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The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. / From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria cover

The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. / From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria

Chapter 822: MOTIONS TO REFORM THE CRIMINAL LAW.
By Edward Farr
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About This Book

The volume traces British political, parliamentary, and military developments from the accession of George III through the early nineteenth century, chronicling changes of ministry and cabinet, debates over colonial taxation and the American conflict, parliamentary controversies involving figures such as Wilkes and Warren Hastings, questions of Catholic relief and slave-trade abolition, and responses to the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, including major naval and continental campaigns, the union with Ireland, and domestic legislation on finance, civil liberties, and parliamentary reform.

MOTIONS TO REFORM THE CRIMINAL LAW.

On the 21st of May Sir James Mackintosh renewed his efforts to reform our criminal code. He moved a series of resolutions on the subject; and though these were rejected, four bills were afterwards brought in to the same effect by Mr. Peel. By these bills government was enabled to employ convicts in hard labour, and the judges were relieved from the obligation of passing sentence of death on certain malefactors, except in case of murder. Subsequently Mr. Lennard obtained leave to bring in a bill to abolish the old and barbarous law which sentenced the corpse of one guilty of felo de se to be buried at two cross-roads with a stake driven through it; leaving the burial to be performed in private, without the ceremonies of the church.