Judge Williams on Trade Depression and Crime in Dunedin.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3367, 7 October 1879, Page 3

Judge Williams on Trade Depression and Crime in Dunedin.

The following are' Judge Williams' observations ou trade depression and crime : Notwithstanding the grave nature of the charges you have to consider, there | is to my mind one satisfactory feature of the present calendar, namely, the absence of all crime on the part of those who, having been most severely tempted, might have been expected, in some cases at least, to succumb to the temptation. Many fellow-citizens have been out of work during the past winter, and much privation and distress has prevailed amongst us, but not a single crime can be traced to thi3 source. The persons accused are, for the most j part, of a class considerably above the reach of absolute want, and there is a marked absence from the calendar of small forgeries, thefts, and the like crimes, which form usually the staple of. our criminal business. Tho calendar is, indeed, as a rule numerically heavier in good times than in bad. In April last year, when work at good wages was plentiful, I had occasion to remark to the Grand Jury of Christchurch on the unprecedentedly heavy calendar, and of the unfortunate coincidence of great material prosperity with a prevalence of crime. The truth is that while the industrial population is thoroughly law-abiding and bear like men the brunt of adversity, yet when money is plentiful many are unable to resist the temptation to excessive drinking, and crime becomes rampant. The chief offences on the present calender have, however, little to do with drink. They require for their consummation a clear and unclouded brain, and are the offspring, not of drunkenness, but of calm and deliberately planned wickedness. Offences like these are of the most dangerous kind, and when prevalent, indicate an unwholesome condition of society, and should be met by stern and prompt repression.