HC Deb 15 March 1889 vol 333 c1811
MR. PICKERSGILL

I beg to ask the Attorney General whether, by the law prevailing in the Bahamas, a person convicted upon indictment of an assault upon a Judge can be punished with flogging, and, if so, whether he will state the authority?

* THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir R. E. WEBSTER,) Isle of Wight

By Section 23 of the Bahamas Statute, 4 Will. IV., c. 25, as amended by the 63rd Section of the Bahamas Statute, 28 Vict., c. 3, a person committing a felony after a previous conviction can, upon conviction for such second offence, be whipped. The person in question committed such an assault upon the learned Judge that it undoubtedly amounted to an attempt to murder. It was, I believe, under the Statute to which I have referred that the Chief Justice purported to order the whipping. As I have already stated in this House, that punishment was, in my opinion, illegal.

MR. MAC NEILL

Were steps taken for the removal of the Chief Justice?

* SIR R. E. WEBSTER

The Under Secretary of State for the Colonies has already stated that the Chief Justice was removable by the Governor and Council of the Colony, subject to an appeal to the Home Authorities.