The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-08-16 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-TUESDAY, AUGUST

HARWICH ELECTION PETITION.—The SPEAKER in-
formed the house that it was not intended to proceed
further with the petition.
The. South Sea and other Annuities, Provision for Pay-
ment, &c., Bill, was read a third time, and passed.
TRANSPORTATION OF CRIMINALS.—The house went
into committee upon the Transportation Bill, when Lord
PALMERSTON gave an exposition of the views of the go-
vernment upon the subject of secondary punishments.
The question, he observed, was one of extreme difficulty.
The object of punishment was to make it a penalty to the
offender, and an example to others, without shocking the
feelings of the community, and at the same time to com-
bine reformation with punishment. Hitherto our colonies
had enabled us to make transportation beyond the seas
one of our secondary punishments ; but this resource
having now failed—the feelings of the colonists revolting
against being brought into contact with our criminals, and
a great event having changed the condition of our Austra-
lian colonies—the system must be altered. The first result
to which the government were led was the necessity of
ceasing to transport offenders to the colonies, except a
small number to Western Australia ; and the bill proposed
to empower the courts to alter the sentences. It was pro-
posed that, after a certain period of preliminary imprison-
ment, the offender should be capable of receiving a ticket
of leave in this country, liable to be revoked. He thought
that, with regard to a great portion of those who were

sentenced to transportation, reformation was by no means
a hopeless object, and every effort would be made to
accomplish it: When thos(

xrsons who

tickets-of-leave were to be released, the
arose, where were they to go, and how w

empl-ged ?_ He had every reason to beheN

would be found of giving all these perso.._
upon the public works, apart from the convicts,
able wages, from which occupation, without a stigma, tht,
might slide into the ordinary avocations of honest indus
try. The charge for providing additional accommodation
would be borne by the public ; but, as the cost of trans-
porting criminals would no longer be incurred, there would
be a very considerable annual saving of expenditure. The
whole system must be consideired in a great degree experi-
mental ; but he believed that this was the best mode that
could be devised to meet the great change to which he had
referred.—Sir J. PA KINGTON and other members ex-
pressed their opinions upon the general question, and tile
clauses of the bill were then discussed and agreed to.

employment

PRISON DISCIPLINE.—On bringing up the report 0:
the Committee of Supply, and, on the vote of £407,000 foi
the Government prisons in Great Britain and Ireland
—Mr. LUCAS observed, that two different svqt.m.

prison discipline, in respect to the religious instruction of
the prisoners, prevailed- in the prisons of Great Britain and
Ireland respectively ; that in Ireland, as in the colonies,
there had been a system of perfect religious equalitY,
which did not exist in the English prisons ; and it was an
important question, as transportation was about to be abo-
lished, whether the same system was to be introduced into
the prisons of Great Britain as was actually enforced in Ire-
land.—Lord PALMERSTON said, that upon the entrance of a
prisoner into prison, he should be called upon to state his
religious persuasion, and it ought to be known by him,
when he made that declaration, that nothing in respect to
his treatment in gaol depended upon his declaring himself
of one persuasion or another, and that he would have
equal means of religious instruction by a clergyman of
his own creed. As far as the government prisons were
concerned, he had taken steps to carry into effect the
views expressed by Mr. Lucas—namely, that Romanists
and Dissenters, as well as prisoners belonging to the
Church, should have religious instruction from clergymen
of their own persuasion, this being one of the ingredients
of the improved system of prison discipline.
The Metropolitan Sewers Acts Continuance Bill, and
many other bills were advanced a stage.
TILE LONDON CABMEN.—On the third reading of the
Hackney Carriage Duties Bill a clause was inserted, the
object of which was to prevent the withdrawal of carriages
for two days in one week without just cause or previous
notice.

TIM APPROPRIATION BILL.—Mr. WILSON brought up
the Consolidated Fund Bill, which being an indication of
the approaching termination of this prolonged and arduous
session, was hailed with cheers.
The house adjourned at one o'clock.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10.
TRIBUNALS OP CONMERCE.-Mr. HORSPALL presented
petitions from the Chamber of Commerce and the Guar-
dian Society of Liverpool, and others representing the
London Society for Promoting the Amendment of the
Law, the London Society for Promoting the Establish-
ment of Tribunals of Commerce, and the Bristol, Brad-
ford, Blackburn, Stoke-upon-Trent, Worcester, and other
societies, in favour of the establishment of tribunals of
commerce. _

LIMITED LIABILITY.—In answer to a question, Mr.
CARDWELL said, that at present joint-stock companies in-
corporate had not limited liability, but there was power
in opeeial cases for the Queen in Council to grout charters