The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-27 00:00:00

able lives are not generally suspected of forming
seditious plans, and the whole population of a place
do not as with one voice condemn them, and de-
clare their share in the guilt of a murderous and

desperate outlaw. When the proceedings at Morant
Bay became generally known there was no dissen-
tient voice raised against those who pointed out
GORDON as the origin of the outbreak and the
ringleader in the affair. Thewhole of the magistrates
declared his arrest was necessary, and when
his subsequent trial led to his conviction and
execution they were of the belief that his doom was
a just one. It appears that GORDON himself declared
his conviction that he would be found guilty when
he heard of his impending trial. Another most im-
portant thing to bear in mind is that GORDON was
tried by court-martial. This was rendered abso-
lutely necessary, owing to the disturbed state of
things and the dangerous condition of the island.
Of course justice is the same everywhere, whether
in Jamaica or England—whether before a civil or a
military tribunal, but the forms and ceremonies
are different in one case from the other, and, above
all, the proverbial dealings of the civil law are
not met with in the administration of affairs under
a martial system. The execution of GORDON cer-
tainly terrified the rebels, but no one has a right to
infer that this was the object of the authorities, to
the detriment of justice. The accused was arraigned
upon a charge of high treason ; the most decisive
proofs were given of his guilt, for which no defence
was furnished, or extenuation made ; and we can-
not but consider that this unhappy man met with
the just raced of his offences, and that those who
condemned him to death were fully justified in so
doing, for he was the originator and upholder of
the outbreak.

The management of our casual poor has lately
given rise to a good deal of discussion. In spite of
the elaborate and costly establishments kept up in
different parts of London, and in spite of the bur-
densome pressure of the poor-rates in many parishes,
there have been within the last few years numerous
deaths from absolute starvation and exposure in the
streets of London. Such incidents were felt to be
a disgrace to our wealthy metropolis, while the
natural humanity of all classes was painfully affected
by the knowledge that their fellow-citizens
might die in their very midst for want of
the common necessaries of life as surely as in
the centre of an African desert. The strong
public feeling on the matter produced some
necessary Reforms, and the Poor-law Minute
respecting the absolute obligation of the guardians
of every parish or union to shelter and feed casual
paupers has undoubtedly done much good, but
there is another aspect of the case which calls for
attention. It seems that ruffians of all sorts obtain
a shelter in the casual wards, and that, thanks to
the want of proper supervision, they make what
noise and carry on what sport they like, tyrannising
over the quiet and orderly victims of misfortune,
who are compelled to take refuge in these miserable
wards.

But it is less surprising that men of this class
should avail themselves of the food and shelter
which the guardians are compelled by law to give
than that any modestly decent or respectable
person should ever pass the night in a casual
ward. If we are to judge by the ac-
counts given by more than one eye-witness, we
should say that none except the absolute "roughs"
would ever pay a second visit. According to a re-
port of the Stepney Union wards, which are in the
old Ratcliffe Workhouse, and form the wards for
the poverty-stricken neighbourhoods of Stepney,
Shadwell, Limehouse, and Ratcliffe, the casual
ward, it seems, consists of a sloping loft over
a row of worksheds in the yard, which
is reached by a ladder, and of course was not con-
structed for human habitation. On the floor of
this loft are laid rows of bags stuffed with bay, and
on these the " casuals" sleep naked, with an
old blanket and rug over them. First, they
are subjected to a bath, and then pass
to their loft, which is probably supposed
to compensate by ►ant of ventilation for the
coldness of sleeping naked after a bath ! Pos-
sibly the Stepney Guardians act on enlightened
principles of political economy, and wish on
Malthusian theories to get rid of the surplus popu-
lation ! We should not be surprised if Parlia-
ment thinks otherwise, and all our vestries are re-
lieved of duties and responsibilities which they are
either unwilling or incompetent to fulfil.