The National Register.
London, England, 1816-08-26 00:00:00

1111:11 AS.SIZES.

SOMERSET.

On Saturday the 17th instant, air. Justice Park and Mr. Jos.
tire Wimp, arrive!' at Wells, add opened the commission for
he Summer Assizes far this county. On Sanday they attended
dr, Me rerviceat the cathedral, and on the following looming
coommiteed the business of their respective courts. Mr. ill:I-
C(1. Park presided in the Crown Court, and Mr. Justice Hot-
roy d at Nisi Penis.
The calendar contained the names of 50 prisoners; of whom
nine were acquit led, against nine others no bills were Mond,
and two were discharged by proclamation : of the real lining
30, 6 were sentenced to death, mu' to transportation Mr seven
tt to be imprisoued fur various periods, and one to be
einoved by /wheat corpus, to taki:lda trialtit London.
When we arrived, god cast our eyes over the calendar, we
were exceedingly pained to see, that the age of uo less than 20
of the prisoners did not exceed 20 years, and some of them
were charged with most heinous offences. In the progress of
the trials, however, we were glad to find, that against four of
them no bills were Mond. and three were 'acquitted ; but
among those sentenced to death were Charles Hillier, aged 2a,
and George Townsend, aged In, for burglary and stealing in
dwAling-hooses ; and JaalC4 Gardner, aged IS, convicted of
hating abused the person of Keezia Gould, an influn of 6 years.
Nothing could he more distressing to our feelitip, than the ag-
gravated and afflicting circumstances of this case, which, of
course, are far too di-gusting to be laid before our readers.
The prisoner sentenced to transportation teas George Marsh,
aged 19, for having stolen wearing apparel and other articles.
John Bennett, aged 12, William Burge, aged 13, and Daniel
Parker, aged le, convicted of having stolen several bottles of
gin and other articles, and William Butler, for stealing 138.
were sentenced to be imprisoned two years. Charles Edwards,
aged 20, for stealing five ducks, and James Webber, aged Li,
for stealing a telescope, •to be imprisoned 3 months. George
Stokes, aged ist, and John Thorn, aged 20, fur stealing new
cat .{rasa, to be imprisoned 11 days ; and John Lambert, aged
17, for stealing 2 coats, to be imprisoned I days : the whole to
be kept to hard labour.
This heavy catalogue of youthful offenders cannot fail to ex-
cite the most painfol reflections. The great and rapid increase
of crime ; mong persons of tender years is a subject fur grave
and deef consideration. The alarming extent of this evil in
the metropolis has been long known and felt, hut very Made-
(pate remedies have been hitherto applied. it is known, that
there are several schools in this great city where children are
regularly taught the hest modes of stealing from the pet son, of
breukiug into dwelling-houses, and, in short, of committing all
kinds of depredation. The most proficient and notorioni
thieves are masters of these wicked seminaries ; and reward:
are given to such of the scholars as display the greatest adroit-
items. The officers attic police are well acquainted with these
farts, but they take uo steps to repress the mischief. It is
their interest, indeed, not only to allow these young persons to
enter upon the town and commence their depredations, bitt
also to stiffer them to go on, step by step, from nue offence to
enother,• unlit they commit sonic capital crime, mid are ripe to
be plucked from the tree. We sincerely trust, however, that
measures will be adopted very early in the next session of Par-
liament to amend our present defective system of police; and
tsuthing,, see think, is inure likely to produce-this benefit, than
the nivestigations which are going on with respect to Vaughan
;tad his associates. In regard to youthfial perpetrators of crime
in the country, it is the duty of all magistrates to exercise the
utmost vigilance in their respective districts, and to cause of-
fenders to be brought hi justice as speedily as possible. The
first transgressions should he always punished, for mercy in
Foch cases is actual cruelty. If the day of small beginnings
were not antlered to pass unnoticed, how many useful lis es
would be annually sac efl to the country ! Hoch, no doubt,
must depend on education ; for " laws without mangers are
but words and wind." It is a remarkable feet, that in the only
two countries csc.oland and Switzerland) where thete have
been national vstab;irlmtenis for the education of the lower

classes, the rumber of criminals has been uncommonly small.
'Phis, then, is a great encouragement for all persons to protect,
to the utmost of their power, the schools mined' have been re-
cently instituted in this country upon the systems of Dr. Bell
4wi Air. Lancaster. The one is a dissenter, the other a mem-
ber of the Church of England ; but as every well-regulated
mind must be impressed with the necessity of cultivating the
understanding of the poor and ignorant, so we hope that uo
spirit of intolerance, jealousy, or uncharitableness on either
tide, will be suffered to counteract the principal object of both
iostitutious—namely, to tearb the lower classes to disallow,
between right and wrong, and to disidiarge are various duties
'Uhlman life as lieeomes good wen and citizens,
• At the Somerset Assizes, Gregory arid Joseph, one II baker,
and the .other a pawnbroker, of Frome, is ere indicted and
found guilty of a conspiracy, in collecting together notes of
Messiter's bank, of that town, to a considerable annum',
mid bringing theta iu for flank of• England paper: Gregory
a!so publicly boasting, that by these means he would ettect
!kit esiter's ruin. The learned Judge, in summing up, animad-
verted most severely on tho conduct of Gregory; and ex-
pressed his conviction, that Mr. Messiter, in an action of law,
might have recovered damages to the extent of a!! the injury
1w had sustained: