The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-10 00:00:00

no more dangerous course of dealing with offenders
than to expose them to the lax rules and modified
discipline that false benevolence has instituted; also
there is no more grievous injury to society than to
confuse right and wrong in this obnoxious style ;
the honest poor are indignant and become bitter
against all regula'ions that seem to be made to
restrict them, while they afford ell possible latitude
to the wrong doer and evil thinker. If the extra-
ordinary forbearance that prevails in regard to
criminals arises in some measure from the idea that
they will thus become more tractable and give less
trouble to the authorities, the notion is a most
fallacious one, and the experiment will assuredly
fail utterly and entirely. Instead of checking the
progress, discouraging the attempts, and putting
down eff2ctually the man ceivres, machinations, and
essays of crime, these vacillating and timorous time-
sus ers are in reality speeding the reign of evil,
and sowing broadcast the seeds of crime. The con-
siderable increase in offences that has recently taken
place must be attributed in a g.reat measure to the
very faulty mode of dealing with prisoners that
have unfortunately obtained among us of late years.
It is evident that there is no time to lose in rectify-
ing the error of our ways, and atoning for the mis-
chief created by such tame and tardy legislation.
Let all whom it concerns look to it, and put a period
to this anomalous state of things. There is every
possible inducement to make them do so; at present
many feel insecure in their journeys to and fro in
the streets of the metropois itself, owing to the law-
less class who have infested the thoroughfares of
late years. In minor cases there seems no effectual
means of stopping criminals, and all because the
period of incarceration is not one of stern discipline,
but too often a state of mental and physical relaxa-
tion that their out of door life never witnesses. The
more promptly remedial measures are adopted the
better will it be for all classes of the community,
and the surer prospect will there be of restoring
among us that wholesome terror of incarceration
which is the only true and unfailing preventive of
crime. So far as possible our systems should foster
that purpose, and then we should stand a beater
chance of attaining at home and abroad more secu-
rity, and of enjoying the benefits and the blessings
of the reign of order, which is " heaven's first law,"
and which can never be neglected with impunity by
any people, or disregarded by the most potent State
without producing the most unpleasant conse-
quences, and bringing about a whole series of disas-
ters. From time to time of late many appeals have
been made to the authorities regarding our penal
system, but it will be feund that the rules and re-
gulations of the minor offences are in quite as much
need of reform, and call for improvement as much
as anything can do. The longer the abuses are
suffered to exist the more difficult will be the task
of reinstatement, and the more uncertain the success
of a change. It is incumbeet on those in respon-
sible positions to exert themselves and come to the
rescue.