§ MR. HOPWOODasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been called to the case of Hannah Dawes, an old woman of seventy-four years of age, tried at the Alfreton Petty Sessions on the charge of being found, at 1 a.m., sheltered in a shed, and sentenced to three months' imprisonment as a vagrant; and, whether he will inquire into the circumstances of this case with a view of learning the grounds of a punishment apparently so severe?
§ SIR WILLIAM HARCOURTYes, Sir; it seems to me that, considering that in this case there was no criminal intent on the part of the old woman, the sentence was excessive, and I have, therefore, discharged her.