IS GRIME A DISEASE ?'

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5400, 5 June 1879, Page 3

IS GRIME A DISEASE ?'

The Lancet commefttin'g upbri the case of the notorious crimiiial,7r v e'fltefy enters a Commendable protest against the fihefrry which is occasionally started in these days that crime is only a form of disease. The journal in question calls attention to the fact that " the one and only one element wanting in Peace's character was that which ought to be present in all— the reverence of right. Truth and justice were nothing to him except antagonistic powers to be neutralised or circumvented. He played against the agents of justice— as one man may range his skill with the skill of another — and often triumphed, though at last ho was beaten. He played as with an equal, and was proud when he won. The lack of recognition and respect for an authority outside and higher than self is the . bane of that philosophy which science— falsely so called— is doing its beat to promulgate. This is a medical question not less than a moral issue. The inter-relationß of mind and body are so subtle and intimate that crime have come to be treated as mala* dies. Against this pernicious error it is necessary to protest. A healthy organism may bo made to produce bad fruit, just as a perfect and highly-finished tool may be put to bad use. Here is an instance of a sound mind-organ fatally misused ; and it is important to point out that the evil that has been wrought is not traceable to hereditary or accidental defects of physical development, nor is to be ascribed to weakness, subserviency, or impressibility.' The career of Peace has been one of vicious speciality throughout, and the keynote of his character was simple egotism,, without homage, yearning or sympathy for the supremacy of any authority above his own will."