§ MR. ARTHUR HENDERSON (Durham, Barnard Castle)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to the action of the North London stipendiary magistrate in fining a youth one penny for a contravention of the Gaining Act; and whether he intends taking any action in the matter.
§ *MR. GLADSTONEHaving made inquiry into his case I am informed that the offence charged was one under the Vagrant Act Amendment Act, 1873. The magistrate before whom the charge came, took the view that the defendant, who was a respectable young man, had been sufficiently punished by having been arrested and kept in custody for over two hours, and in view of all the circum- 308 stances of the case I see no reason for dissenting from this view.