Zbe Ifirobinces.

The Anti-League movement in the agricultural districts continues. A meeting of owners and occupiers of land was held at Reigate, on Tuesday ; Mr. Neale, the banker, in the chair. Resolutions were passed, to oppose the League, and to act with other counties in obtaining better protection for agriculture. Some remarkable statements were uttered. Mr. Foskett made this assertion— In that county the average value of land was 15s. an acre ; but there were 40,000 acres of land let at 78. 6d. : and, if they were deprived of protection, could they doubt that the whole of this land must go out of cultivation, and the tenants be reduced to beggary, and the labourers compelled to become in- mates of the workhouses provided for them by the Whigs?

Mr. Maydwell said, that by alterations of law already made, according to Mr. Cobden, sixty millions had been taken from the agriculturists ; and as this amount was one-fourth more than the whole estimated rental of the kingdom arising from land, it was idle to suppose that any reduc- tion in rent could compensate the farmer for the loss he had to sustain. He believed that the League had been the occasion of many of the in- cendiary fires that bad taken place in various parts of the country. Further, he asserted that "an influential member of the League had admitted that it was their intention to employ their funds in the election of Members of Parliament." Here some one cried—" By preventing bribery." Mr. Foskett—" No; to employ them in bribery." Mr. T. Ellman had a fling apparently at Ministers—" Persons in high station, who ought to have supported them, bad, for political purposes, turned their backs upon them and given support to those who desired to destroy them." A Committee was appointed to carry out the objects of the meeting.

The Central Committee of the East Suffolk Protective Society met in the Crown and Anchor Inn, at Framlingham, on Saturday. About two hundred persons attended—Mr. Moseley, of Glenham House, was in the chair ; Lord Rendlesham, M.P., Lord Henniker, M.P., several clergymen, and other gentlemen, were present. The meeting unani- mously resolved on an organized opposition to the League. The most notable statement was that by Lord Henniker, of his belief that Govern- ment did not entertain any intention to lessen protection at present. He wished to support Government to the utmost of his power, but nothing whatever should induce him to consent to any alteration in the present Corn-law that would diminish the amount of protection.

The East Sussex Association for the Protection of Agriculture met at the Star Inn, at Lewes, on Tuesday, and undertook to co6perate in the opposition to the League. Mr. George Darby, the Member for the division of the county, was present, strongly counselling unanimity and moderation.

The Birmingham Journal gives an account of an interesting meeting which was held on the 8th instant, at Dee's Hotel in Birmingham, to hear an address from Mr. Hill, the Recorder of the borough, on the treatment of juvenile offenders. Mr. Weston, the Mayor, presided; and Mr. Scholefield, the Member, Captain Moorsom, Mr. .J. B. Davies, the Coroner, the Reverend J. Garbett, Rural Dean, Alderman James, Alderman Van Wart, and other respectable inhabitants, to the number of two or three hundred, including several ladies, attended.

Mr. Hill began by referring to the general state of crime in England and Wales : in 1805, the number of committals was 4,763; in 1842, it was 31,309, being an increase of sevenfold. In the same period the population had increased twofold. If the commitments were to increase at the same rate in the next forty years, they would amount to 200,0001 There were, however, some circumstances that mitigated the frightful appearance of that statement. It included all offences classed as "crimes," from stealing a pocket-handkerchief to murder ; though there was no common measure between the two kinds : it would take many thousand cases of pocket-picking to produce so much misery to man- kind as one murder. In the same period, crimes of violence had de- creased in number, and those which load the calendars are chiefly crimes against property. It is a defect in such tables that they are founded altogether on commitments, and are only declared when made the sub- ject of prosecution— It was a defect in the jurisprudence of this country, that there was no record of crime but in connexion with prosecutions. In many countries, where they

derive their laws from ancient civil code, it was the duty of certain officers to

institute an inquiry relative to the existence and extent of such and such crimes; and by this means they obtained an accurate knowledge of the real state of society. In such a country they would be able to compare the state of

crime at one period with another. At present, in this country, they might be led into a great fallacy ; for what they might consider an increase of crime

might only be an increase of vigilance on the part of the police. He recollected that, in two counties which he should not name, great praise bad been bestowed on them for the absence of crime : the Judges found the gaols empty ; and

white gloves were presented to them in accordance with an ancient practice : but those who best knew the counties knew that it was not crime that was wanted, but that it was police to detect it that was wanted. It was not the harvest of crime, which, as a French writer had well observed, returned with greater certainty than the harvest of food, that was wanted. No, it was the reapers of that harvest ; and accordingly, when the police was established in those two counties, it was found that the inhabitants were not better than their neighbours. Thus, improvements in police had the effect of swelling the calendars and of increasing the appearance of crime. Allowing the expenses of prosecutions had a similar tendency. Formerly several offences, such as that of pocket-picking, were not punished at law, but were summarily disposed of by the people under a kind of Lynch-law-

Still, after every possible subtraction, it could not be doubted that there was moving in the midst of them, and round about, and encircling them, a criminal population of a very large amount in this country,—a population inflicting much pain upon all those around them, and suffering still greater evils them- selves than they inflicted, and whose own state of wretchedness called for their ampathies and compassion far more than those against whom they had of- fended. Perhaps part of the explanation of this state of society might be ac- counted for by the rude mode of administering justice in former times, and by the state of the law itself, to which their forefathers, as humane men, felt a great aversion to subject their fellow-creatures, because their code was formerly a code of blood. But now that their feelings ceased to be outraged by spec- tacles so revolting to humanity as those formerly exhibited through legal punishment, they could only wonder that their forefathers, who were men of humanity, could endure to live among the infliction of such punishments, which they knew were not only useless, but which frustrated the ends for which they were intended. Here Mr. Hill made some allusion to prison-abuses, and to the re- cently-disclosed "black hole" in the prison of the Birmingham Court of Requests. That is, however, an exception to the prisons of England, which has been overlooked because it forms no part of the system of local government. To return to the main subject : the "mitigating circumstances" still leave an enormous and perhaps increasing amount ef crime unaccounted for— There was a class who might be said to have alienated themselves from society. Their rights were not those of the community at large—their shame was not that felt by those around him. Right with them was, to live by theft and robbery committed upon their neighbours; shame with them was, to be unable to evade detection, or to confess when detected, or to assist in bringing their companions to justice. Reputation with them was a long course of crime with impunity. That class was a large class, many of whom must be then Walking about their streets, almost within their hearing. What was to be done with that class of the population ? He could not tell. Their condition had occupied the attention of the best men, but it was a problem still unsolved. All they could hope was that the example of good men might diminish its cumbers. But it was almost too much to hope that the class could be entirely extinguished. Perhaps, when they were inclined to boast of the superiority of their unbounded commerce, and when they pointed with so much pride to the zeal and energy of their missionaries abroad, it might be wholesome for them to reflect that there was a population at their own door who refused to be en- riched by their commerce, who despised all offers of kindness, and who had yet resisted the most devoted exertions of the ministers of religion.

The young are apt to fall from the right path, and to become amenable to the law. They are not yet entirely contaminated by evil associations ; but the question occurs, what is to become of them when their term of imprisonment expires ? To meet that difficulty, he had acted upon a plan, which he was now to explain— When practising at Warwick, he learned the plan from a benevolent body of Magistrates, whose worth he could testify, and who had most humanely esta- blished an asylum for the benefit of these young persons who had been sent to gaol for offences, from which it was hoped they might be reclaimed : from one of these benevolent gentlemen the suggestion came, that the master should, if possible, be prevailed upon to take back the offender ; and this humane plan was suggested by the consideration, that a disposition of forgiveness was by far the best for the master, where it would secure for the offender that protection which he had forfeited. He soon became impressed with the necessity of taking measures to ascertain precisely the working of the system, lest the natural impulse of the mind, in seeing a suffering child before one, should pre- vent him from inflicting that punishment which the justice of the country re- quired. Every man who filled a situation such as he held would like, if pos- sible, to refrain from inflicting pain ; but he knew that he was bound to repress crime, notwithstanding the pain to himself. At the end of the year 1841, he was enabled, by the zealous cooperation of the Police in Birmingham, to establish a regular plan by which every master and mistress who humanely took back an unfortunate servant, and every boy thus restored, should be visited, to ascertain at certain periods how the experiment worked ; and he was proud to lay before them the result of the experiment for the last two years. The results, if not satisfactory, were encouraging. He found that the number of youths who had been convicted at the Sessions before him, and who had been handed over to their employers, was forty-seven. He found, that out of that number, thirty-three had given proof of their contrition—proving more or less, according to the time, that an evident improvement was going on in their regard. Of the remainder, three cases are doubtful : and he was sorry to say there was no doubt about the remaining eleven—they were lost ; they had left their masters under circumstances which had brought them again either before the Quarter-sessions in this borough or before genie other court. But here again he was able to say, that, comparing that relapsing class with those usually sent to prison, he found that the num- ber that came back was very much smaller than those who suffered the punish- ment awarded. The fear was, lest this lenity should produce a feeling of im- punity: but it should be recollected, that the object of this lenity was one in whose favour they could engage the master to undertake a great share of re- sponsibility. They must recollect that be had invariably extended this leniency with the most solemn assurance, that, if ever the person abused the favour, he need never expect the like again, and that he would unquestionably have to bear the infliction of the severest terrors of the law. He had felt it his duty to act upon that principle, and had lately inflicted severe punishment where great mercy had been abused. On the whole, be called upon them, if they agreed with him, to try the experiment whenever they had an opportunity.

The Reverend J. Garbett moved a resolution expressing entire con- currence in Mr. Hill's suggestion ; which was seconded by Mr. William Wills, and carried unanimously.

In moving a vote of thanks to the Recorder, the Reverend J. A. James remarked, that Mr. Hill had provided for the offending youth who had been brought before him; but it would be well to anticipate his kindness, and not to be too hasty in bringing youthful offenders be- fore a court of justice. He had himself tried that principle in the case of two youths— One had committed a robbery upon his master by stealing his money. The fact was communicated to him, and he engaged to intercede with the mas- ter; who consented not to prosecute, hut naturally refused then to repose further confidence in him. Silence, however, was observed. The youth was handed over to the kind treatment of a friend ; and Mr. James's special advice to this friend was," Keep it secret, and we will watch him closely." They did so. He was patient ; and soon the youth, thus rescued from inevitable destruc- tion, gave convincing proofs of penitence; and he was at that moment in a place of trust, serving his master, with thousands of pounds under his care. He was a respectable member of society, and the member of a Christian congregation. The second case came under his notice with the same results ; only in this case there had been many small peculations. He told the master to let no soul know it—to keep him under close inspection and moral training : and the re- sult was, that he was now a servant of one of the public companies in the town.

Mr. Hill observed in returning thanks, that he never had any diffi- culty in getting employers in humble circumstances of life to extend forgiveness to their servants ; but he had found some difficulty in pre- vailing upon those in higher stations of life to extend the same con- sideration to their erring brethren. He was aware that they had greater obstacles to the restoration of the offenders to their establishments ; still those obstacles were not insurmountable, and he hoped he should see that the more wealthy employers and manufacturers would not be outdone by those below them.

Mr. Scholefield moved a vote of thanks to those humane individuals who bad taken back their servants after conviction. The motion was seconded by Captain Moorsom, and supported by Alderman James ; who remarked, that, as a Magistrate, he had often heard the question asked on the bench, when a young offender was brought up, "Why bring that little boy here ? why not try to reclaim him?" At the re- quest of the Recorder, one of the masters who had taken back his servant after punishment now gave testimony of the happy result— The first act of the boy, after his release, was to call on him and thank him for what he had done; and he then saw the seeds of reformation in him. He then gave the boy good advice, and took him into his service: since that, his conduct had been most exemplary, and he had no doubt he would make a very useful member of society.

The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to Mr. Weston, the Chairman of the meeting.

We see incendiary fires mentioned at Eastry in Kent, Great Barford in Bedfordshire, and Bednainster in Gloucestershire.

At Stafford, on Saturday, was executed Sarah Westwood, for murder. She had formed an illicit connexion with one Phillips ; and to free herself, she had poisoned her husband with whom she had lived for twenty years. Before her execution, she asked to see her sister end her sister's husband ; and two persons came accordingly : but the man was discovered to be Phillips, and the Governor of the prison prevented the interview ; at which the woman was much grieved. She was in a panic of horror at the time of her death.