The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-11-24
JUVENILE OFFENDERS.

One day last week little fellow, eight
years old, was brought before one of our ma
gistrates, on u charge Of theft. The fact was
proved, and the parents, who were present,
said that he had been seduced into n dishonest
course by band of young thieves in the city,
well known to the police. The father declined
to give bail, saying that the law must have it's
course and the boy, scarcely old enough to be
out Of the charge of a nurse, was sent to Jail
little boy, so tender in years that were
death to send him before the bar of God he
would scarcely be held accountable for his
acts consigned As if he were a responsible
offender, mature criminal to the disgrace,
and privations and horrible associations of q
jail, by Human Law
In that same jail is another little boy about
the same age, whose first offence, when he was
about six years old, was setting an old house
a6re, that he might have the pleasure of
seeing the engines in operaton-a mere freak
of mischief, which parental discipline could
have corrected. That brutal punishment-in-
generation. the incarceration of an infant
made him child of hell. He was thrown
into den of hardened criminals, some, house.
breakers, some swindlers, some, incendiaries,
some, murderers; they were his sole compan-
ions their obscene jests, their loathsome tales
of crime, were his meat and drink from day
to day. Six times has he been committed to
jail, and yet he is not ten years old ! "The
law must take its course" said that unnatural
parent, and the poor boy, eight years old, goes
to the same school of crime, to be perfected in
wickedness
IL not this horrible? Is this Christian
community? Oh, yes we have churches
and we are all church going people. Our
ministers read with pathos the saying of Christ,
"Suffer little children to come unto me, and
forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom OF
heaven and then we send little children to the
jail and to the devil without conjunction In
fanticide were better than such cruelty. That
is but killing the body-this is numbering the
soul
If we have no pity for the little children, we
should at least have some consideration for
ourselves. If the wit of Satan were taxed to
devise sure way to convert boys into beasts
of prey he could hit upon nothing so adapted
to this end, as sending them, for petty crimes
to herd with hardened outcasts in dungeon
separated from ell good, subjected to all evil
Are we really anxious to breed criminals
The law that sends children to Jail is brutal
The Legislature that provides no asylum, nc
house Of refuge or correction for juvenile OF
tenders is as delinquent as if it should pass
no laws for the punishment Of crime. As vel
let the adult criminal go at large, as to subject
the irresponsible, child-otfender to the same
punishment az is inflicted on him. Society
builds asylums for the insane, the deaf and
dumb the blind--and yet, we hesitate not t.
say, that less suffering and mischief would fol
low from the absence of any public provision
for these, than from the neglect to provide
houses of correction for Juvenile offenders AM
from the practice Of consgning them to tn
horrible associations of a Jail.
What has become Of the zeal Of our citizen
temporarily awakened in regard to this sub
ject 1t was announced, about a year age
that Mr.. Corcoran had pledged himself I
give ten thousand dollars towards the erectio
J of House OF Correction and Employmen
} provided the citizens would contribute the r,
mainder necessary to complete the enterpris
Some interest was manifested for time
the project, but since then We have hear
nothing about it, 1t is time to act, and ~
{ efficiently. The Ecening Star says that ii
gang Of boy thieves who led this poor lit
fellow a1tray, have den called "The RI
r Hole,n and it adds, they are still operatin
and We hope our policemen will be ON the loo
D out for them, and the persons who recei
: their stolen goods"
0 Suppose they should be on the look out al
arrest a dozen child,thicyos of eight or L
: years old, and send them to Jail, to be encou
0 aged and trained TO further crime by the exp
Q rienced felons in that highly respectable scho
= for morals, what benefit would society derive
I For Heavens sake, let us provide some pla'
Q Tor these poor little oatcastS, where the depl