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CRIMINAL STATISTICS.

(From the Sydney Morning tterale ) A return of , criminal statistics has recently been published as a Parliamentary paper, on the motion of Mr. Deas Thomson. As there has been so much disputing as to the accuracy of statements made about the amount of crime, a for mal official document, prepared expressly to put the facts beyondcavil, is valuable for the purposes of reference. 4 preliminary memorandum, by the Inspector qf 'Bailee, s^tes that several offences are often registered separately, though they all are the acts of one man ; and that in respect of convictions, when a criminal is convicted of one charge the others are not pressed. Some alleged r.obbexies have been found to be fabrications, and othei/s jpe suspected of being such. In drawing conclusions i from the figures it is necessary to bear these points iv mind. The return commences at the Ist January, 1862, and was moved for on the 30th July, 1863, and would seem therefore to cover the eighteen months, though this is not |istine]bty seated. The first part of the return gp'es ih.Q number .of mui?det»s, burglaries, and attacks on persons and property, with a ' special "for mail and escQi'fc robberies. The number oi murders was ' thirty-three, of which five wepe ppnnected wijfo $ie abp. t'igine^. In twenty-sevea cases spme a$ jleast qf tine perp ( etj?atQt?a : cpnaected with'tiieci'ime w^re apprehend and hxoughi to Justices, lix eleven, seme at the BffjfpstPftfcQjrß aye stttl, at large, .-^lu. tUvh&n, the.-guilty patfiiep' luivd ; been tjoiivicfcad. l'he ttttittteof burgla^iW J* Hixty, ai which oii&tbM to^aedija Syclaer, and pf tlxe i l emamdej» a eou«; sidei ; apl© proportipa happened m the neiglwourhQod of the BtiwaugdJig gpld ftefls.; -In ottly^teeitv mm wesete perpetysitpjfa- b. ipAgM |usti^v. aiijift; only jims wei?^ the guilty parties wit. vlcfel U the tarn; J«oto«fto et* o? atfcacb ; ; e*i ' Wj)«^f '■ &m persons was 187. Of these ouly teii oecuyyed te; the metvo^Qlis, - : j 'TM $WA %{sWw% Have been tHe greßt $(!&&$ $ wMmMp^ %$ ■: e^W| W p?oxi»?% td jgei#fl^s las "bee^ espueiftlty pfliti'Ottis^ Ijy the flit j^]ieti?iM;oi?ii ? aiv^ ; p^liv Sp^ff : vietioiis have 1)ee» uecufea,' y-ne jiumber of m# robberies Has .peeii tMvWVe, itt- elgijteeii: of wiucbi m sUiit^ jjajftici) lia^ ; 13^- $$$&*

werebrOjUjgHt^o- justice and convicted.^ f , ( Kve \sriminais~ have been' executed/of ~r whom; one was an aboriginal. Sentence ■of death has been passed in several * cases in which it has been commuted. Hard labor on the roads, for periods varying from one to fifteen yearsf is $ tKe sentence « passed 1 < on most 'of* the offenders." 'Howthese *- 1 sentences are really carried out in practice, and what there is to show for the hard labor, are matters as to which the public ' know '-Vely 'Jlittle. ? The value of the property stolen is estimated at nearly £21,000. The great item in this estimate is of course the'iLachlan- escort < jrobbery. /The* value jof the r gold and money -stolen on ; that occasion* . was x £13,694<; ' of [ ' which £3,7oo 'was in notes. 'Gold to ." s the value of £5,335 was recovered by , /' Sir Frederick' Pottinger and, Subinspector Sanderson. What became of the remainder is not _very clearly known. It has been supposed that--.; the lion's share of it fell to Gardiner, who retired upon the strength of it. The-Mudgee mail robbery, at ; the . notes ' belonging to the l Joint t Stock* ißank were stolen, is not_included in this^ return, though, it^ought , to have been, and the 'amount' of stolen property would then-have stood at a higher figure. 'The total value of the, property recovered is^estimated ■ at _ about £9,700. Many of the robberies were 'for small' amounts. • - In some cases of mail robberies thecontents of the mail-bags were unknown. 7 Eorty-four prisoners, after being captured, effected their escape, either from i gaol or while under escort. s Twenty-Wr of these ' were apprehended again, but the remaining twenty are still at large.. , r This, it must be admitted, is a very unsatisfactory' state of things. It is hard* work tq catch the rascals, as is too well testified by the abundance of robbers who have * never yet felt the grip of a policeman on their shoulder. But when they are caught and even sentenced, it is •.very' vexing to find that they have slipped away from 'their deserved , punishment, _and that all the trouble of catching them has to be taken over again. Eour constables or warders have been dismissed for r allowing escapes, eight have been fined, and four have been reprimanded. The ~ amount of £2155 has been offered for , the apprehension of the perpetrators «« of the offences enumerated, of which > £995 has been paid. Of this 'latter .*! sum £500 .was paidby.the Joint Stock ,v Bank, and £300 was. paid in .con- , h nection with the Lachlan r escort ,^ robbery, though to whom it was paid , c is not stated. Such is the record of ; the criminal statistics for a year 'and a ln half. It is not one of which we can > r? offer any congratulation. It would be possible, however, to make 1 the review ' with less dissatisfaction if the gangs of '•' robbers were all broken up, and if the , police expendr£ure ( of the colony would consequently admit safely of great reduction. But we have not yet attained ,i$ that state. <On the northern road there , ' has been some satisfactory captures, and the apprehension of Mackie has „-,. nipped a great deal of mischief in the bud. But in the west, the notorious villain Morgan, who has hitherto {carried on his operations by himself, * is said to 'have effected a junction with J 1 *- Gilbert and Hall, whose party has been "^ still further strengthened by Wo new recruits. It is to be earnestly hoped that this new edition of the gang will be dealt with by the Government with r)f redoubled energy,' so as to T)ring their L ' career to a speedy close. j n

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST18640203.2.21

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 38, 3 February 1864, Page 6 (Supplement)

Word count
Tapeke kupu
973

CRIMINAL STATISTICS. Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 38, 3 February 1864, Page 6 (Supplement)

CRIMINAL STATISTICS. Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 38, 3 February 1864, Page 6 (Supplement)

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