ESTIMATE.
In addition to this, it is highly proper to mention the noble benevolence, which has been displayed by the Opulent of all ranks, but particularly the Merchants, in the very large sums which have been, at various times, subscribed for the relief of the brave men, who have been maimed and wounded, and for the support of the widows, orphans, and relations of those who have meritoriously lost their lives in fighting the battles of their country.
Such exalted examples of unbounded munificence the history of no other nation records.
It is to this source of elevated virtue, and nobleness of mind, that an appeal is made, on the present occasion, in behalf of those unhappy fellow-mortals; who, in spite of the unexampled liberality which has been displayed, still require the fostering hand of Philanthropy.
The cause of these distresses has been explained; and also the evils which such a condition in human life entails upon Society. It is not pecuniary aid that will heal this gangrene: this Corruption of Morals. There must be the application of a correct System of Police, calculated to reach the root and origin of the evil.—Without System, Intelligence, Talents, and Industry, united in all that relates to the affairs of the Poor, millions may be wasted as millions have already been wasted, without bettering their condition. In all the branches of the Science of Political Œconomy, there is none which requires so much skill and knowledge of men and manners, as that which relates to this particular object: and yet, important as it is to the best interests of the Community, the management of a concern, in which the very foundation of the national prosperity is involved, is suffered to remain, as in the rude ages, when Society had not assumed the bold features of the present period,—in the hands of changeable, and in many instances, unlettered agents; wholly incompetent to a task at all times nice and difficult in the execution, and often irksome and inconvenient.
One great feature of this evil, on which it is deplorable to reflect, is, that nearly one million of the inhabitants of a country, the utmost population of which is supposed to be short of nine millions, should be supported in part or in whole by the remaining eight.
In spite of all the ingenious arguments which have been used in favour of a System admitted to be wisely conceived in its origin, the effects it has produced incontestably prove, that with respect to the mass of the Poor, there is something radically wrong in the execution.
If it were not so, it is impossible that there could exist in the Metropolis such an inconceivable portion of human misery, amidst examples of munificence and benevolence unparalleled in any age or country in the world.
Impressed with these sentiments, so far as they apply to the state of indigence in the Metropolis, a design has been sanctioned by the Benevolent Society for bettering the Condition of the Poor, the object of which is to establish a department for inquiring into the history, life, and the causes of the distress of every person who asks relief in any part of the Metropolis: not with a view to support these unfortunate persons in idleness and vice; but to use those means which talents, attention, and humanity can accomplish—(means which are beyond the reach of parochial officers), for the purpose of enabling them to assist themselves.[95]
In the Metropolis the Magistrates interfere very little in parochial relief, except when appeals are made to them in particular cases, or when called upon to sign orders of removal, which is generally done as a matter of course. Hence it is that the poor are left almost entirely to the management of the Parochial Officers for the time being, who frequently act under the influence of ignorance or caprice, or are irritated by the impudent importunity of the profligate Gin-drinking poor. These Officers also, it is to be remembered, have private affairs which necessarily engage the chief part of their attention, and are frequently no less incapable than unwilling to enter on those investigations which might enable them to make the proper discriminations: the modest and shame-faced poor are thus frequently shut out from relief, while the vociferous and idle succeed in obtaining pecuniary assistance, which is soon improvidently dissipated.
The distress which is thus shewn to prevail, by no means arises from the want of competent funds:—the misfortune is, that from the nature of the present mode of management it is not possible to apply these funds beneficially for the proper relief of those for whom they were intended. A much more moderate assessment, under a regular and proper management, would remove great part of the evil.
The expence of the class of persons denominated Casual Poor, who have no settlement in any parish in the Metropolis, amounts to a large sum annually.—In the united parishes of St. Giles in the Fields, and St. George, Bloomsbury, this expence amounted to 2000l. in the year 1796. It arose from the support of about 1200 poor natives of Ireland, who but for this aid must have become vagrants. The shocking abuse of the vagrant passes previous to the year 1792, produced the Act of the 32 Geo. III. cap. 45. which requires that Rogues and Vagabonds should be first publicly whipt, or confined seven days in the House of Correction, (females to be imprisoned only, and in no case whipped) before they are passed, as directed by the Act of the 17 Geo. II. c. 5. Hence it is that so many who are either on the brink of vagrancy or have actually received alms, are permitted to remain a burden on the parishes; the Magistrates being loth to incur the charge of inhumanity, by strictly following the letter of the Act, in whipping or imprisoning poor miserable wretches, whose indigence have rendered relief necessary.
In all the 146 parishes within and without the walls, including the Bills of Mortality, &c. it is not improbable that the casual charity given in this way may amount to 10,000l. a year.
The loose manner in which it is given, and the impossibility either of a proper discrimination, or of finding in the distributing these resources, that time for investigation which might lead to the solid benefit of the Pauper, by restoring him to a capacity of earning his own livelihood, makes it highly probable that instead of being useful, this large sum is perhaps hurtful, to the major part of the poor who receive it. The trifle they receive, from being injudiciously given, and frequently to get rid of the clamour and importunity of the most profligate, is too often spent immediately in the Gin-shop.—No inquiry is made into the circumstances of the family—No measures are pursued to redeem the apparel locked up in the Pawnbrokers' shop, although a small sum would frequently recover the habiliments of a naked and starving family—no questions are asked respecting the means they employ to subsist themselves by labour; and no efforts are used to procure employment for those who are willing to labour, but have not the means of obtaining work.
Hence it is that poverty, under such circumstances, contributes in no small degree to the multiplication of crimes. The profligate thus partly supported, too often resorts to pilfering pursuits to fill up the chasm, and habits of idleness being once obtained, labour soon becomes irksome.
Why should not the whole nation, but particularly the Metropolis, be considered, so far at least as regards the vagrant and casual Poor, as one family, and be placed under the review of certain persons who might be considered as worthy of the trust, and might devote their time sedulously to that object?—Were such an establishment, instituted, and supported in the first instance by a sum from each parish, equal to the casual relief they have each given on an average of the five preceding years, with power to employ this fund in establishing Houses of Industry, or Work-rooms, in various parts of the Metropolis, where the Poor should receive the whole of their earnings and a comfortable meal besides:—it is highly probable that while the expence to the parishes would gradually diminish, beggary would be annihilated in the Metropolis—the modest and deserving Poor would be discovered and relieved, while the idle and profligate, who resorted to begging as a trade, would be compelled to apply to honest labour for their subsistence.
This is a point in the political œconomy of the Nation highly important, whether it relates to the cause of humanity or to the morals of the people, upon which all good Governments are founded.—That such an institution is practicable is already proved from the partial experiments that have been made. That the advantages resulting from it would be great beyond all calculation, is too obvious to require elucidation.
While it operated beneficially to the lower classes of the people and to the State, it would relieve Parochial Officers of a very irksome and laborious task, perhaps the most disagreeable that is attached to the office of an Overseer in the Metropolis.
To give this branch of Police vigor and effect, the aid of the Legislature would be necessary; which would be easily obtained when the measure itself was once thoroughly understood, and it could not then fail to be as popular as it would unquestionably be useful.
They who from their habits of life have few opportunities of considering the state of the Poor, are apt to form very erroneous opinions on the subject.
By the Poor we are not to understand the whole mass of the people who support themselves by labour; for those whose necessity compels them to exercise their industry, become by their poverty the actual pillars of the State.
Labour is absolutely requisite to the existence of all Governments; and as it is from the Poor only that labour can be expected, so far from being an evil they become, under proper regulations, an advantage to every Country, and highly deserve the fostering care of every Government. It is not Poverty therefore, that is in itself an evil, while health, strength, and inclination, afford the means of subsistence, and while work is to be had by all who seek it.—The evil is to be found only in Indigence, where the strength fails, where disease, age, or infancy, deprives the individual of the means of subsistence, or where he knows not how to find employment when willing and able to work.
In this view the Poor may be divided into five Classes:—
The first Class comprehends what may be denominated the useful Poor, who are able and willing to work—who have already been represented as the pillars of the State, and who merit the utmost attention of all Governments, with a direct and immediate view of preventing their poverty from descending unnecessarily into indigence. As often as this evil is permitted to happen, the State not only loses an useful subject, but the expence of his maintenance must be borne by the Public.—The great art, therefore, in managing the affairs of the Poor, is to establish Systems whereby the poor man, verging upon indigence, may be propped up and kept in his station. Whenever this can be effected, it is done upon an average at one-tenth of the expence at most that must be incurred by permitting a family to retrograde into a state of indigence, where they must be wholly maintained by the Public, and where their own exertions cease in a great measure to be useful to the Country.
The second Class comprehends the vagrant Poor, who are able but not willing to work, or who cannot obtain employment in consequence of their bad character. This class may be said to have descended from poverty into beggary, in which state they become objects of peculiar attention, since the State suffers not only the loss of their labour, but also of the money which they obtain by the present ill-judged mode of giving charity. Many of them, however, having become mendicants, more from necessity than choice, deserve commiseration and attention, and nothing can promote in a greater degree the cause of humanity, and the real interest of the Metropolis, than an establishment for the employment of this class of indigent Poor, who may be said at present to be in a very deplorable state, those only excepted who make begging a profession. It is only by a plan, such as has been recommended, that the real indigent can be discovered from the vagrant, and in no other way is it possible to have that distinct and collected view of the whole class of beggars in the Metropolis, or to provide the means of rendering their labour (where they are able to labour) productive to themselves and the State.—And it may be further added with great truth, that in no other way is it possible to prevent the offspring of such mendicants from becoming Prostitutes and Thieves.
If, therefore, it is of importance to diminish crimes, and to obstruct the progress of immorality, this part of the Community ought to be the peculiar objects of a branch of the National Police, where responsibility would secure an accurate execution of the System. This measure ought to begin in the Metropolis as an experiment, and when fully matured might be extended with every advantage to the Country.
The third Class may be considered under the denomination of the Indigent Poor, who from want of employment, sickness, losses, insanity or disease, are unable to maintain themselves.
In attending to this description of Poor, the first consideration ought to be to select those who are in a state to re-occupy their former station among the labouring Poor; and to restore them to the first class as soon as possible, by such relief as should enable them to resume their former employments, and to help themselves and families.
Where insanity, or temporary disease, or infirmity actually exist, such a course must then be pursued as will enable such weak and indigent persons, while they are supported at the expence of the Public, to perform such species of labour, as may be suited to their peculiar situations, without operating as a hardship, but rather as an amusement. In this manner it is wonderful how productive the exertions of even the most infirm might be rendered.—But it must be accomplished under a management very different, indeed, from any thing which prevails at present.
The fourth Class comprehends the aged and infirm, who are entirely past labour, and have no means of support.—Where an honest industrious man has wasted his strength in labour and endeavours to rear a family, he is well entitled to an asylum to render the evening of his life comfortable. For this class the gratitude and the humanity of the Community ought to provide a retreat separate from the profligate and vagrant Poor. But, alas! the present System admits of no such blessing.—The most deserving most submit to an indiscriminate intercourse in Workhouses with the most worthless: whose polluted language and irregular conduct, render not a few of those asylums as great a punishment to the decent part of the indigent and infirm as a common prison.
The fifth Class comprises the Infant Poor, who from extreme indigence, or the death of parents, are cast upon the public for nurture. One fifth part of the gross number in a London Workhouse is generally composed of this class. Their moral and religious education is of the last importance to the Community. They are the children of the Public, and if not introduced into life, under circumstances favourable to the interest of the State, the error in the System becomes flagrant.—Profligate or distressed parents may educate their children ill; but when those under the charge of Public Institutions are suffered to become depraved in their progress to maturity, it is a dreadful reproach on the Police of the Country.—And yet what is to be expected from children reared in Workhouses, with the evil examples before them of the multitudes of depraved characters who are constantly admitted into those receptacles? Young minds are generally more susceptible of evil than of good impressions; and hence it is that the rising generation enter upon life with those wicked and dangerous propensities, which are visible to the attentive observer in all the walks of vulgar life in this great Metropolis.
The limits of this Treatise will not permit the Author to attempt more than a mere outline on the general subject of the Poor; a System of all others the most difficult to manage and arrange with advantage to the Community; but which is at present unhappily entrusted to the care of those least competent to the task.
The principle of the Statute of the 43d of Elizabeth is certainly unobjectionable; but the execution, it must be repeated, is defective. In short, no part of it has been effectually executed, but that which relates to raising the assessments. It is easy to make Statutes; but omnipotent as Parliament is said to be, it cannot give knowledge, education, public spirit, integrity and time, to those Changeable Agents whom it has charged with the execution of the Poor Laws.
In the management of the affairs of the State, the Sovereign wisely selects men eminent for their talents and integrity:—Were the choice to be made on the principle established by the Poor Laws, the Nation could not exist even a single year.
In the private affairs of life, the success of every difficult undertaking depends on the degree of abilities employed in the management. In the affairs of the Poor, the most arduous and intricate that it is possible to conceive, and where the greatest talents and knowledge is required, the least portion of either is supplied. How then can we expect success?—The error is not in the original design, which is wise and judicious. The 43d of Elizabeth authorizes an assessment to be made for three purposes.
1st. To purchase Raw Materials to set the Poor to work, who could not otherwise dispose of their labour.
2d. To usher into the world, advantageously, the Children of poor people, by binding them apprentices to some useful employment.
3d. To provide for the lame, impotent and blind, and others, being poor and not able to work.
Nothing can be better imagined than the measures in the view of the very able framers of this act: but they did not discover that to execute such a design required powers diametrically opposite to those which the law provided. The last two centuries have afforded a series of proof of the total inefficacy of the application of these powers, not only by the effects which this erroneous superintendence has produced; but also from the testimony of the most enlightened men who have written on the subject, from the venerable Lord Hale to the patriotic and indefatigable Sir Frederick Eden. But the strongest evidence of the mischiefs arising from this defective execution of a valuable System, is to be found in the Statute Books themselves.[96]
"The want of a due provision," says Lord Hale, "for the relief and education of the Poor in the way of industry, is what fills the gaols with Malefactors, the Country with idle and unprofitable persons, that consume the stock of the Kingdom without improving it; and that will daily increase even to a desolation in time—and this error, in the first concoction, is never remediable but by gibbets and whipping."
That this will continue to be the case under any species of changeable management, however apparently correct in theory the System may be, must appear self-evident to every man of business and observation, whose attention has been practically directed to the general operation of the present mode in various parishes, and who has reflected deeply on the subject.
But to return to the immediate object of inquiry, namely, the means of more effectually preventing the numerous evils which arise from indigence and mendicity in the Metropolis, whether excited by idleness or extreme and unforeseen pressures: Under every circumstance it would seem impracticable without any burthen upon the Public, to provide for all such at least as are denominated Casual Poor (from whom the greatest part of this calamity springs) by adopting the following or some similar plan, under the sanction of Government, and the authority of the Legislature.
That a Public Institution shall be established in the Metropolis, with three Chief Officers, who shall be charged with the execution of that branch of the Police, which relates to Street Beggars, and those classes of Poor who have no legal settlements in the Metropolis, and who now receive casual relief from the different Parishes, where they have fixed their residence for the time;—and that these principal Officers, (who may be stiled Commissioners for inquiring into the Cases and Causes of the Distress of the Poor in the Metropolis) should exercise the following
FUNCTIONS:—
1st. To charge themselves with the relief and management of the whole of the Casual Poor, who at present receive temporary aid from the different Parishes, or who ask alms in any part of the Metropolis or its Suburbs.
2d. To provide Work-rooms in various central and convenient situations in the Metropolis, where persons destitute of employment may receive a temporary subsistence for labour. To superintend these work-houses, and become responsible for the proper management.
3d. To be empowered to give temporary relief to prop up sinking families, and to prevent their descending from poverty to indigence, by arresting the influence of despondency, and keeping the spirit of industry alive.
4th. To assist in binding out the Children of the Poor, or the Unfortunate, who have seen better days, and preventing the females from the danger of becoming Prostitutes, or the males from contracting loose and immoral habits, so as if possible to save them to their parents, and to the state.
5th. To open offices of inquiry in different parts of the Metropolis, where all classes of indigent persons, who are not entitled to parochial relief, will be invited to resort, for the purpose of being examined, and relieved according to the peculiar circumstances of the case.
6th. To exercise the legal powers, through the medium of Constables, for the purpose of compelling all Mendicants, and idle destitute Boys and Girls who appear in the streets, to come before the Commissioners for examination; that those whose industry cannot be made productive, or who cannot be put in a way to support themselves without alms, may be passed to their Parishes, while means are employed to bind out destitute Children to some useful occupation.
7th. To keep a distinct Register of the cases of all Mendicants or distressed individuals, who may seek advice and assistance, and to employ such means for alleviating misery, as the peculiar circumstances may suggest—never losing sight of indigence, until an asylum is provided for the helpless and infirm, and also until the indigent, who are able to labour, are placed in a situation to render it productive.
8th. That these Commissioners shall report their proceedings annually, to his Majesty in Council, and to Parliament; with abstracts, shewing the numbers who have been examined—How disposed of—The earning of the persons at the different Work-rooms—The annual expence of the Establishment; together with a general view of the advantages resulting from it; with the proofs of these advantages.
Towards defraying the whole expence of this Establishment it is proposed, that (in lieu of the Casual Charity, paid at present by all the Parishes in the Metropolis, which under this System will cease, together with the immense trouble attached to it,) each Parish in the Metropolis shall pay into the hands of the Receiver of the Funds of this Pauper Police Institution, a sum equal to what was formerly disbursed in casual relief, which for the purpose of elucidation, is estimated as follows:—
| £. | s. | d. | ||
| 97 | Parishes within the Walls, average 10l. each | 970 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Parishes without the Walls, in London and Southwark, average 60l. each | 960 | 0 | 0 |
| £.1,930 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 23 | Out-parishes in Middlesex and Surry, average 100l. each | 2,300 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Parishes in Westminster, average 100l. each | 1,000 | 0 | 0 |
| 146 | £.5,230 | 0 | 0 |
This sum (which is supposed to be not much above one half of the average Annual disbursements of the 146 Parishes above-mentioned; especially since it has been shewn, that the expence in St. Giles' and St. George Bloomsbury alone, has been 2000l. in one year) will probably, with œconomy and good management, be found sufficient for all the relief that is required; more especially as the object is not to maintain the indigent, but to put them in a way of supporting themselves by occasional pecuniary aids well and judiciously applied.
The experiment is certainly worth trying. In its execution some of the most respectable and intelligent individuals in the Metropolis, would gratuitously assist the Commissioners, who as taking responsibility upon them, in the direction of a most important branch of Police, ought undoubtedly to be remunerated by Government, especially as it is scarcely possible to conceive any mode in which the Public money could be applied, that would be productive of such benefit to the State.
If that utility resulted from the design, which may reasonably be expected, it would of course extend to other great towns, as the private Soup Establishments have done, and the condition of the poor would undergo a rapid change. The destitute and forlorn would then have some means of communicating their distress, while information and facts of the greatest importance, to the best interests of Society, would spring from this source.
With respect to the general affairs of the poor, much good would arise from consolidating the funds of all the parishes in the Metropolis.
The poor for instance, who are supported from the parochial funds of Bethnal Green, and other distressed parishes in the eastern parts of the Metropolis, are the labourers of the citizens and inhabitants of the 97 Parishes within the Walls, who, although opulent pay little or nothing to the Poor, since the city affords no cottages to lodge them.
Why, therefore, should not the inhabitants of the rich parishes contribute to the relief of the distresses of those who waste their strength in contributing to their ease, comfort, and profit? In several of the most populous Parishes and Hamlets in the eastern part of the Town, the Poor may actually be said to be assessed to support the indigent. In the very populous Hamlet of Mile-End New Town, where there is scarcely an inhabitant who does not derive his subsistence from some kind of labour, the rates are treble the assessments in Mary-le-bone, where opulence abounds. Nothing can exceed the inequality of the weight for the support of the Poor in the Metropolis; since where the demand is greatest, the means of supply are always most deficient and inadequate.
Certain it is that the whole system admits of much improvement, and perhaps at no period, since the Poor Laws have attracted attention, did there exist so many able and intelligent individuals as at present, who have been excited by motives of patriotism and philanthropy, to devote their time to the subject.
At the head of this most Respectable Group stands Sir Frederick Eden; a gentleman, whose entrance into life, has been marked by a display of the most useful talents, manifested by an extent of labour and perseverance, in his elaborate work on the Poor, which may be said to be unparalleled in point of information, while it unquestionably exhibits the respectable Author as a character in whose patriotism and abilities the State will find a considerable resource, in whatever tends to assist his Country, or to improve the condition of Human Life.
To the Lord Bishop of Durham, the Earl of Winchelsea, Count Rumford, Sir William Young, Thos. Ruggles, Esq. William Morton Pitt, Esq. Jeremy Bentham, Esq. Robert Saunders, Esq. Thomas Bernard, Esq. William Wilberforce, Esq. Rowland Burdon, Esq. the Rev. Dr. Glasse, the Rev. Thomas Gisburn, the Rev. Mr. Howlet, Mr. Davis, Mr. Townsend, Arthur Young, Esq. and William Sabatier, Esq. as well as several other respectable living characters, who have particularly turned their thoughts to the subject of the Poor, the Public are not only already much indebted, but from this prolific resource of judgment, talents, and knowledge, much good might be expected, if ever the period shall arrive when the revision of the Poor Laws shall engage the attention of the Legislature.
The measure is too complicated to be adjusted by men, who have not opportunities or leisure to contemplate its infinite ramifications.
It is a task which can only be executed with accuracy by those, who completely understand the subject as well in practice as in theory, and who can bestow the time requisite for those laborious investigations, which must be absolutely necessary to form a final opinion, and to report to Parliament what is most expedient, under all circumstances, to be done in this important National Concern.
Happy is it for the country, that a resource exists for the attainment of this object, than which nothing can contribute, in a greater degree, to the prevention of Crimes, and to the general improvement of Civil Society.
CHAP. XIV.
The state of the Police, with regard to the detection of different classes of offenders, explained.—The necessity, under the present circumstances, of having recourse to the known Receivers of stolen Goods, for the purpose of discovering Offenders, as well as the property stolen.—The great utility of Officers of Justice as safeguards of the Community.—The advantages to be derived from rendering them respectable in the opinion of the Public. Their powers, by the common and statute law, are extensive.—The great antiquity of the Office of Constable, exemplified by different Ancient Statutes.—The authority of Officers and others explained, in apprehending persons accused of felony.—Rewards granted in certain cases as encouragements to Officers to lie vigilant:—The statutes quoted, applicable to such rewards, shewing that they apply to ten different offences.—The utility of parochial Constables, under a well-organized Police, explained.—A fund for this purpose would arise from the reduction of the expences of the Police by the diminution of Crimes.—The necessity of a competent fund explained.—The deficiency of the present System exemplified in the effect of the presentments by Constables to the Grand Inquest.—A new System proposed.—The functions of the different classes of Officers, explained.—Salaries necessary to all.—The System of rewards, as now established, shewn to be radically deficient; exemplified by the circumstance, that in 1088 prisoners, charged at the Old Bailey in one year, with 36 different offences, only 9 offences entitled the apprehenders to any gratuity:—Improvements suggested for the greater encouragement of Officers of Justice.—1043 Peace Officers in the Metropolis and its vicinity, of whom only 90 are stipendiary Constables.—Little assistance to be expected from Parochial Officers, while there exists no fund for rewarding extraordinary services.—Great advantages likely to result from rewarding all Officers for useful services actually performed.—The utility of extending the same gratuities to Watchmen and Patroles.—Defects and abuses in the System of the Watch explained.—The number of Watchmen and Patroles in the Metropolis estimated at 2044:—A general System of superintendance suggested.—A view of the Magistracy of the Metropolis.—The efficient duty shewn to rest with the City and Police Magistrates.—The inconvenience of the present System.—Concluding Observations.
AS it must be admitted, that the evils arising from the multiplied crimes detailed in the preceding Chapters, render a correct and energetic System of Police with regard to the detection, discovery, and apprehension of offenders, indispensably necessary for the safety and well-being of Society; it follows of course, in the order of this Work, to explain how this branch of the public service is conducted at present, the defects which are apparent,—and the means of improving the System.
When robberies or burglaries have been committed in or near the Metropolis, where the property is of considerable value, the usual method at present, is to apply to the City Magistrates, if in London; or otherwise, to the Justices at one of the Public Offices,[97] and to publish an Advertisement offering a reward on the recovery of the articles stolen, and the conviction of the offenders.[98]
In many cases of importance, to the reproach of the Police, recourse is had to noted and known Receivers of stolen Goods for their assistance in discovering such offenders, and of pointing out the means by which the property may be recovered: this has on many occasions been productive of success to the parties who have been robbed; as well as to the ends of public justice; for however lamentable it is to think that Magistrates are compelled to have recourse to such expedients, yet while the present System continues, and while robberies and burglaries are so frequent, without the means of prevention, there is no alternative on many occasions but to employ a thief to catch a thief.
It is indeed so far fortunate, that when the influence of Magistrates is judiciously and zealously employed in this way, it is productive in many instances of considerable success, not only in the recovery of property stolen, but also in the detection and punishment of atrocious offenders.
Wherever activity and zeal are manifested on the part of the Magistrates, the Peace Officers, under their immediate direction, seldom fail to exhibit a similar desire to promote the ends of public justice. And when it is considered that these Officers, while they conduct themselves with purity, are truly the safeguards of the Community, destined to protect the Public against the outrages and lawless depredations of a set of miscreants, who are the declared enemies of the State, by making war upon all ranks of the body politic, who have property to lose;—they have a fair claim, while they act properly, to be esteemed as "the civil defenders of the lives and properties of the People."
Every thing that can heighten in any degree the respectability of the office of Constable, adds to the security of the State, and the safety of the life and property of every individual.
Under such circumstances, it cannot be sufficiently regretted that these useful constitutional officers, destined for the protection of the Public, have been (with a very few exceptions) so little regarded, so carelessly selected, and so ill supported and rewarded for the imminent risques which they run, and the services they perform in the execution of their duty.
The common Law, as well as the ancient Statutes of the kingdom, having placed extensive powers in the hands of Constables and Peace Officers;—they are, in this point of view, to be considered as respectable;—and it is the interest of the Community, that they should support that rank and character in society, which corresponds with the authority with which they are invested.—If this were attended to, men of credit and discretion would not be so averse to fill such situations; and those pernicious prejudices, which have prevailed in vulgar life, and in some degree among the higher ranks in Society, with regard to thief-takers, would no longer operate; for it is plain to demonstration, "that the best laws that ever were made can avail nothing, if the Public Mind is impressed with an idea, that it is a matter of infamy, to become the casual or professional agents to carry them into execution."
This absurd prejudice against the office of Constable, and the small encouragement which the major part receive, is one of the chief reasons why unworthy characters have filled such situations; and why the public interest has suffered by the increase of crimes.
The office of Constable is as old as the Monarchy of England;—and certainly existed in the time of the Saxons.[99]—The law requires that he should be idoneus homo: or in other words, to have honesty to execute the office without malice, affection, or partiality; knowledge to understand what he ought to do; and ability, as well in substance or estate, as in body, to enable him to conduct himself with utility to the public.
The Statute of Winchester, made in the 13th year of Edward the First (anno 1285) appoints two Constables to be chosen in every Hundred; and such seems to have been the attention of the Legislature to the Police of the Country at that early period of our history, "that suspicious night-walkers are ordered to be arrested and detained by the watch."[100]
The Statute of 5 Edward III. cap. 14, (anno 1332) empowers Constables "to arrest persons suspected of man-slaughter, felonies, and robberies, and to deliver them to the Sheriff, to be kept in prison till the coming of the Justices:" and another Act of the 34th of the same reign, cap. 1, (made anno 1361,) empowers Justices, (inter alia) "to inquire after wanderers, to arrest and imprison suspicious persons, and to oblige persons of evil fame to give security for good behaviour; so that the People may not be troubled by rioters, nor the peace blemished; nor Merchants and others travelling on the highways be disturbed or put in peril by such offenders."
By the common law, every person committing a felony may be arrested by any person whomsoever present at the fact, who may secure the prisoner in gaol, or carry him before a Magistrate,[101]—and if a prisoner thus circumstanced, resists and refuses to yield, those who arrest will be justified in the beating him,[102] or, in case of absolute necessity, even killing him.[103]
In arresting persons on suspicion of a felony, actually committed, common fame has been adjudged to be a reasonable cause.[104]
There are four methods, known in law, by which Officers of Justice, as well as private individuals, may arrest persons charged with felony.—1. By the warrant of a Magistrate.—2. By an Officer without a warrant.—3. By a Private Person without a warrant.—And 4. By Hue-and-Cry.[105]
When a warrant is received by an Officer, he is bound to execute it, so far as the jurisdiction of the Magistrate and himself extends.—But the Constable having great original and inherent authority, may, without warrant, apprehend any person for a breach of the Peace: and in case of felony, actually committed, he may, on probable suspicion, arrest the felon: and for that purpose (as upon the warrant of a Magistrate,) he is authorised to break open doors, and even justified in killing the felon, if he cannot otherwise be taken.[106]
All persons present, when a felony is committed, are bound to arrest the felon, on pain of fine and imprisonment, if he escapes through negligence of the by-standers; who will (the same as a constable) in such case be justified in breaking open doors, to follow such felon, and even to kill him if he cannot be taken otherwise.[107]
The other species of arrest is called Hue-and-Cry, which is an alarm raised in the country upon any felony being committed. This was an ancient practice in use as far back as the reign of Edward the First, (1285) by which, in the then infant state of society, it became easy to discover criminal persons flying from justice.
However doubtful the utility of this ancient method of detecting offenders may be, in a great Metropolis, in the present extended state of Society, it is plain, that it has been considered as an important regulation of Police so late as the 8th George II. (1735;) since it was enacted in that year, (stat. 8, George II. cap. 16.) that the Constable who neglects making hue-and-cry, shall forfeit five pounds; and even the district is liable to be fined (according to the law of Alfred) if the felony be committed therein, and the felon escapes.[108] This, however, applies more particularly to the country, and where the practice cannot fail to be useful in a certain degree.
When a hue-and-cry is raised, every person, by command of the Constable, must pursue the felon, on pain of fine and imprisonment.
In this pursuit also, Constables may search suspected houses if the doors be open: but unless the felon is actually in the house, it will not be justifiable to use force; nor even then, except where admittance has been demanded and refused.
A Constable, even without any warrant, may break open a door for the purpose of apprehending a felon; but to justify this measure, he must not only shew that the felon was in the house, but also that access was denied after giving notice that he was a Constable, and demanding admittance in that capacity.[109] In the execution of the warrant of a Magistrate, the Officer is certainly authorized to break open the doors of the felon, or of the house of any person where he is concealed.—The first is lawful under all circumstances; but forcibly entering the house of a stranger may be considered as a trespass, if the felon should not be there.[110]
Such are the powers with which Constables are invested,—and which are, in many instances, enforced by penalties; that public justice may not be defeated.[111]
In addition to this, the wisdom of the Legislature, as an encouragement to officers and others to do their duty in apprehending and prosecuting offenders, has granted rewards in certain cases; Namely,
| £. | ||
| 4 Will. & Mary, c. 8; and 6 Geo. I. c. 23. | 1. For apprehending, and prosecuting to conviction, every robber, on the highway, including the streets of the Metropolis, and all other towns, a reward of 40l. besides the horse, furniture, arms, and money, of the said robber, if not stolen property: to be paid to the person apprehending, or if killed in the endeavour, to his Executors. | 40 |
| And the Stat. 8 Geo. II. c. 16. superadds 10l. to be paid by the Hundred indemnified by such taking. | ||
| 6 & 7 Will. and Mary, c. 17; and 15 & 16 Geo. II. c. 28. | 2. For apprehending, and prosecuting to conviction every person who shall have counterfeited, clipped, washed,[112] filed, or diminished the current coin; or who shall gild silver to make it pass as gold, or copper, as silver,—or who shall utter false money, (being the third offence) or after being once convicted of being a common utterer, &c. a reward of | 40 |
| 3. For apprehending, and prosecuting to conviction, every person counterfeiting copper money, a reward of | 10 | |
| 10 and 11 Will. III. c. 23. | 4. For apprehending, and prosecuting to conviction, every person privately stealing to the value of 5s. from any shop, warehouse, or stable, a Tyburn ticket,[113] average value, about | 20 |
| 10 & 11 Will. III. c. 23. 5 Ann. c. 32. | 5. For apprehending, and prosecuting to conviction, every person charged with a burglary, a reward of 40l. (to the apprehender, or if killed, to his executors) in money, and a Tyburn ticket, 20l. | 60 |
| 6. For apprehending, and prosecuting to conviction, every person charged with house-breaking in the day-time, 40l. in money, and a Tyburn ticket | 60 | |
| 7. For apprehending, and prosecuting to conviction, any person charged with horse-stealing, a Tyburn Ticket | 20 | |
| 6 Geo. I. c. 23. | 8. For apprehending, and prosecuting with effect, a person charged with the offence of compounding a felony, by taking money to help a person to stolen goods, without prosecuting and giving evidence against the felon | 40 |
| 14 Geo. II. c. 6. 15 Geo. II. c. 34. | 9. For apprehending, and prosecuting with effect, a person charged with stealing, or killing to steal, any sheep, lamb, bull, cow, ox, steer, bullock, heifer, or calf | 10 |
| 16 Geo. II. c. 15. 8 Geo. III. c. 15. | 10. For apprehending, and prosecuting with effect, persons returning from transportation | 20 |
These rewards apply to ten different offences, and ought, no doubt, to be a considerable spur to Officers to do their duty; but it may be doubted whether this measure has not, in some degree, tended to the increase of a multitude of smaller crimes which are pregnant with the greatest mischiefs to Society.—It is by deterring men from the commission of smaller crimes (says the Marquis Beccaria) that greater ones are prevented.
If small rewards were given in cases of Grand Larceny, (now very numerous,) as well as of several other felonies, frauds, and misdemeanors, a species of activity would enter into the system of detection, which has not heretofore been experienced.
While rewards are limited to higher offences, and conviction is the indispensable condition upon which they are granted, it is much to be feared that lesser crimes are overlooked; and the Public subjected, in many instances, to the intermediate depredations of a rogue, from his first starting upon the town until he shall be worth 40l.
This system of giving high rewards only on conviction, also tends to weaken evidence: since it is obvious that the Counsel for all Prisoners, whose offences entitle the Prosecutors and Officers to a reward, generally endeavour to impress upon the minds of the Jury an idea, that witnesses, who have a pecuniary interest in the conviction of any offender standing upon trial, are not, on all occasions, deserving of full credit, unless strongly corroborated by other evidence; and thus many notorious offenders often escape justice.
By altering the system entirely, and leaving it in the breast of the Judge who tries the offence, to determine what reward shall be allowed, with a power to grant or withhold, or to limit and increase the same, according to circumstances connected with the trouble and risk of the parties, whether there is a conviction or not, a fairer measure of recompence would be dealt out;—the public money would be more beneficially distributed,[114] so as to excite general activity in checking every species of criminality;—and the objections, now urged against Officers and Prosecutors as interested witnesses, would, by this arrangement, be completely obviated.
For the purpose of elucidating these suggestions, it may be useful to examine the different offences which constitute the aggregate of the charges made against criminals arraigned at the Old Bailey, in the course of a year.
With this view the following statement is offered to the consideration of the Reader.—It refers to a period of profound peace (as most likely to exhibit a true average) and contains a register of the trials, published by authority, including eight sessions from September 1790 to 1791. From this it appears that 1088 prisoners were tried for different offences in that year, and that 711 were discharged! and yet, striking as this may appear, it may be asserted on good grounds, that the following melancholy Catalogue (extensive as it seems to be) does not probably contain even one-tenth part of the offences which are actually committed!
| 10 | for Murders | |
| 4 | Arson | |
| 10 | Forgeries | |
| 2 | Piracies | |
| 4 | Rapes | |
| 642 | Grand Larcenies[115] | |
| 32 | Stealing privately from persons | |
| 13 | Shop-lifting under 5s. | |
| 16 | Ripping and stealing Lead | |
| 12 | Stealing Pewter Pots | |
| 22 | Stealing from furnished Lodgings | |
| 1 | Stealing Letters | |
| 1 | Stealing a Child | |
| 22 | Receiving Stolen Goods | |
| 9 | for Dealing in and uttering base Money | |
| 1 | Sodomy | |
| 7 | Bigamy | |
| 6 | Perjuries | |
| 6 | Conspiracies | |
| 3 | Fraudulent Bankrupts | |
| 15 | Frauds | |
| 9 | Misdemeanors | |
| 1 | Assaulting, and cutting Clothes | |
| 1 | Smuggling | |
| 7 | Obstructing Revenue Officers | |
| 1 | Wounding a Horse maliciously | |
| 38 | Assaults | |
| 89, | Total. | |
| 193 | For which rewards were paid. | |
| 445 | Prisoners from the late Sheriffs. | |
| Aggregate number | 1533 |
Disposed of as follows, viz.
| Executed | 32 |
| Died | 25 |
| Sent to the Hulks | 2 |
| Transported | 517 |
| Removed to other Prisons | 95 |
| Transferred to the new Sheriffs | 151 |
| Discharged upon the town | 711 |
| 1533 |
Thus it appears that murders, as well as several other very atrocious crimes, are committed, where officers of justice are not entitled to any reward for their trouble and risque in apprehending the offenders.
Receivers of stolen Goods in particular, who, as has been repeatedly stated, are the nourishers and supporters of thieves, and who, of all other offenders, are of that class where the greatest benefit to the public is to arise from their discovery and apprehension, seem to be totally overlooked.
If it should be thought too loose a system to allow rewards not exceeding a certain sum in any one case, to be distributed according to the discretion of the Judges who try the offence; perhaps it might be possible to form a scale of premiums from one guinea up to fifty pounds, which, by holding out certain encouragement in all cases whatsoever, might not only excite a desire on the part of men of some property and respectability to become Officers of Justice: but would create that species of constant vigilance and attention to the means of apprehending every class of offenders, which cannot be expected at present, while the rewards are so limited.
The Officers of Justice, (parochial and stipendiary) who are appointed to watch over the Police of the Metropolis and its environs, in keeping the peace, and in detecting and apprehending offenders, amount at present (as near as possible) to 1040 individuals, under five separate jurisdictions, and are arranged as follows:
Officers, &c.
To which are to be added the stated Officers of Police, specially appointed for the purpose of preventing crimes, and of detecting and apprehending offenders.
| 1. The establishment at Bow-Street, under the direction of the three Magistrates presiding at that Office, viz. Constables | 6 | ||
| and (under the direction of Sir W. Addington, Knt.) Patroles for the Road | 68 | ||
| 74 | |||
| 2. The establishment of seven Public Offices by the Act of the 32d of his present Majesty, cap. 53, under the direction of three Magistrates at each Office, viz. | |||
| Constables at the Public Office, | Queen-Square | 6 | |
| — | Marlborough-St. | 6 | |
| — | Hatton Garden | 6 | |
| — | Worship-Street | 6 | |
| — | Whitechapel | 6 | |
| — | Shadwell | 6 | |
| — | Union Hall, Southw. | 6 | |
| 42 | |||
| Total Civil Force in the Metropolis | 999 | ||
| To which add the Civil Force of the Thames Police Establishment;[116] established in July 1798, under the sanction of Government | 41 | ||
| Total | 1040 | ||
Of these 1040 Officers the Reader will observe, that only 89 (exclusive of the thirty-two extra officers in the City of London; and the sixty-eight patroles at Bow-street; making in the whole no more than 189,) are Stipendiary Officers, particularly pledged to devote their whole time to the service of the Public:—and hence a question arises, Whether so small a number are sufficient for the purpose of watching and detecting the hordes of villains who infest the Metropolis, and who must be considerably increased on the return of peace?
Little assistance can be expected under the present System from parochial officers; who, depending on their daily labour principally for their support, can afford to devote no more time than is absolutely necessary for their indispensable duties, during the 12 months they are in office: and more especially since Magistrates have no power, or funds, to remunerate such parochial officers for extraordinary exertions in the Public service, however meritorious they may be;—hence it is, that their zeal and activity are checked in many instances; when under proper regulations (such as are hereafter suggested) and subject to a certain degree of control and discipline, and properly remunerated for their services they might be rendered extremely useful. These facts, joined to the further elucidation of this particular branch of the subject, it is earnestly to be hoped, may produce an arrangement of more energy and effect than exists under the present system.
Officers of Justice, who are subjected not only to considerable risks, but also to want of rest, and to the inconvenience of being exposed much in the night-time, ought certainly to be liberally paid; so as to make it an object to good and able men even to look up to such situations.
It having been thus shewn that the Stipendiary Constables are so inconsiderable in point of numbers, and their duty confined to particular objects, it follows that on the parochial officers the Public ought, in a considerable degree, to depend for the general prevention of offences, and particularly for defeating the crafty and iniquitous devices which are resorted to for the purpose of evading the operation of justice.—These men also from their local knowledge are, or ought to be, best qualified to procure accurate information, and to supply what may be necessary to enable Magistrates to discharge their duty with advantage to the Community, and by this means they might be rendered useful auxiliaries to the existing Police.
It would seem, therefore, of the highest importance that arrangements should be formed, calculated to give to these constitutional safe-guards of the peaceful subject, that utility, energy, and effect, which originally resulted from the exercise of their functions,—which the present state of Society imperiously calls for, and without which the preventive System of Police can never be effectual.
On looking accurately into the nature and effect of the institution of Constables, it will be found that the vigor and efficacy of the Civil Power, the security of innocence,—the preservation of good order, and the attainment of justice, depend in a great measure on the accuracy of the System, with respect to these Officers assigned to keep the peace in the respective parishes of the Metropolis; and it is because the original spirit of the design has been, in so many instances, abandoned that crimes have multiplied, and that the public are so insecure.
The evil, however, admits of practicable remedies, which the Superintending Board of Police, recommended by the Select Committee of the House of Commons, might considerably facilitate, by methodizing the general design, and giving strength, intelligence, and uniformity to the whole.
Preparatory to this object, however, the System in the respective parishes must be greatly improved, before a co-operation can be expected that will prove extensively beneficial to the Public.
The first step to be pursued, is to establish a fund for the remuneration of Constables of every description. It will not be difficult to demonstrate that a resource may be found for this purpose, which will not impose any new burden on the Country, provided these Officers do their duty.
The enormous expence at present incurred, and which is either defrayed from the County Rates, or the general Revenue of the Country, arises chiefly after offenders are detected and punished. Out of 234,153l. a year stated by the Committee on Finance, to be the annual amount of the Police expences, only 26,183l. is incurred previous to detection.—By diminishing crimes, therefore, the chief part of the burden upon the Country will be taken away; and hence in this saving will be established a resource for the remuneration of those who may contribute to so important an object.
The present expenditure of the County Rates for criminal offences, is estimated to amount to 50,000l. a year. In proportion as offences diminish, through the medium of a well-organized and energetic Police, will this burden upon the Poor Rates also be diminished.
Independent, therefore, of the policy of improving the system with respect to parochial Constables, by attaching a greater degree of responsibility to their situation, and introducing that discipline and systematic activity, which can alone render their services effectual—the plan may even be recommended as a proper arrangement in point of œconomy.
It is in vain to expect energy or attention in the execution of any Public duty, unless there be that personal responsibility which is not to be obtained without emolument. To render Officers of Justice, therefore, useful to the Public, they must be stimulated by interest:—they must, in fact, be paid for devoting a portion of their time to the comfort and security of others. The Law may inflict, and, indeed, has inflicted, penalties for the neglect of specific duties; but this will not establish that sort of Police which the present state of Society requires.—This is strongly exemplified in what may not be improperly called the Mockery of Police, which is exhibited in the periodical presentments by Constables, of public grievances and nuisances, before the Grand Inquest, four times a year at Westminster-hall, and twice before the Magistrates of the Sessions held at Guildhall in the City of Westminster. These presentments, although in themselves of the highest importance, have degenerated into what may now be considered as an useless and burdensome formality; at best it is a tedious, expensive, and circuitous, mode of removing nuisances and inconveniences, and so ill-suited to the present state of Society, that several modern parochial Acts have given relief in a summary way before Magistrates.
The fact is, that in a great majority of instances where presentments are made, the evils they describe, though often highly prejudicial, are suffered to accumulate with increasing malignity, at the same time frequently generating other mischiefs and pressures of a tendency equally pernicious to the Community.
It is admitted, that the proper Officer of the Crown notifies to the parties implicated in the presentment, the determination of the Inquest; but a prosecution seldom ensues. The Constable has neither money nor time to follow it up; and the matter is discharged when the customary term expires, on the payment of a Fee of 16s. 9d. or more, according to the length of the presentment; and thus the business terminates in the emolument of an individual, and in the continuance of the abuse.
The same system prevails at the Sessions at Westminster. When Juries make presentments of nuisances or evils in their respective districts, the Constables have general orders to prosecute, which is not done; and, indeed, to compel an Officer serving gratuitously, to incur an expence for the Public interest which he cannot afford, would be an act of manifest injustice; and unless a fund be provided in numerous cases, he must be under the necessity of declining such prosecutions.
But would it not be far better to bring such minor offences at once under the cognizance of Magistrates, with the power of appeal to the Quarter Sessions?—This is already the case in Spitalfields, under a parochial Act, where nuisances and annoyances are in consequence instantly removed. Matters of much greater importance are submitted to the same authority. The advantage in this case would be, that justice would be promptly administered at a small expence, and the evil would be put an end to, instead of remaining as at present a reproach to the Police, arming at the same time every noxious and bad member of Society, with a kind of licence to do offensive acts to the neighbourhood, and the Public at large, with impunity.
To render parochial Constables useful, rules must be established to compel every qualified person to serve in his turn, or pay a fine. No person should be empowered to offer a Substitute.—It is of the highest importance that an Office invested with so much power should be executed by reputable men, if possible of pure morals, and not with hands open to receive bribes.—This important office in the Metropolis at least, has too long been degraded by the introduction, in many instances, of men of loose principles, undeserving of public confidence. The reason is obvious:—A man in the more reputable classes on whom the lot may fall, surrenders his functions to a Substitute who probably makes the office a trade;—performs the service of the year for four or five Guineas, trusting to other emoluments, many of which are obtained by corruption, to enable him to subsist.
To render this branch of Police pure and efficient, an Act of Parliament should enforce the following or similar regulations:
1st. To assign a competent number of local Constables to each parish, in proportion to the number of inhabited houses; to be chosen by the whole number of qualified inhabitants paying parish Rates—to be presented to the Court Leet, or to the Magistrates of the Division, according to a prescribed rule, which shall preclude the possibility of exemptions or preferences; for which purposes the qualifications shall be clearly defined in the Act.—Thus might the abuses which at present prevail, in the selection and choice of Constables, cease to be felt and complained of: an equal distribution of the burden would take place, and the duty be confined to men sufficiently respectable, to establish in the Public mind a confidence that it would be executed with fidelity, and an attention to the Public interest.
2d. That with a view to that necessary discipline, and knowledge of the duty to be performed, without which Officers of Justice can be of little use, and may often be converted into instruments of oppression by an abuse of power; the High-Constable of the Division shall become a responsible permanent Officer, with a competent Salary; and shall have under his direction certain subordinate Officers, not exceeding one for a large Parish, and one for every 25 Constables in any number of smaller Parishes, Hamlets, Precincts, and Liberties, who shall be stiled the Parochial Chief Constable, whose situation shall also be permanent, with a moderate Salary, and who shall each be responsible for the execution of the regular duty which may be assigned to the petty Constables, either by the Act of Parliament, or by the Commissioners of Police, having powers for that purpose granted by law.—That a certain stipend or gratuity for trouble, shall also be paid to each of the petty Constables, in consideration of the ordinary duty they are bound to perform, besides 5s. a day for all extraordinary duty. That among other things it shall be the business of the parochial Chief Constable to instruct the petty Constables in their duty—to attend them in their perambulations, and to marshal them on receiving a precept from the High-Constable, or an order from two Magistrates, in case of any tumult or disorder requiring their interference—to impress upon their minds the necessity of purity, vigilance, and attention to orders—and of being humane, prudent and vigorous, in the execution of such duties as belong to their functions.—That they shall instantly assemble on any alarm of Fire.—That the Public-houses, in the parish or district, shall be visited regularly; and also the Watchmen while upon duty, and regular returns made to the Police Magistrates of the District, stating the occurrences of the night. That wherever suspicious characters reside in the parish, who have no visible means of supporting themselves, the utmost vigilance shall be exercised in watching their conduct, to prevent as much as possible the commission of crimes, and to preserve peace and good order in the parish; and wherever the execution of any specific law depends on Constables, the utmost attention to be manifested in giving it effect, and preventing it from remaining a dead Letter.—That care be taken to make regular, impartial, and accurate returns of Jurors; and of persons eligible to serve in the Militia;—and that immediate cognizance be also taken of all nuisances and annoyances, and timely notice given to Magistrates of all occurrences threatening to disturb the Public peace, or to overturn the established Government of the Country.
3d. That the different High Constables should return to the Commissioners of Police annually, after a change of Officers has taken place, a list of the number of persons who compose the Civil Force, under their direction in their respective divisions; and regularly, every quarter, a list of the Publicans, with such facts as have occurred, respecting their orderly or disorderly conduct in the management of their Houses.—The state of the Division with respect to Prostitutes—to the situation of the Poor for the preceding quarter, and their resource for employment.—The number and nature of the offences committed in the District during the preceding quarter, and the detections of the delinquents, shewing how many offenders have been discovered, and how many have escaped justice, and stating the means used and using to detect such as are at large, charged with specific offences within the division: so as to bring under the review of the Central Board a clear statement of the criminal Police in every part of the Metropolis on the first day of each quarter, with such other information as the Commissioners may require.
4th. It is humbly suggested, that the Salaries and allowances to be paid to the High Constables and parochial Chief Constables should be paid out of the General Police Fund, under the Management of the Board, and the gratuities and allowances to the petty Constables out of the County Rate.
It might be expedient that the Stipend of the petty Constables should be very moderate, and that their remunerations should, partly at least, arise from premiums and gratuities, granted by the Judges and Magistrates, for meritorious services to the Public, actually performed; for which there would so many opportunities occur, that no fit man, acting as a Constable under such a system, and doing his duty conscientiously, need be under any apprehension of obtaining a very comfortable livelihood.
The invariable rule of rewarding, in every case where it can be made appear that any useful Public service has been performed, would have a most wonderful effect in preventing crimes: The expence, if judiciously and œconomically managed, need not exceed, in any material degree, the present aggregate of what is disbursed in different ways, in all the branches of the Police and Criminal Establishment; it might, in fact, be defrayed, as well as every other charge, by the Police itself, under the direction of the Central Board, hereafter more particularly alluded to, from the produce of the Licences proposed to be granted for regulating particular classes of Dealers, by whose aid and assistance, in supporting Thieves and Pilferers, such a system is rendered necessary.
Nor should the rewards be wholly confined to Officers of Justice, either parochial or stipendiary. The Public Good requires, that they should extend also to Watchmen and Patroles, who should have every reasonable encouragement held out to them to be honest and vigilant, by small premiums paid down immediately, for every service they may render the Public; either in detecting or apprehending persons who are guilty of felonies, or other offences against the public peace.
At present, the watchmen destined to guard the lives and properties of the inhabitants residing in near eight thousand streets, lanes, courts, and alleys, and about 160,000 houses, composing the whole of the Metropolis and its environs, are under the direction of no less than above seventy different Trusts; regulated by perhaps double the number of local acts of Parliament, (varying in many particulars from one another,) under which the directors, guardians, governors, trustees, or vestries, according to the title they assume, are authorised to act,—each attending only to their own particular Ward, Parish, Hamlet, Liberty, or Precinct; and varying the payment according to local circumstances, and the opulence of the particular district, from 8½d. up to 2s. each night.[117]
The encouragement being, in many instances, so small, few candidates appear for such situations, who are really, in point of character and age, fit for the duty which ought to be performed; the managers have therefore no alternative but to accept of such aged, and often superannuated, men, living in their respective districts, as may offer their services; this they are frequently induced to do from motives of humanity, to assist old inhabitants who are unable to labour at any mechanical employment, or perhaps with a view to keep them out of the workhouse, and to save the expence of maintaining them.
Thus circumstanced, and thus encouraged, what can be expected from such watchmen?—
Aged in general;—often feeble:—and almost, on every occasion, half starved, from the limited allowance they receive; without any claim upon the Public, or the least hope of reward held out, even if they perform any meritorious service, by the detection of Thieves and Receivers of stolen Goods, or idle and disorderly persons: and above all, making so many separate parts of an immense system, without any general superintendance, disjointed from the nature of its organization, it is only a matter of wonder, that the protection afforded is what it really is.[118]—Not only is there small encouragement offered for the purpose of insuring fidelity, but as has been already shewn innumerable temptations are held out to dishonesty, by Receivers of stolen Goods, to the watchmen and patroles in their vicinity; as well as by thieves and housebreakers in all situations where they contemplate the commission of a burglary.
Money is also received from disorderly persons in the night, to permit them to escape from the just punishment of the Laws; while on the other hand, unfortunate females are often cruelly oppressed and laid under contribution, for permission to infringe the very laws, which it is the duty of these nocturnal guardians of the Police to put in execution.
Excepting in the city of London, under the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, (where there are, in the 25 wards, 765 watchmen, and 38 patroles) and the parishes and liberties combined by the act of the 14th Geo. III. cap. 90, it will not be easy to ascertain the exact number of watchmen, &c. employed by the great variety of different Trusts, in every part of the Metropolis; more especially, as in several instances they vary in their numbers according to the season of the year, and other circumstances; but the following statement is believed to be very near truth:—
| Beadles, Watchmen, and Patroles. | ||
| 25 | Wards in the City of London | 803 |
| 11 | Parishes, &c. in the City and Liberty of Westminster | 302 |
| 13 | Parishes, &c. in the Division of Holborn | 377 |
| 5 | Parishes, &c. in that part of the Division of Finsbury which joins the Metropolis | 135 |
| 7 | Parishes, &c. in the Division of the Tower Hamlets | 268 |
| 1 | Liberty of the Tower of London | 14 |
| 5 | Parishes and Hamlets, being part of the Division of Kensington, near the Metropolis | 66 |
| 9 | Parishes in the Borough of Southwark | 79 |
| Total Beadles, Watchmen, and Patroles[119] | 2044 | |
Nothing can certainly be better calculated for complete protection against acts of violence in the streets, than the System of a well-regulated Stationary Watch; composed of fit and able-bodied men, properly controlled and superintended: and from the number of persons already employed, independent of private Watchmen, it would seem only to be necessary to lay down apposite legislative rules, with respect to age or ability, character, wages, rewards for useful services, and general superintendance, in order to establish that species of additional security, which would operate as a more effectual means of preventing crimes within the Metropolis.
Let the same system of moderate rewards also be extended to beadles,[120] for useful Public service actually performed, as is proposed with regard to officers of justice, watchmen, and patroles; and much good will arise to the community, without any great additional expence.
It is in vain to expect that the Public can be well served, unless the emolument becomes an object to good and able men; but these extraordinary rewards (as has already been observed) should always depend upon the vigilance and exertion of the parties themselves, in detecting offenders of every description: and should be paid, on its appearing to the Magistrate, that no impropriety or indiscretion has marked their conduct. If, on the contrary, they should be proved to have acted oppressively or improperly, a power of immediate dismission and punishment should, in all instances, be lodged in Justices of the Peace, to be exercised according to the nature of the offence.
Having thus stated the civil force of the Metropolis, in peace-officers, watchmen and patroles, making an aggregate of 3084 men—it may be necessary and useful to give such information relative to the Magistracy, as may tend to shew the present state of the Police, and to illustrate what remains to be further suggested on the subject of its improvement; for the preservation of the Public peace, and the detection and apprehension of every class of offenders.
There exist at present no less than five separate jurisdictions within the limits of the Metropolis—namely,—
But, notwithstanding the great number of respectable names, which are in the different commissions in and near the Metropolis; and although all who have qualified have equal jurisdiction with the Police Justices, within their respective districts; yet the efficient duty for the whole of the Metropolis, so far as it relates to the detection of offenders, is principally limited to two classes of Magistrates—namely,—
| 1. The 26 Aldermen of London, whose jurisdiction is confined to the ancient limits of the City, comprehending 25 Wards, in which are 21,642 houses on the London side, and Bridge Ward without, in the Borough | 26 | |
| 2. The established Magistrates, three of whom preside at each of the seven Public Offices, appointed by the Act of the 32d of his present Majesty, cap. 53. viz.— | ||
| 1. Public Office, Queen's-Square, Westminster | 3 | |
| 2. Public Office, Marlborough-Street | 3 | |
| 3. Public Office, Hatton-Garden | 3 | |
| 4. Public Office, Worship-Street, Shoreditch | 3 | |
| 5. Public Office, Whitechapel | 3 | |
| 6. Public Office, Shadwell | 3 | |
| 7. Public Office, Union-Street, Southwark | 3 | |
| 21 | ||
| 8. Existing (previous to the Act) at the Public Office, Bow-Street | 3 | |
| 24 | ||
| 9. The Thames Police Institution at Wapping, for the River only | 2 | |
| 26 | ||
| Total efficient Magistrates who sit in rotation, daily, in the Metropolis | 52 | |
The jurisdiction of the Magistrates presiding at the seven Public Offices, not only extends to Westminster and Middlesex; (and, in most instances, lately, to the liberty of the Tower:) but also to the counties of Surry, Kent, and Essex, from which considerable advantages in the prompt detection and apprehension of offenders have accrued to the Public: The only difficulty that now remains to be removed, with respect to the clashing of jurisdictions, is that which regards the city of London; where, from its contiguity, and immediate and close connection with every other part of the Metropolis, considerable inconveniences and injuries to the public are felt, not only from the circumstance of the jurisdiction of the City Magistrates not being extended over the whole of the Metropolis, as well as the four adjoining counties; but also from the Police Magistrates having no authority quickly to follow up informations, by issuing warrants to search for property, and to apprehend persons charged with offences in the City. The whole difficulty resolves itself into a mere matter of punctilio, founded perhaps on ill-grounded jealousy, or misapprehension, which a little explanation would probably remove.
Where the object is to do good;—and where not even the shadow of harm can arise, no limits should be set to local jurisdictions; especially where privileges are proposed to be given; (as in this case, to the city of London;)—and where none are to be taken away.
For the purpose of establishing a complete and well-connected System of detection, some means ought certainly to be adopted, more closely to unite the City and Police Magistrates,[121] that they may, in a greater degree, go hand in hand in all matters regarding the general interest of the Metropolis and its environs; making the suppression of crimes one common cause, and permitting no punctilio, regarding jurisdiction, to prevent the operation of their united energy in the prompt detection of offenders; This, from the extended state of Commerce and Society, and the great increase of property, is now rendered a measure in which the inhabitants of the whole Metropolis, as well as the adjacent villages, have a common interest. It is an evil, which affects all ranks, and calls aloud for the speedy adoption of some effectual remedy.
CHAP. XV.
The prevailing practice explained, when offenders are brought before Magistrates.—The necessary caution, as well as the duty of Magistrates in such cases explained.—Professed thieves seldom intimidated when put upon their trial, from the many chances they have of escaping.—These chances shortly detailed.—Reflections on the false humanity exercised by prosecutors towards prisoners.—Their rudeness and cruelty, when engaged in acts of criminality.—The delays and expences of prosecutions, a great discouragement, inducing sufferers to put up with their loss, in silence.—How the inconvenience may be remedied.—An account of the different Courts of Justice, appointed for the trial of offences committed in the Metropolis.—Five inferior and two superior Courts.—A statement, shewing the number of prisoners convicted and discharged during the last year.—Reflections on this sad catalogue of depravity.—A radical defect somewhere.—The great purity of the Judges of England.—The propriety of a co-operation with them, in whatever shall tend to promote the ends of Public Justice.—This object to be attained, in the greatest possible degree, by means of an authorised Public Prosecutor.—The advantages of such an institution, in remedying many abuses which prevail in the trial of offenders.—From 2500 to 3000 persons committed for trial, by Magistrates, in the Metropolis, in the course of a Year.—The chief part afterwards returned upon Society.
ARRIVING at that point in the progress of this Work, where persons accused of offences are detected and brought before Magistrates for examination, ultimately to be committed for trial, if the evidence shall be sufficient:—It is proper to explain the prevailing practice under such circumstances.
The task, in this case imposed upon the Magistrate, is arduous and important; requiring not only great purity of conduct, a profound knowledge of mankind, and of the common affairs of life; but in a more peculiar manner those powers of discrimination which may enable him to discover how far criminality attaches to the party accused; and whether there are grounds sufficient to abridge for a time, or ultimately to deprive the prisoner of his liberty, until a Jury of his country shall decide upon his fate.
It frequently happens that persons accused of crimes are apprehended under circumstances where no doubt can rest on the mind of the Magistrates as to the guilt of the prisoner; but where the legal evidence is nevertheless insufficient to authorize an immediate commitment for trial.
In these instances, (while he commits pro tempore,) he is called upon in a particular manner to exert the whole powers of his mind, by adopting such judicious measures as shall be the means of detecting the offenders; by discovering the goods or property stolen, or by admitting such evidence for the Crown as may, with other corroborating testimony, prevent the ends of justice from being defeated.
Where a Magistrate proceeds with indefatigable zeal and attention, and at the same time exercises good judgment, he will seldom fail of success; for in this case a similar spirit will animate the officers under his controul, whose activity and industry are generally in proportion to that manifested by their superiors.
Much as every active Magistrate must regret that deficiency of pecuniary resource, which, under the present system, prevents him from rewarding those who must occasionally be employed to detect notorious offenders, this circumstance ought not to abate this zeal in any respect; since by perseverance it generally happens, that every good and proper arrangement for the immediate advantage of the Public, may be ultimately obtained.
The Magistrate having done his duty by committing an offender for trial, satisfied of his guilt and the sufficiency of the evidence to convict him: and having also bound over the prosecutor and the witnesses as the Law directs, to attend the Grand Jury, and (if a bill be found) to prosecute and give evidence upon the indictment; it might appear to the common observer, that the culprit's case becomes hopeless and forlorn.
This, however, is by no means a stage in the progress that intimidates a professed thief; he feels and knows that, although guilty of the crime laid to his charge, he has many chances of escaping; and these chances unquestionably operate as encouragements to the commission of crimes.
His first hope is, that he shall intimidate the Prosecutor and Witnesses, by the threatenings of the gang with whom he is connected;—his next that he may compound the matter; or bribe or frighten material witnesses, so as to keep back evidence; or induce them to speak doubtfully at the trial, though positive evidence was given before the Magistrate; or if all should fail, recourse is had to perjury, by bringing the Receiver, or some other associate, to swear an alibi.
Various other considerations also operate in strengthening the hopes of acquittal; partly arising from the vast numbers who are discharged or acquitted at every Session of gaol-delivery; and partly from the carelessness and inattention of Prosecutors, who are either unable or unwilling to sustain the expence of Counsel to oppose the arguments and objections which will be offered in behalf of the prisoner: or are soured by loss of valuable time, experienced, perhaps in former prosecutions;[122]—or ultimately from a dread entertained by timid persons, who foolishly and weakly consider themselves as taking away the life of a fellow-creature, merely because they prosecute or give evidence; not reflecting that it is the Law only that can punish offenders, and not the individual prosecutor or witnesses.
False Humanity, exercised in this manner, is always cruelty to the public, and not seldom to the prisoners themselves.—All depredations upon property are public wrongs, in the suppression and punishment of which it is the duty of every good man to lend his assistance; a duty more particularly incumbent upon those who are the immediate sufferers: through their means only can Public Justice operate in punishing those miscreants, by whom the innocent are put in fear, alarmed and threatened with horrid imprecations—with loss of life by means of loaded pistols; or bodily injury, from being hacked with cutlasses, or beaten with bludgeons—under circumstances where neither age nor sex is spared.—
Yet experience has shewn that these arguments, powerful as they are, are insufficient to awaken in the mind of men that species of Public spirit which shall induce sufferers in general, by robberies of different kinds, to become willing prosecutors, under the various trying delays of Courts of Justice; and frequently with the trouble of bringing a number of witnesses from the country, who are kept in attendance on the court perhaps several days together, at a very considerable expence.
Such a burden imposed upon the subject, in addition to the losses already sustained, in a case too where the offence is of a public nature, is certainly not easily reconcileable with that spirit of justice, and attention to the rights of individuals, which forms so strong a general feature in the Jurisprudence of the Country.
From all these circumstances it happens that innumerable felonies are concealed, and the loss is suffered in silence as the least of two evils; by which means thieves are allowed to reign with impunity, undisturbed, and encouraged to persevere in their evil practices.
Nothing, it is to be feared, can cure this evil, and establish a general system of protection, but a vigorous Police; strengthened and improved by the appointment of Deputy-Prosecutors for the Crown, acting under the Attorney-General for the time being. An establishment of this sort, even at a very small salary, would be considered as an honourable entré to many young Counsel; who, in protecting the Public against the frauds, tricks, and devices of old and professed thieves, by which at present they escape punishment, might keep the stream of justice pure, and yet allow no advantage to be taken of the prisoner.[123]
As it must be admitted on all hands, that it is the interest of the Public that no guilty offender should escape punishment;—it seems to be a position equally clear and incontrovertible, that wherever, from a defect in the system of prosecutions, or any other cause, a prisoner escapes the punishment due to his crimes, substantial justice is wounded, and public wrongs are increased.
It has been already stated in the [preceding Chapter], that there are five separate Jurisdictions in the Metropolis, where Magistrates exercise limited authority.—Of course, there are five inferior Courts of Justice, where lesser offences, committed in London and its vicinity, are tried by Justices of the Peace.
1. The general and Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held eight times a year, by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, at Guildhall—for the trial of small Offences committed in London.
2. The Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held four times a year at Guildhall, Westminster, by the Justices acting for that City and Liberty—for the trial of small Offences committed in Westminster only.
3. The General and Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held eight times a year, at the New Sessions House on Clerkenwell-Green, (commonly called Hicks's Hall) by the Justices only of the County of Middlesex—for the trial of small Offences committed in Middlesex and Westminster.
4. The General Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held in the Sessions-House in Well-Close-Square, by the Justices for the Liberty of the Tower of London—for the trial of small Offences committed within the Royalty.
5. The Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held by the Justices for the County of Surry, at the New Sessions House at Newington, Surry, in January;—At Reigate, in April;—At Guildhall, in July;—and Kingston-upon-Thames, in October, each year;—where small Offences committed in Southwark and the Neighbourhood are tried.
These five inferior Courts of Justice take cognizance of Petty Larcenies, Frauds, Assaults, Misdemeanors, and other offences punishable by fine, imprisonment, whipping, and the pillory:—and in certain cases, the power of the Justices extends to transportation.
The higher and more atrocious offences committed in London and Middlesex, are tried at the Justice-Hall, in the Old Bailey; by a special commission of Oyer and Terminer to the Lord Mayor, and a certain number of the Judges, with the Recorder and Common Serjeant of the City of London.
Offences of this latter degree of atrocity, perpetrated in that part of the Metropolis which is situated in the Borough of Southwark and County of Surry, are tried at the assizes, held twice a year at Kingston-upon-Thames, Croydon, or Guildford.[124]
Thus it appears, that five inferior and two superior Tribunals of Justice are established for trying the different crimes committed in the Metropolis.
As it may be useful, for the purpose of elucidating the suggestions already offered upon this branch of the subject, that a connected view of the result of these Trials should make a part of this Work;—the following [Abstract], (including the discharges of Prisoners by Magistrates) has been made up for this immediate purpose: from authentic documents obtained from the keepers of the eight different prisons and houses of correction in the city of London, and in the counties of Middlesex and Surry.
It applies to the period, from September, 1794, till September, 1795, which is chosen as a sort of medium between Peace and War.
It is impossible to contemplate this collected aggregate of the prisoners annually discharged upon the Public, without feeling a strong anxiety to remedy an evil rendered extremely alarming, from the number which composes the dismal catalogue of Human Depravity.
Every inquiry in the progress of this Work proves a radical defect somewhere.
While the public tribunals are filled with Judges, the purity of whose conduct adds lustre to their own and the national character, why should not every subordinate part of the Criminal Jurisprudence of the Country be so organized, as to co-operate, in the greatest possible degree, with the efforts of those higher orders of the Magistracy in accomplishing the purposes of substantial justice?
Nothing could tend more to promote this object, than the appointment already proposed of a Public Prosecutor for the Crown.
An institution of this kind would terrify the hordes of miscreants now at open war with the peaceable and useful part of the Community, in a greater degree than any one measure that could possibly be adopted.
It would be the means of destroying those hopes and chances which encourage criminal people to persevere in their depredations upon the Public.
A Summary View of the Prisoners committed, tried, punished, disposed of, and discharged in the Metropolis, in One Year, ending in October, 1795.
Number of prisoners, punished and disposed of.
| Names of Prisons. | Died | Capitally convicted | Sentenced to Transportation | Imprisoned in Newgate | Imprisoned in Bridewell Hospital | Imprisoned in the House of Correction of Middlesex | Imprisoned in Tothil-Fields Bridewell | Imprisoned in Surry Gaols | Sent to the Philanthropic and Marine Societies | Sent to serve his Majesty in the Navy and Army | Passed to Parishes | Sent to Hospitals | Total | |
| London | Newgate | 7 | 51 | 153 | 85 | 54 | 20 | 39 | 409 | |||||
| Poultry Compter | 334 | 10 | 44 | 72 | 460 | |||||||||
| Giltspur Compter | 249 | 75 | 125 | 44 | 493 | |||||||||
| Bridewell Hospital | 4 | 835 | 44 | 883 | ||||||||||
| Middlesex | New Prison Clerkenwell | 5 | 3 | 58 | 66 | |||||||||
| House of Correction, in Cold Bath Fields | 4 | 128 | 132 | |||||||||||
| Tothil Fields Bridewell | 2 | 7 | 37 | 122 | 26 | 194 | ||||||||
| Surry | New Gaol, Southwark | 10 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 38 | ||||||||
| 22 | 61 | 174 | 85 | 583 | 54 | 37 | 36 | 10 | 216 | 1282 | 115 | 2675 | ||
| 16 executed | 106 transported |
Number of Prisoners discharged by the Magistrates, and from the Eight Gaols, in One Year.
| Names of Prisons. | Discharged by Magistrates for want of Proof | Discharged by Proclamation and Gaol delivery | Discharged by Acquitals | Discharged after being whipt | Discharged after being fined | Discharged after suffering imprisonment | Apprentices discharged | Offenders bailed out of Prison | Discharged by Pardon | Total discharged | |
| London | Newgate | 134 | 272 | 12 | 11 | 20 | 129 | 578 | |||
| Poultry Compter | 199 | 27 | 226 | ||||||||
| Giltspur Compter | 287 | 10 | 10 | 45 | 11 | 114 | 477 | ||||
| Bridewell Hospital | 249 | 38 | 287 | ||||||||
| Middlesex | New Prison Clerkenwell | 237 | 170 | 35 | 9 | 9 | 127 | 587 | |||
| House of Correction, in Cold Bath Fields | 568 | 231 | 60 | 353 | 111 | 1323 | |||||
| Tothil Fields Bridewell | 253 | 274 | 6 | 1 | 27 | 154 | 715 | ||||
| Surry | New Gaol, Southwark | 130 | 74 | 35 | 2 | 28 | 269 | ||||
| 1674 | 893 | 418 | 24 | 56 | 697 | 149 | 422 | 129 | 4462 |
N.B. Although the Author has been at infinite pains to render this Summary as exact as possible, yet from the different modes adopted in keeping the accounts of Prisons, he is not thoroughly satisfied in his own mind that the View he has here given is accurate, to a point.—He is, however, convinced that it will be found sufficiently so for the purpose.
[To face [page 430].]
It would not only remove that aversion which Prosecutors manifest on many occasions, to come forward, for the purpose of promoting the ends of public justice; but it would prevent, in a great measure, the possibility of compounding felonies, or of suborning witnesses.[125]
It would also be the means of counteracting the various tricks and devices of old thieves; and occasion an equal measure of Justice to be dealt out to them, as to the novices in crimes:—It would do more,—It would protect real innocence,—for in such cases the Public Prosecutor would never fail to act as the friend of the prisoner.
The prevailing practice in criminal trials, in the true spirit of mildness and humanity, induces the Judge to act in some degree as counsel for the prisoner.—Without a Prosecutor for the Crown, therefore, every trifling inaccuracy in the indictment is allowed to become a fatal obstacle to conviction;[126] circumstances which would frequently throw great light upon the charges, are not brought under the review of the jury, and thus public justice is defeated.
Upon an average, the Magistrates of the Metropolis commit annually, (out of many times that number who are equally objects of punishment,) from about 2500 to 3000 persons, male and female, for trial, at the seven different Courts of Justice in and near the Metropolis; charged with a variety of felonies, misdemeanors, and other petty offences. But after fully convincing their own minds, from a careful, and in many instances, a most laborious investigation, that the parties are guilty, they are obliged, from experience, to prepare themselves for the mortification of seeing their labour and exertions in a great measure lost to the Community: the major part of these criminals being returned upon Society, without any effectual steps adopted for their reformation, or any means used for the prevention of a repetition of their crimes. A considerable proportion of this wretched number may have suffered perhaps a slight punishment for their demerits; but which produces no effect that is not ultimately mischievous to the Community; since it serves merely to initiate them, in a greater degree, in the knowledge and means of committing new acts of fraud and villainy.
To establish a System calculated to prevent criminals from returning to their evil practices after punishment is the very essence of good Police; but notwithstanding its importance to the Community, no measures have ever yet been adopted, calculated to attain so desirable an object.—It is however ardently to be hoped, that the period is fast approaching, when this great desideratum will be in a certain degree obtained; and that the suggestions offered in the subsequent Chapters, may tend to accelerate the renovation of this forlorn and miserable class of outcasts, by means of an appropriate Penitentiary System.
CHAP. XVI.
On Punishments.—The mode authorized by the ancient laws.—The period when Transportation commenced.—The principal crimes enumerated which are punishable by Death.—Those punishable by Transportation and Imprisonment.—The courts appointed to try different degrees of crimes.—Capital punishments, extending to so many offences of an inferior nature, defeat the ends of justice.—The system of Pardons examined:—their evil tendency.—New regulations suggested with regard to Pardons and Executions.—An historical account of the rise and progress of Transportation.—The expedients resorted to, after the American War put a stop to that mode of punishment.—The System of the Hulks then adopted.—Salutary Laws also made for the erection of Provincial and National Penitentiary Houses.—The nature and principle of these Laws briefly explained.—An account of the Convicts confined in the Hulks for twenty-two years.—The enormous expence of maintenance and inadequate produce of their labour.—The impolicy of the system exposed by the Committee on Finance.—The system of Transportation to New South Wales examined.—Great expence of this mode of punishment.—Improvements suggested, calculated to reduce the expence in future.—Erection of one or more National Penitentiary Houses recommended.—A general view of the County Penitentiary Houses and Prisons:—their inefficacy in reforming Convicts.—The labour obtained uncertain, while the expence is enormous.—The National Penitentiary House (according to the proposal of Jeremy Bentham, Esq.) considered.—Its peculiar advantages over all others which have been suggested, with respect to health, productive labour, and reformation of Convicts.—General reflections on the means of rendering imprisonment useful in reforming Convicts.—Concluding observations.
IMPERFECT in many respects as the criminal Law appears, from what has been detailed and stated in the preceding Chapters, and much as the great increase of capital offences, created during the last and present Century, is to be lamented:—it cannot be denied that several changes have taken place in the progress of Society, favourable to the cause of humanity, and more consonant to reason and justice, in the appropriation and the mode of inflicting punishments.
The Benefit of Clergy, which for a long period exempted clerical people only, from the punishment of death in cases of felony, was by several statutes[127] extended to peers, women, and all persons able to read; who, pleading their Clergy, suffered only a corporal punishment, or a year's imprisonment; and those men who could not read, if under the degree of peerage, were hanged.[128]
This unaccountable distinction was actually not removed until the 5th of Queen Anne, cap. 6, which extended the benefit of clergy to all who were intitled to ask it, whether they could read or not.[129]
In the course of the present century, several of the old sanguinary modes of punishment have been either, very properly, abolished by acts of parliament, or allowed, to the honour of humanity, to fall into disuse:—such as burning alive (particularly women) cutting off hands or ears, slitting nostrils, or branding in the hand or face; and among lesser punishments, fallen into disuse, may be mentioned the ducking-stool.
The punishment of death for felony (as has already been observed) has existed since the reign of Henry I. nearly 700 years.—Transportation is commonly understood to have been first introduced, anno 1718, by the act of the 4th George I. cap. 11; and afterwards enlarged by the Act 6th of George I. c. 23, which allowed the court a discretionary power to order felons who were by law entitled to their clergy, to be transported to the American plantations for seven or fourteen years, according to circumstances.[130]
Since that period the mode of punishment has undergone several other alterations; and many Crimes which were formerly considered of an inferior rank, have been rendered capital: which will be best elucidated by the following Catalogue of Offences, divided into six classes according to the Laws now in force.
1. Crimes punishable by the Deprivation of Life; and where, upon the Conviction of the Offenders the sentence of Death must be pronounced by the Judge.—Of these, it has been stated, the whole, on the authority of Sir William Blackstone, including all the various shades of the same offence, is about 160 in number.
The principal are the following:
Treason, and Petty Treason; See [page 38], &c. Under the former of these is included the Offence of Counterfeiting the Gold and Silver Coin, See page [191]-[211].
Murder, See [page 44], &c.
Arson, or wilfully and maliciously burning a House, Barns with Corn, &c. See [page 56].
Rape, or the forcible violation of chastity, &c. See [page 46].
Stealing an Heiress, See [page 48].
Sodomy, a crime against nature, committed either with man or beast, See [page 46].
Piracy, or robbing ships and vessels at sea: under which is included, the Offences of sailors forcibly hindering their captains from fighting, See page [55], [56].
Forgery of Deeds, Bonds, Bills, Notes, Public Securities, &c. &c. Clerks of the Bank embezzling Notes, altering Dividend Warrants: Paper Makers, unauthorised, using moulds for Notes, &c.
Destroying Ships, or setting them on Fire, See [page 57].
Bankrupts not surrendering, or concealing their Effects
Burglary, or House Breaking in the night time, See [page 57].
Highway Robbery
House Breaking in the day time, See page [54], [55].
Privately Stealing or Picking Pockets above one Shilling
Shop Lifting above Five Shillings, See [page 55].
Stealing Bonds, Bills, or Bank Notes
Stealing Bank Notes, or Bills from Letters
Stealing above 40s. in any House, See [page 55].
Stealing above 40s. on a River
Stealing Linen, &c. from Bleaching Grounds, &c. or destroying Linen therein
Maiming or Killing Cattle maliciously. See the Black Act, 9 Geo. I. cap. 22.
Stealing Horses, Cattle or Sheep
Shooting at a Revenue Officer; or at any other person, See the Black Act
Pulling down Houses, Churches, &c.
Breaking down the head of a Fish-Pond, whereby Fish may be lost, (Black Act)[131]
Cutting down Trees in an Avenue, Garden, &c.
Cutting down River or Sea Banks.
Cutting Hop Binds
Setting fire to coal mines
Taking a Reward for helping another to Stolen Goods, in certain cases, See [page 295]
Returning from Transportation; or being at large in the Kingdom after Sentence
Stabbing a Person unarmed, or not having a weapon drawn, if he die in six months
Concealing the death of a Bastard Child
Maliciously maiming or disfiguring any person, &c. lying in wait for the purpose, See [page 50].
Sending Threatening Letters (Black Act)
Riots by twelve or more, and not dispersing in an hour after proclamation
Being accessaries to Felonies deemed capital
Stealing Woollen Cloth from Tenter Grounds
Stealing from a Ship in Distress
Government Stores, embezzling, burning or destroying in Dock-Yards; in certain cases, See pages [261]-[263]
Challenging Jurors above 20 in capital felonies; or standing mute
Cottons selling with forged Stamps
Deer-Stealing, second offence; or even first offence, under Black Act, not usually enforced
Uttering counterfeit Money, third offence
Prisoners under Insolvent Acts guilty of perjury
Destroying Silk or Velvet in the loom; or the Tools for manufacturing thereof; or destroying Woollen Goods, Racks or Tools, or entering a House for that purpose
Servants purloining their Masters' Goods, value 40s.
Personating Bail; or acknowledging fines or judgments in another's name
Escape by breaking Prison, in certain cases
Attempting to kill Privy Counsellors, &c.
Sacrilege
Smuggling by persons armed; or assembling armed for that purpose
Robbery of the Mail
Destroying Turnpikes or Bridges, Gates, Weighing Engines, Locks, Sluices, Engines for Draining Marshes, &c.
Mutiny, Desertion, &c. by the Martial and Statute Law
Soldiers or Sailors enlisting into Foreign Service
2. Crimes denominated Single Felonies; punishable by Transportation, Whipping, Imprisonment, the Pillory, and Hard Labour in Houses of Correction, according to the Nature of the offence.
The principal of which are the following:
Grand Larceny, which comprehends every species of Theft above the value of One Shilling, not otherwise distinguished
Receiving or buying Stolen Goods, Jewels and Plate. See [page 299]
Ripping and stealing Lead, Iron, Copper, &c. or buying or receiving, See [page 295]
Stealing (or receiving when stolen) Ore from Black Lead Mines
Stealing from Furnished Lodgings
Setting fire to Underwood
Stealing Letters, or destroying a Letter or Packet, advancing the Postage, and secreting the Money
Embezzling Naval Stores, in certain cases, See pages [261]-[263]
Petty Larcenies, or Thefts under one Shilling
Assaulting with an intent to Rob
Aliens returning after being ordered out of the kingdom
Stealing Fish from a Pond or River—Fishing in inclosed Ponds, and buying stolen Fish
Stealing Roots, Trees, or Plants, of the value of 5s. or destroying them
Stealing Children with their apparel
Bigamy, or Marrying more Wives or Husbands than one (now punishable with transportation)
Assaulting and Cutting, or Burning Clothes
Counterfeiting the Copper Coin, &c.—See page [191]-[211]
Marriage, solemnizing clandestinely
Manslaughter, or killing another without Malice, &c. See [page 44]
Cutting or Stealing Timber Trees, &c. &c. &c.
Stealing a Shroud out of a Grave
Watermen carrying too many passengers in the Thames, if any drowned
3. Offences denominated Misdemeanors, punishable by Fine, Imprisonment, Whipping, and the Pillory.
The principal of which are the following:
Perjury, or taking a false Oath in a judicial proceeding, &c.
Frauds, by Cheating, Swindling contrary to the rules of common honesty, &c. &c.
Conspiracies, for the purpose of injuring or defrauding others
Assaults by striking or beating another person, &c.
Stealing Dead Bodies
Stealing Cabbages, Turnips, &c. growing
Cutting and stealing Wood and Trees
Robbing Orchards and Gardens
Stealing Deer from Forests
Stealing Dogs
Setting fire to a House to defraud the Insurance Office
Making and selling Fire-Works and Squibs
Throwing the same when on fire about the streets
Uttering Base Money
Selling Base Money under its denominated value
Embezzlement in the Woollen, Silk, and other Manufactures
Offences by Artificers and Servants in various Trades
Combinations and Conspiracies for raising the price of Wages, &c. (See stat. 39 Geo. III. c. 81)
Smuggling Run Goods, and other Frauds relative to the Excise and Customs
Keeping Bawdy Houses and other Disorderly Houses
4. Idle and Disorderly Persons described by the Act of the 17th Geo. II. cap. 5. and subsequent Acts; punishable with one Month's Imprisonment—namely,
1. Persons threatening to run away and leave their wives and children on the Parish
2. Persons who tipple in Ale Houses, and neglect their Families, &c. as described in the 3d Geo. III. cap. 45
3. Persons who shall unlawfully return to the Parish or place from which they have been legally removed, without bringing a Certificate
4. Persons, who not having wherewithal to maintain themselves, live idly without employment, and refuse to work for the usual Wages
5. Persons begging in the streets, highways, &c.
5th. Rogues and Vagabonds described by the said Act of the 17th Geo. II. cap. 5. and subsequent Acts; punishable by Six Months' Imprisonment—namely,
1. Persons going about as Patent Gatherers or Gatherers of Alms, under pretence of Loss by Fire, or other casualty.
2. Fencers, Bearwards, Strolling Players of Interludes, or other Entertainments
3. Minstrels, (except those licensed by the Lord Dutton in Cheshire)
4. Persons pretending to be, and wandering in the habit of, Gypseys
5. Fortune-Tellers, pretending Skill in Physiognomy, Palmistry, &c. or using any subtle craft to deceive and impose on others
6. Persons playing or betting at any unlawful Games or Plays
7. Persons who run away, and leave their Wives and Children upon the Parish
8. Petty Chapmen and Pedlars wandering abroad without a Licence
9. Persons wandering abroad, and lodging in Ale-Houses, Out-Houses, or the open Air, and not giving a good account of themselves
10. Persons wandering abroad, and pretending to be Soldiers or Sailors, without proper Certificates from their Officers, or Testimonials from Magistrates
11. Persons wandering abroad, pretending to go to work in Harvest, without a proper Certificate from the Parish
12. Persons having Implements of House-breaking or Offensive Weapons, with a Felonious intent
13. Persons concerned in illegal Lottery Transactions, as described in the Lottery Acts, 27th, 33d, 34th, and 35th Geo. III.
6th. Incorrigible Rogues, punishable with Two Years' Imprisonment and Whipping, or Transportation for Seven Years, if they break out of Prison—namely,
1. Persons stiled End-Gatherers, buying, collecting, or receiving Ends of Yarn in the Woollen Branch, against the stat. 13 Geo. I. cap. 23.
2. Persons, who being Rogues and Vagabonds, have escaped after being apprehended, or who shall refuse to be examined by a Magistrate, or who shall give a false account of themselves after being warned of their punishment
3. Persons who shall escape out of any House of Correction before the period of their imprisonment empires
4. Persons, who being once punished as Rogues and Vagabonds, shall again commit the same offence.
☞ There are a great many other trivial Offences denominated Misdemeanors, subject to pecuniary Fines, which it is not easy to enumerate. Since almost every statute, whether public or private, which passes in the course of a Session of Parliament, creates new offences—the shades vary as Society advances, and their number is scarcely within the reach of calculation.
The crimes mentioned in the first and second classes of the foregoing Enumeration (except Petty Larceny) are always tried by the Superior Courts:—The offences specified in the third class, as also Petty Larceny, and every species of misdemeanor and vagrancy, are generally tried, (with some few exceptions) by the Justices in their General and Quarter Sessions, where, in certain cases in Middlesex, they act under a commission of Oyer and Terminer. The Magistrates in Petty Sessions, and in several instances a single Magistrate, have also the power of convicting in a summary way, for a variety of small misdemeanors, and acts of vagrancy: and of punishing the delinquents with fine and imprisonment.
It generally happens in the Metropolis, that out of from 2000 to 2500 prisoners who are tried for different crimes, in the various Courts of Justice, above 5-6th parts are for larcenies, acts of vagrancy, and smaller offences; where the Benefit of Clergy, either attaches, or does not apply at all. The major part are, of course, returned upon Society, after a short imprisonment, or some corporal punishment, too frequently to renew their depredations on the public.—But a vast proportion (as has already been shewn) are always acquitted.[132]
In order to form a judgment of the proportion of the more atrocious offenders tried at the Old Bailey: the number acquitted; and the specific punishments inflicted on the different offences in case of conviction, one year has been selected; a year in which it was natural to expect from the immense, and indeed, unparalleled bounties which were given for seamen and soldiers, that the number of thieves and criminals would be greatly reduced,—namely—from the month of April, 1793, to the month of April, 1794,—including eight Sessions at the Old Bailey—
The following Table shews in what manner 1060 prisoners, put on their trials during that period, were disposed of.[133]
The Crimes for which the different Offenders were tried, were these following:
| Murder | 46 |
| Arson | 5 |
| Burglary | 101 |
| Robbery | 58 |
| Horse and Cattle stealing | 108 |
| Forgery | 16 |
| Coining | 17 |
| 351 | |
| Felony | 315 |
| Larceny | 998 |
| Receiving stolen Goods | 61 |
| Frauds and Misdemeanors | 101 |
| Rogues and Vagabonds | 21 |
| 1496 | |
| Manslaughter | 29 |
| Bigamy | 3 |
| Beastiality | 2 |
| Rape | 9 |
| Perjury | 2 |
| Sedition | 2 |
| 47 |
A TABLE, shewing the Prisoners tried at the Old Bailey, from April 1793, to March 1794, inclusive.
| Prisoners convicted, and their Punishments. | |||||||||||
| London, Middlesex, and Westminster. | Persons comitted for trial. | Of whom acquitted and discharged. | Death. | Transported for 14 years. | Transported for 7 years. | Whipt & imprisoned. | Imprisoned 6 months and upwards. | Imprisoned 3 months & otherwise disposed of. | Sent to serve the King. | Judgment respited. | Total punished. |
| London Sessions | 199 | 70 | 6 | 1 | 50 | 10 | 29 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 129 |
| Middlesex and Westminster | 861 | 497 | 62 | 1 | 117 | 38 | 51 | 49 | 30 | 16 | 364 |
| 1060 | 567[134] | 68 | 2 | 167 | 48 | 80 | 69 | 38 | 21 | 493 | |
Thus it appears, that in London only, of 1060 prisoners, tried in the course of a year, only 493 were punished; of whom 197, after a temporary confinement, would return upon the Public, with little prospect of being better disposed to be useful to Society, than before.—It may be estimated that in all England, including those offenders who are tried at the County Sessions, upwards of five thousand individuals, charged with criminal offences, are thrown back upon Society every year.—
But this is not all,—for according to the present System, out of about two hundred and upwards who are, upon an average every year, doomed to suffer the punishment of death, four-fifths or more are generally pardoned[135] either on condition of being transported, or of going into His Majesty's service, and not seldom without any condition at all.
Hence it is, that, calculating on all the different chances, encouragements to commit crimes actually arise out of the System intended for their prevention:—first, from the hope of avoiding detection and apprehension;—secondly, of escaping conviction, from the means used to vitiate and suborn the evidence;—thirdly, from the mercy of the Jury, in considering the punishment too severe;—and fourthly, from the interest of persons of rank or consideration, applying (under circumstances where humanity becomes the friend of every person doomed to die), for the interference of Royal Mercy, by Pardons.
God forbid that the Author of these pages should do so much violence to his own feelings, as to convey an idea hostile to the extension of that amiable Prerogative vested in the Sovereign; and which His Majesty has exercised with a benevolent regard to the feelings of Humanity, and a merciful disposition truly characteristic of the mind of a great and good King.
These animadversions are by no means pointed against the exercise of a privilege so benign, and even so necessary, in the present state of the Criminal Law;—they regard only the impositions which have been practised upon so many well-intentioned, respectable, and amiable Characters, who have, from motives of humanity, interested themselves in obtaining free pardons for Convicts, or pardons on condition of going into the Army or Navy.
If these humane individuals, who exert themselves in applications of this sort, were to be made acquainted with one half of the gross impositions practised upon their credulity, or the evil consequences arising to Society from such pardons, (particularly unconditional pardons) they would shudder at the extent of the cruelty exercised towards the Public, and even, in many instances, to the Convicts themselves, by this false humanity.
In a Country, where, from the great caution which mingles in that part of the Criminal Jurisprudence which relates to the trial of Offenders,—it is scarcely possible that an honest or an innocent person can be convicted of a capital offence.[136]—It would seem to be a good criterion, that the Royal Mercy should only be extended on two indispensable conditions.
1. That the Convict under sentence of death should, for the sake of Public Justice, (and to deter others from the commission of crimes) discover all his accomplices, and the robberies, or other crimes he has committed.
2. That he should be transported; or make retribution to the parties he has injured by being kept at hard labour for life; or until ample security shall be given for good behaviour after such retribution is made.
The precaution not having been used of knowing for certain, before pardons were granted, whether the parties were fit for His Majesty's service or not; the Convicts themselves carefully concealing every kind of bodily infirmity;—and the pardons containing no eventual condition of ultimate Transportation, in case the persons should be found unfit for the Army or Navy;—the result has been, that many Convicts, who have been since actually Thieves upon the Town, were almost instantly thrown back upon the Public.—Some, even before they were attested by the Magistrate, in consequence of the discovery of bodily incapacity; and others, in a very short time after they had gone into His Majesty's Service, from the like unfitness being discovered; from some artful device practised to procure a discharge—or from desertion.—A professed Thief is never deficient in that species of artifice and resource which is necessary to rid him of any incumbrance.
This, however, is seldom taken into the calculation when Humanity urges philanthropic Characters to interest themselves in behalf of Criminals; nor could it perhaps otherwise have been known, or believed, that so many of these outcasts of Society have found means again to mingle with the mass of the people.
What impression must these facts make on the intelligent mind!—will they not warrant the following conclusion?
1. That every individual, restored to Society in this way, is the means of affording a species of encouragement, peculiarly calculated to bring others into the same dreadful situation, from which the unhappy Convict is thus rescued.
2. That for this reason every pardon granted, without some lesser punishment, or removing the convicts from Society, is a link broken in the chain of justice, by annihilating that united strength which binds the whole together.
3. That by removing the terror of punishments by frequent pardons, the design of the Law is rendered in a great measure ineffectual; the lives of persons executed are thrown away, being sacrificed rather to the vengeance of the Law than to the good of the Public; and no other advantage is received than by getting rid of one thief, whose place, (under present circumstances,) will speedily be supplied by another.[137]
Nothing can sanction the punishment of death for crimes short of murder, but the terror of the example operating as the means of prevention.—It is upon this principle alone that one man is sacrificed to the preservation of thousands.—Executions, therefore, being exhibited as seldom as a regard to the public interest really required, ought to be rendered as terrific and solemn to the eyes of the people as possible.
The punishment now in use, considered in point of law to be next to that of deprivation of life, is Transportation.
It has been already mentioned that Parliament authorized this species of punishment in the year 1718—when the general plan of sending Convicts to the American Plantations was first adopted. This System continued for 56 years; during which period, and until the commencement of the American War in 1775, great numbers of Felons were sent chiefly to the Province of Maryland. The rigid discipline which the colonial Laws authorized the masters[138] to exercise over servants, joined to the prospects which agricultural pursuits, after some experience was acquired, afforded to these Outcasts, tended to reform the chief part; and after the expiration of their servitude, they mingled in the Society of the Country, under circumstances highly beneficial to themselves and even to the Colony. Possessed in general (as every adroit thief must be) of good natural abilities, they availed themselves of the habits of industry they acquired in the years of their servitude—became farmers and planters on their own account; and many of them, succeeding in these pursuits, not only acquired that degree of respectability which is attached to property and industry; but also in their turn became masters, and purchased the servitude of future Transports sent out for sale.[139]
The Convicts having accumulated greatly in the year 1776, and the intercourse with America being shut up, it became indispensably necessary to resort to some other expedient; and in the choice of difficulties the System of the Hulks was suggested, and first adopted under the authority of an Act of the 16th of his present Majesty.
The Legislature, uncertain with regard to the success of this new species of punishment, and wishing to make other experiments, by an Act of the same Session,[140] empowered the Justices of every county in England to prepare Houses of Correction for the reception of Convicts under sentence of death, to whom his Majesty should extend his Royal Mercy, to be kept at hard labour for a term not exceeding ten years.
The same Act, among many other excellent regulations, ordered the Convicts to be kept separate, and not allowed to mix with any offenders convicted of crimes less than Larceny—and that they should be fed with coarse inferior food, water, and small beer, without permission to have any other food, drink, or cloathing, than that allowed by the Act, under certain penalties:—they were to be clothed at the public expence.
And as an encouragement to these delinquents, while such as refused to work were to receive corporal punishment, those who behaved well had not only the prospect held out of shortening the period of their confinement, but also were to receive decent clothes, and a sum of money not less than forty shillings, nor more than five pounds, when discharged.
This well-intentioned Act[141] (which certainly admits of many improvements), was followed up, three years afterwards, by another Statute, (19 Geo. III. cap. 74,) which had two very important objects in view.
The first was to erect, in some convenient common or waste ground, in either of the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Kent, or Surry, Two large Penitentiary Houses, the one to hold 600 male, and the other 300 female Convicts, with proper storehouses, workhouses, and lodging-rooms; an infirmary, chapel, and burying-ground; a prison, kitchen, garden, and air-grounds: with proper offices, and other necessary apartments.
The expence of these grounds and erections was to be paid out of the treasury; and his Majesty was empowered to appoint three persons as a Committee of Management for regulating the Establishment; under the controul of the Justices of the Peace of the County, and Judges of Assize, with power to appoint a clerk, governor, chaplain, surgeon, or apothecary, store-keepers, and task-masters; and also a matron for the females;—and to allow salaries to each, which were to be paid out of the profits of the work, to be performed by the Convicts.
As soon as the buildings should be completed, the Court, before whom any person was convicted for a transportable offence, might, in lieu thereof, order the prisoner to be punished by confinement, in any of these Penitentiary Houses, there to be kept to hard labour in the proportion of 5 years instead of 7 years' transportation, and not exceeding 7 years in lieu of 14 years' transportation; limiting at the same time the number of Convicts to be sent annually from the Circuits in the Country, and from the different Sessions in the Metropolis.
This Act lays down various specific rules for the government of the Establishment, and for the employment of the Prisoners; and the following works, as being of the most servile kind and least liable to be spoiled by ignorance, neglect, or obstinacy, are selected, namely—
- 1. Treading in a wheel for moving machinery.
- 2. Drawing in a capstan, for turning a mill or engine.
- 3. Sawing stone
- 4. Polishing marble
- 5. Beating hemp
- 6. Rasping logwood
- 7. Chopping rags
- 8. Making cordage
- 9. Picking oakum
- 10. Weaving sacks
- 11. Knitting nets, &c. &c.
The food of the different offenders, as in the former Act, was limited to bread and any coarse meat, with water and small beer; and the Prisoners were to be cloathed in uniform apparel, with badges affixed, agreeable to the Institution.
Certain other rules were established for the discipline of the house, under the direction of the Committee to be appointed by his Majesty; who were to attend every fortnight, and to have power to reward such offenders as should appear most diligent and meritorious, by giving them a part of their earnings, to be applied for the use of themselves end families.
And when an offender should be discharged, decent clothing was to be delivered to him; with a sum of money for present subsistence, not less than twenty shillings, nor more than three pounds.
The second purpose of this Act (and which is the only part of it which was ever carried into effect), regards the continuation of the System of the Hulks.
It declares that for the more effectual punishment of atrocious male offenders liable to be transported, the Court may order such Convicts as are of proper age, and free from bodily infirmity, to be punished by being kept on board ships or vessels; and employed in hard labour in raising sand, soil, and gravel, and cleansing the River Thames, or any other river, or port, approved by the Privy Council; or in any other works upon the banks or shores of the same, under the direction of superintendants approved of by the Justices, for a term not less than one year, nor more than five; except an offender be liable to transportation for 14 years, in which case his punishment may be commuted for 7 years on board the Hulks.
The mode of feeding is the same as already explained, and the clothing is to be at the discretion of the superintendant. A similar discipline, varied only by local circumstances, is also established; and on the discharge of any of the convicts, they are to receive for present subsistence from 20s. to 3l. according to circumstances.
The concluding part of the Act obliges the governors and superintendants of the two Establishments to make annual returns to the Court of King's Bench: and also authorizes his Majesty to appoint an Inspector of the two Penitentiary Houses, of the several vessels or hulks on the River Thames, and of all the other gaols and places of criminal confinement within the City of London and County of Middlesex; these Inspectors are personally to visit every such place of confinement at least once a quarter, to examine into the particulars of each, and to make a return to the Court of King's Bench, of the state of the buildings—the conduct of the officers—treatment of the prisoners—state of their earnings and expences—and to follow up this by a report to both Houses of Parliament, at the beginning of each Session.
It is much to be lamented that neither of these two salutary Acts, so far as regarded National Penitentiary Houses, which seemed to hold out so fair a prospect of employing convicts, in pursuits connected with productive labour, industry, and ultimate reformation, without sending them out of the kingdom, have been carried into execution. In the year 1784, the System of Transportation was again revived, by the Act of the 24th Geo. III. Stat. 2. cap. 56; "which empowers the Court, before whom a male Felon shall be convicted, to order the prisoner to be transported beyond seas, either within his Majesty's dominions or elsewhere; and his service to be assigned to the contractor who shall undertake such transportation."
The same Act continues the System of the Hulks for a further length of time; by directing the removal of Convicts, under sentence of death, and reprieved by his Majesty, and also such as are under sentence of Transportation (being free from infectious disorders) to other places of confinement, either inland, or on board of any ship or vessel in the river Thames, or any other navigable river; and to continue them so confined until transported according to law, or until the expiration of the term of the sentence should otherwise entitle them to their liberty.
This plan of Transportation, through the medium of contractors, although some Felons were sent to Africa,[142] does not appear to have answered; from the great difficulty of finding any situation, since the Revolution in America, where the service of Convicts could be rendered productive or profitable to Merchants, who would undertake to transport them; and hence arose the idea of making an Establishment for these outcasts of Society in the infant colony of New South Wales, to which remote region it was at length determined to transport atrocious offenders.—Accordingly, in the year 1787, an Act passed, (27 Geo. III. cap. 2,) authorizing the establishment of a Court of Judicature for the trial of offenders who should be transported to New South Wales.
Another Act of the following year, (28 Geo. III. cap. 24,) empowered his Majesty, under his Royal Sign Manual, to authorize any person to make contracts for the Transportation of offenders, and to direct to whom security should be given for the due performance of the contract.
By the Act of 30 George III. cap. 47, the Governor of the Settlement may remit the punishment of offenders there: and on a certificate from him their names shall be inserted in the next General Pardon.
Under these various legislative regulations, the two Systems of Punishment, namely, the Hulks and Transportation to New South Wales, have been authorized and carried into execution.
The System of the Hulks commenced on the 12th day of July, in the year 1776; and from that time until the 12th of December 1795, comprehending a period of nineteen years, 7999 Convicts were ordered to be punished by hard labour on the river Thames, and Langston and Portsmouth harbours, which are accounted for in the following manner:
| 1. Convicts ordered to hard labour on the River Thames, from 12th July 1776, to the 12th January, 1778 | 2024 | ||
| 2. Convicts, under sentence of Transportation, put on board the Hulks on the River Thames, from 11th January, 1783, to 12th December, 1795 | 4775 | ||
| 3. Deduct, under sentence of Transportation, put on board the Hulks in Langston and Portsmouth Harbours, received from the Hulks at Woolwich, on the 20th of June, 1791 | 466 | ||
| 4309 | |||
| Additional Convicts sent from different prisons to Portsmouth and Langston from 1791, to 1st December, 1795 | 1200 | ||
| To which, add those from Woolwich as above | 466 | ||
| 1666 | |||
| Total | 7999 | ||
| Of the above convicts there have been | |||
| Discharged | 1610 | ||
| Pardoned | 790 | ||
| Escaped | 130 | ||
| 2530 | |||
| Removed to other Gaols | 17 | ||
| Transported to New South Wales | 2207 | ||
| Died[143] | 1946 | ||
| 6700 | |||
| And there remain in the Hulks on the Thames | 523 | ||
| And at Langston Harbour | 776 | ||
| 1299 | |||
| Total as above | 7999 | ||
By a subsequent account laid before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Finance, and stated in Appendix, M. of their 28th Report, dated the 26th of June, 1798, it appears that the number of Convicts stood thus:
| In the Hulks on the Thames, at Woolwich | 501 |
| At Portsmouth | 948 |
| Total | 1449 |
Besides 415 under Sentence of Transportation in the different Gaols, making in all 1864.
From the same authentic Documents, (pages 115, 116,) it appears, that of these Convicts, the following numbers will be discharged upon Society in the succeeding 13 years:[144]
| Portsmouth. | Woolwich. | ||||
| In | 1800 | 140 | 115 | ||
| 1801 | 106 | 43 | |||
| 1802 | 127 | 26 | |||
| 1803 | 107 | 46 | |||
| 1804 | 149 | 77 | |||
| 1805 | 33 | 3 | |||
| 1806 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1807 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1808 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1809 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1810 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1811 | 10 | 4 | |||
| 1812 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 678 | 317 | ||||
| For life | 76 | 22 |