In the first place, it is a satisfaction to find that no one impugns the
conclusion which my memoir was written to justify, that history tells
how restrictions in marriage, even of an excessive kind, have been
contentedly accepted very widely, under the guidance of what I called
“immaterial motives.” This is all I had in view when writing it.
_Certificates._—One of the comments on which I will remark is that
if certificates were now offered to those who passed certain
examinations into health, physique, moral and intellectual powers,
and hereditary gifts, great mistakes would be made by the
examiners. I fully agree that it is too early to devise a
satisfactory system of marks for giving what might be styled
“honour-certificates,” because we do not yet possess sufficient
data to go upon. On the other hand there are persons who are
exceptionally and unquestionably unfit to contribute offspring to
the nation, such as those mentioned in Dr. Mott’s bold proposals.
The best methods of dealing with these are now ripe for immediate
consideration.
_Breeding for points._—It is objected by many that there cannot be
unanimity on the “points” that it is most desirable to breed for.
I fully discussed this objection in my memoir read here last
spring, showing that some qualities such as health and vigour were
thought by all to be desirable, and the opposite undesirable, and
that this sufficed to give a first direction to our aims. It is a
safe starting point, though a great deal more has to be inquired
into as we proceed on our way. I think that some contributors to
this discussion have been needlessly alarmed. No question has been
raised by me of breeding men like animals for particular points,
to the disregard of all-round efficiency in physical, intellectual
(including moral), and hereditary qualifications. Moreover, as
statistics have shown, the best qualities are largely correlated.
The youths who became judges, bishops, statesmen, and leaders of
progress in England could have furnished formidable athletic teams
in their times. There is a tale, I know not how far founded on
fact, that Queen Elizabeth had an eye to the calves of the legs of
those she selected for bishops. There is something to be said in
favour of selecting men by their physical characteristics for
other than physical purposes. It would decidedly be safer to do so
than to trust to pure chance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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