legislature had abolished th
punishment of death in cases of cattle stealing, it was ad
visable th it the ex'reme penalty of the law should in like
manner be abolished in cases of forgery. He hop, d the
anticipations of the Noble Lord would he fulfilled ; but he
confessed that he entertained some doub's on the subject.
He believed that the fact of having the gallows in perspt c
live was a great prevention of crime. He was disposed
accordingly to think that the same alteration should lie
made in this Bill, similar to that in the Cattle-stealing Bill,
namely, that the Judge should be allowed no discretion,
but should be bound, in cases of forgery, to pronounce
sentence of transportation for life. He gave notice that it
was his intent-on to move a clause to that effect.

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE hoped their Lordship,
would give their sanction to the general principle, that the
extreme penalty of the law shouid not be exacted in cases
of forgery ; but he was of opinion that in some casts ex
reptions should he made. He was dec'ded'y disposed to
think that the punishment of death ought to b, retained
in cases of the forgery of powers of attorney. He h ,t 1
rained the extreme punishment in such eases, when lie for-
merly proposed a similar Pill, and he thought that it
would be well to retain it on the present occasion.
The Duke of WELLINGTON declared that his opinion
es to the expediency of punishing forgery with death was
unaltered. Times and circumstances, however, were so
much changed, that he did not think it would be 4 xpedient
to oprise the present Bid. At the same time, he consi-
dered that the amendment suggested by the NoWe Marquis
ought undoul.tedly to be adopted.
Their Lordships then went into Committee.
Lord WYNFORD nave notice, that on the bringing up
of the rerrt, he would move that the punishment of death
should be continued in the cases of forgery of will. or
powers of attorney for the purpose of transferring stock.
The LORD CHANCELLOR observed, that these cases
were difficult of proof, and that the same indisposition to
prosecute to extremity existed with respect to them as in
the simple forgery of hills of exch ince.

. ,
Lord HOl LAND wished to abolish the punishment cf
death f'r all offences except those in which violence was
used. He would support this measure ; and he contended
that in none of the cases which might arise should the
extreme penalty be exerted, because thus, as in the case of
Fauntleroy, the sympathy of the people was excited.
Earl GREY was sorry to he obliged to differ with theme
who conceived that the punishment of death in cases of
forgery should be abolished altogether. He was inclined
to think that a distinction should be made between the
forgery of wills and powers of attorney, and other cases of
forgery. He thought, therefore, that it might be well for
their Lordships to accede to the amendment of the Nobly
and Learned Loud. If hereafter they found that the for-
gery of these documents went on as before, and that the
ropu'ar feeling was against the extreme penalty, it would
be easy to alter the enactment, and bring in a Bill to abo-
lish the punishment of death in those cases. For these
reasons be would be much disposed to support the amend-
ment.

Lord WYNFORD moved a clause to .the effect that
the judges should be compelled to pronounce sentence of
transportation for life in all cases of cobviction for forgeiy,
allowing the culprit, of course, an ultimate appeal to the
mercy of the Crown —Agreed to.
The Bill then went through the Committee.
BRIBERY AT ELECTIONS BILL.
On the motion that the House go into a Committee on
this Bill,
Lord WYNFORD opposed the motion, stating that le
believed the Bill would he u,terly inefficient, and prov—
ing that it should he postponed until next Session.
The LORD CHANCELLOR admitted tbat he w.
much disappointed in the Bill, and expressed his beli. f
that it would not have the desired effect. He knew a
better measure than this had been proposed by a friend of
his, and be had hoped to have seen it brought forward and
adopted.
Lord WYNFORD moved that the Bill be postponed
till next Session
The LORD CHANCELLOR agreed to it, and the
Bill was postponed accordingly.
GRAND JURIES (INDIA) BILL.
The LORD CHANCELLOR moved the second read-
ing of this Bill.
The Duke of WELLINGTON opposed it as unneces-
sary, and likely to be injurious.
The LORD CHANCELLOR defended the measure
The Earl of ROSSLYN opposed i►.
The Bill was then read a second time, and at Half past
Eight o'clock the House adjourned.

The mill-owners in Huddersfield and the
mighbourhood have, we understand, come to the resolii•
tion to fix a rate of wages on a liberal scale, to be given to
their workpeop'e, with the view of putting an end to the
&ifs rences which at present exist ; and resolutions to this
effect are now in a course of signature, which the mastets
hope will he accepted by their wnrkpeople as an evider ce
of their liberal intention towards thrm, and supersede the
necessity for combinations —Leeds Mercury.
TEN LIVES LOST IN DUNGANNON.—We
have just heard, on what we consider good authority, that
in a case of enforcetnent of tithes due the lute Dr. HALL,
of Dungannon, the people made resistance and were fired
upon by the police, who shot several, and that ten lives
have in consequence been lost. The police ultimately sue.-
ceeded in dispersing the infatuated people.---Eveniny
Packet.--(Ten livte lost in enforcing tithes due to a dead
Parson ! ! A melancholy but forcible commentary upon
the system. )—Dublin Morning Register.
NVe have seldom had occasion to narrate a
more wonderful escape from death than the following.
On Wednesday week, a man, named JamEs MA RKLAND,
a joiner, was employed to perform some repairs in one of
the extensive coal-pi•s belonging to Mr. FITZGERALD, at
Charlestown, near Pendleton. The shaft of the pit in
question is nearly 200 yards deep. About 100 yards
tram the mouth of pit, is an opening of the shaft, forming
the first or original level of the pit. In this and near the
edge of it stood MARKT—alio and several other men em-
ployed in the pit. Some nonsense was going on among
them, and one of them giving MARK LAND a slight push,
he was precipitated down the shaft. Fortunately for him,
the engine had not been at work for some days, and there
n' in consequence, a depth of fifteen yards of water at
the foot of the shafr. Sensation had left the poor fellow
before he reached the water, and when he recovered con-
sciousness, he found a piece of wood floating on the water.
With this assistance, though unable to swim, he kept
himself on the surface a few minutes. In the mean time,
though there appeared little hope of saving MARKLAND,
the men in the level cried out to those at the pit mouth.
With as little delay as possible the engine was set at work,
and a man named ANDREW WRAY put one of his feet
Iwo the bucket hook at the end of the chain, and descended
the sii ift, at such a rate, that when lie got to the water
he sunk over head, taking poor 31ARKLAND with him.
They managed, however, to get to the surface again, and
secured the chain around them, when they were wound
up, and it was found that neither had sustained any injury,
through from a comparison of the time from the acciAent
to the descent of Wirav, 3IA RKLA ND must have been.4in
sensib'e from ten to fifteen minutes.—Manchester Guar-