§ MR. THORNEI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider the possibility of reducing the sentence on Jeremiah Power who was sentenced on the 23rd instant at the Old Bailey to six months imprisonment with hard labour for stealing some meat, in view of the circumstances under which the offence was committed, and the fact that the police admitted that there was no previous conviction against him.
§ *THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. GLADSTONE,) Leeds, W.I have made inquiry into this case, but find no ground at present for advising interference with the sentence. The case was more serious than would appear from the newspaper report and the statements made by the prisoner in Court are not in accordance with fact. He had been convicted of theft before.