The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-14 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, AGGITST Tl 4, 1863

system; and even if faulty in many of its existing
forms, to seek to modify rather than to re-make
the plan. During the last twenty-one years crime
has decreased in England ; but in the last two
years there has been in England and Ireland an
increase amounting to one-fifth in smaller offences,
and one-third in graver charges. Now, the
sad
eicom-
missioners give it as their opinion that
state of things is certainly attributablevinress
de-
gree to the defects that exist in the sys-
temcomnte
punishment.T
ti s f y
s opposers
bu e o,
fa
ncl may s satisfy strenuous
youstrong
Commis-
sionersre-
buke,
consider that this unsatisfactory result is
thehi sis
mosta
of the mode now in vogue. Also, the
partly produced by retaining so many convicts at
home. They prove the inefficiency of penal servitude
as it is at present managed, by pointing out the
immense number of re-convictions that have taken
place. This anomaly they justly attribute to the
shortness of the sentences that are passed upon
offenders, and also to the defective discipline that
now prevails. The Commissioners, therefore, pro-
pose a decided remedy for this glaring evil by
advising that for the future there should be no
sentence of penal servitude for less than seven
years, and as there is great inequality now dis-
played in the sentences passed
,by different judges
for the same offences, that henceforth there should
not be so much latitude allowed to the Courts in
the fixing of the term of punishments. These are
very wise proposals, and seem to meet the require-
ments of the case, at the same time that they do not
upset and disturb all existing arrangements, and
the present line of procedure, to an extent that
would confuse and complicate matters. The ques-
tion of the ticket-of-leave system has of course been
tested by a strict inquiry, and the result is that it
is proposed to retain it still in force, since it holds
out encouragements and cffers inducements to the
men to preserve a decent demeanour, and to work
industriously. This is true enough, doubtless, so
far as the plan works within the prison walls, but
the world without their confines has complained,

and .with good cause, too, that they are made the
sacrifice, that their lives and property are at stake
to enable the prison authorities to carry out their
crotchets, and to put in practice their theories con-
cerning the votaries of crime. However, those who
are strongly against the system will be pleased to
find in the report that the commissioners agree that
there was sufficient cause last year for the dissen-

tient opinion that prevailed among the public re-
garding this much deba' ed question. They, how-
ever, attribute the evils that accrued to the abuses
and not the uses, of the plan, and think that a
great deal of the harm came from the sentences
being too short, and the prisoners too soon released.
This custom of making the terms of imprisonment
of so brief a duration has been much the practice

lately, and it is a very wise piece of advice for the
Commissioners to propose rescinding such a custom,
which has been productive of such pernicious con-
sequences. Another great advantage that will
accrue from this plan of giving seven years as the
minimum term of penal servitude, is that hence the
reason for keeping so many prisoners at home will
be done away with. Western Australia most for-
tunately presents an opportunity for the great ne-
cessity that exists at present for transportation.
Since the other colonies objected to receiving con-
victs, all the evils which they complained of, and
which were to some extent imaginary, have been
forced upon us in sad reality. It is impossible to
succeed at all with the penal system in its
present state, and a change of some kind is rendered
highly imperative.
Mr. GREELET, in his interesting letter to the Times
the other day, discoursed at great length on the
great advantages that would be gained if transpor-
tation on a more extended scale were carried on in
Western Australia. He showed that the chief evil
that abounds at home in ticket-of-leave men is
unknown there, namely, a return to their old ways
of life. His evidence was personal testimony. He
said—" I do not speak from conjecture or hearsay,
having, while in the colony, employed the largest
amount of convict labour. I have every reason
to speak well thereof, for although I was without
neighbours, three hundred miles from the nearest
soldiers, and seventy-five from a policeman, I never

fastened door or window, and never lost the value
of a shilling." This is most valuable testimony,
since it goes far to establish the fact already asserted
by so many that the convicts do so much better
abroad. Removed from temptation, ensured an
amount of remunerative labour, they are almost
certain to become altered characters. By degrees
new objects of interest spring up around them, and

they are weaned from all the associations that
abound at home and constantly lead them back to
ruin. Colonel HENDERSON, who was the Comp-
troller-General of Convicts in Western Australia,
speaks strongly as regards the advantages of this
colony.

He says it is an " extensive terri-
ory, constituting a vast natural gaol, with
innumerable resources, a large leaven of free
settlers anxious and willing to co-operate
with the Government in the progress of transporta-
tion." After summing up various other advantages,

such as excellent climate, the cheapness of thene-
cessaries of life, and a NI ell organised convict depart-
ment, no wonder that he declares that it forms a
combination of facts that may be sought for in vain
hereafter. It is satisfactory that COL HENDERSON

is appointed es the Inspector-General of our Con-
vict Prisons at home, as his influence will then be
exerted in favour of the system of transportation,
and having seen for himself the remedial results of
the plan ha will enter into its furtherance with
spirit and energy. On this point of transportation
to Western Australia on a large scale the Lord
Chief Justice coincides with his colleagues; so

that there seems every reason to hope that the
wise and beneficial scheme will shortly be intro-
duced in full force. It has every reasonable argu-
ment in its favour, and its advocates appear suc-
cessfully to have combated the opponents of the
project. Great reforms are unquestionably called
for at home, in the arrangements within the prison
as to diet, the hours of labour, and a stricter system
of discipline, but it will strike at the root of the
evil as regards the failure of the convict system, if
this proposal regarding Western Australia be
carried out. Then the most dangerous characters
will not be left all here to become indifferent to

prisonment in consequence of the many leniences
lately introduced, and they will not be able, above
all, to return to their old ways and associates,
the terror of society and the lasting reproach
to the prison authorities. IC the Commissioners
succeed in persuading the authorities to carry out
their proposal, they will have rendered moat essen-
tial service to all concerned in the affair. The
officials will be spared great annoyance, the convicts
themselves will be benefited, the settlers will be
satisfied, and the community at home will reap the
advantages of security from violence and repeated