438 Proceedings of the British Association. 



the establishment of similar societies in every part of the United 

 Kingdom, with a view, through their means, of conducting exten- 

 sive inquiries on a general and systematic plan. 



Captain Maconochie gave an account of M. Guerry's Essai sur 

 la Statistique Morale de la France, and pointed out some of its 

 most striking results, illustrated by several maps of France, coloured 

 with different shades, so as to indicate the comparative amount of 

 instruction, and of crime against persons and property. He also 

 explained from what data these maps had been constructed, bear- 

 ing testimony to the absolute freedom of M. Guerry from any bias 

 towards particular systems. 



It appears by a comparison of six following years, if the whole 

 of France be divided into five several divisions or regions, that the 

 proportion of all the crimes committed in France which belong to 

 each region is very nearly the same from year to year ; in no case 

 differing from the mean by more than ^oo ^" t^rimes against per- 

 sons, and Y§^ in crimes against property. 



Captain Maconochie then went through a great many very inte- 

 resting details with respect to the various districts of the country, 

 the sex, the ages, and the season of the year, at which different 

 crimes are found to prevail. M. Guerry confirms what has been 

 already remarked by Mr Quetelet in Belgium, that the summer 

 months are much more productive of crimes against persons, and 

 the winter of crimes against property. It appears that crimes 

 against property are three times as numerous as crimes against the 

 person. M. Guerry sees no reason to believe that crime is in- 

 creasing in France, but justly remarks, that a more vigilant police, 

 and greater publicity given to those crimes which are committed 

 in. later times, may have given rise to this opinion. 



It is also necessary, especially in comparing distant epochs, to 

 notice changes in the institutions and laws of the country. 



M. Guerry mentions the large and increasing number of second 

 accusations, but observes, that a man once condemned to the galleys 

 seldom renders himself liable a second time to that punishment. 



Almost every crime is committed more frequently by men than 

 women : crimes against children are equally divided between the 

 two sexes. In 100 crimes against persons, men commit 86, and 

 women only 14 : in crimes against property, men commit 79, and 

 women 21. Two-fifths, or nearly half of all the crimes committed 

 by women against the person are infanticides. 



The greatest ignorance in France is on the west coast and in the 



