E. C. New York.
Tallack, Wm. England.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

CHAPTER I.
Introductory 9

CHAPTER II.
The Criminal 14

CHAPTER III.
The Causes of Crime 28

CHAPTER IV.
The Methods and Philosophy of Punishment 61

CHAPTER V.
Elimination--Dr. Chapple's Proposal 87

CHAPTER VI.
The Obligations of Society Towards the Weak 120

CHAPTER VII.
The New Penology 133

CHAPTER VIII.
The Prevention of Crime 138

CHAPTER IX.
Some American Experiments--Elmira 155

CHAPTER X.
Conclusion 188

Chapter I.

INTRODUCTION.

This little book presents an appeal to society to consider its criminals
with greater charity and with more intelligent compassion. No other plea
is advanced than that the public mind should rid itself of all prejudices
and misunderstandings, and should make an honest endeavour to understand
what the criminal is, why he is a criminal and what, notwithstanding, are
his chances in social life.

The criminal has a claim to be understood just as well as any other
creature. It is not necessary that his sympathisers should shut their
eyes to the fact that he is capable of shocking crime, that he is often
an ungrateful wretch that will bite the hand that feeds him and that
among his ranks are to be found the most depraved specimens of humanity
that the mind can conceive. A failure to recognize these facts is
actually a failure to do justice to his cause. Notwithstanding the
hideous history that he may have to unfold, he does ask to be
understood.

The majority of people take a most prejudiced view of the criminal's
case. They will read the account of some fearful outrage or the details
of a disgraceful divorce suit with absolutely no interest what ever in
the persons concerned but only for the sake of the morbid satisfaction
which such reading gives them. A glance at the sentence will draw forth
from them the exclamation that the wretch got no more than he deserved
or that he didn't get half enough. This simply indicates that society as
a whole has made very little real progress in the manner in which it
rega