The Globe. SATURDAY JULY 20, 1878.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1382, 20 July 1878, Page 2

The Globe. SATURDAY JULY 20, 1878.

It is with very great regret that wo notice the increase in this colony of assaults upon children of tender years. Scarcely a session of the Supremo Court is held, the calendar of which does not contain one or more indictments for this offence. That such a crime should exist in our midst is bad enough, but. it becomes a serious matter when we find that the attempts made to repress it. do not, appear to be attended with any degree of success. On the contrary, there has boon an increase of cases during the past few years. It must bo remembered that this is an offence of no ordinary magnitude as regards both the community and the individual. It has lately been our duty to record more than one revolting crime of this nature. The fact that such assaults have boon committed very frequently of late throughout the colony, raises the question of whether the punishment, which is awarded is of such a character as tends to stamp the offence completely out. The crime is of such a character that however severe the punishment may bo, it must act as a powerful deterrent. The Legislature has from time to time amended and altered the Act relating to this class of offence, mainly in the direction of placing power in the hands of the Judges to deal with increased severity with offenders convicted of assaults upon children. By the 47th and 48th section of the Offences Against the Person Act, 1867, it was provided that any person found guilty of having committed the • offence could bo sentenced to penal servitude for life; for an attempt, imprisonment for two years with hard labour. In the session of the next year the Legislature added a discretionary power to the Judges to order a whipping, such not to exceed fifty strokes, and this continued in force until 1874, when an Amending Act was introduced, giving the Judges power to order a person convicted of the offence of criminally assaulting a child to bo once, twice, or thrice privately whipped, the number of lashes inflicted on each occasion not to exceed fifty. It will thus bo seen that the Legislature has, so far as lay in its power, made enactments which would, if enforced, have a salutary effect, and would go far to put down a crime which is much too rife amongst us. The only cure for such is the cat. At the time when Loudon was terrorised over by gangs of garotters the only effectual repressive measure was the administration of a flogging in each case of conviction. It put down the crime most completely; so much so, that it is very rarely one hears anything about it now a-days. So it would be, wo are inclined to believe, with regard to the class of crime of which wo are speaking. Men who find it in their nature to do such things are essentially cowardly at heart. They may perhaps think of the consequences of a long term of imprisonment, but this weighs but lightly. Let them, however, become acquainted with the fact, by stern example, that such crimes also, in addition to long terms of enforced seclusion, necessarily entail severe corporal punishment and suffering, and we shall see a marked diminution of those offences in our calendar. No doubt the Judges have endeavoured to do their duty in the sentences they inflict, but the results have not been satisfactory, for wo cannot shut our eyes to the fact that at frequent intervals we hear of eases in which not only is the future life and career of the innocent victims to a great extent blasted, but the poison is also instilled into the minds of a large number of others. Therefore it becomes a positive necessity that the repressive power of the cat should be called much more largely into requisition. In every case where a conviction is recorded, let the sentence bo accompanied by one, two, or three whippings, as the circumstances seem to warrant. The mere infliction of a long term of imprisonment seems to have but little repressive power; it now becomes the duty of those administering the law to do so to its fullest extent. Unless this is done, or some other steps taken to check the prevalence of this crime, wo shall some day hear of persons taking the law into their own hands. This would be greatly to be deplored, and wo trust will never occur amongst us. It is to bo hoped that it will bo plainly shown to criminals of this class that no mercy need be looked fox*, but that ovexy means will be used to put sixch practices down by the strong arm of the law. If this is done, and whipping inflicted in every case, we shall find that offences of the character wo have alluded to, will become far more rare than is at present the case.