THE CRIMINAL OF TO-DAY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3264, 8 July 1911, Page 3

THE CRIMINAL OF TO-DAY.

HOW THE WORLD VIEWS HIM

As each new crime of a sensational character engages the public attention, there is a- scarcely disguised feeling or sympathy with the man who is m the dock or ought to be there. The people become- interested in him, and then, through a - ery loose and maudlin way. of thought they arrive at the state of a kind of ignorant pity and at lea-s a half-desire that the villain may go tree. They conceive him to be courageous," ingenious daring, and enterprising, and they find’ much excuse for him m the hardness of his lot and the provocation that he received. . When the hue and cry is ,raised tor an unarrested murderer, and the police are searching for him everywhere for several days or even weeks m succession there are always many nice people to say wliat a dreadful tiling it mustbe to be hunted in this way. the whole world against the fugitive, and his life depending on the maintenance of his freedom; and beneath tlie surface el the mind there is a hope half-formed that the “poor beggar” may escape in the end, and nothing more be heard of the wretched business. If the great general public bad its way, most of-the murderers and malefactors would be stalking the land_ in opon. liberty, and, so far from suffering for their sins, would lie having something done for them all the time, and would be in receipt of greater ease and pleasure in their lives than if the lccords of their conduct had been perfectly clean. This may appear to be a- strong proposition, but it is undoubtedly the truth. During recent years there have been several murder trials which have excited unusual public interest, and have been reported to tlie extent of whole pages every day in the newspapers by reason of the fact that the devilish cunning and ingenuity of the accused have been such that it has been impossible for the law, with all its resources to establish that clinching proof which is necessary for conviction and punishment, and the murderer having held liis own in this terrific battle, there have' been sighs of relief upon .his ultimate success. When he has gone free he has been made much of, lias been made an object of almost affectionate interest, has-been given employment of a most liighlyremunerative character, earning as much in a week as he would have done in six months or more if lie had notcommitted his crime.

In such cases as we refer to now. there could not be the slightest doubt in the minds of ordinarily sensible people, nor was there any doubt in the minds of the misguided sympathisers, that the objects of their concern were really guilty; but just one small particle of clinching legal proof was'wanting, and so the villains were saved for themselves and given a certificate of “Not guilty.”—Henry Leach, in “Chamber’s Journal.