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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15803-8.txt b/15803-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0af793f --- /dev/null +++ b/15803-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6076 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Crime and Its Causes, by William Douglas Morrison + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Crime and Its Causes + +Author: William Douglas Morrison + +Release Date: May 9, 2005 [EBook #15803] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRIME AND ITS CAUSES *** + + + + +Produced by Afra Ullah and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +CRIME AND ITS CAUSES + + + +BY + +WILLIAM DOUGLAS MORRISON + +OF H.M. PRISON, WANDSWORTH + + + +LONDON +SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LIM. +NEW YORK : CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + +1902 + + + + +OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. + +"The science of criminology is pursued vigorously among the Italians, +but this is one of the first English books to make the phenomena of +crime the subject of a strictly scientific investigation."--_Daily +Chronicle_. + +"The book is an important addition to the Social Science Series. +It throws light upon some of the most complex problems with which +society has to deal, and incidentally affords much interesting +reading."--_Manchester Examiner_. + +"This is a work which, considering its limits and modest pretensions, +it is difficult to over praise. It is a calm and thoughtful study by a +writer in whom the deliberate determination to look on things as they +are has not extinguished a reasoned faith in the possibility of their +amelioration. The work is conceived throughout in a genuinely +philosophical spirit."--_International Journal of Ethics_. + +"A thoughtful and thought suggesting book--well worthy of consideration +by penologists, whether specialists or amateurs."--_Annals of the +American Academy_. + +"Mr. Morrison's book is especially valuable, because, without attempting +to enforce this or that conclusion, it furnishes the authentic _data_ +on which all sound conclusions must be based."--_Times_. + +"Cramful of suggestive facts and solid arguments on the great questions +how criminals are made, and how crime is best to be dealt with. Many +cherished superstitions and fallacies are exploded in Mr. Morrison's +pages."--_Star_. + +First Edition, _February 1891_. + +Second Edition, _February 1902_. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAP. + + I. THE STATISTICS OF CRIME + + II. CLIMATE AND CRIME + + III. THE SEASONS AND CRIME + + IV. DESTITUTION AND CRIME + + V. POVERTY AND CRIME + + VI. SEX, AGE, AND CRIME + + VII. THE CRIMINAL IN BODY AND MIND + +VIII. THE PUNISHMENT OF CRIME + + APPENDICES + + + + +PREFACE. + +This volume, as its title indicates, is occupied with an examination +of some of the principal causes of crime, and is designed as an +introduction to the study of criminal questions in general. In spite +of all the attention these questions have hitherto received and are +now receiving, crime still remains one of the most perplexing and +obstinate of social problems. It is much more formidable than +pauperism, and almost as costly. A social system which has to try +hundreds of thousands of offenders annually before the criminal courts +is in a very imperfect condition; the causes which lead to this state +of things deserve careful consideration from all who take an interest +in social welfare. + +In the following pages I have endeavoured to show that crime is a more +complicated phenomenon than is generally supposed. When society will +be able to stamp it out is a question it would be extremely hard to +answer. If it ever does so, it will not be the work of one generation +but of many, and it will not be effected by the application of any +single specific. + +Punishment alone will never succeed in putting an end to crime. +Punishment will and does hold crime to a certain extent in check, but +it will never transform the delinquent population into honest +citizens, for the simple reason that it can only strike at the +full-fledged criminal and not at the causes which have made him so. +Economic prosperity, however widely diffused, will not extinguish +crime. Many people imagine that all the evils afflicting society +spring from want, but this is only partially true. A small number of +crimes are probably due to sheer lack of food, but it has to be borne +in mind that crime would still remain an evil of enormous magnitude +even if there were no such calamities as destitution and distress. As +a matter of fact easy circumstances have less influence on conduct +than is generally believed; prosperity generates criminal inclinations +as well as adversity, and on the whole the rich are just as much +addicted to crime as the poor. The progress of civilisation will not +destroy crime. Many savage tribes living under the most primitive +forms of social life present a far more edifying spectacle of respect +for person and property than the most cultivated classes in Europe and +America. All that civilisation has hitherto done is to change the form +in which crime is perpetrated; in substance it remains the same. +Primary Schools will not accomplish much in eliminating crime. The +merely intellectual training received in these institutions has little +salutary influence upon conduct. Nothing can be mope deplorable than +that sectarian bickerings, respecting infinitesimal points in the +sanctions of morality, should result in the children of England +receiving hardly any moral instruction whatever. Conduct, as the late +Mr. Matthew Arnold has so often told us, is three fourths of life. +What are we to think of an educational system which officially ignores +this; what have we to hope in the way of improvement from a people +which consents to its being ignored? + +But even a course of systematic instruction in the principles of +conduct, no matter by what sanctions these principles are inculcated, +will not avail much unless they are to some extent practised in the +home. And this will never be the case so long as women are demoralised +by the hard conditions of industrial life, and unfitted for the duties +of motherhood before beginning to undertake them. + +In addition to this, no State will ever get rid of the criminal +problem unless its population is composed of healthy and vigorous +citizens. Very often crime is but the offspring of degeneracy and +disease. A diseased and degenerate population, no matter how +favourably circumstanced in other respects, will always produce a +plentiful crop of criminals. Stunted and decrepit faculties, whether +physical or mental, either vitiate the character, or unfit the +combatant for the battle of life. In both cases the result is in +general the same, namely, a career of crime. + +As to the best method of dealing with the actual criminal, the first +thing to be done is to know what sort of a person you are dealing +with. He must be carefully studied at first hand. At present too much +attention is bestowed on theoretical discussions respecting the +various kinds of crime and punishment, while hardly any account is +taken of the persons who commit the crime and require the punishment. +Yet this is the most important point of all; the other is trivial in +comparison with it. If crime is to be dealt with in a rational manner +and not on mere _a priori_ grounds, our minds must be enlightened on +such questions as the following: What is the Criminal? What are the +chief causes which have made him such? How are these causes to be got +rid of or neutralised? What is the effect of this or that kind of +punishment? These are the momentous problems; in comparison with +these, all fine-spun definitions respecting the difference between one +crime and another are mere dust in the balance. There can be little +doubt that a neglect of those considerations on the part of many +magistrates and judges, is at the root of the capricious sentences so +often passed upon criminals. The effects of this neglect result in the +passing of sentences of too great severity on first offenders and the +young; and of too much leniency on hardened and habitual criminals. +Leniency, says Grotius, should be exercised with discernment, +otherwise it is not a virtue, but a weakness and a scandal. + +When imprisonment has to be resorted to, it must be made a genuine +punishment if it is to exercise any effect as a deterrent. The moment +a prison is made a comfortable place to live in, it becomes useless as +a safeguard against the criminal classes. This is a fundamental +principle. But punishment, although an essential part of imprisonment, +is not its only purpose. Imprisonment should also be a preparation for +liberty. If a convicted man is as unfit for social life at the +expiration of his sentence as he was at the commencement of it, the +prison has only accomplished half its work; it has satisfied the +feeling of public vengeance, but it has failed to transform the +offender into a useful citizen. How to prepare the offender for +liberty is, I admit, a task of supreme difficulty; in some oases, +probably, an impossible task. For work of this character what is +wanted above all is an enlightened staff. Mere machines are useless; +men unacquainted with civil life and its conditions are useless. It is +from civil life the prisoner is taken; it is to civil life he has to +return, and unless he is under the care of men who have an intimate +knowledge of civil life, he will not have the same prospect of being +fitted into it when he has once more to face the world. + +In the preparation of this volume I have carefully examined the most +recent ideas of English and Continental writers (especially the +Italians) on the subject of crime. The opinions it contains are based +on an experience of fourteen years in Orders most of which have been +spent in prison work. In revising the proofs I have received valuable +assistance from Mr. J. Morrison. + +W.D.M. + + + + +CRIME AND ITS CAUSES + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE STATISTICS OF CRIME. + + +It is only within the present century, and in some countries it is +only within the present generation, that the possibility has arisen of +conducting the study of criminal problems on anything approaching an +exact and scientific basis. Before the introduction of a system of +criminal statistics--a step taken by most peoples within the memory of +men still living--it was impossible for civilised communities to +ascertain with absolute accuracy whether crime was increasing or +decreasing, or what transformation it was passing through in +consequence of the social, political, and economic changes constantly +taking place in all highly organised societies. It was also equally +impossible to appreciate the effect of punishment for good or evil on +the criminal population. Justice had little or no data to go upon; +prisoners were sentenced in batches to the gallows, to transportation, +to the hulks, or to the county gaol, but no inquiry was made as to the +result of these punishments on the criminal classes or on the progress +of crime. It was deemed sufficient to catch and punish the offender; +the more offences seemed to increase--there was no sure method of +knowing whether they did increase or not--the more severe the +punishment became. Justice worked in the dark, and was surrounded by +the terrors of darkness. What followed is easy to imagine; the +criminal law of England reached a pitch of unparalleled barbarity, and +within living memory laws were on the statute book by which a man +might be hanged for stealing property above the value of a shilling. + +Had a fairly accurate system of criminal statistics existed, it is +very likely that the data contained in them would have reassured the +nation and tempered the severity of the law. + +Of Criminal Statistics it may be said in the first place, that they +act as an annual register for tabulating the amount of danger to which +society is exposed by the nefarious operations of lawless persons. By +these statistics we are informed of the number of crimes committed +during the course of the year so far as they are reported to the +police. We are informed of the number of persons brought to trial for +the perpetration of these crimes; of the nature of the offences with +which incriminated persons are charged, and of the length of sentence +imposed on those who are sent to prison. The age, the degree of +instruction, and the occupations of prisoners are also tabulated. A +record is also kept of the number of times a man has been committed to +prison, and of the manner in which he has conducted himself while in +confinement. + +One important point must be mentioned on which criminal statistics are +almost entirely silent. The great sources of crime are the personal, +the social, and the economic conditions of the individuals who commit +it. Criminal statistics, to be exhaustive, ought to include not only +the amount of crime and the degrees of punishment awarded to +offenders; these statistics should also, as far as practicable, take +cognisance of the sources from which crime undoubtedly springs. In +this respect, our information, so far as it comes to us through +ordinary channels, is lamentably deficient. It is confined to data +respecting the age, sex, and occupation of the offender. These data +are very interesting, and very useful, as affording a glimpse of the +sources from which the dark river of delinquency takes its rise. But +they are too meagre and fragmentary. They require to be completed by +the personal and social history of the criminal. Crime is not +necessarily a disease, but it resembles disease in this respect, that +it will be impossible to wipe it out till an accurate diagnosis has +been made of the causes which produce it. To punish crime is all very +well; but punishment is not an absolute remedy; its deterrent action +is limited, and other methods besides punishment must be adopted if +society wishes to gain the mastery over the criminal population. What +those methods should be can only be ascertained after the most +searching preliminary inquiries into the main factors of crime. It +ought, therefore, to be a weighty part of the business of criminal +statistics to offer as full information as possible, not only +respecting crimes and punishments, but much more respecting criminals. +Every criminal has a life history; that history is very frequently the +explanation of his sinister career; it ought, therefore, to be +tabulated, so that it may be seen how far his descent and his +surroundings have contributed to make him what he is. In the case of +children sent to Reformatory Schools, the previous history of the +child is always tabulated. Enquiries are made and registered +respecting the parents of the child; what country they belong to, what +sort of character they bear, whether they are honest and sober, +whether they have ever been in prison, what wages they earn, and +whether the child is legitimate or not. A similar method to the one +adopted with Reformatory children ought to be instituted, with +suitable modifications, in European prisons and convict +establishments. It is, at the present time, being advocated by almost +all the most eminent criminal authorities,[1] and more than one scheme +has been drawn up to show the scope of its operation. + + [1] See Appendix I. + +In addition to the service which a complete personal and family record +of convicted prisoners would render as to the causes of crime, such a +record would be of immense advantage to the judges. At the present +time a judge is only made acquainted with the previous convictions of +a prisoner; he knows nothing more about him except through the +evidence which is sometimes adduced as to character. An accurate +record of the prisoner's past would enable the judge to see at once +with what sort of offender he was dealing, and might, perhaps, help to +put a stop to the unequal and capricious sentences which, not +infrequently, disgrace the name of justice.[2] + + [2] In his interesting work, "Die Beziehungen zwischen + Geistesstörung und Verbrechen," Dr. Sander shows that out of a + hundred insane persons brought up for trial, the judges only + discovered the mental state of from twenty-six to twenty-eight + per cent. of them. + +Passing from this point, we shall now inquire into the possibility of +establishing some system of International Statistics, whereby the +volume of crime in one country may be compared with the volume of +crime in another. At the present time it is extremely difficult to +institute any such comparison, and it is questionable if it can ever +be properly done. In no two countries is the criminal law the same, +and an act which is perfectly harmless when committed in one part of +Europe, is considered in another as a contravention of the law. Each +country has also a nomenclature of crime and methods of criminal +procedure peculiar to itself. In each country the police are organised +on a different principle, and act in the execution of their duty on a +different code of rules. In all cases, for instance, of mendicancy, +drunkenness, brawling, and disorder, the initiative rests practically +with the police, and it depends almost entirely on the instructions +issued to the police whether such offences shall figure largely or not +in the statistics of crime. A proof of this fact may be seen in the +Report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, for the year +1888. In the year 1886, the number of persons convicted in the +Metropolis of "Annoying male persons for the purpose of prostitution" +was 3,233; in 1888, the number was only 1,475. This enormous decrease +in the course of two years is not due to a diminution of the offence, +but to a change in the attitude of the police. Again, in the year +1887, the Metropolitan police arrested 4,556 persons under the +provisions of the Vagrant and Poor Law Acts; but in the year 1888, the +number arrested by the same body under the same acts amounted to +7,052. It is perfectly obvious that this vast increase of apprehensions +was not owing to a corresponding increase in the number of rogues, +beggars, and vagrants; it was principally owing to the increased +stringency with which the Metropolitan police carried out the +provisions of the Vagrant and Poor Law Acts. An absolute proof of the +correctness of this statement is the fact that throughout the whole of +England there was a decrease in the number of persons proceeded +against in accordance with these acts. These examples will suffice to +show what an immense power the police have in regulating the volume of +certain classes of offences. In some countries they are called upon to +exercise this power in the direction of stringency; in other countries +it is exercised in the direction of leniency; and in the same country +its exercise, as we have just seen, varies according to the views of +whoever, for the time being, happens to have a voice in controlling +the action of the police. In these circumstances it is obviously +impossible to draw any accurate comparison between the lighter kinds +of offences in one country and the same class of offences in another. + +In the case of the more serious offences against person and property, +the initiative of putting the law in motion rests chiefly with the +injured individual. The action of the individual in this respect +depends to a large extent on the customs of the country. In some +countries the injured person, instead of putting the law in motion +against an offender, takes the matter in his own hands, and +administers the wild justice of revenge. Great differences of opinion +also exist among different nations as to the gravity of certain +offences. Among some peoples there is a far greater reluctance than +there is among others to appeal to the law. Murder is perhaps the only +crime on which there exists a fair consensus of opinion among +civilised communities; and even with regard to this offence it is +impossible to overcome all the judicial and statistical difficulties +which stand in the way of an international comparison. + +In spite, however, of the fact that the amount of crime committed in +civilised countries cannot be subjected to exact comparison, there are +various points on which the international statistics of crime are able +to render valuable service. It is important, for instance, to see in +what relation crime in different communities stands to age, sex, +climate, temperature, race, education, religion, occupation, home and +social surroundings. If we find, for example, an abnormal development +of crime taking place in a given country at a certain period of life, +or in certain social circumstances, and if we do not discover the same +abnormal development taking place in other countries at a similar +period of life, or in a similar social stratum, we ought at once to +come to the conclusion that there is some extraordinary cause at work +peculiar to the country which is producing an unusually high total of +crime. If, on the other hand, we find that certain kinds of crime are +increasing or decreasing in all countries at the same time, we may be +perfectly sure that the increase or decrease is brought about by the +same set of causes. And whether those causes are war, political +movements, commercial prosperity, or depression, the community which +first escapes from them will also be the first to show it in the +annual statistics of crime. In these and many other ways international +statistics are of the greatest utility. + +From what has already been said as to the immense difficulty of +comparing the criminal statistics of various countries, it follows as +a matter of course that the figures contained in them cannot be used +as a means of ascertaining the position which belongs to each nation +respectively in the scale of morality. Nor is the moral progress of a +nation to be measured solely by an apparent decay of crime. On the +contrary, an increase in the amount of crime may be the direct result +of a moral advance in the average sentiments of the community. The +passing of the Elementary Education Act of 1870 and of the Criminal +Law Amendment Act of 1885 have added considerably to the number of +persons brought before the criminal courts and eventually committed to +prison. But an increase of the prison population due to these causes +is no proof that the country is deteriorating morally. It will be +regarded by many persons as a proof that the country has improved, for +it is now demanding a higher standard of conduct from the ordinary +citizen than it demanded twenty years ago.[3] + + [3] Before the passing of the Elementary Education Act, no one + was tried for not sending his child to school; it was not a legal + offence; in 1888-9 no less than 80,519 persons were tried under + this Act, in England and Wales. + +On the other hand, a decrease in the official statistics of crime may +be a proof that the moral sentiments of a nation are degenerating. It +may be a proof that the laws are ceasing to be an effective protection +to the citizen, and that society is falling a victim to the forces of +anarchy and crime. It is, therefore, impossible by looking only at the +bare figures contained in criminal statistics, to say whether a +community is growing better or worse. Before any conclusions can be +formed on these matters, either one way or the other, we must go +behind the figures, and look at them in the light of the social, +political and industrial developments taking place in the society to +which these figures refer. + +In this connection, it may not be amiss to point out that the present +tendency of legislation is bound to produce more crime. All law is by +its nature coercive, but so long as the coercion is confined within a +limited area, or can only come into operation at rare intervals, it +produces comparatively little effect on the whole volume of crime. +When, however, a law is passed affecting every member of the community +every day of his life, such a law is certain to increase the +population of our gaols. A marked characteristic of the present time +is that legislative assemblies are becoming more and more inclined to +pass such laws; so long as this is the case it is vain to hope for a +decrease in the annual amount of crime. Whether these new coercive +laws are beneficial or the reverse is a matter which it does not at +this moment concern me to discuss; what I am anxious to point out is, +that the more they are multiplied, the greater will be the number of +persons annually committed to prison. In initiating legislation of a +far-reaching coercive character, politicians should remember far more +than they do at present that the effect of these Acts of Parliament +will be to fill the gaols, and to put the prison taint upon a greater +number of the population. This is a responsibility which no body of +men ought lightly to incur, and in considering the advantages to be +derived from some new legislative enactment, an equal amount of +consideration should be bestowed upon the fact that the new enactment +will also be the means of providing a fresh recruiting ground for the +permanent army of crime. + +A man, for instance, goes to prison for contravening some municipal +bye-law; he comes out of it the friend and associate of habitual +criminals; and the ultimate result of the bye-law is to transform a +comparatively harmless member of society into a dangerous thief or +house-breaker. One person of this character is a greater menace to +society than a hundred offenders against municipal regulations, and +the present system of law-making undoubtedly helps to multiply this +class of men. One of the leading principles of all wise legislation +should be to keep the population out of gaol; but the direct result of +many recent enactments, both in this country and abroad, is to drive +them into it; and it may be taken as an axiom that the more the +functions of Government are extended, the greater will be the amount +of crime. + +These remarks lead me to approach the question of what is called "the +movement" of crime. Is its total volume increasing or decreasing in +the principal civilised countries of the world? On this point there is +some diversity of view, but most of the principal authorities in +Europe and America are emphatically of opinion that crime is on the +increase. In the United States, we are told by Mr. D.A. Wells,[4] and +by Mr. Howard Wines, an eminent specialist in criminal matters, that +crime is steadily increasing, and it is increasing faster than the +growth of the population. + + [4] _Recent Economic Changes_, p. 345. + +Nearly all the chief statisticians abroad tell the same tale with +respect to the growth of crime on the Continent. Dr. Mischler of +Vienna, and Professor von Liszt of Marburg draw a deplorable picture +of the increase of crime in Germany. Professor von Liszt, in a recent +article,[5] says, that fifteen million persons have been convicted by +the German criminal courts within the last ten years; and, according +to him, the outlook for the future is sombre in the last degree. In +France, the criminal problem is just as formidable and perplexing as +it is in Germany; M. Henri Joly estimates that crime has increased in +the former country 133 per cent. within the last half century, and is +still steadily rising. Taking Victoria as a typical Australasian +colony, we find that even in the Antipodes, which are not vexed to the +same extent as Europe with social and economic difficulties, crime is +persistently raising its head, and although it does not increase quite +as rapidly as the population, it is nevertheless a more menacing +danger among the Victorian colonists than it is at home.[6] + + [5] _Zeitschrift für die gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft_ ix. + 472, sg. + + [6] See _Statistical Register for Victoria_, Part viii. + +Is England an exception to the rest of the world with respect to +crime? Many people are of opinion that it is, and the idea is at +present diligently fostered on the platform and in the press that we +have at last found out the secret of dealing successfully with the +criminal population. As far as I can ascertain, this belief is based +upon the statement that the daily average of persons in prison is +constantly going down. Inasmuch, as there was a daily average of over +20,000 persons in prison in 1878, and a daily average of about 15,000 +in 1888, many people immediately jump at the conclusion that crime is +diminishing. But the daily average is no criterion whatever of the +rise and fall of crime. Calculated on the principle of daily average, +twelve men sentenced to prison for one month each, will not figure so +largely in criminal statistics as one man sentenced to a term of +eighteen months. The daily average, in other words, depends upon the +length of sentence prisoners receive, and not upon the number of +persons committed to prison, or upon the number of crimes committed +during the year. Let us look then at the number of persons committed +to Local Prisons, and we shall be in a position to judge if crime is +decreasing in England or not. We shall go back twenty years and take +the quinquennial totals as they are recorded in the judicial +statistics:-- + + Total of the 5 years, 1868 to 1872, 774,667. + Total of the 5 years, 1873 to 1877, 866,041. + Total of the 5 years, 1884 to 1888, 898,486. + +If statistics are to be allowed any weight at all, these figures +incontestably mean that the total volume of crime is on the increase +in England as well as everywhere else. It is fallacious to suppose +that the authorities here are gaining the mastery over the delinquent +population. Such a supposition is at once refuted by the statistics +which have just been tabulated, and these are the only statistics +which can be implicitly relied upon for testing the position of the +country with regard to crime. + +Seeing, then, that the total amount of crime is regularly growing, +how is the decrease in the daily average of persons in prison to be +accounted for? + +This decrease may be accounted for in two ways. It may be shown that +although the number of people committed to prison is on the increase, +the nature of the offences for which these people are convicted is not +so grave. Or, in the second place, it may be shown that, although the +crimes committed now are equally serious with those committed twenty +years ago, the magistrates and judges are adopting a more lenient line +of action, and are inflicting shorter sentences after a conviction. +Let us for a moment consider the proposition that crime is not so +grave now as it was twenty years ago. In order to arrive at a fairly +accurate conclusion on this matter, we have only to look at the number +of offences of a serious nature reported to the police. Comparing the +number of cases of murder, attempts to murder, manslaughter, shooting +at, stabbing and wounding, and adding to these offences the crimes of +burglary, housebreaking, robbery, and arson--comparing all these cases +reported to the police for the five years 1870-1874, with offences of +a like character reported in the five years 1884-1888, we find that +the proportion of grave offences to the population was, in many cases, +as great in the latter period as in the former.[7] This shows clearly +that crime, while it is increasing in extent, is not materially +decreasing in seriousness; and the chief reason the prison population +exhibits a smaller daily average is to be found in the fact that +judges are now pronouncing shorter sentences than was the custom +twenty years ago. We are not left in the dark upon this point; the +judges themselves frequently inform the public that they have taken to +shortening the terms of imprisonment. The extent to which sentences +have been shortened within the last twenty years can easily be +ascertained by comparing the committals to prison and the daily +average of the quinquenniad 1868-72 with the committals and the daily +average of the quinquenniad 1884-88. A comparison between these two +periods shows that the length of imprisonment has decreased twenty-six +per cent. In other words, whereas a man used to receive a sentence of +twelve months' imprisonment, he now receives a sentence of nine +months; and whereas he used to get a sentence of one month, he now +gets twenty-one days. If it he a serious offence, or if the criminal +be a habitual offender, he now receives eighteen months' imprisonment, +whereas he used to receive five years' penal servitude. As far as most +judges and stipendiary magistrates are concerned, sentences of +imprisonment have decreased in recent years more than twenty-six per +cent.; and if there was a corresponding movement on the part of +Chairmen of Quarter Sessions, the average decrease in the length of +sentences would amount to fifty per cent. But it is a notorious fact +that amateur judges are, with few exceptions, more inclined to +pronounce heavy sentences than professional men. + + [7] SERIOUS CASES REPORTED TO THE POLICE IN PROPORTION TO THE + POPULATION. ANNUAL AVERAGE FOR FIVE YEARS:-- + + Murder. Attempts to Murder. Manslaughter + 1870-74 1 to 196,946 1 to 441,158 1 to 92,756 + 1884-88 1 to 168,897 1 to 418,923 1 to 116,463 + + Shooting, Stabbing, &c. Burglary. Housebreaking. + 1870-74 1 to 35,033 1 to 10,188 1 to 17,538 + 1884-88 1 to 38,007 1 to 7,892 1 to 11,911 + + Robbery. Arson. + 1870-74 1 to 43,247 1 to 54,075 + 1884-88 1 to 70,767 1 to 77,018 + + This table shows that since 1870-74 there has been an increase in + murder, attempts to murder, burglary, and housebreaking, and a + decrease in manslaughter, robbery, and arson. The decrease in + shooting, stabbing, wounding, &c., is very small. (Cf. _Judicial + Statistics_ for 1874 and 1888, p. xvi.) + +We have now arrived at the conclusion that crime is just as serious in +its character as it was twenty years ago, and that it is growing in +dimensions year by year; the next point to be considered is, the +relation in which crime stands to the population. Crime may be +increasing, but the population may be multiplying faster than the +growth of crime. Is this the condition of things in England at the +present day? We have seen that the criminal classes are increasing +much faster than the growth of population in France and the United +States. Is England in a better position in this respect than these two +countries? At the present time there is one conviction to about every +fifty inhabitants, and the proportion of convictions to the population +was very much the same twenty years ago. If we remember the immense +development that has taken place in the industrial school system +within the last twenty years--a development that has undoubtedly had a +great deal to do with keeping down crime--we arrive at the conclusion +that, notwithstanding the beneficent effects of Industrial Schools, +the criminal classes in this country still keep pace with the annual +growth of population. If we had no Industrial and Reformatory +institutions for the detention of criminal and quasi-criminal +offenders among the young, there can be no doubt that England, as well +as other countries, would have to make the lamentable admission that +crime was not only increasing in her midst, but that it was increasing +faster than the growth of population. The number of juveniles in these +institutions has more than trebled since 1868,[8] and it is +unquestionable that if these youthful offenders were not confined +there, a large proportion of them would immediately begin to swell the +ranks of crime. That crime in England is not making more rapid strides +than the growth of population, is almost entirely to be attributed to +the action of these schools. + + [8] See Appendix II. + +We shall now look at another aspect of the criminal question, and that +is its cost. Crime is not merely a danger to the community; it is +likewise a vast expense; and there is no country in Europe where it +does not constitute a tremendous drain upon the national resources. +Owing to the federal system of government in America, it is almost +impossible to estimate how much is spent in the prevention and +punishment of crime in the United States, but Mr. Wines calculates +that the police force alone costs the country fifteen million dollars +annually.[9] In the United Kingdom the cost of criminal justice and +administration is continually on the increase, and it has never been +so high as it is at the present time. In the Estimates for the year +1891 the cost of Prisons and of the Asylum for criminal lunatics falls +little short of a million sterling. Reformatory and Industrial Schools +for juvenile offenders cost considerably over half-a-million, and the +expenditure on the Police force is over five and a half millions +annually. Add to these figures the cost of criminal prosecutions, the +salaries of stipendiary and other paid magistrates, a portion of the +salaries of judges, and all other expenses connected with the trial +and prosecution of delinquents, and an annual total of expenditure is +reached for the United Kingdom of more than seven and a half millions +sterling. In addition to this enormous sum, it has also to he +remembered that a great loss of property is annually entailed on the +inhabitants of the three kingdoms by the depredations of the criminal +classes. The exact amount of this loss it is impossible to estimate, +but, according to the figures in the police reports, it cannot fall +short of a million sterling per annum. + + [9] _American Prisons_, 1888. + +These formidable figures afford ample food for reflection. Apart from +its danger to the community, the annual loss of money which the +existence of crime entails is a most serious consideration. It is +equal to a tenth of the national expenditure, and every few years +amounts to as much as the cost of a big European war. It is tempting +to speculate on the admirable uses to which the capital consumed by +crime might be devoted, if it were free for beneficent purposes. How +easy it would be for many a scheme, which is now in the region of +dreamland, to be immediately realised. Unhappily, it is almost as vain +to look forward to the abolition of crime as it is to look forward to +the cessation of war. At the present moment the latter event, however +improbable, is more likely to happen than the former. War has ceased +to be a normal condition of things in the comity of nations; it has +become a transitory incident; but crime, which means war within the +nation, is still far from being a passing incident; on the contrary, a +conflict between the forces of moral order and social anarchy is going +on continually; and, at present, there is not the faintest prospect of +its coming to an end. + +What is the cause of this state of warfare within society? Which of the +combatants is to blame? Or is the blame to be laid equally on the +shoulders of both? In other words, are the conditions in which men live +together in society of such a nature that crime is certain to flow from +them; and is crime simply a reaction against the iniquity of existing +social arrangements? Or, on the other hand, does crime spring from the +individual and his cosmical surroundings; and is it the product of +forces over which society has little or no control? These are questions +which cannot be answered off-hand, they involve considerations of a +most complicated character, and it is only after a careful examination +of all the factors responsible for crime that a true solution can +possibly be arrived at. These factors are divisible into three great +categories--cosmical, social, and individual.[10] The cosmical factors +of crime are climate and the variations of temperature; the social +factors are the political, economic and moral conditions in the midst +of which man lives as a member of society; the individual factors are a +class of attributes inherent in the individual, such as descent, sex, +age, bodily and mental characteristics. These factors, it will be seen, +can easily be reduced to two, the organism and its environment; but it +will be more convenient to consider them under the three-fold division +which has just been mentioned. Before proceeding to do so, it may be as +well to remark that in each case the several factors operate with +different degrees of intensity. It is often extremely difficult to +disentangle them; and the more complex the society is in which a crime +takes place, the greater is the combination and intricacy of the causes +leading up to it. + + [10] Cf. E. Ferri. I _Nuovi Orizzonti del Diritto e della Procedura + Penale_. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CLIMATE AND CRIME. + + +Man's existence depends upon physical surroundings; these surroundings +have exercised an immense influence in modifying his organism, in +shaping his social development, in moulding his character. To enumerate +all the external factors operating upon individual and social life is +outside our present purpose, but they may be briefly summed up as +climate, moisture, soil, the configuration of the earth's surface, and +the nature of its products. These natural phenomena, either singly or +in varying degrees of combination, have unquestionably played a most +prominent part in making the different races of mankind what they at +present are. We have only to look at the low type of life exhibited by +the primitive inhabitants of certain inhospitable regions of the globe +to see how profoundly the physical structure of man is affected by his +natural surroundings. Even a comparatively slight difference of +environment is not without effect upon the population subjected to its +influence. According to M. de Quatrefages, the bodily structure of the +English race has been distinctly modified by residence in the United +States of America. It is not more than two and a half centuries since +Englishmen began to emigrate in any considerable numbers to the +American Continent, but in that comparatively short period the +Anglo-American has ceased to resemble his ancestors in physical +appearance. Alterations have taken place in the skin, the hair, the +neck, and the head; the lower jaw has become bigger; the bones of the +arms and legs have lengthened, and the American of to-day requires a +different kind of glove from the Englishman. Structural changes of a +similar character have taken place in the negroes transplanted to +America. M. Elisée Reclus considers that in a century and a half they +have traversed a good quarter of the distance which separates them from +the whites. Another important point, as showing the influence of +habitat upon race, is the fact that the modifications of human +structure resulting from residence in America are in the direction of +assimilating the European type to that of the red man.[11] In short, it +may be taken as a well-established principle that external nature +destroys all organisms that cannot adapt themselves to its action, and +physiologically modifies all organisms that can. + + [11] The various types of Jews also afford a striking instance of + the effect of natural surroundings on bodily structure. + +The social condition of mankind is also profoundly affected by climatic +and other external circumstances. The intense cold of the Arctic and +Antarctic regions is fatal to anything approaching a developed form of +civilisation. Intense heat, on the other hand, although not +incompatible with a certain degree of progress, is unfavourable to its +permanence;[12] the extinct societies of the tropics, such as Cambodia, +Mexico and Peru, affording instances of the operation of this law. It +is impossible for man to get beyond the nomad state in the vast deserts +of Northern Africa; and the extreme moisture of the atmosphere in other +portions of the same continent puts an effectual check on anything like +social advance. In some parts of the world social development has been +hindered by external circumstances of another character, such as the +want of wood, the scarcity of animals, the absence of edible fruits. In +fact, it is only within a comparatively temperate zone that human +society has been able permanently to assume highly complex forms and to +build itself up on an extensive scale. In this zone, climate, while +favouring man up to a certain point, has at the same time compelled him +to eat bread in the sweat of his brow. It has compelled him to enter +into conflict with natural obstacles, the result of which has been to +call forth his powers of industry, of energy, of self-reliance, and to +sharpen his intellectual faculties generally. In addition to exercising +and strengthening these personal attributes, the climatic influences of +what has been called the zone of civilisation have brought man's social +characteristics more fully and elaborately into play. The nature of +these influences has forced him to cooperate more or less closely with +his fellows; while each step in the path of cooperation has involved +him in another of a more complex kind. The growth of social cooperation +is not necessarily accompanied by a corresponding development of the +moral sentiments; increased cooperation in some cases involving a +distinct ethical loss. In many directions, however, highly organised +societies tend to evolve loftier types of morality; and it is in +harmony with the facts to say that the highest moral types are not to +be found where nature does most or where it does least in the way of +providing food and shelter for man. + + [12] Ratzel. _Völkerkunde_, i. 20. + +It is also interesting to observe the effect which climate, through the +agency of religion, has had upon human conduct. One of the main factors +in the origin of religion is the feeling of dependence upon nature so +strongly manifested in all primitive forms of faith. The outcome of +this feeling of dependence was to exalt the forces of nature into +divinities, and man's conception of these divinities, shaped as it was +by the attitude of nature around him, had an incalculable influence on +his life and actions. The remains of this influence are still visible +in the aesthetic effects which the forces and operations of nature +produce on civilised man; in all other respects it has to a large +extent passed away.[13] + + [13] Darwin says that in elaborating his theory of Natural + Selection he attributed too little to external surroundings. + _Life and Letters_. + +We have now touched upon most of the ways in which external +surroundings have had a hand in shaping the course of human life in the +past; it will be our next business to inquire whether these +surroundings have any effect upon human conduct at the present day, and +especially upon those manifestations of conduct which are known as +crimes. That they still have an effect is an opinion which has long +been entertained. + +Going back to the ancient Greeks, we find Hippocrates holding that all +regions liable to violent changes of climate produced men of fierce, +impetuous and stubborn disposition. "In approaching southern +countries," says Montesquieu, "one would believe that morality was +being left behind; more ardent passions multiply crimes; each tries to +gain from others all the advantages which can minister to these +passions." Buckle believes that the interruption of work caused by +instability of climate leads to instability of character. In analysing +the contents of French statistics, Quetelet,[14] while admitting that +other causes may neutralise the action of climate, proceeds to say that +the "number of crimes against property relatively to the number of +crimes against the person increases considerably as we advance towards +the north." Another eminent student of French criminal statistics, M. +Tarde, comes to very much the same conclusions as Quetelet; he admits +that a high temperature does exercise an indirect influence on the +criminal passions. But the most exhaustive investigations in this +problem have been undertaken in Italy, by Signor Enrico Ferri. After a +thorough examination of French judicial statistics for a series of +years, Ferri arrives at the conclusion that a maximum of crimes against +the person is reached in the hot months, while, on the other hand, +crimes against property come to a climax in the winter.[15] + + [14] _Physique Sociale_, ii. 282. + + [15] _Zeitschrift für Strafrechtswissenschaft_, ii., 486. + +In testing these opinions respecting the influence of climate upon +crime, we are obliged, to some extent, to have recourse to +international statistics. But these statistics, as has already been +pointed out, owing to the diversity of customs, laws, criminal +procedure, and so on, do not easily admit of comparison. So much is +this the case that we shall not make the attempt as far as these +statistics have reference to crimes against property. In this field no +satisfactory result can, at present be obtained. The same remark holds +good in relation to all offences against the person, with the exception +of homicide. This, undoubtedly, in an important exception; and it +arises from the fact that there is a greater consensus of opinion among +civilised communities respecting the gravity of homicide than exists +with regard to any other form of crime. Murder in all its degrees is a +crime which immediately causes a profound commotion; it is easy to +recognise; it is more likely than any other offence to come to the ears +of the authorities. For these reasons this crime lends itself most +readily to international comparison; nevertheless, differences of +judicial procedure, legal nomenclature, and different methods of +classification stand in the way of making the comparison absolutely +accurate. These differences, however, are not so great as to render +comparison impossible or worthless; on the contrary, the results of +such a comparison are of exceptional value, and go a long way to +determine the question of the effect of climate upon crimes of blood. + +Assuming, then, with these reservations, that such a comparison can be +instituted, let us see to what extent murder, in the widest sense of +the word, including wilful murder, manslaughter, and infanticide, +prevails in the various countries of Europe. In ordinary circumstances +this task would be a laborious one, entailing a minute and careful +examination of the criminal statistics and procedure of many nations. +Fortunately, it has recently been accomplished by Dr. Bosco in an +admirable monograph communicated in the first instance to the Journal +of the International Statistical Institute, but now published in a +separate form. Bosco's figures have all been taken from official +sources, and may, therefore, be accepted as accurate; but, before +tabulating-them, it may be useful to make an extract from the +explanatory note by which they are accompanied. "As the composition of +the population, with respect to age, varies in different countries, and +as it has to be remembered that all the population under ten years of +age has no share, at least under normal conditions, in the crime of +murder, it has seemed to me a more exact method to calculate the +proportion of murders to the inhabitants who are over ten years of age, +than to include the total population. For those States where a census +has been recently taken, such, for instance, as France and Germany, the +results of that census have been used; that is to say, the French +census of May, 1886, and the German census of December, 1885. For the +other States the population has been calculated (adding the excess of +births over deaths to the results of the last census) to the end of the +intermediate year for each period of years to which the information +relates; that is to say, to the end of 1883 for Belgium, and to the end +of 1884 for Austria, Hungary, Spain, England, Scotland and Ireland. As +the information respecting Italy refers to 1887 only, the population +has been estimated up to the end of that year. The division of the +population according to age (above and below ten) has been obtained by +means of proportional calculations based on the results of the census +for each State. In the case of France and Germany, however, it has been +taken directly from the census returns."[16] + +Homicides of all kinds in the following European States:-- + +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Tried. Convicted. + Population Annual Per Annual Per + Countries. over ten. Years. average 100,000 average 100,000 + inhabitants. inhabitants. +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Italy 23,408,277 1887 3,606 15.40 2,805 11.98 + Austria 17,199,237 1883-6 689 4.01 499 2.90 + France 31,044,370 1882-6 847 2.73 580 1.87 + Belgium 4,377,813 1881-5 132 3.02 101 2.31 + England 19,898,053 1882-6 318 1.60 151 0.76 + Ireland 3,854,588 1882-6 129 3.35 54 1.40 + Scotland 2,841,941 1882-6 60 2.11 21 0.74 + Spain 13,300,839 1883-6 1,584 11.91 1,085 8.18 + Hungary 10,821,558 1882-6 625 5.78 + Holland 3,172,464 1882-6 35 1.10 28 0.88 + Germany 35,278,742 1882-6 567 1.61 476 1.35 +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + + [16] _Gli omicidii in alcuni stati d'Europa. Appunti di statistica + comparata del Dr A. Bosco_, 1889. + +What is the import of these statistics? We perceive at once that +Italy, Spain and Hungary head the list in the proportion of murders to +the population. In Italy, out of every 100,000 persons over ten years +of age, eleven in round numbers are annually convicted of murder in +one or other of its forms; in Spain eight are convicted of the same +offence, and in Hungary five are convicted. These three countries are +conspicuously ahead of all the others to which our table refers. +Austria and Belgium follow at a long distance with two convictions in +round numbers to every 100,000 inhabitants over ten. France, Ireland +and Germany come next with one conviction and a considerable fraction +to every 100,000 persons over ten; England, Scotland and Holland stand +at the bottom of the list with between seven and eight persons +convicted of murder to every one million of inhabitants over ten. + +In order to understand the full meaning of these figures we must take +one more stop and compare the numbers convicted with the numbers +tried. In some countries very few convictions may take place in +proportion to the number accused, while in other countries the +proportion may be very considerable. In other words, in order to +arrive at an approximate estimate of the amount of murders perpetrated +in a country, we must consider how many cases of murder have been +tried in the course of the year. It very seldom happens that a person +is tried for this offence when no murder has been committed; and it +may, therefore, be assumed that the crime has taken place when a man +haw to stand his trial for it. Estimating then the prevalence of +murder in the various countries by trials, rather than convictions, +it will be found that Germany, with a much larger percentage of +convictions than England, has just as few cases of murder for trial. +And the reason the number of convictions, as between the two nations, +differs, arises from the fact that a prisoner's chance of acquittal in +England is a hundred per cent. greater than it is in Germany. It is +not, therefore, accurate to assume that a greater number of murders +are committed in Germany than in England because a greater number +of persons are annually convicted of this crime; all that these +convictions absolutely prove is, that the machinery of the criminal +law is more effective in the one country than in the other. To take +another instance, more persons are annually tried for murder in +Ireland than in France; but more cases of conviction are recorded in +France than in Ireland. These contrasts show that, while the French +are less addicted to this grave offence than the Irish, they are more +anxious to secure its detection, and that a greater body of public +opinion is on the side of law in France than in Ireland. All these +instances (and more could easily be added to them) are intended to +call attention to the importance of looking at the number of persons +tried, as well as the percentage of persons convicted, if we desire to +form an accurate estimate of the comparative prevalence of crime. + +While thus showing that the number of trials for murder is the best +test of the prevalence of this offence, it is not meant that the test +is in all respects indisputable. At most it is merely approximate. One +obstacle in the way of its entire accuracy consists in the circumstance +that the proportion of persons tried, as compared with the amount of +crime committed, is in no two countries precisely the same. In France, +for instance, more murders are perpetrated, for which no one is +ultimately tried, than in Italy or in England; that is to say, a +murderer runs more risk of being placed in the dock in this country +than in France. But the difference between the two countries is again +to a great extent adjusted by the fact that once a man is placed in +the dock in France he has far less chance of being acquitted than if +he were tried according to English law. On the whole, therefore, it +may be assumed that the international statistics of trials, corrected +when necessary by the international statistics of convictions, present +a tolerably accurate idea of the extent to which the crime of murder +prevails among the nationalities of Europe. In any case these figures +will go some way towards helping us to see whether climatic conditions +have any influence upon the amount of crime. This we shall now inquire +into. + +On looking at the isotherms for the year it will be observed that the +average temperature of Italy and Spain is ten degrees higher than +the average temperature of England. On the other hand, the average +temperature of Hungary is very much the same as the average temperature +of this country; but Hungary is at the same time exposed to much +greater extremes of climate than England. In winter it is nearly ten +degrees colder than England, while in summer it is as hot as Spain. +The advocates of the direct effect of climate upon crime contend that +account must be taken not merely of the degree of temperature, but +also of the variations of temperature to which a region is exposed. +According to this theory one of the principal reasons the crime of +murder is, at least, fourfold higher in Hungary than in England, is to +be found in the violent oscillations of temperature in Hungary as +compared with England. In Italy murders are, at least, ten times as +numerous as in England; in Spain they are seven times as numerous; the +chief cause of this condition of things is said to be the serious +difference of temperature. In the United States of America there are +more crimes of blood in the South than in the North; the main +explanation of this difference is said to be that the climate of the +South is much hotter than the climate of the North. + +In opposition to this theory of the intimate relation between +temperature and crime, it may be urged that the greater prevalence of +crimes of blood in hot latitudes is a mere coincidence and not a +causal connection. This is the view taken by Dr. Mischler in Baron von +Holtzendorff's "Handbuch des Gefängnisswesens." He says the real +reason crimes of blood are more common in the South of Europe than in +the North is to be attributed to the more backward state of +civilisation in the South, and to the wild and mountainous character +of the country. To the latter part of this argument it is easy to +reply that Scotland is quite as mountainous as Italy, and yet its +inhabitants are far less addicted to crimes against the person. But it +is more civilised, for, as M. Tarde ingeniously contends, the bent of +civilisation at present is to travel northward. Admitting for a moment +that Scotland is more civilised than Spain or Italy, all savage +tribes, on the other hand, are confessedly less advanced in the arts +of life than these two peninsulas. But, for all that, many of these +savage peoples are much less criminal. "I have lived," says Mr. +Russell Wallace, "with communities of savages in South America and in +the East who have no laws or law courts, but the public opinion of the +village freely expressed. Each man scrupulously respects the rights of +his fellows, and any infraction of these rights rarely or never takes +place." Mr. Herbert Spencer also quotes innumerable instances of the +kindness, mildness, honesty, and respect for person and property of +uncivilised peoples. M. de Quatrefages, in summing up the ethical +characteristics of the various races of mankind, comes to the +conclusion that from a moral point of view the white man is hardly any +better than the black. Civilisation so far has unfortunately generated +almost as many vices as it has virtues, and he is a bold man who will +say that its growth has diminished the amount of crime. It is very +difficult then to accept the view that the frequency of murder in +Spain and Italy is entirely due to a lack of civilisation. + +Nor can it be said to be entirely due to economic distress. A +condition of social misery has undoubtedly something to do with the +production of crime. In countries where there is much wealth side by +side with much misery, as in France and England, adverse social +circumstances drive a certain portion of the community into criminal +courses. But where this great inequality of social conditions does not +exist--where all are poor as in Ireland or Italy--poverty alone is not +a weighty factor in ordinary crime. In Ireland, for example, there in +almost as much poverty as exists in Italy, and if the amount of crime +were determined by economic circumstances alone, Ireland ought to have +as black a record as her southern sister. Instead of that she is on +the whole as free from crime as the most prosperous countries of +Europe. In the face of these facts it is impossible to say that the +high rate of crime in Italy and Spain is to be wholly accounted for by +the pressure of economic adversity. + +Will not difference of race suffice to account for it? Is it not the +case that some races are inherently more prone to crime than others? +In India, for instance, where the great mass of the population is +singularly law-abiding, a portion of the aboriginal inhabitants have +from time immemorial lived by plunder and crime. "When a man tells +you," says an official report, quoted by Sir John Strachey, "that he +is a Badhak, or a Kanjar, or a Sonoria, he tells you what few +Europeans ever thoroughly realise, that he, an offender against the +law, has been so from the beginning and will be so to the end; that +reform is impossible, for it is his trade, his caste--I may almost say +his religion--to commit crime." It is not poverty which makes many of +these predatory races criminals. Speaking of the Mina tribe inhabiting +one of the frontier districts of the Punjab, Sir John Strachey says: +"Their sole occupation is, and always has been, plunder in the native +States and in distant parts of British India; they give no trouble at +home, and, judging from criminal statistics, it would be supposed that +they were an honest community. They live amid abundance, in +substantial houses with numerous cattle, fine clothes and jewels, and +fleet camels to carry off their plunder." Special laws have been made +for dealing with these tribes; a register of their numbers is kept; +they can be compelled to live within certain local limits, but in +spite of these coercive measures crime is not suppressed, and "a long +time must elapse before we see the end of the criminal tribes of +India." + +Coming back to European peoples, it is worthy of note that both +Hungary and Finland are inhabited by the same race. These two +countries are separated by about fifteen degrees of latitude, but in +the matter of murder the people of Finland are much more nearly allied +to the Hungarians than to their immediate neighbours, the Swedes and +Norwegians. The Finns commit about twice as many murders in proportion +to the population as the Teutons of Scandinavia, but only about half +as many as the Hungarians; and it is not improbable to suppose that +while the effect of race makes them more murderous than the +Scandinavians, the effect of climate makes them less murderous than +the inhabitants of Hungary. + +Before bringing forward any additional material on one side or the +other, let us pause for a moment to consider the results which have +just been obtained as to the effect of race as compared with climate +upon crime. In India we have found an Aryan and a non-Aryan population +living together under the same climatic influences, and very much the +same social conditions, and we have seen that the Aborigines are more +criminally disposed than the Aryan invaders. Again we have a Mongolian +race living in the far North of Europe, and we find that they show a +larger percentage of homicidal crime than the Teutonic inhabitants +who live in the same latitudes. In Hungary, where the Mongoloid type +is once more met with, the same facts are substantially reproduced; +this type is more homicidal than the Austrian Teutons living under a +similar climate. While these facts point to the conclusion that race +has apparently some influence on the amount of crime, they fail to +show that race characteristics alone are sufficient to explain the +differences in criminality between the same peoples when settled in +different quarters of the globe. The Mongoloid type in Finland is +less criminal than the same type in Hungary, and the Teutonic type +in Scandinavia is less murderously disposed than the same type in +the empire of Austria. It has also been pointed out that the +Anglo-American of the Northern States is more law abiding than his +brother by race in the South, while both are more murderous than the +inhabitants of the United Kingdom; where extremes of climate are not +so great. + +With these facts before us we shall now institute another comparison +between two widely separated branches of the Anglo-Saxon race, namely, +the colonists of Australia and the people of the motherland. Of the +Australian colonists it is not incorrect to say that they are, on the +whole, the pick of the home population. It is perfectly true that a +certain proportion of the ne'er-do-wells have emigrated to Australia, +and some of them, no doubt, help to swell the normal criminal +population of the colonies. But, on the other hand, Australia has this +advantage, that the average colonist who seeks a home beyond our +shores is generally a superior man to the average citizen who remains +at home; he is more steady, more enterprising, more industrious. In +this way the balance is adjusted in favour of the colonies. It is a +great deal more than redressed if the superior, social, and economic +conditions, under which the colonists live, are also placed in the +scale. In his "Problems of Greater Britain," Sir Charles Dilke has +shown, with admirable clearness, what immense advantages are enjoyed +by the working population of Australia as compared with the same class +at home; so much is this the case that the Australian colonies have +been not inaptly called the paradise of the working man. Here then is +an excellent opportunity for comparing the effects of climate upon +crime. In Australia we have a people of the same race as ourselves, +better off economically, living under essentially the same laws and +governed in practically the same spirit. Almost the only difference +between the inhabitants of the United Kingdom and the communities of +Australia is a difference of climate. Does this difference manifest +itself in the statistics of crime? In order to test the matter we +shall exclude the colony of New South Wales from our calculations. For +its size New South Wales is the richest community in the world, and +its riches are well distributed among all classes of the population. +But it was at one time a penal settlement, and it is possible that the +criminal statistics of the colony are still inflated by that remote +cause. The sister colony of Victoria stands upon a different footing +and is free from that disturbing factor; we shall therefore select +that colony as a normal type of the Australian group. In Part V.I.I. +of the Statistical Register of the colony of Victoria for 1887, there +is an excellent summary of the position of the colony with respect to +crime. The admirable manner in which these judicial statistics are +arranged, reflects the highest credit on the colonial authorities; for +fulness of information and clearness of arrangement they are not +surpassed by any similar statistics in the world. As homicide is the +crime on which we have hitherto based our international comparisons, +we shall, for the present, confine our attention to the Victorian +statistics of this offence. + +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Countries|Population|Years.| Tried | Convicted + | over Ten.| | Annual Per | Annual Per + | | |Average 100,000 |Average 100,000 + | | | Inhabitants.| Inhabitants. +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Victoria | 581,838|1882-6| 22 3.2 | 14 2.5 + United + Kingdom |26,594,582|1882-6| 505 2.35 | 226 .96 +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Before proceeding to analysis the contents of this table, it will be +as well to explain the method on which it has been constructed, and +the sources from which it is derived. The population of Victoria, over +ten years of age, has been calculated according to the Victorian +census for 1881, as contained in Part II. of the Victorian Statistical +Register. In order to make the Victorian table harmonise in all +particulars with Dr. Bosco's table for England, Scotland, and Ireland, +the excess of births over deaths has been calculated up to the end of +1884. The United Kingdom, it will be seen, has been selected as the +measure of comparison with the colony of Victoria. This selection has +been made on the ground that the colony of Victoria is not composed of +the inhabitants of any one of the three kingdoms, but contains a +mixture of them all. It will also be observed that the homicidal crime +of each of the three kingdoms differs from the other, but this is a +consideration which we shall not further comment upon at present. + +After these preliminary explanations we are now in a position to +examine the contents of our statistical table in its bearing upon +crimes of blood. It will now be possible to see what light the criminal +statistics of Victoria, as compared with the criminal statistics of the +United Kingdom, throw upon these crimes; and the disturbing factor of +race being eliminated, what is the influence of climate pure and simple +upon them. According to the isotherms for the year the Victorians live +in an atmosphere between eight and ten degrees hotter than our own. +Side by side with this additional heat, there is, as compared with +the United Kingdom, an additional amount of crime. In the colony of +Victoria, in proportion to every 100,000 inhabitants over ten years of +age, there are nearly one-third more murders annually than in the +United Kingdom. On what ground is this considerable increase of +homicide to be accounted for, except on the ground of climate? The +higher percentage is not caused by difference of race; it is not +caused by worse economic conditions--these conditions are much +superior to our own--the meaning of the figures is not obscured by any +material differences of legal procedure or legal nomenclature. It +cannot be urged that the Victorian population are the dregs of the +home population; the very opposite is the fact. The bad characters who +emigrate are the only disturbing element; but, after all, these men +are not so numerous, and the evil effects of their presence is +counterbalanced by the superiority of the average colonist to the +average citizen who remains at home. It may be said that there is +greater difficulty in detecting crime in a new colony than in an old +and settled country. As applied to some colonies it is possible this +objection may be sound, but, as applied to Victoria, it will not hold +good. In Victoria the police are much more effective than they are at +home, and a criminal has much less chance of going unpunished there +than he has in England. In Victoria in the year 1887, out of a total +of 40,693 cases reported to the police, 34,473 were brought up for +trial. In England, on the other hand, out of a total of 42,391 +indictable offences reported to the police in 1886-7, only 19,045 +persons were apprehended. The Victorian figures include offences of +all kinds, petty as well as indictable, whereas the English figures +deal with indictable offences only. But admitting this, and admitting +that it is more difficult to arrest indictable offenders, this +difficulty is not so great as to explain away the vast difference in +the numbers apprehended in Victoria as compared with the numbers +apprehended in England. Only one conclusion can be drawn from these +figures, and it is that the Victorian constabulary are more efficient +than our own, and that it is a more dangerous thing for a person to +break the law in the young colony of Victoria than in the old +community at home. + +It seems to me that the points of comparison between the United +Kingdom and Victoria, in so far as they have any bearing upon crime, +have now been exhausted; on almost every one of these points Victoria +stands in a more favourable position than ourselves. The colony has, +on the whole, a better kind of citizen; it has superior social and +economic conditions; it has a far more effective system of police. On +what possible ground, then, is it, except the ground of climate, that +the Victorians are more addicted to homicide than the people of the +United Kingdom? I admit it would be rash to assert that climate is the +cause if our own and the Victorian statistics were the only documents +to which we could appeal; it would be rash to draw such a sweeping +conclusion from so isolated a basis. But when we know that the +Victorian statistics are only one set of documents among many, and +that all these sets of documents point to the operation of the same +law, the case assumes an entirely different complexion. The results of +the Victorian statistics harmonise with the conclusions already +reached from a comparison of the criminal statistics of Europe and +America. These conclusions in turn are powerfully reinforced by the +experience of Australia. In fact, the whole body of evidence, from +whatever quarter it is collected, points with remarkable unanimity to +the conviction that, as far as European peoples and their offshoots +are concerned, climate alone is no inconsiderable factor in +determining the course of human conduct. + +Yet the evil influence of climate, mischievous as it is at present, is +not to be looked upon and acquiesced in as an irrevocable fatality. At +first sight it would seem as if the human race could not possibly +escape the malevolent action of cosmical influences over which it has +little or no control. The rise and fall of temperature, its rage and +intensity, is one of these influences, and yet its pernicious offsets +are capable of being held to a large extent in check. As far as bodily +comfort is concerned, it is marvellous to consider the innumerable +methods and devices the progressive races of mankind have invented to +protect themselves against the hostility of the elements by which they +are surrounded. In fact, an important part of the history of the race +consists in the ceaseless efforts it has been making to improve upon +and perfect these methods and devices. We have only to compare the +rude hut of the savage with the modern dwelling of the civilised man +in order to see to what extent we can shield ourselves from the +elemental forces in the midst of which we have to live. We have only +to mark the difference between the miserable and scanty garments of +the natives of Terra del Fuego and the attire of the Englishman of +to-day to see what can be done by man in the way of rescuing himself +from the inclemencies of Nature. If these conquests can be achieved +where our physical existence is in peril, there can be little reason +to doubt that advances of a similar nature can be made in the moral +order as soon as man comes to feel equally conscious of their +necessity. As a matter of fact, in some quarters of the world these +advances have already in some measure been made. In the vast peninsula +of India the structure of society is so constituted that the evil +effect of climate in producing crimes of blood has been marvellously +neutralised. It hardly admits of dispute that the caste system on +which Indian society is based is, on the whole, one of the most +wonderful instruments for the prevention of crimes of violence the +world has ever seen. The average temperature of the Indian peninsula +is about thirty degrees higher than the average temperature of the +British Isles, and if there were no counteracting forces at work, +crimes of violence in India should be much more numerous than they are +with us. But the counteracting forces acting upon Indian society are +of such immense potency that the malign influences of climate are very +nearly annihilated as far as the crimes we are now discussing are +concerned; and India stands to-day in the proud position of being more +free from crimes against the person than the most highly civilised +countries of Europe. In proof of this fact we have only to look at the +official documents annually issued respecting the condition of British +India. According to the returns contained in the Statistical Abstract +relating to British India and the Parliamentary paper exhibiting its +moral and material progress, the number of murders reported to the +police of India is smaller than the number reported in any European +State. The Indian Government issue no statistics, so far as I am +aware, of the numbers tried; it is, therefore, impossible to institute +any comparison between Europe and India upon this important point. But +when we come to the number convicted it is again found that India +presents a lower percentage of convictions for murder than is to be +met with among any other people. It may, however, be urged that the +statistical records respecting Indian crime are not so carefully kept +as the statistics of a like character relating to England and the +Continent. Sir John Strachey assures us that this is not the case; he +says that these statistics are as carefully collected and tabulated in +India as they are at home, and we may accept them as worthy of the +utmost confidence. The following table, which I have prepared from the +official documents already mentioned, may, therefore, be taken as +giving an accurate account of the condition of India between 1882-6, +as far as the most serious of all crimes is concerned. In order to +facilitate comparison I have drawn it up as far as possible on the +same lines as the other tables in this chapter. + +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + |Population |Years.| Cases of Homicide. + | over Ten. | | Reported. Convicted. + | ----------------------------------------- + | | |Annual |Per |Annual |Per + | | |Average.|100,000 |Average.|100,000 + | | | |Inhabitants.| |Inhabitants. +India|148,543,223|1882-6| 1,930 | 1.31 | 690 | .46 +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + +According to this table, the remarkable fact is established that the +number of cases of homicide in India committed by persons over ten +years of age and reported to the police is smaller per 100,000 +inhabitants than the number of cases of the same nature brought up for +trial in England. In order to appreciate the full importance of this +difference it has to be remembered that in England a great number of +cases of homicide are reported to the police, for which no one is +apprehended or brought to trial. In the case of the notorious +Whitechapel murders which horrified the country a year or two ago no +one was ever brought to trial, hardly any one was arrested or +seriously suspected. These crimes and many others like them materially +augment the number of homicides reported to the police, but they never +figure among the cases annually brought for trial before assizes. As a +matter of fact, no one is ever tried in more than one half of the +cases of homicide reported to the police in the course of the year. In +the year 1888, for instance, 403 cases of homicide were reported to +the police in England and Wales; but in connection with all these +cases only 196 persons were committed for trial. In short, double the +number of homicides are committed as compared with the number of +persons tried; and if a comparison is established between India and +England on the basis of homicides reported to the police, the outcome +of such a comparison will be to show that there are annually more than +twice as many murders committed per one hundred thousand inhabitants +over the age of ten in England than there are in India. + +An objection may be taken to these figures on the ground that the +crime of infanticide is much more prevalent to India than it is in +England, and that the perpetrators of this crime are much less +frequently brought to justice in the former country than with us. That +objection is to some extent valid; at the same time it is well to +remember that infanticide in India is an offence of a very special and +peculiar character; the motives from which it springs are not what is +usually understood as criminal; these motives arise from religious +usage and immemorial custom; in short, it is English law and not the +Indian conscience which makes infanticide a crime. Of course, the +practice of infanticide is a proof that the Hindu mind has not the +same high conception of the value of infant life as one finds in the +western world, and in that respect India stands on an inferior moral +level to ourselves. But with the exception of infanticide (and it is +necessary to except it for the reasons I have just alleged) India has +not half as many homicides annually as England.[17] + + [17] For the high percentage of infanticide in England see the + evidence given before the House of Lords last July (1890) by + Judges Day and Wills. + +To what cause is this vast difference in favour of India to be +attributed? It is hardly probable that the difference is produced to +any appreciable extent, if at all, by the nature of the food used by +the people of India. If it were correct that a vegetable diet, such as +is almost exclusively used by the inhabitants of India, had a salutary +effect on the conduct of the population, we should witness the results +of it, not only in the Indian peninsula, but also in other quarters of +the world. The nature of the food consumed by the Italians bears a +very close resemblance in its essential constituents to the dietary of +the inhabitants of India; in both cases it is almost entirely composed +of vegetable products. If vegetable, as contrasted with animal food, +exercised a beneficial influence on human conduct; if it tended, for +example, to restrain the passions, to minimise the brute instincts, +some indisputable proof of this would be certain to show itself in the +criminal statistics of Italy. As a matter of fact, no such proof +exists. On the contrary, Italy is, of all countries within the pale of +civilisation, the one most notorious for crimes of blood. In the face +of this truth, it is impossible to believe that a vegetable diet has +anything to do either with producing or preventing crime, and the +contention that the wonderful immunity of India from offences against +the person is owing to the food used by the inhabitants must be looked +upon as without foundation. + +The peculiar structure of society is unquestionably the most satisfactory +explanation of the high position occupied by the inhabitants of India +with respect to crime. The social edifice which a people builds for +itself is among all civilised communities a highly complex product, and +consists of a great agglomeration of diverse materials. These materials +are partly drawn from the primitive characteristics of the race; they +are partly borrowings from other and contiguous races; they are to a +considerable extent derived from natural surroundings of all kinds; +and in all circumstances they are supplemented by the genius of +individuals. In short, all social structures, when looked at minutely, +are found to be composed of two main ingredients--race and environment; +but these two ingredients are so indissolubly interfused that it is +impossible to say how much is to be attributed to the one, and how much +to the other, in the building up of a society. But if, it is impossible +to estimate the value of the several elements composing the fabric +of society, it is easy to ascertain the dominating idea on which all +forms of society are based. That dominating idea, if it may for the +moment be called such, is the instinct of self-preservation, and it +exercises just as great a power in determining the formation and play +of the social organism as it exercises in determining the attitude of +the individual to the world around him. In working out the idea of +self-preservation into practical forms, the social system of most +peoples has hitherto been built up with a view to protection against +external enemies in the shape of hostile tribes and nations; the +internal enemies of the commonwealth--the thieves, the housebreakers, +the disturbers of public order, the shedders of blood, the perpetrators +of violence--have been treated as only worthy of secondary consideration. +Such are the lines on which social structure has, in most cases, +proceeded, with the result that while external security was for long +periods assured, internal security remained as imperfect and defective +as ever. + +The structure of society in India is, however, an exception to the +general rule. External security, or, in other words, the desire for +political freedom has, to a great extent, become extinct wherever the +principles of Brahmanism have succeeded in taking root. + +These principles have been operating upon the Indian mind for thousands +of years; their effect in the sphere of politics excited the wonder of +the ancient Greeks, who tell us that the Indian peasant might be seen +tilling his field in peace between hostile armies preparing for battle. +A similar spectacle has been seen on the plains of India in modern +times. But Brahmanism, while extinguishing the principle of liberty in +all its branches, and exposing its adherents to the mercy of every +conqueror, has succeeded, through the caste system, in bringing +internal order, security, and peace to a high pitch of excellence. This +end, the caste system, like most other religious institutions, did not +and does not have directly in view; but the human race often takes +circuitous routes to attain its ends, and while apparently aiming at +one object, is in reality securing another. The permanent forces +operating in society often possess a very different character from +those on the surface, and when the complicated network in which they +are always wrapped up is stripped from off them, we find that they are +some fundamental human instincts at work in disguise. + +These observations are applicable to the caste system. This system, +when divested of its externals, besides being an attempt to satisfy +the mystic and emotional elements in the Indian heart, also represents +the genius of the race engaged in the task of self-preservation. The +manner in which caste exercises this function in thus described by Sir +William Hunter in His volume on the Indian Empire. "Caste or guild," +he says, "exercises a surveillance over each of its members from the +close of childhood until death. If a man behaves well, he will rise to +an honoured place in his caste; and the desire for such local +distinctions exercises an important influence in the life of a Hindu. +But the caste has its punishments as well as its rewards. Those +punishments consist of fine and excommunication. The fine usually +takes the form of a compulsory feast to the male members of the caste. +This is the ordinary means of purification, or of making amends for +breaches of the caste code. Excommunication inflicts three penalties: +First, an interdict against eating with the fellow members of the +caste; second, an interdict against marriage within the caste. This +practically amounts to debarring the delinquent and his family from +respectable marriages of any sort; third, cutting off the delinquent +from the general community by forbidding him the use of the village +barber and washerman, and of the priestly adviser. Except in very +serious cases, excommunication is withdrawn upon the submission of the +offender, and his payment of a fine. Anglo-Indian law does not enforce +caste decrees. But caste punishments exercise an efficacious restraint +upon unworthy members of the community, precisely as caste rewards +supply a powerful motive of action to good ones. A member who cannot +be controlled by this mixed discipline of punishment and reward is +eventually expelled; and, as a rule, 'an out-caste' is really a bad +man. Imprisonment in jail carries with it that penalty, but may be +condoned after release by heavy expiations." + +Those remarks of Sir William Hunter afford an insight into the +coercive power exercised by the caste system on the Indian population. +Without that system it is probable that the criminal statistics of +India would present as high a proportion of crimes of violence and +blood as now exists among the peoples of Southern Europe. But with +that system in active operation, the evil influence of climate is +completely neutralised and India at the present moment enjoys a +remarkable immunity from violent crime. With the example of India +before us we are justified in coming to the conclusion that homicide +and crimes of a kindred nature need not necessarily be the malign +products of climate. Whatever climate has to do with fostering these +offences may be obviated by a better form of social organisation. It +would be ridiculous to dream of basing western society upon Indian +models; but at the same time India teaches us a lesson on the +construction of the social fabric which it would be well to learn. The +tendency of western civilisation at the present time is to herd vast +masses of men into huge industrial centres. It is useless discussing +the abstract question whether this is a good thing or a bad; we must +reconcile ourselves to the fact that it is a process forced upon +communities by the necessities of modern industrialism; and we must +accordingly make the best of it. In our efforts to make the best of +present tendencies, and to render them as innocuous as possible to +social welfare, there is one point at least where India is able to +teach us an instructive lesson. In India a man seldom becomes, what he +too often is, in all our large cities, a mere lonely, isolated unit, +left entirely to the mercy of his own impulses, constrained by no +social circle of any description, and unsustained by the pressure of +any public opinion for which he has the least regard. In India he is +always a member of some fraternity within the community; in that +fraternity or caste he feels at home; he is never isolated; he belongs +to a circle which is not too big for his individuality to be lost; he +is known; he has a reputation and a status to maintain; his life +within the caste is shaped for him by caste usages and traditions, and +for these he is taught to entertain the deepest reverence. Caste is in +many of its aspects a state in miniature within the state; in this +capacity it performs a variety of admirable functions of which the +state itself is and must always remain incapable. + +Before the era of great cities the township in the West used to +exorcise some of the functions at present discharged in India by the +system of caste. But the township in the old sense of the word, with +its settled population and the common eye upon all its members, has +to a large extent disappeared. The influence of the family is at the +same time being constantly weakened by the migratory habits modern +industrialism entails on the population; in a word, the old +constraining force, which used to hold society together, are almost +gone, and nothing effective has sprung up to replace them. + +In these circumstances what is to be done? It is useless attempting to +restore the past. That never has been accomplished successfully; all +attempts in that direction look as if they were opposed to the nature +of things. It is among the living and vigorous forces of the present +that we must look for help. I shall content myself by mentioning one +of these forces, namely Trade Societies. It seems a pity that these +societies should confine their operations merely to the limited object +of forcing up wages. That object is, of course, a perfectly laudable +and legitimate one, but it is surely not the supreme and only end for +which a Trade Society should exist. A Trade Society would do well to +teach its members how to spend as well as how to earn. What, indeed, +is the use of higher wages to a certain section of the members of +Trades-Unions? The increased pay, instead of being a blessing, becomes +a curse; it leads to drunkenness, to wife-beating, to disorder in the +public streets, to assaults on the police, to crimes of violence and +blood. It is a melancholy fact that the moment wages begin to rise, +the statistics of crime almost immediately follow suit, and at no +period are there more offences of all kinds against the person than +when material prosperity is at its height. + +It lies well within the functions of such Trades-Unions as possess an +enlightened regard for the welfare of their members, to introduce a +code of regulations which would tend to minimise some of the evils +which have just been mentioned. It would immeasurably raise the status +of the Union, if certain disciplinary measures could be adopted +against members convicted of offences against the law. In the +professions of law and medicine it is the custom at the present time +to expel members who are proved guilty of serious offences of this +description, and unquestionably the dread of expulsion exercises a +most salutary influence on the conduct of all persons belonging to +these professions. It would be possible for Trade organisations to +accomplish much without resorting to this rigorous treatment; and the +real object for which such societies exist--the well-being of the +members--would be attained much more effectively than is the case at +present. Wages are but the means to an end; the end is individual, +domestic and social welfare, and it is only a half measure to supply +the means unless something is also done to secure the end. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE SEASONS AND CRIME. + + +Let us now approach the question of temperature and crime from another +point of view. International statistics indicate pretty clearly that +warm regions exercise an injurious effect on the conduct of European +peoples. Does the information furnished by these statistics stand +alone, or is it supported by the result of investigations conducted in +a different field? To this vital question it will be our endeavour to +supply an answer. In the annual reports of the Prison Commissioners +there is an instructive diagram showing the mean number of prisoners +in the local prisons of England and Wales on the first Tuesday of each +month. This diagram has been published for a considerable number of +years, and if we take any period of six years it is remarkable to +observe the unfailing regularity with which crime begins to decrease +as soon as the summer is over and the temperature begins to fall. From +the month of October till the month of February in the following year, +the prison population continues almost steadily to diminish; from the +month of February till the month of October, the same population, +allowing for pauses in its progress and occasional deflections in its +course, mounts upwards with the rising temperature. According to the +last sextennial diagram of the Prison Commissioners, which embraces +the six years ended March, 1884, the mean number of prisoners in the +local prisons of England and Wales was, on the first Tuesday in +February, 17,600; on the first Tuesday in April it had risen to +18,400; on the first Tuesday in July it had reached nearly 19,000; on +the first Tuesday in October it culminated in 19,200. From this date +onwards the numbers decreased just as steadily as they had previously +risen, reaching their lowest point in February, when the upward +movement again commenced. The steadiness and regularity of this rise +and fall of the prison population, according to the season of the +year, goes on with such wonderful precision that it must proceed from +the operation of some permanent cause. What is this permanent cause? +Is it economic, social, or climatic? + +Is it economic? It is sometimes asserted that the increase of crime in +the summer months is due to the large number of tramps who leave the +workhouses after the winter is over and roam the country in search of +employment. Many of these wanderers, it is said, are arrested for +vagrancy; in summer they swell the prison population just as they +swell the workhouse population in winter. This explanation of the +increase of crime in summer contains so many elements of probability, +that it has come to be rather widely accepted by students of criminal +phenomena. It has not, however, been my good fortune to meet with any +facts or statistics of sufficient weight to establish the validity of +this explanation. As far as I can ascertain it is an explanation which +has obtained currency almost entirely through its own intrinsic +probability; it is believed, but it has not been proved. Let us +proceed to put it to the test. For this purpose we shall select the +county of Surrey--a fairly typical English county, composed partly of +town and partly of country. In the county of Surrey during the month +of July, 1888, sixty per cent. fewer persons were imprisoned for +vagrancy than in the following month of January, 1889. As far as +Surrey is concerned, these figures effectually dispose of the idea +that vagrancy is more common in summer than in winter; as a matter of +fact they demonstrate that the very opposite is the case. Surrey is +the only county for which I have been able to obtain trustworthy +statistics, but there is every reason to believe that the statistics +of Surrey reveal on a limited scale what the whole of England, if +figures were procurable, would reveal on a large scale. Assuming, +then, that what holds good for Surrey is equally valid for the rest of +England, the conclusion is forced upon us that the augmentation of +crime in summer does not arise from an increase of vagrants and others +arrested and convicted under the Vagrancy Acts while in search of work +or pretending to be in search of it. The assumption that such is the +case is quite unwarranted by the facts so far as they are obtainable, +and another explanation must be sought of the greater prevalence of +crime in summer as compared with winter. + +An economic cause of an opposite character to vagrancy has by some +been considered as accounting for the facts now under consideration. +In the summer months, work as a rule is more easily procured; people +in consequence have more money to spend; drunkenness becomes more +common, and the high prison population of summer is to be attributed +to drink. That there is a greater consumption of drink when work +becomes more plentiful is a perfectly correct statement which has been +verified over and over again, and it is also equally correct to say +that drinking leads its victims to the police court. But it has to be +remembered that in almost all cases of drunkenness the magistrate +allows the alternative of a fine. A much larger percentage of fines +is paid in summer than in winter, the result being that the increase +of drunkenness in summer does not disproportionally increase the size +of the prison population. In July, 1888, as compared with January, +1889, cases of felony and assault, followed by imprisonment, increased +in the county of Surrey 20 and 28 per cent. respectively, while +drunkenness on the other hand only increased 18 per cent. The reason +of this relatively small increase of imprisonment for drunkenness does +not arise from the fact that there is less drunkenness in proportion +to the other forms of crime; it is owing to the greater facility with +which this offence can be purged by the payment of a fine. It is +more easily purged in this fashion in summer than in winter, because +people have more money in their pockets. Money, in short, acts in two +capacities which neutralise each other; on the one hand it brings more +persons before the magistrates on charges of drunkenness; on the other +hand, it enables more persons to escape with the simple penalty of a +fine. The prison population is, therefore, not unduly swollen in +summer by the undoubted increase in drinking during that season of the +year; drinking has, in fact, less to do with that increase than any +other cause. + +The preceding observations on vagrancy and drinking will suffice to +show that as far as these two factors are concerned, the rise of the +prison population in the warm weather cannot be explained on economic +grounds. Are there any social habits which will account for it? Change +of seasons has a notable effect on social habits. In the cold days of +winter, the great mass of the population live as much as possible +within the shelter of their own home; as long as the short days and +the cheerless and dismal weather continue, there is little to tempt +them out of doors and to bring them into contact with each other. But +with the advance of spring this condition of things is changed; the +lengthening days, the milder atmosphere, the more abundant sunshine +offer increased facilities for social intercourse. Crowds of people +are thrown together, quarrelling and disorders arise, which call for +the interference of the police to be followed shortly after by a +sentence of imprisonment. The growth of international intercourse is +said to make for peace; the growth of social intercourse, admirable as +it is in many respects, has the unfortunate drawback of mating for +black eyes and broken heads. Admitting the truth of this serious +indictment against our social instincts, and no one can deny that it +does contain a considerable amount of truth, the fact still remains +that weather is indirectly if not directly the source from which the +increase of crime in summer proceeds. It is the good weather that +multiplies occasions for human intercourse; the multiplication of +these facilities augments the volume of crime; and thus it comes to +pass, that the conduct of society is, at least, indirectly affected by +changes of season and the oscillations of temperature. + +But it is also directly affected by these causes, as I shall now +proceed to show. In one of the principal London prisons the average +prison population during the months of June, July and August for the +five years ended August, 1889 was 1,061, and the daily average number +of punishments amounted to 9 and a fraction per thousand. The average +population during the winter months of December, January, February, +for the five years ended February, 1890, was 1009, and the daily +average number of punishments amounted to 7 and a fraction per +thousand. According to these statistics, we have an increase of 2 +punishments per day, or 12 per week (omitting Sundays) to every +thousand prisoners in the three summer months as compared with the +three winter months. In other words, there is a greater tendency among +the inmates of prisons to commit offences against prison regulations +in summer than in winter. In what way is this manifest tendency to be +accounted for? If prisoners were free men living under a variety of +conditions, and subject to a host of complex influences, it would be +possible to adduce all sorts of causes for the existence of such a +phenomenon, and it would be by no means a difficult matter to find +plausible arguments in support of each and all of them. But the almost +absolute similarity of conditions under which imprisoned men live +excludes at one stroke an enormous mass of complicating factors, and +reduces the question to its simplest elements. Here are a thousand men +living in the same place under the same rules of discipline, occupied +in the same way, fed on the same materials, with the same amount of +exercise, the same hours of sleep; in fact, with similarity of life +brought almost to the point of absolute identity; no alteration takes +place in these conditions in summer as compared with winter, yet we +find that there are more offences committed by them in the hotter +season than in the colder. In what way, except on the ground of +temperature, is this difference to be explained. The economic and +social factors discussed by us in connection with the increase of +crime do not here come into play. All persons in prison are living +under the same social and economic conditions in hot weather as well +as in cold. The only changes to which they are subjected are cosmical; +cosmical causes are accordingly the only ones which will account +adequately for the facts. Of these cosmical causes, temperature is by +far the most conspicuous, and it may therefore be concluded that the +increase of prison offences in summer is attributable to the greater +heat. + +Seeing, then, that temperature produces these effects inside prison +walls, it is only reasonable to infer that it produces similar effects +on the outside world. The larger number of offences against prison +discipline which take place in the hot weather have their counterpart +in the larger number of offences committed against the criminal law +during the same season of the year. The conclusions arrived at with +respect to the action of season are supported by the conclusions +already reached with respect to the action of climate. In fact, both +sets of conclusions support each other; both of them point to the +operation of the same cause. + +To any one who may still feel reluctant to admit the intimate relation +between cosmical conditions and crime I would point out that +suicide--a somewhat similar disorder in the social organism--likewise +increases and diminishes under the influences of temperature. "We +cannot help acknowledging," says Dr. Morselli, in his work on +"Suicide," "that through the whole of Europe the greater number of +suicides happen in the two warm seasons. This regularity in the annual +distribution of suicide is too great to be attributed to chance or to +the human will. As the number of violent deaths can be predicted from +year to year with extreme probability in any particular country, so +can the average of every season also be foreseen; in fact, these +averages are so constant from one period to another as to have almost +the specific character of a given statistical series." Professor von +Oettingen in his valuable work, "Die Moralstatistik," comes to the +very same conclusions as Morselli, although his point of view is +entirely different. After mentioning several of the principal States +of Europe, the statistics of which he had examined, Von Oettingen goes +on to say that it may be accepted as a general law that the prevalence +of suicide in the different months of the year rises and falls with +the sun--in June and July it is most rampant; in November, December +and January it descends to a minimum. In London there are many more +suicides in the sunny month of June than in the gloomy month of +November, and throughout the whole of England the cold months do not +demand nearly so many victims as the hot. In the face of these +indisputable facts Von Oettingen, while rejecting the idea that there +is any inexorable fatality, as Buckle believed, connected with their +recurrence, is obliged to admit that the hot weather exercises a +propelling influence on suicidal tendencies, and that the cold weather +on the other hand acts in an opposite direction[18]. + + [18] DISTRIBUTION OF SUICIDES IN LONDON BY MONTHS OF EQUAL + LENGTH PER 10,000, 1865-84:-- + + January, 732. July, 905. + February, 714. August, 891. + March, 840. September, 705. + April, 933. October, 772. + May, 1003. November, 726. + June, 1022. December, 697. + + Dr. Ogle, vol. xlix., 117. _Statistical Society's Journal_. + +The influence of temperature is, however, much less powerful on crime +than it is on suicide. It has the effect of raising by one third the +number of persons to whom life becomes an intolerable burden, but +according to the diagram in the Prison Commissioners' Reports the +highest increase in crime between summer and winter does not amount to +more than one twelfth. In other words, between six and eight per cent. +of the crime committed in this country in summer may with reasonable +certainty be attributed to the direct action of temperature. This is +a most important result and I should almost hesitate to state it if +it were supported by my investigations only. But this is far from +being the case. In an important paper contributed to the Revista di +Discipline Carcerarie for 1886, Dr. Marro, one of the most +distinguished students of crime in Italy, has arrived at similar +conclusions. He has shown that in the Italian prisons in the four +hottest months of the Italian summer--May, June, July and +August--there are also the greatest number of offences against prison +discipline. This is a result which coincides in every particular with +what has already been pointed out as holding good in English prisons, +and the attempts of Dr. Colajanni in the second volume of his work, +"La Sociologia Criminale," to explain it away are not by any means +successful. It is hardly possible to conceive a more suitable form of +test for estimating the effect of temperature on human action than the +one afforded by a comparison of the offences committed against prison +regulations at the different seasons of the year. Such a comparison +amply bears out the contention that the seasons are a factor which +must not be overlooked in all enquiries respecting the origin of +crime, and the best methods of dealing with it. + +In what way does a rise in temperature act on the individual so as +to make him less capable of resisting the criminal impulse? This is +a question of some difficulty, deserving more attention from +physiologists than it has yet received. It is a satisfactorily +established conclusion that the higher temperature of the summer +months has a debilitating effect on the digestive functions; it is +also believed that these months have an enervating effect on the +system generally. In so far as the heat of summer produces disease, it +at the same time tends to produce crime. Persons suffering from any +kind of ailment or infirmity are far more liable to become criminals +than are healthy members of the community. The intimate connection +between disease and crime is a matter which must never be forgotten. +In the present instance, however, the closeness of this connection is +not sufficient to account for the growth of crime in summer. According +to the Registrar General's report for 1889 the death rate in the +twenty-eight large towns is less in the six months from June to +November than in the six months which follow. There is, therefore, +less disease at the very time when there is most crime. In the face of +this fact it cannot be contended that disease, generally, pushes the +population into criminal courses in summer. + +But while this is so, it may yet be true that some special enfeeblement +(generated by the rise of temperature) which does not assume the acute +form usually implied in the name, disease has the effect of +stimulating impulses of a criminal character, or of weakening the +barrier which prevents these impulses from breaking out and carrying +all before them. It is a perfectly well-established fact that a high +temperature not only produces physical enfeeblement, but that it also +impairs the usual activity and energy of the brain. In other words, +a high temperature is invariably accompanied by a certain loss of +mental power. In most persons this loss is comparatively trifling, and +has hardly any perceptible effect on their mode of life and conduct; +in others, it assumes more serious proportions. In some who are +susceptible to cosmical influences, and for one reason or another are +already on the borderland of crime, the decrease of mental function +involved in a rise of temperature becomes a determining factor, and a +criminal act is the result. Through the agency of climate the mental +forces which are normally capable of holding the criminal instincts in +check, lose for a time their accustomed power, and it is whilst this +temporary loss endures that the person subject to it becomes most +liable to be plunged into disaster. It is in this manner, in my +belief, that temperature deleteriously operates upon human conduct. + +The results of my investigations do not, however, bear out the +commonly accepted view that crimes against property increase in the +depth of winter. As far as this law relates to crime in France it may +be correct; the statistical inquiries of Guerry, Ferri, and Corre +point to that conclusion. On the other hand, as far as the law relates +to England, I have serious doubts as to its validity. In the county of +Surrey, in the year 1888-89, not only more crimes against the person, +but also more crimes against property were committed in July than in +January. In the former month, as compared with the latter, cases of +felony increased 20 per cent.; and if Surrey is to be taken as a fairly +typical English county--which there is every reason to believe it +is--we have before us the remarkable fact that there are more offences +against property in summer than in winter. The current opinion that +winter is the most criminal period of the year is entirely fallacious, +and it is extremely probable that it is equally fallacious to imagine +that property is less sate when the days are short and the nights +long. + +But while property, on the whole, in more safe in winter than in +summer, the offences committed against it in winter are, as a rule, of +a more serious character. This, at least, is the conclusion which I +should be inclined to draw, from the fact that there are more +indictable offences--that is to say, offences not tried by a +magistrate, but by a judge and jury--in the six months between October +and March than in the summer six months. For the year ended September, +1888, which is an average year, there were fully 2000 more indictable +offences in the winter six months than in the summer six months. As a +considerable proportion of indictable offences consist in crimes +against property of the nature of housebreaking and burglary, it is +very probable that these crimes are most prevalent in winter. But if +all kinds of offences against property, petty as well as grave, are +thrown together, and calculated under one head, it comes out that +these offences are most numerous in summer. + +The only kind of crime that increases in Surrey in winter is vagrancy; +the growth of this offence for the years I have mentioned in January, +as contrasted with July was 60 per cent. The development of vagrancy +in the cold months is partly owing to the fact that work is not so +easily procured in the cold weather; and a certain percentage of the +population, mainly dependent for subsistence on casual and irregular +out-door jobs, will rather resort to begging than the workhouse, when +this kind of occupation is temporarily at a standstill. This class, +however, is a comparatively small one, and constitutes a very feeble +proportion of the offenders against the Vagrancy Acts which swell the +prison statistics in winter. Most of the offenders against these acts +are people who seize the opportunity afforded by the bitter weather of +appealing to the sympathies of the public. In summer the occupation of +such persons is to some extent gone; in the hot sunshine their rags +and piteous looks do not so strongly affect our feelings of +commiseration; we know they are not suffering from cold; their +petitions and entreaties accordingly fall upon deaf ears; in short, +begging is not a paying trade in the hot months. In winter, all these +conditions are reversed; with the first fall of snow off go the +vagrant's boots, and out he runs looking the picture of misery and +destitution. In an hour or two, if he escapes the attentions of the +police, he has made as much as will keep him comfortably for a few +days; but like many better men his success often brings about his +fall; the alms of a generous public are consumed in the nearest +beer-shop; sallying forth in quest of fresh booty, and made bold and +insolent with drink, the beggar soon finds himself in the hands of the +authorities. Anyone who cares to verify this statement can easily do +so by following the reports of the police courts, and taking note of +the number of convictions for _drunkenness and begging_--a somewhat +significant combination of offences, and one which ought to make the +inconsiderate giver pause. + +What are the practical conclusions to be deduced from this study of +the relations between temperature and crime? The first and most +obvious conclusion is, that any considerable rise of temperature has a +tendency, as far as Europeans and their descendants are concerned, to +diminish human responsibility. Whether there are any palliatives +against this tendency in the way of regimen, and what they are, is a +matter for the consideration of physiologists; and a most important +matter it is, for a high temperature does not merely lead to offences +against the law, it also injuriously affects the conduct of children +in schools, of soldiers in the army, of workmen in factories, and of +the public generally in their relations with one another. While it is +the task of physiologists to examine the physical aspects of the +anti-social tendencies developed by variations of temperature, it is +the duty of all persons placed in positions of authority to recognise +their existence; and to recognise their existence not merely in +others, but also in themselves. It is, unfortunately, not seldom true +that justice is not administered so wisely and patiently in the +burning summer heat as it is at other times. In adjudicating on +criminal cases in the sultry weather, magistrates and judges would do +well to remember that cosmical influences are not without their effect +on human judgments, and that precipitate decisions, or decisions based +upon momentary irritation, or decisions, the severity of which they +may afterwards regret, are to some extent the result of those +influences. The same caution is applicable to those who have to deal +with convicted men; it should be remembered by them that in summer +their tempers are more easily tried, while they have at the same time +more to try them; and the knowledge of these facts should keep them on +the alert against themselves. + +While increased temperature undoubtedly decreases personal +responsibility, it is a most difficult matter to decide whether this +factor ought to be taken into consideration when passing sentence on +criminal offenders. It is much more truly an extenuating circumstance +than the majority of pleas which receive the name. In a variety of +cases, such, for instance, as threats, assaults, manslaughter, murder, +a high temperature unquestionably sometimes enters as a determining +factor into the complex set of influences which produce these crimes. +But the first difficulty confronting a judge, who endeavours to take +such a factor into account, will he the difficulty of discovering +whether it was present or not in the individual case he has before +him. In reply to this objection it may be urged, and urged too with +considerable truth, that this hindrance is not insuperable. It is +possible to overcome it by noting whether the case in question stands +alone, or whether it is only one among a group of others taking place +about the same period. Should it turn out to be a case that stands +alone, it would be fair to assume that temperature is not a cause +requiring to be taken into consideration in dealing with the offender. +Should it, on the contrary, turn out to be one in a group of cases, it +would be equally fair to assume that temperature was not without its +effect in determining the action of the offender. + +Having got thus far, having isolated temperature from among the other +causes, and having fixed upon it as the most potent of them all, what +would immediately and imperatively follow? As a matter of course it +would ensue that a person whose deeds are powerfully influenced by +the action of temperature is to that extent irresponsible for them. +To arrive at such a conclusion is equivalent to saying that such a +person, if his offences are at all serious, constitutes a grave +peril to society. In a sense, he may be less criminal, but he is +certainty more dangerous; and as the supreme duty of society is +self-preservation, such a person must be dealt with solely from that +point of view. It would be ridiculous to let him off because he is +largely irresponsible; his irresponsibility is just what constitutes +his danger, and is the very reason he should be subjected to prolonged +restraint. + +In all offences of a trivial character presumably springing to a large +extent from the action of temperature, it might be wise if the +offender were only punished in such a way as would keep alive in his +memory a vivid recollection of the offence. This method of punishment +is better effected by a short and sharp term of imprisonment than by +inflicting a longer sentence and making the prison treatment +comparatively mild. A short, sharp sentence of this character has also +another advantage which is well worth attention. In many cases the +offender is the bread-winner of the home. The misery which follows his +prolonged imprisonment is often heartrending; the home has to be sold +up bit by bit; the mother has to strip off most of her scanty garments +and becomes, a piteous spectacle of starvation and rags, the +childrens' things have to go to the pawnshop; and it is fortunate if +one or two of the family does not die before the husband is released. +The misery which crime brings upon the innocent is the saddest of its +features, and whatever society can do consistently with its own +welfare to shorten or mitigate that misery, ought, in the interests of +our common humanity, to be done. + +One word with reference to offences which do not come within the +cognisance of the criminal law. I do not know if there are any +statistics to show that, in schools, in workshops, in the army, or, +indeed, in any industry or institution where bodies of people are +massed together under one common head--there are more cases of +insubordination and more offences against discipline when the +temperature is high than in ordinary circumstances. But, whether such +a statistical record exists or not, there can be little doubt that +cases of refractory conduct prevail most largely in the warm season. +It would therefore be well if this fact were borne in mind by all +persons whose duty it is to enforce discipline and require obedience. +Considering that there are certain cosmical influences at work, which +make it note difficult for the ordinary human being to submit to +discipline, it might not be inexpedient, in certain cases, to take +these unusual conditions into account and not to enforce in their full +rigour all the penalties involved in a breach of rules. It is a +universal experience that many things which can ordinarily be done +without fatigue or trouble, become, at times, a burden and a source of +irritation. Some physical disturbance is at the root of this change, +and a similar disturbance is also at the root of the defective +standard of conduct which a high temperature almost invariably +succeeds in producing among some sections of the community. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +DESTITUTION AND CRIME. + + +Under this heading I shall discuss some of the more important social +factors which either directly or indirectly tend to produce crime. It +will be impossible to discuss them all. The action of society upon the +individual is so complex, its effects are so varied, in many instances +so impalpable, that we must content ourselves with a survey of those +social phenomena which are most generally credited with leading up to +acts of delinquency. + +It is very commonly believed that destitution is a powerful factor in +the production of crime; we shall therefore start upon this inquiry by +considering the extent to which destitution is responsible for +offences against person and property. A definition of what is meant by +destitution will assist in clearing the ground. It is a definition +which is not at all difficult to formulate; one destitute person is +remarkably like another, and what applies to one applies with a +considerable degree of accuracy to all. We shall, therefore, define a +destitute person as a person who is without house or home, who has no +work, who is able and willing to work but can get none, and has +nothing but starvation staring him in the face. Is any serious amount +of crime due to the desperation of people in a position such as this? +In order to answer this question it is necessary, in the first place, +to ask what kind of crime such persons will be most likely to commit. +It is most improbable that they will be crimes against the person, +such as homicide or assault; it will not be drunkenness, because, on +the assumption of their destitution, they will possess no money to +spend. In short, the offences a person in a state of destitution is +most likely to commit are begging and theft. What proportion of the +total volume of crime is due to these two offense? This is the first +question we shall have to answer. The second is, to what extent are +begging and theft the results of destitution? An adequate elucidation +of these two points will supply a satisfactory explanation of the part +played by destitution in the production of crime. + +The total number of cases tried in England and Wales either summarily +or on indictment during the year 1887-88 amounted to 726,698. Out of +this total eight per cent. were cases of offences against property +excluding cases of malicious damage, and seven per cent. consisted of +offences against the Vagrancy Acts. Putting these two classes of +offences together we arrive at the result that out of a total number +of crimes of all kinds committed in England and Wales, 15 per cent. +may conceivably be due to destitution. This is a very serious +percentage, and if it actually represented the number of persons who +commit crime from sheer want of the elementary necessaries of life, +the confession would have to be made that the economic condition of +the country was deplorable. But is it a fact that destitution in the +sense we have been using the word is the cause of all these offences? +This is the next question we have to solve, and the answer springing +from it will reveal the true position of the case. + +Let us deal first with offences against property. As has just been +pointed out these constitute eight per cent. of the annual amount of +crime. But according to inquiries which I have made, one half of the +annual number of offenders against property, so far from being in a +state of destitution, were actually at work, and earning wages at the +time of their arrest. Nor in this surprising. The daily newspapers +have only to be consulted to confirm it. In a very great number of +instances the records of criminal proceedings testify to the fact that +the person charged is in some way or other defrauding his employer, +and when these cases are deducted from the total of offences against +property, it considerably lessons the percentage of persons driven by +destitution into the ranks of crime. Add to these the great bulk of +juvenile offenders convicted of theft, and that peculiar class of +people who steal, not because they are in distress, but merely from a +thievish disposition, and it will he manifest that half the cases of +theft in England and Wales are not due to the pressure of absolute +want. + +But what shall be said of the other half which still represents four +per cent. of the annual amount of crime. According to the calculations +just referred to, the offenders constituting this percentage were not +in work when the crimes charged against them were committed. Was it +destitution arising from want of employment which led them to break +the law? At first sight one may easily be inclined to say that it is. +These people, it will be argued, have no work and no money. What are +they to do but beg or steal? Before jumping at this conclusion it must +not be forgotten that there is such a person as the habitual criminal. +The habitual criminal, as he will very soon tell you if you possess +his confidence absolutely, declines to work. He never has worked, he +does not want work; he prefers living by his wits. With the +recollection of imprisonment fresh upon him an offender of this +description may in rare instances take employment for a short period, +but the regularity of life which work entails is more than he can +bear, and the old occupation of thieving is again resorted to. To live +by plundering the community is the trade of the habitual criminal; it +is the only business he truly cares for, and it is wonderful how long +and how often he will succeed in eluding the suspicion and vigilance +of the police. Of course, offenders of this class, when arrested, say +they are out of work, and will very readily make an unwary person +believe that it is destitution which drives them to desperation. But +as was truly remarked a short time ago by a judge in one of the London +courts, nearly all of these very men are able to pay high fees to +experienced counsel to defend them. After these observations, it will +be seen that the habitual criminal, the man who lives by burglary, +housebreaking, shoplifting, and theft of every description, is not to +be classed among the destitute. Criminals of this character constitute +at least two per cent. of the delinquents annually brought before the +courts. + +Respecting the two per cent. of offenders which remain to be accounted +for, it will not be far from the mark to say that destitution is the +immediate cause of their wrong-doing. These offenders are composed of +homeless boys, of old men unable to work, of habitual drunkards who +cannot got a steady job, or keep it when they get it, of vagrants who +divide their time between begging and petty theft, and of workmen on +the tramp, who have become terribly reduced, and will rather steal +than enter a workhouse. The percentage of these offenders varies in +different parts of the country. In the north of England, for instance, +there are comparatively few homeless boys who find their way before +the magistrates on charges of theft; in London, on the other hand, the +number is considerable, and ranges according to the season of the +year, or the state of trade, to between 1 and 3 per cent. of the +criminal population. Why does London enjoy such an evil pre-eminence +in this matter? In my opinion it often arises from the fact that +house-accommodation is so expensive in the metropolis. In London, it +is a habit with many parents, owing to the want of room at home, to +make growing lads shift for themselves at a very early age. These boys +earn just enough to enable them to secure a bare existence; out of +their scanty wages it is impossible to hire a room for themselves; +they have to be contented with the common lodging-house. In such +places these boys have to associate with all sorts of broken-down, +worthless characters, and in numbers of instances they come by degrees +to adopt the habits and modes of life of the class among which their +lot is cast. At the very time parental control is most required it is +almost entirely withdrawn; the lad is left to his own devices; and, in +too many cases, descends into the ranks of crime. The first step in +his downward career begins with the loss of employment; this sometimes +happens through no fault of his own, and is simply the result of a +temporary slackness of trade; but in most instances a job is lost for +want of punctuality or some other boyish irregularity which can only +be properly corrected at home. To lose work is to be deprived of the +means of subsistence; the only openings left are the workhouse or +crime. It is the latter alternative which is generally chosen, and +thus, the lad is launched on the troubled sea of crime. + +It must not be understood that all London boys drift into crime after +the manner I have just described. In some instances these unfortunates +have lived all their life in criminal neighbourhoods, and merely +follow the footsteps of the people around them. What, for instance, is +to be expected from children living in streets such as Mr. Charles +Booth describes in his work on "Life and Labour in East London?" One +of these streets, which he calls St. Hubert Street, swarms with +children, and in hardly any case does the family occupy more than one +room. The general character of the street is thus depicted. "An awful +place; the worst street in the district. The inhabitants are mostly of +the lowest class, and seem to lack all idea of cleanliness or decency +.... The children are rarely brought up to any kind of work, but loaf +about, and, no doubt, form the nucleus for future generations of +thieves and other bad characters." In this street alone there are +between 160 and 170 children; these children do not require to go to +lodging-houses to be contaminated; they breathe a polluted moral +atmosphere from birth upwards, and it is more than probable that a +considerable proportion of them will help to recruit the army of +crime. It is not destitution which will force them into this course, +but their up-bringing and surroundings. + +In addition to homeless boys who steal from destitution, there are, as +I have said, a number of decrepit old men who do the same. There is a +period in a workman's life when he becomes too feeble to do an average +day's work. When this period arrives employers of labour often +discharge him in order to make way for younger and more vigorous men. +If his home, as sometimes happens, is broken up by the death of his +wife, his existence becomes a very lonely and precarious one. An odd +job now and again is all he can get to do, and even these jobs are +often hard to find. His sons and daughters are too heavily encumbered +with large families to be capable of rendering any effective +assistance, and the Union looms gloomily in the distance as the only +prospect before the worn-out worker. But it sometimes happens that he +will not face that prospect. He will rather steal and run the risk of +imprisonment. And so it comes to pass that for a year or two before +finally reconciling himself to the Union, the aged workman will lead a +wandering, criminal life on a petty scale; he becomes an item in the +statistics of offenders against property. + +Habitual drunkards form another class who sometimes steal from +destitution. The well-known irregularity of these men's habits +prevents them, in a multitude of cases, from getting work, and +unfortunately, they cannot keep it when they do get it. Employers +cannot depend on them; as soon as they earn a few shillings they +disappear from the workshop till the money is spent on drink. It is at +such times that they are arrested for being drunk and disorderly. As +they can never pay a fine they have to go to prison, but long before +their sentence has expired they have lost their job, and must look out +for something else. If such men do not find work many of them are not +ashamed to steal, and it is only when trade is at flood-tide that they +can be sure of employment, no matter how irregular their habits may +be. At other times they are the first to be discharged and the last to +be engaged. It is not really destitution, but intemperance which turns +them into thieves. That they are destitute when arrested is perfectly +true, but we must go behind the immediate fact of their destitution in +order to arrive at the true causes of their crimes. When this is done +it is found that the stress of economic conditions has very little to +do with making these unhappy beings what they are; on the contrary, it +is in periods of prosperity that they sink to the lowest depths. + +Summing up the results of this inquiry into the relations between +destitution and offences against property, we arrive as nearly as +possible at the following figures, so far as England and Wales are +concerned:-- + +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Proportion of offences against property to total + offences: 8. p. cent. + --- + Thus divided: + Proportion of offenders in work when arrested: 4. p. cent. + Proportion of offenders, habitual thieves: 2. p. cent. + Proportion of offenders, homeless lads and old men: 1. p. cent. + Proportion of offenders, drunkards, tramps: 1. p. cent. + --- + 8. p. cent. +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + +We shall now proceed to an examination of offences against the +Vagrancy Acts presumably arising from destitution. It has already +been pointed out that seven per cent. of the annual amount of crime +committed in England and Wales consists of offences against the +Vagrancy Acts, and it now remains for us to inquire whether these +offences are the result of destitution, or what part destitution plays +in producing them. + +Out of the 52,136 offenders against the Vagrancy Acts in the year +1888, less than one half (45 per cent.) were charged with begging; the +other offences consisted principally in prostitution, in having +implements of housebreaking, in frequenting places of public resort to +commit felony, in being found on enclosed premises for unlawful +purposes. In all these cases, with the exception of prostitution, it +is not probable that destitution had much, if anything, to do with +inducing the offenders to violate the law. Men who live the life of +incorrigible rogues, who prowl about enclosed premises, who lead a +mysterious existence, without doing any work, are not to be classed +among the destitute; as a general rule, such persons are habitual +thieves and vagabonds, who persist in the life they have adopted +merely because it suits them best. One of the great difficulties in +dealing with persons of this stamp is their hatred of a well-ordered +existence; in a vast number of cases the life they live is the only +kind of life they thoroughly enjoy; it is a profound mistake to +imagine that they are pining for what are usually regarded as the +decencies and comforts of human beings. Nothing is further from their +thoughts. Let us alone and mind your own business is the secret +sentiment and often the open avowal of most of these people. "We +should be miserable living according to your ideas; let us live +according to our own." It is very common for benevolent people to +assume that the objects of their compassion and solicitude are, in +reality, as wretched as they imagine them to be. Living themselves in +ease, and it may be affluence, and surrounded by all the amenities of +existence, it is difficult for them to realise that multitudes can +enjoy a rude kind of happiness in the absence of all this. Such, +however, is the fact. The vagabond class is not more miserable than +any other; it is, of course, not without its sorrows, vicissitudes, +and troubles, but what section of the community is free from these +ills? This class has even a philosophy adapted to its circumstances, +the fundamental articles of which have been once for all summed up in +the lines of Burns:-- + + "Life is all a variorum; + We regard not how it goes, + Let them cant about decorum + Who have characters to lose." + +What has just been said respecting the loafing, thieving vagabond +applies in a very great measure to the ordinary beggar. The habitual +beggar is a person who will not work. He hates anything in the shape +of regular occupation, and will rather put up with severe hardships +than settle down to the ordinary life of a working-man. It would be +easy to adduce instances to demonstrate the accuracy of what is here +stated. It would be easy to mention cases by the hundred, in which men +addicted to begging have been thoroughly fitted out and started in +life, but all to no purpose. Once a man fairly takes to begging, as a +means of livelihood, it is almost hopeless attempting to cure him. +After a time he loses the capacity for labour; his faculties, for want +of exercise, become blunted and powerless, and he remains a beggar to +the end of his days. It sometimes happens that the beggar who has +taken to mendicancy as a profession is obliged to go to the workhouse +as a kind of temporary refuge. This is not so frequent considering the +sort of life a vagrant has to lead; but when it does occur, the +labour-master of the Union very often finds it next to impossible to +got him to perform the task every able-bodied person is expected to +complete when taking shelter in a Casual Ward. As a result the +habitual beggar has sometimes to appear before the magistrates as a +refractory pauper, but a short sentence of imprisonment, which usually +follows, has lost all its terrors for him; he prefers enduring it to +doing the task allotted to him at the workhouse. + +From this it will be seen that habits of indolence, and not the stress +of destitution, are responsible for a great deal of the begging which +goes on in England; but these habits are not answerable for the whole +of it. When times are bad begging has a decided tendency to increase, +and this arises from the fact that a considerable proportion of the +community possess wonderfully few resources within themselves. Even in +depressed times it is astonishing how well men who can turn their +hand, as it is called, can manage to live. Men of this stamp are not +beaten and rendered helpless by the misfortune of losing their usual +employment; they are capable of devising fresh methods of earning a +livelihood; they are persistent, persevering, energetic; they are not +content to stand by with their hands in their pockets and their back +at the wall; at times they even create an occupation, and devise new +wants for the community. Such men exist in large numbers among the +working population, and are able to tide over periods of slackness and +depression in a truly admirable way. But there are others who are +utterly lost the moment trade ceases to flourish. As soon as they lose +the job they have been accustomed to work at they at once sink into a +condition of complete helplessness; knowing not which way to move or +what steps to take; in a very short time they are to be found +soliciting alms in the streets. It is a very serious matter when such +persons are reduced to these straits. With the advent of better times +it is often very difficult to enrol them once again in the ranks of +industry. Bad habits have been acquired, self-respect has broken down, +the mind has become accustomed to a lower plane of existence; the +danger has arisen that persons who were to begin with only beggars by +accident may end by becoming beggars from choice. This is what +actually does happen in some instances, and especially where the level +of life and comfort has at all times been low. The transition from the +one state to the other is not a very pronounced one, and the step into +the position of a habitual beggar is not hard to take after a certain +number of lessons in the mendicant's art have once been learnt. In one +sense it is the pressure of want which has made these people beggars, +in another sense it is their own apathy and feebleness of resource. + +It is not easy to estimate the number of persons who become habitual +mendicants in consequence of slackness of work and the temporary loss +of employment. As a matter of fact the whole body of statistical +information bearing upon vagrancy is rather unreliable in character, +and it is difficult to see how it can be anything else. In almost all +cases of begging the initiative is taken by the police; it very seldom +happens that a private citizen gives a beggar in charge. The regular +and systematic enforcement of the Vagrancy Acts by the public +authorities is impeded by a variety of causes, each of which makes it +difficult to grasp accurately the proportions of the begging +population. In the first place no two policemen enforce the law with +the same stringency; one is inclined to be lax and lenient, while +another will not allow a single case to escape. In some districts +chief constables do not care to bring too many begging cases before +the local magistrates; in other districts chief constables are zealous +for the rooting out of vagrancy. In some counties the magistrates +themselves are not so anxious to convict for vagrancy as they are in +others; where the latter tendency prevails, the police take their cue +from the magistrates and comparatively few offences against the +Vagrancy Acts are brought up for trial. Again, there are times when +the public have fits of indulgence towards beggars, which are +counterbalanced at other periods by a corresponding access of +severity; these oscillations of public sentiment are immediately felt +by the executive authorities. The conduct of policemen and magistrates +towards the begging fraternity is largely shaped by the dominant +public mood, and the statistics of vagrancy move up and down in +sympathy with it. Thus it comes to pass that the variations which take +place in the annual statistics of vagrancy do not necessarily +correspond with the growth or diminution of the number of persons +following this mode of life; the actual number of such persons in the +population may in reality be varying very little or, perhaps, +remaining stationary, whilst official statistics are pointing to the +conclusion that important changes are going on. In short, the +statistics of vagrancy are more useful as affording a clue to the +state of public sentiment with respect to this offence than as +offering an accurate test of the extent to which vagrancy prevails. + +After this explanation it will be seen how difficult it is, in the +first place, to estimate the exact numbers of the vagrant population; +and, in the next place, the exact proportion of beggars who have been +driven into the ranks of vagrancy, as a result of bad trade and +inability to obtain work. My own impression is, that the number of +persons who are forced to beg for want of work is not large, and they +consist, for the most part, of men beyond middle life or verging upon +old age. There are two causes at present in operation in England which +often press hard upon such men. The first of these causes is one which +was felt more severely twenty or thirty years ago than at the present +moment--I moan the introduction of machinery into industries formerly +carried on to a large extent by hand. One of the most conspicuous +characteristics of the present century is the ever-increasing extent +to which inventions of all kinds have invaded almost every department +of industry. As far as the young are concerned, those inventions have +been on the whole a benefit, and what used to be hard work has become, +as Professor Alfred Marshall recently said, merely looking on. But the +case stands differently with workmen who are surprised by some new +invention at a period of life when the power of adaptability to a +fresh set of industrial circumstances is almost entirely gone. One of +the first consequences of a new invention may be, and often is, that +work which had hitherto been performed by men can now be done by women +and boys; or an occupation which had formerly taken years to learn can +now be mastered in a few weeks. In other cases the new machine is able +to do the work of twenty, fifty, or a hundred men; the article +produced is so immensely cheapened that the old handicraftsman is +driven out of the field; if he is a man entering into years, and +therefore unable to turn his hand to something else, the bread is +practically taken out of his mouth, and the machine, which is +undoubtedly a benefit to the community as a whole, means starvation to +him as an individual. When such circumstances occur, and positive +proof in abundance can be adduced to show that they do take place, the +position of the aged worker becomes a very hard and embarrassing one. +He finds it a very uphill task to change the whole course of his +industrial activities at a period of life when nature has lost much of +her elasticity; the new means he has had to adopt in order to earn a +livelihood are irksome to him; the diminished sum he is now able to +earn per week depresses his spirits and deprives him of certain little +comforts he had long been accustomed to enjoy; but in spite of these +unforeseen and unexpected hardships it is marvellous to see how nobly +working-men, as a rule, struggle on to the end, like a bird with a +broken wing. There are, however, cases in which the struggle is given +up. It would be impossible to enumerate all the causes which lead to +such a deplorable result; sometimes these causes are personal, +sometimes they are social, while in many instances they are a +combination of both. But, whatever such circumstances may be in +origin, the effects of them are generally the same; the worker who is +incapable of adjusting himself to his new industrial surroundings has +few alternatives before him. These alternatives, unless he is +supported by his family or relations, resolve themselves into the +Union, beggary, or theft. Many choose the Union and, with all its +drawbacks, it is undoubtedly the wisest choice; but others have such a +horror of the restraints imposed upon the inmates of a workhouse that +they enter upon the perilous and precarious career of the beggar or +petty thief. The men who make such a choice as this are not, as may +easily be surmised, the pick of their class. They consist, to a good +extent, of persons who have been somewhat unsteady in their habits; +they are not downright drunkards, and they have never allowed drink to +interfere with their regular occupation; but it has been their +immemorial custom to go in for a good deal of drinking on Saturday +nights; on Bank holidays, and other festive occasions. Sensible +workmen do not care to amuse themselves after this fashion; it is +rather too like a savage orgie for most tastes; at the same time it is +the only form of amusement which certain sections of the populace +truly and heartily enjoy, and, on the whole, it is perhaps better that +this rude form of merry-making should remain, than that the multitude +should be deprived of every outlet for the pent-up exuberance of their +spirits. My own impression is, that the rough and boisterous element +which shows itself so conspicuously when the labouring population is +at play will never be eradicated so long as men and women have to +spend so much of their time within the four walls of workshops and +factories, where so much restraint and suppression of the individual +is imperative, if the industrial machine is to go on. It is not at all +unnatural that the severe regularity and monotony of an existence +chiefly spent in this manner should be occasionally interspersed with +outbursts of somewhat boisterous revelry, and the persons who indulge +in it are not to be set down off-hand as worthless characters, because +they sometimes step beyond due and proper bounds. At the same time it +must be admitted that it is generally from the ranks of this class +that the supreme aversion to the workhouse proceeds, and that the +disposition to live by begging, rather than enter it, most largely +prevails. If it happens, therefore, that a man who has lived the life +we have just described is thrown out of employment, by the +introduction of machinery, at a period when he is too old to turn his +hand to something else, he not unfrequently ends by becoming a beggar, +and this continues to be his occupation to the last. + +The second cause which leads a certain number of elderly men to adopt +a life of vagrancy is to be attributed to the action of Trades-Unions. +After a workman reaches a certain period of life he is no longer able +to do a full day's work. As soon as this period of life arrives, and +sometimes even before it does arrive, the artisan finds it becoming +increasingly difficult to obtain employment. The rate of wages in his +trade is fixed by Trades-Union rules; every man, no matter what his +qualifications may be, has to receive so much an hour, or the full +Trade-Union wage for the district; no one is allowed to take a job at +a lower figure. No doubt Trades-Unionists find that this regulation +works well an far as it relates to the young and the able-bodied, and +as these always compose the great majority in every trade society, it +is a regulation which is not likely to be rescinded or modified. +Nevertheless, it is a rule which often operates very unjustly in the +case of men who are getting old. These men may have been steady and +industrious workmen all their lives, they may still be able to do a +fair amount of honest work; but, as soon as that amount of work falls +below the daily average of the trade, such men have to go; they are +henceforth practically debarred from earning an honest livelihood at +what has hitherto been the occupation of their working life. Work may +be abundant in the district, but it is useless for grey-haired men to +apply; they cannot do the amount required, and as they are not +permitted to work at a lower rate of wages than their fellows, the +means of getting a living are arbitrarily taken out of their hands. As +a consequence of these Trades-Union enactments, cases are not +infrequent in which workmen who have just passed middle life, or have +sustained injuries, drift insensibly into vagrant habits. These habits +are acquired almost without their knowing it. In the vague hope of +perhaps finding something to do a man will wander from town to town +existing as best he can; after the hope of employment has died away he +still continues to wander, and thus forms an additional unit in the +permanent army of beggars and vagrants. Trade-Unionists would +undoubtedly remedy a great wrong if some effective means were devised +by them to meet cases of this character. It should be remembered by +those most opposed to any modifications of the present system that +they may one day be its victims. The hindrances in the way of putting +an end to the injustice inherent in the present arrangements are not +incapable of being overcome. It is surely possible to devise a rule +which, while leaving intact the essential features of the present +system, will render it more flexible--a rule to enable the maimed and +the aged who cannot do a full day's work to make, through the Union if +need be, some special arrangement with the employers. Such a rule, if +properly safe-guarded to prevent abuse, would be of inestimable +benefit to many a working man. + +If the step here suggested were adopted by the Trade Societies, it +would, according to calculations which I have made, reduce the begging +population by about two per cent. This percentage, in my opinion, +represents the number of vagrants who are able and willing to do a +certain amount of work, but cannot get it to do. It is a percentage +which at any rate does not err on the side of being too low; when +trade is at its ordinary level it is perhaps a little too high. In any +case this proportion may be taken as a tolerably accurate estimate of +the numbers of the vagrant class which will not enter the Unions when +out of employment, and are consequently forced by the pressure of want +to resort to a life of beggary. + +The proportion here indicated of the number of vagrants who are +willing to work coincides in a remarkable manner with certain +statistics recently collected by H. Monod of the Ministry of the +Interior in France.[19] According to M. Monod a benevolently disposed +French citizen wished to know the amount of truth contained in the +complaints of sturdy beggars, that they were willing to work if they +could get anything to do or anyone to employ them. This gentleman +entered into negotiations with some merchants and manufacturers, and +induced them to offer work at the rate of four francs a day to every +person presenting himself furnished with a letter of recommendation +from him. In eight months 727 sturdy beggars came under his notice, +all complaining that they had no work. Each of them was asked to come +the following day to receive a letter which would enable him to get +employment at four francs a day in an industrial establishment. More +than one half (415) never came for the letter; a good many others +(138) returned for the letter but never presented it. Others who did +present their letter worked half a day, demanded two francs and were +seen no more. A few worked a whole day and then disappeared. In short, +out of the whole 727 only 18 were found at work at the end of the +third day. As a result of this experiment M. Monod concludes that not +more than one able-bodied beggar in 40 is inclined to work even if he +is offered a fair remuneration for his services. + + [19] Cf. _L'Etat Moderne et ses Functions par Paul Leroy Beaulieu_, + p. 300. See also Mr. J.C. Sherrard's letter to the _Times_ of + January 8th, 1891, on "Tramps." + +If further proof were wanted that vagrancy, as far, at least, as +England and Wales are concerned, is very seldom produced by +destitution, it will be found in the following facts. A comparison +between the number of male and female vagrants arrested in 1888 under +the provisions of the Vagrancy Acts shows that there were nearly four +times more male vagrants proceeded against before the magistrates than +female. The exact numbers are males, 40,672; females, 11,464. Although +the numbers charged vary from year to year, the proportion between +males and females always remains very much the same, and it may +therefore be considered as established that men are from three to four +times more addicted to vagrancy than women. If the charges of +prostitution were excluded (they amounted to 6,486 in 1888), it will +be found that the proportion of male vagrants to female is as eight to +one. Looking at this matter _à priori_, we should expect these figures +to be reversed. In the first place women form a considerably larger +proportion of the community than men, and in the second place there +are not nearly so many openings for females in our present industrial +system. Forming a judgment upon these two sets of facts alone, one +would almost inevitably come to the conclusion that women would be +found in much larger numbers among the vagrant class than men. There +are fewer careers open to them in the industrial world; they are less +fitted to move about from place to place in search of work; the pay +they receive in manufacturing and other establishments is, as a rule, +very poor; but in spite of all these economic disadvantages only one +woman becomes a beggar to every four men, or, if we exclude fallen +women, to every eight men. What does this condition of things serve to +show? It is an incontestable proof that at least three-fourths or, +perhaps, seven-eighths of the begging carried on by men is without +economic excuse. If women who are so heavily handicapped in the race +of life can run it to such a large extent without resorting to +vagrancy, so can men. That men fall so far behind women in this +respect is to be attributed, as we have seen, not to their want of +power, but to their want of will. They possess far more opportunities +of earning a livelihood than their sisters, but, notwithstanding this +advantage, they figure far more prominently in the vagrant list. The +only possible explanation of this state of things is that vagrancy is, +to a very large extent, entirely unconnected with economic conditions; +the position of trade either for good or evil is a very secondary +factor in producing this disease in the body politic; its extirpation +would not he effected by the advent of an economic millennium; its +roots are, as a rule, in the disposition of the individual, and not to +any serious degree in the industrial constitution of society; hence, +the only way to stamp it out is by adopting vigorous and effective +methods of repression. + +The British Isles are in a position to adopt these measures with +boldness and confidence, for the Poor Law system provides for all +genuine cases of destitution, and in striking at begging with a heavy +hand, the authorities are at the same time doing much to suppress +other kinds of crime. It has to be remembered that the vagrant is a +dangerous person in more ways that one. The life he leads, his habit +of going from house to house, affords him ample opportunities of +noticing where a robbery may he successfully committed. If he does not +make use of the opportunities himself, he is not at all unwilling to +let others who will into his secret for a small consideration. In low +lodging-houses and public-houses of a similar type beggars and thieves +are accustomed to meet, to fraternise, to exchange notes; the beggar +is able to give the burglar a hint, and many a case of house-breaking +is the outcome of these sinister confabulations. Little do many people +imagine when they are doing a good deed, as they believe, to some +worthless, wandering reprobate, that he is at the same moment looking +around, so as to be able to tell a companion how best the house may be +robbed. It is very seldom thieves break into houses without having +received information beforehand respecting them, and the source of +that information is in many instances the vagrant, who has been +knocking at the door for alms a short time before. + +One of the principal reasons which makes beggary such a profitable +occupation, and renders it so hard to repress, is the persistent +belief among great numbers of people that beggars are working men in +distress. That, of course, is the beggar's tale, but it is a baseless +fabrication. It is no more the practice of working-men to go about +begging than it is the practice of the middle-class, but until this +elementary fact can be laid hold of by the public all statutory +enactments for the suppression of mendicity will be but partial in +their operation. Speaking from considerable personal experience, as +well as from statistical facts, one is able to affirm that the great +mass of the working population of these islands have nothing whatever +in common with the indolent vagrant; and it is a libel on the +working-classes to assume that a man is a workman to-day and a beggar +to-morrow. As a matter of fact, beggars are recruited from all ranks +of the community, when they are not actually born to the trade. Of +course, the greatest number is drawn from the working population; it +is they who form the immense bulk of the nation, and it is only +reasonable to suppose that they will contribute to the begging +fraternity in proportion to their numbers. But, just as the proportion +of thieves drawn from the working-classes is not greater than the +proportion drawn from the well-to-do classes, so is it likewise with +beggars. The other classes, in proportion to their numbers, contribute +just about as many beggars to the community as the working population, +and such beggars are generally the most hardened and villainous +specimens of their tribe. With the beggar sprung from the working +population one is sometimes able to do something, but a beggar who has +descended from the higher walks of life is one of the most hopeless, +as well as one of the most corrupt creatures it is possible to +conceive. If the public would only allow themselves to realise that +these are the facts respecting vagrancy, and if they would exercise +their knowledge in consistently refusing help to professional +wanderers, the plague of beggars would soon disappear, to the immense +relief and benefit of everybody, not excluding the beggars themselves. + +A persistent refusal to assist beggars, while perfectly justifiable in +these islands, is a method which can hardly be adopted in countries +where there is no efficient and comprehensive Poor Law. In such +countries, for instance, an Austria and Germany, where there is no +proper provision on the part of the State for the feeble, the +helpless, the aged, the maimed, begging, on the part of these +unfortunates, becomes, in many cases, an absolute necessity. Recent +statistics,[20] respecting the working of additions to the Austrian +vagrancy laws passed in 1885, would seem to show that numbers of the +genuine labouring population have been in the habit of resorting to +begging when going from place to place in search of employment. To +meet these cases the Austrian Government, in the year just mentioned, +secured the passing of a law for the establishment of what are called +Naturalverpflegstationen, or refuges for workmen on the tramp. These +shelters or refuges are strictly confined to the use of genuine +labourers; the poor of the surrounding neighbourhood are not allowed +to enter them; nor is any one afforded shelter who cannot show that he +has been at work within the previous three months, or who applies +twice for admission in the course of that time. A man must also +produce his papers and be willing to perform a certain amount of work; +in return for this he is allowed to remain at the shelter for eighteen +hours, but not more, and is informed on his departure where the next +station is situated. He is also told if there is any probability of +getting employment in the district and is given the names of employers +in want of men. These institutions are a combination, of the casual +ward and the labour bureau, differing, however, from the casual ward +in rejecting all mere wanderers and accepting genuine workmen alone. + + [20] Cf. Conrad's _Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften_, + i. 928. + +It in only in some parts of the Austrian Empire that this system has +as yet been put into operation, for the act is of a permissive +character and is mainly worked by the local authorities. In those +districts of lower Austria where it has been tried, it has so far +produced most satisfactory results; begging has decreased according to +the statistics for 1888, more than 60 per cent. in the course of three +years, while in other parts of Austria, where these institutions are +not yet adopted, it has only decreased 25 per cent. The system has as +yet been in operation for too short a period to enable an opinion to +be formed of its eventual success, but so far it promises well and is +an interesting experiment which deserves to be watched. In any case +the experience derived from the working of this law shows that in +Austria, at least, the workman in search of employment has up till +recently been too often confounded with the habitual beggar, a +confusion highly detrimental to the real interests of the State. One +of the main objects of every well ordered Poor Law system should be to +create as wide a gulf as possible between the begging class and the +working-class; it should do everything possible to prevent anything +like a solidarity of interests between these two sections of the +community; it should dissociate the worker from the vagrant in every +conceivable manner, so that the working population cannot possibly +fail to see that the State draws a sharp line of distinction between +them and the refuse of the land. It was a wise remark of Goethe's +that, if you want to improve men you must begin by assuming that they +are a little better than what they seem; and it is a principle which +is applicable to communities and classes as well as to individuals. + +Before dismissing the question of the relations between vagrancy and +destitution there is one more point which still requires to be +considered. According to English law, prostitution is set down as a +form of vagrancy, and the number of persons convicted of this offence +is to be found included in the statistics of vagrancy. We shall, +therefore, consider prostitution in this connection as a form of +vagrancy, and proceed to examine the extent to which it is produced by +destitution. If this grave social disorder were entirely due to a want +of the elementary needs of life on the part of the unhappy creatures +who practice it, we should find an utter absence of it in America and +Australia. In these two important portions of the globe, woman's work +is at a premium; it is one of the easiest things imaginable for +females to get employment; no one willing to work need remain idle a +single day, and the bitter cry of householders, in those quarters of +the world, is that domestic servants are not to be had. But, in spite +of the favourable position in which women stand, as far as work is +concerned in America and Australia, what do we find? Do we find that +there is no such thing as a fallen class in Melbourne and New York? On +the contrary, it is often a subject of bitter complaint by American +and Australian citizens that their large towns are just as bad, as far +as sexual morality goes, as the cities of the old world. The higher +economic position of women does not seem to touch the evil either in +the Antipodes or beyond the Atlantic. It exists among communities +where destitution is an almost unmeaning word; it exists in lands +where no woman need be idle, and where she is highly paid for her +services. In the face of such facts it is impossible to believe that +destitution is the only motive which impels a certain class of women +to wander the streets. + +What is true with respect to destitution is that it compels women to +remain in the deplorable life they have adopted, but it seldom or +never drives them to take to it. Almost all the best authorities are +agreed upon this point. No one has examined this social sin in all its +bearings with such patience and exhaustiveness as Parent Duchatelet, +and his deliberate opinion, after years of investigation, is that its +origin lies in the character of the individual, in vanity, in +slothfulness, in sex. It does not, however, follow that a person +possessing these characteristics in an abnormal degree is bound to +fall. If such a person is protected by parental care, no evil results +need necessarily ensue. It is when low instincts are combined with a +bad home that the worst is to be feared. This fact was clearly and +emphatically brought to light by the parliamentary inquiry which took +place in France a few years ago. M. Th. Roussel, one of the highest +authorities on the committee, the man, in fact, from whom the inquiry +derived its name, thus sums up some of its results: "However large a +part in the production of prostitution must be allowed to the love of +pleasure and of finery, to a dislike of work and to debased instincts, +the cause which, according to the facts cited, appears everywhere as +the most powerful and the most general, is the want of a home, the +want of maternal care." Here are some of the facts on which M. Roussel +bases his general statement. "At Bordeaux, out of 600 'filles +inscrites' 98 were minors. Of the latter, 44 appear to have fallen +through their own fault alone. The remaining 54 grew up under +abnormal, domestic conditions; 14 were orphans, without father or +mother, 7 had only one parent, 32 had been abandoned or perverted by +their parents." + +In England it would be impossible to conduct a parliamentary inquiry +on the lines of the "Enquête Roussel," but it is very probable if such +an inquiry were instituted it would reveal a condition of things very +similar to what exists in France. The scattered and fragmentary +information we do possess points to that conclusion, and the +conclusion, it must be admitted, is not at all a hopeful or comforting +one. Supposing that all the homeless and deserted female children we +have now in our midst were immediately placed under the protection of +the State (as a matter of fact, most of them are), it does not follow +that they will grow up to lead regular lives. According to the +thirty-second report of the Inspector of Reformatory and Industrial +Schools, the authorities are unable to account satisfactorily for the +character of more than four fifths of the inmates of girls' industrial +schools who have left these institutions on an average for two or +three years. That is to say, it is probable that about twenty out of +every hundred girls go to the bad within two or three years of leaving +an industrial school. The proportion of girls discharged from +reformatory schools, whose character is bad within two years of their +discharge, is still larger than in the case of industrial schools. +This is only what might be expected, for it is the worst cases that +are now sent to reformatory schools. "Since the passing of the +Elementary Education Act," said Miss Nicoll of the Girls' Reformatory, +Hampstead, at the Fourth Conference of the National Association of +certified Reformatory and Industrial Schools, "a great change has +gradually been made in the character and age of the inmates of our +reformatories on admission. The School Boards in the country, and more +especially the School Board of London, by enforcing compulsory +attendance of all the children of the poor between the ages of five +and thirteen, have swept into what are termed Truant Schools all the +neglected and uncontrollable children who were formerly sent to +certified industrial schools--these latter being now retained in a +great measure for children who, besides being neglected and beyond the +control of their parents, have either taken their first steps in a +course of crime, or have, by association with vicious companions, +become familiar with it. The industrial schools have thus intercepted +the very class from which our numbers were usually drawn, leaving, as +a rule, for reformatories, girls about fifteen, who, though nominally +under fifteen, are sometimes a good deal older when admitted. Young +persons, as these are termed in the Summary Jurisdiction Acts of 1879, +are of a much more hardened character than before, and in addition to +having been guilty of acts of petty larceny, have frequently been +prostitutes for some time anterior to their admission. This being so, +it can hardly be wondered at if the success of reformatories is not so +marked as it was when they were first instituted." + +Seeing that reformatories for girls, on account of the more hardened +character of their inmates on admission, are not so successful as +industrial schools, it is certainly within the mark to say that at +least one-fourth of the cases discharged from these institutions +become failures in the space of two years. If the proportion is so +high at the end of two years, what will it amount to at the end of +five? It is then that the young person enters upon what is _par +excellence_ the criminal age, and when that age is reached, I fear +that the proportion of failures increases considerably. In any case we +have sufficient data to show that the protection of the State, when +extended, as it is in the United Kingdom, to helpless and homeless +girls, does not in many instances suffice to keep them on the road of +virtue. Deep-seated instincts manage to assert themselves in spite of +the most careful training, the most vigilant precautions, and until +the moral development of the population, as a whole, reaches a higher +level, it will be vain to hope too much from the labours of State +institutions, however excellent these institutions may be. + +It has, however, to be remembered that the fallen class is not by any +means recruited exclusively from the ranks of the helpless and the +homeless. On the contrary, according to the evidence of the Roussel +commission, nearly one half of the minors (44 out of 98) found in the +"maisons de tolerance" of Bordeaux had no domestic or economic +impediments to encounter. External circumstances, as far as could be +seen, had nothing to do with the unhappy position in which they stood, +and the life they adopted appears to have been entirely of their own +choosing. It is true the Bordeaux statistics only cover a small area, +and are not to be looked upon as in themselves exhaustive, but when +these statistics confirm, as they do, the careful observations of all +unbiassed investigators, we cannot be far wrong in coming to the +conclusion that in France, at least, fifty per cent. of the cases of +prostitution are not originally due to the pressure of want. Since the +introduction of Truant and Industrial Schools in this country for +homeless and neglected girls, it is certain that the proportion of +those who fall from sheer destitution must be extremely small. On the +Continent, where such institutions do not exist on such an extensive +scale, the proportion may be somewhat larger, but in the United +Kingdom it cannot, according to the most liberal computation, exceed +ten per cent. of the cases brought before the magistrates. Many +experienced observers will not allow that it reaches such a high +percentage. + +We are now in a position to tabulate the results of our inquiries as +to the part played by destitution in producing prostitution and +vagrancy. The following table represents the proportion of persons +charged under the provisions of the Vagrancy Acts in the year 1888:-- + +Percentage of beggars, 45 per cent. +Percentage of prostitutes, 12 " +Percentage of other offenders, 43 " + --- + 100 per cent. + +Percentage of beggars destitute from misadventure, 2 per cent. +Percentage of prostitutes, do. do. 10 " +Percentage of other offenders, do. do. 2 " + --- + 14 per cent. + +It has already been pointed out that persons charged with offences +against the Vagrancy Acts constitute on an average 7 per cent. of the +total annual criminal population. According to the statistics we have +just tabulated, 5 per cent. of these offences are not due to the +pressure of destitution, and only 2 per cent. are to be attributed +to that cause. + +Let us now collect the whole of the figures set forth in this chapter, +so that we may be in a position to give an answer to the question with +which we set out, namely, to what extent are theft and vagrancy the +product of destitution? + +Proportion of offences against Property and the Vagrancy Acts + to total number of offences tried in 1888, 15 per cent. +Proportion of offenders against property destitute, 2 " +Proportion of offenders against Vagrancy Acts destitute, 2 " + +Adding together the two classes of offenders against Property and the +Vagrancy Acts who, according to our calculations, are destitute when +arrested, we arrive at the fact that they form four per cent. of the +total criminal population. As has already been pointed out, beggars +and thieves are almost the only two sections of the criminal community +likely to be driven to the commission of lawless acts by the pressure +of absolute want. It very seldom happens that murders, for instance, +are perpetrated from this cause; in fact, not one murder in ten is +even committed for the purpose of theft. The vast majority of the +remaining offences against the criminal law are only connected in a +remote degree with the economic condition of the population, and in +hardly any instance can it be said of them, that they are the outcome +of destitution. In order, however, to err on the safe side, let us +assume that one per cent. of offenders, other than vagrants and +thieves, are to be ranked among the destitute. What is the final +result at which we then arrive with respect to the percentage of +persons forced by the action of destitution into the army of crime? In +the case of vagrants and thieves it has just been seen that the +proportion amounted to four per cent.; adding one per cent. to this +proportion, brings up the total of offenders who probably fall into +crime through the pressure of absolute want to five per cent. of the +annual criminal population tried before the courts. + +These figures are important; they demonstrate the fact that although +there was not a single destitute person in the whole of England and +Wales, the annual amount of crime would not be thereby appreciably +diminished. At the present day it is a very common practice to pick +out a case of undoubted hardship here and there, and to assume that +such a case is typical of the whole criminal population. It is, of +course, well to point out such cases, and to emphasise them as much as +possible till we reach such a pitch of excellence in our administration +of the law as will render all unmerited hardship exceedingly rare. As +it is, such cases are becoming less frequent year by year, and it is +an entire mistake to suppose, as is too often done, that a serious +amount of the crime perpetrated in England is committed by men and +women who are willing to work but cannot get it to do. An opinion of +that kind has an alarming tendency to encourage crime; it creates a +false sentiment of compassion for the utterly worthless; it prevents +them from being dealt with according to their deserts, and worst of +all, it is apt to make the working population imagine that there is a +community of interest between them and the criminal classes which does +not in reality exist. From the point of view of public policy nothing +can be more pernicious than to propagate such an idea; and no artisan +who values his own dignity should ever allow any man, whether on +platforms or in newspapers, to identify him in any way whatever with +the common criminal. + +Before finally leaving the question of the relations between +destitution and crime, we shall now briefly inquire whether anything +further can be accomplished in the matter of raising our legal and +poor law administration to such a pitch of excellence, that not even +five per cent. of our incriminated population can, with justice, bring +forward any economic pretext whatever for violating the law. As far as +legal administration is concerned, it must be remembered that mistakes +will sometimes occur, no matter how numerous the precautions may be +with which justice is surrounded. + +To be certain of justice in all circumstances you must have not only +an infallible law, but also an infallible judge and an infallible +method of criminal administration. It is a truism to say that this is +an impossibility, and every now and again society will have to submit +to be shocked by the revelation of a palpable miscarriage of justice. +At the same time it is important to take every possible precaution +against the occurrence of such distressing accidents. This can only +be effected by placing the administration of the law in all its +departments, from the policeman to the Home Secretary, in the hands of +thoroughly competent officials who have not only their heart, but what +is equally important, their head in the work. When this is done, and +if these officials are not embarrassed by public clamour in the +performance of their duties (honest criticism will do them good), all +will have been accomplished which it is possible to get in the way of +effective and enlightened administration of the law. + +In the next place it may be possible to mitigate the operation of our +present poor law system in all cases of destitution through +misadventure. Some prominent politicians--and I believe among them Mr. +Morley--appear to be in favour of this course; and at a recent meeting +of the British Association, Professor Alfred Marshall was inclined to +the belief that a much larger discrimination might be allowed than now +exists in the administration of out-door relief in cases of actual +want; and also that separate and graduated workhouses might be +established for the deserving poor. It will be admitted on all hands +that proposals of this character land us on very delicate ground, and +require the most mature consideration. Even now the inmate of a +workhouse is often better supplied with food, clothing, and shelter +than the poor labourer, who has to pay taxes to support him. If the +condition of that inmate is made still more comfortable, will it be +possible to prevent hundreds and thousands of the very poor, who now +keep outside these institutions, from immediately crowding into them +as soon as the slightest economic difficulties arise? Almost all +philanthropic schemes, and especially all such schemes when supported +by the public purse, have a tendency to be administered with more and +more laxity as time goes on; and a scheme of this kind, if carried +into law, would require to be managed with the utmost circumspection +in order to avoid pauperising great masses of the community. + +A scheme of this character will, however, have to be tried if the +manifesto of the Executive Council of the Dockers' Union, issued in +September last, is to be acted upon by Trade-Unionists in general. +According to the doctrine laid down in this manifesto, the idea of a +Trade-Union, as a free and open combination, which every workman may +enter, provided he pays his subscription and conforms to the rules, is +an idea which must for the future be abandoned. Henceforth, a +Trade-Union is to be a close corporation to be worked for the benefit +of persons who have succeeded in getting inside it. The Dockers' +Union, to do them justice, see that this policy is bound to increase +the numbers of the destitute, but they propose to remedy this +condition of things by establishing "in each municipality factories +and workshops where all those who cannot get work under ordinary +conditions shall have an opportunity afforded them by the community." +If these State establishments are to be started for the unemployed, +the workers in them must work at something, and it will have to be +something which the unskilled labourer will not require a great deal +of time to learn. What would the dockers say if one of these +establishments was instituted by the municipality for the loading and +unloading of ships? Hardly a Trade-Union Congress meets in which the +complaint is not made that prison labour interferes with free labour; +but what sort of outcry would there be if State labour, on an +extensive scale, were to enter into serious competition with the +individual workman? + +These schemes for the establishment of State institutions offering +work to the indigent will never solve the problem of want, and all +attempts that have hitherto been made in that direction have either +ended in failure or met with small success. + +The latest of these schemes is a village settlement, which the +authorities in New Zealand started some time ago to meet the case of +the unemployed. The Government, in the first place, spent £16,000 in +making roads and other conveniences for the settlers, and afterwards +advanced £21,000 for building houses, buying implements, and so on. +According to recent advices from New Zealand, only £2000 of this +advance has been paid back, and it is the general feeling of the +colony that the project has proved a failure. These, and other +experiments of a similar character, compel us to recognise the +disagreeable fact that a certain proportion of people who are in the +habit of falling out of work are, as a class, extremely difficult to +put properly on their legs. Failure, for some reason or another, +always dogs their steps, and the more Society does for them, the less +they will be disposed to do anything for themselves. + +When such persons are sent to prison on charges of begging, or petty +theft, it very often happens that they are assisted on their release +by a Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society. Tools are given them, work is +found for them, yet they do not thrive. Not infrequently the job is +given up on some frivolous pretext; or if it is a temporary one, +little or no effort is made till it actually comes to an end to look +out for another. It is little wonder that men who live in such a +fashion should occasionally be destitute; the only wonder is that they +manage to pass through life at all. Those men hang upon the skirts of +labour and seek shelter under its banner, but it is only for short and +irregular intervals that they march in the ranks of the actual +workers. The real working man knows such people well, and heartily +despises them. + +Would it be a right thing to increase the burdens of the taxpayer by +opening State workshops, even if such a plan were feasible, for men of +the stamp we have just been describing? Decidedly it would not. Yet +these men form a fair proportion of the persons whom we have classed +as driven to crime by economic distress. As far, then, as the criminal +population is concerned, no necessity exists for the organisation of +State factories; and so far as destitution is a factor in the +production of crime, it can be grappled with by other agencies. In +fact, if a graduated system of Unions, with a kind of casual ward, +somewhat after the German Naturalverpflegstationen, could be worked +and if Trade Societies adopted, under proper precautions, the +principle of allowing debilitated members of their trade the +opportunity of doing something at a somewhat reduced rate, it would be +impossible for any well-intentioned man to say that he was driven to +crime from sheer want. It is worth while, on the part of the nation, +to make some small sacrifice to attain an object so supremely +important as this. It is very probable that hardly any sacrifice will +be needed. In any case it would get rid of the uncomfortable feeling +entertained by many that there are occasions when human beings are +punished who ought to be fed. It would completely alienate all +sympathy from crime; it would then be known that criminal offenders +deserved the punishment they received, and justice would be able to +deal with them with a firm and even hand. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +POVERTY AND CRIME. + + +Having analysed the part played by destitution in the production of +crime, the cognate question of the extent to which poverty is +responsible for it will now be considered. If actual destitution does +not count for very much in producing criminals, it may be that poverty +makes up the difference, and that the great bulk of delinquency, if +not the whole of it, arises from the combined operation of these two +economic factors. We have examined one of them, let us now go on to +the other. As this examination will have to be conducted from several +different points of view which, for the sake of clearness, it will be +expedient to consider one by one, I shall begin by inquiring what +light international statistics are capable of throwing on the +relations between poverty and crime. At the outset of this inquiry we +are at once met by the old difficulty respecting the value of +international criminal statistics. The imperfection of those +statistics is a matter it is always important to bear in mind, but in +spite of this circumstance the light which they shed on the problem of +poverty and crime is not to be rejected as worthless. + +It has been pointed out in the preceding chapter that the offences +people, in a state of destitution, are most likely to commit are +beggary and theft. In the case of persons who are in a state of +poverty, but not destitute, it may be said that the offence they are +most likely to commit is theft in one or other of its forms. What then +are the international statistics of theft, and what is the relative +wealth of the several countries from which these statistics are drawn? +An answer to these two questions will throw a flood of light upon the +nature of the relations between poverty and crime. If these statistics +show that in those countries where there is most poverty there is also +most theft, the elucidation of such a fact will at once raise a strong +presumption that the connection between poverty and offences against +property is one of cause and effect. If, on the other hand, +international statistics are not at all conclusive upon this important +point, it will show that there are other factors at work besides +poverty in the production of offences against property. With these +preliminary remarks I shall now append a table of the number of +persons tried for theft of all kinds in some of the most important +countries of Europe within the last few years. In no two of these +countries is theft classified in the same manner, but in all of them +it is equally recognised as a crime; if, therefore, all offences +against property, of whatever kind, are put together under the common +heading of "theft," and if the number of cases of thefts (as thus +understood) tried in the various countries of Europe are carefully +tabulated, we possess, in such a table, a criterion wherewith to +judge, in a rough way, the respective position of those countries in +the matter of offences against property. + +The appended table is extracted from a larger one, the work of Sig. L. +Bodio, Director-General of Statistics for the kingdom of Italy. The +calculations for every country, except Spain, are based on the census +of 1880 or 1881; the calculations for Spain are based on the census of +1877. In all the countries except Germany and Spain the calculations +are based on an average of five years; for Germany and Spain the +average is only two years. + +Italy, 1880-84 Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants 221 +France, 1879-83 do. do. 121 +Belgium, 1876-80 do. do. 143 +Germany, 1882-83 do. do. 262 +England, 1880-84 do. do. 228 +Scotland, 1880-84 do. do. 289 +Ireland, 1880-84 do. do. 101 +Hungary, 1876-80 do. do. 82 +Spain, 1883-84 do. do. 74 + +To what conclusions do the statistics contained in this table point? +It is useless burdening this chapter with additional figures to prove +that England and France are the two wealthiest countries in Europe. +The wealth of England, for instance, is perhaps six times the wealth +of Italy; but, notwithstanding this fact, more thefts are annually +committed in England than in Italy. The wealth of France is enormously +superior to the wealth of Ireland, both in quantity and distribution, +but the population of France commits more offences against property +than the Irish. Spain is one of the poorest countries in Europe, +Scotland is one of the richest, but side by side with this inequality +of wealth we see that the Scotch commit, per hundred thousand of the +population, almost four times as many thefts as the Spaniards. With +the exception of Italy it is the poorest countries of Europe that are +the least dishonest, and, according to our table, even the Italians +are not so much addicted to offences against property as the +inhabitants of England. + +Perhaps the most instructive figures in these international statistics +are those relating to England and Ireland. The criminal statistics of +the two countries are drawn up on very much the same principles; the +ordinary criminal law is very much the same, and there is very much +the same feeling among the population with respect to ordinary crime; +in fact, with the exception of agrarian offences, the administration +of the law in Ireland is as effective as it is in England. On almost +every point the similarity of the criminal law and its administration +in the two countries almost amounts to identity, and a comparison of +their criminal statistics, in so far as they relate to ordinary +offences against property, reaches a high level of exactitude. What +does such a comparison reveal? It shows that the Irish, with all their +poverty, are not half so much addicted to offences against property as +the English with all their wealth, and it serves to confirm the idea +that the connection between poverty and theft is not so close as is +generally imagined. + +International statistics then, as far as they go, point to the +conclusion that it is the growth of wealth, rather than the reverse, +which has a tendency to augment the number of offences against +property, and national statistics, as far as England is concerned, +exhibit a similar result. It is perfectly certain, for instance, that +the mass of the population possessed a greater amount of money, and +were earning on the whole higher wages between 1870-74 than between +1884-88. According to the evidence given before the late Lord +Iddesleigh's Commission on the depression of trade, the prosperity of +the country in the five years ended 1874 was something phenomenal. +This was the opinion of almost every class in the community. Chambers +of commerce, leading manufactures, workmen in the various departments +of industry, all told the same tale of exceptional commercial +prosperity. During this period it was easy for any person with a pair +of hands to get as much as he could do; workmen were at a premium and +wages had risen all round. + +But, notwithstanding this state of unwonted prosperity, we shall find +on turning to the statistics of offences against property that a +larger number of persons were convicted of such offences in the five +years ended 1874 than in the five years ended 1888. It hardly needs to +be stated that the five years ended 1888 were years of considerable +depression, some of them were years in which there was a good deal of +distress, and in none of them was the bulk of the population as well +off as in the preceding period. It is, therefore, plain that an +increase in the wealth of a country is not necessarily followed by a +decrease in the amount of crimes against property; that, in fact, the +growth of national and individual wealth, unless it is accompanied by +a corresponding development of ethical ideals, is apt to foster +criminal instincts instead of repressing them. + +If we look at crime in general, instead of that particular form of it +which consists in offences against property, it will likewise become +apparent that it is not so closely connected with poverty as is +generally believed. The accuracy of Indian criminal statistics is a +matter that has already been pointed out. When these statistics are +placed side by side with our own what do we find? According to the +returns for the two countries in the year 1888, it comes out that in +England one person was proceeded against criminally to every forty-two +of the population, while in India only one person was proceeded +against to every 195. In other words, official statistics show that +the people of England are between four and five times more addicted to +crime than the people of India. On the supposition that poverty is the +parent of crime, the population of India should be one of the most +lawless in the world, for it is undoubtedly one of the very poorest. +The reverse, however, is the case, and India is justly celebrated for +the singularly law-abiding character of its inhabitants. In reply to +this it may be said that India differs so widely from England in race, +manners, religion and social organisation, that all these divergencies +must be taken into account when comparing the position of the two +countries with respect to crime. A contention of this kind is in +perfect harmony with what is here advanced. It is, in fact, a part of +our case that crime is either produced or checked by a great many +causes besides economic conditions. The comparison we are now making +between the criminal statistics of England and India is intended to +show that economic conditions alone will not satisfactorily explain +the genesis of crime. If such were the case India would have a blacker +criminal record than England, for it has a lower material standard of +life; but as India is able to exhibit a fairer record, in spite of its +economic disadvantages, we are compelled to come to the conclusion +that poverty is not the only factor in the production of crime. + +A further illustration of the same fact will be found on examining the +Prison Statistics of the United States. According to an instructive +paper recently read by Mr. Roland P. Falkner before the American +Statistical Association, the foreign born population in America is, on +the whole, less inclined to commit crime than the native born +American. In some of the States--Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and +California--"the foreign born," says Mr. Falkner, "make a worse +showing than the native. In a great number of cases, notably +Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, we notice hardly any +difference. Elsewhere, the showing is decidedly in favour of the +foreign born, and nowhere more strongly than in Wisconsin and +Minnesota." It is perfectly certain that the foreign born population +of the United States is not, as a rule, so well-off economically as +the native born citizen. The vast proportion of the emigrant +population is composed of poor people seeking to better their +condition, and it is well known that a largo percentage of the hard, +manual work done in America is performed by those men. The economic +condition of the average native born American is superior to the +economic condition of the average emigrant; but the native American, +notwithstanding his economic superiority, cuts a worse figure in the +statistics of crime. This is a state of things the Americans +themselves are just beginning to perceive, and it cannot fail to make +them uneasy as to the efficacy of some of their erratic methods of +punishing crime. It has, until recently, been the habit of American +statisticians to compare the foreign born population with the whole of +the native population with respect to crime. The outcome of this +method of comparison was taken all round favourable to the born +Americans, and for many years people satisfied themselves with the +belief that a high percentage of crime in the United States was due to +the foreign element in the community. It is now seen that this method +of calculation is defective and false. A comparatively small number of +foreigners emigrate to the United States under eighteen years of age; +in order, therefore, to make the comparison between natives and +foreigners accurate, it must be made with foreigners over eighteen and +Americans over eighteen, for it is after persons pass that age that +they are most prone to commit crime. The result of this new and more +correct method of comparison has been to show that the native American +element, that is to say, the element best situated economically, is +also the element which perpetrates most crimes. Such a result is only +another illustration of the truth that an advanced state of economic +well-being is not necessarily accompanied by greater immunity from +crime. + +A further illustration of this significant truth is to be witnessed in +the Antipodes. In no quarter of the world is there such wide-spread +prosperity as exists in the colony of Victoria. All writers and +travellers are unanimous upon this point. Nowhere in the world is +there less economic excuse for the perpetration of crime. Work of one +kind or another can almost always be had in that favoured portion of +the globe. + +Even in the worst of times, if men are willing to go "up country," as +it is called, occupation of some sort is certain to be found, and +trade depression never reaches the acute point which it sometimes does +at home. + +Nevertheless, on examining the criminal statistics of the colony of +Victoria, what do we find? According to the returns for 1887, one +arrest on a charge of crime was made in every 30 of the population, +and on looking down the list of offences for which these arrests were +made, it will be seen that Victoria, notwithstanding her +widely-diffused material well-being, is just as much addicted to +crimes against person and property as some of the poor and squalid +States of Europe. It may be said in extenuation of this condition of +things, that Victoria contains a larger grown-up population, and +therefore a larger percentage of persons in a position to commit crime +than is to be found in older countries. This is, to a certain extent, +true, but the difference is not so great as might at first sight be +supposed. Assuming that the criminal age lies between 15 and 60, we +find that in the seven Australasian colonies 563 persons out of every +1,000 are alive between these two ages. In Great Britain and Ireland +559 persons per 1,000 are alive between 15 and 60. According to these +figures the difference between the population within the criminal age +in the colony, as compared with the mother country, is very small, and +is quite insufficient to account for the relatively high percentage of +crime exhibited by the Victorian criminal statistics. + +All these considerations force us back to the conclusion that an +abundant measure of material well-being has a much smaller influence +in diminishing crime than is usually supposed, and compels us to admit +that much crime would still exist even if the world were turned into a +paradise of material prosperity tomorrow. + +In further confirmation of this conclusion let us glance for a moment +at another aspect of the relations between poverty and crime. It is +generally calculated that the working class population of England and +Wales form from 90 to 95 per cent. of the total population of the +country. According to the investigations of Mr. Charles Booth, as +contained in his work on East London, the working classes constitute +about 92 per cent. in the districts be had under examination, the +remaining 8 per cent. being made up of the lower and upper middle +classes. Let us therefore assume that 10 per cent. of the population +consists of the middle and upper classes, and that the other 90 per +cent. of the community is composed of working people. Many +statisticians will not admit that the middle and upper classes form 10 +per cent. of the nation, and assert that 5 per cent. is nearer the +mark. This is also my own view, but for the purposes of this inquiry +we shall assume that it is 10 per cent. + +How large a proportion of the criminal population is made up of the +middle and upper classes? An answer to this question would at once +show the exact relation between poverty and crime. If it could be +shown that the well-to-do classes, in proportion to their numbers, are +just as much addicted to the commission of criminal acts as the poorer +people, it would demonstrate that crime prevailed to an equal extent +among all sections of the community, and was not the work of one class +alone. Unfortunately, such statistics are not to be had. But, as the +facts are not to be got at directly, this does not mean to say that it +is impossible to catch a glimpse of what they are. This may be done in +the following manner:--According to the report of the Prison +Commissioners, between 5 and 6 per cent. of the persons committed to +gaol during the year ended March, 1890 (omitting court-martial cases), +were debtors and civil process cases. Now, it may be taken as certain +that in a very small proportion of these cases were the prisoners +working people. Nearly all these offenders are to be considered as +belonging to the well-to-do classes. Yet we see that they form 5 per +cent. of the criminal population, and it has to be remembered that the +fraudulent debtor is just as much a criminal, nay, even a worse +criminal in many instances than the thief who snatches a purse. In +addition to this 5 per cent. there is at least 3 per cent. of the +ordinary criminal population belonging to the higher ranks of life. At +the lowest estimate we have 6 per cent. of the criminal population +springing from the midst of the well-to-do, and if all cases of +drunkenness and assault were punished with imprisonment instead of a +fine, it would be found that the well-to-do showed just as badly in +the statistics of crime as their poorer neighbours. + +In making this statement with respect to fines, I do not wish it to be +understood that all cases of drunkenness and assault should be +followed by imprisonment. On the contrary, it is a great mistake to +send anyone to gaol if it can possibly be avoided, and imprisonment +should never be resorted to so long as any other form of punishment +will serve the purpose. What is here stated is merely meant to bring +out the fact that the proportion of well-to-do among the prison +population does not accurately represent the proportion of offences +committed by that class; and it does not represent it for the simple +reason that the well-to-do have facilities for escaping imprisonment +which the ill-to-do have not. When a man with a certain command of +means is involved in criminal proceedings, he has always the +assistance of experienced counsel to defend him, he is always able to +secure the attendance of witnesses,[21] if he has any, and should the +offence be of a nature that a fine will condone, he is always able to +escape imprisonment by paying it. It very often happens that poor +people are unable to secure these advantages in a court of justice, +and prison statistics of the different classes, even if we had them, +would, for the reasons we have just mentioned, always give the working +classes more than their fair share of offenders. + + [21] A case was tried in London a short time ago which illustrates + the difficulties in the way of poor people, so far as the + attendance of witnesses is concerned. In this case the witness + appeared five successive days in court waiting for the trial to + come on. Not being paid by the defendant, this witness was + unable to appear the sixth day. On that day the case was at + last called, the prisoner had now no witness and was, of course, + convicted. + +It has always to be borne in mind in making calculations respecting +the proportion of criminal offenders among the various sections of the +community that there is a population of habitual criminals which forms +a class by itself. Habitual criminals are not to be confounded with +the working or any other class; they are a set of persons who make +crime the object and business of their lives; to commit crime is their +trade; they deliberately scoff at honest ways of earning a living, and +must accordingly be looked upon as a class of a separate and distinct +character from the rest of the community. According to police +estimates this class consists of between 50,000 and 60,000 persons in +England and Wales. Notwithstanding the smallness of its numbers, this +criminal population contributes a proportion amounting to fully 12 per +cent. to the local and convict prisons of England. As this percentage +of the prison population is recruited from wholly criminal ground, it +is important to place it in a distinct and separate category when +forming an estimate of the criminal tendencies of the several branches +of the population. This is what has been done in the subjoined table. +This table will accordingly show, first the proportion of the poorer +class to the total population, and next their proportion to the prison +population. It will do the same for the well-to-do class, and will +finally give the percentage of the criminal class in the local and +convict prisons:-- + +Proportion of working class to total population 90 p. ct. +Proportion, of prisoners from this class 82 p. ct. +Proportion of well-to-do to population 10 p. ct. +Proportion of prisoners from this class 6 p. ct. +Numbers of criminal class, say 60,000 +Proportion of prisoners from this class 12 p. ct. + +According to these figures, the well-to-do contribute less than their +proper proportion to the prison population. This arises, as has +already been stated, from the fact that this class has so many more +facilities for escaping the penalty of imprisonment; the difference +would be adjusted if the cases tried before the criminal courts were +taken as a standard. An examination of these cases would undoubtedly +show that each class was represented in proportion to its numbers. + +According to Garofalo, one of the most learned of Italian jurists, the +poor people in Italy commit fewer offences against property, in +proportion to their numbers, than the well-to-do, while in Prussia +persons engaged in the liberal professions contribute twice their +proper share to the criminal population. A somewhat similar state of +things exists in France; there the number of persons engaged in the +liberal professions forms four per cent. of the population; but, +according to the investigations of Ferri, in his striking little book, +"Socialismo e Criminalita," the liberal professions were responsible +for no less than seven per cent. of the murders perpetrated in France +in 1879. + +What is the period of the year we should expect most crime to be +committed if poverty is at the root of it? In this country, at least, +it is very well known that the labouring classes are apt to suffer +most in the depth of winter, and the depth of winter may be said to +correspond with the months of December, January, and February. It is +in these months that all outdoor occupations come to a comparative +standstill; it is then that the poorest section of the population--the +men without a trade, the men who live by mere manual labour--are +reduced to the greatest straits. In the winter months some of these +men have to pass through a period of real hardship; the state of the +weather often puts an absolute stop to all outdoor occupations, and +when this is the case, it takes an outdoor labourer all his might to +provide the barest necessaries for his home. In addition to this +difficulty, which lies in the nature of his calling, a labourer finds +the expense of living a good deal higher in the depth of winter. He +has to burn more fuel, he has to supply his children with warmer +clothing, in a variety of ways his expenses increase, notwithstanding +the most rigid economy. Winter is not only a harder season for the +outdoor labourer, it is a time of greater economic trial for the whole +working-class population. This, I think, is a statement which will be +universally admitted. + +On the assumption that poverty is the principal source of crime we +ought to have a much larger prison population in the depth of winter +than at any other period of the year. The prison statistics for +December, January, and February--the three most inclement months, the +three months when expenses are greatest and work scarcest--should be +the highest in the whole year. As a matter of fact, it is during these +three months that there are fewest people in prison. According to an +excellent return, issued for the first time by the Prison Commissioners +in their thirteenth report, it appears that there was a considerably +smaller number of prisoners in the local prisons of England and Wales +in the winter months--December, January and February, 1889-90--than at +any other season of the year.[22] And this is not an isolated fact. A +glance at the criminal returns for a series of years will at once show +that crime is highest in summer and autumn--a time when occupation of +all kinds, and especially occupation for the poorest members of the +community, is most easily obtained--and lowest in winter and spring, +when economic conditions are most adverse.[23] + + [22] See Appendix, iii. + + [23] Scotch statistics are in harmony with English. For the year + ended March, 1890, the number of ordinary prisoners in custody in + Scotland was lowest in December, January and February. It was + highest in July, August, September. Crime was also highest when + pauperism was lowest. See 12th Report of Scottish Prison + Commissioners. + +All these facts, instead of pointing to poverty as the main cause of +crime, point the other way. It is a curious sign of the times that +this statement should meet with so much incredulity. It has been +reserved for this generation to propagate the absurdity that the want +of money is the root of all evil; all the wisest teachers of mankind +have hitherto been disposed to think differently, and criminal +statistics are far from demonstrating that they are wrong. In the +laudable efforts which are now being made, and which ought to be made +to heighten the material well-being of the community, it is a mistake +to assume, as is too often done, that mere material prosperity, even +if spread over the whole population, will ever succeed in banishing +crime. A mere increase of material prosperity generates as many evils +as it destroys; it may diminish offences against property, but it +augments offences against the person, and multiplies drunkenness to an +alarming extent. While it is an undoubted fact that material +wretchedness has a debasing effect both morally and physically, it is +also equally true that the same results are sometimes found to flow +from an increase of economic well-being. An interesting proof of this +is to be found in the recent investigations of M. Chopinet, a French +military surgeon, respecting the stature of the population in the +central Pyrenees. M. Chopinet, after a careful examination of the +conscript registers from 1873 to 1888, arrives at the following +conclusions as to what determines the physical condition of the +population. After discussing the cosmical influences and the evil +effects of poverty and bad hygienic arrangements on the people, he +proceeds to point out that moral corruption arising from material +prosperity is also a powerful factor in producing physical degeneracy. +He singles out one canton--the canton of Luchon--as being the victim +of its own prosperity. In this canton, he says, that the old +simplicity of life has departed, in consequence of its prodigious +prosperity. "Vices formerly unknown have penetrated into the country; +the frequenting of public houses and the habit of keeping late hours +have taken the place of the open air sports which used to be the +favoured method of enjoyment. Illegitimate births, formerly very rare, +have multiplied, syphilis even has spread among the young. Food of a +less substantial character has superseded the diet of former times, +and, in short, alcoholism, precocious debauchery, and syphilis have +come like so many plagues to arrest the development of the youth and +seriously debilitate the population."[24] + + [24] _Revue Scientifique_, September 13, 1890. + +Facts such as these should serve to remind us that the growth of +wealth may be accompanied, and is accompanied, by degeneracy of the +worst character unless there is a corresponding growth of the moral +sentiments of the community. "The perfection of man," says M. de +Laveleye, "consists in the full development of all his forces, +physical as well as intellectual, and of all his sentiments; in the +feeling of affection for the family and humanity; in a feeling for the +beautiful in nature and art." It is in proportion as men strive after +this ideal that crime will decay, and material prosperity only becomes +a good when it is used as a means to this supreme end. Otherwise, the +mere growth of wealth, be it ever so widely diffused, will deprave the +world instead of elevating it. The mere possession of wealth is not a +moralising agent; as Professor Marshall[25] truly tells us, "Money is +general purchasing power, and is sought as a means to all kinds of +ends, high as well as low, spiritual as well as material." According +to this definition, money may as readily become a source of mischief +as an instrument for good; its wider diffusion among the community +has, therefore, a mixed effect, and it works for evil or for good, +according to the character of the individual. It is only when the +character is disciplined by the habitual exercise of self-restraint, +and ennobled by a generous devotion to the higher aims of life, that +money becomes a real blessing to its possessor. If, on the other hand, +money has merely the effect of making the well-to-do rich, and the +poor well-to-do, it will never diminish crime; it will merely cause +crime to modify its present forms. Such, at least, is the conclusion +to which a consideration of the contents of this chapter would seem to +lead. + + [25] _Principles of Economics_, p. 81. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +CRIME IN RELATION TO SEX AND AGE. + + +In the present chapter we shall proceed to discuss the effect exercised +by two characteristics of a distinctly personal nature in the production +of crime, namely, age and sex. + +As sex is the most fundamental of all human distinctions we shall +begin by considering the part it plays among criminal phenomena. +According to the judicial statistics of all civilised peoples, women +are less addicted to crime than men, and boys are more addicted to +crime than girls. Among most European peoples between five and six +males are tried for offences against the law to every one female. In +the southern countries of Europe, females form a smaller proportion of +the criminal population than in the northern. This circumstance may be +accounted for in several ways. In the first place, it may be the case +that women in the south of Europe are better morally than in the +north; it may be that the social conditions of their existence shield +them from crime; or it may be that the crimes men are most prone to +commit in the south are of such a nature that women are more or less +incapable of perpetrating them. It is perfectly well known that in the +south of Europe women lead more secluded lives than is the case in the +north; they are much less immersed in the whirl and movement of life; +it is not surprising, therefore, to find that they are less addicted +to crime. Nor is this all. The crimes committed in the South consist +to a large extent of offences against the person; physical weakness in +a multitude of cases prevents women from committing such crimes. In +the North, on the other hand, a large proportion of crimes are in the +nature of thefts and offences against property. Most of these crimes +women can commit with comparative ease; the result is that they form a +larger proportion of the criminal population. Assaults are offences +women are less capable of committing than men; hence, if we find that +the crime of a country consists largely of personal violence, we shall +also find that the percentage of female criminals will be relatively +small. In Italy, where offences against the person are so prevalent, +females only form about nine per cent. of the criminal population; in +England, where personal violence is seldom resorted to, females form +between 17 and 18 per cent. of the persons proceeded against, and +about 15 per cent. of the numbers convicted. + +A consideration of these circumstances tends to show that although +southern women commit fewer crimes in proportion to men than northern +women, this fact is partly owing to the character of the crime. But it +is also owing to more secluded habits of life, and to the freedom from +moral contamination of a criminal nature which these habits secure. + +Proceeding from quantity to quality we find that although females +commit much fewer crimes in proportion than males, the offences they +do commit are frequently of a more serious nature than the crimes to +which men are addicted. According to the investigations of Guerry and +Quetelet, women in France commit more crimes of infanticide, abortion, +poisoning, and domestic theft than men. They are addicted equally with +men to the perpetration of parricide, and are more frequently +convicted than men for the ill-treatment of children. English criminal +statistics also show that the proportion of women to men rises with +the seriousness of the offence. The proportion of women to men +summarily proceeded against is 17 per cent., the proportion proceeded +against for murder and attempts to murder is as high as 36 per cent. +Women are also more hardened criminals than men. According to the +statistics of English prisons, women who have been once convicted are +much more likely to be reconvicted than men,[26] and the prison +returns of Continental countries tell the same tale. + + [26] In 1889-90 the recommitted males were 44.3 per cent. of the + total number of males committed (exclusive of debtors and naval + and military offenders); the recommitted females 65.8 per cent. + of the total number of females committed exclusive of debtors. + +The facts relating to female crime having been stated, it will now be +our business to inquire why women, on the whole, commit fewer crimes +than men. The most obvious answer is that they are better morally. The +care and nurture of children has been their lot in life for untold +centuries; the duties of maternity have perpetually kept alive a +certain number of unselfish instincts; those instincts have become +part and parcel of woman's natural inheritance, and, as a result of +possessing them to a larger extent than man, she is less disposed to +crime. It is very probable that there is an element of truth in the +idea that the care of offspring has had a moralising effect upon +women, and that this effect has acquired the power of a hereditary +characteristic; at the same time, it must be remembered that other +causes are also in operation which prevent women figuring as largely +in criminal returns as men. + +Among the most prominent of these causes is the want of physical +power. In all crimes requiring a certain amount of brute strength, +such as burglary, robbery with violence, and so on, the proportion of +women to men is small. A woman very rarely possesses the animal force +requisite for the perpetration of crimes accompanied with much +personal violence. But where the element of personal violence does not +come conspicuously to the front the proportion of female criminals to +male immediately rises, and in such crimes as poisoning, child murder, +abortion, domestic theft, women are more criminally disposed than men. +Undoubtedly the lack of power has as much to do with keeping down +female crime as the want of will. This is especially manifest in the +crime of infanticide. For the perpetration of this crime women possess +the power, and the vast number of women convicted of this offence in +proportion to men is ample proof that they often possess the will. Of +course the temptation to women to commit this kind of crime is often +extreme; it is the product, in many instances, of an overwhelming +sense of shame; and the perpetrators of infanticide are often far from +being the most debased of their sex. Still, the prevalence of +infanticide among women is an evidence that, where the temptation is +strong and the power sufficient, women are just as criminally inclined +as men. + +It has also to be borne in mind that women are very frequently the +instigators of crime and escape punishment because they are not +actually engaged in its commission. In almost all cases where +robberies are committed by a pack of thieves, a part of the +preparatory arrangements is entrusted to women, and women lend a +helping hand in disposing of the spoil. It is the men, as a rule, who +receive all the punishment, but the guilt of both sexes is very much +the same. In many cases of forgery and fraudulent bankruptcy among the +well-to-do classes, for which men only are punished, the guilt of +women is equally great. Household extravagance, extravagance in dress, +the mad ambition of many English women to live in what they call +"better style" than their neighbours sends not a few men to penal +servitude. The proportion of female crime in a community is also to a +very considerable extent determined by the social condition of women. +In all countries where social habits and customs constrain women to +lead retiring and secluded lives the number of female criminals +descends to a minimum. The small amount of female crime in Greece[27] +is an instance of this law. On the other hand, in all countries where +women are accustomed to share largely the active work of life with +men, female crime has a distinct tendency to reach its maximum. An +instance of this is the high percentage of female crime in Scotland. +According to the Judicial Statistics for the year 1888 no less than 37 +per cent. of the cases tried before the Scotch courts consisted of +offences committed by women. It is true only 11 per cent. of these +offences were of a serious nature--the remainder being more or less +trivial, but, even after taking this circumstance into consideration, +the unwelcome fact remains that Scotch women commit a higher +percentage of crimes in proportion to men than the female population +of any other country in Europe. The proportion of English female +offenders to male is not half so high; it was only 17 per cent. in +1888, and is showing a tendency to decrease, being as high as 20 per +cent. for the twenty years ended 1876. The proportion of female +offenders in Scotland to the total criminal population is moving in an +opposite direction. The late Professor Leone Levi, in a paper read +before the Statistical Society in 1880, stated that Scotch women +formed 27 per cent. of the persons tried before the criminal courts; +they now form 37 per cent., a most alarming rate of increase. + + [27] According to prison statistics of the Greek Government for + 1889, out of a total prison population of 5,023 only 50 were + women. See _Revista de Discipline Carcerarie_, Nov. 30th, 1890, + page 667. + +It hardly admits of doubt that the high ratio of female crime in +Scotland is to be attributed to the social status of women. In no +other country of Europe do women perform so much heavy manual work; +working in the fields and factories along with men; depending little +upon men for their subsistence; in all economic matters leading what +is called a more emancipated life than women do elsewhere; in short, +resembling man in their social activities, they also resemble him in +criminal proclivities. Scotch criminal statistics are thus a striking +confirmation of the general law revealed by the study of criminal +statistics as a whole; namely, that the more women are driven to enter +upon the economic struggle for life the more criminal they will +become. This is not a very consoling outlook for the future of +society. It is not consoling, for the simple reason that the whole +drift of opinion at the present time is in the direction of opening +out industrial and public life to women to the utmost extent possible. +In so far as public opinion is favouring the growth of female +political leagues and other female organisations of a distinctly +militant character, it is undoubtedly tending on the whole to lower +the moral nature of women. The combative attitude required to be +maintained by all members of such organisations is injurious to the +higher instincts of women, and in numbers of cases must affect their +moral tone. The amount of mischief done by these public organisations +for purposes of political combat is not confined to women alone. The +overwhelming influence exercised by mothers on the minds of children +is notorious; and that influence is not so likely to be for good where +the mother's mind is contaminated by a knowledge of, and sometimes by +practising, the shady tricks of electioneering. + +The present tendency to create a greater number of openings in trade +and industry for women is not to be dismissed as pernicious because of +its evil effect in multiplying female crime. After all, an enlarged +industrial career for women may be the lesser of two evils. According +to the present industrial constitution of society a very large number +of females must earn a living in the sweat of their brow, and until +some higher social development supersedes the existing order of things +it is only right that as wide a career as possible should be opened +out for the activities of women who must work to live. At the same +time it would be an infinitely superior state of things if society did +not require women's work beyond the confines of the home and the +primary school. In these two spheres there is ample occupation of the +very highest character for the energies of women; in them their work +is immeasurably superior to men's; and it is because the work required +in the home and the school is at the present moment so improperly +performed that our existing civilisation is such a hot-bed of physical +degeneracy, pauperism, and crime. One thing at least is certain, that +crime will never permanently decrease till the material conditions of +existence are such that women will not be called upon to fight the +battle of life as men are, but will be able to concentrate their +influence on the nurture and education of the young, after having +themselves been educated mainly with a view to that great end. +European society at the present moment is moving away from this ideal +of woman's functions in the world; she is getting to be regarded in +the light of a mere intellectual or industrial unit; and the flower of +womankind is being more and more drafted into commercial and other +enterprises. Some affect to look upon this condition, of things as +being in the line of progress; it may be, and to all appearance is, in +the line of material necessity, but it is unquestionably opposed to +the moral interests of the community. These interests demand that +women should not be debased, as criminal statistics prove that they +are by active participation in modern industrialism; they demand that +the all-important duties of motherhood should be in the hands of +persons capable of fulfilling them worthily, and not in the hands of +persons whose previous occupations have often rendered them unfit for +being a centre of grace and purity in the home. It cannot be too +emphatically insisted on that the home is the great school for the +formation of character among the young, and it is on character that +conduct depends. In proportion as this school of character is +improved, in the same proportion will crime decrease. But how is it to +be improved when the tendencies of industrialism are to degrade the +women who stand by nature at the head of it? Indifferent mothers +cannot make children good citizens; and the present course of things +industrial is slowly but surely tending to debase the fountain head of +the race. At the International Conference concerning the regulation of +labour held recently at Berlin, M. Jules Simon, at the close of an +excellent speech to the delegates, pointed out the remedy for the +present condition of things. "You will pardon me," he said, "for +concluding my observations with a personal remark, which is perhaps +authorised by a past entirely consecrated to a defence of the cause +which brings us here. The object we are aiming at is moral as well as +material; it is not only in the physical interests of the human race +that we are endeavouring to rescue children, youths, and women from +excessive toil; we are also labouring to restore woman to the home, +the child to its mother, for it is from her only that those lessons of +affection and respect which make the good citizen can be learned. We +wish to call a halt in the path of demoralisation down which the +loosening of the family tie is leading the human mind." + +Passing from the question of sex and crime we shall now consider the +proportions which crime bears to age. According to the calculations of +the late Mr. Clay, chaplain of Preston prison, the practice of +dishonesty among persons, who afterwards find their way into prisons, +begins at a very early age. In a communication addressed to Lord +Shaftesbury, in 1853, he said that 58 per cent. of criminals were +dishonest under 15 years of age; 14 per cent. became dishonest between +15 and 16; 8 per cent. became dishonest between 17 and 19; 20 per +cent. became dishonest under 20. + +I have little doubt that these proportions are still in the main +correct, and that the criminal instinct begins to show itself at a +very early period in life. In Staffordshire "it is an ascertained +fact, that there is scarcely an habitual criminal in the county who +has not been imprisoned as a child."[28] But it is after the age of +twenty has been reached that the criminality of a people attains its +highest point. A glance at the subjoined table will make this clear:-- + +Population of England and | Prisoners in Local Gaols + Wales in 1871-- | in 1888-- + +Under 5 13.52 | Under 12 0.1 +5 and under 15 22.58 | 12 and under 16 2.8 +15 " 20 9.59 | 16 " 21 16.1 +20 " 30 16.66 | 21 " 30 30.2 +30 " 40 12.80 | 30 " 40 24.3 +40 " 50 10.05 | 40 " 50 14.7 +50 " 60 7.32 | 50 " 60 6.4 +60 and upwards 7.48 | 60 and upwards 5.4 + + [28] _Reformatory and Refuge Journal_, July, 1890. + +These figures show that in proportion to the population, crime is, as +we should expect, at its lowest level from infancy till the age of +sixteen. From that age it goes on steadily increasing in volume till +it reaches a maximum between thirty and forty. After forty has been +passed the criminal population begins rapidly to descend, but never +touches the same low point in old age as in early youth. + +Females do not enter upon a criminal career so early in life as +males;[29] in the year 1888, while 20 per cent. of the _male_ +population of our local prisons in England and Wales were under 21, +only 12 per cent. of the _female_ prison population were under that +age. On the other hand, women between 21 and 50, form a larger +proportion of the female prison population, than men between the same +ages do of the male prison population. The criminal age among women is +later in its commencement, and earlier in coming to a close than in +the case of men. It is later in commencing because of the greater care +and watchfulness exercised over girls than boys; but it is more +persistent while it lasts, because a plunge into crime is a more +irreparable thing in a woman than in a man. A woman's past has a far +worse effect on her future than a man's. She incurs a far graver +degree of odium from her own sex; it is much more difficult for her to +get into the way of earning an honest livelihood, and a woman who has +once been shut up within bolts and bars is much more likely to be +irretrievably lost than a man. If it is important to keep men as much +as possible out of prison, it is doubly necessary to keep out women; +but it is, at the same time, a much harder thing to accomplish. This +arises from the fact that the great bulk of female offenders enter the +criminal arena after the age of twenty-one, and can only be dealt with +by a sentence of imprisonment. If females began crime at an earlier +period of life, it would be possible to send them to Reformatories or +Industrial Schools, and a fair hope of ultimately saving them would +still remain; but as this is impossible with grown-up persons, prison +is the only alternative, and it is after imprisonment is over that a +woman begins to recognise the terrible social penalties it has +involved. + + [29] Ages and proportion per cent. of males and females committed + in 1889-90. + + Ages Males Females + + Under 12 years 0.2 0.0 + 12 years and under 16 3.1 1.1 + 16 years and under 21 17.5 10.7 + 21 years and under 30 28.4 31.4 + 30 years and under 40 23.9 28.6 + 40 years and under 50 14.2 17.5 + 50 years and under 60 6.4 6.8 + 60 years and above 6.2 3.8 + Age not ascertained 0.1 0.1 + +The proportion of offenders under sixteen years of age to the total +local prison population of England and Wales, has decreased in a +remarkable way within the last twenty or thirty years. The proportion +of offenders under sixteen committed to prison between 1857-66, +amounted to six and three-quarters per cent. of the prison population, +and if we go back behind that period it was higher still. In fact, +during the first quarter of the present century, the extent and +ramifications of juvenile crime had almost reduced statesmen to +despair. But the spread of the Reformatory system and the introduction +more recently of Industrial and Truant Schools for children who have +just drifted, or are fast drifting, into criminal courses, has had a +remarkable effect in diminishing the juvenile population of our +prisons. At the present time the proportion of juveniles under sixteen +to the rest of the local prison population is only a little over two +per cent. and it is not likely that it will ever reach a higher +figure. It might easily be reduced almost to zero if children destined +for Reformatories were sent off to these institutions at once, instead +of being detained for a month or so in prison till a suitable school +is found for them. Some persons object to the idea of sending children +to Reformatories at once, on the ground that to abolish the terror of +imprisonment from the youthful mind would embolden the juvenile +inclined to crime and lead him more readily to commit it. Others +object on the ground that it is only right the child should be +punished for his offence. In answer to the last objection, it may +pertinently be said that a sentence of three or four years to a +Reformatory is surely sufficient punishment for offences usually +committed by small boys. With regard to the first objection, our own +experience is that the ordinary juvenile is much more afraid of the +policeman than of the prison, and that the fear of being caught would +operate just as strongly upon him if he were sent straight to the +Reformatory as it does now. The evils connected with the present +system of sending children destined for Reformatories to prison are of +two kinds. At the present time many magistrates will not send children +to Reformatories who sorely need the restraints of such an +institution, because they know it involves a period of preliminary +imprisonment before they can get there. Secondly, it enables a lad to +know what the inside of a prison really is. On these two points let me +quote the words of an experienced magistrate. "I have many times," +said Mr. Whitwell, at the fourth Reformatory Conference, "when having +to deal with young people, felt it very desirable to send them to a +Reformatory, but have shrunk from it because we are obliged to send +them to prison first. I think it should be left to the discretion of +the magistrates and not made compulsory. I feel very strongly indeed +that it is most desirable to keep the child from knowing what the +inside of a prison is. Let them think it something awful to look +forward to. _When they have been in the prison they are of opinion +that it is not such a very bad place after all, and they are not +afraid of going there again_; but if they are sent to a Reformatory +and told that they will be sent to a prison if they do not reform, +they will think it an awful place." These are wise words. It is +impossible to make imprisonment such a severe discipline for children +as it is for grown-up men and women, and as it is not so severe, +children leave our gaols with a false impression on their minds. The +terror of being imprisoned has, to a large extent, departed; they +think they know the worst and cease to be much afraid of what the law +can do. Hence the fact that society has less chance of reclaiming a +child who has been imprisoned than it has of reclaiming one who has +not undergone that form of punishment although he has committed +precisely the same offence. In England, many authorities on +Reformatory Schools are strongly in favour of retaining preliminary +imprisonment for Reformatory children; in Scotland, experienced +opinion is decisively on the other side. On this point, the Scotch are +undoubtedly in the right. The working of prison systems, whether at +home or abroad, teaches us that any person, be he child or man, who +has once been in prison, is much more likely to come back than a +person who, for a similar offence, has received punishment in a +different form. The application of this principle to the case of +Reformatory children decisively settles the matter in favour of +sending such children to Reformatories at once. If this simple reform +were effected, the child population of our prisons would almost cease +to exist. In the year 1888, this population amounted to 239 for +England and Wales under the age of twelve, and 4,826 under the age of +sixteen, thus making a total of 5,065 or 2.9 per cent. of the whole +local prison population. + +In the preceding remarks on juvenile offenders under 16, it has been +pointed out that the great decrease in the numbers of such offenders +among the prison population is mainly owing to the development of +Industrial and Reformatory Schools. In order, therefore, to form an +accurate estimate of juvenile delinquency, we must look not merely at +the number of juveniles in prison; attention must also be directed to +the number of juveniles in Reformatory and Industrial Institutions. +Although these institutions are not places of imprisonment, yet they +are places of compulsory detention, and contain a very considerable +proportion of juvenile delinquents. All juveniles sent to +Reformatories have, indeed, been actually convicted of criminal +offences, and in 1888 the number of young people in the Reformatory +Schools of Great Britain (excluding Ireland) was in round numbers six +thousand (5,984). These must be added to the total juvenile prison +population in order to form a true conception of the extent of +juvenile crime. It is almost certain that if these young people were +not in Reformatories they would be in prisons, for, in almost the same +proportion as the Reformatory and Industrial School inmates have +increased, the juvenile prison population has decreased. + +To the population of the Reformatory Schools must also be added a +large percentage of the Industrial School population. Since the year +1864, the number of boys and girls in Industrial and Truant Schools +has gone on steadily increasing. In that year the inmates amounted to +1,608; twenty-four years afterwards, that is to say, in 1888, the +number of children in Great Britain in Industrial and Truant Schools +amounted to 21,426.[30] It is true that a considerable proportion of +these children were not sent to the schools on account of having +committed crime; at the same time it has to be remembered that nearly +all of them were on the way to it, and would in all probability have +become criminals had the State left them alone for a year or two +longer. At the time of their committal the children we are now dealing +with were either children who had been found begging, or who were +wandering about without a settled home, or who were found destitute, +or who had a parent in gaol, or who lived in the company of female +criminals, prostitutes, and thieves. Such children may not actually +have come within the clutches of the criminal law, but it is +sufficient to look for a moment at the surroundings they had lived in +to see that this was only a question of time. We must, therefore, add +those children, along with the Reformatory population, to the number +of juveniles in gaol if we wish to form a proper estimate of the +extent of juvenile delinquency. If this is done we arrive at the +conclusion that the criminal and semi-criminal juvenile population is +at the present time more than 25,000 strong in England and Wales +alone; if Scotland be included it is more than 30,000 strong. These +figures are enough to show that it is only compulsory detention in +State establishments which keeps down the numbers of juvenile +offenders; and there can be little doubt, if the inmates of these +institutions were let loose upon the country, juveniles would very +soon constitute seven, eight, or, perhaps, ten per cent. of the prison +population. + + [30] In 1889 there is a slight decrease. + +Let us now consider the case of young offenders between the ages of 16 +and 21. This is the most momentous for weal or woe of all periods of +life. During this stage, the transition from youth to manhood is +taking place; the habits then formed acquire a more enduring +character, and, in the majority of cases, determine the whole future +of the individual. If youths between the ages just mentioned could by +any possibility be prevented from embarking on a criminal career, the +drop in the criminal population would be far-reaching in its effects. +It is from the ranks of young people just entering early manhood that +a large proportion of the habitual criminal population is recruited; +and if this critical period of life can be tided over without repeated +acts of crime, there is much less likelihood of a young man +degenerating afterwards into a criminal of the professional class. It +is most important that the professional criminal class should be +diminished at a quicker rate than is the case at present; and, in +spite of police statistics to the contrary, it is a class which has +not become perceptibly smaller within the last twenty or five and +twenty years. A proof of this statement is to be seen in the fact that +offences against property with violence display a tendency to +increase, and it is offences of this nature which are pre-eminently +the work of the habitual criminal. It is a comparatively rare thing to +find a habitual criminal stop mid-way in his sinister career; the +accumulated impressions resulting from a life of crime have too +effectively succeeded in shaping his character and conduct, and he +persists, as a rule, in leading an anti-social life so long as he has +physical strength to do it. + +The only hope, therefore, of diminishing the habitual criminal +population, is to lessen the number of recruits; and as most of these +recruits are to be found among lads of between sixteen and twenty-one, +it is to these lads that serious attention must be directed. Every year +a certain proportion of youths ranging between these two ages shows a +pronounced disposition to enter permanently upon a criminal life by +repeatedly returning to prison. The deterrent effect of short sentences +has ceased to operate upon them, and all the symptoms are present that +a downright career of crime has begun. In such circumstances what is to +be done? A plan has been proposed by Mr. Lloyd Baker for dealing with +refractory and unmanageable Reformatory children, the substance of +which is to send them to another institution of a stricter character +than the ordinary Reformatory School, and which for want of a better +name he calls a Penal Reformatory. It is very probable that something +in the nature of a Penal Reformatory is just what is wanted to prevent +a youth on the downward road from finally swelling the proportions of +the professional criminal population. If Great Britain ever established +such institutions, she would then possess a graded set of organisations +for dealing with the young, which would cover the whole period of +youthful life. The Truant School would catch the child on the first +symptoms of waywardness, the Industrial School would arrest him +standing on the verge of crime, the Reformatory School would dual with +actual offenders against the law, and the Penal Reformatory would +grapple with habitual offenders under the age of manhood.[31] + + [31] Ages at which 507 offenders first began to commit crime-- + + Under 10 1.5 41 to 45 2.1 + 11 to 15 17.0 46 to 50 2.3 + 16 to 20 36.1 51 to 55 2.1 + 21 to 25 20.1 56 to 60 .8 + 26 to 30 7.1 61 to 65 .8 + 31 to 35 5.1 66 to 70 .2 + 36 to 40 3.6 + + Marro. _I Caratteri dei delinquente. Studio antropologico-sociologico_, + p. 356. + +After the age of manhood has been reached, and the main lines of +character are formed, punitive methods of dealing with criminal +offenders must assume a more prominent position, and the prison should +then take the place of the Reformatory. In youth the deterrent effects +of punishment are small, and the beneficial effects of reformative +measures are at their maximum. In manhood, on the other hand, this +condition of things is reversed, and the deterrent effects of +punishment exceed the beneficial effects of reformative influences. An +interesting example of the value of punishment for adults, as compared +with other methods, is given by Sir John Strachey in his account of +infanticide in certain parts of India. "For many years past," he says, +"measures have been taken in the North-West Provinces for the +prevention of this crime. For a long time, when our civilisation was +less belligerent than it has since become, it was thought that the best +hope of success lay in the removal of the causes which appeared to lead +to its commission, and especially in the prevention of extravagant +expenditure on marriages; but although these benevolent efforts were +undoubtedly useful, their practical results were not great, and it +gradually became clear that it was only by a stringent and organised +system of coercion that these practices would ever be eradicated. In +1870 an act of the legislature was passed which enabled the Government +to deal with the subject. A system of registration of births and deaths +among the suspected classes was established, with constant inspection +and enumeration of children; special police-officers were entertained +at the cost of the guilty communities, and no efforts were spared to +convince them that the Government had firmly resolved that it would put +down these practices, and would treat the people who followed them as +murderers. Although the time is, I fear, distant when preventive +measures will cease to be necessary, much progress has been made, and +there are now thousands of girls where formerly there were none. In the +Mainpuri district, where, as I have said, there was not many years ago +hardly a single Chauhán girl, nearly half of the Chauhán children at +the present time are girls; and it is hoped that three-fourths of the +villages have abandoned the practice."[32] + + [32] _India_ by Sir John Strachey, pp. 292-3. + +These facts speak for themselves and afford an incontestable proof of +the value of punishment as a remedial measure when other remedies have +failed.[33] In the re-action which is now in full force, and rightly +so, against the excessive punishments of past times, there is a marked +tendency among some minds to go to the opposite extreme, and an +attempt is being made to show that imprisonment has hardly any +curative effect at all. Its evils, and from the very nature of things +they are not a few, are almost exclusively elaborated and dwelt upon, +little attention being paid to the vast amount of good which +imprisonment alone is able to effect. It is possible that imprisonment +sends a few to utter perdition at a quicker pace than they would have +gone of their own accord, but on the other hand, it rescues many a man +before he has irrevocably committed himself to a life of crime. If it +fails the first time, it very often succeeds after the second or the +third, and no one is justified in saying imprisonment is worthless as +a reformative agency till it has failed at least three times. According +to the judicial statistics for England and Wales, imprisonment is +successful after the third time in about 80 per cent. of the cases +annually submitted to the criminal courts, and although it is a pity +that the percentage is not higher, yet it cannot fairly be said that +such results are an evidence of failure. The prison is unquestionably +a much less effective weapon for dealing with crime among Continental +peoples, and in the United States, than it has shown itself to be in +Great Britain; but this failure arises in the main from the laxity and +indulgence with which criminals are treated in foreign prisons. A +prison to possess any reformative value must always be made an +uncomfortable place to live in; Continental peoples and the people of +America have to a large extent lost sight of this fact; hence the +failure of their penal systems to stop the growth of the delinquent +population. If, however, imprisonment is not allowed to degenerate +into mere detention, it is bound to act as a powerful deterrent upon +grown-up offenders, and it is the only menace which will effectually +keep many of them within the law. The hope of reward and the fear of +punishment, or, in other words, love of pleasure, and dread of pain, +are the two most deeply seated instincts in the human breast; if Mr. +Darwin's theory be correct, it is through the operation of these +fundamental instincts that such a being as man has come into existence +at all. In any case these instincts have hitherto been the chief +ingredients of all human progress, the most effective spur to energy +of all kinds, and when properly utilised they are the most potent of +all deterrents to crime. Were it possible for the hand of social +justice to descend on every criminal with infallible certainty; were +it universally true that no crime could possibly escape punishment, +that every offence against society would inevitably and immediately be +visited on the offender, the tendency to commit crime would probably +become as rare as the tendency of an ordinary human being to thrust +his hand into the fire. The uncertainty of punishment is the great +bulwark of crime, and crime has a marvellous knack of diminishing in +proportion as this uncertainty decreases. No amelioration of the +material circumstances of the community can destroy all the causes of +crime, and till moral progress has reached a height hitherto attained +only by the elect of the race, one of the most efficient curbs upon +the criminally disposed will consist in increasing the probability of +punishment. + + [33] Cf. _Tarde Philosophie Penale_, p. 467. + +In proportion as the probability of being punished is augmented, the +severity of punishment can be safely diminished. This is one of the +paramount advantages to be derived from a highly efficient police +system. The barbarity of punishments in the Middle Ages is always +attributed by historians to the barbarous ideas of those rude times. +But this is only partially true; one important consideration is +overlooked. In the Middle Ages it was extremely difficult to catch the +criminal; in fact, it is only within the present century that an +organised system for effecting the capture of criminals has come into +existence. The result of the nebulous police system of past times was +that very few offenders were brought to justice at all, and society, +in order to prevent lawlessness from completely getting the upper +hand, was obliged to make a terrible example of all offenders coming +within its grasp. As soon, however, as it became less difficult to +arrest and convict lawless persons, the old severities of the criminal +code immediately began to fall into abeyance. Sentences were +shortened, punishments were mitigated, the death penalty was abolished +for almost all crimes except murder. But even now, the moment society +sees any form of crime showing a tendency to evade the vigilance of +the law, a cry is immediately raised for sterner measures of +repression against the perpetrators of that particular form of crime. +The Flogging Bill recently passed by Parliament is a case in point. +These instances afford a fairly accurate insight into the action of +society with regard to the punishment of crime. It punishes severely +when the criminal is seldom caught; it punishes more lightly when he +is often caught; and its punishments will become more mitigated still, +as soon as the probability of capture is made more complete. A +comparatively light sentence is in most cases a very effective +deterrent, when it is made almost a certainty, and all alterations in +the future in criminal administration should be in the direction of +making punishment more certain rather than more severe. Such efforts +are sure to be rewarded by a decrease in the amount of crime. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE CRIMINAL IN BODY AND MIND. + + +Has the criminal any bodily and mental characteristics which +differentiate him from the ordinary man? Does he differ from his +fellows in height and weight? Does he possess a peculiar conformation +of skull and brain? Is he anomalous in face and feature, in intellect, +in will, in feeling? Is he, in short, an individual separated from the +rest of humanity by any set or combination of qualities which clearly +mark him off as an abnormal being? As these matters are at present +exciting considerable attention, let us now look at the criminal from +a purely biological point of view. + +A good deal of diversity of opinion exists among competent authorities +respecting the stature of criminals. Lombroso says that Italian +criminals are above the average height; Knecht says German criminals +do not differ in this respect from other men; Marro says the stature +of criminals is variable; Thomson and Wilson say that criminals are +inferior in point of stature to the average man. Whatever may be the +case on the Continent, there can be little doubt that as far as the +United Kingdom is concerned, the height of the criminal class is lower +than that of the ordinary citizen. In Scotland the average height of +the ordinary population is (559) 67.30 inches; the average height of +the criminal population, as given by Dr. Bruce Thomson, is (324) 66.95 +inches. According to Dr. Beddoe, the average height of the London +artizan population is (318) 66.72 inches; the average height of the +London criminal (300) 54.70 inches; the average height of Liverpool +criminals, according to Danson, is (1117) 66.39 inches. Danson's +figures point to the fact that there is hardly any difference in +height between the criminal classes of Liverpool and the artizan +population of London It has, however, to be borne in mind that the +population of the North of England, being largely of Scandinavian +descent, is taller than the population of the South of England. The +height of Liverpool criminals should be compared with the average +height of the Scotch, to whom they are more nearly allied by race. If +this is done, it will be seen that they fall considerably short of the +normal stature. + +The difference between the height of the criminal population and that +of the most favoured classes is more remarkable still. According to +Dr. Roberts' tables, the average height of the latter is 69.06 inches; +the London criminal is only 64.70 inches. There is thus a difference +of from four to five inches between the most highly favoured classes +and the London criminal class. The difference between the criminal +class and the merely well-to-do is not quite so great. Selecting Mr. +Galton's Health Exhibition measurements as a test of the stature of +the well-to-do classes, the results come out as follows:--Health +Exhibition measurements, 67.9 inches; London criminals, 64.70 inches. +The criminal is thus between two and three inches inferior in height +to the well-to-do portion of the community. In fact, the height of the +London criminal is very nearly the same as that of the East-End Jew. +According to Mr. Jacobs, in a paper communicated to the Journal of the +Anthropological Institute, the average stature of the East-End Jew is +64.3 inches; his co-religionist in the West-End is 67.5 inches. We may +accordingly take it as the outcome of these measurements that the +criminal population of Great Britain is inferior in point of stature +to the ordinary population. + +From stature we shall pass to weight. Lombroso and Marro say that the +weight of Italian criminals is superior to the weight of the average +Italian citizen. On the other hand, the weight of London criminals is +almost the same as that of London artizans, but inferior to the weight +of the artizan population in the large English towns taken as a whole. +Average weight of London criminals (300) 136 pounds; average weight of +London artizan (318) 137 pounds; average weight of artizans in large +towns generally, 138 pounds. The London criminal is considerably +inferior in weight to the well-to-do classes, as will be seen from Mr. +Galton's Health Exhibition statistics. Average weight, Health +Exhibition, 143 pounds; average weight, most favoured class (Roberts), +152 pounds. These figures show that the criminal class in London is +seven pounds lighter than the well-to-do, and sixteen pounds lighter +than the most favoured section of the population. + +Hardly any investigations have been made in this country respecting +the skulls of criminals, and the inquiries of continental +investigators have so far led to very conflicting results. It is a +contention of Lombroso's that the skulls of criminals exhibit a larger +proportion of asymmetrical peculiarities than the skulls of other men. +On this point Lombroso is supported by Manouvrier. But Topinard, an +anthropologist of great eminence, is of the opposite opinion. He +carefully examined the same series of skulls as been examined by +Manouvrier--the skulls of murders--and he discovered no marked +difference between these and other skulls. Heger, a Belgian +anthropologist says that the skulls of delinquents do not differ from +the skulls of the race to which the delinquent belongs. In fact, till +more exactitude is introduced into the methods of skull measurement, +all deduction based upon an examination of the criminal skull must be +regarded as untrustworthy. A striking instance of this was witnessed +at the proceedings of the Paris Congress of Criminal Anthropology held +in 1889. When the skull of Charlotte Corday, who killed the +revolutionist Marat, was subjected to examination, Lombroso declared +that it was a truly criminal type of skull; Topinard, on the other +hand, gave it as his opinion that it was a typical female skull. On +this point Topinard was supported by Benedict.[34] As long as such +divergencies of view exist among anthropologists it is impossible to +place much stress upon inquiries relative to the conformation of the +criminal skull. Before a beginning can be made with inquiries of this +character, there must be some fundamental basis of agreement among +investigators as to what is to be accounted asymmetrical in skull +measurements and what is not. Even then it will have to be remembered, +before coming to conclusions, that no skull is perfectly +symmetrical--every one showing some variation from the ideal type. +When the extent of this variation has been absolutely demonstrated to +be greater in the case of criminals than among other sections of the +community, we shall then be approaching solid ground. At present we +must wait for further light before anything can be said with certainty +with respect to the criminal skull. + + [34] See _Revista Internacional de Anthropologia Criminal y + Ciencias Medico-Legales, Marzo e April de 1890_. + +Just as little is known at present about the brain of criminals as +about the skull. Some years ago Professor Benedict startled the world +by stating that he had discovered the seat of crime in the +convolutions of the brain. He found a certain number of anomalies in +the convolutions of the frontal lobes, and he came to the conclusion +that crime was connected with the existence of these anomalies. But he +had omitted to examine the frontal convolutions of honest people. When +this was done by other investigators, it was found that the brain +convolutions of normal men presented just as many anomalies, some +investigators (Dr. Giacomini) said even more than the brains of +criminals. According to Dr. Bardeleben, there is no such thing as a +normal type of brain. Weight of brain is a much simpler question than +brain type, but so far it is impossible to say whether the criminal +brain is heavier or lighter than the ordinary brain. The solution of +this comparatively simple point is beset by a certain number of +obstacles. It is not enough, Dr. Binswanger tells us, to weigh the +brains of criminals and the brains of ordinary persons and then strike +an average of the results. The height and weight of the persons whose +brains are averaged are essential to the formation of accurate +conclusions; till these important factors are taken into account, all +deductions based upon weight of brain only rest upon an unsure +foundation. + +But supposing we had a trustworthy body of facts bearing upon the +weight and structure of the criminal brain, we should still require to +know much more of brain functions in general before satisfactory +conclusions could be drawn from these facts. We know something, it is +true, of the physiological functions at certain cerebral regions, but +as yet nothing is known of the localisation of any particular mental +faculty, whether criminal or otherwise. A conclusive proof that the +study of the brain, as an organ of thought, is still in its infancy, +is found in the fact that the fundamental question is still unsolved, +whether the whole brain is to be considered one in all its parts, so +far as the performance of psychic functions is concerned, or whether +these functions are localised in certain definite centres. Till these +fundamental difficulties are cleared away, the presence of anomalies +in certain convolutions of the brain will not prove very much one way +or the other.[35] + + [35] A masterly article on the "Localisation of Brain Functions" + will be found in Wundt's _Philosophische Studien Sechster Band_, + 1. _Heft Zur Frage der Localisation der Grosshirnfunctionen_, + Von W. Wundt. Compare also _The Croonian Lectures on Cerebral + Localisation_, by David Ferrier. London: 1890. + +An examination of the criminal face has so far led to no definite and +assured results. In the imagination of artists the criminal is almost +always credited with the possession of a retreating forehead. As a +matter of fact, Dr. Marro, one of the most eminent representatives of +the anthropological school, assures us that this is not the case. +After comparing the foreheads of 539 delinquents with the foreheads of +100 ordinary men, he found that criminals had a smaller percentage of +retreating foreheads than the average man.[36] He also found that +projecting eyebrows, another trait which is supposed to be a criminal +peculiarity, were almost as common among ordinary people as among +offenders against the law. Projecting ears is another peculiarity +which is often associated with the idea of a criminal. But Dr. Lannois +states that after a careful examination of the ears of 43 young +offenders, he found them as free from anomalies as the ears of other +people.[37] + + [36] Marro, _I Caratteri dei Delinquenti_, p. 157. + + [37] _Archives d'anthropologie criminelle Livraison_, 10. + +As it is the Italians who have studied these matters most exhaustively, +it is mainly to them we must go for information. In a little book on +the skeleton and the form of the nose, Dr. Salvator Ottolenghi comes to +the somewhat curious result that the bones of the criminal nose offer +many anomalies of a pre-human or bestial character; but the nose itself +is straight and long, or, in other words, just as highly developed as +the noses of ordinary men. Careful inquiries have been undertaken by +criminal anthropologists into the colour of the hair, the length of the +arms, the colour of the skin, tattooing, sensitiveness to pain among +the criminal population, but these laborious investigations have so +far led to few solid conclusions. According to Lombroso, insensibility +to pain is a marked characteristic of the typical criminal.[38] +"Individuals," he says, "who possess this quality consider themselves +as privileged, and they despise delicate and sensitive persons. It is a +pleasure to such hardened men to torment others whom they look upon as +inferior beings." On this point M. Joly is at variance with Lombroso. +"I asked," he says, "at the central hospital, the Santé, where all +persons who become seriously ill in the prisons of the Seine are looked +after, if this disvulnerability had ever been noticed. I was told that +far from that, prisoners were always found very sensitive to pain ... +Honest people, industrious workmen, the fathers of families treated at +the Charité or the Hôtel-Dieu (Paris hospitals), undergo operations +with much more fortitude than the sick prisoners of the Santé."[39] On +this point, therefore, as on so many others, we are still without a +sufficient body of evidence, and must, meanwhile, suspend our judgment. + + [38] _L'Homme Criminel_, 324. + + [39] _Le Crime_, 193. + +Let us now consider the criminal's physiognomy. In this connection it +must be borne in mind that a prolonged period of imprisonment will +change the face of any man, whether he is a criminal or not. Political +offenders who have undergone a sentence of penal servitude, and who may +be men of the highest character, acquire the prison look and never +altogether get rid of it. If a man spends a certain number of years +sharing the life, the food, the occupations of five or six hundred +other men, if he mixes with them and with no one else, he will +inevitably come to resemble them in face and feature. A remarkable +illustration of this fact has recently been brought to light by the +Photographic Society of Geneva. "From photographs of seventy-eight old +couples, and of as many adult brothers and sisters, it was found that +twenty-four of the former resembled each other much more strongly than +as many of the latter who were thought most like one another."[40] It +would, therefore, seem that the action of unconscious imitation, +arising from constant contact, is capable of producing a remarkable +change in the features, the acquired expression frequently tending to +obliterate inherited family resemblances. According to Piderit, +physiognomy is to be considered as a mimetic expression which has +become habitual. The criminal type of face, so conspicuous in old +offenders, is in many cases merely a prison type; it is not congenital; +men who do not originally have it almost always acquire it after a +prolonged period of penal servitude. + + [40] _Daily News_, June 12, 1890. + +But apart from the prison type of countenance, it is highly probable +that a distinct criminal type also exists. Certain professions +generate distinctive castes of feature, as, for instance, the Army and +the Church. This distinctiveness is not confined to features alone, it +diffuses itself over the whole man; it is observable in manner, in +gesture, in bearing, in demeanour, and is constantly breaking out in a +variety of unexpected ways. In like manner the habitual criminal +acquires the habits of his class. Crime is his profession; it is also +the profession of all his associates. The constant practice of this +profession results in the acquisition of a certain demeanour, a +certain aspect, gait, and general appearance, in many instances too +subtle to define, but, at the same time, plain and palpable to an +expert. + +The slang of criminals is also explicable on the same principle. Every +trade and calling has its technical terms. The meaning of these terms +is hidden from the rest of the world, but the origin of their +existence is not difficult to explain. The jargon of the criminal +arises from the same causes and is constructed on exactly the same +principles as the technical words and phrases of the man of science. +When a man of science is compelled to make frequent use of a phrase, +he generally gets rid of it by inventing some technical word; it is +precisely the same with criminals. With them technical words are used +instead of phrases, and short words instead of long ones in all +matters where criminal interests are intimately concerned, and on all +topics which are habitually the subjects of conversation among the +criminal classes. The language of the Stock Exchange with its Bulls, +Bears, Contangos, and other short and comprehensive expressions for +various kinds of stocks, is on all fours with the slang of criminals, +and it is not necessary to resort to atavism in order to explain it. +It arises to supply professional needs, and criminal argot springs up +from exactly the same cause. + +Summing up our inquiries respecting the criminal type we arrive, in +the first place, at the general conclusion, that so far as it has a +real existence it is not born with a man, but originates either in the +prison, and is then merely a prison type, or in criminal habits of +life, and is then a truly criminal type. As a matter of fact, the two +types are in most cases blended together, the prison type with its +hard, impassive rigidity of feature being superadded to the gait, +gesture and demeanour of the habitual criminal. In combination these +two types form a professional type and constitute what Dr. Bruce +Thomson[41] has called "a physique distinctly characteristic of the +criminal class." It is not, however, a type which admits of accurate +description, and its practical utility is impaired by the fact that +certain of its features are sometimes visible in men who have never +been convicted of crime. The position of the case, with respect to the +criminal type, may be best described by saying that an experienced +detective officer will be sure in nine cases out of ten that he has +got hold of a criminal by profession, but in the tenth case he will +probably make a mistake. In other words, face, manner and demeanor are +no infallible index of character or habits of life. + + [41] _Journal of Mental Science_, vol. xvi. + +When crime is not an inherited taint, but merely an acquired habit, +this fact has an important practical bearing upon the proper method of +dealing with it. Acquired habits, we are now being taught by Professor +Weismann, are incapable of being transmitted to posterity, and Mr. +Galton is of the same opinion.[42] This is not the place to elaborate +the theory of inheritance, as understood by those writers; its +essence, however, is that we only inherit the natural faculties of our +forebears, and not those faculties which they have acquired by +practice and experience. The son of a rope-dancer does not inherit his +father's faculties for rope-dancing, nor the son of an orator his +father's ready aptitude for public speech, nor the son of a designer +his father's acquired skill in the making of designs. All that the son +inherits is the natural faculties of the parent, but no more. Hence it +follows that the son of a thief, on the supposition that thieving +comes by habit and practice, does not by natural inheritance acquire +the parent's criminal propensity. As far as his natural faculties are +concerned he starts life free from the vicious habits of his parent, +and should he in turn become a thief, as sometimes happens, it is not +because he has inherited his father's thievish habits, but because he +has himself acquired them. It is imitation, not instinct, which +transforms him into a thief; and if he is removed from the influence +of evil example he will have almost as small a chance of falling into +a criminal life as any other member of the community. It will not be +quite so small, because no public institution, however well conducted, +can ever exercise so moralising an effect as a good home, but it will +be much smaller than if he grew up to maturity under the pernicious +surroundings of a criminal home. + + [42] _Die Continuität des Keimplasma als Grundlage einer Theorie + der Vererbung_. A. Weismann. Jena, 1885. _Natural Inheritance_. + F. Galton. + +If we do not inherit the acquired faculties and habits of our parents, +it is unfortunately too true that we inherit their diseases and the +connection between disease and crime is a fact which cannot be denied. +In many cases it is perfectly true that persons suffering from disease +or physical degeneracy do not become criminals, in most cases they do +not; at the same time a larger proportion of such persons fall into a +lawless life than is the case with people who are free from inherited +infirmities. The undoubted tendency of physical infirmity is to +disturb the temper, to weaken the will, and generally to disorganise +the mental equilibrium. Such a tendency, when it becomes very +pronounced, leads its unhappy possessor to perpetrate offenses against +his fellow-men, or, in other words, to commit crime. In a recent +communication to a German periodical, Herr Sichart, director of +prisons in the kingdom of Wurtemburg, has shown that a very high +percentage of criminals are the descendants of degenerate parents. +Herr Sichart's inquiries extended over several years and included +1,714 prisoners. Of this number 16 per cent. were descended from +drunken parents; 6 per cent. from families in which there was madness; +4 per cent. from families addicted to suicide; 1 per cent. from +families in which there was epilepsy. In all, 27 per cent. of the +offenders, examined by Herr Sichart were descended from families in +which there was degeneracy. According to these figures more than one +fourth of the German prison population have received a defective +organisation from their ancestry, which manifests itself in a life of +crime. + +In France and Italy the same state of things prevails. Dr. Corre is of +opinion that a very large proportion of persons convicted of bad +conduct in the French military service are distinctly degenerate +either in body or mind. Dr. Virgilio says that in Italy 32 per cent. +of the criminal population have inherited criminal tendencies from +their parents. In England there is no direct means of testing the +amount of degeneracy among the criminal classes, but, in all +likelihood, it is quite as great as elsewhere. According to the report +of the Medical Inspector of convict prisons for 1888-9, the annual +number of deaths from natural causes, among the convict population, is +from 10 to 12 per 1000. Let us compare those figures with the death +rate of the general population as recorded in the Registrar-General's +report for 1888. The annual death rate from all causes of the general +population, between the ages of 15 and 45, is about 7 per 1000. I have +selected the period of life between 15 and 45 for the reason that it +corresponds most closely with the average age of criminals. If deaths +from accident are excluded from the mortality returns of the general +population, it will be found that the rate of mortality among +criminals, in convict prisons, is from one third to one half higher +than the rate of mortality among the rest of the community of a +similar age. If the rate of mortality of the criminal population is so +high inside convict prisons, where the health of the inmates is so +carefully attended to, what must it be among the criminal classes when +in a state of liberty? Independently of the premature deaths brought +on by irregularity of life, it is certain that a high proportion of +criminals bear within them the seeds of inherited disorders, and it is +these disorders which largely account for the high rate of mortality +amongst them when in prison. + +The high percentage of disease and degeneracy among the English +criminal population may be seen in other ways. The population in the +local gaols in 1888-9, between the ages of 21 and 40, constituted 54 +per cent. of the total prison population, whilst the same class between +the ages of 40 and CO formed only 20 per cent. of the prison +population. One half of this drop in the percentage of prisoners +between 40 and 60 may be accounted for by the decreased percentage of +persons between these two ages in the general population. The other +half can only be accounted for by the extent to which premature decay +and death rage among criminals who have passed their fortieth year. In +other words, the number of criminals alive after forty is much smaller +than the number of normal men alive after that age. + +A direct proof of the extent of degeneracy in the shape of insanity +among persons convicted of murder can be found in the Judicial +Statistics. The number of persons convicted of wilful murder, not +including manslaughter or non-capital homicides, from 1879 to 1888 +amounted to 441. Out of this total 143 or 32 per cent. were found +insane. Of the 299 condemned to death, no less than 145, or nearly one +half, had their sentences commuted, many of them on the ground of +mental infirmity. The whole of these figures decisively prove that +between 40 and 50 per cent. of the convictions for wilful murder are +cases in which the murderers were either insane or mentally infirm. +Murder cases are almost the only ones respecting which the antecedents +of the offender are seriously inquired into. But when this inquiry +does take place the vast amount of degeneracy among criminals at once +becomes apparent. + +Passing from the mental condition of murderers, let us now take into +consideration the mental state of criminals generally. Beginning with +the senses, it may be said that very little stress can be laid on the +experiments conducted by the Anthropological School as to +peculiarities in the sense of smell, taste, sight, and so on, +discovered among criminals. In all these inquiries it is so easy for +the subject to deceive the investigator, and he has often so direct an +interest in doing it that all results in this department must be +accepted with the utmost caution. Wherever investigations necessitate +the acceptance upon trust of statements made by criminals, their +scientific value descends to the lowest level. As this must be largely +the case with respect to the senses of hearing, taste, smell, etc., it +is almost impossible to reach assured conclusions. + +It is different in inquiries respecting the intellect. Here the +investigator is able to judge for himself. According to Dr. Ogle, 86.5 +per cent. of the general population were able to read and write in the +years 1881-4, and as this represents an increase of 10 per cent. since +the passing of the Elementary Education Act, it is probably not far +from the mark to say that at the present time almost 90 per cent. of +the English population can read and write. In other words, only 10 +per cent. of the population is wholly ignorant. In the local prisons +on the other hand, no less than 25 per cent. of the prisoners can +neither read nor write, and 72 per cent. can only read or read and +write imperfectly. The vast difference in the proportion of +uninstructed among the prison, as compared with the general +population, is not to be explained by the defective early training of +the former. This explanation only covers a portion of the ground: the +other portion is covered by the fact that a certain number of +criminals are almost incapable of acquiring instruction. The memory +and the reasoning powers of such persons are so utterly feeble that +attempts to school them is a waste of time.[43] Deficiencies in +memory, imagination, reason, are three undoubted characteristics of +the ordinary criminal intellect. Of course, there are very many +criminals in which all these qualities are present, and whose defects +lie in another direction, but taken as a whole the criminal is +unquestionably less gifted intellectually than the rest of the +community. + +Respecting the emotions of criminals, it is much more difficult to +speak, and much more easy to fall into error. The only thing that can +be said of them for certain, is, that they do not, as a rule, possess +the same keenness of feeling as the ordinary man. Some Italian writers +make much of the religiosity of delinquents; such a sentiment may be +common among offenders in Italy; it is certainly rare among the same +class in Great Britain. The cellular system puts an effective stop to +any thing like active hostility to religion; but it is a mistake to +argue from this that the criminal is addicted to the exercise of +religious sentiments. The family sentiment is also feebly developed; +the exceptions to this rule form a small fraction of the criminal +population. + + [43] In Christiania the number of children who cannot learn + amounts in the elementary schools to 4 per 1000. See _Reformatory + and Refuge Journal_ for August, 1890. + +The will in criminals, when it is not impaired by disease, is, in the +main, dominated by a boundless egoism. Let us first consider those +whose wills are impaired by disease. Among drunkards and the +degenerate generally the power of sustained volition is often as good +as gone. Nothing can be more pitiful or hopeless than the position of +wretched beings in a condition such as this. Often animated by good +resolutions, often anxious to do what is right, often possessing a +sense of moral responsibility, these unhappy creatures plunge again +and again into vice and crime. In some cases of this description the +will is practically annihilated; in others it is under the dominion of +momentary caprice; in others again it has no power of concentration, +or it is the victim of sudden hurricanes of feeling which drive +everything before them. Persons afflicted in this way, when not +drunkards, are generally convicted for crimes of violence, such as +assault, manslaughter, murder. They experience real sentiments of +remorse, but neither remorse nor penitence enables them to grapple +with their evil star. The will is stricken with disease, and the man +is dashed hither and thither, a helpless wreck on the sea of life.[44] + + [44] Cf. Ribot, _Les Maladies de la Volonté_, 1887. + +Let us now consider the class of criminals whose wills are not +diseased, but are, on the other hand, dominated by a boundless egoism. +Of such criminals it may be said that there is no essential difference +between them and immoral men. Egoism, selfishness, a lack of +consideration for the rights and feelings of others, are the dominant +principles in the life of both. The dividing line between the two +types consists in this, that the egoism of the immoral man is bounded +by the criminal law; but the egoism of the criminal is bounded by no +law either without him or within. It does not follow from this that +the criminal is without a sense of duty or a dread of legal +punishment. In most cases he possesses both in a more or less +developed form. But his immense egoism so completely overpowers both +his sense of duty and his fear of punishment that it demands +gratification at whatever cost. He sees what he ought to do; he knows +how he ought to act; he is perfectly alive to the consequences of +transgression, but these motives are not strong enough to induce him +to alter his ways of life. + +On summing up the results of this inquiry into criminal biology we +arrive at the following conclusions. In the first place, it cannot be +proved that the criminal has any distinct physical conformation, +whether anatomical or morphological; and, in the second place, it +cannot be proved that there is any inevitable alliance between +anomalies of physical structure and a criminal mode of life. But it +can be shown that criminals, taken as a whole, exhibit a higher +proportion of physical anomalies, and a higher percentage of physical +degeneracy than the rest of the community. With respect to the mental +condition of criminals, it cannot be established that it is, on the +whole, a condition of insanity, or even verging on insanity. But it +can be established that the bulk of the criminal classes are of a +humbly developed mental organisation. Whether we call this low state +of mental development, atavism, or degeneracy is, to a large extent, a +matter of words; the fact of its wide-spread existence among criminals +is the important point. + +The results of this inquiry also show that degeneracy among criminals +is sometimes inherited and sometimes acquired. It is inherited when +the criminal is descended from insane, drunken, epileptic, scrofulous +parents; it is often acquired when the criminal adopts and +deliberately persists in a life of crime. The closeness of the +connection between degeneracy and crime is, to a considerable extent, +determined by social conditions. A degenerate person, who has to earn +his own livelihood, is much more likely to become a criminal than +another degenerate person who has not. Almost all forms of degeneracy +render a man more or less unsuited for the common work of life; it is +not easy for such a man to obtain employment; in certain forms of +degeneracy it becomes almost impossible. A person in this unfortunate +position often becomes a criminal, not because he has strong +anti-social instincts, but because he cannot get work. Physically, he +is unfit for work, and he takes to crime as an alternative. + +Another important result is the close connection between madness and +crimes of blood. We have seen that almost one third of the cases of +conviction for wilful murder are cases in which the murderer is found +to be insane. And this does not represent the full proportion of +murderers afflicted mentally; a considerable percentage of those +sentenced to death have this sentence commuted on mental grounds. In +Germany, from 26 to 28 per cent. of criminals suffering from mental +weakness escape the observation of the court in this important +particular, and the same state of things unquestionably exists in the +United Kingdom. The actual percentage of criminals who suffer from +mental disorders in the prisons of Europe is probably much greater +than is generally supposed. At the present time a knowledge of +insanity is no part of the ordinary medical curriculum. "With respect +to this malady the great majority of medical men are themselves in the +position of laymen. They have not studied it. It was not included in +their examinations."[45] Till this state of things is altered we shall +never exactly know the intimacy of the connection between nervous +disorders and crime. + + [45] _Sanity and Insanity_. C. Mercier, p. XII. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE PUNISHMENT OF CRIME. + + +In a previous chapter the deterrent action of punishment on the +criminal population has been pointed out. It now remains for us to +consider the nature of punishment, and the methods by which punishment +should be carried out. What is punishment as applied to crime? +According to Kant it is an act of retribution; it consists in +inflicting upon the criminal the same injury as he has inflicted on +his victim. It is an application by society of the principle of "jus +talionis." Such a definition of punishment does not harmonise with the +facts. We cannot punish the slanderer by slandering him in turn; and +in punishing the murderer, it is impossible to torture him in the same +way as he has probably tortured his victim. According to the theory of +retribution, punishment becomes an end in itself; it is quite +unrelated to the benefits it may confer on the person who is punished, +or on the community which punishes him. + +The difficulties surrounding the theory of retribution have led to +other definitions of punishment. Punishment, it is said, is not +inflicted on the offender as a retribution for his misdeeds, it is +inflicted for the purpose of protecting society against its enemies. +Such a view leaves moral considerations entirely out of account; it +leaves no room for the just indignation of the public at the spectacle +of crime. It is defective in other ways. For instance, a criminal has +a particular animosity against some single individual; it may be he +murders this person, or does him grievous bodily harm. Such an +offender has no similar animosity against any one else; as far as the +rest of the community is concerned he is perfectly harmless. On the +supposition that punishment is only intended to protect society +against the criminal, a man of this description would escape +punishment altogether. Or supposing a man (and this often happens), +after committing some serious crime for which he is sent to penal +servitude, sincerely and bitterly repented of it, and would be, if +released, a perfectly harmless member of the community, such a man, +according to the theory we are now discussing, should be released at +once. The certainty that the public conscience would tolerate no such +step shows that punishment has a wider object than the mere attainment +of social security. + +Punishment is only a means say some; its real end is the reformation +of the offender. The practical application of such a principle would +lead to very astonishing results. It is perfectly well known that +there is no more incorrigible set of offenders than habitual vagrants +and drunkards. And on the other hand, the most easily reformed of all +offenders is often some person who has committed a serious crime under +circumstances which could not possibly recur. According to the theory +that reformation is the only end of punishment, petty offenders would +be shut up all their lives, while the perpetrator of a grave crime +would soon be set free. An absurd result of this kind is fatal to the +pretention that punishment is merely a means and not also an end. + +Is it the end of punishment to act as a deterrent? We are often told +from the judicial bench that a man receives a certain sentence as a +warning and example to others. If such is the end of punishment it +lamentably fails in its purpose, for in a number of cases it neither +deters the offender nor the class from which the offender springs. It +was under the influence of this idea that criminals used to be hanged +in public, but experience failed to show that these ghastly +exhibitions had much deterrent effect on the community. Besides, it is +rather ridiculous to say, I do not punish you for the crime you have +committed, I punish you as a warning to others. In these circumstances +the effect of punishment is not to be upon the person punished, but +upon a third party who has not fallen into crime. Unless the +punishment is just in itself, society has no right to inflict it in +the hope of scaring others from criminal courses. Justice administered +in this spirit, turns the convicted offender into a whipping boy; the +punishment ceases to be related to the offence, and is merely related +to the effect it will have on a certain circle of spectators. + +In our view, punishment ought to be regarded as at once an expiation +and a discipline, or, in other words, an expiatory discipline. This +definition includes all that is valuable in the theories just +reviewed, and excludes all that is imperfect in them. The criminal is +an offender against the fundamental order of society in somewhat the +same way as a disobedient child is an offender against the centre of +authority in the home or the school. The punishment inflicted on the +child may take the form of revenge, or it may take the form of +retribution, or it may take the form of deterrence, but it undoubtedly +takes its highest form when it combines expiation with discipline. +Punishment of this nature still remains punitive as it ought to do, +but it is at the same time a kind of punishment from which something +may be learned. It does not merely consist in inflicting pain, +although the presence of this element is essential to its efficacy; it +consists rather in inflicting pain in such a way as will tend to +discipline and reform the character. Such a conception of punishment +excludes the barbarous element of vengeance; it is based upon the +civilised ideas of justice and humanity, or rather upon the sentiment +of justice alone, for justice is never truly just except when its +tendency is also to humanise. + + "Sine caritate justicia + Vindicationi similis." + +From the theory of punishment let us now turn to its methods. The most +severe of these is the penalty of death. A great deal has been said +and written both for and against the retention of this form of +punishment. To set forth the arguments on both sides in a fair and +adequate manner would require a volume; it must, therefore, suffice to +say that in the field of controversy the contest between the opposing +parties is a fairly even one. In fact, looking at the matter from a +purely polemical point of view, the advocates of the death penalty +have probably the best of it. It has, however, to be remembered that +such questions are not solved by battalions of abstract arguments, but +by the slow, silent, invisible action of public sentiment. The way in +which this impalpable sentiment is moving on the question of the death +penalty may be seen, first, in the manner in which crime after crime +during the present century has been excluded from the supreme sentence +of the law, and secondly, in the steady diminution of capital +executions throughout the civilised world. If the present drift of +feeling continues for another generation or two it is not at all +improbable, in spite of temporary reactions here and there, that the +question of capital punishment will have solved itself. + +Another form of punishment is transportation. As far as Great Britain +is concerned, transportation possesses only a historic interest. No +one is now sent out of the country for offences against the law. +Experience showed that penal colonies were a failure, and that the +truly criminal could be more effectively dealt with at home. Within +recent years the French have resorted to the system of transportation; +but, according to several eminent French authorities, the penal +settlement in New Caledonia is hardly justifying the anticipations of +its founders. + +Penal servitude has taken the place of transportation in Great +Britain. Every person sentenced to a term of five years and over +undergoes what is called penal servitude. The sentence is divided into +three stages. In the first stage the offender passes nine months of +his sentence in one of the local prisons in solitary confinement. In +the next stage he is allowed to work in association with other +prisoners; and in the last stage he is conditionally released before +his sentence has actually expired. If a prisoner conducts himself +well, if he shows that he is industrious, he will be released at the +expiration of about three fourths of his sentence. If, on the other +hand, he is idle and ill-conducted, he will have to serve the full +term. + +During the first nine months of his confinement the convict sentenced +to penal servitude is treated in exactly the same way as a person +sentenced to a month's imprisonment; the only difference being that he +is provided with better food. During the period of detention in a +Public Work's Prison the convict may, if well-conducted, pass through +five progressive stages; each of these stages confers some privileges +which the one below it does not possess. The first stage of all is +called the Probation Class. In this, as well as in every succeeding +class, a man's industry is measured by a process called the Mark +system. This system is somewhat similar to the method adopted for +rewarding industry in our public schools. In those schools a boy's +diligence is recognised by his receiving so many marks per day, and he +would be an ideal pupil who received the maximum number of marks. In +convict prisons, on the other hand, the maximum number of marks, which +is eight per day, can easily be earned by any person willing to do an +average day's work. If a convict earns the maximum number of marks per +day for three months he is promoted at the end of that time out of the +Probation Class into a higher stage called the Third Class. He must +remain in the third class for at least a year; while in this class he +is permitted to receive a visit and to write and receive a letter +every six months. He is also rewarded at the rate of a penny for every +20 marks, which enables him to earn twelve shillings in the course of +the year. + +After the expiration of one year in the Third Class the prisoner, if +he has regularly earned eight marks a day, is advanced to the Second +Class. In this stage he can receive a visit and write and receive a +letter every four months. He is allowed a little choice in the +selection of his breakfast; the value attached to his marks is also +increased, and he is able in the Second Class to earn 18 shillings a +year. At the termination of a year, if a prisoner continues his habits +of industry, he is promoted to the First Class. Persons whose +education is defective are not permitted to enter the First Class, +unless they have also made progress in schooling. In the First Class a +man is allowed to receive a visit and to write and receive a letter +every three months. He is also given additional privileges in the +choice of food. In the First Class he can earn 30 shillings a year. + +Above the First Class is a Special Class composed of men whose conduct +has been specially exemplary. Men may be admitted into this class 12 +months before their liberation; they may also be placed in positions +of trust and responsibility in connection with the prison, and are +able to earn a gratuity amounting to six pounds. Such men are, as a +matter of course, liberated at the expiration of three fourths of +their sentence, which means that a term of five years' penal servitude +is reduced to somewhat under four years. + +For female convicts all these rules are modified and mitigated. +Isolation is not so strictly enforced; a female may be liberated at +the expiration of two thirds of her sentence; she may also earn four +pounds instead of three, which is the highest sum men can receive, +except the limited number in the Special Class. Corresponding to the +Special Class of male convicts, there is among the females what is +called a Refuge Class. Well-conducted women undergoing their first +term of penal servitude are placed in this class, and nine months +before the date on which they are due for discharge on ordinary +licence, that is to say, nine months before they have finished two +thirds of their sentence, they are released from prison and placed in +some Home for females. Two Homes which receive prisoners of this class +are the Elizabeth Fry Refuge and the London Preventive and Reformatory +Institution. These Homes receive ten shillings a week for the care of +each inmate confided to them by the State, and the time spent there is +used as a gradual course of preparation for the re-entrance of these +unfortunate people into ordinary life. According to this method +females, after a prolonged period of imprisonment, are not thrown all +of a sudden upon the world; they re-enter it by slow and imperceptible +stages, and are thus enabled to commence life afresh under hopeful and +salutary conditions. + +Male convicts on their release from penal servitude are, if they +desire it, assisted to obtain employment by Discharged Prisoners' Aid +Societies. The way in which assistance is rendered by the Royal +Society, Charing Cross, which may be considered as a type of most of +these societies, is as follows:-- + +"The convicts on their discharge are accompanied to the office of the +Society by a warder in plain clothes. They are there received by the +Secretary and the member of the Committee who, according to a fixed +rota, attends daily for this purpose. The first step is to give them a +plentiful breakfast of white bread, bacon and hot coffee. When this is +finished they are invited to come forward and state their hopes and +intentions as to the future. Full particulars of the nature of the +crime, the sentence, and the antecedents of the convict have been +previously received from the prison, and this information is, of +course, of the greatest value as a guide to dealing with the +particular case. After friendly discussion with the convict at one or +more interviews, and further inquiry, if need be, by the officers of +the Society, the course to be taken in each case is decided upon and +carried out as soon as possible, either by the officers of the Society +or through other agency. In cases of emigration and other cases where +it is advisable, the gratuities received from Government are +supplemented by donations from the funds of the Society; and, if not +already supplied by the prison authorities, a respectable suit of +clothes of a character fitted for the work on which the recipient is +to be employed is provided. + +"The cases of men or women who elect to remain in or near the +Metropolis are usually dealt with directly by members of the Committee +and officers of the Society; others prefer to seek work for +themselves; but, meanwhile, respectable lodgings are provided till +work is obtained. Others who prefer a sea life are sent to the care of +agents until ships can be found for them--a few selected cases are +sent abroad." In the case of persons proceeding to seek work at a +distance from London, the Royal Society communicates with Discharged +Prisoners' Aid Societies in the country, and these Societies take such +cases in hand. + +Another admirable Society for dealing with discharged convicts is the +St Giles' Mission, Brook St. Holborn. This Society provides a home for +the person whose sentence has expired; it is managed by a man (Mr. +Wheatley) possessed of an unsurpassed knowledge of the work; and it is +year by year rendering effective service to the convict population. +Some idea of the work accomplished by Societies such as those just +mentioned may be gathered from the fact that about two thirds of the +discharged convicts are annually passing through their hands; the +other third declining or not requiring assistance by such methods. +What is wanted to perfect the working of the institutions we are now +describing is increased public support; even now the Royal Society was +able to state in one of its reports, "that no discharged convict, who +is physically capable and willing to work, has any excuse for +relapsing into crime." + +This brief sketch of the manner in which a sentence of penal servitude +is carried into effect will afford some idea of the nature of this +method of punishment. We shall now proceed to describe another mode of +dealing with offenders against the fundamental order of society. In +addition to convict establishments there exists throughout the United +Kingdom a large number of places of confinement called Local Prisons. +In England and Wales there are about sixty Local Prisons; in Scotland +there are about twenty; in Ireland there are about eighteen. In +Scotland and Ireland persons sentenced to a few days' imprisonment are +often confined in police cells, in England all convicted offenders +serve their sentence, however short, in a regular Local Prison. + +Before 1877 the Local Prisons of England and Scotland were under the +control and administration of the County Magistrates, and almost every +county had then its own prison. One of the chief defects of this +system was the multiplication of prisons; one of its chief virtues was +that local power kept alive local interest in a way which is +impossible with highly centralised machinery. Where prisons are small +and numerous, as was to some extent the case under the old system, it +is difficult to conduct them so economically; on the other hand, the +herding of great masses of criminals together in huge establishments +is not without corresponding evils. It is now being pointed out by +specialists on the Continent and in America that huge prisons destroy +the individuality of the prisoner; his own personality is lost amid +the hundreds who surround him; he sinks into the position of a mere +unit, and is obliged to be treated as such by the officials in charge +of him. Under such a system it becomes almost impossible to +individualise prisoners; there is no time for it; as a result, the +influence of reformative agencies descends to a minimum and only the +punitive side of justice comes home to the offender. At one time the +value of Reformatory Schools was seriously impaired by herding too +many lads together under one roof; it is now seen that the success of +these institutions is marred by making them too large; it is accepted +as an established maxim that the smaller the school the better the +results. The same principle holds true with respect to prisons. + +When the County Magistrates were deprived of their powers by the last +government of Lord Beaconsfield, these powers were in England vested +in the Home Secretary; in Scotland they were latterly vested in the +Secretary for Scotland; in Ireland they are vested in the Chief +Secretary. Under each of these Parliamentary heads there is a body +called the Prison Commissioners or Prison Board. These Commissioners +are centred in London for England; in Edinburgh for Scotland; in +Dublin for Ireland. Under them is a body of Prison Inspectors, and +last of all there comes the actual working staff of the Local Prisons, +consisting of warders, schoolmasters, clerks, governors, chaplains, +and doctors. + +Wherein does the Local Prison system as worked by this staff differ +from the system in operation in convict prisons? Perhaps the +difference will be best expressed by saying that work in association +is the centre of the convict system, while work in solitude is the +central idea of the Local Prison system. This definition is not +absolutely correct, for convicts, as we have seen, are subjected to +nine months' solitary confinement at the outset of their sentence, and +in some Local Prisons a certain amount of work in common is performed, +but, taken as a whole, work in common is the central principle of the +one; work in solitude the central principle of the other. + +Work in solitude means that the prisoner is shut up in an apartment by +himself which is called his cell. Each cell is provided with an +adequate supply of air and light, and is heated in the winter up to a +sufficiently high temperature for health and comfort. The cell +contains a bed and other personal requisites; it also contains a copy +of the prison rules. Before the prisoner is finally allocated to a +certain cell he is seen by all the superior officers of the prison. +His state of health is inquired into, so as to determine the nature of +his work, and if he is not too old to learn, and has received a +sentence of sufficient length to make it worth while instructing him, +his educational capabilities are specially tested. The seclusion of +the cell is varied by a short service in the prison chapel every +morning and an hour's exercise in the forenoon. It is further varied +in the case of young boys by daily attendance at the prison school. + +The cellular system is an application of the old monastic system to +the treatment of criminals. The first cellular prison was built in +Rome by Pope Clement XI. at the commencement of the eighteenth +century; its design was taken from a monastery. The idea passed from +Rome to the Puritans of Pennsylvania; and it has now taken root in all +parts of the civilised world. The believers in the cellular system say +that it prevents prisoners from contaminating each other; it prevents +the hardened criminal from getting hold of the comparative novice; +according to this system, although the offender is in a prison, the +only persons he is permitted to speak to are those whose lives are +free from crime. A prison system which has the negative value of +hindering men from becoming worse is worthy of high consideration, and +if the chief object of imprisonment is the punishment of criminals the +cellular system will not be easily surpassed. On the other hand, if +the purpose of imprisonment is not only to punish but also to prepare +the offender for the duties of society, the system of solitary +confinement will not effectually accomplish this task. On this point +let me refer to the words of M. Prins, the eminent Director General of +Belgian prisons: "Can we teach a man sociability," he says, "by giving +him a cell only, that is to say, the opposite of social life, by +taking away from him the very appearance of moral discipline; by +regulating from morning till night the smallest details of his day, +all his movements and all his thoughts? Is not this to place him +outside the conditions of existence, and to unteach him that liberty +for which we pretend he is being prepared?... Assuredly, let us not +forget that prisons contain incorrigible and corrupt recidivists, the +residuum of large towns who must undoubtedly be isolated from other +men; but they also contain offenders resembling in great part men of +their own class living outside.... If it was a question of making +these men good scholars, good workmen, good soldiers, should we accept +the method of prolonged cellular isolation? And how can that which is +condemned by the experience of ordinary life become useful on the day +some tribunal pronounces a sentence of imprisonment? The physiological +and moral inconveniences of prolonged solitude are evident in other +ways; and attempts are made to combat them by great humanity in +external things. So much is this the case, that for fear of being +cruel to the good, the bad are also pampered by an exaggerated +philanthropy which reaches absurd heights." + +A compromise between the absolute seclusion of the cellular system, +and the system of free association, is now being advocated by some +students of prison discipline. Prisoners, it is contended, should be +carefully classified according to their previous character and the +nature of their offence, and also according to the disposition they +manifest in prison. Prisoners sentenced to a term of imprisonment +ranging from three months to two years should during the first three +months remain in solitary confinement for purposes of observation as +to diligence and character. At the end of that period a man, if he +showed fitness for it, would be placed in association during his +working hours, and in his cell during the remainder of the day. In +this way his social instincts would not be so completely stifled as +they are at present; he would not be so entirely left to the vacuity +of his own mind; he would not be so readily led to the indulgence of +disgusting vices ruinous to body and mind. In countries where prisons +are on a large scale such a system as this might easily be adopted, +and it would, if properly managed, be productive of beneficial +results. In small prisons it would be applicable on a limited scale, +the smallness of the prison population preventing proper +classification. + +But all prison systems, however excellent in theory, are comparatively +useless unless conducted in an enlightened spirit by competent and +sagacious officials. The best of systems if worked, as sometimes +happens, by a mere martinet, with no horizon beyond insisting on the +letter of official regulations, will be productive of no good +whatever, and, on the other hand, an indifferent system will achieve +excellent results with a competent person at the head of it. This was +admirably pointed out by the head of the Danish Prison Department at +the Stockholm Prison Congress. "Give me," he said, "the best possible +regulations and a bad director, and you will have no success. But give +me a good director, and, even with mediocre regulations, I will answer +for it that everything will go on marvellously." In a recent handbook +on prison management by Herr Krohne, an eminent prison director in the +German service, the qualifications requisite for successful prison +work are clearly laid down. + +The successful management of a prison, he says, "demands special +knowledge and ability. This knowledge should first of all consist in a +comprehensive general education, so that the head of a prison may be +able to form a competent opinion in all those branches of knowledge +which bear upon the punishment of crime. He thus stands on a footing +of equality with his subordinates. If he is deficient in this +knowledge he will not be able to carry out the sentences of the law +efficiently, and the maintenance of his official authority will be +encumbered with difficulties. He must also possess an understanding of +the economic and social causes of crime as well as of its individual +causes. An understanding of its economic and social causes supposes +that he should be acquainted with the principles of sociology and +political economy; an understanding of its individual causes supposes +that he should know something of psychology. The historical, +philosophic, and legal aspects of criminal jurisprudence as well as +its formal contents ought not to be unknown ground. In the domain of +prison science he should be thoroughly at home. He ought to be +acquainted with the historical development of punishment by +imprisonment, as well as with the nature of the various prison systems +in existence among modern civilised communities. He ought to have a +clear understanding of the aim and object of imprisonment, and be +thoroughly cognisant of the legal and administrative arrangements by +which it is effected, more especially those of his own State. He +should possess a competent knowledge of all matters and regulations +bearing upon prison administration, so that his own arrangements may +be based upon a ripened judgment. + +"This knowledge in the head of a prison should show itself in his +manner of dealing with prisoners. This task demands a high degree of +pedagogic skill, and a force of character which is able, easily and +quickly, to bend the will of others to his own. He should also possess +the power of setting every branch of the administration to rights +whenever anything happens to have gone wrong. He must have a quick eye +for all that is being done; he must see everything; he must hear +everything; nothing should escape him; and still he ought to leave +independence and initiative to every officer in his own department. He +should respect and bear with the individual characteristics of every +officer, especially the superior officers, so that they may be able to +perform their duties with pleasure. In this way all officers will be +able to do their work in his spirit rather than according to his +orders. In order to succeed in this, the head of a prison should +consult with the other officials on all important matters; a daily +conference is best for this purpose. He should hear and weigh their +opinions even when the ultimate decision rests entirely in his hands. +Above all he must understand how to keep peace among the officials, so +that through their harmonious co-operation the objects of a prison may +be more certainly attained. + +"A good prison chief," Herr Krohne continues, "is not matured or +educated, but discovered. On this account, the selection of persons +ought not to be narrowed down to any definite class or profession. +Experience has shown that able prison governors have been drawn from +all callings; from the law, from public offices, from the army, from +medicine, from the Church, from trade, from agriculture, from +merchants and manufacturers. From each of these occupations a man may +bring knowledge and ability which makes him suitable for the position. +His preparatory studies will teach him much, but he will learn most +from actual practice, and he will never finish learning, however +experienced he may become. But the root of the matter which can never +be taught is a heart for the miserable; a determination in spite of +failures and disappointments to despair of no man and nothing."[46] + + [46] _Lehrbuch der Gefängnishunde von K. Krohne + Strafanstalts-director_, pp. 534-6. + +Italy up to the present time is almost the only country in which +prison officers receive any preliminary training for their duties. As +a result of this, it not infrequently happens, as Mr. Clay has shown, +that an inexperienced person suddenly placed in absolute charge of a +number of prisoners will in a few days destroy almost all the +reformative work of months and perhaps years. The late Baron von +Holtzendorff was of a similar opinion, holding that one man can in a +short time undo the work of ten. So much has this been felt, that Dr. +von Jageman and several other eminent prison authorities on the +Continent maintain that no man should be placed in charge of prisoners +till he has had some previous training in the nature of his duties. It +has been truly pointed out that the value of imprisonment depends to +an enormous extent on the qualifications of the person placed in +immediate charge of the convicted men. Others are with them +occasionally, he is with them all day long, and unless he comes to his +task with a full knowledge of the delicate and difficult nature of the +duties he has to perform, he will probably exercise a mischievous and +irritating influence on the prisoners committed to his charge. On the +other hand, a well-instructed officer can work wonders in the way of +good, while insisting with inflexible firmness on the rules of +discipline, he is able at the same time by tact and kindliness to +diffuse a moralising atmosphere around him. Some men can do this by +instinct, but the majority require to be taught; it is therefore most +essential that every person entrusted with the control of prisoners +should have some previous theoretical instruction in his duties. After +all, those who can do most real good to prisoners are the warders +immediately in charge of them. Visits from persons outside who take an +interest in the outcast and fallen, are, according to French +experience, comparatively worthless.[47] These visits are well meant, +but they are not paid by the class of people to which the prisoner as +a rule belongs; the gulf between the visitor and the visited is too +great for the establishment of that inner sympathy on which the +permanent success of moralising efforts so greatly depends, and it is +easy for such a visitor to do more harm than good. On the other hand, +if you have a competent and well-instructed class of warders, if you +have these men trained to regard their duties from an elevated point +of view, you possess in them a body of men who are not separated from +prisoners by impassable barriers; you have comparatively little in the +way of social antecedents to estrange the prisoner from the person in +charge of him: such being the case it is easy for the two men to +understand each other, and is, therefore a relatively simple matter +for the one to influence the other for good. + + [47] _Revue des Deux-Mondes, Avril_, 15, 1887. + +What is to be done with offenders when their term of punishment has +expired? This is a question which modern society finds it exceedingly +difficult to solve. What is the use of punishing a delinquent for +offences against the law if, the moment his sentence is completed, he +is sent back again into the surroundings which led to his fall. So +long as his surroundings are the same, his acts will be the same, +unless his mind has passed through a revolution during detention in +gaol. The latter event, it must be admitted, sometimes does happen, +although it is not easy in these days to get the world to believe it. +And when it does happen it is marvellous to see how men, through their +own unaided efforts, will redeem their character and wipe out the blot +upon their life. But many offenders pass through little or no change +of mind, and unless delivered from their surroundings they will +continue to fall. Here, however, comes in the difficulty. Many of +these people love their surroundings; they have no desire to change; a +life of squalor among squalid companions is not distasteful to them; +on the contrary, they will refuse to leave old haunts no matter what +inducements are offered them elsewhere. It is hardly possible to do +anything with these offenders, and they unfortunately constitute at +least one fourth of the criminal population. Such persons return again +and again to prisons; and the manager of an important Prisoners' Aid +Society in a great northern city, says, that to aid them "is a mere +waste of money, if not an encouragement to vice."[48] How to deal with +persons of this description is a most tantalising problem. More +vigorous methods of punishment are sometimes advocated as the proper +manner of deterring these habitual and incorrigible offenders, but if +we consider the constitution and antecedents of most of them, it +becomes perfectly certain that such means will not effect the end in +view. As a matter of fact, most of them are not adapted to the +conditions of existence which prevail in a free society. Some of them +might have passed through life fairly well in a more primitive stage +of social development, as, for example, in the days of slavery or +serfdom, but they are manifestly out of place in an age of +unrestricted freedom, when a man may work or remain idle just as he +chooses. A society based upon the principle of individual liberty is a +society of which the members are supposed to be gifted with the +virtues of prudence, industry, and self-control; virtues of this +nature are indeed essential to the existence of such a form of +society. Unfortunately, a certain portion of its members do not +possess them even in an elementary degree, and no amount of seclusion +in prison will ever confer these qualities upon them. Imprisonment, to +be followed by liberty, however rigorous it is made, is accordingly no +solution of the difficulty; the only effective way of dealing with the +incorrigible vagrant, drunkard, and thief, is by some system of +permanent seclusion in a penal colony. All men are not fitted for +freedom, and so long as society acts on the supposition that they are, +it will never get rid of the incorrigible criminal. + + [48] At a recent meeting of the Statistical Society, Mr. Murray + Browne gave some interesting information respecting the work of + Prisoners' Aid Societies among habitual offenders. "A question," + he said, "had been addressed to all Discharged Prisoners' Aid + Societies asking what was their experience with regard to + prisoners who had been four times arrested but not sentenced to + penal servitude, and had been arrested during a given period, say + a year. How many of them has turned out (a) satisfactory, (b) + unsatisfactory, (c) re-convicted? Detailed replies were received + from fifteen different societies, not all working in the same way, + or with the same machinery, giving a total of 253 such cases. Of + these only 95 were reported as satisfactory, 55 were reported as + unsatisfactory, 66 were re-convicted, 37 being unknown or + unaccounted for." + +It has also to be remembered that a considerable proportion of +incorrigible offenders are not only mentally but also physically +unfitted to earn their living in a free community. Almost always +without a trade, and very often the children of diseased and +degenerate parents, the only kind of work which they can turn to is +rude manual labour, and this is exactly the kind of work they have not +the requisite physical strength to perform. It is only in skilled +trades that the physically weak have a chance at all, and if a feeble +person is not a skilled artisan he will, unless possessed of superior +mental gifts, find it rather a hard matter to earn a comfortable +livelihood. Should it be the case that such a person is below the +average in body and mind, to earn a livelihood becomes almost an +impossibility. Now, this is exactly the position of many habitual +criminals, and more especially of that large class of them which is +being continually convicted and reconvicted of petty offences. What +can be said of them, except to repeat that they are unfit to take a +part in working the modern industrial machine; what can be done with +them except to seclude them in such a way that they will be no longer +able to injure those who can work it. + +Outside the ranks of the incorrigible and incapable there exists a +large class of offenders who are perfectly able to earn a honest +living in the world. In many cases it happens that such men require no +assistance on their liberation from prison; they can resume work +immediately their sentence has expired. All that is needed is to send +them back to the district they were tried in, and this is what is +always done if a man cannot reach his destination by mid-day on the +morning of his liberation. But in a certain number of cases discharged +prisoners require more than this; they require tools, or clothes, or +property redeemed from pledge, or a lodging, or to be sent a long +distance home, or to be emigrated. In each and all of these cases, +persons who are not incorrigible criminals are assisted to the best of +their ability and the extent of their funds by Discharged Prisoners' +Aid Societies. One or more of these admirable institutions is attached +to every Local Prison, and every year a vast amount of quiet, +conscientious work is performed. These societies are voluntary +agencies formed for the relief of discharged prisoners. Their funds +are derived partly from private subscriptions and donations, partly +from ancient bequests, and partly from a small sum annually voted by +Parliament. They are conducted on the most economic principles, the +gentlemen who form the committee or who act as secretaries and +treasurers being mostly magistrates and men of substance, who gladly +give their time and services for nothing. The only person who has to +be paid is an agent whose duty it is to see that the recommendations +of the committee with respect to assisting the discharged prisoners +are carried into effect. + +A glance at the work of one of these societies will be the best way of +forming a conception of their usefulness as a whole. For this purpose +let us select the Surrey and South London Discharged Prisoners' Aid +Society. In the prison in which the work of this excellent society is +conducted, 17 per cent. of the prison population applied for aid in +1887, and 10 per cent. were assisted, the 7 per cent. refused +assistance were habitual offenders, and had often been previously +helped. Of the number assisted, consisting of 969 persons, 54 were +sent to sea, 2 were assisted to emigrate, 913 were assisted in the way +of redemption of tools, purchase of stock, purchase of clothing, and +so on. In 1888, 929 persons were assisted, 54 were sent to sea, 4 were +helped to emigrate, and 871 aided in other ways. In 1889, assistance +was rendered in 1009 cases of these 36 were sent to sea, and 973 +otherwise aided. The average cost per head of sending cases to sea is +three pounds, fourteen shillings; the average cost in other cases is +half a guinea. + +What is being done by the Surrey Society is only a sample of the +assistance rendered to discharged prisoners all over England. It ought +also to be stated that some of these Aid Societies undertake to look +after the destitute families of persons committed to prison, and cases +innumerable might be mentioned in which prisoners' wives and children +have been assisted and kept out of the workhouse until the release of +the bread-winner. Other societies again provide permanent homes for +destitute offenders on their discharge from prison. All that is +required of persons making use of those homes is, that they shall earn +as much as will cover a portion of the expense of providing them with +food and shelter. For this purpose work is always provided for them, +or if they prefer it, they may find occupation outside and make the +home a sort of temporary resting-place. It is hardly necessary to add +that Prisoners' Aid Societies could effect much more if they were +better supported by the public. The organisation is there; the men to +work it are there; the only impediment to their labours is a lack of +funds. If the possession of adequate funds enabled all the Prisoners' +Aid Societies to establish Homes for discharged prisoners, those +institutions might be made of the greatest service to the cause of +justice generally. It would then be easy to get a return from them of +the number of persons whose criminal life was due to sheer indolence, +and magistrates would have far less hesitation in dealing with them +than they do now. At the present time, it is sometimes difficult to +know whether an offender is willing to work if he had the opportunity, +but the existence of prisoners' homes would soon solve the question. +Reference to a man's record in one of these institutions would at once +place the magistrate in full possession of the facts, and he would be +able to give judgment with a knowledge of the offender he does not now +possess. In this way many cruel mistakes might be avoided; and, on the +other hand, many hardened offenders dealt with in a more effective +manner. + +The difficulty sometimes encountered by discharged prisoners in +finding employment, as well as many other evils inseparable from +imprisonment, has, in recent years, led an increasing number of +jurists to the conclusion that every other method of punishment +should, when the case at all admits of it, be exhausted before the +gaol is resorted to. "The very first principle of enlightened +penology," says Mayhew, "is to endeavour to keep people out of prison +as long as possible, rather than thrust them into it for the most +trivial offences." In many instances it is quite sufficient punishment +for a first offender in a petty case to be publicly rebuked in the +police court. Such a rebuke preceded, as it generally is, by a night's +confinement in the police cells, is just as effective as a deterrent +and far less likely to do permanent harm than a sentence of +imprisonment. It was something of this kind which Bacon had in view, +when he says, respecting criminal courts: "Let there be power also to +inflict a note or mark; such, I mean, as shall not extend to actual +punishment, but may end either in admonition only, or in a light +disgrace; punishing the offender as it were with a blush."[49] A +certain amount of progress has been made of late in this direction, +but there is still ample room for more. On the other hand, experience +has shown that light punishments are of no avail against habitual +offenders. For the last few years this system has been in operation in +the borough of Liverpool, with the result that the number of known +thieves apprehended for indictable crimes has almost doubled within a +comparatively short period. According to the Chief Constable's Report, +the numbers were, in-- + +1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 + 377 470 533 596 731 + +These figures show that habitual criminals will not be deterred by +light sentences, but rather emboldened in their sinister career. + + [49] _De Augmentis_ VIII. _Aphorism_ 40. + + +THE END. + + + + +APPENDICES TO CRIME AND ITS CAUSES. + + +APPENDIX I. + + +Form suggested by Herr Krohne to be filled up by the police or other +agency respecting prisoners for trial. + + 1. BIRTH. + Place? County? Country? + Date? + Legitimate? or illegitimate? + + 2. UPBRINGING. + By parents? + By others? + In a public institution? + + 3. SCHOOLING. + School attendance, regular or not? + Knowledge, Extent of? + Confirmed, or not? + Religious belief? + + 4. OCCUPATION. + What trade? + Served Apprenticeship, or not? + + 5. MILITARY TRAINING. + Whether served? and where? + + 6. IMPRISONMENTS. + How many? + In Local Prisons? + In Penal Servitude? + Other Punishments? + + 7. PARENTAGE. + Name? Abode? Occupation? + Alive or Dead? + Cause of death? Suicide? + Temperate, or not? + Imprisoned, or not? + Were Parents related? + + 8. BROTHERS AND SISTERS. + Name? Age? Abode? + Occupation? + How many dead? and of what diseases? Suicide? + Imprisoned, or not? + Temperate, or not? + + 9. MEANS OF LIVING. + With or Without? + Destitute? + A Pauper? + A Beggar? + +10. INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS. + Character? Temperament? + Mental Capacity? + Habits? Drunken or other? + Indolent? + +11. MENTAL AND BODILY STATE. + (_a_) Fits or Convulsions in Childhood, Epilepsy, St. Vitus + Dance, or other nervous diseases? + Insanity? Scrofula? Tuberculosis? + (_b_) Mental and bodily state of near relations same as above? + +12. MARRIED. + Maiden name of wife? + Imprisoned? + If Children; How many? + Age, and state of Health? + How many dead? + Of what Disease? + Any imprisoned? + The Home good, or bad? + + + + +APPENDIX II. + + +Growth of Reformatory and Industrial School Population in England and +Scotland. + + Industrial Schools Day +Year Reformatory (Including Truant Industrial + Schools. Schools). Schools. + +1859 3,276 +1860 3,702 +1861 4,133 +1862 4,283 +1863 4,302 +1864 4,286 1,668 +1865 4,508 1,952 +1866 4,798 2,462 +1867 5,110 3,802 +1868 5,320 5,562 +1869 5,480 6,974 +1870 5,433 8,280 +1871 5,419 9,421 +1872 5,575 10,185 +1873 5,621 11,012 +1874 5,688 11,409 +1875 5,615 11,776 +1876 5,634 12,555 +1877 5,935 13,494 +1878 5,963 14,106 +1879 5,975 14,847 287 +1880 5,927 15,136 1,005 +1881 6,738 16,955 1,493 +1882 6,601 17,614 1,692 +1883 6,557 18,780 2,083 +1884 6,360 19,483 1,876 +1885 6,241 20,250 2,324 +1886 6,272 20,668 2,444 +1887 6,127 20,940 2,622 +1888 5,984 21,426 2,783 +1889 5,940 21,059 3,197 + + + + +APPENDIX III. + + +Return showing the number of Prisoners committed to the Local Prisons +of England and Wales in each Month of the Year ended 31st March, 1890. + +| Month. | Males. |Females.| Total. | + +|1889. April | 10,701 | 3,401 | 14,102 | +| May | 11,777 | 4,123 | 15,900 | +| June | 9,977 | 3,717 | 13,694 | +| July | 11,499 | 4,171 | 15,670 | +| August | 10,894 | 3,965 | 14,859 | +| September| 11,113 | 4,088 | 15,201 | +| October | 11,670 | 4,245 | 15,915 | +| November | 10,615 | 3,777 | 14,392 | +| December | 9,154 | 3,157 | 12,311 | +|1890. January | 9,993 | 3,154 | 13,147 | +| February | 8,990 | 3,037 | 12,027 | +| March | 10,052 | 3,196 | 13,248 | + ------ ----- ------ +| Total |126,435 | 44,031 |170,466 | + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Crime and Its Causes, by William Douglas Morrison + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRIME AND ITS CAUSES *** + +***** This file should be named 15803-8.txt or 15803-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/8/0/15803/ + +Produced by Afra Ullah and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Crime and Its Causes + +Author: William Douglas Morrison + +Release Date: May 9, 2005 [EBook #15803] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRIME AND ITS CAUSES *** + + + + +Produced by Afra Ullah and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1> +CRIME AND ITS CAUSES +</h1> + +<p> </p> + +<h4> +By +</h4> + +<h2> +WILLIAM DOUGLAS MORRISON +</h2> + +<h3> +OF H.M. PRISON, WANDSWORTH +</h3> + +<p> </p> + +<h4> +LONDON<br> +SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LIM.<br> +NEW YORK : CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS +</h4> + +<h4> +1902 +</h4> + +<p> </p> +<hr class="short"> +<p class="ctr"> +OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. +</p> + +<p> +"The science of criminology is pursued vigorously among the Italians, +but this is one of the first English books to make the phenomena of +crime the subject of a strictly scientific investigation."—<i>Daily +Chronicle</i>. +</p> + +<p> +"The book is an important addition to the Social Science Series. +It throws light upon some of the most complex problems with which +society has to deal, and incidentally affords much interesting +reading."—<i>Manchester Examiner</i>. +</p> + +<p> +"This is a work which, considering its limits and modest pretensions, +it is difficult to over praise. It is a calm and thoughtful study by a +writer in whom the deliberate determination to look on things as they +are has not extinguished a reasoned faith in the possibility of their +amelioration. The work is conceived throughout in a genuinely +philosophical spirit."—<i>International Journal of Ethics</i>. +</p> + +<p> +"A thoughtful and thought suggesting book—well worthy of consideration +by penologists, whether specialists or amateurs."—<i>Annals of the +American Academy</i>. +</p> + +<p> +"Mr. Morrison's book is especially valuable, because, without attempting +to enforce this or that conclusion, it furnishes the authentic <i>data</i> +on which all sound conclusions must be based."—<i>Times</i>. +</p> + +<p> +"Cramful of suggestive facts and solid arguments on the great questions +how criminals are made, and how crime is best to be dealt with. Many +cherished superstitions and fallacies are exploded in Mr. Morrison's +pages."—<i>Star</i>. +</p> +<p> </p> + +<p class="ctr"> +First Edition, <i>February 1891</i>. +<br>Second Edition, <i>February 1902</i>. +</p> + +<hr class="long"> +<h3> +CONTENTS. +</h3> + + +<p> +CHAP. +</p> + +<ul class="TOC"> +<li> +<a href="#I">THE STATISTICS OF CRIME</a> +</li> + +<li> +<a href="#II">CLIMATE AND CRIME +</a></li> + +<li> +<a href="#III">THE SEASONS AND CRIME +</a></li> + +<li> +<a href="#IV">DESTITUTION AND CRIME +</a></li> + +<li> +<a href="#V">POVERTY AND CRIME +</a></li> + +<li> +<a href="#VI">SEX, AGE, AND CRIME +</a></li> + +<li> +<a href="#VII">THE CRIMINAL IN BODY AND MIND +</a></li> + +<li> +<a href="#VIII">THE PUNISHMENT OF CRIME +</a></li> +</ul> +<p> +<a href="#appendices"> APPENDICES</a> +</p> + +<p> </p> + +<h3> +PREFACE. +</h3> + +<p> +This volume, as its title indicates, is occupied with an examination +of some of the principal causes of crime, and is designed as an +introduction to the study of criminal questions in general. In spite +of all the attention these questions have hitherto received and are +now receiving, crime still remains one of the most perplexing and +obstinate of social problems. It is much more formidable than +pauperism, and almost as costly. A social system which has to try +hundreds of thousands of offenders annually before the criminal courts +is in a very imperfect condition; the causes which lead to this state +of things deserve careful consideration from all who take an interest +in social welfare. +</p> + +<p> +In the following pages I have endeavoured to show that crime is a more +complicated phenomenon than is generally supposed. When society will +be able to stamp it out is a question it would be extremely hard to +answer. If it ever does so, it will not be the work of one generation +but of many, and it will not be effected by the application of any +single specific. +</p> + +<p> +Punishment alone will never succeed in putting an end to crime. +Punishment will and does hold crime to a certain extent in check, but +it will never transform the delinquent population into honest +citizens, for the simple reason that it can only strike at the +full-fledged criminal and not at the causes which have made him so. +Economic prosperity, however widely diffused, will not extinguish +crime. Many people imagine that all the evils afflicting society +spring from want, but this is only partially true. A small number of +crimes are probably due to sheer lack of food, but it has to be borne +in mind that crime would still remain an evil of enormous magnitude +even if there were no such calamities as destitution and distress. As +a matter of fact easy circumstances have less influence on conduct +than is generally believed; prosperity generates criminal inclinations +as well as adversity, and on the whole the rich are just as much +addicted to crime as the poor. The progress of civilisation will not +destroy crime. Many savage tribes living under the most primitive +forms of social life present a far more edifying spectacle of respect +for person and property than the most cultivated classes in Europe and +America. All that civilisation has hitherto done is to change the form +in which crime is perpetrated; in substance it remains the same. +Primary Schools will not accomplish much in eliminating crime. The +merely intellectual training received in these institutions has little +salutary influence upon conduct. Nothing can be mope deplorable than +that sectarian bickerings, respecting infinitesimal points in the +sanctions of morality, should result in the children of England +receiving hardly any moral instruction whatever. Conduct, as the late +Mr. Matthew Arnold has so often told us, is three fourths of life. +What are we to think of an educational system which officially ignores +this; what have we to hope in the way of improvement from a people +which consents to its being ignored? +</p> + +<p> +But even a course of systematic instruction in the principles of +conduct, no matter by what sanctions these principles are inculcated, +will not avail much unless they are to some extent practised in the +home. And this will never be the case so long as women are demoralised +by the hard conditions of industrial life, and unfitted for the duties +of motherhood before beginning to undertake them. +</p> + +<p> +In addition to this, no State will ever get rid of the criminal +problem unless its population is composed of healthy and vigorous +citizens. Very often crime is but the offspring of degeneracy and +disease. A diseased and degenerate population, no matter how +favourably circumstanced in other respects, will always produce a +plentiful crop of criminals. Stunted and decrepit faculties, whether +physical or mental, either vitiate the character, or unfit the +combatant for the battle of life. In both cases the result is in +general the same, namely, a career of crime. +</p> + +<p> +As to the best method of dealing with the actual criminal, the first +thing to be done is to know what sort of a person you are dealing +with. He must be carefully studied at first hand. At present too much +attention is bestowed on theoretical discussions respecting the +various kinds of crime and punishment, while hardly any account is +taken of the persons who commit the crime and require the punishment. +Yet this is the most important point of all; the other is trivial in +comparison with it. If crime is to be dealt with in a rational manner +and not on mere <i>a priori</i> grounds, our minds must be enlightened on +such questions as the following: What is the Criminal? What are the +chief causes which have made him such? How are these causes to be got +rid of or neutralised? What is the effect of this or that kind of +punishment? These are the momentous problems; in comparison with +these, all fine-spun definitions respecting the difference between one +crime and another are mere dust in the balance. There can be little +doubt that a neglect of those considerations on the part of many +magistrates and judges, is at the root of the capricious sentences so +often passed upon criminals. The effects of this neglect result in the +passing of sentences of too great severity on first offenders and the +young; and of too much leniency on hardened and habitual criminals. +Leniency, says Grotius, should be exercised with discernment, +otherwise it is not a virtue, but a weakness and a scandal. +</p> + +<p> +When imprisonment has to be resorted to, it must be made a genuine +punishment if it is to exercise any effect as a deterrent. The moment +a prison is made a comfortable place to live in, it becomes useless as +a safeguard against the criminal classes. This is a fundamental +principle. But punishment, although an essential part of imprisonment, +is not its only purpose. Imprisonment should also be a preparation for +liberty. If a convicted man is as unfit for social life at the +expiration of his sentence as he was at the commencement of it, the +prison has only accomplished half its work; it has satisfied the +feeling of public vengeance, but it has failed to transform the +offender into a useful citizen. How to prepare the offender for +liberty is, I admit, a task of supreme difficulty; in some oases, +probably, an impossible task. For work of this character what is +wanted above all is an enlightened staff. Mere machines are useless; +men unacquainted with civil life and its conditions are useless. It is +from civil life the prisoner is taken; it is to civil life he has to +return, and unless he is under the care of men who have an intimate +knowledge of civil life, he will not have the same prospect of being +fitted into it when he has once more to face the world. +</p> + +<p> +In the preparation of this volume I have carefully examined the most +recent ideas of English and Continental writers (especially the +Italians) on the subject of crime. The opinions it contains are based +on an experience of fourteen years in Orders most of which have been +spent in prison work. In revising the proofs I have received valuable +assistance from Mr. J. Morrison. +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +W.D.M. +</p> +<hr class="med"> + + +<p class="ctr"> +<big><b>CRIME AND ITS CAUSES</b></big> +</p> +<p> </p> + + +<p class="chapter"> +<a name="I"> +CHAPTER I.</a> +</p> + +<p class="chapter"> +THE STATISTICS OF CRIME. +</p> + + +<p> +It is only within the present century, and in some countries it is +only within the present generation, that the possibility has arisen of +conducting the study of criminal problems on anything approaching an +exact and scientific basis. Before the introduction of a system of +criminal statistics—a step taken by most peoples within the memory of +men still living—it was impossible for civilised communities to +ascertain with absolute accuracy whether crime was increasing or +decreasing, or what transformation it was passing through in +consequence of the social, political, and economic changes constantly +taking place in all highly organised societies. It was also equally +impossible to appreciate the effect of punishment for good or evil on +the criminal population. Justice had little or no data to go upon; +prisoners were sentenced in batches to the gallows, to transportation, +to the hulks, or to the county gaol, but no inquiry was made as to the +result of these punishments on the criminal classes or on the progress +of crime. It was deemed sufficient to catch and punish the offender; +the more offences seemed to increase—there was no sure method of +knowing whether they did increase or not—the more severe the +punishment became. Justice worked in the dark, and was surrounded by +the terrors of darkness. What followed is easy to imagine; the +criminal law of England reached a pitch of unparalleled barbarity, and +within living memory laws were on the statute book by which a man +might be hanged for stealing property above the value of a shilling. +</p> + +<p> +Had a fairly accurate system of criminal statistics existed, it is +very likely that the data contained in them would have reassured the +nation and tempered the severity of the law. +</p> + +<p> +Of Criminal Statistics it may be said in the first place, that they +act as an annual register for tabulating the amount of danger to which +society is exposed by the nefarious operations of lawless persons. By +these statistics we are informed of the number of crimes committed +during the course of the year so far as they are reported to the +police. We are informed of the number of persons brought to trial for +the perpetration of these crimes; of the nature of the offences with +which incriminated persons are charged, and of the length of sentence +imposed on those who are sent to prison. The age, the degree of +instruction, and the occupations of prisoners are also tabulated. A +record is also kept of the number of times a man has been committed to +prison, and of the manner in which he has conducted himself while in +confinement. +</p> + +<p> +One important point must be mentioned on which criminal statistics are +almost entirely silent. The great sources of crime are the personal, +the social, and the economic conditions of the individuals who commit +it. Criminal statistics, to be exhaustive, ought to include not only +the amount of crime and the degrees of punishment awarded to +offenders; these statistics should also, as far as practicable, take +cognisance of the sources from which crime undoubtedly springs. In +this respect, our information, so far as it comes to us through +ordinary channels, is lamentably deficient. It is confined to data +respecting the age, sex, and occupation of the offender. These data +are very interesting, and very useful, as affording a glimpse of the +sources from which the dark river of delinquency takes its rise. But +they are too meagre and fragmentary. They require to be completed by +the personal and social history of the criminal. Crime is not +necessarily a disease, but it resembles disease in this respect, that +it will be impossible to wipe it out till an accurate diagnosis has +been made of the causes which produce it. To punish crime is all very +well; but punishment is not an absolute remedy; its deterrent action +is limited, and other methods besides punishment must be adopted if +society wishes to gain the mastery over the criminal population. What +those methods should be can only be ascertained after the most +searching preliminary inquiries into the main factors of crime. It +ought, therefore, to be a weighty part of the business of criminal +statistics to offer as full information as possible, not only +respecting crimes and punishments, but much more respecting criminals. +Every criminal has a life history; that history is very frequently the +explanation of his sinister career; it ought, therefore, to be +tabulated, so that it may be seen how far his descent and his +surroundings have contributed to make him what he is. In the case of +children sent to Reformatory Schools, the previous history of the +child is always tabulated. Enquiries are made and registered +respecting the parents of the child; what country they belong to, what +sort of character they bear, whether they are honest and sober, +whether they have ever been in prison, what wages they earn, and +whether the child is legitimate or not. A similar method to the one +adopted with Reformatory children ought to be instituted, with +suitable modifications, in European prisons and convict +establishments. It is, at the present time, being advocated by almost +all the most eminent criminal authorities,<a href="#fn1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> and more than one scheme +has been drawn up to show the scope of its operation. +</p> + +<p> +In addition to the service which a complete personal and family record +of convicted prisoners would render as to the causes of crime, such a +record would be of immense advantage to the judges. At the present +time a judge is only made acquainted with the previous convictions of +a prisoner; he knows nothing more about him except through the +evidence which is sometimes adduced as to character. An accurate +record of the prisoner's past would enable the judge to see at once +with what sort of offender he was dealing, and might, perhaps, help to +put a stop to the unequal and capricious sentences which, not +infrequently, disgrace the name of justice.<a href="#fn2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +Passing from this point, we shall now inquire into the possibility of +establishing some system of International Statistics, whereby the +volume of crime in one country may be compared with the volume of +crime in another. At the present time it is extremely difficult to +institute any such comparison, and it is questionable if it can ever +be properly done. In no two countries is the criminal law the same, +and an act which is perfectly harmless when committed in one part of +Europe, is considered in another as a contravention of the law. Each +country has also a nomenclature of crime and methods of criminal +procedure peculiar to itself. In each country the police are organised +on a different principle, and act in the execution of their duty on a +different code of rules. In all cases, for instance, of mendicancy, +drunkenness, brawling, and disorder, the initiative rests practically +with the police, and it depends almost entirely on the instructions +issued to the police whether such offences shall figure largely or not +in the statistics of crime. A proof of this fact may be seen in the +Report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, for the year +1888. In the year 1886, the number of persons convicted in the +Metropolis of "Annoying male persons for the purpose of prostitution" +was 3,233; in 1888, the number was only 1,475. This enormous decrease +in the course of two years is not due to a diminution of the offence, +but to a change in the attitude of the police. Again, in the year +1887, the Metropolitan police arrested 4,556 persons under the +provisions of the Vagrant and Poor Law Acts; but in the year 1888, the +number arrested by the same body under the same acts amounted to +7,052. It is perfectly obvious that this vast increase of apprehensions +was not owing to a corresponding increase in the number of rogues, +beggars, and vagrants; it was principally owing to the increased +stringency with which the Metropolitan police carried out the +provisions of the Vagrant and Poor Law Acts. An absolute proof of the +correctness of this statement is the fact that throughout the whole of +England there was a decrease in the number of persons proceeded +against in accordance with these acts. These examples will suffice to +show what an immense power the police have in regulating the volume of +certain classes of offences. In some countries they are called upon to +exercise this power in the direction of stringency; in other countries +it is exercised in the direction of leniency; and in the same country +its exercise, as we have just seen, varies according to the views of +whoever, for the time being, happens to have a voice in controlling +the action of the police. In these circumstances it is obviously +impossible to draw any accurate comparison between the lighter kinds +of offences in one country and the same class of offences in another. +</p> + +<p> +In the case of the more serious offences against person and property, +the initiative of putting the law in motion rests chiefly with the +injured individual. The action of the individual in this respect +depends to a large extent on the customs of the country. In some +countries the injured person, instead of putting the law in motion +against an offender, takes the matter in his own hands, and +administers the wild justice of revenge. Great differences of opinion +also exist among different nations as to the gravity of certain +offences. Among some peoples there is a far greater reluctance than +there is among others to appeal to the law. Murder is perhaps the only +crime on which there exists a fair consensus of opinion among +civilised communities; and even with regard to this offence it is +impossible to overcome all the judicial and statistical difficulties +which stand in the way of an international comparison. +</p> + +<p> +In spite, however, of the fact that the amount of crime committed in +civilised countries cannot be subjected to exact comparison, there are +various points on which the international statistics of crime are able +to render valuable service. It is important, for instance, to see in +what relation crime in different communities stands to age, sex, +climate, temperature, race, education, religion, occupation, home and +social surroundings. If we find, for example, an abnormal development +of crime taking place in a given country at a certain period of life, +or in certain social circumstances, and if we do not discover the same +abnormal development taking place in other countries at a similar +period of life, or in a similar social stratum, we ought at once to +come to the conclusion that there is some extraordinary cause at work +peculiar to the country which is producing an unusually high total of +crime. If, on the other hand, we find that certain kinds of crime are +increasing or decreasing in all countries at the same time, we may be +perfectly sure that the increase or decrease is brought about by the +same set of causes. And whether those causes are war, political +movements, commercial prosperity, or depression, the community which +first escapes from them will also be the first to show it in the +annual statistics of crime. In these and many other ways international +statistics are of the greatest utility. +</p> + +<p> +From what has already been said as to the immense difficulty of +comparing the criminal statistics of various countries, it follows as +a matter of course that the figures contained in them cannot be used +as a means of ascertaining the position which belongs to each nation +respectively in the scale of morality. Nor is the moral progress of a +nation to be measured solely by an apparent decay of crime. On the +contrary, an increase in the amount of crime may be the direct result +of a moral advance in the average sentiments of the community. The +passing of the Elementary Education Act of 1870 and of the Criminal +Law Amendment Act of 1885 have added considerably to the number of +persons brought before the criminal courts and eventually committed to +prison. But an increase of the prison population due to these causes +is no proof that the country is deteriorating morally. It will be +regarded by many persons as a proof that the country has improved, for +it is now demanding a higher standard of conduct from the ordinary +citizen than it demanded twenty years ago.<a href="#fn3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, a decrease in the official statistics of crime may +be a proof that the moral sentiments of a nation are degenerating. It +may be a proof that the laws are ceasing to be an effective protection +to the citizen, and that society is falling a victim to the forces of +anarchy and crime. It is, therefore, impossible by looking only at the +bare figures contained in criminal statistics, to say whether a +community is growing better or worse. Before any conclusions can be +formed on these matters, either one way or the other, we must go +behind the figures, and look at them in the light of the social, +political and industrial developments taking place in the society to +which these figures refer. +</p> + +<p> +In this connection, it may not be amiss to point out that the present +tendency of legislation is bound to produce more crime. All law is by +its nature coercive, but so long as the coercion is confined within a +limited area, or can only come into operation at rare intervals, it +produces comparatively little effect on the whole volume of crime. +When, however, a law is passed affecting every member of the community +every day of his life, such a law is certain to increase the +population of our gaols. A marked characteristic of the present time +is that legislative assemblies are becoming more and more inclined to +pass such laws; so long as this is the case it is vain to hope for a +decrease in the annual amount of crime. Whether these new coercive +laws are beneficial or the reverse is a matter which it does not at +this moment concern me to discuss; what I am anxious to point out is, +that the more they are multiplied, the greater will be the number of +persons annually committed to prison. In initiating legislation of a +far-reaching coercive character, politicians should remember far more +than they do at present that the effect of these Acts of Parliament +will be to fill the gaols, and to put the prison taint upon a greater +number of the population. This is a responsibility which no body of +men ought lightly to incur, and in considering the advantages to be +derived from some new legislative enactment, an equal amount of +consideration should be bestowed upon the fact that the new enactment +will also be the means of providing a fresh recruiting ground for the +permanent army of crime. +</p> + +<p> +A man, for instance, goes to prison for contravening some municipal +bye-law; he comes out of it the friend and associate of habitual +criminals; and the ultimate result of the bye-law is to transform a +comparatively harmless member of society into a dangerous thief or +house-breaker. One person of this character is a greater menace to +society than a hundred offenders against municipal regulations, and +the present system of law-making undoubtedly helps to multiply this +class of men. One of the leading principles of all wise legislation +should be to keep the population out of gaol; but the direct result of +many recent enactments, both in this country and abroad, is to drive +them into it; and it may be taken as an axiom that the more the +functions of Government are extended, the greater will be the amount +of crime. +</p> + +<p> +These remarks lead me to approach the question of what is called "the +movement" of crime. Is its total volume increasing or decreasing in +the principal civilised countries of the world? On this point there is +some diversity of view, but most of the principal authorities in +Europe and America are emphatically of opinion that crime is on the +increase. In the United States, we are told by Mr. D.A. Wells,<a href="#fn4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> and +by Mr. Howard Wines, an eminent specialist in criminal matters, that +crime is steadily increasing, and it is increasing faster than the +growth of the population. +</p> + +<p> +Nearly all the chief statisticians abroad tell the same tale with +respect to the growth of crime on the Continent. Dr. Mischler of +Vienna, and Professor von Liszt of Marburg draw a deplorable picture +of the increase of crime in Germany. Professor von Liszt, in a recent +article,<a href="#fn5"><sup>[5]</sup></a> says, that fifteen million persons have been convicted by +the German criminal courts within the last ten years; and, according +to him, the outlook for the future is sombre in the last degree. In +France, the criminal problem is just as formidable and perplexing as +it is in Germany; M. Henri Joly estimates that crime has increased in +the former country 133 per cent. within the last half century, and is +still steadily rising. Taking Victoria as a typical Australasian +colony, we find that even in the Antipodes, which are not vexed to the +same extent as Europe with social and economic difficulties, crime is +persistently raising its head, and although it does not increase quite +as rapidly as the population, it is nevertheless a more menacing +danger among the Victorian colonists than it is at home.<a href="#fn6"><sup>[6]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +Is England an exception to the rest of the world with respect to +crime? Many people are of opinion that it is, and the idea is at +present diligently fostered on the platform and in the press that we +have at last found out the secret of dealing successfully with the +criminal population. As far as I can ascertain, this belief is based +upon the statement that the daily average of persons in prison is +constantly going down. Inasmuch, as there was a daily average of over +20,000 persons in prison in 1878, and a daily average of about 15,000 +in 1888, many people immediately jump at the conclusion that crime is +diminishing. But the daily average is no criterion whatever of the +rise and fall of crime. Calculated on the principle of daily average, +twelve men sentenced to prison for one month each, will not figure so +largely in criminal statistics as one man sentenced to a term of +eighteen months. The daily average, in other words, depends upon the +length of sentence prisoners receive, and not upon the number of +persons committed to prison, or upon the number of crimes committed +during the year. Let us look then at the number of persons committed +to Local Prisons, and we shall be in a position to judge if crime is +decreasing in England or not. We shall go back twenty years and take +the quinquennial totals as they are recorded in the judicial +statistics:— +</p> + +<table summary="Five year totals of the number of people committed to Local Prisons" width="60%" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" align="center"> +<tr> +<td>Total of the 5 years</td> +<td>1868 to 1872</td> +<td>774,667.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Total of the 5 years,</td> +<td>1873 to 1877,</td> +<td>866,041.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Total of the 5 years,</td> +<td>1884 to 1888,</td> +<td>898,486.</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> +If statistics are to be allowed any weight at all, these figures +incontestably mean that the total volume of crime is on the increase +in England as well as everywhere else. It is fallacious to suppose +that the authorities here are gaining the mastery over the delinquent +population. Such a supposition is at once refuted by the statistics +which have just been tabulated, and these are the only statistics +which can be implicitly relied upon for testing the position of the +country with regard to crime. +</p> + +<p> +Seeing, then, that the total amount of crime is regularly growing, +how is the decrease in the daily average of persons in prison to be +accounted for? +</p> + +<p> +This decrease may be accounted for in two ways. It may be shown that +although the number of people committed to prison is on the increase, +the nature of the offences for which these people are convicted is not +so grave. Or, in the second place, it may be shown that, although the +crimes committed now are equally serious with those committed twenty +years ago, the magistrates and judges are adopting a more lenient line +of action, and are inflicting shorter sentences after a conviction. +Let us for a moment consider the proposition that crime is not so +grave now as it was twenty years ago. In order to arrive at a fairly +accurate conclusion on this matter, we have only to look at the number +of offences of a serious nature reported to the police. Comparing the +number of cases of murder, attempts to murder, manslaughter, shooting +at, stabbing and wounding, and adding to these offences the crimes of +burglary, housebreaking, robbery, and arson—comparing all these cases +reported to the police for the five years 1870-1874, with offences of +a like character reported in the five years 1884-1888, we find that +the proportion of grave offences to the population was, in many cases, +as great in the latter period as in the former.<a href="#fn7"><sup>[7]</sup></a> This shows clearly +that crime, while it is increasing in extent, is not materially +decreasing in seriousness; and the chief reason the prison population +exhibits a smaller daily average is to be found in the fact that +judges are now pronouncing shorter sentences than was the custom +twenty years ago. We are not left in the dark upon this point; the +judges themselves frequently inform the public that they have taken to +shortening the terms of imprisonment. The extent to which sentences +have been shortened within the last twenty years can easily be +ascertained by comparing the committals to prison and the daily +average of the quinquenniad 1868-72 with the committals and the daily +average of the quinquenniad 1884-88. A comparison between these two +periods shows that the length of imprisonment has decreased twenty-six +per cent. In other words, whereas a man used to receive a sentence of +twelve months' imprisonment, he now receives a sentence of nine +months; and whereas he used to get a sentence of one month, he now +gets twenty-one days. If it he a serious offence, or if the criminal +be a habitual offender, he now receives eighteen months' imprisonment, +whereas he used to receive five years' penal servitude. As far as most +judges and stipendiary magistrates are concerned, sentences of +imprisonment have decreased in recent years more than twenty-six per +cent.; and if there was a corresponding movement on the part of +Chairmen of Quarter Sessions, the average decrease in the length of +sentences would amount to fifty per cent. But it is a notorious fact +that amateur judges are, with few exceptions, more inclined to +pronounce heavy sentences than professional men. +</p> + +<p> +We have now arrived at the conclusion that crime is just as serious in +its character as it was twenty years ago, and that it is growing in +dimensions year by year; the next point to be considered is, the +relation in which crime stands to the population. Crime may be +increasing, but the population may be multiplying faster than the +growth of crime. Is this the condition of things in England at the +present day? We have seen that the criminal classes are increasing +much faster than the growth of population in France and the United +States. Is England in a better position in this respect than these two +countries? At the present time there is one conviction to about every +fifty inhabitants, and the proportion of convictions to the population +was very much the same twenty years ago. If we remember the immense +development that has taken place in the industrial school system +within the last twenty years—a development that has undoubtedly had a +great deal to do with keeping down crime—we arrive at the conclusion +that, notwithstanding the beneficent effects of Industrial Schools, +the criminal classes in this country still keep pace with the annual +growth of population. If we had no Industrial and Reformatory +institutions for the detention of criminal and quasi-criminal +offenders among the young, there can be no doubt that England, as well +as other countries, would have to make the lamentable admission that +crime was not only increasing in her midst, but that it was increasing +faster than the growth of population. The number of juveniles in these +institutions has more than trebled since 1868,<a href="#fn8"><sup>[8]</sup></a> and it is +unquestionable that if these youthful offenders were not confined +there, a large proportion of them would immediately begin to swell the +ranks of crime. That crime in England is not making more rapid strides +than the growth of population, is almost entirely to be attributed to +the action of these schools. +</p> + +<p> +We shall now look at another aspect of the criminal question, and that +is its cost. Crime is not merely a danger to the community; it is +likewise a vast expense; and there is no country in Europe where it +does not constitute a tremendous drain upon the national resources. +Owing to the federal system of government in America, it is almost +impossible to estimate how much is spent in the prevention and +punishment of crime in the United States, but Mr. Wines calculates +that the police force alone costs the country fifteen million dollars +annually.<a href="#fn9"><sup>[9]</sup></a> In the United Kingdom the cost of criminal justice and +administration is continually on the increase, and it has never been +so high as it is at the present time. In the Estimates for the year +1891 the cost of Prisons and of the Asylum for criminal lunatics falls +little short of a million sterling. Reformatory and Industrial Schools +for juvenile offenders cost considerably over half-a-million, and the +expenditure on the Police force is over five and a half millions +annually. Add to these figures the cost of criminal prosecutions, the +salaries of stipendiary and other paid magistrates, a portion of the +salaries of judges, and all other expenses connected with the trial +and prosecution of delinquents, and an annual total of expenditure is +reached for the United Kingdom of more than seven and a half millions +sterling. In addition to this enormous sum, it has also to he +remembered that a great loss of property is annually entailed on the +inhabitants of the three kingdoms by the depredations of the criminal +classes. The exact amount of this loss it is impossible to estimate, +but, according to the figures in the police reports, it cannot fall +short of a million sterling per annum. +</p> + +<p> +These formidable figures afford ample food for reflection. Apart from +its danger to the community, the annual loss of money which the +existence of crime entails is a most serious consideration. It is +equal to a tenth of the national expenditure, and every few years +amounts to as much as the cost of a big European war. It is tempting +to speculate on the admirable uses to which the capital consumed by +crime might be devoted, if it were free for beneficent purposes. How +easy it would be for many a scheme, which is now in the region of +dreamland, to be immediately realised. Unhappily, it is almost as vain +to look forward to the abolition of crime as it is to look forward to +the cessation of war. At the present moment the latter event, however +improbable, is more likely to happen than the former. War has ceased +to be a normal condition of things in the comity of nations; it has +become a transitory incident; but crime, which means war within the +nation, is still far from being a passing incident; on the contrary, a +conflict between the forces of moral order and social anarchy is going +on continually; and, at present, there is not the faintest prospect of +its coming to an end. +</p> + +<p> +What is the cause of this state of warfare within society? Which of the +combatants is to blame? Or is the blame to be laid equally on the +shoulders of both? In other words, are the conditions in which men live +together in society of such a nature that crime is certain to flow from +them; and is crime simply a reaction against the iniquity of existing +social arrangements? Or, on the other hand, does crime spring from the +individual and his cosmical surroundings; and is it the product of +forces over which society has little or no control? These are questions +which cannot be answered off-hand, they involve considerations of a +most complicated character, and it is only after a careful examination +of all the factors responsible for crime that a true solution can +possibly be arrived at. These factors are divisible into three great +categories—cosmical, social, and individual.<a href="#fn10"><sup>[10]</sup></a> The cosmical factors +of crime are climate and the variations of temperature; the social +factors are the political, economic and moral conditions in the midst +of which man lives as a member of society; the individual factors are a +class of attributes inherent in the individual, such as descent, sex, +age, bodily and mental characteristics. These factors, it will be seen, +can easily be reduced to two, the organism and its environment; but it +will be more convenient to consider them under the three-fold division +which has just been mentioned. Before proceeding to do so, it may be as +well to remark that in each case the several factors operate with +different degrees of intensity. It is often extremely difficult to +disentangle them; and the more complex the society is in which a crime +takes place, the greater is the combination and intricacy of the causes +leading up to it. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="chapter"> +<a name="II">CHAPTER II.</a> +</p> + +<p class="chapter"> +CLIMATE AND CRIME. +</p> + + +<p> +Man's existence depends upon physical surroundings; these surroundings +have exercised an immense influence in modifying his organism, in +shaping his social development, in moulding his character. To enumerate +all the external factors operating upon individual and social life is +outside our present purpose, but they may be briefly summed up as +climate, moisture, soil, the configuration of the earth's surface, and +the nature of its products. These natural phenomena, either singly or +in varying degrees of combination, have unquestionably played a most +prominent part in making the different races of mankind what they at +present are. We have only to look at the low type of life exhibited by +the primitive inhabitants of certain inhospitable regions of the globe +to see how profoundly the physical structure of man is affected by his +natural surroundings. Even a comparatively slight difference of +environment is not without effect upon the population subjected to its +influence. According to M. de Quatrefages, the bodily structure of the +English race has been distinctly modified by residence in the United +States of America. It is not more than two and a half centuries since +Englishmen began to emigrate in any considerable numbers to the +American Continent, but in that comparatively short period the +Anglo-American has ceased to resemble his ancestors in physical +appearance. Alterations have taken place in the skin, the hair, the +neck, and the head; the lower jaw has become bigger; the bones of the +arms and legs have lengthened, and the American of to-day requires a +different kind of glove from the Englishman. Structural changes of a +similar character have taken place in the negroes transplanted to +America. M. Elisée Reclus considers that in a century and a half they +have traversed a good quarter of the distance which separates them from +the whites. Another important point, as showing the influence of +habitat upon race, is the fact that the modifications of human +structure resulting from residence in America are in the direction of +assimilating the European type to that of the red man.<a href="#fn11"><sup>[11]</sup></a> In short, it +may be taken as a well-established principle that external nature +destroys all organisms that cannot adapt themselves to its action, and +physiologically modifies all organisms that can. +</p> + +<p> +The social condition of mankind is also profoundly affected by climatic +and other external circumstances. The intense cold of the Arctic and +Antarctic regions is fatal to anything approaching a developed form of +civilisation. Intense heat, on the other hand, although not +incompatible with a certain degree of progress, is unfavourable to its +permanence;<a href="#fn12"><sup>[12]</sup></a> the extinct societies of the tropics, such as Cambodia, +Mexico and Peru, affording instances of the operation of this law. It +is impossible for man to get beyond the nomad state in the vast deserts +of Northern Africa; and the extreme moisture of the atmosphere in other +portions of the same continent puts an effectual check on anything like +social advance. In some parts of the world social development has been +hindered by external circumstances of another character, such as the +want of wood, the scarcity of animals, the absence of edible fruits. In +fact, it is only within a comparatively temperate zone that human +society has been able permanently to assume highly complex forms and to +build itself up on an extensive scale. In this zone, climate, while +favouring man up to a certain point, has at the same time compelled him +to eat bread in the sweat of his brow. It has compelled him to enter +into conflict with natural obstacles, the result of which has been to +call forth his powers of industry, of energy, of self-reliance, and to +sharpen his intellectual faculties generally. In addition to exercising +and strengthening these personal attributes, the climatic influences of +what has been called the zone of civilisation have brought man's social +characteristics more fully and elaborately into play. The nature of +these influences has forced him to cooperate more or less closely with +his fellows; while each step in the path of cooperation has involved +him in another of a more complex kind. The growth of social cooperation +is not necessarily accompanied by a corresponding development of the +moral sentiments; increased cooperation in some cases involving a +distinct ethical loss. In many directions, however, highly organised +societies tend to evolve loftier types of morality; and it is in +harmony with the facts to say that the highest moral types are not to +be found where nature does most or where it does least in the way of +providing food and shelter for man. +</p> + +<p> +It is also interesting to observe the effect which climate, through the +agency of religion, has had upon human conduct. One of the main factors +in the origin of religion is the feeling of dependence upon nature so +strongly manifested in all primitive forms of faith. The outcome of +this feeling of dependence was to exalt the forces of nature into +divinities, and man's conception of these divinities, shaped as it was +by the attitude of nature around him, had an incalculable influence on +his life and actions. The remains of this influence are still visible +in the aesthetic effects which the forces and operations of nature +produce on civilised man; in all other respects it has to a large +extent passed away.<a href="#fn13"><sup>[13]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +We have now touched upon most of the ways in which external +surroundings have had a hand in shaping the course of human life in the +past; it will be our next business to inquire whether these +surroundings have any effect upon human conduct at the present day, and +especially upon those manifestations of conduct which are known as +crimes. That they still have an effect is an opinion which has long +been entertained. +</p> + +<p> +Going back to the ancient Greeks, we find Hippocrates holding that all +regions liable to violent changes of climate produced men of fierce, +impetuous and stubborn disposition. "In approaching southern +countries," says Montesquieu, "one would believe that morality was +being left behind; more ardent passions multiply crimes; each tries to +gain from others all the advantages which can minister to these +passions." Buckle believes that the interruption of work caused by +instability of climate leads to instability of character. In analysing +the contents of French statistics, Quetelet,<a href="#fn14"><sup>[14]</sup></a> while admitting that +other causes may neutralise the action of climate, proceeds to say that +the "number of crimes against property relatively to the number of +crimes against the person increases considerably as we advance towards +the north." Another eminent student of French criminal statistics, M. +Tarde, comes to very much the same conclusions as Quetelet; he admits +that a high temperature does exercise an indirect influence on the +criminal passions. But the most exhaustive investigations in this +problem have been undertaken in Italy, by Signor Enrico Ferri. After a +thorough examination of French judicial statistics for a series of +years, Ferri arrives at the conclusion that a maximum of crimes against +the person is reached in the hot months, while, on the other hand, +crimes against property come to a climax in the winter.<a href="#fn15"><sup>[15]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +In testing these opinions respecting the influence of climate upon +crime, we are obliged, to some extent, to have recourse to +international statistics. But these statistics, as has already been +pointed out, owing to the diversity of customs, laws, criminal +procedure, and so on, do not easily admit of comparison. So much is +this the case that we shall not make the attempt as far as these +statistics have reference to crimes against property. In this field no +satisfactory result can, at present be obtained. The same remark holds +good in relation to all offences against the person, with the exception +of homicide. This, undoubtedly, in an important exception; and it +arises from the fact that there is a greater consensus of opinion among +civilised communities respecting the gravity of homicide than exists +with regard to any other form of crime. Murder in all its degrees is a +crime which immediately causes a profound commotion; it is easy to +recognise; it is more likely than any other offence to come to the ears +of the authorities. For these reasons this crime lends itself most +readily to international comparison; nevertheless, differences of +judicial procedure, legal nomenclature, and different methods of +classification stand in the way of making the comparison absolutely +accurate. These differences, however, are not so great as to render +comparison impossible or worthless; on the contrary, the results of +such a comparison are of exceptional value, and go a long way to +determine the question of the effect of climate upon crimes of blood. +</p> + +<p> +Assuming, then, with these reservations, that such a comparison can be +instituted, let us see to what extent murder, in the widest sense of +the word, including wilful murder, manslaughter, and infanticide, +prevails in the various countries of Europe. In ordinary circumstances +this task would be a laborious one, entailing a minute and careful +examination of the criminal statistics and procedure of many nations. +Fortunately, it has recently been accomplished by Dr. Bosco in an +admirable monograph communicated in the first instance to the Journal +of the International Statistical Institute, but now published in a +separate form. Bosco's figures have all been taken from official +sources, and may, therefore, be accepted as accurate; but, before +tabulating-them, it may be useful to make an extract from the +explanatory note by which they are accompanied. "As the composition of +the population, with respect to age, varies in different countries, and +as it has to be remembered that all the population under ten years of +age has no share, at least under normal conditions, in the crime of +murder, it has seemed to me a more exact method to calculate the +proportion of murders to the inhabitants who are over ten years of age, +than to include the total population. For those States where a census +has been recently taken, such, for instance, as France and Germany, the +results of that census have been used; that is to say, the French +census of May, 1886, and the German census of December, 1885. For the +other States the population has been calculated (adding the excess of +births over deaths to the results of the last census) to the end of the +intermediate year for each period of years to which the information +relates; that is to say, to the end of 1883 for Belgium, and to the end +of 1884 for Austria, Hungary, Spain, England, Scotland and Ireland. As +the information respecting Italy refers to 1887 only, the population +has been estimated up to the end of that year. The division of the +population according to age (above and below ten) has been obtained by +means of proportional calculations based on the results of the census +for each State. In the case of France and Germany, however, it has been +taken directly from the census returns."<a href="#fn16"><sup>[16]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +Homicides of all kinds in the following European States:— +</p> + +<table summary="Homicides in various European States" width="97%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" align="center" border="1"> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +<td colspan=2 align="center">Tried.</td> +<td colspan=2 align="center">Convicted.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td align="center">Countries.</td> +<td align="center">Population over ten.</td> +<td align="center"> Years. </td> +<td align="center">Annual average</td> +<td align="center">Per 100,000 inhabitants.</td> +<td align="center">Annual average</td> +<td align="center">Per 100,000 inhabitants.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Italy</td> +<td align="right">23,408,277</td> +<td align="left">1887</td> +<td align="right">3,606</td> +<td align="right">15.40</td> +<td align="right">2,805</td> +<td align="right">11.98</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Austria</td> +<td align="right">17,199,237</td> +<td align="left">1883-6</td> +<td align="right">689</td> +<td align="right">4.01</td> +<td align="right">499</td> +<td align="right">2.90</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>France</td> +<td align="right">31,044,370</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right">847</td> +<td align="right">2.73</td> +<td align="right">580</td> +<td align="right">1.87</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Belgium</td> +<td align="right">4,377,813</td> +<td align="left">1881-5</td> +<td align="right">132</td> +<td align="right">3.02</td> +<td align="right">101</td> +<td align="right">2.31</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>England</td> +<td align="right">19,898,053</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right">318</td> +<td align="right">1.60</td> +<td align="right">151</td> +<td align="right">0.76</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Ireland</td> +<td align="right">3,854,588</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right">129</td> +<td align="right">3.35</td> +<td align="right">54</td> +<td align="right">1.40</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Scotland</td> +<td align="right">2,841,941</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right">60</td> +<td align="right">2.11</td> +<td align="right">21</td> +<td align="right">0.74</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Spain</td> +<td align="right">13,300,839</td> +<td align="left">1883-6</td> +<td align="right">1,584</td> +<td align="right">11.91</td> +<td align="right">1,085</td> +<td align="right">8.18</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Hungary</td> +<td align="right">10,821,558</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right"> </td> +<td align="right"> </td> +<td align="right">625</td> +<td align="right">5.78</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Holland</td> +<td align="right">3,172,464</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right">35</td> +<td align="right">1.10</td> +<td align="right">28</td> +<td align="right">0.88</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Germany</td> +<td align="right">35,278,742</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right">567</td> +<td align="right">1.61</td> +<td align="right">476</td> +<td align="right">1.35</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p> +What is the import of these statistics? We perceive at once that +Italy, Spain and Hungary head the list in the proportion of murders to +the population. In Italy, out of every 100,000 persons over ten years +of age, eleven in round numbers are annually convicted of murder in +one or other of its forms; in Spain eight are convicted of the same +offence, and in Hungary five are convicted. These three countries are +conspicuously ahead of all the others to which our table refers. +Austria and Belgium follow at a long distance with two convictions in +round numbers to every 100,000 inhabitants over ten. France, Ireland +and Germany come next with one conviction and a considerable fraction +to every 100,000 persons over ten; England, Scotland and Holland stand +at the bottom of the list with between seven and eight persons +convicted of murder to every one million of inhabitants over ten. +</p> + +<p> +In order to understand the full meaning of these figures we must take +one more stop and compare the numbers convicted with the numbers +tried. In some countries very few convictions may take place in +proportion to the number accused, while in other countries the +proportion may be very considerable. In other words, in order to +arrive at an approximate estimate of the amount of murders perpetrated +in a country, we must consider how many cases of murder have been +tried in the course of the year. It very seldom happens that a person +is tried for this offence when no murder has been committed; and it +may, therefore, be assumed that the crime has taken place when a man +haw to stand his trial for it. Estimating then the prevalence of +murder in the various countries by trials, rather than convictions, +it will be found that Germany, with a much larger percentage of +convictions than England, has just as few cases of murder for trial. +And the reason the number of convictions, as between the two nations, +differs, arises from the fact that a prisoner's chance of acquittal in +England is a hundred per cent. greater than it is in Germany. It is +not, therefore, accurate to assume that a greater number of murders +are committed in Germany than in England because a greater number +of persons are annually convicted of this crime; all that these +convictions absolutely prove is, that the machinery of the criminal +law is more effective in the one country than in the other. To take +another instance, more persons are annually tried for murder in +Ireland than in France; but more cases of conviction are recorded in +France than in Ireland. These contrasts show that, while the French +are less addicted to this grave offence than the Irish, they are more +anxious to secure its detection, and that a greater body of public +opinion is on the side of law in France than in Ireland. All these +instances (and more could easily be added to them) are intended to +call attention to the importance of looking at the number of persons +tried, as well as the percentage of persons convicted, if we desire to +form an accurate estimate of the comparative prevalence of crime. +</p> + +<p> +While thus showing that the number of trials for murder is the best +test of the prevalence of this offence, it is not meant that the test +is in all respects indisputable. At most it is merely approximate. One +obstacle in the way of its entire accuracy consists in the circumstance +that the proportion of persons tried, as compared with the amount of +crime committed, is in no two countries precisely the same. In France, +for instance, more murders are perpetrated, for which no one is +ultimately tried, than in Italy or in England; that is to say, a +murderer runs more risk of being placed in the dock in this country +than in France. But the difference between the two countries is again +to a great extent adjusted by the fact that once a man is placed in +the dock in France he has far less chance of being acquitted than if +he were tried according to English law. On the whole, therefore, it +may be assumed that the international statistics of trials, corrected +when necessary by the international statistics of convictions, present +a tolerably accurate idea of the extent to which the crime of murder +prevails among the nationalities of Europe. In any case these figures +will go some way towards helping us to see whether climatic conditions +have any influence upon the amount of crime. This we shall now inquire +into. +</p> + +<p> +On looking at the isotherms for the year it will be observed that the +average temperature of Italy and Spain is ten degrees higher than +the average temperature of England. On the other hand, the average +temperature of Hungary is very much the same as the average temperature +of this country; but Hungary is at the same time exposed to much +greater extremes of climate than England. In winter it is nearly ten +degrees colder than England, while in summer it is as hot as Spain. +The advocates of the direct effect of climate upon crime contend that +account must be taken not merely of the degree of temperature, but +also of the variations of temperature to which a region is exposed. +According to this theory one of the principal reasons the crime of +murder is, at least, fourfold higher in Hungary than in England, is to +be found in the violent oscillations of temperature in Hungary as +compared with England. In Italy murders are, at least, ten times as +numerous as in England; in Spain they are seven times as numerous; the +chief cause of this condition of things is said to be the serious +difference of temperature. In the United States of America there are +more crimes of blood in the South than in the North; the main +explanation of this difference is said to be that the climate of the +South is much hotter than the climate of the North. +</p> + +<p> +In opposition to this theory of the intimate relation between +temperature and crime, it may be urged that the greater prevalence of +crimes of blood in hot latitudes is a mere coincidence and not a +causal connection. This is the view taken by Dr. Mischler in Baron von +Holtzendorff's "Handbuch des Gefängnisswesens." He says the real +reason crimes of blood are more common in the South of Europe than in +the North is to be attributed to the more backward state of +civilisation in the South, and to the wild and mountainous character +of the country. To the latter part of this argument it is easy to +reply that Scotland is quite as mountainous as Italy, and yet its +inhabitants are far less addicted to crimes against the person. But it +is more civilised, for, as M. Tarde ingeniously contends, the bent of +civilisation at present is to travel northward. Admitting for a moment +that Scotland is more civilised than Spain or Italy, all savage +tribes, on the other hand, are confessedly less advanced in the arts +of life than these two peninsulas. But, for all that, many of these +savage peoples are much less criminal. "I have lived," says Mr. +Russell Wallace, "with communities of savages in South America and in +the East who have no laws or law courts, but the public opinion of the +village freely expressed. Each man scrupulously respects the rights of +his fellows, and any infraction of these rights rarely or never takes +place." Mr. Herbert Spencer also quotes innumerable instances of the +kindness, mildness, honesty, and respect for person and property of +uncivilised peoples. M. de Quatrefages, in summing up the ethical +characteristics of the various races of mankind, comes to the +conclusion that from a moral point of view the white man is hardly any +better than the black. Civilisation so far has unfortunately generated +almost as many vices as it has virtues, and he is a bold man who will +say that its growth has diminished the amount of crime. It is very +difficult then to accept the view that the frequency of murder in +Spain and Italy is entirely due to a lack of civilisation. +</p> + +<p> +Nor can it be said to be entirely due to economic distress. A +condition of social misery has undoubtedly something to do with the +production of crime. In countries where there is much wealth side by +side with much misery, as in France and England, adverse social +circumstances drive a certain portion of the community into criminal +courses. But where this great inequality of social conditions does not +exist—where all are poor as in Ireland or Italy—poverty alone is not +a weighty factor in ordinary crime. In Ireland, for example, there in +almost as much poverty as exists in Italy, and if the amount of crime +were determined by economic circumstances alone, Ireland ought to have +as black a record as her southern sister. Instead of that she is on +the whole as free from crime as the most prosperous countries of +Europe. In the face of these facts it is impossible to say that the +high rate of crime in Italy and Spain is to be wholly accounted for by +the pressure of economic adversity. +</p> + +<p> +Will not difference of race suffice to account for it? Is it not the +case that some races are inherently more prone to crime than others? +In India, for instance, where the great mass of the population is +singularly law-abiding, a portion of the aboriginal inhabitants have +from time immemorial lived by plunder and crime. "When a man tells +you," says an official report, quoted by Sir John Strachey, "that he +is a Badhak, or a Kanjar, or a Sonoria, he tells you what few +Europeans ever thoroughly realise, that he, an offender against the +law, has been so from the beginning and will be so to the end; that +reform is impossible, for it is his trade, his caste—I may almost say +his religion—to commit crime." It is not poverty which makes many of +these predatory races criminals. Speaking of the Mina tribe inhabiting +one of the frontier districts of the Punjab, Sir John Strachey says: +"Their sole occupation is, and always has been, plunder in the native +States and in distant parts of British India; they give no trouble at +home, and, judging from criminal statistics, it would be supposed that +they were an honest community. They live amid abundance, in +substantial houses with numerous cattle, fine clothes and jewels, and +fleet camels to carry off their plunder." Special laws have been made +for dealing with these tribes; a register of their numbers is kept; +they can be compelled to live within certain local limits, but in +spite of these coercive measures crime is not suppressed, and "a long +time must elapse before we see the end of the criminal tribes of +India." +</p> + +<p> +Coming back to European peoples, it is worthy of note that both +Hungary and Finland are inhabited by the same race. These two +countries are separated by about fifteen degrees of latitude, but in +the matter of murder the people of Finland are much more nearly allied +to the Hungarians than to their immediate neighbours, the Swedes and +Norwegians. The Finns commit about twice as many murders in proportion +to the population as the Teutons of Scandinavia, but only about half +as many as the Hungarians; and it is not improbable to suppose that +while the effect of race makes them more murderous than the +Scandinavians, the effect of climate makes them less murderous than +the inhabitants of Hungary. +</p> + +<p> +Before bringing forward any additional material on one side or the +other, let us pause for a moment to consider the results which have +just been obtained as to the effect of race as compared with climate +upon crime. In India we have found an Aryan and a non-Aryan population +living together under the same climatic influences, and very much the +same social conditions, and we have seen that the Aborigines are more +criminally disposed than the Aryan invaders. Again we have a Mongolian +race living in the far North of Europe, and we find that they show a +larger percentage of homicidal crime than the Teutonic inhabitants +who live in the same latitudes. In Hungary, where the Mongoloid type +is once more met with, the same facts are substantially reproduced; +this type is more homicidal than the Austrian Teutons living under a +similar climate. While these facts point to the conclusion that race +has apparently some influence on the amount of crime, they fail to +show that race characteristics alone are sufficient to explain the +differences in criminality between the same peoples when settled in +different quarters of the globe. The Mongoloid type in Finland is +less criminal than the same type in Hungary, and the Teutonic type +in Scandinavia is less murderously disposed than the same type in +the empire of Austria. It has also been pointed out that the +Anglo-American of the Northern States is more law abiding than his +brother by race in the South, while both are more murderous than the +inhabitants of the United Kingdom; where extremes of climate are not +so great. +</p> + +<p> +With these facts before us we shall now institute another comparison +between two widely separated branches of the Anglo-Saxon race, namely, +the colonists of Australia and the people of the motherland. Of the +Australian colonists it is not incorrect to say that they are, on the +whole, the pick of the home population. It is perfectly true that a +certain proportion of the ne'er-do-wells have emigrated to Australia, +and some of them, no doubt, help to swell the normal criminal +population of the colonies. But, on the other hand, Australia has this +advantage, that the average colonist who seeks a home beyond our +shores is generally a superior man to the average citizen who remains +at home; he is more steady, more enterprising, more industrious. In +this way the balance is adjusted in favour of the colonies. It is a +great deal more than redressed if the superior, social, and economic +conditions, under which the colonists live, are also placed in the +scale. In his "Problems of Greater Britain," Sir Charles Dilke has +shown, with admirable clearness, what immense advantages are enjoyed +by the working population of Australia as compared with the same class +at home; so much is this the case that the Australian colonies have +been not inaptly called the paradise of the working man. Here then is +an excellent opportunity for comparing the effects of climate upon +crime. In Australia we have a people of the same race as ourselves, +better off economically, living under essentially the same laws and +governed in practically the same spirit. Almost the only difference +between the inhabitants of the United Kingdom and the communities of +Australia is a difference of climate. Does this difference manifest +itself in the statistics of crime? In order to test the matter we +shall exclude the colony of New South Wales from our calculations. For +its size New South Wales is the richest community in the world, and +its riches are well distributed among all classes of the population. +But it was at one time a penal settlement, and it is possible that the +criminal statistics of the colony are still inflated by that remote +cause. The sister colony of Victoria stands upon a different footing +and is free from that disturbing factor; we shall therefore select +that colony as a normal type of the Australian group. In Part V.I.I. +of the Statistical Register of the colony of Victoria for 1887, there +is an excellent summary of the position of the colony with respect to +crime. The admirable manner in which these judicial statistics are +arranged, reflects the highest credit on the colonial authorities; for +fulness of information and clearness of arrangement they are not +surpassed by any similar statistics in the world. As homicide is the +crime on which we have hitherto based our international comparisons, +we shall, for the present, confine our attention to the Victorian +statistics of this offence. +</p> + +<table summary="Victorian statistics of homicides convictions" width="95%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" align="center" border="1"> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +<td colspan=2 align="center">Tried.</td> +<td colspan=2 align="center">Convicted.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td align="center">Countries.</td> +<td align="center">Population over ten.</td> +<td align="center"> Years. </td> +<td align="center">Annual average.</td> +<td align="center">Per 100,000 inhabitants.</td> +<td align="center">Annual average.</td> +<td align="center">Per 100,000 inhabitants.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td align="left">Victoria</td> +<td align="right">581,838</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right">22</td> +<td align="right">3.2</td> +<td align="right">14</td> +<td align="right">2.5</td> +</tr><tr> +<td align="left">United Kingdom</td> +<td align="right">26,594,582</td> +<td align="left">1882-6|</td> +<td align="right">505</td> +<td align="right">2.35</td> +<td align="right">226</td> +<td align="right">.96</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> +Before proceeding to analysis the contents of this table, it will be +as well to explain the method on which it has been constructed, and +the sources from which it is derived. The population of Victoria, over +ten years of age, has been calculated according to the Victorian +census for 1881, as contained in Part II. of the Victorian Statistical +Register. In order to make the Victorian table harmonise in all +particulars with Dr. Bosco's table for England, Scotland, and Ireland, +the excess of births over deaths has been calculated up to the end of +1884. The United Kingdom, it will be seen, has been selected as the +measure of comparison with the colony of Victoria. This selection has +been made on the ground that the colony of Victoria is not composed of +the inhabitants of any one of the three kingdoms, but contains a +mixture of them all. It will also be observed that the homicidal crime +of each of the three kingdoms differs from the other, but this is a +consideration which we shall not further comment upon at present. +</p> + +<p> +After these preliminary explanations we are now in a position to +examine the contents of our statistical table in its bearing upon +crimes of blood. It will now be possible to see what light the criminal +statistics of Victoria, as compared with the criminal statistics of the +United Kingdom, throw upon these crimes; and the disturbing factor of +race being eliminated, what is the influence of climate pure and simple +upon them. According to the isotherms for the year the Victorians live +in an atmosphere between eight and ten degrees hotter than our own. +Side by side with this additional heat, there is, as compared with +the United Kingdom, an additional amount of crime. In the colony of +Victoria, in proportion to every 100,000 inhabitants over ten years of +age, there are nearly one-third more murders annually than in the +United Kingdom. On what ground is this considerable increase of +homicide to be accounted for, except on the ground of climate? The +higher percentage is not caused by difference of race; it is not +caused by worse economic conditions—these conditions are much +superior to our own—the meaning of the figures is not obscured by any +material differences of legal procedure or legal nomenclature. It +cannot be urged that the Victorian population are the dregs of the +home population; the very opposite is the fact. The bad characters who +emigrate are the only disturbing element; but, after all, these men +are not so numerous, and the evil effects of their presence is +counterbalanced by the superiority of the average colonist to the +average citizen who remains at home. It may be said that there is +greater difficulty in detecting crime in a new colony than in an old +and settled country. As applied to some colonies it is possible this +objection may be sound, but, as applied to Victoria, it will not hold +good. In Victoria the police are much more effective than they are at +home, and a criminal has much less chance of going unpunished there +than he has in England. In Victoria in the year 1887, out of a total +of 40,693 cases reported to the police, 34,473 were brought up for +trial. In England, on the other hand, out of a total of 42,391 +indictable offences reported to the police in 1886-7, only 19,045 +persons were apprehended. The Victorian figures include offences of +all kinds, petty as well as indictable, whereas the English figures +deal with indictable offences only. But admitting this, and admitting +that it is more difficult to arrest indictable offenders, this +difficulty is not so great as to explain away the vast difference in +the numbers apprehended in Victoria as compared with the numbers +apprehended in England. Only one conclusion can be drawn from these +figures, and it is that the Victorian constabulary are more efficient +than our own, and that it is a more dangerous thing for a person to +break the law in the young colony of Victoria than in the old +community at home. +</p> + +<p> +It seems to me that the points of comparison between the United +Kingdom and Victoria, in so far as they have any bearing upon crime, +have now been exhausted; on almost every one of these points Victoria +stands in a more favourable position than ourselves. The colony has, +on the whole, a better kind of citizen; it has superior social and +economic conditions; it has a far more effective system of police. On +what possible ground, then, is it, except the ground of climate, that +the Victorians are more addicted to homicide than the people of the +United Kingdom? I admit it would be rash to assert that climate is the +cause if our own and the Victorian statistics were the only documents +to which we could appeal; it would be rash to draw such a sweeping +conclusion from so isolated a basis. But when we know that the +Victorian statistics are only one set of documents among many, and +that all these sets of documents point to the operation of the same +law, the case assumes an entirely different complexion. The results of +the Victorian statistics harmonise with the conclusions already +reached from a comparison of the criminal statistics of Europe and +America. These conclusions in turn are powerfully reinforced by the +experience of Australia. In fact, the whole body of evidence, from +whatever quarter it is collected, points with remarkable unanimity to +the conviction that, as far as European peoples and their offshoots +are concerned, climate alone is no inconsiderable factor in +determining the course of human conduct. +</p> + +<p> +Yet the evil influence of climate, mischievous as it is at present, is +not to be looked upon and acquiesced in as an irrevocable fatality. At +first sight it would seem as if the human race could not possibly +escape the malevolent action of cosmical influences over which it has +little or no control. The rise and fall of temperature, its rage and +intensity, is one of these influences, and yet its pernicious offsets +are capable of being held to a large extent in check. As far as bodily +comfort is concerned, it is marvellous to consider the innumerable +methods and devices the progressive races of mankind have invented to +protect themselves against the hostility of the elements by which they +are surrounded. In fact, an important part of the history of the race +consists in the ceaseless efforts it has been making to improve upon +and perfect these methods and devices. We have only to compare the +rude hut of the savage with the modern dwelling of the civilised man +in order to see to what extent we can shield ourselves from the +elemental forces in the midst of which we have to live. We have only +to mark the difference between the miserable and scanty garments of +the natives of Terra del Fuego and the attire of the Englishman of +to-day to see what can be done by man in the way of rescuing himself +from the inclemencies of Nature. If these conquests can be achieved +where our physical existence is in peril, there can be little reason +to doubt that advances of a similar nature can be made in the moral +order as soon as man comes to feel equally conscious of their +necessity. As a matter of fact, in some quarters of the world these +advances have already in some measure been made. In the vast peninsula +of India the structure of society is so constituted that the evil +effect of climate in producing crimes of blood has been marvellously +neutralised. It hardly admits of dispute that the caste system on +which Indian society is based is, on the whole, one of the most +wonderful instruments for the prevention of crimes of violence the +world has ever seen. The average temperature of the Indian peninsula +is about thirty degrees higher than the average temperature of the +British Isles, and if there were no counteracting forces at work, +crimes of violence in India should be much more numerous than they are +with us. But the counteracting forces acting upon Indian society are +of such immense potency that the malign influences of climate are very +nearly annihilated as far as the crimes we are now discussing are +concerned; and India stands to-day in the proud position of being more +free from crimes against the person than the most highly civilised +countries of Europe. In proof of this fact we have only to look at the +official documents annually issued respecting the condition of British +India. According to the returns contained in the Statistical Abstract +relating to British India and the Parliamentary paper exhibiting its +moral and material progress, the number of murders reported to the +police of India is smaller than the number reported in any European +State. The Indian Government issue no statistics, so far as I am +aware, of the numbers tried; it is, therefore, impossible to institute +any comparison between Europe and India upon this important point. But +when we come to the number convicted it is again found that India +presents a lower percentage of convictions for murder than is to be +met with among any other people. It may, however, be urged that the +statistical records respecting Indian crime are not so carefully kept +as the statistics of a like character relating to England and the +Continent. Sir John Strachey assures us that this is not the case; he +says that these statistics are as carefully collected and tabulated in +India as they are at home, and we may accept them as worthy of the +utmost confidence. The following table, which I have prepared from the +official documents already mentioned, may, therefore, be taken as +giving an accurate account of the condition of India between 1882-6, +as far as the most serious of all crimes is concerned. In order to +facilitate comparison I have drawn it up as far as possible on the +same lines as the other tables in this chapter. +</p> + +<table summary="Homicides in various European States" width="95%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" align="center" border="1"> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +<td colspan=2 align="center">Tried.</td> +<td colspan=2 align="center">Convicted.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td> </td> +<td align="center">Population over ten.</td> +<td align="center"> Years. </td> +<td align="center">Annual average.</td> +<td align="center">Per 100,000 inhabitants.</td> +<td align="center">Annual average.</td> +<td align="center">Per 100,000 inhabitants.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td align="left">India</td> +<td align="right">148,543,223</td> +<td align="left">1882-6</td> +<td align="right">1,930</td> +<td align="right">1.31</td> +<td align="right">690</td> +<td align="right">.46</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> +According to this table, the remarkable fact is established that the +number of cases of homicide in India committed by persons over ten +years of age and reported to the police is smaller per 100,000 +inhabitants than the number of cases of the same nature brought up for +trial in England. In order to appreciate the full importance of this +difference it has to be remembered that in England a great number of +cases of homicide are reported to the police, for which no one is +apprehended or brought to trial. In the case of the notorious +Whitechapel murders which horrified the country a year or two ago no +one was ever brought to trial, hardly any one was arrested or +seriously suspected. These crimes and many others like them materially +augment the number of homicides reported to the police, but they never +figure among the cases annually brought for trial before assizes. As a +matter of fact, no one is ever tried in more than one half of the +cases of homicide reported to the police in the course of the year. In +the year 1888, for instance, 403 cases of homicide were reported to +the police in England and Wales; but in connection with all these +cases only 196 persons were committed for trial. In short, double the +number of homicides are committed as compared with the number of +persons tried; and if a comparison is established between India and +England on the basis of homicides reported to the police, the outcome +of such a comparison will be to show that there are annually more than +twice as many murders committed per one hundred thousand inhabitants +over the age of ten in England than there are in India. +</p> + +<p> +An objection may be taken to these figures on the ground that the +crime of infanticide is much more prevalent to India than it is in +England, and that the perpetrators of this crime are much less +frequently brought to justice in the former country than with us. That +objection is to some extent valid; at the same time it is well to +remember that infanticide in India is an offence of a very special and +peculiar character; the motives from which it springs are not what is +usually understood as criminal; these motives arise from religious +usage and immemorial custom; in short, it is English law and not the +Indian conscience which makes infanticide a crime. Of course, the +practice of infanticide is a proof that the Hindu mind has not the +same high conception of the value of infant life as one finds in the +western world, and in that respect India stands on an inferior moral +level to ourselves. But with the exception of infanticide (and it is +necessary to except it for the reasons I have just alleged) India has +not half as many homicides annually as England.<a href="#fn17"><sup>[17]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +To what cause is this vast difference in favour of India to be +attributed? It is hardly probable that the difference is produced to +any appreciable extent, if at all, by the nature of the food used by +the people of India. If it were correct that a vegetable diet, such as +is almost exclusively used by the inhabitants of India, had a salutary +effect on the conduct of the population, we should witness the results +of it, not only in the Indian peninsula, but also in other quarters of +the world. The nature of the food consumed by the Italians bears a +very close resemblance in its essential constituents to the dietary of +the inhabitants of India; in both cases it is almost entirely composed +of vegetable products. If vegetable, as contrasted with animal food, +exercised a beneficial influence on human conduct; if it tended, for +example, to restrain the passions, to minimise the brute instincts, +some indisputable proof of this would be certain to show itself in the +criminal statistics of Italy. As a matter of fact, no such proof +exists. On the contrary, Italy is, of all countries within the pale of +civilisation, the one most notorious for crimes of blood. In the face +of this truth, it is impossible to believe that a vegetable diet has +anything to do either with producing or preventing crime, and the +contention that the wonderful immunity of India from offences against +the person is owing to the food used by the inhabitants must be looked +upon as without foundation. +</p> + +<p> +The peculiar structure of society is unquestionably the most satisfactory +explanation of the high position occupied by the inhabitants of India +with respect to crime. The social edifice which a people builds for +itself is among all civilised communities a highly complex product, and +consists of a great agglomeration of diverse materials. These materials +are partly drawn from the primitive characteristics of the race; they +are partly borrowings from other and contiguous races; they are to a +considerable extent derived from natural surroundings of all kinds; +and in all circumstances they are supplemented by the genius of +individuals. In short, all social structures, when looked at minutely, +are found to be composed of two main ingredients—race and environment; +but these two ingredients are so indissolubly interfused that it is +impossible to say how much is to be attributed to the one, and how much +to the other, in the building up of a society. But if, it is impossible +to estimate the value of the several elements composing the fabric +of society, it is easy to ascertain the dominating idea on which all +forms of society are based. That dominating idea, if it may for the +moment be called such, is the instinct of self-preservation, and it +exercises just as great a power in determining the formation and play +of the social organism as it exercises in determining the attitude of +the individual to the world around him. In working out the idea of +self-preservation into practical forms, the social system of most +peoples has hitherto been built up with a view to protection against +external enemies in the shape of hostile tribes and nations; the +internal enemies of the commonwealth—the thieves, the housebreakers, +the disturbers of public order, the shedders of blood, the perpetrators +of violence—have been treated as only worthy of secondary consideration. +Such are the lines on which social structure has, in most cases, +proceeded, with the result that while external security was for long +periods assured, internal security remained as imperfect and defective +as ever. +</p> + +<p> +The structure of society in India is, however, an exception to the +general rule. External security, or, in other words, the desire for +political freedom has, to a great extent, become extinct wherever the +principles of Brahmanism have succeeded in taking root. +</p> + +<p> +These principles have been operating upon the Indian mind for thousands +of years; their effect in the sphere of politics excited the wonder of +the ancient Greeks, who tell us that the Indian peasant might be seen +tilling his field in peace between hostile armies preparing for battle. +A similar spectacle has been seen on the plains of India in modern +times. But Brahmanism, while extinguishing the principle of liberty in +all its branches, and exposing its adherents to the mercy of every +conqueror, has succeeded, through the caste system, in bringing +internal order, security, and peace to a high pitch of excellence. This +end, the caste system, like most other religious institutions, did not +and does not have directly in view; but the human race often takes +circuitous routes to attain its ends, and while apparently aiming at +one object, is in reality securing another. The permanent forces +operating in society often possess a very different character from +those on the surface, and when the complicated network in which they +are always wrapped up is stripped from off them, we find that they are +some fundamental human instincts at work in disguise. +</p> + +<p> +These observations are applicable to the caste system. This system, +when divested of its externals, besides being an attempt to satisfy +the mystic and emotional elements in the Indian heart, also represents +the genius of the race engaged in the task of self-preservation. The +manner in which caste exercises this function in thus described by Sir +William Hunter in His volume on the Indian Empire. "Caste or guild," +he says, "exercises a surveillance over each of its members from the +close of childhood until death. If a man behaves well, he will rise to +an honoured place in his caste; and the desire for such local +distinctions exercises an important influence in the life of a Hindu. +But the caste has its punishments as well as its rewards. Those +punishments consist of fine and excommunication. The fine usually +takes the form of a compulsory feast to the male members of the caste. +This is the ordinary means of purification, or of making amends for +breaches of the caste code. Excommunication inflicts three penalties: +First, an interdict against eating with the fellow members of the +caste; second, an interdict against marriage within the caste. This +practically amounts to debarring the delinquent and his family from +respectable marriages of any sort; third, cutting off the delinquent +from the general community by forbidding him the use of the village +barber and washerman, and of the priestly adviser. Except in very +serious cases, excommunication is withdrawn upon the submission of the +offender, and his payment of a fine. Anglo-Indian law does not enforce +caste decrees. But caste punishments exercise an efficacious restraint +upon unworthy members of the community, precisely as caste rewards +supply a powerful motive of action to good ones. A member who cannot +be controlled by this mixed discipline of punishment and reward is +eventually expelled; and, as a rule, 'an out-caste' is really a bad +man. Imprisonment in jail carries with it that penalty, but may be +condoned after release by heavy expiations." +</p> + +<p> +Those remarks of Sir William Hunter afford an insight into the +coercive power exercised by the caste system on the Indian population. +Without that system it is probable that the criminal statistics of +India would present as high a proportion of crimes of violence and +blood as now exists among the peoples of Southern Europe. But with +that system in active operation, the evil influence of climate is +completely neutralised and India at the present moment enjoys a +remarkable immunity from violent crime. With the example of India +before us we are justified in coming to the conclusion that homicide +and crimes of a kindred nature need not necessarily be the malign +products of climate. Whatever climate has to do with fostering these +offences may be obviated by a better form of social organisation. It +would be ridiculous to dream of basing western society upon Indian +models; but at the same time India teaches us a lesson on the +construction of the social fabric which it would be well to learn. The +tendency of western civilisation at the present time is to herd vast +masses of men into huge industrial centres. It is useless discussing +the abstract question whether this is a good thing or a bad; we must +reconcile ourselves to the fact that it is a process forced upon +communities by the necessities of modern industrialism; and we must +accordingly make the best of it. In our efforts to make the best of +present tendencies, and to render them as innocuous as possible to +social welfare, there is one point at least where India is able to +teach us an instructive lesson. In India a man seldom becomes, what he +too often is, in all our large cities, a mere lonely, isolated unit, +left entirely to the mercy of his own impulses, constrained by no +social circle of any description, and unsustained by the pressure of +any public opinion for which he has the least regard. In India he is +always a member of some fraternity within the community; in that +fraternity or caste he feels at home; he is never isolated; he belongs +to a circle which is not too big for his individuality to be lost; he +is known; he has a reputation and a status to maintain; his life +within the caste is shaped for him by caste usages and traditions, and +for these he is taught to entertain the deepest reverence. Caste is in +many of its aspects a state in miniature within the state; in this +capacity it performs a variety of admirable functions of which the +state itself is and must always remain incapable. +</p> + +<p> +Before the era of great cities the township in the West used to +exorcise some of the functions at present discharged in India by the +system of caste. But the township in the old sense of the word, with +its settled population and the common eye upon all its members, has +to a large extent disappeared. The influence of the family is at the +same time being constantly weakened by the migratory habits modern +industrialism entails on the population; in a word, the old +constraining force, which used to hold society together, are almost +gone, and nothing effective has sprung up to replace them. +</p> + +<p> +In these circumstances what is to be done? It is useless attempting to +restore the past. That never has been accomplished successfully; all +attempts in that direction look as if they were opposed to the nature +of things. It is among the living and vigorous forces of the present +that we must look for help. I shall content myself by mentioning one +of these forces, namely Trade Societies. It seems a pity that these +societies should confine their operations merely to the limited object +of forcing up wages. That object is, of course, a perfectly laudable +and legitimate one, but it is surely not the supreme and only end for +which a Trade Society should exist. A Trade Society would do well to +teach its members how to spend as well as how to earn. What, indeed, +is the use of higher wages to a certain section of the members of +Trades-Unions? The increased pay, instead of being a blessing, becomes +a curse; it leads to drunkenness, to wife-beating, to disorder in the +public streets, to assaults on the police, to crimes of violence and +blood. It is a melancholy fact that the moment wages begin to rise, +the statistics of crime almost immediately follow suit, and at no +period are there more offences of all kinds against the person than +when material prosperity is at its height. +</p> + +<p> +It lies well within the functions of such Trades-Unions as possess an +enlightened regard for the welfare of their members, to introduce a +code of regulations which would tend to minimise some of the evils +which have just been mentioned. It would immeasurably raise the status +of the Union, if certain disciplinary measures could be adopted +against members convicted of offences against the law. In the +professions of law and medicine it is the custom at the present time +to expel members who are proved guilty of serious offences of this +description, and unquestionably the dread of expulsion exercises a +most salutary influence on the conduct of all persons belonging to +these professions. It would be possible for Trade organisations to +accomplish much without resorting to this rigorous treatment; and the +real object for which such societies exist—the well-being of the +members—would be attained much more effectively than is the case at +present. Wages are but the means to an end; the end is individual, +domestic and social welfare, and it is only a half measure to supply +the means unless something is also done to secure the end. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="chapter"> +<a name="III">CHAPTER III.</a> +</p> + +<p class="chapter"> +THE SEASONS AND CRIME. +</p> + + +<p> +Let us now approach the question of temperature and crime from another +point of view. International statistics indicate pretty clearly that +warm regions exercise an injurious effect on the conduct of European +peoples. Does the information furnished by these statistics stand +alone, or is it supported by the result of investigations conducted in +a different field? To this vital question it will be our endeavour to +supply an answer. In the annual reports of the Prison Commissioners +there is an instructive diagram showing the mean number of prisoners +in the local prisons of England and Wales on the first Tuesday of each +month. This diagram has been published for a considerable number of +years, and if we take any period of six years it is remarkable to +observe the unfailing regularity with which crime begins to decrease +as soon as the summer is over and the temperature begins to fall. From +the month of October till the month of February in the following year, +the prison population continues almost steadily to diminish; from the +month of February till the month of October, the same population, +allowing for pauses in its progress and occasional deflections in its +course, mounts upwards with the rising temperature. According to the +last sextennial diagram of the Prison Commissioners, which embraces +the six years ended March, 1884, the mean number of prisoners in the +local prisons of England and Wales was, on the first Tuesday in +February, 17,600; on the first Tuesday in April it had risen to +18,400; on the first Tuesday in July it had reached nearly 19,000; on +the first Tuesday in October it culminated in 19,200. From this date +onwards the numbers decreased just as steadily as they had previously +risen, reaching their lowest point in February, when the upward +movement again commenced. The steadiness and regularity of this rise +and fall of the prison population, according to the season of the +year, goes on with such wonderful precision that it must proceed from +the operation of some permanent cause. What is this permanent cause? +Is it economic, social, or climatic? +</p> + +<p> +Is it economic? It is sometimes asserted that the increase of crime in +the summer months is due to the large number of tramps who leave the +workhouses after the winter is over and roam the country in search of +employment. Many of these wanderers, it is said, are arrested for +vagrancy; in summer they swell the prison population just as they +swell the workhouse population in winter. This explanation of the +increase of crime in summer contains so many elements of probability, +that it has come to be rather widely accepted by students of criminal +phenomena. It has not, however, been my good fortune to meet with any +facts or statistics of sufficient weight to establish the validity of +this explanation. As far as I can ascertain it is an explanation which +has obtained currency almost entirely through its own intrinsic +probability; it is believed, but it has not been proved. Let us +proceed to put it to the test. For this purpose we shall select the +county of Surrey—a fairly typical English county, composed partly of +town and partly of country. In the county of Surrey during the month +of July, 1888, sixty per cent. fewer persons were imprisoned for +vagrancy than in the following month of January, 1889. As far as +Surrey is concerned, these figures effectually dispose of the idea +that vagrancy is more common in summer than in winter; as a matter of +fact they demonstrate that the very opposite is the case. Surrey is +the only county for which I have been able to obtain trustworthy +statistics, but there is every reason to believe that the statistics +of Surrey reveal on a limited scale what the whole of England, if +figures were procurable, would reveal on a large scale. Assuming, +then, that what holds good for Surrey is equally valid for the rest of +England, the conclusion is forced upon us that the augmentation of +crime in summer does not arise from an increase of vagrants and others +arrested and convicted under the Vagrancy Acts while in search of work +or pretending to be in search of it. The assumption that such is the +case is quite unwarranted by the facts so far as they are obtainable, +and another explanation must be sought of the greater prevalence of +crime in summer as compared with winter. +</p> + +<p> +An economic cause of an opposite character to vagrancy has by some +been considered as accounting for the facts now under consideration. +In the summer months, work as a rule is more easily procured; people +in consequence have more money to spend; drunkenness becomes more +common, and the high prison population of summer is to be attributed +to drink. That there is a greater consumption of drink when work +becomes more plentiful is a perfectly correct statement which has been +verified over and over again, and it is also equally correct to say +that drinking leads its victims to the police court. But it has to be +remembered that in almost all cases of drunkenness the magistrate +allows the alternative of a fine. A much larger percentage of fines +is paid in summer than in winter, the result being that the increase +of drunkenness in summer does not disproportionally increase the size +of the prison population. In July, 1888, as compared with January, +1889, cases of felony and assault, followed by imprisonment, increased +in the county of Surrey 20 and 28 per cent. respectively, while +drunkenness on the other hand only increased 18 per cent. The reason +of this relatively small increase of imprisonment for drunkenness does +not arise from the fact that there is less drunkenness in proportion +to the other forms of crime; it is owing to the greater facility with +which this offence can be purged by the payment of a fine. It is +more easily purged in this fashion in summer than in winter, because +people have more money in their pockets. Money, in short, acts in two +capacities which neutralise each other; on the one hand it brings more +persons before the magistrates on charges of drunkenness; on the other +hand, it enables more persons to escape with the simple penalty of a +fine. The prison population is, therefore, not unduly swollen in +summer by the undoubted increase in drinking during that season of the +year; drinking has, in fact, less to do with that increase than any +other cause. +</p> + +<p> +The preceding observations on vagrancy and drinking will suffice to +show that as far as these two factors are concerned, the rise of the +prison population in the warm weather cannot be explained on economic +grounds. Are there any social habits which will account for it? Change +of seasons has a notable effect on social habits. In the cold days of +winter, the great mass of the population live as much as possible +within the shelter of their own home; as long as the short days and +the cheerless and dismal weather continue, there is little to tempt +them out of doors and to bring them into contact with each other. But +with the advance of spring this condition of things is changed; the +lengthening days, the milder atmosphere, the more abundant sunshine +offer increased facilities for social intercourse. Crowds of people +are thrown together, quarrelling and disorders arise, which call for +the interference of the police to be followed shortly after by a +sentence of imprisonment. The growth of international intercourse is +said to make for peace; the growth of social intercourse, admirable as +it is in many respects, has the unfortunate drawback of mating for +black eyes and broken heads. Admitting the truth of this serious +indictment against our social instincts, and no one can deny that it +does contain a considerable amount of truth, the fact still remains +that weather is indirectly if not directly the source from which the +increase of crime in summer proceeds. It is the good weather that +multiplies occasions for human intercourse; the multiplication of +these facilities augments the volume of crime; and thus it comes to +pass, that the conduct of society is, at least, indirectly affected by +changes of season and the oscillations of temperature. +</p> + +<p> +But it is also directly affected by these causes, as I shall now +proceed to show. In one of the principal London prisons the average +prison population during the months of June, July and August for the +five years ended August, 1889 was 1,061, and the daily average number +of punishments amounted to 9 and a fraction per thousand. The average +population during the winter months of December, January, February, +for the five years ended February, 1890, was 1009, and the daily +average number of punishments amounted to 7 and a fraction per +thousand. According to these statistics, we have an increase of 2 +punishments per day, or 12 per week (omitting Sundays) to every +thousand prisoners in the three summer months as compared with the +three winter months. In other words, there is a greater tendency among +the inmates of prisons to commit offences against prison regulations +in summer than in winter. In what way is this manifest tendency to be +accounted for? If prisoners were free men living under a variety of +conditions, and subject to a host of complex influences, it would be +possible to adduce all sorts of causes for the existence of such a +phenomenon, and it would be by no means a difficult matter to find +plausible arguments in support of each and all of them. But the almost +absolute similarity of conditions under which imprisoned men live +excludes at one stroke an enormous mass of complicating factors, and +reduces the question to its simplest elements. Here are a thousand men +living in the same place under the same rules of discipline, occupied +in the same way, fed on the same materials, with the same amount of +exercise, the same hours of sleep; in fact, with similarity of life +brought almost to the point of absolute identity; no alteration takes +place in these conditions in summer as compared with winter, yet we +find that there are more offences committed by them in the hotter +season than in the colder. In what way, except on the ground of +temperature, is this difference to be explained. The economic and +social factors discussed by us in connection with the increase of +crime do not here come into play. All persons in prison are living +under the same social and economic conditions in hot weather as well +as in cold. The only changes to which they are subjected are cosmical; +cosmical causes are accordingly the only ones which will account +adequately for the facts. Of these cosmical causes, temperature is by +far the most conspicuous, and it may therefore be concluded that the +increase of prison offences in summer is attributable to the greater +heat. +</p> + +<p> +Seeing, then, that temperature produces these effects inside prison +walls, it is only reasonable to infer that it produces similar effects +on the outside world. The larger number of offences against prison +discipline which take place in the hot weather have their counterpart +in the larger number of offences committed against the criminal law +during the same season of the year. The conclusions arrived at with +respect to the action of season are supported by the conclusions +already reached with respect to the action of climate. In fact, both +sets of conclusions support each other; both of them point to the +operation of the same cause. +</p> + +<p> +To any one who may still feel reluctant to admit the intimate relation +between cosmical conditions and crime I would point out that +suicide—a somewhat similar disorder in the social organism—likewise +increases and diminishes under the influences of temperature. "We +cannot help acknowledging," says Dr. Morselli, in his work on +"Suicide," "that through the whole of Europe the greater number of +suicides happen in the two warm seasons. This regularity in the annual +distribution of suicide is too great to be attributed to chance or to +the human will. As the number of violent deaths can be predicted from +year to year with extreme probability in any particular country, so +can the average of every season also be foreseen; in fact, these +averages are so constant from one period to another as to have almost +the specific character of a given statistical series." Professor von +Oettingen in his valuable work, "Die Moralstatistik," comes to the +very same conclusions as Morselli, although his point of view is +entirely different. After mentioning several of the principal States +of Europe, the statistics of which he had examined, Von Oettingen goes +on to say that it may be accepted as a general law that the prevalence +of suicide in the different months of the year rises and falls with +the sun—in June and July it is most rampant; in November, December +and January it descends to a minimum. In London there are many more +suicides in the sunny month of June than in the gloomy month of +November, and throughout the whole of England the cold months do not +demand nearly so many victims as the hot. In the face of these +indisputable facts Von Oettingen, while rejecting the idea that there +is any inexorable fatality, as Buckle believed, connected with their +recurrence, is obliged to admit that the hot weather exercises a +propelling influence on suicidal tendencies, and that the cold weather +on the other hand acts in an opposite direction<a href="#fn18"><sup>[18]</sup></a>. +</p> + +<p> +The influence of temperature is, however, much less powerful on crime +than it is on suicide. It has the effect of raising by one third the +number of persons to whom life becomes an intolerable burden, but +according to the diagram in the Prison Commissioners' Reports the +highest increase in crime between summer and winter does not amount to +more than one twelfth. In other words, between six and eight per cent. +of the crime committed in this country in summer may with reasonable +certainty be attributed to the direct action of temperature. This is +a most important result and I should almost hesitate to state it if +it were supported by my investigations only. But this is far from +being the case. In an important paper contributed to the Revista di +Discipline Carcerarie for 1886, Dr. Marro, one of the most +distinguished students of crime in Italy, has arrived at similar +conclusions. He has shown that in the Italian prisons in the four +hottest months of the Italian summer—May, June, July and +August—there are also the greatest number of offences against prison +discipline. This is a result which coincides in every particular with +what has already been pointed out as holding good in English prisons, +and the attempts of Dr. Colajanni in the second volume of his work, +"La Sociologia Criminale," to explain it away are not by any means +successful. It is hardly possible to conceive a more suitable form of +test for estimating the effect of temperature on human action than the +one afforded by a comparison of the offences committed against prison +regulations at the different seasons of the year. Such a comparison +amply bears out the contention that the seasons are a factor which +must not be overlooked in all enquiries respecting the origin of +crime, and the best methods of dealing with it. +</p> + +<p> +In what way does a rise in temperature act on the individual so as +to make him less capable of resisting the criminal impulse? This is +a question of some difficulty, deserving more attention from +physiologists than it has yet received. It is a satisfactorily +established conclusion that the higher temperature of the summer +months has a debilitating effect on the digestive functions; it is +also believed that these months have an enervating effect on the +system generally. In so far as the heat of summer produces disease, it +at the same time tends to produce crime. Persons suffering from any +kind of ailment or infirmity are far more liable to become criminals +than are healthy members of the community. The intimate connection +between disease and crime is a matter which must never be forgotten. +In the present instance, however, the closeness of this connection is +not sufficient to account for the growth of crime in summer. According +to the Registrar General's report for 1889 the death rate in the +twenty-eight large towns is less in the six months from June to +November than in the six months which follow. There is, therefore, +less disease at the very time when there is most crime. In the face of +this fact it cannot be contended that disease, generally, pushes the +population into criminal courses in summer. +</p> + +<p> +But while this is so, it may yet be true that some special enfeeblement +(generated by the rise of temperature) which does not assume the acute +form usually implied in the name, disease has the effect of +stimulating impulses of a criminal character, or of weakening the +barrier which prevents these impulses from breaking out and carrying +all before them. It is a perfectly well-established fact that a high +temperature not only produces physical enfeeblement, but that it also +impairs the usual activity and energy of the brain. In other words, +a high temperature is invariably accompanied by a certain loss of +mental power. In most persons this loss is comparatively trifling, and +has hardly any perceptible effect on their mode of life and conduct; +in others, it assumes more serious proportions. In some who are +susceptible to cosmical influences, and for one reason or another are +already on the borderland of crime, the decrease of mental function +involved in a rise of temperature becomes a determining factor, and a +criminal act is the result. Through the agency of climate the mental +forces which are normally capable of holding the criminal instincts in +check, lose for a time their accustomed power, and it is whilst this +temporary loss endures that the person subject to it becomes most +liable to be plunged into disaster. It is in this manner, in my +belief, that temperature deleteriously operates upon human conduct. +</p> + +<p> +The results of my investigations do not, however, bear out the +commonly accepted view that crimes against property increase in the +depth of winter. As far as this law relates to crime in France it may +be correct; the statistical inquiries of Guerry, Ferri, and Corre +point to that conclusion. On the other hand, as far as the law relates +to England, I have serious doubts as to its validity. In the county of +Surrey, in the year 1888-89, not only more crimes against the person, +but also more crimes against property were committed in July than in +January. In the former month, as compared with the latter, cases of +felony increased 20 per cent.; and if Surrey is to be taken as a fairly +typical English county—which there is every reason to believe it +is—we have before us the remarkable fact that there are more offences +against property in summer than in winter. The current opinion that +winter is the most criminal period of the year is entirely fallacious, +and it is extremely probable that it is equally fallacious to imagine +that property is less sate when the days are short and the nights +long. +</p> + +<p> +But while property, on the whole, in more safe in winter than in +summer, the offences committed against it in winter are, as a rule, of +a more serious character. This, at least, is the conclusion which I +should be inclined to draw, from the fact that there are more +indictable offences—that is to say, offences not tried by a +magistrate, but by a judge and jury—in the six months between October +and March than in the summer six months. For the year ended September, +1888, which is an average year, there were fully 2000 more indictable +offences in the winter six months than in the summer six months. As a +considerable proportion of indictable offences consist in crimes +against property of the nature of housebreaking and burglary, it is +very probable that these crimes are most prevalent in winter. But if +all kinds of offences against property, petty as well as grave, are +thrown together, and calculated under one head, it comes out that +these offences are most numerous in summer. +</p> + +<p> +The only kind of crime that increases in Surrey in winter is vagrancy; +the growth of this offence for the years I have mentioned in January, +as contrasted with July was 60 per cent. The development of vagrancy +in the cold months is partly owing to the fact that work is not so +easily procured in the cold weather; and a certain percentage of the +population, mainly dependent for subsistence on casual and irregular +out-door jobs, will rather resort to begging than the workhouse, when +this kind of occupation is temporarily at a standstill. This class, +however, is a comparatively small one, and constitutes a very feeble +proportion of the offenders against the Vagrancy Acts which swell the +prison statistics in winter. Most of the offenders against these acts +are people who seize the opportunity afforded by the bitter weather of +appealing to the sympathies of the public. In summer the occupation of +such persons is to some extent gone; in the hot sunshine their rags +and piteous looks do not so strongly affect our feelings of +commiseration; we know they are not suffering from cold; their +petitions and entreaties accordingly fall upon deaf ears; in short, +begging is not a paying trade in the hot months. In winter, all these +conditions are reversed; with the first fall of snow off go the +vagrant's boots, and out he runs looking the picture of misery and +destitution. In an hour or two, if he escapes the attentions of the +police, he has made as much as will keep him comfortably for a few +days; but like many better men his success often brings about his +fall; the alms of a generous public are consumed in the nearest +beer-shop; sallying forth in quest of fresh booty, and made bold and +insolent with drink, the beggar soon finds himself in the hands of the +authorities. Anyone who cares to verify this statement can easily do +so by following the reports of the police courts, and taking note of +the number of convictions for <i>drunkenness and begging</i>—a somewhat +significant combination of offences, and one which ought to make the +inconsiderate giver pause. +</p> + +<p> +What are the practical conclusions to be deduced from this study of +the relations between temperature and crime? The first and most +obvious conclusion is, that any considerable rise of temperature has a +tendency, as far as Europeans and their descendants are concerned, to +diminish human responsibility. Whether there are any palliatives +against this tendency in the way of regimen, and what they are, is a +matter for the consideration of physiologists; and a most important +matter it is, for a high temperature does not merely lead to offences +against the law, it also injuriously affects the conduct of children +in schools, of soldiers in the army, of workmen in factories, and of +the public generally in their relations with one another. While it is +the task of physiologists to examine the physical aspects of the +anti-social tendencies developed by variations of temperature, it is +the duty of all persons placed in positions of authority to recognise +their existence; and to recognise their existence not merely in +others, but also in themselves. It is, unfortunately, not seldom true +that justice is not administered so wisely and patiently in the +burning summer heat as it is at other times. In adjudicating on +criminal cases in the sultry weather, magistrates and judges would do +well to remember that cosmical influences are not without their effect +on human judgments, and that precipitate decisions, or decisions based +upon momentary irritation, or decisions, the severity of which they +may afterwards regret, are to some extent the result of those +influences. The same caution is applicable to those who have to deal +with convicted men; it should be remembered by them that in summer +their tempers are more easily tried, while they have at the same time +more to try them; and the knowledge of these facts should keep them on +the alert against themselves. +</p> + +<p> +While increased temperature undoubtedly decreases personal +responsibility, it is a most difficult matter to decide whether this +factor ought to be taken into consideration when passing sentence on +criminal offenders. It is much more truly an extenuating circumstance +than the majority of pleas which receive the name. In a variety of +cases, such, for instance, as threats, assaults, manslaughter, murder, +a high temperature unquestionably sometimes enters as a determining +factor into the complex set of influences which produce these crimes. +But the first difficulty confronting a judge, who endeavours to take +such a factor into account, will he the difficulty of discovering +whether it was present or not in the individual case he has before +him. In reply to this objection it may be urged, and urged too with +considerable truth, that this hindrance is not insuperable. It is +possible to overcome it by noting whether the case in question stands +alone, or whether it is only one among a group of others taking place +about the same period. Should it turn out to be a case that stands +alone, it would be fair to assume that temperature is not a cause +requiring to be taken into consideration in dealing with the offender. +Should it, on the contrary, turn out to be one in a group of cases, it +would be equally fair to assume that temperature was not without its +effect in determining the action of the offender. +</p> + +<p> +Having got thus far, having isolated temperature from among the other +causes, and having fixed upon it as the most potent of them all, what +would immediately and imperatively follow? As a matter of course it +would ensue that a person whose deeds are powerfully influenced by +the action of temperature is to that extent irresponsible for them. +To arrive at such a conclusion is equivalent to saying that such a +person, if his offences are at all serious, constitutes a grave +peril to society. In a sense, he may be less criminal, but he is +certainty more dangerous; and as the supreme duty of society is +self-preservation, such a person must be dealt with solely from that +point of view. It would be ridiculous to let him off because he is +largely irresponsible; his irresponsibility is just what constitutes +his danger, and is the very reason he should be subjected to prolonged +restraint. +</p> + +<p> +In all offences of a trivial character presumably springing to a large +extent from the action of temperature, it might be wise if the +offender were only punished in such a way as would keep alive in his +memory a vivid recollection of the offence. This method of punishment +is better effected by a short and sharp term of imprisonment than by +inflicting a longer sentence and making the prison treatment +comparatively mild. A short, sharp sentence of this character has also +another advantage which is well worth attention. In many cases the +offender is the bread-winner of the home. The misery which follows his +prolonged imprisonment is often heartrending; the home has to be sold +up bit by bit; the mother has to strip off most of her scanty garments +and becomes, a piteous spectacle of starvation and rags, the +childrens' things have to go to the pawnshop; and it is fortunate if +one or two of the family does not die before the husband is released. +The misery which crime brings upon the innocent is the saddest of its +features, and whatever society can do consistently with its own +welfare to shorten or mitigate that misery, ought, in the interests of +our common humanity, to be done. +</p> + +<p> +One word with reference to offences which do not come within the +cognisance of the criminal law. I do not know if there are any +statistics to show that, in schools, in workshops, in the army, or, +indeed, in any industry or institution where bodies of people are +massed together under one common head—there are more cases of +insubordination and more offences against discipline when the +temperature is high than in ordinary circumstances. But, whether such +a statistical record exists or not, there can be little doubt that +cases of refractory conduct prevail most largely in the warm season. +It would therefore be well if this fact were borne in mind by all +persons whose duty it is to enforce discipline and require obedience. +Considering that there are certain cosmical influences at work, which +make it note difficult for the ordinary human being to submit to +discipline, it might not be inexpedient, in certain cases, to take +these unusual conditions into account and not to enforce in their full +rigour all the penalties involved in a breach of rules. It is a +universal experience that many things which can ordinarily be done +without fatigue or trouble, become, at times, a burden and a source of +irritation. Some physical disturbance is at the root of this change, +and a similar disturbance is also at the root of the defective +standard of conduct which a high temperature almost invariably +succeeds in producing among some sections of the community. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="chapter"> +<a name="IV">CHAPTER IV.</a> +</p> + +<p class="chapter"> +DESTITUTION AND CRIME. +</p> + + +<p> +Under this heading I shall discuss some of the more important social +factors which either directly or indirectly tend to produce crime. It +will be impossible to discuss them all. The action of society upon the +individual is so complex, its effects are so varied, in many instances +so impalpable, that we must content ourselves with a survey of those +social phenomena which are most generally credited with leading up to +acts of delinquency. +</p> + +<p> +It is very commonly believed that destitution is a powerful factor in +the production of crime; we shall therefore start upon this inquiry by +considering the extent to which destitution is responsible for +offences against person and property. A definition of what is meant by +destitution will assist in clearing the ground. It is a definition +which is not at all difficult to formulate; one destitute person is +remarkably like another, and what applies to one applies with a +considerable degree of accuracy to all. We shall, therefore, define a +destitute person as a person who is without house or home, who has no +work, who is able and willing to work but can get none, and has +nothing but starvation staring him in the face. Is any serious amount +of crime due to the desperation of people in a position such as this? +In order to answer this question it is necessary, in the first place, +to ask what kind of crime such persons will be most likely to commit. +It is most improbable that they will be crimes against the person, +such as homicide or assault; it will not be drunkenness, because, on +the assumption of their destitution, they will possess no money to +spend. In short, the offences a person in a state of destitution is +most likely to commit are begging and theft. What proportion of the +total volume of crime is due to these two offense? This is the first +question we shall have to answer. The second is, to what extent are +begging and theft the results of destitution? An adequate elucidation +of these two points will supply a satisfactory explanation of the part +played by destitution in the production of crime. +</p> + +<p> +The total number of cases tried in England and Wales either summarily +or on indictment during the year 1887-88 amounted to 726,698. Out of +this total eight per cent. were cases of offences against property +excluding cases of malicious damage, and seven per cent. consisted of +offences against the Vagrancy Acts. Putting these two classes of +offences together we arrive at the result that out of a total number +of crimes of all kinds committed in England and Wales, 15 per cent. +may conceivably be due to destitution. This is a very serious +percentage, and if it actually represented the number of persons who +commit crime from sheer want of the elementary necessaries of life, +the confession would have to be made that the economic condition of +the country was deplorable. But is it a fact that destitution in the +sense we have been using the word is the cause of all these offences? +This is the next question we have to solve, and the answer springing +from it will reveal the true position of the case. +</p> + +<p> +Let us deal first with offences against property. As has just been +pointed out these constitute eight per cent. of the annual amount of +crime. But according to inquiries which I have made, one half of the +annual number of offenders against property, so far from being in a +state of destitution, were actually at work, and earning wages at the +time of their arrest. Nor in this surprising. The daily newspapers +have only to be consulted to confirm it. In a very great number of +instances the records of criminal proceedings testify to the fact that +the person charged is in some way or other defrauding his employer, +and when these cases are deducted from the total of offences against +property, it considerably lessons the percentage of persons driven by +destitution into the ranks of crime. Add to these the great bulk of +juvenile offenders convicted of theft, and that peculiar class of +people who steal, not because they are in distress, but merely from a +thievish disposition, and it will he manifest that half the cases of +theft in England and Wales are not due to the pressure of absolute +want. +</p> + +<p> +But what shall be said of the other half which still represents four +per cent. of the annual amount of crime. According to the calculations +just referred to, the offenders constituting this percentage were not +in work when the crimes charged against them were committed. Was it +destitution arising from want of employment which led them to break +the law? At first sight one may easily be inclined to say that it is. +These people, it will be argued, have no work and no money. What are +they to do but beg or steal? Before jumping at this conclusion it must +not be forgotten that there is such a person as the habitual criminal. +The habitual criminal, as he will very soon tell you if you possess +his confidence absolutely, declines to work. He never has worked, he +does not want work; he prefers living by his wits. With the +recollection of imprisonment fresh upon him an offender of this +description may in rare instances take employment for a short period, +but the regularity of life which work entails is more than he can +bear, and the old occupation of thieving is again resorted to. To live +by plundering the community is the trade of the habitual criminal; it +is the only business he truly cares for, and it is wonderful how long +and how often he will succeed in eluding the suspicion and vigilance +of the police. Of course, offenders of this class, when arrested, say +they are out of work, and will very readily make an unwary person +believe that it is destitution which drives them to desperation. But +as was truly remarked a short time ago by a judge in one of the London +courts, nearly all of these very men are able to pay high fees to +experienced counsel to defend them. After these observations, it will +be seen that the habitual criminal, the man who lives by burglary, +housebreaking, shoplifting, and theft of every description, is not to +be classed among the destitute. Criminals of this character constitute +at least two per cent. of the delinquents annually brought before the +courts. +</p> + +<p> +Respecting the two per cent. of offenders which remain to be accounted +for, it will not be far from the mark to say that destitution is the +immediate cause of their wrong-doing. These offenders are composed of +homeless boys, of old men unable to work, of habitual drunkards who +cannot got a steady job, or keep it when they get it, of vagrants who +divide their time between begging and petty theft, and of workmen on +the tramp, who have become terribly reduced, and will rather steal +than enter a workhouse. The percentage of these offenders varies in +different parts of the country. In the north of England, for instance, +there are comparatively few homeless boys who find their way before +the magistrates on charges of theft; in London, on the other hand, the +number is considerable, and ranges according to the season of the +year, or the state of trade, to between 1 and 3 per cent. of the +criminal population. Why does London enjoy such an evil pre-eminence +in this matter? In my opinion it often arises from the fact that +house-accommodation is so expensive in the metropolis. In London, it +is a habit with many parents, owing to the want of room at home, to +make growing lads shift for themselves at a very early age. These boys +earn just enough to enable them to secure a bare existence; out of +their scanty wages it is impossible to hire a room for themselves; +they have to be contented with the common lodging-house. In such +places these boys have to associate with all sorts of broken-down, +worthless characters, and in numbers of instances they come by degrees +to adopt the habits and modes of life of the class among which their +lot is cast. At the very time parental control is most required it is +almost entirely withdrawn; the lad is left to his own devices; and, in +too many cases, descends into the ranks of crime. The first step in +his downward career begins with the loss of employment; this sometimes +happens through no fault of his own, and is simply the result of a +temporary slackness of trade; but in most instances a job is lost for +want of punctuality or some other boyish irregularity which can only +be properly corrected at home. To lose work is to be deprived of the +means of subsistence; the only openings left are the workhouse or +crime. It is the latter alternative which is generally chosen, and +thus, the lad is launched on the troubled sea of crime. +</p> + +<p> +It must not be understood that all London boys drift into crime after +the manner I have just described. In some instances these unfortunates +have lived all their life in criminal neighbourhoods, and merely +follow the footsteps of the people around them. What, for instance, is +to be expected from children living in streets such as Mr. Charles +Booth describes in his work on "Life and Labour in East London?" One +of these streets, which he calls St. Hubert Street, swarms with +children, and in hardly any case does the family occupy more than one +room. The general character of the street is thus depicted. "An awful +place; the worst street in the district. The inhabitants are mostly of +the lowest class, and seem to lack all idea of cleanliness or decency +.... The children are rarely brought up to any kind of work, but loaf +about, and, no doubt, form the nucleus for future generations of +thieves and other bad characters." In this street alone there are +between 160 and 170 children; these children do not require to go to +lodging-houses to be contaminated; they breathe a polluted moral +atmosphere from birth upwards, and it is more than probable that a +considerable proportion of them will help to recruit the army of +crime. It is not destitution which will force them into this course, +but their up-bringing and surroundings. +</p> + +<p> +In addition to homeless boys who steal from destitution, there are, as +I have said, a number of decrepit old men who do the same. There is a +period in a workman's life when he becomes too feeble to do an average +day's work. When this period arrives employers of labour often +discharge him in order to make way for younger and more vigorous men. +If his home, as sometimes happens, is broken up by the death of his +wife, his existence becomes a very lonely and precarious one. An odd +job now and again is all he can get to do, and even these jobs are +often hard to find. His sons and daughters are too heavily encumbered +with large families to be capable of rendering any effective +assistance, and the Union looms gloomily in the distance as the only +prospect before the worn-out worker. But it sometimes happens that he +will not face that prospect. He will rather steal and run the risk of +imprisonment. And so it comes to pass that for a year or two before +finally reconciling himself to the Union, the aged workman will lead a +wandering, criminal life on a petty scale; he becomes an item in the +statistics of offenders against property. +</p> + +<p> +Habitual drunkards form another class who sometimes steal from +destitution. The well-known irregularity of these men's habits +prevents them, in a multitude of cases, from getting work, and +unfortunately, they cannot keep it when they do get it. Employers +cannot depend on them; as soon as they earn a few shillings they +disappear from the workshop till the money is spent on drink. It is at +such times that they are arrested for being drunk and disorderly. As +they can never pay a fine they have to go to prison, but long before +their sentence has expired they have lost their job, and must look out +for something else. If such men do not find work many of them are not +ashamed to steal, and it is only when trade is at flood-tide that they +can be sure of employment, no matter how irregular their habits may +be. At other times they are the first to be discharged and the last to +be engaged. It is not really destitution, but intemperance which turns +them into thieves. That they are destitute when arrested is perfectly +true, but we must go behind the immediate fact of their destitution in +order to arrive at the true causes of their crimes. When this is done +it is found that the stress of economic conditions has very little to +do with making these unhappy beings what they are; on the contrary, it +is in periods of prosperity that they sink to the lowest depths. +</p> + +<p> +Summing up the results of this inquiry into the relations between +destitution and offences against property, we arrive as nearly as +possible at the following figures, so far as England and Wales are +concerned:— +</p> + +<table summary="Relations between +destitution and offences against property" width="95%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> +<tr> +<td>Proportion of offences against property to total offences:</td> +<td><u>8. p. cent.</u></td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Thus divided:</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Proportion of offenders in work when arrested:</td> +<td>4. p. cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Proportion of offenders, habitual thieves:</td> +<td>2. p. cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Proportion of offenders, homeless lads and old men:</td> +<td>1. p. cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Proportion of offenders, drunkards, tramps:</td> +<td><u>1. p. cent.</u></td> +</tr><tr> +<td> </td> +<td>8. p. cent.</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> +We shall now proceed to an examination of offences against the +Vagrancy Acts presumably arising from destitution. It has already +been pointed out that seven per cent. of the annual amount of crime +committed in England and Wales consists of offences against the +Vagrancy Acts, and it now remains for us to inquire whether these +offences are the result of destitution, or what part destitution plays +in producing them. +</p> + +<p> +Out of the 52,136 offenders against the Vagrancy Acts in the year +1888, less than one half (45 per cent.) were charged with begging; the +other offences consisted principally in prostitution, in having +implements of housebreaking, in frequenting places of public resort to +commit felony, in being found on enclosed premises for unlawful +purposes. In all these cases, with the exception of prostitution, it +is not probable that destitution had much, if anything, to do with +inducing the offenders to violate the law. Men who live the life of +incorrigible rogues, who prowl about enclosed premises, who lead a +mysterious existence, without doing any work, are not to be classed +among the destitute; as a general rule, such persons are habitual +thieves and vagabonds, who persist in the life they have adopted +merely because it suits them best. One of the great difficulties in +dealing with persons of this stamp is their hatred of a well-ordered +existence; in a vast number of cases the life they live is the only +kind of life they thoroughly enjoy; it is a profound mistake to +imagine that they are pining for what are usually regarded as the +decencies and comforts of human beings. Nothing is further from their +thoughts. Let us alone and mind your own business is the secret +sentiment and often the open avowal of most of these people. "We +should be miserable living according to your ideas; let us live +according to our own." It is very common for benevolent people to +assume that the objects of their compassion and solicitude are, in +reality, as wretched as they imagine them to be. Living themselves in +ease, and it may be affluence, and surrounded by all the amenities of +existence, it is difficult for them to realise that multitudes can +enjoy a rude kind of happiness in the absence of all this. Such, +however, is the fact. The vagabond class is not more miserable than +any other; it is, of course, not without its sorrows, vicissitudes, +and troubles, but what section of the community is free from these +ills? This class has even a philosophy adapted to its circumstances, +the fundamental articles of which have been once for all summed up in +the lines of Burns:— +</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>"Life is all a variorum;</p> +<p class="i2">We regard not how it goes,</p> +<p>Let them cant about decorum</p> +<p class="i2">Who have characters to lose."</p></div></div> + +<p> +What has just been said respecting the loafing, thieving vagabond +applies in a very great measure to the ordinary beggar. The habitual +beggar is a person who will not work. He hates anything in the shape +of regular occupation, and will rather put up with severe hardships +than settle down to the ordinary life of a working-man. It would be +easy to adduce instances to demonstrate the accuracy of what is here +stated. It would be easy to mention cases by the hundred, in which men +addicted to begging have been thoroughly fitted out and started in +life, but all to no purpose. Once a man fairly takes to begging, as a +means of livelihood, it is almost hopeless attempting to cure him. +After a time he loses the capacity for labour; his faculties, for want +of exercise, become blunted and powerless, and he remains a beggar to +the end of his days. It sometimes happens that the beggar who has +taken to mendicancy as a profession is obliged to go to the workhouse +as a kind of temporary refuge. This is not so frequent considering the +sort of life a vagrant has to lead; but when it does occur, the +labour-master of the Union very often finds it next to impossible to +got him to perform the task every able-bodied person is expected to +complete when taking shelter in a Casual Ward. As a result the +habitual beggar has sometimes to appear before the magistrates as a +refractory pauper, but a short sentence of imprisonment, which usually +follows, has lost all its terrors for him; he prefers enduring it to +doing the task allotted to him at the workhouse. +</p> + +<p> +From this it will be seen that habits of indolence, and not the stress +of destitution, are responsible for a great deal of the begging which +goes on in England; but these habits are not answerable for the whole +of it. When times are bad begging has a decided tendency to increase, +and this arises from the fact that a considerable proportion of the +community possess wonderfully few resources within themselves. Even in +depressed times it is astonishing how well men who can turn their +hand, as it is called, can manage to live. Men of this stamp are not +beaten and rendered helpless by the misfortune of losing their usual +employment; they are capable of devising fresh methods of earning a +livelihood; they are persistent, persevering, energetic; they are not +content to stand by with their hands in their pockets and their back +at the wall; at times they even create an occupation, and devise new +wants for the community. Such men exist in large numbers among the +working population, and are able to tide over periods of slackness and +depression in a truly admirable way. But there are others who are +utterly lost the moment trade ceases to flourish. As soon as they lose +the job they have been accustomed to work at they at once sink into a +condition of complete helplessness; knowing not which way to move or +what steps to take; in a very short time they are to be found +soliciting alms in the streets. It is a very serious matter when such +persons are reduced to these straits. With the advent of better times +it is often very difficult to enrol them once again in the ranks of +industry. Bad habits have been acquired, self-respect has broken down, +the mind has become accustomed to a lower plane of existence; the +danger has arisen that persons who were to begin with only beggars by +accident may end by becoming beggars from choice. This is what +actually does happen in some instances, and especially where the level +of life and comfort has at all times been low. The transition from the +one state to the other is not a very pronounced one, and the step into +the position of a habitual beggar is not hard to take after a certain +number of lessons in the mendicant's art have once been learnt. In one +sense it is the pressure of want which has made these people beggars, +in another sense it is their own apathy and feebleness of resource. +</p> + +<p> +It is not easy to estimate the number of persons who become habitual +mendicants in consequence of slackness of work and the temporary loss +of employment. As a matter of fact the whole body of statistical +information bearing upon vagrancy is rather unreliable in character, +and it is difficult to see how it can be anything else. In almost all +cases of begging the initiative is taken by the police; it very seldom +happens that a private citizen gives a beggar in charge. The regular +and systematic enforcement of the Vagrancy Acts by the public +authorities is impeded by a variety of causes, each of which makes it +difficult to grasp accurately the proportions of the begging +population. In the first place no two policemen enforce the law with +the same stringency; one is inclined to be lax and lenient, while +another will not allow a single case to escape. In some districts +chief constables do not care to bring too many begging cases before +the local magistrates; in other districts chief constables are zealous +for the rooting out of vagrancy. In some counties the magistrates +themselves are not so anxious to convict for vagrancy as they are in +others; where the latter tendency prevails, the police take their cue +from the magistrates and comparatively few offences against the +Vagrancy Acts are brought up for trial. Again, there are times when +the public have fits of indulgence towards beggars, which are +counterbalanced at other periods by a corresponding access of +severity; these oscillations of public sentiment are immediately felt +by the executive authorities. The conduct of policemen and magistrates +towards the begging fraternity is largely shaped by the dominant +public mood, and the statistics of vagrancy move up and down in +sympathy with it. Thus it comes to pass that the variations which take +place in the annual statistics of vagrancy do not necessarily +correspond with the growth or diminution of the number of persons +following this mode of life; the actual number of such persons in the +population may in reality be varying very little or, perhaps, +remaining stationary, whilst official statistics are pointing to the +conclusion that important changes are going on. In short, the +statistics of vagrancy are more useful as affording a clue to the +state of public sentiment with respect to this offence than as +offering an accurate test of the extent to which vagrancy prevails. +</p> + +<p> +After this explanation it will be seen how difficult it is, in the +first place, to estimate the exact numbers of the vagrant population; +and, in the next place, the exact proportion of beggars who have been +driven into the ranks of vagrancy, as a result of bad trade and +inability to obtain work. My own impression is, that the number of +persons who are forced to beg for want of work is not large, and they +consist, for the most part, of men beyond middle life or verging upon +old age. There are two causes at present in operation in England which +often press hard upon such men. The first of these causes is one which +was felt more severely twenty or thirty years ago than at the present +moment—I moan the introduction of machinery into industries formerly +carried on to a large extent by hand. One of the most conspicuous +characteristics of the present century is the ever-increasing extent +to which inventions of all kinds have invaded almost every department +of industry. As far as the young are concerned, those inventions have +been on the whole a benefit, and what used to be hard work has become, +as Professor Alfred Marshall recently said, merely looking on. But the +case stands differently with workmen who are surprised by some new +invention at a period of life when the power of adaptability to a +fresh set of industrial circumstances is almost entirely gone. One of +the first consequences of a new invention may be, and often is, that +work which had hitherto been performed by men can now be done by women +and boys; or an occupation which had formerly taken years to learn can +now be mastered in a few weeks. In other cases the new machine is able +to do the work of twenty, fifty, or a hundred men; the article +produced is so immensely cheapened that the old handicraftsman is +driven out of the field; if he is a man entering into years, and +therefore unable to turn his hand to something else, the bread is +practically taken out of his mouth, and the machine, which is +undoubtedly a benefit to the community as a whole, means starvation to +him as an individual. When such circumstances occur, and positive +proof in abundance can be adduced to show that they do take place, the +position of the aged worker becomes a very hard and embarrassing one. +He finds it a very uphill task to change the whole course of his +industrial activities at a period of life when nature has lost much of +her elasticity; the new means he has had to adopt in order to earn a +livelihood are irksome to him; the diminished sum he is now able to +earn per week depresses his spirits and deprives him of certain little +comforts he had long been accustomed to enjoy; but in spite of these +unforeseen and unexpected hardships it is marvellous to see how nobly +working-men, as a rule, struggle on to the end, like a bird with a +broken wing. There are, however, cases in which the struggle is given +up. It would be impossible to enumerate all the causes which lead to +such a deplorable result; sometimes these causes are personal, +sometimes they are social, while in many instances they are a +combination of both. But, whatever such circumstances may be in +origin, the effects of them are generally the same; the worker who is +incapable of adjusting himself to his new industrial surroundings has +few alternatives before him. These alternatives, unless he is +supported by his family or relations, resolve themselves into the +Union, beggary, or theft. Many choose the Union and, with all its +drawbacks, it is undoubtedly the wisest choice; but others have such a +horror of the restraints imposed upon the inmates of a workhouse that +they enter upon the perilous and precarious career of the beggar or +petty thief. The men who make such a choice as this are not, as may +easily be surmised, the pick of their class. They consist, to a good +extent, of persons who have been somewhat unsteady in their habits; +they are not downright drunkards, and they have never allowed drink to +interfere with their regular occupation; but it has been their +immemorial custom to go in for a good deal of drinking on Saturday +nights; on Bank holidays, and other festive occasions. Sensible +workmen do not care to amuse themselves after this fashion; it is +rather too like a savage orgie for most tastes; at the same time it is +the only form of amusement which certain sections of the populace +truly and heartily enjoy, and, on the whole, it is perhaps better that +this rude form of merry-making should remain, than that the multitude +should be deprived of every outlet for the pent-up exuberance of their +spirits. My own impression is, that the rough and boisterous element +which shows itself so conspicuously when the labouring population is +at play will never be eradicated so long as men and women have to +spend so much of their time within the four walls of workshops and +factories, where so much restraint and suppression of the individual +is imperative, if the industrial machine is to go on. It is not at all +unnatural that the severe regularity and monotony of an existence +chiefly spent in this manner should be occasionally interspersed with +outbursts of somewhat boisterous revelry, and the persons who indulge +in it are not to be set down off-hand as worthless characters, because +they sometimes step beyond due and proper bounds. At the same time it +must be admitted that it is generally from the ranks of this class +that the supreme aversion to the workhouse proceeds, and that the +disposition to live by begging, rather than enter it, most largely +prevails. If it happens, therefore, that a man who has lived the life +we have just described is thrown out of employment, by the +introduction of machinery, at a period when he is too old to turn his +hand to something else, he not unfrequently ends by becoming a beggar, +and this continues to be his occupation to the last. +</p> + +<p> +The second cause which leads a certain number of elderly men to adopt +a life of vagrancy is to be attributed to the action of Trades-Unions. +After a workman reaches a certain period of life he is no longer able +to do a full day's work. As soon as this period of life arrives, and +sometimes even before it does arrive, the artisan finds it becoming +increasingly difficult to obtain employment. The rate of wages in his +trade is fixed by Trades-Union rules; every man, no matter what his +qualifications may be, has to receive so much an hour, or the full +Trade-Union wage for the district; no one is allowed to take a job at +a lower figure. No doubt Trades-Unionists find that this regulation +works well an far as it relates to the young and the able-bodied, and +as these always compose the great majority in every trade society, it +is a regulation which is not likely to be rescinded or modified. +Nevertheless, it is a rule which often operates very unjustly in the +case of men who are getting old. These men may have been steady and +industrious workmen all their lives, they may still be able to do a +fair amount of honest work; but, as soon as that amount of work falls +below the daily average of the trade, such men have to go; they are +henceforth practically debarred from earning an honest livelihood at +what has hitherto been the occupation of their working life. Work may +be abundant in the district, but it is useless for grey-haired men to +apply; they cannot do the amount required, and as they are not +permitted to work at a lower rate of wages than their fellows, the +means of getting a living are arbitrarily taken out of their hands. As +a consequence of these Trades-Union enactments, cases are not +infrequent in which workmen who have just passed middle life, or have +sustained injuries, drift insensibly into vagrant habits. These habits +are acquired almost without their knowing it. In the vague hope of +perhaps finding something to do a man will wander from town to town +existing as best he can; after the hope of employment has died away he +still continues to wander, and thus forms an additional unit in the +permanent army of beggars and vagrants. Trade-Unionists would +undoubtedly remedy a great wrong if some effective means were devised +by them to meet cases of this character. It should be remembered by +those most opposed to any modifications of the present system that +they may one day be its victims. The hindrances in the way of putting +an end to the injustice inherent in the present arrangements are not +incapable of being overcome. It is surely possible to devise a rule +which, while leaving intact the essential features of the present +system, will render it more flexible—a rule to enable the maimed and +the aged who cannot do a full day's work to make, through the Union if +need be, some special arrangement with the employers. Such a rule, if +properly safe-guarded to prevent abuse, would be of inestimable +benefit to many a working man. +</p> + +<p> +If the step here suggested were adopted by the Trade Societies, it +would, according to calculations which I have made, reduce the begging +population by about two per cent. This percentage, in my opinion, +represents the number of vagrants who are able and willing to do a +certain amount of work, but cannot get it to do. It is a percentage +which at any rate does not err on the side of being too low; when +trade is at its ordinary level it is perhaps a little too high. In any +case this proportion may be taken as a tolerably accurate estimate of +the numbers of the vagrant class which will not enter the Unions when +out of employment, and are consequently forced by the pressure of want +to resort to a life of beggary. +</p> + +<p> +The proportion here indicated of the number of vagrants who are +willing to work coincides in a remarkable manner with certain +statistics recently collected by H. Monod of the Ministry of the +Interior in France.<a href="#fn19"><sup>[19]</sup></a> According to M. Monod a benevolently disposed +French citizen wished to know the amount of truth contained in the +complaints of sturdy beggars, that they were willing to work if they +could get anything to do or anyone to employ them. This gentleman +entered into negotiations with some merchants and manufacturers, and +induced them to offer work at the rate of four francs a day to every +person presenting himself furnished with a letter of recommendation +from him. In eight months 727 sturdy beggars came under his notice, +all complaining that they had no work. Each of them was asked to come +the following day to receive a letter which would enable him to get +employment at four francs a day in an industrial establishment. More +than one half (415) never came for the letter; a good many others +(138) returned for the letter but never presented it. Others who did +present their letter worked half a day, demanded two francs and were +seen no more. A few worked a whole day and then disappeared. In short, +out of the whole 727 only 18 were found at work at the end of the +third day. As a result of this experiment M. Monod concludes that not +more than one able-bodied beggar in 40 is inclined to work even if he +is offered a fair remuneration for his services. +</p> + +<p> +If further proof were wanted that vagrancy, as far, at least, as +England and Wales are concerned, is very seldom produced by +destitution, it will be found in the following facts. A comparison +between the number of male and female vagrants arrested in 1888 under +the provisions of the Vagrancy Acts shows that there were nearly four +times more male vagrants proceeded against before the magistrates than +female. The exact numbers are males, 40,672; females, 11,464. Although +the numbers charged vary from year to year, the proportion between +males and females always remains very much the same, and it may +therefore be considered as established that men are from three to four +times more addicted to vagrancy than women. If the charges of +prostitution were excluded (they amounted to 6,486 in 1888), it will +be found that the proportion of male vagrants to female is as eight to +one. Looking at this matter <i>à priori</i>, we should expect these figures +to be reversed. In the first place women form a considerably larger +proportion of the community than men, and in the second place there +are not nearly so many openings for females in our present industrial +system. Forming a judgment upon these two sets of facts alone, one +would almost inevitably come to the conclusion that women would be +found in much larger numbers among the vagrant class than men. There +are fewer careers open to them in the industrial world; they are less +fitted to move about from place to place in search of work; the pay +they receive in manufacturing and other establishments is, as a rule, +very poor; but in spite of all these economic disadvantages only one +woman becomes a beggar to every four men, or, if we exclude fallen +women, to every eight men. What does this condition of things serve to +show? It is an incontestable proof that at least three-fourths or, +perhaps, seven-eighths of the begging carried on by men is without +economic excuse. If women who are so heavily handicapped in the race +of life can run it to such a large extent without resorting to +vagrancy, so can men. That men fall so far behind women in this +respect is to be attributed, as we have seen, not to their want of +power, but to their want of will. They possess far more opportunities +of earning a livelihood than their sisters, but, notwithstanding this +advantage, they figure far more prominently in the vagrant list. The +only possible explanation of this state of things is that vagrancy is, +to a very large extent, entirely unconnected with economic conditions; +the position of trade either for good or evil is a very secondary +factor in producing this disease in the body politic; its extirpation +would not he effected by the advent of an economic millennium; its +roots are, as a rule, in the disposition of the individual, and not to +any serious degree in the industrial constitution of society; hence, +the only way to stamp it out is by adopting vigorous and effective +methods of repression. +</p> + +<p> +The British Isles are in a position to adopt these measures with +boldness and confidence, for the Poor Law system provides for all +genuine cases of destitution, and in striking at begging with a heavy +hand, the authorities are at the same time doing much to suppress +other kinds of crime. It has to be remembered that the vagrant is a +dangerous person in more ways that one. The life he leads, his habit +of going from house to house, affords him ample opportunities of +noticing where a robbery may he successfully committed. If he does not +make use of the opportunities himself, he is not at all unwilling to +let others who will into his secret for a small consideration. In low +lodging-houses and public-houses of a similar type beggars and thieves +are accustomed to meet, to fraternise, to exchange notes; the beggar +is able to give the burglar a hint, and many a case of house-breaking +is the outcome of these sinister confabulations. Little do many people +imagine when they are doing a good deed, as they believe, to some +worthless, wandering reprobate, that he is at the same moment looking +around, so as to be able to tell a companion how best the house may be +robbed. It is very seldom thieves break into houses without having +received information beforehand respecting them, and the source of +that information is in many instances the vagrant, who has been +knocking at the door for alms a short time before. +</p> + +<p> +One of the principal reasons which makes beggary such a profitable +occupation, and renders it so hard to repress, is the persistent +belief among great numbers of people that beggars are working men in +distress. That, of course, is the beggar's tale, but it is a baseless +fabrication. It is no more the practice of working-men to go about +begging than it is the practice of the middle-class, but until this +elementary fact can be laid hold of by the public all statutory +enactments for the suppression of mendicity will be but partial in +their operation. Speaking from considerable personal experience, as +well as from statistical facts, one is able to affirm that the great +mass of the working population of these islands have nothing whatever +in common with the indolent vagrant; and it is a libel on the +working-classes to assume that a man is a workman to-day and a beggar +to-morrow. As a matter of fact, beggars are recruited from all ranks +of the community, when they are not actually born to the trade. Of +course, the greatest number is drawn from the working population; it +is they who form the immense bulk of the nation, and it is only +reasonable to suppose that they will contribute to the begging +fraternity in proportion to their numbers. But, just as the proportion +of thieves drawn from the working-classes is not greater than the +proportion drawn from the well-to-do classes, so is it likewise with +beggars. The other classes, in proportion to their numbers, contribute +just about as many beggars to the community as the working population, +and such beggars are generally the most hardened and villainous +specimens of their tribe. With the beggar sprung from the working +population one is sometimes able to do something, but a beggar who has +descended from the higher walks of life is one of the most hopeless, +as well as one of the most corrupt creatures it is possible to +conceive. If the public would only allow themselves to realise that +these are the facts respecting vagrancy, and if they would exercise +their knowledge in consistently refusing help to professional +wanderers, the plague of beggars would soon disappear, to the immense +relief and benefit of everybody, not excluding the beggars themselves. +</p> + +<p> +A persistent refusal to assist beggars, while perfectly justifiable in +these islands, is a method which can hardly be adopted in countries +where there is no efficient and comprehensive Poor Law. In such +countries, for instance, an Austria and Germany, where there is no +proper provision on the part of the State for the feeble, the +helpless, the aged, the maimed, begging, on the part of these +unfortunates, becomes, in many cases, an absolute necessity. Recent +statistics,<a href="#fn20"><sup>[20]</sup></a> respecting the working of additions to the Austrian +vagrancy laws passed in 1885, would seem to show that numbers of the +genuine labouring population have been in the habit of resorting to +begging when going from place to place in search of employment. To +meet these cases the Austrian Government, in the year just mentioned, +secured the passing of a law for the establishment of what are called +Naturalverpflegstationen, or refuges for workmen on the tramp. These +shelters or refuges are strictly confined to the use of genuine +labourers; the poor of the surrounding neighbourhood are not allowed +to enter them; nor is any one afforded shelter who cannot show that he +has been at work within the previous three months, or who applies +twice for admission in the course of that time. A man must also +produce his papers and be willing to perform a certain amount of work; +in return for this he is allowed to remain at the shelter for eighteen +hours, but not more, and is informed on his departure where the next +station is situated. He is also told if there is any probability of +getting employment in the district and is given the names of employers +in want of men. These institutions are a combination, of the casual +ward and the labour bureau, differing, however, from the casual ward +in rejecting all mere wanderers and accepting genuine workmen alone. +</p> + +<p> +It in only in some parts of the Austrian Empire that this system has +as yet been put into operation, for the act is of a permissive +character and is mainly worked by the local authorities. In those +districts of lower Austria where it has been tried, it has so far +produced most satisfactory results; begging has decreased according to +the statistics for 1888, more than 60 per cent. in the course of three +years, while in other parts of Austria, where these institutions are +not yet adopted, it has only decreased 25 per cent. The system has as +yet been in operation for too short a period to enable an opinion to +be formed of its eventual success, but so far it promises well and is +an interesting experiment which deserves to be watched. In any case +the experience derived from the working of this law shows that in +Austria, at least, the workman in search of employment has up till +recently been too often confounded with the habitual beggar, a +confusion highly detrimental to the real interests of the State. One +of the main objects of every well ordered Poor Law system should be to +create as wide a gulf as possible between the begging class and the +working-class; it should do everything possible to prevent anything +like a solidarity of interests between these two sections of the +community; it should dissociate the worker from the vagrant in every +conceivable manner, so that the working population cannot possibly +fail to see that the State draws a sharp line of distinction between +them and the refuse of the land. It was a wise remark of Goethe's +that, if you want to improve men you must begin by assuming that they +are a little better than what they seem; and it is a principle which +is applicable to communities and classes as well as to individuals. +</p> + +<p> +Before dismissing the question of the relations between vagrancy and +destitution there is one more point which still requires to be +considered. According to English law, prostitution is set down as a +form of vagrancy, and the number of persons convicted of this offence +is to be found included in the statistics of vagrancy. We shall, +therefore, consider prostitution in this connection as a form of +vagrancy, and proceed to examine the extent to which it is produced by +destitution. If this grave social disorder were entirely due to a want +of the elementary needs of life on the part of the unhappy creatures +who practice it, we should find an utter absence of it in America and +Australia. In these two important portions of the globe, woman's work +is at a premium; it is one of the easiest things imaginable for +females to get employment; no one willing to work need remain idle a +single day, and the bitter cry of householders, in those quarters of +the world, is that domestic servants are not to be had. But, in spite +of the favourable position in which women stand, as far as work is +concerned in America and Australia, what do we find? Do we find that +there is no such thing as a fallen class in Melbourne and New York? On +the contrary, it is often a subject of bitter complaint by American +and Australian citizens that their large towns are just as bad, as far +as sexual morality goes, as the cities of the old world. The higher +economic position of women does not seem to touch the evil either in +the Antipodes or beyond the Atlantic. It exists among communities +where destitution is an almost unmeaning word; it exists in lands +where no woman need be idle, and where she is highly paid for her +services. In the face of such facts it is impossible to believe that +destitution is the only motive which impels a certain class of women +to wander the streets. +</p> + +<p> +What is true with respect to destitution is that it compels women to +remain in the deplorable life they have adopted, but it seldom or +never drives them to take to it. Almost all the best authorities are +agreed upon this point. No one has examined this social sin in all its +bearings with such patience and exhaustiveness as Parent Duchatelet, +and his deliberate opinion, after years of investigation, is that its +origin lies in the character of the individual, in vanity, in +slothfulness, in sex. It does not, however, follow that a person +possessing these characteristics in an abnormal degree is bound to +fall. If such a person is protected by parental care, no evil results +need necessarily ensue. It is when low instincts are combined with a +bad home that the worst is to be feared. This fact was clearly and +emphatically brought to light by the parliamentary inquiry which took +place in France a few years ago. M. Th. Roussel, one of the highest +authorities on the committee, the man, in fact, from whom the inquiry +derived its name, thus sums up some of its results: "However large a +part in the production of prostitution must be allowed to the love of +pleasure and of finery, to a dislike of work and to debased instincts, +the cause which, according to the facts cited, appears everywhere as +the most powerful and the most general, is the want of a home, the +want of maternal care." Here are some of the facts on which M. Roussel +bases his general statement. "At Bordeaux, out of 600 'filles +inscrites' 98 were minors. Of the latter, 44 appear to have fallen +through their own fault alone. The remaining 54 grew up under +abnormal, domestic conditions; 14 were orphans, without father or +mother, 7 had only one parent, 32 had been abandoned or perverted by +their parents." +</p> + +<p> +In England it would be impossible to conduct a parliamentary inquiry +on the lines of the "Enquête Roussel," but it is very probable if such +an inquiry were instituted it would reveal a condition of things very +similar to what exists in France. The scattered and fragmentary +information we do possess points to that conclusion, and the +conclusion, it must be admitted, is not at all a hopeful or comforting +one. Supposing that all the homeless and deserted female children we +have now in our midst were immediately placed under the protection of +the State (as a matter of fact, most of them are), it does not follow +that they will grow up to lead regular lives. According to the +thirty-second report of the Inspector of Reformatory and Industrial +Schools, the authorities are unable to account satisfactorily for the +character of more than four fifths of the inmates of girls' industrial +schools who have left these institutions on an average for two or +three years. That is to say, it is probable that about twenty out of +every hundred girls go to the bad within two or three years of leaving +an industrial school. The proportion of girls discharged from +reformatory schools, whose character is bad within two years of their +discharge, is still larger than in the case of industrial schools. +This is only what might be expected, for it is the worst cases that +are now sent to reformatory schools. "Since the passing of the +Elementary Education Act," said Miss Nicoll of the Girls' Reformatory, +Hampstead, at the Fourth Conference of the National Association of +certified Reformatory and Industrial Schools, "a great change has +gradually been made in the character and age of the inmates of our +reformatories on admission. The School Boards in the country, and more +especially the School Board of London, by enforcing compulsory +attendance of all the children of the poor between the ages of five +and thirteen, have swept into what are termed Truant Schools all the +neglected and uncontrollable children who were formerly sent to +certified industrial schools—these latter being now retained in a +great measure for children who, besides being neglected and beyond the +control of their parents, have either taken their first steps in a +course of crime, or have, by association with vicious companions, +become familiar with it. The industrial schools have thus intercepted +the very class from which our numbers were usually drawn, leaving, as +a rule, for reformatories, girls about fifteen, who, though nominally +under fifteen, are sometimes a good deal older when admitted. Young +persons, as these are termed in the Summary Jurisdiction Acts of 1879, +are of a much more hardened character than before, and in addition to +having been guilty of acts of petty larceny, have frequently been +prostitutes for some time anterior to their admission. This being so, +it can hardly be wondered at if the success of reformatories is not so +marked as it was when they were first instituted." +</p> + +<p> +Seeing that reformatories for girls, on account of the more hardened +character of their inmates on admission, are not so successful as +industrial schools, it is certainly within the mark to say that at +least one-fourth of the cases discharged from these institutions +become failures in the space of two years. If the proportion is so +high at the end of two years, what will it amount to at the end of +five? It is then that the young person enters upon what is <i>par +excellence</i> the criminal age, and when that age is reached, I fear +that the proportion of failures increases considerably. In any case we +have sufficient data to show that the protection of the State, when +extended, as it is in the United Kingdom, to helpless and homeless +girls, does not in many instances suffice to keep them on the road of +virtue. Deep-seated instincts manage to assert themselves in spite of +the most careful training, the most vigilant precautions, and until +the moral development of the population, as a whole, reaches a higher +level, it will be vain to hope too much from the labours of State +institutions, however excellent these institutions may be. +</p> + +<p> +It has, however, to be remembered that the fallen class is not by any +means recruited exclusively from the ranks of the helpless and the +homeless. On the contrary, according to the evidence of the Roussel +commission, nearly one half of the minors (44 out of 98) found in the +"maisons de tolerance" of Bordeaux had no domestic or economic +impediments to encounter. External circumstances, as far as could be +seen, had nothing to do with the unhappy position in which they stood, +and the life they adopted appears to have been entirely of their own +choosing. It is true the Bordeaux statistics only cover a small area, +and are not to be looked upon as in themselves exhaustive, but when +these statistics confirm, as they do, the careful observations of all +unbiassed investigators, we cannot be far wrong in coming to the +conclusion that in France, at least, fifty per cent. of the cases of +prostitution are not originally due to the pressure of want. Since the +introduction of Truant and Industrial Schools in this country for +homeless and neglected girls, it is certain that the proportion of +those who fall from sheer destitution must be extremely small. On the +Continent, where such institutions do not exist on such an extensive +scale, the proportion may be somewhat larger, but in the United +Kingdom it cannot, according to the most liberal computation, exceed +ten per cent. of the cases brought before the magistrates. Many +experienced observers will not allow that it reaches such a high +percentage. +</p> + +<p> +We are now in a position to tabulate the results of our inquiries as +to the part played by destitution in producing prostitution and +vagrancy. The following table represents the proportion of persons +charged under the provisions of the Vagrancy Acts in the year 1888:— +</p> + +<table summary="Percentage of persons charged under the provisions of the Vagrancy Acts in the year 1888" width="85%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> +<tr> +<td>Percentage of beggars,</td> +<td align="right">45 per cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Percentage of prostitutes,</td> +<td align="right">12 per cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Percentage of other offenders,</td> +<td align="right"><u> 43 per cent.</u></td> +</tr><tr> +<td> </td> +<td align="right">100 per cent.</td> +</tr></table> + +<table summary="Percentage of persons +destitute from misadventure in the year 1888" width="85%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> +<tr> +<td>Percentage of beggars destitute from misadventure,</td> +<td align="right">2 per cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Percentage of prostitutes destitute from misadventure,</td> +<td align="right">10 per cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Percentage of other offenders destitute from misadventure,</td> +<td align="right"><u> 2 per cent.</u></td> +</tr><tr> +<td> </td> +<td align="right">14 per cent.</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> +It has already been pointed out that persons charged with offences +against the Vagrancy Acts constitute on an average 7 per cent. of the +total annual criminal population. According to the statistics we have +just tabulated, 5 per cent. of these offences are not due to the +pressure of destitution, and only 2 per cent. are to be attributed +to that cause. +</p> + +<p> +Let us now collect the whole of the figures set forth in this chapter, +so that we may be in a position to give an answer to the question with +which we set out, namely, to what extent are theft and vagrancy the +product of destitution? +</p> + +<table summary="Percentage of persons +charged under the provisions of the Vagrancy Acts in the year 1888" width="90%" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" align="center"> +<tr> +<td width="75%">Proportion of offences against Property and the Vagrancy Acts + to total number of offences tried in 1888,</td> +<td align="right">15 per cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td width="75%">Proportion of offenders against property destitute,</td> +<td align="right">2 per cent.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td width="75%">Proportion of offenders against Vagrancy Acts destitute,</td> +<td align="right">2 per cent.</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> +Adding together the two classes of offenders against Property and the +Vagrancy Acts who, according to our calculations, are destitute when +arrested, we arrive at the fact that they form four per cent. of the +total criminal population. As has already been pointed out, beggars +and thieves are almost the only two sections of the criminal community +likely to be driven to the commission of lawless acts by the pressure +of absolute want. It very seldom happens that murders, for instance, +are perpetrated from this cause; in fact, not one murder in ten is +even committed for the purpose of theft. The vast majority of the +remaining offences against the criminal law are only connected in a +remote degree with the economic condition of the population, and in +hardly any instance can it be said of them, that they are the outcome +of destitution. In order, however, to err on the safe side, let us +assume that one per cent. of offenders, other than vagrants and +thieves, are to be ranked among the destitute. What is the final +result at which we then arrive with respect to the percentage of +persons forced by the action of destitution into the army of crime? In +the case of vagrants and thieves it has just been seen that the +proportion amounted to four per cent.; adding one per cent. to this +proportion, brings up the total of offenders who probably fall into +crime through the pressure of absolute want to five per cent. of the +annual criminal population tried before the courts. +</p> + +<p> +These figures are important; they demonstrate the fact that although +there was not a single destitute person in the whole of England and +Wales, the annual amount of crime would not be thereby appreciably +diminished. At the present day it is a very common practice to pick +out a case of undoubted hardship here and there, and to assume that +such a case is typical of the whole criminal population. It is, of +course, well to point out such cases, and to emphasise them as much as +possible till we reach such a pitch of excellence in our administration +of the law as will render all unmerited hardship exceedingly rare. As +it is, such cases are becoming less frequent year by year, and it is +an entire mistake to suppose, as is too often done, that a serious +amount of the crime perpetrated in England is committed by men and +women who are willing to work but cannot get it to do. An opinion of +that kind has an alarming tendency to encourage crime; it creates a +false sentiment of compassion for the utterly worthless; it prevents +them from being dealt with according to their deserts, and worst of +all, it is apt to make the working population imagine that there is a +community of interest between them and the criminal classes which does +not in reality exist. From the point of view of public policy nothing +can be more pernicious than to propagate such an idea; and no artisan +who values his own dignity should ever allow any man, whether on +platforms or in newspapers, to identify him in any way whatever with +the common criminal. +</p> + +<p> +Before finally leaving the question of the relations between +destitution and crime, we shall now briefly inquire whether anything +further can be accomplished in the matter of raising our legal and +poor law administration to such a pitch of excellence, that not even +five per cent. of our incriminated population can, with justice, bring +forward any economic pretext whatever for violating the law. As far as +legal administration is concerned, it must be remembered that mistakes +will sometimes occur, no matter how numerous the precautions may be +with which justice is surrounded. +</p> + +<p> +To be certain of justice in all circumstances you must have not only +an infallible law, but also an infallible judge and an infallible +method of criminal administration. It is a truism to say that this is +an impossibility, and every now and again society will have to submit +to be shocked by the revelation of a palpable miscarriage of justice. +At the same time it is important to take every possible precaution +against the occurrence of such distressing accidents. This can only +be effected by placing the administration of the law in all its +departments, from the policeman to the Home Secretary, in the hands of +thoroughly competent officials who have not only their heart, but what +is equally important, their head in the work. When this is done, and +if these officials are not embarrassed by public clamour in the +performance of their duties (honest criticism will do them good), all +will have been accomplished which it is possible to get in the way of +effective and enlightened administration of the law. +</p> + +<p> +In the next place it may be possible to mitigate the operation of our +present poor law system in all cases of destitution through +misadventure. Some prominent politicians—and I believe among them Mr. +Morley—appear to be in favour of this course; and at a recent meeting +of the British Association, Professor Alfred Marshall was inclined to +the belief that a much larger discrimination might be allowed than now +exists in the administration of out-door relief in cases of actual +want; and also that separate and graduated workhouses might be +established for the deserving poor. It will be admitted on all hands +that proposals of this character land us on very delicate ground, and +require the most mature consideration. Even now the inmate of a +workhouse is often better supplied with food, clothing, and shelter +than the poor labourer, who has to pay taxes to support him. If the +condition of that inmate is made still more comfortable, will it be +possible to prevent hundreds and thousands of the very poor, who now +keep outside these institutions, from immediately crowding into them +as soon as the slightest economic difficulties arise? Almost all +philanthropic schemes, and especially all such schemes when supported +by the public purse, have a tendency to be administered with more and +more laxity as time goes on; and a scheme of this kind, if carried +into law, would require to be managed with the utmost circumspection +in order to avoid pauperising great masses of the community. +</p> + +<p> +A scheme of this character will, however, have to be tried if the +manifesto of the Executive Council of the Dockers' Union, issued in +September last, is to be acted upon by Trade-Unionists in general. +According to the doctrine laid down in this manifesto, the idea of a +Trade-Union, as a free and open combination, which every workman may +enter, provided he pays his subscription and conforms to the rules, is +an idea which must for the future be abandoned. Henceforth, a +Trade-Union is to be a close corporation to be worked for the benefit +of persons who have succeeded in getting inside it. The Dockers' +Union, to do them justice, see that this policy is bound to increase +the numbers of the destitute, but they propose to remedy this +condition of things by establishing "in each municipality factories +and workshops where all those who cannot get work under ordinary +conditions shall have an opportunity afforded them by the community." +If these State establishments are to be started for the unemployed, +the workers in them must work at something, and it will have to be +something which the unskilled labourer will not require a great deal +of time to learn. What would the dockers say if one of these +establishments was instituted by the municipality for the loading and +unloading of ships? Hardly a Trade-Union Congress meets in which the +complaint is not made that prison labour interferes with free labour; +but what sort of outcry would there be if State labour, on an +extensive scale, were to enter into serious competition with the +individual workman? +</p> + +<p> +These schemes for the establishment of State institutions offering +work to the indigent will never solve the problem of want, and all +attempts that have hitherto been made in that direction have either +ended in failure or met with small success. +</p> + +<p> +The latest of these schemes is a village settlement, which the +authorities in New Zealand started some time ago to meet the case of +the unemployed. The Government, in the first place, spent £16,000 in +making roads and other conveniences for the settlers, and afterwards +advanced £21,000 for building houses, buying implements, and so on. +According to recent advices from New Zealand, only £2000 of this +advance has been paid back, and it is the general feeling of the +colony that the project has proved a failure. These, and other +experiments of a similar character, compel us to recognise the +disagreeable fact that a certain proportion of people who are in the +habit of falling out of work are, as a class, extremely difficult to +put properly on their legs. Failure, for some reason or another, +always dogs their steps, and the more Society does for them, the less +they will be disposed to do anything for themselves. +</p> + +<p> +When such persons are sent to prison on charges of begging, or petty +theft, it very often happens that they are assisted on their release +by a Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society. Tools are given them, work is +found for them, yet they do not thrive. Not infrequently the job is +given up on some frivolous pretext; or if it is a temporary one, +little or no effort is made till it actually comes to an end to look +out for another. It is little wonder that men who live in such a +fashion should occasionally be destitute; the only wonder is that they +manage to pass through life at all. Those men hang upon the skirts of +labour and seek shelter under its banner, but it is only for short and +irregular intervals that they march in the ranks of the actual +workers. The real working man knows such people well, and heartily +despises them. +</p> + +<p> +Would it be a right thing to increase the burdens of the taxpayer by +opening State workshops, even if such a plan were feasible, for men of +the stamp we have just been describing? Decidedly it would not. Yet +these men form a fair proportion of the persons whom we have classed +as driven to crime by economic distress. As far, then, as the criminal +population is concerned, no necessity exists for the organisation of +State factories; and so far as destitution is a factor in the +production of crime, it can be grappled with by other agencies. In +fact, if a graduated system of Unions, with a kind of casual ward, +somewhat after the German Naturalverpflegstationen, could be worked +and if Trade Societies adopted, under proper precautions, the +principle of allowing debilitated members of their trade the +opportunity of doing something at a somewhat reduced rate, it would be +impossible for any well-intentioned man to say that he was driven to +crime from sheer want. It is worth while, on the part of the nation, +to make some small sacrifice to attain an object so supremely +important as this. It is very probable that hardly any sacrifice will +be needed. In any case it would get rid of the uncomfortable feeling +entertained by many that there are occasions when human beings are +punished who ought to be fed. It would completely alienate all +sympathy from crime; it would then be known that criminal offenders +deserved the punishment they received, and justice would be able to +deal with them with a firm and even hand. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="chapter"> +<a name="V">CHAPTER V.</a> +</p> + +<p class="chapter"> +POVERTY AND CRIME. +</p> + + +<p> +Having analysed the part played by destitution in the production of +crime, the cognate question of the extent to which poverty is +responsible for it will now be considered. If actual destitution does +not count for very much in producing criminals, it may be that poverty +makes up the difference, and that the great bulk of delinquency, if +not the whole of it, arises from the combined operation of these two +economic factors. We have examined one of them, let us now go on to +the other. As this examination will have to be conducted from several +different points of view which, for the sake of clearness, it will be +expedient to consider one by one, I shall begin by inquiring what +light international statistics are capable of throwing on the +relations between poverty and crime. At the outset of this inquiry we +are at once met by the old difficulty respecting the value of +international criminal statistics. The imperfection of those +statistics is a matter it is always important to bear in mind, but in +spite of this circumstance the light which they shed on the problem of +poverty and crime is not to be rejected as worthless. +</p> + +<p> +It has been pointed out in the preceding chapter that the offences +people, in a state of destitution, are most likely to commit are +beggary and theft. In the case of persons who are in a state of +poverty, but not destitute, it may be said that the offence they are +most likely to commit is theft in one or other of its forms. What then +are the international statistics of theft, and what is the relative +wealth of the several countries from which these statistics are drawn? +An answer to these two questions will throw a flood of light upon the +nature of the relations between poverty and crime. If these statistics +show that in those countries where there is most poverty there is also +most theft, the elucidation of such a fact will at once raise a strong +presumption that the connection between poverty and offences against +property is one of cause and effect. If, on the other hand, +international statistics are not at all conclusive upon this important +point, it will show that there are other factors at work besides +poverty in the production of offences against property. With these +preliminary remarks I shall now append a table of the number of +persons tried for theft of all kinds in some of the most important +countries of Europe within the last few years. In no two of these +countries is theft classified in the same manner, but in all of them +it is equally recognised as a crime; if, therefore, all offences +against property, of whatever kind, are put together under the common +heading of "theft," and if the number of cases of thefts (as thus +understood) tried in the various countries of Europe are carefully +tabulated, we possess, in such a table, a criterion wherewith to +judge, in a rough way, the respective position of those countries in +the matter of offences against property. +</p> + +<p> +The appended table is extracted from a larger one, the work of Sig. L. +Bodio, Director-General of Statistics for the kingdom of Italy. The +calculations for every country, except Spain, are based on the census +of 1880 or 1881; the calculations for Spain are based on the census of +1877. In all the countries except Germany and Spain the calculations +are based on an average of five years; for Germany and Spain the +average is only two years. +</p> + +<table summary="Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants" width="90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> +<tr> +<td>Italy,</td> +<td>1880-84</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">221</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>France,</td> +<td>1879-83</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">121</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Belgium,</td> +<td>1876-80</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">143</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Germany,</td> +<td>1882-83</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">262</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>England,</td> +<td>1880-84</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">228</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Scotland,</td> +<td>1880-84</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">289</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Ireland,</td> +<td>1880-84</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">101</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Hungary,</td> +<td>1876-80</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">82</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Spain,</td> +<td>1883-84</td> +<td>Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants</td> +<td align="right">74</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p> +To what conclusions do the statistics contained in this table point? +It is useless burdening this chapter with additional figures to prove +that England and France are the two wealthiest countries in Europe. +The wealth of England, for instance, is perhaps six times the wealth +of Italy; but, notwithstanding this fact, more thefts are annually +committed in England than in Italy. The wealth of France is enormously +superior to the wealth of Ireland, both in quantity and distribution, +but the population of France commits more offences against property +than the Irish. Spain is one of the poorest countries in Europe, +Scotland is one of the richest, but side by side with this inequality +of wealth we see that the Scotch commit, per hundred thousand of the +population, almost four times as many thefts as the Spaniards. With +the exception of Italy it is the poorest countries of Europe that are +the least dishonest, and, according to our table, even the Italians +are not so much addicted to offences against property as the +inhabitants of England. +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps the most instructive figures in these international statistics +are those relating to England and Ireland. The criminal statistics of +the two countries are drawn up on very much the same principles; the +ordinary criminal law is very much the same, and there is very much +the same feeling among the population with respect to ordinary crime; +in fact, with the exception of agrarian offences, the administration +of the law in Ireland is as effective as it is in England. On almost +every point the similarity of the criminal law and its administration +in the two countries almost amounts to identity, and a comparison of +their criminal statistics, in so far as they relate to ordinary +offences against property, reaches a high level of exactitude. What +does such a comparison reveal? It shows that the Irish, with all their +poverty, are not half so much addicted to offences against property as +the English with all their wealth, and it serves to confirm the idea +that the connection between poverty and theft is not so close as is +generally imagined. +</p> + +<p> +International statistics then, as far as they go, point to the +conclusion that it is the growth of wealth, rather than the reverse, +which has a tendency to augment the number of offences against +property, and national statistics, as far as England is concerned, +exhibit a similar result. It is perfectly certain, for instance, that +the mass of the population possessed a greater amount of money, and +were earning on the whole higher wages between 1870-74 than between +1884-88. According to the evidence given before the late Lord +Iddesleigh's Commission on the depression of trade, the prosperity of +the country in the five years ended 1874 was something phenomenal. +This was the opinion of almost every class in the community. Chambers +of commerce, leading manufactures, workmen in the various departments +of industry, all told the same tale of exceptional commercial +prosperity. During this period it was easy for any person with a pair +of hands to get as much as he could do; workmen were at a premium and +wages had risen all round. +</p> + +<p> +But, notwithstanding this state of unwonted prosperity, we shall find +on turning to the statistics of offences against property that a +larger number of persons were convicted of such offences in the five +years ended 1874 than in the five years ended 1888. It hardly needs to +be stated that the five years ended 1888 were years of considerable +depression, some of them were years in which there was a good deal of +distress, and in none of them was the bulk of the population as well +off as in the preceding period. It is, therefore, plain that an +increase in the wealth of a country is not necessarily followed by a +decrease in the amount of crimes against property; that, in fact, the +growth of national and individual wealth, unless it is accompanied by +a corresponding development of ethical ideals, is apt to foster +criminal instincts instead of repressing them. +</p> + +<p> +If we look at crime in general, instead of that particular form of it +which consists in offences against property, it will likewise become +apparent that it is not so closely connected with poverty as is +generally believed. The accuracy of Indian criminal statistics is a +matter that has already been pointed out. When these statistics are +placed side by side with our own what do we find? According to the +returns for the two countries in the year 1888, it comes out that in +England one person was proceeded against criminally to every forty-two +of the population, while in India only one person was proceeded +against to every 195. In other words, official statistics show that +the people of England are between four and five times more addicted to +crime than the people of India. On the supposition that poverty is the +parent of crime, the population of India should be one of the most +lawless in the world, for it is undoubtedly one of the very poorest. +The reverse, however, is the case, and India is justly celebrated for +the singularly law-abiding character of its inhabitants. In reply to +this it may be said that India differs so widely from England in race, +manners, religion and social organisation, that all these divergencies +must be taken into account when comparing the position of the two +countries with respect to crime. A contention of this kind is in +perfect harmony with what is here advanced. It is, in fact, a part of +our case that crime is either produced or checked by a great many +causes besides economic conditions. The comparison we are now making +between the criminal statistics of England and India is intended to +show that economic conditions alone will not satisfactorily explain +the genesis of crime. If such were the case India would have a blacker +criminal record than England, for it has a lower material standard of +life; but as India is able to exhibit a fairer record, in spite of its +economic disadvantages, we are compelled to come to the conclusion +that poverty is not the only factor in the production of crime. +</p> + +<p> +A further illustration of the same fact will be found on examining the +Prison Statistics of the United States. According to an instructive +paper recently read by Mr. Roland P. Falkner before the American +Statistical Association, the foreign born population in America is, on +the whole, less inclined to commit crime than the native born +American. In some of the States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and +California—"the foreign born," says Mr. Falkner, "make a worse +showing than the native. In a great number of cases, notably +Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, we notice hardly any +difference. Elsewhere, the showing is decidedly in favour of the +foreign born, and nowhere more strongly than in Wisconsin and +Minnesota." It is perfectly certain that the foreign born population +of the United States is not, as a rule, so well-off economically as +the native born citizen. The vast proportion of the emigrant +population is composed of poor people seeking to better their +condition, and it is well known that a largo percentage of the hard, +manual work done in America is performed by those men. The economic +condition of the average native born American is superior to the +economic condition of the average emigrant; but the native American, +notwithstanding his economic superiority, cuts a worse figure in the +statistics of crime. This is a state of things the Americans +themselves are just beginning to perceive, and it cannot fail to make +them uneasy as to the efficacy of some of their erratic methods of +punishing crime. It has, until recently, been the habit of American +statisticians to compare the foreign born population with the whole of +the native population with respect to crime. The outcome of this +method of comparison was taken all round favourable to the born +Americans, and for many years people satisfied themselves with the +belief that a high percentage of crime in the United States was due to +the foreign element in the community. It is now seen that this method +of calculation is defective and false. A comparatively small number of +foreigners emigrate to the United States under eighteen years of age; +in order, therefore, to make the comparison between natives and +foreigners accurate, it must be made with foreigners over eighteen and +Americans over eighteen, for it is after persons pass that age that +they are most prone to commit crime. The result of this new and more +correct method of comparison has been to show that the native American +element, that is to say, the element best situated economically, is +also the element which perpetrates most crimes. Such a result is only +another illustration of the truth that an advanced state of economic +well-being is not necessarily accompanied by greater immunity from +crime. +</p> + +<p> +A further illustration of this significant truth is to be witnessed in +the Antipodes. In no quarter of the world is there such wide-spread +prosperity as exists in the colony of Victoria. All writers and +travellers are unanimous upon this point. Nowhere in the world is +there less economic excuse for the perpetration of crime. Work of one +kind or another can almost always be had in that favoured portion of +the globe. +</p> + +<p> +Even in the worst of times, if men are willing to go "up country," as +it is called, occupation of some sort is certain to be found, and +trade depression never reaches the acute point which it sometimes does +at home. +</p> + +<p> +Nevertheless, on examining the criminal statistics of the colony of +Victoria, what do we find? According to the returns for 1887, one +arrest on a charge of crime was made in every 30 of the population, +and on looking down the list of offences for which these arrests were +made, it will be seen that Victoria, notwithstanding her +widely-diffused material well-being, is just as much addicted to +crimes against person and property as some of the poor and squalid +States of Europe. It may be said in extenuation of this condition of +things, that Victoria contains a larger grown-up population, and +therefore a larger percentage of persons in a position to commit crime +than is to be found in older countries. This is, to a certain extent, +true, but the difference is not so great as might at first sight be +supposed. Assuming that the criminal age lies between 15 and 60, we +find that in the seven Australasian colonies 563 persons out of every +1,000 are alive between these two ages. In Great Britain and Ireland +559 persons per 1,000 are alive between 15 and 60. According to these +figures the difference between the population within the criminal age +in the colony, as compared with the mother country, is very small, and +is quite insufficient to account for the relatively high percentage of +crime exhibited by the Victorian criminal statistics. +</p> + +<p> +All these considerations force us back to the conclusion that an +abundant measure of material well-being has a much smaller influence +in diminishing crime than is usually supposed, and compels us to admit +that much crime would still exist even if the world were turned into a +paradise of material prosperity tomorrow. +</p> + +<p> +In further confirmation of this conclusion let us glance for a moment +at another aspect of the relations between poverty and crime. It is +generally calculated that the working class population of England and +Wales form from 90 to 95 per cent. of the total population of the +country. According to the investigations of Mr. Charles Booth, as +contained in his work on East London, the working classes constitute +about 92 per cent. in the districts be had under examination, the +remaining 8 per cent. being made up of the lower and upper middle +classes. Let us therefore assume that 10 per cent. of the population +consists of the middle and upper classes, and that the other 90 per +cent. of the community is composed of working people. Many +statisticians will not admit that the middle and upper classes form 10 +per cent. of the nation, and assert that 5 per cent. is nearer the +mark. This is also my own view, but for the purposes of this inquiry +we shall assume that it is 10 per cent. +</p> + +<p> +How large a proportion of the criminal population is made up of the +middle and upper classes? An answer to this question would at once +show the exact relation between poverty and crime. If it could be +shown that the well-to-do classes, in proportion to their numbers, are +just as much addicted to the commission of criminal acts as the poorer +people, it would demonstrate that crime prevailed to an equal extent +among all sections of the community, and was not the work of one class +alone. Unfortunately, such statistics are not to be had. But, as the +facts are not to be got at directly, this does not mean to say that it +is impossible to catch a glimpse of what they are. This may be done in +the following manner:—According to the report of the Prison +Commissioners, between 5 and 6 per cent. of the persons committed to +gaol during the year ended March, 1890 (omitting court-martial cases), +were debtors and civil process cases. Now, it may be taken as certain +that in a very small proportion of these cases were the prisoners +working people. Nearly all these offenders are to be considered as +belonging to the well-to-do classes. Yet we see that they form 5 per +cent. of the criminal population, and it has to be remembered that the +fraudulent debtor is just as much a criminal, nay, even a worse +criminal in many instances than the thief who snatches a purse. In +addition to this 5 per cent. there is at least 3 per cent. of the +ordinary criminal population belonging to the higher ranks of life. At +the lowest estimate we have 6 per cent. of the criminal population +springing from the midst of the well-to-do, and if all cases of +drunkenness and assault were punished with imprisonment instead of a +fine, it would be found that the well-to-do showed just as badly in +the statistics of crime as their poorer neighbours. +</p> + +<p> +In making this statement with respect to fines, I do not wish it to be +understood that all cases of drunkenness and assault should be +followed by imprisonment. On the contrary, it is a great mistake to +send anyone to gaol if it can possibly be avoided, and imprisonment +should never be resorted to so long as any other form of punishment +will serve the purpose. What is here stated is merely meant to bring +out the fact that the proportion of well-to-do among the prison +population does not accurately represent the proportion of offences +committed by that class; and it does not represent it for the simple +reason that the well-to-do have facilities for escaping imprisonment +which the ill-to-do have not. When a man with a certain command of +means is involved in criminal proceedings, he has always the +assistance of experienced counsel to defend him, he is always able to +secure the attendance of witnesses,<a href="#fn21"><sup>[21]</sup></a> if he has any, and should the +offence be of a nature that a fine will condone, he is always able to +escape imprisonment by paying it. It very often happens that poor +people are unable to secure these advantages in a court of justice, +and prison statistics of the different classes, even if we had them, +would, for the reasons we have just mentioned, always give the working +classes more than their fair share of offenders. +</p> + +<p> +It has always to be borne in mind in making calculations respecting +the proportion of criminal offenders among the various sections of the +community that there is a population of habitual criminals which forms +a class by itself. Habitual criminals are not to be confounded with +the working or any other class; they are a set of persons who make +crime the object and business of their lives; to commit crime is their +trade; they deliberately scoff at honest ways of earning a living, and +must accordingly be looked upon as a class of a separate and distinct +character from the rest of the community. According to police +estimates this class consists of between 50,000 and 60,000 persons in +England and Wales. Notwithstanding the smallness of its numbers, this +criminal population contributes a proportion amounting to fully 12 per +cent. to the local and convict prisons of England. As this percentage +of the prison population is recruited from wholly criminal ground, it +is important to place it in a distinct and separate category when +forming an estimate of the criminal tendencies of the several branches +of the population. This is what has been done in the subjoined table. +This table will accordingly show, first the proportion of the poorer +class to the total population, and next their proportion to the prison +population. It will do the same for the well-to-do class, and will +finally give the percentage of the criminal class in the local and +convict prisons:— +</p> + +<table summary="Homicides in various European States" width="70%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" align="center"> +<tr> +<td>Proportion of working class to total population</td> +<td align="right">90 p. ct.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Proportion, of prisoners from this class</td> +<td align="right">82 p. ct.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Proportion of well-to-do to population</td> +<td align="right">10 p. ct.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Proportion of prisoners from this class</td> +<td align="right">6 p. ct.</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Numbers of criminal class, say 60,000</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Proportion of prisoners from this class</td> +<td align="right">12 p. ct.</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> +According to these figures, the well-to-do contribute less than their +proper proportion to the prison population. This arises, as has +already been stated, from the fact that this class has so many more +facilities for escaping the penalty of imprisonment; the difference +would be adjusted if the cases tried before the criminal courts were +taken as a standard. An examination of these cases would undoubtedly +show that each class was represented in proportion to its numbers. +</p> + +<p> +According to Garofalo, one of the most learned of Italian jurists, the +poor people in Italy commit fewer offences against property, in +proportion to their numbers, than the well-to-do, while in Prussia +persons engaged in the liberal professions contribute twice their +proper share to the criminal population. A somewhat similar state of +things exists in France; there the number of persons engaged in the +liberal professions forms four per cent. of the population; but, +according to the investigations of Ferri, in his striking little book, +"Socialismo e Criminalita," the liberal professions were responsible +for no less than seven per cent. of the murders perpetrated in France +in 1879. +</p> + +<p> +What is the period of the year we should expect most crime to be +committed if poverty is at the root of it? In this country, at least, +it is very well known that the labouring classes are apt to suffer +most in the depth of winter, and the depth of winter may be said to +correspond with the months of December, January, and February. It is +in these months that all outdoor occupations come to a comparative +standstill; it is then that the poorest section of the population—the +men without a trade, the men who live by mere manual labour—are +reduced to the greatest straits. In the winter months some of these +men have to pass through a period of real hardship; the state of the +weather often puts an absolute stop to all outdoor occupations, and +when this is the case, it takes an outdoor labourer all his might to +provide the barest necessaries for his home. In addition to this +difficulty, which lies in the nature of his calling, a labourer finds +the expense of living a good deal higher in the depth of winter. He +has to burn more fuel, he has to supply his children with warmer +clothing, in a variety of ways his expenses increase, notwithstanding +the most rigid economy. Winter is not only a harder season for the +outdoor labourer, it is a time of greater economic trial for the whole +working-class population. This, I think, is a statement which will be +universally admitted. +</p> + +<p> +On the assumption that poverty is the principal source of crime we +ought to have a much larger prison population in the depth of winter +than at any other period of the year. The prison statistics for +December, January, and February—the three most inclement months, the +three months when expenses are greatest and work scarcest—should be +the highest in the whole year. As a matter of fact, it is during these +three months that there are fewest people in prison. According to an +excellent return, issued for the first time by the Prison Commissioners +in their thirteenth report, it appears that there was a considerably +smaller number of prisoners in the local prisons of England and Wales +in the winter months—December, January and February, 1889-90—than at +any other season of the year.<a href="#fn22"><sup>[22]</sup></a> And this is not an isolated fact. A +glance at the criminal returns for a series of years will at once show +that crime is highest in summer and autumn—a time when occupation of +all kinds, and especially occupation for the poorest members of the +community, is most easily obtained—and lowest in winter and spring, +when economic conditions are most adverse.<a href="#fn23"><sup>[23]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +All these facts, instead of pointing to poverty as the main cause of +crime, point the other way. It is a curious sign of the times that +this statement should meet with so much incredulity. It has been +reserved for this generation to propagate the absurdity that the want +of money is the root of all evil; all the wisest teachers of mankind +have hitherto been disposed to think differently, and criminal +statistics are far from demonstrating that they are wrong. In the +laudable efforts which are now being made, and which ought to be made +to heighten the material well-being of the community, it is a mistake +to assume, as is too often done, that mere material prosperity, even +if spread over the whole population, will ever succeed in banishing +crime. A mere increase of material prosperity generates as many evils +as it destroys; it may diminish offences against property, but it +augments offences against the person, and multiplies drunkenness to an +alarming extent. While it is an undoubted fact that material +wretchedness has a debasing effect both morally and physically, it is +also equally true that the same results are sometimes found to flow +from an increase of economic well-being. An interesting proof of this +is to be found in the recent investigations of M. Chopinet, a French +military surgeon, respecting the stature of the population in the +central Pyrenees. M. Chopinet, after a careful examination of the +conscript registers from 1873 to 1888, arrives at the following +conclusions as to what determines the physical condition of the +population. After discussing the cosmical influences and the evil +effects of poverty and bad hygienic arrangements on the people, he +proceeds to point out that moral corruption arising from material +prosperity is also a powerful factor in producing physical degeneracy. +He singles out one canton—the canton of Luchon—as being the victim +of its own prosperity. In this canton, he says, that the old +simplicity of life has departed, in consequence of its prodigious +prosperity. "Vices formerly unknown have penetrated into the country; +the frequenting of public houses and the habit of keeping late hours +have taken the place of the open air sports which used to be the +favoured method of enjoyment. Illegitimate births, formerly very rare, +have multiplied, syphilis even has spread among the young. Food of a +less substantial character has superseded the diet of former times, +and, in short, alcoholism, precocious debauchery, and syphilis have +come like so many plagues to arrest the development of the youth and +seriously debilitate the population."<a href="#fn24"><sup>[24]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +Facts such as these should serve to remind us that the growth of +wealth may be accompanied, and is accompanied, by degeneracy of the +worst character unless there is a corresponding growth of the moral +sentiments of the community. "The perfection of man," says M. de +Laveleye, "consists in the full development of all his forces, +physical as well as intellectual, and of all his sentiments; in the +feeling of affection for the family and humanity; in a feeling for the +beautiful in nature and art." It is in proportion as men strive after +this ideal that crime will decay, and material prosperity only becomes +a good when it is used as a means to this supreme end. Otherwise, the +mere growth of wealth, be it ever so widely diffused, will deprave the +world instead of elevating it. The mere possession of wealth is not a +moralising agent; as Professor Marshall<a href="#fn25"><sup>[25]</sup></a> truly tells us, "Money is +general purchasing power, and is sought as a means to all kinds of +ends, high as well as low, spiritual as well as material." According +to this definition, money may as readily become a source of mischief +as an instrument for good; its wider diffusion among the community +has, therefore, a mixed effect, and it works for evil or for good, +according to the character of the individual. It is only when the +character is disciplined by the habitual exercise of self-restraint, +and ennobled by a generous devotion to the higher aims of life, that +money becomes a real blessing to its possessor. If, on the other hand, +money has merely the effect of making the well-to-do rich, and the +poor well-to-do, it will never diminish crime; it will merely cause +crime to modify its present forms. Such, at least, is the conclusion +to which a consideration of the contents of this chapter would seem to +lead. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="chapter"> +<a name="VI">CHAPTER VI.</a> +</p> + +<p class="chapter"> +CRIME IN RELATION TO SEX AND AGE. +</p> + + +<p> +In the present chapter we shall proceed to discuss the effect exercised +by two characteristics of a distinctly personal nature in the production +of crime, namely, age and sex. +</p> + +<p> +As sex is the most fundamental of all human distinctions we shall +begin by considering the part it plays among criminal phenomena. +According to the judicial statistics of all civilised peoples, women +are less addicted to crime than men, and boys are more addicted to +crime than girls. Among most European peoples between five and six +males are tried for offences against the law to every one female. In +the southern countries of Europe, females form a smaller proportion of +the criminal population than in the northern. This circumstance may be +accounted for in several ways. In the first place, it may be the case +that women in the south of Europe are better morally than in the +north; it may be that the social conditions of their existence shield +them from crime; or it may be that the crimes men are most prone to +commit in the south are of such a nature that women are more or less +incapable of perpetrating them. It is perfectly well known that in the +south of Europe women lead more secluded lives than is the case in the +north; they are much less immersed in the whirl and movement of life; +it is not surprising, therefore, to find that they are less addicted +to crime. Nor is this all. The crimes committed in the South consist +to a large extent of offences against the person; physical weakness in +a multitude of cases prevents women from committing such crimes. In +the North, on the other hand, a large proportion of crimes are in the +nature of thefts and offences against property. Most of these crimes +women can commit with comparative ease; the result is that they form a +larger proportion of the criminal population. Assaults are offences +women are less capable of committing than men; hence, if we find that +the crime of a country consists largely of personal violence, we shall +also find that the percentage of female criminals will be relatively +small. In Italy, where offences against the person are so prevalent, +females only form about nine per cent. of the criminal population; in +England, where personal violence is seldom resorted to, females form +between 17 and 18 per cent. of the persons proceeded against, and +about 15 per cent. of the numbers convicted. +</p> + +<p> +A consideration of these circumstances tends to show that although +southern women commit fewer crimes in proportion to men than northern +women, this fact is partly owing to the character of the crime. But it +is also owing to more secluded habits of life, and to the freedom from +moral contamination of a criminal nature which these habits secure. +</p> + +<p> +Proceeding from quantity to quality we find that although females +commit much fewer crimes in proportion than males, the offences they +do commit are frequently of a more serious nature than the crimes to +which men are addicted. According to the investigations of Guerry and +Quetelet, women in France commit more crimes of infanticide, abortion, +poisoning, and domestic theft than men. They are addicted equally with +men to the perpetration of parricide, and are more frequently +convicted than men for the ill-treatment of children. English criminal +statistics also show that the proportion of women to men rises with +the seriousness of the offence. The proportion of women to men +summarily proceeded against is 17 per cent., the proportion proceeded +against for murder and attempts to murder is as high as 36 per cent. +Women are also more hardened criminals than men. According to the +statistics of English prisons, women who have been once convicted are +much more likely to be reconvicted than men,<a href="#fn26"><sup>[26]</sup></a> and the prison +returns of Continental countries tell the same tale. +</p> + +<p> +The facts relating to female crime having been stated, it will now be +our business to inquire why women, on the whole, commit fewer crimes +than men. The most obvious answer is that they are better morally. The +care and nurture of children has been their lot in life for untold +centuries; the duties of maternity have perpetually kept alive a +certain number of unselfish instincts; those instincts have become +part and parcel of woman's natural inheritance, and, as a result of +possessing them to a larger extent than man, she is less disposed to +crime. It is very probable that there is an element of truth in the +idea that the care of offspring has had a moralising effect upon +women, and that this effect has acquired the power of a hereditary +characteristic; at the same time, it must be remembered that other +causes are also in operation which prevent women figuring as largely +in criminal returns as men. +</p> + +<p> +Among the most prominent of these causes is the want of physical +power. In all crimes requiring a certain amount of brute strength, +such as burglary, robbery with violence, and so on, the proportion of +women to men is small. A woman very rarely possesses the animal force +requisite for the perpetration of crimes accompanied with much +personal violence. But where the element of personal violence does not +come conspicuously to the front the proportion of female criminals to +male immediately rises, and in such crimes as poisoning, child murder, +abortion, domestic theft, women are more criminally disposed than men. +Undoubtedly the lack of power has as much to do with keeping down +female crime as the want of will. This is especially manifest in the +crime of infanticide. For the perpetration of this crime women possess +the power, and the vast number of women convicted of this offence in +proportion to men is ample proof that they often possess the will. Of +course the temptation to women to commit this kind of crime is often +extreme; it is the product, in many instances, of an overwhelming +sense of shame; and the perpetrators of infanticide are often far from +being the most debased of their sex. Still, the prevalence of +infanticide among women is an evidence that, where the temptation is +strong and the power sufficient, women are just as criminally inclined +as men. +</p> + +<p> +It has also to be borne in mind that women are very frequently the +instigators of crime and escape punishment because they are not +actually engaged in its commission. In almost all cases where +robberies are committed by a pack of thieves, a part of the +preparatory arrangements is entrusted to women, and women lend a +helping hand in disposing of the spoil. It is the men, as a rule, who +receive all the punishment, but the guilt of both sexes is very much +the same. In many cases of forgery and fraudulent bankruptcy among the +well-to-do classes, for which men only are punished, the guilt of +women is equally great. Household extravagance, extravagance in dress, +the mad ambition of many English women to live in what they call +"better style" than their neighbours sends not a few men to penal +servitude. The proportion of female crime in a community is also to a +very considerable extent determined by the social condition of women. +In all countries where social habits and customs constrain women to +lead retiring and secluded lives the number of female criminals +descends to a minimum. The small amount of female crime in Greece<a href="#fn27"><sup>[27]</sup></a> +is an instance of this law. On the other hand, in all countries where +women are accustomed to share largely the active work of life with +men, female crime has a distinct tendency to reach its maximum. An +instance of this is the high percentage of female crime in Scotland. +According to the Judicial Statistics for the year 1888 no less than 37 +per cent. of the cases tried before the Scotch courts consisted of +offences committed by women. It is true only 11 per cent. of these +offences were of a serious nature—the remainder being more or less +trivial, but, even after taking this circumstance into consideration, +the unwelcome fact remains that Scotch women commit a higher +percentage of crimes in proportion to men than the female population +of any other country in Europe. The proportion of English female +offenders to male is not half so high; it was only 17 per cent. in +1888, and is showing a tendency to decrease, being as high as 20 per +cent. for the twenty years ended 1876. The proportion of female +offenders in Scotland to the total criminal population is moving in an +opposite direction. The late Professor Leone Levi, in a paper read +before the Statistical Society in 1880, stated that Scotch women +formed 27 per cent. of the persons tried before the criminal courts; +they now form 37 per cent., a most alarming rate of increase. +</p> + +<p> +It hardly admits of doubt that the high ratio of female crime in +Scotland is to be attributed to the social status of women. In no +other country of Europe do women perform so much heavy manual work; +working in the fields and factories along with men; depending little +upon men for their subsistence; in all economic matters leading what +is called a more emancipated life than women do elsewhere; in short, +resembling man in their social activities, they also resemble him in +criminal proclivities. Scotch criminal statistics are thus a striking +confirmation of the general law revealed by the study of criminal +statistics as a whole; namely, that the more women are driven to enter +upon the economic struggle for life the more criminal they will +become. This is not a very consoling outlook for the future of +society. It is not consoling, for the simple reason that the whole +drift of opinion at the present time is in the direction of opening +out industrial and public life to women to the utmost extent possible. +In so far as public opinion is favouring the growth of female +political leagues and other female organisations of a distinctly +militant character, it is undoubtedly tending on the whole to lower +the moral nature of women. The combative attitude required to be +maintained by all members of such organisations is injurious to the +higher instincts of women, and in numbers of cases must affect their +moral tone. The amount of mischief done by these public organisations +for purposes of political combat is not confined to women alone. The +overwhelming influence exercised by mothers on the minds of children +is notorious; and that influence is not so likely to be for good where +the mother's mind is contaminated by a knowledge of, and sometimes by +practising, the shady tricks of electioneering. +</p> + +<p> +The present tendency to create a greater number of openings in trade +and industry for women is not to be dismissed as pernicious because of +its evil effect in multiplying female crime. After all, an enlarged +industrial career for women may be the lesser of two evils. According +to the present industrial constitution of society a very large number +of females must earn a living in the sweat of their brow, and until +some higher social development supersedes the existing order of things +it is only right that as wide a career as possible should be opened +out for the activities of women who must work to live. At the same +time it would be an infinitely superior state of things if society did +not require women's work beyond the confines of the home and the +primary school. In these two spheres there is ample occupation of the +very highest character for the energies of women; in them their work +is immeasurably superior to men's; and it is because the work required +in the home and the school is at the present moment so improperly +performed that our existing civilisation is such a hot-bed of physical +degeneracy, pauperism, and crime. One thing at least is certain, that +crime will never permanently decrease till the material conditions of +existence are such that women will not be called upon to fight the +battle of life as men are, but will be able to concentrate their +influence on the nurture and education of the young, after having +themselves been educated mainly with a view to that great end. +European society at the present moment is moving away from this ideal +of woman's functions in the world; she is getting to be regarded in +the light of a mere intellectual or industrial unit; and the flower of +womankind is being more and more drafted into commercial and other +enterprises. Some affect to look upon this condition, of things as +being in the line of progress; it may be, and to all appearance is, in +the line of material necessity, but it is unquestionably opposed to +the moral interests of the community. These interests demand that +women should not be debased, as criminal statistics prove that they +are by active participation in modern industrialism; they demand that +the all-important duties of motherhood should be in the hands of +persons capable of fulfilling them worthily, and not in the hands of +persons whose previous occupations have often rendered them unfit for +being a centre of grace and purity in the home. It cannot be too +emphatically insisted on that the home is the great school for the +formation of character among the young, and it is on character that +conduct depends. In proportion as this school of character is +improved, in the same proportion will crime decrease. But how is it to +be improved when the tendencies of industrialism are to degrade the +women who stand by nature at the head of it? Indifferent mothers +cannot make children good citizens; and the present course of things +industrial is slowly but surely tending to debase the fountain head of +the race. At the International Conference concerning the regulation of +labour held recently at Berlin, M. Jules Simon, at the close of an +excellent speech to the delegates, pointed out the remedy for the +present condition of things. "You will pardon me," he said, "for +concluding my observations with a personal remark, which is perhaps +authorised by a past entirely consecrated to a defence of the cause +which brings us here. The object we are aiming at is moral as well as +material; it is not only in the physical interests of the human race +that we are endeavouring to rescue children, youths, and women from +excessive toil; we are also labouring to restore woman to the home, +the child to its mother, for it is from her only that those lessons of +affection and respect which make the good citizen can be learned. We +wish to call a halt in the path of demoralisation down which the +loosening of the family tie is leading the human mind." +</p> + +<p> +Passing from the question of sex and crime we shall now consider the +proportions which crime bears to age. According to the calculations of +the late Mr. Clay, chaplain of Preston prison, the practice of +dishonesty among persons, who afterwards find their way into prisons, +begins at a very early age. In a communication addressed to Lord +Shaftesbury, in 1853, he said that 58 per cent. of criminals were +dishonest under 15 years of age; 14 per cent. became dishonest between +15 and 16; 8 per cent. became dishonest between 17 and 19; 20 per +cent. became dishonest under 20. +</p> + +<p> +I have little doubt that these proportions are still in the main +correct, and that the criminal instinct begins to show itself at a +very early period in life. In Staffordshire "it is an ascertained +fact, that there is scarcely an habitual criminal in the county who +has not been imprisoned as a child."<a href="#fn28"><sup>[28]</sup></a> But it is after the age of +twenty has been reached that the criminality of a people attains its +highest point. A glance at the subjoined table will make this clear:— +</p> + +<table summary="Homicides in various European States" width="70%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" align="center" border="1"> +<tr> +<td colspan=2 align="center">Population of England and Wales in 1871—</td> +<td colspan=2 align="center">Prisoners in Local Gaols in 1888—</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>Under 5</td> +<td align="right">13.52</td> +<td>Under 12</td> +<td align="right">0.1</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>5 and under 15</td> +<td align="right">22.58</td> +<td>12 and under 16</td> +<td align="right">2.8</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>15 and under 20</td> +<td align="right">9.59</td> +<td>16 and under 21</td> +<td align="right">16.1</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>20 and under 30</td> +<td align="right">16.66</td> +<td>21 and under 30</td> +<td align="right">30.2</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>30 and under 40</td> +<td align="right">12.80</td> +<td>30 and under 40</td> +<td align="right">24.3</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>40 and under 50</td> +<td align="right">10.05</td> +<td>40 and under 50</td> +<td align="right">14.7</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>50 and under 60</td> +<td align="right">7.32</td> +<td>50 and under 60</td> +<td align="right">6.4</td> +</tr><tr> +<td>60 and upwards</td> +<td align="right">7.48</td> +<td>60 and upwards</td> +<td align="right">5.4</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> +These figures show that in proportion to the population, crime is, as +we should expect, at its lowest level from infancy till the age of +sixteen. From that age it goes on steadily increasing in volume till +it reaches a maximum between thirty and forty. After forty has been +passed the criminal population begins rapidly to descend, but never +touches the same low point in old age as in early youth. +</p> + +<p> +Females do not enter upon a criminal career so early in life as +males;<a href="#fn29"><sup>[29]</sup></a> in the year 1888, while 20 per cent. of the <i>male</i> +population of our local prisons in England and Wales were under 21, +only 12 per cent. of the <i>female</i> prison population were under that +age. On the other hand, women between 21 and 50, form a larger +proportion of the female prison population, than men between the same +ages do of the male prison population. The criminal age among women is +later in its commencement, and earlier in coming to a close than in +the case of men. It is later in commencing because of the greater care +and watchfulness exercised over girls than boys; but it is more +persistent while it lasts, because a plunge into crime is a more +irreparable thing in a woman than in a man. A woman's past has a far +worse effect on her future than a man's. She incurs a far graver +degree of odium from her own sex; it is much more difficult for her to +get into the way of earning an honest livelihood, and a woman who has +once been shut up within bolts and bars is much more likely to be +irretrievably lost than a man. If it is important to keep men as much +as possible out of prison, it is doubly necessary to keep out women; +but it is, at the same time, a much harder thing to accomplish. This +arises from the fact that the great bulk of female offenders enter the +criminal arena after the age of twenty-one, and can only be dealt with +by a sentence of imprisonment. If females began crime at an earlier +period of life, it would be possible to send them to Reformatories or +Industrial Schools, and a fair hope of ultimately saving them would +still remain; but as this is impossible with grown-up persons, prison +is the only alternative, and it is after imprisonment is over that a +woman begins to recognise the terrible social penalties it has +involved. +</p> + +<p> +The proportion of offenders under sixteen years of age to the total +local prison population of England and Wales, has decreased in a +remarkable way within the last twenty or thirty years. The proportion +of offenders under sixteen committed to prison between 1857-66, +amounted to six and three-quarters per cent. of the prison population, +and if we go back behind that period it was higher still. In fact, +during the first quarter of the present century, the extent and +ramifications of juvenile crime had almost reduced statesmen to +despair. But the spread of the Reformatory system and the introduction +more recently of Industrial and Truant Schools for children who have +just drifted, or are fast drifting, into criminal courses, has had a +remarkable effect in diminishing the juvenile population of our +prisons. At the present time the proportion of juveniles under sixteen +to the rest of the local prison population is only a little over two +per cent. and it is not likely that it will ever reach a higher +figure. It might easily be reduced almost to zero if children destined +for Reformatories were sent off to these institutions at once, instead +of being detained for a month or so in prison till a suitable school +is found for them. Some persons object to the idea of sending children +to Reformatories at once, on the ground that to abolish the terror of +imprisonment from the youthful mind would embolden the juvenile +inclined to crime and lead him more readily to commit it. Others +object on the ground that it is only right the child should be +punished for his offence. In answer to the last objection, it may +pertinently be said that a sentence of three or four years to a +Reformatory is surely sufficient punishment for offences usually +committed by small boys. With regard to the first objection, our own +experience is that the ordinary juvenile is much more afraid of the +policeman than of the prison, and that the fear of being caught would +operate just as strongly upon him if he were sent straight to the +Reformatory as it does now. The evils connected with the present +system of sending children destined for Reformatories to prison are of +two kinds. At the present time many magistrates will not send children +to Reformatories who sorely need the restraints of such an +institution, because they know it involves a period of preliminary +imprisonment before they can get there. Secondly, it enables a lad to +know what the inside of a prison really is. On these two points let me +quote the words of an experienced magistrate. "I have many times," +said Mr. Whitwell, at the fourth Reformatory Conference, "when having +to deal with young people, felt it very desirable to send them to a +Reformatory, but have shrunk from it because we are obliged to send +them to prison first. I think it should be left to the discretion of +the magistrates and not made compulsory. I feel very strongly indeed +that it is most desirable to keep the child from knowing what the +inside of a prison is. Let them think it something awful to look +forward to. <i>When they have been in the prison they are of opinion +that it is not such a very bad place after all, and they are not +afraid of going there again</i>; but if they are sent to a Reformatory +and told that they will be sent to a prison if they do not reform, +they will think it an awful place." These are wise words. It is +impossible to make imprisonment such a severe discipline for children +as it is for grown-up men and women, and as it is not so severe, +children leave our gaols with a false impression on their minds. The +terror of being imprisoned has, to a large extent, departed; they +think they know the worst and cease to be much afraid of what the law +can do. Hence the fact that society has less chance of reclaiming a +child who has been imprisoned than it has of reclaiming one who has +not undergone that form of punishment although he has committed +precisely the same offence. In England, many authorities on +Reformatory Schools are strongly in favour of retaining preliminary +imprisonment for Reformatory children; in Scotland, experienced +opinion is decisively on the other side. On this point, the Scotch are +undoubtedly in the right. The working of prison systems, whether at +home or abroad, teaches us that any person, be he child or man, who +has once been in prison, is much more likely to come back than a +person who, for a similar offence, has received punishment in a +different form. The application of this principle to the case of +Reformatory children decisively settles the matter in favour of +sending such children to Reformatories at once. If this simple reform +were effected, the child population of our prisons would almost cease +to exist. In the year 1888, this population amounted to 239 for +England and Wales under the age of twelve, and 4,826 under the age of +sixteen, thus making a total of 5,065 or 2.9 per cent. of the whole +local prison population. +</p> + +<p> +In the preceding remarks on juvenile offenders under 16, it has been +pointed out that the great decrease in the numbers of such offenders +among the prison population is mainly owing to the development of +Industrial and Reformatory Schools. In order, therefore, to form an +accurate estimate of juvenile delinquency, we must look not merely at +the number of juveniles in prison; attention must also be directed to +the number of juveniles in Reformatory and Industrial Institutions. +Although these institutions are not places of imprisonment, yet they +are places of compulsory detention, and contain a very considerable +proportion of juvenile delinquents. All juveniles sent to +Reformatories have, indeed, been actually convicted of criminal +offences, and in 1888 the number of young people in the Reformatory +Schools of Great Britain (excluding Ireland) was in round numbers six +thousand (5,984). These must be added to the total juvenile prison +population in order to form a true conception of the extent of +juvenile crime. It is almost certain that if these young people were +not in Reformatories they would be in prisons, for, in almost the same +proportion as the Reformatory and Industrial School inmates have +increased, the juvenile prison population has decreased. +</p> + +<p> +To the population of the Reformatory Schools must also be added a +large percentage of the Industrial School population. Since the year +1864, the number of boys and girls in Industrial and Truant Schools +has gone on steadily increasing. In that year the inmates amounted to +1,608; twenty-four years afterwards, that is to say, in 1888, the +number of children in Great Britain in Industrial and Truant Schools +amounted to 21,426.<a href="#fn30"><sup>[30]</sup></a> It is true that a considerable proportion of +these children were not sent to the schools on account of having +committed crime; at the same time it has to be remembered that nearly +all of them were on the way to it, and would in all probability have +become criminals had the State left them alone for a year or two +longer. At the time of their committal the children we are now dealing +with were either children who had been found begging, or who were +wandering about without a settled home, or who were found destitute, +or who had a parent in gaol, or who lived in the company of female +criminals, prostitutes, and thieves. Such children may not actually +have come within the clutches of the criminal law, but it is +sufficient to look for a moment at the surroundings they had lived in +to see that this was only a question of time. We must, therefore, add +those children, along with the Reformatory population, to the number +of juveniles in gaol if we wish to form a proper estimate of the +extent of juvenile delinquency. If this is done we arrive at the +conclusion that the criminal and semi-criminal juvenile population is +at the present time more than 25,000 strong in England and Wales +alone; if Scotland be included it is more than 30,000 strong. These +figures are enough to show that it is only compulsory detention in +State establishments which keeps down the numbers of juvenile +offenders; and there can be little doubt, if the inmates of these +institutions were let loose upon the country, juveniles would very +soon constitute seven, eight, or, perhaps, ten per cent. of the prison +population. +</p> + +<p> +Let us now consider the case of young offenders between the ages of 16 +and 21. This is the most momentous for weal or woe of all periods of +life. During this stage, the transition from youth to manhood is +taking place; the habits then formed acquire a more enduring +character, and, in the majority of cases, determine the whole future +of the individual. If youths between the ages just mentioned could by +any possibility be prevented from embarking on a criminal career, the +drop in the criminal population would be far-reaching in its effects. +It is from the ranks of young people just entering early manhood that +a large proportion of the habitual criminal population is recruited; +and if this critical period of life can be tided over without repeated +acts of crime, there is much less likelihood of a young man +degenerating afterwards into a criminal of the professional class. It +is most important that the professional criminal class should be +diminished at a quicker rate than is the case at present; and, in +spite of police statistics to the contrary, it is a class which has +not become perceptibly smaller within the last twenty or five and +twenty years. A proof of this statement is to be seen in the fact that +offences against property with violence display a tendency to +increase, and it is offences of this nature which are pre-eminently +the work of the habitual criminal. It is a comparatively rare thing to +find a habitual criminal stop mid-way in his sinister career; the +accumulated impressions resulting from a life of crime have too +effectively succeeded in shaping his character and conduct, and he +persists, as a rule, in leading an anti-social life so long as he has +physical strength to do it. +</p> + +<p> +The only hope, therefore, of diminishing the habitual criminal +population, is to lessen the number of recruits; and as most of these +recruits are to be found among lads of between sixteen and twenty-one, +it is to these lads that serious attention must be directed. Every year +a certain proportion of youths ranging between these two ages shows a +pronounced disposition to enter permanently upon a criminal life by +repeatedly returning to prison. The deterrent effect of short sentences +has ceased to operate upon them, and all the symptoms are present that +a downright career of crime has begun. In such circumstances what is to +be done? A plan has been proposed by Mr. Lloyd Baker for dealing with +refractory and unmanageable Reformatory children, the substance of +which is to send them to another institution of a stricter character +than the ordinary Reformatory School, and which for want of a better +name he calls a Penal Reformatory. It is very probable that something +in the nature of a Penal Reformatory is just what is wanted to prevent +a youth on the downward road from finally swelling the proportions of +the professional criminal population. If Great Britain ever established +such institutions, she would then possess a graded set of organisations +for dealing with the young, which would cover the whole period of +youthful life. The Truant School would catch the child on the first +symptoms of waywardness, the Industrial School would arrest him +standing on the verge of crime, the Reformatory School would dual with +actual offenders against the law, and the Penal Reformatory would +grapple with habitual offenders under the age of manhood.<a href="#fn31"><sup>[31]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +After the age of manhood has been reached, and the main lines of +character are formed, punitive methods of dealing with criminal +offenders must assume a more prominent position, and the prison should +then take the place of the Reformatory. In youth the deterrent effects +of punishment are small, and the beneficial effects of reformative +measures are at their maximum. In manhood, on the other hand, this +condition of things is reversed, and the deterrent effects of +punishment exceed the beneficial effects of reformative influences. An +interesting example of the value of punishment for adults, as compared +with other methods, is given by Sir John Strachey in his account of +infanticide in certain parts of India. "For many years past," he says, +"measures have been taken in the North-West Provinces for the +prevention of this crime. For a long time, when our civilisation was +less belligerent than it has since become, it was thought that the best +hope of success lay in the removal of the causes which appeared to lead +to its commission, and especially in the prevention of extravagant +expenditure on marriages; but although these benevolent efforts were +undoubtedly useful, their practical results were not great, and it +gradually became clear that it was only by a stringent and organised +system of coercion that these practices would ever be eradicated. In +1870 an act of the legislature was passed which enabled the Government +to deal with the subject. A system of registration of births and deaths +among the suspected classes was established, with constant inspection +and enumeration of children; special police-officers were entertained +at the cost of the guilty communities, and no efforts were spared to +convince them that the Government had firmly resolved that it would put +down these practices, and would treat the people who followed them as +murderers. Although the time is, I fear, distant when preventive +measures will cease to be necessary, much progress has been made, and +there are now thousands of girls where formerly there were none. In the +Mainpuri district, where, as I have said, there was not many years ago +hardly a single Chauhán girl, nearly half of the Chauhán children at +the present time are girls; and it is hoped that three-fourths of the +villages have abandoned the practice."<a href="#fn32"><sup>[32]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +These facts speak for themselves and afford an incontestable proof of +the value of punishment as a remedial measure when other remedies have +failed.<a href="#fn33"><sup>[33]</sup></a> In the re-action which is now in full force, and rightly +so, against the excessive punishments of past times, there is a marked +tendency among some minds to go to the opposite extreme, and an +attempt is being made to show that imprisonment has hardly any +curative effect at all. Its evils, and from the very nature of things +they are not a few, are almost exclusively elaborated and dwelt upon, +little attention being paid to the vast amount of good which +imprisonment alone is able to effect. It is possible that imprisonment +sends a few to utter perdition at a quicker pace than they would have +gone of their own accord, but on the other hand, it rescues many a man +before he has irrevocably committed himself to a life of crime. If it +fails the first time, it very often succeeds after the second or the +third, and no one is justified in saying imprisonment is worthless as +a reformative agency till it has failed at least three times. According +to the judicial statistics for England and Wales, imprisonment is +successful after the third time in about 80 per cent. of the cases +annually submitted to the criminal courts, and although it is a pity +that the percentage is not higher, yet it cannot fairly be said that +such results are an evidence of failure. The prison is unquestionably +a much less effective weapon for dealing with crime among Continental +peoples, and in the United States, than it has shown itself to be in +Great Britain; but this failure arises in the main from the laxity and +indulgence with which criminals are treated in foreign prisons. A +prison to possess any reformative value must always be made an +uncomfortable place to live in; Continental peoples and the people of +America have to a large extent lost sight of this fact; hence the +failure of their penal systems to stop the growth of the delinquent +population. If, however, imprisonment is not allowed to degenerate +into mere detention, it is bound to act as a powerful deterrent upon +grown-up offenders, and it is the only menace which will effectually +keep many of them within the law. The hope of reward and the fear of +punishment, or, in other words, love of pleasure, and dread of pain, +are the two most deeply seated instincts in the human breast; if Mr. +Darwin's theory be correct, it is through the operation of these +fundamental instincts that such a being as man has come into existence +at all. In any case these instincts have hitherto been the chief +ingredients of all human progress, the most effective spur to energy +of all kinds, and when properly utilised they are the most potent of +all deterrents to crime. Were it possible for the hand of social +justice to descend on every criminal with infallible certainty; were +it universally true that no crime could possibly escape punishment, +that every offence against society would inevitably and immediately be +visited on the offender, the tendency to commit crime would probably +become as rare as the tendency of an ordinary human being to thrust +his hand into the fire. The uncertainty of punishment is the great +bulwark of crime, and crime has a marvellous knack of diminishing in +proportion as this uncertainty decreases. No amelioration of the +material circumstances of the community can destroy all the causes of +crime, and till moral progress has reached a height hitherto attained +only by the elect of the race, one of the most efficient curbs upon +the criminally disposed will consist in increasing the probability of +punishment. +</p> + +<p> +In proportion as the probability of being punished is augmented, the +severity of punishment can be safely diminished. This is one of the +paramount advantages to be derived from a highly efficient police +system. The barbarity of punishments in the Middle Ages is always +attributed by historians to the barbarous ideas of those rude times. +But this is only partially true; one important consideration is +overlooked. In the Middle Ages it was extremely difficult to catch the +criminal; in fact, it is only within the present century that an +organised system for effecting the capture of criminals has come into +existence. The result of the nebulous police system of past times was +that very few offenders were brought to justice at all, and society, +in order to prevent lawlessness from completely getting the upper +hand, was obliged to make a terrible example of all offenders coming +within its grasp. As soon, however, as it became less difficult to +arrest and convict lawless persons, the old severities of the criminal +code immediately began to fall into abeyance. Sentences were +shortened, punishments were mitigated, the death penalty was abolished +for almost all crimes except murder. But even now, the moment society +sees any form of crime showing a tendency to evade the vigilance of +the law, a cry is immediately raised for sterner measures of +repression against the perpetrators of that particular form of crime. +The Flogging Bill recently passed by Parliament is a case in point. +These instances afford a fairly accurate insight into the action of +society with regard to the punishment of crime. It punishes severely +when the criminal is seldom caught; it punishes more lightly when he +is often caught; and its punishments will become more mitigated still, +as soon as the probability of capture is made more complete. A +comparatively light sentence is in most cases a very effective +deterrent, when it is made almost a certainty, and all alterations in +the future in criminal administration should be in the direction of +making punishment more certain rather than more severe. Such efforts +are sure to be rewarded by a decrease in the amount of crime. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="chapter"> +<a name="VII">CHAPTER VII.</a> +</p> + +<p class="chapter"> +THE CRIMINAL IN BODY AND MIND. +</p> + + +<p> +Has the criminal any bodily and mental characteristics which +differentiate him from the ordinary man? Does he differ from his +fellows in height and weight? Does he possess a peculiar conformation +of skull and brain? Is he anomalous in face and feature, in intellect, +in will, in feeling? Is he, in short, an individual separated from the +rest of humanity by any set or combination of qualities which clearly +mark him off as an abnormal being? As these matters are at present +exciting considerable attention, let us now look at the criminal from +a purely biological point of view. +</p> + +<p> +A good deal of diversity of opinion exists among competent authorities +respecting the stature of criminals. Lombroso says that Italian +criminals are above the average height; Knecht says German criminals +do not differ in this respect from other men; Marro says the stature +of criminals is variable; Thomson and Wilson say that criminals are +inferior in point of stature to the average man. Whatever may be the +case on the Continent, there can be little doubt that as far as the +United Kingdom is concerned, the height of the criminal class is lower +than that of the ordinary citizen. In Scotland the average height of +the ordinary population is (559) 67.30 inches; the average height of +the criminal population, as given by Dr. Bruce Thomson, is (324) 66.95 +inches. According to Dr. Beddoe, the average height of the London +artizan population is (318) 66.72 inches; the average height of the +London criminal (300) 54.70 inches; the average height of Liverpool +criminals, according to Danson, is (1117) 66.39 inches. Danson's +figures point to the fact that there is hardly any difference in +height between the criminal classes of Liverpool and the artizan +population of London It has, however, to be borne in mind that the +population of the North of England, being largely of Scandinavian +descent, is taller than the population of the South of England. The +height of Liverpool criminals should be compared with the average +height of the Scotch, to whom they are more nearly allied by race. If +this is done, it will be seen that they fall considerably short of the +normal stature. +</p> + +<p> +The difference between the height of the criminal population and that +of the most favoured classes is more remarkable still. According to +Dr. Roberts' tables, the average height of the latter is 69.06 inches; +the London criminal is only 64.70 inches. There is thus a difference +of from four to five inches between the most highly favoured classes +and the London criminal class. The difference between the criminal +class and the merely well-to-do is not quite so great. Selecting Mr. +Galton's Health Exhibition measurements as a test of the stature of +the well-to-do classes, the results come out as follows:—Health +Exhibition measurements, 67.9 inches; London criminals, 64.70 inches. +The criminal is thus between two and three inches inferior in height +to the well-to-do portion of the community. In fact, the height of the +London criminal is very nearly the same as that of the East-End Jew. +According to Mr. Jacobs, in a paper communicated to the Journal of the +Anthropological Institute, the average stature of the East-End Jew is +64.3 inches; his co-religionist in the West-End is 67.5 inches. We may +accordingly take it as the outcome of these measurements that the +criminal population of Great Britain is inferior in point of stature +to the ordinary population. +</p> + +<p> +From stature we shall pass to weight. Lombroso and Marro say that the +weight of Italian criminals is superior to the weight of the average +Italian citizen. On the other hand, the weight of London criminals is +almost the same as that of London artizans, but inferior to the weight +of the artizan population in the large English towns taken as a whole. +Average weight of London criminals (300) 136 pounds; average weight of +London artizan (318) 137 pounds; average weight of artizans in large +towns generally, 138 pounds. The London criminal is considerably +inferior in weight to the well-to-do classes, as will be seen from Mr. +Galton's Health Exhibition statistics. Average weight, Health +Exhibition, 143 pounds; average weight, most favoured class (Roberts), +152 pounds. These figures show that the criminal class in London is +seven pounds lighter than the well-to-do, and sixteen pounds lighter +than the most favoured section of the population. +</p> + +<p> +Hardly any investigations have been made in this country respecting +the skulls of criminals, and the inquiries of continental +investigators have so far led to very conflicting results. It is a +contention of Lombroso's that the skulls of criminals exhibit a larger +proportion of asymmetrical peculiarities than the skulls of other men. +On this point Lombroso is supported by Manouvrier. But Topinard, an +anthropologist of great eminence, is of the opposite opinion. He +carefully examined the same series of skulls as been examined by +Manouvrier—the skulls of murders—and he discovered no marked +difference between these and other skulls. Heger, a Belgian +anthropologist says that the skulls of delinquents do not differ from +the skulls of the race to which the delinquent belongs. In fact, till +more exactitude is introduced into the methods of skull measurement, +all deduction based upon an examination of the criminal skull must be +regarded as untrustworthy. A striking instance of this was witnessed +at the proceedings of the Paris Congress of Criminal Anthropology held +in 1889. When the skull of Charlotte Corday, who killed the +revolutionist Marat, was subjected to examination, Lombroso declared +that it was a truly criminal type of skull; Topinard, on the other +hand, gave it as his opinion that it was a typical female skull. On +this point Topinard was supported by Benedict.<a href="#fn34"><sup>[34]</sup></a> As long as such +divergencies of view exist among anthropologists it is impossible to +place much stress upon inquiries relative to the conformation of the +criminal skull. Before a beginning can be made with inquiries of this +character, there must be some fundamental basis of agreement among +investigators as to what is to be accounted asymmetrical in skull +measurements and what is not. Even then it will have to be remembered, +before coming to conclusions, that no skull is perfectly +symmetrical—every one showing some variation from the ideal type. +When the extent of this variation has been absolutely demonstrated to +be greater in the case of criminals than among other sections of the +community, we shall then be approaching solid ground. At present we +must wait for further light before anything can be said with certainty +with respect to the criminal skull. +</p> + +<p> +Just as little is known at present about the brain of criminals as +about the skull. Some years ago Professor Benedict startled the world +by stating that he had discovered the seat of crime in the +convolutions of the brain. He found a certain number of anomalies in +the convolutions of the frontal lobes, and he came to the conclusion +that crime was connected with the existence of these anomalies. But he +had omitted to examine the frontal convolutions of honest people. When +this was done by other investigators, it was found that the brain +convolutions of normal men presented just as many anomalies, some +investigators (Dr. Giacomini) said even more than the brains of +criminals. According to Dr. Bardeleben, there is no such thing as a +normal type of brain. Weight of brain is a much simpler question than +brain type, but so far it is impossible to say whether the criminal +brain is heavier or lighter than the ordinary brain. The solution of +this comparatively simple point is beset by a certain number of +obstacles. It is not enough, Dr. Binswanger tells us, to weigh the +brains of criminals and the brains of ordinary persons and then strike +an average of the results. The height and weight of the persons whose +brains are averaged are essential to the formation of accurate +conclusions; till these important factors are taken into account, all +deductions based upon weight of brain only rest upon an unsure +foundation. +</p> + +<p> +But supposing we had a trustworthy body of facts bearing upon the +weight and structure of the criminal brain, we should still require to +know much more of brain functions in general before satisfactory +conclusions could be drawn from these facts. We know something, it is +true, of the physiological functions at certain cerebral regions, but +as yet nothing is known of the localisation of any particular mental +faculty, whether criminal or otherwise. A conclusive proof that the +study of the brain, as an organ of thought, is still in its infancy, +is found in the fact that the fundamental question is still unsolved, +whether the whole brain is to be considered one in all its parts, so +far as the performance of psychic functions is concerned, or whether +these functions are localised in certain definite centres. Till these +fundamental difficulties are cleared away, the presence of anomalies +in certain convolutions of the brain will not prove very much one way +or the other.<a href="#fn35"><sup>[35]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +An examination of the criminal face has so far led to no definite and +assured results. In the imagination of artists the criminal is almost +always credited with the possession of a retreating forehead. As a +matter of fact, Dr. Marro, one of the most eminent representatives of +the anthropological school, assures us that this is not the case. +After comparing the foreheads of 539 delinquents with the foreheads of +100 ordinary men, he found that criminals had a smaller percentage of +retreating foreheads than the average man.<a href="#fn36"><sup>[36]</sup></a> He also found that +projecting eyebrows, another trait which is supposed to be a criminal +peculiarity, were almost as common among ordinary people as among +offenders against the law. Projecting ears is another peculiarity +which is often associated with the idea of a criminal. But Dr. Lannois +states that after a careful examination of the ears of 43 young +offenders, he found them as free from anomalies as the ears of other +people.<a href="#fn37"><sup>[37]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +As it is the Italians who have studied these matters most exhaustively, +it is mainly to them we must go for information. In a little book on +the skeleton and the form of the nose, Dr. Salvator Ottolenghi comes to +the somewhat curious result that the bones of the criminal nose offer +many anomalies of a pre-human or bestial character; but the nose itself +is straight and long, or, in other words, just as highly developed as +the noses of ordinary men. Careful inquiries have been undertaken by +criminal anthropologists into the colour of the hair, the length of the +arms, the colour of the skin, tattooing, sensitiveness to pain among +the criminal population, but these laborious investigations have so +far led to few solid conclusions. According to Lombroso, insensibility +to pain is a marked characteristic of the typical criminal.<a href="#fn38"><sup>[38]</sup></a> +"Individuals," he says, "who possess this quality consider themselves +as privileged, and they despise delicate and sensitive persons. It is a +pleasure to such hardened men to torment others whom they look upon as +inferior beings." On this point M. Joly is at variance with Lombroso. +"I asked," he says, "at the central hospital, the Santé, where all +persons who become seriously ill in the prisons of the Seine are looked +after, if this disvulnerability had ever been noticed. I was told that +far from that, prisoners were always found very sensitive to pain ... +Honest people, industrious workmen, the fathers of families treated at +the Charité or the Hôtel-Dieu (Paris hospitals), undergo operations +with much more fortitude than the sick prisoners of the Santé."<a href="#fn39"><sup>[39]</sup></a> On +this point, therefore, as on so many others, we are still without a +sufficient body of evidence, and must, meanwhile, suspend our judgment. +</p> + +<p> +Let us now consider the criminal's physiognomy. In this connection it +must be borne in mind that a prolonged period of imprisonment will +change the face of any man, whether he is a criminal or not. Political +offenders who have undergone a sentence of penal servitude, and who may +be men of the highest character, acquire the prison look and never +altogether get rid of it. If a man spends a certain number of years +sharing the life, the food, the occupations of five or six hundred +other men, if he mixes with them and with no one else, he will +inevitably come to resemble them in face and feature. A remarkable +illustration of this fact has recently been brought to light by the +Photographic Society of Geneva. "From photographs of seventy-eight old +couples, and of as many adult brothers and sisters, it was found that +twenty-four of the former resembled each other much more strongly than +as many of the latter who were thought most like one another."<a href="#fn40"><sup>[40]</sup></a> It +would, therefore, seem that the action of unconscious imitation, +arising from constant contact, is capable of producing a remarkable +change in the features, the acquired expression frequently tending to +obliterate inherited family resemblances. According to Piderit, +physiognomy is to be considered as a mimetic expression which has +become habitual. The criminal type of face, so conspicuous in old +offenders, is in many cases merely a prison type; it is not congenital; +men who do not originally have it almost always acquire it after a +prolonged period of penal servitude. +</p> + +<p> +But apart from the prison type of countenance, it is highly probable +that a distinct criminal type also exists. Certain professions +generate distinctive castes of feature, as, for instance, the Army and +the Church. This distinctiveness is not confined to features alone, it +diffuses itself over the whole man; it is observable in manner, in +gesture, in bearing, in demeanour, and is constantly breaking out in a +variety of unexpected ways. In like manner the habitual criminal +acquires the habits of his class. Crime is his profession; it is also +the profession of all his associates. The constant practice of this +profession results in the acquisition of a certain demeanour, a +certain aspect, gait, and general appearance, in many instances too +subtle to define, but, at the same time, plain and palpable to an +expert. +</p> + +<p> +The slang of criminals is also explicable on the same principle. Every +trade and calling has its technical terms. The meaning of these terms +is hidden from the rest of the world, but the origin of their +existence is not difficult to explain. The jargon of the criminal +arises from the same causes and is constructed on exactly the same +principles as the technical words and phrases of the man of science. +When a man of science is compelled to make frequent use of a phrase, +he generally gets rid of it by inventing some technical word; it is +precisely the same with criminals. With them technical words are used +instead of phrases, and short words instead of long ones in all +matters where criminal interests are intimately concerned, and on all +topics which are habitually the subjects of conversation among the +criminal classes. The language of the Stock Exchange with its Bulls, +Bears, Contangos, and other short and comprehensive expressions for +various kinds of stocks, is on all fours with the slang of criminals, +and it is not necessary to resort to atavism in order to explain it. +It arises to supply professional needs, and criminal argot springs up +from exactly the same cause. +</p> + +<p> +Summing up our inquiries respecting the criminal type we arrive, in +the first place, at the general conclusion, that so far as it has a +real existence it is not born with a man, but originates either in the +prison, and is then merely a prison type, or in criminal habits of +life, and is then a truly criminal type. As a matter of fact, the two +types are in most cases blended together, the prison type with its +hard, impassive rigidity of feature being superadded to the gait, +gesture and demeanour of the habitual criminal. In combination these +two types form a professional type and constitute what Dr. Bruce +Thomson<a href="#fn41"><sup>[41]</sup></a> has called "a physique distinctly characteristic of the +criminal class." It is not, however, a type which admits of accurate +description, and its practical utility is impaired by the fact that +certain of its features are sometimes visible in men who have never +been convicted of crime. The position of the case, with respect to the +criminal type, may be best described by saying that an experienced +detective officer will be sure in nine cases out of ten that he has +got hold of a criminal by profession, but in the tenth case he will +probably make a mistake. In other words, face, manner and demeanor are +no infallible index of character or habits of life. +</p> + +<p> +When crime is not an inherited taint, but merely an acquired habit, +this fact has an important practical bearing upon the proper method of +dealing with it. Acquired habits, we are now being taught by Professor +Weismann, are incapable of being transmitted to posterity, and Mr. +Galton is of the same opinion.<a href="#fn42"><sup>[42]</sup></a> This is not the place to elaborate +the theory of inheritance, as understood by those writers; its +essence, however, is that we only inherit the natural faculties of our +forebears, and not those faculties which they have acquired by +practice and experience. The son of a rope-dancer does not inherit his +father's faculties for rope-dancing, nor the son of an orator his +father's ready aptitude for public speech, nor the son of a designer +his father's acquired skill in the making of designs. All that the son +inherits is the natural faculties of the parent, but no more. Hence it +follows that the son of a thief, on the supposition that thieving +comes by habit and practice, does not by natural inheritance acquire +the parent's criminal propensity. As far as his natural faculties are +concerned he starts life free from the vicious habits of his parent, +and should he in turn become a thief, as sometimes happens, it is not +because he has inherited his father's thievish habits, but because he +has himself acquired them. It is imitation, not instinct, which +transforms him into a thief; and if he is removed from the influence +of evil example he will have almost as small a chance of falling into +a criminal life as any other member of the community. It will not be +quite so small, because no public institution, however well conducted, +can ever exercise so moralising an effect as a good home, but it will +be much smaller than if he grew up to maturity under the pernicious +surroundings of a criminal home. +</p> + +<p> +If we do not inherit the acquired faculties and habits of our parents, +it is unfortunately too true that we inherit their diseases and the +connection between disease and crime is a fact which cannot be denied. +In many cases it is perfectly true that persons suffering from disease +or physical degeneracy do not become criminals, in most cases they do +not; at the same time a larger proportion of such persons fall into a +lawless life than is the case with people who are free from inherited +infirmities. The undoubted tendency of physical infirmity is to +disturb the temper, to weaken the will, and generally to disorganise +the mental equilibrium. Such a tendency, when it becomes very +pronounced, leads its unhappy possessor to perpetrate offenses against +his fellow-men, or, in other words, to commit crime. In a recent +communication to a German periodical, Herr Sichart, director of +prisons in the kingdom of Wurtemburg, has shown that a very high +percentage of criminals are the descendants of degenerate parents. +Herr Sichart's inquiries extended over several years and included +1,714 prisoners. Of this number 16 per cent. were descended from +drunken parents; 6 per cent. from families in which there was madness; +4 per cent. from families addicted to suicide; 1 per cent. from +families in which there was epilepsy. In all, 27 per cent. of the +offenders, examined by Herr Sichart were descended from families in +which there was degeneracy. According to these figures more than one +fourth of the German prison population have received a defective +organisation from their ancestry, which manifests itself in a life of +crime. +</p> + +<p> +In France and Italy the same state of things prevails. Dr. Corre is of +opinion that a very large proportion of persons convicted of bad +conduct in the French military service are distinctly degenerate +either in body or mind. Dr. Virgilio says that in Italy 32 per cent. +of the criminal population have inherited criminal tendencies from +their parents. In England there is no direct means of testing the +amount of degeneracy among the criminal classes, but, in all +likelihood, it is quite as great as elsewhere. According to the report +of the Medical Inspector of convict prisons for 1888-9, the annual +number of deaths from natural causes, among the convict population, is +from 10 to 12 per 1000. Let us compare those figures with the death +rate of the general population as recorded in the Registrar-General's +report for 1888. The annual death rate from all causes of the general +population, between the ages of 15 and 45, is about 7 per 1000. I have +selected the period of life between 15 and 45 for the reason that it +corresponds most closely with the average age of criminals. If deaths +from accident are excluded from the mortality returns of the general +population, it will be found that the rate of mortality among +criminals, in convict prisons, is from one third to one half higher +than the rate of mortality among the rest of the community of a +similar age. If the rate of mortality of the criminal population is so +high inside convict prisons, where the health of the inmates is so +carefully attended to, what must it be among the criminal classes when +in a state of liberty? Independently of the premature deaths brought +on by irregularity of life, it is certain that a high proportion of +criminals bear within them the seeds of inherited disorders, and it is +these disorders which largely account for the high rate of mortality +amongst them when in prison. +</p> + +<p> +The high percentage of disease and degeneracy among the English +criminal population may be seen in other ways. The population in the +local gaols in 1888-9, between the ages of 21 and 40, constituted 54 +per cent. of the total prison population, whilst the same class between +the ages of 40 and CO formed only 20 per cent. of the prison +population. One half of this drop in the percentage of prisoners +between 40 and 60 may be accounted for by the decreased percentage of +persons between these two ages in the general population. The other +half can only be accounted for by the extent to which premature decay +and death rage among criminals who have passed their fortieth year. In +other words, the number of criminals alive after forty is much smaller +than the number of normal men alive after that age. +</p> + +<p> +A direct proof of the extent of degeneracy in the shape of insanity +among persons convicted of murder can be found in the Judicial +Statistics. The number of persons convicted of wilful murder, not +including manslaughter or non-capital homicides, from 1879 to 1888 +amounted to 441. Out of this total 143 or 32 per cent. were found +insane. Of the 299 condemned to death, no less than 145, or nearly one +half, had their sentences commuted, many of them on the ground of +mental infirmity. The whole of these figures decisively prove that +between 40 and 50 per cent. of the convictions for wilful murder are +cases in which the murderers were either insane or mentally infirm. +Murder cases are almost the only ones respecting which the antecedents +of the offender are seriously inquired into. But when this inquiry +does take place the vast amount of degeneracy among criminals at once +becomes apparent. +</p> + +<p> +Passing from the mental condition of murderers, let us now take into +consideration the mental state of criminals generally. Beginning with +the senses, it may be said that very little stress can be laid on the +experiments conducted by the Anthropological School as to +peculiarities in the sense of smell, taste, sight, and so on, +discovered among criminals. In all these inquiries it is so easy for +the subject to deceive the investigator, and he has often so direct an +interest in doing it that all results in this department must be +accepted with the utmost caution. Wherever investigations necessitate +the acceptance upon trust of statements made by criminals, their +scientific value descends to the lowest level. As this must be largely +the case with respect to the senses of hearing, taste, smell, etc., it +is almost impossible to reach assured conclusions. +</p> + +<p> +It is different in inquiries respecting the intellect. Here the +investigator is able to judge for himself. According to Dr. Ogle, 86.5 +per cent. of the general population were able to read and write in the +years 1881-4, and as this represents an increase of 10 per cent. since +the passing of the Elementary Education Act, it is probably not far +from the mark to say that at the present time almost 90 per cent. of +the English population can read and write. In other words, only 10 +per cent. of the population is wholly ignorant. In the local prisons +on the other hand, no less than 25 per cent. of the prisoners can +neither read nor write, and 72 per cent. can only read or read and +write imperfectly. The vast difference in the proportion of +uninstructed among the prison, as compared with the general +population, is not to be explained by the defective early training of +the former. This explanation only covers a portion of the ground: the +other portion is covered by the fact that a certain number of +criminals are almost incapable of acquiring instruction. The memory +and the reasoning powers of such persons are so utterly feeble that +attempts to school them is a waste of time.<a href="#fn43"><sup>[43]</sup></a> Deficiencies in +memory, imagination, reason, are three undoubted characteristics of +the ordinary criminal intellect. Of course, there are very many +criminals in which all these qualities are present, and whose defects +lie in another direction, but taken as a whole the criminal is +unquestionably less gifted intellectually than the rest of the +community. +</p> + +<p> +Respecting the emotions of criminals, it is much more difficult to +speak, and much more easy to fall into error. The only thing that can +be said of them for certain, is, that they do not, as a rule, possess +the same keenness of feeling as the ordinary man. Some Italian writers +make much of the religiosity of delinquents; such a sentiment may be +common among offenders in Italy; it is certainly rare among the same +class in Great Britain. The cellular system puts an effective stop to +any thing like active hostility to religion; but it is a mistake to +argue from this that the criminal is addicted to the exercise of +religious sentiments. The family sentiment is also feebly developed; +the exceptions to this rule form a small fraction of the criminal +population. +</p> + +<p> +The will in criminals, when it is not impaired by disease, is, in the +main, dominated by a boundless egoism. Let us first consider those +whose wills are impaired by disease. Among drunkards and the +degenerate generally the power of sustained volition is often as good +as gone. Nothing can be more pitiful or hopeless than the position of +wretched beings in a condition such as this. Often animated by good +resolutions, often anxious to do what is right, often possessing a +sense of moral responsibility, these unhappy creatures plunge again +and again into vice and crime. In some cases of this description the +will is practically annihilated; in others it is under the dominion of +momentary caprice; in others again it has no power of concentration, +or it is the victim of sudden hurricanes of feeling which drive +everything before them. Persons afflicted in this way, when not +drunkards, are generally convicted for crimes of violence, such as +assault, manslaughter, murder. They experience real sentiments of +remorse, but neither remorse nor penitence enables them to grapple +with their evil star. The will is stricken with disease, and the man +is dashed hither and thither, a helpless wreck on the sea of life.<a href="#fn44"><sup>[44]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +Let us now consider the class of criminals whose wills are not +diseased, but are, on the other hand, dominated by a boundless egoism. +Of such criminals it may be said that there is no essential difference +between them and immoral men. Egoism, selfishness, a lack of +consideration for the rights and feelings of others, are the dominant +principles in the life of both. The dividing line between the two +types consists in this, that the egoism of the immoral man is bounded +by the criminal law; but the egoism of the criminal is bounded by no +law either without him or within. It does not follow from this that +the criminal is without a sense of duty or a dread of legal +punishment. In most cases he possesses both in a more or less +developed form. But his immense egoism so completely overpowers both +his sense of duty and his fear of punishment that it demands +gratification at whatever cost. He sees what he ought to do; he knows +how he ought to act; he is perfectly alive to the consequences of +transgression, but these motives are not strong enough to induce him +to alter his ways of life. +</p> + +<p> +On summing up the results of this inquiry into criminal biology we +arrive at the following conclusions. In the first place, it cannot be +proved that the criminal has any distinct physical conformation, +whether anatomical or morphological; and, in the second place, it +cannot be proved that there is any inevitable alliance between +anomalies of physical structure and a criminal mode of life. But it +can be shown that criminals, taken as a whole, exhibit a higher +proportion of physical anomalies, and a higher percentage of physical +degeneracy than the rest of the community. With respect to the mental +condition of criminals, it cannot be established that it is, on the +whole, a condition of insanity, or even verging on insanity. But it +can be established that the bulk of the criminal classes are of a +humbly developed mental organisation. Whether we call this low state +of mental development, atavism, or degeneracy is, to a large extent, a +matter of words; the fact of its wide-spread existence among criminals +is the important point. +</p> + +<p> +The results of this inquiry also show that degeneracy among criminals +is sometimes inherited and sometimes acquired. It is inherited when +the criminal is descended from insane, drunken, epileptic, scrofulous +parents; it is often acquired when the criminal adopts and +deliberately persists in a life of crime. The closeness of the +connection between degeneracy and crime is, to a considerable extent, +determined by social conditions. A degenerate person, who has to earn +his own livelihood, is much more likely to become a criminal than +another degenerate person who has not. Almost all forms of degeneracy +render a man more or less unsuited for the common work of life; it is +not easy for such a man to obtain employment; in certain forms of +degeneracy it becomes almost impossible. A person in this unfortunate +position often becomes a criminal, not because he has strong +anti-social instincts, but because he cannot get work. Physically, he +is unfit for work, and he takes to crime as an alternative. +</p> + +<p> +Another important result is the close connection between madness and +crimes of blood. We have seen that almost one third of the cases of +conviction for wilful murder are cases in which the murderer is found +to be insane. And this does not represent the full proportion of +murderers afflicted mentally; a considerable percentage of those +sentenced to death have this sentence commuted on mental grounds. In +Germany, from 26 to 28 per cent. of criminals suffering from mental +weakness escape the observation of the court in this important +particular, and the same state of things unquestionably exists in the +United Kingdom. The actual percentage of criminals who suffer from +mental disorders in the prisons of Europe is probably much greater +than is generally supposed. At the present time a knowledge of +insanity is no part of the ordinary medical curriculum. "With respect +to this malady the great majority of medical men are themselves in the +position of laymen. They have not studied it. It was not included in +their examinations."<a href="#fn45"><sup>[45]</sup></a> Till this state of things is altered we shall +never exactly know the intimacy of the connection between nervous +disorders and crime. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="chapter"> +<a name="VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a> +</p> + +<p class="chapter"> +THE PUNISHMENT OF CRIME. +</p> + + +<p> +In a previous chapter the deterrent action of punishment on the +criminal population has been pointed out. It now remains for us to +consider the nature of punishment, and the methods by which punishment +should be carried out. What is punishment as applied to crime? +According to Kant it is an act of retribution; it consists in +inflicting upon the criminal the same injury as he has inflicted on +his victim. It is an application by society of the principle of "jus +talionis." Such a definition of punishment does not harmonise with the +facts. We cannot punish the slanderer by slandering him in turn; and +in punishing the murderer, it is impossible to torture him in the same +way as he has probably tortured his victim. According to the theory of +retribution, punishment becomes an end in itself; it is quite +unrelated to the benefits it may confer on the person who is punished, +or on the community which punishes him. +</p> + +<p> +The difficulties surrounding the theory of retribution have led to +other definitions of punishment. Punishment, it is said, is not +inflicted on the offender as a retribution for his misdeeds, it is +inflicted for the purpose of protecting society against its enemies. +Such a view leaves moral considerations entirely out of account; it +leaves no room for the just indignation of the public at the spectacle +of crime. It is defective in other ways. For instance, a criminal has +a particular animosity against some single individual; it may be he +murders this person, or does him grievous bodily harm. Such an +offender has no similar animosity against any one else; as far as the +rest of the community is concerned he is perfectly harmless. On the +supposition that punishment is only intended to protect society +against the criminal, a man of this description would escape +punishment altogether. Or supposing a man (and this often happens), +after committing some serious crime for which he is sent to penal +servitude, sincerely and bitterly repented of it, and would be, if +released, a perfectly harmless member of the community, such a man, +according to the theory we are now discussing, should be released at +once. The certainty that the public conscience would tolerate no such +step shows that punishment has a wider object than the mere attainment +of social security. +</p> + +<p> +Punishment is only a means say some; its real end is the reformation +of the offender. The practical application of such a principle would +lead to very astonishing results. It is perfectly well known that +there is no more incorrigible set of offenders than habitual vagrants +and drunkards. And on the other hand, the most easily reformed of all +offenders is often some person who has committed a serious crime under +circumstances which could not possibly recur. According to the theory +that reformation is the only end of punishment, petty offenders would +be shut up all their lives, while the perpetrator of a grave crime +would soon be set free. An absurd result of this kind is fatal to the +pretention that punishment is merely a means and not also an end. +</p> + +<p> +Is it the end of punishment to act as a deterrent? We are often told +from the judicial bench that a man receives a certain sentence as a +warning and example to others. If such is the end of punishment it +lamentably fails in its purpose, for in a number of cases it neither +deters the offender nor the class from which the offender springs. It +was under the influence of this idea that criminals used to be hanged +in public, but experience failed to show that these ghastly +exhibitions had much deterrent effect on the community. Besides, it is +rather ridiculous to say, I do not punish you for the crime you have +committed, I punish you as a warning to others. In these circumstances +the effect of punishment is not to be upon the person punished, but +upon a third party who has not fallen into crime. Unless the +punishment is just in itself, society has no right to inflict it in +the hope of scaring others from criminal courses. Justice administered +in this spirit, turns the convicted offender into a whipping boy; the +punishment ceases to be related to the offence, and is merely related +to the effect it will have on a certain circle of spectators. +</p> + +<p> +In our view, punishment ought to be regarded as at once an expiation +and a discipline, or, in other words, an expiatory discipline. This +definition includes all that is valuable in the theories just +reviewed, and excludes all that is imperfect in them. The criminal is +an offender against the fundamental order of society in somewhat the +same way as a disobedient child is an offender against the centre of +authority in the home or the school. The punishment inflicted on the +child may take the form of revenge, or it may take the form of +retribution, or it may take the form of deterrence, but it undoubtedly +takes its highest form when it combines expiation with discipline. +Punishment of this nature still remains punitive as it ought to do, +but it is at the same time a kind of punishment from which something +may be learned. It does not merely consist in inflicting pain, +although the presence of this element is essential to its efficacy; it +consists rather in inflicting pain in such a way as will tend to +discipline and reform the character. Such a conception of punishment +excludes the barbarous element of vengeance; it is based upon the +civilised ideas of justice and humanity, or rather upon the sentiment +of justice alone, for justice is never truly just except when its +tendency is also to humanise. +</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p>"Sine caritate justicia</p> +<p>Vindicationi similis."</p></div></div> + +<p> +From the theory of punishment let us now turn to its methods. The most +severe of these is the penalty of death. A great deal has been said +and written both for and against the retention of this form of +punishment. To set forth the arguments on both sides in a fair and +adequate manner would require a volume; it must, therefore, suffice to +say that in the field of controversy the contest between the opposing +parties is a fairly even one. In fact, looking at the matter from a +purely polemical point of view, the advocates of the death penalty +have probably the best of it. It has, however, to be remembered that +such questions are not solved by battalions of abstract arguments, but +by the slow, silent, invisible action of public sentiment. The way in +which this impalpable sentiment is moving on the question of the death +penalty may be seen, first, in the manner in which crime after crime +during the present century has been excluded from the supreme sentence +of the law, and secondly, in the steady diminution of capital +executions throughout the civilised world. If the present drift of +feeling continues for another generation or two it is not at all +improbable, in spite of temporary reactions here and there, that the +question of capital punishment will have solved itself. +</p> + +<p> +Another form of punishment is transportation. As far as Great Britain +is concerned, transportation possesses only a historic interest. No +one is now sent out of the country for offences against the law. +Experience showed that penal colonies were a failure, and that the +truly criminal could be more effectively dealt with at home. Within +recent years the French have resorted to the system of transportation; +but, according to several eminent French authorities, the penal +settlement in New Caledonia is hardly justifying the anticipations of +its founders. +</p> + +<p> +Penal servitude has taken the place of transportation in Great +Britain. Every person sentenced to a term of five years and over +undergoes what is called penal servitude. The sentence is divided into +three stages. In the first stage the offender passes nine months of +his sentence in one of the local prisons in solitary confinement. In +the next stage he is allowed to work in association with other +prisoners; and in the last stage he is conditionally released before +his sentence has actually expired. If a prisoner conducts himself +well, if he shows that he is industrious, he will be released at the +expiration of about three fourths of his sentence. If, on the other +hand, he is idle and ill-conducted, he will have to serve the full +term. +</p> + +<p> +During the first nine months of his confinement the convict sentenced +to penal servitude is treated in exactly the same way as a person +sentenced to a month's imprisonment; the only difference being that he +is provided with better food. During the period of detention in a +Public Work's Prison the convict may, if well-conducted, pass through +five progressive stages; each of these stages confers some privileges +which the one below it does not possess. The first stage of all is +called the Probation Class. In this, as well as in every succeeding +class, a man's industry is measured by a process called the Mark +system. This system is somewhat similar to the method adopted for +rewarding industry in our public schools. In those schools a boy's +diligence is recognised by his receiving so many marks per day, and he +would be an ideal pupil who received the maximum number of marks. In +convict prisons, on the other hand, the maximum number of marks, which +is eight per day, can easily be earned by any person willing to do an +average day's work. If a convict earns the maximum number of marks per +day for three months he is promoted at the end of that time out of the +Probation Class into a higher stage called the Third Class. He must +remain in the third class for at least a year; while in this class he +is permitted to receive a visit and to write and receive a letter +every six months. He is also rewarded at the rate of a penny for every +20 marks, which enables him to earn twelve shillings in the course of +the year. +</p> + +<p> +After the expiration of one year in the Third Class the prisoner, if +he has regularly earned eight marks a day, is advanced to the Second +Class. In this stage he can receive a visit and write and receive a +letter every four months. He is allowed a little choice in the +selection of his breakfast; the value attached to his marks is also +increased, and he is able in the Second Class to earn 18 shillings a +year. At the termination of a year, if a prisoner continues his habits +of industry, he is promoted to the First Class. Persons whose +education is defective are not permitted to enter the First Class, +unless they have also made progress in schooling. In the First Class a +man is allowed to receive a visit and to write and receive a letter +every three months. He is also given additional privileges in the +choice of food. In the First Class he can earn 30 shillings a year. +</p> + +<p> +Above the First Class is a Special Class composed of men whose conduct +has been specially exemplary. Men may be admitted into this class 12 +months before their liberation; they may also be placed in positions +of trust and responsibility in connection with the prison, and are +able to earn a gratuity amounting to six pounds. Such men are, as a +matter of course, liberated at the expiration of three fourths of +their sentence, which means that a term of five years' penal servitude +is reduced to somewhat under four years. +</p> + +<p> +For female convicts all these rules are modified and mitigated. +Isolation is not so strictly enforced; a female may be liberated at +the expiration of two thirds of her sentence; she may also earn four +pounds instead of three, which is the highest sum men can receive, +except the limited number in the Special Class. Corresponding to the +Special Class of male convicts, there is among the females what is +called a Refuge Class. Well-conducted women undergoing their first +term of penal servitude are placed in this class, and nine months +before the date on which they are due for discharge on ordinary +licence, that is to say, nine months before they have finished two +thirds of their sentence, they are released from prison and placed in +some Home for females. Two Homes which receive prisoners of this class +are the Elizabeth Fry Refuge and the London Preventive and Reformatory +Institution. These Homes receive ten shillings a week for the care of +each inmate confided to them by the State, and the time spent there is +used as a gradual course of preparation for the re-entrance of these +unfortunate people into ordinary life. According to this method +females, after a prolonged period of imprisonment, are not thrown all +of a sudden upon the world; they re-enter it by slow and imperceptible +stages, and are thus enabled to commence life afresh under hopeful and +salutary conditions. +</p> + +<p> +Male convicts on their release from penal servitude are, if they +desire it, assisted to obtain employment by Discharged Prisoners' Aid +Societies. The way in which assistance is rendered by the Royal +Society, Charing Cross, which may be considered as a type of most of +these societies, is as follows:— +</p> + +<p> +"The convicts on their discharge are accompanied to the office of the +Society by a warder in plain clothes. They are there received by the +Secretary and the member of the Committee who, according to a fixed +rota, attends daily for this purpose. The first step is to give them a +plentiful breakfast of white bread, bacon and hot coffee. When this is +finished they are invited to come forward and state their hopes and +intentions as to the future. Full particulars of the nature of the +crime, the sentence, and the antecedents of the convict have been +previously received from the prison, and this information is, of +course, of the greatest value as a guide to dealing with the +particular case. After friendly discussion with the convict at one or +more interviews, and further inquiry, if need be, by the officers of +the Society, the course to be taken in each case is decided upon and +carried out as soon as possible, either by the officers of the Society +or through other agency. In cases of emigration and other cases where +it is advisable, the gratuities received from Government are +supplemented by donations from the funds of the Society; and, if not +already supplied by the prison authorities, a respectable suit of +clothes of a character fitted for the work on which the recipient is +to be employed is provided. +</p> + +<p> +"The cases of men or women who elect to remain in or near the +Metropolis are usually dealt with directly by members of the Committee +and officers of the Society; others prefer to seek work for +themselves; but, meanwhile, respectable lodgings are provided till +work is obtained. Others who prefer a sea life are sent to the care of +agents until ships can be found for them—a few selected cases are +sent abroad." In the case of persons proceeding to seek work at a +distance from London, the Royal Society communicates with Discharged +Prisoners' Aid Societies in the country, and these Societies take such +cases in hand. +</p> + +<p> +Another admirable Society for dealing with discharged convicts is the +St Giles' Mission, Brook St. Holborn. This Society provides a home for +the person whose sentence has expired; it is managed by a man (Mr. +Wheatley) possessed of an unsurpassed knowledge of the work; and it is +year by year rendering effective service to the convict population. +Some idea of the work accomplished by Societies such as those just +mentioned may be gathered from the fact that about two thirds of the +discharged convicts are annually passing through their hands; the +other third declining or not requiring assistance by such methods. +What is wanted to perfect the working of the institutions we are now +describing is increased public support; even now the Royal Society was +able to state in one of its reports, "that no discharged convict, who +is physically capable and willing to work, has any excuse for +relapsing into crime." +</p> + +<p> +This brief sketch of the manner in which a sentence of penal servitude +is carried into effect will afford some idea of the nature of this +method of punishment. We shall now proceed to describe another mode of +dealing with offenders against the fundamental order of society. In +addition to convict establishments there exists throughout the United +Kingdom a large number of places of confinement called Local Prisons. +In England and Wales there are about sixty Local Prisons; in Scotland +there are about twenty; in Ireland there are about eighteen. In +Scotland and Ireland persons sentenced to a few days' imprisonment are +often confined in police cells, in England all convicted offenders +serve their sentence, however short, in a regular Local Prison. +</p> + +<p> +Before 1877 the Local Prisons of England and Scotland were under the +control and administration of the County Magistrates, and almost every +county had then its own prison. One of the chief defects of this +system was the multiplication of prisons; one of its chief virtues was +that local power kept alive local interest in a way which is +impossible with highly centralised machinery. Where prisons are small +and numerous, as was to some extent the case under the old system, it +is difficult to conduct them so economically; on the other hand, the +herding of great masses of criminals together in huge establishments +is not without corresponding evils. It is now being pointed out by +specialists on the Continent and in America that huge prisons destroy +the individuality of the prisoner; his own personality is lost amid +the hundreds who surround him; he sinks into the position of a mere +unit, and is obliged to be treated as such by the officials in charge +of him. Under such a system it becomes almost impossible to +individualise prisoners; there is no time for it; as a result, the +influence of reformative agencies descends to a minimum and only the +punitive side of justice comes home to the offender. At one time the +value of Reformatory Schools was seriously impaired by herding too +many lads together under one roof; it is now seen that the success of +these institutions is marred by making them too large; it is accepted +as an established maxim that the smaller the school the better the +results. The same principle holds true with respect to prisons. +</p> + +<p> +When the County Magistrates were deprived of their powers by the last +government of Lord Beaconsfield, these powers were in England vested +in the Home Secretary; in Scotland they were latterly vested in the +Secretary for Scotland; in Ireland they are vested in the Chief +Secretary. Under each of these Parliamentary heads there is a body +called the Prison Commissioners or Prison Board. These Commissioners +are centred in London for England; in Edinburgh for Scotland; in +Dublin for Ireland. Under them is a body of Prison Inspectors, and +last of all there comes the actual working staff of the Local Prisons, +consisting of warders, schoolmasters, clerks, governors, chaplains, +and doctors. +</p> + +<p> +Wherein does the Local Prison system as worked by this staff differ +from the system in operation in convict prisons? Perhaps the +difference will be best expressed by saying that work in association +is the centre of the convict system, while work in solitude is the +central idea of the Local Prison system. This definition is not +absolutely correct, for convicts, as we have seen, are subjected to +nine months' solitary confinement at the outset of their sentence, and +in some Local Prisons a certain amount of work in common is performed, +but, taken as a whole, work in common is the central principle of the +one; work in solitude the central principle of the other. +</p> + +<p> +Work in solitude means that the prisoner is shut up in an apartment by +himself which is called his cell. Each cell is provided with an +adequate supply of air and light, and is heated in the winter up to a +sufficiently high temperature for health and comfort. The cell +contains a bed and other personal requisites; it also contains a copy +of the prison rules. Before the prisoner is finally allocated to a +certain cell he is seen by all the superior officers of the prison. +His state of health is inquired into, so as to determine the nature of +his work, and if he is not too old to learn, and has received a +sentence of sufficient length to make it worth while instructing him, +his educational capabilities are specially tested. The seclusion of +the cell is varied by a short service in the prison chapel every +morning and an hour's exercise in the forenoon. It is further varied +in the case of young boys by daily attendance at the prison school. +</p> + +<p> +The cellular system is an application of the old monastic system to +the treatment of criminals. The first cellular prison was built in +Rome by Pope Clement XI. at the commencement of the eighteenth +century; its design was taken from a monastery. The idea passed from +Rome to the Puritans of Pennsylvania; and it has now taken root in all +parts of the civilised world. The believers in the cellular system say +that it prevents prisoners from contaminating each other; it prevents +the hardened criminal from getting hold of the comparative novice; +according to this system, although the offender is in a prison, the +only persons he is permitted to speak to are those whose lives are +free from crime. A prison system which has the negative value of +hindering men from becoming worse is worthy of high consideration, and +if the chief object of imprisonment is the punishment of criminals the +cellular system will not be easily surpassed. On the other hand, if +the purpose of imprisonment is not only to punish but also to prepare +the offender for the duties of society, the system of solitary +confinement will not effectually accomplish this task. On this point +let me refer to the words of M. Prins, the eminent Director General of +Belgian prisons: "Can we teach a man sociability," he says, "by giving +him a cell only, that is to say, the opposite of social life, by +taking away from him the very appearance of moral discipline; by +regulating from morning till night the smallest details of his day, +all his movements and all his thoughts? Is not this to place him +outside the conditions of existence, and to unteach him that liberty +for which we pretend he is being prepared?... Assuredly, let us not +forget that prisons contain incorrigible and corrupt recidivists, the +residuum of large towns who must undoubtedly be isolated from other +men; but they also contain offenders resembling in great part men of +their own class living outside.... If it was a question of making +these men good scholars, good workmen, good soldiers, should we accept +the method of prolonged cellular isolation? And how can that which is +condemned by the experience of ordinary life become useful on the day +some tribunal pronounces a sentence of imprisonment? The physiological +and moral inconveniences of prolonged solitude are evident in other +ways; and attempts are made to combat them by great humanity in +external things. So much is this the case, that for fear of being +cruel to the good, the bad are also pampered by an exaggerated +philanthropy which reaches absurd heights." +</p> + +<p> +A compromise between the absolute seclusion of the cellular system, +and the system of free association, is now being advocated by some +students of prison discipline. Prisoners, it is contended, should be +carefully classified according to their previous character and the +nature of their offence, and also according to the disposition they +manifest in prison. Prisoners sentenced to a term of imprisonment +ranging from three months to two years should during the first three +months remain in solitary confinement for purposes of observation as +to diligence and character. At the end of that period a man, if he +showed fitness for it, would be placed in association during his +working hours, and in his cell during the remainder of the day. In +this way his social instincts would not be so completely stifled as +they are at present; he would not be so entirely left to the vacuity +of his own mind; he would not be so readily led to the indulgence of +disgusting vices ruinous to body and mind. In countries where prisons +are on a large scale such a system as this might easily be adopted, +and it would, if properly managed, be productive of beneficial +results. In small prisons it would be applicable on a limited scale, +the smallness of the prison population preventing proper +classification. +</p> + +<p> +But all prison systems, however excellent in theory, are comparatively +useless unless conducted in an enlightened spirit by competent and +sagacious officials. The best of systems if worked, as sometimes +happens, by a mere martinet, with no horizon beyond insisting on the +letter of official regulations, will be productive of no good +whatever, and, on the other hand, an indifferent system will achieve +excellent results with a competent person at the head of it. This was +admirably pointed out by the head of the Danish Prison Department at +the Stockholm Prison Congress. "Give me," he said, "the best possible +regulations and a bad director, and you will have no success. But give +me a good director, and, even with mediocre regulations, I will answer +for it that everything will go on marvellously." In a recent handbook +on prison management by Herr Krohne, an eminent prison director in the +German service, the qualifications requisite for successful prison +work are clearly laid down. +</p> + +<p> +The successful management of a prison, he says, "demands special +knowledge and ability. This knowledge should first of all consist in a +comprehensive general education, so that the head of a prison may be +able to form a competent opinion in all those branches of knowledge +which bear upon the punishment of crime. He thus stands on a footing +of equality with his subordinates. If he is deficient in this +knowledge he will not be able to carry out the sentences of the law +efficiently, and the maintenance of his official authority will be +encumbered with difficulties. He must also possess an understanding of +the economic and social causes of crime as well as of its individual +causes. An understanding of its economic and social causes supposes +that he should be acquainted with the principles of sociology and +political economy; an understanding of its individual causes supposes +that he should know something of psychology. The historical, +philosophic, and legal aspects of criminal jurisprudence as well as +its formal contents ought not to be unknown ground. In the domain of +prison science he should be thoroughly at home. He ought to be +acquainted with the historical development of punishment by +imprisonment, as well as with the nature of the various prison systems +in existence among modern civilised communities. He ought to have a +clear understanding of the aim and object of imprisonment, and be +thoroughly cognisant of the legal and administrative arrangements by +which it is effected, more especially those of his own State. He +should possess a competent knowledge of all matters and regulations +bearing upon prison administration, so that his own arrangements may +be based upon a ripened judgment. +</p> + +<p> +"This knowledge in the head of a prison should show itself in his +manner of dealing with prisoners. This task demands a high degree of +pedagogic skill, and a force of character which is able, easily and +quickly, to bend the will of others to his own. He should also possess +the power of setting every branch of the administration to rights +whenever anything happens to have gone wrong. He must have a quick eye +for all that is being done; he must see everything; he must hear +everything; nothing should escape him; and still he ought to leave +independence and initiative to every officer in his own department. He +should respect and bear with the individual characteristics of every +officer, especially the superior officers, so that they may be able to +perform their duties with pleasure. In this way all officers will be +able to do their work in his spirit rather than according to his +orders. In order to succeed in this, the head of a prison should +consult with the other officials on all important matters; a daily +conference is best for this purpose. He should hear and weigh their +opinions even when the ultimate decision rests entirely in his hands. +Above all he must understand how to keep peace among the officials, so +that through their harmonious co-operation the objects of a prison may +be more certainly attained. +</p> + +<p> +"A good prison chief," Herr Krohne continues, "is not matured or +educated, but discovered. On this account, the selection of persons +ought not to be narrowed down to any definite class or profession. +Experience has shown that able prison governors have been drawn from +all callings; from the law, from public offices, from the army, from +medicine, from the Church, from trade, from agriculture, from +merchants and manufacturers. From each of these occupations a man may +bring knowledge and ability which makes him suitable for the position. +His preparatory studies will teach him much, but he will learn most +from actual practice, and he will never finish learning, however +experienced he may become. But the root of the matter which can never +be taught is a heart for the miserable; a determination in spite of +failures and disappointments to despair of no man and nothing."<a href="#fn46"><sup>[46]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p> +Italy up to the present time is almost the only country in which +prison officers receive any preliminary training for their duties. As +a result of this, it not infrequently happens, as Mr. Clay has shown, +that an inexperienced person suddenly placed in absolute charge of a +number of prisoners will in a few days destroy almost all the +reformative work of months and perhaps years. The late Baron von +Holtzendorff was of a similar opinion, holding that one man can in a +short time undo the work of ten. So much has this been felt, that Dr. +von Jageman and several other eminent prison authorities on the +Continent maintain that no man should be placed in charge of prisoners +till he has had some previous training in the nature of his duties. It +has been truly pointed out that the value of imprisonment depends to +an enormous extent on the qualifications of the person placed in +immediate charge of the convicted men. Others are with them +occasionally, he is with them all day long, and unless he comes to his +task with a full knowledge of the delicate and difficult nature of the +duties he has to perform, he will probably exercise a mischievous and +irritating influence on the prisoners committed to his charge. On the +other hand, a well-instructed officer can work wonders in the way of +good, while insisting with inflexible firmness on the rules of +discipline, he is able at the same time by tact and kindliness to +diffuse a moralising atmosphere around him. Some men can do this by +instinct, but the majority require to be taught; it is therefore most +essential that every person entrusted with the control of prisoners +should have some previous theoretical instruction in his duties. After +all, those who can do most real good to prisoners are the warders +immediately in charge of them. Visits from persons outside who take an +interest in the outcast and fallen, are, according to French +experience, comparatively worthless.<a href="#fn47"><sup>[47]</sup></a> These visits are well meant, +but they are not paid by the class of people to which the prisoner as +a rule belongs; the gulf between the visitor and the visited is too +great for the establishment of that inner sympathy on which the +permanent success of moralising efforts so greatly depends, and it is +easy for such a visitor to do more harm than good. On the other hand, +if you have a competent and well-instructed class of warders, if you +have these men trained to regard their duties from an elevated point +of view, you possess in them a body of men who are not separated from +prisoners by impassable barriers; you have comparatively little in the +way of social antecedents to estrange the prisoner from the person in +charge of him: such being the case it is easy for the two men to +understand each other, and is, therefore a relatively simple matter +for the one to influence the other for good. +</p> + +<p> +What is to be done with offenders when their term of punishment has +expired? This is a question which modern society finds it exceedingly +difficult to solve. What is the use of punishing a delinquent for +offences against the law if, the moment his sentence is completed, he +is sent back again into the surroundings which led to his fall. So +long as his surroundings are the same, his acts will be the same, +unless his mind has passed through a revolution during detention in +gaol. The latter event, it must be admitted, sometimes does happen, +although it is not easy in these days to get the world to believe it. +And when it does happen it is marvellous to see how men, through their +own unaided efforts, will redeem their character and wipe out the blot +upon their life. But many offenders pass through little or no change +of mind, and unless delivered from their surroundings they will +continue to fall. Here, however, comes in the difficulty. Many of +these people love their surroundings; they have no desire to change; a +life of squalor among squalid companions is not distasteful to them; +on the contrary, they will refuse to leave old haunts no matter what +inducements are offered them elsewhere. It is hardly possible to do +anything with these offenders, and they unfortunately constitute at +least one fourth of the criminal population. Such persons return again +and again to prisons; and the manager of an important Prisoners' Aid +Society in a great northern city, says, that to aid them "is a mere +waste of money, if not an encouragement to vice."<a href="#fn48"><sup>[48]</sup></a> How to deal with +persons of this description is a most tantalising problem. More +vigorous methods of punishment are sometimes advocated as the proper +manner of deterring these habitual and incorrigible offenders, but if +we consider the constitution and antecedents of most of them, it +becomes perfectly certain that such means will not effect the end in +view. As a matter of fact, most of them are not adapted to the +conditions of existence which prevail in a free society. Some of them +might have passed through life fairly well in a more primitive stage +of social development, as, for example, in the days of slavery or +serfdom, but they are manifestly out of place in an age of +unrestricted freedom, when a man may work or remain idle just as he +chooses. A society based upon the principle of individual liberty is a +society of which the members are supposed to be gifted with the +virtues of prudence, industry, and self-control; virtues of this +nature are indeed essential to the existence of such a form of +society. Unfortunately, a certain portion of its members do not +possess them even in an elementary degree, and no amount of seclusion +in prison will ever confer these qualities upon them. Imprisonment, to +be followed by liberty, however rigorous it is made, is accordingly no +solution of the difficulty; the only effective way of dealing with the +incorrigible vagrant, drunkard, and thief, is by some system of +permanent seclusion in a penal colony. All men are not fitted for +freedom, and so long as society acts on the supposition that they are, +it will never get rid of the incorrigible criminal. +</p> + +<p> +It has also to be remembered that a considerable proportion of +incorrigible offenders are not only mentally but also physically +unfitted to earn their living in a free community. Almost always +without a trade, and very often the children of diseased and +degenerate parents, the only kind of work which they can turn to is +rude manual labour, and this is exactly the kind of work they have not +the requisite physical strength to perform. It is only in skilled +trades that the physically weak have a chance at all, and if a feeble +person is not a skilled artisan he will, unless possessed of superior +mental gifts, find it rather a hard matter to earn a comfortable +livelihood. Should it be the case that such a person is below the +average in body and mind, to earn a livelihood becomes almost an +impossibility. Now, this is exactly the position of many habitual +criminals, and more especially of that large class of them which is +being continually convicted and reconvicted of petty offences. What +can be said of them, except to repeat that they are unfit to take a +part in working the modern industrial machine; what can be done with +them except to seclude them in such a way that they will be no longer +able to injure those who can work it. +</p> + +<p> +Outside the ranks of the incorrigible and incapable there exists a +large class of offenders who are perfectly able to earn a honest +living in the world. In many cases it happens that such men require no +assistance on their liberation from prison; they can resume work +immediately their sentence has expired. All that is needed is to send +them back to the district they were tried in, and this is what is +always done if a man cannot reach his destination by mid-day on the +morning of his liberation. But in a certain number of cases discharged +prisoners require more than this; they require tools, or clothes, or +property redeemed from pledge, or a lodging, or to be sent a long +distance home, or to be emigrated. In each and all of these cases, +persons who are not incorrigible criminals are assisted to the best of +their ability and the extent of their funds by Discharged Prisoners' +Aid Societies. One or more of these admirable institutions is attached +to every Local Prison, and every year a vast amount of quiet, +conscientious work is performed. These societies are voluntary +agencies formed for the relief of discharged prisoners. Their funds +are derived partly from private subscriptions and donations, partly +from ancient bequests, and partly from a small sum annually voted by +Parliament. They are conducted on the most economic principles, the +gentlemen who form the committee or who act as secretaries and +treasurers being mostly magistrates and men of substance, who gladly +give their time and services for nothing. The only person who has to +be paid is an agent whose duty it is to see that the recommendations +of the committee with respect to assisting the discharged prisoners +are carried into effect. +</p> + +<p> +A glance at the work of one of these societies will be the best way of +forming a conception of their usefulness as a whole. For this purpose +let us select the Surrey and South London Discharged Prisoners' Aid +Society. In the prison in which the work of this excellent society is +conducted, 17 per cent. of the prison population applied for aid in +1887, and 10 per cent. were assisted, the 7 per cent. refused +assistance were habitual offenders, and had often been previously +helped. Of the number assisted, consisting of 969 persons, 54 were +sent to sea, 2 were assisted to emigrate, 913 were assisted in the way +of redemption of tools, purchase of stock, purchase of clothing, and +so on. In 1888, 929 persons were assisted, 54 were sent to sea, 4 were +helped to emigrate, and 871 aided in other ways. In 1889, assistance +was rendered in 1009 cases of these 36 were sent to sea, and 973 +otherwise aided. The average cost per head of sending cases to sea is +three pounds, fourteen shillings; the average cost in other cases is +half a guinea. +</p> + +<p> +What is being done by the Surrey Society is only a sample of the +assistance rendered to discharged prisoners all over England. It ought +also to be stated that some of these Aid Societies undertake to look +after the destitute families of persons committed to prison, and cases +innumerable might be mentioned in which prisoners' wives and children +have been assisted and kept out of the workhouse until the release of +the bread-winner. Other societies again provide permanent homes for +destitute offenders on their discharge from prison. All that is +required of persons making use of those homes is, that they shall earn +as much as will cover a portion of the expense of providing them with +food and shelter. For this purpose work is always provided for them, +or if they prefer it, they may find occupation outside and make the +home a sort of temporary resting-place. It is hardly necessary to add +that Prisoners' Aid Societies could effect much more if they were +better supported by the public. The organisation is there; the men to +work it are there; the only impediment to their labours is a lack of +funds. If the possession of adequate funds enabled all the Prisoners' +Aid Societies to establish Homes for discharged prisoners, those +institutions might be made of the greatest service to the cause of +justice generally. It would then be easy to get a return from them of +the number of persons whose criminal life was due to sheer indolence, +and magistrates would have far less hesitation in dealing with them +than they do now. At the present time, it is sometimes difficult to +know whether an offender is willing to work if he had the opportunity, +but the existence of prisoners' homes would soon solve the question. +Reference to a man's record in one of these institutions would at once +place the magistrate in full possession of the facts, and he would be +able to give judgment with a knowledge of the offender he does not now +possess. In this way many cruel mistakes might be avoided; and, on the +other hand, many hardened offenders dealt with in a more effective +manner. +</p> + +<p> +The difficulty sometimes encountered by discharged prisoners in +finding employment, as well as many other evils inseparable from +imprisonment, has, in recent years, led an increasing number of +jurists to the conclusion that every other method of punishment +should, when the case at all admits of it, be exhausted before the +gaol is resorted to. "The very first principle of enlightened +penology," says Mayhew, "is to endeavour to keep people out of prison +as long as possible, rather than thrust them into it for the most +trivial offences." In many instances it is quite sufficient punishment +for a first offender in a petty case to be publicly rebuked in the +police court. Such a rebuke preceded, as it generally is, by a night's +confinement in the police cells, is just as effective as a deterrent +and far less likely to do permanent harm than a sentence of +imprisonment. It was something of this kind which Bacon had in view, +when he says, respecting criminal courts: "Let there be power also to +inflict a note or mark; such, I mean, as shall not extend to actual +punishment, but may end either in admonition only, or in a light +disgrace; punishing the offender as it were with a blush."<a href="#fn49"><sup>[49]</sup></a> A +certain amount of progress has been made of late in this direction, +but there is still ample room for more. On the other hand, experience +has shown that light punishments are of no avail against habitual +offenders. For the last few years this system has been in operation in +the borough of Liverpool, with the result that the number of known +thieves apprehended for indictable crimes has almost doubled within a +comparatively short period. According to the Chief Constable's Report, +the numbers were, in— +</p> + +<table summary="Number of known +thieves apprehended for indictable crimes" width="70%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" align="center"> +<tr> +<td><u>1885</u></td> +<td><u>1886</u></td> +<td><u>1887</u></td> +<td><u>1888</u></td> +<td><u>1889</u></td> +</tr><tr> +<td>377</td> +<td>470</td> +<td>533</td> +<td>596</td> +<td>731</td> +</tr></table> + + +<p> +These figures show that habitual criminals will not be deterred by +light sentences, but rather emboldened in their sinister career. +</p> + +<p> </p> + +<p class="ctr">THE END. +</p> + + +<p> </p> + +<a name="appendices"></a> +<h3> +APPENDICES TO CRIME AND ITS CAUSES. +</h3> + +<p> </p> +<p class="noindent"> +APPENDIX I. +</p> + + +<p> +Form suggested by Herr Krohne to be filled up by the police or other +agency respecting prisoners for trial. +</p> + +<ul> +<li>1. BIRTH. +<ul><li>Place? County? Country?</li> +<li>Date?</li> +<li>Legitimate? or illegitimate?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>2. UPBRINGING. +<ul><li>By parents?</li> +<li>By others?</li> +<li>In a public institution?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>3. SCHOOLING. +<ul><li>School attendance, regular or not?</li> +<li>Knowledge, Extent of?</li> +<li>Confirmed, or not?</li> +<li>Religious belief?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>4. OCCUPATION. +<ul><li>What trade?</li> +<li>Served Apprenticeship, or not?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>5. MILITARY TRAINING. +<ul><li>Whether served? and where?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>6. IMPRISONMENTS. +<ul><li>How many?</li> +<li>In Local Prisons?</li> +<li>In Penal Servitude?</li> +<li>Other Punishments?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>7. PARENTAGE. +<ul><li>Name? Abode? Occupation?</li> +<li>Alive or Dead?</li> +<li>Cause of death? Suicide?</li> +<li>Temperate, or not?</li> +<li>Imprisoned, or not?</li> +<li>Were Parents related?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>8. BROTHERS AND SISTERS. +<ul><li>Name? Age? Abode?</li> +<li>Occupation?</li> +<li>How many dead? and of what diseases? Suicide?</li> +<li>Imprisoned, or not?</li> +<li>Temperate, or not?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>9. MEANS OF LIVING. +<ul><li>With or Without?</li> +<li>Destitute?</li> +<li>A Pauper?</li> +<li>A Beggar?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>10. INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS. +<ul><li>Character? Temperament?</li> +<li>Mental Capacity?</li> +<li>Habits? Drunken or other?</li> +<li>Indolent?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>11. MENTAL AND BODILY STATE. +<ul><li>(<i>a</i>) Fits or Convulsions in Childhood, Epilepsy, St. Vitus +Dance, or other nervous diseases?</li> +<li>Insanity? Scrofula? Tuberculosis?</li> +<li>(<i>b</i>) Mental and bodily state of near relations same as above?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<ul> +<li>12. MARRIED. +<ul><li>Maiden name of wife?</li> +<li>Imprisoned?</li> +<li>If Children; How many?</li> +<li>Age, and state of Health?</li> +<li>How many dead?</li> +<li>Of what Disease?</li> +<li>Any imprisoned?</li> +</ul></li></ul> + + +<p> </p> + +<p class="noindent"> +APPENDIX II. +</p> + +<p class="ctr">Growth of Reformatory and Industrial School Population in England and +Scotland. +</p> + +<table summary="Growth of Reformatory and Industrial School Population in England and Scotland" width="55%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1"> +<tr> +<td align="center">Year</td> +<td align="center">Reformatory Schools.</td> +<td align="center">Industrial Schools (Including Truant Schools).</td> +<td align="center">Day Industrial Schools.</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1859</td> +<td>3,276</td> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1860</td> +<td>3,702</td> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1861</td> +<td>4,133</td> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1862</td> +<td>4,283</td> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1863</td> +<td>4,302</td> +<td> </td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1864</td> +<td>4,286</td> +<td>1,668</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1865</td> +<td>4,508</td> +<td>1,952</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1866</td> +<td>4,798</td> +<td>2,462</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1867</td> +<td>5,110</td> +<td>3,802</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1868</td> +<td>5,320</td> +<td>5,562</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1869</td> +<td>5,480</td> +<td>6,974</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1870</td> +<td>5,433</td> +<td>8,280</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1871</td> +<td>5,419</td> +<td>9,421</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1872</td> +<td>5,575</td> +<td>10,185</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1873</td> +<td>5,621</td> +<td>11,012</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1874</td> +<td>5,688</td> +<td>11,409</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1875</td> +<td>5,615</td> +<td>11,776</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1876</td> +<td>5,634</td> +<td>12,555</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1877</td> +<td>5,935</td> +<td>13,494</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1878</td> +<td>5,963</td> +<td>14,106</td> +<td> </td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1879</td> +<td>5,975</td> +<td>14,847</td> +<td>287</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1880</td> +<td>5,927</td> +<td>15,136</td> +<td>1,005</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1881</td> +<td>6,738</td> +<td>16,955</td> +<td>1,493</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1882</td> +<td>6,601</td> +<td>17,614</td> +<td>1,692</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1883</td> +<td>6,557</td> +<td>18,780</td> +<td>2,083</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1884</td> +<td>6,360</td> +<td>19,483</td> +<td>1,876</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1885</td> +<td>6,241</td> +<td>20,250</td> +<td>2,324</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1886</td> +<td>6,272</td> +<td>20,668</td> +<td>2,444</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1887</td> +<td>6,127</td> +<td>20,940</td> +<td>2,622</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1888</td> +<td>5,984</td> +<td>21,426</td> +<td>2,783</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td>1889</td> +<td>5,940</td> +<td>21,059</td> +<td>3,197</td> +</tr></table> + +<p> </p> + +<p class="noindent"> +APPENDIX III. +</p> + + +<p class="ctr"> +Return showing the number of Prisoners committed to the Local Prisons +of England and Wales in each Month of the Year ended 31st March, 1890. +</p> + +<table summary="Return showing the number of Prisoners committed to the Local Prisons +of England and Wales in each Month of the Year ended 31st" border="1" width="85%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" align="center"> + +<tr align="center"> +<td>Month.</td> +<td>Males.</td> +<td>Females.</td> +<td>Total.</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left">1889. April</td> +<td>10,701</td> +<td>3,401</td> +<td>14,102</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> May</td> +<td>11,777</td> +<td>4,123</td> +<td>15,900</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> June</td> +<td>9,977</td> +<td>3,717</td> +<td>13,694</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> July</td> +<td>11,499</td> +<td>4,171</td> +<td>15,670</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> August</td> +<td>10,894</td> +<td>3,965</td> +<td>14,859</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> September</td> +<td>11,113</td> +<td>4,088</td> +<td>15,201</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> October</td> +<td>11,670</td> +<td>4,245</td> +<td>15,915</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> November</td> +<td>10,615</td> +<td>3,777</td> +<td>14,392</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> December</td> +<td>9,154</td> +<td>3,157</td> +<td>12,311</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left">1890. January</td> +<td>9,993</td> +<td>3,154</td> +<td>13,147</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> February</td> +<td>8,990</td> +<td>3,037</td> +<td>12,027</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left"> March</td> +<td>10,052</td> +<td>3,196</td> +<td>13,248</td> +</tr><tr align="right"> +<td align="left">Total</td> +<td>126,435</td> +<td>44,031</td> +<td>170,466</td> +</tr></table> + +<hr class="med"> +<h3> Footnotes</h3> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn1"><sup>[1]</sup></a><br>See Appendix I. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn2"><sup>[2]</sup></a><br>In his interesting work, "Die Beziehungen zwischen + Geistesstörung und Verbrechen," Dr. Sander shows that out of a + hundred insane persons brought up for trial, the judges only + discovered the mental state of from twenty-six to twenty-eight + per cent. of them. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn3"><sup>[3]</sup></a><br>Before the passing of the Elementary Education Act, no one + was tried for not sending his child to school; it was not a legal + offence; in 1888-9 no less than 80,519 persons were tried under + this Act, in England and Wales. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn4"><sup>[4]</sup></a><br><i>Recent Economic Changes</i>, p. 345. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn5"><sup>[5]</sup></a><br><i>Zeitschrift für die gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft</i> ix. + 472, sg. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn6"><sup>[6]</sup></a><br>See <i>Statistical Register for Victoria</i>, Part viii. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn7"><sup>[7]</sup></a><br>SERIOUS CASES REPORTED TO THE POLICE IN PROPORTION TO THE + POPULATION. ANNUAL AVERAGE FOR FIVE YEARS:— +</p> + +<pre> + Murder. Attempts to Murder. Manslaughter + 1870-74 1 to 196,946 1 to 441,158 1 to 92,756 + 1884-88 1 to 168,897 1 to 418,923 1 to 116,463 +<br> + Shooting, Stabbing, &c. Burglary. Housebreaking. + 1870-74 1 to 35,033 1 to 10,188 1 to 17,538 + 1884-88 1 to 38,007 1 to 7,892 1 to 11,911 +<br> + Robbery. Arson. + 1870-74 1 to 43,247 1 to 54,075 + 1884-88 1 to 70,767 1 to 77,018 +</pre> + +<p class="footnote"> + This table shows that since 1870-74 there has been an increase in + murder, attempts to murder, burglary, and housebreaking, and a + decrease in manslaughter, robbery, and arson. The decrease in + shooting, stabbing, wounding, &c., is very small. (Cf. <i>Judicial + Statistics</i> for 1874 and 1888, p. xvi.) +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn8"><sup>[8]</sup></a><br>See Appendix II. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn9"><sup>[9]</sup></a><br><i>American Prisons</i>, 1888. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn10"><sup>[10]</sup></a><br>Cf. E. Ferri. I <i>Nuovi Orizzonti del Diritto e della Procedura + Penale</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn11"><sup>[11]</sup></a><br>The various types of Jews also afford a striking instance of + the effect of natural surroundings on bodily structure. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn12"><sup>[12]</sup></a><br>Ratzel. <i>Völkerkunde</i>, i. 20. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn13"><sup>[13]</sup></a><br>Darwin says that in elaborating his theory of Natural + Selection he attributed too little to external surroundings. + <i>Life and Letters</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn14"><sup>[14]</sup></a><br><i>Physique Sociale</i>, ii. 282. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn15"><sup>[15]</sup></a><br><i>Zeitschrift für Strafrechtswissenschaft</i>, ii., 486. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn16"><sup>[16]</sup></a><br><i>Gli omicidii in alcuni stati d'Europa. Appunti di statistica + comparata del Dr A. Bosco</i>, 1889. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn17"><sup>[17]</sup></a><br>For the high percentage of infanticide in England see the + evidence given before the House of Lords last July (1890) by + Judges Day and Wills. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn18"><sup>[18]</sup></a><br>DISTRIBUTION OF SUICIDES IN LONDON BY MONTHS OF EQUAL + LENGTH PER 10,000, 1865-84:— +</p> + +<pre> + January, 732. July, 905. + February, 714. August, 891. + March, 840. September, 705. + April, 933. October, 772. + May, 1003. November, 726. + June, 1022. December, 697. +</pre> + +<p class="footnote"> + Dr. Ogle, vol. xlix., 117. <i>Statistical Society's Journal</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn19"><sup>[19]</sup></a><br>Cf. <i>L'Etat Moderne et ses Functions par Paul Leroy Beaulieu</i>, + p. 300. See also Mr. J.C. Sherrard's letter to the <i>Times</i> of + January 8th, 1891, on "Tramps." +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn20"><sup>[20]</sup></a><br>Cf. Conrad's <i>Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften</i>, + i. 928. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn21"><sup>[21]</sup></a><br>A case was tried in London a short time ago which illustrates + the difficulties in the way of poor people, so far as the + attendance of witnesses is concerned. In this case the witness + appeared five successive days in court waiting for the trial to + come on. Not being paid by the defendant, this witness was + unable to appear the sixth day. On that day the case was at + last called, the prisoner had now no witness and was, of course, + convicted. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn22"><sup>[22]</sup></a><br>See Appendix, iii. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn23"><sup>[23]</sup></a><br>Scotch statistics are in harmony with English. For the year + ended March, 1890, the number of ordinary prisoners in custody in + Scotland was lowest in December, January and February. It was + highest in July, August, September. Crime was also highest when + pauperism was lowest. See 12th Report of Scottish Prison + Commissioners. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn24"><sup>[24]</sup></a><br><i>Revue Scientifique</i>, September 13, 1890. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn25"><sup>[25]</sup></a><br><i>Principles of Economics</i>, p. 81. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn26"><sup>[26]</sup></a><br>In 1889-90 the recommitted males were 44.3 per cent. of the + total number of males committed (exclusive of debtors and naval + and military offenders); the recommitted females 65.8 per cent. + of the total number of females committed exclusive of debtors. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn27"><sup>[27]</sup></a><br>According to prison statistics of the Greek Government for + 1889, out of a total prison population of 5,023 only 50 were + women. See <i>Revista de Discipline Carcerarie</i>, Nov. 30th, 1890, + page 667. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn28"><sup>[28]</sup></a><br><i>Reformatory and Refuge Journal</i>, July, 1890. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn29"><sup>[29]</sup></a><br>Ages and proportion per cent. of males and females committed + in 1889-90. +</p> + +<pre> + Ages Males Females +<br> + Under 12 years 0.2 0.0 + 12 years and under 16 3.1 1.1 + 16 years and under 21 17.5 10.7 + 21 years and under 30 28.4 31.4 + 30 years and under 40 23.9 28.6 + 40 years and under 50 14.2 17.5 + 50 years and under 60 6.4 6.8 + 60 years and above 6.2 3.8 + Age not ascertained 0.1 0.1 +</pre> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn30"><sup>[30]</sup></a><br>In 1889 there is a slight decrease. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn31"><sup>[31]</sup></a><br>Ages at which 507 offenders first began to commit crime— +</p> + +<pre> + Under 10 1.5 41 to 45 2.1 + 11 to 15 17.0 46 to 50 2.3 + 16 to 20 36.1 51 to 55 2.1 + 21 to 25 20.1 56 to 60 .8 + 26 to 30 7.1 61 to 65 .8 + 31 to 35 5.1 66 to 70 .2 + 36 to 40 3.6 +</pre> + +<p class="footnote"> Marro. <i>I Caratteri dei delinquente. Studio antropologico-sociologico</i>, + p. 356. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn32"><sup>[32]</sup></a><br><i>India</i> by Sir John Strachey, pp. 292-3. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn33"><sup>[33]</sup></a><br>Cf. <i>Tarde Philosophie Penale</i>, p. 467. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn34"><sup>[34]</sup></a><br>See <i>Revista Internacional de Anthropologia Criminal y + Ciencias Medico-Legales, Marzo e April de 1890</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn35"><sup>[35]</sup></a><br>A masterly article on the "Localisation of Brain Functions" + will be found in Wundt's <i>Philosophische Studien Sechster Band</i>, + 1. <i>Heft Zur Frage der Localisation der Grosshirnfunctionen</i>, + Von W. Wundt. Compare also <i>The Croonian Lectures on Cerebral + Localisation</i>, by David Ferrier. London: 1890. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn36"><sup>[36]</sup></a><br>Marro, <i>I Caratteri dei Delinquenti</i>, p. 157. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn37"><sup>[37]</sup></a><br><i>Archives d'anthropologie criminelle Livraison</i>, 10. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn38"><sup>[38]</sup></a><br><i>L'Homme Criminel</i>, 324. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn39"><sup>[39]</sup></a><br><i>Le Crime</i>, 193. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn40"><sup>[40]</sup></a><br><i>Daily News</i>, June 12, 1890. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn41"><sup>[41]</sup></a><br><i>Journal of Mental Science</i>, vol. xvi. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn42"><sup>[42]</sup></a><br><i>Die Continuität des Keimplasma als Grundlage einer Theorie + der Vererbung</i>. A. Weismann. Jena, 1885. <i>Natural Inheritance</i>. + F. Galton. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn43"><sup>[43]</sup></a><br>In Christiania the number of children who cannot learn + amounts in the elementary schools to 4 per 1000. See <i>Reformatory + and Refuge Journal</i> for August, 1890. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn44"><sup>[44]</sup></a><br>Cf. Ribot, <i>Les Maladies de la Volonté</i>, 1887. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn45"><sup>[45]</sup></a><br><i>Sanity and Insanity</i>. C. Mercier, p. XII. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn46"><sup>[46]</sup></a><br><i>Lehrbuch der Gefängnishunde von K. Krohne + Strafanstalts-director</i>, pp. 534-6. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn47"><sup>[47]</sup></a><br><i>Revue des Deux-Mondes, Avril</i>, 15, 1887. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn48"><sup>[48]</sup></a><br>At a recent meeting of the Statistical Society, Mr. Murray + Browne gave some interesting information respecting the work of + Prisoners' Aid Societies among habitual offenders. "A question," + he said, "had been addressed to all Discharged Prisoners' Aid + Societies asking what was their experience with regard to + prisoners who had been four times arrested but not sentenced to + penal servitude, and had been arrested during a given period, say + a year. How many of them has turned out (a) satisfactory, (b) + unsatisfactory, (c) re-convicted? Detailed replies were received + from fifteen different societies, not all working in the same way, + or with the same machinery, giving a total of 253 such cases. Of + these only 95 were reported as satisfactory, 55 were reported as + unsatisfactory, 66 were re-convicted, 37 being unknown or + unaccounted for." +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn49"><sup>[49]</sup></a><br><i>De Augmentis</i> VIII. <i>Aphorism</i> 40. +</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Crime and Its Causes, by William Douglas Morrison + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRIME AND ITS CAUSES *** + +***** This file should be named 15803-h.htm or 15803-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/8/0/15803/ + +Produced by Afra Ullah and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Crime and Its Causes + +Author: William Douglas Morrison + +Release Date: May 9, 2005 [EBook #15803] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRIME AND ITS CAUSES *** + + + + +Produced by Afra Ullah and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +CRIME AND ITS CAUSES + + + +BY + +WILLIAM DOUGLAS MORRISON + +OF H.M. PRISON, WANDSWORTH + + + +LONDON +SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LIM. +NEW YORK : CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + +1902 + + + + +OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. + +"The science of criminology is pursued vigorously among the Italians, +but this is one of the first English books to make the phenomena of +crime the subject of a strictly scientific investigation."--_Daily +Chronicle_. + +"The book is an important addition to the Social Science Series. +It throws light upon some of the most complex problems with which +society has to deal, and incidentally affords much interesting +reading."--_Manchester Examiner_. + +"This is a work which, considering its limits and modest pretensions, +it is difficult to over praise. It is a calm and thoughtful study by a +writer in whom the deliberate determination to look on things as they +are has not extinguished a reasoned faith in the possibility of their +amelioration. The work is conceived throughout in a genuinely +philosophical spirit."--_International Journal of Ethics_. + +"A thoughtful and thought suggesting book--well worthy of consideration +by penologists, whether specialists or amateurs."--_Annals of the +American Academy_. + +"Mr. Morrison's book is especially valuable, because, without attempting +to enforce this or that conclusion, it furnishes the authentic _data_ +on which all sound conclusions must be based."--_Times_. + +"Cramful of suggestive facts and solid arguments on the great questions +how criminals are made, and how crime is best to be dealt with. Many +cherished superstitions and fallacies are exploded in Mr. Morrison's +pages."--_Star_. + +First Edition, _February 1891_. + +Second Edition, _February 1902_. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAP. + + I. THE STATISTICS OF CRIME + + II. CLIMATE AND CRIME + + III. THE SEASONS AND CRIME + + IV. DESTITUTION AND CRIME + + V. POVERTY AND CRIME + + VI. SEX, AGE, AND CRIME + + VII. THE CRIMINAL IN BODY AND MIND + +VIII. THE PUNISHMENT OF CRIME + + APPENDICES + + + + +PREFACE. + +This volume, as its title indicates, is occupied with an examination +of some of the principal causes of crime, and is designed as an +introduction to the study of criminal questions in general. In spite +of all the attention these questions have hitherto received and are +now receiving, crime still remains one of the most perplexing and +obstinate of social problems. It is much more formidable than +pauperism, and almost as costly. A social system which has to try +hundreds of thousands of offenders annually before the criminal courts +is in a very imperfect condition; the causes which lead to this state +of things deserve careful consideration from all who take an interest +in social welfare. + +In the following pages I have endeavoured to show that crime is a more +complicated phenomenon than is generally supposed. When society will +be able to stamp it out is a question it would be extremely hard to +answer. If it ever does so, it will not be the work of one generation +but of many, and it will not be effected by the application of any +single specific. + +Punishment alone will never succeed in putting an end to crime. +Punishment will and does hold crime to a certain extent in check, but +it will never transform the delinquent population into honest +citizens, for the simple reason that it can only strike at the +full-fledged criminal and not at the causes which have made him so. +Economic prosperity, however widely diffused, will not extinguish +crime. Many people imagine that all the evils afflicting society +spring from want, but this is only partially true. A small number of +crimes are probably due to sheer lack of food, but it has to be borne +in mind that crime would still remain an evil of enormous magnitude +even if there were no such calamities as destitution and distress. As +a matter of fact easy circumstances have less influence on conduct +than is generally believed; prosperity generates criminal inclinations +as well as adversity, and on the whole the rich are just as much +addicted to crime as the poor. The progress of civilisation will not +destroy crime. Many savage tribes living under the most primitive +forms of social life present a far more edifying spectacle of respect +for person and property than the most cultivated classes in Europe and +America. All that civilisation has hitherto done is to change the form +in which crime is perpetrated; in substance it remains the same. +Primary Schools will not accomplish much in eliminating crime. The +merely intellectual training received in these institutions has little +salutary influence upon conduct. Nothing can be mope deplorable than +that sectarian bickerings, respecting infinitesimal points in the +sanctions of morality, should result in the children of England +receiving hardly any moral instruction whatever. Conduct, as the late +Mr. Matthew Arnold has so often told us, is three fourths of life. +What are we to think of an educational system which officially ignores +this; what have we to hope in the way of improvement from a people +which consents to its being ignored? + +But even a course of systematic instruction in the principles of +conduct, no matter by what sanctions these principles are inculcated, +will not avail much unless they are to some extent practised in the +home. And this will never be the case so long as women are demoralised +by the hard conditions of industrial life, and unfitted for the duties +of motherhood before beginning to undertake them. + +In addition to this, no State will ever get rid of the criminal +problem unless its population is composed of healthy and vigorous +citizens. Very often crime is but the offspring of degeneracy and +disease. A diseased and degenerate population, no matter how +favourably circumstanced in other respects, will always produce a +plentiful crop of criminals. Stunted and decrepit faculties, whether +physical or mental, either vitiate the character, or unfit the +combatant for the battle of life. In both cases the result is in +general the same, namely, a career of crime. + +As to the best method of dealing with the actual criminal, the first +thing to be done is to know what sort of a person you are dealing +with. He must be carefully studied at first hand. At present too much +attention is bestowed on theoretical discussions respecting the +various kinds of crime and punishment, while hardly any account is +taken of the persons who commit the crime and require the punishment. +Yet this is the most important point of all; the other is trivial in +comparison with it. If crime is to be dealt with in a rational manner +and not on mere _a priori_ grounds, our minds must be enlightened on +such questions as the following: What is the Criminal? What are the +chief causes which have made him such? How are these causes to be got +rid of or neutralised? What is the effect of this or that kind of +punishment? These are the momentous problems; in comparison with +these, all fine-spun definitions respecting the difference between one +crime and another are mere dust in the balance. There can be little +doubt that a neglect of those considerations on the part of many +magistrates and judges, is at the root of the capricious sentences so +often passed upon criminals. The effects of this neglect result in the +passing of sentences of too great severity on first offenders and the +young; and of too much leniency on hardened and habitual criminals. +Leniency, says Grotius, should be exercised with discernment, +otherwise it is not a virtue, but a weakness and a scandal. + +When imprisonment has to be resorted to, it must be made a genuine +punishment if it is to exercise any effect as a deterrent. The moment +a prison is made a comfortable place to live in, it becomes useless as +a safeguard against the criminal classes. This is a fundamental +principle. But punishment, although an essential part of imprisonment, +is not its only purpose. Imprisonment should also be a preparation for +liberty. If a convicted man is as unfit for social life at the +expiration of his sentence as he was at the commencement of it, the +prison has only accomplished half its work; it has satisfied the +feeling of public vengeance, but it has failed to transform the +offender into a useful citizen. How to prepare the offender for +liberty is, I admit, a task of supreme difficulty; in some oases, +probably, an impossible task. For work of this character what is +wanted above all is an enlightened staff. Mere machines are useless; +men unacquainted with civil life and its conditions are useless. It is +from civil life the prisoner is taken; it is to civil life he has to +return, and unless he is under the care of men who have an intimate +knowledge of civil life, he will not have the same prospect of being +fitted into it when he has once more to face the world. + +In the preparation of this volume I have carefully examined the most +recent ideas of English and Continental writers (especially the +Italians) on the subject of crime. The opinions it contains are based +on an experience of fourteen years in Orders most of which have been +spent in prison work. In revising the proofs I have received valuable +assistance from Mr. J. Morrison. + +W.D.M. + + + + +CRIME AND ITS CAUSES + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE STATISTICS OF CRIME. + + +It is only within the present century, and in some countries it is +only within the present generation, that the possibility has arisen of +conducting the study of criminal problems on anything approaching an +exact and scientific basis. Before the introduction of a system of +criminal statistics--a step taken by most peoples within the memory of +men still living--it was impossible for civilised communities to +ascertain with absolute accuracy whether crime was increasing or +decreasing, or what transformation it was passing through in +consequence of the social, political, and economic changes constantly +taking place in all highly organised societies. It was also equally +impossible to appreciate the effect of punishment for good or evil on +the criminal population. Justice had little or no data to go upon; +prisoners were sentenced in batches to the gallows, to transportation, +to the hulks, or to the county gaol, but no inquiry was made as to the +result of these punishments on the criminal classes or on the progress +of crime. It was deemed sufficient to catch and punish the offender; +the more offences seemed to increase--there was no sure method of +knowing whether they did increase or not--the more severe the +punishment became. Justice worked in the dark, and was surrounded by +the terrors of darkness. What followed is easy to imagine; the +criminal law of England reached a pitch of unparalleled barbarity, and +within living memory laws were on the statute book by which a man +might be hanged for stealing property above the value of a shilling. + +Had a fairly accurate system of criminal statistics existed, it is +very likely that the data contained in them would have reassured the +nation and tempered the severity of the law. + +Of Criminal Statistics it may be said in the first place, that they +act as an annual register for tabulating the amount of danger to which +society is exposed by the nefarious operations of lawless persons. By +these statistics we are informed of the number of crimes committed +during the course of the year so far as they are reported to the +police. We are informed of the number of persons brought to trial for +the perpetration of these crimes; of the nature of the offences with +which incriminated persons are charged, and of the length of sentence +imposed on those who are sent to prison. The age, the degree of +instruction, and the occupations of prisoners are also tabulated. A +record is also kept of the number of times a man has been committed to +prison, and of the manner in which he has conducted himself while in +confinement. + +One important point must be mentioned on which criminal statistics are +almost entirely silent. The great sources of crime are the personal, +the social, and the economic conditions of the individuals who commit +it. Criminal statistics, to be exhaustive, ought to include not only +the amount of crime and the degrees of punishment awarded to +offenders; these statistics should also, as far as practicable, take +cognisance of the sources from which crime undoubtedly springs. In +this respect, our information, so far as it comes to us through +ordinary channels, is lamentably deficient. It is confined to data +respecting the age, sex, and occupation of the offender. These data +are very interesting, and very useful, as affording a glimpse of the +sources from which the dark river of delinquency takes its rise. But +they are too meagre and fragmentary. They require to be completed by +the personal and social history of the criminal. Crime is not +necessarily a disease, but it resembles disease in this respect, that +it will be impossible to wipe it out till an accurate diagnosis has +been made of the causes which produce it. To punish crime is all very +well; but punishment is not an absolute remedy; its deterrent action +is limited, and other methods besides punishment must be adopted if +society wishes to gain the mastery over the criminal population. What +those methods should be can only be ascertained after the most +searching preliminary inquiries into the main factors of crime. It +ought, therefore, to be a weighty part of the business of criminal +statistics to offer as full information as possible, not only +respecting crimes and punishments, but much more respecting criminals. +Every criminal has a life history; that history is very frequently the +explanation of his sinister career; it ought, therefore, to be +tabulated, so that it may be seen how far his descent and his +surroundings have contributed to make him what he is. In the case of +children sent to Reformatory Schools, the previous history of the +child is always tabulated. Enquiries are made and registered +respecting the parents of the child; what country they belong to, what +sort of character they bear, whether they are honest and sober, +whether they have ever been in prison, what wages they earn, and +whether the child is legitimate or not. A similar method to the one +adopted with Reformatory children ought to be instituted, with +suitable modifications, in European prisons and convict +establishments. It is, at the present time, being advocated by almost +all the most eminent criminal authorities,[1] and more than one scheme +has been drawn up to show the scope of its operation. + + [1] See Appendix I. + +In addition to the service which a complete personal and family record +of convicted prisoners would render as to the causes of crime, such a +record would be of immense advantage to the judges. At the present +time a judge is only made acquainted with the previous convictions of +a prisoner; he knows nothing more about him except through the +evidence which is sometimes adduced as to character. An accurate +record of the prisoner's past would enable the judge to see at once +with what sort of offender he was dealing, and might, perhaps, help to +put a stop to the unequal and capricious sentences which, not +infrequently, disgrace the name of justice.[2] + + [2] In his interesting work, "Die Beziehungen zwischen + Geistesstoerung und Verbrechen," Dr. Sander shows that out of a + hundred insane persons brought up for trial, the judges only + discovered the mental state of from twenty-six to twenty-eight + per cent. of them. + +Passing from this point, we shall now inquire into the possibility of +establishing some system of International Statistics, whereby the +volume of crime in one country may be compared with the volume of +crime in another. At the present time it is extremely difficult to +institute any such comparison, and it is questionable if it can ever +be properly done. In no two countries is the criminal law the same, +and an act which is perfectly harmless when committed in one part of +Europe, is considered in another as a contravention of the law. Each +country has also a nomenclature of crime and methods of criminal +procedure peculiar to itself. In each country the police are organised +on a different principle, and act in the execution of their duty on a +different code of rules. In all cases, for instance, of mendicancy, +drunkenness, brawling, and disorder, the initiative rests practically +with the police, and it depends almost entirely on the instructions +issued to the police whether such offences shall figure largely or not +in the statistics of crime. A proof of this fact may be seen in the +Report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, for the year +1888. In the year 1886, the number of persons convicted in the +Metropolis of "Annoying male persons for the purpose of prostitution" +was 3,233; in 1888, the number was only 1,475. This enormous decrease +in the course of two years is not due to a diminution of the offence, +but to a change in the attitude of the police. Again, in the year +1887, the Metropolitan police arrested 4,556 persons under the +provisions of the Vagrant and Poor Law Acts; but in the year 1888, the +number arrested by the same body under the same acts amounted to +7,052. It is perfectly obvious that this vast increase of apprehensions +was not owing to a corresponding increase in the number of rogues, +beggars, and vagrants; it was principally owing to the increased +stringency with which the Metropolitan police carried out the +provisions of the Vagrant and Poor Law Acts. An absolute proof of the +correctness of this statement is the fact that throughout the whole of +England there was a decrease in the number of persons proceeded +against in accordance with these acts. These examples will suffice to +show what an immense power the police have in regulating the volume of +certain classes of offences. In some countries they are called upon to +exercise this power in the direction of stringency; in other countries +it is exercised in the direction of leniency; and in the same country +its exercise, as we have just seen, varies according to the views of +whoever, for the time being, happens to have a voice in controlling +the action of the police. In these circumstances it is obviously +impossible to draw any accurate comparison between the lighter kinds +of offences in one country and the same class of offences in another. + +In the case of the more serious offences against person and property, +the initiative of putting the law in motion rests chiefly with the +injured individual. The action of the individual in this respect +depends to a large extent on the customs of the country. In some +countries the injured person, instead of putting the law in motion +against an offender, takes the matter in his own hands, and +administers the wild justice of revenge. Great differences of opinion +also exist among different nations as to the gravity of certain +offences. Among some peoples there is a far greater reluctance than +there is among others to appeal to the law. Murder is perhaps the only +crime on which there exists a fair consensus of opinion among +civilised communities; and even with regard to this offence it is +impossible to overcome all the judicial and statistical difficulties +which stand in the way of an international comparison. + +In spite, however, of the fact that the amount of crime committed in +civilised countries cannot be subjected to exact comparison, there are +various points on which the international statistics of crime are able +to render valuable service. It is important, for instance, to see in +what relation crime in different communities stands to age, sex, +climate, temperature, race, education, religion, occupation, home and +social surroundings. If we find, for example, an abnormal development +of crime taking place in a given country at a certain period of life, +or in certain social circumstances, and if we do not discover the same +abnormal development taking place in other countries at a similar +period of life, or in a similar social stratum, we ought at once to +come to the conclusion that there is some extraordinary cause at work +peculiar to the country which is producing an unusually high total of +crime. If, on the other hand, we find that certain kinds of crime are +increasing or decreasing in all countries at the same time, we may be +perfectly sure that the increase or decrease is brought about by the +same set of causes. And whether those causes are war, political +movements, commercial prosperity, or depression, the community which +first escapes from them will also be the first to show it in the +annual statistics of crime. In these and many other ways international +statistics are of the greatest utility. + +From what has already been said as to the immense difficulty of +comparing the criminal statistics of various countries, it follows as +a matter of course that the figures contained in them cannot be used +as a means of ascertaining the position which belongs to each nation +respectively in the scale of morality. Nor is the moral progress of a +nation to be measured solely by an apparent decay of crime. On the +contrary, an increase in the amount of crime may be the direct result +of a moral advance in the average sentiments of the community. The +passing of the Elementary Education Act of 1870 and of the Criminal +Law Amendment Act of 1885 have added considerably to the number of +persons brought before the criminal courts and eventually committed to +prison. But an increase of the prison population due to these causes +is no proof that the country is deteriorating morally. It will be +regarded by many persons as a proof that the country has improved, for +it is now demanding a higher standard of conduct from the ordinary +citizen than it demanded twenty years ago.[3] + + [3] Before the passing of the Elementary Education Act, no one + was tried for not sending his child to school; it was not a legal + offence; in 1888-9 no less than 80,519 persons were tried under + this Act, in England and Wales. + +On the other hand, a decrease in the official statistics of crime may +be a proof that the moral sentiments of a nation are degenerating. It +may be a proof that the laws are ceasing to be an effective protection +to the citizen, and that society is falling a victim to the forces of +anarchy and crime. It is, therefore, impossible by looking only at the +bare figures contained in criminal statistics, to say whether a +community is growing better or worse. Before any conclusions can be +formed on these matters, either one way or the other, we must go +behind the figures, and look at them in the light of the social, +political and industrial developments taking place in the society to +which these figures refer. + +In this connection, it may not be amiss to point out that the present +tendency of legislation is bound to produce more crime. All law is by +its nature coercive, but so long as the coercion is confined within a +limited area, or can only come into operation at rare intervals, it +produces comparatively little effect on the whole volume of crime. +When, however, a law is passed affecting every member of the community +every day of his life, such a law is certain to increase the +population of our gaols. A marked characteristic of the present time +is that legislative assemblies are becoming more and more inclined to +pass such laws; so long as this is the case it is vain to hope for a +decrease in the annual amount of crime. Whether these new coercive +laws are beneficial or the reverse is a matter which it does not at +this moment concern me to discuss; what I am anxious to point out is, +that the more they are multiplied, the greater will be the number of +persons annually committed to prison. In initiating legislation of a +far-reaching coercive character, politicians should remember far more +than they do at present that the effect of these Acts of Parliament +will be to fill the gaols, and to put the prison taint upon a greater +number of the population. This is a responsibility which no body of +men ought lightly to incur, and in considering the advantages to be +derived from some new legislative enactment, an equal amount of +consideration should be bestowed upon the fact that the new enactment +will also be the means of providing a fresh recruiting ground for the +permanent army of crime. + +A man, for instance, goes to prison for contravening some municipal +bye-law; he comes out of it the friend and associate of habitual +criminals; and the ultimate result of the bye-law is to transform a +comparatively harmless member of society into a dangerous thief or +house-breaker. One person of this character is a greater menace to +society than a hundred offenders against municipal regulations, and +the present system of law-making undoubtedly helps to multiply this +class of men. One of the leading principles of all wise legislation +should be to keep the population out of gaol; but the direct result of +many recent enactments, both in this country and abroad, is to drive +them into it; and it may be taken as an axiom that the more the +functions of Government are extended, the greater will be the amount +of crime. + +These remarks lead me to approach the question of what is called "the +movement" of crime. Is its total volume increasing or decreasing in +the principal civilised countries of the world? On this point there is +some diversity of view, but most of the principal authorities in +Europe and America are emphatically of opinion that crime is on the +increase. In the United States, we are told by Mr. D.A. Wells,[4] and +by Mr. Howard Wines, an eminent specialist in criminal matters, that +crime is steadily increasing, and it is increasing faster than the +growth of the population. + + [4] _Recent Economic Changes_, p. 345. + +Nearly all the chief statisticians abroad tell the same tale with +respect to the growth of crime on the Continent. Dr. Mischler of +Vienna, and Professor von Liszt of Marburg draw a deplorable picture +of the increase of crime in Germany. Professor von Liszt, in a recent +article,[5] says, that fifteen million persons have been convicted by +the German criminal courts within the last ten years; and, according +to him, the outlook for the future is sombre in the last degree. In +France, the criminal problem is just as formidable and perplexing as +it is in Germany; M. Henri Joly estimates that crime has increased in +the former country 133 per cent. within the last half century, and is +still steadily rising. Taking Victoria as a typical Australasian +colony, we find that even in the Antipodes, which are not vexed to the +same extent as Europe with social and economic difficulties, crime is +persistently raising its head, and although it does not increase quite +as rapidly as the population, it is nevertheless a more menacing +danger among the Victorian colonists than it is at home.[6] + + [5] _Zeitschrift fuer die gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft_ ix. + 472, sg. + + [6] See _Statistical Register for Victoria_, Part viii. + +Is England an exception to the rest of the world with respect to +crime? Many people are of opinion that it is, and the idea is at +present diligently fostered on the platform and in the press that we +have at last found out the secret of dealing successfully with the +criminal population. As far as I can ascertain, this belief is based +upon the statement that the daily average of persons in prison is +constantly going down. Inasmuch, as there was a daily average of over +20,000 persons in prison in 1878, and a daily average of about 15,000 +in 1888, many people immediately jump at the conclusion that crime is +diminishing. But the daily average is no criterion whatever of the +rise and fall of crime. Calculated on the principle of daily average, +twelve men sentenced to prison for one month each, will not figure so +largely in criminal statistics as one man sentenced to a term of +eighteen months. The daily average, in other words, depends upon the +length of sentence prisoners receive, and not upon the number of +persons committed to prison, or upon the number of crimes committed +during the year. Let us look then at the number of persons committed +to Local Prisons, and we shall be in a position to judge if crime is +decreasing in England or not. We shall go back twenty years and take +the quinquennial totals as they are recorded in the judicial +statistics:-- + + Total of the 5 years, 1868 to 1872, 774,667. + Total of the 5 years, 1873 to 1877, 866,041. + Total of the 5 years, 1884 to 1888, 898,486. + +If statistics are to be allowed any weight at all, these figures +incontestably mean that the total volume of crime is on the increase +in England as well as everywhere else. It is fallacious to suppose +that the authorities here are gaining the mastery over the delinquent +population. Such a supposition is at once refuted by the statistics +which have just been tabulated, and these are the only statistics +which can be implicitly relied upon for testing the position of the +country with regard to crime. + +Seeing, then, that the total amount of crime is regularly growing, +how is the decrease in the daily average of persons in prison to be +accounted for? + +This decrease may be accounted for in two ways. It may be shown that +although the number of people committed to prison is on the increase, +the nature of the offences for which these people are convicted is not +so grave. Or, in the second place, it may be shown that, although the +crimes committed now are equally serious with those committed twenty +years ago, the magistrates and judges are adopting a more lenient line +of action, and are inflicting shorter sentences after a conviction. +Let us for a moment consider the proposition that crime is not so +grave now as it was twenty years ago. In order to arrive at a fairly +accurate conclusion on this matter, we have only to look at the number +of offences of a serious nature reported to the police. Comparing the +number of cases of murder, attempts to murder, manslaughter, shooting +at, stabbing and wounding, and adding to these offences the crimes of +burglary, housebreaking, robbery, and arson--comparing all these cases +reported to the police for the five years 1870-1874, with offences of +a like character reported in the five years 1884-1888, we find that +the proportion of grave offences to the population was, in many cases, +as great in the latter period as in the former.[7] This shows clearly +that crime, while it is increasing in extent, is not materially +decreasing in seriousness; and the chief reason the prison population +exhibits a smaller daily average is to be found in the fact that +judges are now pronouncing shorter sentences than was the custom +twenty years ago. We are not left in the dark upon this point; the +judges themselves frequently inform the public that they have taken to +shortening the terms of imprisonment. The extent to which sentences +have been shortened within the last twenty years can easily be +ascertained by comparing the committals to prison and the daily +average of the quinquenniad 1868-72 with the committals and the daily +average of the quinquenniad 1884-88. A comparison between these two +periods shows that the length of imprisonment has decreased twenty-six +per cent. In other words, whereas a man used to receive a sentence of +twelve months' imprisonment, he now receives a sentence of nine +months; and whereas he used to get a sentence of one month, he now +gets twenty-one days. If it he a serious offence, or if the criminal +be a habitual offender, he now receives eighteen months' imprisonment, +whereas he used to receive five years' penal servitude. As far as most +judges and stipendiary magistrates are concerned, sentences of +imprisonment have decreased in recent years more than twenty-six per +cent.; and if there was a corresponding movement on the part of +Chairmen of Quarter Sessions, the average decrease in the length of +sentences would amount to fifty per cent. But it is a notorious fact +that amateur judges are, with few exceptions, more inclined to +pronounce heavy sentences than professional men. + + [7] SERIOUS CASES REPORTED TO THE POLICE IN PROPORTION TO THE + POPULATION. ANNUAL AVERAGE FOR FIVE YEARS:-- + + Murder. Attempts to Murder. Manslaughter + 1870-74 1 to 196,946 1 to 441,158 1 to 92,756 + 1884-88 1 to 168,897 1 to 418,923 1 to 116,463 + + Shooting, Stabbing, &c. Burglary. Housebreaking. + 1870-74 1 to 35,033 1 to 10,188 1 to 17,538 + 1884-88 1 to 38,007 1 to 7,892 1 to 11,911 + + Robbery. Arson. + 1870-74 1 to 43,247 1 to 54,075 + 1884-88 1 to 70,767 1 to 77,018 + + This table shows that since 1870-74 there has been an increase in + murder, attempts to murder, burglary, and housebreaking, and a + decrease in manslaughter, robbery, and arson. The decrease in + shooting, stabbing, wounding, &c., is very small. (Cf. _Judicial + Statistics_ for 1874 and 1888, p. xvi.) + +We have now arrived at the conclusion that crime is just as serious in +its character as it was twenty years ago, and that it is growing in +dimensions year by year; the next point to be considered is, the +relation in which crime stands to the population. Crime may be +increasing, but the population may be multiplying faster than the +growth of crime. Is this the condition of things in England at the +present day? We have seen that the criminal classes are increasing +much faster than the growth of population in France and the United +States. Is England in a better position in this respect than these two +countries? At the present time there is one conviction to about every +fifty inhabitants, and the proportion of convictions to the population +was very much the same twenty years ago. If we remember the immense +development that has taken place in the industrial school system +within the last twenty years--a development that has undoubtedly had a +great deal to do with keeping down crime--we arrive at the conclusion +that, notwithstanding the beneficent effects of Industrial Schools, +the criminal classes in this country still keep pace with the annual +growth of population. If we had no Industrial and Reformatory +institutions for the detention of criminal and quasi-criminal +offenders among the young, there can be no doubt that England, as well +as other countries, would have to make the lamentable admission that +crime was not only increasing in her midst, but that it was increasing +faster than the growth of population. The number of juveniles in these +institutions has more than trebled since 1868,[8] and it is +unquestionable that if these youthful offenders were not confined +there, a large proportion of them would immediately begin to swell the +ranks of crime. That crime in England is not making more rapid strides +than the growth of population, is almost entirely to be attributed to +the action of these schools. + + [8] See Appendix II. + +We shall now look at another aspect of the criminal question, and that +is its cost. Crime is not merely a danger to the community; it is +likewise a vast expense; and there is no country in Europe where it +does not constitute a tremendous drain upon the national resources. +Owing to the federal system of government in America, it is almost +impossible to estimate how much is spent in the prevention and +punishment of crime in the United States, but Mr. Wines calculates +that the police force alone costs the country fifteen million dollars +annually.[9] In the United Kingdom the cost of criminal justice and +administration is continually on the increase, and it has never been +so high as it is at the present time. In the Estimates for the year +1891 the cost of Prisons and of the Asylum for criminal lunatics falls +little short of a million sterling. Reformatory and Industrial Schools +for juvenile offenders cost considerably over half-a-million, and the +expenditure on the Police force is over five and a half millions +annually. Add to these figures the cost of criminal prosecutions, the +salaries of stipendiary and other paid magistrates, a portion of the +salaries of judges, and all other expenses connected with the trial +and prosecution of delinquents, and an annual total of expenditure is +reached for the United Kingdom of more than seven and a half millions +sterling. In addition to this enormous sum, it has also to he +remembered that a great loss of property is annually entailed on the +inhabitants of the three kingdoms by the depredations of the criminal +classes. The exact amount of this loss it is impossible to estimate, +but, according to the figures in the police reports, it cannot fall +short of a million sterling per annum. + + [9] _American Prisons_, 1888. + +These formidable figures afford ample food for reflection. Apart from +its danger to the community, the annual loss of money which the +existence of crime entails is a most serious consideration. It is +equal to a tenth of the national expenditure, and every few years +amounts to as much as the cost of a big European war. It is tempting +to speculate on the admirable uses to which the capital consumed by +crime might be devoted, if it were free for beneficent purposes. How +easy it would be for many a scheme, which is now in the region of +dreamland, to be immediately realised. Unhappily, it is almost as vain +to look forward to the abolition of crime as it is to look forward to +the cessation of war. At the present moment the latter event, however +improbable, is more likely to happen than the former. War has ceased +to be a normal condition of things in the comity of nations; it has +become a transitory incident; but crime, which means war within the +nation, is still far from being a passing incident; on the contrary, a +conflict between the forces of moral order and social anarchy is going +on continually; and, at present, there is not the faintest prospect of +its coming to an end. + +What is the cause of this state of warfare within society? Which of the +combatants is to blame? Or is the blame to be laid equally on the +shoulders of both? In other words, are the conditions in which men live +together in society of such a nature that crime is certain to flow from +them; and is crime simply a reaction against the iniquity of existing +social arrangements? Or, on the other hand, does crime spring from the +individual and his cosmical surroundings; and is it the product of +forces over which society has little or no control? These are questions +which cannot be answered off-hand, they involve considerations of a +most complicated character, and it is only after a careful examination +of all the factors responsible for crime that a true solution can +possibly be arrived at. These factors are divisible into three great +categories--cosmical, social, and individual.[10] The cosmical factors +of crime are climate and the variations of temperature; the social +factors are the political, economic and moral conditions in the midst +of which man lives as a member of society; the individual factors are a +class of attributes inherent in the individual, such as descent, sex, +age, bodily and mental characteristics. These factors, it will be seen, +can easily be reduced to two, the organism and its environment; but it +will be more convenient to consider them under the three-fold division +which has just been mentioned. Before proceeding to do so, it may be as +well to remark that in each case the several factors operate with +different degrees of intensity. It is often extremely difficult to +disentangle them; and the more complex the society is in which a crime +takes place, the greater is the combination and intricacy of the causes +leading up to it. + + [10] Cf. E. Ferri. I _Nuovi Orizzonti del Diritto e della Procedura + Penale_. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CLIMATE AND CRIME. + + +Man's existence depends upon physical surroundings; these surroundings +have exercised an immense influence in modifying his organism, in +shaping his social development, in moulding his character. To enumerate +all the external factors operating upon individual and social life is +outside our present purpose, but they may be briefly summed up as +climate, moisture, soil, the configuration of the earth's surface, and +the nature of its products. These natural phenomena, either singly or +in varying degrees of combination, have unquestionably played a most +prominent part in making the different races of mankind what they at +present are. We have only to look at the low type of life exhibited by +the primitive inhabitants of certain inhospitable regions of the globe +to see how profoundly the physical structure of man is affected by his +natural surroundings. Even a comparatively slight difference of +environment is not without effect upon the population subjected to its +influence. According to M. de Quatrefages, the bodily structure of the +English race has been distinctly modified by residence in the United +States of America. It is not more than two and a half centuries since +Englishmen began to emigrate in any considerable numbers to the +American Continent, but in that comparatively short period the +Anglo-American has ceased to resemble his ancestors in physical +appearance. Alterations have taken place in the skin, the hair, the +neck, and the head; the lower jaw has become bigger; the bones of the +arms and legs have lengthened, and the American of to-day requires a +different kind of glove from the Englishman. Structural changes of a +similar character have taken place in the negroes transplanted to +America. M. Elisee Reclus considers that in a century and a half they +have traversed a good quarter of the distance which separates them from +the whites. Another important point, as showing the influence of +habitat upon race, is the fact that the modifications of human +structure resulting from residence in America are in the direction of +assimilating the European type to that of the red man.[11] In short, it +may be taken as a well-established principle that external nature +destroys all organisms that cannot adapt themselves to its action, and +physiologically modifies all organisms that can. + + [11] The various types of Jews also afford a striking instance of + the effect of natural surroundings on bodily structure. + +The social condition of mankind is also profoundly affected by climatic +and other external circumstances. The intense cold of the Arctic and +Antarctic regions is fatal to anything approaching a developed form of +civilisation. Intense heat, on the other hand, although not +incompatible with a certain degree of progress, is unfavourable to its +permanence;[12] the extinct societies of the tropics, such as Cambodia, +Mexico and Peru, affording instances of the operation of this law. It +is impossible for man to get beyond the nomad state in the vast deserts +of Northern Africa; and the extreme moisture of the atmosphere in other +portions of the same continent puts an effectual check on anything like +social advance. In some parts of the world social development has been +hindered by external circumstances of another character, such as the +want of wood, the scarcity of animals, the absence of edible fruits. In +fact, it is only within a comparatively temperate zone that human +society has been able permanently to assume highly complex forms and to +build itself up on an extensive scale. In this zone, climate, while +favouring man up to a certain point, has at the same time compelled him +to eat bread in the sweat of his brow. It has compelled him to enter +into conflict with natural obstacles, the result of which has been to +call forth his powers of industry, of energy, of self-reliance, and to +sharpen his intellectual faculties generally. In addition to exercising +and strengthening these personal attributes, the climatic influences of +what has been called the zone of civilisation have brought man's social +characteristics more fully and elaborately into play. The nature of +these influences has forced him to cooperate more or less closely with +his fellows; while each step in the path of cooperation has involved +him in another of a more complex kind. The growth of social cooperation +is not necessarily accompanied by a corresponding development of the +moral sentiments; increased cooperation in some cases involving a +distinct ethical loss. In many directions, however, highly organised +societies tend to evolve loftier types of morality; and it is in +harmony with the facts to say that the highest moral types are not to +be found where nature does most or where it does least in the way of +providing food and shelter for man. + + [12] Ratzel. _Voelkerkunde_, i. 20. + +It is also interesting to observe the effect which climate, through the +agency of religion, has had upon human conduct. One of the main factors +in the origin of religion is the feeling of dependence upon nature so +strongly manifested in all primitive forms of faith. The outcome of +this feeling of dependence was to exalt the forces of nature into +divinities, and man's conception of these divinities, shaped as it was +by the attitude of nature around him, had an incalculable influence on +his life and actions. The remains of this influence are still visible +in the aesthetic effects which the forces and operations of nature +produce on civilised man; in all other respects it has to a large +extent passed away.[13] + + [13] Darwin says that in elaborating his theory of Natural + Selection he attributed too little to external surroundings. + _Life and Letters_. + +We have now touched upon most of the ways in which external +surroundings have had a hand in shaping the course of human life in the +past; it will be our next business to inquire whether these +surroundings have any effect upon human conduct at the present day, and +especially upon those manifestations of conduct which are known as +crimes. That they still have an effect is an opinion which has long +been entertained. + +Going back to the ancient Greeks, we find Hippocrates holding that all +regions liable to violent changes of climate produced men of fierce, +impetuous and stubborn disposition. "In approaching southern +countries," says Montesquieu, "one would believe that morality was +being left behind; more ardent passions multiply crimes; each tries to +gain from others all the advantages which can minister to these +passions." Buckle believes that the interruption of work caused by +instability of climate leads to instability of character. In analysing +the contents of French statistics, Quetelet,[14] while admitting that +other causes may neutralise the action of climate, proceeds to say that +the "number of crimes against property relatively to the number of +crimes against the person increases considerably as we advance towards +the north." Another eminent student of French criminal statistics, M. +Tarde, comes to very much the same conclusions as Quetelet; he admits +that a high temperature does exercise an indirect influence on the +criminal passions. But the most exhaustive investigations in this +problem have been undertaken in Italy, by Signor Enrico Ferri. After a +thorough examination of French judicial statistics for a series of +years, Ferri arrives at the conclusion that a maximum of crimes against +the person is reached in the hot months, while, on the other hand, +crimes against property come to a climax in the winter.[15] + + [14] _Physique Sociale_, ii. 282. + + [15] _Zeitschrift fuer Strafrechtswissenschaft_, ii., 486. + +In testing these opinions respecting the influence of climate upon +crime, we are obliged, to some extent, to have recourse to +international statistics. But these statistics, as has already been +pointed out, owing to the diversity of customs, laws, criminal +procedure, and so on, do not easily admit of comparison. So much is +this the case that we shall not make the attempt as far as these +statistics have reference to crimes against property. In this field no +satisfactory result can, at present be obtained. The same remark holds +good in relation to all offences against the person, with the exception +of homicide. This, undoubtedly, in an important exception; and it +arises from the fact that there is a greater consensus of opinion among +civilised communities respecting the gravity of homicide than exists +with regard to any other form of crime. Murder in all its degrees is a +crime which immediately causes a profound commotion; it is easy to +recognise; it is more likely than any other offence to come to the ears +of the authorities. For these reasons this crime lends itself most +readily to international comparison; nevertheless, differences of +judicial procedure, legal nomenclature, and different methods of +classification stand in the way of making the comparison absolutely +accurate. These differences, however, are not so great as to render +comparison impossible or worthless; on the contrary, the results of +such a comparison are of exceptional value, and go a long way to +determine the question of the effect of climate upon crimes of blood. + +Assuming, then, with these reservations, that such a comparison can be +instituted, let us see to what extent murder, in the widest sense of +the word, including wilful murder, manslaughter, and infanticide, +prevails in the various countries of Europe. In ordinary circumstances +this task would be a laborious one, entailing a minute and careful +examination of the criminal statistics and procedure of many nations. +Fortunately, it has recently been accomplished by Dr. Bosco in an +admirable monograph communicated in the first instance to the Journal +of the International Statistical Institute, but now published in a +separate form. Bosco's figures have all been taken from official +sources, and may, therefore, be accepted as accurate; but, before +tabulating-them, it may be useful to make an extract from the +explanatory note by which they are accompanied. "As the composition of +the population, with respect to age, varies in different countries, and +as it has to be remembered that all the population under ten years of +age has no share, at least under normal conditions, in the crime of +murder, it has seemed to me a more exact method to calculate the +proportion of murders to the inhabitants who are over ten years of age, +than to include the total population. For those States where a census +has been recently taken, such, for instance, as France and Germany, the +results of that census have been used; that is to say, the French +census of May, 1886, and the German census of December, 1885. For the +other States the population has been calculated (adding the excess of +births over deaths to the results of the last census) to the end of the +intermediate year for each period of years to which the information +relates; that is to say, to the end of 1883 for Belgium, and to the end +of 1884 for Austria, Hungary, Spain, England, Scotland and Ireland. As +the information respecting Italy refers to 1887 only, the population +has been estimated up to the end of that year. The division of the +population according to age (above and below ten) has been obtained by +means of proportional calculations based on the results of the census +for each State. In the case of France and Germany, however, it has been +taken directly from the census returns."[16] + +Homicides of all kinds in the following European States:-- + +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Tried. Convicted. + Population Annual Per Annual Per + Countries. over ten. Years. average 100,000 average 100,000 + inhabitants. inhabitants. +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Italy 23,408,277 1887 3,606 15.40 2,805 11.98 + Austria 17,199,237 1883-6 689 4.01 499 2.90 + France 31,044,370 1882-6 847 2.73 580 1.87 + Belgium 4,377,813 1881-5 132 3.02 101 2.31 + England 19,898,053 1882-6 318 1.60 151 0.76 + Ireland 3,854,588 1882-6 129 3.35 54 1.40 + Scotland 2,841,941 1882-6 60 2.11 21 0.74 + Spain 13,300,839 1883-6 1,584 11.91 1,085 8.18 + Hungary 10,821,558 1882-6 625 5.78 + Holland 3,172,464 1882-6 35 1.10 28 0.88 + Germany 35,278,742 1882-6 567 1.61 476 1.35 +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + + [16] _Gli omicidii in alcuni stati d'Europa. Appunti di statistica + comparata del Dr A. Bosco_, 1889. + +What is the import of these statistics? We perceive at once that +Italy, Spain and Hungary head the list in the proportion of murders to +the population. In Italy, out of every 100,000 persons over ten years +of age, eleven in round numbers are annually convicted of murder in +one or other of its forms; in Spain eight are convicted of the same +offence, and in Hungary five are convicted. These three countries are +conspicuously ahead of all the others to which our table refers. +Austria and Belgium follow at a long distance with two convictions in +round numbers to every 100,000 inhabitants over ten. France, Ireland +and Germany come next with one conviction and a considerable fraction +to every 100,000 persons over ten; England, Scotland and Holland stand +at the bottom of the list with between seven and eight persons +convicted of murder to every one million of inhabitants over ten. + +In order to understand the full meaning of these figures we must take +one more stop and compare the numbers convicted with the numbers +tried. In some countries very few convictions may take place in +proportion to the number accused, while in other countries the +proportion may be very considerable. In other words, in order to +arrive at an approximate estimate of the amount of murders perpetrated +in a country, we must consider how many cases of murder have been +tried in the course of the year. It very seldom happens that a person +is tried for this offence when no murder has been committed; and it +may, therefore, be assumed that the crime has taken place when a man +haw to stand his trial for it. Estimating then the prevalence of +murder in the various countries by trials, rather than convictions, +it will be found that Germany, with a much larger percentage of +convictions than England, has just as few cases of murder for trial. +And the reason the number of convictions, as between the two nations, +differs, arises from the fact that a prisoner's chance of acquittal in +England is a hundred per cent. greater than it is in Germany. It is +not, therefore, accurate to assume that a greater number of murders +are committed in Germany than in England because a greater number +of persons are annually convicted of this crime; all that these +convictions absolutely prove is, that the machinery of the criminal +law is more effective in the one country than in the other. To take +another instance, more persons are annually tried for murder in +Ireland than in France; but more cases of conviction are recorded in +France than in Ireland. These contrasts show that, while the French +are less addicted to this grave offence than the Irish, they are more +anxious to secure its detection, and that a greater body of public +opinion is on the side of law in France than in Ireland. All these +instances (and more could easily be added to them) are intended to +call attention to the importance of looking at the number of persons +tried, as well as the percentage of persons convicted, if we desire to +form an accurate estimate of the comparative prevalence of crime. + +While thus showing that the number of trials for murder is the best +test of the prevalence of this offence, it is not meant that the test +is in all respects indisputable. At most it is merely approximate. One +obstacle in the way of its entire accuracy consists in the circumstance +that the proportion of persons tried, as compared with the amount of +crime committed, is in no two countries precisely the same. In France, +for instance, more murders are perpetrated, for which no one is +ultimately tried, than in Italy or in England; that is to say, a +murderer runs more risk of being placed in the dock in this country +than in France. But the difference between the two countries is again +to a great extent adjusted by the fact that once a man is placed in +the dock in France he has far less chance of being acquitted than if +he were tried according to English law. On the whole, therefore, it +may be assumed that the international statistics of trials, corrected +when necessary by the international statistics of convictions, present +a tolerably accurate idea of the extent to which the crime of murder +prevails among the nationalities of Europe. In any case these figures +will go some way towards helping us to see whether climatic conditions +have any influence upon the amount of crime. This we shall now inquire +into. + +On looking at the isotherms for the year it will be observed that the +average temperature of Italy and Spain is ten degrees higher than +the average temperature of England. On the other hand, the average +temperature of Hungary is very much the same as the average temperature +of this country; but Hungary is at the same time exposed to much +greater extremes of climate than England. In winter it is nearly ten +degrees colder than England, while in summer it is as hot as Spain. +The advocates of the direct effect of climate upon crime contend that +account must be taken not merely of the degree of temperature, but +also of the variations of temperature to which a region is exposed. +According to this theory one of the principal reasons the crime of +murder is, at least, fourfold higher in Hungary than in England, is to +be found in the violent oscillations of temperature in Hungary as +compared with England. In Italy murders are, at least, ten times as +numerous as in England; in Spain they are seven times as numerous; the +chief cause of this condition of things is said to be the serious +difference of temperature. In the United States of America there are +more crimes of blood in the South than in the North; the main +explanation of this difference is said to be that the climate of the +South is much hotter than the climate of the North. + +In opposition to this theory of the intimate relation between +temperature and crime, it may be urged that the greater prevalence of +crimes of blood in hot latitudes is a mere coincidence and not a +causal connection. This is the view taken by Dr. Mischler in Baron von +Holtzendorff's "Handbuch des Gefaengnisswesens." He says the real +reason crimes of blood are more common in the South of Europe than in +the North is to be attributed to the more backward state of +civilisation in the South, and to the wild and mountainous character +of the country. To the latter part of this argument it is easy to +reply that Scotland is quite as mountainous as Italy, and yet its +inhabitants are far less addicted to crimes against the person. But it +is more civilised, for, as M. Tarde ingeniously contends, the bent of +civilisation at present is to travel northward. Admitting for a moment +that Scotland is more civilised than Spain or Italy, all savage +tribes, on the other hand, are confessedly less advanced in the arts +of life than these two peninsulas. But, for all that, many of these +savage peoples are much less criminal. "I have lived," says Mr. +Russell Wallace, "with communities of savages in South America and in +the East who have no laws or law courts, but the public opinion of the +village freely expressed. Each man scrupulously respects the rights of +his fellows, and any infraction of these rights rarely or never takes +place." Mr. Herbert Spencer also quotes innumerable instances of the +kindness, mildness, honesty, and respect for person and property of +uncivilised peoples. M. de Quatrefages, in summing up the ethical +characteristics of the various races of mankind, comes to the +conclusion that from a moral point of view the white man is hardly any +better than the black. Civilisation so far has unfortunately generated +almost as many vices as it has virtues, and he is a bold man who will +say that its growth has diminished the amount of crime. It is very +difficult then to accept the view that the frequency of murder in +Spain and Italy is entirely due to a lack of civilisation. + +Nor can it be said to be entirely due to economic distress. A +condition of social misery has undoubtedly something to do with the +production of crime. In countries where there is much wealth side by +side with much misery, as in France and England, adverse social +circumstances drive a certain portion of the community into criminal +courses. But where this great inequality of social conditions does not +exist--where all are poor as in Ireland or Italy--poverty alone is not +a weighty factor in ordinary crime. In Ireland, for example, there in +almost as much poverty as exists in Italy, and if the amount of crime +were determined by economic circumstances alone, Ireland ought to have +as black a record as her southern sister. Instead of that she is on +the whole as free from crime as the most prosperous countries of +Europe. In the face of these facts it is impossible to say that the +high rate of crime in Italy and Spain is to be wholly accounted for by +the pressure of economic adversity. + +Will not difference of race suffice to account for it? Is it not the +case that some races are inherently more prone to crime than others? +In India, for instance, where the great mass of the population is +singularly law-abiding, a portion of the aboriginal inhabitants have +from time immemorial lived by plunder and crime. "When a man tells +you," says an official report, quoted by Sir John Strachey, "that he +is a Badhak, or a Kanjar, or a Sonoria, he tells you what few +Europeans ever thoroughly realise, that he, an offender against the +law, has been so from the beginning and will be so to the end; that +reform is impossible, for it is his trade, his caste--I may almost say +his religion--to commit crime." It is not poverty which makes many of +these predatory races criminals. Speaking of the Mina tribe inhabiting +one of the frontier districts of the Punjab, Sir John Strachey says: +"Their sole occupation is, and always has been, plunder in the native +States and in distant parts of British India; they give no trouble at +home, and, judging from criminal statistics, it would be supposed that +they were an honest community. They live amid abundance, in +substantial houses with numerous cattle, fine clothes and jewels, and +fleet camels to carry off their plunder." Special laws have been made +for dealing with these tribes; a register of their numbers is kept; +they can be compelled to live within certain local limits, but in +spite of these coercive measures crime is not suppressed, and "a long +time must elapse before we see the end of the criminal tribes of +India." + +Coming back to European peoples, it is worthy of note that both +Hungary and Finland are inhabited by the same race. These two +countries are separated by about fifteen degrees of latitude, but in +the matter of murder the people of Finland are much more nearly allied +to the Hungarians than to their immediate neighbours, the Swedes and +Norwegians. The Finns commit about twice as many murders in proportion +to the population as the Teutons of Scandinavia, but only about half +as many as the Hungarians; and it is not improbable to suppose that +while the effect of race makes them more murderous than the +Scandinavians, the effect of climate makes them less murderous than +the inhabitants of Hungary. + +Before bringing forward any additional material on one side or the +other, let us pause for a moment to consider the results which have +just been obtained as to the effect of race as compared with climate +upon crime. In India we have found an Aryan and a non-Aryan population +living together under the same climatic influences, and very much the +same social conditions, and we have seen that the Aborigines are more +criminally disposed than the Aryan invaders. Again we have a Mongolian +race living in the far North of Europe, and we find that they show a +larger percentage of homicidal crime than the Teutonic inhabitants +who live in the same latitudes. In Hungary, where the Mongoloid type +is once more met with, the same facts are substantially reproduced; +this type is more homicidal than the Austrian Teutons living under a +similar climate. While these facts point to the conclusion that race +has apparently some influence on the amount of crime, they fail to +show that race characteristics alone are sufficient to explain the +differences in criminality between the same peoples when settled in +different quarters of the globe. The Mongoloid type in Finland is +less criminal than the same type in Hungary, and the Teutonic type +in Scandinavia is less murderously disposed than the same type in +the empire of Austria. It has also been pointed out that the +Anglo-American of the Northern States is more law abiding than his +brother by race in the South, while both are more murderous than the +inhabitants of the United Kingdom; where extremes of climate are not +so great. + +With these facts before us we shall now institute another comparison +between two widely separated branches of the Anglo-Saxon race, namely, +the colonists of Australia and the people of the motherland. Of the +Australian colonists it is not incorrect to say that they are, on the +whole, the pick of the home population. It is perfectly true that a +certain proportion of the ne'er-do-wells have emigrated to Australia, +and some of them, no doubt, help to swell the normal criminal +population of the colonies. But, on the other hand, Australia has this +advantage, that the average colonist who seeks a home beyond our +shores is generally a superior man to the average citizen who remains +at home; he is more steady, more enterprising, more industrious. In +this way the balance is adjusted in favour of the colonies. It is a +great deal more than redressed if the superior, social, and economic +conditions, under which the colonists live, are also placed in the +scale. In his "Problems of Greater Britain," Sir Charles Dilke has +shown, with admirable clearness, what immense advantages are enjoyed +by the working population of Australia as compared with the same class +at home; so much is this the case that the Australian colonies have +been not inaptly called the paradise of the working man. Here then is +an excellent opportunity for comparing the effects of climate upon +crime. In Australia we have a people of the same race as ourselves, +better off economically, living under essentially the same laws and +governed in practically the same spirit. Almost the only difference +between the inhabitants of the United Kingdom and the communities of +Australia is a difference of climate. Does this difference manifest +itself in the statistics of crime? In order to test the matter we +shall exclude the colony of New South Wales from our calculations. For +its size New South Wales is the richest community in the world, and +its riches are well distributed among all classes of the population. +But it was at one time a penal settlement, and it is possible that the +criminal statistics of the colony are still inflated by that remote +cause. The sister colony of Victoria stands upon a different footing +and is free from that disturbing factor; we shall therefore select +that colony as a normal type of the Australian group. In Part V.I.I. +of the Statistical Register of the colony of Victoria for 1887, there +is an excellent summary of the position of the colony with respect to +crime. The admirable manner in which these judicial statistics are +arranged, reflects the highest credit on the colonial authorities; for +fulness of information and clearness of arrangement they are not +surpassed by any similar statistics in the world. As homicide is the +crime on which we have hitherto based our international comparisons, +we shall, for the present, confine our attention to the Victorian +statistics of this offence. + +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Countries|Population|Years.| Tried | Convicted + | over Ten.| | Annual Per | Annual Per + | | |Average 100,000 |Average 100,000 + | | | Inhabitants.| Inhabitants. +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Victoria | 581,838|1882-6| 22 3.2 | 14 2.5 + United + Kingdom |26,594,582|1882-6| 505 2.35 | 226 .96 +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Before proceeding to analysis the contents of this table, it will be +as well to explain the method on which it has been constructed, and +the sources from which it is derived. The population of Victoria, over +ten years of age, has been calculated according to the Victorian +census for 1881, as contained in Part II. of the Victorian Statistical +Register. In order to make the Victorian table harmonise in all +particulars with Dr. Bosco's table for England, Scotland, and Ireland, +the excess of births over deaths has been calculated up to the end of +1884. The United Kingdom, it will be seen, has been selected as the +measure of comparison with the colony of Victoria. This selection has +been made on the ground that the colony of Victoria is not composed of +the inhabitants of any one of the three kingdoms, but contains a +mixture of them all. It will also be observed that the homicidal crime +of each of the three kingdoms differs from the other, but this is a +consideration which we shall not further comment upon at present. + +After these preliminary explanations we are now in a position to +examine the contents of our statistical table in its bearing upon +crimes of blood. It will now be possible to see what light the criminal +statistics of Victoria, as compared with the criminal statistics of the +United Kingdom, throw upon these crimes; and the disturbing factor of +race being eliminated, what is the influence of climate pure and simple +upon them. According to the isotherms for the year the Victorians live +in an atmosphere between eight and ten degrees hotter than our own. +Side by side with this additional heat, there is, as compared with +the United Kingdom, an additional amount of crime. In the colony of +Victoria, in proportion to every 100,000 inhabitants over ten years of +age, there are nearly one-third more murders annually than in the +United Kingdom. On what ground is this considerable increase of +homicide to be accounted for, except on the ground of climate? The +higher percentage is not caused by difference of race; it is not +caused by worse economic conditions--these conditions are much +superior to our own--the meaning of the figures is not obscured by any +material differences of legal procedure or legal nomenclature. It +cannot be urged that the Victorian population are the dregs of the +home population; the very opposite is the fact. The bad characters who +emigrate are the only disturbing element; but, after all, these men +are not so numerous, and the evil effects of their presence is +counterbalanced by the superiority of the average colonist to the +average citizen who remains at home. It may be said that there is +greater difficulty in detecting crime in a new colony than in an old +and settled country. As applied to some colonies it is possible this +objection may be sound, but, as applied to Victoria, it will not hold +good. In Victoria the police are much more effective than they are at +home, and a criminal has much less chance of going unpunished there +than he has in England. In Victoria in the year 1887, out of a total +of 40,693 cases reported to the police, 34,473 were brought up for +trial. In England, on the other hand, out of a total of 42,391 +indictable offences reported to the police in 1886-7, only 19,045 +persons were apprehended. The Victorian figures include offences of +all kinds, petty as well as indictable, whereas the English figures +deal with indictable offences only. But admitting this, and admitting +that it is more difficult to arrest indictable offenders, this +difficulty is not so great as to explain away the vast difference in +the numbers apprehended in Victoria as compared with the numbers +apprehended in England. Only one conclusion can be drawn from these +figures, and it is that the Victorian constabulary are more efficient +than our own, and that it is a more dangerous thing for a person to +break the law in the young colony of Victoria than in the old +community at home. + +It seems to me that the points of comparison between the United +Kingdom and Victoria, in so far as they have any bearing upon crime, +have now been exhausted; on almost every one of these points Victoria +stands in a more favourable position than ourselves. The colony has, +on the whole, a better kind of citizen; it has superior social and +economic conditions; it has a far more effective system of police. On +what possible ground, then, is it, except the ground of climate, that +the Victorians are more addicted to homicide than the people of the +United Kingdom? I admit it would be rash to assert that climate is the +cause if our own and the Victorian statistics were the only documents +to which we could appeal; it would be rash to draw such a sweeping +conclusion from so isolated a basis. But when we know that the +Victorian statistics are only one set of documents among many, and +that all these sets of documents point to the operation of the same +law, the case assumes an entirely different complexion. The results of +the Victorian statistics harmonise with the conclusions already +reached from a comparison of the criminal statistics of Europe and +America. These conclusions in turn are powerfully reinforced by the +experience of Australia. In fact, the whole body of evidence, from +whatever quarter it is collected, points with remarkable unanimity to +the conviction that, as far as European peoples and their offshoots +are concerned, climate alone is no inconsiderable factor in +determining the course of human conduct. + +Yet the evil influence of climate, mischievous as it is at present, is +not to be looked upon and acquiesced in as an irrevocable fatality. At +first sight it would seem as if the human race could not possibly +escape the malevolent action of cosmical influences over which it has +little or no control. The rise and fall of temperature, its rage and +intensity, is one of these influences, and yet its pernicious offsets +are capable of being held to a large extent in check. As far as bodily +comfort is concerned, it is marvellous to consider the innumerable +methods and devices the progressive races of mankind have invented to +protect themselves against the hostility of the elements by which they +are surrounded. In fact, an important part of the history of the race +consists in the ceaseless efforts it has been making to improve upon +and perfect these methods and devices. We have only to compare the +rude hut of the savage with the modern dwelling of the civilised man +in order to see to what extent we can shield ourselves from the +elemental forces in the midst of which we have to live. We have only +to mark the difference between the miserable and scanty garments of +the natives of Terra del Fuego and the attire of the Englishman of +to-day to see what can be done by man in the way of rescuing himself +from the inclemencies of Nature. If these conquests can be achieved +where our physical existence is in peril, there can be little reason +to doubt that advances of a similar nature can be made in the moral +order as soon as man comes to feel equally conscious of their +necessity. As a matter of fact, in some quarters of the world these +advances have already in some measure been made. In the vast peninsula +of India the structure of society is so constituted that the evil +effect of climate in producing crimes of blood has been marvellously +neutralised. It hardly admits of dispute that the caste system on +which Indian society is based is, on the whole, one of the most +wonderful instruments for the prevention of crimes of violence the +world has ever seen. The average temperature of the Indian peninsula +is about thirty degrees higher than the average temperature of the +British Isles, and if there were no counteracting forces at work, +crimes of violence in India should be much more numerous than they are +with us. But the counteracting forces acting upon Indian society are +of such immense potency that the malign influences of climate are very +nearly annihilated as far as the crimes we are now discussing are +concerned; and India stands to-day in the proud position of being more +free from crimes against the person than the most highly civilised +countries of Europe. In proof of this fact we have only to look at the +official documents annually issued respecting the condition of British +India. According to the returns contained in the Statistical Abstract +relating to British India and the Parliamentary paper exhibiting its +moral and material progress, the number of murders reported to the +police of India is smaller than the number reported in any European +State. The Indian Government issue no statistics, so far as I am +aware, of the numbers tried; it is, therefore, impossible to institute +any comparison between Europe and India upon this important point. But +when we come to the number convicted it is again found that India +presents a lower percentage of convictions for murder than is to be +met with among any other people. It may, however, be urged that the +statistical records respecting Indian crime are not so carefully kept +as the statistics of a like character relating to England and the +Continent. Sir John Strachey assures us that this is not the case; he +says that these statistics are as carefully collected and tabulated in +India as they are at home, and we may accept them as worthy of the +utmost confidence. The following table, which I have prepared from the +official documents already mentioned, may, therefore, be taken as +giving an accurate account of the condition of India between 1882-6, +as far as the most serious of all crimes is concerned. In order to +facilitate comparison I have drawn it up as far as possible on the +same lines as the other tables in this chapter. + +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + |Population |Years.| Cases of Homicide. + | over Ten. | | Reported. Convicted. + | ----------------------------------------- + | | |Annual |Per |Annual |Per + | | |Average.|100,000 |Average.|100,000 + | | | |Inhabitants.| |Inhabitants. +India|148,543,223|1882-6| 1,930 | 1.31 | 690 | .46 +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + +According to this table, the remarkable fact is established that the +number of cases of homicide in India committed by persons over ten +years of age and reported to the police is smaller per 100,000 +inhabitants than the number of cases of the same nature brought up for +trial in England. In order to appreciate the full importance of this +difference it has to be remembered that in England a great number of +cases of homicide are reported to the police, for which no one is +apprehended or brought to trial. In the case of the notorious +Whitechapel murders which horrified the country a year or two ago no +one was ever brought to trial, hardly any one was arrested or +seriously suspected. These crimes and many others like them materially +augment the number of homicides reported to the police, but they never +figure among the cases annually brought for trial before assizes. As a +matter of fact, no one is ever tried in more than one half of the +cases of homicide reported to the police in the course of the year. In +the year 1888, for instance, 403 cases of homicide were reported to +the police in England and Wales; but in connection with all these +cases only 196 persons were committed for trial. In short, double the +number of homicides are committed as compared with the number of +persons tried; and if a comparison is established between India and +England on the basis of homicides reported to the police, the outcome +of such a comparison will be to show that there are annually more than +twice as many murders committed per one hundred thousand inhabitants +over the age of ten in England than there are in India. + +An objection may be taken to these figures on the ground that the +crime of infanticide is much more prevalent to India than it is in +England, and that the perpetrators of this crime are much less +frequently brought to justice in the former country than with us. That +objection is to some extent valid; at the same time it is well to +remember that infanticide in India is an offence of a very special and +peculiar character; the motives from which it springs are not what is +usually understood as criminal; these motives arise from religious +usage and immemorial custom; in short, it is English law and not the +Indian conscience which makes infanticide a crime. Of course, the +practice of infanticide is a proof that the Hindu mind has not the +same high conception of the value of infant life as one finds in the +western world, and in that respect India stands on an inferior moral +level to ourselves. But with the exception of infanticide (and it is +necessary to except it for the reasons I have just alleged) India has +not half as many homicides annually as England.[17] + + [17] For the high percentage of infanticide in England see the + evidence given before the House of Lords last July (1890) by + Judges Day and Wills. + +To what cause is this vast difference in favour of India to be +attributed? It is hardly probable that the difference is produced to +any appreciable extent, if at all, by the nature of the food used by +the people of India. If it were correct that a vegetable diet, such as +is almost exclusively used by the inhabitants of India, had a salutary +effect on the conduct of the population, we should witness the results +of it, not only in the Indian peninsula, but also in other quarters of +the world. The nature of the food consumed by the Italians bears a +very close resemblance in its essential constituents to the dietary of +the inhabitants of India; in both cases it is almost entirely composed +of vegetable products. If vegetable, as contrasted with animal food, +exercised a beneficial influence on human conduct; if it tended, for +example, to restrain the passions, to minimise the brute instincts, +some indisputable proof of this would be certain to show itself in the +criminal statistics of Italy. As a matter of fact, no such proof +exists. On the contrary, Italy is, of all countries within the pale of +civilisation, the one most notorious for crimes of blood. In the face +of this truth, it is impossible to believe that a vegetable diet has +anything to do either with producing or preventing crime, and the +contention that the wonderful immunity of India from offences against +the person is owing to the food used by the inhabitants must be looked +upon as without foundation. + +The peculiar structure of society is unquestionably the most satisfactory +explanation of the high position occupied by the inhabitants of India +with respect to crime. The social edifice which a people builds for +itself is among all civilised communities a highly complex product, and +consists of a great agglomeration of diverse materials. These materials +are partly drawn from the primitive characteristics of the race; they +are partly borrowings from other and contiguous races; they are to a +considerable extent derived from natural surroundings of all kinds; +and in all circumstances they are supplemented by the genius of +individuals. In short, all social structures, when looked at minutely, +are found to be composed of two main ingredients--race and environment; +but these two ingredients are so indissolubly interfused that it is +impossible to say how much is to be attributed to the one, and how much +to the other, in the building up of a society. But if, it is impossible +to estimate the value of the several elements composing the fabric +of society, it is easy to ascertain the dominating idea on which all +forms of society are based. That dominating idea, if it may for the +moment be called such, is the instinct of self-preservation, and it +exercises just as great a power in determining the formation and play +of the social organism as it exercises in determining the attitude of +the individual to the world around him. In working out the idea of +self-preservation into practical forms, the social system of most +peoples has hitherto been built up with a view to protection against +external enemies in the shape of hostile tribes and nations; the +internal enemies of the commonwealth--the thieves, the housebreakers, +the disturbers of public order, the shedders of blood, the perpetrators +of violence--have been treated as only worthy of secondary consideration. +Such are the lines on which social structure has, in most cases, +proceeded, with the result that while external security was for long +periods assured, internal security remained as imperfect and defective +as ever. + +The structure of society in India is, however, an exception to the +general rule. External security, or, in other words, the desire for +political freedom has, to a great extent, become extinct wherever the +principles of Brahmanism have succeeded in taking root. + +These principles have been operating upon the Indian mind for thousands +of years; their effect in the sphere of politics excited the wonder of +the ancient Greeks, who tell us that the Indian peasant might be seen +tilling his field in peace between hostile armies preparing for battle. +A similar spectacle has been seen on the plains of India in modern +times. But Brahmanism, while extinguishing the principle of liberty in +all its branches, and exposing its adherents to the mercy of every +conqueror, has succeeded, through the caste system, in bringing +internal order, security, and peace to a high pitch of excellence. This +end, the caste system, like most other religious institutions, did not +and does not have directly in view; but the human race often takes +circuitous routes to attain its ends, and while apparently aiming at +one object, is in reality securing another. The permanent forces +operating in society often possess a very different character from +those on the surface, and when the complicated network in which they +are always wrapped up is stripped from off them, we find that they are +some fundamental human instincts at work in disguise. + +These observations are applicable to the caste system. This system, +when divested of its externals, besides being an attempt to satisfy +the mystic and emotional elements in the Indian heart, also represents +the genius of the race engaged in the task of self-preservation. The +manner in which caste exercises this function in thus described by Sir +William Hunter in His volume on the Indian Empire. "Caste or guild," +he says, "exercises a surveillance over each of its members from the +close of childhood until death. If a man behaves well, he will rise to +an honoured place in his caste; and the desire for such local +distinctions exercises an important influence in the life of a Hindu. +But the caste has its punishments as well as its rewards. Those +punishments consist of fine and excommunication. The fine usually +takes the form of a compulsory feast to the male members of the caste. +This is the ordinary means of purification, or of making amends for +breaches of the caste code. Excommunication inflicts three penalties: +First, an interdict against eating with the fellow members of the +caste; second, an interdict against marriage within the caste. This +practically amounts to debarring the delinquent and his family from +respectable marriages of any sort; third, cutting off the delinquent +from the general community by forbidding him the use of the village +barber and washerman, and of the priestly adviser. Except in very +serious cases, excommunication is withdrawn upon the submission of the +offender, and his payment of a fine. Anglo-Indian law does not enforce +caste decrees. But caste punishments exercise an efficacious restraint +upon unworthy members of the community, precisely as caste rewards +supply a powerful motive of action to good ones. A member who cannot +be controlled by this mixed discipline of punishment and reward is +eventually expelled; and, as a rule, 'an out-caste' is really a bad +man. Imprisonment in jail carries with it that penalty, but may be +condoned after release by heavy expiations." + +Those remarks of Sir William Hunter afford an insight into the +coercive power exercised by the caste system on the Indian population. +Without that system it is probable that the criminal statistics of +India would present as high a proportion of crimes of violence and +blood as now exists among the peoples of Southern Europe. But with +that system in active operation, the evil influence of climate is +completely neutralised and India at the present moment enjoys a +remarkable immunity from violent crime. With the example of India +before us we are justified in coming to the conclusion that homicide +and crimes of a kindred nature need not necessarily be the malign +products of climate. Whatever climate has to do with fostering these +offences may be obviated by a better form of social organisation. It +would be ridiculous to dream of basing western society upon Indian +models; but at the same time India teaches us a lesson on the +construction of the social fabric which it would be well to learn. The +tendency of western civilisation at the present time is to herd vast +masses of men into huge industrial centres. It is useless discussing +the abstract question whether this is a good thing or a bad; we must +reconcile ourselves to the fact that it is a process forced upon +communities by the necessities of modern industrialism; and we must +accordingly make the best of it. In our efforts to make the best of +present tendencies, and to render them as innocuous as possible to +social welfare, there is one point at least where India is able to +teach us an instructive lesson. In India a man seldom becomes, what he +too often is, in all our large cities, a mere lonely, isolated unit, +left entirely to the mercy of his own impulses, constrained by no +social circle of any description, and unsustained by the pressure of +any public opinion for which he has the least regard. In India he is +always a member of some fraternity within the community; in that +fraternity or caste he feels at home; he is never isolated; he belongs +to a circle which is not too big for his individuality to be lost; he +is known; he has a reputation and a status to maintain; his life +within the caste is shaped for him by caste usages and traditions, and +for these he is taught to entertain the deepest reverence. Caste is in +many of its aspects a state in miniature within the state; in this +capacity it performs a variety of admirable functions of which the +state itself is and must always remain incapable. + +Before the era of great cities the township in the West used to +exorcise some of the functions at present discharged in India by the +system of caste. But the township in the old sense of the word, with +its settled population and the common eye upon all its members, has +to a large extent disappeared. The influence of the family is at the +same time being constantly weakened by the migratory habits modern +industrialism entails on the population; in a word, the old +constraining force, which used to hold society together, are almost +gone, and nothing effective has sprung up to replace them. + +In these circumstances what is to be done? It is useless attempting to +restore the past. That never has been accomplished successfully; all +attempts in that direction look as if they were opposed to the nature +of things. It is among the living and vigorous forces of the present +that we must look for help. I shall content myself by mentioning one +of these forces, namely Trade Societies. It seems a pity that these +societies should confine their operations merely to the limited object +of forcing up wages. That object is, of course, a perfectly laudable +and legitimate one, but it is surely not the supreme and only end for +which a Trade Society should exist. A Trade Society would do well to +teach its members how to spend as well as how to earn. What, indeed, +is the use of higher wages to a certain section of the members of +Trades-Unions? The increased pay, instead of being a blessing, becomes +a curse; it leads to drunkenness, to wife-beating, to disorder in the +public streets, to assaults on the police, to crimes of violence and +blood. It is a melancholy fact that the moment wages begin to rise, +the statistics of crime almost immediately follow suit, and at no +period are there more offences of all kinds against the person than +when material prosperity is at its height. + +It lies well within the functions of such Trades-Unions as possess an +enlightened regard for the welfare of their members, to introduce a +code of regulations which would tend to minimise some of the evils +which have just been mentioned. It would immeasurably raise the status +of the Union, if certain disciplinary measures could be adopted +against members convicted of offences against the law. In the +professions of law and medicine it is the custom at the present time +to expel members who are proved guilty of serious offences of this +description, and unquestionably the dread of expulsion exercises a +most salutary influence on the conduct of all persons belonging to +these professions. It would be possible for Trade organisations to +accomplish much without resorting to this rigorous treatment; and the +real object for which such societies exist--the well-being of the +members--would be attained much more effectively than is the case at +present. Wages are but the means to an end; the end is individual, +domestic and social welfare, and it is only a half measure to supply +the means unless something is also done to secure the end. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE SEASONS AND CRIME. + + +Let us now approach the question of temperature and crime from another +point of view. International statistics indicate pretty clearly that +warm regions exercise an injurious effect on the conduct of European +peoples. Does the information furnished by these statistics stand +alone, or is it supported by the result of investigations conducted in +a different field? To this vital question it will be our endeavour to +supply an answer. In the annual reports of the Prison Commissioners +there is an instructive diagram showing the mean number of prisoners +in the local prisons of England and Wales on the first Tuesday of each +month. This diagram has been published for a considerable number of +years, and if we take any period of six years it is remarkable to +observe the unfailing regularity with which crime begins to decrease +as soon as the summer is over and the temperature begins to fall. From +the month of October till the month of February in the following year, +the prison population continues almost steadily to diminish; from the +month of February till the month of October, the same population, +allowing for pauses in its progress and occasional deflections in its +course, mounts upwards with the rising temperature. According to the +last sextennial diagram of the Prison Commissioners, which embraces +the six years ended March, 1884, the mean number of prisoners in the +local prisons of England and Wales was, on the first Tuesday in +February, 17,600; on the first Tuesday in April it had risen to +18,400; on the first Tuesday in July it had reached nearly 19,000; on +the first Tuesday in October it culminated in 19,200. From this date +onwards the numbers decreased just as steadily as they had previously +risen, reaching their lowest point in February, when the upward +movement again commenced. The steadiness and regularity of this rise +and fall of the prison population, according to the season of the +year, goes on with such wonderful precision that it must proceed from +the operation of some permanent cause. What is this permanent cause? +Is it economic, social, or climatic? + +Is it economic? It is sometimes asserted that the increase of crime in +the summer months is due to the large number of tramps who leave the +workhouses after the winter is over and roam the country in search of +employment. Many of these wanderers, it is said, are arrested for +vagrancy; in summer they swell the prison population just as they +swell the workhouse population in winter. This explanation of the +increase of crime in summer contains so many elements of probability, +that it has come to be rather widely accepted by students of criminal +phenomena. It has not, however, been my good fortune to meet with any +facts or statistics of sufficient weight to establish the validity of +this explanation. As far as I can ascertain it is an explanation which +has obtained currency almost entirely through its own intrinsic +probability; it is believed, but it has not been proved. Let us +proceed to put it to the test. For this purpose we shall select the +county of Surrey--a fairly typical English county, composed partly of +town and partly of country. In the county of Surrey during the month +of July, 1888, sixty per cent. fewer persons were imprisoned for +vagrancy than in the following month of January, 1889. As far as +Surrey is concerned, these figures effectually dispose of the idea +that vagrancy is more common in summer than in winter; as a matter of +fact they demonstrate that the very opposite is the case. Surrey is +the only county for which I have been able to obtain trustworthy +statistics, but there is every reason to believe that the statistics +of Surrey reveal on a limited scale what the whole of England, if +figures were procurable, would reveal on a large scale. Assuming, +then, that what holds good for Surrey is equally valid for the rest of +England, the conclusion is forced upon us that the augmentation of +crime in summer does not arise from an increase of vagrants and others +arrested and convicted under the Vagrancy Acts while in search of work +or pretending to be in search of it. The assumption that such is the +case is quite unwarranted by the facts so far as they are obtainable, +and another explanation must be sought of the greater prevalence of +crime in summer as compared with winter. + +An economic cause of an opposite character to vagrancy has by some +been considered as accounting for the facts now under consideration. +In the summer months, work as a rule is more easily procured; people +in consequence have more money to spend; drunkenness becomes more +common, and the high prison population of summer is to be attributed +to drink. That there is a greater consumption of drink when work +becomes more plentiful is a perfectly correct statement which has been +verified over and over again, and it is also equally correct to say +that drinking leads its victims to the police court. But it has to be +remembered that in almost all cases of drunkenness the magistrate +allows the alternative of a fine. A much larger percentage of fines +is paid in summer than in winter, the result being that the increase +of drunkenness in summer does not disproportionally increase the size +of the prison population. In July, 1888, as compared with January, +1889, cases of felony and assault, followed by imprisonment, increased +in the county of Surrey 20 and 28 per cent. respectively, while +drunkenness on the other hand only increased 18 per cent. The reason +of this relatively small increase of imprisonment for drunkenness does +not arise from the fact that there is less drunkenness in proportion +to the other forms of crime; it is owing to the greater facility with +which this offence can be purged by the payment of a fine. It is +more easily purged in this fashion in summer than in winter, because +people have more money in their pockets. Money, in short, acts in two +capacities which neutralise each other; on the one hand it brings more +persons before the magistrates on charges of drunkenness; on the other +hand, it enables more persons to escape with the simple penalty of a +fine. The prison population is, therefore, not unduly swollen in +summer by the undoubted increase in drinking during that season of the +year; drinking has, in fact, less to do with that increase than any +other cause. + +The preceding observations on vagrancy and drinking will suffice to +show that as far as these two factors are concerned, the rise of the +prison population in the warm weather cannot be explained on economic +grounds. Are there any social habits which will account for it? Change +of seasons has a notable effect on social habits. In the cold days of +winter, the great mass of the population live as much as possible +within the shelter of their own home; as long as the short days and +the cheerless and dismal weather continue, there is little to tempt +them out of doors and to bring them into contact with each other. But +with the advance of spring this condition of things is changed; the +lengthening days, the milder atmosphere, the more abundant sunshine +offer increased facilities for social intercourse. Crowds of people +are thrown together, quarrelling and disorders arise, which call for +the interference of the police to be followed shortly after by a +sentence of imprisonment. The growth of international intercourse is +said to make for peace; the growth of social intercourse, admirable as +it is in many respects, has the unfortunate drawback of mating for +black eyes and broken heads. Admitting the truth of this serious +indictment against our social instincts, and no one can deny that it +does contain a considerable amount of truth, the fact still remains +that weather is indirectly if not directly the source from which the +increase of crime in summer proceeds. It is the good weather that +multiplies occasions for human intercourse; the multiplication of +these facilities augments the volume of crime; and thus it comes to +pass, that the conduct of society is, at least, indirectly affected by +changes of season and the oscillations of temperature. + +But it is also directly affected by these causes, as I shall now +proceed to show. In one of the principal London prisons the average +prison population during the months of June, July and August for the +five years ended August, 1889 was 1,061, and the daily average number +of punishments amounted to 9 and a fraction per thousand. The average +population during the winter months of December, January, February, +for the five years ended February, 1890, was 1009, and the daily +average number of punishments amounted to 7 and a fraction per +thousand. According to these statistics, we have an increase of 2 +punishments per day, or 12 per week (omitting Sundays) to every +thousand prisoners in the three summer months as compared with the +three winter months. In other words, there is a greater tendency among +the inmates of prisons to commit offences against prison regulations +in summer than in winter. In what way is this manifest tendency to be +accounted for? If prisoners were free men living under a variety of +conditions, and subject to a host of complex influences, it would be +possible to adduce all sorts of causes for the existence of such a +phenomenon, and it would be by no means a difficult matter to find +plausible arguments in support of each and all of them. But the almost +absolute similarity of conditions under which imprisoned men live +excludes at one stroke an enormous mass of complicating factors, and +reduces the question to its simplest elements. Here are a thousand men +living in the same place under the same rules of discipline, occupied +in the same way, fed on the same materials, with the same amount of +exercise, the same hours of sleep; in fact, with similarity of life +brought almost to the point of absolute identity; no alteration takes +place in these conditions in summer as compared with winter, yet we +find that there are more offences committed by them in the hotter +season than in the colder. In what way, except on the ground of +temperature, is this difference to be explained. The economic and +social factors discussed by us in connection with the increase of +crime do not here come into play. All persons in prison are living +under the same social and economic conditions in hot weather as well +as in cold. The only changes to which they are subjected are cosmical; +cosmical causes are accordingly the only ones which will account +adequately for the facts. Of these cosmical causes, temperature is by +far the most conspicuous, and it may therefore be concluded that the +increase of prison offences in summer is attributable to the greater +heat. + +Seeing, then, that temperature produces these effects inside prison +walls, it is only reasonable to infer that it produces similar effects +on the outside world. The larger number of offences against prison +discipline which take place in the hot weather have their counterpart +in the larger number of offences committed against the criminal law +during the same season of the year. The conclusions arrived at with +respect to the action of season are supported by the conclusions +already reached with respect to the action of climate. In fact, both +sets of conclusions support each other; both of them point to the +operation of the same cause. + +To any one who may still feel reluctant to admit the intimate relation +between cosmical conditions and crime I would point out that +suicide--a somewhat similar disorder in the social organism--likewise +increases and diminishes under the influences of temperature. "We +cannot help acknowledging," says Dr. Morselli, in his work on +"Suicide," "that through the whole of Europe the greater number of +suicides happen in the two warm seasons. This regularity in the annual +distribution of suicide is too great to be attributed to chance or to +the human will. As the number of violent deaths can be predicted from +year to year with extreme probability in any particular country, so +can the average of every season also be foreseen; in fact, these +averages are so constant from one period to another as to have almost +the specific character of a given statistical series." Professor von +Oettingen in his valuable work, "Die Moralstatistik," comes to the +very same conclusions as Morselli, although his point of view is +entirely different. After mentioning several of the principal States +of Europe, the statistics of which he had examined, Von Oettingen goes +on to say that it may be accepted as a general law that the prevalence +of suicide in the different months of the year rises and falls with +the sun--in June and July it is most rampant; in November, December +and January it descends to a minimum. In London there are many more +suicides in the sunny month of June than in the gloomy month of +November, and throughout the whole of England the cold months do not +demand nearly so many victims as the hot. In the face of these +indisputable facts Von Oettingen, while rejecting the idea that there +is any inexorable fatality, as Buckle believed, connected with their +recurrence, is obliged to admit that the hot weather exercises a +propelling influence on suicidal tendencies, and that the cold weather +on the other hand acts in an opposite direction[18]. + + [18] DISTRIBUTION OF SUICIDES IN LONDON BY MONTHS OF EQUAL + LENGTH PER 10,000, 1865-84:-- + + January, 732. July, 905. + February, 714. August, 891. + March, 840. September, 705. + April, 933. October, 772. + May, 1003. November, 726. + June, 1022. December, 697. + + Dr. Ogle, vol. xlix., 117. _Statistical Society's Journal_. + +The influence of temperature is, however, much less powerful on crime +than it is on suicide. It has the effect of raising by one third the +number of persons to whom life becomes an intolerable burden, but +according to the diagram in the Prison Commissioners' Reports the +highest increase in crime between summer and winter does not amount to +more than one twelfth. In other words, between six and eight per cent. +of the crime committed in this country in summer may with reasonable +certainty be attributed to the direct action of temperature. This is +a most important result and I should almost hesitate to state it if +it were supported by my investigations only. But this is far from +being the case. In an important paper contributed to the Revista di +Discipline Carcerarie for 1886, Dr. Marro, one of the most +distinguished students of crime in Italy, has arrived at similar +conclusions. He has shown that in the Italian prisons in the four +hottest months of the Italian summer--May, June, July and +August--there are also the greatest number of offences against prison +discipline. This is a result which coincides in every particular with +what has already been pointed out as holding good in English prisons, +and the attempts of Dr. Colajanni in the second volume of his work, +"La Sociologia Criminale," to explain it away are not by any means +successful. It is hardly possible to conceive a more suitable form of +test for estimating the effect of temperature on human action than the +one afforded by a comparison of the offences committed against prison +regulations at the different seasons of the year. Such a comparison +amply bears out the contention that the seasons are a factor which +must not be overlooked in all enquiries respecting the origin of +crime, and the best methods of dealing with it. + +In what way does a rise in temperature act on the individual so as +to make him less capable of resisting the criminal impulse? This is +a question of some difficulty, deserving more attention from +physiologists than it has yet received. It is a satisfactorily +established conclusion that the higher temperature of the summer +months has a debilitating effect on the digestive functions; it is +also believed that these months have an enervating effect on the +system generally. In so far as the heat of summer produces disease, it +at the same time tends to produce crime. Persons suffering from any +kind of ailment or infirmity are far more liable to become criminals +than are healthy members of the community. The intimate connection +between disease and crime is a matter which must never be forgotten. +In the present instance, however, the closeness of this connection is +not sufficient to account for the growth of crime in summer. According +to the Registrar General's report for 1889 the death rate in the +twenty-eight large towns is less in the six months from June to +November than in the six months which follow. There is, therefore, +less disease at the very time when there is most crime. In the face of +this fact it cannot be contended that disease, generally, pushes the +population into criminal courses in summer. + +But while this is so, it may yet be true that some special enfeeblement +(generated by the rise of temperature) which does not assume the acute +form usually implied in the name, disease has the effect of +stimulating impulses of a criminal character, or of weakening the +barrier which prevents these impulses from breaking out and carrying +all before them. It is a perfectly well-established fact that a high +temperature not only produces physical enfeeblement, but that it also +impairs the usual activity and energy of the brain. In other words, +a high temperature is invariably accompanied by a certain loss of +mental power. In most persons this loss is comparatively trifling, and +has hardly any perceptible effect on their mode of life and conduct; +in others, it assumes more serious proportions. In some who are +susceptible to cosmical influences, and for one reason or another are +already on the borderland of crime, the decrease of mental function +involved in a rise of temperature becomes a determining factor, and a +criminal act is the result. Through the agency of climate the mental +forces which are normally capable of holding the criminal instincts in +check, lose for a time their accustomed power, and it is whilst this +temporary loss endures that the person subject to it becomes most +liable to be plunged into disaster. It is in this manner, in my +belief, that temperature deleteriously operates upon human conduct. + +The results of my investigations do not, however, bear out the +commonly accepted view that crimes against property increase in the +depth of winter. As far as this law relates to crime in France it may +be correct; the statistical inquiries of Guerry, Ferri, and Corre +point to that conclusion. On the other hand, as far as the law relates +to England, I have serious doubts as to its validity. In the county of +Surrey, in the year 1888-89, not only more crimes against the person, +but also more crimes against property were committed in July than in +January. In the former month, as compared with the latter, cases of +felony increased 20 per cent.; and if Surrey is to be taken as a fairly +typical English county--which there is every reason to believe it +is--we have before us the remarkable fact that there are more offences +against property in summer than in winter. The current opinion that +winter is the most criminal period of the year is entirely fallacious, +and it is extremely probable that it is equally fallacious to imagine +that property is less sate when the days are short and the nights +long. + +But while property, on the whole, in more safe in winter than in +summer, the offences committed against it in winter are, as a rule, of +a more serious character. This, at least, is the conclusion which I +should be inclined to draw, from the fact that there are more +indictable offences--that is to say, offences not tried by a +magistrate, but by a judge and jury--in the six months between October +and March than in the summer six months. For the year ended September, +1888, which is an average year, there were fully 2000 more indictable +offences in the winter six months than in the summer six months. As a +considerable proportion of indictable offences consist in crimes +against property of the nature of housebreaking and burglary, it is +very probable that these crimes are most prevalent in winter. But if +all kinds of offences against property, petty as well as grave, are +thrown together, and calculated under one head, it comes out that +these offences are most numerous in summer. + +The only kind of crime that increases in Surrey in winter is vagrancy; +the growth of this offence for the years I have mentioned in January, +as contrasted with July was 60 per cent. The development of vagrancy +in the cold months is partly owing to the fact that work is not so +easily procured in the cold weather; and a certain percentage of the +population, mainly dependent for subsistence on casual and irregular +out-door jobs, will rather resort to begging than the workhouse, when +this kind of occupation is temporarily at a standstill. This class, +however, is a comparatively small one, and constitutes a very feeble +proportion of the offenders against the Vagrancy Acts which swell the +prison statistics in winter. Most of the offenders against these acts +are people who seize the opportunity afforded by the bitter weather of +appealing to the sympathies of the public. In summer the occupation of +such persons is to some extent gone; in the hot sunshine their rags +and piteous looks do not so strongly affect our feelings of +commiseration; we know they are not suffering from cold; their +petitions and entreaties accordingly fall upon deaf ears; in short, +begging is not a paying trade in the hot months. In winter, all these +conditions are reversed; with the first fall of snow off go the +vagrant's boots, and out he runs looking the picture of misery and +destitution. In an hour or two, if he escapes the attentions of the +police, he has made as much as will keep him comfortably for a few +days; but like many better men his success often brings about his +fall; the alms of a generous public are consumed in the nearest +beer-shop; sallying forth in quest of fresh booty, and made bold and +insolent with drink, the beggar soon finds himself in the hands of the +authorities. Anyone who cares to verify this statement can easily do +so by following the reports of the police courts, and taking note of +the number of convictions for _drunkenness and begging_--a somewhat +significant combination of offences, and one which ought to make the +inconsiderate giver pause. + +What are the practical conclusions to be deduced from this study of +the relations between temperature and crime? The first and most +obvious conclusion is, that any considerable rise of temperature has a +tendency, as far as Europeans and their descendants are concerned, to +diminish human responsibility. Whether there are any palliatives +against this tendency in the way of regimen, and what they are, is a +matter for the consideration of physiologists; and a most important +matter it is, for a high temperature does not merely lead to offences +against the law, it also injuriously affects the conduct of children +in schools, of soldiers in the army, of workmen in factories, and of +the public generally in their relations with one another. While it is +the task of physiologists to examine the physical aspects of the +anti-social tendencies developed by variations of temperature, it is +the duty of all persons placed in positions of authority to recognise +their existence; and to recognise their existence not merely in +others, but also in themselves. It is, unfortunately, not seldom true +that justice is not administered so wisely and patiently in the +burning summer heat as it is at other times. In adjudicating on +criminal cases in the sultry weather, magistrates and judges would do +well to remember that cosmical influences are not without their effect +on human judgments, and that precipitate decisions, or decisions based +upon momentary irritation, or decisions, the severity of which they +may afterwards regret, are to some extent the result of those +influences. The same caution is applicable to those who have to deal +with convicted men; it should be remembered by them that in summer +their tempers are more easily tried, while they have at the same time +more to try them; and the knowledge of these facts should keep them on +the alert against themselves. + +While increased temperature undoubtedly decreases personal +responsibility, it is a most difficult matter to decide whether this +factor ought to be taken into consideration when passing sentence on +criminal offenders. It is much more truly an extenuating circumstance +than the majority of pleas which receive the name. In a variety of +cases, such, for instance, as threats, assaults, manslaughter, murder, +a high temperature unquestionably sometimes enters as a determining +factor into the complex set of influences which produce these crimes. +But the first difficulty confronting a judge, who endeavours to take +such a factor into account, will he the difficulty of discovering +whether it was present or not in the individual case he has before +him. In reply to this objection it may be urged, and urged too with +considerable truth, that this hindrance is not insuperable. It is +possible to overcome it by noting whether the case in question stands +alone, or whether it is only one among a group of others taking place +about the same period. Should it turn out to be a case that stands +alone, it would be fair to assume that temperature is not a cause +requiring to be taken into consideration in dealing with the offender. +Should it, on the contrary, turn out to be one in a group of cases, it +would be equally fair to assume that temperature was not without its +effect in determining the action of the offender. + +Having got thus far, having isolated temperature from among the other +causes, and having fixed upon it as the most potent of them all, what +would immediately and imperatively follow? As a matter of course it +would ensue that a person whose deeds are powerfully influenced by +the action of temperature is to that extent irresponsible for them. +To arrive at such a conclusion is equivalent to saying that such a +person, if his offences are at all serious, constitutes a grave +peril to society. In a sense, he may be less criminal, but he is +certainty more dangerous; and as the supreme duty of society is +self-preservation, such a person must be dealt with solely from that +point of view. It would be ridiculous to let him off because he is +largely irresponsible; his irresponsibility is just what constitutes +his danger, and is the very reason he should be subjected to prolonged +restraint. + +In all offences of a trivial character presumably springing to a large +extent from the action of temperature, it might be wise if the +offender were only punished in such a way as would keep alive in his +memory a vivid recollection of the offence. This method of punishment +is better effected by a short and sharp term of imprisonment than by +inflicting a longer sentence and making the prison treatment +comparatively mild. A short, sharp sentence of this character has also +another advantage which is well worth attention. In many cases the +offender is the bread-winner of the home. The misery which follows his +prolonged imprisonment is often heartrending; the home has to be sold +up bit by bit; the mother has to strip off most of her scanty garments +and becomes, a piteous spectacle of starvation and rags, the +childrens' things have to go to the pawnshop; and it is fortunate if +one or two of the family does not die before the husband is released. +The misery which crime brings upon the innocent is the saddest of its +features, and whatever society can do consistently with its own +welfare to shorten or mitigate that misery, ought, in the interests of +our common humanity, to be done. + +One word with reference to offences which do not come within the +cognisance of the criminal law. I do not know if there are any +statistics to show that, in schools, in workshops, in the army, or, +indeed, in any industry or institution where bodies of people are +massed together under one common head--there are more cases of +insubordination and more offences against discipline when the +temperature is high than in ordinary circumstances. But, whether such +a statistical record exists or not, there can be little doubt that +cases of refractory conduct prevail most largely in the warm season. +It would therefore be well if this fact were borne in mind by all +persons whose duty it is to enforce discipline and require obedience. +Considering that there are certain cosmical influences at work, which +make it note difficult for the ordinary human being to submit to +discipline, it might not be inexpedient, in certain cases, to take +these unusual conditions into account and not to enforce in their full +rigour all the penalties involved in a breach of rules. It is a +universal experience that many things which can ordinarily be done +without fatigue or trouble, become, at times, a burden and a source of +irritation. Some physical disturbance is at the root of this change, +and a similar disturbance is also at the root of the defective +standard of conduct which a high temperature almost invariably +succeeds in producing among some sections of the community. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +DESTITUTION AND CRIME. + + +Under this heading I shall discuss some of the more important social +factors which either directly or indirectly tend to produce crime. It +will be impossible to discuss them all. The action of society upon the +individual is so complex, its effects are so varied, in many instances +so impalpable, that we must content ourselves with a survey of those +social phenomena which are most generally credited with leading up to +acts of delinquency. + +It is very commonly believed that destitution is a powerful factor in +the production of crime; we shall therefore start upon this inquiry by +considering the extent to which destitution is responsible for +offences against person and property. A definition of what is meant by +destitution will assist in clearing the ground. It is a definition +which is not at all difficult to formulate; one destitute person is +remarkably like another, and what applies to one applies with a +considerable degree of accuracy to all. We shall, therefore, define a +destitute person as a person who is without house or home, who has no +work, who is able and willing to work but can get none, and has +nothing but starvation staring him in the face. Is any serious amount +of crime due to the desperation of people in a position such as this? +In order to answer this question it is necessary, in the first place, +to ask what kind of crime such persons will be most likely to commit. +It is most improbable that they will be crimes against the person, +such as homicide or assault; it will not be drunkenness, because, on +the assumption of their destitution, they will possess no money to +spend. In short, the offences a person in a state of destitution is +most likely to commit are begging and theft. What proportion of the +total volume of crime is due to these two offense? This is the first +question we shall have to answer. The second is, to what extent are +begging and theft the results of destitution? An adequate elucidation +of these two points will supply a satisfactory explanation of the part +played by destitution in the production of crime. + +The total number of cases tried in England and Wales either summarily +or on indictment during the year 1887-88 amounted to 726,698. Out of +this total eight per cent. were cases of offences against property +excluding cases of malicious damage, and seven per cent. consisted of +offences against the Vagrancy Acts. Putting these two classes of +offences together we arrive at the result that out of a total number +of crimes of all kinds committed in England and Wales, 15 per cent. +may conceivably be due to destitution. This is a very serious +percentage, and if it actually represented the number of persons who +commit crime from sheer want of the elementary necessaries of life, +the confession would have to be made that the economic condition of +the country was deplorable. But is it a fact that destitution in the +sense we have been using the word is the cause of all these offences? +This is the next question we have to solve, and the answer springing +from it will reveal the true position of the case. + +Let us deal first with offences against property. As has just been +pointed out these constitute eight per cent. of the annual amount of +crime. But according to inquiries which I have made, one half of the +annual number of offenders against property, so far from being in a +state of destitution, were actually at work, and earning wages at the +time of their arrest. Nor in this surprising. The daily newspapers +have only to be consulted to confirm it. In a very great number of +instances the records of criminal proceedings testify to the fact that +the person charged is in some way or other defrauding his employer, +and when these cases are deducted from the total of offences against +property, it considerably lessons the percentage of persons driven by +destitution into the ranks of crime. Add to these the great bulk of +juvenile offenders convicted of theft, and that peculiar class of +people who steal, not because they are in distress, but merely from a +thievish disposition, and it will he manifest that half the cases of +theft in England and Wales are not due to the pressure of absolute +want. + +But what shall be said of the other half which still represents four +per cent. of the annual amount of crime. According to the calculations +just referred to, the offenders constituting this percentage were not +in work when the crimes charged against them were committed. Was it +destitution arising from want of employment which led them to break +the law? At first sight one may easily be inclined to say that it is. +These people, it will be argued, have no work and no money. What are +they to do but beg or steal? Before jumping at this conclusion it must +not be forgotten that there is such a person as the habitual criminal. +The habitual criminal, as he will very soon tell you if you possess +his confidence absolutely, declines to work. He never has worked, he +does not want work; he prefers living by his wits. With the +recollection of imprisonment fresh upon him an offender of this +description may in rare instances take employment for a short period, +but the regularity of life which work entails is more than he can +bear, and the old occupation of thieving is again resorted to. To live +by plundering the community is the trade of the habitual criminal; it +is the only business he truly cares for, and it is wonderful how long +and how often he will succeed in eluding the suspicion and vigilance +of the police. Of course, offenders of this class, when arrested, say +they are out of work, and will very readily make an unwary person +believe that it is destitution which drives them to desperation. But +as was truly remarked a short time ago by a judge in one of the London +courts, nearly all of these very men are able to pay high fees to +experienced counsel to defend them. After these observations, it will +be seen that the habitual criminal, the man who lives by burglary, +housebreaking, shoplifting, and theft of every description, is not to +be classed among the destitute. Criminals of this character constitute +at least two per cent. of the delinquents annually brought before the +courts. + +Respecting the two per cent. of offenders which remain to be accounted +for, it will not be far from the mark to say that destitution is the +immediate cause of their wrong-doing. These offenders are composed of +homeless boys, of old men unable to work, of habitual drunkards who +cannot got a steady job, or keep it when they get it, of vagrants who +divide their time between begging and petty theft, and of workmen on +the tramp, who have become terribly reduced, and will rather steal +than enter a workhouse. The percentage of these offenders varies in +different parts of the country. In the north of England, for instance, +there are comparatively few homeless boys who find their way before +the magistrates on charges of theft; in London, on the other hand, the +number is considerable, and ranges according to the season of the +year, or the state of trade, to between 1 and 3 per cent. of the +criminal population. Why does London enjoy such an evil pre-eminence +in this matter? In my opinion it often arises from the fact that +house-accommodation is so expensive in the metropolis. In London, it +is a habit with many parents, owing to the want of room at home, to +make growing lads shift for themselves at a very early age. These boys +earn just enough to enable them to secure a bare existence; out of +their scanty wages it is impossible to hire a room for themselves; +they have to be contented with the common lodging-house. In such +places these boys have to associate with all sorts of broken-down, +worthless characters, and in numbers of instances they come by degrees +to adopt the habits and modes of life of the class among which their +lot is cast. At the very time parental control is most required it is +almost entirely withdrawn; the lad is left to his own devices; and, in +too many cases, descends into the ranks of crime. The first step in +his downward career begins with the loss of employment; this sometimes +happens through no fault of his own, and is simply the result of a +temporary slackness of trade; but in most instances a job is lost for +want of punctuality or some other boyish irregularity which can only +be properly corrected at home. To lose work is to be deprived of the +means of subsistence; the only openings left are the workhouse or +crime. It is the latter alternative which is generally chosen, and +thus, the lad is launched on the troubled sea of crime. + +It must not be understood that all London boys drift into crime after +the manner I have just described. In some instances these unfortunates +have lived all their life in criminal neighbourhoods, and merely +follow the footsteps of the people around them. What, for instance, is +to be expected from children living in streets such as Mr. Charles +Booth describes in his work on "Life and Labour in East London?" One +of these streets, which he calls St. Hubert Street, swarms with +children, and in hardly any case does the family occupy more than one +room. The general character of the street is thus depicted. "An awful +place; the worst street in the district. The inhabitants are mostly of +the lowest class, and seem to lack all idea of cleanliness or decency +.... The children are rarely brought up to any kind of work, but loaf +about, and, no doubt, form the nucleus for future generations of +thieves and other bad characters." In this street alone there are +between 160 and 170 children; these children do not require to go to +lodging-houses to be contaminated; they breathe a polluted moral +atmosphere from birth upwards, and it is more than probable that a +considerable proportion of them will help to recruit the army of +crime. It is not destitution which will force them into this course, +but their up-bringing and surroundings. + +In addition to homeless boys who steal from destitution, there are, as +I have said, a number of decrepit old men who do the same. There is a +period in a workman's life when he becomes too feeble to do an average +day's work. When this period arrives employers of labour often +discharge him in order to make way for younger and more vigorous men. +If his home, as sometimes happens, is broken up by the death of his +wife, his existence becomes a very lonely and precarious one. An odd +job now and again is all he can get to do, and even these jobs are +often hard to find. His sons and daughters are too heavily encumbered +with large families to be capable of rendering any effective +assistance, and the Union looms gloomily in the distance as the only +prospect before the worn-out worker. But it sometimes happens that he +will not face that prospect. He will rather steal and run the risk of +imprisonment. And so it comes to pass that for a year or two before +finally reconciling himself to the Union, the aged workman will lead a +wandering, criminal life on a petty scale; he becomes an item in the +statistics of offenders against property. + +Habitual drunkards form another class who sometimes steal from +destitution. The well-known irregularity of these men's habits +prevents them, in a multitude of cases, from getting work, and +unfortunately, they cannot keep it when they do get it. Employers +cannot depend on them; as soon as they earn a few shillings they +disappear from the workshop till the money is spent on drink. It is at +such times that they are arrested for being drunk and disorderly. As +they can never pay a fine they have to go to prison, but long before +their sentence has expired they have lost their job, and must look out +for something else. If such men do not find work many of them are not +ashamed to steal, and it is only when trade is at flood-tide that they +can be sure of employment, no matter how irregular their habits may +be. At other times they are the first to be discharged and the last to +be engaged. It is not really destitution, but intemperance which turns +them into thieves. That they are destitute when arrested is perfectly +true, but we must go behind the immediate fact of their destitution in +order to arrive at the true causes of their crimes. When this is done +it is found that the stress of economic conditions has very little to +do with making these unhappy beings what they are; on the contrary, it +is in periods of prosperity that they sink to the lowest depths. + +Summing up the results of this inquiry into the relations between +destitution and offences against property, we arrive as nearly as +possible at the following figures, so far as England and Wales are +concerned:-- + +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + Proportion of offences against property to total + offences: 8. p. cent. + --- + Thus divided: + Proportion of offenders in work when arrested: 4. p. cent. + Proportion of offenders, habitual thieves: 2. p. cent. + Proportion of offenders, homeless lads and old men: 1. p. cent. + Proportion of offenders, drunkards, tramps: 1. p. cent. + --- + 8. p. cent. +--------------------------------------------------------------------- + +We shall now proceed to an examination of offences against the +Vagrancy Acts presumably arising from destitution. It has already +been pointed out that seven per cent. of the annual amount of crime +committed in England and Wales consists of offences against the +Vagrancy Acts, and it now remains for us to inquire whether these +offences are the result of destitution, or what part destitution plays +in producing them. + +Out of the 52,136 offenders against the Vagrancy Acts in the year +1888, less than one half (45 per cent.) were charged with begging; the +other offences consisted principally in prostitution, in having +implements of housebreaking, in frequenting places of public resort to +commit felony, in being found on enclosed premises for unlawful +purposes. In all these cases, with the exception of prostitution, it +is not probable that destitution had much, if anything, to do with +inducing the offenders to violate the law. Men who live the life of +incorrigible rogues, who prowl about enclosed premises, who lead a +mysterious existence, without doing any work, are not to be classed +among the destitute; as a general rule, such persons are habitual +thieves and vagabonds, who persist in the life they have adopted +merely because it suits them best. One of the great difficulties in +dealing with persons of this stamp is their hatred of a well-ordered +existence; in a vast number of cases the life they live is the only +kind of life they thoroughly enjoy; it is a profound mistake to +imagine that they are pining for what are usually regarded as the +decencies and comforts of human beings. Nothing is further from their +thoughts. Let us alone and mind your own business is the secret +sentiment and often the open avowal of most of these people. "We +should be miserable living according to your ideas; let us live +according to our own." It is very common for benevolent people to +assume that the objects of their compassion and solicitude are, in +reality, as wretched as they imagine them to be. Living themselves in +ease, and it may be affluence, and surrounded by all the amenities of +existence, it is difficult for them to realise that multitudes can +enjoy a rude kind of happiness in the absence of all this. Such, +however, is the fact. The vagabond class is not more miserable than +any other; it is, of course, not without its sorrows, vicissitudes, +and troubles, but what section of the community is free from these +ills? This class has even a philosophy adapted to its circumstances, +the fundamental articles of which have been once for all summed up in +the lines of Burns:-- + + "Life is all a variorum; + We regard not how it goes, + Let them cant about decorum + Who have characters to lose." + +What has just been said respecting the loafing, thieving vagabond +applies in a very great measure to the ordinary beggar. The habitual +beggar is a person who will not work. He hates anything in the shape +of regular occupation, and will rather put up with severe hardships +than settle down to the ordinary life of a working-man. It would be +easy to adduce instances to demonstrate the accuracy of what is here +stated. It would be easy to mention cases by the hundred, in which men +addicted to begging have been thoroughly fitted out and started in +life, but all to no purpose. Once a man fairly takes to begging, as a +means of livelihood, it is almost hopeless attempting to cure him. +After a time he loses the capacity for labour; his faculties, for want +of exercise, become blunted and powerless, and he remains a beggar to +the end of his days. It sometimes happens that the beggar who has +taken to mendicancy as a profession is obliged to go to the workhouse +as a kind of temporary refuge. This is not so frequent considering the +sort of life a vagrant has to lead; but when it does occur, the +labour-master of the Union very often finds it next to impossible to +got him to perform the task every able-bodied person is expected to +complete when taking shelter in a Casual Ward. As a result the +habitual beggar has sometimes to appear before the magistrates as a +refractory pauper, but a short sentence of imprisonment, which usually +follows, has lost all its terrors for him; he prefers enduring it to +doing the task allotted to him at the workhouse. + +From this it will be seen that habits of indolence, and not the stress +of destitution, are responsible for a great deal of the begging which +goes on in England; but these habits are not answerable for the whole +of it. When times are bad begging has a decided tendency to increase, +and this arises from the fact that a considerable proportion of the +community possess wonderfully few resources within themselves. Even in +depressed times it is astonishing how well men who can turn their +hand, as it is called, can manage to live. Men of this stamp are not +beaten and rendered helpless by the misfortune of losing their usual +employment; they are capable of devising fresh methods of earning a +livelihood; they are persistent, persevering, energetic; they are not +content to stand by with their hands in their pockets and their back +at the wall; at times they even create an occupation, and devise new +wants for the community. Such men exist in large numbers among the +working population, and are able to tide over periods of slackness and +depression in a truly admirable way. But there are others who are +utterly lost the moment trade ceases to flourish. As soon as they lose +the job they have been accustomed to work at they at once sink into a +condition of complete helplessness; knowing not which way to move or +what steps to take; in a very short time they are to be found +soliciting alms in the streets. It is a very serious matter when such +persons are reduced to these straits. With the advent of better times +it is often very difficult to enrol them once again in the ranks of +industry. Bad habits have been acquired, self-respect has broken down, +the mind has become accustomed to a lower plane of existence; the +danger has arisen that persons who were to begin with only beggars by +accident may end by becoming beggars from choice. This is what +actually does happen in some instances, and especially where the level +of life and comfort has at all times been low. The transition from the +one state to the other is not a very pronounced one, and the step into +the position of a habitual beggar is not hard to take after a certain +number of lessons in the mendicant's art have once been learnt. In one +sense it is the pressure of want which has made these people beggars, +in another sense it is their own apathy and feebleness of resource. + +It is not easy to estimate the number of persons who become habitual +mendicants in consequence of slackness of work and the temporary loss +of employment. As a matter of fact the whole body of statistical +information bearing upon vagrancy is rather unreliable in character, +and it is difficult to see how it can be anything else. In almost all +cases of begging the initiative is taken by the police; it very seldom +happens that a private citizen gives a beggar in charge. The regular +and systematic enforcement of the Vagrancy Acts by the public +authorities is impeded by a variety of causes, each of which makes it +difficult to grasp accurately the proportions of the begging +population. In the first place no two policemen enforce the law with +the same stringency; one is inclined to be lax and lenient, while +another will not allow a single case to escape. In some districts +chief constables do not care to bring too many begging cases before +the local magistrates; in other districts chief constables are zealous +for the rooting out of vagrancy. In some counties the magistrates +themselves are not so anxious to convict for vagrancy as they are in +others; where the latter tendency prevails, the police take their cue +from the magistrates and comparatively few offences against the +Vagrancy Acts are brought up for trial. Again, there are times when +the public have fits of indulgence towards beggars, which are +counterbalanced at other periods by a corresponding access of +severity; these oscillations of public sentiment are immediately felt +by the executive authorities. The conduct of policemen and magistrates +towards the begging fraternity is largely shaped by the dominant +public mood, and the statistics of vagrancy move up and down in +sympathy with it. Thus it comes to pass that the variations which take +place in the annual statistics of vagrancy do not necessarily +correspond with the growth or diminution of the number of persons +following this mode of life; the actual number of such persons in the +population may in reality be varying very little or, perhaps, +remaining stationary, whilst official statistics are pointing to the +conclusion that important changes are going on. In short, the +statistics of vagrancy are more useful as affording a clue to the +state of public sentiment with respect to this offence than as +offering an accurate test of the extent to which vagrancy prevails. + +After this explanation it will be seen how difficult it is, in the +first place, to estimate the exact numbers of the vagrant population; +and, in the next place, the exact proportion of beggars who have been +driven into the ranks of vagrancy, as a result of bad trade and +inability to obtain work. My own impression is, that the number of +persons who are forced to beg for want of work is not large, and they +consist, for the most part, of men beyond middle life or verging upon +old age. There are two causes at present in operation in England which +often press hard upon such men. The first of these causes is one which +was felt more severely twenty or thirty years ago than at the present +moment--I moan the introduction of machinery into industries formerly +carried on to a large extent by hand. One of the most conspicuous +characteristics of the present century is the ever-increasing extent +to which inventions of all kinds have invaded almost every department +of industry. As far as the young are concerned, those inventions have +been on the whole a benefit, and what used to be hard work has become, +as Professor Alfred Marshall recently said, merely looking on. But the +case stands differently with workmen who are surprised by some new +invention at a period of life when the power of adaptability to a +fresh set of industrial circumstances is almost entirely gone. One of +the first consequences of a new invention may be, and often is, that +work which had hitherto been performed by men can now be done by women +and boys; or an occupation which had formerly taken years to learn can +now be mastered in a few weeks. In other cases the new machine is able +to do the work of twenty, fifty, or a hundred men; the article +produced is so immensely cheapened that the old handicraftsman is +driven out of the field; if he is a man entering into years, and +therefore unable to turn his hand to something else, the bread is +practically taken out of his mouth, and the machine, which is +undoubtedly a benefit to the community as a whole, means starvation to +him as an individual. When such circumstances occur, and positive +proof in abundance can be adduced to show that they do take place, the +position of the aged worker becomes a very hard and embarrassing one. +He finds it a very uphill task to change the whole course of his +industrial activities at a period of life when nature has lost much of +her elasticity; the new means he has had to adopt in order to earn a +livelihood are irksome to him; the diminished sum he is now able to +earn per week depresses his spirits and deprives him of certain little +comforts he had long been accustomed to enjoy; but in spite of these +unforeseen and unexpected hardships it is marvellous to see how nobly +working-men, as a rule, struggle on to the end, like a bird with a +broken wing. There are, however, cases in which the struggle is given +up. It would be impossible to enumerate all the causes which lead to +such a deplorable result; sometimes these causes are personal, +sometimes they are social, while in many instances they are a +combination of both. But, whatever such circumstances may be in +origin, the effects of them are generally the same; the worker who is +incapable of adjusting himself to his new industrial surroundings has +few alternatives before him. These alternatives, unless he is +supported by his family or relations, resolve themselves into the +Union, beggary, or theft. Many choose the Union and, with all its +drawbacks, it is undoubtedly the wisest choice; but others have such a +horror of the restraints imposed upon the inmates of a workhouse that +they enter upon the perilous and precarious career of the beggar or +petty thief. The men who make such a choice as this are not, as may +easily be surmised, the pick of their class. They consist, to a good +extent, of persons who have been somewhat unsteady in their habits; +they are not downright drunkards, and they have never allowed drink to +interfere with their regular occupation; but it has been their +immemorial custom to go in for a good deal of drinking on Saturday +nights; on Bank holidays, and other festive occasions. Sensible +workmen do not care to amuse themselves after this fashion; it is +rather too like a savage orgie for most tastes; at the same time it is +the only form of amusement which certain sections of the populace +truly and heartily enjoy, and, on the whole, it is perhaps better that +this rude form of merry-making should remain, than that the multitude +should be deprived of every outlet for the pent-up exuberance of their +spirits. My own impression is, that the rough and boisterous element +which shows itself so conspicuously when the labouring population is +at play will never be eradicated so long as men and women have to +spend so much of their time within the four walls of workshops and +factories, where so much restraint and suppression of the individual +is imperative, if the industrial machine is to go on. It is not at all +unnatural that the severe regularity and monotony of an existence +chiefly spent in this manner should be occasionally interspersed with +outbursts of somewhat boisterous revelry, and the persons who indulge +in it are not to be set down off-hand as worthless characters, because +they sometimes step beyond due and proper bounds. At the same time it +must be admitted that it is generally from the ranks of this class +that the supreme aversion to the workhouse proceeds, and that the +disposition to live by begging, rather than enter it, most largely +prevails. If it happens, therefore, that a man who has lived the life +we have just described is thrown out of employment, by the +introduction of machinery, at a period when he is too old to turn his +hand to something else, he not unfrequently ends by becoming a beggar, +and this continues to be his occupation to the last. + +The second cause which leads a certain number of elderly men to adopt +a life of vagrancy is to be attributed to the action of Trades-Unions. +After a workman reaches a certain period of life he is no longer able +to do a full day's work. As soon as this period of life arrives, and +sometimes even before it does arrive, the artisan finds it becoming +increasingly difficult to obtain employment. The rate of wages in his +trade is fixed by Trades-Union rules; every man, no matter what his +qualifications may be, has to receive so much an hour, or the full +Trade-Union wage for the district; no one is allowed to take a job at +a lower figure. No doubt Trades-Unionists find that this regulation +works well an far as it relates to the young and the able-bodied, and +as these always compose the great majority in every trade society, it +is a regulation which is not likely to be rescinded or modified. +Nevertheless, it is a rule which often operates very unjustly in the +case of men who are getting old. These men may have been steady and +industrious workmen all their lives, they may still be able to do a +fair amount of honest work; but, as soon as that amount of work falls +below the daily average of the trade, such men have to go; they are +henceforth practically debarred from earning an honest livelihood at +what has hitherto been the occupation of their working life. Work may +be abundant in the district, but it is useless for grey-haired men to +apply; they cannot do the amount required, and as they are not +permitted to work at a lower rate of wages than their fellows, the +means of getting a living are arbitrarily taken out of their hands. As +a consequence of these Trades-Union enactments, cases are not +infrequent in which workmen who have just passed middle life, or have +sustained injuries, drift insensibly into vagrant habits. These habits +are acquired almost without their knowing it. In the vague hope of +perhaps finding something to do a man will wander from town to town +existing as best he can; after the hope of employment has died away he +still continues to wander, and thus forms an additional unit in the +permanent army of beggars and vagrants. Trade-Unionists would +undoubtedly remedy a great wrong if some effective means were devised +by them to meet cases of this character. It should be remembered by +those most opposed to any modifications of the present system that +they may one day be its victims. The hindrances in the way of putting +an end to the injustice inherent in the present arrangements are not +incapable of being overcome. It is surely possible to devise a rule +which, while leaving intact the essential features of the present +system, will render it more flexible--a rule to enable the maimed and +the aged who cannot do a full day's work to make, through the Union if +need be, some special arrangement with the employers. Such a rule, if +properly safe-guarded to prevent abuse, would be of inestimable +benefit to many a working man. + +If the step here suggested were adopted by the Trade Societies, it +would, according to calculations which I have made, reduce the begging +population by about two per cent. This percentage, in my opinion, +represents the number of vagrants who are able and willing to do a +certain amount of work, but cannot get it to do. It is a percentage +which at any rate does not err on the side of being too low; when +trade is at its ordinary level it is perhaps a little too high. In any +case this proportion may be taken as a tolerably accurate estimate of +the numbers of the vagrant class which will not enter the Unions when +out of employment, and are consequently forced by the pressure of want +to resort to a life of beggary. + +The proportion here indicated of the number of vagrants who are +willing to work coincides in a remarkable manner with certain +statistics recently collected by H. Monod of the Ministry of the +Interior in France.[19] According to M. Monod a benevolently disposed +French citizen wished to know the amount of truth contained in the +complaints of sturdy beggars, that they were willing to work if they +could get anything to do or anyone to employ them. This gentleman +entered into negotiations with some merchants and manufacturers, and +induced them to offer work at the rate of four francs a day to every +person presenting himself furnished with a letter of recommendation +from him. In eight months 727 sturdy beggars came under his notice, +all complaining that they had no work. Each of them was asked to come +the following day to receive a letter which would enable him to get +employment at four francs a day in an industrial establishment. More +than one half (415) never came for the letter; a good many others +(138) returned for the letter but never presented it. Others who did +present their letter worked half a day, demanded two francs and were +seen no more. A few worked a whole day and then disappeared. In short, +out of the whole 727 only 18 were found at work at the end of the +third day. As a result of this experiment M. Monod concludes that not +more than one able-bodied beggar in 40 is inclined to work even if he +is offered a fair remuneration for his services. + + [19] Cf. _L'Etat Moderne et ses Functions par Paul Leroy Beaulieu_, + p. 300. See also Mr. J.C. Sherrard's letter to the _Times_ of + January 8th, 1891, on "Tramps." + +If further proof were wanted that vagrancy, as far, at least, as +England and Wales are concerned, is very seldom produced by +destitution, it will be found in the following facts. A comparison +between the number of male and female vagrants arrested in 1888 under +the provisions of the Vagrancy Acts shows that there were nearly four +times more male vagrants proceeded against before the magistrates than +female. The exact numbers are males, 40,672; females, 11,464. Although +the numbers charged vary from year to year, the proportion between +males and females always remains very much the same, and it may +therefore be considered as established that men are from three to four +times more addicted to vagrancy than women. If the charges of +prostitution were excluded (they amounted to 6,486 in 1888), it will +be found that the proportion of male vagrants to female is as eight to +one. Looking at this matter _a priori_, we should expect these figures +to be reversed. In the first place women form a considerably larger +proportion of the community than men, and in the second place there +are not nearly so many openings for females in our present industrial +system. Forming a judgment upon these two sets of facts alone, one +would almost inevitably come to the conclusion that women would be +found in much larger numbers among the vagrant class than men. There +are fewer careers open to them in the industrial world; they are less +fitted to move about from place to place in search of work; the pay +they receive in manufacturing and other establishments is, as a rule, +very poor; but in spite of all these economic disadvantages only one +woman becomes a beggar to every four men, or, if we exclude fallen +women, to every eight men. What does this condition of things serve to +show? It is an incontestable proof that at least three-fourths or, +perhaps, seven-eighths of the begging carried on by men is without +economic excuse. If women who are so heavily handicapped in the race +of life can run it to such a large extent without resorting to +vagrancy, so can men. That men fall so far behind women in this +respect is to be attributed, as we have seen, not to their want of +power, but to their want of will. They possess far more opportunities +of earning a livelihood than their sisters, but, notwithstanding this +advantage, they figure far more prominently in the vagrant list. The +only possible explanation of this state of things is that vagrancy is, +to a very large extent, entirely unconnected with economic conditions; +the position of trade either for good or evil is a very secondary +factor in producing this disease in the body politic; its extirpation +would not he effected by the advent of an economic millennium; its +roots are, as a rule, in the disposition of the individual, and not to +any serious degree in the industrial constitution of society; hence, +the only way to stamp it out is by adopting vigorous and effective +methods of repression. + +The British Isles are in a position to adopt these measures with +boldness and confidence, for the Poor Law system provides for all +genuine cases of destitution, and in striking at begging with a heavy +hand, the authorities are at the same time doing much to suppress +other kinds of crime. It has to be remembered that the vagrant is a +dangerous person in more ways that one. The life he leads, his habit +of going from house to house, affords him ample opportunities of +noticing where a robbery may he successfully committed. If he does not +make use of the opportunities himself, he is not at all unwilling to +let others who will into his secret for a small consideration. In low +lodging-houses and public-houses of a similar type beggars and thieves +are accustomed to meet, to fraternise, to exchange notes; the beggar +is able to give the burglar a hint, and many a case of house-breaking +is the outcome of these sinister confabulations. Little do many people +imagine when they are doing a good deed, as they believe, to some +worthless, wandering reprobate, that he is at the same moment looking +around, so as to be able to tell a companion how best the house may be +robbed. It is very seldom thieves break into houses without having +received information beforehand respecting them, and the source of +that information is in many instances the vagrant, who has been +knocking at the door for alms a short time before. + +One of the principal reasons which makes beggary such a profitable +occupation, and renders it so hard to repress, is the persistent +belief among great numbers of people that beggars are working men in +distress. That, of course, is the beggar's tale, but it is a baseless +fabrication. It is no more the practice of working-men to go about +begging than it is the practice of the middle-class, but until this +elementary fact can be laid hold of by the public all statutory +enactments for the suppression of mendicity will be but partial in +their operation. Speaking from considerable personal experience, as +well as from statistical facts, one is able to affirm that the great +mass of the working population of these islands have nothing whatever +in common with the indolent vagrant; and it is a libel on the +working-classes to assume that a man is a workman to-day and a beggar +to-morrow. As a matter of fact, beggars are recruited from all ranks +of the community, when they are not actually born to the trade. Of +course, the greatest number is drawn from the working population; it +is they who form the immense bulk of the nation, and it is only +reasonable to suppose that they will contribute to the begging +fraternity in proportion to their numbers. But, just as the proportion +of thieves drawn from the working-classes is not greater than the +proportion drawn from the well-to-do classes, so is it likewise with +beggars. The other classes, in proportion to their numbers, contribute +just about as many beggars to the community as the working population, +and such beggars are generally the most hardened and villainous +specimens of their tribe. With the beggar sprung from the working +population one is sometimes able to do something, but a beggar who has +descended from the higher walks of life is one of the most hopeless, +as well as one of the most corrupt creatures it is possible to +conceive. If the public would only allow themselves to realise that +these are the facts respecting vagrancy, and if they would exercise +their knowledge in consistently refusing help to professional +wanderers, the plague of beggars would soon disappear, to the immense +relief and benefit of everybody, not excluding the beggars themselves. + +A persistent refusal to assist beggars, while perfectly justifiable in +these islands, is a method which can hardly be adopted in countries +where there is no efficient and comprehensive Poor Law. In such +countries, for instance, an Austria and Germany, where there is no +proper provision on the part of the State for the feeble, the +helpless, the aged, the maimed, begging, on the part of these +unfortunates, becomes, in many cases, an absolute necessity. Recent +statistics,[20] respecting the working of additions to the Austrian +vagrancy laws passed in 1885, would seem to show that numbers of the +genuine labouring population have been in the habit of resorting to +begging when going from place to place in search of employment. To +meet these cases the Austrian Government, in the year just mentioned, +secured the passing of a law for the establishment of what are called +Naturalverpflegstationen, or refuges for workmen on the tramp. These +shelters or refuges are strictly confined to the use of genuine +labourers; the poor of the surrounding neighbourhood are not allowed +to enter them; nor is any one afforded shelter who cannot show that he +has been at work within the previous three months, or who applies +twice for admission in the course of that time. A man must also +produce his papers and be willing to perform a certain amount of work; +in return for this he is allowed to remain at the shelter for eighteen +hours, but not more, and is informed on his departure where the next +station is situated. He is also told if there is any probability of +getting employment in the district and is given the names of employers +in want of men. These institutions are a combination, of the casual +ward and the labour bureau, differing, however, from the casual ward +in rejecting all mere wanderers and accepting genuine workmen alone. + + [20] Cf. Conrad's _Handwoerterbuch der Staatswissenschaften_, + i. 928. + +It in only in some parts of the Austrian Empire that this system has +as yet been put into operation, for the act is of a permissive +character and is mainly worked by the local authorities. In those +districts of lower Austria where it has been tried, it has so far +produced most satisfactory results; begging has decreased according to +the statistics for 1888, more than 60 per cent. in the course of three +years, while in other parts of Austria, where these institutions are +not yet adopted, it has only decreased 25 per cent. The system has as +yet been in operation for too short a period to enable an opinion to +be formed of its eventual success, but so far it promises well and is +an interesting experiment which deserves to be watched. In any case +the experience derived from the working of this law shows that in +Austria, at least, the workman in search of employment has up till +recently been too often confounded with the habitual beggar, a +confusion highly detrimental to the real interests of the State. One +of the main objects of every well ordered Poor Law system should be to +create as wide a gulf as possible between the begging class and the +working-class; it should do everything possible to prevent anything +like a solidarity of interests between these two sections of the +community; it should dissociate the worker from the vagrant in every +conceivable manner, so that the working population cannot possibly +fail to see that the State draws a sharp line of distinction between +them and the refuse of the land. It was a wise remark of Goethe's +that, if you want to improve men you must begin by assuming that they +are a little better than what they seem; and it is a principle which +is applicable to communities and classes as well as to individuals. + +Before dismissing the question of the relations between vagrancy and +destitution there is one more point which still requires to be +considered. According to English law, prostitution is set down as a +form of vagrancy, and the number of persons convicted of this offence +is to be found included in the statistics of vagrancy. We shall, +therefore, consider prostitution in this connection as a form of +vagrancy, and proceed to examine the extent to which it is produced by +destitution. If this grave social disorder were entirely due to a want +of the elementary needs of life on the part of the unhappy creatures +who practice it, we should find an utter absence of it in America and +Australia. In these two important portions of the globe, woman's work +is at a premium; it is one of the easiest things imaginable for +females to get employment; no one willing to work need remain idle a +single day, and the bitter cry of householders, in those quarters of +the world, is that domestic servants are not to be had. But, in spite +of the favourable position in which women stand, as far as work is +concerned in America and Australia, what do we find? Do we find that +there is no such thing as a fallen class in Melbourne and New York? On +the contrary, it is often a subject of bitter complaint by American +and Australian citizens that their large towns are just as bad, as far +as sexual morality goes, as the cities of the old world. The higher +economic position of women does not seem to touch the evil either in +the Antipodes or beyond the Atlantic. It exists among communities +where destitution is an almost unmeaning word; it exists in lands +where no woman need be idle, and where she is highly paid for her +services. In the face of such facts it is impossible to believe that +destitution is the only motive which impels a certain class of women +to wander the streets. + +What is true with respect to destitution is that it compels women to +remain in the deplorable life they have adopted, but it seldom or +never drives them to take to it. Almost all the best authorities are +agreed upon this point. No one has examined this social sin in all its +bearings with such patience and exhaustiveness as Parent Duchatelet, +and his deliberate opinion, after years of investigation, is that its +origin lies in the character of the individual, in vanity, in +slothfulness, in sex. It does not, however, follow that a person +possessing these characteristics in an abnormal degree is bound to +fall. If such a person is protected by parental care, no evil results +need necessarily ensue. It is when low instincts are combined with a +bad home that the worst is to be feared. This fact was clearly and +emphatically brought to light by the parliamentary inquiry which took +place in France a few years ago. M. Th. Roussel, one of the highest +authorities on the committee, the man, in fact, from whom the inquiry +derived its name, thus sums up some of its results: "However large a +part in the production of prostitution must be allowed to the love of +pleasure and of finery, to a dislike of work and to debased instincts, +the cause which, according to the facts cited, appears everywhere as +the most powerful and the most general, is the want of a home, the +want of maternal care." Here are some of the facts on which M. Roussel +bases his general statement. "At Bordeaux, out of 600 'filles +inscrites' 98 were minors. Of the latter, 44 appear to have fallen +through their own fault alone. The remaining 54 grew up under +abnormal, domestic conditions; 14 were orphans, without father or +mother, 7 had only one parent, 32 had been abandoned or perverted by +their parents." + +In England it would be impossible to conduct a parliamentary inquiry +on the lines of the "Enquete Roussel," but it is very probable if such +an inquiry were instituted it would reveal a condition of things very +similar to what exists in France. The scattered and fragmentary +information we do possess points to that conclusion, and the +conclusion, it must be admitted, is not at all a hopeful or comforting +one. Supposing that all the homeless and deserted female children we +have now in our midst were immediately placed under the protection of +the State (as a matter of fact, most of them are), it does not follow +that they will grow up to lead regular lives. According to the +thirty-second report of the Inspector of Reformatory and Industrial +Schools, the authorities are unable to account satisfactorily for the +character of more than four fifths of the inmates of girls' industrial +schools who have left these institutions on an average for two or +three years. That is to say, it is probable that about twenty out of +every hundred girls go to the bad within two or three years of leaving +an industrial school. The proportion of girls discharged from +reformatory schools, whose character is bad within two years of their +discharge, is still larger than in the case of industrial schools. +This is only what might be expected, for it is the worst cases that +are now sent to reformatory schools. "Since the passing of the +Elementary Education Act," said Miss Nicoll of the Girls' Reformatory, +Hampstead, at the Fourth Conference of the National Association of +certified Reformatory and Industrial Schools, "a great change has +gradually been made in the character and age of the inmates of our +reformatories on admission. The School Boards in the country, and more +especially the School Board of London, by enforcing compulsory +attendance of all the children of the poor between the ages of five +and thirteen, have swept into what are termed Truant Schools all the +neglected and uncontrollable children who were formerly sent to +certified industrial schools--these latter being now retained in a +great measure for children who, besides being neglected and beyond the +control of their parents, have either taken their first steps in a +course of crime, or have, by association with vicious companions, +become familiar with it. The industrial schools have thus intercepted +the very class from which our numbers were usually drawn, leaving, as +a rule, for reformatories, girls about fifteen, who, though nominally +under fifteen, are sometimes a good deal older when admitted. Young +persons, as these are termed in the Summary Jurisdiction Acts of 1879, +are of a much more hardened character than before, and in addition to +having been guilty of acts of petty larceny, have frequently been +prostitutes for some time anterior to their admission. This being so, +it can hardly be wondered at if the success of reformatories is not so +marked as it was when they were first instituted." + +Seeing that reformatories for girls, on account of the more hardened +character of their inmates on admission, are not so successful as +industrial schools, it is certainly within the mark to say that at +least one-fourth of the cases discharged from these institutions +become failures in the space of two years. If the proportion is so +high at the end of two years, what will it amount to at the end of +five? It is then that the young person enters upon what is _par +excellence_ the criminal age, and when that age is reached, I fear +that the proportion of failures increases considerably. In any case we +have sufficient data to show that the protection of the State, when +extended, as it is in the United Kingdom, to helpless and homeless +girls, does not in many instances suffice to keep them on the road of +virtue. Deep-seated instincts manage to assert themselves in spite of +the most careful training, the most vigilant precautions, and until +the moral development of the population, as a whole, reaches a higher +level, it will be vain to hope too much from the labours of State +institutions, however excellent these institutions may be. + +It has, however, to be remembered that the fallen class is not by any +means recruited exclusively from the ranks of the helpless and the +homeless. On the contrary, according to the evidence of the Roussel +commission, nearly one half of the minors (44 out of 98) found in the +"maisons de tolerance" of Bordeaux had no domestic or economic +impediments to encounter. External circumstances, as far as could be +seen, had nothing to do with the unhappy position in which they stood, +and the life they adopted appears to have been entirely of their own +choosing. It is true the Bordeaux statistics only cover a small area, +and are not to be looked upon as in themselves exhaustive, but when +these statistics confirm, as they do, the careful observations of all +unbiassed investigators, we cannot be far wrong in coming to the +conclusion that in France, at least, fifty per cent. of the cases of +prostitution are not originally due to the pressure of want. Since the +introduction of Truant and Industrial Schools in this country for +homeless and neglected girls, it is certain that the proportion of +those who fall from sheer destitution must be extremely small. On the +Continent, where such institutions do not exist on such an extensive +scale, the proportion may be somewhat larger, but in the United +Kingdom it cannot, according to the most liberal computation, exceed +ten per cent. of the cases brought before the magistrates. Many +experienced observers will not allow that it reaches such a high +percentage. + +We are now in a position to tabulate the results of our inquiries as +to the part played by destitution in producing prostitution and +vagrancy. The following table represents the proportion of persons +charged under the provisions of the Vagrancy Acts in the year 1888:-- + +Percentage of beggars, 45 per cent. +Percentage of prostitutes, 12 " +Percentage of other offenders, 43 " + --- + 100 per cent. + +Percentage of beggars destitute from misadventure, 2 per cent. +Percentage of prostitutes, do. do. 10 " +Percentage of other offenders, do. do. 2 " + --- + 14 per cent. + +It has already been pointed out that persons charged with offences +against the Vagrancy Acts constitute on an average 7 per cent. of the +total annual criminal population. According to the statistics we have +just tabulated, 5 per cent. of these offences are not due to the +pressure of destitution, and only 2 per cent. are to be attributed +to that cause. + +Let us now collect the whole of the figures set forth in this chapter, +so that we may be in a position to give an answer to the question with +which we set out, namely, to what extent are theft and vagrancy the +product of destitution? + +Proportion of offences against Property and the Vagrancy Acts + to total number of offences tried in 1888, 15 per cent. +Proportion of offenders against property destitute, 2 " +Proportion of offenders against Vagrancy Acts destitute, 2 " + +Adding together the two classes of offenders against Property and the +Vagrancy Acts who, according to our calculations, are destitute when +arrested, we arrive at the fact that they form four per cent. of the +total criminal population. As has already been pointed out, beggars +and thieves are almost the only two sections of the criminal community +likely to be driven to the commission of lawless acts by the pressure +of absolute want. It very seldom happens that murders, for instance, +are perpetrated from this cause; in fact, not one murder in ten is +even committed for the purpose of theft. The vast majority of the +remaining offences against the criminal law are only connected in a +remote degree with the economic condition of the population, and in +hardly any instance can it be said of them, that they are the outcome +of destitution. In order, however, to err on the safe side, let us +assume that one per cent. of offenders, other than vagrants and +thieves, are to be ranked among the destitute. What is the final +result at which we then arrive with respect to the percentage of +persons forced by the action of destitution into the army of crime? In +the case of vagrants and thieves it has just been seen that the +proportion amounted to four per cent.; adding one per cent. to this +proportion, brings up the total of offenders who probably fall into +crime through the pressure of absolute want to five per cent. of the +annual criminal population tried before the courts. + +These figures are important; they demonstrate the fact that although +there was not a single destitute person in the whole of England and +Wales, the annual amount of crime would not be thereby appreciably +diminished. At the present day it is a very common practice to pick +out a case of undoubted hardship here and there, and to assume that +such a case is typical of the whole criminal population. It is, of +course, well to point out such cases, and to emphasise them as much as +possible till we reach such a pitch of excellence in our administration +of the law as will render all unmerited hardship exceedingly rare. As +it is, such cases are becoming less frequent year by year, and it is +an entire mistake to suppose, as is too often done, that a serious +amount of the crime perpetrated in England is committed by men and +women who are willing to work but cannot get it to do. An opinion of +that kind has an alarming tendency to encourage crime; it creates a +false sentiment of compassion for the utterly worthless; it prevents +them from being dealt with according to their deserts, and worst of +all, it is apt to make the working population imagine that there is a +community of interest between them and the criminal classes which does +not in reality exist. From the point of view of public policy nothing +can be more pernicious than to propagate such an idea; and no artisan +who values his own dignity should ever allow any man, whether on +platforms or in newspapers, to identify him in any way whatever with +the common criminal. + +Before finally leaving the question of the relations between +destitution and crime, we shall now briefly inquire whether anything +further can be accomplished in the matter of raising our legal and +poor law administration to such a pitch of excellence, that not even +five per cent. of our incriminated population can, with justice, bring +forward any economic pretext whatever for violating the law. As far as +legal administration is concerned, it must be remembered that mistakes +will sometimes occur, no matter how numerous the precautions may be +with which justice is surrounded. + +To be certain of justice in all circumstances you must have not only +an infallible law, but also an infallible judge and an infallible +method of criminal administration. It is a truism to say that this is +an impossibility, and every now and again society will have to submit +to be shocked by the revelation of a palpable miscarriage of justice. +At the same time it is important to take every possible precaution +against the occurrence of such distressing accidents. This can only +be effected by placing the administration of the law in all its +departments, from the policeman to the Home Secretary, in the hands of +thoroughly competent officials who have not only their heart, but what +is equally important, their head in the work. When this is done, and +if these officials are not embarrassed by public clamour in the +performance of their duties (honest criticism will do them good), all +will have been accomplished which it is possible to get in the way of +effective and enlightened administration of the law. + +In the next place it may be possible to mitigate the operation of our +present poor law system in all cases of destitution through +misadventure. Some prominent politicians--and I believe among them Mr. +Morley--appear to be in favour of this course; and at a recent meeting +of the British Association, Professor Alfred Marshall was inclined to +the belief that a much larger discrimination might be allowed than now +exists in the administration of out-door relief in cases of actual +want; and also that separate and graduated workhouses might be +established for the deserving poor. It will be admitted on all hands +that proposals of this character land us on very delicate ground, and +require the most mature consideration. Even now the inmate of a +workhouse is often better supplied with food, clothing, and shelter +than the poor labourer, who has to pay taxes to support him. If the +condition of that inmate is made still more comfortable, will it be +possible to prevent hundreds and thousands of the very poor, who now +keep outside these institutions, from immediately crowding into them +as soon as the slightest economic difficulties arise? Almost all +philanthropic schemes, and especially all such schemes when supported +by the public purse, have a tendency to be administered with more and +more laxity as time goes on; and a scheme of this kind, if carried +into law, would require to be managed with the utmost circumspection +in order to avoid pauperising great masses of the community. + +A scheme of this character will, however, have to be tried if the +manifesto of the Executive Council of the Dockers' Union, issued in +September last, is to be acted upon by Trade-Unionists in general. +According to the doctrine laid down in this manifesto, the idea of a +Trade-Union, as a free and open combination, which every workman may +enter, provided he pays his subscription and conforms to the rules, is +an idea which must for the future be abandoned. Henceforth, a +Trade-Union is to be a close corporation to be worked for the benefit +of persons who have succeeded in getting inside it. The Dockers' +Union, to do them justice, see that this policy is bound to increase +the numbers of the destitute, but they propose to remedy this +condition of things by establishing "in each municipality factories +and workshops where all those who cannot get work under ordinary +conditions shall have an opportunity afforded them by the community." +If these State establishments are to be started for the unemployed, +the workers in them must work at something, and it will have to be +something which the unskilled labourer will not require a great deal +of time to learn. What would the dockers say if one of these +establishments was instituted by the municipality for the loading and +unloading of ships? Hardly a Trade-Union Congress meets in which the +complaint is not made that prison labour interferes with free labour; +but what sort of outcry would there be if State labour, on an +extensive scale, were to enter into serious competition with the +individual workman? + +These schemes for the establishment of State institutions offering +work to the indigent will never solve the problem of want, and all +attempts that have hitherto been made in that direction have either +ended in failure or met with small success. + +The latest of these schemes is a village settlement, which the +authorities in New Zealand started some time ago to meet the case of +the unemployed. The Government, in the first place, spent L16,000 in +making roads and other conveniences for the settlers, and afterwards +advanced L21,000 for building houses, buying implements, and so on. +According to recent advices from New Zealand, only L2000 of this +advance has been paid back, and it is the general feeling of the +colony that the project has proved a failure. These, and other +experiments of a similar character, compel us to recognise the +disagreeable fact that a certain proportion of people who are in the +habit of falling out of work are, as a class, extremely difficult to +put properly on their legs. Failure, for some reason or another, +always dogs their steps, and the more Society does for them, the less +they will be disposed to do anything for themselves. + +When such persons are sent to prison on charges of begging, or petty +theft, it very often happens that they are assisted on their release +by a Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society. Tools are given them, work is +found for them, yet they do not thrive. Not infrequently the job is +given up on some frivolous pretext; or if it is a temporary one, +little or no effort is made till it actually comes to an end to look +out for another. It is little wonder that men who live in such a +fashion should occasionally be destitute; the only wonder is that they +manage to pass through life at all. Those men hang upon the skirts of +labour and seek shelter under its banner, but it is only for short and +irregular intervals that they march in the ranks of the actual +workers. The real working man knows such people well, and heartily +despises them. + +Would it be a right thing to increase the burdens of the taxpayer by +opening State workshops, even if such a plan were feasible, for men of +the stamp we have just been describing? Decidedly it would not. Yet +these men form a fair proportion of the persons whom we have classed +as driven to crime by economic distress. As far, then, as the criminal +population is concerned, no necessity exists for the organisation of +State factories; and so far as destitution is a factor in the +production of crime, it can be grappled with by other agencies. In +fact, if a graduated system of Unions, with a kind of casual ward, +somewhat after the German Naturalverpflegstationen, could be worked +and if Trade Societies adopted, under proper precautions, the +principle of allowing debilitated members of their trade the +opportunity of doing something at a somewhat reduced rate, it would be +impossible for any well-intentioned man to say that he was driven to +crime from sheer want. It is worth while, on the part of the nation, +to make some small sacrifice to attain an object so supremely +important as this. It is very probable that hardly any sacrifice will +be needed. In any case it would get rid of the uncomfortable feeling +entertained by many that there are occasions when human beings are +punished who ought to be fed. It would completely alienate all +sympathy from crime; it would then be known that criminal offenders +deserved the punishment they received, and justice would be able to +deal with them with a firm and even hand. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +POVERTY AND CRIME. + + +Having analysed the part played by destitution in the production of +crime, the cognate question of the extent to which poverty is +responsible for it will now be considered. If actual destitution does +not count for very much in producing criminals, it may be that poverty +makes up the difference, and that the great bulk of delinquency, if +not the whole of it, arises from the combined operation of these two +economic factors. We have examined one of them, let us now go on to +the other. As this examination will have to be conducted from several +different points of view which, for the sake of clearness, it will be +expedient to consider one by one, I shall begin by inquiring what +light international statistics are capable of throwing on the +relations between poverty and crime. At the outset of this inquiry we +are at once met by the old difficulty respecting the value of +international criminal statistics. The imperfection of those +statistics is a matter it is always important to bear in mind, but in +spite of this circumstance the light which they shed on the problem of +poverty and crime is not to be rejected as worthless. + +It has been pointed out in the preceding chapter that the offences +people, in a state of destitution, are most likely to commit are +beggary and theft. In the case of persons who are in a state of +poverty, but not destitute, it may be said that the offence they are +most likely to commit is theft in one or other of its forms. What then +are the international statistics of theft, and what is the relative +wealth of the several countries from which these statistics are drawn? +An answer to these two questions will throw a flood of light upon the +nature of the relations between poverty and crime. If these statistics +show that in those countries where there is most poverty there is also +most theft, the elucidation of such a fact will at once raise a strong +presumption that the connection between poverty and offences against +property is one of cause and effect. If, on the other hand, +international statistics are not at all conclusive upon this important +point, it will show that there are other factors at work besides +poverty in the production of offences against property. With these +preliminary remarks I shall now append a table of the number of +persons tried for theft of all kinds in some of the most important +countries of Europe within the last few years. In no two of these +countries is theft classified in the same manner, but in all of them +it is equally recognised as a crime; if, therefore, all offences +against property, of whatever kind, are put together under the common +heading of "theft," and if the number of cases of thefts (as thus +understood) tried in the various countries of Europe are carefully +tabulated, we possess, in such a table, a criterion wherewith to +judge, in a rough way, the respective position of those countries in +the matter of offences against property. + +The appended table is extracted from a larger one, the work of Sig. L. +Bodio, Director-General of Statistics for the kingdom of Italy. The +calculations for every country, except Spain, are based on the census +of 1880 or 1881; the calculations for Spain are based on the census of +1877. In all the countries except Germany and Spain the calculations +are based on an average of five years; for Germany and Spain the +average is only two years. + +Italy, 1880-84 Annual trials for theft per 100,000 inhabitants 221 +France, 1879-83 do. do. 121 +Belgium, 1876-80 do. do. 143 +Germany, 1882-83 do. do. 262 +England, 1880-84 do. do. 228 +Scotland, 1880-84 do. do. 289 +Ireland, 1880-84 do. do. 101 +Hungary, 1876-80 do. do. 82 +Spain, 1883-84 do. do. 74 + +To what conclusions do the statistics contained in this table point? +It is useless burdening this chapter with additional figures to prove +that England and France are the two wealthiest countries in Europe. +The wealth of England, for instance, is perhaps six times the wealth +of Italy; but, notwithstanding this fact, more thefts are annually +committed in England than in Italy. The wealth of France is enormously +superior to the wealth of Ireland, both in quantity and distribution, +but the population of France commits more offences against property +than the Irish. Spain is one of the poorest countries in Europe, +Scotland is one of the richest, but side by side with this inequality +of wealth we see that the Scotch commit, per hundred thousand of the +population, almost four times as many thefts as the Spaniards. With +the exception of Italy it is the poorest countries of Europe that are +the least dishonest, and, according to our table, even the Italians +are not so much addicted to offences against property as the +inhabitants of England. + +Perhaps the most instructive figures in these international statistics +are those relating to England and Ireland. The criminal statistics of +the two countries are drawn up on very much the same principles; the +ordinary criminal law is very much the same, and there is very much +the same feeling among the population with respect to ordinary crime; +in fact, with the exception of agrarian offences, the administration +of the law in Ireland is as effective as it is in England. On almost +every point the similarity of the criminal law and its administration +in the two countries almost amounts to identity, and a comparison of +their criminal statistics, in so far as they relate to ordinary +offences against property, reaches a high level of exactitude. What +does such a comparison reveal? It shows that the Irish, with all their +poverty, are not half so much addicted to offences against property as +the English with all their wealth, and it serves to confirm the idea +that the connection between poverty and theft is not so close as is +generally imagined. + +International statistics then, as far as they go, point to the +conclusion that it is the growth of wealth, rather than the reverse, +which has a tendency to augment the number of offences against +property, and national statistics, as far as England is concerned, +exhibit a similar result. It is perfectly certain, for instance, that +the mass of the population possessed a greater amount of money, and +were earning on the whole higher wages between 1870-74 than between +1884-88. According to the evidence given before the late Lord +Iddesleigh's Commission on the depression of trade, the prosperity of +the country in the five years ended 1874 was something phenomenal. +This was the opinion of almost every class in the community. Chambers +of commerce, leading manufactures, workmen in the various departments +of industry, all told the same tale of exceptional commercial +prosperity. During this period it was easy for any person with a pair +of hands to get as much as he could do; workmen were at a premium and +wages had risen all round. + +But, notwithstanding this state of unwonted prosperity, we shall find +on turning to the statistics of offences against property that a +larger number of persons were convicted of such offences in the five +years ended 1874 than in the five years ended 1888. It hardly needs to +be stated that the five years ended 1888 were years of considerable +depression, some of them were years in which there was a good deal of +distress, and in none of them was the bulk of the population as well +off as in the preceding period. It is, therefore, plain that an +increase in the wealth of a country is not necessarily followed by a +decrease in the amount of crimes against property; that, in fact, the +growth of national and individual wealth, unless it is accompanied by +a corresponding development of ethical ideals, is apt to foster +criminal instincts instead of repressing them. + +If we look at crime in general, instead of that particular form of it +which consists in offences against property, it will likewise become +apparent that it is not so closely connected with poverty as is +generally believed. The accuracy of Indian criminal statistics is a +matter that has already been pointed out. When these statistics are +placed side by side with our own what do we find? According to the +returns for the two countries in the year 1888, it comes out that in +England one person was proceeded against criminally to every forty-two +of the population, while in India only one person was proceeded +against to every 195. In other words, official statistics show that +the people of England are between four and five times more addicted to +crime than the people of India. On the supposition that poverty is the +parent of crime, the population of India should be one of the most +lawless in the world, for it is undoubtedly one of the very poorest. +The reverse, however, is the case, and India is justly celebrated for +the singularly law-abiding character of its inhabitants. In reply to +this it may be said that India differs so widely from England in race, +manners, religion and social organisation, that all these divergencies +must be taken into account when comparing the position of the two +countries with respect to crime. A contention of this kind is in +perfect harmony with what is here advanced. It is, in fact, a part of +our case that crime is either produced or checked by a great many +causes besides economic conditions. The comparison we are now making +between the criminal statistics of England and India is intended to +show that economic conditions alone will not satisfactorily explain +the genesis of crime. If such were the case India would have a blacker +criminal record than England, for it has a lower material standard of +life; but as India is able to exhibit a fairer record, in spite of its +economic disadvantages, we are compelled to come to the conclusion +that poverty is not the only factor in the production of crime. + +A further illustration of the same fact will be found on examining the +Prison Statistics of the United States. According to an instructive +paper recently read by Mr. Roland P. Falkner before the American +Statistical Association, the foreign born population in America is, on +the whole, less inclined to commit crime than the native born +American. In some of the States--Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and +California--"the foreign born," says Mr. Falkner, "make a worse +showing than the native. In a great number of cases, notably +Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, we notice hardly any +difference. Elsewhere, the showing is decidedly in favour of the +foreign born, and nowhere more strongly than in Wisconsin and +Minnesota." It is perfectly certain that the foreign born population +of the United States is not, as a rule, so well-off economically as +the native born citizen. The vast proportion of the emigrant +population is composed of poor people seeking to better their +condition, and it is well known that a largo percentage of the hard, +manual work done in America is performed by those men. The economic +condition of the average native born American is superior to the +economic condition of the average emigrant; but the native American, +notwithstanding his economic superiority, cuts a worse figure in the +statistics of crime. This is a state of things the Americans +themselves are just beginning to perceive, and it cannot fail to make +them uneasy as to the efficacy of some of their erratic methods of +punishing crime. It has, until recently, been the habit of American +statisticians to compare the foreign born population with the whole of +the native population with respect to crime. The outcome of this +method of comparison was taken all round favourable to the born +Americans, and for many years people satisfied themselves with the +belief that a high percentage of crime in the United States was due to +the foreign element in the community. It is now seen that this method +of calculation is defective and false. A comparatively small number of +foreigners emigrate to the United States under eighteen years of age; +in order, therefore, to make the comparison between natives and +foreigners accurate, it must be made with foreigners over eighteen and +Americans over eighteen, for it is after persons pass that age that +they are most prone to commit crime. The result of this new and more +correct method of comparison has been to show that the native American +element, that is to say, the element best situated economically, is +also the element which perpetrates most crimes. Such a result is only +another illustration of the truth that an advanced state of economic +well-being is not necessarily accompanied by greater immunity from +crime. + +A further illustration of this significant truth is to be witnessed in +the Antipodes. In no quarter of the world is there such wide-spread +prosperity as exists in the colony of Victoria. All writers and +travellers are unanimous upon this point. Nowhere in the world is +there less economic excuse for the perpetration of crime. Work of one +kind or another can almost always be had in that favoured portion of +the globe. + +Even in the worst of times, if men are willing to go "up country," as +it is called, occupation of some sort is certain to be found, and +trade depression never reaches the acute point which it sometimes does +at home. + +Nevertheless, on examining the criminal statistics of the colony of +Victoria, what do we find? According to the returns for 1887, one +arrest on a charge of crime was made in every 30 of the population, +and on looking down the list of offences for which these arrests were +made, it will be seen that Victoria, notwithstanding her +widely-diffused material well-being, is just as much addicted to +crimes against person and property as some of the poor and squalid +States of Europe. It may be said in extenuation of this condition of +things, that Victoria contains a larger grown-up population, and +therefore a larger percentage of persons in a position to commit crime +than is to be found in older countries. This is, to a certain extent, +true, but the difference is not so great as might at first sight be +supposed. Assuming that the criminal age lies between 15 and 60, we +find that in the seven Australasian colonies 563 persons out of every +1,000 are alive between these two ages. In Great Britain and Ireland +559 persons per 1,000 are alive between 15 and 60. According to these +figures the difference between the population within the criminal age +in the colony, as compared with the mother country, is very small, and +is quite insufficient to account for the relatively high percentage of +crime exhibited by the Victorian criminal statistics. + +All these considerations force us back to the conclusion that an +abundant measure of material well-being has a much smaller influence +in diminishing crime than is usually supposed, and compels us to admit +that much crime would still exist even if the world were turned into a +paradise of material prosperity tomorrow. + +In further confirmation of this conclusion let us glance for a moment +at another aspect of the relations between poverty and crime. It is +generally calculated that the working class population of England and +Wales form from 90 to 95 per cent. of the total population of the +country. According to the investigations of Mr. Charles Booth, as +contained in his work on East London, the working classes constitute +about 92 per cent. in the districts be had under examination, the +remaining 8 per cent. being made up of the lower and upper middle +classes. Let us therefore assume that 10 per cent. of the population +consists of the middle and upper classes, and that the other 90 per +cent. of the community is composed of working people. Many +statisticians will not admit that the middle and upper classes form 10 +per cent. of the nation, and assert that 5 per cent. is nearer the +mark. This is also my own view, but for the purposes of this inquiry +we shall assume that it is 10 per cent. + +How large a proportion of the criminal population is made up of the +middle and upper classes? An answer to this question would at once +show the exact relation between poverty and crime. If it could be +shown that the well-to-do classes, in proportion to their numbers, are +just as much addicted to the commission of criminal acts as the poorer +people, it would demonstrate that crime prevailed to an equal extent +among all sections of the community, and was not the work of one class +alone. Unfortunately, such statistics are not to be had. But, as the +facts are not to be got at directly, this does not mean to say that it +is impossible to catch a glimpse of what they are. This may be done in +the following manner:--According to the report of the Prison +Commissioners, between 5 and 6 per cent. of the persons committed to +gaol during the year ended March, 1890 (omitting court-martial cases), +were debtors and civil process cases. Now, it may be taken as certain +that in a very small proportion of these cases were the prisoners +working people. Nearly all these offenders are to be considered as +belonging to the well-to-do classes. Yet we see that they form 5 per +cent. of the criminal population, and it has to be remembered that the +fraudulent debtor is just as much a criminal, nay, even a worse +criminal in many instances than the thief who snatches a purse. In +addition to this 5 per cent. there is at least 3 per cent. of the +ordinary criminal population belonging to the higher ranks of life. At +the lowest estimate we have 6 per cent. of the criminal population +springing from the midst of the well-to-do, and if all cases of +drunkenness and assault were punished with imprisonment instead of a +fine, it would be found that the well-to-do showed just as badly in +the statistics of crime as their poorer neighbours. + +In making this statement with respect to fines, I do not wish it to be +understood that all cases of drunkenness and assault should be +followed by imprisonment. On the contrary, it is a great mistake to +send anyone to gaol if it can possibly be avoided, and imprisonment +should never be resorted to so long as any other form of punishment +will serve the purpose. What is here stated is merely meant to bring +out the fact that the proportion of well-to-do among the prison +population does not accurately represent the proportion of offences +committed by that class; and it does not represent it for the simple +reason that the well-to-do have facilities for escaping imprisonment +which the ill-to-do have not. When a man with a certain command of +means is involved in criminal proceedings, he has always the +assistance of experienced counsel to defend him, he is always able to +secure the attendance of witnesses,[21] if he has any, and should the +offence be of a nature that a fine will condone, he is always able to +escape imprisonment by paying it. It very often happens that poor +people are unable to secure these advantages in a court of justice, +and prison statistics of the different classes, even if we had them, +would, for the reasons we have just mentioned, always give the working +classes more than their fair share of offenders. + + [21] A case was tried in London a short time ago which illustrates + the difficulties in the way of poor people, so far as the + attendance of witnesses is concerned. In this case the witness + appeared five successive days in court waiting for the trial to + come on. Not being paid by the defendant, this witness was + unable to appear the sixth day. On that day the case was at + last called, the prisoner had now no witness and was, of course, + convicted. + +It has always to be borne in mind in making calculations respecting +the proportion of criminal offenders among the various sections of the +community that there is a population of habitual criminals which forms +a class by itself. Habitual criminals are not to be confounded with +the working or any other class; they are a set of persons who make +crime the object and business of their lives; to commit crime is their +trade; they deliberately scoff at honest ways of earning a living, and +must accordingly be looked upon as a class of a separate and distinct +character from the rest of the community. According to police +estimates this class consists of between 50,000 and 60,000 persons in +England and Wales. Notwithstanding the smallness of its numbers, this +criminal population contributes a proportion amounting to fully 12 per +cent. to the local and convict prisons of England. As this percentage +of the prison population is recruited from wholly criminal ground, it +is important to place it in a distinct and separate category when +forming an estimate of the criminal tendencies of the several branches +of the population. This is what has been done in the subjoined table. +This table will accordingly show, first the proportion of the poorer +class to the total population, and next their proportion to the prison +population. It will do the same for the well-to-do class, and will +finally give the percentage of the criminal class in the local and +convict prisons:-- + +Proportion of working class to total population 90 p. ct. +Proportion, of prisoners from this class 82 p. ct. +Proportion of well-to-do to population 10 p. ct. +Proportion of prisoners from this class 6 p. ct. +Numbers of criminal class, say 60,000 +Proportion of prisoners from this class 12 p. ct. + +According to these figures, the well-to-do contribute less than their +proper proportion to the prison population. This arises, as has +already been stated, from the fact that this class has so many more +facilities for escaping the penalty of imprisonment; the difference +would be adjusted if the cases tried before the criminal courts were +taken as a standard. An examination of these cases would undoubtedly +show that each class was represented in proportion to its numbers. + +According to Garofalo, one of the most learned of Italian jurists, the +poor people in Italy commit fewer offences against property, in +proportion to their numbers, than the well-to-do, while in Prussia +persons engaged in the liberal professions contribute twice their +proper share to the criminal population. A somewhat similar state of +things exists in France; there the number of persons engaged in the +liberal professions forms four per cent. of the population; but, +according to the investigations of Ferri, in his striking little book, +"Socialismo e Criminalita," the liberal professions were responsible +for no less than seven per cent. of the murders perpetrated in France +in 1879. + +What is the period of the year we should expect most crime to be +committed if poverty is at the root of it? In this country, at least, +it is very well known that the labouring classes are apt to suffer +most in the depth of winter, and the depth of winter may be said to +correspond with the months of December, January, and February. It is +in these months that all outdoor occupations come to a comparative +standstill; it is then that the poorest section of the population--the +men without a trade, the men who live by mere manual labour--are +reduced to the greatest straits. In the winter months some of these +men have to pass through a period of real hardship; the state of the +weather often puts an absolute stop to all outdoor occupations, and +when this is the case, it takes an outdoor labourer all his might to +provide the barest necessaries for his home. In addition to this +difficulty, which lies in the nature of his calling, a labourer finds +the expense of living a good deal higher in the depth of winter. He +has to burn more fuel, he has to supply his children with warmer +clothing, in a variety of ways his expenses increase, notwithstanding +the most rigid economy. Winter is not only a harder season for the +outdoor labourer, it is a time of greater economic trial for the whole +working-class population. This, I think, is a statement which will be +universally admitted. + +On the assumption that poverty is the principal source of crime we +ought to have a much larger prison population in the depth of winter +than at any other period of the year. The prison statistics for +December, January, and February--the three most inclement months, the +three months when expenses are greatest and work scarcest--should be +the highest in the whole year. As a matter of fact, it is during these +three months that there are fewest people in prison. According to an +excellent return, issued for the first time by the Prison Commissioners +in their thirteenth report, it appears that there was a considerably +smaller number of prisoners in the local prisons of England and Wales +in the winter months--December, January and February, 1889-90--than at +any other season of the year.[22] And this is not an isolated fact. A +glance at the criminal returns for a series of years will at once show +that crime is highest in summer and autumn--a time when occupation of +all kinds, and especially occupation for the poorest members of the +community, is most easily obtained--and lowest in winter and spring, +when economic conditions are most adverse.[23] + + [22] See Appendix, iii. + + [23] Scotch statistics are in harmony with English. For the year + ended March, 1890, the number of ordinary prisoners in custody in + Scotland was lowest in December, January and February. It was + highest in July, August, September. Crime was also highest when + pauperism was lowest. See 12th Report of Scottish Prison + Commissioners. + +All these facts, instead of pointing to poverty as the main cause of +crime, point the other way. It is a curious sign of the times that +this statement should meet with so much incredulity. It has been +reserved for this generation to propagate the absurdity that the want +of money is the root of all evil; all the wisest teachers of mankind +have hitherto been disposed to think differently, and criminal +statistics are far from demonstrating that they are wrong. In the +laudable efforts which are now being made, and which ought to be made +to heighten the material well-being of the community, it is a mistake +to assume, as is too often done, that mere material prosperity, even +if spread over the whole population, will ever succeed in banishing +crime. A mere increase of material prosperity generates as many evils +as it destroys; it may diminish offences against property, but it +augments offences against the person, and multiplies drunkenness to an +alarming extent. While it is an undoubted fact that material +wretchedness has a debasing effect both morally and physically, it is +also equally true that the same results are sometimes found to flow +from an increase of economic well-being. An interesting proof of this +is to be found in the recent investigations of M. Chopinet, a French +military surgeon, respecting the stature of the population in the +central Pyrenees. M. Chopinet, after a careful examination of the +conscript registers from 1873 to 1888, arrives at the following +conclusions as to what determines the physical condition of the +population. After discussing the cosmical influences and the evil +effects of poverty and bad hygienic arrangements on the people, he +proceeds to point out that moral corruption arising from material +prosperity is also a powerful factor in producing physical degeneracy. +He singles out one canton--the canton of Luchon--as being the victim +of its own prosperity. In this canton, he says, that the old +simplicity of life has departed, in consequence of its prodigious +prosperity. "Vices formerly unknown have penetrated into the country; +the frequenting of public houses and the habit of keeping late hours +have taken the place of the open air sports which used to be the +favoured method of enjoyment. Illegitimate births, formerly very rare, +have multiplied, syphilis even has spread among the young. Food of a +less substantial character has superseded the diet of former times, +and, in short, alcoholism, precocious debauchery, and syphilis have +come like so many plagues to arrest the development of the youth and +seriously debilitate the population."[24] + + [24] _Revue Scientifique_, September 13, 1890. + +Facts such as these should serve to remind us that the growth of +wealth may be accompanied, and is accompanied, by degeneracy of the +worst character unless there is a corresponding growth of the moral +sentiments of the community. "The perfection of man," says M. de +Laveleye, "consists in the full development of all his forces, +physical as well as intellectual, and of all his sentiments; in the +feeling of affection for the family and humanity; in a feeling for the +beautiful in nature and art." It is in proportion as men strive after +this ideal that crime will decay, and material prosperity only becomes +a good when it is used as a means to this supreme end. Otherwise, the +mere growth of wealth, be it ever so widely diffused, will deprave the +world instead of elevating it. The mere possession of wealth is not a +moralising agent; as Professor Marshall[25] truly tells us, "Money is +general purchasing power, and is sought as a means to all kinds of +ends, high as well as low, spiritual as well as material." According +to this definition, money may as readily become a source of mischief +as an instrument for good; its wider diffusion among the community +has, therefore, a mixed effect, and it works for evil or for good, +according to the character of the individual. It is only when the +character is disciplined by the habitual exercise of self-restraint, +and ennobled by a generous devotion to the higher aims of life, that +money becomes a real blessing to its possessor. If, on the other hand, +money has merely the effect of making the well-to-do rich, and the +poor well-to-do, it will never diminish crime; it will merely cause +crime to modify its present forms. Such, at least, is the conclusion +to which a consideration of the contents of this chapter would seem to +lead. + + [25] _Principles of Economics_, p. 81. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +CRIME IN RELATION TO SEX AND AGE. + + +In the present chapter we shall proceed to discuss the effect exercised +by two characteristics of a distinctly personal nature in the production +of crime, namely, age and sex. + +As sex is the most fundamental of all human distinctions we shall +begin by considering the part it plays among criminal phenomena. +According to the judicial statistics of all civilised peoples, women +are less addicted to crime than men, and boys are more addicted to +crime than girls. Among most European peoples between five and six +males are tried for offences against the law to every one female. In +the southern countries of Europe, females form a smaller proportion of +the criminal population than in the northern. This circumstance may be +accounted for in several ways. In the first place, it may be the case +that women in the south of Europe are better morally than in the +north; it may be that the social conditions of their existence shield +them from crime; or it may be that the crimes men are most prone to +commit in the south are of such a nature that women are more or less +incapable of perpetrating them. It is perfectly well known that in the +south of Europe women lead more secluded lives than is the case in the +north; they are much less immersed in the whirl and movement of life; +it is not surprising, therefore, to find that they are less addicted +to crime. Nor is this all. The crimes committed in the South consist +to a large extent of offences against the person; physical weakness in +a multitude of cases prevents women from committing such crimes. In +the North, on the other hand, a large proportion of crimes are in the +nature of thefts and offences against property. Most of these crimes +women can commit with comparative ease; the result is that they form a +larger proportion of the criminal population. Assaults are offences +women are less capable of committing than men; hence, if we find that +the crime of a country consists largely of personal violence, we shall +also find that the percentage of female criminals will be relatively +small. In Italy, where offences against the person are so prevalent, +females only form about nine per cent. of the criminal population; in +England, where personal violence is seldom resorted to, females form +between 17 and 18 per cent. of the persons proceeded against, and +about 15 per cent. of the numbers convicted. + +A consideration of these circumstances tends to show that although +southern women commit fewer crimes in proportion to men than northern +women, this fact is partly owing to the character of the crime. But it +is also owing to more secluded habits of life, and to the freedom from +moral contamination of a criminal nature which these habits secure. + +Proceeding from quantity to quality we find that although females +commit much fewer crimes in proportion than males, the offences they +do commit are frequently of a more serious nature than the crimes to +which men are addicted. According to the investigations of Guerry and +Quetelet, women in France commit more crimes of infanticide, abortion, +poisoning, and domestic theft than men. They are addicted equally with +men to the perpetration of parricide, and are more frequently +convicted than men for the ill-treatment of children. English criminal +statistics also show that the proportion of women to men rises with +the seriousness of the offence. The proportion of women to men +summarily proceeded against is 17 per cent., the proportion proceeded +against for murder and attempts to murder is as high as 36 per cent. +Women are also more hardened criminals than men. According to the +statistics of English prisons, women who have been once convicted are +much more likely to be reconvicted than men,[26] and the prison +returns of Continental countries tell the same tale. + + [26] In 1889-90 the recommitted males were 44.3 per cent. of the + total number of males committed (exclusive of debtors and naval + and military offenders); the recommitted females 65.8 per cent. + of the total number of females committed exclusive of debtors. + +The facts relating to female crime having been stated, it will now be +our business to inquire why women, on the whole, commit fewer crimes +than men. The most obvious answer is that they are better morally. The +care and nurture of children has been their lot in life for untold +centuries; the duties of maternity have perpetually kept alive a +certain number of unselfish instincts; those instincts have become +part and parcel of woman's natural inheritance, and, as a result of +possessing them to a larger extent than man, she is less disposed to +crime. It is very probable that there is an element of truth in the +idea that the care of offspring has had a moralising effect upon +women, and that this effect has acquired the power of a hereditary +characteristic; at the same time, it must be remembered that other +causes are also in operation which prevent women figuring as largely +in criminal returns as men. + +Among the most prominent of these causes is the want of physical +power. In all crimes requiring a certain amount of brute strength, +such as burglary, robbery with violence, and so on, the proportion of +women to men is small. A woman very rarely possesses the animal force +requisite for the perpetration of crimes accompanied with much +personal violence. But where the element of personal violence does not +come conspicuously to the front the proportion of female criminals to +male immediately rises, and in such crimes as poisoning, child murder, +abortion, domestic theft, women are more criminally disposed than men. +Undoubtedly the lack of power has as much to do with keeping down +female crime as the want of will. This is especially manifest in the +crime of infanticide. For the perpetration of this crime women possess +the power, and the vast number of women convicted of this offence in +proportion to men is ample proof that they often possess the will. Of +course the temptation to women to commit this kind of crime is often +extreme; it is the product, in many instances, of an overwhelming +sense of shame; and the perpetrators of infanticide are often far from +being the most debased of their sex. Still, the prevalence of +infanticide among women is an evidence that, where the temptation is +strong and the power sufficient, women are just as criminally inclined +as men. + +It has also to be borne in mind that women are very frequently the +instigators of crime and escape punishment because they are not +actually engaged in its commission. In almost all cases where +robberies are committed by a pack of thieves, a part of the +preparatory arrangements is entrusted to women, and women lend a +helping hand in disposing of the spoil. It is the men, as a rule, who +receive all the punishment, but the guilt of both sexes is very much +the same. In many cases of forgery and fraudulent bankruptcy among the +well-to-do classes, for which men only are punished, the guilt of +women is equally great. Household extravagance, extravagance in dress, +the mad ambition of many English women to live in what they call +"better style" than their neighbours sends not a few men to penal +servitude. The proportion of female crime in a community is also to a +very considerable extent determined by the social condition of women. +In all countries where social habits and customs constrain women to +lead retiring and secluded lives the number of female criminals +descends to a minimum. The small amount of female crime in Greece[27] +is an instance of this law. On the other hand, in all countries where +women are accustomed to share largely the active work of life with +men, female crime has a distinct tendency to reach its maximum. An +instance of this is the high percentage of female crime in Scotland. +According to the Judicial Statistics for the year 1888 no less than 37 +per cent. of the cases tried before the Scotch courts consisted of +offences committed by women. It is true only 11 per cent. of these +offences were of a serious nature--the remainder being more or less +trivial, but, even after taking this circumstance into consideration, +the unwelcome fact remains that Scotch women commit a higher +percentage of crimes in proportion to men than the female population +of any other country in Europe. The proportion of English female +offenders to male is not half so high; it was only 17 per cent. in +1888, and is showing a tendency to decrease, being as high as 20 per +cent. for the twenty years ended 1876. The proportion of female +offenders in Scotland to the total criminal population is moving in an +opposite direction. The late Professor Leone Levi, in a paper read +before the Statistical Society in 1880, stated that Scotch women +formed 27 per cent. of the persons tried before the criminal courts; +they now form 37 per cent., a most alarming rate of increase. + + [27] According to prison statistics of the Greek Government for + 1889, out of a total prison population of 5,023 only 50 were + women. See _Revista de Discipline Carcerarie_, Nov. 30th, 1890, + page 667. + +It hardly admits of doubt that the high ratio of female crime in +Scotland is to be attributed to the social status of women. In no +other country of Europe do women perform so much heavy manual work; +working in the fields and factories along with men; depending little +upon men for their subsistence; in all economic matters leading what +is called a more emancipated life than women do elsewhere; in short, +resembling man in their social activities, they also resemble him in +criminal proclivities. Scotch criminal statistics are thus a striking +confirmation of the general law revealed by the study of criminal +statistics as a whole; namely, that the more women are driven to enter +upon the economic struggle for life the more criminal they will +become. This is not a very consoling outlook for the future of +society. It is not consoling, for the simple reason that the whole +drift of opinion at the present time is in the direction of opening +out industrial and public life to women to the utmost extent possible. +In so far as public opinion is favouring the growth of female +political leagues and other female organisations of a distinctly +militant character, it is undoubtedly tending on the whole to lower +the moral nature of women. The combative attitude required to be +maintained by all members of such organisations is injurious to the +higher instincts of women, and in numbers of cases must affect their +moral tone. The amount of mischief done by these public organisations +for purposes of political combat is not confined to women alone. The +overwhelming influence exercised by mothers on the minds of children +is notorious; and that influence is not so likely to be for good where +the mother's mind is contaminated by a knowledge of, and sometimes by +practising, the shady tricks of electioneering. + +The present tendency to create a greater number of openings in trade +and industry for women is not to be dismissed as pernicious because of +its evil effect in multiplying female crime. After all, an enlarged +industrial career for women may be the lesser of two evils. According +to the present industrial constitution of society a very large number +of females must earn a living in the sweat of their brow, and until +some higher social development supersedes the existing order of things +it is only right that as wide a career as possible should be opened +out for the activities of women who must work to live. At the same +time it would be an infinitely superior state of things if society did +not require women's work beyond the confines of the home and the +primary school. In these two spheres there is ample occupation of the +very highest character for the energies of women; in them their work +is immeasurably superior to men's; and it is because the work required +in the home and the school is at the present moment so improperly +performed that our existing civilisation is such a hot-bed of physical +degeneracy, pauperism, and crime. One thing at least is certain, that +crime will never permanently decrease till the material conditions of +existence are such that women will not be called upon to fight the +battle of life as men are, but will be able to concentrate their +influence on the nurture and education of the young, after having +themselves been educated mainly with a view to that great end. +European society at the present moment is moving away from this ideal +of woman's functions in the world; she is getting to be regarded in +the light of a mere intellectual or industrial unit; and the flower of +womankind is being more and more drafted into commercial and other +enterprises. Some affect to look upon this condition, of things as +being in the line of progress; it may be, and to all appearance is, in +the line of material necessity, but it is unquestionably opposed to +the moral interests of the community. These interests demand that +women should not be debased, as criminal statistics prove that they +are by active participation in modern industrialism; they demand that +the all-important duties of motherhood should be in the hands of +persons capable of fulfilling them worthily, and not in the hands of +persons whose previous occupations have often rendered them unfit for +being a centre of grace and purity in the home. It cannot be too +emphatically insisted on that the home is the great school for the +formation of character among the young, and it is on character that +conduct depends. In proportion as this school of character is +improved, in the same proportion will crime decrease. But how is it to +be improved when the tendencies of industrialism are to degrade the +women who stand by nature at the head of it? Indifferent mothers +cannot make children good citizens; and the present course of things +industrial is slowly but surely tending to debase the fountain head of +the race. At the International Conference concerning the regulation of +labour held recently at Berlin, M. Jules Simon, at the close of an +excellent speech to the delegates, pointed out the remedy for the +present condition of things. "You will pardon me," he said, "for +concluding my observations with a personal remark, which is perhaps +authorised by a past entirely consecrated to a defence of the cause +which brings us here. The object we are aiming at is moral as well as +material; it is not only in the physical interests of the human race +that we are endeavouring to rescue children, youths, and women from +excessive toil; we are also labouring to restore woman to the home, +the child to its mother, for it is from her only that those lessons of +affection and respect which make the good citizen can be learned. We +wish to call a halt in the path of demoralisation down which the +loosening of the family tie is leading the human mind." + +Passing from the question of sex and crime we shall now consider the +proportions which crime bears to age. According to the calculations of +the late Mr. Clay, chaplain of Preston prison, the practice of +dishonesty among persons, who afterwards find their way into prisons, +begins at a very early age. In a communication addressed to Lord +Shaftesbury, in 1853, he said that 58 per cent. of criminals were +dishonest under 15 years of age; 14 per cent. became dishonest between +15 and 16; 8 per cent. became dishonest between 17 and 19; 20 per +cent. became dishonest under 20. + +I have little doubt that these proportions are still in the main +correct, and that the criminal instinct begins to show itself at a +very early period in life. In Staffordshire "it is an ascertained +fact, that there is scarcely an habitual criminal in the county who +has not been imprisoned as a child."[28] But it is after the age of +twenty has been reached that the criminality of a people attains its +highest point. A glance at the subjoined table will make this clear:-- + +Population of England and | Prisoners in Local Gaols + Wales in 1871-- | in 1888-- + +Under 5 13.52 | Under 12 0.1 +5 and under 15 22.58 | 12 and under 16 2.8 +15 " 20 9.59 | 16 " 21 16.1 +20 " 30 16.66 | 21 " 30 30.2 +30 " 40 12.80 | 30 " 40 24.3 +40 " 50 10.05 | 40 " 50 14.7 +50 " 60 7.32 | 50 " 60 6.4 +60 and upwards 7.48 | 60 and upwards 5.4 + + [28] _Reformatory and Refuge Journal_, July, 1890. + +These figures show that in proportion to the population, crime is, as +we should expect, at its lowest level from infancy till the age of +sixteen. From that age it goes on steadily increasing in volume till +it reaches a maximum between thirty and forty. After forty has been +passed the criminal population begins rapidly to descend, but never +touches the same low point in old age as in early youth. + +Females do not enter upon a criminal career so early in life as +males;[29] in the year 1888, while 20 per cent. of the _male_ +population of our local prisons in England and Wales were under 21, +only 12 per cent. of the _female_ prison population were under that +age. On the other hand, women between 21 and 50, form a larger +proportion of the female prison population, than men between the same +ages do of the male prison population. The criminal age among women is +later in its commencement, and earlier in coming to a close than in +the case of men. It is later in commencing because of the greater care +and watchfulness exercised over girls than boys; but it is more +persistent while it lasts, because a plunge into crime is a more +irreparable thing in a woman than in a man. A woman's past has a far +worse effect on her future than a man's. She incurs a far graver +degree of odium from her own sex; it is much more difficult for her to +get into the way of earning an honest livelihood, and a woman who has +once been shut up within bolts and bars is much more likely to be +irretrievably lost than a man. If it is important to keep men as much +as possible out of prison, it is doubly necessary to keep out women; +but it is, at the same time, a much harder thing to accomplish. This +arises from the fact that the great bulk of female offenders enter the +criminal arena after the age of twenty-one, and can only be dealt with +by a sentence of imprisonment. If females began crime at an earlier +period of life, it would be possible to send them to Reformatories or +Industrial Schools, and a fair hope of ultimately saving them would +still remain; but as this is impossible with grown-up persons, prison +is the only alternative, and it is after imprisonment is over that a +woman begins to recognise the terrible social penalties it has +involved. + + [29] Ages and proportion per cent. of males and females committed + in 1889-90. + + Ages Males Females + + Under 12 years 0.2 0.0 + 12 years and under 16 3.1 1.1 + 16 years and under 21 17.5 10.7 + 21 years and under 30 28.4 31.4 + 30 years and under 40 23.9 28.6 + 40 years and under 50 14.2 17.5 + 50 years and under 60 6.4 6.8 + 60 years and above 6.2 3.8 + Age not ascertained 0.1 0.1 + +The proportion of offenders under sixteen years of age to the total +local prison population of England and Wales, has decreased in a +remarkable way within the last twenty or thirty years. The proportion +of offenders under sixteen committed to prison between 1857-66, +amounted to six and three-quarters per cent. of the prison population, +and if we go back behind that period it was higher still. In fact, +during the first quarter of the present century, the extent and +ramifications of juvenile crime had almost reduced statesmen to +despair. But the spread of the Reformatory system and the introduction +more recently of Industrial and Truant Schools for children who have +just drifted, or are fast drifting, into criminal courses, has had a +remarkable effect in diminishing the juvenile population of our +prisons. At the present time the proportion of juveniles under sixteen +to the rest of the local prison population is only a little over two +per cent. and it is not likely that it will ever reach a higher +figure. It might easily be reduced almost to zero if children destined +for Reformatories were sent off to these institutions at once, instead +of being detained for a month or so in prison till a suitable school +is found for them. Some persons object to the idea of sending children +to Reformatories at once, on the ground that to abolish the terror of +imprisonment from the youthful mind would embolden the juvenile +inclined to crime and lead him more readily to commit it. Others +object on the ground that it is only right the child should be +punished for his offence. In answer to the last objection, it may +pertinently be said that a sentence of three or four years to a +Reformatory is surely sufficient punishment for offences usually +committed by small boys. With regard to the first objection, our own +experience is that the ordinary juvenile is much more afraid of the +policeman than of the prison, and that the fear of being caught would +operate just as strongly upon him if he were sent straight to the +Reformatory as it does now. The evils connected with the present +system of sending children destined for Reformatories to prison are of +two kinds. At the present time many magistrates will not send children +to Reformatories who sorely need the restraints of such an +institution, because they know it involves a period of preliminary +imprisonment before they can get there. Secondly, it enables a lad to +know what the inside of a prison really is. On these two points let me +quote the words of an experienced magistrate. "I have many times," +said Mr. Whitwell, at the fourth Reformatory Conference, "when having +to deal with young people, felt it very desirable to send them to a +Reformatory, but have shrunk from it because we are obliged to send +them to prison first. I think it should be left to the discretion of +the magistrates and not made compulsory. I feel very strongly indeed +that it is most desirable to keep the child from knowing what the +inside of a prison is. Let them think it something awful to look +forward to. _When they have been in the prison they are of opinion +that it is not such a very bad place after all, and they are not +afraid of going there again_; but if they are sent to a Reformatory +and told that they will be sent to a prison if they do not reform, +they will think it an awful place." These are wise words. It is +impossible to make imprisonment such a severe discipline for children +as it is for grown-up men and women, and as it is not so severe, +children leave our gaols with a false impression on their minds. The +terror of being imprisoned has, to a large extent, departed; they +think they know the worst and cease to be much afraid of what the law +can do. Hence the fact that society has less chance of reclaiming a +child who has been imprisoned than it has of reclaiming one who has +not undergone that form of punishment although he has committed +precisely the same offence. In England, many authorities on +Reformatory Schools are strongly in favour of retaining preliminary +imprisonment for Reformatory children; in Scotland, experienced +opinion is decisively on the other side. On this point, the Scotch are +undoubtedly in the right. The working of prison systems, whether at +home or abroad, teaches us that any person, be he child or man, who +has once been in prison, is much more likely to come back than a +person who, for a similar offence, has received punishment in a +different form. The application of this principle to the case of +Reformatory children decisively settles the matter in favour of +sending such children to Reformatories at once. If this simple reform +were effected, the child population of our prisons would almost cease +to exist. In the year 1888, this population amounted to 239 for +England and Wales under the age of twelve, and 4,826 under the age of +sixteen, thus making a total of 5,065 or 2.9 per cent. of the whole +local prison population. + +In the preceding remarks on juvenile offenders under 16, it has been +pointed out that the great decrease in the numbers of such offenders +among the prison population is mainly owing to the development of +Industrial and Reformatory Schools. In order, therefore, to form an +accurate estimate of juvenile delinquency, we must look not merely at +the number of juveniles in prison; attention must also be directed to +the number of juveniles in Reformatory and Industrial Institutions. +Although these institutions are not places of imprisonment, yet they +are places of compulsory detention, and contain a very considerable +proportion of juvenile delinquents. All juveniles sent to +Reformatories have, indeed, been actually convicted of criminal +offences, and in 1888 the number of young people in the Reformatory +Schools of Great Britain (excluding Ireland) was in round numbers six +thousand (5,984). These must be added to the total juvenile prison +population in order to form a true conception of the extent of +juvenile crime. It is almost certain that if these young people were +not in Reformatories they would be in prisons, for, in almost the same +proportion as the Reformatory and Industrial School inmates have +increased, the juvenile prison population has decreased. + +To the population of the Reformatory Schools must also be added a +large percentage of the Industrial School population. Since the year +1864, the number of boys and girls in Industrial and Truant Schools +has gone on steadily increasing. In that year the inmates amounted to +1,608; twenty-four years afterwards, that is to say, in 1888, the +number of children in Great Britain in Industrial and Truant Schools +amounted to 21,426.[30] It is true that a considerable proportion of +these children were not sent to the schools on account of having +committed crime; at the same time it has to be remembered that nearly +all of them were on the way to it, and would in all probability have +become criminals had the State left them alone for a year or two +longer. At the time of their committal the children we are now dealing +with were either children who had been found begging, or who were +wandering about without a settled home, or who were found destitute, +or who had a parent in gaol, or who lived in the company of female +criminals, prostitutes, and thieves. Such children may not actually +have come within the clutches of the criminal law, but it is +sufficient to look for a moment at the surroundings they had lived in +to see that this was only a question of time. We must, therefore, add +those children, along with the Reformatory population, to the number +of juveniles in gaol if we wish to form a proper estimate of the +extent of juvenile delinquency. If this is done we arrive at the +conclusion that the criminal and semi-criminal juvenile population is +at the present time more than 25,000 strong in England and Wales +alone; if Scotland be included it is more than 30,000 strong. These +figures are enough to show that it is only compulsory detention in +State establishments which keeps down the numbers of juvenile +offenders; and there can be little doubt, if the inmates of these +institutions were let loose upon the country, juveniles would very +soon constitute seven, eight, or, perhaps, ten per cent. of the prison +population. + + [30] In 1889 there is a slight decrease. + +Let us now consider the case of young offenders between the ages of 16 +and 21. This is the most momentous for weal or woe of all periods of +life. During this stage, the transition from youth to manhood is +taking place; the habits then formed acquire a more enduring +character, and, in the majority of cases, determine the whole future +of the individual. If youths between the ages just mentioned could by +any possibility be prevented from embarking on a criminal career, the +drop in the criminal population would be far-reaching in its effects. +It is from the ranks of young people just entering early manhood that +a large proportion of the habitual criminal population is recruited; +and if this critical period of life can be tided over without repeated +acts of crime, there is much less likelihood of a young man +degenerating afterwards into a criminal of the professional class. It +is most important that the professional criminal class should be +diminished at a quicker rate than is the case at present; and, in +spite of police statistics to the contrary, it is a class which has +not become perceptibly smaller within the last twenty or five and +twenty years. A proof of this statement is to be seen in the fact that +offences against property with violence display a tendency to +increase, and it is offences of this nature which are pre-eminently +the work of the habitual criminal. It is a comparatively rare thing to +find a habitual criminal stop mid-way in his sinister career; the +accumulated impressions resulting from a life of crime have too +effectively succeeded in shaping his character and conduct, and he +persists, as a rule, in leading an anti-social life so long as he has +physical strength to do it. + +The only hope, therefore, of diminishing the habitual criminal +population, is to lessen the number of recruits; and as most of these +recruits are to be found among lads of between sixteen and twenty-one, +it is to these lads that serious attention must be directed. Every year +a certain proportion of youths ranging between these two ages shows a +pronounced disposition to enter permanently upon a criminal life by +repeatedly returning to prison. The deterrent effect of short sentences +has ceased to operate upon them, and all the symptoms are present that +a downright career of crime has begun. In such circumstances what is to +be done? A plan has been proposed by Mr. Lloyd Baker for dealing with +refractory and unmanageable Reformatory children, the substance of +which is to send them to another institution of a stricter character +than the ordinary Reformatory School, and which for want of a better +name he calls a Penal Reformatory. It is very probable that something +in the nature of a Penal Reformatory is just what is wanted to prevent +a youth on the downward road from finally swelling the proportions of +the professional criminal population. If Great Britain ever established +such institutions, she would then possess a graded set of organisations +for dealing with the young, which would cover the whole period of +youthful life. The Truant School would catch the child on the first +symptoms of waywardness, the Industrial School would arrest him +standing on the verge of crime, the Reformatory School would dual with +actual offenders against the law, and the Penal Reformatory would +grapple with habitual offenders under the age of manhood.[31] + + [31] Ages at which 507 offenders first began to commit crime-- + + Under 10 1.5 41 to 45 2.1 + 11 to 15 17.0 46 to 50 2.3 + 16 to 20 36.1 51 to 55 2.1 + 21 to 25 20.1 56 to 60 .8 + 26 to 30 7.1 61 to 65 .8 + 31 to 35 5.1 66 to 70 .2 + 36 to 40 3.6 + + Marro. _I Caratteri dei delinquente. Studio antropologico-sociologico_, + p. 356. + +After the age of manhood has been reached, and the main lines of +character are formed, punitive methods of dealing with criminal +offenders must assume a more prominent position, and the prison should +then take the place of the Reformatory. In youth the deterrent effects +of punishment are small, and the beneficial effects of reformative +measures are at their maximum. In manhood, on the other hand, this +condition of things is reversed, and the deterrent effects of +punishment exceed the beneficial effects of reformative influences. An +interesting example of the value of punishment for adults, as compared +with other methods, is given by Sir John Strachey in his account of +infanticide in certain parts of India. "For many years past," he says, +"measures have been taken in the North-West Provinces for the +prevention of this crime. For a long time, when our civilisation was +less belligerent than it has since become, it was thought that the best +hope of success lay in the removal of the causes which appeared to lead +to its commission, and especially in the prevention of extravagant +expenditure on marriages; but although these benevolent efforts were +undoubtedly useful, their practical results were not great, and it +gradually became clear that it was only by a stringent and organised +system of coercion that these practices would ever be eradicated. In +1870 an act of the legislature was passed which enabled the Government +to deal with the subject. A system of registration of births and deaths +among the suspected classes was established, with constant inspection +and enumeration of children; special police-officers were entertained +at the cost of the guilty communities, and no efforts were spared to +convince them that the Government had firmly resolved that it would put +down these practices, and would treat the people who followed them as +murderers. Although the time is, I fear, distant when preventive +measures will cease to be necessary, much progress has been made, and +there are now thousands of girls where formerly there were none. In the +Mainpuri district, where, as I have said, there was not many years ago +hardly a single Chauhan girl, nearly half of the Chauhan children at +the present time are girls; and it is hoped that three-fourths of the +villages have abandoned the practice."[32] + + [32] _India_ by Sir John Strachey, pp. 292-3. + +These facts speak for themselves and afford an incontestable proof of +the value of punishment as a remedial measure when other remedies have +failed.[33] In the re-action which is now in full force, and rightly +so, against the excessive punishments of past times, there is a marked +tendency among some minds to go to the opposite extreme, and an +attempt is being made to show that imprisonment has hardly any +curative effect at all. Its evils, and from the very nature of things +they are not a few, are almost exclusively elaborated and dwelt upon, +little attention being paid to the vast amount of good which +imprisonment alone is able to effect. It is possible that imprisonment +sends a few to utter perdition at a quicker pace than they would have +gone of their own accord, but on the other hand, it rescues many a man +before he has irrevocably committed himself to a life of crime. If it +fails the first time, it very often succeeds after the second or the +third, and no one is justified in saying imprisonment is worthless as +a reformative agency till it has failed at least three times. According +to the judicial statistics for England and Wales, imprisonment is +successful after the third time in about 80 per cent. of the cases +annually submitted to the criminal courts, and although it is a pity +that the percentage is not higher, yet it cannot fairly be said that +such results are an evidence of failure. The prison is unquestionably +a much less effective weapon for dealing with crime among Continental +peoples, and in the United States, than it has shown itself to be in +Great Britain; but this failure arises in the main from the laxity and +indulgence with which criminals are treated in foreign prisons. A +prison to possess any reformative value must always be made an +uncomfortable place to live in; Continental peoples and the people of +America have to a large extent lost sight of this fact; hence the +failure of their penal systems to stop the growth of the delinquent +population. If, however, imprisonment is not allowed to degenerate +into mere detention, it is bound to act as a powerful deterrent upon +grown-up offenders, and it is the only menace which will effectually +keep many of them within the law. The hope of reward and the fear of +punishment, or, in other words, love of pleasure, and dread of pain, +are the two most deeply seated instincts in the human breast; if Mr. +Darwin's theory be correct, it is through the operation of these +fundamental instincts that such a being as man has come into existence +at all. In any case these instincts have hitherto been the chief +ingredients of all human progress, the most effective spur to energy +of all kinds, and when properly utilised they are the most potent of +all deterrents to crime. Were it possible for the hand of social +justice to descend on every criminal with infallible certainty; were +it universally true that no crime could possibly escape punishment, +that every offence against society would inevitably and immediately be +visited on the offender, the tendency to commit crime would probably +become as rare as the tendency of an ordinary human being to thrust +his hand into the fire. The uncertainty of punishment is the great +bulwark of crime, and crime has a marvellous knack of diminishing in +proportion as this uncertainty decreases. No amelioration of the +material circumstances of the community can destroy all the causes of +crime, and till moral progress has reached a height hitherto attained +only by the elect of the race, one of the most efficient curbs upon +the criminally disposed will consist in increasing the probability of +punishment. + + [33] Cf. _Tarde Philosophie Penale_, p. 467. + +In proportion as the probability of being punished is augmented, the +severity of punishment can be safely diminished. This is one of the +paramount advantages to be derived from a highly efficient police +system. The barbarity of punishments in the Middle Ages is always +attributed by historians to the barbarous ideas of those rude times. +But this is only partially true; one important consideration is +overlooked. In the Middle Ages it was extremely difficult to catch the +criminal; in fact, it is only within the present century that an +organised system for effecting the capture of criminals has come into +existence. The result of the nebulous police system of past times was +that very few offenders were brought to justice at all, and society, +in order to prevent lawlessness from completely getting the upper +hand, was obliged to make a terrible example of all offenders coming +within its grasp. As soon, however, as it became less difficult to +arrest and convict lawless persons, the old severities of the criminal +code immediately began to fall into abeyance. Sentences were +shortened, punishments were mitigated, the death penalty was abolished +for almost all crimes except murder. But even now, the moment society +sees any form of crime showing a tendency to evade the vigilance of +the law, a cry is immediately raised for sterner measures of +repression against the perpetrators of that particular form of crime. +The Flogging Bill recently passed by Parliament is a case in point. +These instances afford a fairly accurate insight into the action of +society with regard to the punishment of crime. It punishes severely +when the criminal is seldom caught; it punishes more lightly when he +is often caught; and its punishments will become more mitigated still, +as soon as the probability of capture is made more complete. A +comparatively light sentence is in most cases a very effective +deterrent, when it is made almost a certainty, and all alterations in +the future in criminal administration should be in the direction of +making punishment more certain rather than more severe. Such efforts +are sure to be rewarded by a decrease in the amount of crime. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE CRIMINAL IN BODY AND MIND. + + +Has the criminal any bodily and mental characteristics which +differentiate him from the ordinary man? Does he differ from his +fellows in height and weight? Does he possess a peculiar conformation +of skull and brain? Is he anomalous in face and feature, in intellect, +in will, in feeling? Is he, in short, an individual separated from the +rest of humanity by any set or combination of qualities which clearly +mark him off as an abnormal being? As these matters are at present +exciting considerable attention, let us now look at the criminal from +a purely biological point of view. + +A good deal of diversity of opinion exists among competent authorities +respecting the stature of criminals. Lombroso says that Italian +criminals are above the average height; Knecht says German criminals +do not differ in this respect from other men; Marro says the stature +of criminals is variable; Thomson and Wilson say that criminals are +inferior in point of stature to the average man. Whatever may be the +case on the Continent, there can be little doubt that as far as the +United Kingdom is concerned, the height of the criminal class is lower +than that of the ordinary citizen. In Scotland the average height of +the ordinary population is (559) 67.30 inches; the average height of +the criminal population, as given by Dr. Bruce Thomson, is (324) 66.95 +inches. According to Dr. Beddoe, the average height of the London +artizan population is (318) 66.72 inches; the average height of the +London criminal (300) 54.70 inches; the average height of Liverpool +criminals, according to Danson, is (1117) 66.39 inches. Danson's +figures point to the fact that there is hardly any difference in +height between the criminal classes of Liverpool and the artizan +population of London It has, however, to be borne in mind that the +population of the North of England, being largely of Scandinavian +descent, is taller than the population of the South of England. The +height of Liverpool criminals should be compared with the average +height of the Scotch, to whom they are more nearly allied by race. If +this is done, it will be seen that they fall considerably short of the +normal stature. + +The difference between the height of the criminal population and that +of the most favoured classes is more remarkable still. According to +Dr. Roberts' tables, the average height of the latter is 69.06 inches; +the London criminal is only 64.70 inches. There is thus a difference +of from four to five inches between the most highly favoured classes +and the London criminal class. The difference between the criminal +class and the merely well-to-do is not quite so great. Selecting Mr. +Galton's Health Exhibition measurements as a test of the stature of +the well-to-do classes, the results come out as follows:--Health +Exhibition measurements, 67.9 inches; London criminals, 64.70 inches. +The criminal is thus between two and three inches inferior in height +to the well-to-do portion of the community. In fact, the height of the +London criminal is very nearly the same as that of the East-End Jew. +According to Mr. Jacobs, in a paper communicated to the Journal of the +Anthropological Institute, the average stature of the East-End Jew is +64.3 inches; his co-religionist in the West-End is 67.5 inches. We may +accordingly take it as the outcome of these measurements that the +criminal population of Great Britain is inferior in point of stature +to the ordinary population. + +From stature we shall pass to weight. Lombroso and Marro say that the +weight of Italian criminals is superior to the weight of the average +Italian citizen. On the other hand, the weight of London criminals is +almost the same as that of London artizans, but inferior to the weight +of the artizan population in the large English towns taken as a whole. +Average weight of London criminals (300) 136 pounds; average weight of +London artizan (318) 137 pounds; average weight of artizans in large +towns generally, 138 pounds. The London criminal is considerably +inferior in weight to the well-to-do classes, as will be seen from Mr. +Galton's Health Exhibition statistics. Average weight, Health +Exhibition, 143 pounds; average weight, most favoured class (Roberts), +152 pounds. These figures show that the criminal class in London is +seven pounds lighter than the well-to-do, and sixteen pounds lighter +than the most favoured section of the population. + +Hardly any investigations have been made in this country respecting +the skulls of criminals, and the inquiries of continental +investigators have so far led to very conflicting results. It is a +contention of Lombroso's that the skulls of criminals exhibit a larger +proportion of asymmetrical peculiarities than the skulls of other men. +On this point Lombroso is supported by Manouvrier. But Topinard, an +anthropologist of great eminence, is of the opposite opinion. He +carefully examined the same series of skulls as been examined by +Manouvrier--the skulls of murders--and he discovered no marked +difference between these and other skulls. Heger, a Belgian +anthropologist says that the skulls of delinquents do not differ from +the skulls of the race to which the delinquent belongs. In fact, till +more exactitude is introduced into the methods of skull measurement, +all deduction based upon an examination of the criminal skull must be +regarded as untrustworthy. A striking instance of this was witnessed +at the proceedings of the Paris Congress of Criminal Anthropology held +in 1889. When the skull of Charlotte Corday, who killed the +revolutionist Marat, was subjected to examination, Lombroso declared +that it was a truly criminal type of skull; Topinard, on the other +hand, gave it as his opinion that it was a typical female skull. On +this point Topinard was supported by Benedict.[34] As long as such +divergencies of view exist among anthropologists it is impossible to +place much stress upon inquiries relative to the conformation of the +criminal skull. Before a beginning can be made with inquiries of this +character, there must be some fundamental basis of agreement among +investigators as to what is to be accounted asymmetrical in skull +measurements and what is not. Even then it will have to be remembered, +before coming to conclusions, that no skull is perfectly +symmetrical--every one showing some variation from the ideal type. +When the extent of this variation has been absolutely demonstrated to +be greater in the case of criminals than among other sections of the +community, we shall then be approaching solid ground. At present we +must wait for further light before anything can be said with certainty +with respect to the criminal skull. + + [34] See _Revista Internacional de Anthropologia Criminal y + Ciencias Medico-Legales, Marzo e April de 1890_. + +Just as little is known at present about the brain of criminals as +about the skull. Some years ago Professor Benedict startled the world +by stating that he had discovered the seat of crime in the +convolutions of the brain. He found a certain number of anomalies in +the convolutions of the frontal lobes, and he came to the conclusion +that crime was connected with the existence of these anomalies. But he +had omitted to examine the frontal convolutions of honest people. When +this was done by other investigators, it was found that the brain +convolutions of normal men presented just as many anomalies, some +investigators (Dr. Giacomini) said even more than the brains of +criminals. According to Dr. Bardeleben, there is no such thing as a +normal type of brain. Weight of brain is a much simpler question than +brain type, but so far it is impossible to say whether the criminal +brain is heavier or lighter than the ordinary brain. The solution of +this comparatively simple point is beset by a certain number of +obstacles. It is not enough, Dr. Binswanger tells us, to weigh the +brains of criminals and the brains of ordinary persons and then strike +an average of the results. The height and weight of the persons whose +brains are averaged are essential to the formation of accurate +conclusions; till these important factors are taken into account, all +deductions based upon weight of brain only rest upon an unsure +foundation. + +But supposing we had a trustworthy body of facts bearing upon the +weight and structure of the criminal brain, we should still require to +know much more of brain functions in general before satisfactory +conclusions could be drawn from these facts. We know something, it is +true, of the physiological functions at certain cerebral regions, but +as yet nothing is known of the localisation of any particular mental +faculty, whether criminal or otherwise. A conclusive proof that the +study of the brain, as an organ of thought, is still in its infancy, +is found in the fact that the fundamental question is still unsolved, +whether the whole brain is to be considered one in all its parts, so +far as the performance of psychic functions is concerned, or whether +these functions are localised in certain definite centres. Till these +fundamental difficulties are cleared away, the presence of anomalies +in certain convolutions of the brain will not prove very much one way +or the other.[35] + + [35] A masterly article on the "Localisation of Brain Functions" + will be found in Wundt's _Philosophische Studien Sechster Band_, + 1. _Heft Zur Frage der Localisation der Grosshirnfunctionen_, + Von W. Wundt. Compare also _The Croonian Lectures on Cerebral + Localisation_, by David Ferrier. London: 1890. + +An examination of the criminal face has so far led to no definite and +assured results. In the imagination of artists the criminal is almost +always credited with the possession of a retreating forehead. As a +matter of fact, Dr. Marro, one of the most eminent representatives of +the anthropological school, assures us that this is not the case. +After comparing the foreheads of 539 delinquents with the foreheads of +100 ordinary men, he found that criminals had a smaller percentage of +retreating foreheads than the average man.[36] He also found that +projecting eyebrows, another trait which is supposed to be a criminal +peculiarity, were almost as common among ordinary people as among +offenders against the law. Projecting ears is another peculiarity +which is often associated with the idea of a criminal. But Dr. Lannois +states that after a careful examination of the ears of 43 young +offenders, he found them as free from anomalies as the ears of other +people.[37] + + [36] Marro, _I Caratteri dei Delinquenti_, p. 157. + + [37] _Archives d'anthropologie criminelle Livraison_, 10. + +As it is the Italians who have studied these matters most exhaustively, +it is mainly to them we must go for information. In a little book on +the skeleton and the form of the nose, Dr. Salvator Ottolenghi comes to +the somewhat curious result that the bones of the criminal nose offer +many anomalies of a pre-human or bestial character; but the nose itself +is straight and long, or, in other words, just as highly developed as +the noses of ordinary men. Careful inquiries have been undertaken by +criminal anthropologists into the colour of the hair, the length of the +arms, the colour of the skin, tattooing, sensitiveness to pain among +the criminal population, but these laborious investigations have so +far led to few solid conclusions. According to Lombroso, insensibility +to pain is a marked characteristic of the typical criminal.[38] +"Individuals," he says, "who possess this quality consider themselves +as privileged, and they despise delicate and sensitive persons. It is a +pleasure to such hardened men to torment others whom they look upon as +inferior beings." On this point M. Joly is at variance with Lombroso. +"I asked," he says, "at the central hospital, the Sante, where all +persons who become seriously ill in the prisons of the Seine are looked +after, if this disvulnerability had ever been noticed. I was told that +far from that, prisoners were always found very sensitive to pain ... +Honest people, industrious workmen, the fathers of families treated at +the Charite or the Hotel-Dieu (Paris hospitals), undergo operations +with much more fortitude than the sick prisoners of the Sante."[39] On +this point, therefore, as on so many others, we are still without a +sufficient body of evidence, and must, meanwhile, suspend our judgment. + + [38] _L'Homme Criminel_, 324. + + [39] _Le Crime_, 193. + +Let us now consider the criminal's physiognomy. In this connection it +must be borne in mind that a prolonged period of imprisonment will +change the face of any man, whether he is a criminal or not. Political +offenders who have undergone a sentence of penal servitude, and who may +be men of the highest character, acquire the prison look and never +altogether get rid of it. If a man spends a certain number of years +sharing the life, the food, the occupations of five or six hundred +other men, if he mixes with them and with no one else, he will +inevitably come to resemble them in face and feature. A remarkable +illustration of this fact has recently been brought to light by the +Photographic Society of Geneva. "From photographs of seventy-eight old +couples, and of as many adult brothers and sisters, it was found that +twenty-four of the former resembled each other much more strongly than +as many of the latter who were thought most like one another."[40] It +would, therefore, seem that the action of unconscious imitation, +arising from constant contact, is capable of producing a remarkable +change in the features, the acquired expression frequently tending to +obliterate inherited family resemblances. According to Piderit, +physiognomy is to be considered as a mimetic expression which has +become habitual. The criminal type of face, so conspicuous in old +offenders, is in many cases merely a prison type; it is not congenital; +men who do not originally have it almost always acquire it after a +prolonged period of penal servitude. + + [40] _Daily News_, June 12, 1890. + +But apart from the prison type of countenance, it is highly probable +that a distinct criminal type also exists. Certain professions +generate distinctive castes of feature, as, for instance, the Army and +the Church. This distinctiveness is not confined to features alone, it +diffuses itself over the whole man; it is observable in manner, in +gesture, in bearing, in demeanour, and is constantly breaking out in a +variety of unexpected ways. In like manner the habitual criminal +acquires the habits of his class. Crime is his profession; it is also +the profession of all his associates. The constant practice of this +profession results in the acquisition of a certain demeanour, a +certain aspect, gait, and general appearance, in many instances too +subtle to define, but, at the same time, plain and palpable to an +expert. + +The slang of criminals is also explicable on the same principle. Every +trade and calling has its technical terms. The meaning of these terms +is hidden from the rest of the world, but the origin of their +existence is not difficult to explain. The jargon of the criminal +arises from the same causes and is constructed on exactly the same +principles as the technical words and phrases of the man of science. +When a man of science is compelled to make frequent use of a phrase, +he generally gets rid of it by inventing some technical word; it is +precisely the same with criminals. With them technical words are used +instead of phrases, and short words instead of long ones in all +matters where criminal interests are intimately concerned, and on all +topics which are habitually the subjects of conversation among the +criminal classes. The language of the Stock Exchange with its Bulls, +Bears, Contangos, and other short and comprehensive expressions for +various kinds of stocks, is on all fours with the slang of criminals, +and it is not necessary to resort to atavism in order to explain it. +It arises to supply professional needs, and criminal argot springs up +from exactly the same cause. + +Summing up our inquiries respecting the criminal type we arrive, in +the first place, at the general conclusion, that so far as it has a +real existence it is not born with a man, but originates either in the +prison, and is then merely a prison type, or in criminal habits of +life, and is then a truly criminal type. As a matter of fact, the two +types are in most cases blended together, the prison type with its +hard, impassive rigidity of feature being superadded to the gait, +gesture and demeanour of the habitual criminal. In combination these +two types form a professional type and constitute what Dr. Bruce +Thomson[41] has called "a physique distinctly characteristic of the +criminal class." It is not, however, a type which admits of accurate +description, and its practical utility is impaired by the fact that +certain of its features are sometimes visible in men who have never +been convicted of crime. The position of the case, with respect to the +criminal type, may be best described by saying that an experienced +detective officer will be sure in nine cases out of ten that he has +got hold of a criminal by profession, but in the tenth case he will +probably make a mistake. In other words, face, manner and demeanor are +no infallible index of character or habits of life. + + [41] _Journal of Mental Science_, vol. xvi. + +When crime is not an inherited taint, but merely an acquired habit, +this fact has an important practical bearing upon the proper method of +dealing with it. Acquired habits, we are now being taught by Professor +Weismann, are incapable of being transmitted to posterity, and Mr. +Galton is of the same opinion.[42] This is not the place to elaborate +the theory of inheritance, as understood by those writers; its +essence, however, is that we only inherit the natural faculties of our +forebears, and not those faculties which they have acquired by +practice and experience. The son of a rope-dancer does not inherit his +father's faculties for rope-dancing, nor the son of an orator his +father's ready aptitude for public speech, nor the son of a designer +his father's acquired skill in the making of designs. All that the son +inherits is the natural faculties of the parent, but no more. Hence it +follows that the son of a thief, on the supposition that thieving +comes by habit and practice, does not by natural inheritance acquire +the parent's criminal propensity. As far as his natural faculties are +concerned he starts life free from the vicious habits of his parent, +and should he in turn become a thief, as sometimes happens, it is not +because he has inherited his father's thievish habits, but because he +has himself acquired them. It is imitation, not instinct, which +transforms him into a thief; and if he is removed from the influence +of evil example he will have almost as small a chance of falling into +a criminal life as any other member of the community. It will not be +quite so small, because no public institution, however well conducted, +can ever exercise so moralising an effect as a good home, but it will +be much smaller than if he grew up to maturity under the pernicious +surroundings of a criminal home. + + [42] _Die Continuitaet des Keimplasma als Grundlage einer Theorie + der Vererbung_. A. Weismann. Jena, 1885. _Natural Inheritance_. + F. Galton. + +If we do not inherit the acquired faculties and habits of our parents, +it is unfortunately too true that we inherit their diseases and the +connection between disease and crime is a fact which cannot be denied. +In many cases it is perfectly true that persons suffering from disease +or physical degeneracy do not become criminals, in most cases they do +not; at the same time a larger proportion of such persons fall into a +lawless life than is the case with people who are free from inherited +infirmities. The undoubted tendency of physical infirmity is to +disturb the temper, to weaken the will, and generally to disorganise +the mental equilibrium. Such a tendency, when it becomes very +pronounced, leads its unhappy possessor to perpetrate offenses against +his fellow-men, or, in other words, to commit crime. In a recent +communication to a German periodical, Herr Sichart, director of +prisons in the kingdom of Wurtemburg, has shown that a very high +percentage of criminals are the descendants of degenerate parents. +Herr Sichart's inquiries extended over several years and included +1,714 prisoners. Of this number 16 per cent. were descended from +drunken parents; 6 per cent. from families in which there was madness; +4 per cent. from families addicted to suicide; 1 per cent. from +families in which there was epilepsy. In all, 27 per cent. of the +offenders, examined by Herr Sichart were descended from families in +which there was degeneracy. According to these figures more than one +fourth of the German prison population have received a defective +organisation from their ancestry, which manifests itself in a life of +crime. + +In France and Italy the same state of things prevails. Dr. Corre is of +opinion that a very large proportion of persons convicted of bad +conduct in the French military service are distinctly degenerate +either in body or mind. Dr. Virgilio says that in Italy 32 per cent. +of the criminal population have inherited criminal tendencies from +their parents. In England there is no direct means of testing the +amount of degeneracy among the criminal classes, but, in all +likelihood, it is quite as great as elsewhere. According to the report +of the Medical Inspector of convict prisons for 1888-9, the annual +number of deaths from natural causes, among the convict population, is +from 10 to 12 per 1000. Let us compare those figures with the death +rate of the general population as recorded in the Registrar-General's +report for 1888. The annual death rate from all causes of the general +population, between the ages of 15 and 45, is about 7 per 1000. I have +selected the period of life between 15 and 45 for the reason that it +corresponds most closely with the average age of criminals. If deaths +from accident are excluded from the mortality returns of the general +population, it will be found that the rate of mortality among +criminals, in convict prisons, is from one third to one half higher +than the rate of mortality among the rest of the community of a +similar age. If the rate of mortality of the criminal population is so +high inside convict prisons, where the health of the inmates is so +carefully attended to, what must it be among the criminal classes when +in a state of liberty? Independently of the premature deaths brought +on by irregularity of life, it is certain that a high proportion of +criminals bear within them the seeds of inherited disorders, and it is +these disorders which largely account for the high rate of mortality +amongst them when in prison. + +The high percentage of disease and degeneracy among the English +criminal population may be seen in other ways. The population in the +local gaols in 1888-9, between the ages of 21 and 40, constituted 54 +per cent. of the total prison population, whilst the same class between +the ages of 40 and CO formed only 20 per cent. of the prison +population. One half of this drop in the percentage of prisoners +between 40 and 60 may be accounted for by the decreased percentage of +persons between these two ages in the general population. The other +half can only be accounted for by the extent to which premature decay +and death rage among criminals who have passed their fortieth year. In +other words, the number of criminals alive after forty is much smaller +than the number of normal men alive after that age. + +A direct proof of the extent of degeneracy in the shape of insanity +among persons convicted of murder can be found in the Judicial +Statistics. The number of persons convicted of wilful murder, not +including manslaughter or non-capital homicides, from 1879 to 1888 +amounted to 441. Out of this total 143 or 32 per cent. were found +insane. Of the 299 condemned to death, no less than 145, or nearly one +half, had their sentences commuted, many of them on the ground of +mental infirmity. The whole of these figures decisively prove that +between 40 and 50 per cent. of the convictions for wilful murder are +cases in which the murderers were either insane or mentally infirm. +Murder cases are almost the only ones respecting which the antecedents +of the offender are seriously inquired into. But when this inquiry +does take place the vast amount of degeneracy among criminals at once +becomes apparent. + +Passing from the mental condition of murderers, let us now take into +consideration the mental state of criminals generally. Beginning with +the senses, it may be said that very little stress can be laid on the +experiments conducted by the Anthropological School as to +peculiarities in the sense of smell, taste, sight, and so on, +discovered among criminals. In all these inquiries it is so easy for +the subject to deceive the investigator, and he has often so direct an +interest in doing it that all results in this department must be +accepted with the utmost caution. Wherever investigations necessitate +the acceptance upon trust of statements made by criminals, their +scientific value descends to the lowest level. As this must be largely +the case with respect to the senses of hearing, taste, smell, etc., it +is almost impossible to reach assured conclusions. + +It is different in inquiries respecting the intellect. Here the +investigator is able to judge for himself. According to Dr. Ogle, 86.5 +per cent. of the general population were able to read and write in the +years 1881-4, and as this represents an increase of 10 per cent. since +the passing of the Elementary Education Act, it is probably not far +from the mark to say that at the present time almost 90 per cent. of +the English population can read and write. In other words, only 10 +per cent. of the population is wholly ignorant. In the local prisons +on the other hand, no less than 25 per cent. of the prisoners can +neither read nor write, and 72 per cent. can only read or read and +write imperfectly. The vast difference in the proportion of +uninstructed among the prison, as compared with the general +population, is not to be explained by the defective early training of +the former. This explanation only covers a portion of the ground: the +other portion is covered by the fact that a certain number of +criminals are almost incapable of acquiring instruction. The memory +and the reasoning powers of such persons are so utterly feeble that +attempts to school them is a waste of time.[43] Deficiencies in +memory, imagination, reason, are three undoubted characteristics of +the ordinary criminal intellect. Of course, there are very many +criminals in which all these qualities are present, and whose defects +lie in another direction, but taken as a whole the criminal is +unquestionably less gifted intellectually than the rest of the +community. + +Respecting the emotions of criminals, it is much more difficult to +speak, and much more easy to fall into error. The only thing that can +be said of them for certain, is, that they do not, as a rule, possess +the same keenness of feeling as the ordinary man. Some Italian writers +make much of the religiosity of delinquents; such a sentiment may be +common among offenders in Italy; it is certainly rare among the same +class in Great Britain. The cellular system puts an effective stop to +any thing like active hostility to religion; but it is a mistake to +argue from this that the criminal is addicted to the exercise of +religious sentiments. The family sentiment is also feebly developed; +the exceptions to this rule form a small fraction of the criminal +population. + + [43] In Christiania the number of children who cannot learn + amounts in the elementary schools to 4 per 1000. See _Reformatory + and Refuge Journal_ for August, 1890. + +The will in criminals, when it is not impaired by disease, is, in the +main, dominated by a boundless egoism. Let us first consider those +whose wills are impaired by disease. Among drunkards and the +degenerate generally the power of sustained volition is often as good +as gone. Nothing can be more pitiful or hopeless than the position of +wretched beings in a condition such as this. Often animated by good +resolutions, often anxious to do what is right, often possessing a +sense of moral responsibility, these unhappy creatures plunge again +and again into vice and crime. In some cases of this description the +will is practically annihilated; in others it is under the dominion of +momentary caprice; in others again it has no power of concentration, +or it is the victim of sudden hurricanes of feeling which drive +everything before them. Persons afflicted in this way, when not +drunkards, are generally convicted for crimes of violence, such as +assault, manslaughter, murder. They experience real sentiments of +remorse, but neither remorse nor penitence enables them to grapple +with their evil star. The will is stricken with disease, and the man +is dashed hither and thither, a helpless wreck on the sea of life.[44] + + [44] Cf. Ribot, _Les Maladies de la Volonte_, 1887. + +Let us now consider the class of criminals whose wills are not +diseased, but are, on the other hand, dominated by a boundless egoism. +Of such criminals it may be said that there is no essential difference +between them and immoral men. Egoism, selfishness, a lack of +consideration for the rights and feelings of others, are the dominant +principles in the life of both. The dividing line between the two +types consists in this, that the egoism of the immoral man is bounded +by the criminal law; but the egoism of the criminal is bounded by no +law either without him or within. It does not follow from this that +the criminal is without a sense of duty or a dread of legal +punishment. In most cases he possesses both in a more or less +developed form. But his immense egoism so completely overpowers both +his sense of duty and his fear of punishment that it demands +gratification at whatever cost. He sees what he ought to do; he knows +how he ought to act; he is perfectly alive to the consequences of +transgression, but these motives are not strong enough to induce him +to alter his ways of life. + +On summing up the results of this inquiry into criminal biology we +arrive at the following conclusions. In the first place, it cannot be +proved that the criminal has any distinct physical conformation, +whether anatomical or morphological; and, in the second place, it +cannot be proved that there is any inevitable alliance between +anomalies of physical structure and a criminal mode of life. But it +can be shown that criminals, taken as a whole, exhibit a higher +proportion of physical anomalies, and a higher percentage of physical +degeneracy than the rest of the community. With respect to the mental +condition of criminals, it cannot be established that it is, on the +whole, a condition of insanity, or even verging on insanity. But it +can be established that the bulk of the criminal classes are of a +humbly developed mental organisation. Whether we call this low state +of mental development, atavism, or degeneracy is, to a large extent, a +matter of words; the fact of its wide-spread existence among criminals +is the important point. + +The results of this inquiry also show that degeneracy among criminals +is sometimes inherited and sometimes acquired. It is inherited when +the criminal is descended from insane, drunken, epileptic, scrofulous +parents; it is often acquired when the criminal adopts and +deliberately persists in a life of crime. The closeness of the +connection between degeneracy and crime is, to a considerable extent, +determined by social conditions. A degenerate person, who has to earn +his own livelihood, is much more likely to become a criminal than +another degenerate person who has not. Almost all forms of degeneracy +render a man more or less unsuited for the common work of life; it is +not easy for such a man to obtain employment; in certain forms of +degeneracy it becomes almost impossible. A person in this unfortunate +position often becomes a criminal, not because he has strong +anti-social instincts, but because he cannot get work. Physically, he +is unfit for work, and he takes to crime as an alternative. + +Another important result is the close connection between madness and +crimes of blood. We have seen that almost one third of the cases of +conviction for wilful murder are cases in which the murderer is found +to be insane. And this does not represent the full proportion of +murderers afflicted mentally; a considerable percentage of those +sentenced to death have this sentence commuted on mental grounds. In +Germany, from 26 to 28 per cent. of criminals suffering from mental +weakness escape the observation of the court in this important +particular, and the same state of things unquestionably exists in the +United Kingdom. The actual percentage of criminals who suffer from +mental disorders in the prisons of Europe is probably much greater +than is generally supposed. At the present time a knowledge of +insanity is no part of the ordinary medical curriculum. "With respect +to this malady the great majority of medical men are themselves in the +position of laymen. They have not studied it. It was not included in +their examinations."[45] Till this state of things is altered we shall +never exactly know the intimacy of the connection between nervous +disorders and crime. + + [45] _Sanity and Insanity_. C. Mercier, p. XII. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE PUNISHMENT OF CRIME. + + +In a previous chapter the deterrent action of punishment on the +criminal population has been pointed out. It now remains for us to +consider the nature of punishment, and the methods by which punishment +should be carried out. What is punishment as applied to crime? +According to Kant it is an act of retribution; it consists in +inflicting upon the criminal the same injury as he has inflicted on +his victim. It is an application by society of the principle of "jus +talionis." Such a definition of punishment does not harmonise with the +facts. We cannot punish the slanderer by slandering him in turn; and +in punishing the murderer, it is impossible to torture him in the same +way as he has probably tortured his victim. According to the theory of +retribution, punishment becomes an end in itself; it is quite +unrelated to the benefits it may confer on the person who is punished, +or on the community which punishes him. + +The difficulties surrounding the theory of retribution have led to +other definitions of punishment. Punishment, it is said, is not +inflicted on the offender as a retribution for his misdeeds, it is +inflicted for the purpose of protecting society against its enemies. +Such a view leaves moral considerations entirely out of account; it +leaves no room for the just indignation of the public at the spectacle +of crime. It is defective in other ways. For instance, a criminal has +a particular animosity against some single individual; it may be he +murders this person, or does him grievous bodily harm. Such an +offender has no similar animosity against any one else; as far as the +rest of the community is concerned he is perfectly harmless. On the +supposition that punishment is only intended to protect society +against the criminal, a man of this description would escape +punishment altogether. Or supposing a man (and this often happens), +after committing some serious crime for which he is sent to penal +servitude, sincerely and bitterly repented of it, and would be, if +released, a perfectly harmless member of the community, such a man, +according to the theory we are now discussing, should be released at +once. The certainty that the public conscience would tolerate no such +step shows that punishment has a wider object than the mere attainment +of social security. + +Punishment is only a means say some; its real end is the reformation +of the offender. The practical application of such a principle would +lead to very astonishing results. It is perfectly well known that +there is no more incorrigible set of offenders than habitual vagrants +and drunkards. And on the other hand, the most easily reformed of all +offenders is often some person who has committed a serious crime under +circumstances which could not possibly recur. According to the theory +that reformation is the only end of punishment, petty offenders would +be shut up all their lives, while the perpetrator of a grave crime +would soon be set free. An absurd result of this kind is fatal to the +pretention that punishment is merely a means and not also an end. + +Is it the end of punishment to act as a deterrent? We are often told +from the judicial bench that a man receives a certain sentence as a +warning and example to others. If such is the end of punishment it +lamentably fails in its purpose, for in a number of cases it neither +deters the offender nor the class from which the offender springs. It +was under the influence of this idea that criminals used to be hanged +in public, but experience failed to show that these ghastly +exhibitions had much deterrent effect on the community. Besides, it is +rather ridiculous to say, I do not punish you for the crime you have +committed, I punish you as a warning to others. In these circumstances +the effect of punishment is not to be upon the person punished, but +upon a third party who has not fallen into crime. Unless the +punishment is just in itself, society has no right to inflict it in +the hope of scaring others from criminal courses. Justice administered +in this spirit, turns the convicted offender into a whipping boy; the +punishment ceases to be related to the offence, and is merely related +to the effect it will have on a certain circle of spectators. + +In our view, punishment ought to be regarded as at once an expiation +and a discipline, or, in other words, an expiatory discipline. This +definition includes all that is valuable in the theories just +reviewed, and excludes all that is imperfect in them. The criminal is +an offender against the fundamental order of society in somewhat the +same way as a disobedient child is an offender against the centre of +authority in the home or the school. The punishment inflicted on the +child may take the form of revenge, or it may take the form of +retribution, or it may take the form of deterrence, but it undoubtedly +takes its highest form when it combines expiation with discipline. +Punishment of this nature still remains punitive as it ought to do, +but it is at the same time a kind of punishment from which something +may be learned. It does not merely consist in inflicting pain, +although the presence of this element is essential to its efficacy; it +consists rather in inflicting pain in such a way as will tend to +discipline and reform the character. Such a conception of punishment +excludes the barbarous element of vengeance; it is based upon the +civilised ideas of justice and humanity, or rather upon the sentiment +of justice alone, for justice is never truly just except when its +tendency is also to humanise. + + "Sine caritate justicia + Vindicationi similis." + +From the theory of punishment let us now turn to its methods. The most +severe of these is the penalty of death. A great deal has been said +and written both for and against the retention of this form of +punishment. To set forth the arguments on both sides in a fair and +adequate manner would require a volume; it must, therefore, suffice to +say that in the field of controversy the contest between the opposing +parties is a fairly even one. In fact, looking at the matter from a +purely polemical point of view, the advocates of the death penalty +have probably the best of it. It has, however, to be remembered that +such questions are not solved by battalions of abstract arguments, but +by the slow, silent, invisible action of public sentiment. The way in +which this impalpable sentiment is moving on the question of the death +penalty may be seen, first, in the manner in which crime after crime +during the present century has been excluded from the supreme sentence +of the law, and secondly, in the steady diminution of capital +executions throughout the civilised world. If the present drift of +feeling continues for another generation or two it is not at all +improbable, in spite of temporary reactions here and there, that the +question of capital punishment will have solved itself. + +Another form of punishment is transportation. As far as Great Britain +is concerned, transportation possesses only a historic interest. No +one is now sent out of the country for offences against the law. +Experience showed that penal colonies were a failure, and that the +truly criminal could be more effectively dealt with at home. Within +recent years the French have resorted to the system of transportation; +but, according to several eminent French authorities, the penal +settlement in New Caledonia is hardly justifying the anticipations of +its founders. + +Penal servitude has taken the place of transportation in Great +Britain. Every person sentenced to a term of five years and over +undergoes what is called penal servitude. The sentence is divided into +three stages. In the first stage the offender passes nine months of +his sentence in one of the local prisons in solitary confinement. In +the next stage he is allowed to work in association with other +prisoners; and in the last stage he is conditionally released before +his sentence has actually expired. If a prisoner conducts himself +well, if he shows that he is industrious, he will be released at the +expiration of about three fourths of his sentence. If, on the other +hand, he is idle and ill-conducted, he will have to serve the full +term. + +During the first nine months of his confinement the convict sentenced +to penal servitude is treated in exactly the same way as a person +sentenced to a month's imprisonment; the only difference being that he +is provided with better food. During the period of detention in a +Public Work's Prison the convict may, if well-conducted, pass through +five progressive stages; each of these stages confers some privileges +which the one below it does not possess. The first stage of all is +called the Probation Class. In this, as well as in every succeeding +class, a man's industry is measured by a process called the Mark +system. This system is somewhat similar to the method adopted for +rewarding industry in our public schools. In those schools a boy's +diligence is recognised by his receiving so many marks per day, and he +would be an ideal pupil who received the maximum number of marks. In +convict prisons, on the other hand, the maximum number of marks, which +is eight per day, can easily be earned by any person willing to do an +average day's work. If a convict earns the maximum number of marks per +day for three months he is promoted at the end of that time out of the +Probation Class into a higher stage called the Third Class. He must +remain in the third class for at least a year; while in this class he +is permitted to receive a visit and to write and receive a letter +every six months. He is also rewarded at the rate of a penny for every +20 marks, which enables him to earn twelve shillings in the course of +the year. + +After the expiration of one year in the Third Class the prisoner, if +he has regularly earned eight marks a day, is advanced to the Second +Class. In this stage he can receive a visit and write and receive a +letter every four months. He is allowed a little choice in the +selection of his breakfast; the value attached to his marks is also +increased, and he is able in the Second Class to earn 18 shillings a +year. At the termination of a year, if a prisoner continues his habits +of industry, he is promoted to the First Class. Persons whose +education is defective are not permitted to enter the First Class, +unless they have also made progress in schooling. In the First Class a +man is allowed to receive a visit and to write and receive a letter +every three months. He is also given additional privileges in the +choice of food. In the First Class he can earn 30 shillings a year. + +Above the First Class is a Special Class composed of men whose conduct +has been specially exemplary. Men may be admitted into this class 12 +months before their liberation; they may also be placed in positions +of trust and responsibility in connection with the prison, and are +able to earn a gratuity amounting to six pounds. Such men are, as a +matter of course, liberated at the expiration of three fourths of +their sentence, which means that a term of five years' penal servitude +is reduced to somewhat under four years. + +For female convicts all these rules are modified and mitigated. +Isolation is not so strictly enforced; a female may be liberated at +the expiration of two thirds of her sentence; she may also earn four +pounds instead of three, which is the highest sum men can receive, +except the limited number in the Special Class. Corresponding to the +Special Class of male convicts, there is among the females what is +called a Refuge Class. Well-conducted women undergoing their first +term of penal servitude are placed in this class, and nine months +before the date on which they are due for discharge on ordinary +licence, that is to say, nine months before they have finished two +thirds of their sentence, they are released from prison and placed in +some Home for females. Two Homes which receive prisoners of this class +are the Elizabeth Fry Refuge and the London Preventive and Reformatory +Institution. These Homes receive ten shillings a week for the care of +each inmate confided to them by the State, and the time spent there is +used as a gradual course of preparation for the re-entrance of these +unfortunate people into ordinary life. According to this method +females, after a prolonged period of imprisonment, are not thrown all +of a sudden upon the world; they re-enter it by slow and imperceptible +stages, and are thus enabled to commence life afresh under hopeful and +salutary conditions. + +Male convicts on their release from penal servitude are, if they +desire it, assisted to obtain employment by Discharged Prisoners' Aid +Societies. The way in which assistance is rendered by the Royal +Society, Charing Cross, which may be considered as a type of most of +these societies, is as follows:-- + +"The convicts on their discharge are accompanied to the office of the +Society by a warder in plain clothes. They are there received by the +Secretary and the member of the Committee who, according to a fixed +rota, attends daily for this purpose. The first step is to give them a +plentiful breakfast of white bread, bacon and hot coffee. When this is +finished they are invited to come forward and state their hopes and +intentions as to the future. Full particulars of the nature of the +crime, the sentence, and the antecedents of the convict have been +previously received from the prison, and this information is, of +course, of the greatest value as a guide to dealing with the +particular case. After friendly discussion with the convict at one or +more interviews, and further inquiry, if need be, by the officers of +the Society, the course to be taken in each case is decided upon and +carried out as soon as possible, either by the officers of the Society +or through other agency. In cases of emigration and other cases where +it is advisable, the gratuities received from Government are +supplemented by donations from the funds of the Society; and, if not +already supplied by the prison authorities, a respectable suit of +clothes of a character fitted for the work on which the recipient is +to be employed is provided. + +"The cases of men or women who elect to remain in or near the +Metropolis are usually dealt with directly by members of the Committee +and officers of the Society; others prefer to seek work for +themselves; but, meanwhile, respectable lodgings are provided till +work is obtained. Others who prefer a sea life are sent to the care of +agents until ships can be found for them--a few selected cases are +sent abroad." In the case of persons proceeding to seek work at a +distance from London, the Royal Society communicates with Discharged +Prisoners' Aid Societies in the country, and these Societies take such +cases in hand. + +Another admirable Society for dealing with discharged convicts is the +St Giles' Mission, Brook St. Holborn. This Society provides a home for +the person whose sentence has expired; it is managed by a man (Mr. +Wheatley) possessed of an unsurpassed knowledge of the work; and it is +year by year rendering effective service to the convict population. +Some idea of the work accomplished by Societies such as those just +mentioned may be gathered from the fact that about two thirds of the +discharged convicts are annually passing through their hands; the +other third declining or not requiring assistance by such methods. +What is wanted to perfect the working of the institutions we are now +describing is increased public support; even now the Royal Society was +able to state in one of its reports, "that no discharged convict, who +is physically capable and willing to work, has any excuse for +relapsing into crime." + +This brief sketch of the manner in which a sentence of penal servitude +is carried into effect will afford some idea of the nature of this +method of punishment. We shall now proceed to describe another mode of +dealing with offenders against the fundamental order of society. In +addition to convict establishments there exists throughout the United +Kingdom a large number of places of confinement called Local Prisons. +In England and Wales there are about sixty Local Prisons; in Scotland +there are about twenty; in Ireland there are about eighteen. In +Scotland and Ireland persons sentenced to a few days' imprisonment are +often confined in police cells, in England all convicted offenders +serve their sentence, however short, in a regular Local Prison. + +Before 1877 the Local Prisons of England and Scotland were under the +control and administration of the County Magistrates, and almost every +county had then its own prison. One of the chief defects of this +system was the multiplication of prisons; one of its chief virtues was +that local power kept alive local interest in a way which is +impossible with highly centralised machinery. Where prisons are small +and numerous, as was to some extent the case under the old system, it +is difficult to conduct them so economically; on the other hand, the +herding of great masses of criminals together in huge establishments +is not without corresponding evils. It is now being pointed out by +specialists on the Continent and in America that huge prisons destroy +the individuality of the prisoner; his own personality is lost amid +the hundreds who surround him; he sinks into the position of a mere +unit, and is obliged to be treated as such by the officials in charge +of him. Under such a system it becomes almost impossible to +individualise prisoners; there is no time for it; as a result, the +influence of reformative agencies descends to a minimum and only the +punitive side of justice comes home to the offender. At one time the +value of Reformatory Schools was seriously impaired by herding too +many lads together under one roof; it is now seen that the success of +these institutions is marred by making them too large; it is accepted +as an established maxim that the smaller the school the better the +results. The same principle holds true with respect to prisons. + +When the County Magistrates were deprived of their powers by the last +government of Lord Beaconsfield, these powers were in England vested +in the Home Secretary; in Scotland they were latterly vested in the +Secretary for Scotland; in Ireland they are vested in the Chief +Secretary. Under each of these Parliamentary heads there is a body +called the Prison Commissioners or Prison Board. These Commissioners +are centred in London for England; in Edinburgh for Scotland; in +Dublin for Ireland. Under them is a body of Prison Inspectors, and +last of all there comes the actual working staff of the Local Prisons, +consisting of warders, schoolmasters, clerks, governors, chaplains, +and doctors. + +Wherein does the Local Prison system as worked by this staff differ +from the system in operation in convict prisons? Perhaps the +difference will be best expressed by saying that work in association +is the centre of the convict system, while work in solitude is the +central idea of the Local Prison system. This definition is not +absolutely correct, for convicts, as we have seen, are subjected to +nine months' solitary confinement at the outset of their sentence, and +in some Local Prisons a certain amount of work in common is performed, +but, taken as a whole, work in common is the central principle of the +one; work in solitude the central principle of the other. + +Work in solitude means that the prisoner is shut up in an apartment by +himself which is called his cell. Each cell is provided with an +adequate supply of air and light, and is heated in the winter up to a +sufficiently high temperature for health and comfort. The cell +contains a bed and other personal requisites; it also contains a copy +of the prison rules. Before the prisoner is finally allocated to a +certain cell he is seen by all the superior officers of the prison. +His state of health is inquired into, so as to determine the nature of +his work, and if he is not too old to learn, and has received a +sentence of sufficient length to make it worth while instructing him, +his educational capabilities are specially tested. The seclusion of +the cell is varied by a short service in the prison chapel every +morning and an hour's exercise in the forenoon. It is further varied +in the case of young boys by daily attendance at the prison school. + +The cellular system is an application of the old monastic system to +the treatment of criminals. The first cellular prison was built in +Rome by Pope Clement XI. at the commencement of the eighteenth +century; its design was taken from a monastery. The idea passed from +Rome to the Puritans of Pennsylvania; and it has now taken root in all +parts of the civilised world. The believers in the cellular system say +that it prevents prisoners from contaminating each other; it prevents +the hardened criminal from getting hold of the comparative novice; +according to this system, although the offender is in a prison, the +only persons he is permitted to speak to are those whose lives are +free from crime. A prison system which has the negative value of +hindering men from becoming worse is worthy of high consideration, and +if the chief object of imprisonment is the punishment of criminals the +cellular system will not be easily surpassed. On the other hand, if +the purpose of imprisonment is not only to punish but also to prepare +the offender for the duties of society, the system of solitary +confinement will not effectually accomplish this task. On this point +let me refer to the words of M. Prins, the eminent Director General of +Belgian prisons: "Can we teach a man sociability," he says, "by giving +him a cell only, that is to say, the opposite of social life, by +taking away from him the very appearance of moral discipline; by +regulating from morning till night the smallest details of his day, +all his movements and all his thoughts? Is not this to place him +outside the conditions of existence, and to unteach him that liberty +for which we pretend he is being prepared?... Assuredly, let us not +forget that prisons contain incorrigible and corrupt recidivists, the +residuum of large towns who must undoubtedly be isolated from other +men; but they also contain offenders resembling in great part men of +their own class living outside.... If it was a question of making +these men good scholars, good workmen, good soldiers, should we accept +the method of prolonged cellular isolation? And how can that which is +condemned by the experience of ordinary life become useful on the day +some tribunal pronounces a sentence of imprisonment? The physiological +and moral inconveniences of prolonged solitude are evident in other +ways; and attempts are made to combat them by great humanity in +external things. So much is this the case, that for fear of being +cruel to the good, the bad are also pampered by an exaggerated +philanthropy which reaches absurd heights." + +A compromise between the absolute seclusion of the cellular system, +and the system of free association, is now being advocated by some +students of prison discipline. Prisoners, it is contended, should be +carefully classified according to their previous character and the +nature of their offence, and also according to the disposition they +manifest in prison. Prisoners sentenced to a term of imprisonment +ranging from three months to two years should during the first three +months remain in solitary confinement for purposes of observation as +to diligence and character. At the end of that period a man, if he +showed fitness for it, would be placed in association during his +working hours, and in his cell during the remainder of the day. In +this way his social instincts would not be so completely stifled as +they are at present; he would not be so entirely left to the vacuity +of his own mind; he would not be so readily led to the indulgence of +disgusting vices ruinous to body and mind. In countries where prisons +are on a large scale such a system as this might easily be adopted, +and it would, if properly managed, be productive of beneficial +results. In small prisons it would be applicable on a limited scale, +the smallness of the prison population preventing proper +classification. + +But all prison systems, however excellent in theory, are comparatively +useless unless conducted in an enlightened spirit by competent and +sagacious officials. The best of systems if worked, as sometimes +happens, by a mere martinet, with no horizon beyond insisting on the +letter of official regulations, will be productive of no good +whatever, and, on the other hand, an indifferent system will achieve +excellent results with a competent person at the head of it. This was +admirably pointed out by the head of the Danish Prison Department at +the Stockholm Prison Congress. "Give me," he said, "the best possible +regulations and a bad director, and you will have no success. But give +me a good director, and, even with mediocre regulations, I will answer +for it that everything will go on marvellously." In a recent handbook +on prison management by Herr Krohne, an eminent prison director in the +German service, the qualifications requisite for successful prison +work are clearly laid down. + +The successful management of a prison, he says, "demands special +knowledge and ability. This knowledge should first of all consist in a +comprehensive general education, so that the head of a prison may be +able to form a competent opinion in all those branches of knowledge +which bear upon the punishment of crime. He thus stands on a footing +of equality with his subordinates. If he is deficient in this +knowledge he will not be able to carry out the sentences of the law +efficiently, and the maintenance of his official authority will be +encumbered with difficulties. He must also possess an understanding of +the economic and social causes of crime as well as of its individual +causes. An understanding of its economic and social causes supposes +that he should be acquainted with the principles of sociology and +political economy; an understanding of its individual causes supposes +that he should know something of psychology. The historical, +philosophic, and legal aspects of criminal jurisprudence as well as +its formal contents ought not to be unknown ground. In the domain of +prison science he should be thoroughly at home. He ought to be +acquainted with the historical development of punishment by +imprisonment, as well as with the nature of the various prison systems +in existence among modern civilised communities. He ought to have a +clear understanding of the aim and object of imprisonment, and be +thoroughly cognisant of the legal and administrative arrangements by +which it is effected, more especially those of his own State. He +should possess a competent knowledge of all matters and regulations +bearing upon prison administration, so that his own arrangements may +be based upon a ripened judgment. + +"This knowledge in the head of a prison should show itself in his +manner of dealing with prisoners. This task demands a high degree of +pedagogic skill, and a force of character which is able, easily and +quickly, to bend the will of others to his own. He should also possess +the power of setting every branch of the administration to rights +whenever anything happens to have gone wrong. He must have a quick eye +for all that is being done; he must see everything; he must hear +everything; nothing should escape him; and still he ought to leave +independence and initiative to every officer in his own department. He +should respect and bear with the individual characteristics of every +officer, especially the superior officers, so that they may be able to +perform their duties with pleasure. In this way all officers will be +able to do their work in his spirit rather than according to his +orders. In order to succeed in this, the head of a prison should +consult with the other officials on all important matters; a daily +conference is best for this purpose. He should hear and weigh their +opinions even when the ultimate decision rests entirely in his hands. +Above all he must understand how to keep peace among the officials, so +that through their harmonious co-operation the objects of a prison may +be more certainly attained. + +"A good prison chief," Herr Krohne continues, "is not matured or +educated, but discovered. On this account, the selection of persons +ought not to be narrowed down to any definite class or profession. +Experience has shown that able prison governors have been drawn from +all callings; from the law, from public offices, from the army, from +medicine, from the Church, from trade, from agriculture, from +merchants and manufacturers. From each of these occupations a man may +bring knowledge and ability which makes him suitable for the position. +His preparatory studies will teach him much, but he will learn most +from actual practice, and he will never finish learning, however +experienced he may become. But the root of the matter which can never +be taught is a heart for the miserable; a determination in spite of +failures and disappointments to despair of no man and nothing."[46] + + [46] _Lehrbuch der Gefaengnishunde von K. Krohne + Strafanstalts-director_, pp. 534-6. + +Italy up to the present time is almost the only country in which +prison officers receive any preliminary training for their duties. As +a result of this, it not infrequently happens, as Mr. Clay has shown, +that an inexperienced person suddenly placed in absolute charge of a +number of prisoners will in a few days destroy almost all the +reformative work of months and perhaps years. The late Baron von +Holtzendorff was of a similar opinion, holding that one man can in a +short time undo the work of ten. So much has this been felt, that Dr. +von Jageman and several other eminent prison authorities on the +Continent maintain that no man should be placed in charge of prisoners +till he has had some previous training in the nature of his duties. It +has been truly pointed out that the value of imprisonment depends to +an enormous extent on the qualifications of the person placed in +immediate charge of the convicted men. Others are with them +occasionally, he is with them all day long, and unless he comes to his +task with a full knowledge of the delicate and difficult nature of the +duties he has to perform, he will probably exercise a mischievous and +irritating influence on the prisoners committed to his charge. On the +other hand, a well-instructed officer can work wonders in the way of +good, while insisting with inflexible firmness on the rules of +discipline, he is able at the same time by tact and kindliness to +diffuse a moralising atmosphere around him. Some men can do this by +instinct, but the majority require to be taught; it is therefore most +essential that every person entrusted with the control of prisoners +should have some previous theoretical instruction in his duties. After +all, those who can do most real good to prisoners are the warders +immediately in charge of them. Visits from persons outside who take an +interest in the outcast and fallen, are, according to French +experience, comparatively worthless.[47] These visits are well meant, +but they are not paid by the class of people to which the prisoner as +a rule belongs; the gulf between the visitor and the visited is too +great for the establishment of that inner sympathy on which the +permanent success of moralising efforts so greatly depends, and it is +easy for such a visitor to do more harm than good. On the other hand, +if you have a competent and well-instructed class of warders, if you +have these men trained to regard their duties from an elevated point +of view, you possess in them a body of men who are not separated from +prisoners by impassable barriers; you have comparatively little in the +way of social antecedents to estrange the prisoner from the person in +charge of him: such being the case it is easy for the two men to +understand each other, and is, therefore a relatively simple matter +for the one to influence the other for good. + + [47] _Revue des Deux-Mondes, Avril_, 15, 1887. + +What is to be done with offenders when their term of punishment has +expired? This is a question which modern society finds it exceedingly +difficult to solve. What is the use of punishing a delinquent for +offences against the law if, the moment his sentence is completed, he +is sent back again into the surroundings which led to his fall. So +long as his surroundings are the same, his acts will be the same, +unless his mind has passed through a revolution during detention in +gaol. The latter event, it must be admitted, sometimes does happen, +although it is not easy in these days to get the world to believe it. +And when it does happen it is marvellous to see how men, through their +own unaided efforts, will redeem their character and wipe out the blot +upon their life. But many offenders pass through little or no change +of mind, and unless delivered from their surroundings they will +continue to fall. Here, however, comes in the difficulty. Many of +these people love their surroundings; they have no desire to change; a +life of squalor among squalid companions is not distasteful to them; +on the contrary, they will refuse to leave old haunts no matter what +inducements are offered them elsewhere. It is hardly possible to do +anything with these offenders, and they unfortunately constitute at +least one fourth of the criminal population. Such persons return again +and again to prisons; and the manager of an important Prisoners' Aid +Society in a great northern city, says, that to aid them "is a mere +waste of money, if not an encouragement to vice."[48] How to deal with +persons of this description is a most tantalising problem. More +vigorous methods of punishment are sometimes advocated as the proper +manner of deterring these habitual and incorrigible offenders, but if +we consider the constitution and antecedents of most of them, it +becomes perfectly certain that such means will not effect the end in +view. As a matter of fact, most of them are not adapted to the +conditions of existence which prevail in a free society. Some of them +might have passed through life fairly well in a more primitive stage +of social development, as, for example, in the days of slavery or +serfdom, but they are manifestly out of place in an age of +unrestricted freedom, when a man may work or remain idle just as he +chooses. A society based upon the principle of individual liberty is a +society of which the members are supposed to be gifted with the +virtues of prudence, industry, and self-control; virtues of this +nature are indeed essential to the existence of such a form of +society. Unfortunately, a certain portion of its members do not +possess them even in an elementary degree, and no amount of seclusion +in prison will ever confer these qualities upon them. Imprisonment, to +be followed by liberty, however rigorous it is made, is accordingly no +solution of the difficulty; the only effective way of dealing with the +incorrigible vagrant, drunkard, and thief, is by some system of +permanent seclusion in a penal colony. All men are not fitted for +freedom, and so long as society acts on the supposition that they are, +it will never get rid of the incorrigible criminal. + + [48] At a recent meeting of the Statistical Society, Mr. Murray + Browne gave some interesting information respecting the work of + Prisoners' Aid Societies among habitual offenders. "A question," + he said, "had been addressed to all Discharged Prisoners' Aid + Societies asking what was their experience with regard to + prisoners who had been four times arrested but not sentenced to + penal servitude, and had been arrested during a given period, say + a year. How many of them has turned out (a) satisfactory, (b) + unsatisfactory, (c) re-convicted? Detailed replies were received + from fifteen different societies, not all working in the same way, + or with the same machinery, giving a total of 253 such cases. Of + these only 95 were reported as satisfactory, 55 were reported as + unsatisfactory, 66 were re-convicted, 37 being unknown or + unaccounted for." + +It has also to be remembered that a considerable proportion of +incorrigible offenders are not only mentally but also physically +unfitted to earn their living in a free community. Almost always +without a trade, and very often the children of diseased and +degenerate parents, the only kind of work which they can turn to is +rude manual labour, and this is exactly the kind of work they have not +the requisite physical strength to perform. It is only in skilled +trades that the physically weak have a chance at all, and if a feeble +person is not a skilled artisan he will, unless possessed of superior +mental gifts, find it rather a hard matter to earn a comfortable +livelihood. Should it be the case that such a person is below the +average in body and mind, to earn a livelihood becomes almost an +impossibility. Now, this is exactly the position of many habitual +criminals, and more especially of that large class of them which is +being continually convicted and reconvicted of petty offences. What +can be said of them, except to repeat that they are unfit to take a +part in working the modern industrial machine; what can be done with +them except to seclude them in such a way that they will be no longer +able to injure those who can work it. + +Outside the ranks of the incorrigible and incapable there exists a +large class of offenders who are perfectly able to earn a honest +living in the world. In many cases it happens that such men require no +assistance on their liberation from prison; they can resume work +immediately their sentence has expired. All that is needed is to send +them back to the district they were tried in, and this is what is +always done if a man cannot reach his destination by mid-day on the +morning of his liberation. But in a certain number of cases discharged +prisoners require more than this; they require tools, or clothes, or +property redeemed from pledge, or a lodging, or to be sent a long +distance home, or to be emigrated. In each and all of these cases, +persons who are not incorrigible criminals are assisted to the best of +their ability and the extent of their funds by Discharged Prisoners' +Aid Societies. One or more of these admirable institutions is attached +to every Local Prison, and every year a vast amount of quiet, +conscientious work is performed. These societies are voluntary +agencies formed for the relief of discharged prisoners. Their funds +are derived partly from private subscriptions and donations, partly +from ancient bequests, and partly from a small sum annually voted by +Parliament. They are conducted on the most economic principles, the +gentlemen who form the committee or who act as secretaries and +treasurers being mostly magistrates and men of substance, who gladly +give their time and services for nothing. The only person who has to +be paid is an agent whose duty it is to see that the recommendations +of the committee with respect to assisting the discharged prisoners +are carried into effect. + +A glance at the work of one of these societies will be the best way of +forming a conception of their usefulness as a whole. For this purpose +let us select the Surrey and South London Discharged Prisoners' Aid +Society. In the prison in which the work of this excellent society is +conducted, 17 per cent. of the prison population applied for aid in +1887, and 10 per cent. were assisted, the 7 per cent. refused +assistance were habitual offenders, and had often been previously +helped. Of the number assisted, consisting of 969 persons, 54 were +sent to sea, 2 were assisted to emigrate, 913 were assisted in the way +of redemption of tools, purchase of stock, purchase of clothing, and +so on. In 1888, 929 persons were assisted, 54 were sent to sea, 4 were +helped to emigrate, and 871 aided in other ways. In 1889, assistance +was rendered in 1009 cases of these 36 were sent to sea, and 973 +otherwise aided. The average cost per head of sending cases to sea is +three pounds, fourteen shillings; the average cost in other cases is +half a guinea. + +What is being done by the Surrey Society is only a sample of the +assistance rendered to discharged prisoners all over England. It ought +also to be stated that some of these Aid Societies undertake to look +after the destitute families of persons committed to prison, and cases +innumerable might be mentioned in which prisoners' wives and children +have been assisted and kept out of the workhouse until the release of +the bread-winner. Other societies again provide permanent homes for +destitute offenders on their discharge from prison. All that is +required of persons making use of those homes is, that they shall earn +as much as will cover a portion of the expense of providing them with +food and shelter. For this purpose work is always provided for them, +or if they prefer it, they may find occupation outside and make the +home a sort of temporary resting-place. It is hardly necessary to add +that Prisoners' Aid Societies could effect much more if they were +better supported by the public. The organisation is there; the men to +work it are there; the only impediment to their labours is a lack of +funds. If the possession of adequate funds enabled all the Prisoners' +Aid Societies to establish Homes for discharged prisoners, those +institutions might be made of the greatest service to the cause of +justice generally. It would then be easy to get a return from them of +the number of persons whose criminal life was due to sheer indolence, +and magistrates would have far less hesitation in dealing with them +than they do now. At the present time, it is sometimes difficult to +know whether an offender is willing to work if he had the opportunity, +but the existence of prisoners' homes would soon solve the question. +Reference to a man's record in one of these institutions would at once +place the magistrate in full possession of the facts, and he would be +able to give judgment with a knowledge of the offender he does not now +possess. In this way many cruel mistakes might be avoided; and, on the +other hand, many hardened offenders dealt with in a more effective +manner. + +The difficulty sometimes encountered by discharged prisoners in +finding employment, as well as many other evils inseparable from +imprisonment, has, in recent years, led an increasing number of +jurists to the conclusion that every other method of punishment +should, when the case at all admits of it, be exhausted before the +gaol is resorted to. "The very first principle of enlightened +penology," says Mayhew, "is to endeavour to keep people out of prison +as long as possible, rather than thrust them into it for the most +trivial offences." In many instances it is quite sufficient punishment +for a first offender in a petty case to be publicly rebuked in the +police court. Such a rebuke preceded, as it generally is, by a night's +confinement in the police cells, is just as effective as a deterrent +and far less likely to do permanent harm than a sentence of +imprisonment. It was something of this kind which Bacon had in view, +when he says, respecting criminal courts: "Let there be power also to +inflict a note or mark; such, I mean, as shall not extend to actual +punishment, but may end either in admonition only, or in a light +disgrace; punishing the offender as it were with a blush."[49] A +certain amount of progress has been made of late in this direction, +but there is still ample room for more. On the other hand, experience +has shown that light punishments are of no avail against habitual +offenders. For the last few years this system has been in operation in +the borough of Liverpool, with the result that the number of known +thieves apprehended for indictable crimes has almost doubled within a +comparatively short period. According to the Chief Constable's Report, +the numbers were, in-- + +1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 + 377 470 533 596 731 + +These figures show that habitual criminals will not be deterred by +light sentences, but rather emboldened in their sinister career. + + [49] _De Augmentis_ VIII. _Aphorism_ 40. + + +THE END. + + + + +APPENDICES TO CRIME AND ITS CAUSES. + + +APPENDIX I. + + +Form suggested by Herr Krohne to be filled up by the police or other +agency respecting prisoners for trial. + + 1. BIRTH. + Place? County? Country? + Date? + Legitimate? or illegitimate? + + 2. UPBRINGING. + By parents? + By others? + In a public institution? + + 3. SCHOOLING. + School attendance, regular or not? + Knowledge, Extent of? + Confirmed, or not? + Religious belief? + + 4. OCCUPATION. + What trade? + Served Apprenticeship, or not? + + 5. MILITARY TRAINING. + Whether served? and where? + + 6. IMPRISONMENTS. + How many? + In Local Prisons? + In Penal Servitude? + Other Punishments? + + 7. PARENTAGE. + Name? Abode? Occupation? + Alive or Dead? + Cause of death? Suicide? + Temperate, or not? + Imprisoned, or not? + Were Parents related? + + 8. BROTHERS AND SISTERS. + Name? Age? Abode? + Occupation? + How many dead? and of what diseases? Suicide? + Imprisoned, or not? + Temperate, or not? + + 9. MEANS OF LIVING. + With or Without? + Destitute? + A Pauper? + A Beggar? + +10. INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS. + Character? Temperament? + Mental Capacity? + Habits? Drunken or other? + Indolent? + +11. MENTAL AND BODILY STATE. + (_a_) Fits or Convulsions in Childhood, Epilepsy, St. Vitus + Dance, or other nervous diseases? + Insanity? Scrofula? Tuberculosis? + (_b_) Mental and bodily state of near relations same as above? + +12. MARRIED. + Maiden name of wife? + Imprisoned? + If Children; How many? + Age, and state of Health? + How many dead? + Of what Disease? + Any imprisoned? + The Home good, or bad? + + + + +APPENDIX II. + + +Growth of Reformatory and Industrial School Population in England and +Scotland. + + Industrial Schools Day +Year Reformatory (Including Truant Industrial + Schools. Schools). Schools. + +1859 3,276 +1860 3,702 +1861 4,133 +1862 4,283 +1863 4,302 +1864 4,286 1,668 +1865 4,508 1,952 +1866 4,798 2,462 +1867 5,110 3,802 +1868 5,320 5,562 +1869 5,480 6,974 +1870 5,433 8,280 +1871 5,419 9,421 +1872 5,575 10,185 +1873 5,621 11,012 +1874 5,688 11,409 +1875 5,615 11,776 +1876 5,634 12,555 +1877 5,935 13,494 +1878 5,963 14,106 +1879 5,975 14,847 287 +1880 5,927 15,136 1,005 +1881 6,738 16,955 1,493 +1882 6,601 17,614 1,692 +1883 6,557 18,780 2,083 +1884 6,360 19,483 1,876 +1885 6,241 20,250 2,324 +1886 6,272 20,668 2,444 +1887 6,127 20,940 2,622 +1888 5,984 21,426 2,783 +1889 5,940 21,059 3,197 + + + + +APPENDIX III. + + +Return showing the number of Prisoners committed to the Local Prisons +of England and Wales in each Month of the Year ended 31st March, 1890. + +| Month. | Males. |Females.| Total. | + +|1889. April | 10,701 | 3,401 | 14,102 | +| May | 11,777 | 4,123 | 15,900 | +| June | 9,977 | 3,717 | 13,694 | +| July | 11,499 | 4,171 | 15,670 | +| August | 10,894 | 3,965 | 14,859 | +| September| 11,113 | 4,088 | 15,201 | +| October | 11,670 | 4,245 | 15,915 | +| November | 10,615 | 3,777 | 14,392 | +| December | 9,154 | 3,157 | 12,311 | +|1890. January | 9,993 | 3,154 | 13,147 | +| February | 8,990 | 3,037 | 12,027 | +| March | 10,052 | 3,196 | 13,248 | + ------ ----- ------ +| Total |126,435 | 44,031 |170,466 | + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Crime and Its Causes, by William Douglas Morrison + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRIME AND ITS CAUSES *** + +***** This file should be named 15803.txt or 15803.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/8/0/15803/ + +Produced by Afra Ullah and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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