THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1913. THE TRAGEDIES OF LIFE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 9 June 1913, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JUNE 9, 1913. THE TRAGEDIES OF LIFE.

Many and varied are the tragedies which go to constitute the aggregate of human existence.' Life is one long, dismal, dreary vista of tragedy. And this in «pite of Christian influences and alleged civilised agencies. How many of us are there who, in our pereginations through what ha s been termed the "vale of tears," have not been torn with anguish at the terrible afflictions that have befallen our fellow-men ? And how few can claim the distinction of having escaped the pangs of remorse that follow the downfall of a relative or friend ? The gaol rceord s of this young country, it unfolded to the public gaze, would exhibit a volume of tragedy that woud horrify the'beholder. Society however, has determined that the curtain shall be drawn between those who are paying the penalties of crime and those who are without the prison walls. But there is an aspect of the criminal question that must appeal to every man and woman with a conscience that is not seared with selfishness, and with a s oul above mercenary | gain. That aspect was vividly represented in a circular issued some time back by Mr Edwin Arnold, a visiting Justice to the Wellington Gaol, and a one-time resident of Mastorton. It constitutes an appeal.on behalf of the wives and families of those undergoing imprisonment. As the Dunedin Star points out, in an able article dealing with the circular, the author appeared to be painfully eomersant with the positi> the unfortunate familic """, " to baH' ' ' .-" iv!in i{h ' H^ ....-, wal'it when the prison door closes against the bread win.-, nor. In ways that are almost unaccountable, men in fairly good position sometimes lapse into serious crime, and if they should have a 'wife and young family dependent oh them for support, the s equcl becomes almost tragic. . Cases of this nature are not so rare as most people, imagine. A little reflection is. all that is needed to convince anyone not absolutely steeled against suffering and wrong of the hideous injustice often inflicted. It i« net always dishonesty, the love of gambling, the greed of gain that brings to ruin of reputation and doprivatioa *f liberty ptrsowg that

masquerade as pillars of society. Many a homo is wrecked through its head giving way to deeds that can only be ascribed to natural depravity. And when the accused leaves the dock and the curtain falls to the clang of the prison gates, what happens? The popular verdict may bo, "Serves him right. A few years' huumliition and prison exercise will do him good." Hut what about the poor woman, most if not all of whoso savings have been expended in his defence? What about the young children that cling to her for support? Where are the bread and butter and milk and rent and fuel and clothing to come from.? What a vista of want and despair is suddenly opened up. As Mr Edward Arnold, the visiting justice referred to, points out, the world suddenly turns against her. She is ostracised \ from s ociety. If .she has any friends, they shun her and her home as if they were stricken with the plague. How many women have traced their fall to the desperate, hopeless, doplonble position in which they are left when the sentence of the judge dissolves the ties on which the maintenance of the borne depended? Wo feel that we would be doing tjie machinery of the law an injustice if we denied that it must usually occur to His Honour that when lie is imposing a substauti.il sentence on a married man he i» really inflicting a monstrously cruel blow on the innocent and helpless. The husband leaves the dock deprived of his liberty, but otherwise to be cared for, and fed, ;?nd clothed, boarded and nursed at the country's expense. The doom of the wife and family is to .suffer want and privation, forsaken by friends, and exnosed to shame, contumely and degradation. Justice h•!..■> well been represented as blindfolded, (or the punishment falls tmev'eiils' —not on the delinquent, but on his unfortunate, progeny. Every time that a sitting of the Supreme Court occurs in our largo centres the wail of these unfortunates should rise, like a reminder to Society that a fe.uful anomaly and injustice calls aloud for removal. Only a conscience blunted against . redemption and a heart steeled against torture and suffering can overlook the crime that constitutes one of the blackest pages in our-Statute Book, while the wrongs brought into prominence remain unredressed. Surely the case of these wives and children deserves something better than a p'romUe of consideration —a promise, may he, never to be fulfilled. Why shoul'l these faaiilies bo steeped in pow.'tv—why should women, for the »ake of their starving brbes, be driven to a life of shame while thoir natural supporters and protectors are cared for and nursed with a view to ultimate reclamation in the powerful but sympathetic arms of the State? We hwo seen letters that should extract tear s from the most hardened or cynical—letters from mothers pleading for their young ones, exposed to .the severe vicissitudes of destitution, because their sole means of support was taken away to meet the. •demands of justice. What justice!. What a travesty on the name of justice! I s there to be no relief or help for the despairing ones? Are their cries ..to continue unheeded?