HC Deb 14 April 1842 vol 62 c490
Mr. Aglionby

rose to put the question of which he had given notice to the right hon. Baronet the Secretary of State for the Home Department—viz., whether in the year 1841, there had been any executions for offences of burglary attended with personal violence, or whether, as in preceding years, sentence of death in such cases had always been commuted for transportation? Since the passing of Lord J. Russell's bills in 1837, by which our criminal code was materially mitigated, although by the strict letter of the law death was still the punishment for the crime of burglary, accompanied by riot or personal violence, yet he believed down to the year 1841, although several convictions for that crime had taken place, that the sentence in every case had been commuted to transportation for life. He wished to know whether the same practice had been continued during the last year.

Sir J. Graham

said, the hon. Gentleman was perfectly correct in his statement of the change which took place in our criminal code in the year 1837, by which the punishment of death was taken away from the crime of burglary, except when accompanied by personal violence. The following was an account of the number of convictions which had taken place since the alteration in the law. In 1838 there were three convictions for the crime of burglary accompanied by personal violence, in each of which the sentence of death was commuted to transportation for life. In 1839 there was one conviction, the sentence being commuted in like manner; in1840 there were thirteen convictions, the sentence in each case being commuted to transportation for life; and in 1841, to which year the hon. Gentleman's question referred, but the returns in respect to which had not yet been presented, there had been more than one conviction, but no execution had taken place for the offence. In short, since the passing of the law there had been no fewer than twenty convictions for this offence, but not one execution.