COLONEL NORTHsaid, he wished to put a Question to the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department with regard to a convict supposed to have lately returned to this country. William Stuart Farquharson, alias Frederick William Stuart, having been tried at Oxford before Mr. Baron Martin, and pleaded "Guilty" to a charge of forging the indorsement to a bill of exchange, the Judge, in passing sentence, referred to the fact that the prisoner had served as an officer in two or three militia regiments, and, by means of forged credentials, had obtained a curacy, which he held for some time, and in that capacity performed the baptismal, burial, and marriage ceremonies. Believing that his offence had been aggravated by the education and intelligence which he possessed, the Judge sentenced him to twelve years' penal servitude, at the same time expressing his regret that he was unable to award a severer punishment. The convict having been sent out to Bermuda, the right hon. Gentleman the Home Secretary, of course believing that such was the case, informed the House early in the present Session that Farquharson, with a large gang of convicts, had proceeded to Western Australia. But about ten days ago he learned, through an anonymous letter, that the Sir George Seymour, having this very Farquharson on board, 1850 had arrived in the Channel; and as much excitement existed in the part of the country where these evil practices had been carried on, he wished to express a hope that so dangerous a character should not obtain a ticket of leave, and be allowed to go at large. He would therefore conclude by inquiring of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, If it is true that a convict named William Stuart Farquharson, alias Frederick William Stuart, has lately arrived from Bermuda, and is now in Millbank Prison; and, if so, what is proposed to be done with him.
§ SIR GEORGE GREYsaid, he did not know the history of the case till he heard it from the hon. and gallant Member opposite, but on inquiry he had learned that the man was in Millbank Prison. He did not remember stating on a former occasion that the convict, by name, had been sent to Australia, because the names were not then known to him, the selection resting with the local Government at Bermuda; but on the breaking-up of the convict establishment there 200 convicts were sent to Western Australia, and the rest had been brought home. The hon. and gallant Gentleman, however, might rest assured that Farquharson had certainly not received a ticket of leave, nor under the regulations would be be entitled to one for several years to come. He would be dealt with precisely according to the same rule as other convicts undergoing sentences of similar duration.