The Press.
London, England, 1853-08-06 00:00:00

JUVENILE OFFENDERS.

The second reading of this bill was moved on
Monday by Mr. Adderley. who, however, admitted
the impossibility of passing it this session. He
wished, nevertheless, to have this opportunity of ex-
plaining and discussing its provisions, in order that
they might be fully considered during the recess, and
the opinion of the public pronounced upon them.
The object of the bill, he went on to state,

" was siinply the estalel ishnietet , or the permissive eSt ablish-
melt, by counties and burghs. of reformatory schools, to
which young criminals might be sent, and in which a new
treatment might be introduced to a certain extent, viz.,
that of industrial t►aining and of supplying parental care
and home influence, instead of the rough and ordinary
mode of treatment of such young criminals by short pc.
rioebe of imprisonment in the common gaolsof the country.
It was a great stigma to any country to allow the pre-
sent state of things with respect. to these children to OM.
thine tOr a moment. The treatment judicially and penally
of these children was a great aggravation of the 'tangent
of the system, and different from that pursued in conti-
nental countries. The system was not only 1111.11114 but in-
efficient, for it tended to foster crime and increase the
number of young criminals. lie did not mean to say that
the plan he proposed was complete. It dealt only with one
of the leading features of the system. A complete plan
must include some modified system of imprisonment for
juvenile offenders. The principle of the bill had been re.
enguised at various periods, and hail been acted on in more
than one instance.'•

Mr. MONCKTON MILNKS having supported the
motion,
_ _

Mr. )taxes professed an insurmountable objection
to every plan which tended to blend pauperism with
crime.

Mr. HENLEY considered the subject so important
that it ought to have formed the subject of a Go-
vernment bill, instead of being left to a private mem-
ber. The present moment was, he remarked, pe-
culiarly favourable to legislation on the subject, owing
to the ready demand for labour which they now ex-
perienced.
V►scount PAINF ssTo N. in recognising the importance
of the subject, recommended the house to consent to
the second reading of the bill, in order that it
might be considered and its details improved against
next session :

" The object. of the measure in dealing with crime and
offence might be 'mid to be threefold. In some cases the
object of punishment was example, in others a eotnbina-
tion of example and reformation, and in others it was
purely reformation. With regard to cr. •s of great vio-
lence and atrocity, committed by full-grown persons, so-
eiety required that the I 'intent should be exemplary
and deterring. The greater number of crimes cotmuitted
by adults were of a mixed character, in which the punish-
ment rep tired to be exemplary, for the purpose of deterring,
but in which the hope of reformation was not to be aban-
doned. With regard to them the punishment must be
twofold. lint he admitted, that with regard to children re-
formation must be considered as the principal if not the
only object, and that the punishment for deterring was
only secondary. The general principle recommended by
the 1 . tnetuber opposite was deserving of the greatest
consideration, and he thought it likely that it would he
embodied in any measure which might be intrduetsl on
the subject next session. The particular clauses and ma-
chinery of the bill required mature consideration. lie
hoped that it might be combined with another measure
( the Juvenile Mendicancy Hill) which had come down from
the other house, but which was nut in a shape to be passed
at present."

Mr. Ilt,mE opposed the bill, of which Sir .1. GRA-
HAM approved, as to its salient characteristics, and
gave a modified promise to make it the basis of a
Government bill on the subject in the ensuing ses-
sion, for which he requested support and co-operation
from Mr. Adderley.
The bill then passed the second reading, and was
ordered to be committed that day three months.