the penalties inflicted for minor offences, under the Legislative
regulations hereafter to be proposed, would go a certain length in
reducing the expences of the three Police Institutions. But
considering the advantages likely to result from those Establishments,
were the expence to be incurred even _fifty times_ the amount of what
is estimated, it would in all probability be much more than
compensated by the savings to the Public, which will result from the
preservation of the Public property, independent of the advantages
which must arise from an improvement in the morals of a numerous class
of delinquents, who have long been in a course of criminal turpitude.
A Police System thus organized under the direction of a Magistrate in
each situation, whose attention would be solely confined _to this one
object_, could not fail to be productive of the greatest good,
especially when aided by officers, well selected and encouraged to be
_vigilant_ and _pure_ in their conduct, from the advantages they would
derive from a moiety of the pecuniary penalties, when offenders were
convicted, in addition to their salaries, thereby rendering their
situations comfortable and desirable, and fortifying them against
seduction and connivance with Receivers and Thieves, as too often has
been discovered to take place, with respect to parochial Constables
resident near the Dock-yards, by which Public Justice has been
frequently defeated. The terror which such a System would excite, and
the extensive evils a Boat Police are likely to prevent, can only be
conceived by those who have witnessed the effect of the Marine Police
on the River Thames.
But still apposite Legislative regulations will be necessary to give
full effect to this design, and the following heads are suggested as
likely to be productive of infinite public advantage, when passed into
a Law.
III. LEGISLATIVE REGULATIONS PROPOSED IN AID OF THE GENERAL AND LOCAL
POLICE SYSTEM.
1st. That persons having possession of _New Naval Stores_;
or _Naval Stores not more than one-third worn_, with the
King's mark thereon, shall be deemed guilty of receiving
goods, knowing them to have been stolen, and on conviction
may be transported for 14 years; with power, however, to the
Court to reduce it to seven years, or to impose a fine, or
punish the offender corporally at its discretion.
2d. Defacing the King's Mark, on any of his Majesty's
Stores, to be deemed felony, and punished by transportation
for 7 or 14 years.
3d. The powers and provisions of the Act of 2 Geo. 3. cap.
28. _commonly called, The Bumboat Act_; and also, the
general powers and provisions of the Thames Police Act, when
it shall pass into a Law, to be extended to all his
Majesty's Dock-yards, and to the Rivers and Creeks leading
thereto, within the distance of 20 miles.
4th. In all cases where the Crown or its Agents shall
decline to prosecute persons, in whose possession the King's
Stores shall be found, any one Justice before whom the
offender is carried, may proceed as for an offence under the
_Bumboat Act_, or the _Thames Police Act_ (by which maritime
offences are to be more minutely explained) and if the party
shall not give an account to the satisfaction of the
Justice, how the said goods came into his possession, to be
convicted of a misdemeanor, and subject to a fine of 40_s._
or such other minor punishment as these Acts direct.
5th. That all Marine Police Constables (whether the _Thames
Police_, the _Medway Police_, or the _Police Offices_ at
Portsmouth and Plymouth) shall have power to board all hoys
and craft in the service of his Majesty, while employed in
conveying stores, or in returning after such stores are
delivered, for the purpose of searching the same; and in all
cases, where stores are found which appear to have been
abstracted from the cargo, or otherwise unlawfully obtained,
to seize and convey the same, with the offender or
offenders, (without prejudice to the service) before a
Justice; and in case the Solicitor for the Crown, (on due
notice given, shall decline to prosecute for the major
offence) the parties in whose custody the stores were found,
not giving a satisfactory account of obtaining the same,
shall be convicted of a misdemeanor, and punished by fine or
imprisonment.
6th. The act of having _jiggers or small pumps, or bladders
with or without nozzles, or casks for drawing off liquor in
hoys or craft; of throwing goods over board when pursued to
elude detection; of fabricating false bills of parcels, to
cover suspected goods, and defeat the ends of Justice; of
having goods in possession, suspected to be King's stores,
and not giving a good account of the same_; of refusing to
assist Marine Police Constables in the execution of their
duty; of obstructing the said Officers; of damaging Police
Boats, to be punished as misdemeanors, under the authority
of the said Bumboat Act, and the proposed Thames Police Act;
namely, by fine or imprisonment.
7th. _Boats, craft, carts, carriages_, or _horses_, &c. from
which stolen or embezzled King's stores shall be seized, to
be forfeited, and disposed of as directed by the said Marine
Police Bill.
8th. In all cases where, in seizing stores, articles not
having the King's mark shall be found intermixed with stores
having such mark, the party in whose possession they are
found shall be obliged to give an account, to the
satisfaction of the Justice, by what means he obtained the
unmarked stores, otherwise the same to be forfeited, and
sent to his Majesty's Repositories.
9th. Power to be granted to the Commissioners of the Navy,
or any one Justice, to issue warrants, on proper information
upon oath to Peace Officers, to search for King's stores,
_without any proof of such stores being actually stolen,
taken_, or _carried away_. The power of the Commissioners in
this case to extend to all Counties in England.
10th. The Laws relating to falsifying, erasing, or
fabricating _documents, vouchers, books, accounts_, or
_writings_, of any kind, with an intent to defraud his
Majesty, to be revised and amended, so as to apply more
pointedly to offences of this nature.
11th. Persons in his Majesty's service in any of the
Dock-yards or Public Arsenals, having King's stores in their
possession, to the amount of 5_l._ value, and not being
authorised to keep such stores, to be conclusive evidence of
embezzlement, and to be punished by transportation.
12th. As an encouragement to excite vigilance in Officers of
Justice, it is humbly proposed, that the Commissioners of
his Majesty's _Navy, Victualing, and other Departments_,
should be authorised, and required by Law, to pay the
following rewards for the conviction of offenders, on the
certificate of Judges and Magistrates, before whom such
convictions took place--
40_l._ on Conviction for any Capital Offence.
20_l._ on Conviction for Felony, punished--Transportation,
Fine or Imprisonment, or Whipping, before a Superior Court.
10_l._ for Misdemeanors, by Indictment before the Quarter or
General Sessions of the Peace.
2_l._ for Convictions before Justices for Minor Offences.
From such _Legislative Regulations_ infinite would be the advantages
which might reasonably be expected, when by the establishment of a
Naval Police System, their due and proper execution would be rendered
certain; and also, in all cases, where the evidence against offenders,
although perfectly conclusive as to the fact, may be deficient in some
points of legal nicety, by putting the _onus probandi_ on the
offender, and treating it as a minor offence: the ends of Public
Justice will, in a great measure, be answered by inflicting some
punishment on the offender, and however inferior it may be to what he
deserves, it will still have an excellent effect, since it is not so
much by severe punishments, as by the certainty of _some punishment_
being inflicted, and the obloquy of a conviction when offences are
committed, that Delinquents of this class are deterred from the
commission of crimes.
Having thus traced the outlines of such remedies, for the protection
of his Majesty's _Naval_, _Victualing_, Ordnance and other stores, as
certainly require Legislative Regulations; it remains now to consider,
what other measures may appear necessary, within the limits of the
authority with which the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty are
invested, for the purpose of rendering the Preventive System complete.
Those which have occurred to the Author of this Work will be classed
under the following Heads:
IV. _Regulations respecting the Sale of Old Stores._
V. _The Abolition of the Perquisite of Chips._
VI. _The Abolition of Fees and Perquisites of every
description; to be recompensed by a liberal increase of
Salaries._
VII. _An improved Mode of keeping Accounts._
VIII. _An annual Inventory of Stores on hand._
IV. OLD STORES.
The mode at present practised in disposing of unserviceable Naval and
Victualing Stores by Auction, in the Public Arsenals and Repositories,
is productive of infinite evils, independent of the cover which is
thereby afforded to many purchasers, of loose conduct, in protecting
them, by means of the certificates they obtain against the penalties
of the Law, as Receivers of stolen and embezzled goods of the same
species and quality; thereby not only defeating the ends of Public
Justice, but operating as an encouragement to these criminal dealers
to extend the iniquitous part of their trade, by holding out
facilities and incitements to those who have access to commit
depredations on the Public Property, which possibly would never have
otherwise taken place.
The Public Sales at the Dock-yards and other Repositories, draw
together men of loose and depraved morals; who, in order to obtain
bargains, do not hesitate (wherever it can be done) to seduce, by
means of pecuniary gratuities, the inferior officers and labourers
into the evil practice of mixing superior stores with unserviceable
articles, ordered to be made up in lots, so as to elude discovery. New
and valuable cordage has been detected coiled within old cables,[75]
while frauds also are practised as to the weight, and in the delivery
of greater quantities than are actually sold.--Such practices have
taken place in spite of the vigilance and attention of the superior
officers, by which a two-fold mischief arises,--in the immediate loss
which is sustained by the frauds thus practised, and in the cover
which is thus afforded for the protection of additional stores
purchased clandestinely; perhaps from the persons who have been thus
corrupted.--An evil so prominent, in the view of a very able and
penetrating Judge now upon the bench, as to induce him to declare
publicly in Court, immediately after a trial, where a notorious
offender (as many notorious offenders do) escaped Justice, under the
cover of his certificates: "That _Government had better burn their old
Stores than suffer them to be the means of generating so many
offences_"--or to the same effect.
[Footnote 75: An instance of this kind occurred about two years ago in
one of the principal yards, where a large quantity of new and valuable
Cordage was found concealed within the coils of a large unserviceable
Cable; which composed one of the lots in the Catalogue of the
Sale.--And thus a connection was discovered between the Criminal
Purchaser and the Labourers employed in making up the Lots.]
It is however humbly presumed that a remedy may be applied without the
destruction of such valuable materials; and the following suggestions
are offered with a view to this object.
_Plan for an improved mode of disposing of unserviceable Naval and
Victualing Stores._
1st. That instead of selling those stores upon the spot
where the criminal connections are formed, the Naval
articles shall be made up in assorted lots suitable to the
_London, Bristol, Liverpool, Whitehaven, Glasgow, Newcastle,
and Hull_ Markets. That a responsible Agent should be
appointed to conduct the sales at each of these
_Ports_.--That they shall be men of the first respectability
in the commercial line, who can give ample security for
their fidelity in the execution of the trust reposed in
them.--That they shall receive the stores at the yards or
repositories where they are made up, and convey them to
their respective Warehouses at their own expence: on having
an allowance of _6 per Cent. for Freight-charges,
Warehouse-rent, Insurance_ against _Sea-risk and Fire_, and
all other expences; _and 4 per Cent. for commission on the
amount of the Sales_.
That the said stores shall not on any pretence be sold to dealers, but
only to the _actual consumers_, or Rope Spinners to convert into small
cordage; _nor shall any certificate be granted to purchasers on any
pretence whatsoever_.
That accounts of sales shall be furnished monthly, and such sales
shall be accompanied by _a full remittance for the amount_, it being
always understood that no credit is to be allowed.
That at the end of each year, an inventory shall be transmitted on a
specific day to be fixed, of the whole stores on hand, and a general
account current shall be then furnished; in which shall be exhibited,
agreeable to a form to be prescribed, a complete view of the whole
transactions which have occurred during the preceding year, with a
full remittance for the balance due on the said account.
2d. That the _Metalic Stores_ which are deemed unserviceable
shall be deposited in a commodious Magazine in London, under
the charge of a responsible Agent, competent to such a
trust.--That it shall be his duty to employ proper
Artificers to convert all that are capable of being
converted into serviceable Stores, and when so renovated, to
be returned to Deptford Yard.--And such Metalic Stores as
are incapable of being converted into useful purposes at a
moderate expence, so as clearly to demonstrate a saving to
Government, shall be disposed of to founders and others, at
the best price that can be obtained.
The Agent for Metalic Stores to be allowed 10 per Cent. on the value
as ascertained, by the original Invoice, founded on a survey and
valuation upon oath, and this to be in full of _Freight, Carriage,
Warehouse-rent, Insurance from fire, and all other expences,
including Commission for his trouble_, on all Stores that are again
converted to useful purposes; and 7-1/2 per cent. on the value of such
as are sold, in consequence of their being incapable of being rendered
useful; so as to make it the interest of the Agent to render as large
a portion useful as possible.
It is presumed that by an arrangement of this kind, an immense sum
will be saved to the Public annually; who would retain the
Contractor's profit in all cases where Old Stores are received back at
the price of old Metal, and again returned at the full contract price,
after a small expence is incurred in converting them into serviceable
Stores.
3d. That in consequence of the superior resource for the
consumption of _Provisions, Casks_, &c. in London, the whole
of the unserviceable Victualing Stores (except such as from
their small value and bulky nature will not defray the
expences of conveyance) shall be collected in a large
repository in London, under the charge of an able and
intelligent Agent, who shall give proper security for his
faithful management; and conduct the sales upon the
principles already explained _for ready money only_,
rendering an account _and making his payments monthly_, and
a final Account and Inventory at the end of the year; to be
at the whole expence of removing the goods from the
different Repositories to the Magazine in London; to be
allowed 4 per Cent. Commission on the sales, and 6 per Cent.
in lieu of all charges.
4th. That the attention of the respective Boards may not be
diverted from other objects by attending to the details,
which will arise in the management of those establishments,
a superintending Agent shall be appointed, who shall receive
the directions of the different Boards, and correspond with
the local Agents.--He shall moreover be the _Receiver
General of the monthly remittances_, and shall immediately
pay the same as directed by the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty.--It will be his duty to arrange the shipping of
Old Stores from the different Yards, in conformity to the
wants or demands of the respective Agents, so as to keep up
their several assortments, by conveying to each not only
such articles, (as far as it can be done) as are most in
demand, but also such as comparatively fetch the best
price.--He shall receive the monthly and yearly accounts,
and lay an abstract of the same before the Lords of the
Admiralty, and the Navy and Victualing Board respectively,
as they apply to their different departments, and shall be
the general medium of communication from the respective
Boards to the local Agents.--The superintending Agent shall
transmit a regular invoice to the local Agents of all goods
shipped:--Shall keep regular books and accounts of all
transactions under his charge, and shall receive for his
trouble _1 per cent._ on the Remittances or Payments which
he may make, under the directions of the Lords of the
Admiralty.
By this arrangement it will be the interest of all the parties
concerned, to render the sale as productive as possible; and as the
stores in question will constantly be exposed to sale, where the
demand for such articles is most extensive, the probability is, that
higher prices will be obtained than at present; and that upon the
whole, after paying all expences, a larger aggregate sum will be
received annually by Government, since, as the sales are only to be
made to the actual Containers, the Dealer's profit will make a part of
the Sale Price, and will be thereby secured to the Public. As men of
the first character and respectability may be expected to solicit for
such Commissions, no doubt can be entertained, either of the purity of
their conduct, or their exertions to sell to the best advantage. Their
credit and interest, and also the emulation between one Agent and
another, as to who shall make the best sales, will prove a powerful
stimulus and a strong ground of security.--Above all, the plan is easy
and practicable:--It imposes no trouble upon the superior or inferior
officers in the different Naval Departments, and no doubt can be
entertained, that while it shuts up all the avenues to fraud and
peculation, which at present operate so powerfully in facilitating the
stealing and embezzling of Naval and Victualing Stores, in the result
it will prove highly beneficial to Government.
V. THE PERQUISITE OF CHIPS.
The extensive evils arising from the permission granted to Artificers
in the Dock-yards, to convert chips to their own use, and to remove
them in bundles from the Dock-yards, having already been noticed, it
may only be necessary to add, that on the abolition of this
perquisite, which the Author has reason to believe is now in
contemplation, a liberal increase of wages should be made to the
Artificers in lieu thereof; and that hereafter Chips should not be
sold in the Yards by Public Auction, but removed to a place of deposit
at some small distance, and disposed of, not to the highest bidder,
but at such price as should be offered above the estimated value, and
by no means by contract.
By adopting this mode, the saving of _useful Timber, Time, and
Property_, which, through the medium of the existing practice, is
_purloined, lost and stolen_, would probably exceed any estimate that
has been formed from a view of the present abuses.
This measure, while it forms an important Link in the preventive
Chain, would appear to be easy and practicable.
If necessary the superintending Agent for unserviceable stores, whose
functions have already been explained, could take upon him the sole
management of the disposal of the chips at the different Yards, by
which a handsome sum might be obtained annually in aid of the
resources of the State, perhaps more than would be sufficient to pay
the additional wages of the Artificers, while no existing arrangement
in the Yards would be disturbed, nor any trouble given to the
Officers, who at present fill the respective Departments in those
Arsenals.
VI. THE ABOLITION OF FEES AND PERQUISITES, AND AN INCREASE OF
SALARIES.
The total Abolition of Fees guarded by the severest penalties, is an
important object in the preventive System: Until this is effected, it
will be in vain to expect purity of conduct. Under this pretext, men
of loose principles, in transactions with Government, seldom fail to
seduce from the strict line of their duty, _avaricious, extravagant,
or indigent Officers_, whose business it is to check and control the
receipt and delivery of property, and to _arrange, settle, and adjust
Accounts_, or _to form Public Documents_. The delusion and seduction
of these Officers is not seldom effected by the supposed liberality of
those whose business must pass through their hands; and they are not
at all times perfectly aware of the injury that is done to the Public.
It has already been observed, and it is a circumstance much to be
lamented, that in too many instances, where individuals have pecuniary
transactions with any of the Departments of Government, a dereliction
of principle is apparent which does not extend to the general
intercourse of society, and hence arises the necessity of _stronger
guards_, where the Public interest is concerned; and nothing appears
to be better calculated to counteract this baneful propensity in the
human mind than _the total abolition of fees and perquisites_.
It is said to be no uncommon thing to pay 300_l._ for a Clerk's
situation in the Dock-yards, where the salary does not exceed 30_l._
or 40_l._ a year; and it is known that some who hold such situations
live very expensively. It may be fairly asked, in what manner a person
so situated is to reimburse himself? the conclusion is obvious, and
the result has been already explained, which may perhaps be still
farther elucidated by stating the following fact:--
An Officer of Justice having discovered some instances of pillage and
peculation going forward in the course of the removal of old copper
and other articles, from a dismantled ship of war, complained to the
Store-keeper in the Dock-yard, whose province it was to have received
those articles into his charge, which were conveyed elsewhere.--He
replied thus: "D--n it, mind your own business.--Such things have
always been done, and will continue in spite of you and me; it will,
at any rate, last our time."
While the resources of Government are fully commensurate to the
liberal remuneration of its servants, so as to place them above all
temptations to abuse the trust reposed in them: and while such
remuneration is in itself no less politic than just, the object and
view of the Author of these pages differs widely from this faithless
servant of the Crown. The suggestions now offered, lead to measures,
which he now trusts to the honour and credit of those respectable
characters, at the head of the different departments, are in the best
train of being adopted, by the total abolition of Fees and
Perquisites, and a liberal Increase of Salary, in lieu of the
reduction of income, which such an arrangement will occasion: Such
salaries as will secure to the Nation those inestimable advantages,
which always result from _rectitude of conduct_, _zeal_, _accuracy_,
and _fidelity_, in the discharge of Public trusts committed to
subordinate Officers. It is by this and other wise and practicable
arrangements, that a confidence is to be established, "that the
resources of the State _will not only last our time_," but extend to
many generations; while the improvement of Public morals will
contribute, in an eminent degree, to the happiness and prosperity of
the country.
VII. AN IMPROVED MODE OF KEEPING ACCOUNTS.