A SUBJECT FOR THOUGHT
SIR,—Attention has already been drawn in these columns to the report of the trial of twenty men at the Newport Assizes for homosexual offences. During the hearing it was revealed that one youth who should have stood his trial had committed suicide, that two had made unsuccessful attempts to do so, and that one of the prisoners was suffering from a stroke brought on by the shock of the trial. Sentences were passed ranging from one to ten years' penal servitude. A judge must administer the law as it stands, but it is to be regretted that although judges and magistrates generally appreciate the fact that those who stand in the dock charged with such offences as exhibitionism and kleptomania are more in need of expert psychological handling than of punishment, they seldom apply this to the homosexual. It is true that in the case of the last named the expert psychologist is unable by any form of treatment to alte: the nature of his patient's sexual desires. All that he can do is to help him to find some adjustment to the sexual deviations from which he suffers. With the knowledge which we now possess of sexual aberrations, it is im- possible not to be disturbed by the tragic happenings at Newport. The law has been framed for the protection of citizens, and it is of the utmost importance that minors of both sexes should be protected from seduction by their elder,s. Surely this can be achieved without imposing savage penalties on those who are not responsible for the nature of their " sexual pattern." Unfortunately, there is little evidence that any reform of the existing laws is likely to be demanded. During the time that the Labour Government was in office I attended a meeting in one of the committee rooms of the House of Commons to discuss a Bill framed with the inten- tion of increasing rather than diminishing the penalties for sexual offences. Fortunately the Government fell before the misguided promoters of the Bill were able to introduce it. The existence of homosexuality is to be deplored, but the condition will never be cured by the use of cruel
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