The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-29 00:00:00

The Late Outrages in the Metropolis.

A deputation appointed by the vestry of St. Pancras
waited, by appointment, on Sir George Grey, on Friday to
present a memorialupon the subject of the recent numerous
robberies with violence, and general unprotected state of
the metropolis from depredation. Mr. Plaw, the vestry
clerk, introduced the deputation, and read the memorial,
which stated that the memorialists were deeply impressed
with the inefficiency of the laws and of the mode of punish-
ment adopted towards hardened offenders, which have of
late years prevailed in their treatment even of heinous
crimes, that they regard the system of granting tickets-of-
leave to hardened criminals to have failed in its benevolent
intentions and they respectfully beg to urge upon the au
thorities the immediate abtdonment of a system fraught
with so much evil ; and that more repressive means should
be adopted to check the great growth of crime. They sug-
gested the advisability of adopting measures in which cor-
poral punishment should form an important feature in its
application to crimes accompanied with violence to the per-
son, as wall as by a modification of the dietary table of
pris ners, so that the same shall not present the incongru-
ous condition of being a higher class than that given to sol-
diers and to poor persons, both in and out of workhouses,
and to adopt means for exterminating the schools which
foster the growth of crime, and expressed it as their opinion
that the efficiency of the metropolitan police is greatly re-
stricted by the inefficiency of the laws for the proper and
adequate punishment of the desperate ruffians who infest
this metropolis in thousands.
Mr. Ross having spoken in support of the memorial,
Sir G. GREY said that Government had already or-
pointed a commission, consisting of the most competent
men, to deal with this question, and he had no doubt that
they would go into the subject fairly, and that great good
would result from their inquiry. Ile drew their attention
to the Acts of Parliament which had been passed upon this
subject, substituting penal servitude for transportation.
The colonies to which convicts were formerly transported
had of late years so rapidly advanced in population, civi-
lisation, and prosperity, and to strongly objected that it was
deemed impolitic to continue the system of transportation
to those colonies. With a view to meet this difficulty the
act of 1853 was passed, substituting penal servitude for
transportation, the effect of which was that where a man
was sentenced to seven years, the Penal Servitude Act
gave him four years. This was found to work in so unsa•
tisfactory a manner that the act was amended in 1867 in
this way—that where a man was sentenced to seven years,
and his conduct was particular'y good, at the end of some
three or four years he was entitled to a " ticket-of•leave,"
which was intended to place him for the three years, or re-
mainder of his original sentence, under the surveillance of
the police, and which rendered him liable to be taken into
custody and to complete the remainder of his original sen-
tence if it were discovered that he was not getting his
living in an honest and legitimate manner. This was the
oresent state of the law, and Parliament having done that,
the Government could not altetethe present system without
sanction of Parliament. The Get% crnment, had, however,
done the best they could until Parliament assembled, by
getting the commission appointed, whose report would be
ready to lay before Parliament early in the ensuing session.
In reference to the memorial from St. Pancras, Sir George
Grey said he observed there was a paragraph which stated
"that robberies with dangerous and murderous violence to
the person, commonly known as garotte robberies," &c.,
had prevailed in the metropolis, and many of which had
happened in the parish the deputation represented. He
should feel obliged by the authorities of St. Pancras for-
warding him authentic information of when and where
those robberies to which they particularly referred took
place. He did not mean from the newspapers, fcr it had
been ascertained that many of the paragraphs which had
appeared were exaggerations, and in some instances had no
existence whatever. If they would forward him the parti-
culars he would direct investigations to be made, as the more
real cases there were the more they would strengthen his
(Sir G. Grey's) hands.

Mr. Ross said the question was, who was to make this is-
vostigation. He was quite certain the police were not the
proper parties, for they were interested in making it appear
that there were none of these cases of robbery with vio-
lence, and that they were all fabrications in the papers,
whereas a great many occurred which never got into the
papers at all.

Mr. FARRER said that he wished to call Sir George Grey's
attention to the effect of the ticket-of-leave system, as eli-
cited in the charge of Mr. Baron Bramwell to the grand
jury at the recent assizes at Nottingham. He related a case
of a man who had been sentenced to penal servitude as an
example. This man became entitled to a ticket of leave.
He then committed some offence, for which he was impri-
soned for a short period and then liberated. Subsequently
he committed a third offence, and was thus subjected to
and paid the penalty of three sentences before the final ex-
piration of the period of the first. He submitted that such
a system was tuning law and justice into ridicule.
The HOME :-.ECRETA.RY said he had himself hewn struck
with the case referred to by Mr. Ferrer, who had very pro-
perly brought• it under his notice, and had noted it down
It certainly was a very stn ng case to go before the commis-
sion when it assembled. At the same time, he was sure
that the deputation would see that the Government could
not interfere in the matter pending that inquiry, lie was,
however, much gratified at the information which had
been afforded him, and if they would furnish him with the
particulars he required, they should, together with that he
had already received, be forwarded to the proper quarter.

The colone;cy of the 26th Regiment has just
become vacant by the death of General Sir Poilip
Bainbrigge. No step has yet been taken for filling it, but
the probabilities are in favour of Major-General Sir Sydney
Cotton, K.C, 8., finding h;mself gazetted to it when he
lands in England upon the close of his long, gallant, and
most valuable career in India,—Artny and Navy Gazette.