Chapter II: The Statisticians (1)

I.

A. M. GUERRY.

In his “Essai sur la statistique morale de la France”, the author has made a study of the influence of age, sex, season, education, etc., upon criminality. But there is scarcely to be found an exposition of the influence of economic conditions upon the subject which we are considering. The following passages, however, are not devoid of interest.

“Wealth, (as determined by the amount of taxes on personal and real property) more often than density of population, coincides with crimes against property, of which it thus appears to be an indirect cause. We shall observe, however, that while the maximum of wealth falls in the departments of the North, where the greatest number of crimes against property are found; and the minimum in the center where these crimes are most rare; yet in the South the average is almost as high as in the North. Now if in the North is wealth which indirectly produces the crimes against property, why is it that the same is not true of the South? It would be unsafe to conclude from the fact that the poorest departments are those where the fewest crimes against property are committed, that poverty is not the principal cause of these crimes. In order to justify this conclusion, which in other regards we are far from rejecting, more direct proofs would be necessary. As a matter of fact, it is possible that the departments where there is the least wealth are not those where there are the greatest number of the very poor; and that the departments where the largest fortunes are to be found are just those where the poverty of a part of the population is greatest.

“The question of the effect of wealth or poverty upon morality presents more difficulty than one would suspect at first glance. To study it it would be necessary to determine the ratio of the indigent and pauper class in each department. Some documents upon the subject have been published, it is true, but they have no authentic character, and do not appear to merit enough confidence for us to give the analysis of them here.” [31]

Further along Guerry shows that the departments where commerce and manufacturing are most highly developed furnish also the greatest number of crimes against property. But the author has not investigated the connection between these two symptoms. Although not rejecting, then, entirely the hypothesis that poverty is not the principal cause of crimes against property, Guerry recognizes nevertheless that a causal connection between poverty and crime is possible, that is to say he perceives that the department where the greatest poverty prevails is not necessarily that which is the poorest, nor that the richest is the one that has the fewest of the very poor.

II.

AD. QUETELET.

An exposition of the whole system of this author would lead us too far. But the following quotations from his “Physique sociale” will suffice to show the breadth of his views and the vastness of his conception of society.

“Thus, to make our manner of procedure plain by an example, anyone who examines too closely a small portion of a very great circumference traced upon a plane, will see in this portion only a certain number of physical points, assembled in a more or less accidental way.... From a greater distance his eye will take in a greater number of points, which will already appear regularly distributed in an arc of a certain extent; soon, if the observer continues to recede, he loses sight of the individual points ... grasps the law that has presided over their general arrangement, and recognizes the nature of the curve traced....

“It is in this way that we shall study the laws that concern the human race; for when we examine them from too near at hand it becomes impossible to grasp them; we are struck only with individual peculiarities, which are infinite.” [32]

“In all that relates to crimes, the same figures are reproduced with such constancy that it is impossible to misconstrue them, even in the case of those crimes which, it would seem, should be most likely to escape human prevision, such as homicides, since these are in general committed as a consequence of quarrels arising without motive, and under apparently fortuitous circumstances. Experience, however, proves that not only is the annual number of homicides nearly constant, but that even the weapons employed are used in the same proportions. What can be said then of crimes that are the result of reflection?

“This constancy with which the same crimes reappear annually in the same order, and lead to the same penalties in the same proportions, is one of the most curious of the facts that we learn from court statistics.... A budget which we pay with frightful regularity is that of the jails, the penitentiaries, and the gallows.... We can enumerate in advance how many individuals will stain their hands with the blood of their fellows, how many will be forgers, how many poisoners; almost as we can predict the births and deaths....

“Society contains within itself the germs of all the crimes that are about to be committed. It is society, in a way, which prepares them, and the criminal is only the instrument that executes them.

“Every social state supposes, then, a certain number and certain order of crimes as a necessary consequence of its organization. This remark, which might appear discouraging at first sight, becomes consoling, on the contrary, when we consider it more closely, since it shows the possibility of the improvement of men, by the modification of their institutions and habits and whatever, in general, influences their manner of being. At bottom this is only the extension of the well known law ... that so far as the same causes are present we must expect the repetition of the same effects. What has produced the belief that this did not apply to moral phenomena is the too great influence commonly ascribed to man in matters relating to his actions.” [33]

In the second volume of the “Physique sociale”, Quetelet studies the influence of climate, age, and sex upon the tendency to crime. Although he merely touches upon our subject and treats it only indirectly, the following passages are worth the trouble of quoting:

“Poverty also is very generally regarded as leading to evil; however the department of the Creuse, one of the poorest in France, is that which shows in every respect, the highest morality. In the same way in the Netherlands, the most moral province is Luxemburg, where there is most poverty reigning. We must, however, be clear about the word poverty, which is here employed with a significance to which exception may be taken. A province is not really poor for having less extreme wealth than another, if the inhabitants, as in Luxemburg, are sober and industrious; if, by their labor, they succeed in providing in a dependable way for their needs, and in satisfying tastes that are so much the more modest, as the inequality of fortune is less felt, and causes less temptation; it may be said with more justice that this province enjoys a modest competence. Poverty makes itself felt in the provinces where great wealth is piled up, as in Flanders, Holland, the department of the Seine, etc., and especially in manufacturing countries, where the slightest political disturbance, the slightest obstruction in the channels of trade, will suddenly reduce thousands from a state of well-being to one of distress. It is these sudden changes from one state to another that give birth to crime, especially if those who suffer from them are surrounded by temptations, and are irritated by the continual sight of luxury and an inequality of fortune that makes them desperate.” [34]

In speaking of the three races that make up the population of France, Quetelet says:

“The most remarkable anomaly that the Celtic race seems to present is found in the departments that belong to the valley of the Seine, especially below Paris. Several causes contribute to bring this about. We shall note first that these departments are those which, by reason of their extent, contain most persons and things, and consequently offer most opportunities to commit crimes; it is there that there is most movement and that most vagrants flow in from all districts.... Finally, it is here also that we find most industrial establishments and these establishments support a congested population whose means of support are more precarious than in other vocations.... The commercial and industrial provinces of the Netherlands are likewise those in which most offenses are committed.” [35]

III.

EDW. DUCPETIAUX.

One of the parts of his “Paupérisme dans les Flandres” treats of the criminality in the two provinces of that name. We quote the following from it:

“Criminality is the inseparable companion of poverty. As the number of indigent persons increases, we see the number of crimes also increase. Hunger is a bad counselor. In the midst of crushing destitution, a man gradually loses the notion of justice and injustice, of good and bad; beset by needs that he cannot satisfy, he disregards the laws, and ends by recoiling from no attempt that appears capable of bettering his condition. Visiting a prison is enough to convince one of the influence of this cause upon the number and the nature of the offenses, and before even questioning the statistics that attest the progress of criminality in Flanders, we could be assured that this progress had coincided with that of pauperism. It is not then a demonstration (which we judge quite unnecessary) that we are about to offer here, it is only a series of facts that may serve to make the reader appreciate the greatness of the evil and the urgent necessity of attacking its source.

“The first of these facts is the high figure for convicts belonging to East and West Flanders, when compared with the total number of convicts in the central prisons.... In the ten years between 1838 and 1847, 23,075 convicts were received in the central prisons of the kingdom; 10,308 belonged to the two Flanders and 12,767 to the other provinces; the proportion, to 1000 convicts, was 447 for the first two provinces, and 553 for the seven others. Now this proportion is considerably in excess of that of the respective populations of the two divisions, since, to the thousand inhabitants, there are only 331 in Flanders and 669 in the rest of the kingdom. In other words, during the decennial period in question, one prisoner was received to 139 inhabitants in Flanders, and to 227 in the seven other provinces.

“The second fact is the increase in the number of persons arraigned and convicted in the Flemish provinces during the last few of these years, and particularly since the food shortage of 1845. In a space of seven years, the number of those arraigned in the two Flanders increased about in the ratio of 7 to 17; that of those condemned to imprisonment grew, during the same period from 35 to 123, or nearly quadrupled.

“These data are confirmed by an abstract of the numbers received into the jails and prisons of the two provinces, as well as by the average population of these establishments, during the period from 1839 to 1848:

======+===============================================+=======+========== | Persons Received into the Jails and Prisons of| | Average +-----------------------------------------------+ |Population Years.| |Totals.| of the | West Flanders. | | Prisons. ------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------- | Bruges. | Courtrai. | Ypres. | Furnes. | | +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | 1839 | 1,578 | 592 | 572 | 169 | 2,911 | 233 1840 | 1,502 | 643 | 821 | 196 | 3,162 | 238 1841 | 1,377 | 795 | 599 | 175 | 2,946 | 311 1842 | 1,489 | 863 | 836 | 271 | 3,459 | 346 1843 | 1,478 | 922 | 790 | 298 | 3,488 | 374 1844 | 1,502 | 941 | 696 | 270 | 3,409 | 379 1845 | 1,876 | 935 | 600 | 254 | 3,665 | 376 1846 | 2,378 | 1,108 | 935 | 601 | 5,022 | 574 1847 | 3,751 | 2,012 | 1,238 | 909 | 7,910 | 820 1848 | 2,859 | 1,960 | 1,070 | 690 | 6,579 | 694 +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | | East Flanders. | | +-----------+------------+----------+---------- + | | Ghent. | Audenarde. | Termonde. | | +-----------+------------+----------------------+ | 1839 | 2,094 | 842 | 754 | 3,690 | 289 1840 | 2,311 | 919 | 852 | 4,082 | 357 1841 | 2,163 | 771 | 852 | 3,786 | 351 1842 | 2,171 | 844 | 905 | 3,920 | 333 1843 | 3,610 | 991 | 870 | 5,471 | 408 1844 | 2,548 | 760 | 718 | 4,026 | 345 1845 | 2,579 | 1,061 | 1,461 | 5,101 | 360 1846 | 5,499 | 2,732 | 2,092 | 0,323 | 619 1847 | 7,491 | 6,943 | 3,240 | 7,674 | 972 1848 | 6,309 | 4,462 | 2,829 | 3,600 | 698 ======+===========+============+======================+=======+==========

“The increase in the numbers received into the jails and prisons of the two provinces took place especially in the years 1845, 1846, and 1847; in 1848 we note quite a pronounced decrease, which continues in 1849. Of all the signs to prove the existence and progress of pauperism, this is perhaps the most certain. During the disastrous years that had just elapsed, the prisons became in a sense annexes of the hospitals and almshouses; a great number of offenses were committed with the sole object of finding asylum....

“As to the children, we shall understand the imminence of the danger when we realize that in the short space of three years, from 1845 to 1847, 26,247 children and young persons of both sexes under 18, were incarcerated in prison or were inmates of workhouses. Most of these children belonged to the two provinces of Flanders, and a great number were arrested outside the limits of their province. Here is the increase in the number of those received into the prisons of Ghent and Bruges, and the jails of Audenarde, Termonde, Courtrai, Ypres, and Furnes:

==========+==========================+========================= |Young Prisoners (under 18)| | Received in | Total during the 3 Yrs. Cities. +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+------- | 1845. | 1846. | 1847. | Boys. | Girls. |General | | | | | | Total. ----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+------- | Prisons of E. Flanders. +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+------- Ghent | 350 | 1,345 | 1,898 | 2,671 | 922 | 3,593 Audenarde | 207 | 315 | 674 | 929 | 267 | 1,196 Termonde | 123 | 235 | 406 | 616 | 148 | 764 +--------+--------+--------+ -------+--------+------- | Prisons of W. Flanders. +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+------- Bruges | 459 | 299 | 550 | 1,110 | 198 | 1,308 Courtrai | 116 | 170 | 331 | 560 | 57 | 617 Ypres | 70 | 184 | 250 | 414 | 90 | 504 Furnes | 43 | 139 | 57 | 151 | 88 | 239 +--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+------- Totals | 1,368 | 2,687 | 4,166 | 6,451 | 1,770 | 8,221 ==========+========+========+========+========+========+=======

“This deplorable fact of the increase of criminality among the young is explained by the statistics of indigence. We see in fact that, among the indigent persons aided in East Flanders, in 1847, there were:

==============================+===========+===========+========
| In the | In the |
| Cities. | Country. | Total.
------------------------------+-----------+-----------+--------
Indigent persons under 6 yrs. | 6,693 | 34,637 | 41,530
,, ,, ,, 12 ,, | 8,327 | 37,437 | 45,764
,, ,, ,, 18 ,, | 5,597 | 20,060 | 25,653
| | +--------
General total | 112,947
======================================================+========

“Supposing that West Flanders, which has more dependents in proportion than East Flanders, has the same proportion of children, we arrive at a total for the two provinces, of 225,894 indigent persons whose age is not above 18. In this number there are 174,588 who have not passed their twelfth year! And there are thousands of orphans!

“Notwithstanding the improvement that begins to make itself felt, thanks to the resumption of work and the low price of provisions, many of these young unfortunates continue to give themselves up to begging and vagrancy. But lately driven from their homes by cold and hunger, they form a wandering population, incessantly buffeted from almshouse to almshouse, from prison to prison.

“In Brussels at this present moment (July, 1849) there are still to be found in the annex of the prison, about 250 mendicants, among whom are 97 children below the age of 17. In the prisons of Ghent and Bruges their number is equally great.” [36]

“It is an established fact, then, that the increase of criminality in Flanders has gone hand in hand with the extension of poverty. The latter brings about the abandonment of homes; ... from this come mendicity, vagrancy, marauding, and theft. The incarceration of so great a number of unfortunates brings the most disastrous consequences. The germs of corruption, brutality, and crime are continually injected into a large fraction of the population. The habit of working is lost, energy is relaxed, idleness becomes incurable. When we think especially of the mass of children who, during the last few years, have passed through the prisons and almshouses, we cannot picture without pity, mingled with fear, the future of this generation, initiated at an early age into the existence of criminals, and condemned to the dangers and evils inseparable from the abandonment and degradation to which they are a prey.” [37]

IV.

L. M. MOREAU-CHRISTOPHE. [38]

In speaking of England, after having sketched how industrialism, as it spread more and more, drew after it an increase of pauperism, the author says of the connection between criminality and economic conditions:

“Parallel with the ascending figure for pauperism, rises the growing figure for criminality. The number of persons arraigned at the assizes of England and Wales has increased as follows:

=============+==========+=============== Years. | Totals. |Annual Average. -------------+----------+--------------- 1814 to 1820 | 78,762 | 11,252 1821 to 1827 | 99,842 | 14,263 1828 to 1834 | 134,062 | 19,152 1834 to 1840 | 162,502 | 23,214 1841 to 1847 | 193,445 | 27,760 =============+==========+===============

“Thus in a space of thirty-four years the number of crimes has more than doubled in England, while, in the same interval, the increase of the population has hardly passed 40%.

“The parallelism between the growing pauperism and growing criminality is even more striking when the comparison is applied to the delinquents under the summary jurisdiction of the justices of the peace. Up to the time of the establishment of the workhouses in 1834 the number of poor persons assisted increased progressively from year to year. Well, the number of persons arrested by the metropolitan police followed the same progression. This number was 72,824 in 1831, and 77,543 in 1832. In 1833 the new poor law with its terrible workhouses was approaching; consequently the number of arrests was no more than 69,959. In 1834 the law was promulgated, and up to 1838 was executed with great rigor; as a result the number of arrests fell to 64,269 in 1834, to 63,674 in 1835, and to 63,584 in 1836. In 1837 the severity began to relax; consequently the number of arrests increased to 64,416. In 1839 the laxity continued, and the number of arrests increased to 70,717. Laxity reached its height in 1842, and the number of arrests rose to 76,545; this was an arrest to each 25 of the population.

“In Newcastle in 1837 the magistrates sentenced 1 person to 24 of the whole population. In Leeds during a period of six years, from 1833 to 1838, there was one person arrested to 32 of the population. In Manchester in 1841 ... the ratio of persons arrested, to the population, was as 1 to 21.... In 1831, ten years earlier, the proportion was still only 1 to 78. It almost quadrupled, then, in the interval. In Liverpool in 1840 there was one arrest to 12 inhabitants.” [39]

V.

G. MAYR.

The statistical data that form the basis of Dr. Mayr’s “Statistik der gerichtlichen Polizei im Königreiche Bayern und in einigen anderen Ländern” are different from those used in similar works. For, while generally only the number of crimes whose authors have been convicted, or that of delinquents punished, are considered, Dr. Mayr is of the opinion that to obtain a true picture of the morality of a people, it is necessary to take into account the number of crimes known to the police. “If we wish really to form an exact picture of the moral condition of a people, we must first of all ask ourselves the question, how great is the number of the cases of crimes of different kinds that are of common notoriety, before we ask how great is the number of the individuals who are convicted of these crimes. The immorality of a people is determined not by the number of individuals convicted, but by the number of crimes committed; else that people would be most moral in which no offender ever let himself be caught, even if more crimes were committed there than elsewhere.” [40]

BAVARIA.

The results of Dr. Mayr’s researches in regard to crime in this country are shown by him in a number of charts. [41]

Cis-Rhenal Territory. A comparison of the curves for crimes against property and those for crimes against persons shows us that the first descends as the other ascends, and vice versa. In seeking for the causes we find that in general the motives for the latter class of crime are, among others, coarseness, passion, and dissoluteness, while that of the first kind of crime is the desire to secure objects for direct use. The more difficult it is to gain a livelihood in a lawful manner, the more this tendency will develop.

According to the author, the fluctuation in the price of grain is one of the most important factors bearing upon criminality. And indeed, in examining his nine statistical charts the connection between the high or the low cost of grain, and the great or the small number of offenses against property comes out clearly. The curve for offenses against persons, on the other hand, falls when the price of grain rises, and vice versa. The improvement of living conditions, both subjectively (through having the means to purchase the necessaries) and objectively (through a fall in prices) must consequently exercise a considerable influence upon criminality. This is seen very well in the last years of the period 1835–61, when the price of grain was low, and wages very generally increased. Hence, from 1857 on, there was an increase in the crimes against persons, and a decrease in the crimes against property.

It ought to be remarked here that however just in itself Dr. Mayr’s observation may be, we must beware of drawing the erroneous conclusion that those who feel most strongly the influence of the fall of prices and the rise in wages must necessarily, according to a law of nature, commit crimes against persons. This is true only for gross and uncultivated individuals who do not know how to occupy their leisure. But the degree of civilization of an individual depends above all upon the economic conditions under which he was placed by his birth. There are, then, economic causes for both kinds of crime.

Upper Bavaria. This district shows a higher figure for crime than any other province in Bavaria. It is especially the great increase since 1857–1858 that is most striking, and which is explained at least partially by the application of another system of examining offenses. The increase in the number of crimes against the person is the consequence of prosperous years, while the high figure for crimes against property is explained by the great influx of individuals from neighboring districts, who, from an economic standpoint, were not independent. In the period from 1837 to 1864 the population increased 49,128 by birth, and 66,299 by immigration.

Lower Bavaria. The connection between crimes against property and the price of grain is weaker in this province than in any of the others, because of its great production of cereals, which, for the most part, are destined for home consumption.

The upper Palatinate, Upper, Central, and Lower Franconia, and Swabia, all give convincing proofs of Dr. Mayr’s thesis, though in Franconia the truth is less apparent through the fact that bad years brought increased emigration, which cut down the normal increase in the number of crimes.

Where he treats of the different forms of crime, we read the following remarks, which are of interest in connection with our subject: “As we have just seen, crimes against persons increase when the price of grain goes up. We must except from this rule, however, two kinds of crime: infanticide and abortion.” The first of these crimes reached its maximum in the critical years 1854–55, and the second in 1853–1854.

As a proof of the coincidence of the fluctuations of crimes against property with those of the price of grain in the period preceding that which he studied especially, Dr. Mayr gives the following table:

========+=================================+================
|Number of Crimes against Property|
| to 100,000 of Population. |
Years. +--------------+------------------+ Price of Rye
| District of | District of the | in Munich.
| the Isar. | Lower Danube. |
--------+--------------+------------------+----------------
1818/19 | -- | 138 | 8 fl. 15 kr.
19/20 | -- | 148 | 6 31
20/21 | 233 | 157 | 7 28
21/22 | 297 | 200 | 7 58
22/23 | 267 | 195 | 7 57
23/24 | 276 | -- | 6 2
24/25 | 295 | 166 | 6 59
25/26 | 317 | 157 | 6 18
26/27 | 315 | 144 | 6 55
27/28 | 463 | 241 | 11 11
28/29 | 416 | 234 | 11 6
29/30 | 401 | 216 | 10 48
30/31 | 427 | 264 | 11 12
31/32 | 530 | 302 | 12 35
32/33 | 493 | 313 | 8 21
33/34 | -- | 318 | 8 42
34/35 | 487 | 318 | 7 47
========+==============+==================+================

In chapter IV (“Zahl und Bewegung der Polizeiübertretungen im Gebiete diesseits des Rheins”) Dr. Mayr gives some interesting information with regard to thefts of wood. The following table gives the figures for these crimes in this district compared with the others:

============================|============================ Above the Average | Below the Average (Cis-Rhenal Territory). | (Cis-Rhenal Territory). ----------------------------+---------------------------- The Upper Palatinate 18 % |Central Franconia 1 % Upper Franconia 80 ,,|Swabia 63 ,, Lower Franconia 178 ,,|Upper Bavaria 99.2 ,, |Lower Bavaria 99.5 ,, =========================================================

The great difference between these figures is explained by the fact that in Lower Franconia only a quarter of the woods are privately owned (the rest belonging to corporations, etc.). In Upper Bavaria the private forests are 92%, and in Lower Bavaria 96½% of the whole. Besides, the price of wood is very high in Lower Franconia. Once more, then, economic conditions are the cause of crime.

Upon the movement of the figures for mendicity Dr. Mayr remarks that they are strongly influenced by the cost of the primary necessities. “The parallel movement of the food-price and mendicity offers little to astonish us if we learn from the statistics of crimes that the objective difficulty or ease of getting food resulting from the fluctuations in price, exercises a direct influence upon increase and decrease of serious crimes against property. It is explicable that only a small portion of individuals who become economically dependent proceed to serious crime, while the majority fall into the minor misdemeanors involved in a living obtained through begging and vagrancy. The same force that appears in the increase and decrease of attacks upon property, must consequently appear much more intensively in the fluctuations of mendicity and vagrancy.”

BAVARIA. [42]

=======+=======================+=============================================================================== | Price of Rye | Number of Mendicants and Vagrants Arrested to | (Bavarian Bushel). | 100,000 of the Population. +-----------+-----------+-------------+-----------+-----------+-----------------------+--------+-------- Years. | Cis-Rhenal| | | | | | | | Territory.|Palatinate.| Bavaria. | | | Franconia. | | +-----+-----+-----+-----+------+------+ | Upper +------+--------+-------+ | The | fl. | kr.| fl. | kr.|Upper | Lower|Palatinate.|Palatinate.|Upper |Central | Lower |Swabia. |Kingdom. -------+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+------+-----------+-----------+------+--------+-------+--------+-------- 1835/36| 6 | 53 | 8 | 17 | 2696 | 1558 | 1542 | 1952 | 2165 | 1348 | 665 | 1456 | 1685 1836/37| 7 | 31 | 10 | 26 | 2100 | 1839 | 2075 | 2277 | 2421 | 1229 | 711 | 1262 | 1727 1837/38| 10 | 18 | 12 | 21 | 2065 | 2483 | 2472 | 2233 | 2255 | 1438 | 639 | 1306 | 1842 1838/39| 11 | 30 | 13 | 40 | 2232 | 1989 | 2056 | 2076 | 2195 | 1435 | 519 | 1640 | 1771 1839/40| 10 | 35 | 12 | 6 | 2032 | 1805 | 2238 | 2111 | 2584 | 1233 | 515 | 1829 | 1781 1840/41| 8 | 49 | 10 | 4 | 1887 | 1608 | 1845 | 1711 | 1810 | 1006 | 410 | 1531 | 1467 1841/42| 9 | 14 | 12 | 39 | 1777 | 1318 | 1878 | 1625 | 1814 | 1008 | 434 | 1599 | 1433 1842/43| 14 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 1810 | 1757 | 2479 | 2365 | 2679 | 1450 | 615 | 2177 | 1893 1843/44| 14 | 1 | 10 | 28 | 1905 | 1690 | 1970 | 2286 | 2264 | 1475 | 475 | 2151 | 1758 1844/45| 15 | 15 | 13 | 30 | 1857 | 1698 | 2411 | 2364 | 1412 | 1119 | 423 | 1722 | 1622 1845/46| 19 | 53 | 21 | 45 | 2182 | 1836 | 3528 | 2856 | 1447 | 1475 | 535 | 2332 | 2033 1846/47| 21 | 36 | 22 | 44 | 2902 | 2166 | 4276 | 3757 | 1904 | 1850 | 949 | 2586 | 2584 1847/48| 10 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 1916 | 1635 | 2704 | 2290 | 1348 | 1364 | 548 | 1985 | 1746 1848/49| 7 | 34 | 8 | 46 | 2269 | 1439 | 2555 | 1360 | 1015 | 1270 | 586 | 1545 | 1563 1849/50| 7 | 57 | 8 | 57 | 2346 | 1528 | 2801 | 1782 | 991 | 1351 | 716 | 1893 | 1686 1850/51| 12 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 2213 | 1790 | 3269 | 1734 | 1096 | 1294 | 1002 | 2023 | 1845 1851/52| 17 | 53 | 15 | 57 | 2927 | 2243 | 4562 | 3030 | 1637 | 2274 | 2236 | 2969 | 2705 1852/53| 17 | 39 | 17 | 46 | 2572 | 1918 | 5010 | 2289 | 2017 | 1795 | 2165 | 2535 | 2592 1853/54| 23 | 38 | 24 | 13 | 2932 | 2097 | 5854 | 2983 | 2127 | 2282 | 2894 | 2671 | 3027 1854/55| 23 | 19 | 23 | 38 | 2964 | 2591 | 5026 | 3326 | 2470 | 2215 | 2831 | 2804 | 3229 1855/56| 17 | 45 | 22 | 2 | 2423 | 1817 | 4637 | 2367 | 2050 | 1595 | 2515 | 1939 | 2443 1856/57| 15 | 26 | 18 | 5 | 2157 | 1724 | 3265 | 2059 | 1176 | 1412 | 1931 | 1435 | 1922 1857/58| 12 | 31 | 12 | 58 | 1956 | 1237 | 2595 | 1537 | 588 | 974 | 1621 | 1203 | 1505 1858/59| 10 | 28 | 12 | 13 | 1949 | 1170 | 2309 | 1334 | 462 | 497 | 940 | 1029 | 1255 1859/60| 11 | 45 | 15 | 15 | 2084 | 1219 | 2622 | 1538 | 525 | 890 | 994 | 1105 | 1419 1860/61| 14 | 8 | 16 | 19 | 2055 | 1304 | 2580 | 1318 | 484 | 720 | 750 | 1069 | 1336 +-----+-----+-----+-----+------+------+-----------+-----------+------+--------+-------+--------+-------- Average| 13 | 35 | 14 | 44 | 2234 | 1741 | 3083 | 2155 | 1649 | 1388 | 1120 | 1842 | 1920 =======+=====+=====+=====+=====+======+======+===========+===========+======+========+=======+========+========

ENGLAND.

In speaking of the influence of economic conditions upon mendicity Dr. Mayr gives the following table:

ENGLAND AND WALES.

=========+=========================+=================== Years. |Price of Wheat (Quarter).|Number of Vagrants. ---------+-------------------------+------------------- | sh. d. | 1858 | 44 2 | 22,559 1859 | 43 10 | 23,353 1860 | 53 3 | 22,666 1861 | 55 4 | 24,001 1862 | 55 5-1/2 | 29,504 1863 | 44 9 | 33,182 1864 | 40 2 | 31,932 =========+=========================+===================

However, in this case the increase of mendicity does not rest upon the high prices alone, but also upon the crisis which, owing to the depression of the cotton industry from 1860 on, lowered the plane of living of hundreds of thousands of workers, or drove them into the street.

ENGLAND AND WALES.

Number and Kind of Cases Tried by Jury.

========+========+=========+=========+===============+=========+=========+====== |Offenses|Offenses |Offenses | Forgery |Violent | Other |Total. |against |against |against | and |Attacks |Offenses.| Years. |Persons.|Property |Property |Counterfeiting.|against | | | | with |without | |Property.| | | |Violence.|Violence.| | | | --------+--------+---------+---------+---------------+---------+---------+------ 1858 | 14 | 29 | 233 | 13 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 296 1859 | 13 | 22 | 209 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 263 1860 | 11 | 20 | 207 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 4 | 253 1861 | 12 | 25 | 200 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 4 | 252 1862 | 12.5 | 28 | 203 | 9.5 | 3 | 6 | 262 1863 | 14.5 | 26 | 194 | 9 | 3.5 | 7 | 254 1864 | 15 | 24 | 190 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 7 | 246 +--------+---------+---------+---------------+---------+---------+------ Average | 13 | 25 | 205 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 260 ========+========+=========+=========+===============+=========+=========+======

Here the influence of the fall of prices is distinctly seen; offenses against property have decreased, those against persons, on the contrary, have increased.

ENGLAND AND WALES.

Total Offenses Tried by Jury, and Offenses not Specified.

========+==========================+=========================== Years. |Assaults upon Persons to | Attacks upon Property |100,000 of the Population.|without Violence to 100,000 | | of the Population. --------+--------------------------+--------------------------- 1858 | 439 | 439 1859 | 438 | 399 1860 | 399 | 392 1861 | 383 | 415 1862 | 403 | 433 1863 | 436 | 392 1864 | 469 | 365 +--------------------------+--------------------------- Average | 426 | 405 ========+==========================+===========================

The great fall in the price of grain in 1863–1864 is once more accompanied by a diminution of the offenses against property, and an increase in those against persons.

We might conclude from this table that the remark concerning crimes against property and those against persons is not applicable, since in 1858 the number of crimes against property was very high, notwithstanding the reduced price of grain. Here is Dr. Mayr’s explanation of it:

“The reason must be the following: The occasion for high spirits to be found in improved living conditions follows immediately upon any such improvement, and disappears at once when times grow worse. For this reason the fluctuation in attacks upon persons harmonizes exactly with the fluctuation in the price of food. The effects of hard times are only partially such as lead to punishable offenses; in most cases economic ruin occurs first, which leads only after an interval to attacks upon property. For this reason the effects of hard times continue to manifest themselves at a time when the hard times themselves are already practically over. This is the explanation both of the great number of attacks upon property in the year 1857, when the effects of the immediately preceding hard times were making themselves felt, as well as the gradual increase in the number of attacks against property in the years 1860–1862.” [43]

Number of Persons against whom Action was Brought for Abandonment.

========|================
Years. | To 100,000 of
| the Population.
--------|----------------
1858 | 20
1859 | 18
1860 | 17
1861 | 21
1862 | 21
1863 | 19
1864 | 18
|----------------
Average | 19
=========================

The fall in the price of grain in 1863–1864 was accompanied by a diminution in the number of crimes of this kind.

Violations of the Vagrant Act to 100,000 of the Population.

=======+============+===========+==========+=========+===============+=============+============+==============+====== Years. |Prostitutes.|Mendicants.| Without |Furnished| Presence in a | Presence in |Incorrigible|Other Offenses|Total. | | | Means |Burglar's|Closed Building|Public Places| Vagabonds. | against the | | | | of | with |with Criminal |with Criminal| | Vagrant Act. | | | |Existence.| Tools. | Intent. | Intent. | | | -------+------------+-----------+----------+---------+---------------+-------------+------------+--------------+------ 1858 | 51.4 | 50.2 | 18.9 | 0.3 | 14.2 | 18.0 | 2.0 | 13.0 | 168 1859 | 37.1 | 39.2 | 15.9 | 0.3 | 12.2 | 12.7 | 1.6 | 12.0 | 131 1860 | 33.6 | 37.9 | 15.2 | 0.2 | 11.5 | 10.1 | 1.2 | 9.4 | 119 1861 | 35.4 | 41.3 | 17.7 | 0.4 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 1.2 | 10.7 | 131 1862 | 41.4 | 55.4 | 20.1 | 0.4 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 2.1 | 12.8 | 161 1863 | 39.2 | 52.9 | 18.6 | 0.2 | 13.3 | 15.3 | 2.5 | 15.5 | 157 1864 | 35.8 | 46.0 | 18.0 | 0.2 | 13.3 | 14.8 | 2.2 | 12.7 | 143 +------------+-----------+----------+---------+---------------+-------------+------------+--------------+------ Average| 39.7 | 46.1 | 17.7 | 0.3 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 1.8 | 12.3 | 144 =======+============+===========+==========+=========+===============+=============+============+==============+======

The maximum number of infractions of the Vagrant Act took place in 1858, when the harmful consequences of the rise in the price of grain, which took place immediately before, were still making themselves felt. The increase in 1861–1862 was the result of the high price of wheat, and of the crisis in the cotton industry.

France.

=======+=========================+====================== |Arrests in the Department|Average Price of Grain Years. | of the Seine to 100,000 | per Hectolitre. | of the Population. | -------+-------------------------+---------------------- 1855 | 1222 | fr. 29.37 1856 | 1170 | 30.22 1857 | 1169 | 23.83 1858 | 1154 | 16.44 1859 | 1008 | 16.69 1860 | 1074 | 20.41 1861 | 1128 | 24.25 1862 | 1250 | 23.24 1863 | 1133 | 19.78 1864 | 1158 | 17.58 =======+=========================+======================

Here also the influence of price makes itself felt.

The following table gives the number of persons arrested in the department of the Seine, grouped according to the alleged crimes, and compared with the price of wheat. Group I contains offenses against the public order; Group II, offenses against persons; Group III, offenses against morals; group IV, offenses against property; Group V, miscellaneous. Taking 100 as the average figure for the price of grain as well as for crimes in the economically favorable years 1858–59, the proportion is as follows:

======+======+==============================+===================+=====+=============+=====+====== |Price | I. | II. | III.| IV. | V. | | of +------------------------------+------+------------+-----+------+------+-----+ Years.|Wheat.|Total.| For | For |Total.| For | |Total.|Simple| |Total. | | |Vagabondage.|Mendicity.| |Assault.[44]| | |Theft.| | ------+------+------+------------+----------+------+------------+-----+------+------+-----+------ 1855 | 178 | 128 | 122 | 148 | 76 | 72 | 100 | 102 | 116 | 106 | 113 1856 | 182 | 117 | 118 | 114 | 81 | 80 | 104 | 106 | 121 | 92 | 108 1857 | 144 | 119 | 127 | 117 | 82 | 81 | 98 | 101 | 114 | 100 | 108 1860 | 123 | 96 | 90 | 134 | 103 | 106 | 100 | 110 | 123 | 80 | 99 1861 | 146 | 95 | 99 | 105 | 95 | 96 | 131 | 116 | 124 | 103 | 104 1862 | 140 | 120 | 128 | 147 | 94 | 98 | 108 | 116 | 131 | 108 | 116 1863 | 119 | 112 | 119 | 186 | 90 | 94 | 92 | 101 | 114 | 97 | 105 1864 | 106 | 115 | 124 | 176 | 84 | 87 | 85 | 111 | 123 | 84 | 107 ======+======+======+============+==========+======+============+=====+======+======+=====+======

Here it is to be observed:

a. that the movement of mendicity and vagrancy is not in direct correlation with that of the price of grain.

b. that Group IV shows only a slight correlation with the price of grain, since there are included in it many crimes whose causes are not of an economic nature.

c. that during the last years of this period the increase of crimes against property was greater than the figures for the price of grain would lead one to suppose; a fact which is explained, according to Dr. Mayr, by the lack of work resulting from the war of secession.

The law that crimes against persons increase with the fall of prices is confirmed by these statistics.

VI.

A. CORNE. [45]

According to this author the laws regulating moral phenomena are at present hidden by thick clouds.

“We may await with confidence the dissipation of these clouds, when some great principle, about which our observations of detail will group themselves, will appear to us in a flood of light. Everything seems to indicate to me that this master principle is no other than the principle of activity. In fact, the first rudiments of social science have as yet been given us only by political economy, and its sole foundation is the affirmation of human activity. On the other hand, since giving myself up without any preconceptions to this special study of criminality I have been little by little led by a close examination of the facts, to find the general cause of crimes in the absence of this principle of activity.

“When we reflect upon this, it appears quite in the natural order of things that the development of criminality, that is to say of the spirit of destruction and dissolution, should manifest itself at the time of the weakening or disappearance of the generative principle of all production and of all society. There is here, then, if I am not deceived, more than a mere coincidence. There is a relationship which deserves to be noted so much the more since it is from the principle of activity that all physical laws also are derived today.” [46]

Let us accompany the author to the domain of facts. After having given an exposition of the movement of criminality in France in comparison with that of other countries, he finally takes up the question of etiology. For the crowd, says the author, the criminal is a kind of monster in the midst of society, a monster predestined to crime because of his innate tendencies. Looked at in this way criminality is an individual evil. Corne, on the contrary, believes it to be a social evil. For, however much society may be developed in all respects, it is nevertheless always imperfect, since the ignorance and corruption of morals are great. The author lays stress upon two facts, namely, the corruption of morals in the upper classes, and militarism. Not only does militarism draw after it the ruin of peoples, and develop man’s violent instincts, but it has still other very serious moral consequences, by forcing celibacy upon young men at the passionate age.

The author admits that there are facts which might seem to give the lie to his opinion—the influence, for example, of the price of grain upon the decrease and increase of criminality.

========+======================+================= Years. | Average Price of a |Number of Persons | Hectolitre of Wheat. | Arraigned. --------+----------------------+----------------= | fr. c. | 1850 | 14 32 | 147,757 1851 | 14 48 | 146,368 1852 | 16 75 | 159,791 1853 | 22 39 | 171,351 1854 | 28 82 | 170,940 1855 | 29 32 | 163,748 1856 | 30 75 | 162,049 1857 | 24 37 | 161,556 1858 | 16 75 | 157,815 1859 | 16 75 | 150,948 1860 | 20 24 | 144,301 1861 | 24 55 | 151,112 1862 | 23 24 | 152,332 1863 | 19 78 | 144,072 1864 | 17 58 | 146,230 ========+======================+=================

Although, according to Corne, the high price of grain may be only an accidental fact, there must yet be some importance attached to it in view of the disastrous consequences which may result from it to families that have in any case a hard time to make both ends meet. But the figures given above do not prove the influence to be very great. For prices rise sometimes although the other figures fall, and vice versa. And then the sudden increase of [detected] crime from 1849 to 1853 must be attributed to a better organization of the police.

Then the author gives the following table:

========+======================+=========================== Years. | Price of a |Number of Persons Convicted | Hectolitre of Wheat. | of Attacks upon Property | |(to 1000 of Population). --------+----------------------+--------------------------- | fr. c. | 1850 | 14 32 | 147,757 1851 | 14 48 | 146,368 1852 | 16 75 | 159,791 1853 | 22 39 | 171,351 1854 | 28 82 | 170,940 1855 | 29 32 | 163,748 1856 | 30 75 | 162,049 1857 | 24 37 | 161,556 1858 | 16 75 | 157,815 1859 | 16 75 | 150,948 1860 | 20 24 | 144,301 1861 | 24 55 | 151,112 1862 | 23 24 | 152,332 1863 | 19 78 | 144,072 1864 | 14 32 | 146,230 ========+======================+===========================

We see that the coincidence of the figures is here naturally greater than in the first table.

“The situation of criminals may be summed up in a word: isolation. Most of them hardly know what a family is. They are miserable, they have no home, no fixed occupation which attaches them little by little to men and things. They are immersed in the gloom of ignorance. Aside from what affects their immediate physical wants the rest of the world is for them as if it did not exist.” [47] They are alone, isolated from birth. For among juvenile prisoners there are reckoned not only many illegitimate and orphaned children, but also many who have been deserted. Out of 8006 young criminals in prison December 31st, 1864, 60% were illegitimate, orphaned, or deserted.

The author then depicts the environment in which the children of the proletariat ordinarily grow up—bad hygienic conditions, demoralizing surroundings, etc.—and points out the harmful effect of labor in factories upon the young. Corne also considers celibacy to be one of the causes of crime, since the individual has no one to care for him or be interested in his fate. Crime is developed much more in the great cities than in the country, for the reason, the author thinks, that men are much more isolated, much more left to themselves in the city than in rural neighborhoods.

—Here I would remark that it is for economic reasons that men are prevented from marrying, and that the great criminality of cities is best explained by the marked difference in economic situation, and by the more frequent opportunities for wrong-doing found there.—

According to Corne one of the best preventives of crimes is property, since it engenders a feeling of responsibility. The property owner exerts himself to increase his wealth, and hence property has a moral influence. [48]

“Criminality comes from a lack of vitality. It is an anemia. In order to prevent it we must excite a desire for activity.” It is in this that the usefulness of education appears. The man who knows how to read and write, has in his hands an instrument which can multiply his means of action indefinitely. [49]

—As regards education, it has been proved that Corne and many others have exaggerated its importance for the etiology of crime. When education extends beyond the art of reading and writing, it has a civilizing influence, and causes a diminution of violent crimes, but it does not result in a decrease of criminality in general, since the economic causes of crime remain. Education changes, indeed, the nature of criminality, but not its extent. [50]—

The author concludes by saying “The man who has a family, who has property, who is educated, who is known by his fellow citizens and has his share of influence upon them, can not be the individual whom we have seen to be criminal, because of weakness and isolation ... he has energy, determination, and can control his passions because he is surrounded and sustained, because a thousand bonds of interest and affection attach him to society, order, and property.” [51]

VII.

H. VON VALENTINI.

The work “Das Verbrecherthum im Preussischen Staat”, published in 1869 by Prison-director von Valentini, treats especially of the results obtained by the penal system then in force in Prussia, and of the means of improving it.

Von Valentini sees in crime primarily the consequence of social conditions, at least he considers that the best means of combating it is for society to prevent the criminal tendency from manifesting itself, and make efforts to raise the moral level of the people. For, according to our author, 90% of the criminals are “purely material and entirely neglected” and ought to “undergo a spiritual regeneration.” [52]

After these general observations he proceeds to more particular observations upon the criminals themselves in society. He examines statistically the proportion of criminals in the population. Obtaining different proportions for different districts of Prussia he investigates the causes. For this purpose he classifies crimes as: first, crimes from personal interest, and second, crimes from passion. Finding then that the provinces of the East give 9% of crimes from personal interest more than the others, he thinks he has found the cause in “an existing destitution both material and intellectual, and in the arrangement of the prisons.” [53]

Chapter Three, upon the “Dimensionen des Nothstandes” contains detailed tables for each province, the great cities, and the rich and poor countries. He obtains, then, the following result for the eight provinces:

======================+===========+===========+==============+============= | Pauperism | |Percentage of |Ratio of the | Number | To 100 |Crimes against|Percentage of |of Indigent| of the | Property to | the Crimes Provinces. |Persons in |Population.|100,000 of the| against |the Poorest| | Population. | Property |Districts. | | | to that of | | | | Pauperism. ----------------------+-----------+-----------+--------------+------------- Posen | 536,495 | 36.1 | 32.89 | 0.91 : 1 Prussia | 792,948 | 27.6 | 24.69 | 0.89 : 1 Pomerania | 314,383 | 22.6 | 20.57 | 0.91 : 1 Silesia | 517,528 | 15.2 | 36.94 | 2.43 : 1 +-----------+-----------+--------------+------------- Total of Eastern group| 2,161,354 | 23.6 | 115.09 | 4.91 : 1 | | | | Rhenish provinces | 397,350 | 12.0 | 5.59 | 0.46 : 1 Brandenburg | 84,011 | 3.4 | 26.27 | 7.72 : 1 Westphalia | 45,849 | 2.8 | 9.21 | 3.29 : 1 Saxony | 259,901 | 1.3 | 18.33 | 14.10 : 1 +-----------+-----------+--------------+------------- Total of Western group| 553,111 | 5.9 | 59.40 | 25.57 : 1 ======================+===========+===========+==============+=============

Another thing that strikes him is the influence of the small landed proprietor. “The possession of even a small piece of property in land ... is no slight preventative of crime against property.” [54] The author gives the following statistical summary.

He ranks in the class of small land holdings estates of 30 acres [55] and below. The total amounts to 10,655,460 acres to 1,716,535 estates, with an average of 6 acres.

There were in the following provinces:

Posen 57,519 of these estates, or 1 to 25 inhabitants. Prussia 93,793 ,, ,, ,, 30 ,, Pomerania 61,752 ,, ,, ,, 22 ,, Silesia 230,710 ,, ,, ,, 14 ,, ------- Total of the Eastern group 443,774 ,, ,, ,, 18 ,,

Rhenish provinces 788,473 ,, ,, ,, 4 ,, Brandenburg 112,532 ,, ,, ,, 22 ,, Westphalia 197,383 ,, ,, ,, 8 ,, Saxony 174,373 ,, ,, ,, 11 ,, --------- Total of Western group 1,272,761 ,, ,, ,, 8 ,,

“The Rhenish provinces alone, then, have nearly twice as many as the four Eastern provinces together! This explains the figure, 5.59, for this district given in the table above, taken in connection with the noteworthy care given to the poor. Can the connection between the ratios given above and those of the occurrence of crimes against property be denied?” [56]

In this connection he treats of housing conditions, for which he gives the following figures.

Dwellings to 1 league:

Posen 258 Rhenish Provinces 901
Prussia 230 Brandenburg 304
Pomerania 218 Westphalia 579
Silesia 546 Saxony 529
Total 1252 Total 2313

A more detailed summary of the number of inhabitants shows us that there were:

=================+======+========+==========+========+=======+============+===========+======= |Posen.|Prussia.|Pomerania.|Silesia.|Rhenish|Brandenburg.|Westphalia.|Saxony. | | | | | Prov. | | | -----------------+------+--------+----------+--------+-------+------------+-----------+------- |Inhab.| Inhab. | Inhab. | Inhab. | Inhab.| Inhab. | Inhab. | Inhab. | | | | | | | | In each dwelling | 9.8 | 9.8 | 10.1 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 10.0 | 7.2 | 7.5 In the cities | 11.2 | 13.2 | 11.6 | 13.3 | 10.4 | 14.0 | 8.7 | 9.8 In the hamlets | 8.8 | 10.6 | 10.0 | 8.1 | 6.1 | 9.6 | 7.0 | 6.8 In the villages | 9.3 | 8.4 | 9.3 | 7.0 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 6.7 | 6.5 =================+======+========+==========+========+=======+============+===========+=======