criminals. If anything be urgently wanted, it is a plan for
preventing the growth of the criminal class; and this probably is
not so difficult as it may appear. Of course, till there be a far
broader system of public education than now prevails, the criminal
population will never want recruits. Nevertheless, even with our
present imperfect educational arrangements, something might be done.
The criminal class is discovered to be on the whole a narrow class.
The practice of living by depredation runs in families, and clings
to individuals. The police of any given town could put their hand on
almost every person who lives by fraud, theft, and robbery. They
could at a day's notice secure nearly every one of them. A knowledge
of this fact has suggested to Mr Matthew Hill a plan for capturing
the whole criminal class, and obliging them to give security for
their good behaviour; failing which, they should suffer
incarceration as notoriously dangerous and troublesome to society. A
fear of trenching on the liberty of the subject may prevent this
ingenious scheme of the Recorder of Birmingham from being carried
into effect; but to something or other of the kind he proposes,
society must come at last, if it wish to save itself from being
everlastingly worried and plundered by a habitually predatory class.
In the Prison Report to which we have above referred, mention is
made of a single family of thieves, consisting of fifteen
individuals, who cost the country L.26,000 before they were got rid
of. Is not such a fact quite monstrous!




FRENCH BATTLE-PICTURES.