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TMB DEL TO A TE QUESTION.tJ1*V ;■[1 V.' lt;-* Vlions, cr c *» .J. JJr! CaRfier tsi of the fur‘hi*r The euqueoee pate thWillwith a The land, a Bolyne was U peared suspec out fo ueighb the eMr. Cc on. 1 a few i book v ntteret fals^ e Mr.beh aif nuOiuif ledge anytbi innoee nuerec The sen ten there w engage penl i(From the Lancet)There is a history to every great reform, as to ’ every great discovery—a history with irs stages of j \-progress distinctly marked, and following in logicd | Herat sequence. Those, brilliant results which render immortal the names of Bacon, Watt, and Newton, were only what the first of them were wont to call “ fruit.” The tree had to grow, a bud to form, a scaffolding of flower leaves to fall away, before that fruit matured. So every reform, whether great or small, political or social, haa its previous methodic history. Lorg smouldering discontent precedes the outbreak of a revolution, and the accumulating pressure from without brings about a civil reform, notwithstanding the readiness of statesmen to adopt such changes for the better ustheir own unaided work.There are hopeful signs that the ever-spreading evils wyfffiyig from the sanction hitherto afforded to prostitution in its most repulsive forms have at last aroused a determinatiou that the mischievous sin shall be checked. Every shuffling excuse has been used to postpone interference, sometimes au untruth, declaring that we are no worse than our neighbours, and confessing other people’s faults with infinite gusto ; sometimes a threadbare affectation cf ignorance; or an assumption of superficial morality, scarcely less revolting than the pride of an aia Herod, clothing himself in purple and demanding | eustod homage as a king, whilst loathsome worms devoured him. Moreover, it is to be deeply regretted that those whose position In society especially renders them custodians of public morals have, as a class, set themselves in opposition to any practical means for restraining the mischief that springs from unrestricted prostitution. Every one conversant with the Inner life of great cities knows that all attempts to entirely suppress the evil ©sly represent so much labour wasted. Men and women can no more be made-good by Acts of Parliament than they can be made holy by the faggot and the stake. Vice may be kept within due bounds, as the awful excesses of the blasphemer may be sternly checked, but no arbitrary power can control t he tendency to wickedness. Legislative suppression of prostitution has been tried In England, as well as in other countries presenting far more favourable opportunities than this kingdom afforded, even under the despotic sway of the Tudors. Failure has everywhere been the result; and where actual increase of the sin has not followed, the inefficiency of the attempt has only served to bring out in stronger relief the abounding nature of the vioe. Yet for years past there have been circulating through the oountry petitions, drawn up by clergymen, praying that the evil might be entirely suppreBtd by the strong arm of the law. Be it understood that there are many holy, wise, and earnest men who have healthier and more practical views. But the majority of the clergy decline to lend their influence In support of practical legislative means to diminish and control the evil because they have no power to uproot it altogether. “ What, ” they ask, “is to be done 1” What, we ask, would the fathers of the Church have done ? what would Latimer and men of his kind have done ? Would they not have gone forth Into the highways, bible in belt, and fought the evil, if need were, foot to foot, rather than hear it asserted that the teachers of religion are unable to check the encroachments of sin, or to resist the smallest wave of the ever-rising tide of vice. It is surely illogical to constantly assert the desperate wickedness of the heart of man, and yet continue to leave unasaailed one of the most potent means for its depravity. It is worse than illogical to refuse opposition to the encroachments of Bathanos, because he cannot be bound hand and foot, stowed away under hatches, and the decks swept dean from every trace of his former prefence, all at one blow. What are sectarian disputes that men should quarrel in the camp, whilst the common enemy invades their domain, pilfering the fairest and weakest of thair flocks, and tainting those that he cannot seize ? So frightful is the magnitude to which the evil of prostitution has now attained, and so marked its influence on every grade of society, that ministers of religion, of whatever denomination, who refuse to co-operate in practical attempts at reform can no longer be held guiltless or allowed to shut their eyes, and plead that Ignorance which, says South, “is no man’s duty, and can be no man’s profession.”And the long-talking metaphysicians, who pretend to undertake the guidance of men’s mines— where are they at this juncture 1 What earthly good to any human being did all their didactics about, the good, the true, and the beautiful, the sensational and the ideal ever do ? Vice fl .unts in the streets unbanned, and ensnares mens’ minds by traps set without cunning, and baited with mere intellectual carrion unfit for mental food. Meanwhile the aesthetic philosopher, pretty creature, is taking little leaps towards the stars, and when heSusawiiu a la It bad be Tbe pLocke, cbtt9ed be sectrepreaewhen il 10J, wlt;puyraei la pusshosierforgedhouse course aud ehCaVtfncthe pri, the poi was thi her tblt; was cb gave tl. easily iThe witcesi prison* to do s time tl to be n was Iti: tody.know!-?Mr. of the be waaTbewouldprison some clusiot could 1 transai a toolj wben f co'rreciTbe taken of notSenhiB w;The agaiua choly a hard at V ai were weret err-behis f, was j itnme' public he fo his gdiscoi Vauul her hibumps to esrth again with all the ponderosity of great?irritatcause the rcurioreccefourteen stone, calls on us to admire his buoyancy.But we need not continue the recital of those {whose opposition, feebleness, or infatuation have t retarded the reform which must sooner or later tbe i take plaoe In the uncontrolled sin that infests and | in th? Infects every town in England. It is everybody’s business, and therefore nobody does it. That something could, should, and ought to be done, has long ago been determined. The time is J drni coming when the cry will be that something must J that c and ought to be done j for it is a fact proved by P|'1®0' sad experience that no female in London, from the ®. j age of eight upwards is safe from the snares of an tw® jy organised army of some 4000 miscreants, who subsist «;viy by inveigling the innocent and betraying them to atro- her * cities that almost rival the deeds of the barbarians of | lp*u? Cawnpore. Happily there is a mighty power in England that gives expression to the thoughts which weigh on men’s heart’s and occupy their minds, and fears not to trample down prejudice and op- I duel position when doing battle for the cause of justice j a-ui and truth. Through the Press, honest and truth-fui expression has been given to the public disgust M' felt at the unbridled licence accorded in every pruS English cliy to the sin of prostitution, and to the | him horrror with which its encroachments are regarded. However distasteful to the genteel prudery of feeble-minded readers, it was a duty to lay bare the full extent of this foul sore that has so | Wrhlt; eaten into the body of society. And we prob believe there is scarcely a journal of repute which oc®| has not recently taken occasion to condemn the for iipolicy now pursued, and to powerfully advocate the necessity for some practical laws ofd ififei that couk eoneitendthatcomievidiurge to rreform. And the cloud of witnesses is still gather- ioqunnfo wh il was in bing. At one time it is an earnest, gifted preacher, who, addreBsIog a larger congregation than ever before assembled under one roof boldly spake thus :“ Britain, had to weep for deeds which her go- I the« vemors had not yet had strength of miod to stop, dont They had long been allowing the infamous nuisances I of Holywell-street. Thank God, they were pretty nearly done for ! But in the Raymarket and in Suv^ Regent-street they still allowed infamy to walk m before their eyes publicly. It was somebody’s aid fault, and against that somebody’s conduct be now T protested. A most fearful thing it was that honest persons could not walk the streets without being insulted by vice, clothed in the robes of a harlot.”Next we find a society, formed amongst the beat t wisest of the land, taking into consideration at the Its first meeting the evils of prostitution. Numerous Institutions have within the last few years ^ been established, whose very existence aeknow ledges the frightful encroachments of the vice. The the hfrpllk officers have been oompelled to earnestly oibt pray that some steps might be taken.herandwouB!)OIaud
Newspaper Details
Evening Star
London, Middlesex, GB
Fri, Oct 30, 1857
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Elena E.
RO 03 Jan 2021
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