"AT THE GATES OF HELL."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 80, 25 August 1914, Page 7

"AT THE GATES OF HELL."

TUB PRIMATE ON HBRTBLE SOCIAL EVIL YOUXX.! CHILDREN" AS THE VICTIMS OK CRIME. Startling statem/mta witb regard to Clinics against children were made by tie; Bishop of Ely before t)i« U|»|K'«- llouse of (Vmvor.it ion of Canterbury. His Lord" 'shin moved: That, this House desires to put on record tile distress and ;tpprehension which it feels at the large number of assaults on young children which are now reported and to express its earnest hope that public opinion will actively concern itself in supporting legislative proposals dealing with these evils and in remedying conditions o£ life (sueli as ignorance and overcrowding) conducive to this kind of immorality; and, further, that it will uphold .judges and nmgis! rate; in their etl'orts to put down « species of crime Which is hoirihlc in iisclf and full of ■danger to Lie morals of \ in. rising general ion. ' The Itishop said lie. <lid no: l.ue.w that the stale of things vvatj absolutely worse than in bygone year.,, but the actual number < f criminal a*>aulti, on children was a dreadful and menacing fact, lie thought public opinion w.ts sound at the core on the maitter, and suggested limit they ought, to require that simple mid reverent instruction and warning should lie given to children ill elementary schools by teachers specially fitted mid selected fo>- tile 'ndieved Hiait ti large . .Tillies—some sa.id afe , per cent.— were incestuoiii . . ;:>e thought that judges and magistrates would welcome U strong ami calm manifest,itioi. of public opinion such as would uphold them H passing sentences which would have a really deterrent cll'ecit. The Hi sill op of London, in seconding t!ie resolution, said that Nuni'onfoiimists nil owr Kiigkiiid were united in support of the <'"riniinal Ui'.v Amcndmenlt Hill, raising the age of consent-, which lie had introduced into the Hous-e of Lords. Ho had had iidit resolutions front Nonconformist bodies backing up his Bill, and only one or two frran ("iiurcli people. In an enormous mnifbtr of cases these, crimes against little girls wwere commtitlted by th«ir relation-, often by fathens or brothers, ni.d that came from the fact tihat a great mass of the population were packed avay in ]iUl<> rooms under which made morality very difficult indeed. The Bishop of Winchester thought corporal punishment was the best kind c.f penalty. The Archbishop of Canterbury' said the subject was so grave that it made one fcei that in touching it they were at the very gates of llell. It was impossible to exaggerate the •torriblcnPi* of theHe crimes. He thought, however, that if they carefully Studied tile comparative S'Uitiwtics which were available they would find that, appalling as the horrors were, tho actual number of these crimes were not increasing to the extent which some supposed, particularly when tlicy took into account 'the Increase in the population. '.the liishop of Chelmsford coniphi.ine,d that the L.C.C. had, with few exceptions left, 'the housing question alone. Jn London at the present time there wer.i (ISO,0(10 pel-soil,} living ill two-roomed tenements. The resolution was carried unanimnis--I.V