Prevention Of Crime And P...
The Times, 1824-09-08T00:00:00

-TYesteMrdy a;metiing- t6ok place at th'e London Coffeehou se for *she purV6d'6f`Cortidezirig the pr6prietyisf establi1sing a society to JLshist- Jer9nonfwho:have been charged 'wrth offences alleged to have b'qen-corotaitted In London and MAfddlcesex, and whose bills have been ignored by the grandjuries. Sir PETER LAURIE in the chair. The'CcIAsar'AiA sta-ed that hc had been induceed to take the chair on-this important occasion, at this unseasonable period. agadinf-t his wish. H-ad it been left tohis option; he should hve selected the spring for tOle propeiition but lhe hnd notdoubt of tlid eficAcy of their eu- deavour, notwithstandinthe thinnesm of the meeting. They were not assembled to fono a society now. but a conmmittee, out of whose labours it was contemplated a society would spring. He ihen cIu. rerated the seveml societies for the yelief oi distreosed persons, and observed, that the cases of the unfortunate acqa.itted prisoners came not wthin theprovisionsof any one of them. He regretted to ob- serve htat it latl been the fashion to cry. down charitable institu- tions, buit those wrho spoke against thcm did- so, not so much from a candid -disal-probation as from a .want of the attribute of clarity itself. (RH?ar, 'bear. The proportion which persons acquitted bore to peron2 cmrnnittel,- il tqie principal prison,' wasext.aordinary,and would show the strong necessitv fpr sonic ne-asure lilke titat which thev were assemibled to promoft. Within the last three years 2, 72! had been coilniitted for trial, and out of that number 823 were ac. quitted and discharged, with a certain prejudice of chatacter whicll coznamittatl inevitably produced. Since the commencement of his shrievalty, out- of 1,,8.5 who hatl been cotrumitteal, 650 had been discharged, either without trial or without conriction. The conduct of the magistrates was not to bc rernoached for this. It was, to the tempora.y vindictiveness of prosecutors it was to be at- tributed that the proportion was jso very absurd. Prosectn- tors pressed committal- upon complaints whiich the Grand Jurie. often threw out, because those vcry prosecutors smoothed down their evidence, from conmptnctiota or compassiun. One third of cotimitted orisoners were thus discharged. He regrethed that the state of our prisons (lid not afford a securits agains' contamination. In Newgate there wvas scarcely tite means onf sepa- rating tte savage mnurderer frotn the incipient or the merelv-sus- pcste.l criintal ; and it was a melarncholy ftact that tnany poor crea- titres suffered so desperately in their characters and prospects as to finl it necessary to comiailiit oflfnces in order to qualify thensielves for a pfison, which they considered better than sNtvation. The press of the metropolis was to be greatly thanketi for laying open the abusts whicit had tatker place inr some societics aS well as in some prisons. Its interf.r2nce was like a tihunder-cloutd in clearing the atolosphere. The Rev. fir. RUEI.L, in moving the first resolution, siatl, that he had batd a long experience of ganls, and that in Clerkeraweli prison, in whiich he had brcn Chaplain for rnany Veas,. out of' 14.000 persons who had been committed viihiri the last three years, 3,ii3 liad been acquitted, many of them witliout having bees tri d. Titus it 'aligltt be cstifntated that l,Q00 p rsotna wereannua!ly thrown upon the world vithlout proot' of guilt Of anv kind. The case or Barrington was an inst-anceof the opinioas of the unfortuntate them- selves as to tbe effect of charges of crimes upon their 6baracters. Vhen ttiat person wvas acquitted by his jiury, lie said to thean, *- entIciriaea, I thank you, and f as ere vot that it' Pu lr`ozore for rnC %ome eti,ployment, you will never see mc here j,til.'" All ite Judge could say in as;wer to this proposition was. * Ga-ler. tadke the prisoner froimi thie har." The want or occucationi atter dlicharee - necessarily prentimted to acts whicil perhaps would not tiavc suggesLed themnsel ves had a ,ocierv tor the aid ,t' such objccis exisrted. (Applasase.) An imniensitv of' ood Might be donie hy restoring unfortuniate prisoners to their friends an1d f'anilies. it was the practice of yarishes to refuse vaountr persons ;vlho had been in gaol, upon thc principle that they were gaol-hirds; but the reconaiietidation of ilec commi;te, who woul eselvyacquile a knowledge of' wlat tttigit aie expccted frontt thiose under thoir pro. tection. woIlal have the effeet of' reniovi;ag that imnpeditnent. [le c:onciluded witLli mlving that a special conianiittes' be appoinwad to cottsider tite beat nieant3 of establibiling a ociety, &c.-Cairied una- ilintouslv. ilr. ThaWV'E, chaplaino1 Wiaitocross.street prison. confirmned tite t ruth tf tothe observations o0; the la-t speaker. as ftar as his cornpara- tively Imilited experience went. lie ittoved that thotse prisontaers who were eonvrt'ced. a-id sentenc'd in coaaseqaernce o,f the tritfitg natuar of their offences to a small fine or hiaprisonmient, hould iliso come unttder tic hetd of relief. i l r. HARVEv sail, that front thie nwttire of' the reso`utiont. be could not teip thinkitag that but a ainpc ficial view had been taken ot' !thesub~ject' The qtuestion, in his opinion, coibrace4 a verv inipor. ! talit principle. It was necessary to inquire whtethlr the evils corn- plained of had mlaltip!icd in conscquerce of the errors o: tilc l;, or abuses of' the nuagistr:aey. It would be injudticious to take a tsr- tial glance: a smn.ll1 niodificatiots of great evils rather aVgerava'ted thatn relicved. It avas not to be stpaosa'd that any pr"oecu. tor wtoutd take :, persunal luxury in havinr prisoners coinnlit- | ted;and the evil mlist aheretare have arisen eitlter ntait a defectin thic crininial policy of the countrv, or a desperate stretcit of poweur ot the part ot' the M agist rates, or both. The evil ought thercfore to be traced to and correctect in its sOUTrce. A person who had been ac- qutitted of a crimc was not in the condition of a person who taever waY tried at all; tor acAtuittal haai not the eflect of lestrovirag pre ijt tice. By htticttttitgtlteconsti etoices an(l not to the ciuses. crhte dailv increased. Mlir. S'rarvtarss said, the speech of'Mr. Harvey was much better adlaipted to St. Stelihen's, than to that meeting. M 'r. BnOW2g, Warden ot tie Flee-. stated, that the advantages de- rivahle f'rom the society would be infinite. 13r. DoIGLAS Said, the object of tle inectitig was laat of hat. iltati ty ; ad that thea dlidl not profess eitlher to change the criminial ! law' or to throw censures upon utagistrates. ilr. RlttCTARIst)' prop.used a registry'. in which all who shotidl be acquitted or discharged might be reconimmended to tic difflerent Oct upationn 1'ur wvhich they wvere qualifieti. The ttItAIRMA higlly alypprovedof this suggestion. He took oc- casion to sttat, titat aite neglect of the Londti parents was remark. cbkc; as, out of' tninctv female convicts, -sixty-six were burn irn thre citv. About three-lif tas (if' persons cownvictedl could read, atad two. fifths write. The resolations were tlhet agreed to, ant a committee appointed; after whicl thanks were voted to the Chairman, and the ineeting PARPBNTIONO F CCR)JIM) AND PROTBECTIO' TO ' , t . - TlE JNVDirON'T.,