The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-05-17 00:00:00

LIVERPOOL BOROUGH SESSIONS.

THE RECORDER ON JUVENILE CRIME, AND
LADIES' DRESS POCKETS.

The Borough Quarter Sessions commenced yesterday
in the new Assize Courts, St. George's-hall, before
Gilbert Henderson, Esq., Recorder. There were ninety-
five prisoners for trial charged with felony, and four with
misdemeanours. Of the prisoners for trial none bad
received a superior education ; five could read and write
well ; forty-six imperfectly ; twelve could read, but not
write ; and thirty-six could neither read nor write. The
following gentlemen were sworn on the grand jury :—John
Mather, lead and copper merchant, Back Goree, foreman;
Samuel Beckwith, broker, Tower-buildings ; Wm. Barry,
merchant, Exchange-buildings ; Edward Brodripp, tea
merchant, North John-street ; Christopher Bushell, wine
broker, North John-street; Robert C. Crosbie, merchant,
Tower-buildings ; Wm. Leigh Clare, broker, Exchange-
buildings ; Frederick Chapple, merchant, Water-street ;
Samuel Cherry, corn-broker, Fenwick.street ; John
Finch the younger, iron-merchant, Cook-street ; Thomas
Froste, merchant, Castle-street ; John Lord Howard,
broker, Dean-street, Fairfield ; James Little, rectifier,
Vernon-street ; Ed ward Johnstone, merchant, Tower-
buildings North ; Wm. Griffith Leete, broker, Sweeting-
street ; Wm. Jeffery Lockett, merchant, Islington ; R.
A. Macfie, sugar-refiner, Bachelor-street ; Robert Mason,
broker, Tithebarn-street ; Henry Newman, merchant,
Canning-place ; Daniel Powell, corn-merchant, North
John-street.

The RECORDER, in addressing the Grand Jury, said
that the calendar on this occasion contained the names of
100 persons sent for trial, who had been committed
within two months ; this, therefore, would be at the rate
of 600 prisoners a year—a number less than were sent to
the Sessions last year, and considerably less than in the
four years preceding, when the number averaged 900 an-
nually. He might add that the cases were also of a lighter
character than before. If these indications might he
trusted, there was much ground for satisfaction, because
it would seem that, at a time when the commerce of this
port was beyond all parallel, and when the imports and
exports exceeded those of the metropolis, the benefits of
commercial enterprise extended themselves to the hum-
bler classes, and acted as a preventative of crime. He
hoped this was the state of the case at the present time
in this town, bet, even if it was, still we must not
rest satisfied on the subject, nor relax in the least in our
efforts for the repression of crime. This borough had
always labcured under this disadvantage, that the arrange-
ments of our prison were of such a kind as to render the
indiscriminate association of prisoners unavoidable ; and
although the gentleman who acted as chaplain pursued his
labours with an almost unparalleled zeal, his efforts, as
well as those of the governor, were prevented from having
their due effect. It was, therefore, with great pleasure
that he now saw the new prison drawing to a completion,
so as to admit of the introduction of the separate system.
As tar as he (the Recorder) had been able to form an
opinion, the evidence was very strong in favour of the
separate system, and he did not think that the adminis-
tration of justice would be fully provided for until they
saw the separate system carried out. He some years
ago assisted the Council in providing the prison which was
now erecting, and he hoped that every exertion would be
made to bring it to an early and a successful completion.
Now, although it was a frightful thing for people to get
themselves into prison, he had more anxiety about those
out of prison than the offenders within its walls. They
found some people often coming to prison, it was true,
and eventually getting transported. Still, he could not
doubt that imprisonment, and a rigorous administration
of the law, had a good effect upon a community. Sup-
pose that, for a week, there was no provision made for
the administration of justiet3—that the police did not inter-
fere with criminals, and that there was no restraint, no
doubt a sense of moral restraint would prevent the mass
of our population from committing crime, but there would
be those—afraid of the law—who, in this case, would break
out into the most frightful excesses against society, and it
must therefore be seen that the due administration of the
law did a great deal for the safety and decent regulation
of society. Nevertheless, he by no means overlooked the
very great importance of reformatory establishments in
such a town as Liverpool. No doubt it was highly desir-
able to have such institutions, but he was afraid they
were not to be considered the only advantages which they
must provide in order to prevent crime. For example,
sometimes a young man was brought before him who had
been attempting to steal a quantity of money, and was
penitent. lie admitted the crime, and expressed his
sorrow for it. Now he would willingly say to such a
young man, " Go, and sin no more,' but if he did so,
what might be thought by other young persons viciously
disposed ? He (the Recorder) could not discharge such a
person. lie might be glad to see him penitent, but he
must inflict a punishment on him as an example, and for
the purpose of deterring others. The calendar, on the
present occasion, contained the cases of several juvenile
offenders, although he was glad to say not so many as on
some former occasisns. Latterly much attention had been
given in this town to the establishment of a reformatory
institution, and the subject had been urged on the atten-
tion of Government. That some such institution was
required he was ready to admit, at the same time it was
clear to him that they must not rest satisfied that that was
the only thing they had to do. There were other points
which must be attended to in order to stay juvenile de-
linquency. In Liverpool, 400 fresh juvenile offenders were
yearly added to the list of crime. Supposing the y put all
those cases into a reformatory, for three or four years,
and bring them up. A very desirable thing, no doubt.
But would it stop the flowing of the stream ? As it
seemed to him, it would hardly have any tendency that
way. For why should there not next year be a similar
number of new cares ? Nay, more, when they knew that
in one district alone in the town it was ascertained
that there were 2,000 poor children unprovided for,
might not the providing of a reformatory alone ac-
tually tend to increase the number of juvenile delin-
quents ? What he said was that it did not go to the root
of the evil. Suppose they put 400 children into a refor-
matory next year, 400 the year afterwards, and 400 the
year after that again, what did it all amount to, if they did
not go to the root of the evil? The question was, what
were the causes of juvenile delinquency ? If they endea-
voured to grapple with the causes of crime, they would do
much more effectual good. Upon inquiry he found that
one cause was that children were sadly neglected by their
parents. It was found, upon visiting their houses, that
the father was a drunkard, neglecting his family, and that
was one cause why the child became a juvenile thief. Any-
thing they could do to stay the progress of drunkenness
was of the highest importance. He might say that every
crime in the calendar could be traced to drunkenness.
Having referred to a case of wounding in the calendar,
in which a man had neatly lost his life, and which origi-
nated in a public house, the Recorder said he lamented
the inordinate number of licensed public houses and the
free trade in beer, which enabled wen, without character,
to keep such houses. He had said that the drunken
habits of parents was one cause of juvenile crime. The
improper exposure of property at the shops was another
cause. Children, living in country villages, had not the
same temptations as they had in this town, where shop-
keepers were in the habit of blocking up their doorways
with their property. This was no fancy of his. There
was a shopkeeper, named Lewis, who would come before
them in connexion with one of the cases which they had
to investigate. Now he (the Recorder) had recently
ascertained that no less than ten persons had been
convicted for stealing goods exposed at his door. This
gentleman was a wealthy man, who had, he believed, made
a fortune in the business, and it perhaps might not mat-
ter to him that ten or fifteen young persons had been con.
victed for stealing from the doors of his premises, who
would, very likely, not have been convicted at all had he
kept his property inside his premises. He could name
many cases of a similar kind. In the year ISSO, from a
return lie was in possession of, he found that 218 juvenile
offenders were brought before the magistrates for stealing
from shop doors, a very large proportion of the whole.
In the same year, 7S clildren were brought before the
magistrates for stealing cotton, the great staple of this
town ; and any person who had seen the carters stepping
into public-houses, whilst ragged children were fol-
lowing their carts, need not feel any surprise at thees
robberies. This cottora was taken to the marine-store-
dealers, who readily purchased it. Now, if the carters
paid any attention to their duties, a simple crack of the
whip might prevent many of these offences. Then there
was another species of offence that seemed fast coming
into vogue in this town, and all in consequence of women
wearing pockets in their dresses. He found that in the
year 1850, 163 children were brought before the magis-
trates for picking pockets. In the present calendar, out
of the 100 cases, there were eleven arising out of picking
women's dress-pockets. There was a time when it was
a very rare thing for women or children to be pickpockets
at all, but now we had an abundance of them, both
women, and boys, and girls. Now it was all very well
for a lady who sat in her drawing-room or who rode in
her carriage to have a dress-pocket as they were now
worn, hut when shopkeepers' wives and small trades-
men's wives went about the streets and to the markets
with these pockets in their dresses, these children knew
it, and they lifted up the dress, and robbed them with the
greatest ease. He had done all he could to discourage the
practice by disallowing the costs in all cases where ladies
had come before him to prosecute, under the impression
that it might have a tendency to check or prevent this par-
ticular species of crime. There was another kind of
crime, peculiar to children in this town., to which he
would advert. It was very common for children of twelve
or thirteen years of age to run away from_ their parents,
offence. After
,ed
at these houses where they were
theirmloidofi
and go to reside in a certain class of lodging-houses.
They were readily receis
g where
by stealing.
this k•
and the result of thosewitn Captain
He had
harboured,
madean de
nqui whererietshaeby puat d
one, he communicated • '
Greig on the CerereulliCa-
bt whatever
on his mind that there
tions left ne doubt the last sessiosnusi,
ihecutt,
such dens in the town. were
many e regretted that, ac-
cording to the present state of the law,
power to punish those who so harboured he had not the
children, even if they were b these young
rought before him, al-
though it was of the greatest •
should be suppressed, inimportance that such dens
order
de-
gree, juvenile crime. After to prevent, in some
learned gentleman repeated some further remarks, the
learned
that we must not be content
with placing • • ' juv entle offenders in a reformatory, but go
to the root of the evil, and see what ;we could do to pre-
vent crime, and thus render unnecessary, to a great
extent, these reformatories at all. We must put drunk.
enness amongst parents down, and look for a remedy for
that state of things where parents did not educate or look
after their children. It was in vain to attempt to stop
crime by merely local treatment, and we should simply be
doing that by erecting a reformatory, and not taking
means to arrest the sources of crime. At the same time
he was decidedly in favour of a reformatory, because he
knew many cases in which imprisonment was of no avail,
where a reformatory might have been of service ; still be
knew that that mode of meeting the evil had its limits,
and that other means of prevention must not be neglected.
The triAll were then proceeded with.