CHAP. II.
| Of the ill Consequences of Theftbote, and the Licentiousness of Felons in Newgate. |
Often, when I have spoke against Theftbote, after the same manner as now I have been writing, I have heard Men of Worth and good Sense come into my Sentiments, who yet, after all, would tell me, That if II had lost any Thing myself, they believ'd that I would be glad to have it again with as little Cost and Trouble as I could. This I never denied, and am still willing to own. We are all partial and unfit Judges in our own Cause; but the most that can be made of this, is, That in that Case neither I nor any Body else, that has had any Thing stolen from him, ought to be consulted about the Matter: We are ill qualified, and therefore incapable of determining any Thing rightly concerning it. I have another Reason why this ought to be referred rather to those who never lost any Thing by Thieves and Pilferers, than others who have been Sufferers that Way: Rogues, it is true, have a thousand Stratagems, and a Person may be very careful, and yet have his Pocket pick'd, if ever he appears in the Street, or a Crowd: Yet, if we divide Mankind into two Classes, that the one will be more exempt from those Misfortunes than the other, is undeniable. A Man, who is always upon his Guard in the Streets, and suspects all Crowds; that is temperate in his Liquor; avoids, as much as is possible, unseasonable Hours; never gives Ear to Night-walkers; a Man that abroad is always watchful over himself, and every Thing about him, and at home takes Care of his Doors and Bolts, his Shutters, Locks, and Bars; such a one, I say, is in less Danger than others, who are unthinking, and never mind what Companies they thrust themselves into; or such as will be drunk, go home late in the dark unattended, and scruple not to talk and converse with lewd Women, as they meet them; or that are careless of themselves as well as of the securing and fastening of their Houses. It is evident then which Class would yield the most proper Judges; whom if it was left to, I don't question but the sober, careful, and wiser Part of the Nation would agree, that the Practice in vogue, and Method made use of to recover stolen Goods, even tho' there was no express Law against it, is, on many Accounts, mischievous to the Publick, and visibly destructive to the Interest of honest Property, and our Security in the Enjoyment of it.
There is no greater Encouragement for Men to follow any Labour or Handicraft, than that they are paid as soon as they have done their Work, without any further Trouble. It is from such a Consideration as this, that to encrease the publick Security, the Law not only punishes Stealing, but likewise makes it Felony, knowingly to buy stolen Goods; and moreover perpetuates honest Property, and renders the Right of it inalienable from the injured Owner, who seizes his Goods in what Hands soever he finds them. These two additional Precautions are of admirable Use in hampering common Villains, and strengthening the Law against Theft. From the first, a Rogue, after he has made himself liable to be hang'd, may be still disappointed, and miss his chief Aim; for as Money is what he wants, if no Body will purchase what he offers, he is never the nearer. The Second makes that he is never safe, tho' he is rid of the Goods, and the Money in his Pocket; for tho' they are gone through half a Dozen Hands, as soon as the Right Owner lays Claim to the Things stole, every one is oblig'd to discover where he had them; and by this Means it is seldom difficult to find out the Thief, or the Receiver of stolen Goods. To leap these two Barriers, and free himself at once of the Trouble there is in finding a safe Purchaser, and all Apprehensions of future Danger, a Rogue could not wish or imagine any Thing more effectual than that he might lodge what he has stole in the Hands of the Owner himself, and so receive a Reward for his Pains, and, at the same Time, a Pardon for his Crime, of him, whose Prosecution was the only Thing he had to fear. It is evident then, that the friendly Commerce, and amicable Negotiations, now in vogue, between Thieves and those that are robb'd by them, are the greatest Encouragement of low Villany that can be invented, and as sure a Way to keep up the Breed of Rogues, and promote the Interest of them, as either our Fishery or the Coal Trade are constant Nurseries for Sailors.
I am not ignorant, that in the present Conjuncture, as Cases might be stated, it would be very harsh, and seem to be the Height of Injustice, if we should hinder People from redeeming stolen Goods on all Emergencies whatever. A Man may be vigilant and careful, and his Servants the same, and yet, their Eyes being one Moment turn'd from the Counter, a Shop-Book may be snatched, and carried off, perhaps, a Month before Christmas. This may put a Tradesman of good Business in great Distress: Must he lose it? I say, Yes, if the Publick is to be preferr'd to a private Interest. In the mean time, I know very well what every Body would do in that Case: But that the Whole suffers by the Redemption, I prove thus: Let us say, that this Year twelve Shop-Books are stole, that are all recover'd for two or three Guineas apiece got for them, and no Body punish'd. You may expect that next Year you will have forty or fifty stole, and in a few Years nothing will be more common. And again, let us suppose that last Year an hundred Shop-Books were stole; but, by vertue of some effectual Law for that Purpose, not one redeemed. The Consequence, in all Probability, would be, that the next Year you would hardly have ten Shop-Books stole; and if, thro' the strict Observance of the Law, none of them likewise should be redeem'd, you would hear no more of that Practice.
Besides, when a Man steals what is of no Value but to me, and can have no other View than that I should redeem it, and be his Pay-Master myself, the Felony becomes, in a manner, a compound Action, in which, as soon as I comply, I join with the Thief: And if we consider that the changing of Property from one Man to another, is seldom of any Consequence to the Publick, and that all the Mischief that can befal it from Theft, that is, the Loss of Goods that Way sustain'd by private Persons, consists in this, That those who committed it, gain their Point, and come off with Impunity, let who will be the Thief, or the Receiver; if, I say, we consider these two Things, it will appear, that in the Case I have mentioned, myself, who for my own Ends assisted the Thief with Money, and secured him from Prosecution, had the greatest Share in the Transaction, and consequently was, of the two, the most injurious to the civil Society. Without me the Rogue would not only have been disappointed, but likewise, whilst he continued in Possession of the Thing stole, remained in the perpetual Dread of being prosecuted for what he never had any Benefit from; and it is not probable that a Man who had been twice so served, would ever make such another Attempt.
These Things well deserve the Consideration of wise Men, and I desire the compassionate Part of Mankind to reflect on what daily Experience teaches us of common Felons, and they will easily find out, that unseasonable Pity may prove the greatest Cruelty. The oftner a young Rogue steals with Impunity, the sooner he'll be a thorough-paced Villain, that will venture on more hazardous Undertakings; and the more numerous the Examples of such are, the more loose People will enter into the Fraternity, of which, whether it be great or small, very few ever arrive to a middle Age. Some are cunning enough never to be taken in a Fact; but no Subtlety can save them from the Impeachment of others. A licens'd Practitioner may be skreen'd and protected some Years, if he sticks to Discipline, and pays the greatest Part of his Earnings for his Security; but if he rides resty, and squabbles about the Contribution required of him, he is in a dangerous Way. It is possible that a dextrous Youth may be esteemed, and be a Favourite to the Superintendent a great while; but when he grows very notorious, he is hunted like a Deer, and the Premium on his Head betrays him. He may baffle his Prosecutor, find a Flaw in an Indictment, elude the Force of an Evidence, come off once or twice, be reprieved, break Goal, or be pardoned, the Gallows will be his Portion at last. The Wretch that is train'd up to stealing, is the Property of the Hangman: He can never entirely leave off his Trade: Many, after Transportation, have, with great Hazard of their Lives, found the Way back again to Newgate. A Thief bred must be hang'd if he lives.
From all which appears, what I undertook to prove, That Remissness as to Prosecutions, occasion'd by the bare-faced Compositions of Felony, is one of the grand Causes of that lamentable Complaint, the Frequency of Executions; and should we compare the Droves that are carried to Tyburn for Slaughter, with those others that are sent to Smithfield for the same Purpose, we would find the modern Thief-Catcher subservient to the Executioner in the same Manner, as the wealthy Grazier is to the needy Butcher; and that of the Cattle in either Sense, few are kill'd by the one that were never cherish'd by the other.
I am now come to the second Cause, which is the Treatment Felons receive after they are taken, both in Newgate and their Journey from thence to the Gallows: First, It is wrong to suffer such Numbers of them to be and converse together; for nothing but the utmost Corruption can be expected from a Company of forty or fifty People in a Prison, who, every one of them, singly consider'd, were all the worst of Thousands before they met. Secondly, It is an Encouragement to Vice, that the most dissolute of both Sexes, and generally young People too, should live promiscuously in the same Place, and have Access to one another. For the rest, the Licentiousness of the Place is abominable, and there are no low Jests so filthy, no Maxims so destructive to good Manners, or Expressions so vile and prophane, but what are utter'd there with Applause, and repeated with Impunity. They eat and drink what they can purchase, every Body has Admittance to them, and they are debarr'd from nothing but going out. Their most serious Hours they spend in mock Tryals, and instructing one another in cross Questions, to confound Witnesses; and all the Stratagems and Evasions that can be of Service, to elude the Charge that shall be made against them; or else in reading Lectures on some Branch or other of their Profession, the various Arts and Methods of Stealing, or the Glory, as well as Usefulness of invincible Impudence on all offensive and defensive Emergencies. As villainous Pawn-brokers, and all Receivers of stolen Goods, have good Reasons to be liberal to those they have dealt with, when in this Distress, so no Felons are here in Want, and reduced to the Allowance of the Prison, but Novices and silly Creatures, that have the least deserved to be punish'd; whereas the Veteran Rogues, and such as have been great Traders, are well provided for. This keeps them up in Debauchery; and many, after Condemnation, persist in their riotous Courses, and pampering their Bodies, whilst the Care that is taken of their Souls is very mean. For such is the Noise and Confusion all around them, that even the best dispos'd have not sufficient Opportunities to prepare themselves for another World; and the Helps they receive in Spirituals are, all Things consider'd, no better than the Accounts we have of them after every Session.