Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-02-13
PENAL SETTLEMENTS.

PENAL SETTLEMENTS.
Foisting cur own villains upon other people, in the
form of penal settlements, has always appeared to Us
to be craven, as we'll As unwise aud urjust policy
While 1t doubtless ginated in the design to PURIFY
the moral atmosphere of the body polite from whieh
the criminals are sent it has in most instances rerV
cd but TO Increase crime, and to multiply The oeea
sons OF relief in the despstching Of cargoes OF con
vicis upon foreign shores. To men unused 10 iue
genter influences Of pure morals-to those who COLI
stitute the great bulk of criminal offenders there Is
nothing terrible or chastening il transportation
Such men quit their country with as little reluctance
as they would cast of burdensome garment aoc
they carry with them to their new abodes the senti'
nents and spirit they cherished in the Old w''ou'
the wholesome terror uf the arm of the law "h'ch III
some sort had checked them at home Tie history
Of the penal colonies of Great Britain has denonsra
ted the truth of these opinions: aud II has there'oe
surprised US that nation em'neny prudeh' III lis
foreign and domestic policy should persist IN the con
tinuance of q custom fraught with 20 much evil 10
other parts OF it's own domrions udresung in so lit.
tie good to ITSELF The burden ofsupporng these penH
colonies is itself no inconsderable item. but apart
from these considerations, the most obectlonaDc ea'
ture is, that foreign powers may have occasion 10
disturb the operations Of the criminal code and arrest
the blood of villainy and crime which 1t Is pouring
upon their borders.
The latest agitation of this subject has produced Il
fermsnt in the press Of our own country; ana II Is
probable that if England shall insist on carryinGsout
the measures advocated by some of her leading Jour
nals there NAV be trouble between our own country
and berself. We make the following extracts from
an article which recently appeared in the New York
Daily News on this topic. Tho pnh!lc sentiment o'
the country will inevitably forbid such an Invasion
of our rights as the attempt to establish at our doors
gang of maraudsrs and thieves to disturb tue peace
and ouist" of our beloved northland. But 10 the
article from the News;
,Jobn Bulls convicts are a constant source OF un-
easiness They increase and multiply Ike tho ver'
min of Egypt. The proportion OF criminals to "the
rsst of mankind" in the United Kingdom lie only To
bs e1celled by the proportion OF pauprrs. There ~
a terrible increase OF ieonies year after year hand
in hand with the increase Of wealth and the luxuri"s
of refined civilization. The more wealth, the fewer
the hands that control it, the fewer wealthy the more
novery stricken the more psupers, the more fclons.
England literally overruns with both paupers and te.
Ions. Irelaad Scotland and Wales swell the fearful
aggregate Of crime and wretchedness. what To do
with those whom the law must brand with the Title
OF COnyct-lndt is LIE queeIiVHi thc
wrong doers' What desert and distant land, unac
ouainted with the tread of civilized man, or unused
to it, shall be sought out into which they may be
poured, like foul stream expelled from its native
channel, and diverted to find outlets where II can
neither taint the air desoiate the groundl This
is one Of the social poblens of the day, and the
many headed "organs OF the British public tn.
newspaper press across the water, are we perceive,
discussing it with their accustomed disregard for t
interests and views Of any other people.
Vancouver's Island and the lands Of the Hudson :
Bay Company are among the territories suggested a.
admirable sites for the establishment ot new British
Penal Settlements 1t s, indeed apprehended, mere
ly as passing idea in Of tn. papers that the Sc
lection OF spot in North America might cmnro,
us 1.-THE Brtish) with the United States" but that is
but momen,ary thought; and what the Americans
would he likely to think or do about the matter j.
evidently scarcely worth considering in the mind o!
the Cockney statesmen Of the London press. Unless
new and sufficiently spacious realms for new colony
of crime car be found in Australia is clear that the
English are contemplating the location of their
amiabe human export, somewhere IN our Northern
vicinity.
The moral right Of Government to empty out it,
prison inmates into the vicinity OF another nation Is
a question to which none but negative answer can
be returned. international law is bat code of de-
claratons of moral right, compounded into specie-
Of public agreement between State and State. II III
ternationa law cannot be invoked To deny tn the
British Government the use of its North American
possessions for penal colonies, the inference simply
10, that the injunction aa utere no NJ non ahsa"u'
nocere has not the application to communities that ii
has 10 individuals.