A JODGE ON PUNISHMENTS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1922, 18 August 1888, Page 3

A JODGE ON PUNISHMENTS

Mr Juatioa Matthew, m opening the Bristol Asstess commenting on Mr Justice Dsy's viow that for mluor offences against persons or property sentences of long Imprisonment were Inexpedient and impolitic, said he was happy to think that view was beginning to spread largely amonp aU those charged with the exerolse of judloal daties m orimlnal matters. There was at one time an Impression, originating, he believed, with a distinguished recorder of Birmingham, that the pruper way of dealing with criminals was to go on accumulating tbe punishment m cases where a person might be oharged with subsequent trlval effjnoes after having been once convicted, Bat it was forgotten that m these days we far less required to iofl ct heavy punishment for minor offdnoes than was the case formerly, because we had an extremely able and vigilant police, who had tbe means of identifying prisoners, which did not exist m former times. So that a person who had once gone wrong was generally known, and his movements were constantly watched by the police. He was led to make these observations by noticing a case on the oalendar where a person sixt>-aight years of age was oharged with a email c fiance, and for a previous offence equally trivial the wretched creature was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude. He trusted that the remarks that h»d fallen from the Bench generally on the snbjeot would be attended to throughout the country, In subsequently sentencing Jalla Donovan, aged sixty-sevan, for stealing a pair of stockings, he said she had tejn previously convicted several times for petty larcenies, and, betides other punishments, had been sentenced to two terms of seven and eight yeara' penal servitude for little offences. Ho thought these sentences were both unjust and absurd, and ought never to have been passed ; and he only senteoodd her now to one days' Imprisonment.