The Sun. — 1864-02-09 (London, England)

MAUDONO UGH—Which did the right hon. gentleman mean-30 years or never? The books were full of cases in which women quick with child at the time of sentence had been executed after delivery. If, then, the Home Secretary was a mere puppet; if the words of the first part of the statute were mandatory, the words of the latter part were also mandatory ; and on two physicians certifying the prisoner to be sane, he was bound to have ordered him to be recommitted back to gaol in order to undergo his sentence. Take it therefore either way—either that the words of the statute were mandatory or obligatory—and the conduct of the Home Secretary had been illegal, and there had been a miscarriage of justice. It had been announced that night that after four most eminent medical men had pronounced Townley sane he was not to be executed. In former times pardons in case of treason and murder were obtained by the duo influence of the high officers of State. To prevent this state of things acts of Parliament had been passed, directing that the mode in which a murder had been committed should be set:forth in a charter of pardon, in the belief that no being would 'put his hand to a charter of pardon of a heinous mime. By the common law, also, a charter of pardon obtained by a false statement became null and void. The Home Secretary should have acted by analogy with the statute and common law, and then this marriage of justice arising out of a false suggestion made by the prisoner's attorney would not have taken place. For it certainly was a violation of the analogy of the law if a man was pardoned through the aid rendered to him by others who had used their infants:ice unscrupulously. In conclusion, the hon. gentleman remarked that it was a melancholy thing to consider that a man had recently left this world with the words ringing in his ears, " Where is Townley ? Where is Townley ?" (Cheers,) Mr. NE ATE thought the bill did not propose an adequate remedy for the evil which had been pointed out, As the law stood at present, it was possible for a hopeless lunatic to be executed if he murdered his keeper during a lucid interval. Great difficulty lay in the erroneous nature of the law, which dated back to a period when there was little knowledge of mental disease. There was, consequently, at the present time considerable difference between the legal and medical notions of insanity, and this led to hopeless conflict and perplexity. He would suggest that a Royal commission, or a committee of the house, should be appointed to inquire into the whole subject, and that eminent lawyers should be thereby afforded an opportunity of expressing their several opinions on the matter, On the Townley case he had few remarks to make, but he certainly could not understand on what grounds gentlemen arrived at so satisfactory convictions as to the sanity of Townley. Mr. LOCKE regretted that it should be considered by many that the introduction of the bill had been made neceie sary because it had been thought by a large proportion of the population of the country that there had been one law for the rich and another for the poor, No doubt, in consequence of the provision of the Act of Parliament which it was now sought in some way to modify persons of wealth had had an opportunity of putting the law into operation, whereas poor men had been entirely debarred from so doing. Ho would ask the right hon. baronet whether he thought the present measure would get rid of all the objections which had been brought into prominence, on a late occasion, in the case of Townley ? It was proposed that the certificate should be signed by the visiting justices ; but would their certificate compel the Secretary of State to grant a respite? Sir G.