The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-03-26 00:00:00

HOUSE OF LORDS-TUESDAY

The Mutiny Bill and the Marine Mutiny Bill were both
read a third time and passed.

• The amendments in the Tithes Composition Bill were
agreed to, and the bill was passed.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE moved the second reading of
the East India Rum Bill.

Lord ASHBUIITOY doubted if it would be possible to dis-
tinguish between rum made from dates and from rice and
that made from cane. _

After some observations from Lord MONTEAGLE, in sup-
port of the bill,
Lord ELLENBOROUGH expressed his gratification at the
introduction of this bill, and was satisfied it ought not to be
any longer delayed.
The bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be
committed on Friday.
Their lordships then adjourned till Thursday.

lIOUSE OF COMMONS-TUESDAY

Committees were appointed to try the merits of the peti-
tions against the returns from tle electors of Walsall and St.
Albans.

Lord J. RUSSELL gave notice that on the 6th of April he
would move the adjournment of the house until the 20th of
April. _ _

Lord MAtsoN, in pursuance of notice to that effect, rose
to move a resolution declaring it to be the opinion of the
house, that the large increase in the number of convicts per-
manently confined in the hulks in Great Britain, although
sentenced to transportation, is extremely inexpedient. The
noble lord contended, at great length, that the government,
by this course of proceeding, was guilty of violating the spirit
. .

of the law
fringed.

even though itsletter might not have been in-

It had been found that the punishment of confine-
ment in the hulks had not been productive of the same salu-
tary effect as resulted from a sentence to transportation when
enforced. It was found that owing to the construction of the
hulks, it was impossible to introduce those improvements
in prison discipline which had been recently adopted in most
other prisons. The strongest objection to imprisoninent in
the hulks, however, was, that the convicts, on their dis-
charge, found difficulties all but insuperable to obtaining
honest employment. The system of transportation, he
thought, had been rather hastily condemned. There had,
doubtless, been many abuses connected with it, but many of
them might have been removed.:Even with all its abuses the
punishment of transportation had been followed by very con-
siderable benefits, the reformed offenders punished in this
way being far more numerous than those reformed from a
similar class of offenders remaining in England. Great
dissatisfaction prevailed in New South Wales in consequence
of the cessation of the supply of convict labour. He was
of opinion that a new colony might he established on the
north-west coast of New Holland, where the evils which
had attended the assignment system in New South Wales
might be avoided

ord J. RUSSELL said he was borne out in the course he
had pursued by the result of the inquiries instituted by the
transportation committee. It was not enough for the noble
lord to point out the evils of confinement in the hulks—evils

,ble from such confinement ; he was bound to suggest

some new plan before he called upon the house to say that
the present system is inconvenient. There was not, after all,
so great a difference of opinion on this subject between the
noble lord and himself as the noble lord appeared to imagine.
The difference was one of degree, for the noble lord adknitted
the evils of the system of assignment which &ruled the prin-
ciple of the colony of New Smith Wales. He (Lord John
Russell) could not agree. however, with the Archbishop of
Dublin, that transportation should be altogether abolished.
Many convicts were still sent to Australia. but under less
capricious regulations than those which formerly existed.
He was of opinion that it would be well to retain the prac-
tice of employing convicts in the dockyards when sentenced
for a short term of years, but this was a punishment which
should be regulated by an act of parliament, and not by the
Secretary of State. The noble lord concluded by moving as
an amendment " the previous question."
Mr. PAKINGTON said, that under the present system a
judge passing sentence on a criminal could not tell what the
effect of his sentence would be to the prisoner. Let the
sentence be understood, and let it be carried out to its tenor.
Transportation might, under proper regulations, be made a
most valuable secondary punishment, and ought, therefore,
to be retained. •
Mr. fl umE acknowledged all that had been done by the
noble lord (J. Russell) in the amendment of the criminal
jurisprudence of the country, and only regretted that he was
not now prepared to state all his views respecting secondary
punishments,disgraceto a i n
civilisedord ertb
countryatcpi, shouldtalpun bi she amebnotlsish
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