The Sun. — 1861-02-28 (London, England)

CRIME IN FRANCE.  The last statistical returns of criminal justice in France are examined by the Constitutionnel with a view to showing that the number of offences has of late years been steadily diminishing. Such an improvement, our contemporary observes, coincides with greater firmness in repression, greater promptitude in bringing the guilty to trial, and infinitely fewer acquittals : "If we go back," says the writer, " to 1851, we shall see the number of causes brought before the Courts of Assize increase—at first, in small proportions, it is ' true, until 1854, and from that period go on constantly diminishing. In 1851, 5,287 causes were submitted to the jury ; that number had, in 1854, risen to 5,525; and in 1859 it had decreased to 3,918. Crimes against the person, placed highest in the scale of punishments, have all diminished. Cases of murder decreased from 280 in 1852 to 186 in 1859 ; homicide, from 196 to 102; poisoning, from 38 to 28 ; and parricide, from 20 to 12. Infanticide alone presents a sad exception, that crime having gone on increasing in a frightful manner. From 164 in 1851, it amounted in 1859 to 226." One other species of offence has, however, augmented—namely, criminal assaults on both young girls and grown persons. Of the former the number was 103 more in 1859 than in 1851 (718 to 615), whilst for the latter the increase is not less than 51 per cent. The writer expresses a hope that great severity shall be manifested towards this offence, evincing as it does so great an increase in immorality. The article then says : " Incendiarism, which causes so much alarm in the country districts, diminished in 1859, when there were only 190 cases. In the preceding years the number was greater ; 223 in 1858 ; 239 in 1857; and 286 in 1854. Let us hope that the diminution which we now point out for 1859 may not be an isolated fact. It is robberies attended with aggravating circumstances which have decreased in the greatest proportion. In 1851, 2,233 cases of that kind were submitted to the jury ; whereas the number in 1859 was reduced to 1,329."  Speaking of the general statistics of criminal eases, the writer observes : " It is not without interest to remark that in the number of prisoners, which in 1859 was 4,992, the proportion of females was 905, or about 18 per cent. The number of condemnations to death was 36, of which only 21 were carried out, the remainder being commuted to hard labour for life. The other sentences pronounced by the Court of Assize were 152 to hard labour for life, and 856 for different periods; 811 to solitary confinement, and 1,880 to simple imprisonment. The number of prisoners acquitted was 1,230. The proportion acquittals in the course of the year increased by 2 per cent., and that of the condemnations to infamous punishments decreased by 3 per cent." On cases brought before the Correctional Courts, the writer says : "The police courts, which in 1858 had tried 171,490 cases, and 211,081 prisoners, had before  them in 1859 only 159,463 affairs, in which 196,163 individuals were implicated. This diminution is not abnormal, as that of 1858, as coin pared with 1857, showed a greater one. Inthe course of those two years the number of correctional affairs decreased by more than 25,000, or nearly 14 per cent. This still enormous number of 159,463 affairs must be examined in its elements, in order to ascertain exactly the criminality which it represents. It must not be forgotten that it comprises 25,053 offences against the game laws; 30,949 contraventions against the post-office, fisheries, customs, &c. If we class the offences by the penalties which they entailed, we find that 15,709 were acquitted; 97,044 condemned to a simple fine; 71,217 sentenced to less than 12 months' imprisonment, and only 9,096 to a more severe punishment. To the above numbers must be added 3,097 ctildren of less than 16 years of age, of whom 1,362 were delivered up to their relations, and 1,735 sent to Houses of Correction."