The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON

jeidges—by which term I mean the chairmen of quarter
sessions, recorders, and judges, including those in Scot-
Land—and I remember no case in which ajudge informed
nee that he bad passed a sentence with the expectation
that it would not be carried into effect, or had given any
iixtimation to a prisoner that he would be entitled to
elitirn the remission of any portion of his sentence if
he behaved well. (Hear, hear.) I made one reference
to the Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland, a very distin-
guished judge, who wrote to me very fully expressing
his opinion against the remission of any portion of the
sentence, and informing me that he was authorised to
state that the judges of the superior courts of Scotland
hal passed no sentence of penal servitude except with
the expectation that it would be fully carried into effect,
as they understood to be the intention of Parliament. I
have seen it stated publicly that, by some rule or regula-
tion of the Home-office, the intention of Parliament has
been defeated by the restriction of tickets of leave to
those convicts who were under sentence of transporta-
tiou in 1853, and the exclusion from their benefit of
all persons since sentenced to that punishment. lam
happy to be able to state that no such rale or regulation
has been made. No one can now be sentenced to trans-
portation for less than 14 years ; and as this act has
only been in operation three years and a half, no con-
vict sentenced to transportation since it was passed can
yet be in a position to claim a ticket of leave. All such
persons must at present be undergoing preliminary im-
prisonmeat in some of our probationary establishments. It
is obvious therefore that the system popularly called the
ticket-of-leave system, and which I must say has given rise
to exaggerated alarm, would, if things were to remain as
they are, soon become almost extinct and hardly per-
ceptible. At least it would only have this effect, that
there would be subject to it the balance of prisoners still
remaining on hand who were under sentence of transpor-
tation in 1853, together with a few exceptional cases of
penal servitude convicts. Still, that I admit is no answer
to the questions " What shall we de with our criminals?"
and " What is the best kind of secondary punishments to
apply to them !" Nor can it be expected to allay the
apprehensions—to a certain extent well founded, although
also greatly exaggerated—which have been excited with
regard to the retention in this country of prisoners who
have been convicted of serious crimes, and who under the
formsr system were sent abroad. The point as to tickets
of leave has little or nothing to do with the question, be-
cause whether a prisoner was at large upon a ticket of
leave in 1556, or whether at the expiration of a sentence
which cannot be prolonged bylaw !leis; discharged in 1857
or 1853, the effect is one and the lame—he must either
before or at the expiration of his sentence be discharged
in this country ; and instead of flatting himself in
a new community, with ample opportunities for obtain-
ing honest employment, and with little teruptatt:n to
evil, be is thrown back among his old associates, has the
greatest difficulty, perhaps, in getting work, both from
the feeling entertained against persons who haie been
convicted of crime, and from the numberlees competitors
he has to meet in the labour market. The-e dangers
may no doubt be overrated ; yet ueque- tionably they
are of great magnitude ; and it is most desirable as far
as possible to provide against them, in the interest both
of the country at large and of the criminals themselves.
This was very forcibly pointed cut by Mr. Baron Bram-
well in his recent address to the grand jury of Essex, in
which the learned judge remarked, without expressing
any opinion whether tickets of leave are good or bad,
that the real question is, what becomes of the criminal
after he is discharged, be it in this country or be it
abroad ? (Hear.) I have said that I think the alarm on
this subject greatly exaggerated ; and, in tracing the
effects of the act of 1853, I ought, perhaps, to say why
lam of that opinion. Much has been written in the
newspapers about the danger arising from ticket-of-leave
men being at large in this country, and doubtless agreat
deal of what has been said is not intended to apply ex-
clusively to the holders of tickets of leave, but to persons
who have either been in prison or have undergone sen-
tences of transportation and returned to this country
after their legal discharge. That class no doubt forms a
large portion of our criminal population ; it did so before
1853, it has done so since then, and I am afraid it runt
continue to do so. Nobody who looks at the reports of
the trials at our sessions and assizes can fail to observe
that in a great number of cases the prisoners are not
charged for the first time, but have been convicted of
repeated and habitual crimes. I obtained a return the
other day of the number of ticket-of-leave holders
convicted at the assizes held in 24 counties in December
last. At those assizes 625 prisoners in all were tried,
only 29 of whom, or less than 5 per cent., are returned
as holders of tickets of leave. I do not say it is
not to be regretted that there should be even that num-
ber. What I maintain is that these figures do not justify
the great apprehensions felt that all our crime is com-
mitted by ticket-of-leave men. But what is the general
state of crime as disclosed by the returns for the last two
years 1 At the close of the debate on the Address the
other night, the right hon gentleman the member for
Manchester (Mr. M. Gibson) spoke of a frightful in-
crease in pauperism and crime, but I did not then deem.
it necessary to comment on his observations, because I
felt that I shoul I have a fitting opportunity to state the
facts of the case on the present occasion. Criminal
tables, prepared by Mr. Redgrave, were laid before Par-
liament on the first day of the session, containing a very
careful comparison and analysis of the crime in this
country in the years 1851 and 1855. But what was the
state of crime in 1856 as compared with 1855, the period
within which such loud ceruplainte had been made 1 It
must be remembered, too, that in the year 1856 the
militia were disbanded, and the regular army con-
siderably reduced ; and, although the majority of the
soldiers who served the country abroad were doubtless
well-conducted men, yet, when a large body of persons
from the ranks of the army were thrown again into civil
life, you could not be altogether surprised if that step
were followed by some addition to the statistics of crime,
wholly irrespective of the discharge of prisoners upon
tickets of leave. Such appears to have been the general
impression judging from what one reads in the news-
papers. Now, doubtless there has been a considerable
increase iu a certain class of criines, especially in those
attended with violence. The returns for 1854 and 1855 are
in the hands of kon. rnembersrand I trust they wilt avail
themselves of the opportunity toex twice them. But there
was a disturbing cause which it is necessary to take into
account. Ia 1854 the passing of the Criminal Justice
Act extended the summary jurisdiction of juetic,s
of the peace, and the consequence was a large in-
crease in the number of summary convictions within
the next twelve months concurrenty wth a corre-
sponding decrease w tile cotes tried at the assizes and
sessions. But in 1855 and 1856 no such cause was in
operation, the Criminal Justice Act being equally in
force during both of those years. The foliowieg tables
gave the summary convictions and commitments for
trial in 1456, contrasted with those for the previous
year :—England and gales.—Number of per ions com-
mitted on summary convictions iu 1856, 77,667 ; num-
ber of persons committed for trial at assize.. and sessions
in 1856, 19,433 ;—total, 97,100 ; nuainer of persons
committed on summary convictions in 1855, 77,041 ;
number of persons committed for trial at assize.;
and sessions in 1855, 25,972 ;—to*al, 103,013.
Comparison of the commitments in 1856 reed 1855 :
—Summary convictions, o'B per cent. increase; c ice
mititents fur trial, 25.1 per c-int. e;ecre a e;—total, 6 1
per cent. decrease. Tuus, while there was but a -oral
fractional increase in the number of sumerary con vie-
tiona in 1856 compare-l. with 1355 there was a very re-
markable decrease, amounting to nu less than 25 per
cent. in the graver class of cases—viz., the commitments
for trial at the assizes and sessions, That is a state of
things which I think does not justify ad the alarm
which has prevailed in the country in regard to the pro-
gress of crime. Burglary and other violent offences are
comprised in this general aggregate, and it is also wor-
thy of note that the criiiie:ef robbery, including, as it
does, garotting, which is telly one of the various inmles
resorted to for effecting robbery, has elightle decreased
in 1856 as compared with 1855 If the right hon. member
far Manchester were present I should call his attention
to the fact that the late chief constable of that city
recently informed me that within the last three months
there has beta a remarkable diminution of crime in Mare
chester. As the general condition ot the people of this
country is so closely connected with the state of crime,
and as the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Gibson) c mpled
pauperism and crime together perhaps I may also be per-
mitted to observe that the decrease o fcrime which I
have mentioned is attributable to a cause which has al-
ways a powerful effect on our prison returns. I hold in
my hand a copy of the annual return, which will be laid
en the table by the President of the Poor-Law Board,
showing the number of persons receiving parochial rel,et
in England and Wales on the let of January, 1857, as
compared with the Ist of January, 1856. This reture
comprises the 40 counties of England and all the COW-,
ties of Wales, and I find that in seven counties only is
there any increase in pauperism, and in some cases that
increase is hardly perceptible. In all the other counties
there has been a decrease. In Lancashire the dirninutiou
is 11 per cent. ; the same in Nottingham ; and there lyts
been a large decrease in Middlesex and the East and
West Ridings of Yorkshire. In fact, in those c •untiee
where the population is most dense there has been a
decrease irk pauperism, and 1 believe also a large de
crease in crime—at least, of that class of crime Minh
is most affected by the condition of the people. I essay
remark that when the general condition of the people
to
good, when employment. is plentiful, and food I
then cries against property which come under tshec beeaalicrimes
d
roflarceey but criteee violence often itiereas.,
arising, as they do, Iron causes quite ii respective of the
difficulties under which the pioner l
labour. Having said casses
''"1"")"
so much as to facts, Iwe new
refer to the state of the law.. Sentences of 6
transportation
for 14 years or upwards may be tressed, or, at the de-
cretion of the Gene, penal servitude may be substituted
in lieu of the higher peeaLy ; int below periods of 14
years on ly sen tepees of penalservitudecan be pronounce".
sentees,B of penal servitude must be carries out at
home, or in tb,s• colonies of the Cro n where the co,-
victs can be employed urt)n pet lie works, as at Gibrel-
tar and Bermuda, and every prisoner sent to those places
must be brought house again to this country
either
anticipation of the expiration of his sentence, or when '
0
Ilse fully completed its term ; for, even
were' it legal tit;
do so, there are pol.tical reasons against liberating
coo-
viet, in those colonies. Now, of the 350 persons
annu-
allyde,;sentenced in Great Briiain to transportation, after
'title women, with regard to whom there are ow n
tmn ee
as
sc
kr)! et
ah
rer 'ne 'out such -a
sentence, and also deducting
Yilslit;aed those withlworn-out constitution-,
of whom there° many to be found among the criminal classes, there will robably be not more than 250 annu-
ally who under tikeP
be t state of the law could legally
transported fromPt7,B,",
?nary, and even that number
may be diminished. by the
:ieiricise of the discretion that
is vested in the judges.
unto w refer to the opiniona
Coeur upon this subject.
of the committees which sat 1
The committee of the House ot
entered chiefly
°itelated to the ad-
into that branch of the subject which
roadelt received
ministration of the law in this country,
much valuable and useful evidence, and
Portent recommendations. The committee of tell'ecnueoluni-
of Lords took another course, and, although they
e:

amined Colonel Jebb as to the administration of the law
i❑ this country, they examined no other witness upon
that point, but pursued its inquiries into the possibility
of continuing and extending transportation, and of find-
ing other places for the reception of convicts than
Western Australia. There was, however, a remarkable
concurrence of opinion between the two committees as
to the benefit to be derived from a continuance of the
system of transportation to as great an extent as the
Government could find means to apply it. (Hear, hear.)
'P committee of the House of Commons say—
" That the punishment of transportation is more effectual
and deterring, better adapted for the ultimate reformation
of convicts, and more beneficial to this country than any
other secondary punishment for serious crimes which ha.
yet been tried. That the committee therefore recommend
the continuation of the sentence of transportation, so far
as her Majesty's dominions may afford safe and proper
facilities for that purpose."
The committee of the House of Lords said—

" That, in the opinion of the committee, a continuance
of the system of transportation to some colony or colonies,
with such improvements as experience has suggested, or
may suggest, would be highly desirable, provided that the
system can be carried on with advantage to the colony,
and with satisfaction to the colonists."

The two committees have concurred in the opinion, which
I believe is shared by a majority of this house, that whe-
ther we consider the interests of the convicts themselves
or the interests of the country, it is most desirable that
before the expiration the sentence of offenders who have
o lii)(1 e re-
moved dgutieltyanoeftghrearypeacrrtimefetsh,
ethwoseerldcr
wvhicetrse
tshheoyulwd
freed from the temptations to a renewal of vicious courses,
and where there would be greater opportunities for com-
mencing a new and improved mode of life. (Hear.) In
saying this, however, I cannot shut my eyes to the amazing
difficulties which have lately sprung up in the way of car-
rying out the desire which all entertain—that, having
punished men for committing crime, we should preserve
them from a renewal of their evil practices by sending them
to countries whore theyicould commence a new course of
life under better prospects than at home. In any opinion
which I may express upon this subject, either now or here-
after, I beg it may be understood that the Government
has not the remotest intention of departing from tie spirit
or letter of the arrangement which has been made, and I
think wisely, that as regards Van Diemen's Land and the
South Australian colonies, transportation has completely
ceased. I hope it will not be imagined by any one that we
have any intention of renewing that contest, now happily
anbsided, which raged at one time on the subject of tran,-
portation to the colonies. The committees which sat last
year have expressed themselves very clearly upon that
point. The committee of the House of Commons qualified
their recommendations by adding, "so far as her Majesty's
dominions may afford safe and proper facilities for that
purpose." The House of Lords not less distinctly said,
"provided the system can be carried on with advantage to
the colony and with satisfaction to the colonists." I
hope, therefore, there will be no misapprehension upon
this subject, or any idea that we are about to force con-
victs upon unwilling colonies. I may here observe that,
among the many suggestions which have been made from
time to time there have been several for the establishment
of great penal depots at various places, such as Holyhead,
Gibraltar, and elsewhere, where convicts during the
period of their sentences could be usefully employed upon
public works ;" but those who made such suggestions
are not aware of what was the real difficulty in the ques-
tion. There is no difficulty in disposing of convicts during
the stages of their separate imprisonment or their labour
upon public works; in fact, I am obliged to refuse the calls
of my right hon. riend the First Lord of the Admiralty
for convicts to work at Portland, Portsmouth, Chatham,
and Gibraltar, simply because there are not convicts enough
undergoing their sentences for he public works upon which
they may be usefully employed. The difficulty consists,
not in finding places where they may be beneficially em-
ployed, but in finding places whither they may go after the
completion of their sentences with some hopes and pros-
pects of reformation. It is the duty of the Government to
avail itself of all the facilities which exist for that object,
and I may venture to say it is the duty of Parliament to
assist us in removing any obstacles which may stand in
our way. The facilities -which exist for transportation
are these :—Western Australia is the only colony which
will receive convicts under sentence of transportation.
The house must bear in mind that I have shown
that in future years 250 is the largest number of convicts
which we can calculate upon being able to send abroad,
owing to the small number of sentences of transportation
which are now pronounced, and it must also bear in mind
that those 250 have all been repeatedly convicted or con-
victed of serious offences. That is the stock in hand for
future supply. What are the facilities for their disposal ?
The committees to which I have alluded took much valu-
able evidence respecting Western Australia. They exa-
mined witnesses long resident in the colony, men of pro-
perty in, and, what was more important, who were about
to return to, the colony—those witnesses comprising Capt.
Fitzgerald, the late governor, Messrs. Brown, Moore,
Hume, Sze. The colonists were anxious to have convicts
that they might have the advantage of their labour. As to
the nature and capabilities of the colony, the evidence
showed that its extent was very large, and that it was, as
yet, almost entirely separated from the other Australian
colonies. It is described as a vast plain, with only three
ports from which convicts could effect their escape, and
there would ho no difficulty in guarding against escapes
from those ports. The climate is good, suitable for agri-
cultural pursuits ; the country presents numerous tracts
suitable for corn - there is an excellent breed of horses,
which are exported largely to India, being considered sup,-
rior to other Australian horses i - there is an abundance of
fine timber, and the land is suitable for the growth of the
vine, which is already cultivated to a largo extent. I be-
lieve the demand for convict labour arose in Western A us-
tralia from very considerable grants of land being made to
private individuals, who thought that land constituted
wealth, whereas without labour land is perfectly valueless.
Now that convict labour is available these persons are able
to turn the land to some account, ani there is a general
opinion expressed by these witnesses that even under the
present system, without adopting the changes suggested by
the House of Lords, from 800 to 1,000 convicts a-year might
be received and usefully employed in Western Australia—
probably more if measures were taken inviting capital a 1 d
labour to the colony. In addition to this evidence given
before the committee, representations have been made by
a deputation of gentlemen connected with the colony to
the Secretary of State that Western Australia possesses
peculiar advantages for the reception of convicts, and that
both proprietors and residents concur in the desire to have
convicts sent.

Sir J. PAKINGTON.—Have no representations been
sent home the other way?
Sir G. GREY.—The only representation the other way
was a petition, which came last year while the committee
was sitting, which complained not that convicts were ry nt
out from this country, but that a certain number recently
sent were not selected with as much care as formerly, ani
that, instead of few crimes being committed, some of seri-
ous magnitude had been the result. The Lords' committee
advert to that complaint, alai recommend a return to the
principle of selection, in order to send to Western Austra-
lia that class of convicts which will ba most useful to the
colony. This demand by Western Australia fur convict
labour is one which in the present state of the law the Go-
vernment is unable to meet. Here is a colony asking for
from 610 to 800 or 1,000 convicts a-year, and we have n
more than 250, comprising that class against which excep-
tion was taken in the petition to which I have referred.
Under these circumstances the question arose in the cour.e
of last year whether, under the sixth section of the act of
1853 persons sentenced to penal servitude could be sent to
Western Australia. The terms of the act appear to be
very large :

" Eveiy person who under this act shall be sentenced or
ordered to be kept in penal servitude may, during the term
of the sentence or order, be confined in any such prison or
place of confinement in any part of the united kingdom, or
in any river, port, or harbour of the united kingdom', in
which persons under sentence or order of transportation
may now by law be confined, or in any other prison in the
united kingdom, or ii aay part of her Majesty's dominions
beyond the seas, or in any pert or harbour thereof, as one
of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State may from
time to time direct ; and such person may during such term
be kept to hard labour and otherwise dealt with in all respects
as persons sentenced to transportation may now by law be
dealt with while so confined."

The question was referred to the law officers of the Crown,
and, after carefully considering it, they arrived at the con-
clusion that it was not competent for the Government to
avail themselves of Western Australia as a place where the
sentence of penal servitude could be carried into effect.
The fact is, such convicts would not be subject to the colo-
nial laws and ordinances, their labour could not be assigned
to the governor of the colony, and they could not have a
qualified liberty. Transportation would lose all its ♦alue,
and it would he only sending convicts out to bring them
back again before the expiration of their sentences at a
great expense, without the slightest benefit to the colony.
The Commons' committee, in their seventh resolution, re-
commended that the sentences of penal servitude should be
lengthened to terms identical with the terms of transpor-
tation for which they were substituted. The Lords' com-
mittee, in their 12th resolution, recommended that the
Provisions of the act substituting penal servitude for trans-
portatiOn should be revised. They did not specify with
what object they should be revised, but I apprehend they,
like the House of Commons, thought that the sentences of
penal servitude should be lengthened, and made identic 1
with the former sentences of transportation. The House of
Commons state a ground for their recommendation—viz.,
to give effect to a previous resolution, that every punish-
ment should include a first period of imprisonment with
hard labour, and a further period capable of being abridged
by the good conduct of the convict himself ; and they sug-
gest that the present term of penal servitude should, a 3 a
general rule, he inflicted, "but that there should be super-
added, over and above the present term, subject to miti-
gation, the differmice between the present period of penal
servitude and the former period of transportation for
which it was substituted. They further recommend an in-
termediate period of penal servitude. When sentences of
seven years' trpsportation were passed there was a dis-
cretion in the judge, which now remains in cases of four
years' penal servitude, to substitute a sentence of impri-
sonment alone—usually two years' imprisonment, instead
of seven years' transportation. In recommending the in•
et ea,ee of the sentence of penal servitude to seven years the
committee recommend that the discretion of the judge
be enlarged, and that he shall he able to inflict A
period of penal servitude longer than the imprisonment,
but shorter than the transportation would have been nail( r
the old law. I come now to the proposals which I have to
make on the part of the Government, as appearing to thcm
to be the most expedient, after full conaideration of the
subject. We propose in the bill which I shall ask leave to
introduce to give effect to the 7th resolution of the com-
mittee Ok. the House of Commons recommending that sen-
tences of penal servitude shall be lengthened so as to be
made identical with the sentences of transportation for
which they were substituted. We also propose to give
effect to the 9th resolution, giving discretio❑ to the judge
to pass an intermediate sentence between the ordinary term
of imprisonment and the term of seven years' penal servi-
tude. The first clause of the bill will repeal the provisions
of the act of 1853, by which the shorter sentences of penal
servitude were substituted for the longer sentences of trans-
portation, and will render persons who may formerly have
beau sentenced to transportation liable to be kept in penal
servitude for the same duration as the term of transporta-
tion, for which they were liable before the act passed.
There is then a proviso giving the discretion to the judge
to pass a sentence of intermediate penal servitude, as,l
luavemalready explained to the house. This will, I trust,
provide a remedy for the evil complained of, and will en-
able us to avail ourselves'of the facilities which still exist,
and I trust will hereafter be enlarged, of removing persons
convicted of serious crimes from this country. The effect
of this alteration will be that the sentence of penal servi-
tude need not necessarily be carried out by the removal of
the convict from this country, but if it be thus carried out :
the sentence will carry with it the same regulations to 1
which convicts are now subject. I propose to take this
power, and to make it generally applicable to all sentences
of penal servitude, because is difficult to draw the hue

and to say what persons shall be removed from this coun-
try and who shall not. I do not anticipate that this power
will be exercised with regard to the greater portion of those
sentences for short periods, and especially if these inter-
mediate sentences of penal servitude are passed I do not
think thatit will be the practice to remove from thiscountry
convicts sentenced to very short terms of imprisonment.
As a rule I think it will not be expedient that prisoners
should he sent to the colonies on very short sentences.
In other cases, when sent there, prisoners ought to be for a
very considerable time subject to the control of a ticket of
leave, and I do not make this proposal with the intention
that it should be carried into effect before a portion of their
sentences shall be passed in penal servitude. A very large
portion of the sentences must be for seven years, and in a
very large proportion of cases these prisoners will not be
removed from this country. It is proposed to give that power
of selection which the committee of the HOllB9 of Lords
think the essence of the system of transportation to Western
Australia„ and which they recommend the Government to
have recourse to. It would be necessary to consider in con-
nection with their crime and their sentence circumstances
of which the judge could know nothing at the time--the
age, the physical strength, and the pursuits of the convicts.
To send convicts to the colonies who would crowd the labour
market, end who are unfitted for labour by physical weak-
ness, age, ill-health, and other circumstances, would be to ,
send those who would be a burden to the colonies.
This would be a course unwarranted by experience,
while a contrary method would remove the objections
which the colonists of Western Australia enter-
tain to the class of criminals from which they have
hitherto been furnished. The power of selection will
enable the Government to send a sufficient quantity of con-
victs to Western Australia or other colonies to which it
might be determined to send them, and to avail themselves
of additional facilities for the disposal of convicts without
further alteration of the law. An objection may
be made to the uncertainty of punishment in the sen-
tence for penal servitude, and it may be said that a con-
vict will not know whether ho will find himself in this
country or in a distant colony. (Hear.) But that objec-
tion has always applied to the sentence of transportation
also, so that no convict sentenced to seven years' transpor-
tation was really sent out of the country. The judge may
have depicted the horrors of being separated from his fa-
mily and friends and being sent to a distant colony, and
the convict often went from the bar expecting that he
would be transported to a distant country. But in three
or four years it usually happened that the convict found
himself again in his native village among his family and
friends. For short sentences, therefore, it was impossible
to carry the sentence of transportation into effect, and
there was much uncertainty whether it would be carried
into effect or not.
Sir J. PAKINGTON—These sentences were put an end
to on that account.
Sir G. GREY—It was certainly impossible to carry a
large number of the sentences of transportation into effect,
either from the physical incapacity of the convicts, or from
other causes, and the right hon. gentleman cannot pat his
finger upon a single year in which a large number of con-
victs u, der sentence of transportation were not retained
permanently in this country. It is also to be remarked
that the sentences of penal servitude can be carried into
effect whether the convicts serve their sentences at horn.
or abroad, while an actual deportation from this country
is the very essence of a sentence of transportation. The
committee recommend that a certain number of prisoners
should be sent to Bermuda and Gibraltar to serve their
sentences of transportation, and they say that it is neces-
sary that the public works should be performed in those
colonies by convict labour. With regard to the course
pursued the sentence passed upon these convicts amounted
to a qualified sentence of deportation. The convicts were
sentenced by the judges, and then, not by the decision
of the Government, a certain number were sent to Ber-
muda and Gibraltar, and remained in those colonies to
undergo their sentences. A further objection would be the
great anomaly which would remain if the bill stopped here.
If it were left to the discretion of the Government to remove
convicts sentenced to penal servitude, it would be a great
anomaly to continue to pass sentences of transportation
above 14 years. At present these sentences need not be
passed at all, and the judges may pass esntences of penal
servitude for the same term. It may he urged that there
is no reason why we should retain the sentence of transpor-
tation for 14 years. Why should the judges have a discre-
tion in the one case and not in the other ? The judge has
no knowledge whether the sentence will be carried into
effect or not. A man stands before him, and he has no safe
aside to enable him to exercise a sound discretion, or to
say whether the prisoner is a fit person for the labour of a
colony. I propose, therefore, to abolish the sentence of
transportation altogether, and to substitute the sentence of
penal servitude for it. I now come to the sth resolution of
the House of Commons, which recommends that sentences
should not be carried into effect where convicts considered
themselves entitled to their partial remission. I have been
asked by many persons to extend these remissions to those
under sentence of penal servitude. I replied that I would
not do so, because I did not want Parliament to be ham-
pered and fettered in the consideration of this question. I
thought if I held out any expectation of a remission of
these sentences I should be told that we were breaking
faith with these prisoners. No prisoner under sentence c f
penal servitude, except in a few special cases, has had any
expectations held out to him of a remission of any portion
of his punishment, and Parliament is, therefore, at liberty
to deal with these persons as it thinks best. I admit that
the resolution of the committee is founded upon the evi-
dence of witnesses of great weight. Some of the judges I
are also of opinion that it is desirable to give a stimulus
to hope, and to hold out the prospect of a remission of a
portion of the sentence as a reward to good conduct. In
that principle I must say I, in a great degree, concur.
(Hear, hear.) It may, however, be carried too far in
sentences of transportation. In 1853 it might be neces-
sary, in consequence of the peculiar circumstances of the
time, and as an experiment, to hold out hopes of a remis-
sion of punishment. I think it will be found desirable
that the principle of this recommendation should be acted
upon. No doubt it is the beat way of maintaining prison
discipline. Elope is a more influential motive than thu
fear of punishment, and this principle ought, I think, to
be acted upon if the sentences are for lengthened periods.
I am also of opinion that persons who are to be sent out of
the country ought to undergo some months of separate
punishment before they leave this country. It has been
said that a certain portion of those who may be advanta-
geously sent to Western Australia should be sent either
with tickets-of-leave, to take effect shortly after their arri-
val, or with the expectation of receiving a ticket-of-leave
after their arrival in Western Australia. Captain Hen-
derson has expressed a strong opinion, in which I concur,
that the greatest value may be expected from the training
which the convict receives in England, but he recommems
that a part of the strictly penal sentence ought to be passed
in the colony to which he is sent. The real difficulty is as
to those who are left at home. (Hear, hear.) I propose
with regard to them that the same principle shall be
adopted. There are some persons who commit crimes of
such atrocity, or who are guilty of such gross misconduct
in prison, that they come under the denomination of incor-
rigible. This class have no claim to any indulgence, and
ought not to be inflicted on a colony. They really almost
belong to the class of criminal lunatics, who have commit-
ted some great crime, for which they have been imprisoned
for life, not as a punishment for an offence for which they
are not responsible, but to secure society against a repe-
tition of that offence. With regard to the other and
far more numerous portion of criminals, no doubt the
more we can send abroad the better ; but some must
be kept at home, and we propose to retain the power
of remitting a portion of their sentences. Two questions
were raise Cbefore the committee in connection with such
a remission—first, what should be its amount; secondly,
what should be its terms and conditions? It ought, no
doubt, to be considerably shorter in amount than the mi-
nimum fixed in the case of convicts under sentence of trans-
portation. A great deal of the outcry which has been
raised against the system of discharging prisoners with
licenses has been caused by the large remissions of sen-
tences which have taken place; great irritation has been
produced in many neighbourhoods by seeing a man who
had been sentenced to perhaps 15 years' transportation re-
turn at the expiration of four years; and some of the
judges of the land have felt a certain amount of annoyance
at being obliged to try prisoners upon whom they had -al-
ready passed sentences which, if they had been carried into
effect, would have prevented the men from committing
ether crimes. Ido not think that any term ought to be
named as an unbending rule, but one-fourth or, at the
utmost, one-third of tho sentence ought only to be capable
of remission.
Sir J. PAKINGTON—That would be the minimum
an
AGdsßi
judge t
itca,ietge—tosh It
frequently
is n
oci thatnu
ve incocitttrl
icypouonmsosoosi
fmtbalaee to fixperiod.have
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hitela nSyceo
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atinron yl
111
induce
knowledgeSpetaSrite ior
him to think that he has passed too severe a sentence—
(hear)—although they do not amount to proof of the man's
innocence. In such cases justice requires that the Secretary
of State should make the sentence what it would have been
if the judge had been in full possession of the facts at the
time of passing it. Although the regulations upon which
remission should depend cannot, therefore, be made the sub-
ject of any unbending rule, they may be made the subject
of some general rule ; and they ought to be communicated
to all judges and persons holdingjudicial situations, in order
that when they are passing sentence they may have a full
knowledge of the amount of punishment which the prisoner
will in any case have to undergo. Then comes the question
of the terms upon which the remission ought to be granted,
whether conditional or absolute. The committee stated that
the ticket-of-leave system had been in operation for too short
a time to enable them to give an opinion respecting it, and
they passed a resolution recognising the justice of its prin-
ciple, although they negatived a iesolution that it should
be acted upon in all criminal cases. The committee, in my
opinion, were wise in expressing no opinion as to the merits
of the system upon the facts before them; but I propose to
retain the power of granting these conditional discharges, as
in many cases it may be very usefully exercised. In many
cases after a prisoner has been discharged, in consequence of
a strong recommendation from the visiting justices and a
certificate from a medical officer, stating that his life is in
danger, ho is found in A very short time committing some
new crime, apparently in perfect health, having either
feigned illness or recovered health by the change of scene and
air, and the return to his old habits. It is highly expedient
that in such a case the discharge should be conditional.
Some people suppose that a ticket of leave is a sort of certi-
ficate of good character, and that those men only obtain it
who can prove that, they are reformed, There was never a
more fallacious idea. It is very desirable that the illusion
should be dispelled that the holder of a ticket of leave is
less likely to relapse into crime than any other discharged
criminal: Ticket-of-leave-holders, as a class, have been, I
will not say the subject of much prejudice, but the caul-'
of much al arm, and they have ruffled great difficulty in ob-
taining any honest employment in this country, They
bear upon them the stamp of the criminal. It has been
proposed, in order to meet this difficulty that ticket-of-
leave-holders should not be restrained from leaving the
country: But tickets of leave are revocable at the pleasure
of the Crown, and revocation implies remission to the for-
merto prison for a new offence he is taken back after thheeerxes-
punishment. If a ticket-of-leave-holder is committed
piration of his term of imprisomestlPto
mainder of his first sentence, but if he went abroad,
the
France or America, how could the Crown exercise
_l3
power of revocation ? It may be said there is no objection
them
to allowing criminals to go abroad, and many
)0,,
t to undergo the
have certainly enlisted in the army end
soldiers, but the Government could not eriCTlrne., them
to break the conditions of their discharge by going aham"tio
The same obstacle prevents us from allowing them to go
the colonies, to Canada, or Australia. The power of rev,
cation could only be exercised by the colonial authorities,
by virtue of colonial stets, and it would be almost impos-
sible for them to send a number of men from the antipodes
to Portland to undergo the remainder of their sentences.
Utoulthis point, however, I do notnow wish theheu.se to form
an opinion. I concur in the opinion expressed by the com-
mittee, and I do not propose to make any alteration in the
power at present possessed by the Govornsnent, because it
is a useful power, even although it be not exercised as a
general rule. There is one important consideration with
regard to Western Australia which must not be overlooked
—I refer to the inequality of the sexes. 1 large influx of
male convicts could not go on for many years, and it was