§ MR. S. SMITHI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will issue an official Circular to Magistrates, Recorders, and Chairmen of Quarter Sessions, inviting their further consideration of the provisions of "The Probation of First Offenders Act, 1887," especially in view of the statement made by Her Majesty's Commis- 9 sioners of Prisons for England and Wales in their last Report that, in at least some districts, the local prison Governors are "not aware of the Act having been applied at all," and in view also of the figures in the latest "Judicial Statistics," showing that more than half of all the persons proceeded against summarily in the year were of "previous good character," whilst another large proportion had "nothing known against them?"
§ MR. MATTHEWSI propose to issue a Circular calling attention to Section 16 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, and to the Probation of First Offenders Act.