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Leader (1850-1860), 3rd September 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1009, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Ad

      THE CENTRAL TRAINING SCHOOL OF X ART AT SOUTH KENSINGTON , vnr Male and Female Students , and METROl'OI . TTAN SCHOOLS OF' ART tit . 37 , Gower-strcct , for Female Classes only , and at Sp . italfields , Crispin-street , Finsbury , wfnwm-struet . tVilmington-square ; St . Thomas Charter-S , ll ^ flosweil - street ? Kothcrluthe , Grammar - school , Sford-roacl ; St . Martin ' s-in-the-Fields , Castle-street , ? o £ " acre ' I ' ambeth , St . Mary ' s , Princes-road . ; Ilohipstea §~ D 'pensary bnildingr ; Christchureh , St . Gcorge ' s-in-? ne-East , Cannon street-Will RE-OPEN on the 3 rd of ° Application for Admission , Prospectuses , or any other information ,, to be made at the Schools in each district , and St " authority " ^ the Commit too of Council on Education . ' i »¦ .. . . . 1 . 1 ... 1 ... i . i I , i . r i . Tinn

      Untitled Article

      TIIE ACTION OF FRANCE . Fob some years past there lias been a demand for smart writing , and caterers for the market have supplied abundance of articles ,, fussy , ilippant , and shallow , garnished with far-fetched similes , wonderful allusions , and sesquipedalian words . Of course these traffickers upon perverted taste have not failed to make the most of every occasion for international irritation , and it certainly has not been their fault that England and France have not provided Europe with the grand pastime , of a passage-at-arms . It has been all one to these politicians whether the French Emperor exhibited the good or the bad side of his character ; they , in their infinite wisdom , had decided that all his desires must be vicious , and all his notions

      mischievous . They wei'o as convinced that no service for humanity could be rendered , by Imperial France as the Jews were sat isfied that no good could come out of Nazareth , a nd they devoted themselves to a reckless war of words , and maintained a pitiless pelting with pellets of abuse . When the French Government undertook to defend Sardinia against Austria , not even the journals of Francis Joseph were more ferocious in denunciation , and no slanders were too venomous to be applied , to Italians who preferred a chance of liberty with French aid to the certainty of degrading slavery under Hupsburg rule . Every day the manufacturers of doleful prophecies served up their warnings , like hot rolls for breakfast ; ami they persevered in this preposterous process , _ although not a fact or an Indication occurred to justify their course . When the Vil . lnfrunca pertce en me , and disappointed many just hopes , it also showed that , the everlasting alarm-bell ringers had given their energies to a foolish work , for it proved to a demonstration that Louis Napoleon . was not prepared to revivo schemes of conquest and devastation by which his uncle full . Then came the question of the Duchies "and Tuscany ; th ' e treaty of Villftfranca did not pledge the French Government to use forco in the restoration of the runaway potentates , and there was the distinct declaration

      ot our own Ministers that they were convinced that ( he Hmporor would neither commit such a crime hiinselt ; nor suffer the Austrian Court to enjoy tho luxury of its perpetration . Still tho growling and croaking went on , oh if its object were to prevent England from supporting any good for Italy that happened to bo associated with tho Napoleonic name . Now , wu have at least a aomi-oflicial declaration in tho Constitxitionnol , tlmt our ]\ Jinistcrs wore right , and tho Emperor nppoare to have given similar assurances to the Italians themselves . Are wo still to distrust these promises , and hold bnckP Fortunately , in spitooftho uuahing charges of quills and ink employod by tho

      alarmist writers ^ the common sense of the country has ratified the decision of the House of Commons , and supports the Cabinet in a manly endeavour to promote a good understanding with France , and obtain for Italy alLthe advantages that the situation admits . Such conduct need not lend ^ -clearly does not lead—to any neglect of defensive preparations nor to a prudent perception of the dangers that may await the general peace . The Pope still supplies n serious practical puzzle for Catholic and non-Catholic Europe . The old ircntleman tried the - reforming business

      himself ,, and could not make it answer . lie came to the conclusion that a reformed Pope would be an abolished Pope , and is determined to resist , as far as he can , every ellbrfc to secularise and improve the administration of his State ? . The French Catholics arc advanced enough to be satisfied if' their Holy Father pursued his spiritual functions , dwelt , in the Vatican , and assisted in the ceremonials of St . " Peter ; but the Austrians are . not content with a religious Pope , they want a political tool , able by mismanaged temporal sovereignty to keep Italy disunited and weak . Under such ciYcumstances , there ought to be no doubt on which side British influence should lean . The future may have questions on which England

      and France may find it difficult to agree , but one of the best preparations for avoiding them is to multiply the pointsof iniion and contact as much as possible , and to accept such declarations as those of the Count de Morny in a frank and liberal spirit . It is a great thing that a French Minister should , on an important public occasion , disclaim on behalf of his country all animosity on account of Waterloo , and ¦ declare that the " new generations have something else to do than to avenge the past . " It is easy to exit sarcastic capers over passages of Count de Morny ' s speech , but surely wit might be move Worthily employed , and the . obViously " right thing . to do is , to respond to all the just and generous sentiments that it

      cbn-. tains . The firebrand party boasts a Iloyal leader , some one under the name of Duke of Coburg , having issued a rantipole pamphlet in which Russia is declared to have a fixed " policy directed against the rights , the laws , and the wellbeing of other states ; " and that " Napoleon III . was and is , above all things , a revolutionist and a conspirator ; " while " Lord Pahnerston is the trusted confidant and brother conspirator of Napoleon . " The writer warns Germany that if she should " sacrifice every noble feeling to purchase the peace of slavery , her devotion to peace will only make war more certain in the end . " With some correction , these are no doubt the opinions of divers small potentates , who have before their eyes terrible pictures of a French

      invasion and revolution , the former only possible through their own existence , and the latter only likely to be requisite in order to coerce them intp permitting Germany to unite . It might suit the interests of these royal particles to entangle us in a French war in their behalf , They must view with dread the growth of the idea practically promulgated by France , that the settlement of 1815 is after all a waste paper business ; and we confess that an excitable military empire is not a pleasant neighbour for petty sovereigns , and may well cause a flutter oinong tho millinery of their courts . Still we do not forget that Europe and civilisation want a strong , powerful Germany ; nndif'French yeast sets iip a sullicient fermentation among our Teutonic relations it will not bo tho smallest service it has rendered to tho ago .

      Untitled Article

      OUR CRIMINALITY . It lias now become quito plain that periodical literature will nbdor . b nil other literature . It is equally plain Unit tho weekly journals must treat subjects which interest men beyond tho day . Thus considering that our weekly functions entitle us to draw attention to objects permanently interesting , wo propose on the present occasion to advert to our criminality as a nation . On this important subjoct we havo very imperfect records . Only in 1805 did the Government begin to collect criminal statistics with M \ y care , ana though since thon tho records have boon much improved they nro still , it is admitted , very incomplete . Without knowing tho effects of its own acts , except that there was a oontimml increase in ho number of commitments , the Government

      went on making penal law after law—altering the nature ami the degree of punishment , altering the jurisdiction , substituting 'to an enormous degree police and summary punishments to ' the oldfashioned jury investigations , anl so continually mingling-, changing , and confusing the several parts of our . system—that the difficulty of ascertaining the eflects of each of them was continually increased . Only within the last two years have anv authentic records of minor punishments been forthcoming , and even those for 1858 for England and Wales , recently published , arc admitted to be imperfect . They inform us , however , that last year the total number of persons who fell under the police in England and Wales , and were

      Proceeded iiffamst , was . - ¦ 434 , 102 Proceeded against by indictment . ? 0 , 4 . »! 5 disposed of summarily 4 ft 4 , ( m The males were 34--, 231 > The females were !> 2 ,- » aj In . 1858 the total population of England and Wales was estimated at 19 , 523 , 000 , so that one person out of every forty-five fell under penal constraint . But the total population includes people of ail ages and conditions—infants , wornout men and women , imbeciles , policemen , magistrates , members of Parliament , &c , who are not liable to such constraint , or not responsible ; so that not more than one-third of the whole people can be considered as liable to fall under police law , and , consequently , one out of every f i f teen responsible persons in the community fell , in the last vear of our lives , into the hands of the police .

      This does not , however , give a complete picture of the trouble taken and penalties inflicted to make the people vh-tuous . A great number of threats in terror em are not entered in the returns . The brutal flogging , shutting up in blackholes , extra parades , inarching up and down a deck with shot in each hand , which are called military and navni discipline , should all be added to what the police tell us they do , in order to make the picture complete .

      All these little fillings-in of the great outline of the national criminality , which is furnished by those who assume not to share it , must be lef t to the imgination ; and we shallpass on to show , as far as wecan , how the persons apprehended were disposed of . From trifling ¦ circumstances , which we do not enumerate , the totals , if any person adds up the items in the following table , will not agree . The number of persons apprehended , we repeat , was 434 A 92 . They were thus disposed of : —

      by srsui . vity juiusdic- by coujbts of assize and TION SESSION . Disclwrgred 14 : » , M 4 Discharged , H > i ' ,-Convicted JOiy . fliO Convicted 1 J , 24 (> Imprisoned 05 , 201 Hanged ............... 11 Fined , lGO . tMV Tonal servitude for hfo 4 ( 5 Whipped . f > 0 '« l > o ., various periods 2 , 120 To Had sureties 10 . U 00 Imprisoned for vari-Delivered to Army ous periods 10 > , . ? . or Navy 3 , 781 Whipped j ... ; .- ^ Sent to Itelbrmato- Sent to ltutornmtorics .- 0 W ¦ rles - ' 25 Other punishments ... M > , 7 . The first thing to be noticed is tho immense extent of summarv iurisdiction eomparod to that

      exercised by the judge and jury . The former seized on 4 O 4 , OU 4 persons , the latter on ] 7 , 855—or the summary jurisdiction of the police nnd of the orewhile much-dcridod justices was extended over nearly twenty-throe times as ' many persons as the jurisdiction of the judge and tho jury . The next is the continual and rapid increase of the number of persons who are summarily punished . Wo only know from prison reports that the number has increased very rapidly , but we cannot stato tho proportions , because the returns were for tho i \ rni tniio only made tolerably complete in 1056 . Jn 18 . 07 , however , when they wore less compote , the ; number maril ngiuiiBt was

      of persona sum y proceeded 300 233 , or : » 4 , B 01 less than in 18 / 58 . But tho returns of 1 H / 5 H embrace a larger area than ot 1857 , iron , the extension of tho county constabulary , mid thiw 34 , H 0 l is not n corroet index to tho increased number of persons punished . 1 hu otuoi point worthy of notice is tho grunt , proportion ot Eons discharged Humnmrily , 140 , 7 44 out of tho 404 , 084 summarily appruhondod , or nearly < wtns . Tho large number ol' 143 , 744 wore apprehended liuhtly , or without suflluiont cause , lho proportion of those discharged by tho courts » s much loss ; but it must bo remembered that cawos before tho courts havo undergone a preliminary investigation ; tho persons hubjoei-to them have boon committed' ' fur trial , and , remembering tins , wo conclude that the one-third acquitted , or di » -

      Untitled Article

      No . 493 . Sept . 3 , 1859 . } ¦ THE LEADER . 1009

      Untitled Article

      ^ SUBSCBIPTION TO "THE LEADER . " ONE GUINEA PER YEAR , UNSTAMPED , l'KEPAtIX ( Delivered Gratis . )

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      Untitled Article

      SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 3 , 1859 .

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      Untitled Article

      There s nothing- . « o revolutionary , because there is nothing so unnatural and convulsive , as the strain to keep things fixed when all the world is by the very law of its creation in eternal progress . —Da . Arnold .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 3, 1859, page 1009, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2310/page/13/