more unsatisfactory returns from the whole country. The Rev. W. C. Osborn, Chaplain of Bath Gaol, states, in a memorial to both Houses of Parliament in 1860, that "during the last three years the number of juvenile offenders committed to prison has been 31,758 (one-sixth being females), of whom only 2,890 have been, at the expiration of their prison time, removed to reformatory schools."

Now, in making these statements, we would not be understood to advocate a practice of sending young persons to reformatory schools for trifling offences, and thus relieving parents from the responsibility of taking care of their children, and training them in the way they should go. The severance of the tie between parents and children is a very serious proceeding, which should not be resorted to, except in extreme cases, for the protection of society, and for the safety of the child. But we contend that under no circumstances, except as a preliminary to a reformatory, should a child be sent to prison; that where it appears that children have already become habitual thieves, and always on a second conviction, they should be sent to a reformatory.

But the practice of sending boys to prison for trifling offences continues in full force in large towns!

What is to become of these two "little boys," whose case is thus reported in the Bristol Daily Post, December 12, 1863. What can a month's imprisonment do for them?

"Candidates for a Reformatory.-Two little boys were charged with stealing a piece of rope, value 1s. 6d., from a ship in Bathurst Basin, the property of GP The victims carried away the rope, and offered it for sale at the shop of Mr. Farnsworth, marine store dealer; and it appeared from the statements of P. S. Hamilton, that, although young in years, they were adroit thieves. They were sentenced to a month's hard labour."

These boys are most cerSuch cases are not uncom

The reason is not stated why these urchin thieves were not sent to a reformatory. The facts of the case prove that they had not proper parental control and care. A month's imprisonment cannot undo the effects of a long period of lawless liberty. tainly on the way to become "convicts.' mon. In the same paper, February 6, 1863, we find a similar one, though here the boys have already proved that the imprisonment produced no reforming effect upon them.

"Quay Rangers in Trouble.-Three boys, named J

P, and C

were charged with having a quantity of rope and timber in their possession, supposed to be stolen. The prisoners were stopped by P. C. 186, with the rope and a piece of timber near the Sea Banks, and there was little doubt that it had been stolen from a raft, the property of Messrs. Barnes, timber merchants. The prisoners, who had been previously committed, were each sentenced to a month's hard labour."

In the Bristol weekly papers (Times and Mercury) of March 5, 1864, we find the following cases of imprisonment of boys on consecutive days :

"Monday.-Reuben Dof his master, Mr. H

a boy, was charged with embezzling the moneys dairyman, Clifton. Two cases were proved in

which he had misappropriated money he had received, and he was committed for trial.

"John H, and William B- , a couple of the disorderly lads who delight in obstructing the thoroughfares, and annoying females on Sunday evenings, were fined 40s. and costs, or a month's imprisonment with hard labour.

Tuesday.-Thomas F- a lad, residing at St. George's, Gloucestershire, charged with stealing a pair of worsted stockings, value 1s., the property of Robert C, 24, West Street, St. Phillip's, was committed for twenty-one days' imprisonment.

"Wednesday.-David T- -, and Joseph T, two boys, for stealing a cheese, from a shop in Thomas Street, were committed for two months' hard labour each.

"Thursday.-The two boys, P—

and B

who had been remanded for who keeps a shop in

stealing cigars, value 5s., the property of John SMaudlin Street, were again brought up. It appeared that the cigars had been taken from two glass cases, and since the lads were in custody 12s. worth of cigars had been missed. The magistrates discharged P- as they thought that he might have been induced to assist in the robbery by his companion, whom they sentenced to a month's hard labour.

G

and R

" were charged with of Bedminster.

"Three boys, named Wthrowing stones, and damaging the premises of Mr. T The prisoners had broken some twelve tiles on the roof of Mr. T- -'s house, and they were each fined 28. and costs, or three days' imprisonment."

The natural consequence of the system of juvenile imprisonment is that candidates are prepared for the convict prisons, where the expense to the country is about £40 per annum for each inmate, instead of less than £20 in a reformatory, when age renders a change of life more possible. As an illustration of this we find that at the Bristol Quarter Sessions of July last, two brothers, aged respectively 24 and 25 years, were sentenced to four years' penal servitude. The younger, Charles, had commenced his career with one month, at 9 years of age; progressing through three other imprisonments. The elder brother had commenced later, at 13. How much would have been saved to the country had these two youths been early arrested in their career.

That it was the intention of the legislature to check the imprisonment of children, and gradually lead to its discontinuance, is proved by the great anxiety shown by the promoters of the Industrial Schools' Act, which followed so soon after the Reformatory Schools' Act, that the children committed to these should not have the stigma of the gaol attached to them, even during a remand or temporary delay in finding a school. This is still more clearly evidenced in the alterations in that Act, made by a subsequent one in 1861. In this it is provided that in any breach of the law, if the child is under 12, he may be sent to an industrial school, and thus being regarded as having acted "sans discernement," and, as not coming under the condition of " capax doli," according to the common law of England. Still further to discourage the practice of sending children to prison, it is also provided that no child shall be sentenced to an industrial school who has already been sent to gaol. By a vigorous working, therefore, of this Act, most of the cases alluded to might have been preserved from swelling the criminal class of

the community, and even the reformatories be gradually diminished in numbers. The boy who is the subject of the following paragraph had been frequently during the last year before the bench for petty delinquencies, and as the companion of thieves; he had a widowed and bed-ridden mother who could not control him, and no private efforts had been successful in keeping him at school. But he was not sent to an industrial school; in the spring he was committed for three months to gaol; his future character was then stamped on him, and nothing now remains but the greater expense both to the Government and to the magistrates of sending him to a reformatory, if he is to escape a convict prison.

46

Felony in Thomas Street.-A boy, 13 years of age, named Mwith stealing a coat, value 5s., the property of Charles T

,was charged The complainant had left his coat in a cart in Mr. B- -'s yard, Thomas Street, and the prisoner was seen by a lad named B- to take the coat and run off with it in the direction of Bristol Bridge. Three other urchins were in company with the accused, and he, in his defence, alleged that they induced him to carry off the garment. B said that he had before detected the prisoner in the act of stealing, and he was then trying to purloin a rope from a pair of trucks. The accused is an orphan, and the bench sentenced him to twenty-one days' hard labour, and at the expiration of that time to go to Kingswood Reformatory for three years.”— Aug. 27, 1864, Bristol Post.

And this boy has already companions who have led him, or whom he has tempted into crime. They are at large, ready to lead on some one else, or to fall into the hands of the next bad boy, who lures them into his snare.

What then remains for the government to do in order to give full effect to present enactments, and to arrest the progress of juvenile crime?

The experience of the last ten years has proved that it cannot be expected from magistrates, when children are brought before them, to weigh all the varied arguments which may be adduced respecting their disposal. There can be no general system adopted without legal enactments. Some magistrates may be disposed too readily to send children to reformatory and industrial schools; others may not have attended to the subject, and be too unwilling to do so. It is a short and ready way to send a boy to prison, and this is therefore often done without consideration of the future consequences. next time he appears before the bench the boy receives another short sentence, and thus the same course is repeated which has so long been deprecated; he may not be remembered, and other magistrates may be sitting.

The

At the present time it is always in the power of magistrates to deliver over children to their parents for chastisement, or to caution and discharge them. A child may also be remanded for further consideration of his case, and examination of his circumstances. If he has been guilty of some misdemeanor which indeed requires correction, but which does not imply serious wickedness, let him be handed over, as would be the case in the higher classes, to parental chastisement, the father being warned that a repetition of such mis

demeanor, or continued neglect of his child, will be followed with serious consequences. If the child has been previously convicted, or is proved to be habitually in a state of incipient crime or transgression, coming under the provisions of the Industrial Schools' Act, let him be sentenced to one, the parent being compelled to pay the utmost his means will allow, towards his maintenance. The child thereby will have no taint of crime affixed to him, and after good training of a few years will probably come out a hard-working boy, easily finding employment. Should the case be still more serious, the reformatories can receive him. This, indeed, involved a previous imprisonment, but being followed by the school, the character obtained from that, will decide his future prospects in life. The expense of the reformatory would be far less to the Government than a continued career of crime, terminating in penal servitude.

Let, then, the Government be memorialised to pass a short Act, simply declaring it unlawful any longer to imprison young persons under the age of fourteen, except preparatory to a reformatory. The passing of such an Act would place children in their true and just position, as those who are to be cared for, protected, and controlled. The responsibility of the child would be directly thrown on the parents, on whom the duty really devolves. In default of these, or in case of their not fulfilling their duty, the charge would fall on society, to whom the child has a right to look for protection.

Such a law would relieve the magistrates from a frequent painful duty, and would thus free the rising generation from a stain which they at present receive owing to the fault of others; it would also enable the benevolent intentions of the legislature to be fulfilled, by the Christian men and women who willingly undertake the charge confided to them of striving to save these moral orphans.

Reformatory and Industrial Schools in Yorkshire By the REV. I. FISH, M.A., Castle Howard Reformatory.

THERE are in Yorkshire seven reformatories for the reception of youthful criminals under the statute 17 & 18 Vict. c. 86. Four are for boys, and three for girls. One for boys and one for girls are for Roman Catholic children. The number which the whole are capable of containing is, boys, 463; girls, 128; distributed thus

The number under detention in the end of August last was, boys 423, exclusive of 58 out on licence, and girls 122.

The number of youthful offenders, committed to prison in Yorkshire in the year ended September 29, 1863, was

The average number committed during the three years, 1861, 1862, and 1863, was

For what proportion of these commitments provision ought to be made in reformatories opinions are not yet agreed. I am disposed to think that of boys about forty per cent., or two-fifths of those committed to prison, is a sufficient proportion to be sent to a reformatory; in other words, that a short imprisonment, or other brief but sharp punishment, is sufficient to deter about sixty per cent, from a repetition of criminal acts, and so far to reform them.

My experience teaches me that the best average term of detention within a reformatory is, for boys, about three years. I say within the reformatory, because I think the sentence should be for a longer period than three years, in order to allow of the beneficial influence of a licence to reside without the reformatory for some time before the sentence expires.

Supposing the average annual number of committals to continue at the present figure, and my view of the number to be sent and the term for which they should be detained be correct, there would appear to be very nearly, if not quite as much, reformatory accommodation for boys as Yorkshire requires.

The case of the girls is very different. I am inclined to think that every girl committed to prison, whose age, &c., is suitable, should be sent to a reformatory. The girl offender is almost certain to be a worse child than the boy, and is likely to be much more in need of the training of a reformatory. I do not know what is found by the managers of girls' schools to be the best term of detention within the reformatory, but if three years, then there should be provision for three times the number of the annual commitments, or 279, whereas the present actual accommodation is only 128. The Catholic girls' reformatory at Sheffield is now in course of enlargement to receive 100, or forty-seven more than its present number, which will bring the provision up to 175, leaving a want of reformatory accommodation for girls in the county of upwards of 100. Even if a considerable reduction from my estimate of the provision required be made, I think there will remain a deficiency which I would earnestly commend to the consideration of the philanthropy of the county.

It is, of course well known that reformatories are to some extent supported by voluntary contributions; but it may not be so generally known that contributions from the local rates are now made in their