Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1886-05-15 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

CAPITAL PITNISHMTINT.  In the House of Commons cm Tuesday Sir Joseph Pease called attention to the present state of the law and practioe relating to oapital punishment, and moved a resolution declaring that, in the opinion of the House, the time had arrived for the abolition of the death penalty for the crime of murder. The hon. baronet admitted that in a savage state of society circumstances might make it necessary to resort to capital punishment, but he urged that when society had made the advance we had attained in civilitretion and Christianity the infliction of that penalty was no ' longer necessary. In answer to the argument of those who contended that the centintiance of the death penalty was necessary for the • safety of society, he pointed out that in States where it had been abolished, such as those of Belgium and H Aland, and some of the United States, there had been a decrease instead of an increase of those crimes for which the penalty of death was formerly exacted. In the case of Switzerland, where the death penalty had been abolished, and then revived, he attributed to the use of strong drink the fact that this retrogression had been deemed necessary through the increase of homicides. He put it to the House , whether it was right to retain in our penal code 1 a punishment that could not under any circumstances be recalled, even where innocence might afterwards be established, and he also referred in terms of reprobation to the horrible scenes occaaion lly witnessed at executions, where the rope drop allowed the criminal was too long or too short, and where the element of amateur hanging had already been introduced.—Mr Howard Vincent moved as an amendment that Murders should be classified into different degrees, and this was seconded by Mr Lockwood (York), who said the question was not whether the death penalty was barbarous, but whether it was deterrent, and went on to argue that experience had shown that it was deterrent. Flogging for crimes of violence might be termed barbarous, but its infliction had been abundantly proved to have been effectual in preventing the crimes for which it was imposed. What was wanted in the way of reforming the existing law was the institution of different degrees of homicide, the present uncertainty in procuring convictions for murder being due to the fact that the technicalities of the law allowed , prisoners to be placed in jeopardy of their lives ; whom no sane person would convict of the crime charged against them while the death penalty was thereby involved.—Sir Win. Harcourt and Mr Childers having ()Rimmed the motion,. the amendment was negatived without a division, and the House divided upon Sir Joseph Pease's Imotion, 62 voting for and 117 against.  proposed works. .. TIIE CLEVELAND STEEL TRADlL—ldessrs Tnexr VitOIIittODDIND•3IOINE.--On Mon- Holekow, Vaughan, and 00. have been successful day at Stockton Mary Ann Golden was charged in securing large orders for steel rails and steel with stealing two quilts and a petticoat from sleepers required in the construction of the famished lodgings at 2, Nile-street, the property sft. tin. rut; railway about to be constructed of Emma Longmire. Prisoner with -her hug- in India or is Highness the Nizam. The firm baud lodged at the tirosecutrix's house, and she has recently laid down extensive plant at li/ston would appear to have taken the quilts off the for this class of work. bed and pledged them. The petticoat Mrs