That portion of the London street-folk who earn a scanty living by
sweeping crossings constitute a large class of the Metropolitan poor.
We can scarcely walk along a street of any extent, or pass through a
square of the least pretensions to “gentility,” without meeting one or
more of these private scavengers. Crossing-sweeping seems to be one of
those occupations which are resorted to as an excuse for begging; and,
indeed, as many expressed it to me, “it was the last chance left of
obtaining an honest crust.”
The advantages of crossing-sweeping as a means of livelihood seem to be:
1st, the smallness of the capital required in order to commence the
business;
2ndly, the excuse the apparent occupation it affords for soliciting
gratuities without being considered in the light of a street-beggar;
And 3rdly, the benefits arising from being constantly seen in the same
place, and thus exciting the sympathy of the neighbouring householders,
till small weekly allowances or “pensions” are obtained.
The first curious point in connexion with this subject is what
constitutes the “_property_,” so to speak, in a crossing, or the
_right_ to sweep a pathway across a certain thoroughfare. A nobleman,
who has been one of her Majesty’s Ministers, whilst conversing with me
on the subject of crossing-sweepers, expressed to me the curiosity he
felt on the subject, saying that he had noticed some of the sweepers in
the same place for years. “What were the rights of property,” he asked,
“in such cases, and what constituted the title that such a man had to
a particular crossing? Why did not the stronger sweeper supplant the
weaker? Could a man bequeath a crossing to a son, or present it to a
friend? How did he first obtain the spot?”
The answer is, that crossing-sweepers are, in a measure, under the
protection of the police. If the accommodation afforded by a well-swept
pathway is evident, the policeman on that district will protect the
original sweeper of the crossing from the intrusion of a rival. I have,
indeed, met with instances of men who, before taking to a crossing,
have asked for and obtained permission of the police; and one sweeper,
who gave me his statement, had even solicited the authority of the
inhabitants before he applied to the inspector at the station-house.
If a crossing have been vacant for some time, another sweeper may take
to it; but should the original proprietor again make his appearance,
the officer on duty will generally re-establish him. One man to whom I
spoke, had fixed himself on a crossing which for years another sweeper
had kept clean on the Sunday morning only. A dispute ensued; the one
claimant pleading his long Sabbath possession, and the other his
continuous every-day service. The quarrel was referred to the police,
who decided that he who was oftener on the ground was the rightful
owner; and the option was given to the former possessor, that if he
would sweep there every day the crossing should be his.
I believe there is only one crossing in London which is in the gift
of a householder, and this proprietorship originated in a tradesman
having, at his own expense, caused a paved footway to be laid down over
the Macadamized road in front of his shop, so that his customers might
run less chance of dirtying their boots when they crossed over to give
their orders.
Some bankers, however, keep a crossing-sweeper, not only to sweep a
clean path for the “clients” visiting their house, but to open and shut
the doors of the carriages calling at the house.
Concerning the _causes which lead or drive_ people to this occupation,
they are various. People take to crossing-sweeping either on account
of their bodily afflictions, depriving them of the power of performing
ruder work, or because the occupation is the last resource left open
to them of earning a living, and they considered even the scanty
subsistence it yields preferable to that of the workhouse. The greater
proportion of crossing-sweepers are those who, from some bodily
infirmity or injury, are prevented from a more laborious mode of
obtaining their living. Among the bodily infirmities the chief are old
age, asthma, and rheumatism; and the injuries mostly consist of loss of
limbs. Many of the rheumatic sweepers have been bricklayers’ labourers.
The classification of crossing-sweepers is not very complex. They may
be divided into the _casual_ and the _regular_.
By the casual I mean such as pursue the occupation only on certain days
in the week, as, for instance, those who make their appearance on the
Sunday morning, as well as the boys who, broom in hand, travel about
the streets, sweeping before the foot-passengers or stopping an hour at
one place, and then, if not fortunate, moving on to another.
The regular crossing-sweepers are those who have taken up their posts
at the corners of streets or squares; and I have met with some who
have kept to the same spot for more than forty years.
The crossing-sweepers in the squares may be reckoned among the most
fortunate of the class. With them the crossing is a kind of stand,
where any one requiring their services knows they may be found.
These sweepers are often employed by the butlers and servants in
the neighbouring mansions for running errands, posting letters, and
occasionally helping in the packing-up and removal of furniture or
boxes when the family goes out of town. I have met with other sweepers
who, from being known for years to the inhabitants, have at last got
to be regularly employed at some of the houses to clean knives, boots,
windows, &c.
It is not at all an unfrequent circumstance, however, for a sweeper
to be in receipt of a weekly sum from some of the inhabitants in the
district. The crossing itself is in these cases but of little value
for chance customers, for were it not for the regular charity of the
householders, it would be deserted. Broken victuals and old clothes
also form part of a sweeper’s means of living; nor are the clothes
always old ones, for one or two of this class have for years been in
the habit of having new suits presented to them by the neighbours at
Christmas.
The irregular sweepers mostly consist of boys and girls who have
formed themselves into a kind of company, and come to an agreement to
work together on the same crossings. The principal resort of these is
about Trafalgar-square, where they have seized upon some three or four
crossings, which they visit from time to time in the course of the day.
One of these gangs I found had appointed its king and captain, though
the titles were more honorary than privileged. They had framed their
own laws respecting each one’s right to the money he took, and the
obedience to these laws was enforced by the strength of the little
fraternity.
One or two girls whom I questioned, told me that they mixed up
ballad-singing or lace-selling with crossing-sweeping, taking to the
broom only when the streets were wet and muddy. These children are
usually sent out by their parents, and have to carry home at night
their earnings. A few of them are orphans with a lodging-house for a
home.
Taken as a class, crossing-sweepers are among the most honest of the
London poor. They all tell you that, without a good character and “the
respect of the neighbourhood,” there is not a living to be got out of
the broom. Indeed, those whom I found best-to-do in the world were
those who had been longest at their posts.
Among them are many who have been servants until sickness or accident
deprived them of their situations, and nearly all of them have had
their minds so subdued by affliction, that they have been tamed so as
to be incapable of mischief.
The _earnings_, or rather “_takings_,” of crossing-sweepers are
difficult to estimate--generally speaking--that is, to strike the
average for the entire class. An erroneous idea prevails that
crossing-sweeping is a lucrative employment. All whom I have spoken
with agree in saying, that some thirty years back it was a good living;
but they bewail piteously the spirit of the present generation. I
have met with some who, in former days, took their 3_l._ weekly; and
there are but few I have spoken to who would not, at one period, have
considered fifteen shillings a bad week’s work. But now “the takings”
are very much reduced. The man who was known to this class as having
been the most prosperous of all--for from one nobleman alone he
received an allowance of seven shillings and sixpence weekly--assured
me that twelve shillings a-week was the average of his present gains,
taking the year round; whilst the majority of the sweepers agree that a
shilling is a good day’s earnings.
A shilling a-day is the very limit of the average incomes of the
London sweepers, and this is rather an over than an under calculation;
for, although a few of the more fortunate, who are to be found in the
squares or main thoroughfares or opposite the public buildings, may
earn their twelve or fifteen shillings a-week, yet there are hundreds
who are daily to be found in the by-streets of the metropolis who
assert that eightpence a-day is their average taking; and, indeed, in
proof of their poverty, they refer you to the workhouse authorities,
who allow them certain quartern-loaves weekly. The old stories of
delicate suppers and stockings full of money have in the present day no
foundation of truth.
The black crossing-sweeper, who bequeathed 500_l._ to Miss Waithman,
would almost seem to be the last of the class whose earnings were above
his positive necessities.
Lastly, concerning the _numbers_ belonging to this large class, we may
add that it is difficult to reckon up the number of crossing-sweepers
in London. There are few squares without a couple of these pathway
scavengers; and in the more respectable squares, such as Cavendish or
Portman, every corner has been seized upon. Again, in the principal
thoroughfares, nearly every street has its crossing and attendant.