Page:Japan by the Japanese (1904).djvu/705

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APPENDICES

663

In 1899 the tendency was towards a gradual decrease, the result, no doubt, of strong measures taken at that time against petty crimes, the number of thefts, in particular, having become much less since that date.

Table III.—Classification of Felons, Misdemeanants, and Contraveners amongst the Annual Number of Newly-imprisoned Convicts for Thirteen Retrospective Years, from 1900 to 1888 Inclusive.

Year.	Felons.			Deaths among 100 Felons.	Felons among 100 Convicts newly imprisoned.	Misdemeanants.	Misdemeanants among 100 Convicts newly imprisoned.	Contraveners.	Contraveners among 100 Convicts newly imprisoned.
Year.	Deaths.	Penal Servitudes, Transportations, Confinements, and Detentions.	Total.	Deaths among 100 Felons.	Felons among 100 Convicts newly imprisoned.	Misdemeanants.	Misdemeanants among 100 Convicts newly imprisoned.	Contraveners.	Contraveners among 100 Convicts newly imprisoned.

1900	34	1,513	1,547	2.2	1.0	113,165	70.6	45,557	28.4
1899	39	1,852	1,891	2.1	1.2	113,816	75.2	35,718	23.6
1898	39	2,028	2,067	1.9	1.1	145,367	79.8	34,846	19.1
1897	21	2,172	2,193	1.0	1.2	146,725	81.2	34,738	17.6
1896	73	1,709	1,782	4.1	1.0	141,443	80.5	32,409	18.5
1895	73	2,109	2,092	3.5	1.2	141,100	80.5	32,072	18.3
1894	53	2,026	2,079	2.5	1.1	154,324	81.9	32,091	17.0
1893	45	2,137	2,182	2.1	1.2	150,130	84.3	25,905	14.5
1892	52	2,247	2,299	2.3	1.3	144,598	84.8	23,675	13.9
1891	70	2,579	2,649	2.6	1.7	136,034	86.3	18,887	12.0
1890	39	2,008	2,047	1.9	1.5	124,287	89.7	12,167	08.8
1889	58	1,741	1,799	3.2	1.8	921,127	90.2	08,197	08.0
1888	72	2,369	2,441	2.9	2.4	095,101	92.6	05,099	05.0

Note.—1. The table shows us that, in the course of the past thirteen years, the number of serious offences has been gradually decreasing, while those of a more trivial nature have considerably increased; or, to be exact, in 1900 the number of felons amongst 100 newly-imprisoned convicts decreased by more than one-half, and that of misdemeanants amongst 100 newly-imprisoned convicts decreased by more than one-fifth, compared with the original numbers of both cases in 1888, while, on the contrary, it is an extraordinary fact that the number of contraveners increased to five times their original number in 1888.

2. The number of deaths varies, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing during the seven years from 1888 to 1895 inclusive. But they considerably increased in 1896 and 1897, the probable cause being the agitation of people during the war then waging between Japan and China. Since 1898, however, they have decreased in a greater degree.