The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-10 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

TIMES.—In the House of Lords last night the
measure entitled the " Security from Violence Bill"
was read a second time. The technical heading is
not so familiar to the public eye as the offence the
Act deals with undoubtedly is to the recollection of
all classes in this metropo is. It does not require
continual repetition of a new variety of crime to fix
all its circumstances in the public memory which
retains a vivid impression of the process of " Garot-
ting." It was invented and introduced by the har-
dened ruffianism of London during the dark nights
of last autumn and winter. More daylight, the in-
creased vigilance of the police, some exceptional
severity in the application of the existing law, and
a strongly manifested determination on the part of
the public to protect themselves, all combined to
repress this modern peril of the streets. But the
number of cases did not decrease till they had created
something like a reign of terror. Whole sections of
a peaceable city community were on the verge of
arrniag themselves against sudden attack,—an ex-
pedient which had dangers of its own, and was
quite out of keeping with modern civilisation. The
first alarm abated. but the feeling excited, and the
cause of it, had too many unpleasant features not
to produce a decided opinion that if legislation
sfforded any possible means of preventing such
outrages, the experiment ought to be made. The
present bill, sent up to the House of Lords in
June, gives effect to what war the general public
conclusion in Dectmber, that a crime so singularly
atrocious deserved some special, signal, and deter-
ring penalty. The bill, therefore, awards to those
who perpetrate this kind of outrage the punish-
ment of flogging, in addition to a term of impri-
sonment, or in lieu of it, at the discretion of the
Court. Of a practised " Garotter" the most san-
guine philanthropist must despair, and even a
" very promising subject" of discipline may not be
the less tractable when he has something to fear.
The proposal runs counter to a favourite theory as
to the treatment of criminals, which might still
have been popular if the class subjected to it had
not turned on society with such extreme ferocity.
The combination of cunning and brute force which
distinguishes this modern form of highway robbery,
has made public forbearance impossible. The doc-
trinaires of the system which has had such a long
trial must admit some cases of failure; and it is
against these hardened characters or natures we are
driven to adopt some measures of protection. The
truth is we are now beginning to perceive practi-
cally an evil from which the,system of transporta-
tion gave us half a century of exemption. The
" Garotter" is the type of criminal who a genera-
tion ago would have been heard of as the " bush-
ranger" of Australia, with a price set upon his head,
like a wolf, or as the doubly-condemned convict of
Norfolk Island, who had forfeited the privileges
offered to ordinary offenders. The increase of crimes
" accompanied with violence" is exactly the danger
we have to expect from the return of men of this
class to mix with the community on which they
prey The type is exceptional, we trust, even among
the criminal population ; but we must reconcile our.
selves to the necessity of dealing with the peril by
means adequate to the protection of the public.
There are two measures that would relieve society
from the worst description of criminals—transpor-
tation and imprisonment for life really enforced.
But the enlightenment or philanthropy of tt a age,
we are told, forbids both. To find or establish
another penal colony is said to be impossible.
A sentence of lifelong seclusion is practically
changed into confinement for a term of years.
The possibility of shortening the period of punish-
ment is held out as the reward of " good
conduct in prison." The prospective remission, no
doubt, makes the administration of the internal
government easier; but the bribe that buys the
" good prisoner" often lets loose on the public a very
bad man, This is the root of the evil. Crimes of
violence like garotting are the natural result of
the system, and measures of " security" from them
are only indications that the mischief is making
itself perceptibly felt. The bill was read a second
time by the Lords without opposition, and with as
little criticism as could be anticipated. Lord Car-
narvon stated the case of the public and clearly,
while Lord Cranworth made some objections of de-
tail, which may be removed, and a few on broader
grounds of principle. To these the reply must be the
necessity that overrides them. The possibility of a
recurrence of such a panic as that of last autumn is
not to be endured without an effort of prevention.
We fear that the great" take" of ruffians who were
sentenced in a batch by Baron Bramwell has not
exhausted the number of the kind of criminals we
have to dread. London is vest, like the ocean, and
the worst of its dangerous classes are not to be se-
cured in one sweep of the legal net. The capture is
a partial riddance, and may have some effect for a
time, but the public requires something that pro-
mises more permanent security. The legislation
which deals with crime as it varies in degree or form
may not be scientific or logical, but the instinct of
self-defence is apt to disregard such considerations.
A great deal of our criminal law has been enacted,
precisely as this bill will be passed, on proof of the
existence of an evil, and a fair calculation that the
statute would prevent it. II this is empiricism,it is
more successful in law than medicine, for we have
had repeated experience that in special cases special
enactments have been effective. The instances are
familiar, and were very reasonably referred to in
the discussion as a justification of another experi-
ment in our customary " bit by bit" system of pro
ceeding. Lord Cranworth's assertion that we are
"recurring to the evils of the last century" is more
correct in reference to the crime of " Garottine
than to the punishment proposed for the outrage.
It brings back Old London, unlighted and without
a police. The penalty only applies as a deterring
expedient a punishment we have retained as a means
of enforcing discipline. The punishment for a slight
offence, or for what under ordinary circumstances
would be no offence at all, is now awarded to an
atrocious crime. This is no great increase of
severity, but merely an extension of what protects
an officer inside a prison to the defence of the public
against any attempt "to choke, suffocate, or
strangle" individuals in order to plunder them with
impunity. The defect of our old criminal code was
that it gave undue protection to property with too
little regard to life. But there is no danger of en-
listing sympathy on the side of the criminal by
awarding four dozen lashes to a " Garotter."
POST.—The debate in the House of Lords on
Poland, on Monday night, furnished us with an
additional evidence, were any still wanting, of the
steadily increasing interest which the Polish ques-
tion inspires among all classes of the community.
While the public generally watch the fortunes of the
insurrection with a sympathy and favour that aug-
ment in proportion as a struggle is prolonged,
which has evoked so signal a dispay of national
heroism, statesmen and politicans looking on from a
less sentimental point of view are becoming daily
more impressed with the conviction that European
interests are likely to be involved in the re-
sults of a conflict which has been sustained in
so unexpected a manner; and that, even were we
not committed by the treaties we have signed to
take some decisive action in the matter, there are
other interests at stake which should compel us to
do so. However much Lord Grey may deprecate
what, without the responsibilities of office, it is
easy for him to term " unmeaning diplomacy," the
circumstances of the case are such that it would be
impossible for the Government of this country to
stand idly by while other European Powers, feeling
the gravity of the crisis, were endeavouring to solve
nn et s
has s and
shown w e ll -be
a question which affects the peace of Europe no less
t_han the hranp mpei
, then, wonder that
g of
i maisn
of fellow-creatures. We cannot y millions
the
Goveits readiness
upon all
occasions cordially to co-operate in so laudable a
cause, nor can we blame
them if their efforts fa.l-
There is a certain exhaustive process in diplomacy
which every Government
resorting to extreme menets is bound to pursue before
tification of those measurecsres'not merely as a jus-
, should the necessity
for them ever unfortunately-arise, but because, how-
ever apparently hopeless the prospect of a compro-
mise may be, it is impossible to foresee
combinations may not be suggested what new
by proposals.
impracticable in themselves. Some such
whensentimentshe
described the point at which negotiations had at