Page:Wrong and Right Methods of Dealing with Social Evil - Elizabeth Blackwell (1883).djvu/61

Rh Fourth.—There has been a slight decrease in illegitimacy.

Fifth.—An increased desire to reform has been shown by fallen women.

Sixth.—Crime, always connected with vice, has diminished.

Seventh.—Disease, which arises from promiscuous intercourse, has decreased.

Mr. McCall's evidence as to these excellent results is confirmed by a variety of entirely independent evidence. There are not only the series of police reports and criminal returns for the city of Glasgow presented every year to the Lord Provost, the Magistrates, and the Town Council, but there are also the tables of the Registrar-General. There are also the annual reports of the Lock Hospital, and also those of the Magdalen Homes, the reports of these two independent institutions being annually submitted to the city authorities.

It is of the highest importance to note the evidence under these seven heads. Thus, in relation to the condition of the streets, it is said (7413): "This moral clearance of the streets has diminished the number of thefts from the person; but more important than the preservation of property, it has, by removing seductive temptations, saved the young and thoughtless of both sexes from straying from the paths of virtue, and preserved the happiness of many a home" (7405).