CRIMINAL COLONIZATION.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1698, 24 May 1883, Page 4

CRIMINAL COLONIZATION.

The Ferry Ministry ia not yet a month old, but it has already given indication ofa*>pp|rit which, if not checked, Mil] involve Prance in trouble in cveiy quarter of the compass. We have no wish to dwell on what every one must hope is only a regrettable misunderstand ing of the true intcicsts of Fiance. But there is one reported phase of the policy of the new Ministry so st.utling that silance is impossible Unless the explanations that the Ministry of the Interior has addiessed to the Committee now engaged with the question of habitual criminal? can be disputed, we must, however reluctantly, suppose that at least one member of the Feiry Cabinet meditates the adoption of a policy which can hardily fail to excite the In oliest reprobation throughout the civilised •world. The difficulty of dealing w ith habitual ciiniiinls has long b"cn one of the thorniest problems of modern civilisation. Various devices have been adopted by different nations, but that which now finds favour with the Fiench Government is of all others the simplest. It is pioposed to tiansport all the habitual criminals of France to the colonies over the sea. New Caledonia, w liich has long been the French Sibeiia, is too small to receive any considerable addito her convict population. Fieneh Guiana, whither most of the victims of the coupd'dal were despatched, ib too unhealthy. Where, then, aic the habitual criminals to go ? This question has long occupied public attention, but hitherto no authoiitative answer lias been supplied. M. Waldeok-Rousseau, unless he is odiously misrepresented, has at last disclosed the fccoiet. He is reported to ha\o told the .Recidivist Committee last week that aftei filling up New Caledonia it was his intention to convert the Loyalty Islands into .1 penal settlement. But the Loyalty Islands are too small to accommodate the host of felons whom Fiance has to dispose of, */Ir Waldeck- Rousseau, thoiefore, m the calmest and most matler-of fact fashion, indicated " the New Jlcbndcs, and the tcmtory of the AnUaia, in the inland of Madagascar," as the sites ol the new penal colonies of Fi.ukc, to si) nothing ol a piolyble extension of the sun 1 beneficent institutions mi Senegal and the Inland of l'hucog, on the toast ol Cochin China. If this is to be the m w eiimino-coloiii.il policy of Fiance, by which ;i Fmi/n, oitln wrr is to be built up b\ the colonizing labours of habitml ciiiniiia's, its cynicism is not unworthy of the foieign police which relies upon the religious oideis expelled fiom France, to extend the influence of France among the Catholics of the Levant. But the policy is woise than cynical. England in a foiiner generation expoited her convicts to Tasmania and New South Wales ; but although the native population was sjiai.se and the convicts wcie kept under an non discipline, that is not a ciimc which she would caie to iepc.it. The conscience of Fiance ib lets sensitive to the u tongs of the aboiigmes ; and even such high-piinciplcd organs of public opinion as the limps sconothingth.it is not admii able in the piopos.il to sc.itlui the scum of Fiench l.iscabty fai ami wide among all the wi etched natives vvhu aie said to "enjoy" the protection ot the tncolor. That outi age, howovei, is one which our neighbours aic fieo to connnit If they choose to bliglit the Loy.ihty Islands With the ciuse which has fallen upon New Caledonia, wheic, sijs a lecent wiiter in L» Xwivrlli Cali/luinr, "ll fie commtitt.ut pent etio liioinsd'.ibomina tious dans Ics vilhs de la Met iWoitc detiuites pai le fun du eiel, (ju'il ne s'en conunet jhosijuY.ii plem jour, nnpuneincnt, dans notie nialheuicuse colonic' — it is then own aflair. But when, not satisfied with planting this upas tiee in their own possessions, they actually piopose to conquer ficsh teintoiies in older to piovidc new outlets foi their cinninals, other nations have a light to speak. The New Hebiides do not belong to Fiance. It is bailey a month mih e Loid J)eiby stated th.it a quasi-undcrotanding existed between lOngl.md and France that neither I'uvvcr should take possession of the New llebnbes. JLcpiomiscd that the (<ov eminent would use its best elloits with liie (iov eminent of ITiance to lonveil tins (jiiasi-undci -landing into a foi inal ameeuient that the m dependence ot the New Jlcbribes should be ioi m.illy icspiotcd. That was in Kebnuiv. The In it ic.spoiise made by the Miinslu of the mtoiioi i-> to indicate the New ilebi ibes as « site selected foi the establishment <>! .1 Fie'iie'h penal v Hie mint. Theie: hiucl> muit lie s<jiiio ini)l.\Ko heie The French (ioveinment, one would think, could 111 vu In so fmge llul ol thoii uudci itaudru^s v\itli their in mhboiiis, and it would b" onlv clkii it ible to belli v e that M. Waldoek Kous-cau has eithei been impel fectly n potted, 01 that he has .spol.cn without consulting his bettei informi d colleague sit the Foreign Oflice. 'J he other point selected for .1 penal colony is in the 1101 tli west of Madagascar. The Tunps point outth.it "the establishment of a lufuim jm ml 1 itli'ti u upon any point of thcgie.it Afncan islands will n.itui.illy necessitate the allinnation, by the aeb ot taking inatenal possession, of emi lights upon this icgion, and the occupation of the temtoiy in question." No doubt this is tiue, it the colony is to be established. But it would be intcicsting to know if the benevolent zeal of the Fiench for the emancipation of the iSakiilav ai, and the lofty disinterestedness of their aspirations for the civilization of JMad.igascai, are to be illustrated by the sui/uie with the aimed hand ofastiip of tenitoiy m older to people it with the lefiise of Fiench pnsons? We hope that the Minister of the Interioi has been nnsiepoi ted, for the stoiy sounds too bad to be tiue. 3)ut that it should be credited in Fiance and should excite no ciy of lionor and leprobation even fiom tlio most aidcnt opponents of the Tunisian conquest ib of c\il augury for the futuie ot the liepublic. -Vail Moll Gazette.

FExaYing Wang was the name of the person who intioduocd punting in China, and m 5/32 A. n. advi.scd the Kinpoor to have the Confnscion claries punted with wooden block* cn^nned for thopiupohe. The first book-> -\vcio punted in a rcgulai manner, and in puiMiante otadecicein 953. The blocks wei o not ready until 9/3, ■when they weie put on sale. Mathews' attendant in his last illness intended to give the patient some medicine, but, a few moments after, it was discoveied that the medicine was nothing but ink, -\\ Inch had been taken from the phial by mistake, and his fneiicl exclaimed. "(Jood heavens !Mathews, I have given you ink." "Ne\er — never mind, my boy — n< ver mind,' .said Mathews, faintly, "I'll swallow a piece of blotting paper." This was the last joke Mathews ever made. The Dutfh areerninentlypractic.il, and do not throw obstacles in the way of •women earning a living. A great many are employed in the Government offices such as the railway, post, and telegraph services, and give good satisfaction . Some of the liberal professions are also open to them, and a lady who has lecently established herself in Ainsteidam as a medical practitioner has already gained a reputation for her successful treatment of children's complaints. More than a bundled have set up as pharmaceutical chemistß or assistants in counhy villages. You will do well to furnish your house from G.irlii-k and Cr.mwcll's. 'Ihvy have now tbc most complete Finnish in? 'Warehouse in Auckland, furniture to suit all classes, good strong, and cheap, lliev lia\e Tapestry Carpets from 2-> 3d per yard, Brussels fiom 3s lid per yard. Linoleum from 3s 9d to ss, Oil Cloths fiom Is Gd to 4s (id per jard, good 12 feet ■vwdeOil Cloths at 3s 6d per jard. Immense assoitment of Iron Bedsteads from Infants' Cots to 5 feet wide half-tester Bedsteads. Double iron Uedjtcads from 255. 480 lWsteads in stock to select ird'm. Beddings of all kinds and si^es kept in r«adincs_s. Dining, Sitting, Drawing-room Furjjit%o, and and a large assortment of Manchester aii&'tSaruhhlng Goods, including 1 a lot of ,Creton*nos. Boole Catalogues sent free-to int/snjina: purchasers, Garlirk and Cranwoll, City Hall Arcade, Quewwtreet, Auckland;