OFFENCES AGAINST WOMEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 280, 5 October 1864, Page 6

OFFENCES AGAINST WOMEN.

(From the London Examiner, July 23.) It will! o remembered that Sir C. O'Loghlen cucecssfully opposed the Lords' Bill l'or the severer punishment of rape on the ground t h;-.t the crime was not on the increase, but rather the contrary. Tlie argument wis bad, because the measure before the House was to deal with the aggravated circumstances of rape, not tlie frequency : but even as to the latter point, Sir C. O'Loghlen seems to have been in crro?; Upon the Home Circuit, at Chelmsford, we karti from the report in tlie Times : There were only sixteen eases for trial, out of which, not less than four, or one-fourth of the whole number, were cases of oflencts against women or girls, of which one was a ease of actual rape. Thero were three of these cases at Hereford, of which we reported one, the weist, so that this species of offence appears to be rather on the increase.

This may be on'y a local increase, but n- where can we find any confirmation of Sir C. Loghlen's representations of the state of the crime, lie seems, indeed, to have given as the total of rapes, and assaults with intent, the nuinb'-r, not of the two classes of offence in the aggregate, but of one of them. In ISG3 the number of crimes against the chastity of women and children was The number of charges having been 41 '2. It is notorious that, from the great difficulty of proving rape, many prosecutions :ire for tlie felonious assault, though the crime has really been committed. AVe know, therefore, that a considerable number of convictions which appear under the head of felonious intent rtally belong to the category of rape. There is, consequently, u very misleading Understatement of tlie crime, and an overstatement of the minoy offence, which, however, always includes the inceptive violence anil animus, and often, alas ! the full reality of the graver. Two positions are, unfortunately, incontrovertible, that rape, though it may not be of more frequency, is generally marked with circumstances of greater atrocity, and that other offences against the modesty of women are alarmingly on the increase. Indeed, it is hardly possible to take up a newspaper without seeing some account of indecent outrage, and often several.

In the Times of yesterday it appears that the Crown Court at Stafford had been occupied the whole day with two trials for rape, the circumstances of -which would not bear publication. ".At Derby there were two convictions lor rape, one a boy aged sixteen who had violated a girl aged l'ouiteen. At Glasgow, Miss Addie, a respectable young lady, had been horribly outraged, anil it is doubtful whether she will survive. Examples like these thronging upon us raise the question whether this crime was wisely withdrawn from the highest penalty of the law. Opinions may differ about capital punishment, but whatever should be the punishment of murder should also be the pumshr.K nt of rape, whi«li is of equal atrocity. A very dangerous distinction was made when a woman's honour was treated as of less account than life, and entitled only to a minor degree of protection. There are indeed few properties to ill guarded by the law, few robberies so lightly puuished.