Evening Post SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1904.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 62, 10 September 1904, Page 4

Evening Post SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1904.

JUVENILE OFFENDERS. » Tho treatment of juvonilo offenders demands such fine qualities of head and heart that it may well bo regarded as ono of tho suro tests of progress in civilisation. In no other department of criminal jurisprudence) aro such demands made on tho judgment and sagacity of a Magistrate. Tho ordinary theory of a hard and fast equality of punishment breaks down utterly hero. Whero tho material operated on is at an unformed stage, and possibilities count for far more than actualities, cast-iron rules and standards aro altogether out of place. To distinguish between tho boy who sins from more obliquity of vision and tho lack of some touch of moral illumination, and tho boy who sins from deeprooted vicious propensities, requires rather tho parental instinct and intuition than the impartiality of tho Judge. If adult criminals differ widely in actual moral conditions, and only resemble each other in the overt acts which appear on prison records, how much wider the differenco between a number of boys who have, perhaps, committed tho samo or similar acts of potty larceny. Is tho Magistrate to act on the principle that similarity of offence dornands equality of punishmont? Or, if not, on what principle is he to differentiate? This latter question goes to tho root of the problem of Magisterial functions, and on tho answer to it largely depend the future well-being and moral character of a people. Tho task is an cxtromoly difficult one. Tho pjurils of unduo leniency have to be act againat the appalling risk of manufacturing criminals. And when tho question of actual sentence is' settled, there still remains tho importance of tho words, expression of faco, anjd general demeanour, with which tho decision is announced. Boys aro much moro amenable to theso necessary conditidns than men ; and a fow words of sympathotio encouragemont, duly tempered with sternness, may effect a reclamation which years in a reformatory Would render impossible. Everything depends here on the personality of the Magistrate ; and it Tnust be admitted that his training and* doily practice do not tend to develop skill and taot in such delicate work oh this. If this country h&d reached a sfcago which would render po&siblo a greater specialisation in its judiciary, tlw first step should bo the appointment of special officers for dealing with young offenders. Even at our present stage the possibility of mich an arrangonient should be kept steadily in vioAv. In America — a land of experiments, like our own — the system is found to work admirably". There aro Juvenilo Courts and separate officers for dealing with the young vagrants and pilferers of the streets. The spirit of these Courts is more parental than magisterial, and for first offences words of warning and encouragement tako tho place of punishment. The officers are selected with groat care, and are men who have E roved their sympathy with boys and nowledge of the ways nnd workings of their embryonic tendencies. By being brought into a separate Court, too, boys are saved from tho pernicious and degrading influences which porvade the ordinary ar,ena of criminal administration. Before trial they aro kept in a separate room and 'are not allowed to mix with adult prisoners. Cases are often deferred for further enquiry by officers of the Court or the Society for the Protection at Woman and Children. Only at. a last resort is a boy committed to the industrial or truant school. But even in theso institutions the conspicuous purpose is still regeneration rather than the mere satisfa6tion of tho law. Tho surroundings are bright and cheerful — pictures on tho walls, and a general air of comfort and .homeliness. Manual training is carried on systematically 5 boys work at various trades, and print their own newspaper. They are even taught the prinoiples of ficif-government ; they olect a governing body from among themselves, and bind fhcinselves to discipline and implicit obedience. The groat Republic is liero in miniature, nnd tho whole tendency is to develop that citizenship which ft so highly prized in the United States. Every people works out its reforms and improvements in its own way, nnd it is mere folly to adopt an attitude of slavish imitation of fompm methods. Bxit our danger lies \)erh«.j>R lrsa fn imitation than in narrow insularity. In matters of such profound importance :is- tli« training or reclamation of the young, w« should know " tho. best that is known and thought in tha world." But when that is accomplished wo are only at the be* ginning of our task. The vital point is, not so much the introduction of reforms, as tho spirit and degree of intelligence with which they aro administered. Our remarks havo been suggested by » case that was heard on Saturday last. On that occasion both Magistrate nnd employer showed remarkablo generosity. That this gonorosity was excessive or misplaced wo are not prep&reA to assert , everybody must hopo that tho boy's future career may prove its best justification. Tho consequences of every such case of lenient treatment should b6 watched with great care, not only as an interesting study in anthropology, but as affording valuable guidance towards a practical system.