Evening Post. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1923. PAINFUL, BUT JUST

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 106, 1 November 1923, Page 6

Evening Post. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1923. PAINFUL, BUT JUST

The case reported from Christchurch yesterday contains the Essential elements of tragedy to a degree which is not often equalled in a case" so simple and so completely^ devoid of those morbid and sensational features which are usually needed to impress the popular imagination. A young man of good position, unblemished character, and exceptional promise appeared before the Christchurch Magistrate on two charges of stealing books. According to his counsel's statement, "his career had been an extraordinary one from boyhood, and he was considered one of the finest characters turned out by his school. From school he went to the University, and his career there was just as good." In ordinary course he would have concluded that career by qualifying for his degree at the examinations this month. Counsel's statement as to the excellent character of his client must always be accepted with caution, and the testimony of the police often means nothing more than that the man has not been previously found out. But it is quite clear that this was an exceptional case, for the evidence of the young man's good character was positive and convincing. The solicitor in whose employ he had been for three years described his .character as "a fine one," and gave the best possible practical corroboration of this testimony by declaring himself " prepared to trust him again and .keep him on at the office." All the extrinsic circumstances were, indeed, strongly in the accused's favour—his youth, his high character, his intellectual ability, and the promise of a useful and perhaps brilliant career;

But the commission oj. the two offences charged was not in dispute. The accused had entered the shops of two booksellers with whom he had accounts, and had stolen a book from each. Both thefts were admitted by the accused when one of the booksellers found- the books upon him, and he pleaded guilty in Court. A circumstance which told against him was not mentioned in the- Press Association report—viz., that he gave a false name to the bookseller who discovered the stolen property. Apart from the evidence of character, which, of course, was only admission in mitigation of the penalty, the best that his lawyer could say was to suggest " that the offence' was"th© result of sudden impulse." This is always a precarious and usually a desperate plea. A sudden impulse which would not operate in the presence of a policeman is not a defence which the Courts can afford to encourage. A sudden impulse which operates twice and in two different places, deliberately sought in the course of a few minutes, is almost a contradiction in terms. The repetition strengthens indefinitely the normal presumption of deliberation as the condition precedent of any human action. It makes 'system a much more plausible hypothesis than sudden impulse. What, then, was the Magistrate to do? :' You set me a difficult and painful task in sentencing you," he said, after listening to the evidence of the accused's good character. The task would doubtless have been easier and less painful if he could have seen his way to treat the case as an exceptional one. But his conclusion was that a sentence of seven days' imprisonment on each charge, the terms to be concurrent, must be imposed.

The natural impulse of anybody with a heart is to feel that a young man who had already paid a cruel penalty in the almost indelible stain upon his character, and the ruin of his professional career, had been sufficiently punished. But feeling is not a safe guide in such matters except under the guidance of reason, and the Magistrate i.s entitled to a careful hearing before we condemn him. After referring to the painfulness of his task, he addressed the accused as fol-! lows : — You had all the advantages of life and jou committed two thefts—ordinary common shop-lifting thefts. Can I treat you any other way than I would treat a woman who steals finery or a young fop who steals clothing? It is a case of common shop-lifting/ and shopkeepers must be protected. Looked at from the standpoint of the accused alone, the sentence may seem a harsh one, but how many sentences could stand if they were so regarded? The dominant consideration must be the discouragement of other offenders and the good of the whole community. "He who is hanged," says Montaigne, "is not corrected, but others by him." The reference of another distinguished Frenchman to the English practice of occasionally killing an admiral " to encourage the others " is a sarcastic illustration of the same point of view. To exclude from our consideration the protective and exemplary effects of punishment would be to strike at the very foundations of the criminal law.

Even from the personal point of view there is much to be said for the Magistrate's decision. He asks why ho should treat this case differently hQin that of, a woman who

steals finery or a fop who steals clothing. He might have added to his list the case of a seaman or a wharf labourer who broaches cargo. Where would be the justice in sending such offenders 'to prisoh and exempting those in a better position? Such a discrimination would savour of a social snobbery which might do irreparable mischief i to the administration of the law. It must'also be remembered that the very advantages of character and intellect and social position which aggravate the ordinary penalty in such cases as the present are really not a mitigation but an aggravation of the guilt. A man who goes wrong in spite of all these advantages has surely less excuse than one who had no such help to keep him straight. The case in question is certainly, as the Magistrate said, a difficult and painful one, and the offender who has paid so heavily for a youthful lapse is entitled to the public sympathy. But sympathy is also due to the man who had to try the case, and we see no ground for finding fault either with the Magistrate or with the law which he had to administer.