THE GLOBE. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1882. THE CRIMINAL CALENDAR.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2417, 4 January 1882, Page 2

THE GLOBE. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1882. THE CRIMINAL CALENDAR.

The public will, we feel sure, agree with his Honor the Judge in his congratulatory remarks upon the state of the criminal calendar at the opening session of the new year. His Honor, besides referring to this point, also drew attention to the fact that the calendar did not contain any evidence of the existence in our midst of regularly trained bands of criminals. During past sessions, this has not been the case. At the last sitting there were several cases of robbery with violence by persons in concert. We have dwelt upon this point more than that of the diminution of crime in order to point out what appears to be a serious defect in our penal administration. Thera has been, as our readers are doubtless aware, considerable improvement in our prison management, but a great deal yet remains to be done to make our penal system both repressive and corrective. The principal factor in the formation of these criminal associations spoken of by his Honor has been and still is the almost indiscriminate herding together in our gaols of all classes of criminals. The offender young in crime and the hardened offender are placed together, and the result is obvious. So far from the first offender —except in very rare cases—coming out a reformed man resolved to live a new life, and to atone for his offence, ha forms criminal associations and plunges still deeper into crime. Imprisonment then becomes to him a sort of risk which he knows sooner or later ho must face, and fails entirely of its object. We are not blaming the officers in charge of tie gaols. They can do no more than work with the system they have, and the blame certainly remains with the Legislature. Royal Commissions have reported on the absolute necessity for classification and separation of prisoners, and Judges from the Bench have over and over again repeated the same thing. But though this is so, no practical steps have been taken, and our prisons are to a great extent precisely in the same condition as regards classification that they were when these reports were made. Perhaps with a new Legislature and a largo proportion of new members we may hope to see an alteration, and wo commend the subject to the now Parliament as one of the greatest possible importance to the public welfare. THE SANITARY CONDITION OF THE CITY. The hot and dry weather which has prevailed during the past few weeks has revealed one fact pretty clearly, and that is the existence within the most densely populated part of the city of nearly as many offensive smt.i!?, from drains,* Ac. as Mark Twain discovered in the ancient city of Cologne. The American humorist, in bis charming book cf travel, notes the fact that three hundred distinct effluvias

wore discovered by him in the streets of Cologne. Given a still, hot night, afters nor’-wester, and we will undertake to beat the record of Cologne as to smell by another score or so. The City Council were for some time, as our readers are aware, very solicitous to obtain from the Board of Health the powers of sanitary supervision within the city boundaries. This has been accomplished, and therefore it is to the City Inspector we must look for a remedy of the dangerous nuisances that now exist in the city. The evil is most prevalent in soma of our principal thoroughfares where the closeness of the buildings to each other renders the existence of a nuisance most dangerous to health. How it has happened that those abominable exhalations have escaped the notice of the Inspector for so long it is impossible to say, but the fact remains that they do exist, and that in the heart of the city. "We, therefore, think that it behoves the city authorities at once to take prompt action by having a rigid supervision made of city premises, more especially in those blocks where are situate fish shops, butchers’ shops, and restaurants. If something is not done speedily there is every probability of a serious epidemic breaking out, and if this is the case the City Council will to a great extent be responsible. Therefore, as a matter concerning tho health, or perhaps the lives, of the citizens, we trust no time will be lost in remedying tho evil to which we have called attention. EXPORT OF FROZEN MEAT. Though somewhat behind our Dunedin friends in taking tho preliminary steps towards forming a company for the I export of frozen meat, &c., wo yet hope to see the project a success. We have on the large extentof plains in this district an almost unlimited power of production of stock. Even under ordinary circumstances the quantity produced is far in excess of tho demand, and, therefore, some means of disposing of the surplus stock could not but be a great benefit. By means of the process proposed to be carried out, this outlet will be provided and another market afforded for our produce. It may be said that this proposal will benefit individuals only such as large stock owners and dairy 'farmers. This must be so to some extent in all ventures, but the result is that given increased prosperity to individuals and the whole community participates indirectly. Therefore, though perhaps in establishing tho company the stockowners may be in some degree doing so in their own interest, yet the public as a whole are also largely concerned. The increase of our power of production by the creation of additional markets must result in an impetus being given to our local trade. Therefore we trust to sea the venture succeed, and that the public will assist in floating it by taking shares, because it is a matter, as we have shown, of importance to the whole community.