The State police does not exist, and passports are unknown.

The criminal police of the United States cannot be compared to that of France; the magistrates and public prosecutors are not numerous, and the examinations of prisoners are rapid and oral.

Nevertheless in no country does crime more rarely elude punishment.

The reason is, that every one conceives himself to be interested in furnishing evidence of the act committed, and in stopping the delinquent.

During my stay in the United States I witnessed the spontaneous formation of committees for the pursuit and prosecution of a man who had committed a great crime in a certain county.