The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-28 00:00:00

CRIME IN FRANCE.

The last statistical returns of criminal justice in
France are examined by the Constitutionnel with a
view to showing that the number of offences has of
late years been steadily diminishing. Such an
improvement, our contemporary observes, coincides
with greater firmness in repression, greater promp-
titude in bringing the guilty to trial, and infinitely
fewer acquittals :
"If we go back," says the writer, " to 1851, we
shall see the number of causes brought before the
Courts of Assize increase—at first, in small pro-
portions, it is ' true, until 1854, and from that
period go on constantly diminishing. In 1851,
5,287 causes were submitted to the jury ; that
number had, in 1854, risen to 5,525; and in 1859
it had decreased to 3,918. Crimes against
the person, placed highest in the scale of punish-
ments, have all diminished. Cases of murder
decreased from 280 in 1852 to 186 in 1859 ;
homicide, from 196 to 102; poisoning, from 38 to
28 ; and parricide, from 20 to 12. Infanticide
alone presents a sad exception, that crime having
gone on increasing in a frightful manner. From
164 in 1851, it amounted in 1859 to 226."
One other species of offence has, however, aug-
mented—namely, criminal assaults on both young
girls and grown persons. Of the former the num-
ber was 103 more in 1859 than in 1851 (718 to 615),
whilst for the latter the increase is not less than 51
per cent. The writer expresses a hope that great
severity shall be manifested towards this offence,
evincing as it does so great an increase in immo-
rality. The article then says :
" Incendiarism, which causes so much alarm in
the country districts, diminished in 1859, when
there were only 190 cases. In the preceding years
the number was greater ; 223 in 1858 ; 239 in 1857;
and 286 in 1854. Let us hope that the diminution
which we now point out for 1859 may not be an
isolated fact. It is robberies attended with aggra-
vating circumstances which have decreased in the
greatest proportion. In 1851, 2,233 cases of that
kind were submitted to the jury ; whereas the
number in 1859 was reduced to 1,329."

Speaking of the general statistics of criminal
eases, the writer observes :
" It is not without interest to remark that in
the number of prisoners, which in 1859 was 4,992,
the proportion of females was 905, or about 18 per
cent. The number of condemnations to death was
36, of which only 21 were carried out, the remain-
der being commuted to hard labour for life. The
other sentences pronounced by the Court of Assize
were 152 to hard labour for life, and 856 for dif-
ferent periods; 811 to solitary confinement, and
1,880 to simple imprisonment. The number of
prisoners acquitted was 1,230. The proportion
acquittals in the course of the year increased by
2 per cent., and that of the condemnations to in-
famous punishments decreased by 3 per cent."
On cases brought before the Correctional Courts,
the writer says :
"The police courts, which in 1858 had tried
171,490 cases, and 211,081 prisoners, had before

them in 1859 only 159,463 affairs, in which
196,163 individuals were implicated. This dimi-
nution is not abnormal, as that of 1858, as coin-

pared with 1857, showed a greater one. In-
the course of those two years the number of correc-
tional affairs decreased by more than 25,000, or
nearly 14 per cent. This still enormous number of
159,463 affairs must be examined in its elements,
in order to ascertain exactly the criminality which
it represents. It must not be forgotten that it com-
prises 25,053 offences against the game laws;
30,949 contraventions against the post-office,
fisheries, customs, &c. If we class the offences by
the penalties which they entailed, we find that
15,709 were acquitted; 97,044 condemned to a
simple fine; 71,217 sentenced to less than 12 months'
imprisonment, and only 9,096 to a more severe
punishment. To the above numbers must be added
3,097 ctildren of less than 16 years of age, of whom
1,362 were delivered up to their relations, and
1,735 sent to Houses of Correction."