Statement showing sentences in the State of Massachusetts for all classes of offenses, for drunkenness, including common drunkards, for crimes other than drunkenness and liquor offenses, and for high crimes, from 1860 to 1879 inclusive, with the annual per cent of decrease or increase since 1860.
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| YEAR. | population. | all classes of offenses. | drunkenness, including common drunkards. | crimes other than drunkenness and liquor offenses. | high crimes. | ||||||||||||||
| Total. | Per cent increase over 1860. | Total. | Per cent increase or decrease since 1860. | Total. | Per cent increase or decrease since 1860. | Total. | Per cent increase or decrease since 1860. | Total. | Per cent increase or decrease since 1860. | ||||||||||
| 1860 | 1,231,006 | .... | 16,513 | ........ | 6,334 | ........ | 9,385 | ........ | 331 | ........ | |||||||||
| 1861 | ........ | .... | 14,294 | 13 | ·4 | dec. | 4,426 | 30 | ·1 | dec. | 9,339 | 5 | dec. | 382 | ........ | ||||
| 1862 | ........ | .... | 13,934 | 15 | ·6 | " | 6,065 | 4 | ·2 | " | 7,465 | 20 | ·4 | " | 214 | ........ | |||
| 1863 | ........ | .... | 14,859 | 10 | " | 7,066 | 11 | ·5 | inc. | 7,347 | 21 | ·7 | " | 162 | ........ | ||||
| 1864 | ........ | .... | 15,858 | 3 | ·9 | " | 7,526 | 18 | ·8 | " | 7,788 | 17 | " | 119 | ........ | ||||
| 1865 | 1,267,030 | 2 | ·9 | 17,276 | 4 | ·6 | inc. | 8,060 | 27 | ·2 | " | 8,507 | 9 | ·3 | " | 206 | 37 | ·8 | dec. |
| 1866 | ........ | .... | 22,489 | 36 | ·1 | " | 11,563 | 82 | ·5 | " | 9,807 | 4 | ·4 | inc. | 312 | ........ | |||
| 1867 | ........ | .... | 26,281 | 59 | ·1 | " | 11,019 | 74 | ·1 | " | 11,588 | 23 | ·4 | " | 275 | ........ | |||
| 1868 | ........ | .... | 25,857 | 56 | ·5 | " | 12,920 | 103 | ·9 | " | 10,871 | 15 | ·3 | " | 399 | ........ | |||
| 1809 | ........ | .... | 31,850 | 93 | ·1 | " | 16,742 | 164 | ·3 | " | 12,160 | 29 | ·5 | " | 317 | ........ | |||
| 1870 | 1,457,351 | 18 | ·3 | 39,693 | 140 | ·3 | " | 18,880 | 198 | " | 13,310 | 41 | ·9 | " | 394 | 19 | inc. | ||
| 1871 | ........ | .... | 39,869 | 141 | ·4 | " | 20,383 | 221 | ·8 | " | 12,231 | 30 | ·3 | " | 283 | ........ | |||
| 1872 | ........ | .... | 45,297 | 174 | ·3 | " | 23,587 | 272 | ·3 | " | 13,498 | 43 | ·9 | " | 310 | ........ | |||
| 1873 | ........ | .... | 46,132 | 179 | ·3 | " | 23,842 | 276 | ·4 | " | 14,227 | 51 | ·5 | " | 459 | ........ | |||
| 1874 | ........ | .... | 43,684 | 164 | ·5 | " | 22,748 | 259 | ·1 | " | 14,506 | 54 | ·5 | " | 455 | ........ | |||
| 1875 | 1,651,912 | 34 | ·1 | 40,404 | 144 | " | 23,553 | 271 | ·8 | " | 14,613 | 55 | ·8 | " | 500 | 51 | ·1 | inc. | |
| 1876 | ........ | .... | 33,103 | 100 | " | 18,107 | 185 | ·8 | " | 13,865 | 47 | ·4 | " | 490 | ........ | ||||
| 1877 | ........ | .... | 31,688 | 91 | ·8 | " | 17,614 | 178 | " | 12,826 | 36 | ·5 | " | 525 | ........ | ||||
| 1878 | ........ | .... | 31,118 | 88 | ·4 | " | 16,795 | 165 | ·1 | " | 13,340 | 42 | ·1 | " | 626 | ........ | |||
| 1879 | 1,852,586* | 50 | ·4 | 28,149 | 70 | ·4 | " | 16,211 | 155 | ·9 | " | 11,278 | 20 | ·1 | " | 462 | 39 | ·6 | inc. |
*Estimated.
facts, however, relieves the Commonwealth of the oft-repeated statement that crime is increasing much faster than population. The total number of sentences for all offenses for the twenty years is 578,348. An examination of the column of the foregoing table headed "Drunkenness, including common drunkards," shows that the percentage of increase since 1860 is 155.9 per cent, the total tal being 340,814; that is to say, 60 per cent of the total number of crimes reported under all classes of offenses belong entirely to what may be called "rum offenses." An examination of the statistics of crimes other than drunkenness and liquor offenses shows that the increase for the twenty years from 1860 to 1879, inclusive, was but 20.1 per cent, as against an increase of 50.4 per cent in the population. But the truest comparison is based on what are called "high crimes." These are the crimes which represent criminal conditions more than any other. They are the crimes of abortion, felonious assault, burglary, breaking and entering, burning a building, embezzlement, forgery, incest, murder, manslaughter, robbery, and rape. The total number of sentences under all these high crimes for the twenty years is shown in the foregoing table, with percentage of increase since 1860 brought into comparison with the increase of population. This increase in 1879 was 39.6 percent over 1860, while the population for the same time had increased 50.4 per cent. This side of the table shows that any argument made to prove that the crime of the State of Massachusetts for the twenty years named increased much more rapidly
