The Weekly Gazette for Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool and Cleveland District. — 1880-05-15 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1880.  PRISON OR THE GRAVE?  Tax saddest and darkest tragedy on record amongst us was enacted on Saturday morning in front of the Middlesbrough Railway Station. It was truly a terrible spectacle, and the reflections it suggests are in the highest degree painful. Be the facts of the ease what they may, the outcome has no redeeming feature; it is all and altogether lamentable. "There must be blame somewhere" is the first exclamation of most people, and the next act is to lift up the eyes and thank God that "we had no part in it." But these outbursts, reckless or pharisaical, do not answer the questions that arise or solve the strange mystery. Time was when men—and women too—were hanged for sheep-stealing and forgery; human nature revolted against this application of the law's extremest penalty, and neither sheep-stealing nor forgery increased. The time may come when imprisonment—it may be for years or for life—as a punishment for the somewhat ill-defined, and to most minds unintelligible, offence called "contempt of Court" will be mitigated or abolished; and then we will be expressing our surprise that "such a barbarity" was allowed to exist so long. The poor man Metcalf, who on Saturday morning preferred a suicide's grave to incarceration in York Castle, may have brought upon himself the dread sentence which has proved in his sad experience worse than hanging. But it is possible—nay, even probable— that he did not realise, and was scarcely in a position to comprehend, the law's estimate of the enormity of a crime ' which, to many, seems to be abstract and venial. Moreover, he declared his inability to comply with the demands of the Court to produce certain documents pertaining to property in which others claimed to be interested, and his utter amazement at the extreme measure to which his prosecutors had resorted. In passing, it is worthy of note as a fact that the accession to any amount of wealth amongst the poor almost invariably leads to trouble and strife and misery. In this case, had the man taken the proper course, and been able to substantiate his allegations, it is not unlikely that he would have been to-day peacefully pursuing his calling at the Cargo Fleet Timber Yard. On these points it would be unpardonable to dogmatize, nor do we pronounce any orinion on the justice of the sentence or the manner in which it was enforced. The deplorable catastrophe needs no accessory to augment its horrors or deepen its gloom. There it stands in all its hideousness :—ln broad daylight, in the charge of two minions of the law, in the presence of strung men, leaning against the wall of a busy railway station, a man of nearly three - score years spills his life's-blood on the hard, unyielding paveand determinately prefers selfdestruction to imprisonment. Joseph Metcalf was no insignificant or exceptional item of humanity, nor ought he to have shared such a pitiable fate. For many years he occupied a position of trust and responsibility at Guisborough,and was greatly respected amongst the community. Since the link there was broken the path seems to have been stormy and downward to this bitter end. At an ill-starred moment he "took" a public-house in Guisborough, which resulted in the loss of all that was most valued and dearest in life. He left it wrecked—but still able to do his part, at least in the • duties of daily toil. For a time he superintended a timber-yard that was burned down a year or two ago, and latterly,as stated, he had been working at. Cargo Fleet. So far as the world knows, if he erred it was against himself; the position be has occupied for the greater part of AD existence approaching the allotted span was one involving duties which required foresight, aptitude, and no small managing abilities. It is said that he discharged these duties well and faithfully. He was possessed of