The Express.
London, England, 1848-11-14 00:00:00

SECONDARY PUNISHMENT.

Sir,—l am very mach obliged indeed by your no-
tice of me and my opinions in last Saturday's Erpress (4th
Nov.), and I am gratified even where you express dissent.
Diacordia amino MINI. T 1 ei best foundation for an ulti-
mate well-considered agreement is a preliminary minor dif-
ferent*. You all us ultra-humane; but you do not appear
to observe that I seek the reform of the criminal u much for
' the sake of society as of himself. I contend that crime will
be more effectually stayed by our reforming our prisoners
through suffering strictly eubordinated to this end than by
making them suffer for example's sake, irrespective of the
object of reform altogether, do that, if we differ at all, it is
not in the end, but the means. I own, indeed, that I very
little vales what is commonly called deterring example. I '
almost doubt its existence. Strange u the fact may appear
to those who have set goes deeply into the subject, yet
surely any is bettor established than that severe punish-
masts stimulate liaise, rather than repress it. An active
polios is your truss deterring agency. When the criminally
disposed hesitate over the commisuen of an offence, it is the
themes of &testi= that they calculate, not its penalties.
And we all familiarly act an the same principle. We go
hunting, er otherwise risk life and limb when we have
many chances of escape, without hesitation, and on the
slightest temptation; but we do not, without a much stronger
inducement, approach our fingers to a candle, or in any
other way incur a certain, though even very minor, mown-
venithce.

I do not then nine "deterring example;" but for the

criminal's own make, and also for that of society, I value the
infiklice of psi. and Inconvenience in punishment very
meth. Our moral sense requires this, besides all other con-
midstream ; only let the nature and degree of this pain be
strictly regulated by its tendency to reform or otherwise.
If condunve to improvement, let it go to any extent; if
tending to corrupt, let it be proscribed, for this reason only,
whatever its other apparent advantages. This is the whole
humanity of the mark system; and if there appear to y.O to
he too much of the mildness of the dove in it, a long exoe-
name has convinced me that it is not without a full propor-
tion of the wisdom of the serpent also.
We stay an epidemic by first curing those ',acted with it,
and we shall masteffectivelystayaime in like by first ,
reforming those who have once committed it. Above 200,000
individuals now pass annually through the gaols of the
United Kingdom, of whom n more than from 3,000 to
6,000 have been transported within the sumo period, who
have also gone to other English communities. By seeking
primarily to make scarecrows of the whole number, we have
practically unfitted most of them for any other useful parr
pore, and our criminal returns show whether we have stayed
crime or promoted it by such means.
You object to my " social sixes," which you think too
hard on criminals. But I think nothing too hard that is
calculated to improve them, and this is eminently so. It
tends to make offence unpopular and good conduct popular,
even in a community of criminals, and much is gained by
thus giving even to their sympathies a right direction. It
also opens many selfish hearts ; and if society relieves from
the penalties of misconduct by an improving probation, it
has surely a right, accrrding to the brat of its judgment, to
prescribe the required course. Among its other demands,
it does not seem much either to require an earnest and in-
terested endeavour to keep others right as well as each indi-
vidual himself; and the plan has further abundant precedent
in free life. If six men go in a boat together, the indiscre-
tion of one may deeply injure all ; yet this is not a hardship
on them, but an inducement to each to exercise a wholesome
influence over his companions, and the benefit of all is thus
promoted by it. And so on, in many other instances. I
am particularly attached to this detail, and have found none
more successful in practical application.
I shall not however pursue the subject further row. I
hope to give vou shortly an occasion and inducement to
recur to it. It is by frequent recurrence, not by tweet single
efforts, that success in it is to be attained. I shall only then
add here, that I do not at all agree with Beccaria, as you
seem to imagine in thinking that the mount of damage
inflicted by an offence should be its measure of punishment.
On the contrary, I think that no test could well be mote
fal &dom. It is by a moral, not pecuniary standard, that
crime should be estimated; for the amount of a theft is
ususlly rather the measure of opportunity afforded for it,
than of the delinquency involved in eff, etint it, and many
offence.' that cause little damage yet show deep depravity.
The true measure seems to be the used in which, according to
the circumstances of his ease, each individual seems to stand
of passing through an improving course, and the amount of
proof of improvement which, on the face of the same circum-
stances, society is consequently entitled to require before
again discharging him. And, on this footing, relapses would
be much more severely dealt with than they now are. In re-
tard to them I would be almost pitiless. I would shoe my
humanity by inflicting the severest reforming penalty on
them that I could devise, but not even them would I de-
moralise.—A. MACONOCIITE.