SOCIAL SCIENCE CONGRESS.

Evening Star, Issue 6762, 29 November 1884, Page 1 (Supplement)

SOCIAL SCIENCE CONGRESS.

From the report in the ' Times' of the annual meeting of the Social Science Congress, held at Birmingham on September 17, wo extract portions of the papers read on the following subjects :

A paper on the "Suppression of Crime" was read by Mr Dagdale, Recorder of Birmingham, who said that in considering the repression of crime in its more limited sense toe detection of crime was naturally the first subject which claimed attention ; the risk &f detection was one of the great safeguards of society, and many a man was deterred from taking the first step in orime by the fear of being found out. The organisation of a detective police force had become a necessity in every large centre of population, and too much care could not betaken by those in authority in the selection of the officers composing that force. They must be thoroughly intelligent and trustworthy, quick-witted, good-tempered, and scrupulously honest. Another very important qualification in a detective was the power of keeping his own counsel, so as not to convey any information to the suspected | party. An excellent example of deI tective repression was to be found in the recent operations of the police of Bir- | miogham in connection with the dynamite I and Fenian conspiracies. He was glad to ' have an opportunity of expressing his opinit n 1 of the great public service which Mr Fern- ! dale, the chief constable, and the officers aoting under him, rendered on the occasions in question. It was also highly important for all, espt daily for business men in keeping their accounts, to prevent those dependent upon them from having opportunities of

falling into temptation. The trial of the offender must next be referred to. A trial should be conducted with the most scrupulous fairness, which in this country was generally attained. It would probably be a surprise to most people to learn that, of the cases sent for trial before juries something like 25 per cent, ended in an acquittal, a small proportion of which were due to the grand jury finding no trae bill. Since January, 1878, down to the last year the calendars of the; Birmingham Quarter Sessions contained the names of 1,968 persons, of whom 236 were acquitted, and the grand jury found no true bill in twenty-four cases, which made a total of 260 acqui ted ont of 1,968, or about 13§ per oent. If, as would probably soon be the case, accused persona were allowed to give evidence, there would be a larger percentage of' convictions ; bu ', on the other hand, there would be more risk than at present of persons being wrongly convicted. In the case of & nervous man, perhaps the victim of some Eerjurous conspiracy, and charged for the rst time with an offence of which he was innocent, the prisoner would stand at a double disadvantage; if he gave evidence, hiß nerves might break down under severe cross-examination, and if he were.not to give evidence it might be taken as an. admission of the truth of the charges brought against him. Then there would often be the case of a man, who bad been, perhaps, frequently convicted before of: offences, having nothing whatever to do with the charge upon which he was being tried ; how was lie to be treated in the witness-box by the counsel ior the prosecution ? If he was cross-examined as to all his antecedents, the i'ury would be almost certain to.disbelieve tim, although he might be telling the truth on the occasion in question; but, on the other; hand, if he was not to be crossexamined as to his previous character and convictions,' in order to test his credibility, as he would be if he were a witness for the prosecution, then a most dangerous state of affairs would be established, and he would either have to be presented to the jury as a man against whose character nothing appeared, or the counsel for the prosecution must be at liberty, in all cases, to tell the jury that the law prevented him from crass-examining as to the prisoner's character, which, in many cases, would act most unfairly against a prisoner against whom nothing might be known. But the preyentiqn of crime waß of at least equal importance to the country .as the repression of crime. That density of population was coincident with the prevalence of crime was proved by statistics. Poverty and distress were of necessity . more common, and there were many more opportunities of escaping detection among a numerous town population than in less populated rural districts. He could not, therefore, help thinking that it would be well worth,, the while of; capitalists to divert a little of their time and attention to the selection of sites and the establishment of communities similar in organisation to the Canterbury settlement, which was established in New Zealand Borne thirty years ago, with its now flourishing town and neighborhood of Cbrietohurch and harbor of Port Lyttelton, But the most ef&ctual of all methods for the prevention of crime was the provision of a thorough education, which should train, and moral faculties as well as the intellectual capacities of the children. In a paper on the question: ''Can our Prisons be rendered, in a considerable degree, self-supporting: and, if-so, by what means, without a sacrifice of their discipline and deterrent effect?" Mr G.J. Helyoahe said it was a scandal of administration in a practical people that criminals should be unproductive. It was all owing to the fathomless incapacity of shopkeepers and trades unionists to comprehend their own interests. The tradesman pay* extra'taxes to support in idleness the thief who has robbed him. If the thieves were honest and worked, the produce of their hands would much more stock the market. Prison produce ncei be sold only at market prices; The State is not; equired to make a fortune, but to avoid a loss. The trades unionist argues that if scoundrels work they will reduce the demands for honest labor, Bnt if the scoundrels were upright men they would all be in the labor market. Upon tbiß unionist theory honest workmen should be urged to join the criminal class. If prisoners are unproductive, workmen have: jointly to keep the useless' knaves cut of their earnings. This is the insanity of workshop logic; • The work of all the prisoners in all the 1 gaols would not' displace as much labor as the invention of a new maohine. The Patent Office: is a greater danger to merchants and mechanics every day than all the gaols could be in a century. Is. it conceivable.that we cannot discover any means whereby the sleek, ablebodied pauper, or the stalwart burglar, can be made: to earn the rent of his cell or the cost of skilly? .If the attempt was 'fairly made prisoners might soon contribute at least one-half of the cost of their detention;'

In the- section of Eoonomy and Trade, r "Profit-sharing with Workmen" wasr the subjeotof a paper by Mr Samnel Timmins. As an example on a large scale, arid with the experience of twentyyears, the Cornwatt - works of Messrs Richard and George Tangye:> were described, especially, as te, arrangements made to,.give; workmen a direct interest in their work. These results are secured in two ways-r-fkst, by a combination. of the day-work and jpieoe- work systems, by . which, the advantages of both arensed- and their evils lessened or nearly lost. , EachWorkman works at a rate of wages pec hoar, When the contractus completed he takes bis share' of a balance proportioned; to the , hpmber of hours worked and his knowledge and skill. The seoqnd arrangement consists in the issue to manager, foremen,' olerks, • etc., as a free-gift from) the firnvpf bonds for Lsoi each bearing interest at the rate of,. the dividend for.line year payable by the-: firin on its. ordinary: shares,. The firm ■ reserves the. right to pay to a widow, or for . school fees, or clothing forohildren, or.for rent,, The bonds are renewable every year,; and are. not saleable $ and if . the. holder . leaves the service of the firm he. loses all : interest in the bond, • The holder ia# shareholder who incurs no-responsibility, has-no f . share in the management, and cannot sell his interest. , Another fund, provides for the > payment,of LIQO to the family on the death ; Of a. foreman or manager, or, for a; weekly payment in case of illness., . ■.,,,,■, ' In the art.section Mr Charles G. Leland : said that all the minor or decorative'arts were, strangely enough, easy forohildren of ?ven tender years; In South Germany and - he Tyrol infants of six years of age'earved wood so well that their work had a market value. In Spain art-pottery of a very high standard was made by very young boys and ■' girls, and in Italy the same small artists did as well in mosaic-setting, fancy basketmaking, and other arts. In Egypt the young of both sexes executed embroidery, inlaying, repousse", and even jewellery, with a degree of skill which in Europe no one expects save from grown-up and highlytrained artists. He made an experiment with two classes of ten pupils each in Philadelphia. The industrial branches actually : taught- with full Buccess were embroidery, painting (chiefly in monochrome, in waterooler, and oil), setting mosaics, modelling in olay with color and glaze for firing, stamped sheet leather work for furniture, sheet metal work repousse, wood-carving, and easy carpenter and cabinet-making work, with turning, fret-sawing, and inlaying. Soon he recognised that every pupil must ■> first learn how to draw, and to de-• tcrmine what kind of drawing this should be. The drawing should serve as a correct beginning for overy other kind of art. If a child begins by learning design and drawing simultaneously, and gets so far as to be able to execute a correct pattern fit to be put in hand to work out, that child ; can, after a little manual practice, master a'l decorative art. The result of hundreds of experiments, with unwearied study of the ohiracter and capacity of every child, convinced him that all are- capable of learning original design if it be p operly taugh*. Th result is an increased quickness of jntel'.v thai perception or intelligence, so t :" literary studies are also more easily i tered. The pupils when merely halfttatu t were eagerly taken into foundries, caq factories, etc ,as paid learners. Even farn. laborers, colliers, sailors, and all working men can be aided. All occupations have a cultured side, and we must awaken atter>t«<" and quickness of perception by a pecuti - training of which, drawing is a part. A hand-arts are only drawing developed ■■- different forms.