The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-23 00:00:00

TUE SUN, LONDO

more necessary to put down with a strong
hand than murder on the high seas, since
nowhere is the victim more defenceless, no-
where are the opportunities offered to the
criminal so great. Two of the wretched men
who received sentence of death were, however,
fortunate enough to obtain a commutation of their
punishment. SANTOS and MARSALINO have been
respited from death, thanks to the exertions made
on their behalf by Mr. BEARD, the solicitor for the
defence, assisted by the Spanish Consul, the grounds
on which the appeal was made for them appearing
just and reasonable. Tha difference of character
and disposition was strongly marked at the last
trying hour, two of the prisoners shrinking, as they
well might do, from the awful ordeal before them,
while another attemp!ed by a reckless and jaunty
air to manifest his complete indifference. It was a
painful and tragic spectacle, and one which we
trust it may be long before we again witness in this
metropolis;_ but so long as we retain the punish-
ment of death in our criminal code, so long should
it be inflicted without hesitation in retribution for
all such deliberate and brutal crimes, Those who
shrink from the notion of such a wholesale execu-
tion should remember that if one of these men had
committed one murder there would have been no
remonstrance as to his death, and assuredly the
crime was not lessened bat enhanced by conspiracy
being added to it. It wits no doubt a solemn sight
to see five guilty wretches despatched into another
world, " with all their imperfections on their head;"
but it was a still more awfal thing to send men,
secure in fancied safety, hurredly and savagely
without a moment's preparation into the presence
of their great Judge. Justice is a virtue which
states must regard before the softer claims of mercy,
for assuredly the trembling of the balance will lead
to results more cruel and disastrous than the
observance of most Draeonio laws.

The inquiry which was held on Friday by Dr.
LANKESTER, concerning the death of a child in
Clerkonwell Workhouse, seems to call for especial
attention, alike from its 'sad particulars and from
the bad effects which will be produced on others,
through the unwholesome practice which has been
recorded. The father of the child had written to
Dr. LANKESTER on the subject, and gave his evi-
deece in a moderate manner. The details of the
case are very distressing. The parents with two
children became inmates of the house some time
past, and it appears that the sleeping accommoda-
tion was very insufficient. The children were placed
in a ward in which a child had the whooping
cough. This was a most reprehensible proceeding,
and it was surprising that such a careless and in-
considerate practice should be allowed in a place
where the spread of sickness is so rapid, and where
disease is at all times so prevalent. To add to
the confusion the mother of the children had to be
taken from them, as she caught fever ; but that
ought to have rendered them more careful, instead
of leaving the deceased, ten months old, to take his
chance. Not only have these two children died,
but others have fallen victims to the very un-
wholesome place in which they were confined. The
evidence of the surgeon seems in itself a sufficient
proof of the faulty arrangements of the establish-
ment. He admits :that the room in question was
occupied by 5 adults and 13 infants. The apart-
ment was not large enough for so many occupants,
and, added to the oppression of the atmosphere,
the fact of a child with a disease being allowed
to remain with other children is enough to account
for any subsequent disaster. It seems almost unac-
countable that the medical officer did not represent
the expreme impropriety of the affair to the proper
authorities, and that these did not at once order a
change, and effect some remedial alteration. If all
the children in the ward had died, it would not
have been at all surprising; and even if a disease
had not existed, they went the way to superinduce
one with their very deleterious arrangements. Dr.
LANKESTER stated that the amount of air which
each inmate of the ward had was only 250 cubic
feet, and that the minimum he allowed was 500
cubic feet for each member of a family in the parish
of which he was medical officer of health. Now
that so efficient a judge has stated his opinion, it
is to be hoped that the authorities in this and other
public places will pay more attention to the im-
portant point of ventilation, and especially in re-
spect to sleeping rooms take care that all possible
arrangements may be made for the health and com-
fort of the occupants. How bitterly must the
parents regret that they ever entered the work-
house. The same affliction might have befallen
them elsewhere, but still the poignance of grief is
doubled by the idea that bad management
aggravated the evil, and doubtless accelerated, if it

did not occasion, the calamity. The feelings of
individuals in a case of this sort is not the primary
question. The matter rests on a broader basis,
and there is something very faulty in the
sanitary arrangements of a place where the medical
officer is compelled to give his opinion that children
were placed in a locality where they were likely to
suffer from a contagious disease. A more absurd
custom can hardly be supposed, and there is no
cause to be surprised at the pernicious effects which
it has wrought. It is not likely that with a little
forethought and consideration some temporary ar-
rangement might not have been made, which would
have at all events prevented the child attacked by
disease from being placed with others in an unaf-
fected state. The results of this culpable negligence
have made the affair public, and it is to be hoped
that all concerned will benefit by the sad occurrence.
Yet there are many other persons who are placed in
positions of trust, who are equally to blame, if they
escape censure from some of the sufferers and their
friends not bringing their case forward. Let these
take heed and reflect that their fault is as great, and
their want of thought and want of heart will
one day produce sad effects if they do not take
heed in time, and amend so grievous an error as
negligence in sanitary arrangements. It is a cruel
thing to neglect the health of those whose very
existence depends on their keeping their strength
unimpaired, and it is the solemn duty, and
the sacred charge of those who regulate
the establishments where the lower orders are col-
lected in very large numbers, to do all that possibly
lies in their power to render the atmosphere they
breathe as free from infection as that enjoyed by
their:wealthier brethren. Instead of this proper pre-
caution and wise care prevaiiicg, we too often find
that people aro ready to huddle the poor together,
place them in damp and unwholesome localities, as
if they ought to be glad to get anything like a shel-
ter, and were made of different clay to the rest of
their species. The sooner such ignorance beccuies
enlightened the better for all concerned. The poor
have much to contend against, bat there can be no
need for them to be exposed to evils which en-
tail "suffering, disease, and bereavements, and
add more burdens to their already overtasked
strength. Ono of the first considerations of the
thinking mind and feeling heart should be to adopt
all measures that are calculated to secure the pos-
session of health, and this sovereign blessing of
humanity can never be retained where inattention
prevails concerning the observance of its primary
laws. Overcrowding is at all times to be avoided,
as its effects Are inoht pernicious, but if one place