The suffering
and waste caused by this constant production of the unfit are
incalculable. It is scarcely to be wondered at that some persons have
formed the ingenious theory that this world is hell itself, and that we
are now actually undergoing our punishment in purgatory. Certainly there
is some ground for the supposition in the fact that the lives of so many
of us seem to have been ordered in direct opposition to our individual
tastes and wishes.

This is bad enough. The question we have to face now is whether we have
not to thank education systems for something a great deal worse. Mere
unhappiness is not necessarily soul-destroying. But there is only too
good reason to suppose that the evil effects of the mock education
provided by the State do not stop at making its victims unhappy, but
even go so far as to plunge a certain proportion of them into actual
crime.

At the outset it must be acknowledged that the allegation is very
difficult to prove. No satisfactory evidence on the point is derivable
from published statistics. It is quite possible to determine by means of
the latter how many young persons between the ages of twelve and
twenty-one have been convicted of indictable offences during the year.
But everybody who is acquainted with criminology, or who is conversant
with the compilation of statistical information, must be well aware of
the futility of depending upon the apparently clear testimony of
official figures.

It would be extremely useful to find out whether juvenile offenders have
increased or decreased since the institution of compulsory education.
Statistics relating to this subject are procurable, but it is impossible
to place any reliance upon them.

In the first place, there is nothing to show the cause of any such
increase or decrease in the offences committed by young persons. It may
be due to a variety of circumstances, none of which can be accurately
determined. For instance, it is a well-known fact that youthful
offenders have of late years been treated by magistrates with
ever-increasing leniency. Consequently, fewer convictions take place
now, in regard to this class of offence, than was the case some years
ago. The number of the convictions is, therefore, no guide at all as to
the increasing or diminishing proportion of youthful criminals.

Then there is the increased vigilance of the police, which leads to the
more frequent detection of crime; whilst, as a set-off against this,
t