§ MR. CANDLISH (for Mr. STEVENSON)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether it is the case that an English sailor named Piper, having been concerned in a publichouse quarrel at Alicante, has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment in Spain, without having been charged, and without trial; and, what efforts Her Majesty's Government have made for his release, and what prospect there is of their efforts proving successful?
§ VISCOUNT ENFIELDSir, a British seaman, named William Piper, was tried at Alicante on the 13th of May last, on a charge of having, four months previously—namely, on January 12—assaulted a watchman who had been directed by the Alcalde to arrest him for creating a disturbance while intoxicated in the streets of Alicante. He was convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment and a small fine; this sentence was confirmed by a higher Court on July 15. Our Minister, Mr. Layard, having received a report of the proceedings from Consul Barrie, and thinking the severity of the sentence was disproportionate to the nature of the offence, applied, on May 15 and June 16, to Senor Martos for a free pardon for 959 Piper, who had received several sabre cuts on the head, and had been lying in prison four months before being brought to trial. These representations were not, however, attended with success, and the sentence having been confirmed, Mr. Ffrench (in the absence on leave of Mr. Layard) renewed the application for a free pardon on the 15th of July, the result of which application has not yet been notified to the Foreign Office.