Midland Branch Conference
| Published date | 01 January 1934 |
| Date | 01 January 1934 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455053400101803 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
277
MIDLAND
BRANCH
CONFERENCE
A
PRESS
REPORTER’S
IMPRESSIONS.
~ T
the
Midland
Branch
Conference
held
at
Lowdham
~T~
Grange
Borstal
Institution,
the
Rt.
Hon.
the
Earl
of
Feversham,
J.P.,
the
Rt.
Rev.
Bishop
Neville
S.
Talbot,
M.C.,
Dr.
William
Brown
(Wilde
Lecturer
in
Mental
Philosophy
at
Oxford),
Miss
S.
Clement
Brown
(London
School
of
Economics)
and
Mr.
BtV.
V’.
Llewellyn,
the
Governor
of
Lowdham
Grange,
addressed
a
representative
audience
of
magis-
trates,
justice’s
clerks
and
probation
officers.
Luncheon
and
tea
were
very
kindly
provided
by
H.M.
Prisons
Commissioners
and
during
the
day
the
visitors
made
a
tour
of
inspection
of
the
institution.
Newspaper
reporters,
not
infrequently,
are
regarded
merely
as
mechanical
recorders
of
the
sayings
and
doings
of
others
and
are
not
always
credited
with
being
the
impressionable
creatures
they
are.
Frequently
they
have
to
hold
their
own
views
in
restraint,
and
hide
their
own
emotions
in
order
to
reflect,
as
nearly
accurate
as
possible,
the
spirit
of
things
they
are
recording.
That
is
just
by
the
way ;
it
explains,
in
a
large
measure,
the
avidity
with
which
I
seized
the
opportunity,
offered
by
the
Editor
of
this
paper,
for
presenting
my
impressions
of
the
conference
of
probation
officers
held
at
the
Lowdham
Grange
Borstal
Institution
in
September.
The
outstanding
feature
of
the
conference
was
that
it
revealed
the
recognition
that
crime
is
a
disease
and
that
love
is
its
corrective.
Having
advanced
thus
far,
we
shall
not
be
long
before
we
step
more
boldly
into
the
application
of
the
remedy
to
the
disorder.
It
was
refreshing,
at
the
conference,
to
hear
scientist,
philoso-
pher,
religionist
and
the
practical
probation
officer
agreeing
that
crime
is
a
disease.
Of
course
crime
is
a
disease ;
it
always
has
been ;
and
it
is
not
a
monopoly
of
one
class
or
grade
in
society.
When
all
is
said
and
done,
Bishop
Neville
Talbot
was
right
when
he
told
us
that
greed
and
self
was
at
the
bottom
of
it
all.
But
crime
thrives
on
poverty ;
never
let
us
shut
our
eyes
on
that
fact.
We
all
admit
that
the
great
volume
of
crime
goes
undetected.
There
are
crimes
against
moral
laws
which
have
not
yet
been
scheduled
in
the
statutes
of
our
land.
There
are
crimes
enacted
in
the
wretched
business
of
war.
There
are
crimes
in
commerce,
in
the
cornering
of
commodities,
and
in
the
inflation
of
prices
with
which
our
laws
do
not
deal.
The
so-called &dquo; social
misfits &dquo;
to
which
the
Conference
at
Lowdham
devoted
its
attention,
are
very
amateurish
criminals,
and
they
are
the
easiest
with
whom
to
deal.
Treatment
to
which
they
may
respond,
would
shoot
like
water
off
a
duck’s
back
if
applied
to
the
finance-
mongers
who
play
on
the
cupidity
of
others.
Punitive
treatment,
social
disgrace,
the
birch-rod,
prison,
even
capital
punishment
are
no
remedy.
If
they
were,
there
would
be
no
crime
in
this
world
to-day ;
goodness
knows
we’ve
tried
them
long enough.
If
we
could
find
that
punishment
of
one
is
an
adequate
deterrent
to
another
we
might
be
able
to
justify
our
amateurish
way
of
treating
criminals ;
but
we
can’t,
to
any
reasonable
degree.
Our
legal
code
recognises
that
evil
is
a
definite
thing ;
but
the
higher
moral
code,
surely,
decrees
that
evil
is
simply
the
absence
or
negation
of
good.
We
have
lost
the
idea
of
a
personal
devil,
but
his
bequest
of
evil
is
still
regarded
as
a
reality.
We
are
always
likely
to
have
this
idea,
because
we
have
been
brought
up
on
the
laws
of
Moses ;
12
times
in
10
verses
of
the
20th
chapter
of
Exodus
we
are
taught &dquo; Thou
shalt
not.&dquo;
But
there
is
nothing
so
austere
in
the
11th
command-
ment.
It
was
not
cut
out
of
stone
as
hard
as
the
hearts
with
which
it
had
to
deal;
it
was
given
us
in
the
sweet
voice
of
Jesus-‘ ‘ Love
ye
one
another,
even
as
I
have
loved
you.&dquo;
That
phrase
which
hung
around
the
junipers
and
sycamores
of
Palestine,
swept
across
desert
and
sea,
and
penetrated
the
walls
of
gothic
cathedrals
and
the
humble
homes
of
the
people
with
a
much
greater
penetrative
force
than
modern
wireless.
Its
influence
was
perceptible
in
the
Conference
Room
at
Lowdham
Grange.
Bishop,
peer,
philosopher,
scientist,
social
worker
and
even
the
humble
newspaper
reporter
was
conscious
of
it.
&dquo;Everything
else
has
failed ;
let’s
try
love &dquo; ;
;
that
was
the
spirit.
There’s
one
thing
about
it,
those
who
deal
with
criminals
will
find
that
love
will
penetrate
deeper
than
the
weals
caused
by
the
birch-rod.
There’s
this,
too,
if
the
patient
can’t
swallow
love,
he
will
find
it
does
not
leave
a
nasty
taste
in
his
mouth.
Love
isn’t
like
radium,
either;
there’s
enough
to
go
round.
Yes,
I’m
more
convinced
than
ever,
that
purely
punitive
treatment
is
too
human
in
its
conception
to
be
of
any
lasting
good
to
the
delinquent ;
the
real
remedy
for
crime
is
only
just
beginning
to
be
tried,
because,
perhaps,
we
have
been
too
long
coming
to
the
recognition
that
crime
is
a
social
illness.
Let
us
cease
to
give
hyssop
and
vinegar
to
men
crying
for
help ;
let
us
cease
to
punish
before
we
have
tried
to
correct ;
give
right
a
chance
to
displace
wrong ;
and
try
love-the
universal
corrective
of
this
world’s
troubles.
Love
does
not
condone
crime ;
but
it
can
correct
it,
and
if
anybody
knows
anything
better
than
love,
for
the
sake
of
humanity
let
him
speak.
,
’
By
R.S.T.
The
Annual
Conference
of
the
Midland
Branch
will
be
held
at
Lincoln
on
Thursday,
March
1st.
Subject
for
discussion :
&dquo;The
Children
and
Young
Persons’
Act,&dquo;
Programmes
will
be
issued
in
due
course.
Members
are
asked
to
reserve
the
date
and
to
make
a
special
effort
to
be
present.
G.
H.
MAYLING,
Branch
Secyetayy.
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