Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-02-06
A THIEVES p

A THIEVES SUPPER.
tn Progress of Il Remarkable Reforma-
tory Institution.
The annual supper for the criminal
classes in connection with the st. Giles
Mission, Little. Wild street, Drury Lane,
was held, in the Mission Chapel, Hon.
Sir Ford North, II of the Judges of the
Supreme Court, in the chair. The Lord
Mayor, who received q bo%isterously
warm greeting, was also present. Some
two hundred men and youths of the
criminal classes were regaled at a SUBJ
s%tantial supper in different parts of the
building. The wretched estate into
which these guests have fallen was pro-
claimed by the rags and c~ountcnances
of most of them, They were waited
upon, as on previous occasions, by la
dies and gentlemen interested in the
mission. After the tables had been
cleared the usual meeting was held.
Mr.. George Hatton, the General Super
intendent, read areport explaining the
operations of the society, and appealing
for help. Nh. Hatton stated that dur
ing the past year 6,718 men had been
discharged from prison in London, and
that Of this number 12,427 accepted the
free breakfasts given northumberland,
Cold-bath-tields, and Holloway Prisons
on the morning of discharge. In
his report Mr., Hatton paid a warm
tribute to the energies Of Mr.. W.
Wheatley, the secretary, who has
charge Of the rescue and preventive de-
partment, and when later, Mr.. Hatton,
on concluding his address, presented a
gold watch to Mr.. Wheatley, as some
slight recognition of his kindness and
as a gift from men who have by his
agency been saved from lives of crime,
the cheering was loud and long. The
subscribers to this testimonial, once
thieves, were present last night in the
meeting. Mr.. Wheatly, who was evi.
IDENTIFY much surprised at this part of
the proceedings, briefly expressed his
thanks. and then proceeded to read one
or two letters from discharged prison.
ers. One of them is at the present
time in employment, and this letter
prompted Mr.. Wheatley to give to the
men present a bit of wholesome advice
namely not to be SO unmanly and
mean as to sponge upon a comrade be-
cause he happens to be in work. Sir
Ford North delivered a brief address to
the discharged prisoners. Prisoners
often, he said, when about to be SEN
fenced, protested that they had been
led into crime by hunger and tcmpta-
ton, but he wished them to understand
that these were no excuse for crime.
No doubt it was difficult for a
discharged prisoner to find en-
ployment, and it was easy to relapse in
to crime, but, thanks to the efforts of
such a mission as this, there was now
no real excuse. The rescue department.
of the St. Giles mission ant the .Pris-
oners' Aid societies in the, provinces
were doing a vast amount of good. The
Government gave timely assistance to
the st. Giles mission, and no society
oners often appealed to the Judge to
Judge had not the power to give what
was asked. The chance was really
given by a society like this. Referring
to the article in Mondays Daily Meas
entitled, ''Raising the Fallen" the
learned Judge remarked-with respect
to the discharged prisoner who tried to
explain to the writer that the offense
for which he was sentenced vas a
frolic rather than a crime-that it was
no uncommon thing for prisoners to
make these apologies. but it did not
answer to advance such pleas, which
generally had no foundation. He told
them that there was no fear of their
being interfered with by the police if
they conducted themselves properly;
and as, in his experience, nine crimes
out Of ten were caused by drink, he adj
vised them to abstain from Intoxicating
liquoraltogether. Theymustnotdisguise
from themselves that theywere persons
who hnsfallen down, butthey had a fair
opportunity of getting up again and
walking along the straight and narrow
way. That they would do so was his
sincere wish. The Lord-Mayor, in
view of a printed statement showing
that $1,000 was needed, suggested,
amid much applause, that an appeal
should be made to the city companies,
and promised to do what he could to
back the appeal. His lordship Incl
dentally remarked that he had that day
met the Lord Chancellor and Lord
Salisbury at the Royal Society, and
those noble lords expressed the greatest
interets in tho supper and meeting.
The Lord Mayor concluded his speech
with a spirited recitation Of Eliza Cooks
poem relating to Bruce and the spider,
This was a surprise, and it was SO sue
cessful that there were some cries Of
'%:encore' amid the round of cheers:
Captain Harvey, Governor of Worm
wood Scrubs prison, SirH. Holland,
M. p, and other gentlemen also de.
livered addresses. London NeWS.