inequality of sentences for crimes of a like nature--to which may be
added the many instances of mistaken, or rather _mis-directed_ leniency,
compared with others of enormous severity for trifling offences; all
which tend to induce the London thieves to entertain a contempt for that
tribunal. An opinion prevails throughout the whole body, that justice is
not done there. I do not mean to say they complain of the sentences
being too severe generally; that would be natural enough on their parts,
and not worth notice. They believe everything done at that court a
matter of chance; that _in the same day, and for a like crime_, one man
will be sentenced to _transportation for life_, while another may be let
off for a _month's imprisonment_, and yet both equally bad characters.

It only needs that punishment should be sure to follow the conviction
for crime, and that the judgments should be uniform and settled, to
strike terror into the whole body of London criminals. Out of the 2,550
annually tried, nearly one-fourth are acquitted, leaving little short of
2,000 for sentence in each year. Of these the average transported are
800; deduct 200 for cases of an incidental nature, i.e. crimes not
committed by regular offenders, and there remain 1,000 professed thieves
who are again turned loose in a short period on the town, all of whom
appear in due course again at the court of the Old Bailey, or at some
other, many times in the revolution of one year. Here lies the mischief.
An old thief will be sure to enlist others to perpetuate the race. There
is no disguising the fact: the whole blame is with the court whose duty
it is to take cognizance of these characters. Whilst the present system
is pursued, of allowing so many old offenders to escape with trifling
punishments, the evils will be increased, and the business of the court
go on augmenting, by its own errors. The thief is now encouraged to
speculate on his chances--in his own phraseology, "his good luck." Every
escape makes him more reckless. I knew one man who was allowed a course