The Press. — London, England, 1853-09-17 00:00:00

SEPTEMBER 17, 1853. working under the influence of panic, what ought to be done by the steady and searching hand of authority. Against direct Govern ment interference in such a case as this there can be no jealous feeling : because it is the manifest interest of all to abate what are pub lic nuisances. as well as generators of this fell disease. The remarks of the coroner on the ease in the parish of St. George the Martyr. where the victim died in all atmosphere poi soned by knackers, bone-boilers, anti catgut makers, painfully illustrate the pantivsed con dition of authority in this diffieulty. The local i nithorities complained that the Board of Health withheld the necessary powers, and the Board of Health explained that their de lay arose front awaiting the order of the Privy lout wit ; so that. amidst all these checks on at possible eXt'eSSiVe action of power. the active eilllSeS of the disease are left without any cheek at all. Surely, in a case of and 41eath like , this. all these absurd restrictions might be dispensed with, and the application of the remedy be entrusted to some one vigorous hand, made directly responsible for the result. The existing machinery. however ctooplicated. must be made use of at present : and all con current testimony goes to show that not a day should be lost, or we may be once more deso latedby a calamity which on two prey' casions so largely depopulated the community. 1.4)141 PALM ERSToN, With his usual Las in last night's Go:-cife. the im mediate enforeement of the Nuisances Act, the 11 th and 12th Victoria. Will this verbal vigour be copied in deed? Past experience has shown the oempanitive uselessness of what is culled piddle l i 11l in permanently remedying these evils. Whether the blame rests with the Geyer arnent as re presented by the Board o f H ea l t h , or w i t h the local luitheritie.. or less h.'with the ratepayers, mat -4 • . a te to the result. We should lie sorry to assert that selfishness, born of immediate fear. had led to preeautions, which were abandoned in apathy an4l intlitferenee so soon as the dan ger was over. Yet sueli a construction might. not uncharitably, be put. on the collapse of all that fussy philanthropy which was so rift. and rampant some four 4)1• five years ago. Ts it consistent with Christian duty, or with com mon sense, that in the heart of this great me tropolis of civilisation, and in too many of the large et amtry towns. the advent of cholera shall be in a manner invited by the prepare.. tion of whole districts, thickly populated. wherein it can nestle and germinate" TLe third warning has again found us unprepared, except with a law whose complieated ma chinery renders it. all but inoperative. roi• immediate purposes that law may be p u tt in flWee lint as the disease, if it should spread. would Lwow° a national calamity. we are forcibly enjoined to tho conclusion that the retuedy should be national and general also. " BRIGADE" 11011ALITY MR. Commisiuusiot MuttenY has retaliated on Mr. MAGI:mt.:, who has otii.red his rejoinder. As both these gentlemen date from " Cork," let us hope they are not in dangerous proxi• mitt'. When we left them last week, Mr. MAorm: had indignantly repelled Mr Mummy's alle gation that he of to support the Govern ment, as an equivalent for Mr. HAYTER'S invited persuasion of Mr. O'FLAIIERTY to libilThioll the Dungarvan petition. Now, we have Mr. Melt- PRY'S reply, which he Seeing not to heave penned in a state of ,judicial eoolness. When men are angry they will let slip bad grammar : and so Mr. Nit: Mini begins by " trusting that " he is too much if a gentleman to bandy " 'the lie ' with Mr. MAGUIRE." But he got. on to charge Mr. Maoriat: with "raising a " false issue," in " assuming that the equi " valent alluded to was contained in his " letter written from Cor;:." " The equivalent," he further says, •• was offered two months " before, when he requested me to crave the interference of Mr. lIAYTEIt, and authorised " Hie to assure him that he IMr. MAGUIRE) " would not oppose the Government." And. further, Mr. MURPHY asks, " Did Mr. MAGUIRE " retract what he authorised me to state to " Mr. IlayrEa ? Surely, unless the man was " u foul, he could not suppose that I would " welt the Duke of NEwCASTLE to interfere for " a political opponent ?" THE PRESS. \lt\ MAGUIRE, ill his reply, is still more in- I abound than Mr. MURPIIY, even to the extent of describing " the learned sergeant as liar mg been at that time for the Ministry some - what that at touter' is to an hotel amd, maireover, speaking of the full and implicit eontidence of friendly intercourse with one • who was known to entertain, and to profess ▪ ostentatiously in public. the most lax politi eal morals, - and of his (Mr. Mvairtur.) having been weak enough to behese that he would " never have violated private confidence." On the other hand, Mr. Mr arily's letter says, " When Nlr. 011.AllEaTY and his friends refused to uerrdr to Mr. !lAN - ma's request. " alleging as a reason that Mr. MAGUIRE had broken his soletnnly-pledged word to Mr. " 011 A m:wry. in Is:r1, it was then supposed that the Duke of NEIVcAsTI.I: would be t 1111 l • successful." We are not let into the secret of the broken pledge - of Is:r1; but Mr. NlAoutat: at least adhered to the eompaet of I !": . ):1 seeing that he resigned and stood again. in the full belief that Mr. O'FLAIIERTY WaS once MOW to he his antagonist. Out of this disereditable bandying of per sonalities it is difficult to grasp the facts, or even the specific charges. We do not perceive anything new. Mr MURPHY asserts that Mr. Mmartay, ofierea " not to oppose the' GOVVVII- Mein," a " calumny - which the latter denies both by assertion anal argument. Ile supposed that the offer was held to have been c ontained in rt letter written t'VOIll Cork, and eltallenged proauction of such letter. Mr. Mummy says this is raising at false issue, but refers to a period two months anterior. Mr. MAinliar. re affirms his belief that at the time Mr. Mummy was arting as a friend; anal. while denying any complicity in the alleged bargain, protests against the t StaliFlll(4ll.l4 as a breach of !Whine (41111410 We. It is still ink- Possible to Understand why this iillehtion was raised by 111 r. :Mummy, after Nlr. NlAlluiat: had completed his contract with Mr. 01'1.AM:till% by resigning his seat anal obtaining his re election.—milems, indeed, to rover the dis eoinfiture of the hawk " that has not plaited the other hawk's eyes out. The only clearly admitted tact on both sides is, that. Mr. MCIIPIIY, having no interest whatever in the dispute, save us the friend of Mr. MAnUIRE oil the one side and of his antagonist on the other, did unsuccessfully negotiate a bargain for the transfaT to the Government of a v o te professedly independent, in return for at gua• ranter against certain prrsullul anal even peen- Mary ineamveniences. At least, this seems the Ilatllllll el MSIIIIIIIIII4 111 1 5 11 1 fi l l the recur • 11i ," 11111 I 1111 OW expression " Surely. " unless the man was a 11,01, he could not "suppose that I would ask the Duke of NEw " CASTLE to interfaTe for it political 1 pponent." PUNISHMENT AND I►IUSON DISCIPLINE. THE Borough 084'1 ham yielded up its secrets, miller the inquisitorial screw of a Co Imiiiissiiiii ; 111141 a system is laid bare suggestive of sail and terrible reflectii MM. It is only of bite years that the State, shamed by philanthropists, has adopted I'll'll the 111111 it eating for the well-being of prisoners. Ven geance was abandoned as the principle of punishment, and reformati'm stood next after satisfying justice. haws were passed, and speeches were math siaun the laws the sake of the speeches, noire often the speeches for the sake of the laws ; and it was looped that public and individual fi.eling would I'o-operate t.• eithiret. the sa%ing tendete Vies of the 111'W corrective 111111 l'11 . 1)111111t1/17 ((4411'. Sea .1111110 y , the State hits secured only Chinese kind of 4 )11('Ilil'ill . t . . W4', too, have our mandarins, who will talk and write, and report it superficial observance, but wilt' will really neglect their linty. permitting. if not iteting, the very tyrannies the law ei )11414.tumm. A system of regular cheeks had been established. What with the visiting justices, the inspectors of prisons, the Home (dike, and', finally, that impalpable protect''r of the oppressed called public opinion, it was improbable that cruelty within a prison eould pass unknown at least, even if not arriAted. Yet, in this Birmingham Borough Gaol, under the pretence of enforcing discipline, 459 punishments have been rest.rted t o utterly trustriiting the benevolent intentions of the Legislature. Capital punishment, anti tui uur Lut 11:11'sh intlit'lliblls,llaVe abo11 14 1104.0111) . tonna 11 hltbstilllie in relined illtbile* 01 torture. Wretelit..have been saved from the hangmans hand, only to the by their own. l'itt - on the conduct of the governor tt withhold NH 00111011 at present. but do not feel ottrsel'es debarred from summing up a few of the charges against the system of the gaol. .14.- eturtlilig to Lieut. At.s.rus's out it ailnkissions. having been on haul terms itlt Captain O%Oeil it:. his predecessor, he, tu el% e tltat ottiecr hail left, entered in the " journal " of the prison intikishntents ar hat iiig been intlieted by hint ; the 4110(41 to show that the nett go% ennui. was not littlEtt severe titan the ohl. .‘1 . 1411N utl- Stilts 11 N 11, I\'llhulll hearing prisoners' dcletkees, he used to senteitee them to bread and wino.; that he inteutliet priSe biter!. iii 111 tiller spOt ite.Z nit lt their friends; that he illegally punished prisoners for Speaking t la her the yard that prissuners twice et nit ietell a ere kept till the elOhe a the day whereon their sentences expired, instead of luring ills charged its the morning ; lulu, finally, he dill not j record in the proper 'honk these e t pliniShitient S, SO that there was no et itletkee lU arrest the lit t ent tilt' 111 itile•olliee. yet one dash of these punishments- -working at " crank" all day without food- -besides luring sit turn to he exhaustive, did actually ark e one victim to siliettle. and others to at tempt it. One tinfortnickte boy. fifteen years old. haul a right ter :tiloS, Wit the crank. with Wilit'll it \\ll `t 111,11011 eistilltit Ills ill IL 413 ,. ; yet the 'wit:oiler tins not to bunch food tatkul if so, then only bread and %%Merl till the task was done. 'this lalsatr, together %% lilt frequent applications of the "strait-jacket " and the " collar and sitars both %%milky a Nate in it 11111S1'11111 0l Iht' 111411111.iii11011 — alio% e the WlllOll4l pristtller to 4.4ii ii mit rlllelde. That eriuu %%;I• hutt e d 44 frrynrut in the gaol. Between Nlarch, I`llll, and Ortolicr, 11+.1I. Lieut. At'writ4 states there were flit. Unit het Weeit the latter littit• and M 111111, 4 :13, till ! The steins, even .I....,waing It' the 1441V0171i0r II iinSelf. to have inere,tsu ul nr IleereaSell Milt the greater Or less working of these " cranks." This is only a i4lllllpir tug the s) !AVM. MO ")111111iS" , i 41 111'Ir 5 its It tail, s it it rt'i tali point ; 111441115 i% if they hail gone into all till.' 4•1111114 Cs. 1111.11' lllVcmtigiltilusi Odd hit% a been " int ATM i Tilos,. cruelties of discipline, nolo' nal., alibi*, the t.aol. well' 11111 g. 11111 11111 g. 1111111111%11 to the. Miter Wllllll. Tile hlll'gl'llll 41141 not fulfil the linty preserilled (ui Minn by the bra, bc- Candi', hail Ili' 41011 e so, lit' illiVi• " gi% tip all his other practice - - al l itllll.l' 1 411'0144 proof of the impoliry 111 parhimonions remuneration t,, gait' 111111 palish 11111'11)1 `4. .1 . 111. chaplain knew Itiuelt, but elaireivell himself tongitc•tied, till the e% il grew too great for lotigcr silence. •fliew gcntlemen— the latter espoeiall) —llll4l Ills lllisslllli 141 51/111 . Where, then, its the no genioits 14,141'111 111 checks" prilvllllll by the 141 w Wlll'l'4' %1 11.4 111111 1111.1111111111 illSlll.l'til/11 %%hid' I‘ll`.. to 3111'11'St 1114' I'l'lll'l 11.11111.11eleh or a '„11111 Ile~pul" Tisc %Isitillgillmilvi'S Mot tolily dill Wit know Chi. tl uth. I.tit they lovrinitted dust to 1111', , wt, ill their 111111 11'1111111A 1411.1111g1y 111 1;11 11111. 111 . 1.11'11te11:1111 Ars N, us a faithful, ,net' et le, and painstaking officer, in whom the magistrates had %%lint has occurred in the Birmingham wutll may be working in every prima, in tho king thaw tlyarly, the nil %lots gram, of authority is wanting. A selli , ll apathy and an (ire Iu ..ittrerittit sire had ileArtitisetsts sir legi • lative loessevs,lesire. The !slaloms' elitism ter iS 111111111111', I'V1•11 filial ill till. impossi bility of 111111'1111 ,1 111 W, (114.11, lu reluile a recurrence of such sreto•s? That a strict untintrintitec I,f discipliti.. may he combined unit a mild and ctketutil reformatory s ystem i' ~]llltCll in the great prison of 4 ;livid. It is !foul the disclosures now made, that our !miler of 'ii,l , u managcnictit i' 1l rung. If the har , lint `-ss 1.11:01 lilt' law 1•X1)01.•41 from primary imni , lintents he transferred to gao l the law is rendered worm. th a n mi t , leSb; What' the whole subject acquires 'nevelt:wit urgency, from the coming abandonment of transportation.