New-York tribune., 1903-02-25
FLOGGlNG.
Hoe Ii Has Disappeared from Eng
Lsh Criminal Administration.

sshn,ent was combined with torture. and there
were touches of comic relief for popular assem-
blaEes Less tragic than the gallows. it was Z
town show. where men. women and chiIoren
were hogged fer misdemeanors. and crowds oi
heartless spectators were entertained by their
sutferfngs. Throughout the eighteenth century
men We're whipped at the carttaH in the streets
nf English towns and women were nogged with
their backs barred in public places Even when
these exhibitions were considered inconsistent
with nodesty respect for the human body and
the interests OF public morals, hoggng remained
a permanent institution OF the criminal law
and OF military and naval discipline In me
reigns Of the Georges boys were hogged IN an
the schools apprentices in the workshops ser
rants in the households thieves and vaEabonds
- me police courts cenvicts in the prisons sol
diers in the army and sailors in the navy Ire
practice of fogging women was carried from 'ae
eighteenth into the nineteenth century. and our
ing The early years of the Victorian reign whip
ming was the recognized method of dealing with
covardice and breaches of discipline in the
army and Of maintaining order in prisons While
fossing has been condemned by legislators ana
rforrners as the least desirable Of criminal pun
tshrnents il has never been taken out of the
resources Of law but has been nominally re-
tanned as penalty for attacks upon members
ef the royal family, and robberies with violence
such as garrotting. and is reserved for incor-
rigible convicts in exceptional cases
The efficacy Of fogEing a deterrent form OF
punishment designed to intimidate certain
classes Of offenders has been recognized TO this
dav II England. Many radical reforners have
advocated il as punishment FOR wifebeatng'
one OF the favorite recreations among the lower
classes. ana some Of them. IN their detestaJlon
Ct an odious and brutal crime, have not hesl-
lated to recommend the restoration Of the public
whipping post as an instrument Tor dealing de-
cistvely with offenders Of this sort The preVa-
&C Of organized rUtfanisTl, or "hoolisanlsln'
IL overcrowded sections Of the metropolis mas
induced few magistrates 70 suggest hogglng
as g suitable punishment for q peculiarly vicious
form Of criminalty. The humane view OF
criminal administration has prevailed, however,
and fosgfnE has been condemned as form OF
torture calculated to excite brutal and vindetive
natures and inconsistent with The reformation
Of offenders and the revival of self1espect and
moral habits
By the prison regulations conViCts are now
punished in ordinary eases by loss Of marks III
remission OF sentence. by forfeiture Of privi-
Ieges dependent upon good conduct by solitary
confinement with bread and water. and by parti-
eoIerea dress with chains. Flogging with birch
OF cat is most unusual in convict establish
rnents and is reserved for the last resort when
callous and depraved criminals cannot De IN
fuenced except by a degrading form Of punish
nent which leaves its marks or body and mind
Whenever there is controversy over this sub
Ject in the press or 2 debate IN Parliament, fog
efnE Is inevitably condemned as a survival OF
the uediavaI practice OF torture The inspira-
1ion for IL comes from a period when depraved
women were placed il the stocks OF the pillory
in order TO learn virtue by displaying their
shame or When men were encouraged 70 reform
their habits Of life by being forced TO wear
straftjackets. Or by working IN treadmins, or
by having their thumbs OF fingers cut of
While noggfng has fallen into disuse z PEN
ATTY Tor crime, il has been retained in the public
schools, il the regimental messrooHs and in the
navy, with tha reservation that punishment
must be administered ny men of the same class
as rhe offenders The junior masters in pub
lie school are not allowed 10 punish boys except
by giving them demerits or by increasing the
burdens of study; and the head master inter
venes with the rod only in rare instances. Flos-
etng II left in the hands OF the upper class men,
Who ara he'd responsible for the discipline Of the
school. and it Is regulated by monitors and pre-
fects under an organized system Of tribunals and
procedure Punishment is ordinarily restricted
10 six strokes and is administered without in
decency. the offender bending over able with
out removing his coat Midshipnen in the navy,
I am told. are punished in the same way by the
Fubalterns the senior officer among them being
responsible for holding court Of inquiry and
the execution Of the sentence
These suhaltern courts are also recognized in
Etruments Of discipline IN the Grenadier Guards
and other Household regiments; and while the
principles Of criminal administration are bor-
roVed from the public schools. the proceedings
are characterized by indecency and inhumaniry.
English schooIboys themselves would revolt
against what are apparently the accepted Gus
torzs among the petted society regiments.
IN recent letter on ''ragging" in the British
army accepted the current view that the
courts formed in the rlessroorns Of favored regi-
nlents were secret and irresponsible, and that
unpopular Cheers were .'hazed' for breaches Of
good manners and for social offences. The sub
5ect has entered upon phase since the
gspee rance in The Times OF a letter from
Rear Admiral Cochrane the Grenadier
Guards scandal The Intervention Of naval
officer in an exclusively military controversy is
an anomalous episode. which may create bad
feeling between the fighting services; but the
charges come from a responsible source, and a
direct appeal is made TO Parliament for a thor
oueh Investigation of aborninable scandal
ana for drastic measures Of reform. Rear Ad-
-ni-ai Cochrane's Ietser is based upon the ex-
re-te-,ces Of his nephew, Lieutenant Leveson-
Cover who has been compelled by lndlgnltes
and acts Of Injustice TO resign his commission in
TIE Grenadier Guards; and it throws strong
side light upon the action Of Lord Roberts, the
Cor,r,sr5ar-in-C-hief. in forcing Colonel KinlOch
70 retire upon half pay from the command cf
the Isl battalion Many points in his lndict-
rnert nnsv ne exposed 10 contradiction when the
military officers have an opportunity Tor pre-
sen+5ng their side OF the controversy; but the
question raised by the Raging OF TWO sons o.
peers and z nephew Of a third peer ana aiso
by me summary dismissal Of the conlnlAhoII4e