New-York daily tribune., 1856-02-26
CROGsHOPs AND OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

The organ in this city, of the politicians known
as the "Hards "a title not less expressive than
il is eecant-seems to think it owes to the
Hards generally-the hard in morals as well
as the "hard" in pOlitics-the benefit of its
advocacy On many occasions it has attacked
the principle as well as the policy of prohibitory
liouor legisaon-n fact, of any legislation on the
subject; and it now, by new application of the
same course of reasoning, denounces all attempts
to suppress gambling by law, as an absurd and
hopeless endeavOr. In recent article it puts the
case thus;
"There is class of acts which ii must be con
ceded are contra JoEOS mares, but which the wl-est
leg. ation will scarcely cxtirpae until the coming OF
tie millennium They ger from other criminal acts
IN THIS tiat hey iRr0lre the roRn'0ry p7rt,c,Pation
of the injured rictim ireH az The o1eHd'ng cHlPrH
10 create the OgCHSe. When victims are no longer
supplied the unlawful business necessarily ceases, and
those engaged in it reform per force When icentiOus
passion purged by religion, ceases its thIObs III the
breasts OF youth, the horrible trade OF the pro-
curss will no longer crowd the streets with shameless
and unfortunate Outcasts. When the excitement Of
plsv and the sordd love of gain have charms then
The policy shop the lottery scheme and the faro bank,
will become the wOTT-Out and half-forgOtten relics 0t
a corrupt and demoralZed period. But we have no
faith in the theory of prOhbtOry Legislation, ana as II
regards all these social evils We await the mghtier
operation of education, charity and religion
The Ne,cs seems to go upon the supposition that
the great if not the sole object of criminal law is
to punish the injury inflicted upon the individual,
and that where the individual is cOnsenting party
TO the injury, there is in fact no harm done OF
which the law can take notice. This, we take it,
must be the meaning of The Ners, as otherwise it
might lust as well leave to the "mightier opera
ton of education, charity and religion house
breaking and highway robbery-practices which
will. no doubt, be also regarded ''as the wOrn-out
" and half-forgotten relics of corrupt and demOr-
"alized period" whenever the world is blessed
with the advent Of that millennium of which The
Nt,cs speaks with so much unetiOn, and to which it
looks forward with so much pious confidence as
the only means 10 deliver US from brothels, faro
banks and grogShops.
The assumption, however, that it is the Injury to
the individual which the criminal law chiefly looks
at. is quite without foundation. There are many
great and ruinOus injuries-at least in pecuniary
point of yiew-for which there is no criminal prose-
cution or punishment, while many injuries of
very triing character so far as individual loss or
suffering is concerned, are punished with great Sc
verify. There are many wicked ways of stripping
men Of their fortunes, many breaches of trust, in
MOI al point Of REV not whit less execrable than
downright theft, for which the law as yet provides
no puni,hment but leaves the sufferer entirely to
bis civil action TO recover back, if he can what he
has lost; while 10 steal from the person the value
half a dime, will send the convicted pickpocket to
the State Prison.
Acts are made criminal offenses and are pun.
ish.d with more or less severity chiefly with refer
erce TO the alarm which they inspire in the public
generally. 1t is because of the great alarm which
thieves robbers house breakers aud raisers in.
spire, and the difficulty of guarding against them,
that they are made the objects Of such sey.re pen
alties, even when the sctual injury to the ndiyid-
usl has been but triAing. 1t is only to very in
considerable extent IT, object of the criminal law
to revenge the wrong to the individual. It's chief
object is to protect the public, srd just in proper.
ton to the alarm which certain acts are reasonably
calculated to inspire, does il become necessary 70
suppress them by heavy punishment.
Ii used TO be thought that every man was, or
ought to be, able TO ecteet himself against frauds
and breaches Of truse; snd as such acts in coase-
quence did not inspire much alnrra. each man
thinking himself in 40 danger fru1 them, they
were not generally the subject of criminal pro-
ceedings. But with the vast increase of trade and
personal property ia mcdera times, frauds and