The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-28 00:00:00

undergo the agony and peril of a public trial; and I am not
satisfied to leave interests so momentous in the hands of a
single magistrate, however able, honest, and experienced.
Again, you must combine with the consideration of this
topic that of the contemplated institution of a public pro-
secutor, and the projected great augmentation of the sum-
mary powers of a single magistrate. All these are topics of
infinite moment; but I must pass on, with the expression of
an anxious hope that the Legislature will not gaffer itself to
Ibe precipitated into rash and pernicious action. The treat-
ment of the criminal section of our population continues to
excite the utmost anxiety among all thinking men.
There really must be a reconsideration of what I shortly
designate as the ticket-of-leave system, the serious evils
of which are multiplying around us in all directions.
The subject, however, is one of great difficulty, and re-
quires profound consideration by the Legislature. As to
youthful criminals, a hearty but cautious effort has been
made by the Legislature during the last session to meet the
wishes and requirements of the country and the age. This,
also, is a subject remaining environed with practical diffi-
culties ; and I, for one, am watching the operation of the
great experiment with the utmost solicitude : curious also
to see how far the country's voluntary efforts will second
those which the Legislature has been so urgently pressed by
the country to make. I wish from my heart God speed
to this noble effort ! I am alluding now to statute
17th and 13th Vic., c. 85, passed on the 10th of August
last, and entitled " An Act for the better care and refor-
mation of youthful offenders in Great Britain." Under its
provisions, the managers of any voluntarily esta.bli,he.l
institution for the better training of juvenile offenders
may apply to the Home Secretary to order the institution
to be inspected by one of the inspectors of prisons ; and on
a favourable report it may be declared by the Secretary
of State to be a "Reformatory School" under t.,e act.
It is then enacted that any youth under sixteen years of
age, convicted on either indictment or summary conviction,
luny be ordered by the court or justices, in addition to the
sentence, which must not be less than 14 days' imprison-
ment, to be sent, at the expiration of it, to any " Reforma-
tory School" which may be willing to receive him ; to be
detained there fornot more thin five,nor less than two yelsrs.
The parents of such offender shall be compelled, if able, to
contribute to the maintenance of such offender &weekly sum
not exceeding 55.; payment to be enforced bythe compulsory
powers of the Poor-law Acts. The Treasury is made liable
to pay the whole or such part of the maintenance as can-
not be recovered from the parents ; and the act contains
provisions rendering absconding or refractory offenders
liable to three months' imprisonment, with or without
hard labour, in any gaol or house of correction for the
county or borough. Such are the leading provisions of the
Act which might have been set in force within this bo-
rough by either myself at these sessions, or by the stipen-
diary magistrate and justices in cases cognisable by them.
But this cannot now be the case. The Act as regards
this borough is, during these sessions, a dead letter ;
for where is your voluntarily established Reformatory
School? I cannot doubt, however, that this is owing
solely to the very recent passing of the Act ; and that
no time will be lost in establishing one, and thus practi-
cally and nobly proving that the enlightened inhabitants
of Hull were and are in right earnest in this great cause.
Their sentiments—those of a grand jury, formally pre-
sented to me in court—l myself conveyed, as I promised,
to the Secretary of State, and several of the leading mem-
bers of both Houses of Parliament. Another bold step
taken by the Legislature during the last session, in a vir-
tuous and philanthropic spirit, was towards securing the
sanctity of the Lord's-day, and thereby, also, diminishing
opportunities and temptations for intemperance, that very
hot-bed of crime. Who can doubt, that were there no in-
toxicating liquors in existence on earth, crimes would im-
mensely diminish, and the happiness and well-doing of our
species proportionately increase ? But as times go, and with
men as men are, and wemust be aware that in bending we do
not break the bow, and impose a kind, and a degree, of re-
straint on reasonable enjoyment, which a free country will
not, and indeed ought not, to tolerate. The recent act for
restricting the sale of intoxicating liquors on Sunday has
made, as I have said, a bold advance in the right direc-
tion ; and I wish that all mayors—all magistrates—would
imitate the example of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh—
and also of my excellent friend the Recorder of Birming-
ham, and with patient impartiality and vigilance watch
the operation of that important act. God forbid, gentle-
men, that such a monstrous outrage on public moralitv and
feeling should be committed, as that the upper classes of
society, blessed with every means of complete and luxurious
enjoyment of life, should cruelly debar their less favoured
brethren of such fair and reasonable enjoyment, only,
as their limited means and opportunities may afford ;
that would be to make the rich man continue selfishly
enjoying, amidst increased quietude and enhanced soli-
tude, that Sunday which his chafed and irritated humbler
neighbour would only feel disposed to curse. But, on
the other hand, do not let us be frightened by phrases,
stereotyped though empty,—such as, " the impossibility
of making men sober, or religions, by Act of Parliament."
Let us give a fair trial to an honest attempt of the
Legislature, set in motion by so many wise and bene-
volent persons, remembering how inevitably it is calcu-
lated at first to provoke resistance and resentment.
Let us also make large deductions in respect of clamour
among those who are selfish and base enough to regard
it as a question solely of pecuniary profit and loss. By
and by, the neck gets accustomed to the soft collar of
social order ; and while the dissolute drunkard is hiccuping
curses against the friends of temperance -his own best
friends—oh, that the Legislature could catch a sight of the
vast array of wives, of mothers, of sisters, faces, pale with
suffering and fear of a return to old times of domestic
tyranny and debauchery who, in anguished silence,
are inwardly praying for the success of that move-
ment, which is already beginning to make their home
a little heaven ! Who would tremblingly whisper
in the ear of the Legislature—think of us and of our
children—of those who dare not speak for ours-Ives—
and be wisely and mercifully firm of purpose ; having
set, your hand to the plough, oh ! look not back. I can
truly say, that the result of my own inquiries elsewhere
than here, especially in London, has been decisively favour-
able to the new law ; the operation of which I shall con-
tinue, as doubtless will all really interested in the public
welfare, to watch with anxiety and hope. I have been given
to understand, also, that in this borough, since the passing
of the act, the charges for drunkenness have diminished by
about two-thirds ! and that the beneficial effects .of the
act are beginning to be perceived by even those whose
interests might have been imagined to render them
highly hostile to it. This is, indeed, most honourable
to them, and encouraging to the public. So great have
been the changes and improvements made by an act of
the last session (stat. 17 and 18 Vic., c. 125), in the admi-
nistration of civil justice in England, and which will pro-
bably come into operation during the sitting of the Venire
Court here, that one of the most celebrated members of the
House of Lords (Lord Brongham) lately declared to a fr iend
of mine that it alone was richly worthy of the exclusive la-
bours of a session. Gentlemen, I lament to see so heavy a ca-
lendar, nearly 60 cases, while all classes are enjoying so much
prosperity. The learned Recorder then proceeded to say that,
with respect to the cases in the calendar, though there were
many of a very. serious nature, yet there was only one which
called for special remark from him. This was the case of
the man charged with procuring a girl, under 21 years of
age, for immoral purposes. In this case the Grand Jury
would have to see first that the girl was under 21 years of
age ; and then that, by false pretences and representations,
and by fraudulent means, she had been led into evil? If a
prima facie case of this kind were made out, then it would
be their duty to find a bill. The Recorder then dismissed
the jury to their duties.—Hind Advertiser.

(From the Bull Advertiser.)
We pretend not to feel much regret at finding it im-
possible this week to do more than call the particular
attention of the public to the eloquent, glowing, and
soul-stirring charge of the Recorder of Hull to the grand
jury of this borough at the opening of our quarterly ses-
sions yesterday. The learned Recorder, Mr. Warren, as
our local readers well know, was in personal at-
tendance upon the Queen during her Majesty's
stay in Hull ; and, as was to be expected, the
lofty theme is dwelt upon in the opening of his
charge in language with which it would not be very
safe for newspaper writers to court a comparison. How
different are the utterances of a mouth touched with a
live coal from the Celestial altar from those which serve
the purposes of common speech may he discovered in a
moment by comparing the Recorder's glowing descrip-
tion of the Queen's presence in Hull with most of those
previously published I Now it may surprise hundreds
to be told that in the inspired utterances of such
gifted men as the Recorder is to be sought and found
that real matter of factness of which business men
profess to be such great admirers. A true poet, for
example, not only feels and apprehends more fully and
,correctly than a clever man not gifted with a poetic
temperament, but he sees infinitely more in any great
object presented to him than is observable by persons of
more limited intellect. When it comes to ordinary
questions of fact usually addressed to grand juries,
such as their utility in the administration of justice--
the ticket-of-leave system—reformatory schools and
the working of the new Beer Bill, the learned
Recorder is as much at home as the dullest of us.
In him, as in all men of high intellect, the most
exalted order of mental excellence is not in the least in-
compatible with a thorough acquaintance with all the
details of the very commonest of common things. Never-
theless we regard it as most expedient to take future oc-
casions for severally examining the questions. As re-
gards the Beer Bill, we most cordially concur in the
thanks which, with meritorious discrimination, the
learned Recorder bestows upon the Lord Provost of
Edinbnigh for the pains which he has taken to make
the United Kingdom aware of the practical operation of
the new law in Scotland. Were all other Chief Magis-
trates in England and Scotland to follow his excellent
example an immense amount of good would be done to
the country. When in Scotland we had some conversa-
tion with him on the subject of his letters to the Times,
and were eye and ear witnesses of the efficacy of his la-
bours in the promotion of National Temperance. A
great deal everywhere depends upon the zeal and activity
and devotedness of the Magistrates. But these are mat-
ters which shall have our attention when the excitement
produced by the Royal visit has partially subsided, and
when there are no such public teachers as the learned
Recorder in the way to claim the ears of all intelligent
listeners.

VIGILANCE OF OUR THIEVES.—On Friday last Mr.
Thomas Froggett, of the parish of Little Hereford, at-
tended Hereford fair, had transacted his business, and
was waiting at the booking-office at the railway station
in the afternoon of that day, when 2151., consisting of
bank notes, gold, and a cheque for 801., were extracted
from his breeches pocket. From what we have heard,
we gather that Mr. Froggett, in taking some silver from
his pocket to pay his own fare and that of some friend to
Woofferton station, unfortunately displayed the bag
containing this large amount, when it was doubtless
seen by the thief, for in less than five minutes afterwards
Mr. Froggett discovered he had been robbed.— Worcester
Chronicle.
[AnvizwrisEmENT.]—Holloway's Ointment and Pills
effected another cure of bad legs, after 14 years' dura-
tion.—Mrs. Geatley, of Dartford, was afflicted for 14
were obliged she
yweasars withtbad legs, and she was repeatedly told that it
ey refused
her
to
months
she could ever be cured. Eighteen
became so much worse that her friends
re
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toandeeire
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as Atan
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meat and Pills, and in to try Holloway's ()int-
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