The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-05-24
Free Trade and Crime.

One OF the staple arguments of the free trade
orators of England is the alleged tendency OF
unrestricted commerce to reduce the quantity
and mitigate the character of crime. Free
trade, they argue, ensures cheap bread; and
statistics are paraded to prove that crime uni
lormly increases while high prices prevail, aud
is as uniformly lessened when prices ara low.
Not year has passed since the repeal Of the
corn laws IN which the journals committed To
this line OF policy have not pointed TO the coudi-
ton Of England as proof positive of the accuracy
Of the reasoning. 1.-The Board ofTrade returns, I"
they say, display our commercial prosperity,
and could we have complete social statistics
they would show equally favorable results as 10
paupersm and crime" We have again and
again endeavored 10 exhibit the fallacious char
acter of the prosperity SO vauntingly described :;
and papers received by The last mail supply
evidence that the freetrade picture of diminish
ed crime is quite as unreliable.
Mr.. MAYHEM, widely known az the author
OF a work on the condition Of the London poor,
spoke recently at protectionist meeting in
London, and adduced series of striking calcu-
latons based upon facts acquired during his
protracted investigation of the subject He
estimates that, Of the population of Eng
land. four million i've hundred thou.
sand are dependent upon wages for work.
OF these, it is beloved that only one-third
have constant employment that another
third are employed only half of their tme and
that the remainder have only occasional en-
ployment from the sickness or absence of the
Others" Mr.. MAYHEM contends that the con-
dition of the working classes has deteriorated
under the system of unrestricted competition
with continental labor, and that crime has also
increased from the same cause. The following
figures, declared To be in great measure the re-
suit Of his personal inquiries. sustain the latter
proposition:
In 1911 tho number Of criminals or crimes 10
every 10000 Of the people were .; in 1912 itrosc
TO 6; in 1913 il was Q; and it went on gradually
up TO 1870. when IL u; in 1921 il was 10; in
1880 it was Is in every 10000; in 1891 it was IA; in
1910 II was Ia; in ls IL IL; in 1872 it was 10;
in lSt3 IL was Is in 1874 10; in 1915 il was IL
in 1876 il was H. in ls47 it 10; s45 il was III
then il fell 10 - last year IL 10 or I5 SO that
you sec, n ] take the other years, though under
yenrs Of protection and scarcity, in 1895 they were
90 and in 1850, 10. But although crime in the last
two years has decreased. aud though the paupcrism
has decreased, stil there outlets for crime and
pauperism which not understood by the gene
rsity Of the community. ! happened 10 be in the
country little time back, and it astouished me to
ind. in town with population Of ~, 500, that no
lcss than II 900 vagsbonds passed through the
town in 10 weeks. We have large classes known
in the metropolis as tho people of the Streets"
20, &c.
The earlier portion Of these figures, we pre-
sumo, refer exclusively TO the metropolis Of
England; aud the Inference from the whole is.
that crime is being diiiused more equally than
formerly over the whole surface Of England
These are, after all, but the first fruits Of
the system which our Democratic economists
parade before the country as one of the highest
developments OF political sagacity.