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diff --git a/43986-0.txt b/43986-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..07e044e --- /dev/null +++ b/43986-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10361 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43986 *** + +Note: Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + http://archive.org/details/criminalcommunit00devouoft + + + + + +THE CRIMINAL & THE COMMUNITY + +by + +JAMES DEVON + +Medical Officer of H.M. Prison at Glasgow with +an Introduction by Prof. A. F. Murison, LL.D. + + + "GREAT MEN ARE NOT ALWAYS WISE: + NEITHER DO THE AGED UNDERSTAND + JUDGMENT. + + THEREFORE I SAID, HEARKEN UNTO ME; + I ALSO WILL SHEW MINE OPINION." + + _Job_ XXXII. 10, 11. + + +Toronto: Bell and Cockburn +London: John Lane MCMXII + +William Brendon and Son, Ltd., Printers +Plymouth, England + + + + + TO + MATTHEW G. KELSO + AND + SAMUEL GIBSON + FRIENDS INDEED + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The importance of the subjects handled in this volume requires no +demonstration. Already, and for long, the treatment of them has naturally +engaged the sympathetic study of philanthropists, and more recently it has +attracted the earnest attention of scientific inquirers. Hitherto, +however, the results have been far from satisfactory; and there is ample +room for further discussion, especially from the standpoint of a +thoroughly practical man with large experience both of criminals and of +the social conditions that breed them. + +Nowadays there is a growing sense of social interdependence; there is a +more general and a more definitely realized aim to elevate the condition +of the less fortunate of our fellow-citizens; there are express efforts of +scientific investigators to discover a firm basis for practical reforms; +and practical reforms are urgent. Such tendencies of thought and feeling +may be expected to go far to ensure a warm welcome to this volume. + +Dr. Devon's book is executed on a breadth of scale never before attempted. +It has three distinct parts: The Criminal; Common Factors in the Causation +of Crime; The Treatment of the Criminal. His exposition is perfectly +clear; he sees precisely, and he states directly, simply, and definitely +what he sees and what he thinks about it, very frequently driving home a +point with epigrammatic force. If he throws overboard unceremoniously what +he regards as mere lumber accumulated by the industry of speculation +divorced from experience; if he betrays some impatience with existing +theories and systems; if he advances his own views with confidence--the +handling is at any rate piquant, and brings the matter promptly to a head. + +We are supposed to have travelled far from the mediæval brutality of +prison life, but have the changes not been superficial rather than deep? +Setting aside the catalogue of minor regulations and regarding the broad +spirit of prison life, one cannot but recognize that the conditions still +prevailing have much in common with the past. If we look for the really +essential changes during a hundred years, we find just these: (1) a +surface cleanliness of apparent perfection; (2) conversation, prison +visits, and arrangements tending towards a decent sociability between +prisoners and prisoners and between prisoners and the public reduced and +rendered difficult by multitudinous bye-laws. On the one hand, a +cleanliness obtainable only by irritating industry disproportionate to its +proper value; on the other hand, a reduction of such facilities as are +most likely to prevent a prisoner from degenerating to a social alien, an +automatic machine, or a lunatic. + +The after-effects of a long sojourn in prison are not readily realizable: +it would require a very lively imagination to picture the life and its +inherent possibilities. The fact that some prisoners do manage to get +through their existence without falling into despair may be taken rather +as a tribute to the chances of exception confounding rule than as a proof +of conversion to virtue through punishment. It is too much to expect that +an ordinary man that has been incarcerated for a period of seven, or five, +or even three years, can become, on his liberation, once more a +"respectable" member of society. His spirit has been cowed; his +self-respect has been annihilated; he has been disqualified for +reabsorption in the community; he has been prepared to gravitate once more +towards crime and prison. + +Another unfortunate aspect is the position of the prison warder. Apart +from the care of those under him, he is subject to so much personal +discipline--is so much the slave of "Rules"--that his life often becomes +little superior to that of his charges. In point of social origin or of +intellectual attainments he is not inferior to the ordinary policeman; +but, while the policeman is taught by society, the warder spends most of +his time in an atmosphere of degradation, fatal both to character and to +intellect. + +We are pretty well agreed that consideration and sympathy should be +extended to the first offender, except in case of sheer brutality--and, as +Dr. Devon points out, even a man that commits an act of brutality is not +necessarily a brute--for the first offender is usually the victim of +"accidental misconduct." In the case of the habitual offender, who returns +to prison time after time for various transgressions, it would seem +judicious to keep him permanently from actual freedom, but to treat him +more as a diseased and positively dangerous man than as a noxious animal. +At any rate, first offenders should not be herded together with +case-hardened criminals. + +Dr. Devon argues stoutly for the liberation of prisoners when responsible +citizens come forward to undertake for necessary periods the guardianship +and care of them. On this point it is important to note his precise +position: it is not for a moment to be thought that he advocates any +reckless liberation of scoundrels upon society. Let us see his actual +words: "Unconditional liberation has ended in disaster to all concerned. +Conditional liberation can only be expected to produce good results if the +conditions are reasonable.... A prison ought merely to be a place of +detention in which offenders are placed till some proper provision is made +for their supervision and means of livelihood in the community.... The +prison in which they would be placed would not be a reformatory +institution where all sorts of futile experiments would be made, but +simply a place of detention in which they would be required each to attend +on himself until he had made up his mind to accept the greater degree of +liberty implied in life outside. The door of his cell would be opened to +let him out when he had reached this conclusion; but it would not be +opened to let him out, as at present, to play a game of hare and hounds +with the police." The argument hinges on the conditions. + +Side by side with this, the State might well note the advantage of +pursuing the scheme of letting first offenders out on probation; giving +them guidance and help in welldoing, and impressing upon them the +inevitable consequence of restraint in case of violation of the law. In +this way the transgressor--unless he be of the stuff of which arrant +evildoers are made--seems more likely to feel repentance instead of +remorse. He is shown clearly the power and the certainty of the law; and +at the same time he avoids the stain a prison life must inevitably have +left, even though the imprisonment had been of a comparatively short +duration. + +Dr. Devon expounds, with irresistible logic, an argument in favour of a +proper training of the class most in need of it. It must not be forgotten +that ignorance cannot be expected to reason, and that poverty is heavily +handicapped. Many offenders do evil simply because they have never known +good. To punish these with blind and brutish vehemence is only a little +less callous than ill-treatment of mental derelicts and little children. +The principal aims of a prison system are presumably to punish offenders +and to induce them not to offend again. In neither case can the present +system be regarded as successful: it provides neither a proper punishment +nor an effective deterrent. That the influence is brutalising cannot be +ignored: the savage become bestial, the refined become tragically shamed +outcasts. + +It is not to be anticipated that Dr. Devon will at all points and at once +conciliate agreement. Probably he is the last man to expect it. Perhaps it +is even undesirable that his views should be accepted without keen +discussion. But Dr. Devon is a seasoned warrior, well accustomed to fight +his own battles; and no man is readier to acknowledge frankly a sound +criticism. + +Dr. Devon begins and ends on the same note: absolute necessity for the +"recognition of social conditions as they exist." Yes, "as they exist"; +and not otherwise. His official position as medical officer of a large +prison for more than half a generation, and a long experience as one of +the examiners for the Crown for criminal cases in the West of Scotland, +give him a right to a hearing on the medical and official aspects of the +subject. There have been other writers that could claim official knowledge +of the subject but Dr. Devon's qualifications on the social side are +exceptional. He was helping to earn his own living before he was eleven, +and his knowledge of the conditions of life among the working class has +not been acquired from the outside. He had a practical acquaintanceship +with the work of the unskilled labourer and of the artisan before he began +the study of medicine; and his professional life, spent mainly in the +poorhouse and the prison, has given him opportunities for outside +observation of conditions with which he had had an earlier and more +intimate acquaintance. He has been emphatically a man of the people, going +in and out among his fellow-citizens of all classes for many +years--lecturing, sharing confidences, advising and counselling every day, +and, in a word, familiarising himself with every aspect of the diversified +social life around him; an incalculable advantage when utilized by a keen +intellect and a sympathetic heart. + +It will be found, then, that he has brought together the two factors of +the problem--the Criminal and Society--with a solvent power beyond any +previous effort. I believe that his book is the most illuminating and the +wisest that has ever been written on the subject. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PART I THE STUDY OF THE CRIMINAL + + CHAPTER I THE CRIMINAL AND THE CRIMINOLOGISTS + + Classification of criminals--The treatment of the criminal + not a medical but a social question--Technical differences + between crimes and offences--Changes in the law--Vice and + crime--The beginner in crime--Common characters of the + "criminal class"--Atrocious crimes exceptional--So-called + scientific studies of the criminal--How figures mislead-- + Composite photographs and averages--Estimate of character + from physical examination--Causal relationship to crime of + these characters _pages_ 3-17 + + CHAPTER II HEREDITY AND CRIME + + Does heredity account for one quality more than + another?--Impossibility of forecasting the conduct of + others--Do criminals breed criminals?--The fit and the + unfit--Unequal endowments--Ability and position--Inherited + faculties and social pressure--Crime the result of wrongly + directed powers--Original sin and heredity--Heredity + behind everything 18-23 + + CHAPTER III INSANITY AND CRIME + + Insanity and responsibility--Removal of the insane from + prison--Crime resulting from insanity--Case of theft--Of + embezzlement--Of fire-raising--Insanity and murder + charges--The result of an act not a guide to the nature of + the act--Observation of prisoners charged with certain + offences--Insanity as a result of misconduct--Cases--The + mentally defective--Cases 24-40 + + CHAPTER IV PHYSICAL DEFECTS AND CRIME + + Physical defects beget sympathy--Rarely induce crime--May + cause mental degeneration--Case of jealousy and murder 41-43 + + CHAPTER V THE STUDY OF THE CRIMINAL + + The reliability of prisoners' statements--Deceit or + misunderstanding?--Frankness and knowledge required on the + part of the investigator--The prisoner's statement should + form the basis of enquiry--Information and help obtained + from former friends--The diffusion of knowledge so + obtained--The prevention of crime and the accumulation of + knowledge 44-48 + + + PART II COMMON FACTORS IN THE CAUSATION OF CRIME + + CHAPTER I DRINK AND CRIME + + Drink commonly accredited with the production of crime-- + Minor offences usually committed under its influence-- + Drink a factor in the causation of most crimes against + the person--Double personality caused by drink--Drunken + cruelty--Drunken rage--Assaults on the drunken--Sexual + offences--Child neglect--Mental defect behind the + drunkenness of some offenders--Malicious mischief and + theft--Drunken kleptomania--The professional criminal + and drink--Thefts from the drunken--Amount of crime not + in ratio to amount of drinking in a district--The vice + existent apart from crime, in the country--And in the + wealthier parts of the city--Drunkenness and statistics-- + Summary 51-66 + + CHAPTER II POVERTY, DESTITUTION, OVERCROWDING, AND CRIME + + The majority of persons in prison there because of their + poverty--Poverty and drink--Poverty and petty offences-- + Poverty and thrift--Poverty and destitution--Case of theft + from destitution--Poverty and vagrancy--Unemployment and + beggary--Formation of professional offenders--The case of + the old--The degradation of the unemployed to + unemployability--No ratio between the amount of poverty + alone and the amount of crime--A definite ratio between + density of population and crime--Slum life--Overcrowding-- + Cases of destitution and overcrowding--Overcrowding and + decency--Poverty and overcrowding in relation to offences + against the person--The poor and officials--The absence + of opportunity for rational recreation--The migratory + character of the population--The multiplication of laws + and of penalties--Transgressions due to ignorance and to + inability to conform--Contrast between city and country + administration--Case of petty offender--Treatment induces + further offences--The city the hiding-place of the + professional criminal--Crime largely a by-product of city + life 67-94 + + CHAPTER III IMMIGRATION AND CRIME + + The stranger most likely to offend--The reaction to new + surroundings--The difficulty of recovery--The attraction + of the city--The Churches and the immigrant--Benevolent + associations--The alien immigrants--Their tendency to hold + themselves apart--Deportation--A language test required-- + The alien criminal--His dangerous character--The need for + powers to deal with him 95-102 + + CHAPTER IV SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND CRIME + + The millionaire and the pauper--Ill-feeling and + misunderstanding--Social ambitions--Case of embezzlement-- + Preaching and practice--Gambling--The desire to "get on"-- + The need to deal with those who profit by the helplessness + of others--Political action--Its difficulty--Legislation + and administration--The official and the public--Personal + aid--Fellowship 103-116 + + CHAPTER V AGE AND CRIME + + The inexperience of youth--The training of boys--Case of a + truant--Another case--Intractability--The foolishness of + parent and teacher--The absence of mutual understanding-- + Recreation--Malicious mischief and petty theft--The cause + thereof--The need for instructing parents--Pernicious + literature--The other kind--The modern Dick Turpin--The + boy as he leaves school--Amusements--Repression-- + Blind-alley occupations--The adolescent--Physical strain + of many occupations--Unequal physical and mental + development--The street trader--Hooliganism--Knowledge + and experience--The perils of youth--Old age 117-139 + + CHAPTER VI SEX AND CRIME + + The position of woman--The posturing of men--Love and + crime--Two cases of theft from sexual attraction--The + female thief--Case--Blackmailing--Jealousy and crime--Two + murder cases--Case of assault--Fewer women than men are + criminals--Their greater difficulty in recovery--Young + girls and sexual offences--The perils of girlhood--Wages + and conduct--Exotic standards of dress--Ignorance and + wrongdoing--The domestic servant--Her difficulties-- + Concealment of pregnancy cases--The culprit and the + father--Morals--The fallen woman--Bigamy 140-160 + + CHAPTER VII PUNISHMENT + + The universal cure-all--The public and the advertising + healer--The essence of all quackery--The quackery of + punishment--Rational treatment--Justice not bad temper-- + Retribution--Our fathers and ourselves--Their methods not + necessarily suitable to our time--Capital punishment--The + incurable and the incorrigible--Objections to capital + punishment apply in degree to all punishment--The "cat"-- + The executioner and the surgeon--Whipping and its + effect--The flogged offender--The act and the intention-- + Pain and vitality--Unequal effects of punishment--Fines + and their burden--Who is punished most?--Punishment and + expiation--Punishment and deterrence--Social opinion the + real deterrent--Vicious social circles--Respect for the + law--Prevention of crime 161-185 + + + PART III THE TREATMENT OF THE CRIMINAL + + CHAPTER I THE MACHINERY OF THE LAW + + The police and their duties--Divided control--Need for + knowledge of local peculiarities--The fear of + "corruption"--The police cell--Cleanliness and + discomfort--Insufficient provision of diet, etc.--The + casualty surgeon--The police court--The untrained + magistrate--The assessor--Pleas of "guilty"--Case--Apathy + of the public--Agents for the Poor--The prison van--The + sheriff court--The procurator-fiscal--Procedure in the + higher courts--The Scottish jury 189-209 + + CHAPTER II THE PRISON SYSTEM + + Centralisation--The constitution of the Prison + Commission--Parliamentary control--The Commissioners--The + rules--The visiting committee--The governor and the + matron--The chaplain--The medical officer--The staff 210-219 + + CHAPTER III THE PRISON AND ITS ROUTINE + + Reception of the prisoner--Cleanliness and order--The plan + of the prison--The cells--Their furniture--The diet--The + clothing--Work--The Workshops--Separate confinement and + association--Gratuities--Prison offences--Complaints-- + Punishment cells--Visits of the chaplain--Visits of + representatives of the Churches--The gulf between visitor + and visited--The Chapel--The Salvation Army--Rest-- + Recreation--The prison Library--Lectures--The + airing-yard--Physical drill 220-242 + + CHAPTER IV VARIATIONS IN ROUTINE + + The sick--Prison hospitals--The removal of the sick to + outside hospitals--The wisdom of this course--The + essential difference between a prison and other public + institutions--The treatment of refractory prisoners--The + folly of assuming that rules are more sacred than + persons--The position of the medical officer in relation + to the prisoner--The danger of divided responsibility--The + untried prisoner--His privileges--Civil prisoners-- + Imprisonment for contempt of court--The convict--Short and + long sentences 243-257 + + CHAPTER V THE PRISONER ON LIBERATION + + His condition--His need--Alleged persecution of + ex-prisoners--Discharged prisoners' aid societies--Work-- + Temptations--The discharged female offender--The attitude + of women towards her--"Homes"--The women's objections to + them--Pay--The religious atmosphere and the harmful + associations--The effect of imprisonment 258-270 + + CHAPTER VI THE INEBRIATE HOME + + The need to find out why people do wrong before attempting + to cure them--Enquiries as to inebriety--The inebriates-- + Official utterances--Cost and results--The grievance of + the unreformed--The time limit of cure--The causes of + failure--The fostering of old associations--The prospect + of the future spree--The institution habit 271-283 + + CHAPTER VII THE PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT (1908) + + The Borstal experiment--Provisions for the "reformation of + young offenders"--Is any diminution in the numbers of + police expected?--Preventive detention--The implied + confession that penal servitude does not reform and the + insistence on it as a preliminary to reform--The prisoner + detained at the discretion of the prison officials--The + powers of the Secretary of State--The change under the + statute--The necessary ignorance of the Secretary of State + by reason of his other duties--The "committees"--The + habits to be taught--The teaching of trades--The ignorance + of trades on the part of those who design to teach them-- + The difficulty of teaching professions in institutions + less than that of teaching trades--The vice of obedience + taught--Intelligent co-operation and senseless + subordination--The military man in the industrial + community 284-303 + + CHAPTER VIII THE FAMILY AS MODEL + + The basis of the family not necessarily a blood tie-- + Adoption--The head and the centre of the family--The + feeling of joint responsibility--The black sheep-- + Companionship and sympathy necessities in life--Reform + only possible when these are found--"Conversion" only + temporary in default of force of new interests--The one + way in which reform is made permanent 304-310 + + CHAPTER IX ALTERNATIVES TO IMPRISONMENT + + What is required--The case of the minor offenders--The + incidence of fines--The prevention of drunkenness--Clubs-- + Probation of offenders--Its partial application--Defects + in its administration--The false position of the probation + officer--Guardians required--Case of young girl--The plea + of want of power--Old and destitute offenders--Prison and + poorhouse 311-328 + + CHAPTER X THE BETTER WAY + + The offender who has become reckless--If not killed they + must be kept--The failure of the institution--Boarding + out--At present they are boarded out on liberation, but + without supervision--Guardians may be found when they are + sought for--The result of boarding out children--The + insane boarded out--Unconditional liberation has failed-- + Conditional liberation with suitable provision has not + been tried--No system of dealing with men, but only a + method--No necessity for the formation of the habitual + offender--The one principle in penology 329-339 + + INDEX 343-348 + + + + +PART I + +THE STUDY OF THE CRIMINAL + + + + +THE CRIMINAL & THE COMMUNITY + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE CRIMINAL AND THE CRIMINOLOGISTS + + Classification of criminals--The treatment of the criminal not a + medical but a social question--Technical differences between crimes + and offences--Changes in the law--Vice and crime--The beginner in + crime--Common characters of the "criminal class"--Atrocious crimes + exceptional--So-called scientific studies of the criminal--How figures + mislead--Composite photographs and averages--Estimate of character + from physical examination--Causal relationship to crime of these + characters. + + +People were never more anxious to reform their neighbours than they are in +our day. Everyone admits the widespread existence of misery, degradation, +and destitution; and many seem to think that the presence of these evils +is a modern phenomenon. Any man who has reached middle age and who has +lived and worked among the masses of the people knows better. The evils +are not new, but their widespread recognition is. + +For ages the few have been the governors of the many, and the governed +have neither had the means nor the ability to communicate with their +rulers and with one another. In our day the ends of the earth have been +brought together by the invention of the engineer, and the schoolmaster +has been abroad among the people. The writer reaches a larger contemporary +audience, and the message of the speaker is carried over a greater area +than was ever before possible. Whether this has been wholly an advantage +may be questioned; but there can be no doubt that things that were hidden +have been made manifest, and one result has been that laws and +institutions which our fathers accepted have been placed on their trial. + +Our system of dealing with criminals has not escaped criticism and has not +borne it well. Like all systems, it is based largely on the assumption +that men are, or ought to be, of one pattern. It is charged with failing +to reform those who come under its sway; but there is nothing to show that +it was designed for their reformation. + +Men are brought under it as a punishment; and their acts, not their +personality, are the cause of their imprisonment. + +Experience has shown that the military man who applies impartially a set +of rules to those who come under him has not been a success when placed in +charge of an institution for dealing with offenders. It is not that he is +less human than others, but that he is more rigid. Differences among those +placed in his charge have always been recognised; for instance, they could +not all be treated as though they were the same height, nor could it be +assumed that it was possible to secure uniformity amongst them in this +respect; but only the most obvious differences were regarded. Even +elementary classifications could not be left to the man whose duty it was +to administer rules, and so the doctor's aid was obtained in order to sort +out those who were physically unfit to do any but light work; those to +whom the diet was unsuited; and those who required to have special +privileges granted them lest the system killed them. It is sometimes much +easier to call in the doctor than to get rid of him; and largely on +account of his work it has been shown that all classifications hitherto +made have been inadequate. In the name of science he demands still further +classifications. + +Men can only be placed in classes because of certain qualities they have +in common. Every classification must neglect individual differences; and +as it is these that mark men off one from another, any system or method of +dealing with men will fail in so far as they are left out of account. The +treatment of the criminal is not a medical question. It is a social +question. + +A medical training is of more use to a man who is to study the subject +than a military training would be. It is important to be able to form a +rational opinion on the physical and mental capacity of a man; to know +whether he suffers from any disease which impairs his faculties and to be +able to direct treatment to the cure of that disease; but a considerable +degree of knowledge regarding these things may coexist with an amazing +amount of ignorance regarding the social conditions under which the person +examined has been brought up and formed. Give the medical man head and, so +far as he is merely a medical man, he will be a more expensive nuisance +than the military administrator. + +A great deal has been written about the study of the criminal, but any +such study is defective and can only be misleading in so far as it is not +a study of offenders in relation to their circumstances. "Criminal" is as +loose a term as "tradesman." It may mean anything, but so far as any real +study is concerned it usually means nothing of any importance except to +the printing and allied trades. When the character of the prisoner is +estimated by men whose writings show no knowledge of his outside life, and +is confined mainly to an enumeration of the selected physical, and +imagined mental, characters of men while in prison, no study of the +subject has been made that is worth any consideration, save for the +purpose of formulating a theory without taking the trouble of ascertaining +the important facts. + +The study of the criminal has mainly been based on observation and +examination of persons in prison; but in prison the criminal is not +himself. He whose obedience the law could not command, who kicked against +restraint, is now compelled to direct all his acts under authority. His +life has been arranged for him, and he might as well run his head against +the wall as refuse to obey. Everything is done with regularity and +quietness, and the monotony of it all oppresses him. His inclinations are +not consulted; his anger not regarded, except it transgress the rules. +Outside he may have a reputation for wit and sociability; in prison he has +no encouragement to show these qualities. Very likely he will talk freely +to any official person who is of an enquiring turn of mind; he may be glad +to have the chance; but he is on his guard, and will not communicate any +information that may get his friends into trouble and himself into bad +repute among them, unless he is going to gain a good deal by it; and not +always even then. He learns to take advantage of every opening that offers +any chance of increased comfort to himself, and he may readily make a +general confession of sin and promise of amendment if thereby he can gain +sympathy and obtain privileges. It is not surprising that he should behave +in this manner--the principle of making friends with the mammon of +unrighteousness is not unknown outside prison--but it is strange that +people who might be supposed to know the conditions in which he is placed +should talk as though the criminal were usually a stupid kind of person. + +Any person who offends against the penal laws of the community in which he +lives may be sent to prison; whether he be called an offender or a +criminal will depend on consideration of points that are technical. +Generally speaking, persons convicted of offences against the person or +against property are classed as criminals, while those who have +transgressed against public order--as in breaches of the peace, etc.--are +classed as offenders. "An Act for the more effectual Prevention of Crime" +(34 & 35 Victoria, cap. 112, sec. 20) defines the word "Crime" to mean "in +Scotland any of the Pleas of the Crown, any theft, which in respect of any +aggravation, or of the amount in value of the money, goods, or things +stolen may be punished with penal servitude, any forgery, and any uttering +base coin, or the possession of such coin with intent to utter the same." +The Pleas of the Crown are murder, robbery, rape, and wilful fire-raising. +Those who have been convicted of crime as defined by the section quoted +would properly be called criminals, but it is obvious that the name is +applied and is applicable to many who do not fall under the definition. In +practice the treatment of prisoners who have been convicted of offences is +the same as that of those who have been convicted of crimes, when the +sentence is one of imprisonment. The distinction between them is a +technical one. If he is to be judged by the act of which he has been +found guilty, the same person may at one time be called a criminal and at +another time an offender. + +As a matter of fact, it is very difficult to draw the line between crimes +and offences; and it is not uncommon to find that a man who has committed +a heinous crime is not so wicked a character as another who has never been +guilty of more than a petty offence. + +The largest number of persons in prison have been convicted of minor +transgressions and have been dealt with in the police courts. Many of +these offences do not differ in character from those which engage the +attention of the higher courts. Their gravity is estimated either by the +result of the act, or the bad record of the person committing it, or both +factors together. Thus if in the course of a quarrel one person should +strike another and bleed his face, the police magistrate will assess the +damage done to society; but if the blow break the injured person's nose, +the case will pass to the sheriff. If a man in a drunken "spree" lift a +pair of boots from a shop-door, the bailie will probably deal with him; +but if, drunk or sober, he has been in the habit of taking other people's +property, he may be sent to a higher court. + +The law differs in the same country at different times. It is the minimum +standard of conduct to which all members of the community are required to +conform, and, as public opinion changes, it undergoes alteration. Men who +in one generation have been executed as criminals have been honoured as +martyrs in the next, while acts which at one time have been regarded as +meritorious have at another time been severely punished. At no time will +an honourable man do all that the law permits him to do, for his standard +of conduct is higher than, and in advance of, the law. But a man may live +a thoroughly vicious life; he may lie, act dishonestly, be cruel and +vindictive--in short, break any or all of the ten commandments--and yet +keep within the law. + +The law differs in different parts of the same country at the same time, +and a man may find himself brought under its operation in one district for +doing something which is permissible in another. This is a result of the +special powers given to corporations, or is due to the adoption by one +local authority of permissive legislation which a neighbouring authority +has not adopted. It may be very puzzling to a stranger, but the principle +of allowing the more enlightened districts freedom to improve their +administration is at the back of it; whether they could not find a better +way of carrying out their purposes than by sending to prison those who +offend against them is another question altogether. + +Even under similar laws the administration may be different. The more laws +there are and the more rigid their administration, the greater will be the +number of offenders. + +All kinds of people break the law. In some social positions there is less +opportunity for doing so than in others, but the conditions in which many +are placed make it easier for them to offend against certain regulations +than to conform to them. + +All who are brought to prison for the first time are not first offenders. +In some cases they have had a long and successful career before being +apprehended, but even in these cases the physical and mental +characteristics that would mark them off from others among whom they have +been living are not apparent. A man's character and his characteristics +are the result of interaction between outside influences and inherent +faculties. He acquires habits of body and of mind, and they leave their +mark on him. + +Vice and crime are not the same thing, nor have they any necessary +relationship. Though generally the result of a vicious impulse or +intention, there is hardly a crime in the calendar that might not be +committed by a person acting from a higher moral standard than that set by +the law. On the other hand, a vicious person may indulge in almost any +vice and yet keep clear of the law; it all depends on how he does it. A +dishonest person, if he puts his hand in the pocket of another and +abstracts the contents, may be sent to prison; but if by appealing to the +cupidity of his neighbours he can get them to put their hands in their own +pockets and hand him over the proceeds in order that they may share in the +El Dorado he has invented, he robs them just as effectively and is not +sent to prison. He may become a pillar of society and a legislator. + +When people are sent to prison for the first time all that has been +determined is the fact that they have been guilty of breaking the law. +There is no justification for assuming that their characters are, on the +whole, worse than those of others. Some of them may have committed very +wicked crimes; but, except in a few cases, a thorough investigation of all +the attendant circumstances might modify any impressions derived from the +trial. Even the commission of a fiendish act is not incompatible with a +disposition that is usually and mainly good. We do not in practice assume +that a man is a bad man because he has done a bad thing, any more than we +credit him with being a good man because he has done a good thing. When +the evil he has done has taken a criminal form we are as little entitled +to judge the man by the act we condemn. + +The fact that a person is in prison hinders any attempt to study him. The +investigator begins with a prejudice against him because of the crime he +has committed. Yet it is the most common thing to hear people who have +known a prisoner intimately for years say that they could not have +believed he would do the thing he has done. These people are quite as fit +to judge character as those who are called scientific investigators, and +they have better opportunities for doing so. They have not seen the +weakness of their friends in the form it has taken. The investigator +usually sees nothing else. + +If those who come to prison for the first time were made the subject of +examination, it would be found that they are principally remarkable for +the absence of what the books call criminal characteristics. + +Prisoners differ as much from one another as people who are law-abiding. +No two are alike even among those who have committed similar offences; and +those who enter prison for the first time are not distinguishable in +appearance from members of the same social class who have not transgressed +the law. That they may develop certain common characteristics as a result +of their way of living is true; and there is a criminal class in the same +sense as there is a professional class or an artisan class. The criminal +is born and made just as the policeman is born and made. See him early in +his career and it is impossible to tell what he is, but when he has +undergone his training it may be expected to leave its mark on him which +those who know may read with more or less success. + +These common characters in the criminal have been laboriously sought for +and recorded; measurements have been made and tables compiled; ratios have +been calculated to decimals, and an appearance of scientific precision +has been given to the study of the criminal which has led many to the +assumption that the writers must know more about the offender than they +themselves do. Yet there are few men or women of mature years who have not +known with some degree of intimacy at least one person who has sunk into +the mire of vice and it may be of crime; and one such case thoroughly +known is a better basis for study of the subject than any amount of +tables. + +It may be of importance to compare the peculiarities of habitual +offenders, but it is of greater use to learn how they acquired them. As +for the habitual himself, he is not really the problem. His life is seldom +a long one, and even if nothing other than is at present were done to, or +for, him, he would die out in a generation. I do not say that the question +of what we should do with our habituals is not important, but of much more +importance is the devising of means for preventing the wrongdoer from +acquiring the habit and joining their ranks. A study of confirmed +criminals may be interesting pathology, but it is the study of the +beginner in crime that will prevent the formation of the criminal class, +in so far as it affords means for enabling us to deal sanely with them. + +When an atrocious crime is perpetrated there is intense public interest +shown in the criminal. He is examined in a distorted mirror and his parts +are magnified. The more extraordinary he is, the more monstrous he +appears, the greater the sensation. Yet the ordinary men and the ordinary +offences are at once the more common and the more important. Here and +there a person may be born with such a crooked disposition that it is +difficult to see how he could go straight; just as occasionally one of +great wisdom enters the world, or a child with more than the usual number +of heads or limbs; but the occurrence is quite exceptional, and it is +never profitable to generalise from it. + +We have been reproached in this country with failure to make a scientific +study of the criminal; and the works of foreign writers have been +translated for our example and emulation. They contain a certain amount of +information, but its value is not apparent. The importance of a book is +not to be measured by the difficulty of understanding it. Big and strange +words may as easily mask an absence of useful knowledge as convey a +fruitful idea, and the man who has anything of importance to say regarding +his neighbour--even though that neighbour is a criminal--does not require +a pseudo-scientific jargon in which to say it. The criminal is a man or a +woman like the rest of us, and information about his head or his heels, +while it may have a special value in relation to his case, should not be +confounded with knowledge of himself. He is something more than a brain or +a stomach. + +Either the so-called criminal characters are the cause of the man's +wrongdoing, the result of it, or have nothing to do with the matter. If +they are the cause of the criminal act, how is it that they are admittedly +present in others who are not criminals? It would certainly simplify the +work of the police if they knew that they could with any degree of safety +look for the perpetrator of certain kinds of crime among men with heads of +a given shape; but anyone who glances at the illustrated papers will see +for himself as many villainous-looking faces among notable people, even +among able people, as he will find in a prison. Our forefathers had a rule +that when two persons were charged with the same crime and there was a +doubt which of them was guilty, the uglier should be condemned. It is not +stated whether the officials and governing classes were at that time +chosen for their good looks. Fortunately the practice has long since +lapsed. + +Unless a peculiarity is shown to have a causal relationship to crime its +mere existence proves nothing except the fact that it is there. That in +some cases physical defects do cause those who suffer from them to make +war on society, is undoubtedly the case; but it is very far indeed from +being the rule. + +There are many people who are prepared to regard a book as learned if it +is sufficiently scrappy and contains figures arranged in a tabular form. +Yet figures when they deal with other than very simple things are almost +invariably misleading; and the more so as they have such an appearance of +exactness. It is easy for any two people to count the number of men in a +room and to agree as to the result; but ask them to say how many tall men, +how many with black hair, how many blue-eyed, how many straight-nosed--and +you will get a different result each time. The figures will be exact--they +cannot be otherwise--but your knowledge will be the reverse. If this is +apparent in such a simple matter as the recording of physical characters, +how much more apparent it is when an attempt is made to classify and +generalise on men. Most books admit that there are not sufficient data on +which to base conclusions, and then proceed to suggest conclusions. The +whole science of criminology is illustrated by the composite photographs +published gravely as contributions; for a composite is a photograph of +nobody at all. It is obtained by the superposition of photographs of +different persons, and is itself different from any of them. It may +represent them all as they ought to be, but it does not represent any of +them as he is. It is the criminal in the abstract--who does not exist. It +conveys in itself a warning against averages, for it is a pictorial +presentment of an average. + +An average is the mean of different numbers. In dealing with masses of +people--feeding them, for instance--by providing a certain average supply +for each, all may be satisfied; but whenever the average is applied to +individuals it is misapplied, and one finds he has too much, another that +he has too little. Measure two men; one is 5 ft. 8 in., the other 5 ft. 4 +in.; the average height of both is 5 ft. 6 in., which is the height of +neither. So when we have averages of height, weight, etc., given in the +case of criminals, we know that we have been told nothing about any of +them. The other physical characters of criminals in prison have been noted +without any attempt having been made to ascertain whether, and if so when +and how, they were acquired, and we are invited to contemplate a number of +twisted and bloated faces, many of which could easily be matched among the +non-criminals. See these men and women before debauchery has left its mark +on them and they are no uglier than some of us who are set over them. + +As for the assessment of the mental characters of prisoners, the value of +it will largely depend on the ability of the examiner to place himself in +touch with them. Few people believe nowadays that by feeling the knobs on +the outside of a man's head you can tell the faculties within, far less +whether these faculties will be used for good or ill; and we are not +likely to advance the study of the criminal by founding conclusions on the +measurements of his head, facial angle, etc. The new phrenology differs +from the old in respect that it changes its terms and insists on more +exactness of measurement. Like the old, it may be fairly successful in +judging men after they have shown their qualities. + +No one has yet discovered a reliable means of estimating the nature, +quality, and amount of a man's mental powers from his appearance. We may +learn what he says or does, but we can never be sure what he thinks. In +practice we are all continually forming estimates of those we meet. Some +judge by the clothes, some by the expression, most of us not knowing how. +So far as our impressions are concerned, however we think they have been +arrived at, we all make mistakes and have all to revise our opinions. The +man who prides himself on his ability to read character is usually the man +who makes the most mistakes; his confidence misleads his judgment. Even +the shrewdest are occasionally deceived after many and varied +opportunities of arriving at a correct estimate of their friends or +enemies, yet for his own purposes each man's judgment may be, in the main, +satisfactory and no one troubles about his neighbour's methods; but when +they are erected into a science it is time to protest. + +The size and shape of the head, its malformations and asymmetry, may be +measured with a fair amount of success. This and more has been done with a +view to the future identification of individuals; but the theory +underlying the practice of taking such measurements is that no two +criminals are alike. The theory the criminologists seek to establish is +that they are all very much alike. It is stated that so many men who have +committed crimes have heads of a certain conformation, have peculiarities +in the character of their skulls. If these physical deviations have a +causal relation to their conduct, since the heads cannot be altered the +criminals are therefore outwith reform. The Church-people, on the other +hand, hold that all wrongdoing springs from "the heart"--not meaning +thereby the physical organ so called. You cannot give a man a new head +free from the objectionable shape; but men have developed a new spirit, +and from being bad have become good citizens without undergoing any +physical alteration; so that after all it would appear that "The heart +aye's, the part aye, That makes us right or wrong." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +HEREDITY AND CRIME + + Does heredity account for one quality more than another?-- + Impossibility of forecasting the conduct of others--Do criminals breed + criminals?--The fit and the unfit--Unequal endowments--Ability and + position--Inherited faculties and social pressure--Crime the result of + wrongly directed powers--Original sin and heredity--Heredity behind + everything. + + +In the effort to assign a general cause for criminality an undue emphasis +may easily be placed on any one factor. There are those who seem to think +that heredity is the main cause, but they rarely attempt to define the +content of the term. In a sense heredity is the cause of everything, but +in that case it cannot be held to be the cause of one thing more than of +another. Suppose a man becomes insane at the age of thirty and it is shown +that a number of his relatives, direct and collateral, have also been +insane. If heredity accounts for his insanity what will account for his +sanity? Such a man under treatment may recover, but sane or insane his +heredity is not altered. The fact is that we none of us know enough +regarding the qualities of our ancestors to be justified in imputing our +inheritance of any special tendency to any particular one of them, and +every successive generation implies a mixing, if not a blending, of very +complex and sometimes opposing qualities. + +If a man knows anything about anybody in this world surely it is about +himself. His knowledge is incomplete, but it is more full and varied than +his knowledge of any other body. He may be expected to know something +about the qualities and faculties of his wife. Yet all he knows of himself +and her, added to all he knows of the laws of heredity, does not enable +him to forecast with any degree of accuracy the faculties and tendencies +of his infant child, or to trace these back when they have developed. + +In the case of criminals born and brought up in hotbeds of vice it is even +more hopeless to trace back family history, because there is often in +their case a grave uncertainty as to the personality of the male parent. +To say that as wolves breed wolves criminals breed criminals is nonsense +and mischievous nonsense. As canaries breed canaries do poets breed poets? + +Criminals are men and women who have gone wrong; not necessarily because +of the possession of certain powers which they have inherited, but because +these powers have been used in a wrong direction. They come from all +classes; and there is nothing to show that if their children were taken +from them early in life and brought up in favourable surroundings they +would take to crime; but there is an abundance of evidence on the other +side. + +There is a good deal of discussion nowadays regarding the fit and the +unfit among us, and a tendency to forget that a classification of our +fellow-citizens under one head or the other can only be made if we regard +the terms as relative to the conditions under which they live. That very +many prove their fitness to survive the continuous strain of economic +pressure, can as little be questioned as that others sink under the +ordeal. No one will deny that there is a good deal of unfitness shown by +persons in a comfortable position economically; and if some of the +Apostles of Fitness had any sense of humour they would hold their tongues +and hide themselves, for neither intellectually nor physically do they +show much claim to present an ideal standard. + +Nobody denies that men are unequally endowed. Some have a powerful +physique; others have greater intellectual power. The usefulness of their +endowment to themselves and to others will largely depend on the position +in which they are placed. Put them to work unsuited for them, or place +them in positions where their faculties are not allowed free play, and +they may do very badly. The difficulty is to get the right man in the +right place. When he is in the wrong place he may be a nuisance to himself +and others; but it does not follow that placed in another position he +would not be a useful member of society. + +An attempt has been made to show that certain faculties are inherited and +transmitted in certain families; but it is conveniently assumed that +position is of no importance. Everybody knows that, in the professions +chosen to illustrate the theory, promotion is not wholly dependent on +ability. That a father and son have both been judges offers no presumption +of special fitness on the part of the son. That high military rank has +been held by several members of the same family need not prove any of them +to be great soldiers; that the government of the State is now in the hands +of one family and now in the hands of another does not show anything more +than that these families have been in a position to secure the offices. It +would be a new and startling doctrine to assert that the man who is best +fitted for a position always obtained it. Everybody knows that the main +consideration in determining an appointment is whether a man has +influence enough to get it; and that influence need not depend on his +personal ability, but on his position in relation to those in whose gift +the appointment lies. Granted equal ability in two men, let one of them +start with family or social influence and the other with none, and there +can be no doubt as to what will happen. That an able man will obtain +influence in time is highly probable, but by the time he has gained +recognition he is likely to be too old to benefit much by it. The stupid +man who has a clever father has a better chance than the clever man whose +father has shown no special ability. + +It is a very difficult thing for any man to learn the history of his +family. In the case of the eminent you get no two biographies that are +alike. An enquiry would show that this is equally true in the case of +those who are not eminent. A man may have one reputation inside his family +circle and quite a different reputation outside. We are all influenced in +our conduct towards others by our opinions regarding them. A man who has +pride in his ancestry will show it in his actions. There may be nothing to +be proud about, but that will not prevent him playing his part. On the +other hand, if he believes he has been disgraced by something that has +been done by some member of the family, his conduct is likely to suffer +from the belief. I have seen a woman whose brother was executed for murder +sink under the disgrace into a condition of recklessness verging on +insanity; and it is a matter of common observation that in some degree men +have been broken in spirit by the shame brought upon them through the +action of their relatives. It is impossible to discriminate between the +part played by inherited tendencies and social pressure, in the production +of certain acts. + +Crime is not the result of inherited faculty, but of the direction in +which that faculty is exercised. There are some families where the parents +have been criminals and the sons have all done well; while the daughters +have followed in the footsteps of their parents. In these cases it is +probable that the determining factor has been the influence of the mother. +Her criminal acts and methods were more susceptible of imitation on the +part of the daughters than on the part of the sons, and the girls, even +though they had been willing to leave the house, would have had to face +life outside under greater difficulties than the boys. + +The practice of singling out heredity as the cause of certain things to +the exclusion of others has no sanction in experience. Our forefathers +recognised that all men showed imperfections. They saw that one man was +given to envy; another to lust; another to covetousness; another to wrath; +and so on through all the deadly sins. They attributed these defects to +our heritage of Original Sin. The theologian has been displaced by the +scientific man, and if heredity is a newer name for our ignorance it does +not fit the facts any better. + +We inherit all the faculties and powers which we possess, but what they +are only the event shows. Nothing can be taken out of a man but what is in +him, but there may be a good deal in him which is never taken out. We may +develop certain faculties, but not unless they are first present; and the +stimulus that they obey at one period in our lives may fail at another. We +may estimate the capabilities of a man who is dead from observation of +what he has done, but we cannot say that he might not have done better or +worse had his life been prolonged. In the case of great men this is +recognised, and we have laments over their early death and speculations +as to what they might have done, or regrets that they lived too long for +their fair fame. It is the same in the case of small men as of great. + +Heredity is behind everything; not merely behind some things. If it +explains a man's disease, in the same sense it must also explain his +antecedent health. It cannot account for one part of his life more than +another. Even those who attribute disease or misconduct to heredity seek +to cure the diseased person and to correct his bad habits. Any success +with which they meet is not obtained by altering his heredity, but by +changing the conditions under which he has been living in such a way and +to such an extent that he reacts favourably to the change. We are not +warranted in saying of anybody that he is doomed by heredity to a life of +vice or of crime. The conditions that suit one person may not be suitable +to the healthy development of another, and the problem with regard to +those who transgress our laws is to ascertain under what conditions they +would behave best and place them there. Though their family history may be +of the blackest; though their ancestors may have been vicious, it by no +means follows that it is impossible for them to be otherwise. When a man +has done wrong it does not help him to be informed that he cannot do +better. He is often more than willing to transfer the blame to the +shoulders of others. It is more profitable to teach and help him to do +well than to encourage him to curse his grandfather. + +There is only one way of finding out why people commit crimes and that is +by making a patient enquiry in each case. The causes in many cases may be +similar, but the part they play may be different. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +INSANITY AND CRIME + + Insanity and responsibility--Removal of the insane from prison--Crime + resulting from insanity--Case of theft--Of embezzlement--Of + fire-raising--Insanity and murder charges--The result of an act not a + guide to the nature of the act--Observation of prisoners charged with + certain offences--Insanity as a result of misconduct--Cases--The + mentally defective--Cases. + + +There seems to be a widespread opinion that all criminals and offenders +are more or less insane, but those who hold it have nothing to say in +support of their view save that they cannot understand how certain crimes +could be committed by any sane person. This is to beg the whole question, +which is, how many persons who are charged with committing offences are +found on examination to be unsound mentally? + +Insanity has never been satisfactorily defined, but it is a term which in +the legal sense connotes irresponsibility. Yet if all insane persons had +no sense of responsibility it is difficult to imagine how they could be +suffered to live. Even in lunatic asylums the great majority of the +inmates can be induced to behave in such a way as to make it unnecessary +to tie them up. They have a very large amount of liberty conceded to them +without serious inconvenience to their neighbours and greatly to their own +advantage. If they simply did what any stray notion impelled them to do +this would not be possible. Their affliction frees them from +responsibility to the law for their actions; but in practice they have to +show by their conduct that they can and will obey the rules of the +institution in which they are placed before it is safe or reasonable to +let them go freely about in it. The physician does not demand from them +better conduct than their mental condition warrants him in expecting; but +they learn, in so far as they are capable of learning, that their own +actions will determine the degree to which they will be free from +interference, and that the necessary result of misconduct will be +increased restraint. Only in so far as they show a sense of responsibility +is it safe to allow them to be free from supervision. A person may suffer +from such a degree of mental unsoundness as will free him from +responsibility for his actions in the eyes of the law, and yet be able to +conform to the rules laid down for the guidance of his life by an asylum +superintendent. + +A very small proportion of prisoners are persons of unsound mind, and in +most cases the mental unsoundness is the result of their own misconduct. +In Scotland there is no difficulty in freeing insane persons from prison. +By section 6 of the Criminal and Dangerous Lunatics (Scotland) Amendment +Act, 1871, it is provided that "When in relation to any person confined in +a local prison in terms of the Prisons (Scotland) Administration Act, +1860, it is certified on soul and conscience by two medical persons that +they have visited and examined such prisoner, and that in their opinion he +is insane, it shall be lawful for the sheriff, on summary application at +the instance of the administrators of such Prison, by a warrant under his +hand, to order such prisoner to be removed to a lunatic asylum." The +matter practically rests with the prison surgeon, for the prison +commissioners on his report never raise any objection to the transfer of a +convicted prisoner who is found to be insane. Yet the same persons return +again and yet again. + +The warrant for detention in an asylum expires with the period of the +sentence of imprisonment, and the asylum authorities must obtain new +certificates before they can continue to keep the patient. When the degree +and kind of mental unsoundness is very marked there is no difficulty in +getting the necessary documents; but when the patient has been benefited +to the extent of being able to behave and speak no worse than many of his +fellow-criminals, it is different. He is sent for examination to a man who +is not acquainted with him. The doctor has to state facts observed by +himself as a ground for certification; quite properly he is not permitted +to ensure the detention of anybody on evidence that is second-hand. The +patient is quiet and on his guard, and his examiner can make nothing of +him. Accordingly he goes back to his haunts and his vices, impatient of +restraint, and is soon in the hands of the police again. Clearly there is +need of some modification in the law or its administration to permit of +such persons being dealt with. + +Insane offenders may be divided into two classes: those whose wrongdoing +is the result of their insanity; and those who have been sound enough to +begin with, but who have become insane, just as they have contracted +physical diseases, as a result of vicious indulgence and its treatment. Of +the first-named class there may be one in about a thousand admissions. The +crimes charged are of all kinds and degrees of gravity, as the following +examples will show:-- + +X 1.--A man is brought to prison for the first time charged with a series +of petty thefts committed while under the influence of drink. He shows +signs of alcoholism, and is too dazed to give any account of himself. In a +day or two the alcoholic symptoms have passed off and his general +condition suggests enquiry. He has signs of mental disease which cannot +now be confused with drink. It is found that, until a year before, he had +been in business in an industrial town; that he had been a reputable +citizen, quiet, peaceable, and abstemious in his habits; that he began to +take to drink, and sold off his business, which realised several thousand +pounds; and that he had since been lost to the knowledge of his friends. +What happened in the interval I do not know. He was taken in charge by the +police for stealing glasses from a public-house, weights from a +shop-counter, and such-like things, which were certainly of no use to him +and which he could not sell. The charge was dropped and he was sent to a +lunatic asylum. + +X 2.--A young man is imprisoned on a charge of fire-raising. He is brisk, +talkative, and cheerful, and laughs at the charge as ridiculous. Beyond +showing a high appreciation of his own qualities he does not do or say +anything to attract attention, and as he is really "bright" his conceit +only provokes a smile. He has no physical symptoms of brain disease, and +it is not suggested on his behalf that he is mentally unsound. A decent +workman who was interested in him called to say how well-behaved he had +always been, and to ascertain what ought to be done by way of assisting +his defence; and some things he said suggested the need for special +enquiry. It was found that prisoner had always been energetic and bright +at his work, and that he had good reason for boasting of his skill. His +fellow-workers admitted that, though they disapproved of his bounce. He +had been a teetotaler all his life and was a prominent member of a +militant temperance society. He was very industrious and thrifty. He +married a quiet, reputable girl who shared his opinions and ideals. He had +saved some money and he suddenly made up his mind to start in business for +himself. His wife did not approve of his doing so, as she did not like the +risk and was quite content to go on in their accustomed ways. He +persisted, and she yielded the point, but only when she saw her opposition +was causing domestic strife. He rented a small workshop and furnished it. +He got as much work as he could undertake--not a great amount--but before +he had time to see how his venture would prosper, he conceived the idea of +removing to a larger house. His wife was unable to see how he could safely +do this, as she did not think he had money sufficient to justify such a +course. Her opposition only made him more insistent, and on one occasion +he lost his temper so completely that she became alarmed. He threatened to +kill her, and looked as though he meant it. When she spoke to him about +this afterwards, he apologised and laughed it off; and as he had always +been a most affectionate and dutiful husband she dropped the subject. +Things went on as before till one day there was a fire in his workshop. It +was not got under till some damage was done, and it might have resulted in +serious loss of life and property, as there were dwelling-houses +adjoining. It was quite obviously the work of an incendiary, and he was +arrested on a charge of fire-raising, as he could give no satisfactory +account of his movements. On closer investigation it became quite apparent +that he was a person of unsound mind. Little things that had passed as +peculiarities, receiving only a passing comment, when dovetailed into the +story as I have related it left no room for doubt. The charge was dropped, +he was sent to an asylum, and there he died two years later from general +paralysis of the insane. + +In his case his fellow-workmen, seeing him from day to day, failed to +observe more than a slight accentuation of the qualities they had been +accustomed to see in him. He talked a lot about what he could do; he +always did that. He offered to make certain articles for a man better than +any other could; very likely he was able. He started business on an +altogether inadequate capital; others have done the same thing. He wanted +to set up in a higher style of living; he was always ambitious--and so on. +Until he set fire to his workshop they had never known him do anything +inconsistent with his character, and while they laughed at his boasting +they did not doubt his sanity. It was the same with his wife. She +distrusted his judgment but did not doubt his sanity. His sudden murderous +threat she put down to his temper. His temper she attributed to his want +of sleep; for she admitted that he got up at night, and worked or moved +about. On one occasion, she confessed, he had proposed that he should cut +her throat and his own. He was quite quiet at the time and she thought it +an ugly kind of joke, as he woke her to make the proposal; but she +explained it to herself on the ground of overwork and sleeplessness. Those +who are coming most in contact with persons afflicted like this man are +the last to see the significance of the changes taking place before them, +because the transition is so gradual. This is true of people in all social +classes. + +X 3 was a professional man in a very good line of business. Late in life +he was arrested on a charge of embezzling large sums of money. When I saw +him first he had a paralysis of the muscles of one hand, which was +withered in consequence; and he could not articulate owing to paralysis of +the muscles of the mechanism of speech. He put or answered questions in +writing. Enquiry showed that for many years he had been much respected and +trusted. He had amassed a considerable fortune, and had been upright and +honest in his dealings with others. He lived in the country and kept up a +large establishment. His business was one which dealt in large sums of +money. Some years before his arrest he married for the second time, and +there was trouble between his second wife and his family by her +predecessor. He had always been an open-handed man, but latterly his +public gifts had excited comment by their number and character. His mental +condition, however, was never suspected by his family. They assumed his +ability to afford anything he chose to buy. His wife left him as a result +of his conduct to her and in doubt as to his sanity, but these doubts were +not shared by his family. She said he had become capricious and sometimes +cruel to her, and quite different from his ordinary self. He would +sometimes bring in parcels of costly jewellery for which there was no +need. In the end she became frightened to stay with him; but though she +feared he might injure her, as he seemed to have taken a dislike to her, +she never suspected that he was frittering away his substance. When the +crash came it was found that he had within a short period thrown away tens +of thousands of his own, and as much belonging to others who had trusted +him. He had bought and sold property in a reckless way and without any +authority to do so, his reputation enabling him to do things which in +another would have been questioned. He was sent to an asylum. In his case +the paralysis from which he suffered, gradual as it was in its onset, had +attracted attention to itself and had actually masked the mental condition +which accompanied or followed it. + +There are some crimes which in themselves shock us to such an extent that +we find it difficult to believe that any sane man would commit them. In a +book such as this I can only refer to certain sexual offences without +discussing them, but even in these cases the crime need not infer +insanity. We are no more justified in saying that a man is mad if he does +a mad-like thing than in calling him wise if he does a wise-like thing. A +man's criminal acts are only to be judged in relation to his other conduct +if we would form a rational opinion as to his mental condition; and that +again has to be considered in relation to the social condition in which he +is placed before anything approaching a fair opinion as to its adequacy +can be formed. + +If a man's criminal act were to be taken as sufficient to infer his +insanity there are certain crimes for which we should never have anybody +tried. Every murderer would straightway be sent to a lunatic asylum on the +plea that he must have been mad or he would not have done it; and yet that +is precisely one of the most important points that have to be examined in +the course of a trial for murder in Scotland. + +Murder is practically the only crime for which the death sentence is +passed. Scottish jurymen have shown a strong repugnance to be parties to +the death of a criminal. They may favour capital punishment in theory, +but, no matter how bad he may be, they shrink from handing a culprit over +to the hangman; and they will seize any opportunity to escape from doing +so if it is given them. They may be told they have nothing to do with +results; that their duty is to find a verdict on the evidence; but they +might as well be told to pull the bolt. They know what will happen. They +do not seem to believe that they are not responsible for the necessary +consequence of their acts, and in spite of the assurance of the law the +verdict is a worry to them. Few homicides are hanged in Scotland, and +there are few verdicts of murder, mainly for this reason. If the death +penalty were abolished--if it were even made only a possible +penalty--brutal murders would have a chance of being called by that name +and not by "Culpable Homicide." + +For a time it was almost a matter of routine to set up a defence of +insanity in murder cases where the facts could not be seriously contested. +Now in most assaults there is an element of accident. The assailant is in +a state of rage and hits out wildly. The blow that will kill one man may +only stun another. Blows inflicted on one part of the body may cause +little more than inconvenience, but if the same amount of violence be +applied to another part death may result. I have known cases where as a +result of assault the victim seemed to have sustained injuries sufficient +to kill him, even though he had the nine lives sometimes attributed to a +cat, and yet he recovered--maimed and permanently unfitted to support +himself. That was not murder; in some respects it was worse; but there was +no attempt to prove the assailant insane. If death had ended the suffering +of the victim there would have been a plea of insanity set up. The +determining factor in the plea was thus the physical condition of the +assailed, not the mental condition of the assailant. + +In Glasgow special care is taken in all cases of murder to enquire into +the mental condition of the accused. From the time he is admitted to +prison he is placed under observation with this purpose in view, and any +evidence bearing on the subject is carefully examined. His conduct in +prison may be perfectly sane, but if there is any reason to believe that, +when at liberty, he showed signs of insanity, the medical officer +personally makes an investigation and reports. The prisoner may be +penniless, but he suffers no prejudice thereby, as the work is undertaken +at the expense of the Crown; and at the trial the necessary witnesses are +usually produced on his behalf if the reports show that he is insane. This +is true in other than murder cases to this extent, that the procurator +fiscal informs the prison authorities of any allegation as to the +prisoner's mental condition and asks for a report. He also puts before the +judge any statement by the prison doctor as to the health of a prisoner +mental or physical, even although the report may not have been asked for. + +Insanity may be a result as well as a cause of misconduct. A life of +alternate indulgence and repression tends to unsoundness of mind; and I +have seen men and women, who when first they fell into criminal courses +were free from any suspicion of insanity, gradually degenerate and become +insane. When the kind of life they lead is considered the wonder is that +so many of them do not become mad. + +X 4 was a girl of the labouring class. She was handsome and of a fine +figure. Good-tempered and of an easy disposition, she was rather indolent; +and as she was not trained in any very strong regard for morality and had +plenty of admirers, she soon gave up working and took to the less +restricted life of the town. She got into the hands of the police and was +sent to prison, where her behaviour was beyond reproach. She did the work +required of her and was always even-tempered and orderly. She took to +drinking rather heavily, and during one imprisonment had a bad attack of +delirium tremens, from which she recovered only to fall into a condition +of dementia which remains and, though it has become less marked, leaves +her unfit to take care of herself. Her insanity is the direct result of +her excesses. + +X 5 got into bad company and was encouraged rather than corrected by her +mother, who found her profit in her daughter's misdeeds. She left her work +but did not take heavily to drink, and by and by came to prison charged +with theft. She contracted disease in the course of her misconduct and +began to take fits. She gradually became worse, as she gave herself no +chance of recovery and neglected treatment when at liberty. She was in +prison for short periods during two years and finally became insane and +died. When first I saw her she was free from any mental or physical +infirmity. Her disease and death were the direct result of her way of +living. + +X 6 had always been a wild and uncontrollable lad. He entered the army and +was soon found to be one of the bad bargains. He was ultimately +discharged. He got into a lawless set in Glasgow and picked up a living, +sometimes honestly, sometimes otherwise. He suffered imprisonment on +several occasions and was always a troublesome man to deal with. Gradually +he showed delusions of suspicion and had attacks of violence; and finally +he had to be dealt with as a criminal lunatic. In his case there was from +the beginning a condition of mental instability, which showed itself in +his restlessness and impatience of restraint. It unfitted him for a +soldier's life, and the discipline incident thereto was much more likely +to aggravate than to remedy his condition. Having no friends capable of +directing him, he flew to excesses and was punished for the crimes in +which he took part. Than life in prison there could be nothing imagined +that would be worse for him; and the monotony of it and the quiet would +tend to develop the delusions which afterwards dominated his mind, and +influenced his conduct to such an extent that under their influence he +committed assaults and proved himself to be a dangerous lunatic. His case +is different from the last two in respect that the very means adopted to +deal with his excesses were largely the cause of his final insanity. + +Short of cases of certifiable insanity there are a number of prisoners who +are mentally defective. The total is small, but the individuals command an +amount of attention, and cause an amount of trouble to the public, out of +all proportion to their numbers. In some cases the defect consists of +delayed development; the body and the passions have grown at a greater +rate than the mental powers, but time and training would be likely to +establish an equilibrium. + +In other cases there seems to be something wanting in their mental +outfit--they "have a want," as it is put colloquially and expressively. +Many of them are capable of behaving themselves when under the guidance of +well-disposed persons; and more may be found about religious meetings than +in prison. They have come under the influence of the Churches and have +benefited thereby, and it is largely because no such healthy influence has +been obtained over those others that they are in prison. They are usually +quite tractable and pay obedience to stronger-minded persons. When these +are law-abiding they cause no trouble, but when the influence is evil it +is otherwise. + +Mental powers that may be sufficient to enable a man to work and live in +conformity with the law in one social position may be quite inadequate to +enable him to support himself in another. There are men holding positions +and discharging the duties required of them to the satisfaction of their +employers, who would sink to a very low level if cast adrift. Any fixed +standard of mental capacity is irrational, since it leaves out of account +the conditions under which the person examined has to live. The question +is: Is the person by reason of mental defect unable to bear the stress of +life under the social conditions in which he is placed? Is he fit to take +care of himself and abstain from offending against the laws? + +Whatever may be the view of lawyers on the matter, no business man expects +the same conduct from a boy as from a man; nor will he trust a young man +to the same extent as an old man. The younger man may possess more +knowledge, but there is a difference between knowledge and experience, and +a man may know right from wrong without having the experience of life that +enables him to discount his passions and follow his knowledge. A person +who is mentally defective, and who has the additional misfortune to be +born into a family of poor people and brought up in a slum, if he +transgress the law can only be dealt with as though he were as fully +endowed as his neighbours. If he is not mentally unsound to such a degree +as to justify his certification as insane, there is only the prison for +him; with the prospect of hardships on liberation and imprisonment when he +offends, till he is sufficiently mad, or his record and his condition +combined are bad enough, to enable him to be placed under the treatment +he ought to have received from the first. + +This is not necessarily the fault of those who administer the laws. The +police are not justified in permitting offences to be committed; and +whether the person who offends is sane or mentally defective it is their +duty to arrest him. The medical men who may see him can only certify if +they find him insane from their examination of him. Even if he is sent to +an asylum the medical superintendent cannot detain him if his condition +improves so far that he behaves sanely there; and out he goes to the old +struggle that he is quite unfit to face, with no one to help him or to +exercise authority over him when he has a wayward turn. + +X 7 is congenitally mentally defective, and he has been neglected. He has +a stutter which makes it more difficult for him than for others equally +weak-minded to get in touch with those around him and, asking questions, +to learn. When he does make himself understood he has nothing of any great +interest to say, and he is bound to find in the impatience of the ordinary +man a barrier when he tries to speak. He cannot get work and there is not +much he could do. He haunts outhouses at night for shelter and is arrested +for trespassing in doing so. He is in a filthy condition and is a nuisance +and an offence to those with whom he comes in contact. He is sent to +prison for committing an offence which he cannot avoid committing and +which is the direct result of the destitution incident on his mental +defect and friendlessness. + +X 8 is a quiet, peaceable, and rather attractive young woman. She was +married to a respectable young man with a small wage. She behaved very +well and seemed to be managing their home in a satisfactory manner, but +to his surprise and horror she was one day arrested, and was afterwards +convicted, for obtaining goods under false pretences. She had been unable +to make her income serve for the support of the household, although she +was not extravagant, and she had played up to her appearance and got +certain articles by a story that was fraudulent. Had she appealed to his +friends she would have been assisted, but she took the other course from +sheer mental incapacity to deal with her situation. Her case was +thoroughly investigated while she was in prison and arrangements were made +for directing her on her liberation. She is quite tractable, has no vices, +is anxious to do well, but is not fit to bear unaided the responsibilities +of her position. The Church to which she belongs has constituted itself +her guardian now that her condition has been shown; and she is not likely +to transgress so long as interest in her is sustained, nor to cost much in +money to those who are looking after her. + +X 9 is a lad who has got out of parental control and seeks adventures. He +answers questions intelligently, if somewhat insolently, and so far as a +merely professional examination would show is not defective mentally. He +is to all appearance simply a bad boy. Observation of his conduct in +prison and enquiry outside, show the mental defect behind it. He has +recurrent outbursts of temper without apparent cause, and while showing no +sign of confused intelligence, he proceeds to smash things. He has been in +prison for malicious mischief and for offences against decency as well as +for theft. He is not given to drink, but is beginning to indulge when he +can get a chance. He works intermittently, but cannot stay at anything for +more than a short period. He was charged with housebreaking, but on a +report from prison as to his mental condition he was certified as insane +and was kept in an asylum for about a year. He had improved so much in +conduct that he was discharged, but the medical superintendent expressed +the opinion that left to himself he would probably break back; and he did; +resuming his old practices within a short period of his liberation. He can +do well enough under proper conditions, but is unfit to look after +himself. + +X 10 is a young woman who is strongly built and of a pleasant manner and +appearance. She has been a domestic servant, but falling into bad company +has given up work. At first she only appeared to be "soft" a little, but +drink and excess have contributed to cause or to show--for in her case it +is difficult to say which--mental deficiency. She is quiet and +well-behaved in prison, and is of fair intelligence, but on liberation she +resorts to the lowest haunts and indulges in such excesses that when +brought back to prison she is in terror of death, she feels so ill. She +was induced to place herself under control for a time, and she did well, +working hard and cheerfully; but she returned to the city and resumed her +old courses. All who know her recognise that she "has a want," but the +defect is so slight that there is no possibility of having her dealt with +for it, as the laws at present only enable her to be punished for its +results. Unless her excesses produce some marked degeneration--and, as she +is reported to be having "fits" occasionally, that seems probable--all +that can be done for her is to arrest and imprison her when she offends. +When she is a wreck she will receive the kind of treatment and the +guardianship that might save her were it possible to give it now. + +Just as some prisoners become insane as a result of their criminal and +vicious life, some undergo mental degeneration to a degree not +certifiable. In the case of the older ones this is accompanied by such an +amount of physical disability as compels them to seek refuge in the +poorhouse, and they are only back to prison on the rare occasions that +they leave its gates, induced thereto by a feeling of improvement and a +renewed desire to visit their old haunts. Taking insane and mentally +defective prisoners together, their number is small relative to that of +those who suffer from no mental deficiency. Clearly then insanity will not +account for crime in any except a very small number of cases. In fact the +proportion of insane among prisoners generally is not greater than among +the population outside, but in the case of females admitted for cruelty to +children it is enormously in excess. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +PHYSICAL DEFECTS AND CRIME + + Physical defects beget sympathy--Rarely induce crime--May cause mental + degeneration--Case of jealousy and murder. + + +Just as some degree of mental deficiency is not incompatible with the +ability to live a peaceable and useful life, physical defects do not +necessarily unfit a man to discharge his duties as a citizen. In either +case the sphere of his usefulness is limited, but that is all that can be +said. Much will depend on his social position. + +When a person who is physically defective falls into evil courses, it +appears likely that he should find it more difficult to return to the +right path than one who is healthy and complete in all his parts; but this +expectation leaves out of account the fact that the more pitiable and +abandoned a man is the more does his condition appeal to the charitable. +His very helplessness attracts attention and begets for him a +consideration not given to those who are stronger; and if he will but +place himself in their hands, there are many willing to look after the +lost sheep whose condition is so pitiable. In some respects, and as things +are at present, there is less need for anyone who suffers from physical +disability taking to crime than for an ordinary citizen; for the law +provides for him and prevents him suffering from destitution in respect +that he is disabled.[1] + + [1] In Scotland able-bodied destitute males are not eligible for Poor + Law relief. + +Physical defects are in very few cases the cause of offences. They narrow +the opportunities of employment, and they lessen the chances of work even +though the defect may not be of such a nature as to unfit a man for it; +but except in so far as they may result in destitution--which, if due to +disability, must be relieved by the Parish on application--they rarely +induce crimes. In some cases, however, serious crime can be traced to this +cause. + +X 11 was an energetic and industrious man. He was a teetotaler and took an +active interest in local affairs. He was respected and trusted by his +fellow-workmen and took a leading part in the trade and friendly societies +to which he belonged. He also had an interest in books; read a good deal, +considering his opportunities; and exercised his intelligence beyond most +of his neighbours. He married a suitable partner and their family life was +an evenly happy one. In the course of his employment he sustained an +accident whereby he lost his arm. When he left the hospital his employers +found a suitable place for him; and his income did not suffer appreciably, +while his prospects were actually brighter in the new than they had been +in the old situation. He began to brood over the loss of his limb, and by +and by he became jealous of his wife. One day he made a murderous attack +on her and was sent to prison. He was very penitent there, and quite +reasonable. He explained that he had ceased to be the man he was when he +married, and that since the loss of his arm his wife had regretted their +union. She had never said so, but though she tried to hide her change of +feeling he could see it. He detailed the causes of his jealousy; and when +it was pointed out to him that, granting the facts, his inferences may +have been all wrong, he admitted the force of the argument. At most he was +unreasonably jealous, but not insane; and on going over certain incidents +with him and supplying the explanations of them, he agreed that he had +been too hasty in coming to the conclusions on which he had acted. He said +that he could not blame his wife, even while he believed she had been +unfaithful; that he could not bear to lose her and that was why he had +attacked her; but that he was very sorry he had done her the wrong of +suspecting her. He was convicted and sent to prison for a period and he +behaved rationally and well. His wife was warned that his jealousy might +reassert itself and that there was a probability that he would become +certifiably insane if he continued to brood on his accident; and she was +advised not to live alone with him. He behaved so well that the warning +was forgotten. About a year after they had resumed housekeeping he nearly +killed her and committed suicide. + +In this case the crime was traceable to the accident which caused the loss +of the man's arm. The cause is exceptional only in respect to the +seriousness of the crime, but it is not at all unusual for persons who +have the misfortune to be lame or deformed to show a morbid sensitiveness +on the subject. Their defect overshadows their lives and colours their +view of things, sometimes causing them to become reckless in their +behaviour and offenders against the law. On the other hand, many develop a +strain of piety and tenderness for their fellows. The presence of the +defect proves nothing beyond its own existence. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE STUDY OF THE CRIMINAL + + The reliability of prisoners' statements--Deceit or + misunderstanding?--Frankness and knowledge required on the part of the + investigator--The prisoner's statement should form the basis of + enquiry--Information and help obtained from former friends--The + diffusion of knowledge so obtained--The prevention of crime and the + accumulation of knowledge. + + +Any study of the criminal based on observations made when he is in prison +must of necessity be partial and misleading. It is like writing a Natural +History from a study of caged birds. Parts will be right, but the whole +will be wrong. + +Advantage might be taken of his presence there to find out something of +the antecedents of the prisoner. The opinions of experts may be of value +with regard to him, but they are not nearly so useful as his own opinions +on how he comes to be in prison, nor are they more reliable. + +Prisoners are no more truthful than other people, but they are not +generally purposeless liars. When a man is in trouble and is called on to +give an account of himself he makes the best of his case; but people who +have never been in prison have been known to make no disclaimer when +praised for qualities they do not possess, preferring to let time correct +any false impression that may be to their advantage. It is not reasonable +to expect any higher standard of behaviour from a prisoner than we look +for from others. + +Much of what is harshly called lying on the part of prisoners is due to +misapprehension on the part of their questioners. Most of them do not +waste lies. If the truth will serve, it is easier to tell it, to put the +matter at its lowest; but they are frequently worried with questions they +do not understand, put by persons whom they distrust, with the result that +they leave an impression of stupidity and untrustworthiness that is not +deserved. I remember a gentleman who considered himself a very acute +observer, informing me with regard to a certain prisoner whom he had been +questioning, that the man was weak-minded. I had very good reason for +holding another opinion, but wishing to find out how the visitor had +arrived at this conclusion, I interviewed the prisoner, and after some +talk approached the subject of his recent examination. A smile overspread +his face as he explained that he had been asked all sorts of questions by +the stranger and had not been allowed to answer in his own way, so he got +tired and let the other have it as he wished. His opinion of his examiner +I obtained as a personal favour, for as he put it, "It's no for the like +o' me to say onything aboot the like o' him--at least no here." I cannot +print his words, all of them. He said, "He's a ---- of a flat." Each had a +poor opinion of the other, and how far each was right others may judge. +The incident suggests several reflections. + +It is not reasonable to expect that a prisoner will take the trouble to +understand and answer the questions of a stranger whose object in quizzing +him he does not know. Few of us would care to unbosom ourselves to the +first visitor who chose to interest himself in our affairs. He might count +himself lucky if he did not find himself violently expelled. The prisoner +cannot throw an unwelcome visitor out, but sometimes he would like to; and +the attitude of some who seek to do good is at times provocative. When the +enquirer is known it is a different story. Get the name of being "all +right" and you will learn, but you must first deserve confidence. +Frankness begets frankness, and for my own part I have found very few +prisoners who wilfully sought to deceive me when they knew why I sought +information from them. It was either freely given, or withheld with the +plain statement that they could not fairly give it. The information given +has not always been accurate, but there are not so many people who are +accurate in their statements--not through want of desire to be truthful, +but because their perception, their memory, or both, are blurred. + +But more than frankness is required; there must be some ability to see +things from the standpoint of those who are questioned, and a sufficient +knowledge of their language to understand an answer when it is given. +There are very many people who think they know the English language, and +who do not seem to have realised the fact that a different significance is +attached to words in different districts and among different classes. +There are not merely slang words, but words used in a slang sense, and +when these are taken literally the result is misunderstanding. Yet we are +sometimes treated to the result of investigations by people who have had +no training, and who in a marvellously short time can obtain voluminous +and striking information; how much it is worth is another question. Try to +get by question and answer a short record of the antecedents of any of +your friends, and you will find that it cannot be done in a few minutes, +that it will not be free from inaccuracies, and that it will require +explanation before you understand it as they would like. To obtain such +information from a stranger is a more difficult task. + +In the case of the prisoner the advantages to be gained are worth the +effort to overcome the difficulties. Having obtained his statement, it +might form the basis of an enquiry into his case and an attempt to help +him on his discharge. There are few men who have not some friends who are +persons of goodwill. They may be relatives, or employers, or +fellow-workmen; but their will may be greater than their power. Their +patience may have been tried to the limit of endurance or their interest +may have become languid; but if they will not or cannot help, they can at +least tell what they have done and prevent a repetition of the treatment +that has failed. There are very many people who would never dream of +joining a society for aiding prisoners, but who will willingly assist in +helping a person whom they have known in his better days. The societies +have their use, but that is no reason why a man's fellows should not be +enlisted in his aid; though they have no interest in the general question, +they may take an interest in the special case. In the attempt it will be +found that, even though the efforts made to help a given prisoner should +fail, a knowledge has been gained of the existence of conditions that +favour ill-doing. + +Every official knows that in a great city there are occasions of +misconduct which the ordinary citizen does not suspect. Such knowledge, so +long as it is confined to officials, is comparatively sterile. They may +speak, but some other matter distracts public attention before it has been +focussed long enough on the subject to do any good. At most they may get +further powers to do for the citizens things which the citizens could far +better do for themselves. Talk of slums to a man who is comfortable is +often only talk, but set him to live in them and the effect is different. +In the same way, if you can, through his personal interest in a man, get +another to examine into the causes of his wrongdoing; to go over the +ground for himself; to see the process and the means of his degradation; +that man will note how many occasions of offence exist that might be +removed, and if only for the safety of his own family will give assistance +in removing them. Incidentally and in process of time a large mass of +information regarding the history of criminals and offenders would be +collected, and some generalisations of importance might be made. At +present those who generalise do so without any such careful study of the +persons whom they deal with as that I recommend. For sixteen years I have +been looking for the offender of the books and I have not met him. The +offender familiar to me is not a type, but a man or a woman; and we shall +never know nor deserve to know him till we are content to study him, not +as the naturalist studies a beetle, but as a man studies his neighbour. + + + + +PART II + +COMMON FACTORS IN THE CAUSATION OF CRIME + + + + +CHAPTER I + +DRINK AND CRIME + + Drink commonly accredited with the production of crime--Minor offences + usually committed under its influence--Drink a factor in the causation + of most crimes against the person--Double personality caused by + drink--Drunken cruelty--Drunken rage--Assaults on the drunken--Sexual + offences--Child neglect--Mental defect behind the drunkenness of some + offenders--Malicious mischief and theft--Drunken kleptomania--The + professional criminal and drink--Thefts from the drunken--Amount of + crime not in ratio to amount of drinking in a district--The vice + existent apart from crime, in the country--And in the wealthier parts + of the city--Drunkenness and statistics--Summary. + + +Though the differences among prisoners in antecedents and faculties must +be taken into account if they are to be treated in a rational manner, +there are factors which are common to the causation of crime in many +cases. Their influence may vary in strength, but it cannot be disregarded. + +Drink is denounced--and consumed--by all classes. There are many who +attribute all evils to its use, and some of these take the logical course +and advocate the prohibition of its manufacture and sale. Others make the +theory an excuse for doing nothing to remedy social conditions; for "you +never can stop men from drinking," and if drink be the cause of social +evils, and you cannot stop its use, why should they worry? + +Any theory of the causation of evil will be fashionable if it offers a +superficial explanation of the facts and affords an excuse for doing +nothing more troublesome than giving good advice to the poorer classes. +Drink has brought misery and degradation on many, through their own +indulgence or that of those on whom they have been dependent; if it does +not cause, it is often an aggravation of poverty; and it is with no wish +to minimise its ill effects that I protest against exaggerating them. Our +social troubles are not traceable to any one cause, and it is not +profitable to single out a particular vice and place all evil to its +account; nor is the practice more laudable when the vice is not one to +which we are ourselves inclined. By all means let temperance be taught and +drunkenness be discouraged; this too we shall do better when we search for +the causes of intemperance. + +One of the statements most frequently made is that the great majority of +crimes are due to drink. It would be more accurate to say that most +prisoners were under the influence of drink at the time they committed the +breach of the law for which they have been convicted. The great majority +are petty offenders. Strike them off and our prison population would at +once be reduced by more than a half. They have been drunk and incapable of +taking care of themselves, or they have committed a breach of the peace +through drink. Their sentences are short and their number is large. Many +of them are regular customers and return again and again in the course of +the year. Whether we are dealing wisely with them will bear discussion. +They do not seem to be any the better for it so far as their conduct +shows. They are enabled, in consequence of the rest and regular living of +the prison, to start on their next spree in a better condition physically +than would be the case if they were not detained there for a time; but +this is rather a personal than a public gain. At present they swell our +prison statistics and are a burden on the exchequer. That they should be +mixed up with criminals is no advantage either to us or to them. The cause +of their conviction is drink; but it does not make for clearness of +statement to add their numbers to those of criminals who have committed +crimes against the person or against property. + +Crimes against the person are generally committed by people under the +influence of drink, or on persons who are intoxicated. A man takes liquor +to get out of himself, and is then in a condition to do or say things from +which he would refrain if sober. Some are not improved in temper as a +result of their drinking, and are more prone to quarrel and less able to +control their passion. It is commonly observed that a man can and does +develop a double personality, showing one set of characteristics when +sober and another when under the influence of drink. In both states he +receives impressions, and his actions when sober show that the impulses +which direct his acts are different from those which dominate him when he +is intoxicated. Just as his sober self is forgotten when he is drunk, his +drunken self is forgotten when he is sober--not wholly, it may be, but in +part. He seems more readily to remember violence suffered than violence +inflicted by him. Impressions received in one condition tend to be revived +when the person is again in that condition. If when he gets quarrelsome +and hits out he finds he has struck one who will strike back, he generally +gets out of the way and avoids the danger from that kind of person on a +subsequent occasion. Just as he learns to keep clear of lamp-posts and +other resistant objects, he learns to stop short of striking one who is +likely to hurt him. + +The most serious assaults are not so much the outcome of drunken anger as +of drunken cruelty; and, pent up in one direction, it finds vent in +another. This passion seems to possess some men regularly, and it is +indulged at the expense of those who offer least resistance to it, viz. +the female members of their household. With them a habit is formed of +assaulting their women-folk, and the habit grows in force and intensity. +In most cases of brutal wife-murder that have come under my observation, +the fatal assault has simply been the last of a series committed regularly +when the culprit was under the influence of drink, and the woman's death +was the final incident in a long-drawn-out martyrdom. + +In other cases men who are ordinarily peaceable find themselves in prison +charged with assaults of which they have no distinct recollection, the +result of sudden passion that has swept their minds when they were +intoxicated. Others become so pugnacious when they take drink that they +are not content till they are in a row and do not seem to mind whether +they get hurt or not. In their case--which seems to be the most common--it +is not the lust of cruelty but the delight in battle that stirs them, and +though they may get fully as much as they give, it does not deter them +from repeating their conduct. + +Another class of assaults is that committed on persons who are under the +influence of drink, and who by their misconduct have provoked their +assailant. They are relatively few, and the assault is rarely so brutal in +character or so serious in result; though occasionally it may end +tragically. X 12 was a young man who married a girl of respectable +character. They were both sober and industrious. She had been engaged in a +factory before her marriage and had very little practical experience of +housekeeping. She was not accustomed to household routine, and as her +husband did not get home for his meals she had a lot of time on her hands. +Her house was in a different part of the city from that of her parents, +and she had to make friends for herself. Unfortunately she got into the +company of some who gossiped together and moistened the talk with drink. +At first she abstained, but by and by she began to do like the rest; and +unlike them she could not control herself. She showed a tendency to excess +which they tried to discourage for their own sakes as well as hers. Her +husband discovered her misconduct, and in order to break her of it removed +to another district. For a time she did well, and her relatives helped +her. But again she drifted in her search for company into that of those +who took the "social glass." It is wonderful how a woman when she has once +taken to drink finds a difficulty in making friendships with other women +who have not done so, unless she becomes a militant teetotaler. In the +present instance the young wife had relapse after relapse over a series of +years, and her husband seems to have done all in his power to save her. +She had two children, and when sober she attended to them adequately; but +her fits of drinking began to occur more frequently, and in them she +became more reckless. After one, in which she had sold out the household +furniture and disappeared, she returned penitent and he set up house again +with her. She kept sober for some weeks, they were getting things +together, and he was trusting her with some money. One Monday evening he +went home from his work to find the house partially stripped, the children +neglected, dirty, and in tears, and his wife in a dazed condition waiting +to receive him with maudlin apologies. In his anger he pushed her from +him. Her body struck the corner of the table, and shortly after she fell +and died. She had sustained rupture of an internal organ and she bled to +death in a few minutes. The result was altogether disproportionate to the +amount of violence used and was in a sense accidental, but her death could +as truly be attributed to drink as many of those which result from the +assaults of drunken persons. + +Drink plays an important part in the commission of sexual offences, but it +is not more generally a factor in such cases than in those of simple +assaults. In the great majority of these charges against men under middle +age it is found that the assailant was at the time under its influence, +however; and in the most atrocious and unspeakable cases it is rarely +absent unless when there is insanity present. + +Of late years there has been an increasing desire on the part of the +legislature to secure proper care for children, and to punish those who by +negligence or cruelty allow their offspring to suffer. Cases have been +reported that reveal a shocking state of affairs, and parents have been +prosecuted and sent to prison for their callousness and cruelty. Of all +prisoners these are usually the most hopeless and useless; the most +entirely selfish in their outlook; the most inclined to grumble and shirk +work; the persons with the keenest sense of their rights and the lowest +sense of their responsibilities--this from a merely superficial +observation of them. The care of the children falls naturally to the +women; the provision for them to the men. The men have excuses to offer +for the condition of the children, and these excuses are sometimes valid; +for a man cannot be at the same time working outside to support his family +and looking after them in the house. If the woman is given the money to +defray the necessary expenses, and neglects their care, it is difficult +for her to stand excused. In practically all the cases drink enters into +the question, and its presence explains but does not excuse the neglect. + +It is a good thing for the children that they should be removed from the +care of parents who are cruel to them either by neglecting or by +maltreating them, and it is well that those who are inclined to +carelessness should know that their conduct may form the subject of +complaint; but a person may be physically fit to have children and +mentally incapable of taking care of them. A large proportion of those +women who have been convicted of cruelty to children are in this sad case. +The evidence has been of the clearest that they have squandered their +substance, indulged their appetites, and shamefully ill-used their +offspring, but only after they have been placed out of the reach of drink +is it possible to say whether at their best they are capable of +undertaking the obligations they have incurred by becoming mothers. In +some cases their mental condition has been so bad as to justify their +removal to lunatic asylums; in other cases the mental defect is quite +perceptible and is obviously such as to unfit them for their duties, but +is not sufficiently marked to enable them to be cared for by the lunacy +authority. Drink has been held accountable for their conduct and it has +had a share in its causation, but it has masked the permanent flaw behind +it, whether that defect has existed before the subject gave way to drink +or has resulted from drink. In the case of these women it is a serious +matter to allow them to return to duties they are unfit to discharge, +especially as there is a probability that the condition of the family may +be aggravated by its increase. Among women convicted of cruelty to +children there are very few who are not mentally defective as far as my +experience goes. + +Just as drink causes some people to become savage, it incites others to +mischief. If a man lift things that do not belong to him and carry them +off, that is theft and punishable as such. If the culprit could state the +case to the magistrate as a lawyer would, it would be classed as malicious +mischief; but if he had the necessary training, or could afford to pay a +lawyer, he might not be in court at all. It is not yet an uncommon thing +for young bloods to destroy or take away the property of others, but they +are not charged with theft as a result of their exuberance. They are not +usually charged at all if they compensate the owners. Students of medicine +have been known to return from a symposium with a miscellaneous collection +of articles which they had conveyed without authority from shop-doors, in +addition to an occasional door-bell handle or knocker. If any of them had +been convicted of theft in consequence of this conduct, he would as a +result have been struck off the register and been prevented from entering +the profession for which he was training. A conviction for malicious +mischief would have no such grave result. The consequence is quite as +serious in the case of a labouring man. It is not merely that the sentence +is heavier; that is the least of it; it is the reputation of being a thief +that is attached to him on his discharge which he will find difficult to +overcome. It is bad enough for his prospects of honest employment that he +should have been in prison, but if the cause was not dishonesty he may be +regarded as merely foolish. If his offence has been theft it is another +story. Explanations are not wanted--nor thieves; and the dog with the bad +name may set about in despair to deserve it, becoming a recruit to the +ranks of the professional criminals. In such cases the man's downfall may +be attributed to drink; but he might reasonably attach some of the blame +to our stupidity in dealing with him. + +Apart from those who are led into sportive acts when they are in liquor, +there are some who take to theft pure and simple. X 13 was a most +respectable man about thirty years of age. He was honest and industrious, +and except that he occasionally gave way to intemperance he appeared to +have no faults or follies. He was not very fond of company, and after his +work was done he spent most of his time at home in his lodgings, where he +had the reputation of being a quiet, peaceable, and somewhat studious man. +He was arrested one night when under the influence of drink, in possession +of property which had been stolen by him. On his room being searched the +proceeds of several thefts were found, and the remains of articles which +had been stolen and partially destroyed. It became apparent that he had +been responsible for quite a number of thefts from public places during +the two preceding years. His story was that he had no recollection of +stealing; and on the Sunday morning after his first theft he was horrified +to find a bag containing articles of clothing in his room. He ascertained +from his landlady that he had brought it home the night before, and he +told her some story to explain his questions. He made no attempt to sell +the property, but destroyed it in detail. He kept off drink for a time, +but falling in with some old friends one night, he took too much and again +he stole. It preyed on his mind to such an extent that he went on a spree, +with the same result. He could tell nobody of his trouble, and he got into +despairing and reckless moods in which he flew to drink, nearly always +returning with something. He was remonstrated with on account of his +growing intemperance, but with very little result; and it was a relief to +him when he was found out. How many thefts he had committed was never +known, but he had never made a penny by them. He was not a kleptomaniac +when sober, and his case is an uncommon one in respect more to the freedom +he enjoyed from arrest than to the nature of the impulse which he obeyed; +for there are a good many occasional thieves who are quite honest when +sober. + +Others have fallen from a position as law-abiding citizens, and have lost +their self-respect, as well as their position, through habitual +intemperance. Their one passion is drink, and they will do anything to get +it. They cannot get work and could not keep it if they did, because of +their unsteadiness; so they live off others by begging or by stealing. + +The most troublesome criminal to those whose duty it is to protect the +public, and the most dangerous to the property of his fellow-citizens, is +the professional; and no more than other professional persons does he go +to business the worse of drink, for that would be taking an unnecessary +risk. There are few occupations in which sobriety is not required to +ensure and maintain success, and this is true whether the business be an +honest or a dishonest one. Not that the thief need be a teetotaler; in his +hours of relaxation he may be found proving the contrary; but he cannot +afford to drink during business hours. In prison he may say that he is +there on account of the drink, but the statement, though it may be true, +is misleading. It is a convenient formula, and serves to prevent further +enquiry. He knows that those who question him have their prejudices, and +he is aware that it is the fashion to trace all crimes to drink--and no +further. Let him frankly confess his failing for liquor and he will +obtain some sympathy which may materialise on his liberation. It is +literally true in many cases, the statement: "If it hadna been the drink I +wadna been here." But it is also true that he has not been honest when +sober. For every time he has been caught there are many thefts he has +committed and escaped capture. Continue the enquiry and it is found that +what he means is that if he had not obscured his judgment with drink he +would not have attempted the job he undertook; or he would have kept a +better look-out before he did take it in hand. He is not a thief because +of the drink, but a thief who is caught because he has been intemperate. +The drink in this case has not proved an ally to crime, but an auxiliary +of the police; it has not caused the theft, but has enabled the thief to +be caught. + +In many cases, however, it assists the professional criminal; for the +intoxicated man is an easier prey to him than the sober citizen. He can be +assisted home by willing hands that will go through his pockets with skill +on the road. He can be lured into dens that when sober he would avoid, and +there be robbed at leisure and with little risk. He may even be relieved +of his property without any pretence of friendliness, with small chance of +his offering effective resistance or causing a hot pursuit. In all these +ways he affords opportunity to the thief, and to the extent that the drink +places him in this condition it is a cause of crime. + +It appears then: (1) that the great mass of prisoners were under the +influence of drink at the time they committed the offence for which they +have been convicted; (2) that of these the "crime" of the majority is +drunkenness, or some petty offence resulting therefrom; (3) that nearly +all the crimes against the person are committed by, or upon, people who +were intoxicated at the time; (4) that many offences against property are +partly the result of drink; (5) that the majority of crimes against +property are not due to drunkenness on the part of the criminal. + +But the amount of crime in Scotland is not in proportion to the amount of +drinking in any district. The consumption of drink is not confined to our +cities and towns, and excessive indulgence sometimes takes place on the +part of people who live in the country, yet no considerable proportion of +our prison population comes from the courts of country districts or of +small towns. The vice may be present without issuing in crime, though the +drink itself has the same effect on the drinker whether he be living in +the town or in the country. + +In the country and in small towns, where the population is stable and +where people are not packed together, they have opportunities each of +knowing his neighbour, and they take some interest in one another. Indeed, +one often hears complaints of villagers taking too much interest in their +neighbours' affairs. If a man drink more than he can carry, there is +usually someone about who will see him home; or at worst he finds rest +until he recovers, without the necessity of interference of an official +kind. In the town, although a man may have friends who would be willing to +look after him, he is separated from them, not by green fields, but by +rows of tenements and multitudes of passers-by who have no personal +interest in or knowledge of him; and if he lie down he obstructs the +traffic and has to be taken in charge. He need not be any more drunk than +the man in the country, but he is a greater public nuisance. + +In the country if a man have his evil passions stirred or inflamed by +drink and seek to indulge them, friendly hands restrain him from doing the +injury he might otherwise do, and the crime which has been conceived may +never be executed; but in the city a man may, and sometimes does, brutally +assault and even slay another person, while people are living above, +below, and on each side of him; and no one troubles to look in and +ascertain what is going on. Men do not know their neighbours and do not +care to interfere in the affairs of strangers. They have learnt to attend +to their own business and to leave other things to their paid officials. +The officials likewise attend to their business; and the prison cells are +filled with men and women who have taken liquor to excess and have had no +friendly hand to assist them or to keep them out of mischief. In the +absence of this restraint and help, crime is just as likely to result from +excessive drinking in the country as in the town. + +There is another difference in favour of the country toper that is worth +noting. The man who sells him the drink is usually a member of the +community in which he lives, and he cannot afford persistently to outrage +the sentiments of those among whom his lot is cast. He will not find it to +his comfort to obtain the bad opinion of his neighbours; and if he get the +name of filling his customers full he may run the risk of losing his +license. It is not to his interest to disregard the welfare of his patrons +even were he so inclined. Each district has its own standard of what is +fair and allowable, and no publican can safely continue to fall below it. +In the large towns the licenses are not usually held by men who live in +the district. Many of them are in few hands. The licensee is represented +by barmen who have a most harassing and exacting time; who work long hours +for wages that are seldom what could be called high; who are engaged +selling drink to men the majority of whom they do not know; and who are +expected while keeping within the law to sell as much liquor as possible. +Public opinion in the district can only touch the publican on his +financial side; and then only by a campaign directed to ensure regulations +that are sometimes as futile as they are vexatious, and that attack +indiscriminately the man who is really trying to conduct his business in a +reasonable way and him whose only care is to get as much out of it as he +can. + +But not only is there drinking in the country as well as in the town. +There is no district of the town that has a monopoly of temperance. There +are fewer public-houses in the wealthier than in the poorer districts, but +there are more private cellars. There is no bigger proportion of +teetotalers among men who have money than among men with none; and +business men are as much given to drinking as artisans or labourers. There +is a difference in their methods of consumption, the one judiciously +mixing his potations with solids, the other taking his amount in a shorter +period of time and running a bigger risk of getting drunk. Even when he +does get beyond the stage of being quite clear in the head, the wealthier +man has the means of getting home quietly, and there may be no scandal and +no arrest. Though there may be as much drinking in the district in which +he lives as in some of the congested parts of a city, there is less crime +in proportion to the number of inhabitants; so that there are other +factors than drink necessary to the commission of crime, even when drink +is present. + +In Glasgow we are accustomed periodically to learn from the testimony of +English visitors that we are the most drunken city in the kingdom; and +tourists write to the newspapers and tell their experiences and +impressions of sights seen in our streets, quoting statistics of the +arrests for drunkenness. This alternates with panegyrics of the city as +the most progressive in the world--"the model municipality." We are +neither so bad nor so good as we are sometimes said to be. That the +streets of Glasgow--or rather some of them--are at times disgraced by the +drunkenness of some who use them, is quite true; but the fact that some +travellers at some times see more drunk people in a given area than may be +seen in any English city does not justify the inference that the +inhabitants of Glasgow are more drunken than those of other cities. In no +English city is there so large a population on so small an area. If there +are more drunk in a given space there are also more sober people; but only +the drunks are observed. In Glasgow, moreover, the ordinary drink is +whisky, which rapidly makes a man reel. It excites more markedly than the +beer consumed so generally in England, which makes a man not so much drunk +as sodden. If it were worth the retort, one might point out that even if +it be true that in Scotland you may see more people drunk, in England you +see fewer people sober. + +As for the statistics of arrests they are absolutely useless for purposes +of comparison, if only because of the different practices that prevail in +different parts of the country in dealing with drunks. It is also well +known that a comparatively small number of persons is responsible for a +very large number of arrests. + +The facts show (1) that drink puts a man into a condition in which he is +more liable to commit an offence or crime than he is when sober; (2) that +while drinking is common in all parts of the country, police offences and +crimes occur mainly in closely populated districts; (3) that the amount of +crime and police offences in Scotland is not dependent on the amount of +drinking alone, but is mainly dependent on indulgence in drink under +certain conditions of city life; (4) that the major portion, and the most +serious kind, of crimes against property, are not attributable to drink. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +POVERTY, DESTITUTION, OVERCROWDING, AND CRIME + + The majority of persons in prison there because of their poverty-- + Poverty and drink--Poverty and petty offences--Poverty and thrift-- + Poverty and destitution--Case of theft from destitution--Poverty and + vagrancy--Unemployment and beggary--Formation of professional + offenders--The case of the old--The degradation of the unemployed to + unemployability--No ratio between the amount of poverty alone and the + amount of crime--A definite ratio between density of population and + crime--Slum life--Overcrowding--Cases of destitution and + overcrowding--Overcrowding and decency--Poverty and overcrowding in + relation to offences against the person--The poor and officials--The + absence of opportunity for rational recreation--The migratory + character of the population--The multiplication of laws and of + penalties--Transgressions due to ignorance and to inability to + conform--Contrast between city and country administration--Case of + petty offender--Treatment induces further offences--The city the + hiding-place of the professional criminal--Crime largely a by-product + of city life. + + +While the majority of prisoners were under the influence of drink at the +time they committed the offences for which they are convicted, it is +equally true that they are in prison because of their poverty. They are +there because they are unable to pay the fines imposed on them. Their +offences may be attributable to drink, but their imprisonment is due to +want of money. There are many who are most estimable citizens, though +poor; poverty alone does not lead them to prison. On the other hand, there +are many people who drink to excess and do not transgress the law; their +drunkenness alone does not lead them to jail; but while a man may be poor +and virtuous, his poverty will compel him to live under conditions in +which any vices he has may easily develop into crimes or offences. + +It is sometimes said that poverty, and especially the poverty of the +masses, is the result of drink, but no statement was ever more grotesquely +untrue. That drink aggravates poverty is obvious; but no one can shut his +eyes to the fact that all poor people do not drink, and that all +teetotalers are not rich. Drink is often a cause of poverty; but to +attribute poverty mainly to drink is wantonly to libel thousands of our +poorer fellow-citizens who live far cleaner lives than many of their +critics. On the other hand, it is equally unsafe to attribute drinking +mainly to poverty, for many who indulge freely are possessed of +considerable means, and the practice is not peculiar to any social +condition. That some are driven to drink as a refuge from the monotony of +their lives is undeniable; but if poverty makes some men drunkards it +makes others teetotalers. They see that their chances of "getting on" are +less if they take drink than they would be if they kept strictly sober, +and they abstain till they have attained their object; though they may +make up for their abstinence afterwards. + +Of prisoners convicted for committing petty offences--the largest +number--many have been driven to offend by the squalor of their +surroundings. Poverty tends to limit a man's choice in work and in +recreation. He is on the verge of destitution, having nothing in the way +of reserve, and he is forced to take work that may and often does result +in an income that is much less than the expenditure of energy necessary to +obtain it. If he is a member of a family or has friends in the district +where he is living, he can usually obtain assistance in the time of his +distress; and he is himself counted on to render help when required. That +such help is commonly given by the poor to the poor is a commonplace, but +its importance in preventing destitution in places where poverty is always +present is not sufficiently recognised. + +The majority of working-class families live almost from hand to mouth. The +utmost to be expected from them in the way of thrift is provision for pay +in time of sickness from a friendly society; and even that is not possible +for all the members of a household. Provision may also be made for aliment +from a trade union in time of unemployment; and in some cases for some +period there may be something saved and set aside in the bank. They are +accustomed to hear of their improvidence from people who have never known +what it is to suffer from ill-health and consequent loss of income, and +who would find their place in a lunatic asylum if they tried to live for a +year under the circumstances of those whom they criticise and direct. +Their lamentations and advice are sometimes echoed by the man who has +risen from the ranks to comparative opulence, and who forgets that if his +neighbours had been like him he would never have been where he is. The +only capital they have is their health, and anything may happen to set +aside the principal member of the family and throw the others into a +struggle that may lame them. + +The life of the individual worker is nearly always one of interdependence. +In his early years he is dependent on his parents and his elder brothers +and sisters. When he is able to work his wages go into the common stock, +and by the time he can earn enough to support himself he may have to +contribute to the support of his parents. Thrift in the case of any +family cannot be estimated by the money saved, and in many of the model +thrifty families it may be found that the cash saving has been made at the +expense of starving the bodies and minds of the children. Time and again, +well-doing families have become destitute after a severe and prolonged +struggle, or after a short period in which they have suffered blow after +blow, as a result of sickness or loss of work; and as there is no public +provision made for helping such people until they are quite destitute, and +then only the minimum of relief is given them and they are set adrift to +recover under conditions that render recovery almost impossible, it is +wonderful that so many manage to survive. + +Those who sink are not therefore to be condemned on that account as worse +citizens than those who survive; the time at which they have been struck +by calamity may account for all the difference between them. We are all +liable to sickness and death, but if either comes at one time rather than +another it may make a very considerable difference to our families. When a +man who is in a steady situation with a fair wage dies leaving no +provision for his wife and family he is condemned. It is in vain to point +out that he used his pay towards their comfort and in such a way as to +ensure their fitness; he ought to have been more careful; and the very +people who preach faith are the first to blame him because he took no +thought of tomorrow, but did the best he could in the day that was his. +The fact is that every man who thinks, among those that are dependent on +the wages they earn--usually under a precarious tenure of their +situations--sees that his choice lies between securing the best conditions +in his power for his family in order that they may be the more fit to do +their work in the world, and doing something less in order to lay by some +money for them; between starving them in essentials during his lifetime to +secure them from starvation should he die, and giving what he has while he +is there to give, in the hope that he may live to see them develop +healthily. + +From poverty to destitution is in many cases but a short step, and it may +be taken by those who have done nothing to deserve it. Sickness, loss of +employment, absence of friends who can assist, may drive a man to +extremity; and then it is a hard task indeed for him to keep within the +law and live. His sickness may enable him to qualify for parochial relief, +but as soon as he is recovered so far as to be able to go about he may be +cast adrift without means of support. + +If a man does not live by working he can only support himself by the work +of others; being destitute he must beg or steal. X 14 was a man of +thirty-five years of age who was charged with theft. He was somewhat +"soft," and had managed to support himself during the lifetime of his +relations by casual labour. He was physically in good health and mentally +not bad enough to obtain care from any public body. On the death of those +who had looked after him he drifted to the common lodging-houses, but he +had not enough devil in him to be attracted by any of the vicious or to +indulge in any vices. He began to find difficulty in obtaining employment. +Under the stress of his condition his mental defect became accentuated, +and, though not prominent enough to call for official recognition, it +hindered him in his efforts to obtain work. Asked why he had stolen, he +gave a reply that in its reasonableness was striking. He said, "What was I +to do? I tried the parish, but they could do nothing for me, for I'm quite +weel. I tried beggin', but I didna get much, an' I was catched. You're no +sae often catched when you steal." He did not want to steal, but it was +the easiest thing to do. In begging he took a risk of apprehension for +everybody he approached, and from most he would get nothing in the way of +help. He took the same risk when he lifted something, but at any rate he +drew no blanks. He had some very orthodox views on punishment; for he +believed that the proper thing to do with a man who stole--when you caught +him--was to send him to prison for so many days, the time to depend on the +value of the property stolen; but he thought that the man who had suffered +imprisonment for theft, and so paid the penalty, ought to be allowed to +enjoy the proceeds of his theft; and he complained that though he had +served so many days for the theft of a pair of boots, he had not been +given back the boots on his liberation. I cite his case here, in spite of +the fact that he was mentally defective, because he really stated +correctly the dilemma into which a person is driven when destitute; and +because he appeared to be one who, had it not been for his poverty and +destitution, would not have required attention either as a mentally +defective or a criminal. His social condition gave no opportunity for the +proper development of his mental powers, but stunted their growth. As for +their quality, it is in no wise different from that of many who, thanks to +better chances, are able to get themselves accepted as public leaders on +the strength of an absence of showy vices, and the exposition of a logical +and narrow view of things; solid men and safe, free from levity and +serious-minded. + +Poverty is no crime, but it is something very like a police offence if the +poor person is destitute. Everybody needs food, clothing, and shelter, and +they cannot be had without money or its equivalent. A man may starve and +go in rags rather than beg or steal, but he must sleep somewhere. He +cannot pay for a lodging, and to sleep out is to qualify for sleeping in a +cell. If the police were not better than the law in this respect our +prisons would always be full. There are many men out of work who are far +from anxious to get it; indeed, and for that matter, most people are quite +content to do no more than they need; and in spite of all that has been +said of the blessedness of labour, there are few of the most earnest +preachers against the idleness of others who would prefer to work longer +hours for less pay rather than shorter hours for more. + +We must discriminate; the objection to the man who will not work is that +he is not content to want. When he gets like that he is so far from being +an unemployed person that he has adopted the occupation of deliberately +living off others; that is his profession, and I am not at all sure that +it is quite as easy as it is assumed to be by those who have not tried it. +Certainly the amateur beggar makes but a poor show with the professional. +His is, at any rate, a dishonourable and an illegal profession; but while +in some cases he has been brought up to it, in many he has drifted into it +through destitution. We ought to have no professional beggars and no +professional thieves; but as they are in some way made, it does not help +to an understanding of the question to label them "habitual," condemn +them, and neglect to ask, if they "growed," how it was they began their +career. Many of these full-blown specimens have been offered work at +remunerative rates and have scorned it, which shows--that they did so; +that is all. It does not show that if in the beginning they had been taken +in hand they would have refused to do their share of labour. All +experiments of that kind only prove that the sturdy beggar finds it easier +and pleasanter to beg than to do the kind of work offered to him; they +teach nothing as to the causes which led him to begging; and poverty and +destitution are the most common causes. + +In our large cities there are numbers of children who are destitute +because of their parents being unable to provide for them, or failing to +do so. They are cast on their own resources from a very early age, and +have sometimes to assist in the maintenance of others. When they can, some +of them leave the homes which have been far from sweet and take to living +in common lodging-houses--in Glasgow we call them "Models," with a fine +sense of humour, for they offer the best of opportunities for the +formation of citizens who will not be models. If the boy grows up as he +can, and in the process develops anti-social qualities, it is not he who +is most to blame; and when we condemn his conduct, as we must, we might at +least admit that his course has largely been shaped by the destitution +which it would have paid us better to prevent than to punish, when as its +result we have allowed him to develop into a pest. + +At the other end of the ladder there are men who are refused work because +they are or seem old, and who are driven down through destitution to +become petty offenders. I remember when I was employed in the poorhouse a +man was brought to be certified insane. He had attempted to sever a vessel +in his arm in order that he might bleed to death, but his ignorance of +anatomy--he was a pre-school-board man--had caused him to make an ugly +gash at the wrong place. He was talkative, and his story was clearly told. +He was about fifty years of age and was unable to follow the only trade he +knew. He was an iron-worker and had done hard work in his day. He had +never been a teetotaler, but he had always attended to his work. At times +he made good wages, but he had suffered from periods of depression. +Sometimes he had been able to save money, but it had always melted. He +could get work when work was to be had, but for some year or two now he +was physically unable to take a place. He had contracted a disease of the +heart. His son had got married and had two children. He was a well-doing +and industrious young man; sober, steady, and a good workman. He had been +supported by this son, of whom he spoke in the highest terms. He also was +an iron-worker. The son had never grudged him his keep, nor had his wife. +Why then had he attempted to kill himself? His explanation was as clear as +it was unexpected. He said, "Doctor, do I look unhappy?" He did not; +indeed he was rather cheerful. "Well, I never had ony melancholy, if +that's the name for't. My son's a good lad. He slaves as I slaved, and at +the end he'll drap tae. I'm done. I've enjoyed my life on the whole, but +I'm fit for naething but to be a burden on him. He disna object; but +there's the weans. Every bite that goes into my mooth comes oot o' theirs. +If they're to be something better than their faither or me, they'll need +mair of the schule; and what wi' broken time an' low wages they'll no get +it. I want them to be kept frae work till they're educated tae seek +something better. He and I have had our share of hard work. I've had my +sprees, but he's a better man than I was--no a better tradesman; I'll no +say that--an' I want his weans to hae a better chance than he had. No, I'm +no a Socialist; I'm a Tory if I'm onything, but I never bothered wi' +political questions, though I've heard a heap o' blethers on a' sides. +What? Hell? Noo, doctor, does ony sensible man believe in that nooadays? +God's no as bad as they make Him oot to be, an' at onyrate I believe that +death ends a'." There was no shaking him. All he wanted was some lessons +in anatomy--which he did not get. He insisted that he was as sane as any +of us, and asserted that he could not be certified; but he was wrong +there. The law takes most elaborate precautions to prevent people killing +themselves, aye even when it has sentenced them to death, but so far it +has not made any provision for enabling them to work for their living. + +We hear of the unemployable who could not work even if he were willing, +but apart from those who labour under mental or physical disabilities--and +many of them can and do work--I have not met many of this class. There are +many on distress works who make a very poor show; they are not fit for +that kind of work, but that is a different thing altogether from saying +that there is nothing they can do that is useful. Certainly in the +ordinary sense it cannot be said of the man who is too old to secure +employment that he is unfit for work. He is shut out by competition, the +employer quite naturally preferring what he believes to be the more +efficient workman. Few of the older men who are thus thrown on the +scrap-heap take things in such a way that they try the open door of death, +but the fact that they are condemned to forsake their occupation does prey +on the minds of many and embitter their lives; and the fear of dismissal +increases in intensity as their hair turns white. When the blow falls, if +they have no resources what is to become of them? There are all sorts of +schemes proposed for dealing on the one hand with the young and keeping +them longer at school, and on the other hand with the older men and +providing them with work. To an outsider it would seem that if the number +of men employed is sufficient to produce what is required, and there is a +large surplus of unemployed labour, those who are working are working too +long. A stranger might be excused for thinking that if one man is working +eight hours and another not working at all it would be better for both +that each should work four hours; but if he said so he would only show his +simplicity. The man who is employed would quickly point out that this +would reduce his wages. Yet when a man gets promotion, whether in the +public service or in private business, his salary and his responsibilities +are increased--the former certainly, the latter in such a way that it +becomes less easy to get rid of him--but his hours are usually reduced; +for more money would be of little use to him if he did not get time to +spend it. This is merely an observation, not a doctrine; but it is +difficult to see how employment is to be found for those who are willing +and able to work unless we cease to improve machinery and produce less +economically; or increase our production enormously; or divide the work +and the proceeds more evenly. In any case, and while that matter is being +settled, we might recognise the dilemma into which those are thrust who +cannot find work and are destitute. + +They must beg or steal, and if they get into the way of doing either they +are liable to become less fitted and less inclined for other occupations. +X 15 was an artisan earning a fair wage and enjoying good health. He was +married to a woman who was a good housewife and manager. When he was about +thirty-eight he was thrown out of work by a strike in an allied trade. A +commercial crisis ensued and there was general distress. He managed for a +time to keep his head above water, but his resources gradually were eaten +away. His employers wound up their business, and when the local difficulty +had passed he found that he had to look out for another place. While idle +he had formed the acquaintance of others in like case. He had been a +steady, stay-at-home man, but in their company he took to amusements which +were harmless in themselves and new to him. He also imbibed a taste for +beer, but he did not get drunk. The company was not bad company, but it +was different from any he had been accustomed to, and it was not good for +him. For a time he looked for work, but he did not find it. Others got +settled, but the luck was against him, and he became discouraged and +despairing. By and by he looked about in a half-hearted way, and gave more +time to loafing than to seeking rebuffs. He was not destitute, as his +family was able to keep the wolf from the door. In two years he was only +interested in getting drink from anybody who would treat him, and in +discussing public affairs with others who had fallen like himself. He had +given up the idea of work and had degenerated from a good citizen to a +loafer and, later, to a drunkard. He was never convicted, but he had to be +warned because of his conduct towards his wife; and he died as a result of +exposure when drunk--to the relief of his family, who were in danger of +being dragged into the mire by him. In this case his family saved him from +destitution, but the loss of his work drove him almost imperceptibly into +the ranks of the derelicts, in spite of the counter-influences of home. In +many cases there is no family to do what his did for him, and the process +is more certain and easy. + +Poverty compels men to live under conditions in which their vices may +easily develop into crimes or offences; and it makes those who have +transgressed the law less able to recover from the effects of a conviction +and more liable to become habitual offenders; but it cannot be said that +the amount of convictions in Scotland is in relation to the poverty of any +given district. In some parts of the highlands and islands, where poverty +is pronounced, there is an entire absence of crime. + +While no ratio can be traced between the amount of drinking or the degree +of poverty and the number of crimes or offences in Scotland, there is a +very definite relationship between the density of the population and the +incidence of breaches of the law. Not only is there more crime in the city +than in the country, but from the densely populated parts of the city +there are more committals than from the less crowded districts. The +sanitary reformer has shown us that our city slums are breeding-places for +diseases that do not confine their operation to the people who dwell +there, but may easily infect those who live under more wholesome +conditions; and substituting vice and crime for disease and death the +statement is equally true. + +By letting in light and fresh air to the houses where so many dwell we are +able to save lives which would otherwise be crippled or destroyed by the +insanitary conditions in which they are placed; and just as surely we +could break up the aggregations of people whose acquired way of living is +fatal to the proper development of an enlightened civic spirit, if we were +as eager to prevent as we are to punish wrongdoing. There they are; born +into little boxes of houses which are packed together in rows and built in +layers one above the other in the air. Their home life is passed in +similar boxes; and when they die they are put in smaller boxes and placed +in layers under the earth. The health officer would speedily interfere if +we tried to house as many pigs to the acre as human beings; but we eat the +pigs and cannot permit them to be raised under conditions that would be +likely to result in their contracting disease. Also there are fewer people +making a living by furnishing accommodation for pigs than for men; and it +is easier to regulate an occupation when those who are engaged in it are +not influential, than when they are; for we have a traditional dislike to +interfering with the rights of property. It is therefore much easier to +punish a slum-dweller for breaking our sanitary regulations than a slum +landlord for living off rotten dwellings. + +It is well known that the worse the building is, the bigger the rent +charged in proportion to the accommodation supplied. If a man owns house +property he expects to make a profit when he lets it, from the difference +between what he has paid for it and the rent he receives from it. X 16 is +an old woman who is past work and has no resources. She has been in the +poorhouse, but will not stay there, though better housed and better fed +and kept cleaner than when outside. She is too old to settle down to the +ordered life of the institution, and when all its advantages are +enumerated to her and all available eloquence has been expended on her +with a view to persuading her that in her own interest she ought +gratefully to accept its shelter, she sullenly and silently shows that her +opinion of the place as a desirable residence does not coincide with that +of those who are in no danger of being forced to live there. She rents a +small house and takes in lodgers, intending to make her living from the +difference between what she pays and what she receives in rent. Under the +Glasgow sanitary regulations certain houses are "ticketed"; that is to +say, their cubic content is measured, and a card is fixed on the door +stating the number of cubic feet in the place and the number of persons +who may be lodged therein. One adult is the allowance for every 600 cubic +feet; and half that space is allowed for every person under twelve years. +The sanitary inspector is entitled to demand admission at any hour in +order to ascertain whether there is overcrowding. He calls one night and +finds that the limit has been exceeded, and she is sent to prison, in +default of paying a fine, for overcrowding. Of course there is a +difference between her and her landlord, for she has broken the law. +Precisely; but what kind of law is it that can reach only the poorer +transgressor and allows the partner in profits to escape? + +X 17 is a woman of forty-two who has never been in prison before, and is +under sentence for overcrowding. On a midnight visit the sanitary officer +found six adults in a room ticketed for three and a half--a bad case. The +woman's story was that her daughter had been married to a young man some +twelve months previously. He was an iron-worker and seemed decent enough. +He lost his situation through bad trade and was unable to get another. +Meantime a child was born. The young people wrestled along for a time; but +after exhausting all the channels of aid which were open to them, they +were turned out of their house for failing to pay the rent. Their +furniture had been disposed of. The girl's mother took them in to shelter +them. She admitted she had kept them in lodgings for some weeks before the +"sanitary" came down on her, and I suspect she had been warned, but as she +said, "What was I to do?" Asked if she had informed the magistrate of the +facts, she said she had not. "I pleaded guilty, because if ye dae that ye +get aff easier." She could not even make the best of her case, but if she +had been able to employ a lawyer she would not have required to transgress +the law; and as for stating her own case, that is what few are able to +do--till by experience they learn. Even when a person of education and +means finds himself in conflict with the law, if he is prudent he gets an +experienced lawyer to appear for him and present the truth in the way that +will appeal most strongly to the judge. + +Overcrowding not only breeds disease, but it tends to destroy the sense of +decency, and affords opportunities for the commission of crime which ought +not to exist. Now and again cases come before the courts that have to be +heard with closed doors, and in every one of them this factor of +overcrowding is present, affording the opportunity and inducing to the +commission of the crime. The subject is so foul that it cannot be +adequately treated here without grave occasion of offence. Unspeakable +corruption is easy and possible, and it goes on because it is unspeakable. + +It has often been said that poverty and destitution are not likely to lead +to the commission of crimes against the person, but rather to crimes +against property and _a priori_ there is something to be said for the +statement; but whatever the likelihood we need not concern ourselves with +it when the facts are before us for examination. In the first place, the +great majority of persons in prison for committing assaults of all +descriptions are poor persons. It is a rare thing for one in a good +position to be convicted of assault, and even the most cursory examination +of those who are in prison for assaulting others will show that their +social condition was a factor in the causation of the crime. I have +pointed out the part that drink plays in the matter, and incidentally +shown that it is mainly operative under the conditions which exist in +closely populated districts; but many of the minor assaults are committed +by persons who are not under the influence of drink. Next to drink, among +the women, the most common cause assigned by them for their imprisonment +is "bad neebors." They do not lose their tempers and fight with each other +because they are poor or destitute, but poverty makes strange bedfellows +and forces people to rub against one another in such a way as to give +occasion for trouble; and to leave the fact out of account is simply to +attempt to study man apart from his surroundings and to ignore the effect +they have on his conduct. + +In some parts of Glasgow--much as it has been improved during the last +generation--there is literally no room for the people to live. A place to +sleep in, to afford shelter from the weather, to take food in? Yes. Room +for recreation or for quiet rest? No. The forbearance, the good-humour, +the willingness shown to stand aside and allow another member of the +family to monopolise the scanty accommodation, are wonderful; and they are +the rule. Now and then, here and there, a breakdown occurs; and if it +result in a breach of the peace, we are not concerned to recognise the +cause, but only to punish the wrongdoers. "What's done we partly may +compute, but know not what's resisted," and are not disposed to find out. + +A stair-head quarrel is a stock subject for the humorist; but try to live +for a week in such close and constant contact with anyone, earning your +living the while with exhausting labour, and your wonder will be that the +peace is so well kept. The fact is that those people put up with a great +deal more than their censors would stand, and that is one reason why they +are so badly off. If they were as impatient of our smug mismanagement as +we are of their transgressions we should have learned how to regulate our +cities long ago. There is a great effort made to evangelise the poorer +classes, and it is well supported by earnest men who are better off; it +would not be a bad thing if the slums returned the compliment and started +a mission to the West End. The _a priori_ reasoner would then perhaps +learn that while he might expect that crimes against property would in +part be the result of poverty and destitution, because such crimes would +relieve the poverty, though in an illegal way; crimes against the person +are also frequently a result of poverty, not that they are committed with +a view to its relief, but because discomfort, irritability, impatience of +restraint, and other mental conditions which lead to assaults, are as much +an outcome of poverty as it exists in the slums of our great cities as are +hunger and want. + +There is no slum district in Glasgow that does not contain a larger number +of well-disposed than of evil-disposed persons; but a tenement may get a +bad name through the misconduct of one or two of its inhabitants, and a +street may be regarded as wild although there is only a minority of rowdy +people living in it. We take no account of those who do not annoy us, and +when the noisy people anywhere assert themselves we forget all about the +others. When we interfere officially it is to find that, good and bad, +they stand by one another. In this respect they are like gentlemen; they +do not give one another away to outsiders; and it is an interesting +sidelight on their view of the law that they do not look on its +representatives as their friends. So often its interference results in +making their condition worse that they distrust it; and it is often a +greater terror to those who do well than to the evil-doer. It is no +uncommon thing to see a woman who has been assaulted by her husband plead +with the court to let him go, and make all sorts of excuses or tell the +most incredible story to account for her injuries. Then we hear +exclamations and reflections on the power of human love and the forgiving +spirit of even a degraded woman. Human love is wonderful, but it is no +more marvellous than human stupidity; and in these cases the woman is +moved not so much by love of the man as by knowledge of the results to her +and hers of our way of dealing with him. On the whole, she prefers to run +the risk of ill-usage from him when he is at liberty, being assured of his +protection against the ill-usage of others, to having to wrestle on in his +absence and suffer from the disapproval of others who are as badly off, +because of her disloyalty. See that her condition is really improved by +his conviction and she will be less likely to perjure herself in the +attempt to save him from the penalty of his brutality. + +In every slum district there are some living who could afford to go +elsewhere, but who remain where they are because it has never occurred to +them that they should remove. They have gone to the district in its better +days, and the change in its character has been so gradual that they have +not taken much notice of it. They stay on just as men stay on at business +after the need has passed, because they cannot think of doing anything +else and are loth to seek fresh fields. It is not good for them that they +should do so, but it is not bad for the slum; for old inhabitants of this +kind exercise a good influence on many of the others. + +Most slum-dwellers are not there because they prefer slum life, but +because they are unable to pay for better accommodation. The smallness of +their dwellings makes healthy home-life difficult and in some cases +impossible. Having no room in the house for the recreation required after +work, the man goes out to seek change. The opportunities offered to him +are few, except those provided by private enterprise. There are the parks, +and great advantage is taken of them; but in Glasgow they are nearly all +at considerable distances from the most crowded districts. The public +bowling-greens are used to the utmost in the evenings, but are only +available for a part of the year. The libraries attract comparatively few +of those whose labour has entailed much physical strain on them; and +picture-galleries and museums appeal to only a very limited number of our +fellow-citizens, working-class or otherwise. + +It was once the idea of those who pleaded for the public provision of +means of recreation that these should be of such a character as would +"improve" the working classes. The intention was excellent, but the people +themselves were left out of consideration, as is usual when efforts are +made to recreate men instead of providing opportunity for them to amuse +themselves. Perhaps they do not believe that it would be an improvement to +conform to our ideals; at any rate, the great majority have not shown any +eagerness to take advantage of the means for studying science and art +which we have placed within their reach; and they remain as regardless of +the worship of these deities as the great mass of the richer people who +quite honestly have sought to elevate them. The private caterer has found +a way to interest them, for if he failed to do so he would lose his means +of livelihood, and that fact may have helped to sharpen his powers of +perception. He has to amuse men as they are, not as he thinks they ought +to be; and our regulations quite properly debar him from doing so in an +objectionable way. The entertainments provided may not be of a very high +order, but the purpose of recreating thousands is served. If we regret +that they do not seek something better, let us remember the monotony of +their lives, the numbing effect of the conditions to which they are +subject, and be thankful they do not seek worse. + +The small house of one or two rooms in a tenement is what the majority +have for a home, and when there is a family it is insufficient to enable +them to evolve a complete and healthy home-life in it. Social intercourse +is of necessity restricted, for there is no room for the gathering of +friends; and though public entertainments, while valuable adjuncts, are +poor substitutes for social intercourse, they are better than nothing. The +public-house is almost the only place where the mass of town-dwellers can +meet in a social way with their friends, and the perils attendant on such +meetings are evident to all men. The effort to provide some substitute for +it has taxed the ingenuity and baffled the attempts of many temperance +advocates and social reformers. Much as they have been criticised, the +music-halls and such places have been a powerful counter-attraction, but +any means of public entertainment cannot in the end supply the need for +social intercourse between kindred spirits. Some day the fact will have to +be faced that the only real substitute for the public-house is the private +house; and when that is fully realised the slums will go. + +Many have to migrate from one district to another because of the nature of +their work. They have not "steady jobs," and though they may not suffer +from unemployment, they may be engaged now in one part of the city and now +in another. The result is that they have no abiding dwelling-place, and +as a rule have only the barest acquaintance with their neighbours; for +when people are moving about in this way they have neither the same +opportunity nor the same desire to form friendships with those around +them. Improvement in the means of locomotion has contributed to send +employers and well-to-do people out of the crowded areas of the city and +away from the parts wherein their employees reside. They see less of their +workmen than did a former generation, and their wives and families know +nothing about the men whose co-operation is required to secure their +comfort. There is less of personal contact than there was and more chance +of mutual misunderstanding. The bond between employer and employed becomes +more and more a mere money bond; each seeks to get as much as he can out +of the other; and with it all there arises a general feeling of +instability and insecurity, the necessary result of the absence of a +spirit of fellowship such as can only spring from the existence of a +personal as distinct from a pecuniary interest between man and man. + +Where people are crowded together regulations are required for their +health and comfort, and the liberty of each has to be restricted in the +interest of the community. The more closely they are packed the more +interference is required. Practices which in the country might be harmless +or even laudable would be intolerable if permitted in the town. To make +our rules operative we enact penalties against offenders--and sometimes +enforce them. There are so many now that it is questionable if there is +anybody in Glasgow who has not at one time or another been a transgressor. +The man from whose chimney black smoke has issued, or who has obstructed +the footpath by leaving goods outside his shop-door, does not worry over, +because he is not seriously worried by, such laws. He may swear a little +when summoned, and say evil things about the officiousness of the +authorities, but it is a small matter to him even though he is fined. The +man who finds himself in court for using strange oaths in public or for +spitting in or upon a tramcar has more worry over the business. Even a +small fine makes a serious inroad in his day's earnings, and the loss of +time attending the court docks him of the pay by which he might discharge +the fine. However much it may be required, every extension of the police +regulations for the government of a city implies an increase in the number +of offences and offenders dealt with; and while it is necessary that +transgressors should be made to cease to do the things the law condemns, +it does not follow that the wisest means are always taken to secure this +object. + +A crusade against consumption will meet with hearty approval everywhere; +but if the crusaders allow their zeal to direct their energies wrongly +their good intentions cannot be held as an excuse for the harm they do. In +a city that is ordinarily covered with a haze, and sometimes with a cloud, +of smoke; where the inhabitants for the most part live in tenement houses +that by no stretch of fancy could be called spacious; where the workers +are in many cases subjected to severe physical strain by the nature of +their work; and where the weather is variable and trying; it is not +surprising that many should suffer from "colds." They are under the +necessity of spitting, and they spit not out of joy of spitting, but +because they have to. The practice is filthy--it is all the evil things +that can be said of it; and it should be discouraged. The best way would +be to alter the conditions that occasion it; the worst way is to make the +spitter a comrade of the criminal before the bar of a police court. + +As with this so with many other offences; they are manufactured without +due regard to the injury that may be caused by their enforcement. It is an +easy thing to place burdens on the backs of others, but in fairness to +them it should first be ascertained whether they can bear them. Many of +our laws are transgressed because of ignorance or helplessness; and +neither is an excuse. We are all supposed to know the law, and surely no +greater irony could there be than such a hypothesis. If everybody knew the +laws there would be no need for lawyers; and if the lawyers were agreed as +to what is the law at any time there would be little need for judges. So +well is it recognised that even the judges differ, that one set is +employed to correct another; and a final decision is only arrived at +because there is not another set yet provided to differ from them. If a +layman does not know the law he may be punished for his ignorance; but if +a judge does not know it the person in whose favour he has given a +decision may be punished by payment of the costs of appeal. Let us not be +too hard then on the ignorance of the man who has transgressed one of our +numerous commandments. + +In the country, and where people are not crowded together, there are +offenders against good government; but there each one knows the other, and +when a man commits a petty offence, though the local constable sees it, he +may be judiciously blind if in his judgment that is the best course to +take. He knows the inhabitants--they are his friends--and he reacts to the +opinion of the district. If he makes an arrest the matter is discussed, +and when the offender comes before the court, magistrate and prisoner +meet as persons who know one another. Judgment is given on a knowledge not +only of the offence, but of the offender, and all parties in the case are +tried by the public. In the city it is not possible for the policeman to +know the people who live in his district, nor for them to know him. This +is a great disadvantage to begin with, for he is not able to distinguish +between those who may be corrected and restrained by their friends without +the need for their being charged and those who cannot be so dealt with. He +arrests a person whom he does not know for committing an offence. The +prisoner is brought before a judge who knows neither of them, save +officially, and judgment is given according to scale. As for informed +public opinion directed on the proceedings, there is none. In the city as +in the country, however, if an offender is known as being ordinarily a +well-behaved man he may not be prosecuted. If he is overcome by drink +someone may see him home or send him there. It is not so much a question +of his being well-to-do; it is a question of his being known. If not +known, no matter what his means he cannot be sent home in a cab; but he +may be taken to the police station in a wheelbarrow. + +What else can the police do? We take men of good physique and character, +many of them country-bred and unacquainted with the complexities of city +life. They are paid the wages of a labourer, and with a uniform invested +with powers and duties of the most varied kind. They must be able to keep +people from offending, or to arrest them if they do offend; they must know +the law; they must be prepared to act as doctors on emergency--what must +they not be able to do? We multiply our complaints, and cast on their +shoulders duties we ought to perform ourselves; blaming them not only for +any blunders they may commit, but also for our own. We compel them to make +arrests and then lament the result. X 18 is sent to prison in default of +paying a fine, on conviction for using obscene language. She is seventeen +years of age, but does not look more than fifteen. In years she is a young +woman, but in body and in character she is a big girl. She is the eldest +of a family, the father of which is a casual labourer. The mother does +occasional charing. Both take drink, but neither has ever been convicted +or charged. The girl is employed in a factory and earns about enough to +support herself. At night she wants some fun after her day's work, and she +does not want to assist all the time in the household. She plays with +other and younger girls and is probably their leader. There is no +playground for them but the street corner, except they take the "back +close," which is not lit and which might be a source of greater evil than +the street. A complaint is made to the police of the bad language used by +the girls. It is certainly lurid; but where have they learned it? The +decorative expressions complained of are part of the current vocabulary of +many in the district, but are used with more restraint by the elders. We +have all our pet adjectives, which differ in different localities and are +of the nature of slang. In the West End a thing may be "awfully nice," +though nothing can be at once awful and nice; in the East End the +adjective may be quite as inappropriate, but everybody knows its +signification; and so with other parts of speech. True, their language is +filthy, but it does not shock those who use it; and that is perhaps the +saddest thing about it. The girls are warned, but they persist in speaking +their own language, and in bravado ornament it profusely and shout +opprobrious words at the policeman. One is caught. She has not +necessarily been worse than the others in her behaviour, but she has +either run in the wrong direction or not fast enough to escape. She is +taken to the police station and warned. The complaints persist. Again she +is arrested. She is the bad one; she was taken before. + +On her liberation from prison she had lost her work. She was shunned by +the other girls, whose mothers forbade them to associate with one who had +been in prison, lest they should be taken in charge also. It is an offence +to associate with some classes of offenders and criminals, and the +cautious among the dwellers in these districts do not care to take risks, +so they try to keep clear of anyone who has been in the hands of the +police. The law may be right enough, but you will not get them to believe +that the innocent person is safe; not if he is poor. "Keep awa' frae +Jeannie. She's been in the nick; an' if they see you wi' her they'll maybe +think you're as bad, and land ye there tae." They would help her if they +could, but they fear that association with her would only hurt themselves +and do her no good. Those who have been in prison themselves will go with +her, and those who are reckless; to their company she is confined, for she +will not take to religion and the help of its professors. She is soon back +again; as cheerful and as tractable as any girl could be. + +In essence it is a common story. The police could have done nothing else +in the circumstances, and she had no grudge against them, but admitted +that they had treated her fairly; can as much be said for those who by +persistent nagging force the hands of their officials, and who are more +bent on punishing offenders than on mending their bad manners? We have +lost the personal interest we ought to have in our neighbours; we have +gone out from among them; we have cast on officials duties we ought to +undertake ourselves as citizens, and the result is an increase in the +number of offences. In themselves these offences are small matters, but +the offenders in many cases find themselves in prison for the first time +as a result; and it is the first time that counts. Every time a man is +sent to prison for a small offence committed he has been given a push +towards the life of a habitual offender; and the poorer and more destitute +he is the greater difficulty will he have in overcoming the effect of that +conviction. His first appearance may be on account of a small +transgression, but there is a common saying that is often taken to +heart--"As well be hung for a sheep as a lamb." + +The absence of personal interest in their neighbours on the part of men in +crowded districts not only permits atrocious assaults and homicides to +take place in the very heart of a densely populated district, but it +allows thieves to exercise their profession unmolested because unknown. It +also enables them to escape observation when they are being sought for. +The city is their hunting-ground and their refuge. + +Crime is largely a by-product of city life. It might be mitigated if we +were more public-spirited; but it will always be an evil crying out +against us, so long as we permit conditions to exist which shut men into +dens under circumstances that make decent communion and fellowship between +them difficult if not impossible, and compel them to remain there till +they can pay a ransom to the man who holds up the land for his profit or +his pleasure. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +IMMIGRATION AND CRIME + + The stranger most likely to offend--The reaction to new + surroundings--The difficulty of recovery--The attraction of the + city--The Churches and the immigrant--Benevolent associations--The + alien immigrants--Their tendency to hold themselves apart-- + Deportation--A language test required--The alien criminal--His + dangerous character--The need for powers to deal with him. + + +A majority of the prisoners dealt with in Glasgow police courts are not +Glasgow-born; and this holds true of outlying towns. It is the stranger +who is the "bad one." + +The town-bred man more readily accommodates himself to the conditions of +life there. He grows up among them and his life is rooted in them. While +he is yet young his steps are directed for him, and he learns to avoid +dangers into which the stranger may fall. There can be no association of a +man with his neighbour anywhere without some degree of conformity to a +common standard of conduct. No one can outrage the social customs of his +companions with impunity; and everybody is more or less influenced by the +opinion of those for whom he has a regard; so he conforms to the standard +of behaviour set by the circle in which he moves and is steadied thereby. +If, as is generally the case, his companions are not ill-disposed, he is +likely to be a law-abiding citizen; if otherwise, he will get an impetus +towards crime. In any case he is of the soil, and his growth can the more +easily be watched and directed. + +The man from the country finds himself living under new conditions that +may rapidly make or mar him. He is away from the friends to whom he looked +for guidance; he is cast on his own resources and must exercise an +independent judgment; a temptation is not checked by the consideration of +what the family would think; and having nothing but his own inclinations +to consult, he is more likely to run loose than he would be when at home. +He is not necessarily more vicious or more foolish than his town-bred +brother; but he is not accustomed to the same kind of temptations, and can +neither resist them as well nor yield to them as gracefully. He is +therefore more likely to succumb, and more likely to suffer severely from +the consequences if he is found out; for just as he is handicapped by the +want of guidance, being a stranger he is not so likely to get proper +assistance if he falls into trouble. + +Men are attracted to the city by the hope of increase in pay and pleasure; +and though in some respects the life seems unattractive enough, they still +come. The only people who are certain not to come, and perforce to stay, +are those who have a home in the country and fixity of tenure there. Their +sons may and do invade the towns, but when they do not succeed there they +return to the land. Workmen in the country are as liable to lose their +situations as townsmen; their work is hard and their hours of labour are +long; they think their pleasures are few and dull compared to those men +may have in the city, and they gravitate to it. They are drawn in by its +glitter, and driven in by the drabness of country life; sometimes also by +the clearance of men to make way for the huge pleasure-grounds that +disgrace Scotland, and have resulted in the replacement of men who drew +their subsistence from the soil (living a hardy life and rearing a healthy +race) by deer and their keepers. When the landless man comes to town and +fails to find steady work, he cannot go back to the country unless the +family of which he is a member have some hold on the land. The children of +crofters do go back in times of depression, returning to their father's +holding and working there; but the others swell the ranks of the +unemployed and are in peril of degeneration into the loafer or criminal. + +The Churches play an important part in helping those young people from the +country who are recommended to them; but many never connect themselves +with Churches when they come to town at first. Some make a beginning, but +drop off, not so much because they dislike religion, but because they like +occasionally to talk and think about something else; and in comparatively +few of the Churches is the need for providing social intercourse +recognised. A man filled with the missionary spirit can find numerous +outlets for his energies, for there are evangelistic meetings held in all +districts and on all nights, and they welcome new-comers; there are also +temperance societies engaged in the propagation of their ideas; but the +majority of people who migrate to our towns are not prepared to engage in +that kind of occupation in their leisure hours, and they have just to +drift for the most part. + +There are Benevolent Associations of the natives of one county and another +which have a powerful influence for good in aiding those who come under +their care, but that they do not cover the whole ground is evident from +the fact that many of their compatriots are never heard of by them. That +they stand by one another in an admirable way is undeniable, and their +influence is so strong that for certain kinds of public appointments in +Glasgow the Glasgow man has a poor chance--there being no Society of the +Natives of Glasgow in that place yet. + +The absence of family counsel and constraint which may lead to the +degradation of the man who takes the wrong turn, may be a powerful aid to +his rise if he gets on the right track. He has to think and act for +himself; and his freedom from ties enables him to attend more exclusively +to his business. The immigrant to the city from the country is largely +represented in prison; but he is also largely represented in the town +council--and the one place may be held to be as typical of the reward of +the ill-doers as the other is of the well-doers. + +There is another immigrant whose conduct usually receives more attention +from the public, viz. the alien. In the West of Scotland foreigners are +present in large numbers, having this in common, that they tend to form +little colonies wherever they settle, retaining many of the habits they +have brought with them, and remaining aliens in the sense that they are +not absorbed in the community as they ought to be. In the collieries in +various parts of the West of Scotland large numbers of aliens are +employed. Their names, which in many cases are difficult either to +pronounce or to spell, have been set aside by somebody or other and local +names substituted; so that it is not uncommon to find a man with a +familiar name who is quite unable to speak the language of the country. +They keep themselves apart, and do not usually interfere with others, but +some of them get into trouble through fighting among themselves. +Ordinarily peaceable and tractable, they contribute a fair quota to the +number of serious assaults committed, though the person assailed is +usually another alien. Their ignorance of the language also makes them a +source of danger to others. + +When they have done some wild or criminal thing the culprits are deported, +after they have served their term of imprisonment; but their isolation +from the life of the district has in many cases contributed to the +offences committed, since it has prevented them from acquiring the point +of view of natives of this country and has caused them to follow the +customs of their own land. Any proposal to prevent their settling here +would come with a very bad grace from us, whose relatives are scattered +all over the globe and who pride ourselves on the fact. They are healthy; +and are neither wild nor intractable, but are generally industrious and +steady. In their interests and our own it is surely not advisable to +permit them to continue as colonies apart, separated from us by the bar of +language. + +It would be no act of tyranny or hardship to insist that every alien +settling here should, within twelve months of his arrival, satisfy the +local authority of his fitness to speak the language sufficiently well to +enable him to understand others and be understood by them. At present it +is no uncommon thing to find men who have been in the country for years +and are yet unable to engage in the simplest conversation in English--or +Scotch if you like. In one homicide case the accused had been in the +district for sixteen years, could only speak a broken dialect, and +required to have the simplest statements interpreted to him. In the city +this condition of things is less marked, but as a general rule +aliens--apart from the professionals--who are committed to prison do not +speak the language intelligibly, even though they have been some time in +the country, and that for the same reason--they get on all right without +it. The Italians and others who are largely engaged in trading, pick up +enough to enable them to understand and be understood; their occupation +makes this a necessity; but even among them the interpreter is far too +often required. People are generally given to save themselves trouble; and +to learn a language is troublesome. If they can escape the necessity they +will do so, and there is no need to blame them for it. But their ignorance +is a trouble and a possible danger to us, and it does not seem to be +unreasonable to ask that it should cease. + +There are other immigrant aliens who do speak the language and who are +present in the large cities. These are the professional criminals who +import their vices, and work their business, in a very systematic way. +They are more remarkable for their knowledge of the law than for their +ignorance of the language; and they are a very dangerous although not a +very large element in the population. They have an organised system of +correspondence and go from one part of the country to another, where they +have connections. They employ skilled lawyers for their defence when they +get into trouble, and within certain limits assist each other in the way +of business. There are some of them capable of any atrocity, and they are +all quite different from the ordinary criminal of the professional class +familiar to us here. They have a certain amount of polish, and an aptitude +for appreciating the standpoint of others sufficiently well to get on +their blind side. As for moral sense as we understand it, it does not seem +to exist in them. + +Crime is their business and they place business first. When they are +convicted they are deported, but their resources and organisation enable +them to escape conviction very often. They require to be dealt with in a +much more drastic way than the law at present permits; for they are not +only a danger because of their depredations, but their presence and +conduct incite our own undesirables to do things they would not otherwise +attempt. As the law stands the onus of proving their undesirability rests +on the police, and it is very difficult to get positive evidence. If they +were required, on the initiative of the police, to prove to the +satisfaction of a court that they were earning an honest living, they +would find it impossible to do so. It may be objected that this is like +assuming a man to be guilty till he proves his innocence, which is +contrary to practice and a bad principle on which to act. As a matter of +fact, it is acted upon with our native thieves, once they have been +convicted; they may be charged with being found in possession of property +and required to account for having it or go to prison; and they can be +summarily tried. + +In respect that a man is an alien he might reasonably be required to show +that he is not living off the proceeds of crime, as a condition of his +being allowed to remain in the country. He may be refused permission to +land if his character is known; but these people know how to get past the +immigration authority. Why they should then be free to transgress until +they trip and are caught it is difficult to see. If an alien seeks +citizenship here he must satisfy the authorities that he has lived for at +least five years in the country and during that period has been a +reputable citizen. The onus of proof is on him, and it is not assumed that +because he has never been convicted he should be naturalised. The +examination to which he voluntarily submits in order that he may become a +British subject he need not undergo if all he wants is the protection of +our laws while he is living by breaking them. I suggest that just as some +aliens have to submit to examination before being allowed to land, those +who have given the authorities occasion to suspect that they are living by +illegal means should be cited to appear before and satisfy a court that +their conduct is such as to justify their being permitted to remain in the +country; and failing their appearance, or their being able to do so, that +they should be arrested and deported. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND CRIME + + The millionaire and the pauper--Ill-feeling and misunderstanding-- + Social ambitions--Case of embezzlement--Preaching and practice-- + Gambling--The desire to "get on"--The need to deal with those who + profit by the helplessness of others--Political action--Its + difficulty--Legislation and administration--The official and the + public--Personal aid--Fellowship. + + +Our social inequalities are the cause of much serious crime. That such +inequalities always have existed is undeniable, and that they may continue +to exist is at least likely; at any rate, there is no immediate prospect +of their abolition; but the form and degree they take are variable. Within +recent times the gulf between the wealthy and the poor has been widened. +The pauper is an old inhabitant, but the millionaire is a new portent. The +rich man of our grandfathers' day was a local magnate who might be +capricious, but who could be personally approached. His successor is +cosmopolitan. The poor in those days were not so well informed as they are +now that the ends of the earth have been brought together, and the +mechanical inventions that have brought wealth to many have enabled the +multitude to get a wider outlook on the world. A rich man may be courted +for his riches, but they do not now gain him reverence from the poor. + +If free education has not educated the masses any more than the expensive +kind has educated many of the rich, it has enabled them to read. They know +more than they did, and with the access of knowledge discontent with their +condition has increased. For good or ill many of them have lost the fear +of hell, but the fear of the poorhouse is still with them as with many who +are better off. The desire to make money dominates all sorts of people, +and in the effort men are marred. Each sees the greed of his neighbour, +but fails to see that he shares the vices of those he condemns. The man +who is "successful" is critical of the faults of those less fortunate; and +they in turn are often too ready to attribute his position to his absence +of scruple rather than to any ability he may possess. There is envy on the +one side and distrust on the other; but out of, and in spite of, it all +there is steadily growing an effort towards co-operation and mutual help. + +In the welter of conflicting interests there is much done that every man +would disapprove if he saw it done by his neighbour. Yet those whose +conduct is most shady are often not conscious of the enormity of it, being +too much engrossed in the end they seek to be particular as to the means; +and that end is not always an ignoble one. They mean to do great things +and kind when their ships come home; and they do not see that the question +for each of us is not, What would we do if we had what we desire? but, +What are we doing, being what we are and where we are? + +In the thirst for wealth dishonest practices are condoned in business, and +within the law robbery is allowed. There is a disposition to take more +account of what a man has than of what he is; and this cannot fail to have +a vicious effect. X 19 was a young man who held a position of trust and +received a small salary. He had no showy vices and, so far as could be +ascertained, not many others. He was strong in the negative virtues; being +an abstainer from drink, tobacco, and such things as are affected by +pleasure-seekers and cost money. His employers were quite satisfied that +they had in him a model servant; but they found their mistake, and were as +unreasonably indignant as they had been unreasonably pleased; for he had +been conducting a very ingenious system of fraud upon them. With the money +he had abstracted he had been speculating in shares, and he had been +successful up to a point. If his last venture had turned out well he would +have been able to resign his situation and live virtuously ever after, +first paying back to them their money. This is what he calculated would +take place, and if his expectations had been realised nobody would have +known of his misfeasance; but he lost on his venture and there was a +crash. He pleaded guilty to embezzlement and was sent to prison for a long +period. He had disposed of a considerable sum of money, but the curious +thing about it was that he claimed that he was simply doing what his +employers lived by doing--using other people's money without consulting +them as to details; though he admitted that in their case they were in a +position to meet claims, and their clients knew that their money was not +lying in a safe. He took his sentence quite philosophically, with the +remark that he had observed that people who had defrauded certain kinds of +commercial corporations, such as banks, always got longer terms of +imprisonment than those who merely robbed poor people; and as the firm +that employed him was a big concern he would have to be made an example +of. He was shrewd in his observations, however wrong-headed they were in +some respects, and he is not the only young man who has taken the risk in +the attempt to acquire riches and who has argued in the same way. The +number of those who are tempted to do so will diminish when it is shown +that the successfully dishonest person is as much condemned by the opinion +of those whose society he seeks as the failure is condemned by the law. + +Men young and old go wrong in the endeavour to make a show. They want +position and are willing to pay for it even at the expense of others; +indeed, there are many who spend as much effort and energy in intriguing +to get a position they could not fill as, if properly applied, would +enable them to qualify for it. Some want to be social leaders, and exceed +the limits of their income in the attempt. So long as they merely get into +debt their creditors are the losers, but there are limits to credit and +their situation may offer them facilities for peculation. The intention is +to repay the money; but the honourable intention may be out of their power +to execute, and the criminal act brings them to disgrace and ruin. In all +cases where the process has gone on for years without discovery, the +offender is found to be firmly persuaded that he is rather an ill-used +person, and that if he were only allowed time he would be quite able to +show a balance on his side of the account. This suggests the reflection +that his conduct must have been often under review by himself, and a +wonder as to how long he has taken to twist his mind to a belief in his +own integrity in face of the facts; yet it is only some such belief that +has enabled him to continue his defalcations. It is sometimes matter for +surprise to the public that men who have continued to embezzle funds for +years should have appeared so respectable; but they are not acting a part; +they have convinced themselves of their uprightness through it all, and +that is a very important step towards convincing others. + +Even the Churches are not free from the imputation of making the end +justify the means; and with lectures against gambling they sometimes run +lotteries to obtain funds. This does not show bigotry against gambling, +but it can hardly help to drive home the objection to the vice. Example is +worse than precept in these cases. + +The Press, which reaches a wider audience than the pulpit, is becoming +more a means of making money for its proprietors than a medium for the +formation of reasoned opinion; and some papers have organised sweepstakes +under the thinnest disguise. As for betting, there are numerous papers +that depend on it for their profits. Workmen and women pore over the +betting news and run into debt to back a horse. The misery that many +entail on themselves and their dependents by this conduct is widespread, +and efforts have been made to check it, but it does not seem to be +diminishing. As a rule it is safe to assume that people do not bet with +the intention of losing, but with the hope of winning. It is not harmless +excitement they seek; it is money they want; and they argue that they are +doing nothing different from what is done by wealthier people on the Stock +Exchange. They know as little about horses as those who speculated in +rubber knew about that substance; and they have no interest in improving +the breed. They want to be rich without working, and they see that some +men manage it. The losers are forgotten; and what do they matter anyway if +_we_ win? + +This spirit of selfishness and greed is not confined to the gambler, +though it shows itself nakedly in his pursuit; and before it can be +exorcised a better conception of our duty to each other will require to +be attained. Meanwhile it is a small thing to prosecute bookmakers and +those who deal with them, if the higher forms of gambling are left +untouched. The poor cannot afford to gamble and must be protected from +themselves; but can anybody afford to gamble? Can the State afford to +allow them to set such an example? The whole evil has been dealt with in a +peddling spirit. The bookmakers stand to win, whoever may lose, but they +are not the people who gain most. They are not an influential class, +however. If the newspapers were prohibited from publishing betting news +the machinery for the gamble would fall to pieces; but if this were +attempted there would be a howl, for they are not without influence. So +there are difficulties. There always are difficulties when influential +people have to be dealt with; and it is much easier to hit a little man +than a big one--but the profit is less. I do not say that there are not +those who gamble for the sake of the excitement, but that these do not +come to prison as a result. The man who does run grave risk of landing +there is he who gambles for the money that he may win but that he usually +does lose. + +The desire to shine among others is at the root of much of the foolish and +criminal conduct of many men and women. It is not necessarily an evil +desire, but the methods adopted to secure admiration may result in evil. +There is much talk of the dignity of labour, side by side with the worship +of money. If people draw the conclusion that the dignity of labour means +that one man should work that another may spend, they are likely to make +an effort to escape the dignity. They hear of the blessings of poverty, +but they see that among them are not comfort and social consequence; and +in so far as they prefer these they will let anybody else have the +blessings. To admit that some must be poor if others are rich is not to +accept the poor man's lot for oneself. So long as honest work is only +given formal praise and poverty implies practical hardship, while the +possession of money is allowed to create a presumption in favour of a man, +there will be those who will seek to get it by any means in their power. +If we paid the homage to poverty that is given to wealth we might +reasonably expect to find these people content to be poor; but while there +is no likelihood of that being done, we may as well face the fact that our +social inequalities result in the commission of crimes against property +among a proportion of those who have a chance of helping themselves +thereby. The great mass of men and women--rich and poor--do keep free from +grave offences, living their lives quietly and discharging their duties as +citizens according to their light and their ability; but these false +ideals stimulate many to the commission of crime. It is well, therefore, +to remind ourselves and others that ultimately a man is judged not by what +he has but by what he is, and to recognise that a man is foolish if he +sacrifices his life and dwarfs his personal development for any social +advantage whatever. + +The conditions which engender crime may be greatly modified and in many +cases may be destroyed by political action. Crime is largely a concomitant +of city life, as we have it. To live properly people need room, and so +long as the present congestion exists all our efforts can at best palliate +the evils which infest and infect us. We may regulate the sale of drink in +order to prevent drunkenness; we may classify our poor and attempt to +relieve their poverty; but drink and poverty are factors which remain +comparatively inactive in the causation of crime, except where men are +packed together to the degree in which we see them. Let our cities +continue to be hemmed in and built in the air instead of being spread over +the earth, and we shall require additional sanitary regulations to combat +disease and more police laws to cope with crime, while the numbers in our +institutions will increase. + +The city is the product of our industrial pursuits and the methods by +which they are followed; but the city as it exists is no more necessary to +the life of the community than the city before the day of Public Health +Acts was a necessary part of our civilisation. Men could live conveniently +near each other and work at the same occupation, at least as efficiently, +if they had room, as is possible under the cramping conditions that exist +at present. Man's life ought to be something more than his work; and there +will be more who work to live when there are not so many who merely live +to work. Reform your cities; or rather see that men are not allowed for +their private interests or pleasures to "do what they like with their own" +in defiance of the public welfare, and the cities will reform themselves. + +The tenants of the crowded districts are hustled by the law, which in some +cases they offend from sheer inability to do otherwise. When those who +make a profit by the existing conditions of affairs are as summarily dealt +with there will be a possibility of improvement. There are some landlords +who assume the supervision of their property and of their tenants, but +others are merely rent collectors; and their carelessness provides +opportunity for the criminal classes to hide themselves. So long as the +law allows men to make a profit by denying others access to the land +except on payment of whatever ransom they choose to exact, the cities will +remain crowded and the country will become depopulated. When the landlord +is made to pay if he will not let his land be put to its most profitable +use, there will be less inducement for him to withhold it for a time in +the hope of realising a famine price from the needs of the community. It +is poor policy to punish people for the results of the strain to which +they are subject while those who profit by the cause are left alone. + +But political action is slow and political parties are--what they are. To +most of us a change of Government means that Lord This is replaced by Mr. +That; probably relatives, and almost invariably belonging to the same +caste; none of them particularly hasty in applying the remedies in which +they believe--for when it comes to doing things instead of talking about +them a great deal more depends on sentimental impressions, the result of +friendly contact, than on intellectual opinions and political theories. +Politicians are like other people; their imagination can more readily +picture the result of action as it affects their own friends than as it +affects those of another social class. Those who have a vested interest in +the present conditions of things may personally suffer by any remedial +change; and though there are many who are magnanimous enough to place the +public gain before all else, there are far more who honestly cannot see +that any measure whereby they would suffer a private loss can possibly be +a public gain. They are often very estimable persons, and knowledge of +that fact paralyses the action of their friends who are politically +opposed to them. + +It would be so much more easy to remedy evils if those who profited by +their existence were only ill-natured and grossly selfish people; but when +they are kindly and courteous it is a pity to push them. Besides, they are +often widows and orphans; for there is a remarkably high rate of mortality +among the husbands and fathers of people who have money invested in land +and in breweries. There are other widows and orphans, however, who have no +intimate friends in Parliament, and whose condition cannot appeal so +powerfully to the imagination of Ministers because they belong to another +class. The trouble is that the measures that would aid one set of widows +and orphans would hurt the other; and even when legislation is passed its +action is delayed out of tenderness to existing interests. + +There are many men in every Parliament who are anxious to remedy the bad +conditions they see around them, and they are not confined to any side of +the House; but there is no popularly elected body in the country where the +private member has so little power. In a Town or County Council he has a +vote in the election of the executive, and if he is not pleased with the +conduct of those whom he helps to office he can let them know the fact +pretty effectively. The Member of Parliament finds the Government formed +without any consultation with him on the subject, and if he belongs to the +same political party it is disloyalty for him to criticise Ministers +unfavourably. He is, however, allowed to praise and defend them, and this +usually keeps him tolerably busy. For the rest, he must never vote against +them except on a subject that they count of little importance and on an +occasion where they are quite sure of having a majority without him. He +must keep his own side in, no matter how much he disapproves of their +conduct of business; and he must recognise in practice that the men who +lead are the party. The people who sent him there may replace him at the +first opportunity, but he will have the consolatory reflection that if the +other side has got in it is only to behave in the same way. Some other +members of the families whose hereditary genius for governing the country +has made us the great nation we are will fill the posts their relatives +have vacated; and the electors will continue to have the shadow of +representative government while the substance remains with their betters. + +Whatever the laws may be, much will depend on their administration. The +more the Parliament is occupied in discussing legislation the less +attention can it pay to administration. The real executive power thus +passes into the hands of the permanent officials; and the tendency is that +they should direct, as well as carry out, policy. As the public +departments extend their activities they are brought more closely into +contact, and it may be into conflict, with the lives of the citizens; and +it is all the more necessary that the powers given to them should be +exercised in consonance with the views of the representatives of the +public, or the public servant may become the master of those he serves. A +man may be both able and zealous, but if his ability and zeal are employed +in the wrong direction he is a greater danger than a stupid and lazy man +would be; yet if he is not guided and directed in the path he ought to go +he can hardly be blamed for following his own judgment. + +The only security that public departments will act in accordance with +public opinion lies in their intimate supervision by representatives of +the public. At present it is notorious that only a nominal supervision +exists, and this is bad for everybody concerned; bad for the Member of +Parliament, for his constituents will not separate administration to which +they may object from legislation which they may approve, nor his votes +from the acts of the departments; bad for the officials, for the desire +for power grows with its use, and the heads are in peril of confusing +their will with the public interest and their prejudices with the good of +the service, while their subordinates will be tempted to a servility that +is fatal to faithful discharge of duty, if they get the idea that their +comfort and their promotion depend without appeal on their chief; bad for +the public, for it is a poor exchange to overthrow the tyranny of an +arbitrary monarch and to live under the unchecked dominion of a Board. +This condition of things may seem far off yet to many, but it has arrived +already so far as some of the poor are concerned, for they are hurried and +worried and prosecuted by zealous officials for doing things they cannot +avoid doing; and for my part I do not believe that that is in accordance +with public opinion, though I do not attribute blame to the officials +concerned, who are only acting according to their light. + +Where there are an enlightened public opinion and a real public interest +in affairs it is better for all concerned; and though Parliament may fail +to deal with those whose interests conflict with public needs, there are +many things that private citizens can do to mitigate existing evils, even +although there were no new legislation passed. Officials could be aided +and encouraged to aim at the prevention of wrongdoing rather than at the +punishment of the wrongdoer. We might set about to see that more +opportunities of reasonable recreation are provided, and to find out +wherein and why our present provision fails. Employers might take a +greater interest in their workers, and if they sought to learn from them +would be in a better position to teach them. The Churchman might easily +come more closely into contact with some less fortunate member of the +congregation and give kindly aid and counsel; or receive it, perhaps, +where he would least expect it. All of us might see, if we looked a little +less to our own business and pleasure, that there are many around whose +struggle is a sore one, and whom a friendly interest would help far more +than any gift. Many there are who, although neither able to pay nor to +pray, could do much good and gain much by personal service. It would help +as nothing else can to a better understanding between us and our +neighbours, and a more acute apprehension of the evil surroundings in +which so many are compelled to live. + +Men go wrong and keep wrong for the lack of good fellowship; and the +conditions which keep them struggling in a crowd hinder the fraternising +of man with man. The man who is comfortably seated in a theatre has time +and opportunity to look around him and to observe his neighbours if he +choose. He will not be uncivil to them, even if he take no interest in +them. Put him in a crush at the door, and in the effort to get into the +place or out of the crowd, he will not have the chance, even if he had the +will, to keep his elbow out of the ribs of his neighbour, though that +neighbour were his dearest friend. How many are crowded together +struggling to get out of the welter and too busy to take much interest in +others! I do not forget that there are many good people who are interested +in the poor and fallen; but it is those who are in danger of falling that +get least attention. There are mothers who are struggling on to save their +sons from the ruin to which they are tending, and children who are trying +to redeem their wayward parents; in face of all failures striving with a +patience as admirable as it seems futile; but there are few to help. Let a +father turn his daughter out for her misconduct and shirk his duty as a +parent; let her go headlong to the gutter; and when she is sufficiently +stained there will be rescuers tripping over each other to aid her. The +pity is that so often they should be more interested in trying to make +people conform to their ideals than in helping men and women for their own +sake. Most of us have not been so brilliantly successful in ordering our +own lives that we are justified in directing the lives of others; but by +interest in those who are having a harder struggle to live than has fallen +to our lot we may not only encourage the individual to better effort, but +we shall see more clearly what needs to be done by us as a community, not +to make men, but to remove those conditions which tend to enslave them. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +AGE AND CRIME + + The inexperience of youth--The training of boys--Case of a truant-- + Another case--Intractability--The foolishness of parent and teacher-- + The absence of mutual understanding--Recreation--Malicious mischief + and petty theft--The cause thereof--The need for instructing parents-- + Pernicious literature--The other kind--The modern Dick Turpin--The boy + as he leaves school--Amusements--Repression--Blind-alley occupations-- + The Adolescent--Physical strain of many occupations--Unequal physical + and mental development--The street trader--Hooliganism--Knowledge and + experience--The perils of youth--Old age. + + +The great majority of those who enter prison for the first time are young +persons, and in many cases they do not show any great degree of moral +turpitude. "As the twig is bent the tree is inclined," and what might have +been merely a phase of recklessness or a passing mood of lawlessness is +sometimes made a fixed habit as a result of the way it has been treated. +The younger the person the narrower is his experience, other things being +equal. In making the experiments which give experience we may hurt +ourselves and others. + +There are some who are content to accept the statements of others and to +yield an easy obedience to those over them, but in early life the number +is not great; and where the elders are too busy to pay much attention to +the young there is a greater need for the boy to find out things for +himself. Rules of life as they are presented to many boys consist of a +series of prohibitions, and it is not always the worst boys who kick +against them. Wild and intractable boys do not always grow up into bad +citizens; but if they are taken in hand by the penal machinery of the +State there is not much chance for them. They may imitate the showy vices +of their elders not because they are vices, but because they are showy. +They do not admire the wrong things more frequently than grown-up people, +but they show their admiration in a way that is sometimes awkward both for +them and for us. They are misunderstood and condemned when they persist in +going their own way, although the cause of their vagaries may be simple +enough if an attempt were made to find it. X 20 was a boy of ten, the son +of a man in a comfortable position who had lost all control over him. The +boy had run away from school, and had left his home more than once and +gone wandering in the country. His father had coaxed and beaten him +alternately without any beneficial result. His schoolmaster informed me +that the boy was usually quiet and tractable, but did not take much +interest in most of his work. He was not of defective intellect and he +would not apply himself to some parts of the school course. He was fond of +animals. I found him suspicious and reserved; but as he had been told that +he was to be seen by the prison doctor, and as he evidently had expected +to be confronted with an animated bogey-man, there was nothing surprising +in that. He answered questions in monosyllables or not at all, but he +promised that he would come himself to my house and see some things which +I thought might interest him. I would not allow him to be brought to me, +though he lived some three miles off, and he kept his promise and came. +With the aid of some other juveniles he was made to feel at ease, and I +found he could tell a good deal about animals, such as tadpoles and +frogs, and that he had a real interest in such things. He came back +several times, and in an indirect way he was advised of the danger of +doing what his father had objected to; but it was perfectly evident that +his conduct had been the result of the way in which he had been treated, +and fear had caused him to commit at least some of the actions that had +given cause for complaint. Those who had charge of him were more in need +of direction than he was; for they had acted on the assumption that they +understood what was best for him, whereas the fact was that they had not +the faintest idea of the disposition of the boy, and were simply driving +him to extremities in their efforts to keep him right. They were +repressing instead of directing his tendencies, with disastrous +consequences. His schoolmaster understood; and he was permitted to act on +his knowledge with satisfactory results, the parents never having thought +that he was as likely to be able to instruct them as to teach their boy. +In this case the boy was fortunate beyond many others in respect that his +parents were able to seek and obtain advice when they became alarmed +because of his behaviour. They were in a position which enabled them to +give him the necessary attention when they learned what was required. + +X 21 was a boy who had developed the habit of playing truant from school +and had come under the observation of the attendance officer. He was in +danger of becoming an associate of city undesirables. His mother was a +decent widow who had to support him and herself by casual labour. She was +obliged to go out in the mornings to clean offices and he was left to +himself. She was loth to have him sent to an Industrial School, but she +preferred that that should be done to running the risk of having him get +into the hands of vicious persons. There was no question as to her +rectitude, and as little of her ability to look after him when she had the +power; but she could not be out working and at the same time be +discharging her maternal duties in guiding him. So he had to be sent to +the institution. In a case like this--and they are not uncommon--it would +be far better to free the woman from the need of leaving her child and see +that she looked after him. She has a greater personal interest in him than +any official person can have and it need cost no more; while the gain in +character cannot be measured in terms of cash. The mother's burden is +greater than she can bear, and that is a reason for relieving it; but it +is no reason for breaking up the family and loosening the tie between +parent and child, and the practice cannot even be justified on the score +of expense. + +Boys get the name of being bad when they are intractable, but bad boys are +fewer than bad men. There are too many people who are driven to assume +that they know what is best for the boy--or the man--and that without +making any attempt to understand those for whom they prescribe. When a boy +rebels against the line of action laid down for him it is taken as +evidence of his wickedness, though it may only show his good sense. He may +be doing the wrong thing with a purpose more reasonable than that of his +mentor, but he is likely to find that his intention will meet with no +sympathetic consideration even if he reveals it, and his action will meet +with punishment if he owns it. He is encouraged to lie in the hope of +pleasing his master, and when he is found out his iniquity is magnified. + +Boys are far more given to the attempt to find the point of view of those +who are in authority over them than grown-up people are to find the +standpoint of the boy; and children will often show a deeper knowledge of +their parents than the parents have of them. If instead of assuming +knowledge and showing ignorance parents would try to understand, there +would be less disposition to rule the young by general prohibitions and a +freer hand given to them in the choice of their pursuits. Left alone, the +child will show its bent; it is not for the parent to thwart its +aptitudes, but to direct them into useful channels. Many are made +miserable by being set to books, and others are made equally wretched by +physical drill. Every year brings forth its own fad. The adult may keep +free from its tyranny to some extent, but let it find a place in some code +or other and every juvenile runs a grave risk of being subjected to it, +because someone in authority who knows nothing about him or his needs has +so ordered it. + +The boy is kept at school for nearly as many hours in the week as many men +work, and when he is set free from its restraint he runs wild--if he is +not too tired, or if he has not been set tasks which cause him to work +overtime at home. He gets into mischief, and is denounced for his misdeeds +and the trouble and annoyance he causes; but boys are not more mischievous +than they were. There are few adults who have not been a great nuisance to +others in their own early days, but too many of them seem to have +forgotten all about that. By all means let the boy who has played some +mischievous prank be restrained and corrected, but in choosing the method +it might not be a bad plan to remember the exploits of a boy who was no +better in his day than the culprit is, if no worse. When we show that we +recognise a clear distinction between cramming juveniles with knowledge +and educating them, they will learn at the school how to amuse themselves +without annoying others. At present they are in this respect left mainly +to their own devices, and in very few cases is there any serious ground of +complaint against them. Considering their imitative tendencies and the +incitements many of them have towards wrongdoing, it is wonderful how few +go far astray. + +When a boy is sent to a reformatory he has opportunities given him for +play, and the importance of providing different forms of recreation for +him is not ignored. This is by some called "putting a premium on +wrongdoing," and yet in spite of the reward there are few boys who +deliberately adopt a course of law-breaking in order to have the +advantages of life in that institution. Either they are too stupid or +there is not such a bias on their part towards evil as some would have us +suppose. The recreation which forms part of the means adopted to reform +the boy who has transgressed might conceivably prevent transgressions if +it were placed within the reach of others, especially as the association +of boys whose common interest is that they have all been before the courts +is not likely to make for their improvement. + +Whatever its defects as an educational institution, the school has this to +its credit, that a better standard of conduct is maintained than could be +acquired by many of the scholars if they were left to grow up under the +conditions that obtain in their homes. Now and then someone does a +particularly shocking thing, and until quite lately when this occurred the +offender was liable to be brought to the police court. Now there is a +special court for dealing with children, but as there is no change in the +judge or in the officials before whom the child appears, all that has +been gained is his separation from older offenders. This is something to +be thankful for, but it is a minor mercy compared with what ought to be +done. He is more a subject for treatment by those whose experience enables +them to understand children than a "case" to be tried by a magistrate +whose traditions are those of the criminal courts. + +Most of the charges are acts of malicious mischief or petty thefts. The +offenders have got out of parental control or have eluded the supervision +of their parents. In some cases the parents are culpably careless or +negligent, taking little interest in their children and making their home +worse than it need be. They spoil the child without sparing the rod, for +the boy is often hammered without mercy when he annoys them. He keeps out +of their way and may fall into bad company and bad habits. Most of these +boys show evidences of neglect in their appearance; but they are not, +though they may become, desperadoes. Others go astray not so much from the +culpable neglect of their parents as because, with the best will in the +world to guide the boy, the parent is either incompetent to do so from +sheer stupidity, or, more frequently, from being too busily engaged in +trying to make a livelihood to have the necessary time to give to his +care. A smaller number are the children of parents who are quite competent +to look after them, but who have failed to keep themselves in sufficiently +close touch with them--which is a more difficult thing to do than it +seems. + +At school the boy may be under good guardianship, but he is away from his +mother during the greater part of the day, and he may pick up companions +who will not exercise the most favourable effect on him. They need not be +bad, but they may be bad for him. Out of school hours he seeks for +recreation, and in the effort to obtain amusement of a special kind he may +take what does not belong to him, and be found out and complained of; or +not be found out and continue the practice. It is all very simple and not +at all uncommon--except in the result. Honesty has to be learned, and some +people never learn it; though they never commit crimes. There is a +difference between being honest and being dishonest within the law. There +are few women or men who have not at some time or other "dishonestly +appropriated property," though they did not express it that way when they +abstracted sweets well knowing the penalty if caught. Some boys do not +steal sweets, but they steal money to buy sweets; and in the same way +others steal money to pay the price of admission to a place of +entertainment. Sometimes they break into shops to steal, and they are then +young criminals; but this rarely happens when the necessary money can be +picked up at home. + +In a young person the desire for pleasure is naturally too strong to be at +first repressed by a sense of the rights of property. He does not need to +be taught that sweets please the palate or shows delight the eye; but he +requires to learn that in the long run honesty is the best policy. +Children are not likely to steal if they can get what they want without +stealing, but they may help themselves when they can if they are subjected +to unreasonable prohibitions. Even men and women have been driven far out +of the right path through attempts to repress their desires for harmless +amusement and to make them take life solemnly. + +The dishonesty of children arises not so much from a perverted nature as +from an inability to appreciate the importance of honesty. It is a phase +that passes as their experience of the world grows. They can be trained +out of it, but attempts to knock it out of them are as likely to knock it +into them. + +There ought to be provision made whereby parents could be advised, +admonished, and assisted in dealing with children whom they have been +unable to control. Our Children Courts are not designed with this end in +view, and I doubt whether it makes much difference to the child who is +sent to one of our institutions that he was sent from one room in the +courthouse rather than from another. Our money would be better spent in +assisting parents who have the will to do well by their children, but who +have not the power, than in taking the children away from them. As for +those who are careless of their children, they should be dealt with for +their carelessness. In many cases the apathy they show is a consequence of +our methods. If, instead of taking the children away from those who +neglect them, we trained and assisted them, we should have better parents +and better children. If carelessness and callousness were then shown by +the parents we could proceed with justice to deal with them for culpable +misconduct. At present we are not in a position to do so, since we are not +prepared to help them to discharge their responsibilities. We make it +easier for them to neglect than to care for their offspring, and if they +lose control of them to a sufficient extent we free them from the burden +altogether. + +The spirit of enquiry and experiment leads many boys into mischief, and +some of their malicious acts are the result of it. Men too readily forget +that the boy sees things in a quite different light and relationship from +them. Some of the housebreaking adventures that look so bad on a +charge-sheet appear quite different when the story is told from the boy's +standpoint, and they do not always show such depravity as one would +expect. Some boys are always seeking adventures and becoming absorbed in +them; others are content to read about deeds of daring, and the works they +favour are often crude enough. Occasionally one is taken with a mask and +pistol in his possession attempting to rob in the highway, and then we +have homilies on the evils of pernicious literature of the "Dick Turpin" +sort, which might be more convincing if the homilists were themselves free +from connection with stuff that is worse. + +The adventurous boys are not those who read much of any kind of book; they +are too busy living. The "Blood" is devoured more by the boy who dreams +rather than acts; but of the thousands of men who as boys read prohibited +books and enjoyed them, few are likely to spend much time on the equally +sensational publications that circulate in millions among adults. On the +whole, the boy will not get a more distorted view of life from the highly +coloured papers he reads than he would obtain from some of the newspapers; +and when he is being condemned for his preference for "Bloods," it would +not be amiss to remember that these productions have never set themselves +to foment in his mind feelings of ill-will against people of other lands. +It is not the boys but the adults who are raised by the papers they read +into hysterical outbursts of senseless rage or equally senseless fear now +of one and now of another continental power; and if "literature" is to be +judged by its apparent effect, then these papers are more pernicious than +the "Bloods," which the boy prefers to the books which are designed for +his moral instruction. There is no comparison between his highwayman--a +boy's highwayman who robbed the rich and gave to the poor, to the +inversion of all social order--and the industrious apprentice who married +his master's daughter, poor girl. The hero is a hero to him because he +dares all risks, is true to his friend, is gallant and generous, and faces +death with a brave heart. If he does the wrong thing he does it in the +right way, and it is not the thief but the man who gains the boy's +admiration. As for the industrious one, even a boy knows that there are +not enough masters' daughters to go round; and if he revolts at the +selfishness of the gospel of getting on, he is right in rejecting such a +false basis of morals. We know that the boy's Robin Hood or Dick Turpin +never existed in fact; but if they exist in his fancy? + +To those who denounce them these papers are only a glorification of theft +of a particular kind, but there is no likelihood of its ever coming into +vogue again. Dick Turpin is now a company-promoter and his cheques are in +demand by Churches and political parties. He does not risk his life now, +and we are very glad to be taken into his confidence; but the boy has not +found that out yet. His books may be ill-chosen, but wholesale +condemnation will not mend the matter; and in books, as in other things, +it is impossible to tell what is good for the boy till something more is +known about him than that he is a boy. When he reads it is safe to assume +that he does so because he feels some need is supplied thereby. When its +nature is discovered a step will be made towards its better supply, but +not before. To take the boy away from the book he likes to a standard +author on the ground that it is better for him, is to run the risk of +creating in him a permanent dislike for the books chosen. + +In the city most of the boys leave school when they are fourteen years of +age, and entering on new pursuits are subject to fresh temptations. The +employment they obtain is largely a matter of chance, but whatever it may +be, they are less likely to go wrong when engaged at it than when free +from it. Their playground is the street, and there is no adequate +provision made for their recreation. On payment of a small sum they may +obtain admission to the music-halls or the picture-shows, and these latter +are largely patronised by boys. That they serve a useful purpose is +undeniable, and if the entertainment they offer may not be all that is +desirable, it is practically all that is to be had by many. Since it +cannot be had freely there are temptations to find the means, and the boy +amongst his neighbours who is worst off in respect of money is hardest +pressed. It is deplorable that some should yield to the temptation to +obtain money dishonestly, but it is idle to ignore the condition of things +and neglect to provide reasonable opportunities for the recreation which +is required after work done. There are private organisations taking the +matter in hand, but their appeal, though wide, is, and must be, sectional. +Boys' Brigades in connection with the Churches can only reach a minority +of the juvenile population, and the same statement applies to Boy Scouts. +There are those who object on principle to both organisations on the +ground that they foster the military spirit, but the militarists +themselves do not appear to share this view. Boys like to play soldiers, +but when they get sense they drop that; and meantime they play, greatly to +their advantage. As for the Scouts, they seem to represent an improved +edition of "follow my leader," and their uniform prevents their being +interfered with while they play. It does none of them any harm to believe +that they are saving their country so long as they are really saving +themselves, and no greater number of them develop a taste for a soldier's +career later in life than enlist from among those who have never belonged +to one or other of the organisations. It may be that the intention of some +of the promoters is to feed the army, but that is to leave out of account +the boys themselves and the development of their minds. Whatever the +intention, the result is good in so far as the interest of the game keeps +the boys in healthy exercise. + +The most popular of all the forms of public recreation is the football +match. Week after week the grounds are filled by tens of thousands of +spectators who find in the game they witness not only amusement for the +time, but matter of conversation and interest which outlasts the day. +Young and old they are mostly partisans, and though their conduct may +leave much to be desired, that should not distract the observer's +attention from the main fact, which is that they are enabled to find a +real interest in something which is at least harmless. There are those who +lament the fact that the spectators are not players, and who condemn them +for being merely vicarious partakers in the game. As a matter of fact, a +good many of them have played, and some of them have got into trouble for +playing. A very little acquaintance with the facts would make the +Jeremiahs aware that there is no public provision made for allowing very +many to play; that a great many who enjoy seeing others play have no time +when free from labour to practise much themselves, even if a field were +near; and that if any large number began to play football in the only +spaces open to them--the streets--there would be no room to get about. It +is not a bad plan to consider men's limitations before condemning their +pursuits, but it is too little practised. + +The football match is a strong counter-attraction to the public-house or +the aimless wander through the streets, and the football field would be an +admirable playground for many of the young, as they would readily admit; +but those who want them to play rather than to look on are never very +prominent when an attempt is made to find them the means. Some of them use +the public streets for a practice ground, greatly to the annoyance of the +passengers and sometimes to their danger. The nuisance has to be stopped +and the usual method is adopted; the universal panacea for all evils is +applied, and the culprits are taken in charge by the police. A small fine +is inflicted, with the alternative of imprisonment if the lads are over +sixteen. I have seen a batch of them brought to jail because their fines +had not been paid. All that had been done was to ensure that these boys +would not play football in the streets for several days; yet the cost of +their escort and board during that time, if expended on the hire of +ground, would have provided them and others with opportunities of play for +six months; and they do not play in the streets for choice--at least it +has not been demonstrated that they do. + +Alike in work and in play the boy's pursuits are largely matter of chance. +He has to seek employment and is generally ready to take anything that +presents itself. Some of the situations that offer most attractions to him +are of such a character as to prevent him from applying himself to work at +which in his manhood he could earn a living. In the beginning he may earn +more money at these occupations than he would if apprenticed to some +skilled handicraft, but before many years he is cast off by his employers, +unsettled by his work, and less fit and less inclined to spend time in +qualifying either for a trade or a profession. There are far too many +blind-alley occupations open to boys, and they should be closed to those +entering on industrial life. There are many men who by advancing years are +shut out from the work they have been accustomed to do; they are leaving +the ranks of the skilled workers, and they could do the work at present +done by lads with advantage to the community, since there would not then +be numbers of young persons spending the most receptive years of their +life in occupations by which they cannot hope to earn their living when +they reach manhood. + +As the boy grows to adolescence he tends to get further from the control +of his parents. His growth implies change in him, and he may develop new +needs and new desires without the power necessary to control them. It is +well recognised that in adolescence there is a special liability to +physical or mental breakdown, and short of this it is no uncommon thing +for young people to show a degree of instability that alarms their friends +for their safety. Yet in youth there are very many employed at occupations +that are in a marked degree physically exhausting. They are permitted to +take far too much out of their body, and though they may thereby develop +their muscles, they are almost certain to hinder the healthy development +of their minds. The State has interfered with some trades and prohibited +certain processes of manufacture on the ground that the chemicals employed +affect the health of the workers in an injurious way; and it has laid down +regulations for the proper sanitation of workshops. It will yet have to +consider the advisability of limiting the amount of physical energy that a +man may be allowed regularly to expend in work, and the sooner it begins +with lads the better for everybody. At present we hear of the large wage +earned by workmen in certain trades and their notorious improvidence. To +anyone with eyes to see their improvidence is not more evident in the way +they spend their wages than in the way they earn them; for their lives, +industrially, are short, and they are too often physical wrecks in middle +life, partly from the undue fatigue to which they have been subjected and +partly from vices they have contracted in the attempt to stimulate +themselves when fatigued. We only hear of the vices, but their industry is +equally foolish if it implies excessive expenditure of vitality; and no +income in money would justify the cost at which it is obtained. + +Time and again there come before the courts young men who are neither +insane nor weak-minded, but whose mental powers have been stunted and +twisted by the conditions to which they have been subjected. They are not +there for committing offences against property, but for startling the +district by some atrocious assault; and there is this point of similarity +about them all, that they have been engaged at work which was too heavy +for them, and when set free from it have used the strength of a man +incited by a man's passions to do things that only a boy would conceive. + +Equal mental and physical development is rare in youth, and in practice +everybody recognises the fact. There are some big lads who are young for +their years and little ones who are preternaturally old-fashioned; but +time mends the matter, and a balance is established if something does not +occur to mar the youth meanwhile. Placed under conditions that favour the +development of muscle and prevent the development of the mental powers, +young men cannot be wholly blamed if now and then they shock us by showing +the natural result of such a course of training. + +About the streets of the city there are lads who take care not to work +too hard. Many of them are the children of parents who have never +exercised much care over them, and in some cases they have been sent out +with a few coppers to purchase papers and sell them; or to beg. They have +learnt to like the life and have deliberately adopted it themselves in +preference to other employment. They come to prison sooner or later if +they escape the reformatory; and sometimes after they have been there. +There is only one opinion possible among those who know the facts about +the street-trading they carry on--that it should be abolished; and the +only real difficulty is that its abolition ought in justice to be +accompanied by some provision for the employment of those young persons +who have been engaged in it. The newsboy is a great convenience to the +public and the newspaper owners. He sometimes is an important aid to his +family, for in a proportion of cases the parent is as respectable and as +anxious to take care of the boy as anyone could wish. It is her poverty +that compels her to use his services. But the risks to the boys outweigh +all advantages. The poverty that compels a mother to subject her child to +such risks ought to be relieved; the public and the newspaper proprietors +would find other means of obtaining and delivering the news if they +realised the cost of the present condition of things; and a nursery of +criminals would be removed. + +In most cases the parents require more attention than the boys, and +especially the female parent. The children are her peculiar care, and if +she takes to drink the results to them are serious. Whatever differences +of opinion there may be as to the hereditary transmission of intemperance, +there is no room for doubt as to its effect in causing the mother who is +subject to it to become an inefficient guardian of her child. Her family +suffers from neglect, and they are driven f on the street to pick up a +living as best they may. When they can they may take lodgings in a +"Model," and in any case they learn from others how they may live with +most license. They are nearly all gamblers, and honesty is not a virtue +that they find profitable. + +The fact is that there could be no worse school for a boy than the street +and no worse companions than those who live there, not because they are +gifted with any additional dose of original sin; they are no worse +mentally, morally, or physically than many others; but because a tradition +has grown up among them that is anti-social in its character, and like the +rest of folks they conform to the conditions in which they find +themselves. When they loaf or steal they do it because they believe that +it is easier and more profitable than working in a regular way. Show them +that they are wrong and they will modify their opinion and their action; +but that is precisely what is not done. They have heard all you can tell +them, and they adhere to their own standpoint not because they are more +stupid than their teachers, but because they see another side to the +story. When they are imprisoned they are not generally intractable, and +they do what they are told because it pays better to obey than to rebel; +but outside, though they recognise the inconvenience and risk of being +caught, they have a not unjustifiable belief in their power to dodge those +who are watching them, and at the worst they prefer to serve a term of +imprisonment once in a while rather than exchange their way of living for +another. It is just as well to recognise the fact that they do not follow +their objectionable courses because it is difficult to do so. When they +are dishonest it is usually because they believe it is easier for them to +pick up a livelihood that way than by any honest occupation within their +reach or experience. Their opinion may be right or wrong, but it is formed +on a knowledge of a different set of facts from that within the ken of +those who judge them; and it does not help to a better understanding of +them that we should assume that they are greater fools than we are, though +we do not share their follies. + +Now and then there are outbreaks of savage violence on the part of young +lads in the streets; acts which, apparently purposeless and certainly +cruel, shock the citizens and anger them. Then there is a cry for +vengeance; never an attempt to seek the causes of the trouble; and the +matter is forgotten when a few of the offenders have been given "exemplary +punishments." Exemplary punishments always repay examination, and +sometimes the hapless individual who is made the whipping-boy for others +has been rather cruelly treated; not that that seems to matter if the +offence complained of ceases, for it is taken as proof that the +authorities have done the right thing in making an example of him. The +assumption is one that never bore examination at any time, but it seldom +is examined. + +When a crop of offences of a similar kind startles a district there may be +a common cause found if it is sought for; and when the offences cease +their cessation may be found to have some relation to that cause; but the +arrest and imprisonment of one here and there as examples have as little +relationship to the cessation of offences as prayer had in the stopping of +an epidemic of cholera. In the one case you have to break up the +association of offenders and destroy their spirit; in the other you have +to attend to your drains and your sanitation. The punishment and the +prayer in either case may assist in so far as they direct attention to the +need for right action. How then do these outbreaks originate, and what +causes them to cease? In the first place, they are not the work of +professional thieves, though these take advantage of them. They begin in +horseplay among the lads at the street corner. None of them may be +abnormally mischievous or wicked, but a crowd has a spirit of its own +which is different from that of its members. Everybody has seen dignified +citizens under the excitement of, say, an election, when they got the news +that the country had been saved in the way they desired, behaving in a +sufficiently ridiculous manner and inciting others to a like behaviour. If +they had received the news when at home it would at most have caused a +smile, but in a crowd one has stirred the other to do and say things that +neither would ordinarily do or say. + +An orator may sway a crowd and utterly fail to move the members of it if +he spoke to them individually. The lads at the corner will do things when +they are together that none of them would think of doing if he were alone. +Not only does each incite the other, but all incite each one to action. +The horseplay is extended and indulged in by them at the expense of +passers-by, and to their annoyance. If it stops there no noise is heard +about "Hooliganism"; but if the lads, letting themselves loose, go further +and injure a respectable citizen there is complaint. The culprit is at +first frightened, but having done the thing he tries to make the most of +it, especially if he sees his companions rather admire his temerity. He +boasts of his daring and excites emulation. One tries to outdo another; +other "corners" hear about and imitate the desperadoes; the newspapers +take the matter up; and the place is in a state of terror. There is reason +for the terror, too; for in the process unoffending and peaceful citizens +have suffered serious injury. The professional criminal, who is quick to +take advantage of any chance, hangs on to the tails of the foolish lads, +and under cover of their depredations helps himself to what he can get. +Anything that gathers a crowd helps him, but he knows better than to +commit assaults of this purposeless kind himself. He has no objection to +rob the assaulted or the threatened and terrorised parties, however, +provided he can conceal himself. If he can get any of the lads who began +the proceedings to assist him, good and well; but in that case they may +find they have started on a new and criminal career. The loose cohesion +between the mischievous and the criminal elements in the crowd becomes +organised; and by this time there is a general demand on the part of the +citizens that somebody should be punished. Then the examples begin. + +But the very fact that the outrages have been advertised, while it causes +their imitation at first, makes parents and employers enquire into the +conduct of their sons and their workers. The lads are kept in at night, or +they are otherwise separated from each other. When the association begins +to break up the process is not long before it is complete. Everyone who +leaves it is suspected of being a possible informer, and the dread of they +know not what--the most powerful kind of fear--invades their minds. The +conduct that seemed so laudable is now given up and the epidemic dies out. +To send one of the offenders to prison is simply to make him a martyr in +the eyes of his associates, who know that he is no worse than they were +and who sympathise with rather than abhor him. The real deterrent is the +action of the parents and employers who know the lads. They neither want +to get into trouble at home nor to lose their jobs. Those who are sent to +prison have often little to do with the matter, and their exemplary +punishment has less. Real hooliganism--the existence of young professional +thieves who are in the habit of committing brutal assaults and inflicting +injuries recklessly on their victims--is rare in Glasgow. + +The young person is more likely to fall into error than his elders because +of his inexperience. Whatever the law may hold, no business man expects +the kind of service from a youth that he looks for from a man. The young +man may have more knowledge than his senior and more recent information on +many things, but only time can enable him to co-relate his knowledge. The +question whether a lad knows right from wrong is all that some people will +consider; which shows how little they know, if they really believe that +the answer will enable anyone to assess a man's responsibility. We are +taught "right and wrong" from our earliest years by way of principles to +guide us, but they are not always easy of application. The difference +between a young and an old man is one of experience. Practice has enabled +the one to use his knowledge in a way that the other has yet to learn. Our +conceptions of many things on which we have been given information +apparently full and accurate have been proved time and again to be quite +wrong; experience enables us to discount our anticipations, but it only +comes with years. In judging young people it is specially necessary to +bear in mind the fact that with all their apparent knowledge they may have +totally wrong conceptions of things, and that thus they have been misled. +On many occasions I have had to note the fact that a young man had +committed an atrocious crime; that he knew perfectly well it was wrong; +that it was not due to imperfect powers of control; that he had brooded +over and visualised it before the act; and that its accomplishment had +left him shocked beyond expression, for it was all so different from his +conception of it. + +No punishment could intensify the shuddering horror with which these lads +regarded their own acts, "so different from what I thought it would be"; +and yet in ordinary affairs we are well acquainted with the phenomenon. +Why we should lose sight of it when a crime has been committed and we are +seeking to unravel the causes is a mystery. Know right from wrong? Yes, +and conceive the whole matter wrongly. This state of mind is not peculiar +to the criminal, and may sometimes be present in those who take upon +themselves to judge and condemn him. + +In early life a lad is not only more liable to go astray, but having +fallen it is more difficult for him to recover. He is more impressionable, +and the impression of his crime and of the way in which he has been +treated stands in his way. He has no record of experience behind it to +which his memory can turn and by which he can be helped to seek the right +road when he leaves prison. "Learn young, learn fair," is as true of crime +as of other things. + +At the opposite end of the path of life a special cause of crime is +degeneration of the physical or mental powers. In the first case the man +may become destitute and forced into criminal courses in order to gain a +living. In the latter case he may develop tendencies and commit certain +offences that are quite at variance with his former conduct. + +As a result of senile changes in body and mind some old men offend against +the law. When the condition is marked they are dealt with for it, but in +some cases it is only suspected and is not capable of proof. It is simply +a question of whether they should be sent to prison or to a lunatic +asylum. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SEX AND CRIME + + The position of woman--The posturing of men--Love and crime--Two cases + of theft from sexual attraction--The female thief--Case-- + Blackmailing--Jealousy and crime--Two murder cases--Case of assault-- + Fewer women than men are criminals--Their greater difficulty in + recovery--Young girls and sexual offences--Perils of girlhood--Wages + and conduct--Exotic standards of dress--Ignorance and wrongdoing--The + domestic servant--Her difficulties--Concealment of pregnancy cases-- + The culprit and the father--Morals--The fallen woman--Bigamy. + + +For good or ill great changes have taken place, and more are likely to +occur, in the relative social and political positions of the sexes. Women +are excluded from political power on the ground of their sex, and by way +of opposing or of justifying this condition of matters everything but sex +is discussed. It has been shown that woman is as clever as man; pays her +rates at least as promptly; can work as hard and at as varied occupations; +is capable of outstripping him in learning; shows as much intelligence; is +more moral; and can sometimes be a greater nuisance to her neighbours. All +which may be a very good reason for giving her a vote, but does not alter +the fact that there is a great difference between the sexes. That may be +no reason for excluding her from a share in the direct election of +representatives to Parliament, but it is a fact that cannot be lost sight +of and which seems to be forgotten when it is not deliberately minimised +by both parties to the controversy. Man is something more than his brain, +and so is woman. Indeed, their thoughts and their acts are often the +outcome of the condition of their other organs; and the attraction of one +sex for the other disturbs most frequently the calculations of observers. +Among the primitives in our own country the principal subject of interest, +after their means of subsistence--and occasionally before even that--is +the opposite sex; and if one may judge by the books in greatest demand, +those whose opportunities are more varied are far from indifferent to the +same subject. The young man who is not stirred by desire to excite +admiration in some girl--perhaps in all girls--is an exceptional being; at +least he feels uncomfortable in their presence. + +The love of attracting attention is very common, but while it causes men +to do many strange things to obtain praise from their own sex, it much +more frequently moves them to extraordinary actions in order to secure the +admiration of women. Whether men or women are most moved by this feeling +it is impossible to say, but the men are more likely to make fools of +themselves. Their present social position gives them greater opportunities +to do so; for the woman's training and traditions are against her openly +giving way to her feelings, and when she does so the result is apt to be +disastrous. It is the commonest thing in the world to see young people +posturing to attract the attention of those of the opposite sex, and their +feelings may blind them to the consequences of their conduct. + +A too intense interest in anything else is fatal to business, and the rule +has no exception in favour of the amorous; so it is not uncommon for a lad +to lose his place through inattention to his work, the result of +preoccupation in his love affairs. In some social stations this condition +of mind may lead the lad into criminal courses. X 22 was an intelligent +lad who had drifted into crime and continued in it. He had not offended +against the law as a boy, though he had passed his early years in a part +of the town where the sights are appalling and the prevailing tone of +morals is low. He spent the later years of his boyhood in a suburban +village and went to work in that district. When he was about seventeen +there was an epidemic of "club dancings"; that is to say, places where a +number of young men, having hired a room and a fiddler, charged others a +small sum for admission to dance--girls being admitted free--and divided +the profits or the losses among themselves afterwards. The dancers were +usually the sons and daughters of respectable people, but their behaviour +after the dance was not innocent. The more ardent among them became +passionately addicted to the practice of attending such places and dropped +both work and reputation in the process. The scandal of the thing +ultimately became so great that under the pressure of public opinion the +"clubs" were discontinued. At one time they were many in number and spread +over a wide area. The young man of whom I speak was an enthusiastic +devotee and went far afield at times to seek his pleasure. Working from +early morning and dancing till late at night, it was morning again before +he got home. He could not possibly keep up both the work and the pleasure, +and the work had to go. He had to find money, and he got it dishonestly at +less fatigue than by work. This had its end and it finished him. After +being in prison he found the door of some of the clubs closed to him, but +there were others. He did not escape so readily now when he stole, being +known; and gradually he was shut out from the pleasures that had led him +astray and shut into the company of those who, like himself, had been in +prison. He was only one of a number whose downfall was attributed to +dancing; but he had not the slightest doubt that if the dancing had been +between those of the same sex it would never have led him off his feet. It +was the sexual element in the matter that attracted him. + +In this case the man lost his regular employment through absorption in his +pursuit of women, but in many more cases the situation is forfeited +through dishonesty caused by the desire to make an impression on some girl +or to provide for her. X 23 was a lad of good character, quiet in his +manner, well educated, and employed in a position of trust. He was serious +and sober in his walk and conversation, and appeared likely in time to +become a pillar of the Church and a model citizen. He was attracted by a +girl who was of good reputation, and there was never any suggestion of +improper conduct on the part of either of them. She lost her situation +through no fault of her own, and he placed her in a house which he +furnished at the expense of his employers, expressing his intention to +marry her later. There was no improper intimacy between them. Those who +knew him were surprised that he should be able to make the provision for +her that he did--surprised also at his choice of her as a wife; but that +is not an uncommon attitude on the part of friends--and equally surprised +and pained when it was discovered that he had used money which was not his +own in order to set up the establishment. + +It would be easy to multiply examples of cases where the relations between +the parties are less innocent, and to show that not merely young men, but +men who are advanced in life, have been driven by the attraction of the +other sex to sacrifice their position. + +Women are not ignorant of their power, and the criminal among them know +how to use it to advantage. Because of their sex they are able to commit +many thefts and to escape with impunity; indeed, a very large proportion +of thefts from the person are committed by women, or with their +assistance. They attract the man, go along with him, pick his pocket, and +find some excuse to get rid of him in a hurry. When he discovers his loss +they are out of reach, and in the great majority of cases he says nothing +about it to the police, as to do so would cause scandal about himself. +Only when the loss is too considerable to be borne, or when something is +stolen that cannot be replaced, is the theft reported; and even then it is +difficult to convict the thief. X 24 is a girl of twenty-six who has +several times during the last eight years been convicted of theft. She is +a buxom and cheerful young woman, neither a teetotaler nor intemperate, +shrewd, and possessed of a considerable share of intelligence and humour. +Brought up in a slum district, she was early at work; and when she began +her present career she was earning honestly about fourteen shillings +weekly. Some time ago I was asked to see her on behalf of a lady who had +taken an interest in her from her appearance in court, and who was willing +to help her to a better way of living. She was perfectly frank with me, +and declined assistance on the ground that she could do better for +herself. She said that with very little trouble she could make twice the +amount to be gained by work, and with little risk. "You ken weel enough, +doctor, that the lady could do nothing for me. She would put me in a place +among her servants, maybe, and that would be a nice thing for the +servants! Na, na. When I find it disna pay I'll gie it up. As long's the +drink disna get a grip o' me I'm a' richt; and there's no much fear o' +that." Like others of her class, she does not live by prostitution, though +her sex is her decoy. She has no prejudice in favour of chastity, but she +takes very good care to run no unnecessary risks, and will find a means of +getting away from the man she may pick up--if possible with his purse, but +if not, then without it--before matters have proceeded to an extremity. + +Others acting in concert with male accomplices lure men to houses where +they are bullied and robbed; and this goes on with a degree of impunity +that would be amazing, were it not for the fact that though the practice +is well known, there are few of those who have suffered loss of money who +care to add to it the loss of reputation that would result if they had to +appear in court. + +Blackmailing is another practice that springs from the conduct of both men +and women influenced in the direction of vice and crime by sex impulses; +and jealousy is a powerful factor in the causation of some crimes of +violence. Jealousy is not generally looked for on the part of those who +are themselves loose in their conduct, but among them it may exist as +intensely and manifest itself as powerfully as in any respectable citizen. +It seems to be largely a matter of temperament, and to be to some extent +existent apart from the desire for exclusive possession. X 25 was an +ex-soldier married to a woman of low morals. They had both been loose in +their behaviour and were both given to drink. He had on several occasions +assaulted her for her infidelities, but he admitted that it was not +jealousy that had caused him to do so; and he owned that he was just as +bad himself. He went off to the war, and in his absence she behaved very +badly and took headlong to drink. She lived with another man. On his +return he took up house with her, and the other man was a source of +quarrel between them, especially when they were drinking. He was +admittedly jealous, though there does not seem to have been any but a +retrospective cause for the feeling. One day in the course of a quarrel +she compared him with the other man to his disadvantage, and he savagely +set on and killed her. + +X 26 was a sailor who was attached to a woman whom he knew to be a +prostitute. When he came to Glasgow he lived with her, quite well knowing +her character. He spent his money freely on her, but could not keep her +from her associates. One night she insisted on leaving the house where +they lodged. She had been drinking heavily, and he tried to detain her. +She insisted on going to the lodgings of another man whom he knew; and +when he endeavoured to persuade her to remain where she was, she made a +comparison between him and the other that set him in a blind fury of rage +and jealousy, in which he killed her. The cases present similar features: +a tolerance of general infidelity; a jealousy of a particular individual; +and an explosion when the other was praised for certain qualities. + +The same kind of thing has occurred with women. One day in the airing-yard +of the prison a woman who was usually quiet in her behaviour made a sudden +attack on another who had been admitted to prison on the preceding day. It +transpired that the assailant had heard that the woman she assaulted was +living with "her man." The man was a bloated blackguard whom she had +screened by pleading guilty to a charge of theft in which he was +implicated. She herself was a prostitute, and when I pointed out that +morally he could not be worse than she in that respect she admitted the +fact, but added furiously that she would not allow that--to take him from +her; although she was ready enough to recognise his worthlessness. It +would be easy to theorise on these cases, and it might be interesting; it +is well to note them, for they show that crime may result from passion in +circumstances where it might not be expected. + +The fact is that feelings the result of sex strike far deeper and wider +than many good people care to acknowledge; but the whole subject is one on +which a taboo is placed and it cannot be treated as frankly as it ought +for that reason. The cause of jealousy and the excitement of the feeling +is not so simple as many seem to think. It may be absent where there would +appear to be the strongest ground for expecting its presence, and present +under circumstances where it would not be looked for; and when present it +may induce criminal acts on a provocation that would appear small indeed. + +There are fewer female than male criminals and offenders, but they are +more likely than men to continue in the wrong way when they set out on it, +for it is more difficult for them to recover. Women are much harder on one +another than they are on men; or than men are, either on their own sex or +on women. This may be one reason why so few of them go astray, but it also +contributes to keep the stray sheep from getting back to the fold. The +girl is more closely guarded at home and is more intimately associated +with her mother than the boy is. Even mothers who have gone to the bad do +not always want their daughters to follow their example; and I have known +those who lived by vice and crime who have sent their daughters away from +them in order to be trained in religion and morals. Most of them cannot do +that, but many do what they can, up to a point, to keep them straight. A +girl suffers more than a boy from the neglect of a mother, and when to +neglect is added bad example it may have a fatal effect on her. In +proportion to their numbers there are more daughters than sons of criminal +mothers who take to evil courses. + +Apart from the mother, there are districts of the city where girls hear +language and see sights that are not likely to have a good effect on them. +The girl is taught to repress herself more than the boy and is trained +towards secretiveness. The boy is rather given to flaunt his new-found +naughtiness and to be checked for it or to discover of how little account +it is. The girl may nurse it to her harm. It is a mistake to suppose that +because a man or woman never uses objectionable language, or repeats +objectionable stories, they have not left an impression when heard. As a +matter of fact, the female side of any lunatic asylum is generally more +remarkable than the male side for the foulness of the language of the +inmates and the filthiness of their ideas. Among the sane members of the +community the opposite is notoriously the case, but the insane are only +repeating words that have lodged in their mind when they were sane. The +same thing is true of female offenders; they outdo the men in the +profanity and indecency of their language, when they begin. + +When as a result of their surroundings young girls take to imitating their +elders in vice they are much more dangerous than boys. Every surgeon in a +great city, if he is connected with the administration of the law, knows +that very young girls are sometimes made the subjects of horrible +assaults; but he also knows that other girls as young incite and provoke +assaults, and that some among them make the most terrible and detailed +charges against men on no foundation whatever but that of their own +imagination excited by what they have seen. When men are guilty of certain +offences under the Criminal Law Amendment Act there can be no defence of +their conduct; they have no excuse for taking advantage of young girls; +but it is sheer folly to ignore the fact that there are girls of school +age in some parts of the city who deliberately importune men. It is +terrible that it should be so, but they are only doing what they see their +elders do and there is no use disregarding the fact. + +If the street is a bad playground for the boy it is worse for the girl. +She runs greater risks and her ignorance is as vast as his. When she goes +to work new perils beset her. Her choice of occupation is more restricted, +and her wages, though they may not be less in the first instance, do not +increase in the same ratio as she grows to youth and womanhood. Whatever +may be said for the higher education of women it is out of reach of the +many. Most girls have the idea that some day they will be married; and +they are often right. When this idea is present it is bound to affect +their actions. Marriage means for a man the holding on to his work; for a +woman it implies the giving up of her employment--at any rate, in Scotland +most men who marry try to keep their wives at home. Among the poorer +labourers this is not always possible; but it remains true that the great +majority of married women are not industrially employed. They have quite +enough to do at home, and sometimes more than enough; but the fact that +the home is to be their permanent sphere of work, or the hope of this, +makes many girls and women careless as to the choice of their occupation +meanwhile. It also prevents combination among workers, to a large extent, +and tends to keep wages low. How some of them live on their earnings is a +mystery, but they do; and keep themselves in a condition of health and +fitness which will compare favourably with that of many of the scientific +people who prove by figures and standards that they don't. There is grave +risk in it, however; risk that they should not be asked to run. If they +were not members of a family, each contributing earnings to a common pool, +and each undertaking a share of the household work, many could not exist +on the wages they receive. That any large number of them are directly +driven to the street by the low rate of their wages is not, in my +experience, true. + +Complaints have been made that the children of well-to-do people accept +lower wages and make it hard for those who have to earn their living to +obtain reasonable pay. This may be true in a few cases, but it is not of +general application. These people do not compete at all in many +occupations; their parents are not foolish enough to let them do much for +nothing; but they do sometimes exercise an injurious influence on the +other girls by their presence. Girls are at least as vain of their +appearance as lads, and they are quite as much given to personal +adornment. Indeed, I think men will readily admit that women pay more +attention to their dress and are keener on ornaments than they are. +Certainly when one gets a new kind of hat-pin or "charm," others must +obtain something to balance it. If a girl has a fund to draw upon apart +from her earnings she is likely to dress more expensively than her +neighbours, and the weaker sisters are sometimes tempted to adopt +extraordinary measures to keep pace with her. + +In so far as a standard of dress is set up that is beyond the earning +power of the workers to maintain, girls who have other resources than +their wages are liable to exercise an injurious effect on their +fellow-workers. X 27 was a young woman of prepossessing appearance and +good manner. She had been employed in a place of business in town. Her +wages were small, and she had charge of cash transactions to a +considerable amount. She was quietly and well dressed. She was arrested on +a charge of embezzlement and she admitted her guilt. She confessed that +she had begun to take small sums in order to keep herself "respectable," +and her peculations not being discovered, she had continued to help +herself. There was sickness at home, and to relieve the pressure there she +had taken larger sums and been found out. In the course of enquiries I +found that there were other employees none of whom had her opportunities +of taking from the cash-box, but some of whom dressed themselves on +"presents" from gentlemen. There was room for suspicion that each knew +what the others had been doing. It was certain that they knew that their +earnings were insufficient to enable them to live and dress as they did, +and it was equally clear that in their cases they had no resources at home +to supplement their earnings. + +There are some workshops in which the moral tone is very low, and the +association of young girls together in them has a bad effect on their +conduct. The ignorance of many men and women with regard to the most +elementary physical facts is remarkable. Mysteries are made of physiology, +as though innocence and ignorance were synonymous terms. Fear takes the +place of enlightenment, and when a girl is seen to transgress the limits +of conduct laid down for her without the dreadful consequences they have +been led to expect, the others are apt to think they have been misled; and +some of them embark lightly on a certain course of conduct with a +confidence begotten of ignorance as great as that which once made them +timid. Young people are better to learn the truth about themselves from +those they respect and trust, than to be kept in ignorance till some +chance reveals a distorted version to them. X 28 was a man of the +labouring class who was charged with contravention of the Criminal Law +Amendment Act. He had been a very hard-working man, and for years had +lived on little and saved the greater part of his earnings. Then, as +systematically as he had put the money past, he started to get rid of it. +He had nearly £200, and he proceeded to spend about £2 a week on his +"spree." He drew the money from the bank in small sums, and, doing no work +meanwhile, he proceeded to take enough drink to keep him on the right side +of drunkenness. This had been going on for over six months before his +arrest. Early in the course of his wanderings he had made the acquaintance +of two girls who were employed in a tailoring establishment in the city. +They spoke to him and made him certain proposals. This was in the +dinner-hour. In time he was introduced by one girl to another during the +succeeding four months, till he had dealings with seven in the same +establishment--that is to say, seven admitted the facts. Their ages ran +from fifteen to nineteen years, and without exception they were all the +daughters of respectable parents, to whom the story of their conduct came +as a severe shock. That story will not bear repetition; it was exceedingly +gross. The facts were only discovered in an accidental way through the +illness of one of the girls. She at first denied everything; but under +pressure made a confession of part of the truth, and, the charge being +laid, enquiry elicited the rest. + +A large number of girls are still employed in domestic service, though the +tendency has been for them to seek industrial work, where they are for +some part of the day their own mistresses. The spread of elementary +education has been blamed for the shortage in the supply of servants, but +it is only one of many causes for the change from the time when there were +more girls seeking work than places for them; and girls are not likely to +seek service as a result of the railings of those who, to judge by their +utterances, are in need of some elementary education with regard to their +own position. There seems to be an idea fixed in their heads that they +have a right to be served by others, and that on their own terms. If the +schools have taught the girls that they are not born to do for others what +they ought to be able to do for themselves, it is something to the credit +of the schools. Domestic servants have been too long treated as though +they were inferior beings, with the natural result that their work has +come to be looked upon as lower in character than that of the factory or +the office girl. A greater independence of spirit and behaviour is +permitted in those engaged in industrial occupations than in domestics, +and this has a good deal to do with the preference shown for these +pursuits. + +Domestic service is a better preparation for married life than work in a +factory, but in spite of this it has very serious disadvantages. It +presents the form of family life without the spirit. In a great many cases +it has all the disadvantages and few of the advantages. Those who are +loudest in their complaints of the degeneration of servants show quite +clearly that they are angry really because they no longer get girls to +give not only reasonable service, but the obedience of flunkeys. Girls in +workshops are not treated as domestics are; they would not stand it. +Their wages may be lower, but at least they are not looked upon as beings +of another creation than those placed over them. When people shun certain +kinds of employment it is not generally because they are foolish, but +because they believe that that kind of work is not worth having. + +The servant in the house is too much in the house. Her mistress is quite +ready to assume that she should know all that the girl is doing, but the +confidence is expected to be all on the one side. For the mistress to +interfere in the girl's affairs is to show a proper interest in her; but +for the girl to return the compliment is impertinence. The girl is often +subject to unsympathetic supervision; she is seldom allowed out to +associate with those whose company she desires; her life is a monotonous +and exacting one; and in many cases she has as few opportunities for +seeing visitors as she has for visiting. That some should react +unfavourably to these conditions is not surprising; and when they are out +they may show the same tendency to friskiness displayed by that other +domestic animal, the family dog. Many of them have few friends near the +place of their employment, and their work does not provide them with the +same facilities for forming friendships as industrial employment does. If +they do go astray the consequences are therefore more serious, because +they are to a large extent thrown on their own resources, having few to +whom they can appeal for help or advice. + +There are no workers who are more generally industrious, honest, and +patient, and who are more harshly judged. Only those who go wrong seem to +attract attention; at least it is only they who are heard of; and in +proportion to the large number employed they are few. Their position away +from their family leaves them more exposed to the attentions of those of +the opposite sex than other girls, and when they succumb the consequences +may be more serious. If their condition is suspected or discovered the +extent to which they are considered members of the family soon becomes +apparent. The girl who is in this state has no illusions on that subject. +She knows quite well that she will receive no sympathy, and that would not +matter so much if she were not equally certain that she will be turned out +whenever the fact becomes known. She cannot face her people. She fears the +scandal she will bring on them, and what she should do is a puzzle to her. +What she tries to do is to conceal her condition as long as possible. She +knows quite well that a time will come when it will unmistakably reveal +itself, but anything may happen in the interval. She refuses to think +about the future and lives in the present. The effort that should be +expended in making preparations for the event is spent in concealing its +approach; till some day she finds herself a mother. The habit of +concealment has become a part of her, and it asserts itself in the state +of pain and panic in which she finds herself, with disastrous results to +the child. X 29 was a girl about twenty years of age who came from a +mining district to domestic service in Glasgow. She was a healthy girl and +a good servant. One day her mistress had reason to suspect that something +had taken place in the house of which she had not been made aware; and a +search revealed the dead body of a new-born child in an outhouse. The girl +was arrested and sent to hospital. In due course she was transferred to +prison, where I had to investigate the case with a view to determining her +mental condition. She told me the story bit by bit quite clearly. When she +became aware of her condition she took steps to hide it, and up to the +end she had been successful in doing so. She did this in order to make up +her mind what she ought to do. Sometimes she decided to go home to her +friends, and at other times she meant to apply to the parish. Her health +was good all the time. At last she made up her mind to go home, and had +written stating her intention, but saying nothing about her condition or +about staying there. The child was born the night before the day she had +fixed for her visit. She was taken by surprise, and had no preparations +made for its arrival. By her actions she showed that she knew what was +necessary in order to attend both to child and mother. It cried out, and +in her alarm she stopped its mouth. It did not cry again, and she next set +about its concealment. She knew that she had killed it, but she did not +think this murder. She would have thought it murder if it had not just +been new-born. She had seen similar cases reported in the newspapers as +"Concealment of Pregnancy" and not counted murder. As she had her day off +to pay her visit she did so. She walked at least ten miles in doing this. +She told her friends nothing. She hoped to be able to dispose of the body, +but her mistress had found suspicious signs in her room, and on a search +had discovered the child. She was curiously knowing in some respects, but +her ignorance was as peculiar as her knowledge; and I had no reason to +doubt the truth of her story, which stood such tests as could be applied +to it. + +The case in its main features is quite characteristic. There are some +mistresses who, when they find their servants in this condition, take +steps to see that they are tended in some way. They cannot be expected to +keep them in the house, but they do what can be done to prevent the mother +and child suffering. There are others who simply turn them out and take +no further interest in them; and it is the fear of this that leads to +concealment. If they would even act as mediators between the girls and +their people much mischief would be prevented. + +Hardly ever does such a case as the above occur but what there are letters +to the newspapers demanding that the father of the infant should be placed +in the dock with the mother. The mother is not there for begetting a +child, but for killing it, and the former act is not yet punishable by +law. The general opinion seems to be that men are continually seducing +women, and I am not in a position to say whether it is true or not. +Judging from books, it forms the subject of many stories, but I am here +only writing of that small portion of the world which has come under my +own observation, and in my experience it is grotesquely untrue. I have +heard the woman's statement in the great majority of cases of infanticide +in Scotland during the last sixteen years, and I can recall few in which +she made any complaint against the father of the child, although I sought +for it. In some cases I was told that the father had not been informed of +the woman's condition, although she knew where to find him; and that he +had been kept in ignorance because she did not want to marry him. In the +other cases the conception seemed to be the result of intimacy that was +temporary and long past. I am far from suggesting that there are no bad +men who lead girls astray; what I say is that in this class of case these +are not the girls who appear as criminals. + +The fact is that among a certain class of lads and girls there is a degree +of looseness of behaviour that is in striking contrast with the officially +recognised code of morals. They take risks with a light heart, and the +woman pays; not always because the man shirks, but because any +consequence of their conduct is entailed on her by her sex. The girl knows +this as well as the lad, but neither of them considers consequences at the +time. An acquaintanceship begun innocently enough may insensibly and by +degrees become something more, not as the result of consideration, but +quite independent of anything in the way of thought. If consequences were +certain it might be different. It is difficult to apportion blame and it +is not very profitable to try; but it is quite certain that the woman +leads the man as much as he leads her to misconduct. Child murder is no +necessary consequence of his act, and there is no sense in assuming that +he knew the girl's condition and deserted her, when the fact can easily be +ascertained. + +It would be a great mistake to suppose that girls who do not preserve +their chastity are necessarily bad. It is largely a question of manners +and customs. They would quite readily admit that it is wrong to be +unchaste, as many an untruthful person will admit it is wrong to lie; but +they do not seem to suffer in self-respect, nor greatly in the esteem of +others, if they yield themselves to the lad who is their sweetheart for +the time. Their conduct may be suspected; but in the absence of proof, and +if decency is observed, their morals are taken for granted. + +Every professional man knows that there are very many different standards +of conduct in Glasgow. The doctor cannot shut his eyes to the fact if he +would; the lawyer during the time he acts as Agent for the Poor sees and +hears enough to convince him that the professed and the working standards +of conduct are different; and even among those connected with their +Churches clergymen occasionally find some who have to get married as a +result of their behaviour. The girls who misbehave in this way may be +reviled as prostitutes, but that is utterly to fail in judging them. That +they are no worse than the men goes without saying; but there cannot be a +standard for the woman and another for the man, though in practice it is +more frequently the moralists who try to make one--not by their words, but +by the effect of their judgment. The same girl who has given herself to +men is sometimes the most bitter in her denunciations of prostitutes; but +on the subject of prostitution I do not propose to enter, for any real +consideration of it would involve a plainness of speech on which it would +be unsafe to venture. + +This must be said, however, that the woman who goes astray is treated +shamefully by the law, which operates to drive her deeper in the mire and +causes reformation to be more difficult for her than for any other kind of +offender. Any proposal to place these poor souls more completely under the +domination of officials, medical or police (whether made on the specious +pretext of public health or public morals), would intensify the +difficulty, and would result, as it would deserve, in increasing the evil +it sought to remedy. It is bad enough that any members of the community +should become slaves to the vices of others, but it would be worse to +confirm them in their slavery in order to protect those whom they serve. + +In proportion to the number of offences committed by women bigamy appears +to be more common than it is among the male offenders. The reason is +largely economic, but the method of its operation is dependent on sex. The +woman wants a home, but if she were not a woman that is not the way she +would choose to get one. She could get established, but her sense of +propriety will not allow her to accept the position without the form of +marriage, even although she knows the form to be illegal. In many cases, +however, she does not know this. She may have ground for a divorce by +reason of the desertion of her husband or his misconduct; but the ground +for divorce and the ability to obtain one are different matters. If +divorce is to be permitted there does not seem to be any reason why it +should be refused to those who cannot afford to go to law to obtain it. If +one of the parties to a marriage gives cause for divorce the need for it +will be the greater in proportion to poverty, for people are less able to +keep out of each other's way if they are living together in a small house +than would be the case if they had more room; and if they are separated +the economic disadvantages are not less. Yet these are the very people who +are least able to obtain relief; their poverty ensures that. When they go +through the form of marriage with some other we pay the cost of their +imprisonment. The money would be better employed in setting them free from +the contract which has gone wrong. Some of them voluntarily give +themselves up in the belief that their imprisonment will break the former +marriage. Our judges have become more and more inclined to deal leniently +with such cases; reserving their heavy sentences for those which show +moral turpitude; and the number of these is small. To the woman there is +something in the form of marriage which enables her to preserve her +self-respect, and the "marriage lines" are a testimony to others. It is a +queer condition of affairs, in their view, that allows them to live with a +man if they do not go through a ceremony of marriage with him, and which +sends them to prison if they do; for they cannot be expected to see that +the rights of property may depend on the prohibition of conduct such as +theirs. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +PUNISHMENT + + The universal cure-all--The public and the advertising healer--The + essence of all quackery--The quackery of punishment--Rational + treatment--Justice not bad temper--Retribution--Our fathers and + ourselves--Their methods not necessarily suitable to our time--Capital + punishment--The incurable and the incorrigible--Objections to capital + punishment apply in degree to all punishment--The "cat"--The + executioner and the surgeon--Whipping and its effect--The flogged + offender--The act and the intention--Pain and vitality--Unequal + effects of punishment--Fines and their burden--Who is punished + most?--Punishment and expiation--Punishment and deterrence--Social + opinion the real deterrent--Vicious social circles--Respect for the + law--Prevention of crime. + + +Since newspapers have become great advertising mediums their readers have +had information thrust upon them by picture and story regarding the need +to flee from ills to come and seek refuge in the patent pill. Health is +the great thing to attend to, and there is a large number of people +engaged in our instruction. Some will have us see to the equal development +of all our muscles, though what we are to do with them when they are +developed we may not clearly apprehend. Others prescribe for us all a +proper course of diet, and though the professors differ among themselves +as to what is the best food for mankind, they seem to be all agreed that +there is a universal food. If we find their prescriptions do not suit us, +that is an evidence of degeneracy on our part which must be overcome. It +is all very like what has passed itself off as education. At school, if a +boy showed an aptitude for drawing and none for composition, he was taken +from the thing he could do and worried into doing the thing he was not +fitted for doing, with the result that in many cases children left school +able to do a number of things equally badly and few things well. The +attempt to make people ambidextrous is more likely to make them +left-handed in both hands. + +Health is the greatest of blessings, but the man who is always concerned +for his health is not the healthy man; time passes, and he may lose his +life while he is preparing to live. He is encouraged to examine himself, +and all the possible ailments which may annoy him are described and their +significance exaggerated till he gets nervous. A specific is found for +every ill to which the flesh is heir, and its efficacy is trumpeted till +some equally infallible cure replaces it in public estimation. The saving +remedy may be called a quack preparation, and its composition proclaimed +and condemned by the regular practitioner, but a sufficient number of +purchasers is found to justify the expense of advertising it. It is sure +to benefit somebody, however antecedently improbable that effect may be, +and there is certain to be some sufferer who will be grateful enough to +testify to its cure. Some of the testimonials may be spurious, but many of +them are quite as genuine as any that the doctors receive. The reader sees +that Mrs. Dash has suffered from pains in her back for years, and has +tried the patience and the prescriptions of every doctor within her reach +without obtaining any permanent relief. She has had to resign herself to a +state of chronic invalidism, and is an object of pity to all who know her. +She hears from a friend of the wonderful curative effects of the Rational +Rheumatic Regimen and puts herself under treatment, with the result that +her neighbours cannot believe she is the same woman, and she herself feels +in better health than she has ever before enjoyed. Then follows a list of +symptoms which is sure to appeal to some sufferer. The public, knowing all +that can be urged against quack medicines, distrusts and purchases them. +The buyer knows that the case of Mrs. Dash is not published for +philanthropic but for business reasons, but he thinks that what cured her +may help him. It may or it may not, but he risks it. + +Even those who utterly condemn quack medicines fall quite readily into the +error of quackery when they come to discuss social subjects; for the +essence of quackery is the belief that what is good for one person must be +good for every other. Diseases are not entities, but conditions that +cannot exist apart from the man; and similarly crime cannot exist apart +from society. We may alter conditions in such a way that the tendency to +disease or crime will be lessened; but when a person has become diseased +we have to know something more about him than the fact that he shows +certain symptoms before he can be treated in any rational way and with a +prospect of his recovery. So when he has committed a crime we must know +more than that fact before there is much hope of being able to correct +him. There is as much quackery in the practice of making punishment fit +crime as in that of making remedies fit diseases. + +When a man offends against the law he is taken in hand by the ministers of +the law; and they are awakening to a sense of the futility of their +treatment of him, but so far not much progress has been made towards a +rational method. There are more institutions projected and a greater +variety of remedies prescribed; but they depend on the nature of the crime +charged, rather than on the character and condition of the culprit. Some +day it may be acknowledged that the court that has to determine whether a +person is guilty of the offence charged against him is not therefore the +court that is able to determine his treatment, but there will first +require to be a more general recognition of the fact that before a man can +be treated rationally for any physical, mental, moral, or social fault in +him, something more must be known about him than that the fault is there. + +I do not suggest that rational treatment will invariably be successful; +there is nothing absolute in this world, not even our ignorance; but I do +assert that we are not entitled to act irrationally in dealing with +criminals, and that that is what we generally do at present. The practice +of the courts has changed much more than the law during the last sixteen +years, and there is a greater disposition on the part of judges to seek +information regarding those who are brought before them, as well as a more +marked reluctance to send offenders to prison if there appears to be a +probability that they will not repeat their offence. + +The old theories of punishment have broken down, and it is now difficult +to find any coherent theory behind the practice. When a crime is committed +that shocks the public by its atrocity there are demands made for fierce +retribution on the culprit, partly on the plea that he ought to be made to +suffer, and partly for the purpose of deterring others from repeating the +act. Incidentally those who are most insistent on the employment of the +executioner show that they possess a fair share of the same spirit that +educed the act which they condemn. They are rightly indignant, but they +do not seem to see that justice and bad temper are not the same thing. + +Few would defend the application literally of the retributive +"eye-for-an-eye" principle. They know that a man's eye may not be of as +much use to him as that which he has destroyed may have been to his +victim. It may be like taking gold and offering lead in exchange. Even if +the eyes be equal in value it does not in the slightest degree compensate +the injured person to know that the person who did him the injury is as +blind as he; and as for the community, it is to place two blind men where +one was before. Of course nobody has proposed to deal in this manner with +the person who blinds another; but many are quite satisfied to act on the +principle, and to apply it by way of killing murderers and flogging those +who commit assaults. The law has prohibited certain actions as below the +standard of conduct permitted to the members of the community. When a man +takes life, in order to show him the sacredness of life, it takes his. It +is a lesson to him; and there is this to be said for it, that it prevents +him from offending again. + +We all know how much we are the superiors of the poor foreigners in our +manners and our powers, for in spite of our modesty, our teachers in the +Press are always insisting on the fact, and truth compels us to admit it. +Yet these same teachers sometimes confuse us not a little by their methods +of defending us when we are charged with doing something which we cannot +deny having done. Some necessary severity in war, or some strong actions +on the part of those who in our name teach the native races how to live, +may have provoked remark on the part of other nations. At once we hear +that they have done similar things; but if we are better than they, surely +we must prove it by our actions? If we are better than those whom we +judge and condemn, why do we treat them as they have treated others? + +To hire a man to kill another is a queer way to teach men to respect life. +That our fathers did it is true, and we have taken over the practice from +them. I do not think it probable that our fathers were any greater fools +than we are, but their circumstances were different; not to speak of the +fact that we have had handed on to us by them an accumulation of +experience in civil life which they had not time to absorb. We may be no +better than they were, but they have not failed to contribute to make us +better off, and their ways of doing things are not suitable to the altered +circumstances in which we find ourselves. They were more worried by their +fighting men than we are, and were always liable to be assailed by some +lord or other whose honourable occupation was arms and who was industrious +in the pursuit of it. He or somebody like him professed to protect the +worker and ensure him the fruits of his labour--less discount. The +fighting man has always made this profession; but he never protects the +worker from the worker; he protects the worker from some other warrior who +may be a greater nuisance--or may not. Now he is under the direction of +the law, and is not allowed to make war on his own account. The survivals +that do are criminals. + +In the good old days the governor was often busily engaged and had no time +to bother with offenders. The pit or the gallows were for them, unless +they could be depended on to refrain from troubling him and pay him for +letting them work. Part of the time he was himself a prisoner in his +castle--and a not very sanitary or comfortable prison it was--and at +other times he was acting as warder over some other lord whom he had +besieged. The easiest way to deal with unruly persons was to hang them to +a tree and leave them there; they deserved it, and even if they did not, +they might do so; in any case they were a good riddance. Now we are more +settled and less summary in our dealings with each other. We have long +ceased to employ the hangman except in cases of murder, and even then the +penalty is seldom inflicted in Scotland; for it is repugnant to the +feelings of most juries, and they only call killing "murder" when their +feelings of indignation get the upper hand. + +I am far from saying that no case can now be made out for capital +punishment; what I am contending is that it is the outstanding example of +the application of the retributory principle; and yet in practice it is +usually defended on the ground that the culprit is so bad that he ought to +be killed--another ground altogether. "What could you do with a man who +would do that?" is the question addressed to those who assert that the +worst use to which you can put a man is to kill him. Well, is he so bad as +all that? I have seen a number of very tough specimens under sentence of +death, and have watched the effect on warders of intimate association with +them. They have had to be constantly in the company of the condemned, for +although he has to be killed he must be given no opportunity to kill +himself; and in almost every case the men had only one opinion after +getting closely in touch with the criminal, and that opinion was that, in +spite of all the evil in him, he was not such a bad creature after all. In +some cases the opinion of his character was much more favourable; but in +all cases the opinions were the result of seeing the man when he was under +the sentence of the law. That is as true an observation as that the +sentence was the result of conduct when he was running wild. It was the +same man who had done the wicked act who impressed men favourably, though +their official bias was against him; and he could not have done so if the +qualities had not been in him. + +There may be men among us who are so utterly bad that all the State can do +with them is to kill them in order to secure the safety of others, but I +have not seen them. There are men so riddled with disease that no cure for +them can be held out, and the disease may be of such a character that it +is likely to infect or affect injuriously those who attend them, but +doctors are not permitted to kill them. In these cases as strong an +argument could be adduced in favour of capital punishment as in the case +of criminals; and there are those who advocate the lethal chamber for +certain classes of the diseased and "unfit." In every case the advocates +of the proposal should be the first to go there, for their very advocacy +shows that they are themselves unfit to take a sufficiently wide view of +the good of the State. + +We know too little of the possibilities of life to be justified in +condemning anyone to death. The medical man speaks of some diseases as +being incurable; but so far from meaning what he says literally, his whole +life is spent in seeking for cures. Knowledge widens slowly, and false +lights are hailed as true, but in spite of all set-backs there is +progress; and to-day the diseased conditions that our fathers could not +deal with may be relieved and in many cases cured. What the doctor really +means is that there are many diseases for which he has not yet found the +appropriate remedy; and when we speak of men as being incorrigible we are +only entitled to use the word in the same limited way, meaning that we +have so far not been able to correct them. + +The infliction of the death penalty has no good effect on those engaged in +it. I have never seen anyone who had anything to do with it that was not +the worse for it. As for the doctor, who must be in attendance, it is an +outrage on all his professional, as well as his personal feelings. The +physician is taught that it is his duty to save life, apart altogether +from its personal value. When he is called in to a patient it is no affair +of his whether the sick person is a saint or a sinner; it is his duty to +do his best for the patient irrespective of any question of character, and +to risk infection as readily for the sake of the wicked as for the sake of +the good. At the behest of the law he has to take a part in the killing of +a man whom he has been instructed to attend in order that at the proper +time he may be led to death in a state of good health. + +I do not say that there are not men who may seem so debased and vile that +any reformation would appear to be only remotely possible; but while they +are to be blamed for their wickedness, we are not free from blame for +permitting them to grow into such a state before taking them in hand. In +no case that I have seen was such interference impossible had our system +been one that lent itself to the prevention of crime and the reformation +of the criminal; but because it was easier and more profitable for them to +do ill than to do well, they went the wrong road with disastrous results +to others as well as to themselves. Blame them by all means; but let us be +just, and having settled how much they are to blame--not a very profitable +task--let us set about to find how far we are to blame; having punished +them, what about punishing ourselves? Our punishment is fixed by laws that +no Parliament can alter; our own neglect of the wrongdoer ensures it. + +The objections to capital punishment apply to all punishment up to a +point, for if it is wrong to slay a man it is also wrong to maim him; and +in so far as our conduct towards him makes him a less efficient member of +the community it does maim him. There are many who are so indignant with +the law-breaker that they have no patience with anybody who has doubts as +to whether our way of dealing with him is all that could be desired. They +object to his being pampered--whatever that means--and call everybody a +sentimentalist who is not for "vigorous means of repression." There is a +sentiment of brutality that is quite as dangerous as any sentiment of +pity, and a great deal more harmful; but pity for the criminal need have +very little part in consideration for his reform. He may be, and often is, +far from being an estimable or attractive person, and the last thing he +needs is pity. A man may be a good physician or surgeon without being +given to anything approaching sentiment that is maudlin; but whether he is +full of pity or not he must be sympathetic--that is to say, he must be +able to appreciate the standpoint of those with whom he is dealing. So +must the man who would deal with offenders; if he fails in that he fails +in everything. It may be all very well to describe some of them as brutes +and to say they should be treated as brutes, but it does not help forward +the matter of treatment in the slightest degree; for even brutes cannot +all be treated alike, and if a man is treated as a brute it is not likely +to result in making him behave like a man. "The only way to make a man +is--Think him one, J. B., As well as you or me." + +The cat is a specific for the "brutes" that have not qualified for the +"rope." The argument seems to be that because a man has committed a brutal +crime therefore he is a brute; as he has inflicted serious bodily injury +on a fellow-citizen it is proper that someone should be employed to +inflict serious bodily injury on him. But will the man whom you employ to +do this laudable work not be a brute also? Does your official imprimatur +remove the brutality of his act? If not, one result would seem to be that +at the end you have two brutes among you instead of one. + +There has never been any pretence that the executioner's occupation is not +a degrading one; never in all this country for very many years, at any +rate. He is not looked down upon because by his office he inflicts pain. +The surgeon in the course of his work inflicts pain, but nobody considers +him any the less worthy on that account. A hand might be cut off by either +of them in the discharge of his duty; but though the result may be the +same to the owner of the hand, the object has been different. The surgeon +has amputated the hand to save the man's life; the executioner has cut it +off to maim the man. There can be no objection to the infliction of pain +on a criminal more than on others if it is incident on a course of +treatment which there is good reason to believe will result in his reform; +but there is no such reason for belief in the efficacy of flogging. + +I do not say that nobody has been the better for a whipping. There are +many men who are ordinarily as modest as those of our race usually are, +and who say that they were well whipped in their boyhood with great +benefit. It might be unsafe to suggest that the argument is not so +convincing as it may seem to those who advance it. Sometimes there is a +temptation to think that the treatment, if it were really so efficacious +in making them virtuous, might with profit have been continued; but there +can be no doubt they are firmly convinced that without the thrashings they +received they would have been worse than they are. This hardly touches the +point, for it is one thing to be whipped by an official who has no +interest in the person whipped, and another thing altogether to be +chastised by a parent or guardian, or even at his instance. The effect on +the integuments may be the same in both cases, but there is a +psychological effect which is different. Children know that wrongdoing on +their part is sometimes the occasion and the excuse for an exhibition of +temper on the part of their parents; and they take their punishment with +the best grace they can and keep out of the way next time they misbehave. +A whipping in cold blood they do not take in the same spirit; and they are +right. + +The great objection to any arbitrary punishment is that it may do far more +harm than good. Suppose a child is disobedient and obstinate, and the +father proceeds to whip it into obedience. If he succeeds the child may, +through fear, avoid such conduct in the future; but if the child persists +in his obstinacy in spite of the whipping, and gets into that dumb dour +state in which he is likely to go off in a fit if the whipping is +persisted in, the shoe is on the other foot. The father has to desist +through fear, the child having met force with passive resistance is the +master, and he retains the impression of his parent's brutality and +impotence. It is never wise in the case of children, or of men, to embark +on a course of treatment that you cannot continue till your object is +gained. + +There may have been some reason in flogging men with the object of ruling +them by fear, but the policy would depend on the thoroughness with which +it was carried out for what success it could obtain. There would always be +the risk that the penalty would make men more ferocious if it were the +probable result of their misconduct, for if fear may prevent people from +doing the ill they desire, it will also cause them to seek safety by +attempting to destroy the evidence of their wrongdoing. Make death the +penalty for robbery, and a direct inducement is offered to the robber to +kill his victim and prevent him from telling tales. Flog men for breaches +of the law, and if they fear the pain they will the more readily become +reckless, on the principle of its being as well to be hanged for a sheep +as a lamb. + +That there is a strong feeling on the part of the public against flogging +is undeniable, and it is not so much the result of reasoning as of +sentiment. The process shocks their sense of propriety. The mass of men +not only shrink from suffering pain, but they shrink from the suffering of +others, and they are less inclined than they once were to believe in its +efficacy as a remedial agent. The man who in a former day would have been +flogged and set to work is now sent to hospital if the whip has scored his +flesh. A surgeon stands by to see that his vitality is not lowered beyond +a certain point in the execution of the sentence; it is a nice occupation +for him to superintend the impairment of a man's health, but as a +compensation the rogue may become a patient and the doctor have the +privilege of healing any wounds made under his supervision. The patient is +now in a position to do any mischief he chooses; you have done your utmost +with him and are not permitted to kill him. If as rigid an enquiry were +made into the causes of men's wrongdoing as is made into the question of +their personal guilt there would be less occasion for punishment as we +have had it. + +Boys are still whipped for some offences and in certain cases. To say that +it is better to whip a boy than to send him to prison, is only to admit +that whipping is the less serious of the two methods of injuring him; and +in some cases the boys are whipped for no other reason. There is a +well-founded reluctance to sentence them to detention in any existing +institution, combined with a belief in the necessity of inflicting some +penalty on them for their misdeeds. The boy has done wrong and he must pay +for it. The world is so constituted that we are all the children of our +acts; payment may be delayed, but it must be made sometime if every deed +carries its penalty with it; but such a belief is quite consistent with +scepticism as to the necessity for the legal penalties on which so many +place importance. Indeed, that they also carry their consequences is seen +of all men, and there is no manner of doubt that those on whom they fall +are made worse citizens by them. That might be a small matter if their +degeneration did not injuriously affect the community of which they are +unworthy members, but in hurting them we are hurting ourselves. + +It is not so much what we do as the spirit in which it is done that causes +the mischief. A person who is sick and in bed may be as much a prisoner as +a man in a cell. His doctor may prevent him from seeing visitors and may +sentence him to a period of something very like solitary confinement, but +he knows that this is done with no intention of hurting him, but because +it is necessary in the interest of his health, or that of others. The +prisoner has no such opinion as to the purpose of his imprisonment, and +neither have those who carry it out. He may be the better for it, though +that is exceptional, but discomfort and pain is an essential part of +whatever cure there is. I remember when a student a worthy old +practitioner who made a point of choosing the most painful remedies for +persons suffering from certain diseases, as he held the opinion that they +ought to be made to suffer for their misconduct. He certainly made them +suffer, but as they were not compelled to attend him they chose others who +cured them more rapidly and with less pain. + +It is now generally recognised that pain, or anything that lowers +vitality, operates injuriously and retards the recovery of patients; and +every means is taken to prevent suffering, not because it makes the +patient feel bad, but because it causes him to be bad. Suppose a surgeon +said to a man who appeared before him with a scalp wound received through +falling on the kerb while under the influence of drink, "You have been +foolish and wicked, since you have made yourself intoxicated and lost +control of your senses. Your head is wounded, and it is only a chance that +you have not been killed. You have disgraced yourself in the eyes of those +among your friends who have any sense of respectability, and you have run +the risk of losing your employment as the result of your intemperance. +This I cannot permit to pass unpunished. An example must be made of you in +order to deter others from following the same pernicious course. You have +forfeited the right to consideration, but, though you must be made to +remember that such conduct as yours cannot be lightly passed over, I shall +deal with you as leniently as possible for the sake of your wife and +family. You will receive an application of germs to your wound which will +produce erysipelas, after which I shall proceed to deal with your cure." +The doctor who tried this method would be sent to a lunatic asylum; but +it is precisely what is done in our courts. The prisoner is told he is +bad--and he is; then he is sent--to be made better? Not at all. + +Whatever may be said against the prisons, it cannot be shown that they +ever were designed to reform those sent to them, and if they fail to do so +they do not therefore fail in the purpose for which they were built, which +is to detain and punish criminals. The extent to which they do punish +varies greatly according to the antecedents of the person who is sent to +them. On the clerk and the labourer who have received the same sentence +its physical effect may differ very much. If both are put to do labouring +work, as they very well may be, at the end of the day the man who is +accustomed to it will be less hurt and fatigued than the man who has been +used to other employment. If the object is to make them all alike +uncomfortable the clerk should be set to dig a trench and the labourer to +write, and at the end of the day the one would be stained with ink and the +hands of the other would be stinging or blistered. As it is the work done +by the labourer is child's play to him, but it is toilsome to the man +whose occupation is sedentary; to the public it is not of much utility in +any case. + +A common method of punishing offenders is to impose fines upon them, so +that if a man has money he may commit any of a large number of offences +without any risk of imprisonment. It may even be profitable for him to do +so, for the fines for doing some illegal acts by which money can be made +are in some cases less than the profits to be made by transgressing the +law. It is a queer condition of affairs. The principle of restitution is +one that can be readily understood and approved, but fines are not an +attempt to apply such a principle. They go, not to any person who may +have been injured, but to the local exchequer for the most part. This is a +vicious arrangement, for it is an incitement to the local authorities to +make as much as they can off the offenders in their district; and whether +they are ever moved by it or not, it is not proper that they should have +any interest in filling their coffers by such means. + +Fines fall very unequally as a burden on those subjected to them. The +amount inflicted, though small, may be out of all proportion to the +offender's means; half-a-crown is not much, but it is a great deal to the +man who has not got it. Before the same court you may have two men charged +with similar offences. One is a motorist who has exceeded the speed limit; +the other is a driver of a light van who in trying to catch a train has +been reckless in his driving. The motorist may be fined in five times the +amount inflicted on the vanman, but to the one the sum only represents a +small inroad on his means, while to the other it represents something like +a week's wages. There is not one law for the rich and another for the +poor; if there were they might not be so unequally treated. There is the +same law for both; but in its effect it favours the rich at the expense of +the poor, and that is not to the ultimate advantage of the community. + +The fine is an alternative to imprisonment, and in practice it is a +peculiarly striking example of our whole system of punishment. The +magistrate on behalf of the public says to the offender, in effect, "You +have transgressed the laws of the state in which you live and must +therefore be punished. I do not wish to be too hard on you, but you must +either pay us five shillings or we shall keep you for three days." Now as +people cannot be kept in prison without cost being thereby incurred, the +effect of the sentence is that if the offender does not pay to the police +five shillings on his own account the taxpayer pays the prison five +shillings. The culprit is injured by being sent to prison; but the public +is also injured by having to pay. It is remarkably like the operation +known as cutting off the nose to spite the face. This is indeed the effect +of most of our punishments; they injure others besides the criminal, and +there is room for grave doubt as to whether they benefit anybody. Once the +punishment has been undergone, the offender is supposed to have expiated +his offence; but as there is no positive expiation for past wrongdoing, +except it may be future welldoing, this is a fiction. + +It is not a wise thing to teach the ignorant that they can pay for any +harm they do; least of all to teach them that they atone by imprisonment +for injuries inflicted on others. It is no compensation to a man who has +been hurt to know that his assailant is being lodged and fed at his +expense, and that some day he will come out no better than when he went +into his place of retreat. When a man is disabled by injuries he has +received his family is likely to suffer, and if he be a working man they +may be in peril of becoming destitute. His assailant is shut up, and his +family too may suffer in a similar way and to an equal degree. The law +will see that the offender is taken care of, but the injured person and +the families of both the parties are left to struggle as best they may. +What harm have they done? They are neglected, and may suffer hunger unless +they also do harm, while the offender is "expiating" his offence at the +public expense. + +In so far as punishment is retributive it is foolish and indefensible, +harming not only those on whom it is inflicted, but those who inflict it. +If as individuals we are not justified in fostering a spirit of revenge, +we are as little entitled to encourage such a spirit in our corporate +capacity. Their actions show that some men are capable of doing very +wicked things, and that is a very good reason for interfering with them; +but it is no reason for interfering in such a way that we are all burdened +by it, while there is no reasonable expectation that they are being +brought to a better frame of mind. + +Until late in the last century the Crown Prosecutor craved for punishment +on those who had committed indictable offences "in order to deter others +from committing the like offence in all time coming." That form has been +dropped, but the theory is still widely held that punishment deters others +than those convicted. The prison returns show that there is no reason for +claiming that it deters many of those who have been punished from +repeating their offensive conduct. The "others" in some numbers are always +recruiting the ranks of those who habitually transgress, but the great +majority of our fellow-citizens keep out of prison. Are we to believe that +this is because the punishment of the prisoners sent there has deterred +them from committing offences? It may be the reason; but it cannot be +proved even if it is. For my own part, I have never seen any cause to +believe that my acquaintances and friends refrain from beating their wives +and from taking what is not their own because if they did these things +they might be sent to jail; and I have observed that those who theorise +most about the conduct of others and its causes, are frequently quite +unable to advance any evidence from their own observations and experience +that would support their theories. + +There can be no doubt that the dignified jurists who adopt Mansfield's +view (that a man should be hanged not because he had stolen a horse, but +in order that others might not steal horses) would resent the suggestion +that they themselves are honest simply from the fear of the law, and it +would show less conceit of themselves and more knowledge of their +neighbours if they assumed that the mass of their fellow-citizens are no +worse than they. + +In my day at school some boys were unmercifully whacked, when the master +got into a temper as a result of their iniquity. The theory was that this +discouraged others from committing the same offences; but as boys are as +often punished for the stupidity of themselves or the teacher as for any +wilful misconduct on their part, the theory was not in accord with the +practice. When some unfortunate culprit was called up, the feelings of the +rest of us were of a mixed nature. Partly we were sorry for him, but the +degree was dependent on our personal regard for him; partly there was a +feeling of contempt for him in so far as he was imprudent enough to let +himself be caught; partly there was some curiosity as to how he would +demean himself; and mainly there was thankfulness that we were not in his +shoes. The punishment did not deter any of us from doing the same thing; +but it did make us more careful in the doing of it, and it gave some a +training in duplicity that appears to have been of use to them in their +business careers. + +In so far as the teacher was considered to be a tyrant it was rather a +feather in a boy's cap than otherwise if he could disobey, especially if +he escaped. Even if he were caught it was not considered a disgrace, and +if he were severely punished the clumsiness he had shown in playing his +pranks was overlooked and he was treated with the respect due to a +martyr. It was a small matter to break the master's rules, though nobody +cared to be caught; but it was a serious thing for a boy to outrage the +standard of conduct which was adopted by his neighbours. The teacher who +knew this could command obedience so long as he worked on the knowledge; +and it is the same with men as with boys. They react most powerfully to +the opinion of the circle in which they move; if it were not so they would +soon cease to be members of it. Who sets the standard it is usually +impossible to say; but each influences the other, although one personality +may be more dominant than any other. He is the bad one when there is a bad +one; not because he is worse morally than others, but because he is +usually more daring and active; and as the commandments by which boys are +ruled are mainly negative, his positive personality brings him into +conflict with them and leads others after him. + +But there are social circles in our midst where men are placed in the same +relation to the law as boys were at school. They are told to respect it, +and they know they must obey it at their peril; but it appears to them as +a series of senseless and unjust prohibitions which interferes with their +comfort and does not offer them any protection against their enemies. They +do not need policemen to protect their property, for they have none to +protect; and they feel quite able to look after their personal safety. +What they would appreciate would be protection from what they consider the +exactions of the factor and the tax-collector, and there are no police of +that sort yet. They have no respect for the law any more than I have +respect for a steam-engine, though I keep out of its way. If the law is +something that protects other people from them, but does not protect them +from other people, they cannot be expected to hold it in much respect; +they may look on it as their enemy. Many do not go so far, though they +distrust it and its ministers; but there are coteries, groups, who do +regard the law as something that it is praiseworthy to break. I am not now +referring to a man who makes a living by theft, but to the young people +who are brought up in certain slum districts and who there contract +inverted ideas of morality. Granted the existence of such circles, it is +easy to see how defiance of the law may get a young man the admiration of +his fellows; and as there are parts of the city where homage is rendered +to him who has most frequently and cleverly outraged the law by stealing, +or by tricking its representatives--where so far from honesty being +esteemed a virtue it is sneered at; where chastity is at a discount, and +the thief, rake, and bully is the ideal character--there is no reason for +any wonder that in the face of punishments there is no lack of offenders. +These people see no reason to respect our rules of conduct. Our +punishments may exercise a deterrent effect on them to the extent of +causing them to modify their methods of operation, but the bogey we fix up +for their warning will not make them virtuous or cause them to alter the +standards they have set up. + +Punishment does not deter the great mass of our fellow-citizens from +committing crimes. They are law-abiding because they have no inclination +to break the law and no inducement to do so. Let it press on them and we +may hear another story. I am old enough to remember when in 1886 it was +proposed to give Home Rule to Ireland; we had then professors and eminent +citizens threatening to take up arms rather than allow the proposal to be +carried. They were genuinely alarmed for the safety of their friends, and +their respect for the law took a back seat for the time. It is an easy +matter for many of us to stand by the laws, for we have not felt their +pinch. That may be a reason why there is always such a difficulty in +changing them, and why almost any change is supported by the poorer +classes. Certain it is that even among the honest and welldoing poor there +is a suspicion of the law and a reluctance to have anything to do with it. +Those who are definitely at war with it and those who may be tempted to +join them, are the only persons whom we may reasonably hope to deter from +the commission of certain offences by our arbitrary punishment of those +whom we catch; and even in their case there is no ground for the belief +that the deterrent effect is such as to cause them to mend their way of +living, but only to modify their methods. The real deterrent is social +opinion, and when one of them comes out of jail it is quite evident that +his imprisonment has not caused him to sink to the smallest extent in the +estimation of those whose good opinion he values. + +Serious crime has steadily declined in Glasgow as the nests of the +criminals have been torn down. They are much less potent for evil when +separated from each other than when herded together; but now and then +there is a recrudescence of brutality and violence followed by demands for +more severe treatment of those who are captured. In France, lately, the +guillotine has been brought forth again with the object of frightening the +bandits. I know nothing about conditions there; but it is quite evident +that here we might have such a demand resulting from an outbreak of crime, +caused not by leniency of treatment of prisoners, not caused indeed by the +way in which any part of our penal system acts, but due to the impunity +with which the sharpers and criminals in our midst are allowed to +practise. So long as there is no provision whereby a man can obtain +opportunity for honest work with a guarantee that the fruits of his labour +will not be taken from him, there will be many unemployed. Most of them +are quite well-disposed persons, but some of them are not. We cannot deal +properly with the shirkers and sharpers till we have separated off the +merely unfortunate. When we have seen that men have opportunity to support +themselves we shall be fairly entitled to question the person who has no +visible honest means of subsistence as to how he is obtaining his living; +and, failing satisfaction, to deal with him. Meantime they are mixed up +with the honest and law-abiding but unfortunate citizens, to the +aggravation of the misery that honesty and poverty combined have brought +on them. + +Let them combine and act together and there is no saying how far they may +go; not because our prisons are too comfortable; not because of anything +that does or does not take place there; but because our cities are not +properly managed; because we have permitted the aggregation of people +under conditions that have been favourable to the growth of an anti-social +sentiment; because we have bred the monster that strikes fear into us. + +The treatment of the criminal may be wise, or it may be as foolish as I +think it; but you might as well blame the method of treating a typhus case +in hospital for the spread of that disease in an insanitary area, as blame +the leniency of the courts for any outbreak of crime you may have in the +areas which are known to be infested with criminals. All the elements are +there for such an outbreak, and if it occurs it will be because we have +permitted them to combine. How far we are justified in making one person +the scapegoat for the sins of another, even if we could do it, is a matter +for discussion by those who are concerned with such problems. For my own +part, I do not think it fair to make an example of anybody, as it is +called, and I do not believe that it serves any good purpose that could +not be better attained by more rational means. + + + + +PART III + +THE TREATMENT OF THE CRIMINAL + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE MACHINERY OF THE LAW + + The police and their duties--Divided control--Need for knowledge of + local peculiarities--The fear of "corruption"--The police cell-- + Cleanliness and discomfort--Insufficient provision of diet, etc.--The + casualty surgeon--The police court--The untrained magistrate--The + assessor--Pleas of "guilty"--Case--Apathy of the public--Agents for + the Poor--The prison van--The sheriff court--The procurator-fiscal-- + Procedure in the higher courts--The Scottish jury. + + +To the majority of people the living representative of the law is the +policeman. It is his duty to protect the citizens from evil-doers, and to +arrest offenders. He is the subject of a good deal of chaff, but his +position is generally respected; and although men get into the force who +by temper and experience are quite unsuited for their work, the great +majority discharge the duties laid upon them in a manner that is +surprisingly satisfactory, when the demands made upon them are taken into +account. They are supposed to have a knowledge of the law, and for +practical purposes they must know something of medicine in order that they +may give first aid to the injured; they are expected to be able to answer +questions of an exceedingly miscellaneous nature when asked by the passing +stranger; and they require to be always cool and clear-headed, to be ready +for any emergency, and to have a temper that nothing can ruffle. If they +have enough of these desirable qualifications to satisfy the authorities +they may receive a salary for their services rather better than that given +to the unskilled labourer. + +That efforts are made to obtain good men for the post is undeniable. That +these efforts are always so enlightened or so successful as they might be +is not so certain. In Glasgow, for instance, a standard of height is set +up which excludes the vast majority of Glasgow-bred men from this +occupation. In some parts of the country men go to flesh and bone, and +they are big-framed and brawny; but this is not the case in the town. Yet +a man's height offers no presumption of his fitness for any position +involving the exercise of judgment. A minimum 5 ft. 6 in. includes all the +5 ft. 7 in. and 5 ft. 8 in. men; and a minimum 5 ft. 9 in. excludes all +these and limits the choice of candidates very much. It is not the best +men to act as guardians to the public peace that are sought, but the best +men amongst those of a certain height; and this is bound to lower the +standard of efficiency. Indeed, the higher the standard of height the +lower the standard of efficiency will tend to become, because of the +limitation of choice implied. + +The police force is a civil force and ought to be entirely under the +control of the citizens through their representatives, but this civil +force is not formed on any conception of civic needs. It is organised on a +military model, and subject to inspection by a military man on whose +reports to the Secretary of State its efficiency is decided. Nobody seems +to think of asking what such an inspector knows of the needs of the +district whose police he inspects. His training enables him to tell when a +man carries himself well and turns out his toes nicely, and the ability of +the police to do so is aided by their going to inspection in new +uniforms; so that the inspector sees a number of men in new clothes, and +decides by their bearing their fitness to act as policemen. This condition +of things enables a man to earn a salary who might otherwise be +unemployed, and if it stopped there the absurdity might be worth the +money; but when a police force is to be judged and their grants to be +graduated, not according to their knowledge of the work, but according to +the ignorance of their inspectors, there is likely to be trouble. If the +police require to pay more attention to the inspector who can stop their +grant than to representatives of the citizens in whose service they are +supposed to act, it is a bad thing for the police and for the citizens. + +Every district has its own peculiarities, not observed by those who live +there because of custom, but noticed by strangers and sometimes +disapproved by them. It is an advantage, therefore, that those set in +positions of authority should be acquainted with the customs and manners +of the people among whom they live. A policeman will discharge his duties +with more comfort to himself, more credit to the force, and greater +benefit to the community if he knows those in the district in which his +duties lie. Unless he is in touch with the law-abiding elements therein, +unless he knows them and has their confidence and support, in many cases +he will not be in a position to distinguish between conduct that is +harmless and conduct that is criminal. For instance, it is well known that +professional thieves depend largely on their coolness and daring for their +success. If "thief" were written all over them they would starve, and they +only earn their living because, to those who are personally unacquainted +with them, they are not distinguishable from honest men. The policeman +knows this; and if he sees a person coming out of business premises long +after business hours, he quite naturally questions that person by look or +by word. If he does not know whether the person has a right to be there he +may make a fool of himself, either by arresting a man who has had +legitimate business on the premises or by letting a thief get away. He is +on the horns of a dilemma in which he should not be placed. + +Again, supposing complaints have been made about lads loitering around +certain closes or corners, and the policeman has been instructed to have +this stopped. If he knows the inhabitants of his beat he is able to +discriminate between those who have a certain right to be about the place +and those against whom the complaint is directed. If he does not know them +he may reprimand or arrest the wrong people altogether, causing trouble +for himself and widespread irritation that need never have been aroused. +Those who have been affronted or injured do not take his difficulties into +account; and it may be that those who are responsible for placing him in +what is, after all, a false position, have not sufficiently considered the +evil results caused thereby. + +The military habit of assuming that every man is like every other man, and +shifting people about like so many dolls, has its disadvantages in civil +life. It does make a difference whether the man set to do a certain duty +is acquainted with the conditions in which he is placed or is ignorant of +them. Even at the door of a court not only discretion but knowledge is +necessary on the part of the door-keeper, and from neglect to recognise +this simple fact a Sheriff has been stopped at the door of a High Court; a +Procurator-Fiscal after thirty years' service in the court has been +refused admission; and the medical officer in attendance has had to demand +to see a superintendent before he could get in. If such things are +possible in cases like these, it is quite clear a good deal of trouble and +annoyance, and possibly a good deal of injustice, may result in quarters +which cannot be said to be influential. + +It has been said that it is advisable to move men about from one district +and from one duty to another in order to prevent their possible +corruption; but the men are neither so stupid nor so bad as this reason +would imply. The person who is corrupt will carry his corrupt tendencies +with him over a wider area and be quite as dangerous there; for the less +he is known the more readily will his personal defects escape supervision +and criticism on the part of those among whom he works; and it is better +that he should be discovered and dismissed than that the great mass of +policemen, who are neither stupid nor corrupt, but who are honestly +seeking to discharge their duty in such a manner as to gain them the +goodwill of their fellow-citizens, should have their work rendered +unnecessarily arduous and difficult. Too much is expected of them +considering the opportunities they are allowed, and their faults are due +more to the system by which they are ruled than to any personal defects on +the part of the men. Anything that will bring that system more intimately +in touch with the needs of the community and more sympathetically in +contact with the difficulties of the poorer classes will help towards the +efficiency and also the comfort of the force. + +When a person is arrested on any criminal charge he is first taken to the +local police station, where the charge is entered. He is searched and +placed in a cell, and if there is anything special in the charge against +him, or in his appearance and behaviour, his treatment may be modified +accordingly. In the great majority of cases the person arrested is only a +petty offender at most. If he has money sufficient, he may hand it over as +bail and be released with a notice that if he does not appear at a time +and place specified his money will be forfeited and he may again be taken +into custody. If he or his friends cannot leave a pledge for his +appearance he makes acquaintance with the routine of administration. He +becomes the tenant of a cell where he remains till the sitting of the +court next morning. If the cell accommodation is fully taken up he may +have company; and while every effort is made to prevent old offenders +being placed in the same cell with those who are in for the first time, +the best that can be done is bad. + +Although prisoners are presumed to be innocent till they are found guilty, +they are in many respects worse treated while waiting to be sent to prison +than after they arrive there. This is not the fault of the police so much +as that of the authorities who are responsible for the accommodation or +the want of it. A drunk man may be a very helpless or a very intractable +person, and little can be done for him till he is sober. His condition is +such that it is quite clearly not the best practice to put him in a cell +and leave him there. It is no uncommon thing to find that the drunkenness +has masked some more serious condition; but even although there should be +nothing behind his intoxication, the man is more liable to contract +illness than a sober person. In less enlightened countries than ours such +prisoners are not left alone, but are kept warm and placed under +observation till they are sober. In our country they are less carefully +treated. Drunk or sober the prisoner is in an uncomfortable position. + +The police have difficulties to contend with that are not present in the +prisons. The prisoners they arrest are not appreciably more dirty than +when they arrive at the prison, but in the police cells there are not the +same facilities for making and keeping things clean. There is no supply of +free labour and not a generous provision of paid cleaners, and the cells +in some cases seem to be constructed more with a view to saving the +expense of cleaning than to providing for the reasonable custody of +prisoners. Wooden floors are less easily cleaned than asphalt or cement, +and both in the prisons and the police cells this seems to determine their +construction. It is a piece of senseless cruelty in a climate such as +ours, as anyone can easily find out for himself if he cares to try. In +such a place even in warm weather it is difficult to keep the feet warm, +and cold feet do not improve a man's temper. + +The newer cells are lined with glazed brick in deference to some sanitary +notions. It is a great pity that the apostles of sanitation cannot be +compelled to live in the places they design. No doubt the glazed walls are +more easily cleaned than whitewashed brick would be, but they strike a +chill into the occupants of the place, and moisture condenses on them in a +way that it does not elsewhere. Cleanliness let us have by all reasonable +means, but to be clean it is not necessary to be uncomfortable; and such +methods are enough to disgust with cleanliness those who have to submit to +their results. Another objectionable feature of the cell is the presence +of a water-closet in it. Surely the sanitary expert has been napping when +this was arranged; but here again the matter seems to be one of expense. +The reasonable way would be to escort prisoners to a place when necessary, +but that would mean the provision of a proper staff of warders. The cell +is otherwise unfurnished save for a raised slab of wood which takes the +place of a bed. There is no bedding provided. It is a barbarous provision +for the man who is presumed to be innocent. As for his diet, there is none +prescribed. He may have food sent in or he may have money to purchase it. +If not, he will have to get along on bread and water, not having been +proved guilty. In the morning he will be brought before the court, and if +he asks for it he may have water to wash himself before appearing there. +Cleanliness is not enforced, though it may be encouraged; but judging by +their appearance when admitted to prison, not many have sought the +water-basin during their stay in the police cell. + +By the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1908, it was provided that persons should +not be kept in police cells for more than one night, and all persons +remanded were sent to prison, to their distinct advantage; for there the +staff and conditions are arranged for the custody of prisoners, and they +are free for the time being from the noises incidental to the arrest and +confinement of drunken persons, while they have a better chance of having +their needs attended to. This procedure entailed more work on the +officials, a difficulty that could easily have been overcome by a small +increase in the staff. It meant not more trouble than is necessitated in +the case of persons remitted to higher courts, and if the interests of the +prisoners who are presumed to be innocent had been considered the Act +would have remained in force; but their convenience was not represented so +powerfully as that of the officials, and reversion to the old, bad plan of +retaining prisoners in the custody of the police has taken place. They may +be kept in the police cells for forty-eight hours. + +Some of those who are arrested may be suffering from injuries or disease. +To attend these a casualty surgeon is employed. When he is asked to do so, +it is his duty to call and see prisoners who complain or who are obviously +ill. His pay is small; and from it, until lately, he had to provide any +dressings and medicines that were required. It is not part of his duty to +see every prisoner before the court begins. Occasionally people are sent +to prison who should never have been brought before the courts at all. +Both police and surgeon are placed in a very difficult position by the +system. The police may err in their judgment as to the condition of a +prisoner and may fail to direct the attention of the medical man to him. +On the other hand, if they call in the surgeon too frequently to see +persons who are not in need of his services he may reasonably complain, +and dissensions may arise on this account which will make the working of +the system irritating to all parties. In order to their comfort, surgeon +and police have to make allowances for each other and to stand by one +another in a way that is not likely to make for such efficiency of service +to the public on the part of either as is desirable. When some +extraordinary case attracts attention blame is lavishly showered upon the +police; and it is generally undeserved, at least in the form it takes. +They are not to blame because of their failure to do things for which they +are unfitted. They may be to blame for not protesting against duties being +thrust upon them which should be performed by others. It is misdirected +economy to underpay medical men, and until this is recognised accidents +may be looked for and incidents will occur to shock the public because of +the injury which some person has inadvertently sustained. + +In the Court the Burgh Procurator-Fiscal may prosecute, or his depute may +act for him. In Glasgow with all its police courts there is only one +trained lawyer who prosecutes. The great mass of the charges are conducted +by his deputes, who are invariably police officers. The only witnesses in +many cases are constables and the prosecutor is one of their superior +officers. It is a state of affairs that does not impress an outsider by +its wisdom, and it is not regarded by those who come within its scope as +being fair. The police have too many duties thrust upon them. + +On the bench, in the great majority of cases, there is an untrained judge. +In Glasgow there is only one stipendiary magistrate, who is a trained +lawyer. The others are magistrates of the city, who have to discharge a +multitude of duties, among which is that of sitting in judgment on their +fellow-citizens. They have been elected to the Town Council to serve their +constituents as members of that body, and in due course they are made +Bailies. Nobody pretends that they are thereby endowed with a knowledge of +the law, experience in weighing evidence, or the judicial mind; but they +are invested with judicial powers, and in certain cases can send men to +prison for twelve months. They are usually men of excellent character and +intentions, but unfortunately both of these qualities may exist with utter +incompetence from a judicial standpoint. The draper would not admit that a +grocer could exchange businesses with him and the concern go on as well as +ever. Each man knows that to learn his own trade requires time, to speak +of nothing else; but they appear to believe that all that is required to +enable them to execute what in law stands for justice is the possession of +a chain of office. Were there any foundation in fact for such an idea +many weary years of study would be saved; for it is easier to get a chain +than a licence to practise. That they are usually quite satisfied of their +own fitness for the work goes without saying; and it would be a piece of +vanity as harmless as it is foolish if the liberty of so many were not +placed in jeopardy by it. It has been urged as an argument against the +appointment of trained lawyers that there were fewer appeals from the +decisions of the Bailies than from those of the professional man. This is +meant as a testimony to their superior fitness, presumably; for the only +relevant inference from the statement is that the Bailie is better +qualified to act as a judge than the man who has had a training in the +work. It is a startling testimony to the superiority of inspiration to +reason. There are no testimonials from those who had appeared before the +courts either as prisoners or agents, however; and the plea is not +convincing. That it should ever have been made is a striking commentary on +the fitness of those who made it; or on their modesty. + +Appeals from police-court decisions can only be made on a case stated by +the magistrate whose judgment is appealed against. Trained men are not +free from liability to error, and they recognise the fact. If a case is +stated in such a way that the issue is obscured there is no use in +attempting an appeal; so that freedom from appeals may as readily be a +testimony to the inefficiency of a judge as to his efficiency. It may +afford a presumption that he is not only unfit to try a case, but not to +be trusted in stating one. To suggest that it affords evidence of the +superior ability of the draper and the grocer to the lawyer in law +matters, is to presume too much on the credulity of the public. If they +are really so splendidly endowed it is surprising that they should not +place their services at the disposal of one another when a question of +trade causes dispute. In that they might be expected to have knowledge at +least; but though Bailies have power to send men to prison they are not +empowered to try civil causes involving the property of their +fellow-citizens. That is to say, they have power over the lives, but not +over the property of the lieges. This is surely a grave injustice; either +to them or to the prisoners. + +In every court where a bailie presides he is aided and advised by an +assessor, whose duty it is to keep him within the law. It is a somewhat +farcical situation. The prisoner is there because he is charged with +breaking the law; the bailie is there to try him on the charge; and behind +him is a legal gentleman to see that the judge does not himself break the +law in the process! He may either take the advice of the assessor or +disregard it, but he is the responsible magistrate. If he follows the +assessor's advice, that official is in the exercise of power without +responsibility, which is not a position in which anybody should be placed; +if he follows the inner light, the "safeguard" which the assessor is +supposed to be is useless. + +It is looked upon by many as a very small affair, this whole matter of the +Police Court, but it is really a very large affair and a very important +one. Police Courts are those where most offenders appear for the first +time, and from them they are first sent to prison. As the first step +counts for so much, it is of the utmost importance that those who come +before these Courts should have their cases thoroughly considered. This +cannot be done if the proceedings are hurried, and it is notorious that +Bailies "try" scores of prisoners in a day, the work not appearing to +interfere with their ordinary occupations. Many of the prisoners plead +guilty; but it is well known that there is a widespread belief among the +labouring classes that if you plead guilty you get a shorter sentence. +What justification there is for this belief I cannot say, but of its +existence and its operative effect there is no room for doubt. They do not +seem to take into account the effect the registration of a conviction may +have against them at any future time, and pleas are given that no lawyer +would advise. + +I do not mean to suggest that people in large numbers plead guilty when +they have no knowledge of the offence, but that the act they have +committed may have been capable of another than a criminal construction. X +30, a girl, is charged with fraud, which is a sufficiently serious crime. +She has no previous convictions against her. She is remanded to prison, +and there states she has been advised to plead guilty and she will get off +lightly. She is told of the grave nature of the offence and legal +assistance is obtained for her. It is found that she is a wayward girl who +left her people and came to Glasgow. She obtained employment in a shop, +and got lodgings in a part of Glasgow that is not very reputable and with +people who were not likely to keep her straight. She lost her work and was +kept on in her lodgings; but an event occurred there which made it +imperative that she should go elsewhere, and she removed to the house of +her landlady's daughter. She was there a fortnight when she met a woman +whom she knew and through her obtained a situation. She left her lodgings +and went to live with this woman. At the instance of her former landlady +she was arrested for obtaining board and lodgings on false pretences. It +was shown that she had paid her debt while she was working; and she +protested she had made no false pretences, but meant to pay the balance +when she could. The case was adjourned to enable her to do so. If she had +not had legal advice and assistance there is no doubt that this girl would +have had a conviction for fraud recorded against her. She had got into bad +company and was on the way to the gutter, but by the operation of the law +she would have been driven there. To deal properly with the large numbers +which come before the Police Courts would take a great deal of time, but +that is no reason why the cases should be hurried through. + +If a man has the means to fee a lawyer he is in a better case, or if he +has committed an offence which is serious enough to cause his remand to a +higher Court, for there he will get legal assistance free; but if he is +simply a petty offender with no one to help him he will probably get dealt +with without any loss of time and be sentenced by scale. + +It is time that some provision was made to have the police court made less +a police court and more a court of justice. There is far too much police +about it for the public interest. Anybody may attend, but few do so; and +the proceedings might for all practical purposes be conducted in private, +so far as the towns are concerned. The cases are seldom reported, and when +the newspapers do notice the proceedings it is usually in a jocular way; +but they are no joke to the persons concerned. A sensational murder is +detailed and canvassed as though the only matter of importance to the +country was the hanging of the wretch who has got into the limelight. +Every hysterical theorist is anxious to get his opinion of the proper way +to treat criminals put before the public; and all the time we are busily +engaged in putting into our machine young and old who have taken the first +step downwards, and congratulating ourselves on the smoothness with which +it works. It is not cruelty that causes us to behave in this way, but +sheer stupidity and lack of imagination. Now and then a man who has eyes +to see gets made a Bailie, but he makes a poor police judge. Those who +look upon themselves and are credited by others with the heaven-born +instinct are as likely to be the men whom no one would trust to be a judge +in his own cause; and it is quite possible for a man who is narrow-minded, +vindictive, and callous to have the fate of his poorer fellow-citizens +placed in his hands, and, because he likes the work, to continue on the +bench long after his term as a Bailie has expired. If it is important to +deal with wrongdoing in the beginning; if it is desirable to prevent +people from being sent to prison when that can be avoided; it is obvious +that we must see that our minor courts are so arranged and so officered +that those who come before them have at least as good a chance of having +their cases weighed as the old hands who go to the higher Courts get +there. + +The Sheriff may sit to try cases summarily, just as the Bailie does; but +the court is ordered differently. The Procurator-Fiscal has no connection +with the police. The case is reported by them to him and he makes his own +enquiries and may drop proceedings altogether. The Sheriff is an +experienced lawyer and he sees that the prisoner's case is properly +presented. The prisoner, if he wishes, may have a law-agent to appear on +his behalf, and in jury cases it is the duty of the prison authorities to +see that a lawyer has the defence in hand. + +In Scotland it has been the custom for all indicted prisoners who have not +the means to pay for legal advice to receive competent legal +representation. The Agents for the Poor give their services freely and +ungrudgingly. They behave towards the poor person who is accused of crime +in the same way as the hospital doctors do to the sick who present +themselves. In the course of their work they have to devote considerable +time to the cases of those whose defence is entrusted to them; and if the +charge is one that brings the accused before the High Court they appear by +counsel for him. No person appears in the dock of the High Courts in +Scotland who has not a qualified member of the Bar to defend him; and the +absence of financial means does not affect this privilege. This provision +of legal advice and assistance is not made at the expense of the public, +but at that of the profession; and it is of as much benefit in its own way +as that made for the sick by the members of the medical profession. I have +never seen young medical men work with more enthusiasm to pull a patient +from the jaws of death than is shown by the lawyers in their efforts to +snatch the accused poor person from the hands of the prosecution. In both +cases the energy might be expended to better purpose; for sick persons are +frequently restored to health only to become a greater nuisance to their +neighbours, and some accused persons are acquitted and sent out to prey on +society; but when all discount has been made there is left a great deal of +good work that was well worth doing. With regard to the work of both +doctor and lawyer, we may some day take steps to see that the persons +restored to health do not use their powers to the disadvantage of society, +and that those restored to liberty do not use their freedom to molest +others. At present we take no account of them once they have ceased to be +cases--to our disadvantage as well as to theirs--and no one recognises +more clearly than the lawyer that he is sometimes engaged in the attempt +to turn loose on society a man who has no intention of conforming to its +laws. On the other hand, everyone who has taken part in the work knows +that were it not for his action serious injustice would be likely to take +place. + +If there were as full a provision made for the defence of prisoners who +come before the Police Courts as exists for that of those who appear in +the higher Courts, it would be alike to the advantage of the officials, +the prisoners, and the public; but to ask that such a provision should be +made at the sole cost of the legal profession is to ask too much. In +special cases they have never been appealed to in vain; and they need to +give more time to one case than would enable a medical man to attend +twenty. Their services are not sufficiently appreciated and known by the +general public, or it would be recognised that they have contributed to +save many poor people from degradation and helped to prevent accessions to +the ranks of the habitual offender. No one would propose that prisoners +who are called before the higher Courts should be deprived of skilled +advice and advocacy unless they are able to pay, and yet there is less +need in these Courts than in the Police Courts for the provision that +exists. + +When a prisoner has been remitted from a Police Court he is transferred in +a van to prison, to await further proceedings. It has often been remarked +that the various departments in Corporations seem to act independently of +each other. The Sanitary Department acts energetically to prevent +overcrowding in some circumstances, but the van used for conveying +prisoners to prison seems to have escaped their notice. It is a +prehistoric vehicle in the form of a bus without windows. It is divided +into compartments each holding a number of prisoners, and the partitions +contribute to prevent proper ventilation. It is lit by a few panes in the +roof. On a hot day it is stifling. Any vehicle of the kind would never be +licensed for the conveyance of ordinary passengers, animal or human, by a +modern sanitary authority. + +The presiding judge in the Higher Courts is either a Sheriff or a Lord of +Justiciary. The Sheriff has jurisdiction over a County and may sit both as +judge and jury; that is to say, he may try cases summarily; but his Court +differs materially, even when he is doing so, from that of the Burgh +Magistrate. In the first place, more public attention is given to the +proceedings, for the higher the Court the greater is the interest shown in +its work. In small country burghs this rule may not hold good, for there +the inhabitants know more of what is doing in their midst. They may be +acquainted with police, judge, and offender, personally; and in that case +are likely to take a lively interest in the proceedings, criticising +freely all the parties and influencing powerfully the tone of the Court; +but in a great city the Police Courts might as well be held anywhere for +all the effective public supervision and informed criticism they receive. +Then the police are not prosecutors in the Sheriff Summary Courts. The +prosecution is conducted by a Procurator-Fiscal who is appointed by the +Lord Advocate, and who holds his appointment for life and is not in any +way under the authority of the police. The Sheriff is a man of experience +in his profession, and is continually engaged in judicial work, mostly of +a civil character. He is not merely or mainly engaged in dealing with +criminals, and is not likely to acquire a subconscious prejudice against +the defendant. + +The Lord Advocate is the head of the department concerned with +prosecutions in Scotland, and no criminal action can be taken without his +direction or concurrence. Private prosecutions at common law are +practically unknown. His deputes act for him in the higher Courts and are +instructed by the procurators-fiscal, who are solicitors and prosecute in +the Sheriff Courts themselves. It is their duty to make enquiries into all +charges with which the Police Courts are not competent to deal, and these +enquiries are conducted privately. From the time a prisoner is passed on +to them until he appears at the Court to plead or to be tried there are no +public proceedings against him. He is brought into the Court at an early +stage, the charge is read over to him, and he is asked to make a +declaration. A law-agent is provided for his assistance, and he is told +that anything he says by way of declaration may be used against him. The +agent may advise him to say nothing and he usually does so, his +declaration amounting simply to a denial of the charge. This is signed by +him and read at his trial, usually closing the case for the Crown. While +the declaration is being taken the public are excluded from the Court. If +the Procurator-Fiscal considers that his enquiry does not justify further +proceedings the charge is dropped, provided the Lord Advocate agrees; but +if the authorities are satisfied there is a case for trial an indictment +is served. + +In Scotland when a prisoner is indicted to appear before a jury court he +must be served seventeen days before his trial with a copy of the +indictment, containing the charge, a list of the productions against him, +and a list of the witnesses to be called for the prosecution. Seven days +thereafter he is brought before the Court to plead to the charge. If he +plead guilty he may be dealt with there and then. If he plead not guilty +his plea is recorded and he is sent back till the second diet of the +court. If he intend to set up a special defence, such as insanity or an +alibi, notice of such defence has to be given at the pleading diet; but +the witnesses he intends to call need not be notified to the Crown until +three days before the trial by jury. The prosecution cannot add any +productions or any witnesses to the list furnished in the indictment; but +if it is decided that additional witnesses are required the diet may be +deserted and a new indictment served. In no case, however, can a prisoner +be kept with a charge hanging over his head for more than one hundred and +seventeen days from the date of his committal. After that time he is +entitled to be liberated and no further proceedings on the charge can be +taken against him at any time. + +The Crown usually makes careful enquiries in the public interest when any +special plea of insanity is brought forward; and if satisfied that the +plea is a valid one, has provided, at the public expense, expert testimony +to that effect on behalf of the prisoner. The greatest care has been taken +to ensure that prisoners brought before the higher Courts do not suffer +from lack of means, and there is never any disposition on the part of the +prosecutor to make it a point of honour that he should obtain a +conviction. There is no speech by the prosecutor in opening his case. So +far as the Court is concerned the jury start without any bias against the +prisoner, and as the evidence is led they gain their knowledge of the +case. In most cases the prosecutor does not address the jury at all. He +contents himself with leading evidence. The character of the prisoner is +not disclosed to the jury until after their verdict has been returned. If +during the trial any reference is initiated by the prosecution as to +previous convictions, the prisoner is entitled to an acquittal upon the +charge against him. The point the jury has to determine is whether the +person committed the crime charged, and they have to find their verdict +simply on the evidence led. + +The Scottish jury consists of fifteen men, and the verdict of a majority +is required. They may decline on the evidence to express an opinion on the +prisoner's guilt, but instead may find the charge not proven. This is the +most practical provision for giving a prisoner the benefit of any doubt +that exists in their minds after hearing the evidence. Whatever the +verdict may be, the prisoner, having been once tried, cannot again be +charged with the same offence. It is difficult to conceive any system +under which a prisoner charged with crime could be more fairly treated; +and if in the minor Courts offenders received the same consideration, the +number sent to prison would be greatly diminished and the ranks of the +habitual offender would fail to receive so many recruits. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE PRISON SYSTEM + + Centralisation--The constitution of the Prison Commission-- + Parliamentary control--The Commissioners--The rules--The visiting + committee--The governor and the matron--The chaplain--The medical + officer--The staff. + + +Before the year 1877 all the Scottish prisons, with the exception of the +Penitentiary at Perth, were under the control and management of the local +authorities. One result was that there were many standards of treatment, +and Parliament decided that as the prevailing methods were unsatisfactory +the treatment of prisoners and the management of prisons should be vested +in a central Board. + +The changes made by the Prison Commission have been many, and the prison +of to-day is widely different from that of forty years ago; but before +attributing all improvements to the new system it is fair to take into +account the progress made in local administration during that time. The +true comparison is not between the prison of forty years ago and that of +to-day, but between the prison and the local institutions of to-day. +Central management is likely to result in uniformity of routine and +treatment in all prisons; but it is questionable whether that is a gain. +It may tend to more economical administration if the test is one of +expenditure of money, but it makes experiment in the way of reform very +difficult. Not only are no two men alike, but no two districts are alike; +and methods of dealing with people belonging to one part of Scotland are +not necessarily the best to apply to the inhabitants of another part. It +is not a good thing to bring prisoners from outlying districts to centres; +there is always a danger of their remaining there after their liberation +and obtaining introductions that will not be likely to help them except in +the way of wrongdoing. The large institution may cost less money, but it +can never have such intimate supervision as the small one. + +The Prison Commission for Scotland consists of two ex-officio and two paid +members. The ex-officio members are the Crown Agent and the Sheriff of +Perthshire. The Crown Agent goes out with the Government of the day, but +he is not usually a Member of Parliament. The Sheriff of Perthshire in +virtue of his office had a place on the board which managed the old +Penitentiary at Perth; that is probably the reason why he is a +Commissioner of Prisons under the Act of 1877. It is certainly not because +Perthshire is a county which contributes many criminals from its Courts to +the prison population. + +There are thus two lawyers on the Board, one being a judge and the other +being the solicitor in whose office public prosecutions are directed. The +other Commissioners are permanent civil servants, appointed by the +Secretary for Scotland. + +At first there were also two Inspectors who gave their whole time to the +work of visiting the various prisons and reporting on their condition and +management to the Secretary of State, but in process of time there has +been a change, and now the Secretary of the Commission is the only +Inspector. + +The Commissioners themselves visit the prisons and inspect them; but as +they are responsible for the management, the arrangement is open to the +criticism that they report on their own work, without independent +inspection. + +The Secretary of State is the head of the Board, and is responsible to +Parliament for the work of the department; but his sole means of knowing +that work is the reports he receives from the Commission. Whether on all +boards Members of Parliament should not have a place and power, just as +members of a town council form the supervising authority over the work of +its departments, is a question that will bear discussion. At present the +Member of Parliament can only make himself a nuisance by asking questions; +that is what it amounts to, since no matter what the answer may be, it +leaves him very much where he was. He is usually as ignorant at the end as +he was when he began. Some aggrieved constituent having more faith than +knowledge has made an _ex-parte_ statement to his representative, who puts +a question to the Minister, who passes it on to the department concerned, +which transmits to him the answer given by the person complained of, which +shows that there is no ground for the complaint. It may be uncomfortable +for someone, but it is not business. If the complaints are too frequent or +the complainers too influential to be disregarded, the Minister forms a +committee of enquiry which turns things up for a time, censures somebody +who is too small to cause trouble, makes a few apologetic suggestions for +alterations, white-washes with liberality those who most need it, and +presents another report for the waste-paper basket. + +Spasmodic enquiries can never make up for systematic neglect, and their +effect is seldom to cause as much improvement as irritation. The danger to +the public service is not from corruption, but from the official mind +getting out of touch with the spirit of the time and the needs of the +public. + +Rules for the government of prisons are laid down by the Secretary for +Scotland, and these rules become statutory after they have been laid on +the table of the House of Commons for a period. They define the duties of +the various officials, lay down regulations for the treatment of the +prisoners, and deal in detail with the management of the prisons. + +The Commissioners have the whole control in their hands, subject to the +rules. They appoint all the inferior officers; transfer and promote them; +or dismiss them if their conduct is unsatisfactory. They do not appoint +the superior officers, but it is to be expected that their advice will be +considered by the Secretary of State, with whom the nominations lie. As a +Commissioner cannot be in more than one place at a time, they cannot be +expected to have any intimate knowledge of the capability of the men who +depend for promotion on them; and their task in this matter alone is no +easy one. As for knowledge of the prisoners at first hand, that is +impossible; for prisoners are as hard to know as other people, and one +person cannot know much of another as the result of an occasional short +conversation. If they were liable to err they could not be criticised +effectively; for any official who might be in a position to criticise +would run the risk of not being in that position long; any prisoner might +be looked upon as a prejudiced person; and no member of the public is able +to offer criticism, for he does not know the facts. This is an unfortunate +state of affairs; for even the ablest minds are the better for being +brought in conflict with others and in contact with other ideas, and a +system that discourages independent thought is not likely to lead to +rapid progress. It has its advantages, however, for a knowledge of the +rules and a habit of always carrying them out ensure to the prisoner, +peace, and to the officer a good reputation and better prospects than he +could ever hope for if he were foolish enough to set his brains to work. + +In a private business, when a man gets a position, he cannot hold it +unless by exercising his judgment in such a way as to satisfy his employer +that he is worth his salt; when he fails in this he is liable to +dismissal. In the public service the case is different. There is no +question of bankruptcy for one thing, and there is security of tenure for +another. You cannot depend on always having men of ability in the posts, +but by the aid of rules you can teach a person of moderate talent to get +through his work. To disregard the rules may be justifiable in a given +case and so far as that case is concerned, but it is liable to knock the +whole machine out of gear. + +There are many able men in all branches of the civil service, and the fact +is often referred to by Cabinet Ministers amid loud cheers from the +public; but they recognise the need for routine and follow it. They would +otherwise have less time for literary work, in which they can use their +original powers to greater advantage. The public departments have produced +more poets, novelists, critics, and playwrights than any other large +businesses, as, for instance, the railways or the engineering trades. +These also employ talented men, but their talents are deflected to +business channels. If they had their work laid down for them in rules and +regulations they also might add to the gaiety of nations. + +Commissioners are always appointed from among men in a good position whose +minds have not been warped by any previous association with prisons. They +can thus approach their duties without prejudice; and officials and +prisoners alike have the satisfaction of knowing that they are in the +hands of gentlemen. + +Each prison has its visiting committee, consisting of members nominated by +various local authorities with the addition of ladies nominated by the +Secretary of State. Under the rules for prisons it has considerable powers +of criticism, but they are not much used. In Glasgow the committee meets +once a year, when its members arrange to visit the prison in pairs once +monthly. In practice this means that each member spends in the prison two +or three hours on an average every year. How much the members can learn +about the work of the prison in that time may be surmised. They go round +the place and ask each prisoner if he has any complaints, and they seldom +receive any. They see that the place and its inmates are kept clean; that +the food is good; that the sick are being attended to; and they may hear a +complaint of breach of discipline and award a punishment therefor +occasionally. They record their visits and make any suggestion that may +occur to them. They may communicate direct with the Secretary of State if +they choose. + +They might perform a very useful part in the management of the prison if +their powers were used to the full extent and their meetings were more +frequent. They have no power to incur expenditure, but without doing so it +is quite conceivable that by inviting the officials to explain matters and +to direct their attention to special cases they might do a great deal to +suggest improvements, with a view to prevent certain people from being +sent to prison and to provide for others on their release. + +They have the power to allow or to refuse certain privileges to untried +prisoners. They are all agreed that the prison is an admirably managed +institution, as free from faults as any place could be; but whether they +have ever got the length of asking themselves what is the use of it is +doubtful. It is clean--as it well may be; it is orderly--which causes no +surprise, although its inmates are there because they "cannot behave +themselves"; there are no complaints, and at the end of a visit they know +as much of the inmates as they might learn of natural history by a walk +round the Zoo. + +They might conceivably be set to find out on behalf of the local +authorities they represent why the prisoners are there and why so many of +them return; whether it is not time we were seeking other means of dealing +with them, and what means; whether nothing more and nothing else can be +done than is done at present to help them on their liberation. The +Commissioners have enough to do; and in the nature of things they are not +so well qualified to deal with these subjects as the local authorities, +for they cannot come so intimately in touch with local conditions. But the +members of the visiting committees are usually busy men on the local +Councils and have little time to spend on prison affairs, which may be a +very good reason for the Councils nominating others who could find the +time. So long as they merely see that the prisoner is not being ill-used +outwith the rules, they are only looking after the interest of prisoners +and public in a partial way. When they begin to examine matters from the +standpoint of the public welfare--when they realise that the treatment of +the criminal is as much a matter of public health as the treatment of the +sick, and that it is to the interest of the community that it should be +undertaken in such a way as to lead to his reformation--it will be better +for everybody, including the prisoner. + +I can imagine local committees making discoveries for themselves with +regard to the causation of crime that would influence powerfully their +whole administration; bringing pressure to bear within the law where it is +most required and relieving pressure where it is harmful; using the powers +they have, instead of lamenting the want of power which there is no +evidence they could use if it were given them; but it needs a beginning. + +Each prison is in charge of a Governor who is in daily communication with +the office in Edinburgh. He visits the prisoners once daily and hears any +complaints by them or regarding them. He has the power to impose certain +punishments for offences against discipline, but if they involve a +decrease of diet they must be confirmed by the Medical Officer, who may +refuse to allow them on medical grounds. He is responsible for the +carrying out of the rules and his discretionary power is very small. No +qualification has been laid down for the position, and this leaves the +Secretary of State free to appoint anybody whom he considers most likely +to perform the duties satisfactorily, and prevents the post becoming a +preserve for the members of any profession. In Scotland military men have +been appointed, and members of the clerical staff and warders have been +promoted to governorships, but no professional man has ever been placed in +such an important position. When the Governor is absent or on leave his +place is taken by the head warder, who performs the duties of this +important office in addition to his own. + +Where there are a sufficient number of female prisoners there is a Matron +in charge of them, who visits them in the same way as the Governor does +the males and discharges similar duties towards them. + +The Prison Chaplain must be an ordained minister, and in the larger +prisons he holds services weekly and conducts prayers daily. He visits the +prisoners in their cells and administers spiritual consolation and advice; +and he does what he can to help them on their liberation. Prisoners who +are Roman Catholics and those who are Episcopalians are visited by +clergymen of those Churches in a similar way. + +The Medical Officer must be a registered practitioner, and it is his duty +to look after the health of the staff and of the prisoners. Of all the +officials he has the freest hand, for it has not so far been practicable +to direct the treatment of the sick from a central office; but his very +freedom--such as it is--may lead him into trouble should he pay regard to +differences of temperament among prisoners and go beyond a consideration +of merely physical signs. If he confine his energies to carrying out the +rules he need never fear death from work or worry. He may hope to become a +highly respectable fossil and have a place in the esteem of everyone to +whom he has caused no trouble. He can do much to help prisoners, not by +indulging them, but by humanising the place to some extent and setting the +tone. He need not be a better man than his colleagues, but he is less a +part of the working machine, and that should make a difference in his +attitude. He is not concerned with discipline, for the sick are free of +it, so that in a sense it is his business to interfere with discipline. +His work is to do the prisoners good in a way they can understand; and he +has even an advantage over the Chaplain, whom they also recognise as a +humanising influence, for men are usually a good deal more anxious about +their bodies than about their souls. The Governor may be a better man +than either the Doctor or the Chaplain, but his position as the head of a +system that the prisoners do not regard as directed to their aid handicaps +his influence on them. + +At one time the clerical staff of the prisons was composed of clerks, but +now men who join as warders are promoted to clerkships, serving part of +the day in the prison and part in the office. All applicants for +warderships have to pass a series of examinations and to serve on +probation for twelve months before being finally admitted to the service. +A rigid enquiry is made as to their antecedents; their health forms the +subject of a careful enquiry; and they have to pass an examination in +general education. After all this they receive a salary which is not +large, to put it mildly. It is a steady job, and therefore sought after by +those who prefer to take a small salary with security of tenure to risking +the rough-and-tumble of industrial life. Female warders are paid better +than men, as women's wages go. Compared with the work done by them in +other institutions they are well off, but there is not a rush for +vacancies. Both male and female warders in Scottish prisons will compare +favourably with any other body of officials; and the prevailing spirit +shown by them towards prisoners is kindly and human. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE PRISON AND ITS ROUTINE + + Reception of the prisoner--Cleanliness and order--The plan of the + prison--The cells--Their furniture--The diet--The clothing--Work--The + workshops--Separate confinement and association--Gratuities--Prison + offences--Complaints--Punishment cells--Visits of the chaplain--Visits + of representatives of the Churches--The gulf between visitor and + visited--The Chapel--The Salvation Army--Rest--Recreation--The prison + library--Lectures--The airing-yard--Physical drill. + + +Once prisoners are within the prison their condition is much more +comfortable than it had been when they were under the charge of the +policeman. When they leave the van their identity is checked and the +warrants for their detention are inspected. They are then passed into the +reception-room and are placed each in a separate box. They are taken one +by one and questioned as to certain details that are noted for purposes of +identification and for statistical records. Then comes the bath. The +prisoner removes all his clothing and an inventory of it is taken. When he +leaves the bath his own clothing has been replaced by a dress provided by +the State. His clothing is disinfected and placed aside in a bundle, +against the time of his liberation. He now receives a copy of the prison +rules, which he must obey; a Bible, which he may study; a hymn-book; an +industry-card, on which his earnings will be noted; and some other +articles; and he is passed on to prison. His life there is one of +monotonous routine whether his sentence be short or long. + +The prison surprises visitors by its quiet and by the conspicuous +cleanliness which is its characteristic feature. Yet it is not surprising +that people should be able to keep the place clean and tidy, when they +have little else to do and no opportunity for making it dirty and untidy. +The cleanliness and tidiness of a prison is different from that of any +household. It is not the cleanliness and tidiness of healthy life. It is +part of the prisoner's work to keep his cell and its furniture in order. + +One thing visitors cannot miss seeing, yet do not observe, though it is of +much more significance than the cleanliness they admire: the good temper +and tractability of the prisoners. That a prisoner should be clean is +wonderful; that people who have been committing breaches of the peace, +assaults, thefts, and have been generally a nuisance or a terror to the +public, should be moving about at work or at exercises quietly and +peaceably, should be so obedient and tractable that one warder can look +after twenty of them and seldom have anything to report to their +discredit, is far more wonderful. These people are sent to prison because +they cannot obey the law, but while in prison they are not rebellious; so +that it is reasonable to infer that there has been something in the +conditions of their life outside which has led them into misconduct, and +not that they are inherently incapable of behaving themselves. + +The modern prison is built on a simple plan. Roughly it may be described +as two blocks of cells joined by a gable at each end and roofed over; a +well being left between the blocks and lighted from the roof. All the +cells have windows in the outer, and doors in the inner, walls. Balconies +run round these inner walls, from which access is had to the cells in each +flat. The cells in which the prisoners are confined are apartments +measuring about 10 ft. by 7 ft. by 10 ft. high. The partitions and roofs +of the cells are of whitewashed brickwork, and the floor of stone and +asphalt. Each cell has a little window in the wall near the door glazed +with obscured glass, and on the outside of these windows a gas bracket is +placed. At night the cell is lit by this arrangement, which diminishes the +amount of light and fixes its source in a corner. It is designed to +prevent any person from attempting suicide by inhalation of gas; but in +institutions where attempts at suicide are more likely to take place other +means have been found to prevent the adoption of this method. It ensures +that one hundred thousand people are inconvenienced in order that one may +be prevented from ending his discomfort. There are other ways of breaking +a walnut than crushing it with a steam-hammer. + +A prison cell does not contain much furniture. The bed is a wooden shutter +hinged to the wall, so that it can be folded up during the day-time. When +not in use the bedding is rolled together and placed in a corner of the +apartment. Convicted male prisoners who are under sixty years of age are +not allowed a mattress during the first thirty days of their imprisonment; +they just lie on the board. I do not suppose that anybody imagines that a +man is more likely to lead a new life if he is made to sleep on a bare +board, than he would be if he were allowed a mattress. It is intended to +hurt, and it will hurt the more sensitive in a greater degree than those +of a coarser constitution. It is a part of the system, and will go with it +when people wake up to the fact that it is a senseless thing to set about +to irritate and annoy others. + +Of late years it has been discovered that prisoners were as little likely +to escape if their cells were well lit as they would be their cells being +ill lit. The windows have consequently been enlarged and nobody has been +the loser. The cell at the best is not a place to inspire cheerfulness, +but an effort has been made to make the place less bare. Some years ago a +six-inch circle of glass was attached to the wall in many cells. The glass +was of that variety that distorts everything seen through it when it is +used for windows, and when it is silvered and converted into a mirror the +effect is peculiar. + +The walls of some of the cells are decorated with a chromolithograph, such +as is given to customers as a calendar by many shopkeepers at the New Year +time. The mirror and the print, bad work and bad art though they may be, +relieve the bare, ugly walls of the cells, and indicate a consciousness +that the present system is not quite so perfect as it might be. Whether +any such mitigations (if it can always be called a mitigation to see your +face twisted out of shape and to gaze upon a sentimental chromo) are +worthy of the fuss made about them is another matter, for the main +question is not whether imprisonment should be mitigated, but--what is its +object? + +In Scotland the diet prescribed is a very simple one. In quantity it is +ample for the needs of the great majority of the prisoners. Indeed, a fair +proportion receive more than they are fit to consume. The medical officer +may reduce a diet to prevent waste; or he may increase a diet, if in his +view the prisoner requires more food. As I believe that nearly every man +knows his own needs a great deal better than the diet specialist, a +request from a prisoner for more food is never refused provided he is +consuming all he gets. A request for a change of food is quite another +thing; but a man who for gluttony would gorge himself with the diet +provided for prisoners would be a curiosity. + +The food is excellent in quality, but there is not much variety. There are +three meals daily. Porridge and sour milk with bread form the morning and +evening meals, and the dinner usually consists of broth and bread. This is +the ordinary routine diet, and one can understand that after a time it is +not unnatural there should be longings for a change. It is a simple diet +and is sufficient. The death-rate in prisons is small. The improvement in +the health of broken-down and habitually debauched persons during their +term of imprisonment is marked, and there can be no doubt that the regimen +saves many of them from death and prolongs their lives. + +In these days the benefits of sour milk have been preached by the +scientific man, and the culture of the lactic-acid bacillus has become a +recognised industry. In the Scottish prisons the inmates have had the +advantage of its beneficent operations for many years, though they did not +know its name and would have been glad to have seen sweet milk rather than +sour. The state of their health forms a strong argument for the advocates +of the simple life, yet most of them would choose greater variety in food, +though they should die a few years earlier. + +The clothing of prisoners, as regards cutting and material, resembles +nothing seen outside. The untried male is officially clothed in brown +corduroy, and when convicted he exchanges this for white mole-skin. The +surface of the cloth used to be decorated with broad-arrows, so that the +prisoner looked like a person in a prehistoric dress over which some +gigantic hen had walked after puddling in printer's ink; but this has +been discontinued. + +The cut of the clothing seems to be designed to save cloth, and so long as +the prisoner is kept warm he does not concern himself about the +unfashionable character of his clothes. As for the women's dress, being a +mere man I cannot describe it; but ladies who visit the prison seem to be +agreed that it is plain and neat. It is certainly strikingly different +from anything they wear. + +It is a rule that all convicted prisoners shall wear prison clothes. There +are not very many of them whose own clothing is clean enough for them to +wear, and not a few are more ragged than they need be. Whether they would +not be better employed in cleaning and mending their own clothes than in +doing many of the things they are required to do is a question that might +be considered. It certainly does not seem reasonable that because a person +has offended we should thrust upon him our hospitality to the extent of +causing him to use clothing provided by us, if he has clothing of his own +that he can decently wear. His own clothing has been placed aside while +under our care, and at the expiry of his sentence it may be handed back to +him as it was taken from him, excepting for the creases it has acquired in +the interval. It would cost more trouble to the officials to set prisoners +to improve their own appearance than to set them to break stones, and yet +it might not be a bad thing to do nothing for a man, not even to provide +him with clothing, if he can do it for himself.[2] + + [2] _The Rules for Prisons in Scotland_, 1854, ordain that the Matron + "should ascertain how far those prisoners who are committed for + considerable periods are deficient in a knowledge of domestic matters, + such as cooking, washing, and repairing clothes, and instruct them in + these things. She should encourage prisoners, in their spare time, to + put their own clothes into a good state of repair before they leave + the Prison, and in some cases to make new clothes for themselves. And, + lastly, she should learn what their prospects are on leaving prison; + and with the aid of the Governor and Chaplain, do what she can to + procure suitable situations for them." + + This rule is omitted from the edition of 1875, and subsequently; but + it is greatly in advance of anything that has been substituted for it. + +When prisoners' sentences exceed a certain term their own clothing is +washed, and at the end of their imprisonment it is restored to them clean. +This teaches them that if they do not keep their clothing clean it will be +cleaned for them. At any rate, it does not teach them to do the necessary +work themselves; but then it is much easier to do things for some people +than to teach them to do these things for themselves. + +The work provided for prisoners varies in kind in different districts, but +it has one common characteristic, which is that few could earn a living by +it outside. It has been said by those who ought to know better that the +prisons cannot undertake anything but the lowest kinds of unskilled +labour, because of the objections made by trade unions. These societies +are no more infallible in their wisdom than their critics, but they do not +adopt the foolish attitude attributed to them. Like employers of labour, +they have objected to unfair competition on the part of prisons, and quite +properly have taken steps to prevent underselling on the part of the +authorities. Prisons are not self-supporting institutions, and, in the +nature of things as they exist, cannot be made to defray the expenditure +incurred in their upkeep. Most prisoners could quite well earn the cost of +their food and clothing; but the cost of their supervision is greatly in +excess of the cost of their board. It does not take much to keep a +prisoner, but it takes a good deal to keep me and my colleagues, and that +is a necessary part of the expenditure incurred on behalf of the +institution. + +The prison accounts, as published, show a profit in some departments of +prison labour, but this is arrived at by the ingenuous way of leaving out +everything but the cost of material and (if the work is not for an outside +customer) so much an hour for every prisoner engaged at it. If a +manufacturer had only these items to consider there would be fewer +bankrupts and more wealthy men; and if the price of goods were determined +on an estimate of cost which only included these items plus a reasonable +profit, it is quite clear that prison labour could undersell free labour. +The trade unions and the private employers have simply insisted on +prison-made goods being sold at prices which will not cut the market rate. + +Prison labour is never so efficient as free labour, and though the +employment of prisoners to do prison work may be justified on other +grounds, it cannot be defended on an economic basis. It has often been +suggested that tradesmen who have been convicted should be allowed to work +at their trades while undergoing imprisonment; thereby they would be kept +in practice, and would be less unfitted to resume their ordinary +occupation on the expiry of their sentence; but a little consideration of +the facts will show that however desirable this might be it is not +practicable. In prison at any one time there may be a number of tradesmen, +but their occupations are very different; and in many cases they are of +such a character that even if work for them could be had it could not be +undertaken owing to the fact that expensive machinery would require to be +installed. + +Even where the work is of such a kind that it could be done in prison it +cannot be obtained for other reasons. In Glasgow prison, where there are +more women than men incarcerated, a laundry was started some years ago, +and customers were invited to send in their washing to be done at ordinary +outside rates. The washing is done by hand and no modern laundry machine +is employed. The result is that the articles cleaned are not subjected to +the same strain, and are likely to last longer. Before long difficulties +arose, and it became perfectly clear that these were not due to any action +on the part of outside laundries, with which the prison was competing, but +to inherent defects in the prison laundry. No business will be successful +for long unless it keeps faith with its customers, who require to have +their work done and delivered in proper condition within a fixed period. +Sometimes there are skilled laundresses among the prisoners, and at other +times there are not. Washing may be a very simple process, not requiring +much training (although a great many occupations are considered, by those +who do not undertake them, to be quite easy, but are difficult to those +who try them for the first time), but it requires some skill to starch and +iron clothing in a satisfactory way. Customers found this out for +themselves. Work of that kind, and it seems a simple kind, is difficult to +get, not because competing firms outside put obstacles in the way, but +because the customer has no guarantee that he will have it done regularly +to his satisfaction. + +The workshops vary in kind in different prisons, but they have the common +character of differing from any workshop outside a prison. The ability and +experience possessed by the managers of prisons are not the same kind as +those present in managers of workshops outside. The training has been +quite different. The outside man may be very proud of his working +arrangements, but if his balance-sheet is unsatisfactory his pride is +effectively checked. There is no such check to the satisfaction of those +who manage prisons. When one remembers that they are the sole authorised +critics of their own work, it is not surprising that its character should +differ from that produced by industrial concerns outside. As a general +rule prisoners are engaged at unskilled labour. Some of them are +associated at work, but always under the supervision of an officer, who +sees that they do not engage in conversation with each other. + +Public attention has been directed to the cruelty of solitary confinement, +and nothing that has been said or written on the subject could be too +strong in its condemnation. The term "Solitary Confinement" is generally +objected to and that of "Separate Confinement" substituted for it; but the +public need not concern itself with differences which are merely +technical. The practice of rigidly enforcing silence and attempting to +prevent any but the merest official interviews or associations between a +prisoner and others will do as much serious harm under whatever name it is +called. Experience has shown that the association of prisoners with each +other in the absence of strict supervision may result in general +corruption, but rational efforts to prevent this evil can be made without +the risk of inducing a greater. + +It is against the rules for prisoners to engage in conversation with one +another; and the officers are not in a position to talk much to them +except on business, even if they had the inclination to do so. + +Prisoners may not be the most suitable company for each other; but, in the +case of most of them, to shut one in to no company but himself can only +result in his mental deterioration, and there can be no doubt that some +have been driven towards insanity through this treatment. + +It is not an uncommon characteristic of old convicts that they show +delusions of suspicion and of persecution, and this is not to be wondered +at when one considers the narrowness of their life in prison, and the +undue importance that is apt to be placed on little things by a man who is +denied rational intercourse with others and whose natural curiosity is +repressed. + +The more monotonous his life, the more his mind is compelled to dwell on +the trivial incidents that are happening around him; the more he is shut +in to himself, the greater the tendency for him to become twisted +mentally. The fresher and more varied his interest is kept in things +outside of himself the better for him and for others. + +The tendency of late years has all been towards a less rigid application +of the rules which are designed to enforce silence, and there is now more +reasonable association of prisoners than ever there has been, and less +tendency when they are associated for their attention to be strained in an +effort to watch at the same time their work and the warder who is +supervising it. + +When they are under supervision by a sensible person there is very little +danger of their doing or saying things that would be harmful; and as at +night they are all in separate cells, the corruption that sometimes takes +place in institutions where the dormitory system is in use is not +possible. + +Amongst prisoners in Glasgow there has never in my experience been any +chance for the development of a brooding, suspicious, unhealthy habit. The +fact that so many untried prisoners are detained there, necessarily under +conditions more favourable than the convicted, has made the place one in +which the life is more varied and in which rules could be less readily +enforced than in some other establishments. There have been more +occurrences taking place under the prisoners' eyes, and they have had more +to interest them. + +A good deal of the work is done in association, and that which is done in +the cells is usually engaged in by prisoners who are detained for short +terms; but even in their case they are not left alone for long periods. +Visits to them are frequent for one purpose or another, and there is no +attempt made to harass or drive them. Still, at the best, the life is not +a healthy one from the mental standpoint. + +Work and good conduct are rewarded by marks. Prisoners whose sentence +exceeds fourteen days, and who are not on hard labour, may earn four marks +per day. For every six marks earned one penny is allowed as a gratuity to +the prisoner at the expiry of his sentence, and this may be paid to him on +his discharge, or he may receive it through one or other of the Aid +Societies after his liberation. Hard-labour prisoners may receive a +gratuity of one shilling a month if their conduct and work have been +satisfactory. + +The Governor sees each prisoner daily in order to hear any complaint that +may arise, either on the part of the prisoner or of the warder; but the +visit otherwise is a formal one, as visits of inspection usually are. If +the prisoner has a complaint or a request to make it is examined or +attended to. Should there be a complaint against the prisoner the parties +are heard and judgment is given. There are numerous acts which are +offences in prison, and the governor has power in minor cases to deal with +them and to award punishment at his discretion; but in no case involving a +change of diet or the infliction of any physical discomfort can the +punishment be carried out until the prisoner is certified by the Medical +Officer to be fit to stand it. + +The prisoner may offend in a great variety of ways, as through +carelessness breaking a dish; through idleness failing to perform his +task; through untidiness keeping his cell in an unsatisfactory condition; +he may be insolent and insubordinate towards the officers; or he may be +convicted of speaking to another prisoner or of making unauthorised +communications. The offences for the most part are trifling in character +and would not be offences outside the prison, but if the system is to be +maintained the offenders must be dealt with. + +In more serious cases the offender is tried by a member of the Visiting +Committee of the prison or by a Prison Commissioner. In some cases the +conclusion cannot be escaped that offences are due more to an +incompatibility of temperament between the prisoner and those over him +than to anything else. A prisoner may behave and work well when under the +supervision of one officer, and may do badly when under the care of +another. Some people can manage those under them better than others; but +not infrequently the prisoner is neither a malicious person nor the warder +a stupid person, and yet they cannot get on together. The obvious thing to +do is to separate them; the easy thing to do is to punish the prisoner. + +Sometimes assaults are made on warders by prisoners. In sixteen years' +experience I have seen very few, and the assailants were usually +half-witted creatures who had conceived a dislike, which did not seem to +be founded on any tangible reason, against the person assailed. In my +opinion these cases should never be tried in prison. Offences committed in +prison which would be cognisable by the criminal authorities if committed +outside should be tried in an open Court. I do not suggest that the +prisoner would be treated unjustly if tried in prison, but it cannot be +denied that the atmosphere is not favourable to his receiving the +impression that he is getting what he would call "a fair show"; and the +trial of a man before a Court consisting of those interested in the +management of prisons, on the complaint of a prison official, and without +the presence of any members of the general public, is not calculated to +inspire confidence. + +Prisoners are at liberty to make any complaint to the Prison Commissioners +in writing, and the governor is obliged to forward it; or they may +communicate direct with the Secretary for Scotland without the writing +being seen by the prison officials. Such complaints may be referred to +those complained against for answer, and if the result is not satisfactory +a special enquiry may take place. + +Each prison has its punishment cells--places for the incarceration of +unruly prisoners. Under rational management there is no use for them +except temporarily, and then only to prevent the prisoner from injuring +himself or others, or from annoying other prisoners by noise, in a fit of +temper suggestive of insanity. + +It is one of the Chaplain's duties to visit the prisoners, and although it +is intended that he should minister to them spiritual consolation, that +term may mean anything in practice. A man, whether a clergyman or not, who +puts himself in a position of censor of morals to his fellows, is not +regarded by them with any degree of affection or respect, unless he does +not stop there. Few people like to be talked down to, whether they are in +prison or out of it. A superior attitude adopted towards some is more +likely to draw out their evil qualities, and to excite them to bad temper +and wrath, than to help them. I do not think Prison Chaplains in Scotland, +whether belonging to one denomination or another, are given to the +practice of assuming that with those whom they address necessarily lies +all the blame for their position. There is more a disposition to pity than +to blame, although an attitude of pity is sometimes a greater insult than +one of censure and may irritate as deeply. + +There has been a growing disposition to say kind things to and of +prisoners. We may believe that more can be done by the kind look than by +the harsh word, and lose sight of the fact that pity and sympathy are two +quite different things. The fact of the matter is that nobody is able to +assess justly the amount of blame to be attached to a man for his +misdeeds, and the amount to be placed to the discredit of society; but in +few cases is anyone helped by being encouraged to believe that he is free +from blame, that he could not do any better than he has done. + +Prisoners are not different from others in their tendency to put the best +construction on their own behaviour. An astonishing number are in jail +because they had bad neighbours. According to their statements, they could +get along all right if it were not for the people next door. It may be +quite true to some extent, but they are not to be helped in mending their +own conduct by attention to the faults of their neighbours. I do not +suggest that this attitude on their part, this disposition to prove how +comparatively stainless they are and how objectionable are those with whom +they have been brought in contact, is due to the ministrations of the +clergy, but merely that it affects their estimate of the ministers of +religion. + +The attitude of the prisoner towards the minister is one thing; his +attitude towards the doctor, for instance, is quite another. The Chaplain +desires to be regarded as a friend of the prisoner, and that by many he is +so regarded there can be no doubt; but unfortunately, with some of them, +they seem to measure friendship by their ability to humbug the friend, and +the value of the clergyman by what they can put into him which may tell in +their favour when he estimates their character, and by what they can get +out of him in the way of material help. The Chaplain is sometimes +swindled, but so are we all; his office and his message make him a mark +for the shafts of the wicked. He sees one side of the prisoner better than +any other official, and if he has counterfeit penitents he has also real +ones. His visits may be a source of encouragement and strength to the +prisoner; but whatever spiritual effect his teaching may have--whether it +be great or little--if he has a human interest in those he visits, in so +far as his character commands respect his ministrations tend to prevent +the prisoner from sinking under the monotony of the discipline to which he +is subjected. + +Representatives of various religious agencies visit prisoners. They are +remarkable for their earnestness and zeal, but there is often a fatal +difference of standpoint between visitor and visited. A girl brought up in +a slum, seeing and hearing sights and sounds which are an outrage on +decency; working for long hours to earn a scanty living; housed rather +worse than many horses and dogs; ill-taught and ill-cared for; has +transgressed the law and been sent to prison. She knows she is to blame +for doing the thing she has done in the way she has done it, but she and +those like her regard her imprisonment as in some degree an accident. It +is difficult to describe the standpoint. In a busy street where there is +a constant stream of horses and mechanical traffic going in different +directions and at different rates of speed, there is always danger to the +passenger who seeks to cross; and occasionally someone is run down and +hurt. The injured party is always to blame to some extent, and is hurt +because he has failed to estimate the danger accurately and to avoid it +successfully; but others may be to blame also. The fault is never wholly +on one side. To the girl the law resembles the traffic in the street; and +when she is knocked down she and her friends regard her as the victim of +misfortune. + +That is not the standpoint of the visitor. She may have known nothing of +the trials and temptations of the poor, save what she has seen from the +outside. Hunger has never been her attendant; poverty has been unknown to +her. She has received attention and care in her early days; has not been +tasked beyond her strength; has been able to choose her own work and do it +in her own time; has been well housed and well fed; and has found it easy +to obey the law. Between the two a great gulf is fixed. Their outlook is +as different as their experience. + +It is a great mistake to assume that the rich know more of the poor than +the poor know of the rich. The street-corner spouter may denounce the +luxury of the wealthy and expose himself to their ridicule. They know that +they are not as he paints them, and they laugh or sneer at his ignorance; +but they are as little qualified to judge him as he is to judge them. Each +sees the other's vices; and every visitor is as much a subject of +criticism by the prisoner as a critic. + +It is as unreasonable to expect that a woman in prison will give her +confidence to a stranger who visits her, as it would be for the prisoner +to expect that the visitor would submit to her questions. One thing is +absolutely certain, and that is that visitors do not do the good they +imagine they are doing when they pass from one cell to another exhorting +the prisoners to better behaviour. They stir up the emotions of those to +whom they minister, and some of the women find great consolation and +relief in a good cry. There are those, however, who have learned to +distrust the possibility of wholesale reform of prisoners, and who single +out some one whom it seems possible to help and hang on to her, visit and +encourage her on her liberation, and have their reward in the +consciousness that they have really rendered effective assistance where it +was needed. + +The ideal held up by the visitors in their advice to prisoners too often +seems impossible of attainment by those to whom it is presented. There are +some who have no ambition to live within the law, but there are many who +would rather do so if they could. Most of us have not in us the capacity +to become great saints; and to ask the ordinary person to conform to a +standard which would present difficulties to us, does not seem reasonable. +Something is gained if, though you fail to persuade a person to be good, +you can induce him to be better than he has been. Just as many have +drifted into evil courses step by step, they may be led into a better way +of living by degrees. Sudden conversions are not uncommon, but they are +not the rule. The visits to prisoners on the part of people from outside +are of great benefit; anything is that breaks the monotony of the day; and +if the visitors are receptive they may learn a good deal from the +prisoners, and may be made the better for their visit even though they +fail to make the impression they desire on those to whom they have +spoken. + +There are three forms of religion recognised in prison: the Presbyterian, +Roman Catholic, and Episcopalian. A service is held once a week by a +clergyman of each of these Churches, and the Presbyterians go out to +prayers daily. + +The chapel has a more or less ecclesiastical appearance, and is divided in +such a way that the male and the female prisoners do not see each other, +though the preacher can see both divisions. Most of the prisoners do not +attend religious services when they are at liberty, but some make an +ingenious distinction between religion and conduct. I remember one old +woman who had grown grey and almost blind after a long course of vicious +and criminal conduct. She was eloquent regarding a person whom she +described as being "nae better than an infidel." I replied that "at least +he had kept out of prison," and she replied, "Aye; but though I have been +a drunkard, a blackguard, and a thief, thank God I never neglected my +religion." + +I do not know whether the Salvation Army representatives are more +effective as religious agents than the other visitors. Their work is +certainly better advertised, and they belong usually to the same social +rank as many of the prisoners. The religion they teach, if more +emotionally expressed, is not different from that taught by the other +visitors; but they can appeal to the prisoner more effectively because +they are better able than many others to appreciate and sympathise with +the difficulties and temptations under which the wrongdoer has fallen. + +Many of those in prison are not there because of idleness. They have +worked harder in their day than the people who talk eloquently about the +dignity of labour. Neither are they there because, like the heathen, they +have never heard the message of the gospel. As a matter of fact, most of +them can never get away from the voice of the preacher for any long time, +for the evangelists are abroad nightly singing hymns and exhorting the +public in all the poorer working-class districts. They have worked hard +enough to earn money and are in prison because they have not known how to +spend it wisely. In prison they are not taught useful work, and as little +are they taught how to recreate themselves after work. Their day may be +divided into four parts: There is a time for eating; there is a time for +working; and what they do and what food they have has already been shown. +There is a time for sleeping: they go to bed early in the evening and rise +early in the morning. "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man----" +well, it doesn't. At any rate, the inmates of the prison have not +attracted attention hitherto on account of their wealth or their wisdom. +Then there is a time left for meditation. + +Every prisoner has his Bible and his Prayer Book. I am far from suggesting +that this is a provision that should not be made, but by this time it will +be generally admitted that mere Bible reading, or praying, when a prisoner +is in a measure compelled to it, are not likely to have the most +beneficial effect. It is a useful thing occasionally to be able to quote +scripture, and some of those who have spent a considerable portion of +their lives in prison have stored their memory with a large and varied +assortment of texts, which they are prepared to use when they think a +profit is to be made thereby. A profession of reformation seems to have a +more powerful effect when buttressed with texts of scripture, and an +appeal for help on the part of the penitent is more likely to succeed when +heard by the godly, many of whom are exceedingly kind to those who show a +disposition to conform to their theological standards. + +Persons whose sentences exceed fourteen days may have books from the +prison library with which to beguile their time. The books provided +resemble the clothing, in respect that it is greatly a matter of chance as +to whether they suit the person who gets them. I have seen an illiterate +lad from the slums hopelessly wrestling with an elementary manual on +Electricity and Magnetism. I suppose this would be regarded as an +educational work. The library is carefully selected with the intention of +excluding all pernicious literature--certainly the sensational is passed +by--but we all differ in our ideas as to the value of books; I myself +would describe some popular works as pernicious literature; and many of +the papers that one set of people appreciate and are able to read without +apparent injury are of no use to others. The complaint which has been made +that prison libraries contain a great deal of poor stuff, and do not +contain a sufficient representation of the classic writers, leaves out of +account the fact that these classic writers are more talked about than +read. The popular novelist of to-day has a larger audience in his own +generation than ever Shakespeare had. The one writer is read during his +lifetime, the other finds his audience all through the ages. In a prison, +as in all institutions, the attempt is made to work to an average. When +the educated person appears in prison let us refrain from insulting his +intelligence by giving him books to read which he despises; but he must +remember that others are not as he is, and that they may even derive +stimulus and benefit from those works which can only annoy him. + +The untried prisoner may have newspapers and magazines sent in to him as +well as books, unless, indeed, the Visiting Committee refuse to permit +this. He can choose suitable literature for himself provided his friends +are willing to send it to him, but immediately he is convicted he has no +choice in the matter. The State is his librarian; and it seems a little +absurd that the taxpayer should be charged for providing him with things +which he does not want, and which can do him no good, if he or his friends +could, at their own expense, procure him books he would enjoy. + +Of late years lectures have been given to prisoners, and occasionally +concerts have been provided for them. The lectures have been on all kinds +of subjects. Some of them have dealt with travel and have been illustrated +by limelight views; others have dealt with sanitation, physiology, and the +treatment of common ailments; others have taken the form of cookery +demonstrations; and the prison audience is invariably more appreciative +than most audiences outside. They enjoy anything that breaks the dulness +of their routine life. No sensible person expects that the lectures will +make them travellers, or physiologists, or cooks, though an interest in +these subjects may be kindled by the lecturer. Few people are ever +lectured into a change of life, but anything that prevents them from +sinking into apathy, from brooding on the petty incidents that go to make +up their lives in prison, from beating against the bars of their cage, is +beneficial. + +There are those who protest against making the prison too comfortable and +who seem to believe that people want to go there. There need be no fear of +this. A cage is a cage even though it be gilded, and they are few indeed +who seek imprisonment. Occasionally you have some saying they prefer the +prison to the poorhouse. I have worked in both places and wholly agree +with their preference, but that is not a testimony to the desirability of +life in prison, but a reproach to the poorhouse. Those who support efforts +to lessen the monotony of prison life are not moved by any desire that the +prisoners may have a good time. For my own part, I am not concerned to +make their lot less mechanical merely for their sakes, but for the sake of +the community of which they are a part. I believe that imprisonment has +been shown to have a bad effect on those who suffer it, and as some day +they are to be turned loose on the community, it is advisable to prevent +them being liberated in a condition that would make them more dangerous to +their fellow-citizens, or more troublesome, than they were before their +arrest. + +Outside the block of cells is an airing-yard, which consists of a space +round which two narrow paved walks run. On these the prisoners take their +exercise, each walking for an hour daily for the benefit of his health; +separated by a space from the prisoner in front and the prisoner behind +him, and watched by a warder lest any conversation or sign of recognition +takes place between him and his fellows. The elderly or physically +defective prisoners walk round the inner ring, where the pace is slower. + +Some of the female prisoners undergo a course of instruction in Swedish +drill. Their opinion is expressed in the name by which the exercise is +known. It is called the "Daft hour," and they enjoy it. As to its +usefulness from an industrial standpoint the less said the better. It does +no harm and it is a pleasant break in the day. In short, the prisoners are +better employed in going through the drill than in doing something worse. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +VARIATIONS IN ROUTINE + + The sick--Prison hospitals--The removal of the sick to outside + hospitals--The wisdom of this course--The essential difference between + a prison and other public institutions--The treatment of refractory + prisoners--The folly of assuming that rules are more sacred than + persons--The position of the medical officer in relation to the + prisoner--The danger of divided responsibility--The untried + prisoner--His privileges--Civil prisoners--Imprisonment for contempt + of court--The convict--Short and long sentences. + + +The system makes no provision for individual differences between prisoners +and takes no account of the past training which has made them what they +are, but it recognises physical differences. It is the duty of the Medical +Officer to see that no one is overtaxed or underfed or insufficiently +clothed, and to attend to any sickness that occurs. If a prisoner is +insane he is removed to a lunatic asylum. If he is ill he is put under +treatment. + +In the majority of cases the prison hospitals are simply larger and +better-lit cells. They are free from anything but the roughest imitation +of modern hospital appliances; but as there is no occasion for the +treatment in them of prisoners suffering from acute serious illness, they +are sufficient for the needs they are required to meet. What is required +for the treatment of such as are sick is not so much stone and lime as +flesh and blood. Not new hospitals, but trained nurses. + +When a prisoner is reported sick or asks to see the doctor, he is +automatically freed from the ordinary rules. If the medical man decides +that there is nothing in his condition to warrant his being put on the +sick list he falls back under prison discipline. If, however, he requires +medical treatment, the Medical Officer may prescribe any regimen which he +considers applicable to the case, and the Governor has the instructions +carried out. It may broadly be stated that cases requiring the constant +attendance of a skilled nurse and those demanding serious operative +treatment do not need to be treated in Scottish prisons. Section 72 of the +Prisons (Scotland) Act, 1877, enables the Governor, in certain cases, to +petition the Sheriff for a warrant to remove sick prisoners to hospitals +outside. He must present two medical certificates to the effect that the +prisoner (1) is suffering from a disease which threatens immediate danger +to life and cannot be treated in prison, or (2) a disease which makes his +removal necessary for the health of the other inmates of the prison, or +(3) that continued confinement would endanger his life. This is one of the +wisest provisions in the Act. Cases might occur in which the treatment +required would be of such a character as to make it inadvisable to have it +carried out in prison. + +Assuming that there is no difference in the experience and skill of the +prison doctors and their staff from that of the corresponding officials in +the general hospital, the conditions in prison are essentially different. +In a general hospital there are all sorts of people as patients, and their +friends have access to them; it is a public place compared with the +prison. The staff is subjected to continual criticism; not always +enlightened, and sometimes unfair, but it exercises a healthy effect on +their actions. There is no greater danger to the public than the +uncontrolled specialist; and it is a bad thing for him if he is led into +any belief either in the infallibility of his judgment, or in its +necessary applicability to the case with which he deals. He can perform no +operation without the consent of the patient or his friends, even though +he believe that operation is necessary to the saving of life. There are +cases in which this permission is refused in spite of all the persuasions +of the medical man; and in some of these cases, contrary to expectation, +the patient gets well. In others death takes place where life might have +been saved had consent to the necessary treatment been obtained; yet it +would be an intolerable condition of affairs if the medical man were to +have his patients placed at the discretion of his judgment; and no one +would propose that the inmates of a hospital should be compelled to submit +to any treatment that the doctors in their wisdom might see fit to +prescribe. + +In a neighbouring country lately the question of compulsory treatment was +raised. All the information I have with regard to it has been obtained +from the statements, official and otherwise, which have been published. +These statements may have been imperfect, but only from them can the +public form an opinion, The statements contradict each other, and as they +refer to incidents which took place in a prison--a place to which ordinary +members of the public have no access--they are bound to leave an uneasy +feeling in the mind of the impartial observer. + +Certain women, impelled by the desire to advance a political measure, +engaged in conduct which brought them into conflict with the authorities. +It was claimed on their behalf that they had committed a political +offence, and in that respect differed from other criminals; but all +offences are political offences. Whether a woman strikes a man because she +is angry with him, or because she is angry with a Cabinet Minister whom +she does not know, she commits an assault which is a crime in the eyes of +the law. Her motive may differ in the one case from the other, but its +issue has no difference; and in both cases, in so far as the State takes +notice of it, it is a political offence. Distinctions between offences can +only end in confusion; distinctions between offenders have never been +sufficiently recognised; and no real progress can ever be made in the +treatment of the criminal until the differences between one person and +another are taken into account. There can be no question that in +character, in training, and in their previous history, these women +differed widely from the ordinary prisoner, and all the trouble which +resulted was due to the failure of those in authority to act upon their +knowledge of this fact. That the conduct for which many of the women were +sent to prison was unreasonable, few will deny; but it was no more +unreasonable than the treatment they received. If they behaved like mad +people, so did the officials. + +The only way in which one person can show greater wisdom than another is +by conduct. If the women were hysterical, the officials did not exactly +shine as examples of calmness. The highly strung person who glories in +what she believes to be martyrdom, who sees everything in the light of her +own ideals, is not likely to be brought to another frame of mind by +receiving the treatment which she regards as persecution. These women had +made it necessary that they should be restrained from annoying others by +their conduct; but it mattered nothing to the public that they should be +restrained in a certain way; what did matter was that the nuisance should +be effectively stopped. That the method of dealing with them increased the +trouble is beyond question; and there is no justification for interference +with anybody except in so far as the method adopted has the result +desired. + +It is folly, if not worse, to enter upon any course that cannot be carried +on indefinitely. If your treatment fails to achieve the end aimed at, that +is bad; if it results in the person with whom you are dealing beating you, +that is worse. The law attempted to frighten the women, and the women, by +their continued resistance, frightened the administrators of the law. +Which presented the most sorry spectacle it is hard to say. + +The trouble seems to have begun through the refusal on the part of the +authorities to allow the women to wear their own clothing. What harm it +would have done to anybody to grant this permission it is difficult to +see. If they had fed themselves and clothed themselves it would have saved +expense to the public. They believed that the clothing was intended to +degrade them; and they might have asked, if that was not the intention, +why was the proceeding insisted on? Of course, to permit them to save the +State the expense of keeping them while they were in custody would have +upset the system; but the system is far from being considered by those who +are responsible for its administration to be anything approaching +perfection, for it is a fashionable thing amongst them to ask for its +improvement, and to justify changes, when they make them, on the ground +that they were required. Opposition grew with repression; unreason +provoked unreason, and the public heard with considerable uneasiness that +a hunger strike was taking place, and that the strikers were being +artificially fed. + +In certain physical diseases resort to artificial feeding may be +necessary, but prisoners suffering from these diseases are not fit for +prison discipline and should be treated in a hospital outside. Among the +insane are those who obstinately refuse to take food, and therefore +require to be fed; but an insane person differs from a prisoner in this +important respect, that in the eyes of the law he is free from +responsibility and has no will of his own. His friends are permitted +access to him. They may, and sometimes do, interfere with the discretion +of the medical attendant, and in any case his actions are within their +supervision and criticism. + +Medical men assume that self-preservation is a primal instinct, and that +the person who deliberately sets out to maim himself or to destroy his +life is insane, even although intellectually he may appear to be quite +sound. If a man become possessed by religious zeal and set out to convert +his neighbours to his views, he may incidentally be a considerable +nuisance to them. He may stand at street corners and annoy the surrounding +inhabitants by his exhortation; but, in Glasgow at any rate, they put up +with this on account of the good intention they ascribe to him. If, +however, he gives up his business, and prevents other people from +attending to theirs by calling on them and arguing with them, people begin +to suspect his sanity; and the man who would throw a brick into another's +office at the risk of hurting some of the people employed there, in order +to convince their principal that if he did not accept the religion the +missionary preached he would go to hell, would probably be dealt with as a +lunatic. The conduct of some of the women was quite as eccentric, but +people may do insane-like things without being insane. That, however, is +no reason for disregarding their eccentricities, which should be taken +into account when dealing with them. If the women required to be fed +artificially, it by no means follows that it was a proper thing to do so +in prison. It certainly was indiscreet, and it is difficult to see how, if +it was justifiable to resort to this measure in order to save the life of +a prisoner, it could be argued that a medical officer would not be equally +justified in cutting off the injured or diseased arm of a prisoner, in +spite of his protestations, in order to save his life. It is one thing to +place the liberties of men, and another thing altogether to place their +lives in the hands of officials. + +There is no official and no number of officials--by whatever name +called--good enough to be entrusted, unchecked by public observation, with +the lives of their fellow-citizens; and there is no criminal bad enough to +be immured from the public gaze and placed wholly under the control of +anyone. It is not that the officials are bad; they are no worse than +unofficial persons and no better, and there is far more danger from those +who have gained a reputation for humanity and for enlightened opinions, +even when they have deserved the reputation, than from the others, because +the former are likely to be left more to themselves on account of their +good name. Few who read this could be trusted to do as good a day's work +at the end of the year as they did at the beginning, if there were not +someone to check and criticise them. + +Here and there, now and then, there are violent outcry and excitement +because of some administrative scandal, and there is seldom much in it; +but there is no continued and intelligent interest in administration on +the part of the public. If a man do not fulfil his contract his employer +may accept an excuse once or even twice; but if his failure continue he +will find himself out of a job, and someone less incompetent or +unfortunate will be sought and put in his place. In the public service +excuses and exceptions are so much the rule that it would be easy to form +a library of blue books containing them, printed and paid for at the +public expense. + +Only ordinary cases of domestic sickness need be treated in prison, and +such ailments or injuries as are dealt with in the outdoor department of a +general hospital. In Scotland there is little inducement to prisoners to +feign sickness, as there is no automatic change in their diet or location +as a result of their being placed on the sick list. The doctor may or may +not remove them from their cells and alter their diet. So far as the Act +of Parliament is concerned the treatment of the sick lies wholly in his +discretion, and there is no power granted to any authority to interfere +with or overturn his decision. He may be questioned as to the reason for +his conduct; and if foolish enough or weak enough to be persuaded into +altering it, in order to please some higher official, he may do so; but +the Act of Parliament is absolutely specific in the matter, and refers the +sick not to the Commissioners, but to the surgeon of the prison. + +It is much easier for a man to carry out an instruction received from +above, than to assert and act on the powers conferred on him by statute; +but it is not right to do so, and in so far as he is subservient he is +unfaithful to his trust. Patients cannot be treated by correspondence. No +man, however highly placed, is infallible. Better that the man on the +spot should accept his responsibilities frankly, even though he do make +mistakes, than that he should look to someone who is not present to direct +him in a case of difficulty. No medical man need want for help from his +neighbours, and he can easily get someone of approved skill to assist him +in the diagnosis or treatment of a difficult case. It is quite proper that +his actions should be scrutinised, but it is quite wrong that the scrutiny +should take place in private. The statute has recognised this principle, +and has ordered that a public enquiry should take place on the occasion of +the death of any prisoner in prison. The relatives of the prisoner are +there entitled to put any questions to the officials, personally or +through an agent; and the Sheriff has to be satisfied that all reasonable +care and skill have been exercised in the case. + +Private official enquiries give opportunity for petty persecution on the +part of any Jack-in-office who fancies his abilities are equal to his +position, and whose spleen may be raised against better men than himself. +No man eminent in his profession would be likely to be guilty of such +conduct, but the occupation of some positions does not necessarily imply +professional eminence, though it may infer social influence. + +The Medical Officer has not an arduous task in treating the sick. His work +practically consists of patching up old offenders, in the knowledge that +he is prolonging their lives and their uselessness, to the injury of the +public. Many of them would have been dead long ago as the result of their +excesses had they not been interfered with. It is well that their lives +should be prolonged and their health improved, but only if some security +is taken that they use their powers to better purpose in the future than +they have done in the past. There is no sense in the State doing anything +for anybody without a reasonable guarantee that the person benefited will +not use the benefit to the injury of the community. Many are cured of +diseases in various public institutions, and turned loose to live on +others for the rest of their lives. There is an increasing number of young +people who, having suffered from some serious illness, have been saved +from death, but have been left permanently crippled to some extent in one +or other of their organs. They are not fit for the work they once engaged +in, but they are fit for some work, and so far as can be seen, they have +no intention of performing any. A number of them drift to the prison and +on the strength of their infirmity try to get special treatment. The +special treatment they require cannot be had there, nor is there any place +at present where it can be had. + +The untried prisoner is permitted to wear his own clothing, provided it is +clean and that he can have it changed with sufficient frequency. He may +hire furniture and pay for the cleaning of his cell. He may have visits +from those of his friends he desires to see; and he may correspond with +them, provided that in the conversation and correspondence there is +nothing said or written regarding the charge against him. All letters to +and from him are read and censored on behalf of the Governor. Prisoners +are not allowed to see and converse with their friends without the +presence of a prison official. The prisoner is put in a box with a +latticed front, and his visitor is placed in another box opposite. Between +the two boxes there is space for a warder to move. He can see the +occupants of both boxes, each of whom can only see the person in the box +opposite. When a number of prisoners are having visitors at the same time, +there is a shouting and gabbling that makes conversation difficult. +Convicted prisoners and convicts of the first class may receive a letter +and a visit from a friend once in three months, provided their conduct and +industry have been satisfactory. Before their entry into the first class +convicts may receive one, two, or three letters and visits in the year, +according to the class they have reached. After being a year in the first +class they may be placed in a special class, receiving a letter and a +visit once in two months. + +The prisoner sees his agent in view of but outwith the hearing of the +warder. He may have his food sent in to him by his friends, provided it is +sufficient in quality and amount, but he may not have part of a meal sent +in. He may also receive newspapers, magazines, or books. Any or all of +these privileges may be granted or withdrawn at the discretion of the +Visiting Committee. It is questionable whether it is right that they +should be granted as privileges. The man is, in the eyes of the law, +presumed to be innocent of the offence charged against him; and his +detention is only justifiable on the ground that he might fail to appear +at court for trial. That being so, he ought not to require permission from +any committee or official before he is allowed to feed, clothe, and amuse +himself; and he should only be prevented from doing so if his act is +detrimental to his own health or that of the other inmates of the prison. +This might cause more trouble to the officials concerned, but the primary +object of the system ought not to be the saving them trouble. + +The untried prisoner may have a pint of wine or a pint of beer daily, but +on no account is he permitted to smoke. This is a curious restriction +nowadays, and there is not the faintest show of reason for its exercise. +The proper attitude towards the untried prisoner is not that implied in +the question "Why should he be allowed to do this?" The question ought +always to be "Why should he not be allowed to do what he wishes?" and this +would be the question if the theory that presumes an untried prisoner's +innocence were put in practice. He is detained for the convenience of the +public, not for his own, and his liberty should be curtailed as little as +possible consistent with good order. + +There are very few civil prisoners in Scotland. Failure to pay aliment may +entail on a prisoner imprisonment, at the instance and expense of his +creditor, for a period of six weeks. At the end of that time the prisoner +is free from similar proceedings for six months, but the costs are added +to his original debt. He has some of the privileges of an untried +prisoner. Failure to pay taxes may cause a man to be imprisoned under +similar conditions. Persons sent to prison for failing to have their +children vaccinated are treated by the same rule, and persons condemned to +indefinite imprisonment for contempt of court. + +In Scotland we claim that we do not imprison for debt other than aliment, +rates, or taxes; but the rule is evaded by process of law, and the Prison +Commissioners are used as debt collectors in some cases. Technically this +is not so, but in practice it occurs. X 31, a woman, has obtained +jewellery on the hire-purchase system. She is the wife of a labouring man, +and there is room for the suspicion that she has been tempted by the +seller. A number of payments are made, then the husband loses his +employment, and she is not only cut off from the means of paying her +instalments, but has not money to get food. She pawns or otherwise +disposes of the jewellery, and is called upon either to pay for it or +return it. Her intention may be to pay, but she is not able. She is +summoned to appear at Court, and fails to do so. In her absence a decree +is granted ordaining her to deliver the jewellery to the person from whom +she obtained it, in terms of the contract made between them. Failing to do +this, she is seized and carried off to prison, on a warrant obtained for +Contempt of Court, inasmuch as she had not obeyed its decree. All her +friends become alarmed, and by their united efforts the money to satisfy +the creditor may be obtained. If this is not done she may be kept in +prison for an indefinite period at his expense. Had she contracted a debt +with the grocer for food, or with a dressmaker for clothing, they could +not have imprisoned her if she did not pay them, even though they desired +to do so. They are thus at a serious disadvantage, so far as the exercise +of pressure is concerned, compared with the hire-purchase trader; but the +ingenious among them who regret the abolition of imprisonment for debt may +revive it in effect by selling groceries and clothes on a hire-purchase +contract. + +The routine treatment to which the convict is subjected is much more +severe than that which is applied to the ordinary prisoner, and it does as +little good.[3] It is a system of repression mainly; a sitting on the +safety-valve that is apt to provoke outbursts of temper and violence +resulting in assault. These may be punished with the lash. A power which +is not possessed by the Judges of the High Court is granted to the Prison +Commissioners. It is considered necessary in order to maintain the system, +but as no one claims that the system is in any degree reformatory, it +becomes a question whether it is worth maintaining. + + [3] The diet for convicts is more generous than that for ordinary + prisoners, however. Male convicts whose conduct and industry have been + satisfactory may be liberated on license when three-fourths of their + sentence has been served. Female convicts in like circumstances may be + liberated on license after serving two-thirds of their sentence. + +The same man who is at one time a convicted prisoner in an ordinary prison +may at another time be undergoing penal servitude. While he is in an +ordinary prison there is neither power nor occasion to order him the +severe punishments which may be inflicted on convicts. If he need the lash +when he is sent to penal servitude, there is at least the presumption that +the cause lies as much in the character of the life he is compelled to +lead as in the character of the man. The more punishment inflicted on +prisoners in a prison the stronger the probability is that the place is +badly managed. Repression is necessary, no doubt, but repressive powers +should only co-exist with power to reward. Even a donkey will go further +after a carrot than when driven by a stick. It never does any good to a +man to treat him as a machine, and the tendency to do so under the name of +discipline is a root vice of the system. In the convict prison, as in the +ordinary prison, during the last few years the grinding mechanical routine +has been relaxed, and the amazing discovery has been made that it is +easier and better to manage men if you recognise that they are men than to +regard them as mere numbers. There has even been talk of reformation +resulting from the changes that have taken place, and to judge by some +magazine and newspaper articles from the pens of enthusiastic and ignorant +visitors, one would think the prison had become a kind of paradise. + +That other men's behaviour towards us will largely be determined on our +behaviour towards them is no new discovery, and that more considerate +treatment by officials should result in better conduct on the part of +prisoners need surprise no one; but that this better conduct necessarily +implies that they will live in conformity with the laws when liberated +does not follow at all. You may improve a man's conduct in prison as you +may improve his mental condition in a lunatic asylum, but you never know +how he will behave outside until you put him there; and if we acted on the +knowledge of this fact we should see that persons liberated from any +institution are placed in proper positions outside--that they should be +guided and helped in so far as they need guidance and help--so that there +would be less excuse for their recurring to their old habits and conduct, +and less chance of their relapse into the condition and actions for which +we have dealt with them. + +Of late years short sentences have been generally denounced on the ground +that there is no time to reform a prisoner who is only under the influence +of the system for a few days. This would be a reasonable objection if +those who are sent to prison for long periods were thereby made better, +but that is precisely what cannot be shown; for the longer a person is in +prison the less fit he is on liberation to take his place in the +community. So that if short sentences are bad, long sentences are worse, +from the standpoint of the reformer. A person sent to prison for a few +days is usually the cleaner for his experience. Imprisonment has kept him +off the streets for a time. It has also caused him to lose his job, and, +as usually the short-time prisoner is not a person of means, his position +is worse after his imprisonment than it was before. He has to earn his +living by his work, if he would avoid coming into conflict with the law; +and if he has no means of livelihood it is easy to see that he will find +it difficult to avoid recommittal. + +In this respect the long-sentence prisoner resembles him, but in addition +he has acquired habits in prison that are a hindrance to him outside. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE PRISONER ON LIBERATION + + His condition--His need--Alleged persecution of ex-prisoners-- + Discharged prisoners' aid societies--Work--Temptations--The discharged + female offender--The attitude of women towards her--"Homes"--The + women's objections to them--Pay--The religious atmosphere and the + harmful associations--The effect of imprisonment. + + +While in prison a man has been cut off from the life of the world. He has +had no visits from his friends save once in three months, and as there is +no newspaper which he is permitted to see, he is ignorant of any changes +that may have occurred during the time of his incarceration. Those who +have at any time been confined to the house by sickness may dimly +appreciate his condition. Although they may have been visited by their +friends; kept in touch with social movements in which they were +interested; and generally helped to a knowledge of passing events of +interest; they must have found something strange in the aspect of things +when they were first allowed out. + +Even after a holiday it takes a man some little time to get the hang of +his work. In the case of the liberated prisoner the difficulty is greatly +aggravated. He may find that during his seclusion friends have died or +have left the district, and if a first offender who feels the degradation +he has brought on himself, he is likely to be sensitive as to the bearing +of others towards him. He needs help; he dreads rebuff; and he does not +know where to seek assistance. He may readily misinterpret the attitude of +others towards him and imagine that men whom he has known are giving him +the cold shoulder, when, in fact, they have not seen him. He has been shut +off from the company of others, and he feels the need of fellowship with +someone. He can always have that from those who, like himself, have been +through the mill; and he may be led by them into further mischief. + +Our interference with the offender results in his removal, for a time, +from the associations and habits to which he has been accustomed; to that +extent the power over him of these associations and habits may be +weakened; but no matter where we put him, we cannot hinder him from +learning new habits, and these may or may not be useful to him on his +liberation. The more powerful the influence of his later interests the +less likely he is to seek to return to his old pursuits. The thing which +no man can do without is fellowship or comradeship of some sort. He will +seek it even although in the process he may be injured thereby; and it is +because drink makes the company of some men more tolerable to each other +that so many take it. It is not so much that they wish to get drunk; they +could do that alone; and at first, at any rate, the drink is not taken +merely to intoxicate, but largely to stimulate sociability. The person who +has been pent up in an institution for a prolonged period has not learned +habits of a sociable character, but quite the contrary; and when he gets +out he knows that he will more easily become a part of good company if he +takes drink, for thereby he will be set free from the feeling of restraint +to which he has been subjected. + +There has been a great deal of talk about police persecution of liberated +prisoners. In some cases the official zeal of a policeman may cause him to +act towards an ex-prisoner with a harshness he does not intend, but in +most cases the persecution only exists in the imagination of its subject. +Few of us see all things as they are. We are influenced by our beliefs +quite apart from their foundation in fact, and this is shown in all our +actions. We see men believing in others in spite of evidence which we +think ought to undeceive them; and people have been known to get married +under a quite mistaken estimate of each other's character. + +So long as the discharged prisoner believes that the world is against him, +that the hand of the representative of the law is raised to oppress him, +his actions will be influenced by that belief; and he may be driven to +despair as a consequence. I do not think that policemen generally have any +ill-feeling towards offenders; but officially there is no encouragement +for any personal feeling on their part, good or bad. Theirs is an +unenviable position. + +We make no real attempt to investigate the cause of wrongdoing and to +prevent crime by a rational method. Should a policeman interfere before an +offence has been committed, the motive of his interference will as often +as not be misinterpreted and he will be denounced as a busybody. In +practice we encourage him to believe that it is his main duty to arrest +offenders and he does his best to discharge this duty. It is too much to +expect that between him and those whom he is set to hunt there can be any +likelihood of mutual regard. As enemies each may have a respect for the +other, but friendship and friendly help are out of the question. +Unfortunately this fact has been left out of account in some recent +proposals for the prevention of crime and the reformation of the offender. + +In connection with all the prisons there are discharged prisoners' aid +societies, which seek to help those whose sentences have expired. The +number of these societies is increasing; but in Glasgow, praiseworthy as +are their efforts, they are quite unable to undertake the work that +requires to be done. In practice the societies mainly consist of their +officials, and these are few and hardworking. They try to get situations +for discharged prisoners and to influence them towards a better way of +living. Sometimes their efforts meet with success, but they have far too +much to do. Their resources are small, and they are hampered by want of +funds, but more by want of helpers. They struggle on valiantly in spite of +discouragement, and do what lies in their power to prevent those with whom +they come in contact from becoming worse than they otherwise would be. + +When a prisoner is liberated it is not always an easy matter for him to +find work. The fact of his having been in prison is not a recommendation +to anyone who would employ him. When work is found for him by the agents +of one of the societies which help discharged prisoners, his position may +be a somewhat difficult one. It is not every place where he can be +employed without objection on the part of his fellow-workers. As men they +recognise the need for charity and tolerance towards their neighbours, but +prison has such an evil sound to them that they are prejudiced against the +person who has been there. When this prejudice is overcome there is +usually a reaction in the ex-prisoner's favour, resulting in conduct +towards him that may be as embarrassing in its way as any springing from +the prejudice against him. At the best he is liable to be placed in an +atmosphere of suspicion that does not help him to do well. The +consciousness that he has been degraded is harmful to his sense of +self-respect, and altogether it is not easy for him to find suitable +companionship. Wisdom would counsel him to avoid the company of those who +have been associated with him in the conduct that led to his fall, but the +counsels of wisdom are not always easy to follow. + +There are very many who are willing to give assistance to a man who seeks +to turn over a new leaf, but they expect to direct him as to what shall be +written on the next page. If censure and avoidance may irritate and hurt a +man who has been convicted of wrongdoing, patronage may raise a spirit of +opposition in him. He does not want to be looked down upon, whether with +contempt or with compassion. Of course, he ought to be chastened by his +affliction; he ought to be repentant and submissive; he ought to do what +he is told; but it is not what ought to be that requires consideration if +we would help him to do better, but what is. In spite of their vicious +acts, it is never an evidence of wisdom to assume that vicious people are +greater fools than others. That they behave foolishly, from the standpoint +of their own and our interest, is quite true, and so apparent that it +needs no emphasis. The question is, Do we, who are so much wiser than +they, show that wisdom in our treatment of them? and the answer, evidenced +by the result of our attitude towards them, furnishes no strong testimony +in our favour. + +When a man has gone wrong it may be generally assumed that there is +something in him that has made him unfit to resist the temptations +incident to his position. If this assumption be correct it follows that we +are not warranted in expecting from him the same power of resistance as +others have shown. We are not justified in assuming that with proper +assistance his character and powers may not improve, but it is hardly +reasonable to expect conduct from him that would be more saintly than our +own; and a great many disappointments are suffered by earnest people who +seek to lift up the fallen, simply because they have expected too much. +When efforts to help a man result in failure it is a safe working rule to +assume that the fault is at least as much in the nature of the means +employed as in the man. They may have been very good means, but they have +not been applicable in the case; which is just to say that the result is +the test of their suitability. This is all so obvious that in practice it +is disregarded, and we persist in the foolish assumption that people on +whom our patent pills fail to act are incorrigible; though the fact is +that the offender is no more incorrigible than the reformer, and is +sometimes not so stupid. + +The position of the man who has been in prison is not so bad as that of +the woman who has been there. There can be no question that women less +frequently break the laws than men. This may or may not be evidence of +superior virtue on the part of women, but the fact itself makes the +position of the woman who has fallen more difficult to retrieve. She is +more conspicuous than the male offender, if only because there are fewer +of her kind, and the attitude of women towards her is less tolerant than +the attitude of men, either towards her or towards those of their own sex +who have offended. Accordingly, when a woman once loses her reputation she +is more liable than a man to accept the position and to sink under her +disgrace; so that the fallen woman is regarded by many as the most +degraded of beings, and her rescue has a fascination for those who seek +to aid the worst. This conception is absurd, as everyone knows who has +studied the subject with open eyes, but the question is one that cannot be +faithfully dealt with here. The economic position of the woman who has +broken away from the standards set by the law need not be, and often is +not, worse than that she held before her revolt. It all depends on what +she was and how she has rebelled. Vice as little as virtue determines the +economic position of those who are subject to it. The transgressor by her +transgression is cut off from her class, and she is in danger of failing +to gain a footing in any other. She may, and in the majority of cases +does, glide out of her folly as she has slipped into it; but when she is +publicly branded her chances of recovery are less than those of a man. The +attitude of men towards her may be insolent, but it is rarely so brutal as +that of women; and it is no uncommon thing to find that the most effective +help towards the restoration of a woman has been given by those among her +male friends whose character would least bear scrutiny by a censor of +morals. + +The attitude of her sex towards the woman who is down is generally one of +hostility. Whether something of the instinct of self-preservation inspires +this need not be here discussed; but it is abundantly clear that the woman +whose fall has been publicly recognised cannot hope to resume anything +like her old place, even if she were willing to seek it. Her recognition +as a respectable woman is too frequently made contingent on her acceptance +of a form of religion that enables her past to be always referred to, and +herself held up as a brand plucked from the burning. In her attitude +towards women she is affected by this knowledge, and their appeal to her +loses in effect because of it. There is nothing more difficult than the +treatment of these women. The prejudice against them is so strong that it +is only here and there a family is willing to take in and look after one +of them. + +Attempts are made to influence and direct such women as have no friends, +by placing them in homes. No doubt the inmates are much better there than +they would be if turned on the streets or living in common lodging-houses; +but they do not commend themselves to those whom it is sought to rescue; +for the majority of them will say quite frankly that it is "not good +enough." They prefer to struggle along as best they may rather than submit +to the life offered them. It always appears ungracious to criticise the +work of those who are earnestly engaged in trying to help others, but it +is fair that the view of those they seek to help should be presented. +Their view may be a wrong one, but until it is altered it will affect +their conduct; and it cannot be too emphatically insisted on that the +opinions of those whom we seek to help should be considered, and when +possible acted upon, if it is hoped to render effective aid. The first +objection a girl makes to entering a rescue home is that she must bind +herself to remain there for a prolonged period. She does not regard the +home as a desirable place of residence, but as a step towards restoration +to a decent position in the community. She objects to give her work for +twelve months, say, getting no other pay than her board, clothing, and +lodging, unless she remains in the institution for that time. She claims +that she might as well be in prison. The girl is not concerned with the +question whether the home pays others or not; she is concerned with the +fact that it does not pay her. + +Loss of reputation hinders a girl from getting a situation, even when she +is willing to drop her way of living and revert to steady work. People +who pay well quite naturally prefer not to make an experiment and seek to +have their money's worth, which implies not only an efficient, but a +steady and reliable worker. The situations open to the penitent, +therefore, are those which are worst paid. When she gains a character she +may obtain more remunerative occupation elsewhere. She recognises that on +account of her bad reputation she has to do more work for less money, but +she does not so readily admit that it is just that it should be so. She +thinks that it is one thing for an ordinary person to take advantage of +her needs and to underpay her, while it is quite another thing for a +Christian institution to keep her working for insufficient wages. In the +home she has as hard work and almost as little liberty as she would have +were she in prison. Her associates are girls like herself, with whom she +can converse on a basis of equality and discourse on life from a similar +standpoint. On the other hand, she is preached to, patronised by visitors, +entertained in a very proper manner, and taught in a thousand indirect +ways that she is different from them. If her associates do not help her to +forget her past, neither do her teachers. They want to be kind, and try to +be considerate; the effort is obvious. In a gentle way they may tell the +girls what they think of them and how much need there is for their +reformation, and they do not seem to see that they would come more closely +in contact with those they seek to help if they would assume the things +they express by word and attitude, and try to draw the girls out. The +defect in the teacher is too often a habit of talking at his pupils. The +girls are there to learn; the visitors to teach. Are they? What do the +girls learn, and what do the visitors teach? That we are all sinners and +our position a perilous one; that some of us have been found out and that +the penalty should be accepted humbly as being for our good, and so on. If +the formula is somewhat stereotyped that is not my fault. The girls who +appear to submit most patiently are naturally regarded as most hopeful. +What they think about it all does not appear to be considered of much +importance. They are wrong or they would not be there; and yet a girl may +make a mess of her life in one direction, and be none the less qualified +to give a shrewd and useful opinion on the causes of her failure. If those +who seek to teach them had less faith in their own doctrine and more +desire to learn, they would become less ignorant and would teach to better +purpose. Here and there some know this, and acting on the knowledge, are +more successful than others who are equally pious, equally +well-intentioned, but less well-informed. + +One quite recognises that it cannot be charged against the majority of +these institutions that they make money by the girls. They are often +carried on at a financial loss, for the cost is considerable; but +reformatory work cannot be conducted on a commercial basis. It is in the +nature of things that it should not pay its way in the narrow sense. The +cost of adequate supervision prevents this. But to charge the cost of +attempts at their reformation to the girls is to inflict at least an +apparent injustice on them that is apt to rankle in their minds, and to +drive away a number who would otherwise be helped--helped at a pecuniary +loss to the home, but at a great benefit to the community. After all, they +are earning their own living by their work. What they fail to do is to +earn a living for those who govern them. In exchange for their work they +are not permitted to spend their earnings as they please, but as it +pleases those who have undertaken to look after them. There may be +something to be said for the opinion that if one set of persons seek to +direct the lives of another they should be prepared to pay for the +privilege; but this subject of charity is one that needs examination. Some +people have very quaint ideas regarding it. I remember a decent woman who +rather prided herself on her goodness. Her husband had a small business, +and she occasionally requisitioned the services of his younger apprentices +for assistance at cleaning time. On such an afternoon a newsboy coming to +the door, she got a _Citizen_ from him, gave him a penny, and received +back the halfpenny of change. When he had gone she remarked to one of the +apprentices--a boy with a genius for saying the right thing in the wrong +place--"Puir boy, I just take the paper from him for charity." To which he +replied, "Aye, but ye took the halfpenny back!" There was something to be +said for both views, but the boy had the last word, and he soon found that +his criticism had borne fruit; he was dismissed. + +In the home there is more of a religious atmosphere and less mechanical +routine than in prison; but the religious atmosphere is as much objected +to by many of the girls as the mechanical routine. Both may be good for +them from the standpoint of the theorist, but neither seems to result in +the effect desired. In the prison there are fewer lectures and fewer +visits to the inmates than in the home, and the life is more monotonous, +but in the prison there is less opportunity for contamination. In both +places the old and degraded, the young and the ignorant, may be confined, +but in the prison they are separated. + +It is quite a mistake to imagine that the vice and degradation--that the +state of morals--of a person can be estimated by her age and the number +of her convictions. The old hand need not be so morally corrupt as the +younger, though her experiences may have been more numerous and varied. A +common statement of those who have been inmates of homes is that what they +did not know when they went in they learned before they came out, and +certainly they have opportunities of communicating their experiences and +relating their adventures while they are in a home that they do not have +while they are in prison. This is a thing that cannot be prevented so long +as people live together. That many have been restored after passing +through the homes is undoubtedly the case, but it does not follow that +their restoration was due to their experience there. That many have not +been improved, but have been the worse for their residence there, is not +at all to be wondered at. Where a religious atmosphere has affected them +favourably the disadvantages inherent to the establishment have been +overcome. Where it has failed to effect a change in them for good the +other associations tend to confirm them in evil. + +What effect, then, has imprisonment on those who undergo it? It usually +improves their health physically, but impairs their mental capacity. The +simple life favours the former; separation and destruction of the sense of +initiative favour the latter. Many do not return after a first experience, +and it is assumed that they have been deterred from wrongdoing by it; but +there is absolutely no ground for this assumption. It may be justified in +some cases, but in others there is no reason to suppose that the offender +would have repeated his offence, even though he had never been sent to +prison for it. Imperfectly as probation of offenders is worked, it has +shown this. Indeed, the very imperfection of the method has shown it the +more strongly, for so far from the offender having been taken away from +the conditions which incited him to commit his transgression, he has been +sent back to them, and in many cases has not again offended. + +It is not right to make assumptions when there is opportunity of examining +the facts; and no enquiry has been made as to the effect of imprisonment +in deterring those who have been in prison and have not returned for +repeating their offence. A great many do return, and that is positive +evidence that their imprisonment has not had a deterrent effect on them. +Why do they return? In some cases they have found that prison is not such +a horrible place after all, and that though the confinement is irksome the +time passes; and at the expiry of their sentence they may do what they +like. Many of them have to work hard and long to earn a living when +outside, and they learn that they can pick up a living at less cost and +have a better time, if they take the risk of being shut up now and again. +They have been cut off from their habits, which may not have been a bad +thing, and have acquired other habits which do not help them when they are +liberated. They have been officially marked with disgrace, and to that +extent rendered less able to secure employment and good company. They have +been taught to be respectful and obedient, but they have lost, in a +corresponding degree to their improvement in manners, their power to act +for themselves. In some respects they are better, in others worse, than +they were when they were taken in hand; and on the balance there is a +distinct loss. Recent attempts at reformation have not taken into account +the root causes of failure, and they fail to recognise that the longer a +person is cut off from the main current of life in the community the less +he is fitted to return to it. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE INEBRIATE HOME + + The need to find out why people do wrong before attempting to cure + them--Enquiries as to inebriety--The inebriates--Official + utterances--Cost and results--The grievance of the unreformed--The + time limit of cure--The causes of failure--The fostering of old + associations--The prospect of the future spree--The institution habit. + + +It cannot be seriously contended that our methods of dealing with +offenders make for their reform. It may be that some of those who do not +return to prison have been checked in their career by the treatment they +have received, but as a matter of fact, there are a great many people sent +to prison who ought never to have been there at all. In my opinion it is +beyond dispute that our methods result in the making of criminals; that in +the majority of cases imprisonment not only does no good, but does +positive and serious harm. It should not be forgotten, however, that there +is no ground for supposing that the prison system is intended to reform +those who come within its operation. It keeps them off the street for a +time and prevents them from annoying those who are at liberty; but this +cannot be done without financial cost to the community, and it is only +done at a very serious loss in other respects. The same amount of money +spent in helping them to do well as it costs to imprison them for doing +ill, would prevent many of them from offending; but before this could be +done more would require to be known regarding the individuals than the +mere fact that they have offended against one or other of our laws. + +It is necessary not only to find out where and how the criminal has gone +wrong, but also where and why we have gone wrong in our method of treating +him. Profitable as it would be, no serious attempt has been made to do +this. The most that is done is to admit the inefficacy of prison treatment +and to devise some theoretical improvement on it. It seems easier for some +people to reason _in vacuo_--in their own heads--than to examine the facts +and face the consequences. Of late years the public has permitted one +institution after another to be foisted on it at the bidding of people who +have not shown even the most elementary knowledge of the subject with +which they were dealing, and of faddists who want to regulate other men's +lives by their own. Their opinion of the offender may be interesting and +it may have a value different from what they place upon it; but it is not +nearly as interesting, as helpful, or as valuable as the offender's own +opinion of the cause of his fall and of his needs. + +The imprisonment and reimprisonment of the habitual offender had become a +scandal. It was recognised that inebriety made men and women a danger and +a nuisance to the family and their neighbours, but no greater a nuisance +than the system by which we dealt with them. Everybody agreed that +imprisonment made them no better. It made them abstainers only for the +time they were in custody, but it did nothing to destroy the desire for +drink. So an Act of Parliament was passed to enable them to be placed in +an institution of another sort. If the prison failed to reform them, the +Inebriate Homes have proved a more costly, a more ghastly failure. Instead +of finding out the cause of the failure, a departmental committee, after +examining anybody but those who had been in the homes, has recommended +that further parliamentary powers should be granted to the committees +managing them and courts sending inmates to them. The rational method of +procedure would have been for intelligent and impartial persons to examine +those cases which had been improved, and to estimate how far the +improvement was due to the treatment received. This would not have been a +difficult task, for the cases were few; and having accomplished it, it +would have been equally profitable to examine the many cases of failure +and to seek the causes of that failure. It is much easier, however, to +collect the opinions of officials, of philanthropists, of those who are +interested in prescribing for the conduct of others--in short, of people +who are called authorities on a given subject, because nobody has been +bold enough to challenge them--than to obtain the confidence and open the +mouths of those whose wrongdoing it is sought to correct. It is a +grotesque statement that the Inebriate Home failed because the wrong +people were sent to it; also it is not true. It would be nearer the mark +to say that the home failed because it was not suited for the treatment of +inebriates. For after all, the very people for whom it was designed to +afford treatment were among those sent there. + +The patients chosen for treatment in the Inebriate Home were carefully +selected by a physician experienced in the treatment of mental diseases. +Some of them were mentally affected as a consequence of their drunkenness, +and there is room for supposing that some took to drink partly on account +of a mental defect; but inebriety is not a physical disease, it is not a +mental disease, although it may have some relationship to physical and +mental diseases. It was because of its being a social disorder that the +State undertook to consider these persons. This being so, each case could +only be rationally considered in relation to the social condition of the +inebriate. Information about the state of their various internal organs +might be useful, but it could never replace in importance or interest +information as to their social condition. + +The treatment failed because it was not adapted to the persons to be +treated, but was adapted to the state of mind of those who, on the +strength either of an academic qualification, or a belief in their fitness +to judge people who are of a lower social condition, had prescribed a +method without any real knowledge of the persons to whom they sought to +apply it. The public pays too much attention to the utterances of those in +authority, and it is difficult to avoid the habit of mistaking for +knowledge what is only a different kind of ignorance from our own. A thing +is not true because somebody says it; it may be true in spite of that; but +it would repay the trouble were official utterances more closely +scrutinised than they are. Zeal, honesty, integrity, may be present in the +official, and he may be a very talented man as well, and yet he may lead +matters into a sad mess. The less he is questioned, the more he is +suffered to go on unchecked, the worse for him and for those whose servant +he is. The good servant may become a very bad master. Then all official +persons are not equally able. If a man has not wit, it is not likely to be +developed in him by giving him a title or a uniform. If he has not much +wisdom, he is not likely to become less foolish even though you place him +in the seat of Solomon. The fact that a man holds a position is not proof +of his fitness to fill it; and respect for an office makes it all the more +incumbent on honest men to scrutinise and criticise the actions of the +person who occupies it. Loyalty to the public service is too often +confused with servility to those in the upper ranks, resulting in +something very like a conspiracy to magnify their importance (which would +be a small matter), and to induce the public to attach an undue weight to +what they say, though their statements may appear foolish enough. All this +is quite heterodox doctrine, and in practice will not tend to make a man's +path smooth; but the orthodox method of assuming that the higher in +authority a person is, the abler and wiser he must be, has not resulted so +satisfactorily that it should escape challenge. + +The official reports of Girgenti Inebriate Home were a great deal more +satisfactory than the results, and the home might have been in existence +yet if the representatives of the public had not informed themselves of +the real state of affairs. A few cures are put to its credit at a +calamitous expense. The cost of keeping a woman there amounted to between +twenty-five and thirty shillings per week, and the odds were proved to be +against her being reformed after three years' treatment. In other words, +the public were guaranteed that all persons sent to the home could be kept +sober at a cost of from sixty-five to eighty pounds each per year, but +they had no reason to believe that when this payment ceased on their part +the patient would take her place in the community and remain a sober +citizen. If she was not made better, did she become worse as a result of +her treatment there? In some respects she did. You cannot meddle with the +lives of others without result, for it is impossible to leave them as you +find them. + +I remember being visited one morning by a woman who had left the home +after a three years' stay there. She had been drinking before she called +on me, and she had some complaints to make regarding her treatment there. +The complaints were trifling in character, and were more in the nature of +gossip than anything else. I told her that she had cost the community some +£200 to keep her during the last three years, and they seemed to have made +a bad bargain. I advised her to think a little less of her grievances and +a little more of the comfort of her neighbours, and dismissed her with the +usual censure and advice; but she had a case against the State, although +she was not able to express it clearly. I would put it for her thus: "When +you interfered with my life I had fallen into the habit of drinking, but +in the main I earned my own living and meddled very little with others to +their annoyance. I had my friends, whom your judgment might not approve, +but between them and myself there were common ties. We sympathised with +each other and helped each other. You undertook to reform my life, to +break me of my bad habits, to make me more fit to earn my living without +offending against your laws. You have ruled and governed me for three +years. You put me in a home where my life was regulated for me; you gave +me as companions people with whom I had never associated before; you +compelled me to live in their company; you taught me nothing that I find +of any use to me outside; you kept me from drinking. It may have been a +poor pleasure, but it was the only one I had. You did not take the taste +for it away, and you have given me nothing to replace it; and now I am +three years older, and you turn me loose on the streets of the city to +which I belong, and in which I am now through your action very much a +stranger, and invite me to work for my living in competition with others. +I could work and did work before you meddled with me; I could work yet, +but I must have something to fill my life as well as work, and I have +taken to drink again, because it is the only thing I know that meets the +need I feel. I am worse off than I was before you started to reform me. +Then I had friends, now I am alone; for they have gone their own way: some +to death, all of them from me. There is nobody from whom I can have the +sympathy and the help I once had. My friends had their faults and they +knew mine; that was why we were friends. All you can offer me is +patronage, advice, direction from people whom I don't know and who don't +know me. The one thing that I want, which is fellowship, I have not got. +You have taught me to depend on others. You have made me obey your rules, +and now you set me free to make rules for myself, and leave me to drift +back into the place where I was; to face the same difficulties, the same +temptations, without the companionship of those who had grown into my +life. You have taken three years from my life and you have given me +nothing for it. Give me back my life or justify your interference with it +by fitting me to become a better citizen than I was." + +This is something like what the woman appeared to feel and tried to say, +and there is really no answer to it. It is not a wise proceeding to treat +the lives of men and women as toys with which we can play, and throw them +aside without practical regard for consequences when we are tired of the +game. If we do not direct them, they will direct themselves, and the less +fitted they are to do so the worse for us. I remember one woman who was +an inmate of a home, but who had been employed on a farm outside under +licence. Her behaviour was excellent; she was a good worker, although she +had had over a hundred convictions for drunkenness before her admission to +the home. She always had been a good worker in the intervals between the +drinks. She conformed to the terms of the licence, whatever these were, +and seemed to be a reformed character. I suggested to her that it was +perfectly clear that, though she could not resist the temptations incident +to life in the slums of a great city, she might continue for an indefinite +period to live a useful life in the country. She replied, "As soon as my +three years are up I am going back to the town," and she kept her promise, +with the result that she went back to her drinking. In her case it was +proved that she could behave for a long period when the only alternative +presented to a regulated life outside an institution was a more rigidly +regulated life inside an institution. She preferred the outside farm to +the home, but she preferred the streets of the city to either, and her +case raises the question whether it is advisable to withdraw all control +from those like her. She did not require to be continually overlooked by +officials in order that she should conform to the law. Her life was left +under the inspection of the inhabitants of the district in which she +worked, and it is quite conceivable that she might have been working there +yet, if she had not known that the reward of restraining herself would be +not so much a change in character, as freedom from any supervision when a +fixed term had expired. + +The cause of the failure of the Inebriate Home did not lie in the +character of the inmates or of the officials who were placed over them, +but in the defect inherent in all institutions; the fact that the manner +of living in them differs essentially from anything that obtains outside. +They are all founded more or less on the military model, and the military +model and the industrial model are different. Far more than most of us +suspect we are the creatures of habit:--often of habit acquired slowly, +gradually, and unconsciously. To remove ourselves from one place to +another implies the breaking off from some habits, but it also implies the +formation of others. It did not need the experience of the Inebriate Home +to let us know that men might be removed from the opportunity of drinking +for long periods and, on return to their former conditions, resume the +habit. Years of imprisonment, where teetotalism is rigidly enforced and +where the diet is of a non-stimulating character, did not make the men who +were submitted to it abstain from drinking on their release. The +objectionable habit can only be cured through being replaced by something +which is of equal interest, has greater power, and enables the man to live +his life without being a nuisance to his neighbours. + +When men or women are placed in association with one another, they have to +find some common bond of interest. In every voluntary association this is +recognised. Religion causes some to cut themselves off from the world and +to devote their lives to its pursuit. Men differing in social positions, +in age, in experience, in character, in temperament, join together to form +a community. The one thing they have in common is their form of belief. +They may differ as widely as possible in their views on other subjects, +but these differences are not the thing that holds them together. They +would rather tend of themselves to break up the association, since +disagreement drives people apart. The differences are only tolerable +because of the bond of agreement which is strong enough to compensate +them. On this subject and around it they may talk. The experience of each +will interest the other, will enlighten him, will at any rate be +considered by him. The same is true of political associations. Differences +there are amongst the members, but these differences cannot go beyond the +point at which some common agreement balances them, without breaking up +the association. + +Inebriate Homes and other reformatory institutions are not voluntary +associations, but there can be no intercourse amongst their inmates that +is not based on some experience common to them all. In the Inebriate Homes +the common factor is inebriety. However much the inmates may differ in +other respects, in this they are all alike: that they have indulged in +drink to such an extent that the law has interfered to deal with them, and +so the question that every newcomer has to face is, "Why are you here?" +They are compelled to associate with one another, and they will get on the +better together for each knowing something of the others' story. Scenes +are recalled that had better be forgotten. Time spent in regretting the +past while detailing its incident may result, and often does, in a +repetition of the evils which are deplored. + +Better that the mind should dwell on something else than on the errors of +time past. It is a common thing to see a man begin to tell a wild episode +or experience of his earlier years, and to observe that beneath his +expressions of criticism and regret there is a certain tone of +satisfaction that he has been through it, and a lingering reminiscence of +the enjoyment he has had in it. He condemns the folly, admits it was a +mistake, and shows quite clearly that it was quite a pleasure at the +time. Talking over the past brings it back and keeps the memory of it +alive, and persistence in this course may cause that which has been +regarded with disgust to become a thing that is desired, even a thing that +is longed for. I remember a conversation with an inmate on the occasion of +a visit I made to an Inebriate Home. I had known her as a habitual +offender for years before her reformation was undertaken, and at this time +she had been in the institution for more than a year. I congratulated her +on the improvement in her appearance, and at the end of our talk she said, +"It's a' quite true, I am better housed than I ever was. Ma meat is a' +that a body could want, and I get it mair easily than I did ootside. The +work's no o'er-hard, and the officials are kind. There are bits o' rows, +of course, noo and then; whaur there are so many weemen you couldna expect +onything else; but there's naething to complain of. The country's real +bonny in the summer, but I get tired of the country. I am a toon bird like +yoursel', doctor, and I weary for the streets." I suggested to her that +since she was so well off and could be suited on the expiry of her term +with a place where she would not have the same inducements to drink as she +had had, she should make up her mind to keep away from the town; but she +answered, "No; it's a' very nice and comfortable, but I wouldna gie a walk +doon the Candleriggs for the haill o' it." Of course she ultimately had a +walk down the Candleriggs, followed by a drive to prison; but it was quite +apparent that this longing for her old haunts was the result of her +failure to be impressed by interests that were equally absorbing, and that +would become more powerful. Had such an interest developed in her, the +Candleriggs would have been merely an empty sentiment. It would have +occupied the position that "Bonnie Scotland" has in the minds of so many +of the Scots who, having taken up their residence abroad, and having +become absorbed in their affairs, stay there--afraid to return lest they +lose even the sentiment. Just as in the religious community the members +are stimulated to welldoing, in the reformatory the association of people +whose common bond is their offence stimulates them to wrongdoing, or at +least tends to hinder them from breaking off their old interests. + +Institutional life has points of difference from life outside, which cause +the formation of habits that are detrimental to the inmates when they +return to the community. They are lodged usually on the model of the +barracks; though this does not apply to the lodging of prisoners in +prison, as they have separate rooms. Outside an institution most people do +not sleep in dormitories or live in common rooms. They may live and sleep +in the same room, but the only lodging outside which is on the same model +as the dormitory is the common lodging-house, and that is the last place +to which anyone would desire that a reformed offender should go. + +In an institution division of labour is carried out for reasons of +economy. The superintendent directs that different sets of people should +perform different duties. Even if all the persons are changed at intervals +from one set of duties to another, with a view to each inmate learning to +do all parts of the work which is necessary in order that the place may be +kept in proper condition, the habit formed is different from that of the +housewife outside, who daily has to go over the whole round of her work. +She is not responsible for doing a part, knowing that some other is +responsible for some other part. Not only each part of the work engages +her attention in its turn, but she is accountable for the whole; whether +she does it well or ill is beside the point, which is, that there is +nobody to rule her and no one whom she can hold accountable for her +neglect. The habits of housekeeping acquired by the inmates of a home may +tend to make them good servants, but they are certainly not the kind +likely to make them more fit than they were to undertake the management of +a house of their own; for they do not manage, they are managed. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE PREVENTION OF CRIMES ACT (1908) + + The Borstal experiment--Provisions for the "reformation of young + offenders"--Is any diminution in the numbers of police expected?-- + Preventive detention--The implied confession that penal servitude + does not reform, and the insistence on it as a preliminary to + reform--The prisoner detained at the discretion of the prison + officials--The powers of the Secretary of State--The change under the + statute--The necessary ignorance of the Secretary of State by reason + of his other duties--The "committees"--The habits to be taught--The + teaching of trades--The ignorance of trades on the part of those who + design to teach them--The difficulty of teaching professions in + institutions less than that of teaching trades--The vice of obedience + taught--Intelligent co-operation and senseless subordination--The + military man in the industrial community. + + +Some few years ago the English Prison Commissioners began a modified +system of treating certain offenders. Borstal Prison was set apart for the +purpose, a staff was specially chosen, and young offenders were selected +for experiment. It was a notable departure, and the authorities seem to +have been satisfied with the results. Either they had power to undertake +the experiment or they had not. In the former case there was no need for +an Act of Parliament to give authority; in the latter case they must have +been breaking the law. If they were within their powers there was nothing +to hinder them from extending their beneficent work. That work would +necessarily depend for its success on the experience and special ability +of those who performed it. If the men in office in other prisons do not +possess similar qualifications for the work no statute will confer them; +but it may cause them to have duties placed upon them which they are not +fitted to discharge. So long as the treatment had to be justified by its +results, it would be fairly safe to assume that only those who could prove +their fitness would direct it; now it needs as little of such +justification for its continuance as do the Inebriate Homes. + +The Prevention of Crimes Act (1908) deals with the "Reformation of Young +Offenders," and the "Detention of Habitual Criminals." The young offenders +must be not less than sixteen and not more than twenty-one years of age; +but the Secretary of State with the concurrence of Parliament may make an +order including persons apparently under twenty-one, if they are not +really over twenty-three years of age. The young offender must be +convicted on indictment of an offence for which he is liable to penal +servitude or imprisonment; and it must be apparent to the Court that he is +of criminal habits or tendencies, or an associate of bad characters. The +Court must consider any report by the Prison Commissioners as to the +suitability of the offender for treatment in a Borstal Institution; and +may send him there for not less than one and not more than three years. In +Scotland the Secretary of State may apply the Act by Order, and may call +the institution by any name he chooses. + +If a boy in a reformatory commit an offence for which a Court might send +him to prison, he may instead be sent to a Borstal Institution, his +sentence then superseding that in the reformatory school. + +The Secretary of State may transfer persons within the age limit from +penal servitude to a Borstal Institution. + +The Secretary of State may establish Borstal Institutions, and may +authorise the Prison Commissioners to acquire land, with the consent of +the Treasury, and to erect or convert buildings for the purpose, the +expense to be borne by the Exchequer. He may make regulations for the +management of the institution, its visitation, the control of persons sent +to it, and for their temporary detention before their removal to it. + +Subject to the regulations, the Prison Commissioners, if satisfied that +the offender is reformed, may liberate him on licence at any time after he +has served six months--in the case of a woman, after three months; and the +licence will remain in force till the expiry of the sentence, unless it is +revoked or forfeited earlier, in which case the offender may be arrested +without warrant and taken back to the institution. Subject to regulations, +the Prison Commissioners may revoke the licence at any time. If a licensed +person escapes from supervision, or commits any breach of the conditions +laid down in the licence, he thereby forfeits it; and the time between his +forfeiture and failure to return is not computed in reckoning the time of +his detention. The time during which he is on licence, and conforming to +the conditions therein, counts as time served in the institution. + +Every person sentenced to detention in a Borstal Institution remains under +the supervision of the Prison Commissioners for six months after his +sentence has expired; but the Secretary of State may cancel this provision +where he sees fit. The Prison Commissioners may grant a licence to any +person under their supervision, and may recall it and place him in the +institution if they think this necessary for his protection; but they may +not detain him for more than three months, and they cannot detain him at +all when six months have passed since his sentence expired. + +Young offenders detained in Borstal Institutions, if reported as +incorrigible or as exercising a bad influence on the other inmates, may be +removed to a prison to serve the remainder of their term, with or without +hard labour, as the Secretary of State may decide. + +The person under licence must be placed under the supervision of some +person or society willing to take charge of him, and named in the licence. +Where a society has undertaken the assistance or supervision of persons +discharged from the institution, the expenses incurred may be paid from +public funds; but, curiously enough, the statute makes no reference to +payment of persons willing to act as guardians. + +A person may be moved from one Borstal Institution to another, and from +one part of the United Kingdom to another. He is to be "under such +instruction and discipline as appears most conducive to his reformation +and the repression of crime"--which is sufficiently vague. The only thing +of any importance in this part of the Act is the provision for letting the +offender out on licence. If it is used to board him out, some progress may +be made; but if it is merely used to provide funds for some society of +philanthropists to play with, there is little ground for the hope that it +will do much for the offender. + +The second part of the Act is more peculiar than the first. It is designed +to deal with the case of the habitual offender, and as originally drafted +it provided for retaining him in custody, if the officials thought proper, +for the rest of his life. This would have been nearly as certain a +preventive as hanging him, and would have been much more costly. + +A consequence that might be expected to spring from the prevention of +crime would be a diminution in the numbers of the police. It is their duty +to arrest criminals, and if the criminals are shut up their occupation is +gone. It is a striking fact that during all the discussions which took +place on the measure, nobody suggested that as a result of its operation +there would be any smaller number of policemen required. There was no +likelihood of it; for crime will not be prevented to any great extent by +the institution of "reformatories"--experience has shown that very +clearly--but it will be diminished to some extent while the professionals +are incarcerated. This has been tried and found insufficient and +unsatisfactory. The new Act makes provision for the care of people who +have been liberated from Borstal Institutions, and for the reformatory +treatment of those who have become habituals after graduation in crime and +in prison experience--neither of which qualifications makes it easier to +deal with them. + +The "habitual criminal" of the statute is one who, between his attaining +the age of sixteen years and his conviction of the crime charged against +him, has had three previous convictions and is leading persistently a +dishonest or criminal life. Such a person, after being sentenced to penal +servitude, may be ordered to be detained on the expiration of that +sentence for a period of not less than five and not more than ten years, +at the discretion of the Court. The charge of being a habitual offender +can only be tried after he pleads or has been found guilty of the crime +for which he has been indicted, and seven days' notice must be given the +offender of the intention to make such a charge. The Court has a right to +admit evidence of character and repute on the question as to whether the +accused is or is not leading persistently a dishonest or criminal life. +The person sentenced to preventive detention may appeal against the +sentence to a Court consisting of not less than three Judges of the High +Court of Justiciary, in Scotland. The Secretary of State may, in the case +of persons appearing to be habitual criminals and undergoing sentence of +five years' penal servitude or upwards, transfer them, after three years +of the term of penal servitude have expired, to preventive detention for +the remainder of their sentence. + +Prisoners undergoing preventive detention shall be confined in any prison +which the Secretary of State may set apart for the purpose, and shall be +subject to the law in force with respect to penal servitude; provided that +the rules applicable to convicts shall apply to them, subject to such +modifications in the direction of a less rigorous treatment as the +Secretary of State may prescribe. This means that the person convicted has +to be dealt with by the same officers who have been dealing with him when +he was called a convict prisoner. There is no reason to assume that their +ability to make him better than he was will be increased because an Act of +Parliament has been passed. A change of labels, however dexterous, does +not alter the character nor will it change the atmosphere of the prison. + +"Prisoners undergoing preventive detention shall be subjected to such +disciplinary and reformative influences, and shall be employed on such +work as may be best fit to make them able and willing to earn an honest +livelihood on discharge." + +This subsection is wide enough to include all reform. It implies that +prisoners are not subjected to such disciplinary and reformative +influence, and are not employed on such work as may be best fitted to +make them able and willing to make an honest livelihood on discharge; but +if this implication is justified, why should they not be placed under +helpful conditions from the first day of their imprisonment? To one who is +not a legislator it appears foolish to insist that offenders should be +placed under conditions which do not fit them to live honestly outside +prison, and that this process should be repeated until they have become +habitual criminals, before it is ordered that steps shall be taken for +their reform. What are the influences ordered by Parliament, and what is +the work they have to be taught which will make them able and willing to +earn an honest livelihood? Surely no Member of Parliament is credulous +enough to believe that the influences and the work that will tend to make +one man better will be suitable to all men. Even Members of Parliament do +not all conform to the same rules, and there are as many differences among +criminals as among legislators. + +"The Secretary of State shall appoint for every such prison or part of a +prison so set apart a board of visitors, of whom not less than two shall +be justices of the peace, with such powers and duties as he may prescribe +by such prison rules as aforesaid." + +"The Secretary of State shall, once at least in every three years during +which a person is detained in custody under a sentence of preventive +detention, take into consideration the condition, history, and +circumstances of that person, with a view to determining whether he should +be placed out on licence, and if so on what conditions." + +"The Secretary of State may at any time discharge on licence a person +undergoing preventive detention if satisfied that there is a reasonable +probability that he will abstain from crime and lead a useful and +industrious life, or that he is no longer capable of engaging in crime, or +that for any other reason it is desirable to release him from confinement +in prison. + +A person so discharged on licence may be discharged on probation, and on +condition that he be placed under the supervision or authority of any +society or person named in the licence who may be willing to take charge +of the case, or of such other conditions as may be specified in the +licence. + +The Directors of Convict Prisons shall report periodically to the +Secretary of State on the conduct and industry of persons undergoing +preventive detention, and their prospects and probable behaviour on +release, and for this purpose shall be assisted by a committee at each +prison in which such persons are detained, consisting of such members of +the board of visitors and such other persons of either sex as the +Secretary of State may from time to time appoint. + +Every such committee shall hold meetings at such intervals of not more +than six months as may be prescribed, for the purpose of personally +interviewing persons undergoing preventive detention in the prison, and +preparing reports embodying such information respecting them as may be +necessary for the assistance of the Directors, and may at any other time +hold such other meetings and make such special reports respecting +particular cases, as they may think necessary." + +A licence may be in such form, and may contain such conditions as may be +prescribed by the Secretary of State. + +The Secretary of State is the figure who has all power over the person +sentenced to preventive detention; but the Act does not give him any power +that he did not before possess. The Secretary of State has always held +and used a dispensing power regarding the sentences passed on prisoners. +He has not only remitted sentences, but he has imposed conditions while +granting a remission. The Act does not even limit his power, for as the +representative of the King he may liberate anybody if he sees fit. What +the Act does is to set up machinery whereby the Secretary of State may be +moved. Hitherto some personal interest must have been taken by him in a +case before the exercise of the Royal prerogative would be recommended by +him, for he would require to be prepared to justify his action if +questioned in Parliament. The Act alters all that in so far as it applies +and makes matter of routine what was exceptional. + +The Secretary for Scotland is the head of all the departments of +administration, and being the head of all, is not likely to know, +intimately, much about any of them. He has his parliamentary duties to +attend to, and the more they press on him the more administrative work +must he leave to the permanent heads of the departments. One Secretary of +State may obtain, and may deserve, a better reputation for administrative +capacity than another; but it is absolutely impossible to expect any one +man to know intimately the details of the work of all the departments. He +is responsible for education, for instance, but what can he know +personally of the educational needs of a boy in the east end of Glasgow? +Yet he prescribes for the education of all boys, as though it were easier +to know about thousands than about one. As head of the Local Government +Board, he has to state what amount of relief should be given to poor +people in different parts of Scotland, what amount in grant should be +given to distress committees, and what kind of work the unemployed should +do. He never is a man who has had any experimental acquaintance with +poverty, or who knows by experience what distress is entailed in a +working-class family by dull trade; and manual labour has not been his +occupation. Yet it is not the representatives of these people who instruct +him. It is the Board of which he is the head, and whose members, however +able they may be, are less in contact with those for whom they prescribe +than he is. He is head of the prisons department, and he may now and then +visit a prison; but even a Secretary of State, one might go further and +say, especially a Secretary of State, cannot gain much intimate knowledge +of prisons and prisoners from a casual visit. He has too many things to +do, and the man who has too many things to do seldom does anything. He +leaves that to his assistants. If Solomon undertook and tried to do as +many things as a Secretary of State is supposed to do, he would lose his +reputation for wisdom in a week; but he wouldn't be Solomon if he tried; +and so the Secretary of State, on the advice he receives, has to determine +the fate of the prisoner who is under sentence of preventive detention. +Once in three years every such person has to come under his notice. This +can only be done through reports. + +These reports have to be made by the committee set up under the Act, which +committee is appointed by the Secretary for Scotland. It would be too much +to expect that he should know the local circumstances in every case, and +the men appointed may only be those recommended to him by his officials. +That these will be men of good repute there need be no doubt, but there is +no reason to suppose that they will be the men best fitted to represent +the public, or most likely to have an intimate acquaintance with the +conditions under which the prisoners have lived. If the officials had +themselves shown any aptitude for dealing with prisoners in a reformatory +way, there might be some reason for assuming that their nominees would be +persons whose experience of life and the character of whose abilities +would be of such a nature as to fit them for the work they are supposed to +undertake. Men of ideas, especially if the ideas are not officially +approved, are not at all likely to find themselves nominated for such +work. They would cause trouble, and it is better that things should not be +done than that Israel should be disturbed. + +The committee have to meet at intervals for the purpose of personally +interviewing those who are under their care; and the value of their +reports will depend on the intimacy of the knowledge they gain regarding +the persons interviewed and on its accuracy. Apparently they need not meet +more frequently than once in six months. Such a provision is too nakedly +absurd to deserve discussion. Apparently they have to report to the Prison +Commissioners, who report to the Secretary of State. The position is +therefore something like this--that prisoners after they have served +prolonged periods in prison may be transferred to another part of the +establishment in order to be reformed. In their new quarters the treatment +they receive is to be less rigorous than it has been. The influences under +which they have to be brought are described but not defined. The officers +may be the same as those who were called warders in the other part of the +prison, but they may have a new name--perhaps a new uniform. If the person +satisfies the Secretary of State, whom he will never see and who knows +nothing about him personally, that he is a reformed character, he may be +liberated on licence; and he may seek election to the ranks of the +licensed once in three years. His conduct and record will then be +considered. What will determine the character of the record obviously is +the impression he makes on those who come into contact with him. That is +to say, he will mainly depend on the report of the warder, for after all, +does he not know most about the man? He certainly sees more of him than +does any other body. A form will be devised which he will regularly fill +in. Government institutions are notable for forms. It will provide for a +record of the prisoner's conduct, behaviour, intelligence, and all sorts +of things, and will no doubt be as ingenious a production as any of the +numerous specimens which result from our practice of government by clerk. +The warder will report to the head warder, who will report to the +Governor. The Medical Officer will report as to the health of the person, +and all the reports will go on to the Prison Commissioners, and from them +to some clerk in the Scottish Office, who has satisfactorily passed a +Civil Service examination on the Boundaries of the Russian Empire, the +death of Rizzio, or some such important educational subject, and who has +never had any opportunity to know anything about prisoners save what can +be learned from books, reports, and an occasional visit to prison. The +reports will be carefully checked, weighed, and summarised, and the +Secretary of State will sign the order made for him. + +It is perfectly obvious that the higher up in the official scale one goes, +the less intimate knowledge of the lives of prisoners, of the social +conditions under which they lived outside, and of their needs, can you +reasonably expect to find as things are at present arranged. The man who +has the best chance to get a licence under the Act is the man who can +dodge best. All our experience points to the fact; and it is not uncommon +for the most objectionable character, by subservience and sycophancy, to +impress favourably those who have the dispensing of privileges, and this +is not confined to prisons or prisoners. + +When a prisoner is liberated on licence from a place of preventive +detention and placed under the supervision or authority of a society or +person, the society or person has to report in accordance with regulations +to be made to the Secretary of State, on the conduct and circumstances of +the licensee. The licence may be revoked at any time by the Secretary of +State, when the person licensed must return to prison. If the person under +licence escapes from the supervision of those under whom he has been +placed, or if he breaks any conditions of the licence, he forfeits it +altogether, and may be brought before a court of summary jurisdiction and +charged with breach of licence, and on proof be sent back to the place of +preventive detention. The time during which a person is out on licence is +treated as a part of the term of detention to which he has been sentenced; +unless he has failed to return after his licence has been revoked, in +which case the time during which he may have been said to have escaped +does not count as reducing the term of his sentence. The conditions of +licence may be withdrawn at any time by the Secretary of State, and the +person licensed be set absolutely free; but in any case, after he has been +out on licence for five years the power to detain him lapses, provided he +has observed the conditions of his licence during that time. + +In both the Borstal and the Preventive Detention Institution it is +intended to teach the inmates habits and pursuits that will be useful to +them in the world outside. What these are will altogether depend on what +is to happen to them on liberation. No institution has yet been devised +that even remotely resembles anything like the life that its inmates have +to anticipate. + +A great deal has been written about the advisability of teaching trades to +persons in institutions, but the writers are never themselves artisans, +and if they had any practical knowledge of the subject they would not +write; there would be nothing to write about. More goes to the learning of +a trade than the handling of the tools. Men have not merely to learn how +to do a thing, but how to do it in association with other workers. They +learn the trade not from the lectures of a teacher or the instructions of +a foreman, but from watching the work of others, and imitating or avoiding +their methods, as seems most suitable. Take the two best tradesmen in +almost any workshop, and you will find that they set about their work each +in a different way--each in the way he has found best suited to himself. +The apprentices learn from them; and the lad or man who wants to learn a +trade, is ill-advised indeed if he goes to a workshop where there are as +many apprentices as journeymen. + +It used to be said that the first year of a joiner's apprenticeship was +served in sweeping the shavings and in boiling men's "cans"; and there was +a good deal of truth in the statement. The best tradesmen I have known +spent the first part of their apprenticeship knocking about the workshop, +fetching and carrying for others, and unconsciously receiving impressions +and gaining knowledge. The worst I have ever known were one or two whom +the foreman thought, when they entered on their apprenticeship, to be too +old for him to put to such work, and who were chained to the bench right +away. + +In an institution where it is undertaken to teach lads or men trades, not +only are the conditions less favourable than those outside, but they are +actually opposed to them. In fact, you have a company composed almost +entirely of apprentices. There are no journeymen. There is only a foreman +in the shape of the instructor; and as the longer he is there the more out +of touch he is with the changes in method that have taken place amongst +his fellow-tradesmen outside, he is only capable of telling his +apprentices how he would do the thing, which in a workshop they might do +better by following a plan more suitable to them. If he has to overlook +their work they cannot be overlooking his; and while he is criticising +their efforts and keeping them in order he cannot be showing them an +example. + +Every tradesman and every employer knows that it is an important question, +not only whether a man has served his apprenticeship, but where he has +served it. Of course, under the most favourable conditions some men do not +become good tradesmen; they may have gone to the wrong occupation for +them; but there are conditions that are generally more favourable than +others for the production of capable workmen, and these conditions cannot +possibly exist in an institution. Exceptions trained there may turn out +passable workmen and may find work outside, but the result of trying to +teach trades in an institution will be that at considerable expense you +will increase the number of bad tradesmen; and there are plenty. + +I do not say that nothing can be taught in an institution. Many things are +learned there. The whole point is that they are not the things that make +for efficiency outside. + +It is easily seen how a man who has not himself been trained in a +handicraft may believe that it can be taught as well in one place as +another, although if you consider his own occupation and suggest that his +profession too might be taught anywhere, he will readily see objections. +The people who are notably interested in prison reform are largely drawn +from the professional classes and from the well-to-do. It may be quite +possible to teach a prisoner or the inmate of a reformatory to acquire the +habits and the manners of an independent gentleman. Of the feasibility of +the proposal, were it ever made, I am not qualified to speak; but, as an +observer, one cannot help seeing that many of them have already acquired +the habit of doing as little useful work for themselves as possible, and +of expending a good deal of energy in directions that are not socially +productive. The clergyman would reject as impracticable any proposal to +train the reformed in an institution for entry into his profession; and +yet abundance of quiet and of time for study could be obtained there, and +there does not seem to be anything to hinder the teaching of theology, of +literature, or of philosophy, from taking place within its walls. + +There is, of course, the question of brains. It is a great mistake to +assume that brains are the monopoly of any class, or that they play a more +prominent part in the work of professional men than in that of others. So +far as the training is concerned, there is no ground for assuming that +selected inmates of reformatory institutions could not be had who are as +well qualified by natural endowments to receive instruction of an academic +character, in as large numbers, as others who would be fitted to receive +instruction in the working of wood or of metal. Of course there are other +reasons why ministers should not be trained in prison. There is the +question of moral character; and though reformed desperadoes have become +noble beings before now, I do not think that even the most enthusiastic +evangelist would consider it safe to assume that a man who has failed to +conform to the laws of the community is a safe person to train for the +ministry. + +This question of character would not be so generally admitted against any +proposal to train the inmates of a reformatory institution as lawyers; but +although a man might acquire all the useful information and general +knowledge that are required for examination as a preliminary to admit him +to the study of the laws of his country; although he might master the +text-books and become learned in the records of legal decisions quite as +well in a prison as in a lodging outside; no lawyer would admit that +thereby he could qualify to practise his profession. He would insist that +there is something more required in his experience than the mere knowledge +of the laws and of case-books. Being a lawyer, he could set out at length +what that something is. + +So there is something that marks off the man who has been trained under +the artificial conditions which exist in an institution from the man who +has been trained outside. I knew of a blacksmith who was a very useful +tradesman while he remained in the institution where he had learned that +trade. He obtained work outside on several occasions, but he lost it +always, not through any misconduct on his part, but through sheer +inefficiency. Some things he could do, but most things he could not do; +and his employers found him an unprofitable servant, partly because of his +limitations and partly because his methods impaired the efficiency of +those with whom he worked. In my day I have served an apprenticeship both +to a handicraft and to medicine, and I have no doubt whatever that it +would have been as easy for me to train for my medical qualification in +prison as to have qualified myself as an artisan in an institution. + +It is assumed that what the offender needs is above all to be trained in +habits of obedience, as though that were not what he has always been +taught when in any prison; and much good our training has done him. + +I know as little about military affairs as the military men who are +appointed to manage prisons and prisoners know about the duties they +undertake when they are appointed, but I do know something about the +worship of discipline. Discipline means not knowing more than the man +above you, no matter how difficult it may be to know less. There must +always be twice as much wisdom and truth in anything the superior officer +does or says as there is in the actions or words of his inferiors; and it +is insubordination to behave in ignorance or in contempt of this great +principle. + +At school we were taught a story about a man named William Tell, regarding +which the later critics dispute the accuracy. It seems that a high +military personage called Gessler set his cap upon the top of a pole in +the market-place and commanded the people to bow down to it. Tell refused +to do so, and was seized and compelled to enter on a test of his skill in +archery; and so on. Whether the story about Tell is true or not, there can +be no doubt about the cap; in one form or other it is still a symbol of +authority, to be saluted with respect by the common people. In Scotland we +had a song about Rab Roryson's Bonnet, but "It wasna the bonnet, but the +heid that was in it," that was the real subject of the ditty. Discipline +pays no regard to the head that is in the cap. The cap is the thing, +though it may be placed on a pole. + +Everybody knows that the old cap of knowledge in fairy tales has no longer +an existence, and that absence of what is called brains will not be +compensated for by any covering of the skull, whatever pretence may be +made to the contrary. + +Of the virtue of obedience we hear a good deal, and if we look around us +we will see evidences that it may be no virtue at all, but a vice. In one +of the best known of his poems Tennyson describes the soldiers: "Theirs +not to reason why: Theirs not to make reply"; and there are many who think +it a noble thing to teach a man not to use the brains he has, and to die +rather than show disrespect to his superior by questioning his competence. +This may be a military virtue, but it is a civil vice. If it did not work +outside so badly in practice, it might be allowed to pass unquestioned; +but one has only to look around to see the result of its application. The +men who come under its operation are not rendered more efficient citizens +thereby, but are hindered by the training they have undergone from +obtaining employment in industrial life. + +Subordination there must be before there can be combined action on the +part of men for any purposes, but there need not be senseless +subordination. In any iron-work, for instance, where men work together, +they each take their own and other men's lives in their hands daily. When +they are acting in concert a false step, a careless act, on the part of +anyone, may bring injury or death on himself and others; and they know +this and behave accordingly, or no work would be possible. For the +inefficient person there is no room, and when serious work has to be done +Gessler's cap has no place; there is only room for William Tell. + +Men discharged from the army find difficulty in obtaining employment. It +is not that they are worse men than their neighbours. It is because they +have received the wrong kind of training. Employers do not prefer others +to them from any absence of patriotism, but from a desire for efficiency. +They cannot afford in industrial occupations to have people about them who +have learned that it is "theirs not to reason why." They prefer those who +have been taught to use all the sense they have in dealing with their +work. In short, the person who during the most formative years of his life +has been employed industrially, makes a better workman than the man who +during these years has been taught to wait for the word of command before +he does anything. Yet we have people going all over the country trying to +convince their fellow-citizens that there is no salvation for us unless +all young men are subjected to a period of military training, apparently +in ignorance of the fact that those who have had that training have +difficulty in competing industrially with those who have none. It may be +true for other reasons, for purposes of defence, that we ought to learn to +shoot, though for my part I believe that most men are more likely to be +sick sometime in their lives than to be engaged in fighting with people of +whom they know nothing. That would seem to be an argument for their being +taught how to preserve and care for their own rather than how to destroy +somebody else's health; but Gessler's cap is still in the market-place, +and it is rude to say anything about it. Yet it is not the bonnet, but the +head that is in it, that matters in the long run. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE FAMILY AS MODEL + + The basis of the family not necessarily a blood tie--Adoption--The + head and the centre of the family--The feeling of joint + responsibility--The black sheep--Companionship and sympathy + necessities in life--Reform only possible when these are found-- + "Conversion" only temporary in default of force of new interests--The + one way in which reform is made permanent. + + +One great mistake made by those who consider social problems is that they +either regard man apart from his surroundings or as one of a mass, instead +of as a member of a family or group. Family life is the common form of +social life, and whatever its defects, it is the form that is likely to +persist without very great modification. The family is based on marriage, +and the parties married are not one in blood, though the children of the +marriage are. The family tie, therefore, is not solely a blood tie. The +members are brought up in a sense of mutual obligation and in the +knowledge of their interdependence. + +Occasionally adoption is a means of entering a family. When a person is +adopted early in life, it is difficult to perceive any difference in the +tie that binds him and the other members of the family. There is another +and a temporary adoption which is much more frequent than is generally +imagined, and the existence of which prevents a great many lads and more +girls from becoming destitute and from drifting into evil courses. In +Glasgow there are many young persons who, having no relatives of their own +with whom they can live, or the relatives being unwilling to take them in, +obtain lodgings and help from others. In the case of the girls, they pay a +portion of their earnings to the common treasury and give their services +in aid of the work of the household, being treated in all essential +respects as members of the family. Many of them are not earning a wage +sufficient to enable them to pay for lodgings at the ordinary rate; and it +is this arrangement that explains why so many who are in receipt of small +wages are able to live respectably, and do so. Attempts have been made to +provide hostels for such wage-earners, on this very ground that their +income is insufficient to enable them to hire a room with attendance; and +the hostels are frankly admitted to require charitable aid for their +upkeep, though they are in their management institutional; that is to say, +they aim at economy by the subdivision of labour. It never seems to have +occurred to those who appeal for funds to establish such places that the +girls in the majority of cases have solved the problem for themselves, by +what I have called, and what practically is, a kind of adoption; and that +their solution is the correct one--that the minority who have failed to +obtain adoption can be better helped by securing it for them, if necessary +by subsidy, than by bringing them together in an institution. + +A good many jokes have been made as to who is the head of a household--the +man or the wife; and the question is occasionally a subject of dispute; +but in the family authority tends to adjust itself. It can only exist when +there is mutual toleration and respect. Each member may be acutely +conscious of the shortcomings of the other and may discuss them freely, +but they all tend to unite against outside criticism, and if they are +aware of each other's demerits, they are equally sharp to recognise +qualities which help to their advancement. So that while one member may be +the head of the family, another may be the centre of the family. It is not +always either the father or the mother that exercises most influence in +the family council. These matters are determined by circumstances, and +when there is discord and disunion it is almost invariably due to a +disregard of natural aptitudes and tendencies in the children, and to an +insistence on parental rights in the narrow sense. + +The enforcement of mutual responsibility implies the recognition of mutual +power. The community in which we live is mainly made up of families. Yet +men are considered as individuals, legislated for, and supervised as +though this were not the case; and the authorities, instead of working +through the family on the individual, contrive to raise the family feeling +against them. The State is not an aggregation of men, but an aggregation +of families; and when men are considered in the mass they are considered +without relation to their usual surroundings. It has been pointed out that +the crowd takes on characters different from the individuals composing it, +but it is quite wrong to imagine that men have ordinarily to be regarded +as units in a crowd. Attempts are made to supervise men in masses; that is +what takes place in institutions. Individuals are supervised in certain +circumstances outside, but they are best supervised in conjunction and in +co-operation with the members of the family of which for a time they form +a part. + +If every family has not its black sheep, in most cases it has some one of +its members whose capacity is not equal to that of the others. In some of +the cases the direction in which the weakness is shown is one that leads +to breaches of the law. There are many children in every city who are a +great trial to their parents, and there are parents who sorely try the +patience and resources of their children. There are families who spend +care and effort to prevent one of their members from becoming worse than +he is and in endeavouring to lead him into better courses; but the +community does nothing to help them in their efforts until they drop their +burden or are compelled to relinquish it, when the authorities promptly +proceed to apply official methods of treatment. We have reached the point +where it actually pays the family financially to disclaim responsibility, +for the State will do all (even though it does it badly) or will do +nothing. It would be cheaper in every sense to help those who are trying +to bear their responsibility--who are willing, though their circumstances +make them unable--than to do as we have done; and acting on the ignorant +assumption of our own knowledge, wait until evil has developed so far as +to be unbearable and then put the evil-doer through our machinery. + +Unless the offender is brought into sympathetic contact with someone in +the community, who will enable him to resist temptation and encourage him +in welldoing, he never does reform. There are people who attribute the +change in their conduct to a conversion, sudden or otherwise, towards +religion. The more sudden the change in their mental outlook the greater +danger they are in; for the severing of an evil connection, though a +necessary step, is not all that is required. In a community such as ours a +man cannot stand alone. He cannot forsake his company and his accustomed +pursuits and become a hermit, living the life of an early Christian sent +into the wilderness. He has to remain in the world and live out his life +there. He must not only be converted from his former courses, but turned +to better courses. He cannot get on without company. He cannot even earn +his living alone; and the great advantage the convert has in our place and +time is the assurance that he will be supported by others of like mind +with him. They will find work for him and fellowship, and they fill his +time very full; but only in so far as good comradeship is established +between him and others is he likely to remain steadfast. Comradeship +deeper than the sharing of a common theological dogma and a common +emotionalism is the only security for his reformation. + +To the man whose life has been passed in sordid surroundings, whose work +has been monotonous and laborious, and whose pleasures have been gross, +the more emotional the form in which the religious appeal is presented the +greater its chance of success. He becomes filled with the spirit--a +different kind of spirit from that which has hitherto influenced his +actions--but the result is an excitement and an exaltation as pronounced +as any he felt in the days of his iniquity. No one can listen to the +convert at the street corner without being struck by the fact that while +he is detailing and perhaps magnifying the nuisance he was before his +regeneration, he is as much excited and makes as much noise as he did in +those days. In some cases his public behaviour makes little difference to +his neighbours, for he is no quieter than he was; though, instead of +sending them to hell as he did in his wrath, he now tells them that they +are going there. Of course there is a world of difference both to them and +to him as a result of the change in his outlook. His conduct is improved, +if his manner is not; but every period of exaltation is liable to be +followed by one of depression, and this is the danger to which his +emotionalism exposes him. + +The best way to prevent a man from falling back into his old habits is to +keep him too busy in the formation of new ones to have any time to turn +his attention to the past. We hear it commonly said that the way to hell +is paved with good intentions, but just as truly the way to heaven may be +paved with bad. If men are distracted from doing the good they intend by +something less worthy, they are as often prevented from doing the evil +they had concerted through something interposing and claiming their +interest. Religion, then, may be a very potent influence in starting a man +on a new course of conduct, and its spirit may inspire him to continue in +the way of welldoing; but his perseverance will depend far more than he +thinks on his adaptation to the company of the religious, and his interest +in their work and their lives. Almost as little will the love of good keep +him from the world, the flesh, and the devil, as the love of evil will +make him a criminal. + +For the most part men are not wicked because they prefer evil to good, but +because they have come under the influence of evil associations which +appeal to something in them. The man at the street corner who speaks about +serving God is, at any rate, logical when he talks about having served the +devil; but in those old bad days he did not consider the devil at all. He +did what pleased him best, quite apart from any desire to have the +approval of the Prince of Darkness. It is only after his conversion that +he discovers that all his life he had been serving Satan without +recognising him, and it is equally possible, surely, for men to serve God +without recognising the fact. It is just as possible for a man to do good +and to live well, without thinking of anything beyond his pleasure in +doing so, as to live wickedly from the same reason. In both cases the +fellowship of others has a great deal to do with the matter. + +There is only one method by which a prisoner is reformed, and that is +through the sympathetic guidance and assistance of some person or persons +between whom and him there is a common interest. An employer engages an +ex-prisoner and shows that he really desires him to do well. He must not +patronise him, but he has to impress in some way the person he would help +with the idea that he believes in him. He has to revive in him a feeling +of self-respect. How is this done? There is no convenient formula. The man +whose manner attracts one may repel others. Religion, which most +powerfully influences some, shows no power to attract many; and the man +who will be deaf to one form of appeal may respond to another. It is +simply foolish to assume that because our attempts to correct a man have +failed he is incorrigible. All we can say is that we have failed because +we have not been dealing with him in a way suited to him. Sometimes it is +an old acquaintance or a fellow-workman that impresses him and leads him +to a new interest in life. Whoever moves him, and however it may be done, +it is only a new interest that will expel the old. It never is what a man +is taught, but what he learns, that moves him. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ALTERNATIVES TO IMPRISONMENT + + What is required--The case of the minor offenders--The incidence of + fines--The prevention of drunkenness--Clubs--Probation of offenders-- + Its partial application--Defects in its administration--The false + position of the probation officer--Guardians required--Case of young + girl--The plea of want of power--Old and destitute offenders--Prison + and poorhouse. + + +If the present methods of treatment mainly result in the liberation of men +and women from prison in a condition that makes it difficult for them to +do well--sometimes more difficult than it was before they were sent +there--it follows (1) that no one should be sent to prison if there is any +other means to protect the public from him; and further (2) that no one +should be liberated from prison unless the community has some guarantee +that it will not suffer from him. In short, what happens to the prisoner +in prison is of secondary importance to the public. Of primary importance +is, what is likely to happen to them when he comes out. The first +consideration should be: How can you deal with people who have offended so +as to avoid making them worse and to ensure that they will behave better? +Unfortunately, one main concern of many is how they can make the culprit +suffer. One of the effects of retributive punishment is to make those who +undergo it less fit, physically or mentally, than they were before its +infliction. We must make up our minds whether we really desire to correct +the offender or not, and if we seek his correction we must be prepared to +throw overboard theories and practices which obstruct that end, whether +they are old or new. + +An examination of the reports of the Prison Commissioners for Scotland +will suggest to anyone that a good deal might be done to diminish the +number of committals to prison. According to the last report published +(1910), there were 46,466 receptions of prisoners under sentence. As some +were in prison more than once during the year, the number of individuals +represented is probably about 23,000, and of these 9775 were in for the +first time. Their sentences ranged from under one day to two years. There +were 39,036 sentences of a month or less, and of these 22,696 were seven +days or less; 7949 of that number being of three days or less. These +people have not much time to get accustomed to their quarters before they +are liberated; and if there were the means, there is neither the time nor +the opportunity to make any thorough enquiry into their dispositions and +way of living, with a view to help them. + +As for the nature of their offences, there were 14,644 committals for +breach of peace, disorderly conduct, etc.; 12,274 for drunkenness; 1982 +for obscene language, etc.; and nearly all these are offences inferring +drunkenness. Where did they get the drink? Apparently it was not from the +public-houses, for from the tables it does not appear that anyone was sent +to prison for breach of certificate. If the source of supply could be +discovered and cut off, or at any rate made to flow less freely, it seems +obvious that there would be a much smaller prison population. But is there +any good purpose served by sending people to prison for a few days? It is +true the streets are rid of them, but such as are habituals go out simply +revived by the rest and keen as ever for drink. I say the habituals, for +time and again these return with sentences of two, three, five, or seven +days. As for the casual offender, it would be far better to let him off, +when he cannot pay a fine, than to send him to prison, thereby causing him +to lose his employment and bringing him to bad company. In 1909 over +40,000 were sent to prison in default of paying a fine. Time to pay fines +benefits many, but there are those who are too poor to be helped by it. At +present a fine is imposed as an alternative to imprisonment; and as the +public is only assured of the culprit's behaviour for so many days, +positive gain, financially and otherwise, would result from placing him in +bond outside a prison. At present, if the fine is not paid, the absurd +condition of affairs is this: that a person fined in, say, twenty +shillings or twenty days may disappear and not pay the fine in the time +allowed him; three months after he may be found, arrested, and sent to +prison for this failure to pay. The sentence of the court amounted to +this: that if he paid twenty shillings he would be at liberty to do as he +pleased, but if he failed to pay he would have his liberty restricted for +twenty days at the public expense; they to be secure from misconduct on +his part during that time. He has behaved for three times that period at +no expense to the public; why, then, should their hospitality be forced on +him? As long as people will behave outside prison there is no sense in +sending them inside. Whether they are likely to behave can only be +discovered after a more exhaustive and a different kind of enquiry than +has hitherto been made in each case. + +Minor offences form the great majority of our committals, and drunkenness +is an element in most of the cases. If a man does not get drink to excess +he will not become drunk. Persons and premises are licensed for the +convenience of the public, and it is not for the public convenience that +anyone should be allowed to have a practically unlimited supply of liquor. +One of the troubles of the man that takes drink is that he is not in a +state to appreciate his own condition, and he is apt to imagine that he is +much more sober than he is. No respectable publican wants to make men +drunk; but he wants to make money out of his business, and beyond certain +limits he cannot be more particular than his neighbours. It is sometimes +very difficult to say when a man is drunk, but it is easy to tell when he +is not sober, and he is not entitled to the benefit of any doubt that may +exist. It ought to be the business of the vendor to refuse drink to a man +who has evidently had as much as is good for him. He may make mistakes, +but they will be on the right side if he has to pay for them. + +The very desire to prevent men being supplied with drink to excess has +resulted in making the law, with regard to the supply of drink to +intoxicated persons, something very like a dead letter. I have known a man +to be convicted for being drunk and incapable at a police court, and +though it was shown that he left a public-house in that condition after +having had several drinks there, when the publican was brought to the same +court on a subsequent date, to answer a charge of breach of certificate in +respect that he had supplied drink to a man who was drunk, the charge was +found not proven. The fine for such a breach of certificate would not have +been nearly so great as the cost of defending the charge; but a conviction +would have resulted in the endorsement of the licence, and might have +caused its withdrawal. Now as the man depended on the licence for his +livelihood, this was practically a sentence of death. In these cases the +magistrates are exceedingly unwilling to convict and in consequence +charges are seldom made. + +If the penalty inflicted in the police court did not result in a larger +penalty imposed by the licensing court, there would be less difficulty in +dealing with the licence holders; and if drunkenness is to be prevented +they must be dealt with. Of course a man may get drunk in a private house +or in a club; making it more difficult for him to become intoxicated in a +public-house would not prevent that; but even so, it would tend to keep +the streets free from disorder; and if a man will take more drink than he +can carry, it is alike better for his own health and for the public +convenience that he should do it in private. There have been many +complaints about clubs during recent years, and that some of them are vile +places there can be no question. The evidence given in the court as to how +these objectionable places have been conducted shows their character quite +clearly, but in the worst cases the very fact that such evidence was in +possession of the authorities is a grave reflection on their competence to +suppress disorder. In some cases the clubs were little better than dens of +thieves, to which half-intoxicated persons were lured to be robbed by +people whose character was well known to the police. Raiding them avails +little, but warning off those who would enter might avail much. Men in +uniform placed at the doors would act as a sign to warn the unwary. The +knave preys on the fool. Warn off his prey and he will starve. + +If through a subsidence or otherwise there is a hole in a street into +which a man might stumble and break his leg, the place is barricaded off +and a watchman placed there to warn the careless. Nobody would think of +leaving the trap open, even though a sufficient ambulance service were +provided to carry off the injured. When a place that is known to be a trap +for the foolish is discovered, on the same principle it might be +profitable to warn those who would enter it, rather than to wait until +they had suffered loss and then seek to seize and convict those who had +robbed them. There are more ways of closing an ill-conducted club than by +withdrawing its licence; but after all has been said, most of the +drunkenness that disgraces our streets has not resulted from the +consumption of drink either in private houses or in clubs, in spite of +what the trade may say to the contrary. Indignation against clubs on the +part of liquor-sellers is not due to zeal for temperance, but springs from +jealousy of their own monopoly. They seem to think that men should not +take drink unless they are permitted to make a profit in the process; and +it is just this question of profit that lies at the root of any effective +dealing with the matter. + +Our attempts to punish the drunkards are often ludicrous. It might not be +so ridiculous to try to get at those who make a profit off the drunkard. +He makes a loss; we make a loss; someone has profited. We punish him; we +punish ourselves; neither of us are profited at all. There is surely +something wrong here. Those who are incapable of taking care of +themselves, or who are disorderly in their conduct through drink, when +taken into custody by the police, might quite profitably be permitted to +go home when they are sober, unless their conduct is becoming a habit; in +which case some other method of dealing with them requires to be +considered. The disgrace of arrest will appeal as effectively to any +person with a sense of shame as proceedings before a magistrate would do. +When a fine--the cost of the trouble he has caused--has been inflicted on +such an offender, time for payment should always be allowed. A man will +never earn money in prison to pay the costs of his prosecution, but if +allowed to go about his business he may do so. Even if he can only earn +his living without paying a fine, behaving himself the while, he has done +more than it would have been possible for him to do in prison. + +There has been a strong tendency of late years to deal with persons coming +before the courts for the first time, even when the charge is regarded as +a serious one, in some other way than by sending them to prison. They are +put on probation for a period, and if nothing is known against them for +that time they are discharged. Probation rightly managed would solve the +problem of their treatment in the great majority of cases. Imperfect as +the method employed at present is, many have been benefited because under +it they have escaped imprisonment. It is most commonly adopted in the case +of those who have committed offences against property; yet if the +principle on which it can be justified--the principle of substituting +correction for punishment--were intelligently recognised, it would be +applied in all cases, no matter what the offence; provided the offender +was regarded as a suitable subject on consideration of his history and +character. At present the offence more than the offender determines the +sentence; and there is a greater likelihood of a person who has committed +a petty offence being put on probation, than there would be if in the eye +of the law the offence he had committed were regarded more seriously. + +The process is popularly described as giving the offender another chance. +It is a loose expression, which may mean anything. It sometimes does mean +giving him another chance to offend, and that is all. It is intended to +give him another chance to behave; and this assumes that he has already +had the chance; an assumption that is not always warranted if the facts +were considered. Clearly it is of no advantage to the public that an +offender should have a chance of again committing a breach of the law; and +if he is to be liberated from custody, it would be a reasonable proceeding +to see that he is placed under such conditions as would make it easier for +him to obey than to break the law. Putting him on probation ought not to +mean returning him to the conditions under which he failed to resist +temptation. Rather should it imply placing him under less unfavourable +conditions of life. What is actually done amounts to this, that the +offender, instead of being sentenced, on conviction, to imprisonment, is +ordered to appear in court after so many months, in order that his case +may be disposed of; and is allowed to be at liberty provided he consents +to live under certain conditions prescribed by the court, his conduct to +be reported on by a probation officer, whose duty it is to give him such +counsel and aid as is possible without expense to the rates. + +The probation officer may be a police official; not necessarily a police +officer, but under the control of the police. Now if there is one thing +that is more clear than another in Glasgow and other urban areas in the +West of Scotland, it is that the poorer classes are suspicious of the +police and the machinery of the law that masquerades in the name of +justice--for it is a burlesque of justice to examine only one side of a +case; to decide how far the individual is to blame for offending against +the laws of the community, without making any enquiry into the question +how far the community is to blame for inducing the offence; and this is +felt, if it is not clearly expressed, by all who are liable to transgress. +A tacit conspiracy against the officers of the law is not only apparent in +the case of the poorer classes, but in the case of all classes, when they +are brought into conflict with it. The old Roman father who sacrificed his +son to the laws, and whom we were asked to admire for his heroism when we +were at school, is not a common phenomenon. He has left few descendants, +which is probably a good thing. Now the father strives to shield his son; +the sister puts the best face on her brother's conduct; and the neighbours +would far rather condone the fault of the culprit than expose his +misdeeds. They feel that our methods are wrong whenever they come +intimately in contact with them, and they obey their instincts and +feelings; that is all. They can see that it is wrong, that it is foolish, +to interfere with a man to make him worse, no matter under what pretence, +when they know the man; although they will readily admit that you must +punish the offender whom they do not know. So the probation officer may be +misled into a wrong report regarding the person under his charge when that +person behaves pretty much the same as he did before he was first +arrested, the conditions under which he is living not having undergone any +material change. The probation officer has his hands full, having quite a +number of people to visit and report upon daily. These people being widely +separated from one another geographically, he is merely discharging the +duties of an inspector; and he cannot give individuals the attention +their cases may require in order to their improvement. + +Before a prisoner is discharged from the criminal lunatic department, the +authorities see that an approved guardian is provided for him outside. The +conditions on which he is allowed to be free are distinctly laid down, and +the guardian is given the same authority over him outside as the +attendants had when he was inside. If he breaks through any of the +conditions imposed on him the guardian may report his misconduct, when he +is liable to be brought back within the walls of the department. The same +thing may happen if complaints of his behaviour are made by neighbours or +associates. He has to be visited at intervals by some citizen of known +character and integrity, whose duty it is to certify that the patient is +fit to be free; and at unexpected times a medical officer from the +department may call and see him, his guardian, and others, in order that +there may be a reasonable security for the public. + +It has been said that there is too much fuss made over these cases, but I +doubt it. The public security is the first consideration, and there has +seldom been any cause given for complaint on the part of the prisoner so +liberated. He is not set free and left to return to the associations to +which he has reacted badly in the past. He is not left to struggle for +existence and probably to fall under the struggle. He is placed under +conditions which make it easier for him to do well than to do ill; and if +he will not conform, his rebellion is checked at the beginning. + +It is not the duty of his guardians and visitors merely to look for +evidences of his evil tendency. They have to help him to do well. These +guardians are usually people who, for some reason, have a friendly +interest in the man whose care they undertake. They are not paid for their +work--though they should be, if necessary, as it costs less to keep a man +outside than to keep him inside a lunatic asylum, and it is better to pay +people who have a personal interest in the subject of their care than to +pay those who have only an official interest in the persons with whom they +deal. + +Contrast this state of affairs with probation as it is worked. In the one +case the guardian is carefully selected and is not appointed to act, +however willing he may be, if there is not ground for assuming that he is +also able. In the other case it is assumed that the guardians who have +failed to exercise supervision over the offender will be better able to do +so when the culprit has appeared before a magistrate. In both cases there +are official visits to the prisoner discharged on licence, and in the case +of the offender on probation these visits are more frequent. + +In so far as the officer can do so, he tries to help the wrongdoer; but if +he has many under his charge the best will in the world cannot enable him +to do more than a little for each. This little is as much as is required +in many cases; and, imperfect as it is, the practice of the probation +system has been justified by a certain amount of success. Where it has +failed has been in those cases where the conditions laid down have been of +such a character that the offender is morally unable to conform to them. I +do not suggest that the conditions were in themselves unreasonable, or +that the standard of behaviour demanded has been too high judged by the +needs of the community, but only that the demand made on the offender was +greater than his circumstances permitted him to meet. + +X 32 was a girl under fifteen years of age, rather big for her years, +judged by the standard of the district in which she was brought up. She +was employed as a message-girl and stole money from her employers. In the +aggregate she appropriated a considerable sum before she was found out. +She was put on probation, broke her bond, and was sent to a reformatory. +Two questions arose from her conduct. (1) Why did she steal? and (2) Why +did she break her bond? As to the first question, the answer was quite +apparent. She wanted little things which she could not get and she took +the money to get them. Her peculations were not observed and they +increased. Indeed, on one occasion she spent such a large sum of money in +treating a party of school friends, that it is difficult to understand why +the tradesman who executed her order did so at all, seeing what she was. +It is one of the commonest things for young people to help themselves to +things that are not their own. It is rarely considered thieving except +they take money, or goods to sell; but dishonest appropriation of property +is so common, not as a continued practice, but as an incident in the lives +of young people, that I question if one of those who read this has not at +some time or another in his or her life been guilty of it. This is too +frequently forgotten, and if it were remembered as it ought to be children +would be treated more wisely than hitherto has been done. + +The girl in question was the eldest daughter of respectable working +people. Her conduct shocked them; but they were unfit to direct her, for +during the day her father was out working, and her mother had as much as +she could do to attend to her household and to care for her younger +children. The girl was sent back on probation to this home; a respectable +home, but a home where, in the nature of things, she could not receive +the care and guidance she required, having developed this propensity; and +she broke her bond simply because she was placed under conditions where +there was no reasonable probability of her keeping it. Accordingly she was +sent to a reformatory, at a cost to the community much greater than would +have been incurred had she been boarded out with the consent of her +parents under the care of some respectable person in the country, where +she could have been freed from the associations that had proved unsuitable +to her. + +Money may be had, through channels provided by Parliament, for placing +people in institutions, reformatory and otherwise; while the statutes do +not provide for expenditure in the way suggested. Accordingly the reason +assigned for not doing things which obviously might be done with profit +is, that there are no powers, enabling them to act in the way suggested, +in the hands of the officials. This, if it is an excuse for inaction, is +not a valid one everywhere. When the parents of a child are willing to +surrender their rights as guardians on cause being shown, and to allow the +young person who has offended to be placed under control of some suitable +person, all the power required is in the hands of the judge. + +It is recognised that parents, however respectable, may not be able to +give their children such attention as they may require should they +contract certain diseases; and there is seldom any difficulty in inducing +them to have their ailing child removed to an infirmary for treatment. On +the contrary, there are more who seek such treatment for their children +than can be accommodated. For want of a better term, what we may call a +moral ailment in a young person may as readily defy the resources of the +parents as any physical ailment could do; and there are many parents who +recognise the fact and would welcome assistance; but instead of helping +them we are content to wait until the offender gets worse, and then to +free the parent from all sense of responsibility and to make his position +more painful than it need be by placing the culprit in one of our +institutions. We may hope our action will do good, but the hope is not +founded on experience. + +There is no law that hinders the community from assisting the needy among +its numbers, although there may be no provision of funds specifically for +this purpose. Whatever may be the case elsewhere, in Glasgow want of money +is not the reason why things are not done. We have a large fund called the +Common Good of the Corporation. Of late years it has been swollen by +profits on the city's tramways to such an extent that a bonus, under the +name of a reduction of rates, amounting to some £40,000 in one year, has +been divided among the ratepayers. From this same fund banquets are +provided; receptions are paid for; medals are supplied to magistrates; and +all sorts of expenditure are defrayed for which there is no authority to +rate. A small sum relatively is granted in aid of scientific and +charitable organisations, and about £500 is contributed to assist +discharged prisoners. If money can be had to defray the cost of food, +drinks, and cigars, for those who are quite able to pay for them +themselves, and that without any special Act of Parliament, surely it +could also be had to prevent offenders becoming hardened in their +offences, and to assist those who are willing to undertake the work of +guiding and training them in right ways of living. Doubtless the money +will be found when it is realised that it is at least as important to the +city that people should be kept out of prison and helped to do well, as it +is that the eminent and notable among the citizens should occasionally be +treated from the corporation funds. + +How many could be assisted in this manner it is impossible to say, but so +far as can be judged a large proportion of those dealt with might be so +assisted at comparatively little cost. Whether the number be large or +small, however, it should be clearly understood that, the money being +there, if they are not helped, it is not for want of power nor for want of +means, but for some other reason. There are many things which the law does +not enjoin on the corporation; but there are many others that are worthy +which it does not prohibit those who are willing from doing; and if our +officials are to be encouraged to believe that they must do nothing to +help those who need assistance unless they get an Act of Parliament +authorising them to do it, we need not wonder if our rate of progress is +slow. The safe rule is to do the thing that needs doing, so long as there +is not a positive injunction against doing it. This will cause trouble, no +doubt, to the person who follows such a course of action; but I do not +believe that any public official who acts on this principle will fail to +receive public support and encouragement so long as he seeks to help +people to help themselves, whatever view those in authority may take of +his actions. + +We are too much bound by precedent. Appropriate action is sometimes +checked by the consideration that the thing proposed has never been done +before. Of course that is no reason for not doing it now; but it takes the +place of a reason in far too many cases. + +More interest is taken in proposals for dealing with the habitual offender +than in any others, although nobody is a habitual to begin with. He is +supposed to be the dangerous person. He is a professional plunderer; the +villain of the piece. But habitual offenders are not all great criminals. +There are those who live by stealing, having become more or less expert at +the business; but there are many offenders who, having become careless and +drunken, or who, being physically or mentally a little below the ordinary +standard of their class, are incapable of keeping a job even if they got +it. They are more a nuisance than a danger to their fellow-citizens. This +army of destitute persons should be dealt with by the destitution +authorities. Taken singly they are not difficult to control and direct, +and it would be cheaper and more profitable to have them planted out in +the country than to allow them to herd together in the cities, to be +successful neither in honest nor dishonest work, and serving as tools and +touts for the more skilful rogues. + +The most helpless among them are the aged and infirm, some of whom have +only become submerged late in life, and all of whom are quite unable to +extricate themselves from the morass into which they have fallen. Now they +are in the prison; now in the poorhouse. When they can avoid either of +these institutions they live in lodging-houses or on the streets, where +their misery is a reproach to our civilisation. They are not interesting; +they are only disgusting; and it has been proposed to shut them up in the +poorhouse, because they go in and out too frequently. + +Yet something might be learned from their point of view. They are sent to +prison because they commit petty offences. They are quite unfit to conform +to the rules of that institution and are not improved by residence there. +For a few days they are kept off the streets, but nobody pretends that +this could not be done more effectively and at less cost. If they prefer +the prison to the poorhouse, as is sometimes alleged, they do not prefer +the prison to the miserable and haphazard existence they drag out when +free; and as a matter of fact, when the weather becomes suddenly severe or +their ailments become more insistent, it is the parish, not the police, to +which they apply. They hope to be sent to a hospital. When they recover +sufficiently they are out again. May this not afford a presumption that +there is something wrong with the poorhouse? Is it reasonable to assume +that, having experienced all the bitterness and hardship due to their +poverty and destitution--that knowing they will be subjected to hunger, +rough usage, and exposure--they prefer to suffer these rather than trust +to the tender mercy officially meted out to them, and that they do this +through sheer cussedness? For my part, I do not believe that they are such +fools. If they prefer to forage for themselves, knowing the difficulty of +doing so, rather than live in the poorhouse, it is because, after +balancing the advantage and disadvantage, they have found that anything is +better for them than life in that glorious institution. To anyone who has +lived there, there is no ground for surprise that they should adopt this +conclusion. + +In the prison a man may have too much privacy. In the poorhouse there is +none at all. The inmates having nothing in common but their misfortune, +poverty, and destitution, are housed together and live a barrack life. +Some attempt is made to classify them, as though you could sort out +people, in ignorance of their temperaments and tastes, by their record as +disclosed to an inspector. In our own experience people sort out +themselves. In any church or club you get people of the same age and of +similar good character. They can all be civil to one another if they meet +occasionally, but set any half-dozen of them to live together with no +relief from each other's company, and there will be rebellion inside a +week. + +In the poorhouse the inmates have to suffer one another during the whole +time of their stay. Some of them rebel and leave the place, even though +they know that they will be more uncomfortable outside. They at least have +a change of discomfort. Surely the money spent in chasing them and in +keeping them would yield a better return if they were boarded out in +comfortable surroundings, where during the few remaining years of their +pilgrimage they might get fresh air and some space to move about in. Their +very feebleness makes their custody less difficult, and it is no profit to +them or to us to make it more arduous than it need be. If it be objected +that this would be treating them better than the "deserving poor," that is +only to remind us of the shameful way in which we have neglected those to +whom we give that name. The "deserving poor" are the uncomplaining poor; +and so long as they do not complain their deserts are likely to be +disregarded, even when quoted as a reproach to those whose behaviour has +attracted our censure. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE BETTER WAY + + The offender who has become reckless--If not killed they must be + kept--The failure of the institution--Boarding out--At present they + are boarded out on liberation, but without supervision--Guardians may + be found when they are sought for--The result of boarding out + children--The insane boarded out--Unconditional liberation has + failed--Conditional liberation with suitable provision has not been + tried--No system of dealing with men, but only a method--No necessity + for the formation of the habitual offender--The one principle in + penology. + + +If our courts of first instance were places where more exhaustive +enquiries took place and greater consideration were given to the needs of +the cases coming before them; if the aged and destitute were cared for and +prevented from offending; if minor offenders were either liberated on +their own promise of good behaviour or that of their friends; if people +were put on probation under conditions that gave them a favourable chance +of conforming to the laws; there would still be a number to whom such +treatment could not be applied. + +There are some people who are not fit to be at liberty. They are so +reckless of their own interests and the interests of others that, when +uncontrolled, they become a danger. Some of them are insane, and the +lunacy authority should attend to them. Others, through indulging their +temper, are in the way of becoming insane; but their mental unsoundness +is not so marked as to cause the lunacy specialists to certify them. That +is no reason why it should not be recognised. At present they annoy those +around them with more or less impunity until they attain to the ideal +standard of insanity, in the process of their graduation paying visits to +the prison. There is no reason why they should not be dealt with from the +beginning. There is only precedent taking the place of reason. + +They are unfit to be at liberty without supervision, because they are not +capable of self-control; but many of them could be trained in the habit. +At present they are allowed to run wild for a time and then severely put +down. Their life alternates between periods of riot and periods of +repression, and their natural unsteadiness is intensified. If they knew +that the period of riot had definitely ceased--that they were not again to +be allowed to do what they liked if it implied harm to others--they would +set about to control the temper that is in danger of finally controlling +them. + +They boast of being able to stand our punishments, and even invite them; +they might as easily be trained to qualify for our rewards had we any to +offer. They may be brutal and sometimes are, though brutality is no longer +a common characteristic of prisoners in prison; but it does not follow +that, bad as some of them may appear, they are incorrigible. Their conduct +and reputation make it difficult to obtain guardianship for them. What can +be done with them? If they are liberated at any time they are a menace to +the safety and the comfort of the citizens. It is because some writers +have recognised this that they suggest the lethal chamber as a suitable +place for them. It is a bold thing to propose the wholesale killing of +other people except in name of war, and if there were any danger of the +proposal being adopted it is not at all likely that it would be made. It +is designed to shock us, and it fails to do so because we think we know +that it will not bear discussion. As a matter of fact, at present we +destroy the lives of these people in another way. Instead of curing them +of their evil propensities we twist them still further, and kill any sense +of public spirit in them as effectively in the process as we could do if +we suffocated them. If they were put in the lethal chamber that would be +an end to them. As it is, we have to set apart respectable citizens, not +to make them better, but simply to watch them marking time before engaging +in another period of disturbance. + +If they are not killed they must be kept. We have got past the killing +stage. It is time we adopted a more rational way of keeping them. Either +they have to get out some day, or they have to be imprisoned till their +death. In the latter case we need not trouble about them beyond seeing +that they are not harshly treated, and that those over them do not develop +in some degree the qualities condemned in the prisoner; but if they have +to come out again it behooves us to see that they are not set free in a +condition that makes them less able to conform to our laws than they were +when we took them in hand. Otherwise all we have gained by their +incarceration is the privilege of keeping them at our expense. + +As all institutions have this in common, that the longer a man lives in +them the less he is fitted to live outside, it follows that the shorter +time a prisoner is cut off from the ordinary life in the community the +less chance there is of his developing habits which will be useless to him +on his return. The system of shutting people up for longer or shorter +periods, and then turning them loose without supervision of a helpful kind +and without provision for their living a decent life outside, is quite +indefensible and has utterly failed in practice. + +A prison ought merely to be a place of detention, in which offenders are +placed till some proper provision is made for their supervision and means +of livelihood in the community. If this were recognised existing +institutions would be transformed. Those who refuse by their actions to +obey the law of the community, and to live therein without danger to their +neighbours, would as at present be put in prison; but they would not be +let out except on promise to remain on probation under the supervision of +some person or persons until they had satisfied, not an institution +official, but the public opinion of the district in which they were +placed, that the restrictions put on their liberty could safely be +withdrawn. The prison in which they would be placed would not be a +reformatory institution where all sorts of futile experiments might be +made, but simply a place of detention in which they would be required each +to attend on himself until he made up his mind to accept the greater +degree of liberty implied in life outside. The door of his cell would be +opened to let him out when he reached this conclusion; but it would not be +opened to let him out, as at present, to play a game of hare and hounds +with the police. Alike in the case of the young offender and the old, the +only safety for the citizens and the only chance of reformation for the +culprit lie in his being boarded out under proper care and guardianship in +the community. The proper guardian for one person would not be proper for +another. At present the same set of guardians--the prison officials--look +after all kinds of people who have offended. + +The first objection which proposals such as these meet is that it cannot +be done. There are a great many people who use this expression when their +meaning really is that they cannot do it. There is a difference. Not only +can offenders be boarded out, but they are and always have been boarded +out. Whenever a man leaves prison he has to board himself out. I do not +propose to let loose on the community any more offenders than are let +loose at present. Indeed, I do not propose to let any of them loose at +all, but simply to do for them, in their own interest and that of their +neighbours, what they are doing for themselves to the great loss of us +all. When any one of them does reform at present it is only by one way; +either he has the necessary supervision from the friends religion has +brought him, or an employer has taken an interest in him, or a +fellow-workman has given him help, or some friendly hand has guided him. +In no case do we give the guardian any control over him; in no case do we +pay the guardian for time and work spent. I propose that we should give +the power and the pay which are at present given to official persons in +prison to unofficial persons outside prisons; in the reasonable hope that +the money would be better expended, and in the full assurance that the +results would not be worse. + +Where are the guardians to be found? They are to be found in all parts of +the country when search is made for them. The thing cannot be done +wholesale. I do not suggest that the prisons should be emptied in a day. I +merely indicate a mark to be aimed at and plead for an effective +interference in place of the present ineffective interference. Putting it +another way, are there no cases in which this procedure could be adopted? +There are many; there are no cases in which it could not be adopted if you +had the guardians looked out, but that takes time. It would be foolish, +even if it were possible, to wait until you could treat every offender +before treating any. It would be wise to begin and treat as many as +possible in this way at once. It is not a question of finding so many +thousand men to look after so many thousand; it is merely the question of +finding one man to guide and supervise another man, the people in the +district being the critics and the judges of his success. + +At one time, in this part of Scotland, the children of paupers and of +criminals, and the orphans of the poor, were brought up in numbers in the +poorhouse. They acquired characters in common that marked them off from +children outside. When they grew out of childhood, and were turned out in +the world to work and to live, many of them gravitated back to the +institution or to the prison. It occurred to someone that what these +children required was proper parents; and one was boarded out with a +family here, and another with a family there, at less cost to the parish +than had been incurred in keeping them in the poorhouse. Thousands of +children during the last generation have been boarded out in this fashion +to their great advantage in every respect; and their after-conduct has +been as good--they have been as decent and law-abiding citizens--as the +children of any other class in the community. This moral and social gain +has been accomplished at less financial cost than that incurred by +bringing them up in institutions. It was said that the institution child +had been handicapped because of the stigma of pauperism, but the +boarded-out child is equally a pauper in respect that he is supported by +the rates. The fact is that the stigma from which the poorhouse child +suffered was not the stigma of pauperism, but the stigma of +institutionalism. + +When the public conscience was stirred regarding the treatment of the +insane, great buildings were erected and lavish provision was made for the +lunatic. To these places thousands were sent for treatment. By and by it +became manifest that in many cases their latter condition was worse than +their first. They were better housed, better fed, better clothed, and +better cared for; they were protected from the cruelty of the wicked and +the neglect of the thoughtless; but they acquired evil habits from each +other, and they infected some of their attendants with their vices. Here +and there suitable guardians were found for one and another of those whose +insanity was not of such a kind as to make it necessary in the public +interest that they should be confined to an institution; and now, in +Scotland, between five and six thousand are boarded out. That in some +cases mistakes are made no one denies; but the cases are few, and on the +balance there has been an enormous advantage to everyone concerned. + +It has become apparent that not only the inmates of institutions acquire +peculiarities which mark them off from persons living outside, but the +officials who live in these places also tend to develop eccentricities, +and there are proposals made with the object of preventing them from +living in; the idea being that the more they are brought in contact with +life outside the less they are likely to become narrowed in their views +and their habits, and the better they will be able to do their work in +such a way as would commend itself to the public whom they serve. + +If people can be had who are willing for a consideration to take charge +of lunatics, and to fulfil their charge to the satisfaction of the public, +it is not unreasonable to suppose that on suitable terms guardians could +be found for persons who have offended against the laws, and who cannot be +expected to refrain from offending if returned to the surroundings which +have contributed to their wrongdoing. The criminal may be presumed to have +a greater sense of responsibility than the insane person, and to be more +able to take a rational view of his position. In any case, it should never +be forgotten that so far as the public is concerned there are only two +ways of it; unless, indeed, we are prepared to kill the criminals or to +immure them for life. They must either be liberated, as at present, +without provision being made for their welldoing, and without guarantees +being taken for their good behaviour, even if opportunities were provided; +or they must be liberated on condition that they remain under some form of +supervision and guardianship. + +Unconditional liberation has ended in disaster to all concerned. +Conditional liberation can only be expected to produce good results if the +conditions are reasonable. They must confer in every case the maximum +amount of liberty consistent with the security of the public; and the +final judges must be the public themselves. The offender should work out +his own salvation, and show that he deserves to have all restrictions +removed before they are removed. If he is merely required to do so under +highly artificial conditions within the walls of an institution, he will +soon learn how to get round the officials there. His conduct in the +institution can afford no means for judging what his behaviour will be +outside under entirely different conditions. Inside he has no choice but +to obey. Outside he has to think and act for himself, and has +opportunities of acquiring new interests and of learning habits which are +likely to persist because they are those of his fellow-citizens who are +free. + +All sorts of systems have had their trial in dealing with the offender. It +has always been recognised that it was necessary to remove him from the +place where he had offended. He has been transported to other lands, there +to begin a new life; but the conditions under which the operation was +carried out were appalling. He has been placed in association with other +offenders, and left, with very little supervision, to become worse or make +others worse. He has been placed in solitary confinement; cut off from +company of any sort; with the result of wrecking his mind as well as his +body. At present he is separated from his fellows, but he has no +opportunity to come in contact with healthy social life. One system has +broken down after another. All systems have failed to deal with him +satisfactorily. + +There can be no system, but only a method; and that, the method adopted by +the physician in dealing with his patient. When he has satisfied himself +that the man who comes to him for advice is suffering from a certain +disease, he enquires into the past history, the habits and pursuits, and +the social condition of the patient; and on the information gained +considers his treatment. The course of conduct prescribed for one person +may be quite unsuitable for another, although both suffer from the same +complaint; and the wise physician knows that he cannot leave out of +account the opinion of the patient himself as to what should be done. It +is just so with the offender. In many cases he is best able to tell what +should be done for him; and provided it is not something that would +result in harm to the community there is no reason why his opinion should +not be considered, but every reason why it should. The expert may know a +good deal about the offender, but it has been proved over and over again +that he does not know how to reform him; for he has been given ample +opportunity, and his prescriptions have ended in failure. The official +person is apt to imagine that he and his methods should be above +criticism. His office has been magnified for so long that he honestly +believes it is necessary that it should be maintained in the interests of +the public. No institution can be created which will not result in the +formation of vested interests in its continuance; and yet every +institution must be judged by its results, and not by the opinions of +those who are set to manage it. + +With the improvement in the social condition of the people; with an +increase in the minimum standard of living; with the abolition, or even +the mitigation, of destitution, the whole complexion of things would be +altered. That changes in these directions will occur there is every reason +to suppose, but meanwhile many fall by the way and many take the +opportunity to grasp an advantage to the loss of their neighbours. Under +any social condition offences may occur. Whatever laws we make there may +always be law-breakers. A man may become possessed by jealousy or wrath +and injure his neighbour, or from envy or greed may rob him, but he can +only acquire the habit of doing so with our permission. If he is checked +at the beginning and placed under control, he will not acquire that habit. + +Our present methods have not prevented the growth of the habitual +offender, and they have not been designed to help those who have gone +wrong to reform. The great defect in all our systems is that they are not +based on a recognition of social conditions as they exist. Most men can +and do behave under supervision, and that supervision in many cases could +be made as effective outside an institution as inside one. Men prefer a +greater to a lesser degree of liberty. At present they have more than one +choice. They may conform to our laws and go free; or they may break our +laws in the knowledge that if they are caught, on payment of a penalty +either in money or in time, they may resume their wrongdoing once more. +The habitual offender continues to offend because he prefers to risk +imprisonment and live in his own way rather than accept the humdrum, +peaceful life of his law-abiding neighbour. When he finds that there is no +question of pay in the matter, but that he is simply offered the choice of +good behaviour outside of prison, or incarceration within a prison, he +will begin to review his position. + +There is only one principle in penology that is worth any consideration; +it is to find out why a man does wrong, and make it not worth his while. +There is nothing to be gained by assuming that individual peculiarities +may be disregarded, and there is everything to be lost thereby. If we +would make the best of him we should restrict the liberty of the offender +as little as possible consistent with the well-being of the community, and +enlarge it gradually as reason is shown for doing so. We cannot injure him +without injuring ourselves, and we ought to set about to make the best +rather than the worst of him. + + +THE END + + + + +INDEX + + + + +INDEX + + + A + + Adolescence, 131 + + Adoption, 304 + + Agents for the poor, 204 + + Alien, criminal, 100 + + -- immigrant, 98 + + Ancestors, difficulty of tracing, 19 + + Apprenticeship in institutions, 297-300 + + Assistance to parents, 120, 125, 307 + + Averages, 15 + + + B + + Blind alley occupations, 130 + + Boarding out of children, 334 + + Boarding out or boarding in, 336 + + Boys' amusements, 121-30 + + Boys and adventure, 126 + + Boys and theft, 124 + + Boy labour, 130 + + Boy, rebellious, 118 + + Boy recreation, 128 + + Boy Scouts, 128 + + Boy trader, 133 + + Boy, truant, 119 + + + C + + Cases, illustrative, 26, 27, 29, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 42, 54, 59, 71, 74, + 77, 80, 81, 92, 104, 118, 119, 143, 144, 145, 146, 151, 152, 155, + 201, 254 + + Cells, police, 195 + + Cells, prison, 222 + + Cells, punishment, 233 + + Centralisation of prison management, 210 + + Chaplains, prison, 218, 233 + + Charity, 268 + + Chastity and general conduct, 158 + + Children's courts, 122, 125 + + Children, cruelty to, 56 + + Churches and the immigrant, 97 + + Civil prisoners, 254 + + Civil servants, ability of, 214 + + Compulsory feeding in prison, 245 + + Concealment of pregnancy, 155-7 + + Conduct, loose, in some districts, 157 + + Confinement, solitary, 229-31, 337 + + Control of prostitutes, 159 + + Conversion, 307 + + Convicts, 255 + + Courts, children's, 122, 125 + + Courts, higher, 206-9 + + Courts, police, 198-203 + + Crime and character, 8 + + Crime and city life, 109, 110 + + Crime and social inequalities, 103 + + Crime and vice, 10 + + Crime and women's wages, 149 + + Crime in relation to drink consumed, 62 + + Criminal, alien, 100 + + Criminal class, 11 + + Criminal, habitual, 11 + + Criminal, indictments, 207 + + Criminal lunatics, supervision of, 320 + + Criminal, notorious, 12 + + Criminal statistics, 14 + + Criminals and offenders, 7 + + Criminals, conduct of, modified in prison, 5, 6 + + Criminology, pseudo-, science of, 13, 14 + + + D + + Dancing clubs, 142 + + Deaths in prison, 251 + + Debt, imprisonment for, 254 + + Defective and the police, 37 + + Defects of probation system, 317-24 + + Density of population and crime, 79 + + Destitute child, the, 74 + + Destitute, dilemma of the, 72 + + Destitution, 68, 69, 70 + + Destitution and theft, 70 + + Destitution through age, 74 + + Diet in police cells, 196 + + Diet, prison, 223-4 + + Discharged Prisoners' Aid Societies, 261 + + Discharged prisoners and police, 260 + + Discharged prisoners and their helpers, 262 + + Discharged prisoners, demands on, 263 + + Discipline, 301 + + Doctor and patient, 245 + + Domestic servants, 153-5 + + Drink and child neglect, 56 + + Drink and crimes against the person, 53 + + Drink and cruelty, 54 + + Drink and malicious mischief, 58 + + Drink and passion, 54 + + Drink and personality, 53 + + Drink and petty offences, 52 + + Drink and poverty, 68 + + Drink and the professional thief, 60 + + Drink and pugnacity, 54 + + Drink and sexual offences, 56 + + Drink and social condition, 64 + + Drink and social evils, 51 + + Drink and theft, 59 + + Drink inducing assault, 54-5 + + Drinking clubs, 315 + + Drink in the country, 62 + + Drink in the town, 63 + + Duration of control for young offenders, 286 + + + E + + Education and quackery, 162 + + Exercise in prison, 242 + + Executioner and surgeon, 171 + + Exemplary punishment, 135, 179 + + Expiation, 178 + + + F + + Faculty and its exercise, 22 + + Faculty and position, 20 + + Fallen women, 263-4 + + Family history, 21 + + Family life, 304 + + Family responsibility, 307 + + Feeding, compulsory, 245-9 + + Fellowship, 88, 115-6, 308-10 + + Fines, 176-8, 317 + + Fit, the, and the unfit, 19 + + Flogging, 171 + + Football, 129 + + + G + + Gambling and theft, 105 + + Gambling, prosecutions for, 108 + + Gambling, the Church and, 107 + + Gambling, the Press and, 107 + + Girl of the slums, 148 + + Girls and sexual offences, 151 + + Government by clerk, 295 + + Gratuities to prisoners, 231 + + Gulf between visitor and prisoner, 236 + + + H + + Habits formed in prison, 259 + + Habitual criminal, 288 + + Habituals under license, 296 + + Heredity, 17-23 + + Heredity and original sin, 22 + + Hire-purchase trading, 254 + + Homes for Offenders, association in, 269 + + Homes for Women, 265 + + Hooliganism, 135 + + Hospitals, prison, 243 + + + I + + Imitativeness of girls, 148 + + Immigrant, alien, 98 + + Imprisonment, effect of, 269-70 + + Incorrigible and incurable, the, 168 + + Inebriate Homes and their inmates, 272-3 + + Inebriate Homes, defect of, 278 + + Inebriate Homes, failure of, 275 + + Information, official, 47 + + Insane, boarding out of, 335 + + Insanity and drink, 34 + + Insanity and embezzlement, 29 + + Insanity and fire-raising, 26 + + Insanity and murder, 31-3 + + Insanity and responsibility, 24 + + Insanity and theft, 26 + + Insanity, crimes suggestive of, 31 + + Insanity escaping notice, 28 + + Insanity inducing crime, 26 + + Insanity resulting from criminal indulgence, 33 + + Institution and family life, 283 + + Institution habits, 282 + + Institution, stigma of, 335 + + Institutions, common interests of inmates of, 279 + + Institutions, military model of, 279 + + Interest, personal, 48 + + + J + + Jealousy and crime, 145-7 + + Jury, Scottish, 209 + + + K + + Knowledge and experience, 138 + + + L + + Labour, limitation of hours of, 131 + + Law, administration of, 113 + + Law and conduct, 8 + + Law and locality, 9 + + Law, the, and the poor, 85 + + Law, ignorance of, 90 + + Law, inability to obey, 90 + + Law, respect for, 181, 319 + + Lectures in prison, 241 + + Lethal chamber, 168, 330 + + Liberation, conditional, 336 + + Liberation, prisoner on, 258 + + Liberation, unconditional, 336 + + Library, prison, 240 + + Licensing, 314-316 + + License, spirit, penalties for breach of, 314 + + + M + + Medical man and prisoners, 5 + + Medical officer, prison, 218, 251 + + Medicine and quackery, 162 + + Mental defect and destitution, 37 + + Mental defect and responsibility, 36 + + Mental defect resulting from indulgence, 39 + + Mental defect and theft, 37 + + Mental development, unequal, 35, 132 + + Mentally defective, 35 + + Mental faculty and social stress, 36 + + Mental incapacity and child neglect, 56 + + Method, practical, 337 + + Migration of town workers, 87 + + Migration from the country, 96 + + Minor offences, 312 + + Murder and the death sentence, 31 + + Murder, the element of accident in, 32 + + + O + + Obedience, 301 + + Obscene language, 92 + + Occupations, blind alley, 130 + + Offenders, first, 9 + + Offenders, guardianship of, 333 + + Offenders, habitual, 287 + + Offenders, minor habitual, 313, 327 + + Offenders, occasional, 313 + + Officials, public supervision of, 113, 212, 249 + + Official utterances, 275 + + Overcrowding, 79, 80 + + Overcrowding and assaults, 83 + + Overcrowding and increase of regulations, 88 + + Overcrowding and sexual offences, 82 + + + P + + Pain and vitality, 175 + + Parent and child, 119, 120, 123 + + Parents, assistance to, 125 + + Parliament, helplessness of, 111 + + Paternity in concealment cases, 157 + + Paupers, boarding out of, 334 + + Penalties, 178 + + Penalties, inequality of, 176, 177 + + Penalties, multiplication of, 88 + + Permanent officials, 113, 212, 249, 274 + + Pernicious literature, 126, 127 + + Personal service, 115 + + Physical defect and crime, 41 + + Pleas of insanity, 32, 208 + + Pleas, special, 208 + + Police and the defective, 37 + + Police and discharged prisoners, 260 + + Police and local conditions, 191 + + Police and military models, 190 + + Police and public, 189 + + Police casualty surgeon, 197 + + Police cells, 195, 196 + + Police courts, 91, 198-202 + + Police court assessors, 200 + + Police courts, country, 90, 206 + + Police courts, summary work of, 202, 203 + + Police, difficulties of, 195 + + Police, duties of City, 91 + + Police efficiency, 191 + + Police force inspection, 190 + + Police judges, 198-203 + + Police judges, appeals from, 199 + + Police, multifarious duties of, 189 + + Police pay, 190 + + Police persecution, 260 + + Police prosecutors, 198 + + Police station, 194 + + Police, transference of, 192 + + Political action, 111, 112 + + Poor, the, and the law, 84 + + Poverty and crime, 67, 78 + + Poverty and crime against the person, 82 + + Poverty and drink, 68 + + Poverty, the praise of, 108 + + Preventive Detention Committees, 293 + + Preventive detention, rules for, 289 + + Prevention of Crimes Act, 1908, 284 + + Prison and military government, 4 + + Prison and poorhouse, 327 + + Prison, assaults in, 232 + + Prison cells, 222 + + Prison chaplain, 218, 233 + + Prison clothing, 224 + + Prison Commission, 211 + + Prison, deaths in, 251 + + Prison diet, 223-4 + + Prison exercise, 242 + + Prison, general plan of, 221 + + Prison governor, 217, 231 + + Prison habits, 259 + + Prison hospitals, 243 + + Prisons, inspectors of, 211 + + Prison lectures, 241 + + Prison library, 240 + + Prison matron, 217, 225 + + Prison medical officer, 218, 251 + + Prison offences, 232 + + Prisons, Parliamentary supervision of, 212 + + Prison, proper function of, 332 + + Prison punishments, 232 + + Prison routine, 220 + + Prison rules, 213 + + Prison Visiting Committee, 215-7 + + Prison warders, 219 + + Prison work, 226 + + Prison workshops, 228 + + Prisoner and doctor, 244 + + Prisoners and enquirers, 45 + + Prisoners and their friends, 47 + + Prisoners and police persecution, 260 + + Prisoners and recreation, 241-2 + + Prisoners and religion, 238 + + Prisoners and religious visitors, 235 + + Prisoners and visitors, 45, 235, 252 + + Prisoner's attitude towards visitor, 236 + + Prisoners, civil, 254 + + Prisoners, classification of, 5 + + Prisoners, common characters of, 11, 13 + + Prisoners' complaints, 233 + + Prisoners' gratuities, 231 + + Prisoners, ideals presented to, 237 + + Prisoners, insane, 24 + + Prisoners' language, 46 + + Prisoner on liberation, 258 + + Prisoners, sick, 244 + + Prisoners' statements, 44-7 + + Prisoners under death sentence, 167 + + Prisoners untried, 252 + + Prisoners, visits to, 45, 231, 235, 252-3 + + Probation of offenders, 317 + + Probation system, 318 + + Procurator Fiscal, 207 + + Property, supervision of, 110 + + Punishment, arbitrary, 172 + + Punishment, capital, 167-70 + + Punishment cells, 233 + + Punishment, corporal, 170 + + Punishment, deterrent, 179 + + Punishment in the past, 164 + + Punishment of children, 174 + + Punishment, retributive, 165 + + + Q + + Quackery, 163 + + + R + + Recreation, public, 86 + + Reform, the only method of, 337 + + Religious atmosphere, 269 + + Religious visitors, 235 + + Right and wrong, 138 + + + S + + Secretary of State and prisoner, 291 + + Secretary of State, multiplicity of duties of, 292 + + Self-deceit in criminals, 106 + + Senile changes and crime, 139 + + Sentences, short and long, 257 + + Servant, domestic, temptations of, 154 + + Service, domestic, conditions of, 153 + + Sexes, attraction by opposite, 141 + + Sexes, relative position of, 140 + + Sheriff Courts, 203-6 + + Sheriffs, 203-6 + + Sick prisoners, 244 + + Slum, the, 82-5 + + Social ambition and dishonesty, 104 + + Social inequalities and crime, 103 + + Social intercourse, 87 + + Social jealousy and distrust, 104 + + Social opinion and conduct, 182 + + Social questions, quackery in, 163 + + Social stress and mental faculty, 36 + + Spirit of the crowd, 136 + + Statistics, criminal, 11-4 + + Street trading, 133 + + Subordination, 302 + + Supervision of permanent officials, 113, 212, 249, 274 + + System of probation, 317 + + + T + + Theft and malicious mischief, 58 + + Trades, teaching of, 297 + + Treatment, rational principles of, 164 + + + U + + Unemployed workmen, decadence of, 73 + + Untried prisoners, 252 + + + V + + Vice and crime, 10 + + Visitors' attitude towards prisoners, 236 + + Visitors, religious, 235 + + Visits to prisoners, 45, 235, 252 + + + W + + Warders, assaults on, 232 + + Warrior and worker, 166 + + Widows and orphans, 112 + + Women and bigamy, 159 + + Women and theft from the person, 144 + + Women and standard of living, 150 + + Women as decoy, 145 + + Women as wage earners, 149 + + Women, fallen, 263-4 + + Women offenders, 144, 263 + + Women offenders, help for, 264 + + Women offenders, position of, 265 + + + Y + + Young offenders and license, 286 + + Young offenders, incorrigible, 287 + + Young offenders, reform of, 284 + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43986 *** |