The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-16 00:00:00

The facts here stated speak so clearly for themselves that it
is unnecessary to make an additional remark. They afford
us unquestionable evidence that crime increased with pros-
perity and diminished with want; that plenty led to vicious
indulgence, while poverty was the severe teacher of econo
my and restraint. The year 1817 may be taken as a time
of the greatest distress that was ever known in the manu-
facturing districts, yet the only increase in crime was in
juvenile delinquency, which—as our experience in Chel-
tenham signally convinces us—is the certain consequence
of idleness rather than of want. From data collected by
the chief constable of North Lancashire (for 1847-48) there
did not seem to be any marked connection between crime
and poverty. At the disastrous period to which they
refer, 45,000 mill hands, irrespective of other operatives,
were either working short time, or were altogether unem-
ployed ; and, in the Preston Union alone nearly 12,000
adults were receiving out-door relief; yet the committals
to the sessions, so far from exhibiting an increase, showed
a decrease of nearly seven per cent. on the committals of
the preceding year. Between 1817 and 1848 there was
some increase in summary convictions, but this was caused
by cases of vagrancy and workhouse disorderlies. Taken
altogether, the committals to the sessions during the hard
times (from 1816 to 1818), gave a yearly average of 332,
while during the good times (from 1850 to 1853), they
were 392. The yearly average of summary convictions
was, during the hard times, 718, while during the good
times it was 1,249; making a total, in the one case, of
1,051, and, in the other, of 1,639. And this comparison
rests upon conditions solely affected by good and bad times.
Nor are these results confined to a particular locality. The
chief constable of Manchester (Capt. Willis), in his report
for 1347, showed that the committals and summary convic-
tions in that borough for the prosperous years I'4l-45,
were 10,4;6, and that for the two years of distress which
followed, in 1817.43, they were only 7,635. " There must
be something deeply wrong," it is observed, "in the ten-
dencies and habits of many of our artisans and labourers
when what should have been for their wealth is to them an
occasion of falling." The obvious causes—it cannot be too
often repeated—are drunkenness and ignorance. In years
of distress the crimes attributable to intoxication were esti-
mated to be scarcely 17 per cent. of the whole. In years of
prosperity they were estimated at 41 per cant. Of 47 male
convicts sentenced to transportation or penal servitude in
1853 and 1854, there were 24 cases in which the offences
arose out of the drunkenness either of the convicts or their
prosecutors, or both. At the assizes for the county of Lan-
caster for the year ending in March, 1851, out of 380 of the
worst cases 250 (including 9 murders) were attributable
directly or indirectly to drunkenness. Mr. Clay states
that in two years it was his melancholy duty to converse
with 1,126 male prisoners who had become criminal by
drinking. Much of this intoxication is the result of igno-
rance, and of the consequent inaptitude to find amusement
in better things. To show the extent to which this igno-
rance prevails, Mr. Clay mentions that, of the male prison-
ers with whom he had conversed in 1853 and 1851, 1,083
were incapable of reading, being 41.7 per cent. of the whole
number committed ; 938, or 36.3 per cent., were unable to
repeat the Lord's Prayer with any approach to accuracy in
the words, or a proper comprehension of their meaning ;
and 1,836, or 72 per cent., were unable to understand the
import of the plainest language necessary to convey in-
struction in moral and religious truth. Though it would
be unfair to take these lamentable facts as proofs of a gene-
ral want of education -it has been done even in Parlia-
ment, but still it is unfair—they may at least satisfy us
that the criminal classes are chiefly recruited from amongst
the most ignorant of our population. In what I have stated
upon the subject I have freely taken my authorities from
the Preston " Reports." As they are printed only for cir-
culation amongst the magistrates the information they con-
tain may not be generally accessible ; and I have preferred
them to any others for their reliability, as well as for their
distinct bearing upon the points especially referred to ;
but as regards these they are not peculiar in their results.
The same conclusions are established by the statistics of
other places. At Liverpool we find from the head-con-
stable's report for 1855 that the number of persons taken
into custody who could read and write well was only
21 per cent., white of those who could barely read
and write it was 46 8; and of those entirely unedu-
cated, 41 per cent. These are nearly the sarr e propor-
tions as those stated by Mr. Porter, on an average of 13
years, from IS'.6 to 1843; and they would seem to con-
firm the opinions already given, that our prison returns,
when applied to education, show nothing more than the
connection between ignorance and crime. We have suffi-
cient evidence, then, to show that crime is chiefly trace-
able to the causes I first mentioned ; and, from my own
experience of criminal courts, I am induced to believe that
these causes operate to a greater extent than is shown by
statistics. The remedy is difficult, and would scarcely be
a subject for discussion in the section I am now addressing.
Something, perhaps, might be accomplished by getting rid
of the monstrous anomaly of raising revenue from the
vices of the people; for, whatever may be shown by " ta-
bulated returns," we cannot but believe that the establish-
ment of beer-houses has been the greatest incentive to
crime that was ever sanctioned by legislative enactment.
One of our judges has declared his belief that drunkenness
will ultimately be eradicated by moral and religious in-
struction. He does not depend for this result merely upon
the knowledge which may be acquired, but upon the habit
of discipline and self-restraint consequent upon better
education ; and the creation of a self-respect, which, he
thinks, mush operate as a powerful check upon degrading
or disgraceful conduct. We may, at any rate, hope that
as the vices of the higher classes are imitated by those be-
low them, their virtues may also have some influence ;
and that the temperance which has been substituted for
debasing excesses in the one, may before long be witnessed
in the other. In every aspect, it is one of the most im-
portant questions to which our attention can be directed ;
it will probably be more folly discussed in a paper that
was yesterday announced by Mr. Clay himself.
A discussion of about an hour followed, in which Mr.
M. D. Hill. Dr. Farr, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Barwick Baker,
Professor Hancock, and the noble Chairman took part.

CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER.—A man named John
Horrell was on Saturday committed to Exeter Gaol
charged with the manslaughter of his brother-in-law,
named William Mitchell. Both parties resided at Ash,
:n North Devon, and had been together to a place called
Sheepwash on the previous Thursday. On their return
home in company with other persons the brothers-in-
law quarrelled and fought, in the course of which Hor-
rell kicked deceased in a brutal manner in the lower
part of the abdomen. He was assisted home, and suf-
fered indescribable agony till the following evening,
when be died.

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