The greater prevalence of crime in the winter months is accounted for on the ground that employment is more scarce, and the prolonged hours of darkness afford greater opportunities to commit it. It is obvious that the return of crimes committed embraces but an inconsiderable portion of the overt criminal acts in the community. During the period covered by it, there were upwards of 40,000 known thieves and depredators, and 40,000 suspected persons at large. The former living by thieving must thieve to live, and it is “clear that a large amount of petty depredations occur, which, with every allowance for the large summary jurisdiction exercised in cases of theft, is not represented in the return, as well as many continued domestic thefts and frauds which are never detected, or never brought within the cognizance of the police.” There is an item in the present report which suggests some inquiries that we should be inclined to pursue if we had space and time. The common impression is, that men do not _suddenly_ leave the path of honesty and become rogues as it were by a leap. There may be no overt act attracting the notice or exciting the suspicion of the most intimate associates, as a partner in business, a colleague in office, or a fellow workman or clerk; but nevertheless subsequent revelations usually show that the crooked path was entered cautiously, by reluctant and hesitating steps, and some distance trod before there was boldness enough to take the fatal step. We apprehend this impression is warranted,—perhaps it is confirmed, rather than weakened,—by the facts here disclosed. It is undoubtedly true that delinquencies of a positive and unequivocal character are often kept private, and the offending parties, after a brief interval, betake themselves again to evil courses; and when some act of gross turpitude is exposed, it is regarded as the first development of a depraved character, whereas in fact it is only the last of a long series of criminal acts. How far such concealment is justifiable, or to what extent it is the means of saving persons from an abandonment to a criminal life, we are not prepared to say. But cases are not rare in which a desire to save an individual from infamy, and perhaps a circle of friends from mortification, has induced confidence to be reposed where it was undeserved, and so has been the means of much deeper injury to much higher interests. Very few instances occur in which a grave offence is committed, especially against property, by parties who had never before been known to swerve from honesty. The present report shows, that of 30,458 persons, 5,398 were of previous good character, and 7,886 were known to be of bad character. Out of 404,034 proceeded against summarily, 148,178 were of “previous good character,” and of 130,502 it was not known to be bad.