VIII. An annual Inventory of Stores.
Supposing an accurate System of Book-keeping to be adopted, and to be followed as a part of the proposed System of Accuracy, indispensably necessary, by an annual account of Stores; the advantages resulting from it are not to be estimated by the most sanguine mind. Independent of the benefits which would arise from the general accuracy, which would thus incircle the whole œconomy of the design, discoveries would be made wherever frauds or embezzlements took place, while the labour and expence, which such a task might impose, would be compensated one hundred fold, in the National advantages which it would produce.
Thus has the Author briefly gone over the whole ground, which he had assigned to himself, as comprehending every object on the subject of the depredations on his Majesty's Stores, which appeared likely to render his suggestions useful to his country, whether they relate to improved Legislative Regulations requiring the aid of Parliament, or to Measures competent for the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to carry into effect. In the prosecution of this task he has been stimulated in a particular degree, by the laudable and patriotic disposition, which has been manifested to promote improvements in Naval Police, and the honourable proofs he has received of a desire to render his suggestions useful.
If the period should indeed arrive (and it is to be hoped it may soon arrive) when these suggestions, or even a part of them, shall be acted upon, in a manner calculated to promote the National Interest, the Author of these pages will then feel himself gratified, and rewarded by the pleasing reflection, that his well-meant labours, in placing an important branch of the political œconomy of the country in this particular point of view, have not been in vain.
CHAP. X.
Receivers of stolen Goods more mischievous than Thieves;—the latter could not exist without the assistance of the former:—the Suppression therefore of Receivers would restore to Society, and to honest Industry, a great number who at present live by crimes.—The increase of Receivers of stolen Goods to be attributed to the imperfection of the Laws, and to the disjointed state of the Police of the Metropolis.—The number of common Receivers does not exceed sixty; of whom not above ten are persons of property able to purchase valuable articles.—Thieves, in many instances, settle with receivers before they commit robberies:—Receivers always benefit more than Thieves:—Their profit immense:—They are divided into two classes.—The immediate Receivers connected with Thieves, and those who keep shops and purchase from Pilferers in the way of trade:—The latter are extremely numerous.—The Laws are insufficient effectually to reach either class.—The existing statutes examined and briefly detailed, namely, the 3d and 4th of William and Mary, cap. 9; the 1st Anne, cap. 9; the 5th of Anne, cap. 31; 4 George I. cap. 11; 29 George II. cap. 30; 30 George II. cap. 24; 2 George III. cap. 28; 10 George III. cap. 48; 21 George III. cap. 69; 22 George III. cap. 58.—Observations on these respective statutes.—Amendments and improvements suggested.—Means proposed to ensure the due execution of these improvements.
HAVING in the preceding Chapters completed the proposed explanation of the various depredations and frauds upon the Public: It remains now, in the order of the plan, to examine and follow up the progress of this property, from the hands of Thieves, Robbers, Cheats, and Swindlers, to that of Receivers, or first Purchasers of Goods stolen or fraudulently obtained.
In contemplating the characters of all these different classes of delinquents, there can be little hesitation in pronouncing the Receivers to be the most mischievous of the whole; inasmuch as without the aid they afford, in purchasing and concealing every species of property stolen or fraudulently obtained, Thieves, Robbers, and Swindlers, as has already been frequently observed, must quit the trade, as unproductive and hazardous in the extreme.
Nothing therefore can be more just than the old observation, "that if there were no Receivers there would be no Thieves."—Deprive a thief of a sale and ready market for his goods, and he is undone.
Let the strong arm of the law, and the vigour and energy of the Police be directed in a particular manner against Receivers; and the chief part of those robberies and burglaries, which are so much dreaded, on account of the acts of violence which attend them, would absolutely cease to exist:—and the resource for plunder being thus narrowed in so great a degree, robberies on the highway would alone seldom answer the purpose of the adventurer; where the risk would be so exceedingly multiplied, while the advantages were in the same proportion diminished;—the result therefore would be, that in the suppression of the Receivers, the encouragement to become Thieves and Robbers would be taken away: and the present Depredators upon the Public must either return to honest labour as useful members of the State, or submit to be starved.
Obvious and desirable however as a measure of this sort would be, it has never hitherto been put in practice. This has proceeded from a variety of causes; one of the principal of which is the disjointed state of the Police of the Metropolis, occasioned by a number of jurisdictions clashing with each other, and preventing the full operation of a proper system of vigilance and energy; which, with the aid of apposite and improved laws and a superintending agency, could not fail, either to root out all the Receivers of stolen Goods of any consequence, or compel them to abandon their mischievous trade.
These observations apply to that class of Receivers alone, who are in immediate connection with the thieves, burglars, and highway robbers;—and who aid and assist them in the purchase and concealment of whatever is stolen.—From the best information that can be obtained, their number does not exceed fifty or sixty in all; of whom not more than ten, (whose names and places of abode are well known) can be said to be persons of property who can raise money to purchase articles of considerable value.
Aided by a well-regulated and energetic system of Police that might pervade the whole Metropolis, how easy would it be, to compel these large dealers to abandon the trade? The measure of watching their houses day and night, would cost no great sum, and would embarrass the thieves and burglars, more than any other system that could be pursued.
It rarely happens that thieves go upon the highway, or commit burglaries, until the money they have previously acquired is exhausted. Having laid their plans for new depredations, negociation is frequently entered upon with the most favourite Receiver, who (to use their own language) is likely to be staunch, and to keep their secrets.—The plan is explained.—Some liquor is drunk to the good luck of the enterprize, and the hour fixed when they are to return with the booty: if plate is expected, the crucible is ready in a small furnace, built for the purpose, instantly to melt it, and arrangements are made for the immediate concealment of the other articles.—Of the nature of these previous arrangements, something has already been said in [Chap. IV.] on Burglary and Highway Robbery.
There are, however, exceptions to this rule, where the Receivers are not trusted till the booty is acquired; and where it is in the first instance removed to the houses of the thieves, or to those of some of their friends; but it seldom remains longer than may be necessary to obliterate the marks: for money must be procured. Most thieves are improvident; their wants are therefore pressing—they must sell—the Receiver knows this and makes his own terms;—and he of course enjoys by far the largest share of the profit.
The plunder thus purchased, finds a ready vent through the extensive connections of the Jew dealers, both in this Country and upon the Continent: and from the facts already stated in the course of this Work, it may easily be conceived that the trade is not only extensive, but that the profit is immense, since it rarely happens (except in the articles of plate,) that thieves receive to the amount of above one-third; or one-fourth of the value of what is stolen.
The mass of the Receivers of stolen property in and near the Metropolis, (exclusive of those more immediately concerned in River-plunder, as stated in [Chapter VIII.] on that subject,) may be classed in two divisions:
"1. The Dealers already mentioned, as immediately connected with professed and notorious thieves, and who are their principal supporters, especially when apprehended and under prosecution. Many of these have themselves been originally thieves upon the town, acquitted, pardoned, or discharged from the hulks: who prefer the trade of a Receiver as less hazardous and more profitable, than that of a thief; and to conceal the fraud frequently set up Chandlers-Shops, Coal-Sheds, Potatoe-Warehouses, or Old Iron-Shops, and not seldom become Masters of Public Houses, that they may appear to have some visible means of obtaining a livelihood. Those who have not been originally thieves generally keep shops in different branches of trade, some of whom are very opulent.
"2. The Dealers in Old Iron and other Metal—Rags—Old Wearing Apparel—Buyers, Refiners, and Workers of Gold and Silver—Dealers in Second-hand Furniture, and Building Materials, and that Class of Sharping Pawnbrokers who have connections with criminal people.
"The Dealers last mentioned are extremely numerous, and amount to several thousands in the Metropolis alone, some of whom are innocent Receivers, not aware that they are purchasing stolen articles;—others, careless Receivers, asking no questions, and purchasing every thing that is offered:—but a large proportion of criminal Receivers, who purchase every thing that is offered in the way of trade; well knowing, from the price and other circumstances, that the property was originally stolen."
As the Laws now stand, (numerous, and pointed as they appear to be) it has been found from experience, that neither of these classes can be easily reached; and hence it is that they have multiplied in so great a degree, (particularly the small Receivers) within the last twenty years, and may even be said to have reigned with impunity.
For the purpose of suggesting an effectual legislative Remedy, it will be necessary to examine shortly the laws now in being, which are applicable to this peculiar offence.—
By the Statute of the 3d and 4th of William and Mary, cap. 9, it is enacted, "that Receivers of stolen Goods, knowing them to be stolen, shall be deemed Accessaries after the fact."
But this offence being dependent on the fate of the Principal—a Receiver, thus circumstanced, could not be tried till after the conviction of such Principal; so that, however strong and conclusive the evidence might be, the Receiver was still safe, unless the Thief could be apprehended—and even if apprehended and put upon his trial, if acquitted through any defect of evidence, the Receiver, (although he had actually confessed the crime, and the goods found in his possession, could be proved to have been stolen,) must be acquitted:—this offence also, even if completely proved, applied only to capital felonies, and not to petty larceny.
These defects were discovered, and partly remedied by the Statutes 1 Anne, cap. 9; and 5 Anne, cap. 31, which enact, "That Buyers and Receivers of stolen Goods, knowing them to be stolen, may be prosecuted for a misdemeanor, and punished by fine and imprisonment; though the Principal be not previously convicted of felony."
This Act, 5 Anne, c. 31, also greatly improved the Laws applicable to this species of offence by empowering the Court to substitute a corporal punishment instead of fine and imprisonment; and by declaring, that if the felony shall be proved against the Thief, then the Receiver shall be taken as Accessary, and shall receive judgment of death; but the benefit of Clergy is reserved.
The Laws being still found insufficient, the Statute of the fourth of George the First, cap. 11, enacted, "That Receivers of stolen Goods, knowing them to be stolen, should, on conviction, be transported for fourteen years; and that buying at an under value should be presumptive evidence of such knowledge:—and the same statute makes it felony (according to the nature of the felony committed in stealing the Goods) for any person directly or indirectly to take a reward for helping any person to stolen Goods; unless such person bring the felon to his trial, and give evidence against him."
But these amendments also proving ineffectual, and not being found to apply immediately to persons receiving stolen lead, iron, copper, brass, bell-metal or solder taken from buildings, or from ships, vessels, wharfs, or quays—It was enacted by the 29th of George the Second, cap. 30, "That every person who shall buy or Receive such articles, knowing the same to be stolen, or who shall privately purchase these respective metals by suffering any door, window, or shutter, to be left open between sun-setting and sun-rising, or shall buy or receive any of the said metals in any clandestine manner, shall, on conviction, be transported for fourteen years, although the principal felon has not been convicted." Sec. 1.
The same Act empowers one Justice to grant a warrant to search in the day time for such metals suspected to be stolen, as by the oath of one witness may appear to be deposited or concealed in any house or place; and if goods are found, the Act goes so far as to empower two Justices to adjudge the person having the custody of the same, guilty of a misdemeanor, if he cannot produce the party from whom he purchased, or give a satisfactory account how they came into his possession; and the offender shall, for the first offence forfeit 40s. for the second 4l. and for every subsequent offence 6l. Sec. 2; 6.
This Act also empowers officers of justice (and watchmen while on duty) to apprehend all persons suspected of conveying any stolen metals, as already described, after sun-set or before sun-rise; and if such persons cannot give a good account of the manner in which they were obtained, two Magistrates are in like manner authorized to adjudge them guilty of a misdemeanor, and they forfeit forty shillings, &c. Sec. 3; 6.
The persons also to whom such articles are offered for sale or to be pawned, where there is reasonable ground to suppose they were stolen, are empowered to apprehend and secure the parties and the materials, to be dealt with according to law. And if it shall appear even on the evidence of the thief, corroborated by other testimony, that there was cause to suspect the goods were stolen, and that the person to whom they were offered, did not do his duty in apprehending the person offering the same, he shall be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and forfeit twenty shillings for the first offence: forty shillings for the second, and four pounds for every subsequent offence, Sec. 5, 6. And so anxious has the Legislature been to suppress the evil of stealing and receiving metals, that the 8th Section entitles the actual Thief to a pardon, on the discovery and conviction of two or more of the Receivers. And the 9th Section screens from prosecution any person stealing such metals, who shall discover the Receiver to whom the same were delivered, so as a conviction may follow.—In spite, however, of these numerous and apparently effectual checks, it is to be lamented that the evil has continued to increase.
In the following year it was provided by the Act 30th of George the Second, cap. 24, that it shall be lawful for any Pawnbroker, or any other dealer, their servants or agents, to whom any goods shall be offered to be pawned, exchanged, or sold, which shall be suspected to be stolen, to seize and detain the persons offering the same, for the purpose of being examined by a Justice; who is empowered, if he sees any grounds to apprehend that the goods have been illegally obtained, to commit the persons, offering the same, to prison for a period not exceeding six days; and if on further examination, the Justice shall be satisfied that the goods were stolen, he shall commit the offender to prison, to be dealt with according to Law; and although it may, under such circumstances, afterwards appear that the goods in question were fairly obtained, yet the parties who seized the supposed offender shall be indemnified.—Sec. 7, 8.
It would have been useful if the principles of the first of these excellent acts had extended to every kind of goods and chattels, horses, cattle, money, and Bank-notes,[76] as well as to the metals therein described. Indeed it is to be lamented, that the System has not been to look at great features of abuse in the gross, so as to meet every existing evil at once. Thus another partial Statute was made, 2 George III. c. 28, extending the provisions of the 29th Geo. II. c. 30. to goods, stores, or materials taken from ships in the River Thames, by enacting, "that all persons purchasing such goods, knowing them to be stolen, or receiving the same in a concealed or clandestine manner between sun-setting and sun-rising, shall be transported for fourteen years, although the principal felon be not convicted:" but by the wording of this Act, it is doubtful if it applies to receiving goods stolen from vessels not afloat in the river.[77]
The next Statute applicable to the Receivers of stolen goods, is the 10th of George III. cap. 48, by which it is enacted, "that every person who shall buy or receive any jewels, gold, silver, plate or watches, knowing the same to be stolen, where such stealing was accompanied by a burglary or highway robbery, may be tried as well before as after the principal felon is convicted; and whether he be in, or out of custody; and if found guilty, shall be transported for fourteen years."
Eleven years after passing of the above mentioned Statute, the Legislature, appearing to be impressed with the great extent of the depredations committed by persons stealing pewter pots, and desirous to punish the Receivers, the Statute of the 21st of George the Third, cap. 69, enacts, "that every person who shall buy or receive any pewter pot or other vessel, or any pewter in any form or shape whatsoever, knowing the same to be stolen, or who shall privately buy or receive stolen pewter, in a clandestine manner, between sun-setting and sun-rising, shall on conviction, be transported for seven years, or detained in the House of Correction, at hard labour for a term not exceeding three years, nor less than one; and may be whipped not more than three times; although the principal felon has not been convicted."
In the following Session of Parliament, the Statute 22 George III. c. 28. (said to have been framed by an able and experienced Lawyer and Magistrate),[78] removed many of the imperfections of former Statutes, and particularly that which respected Petty Larceny; by enacting, "that where any goods (except lead, iron, copper, brass, bell-metal, or solder, the Receivers of which are punishable under the 29th George II. c. 30. noticed before, [p. 295].) have been stolen, whether the offence amount to Grand Larceny, or some greater offence, or to Petty Larceny only; (except where the offender has been convicted of Grand Larceny, or some greater offence; when the Receiver must be prosecuted as an Accessary, and under the 4th George I. c. 11, may be transported for fourteen years; see [page 295].)—Every person who shall buy or receive the same, knowing them to be stolen, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by fine, imprisonment, or whipping, as the Quarter Sessions, who are empowered to try offenders, or any other Court before whom they shall be tried, shall think fit, although the Principal be not convicted; and if the felony amounts to Grand Larceny, or some greater offence, and the person committing such felony has not been before convicted, such offender shall be exempted from being punished as Accessary, if the principal shall be afterwards convicted."—Sect. 1.
This Act also empowers one Justice to grant a warrant to search for stolen goods in the day time, on oath being made that there are just grounds of suspicion; and the person concealing the said goods, or in whose custody they are found, shall in like manner be guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished in the manner before-mentioned.—Sect. 9.
The same Act extended the powers granted by former Acts relative to metals, to any other kind of goods: by authorizing peace officers (and also watchmen while on duty) to apprehend all persons suspected of carrying stolen goods after sun-setting and before sun-rising, who shall, on conviction, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and imprisoned, not exceeding six, nor less than three months.—Sec. 3.
Power is also given by this Act to any person to whom goods, suspected to be stolen, shall be offered to be sold or pawned, to apprehend the person offering the same, and to carry him before a Justice.—Sec. 4.
And as an encouragement to young Thieves to discover the Receivers, the same Act provides, That if any person or persons being out of custody, or in custody, if under the age of 15 years, upon any charge of felony, within benefit of Clergy, shall have committed any felony, and shall discover two Receivers, so as that they shall be convicted, such Discoverer shall have pardon for all felonies by him committed before such discovery.
These various Acts of Parliament prove how very prominent the evil of receiving stolen goods has been in the view of the Legislature.—It is to be lamented however, that a more general and comprehensive view has not been taken of the subject, by substituting, instead of the piece-meal System which has been from time to time adopted, on suggestions applicable only to particular cases, one general law that should have embraced every object, and remedied every defect in the existing Statutes, on this important subject of criminal jurisprudence.
That these Laws, numerous as they are, and applicable as many of them appear to be, have not been in any degree effectual, is clearly manifested by the unquestionable increase of the evil, even to an extent beyond all calculation.
Under such circumstances, where the Receiver is in reality the greatest offender, and even the source from whence most of the burglaries and highway robberies have their origin, the Thief being not seldom his pupil—Why should not the Receipt of Stolen Goods be made an original offence?[79]—Why should not the rewards for detection, and the punishment on conviction, be the same, in the case both of the Receiver and the Thief?
In contemplating the best means of preventing depredations upon the public, the simplest and perhaps the most effectual mode would be to make a stand at this particular point; by bending the attention wholly to the means of destroying effectually the trade of Receiving stolen goods; under the fullest conviction that by accomplishing so valuable a purpose, thieving and swindling in all its branches would also be, in a great measure, destroyed.
It is believed, that this object (difficult as it may appear) is attainable, by well digested applicable laws, containing and enforcing such regulations as would ensure a full and energetic execution.
The importance of a measure of this kind is so immense, that if even a considerable part of one Session of Parliament were employed in devising and legalizing a proper System, it would be time well and usefully spent for the benefit of the Country.
The obvious means of remedy seem to lie within a narrow compass. The first point to be obtained is the Licensing all those dealers (some of them already particularized in pages [292], [293]), whose various branches of trade are friendly to the encouragement of depredations; and the putting them under the control of the Central Board of Police, in the manner stated more fully in the concluding part of this Work.—
The next step must be to consolidate and improve the Laws now in being, relative to Receivers of stolen goods; by an arrangement which shall render the whole clear and explicit, and applicable to all the evils which have been felt to exist.
And lastly to make the following additions to these Laws:
"1. To make the receiving stolen goods an original offence; punishable in the same manner, in all cases, as the principal felony is punishable by Law.
"2. The offence of receiving money, bank notes, horses, cattle, poultry, or any matter or thing whatsoever, to be the same as receiving goods and chattels.
"3. The persons committing any felony or larceny to be competent to give evidence against the Receiver, and vice versa; Provided that the testimony and evidence of such Principal Felon against the Receiver, or the evidence of the Receiver against the Principal Felon, shall not be of itself sufficient to convict, without other concurrent evidence: and that the offenders so giving evidence shall be entitled to his Majesty's pardon, and also to a reward of from 10l. to 50l. as hereafter mentioned; unless they shall be found guilty of wilful and corrupt perjury.—By this means the Thief will be set against the Receiver, and the Receiver against the Thief.
"4. That rewards be paid for the detection and apprehension of Receivers as well as Thieves, in all cases whatsoever, according to the discretion of the Judge; whether there shall be a conviction or not; which reward shall not be less than ten and may extend to fifty pounds.
"5. That the various classes of dealers to be licensed shall enter into recognizance for their good behaviour: and that no licences be granted to persons having been convicted of felony or perjury, nor to any but such as can obtain and produce a certificate of good character.
"6. That all such licensed dealers, as also Publicans, Pawnbrokers, &c. shall be subject to a penalty for concealing any stolen goods which may come into their possession, after the same are advertised;—or punished with transportation, if it can be made appear that such goods were purchased at an under value, being known to be stolen.
"7. That all drivers of Hackney-Coaches, employed to take fares after twelve o'clock at night, shall be licensed by the Magistrates of the division; and shall enter into recognizance for their good behaviour, themselves and one surety in 50l. at least; and that every such coachman shall be obliged, whenever he carries any goods or valuables, to make a report of the same, on the following morning, to the Magistrate of his district, if no suspicion arises as to any improper or felonious intention; but in all cases where a felonious intention shall appear, the coachman to be authorized and required to call the assistance of the watchmen and patroles, and to seize and apprehend the parties, and lodge them and the goods in the nearest watch-house; there to be kept until brought before a justice, at the Public-Office of the district, on the following morning: And although it may ultimately appear that the coachman was mistaken and the parties innocent, yet where it shall be manifest to the Justice that he hath acted bona fide, he shall not be liable to any prosecution:[80] and if it shall appear that the goods so conveyed were stolen property, then the coachman shall be entitled, whether a conviction shall follow or not, to a reward of two guineas; and in all cases where a prosecution shall follow, he shall be entitled to such further reward as the Court shall think proper.
"8. That all watchmen or patroles who shall appear upon proper proof to connive at the commission of felonies[81] in the night time, or while they are on duty; or shall knowingly conceal any felonious removal of stolen goods, or goods suspected to be stolen, and conveying to Receivers' houses, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and liable to be imprisoned, whipt, or put in the pillory.—And in all cases where such watchmen or patroles shall observe any goods or other articles conveyed in Hackney-coaches, or in any other manner, while they are upon duty, from one place to another, they shall report the same to the Justices at the nearest Public Office, in the morning: But if they shall have good grounds to suspect a felonious intention, and that the property is stolen, the goods and all the parties concerned shall be conveyed to the nearest watch-house, for the purpose of being brought before a Magistrate; and such watchmen (acting bona fide) shall not be liable to any prosecution in case of a mistake; and if a felony shall have been actually committed, they shall each be entitled to one guinea, besides their proportion of any future reward which may be ordered by the Court who shall try the offenders.[82]"
In the formation of such a System, it is absolutely necessary that care should be taken to secure a regular and perfect execution, by means of a proper superintendance and inspection:—without this, the best laws will remain a dead letter.—Such has, in fact, been the case in a great measure with respect to several of the very excellent Statutes, now in force, relative to Receivers of stolen Goods; and such also would be the case with regard to the laws relative to the Revenue, if a System had not been established to secure their execution.
If it be allowed that the prevention of crimes is at least of as much importance to Society, as any consideration connected with partial revenue:—if experience has shewn that, after the skill and ingenuity of the ablest lawyers and the most profound thinkers have been exhausted in framing laws to meet offences, which are daily committed; these offences are progressively increasing:—Is it not clear to demonstration, that some active principle is wanting, which does not at present exist, for the purpose of rendering these laws effectual?
This principle of activity is, (it is humbly apprehended,) only to be established by the introduction of such a System of regulation, as shall attach to all classes of dealers, who, in their intercourse with Society, are in the train of encouraging either directly or collaterally, transactions of an immoral, a fraudulent, or a mischievous nature.
The idea is not new in the System of jurisprudence of the country;—Publicans have long been under regulations prescribed by Magistrates; Pawnbrokers also have been of late years regulated to a certain extent by Statute.—Let the same principle be extended to the other dealers alluded to; and let the Legislature, profiting by that experience which has manifested the cause of the inefficacy of a vast number of penal Statutes, establish such a system of regulation, inspection, and superintendance, as will insure to the Public the full benefits arising from good laws, administered with activity, purity, and discretion.
Nothing can evince in a greater degree the necessity of inspecting the execution of all laws of regulation where the well-being of Society is concerned, than the abuses which occur with regard to the two classes just mentioned, namely, Public-houses and Pawnbrokers.—Many excellent rules are established by the Legislature, and the Magistrates; but while it is seldom the interest of the depraved or dishonest part of these two classes to adhere to such rules, by what means is the execution to be insured, so as to operate as a complete protection to the Public?—surely not by the operation of the law through the medium of common informers; since independent of the invidious nature of the office, experience has shewn that the public good rarely enters into the consideration of persons of this description; who look merely to their own emolument, frequently holding up the penalties as a rod by which money is privately extorted, and the parties laid under contribution, for the purpose of allowing them to continue in the practice of those abuses, which the engine used for this nefarious purpose was meant to prevent.
The System of Inspection, thus strongly and repeatedly recommended, while it remedied these corrupt practices, by preventing the existence of the evil, could only be disagreeable to Fraudulent Dealers.
The honest and fair Tradesmen, as things are at present circumstanced, are by no means on an equal footing with men who carry on business by fraudulent devices.—Such fair traders who have nothing to dread, would therefore rejoice at the System of inspection which is proposed, and would submit to it cheerfully; as having an immediate tendency to shield them from fraudulent competition, and to protect the Public against knavery and dishonesty.
CHAP. XI.
The prominent Causes of the increase of Crimes reviewed and considered:—Imputable in the first instance to deficient Laws and an ill-regulated Police:—To the unfortunate habits of the lower orders of the People in feeding their families in Ale-houses.—To the bad and immoral Education of Apprentices.—To the number of individuals broke down by misfortunes arising from want of Industry.—To idle and profligate Menial Servants out of place.—To the deplorable state of the lower orders of the Jews of the Dutch and German Synagogue.—To the depraved morals of Aquatic Labourers.—To the Dealers in old Metals—Second-hand Ships' Stores—Rags—Old Furniture—Old Building Materials—Old Apparel: and Cart-keepers for removing these articles.—To disreputable Pawnbrokers.—And finally to ill-regulated Public-houses, and to the Superabundance of these receptacles of idleness and vice.—Concluding Reflections on the evils to the State and the Individual, which arise from the excesses of the Labouring People.
IN contemplating the mass of turpitude which is developed in the preceding Chapters, and which exhibit afflicted Society, groaning under a pressure of evils and Public wrongs, which, but for the different views which have been taken of the subject, could not have been conceived to exist; it may be truly affirmed in the first instance, that much is to be imputed to deficient and ill-executed Laws, arising chiefly from the want of a proper System of Police.
Offences of every description have their origin in the vicious and immoral habits of the people, and in the facilities which the state of manners and society, particularly in vulgar life, afford in generating vicious and bad habits.
In tracing the progress of those habits which are peculiar to the lower orders of the Community in this great Metropolis, from infancy to the adult state, the cause will be at once discovered, why that almost universal profligacy prevails, which, by being productive of so much evil to the unfortunate Individuals as well as the Community at large, cannot be sufficiently deplored.
Before a child is perhaps able to lisp a sentence, it is carried by its ill-fated mother to the tap-room of an ale-house;[83] in which are assembled multitudes of low company, many of whom have been perhaps reared in the same manner. The vilest and most profane and polluted language, accompanied by oaths and imprecations, is uttered in these haunts of idleness and dissipation.—Children follow their parents during their progress to maturity, and are almost the constant witnesses of their besotted courses.—Reduced, from their unfortunate habits, to the necessity of occupying a miserable half furnished lodging from week to week, there is no comfort at home.—No knowledge of frugal cookery exists, by which a nourishing and palatable meal can be provided, and frequently a sufficiency of fuel for that purpose is not accessible.—A succedaneum is found in the ale-house at three times the expence.—A common fire is provided for the guests, calculated to convey that warmth which could not be obtained at home; and food[84] and liquor is furnished at an expence which too seldom leaves any part of the weekly earning for cloathing, and none at all for education.—In this manner is a large proportion of what may be denominated the lowest classes of the people reared in the Metropolis;[85] and the result is, that while many of the adults are lost to the state by premature death, from sottishness and irregularity, not a few of their offspring are never raised to manhood: But this is not all:—when by means of strong constitutions, they survive the shocks which nature has sustained in its progress to maturity under the influence of habits so exceedingly depraved, they are restrained by no principle of morality or religion,[86] (for they know nothing of either,) and only wait for opportunities, to plunge into every excess and every crime.
Profligate and depraved as the lower orders of the People appear to have been for several centuries in this great Metropolis, it would seem that the practice of married females resorting to Public-houses, and mixing generally in tap-rooms with the idle and dissolute, is an evil habit of a very modern date; for the period is not even too remote to be recollected, since it was considered as disgraceful for Females who pretended to any degree of modesty to be seen in a Public-house.—It is however now to be lamented that the obloquy of thus exposing themselves has as little influence, as the rude and obscene language they uniformly hear uttered.
Another cause of the increase of crimes, may be traced to the bad and immoral education of Apprentices to Mechanical employments.
Although many of their Masters may not be, and certainly are not, composed of the class whose manners have just been depicted, yet their habits lead them too generally to Public-houses, where no inconsiderable proportion of their earnings are expended;—where low gaming is introduced, producing ruin and distress to many families even among the inferior ranks, who might otherwise have moved through life with credit and reputation.
The force of such an example on young minds is obvious.—No sooner does an apprentice advance towards the last year of his time than he thinks it incumbent upon him to follow the example of his master, by learning to smoke.—This accomplishment acquired (according to his conception), he is a fit associate for those who frequent Public-houses. He resorts at first to those of a lower class, to avoid his master or his relations.—There he meets with depraved company; while he conceives he is following only the example of those whose manners and habits he has been taught, by example, to imitate, he is insensibly ensnared.—Having arrived at the age of puberty, and meeting profligate females in those haunts of idleness, his passions become inflamed.—The force of evil example overpowers him.—He too becomes depraved.—Money must be procured to administer to the new wants which are generated by depravity.—Aided by the facilities held out by Old Iron Shops, he pilfers from his master to supply those wants, or associates himself with Thieves, whose acquaintance he made in progress of his seduction.[87]
Under the circumstances thus stated, where so many temptations assail the young and inexperienced, the transition from innocence to guilt is easy to be conceived.—And in a Metropolis where there are seldom fewer than 150,000 apprentices bound to mechanical employments, the crimes which spring from this source must be very extensive.—That there are, however, many good and virtuous young men among the class of apprentices, who, from a better education, or being under the control of reputable masters, and attentive parents, escape the snare, or resist these temptations, is certain; and fortunate too for the best interests of Society. It is to be lamented, however, that the major part, and particularly parish apprentices, have not always these advantages; and hence it is that so many become disorderly, and require the interference of legal authority and punishment for the purpose of compelling obedience and good conduct.[88]
Another cause of the increase of crimes, arises from the number of individuals in various occupations among the lower and middling ranks of life, (and which must naturally be expected in a large Metropolis) who, from their own mismanagement and want of industry, or attention to their business, are suddenly broke down, and in some degree excluded from the regular intercourse with Society. Unable to find employment, from want of character, or want of friends, with constant demands upon them for the means of subsistence to themselves and families, they resort to Public-houses, under the influence of despondency, or to kill time which hangs heavy upon them.
In these haunts of depravity they meet persons who perhaps have been in the like circumstances; but who have resorted to illegal Lottery Insurances, and other swindling devices for subsistence, under whose banners they inlist; and thus strengthen the phalanx of low gamblers, swindlers, and cheats, whose various pursuits have been developed in this Work.—From one vice to another the transition is easy when the mind becomes depraved, and the pursuits which are ultimately followed, depend in a considerable degree on the persons with whom this class of men associate.—If at the low gaming-houses, to which from idle habits they are led to resort, they meet with highwaymen and footpads, they are easily persuaded to become associates in their iniquitous pursuits; or if in the wide range of their acquaintance, by living chiefly in Public-houses, they become acquainted with venders of base money, they enter with equal facility into their views, as a means of supplying their pecuniary wants.
In cases where they have been bred to ingenious mechanical employments, they embrace, wherever a proper opportunity offers, such propositions as may be made them, to become forgers of Bank Bills and Notes, and Coiners of Counterfeit Money.
Such is the lamentable progress of vice in the human mind, that by degrees it embraces eagerly what could not have been indured at the commencement of the career.
Another cause of the increase of Crimes in the Metropolis and its environs, may be traced to the situation of idle and profligate menial servants out of place, and destitute of the means of obtaining situations from the loss of character.—These too, seek for resources in Public-houses, where they soon become the associates of Thieves, Pickpockets, Burglars, and Highwaymen; and it is believed to be chiefly from this class, particularly Riding Footmen, and Postillions, that the corps of Highway Robbers is constantly recruited.—While others less skilled in horsemanship become Footpads, Burglars, and Pickpockets.
With the major part of this class the transition is easy—depravity had previously taken hold of their minds—every other resource has failed them, and to this they resort, as soon as they can find means, to enlist in any gang that will receive them, where, to those who confine themselves chiefly to burglaries, their knowledge of the interior of the houses of their former masters, and their probable acquaintance with some of the female servants, will be a considerable recommendation, and even a ground of seduction.
Another Cause, and no inconsiderable one, of the progress and increase of crimes may be developed, by contemplating the deplorable state and condition of the lower order of the Jews in the Metropolis, who are of the Society of the Dutch Synagogue.[89]—Totally without education, and very seldom trained to any trade or occupation by which they can earn their livelihood by manual labour:—their youths excluded from becoming apprentices, and their females from hiring themselves generally as servants, on account of the superstitious adherence to the mere ceremonial of their persuasion, as it respects meat not killed by Jews, nothing can exceed their melancholy condition, both with regard to themselves and Society. Thus excluded from these resources, which other classes of the Community possess, they seem to have no alternative but to resort to those tricks and devices, which ingenuity suggests, to enable persons without an honest means of subsistence to live in idleness.
The habits they thus acquire are the most mischievous and noxious to the Community that can be conceived.—Having connexions wherever the Dock-yards are situated, as well as in several other large trading towns in the Kingdom, they become in many respects the medium through which stolen goods are conveyed to and from the Metropolis; and as their existence depends on this nefarious traffick, they keep alive a System of Fraud and Depredation which, perhaps, is generated in a greater degree by their peculiar situation in respect to Society, than by any actual disposition on their parts to pursue these nefarious practices.
Even the system of supporting the poor of this Community, by lending them small sums of money by which they may support themselves by a species of petty traffick, contributes in no small degree to the commission of crimes; since in order to render it productive to an extent equal to the wants of families who do not acquire any material aid by manual labour, they are induced to resort to unlawful means by dealing in stolen goods and in counterfeit money, by which they become public nuisances in the Countries where they receive an asylum.
As there appears in reality to be no distinction made by the rational part of the Jewish persuasion, between the Portuguese and the Dutch Synagogues, it is earnestly to be hoped that the opulent and respectable of the former Community will lend a helping hand in devising some means of rescuing this part of the Nation of the Jews who reside in England, from the reproach, which it is to be feared, has been too justly cast upon them. Policy dictates the measure, while humanity ardently pleads for it.—In so good a work every man of feeling, be his religious persuasion what it may, will join in promoting and carrying into effect a measure so beneficial to the Community at large, by devising some means to render their labour productive; since it is clear to demonstration that to the idle habits of this numerous class of people, is to be ascribed a considerable proportion of the petty crimes, as well as some of the more atrocious offences by which the Metropolis and the Country is afflicted.
Another cause of the increase and multiplication of crimes has arisen from the depraved morals of the Aquatic labourers and others, employed on the wharfs and quays, and in ships, vessels, and craft, upon the River Thames; and from the want, until lately, of an appropriate Preventive System to check these depredations.
The analogy between actual pillage and smuggling in the conception of nautical labourers, and the uncontrolled habit of plunder which too long existed, trained up myriads of delinquents who affixed in their minds no degree of moral turpitude to the offence; which of course extended itself both with respect to Commercial and Public Property beyond all bounds, until a remedy was imperiously called for, and at length applied by means of an experimental System of Police applicable to that object.
Another cause, and certainly none of the least, which has tended to facilitate the commission of crimes, has been the want of a proper control over persons of loose conduct and dishonest habits, who have opened shops for the purchase and sale of Old iron, and other metals—Old stores—Rags—Old furniture—Old building materials, and second-hand wearing apparel, and other goods;—and also cart-keepers for the collection and removal of these articles from place to place.
The easy and concealed mode of disposing of pilfered articles, through the medium of these receptacles, has tended more to the corruption of the morals of youth, and to the multiplication of crimes, than it is possible to conceive; nor has the mode of Licensing Pawnbrokers, without a due regard to character and a more effectual control, been in many respects less mischievous to the Community.—To the reputable part of this class of dealers it is degrading and even cruel that the reproach and stigma, arising from the nefarious practices of the fraudulent, should unavoidably in the public mind, attach upon those that are blameless, and fair in their dealings.—While the law admits of no power of discrimination, and no means of excluding improper characters exist, the evil must continue; and while it remains on the present footing, it must also be considered as no inconsiderable medium, by which both petty and more atrocious crimes are produced.
But perhaps the greatest source of delinquency and crimes is to be ascribed to ill-regulated Public Houses, conducted by men of loose conduct and depraved morals—Since it is in these receptacles that the corruption of morals originates.—It is here that the minds of youth are contaminated, and the conspiracies for the purpose of committing frauds and depredations on the Public formed and facilitated.
A disorderly and ill-regulated Public-house, therefore, is one of the greatest nuisances that can exist in civil Society.—Innumerable are the temptations which are to be found in these haunts of idleness to seduce the innocent, and to increase the resources of the evil-disposed to do mischief.
Whatever tends to promote vice and dissipation, whether arising from low gaming, by means of cards, dice, dominós, shuffleboard, and other sedentary games; or fraudulent insurances in the lottery, calculated to fascinate and seduce the unwary, and to poison the minds of all ranks in the humble walks of vulgar life, is here to be found; in spite of every laudable precaution, exercised by Magistrates, under the present System of Police applicable to this object.—Even Prostitutes of the lowest cast are not seldom introduced, where the gains of the landlord are thereby to be promoted.
It is in these receptacles that Thieves and Robbers of every description hold their orgies, and concert and mature their plans of depredation on the peaceful Subject; and here too it not unfrequently happens, that their booty is deposited and concealed.
It is here also that markets are held for the sale of Base Money, where every facility is afforded for the purpose of concealment, and assistance in escaping justice.
In fact, there is scarce any moral evil by which Society is afflicted—the mind debauched—the virtuous parent and master distressed, and the ruin of families and individuals affected, which is not generated in Public-houses.
At present, in the Metropolis and its environs, there are at least five thousand of these receptacles, of which it is computed that about one thousand change tenants from once to three times a year.—Hence it follows that not less than two thousand individuals are in a floating state, either from one Public-house to another, or perhaps, more frequently, from the Alehouse to a Gaol.
When a depraved character loses his licence in one division of the Metropolis, he generally finds means to obtain admission in another where he is not known. The separation of jurisdictions without a centre point, and the numerous changes which are constantly taking place, preclude the possibility of detection; while the facility, with which the worst characters obtain the certificates required by law, (which are too often signed, without the least previous inquiry, by the Clergyman and Parish Officers as a matter of course,) enable them to effect their purpose; and such houses being generally of the inferior class in point of trade, every species of disorder is permitted for the purpose of obtaining custom. This is soon discovered by those who have criminal objects in view; and to such houses they generally resort, where it has sometimes been discovered that the Landlord himself belongs to the gang; and that he has become a Publican the better to facilitate its designs. That the Ale-houses are yet by far too numerous, is incontestibly proved by the frequent changes which take place in so large a proportion in the course of a year, while the irregularities which prevail render it equally clear that a more general control is necessary to prevent the mischiefs which have been detailed.
It is chiefly in houses where the trade is inadequate to the support of the establishment that the greatest disorders prevail, as in such cases every lure is held out to invite customers, and to entice them to expend money.—And in return for this, where the Landlord is not himself of the fraternity of Thieves or Receivers, he is induced at least to afford them his assistance, as a medium of concealment.
If a plan could be devised, with equal advantage to the Revenue, by the introduction of more innocent and less noxious gratifications, whereby the lower ranks of the people could be gradually led into better habits, much benefit would arise to the State, both with respect to health and morals.
The quantity of Beer, Porter, Gin, and Compounds, which is sold in Public-houses in the Metropolis and its environs, has been estimated, after bestowing considerable pains in forming a calculation, at nearly 3,300,000l. a year.[90]
This immense sum, equal to double the Revenue of some of the Kingdoms and States of Europe, independent of other evil consequences in producing indigence and promoting crimes, must in a certain degree debilitate manhood—in lessening the powers of animal life, and in shortening its duration long before the period arrives, when an adult ceases to contribute by his labours to the resources of the State. In this point of view, independent of considerations of a moral tendency, and of all the other train of evils which have been detailed, it would seem of importance, as a political measure, to check the growing propensity to consume a greater quantity of Porter, Beer, and ardent Spirits, than is necessary to health.—To the State, indeed, it creates a Revenue; but it is a Revenue too dearly purchased if it wastes the human species—if it deprives the nation, prematurely, of the benefit of their labour, and occasions infinitely greater pecuniary pressures in the support of an indigent and helpless offspring, who must be reared again to manhood at the expence of the Public; not to speak of the grain, labour, fuel, &c. unnecessarily consumed in creating this poison to the health, the morals, and comforts of the poor.[91]—However unpopular it may appear in the view of those who have not fully considered the subject, it may be clearly demonstrated that a triple duty on Malt Spirits, and a much higher duty on Strong Beer and Porter would be an act of the greatest humanity on the part of the Legislature.—The present Revenue might thus be secured, while that which is even of more importance to a State than any other consideration would be preserved—the health and morals of the labouring people. It is a mistaken notion, that a very large quantity of Malt Liquor is necessary to support labourers of any description.—After a certain moderate quantity is drank, it enervates the body, and stupefies the senses.—A Coal-heaver who drinks from 12 to 16 pots of Porter in the course of a day, would receive more real nourishment, and perform his labour with more ease and a greater portion of athletic strength, if only one-third of the quantity were consumed. He would also enjoy better health, and be fitter for his labour the following day. On a supposition that the excesses in which perhaps 200,000 of the labouring people in the Metropolis indulge, shortens the natural period of their existence only five years each on an average, the labour of one million of years is lost in the lives of this class of men, after the expence is incurred in rearing them to maturity, which, during a period of 36 years of adult labour, at 25l. a year, establishes a deficiency to the Community of Twenty-five Millions sterling: independent of the numerous other train of evils, which arise to a nation from idle, dissolute and immoral habits, by which the rising generation is contaminated, and great inconvenience imposed on the innocent and peaceful subject, from the increase of crimes which are generated through this medium.
It is to be lamented, that in pursuing this subject, new sources giving origin and progress to crimes press upon the mind in the course of the inquiry. To the catalogue already detailed may be added, Gaming-Houses of every description, particularly houses of the lower cast; but as this subject has been very fully handled in a [preceding Chapter], it will be unnecessary to do more than place it in the general list of causes, which have contributed exceedingly to the evils, which have afflicted Society in this Metropolis, and which can only be remedied by a Responsible Police, attaching particularly upon this baneful propensity by appropriate regulations.
Next to Gaming, Illicit Trade or Smuggling may be mentioned as a very productive source of criminality. The vast extent of the Trade and Revenues of the Country; its insular situation, and the temptations arising from the magnitude of the duties, contribute exceedingly to the corruption of morals, not only of these engaged in illicit pursuits, but it is to be lamented also of the inferior officers themselves, whose duty it is to prevent this evil.
Severe and pointed as the laws unquestionably are with an immediate view to the prevention of this evil, experience proves how ineffectual they have been, since every idle and profligate character becomes a smuggler. But it is not merely the offence of smuggling as it relates to the revenue, which is to be deplored as a grievance to the Public, since those on the Sea Coasts of the kingdom, concerned in such pursuits, are generally of ferocious habits, which produce such excesses and depredations upon the unfortunate, when suffering the calamity of shipwreck, as would disgrace the rudest savages.
With contaminated minds, depraved hearts, men given up to such warfare upon helpless humanity, become fit instruments for every species of criminality.—Vagabonds by trade, the transition from one offence to another is easy, and hence through this medium many culprits are added to the general catalogue of delinquency, which nothing can check or prevent but a System of Police, attaching responsibility some-where instead of no-where as at present.
Crimes are also generated in no inconsiderable degree, by the evil examples exhibited in Prisons, and by the length of time persons charged with offences are suffered to remain in gaols previous to their trial, particularly in the counties adjoining the Metropolis, where they frequently are in confinement five and six months before the assizes.—If they were novices in villainy before, the education they receive in these seminaries, in the event of their escaping justice, returns them upon society, completely proselyted and instructed in the arts of mischief and depredation.
Nor have the unequal scale of punishments, and the ultimate unconditional pardons, dictated no doubt by the purest motives of humanity, a less tendency to generate new crimes. Encouraged by the chances of escaping free, even after conviction, many delinquents pursue their evil courses, trusting ultimately to this resource, if other devices shall fail.
To shew mankind that crimes are sometimes wholly pardoned, and that punishment is not the necessary consequence, is to nourish the flattering hope of impunity, and is the cause of their considering every punishment which is actually inflicted, as an act of injustice and oppression.
Let the Legislator be tender, indulgent, and humane; but let the Executors of the Laws be inexorable in punishing;—at least to a certain extent.
CHAP. XII.
The Consideration of the causes of the progress and increase of Crimes pursued.—The condition of the unhappy Females, who support themselves by Prostitution—Their pitiable Case.—The progress from Innocence to Profligacy explained.—The morals of Youth corrupted by the multitudes of Prostitutes in the streets.—These temptations excite desires which suggest undue means of obtaining money.—Apprentices and Clerks are seduced—Masters are robbed—Parents are afflicted.—The miserable consequences of Prostitution explained.—The impossibility of preventing its existence in a great Metropolis.—The propriety of lessening the Evil:—By stripping it of its indecency and much of its immoral tendency.—The shocking indecency which has lately been suffered by Prostitutes at the Theatres.—The number of Prostitutes in the Metropolis estimated—Suggestions for rendering the consequences arising from Female Prostitution less noxious to Society.—The advantages of the measure in reducing the mass of turpitude.—Reasons offered why the interests of Morality and Religion will be promoted by prescribing Rules with respect to Prostitutes.—The example of Holland, Italy, and the East Indies quoted.—Strictures on the offensive manners of the Company who frequent Public Gardens:—Imputable to the want of a proper Police.—Tea Gardens under a proper Police might be rendered beneficial to the State.—The Ballad Singers might also be rendered instruments in giving a right turn to the minds of the Vulgar.—Crimes generated by immoral Books and Songs.—Responsibility as it relates to the execution of the Laws rests no where at present.—The nature and advantages of the Police System explained.
IN addition to the prominent causes, which contribute to the origin and the increase of crimes, which have been developed in the [preceding Chapter], there are other sources of a minor nature still to be traced, from which infinite evils to the Community spring.
Among these the most important is, the state and condition of the unhappy Females, who support themselves by Prostitution in this great Metropolis.
In contemplating their case, it is impossible to avoid dropping a tear of pity.—Many of them perhaps originally seduced from a state of innocence, while they were the joy and comfort of their unhappy parents. Many of them born and educated to expect a better fate, until deceived by falsehood and villainy, they see their error when it is too late to recede. In this situation, abandoned by their relations and friends; deserted by their seducers, and at large upon the world; loathed and avoided by those who formerly held them in estimation, what are they to do? In the present unhappy state of things they seem to have no alternative, but to become the miserable instruments of promoting and practising that species of seduction and immorality, of which they themselves were the victims.[92] And what is the result?—It is pitiable to relate.—They are compelled of necessity to mingle with the abandoned herd, who have long been practised in the walks of infamy, and they too become speedily polluted and depraved.—Oaths, imprecations, and obscene language, by degrees, become familiar to their ears, and necessity compels them to indure, and at length to imitate, and practise in their turn, upon the unwary youth, who too easily falls into the snare.
Thus it is from the multitudes of those unhappy Females, that assemble now in all parts of the Town, that the morals of the youth are corrupted. That unnecessary expences are incurred; and undue, and too often criminal, means are resorted to, for the purpose of gratifying passions, which but for these temptations, which constantly assail them in almost every street in the Metropolis, would not have been thought of. Through this medium Apprentices, Clerks and other persons in trust are seduced from the paths of honesty—Masters are plundered, and Parents are afflicted; while many a youth, who might have become the pride of his family—a comfort to the declining years of his Parents, and an ornament to Society, exchanges a life of Virtue and Industry, for the pursuits of the Gambler, the Swindler, and the Vagabond. Nor is the lot of these poor deluded females less deplorable. Although some few of them may obtain settlements, while others bask for a while in the temporary sun-shine of ease and splendour, the major part end a short life in misery and wretchedness.
What has become of the multitudes of unfortunate females, elegant in their persons, and sumptuous in their attire, who were seen in the streets of the Metropolis, and at places of public Amusement twenty years ago? Alas! Could their progress be developed, and their ultimate situations or exit from the world disclosed, it would lay open a catalogue of sufferings and affliction, beyond what the most romantic fancy could depict or exhibit to the feeling mind.
Exposed to the rude insults of the inebriated and the vulgar:—the impositions of brutal officers and watchmen, and to the chilling blasts of the night, during the most inclement weather, in thin apparel, partly in compliance with the fashion of the day, but more frequently from the pawnbroker's shop rendering their necessary garments inaccessible—diseases, where their unhappy vocation does not produce them, are generated. No pitying hand appears to help them in such situations. The feeling parent or relation is far off. An abandoned monster of the same sex, inured in the practice of infamy and seduction, instead of the consolation which sickness requires, threatens to turn the unhappy victim out of doors, when the means of subsistence are cut off, and the premium for shelter is no longer forth-coming; or perhaps the unfeeling landlord of a miserable half-furnished lodging afflicts the poor unhappy female, by declarations equally hostile to the feelings of humanity, till at length turned out into the streets, she languishes and ends her miserable days in an hospital or a workhouse, or perhaps perishes in some inhospitable hovel alone, without a friend to console her, or a fellow-mortal to close her eyes in the pangs of dissolution.
If no other argument could be adduced in favour of some arrangements, calculated to stop the progress of Female Prostitution, Compassion for the sufferings of the unhappy victims would be sufficient; but other reasons occur equally powerful, why this evil should be controlled.
To prevent its existence, even to a considerable extent, in so great a Metropolis as London, is as impossible as to resist the torrent of the tides. It is an evil therefore which must be endured while human passions exist: but it is at the same time an evil which may not only be lessened, but rendered less noxious and dangerous to the peace and good order of society: it may be stript of its indecency, and also of a considerable portion of the danger attached to it, to the youth of both sexes.
The lures for the seduction of youth passing along the streets in the course of their ordinary business, may be prevented by a Police, applicable to this object, without either infringing upon the feelings of humanity or insulting distress; and still more is it practicable to remove the noxious irregularities, which are occasioned by the indiscreet conduct, and the shocking behaviour of Women of the Town, and their still more blameable paramours, in openly insulting Public Morals; and rendering the situation of modest women at once irksome and unsafe, either in places of Public Entertainment, or while passing along the most public streets of the Metropolis, particularly in the evening.
This unrestrained licence given to males and females, in the Walks of Prostitution, was not known in former times at places of public resort, where there was at least an affectation of decency. To the disgrace, however, of the Police the evil has been suffered to increase; and the Boxes of the Theatres often exhibit scenes, which are certainly extremely offensive to modesty, and contrary to that decorum which ought to be maintained, and that protection to which the respectable part of the Community are entitled, against indecency and indecorum, when their families, often, composed of young females, visit places of public resort.
In this instance, the induring such impropriety of conduct, so contrary to good morals, marks strongly the growing depravity of the age. To familiarize the eyes and ears of the innocent part of the sex to the scenes which are often exhibited in the Theatres, is tantamount to carrying them to a school of vice and debauchery—
|
Vice is a monster of such frightful mien, That to be hated needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft—familiar with her face, We first endure—then pity—then embrace. |
For the purpose of understanding more clearly, by what means it is possible to lessen the evils arising from Female Prostitution in the Metropolis, it may be necessary to view it in all its ramifications.
In point of extent it certainly exceeds credibility: but although there are many exceptions,—the great mass, (whatever their exterior may be,) are mostly composed of women who have been in a state of menial servitude, and of whom not a few, from the love of idleness and dress, with (in this case) the misfortune of good looks, have partly from inclination, not seldom from previous seduction and loss of character, resorted to Prostitution as a livelihood.
They are still, however, objects of compassion, although under the circumstances incident to their situation they cannot be supposed to experience those poignant feelings of distress, which are peculiar to women who have moved in a higher sphere and who have been better educated.—
The whole may be estimated as follows:
| 1. Of the class of Well Educated women it is earnestly hoped the number does not exceed | 2,000 |
| 2. Of the class composed of persons above the rank of Menial servants perhaps | 3,000 |
| 3. Of the class who may have been employed as Menial Servants, or seduced in very early life, it is conjectured in all parts of the town, including Wapping, and the streets adjoining the River, there may not be less, who live wholly by Prostitution, than | 20,000 |
| 25,000 | |
| 4. Of those in different ranks in Society, who live partly by Prostitution, including the multitudes of low females, who cohabit with labourers and others without matrimony, there may be in all, in the Metropolis, about | 25,000 |
| Total | 50,000 |
When a general survey is taken of the Metropolis—The great numbers among the higher and middle classes of life, who live unmarried—The multitudes of young men yearly arriving at the age of puberty—The strangers who resort to the Metropolis—The seamen and nautical labourers employed in the Trade of the River Thames, who amount at least to 40,000—And the profligate state of Society in vulgar life, the intelligent mind will soon be reconciled to the statement, which at first view would seem to excite doubts, and require investigation.
But whether the numbers of these truly unfortunate women are a few thousands less or more is of no consequence in the present discussion, since it is beyond all doubt, that the evil is of a magnitude that is excessive, and imperiously calls for a remedy.—Not certainly a remedy against the possibility of Female Prostitution, for it has already been stated, that it is a misfortune that must be endured in large societies.—All that can be attempted is, to divest it of the faculty of extending its noxious influence beyond certain bounds, and restrain those excesses and indecencies which have already been shewn to be so extremely noxious to society, and unavoidably productive of depravity and crimes.
The Author is well aware, that he treads on tender ground, when in suggesting any measure, however salutary it may be in lessening the Calendars of Delinquency, it shall have the appearance of giving a Public sanction to Female Prostitution.
Under the influence of strong prejudices long rooted in the human mind, it may be in vain to plead plus apud me ratio valebit quàm vulgi Opinio.
If however the political maxim be true—Qui non vetat peccare, cum possit, jubet—it certainly follows, that by suffering an evil to continue, when we have it in our power, in a great measure, to lessen or prevent it, we do violence to reason and to humanity.—That a prudent and discreet regulation of Prostitutes in this great Metropolis, would operate powerfully, not only in gradually diminishing their numbers, but also in securing public morals against the insults to which they are exposed, both in the open streets and at places of public entertainment, cannot be denied.
That young men in pursuit of their lawful business in the streets of this Metropolis, would be secured against that ruin and infamy, which temptations thus calculated to inflame the passions, have brought upon many, who might otherwise have passed through life as useful and respectable members of Society, is equally true:—While frauds, peculations and robbery, often perpetrated for the purpose of supporting those unhappy women, with whom connections have been at first formed in the public streets (and in which they themselves are not seldom the chief instruments) would be prevented.
Were such proper regulations once adopted, the ears and eyes of the wives and daughters of the modest and unoffending citizens, who cannot afford to travel in carriages, would no longer be insulted by gross and polluted language, and great indecency of behaviour, while walking the streets. Indeed it is to be feared, that the force of evil example, in unavoidably witnessing such scenes, may have debauched many females, who might otherwise have lived a virtuous and useful life.
Whatever consequences might be derived from a total removal of Prostitutes (if such a measure could be conceived practicable) with respect to the wives and daughters, who compose the decent and respectable families in the Metropolis, this apprehension is allayed by the proposed measure. While virtue is secured against seduction, the misery of these unhappy females will also be lessened. Their numbers will be decreased, and a check will be given, not only to female seduction by the force of evil example, but to the extreme degree of depravity, which arises from the unbounded latitude which is at present permitted to take place, from the unavailing application of the laws, made for the purpose of checking this evil. If it were either politic or humane to carry them into effect, the state of society where such members are congregated together render it impossible.
Although by the arrangement proposed, a kind of sanction would, in appearance, be given to the existence of Prostitution, no ground of alarm ought to be excited, if it shall be proved, that it is to lessen the mass of turpitude which exists; that it is to produce a solid and substantial good to the Community, which it is not possible to obtain by any other means.
What therefore can rationally be opposed to such an arrangement? Not surely Religion, for it will tend to advance it: Not Morality, for the effect of the measure will increase and promote it; not that it will sanction and encourage what will prove offensive and noxious in society, since all that is noxious and offensive is by this arrangement to be removed.—Where then lies the objection?—In vulgar prejudice only.—By those of inferior education, whose peculiar habits and pursuits have generated strong prejudices, this excuse may be pleaded; but by the intelligent and well-informed it will be viewed through a more correct medium.
Ingenuous minds are ever open to conviction; and it is the true characteristic of virtuous minds, where they cannot overcome or destroy, to lessen as much as possible the evils of human life.
To the numerous unhappy females in the Metropolis who live by Prostitution, this observation peculiarly applies.—The evil is such as must be endured to a certain extent—because by no human power can it be overcome; but it can certainly be very much diminished—perhaps only in one way—namely, by prescribing rules—"Thus far shall you go, and no farther"—the rules of decorum shall be strictly preserved in the streets and in public places. In such situations Women of the Town shall no longer become instruments of seduction and debauchery.
It may be asked, will not all this promote the cause of religion and morality:—admitted; but could not this be done without giving the sanction of the Legislature to pursuits of infamy. The answer is obvious:—the Legislature has done every thing already short of this, to effect the object; but instead of promoting good, the evil has increased; and it is to be lamented that it is daily increasing.—Instead of the walks of Prostitutes being confined as formerly, to one or two leading streets in Westminster, they are now to be found in every part of the Metropolis—even within the jurisdiction of the city of London; where the dangers arising from seduction are the greatest, they abound the most of all of late years.
In adopting the proposed measure, the example of Holland may be quoted, where, under its former Government, the morals of the people in general were supposed the purest of any in Europe, while the Police System was considered as among the best. Italy has also long shown an example, where Prostitutes were actually Licensed, with a view to secure Chastity against the inroads of violence, and to prevent the Public eye from being insulted by scenes of lewdness and indecorum.
Female Chastity, which is highly regarded by the natives of India, is preserved by rearing up a certain class of females, who are under the conduct of discreet Matrons, in every town and village; and with whom, under certain circumstances, an indiscriminate intercourse is permitted—a measure of political necessity. Their morals, however, in other respects are strictly guarded, and their minds are not susceptible of that degree of depravity which prevails in Europe. They are taught the accomplishments of singing and dancing—they exhibit at public entertainments, and are even called upon to assist at religious ceremonies.
The unrestrained latitude which is permitted to unfortunate females in this Metropolis, is certainly an inlet to many crimes.
The places of resort in Summer, and particularly the Public Gardens, which were formerly an innocent relaxation to sober and discreet families, can now no longer be attended with comfort or satisfaction, from the offensive manners of the company who frequent such places.
It is not that the Gardens are in themselves a nuisance, or that to the inferior exhibitions any blame is to be imputed; for both might be rendered the medium of that rational recreation so necessary both for the health and comfort of the middling or lower ranks of the people, to whom policy and reason must admit occasional amusements are necessary.—If so, what can be more innocent, or better calculated for health and occasional recreation than the assemblage of decent people in a Tea Garden?—
Many of them, however, have been shut up, and this recreation denied to the people, because Prostitutes resorted to those places; insulted public morals,—promoted lewdness and debauchery, and banished modest and decent families.
This, if the true cause was developed, is not to be imputed to the place, which in itself was favourable to the innocent amusement of the people, but to a deficiency in the Police System.—It was not the Gardens nor their Keepers that offended.—The evil arose from the want of proper regulations, to restrain these excesses and to keep them within bounds.
Such places of resort under appropriate Police regulations, might be rendered a considerable source of revenue to the State, while they added greatly to the comfort and innocent recreation of the People.—By shutting up the Gardens the People are driven to the Ale-houses, where both air and exercise, so necessary to health, are denied them, and where the same excesses often prevail, tending in a still greater degree, to the corruption of morals.
Wherever multitudes of people are collected together, as in a great Metropolis like London, amusements become indispensably necessary.—And it is no inconsiderable feature in the science of Police to encourage, protect, and controul such as tend to innocent recreation, to preserve the good humour of the Public, and to give the minds of the People a right bias.
This is only attainable through the medium of a well-regulated Police.—It is perfectly practicable to render Public Gardens as innocent and decorous as a Private Assembly: although under the present deficient System they are the greatest of all nuisances.—Decent and respectable families are compelled to deny themselves the privilege of visiting them, because no restraint is put upon indecency, and vice reigns triumphant.
It is because things are either done by halves, or nothing is done at all to secure the privileges of innocence, that the sober and harmless part of the community are compelled to forego those recreations which contributed to their comfort: while the young and thoughtless, heedless of the consequences and inexperienced as to the effect, rush into the vortex of dissipation, and unable to discriminate, become victims to the licentiousness which is suffered to prevail.
Since recreation is necessary to Civilized Society, all Public Exhibitions should be rendered subservient to the improvement of morals, and to the means of infusing into the mind a love of the Constitution, and a reverence and respect for the Laws.—How easy would it be under the guidance of an appropriate Police, to give a right bias through the medium of Public amusements to the dispositions of the People.—How superior this to the odious practice of besotting themselves in Ale-houses, hatching seditious and treasonable designs, or engaged in pursuits of the vilest profligacy, destructive to health and morals.
Even the common Ballad-singers in the streets might be rendered instruments useful under the controul of a well-regulated Police, in giving a better turn to the minds of the lowest classes of the People.—They too must be amused, and why not, if they can be amused innocently.—If through this medium they can be taught loyalty to the Sovereign, love to their Country, and obedience to the Laws, would it not be wise and politic to sanction it?
If in addition to this, moral lessons could occasionally be conveyed, shewing in language familiar to their habits, the advantages of Industry and Frugality—The pleasure of living independent of the Pawnbroker and the Publican—The disgrace and ruin attached to drunkenness and dishonesty, and the glory and happiness of a good Husband, a good Father, and an honest Man, might it not reasonably be expected, that in a religious as well as a moral point of view, advantages would be gained, while the people were both instructed and amused?
Crimes have been generated in a considerable degree both by immoral and seditious books and songs.—It is true the laws are open to punishment. The road however to justice, with respect to the former, is circuitous and difficult, while in the latter case their execution is felt to be harsh, severe, and ultimately ineffectual: hence licentious and mischievous Publications prevail, and Ballad-singers are suffered often to insult decency, and to disseminate poison in every street in the Metropolis.
Like many other evils they remain in spite of the statutes made to prevent them.—They were evils suffered centuries ago where the laws proved equally unavailing: but the state of society and manners rendered them less dangerous.
In the Machine of Government there are many component parts where responsibility attaches;—but with respect to objects of Police, it would seem at present to rest no where, and hence is explained at once, the want of energy in the execution of our laws, and why so many excellent Statutes remain a dead letter.—To live encircled by fears arising from uncontrolled excesses of the human passions, either leading to turpitude or terminating in the commission of crimes, is to live in misery.—Police is an improved state of Society, which counteracts these excesses by giving energy and effect to the law. It is like the Mechanical power applied to an useful Machine, devoid of which, it remains without motion, or action, and without benefit.
"Government," says the benevolent Hanway, "originates from the love of order.—Watered by Police it grows up to maturity, and in course of time spreads a luxuriant comfort and security.—Cut off its branches, and the mere trunk, however strong it may appear, can afford no shelter."
CHAP. XIII.
Indigence a cause of the increase of Crimes.—The System with respect to the Casual Poor erroneous.—The miserable condition of many who seek for an Asylum in the Metropolis.—The unhappy State of broken-down Families, who have seen better days.—The effect of Indigence on the Offspring of the Sufferers.—The discovery of the Children of unfortunate Families applying for Soup at the Establishments.—The unparalleled Philanthropy of the opulent Part of the Community.—Estimate of the Private and Public Benevolence amounting to 850,000l. a year.—The noble Munificence of the Merchants.—An Appeal to the exalted virtue of the Opulent, who have come forward in acts of Humanity.—The deplorable State of the Lower Ranks attributed to the present System of the Poor Laws.—An Institution to inquire into the Causes of Mendicity in the Metropolis explained.—The State of the Casual Poor resumed.—The abuses and inefficacy of the relief received.—A new System proposed with respect to them and Vagrants in the Metropolis.—Its advantages explained.—The distinction between Poverty and Indigence explained.—The Poor divided into five Classes, with suggestions applicable to each.—The evil Examples in Workhouses a great cause of the Corruption of Morals.—The Statute of 43 Elizabeth considered.—The defective System of Execution exposed—Confirmed by the opinion of Lord Hale.—A partial Remedy proposed in respect to Vagrant and Casual Poor.—A Public Institution recommended for the care of this class of Poor, under the direction of three Commissioners.—Their Functions explained.—A Proposition for raising a Fund of 5230l. from the Parishes for the support of the Institution, and to relieve them from the Casual Poor.—Reasons why the Experiment should be tried.—The assistance of Sir Frederick Eden, and other Gentlemen of talents, who have turned their thoughts to the Poor, attainable.—The advantages which would result to the Community, from the united Efforts of men of investigation and judgment, previous to any final Legislative Regulation.—Conclusion.
INDIGENCE, in the present state of Society, may be considered as a principal cause of the increase of Crimes.
The System which prevails in the Metropolis, with respect to these unfortunate individuals who are denominated the Casual Poor, will be found on minute inquiry to be none of the least considerable of the causes, which lead to the corruption of morals, and to the multiplication of minor offences in particular.
The number of persons, who with their families, find their way to the Metropolis, from the most remote quarters of Great Britain and Ireland, is inconceivable. In hopes of finding employment they incur an immediate and constant expence, for lodging and subsistence, until at length their little all is in the Pawnbrokers' shops, or sold to raise money for the necessaries of life. If they have been virtuously brought up in the country, despondency seizes upon their minds, in consequence of the disappointments and hardships, their adventurous or incautious conduct has doomed them to suffer; which as it applies to the most deserving of this class, who will not steal, and are ashamed to beg, often exceeds any thing that the human mind can conceive.
Their Parochial Settlements are either at a great distance, or perhaps as natives of Scotland or Ireland, they are without even this resource. The expence of removing, as the Law directs, is too serious a charge to be incurred by the parish where accident has fixed them. They are treated with neglect and contumely by the parochial Officers; and even occasionally driven to despair. Willing to labour, but bereft of any channel or medium through which the means of subsistence might be procured. It is assigned to no person to hear their mournful tale, who might be able to place them in a situation, where they might gain a subsistence; and under such circumstances it is much to be feared, that not a few of them either actually perish for want, or contract diseases which ultimately terminate in premature death.
Such is frequently the situation of the more decent and virtuous class of the labouring people, who come to seek employment in the Metropolis. The more profligate who pursue the same course have generally other resources. Where honest labour is not to be procured, they connect themselves with those who live by petty or more atrocious offences, and contribute in no small degree to the increase of the general phalanx of delinquents. The young female part of such families too often become prostitutes, while the males pursue acts of depredation upon the Public, by availing themselves of the various resources, which the defects in the Police System allow.
In addition to the families who thus resort to the Capital, young men frequently wander up who have become liable to the penalties of the laws, in consequence of being unable to find security for the support of a natural Child in their own parish; or who perhaps have incurred the punishment due to some other offence.—Without money, without recommendations, and bereft of friends, and perhaps afraid of being known, they resort to low public houses, where they meet with thieves and rogues, who not unfrequently in this way recruit their gangs, as often as the arm of Justice diminishes their numbers.
But it is to be lamented, that in contemplating the mass of indigence, which, in its various ramifications, produces distresses more extensive and more poignant than perhaps in any other spot in the world, (Paris excepted) its origin is to be traced in almost every rank of Society; and though sometimes the result of unavoidable misfortune, is perhaps more frequently generated by idleness, inattention to business, and indiscretion. But at all events, the tear of pity is due to the helpless and forlorn offspring of the criminal or indolent, who become objects of compassion, not only as it relates to their immediate subsistence; but much more with respect to their future situations in life. It is in the progress to the adult state, that the infants of parents, broken down by misfortunes, almost unavoidably learn, from the pressure of extreme poverty, to resort to devices which early corrupt their morals, and mar their future success and utility in life. Under the influence of these sad examples, and their necessary consequences, do many females become Prostitutes, who in other circumstances, might have been an ornament to their sex, while the males, by contracting early in life habits that are pernicious, become, in many instances, no less noxious to Society. Familiarized in infancy to the Pawnbroker's shop, and to other even less reputable means of obtaining temporary subsistence, they too soon become adepts in falsehood and deceit. Imperious necessity has given an early spring to their ingenuity. They are generally full of resource, which in good pursuits might render them useful and valuable members of the Community: but unhappily their minds have acquired a wrong bias, and they are reared insensibly in the walks of vice, without knowing, in many instances, that they are at all engaged in evil pursuits.
In all these points of view, from indigence is to be traced the great Origin and the Progress of Crimes.
In attending the different Soup Establishments (where 50,000 indigent families, at the expence of one halfpenny per head, have a meal furnished every day during the winter)[93] the Author has observed, with a mixture of pain and satisfaction, particularly at one of them, the children of unfortunate and reduced families, who, from their appearance, have moved in a higher sphere, the humble suitors for this frugal and nourishing aliment.
To have contributed in any degree to the relief of distress rendered painful in the extreme from the recollection of better days, is an ample reward to those benevolent individuals, who have joined in the support and conduct of an undertaking, of all others the most beneficial that perhaps was ever devised, for the purpose of assisting and relieving suffering humanity.
While the wretchedness, misery and crimes, which have been developed, and detailed in this work, cannot be sufficiently deplored, it is a matter of no little exultation, that in no country or nation in the world, and certainly in no other Metropolis, does there exist among the higher and middle ranks of Society, an equal portion of Philanthropy and Benevolence.—Here are to be discovered the extremes of vice and virtue, strongly marked by the existing turpitude on one hand, and the noble instances of charitable munificence, displayed by the opulent part of the Community, on the other.
Nothing can place this in a stronger point of view, and perhaps nothing will astonish strangers more than the following summary Estimate of the various Institutions, supported chiefly by Voluntary Contributions, in addition to the legal Assessments, all tending to ameliorate and better the condition of human life, under the afflicting circumstances of indigence and disease.[94]