Its is this which is the object of Eugenics-the furtherance of the progress and happiness of the race by encouraging the breeding of the biologically fit and discouraging or preventing that of the unfit. The Eugenist has no quarrel with those who seek to improve the environment of the community; on the contrary, he believes that such improvement may serve to thwart the initiation of degeneracy in the future; but with regard to existing degeneracy, the causal effect of the environment-if it had any effect at all-is a matter of past history, and no possible betterment of the surroundings can now serve to eradicate it. This can only be done by adopting the principle of selective breeding, a method which has been applied with conspicuous success to the domesticated animals, to plants and vegetables, for generations. There is therefore nothing new in the principle of Eugenics; it has been applied successfully for ages to other forms of life. There is nothing new in its application to man; it is simply the science of modern preventive medicine carried to its logical conclusion.

It is apparent that Eugenics has two aspects, which have been called 'restrictive,' or the prevention of the propagation of the unfit, and constructive,' or the encouragement of the propagation of the fit. In the present state of our knowledge it is not possible to define all the types in which the condition is clearly the result of germinal impairment and therefore transmissible, and which thus come within the category of the unfit. With regard to some, however, there is no doubt; and it is quite clear that idiots, imbeciles, and the feeble-minded, together with many insane, epileptics, chronic paupers, habitual criminals and inebriates, should be debarred from reproduction. Two methods have been suggested, namely, sterilisation and segregation. It is impossible here to discuss the arguments which have been advanced for and against each of these proposals; but it may be remarked that, even if the present repugnance to the idea of sterilisation were overcome and adequate safeguards against its improper use ensured, the method is one which would only be applicable in those cases where there is no danger to the State from the liberty of the individual, but only from his or her reproduction. This is not the case with a large proportion of the classes I have mentioned. They

present either such extreme incapacity, or such marked anti-social propensities, that permanent supervision is needed; sterilisation alone will not meet their case, and the best remedy is by segregation in suitable colonies or institutions. It is my opinion that one of the most pressing problems of the day is that of the care and control of the mentally defective, for this class impedes social reform and national progress at every turn. At the present time there are three Bills before Parliament dealing with this question, and there is no doubt that the country is at last fully alive to its importance and anxious for a solution. It is earnestly to be hoped that the Government will realise its responsibility and pass a measure which will ensure adequate provision for this class without further delay.

Before any attempt can be made in the direction of Constructive Eugenics, it is necessary that we should understand the causes which are responsible for the marked decline in the birth-rate of the industrious, capable and fit members of the nation. I believe they resolve themselves into two groups. On the one hand, the standard of present comfort has been greatly raised; and this, together with some amount of selfishness and a considerable lack of appreciation of the disastrous consequences to the general community, has caused a very prevalent voluntary restriction of offspring; for that the diminished propagation is mainly voluntary is a fact which cannot be denied. On the other hand, there can be no doubt that the cost of clothing, educating, and giving a suitable start in life to a large family nowadays imposes a financial strain upon many members of the working and professional classes which they are unable to meet. The burden of the unfit, in the shape of increased rates and taxes, is beginning to press heavily upon their shoulders; and they, too, have recourse to voluntary restriction. I have spoken on this subject to many professional men, to officers and non-commissioned officers in the services, to tradesmen, to hard-working artisans, in short to many of those who are generally looked upon as the backbone of the country; and the invariable reply is that they do not have more children because, with the desire to give them a good start in life, they cannot afford to have more.

The first group of causes must be met by the education

of public opinion; and there is great need that the facts I have quoted, and the danger of the fit being swamped by the unfit, should be brought home to the nation. The second group requires something more; and the suggestion made by Galton many years ago is well worthy of serious consideration. It is to the effect that in competitive examinations for appointments, regard should be had to the family history of the candidate as well as his personal attainments. As Galton very truly pointed out (Enquiries into Human Faculty,' p. 212),

'competitive examinations give undue prominence to youths whose receptive faculties are quick, and whose intellects are precocious. They give no indication of the directions in which the health, character and intellect of the youth will change through the development, in their due course, of ancestral tendencies that are latent in youth, but will manifest themselves in after life.... Much of the needed guidance may be derived from his family history.'

It cannot be doubted that, were this suggestion adopted, it would lead to far greater attention being paid to the importance of marriage with a sound, healthy stock, and so tend to improve the vigour and capacity of the nation. The same principle might with great advantage be extended to all applicants for responsible appointments as well as to University scholarships and bursaries. With regard to the remission of taxation, the most pressing requirement is that the shoulders of the fit should be lightened of the ever-increasing burden of the unfit which they are now called upon to bear; and it is certain that attention to Restrictive Eugenics would not fail to exercise a great influence in a positive and constructive direction. Were it necessary to give some more definite encouragement to the propagation of the eugenically fit, the matter is one which should not be beyond the ingenuity of a statesmanlike Chancellor of the Exchequer.

But, while it is clear that, even in the present state of knowledge, much may be done through the application of eugenical principles to improve the vigour and efficiency of the nation, nevertheless, no application of these principles to the country as a whole can take place until more is known about the racial effect of many hereditary conditions and about the inheritance of the mass of the Vol. 217.-No. 432.

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people. For these reasons I have advocated the institution of a national system of family records. At first sight it might appear as if the difficulties in the way of any such scheme were insurmountable; but, as I have elsewhere endeavoured to show, not only is this not the case, but the suggestion is a perfectly practical one. Already notification is compulsory in the case of many details bearing upon health and physical and mental conditions; a Central Register office exists where some of these data are utilised for statistical purposes. A development of these two branches of the public service would supply all the necessary facts, and enable them to be tabulated in a form whereby the biological fitness or unfitness of every person in the community could readily be ascertained. In this way there would be gradually built up a record of the condition of the people which would be of incalculable value in gauging its biological efficiency, which would throw a flood of light upon the incidence and causation of disease, would solve many questions regarding hereditary transmission, and, after the lapse of a few generations, would supply the legislature with trustworthy data upon which to formulate marriage regulations and so bring about national and racial progress. Marriage regulations of some kind or other are now in force in many civilised countries; and the time will certainly come when every State, in its own interest, will have to exercise some control over the condition, not only of its present, but of its future citizens. If this control is not exercised, and if social science does not keep pace with humanitarian sentiment and the undoubted tendencies which exist to aid the survival of the degenerate, the decay and extinction of the nation that neglects it is inevitable.

In this connexion it is of interest to note that the first International Congress on Eugenics will shortly be held at the University of London. This congress has been arranged by the Eugenics Education Society, which has already done most valuable work; and the list of vice-presidents and of eminent scientific men who will be present from both hemispheres is itself sufficient evidence of the importance with which the subject is now coming to be regarded. It seems probable that this congress will mark an epoch in the history of civilisation.

In conclusion, let me emphasise the fact that Eugenics is no fad. Like most new truths when first enunciated, it has not escaped the cheap ridicule of the prejudiced, the shallow and the ignorant. It is true that the knowledge necessary for the wholesale application of its principles may still be wanting. Between those who, from a eugenic point of view, are now known to be unfit and those who are known to be fit, there is a large group which cannot be classed without much further research. But the principles of Eugenics are absolutely sound and admit of no dispute. They are the principles which have guided all racial and national progress in the past, and which must continue to guide it in the future. Whether it meets with our approbation or not, life on this planet is so constituted that it can only progress by the survival and propagation of the biologically fit and the elimination of the unfit. In the course of man's evolution a stage has been reached at which this process has been reversed, with the result that the race merely marks time, while successive nations ebb to and fro in a ceaseless rise and fall. I believe that this is but a phase, and that the time will certainly come when the antidote of Eugenics will be applied, and man will continue his progress; and I have no hesitation in saying that the nation which first grasps and applies this principle will thereby secure such an advantage in increased efficiency that it will rapidly become the predominant power. Whether that nation will be the British or some other, time alone will reveal. It has been said, 'Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat'; it is certainly a fact that while those responsible for the welfare of our country have not been backward in promulgating schemes for the improvement of the community, they have hitherto shown a most extraordinary and lamentable failure to grasp the fundamental principles upon which all real improvement and progress must depend.

A. F. TREDGOLD.