Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1860-07-18 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

WALES.  THE remarks made by Mr. Baron Bramwell in charging the grand jury at the Assizes at Cardiff on Monday, though the learned judge repudiated the notion that he made them simply with a view of complimenting Welshmen, will be read with complacency by the inhabitants of the county and of South Wales generally. His Lordship noticed that out of three counties where he had held the summer assizes already in the circuit there was only one convicted prisoner, who was undergoing a sentence of three months imprisonment. In Cardiganshire there were two prisoners for trial, but neither of them belonged to the county; in Pembrokeshire there were also two for trial, one only of whom was convicted, the single convict alluded to; and in Carmarthenshire a maiden assize was held. Coming to Glamorganshire, the judge said he still found reason to congratulate the grand jury on the lightness of the calendar, the number of prisoners for trial being remarkably less than might have been fairly expected from the extent and circumstances of the county; and the remark his lordship considered retained its force even after taking account of the amount of cri- I minal business which had been disposed of at the 1 Quarter Sessions. The judge, indeed, became I almost enthusiastic in his felicitations. "Every "one," he said, " must see that it is a noticeable ' "thing that four counties should present 80 small a "a number of prisoners to the judges of assize. "It is a matter for congratulation, not only to "those locally interested, but to those at a distance. "I conceive that Glamorganshire men ought to re" joice; Welshmen generally may rejoice; English"men may rejoice; all mankind may rejoice." We are unwilling to say anything that would lessen the value of so favourable a testimony to the moral character of the country as this is; but it must be remembered that the amount of the criminal business left to the assize judges cannot be taken, without many allowances, as a criterion of the crime of the county. The small number of prisoners may possibly indicate rather the failure of justice than the absence of crime; and in so far as it is capable of being viewed in that light, clearly the brief calendar is rather matter of regret than otherwise. lu Swansea, for instance, since the last assizes, we have had, amongst other offences the perpetrators of which hove not been found out, the burglary at Mr. Cousens's, the robbery of bank notes at the Townhall, the burglary at Mr. Read's, and two cases the circumstances of which if they had been fully known might have resulted in charges of child murder; no trace of the criminals in either of these MK'S having been discovered. The assize prisoners, then, are only the representatives of the detected and prosecuted crime remaining to be dealt with by the judges; which may be but a small proportion of the sum of the offences against the criminal laws within the county. At the same time, Baron Bramwell's observations are made upon facts which deserve to have weight attached to them. The amount of detected crime in the counties of South Wales, referring particularly to cases of such importance as to be left to be disposed of at the assizes, is not so great as might fairly be anticipated from the population and commercial activity of the district; and that is not entirely to be accounted for by the imperfections of the police system. The comparative infrequency of heavy crimes in Wales must be attributed in a great measure of the character of the native population, as well as to the operation of the sentiments developed by the agencies of the numerous and active religious societies which are a feature in the Principality.