CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SIR,—The Home Secretary has asked his Advisory Council
on the Treatment of Offenders, of which I am Chairman, to consider whether there are grounds for re-introducing any form of corporal punishment as a judicial penalty in respect of any categories of offences and of offenders. Much has been said and written about this controversial subject, but in order that we can ourselves consider the arguments which weigh with the public on one side of the controversy or the other the Council are anxious to hear directly from persons and organisations who have already formed their own views on it. We have already invited evidence from a number of the organisations likely to be most closely interested, but we think that there may be other organisations, as well as private indivi- duals, whose views would be of some help to us in reaching our conclusions. If any of your readers would like to help the Council in this way, I should be grateful if they would send a brief statement of their views to the Secretary, Advisory Council on the Treatment of Offenders, Home Office, Whitehall, London, SW1.—Yours faithfully, PATRICK BARRY Royal Courts of Justice, WC2
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