BOY BUSHRANGERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 41, 12 November 1907, Page 5

BOY BUSHRANGERS.

• . . J.,, ~ THREE BOYS BEFORE THE:COURT. . REMARKS BY ' JUDGE DENNISTON. (by TELEGBAriI—SrECIAL COBEESPONDENT.) Auckland, November 11. Judge Denniston,iri sentencing'three ladd named rospoctively, Richards, Berghin, and Hawkes, at tho Supremo Court, this after-, noon for a bushranging escapade at Dargavillo, very strongly animadverted upon the influenco of pictorial representations of tho typo of " Tho Kelly Gang," and "Robbery Under Arms." It appoared that the boys had been fired to commit' their crazy act aftei' witnessing tho former picturos, and by a coincidence the Judge had this morning sentenced tho boy Crombio, who had striven unsuccossfiflly to emulate; in tho Auckland district tho deeds of Captain Starlight after witnessing theßobbery, Uiidor. Arms" pictures. ' '' "v ' ' •" His Honour said ho had the very strongest objection to posing as a moralist. His business as a rulo wa's*to""dftfll"wrth 'criminals, but he must say : ho 'certainly' thought that some commont should be made upon those pictorial exhibitions that wero going around the country giving spectacular representations of tho ruffianism of tho colonies. Referring more particularly to tho 1 Kelly Gang pictures, His Honour said that in them tho ruffians concerned were'painted "to'these lads in lurid characters. They woro shot in tho end, and justice was, vindicated in the end, but the boys probably Icamo to tho conclusion that had they done that sort of thing they would not have boon shot. Then we had the "Robbery Under Arms" pictures, which produced exactly tho samo, sort; of thing. Ho did not proposo to deliver a lecture, bu 1 ; could not belp'»thfril:ihg that in the intorosts of public morality thoro should bo somo pmvor to' prohibit exhibitions of this sort. Ho had no doubt at air in his'mind but that those boy 3 (referring to' tho th'rc'o whom ho was dealing with). ■ would not' havo been in tho position they were in then but for that exhibition of tho Kelly Gang pictures. Their act followed • immediately after that exhibition, jiist as the idiotic porformanco of ihe lad who was before, him that morning (Crombio) followed tho exhibition of "Robbery Under Arms." "I have no hesitation,'' said His Honour, '"in'expressing my opinion, and I cannot help thinking that I really ought totako tho circumstances into" consideration,, whon dealing .with those lads. lam quite satisfied therq.sbquld.be somo moans of prohibiting this sort of exhibition. Much mischief'is'dorio'by books, but books requiro a certain, amount of reading, and somo troublo is entailed in getting thorn to :ead. But thoso spcct(icular.,ropro- : sontations show tho wliolo of the incidents concerned in an oroyitig, and aro put forth graphically. ; I am satisfied" without tlio present illustration that thoso things aro turning iads to crime." Richards, who had a bad character, was sent to gaol for threo months. , Tho othors wore ordered to come up for scntenco when called upon. All three had beon in prison throo months awaiting' trial, and this 'was taken into account.