The Sun. — 1869-07-29 (London, England)

ABOLITION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT BILL. Mr. GILPIN moved the second reading of this bill. In so doing he expressed a hope that the time had nee, arrived for Parliament giving its assent to a measure for the abolition of capital punishm. ut, more so because it had been shown that the carrying out the extreme sentence of the law did not deter crime or stop the hand of the murderer. He .coald not unierstand the persistency with which the m'asuro had in former sesions been opposed by the ureLbiihopi and bishops; but hop .tt they would now be induced to Live their sanction to the present bill, and thus put an end ti the immoral ty arising from the system of capital punishment, which had bee successfully abolished is many p trts of the world with success.  Mr. FOWLER suit he thought that if any further argument were wanted in favour of the bill of t':e boa member for Northampton they cuul I be found in ti, blue-book pub!ished sine° the law of capital punts men& was abolished it, all cases except in urd••,.. In every case crime had decreased, and that bad in consequence of jades n,t having the fear of cap:t • I ptinishrnent before their eyes for sucu crimes as forgery, arson, cud the like offences. He thought a step in the right direction had been made is abolishing public executions, because it bad been clearly shown that public executions did• not deter the band of the murderer. Another good that would result from the abolition of capital offences was making the punishment a certainty, instead of as now allowing it to depend upon the determination of the Home Secretary. At present there was no certainty that the verdict would be carried out, because the Home Secretary had a power which he did not think it was right should he possessed by any ono. He knew that the Home Secretary was persecuted by memorials being presented for a commutation of the sentence of death, and no more :memth-able case had occurred than that of William Palmer, the Rugby poisoner, a greater scroudrel than which never existed in the history of crime. Ns sooner had sentence been passed than the Homo Secretary was persecuted by memorials in favour of a commutation of the sentence, on the ground that some doubt still existed as to the bringing home clearly the crime to Palmer. Now this state of things ought not to exist, and the only way to put an end to them was to abolish capital punishment, and to make the verdict of a jury and the sentence of a judge certain of being carried out. He seconded the motion for the second reading. Mr. J. D. LEWIS opposed the motion, and moved that the bill be read a second time that day three months. Ho contended that there was no indisposition of a jury to convict where the evidence was clear that wilful murder had been committed. lie thought the house ought to pay •some attention to the cpiniou of the judges on the;subject of the abolition of capital punishment, and that opinion was in nearly every case adverse to such a proceeding. Atter several hon. members had addessed the house for and against the bill, Mr. BRUCE said he could not give his vote in favour of the second reading of this bill. He thought the present law was necessary to protect human life, and he did not deny that . some minor alterations might be necessary. The mode in which the , sentence of death was carried out had entirely put a stop to those scenes of immorality which heretofore were the accompaniments of a public execution, and therefore he could not advise the house to give its sanction to the bill now under consideration.  The house divided, when there appeared— For the second reading Against it Majority —GO The bill was consequently lost.