HL Deb 08 July 1897 vol 50 c1335

If, before the expiration of the term of such imprisonment, such a proportion of the fine be paid that the term of imprisonment suffered is not less than proportional to the part of the fine still unpaid, the imprisonment shall terminate.

*THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE moved the omission of this clause. He said it was inserted in the House of Commons, and, as was pointed out on the Second Reading, it came before the House in a shape in which it could not possibly be allowed to stand. Since then attention had been called to the fact that a Bill promoted by the Home Department was now before the other House dealing with the prisons question, in one clause of which power would be taken in cases of persons imprisoned for non-payment of fines to accept a portion of the amount and to reduce the term of imprisonment by a number of days bearing the same proportion to the whole length of the term as the sum paid bore to the whole amount of the fine. The point was one which could be more conveniently dealt with by amendment of the general law, and therefore he proposed to omit t he clause altogether.

Clause struck out.

Clause 3,—

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