PEEL

Peel was considered one of the rising stars of the Tory party, first entering the cabinet in 1822 as Home Secretary. In that role he introduced a number of important reforms of British criminal law: most memorably establishing the Metropolitan Police Force He also reformed the criminal law, reducing the number of crimes punishable by death, and simplified it by repealing a large number of criminal statutes and consolidating their provisions into what are known as Peel's Acts. He reformed the gaol system, introducing payment for gaolers and education for the inmates. Sir George COCKBURN (1772-1853) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a captain, he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars. He commanded the naval support at the invasion of Martinique in February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars.