It might have been a little after twelve o’clock, when, as I was passing one of these houses, a gentleman, with his coat off, and without his hat, rushed out of the doorway and ran up the street. He held a small clasp-knife in his hand, which from his manner I guessed he would not hesitate to use if hard pressed. He was in an instant followed by a pack of men and women, perhaps four or five of each sex, in full cry. They were nearing him, when he turned suddenly round and doubled upon them, which manœuvre brought him in my direction. I saw, when near enough, that he was intoxicated. Directly he perceived me he implored my protection, saying, “For God’s sake keep those fellows off.” The noise attracted the attention of a policeman at the end of the street, who came up to see what the origin of the disturbance was, and the crowd fell back at his appearance.
The gentleman said he went into one of the houses to get a cigar, when he was set upon by some women, who attempted to rob him. Although drunk he was able to put his hand in his pocket and take out a small clasp-knife he always carried about with him. He brandished this in their faces, when some bullies descended from the upper regions, and the victim fortunately effected his escape into the street.
This man might have been robbed and subsequently drugged, without much fear of discovery, for the subjoined statistics will prove that such outrages are of frequent occurrence in the metropolis.
Larcenies from the Person by Prostitutes, during the years 1850 to 1860.
| Larcenies. | Convicted. | Total loss. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 684 | 116 | £1,814 |
| 1851 | 640 | 98 | 1,890 |
| 1852 | 639 | 97 | 2,095 |
| 1853 | 605 | 112 | 1,578 |
| 1854 | 607 | 119 | 2,019 |
| 1855 | 688 | 96 | 3,017 |
| 1856 | 780 | 94 | 2,668 |
| 1857 | 854 | 79 | 2,928 |
| 1858 | 777 | 39 | 2,370 |
| 1859 | 681 | 93 | 1,743 |
| 1860 | 692 | 39 | 1,936 |
The first thing that strikes us in looking at these figures is the small amount of convictions that followed arrest. For instance in 1850 out of 684 arrested only 116 were convicted. Yet we must not forget the difficulty of proving a charge of this description, and the unwillingness of men to prosecute. It is only natural that a man should have a repugnance to appear in public and mix himself up in a disgraceful affair of this sort. Any one who cared for his character and reputation would at once refuse, and in this repugnance we must look for the cause of the escape of so many offenders.
Whenever an occurrence of this sort takes place in a brothel, one would imagine the police would have some grounds for prosecuting the keeper for harbouring thieves and persons who habitually break the public peace, but the criminal returns of the metropolitan police, from which we have before quoted, do not give one reason to think so.
Let us examine the number of arrests for keeping common brothels, during the last ten years.
Number of Persons taken into custody for keeping Common Brothels, during the years 1850 to 1860.
| Females. | Males. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 4 | 4 | = 8 |
| 1851 | 12 | 5 | 17 |
| 1852 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 1853 | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| 1854 | none. | ||
| 1855 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 1856 | 12 | 7 | 19 |
| 1857 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 1858 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
| 1859 | 9 | 9 | 18 |
| 1860 | 12 | 5 | 17 |
| 143 | |||