The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-03 00:00:00

JUVENILE CRIMINALS.
(From the Chronicle.)
jnder the head of " Mansion-house," in our police
'lig.-nce of Thursday, will be found a report of some
Tent observations by the Lord Mayor, in the course
hich he appeals to what he terms " the powerful
•e; of the metropolis" to aid him in directing the at-
neltion of the public and the Legislature to the necessity
of providing adequate provision for the reception and
reformatory discipline of juvenile criminals. No reader
of the Morning Chronicle requires to be informed of our
ready sympathy with his Lordship's feelings. For years
we have seized every available opportunity of dwelling
upon what, in the language of the Lord Mayor, is " the
most painful of spectacles," the " crowds of helpless,
half-naked children," who swarm in our streets, and
become, as if by a fatal necessity, the victims of crime
and the permanent feeders of our gaols and our penal
colonies. The immediate case before the Lord Mayor
was a very common, though a very afflicting one. Three
boys, the youngest eight, the eldest twelve years of age,
were brought before him. One- of them had been seen
by a benevolent gentleman to commit a petty theft ;
and he caused them all to be brought up to the Mansion-
house, with the view of having their apparently desolate
condition inquired into, and to see if there were any
means of arresting their progress in what the chief
civic magistrate of the greatest city in the civilised
world was constrained to call " their road to certain
destruction." The necessity for something effective
being done is even more urgent than probably the
Lord Mayor was himself aware of, when he made the
observations to which our attention has been called.
Hitherto the public have been under the impression that
there was in England a reformatory institution for juve-
nile criminals. When Lord John Russell brought in the
Bill for establishing Parkhurst prison, he expressed himself
as not being very sanguine as to the results of the insti-
tution. This was both prudent and decorous in a states-
man officially propounding a measure which was a first
step in a new system of penal jurisprudence. Still, the
prison was distinctly understood to be an experiment, in
il,e way of juvenile reformation, by the State, and up to
the date of the last annual report from Parkhurst prison,
;: was so understood, not merely by the general public,
,out by the officers of the institution. The last annual
report tells us of the mode in which 105 young pri-
soners have been disposed of. Eighteen were sent to
Western Australia with conditional pardons ; three were
pardoned on medical grounds ; two were transferred to the
Refuge for the Destitute ; and no less than seventy-nine
were " removed to Millbank for transportation." For
this unusual occurrence the governor of the prison
&ems it necessary to furnish a special apology. " The
relmber of prisoners," he says, " sent back to Millbank
for transportation last year, was, from peculiar circum-
stances, unusually great. A number of ill-disposed and
discontented boys having been discovered, who mani-
fested no desire to avail themselves of the course of in-
struction and training pursued at Parkhurst, but mis-
chievously employed themselves in unsettling others, it
was deemed expedient to remove the greater portion of
tb in, and the salutary effect of that step has been very
akparent since that time in the improved conduct of the
remaining prisoners." It now appears that there is not
The least necessity for making selections amongst the
prisoners at Parkhurst. They are all destined for trans-
portation. Some time ago Mr. Sergeant Adams, acting
iris official capacity as chairman of the Middlesex
Sessions, was moved by a similar scene to that which
drew forth the earnest appeal of the Lord Mayor. We
noticed his observations at the time, and concurred
pith the Learned Sergeant as to the necessity of ob•
taming some information respecting the intentions
of the Executive with respect to Parkhurst. An
oidcial reply has been received, in answer to a letter from
Yr. Sergeant Adams ; and this answer we give at
ft flesh in a separate column. From this we gather the
starling fact, that, in future, no juvenile prisoners are to
be sent to Parkhurst who are not destined finally" "to
be sent abroad ;" and all magistrates at Quarter Ses-
sions, when selecting candidates for Parkhurst, are to
bear in mind two qualifications which Sir James Gra-
ham considers to be essential : first, that the age of ad-
xnls-ion is " fourteen," and, secondly, that the " size
and stature" are proportionate to the age. Whatever
benefi', therefore, Parkhurst prison may prove to be to
the colonies, it is clear that, so long as the present Home
Secretary is in office, and a lneres to what he terms his
nnitbrm rule," there is little chance of any cure being
e IrectA of that ulcer of vice and ignorance which is
eating into the heart of our social condition. The re-
marks of the Lord Mayor were re-echoed by the chief
clerk, Mr. Goodman, who, with reference to the case
then before the bench at the Mansion-house, declared
teat though he had been but a short time in his present
position, he had seen an infinity of similar in-
stasces. " There appeared, " he said, "no
approach to in abatement of the evil, which
was certainly one of the greatest ma .nitudo"
And nothing but an effort of comprehensive character
sviil cure such an enormous mischief. " There was no
calamity," said the Lord Mayor, " comparable to that
which sprung from that of bringing up youth in habits
and practices of idleness and vice. The Legislature
spent hours and days in discussing the principle of edu-
cation. Could the minds of the representatives of the
people be more admirably, more benevolently employed,
than in devising means of correcting the awful evil
which was always before the eyes of the magistrate, and
was almost as frequently encountered by men concerned
"..o the ordinary transactions of life." We press these
marks on our readers ; and, iu the language of Mr.
Goodman, we could name more than one "benevolent
high-minded man" in the House of Commons who might
,ke up this question, make it his own, and, surmounting
of once its obstacles and its difficulties, free us from the
e,bsutality of having to concentrate the whole form and
power of our criminal law upon a mere infant—an ab-
surdity almost as ludicrous as it would be to employ a
locomotive engine in hunting down a butterfly.

Dias PIIILUARMONIC SOCIETY.—The ninth anni-
- ,rsary of this increasingly popular Society was celebrated
the Crown Commercial Inn, on Tuesday last, the 30th
ult., when upwards of fifty gentlemen sat down to a sump-
tuous dinner, served up in Mrs. Winkup's first-rate style.
Mr. Thomas Farrow took the chair, and was supported right
and left by the principal gentry of the town, who gave de-
nionstrative proof of the interest they felt in promoting the
welfare and prosperity of the Society, by their liberal sub-
scription to its funds. A good dinner and the usual loyal
and patriotic toasts having been duly disposed of, overtures,
glees, songs, &c., followed each other in rapid succession.
Among the former, the "Caliph of Bagdad' and "Figaro "
were played with considerable spirit and precision, and each
elicited well-merited approbation. "The Harvest Song," by
Mr. Owen Whayman, organist of Eye Church, accompanied
on the pianof .rte by Mr. Grey, organist of Dims Church, was
beAatifully sung, and called forth raptures of applause;_ as
(lid also "Hurrah for the Gipsy's Jovial Life," sung by Mr.
Charles Garrol iron-founder, of Eye, which was deservedly
encored ; but the song of the evening was " The Pleasures
of a Philharmonic Meeting," by Mr. J. B. Rix, which elicited
ri -ifening and lasting shouts, and which added much to the
Ll'arity of the evening. In fact, the whole of the entertain-
ments went off with eclat to the performers, and satisfaction
to the company. The thanks of the meeting were unani-
m '.illy given to Mr. Redgrave, the talented Secretary, for
hi. judicious arrangements, and for his zealous and indefati-
gable services duringthe past year.—From a Correspondent.
A letter from the Hague, of the 26th ultimo, con-
tains ihe following :—" We have lately had great changes
at Court. One of the King's aide-de-camps and two of the
Queen's chamberlains have been dismis=ed. The aide-de-
camp Is Admiral Arriens, who was tutor to Prince Henry,
the King's third son, who is now a full c ptain. The King
is • aid to have been highly dis'atisfied with the manner in
which he has brought up this young prince, whose cavalier
manners show that he has been neglected and too much
indulged. It is also rwnoured that Admiral Arriens had
laid claim to the office of Miiister of Marine, hit M dis-
regard of this it was given to Admiral Ryk ; upon which
Admiral Arriens so far forgot himself as to suffer discontent
to exhale in expressions personally irreverent towards the
King. The disgrace of Baron de. Mackay. the Queen's
Chamb rlain, arose in the following manner':—At the in-
auguration of tt.e statue t f William the Taciturn. th, Queen
and Princesses viewed the ceremony from the bale .ny of the
alace. A slight rain came on, and the Quern requested
the Laron, who was behind her, to procure her an umbrella.
According to court etiquette it was the baron's duty to go
himself, bring the umbrella, open it, and hold it over her
Majesty's he The chamberlain, however, ordered a
lacquey to doe hat he ought himself to have' done. The
Quf.'en said nothing at the time, but v
ct,•emonv Baron de Mackay. receivedlitristid: ?Eh:, afterdischarge
thein
imebtui-enefnor, )un.,
office. The third dismissal is that of
the Queen's other chamberlain, and who is
his haring, while with the court at its last visit ag, L t°
burg, appeared at the court entertainments without his oaf.
dial costume and insignia."
GLASGOW PIG IRON TRADE.—Dscemmgm
There seems to be a very good feeling this week, speculators
looking forward to the French Legislature modifying their
tariff r' garding foreign iron. Cash transactions, however,
have been very few. In the present state of our market,
three or four thousand tons forced, for cash, would not com-
mand 708.; while, on the other hand, were as large a quan-
tity wanted at once. 755. would require to be paid. One of
our largest makers has this week (or end of last week) made
a contract with a house in town for 2,000 tons, at 80s., paying
a small deposit, the iron to be delivered when required. The
sellers were open for further contracts at one shilling advance.
The price we quote as 725. 6d. It may be interesting, at the
close of the year, to note some of the fluctuations which have
taken place :
January price 655. to 70s. per ton.
February ........ 90s.
March ........
Porn this period till
Ist June prices gra-
dually receded to
June
July
August
September /
October
From that time it has
gradually fallen to
the present quota-
tion of
r„„ Bin% MR. NEWMAN.—The above gentleman,
ether with several other clergymen who have lately left
the :.itablislied Church, are making arrangements to take
un .I).eir residence at old Oscott College, which is situate
,at one mile from the new establishment. The immediate
~1,3-ct of their removal to this residence is not stated, but it
is believed that their stay is intended to be more than tem-
porary. Mr. Newman's library at Littlemore, which it is
et'hi Consists of about 3,000 volumes of the choicest literary
and ecclesiastical works, is in progress of removal, and exten-
sive alterations are being' made at the above college for their
reception.

578. 6d.
80e.
608.
BSL

90s. to 975. 6d.

D B eau or SIXErmARD DODSWORTR BART.—We
Lave to notice the deterof Sir Edward Dodsworth, Bart.
We hear the respected Baronet died n Wednesday, at
Thornton Hall, his seat, near izil°Yorkshire.He was
born in 1768, and married in 1804 Miss
k. .
daughter of Mr. Henry Dawkins, of h Wilts.
On the death of his father, the fint h
...DaW Ins, youngest
Bro_tandylync ,
seeded to the baronetcy, and in 1821 he et, in 1789,
a ,‘ Dodsworth," in lieu of his patronymeic.asalmed the name
he sac-
granjallimith, on in-
heri:ing i , 1 i tatee of his maternal Dod3w-orth, i` Thornton, Yorkshire. Ravin 1, i t Mr.. John
finedarnont
issue the to
and estates of Thornton
land Park !evolve to his brother, Mr. Charles Dodsworth,
now Sir Charles, born in 1775. and married in 1808 to )4i,
Armstrong, only daughter of Mr. John Armstrong, of Lis-
and grand-daughter of the late Lord Blayne 7.
,gold,