The Irish standard., 1902-01-11
CRIME IN ENGLAND.
Interesting Statistics Given by Michae
Dayitt.

lin Freeman:
References to Irish crime, agrarian
or otherwise, in the speeches of Eng
fish ministers are Intentionally insult
ing to us as a people. They are meant
to convey to English audiences the i'm
preston that we are prone to the COM
mission Of crime, and that it is only
by the strong exercise of the restrain
ing arm of English law that this coun-
try is kept from an outbreak of gen.
eral felony. 1t was in this sense that
the apologist for the Jameson Raid
was applauded in Exeter last night by
an audience of Primrose Danes when
he referred to the practical freedom
Of this country at present from ag-
rarian offenses.
An English audience listening to a
homily on Irish crime from politician
who was the interested defender of a
gang of men who plotted and attempt
ed to carry out one of the greatest
burglaries of history-the raid on the
Rand mines-is in every sense worthy
of a nation of moral and political hyp-
ocrites. Bill Sykes on the Ten Com
mandments would not offer us more
consistently English moral perform
ance than Mr.. George Wyndham lee
turing Ireland and Irishmen on their
bad qualities from an English city.
The Chief Secretary's speech was
delivered in Exeter, and I have had
the curiosity to look up the criminal
records of 'Devonshire for the past
year in order to understand the kind
of moral atmosphere in which Mr..
Wyndham and his Primrose Danes
sit in judgment upon us. find these
figures: part Criminal Statistics,
1900, p. 145)-Attempt to murder, 2;
manslaughter, 2; felonious wounding,
1; attempts to commit unnatural Of
lenses, 2; indecency with males, 2;
rape and indecent assault on females,
6; defilement of girls under sixteen, 2;
sacrilege, Z; burglary and housebreak-
ing, 20; larceny, $50; arson, IL. In
all, for one English county, for one
year, a total of SGT indictable offenses.
1 will next give your readers a few
figures as to the record of moral Eng
land for the same year which 1 find in
the same blue book Up. 1866: Murders,
121; conviction for same, 65, leaving
36 murderers unpublished; attempted
murders, II; manslaughter, POI; feloni-
GUS wounding, $50; malicious wound
ing, 1,OO1; rapes, indecent assaults on
females, and defilement of young girls,
1880; unnatural offenses, 90; bigamy,
115.
A report of the Society for the Pre-
vention Of Cruelty to Children quoted
from at p. "A, says that 1O,79O children
We're "immorally outraged" in Eng
land and Wales, 3O7,9O4 neglected
and starved" 5000 assaulted and ILL.,
treated" and that 1855 were found to
be sufferers in other ways since
that society commenced it's humane la
bors.
There were total of 10000 indict-
able offenses committed in England
and Wales last year, for which crimes
$3.50 persons were apprehended, leav-
ing over 10000 crimes unpublished.
In the category of offenses against
property with violence, which would
bear some comparison to agrarian
crime in Ireland, there were 1854 of
such crimes in the one year in Eng
land and Wales, for which, however,
only 1854 persons were apprehended,
leaving the enormous number of 1880
of these crimes unpublished. blue
Book, p. 1866.
1t is in every sense becoming in
of these people to talk
about Irish crime at English meet
ings! Mr.. Wyndham's impertinences
about the Irish party and political
funds come with equal propriety from
a politician in the receipt Of $4,000
q year for his services in Dublin Cas-
tie. He belongs to n party which
has used it's power and majority in
Parliament to pass the Agricultural
Rating Act that has relieved the
supporters of the Tory Ministry to the
extent of near f1O,OOO,OOO out of the
general taxes of Great Britain. 1t
was also Mr.. Wyndham's party which
presented to the Irish landlord back
ers the annual relief of some 1850, 900
in the matter Of rates in connection
with the County Government Act.
The flippant insolence Of a man tar
red with the odium of the Rhodes
Jameson conspiracy for the theft of
the Transvaal mines, with the bood-
ling Of the taxes for the benefit Of
his political friends and supporters,
and who is Minister responsible for
the mercenary crime of the South
African war, haunting Irish members
in relation to the voluntary subscrip-
ton of their fellow-countrymen, is
'nly in correct keeping with the
whole spirit and character of English
manners and morals in the govern
ment Of Ireland.
-e---e 4 q . .