Sexual Perverts and the Lash

NZ Truth, Issue 834, 12 November 1921, Page 1

Sexual Perverts and the Lash

Once again a Grand. Tury. this, lime m Wellington, has brought m a re- . commendation that .m view of the largo number ooff f sexual offences coming befoi*e the courts*, a more severe penalty should be inflicted, and that this should take the form of flogging, if necessary. ' Justice : Hosking, said the' recommendation was a most proper one and. would" assist >h- Bench to decide the "difficult matter of making the punishment fit . : - the .crime; There has not been a-floggihg administered to a sexual degenerate m New Zealand', for about two years. th© last occasion 4 being 1 when Judge Stringer sentenced a young /man to fifteen years' hard labor"; and ordered .him to receive fifteen strokes of the lash.. The lash is a terrible thing. The prisoner, a strong man, collaps6d under the ordeal and had to receive it m two doses. ; But theY fact that he was subjected tothis flogging did not make any difference to tha .figures for sexual crime. It has hot acted as a, deterrent to others. ■ The ireaSon . for this ' is that sexual degeneracy is •a mental disease, hot a mere criminal ■act. The causes behind Mt are deep t ly psychological and the unfortunate human who once ' becomes a pervert always remains one. Prison records show that long terms of •imprison-, merit do 'not . effect a cure; ■.'.-for n.,.bad type of degenerate soon finds his way back again after a: brief spell of liberty — the • inverted and abnormal 'sexual impulse will not.", be denied. The problem -of coping With^ the sexual degenerate has been a perplexing one In older countries than New Zealand; for many years. Flogging has been j tried but it has not brought v about any diminution m the number of these i horrible offences.. Certain countries' I on the continent even went so far. as j to perform major surgical operations ; i on sexual degenerates, which had the effect of not merely making them impotent, but of taking away every vestige of sexual desire. A. peculiar arid terrible thing- then 'happened, ■ /which went to prove, that sekual de-■g-eneraey is essentially a, .disease ofI the. mind. After the operation;, m i question the degenerates 'were turned I loose m the world, and they ' irivaria- . | bly changed froni sexual maniacs into homicidal maniacs. They turned their murderous attention to the doctors who liad performed the operations on them. In vain was the practice adopted of disguising" the- doctors arid otherwise hedging them around with secrecy. The degenerates, ; with a cunning and patience that seems to be an adjunct of mania, devoted sometimes years to discover who it was had de-> prived them of their sexual: powers, and another foul murder > inevitably followed. The governments of ■ the countries had,- therefore, to ■make arieiid of the practice. . The problem of dealing: with the sexual offender is; a baffling one. "\ It is certain that they iu-nnot ibe allowed* ; t'o mix at .large with society, and therefore detention seems to be the only alternative. The sinister fact is, however, always present that prison- does not cure, but rather aggravates the disease. The, 1 segregation of' the sexes, that is part of our prison system has a bad effect even on the normal prisoner. It is a thing well known amongst, prison authorities and gaol surgeons well over 90 per cent of all long sentence prisoners acquire and -practice impure habits during their 'incarceration ln gaol. Thus, beside the pvjson taint, the greater proportion 'J. rifA offenders: V return* to society, talntatl; sexually; ] as well. ' The subjfiP:t is oico that, given us furiously to think. >,

The poor plug who wearily trudges the streets m search of work can console himself with the knowledge that gold doesn't bring peace and happiness. A young 'Murkan 'named Harry li. Duryea, son of the late Hiram Duryea, who made a "pile" m starch, had money to burn, yet he shot and killed himself at his office m, New York City a .short time back. Dad. Hiram also met . death suddenly some years ago, being shot and killed by his son Chester. . .

: : , ■ : : • , : : ./. ■ Still they come, or rather, still they go. Another resignation from the .Wellington detective office was handed m 4ast week? This time if is Detective "'Bob 1 ' Black, one of the most [popular police officers m the force anywhere. In common with the other detectives who have "skied- the wipe" from the Wellington office during the year, no reasons beyond private rea^-' sohs are advanced for the step. Still, with six well-tried and popular, officers off the strength m less than twelve months, one cannot : help feeling that there is something "funny" -behind' it all. The public depends upon > a highly trained, V efficient, and. otherwise adequate detective foree^to safeguard society from the .more specialised forms ,of crime and violence. That this' shall be effected it is imperative that the detective force be kept up to full strength. . Detectives are born, not made/, and it takes a good many years after they are born before they learn their difficult jobs. Hence our anxiety at the wholesale resignations from this important public department . ' v.

Were the rosy blushes that, suffused the face of, Mr. Massey when Mr. T. S. Weston beslobbered him with praise last week due to modesty or to a feeling that Mr. Weston was being, too candid m letting him know what the people of New Zealand really think of their Premier? "Truth 1 . 1 wqultfl not like* to answer. Certainly, Mr. Massey has not 'heard it laid on so thick for many moons. In case some of our readers have hot heard Mr. Weston's eulogy, let us put it on record, m the pages of the- People's Paper. This is not all of it, but it is the stickiest slice. . Said Mr. Weston to Mr. Massey: You hold a unique position m the (history of this country. I think one can say that no Premier on your side *" m politics-has. enjoyed the confidence of all classes of the community as you now enjoy it. It is. to a groat extent due to the fact that you possess a heart full of. kindly Jiuman nature, and 'to the fact that you have an immense amount of pluck, arid. you are full of common sense.; We appreciate to the full the difficulties, of your position. ;Yqu have. come • back/from discharging Imperial work - which in /any '. '.ordinary course ; would ■ have fully, earned you .a" rest; You have come back only H:b be JDlunged into many difliculties-TT-difficulties which require an iirirn'ehse amount of consideration. You fire facing- those with a courage, which ought to give courage*- to all oi! us. In. the task you haye before you you have our utmost sympathy, and we are deslr■"i pus of giving you overy hotp wo oan.' ;There. riow-rcan you that, our honest Bill blushed when Mr. Weston spoke? "Truth" wiU'teswe it at that.