2o-l< Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 



there were none much below it, and where, added to a 

 musical capacity, there was sufficient industry and inven- 

 tiveness, the result was a musician. The result of all 

 this theory was that ci'irahials, if not compelled to herd 

 together, would work out their own salvation in genera- 

 tion after generation. If they were compelled to herd 

 together, the}^ invariably died out. A criminal woman 

 very rarely left posterity that would survive two or 

 three generations. With regai'd to men, too, in following 

 up the history of Austi-alia he had been surprised to observe 

 that there was so little trace of convict blood that liad been 

 poui-ed out on these shores so profusely. Australia was not 

 less moral than any similar Anglo-Saxon community. The 

 question was sometimes asked, why we were not deeply 

 tinted with the convict element. There were two classes of 

 convicts. One class who had not inherited the cjiminal 

 character, but who had been sent out for committing crimes, 

 chiefly by reason of ttieii' super-abundant and mis-directed 

 energy, had made excellent settlers, whilst the real criminals 

 had been killed by drinking the plentiful rum of the early 

 settlement days, or being knocked on the head in brawls, 

 and had left no posterit3^ If nature were left to work in 

 her own way, the matter would come right in the end. The 

 criminal nature would either not perpetuate itself, or the 

 average would be rectified in succeeding generations as the 

 area extended. Therefore, the crude notion of chloroforming 

 the criminal should be disregarded for several reasons. It 

 was not in accordance with the humanitarian views of the 

 present day, and it was founded on a wrong impression of 

 the law of heredit}'. If criminal were made to paii- with 

 criminal, the I'esult would no doubt be a very bad race 

 indeed, supposing they bred. But they would not ; and, 

 moreover, they did not and could not be compelled to pair 

 wi^h one another. In conclusion he believed that, at the 

 present time, things should be allowed to remain as they 

 were, and that the pressure of public opinion, and where 

 necessary, of sharp public punishment, would cast sufficient 

 weight on the right side of the motive to induce people to 

 act as best suited the community. Beyond this, there was 

 no need to interefere. We should follow the old lines as 

 much as possible, making our laws as humanitarian as the 

 interests of society would allow. 



The Peesideis'T suggested that a definition of criminality 

 and insanity miglit be desirable. 



