The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-08 00:00:00

TICKET OF-LEAVE AND SECONDARY
PUNISHMLNTS.

Col. J. Jebb writes to a morning contemporary
as follows :

Sir,—l am induced to beg th© favour of your allow

ing me to offer a few explanations concerning the ticket
of-leave men, not with any view of advocating the sys-
tem, but in the herpe that it may serve to clear up the
misapprehensions which still exist concerning them, and
show in its real proportion the magnitude of the evil
which the country is enduring.
It might seem superfluous again to explain who ticket-
of-leave men are, but I think a little preliminary informa-
tion is necessary to clear up doubts and make a fair start.
Up to September, 1153, persons who had committed
certain classes of crimes were
_sentenced, not to three or
four years' imprisonment, but to be transported beyond
the seas for terms of seven and ten years.

The colony of Van Diemen's Land, previous to that
time, may be said to be a consenting party to this ar-
rangement, and willine• to receive them.
In the three years-1850, 1851, and 1852—an average
of 1,173 men, and about 350 women had been disposed
of from England in that colony.
The colot,y, however, without much previous notice,
withdrew her consent, and the Government were thus
left in the dilemma of having a number of men under
sentence to be transported, but with no place to which
the majority could possibly be sent.
This was the difficalty they had to deal with.
Referring to former precedent, the sentences would,
as a matter of course, have been changed or commuted
into imprisonment for half the period, with release at
home. Such was the invariable practice with ievalids
and others, who could not, from circumstances, be em-
barked for a colony, and at one period was the general
practice in regard to all male convicts under sentence of
seven years' transportation.
Between the years 1343 and 1847 no legs than 3,450,
chi,fly of the latter class, were released from the hulks
with free pardons.
Instead of closely following this precedent, however,
an act was passed in August, 1853 (16th and 17th Vic.,
c. 39), enabling the Secretary of State to impose an ad-
ditional restriction upon theiv liberty by granting to
them a revocable pardon or licence instead of a free par-
don. This measure was designed as a protection tri the
public, but it unfortunately has also had the effect of
making the men, as a class, distinct from prisoners re-
leased from ordinary gaols, the effect of which has not
been favourable to their obtaining employment, and has
doubtless driven many into crime from sheer aecessity.
The periods when the men referred to would become
eligible for release with a licence or ticket of leave were
determined, after much consideration, at three years for
the seven, and four years for the ten years' sentences,
with good conduct, and the men have respectively been
brought forward for release with ticket of leave at those
periods. _ _

I would here beg permission to notice two points in
connection with this apparently early release.
I. It must not be regarded as a measure of benevolence
or any special tenderness towards the convicts, for expe-
rience has sufficiently proved that by the great majority
transportation afrer 2 and 21 years' confinement, which
were the periods respectively assigned to seven and ten
years' men under the former rule, would have been pre-
ferred to release at home with a ticket of leave after
three and four years imprisonment, which was the rule
established in its place.
2. The chaplains hare bad little or nothing to do with
determining the period. It has mainly been exemplary
conduct and a good character for industry that has been
taken into consideration.

.It is, however, much to be regretted that it has been,
from circumstances, impossible, with a due reA,ard to
justice and keeping faith with the whole body, to take
into account the difference in► their crimes. It was
absolutely necessary to treat them all alike in this re-
spect, and to assume that distinction in their crimes had
been considered and disposed of by the judge in passing
sentence.

On the whole, it may fairly be said that, as a general
rule, each convict released on licence had endured such
a measure of punishment as would have been awarded
to him if sentence of imprisonment had been originally
passed ;'and the restrictions imposed by the licence,
which subject them to be again confined for the whole
period they would otherwise have been at liberty in the
colony, have been so much penal infliction iu addition.
Now, as regards the number with which we have to
deal. There have been released on licence between
Sept., 1853, and Dec. 15, 1856, a period of about 31
years, 6,730 male convicts ; the greater part being from
convict prisons in England, the remainder from Bermuda
and Gibraltar.

The following is •n extract from the Home office regis.
er of the number who have been committed to prison
'rom the commencement to Dec. 15, 1856, showing how
they were disposed of :
Men and women committed
)itto acquitted
Ditto cases still uudecided Bo— 181

Deduct woven

Total number of men convicted ... 762
Of these licenses revoked on conviction
of some trifling offence ...
Number roconvicted and sentenced to
penal servitude
Percentage on the whole number in 31 years 11'3

The crimes of which these ticket-of-leave men have
been convicted, either before magistrates, or at the
assizes, or quarter sessions, are as follows :
Larceny
Uttering base coin
Against Vagrant Act
Assaults 3
Ditto on police .. 29
Against game laws

Picking pockets or at-
tempting
Theft and reputed theft 86
Wilful damage 3

Desertion .......
Misdemeanour

10
35

Total minor crimes 5BB
Felony, housebreak-
[ ing, &e.
inter, viz. :

Offences of a graver char;
Murderl 1
Forgery 7
Burglary
Arson' 2
Robbery with violence 7

Highway robbery
Cutting and wounding 2

Total
rill show the proportion of
n comparison with the con-

The following statement
ticket-of-leave men at large
victed of the criminal classes.

Th• summary convictions and sentences passed in
court during the period of three years and a quarter, be-
tween Sept., 1853, and Dec. 15, 1856, may be taken in
round numbers as follows :
Summary convictions 170,000
sentenced in court

235,000

The total number of ticket-of-leave men would, there-
fore, have been short of 3 per cent., if they had all re-
lapsed into crime ; and a little raore than Sin 1,000
have appeared among those convicted of crime.
Those who are interested in the fate of men who, during
their imprisonment, have had opportunity afforded them
of instruction and industrial training, might be disposed
to regret that even this limited portion should relapse ;
but if there be a matter of surprise, it will surely be
found in the fact of the comparatively small number who
have fallen. _ . .

The whole body were, as a class, less likely to give np
their criminal courses than those who pass their time in
and out of ordinary prisons ; and yet, if there be not a
greater fallacy in figures than I trust many will be dis-
posed to admit, they have struggled far more successfully
against their difficulties.
As regards the number of ticket-of-leave men released
in different localities, the following is the proportion to
100,000 inhabitants, in the undermentioned counties,
the first three being the highest in the scale, and the last
three the lowest :

1. Somerset 7O 7. York
2. Middlesex
3. Berkshire
4. Hereford 45 10. Durham
5. Lancaster
6. Stafford
A. candid consideration of these statements, with a de-
sire to arrive at the truth, will, I think, tend to dimi-
nish the alarm that exists on account of the " ticket-of-
leave men."

So far as they are eoncerned they are neither formid-
able from their number nor dangerous above their fel-
lows from the nature of their crimes.
But still it is of great importance to consider whether
any, and what, measures can be resorted to which will
lessen the evil of adding, in however small proportion,
to the criminal classes, or, I should rather say, how that
very numerous class can best be diminished.
This is the real question at issue, and it is one to which
you have frequently directed the attention of your readers.
In a leading article which appeared in your impression
of the Ist of Jan. you advert to " a complete revision of
the whole system." This is a task that might well
en-
gage the utmost exertions of all who desire to see an im-
pression made on the crime aid criminals of the country.
A complete review of our system would embrace-
1. Measures of prevention, which/ besides questions
of education and the industrial training of pauper and
criminal children, will include a systematic pressure on
among others will be found
the known causes of crime ;
all that promotes drunkenness and immorality, all the
facilities for the disposal of stolen property, &c.
2, The consideration of the discipline in ordinary pri-
sons with a vie iv to establish a more uniform and stria-
, Vint, and at the same time a more reformatory system,

3. Effective as,istance to deserving prisoners on dis
charge ; for what can a man, woman; or child do it
turned out in the street to starve or steal Yet in this
country it maybe said that some 70,000 or 80,000 are
so turned out every year. It is not by congregating them
at work that assistance will best be given, but by afford•
ing opportunities of finding employment when dispersed.
4. We now come to the class termed convicts.

There is no greater mistake than to regard all who
receive a sentence of transportation or penal servitude se
being irreciaitnal,ly bad or sunk to the same depth of
moral turpitude. The fact is not so. There b; every
sha(e of difference in character as well as in the circum-
stances of temptation under which their crimes may
have been committed. •
The opinion expressed in the, resolution of the select
committee of the House of Commons, 1850. that " the
great majority of convicted prisoners are ope❑ to the
same good motives and good impulses which influence
other human beings" is in accordance with all experience
of convicts under a good 6y3tem of discipline for long
periods.

I have said thus much in the hope of impressing more
deeply the truth and importance of the following obger.
♦ations in year leading article of the 6th of Jan. You
justly observe, "The reformation of criminals is a
high, holy, and noble object, worthy of any Legislature,
but the criminals which it contemplates are those of a
corrigible nature." Yoe go on to say, " When it weighs
the treatment of criminals it discriminates between their
various character, misdeeds, and chances of amendment.
It punishes those whom it despairs of amending. It
instructs and moulds those who are susceptible of refor-
mation."

Keeping in view these admirable remarks will grktly
facilitate a satisfactory solution of the question, " What
are we to do with our convicts I"

I have said it is a g►eat mistake to consider them all as
one irreclaimable mass; there is little affinity between the
country clodhopper, who begins with stealing a hen and
rises to a goose, as compared with the finished swell-
n►obsman, the rascallyreceiver of stolen goods, or expert
London burglar.
Prisoners of the former stamp and others not following
crime as a profession have been reformed to the extent of
acquiring industrious habits by hun•lreds ; the latter are
professional men, and their cralt will not be easily relin-
quished for any less exciting employment, either at home
or abroad.

With respect to the more hopeful of the convicts, what-
ever might be the means of eventually disposing of them,
it would appear an essential condition that some fixed
portion of their sentences of penal servitude should be
endured in this country, so that certainty of punishment,
which is of the greatest importance with a view to a re-
pressive effect out of doors, might replace in the criminal
mind the dreams of gold fields which the very name of
tramiporation now inspires,

After undergoing the probationary period they might
be removed or banished to any colony where suitable pro-
vision could be made for absorbing their labour, and
Western Australia probably affords more facilities than
any other place for this purpose. Such a means of die-
po,al would be alike advantageous to the mother country,
the colony, and the convict. _

Lord Campbell, however, justly observes in his evi-
dence—" I think that it the country is to send people
abroad as emigrants, and you call that transportation,
that, instead of being a punishment, it may be a reward.'
Hence the importance of demanding sorry fixed mini-
mum period of penal infliction before any convict is so
disposed of.
As regards the worst class—if a man is dangerous
when at large society has a right to take care of itself,
and as in the case of a lunatic, any such man should be
prevented doing mischief, either at home or abroad. It
appears unreasonable to inflict upon others that which
we cannot bear ourselves. But how is this to be effected I
In my view, it might to a great extent be accomplished
by carrying out such sentences of penal servitude as will
at least break up associations and habits, and expending
the energies of the burglar, the highwayman, the receiver
of stolen goods, and others of that stamp, for terms of
or 10 years, or for life when necessary, on useful public
works, where there exist scope for employment to any
extent that is likely to be required, and the means of
making all who are so disposed of earn almost the entire
cost of their maintenance.
There is no reason whatever to fear the inconvenient
accumulation that many suppose. Convict labour has
not yet been developed to the extent of its useful effect,
and the supply has never yet been equal to the demand.
After undergoing such a punishment, whieh I think
would be calculated to produce a marked effect in the
repression of crime, the question of disposing of them so
as not again to be troubled with their presence in this
country remains to be solved.

SIR ?'OHN PALINGTON ON CRIME AND
TICKETS OF LEAVE.

Sir J. Pakington, as chairman of the Worcestershire
Court of Quarter Sessions, addressed the grand jury at
the commencement of the trial of the prisoners at those
sessions on Tuesday, referring to the increase in the
police force of
.the Dudley and Stourbridge district
which bad been ordered on the previous day. He said
he thought it his duty, consipering the state of alarm
—he might call it panic—which pervaded the public
mind just new with reference to the ticket-of-leave sys-
tem and the increase of crime, to make some observa-
tions to the grand jury upon those subjects. Now,
looking to the assize and sessions calendar 4, and to the
other means of information which they possessed, he
thought this alarm and panic were exaggerated. "It
is impossible," continued the right hon. baronet, "to
deny that thrJughout the country generally—and the
northern 1 ortion, the manufacturing portion, of this
county is no exception to this rule—there has of late
been an increase of crimes, and those of the most
serious character ; but this I think may be accounted
in several ways, for, whatever may he the action
of the ticket-of-leave system, I think there are
other causes which will account for the increase.
At this season of short days and scarcity of em-
ployment such increase may be looked for, nor
can we shut our eyes to the fact that the prices of
provisions have for some time been very high. More-
over, we must not omit to remember that during the
past year a great reduction has taken place in the army
and navy, and that the militia has been disbanded. These
are some of the results of the restoration of peace, and no
doubt to these causes we may trace some of that increase
of crime which we deplore. But, after making allowance
for these causes, I am not indisposed to admit that there
still remains behind a considerable amount of crime
whine may undoubtedly be traced to the practice of
turning loose upon the public men of the worst character,
who have &rawly been convicted of grave offences.
But, admitting this, I think the public are in error
throwing the whole onus on what • is called
the ticket-of-leave-system. I think it may appear
that the real evil does not consist so much in the
practice of granting tickets of leave to convicts as in
superseding the practice of transportation by a system of
penal servitude. The effect of this system is that these
offenders are set loose upon society as soon as the period
of their sentences expires ; and it becomes a grave ques-
tion for consideration whether, when these men are so
liberated, it would not be better to free them with a
ticket of leave than without. For Mt own part, lam
very much inclined to think that such discharges under
a ticket of leave, with proper regulations, will be better
for the interests of society than an unconditional release,
and I think that the ill effects are to be attributed rather
to a defect in the law than to the system of granting
tickets of leave. It is well known to all who are ac-
quainted with the working of the item of prison dis-
cipline that it is not well to exclude the element of hope
in the treatment of prisoners under sentence ; it is found
to be productive of good effects for a prisoner to be led
to expect that better treatment will follow good con
duct. At the same time, however, I must say that,
from what I have seen in the public newspapers, and
from my own personal knowledge, I am in-
duced to think that a practice has obtained of mitigating
sentences and advising ,the exercise of the prerogative
of mercy in a manner not altogether conducive to the
interests of the public. It was only at the late _War-
wickshire winter assize that Mr. Justice Wines called
attention to the case of two men who were cortivicot:d ofd
to
e
a serious offence in January, 1855, and nn
four years'
,r
h i i
s penalan servitude,
error
in
practice, t were n released eoaf s eis_od n.
It_ August,was
s
stated in the House of Commons that it had been deter-
mined not to issue tickets of lease twohmereentisffeenntdeenicsed to
penal servitude ; but here is isearvi:de were let loose llen-
sf
considerably less than upon
somewhat similar cage at the expiration
Aoone-
halfoc.
Steorieeetdyto.four years' penal
of their sentence.
curred at our late Worcestershire winter assize, when
mild punishment h•
way robbery was
a man convicted at
stehoetsouomood to
merastshizees of
tild 1855 of g
of 1.5 months' imprisonment, and after undergo ing
nine months of that punishment
he was liberated. There
may possibly he reasons for investigation of which I am
not cognisant, but I have been led from causes which
have come to my knowledge to form the conclusion that
the practice of remitting the sentence of penal servitude
has been too indiscriminately exercised, I should be very
averse from fettering in any way the exercise of the pre-
rogative of the Crown, hut I feel that this matter requires
to be placed on a more satisfactory ba-fs. The panic
which at present pervades the public mind on the sub-
ject will, no doubt, lead Parliament to demand of the
Government that the subject shall be fairly consider, d,
and the whole question of secondary punishments be
thoroughly revised. There is a desire in the public mind
and, no doubt, one of the principal questions will be
whether there shall be a return to he system of trans.
portation. As far as England is concerned, travisporta
tion has undoubtedly worked beneficially ; but I doubt
whether it will be possible to again adopt it to the same
extent as formerly. In any ease, however, I think there
should be a reconsideration of the present scale of sen-
tences. Tee law, in my opinion, was hastily altered and
badly revised. Penal servitude is by no means an equi-
valent for the sentence of transportation ; but four years'
penal servitude is now the sentence inflicted where seven
yt ars' transpoi tation was formerly imposed. It is thought