every man might be put in a method how to live, and so be preserved from the fatal necessity of stealing."

Robert Owen advises society to study and to apply the means of prevention rather than retribution, saying:-"Hitherto the efforts of society have been solely devoted to the repression of crime by punishment; henceforth they will be directed to its prevention."

In this opinion he is also borne out by his biographer, Mr. Sargant, who maintains that "it is better to prevent crime than to punish it; and that, as far as possible, neither child nor man ought to be exposed to temptations stronger than he can resist."

The experiments made at New Lanark by Robert Owen, and at Mettray by Monsieur de Metz, have satisfactorily proved the truth that by reformatory training and preventive regulations the character of both juveniles and adults may be restored.

Trustworthy eye-witnesses of the working of R. Owen's community establishment at New Lanark report that "they never saw a happier congregation of people; the manners and morals of the inhabitants of the place had greatly improved; and that with the infliction of scarcely one legal punishment, the worst habits had disappeared, with a fair prospect that the minor ones would also be rooted out. The community of more than 2,000 persons exhibited an appearance of industry, temperance, comfort, health, and happiness not to be met with elsewhere."

The excellent reformatory for young criminals established at Mettray by Monsieur de Metz, can show results which render any eulogy on the system pursued there almost superfluous. Such statistics as the following speak for themselves :- -3,104

colonists" left Mettray in December 1872; of these, 1,593 became agriculturists, 707 workmen, 604 soldiers, 110 sailors, 4 belong to the Legion of Honour, 24 have received the military medal, 5 are officers, many are non-commissioned officers, corporals, etc. Before the establishment of this reformatory, young criminals were reconvicted in the proportion of 75 per cent.; only 4 per cent. of the colonists of Mettray were re-convicted in 1872.

The abandonment of the vindictive and retributive character

of punishments, inflicting suffering and pain because crime is a sin and moral delinquency, is sure to introduce a milder * application of all punishments; and that such is even partly the case in the present administration of the criminal law, is evident from the often reiterated assertion that crimes are now chiefly punished for the protection of society and not as retribution to the criminal.

This practical view of the necessity of punishment for the protection of society, irrespective of the criminal's moral guilt (which he may have wiped out by repentance before the punishment is inflicted), removes the great difficulty which arose from R. Owen's philosophy, that man being the creature of circumstances, is not to be held a responsible being, and therefore all punishments inflicted on him for crimes which he could not help committing, are unjust and irrational.

If in an improved state of society there should arise the sad necessity of punishing crimes, it will likewise be done solely for the protection of society, and the law will take no cognizance of a man's responsibility or irresponsibility, except he be of unsound mind; and in the same manner as the maniac is locked up and secured in the asylum in order to protect society from any attack ensuing from his madness, just so will society act against criminal offenders; and the punishment inflicted on them will have but this one aim-to secure society from further attacks; and when this purpose is attained, milder treatment may gradually be introduced.

Cabet describes the kinds of punishment that are in use in Icaria, saying:—"The declaration or public statement of the crime committed, publicity of the judgment in various degrees of extent, loss of certain social, civil, and political rights: these are the punishments inflicted by the tribunals of Icaria."

He further states by whom law is administered there, saying:-" All criminal and civil jurisdiction in Icaria is exercised by the public assemblies of the people, who themselves are the juries and judges."

Sir Thomas More says that in Utopia those that are found

* "Experience shows that relaxation of punishment rather than increase of severity produces a diminution of crime."-MR. HENLY in the House of Commons on the 14th of June, 1875.

guilty of theft are bound to restitution to the owner. Their thieves are condemned to serve in the public works, but are neither imprisoned nor chained. This sort of punishment agrees in character with the prolongation of a man's term of work, which is to extend beyond his fiftieth year in consequence of idleness or for other offences, if the security of society is sufficiently protected by such a punishment.

CHAPTER XXXIII.-EMANCIPATION OF WOMAN.

TH THE future welfare of mankind will largely depend on the solution of the question, "What position woman will occupy in society?" In assigning the proper place to her in all the various social, civil, political, religious, industrial, and educational functions in the community, the nature of her bodily and mental faculties has to be taken into account, in order to adapt her mission to her capabilities.

That the nature of woman is still a dark mystery to many, and even to women themselves, is evident, or else we would not meet with expressions like the following, uttered by Mrs. William Grey at the Belfast Congress of the British Association (August, 1874):-" What we want to know is, whether the difference between the sexes is one of kind or degree, or only of proportion between their various mental and moral faculties." A satisfactory solution of this difficult problem could scarcely be expected from the professors of physical sciences assembled at Belfast; but a great deal of light may be thrown upon the question by consulting the opinions expressed by the most prominent social innovators. Although each of them approaches the truth from a different direction, yet the aggregate result of their views on the subject of the nature of woman furnishes a most rational and solid basis, on which any efficient reforms for her emancipation must be placed.

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Plato says:"There is no function among the entire members of our state that is peculiar to woman considered as such, nor to man considered as such, but natural talents are indiscriminately diffused through both, and the woman naturally shares in all offices the same as the man, though in all cases

the woman is weaker than the man. One woman is fitted for being a physician, and another not so; one is musical, another by nature unmusical. One is fitted for gymnastics and warlike, another neither for gymnastics nor war; one is a lover of philosophy, and another averse to it; one is high spirited, and another timid. The nature, then, of the woman and the man is the same, only that the one is weaker, the other stronger."

These ideas of the ancient and divine philosopher are the more remarkable, as they in principle admit women to their rightful practice and enjoyment of science and art.

Plato further says:-" Whether the women remain in the state or go forth to war, they ought to keep guard with the men, and hunt with them like hounds, and in every case take a share in all things as far as they can, and that doing these things they will do what is best and not contrary to the nature of the female, as regards the male,-by which nature, indeed, they act jointly with one another." These proposals of Plato give to the social reformer two important hints: firstly, to employ women even in dangerous and heavy work; and secondly, to let them perform their social duties conjointly with men. The conjoint performance of work will be a powerful means of attraction and encouragement.

Cabet, in Voyage en Icarie, says: "The daughters of the Icarians have well revenged themselves on the opinion formerly prevalent, that their intelligence was inferior to that of their brothers, for nearly all of them rival successfully with the men. If in some sciences the latter excel, in others the former have carried the prize. Many of them amongst us rank high in literature (Mrs. Hannah Moore), in the fine arts (Rosa Bonheur as a painter, Madame Schumann as a musician), in mathematics and astronomy (Mrs. Sommerville), and many others in eloquence, medicine, and other sciences."

Cabet approaches the truth even nearer than Plato, for he admits that in some sciences and arts woman may even prove herself superior to man. Relying upon this truth, the social reformer will institute equality of education for both sexes.

Babeuf throws much light upon another side of woman's nature in saying:-"The woman, weaker than the man, is besides subject to the inconveniences of pregnancy and menstruation, to the pains of childbirth, and to the evils which are

the after consequences of them; she is also gifted with charms which exercise so powerful an empire over the other sex. All these things must be considered in allotting labour to her. It appears she is destined for the less rude, dirty, and noisy occupations of life." From this the social reformer has to learn two things: firstly, that in assigning any duty, work, or occupation to women, account must be taken of the presence or absence of any of woman's ordinary diseases and ailings,-a precaution which is now often neglected, especially with women working in factories; secondly, that women shall not be put to employments destructive either of woman's beauty or injurious to the organization of their finer physical senses and more delicate nervous system."

Although the bodily nature of woman greatly differs from that of man, yet both must be considered equal in their moral and intellectual faculties. This truth is practically verified by the criminal law of all ages and nations, which is indiscriminately applied in the same degree of punishment against both male and female offenders. In all civilized countries where capital punishment has not yet been abolished, we sometimes hear of the execution of women, who being considered rational and therefore responsible beings, have to suffer death on the scaffold or the guillotine.

Stuart Mill says:-" Woman is a rational being, and can rise to be the companion and even the equal of man, instead of being, as in old society, first his plaything and afterwards his tormentor." The remarkable sarcasm contained in the latter sentence of this quotation amounts to this, that as woman in old society is not educated up to the capabilities of her intellectual and moral nature, she will, from weakness of mind, abandon herself to become man's plaything, and from weakness of mind she will likewise be his tormentor.

The innate rational faculty of woman's mind places her, however, on a perfect equality with man, from whence also proceed her freedom, independence, equal right, and equal duties. On this point all great social theorists agree. Robert Owen says:-" "As women in the New Moral World enjoy precisely the same rights as men, their position will be completely independent."

Enfantin says:-The wife should be the equal to the