HC Deb 16 May 1811 vol 20 cc195-6
Mr. W. Pole

ob- tained leave to bring in Bill to authorise the Judges of Ireland punish by hard labour and imprisonment, persons sentenced to transportation, and to repeal so much of a former act as relates to the subject. The right hon. gent. prefaced his motion, by stating it to be his intention to propose that two Judges in the case of a person sentenced to transportation, should have power to commute the sentence, by sending the party to hard labour and confinement, for such a period as might be judged proper. This he thought desirable, as sometimes offenders were sentenced to be transported for petty-larcenies and trifling offences, and the sentence once passed, as the law stood the Judges could not soften its rigour.