Heredity and Environment 105 



our ideas on this subject one of the greatest reputation 

 in the medical and scientific world, not only in the field 

 of the practice of physic, but a most able teacher and 

 thinker — the late Sir William Gairdner, of Glasgow 

 University. The " British Medical Journal " of 

 November 30th, 1912, quoted from a letter from Sir 

 William to the " Scotsman " newspaper (September 

 3rd, 1896) to the effect that he had sent a young clergy- 

 man, one of the ablest and most open-minded men he 

 had ever known, to Tasmania for health reasons, and 

 suggested to him that he might keep his eyes open and 

 find out if the descendants of the criminal colony 

 (which was unquestionably the British stock inhabiting 

 Tasmania or Van Diemen's Land) had retained in any 

 degree the criminal or otherwise undesirable taint, as 

 it was reasonable to suppose on the " necessarian 

 atavistic theory," as one might call it, that the traces 

 or " stigmata," or whatever a modern criminal an- 

 thropologist might call them, of persistent " degenera- 

 tion " and criminal tendencies might still be found 

 among such a population. The information he received 

 was on the contrary that the Tasmanians were remark- 

 ably free from such apparent " reversions " of inherited 

 instincts; and that, whether judged by their actual 

 criminal record or by the number and quality of the 

 insane in their asylums, the race now inhabiting the 

 oldest and probably the worst of our penal settlements 

 was as orderly, flourishing, and well-to-do as any other 

 colony, and altogether bore most favourable com- 

 parison with any other portion of the British stock at 

 home or abroad. 



Mr. J. D. Shaw, Editor of the " Tasmanian News," 

 writing to the " Scotsman " of November 21st, 1912, 

 recalls this incident and letter. He mentions that he 

 had a correspondence with Sir William on this subject, 

 and that the latter wrote to the following effect : "I 



