Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1867-05-31
STATISTICS Of Grim e.

The National Intelligenccr, in discussing
some statistics of crime published recently
in the New York Tribune, remarks with
what we must regard as fine confusion of
ideas that 1T is obvious enough what open
ed the foodgates that have caused the vide
spread Generalization and criminal acts in
the land, and that "the prime necessity is
therefore especially obvious of return to a
reign of order through the absolute rule of
judicial tribunals under legislation based
upon fundamental rights and constitutional
authority" Now, we hardly need say, we
shall welcome for many reasons the complete
restoration of the absolute rule of judicial
tribunals upon the basis described by the
Intelligencer, throughout the United States
But it seems to US a pertinent inquiry
whether the condition of things which has
existed for the last four or FIVE years has in
reality opened the foodgates' and caused
wide spread demoralization and orimiual
acts
Most Of the statements on this subject, we
apprehend are simply guess work; perhaps
we should not be far wrong in setting down
as such that made by the Intelligencer
But it happens that so far as regards our
own State there are carefully prepared sta
tistics which may be safely presumed to be
Trustworthy In the last annual report of
the secretary of the Board Of State Charities
the secretary discusses the-complaint that
crime is on the increase, and expresses a de-
cided belief that "this increase is much less
than is commonly supposed His statistics
show that the reported whole number in
prison in 1858 was l6,502, in the county
prisons alone; while in 500 the actual num-
Der in all the prisons was less than y, 500
Moreover the number of females committed
in 1866 was 2S28 against 505I in 1865; and
the number of children under fifteen years
of age committed was reduced from 464 IN
1865 to 345 in 1866 that is to say, compar-
ing the last two years, crime among women
has diminished ten per cent, ard among
children twenty-five per cent.
We arrive, then, at these results from
the secretary S figures: that not only has
there been a gratifying Improvement oflate
in some important particulars, but that the
figures for the past year, when compared
with those Of year of average crime before
the war, are actually twenty five per cent.
better And the inference, if any, to be
drawn as to the effect Of the war upon Mas.
sachusetts is thatithas been favorable to the
cause of good morals.
1t is certain that fear was quite com
monty felt and openly expressed by thought
full persons during the war, that one Of its
disastrous after effects would be a great IN
crease of crime in the country Such ap-
prehension was natural enough per ps;
but it is now clear that too little confidence
was placed in the general law abiding charac-
ter of Americans, and that the favorable
effect of the stringent discipline of military
service upon many turbulent spirits was not
sufficiently taken iRto consideration The
figures just presented are of course conclu-
sive only as to the condition of the State
from whose records they were made up; but
it is quite probable that analogous results
would be arrived at by equally accurate
methods in other parts of the North. We
cannot see, then, that there are any reasons
for alarm as to the bad effect of the war
upon the morality of the country. Massa-
chusetts has to show directly to the contrary;
and weshall wait for much stronger evidence
than any yet presented before admitting
that her condition is exceptional Boston
Adrertiser