After having stated that, in his opinion, prostitution also has little to do with economic conditions, Morrison arrives at the conclusion that 14% of the delinquents under the Vagrancy Acts have been made so by destitution; as such delinquents constitute 7% of the total of the criminal population, these destitute persons form 2% of the whole. [187] Adding these 2% to the 2% of destitute persons among the thieves, we get a total of 4%. Further, the author estimates the destitute persons among the other criminals (those not punished for theft or infractions of the Vagrancy Acts) at 1%. Of all criminals, then, 5% have become such from destitution, according to Morrison. —I shall not insist upon proving that these calculations have little value. In the first place all the figures are only estimates, without any indication of what they are based on. In the second place Morrison has only proved, supposing his estimates are correct, that 5% of the criminals belong to a category defined by the author himself. All this gives him absolutely no right to conclude that economic conditions are not a powerful factor in crime. Just where the writer believes that the question has been solved the difficulties properly commence. If we wish to treat the question of vagrancy in a scientific manner we must ask: how does it happen that with the present mode of production there are found persons who prefer vagrancy to work? This is one of the questions that must be answered, yet for Morrison it does not exist. The causes of professional theft, alcoholism, etc. seem, according to the author, to have nothing to do with economic conditions. I shall show in the second part of this work how far wrong he is.— The following chapter treats of “poverty and crime.” To prove the slightness of the causal connection between the two, Morrison gives the following table: Italy 1880–84 New cases of theft per an. to 100,000 inh. 221 France 1879–83 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 121 Belgium 1876–80 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 143 Germany 1882–83 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 262 England 1880–84 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 228 Scotland 1880–84 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 289 Ireland 1880–84 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 101 Hungary 1876–80 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 82 Spain 1883–84 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 74 England is six times as rich as Italy, and the figure for theft is greater; hence, economic conditions are not causes, etc. etc. [188] —It has been some years since Quetelet pointed out (see Chap. II, Sec. II, of this work) that absolute wealth throws no light on the criminal question, because the total wealth of a country gives no idea of its distribution. Yet Morrison thinks that the preceding table proves the correctness of his statement!—