§ CAPTAIN STACPOOLEsaid, he would beg to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Why the long sentenced Convicts in Ireland from seven years and upwards are not sent to Western Australia in the same manner as the long sentenced English Convicts?
§ SIR ROBERT PEELsaid, in reply, that in Ireland since 1853 the practice of sending Convicts to Australia or other Colonies had been discontinued. The Irish Convict system enabled the authorities to dispose of their criminals at home. Transportation had been found to be productive of very great mischief, and it was also attended with considerable expense. The present system worked satisfactorily, and the whole expense of a Convict was not more than about £20 a year.