The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-07 00:00:00

obvious reasons—more especially in Protestant and the story is clearly and sensibly written. Not-
countries, a vast number of persons who cannot en- withstanding the somewhat complicated plot the
dure any sight or sound, any thought or word, events are not extravagant, and the general tone of
which in any way reminds them of the close of the work proves the author's sympathy with un-.
life." We were not aware that Protestant coun-
tries possessed such an unenviable monopoly of flinching integrity and rectitude:of feeling.
that dread of death which is common enough in
all parts of the world, but which is not often
carried to an extent which reminds us of the
Austrian minister (who by the way was not a
Protestant), who had such a dislike to the word
death, that his secretary wishing to inform him of
the king's decease had to return a state paper which
wanted filling up with the words, " His Majesty
signs no more documents." We are inclined to
dispute the right of a Catholic to inform us that
"We fear it must be allowed that while the
Protestants know what is right it is the Catholics
who practise it," but we willingly turn to the
less controversial parts of the vo;umes, only re-
marking that we marvel that one so well ac-
quainted with the sufferings of the poor should find
anything to regret in the position of the labouring
classes in France before the revolution. There are
some amusing anecdotes of the gamins.

JUDICIAL STATISTICS.

The " gardiens" of the Luxembourg are of course sworn
foes of the gamin, and are subject to all the pranks which
" gatninerie" can invent.
One day last summer a party of gamins were disporting
themselves by rolling about among the dead leaves in the
broad walks. They were in the midst of their frolics when
they were espied by the gardien, who approached the spot
with rapid steps, and raising, in a menacing manner, the
stick with the help of whic he was walking, exclaimed,
" Allons done, petits demons !" but before ho could proceed
with his threat the swarm had dispersed like so many flies
disturbed on a lump of sugar, except one who stood with
folded arms to brave the enemy.
"Ah ! c'est bien," exclaimed the " gardien," glad to
have some one on whom to concentrate his ire ; " c'est toi
qui vas payer pour les autres. Viens la que je to rosse,
comme to le merites," said he, seizing him by the arm, and
raising the aforesaid weapon ; but there it remained, for
the little imp, who knew his points of law, never budged an
inch, taking his adversary completely aback by his imper-
turbable sang froid.
" Non, monsieur, vous ne me roNserez pas du tout ; vous
allez memo me lecher sur le champ," answered he, as he
made a sudder jerk on one side and released himself;
" d'abord it n'y a pas d'article qui defend de jouer avec
les feuilles mortes ; et quanta votre baton," added he,
with a sneer, " ou prenez vous que vous avez le droit d'en
rosser qui que ce soit ?" Then turning to the man, who
stood knocked a-heaps, he said, with authority, " Montrez
moi votre consigne.'
However, we may forgive the gamin the follies of his
youth when we reflect on what he sometimes subsequently
becomes. If he sows wild oats, he not unfrequently
reaps a harvest of glory and world-wide fame. In
what country in the world shall we find a regiment like
the Zouaves ? And most of these brave and dauntless
fellows began life as gamins. We must all remember the
gallant Eugene Libaut, a sub-officer of this fearless corps,
who was the first who planted the French flag upon the
heights of Sebastopol. His general knew well the stuff of
which he was made ; he simply put into his hands the
standard of France with the words :
" C'est le drapeau signal—partez !"
Libaut was the first to dart from the trenches, leading
after him the whole column. Though struck on the head
by a heavy stone as he reached the ditch, this intrepid
young fellow did not even stay his progress, he continued
to scale the heights amidst a hail of projectiles of all de-
scriptions, and soon the standard of the first division was
seen floating from the Malakoff Tower, forming a rallying
point round which the French soldiers grouped thernselVes
and maintained their position stoutly.
The author has not resided for six months in Paris
without learning to be discreet on political matters.
He gives, however, one amusing anecdote.
" Another extract from the Gazette des Tribunaux, records
the punishment of Le Sieur Dassaud, a political convict,
pardoned and residing at Chateldon, who is condemned to
six months' imprisonment and 500 francs damages, for
publicly speaking against the Emperor.
" Louis Philippe's policy in such cases was, to make a
snatch at popularity, by pardoning—with a show of mag-
nanimity—those condemned to punishment for offences
against his person.
" Of Louis XVIII. it is said, that on an occasion on
which he received an affront, he sagaciously reprimanded a
police officer for arresting a man who, in the crowd per-
mitted to approach the monarch in his Royal Gardens at
Versailles, was heard to mutter, as the King passed, 'va
gros cochon.'
" salmi his Majesty, with true Bourbon finesse,
qui t'a donne le droit do penser, que de telles paroles
pouvaient s'adresser 3 moi
" It might be be tter if such observations were oftener
listened to only with a deaf ear. Not long after the acces-
sion of the Emperor, a man was brought before the Court
for singing out Vive la Republique.'
" ' Why,' said the magistrate, what an incorrigible
rascal you are ; it was only the other day you were hero
before.'

" ' C'est vrai, Monsieur le President,' replied he, cette
fois la c'eltait pour avoir erie "a bas, la Republique."'
" It was not the prisoner in this case who looked the
more foolish of the two."
The account of the various charities and associa-
tions of Paris, is of value and interest. The writer
however, tells us nothing about the upper or middle
classes, where by-the-bye he might have made com-
panions more favourable to English domestic mo-
rality, but the phases of life which he has chosen to
show us are undoubtedly " realities," and as such
well meriting attention. The work shows care
and labour; an earnest feeling for his subject, and
a thorough acquaintance with it.

The Story of Italy. By the author of " Mary
Powell," &c. Bentley.
Those who are admirers of this brilliant authoress
will be pleased to meet with this work, in which
she has expressed herself with her accustomed
felicity, and where she has relinquished the ficti-
tious tale for the chronicles of some of those shining
lights of their country whose names adorn her
annals, and whom an admiring posterity is proud.
to reckon as her glorious and gifted sons. Few
lands can equal Italy in the possession of a bright
band who swell the ranks of renown, and point out
to the contemplation of the philosopher, the regret
of the lover of progress, and the wonder of the
criticising historian, that, however fallen is now
the position of the land, it has shone pre-eminent
and distinguished in the days of old for many a
name that has since been resounded by the trumpet
of fame, and the echoes of whose praises shall yet
reverberate "down the ringing grooves of change' to
many a distant generation. There is much to at-
tract and interest in this book. It is very satis-
factory to meet thus with an epitome of the re-
markable men of their age. It recals events to the
mind that may have partially forgotten them, and
suggests refleetions to those who study the relative
connection of divers circumstances. Perhaps the
most noticeable of the sketches here met with, are
those of Rienzi and of Francesco da Carrara. He
has been described as a prince with whose merits
and misfortunes all Italy rung from her mountains
to the sea; and the ac2ount here given is a most
favourable one. It is very sad to find that his re-
storation to power and prosperity was but transient,
and too soon succeeded by darker clouds of ominous
forebodings, until at last a violent death termi-
nated a life that had shone so brilliantly, and been
adorned with dating deeds of emprise. At the
present juncture it is very appropriate and truly
acceptable to meet with this little volume ; and
when Italy is the war-cry of progress, and the
beacon for military ardour, it is well to note in how
many ways her sons have distinguished themselves
in the pages of history. Altogether, this work
may be called a success in its peculiar line, and
does ample justice to the reputation of its writer.

The Two Homes. By William Mathews, author of
" The Heir of Vallis." Three vols. Smith and
Elder.
This is an interesting and well-written tale. It
has a variety of characters, some of them original,
and forcibly drawn. The incidents are numerous,
but none of them over step the bounds of proba-
bility. The chief part of the story is laid in the
years 1846-7, and relate to the great monetary
crisis that then paralysed the energies of the com-
mercial world. The moral of the book appears to
be a very valuable one—that honour and integrity
are as possible in mercantile dealings as, in any
more ambitious profession, and that it is a short•
sighted error to suppose that merchants and men of
business must be necessarily sordid and grasping.
Edward Graham, the hero of the book, is of an en-
thusiastic and excitable nature, possessing, never-
theless, a stern sense of right, and strength of pur-
pose to carry out his good intentions. He is the
only son of a merchant, and his father, who has
little sympathy with him, is anxious for him to
assist him in his business, though a provision made
by his grandfather leaves Edward independent.
He reluctantly agrees, for ill-health has made him
headstrong and captious, and he regards trade with
disdain. The great point of the story is that
Mr. Graham, encouraged by the brother of his
wife, a fashionable lady, Edward's stepmother,
invests some money with which he has
been entrusted by a gentleman in India, in
the railway speculations which were the ruin
of so many in that year. Edward becom-
ing acquainted with this, strongly objects, as he
knows their correspondent intended that his money
should be invested in the funds, and not in a wild
speculation. A serious quarrel with his father is
the result, and after a severe illness he goes to
Madeira to recruit his health. There he meets
Mr. Ryland, the Anglo-Indian, who is otherwise
mixed up with the story. He has become aware
of the deceit practised upon him, and is further en-
lightened by Edward's candid disclosures. They
are all aware of the perilous state of things in Eng-
land, and at length Edward pel•suadesl\lr.
and
he Ryland
to allow his father time for repayment,
invest his fortune in the firm, hoping by personal
superintendence and careful retrenchment, to sur-
mount its difficulties. Mr. Ryland agrees, and
thus matters are arranged, after much perplexity
and trouble. There are two love stories, and two
heroines—both the daughters ofMr. Ryland. One
a fair gentle English girl, and the other the
daughter of an Indian mother, wild and impas-
sioned with all the striking characteristics of her
race. They are skilfully contrasted, but Minnie,
the English girl, is far more attractive than her
weird-like sister. The interest is well kept up,

One of the light blue-books, so distinguished from
the ordinary issues by its colour as well as by its
square form, contains the official report on Judicial.
Statistics for the year 1858, in two parts.
Part I. refers to "Police," "Criminal Proceed-
ings," and " Prisons' ;" Part 11., to " Common Law,"
" Equity," and " Civil and Canon Law." These
are presented to both Houses of Parliament by .
command of her Majesty; and the returns relating
to police pursuant to the Act 19 and 20 Victoria,
cap. 69.
It must be understood that the reports refer ex-
clusively to England and Wales, and to the year
1858. We naturally commence, as the report does,
with the branch of " Police." The total number
(or, as the report says, " amount") of the police
and constabulary was, last Michaelmas-day, 20,256,
thus constituting, as it were, a little army in
blue uniforms. 55 of these were chief constables
of counties, 102 head constables of boroughs, 500
superintendents, 657 inspectors, 1,933 sergeants,
16,576 common constables, 291 special (additional)
constables, and 138 detective officers-specimens of
whose peculiar skill and almost miraculous powers
of discernment are given by Mr. Dickens in his
novel of " Bleak House." There are 5,804 borough
and 7,549 county constables, 6,225 metropolitan
police-constables, and 608 City of London constables,
appointed under the local Act of 1839. There is
an increase of 1,069 men, or 5.6 per cent., as com-
pared with 1857. The total cost of the police last
year amounted to £1,447,019, of which £1,081,747
went for salaries and pay, £106,097 for clothing
and accoutrements, and £108,896 for station-house
charges, &c. The expenses of the police are chiefly
defrayed from local funds, but a portion is contri-
buted (X 288,639) by her Majesty's Treasury.
The census of 1851 showed that there were 125,470
males and 178,639 females of no regular vocation-
vagabonds, in fact-including paupers, prisoners,
vagrants, and persons " of no stated occupations
and conditions." It must not be inferred that these
314,109 persons live by crime ; but they are un-
doubtedly not, as a class, a fountain of goodness.
The careful and continuous observations of the
police, however, show that in September last the
" criminal class," properly so called (taking in the
prison population), included 160,346 persons-viz.,
101,656 males and 58,689 females, of whom 134,922
(81,669 men and 53,253 women) were at large, the
rest being within the walls of prisons and reforma-
tories. Thus only 1-sth part of the criminal class is
incarcerated, from which it is inferred that offenders
pass that proportion of their time in gaol-" a re-
sult which would prove great impunity in crime and
a lengthened career." But there is little doubt that
a constant change in this class is going on, that
many are reformed, and that " fresh-blood" recruits
the void thus opened in the ranks of the rogues.
The youth of a large portion of the criminal class
is one proof of its constant recruitment. The police
returns of the classes under 16 years of age are
12,069 males (14.7 per cent.), and 6,738 females
(13.6 per cent.) making a total of 18,107 of both
sexes, or 13.9 per cent. On the other hand, it is
fair to assume that a large number of liberated
convicts are absorbed in honest employments, and
that the prevention of crime is making satisfactory
progress.
Another class of facts is interesting. It appears
that there are 25,120 "bad" houses, 3,122 of which
are tenanted by " receivers," 7,096 are "cribs," or
tiouses the resort of thieves and prostitutes (public-
houses, beer, and coffee-shops), 7,915 brothels and
" houses of ill-fame," and 6,937 those common
" tramps' lodging-houses" which the Registrar-
General and the officers of health are daily denounc-
ing as hotbeds of typhus fever and other virulent
contagious diseases.
57,868 crimes (properly so called) were committea
in the year ended the 29th of September, 1858-the
maximum in the quarter from October to December,
and the minimum in that from July to September.
For these crimes as many as 30,458 persons were
apprehended, or politely told by the police that
they " were wanted." A large amount of petty
depredations, however, is not represented in the
returns, and it is to be feared that these are never
detected.
18,396 persons (60.4 per cent.) of those appre-
hended were proceeded against after arrest, by
being sent for trial on commitment or bail. This
further proceedings against them are recorded under
the next head of " Criminal Proceedings."
Besides the persons, arrested for more serious
offences, 404,034 were prosecuted summarily, and
of these 260,290 were convicted and punished by
justices of the peace, 143,744 having been liberated.
Of the 260,290 convicted 65,263 were committed to
gaol, 160,636 were fined, 50 were whipped, 10,360
held to bail, 3,781 "delivered over to army or navy,
and 19,750 otherwise punished. The leniency of
the great bulk of these punishments will show the
light character of the offences generally, but several
large classes of offences, far from venial, are in-
cluded, as for instance, stealing, and attempts to
steal and commit felony, aggravated assaults, and
the possession of stolen goods. 51,861 persons
(8,971 women) were convicted of drunkenness, the
assaults following, as a natural consequence, in
pretty direct ratio; 21,698 (out of 40,224 charged)
were convicted of thefts, stealing, and attempts to
steal, under the Acts of 1847 and 1855, and 18,630
under the Vagrant Act. There were 23,561 offences
against the Police Acts, 16,709 cases of malicious
damages, 13,087 against the Licensed Victuallers
Acts, and 8,929 against the Game Acts. Of those
charged with indictable offences, who form the most
criminal class, 21.5 per cent. were known thieves
234 suspects (to use the French word), and 17.7
per cent. persons of previous good character. Pro-
ceedings were taken, by indictment and summarily,
against 24,587 known thieves (40,032 returned " at
large"), 24,636 prostitutes (28,760 at large), 54,149
suspects, and 21,473 vagrants.
Against the large number of 260,200 summary
convictions in 1858, only 60 appeals were lodged at
the quarter sessions, 30 of which were quashed,
and 68 in the superior courts.
19,846 inquests were held by coroners in 1858-
13,597 on males and 4,249 on females. These cases
included 183 of murder, 197 of manslaughter,
4 of justifiable homicide, 1,275 of suicide (always
over 1,000 a year), 8,947 of accidental death,
2,611 " found dead," 227 of drunkenness, 188
of disease and neglect, 158 of want, cold, exposure,
&e., and 5,792 deaths from causes not specified.
The coroner complain that the police do not give
due information of deaths. The murders and
suicides exhibit a pretty " constant quantity ;" the
average of suicides in the last three years was about
1,300. The ages of the persons prove that 44.5 per
cent. (or nearly one-half) were from infancy or se-
nility, least able to protect their lives. The per-
centage was-infants, 27.8 per cent. ; children
between 7 and 16 years, 8.4; adults, between I6tind
60, 47.1 • and old and infirm persons, 16.7 per cent.
The total cost of these inquests was £58,973, or an
average of nearly £3 for each inquest.
Under the head of "Criminal Proceedings" (a
necessarily supplementary chapter to the foregoing
one of " Police ) we find that 17,855 commitments
were brought within the jurisdiction of criminal
courts in 1858 ; the commitments have greatly
fallen off of late years, but this is mainly owing to
the altered forms of procedure under the Criminal
Justice Act. The decrease of commitments is marked
in Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, and elsewhere.
Lancashire is a remarkable exception to the rule,
the commitments in that county not having dimi-
nished since the new jurisdiction conferred by the
Act of 1855.
The statistics of 1853 exhibit generally a decrease
of the gravest crimes, both in offences against the
person, and, in a very marked degree, in violent
offences against property. Malicious offences,
especially incendiarism, are rapidly declining.
knownOffence
ts oo
t f h
ea
criminal political
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andare
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long
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Of
were tried cases of ceoomormtsitmofengtufaorrtterriasle,ss7i,o4ns9B
.
1 bsy county
the Middlesex sessions of the peace,
31b7 85
4,323 by the borough quarter sessions courts, 3,462
byri circuitinal
Court.assize 4,576 persons courts, and 1,267
were quit
bythaeeCenturl
Criminal
and discharged, 33 detained as insane, and 13,246
were convicted. Of these last 53 were sentenced
to death, 2,130 to penal servitude, 10,834 to ?dear-
ceration, and 229 to be fined, whipped, &C.
Of the 53 capital sentences 16 only we re for
murder, and 8 for attempts to murder, 14 'for un-
natural crimes, 13 for burglary with violen .ce, and
2 for robbery, with wounds. Only 11 per-
sons out of the 53 sentenced to the scaffold
were executed, all for murder. All were males,
and four of them foreigners, reakit ig in
the last three years 8 foreigners out of 41 I ,ersonn
executed,
fraction a of n
C. i 1
sna t
o! The
r,
foreigner o
foreigners
r includedw i within n a
Giovanni
and
two Greek sailors. The abolition of transpc 'nation
did not add, last year, to the numbers sente need to
the substituted punishment of " penal sere itude ;"
on the contrary, these sentences decrease, d. The
cost of the prosecutions cannot for last, rear be
ascertained. The total cost of Governar_ent. (crimi-
nal) prosecutions, in cases of public bate" at, was
£10,089, and the cost of 558 for coin; ukg wen
£7,729.

KEW GARDENS.—The Royal Palace I'l assure
Gardens and new Arboretum will close for the SE as non or
about the 30th inst. The Victoria Regia, the : Lott is, au_aa
an American Aloe, are now in flower in the, BO tallies*
Gardens.