The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-04 00:00:00

THE SUN, LOA DON, FEIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 4, 1861

gham might show
still more striking
ar e oe
very
yd s o f
curiousßirkenheads t and.
TBhi
ar mt n
instance of partiality is continually exhibited in
another part of our dominions is a fact generally
admitted, but, thanks to the waters of the Irish
Channel, it is not thrust so conspicuously upon our
notice, and the supporters of Lord PALMERSTON
may conveniently ignore it. If it be an infringe-
ment of neutrality to furnish one of the combatants
with ships, what is it to supply the other with men ?
Can fancy picture the indignant excitement of Mr.
ADAMS, the horror of Earl RUSSELL, the rage of the
whole American nation, if a regular system of en-
listment was found to be going on at one of our
seaports on behalf of the Confederates ? Yet that
a wholesale invasion of the Foreign Enlistment Act
is actually carried on by the agents and officers of
the Federal Government in Ireland, there is very
little reason to doubt. If the supply of men from
thence were stopped, the grand armies of the North
would soon dwindle away considerably. It is im-
possible, of course, to prevent men from emigrating
with a view to subsequent enlistment, but at least
some effort should be made to check that enlist-
ment being openly carried on in our ports by a Go-
vernment which so loudly proclaims its impartiality,
and, in pursuance of the duties of neutrality, thinks
fit to confiscate unfinished and unarmed vessels.
Two curious documents have been forwarded to a
contemporary, authenticated by the name and
address of the sender, which contain the declarations
of two Irishmen before one of the Justices of the
Peace for the borough of Cork. These men state
that an American war steam frigate came into the
harbour of Queenstown on the 2d of November, and
that in consequence of its being generally circu-
lated through the town that she was enlisting men,
they went on board, each in company with one or
two other men. The pay was to be twelve dollars
a month, and the men were well received,.being
provided with meals. One of them was refused an
account of his height, but his two companions were
engaged. The other passed inspection, but changed
his mind for some reason which he does not give,
and came back in the pilot boat. Both men agree
in affirming that there were from 150 to 200 men
taken on board, the most part being Irish. The
American consul for Queenstown and his agent
were on board, and remained some time in conver-
sation with the officers, so that the wholesale system
of enlistment thus carried on can scarcely be dis-
owned by American officials. The open manner in
which it was done, and the object of the
ship in coming there being known throughout
the town, afford pretty good evidence that Earl
RUSSELL'S remonstrances do not inspire so much
respect in the minds of his Federal friends as their
threats do him. Or is it that the bias of the Foreign
Secretary is so well known by the Northern Govern-
ment and its agents. that it is considered to be
useless trouble to keep up appearances, seeing that
their offences are sure to be weighed in a very
different balance from any act of the Confederates.
Guns and commodities of various kinds have doubt-
less left this country for both sides, but if the rela-
tive proportions were accurately known, the result
would not be very flattering to Northern indepen-
dence or to English non-intervention. It is the
worst kind of inactive intervention which brings
all the resources of a vast trading community to
supply the needs of the one, while any effort of the
other to obtain what it wants is met by a universal
outcry. Englishmen are not sufficiently quixotic
to go cn in any line of business at a heavy loss, and
Earl RUSSELL and Mr. ADAMS have taken care that
the owners of the Alexandra and of the
Birkenhead rams shall suffer enough from
litigation, delay, and annoyance, that smaller capi-
talists may well hesitate before undertaking
trade engagements with the South. If it was the
Cabinet of Washington that happened to want half
a dozen Monitors, armed, equipped, and manned,
how pleasantly and easily matters might be ar-
ranged. How conveniently the English authorities
might look another way while the vessel bteamed
out of the harbour—how slight would be the
obstacles put in the way by the Custom-house. It
must be a great satisfaction to Mr. SEWARD and
his fellows to know that when the ranks of the
army of the Potomac,which we hear so much about,
are thinned, they can always be supplied in the
English dominions; when their naval force has suf-
fered f: om encounters with the Power that has no
navy, all that is necessary can be obtained from the
strictly impartial English. We have certainly a
good right to admire and appreciate the courage
and determination with ss hich the Southern States
maintain the struggle against heavy odds, when We
ourselves have contributed so consistently and
kindly to the assistance of their enemies, and to the
increase of their difficulties.

Mr. ADDERLEY'S last letter on Punishment and
Reformation contains some reflections that may be
of essential service to those whom it may con-
cern, or, indeed, to the public generally ; for, apart
from the mere official set who require more or less
advice and assistance in the discharge of their one-
rous and complicated duties, the whole country has
a direct interest in the subject, since the safety of
many is closely connected with the right treatment
of this important matter. Mr. ADDERLEY'S chief
point of discussion in this letter is the " present
mode of discharging criminals from punishment."
On this he comments at some length, and his stric-
tures are for the most part most just ones. It is
a notorious fact, that the plans adopted of late
years, and which were generally considered to be
so wise and humane, have almost utterly failed,
and that the result has been that the ends of jus-
tice have been defeated, and the return of the
criminals to active life has been marked by a
decided &sire to resume the evil of their ways.
Hence the greatest consternation has been experi-
enced in many quarters, and universal indigna-
tion expressed at the latitude allowed to prisoners,
and the false pi inciples which have guided their
treatment, and pervaded the establishments
wherein penal servitude is carried out.
Enormous sums are expended every year in the
mangethent of these prisons; and if the end is to
be that safety is not preserved, and a due terror
inspired by the idea of imprisonment, it would
appear that the money is wasted, the time thrown
away, end the system a decided failure. It is not
quite the thing for the general public to abandon
the consideration of this subject, until their
attention is aroused by the grievous annoyances to
which they are exposed, and the great discomforts
that many have to endure. This not at all the right
way of treating the question. It should be calmly
and cautiously regarded, and all its bearings taken
into account. Then, when objections have been
studied, fallacies exposed, proposals considered, and
theories analysed, some real and lasting benefit
may perchance accrue, and the whole framework
ho changed
herent to
ee
jeri
; awhile so imperceptibly are the appli-
ances introduced that no sneering and captious ad
the old routine can possibly declare that
we are acting under
e fga,:.o., .Nin ndniistituting what may
be called a
"panic ADDERLEY'S
suggestions are in every way eminently worthy of
regard ; and even if their intrinsic ' merits were not
so great, there would be this advantage in them,
that they call attention to the subject, and may
stimulate others to go and do likewise, so that at
last something beneficial may be imparted to tilt

affair. It is particularly in a case like the one before
us that it is so difficult to discern the right road to
take, and to discriminate between conflicting opi-
nions, so as to take the best and wisest course to
arrive at a safe and satisfactory conclusion. It may
well be said of this convict question, in its treat-
ment by divers experimentalists, Tot homines, tot
sententice. It is incumbent upon all who are in any
way responsible for the public safety, and the due
observance of those regulations which are insepa-
rably associated with the decorum of society, to in-
vestigate all the particulars of the system now in
vogue. Mr. ADDERLEY complains of the ticket-of-
leave system. Its first fault is, that freedom is
mixed up with punishment, and another error is,
that the conditions imposed are valueless, so
that a regular discharge would be infinitely
preferable. It has been found by practice that this
once vaunted plan has been a total failure, and that
it afflrds ample opportunity for the worst charac
ters to resume their evil ways, while the more
timorous are worried into wrongdoing by the per-
tinacious espionage practised upon them, and the
prejudice entertained against them in many quar-
ters. Mr. ADDERLEY-thinks that the establishment
at Lusk, where the Irish convict system is pursued,
is open to objection, as it is not sufficiently distin-
guished from a prison. It would answer better if
it were more of an "adult reformatory," and not at
all as a third stage of penal servitude. Mr. ADDER-
LEY is against the proposal of sending convicts to
Western Australia. He prefers discharged ones
going out as free labourers. This to be conducted
assisted by funds from the
by private agency',
Treasury, for he says the market of the world will
be before them, and this plan will not complicate
the Government. It is, however, to be questioned
if this idea can be carried out altogether. In the
first place, sufficient sums will not he'raised to meet
all ihe requirements, atid, the plan-of the society
-
receiving subsidies from Government may cause
confusion and lead to failure eventually. Still
with all its difficulties the notion is in all respects
incomparably preferable to the measures now taken,
and if no better are to be devised there is no valid
reason why it should not be tried. Nothing is done
without time and trouble in a case of this sort, and
it does not appear that our authorities are willing
to recognise this important fact. Tbey seem too
ready to fancy that, if they spend large sums
and employ a considerable staff, the sys-
tem must work as it has done already. But
criminals do not, any more than the rest of us, re-
main unchanged amid this changing scene, and it
behoves those who take the charge of them to study
the revolutions that take place in social existence,
and the altered features of a case that experience
brings under notice. It does not matter whether
or not the ticket-of-leave system answered when it
was first introduced. It is better to assume that it
did do so, to avoid discussion on an irrelevant topic.
It suffices to say that it does not do so now, and had
better be given up, and some other mode devised.
It is very bad to go on so long without coming to a
settlement on this question; it is apt to make the
criminal population imagine that there is no really
effective check to be put upon their proceedings,
and that an unequal warfare will be waged which
will end in their ultimate success. It is important
that the majesty of the law should be vindicated
at once, and with such decision and energy that
there may remain no doubt that its institutions are
powerful to restrain vice in all its ramifications, and
to enferce the severest penalties against those who
persist irr the tommission of crime. At the same
time it should be distinctly understood that due
assistance will be offered to those who wish to re
turn up the steep ascent that separates them from
the pleasant paths of honesty and we 1-doing. Until
these advantages are offered in a convict establish-
ment it cannot be said that its mission is fully and
faithfully carried out ; nor can its upholders arro-
gate any right to themselves of adhering to the
plans which common sense and practical experience
have alike pronounced against and declared as
incompetent and insecure.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE BANK OF FRANCE.

PARIS, DEC. 3.

It is said that the Bank of France has not yet
been affected by the action of the Bank of England,
and the amount of bullion held by the former was
to-day 212 millions francs, or about seven millions
more than at the date of the last return.