The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-17 00:00:00

LAW AMENDMENT SOCIETY.

Last night the thitel general meeting of the
society was held at,,Waterloo-place; the Hon. Mr,
Denidan, M.P., in the chair.
The subject for discussion was, " Wnat shall we
do with our criminals ?" which was introduced at
the last meeting by Mr. Hastings, and adjourned
to this night on the motion of Mr. Vaughan.
Mr. HASTINGS having given a summary of the
points opened by him at the previous meeting,
Mr. PULLING read a paper on the same subject.
After enumerating the recognised defects of the
present system of dealing with our. criminals, Mr.
IPulling stated that according to the last police re-
turns the known number of criminals living at
large in unconstrained liberty amounted to upwards
of 123,000, having for their known haunts 24,000
houses, dens of infamy, &c., where crime was syste-
matically encouraged. The same returns showed an
increase in the number of offences committed, of
offences proceeded against, and of actual convic-
tions. The known criminals supposed to be at
large outnumbered twelve times those in actual
custody, and six times the whole constabulary
force of the kingdom. They swarm in our
principal towns with varying force. In the
metropolis the criminals at large amounted to
21,000, living in or frequenting 2,755 dens of
infamy. The numerous outrages recently com-
mitted in the metropolis created such a feeling of
terror that some persons thought the only way of
preventing crime was to show no mercy to crimi-
nals. But he did not believe that this would put
an end to crime. He suggested that every convic-
tion for felony should de facto operate as a recogni-
sance on the part of the convict to be of good be-
haviour for a time to be named in the sentence, the
recognisance to be forfeited on proof to the satis-
faction of a police magistrate either of the ormvict
leading a dishonest life, or not honestly endeavour-
ing to maintain himself. All defaulters in this
Tsrespect
ocvt
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ttfhtoeeudnl td
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reference to the possession of housebreaking. imple-
ments, should be extended so as to embrace the
case of known criminals found at any time with
dangerous or offensive instruments or implements
of robbery without lawful excuse. To enable the
judge or magistrate to pass proper sentence on con-
victs, a register should be kept of all persons who
had been convicted, with a personal description of
the convict, and a description as far as could be
ascertained of the prisoner's conduct while in.
prison, and his previous education, his ordinary
place of abode, and such other particulars as might
be necessary to establish the identity of the con-
vict, and guide the judge or magistrate in the dis-
charge of his duty. To prevent the improper dis-
charge of convicts before the expiration of the sen-
tence, no ticket-of-leave except in the case of
urgent sickness should be granted without the ex-
press sanction of the judge or magistrate who
passed the sentence, or some other judge or magis-
trate in case of the death of the official before
whom the party was convicted. To enable re-
leased convicts to gain an honest livelihood cer-
tificates should be given on due proof of one
year's good character by a police magistrate,
entitling the convict to the protection of the
police against any maltreatment, and to assistance
for the purpose of obtaining employment or emi-
-grating. To prevent the produce of crime being
available to the wrong doer, he thought that con-
viction for felony should operate as a forfeiture of
all the offender's property at the time of the com-
mission of the offence, and that in addition to the
penalties now attaching to the harbouring of
mina's, the property in all houses knowingly let for
such purposes should on Conviction F.,ecome for-
feited. If these regulations were adr,pted and fol-
lowed by prudent rules for the employment or
emigration of criminals on their discharge, the cri-
minal population would be materially diminished.
Mr. FREDERICK HILL approved of the system in
operation in Ireland, which however was capable of
improvement. He thought it would be a great
advantage to apply that system in this country, for
he could not assume that the criminals of England
were more irreclaimable than those of Ireland. He
was opposed to the revival of transportation, as ex-
pensive, and condemned by previous experience.
In reply to Mr. ANDERTON,

Mr. HILL stated that he was not able to say what
was the proportion of English criminals in Ireland,
but he knew that the proportion of Irish criminals
in England was very large.
Sergeant WooLRYCII moved, ,( That bulb
the
papers read be referred to a committee." He be-
lieved that garotte robberies were more numerous
than was supposed. He thought the system of
ticket-of-leave should be abridged, and that the
punishment of whipping should be resorted to.
Mr. WINGFIELD believed that in the reformation
of the conscience, and not in punishment, was to be
found the real prevention of crime.

After some remarks from Mr. Baker, Mr. Ander-
ton, and others, the proceedings were brought to a
close.

ASPECT OF A LANCASHIRE TOWN
UNDER 7HE FAMINE.

It is possible that an idea may exist in some
minds that there must be many outward indications
in the streets and byways of those cotton towns of
the want and suffering endured by the inhabitants.
Any one who visited these regions expecting to find
such scenes as Flaxman has depicted in his Acts of
Mercy would be disappointed. People do not lie
starving in the streets, nor clamour after the passer
by for bread as he walks along. There is little
begging, and what there is is done probably by the
habitually poor. The real sufferers suffer in secret.
Their misery wears a decent veil: it is not pro-
claimed in the market-places. The signs of what
has gone wrong in these towns are few, and may be
described in few words. First, there is less bustle
in the streets, less heavy traffic and carting of goods
from place to place. There is less traffic of all
kinds, and those troops of factory hands discharged
under ordinary circumstances at stated times in
great numbers are wanting. As you pass the mills
you hear no clack and vibration of machinery. After
night has set in the rows of windows which should be
all ablaze with light are dark and cheerless-looking.
The great tall chimneys, too, which rear themselves
in all directions, discharge for the most part no
smoke, and though the air is all the clearer for this,
you are yet surprised to find that the town where
these chimneys are thus enjoying a sinecure are all
the more dismal for the want of that thick and sooty
cloud. The smoke is an indication-of prosperity,
and the absence of it is felt like a want. One more
indication there is of the existence of some unac-
customed state of things in these towns, and it is
an indication which cannot escape the most casual
observer. At certain times of the day as you walk
the streets, you meet great numbers of women and
children carrying packages of bread and meal, and
tin•cans or other vessels for holding soup. These are
the mill-hands out of employment, who have been to
the depots of the Relief Committees, to receive their
dole. Sometimes you meet a boy, or an old helpless
man thus loaded, but scarcely ever a young or
middle-aged workman. Beyond such indications,
there is little to show what is going on amiss in the
manufacturing towns. It may be that the people you
meet are more poorly clad than usual, and it may be
that their faces are, in some cases, more pinched and
careworn. But it must be remembered that the
manufacturing classes are never, at the best of times,
characterised by robustness of appearance, and that
pallor and poorness of development are to be o.b-
-of
served among them as prominent characteristic:
under all circumstances. It is within doors that yo
must look for the real unmistakable evidences
and
view,
ieepwe n, d on
iwt htahtoshea swghoonwe
the shoeless feet will not cross the threshold ewer: tit
L. m If
willth ehreidbeeouratgs;
o if there
man I went to see, a
is any way to halp it.
Onel rge class, said that he
specimen, no doubt, of a
a - because ho had
had not been out for months, simply
ppear in, and did not choose to
not fit clothes to a
Sodden and
show in the streetstatters.
in
and when I asked him if he
wretched he looked; .
had lost flesh, h said, Yes, he knew that he had
-e
lost flesh,
but that was not so much from want as
from fretting.. He said it was a man's mind th a
wasted him away like that. - And he was right,
poor fellow.—Dtckens's "411 the Year Bound."