FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 49 



Marriage miglit sometimes be the best thing for high-grade 

 feeble-minded persons, and at all events after sterilization 

 it would be harmless to the race. Without this precaution, 

 the marriage of certified mental defectives adds greatly to 

 the difficulty of preventing parenthood, and it ought to be 

 made illegal, except in cases when parenthood is impossible. 



To sum up, the right poHcy for feeble-minded persons is 

 to send them to institutions ; or, in selected cases, to place 

 them under guardianship, the probabihty of parenthood 

 always being held in view. This would result in a slow but 

 continuous decrease both of this grievous malady and of 

 many other evils associated with it. 



The Mental Deficiency Acts were mainly designed to safe- 

 guard all mentally defective persons, whilst they have had a 

 beneficial effect in lessening parenthood. Though imper- 

 fect, they have done much good in certain districts, whilst 

 in other places they have not been properly carried out. 

 It is easy, from the figures already given, to get some idea of 

 the number of mentally defective persons in your county 

 or borough. Ask your representative what accommodation 

 his Council has available for them, and you may find that 

 it is miserably deficient. In that case, if you will suggest 

 that your vote at the next election will be decided by the 

 way in which the candidates regard this matter, you will 

 have done something practical both for the feeble in mind 

 and the future of your country. 



