The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1888-05-12 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

SAII3RDAY, MAY 12, 1888.  Ma. SAMUEL SMITH, whos-• labours in the cause of morality deserve cordial recognition, told a startling story in the House of Commons ott Tuesday evening. He said that the spread of vicious literature had become a national danger. The chief culprit in the matter he believed to be M. Zola, who had been the means of selling in the market more of this class of literature than any one else. The literature in question was nothing but sheer beastliness, it meant nothing more or less than beastliness in its most loathsome form. The chief literature upon which the children-of London were fed was the "penny dreadful," which was sold in hundreds of tons not only to the children of the poor, hut to the children of the resectablo at Cam s and the nuiddle class. Or eltmentar), education act had been a [allure on account of the innumerable temptations which surrounded the el ildren, and among those temptations was the foul literature with which they had been surfeited. There were men eint loyi d as agents to go round to the ml idle-class schools in order to place in the hands of boys and girls advertisements of a foul kind, to induce them to purchase these works.- There was an organised system of this kind which penetrated into nearly all schools of the country. There were shopkeepers who  provided indecent literature for young girls, and offered them every inducement to come into their shops, where, in rooms set apart for the purpose, they could read books of this class on making a deposit of about sixpence. In many cases these shops were in league with homes of the worst class, to which girls were consigned. Somehow or other the law alivays seemed to strike at the agent, and not at the author of such works. A great deal of the indecent matter was published in low sporting papers. Such was the dreadful story told by Mr. Smith. Probably, it was in some respects exaggerated. The Home Secretary seemed to think so, for be said that if the case of a shop existing to enable young girls to read indecent literature were biought under his notice he would not hesitate to direct a prosecution. Mr. Matthews also observed that if there were a practide of circulating licentious literature in !Illinois there would be no hesitation on his part in bringing the offender to justice. Therefore, if Mr. Smith knows as much as he affected to, he has only to move his right hand to have the evil lessened. But even admittiug that he exaggerated there is unquestionably room for the gravest uneasiness. The literary palate of the people is vitiated, and pandered to in a scandalous way. Even the editors of respectable journals are not ashamed to publish such things "The Romance of Charles Peace" and "Maria Martin; or, The Murder in the Red Barn." Appearances point to the probability of "Jack Shepherd" b tore long having his doings rec 'riled in the pages of the lea 'jug familynewrqmpers. But we doubt whether the monstrous evil complained of by Mr. Smith will be lessened by legislation; and, though we are glad that he succeeded in carryiug his rest). lution, we should be sorry to see our courts of law entrusted wi• h sweeping powers for the suppression of so•called