IDEAS IN INK

NZ Truth, Issue 473, 11 July 1914, Page 12

IDEAS IN INK

■ ■ y , CRIME AND- CRIMINOLOGY. "A_Historj4of Penal Methods," by George, Ives, M.A. London: Stanley Paul and- Co. WellI iogtoa: 1 S. and. W. Mackay . ' This survey* of the- penaL methods of past andi present^and of all nations, by Mr. George lyes, M.A., is a most en- \ trancing .and. instructive volume to all •. who take* an Interest m the question vof crimo and criminals, > which pos - .•esses ranch of deep interest even to ; the- general reader. The author shows ' that from tho day some men formulated, Jaws, -there were other mon who broke them,.»and X ' despite punishment, . continued to- break them. Crime has existed fronvtho most primitive times, '&nd co-existent with-it has been pun-jßhmentr-ahowtng that the spirit of retaliation has been, and la', universal. Incfact, nroch. that Mr. Ives has written might bo cited m support of the oontention that thia spirit of retaliation, if we- may so' phrase it, is innate 'm mankind. . One is forced to such, a conclusion by the array of facts the author, lays before us. He points -out, that away back m pro- ■ historic days, before human society bad ' so- far evolved as to, prov^do the j venue for personal crime, titere exist- j •ed this notion" of retaliation. This ! desire "to get one back" is shown m * hundred different ways among the ! aboriginal' tribes and communities. How tree*r v were destroyed and cursed, /'•tones smashed or rejected and set ' sport as evil or unclean, mountains, rivers and. valleys punished In several ways because ot accidents or of the un- ' toward events happening m their ' ' .vicinity. History provides many such ' examples— -Xerxes Hogging the Holies-, pont, becanso of tho storm which destroyed ' his floating bridge; the bloody Cyrus diverting' tho Oyndcs v into S6O different channels^ becauso a sacred white horso had been drownod air bo- and his army crossed the stream; „ Tomyris, tho Queen, who after defeat- " tng- Cyrus, •*whoso huge power no man eoold overthrow,", cut tho hood from . tho mangled corpse and, throwing It tnto **a vessel fraught with dotted Mood." asrtheold sixteenth century poet i E*ckviU© says In "The Complaint":— iAsd wltto iheso words adjust .re- \ wardLusho taught: — )«J>ryn]c© now thy fyilrNrf "~thy ■

stoning to death the ox that had gored a man or woman; the religious and other fanatics, who exhumed or exposed the bodies of their enemies, heretics, traitors, etc., to, contempt and brutal insult; The Christ twenty centuries ago cursing the unproductive fig-tree, down to yesterday when Kitchener of Khartoum scattered to the four winds of heaven the slain Mahdi's body — each and all seem to have been moved to, action by the instinct of j retaliation. \ It is this same unbridled Instinct that is responsible for much that is regret - } table m our penal laws and methods of administration — many horrible examples of which this book furnishes us. And these borriblo examples are not confined to the Middle Ages or foreign nations. Mr. Ives shows that the methods of punishment is vogue m England within the last hundred years wcro as shocking as any that history records. In dealing with tho treatment, of (so-called) witches and lunatics, as well as criminals, tho author shows he has devoted much time and serious study to the subject and m his narration of which he brings to light much curious and forgotten lore. The uninitiated are apt to conclude that the study of such a sombre subject wonld tend to engender a pessimistic "outlook on life, especially when they find the writer constrained ! to admit: — ! The criminal i.s ever present with us, was it not always so? He came descending through 'the centuries; he stands to-day m tho deep shadows of civilisation; and not m our own land only but throughout all competitive communities.-. But m so concluding, they would err greatly. In spite of all his research, tho dreadful doings, tho terrible tragedies, the shocking, sinister motives of mon, Mr. Ivos rises from his task with a hopeful look on his face, as of ono who has tho seeing eye and knows tho end from tho « beginning. Our author holds that crime is not tho result of any defect m the mental make-up of man. Ho believe* that crimo is tho result of a cause, that human crimo In tho outcome of tho Inhuman condition* under which mac ban forced hie follows to toll that they might live; m 'fact, criminality ia-one of tho- results "Man's inhumanity to man/* jabjPtliutoco»-^odcHt£tKJ^

, BOOKS AND , THEIR BUILDERS.

competitive system. Mr. Ives 'is optimistic despite the blackness of the outlook on the present-day world. He considers that crime "is but a phase of human development, and believes that the "criminal type" and the "retaliatory instinct" will pass and bo less than naught, .when man has become wise chough to adopt A just system of production] and 1 distribution. i This, with him, is more than a pious hope. It is a' conviction, and that conviction he is able" by this book to transmit to thoso who read. • .-.■•• - -■■ •*• "The, Fertility of the Unfit." By Dr. Chappie, M.P. for Stirling Burghs, Scotland, which was published m New Zealand some six or seven years ago, has been republlahed In London.. How Is this work by the ex-Wel-llngtonian from the volume reviewed above! "Tho Fertility of the Unfit" is a dirty book. Tho reading of it leaves a nasty taste In tho mouth that many waters would fall to eradicate. Dr. Chappie seems void of thoso finer traits m man out of which* has been evolved "that science which he has professed to study, and m tho past has, for gain, attempted to apply — medicine. "Hero Is disease," said tho ignorant tribal chiefs, "lot us put tho diseased one to death." "Nay,*' said the first doctor m embryo, "let us try to find a euro for tho dlseaso and the cause thereof." To-day, Dr. Chapplo does not strive to emulate tho founders of his profession. Ho finds crime exists. It Is. a difficult problem and such a bothor to study, so ho harps back to the attitude of tho Ignorant tribal chiefs. True, Dr. Chapplo doesn't say, "let us kill tho criminal." No, but ho gets as near to this attitudo as ho con. Ho takes a short cut to tho solution of the problem of solving the mystery of criminality. Ho says there oro criminals; thoir children would bo unfit So ho would condemn the wives, Innocent wives, to a nameless mutilation, which will prevent them from bearing children. This is ono way out of it. Ho would seek to stamp out tho criminal by a simple method of artificial selection of tho fit by tho elimination of tho unflt. Modical knowledges of heredity and disease makes it possible to conduct examination of prospective mothers, and surgery secreted m tho. Ample and luxurious folds of .an-. — ttftbtrtlc^.jmd. bj^ it* .

gruardlan angel antiseptics, makea It possible to prevent the 'fertilisation of human ova with, a vicious taint It is possible to sterllse,defective ' women and the wives of defective men, by an operation. This produces no change whatever m the subjects of it beyond rendering the fertilisation. impossible' for the rest of the life. This remedy for the great and growing evil which confronts society to-day is suggested, not to avenge, but to protect, society, and m profound pity for those classes who are a burden to themselves as well as to those who have to tepid and support them. That's what the canting, chanting Chappol says. He tells, from bis own experience, how easy and satisfactory the performance of the operation is. It Is as easy as murder — because it is murder. He cries:— What about criminals and defec- . tive men? Let their wives be i sterilised. If the criminal Is married, then the party must take the risk, and it is not very great The women who will be his companions will already have been sterilised, because they are' defectives. This protection from the progeny of defective men, though not abso- . lute, is complete enough for all practical purposes. Then, quite ignorant of, or, at least, Ignoring, the fact that many of tho greatest of modern criminals have come from families hitherto untainted, he goes on to say that If all defective women and wives of all defective men were sterilised, a greater Improvement would take place m tho race than has been accomplished by all the sanitation of tho Victorian era. Now, there is a problem of the "unfit for human society." ■ Such a book as that of this denier of womanhood, or tho evidence given of such a mind as that behind it/ is tho' alarm bell of coming calamity. It stinks m the nostrils of any decent man, and, worst of alii the stinking thing la having a wido circulation-. Ugh! • • • Just to hand is tbo first number of •*Tn«v Britannic Bovlew," launched "at a time of unprecedented political strain and social unrest, to support tbo idea that tho real unity of the British Empire, which we dealro to conserve and strengthen, mast always depend upon common Jntcreata and upon the common Ideal* which those iaeals can bef employed to fotrtor, than upon tho mechj&alo*l.bonds of anytoooailtuttoa.^

*Izr his foreword the editor says:— For ourselves, we dislike the ■^ord"Tmperial'; just because it continues to suggest the: old -Idea of centralised Empire. To denote things common to Britain and the Dominions we prefer to take our . adjective- •from -the* historic title of His Britannic Majesty. Among the interesting items m ;the new-review are many brim full of the best material . for colonial readers. Noteworthy articles are Three Views of Empire Government," a masterly exposition of the varying views — centralist, autonomist; separatist— as to what is the" best system under which to consolidate t the scattered , units . known as, the British Empire. New Zealand's^ new poßcy finds 'ample ■ space m these pages. Under the head«ing, "The Cold Shoulder m South AfiTica,'* the very significant remark fi» rmade-: — -'' ■ The • attitude ot^the Government of South Africa is reflected to admiration m its office m London. . ..V Here, we no information, is... available : on", any ' South African question, no attempt is made to^aid'any persons or societies who desire to deal with African problems. South Africa, so one learns, has no need of British — using y the local meaning — tor terest< or emigrants (or money?). , An article well worthy of study, whether the- reader agrees with Its concinsions or not. Is that on "The Menace* of -the Anglo-Japanese .Alliance." Taken altogether, the new venture In. -the review Ttorld dieaervea the attention of every dwfSler on the outskirts' '-%t. the Empire. • • '•' %i "'■' ; ---| Like father, like daughter. Four j charming little volumes to hand show the Impress of a nature- loving father,, on the authoress pf "A Girl of Limber? lost," "The Harvester," "The Song of tha Cardinal," and "At the Foot of the < Rainbow." The dedication of "The J Harvester" tells- almost the. whole story of the-genlusjwC the books. It reads:— x ' This portion of the life of a man ] of to-day Is offered m the hope , that m cleanliness, poetic temperament and mental force, a likeness { will be seen to Henry David Thoreau, That man of to-day is Mark Stratton — nature lover like Thoreau, but not quite so profound hi his philosophy. "For him every work of God manifested a new /and hereintofore unappreciated loveliness." The daughter. Gene Stratton Porter, has followed m her father's footsteps, and has produced the four beautifully simple. nature studies now under notice. They are published by Hodder and Stoughton, bound m cloth, y attractively got up, and" well printed at the remarkably cheap price jOf one shilling. ■•'",* •• •. It is of • pathetic interest to note m connection with the. death of Mrs. Huxley,' the widow of the world-fam-ous scientist, m her eighty-ninth year, that a poem from her pen appears In the current number of the "English Review." In a poem, entitled, "Where Heaven and Earth Touch," she pictures the vision she saw as a girl, and concludes: — And still as I sit at the window and gaze m. my old, old age, ) I say- to children and grandchildren, turning life's yellow page, Secrets are yet to be found that can still move the soul m me, . When the heaven bows down and touches earth's vast, unquiet sea. She met Huxley at Sydney m 1847, when he was engaged on a surveying cruise In" the seas between Australia [and the , Great. Barrier . Reef. There were separations, caused by exploring voyages, and the courtship lasted eight years. .Although Huxley was honored as an F.R.S. at the early age of twenty-seven, and was •In the front rank, of scientists, this was, as he said, "distinction, but not bread.". On her coming to England m 1855 she was very 111, and Huxley took her to a famous physician, who gave her "six months to live." "Well," said Huxley, "six months or not, she is going to be my wife^" The lady lived nearly sixty years In excess of the time allotted to •her by the doctor, and bore seven children. • . • .'• Those who have seen Louis J. Vance's fine picture. "The Day of Days," showing this ' week at the King's Theatre, will be anxious to read his book under the same title. It is a most successful novel, and one of the very, few books to be "screened" before it-was actually published m book form. There is quite a new note In this «ctravaganza — a note of vivacity, gaiety, slang', and Irrepressible high spirits. Of course these things may not.be new, but mired together they form a compound seldom met with. The whole thing happens m twentyfour hours, during which the hero, P. Sybarite, wins an lncrodlble sum of money, Is mistaken for a burglar, rescues a young man , from a horrible night-club, and does at least twenty other things equally amazing. It la all tremendously Jolly, 'Murkon and clever, and one reoohes the last page with regret It Is published by Grant Richard, London, and can be had from S. and W. Mackay, Wellington. • • • : : The writer of a popular story to-day is In luck's way. Even If it be a "first novel" and be has let the printing and published copyright go at a low figure In order to see himself In print, ho has still two more chances to make his pile. If his book proves a hit there will bo two other parties eager to exploit It The, posh -ahead theatrical manager will bo making a bid for tha dramatlo rights and as these only Include the public acting of such dra- J matlsatlon, the cinema company w«H | oome along next and make a bid for the screening rights of tho work. Thus tho author who has parted his work too cheaply to tho shark publisher may make up leeway by driving a stiff bargain with either or both of tho latter clients. In the Dominion wo have been having qufto a run of novels In collulold. "Oliver Twist," "East Lynne," Tho Three Musketeors." and more lately tho humorous stories of W. W. Jacobs, whllo this week at tho King's Louie J. Vance's startling Btory "Tho Day of Days" \* drawing record houses. All those fine pictures are all worth seeing, and aro doubly so If one has first read tho written story. In any case, novels worthy of being dramatised and screened ore worth reading— end XewspIng.