The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-30 00:00:00

lation

st stage of d

n was better than cu

.jiuced that prevei.--
was their duty as Christians, to endeavour t
most effectual iystem of prevention. (Hear,
Ivas deeply to be regretted, that they
further than the law allowed th
pre

tor the
but wh,

"v. MeV saw couaren
who they prowling 11.1JJ1.11: wig--eY knew were beginning to steal, it was to be
regretted that they could not take up those children and
Iblanne ithem in reformatory institutions, tut should b'
:TlTl"cued to wait until they had committed some crim
- had fairlY entered their
Prussia, and in other des
to
the 1,09.4_ some

,r or vicE

he w:r Trs, and was observed
Th;., 7,8 ,inniediately taken np, though he might hay,. corn-
h•Leci nn mischief, nor a serious crime be alleged aczainst
2112: and handed over 'to the police, or a reformatory
%"sTnlltion, to rear him up a useful and honest man. (Hear,
near.) Re very much approved of the report, and he
trusted that th hi' world afford to the committee
pu u •
- -

very ,idandsuppert in corryine out the ob,

s of a

institution to their
fullest completion. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. J. P. Heywood said, he was anxious that tt
itstitution should meet with every support

•
deQtiaired of reclaiming Vie, old, he believed that
she only chance of diminishing crime in this country way,

by taltines, eharge of the children when very young. s
'Perience of his year of 04 ce as High Sheriff for the cone
led him to believe that when thieves grew up to a man's
estate they would continue to be thieves, • and nothing
else. There was no chance of reclaiming the old, but by
taking the young before they were matured in crime,
they might save them from a life of vice and misery.
tear, hear.) He confessed that every day he lived he
'was the more convinced of the necessity and importance
of reformatory institutions, and he hoped that the one
Which they had now established in Liverpool, and which
Would serve to raise a race of ' seamen the merchant ser-
vice much required, would meet from the public the sup-
Port it deserved. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Adam Hodgson supported the resolution. He said
that there were many questions of more importance than
'the one which had assembled them together, and though
It was an extensive one, and might be presented in aspects
that would excite their sympathies, it was yet eminently
'aractical question. The whole question was stated in
the. clearest possible way in two or three short resolu-
tions of the Select Committee of the House of Commons
tn the subject, and as they were not generally known, he would read them, in order that they might go forth to the
public. Mr. Hodgson then read the resolutions, which
were as follows :-
1. That it is the opinion of this committee that a'great
amount of juvenile destitution. ignorance, vagrancy, and
crime, has long existed in this country, for which no
aslequate remedy has yet been provided.
"2• That the existence of similar evils in France, Ger-
ThanY, Switzerland, Belgium, and the United States, has
been met by vigorous efforts in those countries : and, in
theis opinion of this committee, sound'
policy requires that
country should promptly adopt measures for the
same purpose.
3. That it appears to this committee to be established
by the evidence, that a large portion of the present segre-
Rate of crime might be prevented, and thousands of
miserable human beings, who 'have before them, under
°lir present system, nothing but a hopeless career of
!ickedness and vice, might be converted into virtuous,
honest, industrious citizens, if due care were taken
1,10 rescue destitute, neglectedtat and criminal children
"le the daneers 'eand tempions incident to their
. . . position.
fe4; • That a great proportion of the criminal children of
`:3 country. especially those coniicted of first offenee
en,ll)*', ar rather to require systematic t
Istria' occupation than mere punia
o correction,,,
nost.jullat the common gaols and houses t
" eorreePallY
, provide suitable means for the educational
'when F,'l' e treatment of young children, who ougnt
ri o be treated in a manner different
from riea?re .ine,.t
6. e hat 1` e ee-,111,417 punishments of adult criminals.
rem, at private reformatory establishments fen
of permanent-"Heals have proved successful, but are not sure
else the slipport, and are deficient 'in legal control
an
r see inmates. MO.
anThat such reformatory schools should be founded
cont ieF,P.°"ed partially by local rates, and partly by
givenr_efbeeons from the State, and that 'power. should be
leis. r raising the necessary amount of local rates.
tion hat, irrespectively of the high moral consid' I
sle ts which are involved in this subject, this con, e
sire to
express their belief, that, whatever' is if,
pros of such schools and establist. st
duct,
31
tes_ .ve 9
0. great pecuniary
""Y Would h in diminishing which 0 . have • )n
and th,reerhcvriminal population is now c el
"the critninredueing the ge— io
Mink„.• al law.
t uneesl,—lt was a cause of great congratulation to
aw het the corporation had come forward in so noble
tienßY as they had done. (Hear, hear.) But the ques-
t "Tv 'wig what was the public of the town to do?
`nPresent they had hardly done anything:. They hardly
ew any of the institutions, and they seemed to he almost
1.,,,ant of the services and permanent 'benefits which
..I„etil,,,losoon re.,/lt to them from it. He knew that an oh-
tutio- aesxlsted in the minds of many persons to the insti-
as „o. at present established, because-they argued that
population
Part "f the cost of management of the criminal
tvlatt:eation of the country, the expense ought to be borne
Rubs .Pe,hlic funds, and not by individual and private
t h
matt eel Trt inn; ; There was no use blinking the fact, that
igh fairly Icrt. generally prevailed, but he thought it
was so ill snot et in this Way, that the country at large
that it was not vet on the general nature of the question,
by sanctionine the iPmrePared to respond to thelegislature,
that might be neePßSThposton of direct taxes to.the extent
full extent to which it o gut
"Pingto
er out the object to the
to have evidence that the o carried out. It wanted
was a practical one, that theleet which they had in view
plated were results which mi ierieltsults which they contem-
bwee'produced 1.337. pwroopueli
Management, and if those results then agree to the principle that the castreouii
ought
bit
pro
to fall, not
On individuals, but on the country at large, - (Hear, hear.)
He quite concurred in that opinion, and believed that the
larg funds
. e which would be required to carry out the ob-
jteeestva.a_ it ought to be'earried out, would not be obtained by
luul ldual subscriptions even in this benevolent town or
Country, but then he thought the present institution
des
• erved support as means to assist the government in
tryinß the experiment. (Hear, hear.) An act of parlia-
!Aent had been passed by which the government under
00k to defray a certain portion of the expense, and what
',Tel, now had to do was to go to the public and ask that
they should assist in this transition state in making the
experiment. It had been tried in other places and had
Proved successnd, and he thought there could not, be a
it'r?nger call on the community than to come forward and
b 8 81st the government in
Hertying the experiment in Liver-
Thi,°l,* (Hear. hear.) was certain of its success, and
at When the efficiency of the system was fully proved
..,""nas would be provided from public sources to carry it
"n• (Hear, hear.) There was no institution which was
2f More importance or demanded greater exertion in its
V.?healf, and he trusted that the public of Liverpool would
t(i)no
tzlly respond to the enpeal which they made to them
The .t day, (Hear, hear.)
r. teiptlintion was unanimonsly adopted.
which John 4.f Mansfield moved the second resolution,
with coneern, t'lllioWs :----" That this association, viewing
juvenile criminars continued increase in the number of
discipline, as
now, and believing a course of reformatory
locality in a schoolP-freZtri. to be carried out in this
matories as funds accumulVte be. succeeded by land refor-
with those who otherwise ,b:e, is the best mode of dealing
repeated committals to n6B:flee hardened in crime by
public to supply them liberally ssaritTiesftly appeal to the
establish and carry on the institutions
app ea
orderhto
neighbourhood." Mr. Mansfield said it was
f?r t isf.
the highest gratification to him, that, Naftersoya a subject o
fruit-
less many efforts, there should at last be, something realised.
They had
ofa shin, and so. relieved themselves
from the necessityfaris in distant 1 sending their juvenile criminals to
e town should
; a system which it was
SO diSCreditabie to th
it had done.. That disgrae'esitltayd. have lasted so long as
ibleea now removed by
the measures which had been take
the reformatory system Fhe
counter
importance of
exaggerated. The riches of a , could hardly be
Y dirilenroo consist merely
in its agricultural produce, ;tor did it
marvellous machines
in the
ingentrity of its people and those
which had been multiplied by scientific andlsmemweleecaahlntiFoasfl
skill'in the manufacturing towns. But the real a country consisted in the population of the country—in a
well ordered and moral population, who would be useful
in peace, and a defence in the times of war. (Hear, hear.)
It was said by one who knew human nature better than
any of those present could pretend to do, that `` Young
children were as arrows in the hand of the strong man,"
and that " happy are they who have their quiver full of
them, and they shall not he afraid, but speak with the
enemy at the gate." The unfortunate children of
Whom the previous speakers had spoken, had
been well likened I y the recorder of Birmingham to the
Masterless dogs which ran about the streets of Constan-
tieoPle. Could there be anything more melancholy—more
deplorable? It was to guide and train up that popula-
tion. so that they might become an honour and a defence
to their country that the work was directed about which
theY were now engaged. It was their object to guide
them aria train them as human beings, and not merely as
"tt,man beings, but as Christians, that they might he an
a(lvantage, a defence, and a glory to the country. These
Children wereinstruments, powerful alike for good, and for
evil. They were, as he had said, " Arrows in the hand
of the strong man." But if they were not used for defence,
bthey would become a torment, a misery, and an atliction
the country. There was no doubt that much as had
geil done hitherto a great deal more remained to be done.
'wile steps had been made. and he thought the very best

ducatior

ments, they would be

aving. by the effect

nstantl

!from

t cost of the administration