, 1898-01-22

!, calitV at night, on being told ly the other
hat he was a thief, drew a razor across the
abdomen Of the other almost disemOOwelling
him.
In 1884 or thereabouts, cases Of cutting
nnd wounding with keen edged weapons had
become of so frequent and common occur
renee in this island that the Legislature
found it advisable TO take steps for c'mbat-
ting the evil, and as a preventive measure
an Act was passed imposing fiOgging as an
additional punishment III cases y here 1t was
proved by the evidence adduced at the trial
that The offender used a knife, razor or any
other sharp or pointed instrument made OF
steel or any metal whatever. In such 'ases
the Act made it compulsory that Whipping
should be imposed in addition to any pun
ishment to which the offender may be liable
under the Acts Of lie island. Tie operation
f this measure had a marked and very
salulary effect, as in the course OF q few
years cases Of cutting and woundlng with
sharp. edged instruments had been cOnsldera-
blv reduced in number. But meanwhile it was
thought hat it would be advisable to confer
discretionary power on the Court to impose
f~logging, as cases might crop up where a
rtIson under severe provocation or perhaps
in a serious ebullition Of temper might cut
another with Il sharp-edged instrument, or
tiele may be other circumstances which
g. uId be urged in extenuatioH, and which, It
{, ken into consider alton would be sufficient
teleIicle the offender from the imposition
Of lho ''cat,' and in fuItherance Of that idea,
the Act was amended at the instance Of the
Legislative Council, imposing fogging on
persons convicted Of Unlawful wOunding with
razors or other sharp or pointed instruments,
ut the discretion Of the court. Since then
he number Of cases has fuctuated, and ct
the present moment there is al unln'stakable
inclination on the part Of the lower orders
of the community to have lndiScrImInate
recourse to the razor i'll the most TRIVIAL
bloiIs, and at times without anything that
would go to constitute prOvocntlon. llhs
sudden Increase in cases Of %WOnndlng OF -
serious nature, it seems to us, may possibly
be attributable to the humane l%eniency OF
the administration Of The laws leniency
which is obviously not appreciated by our
criminal class. While on general principles
there can be no objection to the court
possessing and exercising discretionary power
in this matter, still there can be such a thing
as erring on the side Of humanity. UndouOt-
edlv the law in its original aspect WAS
Draconian-perhaps unmercifnl IN the eye
of some persons; because never mind what
tie surrounding circumstances may tie,
however provoked the offender may have
been, SO long as a sharp edged instrument
was employed in the angry struggle SO sure
must the ''cat" be administered Bad as
the use of sharp weapons IS III itself, we
fully comprehend that there are circnmstan
oes under which such use may be oxcuSable.
Al for instance, where a man Is Suddenly
attacked and beaten by another, and in the
heat of temper, and may be, in self defence,
lie draws his penknite and wounds his as
~saiIant. But where, as in the cases mention
ed. men are found proving about armed
with raz0rs which tLey muldeTousIy en-
pIoyed on the slightest dispulation, it is
quite reasonable to conclude that they were
SO armed for unlawful if not malicious
purposes, and should be vigorously dealt
with. 1t would seem, Judging iI'm the
short experience Of the Act as originally
passed, that a finer and more rigorous
administration is necessary for checking the
grow ing evil. Otherwise this section of the
criminal class threatens to become a danger
and menace to the community.