OFFENCES RETURN.

Wananga, Volume 5, Issue 48, 30 November 1878, Page 601

OFFENCES RETURN.

Clergymen and others who take an interest in the morale of the colony will do well to peruse the "Offences Return" for the North Island, which is attached to the Annual Report of the New Zealand Constabulary, and shows the number of crimes reported and of persons apprehended, besides containing comparisons between the years 1876 and 1877. We have just received this document and find it a most instructive record. In some resj>ects the statistics seem depressing enough, but in others they are evon more promising than one would expect. Although the population has been augmented constantly, capital offences, infanticide, embezzlement,, and burglary, have decreased rather than increased.

Forgery keeps much the same, and there arc really "very few cases of burglary and manslaughter considering the number of towns in tne North Island. On the other hand, small offences, such as- drunkenness and the crimes that one usually associated with drunkenness, appear largely on the increase. In 1576 there were 2,652 convictions for Intoxication, •whereas in 1877 there were 2,889, or 237 more.

These figures prove beyond question what a rapidly increasing evil drinking has become, and how necessary it is to take some decisive steps to check its progress. The 237 new convictions only represent the persons who have fallen to the lowest depth of degraded intemperance during the year. > T o one can gauge how many were half-way or had commenced the descent to Avernus. Larceny is also more frequent than formerly. In 1876 there were 503 cases, and in 1877 638, but this does not necessarily betoken that things are really worse than heretofore. The importation of one or two habitual petty thieves would account for it. A matter of greater import is the enormous increase of cattle and horse stealing. In 1876 there were only 24 convictions, but in 1877 there were 60. How, to account for this we hardly know, unless it is that people let their cattle stray in too tempting a manner. Perjury is another crime that seems coming into fashion. For two cases in IS7G there were ten in 1877. The convictions for malicious injury to property have also been augmented considerably—lß76, 73 ; 1877, 97. The increased vigilance of the police as regards minor matters is shown by the fact that nearly twice as many summonses were served under the Municipal Police Act in 1877 as in 1876. We leave our readers to form their own conclusions from the figures we have placed before them. Persons who are interested in the subject will, however, 'do well to go through the report carefully themselves. It contains plenty of food both for study and speculation.

Offences. >« o. reported No. reported in 1876. in 1877. Murder 8 7 Infanticide 1 0 Embezzlement 23 19 Burglary 12 <> Forgery16 21 Manslaughter ... - 1 3

1876. 187] Assaults 391 4S5 Vagrancy 548 647