The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-13 00:00:00

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angry repetition of an irrelevant challenge to
the Opposition. We fear it is too true that the
Conservatives, as a party, are little more dis-
posed than the Whigs to adopt a vigorous and manlY
course. But the Opposition are not bound to IP-7
down a policy, while it is the first duty of a Go.
vernment to do so. It is no excuse for the weaktief,°l
the vacillation, or the ambiguous conduct of those
who hold office that their successors would probably
do no better, and might—though that is scarcely'
credible—do worse. _

THE " EXA MIN ER" ON CONVICT DISCIPLINE.--"
We We have long been convinced that the conjltyt
licensing system is incurably bad, and shoalcA,.oe
abolished altogether. The supervision of thepolice
will not mend it, but, on the contrary, will be a ha
to the reformation of the criminals if they have any
disposition to take to industry and honest courses.
As the Chancellor objects, the supervision will D.
a brand on the convict, shutting him out from ern
ployment and honest intercourse. The man will
go out of jail with a broken fetter attached to hi.
by which he will be dragged back to crime. he
has any sense, together with improved dispositions,
he will refuse to accept liberty on such terms, and
will rather wait for the expiration of his sentenc.c,.
when ho will go forth a free man, instead of a
him,
bird with a clipped wing. The discharged convict
has a fair field before him if his dispositions are fall.;
His past may be unknown, and retrieved by good
tl
conduct. The police have no right to spy W 4
him, or meddle with him in any way, so long es
obeys the laws and lives honestly. He passes from
the jail, mixes in the crowd, and may begin a neNv.
career without prejudice or impediment of Or
kind. But the unhappy ticket-of-leave Wall'
tracked from his first quitting the jail, and made
report himself periodically to the
poiicpr
will never get away from his character. 1111
character may be changed, but the bran'.
upon it remains unchanged and saliently
conspicuous. And because of the very hopes
of him it is that he is to be placed in this hopeless
condition. Becasue it is thought that he may.re*
form he is to be practically cut off from reformatleng
if the man is not to be trusted, keep the jail door
closed upon him ; but to trust him so far as to le
himt
out, and then to retract the trust by puttmg
him uncler the eye of the police, is a gross and .mis-
chievous inconsistency, cruelly defeating the obJe,i;
of reformation. When the convict who has f°ll-71..
undergone his punishment is discharged, it may not
be with the slightest expectation or hope that an"
will change his evil ways, but, trustworthy or 0°
forth he must go, free for good or ill ; and why ~t'
not the same course be taken with men of whom;
better hopes can be entertained ? It may be oes,"
not to abridge sentences at all, but if they are to 1.-
abridged we are quite sure that the true policy
.1s
not. to hamper the granted liberty with any o°,llll
lions which may be adverse to the recovery of euat-
r.acter arid honest employment. We are heartily
sick of the twaddle, for it is no better, about tu-
working of the licensing system in Ireland. Ike
stem has only a partial success there, but it it bad
s
the most complete, the state of opinion in Ireland%
to crime is so different from that in England, that
the e same results could never be worked out, esPei
many with a machinery as different as the innre
element. When Mistress Deborah Woodcock tel
her brother the Justice that the pretended Inn"
master is a vagabond, Justice Woodcock answers'
" What of that, you foolish old woman ? I like
vagabond, I like a vagabond." And when Irelan.
is told that a man is a law-breaker, her reply 15
much to the same effect. Ireland has not ninel,
objection to convicts, nay, to some a decided Prefer
,;;
ence is given. This being the case generally,supervision of the police is clear of two dangers It
which it will be exposed in this country
does not carry with it much prejudice against h-
convicts, nor mark them out for exclusion frtoull
employment and intercourse; and this being so, 1
does not tempt convicts to purchase the silence 04,
good report of the spies over them. Here we are
certain of much of both these bad consequences:
and the supervision of the police will, we aPYrnef
hend, work the corruption of the police, in aPite;
any checks that may be devised. The ticketsoi-
leave man always quits the jail with a little money.
money in his pocket, and he has the strongee!
motive to obtain the silence of the police as to what
he has been, and its good report as to what be .
s.
With so large a body as the police, and so variously
composed, can we believe that there will not he.
some corruptible, and the vice, once introduced, is
sure to spread ?