The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-18 00:00:00

o_4cs:
SUIT.

LOLVDON, FRIDAY, SEPT. 18,1 1868.

As time passes on it seems that the speech of the
-King of PRUSSIA has not been so satisfactory as it
first promised to be. Germany is reported to be
pleased with it, it is true, but the effect produced in
Franco is by no means the same. It would have
,been all right if his MAJESTY had contented himself
with the emphatic sentences which appeared in the
first telegram on the subject, but he indulged in a
few desultory remarks that spoiled the effect of
what had gone before. These after thoughts are
often very unfortunate, and give rise to great
dissatisfaction, where none ne.d be felt if the dic-
tates of pru hence are attended to. Whether rightly
or not the public mind at Paris puts its own
interpretation on the meaning of the Royal words,
and so inimical was this to general prosperity
that the Gevernmeat deemed it alvisabl.: to say
something to allay the apprAension occasioned,
and to remove the doubts oely too plainly visible.
It cannot be said that their mode of doing this was
very successful, and indeed their interpretation of
this matter Wa.3 far stranger and more mysterious
than the original. The King remarked that "there
were circumstances when a prince could not shrink
from the responsibility of war ;" and this the
French luminaries please to look upon as meaning
that the war of 1866 came under, the category...
This is extraordinary, to say the least of it, because
if King WILLIA3I had meant to refer to the past, j

he would, in all probability, have given some inti-
mation that such was his intention, nd not have
given rise to so much confusion. He must know
pretty well by this time what is the prevailing-sen-
timent in Paris, and as his words had all been
weighed out before they were uttered at all, they
must have been meant to show the French
that peace was now the " cry." There was no
backwardness on the part of Prussia to adopt more
hostile measures. It must be confessed that, so far
as lookers on can judge, the public of Paris have
the best of the argument, for in these days of shift-
ing scenes and complicated events, it is not the
fashion of princes and rulers to waste much time,
and give much attention to bygone matters, that
belong to history rather than to the things of the pre-
sent. Besides, it is not quite etiquette for the French
authority to interpret the speech of the Prussian
Monarch. if it were necessary for any adventiti-
ous aid to complete what should have been put
clearly in the first instance, it was the province
of the Berlin journals to do so, and not those of
the nation manifestly alluded to in the Royal in-
timation. At any rate, all the Paris papers, or
nearly all, are full of the matter, and if the in-
tention of the Prussian Monarch and his advisers
was to have put things straight for the autumn
it has not been fulfilled, in consequence of the
awkward mode adopted to carry it out. We may
be no nearer for all the stir that has been created ;
but a good deal must be done before the initiated
can put faith in assertions that are contradicted the
minute after they are uttered, and which are at
the best so ambiguous that no two judges can come
to the same conclusion about them.

The annual report of the Inspector of Reforma-
tory and Industrial Schools is an interesting and
valuable document. It is only within the lifetime
of the present generation that the reformatory
movement has attained any degree of vitality or
importance. For some time after the beginning of
this century the old Draconian system was in force,
which held the life of a man worth no more than a
few pounds, or even shillings. When a milder and
more Christian code was introduced wise men and
kindly philanthropists began to direct their atten-
tion more and more to the condition of the criminal
classes. It became evident that there must be a
constant source of supply which kept up the army
of vice and crime. It was impossible that all the
thousands of thieves and rogues of various degrees
could be furnished from the stray black sheep of
the decent and law-keeping ranks of society. A
closer examination into the ways and habits of
what are termed the dangerous classes soon
elicited the painful fact that it is part of their busi-
siness to train children up to crime. Their own
children, as a matter of course, and in addition all
the waifs and strays, the deserted, neglected, or
orphan children whom they can get hold of in this
busy and indifferent London, are pressed into the
service, and as with the increase of the
population the number of recruits is con-
stantly augmenting, it is evident that the busi-
ness is not likely to fail for want of hands.
The problem how to deal with this large class of
juvenile criminals before the reformatory system
was thought of was one of serious perplexity. On
the one hand it was manifestly unjust and unrea-
sonable to pass over deliberate and wilful offences
committed by children of tender years, and on the
other it was hard to send mere children to prison,
and thus, if they were not absolutely hardened render
them the associates of theworst criminals. The refor-
matory system is a happy tempering of justice with
mercy ; it punishes crime, while it affords the
poor, ill-taught children the chance of a better
life. They are taught the rudiments of educa-
tion, and any one who has taken the trouble
to examine the statistics of our ;assizes knows how
large is the proportion of uneducated criminals.
Besides, this they arc taught some definite tra le, so
that henceforward they shall not be driven to fel.cny
for self-support. The labour of conducting such
an institution is no doubt very great, and the re-
sults are often disheartening. Still, on the whole,
they are quite as favourable as could reasonably be
expected. Thus at the Red Lodge Reformatory at
Bristol, of fifty-five discharged inmates thirty-
three are said to be doing well, seven are doubtful,
ten are unknown, and five have been re-con-
victed. A proportion of three-fifths reclaimed is
perhaps as much as we could hope for when we take
into consideration the serious drawbacks, the here-
ditary influences, and other weights in the scale.
This Reformatory, too, we must remember, is an
institution for girls, who are always more difficult
to deal with than boys. The Akbar Reformatory
School-ship, at Liverpool, gives some very encou-
raging returns. The number of boys on board is
200, and of 16-1 discharged during the past year
85 are known to be doing well, 4 are dead, 7 aro
doubtful, 13 have been re-convicted, and 55 are at
sea, and have not lately been heard from. It is
fair, therefore, to suppose that a large proportion
of these 55 are doing well, since they are following
an honest calling. The Clarence Reformatory
School-ship at Liverpool, devoted to Roman
Catholic boys, also sends in a favourable
account, though the number of inmates discharged
during the year (only eight) is too small to allow of
definite calculations. The satisfactory results of
this ship-training, in comparison to some of the
land schools, deserve attention. There are several
reasons why the ship affords the trainers a better
chance. The discipline, says the report, is necessarily
stricter, and they are of course more isolated than
on shore. A sailor's life, too, always possesses
especial fascinations for boys, and so offers a pow-
erful incentive for good, while the freer and more
active life on board ship removes many temptations
incident to the more tedious and monotonous life
of a school. Prison manager!' know what
is meant by the state of feeling which pro-
duces a " breaking out," and we may depend upon
it the young prisoners suffer from the same im-
patience of their monotonous existence. If the love
of change and excitement so natural in the young
could be brought a little more into the service, we
may depend upon it the temptations to insubordi-
nation and refractory conduct would be materially
lessened. It is the sedentary nature of their occu-
pations which enhances the difficulty of dealing
with the girls. Active physical exertion, which
shall tire out the restless spirit and occupy
the wayward temper, is an invaluable aid
in reforming the young criminal, and the
success of the school ships indicates a wide
field fof improvernen". The City Arab has been
accustomed to a life of open air, among all the
bustle of London streets. A life in the schoolroom,
we may depend upon it, is hateful to him, even
without any penitential agencies. It is right and
necessary that they should be taught, but the more
the instruction can be relieved by physical exercise,
the greater, we may depend upon it, will be the
success. We must not allow ourselves to be dis-
couraged by the failures which necessarily occur.
Even if only one-tenth were reclaimed, the labour
would not be thrown away. \Ve cannot tell what
one professional may cost the State, what misery
he may occasion, or of how much future vice and
crime, and wretchedness, and degradation he may
be the author. The figures we have quoted are