66

testimony.

the outcasts of society:- -"Lo," said an elder brother, Scripture Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandments; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends; but as soon as this thy son was come, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost and is found."

disabilities.

§ 7. Having then briefly, and, we trust, satisfactorily, Legal discussed the "pro" and the "con" of certain features of these schools and institutions, there remain for consideration sundry difficulties in the way of the promoters of this great social movement of the age. These will be found to be connected with certain qualifications which the Legislature alone can bestow; and support, which it is desirable the Government should aid society in furnishing. But before even legislative sanction can afford any material assistance, public feeling should be raised against the low penny theatres and dancing-rooms, the lodging-houses, which have been shown to be the most awful haunts of vice. The former would require the strong arm of the law to put them down, not as places of amusement, but as infernal machines for the destruction of life and property. The latter would, in a great measure, be accomplished by the vigorous enforcement of our sanitary laws.

imprisonment

Secondly. Government must relinquish its claim to Juvenile apprehend and imprison the juvenile portion of the com- abandoned. munity. On this subject the opinion of a member of our legislature will be of greater value, than the opinions of private individuals. "There is," says R. Monckton Milnes,

*Luke xv. 29-32.

Esq., M.P., "evidently something which prevents the public mind from appreciating the extent and the intensity of the evil, and disinclines it to the remedies we propose. I believe this difficulty will be best met, by every one of you in his own private circle, in intercourse with his dearest friends and in general society, expressing the feelings, and stating the facts which you (the various speakers at the Birmingham Conference) have done here. You may be aware that I brought this matter under the notice of the House of Commons; I then found that the very basis had to be laid on which to construct my argument. There was wanting even the recognition of the plain and palpable truth of the distinction between juvenile offences and adult crimes.* The distinction which every man then present made daily, in his private life, he was unwilling to draw, with regard to public interest. I believe I may say, that in no country in Europe, does this moral confusion exist, except in our own. The Code Napoleon, on this point only, ratified the conscience of civilized Europe. I regard the painful exception of this country, as a remnant of that old penal legislation, so fierce in its retributions, and so lavish of the blood of the criminal, which it has taken years of philanthropic effort to mitigate and modify. We would wish to do for the child what Romilly and Wilberforce, Macintosh and Brougham, have done for the man."+ In France, the support given and the concessions already made, show "that the Government acknowledges the defects of the system of correction

* A visible change of opinion is, we are glad to find, taking place. Lord Palmerston is reported to have said (Aug. 1, 1853), "The objects of the Legislature in dealing with criminals, were threefold. In some

cases example, in others example coupled with reformation, and in others purely reformation. With regard to children, reformation must be considered the prime object, and example a matter of secondary importance."

† Report of Conference.

adopted in the prisons of the state, that it has not confidence in its own establishments. It seeks the aid of private ones even at considerable sacrifices. Indeed, it has done more, it has transferred the power which the law had given to the State alone, to keep and educate these children, to those private institutions."* It is apparent, therefore, that public opinion must be made to bear upon the legislature, and the thing is accomplished. The absolute necessity of such a concession is set forth in the strongest possible light by the statements already furnished from every quarter, of the serious evils inflicted upon the whole community by juvenile imprisonment. It is in vain that ragged schools, and kindred institutions, are established for the repression of juvenile depravity, while the Government lavishly supports a system, which, more than anything else, aggravates the character, and extends the number of juvenile delinquents.

body.

Thirdly. When Government has relinquished its hold a responsible upon the criminal children of the community, the next step to be taken is to invest responsible parties with certain powers for the benefit of juvenile delinquents. An Act is required to enable the judge or the magistrate to sentence convicted children, either at once to the schools of a penal reformatory character, or to the prison, and to the school: the former part of the sentence being kept in abeyance, as conditional upon the conduct shown at the reformatory institution. The imprisonment should be held in suspense, until either the average period required for reformation has expired, without encouragement; or, in some cases (as for example, when the delinquent is of tender age), till the minority has passed away. In France and America, as has been shown, the power is enjoyed without evil effects. To imprison, however, as some have proposed, for a short term, and then to transfer the pri* Appendix to Col. Jebb's Report, 1852.

The indifference of the legislature.

The state of

House

Lords.

lamented Rushton endeavoured to form some such a body out of the corporation. If to such parties the gaol chaplain were added, for the present, at least, a sufficiently respectable and responsible body would be formed to exercise these powers, with guarantees to the public against unconstitutional interference.

In passing to another important topic, it may be observed that though want of information, indifference to the subject, and reluctance to concede the points in question, have characterized the House of Commons, a better tone of feeling is perceptible in the House of Lords, and very strong feelings exist among many of our judges and magistrates.

The committee of the House of Lords, reporting on the feeling in the evidence laid before it in 1847, made the following declaration:-"The committee are disposed to recommend the adoption by way of trial of the reformatory asylums;" also, "the trial of a suggestion made by witnesses, who have given much attention to the subject, that whether it is possible part of the cost attending the conviction and punishment of juvenile offenders should be legally chargeable upon their parents. There seems, in the general opinion, to be no other means that affords even a chance of lessening the number of offenders and diminishing the atrocity of their crimes. . . . . Without raising any speculative questions on the right to punish those whom the State has left in ignorance, it may safely be affirmed, that the duty of all rulers is both to prevent, as far as may be possible, the necessity of punishing, and when they do inflict punishment, to attempt reformation. The committee, therefore, strongly recommend the adoption of effectual measures, for diffusing generally, and by permanent provisions, the inestimable benefits of good training and of sound, moral, and religious instruction; while they also urge the duty of improving exten

sively the discipline of the gaols and other places of confinement."*

judges and

It has been also shown before, that great reluctance to Among our commit children to our gaols has been evinced by the magistrates. members of our judicial courts. Many of our recorders have yielded to their better judgment, and preferred various means of disposing of children to the usual plan of sentencing to imprisonment. This is a matter of notoriety at Gloucester and Birmingham. At the Conference, to which frequent references have been made in these pages, the following touching appeal was made by the chairman of the meeting:-"The learned Recorder of Ipswich and myself have another reason-you may call it selfish, perhaps for coming here. Doubtless you may sometimes think of those wretched children, but you need not see them. You need not go into their quarters, which are far removed from yours; and when you meet them in the streets you can lean back in your carriages until you have passed on. Except from the impulse of your hearts, you are not called upon to take any part in the great work before you. But they are brought to us face to face. We must endure to behold these little creatures-to see them on tip-toe, raising their eyes over the bar, and meeting the gaze of the pitying spectators, with an indifference revolting at any age, but doubly painful to witness at this early period. And while we are but too conscious for our own peace of mind, that their fate is placed in our hands, we feel that we are compelled to carry into operation an

Since the above was written, the Committee of Council on Education have intimated their willingness to apprentice a ragged-school boy on the ordinary terms, provided he has, for a reasonable period of time, manifested teaching qualities. Grants for books, maps, &c., and for the erection or hire of workshops, are authorized, and also certain annnal fees to the masters of industrial schools.

†M. D. Hill, Esq.