on the community for twenty years. Too clever, however, to be caught, he has never before been convicted, and poses as a first offender.

But, it will be demanded, did not the judge in both instances inquire about all this? Yes; probably to the extent of asking the police officers in charge of the respective cases what was known of the prisoner. But information thus given ex parte, in an informal inquiry devoid of legal sanction, affords no adequate basis for a judicial sentence, and judges naturally use it with hesitation and

reserve.

But to resume; for I must not turn aside to go over ground fully covered in previous articles. A further examination of the two main divisions of the inmates of a gaol will suggest a further classification. There are some who have the honest wish to break with the past and retrieve their character, and there are others who have neither the intention nor the wish to be reformed. Is it not obvious that men who, of set purpose, intend to use liberty to commit crimes ought not to be set at liberty at all? But how can this purpose be ascertained? In regard to the worst, and in that sense the most important cases, there would be no difficulty in the matter. These really bad criminals are happily but a small minority of the whole, and yet it is they who give most trouble to the police, and cause most loss to the community, and it is by them chiefly that others are drawn into the criminal ranks. I believe that no man is hopelessly incorrigible; but with men of this type, the best, if not the only, prospect of making them lead a useful life is to put it out of their power to lead a mischievous life. Let them have due warning, and every opportunity to profit by it; and if they give proof that they either cannot or will not run straight, then let them be treated as moral lunatics and committed during His Majesty's pleasure. Here I need but refer to my article of last May, begging attention specially to the paragraph endorsed by Mr. Justice Wills. My present purpose is not to repeat what I have previously urged, but to indicate that reforms which I have hitherto advocated for the protection of society would operate powerfully for the protection of innocent persons wrongly charged with crime.

Outside the scope of this article there lie questions of far-reaching reforms in criminology. For the majority of the inmates of every 'local' prison are the wretched victims of the short-sentence craze— prisoners who are committed for terms so brief that in their case reform is impracticable, and the chief effect of their detention is to make them increasingly unfit for liberty. Among these the most to be pitied are the young. Mercy will sometimes unite with justice in demanding their imprisonment; but if a youth must be sent to gaol at all, it should be for a period long enough to give efforts for his reformation a fair chance of success, and imprisonment should be

resorted to only where no more suitable punishment is possible or adequate. A short term of imprisonment makes a hero of the 'hooligan.' Upon a lad of another kind it may leave a brand that will injure his prospects for life. But if the 'hooligan' were flogged in the police-court yard, and then and there turned out among his pals,' he would be no hero either to them or to himself. And with the other sort of boy similar treatment would often be not only more effectual, but kinder, than imprisonment. Nine-tenths of the community would endorse this statement, but here in England we seem to be governed in all such matters by aggressive and noisy minorities.

We should seek to check committals to prison, and we should seek also to make imprisonment answer its purpose, whatever that purpose may be. Some offenders need punishment, others reformation, and others, again, are committed with the main object of protecting the community against their misdeeds. But all are now treated alike; for prison discipline, like death, levels all distinctions. In his book already cited, Major Griffiths tells the story of a gunboat which the Admiralty sent to the East with a medicine chest instead of a medical officer on board, ordering the commander to take charge of it, and to use his discretion in doctoring the ship's company. But the captain knew nothing of medicine, so he had all the bottles emptied into a pail, and any man that went sick got a dose of the mixture. for, as he explained, there was bound to be something in it to suit him!

It is on this system we deal with our criminals; and in saying this I am neither unmindful nor unappreciative of the praiseworthy efforts of my friend Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise and his colleagues to introduce reforms, especially in the case of the young; nor is it any fault of theirs that in these respects they resemble the criminals whose struggles to mend their ways are hindered by want of help and inability to break with the past.

ROBERT ANDERSON.

THE GERMAN NAVY LEAGUE

THE time is not long past when the German people were often reproached, by home as well as by foreign critics, for deficiency of national pride. Though there was perhaps a certain amount of reason for this criticism, the judgment formed rested very largely on externalities, which are apt to deceive. However, of these signs one in particular used to be mentioned by way of illustration. In Great Britain, where, as it is well known, the home-manufactured article is preferred, goods marked, say, 'Made in Germany' have always been looked upon with suspicion, the expression having been introduced with the intention of deterring would-be purchasers from acquiring them. But in Germany, as it is on all hands admitted, the equivalent of 'Made in England' is an advertisement—a mark of superiority, as it were, even though it is pretty generally known that fully 90 per cent. of these wares, if not indeed even more, are the product of German workshops. Conclusions of an adverse character have also been drawn, especially by French critics, from the fact that in almost every large German family two or three of the children have been given a foreign name-Charles, Harry, and John, of English names, being common-just as if there were only comparatively a few good German christian names to select from. Then it has often been pointed out that when a German takes up his residence in a foreign country, no matter what its political relation to the Fatherland may be, he soon assimilates the habits and manners of that country's nation, and to a very large extent throws off his nationality. Nor does the latter remark apply only to those Germans who have made a foreign country their permanent domicile. Indeed, this mode of adopting foreign customs is, so we are told by the critics of the nation in question, very observable in a German who returns to his own country after, say, two or three years' residence in London, or Paris, or New York. For he more often than not endeavours to introduce into his home some of the customs which he has picked up abroad. Moreover, his relatives, it would seem, show a disposition to give way to him, for, as Bismarck said, he is treated as if he wore the epaulettes of an officer,' that is, as if he were some quite superior person.

But, as has already been said, criticism of this kind applies to the

past rather than to the present. German national pride found itself, as it were, in the great days of 1870-71, and, since the establishment of the Empire, Germans, taking them as a whole, have not been by any means wanting in this respect. Bismarck was well familiar with this new and interesting phase in the national tendency, and, indeed, his famous saying, 'We Germans fear God, but nothing else in the world,' refers to this latter quality of the German character. And, further, he who observes from a distance, but closely, cannot fail to be struck by the yearly growth of pride of country and enthusiasm to see the Fatherland excel in all things. As an indication of this one need only point to the ever-lengthening list of patriotic national institutions and associations, which have been and are being formed in all parts of the Empire. Of these, one in particular stands out most prominently—the German Navy League.

This association of patriots, who take deep and active interest in all matters connected with the progress and well-being of the Fatherland, was formed, under the immediate patronage of Prince Henry of Prussia, as recently as the year 1898-that is to say, some six years ago-yet already there are branches scattered all over the Empire, and even abroad wherever Germans are to be found in any number. They exist not for comradeship only, and for the sake of looking after the Imperial naval affairs, but also-and no doubt mainly for the purpose of furthering and consolidating the general interests of the Navy as well as those of the Mercantile Marine. Indeed, the object of its existence has been briefly and officially defined as follows: To arouse, to stimulate, and to strengthen the interest of the German people in the importance and the duties of a navy: to educate them, and to guide them, as it were.' In connection with this, it is interesting to record that the League was established just at the right moment. been acted upon some time previously to 1898, it is, to say the least, improbable that it would have been attended with any particular success. For, speaking generally—that is, so far as popular interest is concerned-naval affairs were not then much discussed, at least outside official circles. To explain this, I need only refer to the fact that, from the historical point of view, it was not till 1897 that the Emperor William made manifest the most active and practical interest both in the subject and in the proposal to create a powerful German navy, though, on the other hand, his leaning in this direction had been known to those who stood near him for a considerable number of years previously. Even when he was Prince William he devoted much time to the study of the whole question, in illustration of which the following from a recent publication may be quoted in full:

Had the idea on the whole,

If people had been aware of the zeal with which the unassuming Prince William, who then appeared to be a long way from the throne, studied and

worked in the privacy of the Potsdam Marble Palace, there would not have been so much surprise at the fact that immediately after he ascended the throne he showed a striking interest in naval matters. By means of untiring industry, a highly developed faculty of grasping facts, and a magnificent adaptability, he has become a first-rate naval expert, and is as familiar with all the details of naval service and naval science as any professional naval officer of long standing. Equipped with this knowledge he has been able to reorganise, modernise, and develop the Navy, and to raise it to that powerful fighting machine which it is to-day.

And, further, the honour which Queen Victoria bestowed on him in 1889 in appointing him Honorary Admiral of the British Navy helped considerably, as there is every reason to assume, to determine him to formulate a strong naval policy. In 1897, owing to political considerations which, however, need not be enlarged upon here, the Kaiser felt that the time had come for the vigorous prosecution of his views, the Navy Bill was introduced into the Reichstag, and every member of the Imperial Parliament had placed into his hand a paper containing a mass of information, which the Emperor had been chiefly instrumental in collecting, together with an elaboration of the scheme which he himself had drawn up. The attention of the whole nation was, therefore, more or less forcibly called to this subject, and immense interest was aroused. This was the time for the foundation of a Navy League, and in April 1898 a number of influential people took the initiative and formed the now famous League which played a considerable part in furthering the Emperor's programme.

But the efforts of the League would have been more quickly effective, if its leaders had from the first clearly defined their political attitude. The names of many of the more prominent members were not such as to give the public any distinct idea of what political colour the association as a whole would be. The consequence was that it did not receive as much support as otherwise it would have done, and, moreover, it was looked upon with a considerable amount of suspicion. Conservatives regarded it as a Liberal or Radical organisation; Liberals feared that it had Conservative proclivities; the Social Democrats denounced it as a Liberal or Conservative institution-as a matter of fact, it did not matter much which; and the press, echoing these widely divergent views, showed a disposition to treat it in what may be mildly described as a grandmotherly way. In order that this situation may be properly understood, it is necessary to point out that political parties in Germany are in a considerably different position as regards the question of Imperialism from what is the case in other countries. Apart from the ordinary political parties, there are two great parties which have no particular name and no special organisation, and are not much heard of out of Germany, but, nevertheless, they exercise enormous influence throughout the Empire. One party holds the opinion that the prosperity and strength of the Empire depend upon the Empire