The Press.
London, England, 1856-10-25 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

whole theory of reformatory discipline. Even that amend.
ment, imperfect as it is, which the stimulus afforded by
the ticket.ofleave system has effected is wrought out by a
certain small measure of free action conceded to the
prisoner. The punishment which is inflicted upon him
for gross misconduct in gaol shows that he is held to have
had it in his power to choose between right and wrong;
and it is merely a careful and well•graduated enforcement
of this principle which is required to accomplish all at
which we aim. Personal reformation, as the term itself
implies, is the acquisition of some faculty of action or
endurance not possessed before. But every one of our
acquirements is made by the repetition of efforts, the large
majority of which are often unsuccessful. Gentlemen,
we neurally shrink from exposing a man who has shown
his weakness, by the fact of his becoming a convict, to
any temptation while he remains under our protection and
control. But this disposition, however laudable, must be
overcome. We must reflect that it is not in our power,
except by imprisoning him for life, to guard him against
the host of temptations which will throng upon him the
moment he sets foot beyond the prison walls. Is it not,
then, more than permissible—is it not our duty, to train
him to bear the shock of these temptations while we are
able at once to subject him to a renewed course of pre-
paration, if, upon experiment, he is found incapable of en•
countering his danger in the mitigated form in which it
will be presented to him?

DISCHARGED PRISONERS' AID SOCIETY.
In THE PRESS of Saturday we gave, by telegraph, a
sketch of the important proceedings which occurred
at a great meeting held in Birmingham on the pre-
ceding Friday night, in support of the Discharged
Prisoners' Aid Society.
The object of the institution was thus set forth in
the report of the society:—

To aid prisoners on their discharge from gaol, by pro-
curing lodgings for such of them as may be selected by the
Committee of Recommendation, furnishing temporary
maintenance, in ease of need, to individuals seeking em-
ployment, assisting them in obtaining work or in returning
to their homes, and subsequently exercising a friendly
superintendence over them.
The RECORDER of BIRMINGHAM (Mr. M. D. Hill,
Q.C.), after the report had been read, moved its
adoption. He said :

I cannot but express my deep regret at the absence of
Lord Stanley, a young man of whose future eminence in
the State his countrymen have formed the most sanguine
expectations. My task has, however, been very much
shortened by the admirable report you have just heard.
This has presented the facts in detail, and these facts must
have struck you all, first, with the magnitude of the want to
be supplied, and next, with the hope—the humble hope,
but still the hope—that at last we have found the true way
to the diminution and repression of crime. It is indeed
humiliating to all who are concerned in the administration
of justice that all the I.bours of our judges, magistrates,
juries, and police—all that machinery by which so many of
our fellow-creatures are brought every month to the crimi-
nal !ear—only result in this, that after the convict is found
guilty, and punished according to law; after all that has
been done for him by the exhortations and earnest suppli-
cations in his favour by the chaplains of our gaols ; after
all the lessons of the schoolmaster, and the still more im•
portant lesson derived from the pain which he endured
from the consequences which he felt to have resulted from
his crime upon himself, when the doors o 1 the prison were
opened a vast proportion of those who have suffered the
consequences of their guilt quickly—how quickly—return
again to their miserable course of lite. How many thus
fall back I cannot tell you. It has been ascertained by care-
ful observation that at least 33 per cent. of those who have
been convicted come again to the criminal bar; but al-
though we know that 33 per cent. come again, yet when we
recollect that there are many who conceal the fact of
previous conviction, and who when they go to places where
they are unknown are not discovered, we may well believe
that probabilities point to a still more lamentable pro-
portion.

What, then, was to be done but to offer encourage-
ment, to give a friendly countenance, to the prisoner•
upon his discharge from prison :
We have heard that the tempter is to be found at the
gaol door, that the receiver of stolen goods takes his place
there, that the criminal's old companions in sin and crime
wait to carry him away to his former haunts, and to embark
him again in the fearful course from which he hsd been a
short time held back by the strong arm of the law. My
hearers should disperse that wretched congregation as•
sembled around the prison gates, and hold out to the dis.
charged prisoner a hand of encouragement. If you can do
nothing else, you can give him a friendly countenance.
Let him feel that when he has to encounter (as encounter
he must) the scorn of the world, one human being at least
will be his friend—will rejoice if he can resist temptation
and escape its dangers, and will mourn if he should re•
lapse again into the paths of sin.

This system had been tried at Birmingham with
young offenders who had been permitted to be re-
ceived by their l'riends at home on the request of the
prosecutor, and out of 483 such cases in the last
seventeen years, only 78 had ever beendetected at
the bar again. In conclusion, the learned recorder
observed:—

Such is the prevalence of crime that it is scarcely possible
for any person not to be allied by ties of blood, friendship,
or acquaintatce at least with some family in whinh these
is not a fallen member. I ask you, if you can do no more,
to fix upon some one individual—watch his trial, learn the

SATURDAY,

extent and duration of his punishment, inform yourselves
of his conduct during his imprisonment, exht.rt him to
apply humbly, but with stedfast resolution, to the greet
task of self reformation, to provide for him if you can a
home and employment on his departure from pristin, and,
if )ou can do no more, attend on the morning of his re.
lease, forming as it were a bodyguard against the tempters
who infest the prison gates. I trust that you will nut b
satisfied with manifesting those feelings, but that you w•il
let these feelings fructify into good acts. If you do so you
will have your reward. You will not, it is true, be one
penny richer during the whole of your lives for your exer-
tions and your sacrifices—you will gather, perhaps, no
fame—your names will possibly never extend beyond your
nntive quarter—yet you will have your "exceeding great
reward "—the consciousness of having done right, and of
having ob.led the command; of your I )ivine Master—Him
who uttered the immortal words, " Do unto others even
as you would that others should do unto you.
Lord LYTTELTON seconded the resolution. The
noble lord referred to the repugnance generally en-
tertained in this country to the employment of con-
victs, and observed that a great point would be Imined
if criminals could obtain some degree of recom-
mendation during their incarceration in prison, and
by this movement be enabled to obtain situations
which it would have been impossible for them other-
wise to secure. The recent changes in the criminal
law necessitated the support of such institutions as
the present. He also expressed a hope that similar
institutions would be established elsewhere, and in-
timated that in his own county (Worcestershire) a
association of the kind had been in operation
for some years, and had effected considerable good.
It was, however, on a very modest scale, but he hoped
that an impetus would be given to it by the present
movement.

The RECORDER of LONDON moved the next resolu-
tion—" That the inhubitants and employers of the
borough be asked to co operate in the work." The
question was, what is to be done with the prisoner
on leaving prison ?
It is not, as I understand, proposed by this society to
afford permanent relief, nor to provide workshops, nor to
give more pecuniary aid than is absolutely necessary ;
but the object is to lay hold of the man at the very
moment of his quitting gaol, and when his nature is most
impressible hold out the band of friendship, "to com-
fort the weakhearted, and raise them that fall." This
society could not deal with the hardened offender or the
habitual thief; they must be left to other reformatories;
but its efforts must be directed to that unfortunate class
who were led into temptation by the weakness of human
nature

Sir JOHN PAKINGTON, M.P., seconded the resolu-
tion. Ile said :

I hardly know any other object of charity which can be
recommended upon stronger grounds than the object for
which we are now assembled. My noble friend Lord
Lyttelton has reminded us of one reason why this society
should be supported, but in my opinion an inferior reason
—I mean the recent changes in the criminal law with
respect to transportation. Undoubtedly, these changes in
the law compel us to retain a large amount of criminals
in this country; and therefore, upon the lowest ground,that
of self interest as citizens, it is woith our while to redeem
every criminal. But l would urge upon the public of this
country the principle adopted by this society upon higher
and far holier grounds, because I know of no mode of
Christian benevolence which so well deserves the name of
charity—because I know of no object of compassion more
entitled to our sympathy and assistance than the man
who, having been incarcerated in prison for perhaps his
first offence—for comparatively a trivial offence—finds
himself at the door of that prison once more a free citizen,
but tainted in character, destitute in circumstances, and
feeling that it is only by relapsing into crime that he can
prolong his miserable existence. Not only is no act of
charity more praiseworthy than the extension of a friendly
band to that poor man, but it is a part of that duty which
we owe to our neighbours, our country, and our God.
I know of no dictum which is ao frequently maintained
in society, with such perfect belief on the part of those who
maintain it, as that any attempt to reform adult criminels
will be absolutely useless. So far as I have been able to
form an opinion, I repudiate the idea as utterly false and
worthless. What is the position of those who are brought
to the bar of justice for crime? They vary according to
fluctuating circumstances, but all have yielded to tempta-
tion. Where is the man in this hall who can lift hie hand
and say he has never yielded to temptation ? Where
would you draw the line? Why is the man who has ever
come within the grasp of the law to he foe ever excluded
from the hopes of redemption any more than any one of
you? Experience is better than opinion. Lord Lyttelton
has adverted to the fact that in the county of Worcester
they have had a society established for kindred purposes.
From a report presented at the annual meeting of that
society it appears that, since its establishment in 1640, 228
prisoners have been relieved, of whom 11 have been
recommitted to prison, and there is reason to believe that
the remaining 217 have reformed their habits and turned
from their evil courses. It is gratif)ing to know for a cer-
tainty that many of that number have become useful and
valuable members of society. My noble friend has truly
said that the society was modest; but for sixteen years
it has been struggling on, almost the only one of its kind
in England, for in this, as in other matters, we have been
lagging behind the rest of the world. The United States
have done much, France has done much, Prussia has done
much, and even Italy, upon whom in our insular pride we
are accustomed to look down in contempt, has set us an
example which we are at last willing to follow. In Glou-
cester a similar association has been established, and, as