28 CEIMINAL STATISTICS. 



posed of, or held to bail, or tried aud convicted during the year. 



The figures are — 



Persons. Per cent. 



Bead and write well .9,968 = 23-50 



Superior instruction 285 = 00'67 



Kead only, or read and write imperfectly... 23,960 =: 56'50 

 Cannot read 8,190 = 19-33 



42,403 100- 



Comparing these results with New South Wales, they come out 



as follows : — 



Victoria. N.S.W. 



Unable to read , 19-33 17* 



More or less instruction 80-00 83' 



Superior ditto 00-67 00* 



100- 100- 



I will detain you but one moment longer, to show the com- 

 parative proportion of criminals in the two Colonies to their 

 respective populations, viz. : — 



Population. Criminals. Per cent. 



Victoria 790,488 42,403 5-36 



New South Wales 560,275 31,475 5-61 



That is to saj, the number of offenders in Victoria last year was 

 as 536 in 10,000, and in New South "Wales as 561 in 10,000, a 

 difference of 25 in 10,000 in favour of Victoria. 



I shall not, I feel satisfied, expose myself to the charge of 

 advocating the cause of ignorance as opposed to instruction in 

 the remarks which I have offered ; I have only endeavoured, in 

 so far as the inquiry has extended, to elicit the truth from the 

 data with which I have to deal. 



My own convictions, founded upon the facts I have endea- 

 voured to illustrate, go to this extent only, that the assertion 

 that " the illiterate person commits ten timers the number of 

 crimes that the educated one does" is not, in so far at least as 

 New South Wales is concerned, borne out by facts, and it is no 

 disparagement to the cause of education to say that you must not 

 expect crime to decrease in the same ratio that schools increase. 



