I have not been able to procure statistics concerning the occupations of the whole population of England. Nevertheless, it seems to me to be worth while to mention the figures concerning the occupations of the criminals, for, considered by themselves, they show clearly that the classes without means play a very large part in crime. At least 95% of the men are in this condition, as well as at least 5% of the women (a part of the merchants must be added in both cases) while of the 31.9% without occupation it is certain that a large number are also poor.
France, 1898–1900.[134]
| Groups of Occupations. | Number of Persons Accused to 100,000 of Each Group. | ||
| 1898. | 1899. | 1900. | |
| Agriculture | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Manufacturing | 20 | 22 | 24 |
| Commerce | 29 | 33 | 27 |
| Domestic service | 16 | 16 | 13 |
| Liberal professions and public service | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Since this table makes no distinction between independents and dependents, it does not advance the matter much, and the only important observation that can be drawn from it is that agriculture and the liberal professions give the lowest figures. A clearer idea is given by the following table: [[445]]
France, 1890–1895.[135]
| Occupations. | To the 100 Prisoners in Penitentiaries and Houses of Correction. | |||||||||||
| 1890. | 1891. | 1892. | 1893. | 1894. | 1895. | |||||||
| Men. | Women. | Men. | Women. | Men. | Women. | Men. | Women. | Men. | Women. | Men. | Women. | |
| Property owners, persons of income | 0.58 | 1.10 | 0.62 | 2.21 | 0.62 | 0.99 | 0.66 | 1.45 | 0.66 | 1.78 | 0.65 | 2.07 |
| Liberal professions | 2.36 | 1.03 | 2.92 | 1.66 | 2.64 | 1.42 | 2.41 | 1.90 | 2.64 | 1.62 | 2.50 | 1.33 |
| Employees | 5.00 | 0.55 | 5.40 | 0.34 | 5.07 | 0.36 | 4.81 | 0.30 | 5.26 | 0.62 | 5.49 | 1.33 |
| Merchants, manufacturers | 3.77 | 4.47 | 3.25 | 4.80 | 3.49 | 4.35 | 3.39 | 3.81 | 3.64 | 4.71 | 3.19 | 5.72 |
| Alimentary professions | 3.12 | 1.24 | 3.41 | 0.92 | 3.53 | 0.85 | 3.60 | 1.52 | 4.31 | 1.78 | 4.27 | 1.82 |
| Workmen in shops and factories | 8.39 | 13.14 | 8.93 | 12.03 | 8.73 | 12.17 | 7.86 | 15.16 | 9.46 | 16.08 | 9.39 | 15.34 |
| Building and furnishing trades | 16.76 | 0.21[136] | 16.09 | 0.28[136] | 17.11 | 0.49 | 17.68 | 0.23 | 17.51 | 1.23 | 17.92 | 0.66 |
| Agricultural and day laborers | 48.31 | 62.45 | 48.85 | 61.02 | 47.94 | 63.17 | 49.52 | 56.44 | 45.71 | 56.03 | 44.93 | 54.15 |
| Nomadic occupations | 3.99 | 4.68 | 3.89 | 4.63 | 4.19 | 4.77 | 3.79 | 4.72 | 3.77 | 4.79 | 3.82 | 4.48 |
| Soldiers and sailors | 2.41 | — | 2.23 | — | 2.29 | — | 1.94 | — | 1.75 | — | 1.60 | — |
| Vagabonds and mendicants | 1.48 | 4.74[137] | 0.82 | 4.65[137] | 0.94 | 4.77 | 1.03 | 5.71 | 1.27 | 4.95 | 1.52 | 5.14 |
| Individuals in the care of their families | 3.83 | 6.39 | — | 7.46 | 3.45 | 5.66 | 3.31 | 8.76 | 4.02 | 6.41 | 4.72 | 7.96 |
| 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | |
[[446]]
Although there are no statistics of the occupations of the corresponding non-criminal population, the figures are well worth noting. We discover that the unskilled laborers form a large proportion of the prisoners, in every case a larger proportion than they bear to the population in general; and that the merchants and manufacturers form a much smaller part of the prisoners than they do of the population as a whole, for they certainly constitute more than 5.45%, especially in France, a country where small industries still flourish.
Italy, 1891–1895.[138]
| Groups of Occupations. | Convicts. |
| Annual Average to 100,000 of Each Group of Occupations. | |
| Agriculture | 1,009.03 |
| Manufacturing, arts and trades | 855.78 |
| Commerce, transport, navigation and fishing | 1,677.46 |
| Domestic service | 410.96 |
| Employees, liberal professions, capitalists, pensioners | 288.58 |