CLIME AND CRIME

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 902, 23 August 1910, Page 5

CLIME AND CRIME

INTERESTING REMARKS BY CHIEF. JUSTICE. NORTH AND SOUTH COMPARED. PRISON REFORM AND EUGENICS. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) - Auckland, August 22. ! At the opening of the Auckland Supreme Court criminal sittings to-day his Honour the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) made some very interesting re; marks on the reform of the criminal and also offered an explanation of the reason for the increased percentage of crime to bo found in the North Island as compared with the South.

Referring to the Auckland calendar, his Honour said there were twenty-nine prisoners, who represented more than twenty-nine charges, as there were ir some instances more than one charge against an accused. Compared with the' quarterly records of 'the past two or three years tho number did not seem in excess and it could not be said that there was any evidence that crime was on the increase here. . ,

Referring to tho presence of the Grand Jury his Honour said our system of justice depended mainly on the people, and the juries reminded tho people of their responsibilities in this matter. The system depended on the people mainly, not on officials or Government officers,. and if the system failed there must be either : a failure in the law or its' administration. So far as the law was concerned he did'not think there could be much improvement in the way in which crime was defined, or investigated or punished If the administration failed the peopk were to blame. At the present time w« heard a good deal about prison reform and tho reform of the criminal, and it was a good thing that this was so, a» the. presence of crime in a community . v at once placed that community on a loir plane,. and it was the duty of the peo ; pie to do all . in their power to n> inove the reproach.

An Exploded Idea. There were two things to. consider, the first 'being the reform of the prisoner, so that ho might be fitted for a better life. The old idea which prevailed up to the first half of the last century that if you change the surroundings of a man you could make him a good man, and in the case of a prisoner if you changed his- surrounding you might expect soma good result, had been exploded. Nowadays we said there was a good deal in what is called heredity, and that there was much truth in the lines of one of our great poets:

Our -deeds will travel with us from afar, And what we have been makes ns what we are. ' Heredity played a great part in crime. In one State iu America they were going to the extent of saying that there must bo sterilisation of the unfit. This showed that the pendulum of public opinion in regard to crime was swinging >in tho other direction. If one took the trouble to investigate the history of many of the criminals, one would find ample evidence of the effects of heredity. A tendency to crime might arise from physical, moral, or intellectual weakness, and some criminals' might be said to be hardly responsible for their actions. They required to be restrained, but it 'must be remembered that we were dealing with people who were not normal. He was firmly of opinion that this question of heredity played "a far more important part in crime thau we had- hitherto realised. He investigated the case of one criminal, and found that though the father and the - mother had nothing against them, there were three branches in which tho criminal, taint was present. This man brought into his life others deeds, and it was. to tho credit of the Government and Parliaments that the matter of reform was being .gone into. He hoped, however, that we would not run away with the idea that the prisoner's reform was going to entirely do away with crime. It had existed for thousands of years, and one could not expect to eliminate it in a short while. We might make no progress for fifty or a hundred years,/but it was enough to make a beginning.

Repression of Crime. Witli regard to _ tho repression of crime, he would point out that the important factor was not the punishment meted out. He thought tho time would come when we 'would treat prisoners very differently from what we did now. The prison might be- a place of detention, but he thought the prisoners would have more freedom, more amusement, than they had at present. ' One of the most potent factors in the repression of crime was the fact that the criminal knew there was a certainty of conviction. This fact would have a, far greater effect;-on him than the punishment. Where the jury found excuses for a man and neglected to do its duty to "the State, thero you would find crime prevalent. Careless or negligent juries meant that crime' would flourish.-

A Contrast. , > Contrasting the prevalence of crime in the North Island with that in the South, his Honour said the North had the disadvantage of a warm climato to contend with. One would always find men who (lid not want to work making for a warm climate, and they might bo said to bo already schooling themselves for the criminal classes. The man who would put up with privations would seldom bo found to 'have criminal instincts. Tha man who wanted to have an easy, life was more likely to. swell their ' ranks. TJiis was one reason, in his opinion, why there was such a great difference between the North and the South Islands. Tha contrast was most marked. Over, a period of five years the convictions in the Supremo Court were, in the South, 1 per 1000 of population, and in it was three. Again if one • took the provincial records the samo, difference was to be, found. Nelson and Marl-' borough were the lowest, and Otago (with one and a half per thousand) was next, while in tho North the average was three, Auckland's figures being 3.1, Wellington 3.3, Hawke's Bay 3.2, and Taranaki about .7. The population certainly was greater in the North, but apart from this one had to consider that the .warm climate attracted the lazy man who did,not want to work, and if ho could not. get sufficient to live on he lived -on others. This question of crime was one which til© community should gfapplo with strongly. With regard to Otago, one reason for the low criminal rate there might ha owing to tho fact that a number' of the people there were living under "NoLicense." About a third,of the people were under this system. About half the crime in tho calendar the. Auckland Court this session was attributed to the fact that the prisoners had been, drinking or were under the influence of liquor. ,Ho made these remarks for his hearers to consider the "propriety and necessity for the formation of societies and associations, which would promote a better state of things.

Eugenics. His Honour mentioned,a Euctcnics Society in Christohurch, and spolce of tlie good work done in helping people who were making their first' lapse in crime. These people were regarded as pcoplo who , rquircd assistance rather than punish-, ment, and the < results were most encour- . aging. If wo kept in viow tho faot tliei criminal was often a weivk and defective man we would havo more sympathy witl him, and the result would fie a beneficial alteration in our .'methods of dealing with him, a change which would benefit not . only the criminal but also tho.'oom. muiiity. .