The Press.
London, England, 1856-12-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

REFORMATORY MOVEMENT.

THE corrected Report of the National Refor-
matory meeting at Bristol has just been pub-
lished, and its appearance affords us an oppor-
tunity of saying a few words on what seems .to
be the one great practical difficulty in carrying
the scheme into general operation. It seems
universally believed, that iu this movement is
to be sought the ultimate solution of the pro-
blem which is now so perplexing us,—i. e., the
disposal of our criminals ; and it seems also
universally agreed that the advantages afforded
to the inmates of Reformatory institutions are
likely to create so much envy in the minds of
our poorer population as to defeat the very end
proposed. If the cure is made so attractive,
there will be less aversion to the disease.
This seems to be the one great obstacle with
which our Juvenile Reformatories will have to
contend.
When we consider the wretchedness into
which many of our poor population, especially
in towns, are sunk, it seems difficult to imagine
how the life of the Reformatory can be made
less eligible Sufficient food, and shelter from
the cold, are in themselves no slight boons to
hungry lads who do not have a sufficient meal,
perhaps, once in six months, and who have
lived in rags from their birth. This is
an attraction which appeals, of course, only
to the very lowest of all. But when we add
to this the higher advantages of education,
and the prospect of becoming an object of in-
terest to persons of wealth and station, we can
readily imagine the kind of sensation with
which honest poverty would regard the insti-
tutions in question. Yet the points we have
enumerated constitute the very lowest possible
scale of advantages which can await a lad who
becomes an inmate of them.

What, then, are we to do ? There seems to
us one answer, and one only, to the question :
devise a system of institutions for the children
of honest parents, which shall afford equal or
greater benefits than the Juvenile Reform
atory. This has already been tried in one or
two instances, in the shape of industrial
schools, and as yet promises well. The prin-
cipal embarrassments in such a plan would be
the oft-mooted question of the boys' work, and
the resolute opposition of the farmers. We
would ask, too, is the instruction to be given
gratis ? If so, we have often been told that
gratuitous education is not prized by the
poor. If not, the school would at once be
placed at a disadvantage in comparison with
the reformatory.
We must, however, have some faith in the
good sense of the people themselves to help
us through these difficulties. No doubt the
spectacle of a youthful felon enjoying advan-
tages which no course of good conduct could
have gained for him is irritating to virtuous
parents. But should these lines meet the
eyes of the humbler classes, we would bid
them remember that such irritation is not
wholly reasonable. A poor man, if he breaks
his leg, and is taken to the hospital, is sup-
plied there with luxuries he could never have
commanded at home. Yet when his wife comes
to see him, and finds him in a state of cleanli-
ness and comfort to which he is a stranger,
does she therefore wish him to tumble
down and break his leg again ? No ; better
is health and a dinner of herbs than a sick-
bed with chicken and port wine. As it is, let
the poor remember, with physical disease so
is it with moral. Let none of them be jealous
of the poor little criminal who seems for the
moment better oft' than their own children
He is a criminal. He is—and the fact can
never be undone—what they would shudder to
think of their own children becoming. We
know this is a view of the question difficult
for them to adopt. But having suggested it,
we must leave it to their own reason to con-
vince them of its truth.

SATURDAY,

ATTACKS ON THE OPPOSITION.

THE Goddess of Discord having permanently
settled in the internal ranks of the " Liberals,"
it is deemed good policy by their advocates to
try and sow dissension amongst the principal
Conservatives of the Opposition. The trick
can deceive nobody, though the manner in
which it is carried out is calculated to disgust
numbers. Abuse is place of argument, and
odious personality instead of open and manly
antagonism, are substituted by small rhetori-
cians, whose uncouth metaphors, and inaccu-
rate phraseology, suggest the notion that their
literary apprenticeship was passed under
" Mrs. Malaprop." The style of their attacks
reeks of the inspiration of a " pot-house
Junius." Those who write such productions
are bad enough ; those who publish them are
worse. The first degrade themselves ; the
second commit their journals, aid disparage
the credit of political writers.
It is, under present circumstances, a
dangerous policy for the calumniators of the
Conservative party to poison political dis-
cussion by anonymous personality. The
chiefs of the " Liberal " party occupy such
peculiar relations towards each other, that one
would think stone-throwing at their opponents
ought to be the last resource adopted by those
seeking to defend a Cabinet living in a glass
house. We hoped that Liberal ingenuity
would have discovered some other method of
defend ing its principles than a recurrence to
the scurrility and savagery of tone which
belong to other days long gone by. Two can
play at the game of " writing down." We do
not think so meanly either of public opinion
or of the character of the free press of Eng-
land, as that in the reign of Queen Vrcroars a
systematic course of vulgar and impudent
personal detraction directed against any
public character could be tolerated. If such
were the case, the evil would not stop there.
It would spread to the highest places in the
land, and the curse of corrupt journalism
would leave a festering disease in English
society which would produce enormous evils.
We warn the public against the serious perils
which may result from any attempt at
sanctioning the slanderous style of writing
Liberal " organs " have recently employed
against the principal chiefs of the Opposition.
' It would be only falling into the trap set by
insidious and unmanly adversaries if, upon
this occasion, we were to defend Con-
servative chiefs from the gross writings to
which we allude. It would be easy, indeed, to
raise certain questions about the relations ex-
isting between the Premier arid " the fami-
lies," or about the Bedford Whigs being placed
in abeyance ; or about Earl GREY being treated
like Lord John RUSSELL, and placed amongst
the " outs." We shall pass these points, and
draw attention to the only public, as apart
from personal, grounds of accusation employed
in these censures on the Opposition. It is
said, by way of reproach, that the Opposition
has never had the manliness to come forward
directly with an open vote of censure upon the
Government, and has confined itself to skir-
mishes and desultory attacks.
Why, what would the same censors have
said if the Opposition had asked Parliament to
censure the Cabinet ? Then there would
have been a cry of " playing the game of the
" enemies of England !" By turns it would
have been called a Russsian, an Austrian, or a
French Opposition ; just as in the days when
Lord ASHBURTON was written down, twelve
years ago, the friends of the present Premier
used to call the then existing Ministry "an
" American Cabinet." It is to the honour of
the present Opposition that no factious course
was pursued by it during the late war. Let it
be remembered that Lord JOHN RUSSELL
was significantly told at the commencement
of the struggle in the Crimea that the Coalition
Cabinet need not apprehend such courses as
were pursued by the Whigs towards WELLES-
LEY in the Douro. That promise was kept to
the letter. The Cabinet was not thwarted or
opposed during the war. The Executive was