MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND ART. 
“ Intimately connected with education, and not un¬ 
worthy of consideration arc the statistics of crime. In 
discussing the question of the influence which educa¬ 
tion exerts in the repression of crime, much misappre¬ 
hension and error have arisen from a confusion of 
terms; from treating mere instruction in the ele¬ 
mentary arts of reading and writing as education; 
and the good or evil effects of the former have been 
frequently used as arguments in favour of, or in 
detraction of, the latter. 
“ Education may be said to consist of that moral 
combined with intellectual training by which the mind 
is taught to discern and the heart is led to feel the 
great object for which man is created, and the duties 
which he is callod upon to fulfil in this stage of his 
existence. Instruction in its broadest sense is merely 
the intellectual training by means of which the min'd 
acquires the power of discerning and correctly appro 
dating things and persons, and the faculty of reasoning 
upon the facts observed. 
“ There is also a narrower meaning frequently 
ascribed to the term “ instruction/* by which it is 
limited to an initiation in the arts of reading and 
writing—it is obvious that in either of these senses 
instruction is insufficient of itself to repress criminal 
passions, which are not the result of any actioa of the 
mind, but spring from the secret impulses of the heart 
—this is the high attribute of education of which in¬ 
struction is merely the handmaid ; an instrument, as it 
were, to prepare the mind for the reception of the seed 
which education is about to sow. Instruction does not 
necessarily imply the inculcation of knowledge calcu¬ 
lated to give a right direction to the energies of the 
mind—it may make a man learned, but not of necessity 
good—it may store the bead with knowledge, and brace 
the mind for the greatest elections, but may leave its 
possessor ignorant of the nature of the value of 
virtue. 
“ It is true that in general it is not applied to such 
purposes; it is seldom now that the improvement of 
the heart is not the professed aim of instruction ; but 
it too frequently happens that the means used fall short 
of the intended purpose, or even tend to false and dau- 
erous consequences ; for these reasons it is a question 
ow far the degree of instruction possessed by an indi¬ 
vidual may be taken as evidence of the amount of 
education which he has received. Applied to single 
cases, it would certainly not hold good; for such in¬ 
struction may have been imparted without any refer¬ 
ence to religion, which is the only sound basis ol 
education; or without the recommendation of a single 
virtue, the acquisitionof which is the proper end of all 
education; while on the other hand moral discipline, 
the most precious fruit of education, may have been 
•acquired by oral communication, without any acquaint¬ 
ance with the usual instruments of knowledge. 
A ‘ The science of moral statistics, then, is one which 
every well governed country ought to cultivate; the 
most important branch of which is that which relates 
to the commission of crime, and it is one of those most 
easily susceptible of numerical computation : the na¬ 
ture of the act is generally sufficient to indicate the 
object aimed at; the sex, age, civil and social condition 
of the offender point out the principal circumstances 
which influence the method of the act, the degree of 
instruction which the person has received, and the 
religious knowledge of which he is possessed,—show 
the degree of moral restraint to which he is subject, 
and the intensity of the passion which bursts through 
tbat restraint; while the immediate motives, when not 
inferable from the visible circumstances of the case, 
will be found upon investigation to be much fewer in 
number, more simple in character, aud easier of direc¬ 
tion and classification than is generally supposed. 
“ A committee of the Statistical Society of London 
found upon investigation that almost all crimes could 
be referred to one of four motives, viz., desire of gain, 
indulgence of sexual passions, malice, aud wantonness. 
“ Some peisons may perhaps inquire the practical 
utility of investigations of this kind how a knowledge 
of the facts connected with crime will conduce to the 
main object in view, namely, its repression. Tho 
reply is, that a standard of comparison having been 
once obtained, we can ascertain how each locality in 
which we are individually interested differs fiom 
the average; and by examining the nature of tho 
offences committed and the condition of tho offenders, 
we may elicit the local causes which create an excess. 
“ If crime in the county of Durham be found to bo 
more frequent than in the county of Argyle—if bur¬ 
glary appear to be more common in the county of 
Cumberland than in Sydney itself—if early depravity 
connected with more than ordinary ignorance display 
itself in some districts more than others, we obtain a 
knowledge of facts which are of immediate interest 
and importance to those localities, and which, while 
they indicate the existence of certain pressing evils, 
and the necessity for attempting their removal, will 
usualJy point out the measures by which that can be 
most readily' and speedily effected. 
“ There are many other subjects of social and poli¬ 
tical importance upon which much light might bo 
thrown if they were submitted to a process of statistical 
investigation, such as may be classed uoder the head of 
“ Industrial Statistics," including mining, manufac¬ 
tures, commerce, &c .; indeed, the importance of full 
and accurate knowledge as to the description, quantity, 
and value of imports and exports, as also of the mining 
and manufacturing statistics of the colony cannot be 
overrated, But it would be trespassing at too great a 
length upon your time to pursue the subject further in 
this paper; enough has been said to show in how great 
estimation statistics are held iu all civilized countries 
as tests to and checks upon, hypothetical reasoning in 
the moral and political sciences, and to prove how 
great service the general institution of official statistical 
departments would render to society* in these colouies. 
In making known the natural, agricultural, manufac¬ 
turing, and mining produce of each colony, it would 
guide and extend international commerce : by proving 
numerically' the happy effects of any measure of econo¬ 
mical legislation, it would teach the trustees of power 
the superiority which may be acquired by the prompt 
initiation of such measure. Iu collecting the nume¬ 
rical results which would enable us to compare the 
different colonies with each other, it would dissipate a 
multitude of prejudices and misconceptions, aud tho 
example of success attendant upon the perseverance of 
any' one of the colonies, apparently less favourably 
circumstanced than others to achieve it, wouid demon¬ 
strate to the others how insane is that vanity which 
would persuade each that it is the prototype of human 
intelligence. 
l * With Governments, as with individuals, those who 
seek facts merely to illustrate a hypothesis in which 
they believe as a blind faith, will throw them awav in 
disgust the moment they militate against their argu¬ 
ment ; but he who uses a hypothesis merely' to discover 
truth, will, on the contrary, abandon its use in the 
moment that he arrives at facts which resist all efforts 
to reduce them into accordance with it. 
“The value of accurately recorded data will not be 
appreciated by those who look for immediate results, 
nor does it appear to be sufficiently understood how the 
public interest can be concerned in any kind of know¬ 
ledge that does not yield money to tho Treasury. The 
only fair way of determining’ the worth of statistical 
collections is to ask the question “ had similar accounts 
been kept 50 or 100 years ago would they have been of 
use at the present day ?” How often do*we find in the 
works of writers on science aud political economy ex¬ 
pressions of regret that no accurate records are avail¬ 
able to enable them to trace the progress of a country, 
and to show its state at any given period. If then, as 
has been said by an eminent satirist, “the proper study 
of mankind is man, 1 ’ the value of statistical informa¬ 
tion can be no longer doubted, for it stimulates the 
benevolence and gives- aim and effect to the energies of 
