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the world with a blasted character and no means of obtaining bis livelihood , is , in fact , to drive him anew into the commission of crime . "He had seen at the . approach of winter numbers of these men—who had been convicted of the most daring villaniesturned out of prison when they could not ^ possibly earn a shilling , and thus , in -order to live , forced to fall again into -crime , and become the pests of society . "
The great mistake of Lord St . Leonards is to suppose that his plan is not already in force . It is so , under the superintendence of Captain Cboftow ; but it is only in Ireland , not in England . TJnder Captain Cbofton ' s care , the criminals are classified , are trained , are gradually tried in their power of selfcontrol , are sent out from the prison for a day ' s work , or , when they are incorrigible , are detained in prison and employed in a manner that makes them useful and
harmless . An account as clear and eloquent as it is concise will be found in a pamphlet by the Beverend Obby Shipley , M . A . * ! Lord John found good reason why the rich classes should interfere ; and his declaration on that subject is one of the most remarkable results of the meeting . He rebuked those who think that there is any distinction between the rich and the poor in morals , except that the rich have the power of purchasing the means of vice .
"If a poor man indulges in drink or leads a life of profligacy , he cannot raise money from money-lenders or runup debts with tradesmen , for they will not trust him , and he has recourse to a violation of the law , takes either by force or fraud that which is the property of another , and becomes at once amenable < o the criminal law . He is brought before a jury , convicted , and condemned to imprisonment as a felon . But if those who have to consider these subjects would reflect , it might occur to them that , had their own position in life been different from what it is , some amongst those who were closely connected with them , and are dear to them , but
who have contracted improperly engagements they were unable to meet , might have been brought under the infliction of the criminal law . It is not that the labouring classes , the poorer classes , are worse—not that they have worse passions and more evil affections than the richbut that they have no other means of indulging in those evil passions than by violating the law , that _ they thus become in so much larger a proportion subject to the criminal law , suffer the punishment of imprisonment , and remain marked for so long after the period of their punishment has expired as persons in whom no trust can be placed . " The truth is boldly proclaimed , and it may be applied to some other themes .
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THE EMPIRE 0 ¥ EVENTUALITIES . We think that there cannot be a doubt that no party in England is interested at present in tne overthrow of the Imperial Government in France . Our sympathy for the Emperor may not be very keen ; but our feelings for most of the persons who occupy the thrones of Europe are only a little more favourable . As to the various pretenders or chiefs of parties who might be called to power in iTrance in case of a change of government , it
may be boldly said that none of them have sufficient claim on our admiration to induce * us to run any risk for their sake . Had the recent attempt o £ the Hue Lepelletier been successful , the whole of this country would haye been in a state of anxiety and consternation . Such being the case , our comments on the events of last week must bo eminently of a disinterested character ; and the advice that comes from this side of the Channel-should-be-listened-to-with-attention
and respect . We do not profess to know the motives which dictated the speech delivered by theEinperor at the Tuilenea last Monday to the
assembled Senators and Deputies . Some represent the most important portion of it to have been conceived and composed in mere anger . There is , indeed , an extraordinary similarity in its tone and expressions with the addresses pronounced on the previous Saturday by M . hjb Mobnt and M . Tbop : lo : ng . It is likely , therefore , that the policy it announces may have been determined no later than Friday in the midst of the first emotions of fear and spite . There can be no doubt that the adherents of the Emperor were more moved than he himself . The most violent and reckless probably talked loudest , and with greatest
effect . Other and nearer influences may have been brought into play . There is something in the whole sequence of events and words that suggests the illogical action of women . If this be true , we may infer that the Emperor ' s self-will may be weakening . Men do not usually decay at fifty . But power held by such a tenure is wearing to all faculties . At any rate , it is clear that the dictates of prudence have been for a moment forgotten . M . Guizot once said : " pov / oovrs qui se passionnent sont pres de leur defaite . " This phrase nearly applies to present circumstances .
Four Italians conspire to kill the Emperor , and are supposed to have a few accomplices abroad . They fail in their main object , but succeed in slaughtering and wounding a number of innocent people . The whole of France , according to official reports , is seized with indignation . From all sides congratulatory addresses pour in . Not a single public body fails to make its voice heard , from the
Senate down to the meanest municipal council . Wherever two or three persons niay exercise , a collective action without fear of the laws , they take advantage of their privilege to send up an expression of their sentiments to the Emperor . A few extreme politicians might represent this to be sycophancy ; but the best accounts from Paris report that by every class of oppositionists the cruel assault was at once energetically reprobated .
Now , if we were to read this narrative in history , we should expect , as we turned over the pages , to find accounts of the arrest of the criminals , their trial and execution , and of some precautions taken to prevent the recurrence of such offences ; but we should also expect to be told that , in consideration of the unanimous sympathy of all parties , existing repressive laws were relaxed , and that the Emperor had stepped out of the protection of his army and thrown himself on the love of his people . There may be reasons
why this noble conduct has not been pursued in the present case . Remembrance of recent bloody occurrences may be too keen in the masses , their desire of reprisals too well known . But certainly there was no excuse for increased severity . Even if there had been any danger of revolution before the 14 th of January , which there was not , that danger would have been indefinitely postponed by the natural repugnance of all
parties to appear as the heirs of assassins . The early part of the Emperor ' s speech was probably written before the hand-grenades of the Italians came to frighten him from his propriety . It paints a picture of felicity and content almost unparalleled . The Government for the last year , without making ajpiy theatrical diBplay , has been ex- _ clusively occupied m ^ Boi ng good . Agriculture has been benefited—new lines of
railway have been opened — numerous public works have been completed or commencededucation has been improved—new religious edifices have risen at an pointa— -Catholicism has found its Utopia—Protestantism has been equally respected- —soldiers , schoolmasters , and justices of the peace have been
better paid , because the value of all things has increased—the poor have been cared for —finances are prosperous—commerce haa withstood the crisis better in France than in any other country—Kabylia has been conquered—the French army has been covered with glory — sentimental interviews have taken place between the Emperor and the chiefs of two great nations , one of whom has shown an eager desire to continue an old _ — _ __
alliance , and the other has been so amiable as to excite regret that he has been beatendiplomacy has at once been true and generous—in fine , the country ' is calm , prosperous , and respected in Europe . ' If all this be not mere rhetoric , why should the abortive attempt of four foreign assassins make a change in so happy a state of tilings ? Why should there be talk of new repressive laws ?
The Emperor has not shrunk from thus contradicting himself in the face of Europe . His speech implicitly asserts the existence of discontent so wide-spread and dangerous as to put his dynasty in peril . He has accordingly resolved to crush his enemies or ' reduce them to silence . ' We believe that he exaggerates the state of things . That he has succeeded in converting nobody to his system may be true . But the majority of even the civilized classes would be content to submit to him if that system were changed . The
funds were rising when the attempt at assassination took place . They struggled to maintain themselves for some days ; but the threatening speech from the throne imprinted a retrograde movement on the Bourse ; and when it was followed up by the suppression of the Mevue de Paris and the Spectateur , there was a regular panic . This is sufficient to show that France , though quite unprepared to shake off the Imperial Government , does not approve of these measures of violence and anger . The generous and chivalrous feelings of a gallant nation revolt
against treatment which assimilates its condition to that of Parma and Modena . The Emperor will probably soon learn the disastrous effect of his ill-judged language and proceedings , and putting his conduct under the guidance of his own judgment , he may desist from his dangerous experiment before it is too late . We sincerely hope and trust that thia may be the case . France is not yet prepared for liberty ; but it is equally unprepared for absolute and grovelling servility . A continuance of the system of repression would be a danger to all Europe .
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BANKRUPTCY REFORM . To any body of men so well acquainted a s our mercantile classes must be with all the many and g laring evils of the existing bankruptcy system , it seems an almost needless labour to place before them any facts or figures tending to prove the necessity of an immediate root and branch reform . Tina
necessity , and the reasons for it , are admitted on all hands , for while large estates are carefully and systematically kept oufc of the Court , even when they present features of commercial immorality which can only be p roperly and effectively dealt with by an honest legal tribunal , the heavy and disgraceful expenditure , regulated as it is in a great measure by the pernicious system of' peric ioui ui ¦
centage , ana paia aa » u » o »»•»•—» falls with undue severity ujpon those unfortunate creditors who are interested in the numerous small cases taken generally by the choice and connivance of the debtor for administration in the Court . The existence ot such a tribunal , constituted as it is , must inevitably nourish the growth of that overtrading and lax mercantile morality which it
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34 ^ THE LEADER . [ No . 409 , Janttaby 23 , 1858 ^ __»^—^——¦¦*^— i—MW ^ ^^^ M ^—^^———^—^ M ^^^^ M ^^^^^^^ W^—i ^—^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ _ _
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* ' The Purgatory of Prisoners ; or , an Intermediate Stage between the Prison and the Public : being sumo Account of the Practical Working of the Now System of Penal Reformation Introduced by the Board of Directors of Convict Prisons in Ireland . ' Published by Masters .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 23, 1858, page 84, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2227/page/12/
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