and other large cities and towns, which are open in the summer only, must be shut up, and the guests dismissed, under a penalty on them and the occupiers, at ten o'clock, P. M.

15. Skittles, pins, shuffle-boards, cards, dice, drafts, &c. not to be suffered in public houses after day-light.

16. There should be a day-watch, as well as a night-watch, in every parish. The former should be relieved, or changed, every four hours. The latter should be relieved every two hours in winter, and every four hours in summer. They should occupy the same walk, or district, as seldom as possible; thereby to prevent the opportunity of getting acquainted in the parish, and leaguing in villany with the servants, or apprentices, in the neighbourhood.

17. A penalty to be inflicted on all watchmen who are found putting up window-shutters, or doing domestic work for any of the parishioners, during watch hours.

18. In addition to the night-watch, there should be a horsepatrole at the different great avenues to London, Westminster, and Southwark.

19. The same parochial committee, (No. 7.) shall superintend the watchmen and patrole every night; shall march them, like a relief-guard, to their several stations, walks, or districts; and shall also preside at their respective watch-houses.

20. All lodging-houses should be registred, under a penalty, and an account taken of their lodgers.

21. Lamp-lighters to trim, or prepare, their lamps, before eight o'clock, A. M. in summer, and before nine, A.M. in winter, under a severe penalty: and to ply all night at their respective watch-houses, for the purpose of relighting such lamps as are extinguished during the night.

22. Link boys not to be allowed on any account.

23. No soldier ever to appear without his uniform.

24. A strict eye to be kept on livery-stable keepers; and no person suffered to hire a horse, &c. without giving his name and address; which, under a penalty on both sides, must be inquired into.

25. There is a certain set of officers at all fairs, who are appointed to take a description of all horses which are brought to the fair; but who neglect so to do. Were these descriptions entered in a proper office, in Smithfield, of the horses brought to the London markets, persons who had horses stolen from them would apply there.-The buyer and seller ought to pay a small tax at the time of sale; and the horses should not be exposed in any other way, than as black cattle are in Smithfield; that is, fastened to a rail or rope. There are hundreds of horse-dealers, in England, who never took out a licence for such traffic, though expressly required so to do by the law. These persons parade their horses through the fairs; but the magistrates and constables pay no attention to them. Every dealer in horses should shew his licence to the last turnpike-keeper, previous to his going into the fair; and, moreover, should apply to the magistrates, or proper officers, to inspect his stock of horses, and look at his licence.

26. The police offices to be open from nine till nine.

27. The present number of constables, or runners to the police offices, is by no means sufficient.

28. A prosecuting barrister, or two, with three attornies, should be appointed and paid by government, to conduct suits for crimes committed, for all injured persons, whose circumstances will not permit them to undertake the expence.

29. The penalty for forfeiture of recognisances should be considerably increased, and the payment always enforced.

30. The money granted to poor prosecutors and witnesses, who come from distant parts of the country, for the purpose of defraying their expenses of travelling, loss of time, &c. is not sufficient, consequently many felous escape punishment.

31. The city of London should provide a house of correction for their own prisoners. The want of such a house is the cause of keeping so many prisoners in Newgate, who are sentenced to fines and short imprisonment: by which confinement, they are not only instructed and confirmed in all methods of plundering; but may also endanger the public health. Women particularly ought to be speedily removed.

Progress of the bills for abolishing the punishment of death, for stealing in dwelling-houses to the amount of 40s.; for stealing privately in a shop to the amount of 5s. and for stealing upon navigable rivers.

June 29th, 1808. On the motion of Sir S. Romilly the following papers were ordered:

1st, A return of the number of persons, male or female, committed to the several gaols in England or Wales for trial at the different sessions or assizes in the years 1801, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, distinguishing the crimes with which they were respectively charged; and the numbers severally convicted, acquitted, or discharged by proclamation, or by reason of no bill being found against them; and the sentences of such as were convicted who have been executed; and distinguishing particularly in each year the number of persons, male and female, committed for privately

stealing in a shop or warehouse to the amount of five shillings, and of those committed for stealing in a dwelling-house to the amount of forty shillings; and of those committed for stealing cloth from bleaching grounds to the amount of ten shillings; and the numbers indicted for such several offences, and the numbers convicted capitally upon such indictments, and the numbers of those so capitally convicted who have been executed in each of such years. 2. A return of the number of persons, male or female, committed to the several gaols in England and Wales for trial at the several quarter sessions in the said years, distinguishing the crimes with which they were respectively charged; and the numbers severally convicted, acquitted, or discharged upon proclamation, or by reason of there not being any bills found against them; together with the sentences of such as were convicted. 3. A return of the number of persons, male or female, who received sentence of transportation at the different sessions, assizes, and quarter-sessions in England and Wales in the said years, distinguishing the number transported for seven or fourteen years, or for life. 4. A return of the number of persons, male or female, who have been transported as criminals to New South Wales since the first establishment of the colony; specifying the term for which each person was transported; the date and place of the conviction; and the time of embarkation for New South Wales. 5. A return of the number of persons, who being under sentence of transportation, have, in each year, since the year 1780, died in the hulks.

No return was made to the house.

May 26, 1809.-Sir Samuel Romilly rose to revive a motion he had made in the last session, for a return of the number of persons who had been committed to the various prisons throughout the united kingdom for a certain number of years, in order to be tried

for capital and transportable offences) specifying such as were convicted, such as underwent the sentence of the law, and such as were pardoned, or their punishments commuted for others of lesser severity; and his object in this motion was, to submit for the consideration and adoption of the legislature, but not before the next session, a measure for mitigating the severity of the criminal laws, and better securing the certainty of punishment for actual guilt. As to the return necessary, he should go back to the year 1802. What he wished chiefly to know was, the number of persons who were convicted of capital and transportable offences, distinguishing those who had suffered the sentence of the law; but he found great difficulty in obtaining any correct information on the subject at the office of the Secretary of State. It appeared there, that from 1802 to 1808 the number of males committed for stealing in dwelling houses was 499, and the number of females 414; and out of the number of 913, it did not appear that more than one was executed; but there were no means of ascertaining how many of the remainder were convicted, or how they were disposed of. With a view, therefore, to distinguish what was the practice compared with the law, he should move for a return of the number of persons committed for trial in the several counties for the years 1805, 1806, 1807, and 1808, distinguishing the crimes for which they were committed, the number convicted, the punishment inflicted, the number discharged by proclamation, and the number executed. The next return wanted was the whole number sentenced to transportation to New South Wales, with the several periods of their transportations from the time of its first establishment. There was another point on this head most material for consideration; namely, the time usually allowed to elapse after sentence, before those persons are sent out of the country, a time often approaching to the period limited by their sentence, and during which they were generally imprisoned on board the hulks. It would therefore be necessary to move for the dates of the several convictions, the numbers who died on board the hulks, and the dates of departure for New South Wales. He thought the long continuance on board the hulks a mischievous practice, and that this