THE MARQUESS OF WESTMEATHpresented a Bill to amend the law for the punishment of the offence of rape. His Lordship said, that when a Peer, neither connected with the profession of the law, nor holding office, undertook a matter of this nature, he ought to give sufficient reasons for doing it. He would, therefore, remind their Lordships that when, many years ago, the law on the subject of capital punishments was revised, and the punishment of death for rape abolished, he thought the step so monstrous, that he and another noble Lord, now no more, agreed to offer every opposition in their power to the progress of the measure; and both at the first and second readings their opposition proved so effectual that the measure was carried by majorities of one only in such instance. They felt, as he still felt, that the female sex had not sufficient protection by law in many cases of this description, and that doing away with the punishment of death, without regard to the variety of incidents that might accompany the commission of the offence, was most inconsiderate and inexpedient. He knew it was said at the time that juries could not be got to convict for rape when the punishment was death. He thought at the time, and he still thought, that if a jury chose to disregard the evidence, and disregard their oaths, they were at liberty to do so; but this was no ground, no real reason, for the alteration of the law which was then made. A jury might see some special circumstance to induce them to make a distinction; but that was no reason for doing away with the punishment which time out of mind had been assigned to this abominable offence. However, the alteration was made. But under this altered state of the law, he thought there were cases in which some discrimination should be made between those cases, and cases of 1530 an ordinary character. For example, at the late assizes at Sligo, several young men had been found guilty of seizing a young girl at the dead of night, and carrying her off to have her ruin accomplished by one of their companions. They were all sentenced to four years' penal servitude, and the principal offender had previously been sentenced to penal servitude for life. The victim of their brutality, a young girl of respectable appearance, was described as presenting a pitiful spectacle when brought up to give her evidence, and it was only by the repeated administration of stimulants that she could be kept from fainting while telling her story. Here was a case in which the present state of the law was obviously inadequate for the protection of the female sex. In such a case a jury could never refuse to bring in a verdict against the offenders. The proposition which he submitted in his Bill was, that where there were more persons than one concerned in the perpetration of the offence, the punishment should always include whipping. The noble Marquess then presented "A Bill for the Amendment of the Law in Cases of Rape."
§ Bill read 1a, and to be printed. [No. 22.]