The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-09 00:00:00

dened criminals, and practically letting them off
altogether, although no doubt the parents of the
boys would have chastised them, not for their
cruelty to the cat, but because they themselves have
lost their money. The truth of the adage that pre-
vention is better than cure is admitted by all, yet
we do not follow it out effectually. Had separate
wards, or, better still, a separate prison for the recep-
tion of youths and children, been in existence,
where they would be carefully looked after and
judiciously classified, the magistrate would doubt-
less have committed at least the eldest of these
children for a short period; and if a sound whipping
had been superadded it would have been all the
better. As it is, the child must either be let loose
unpunished, or thrown into the society of those
who will speedily bring to maturity the germ of
crime already generated in his mind. Men do
not become felons and murderers all of a sudden—
it is by easy gradations that the pickpocket be-
comes housebreaker or garotter. A few years ago
a man was arrested in the dark arches of the
Adelphi, who was tearing off the skins of live cats.
The affair created considerable excitement and
public indignation, and the magistrate of Bow-
street,while passing the heaviest sentence which
the
allowed upon him, expressed his regret
tha ltaw he had not the power of dealing more
severely with him. Is there much to choose be-
tween the man and the child in this matter ?
The crime of the adult was increased by his know-
ledge of the barbarity of his act, but that of the
child is also aggravated by the exhibition of such
an act of barbarity in one so young. Were we
able to trace back the antecedents of the man, we
should most likely find that in his youth he had been
given to amusements similar to those of the children
above referred to. Many children are naturally
cruel, and their parents are in a great measure to
blame for in too many instances encouraging rather
than checking them. It is, however, the duty of the
Government generally, and of local authorities in
particular, to use their best endeavours to mitigate
as far as possible these glaring evils. The excellent
Society by whose instrumentality this abominable
case has been brought forward, are distributing
tracts among the national and ragged schools, in-
culcating the duties of humanity, and we doubt not
that the teachers will exert themselves to impress
their principles upon their pupils; but there is a
power in the hands of every one individual of the
a moral duty—which is to check
community, nay,
every instance of wanton cruelty which comes
under his or her observation. People are too prone
to say to themselves, even in matters where the
safety of life and property is in danger--" It is no
concern of mine ; let the police look to it !" How
much more will many decline to interfere in cases
where a boy is ill-using a horse, donkey, or dog.
There are those, however, who feel that it is their
duty to mankind to check a vice which may here
often be developed into a crime. If all people acted
upon this principle, our gaols, reformatories, and
workhouses would be less crowded.