§ Major CHRISTOPHER LOWTHERI beg to move
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to abolish in Great Britain the award of capital punishment for any crime or offence whatsoever.I feel too deeply in this matter to indulge in any flowery language. A Bill for the abolition of capital punishment is one which, if it does not induce the sympathy 394 of the whole House, at any rate deserves serious reflection. How many persons, I wonder, who read in the sensational Press of some wretch condemned to die realise the terrible responsibility which they are taking upon themselves. All of us form a part, however small, of that community which is known as the State, and if a felon dies it is the State which kills him. It is very wicked of anyone to take human life. Is it not equally wrong for the State to take human life? If the State acts dishonestly, it is very properly reproved. It would surely be equally blameworthy to resort to the very act which is here so justly condemned in the individual. The death sentence is the only one which can be passed for the crime of murder. No allowance can be made for degree or for circumstance. The condemned man's only chance rests with the Home Secretary. For no other crime is there such rigidity of sentence. I beg the House not to think of me as a sickly sentimentalist. I realise most strongly the need for a deterrent for the most odious crime of murder, but I believe it is not beyond the wit of man to devise a sentence sufficiently severe to deter others, and yet not to take his life.Leaving aside the condemned man himself, I beg the House for a moment to give thought to the penalty which the execution of an individual imposes upon his relatives and friends. There never was a truer saying that while there is life there is hope. If a man be imprisoned, his relatives and friends can always cherish the hope that the violence of his nature may be so changed as to make him, when free, once again the man they knew him to be at his best. Everyone has someone who cares for him. A judge when sentencing a man to death is sentencing that someone to an anguish of mind which must be well nigh intolerable.
In conclusion, there lingers in my memory a scene which I was unfortunate enough to witness at a Welsh Assize. A man was charged with the brutal murder of his wife. It was a brutal, sordid crime. But what made it infinitely more tragic was the fact that the principal witnesses against the man were his two small children. Can the House, in however an inattentive mood, pass over the thought that no more terrible, no more horrible start in life could be given to the poor little mites than the fact that they 395 were the witnesses of their unfortunate mother's death, and that they were the direct instruments of sending their father to the gallows? I cannot, perhaps because I feel so strongly on this matter, put it in the words which will convince the. House, but I can assure it that so long as I can, in my miserable small way, have the power to do so, I shall struggle on that account alone to have this horrible, this ghastly, responsibility which we all take upon ourselves removed, and which
§ I consider is a blot upon any civilised nation
§ Sir F. BANBURYThe right bon. Member for Platting (Mr. Clynes) opposed the last Bill and then ran away. I give notice that I shall oppose this Bill, and that I shall divide the House.
§ Question put, "That leave be given to bring in a Bill to abolish in Great Britain the award of capital punishment for any crime or offence whatsoever."
§ The House divided: Ayes, 86; Noes, 234.
397| Division No. 22.] | AYES. | [4.20 p.m. |
| Agg-Gardner, Sir James Tynte | Grundy, T. W. | Rees, Capt. J. Tudor- (Barnstaple) |
| Ammon, Charles George | Guest, J. (York, W.R., Hemsworth) | Remer, J. R. |
| Astor, Viscountess | Hall, F. (York, W.R., Normanton) | Rendall, Athelstan |
| Barker, G. (Monmouth, Abertillery) | Halls, Walter | Richardson, R. (Houghton-le-Spring) |
| Barnes, Rt. Hon. G. (Glas., Gorbals) | Hartshorn, Vernon | Roberts, Frederick O. (W. Bromwich) |
| Barnes, Major H. (Newcastle, E.) | Hayday, Arthur | Robinson, S. (Brecon and Radnor) |
| Barton, Sir William (Oldham) | Hayward, Evan | Royce, William Stapleton |
| Bell, James (Lancaster, Ormskirk) | Henderson, Rt. Hon. A (Widnes) | Sexton, James |
| Birchall, J. Dearman | Herbert, Col. Hon. A. (Yeovil) | Shaw, Hon Alex. (Kilmarnock) |
| Broad, Thomas Tucker | Hinds, John | Short, Alfred (Wednesbury) |
| Brown, James (Ayr and Bute) | Hirst, G. H. | Sutton, John Edward |
| Cairns, John | Hodge, Rt. Hon. John | Swan, J. E. |
| Cape, Thomas | Irving, Dan | Sykes, Sir Charles (Huddersfield) |
| Casey, T. W. | John, William (Rhondda, West) | Thomas, Rt. Hon. James H. (Derby) |
| Clynes, Rt. Hon. John R. | Johnstone, Joseph | Thomas, Sir Robert J. (Wrexham) |
| Coote, Colin Reith (Isle of Ely) | Jones, Sir Evan (Pembroke) | Thomson, T. (Middlesbrough, West) |
| Cowan, D. M. (Scottish Universities) | Jones, Morgan (Caerphilly) | Thorne, G. R. (Wolverhampton, E.) |
| Davies, Evan (Ebbw Vale) | Kennedy, Thomas | Thorne, W. (West Ham, Plaistow) |
| Davies, Rhys John (Westhoughton) | Kiley, James Daniel | Wallace, J. |
| Edwards, C. (Monmouth, Bedwellty) | Lindsay, William Arthur | Wedgwood, Colonel Josiah C. |
| Edwards, Major J. (Aberavon) | Lunn, William | Williams, Aneurin (Durham, Consett) |
| Finney, Samuel | McMicking, Major Gilbert | Williams, Col. P. (Middlesbrough, E.) |
| Gilbert, James Daniel | Malone, C. L. (Leyton, E.) | Wilson, James (Dudley) |
| Gillis, William | Moore-Brabazon, Lieut.-Col. J. T. C. | Wintringham, Margaret |
| Graham, D. M. (Lanark, Hamilton) | Myers, Thomas | Wood, Major M. M. (Aberdeen, C.) |
| Graham, R. (Nelson and Colne) | Naylor, Thomas Ellis | Young, Robert (Lancaster, Newton) |
| Graham, W. (Edinburgh, Central) | Newbould, Alfred Ernest | |
| Greenwood, William (Stockport) | Newman, Sir R. H. S. D. L. (Exeter) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Greig, Colonel Sir James William | Parkinson, John Allen (Wigan) | Major Christopher Lowther and Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy. |
| Griffiths, T. (Monmouth, Pontypool) | Poison, Sir Thomas A. | |
| NOES. | ||
| Acland, Rt. Hon. Francis D. | Britton, G. B. | Davison, Sir W. H. (Kensington, S.) |
| Adair, Rear-Admiral Thomas B. S. | Brown, Major D. C. | Dawson, Sir Philip |
| Adkins, Sir William Ryland Dent | Buchanan, Lieut.-Colonel A. L. H. | Dean, Commander P. T. |
| Ainsworth, Captain Charles | Buckley, Lieut.-Colonel A. | Dixon, Captain Herbert |
| Amery, Leopold C. M. S. | Burgoyne, Lt.-Col. Alan Hughes | Doyle, N. Grattan |
| Armitage, Robert | Burn, Col. C. R. (Devon, Torquay) | Ednam, Viscount |
| Atkey, A. R. | Butcher, Sir John George | Edwards, Hugh (Glam., Neath) |
| Bagley, Captain E. Ashton | Campbell, J. D. G. | Elliot, Capt. Walter E. (Lanark) |
| Baird, Sir John Lawrence | Carew, Charles Robert S. | Erskine, James Malcolm Monteith |
| Baldwin, Rt. Hon. Stanley | Carr, W. Theodore | Eyres-Monsell, Com. Bolton M. |
| Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J. (City of Lon.) | Carter, R. A. D. (Man., Withington) | Falle, Major Sir Bertram Godfray |
| Balfour, George (Hampstead) | Cautley, Henry Strother | Forrest, Walter |
| Barnston, Major Harry | Cecil, Rt. Hon. Evelyn (Birm., Aston) | Foxcroft, Captain Charles Talbot |
| Barrand, A. R. | Chadwick, Sir Robert Burton | Fraser, Major Sir Keith |
| Barrie, Sir Charles Coupar (Banff) | Chamberlain, Rt. Hn. J. A. (Birm. W.) | Fremantle, Lieut.-Colonel Francis E. |
| Bartley-Denniss, Sir Edmund Robert | Chamberlain, N. (Birm., Ladywood) | Galbraith, Samuel |
| Bell, Lieut.-Col. W. C. H. (Devizes) | Cheyne, Sir William Watson | Gange, E. Stanley |
| Bellairs, Commander Carlyon W. | Clough, Sir Robert | Gardiner, James |
| Benn, Capt. Sir I. H., Bart. (Gr'nw'h) | Coats, Sir Stuart | Gibbs, Colonel George Abraham |
| Bigland, Alfred | Cobb, Sir Cyril | Gilmour, Lieut.-Colonel Sir John |
| Bird, Sir William B. M. (Chichester) | Cockerill, Brigadier-General G. K. | Glanville, Harold James |
| Blake, Sir Francis Douglas | Colfox, Major Wm. Phillips | Glyn, Major Ralph |
| Borwick, Major G. O. | Colvin, Brig.-General Richard Beale | Grant, James Augustus |
| Bowyer, Captain G. W. E. | Conway, Sir W. Martin | Gray, Major Ernest (Accrington) |
| Boyd-Carpenter, Major A. | Craig, Captain C. C. (Antrim, South) | Green, Joseph F. (Leicester, W.) |
| Bramsdon, Sir Thomas | Craik, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry | Greene, Lt.-Col. Sir W. (Hackn'y, N.) |
| Brassey, H. L. C. | Curzon, Captain Viscount | Greenwood, Rt. Hon. Sir Hamar |
| Breese, Major Charles E. | Davidson, J. C. C. (Hemel Hempstead) | Gregory, Holman |
| Bridgeman, Rt. Hon. William Clive | Davies, Thomas (Cirencester) | Gretton, Colonel John |
| Guest, Capt. Rt. Hon. Frederick E. | Maddocks, Henry | Roundell, Colonel R. F. |
| Guinness, Lieut.-Col. Hon. W. E. | Magnus, Sir Philip | Rutherford, Colonel Sir J. (Darwen) |
| Gwynne, Rupert S. | Matthews, David | Samuel, A. M. (Surrey, Farnham) |
| Hacking, Captain Douglas H. | Mildmay, Colonel Rt. Hon. F. B. | Sanders, Colonel Sir Robert Arthur |
| Hall, Rr-Adml Sir W. (Liv'p'l, W. D'by) | Molson, Major John Eisdale | Scott, Sir Samuel (St. Marylebone) |
| Hamilton, Major C. G. C. | Mond, Rt. Hon. Sir Alfred Moritz | Seely, Major-General Rt. Hon. John |
| Hancock, John George | Moore, Major-General Sir Newton J. | Sharman-Crawford, Robert G. |
| Harmsworth, Hon. E. C. (Kent) | Moreing, Captain Algernon H. | Shaw, William T. (Forfar) |
| Harris, Sir Henry Percy | Morrison, Hugh | Simm, M. T. |
| Henderson, Lt.-Col. V. L. (Tradeston) | Morrison-Bell, Major A. C. | Smithers, Sir Alfred W. |
| Hennessy, Major J. R. G. | Mount, Sir William Arthur | Sprot, Colonel Sir Alexander |
| Herbert, Dennis (Hertford, Watford) | Munro, Rt. Hon. Robert | Starkey, Captain John Ralph |
| Hilder, Lieut.-Colonel Frank | Murchison, C. K. | Steel, Major S. Strang |
| Hoare, Lieut.-Colonel Sir S. J. G. | Murray, Hon. A. C. (Aberdeen) | Stewart, Gershom |
| Holbrook, Sir Arthur Richard | Murray, Hon. Gideon (St. Rollox) | Sueter, Rear-Admiral Murray Fraser |
| Hope, Lt.-Col. Sir J. A. (Midlothian) | Murray, John (Leeds, West) | Sugden, W. H. |
| Hopkins, John W. W. | Murray, William (Dumfries) | Taylor, J. |
| Hopkinson, A. (Lancaster, Mossley) | Nail, Major Joseph | Thomas-Stanford, Charles |
| Horne, Edgar (Surrey, Guildford) | Neal, Arthur | Thomson, F. C. (Aberdeen, South) |
| Houston, Sir Robert Patterson | Nicholson, Brig.-Gen. J. (Westminster) | Tickler, Thomas George |
| Howard, Major S. G. | Nicholson, William G. (Petersfield) | Townley, Maximilian G. |
| Hudson, R. M. | Norman, Major Rt. Hon. Sir Henry | Townshend, Sir Charles Vere Ferrers |
| Hunter, General Sir A. (Lancaster) | Oman, Sir Charles William C. | Tryon, Major George Clement |
| Hurst, Lieut.-Colonel Gerald B | O'Neill, Rt. Hon. Hugh | Turton, Edmund Russborough |
| Jackson, Lieut.-Colonel Hon. F. S. | Ormsby-Gore, Hon. William | Vickers, Douglas |
| James, Lieut.-Colonel Hon. Cuthbert | Pain, Brig.-Gen. Sir W. Hacket | Waddington, R. |
| Jephcott, A. R. | Parker, James | Ward, Col. L. (Kingston-upon-Hull) |
| Kelley, Major Fred (Rotherham) | Pearce, Sir William | Warner, Sir T. Courtenay T. |
| King, Captain Henry Douglas | Peel, Col. Hn. S. (Uxbridge, Mddx.) | Weston, Colonel John Wakefield |
| Kinloch-Cooke, Sir Clement | Pennefather, De Fonblanque | Wheler, Col. Granville C. H. |
| Lambert, Rt. Hon. George | Percy, Lord Eustace (Hastings) | White, Col. G. D. (Southport) |
| Larmor, Sir Joseph | Perkins, Walter Frank | Willey, Lieut.-Colonel F. V. |
| Lister, Sir R. Ashton | Perring, William George | Williams, C. (Tavistock) |
| Lloyd, George Butler | Philipps, Sir Owen C. (Chester, City) | Williamson, Rt. Hon. Sir Archibald |
| Lloyd-Greame, Sir P. | Pilditch, Sir Philip | Willoughby, Lieut.-Col. Hon. Claud |
| Locker-Lampson, G. (Wood Green) | Pinkham, Lieut.-Colonel Charles | Wilson, Rt. Hon. J. W. (Stourbridge) |
| Locker-Lampson, Com. O. (H'tingd'n) | Pollock, Rt. Hon. Sir Ernest Murray | Wilson, Colonel Leslie O. (Reading) |
| Lort-Williams, J. | Pownall, Lieut.-Colonel Assheton | Wilson, Col. M. J. (Richmond) |
| Loseby, Captain C. E. | Preston, W. R. | Windsor, Viscount |
| Lowe, Sir Francis William | Raeburn, Sir William H. | Winterton, Earl |
| Lowther, Maj.-Gen. Sir C. (Penrith) | Ratcliffe, Henry Butler | Wolmer, Viscount |
| Loyd, Arthur Thomas (Abingdon) | Rawlinson, John Frederick Peel | Yate, Colonel Sir Charles Edward |
| Macdonald, Rt. Hon. John Murray | Rees, Sir J. D. (Nottingham, East) | Yeo, Sir Alfred William |
| Mackinder, Sir H. J. (Camlachie) | Remnant, Sir James | Young, Sir Frederick W. (Swindon) |
| McLaren, Hon. H. D. (Leicester) | Richardson, Sir Alex. (Gravesend) | Young, W. (Perth & Kinross, Perth) |
| McLaren, Robert (Lanark, Northern) | Roberts, Samuel (Hereford, Hereford) | Younger, Sir George |
| M'Lean, Lieut.-Col. Charles W. W. | Roberts, Sir S. (Sheffield, Ecclesall) | |
| McNeill Ronald (Kent, Canterbury) | Robinson, Sir T. (Lancs., Stretford) | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.— |
| Macpherson, Rt. Hon. James I. | Rodger, A. K. | Sir F. Banbury and Sir W. H. Cowan. |
| Macquisten, F. A. | Rose, Frank H. |