the first three classes mentioned in the foregoing note, page 587, are
generally the objects of imprisonment; while the bankrupt-laws relieve
the fourth, the insolvency of which class generally produces the
distress of the other; who must languish in a gaol and suffer a severe
punishment, although it is clear to demonstration, that the Debtor for
_ninety-nine_ pounds is equally an object of commiseration as another
whose debt amounts to _one hundred_; and almost in the same degree
subject to accident and misfortune.
Under a System so contrary to reason, and so shocking to humanity, too
much praise cannot be bestowed on the founders and supporters of the
excellent Institution for the relief of honest, industrious persons
imprisoned for small debts. The immense number relieved by this
benevolent Society, who have appeared upon inquiry not to have brought
misfortunes upon themselves by imprudence, is one of the strongest
proofs that can be adduced of the imperfection of the laws; which are
tacitly acknowledged to be erroneous, in the case of every person who
is discharged by the bounty of the Public.]
This, therefore, is a most important branch of what may be called
_Civil Police_, highly deserving the attention of the Legislature;
because it is not only contrary to Reason, but pregnant with evils
which tend to the increase of crimes in a greater degree than is
generally supposed.
The extensive and growing intercourse in commercial dealings, and the
diffused state of property must, of course, progressively, increase
the number of Appeals to Courts of Justice, even under the present
System; till at length the duty of the Judges (infinitely more
extensive than their predecessors experienced, and increasing every
day,) will so multiply, as to render it an act of great cruelty and
injustice, not to ease them of the unreasonable labour arising from
small Law-suits.
The same reasoning applies to the Members of the Executive Government.
As we advance in riches, population, and crimes, the management of the
Country becomes more complicated. The labour attached to the higher
departments of the State of all descriptions is infinitely greater
than a century ago; and yet there is no increase in the number of the
first executive responsible officers.--This, (although it has not
heretofore attracted notice), when duly considered, will be found to
be a very serious misfortune.
The mind, however active or enlightened, can only compass certain
objects. It requires relaxation; it cannot always be upon the
stretch.--There is a point beyond which human exertion cannot go--and
hence the necessity of the division of labour, in proportion to the
increase of responsible public duty. Wherever this does not take
place, the Country suffers; an unreasonable burden attaches, by which
means matters of great consequence to the Community must be
overlooked, because it is impossible to compass every thing.
Having thus briefly explained that branch of the Police of the Capital
which is connected with the department of the Law, together with some
of the most prominent features of abuse, which have grown out of the
present System; as well as the Remedies which have occurred, as
apparently best calculated to remove these accumulating evils. It
remains now to bring under the review of the Reader, the various
_Municipal Regulations_, which have been established for the comfort,
accommodation, and convenience of the inhabitants; and the means used
in carrying them into execution.
The Metropolis of the Empire having been extended so far beyond its
ancient limits;--every parish, hamlet, liberty, or precinct, now
contiguous to the Cities of _London_ and _Westminster_, may be
considered as a separate Municipality, where the inhabitants regulate
the Police of their respective districts, under the authority of a
great variety of different Acts of Parliament; enabling them to raise
money for paving the streets, and to assess the householders for the
interest thereof, as well as for the annual expence of _watching,
cleansing, and removing nuisances and annoyances_. These funds, as
well as the execution of the powers of the different Acts, (excepting
where the interference of Magistrates is necessary) are placed in the
hands of Trustees, of whom in many instances, the Church Wardens, or
Parish Officers for the time being, are Members _ex officio_; and by
these different Bodies, all matters relative to the immediate safety,
comfort and convenience of the inhabitants are managed and regulated.
These Regulations, however, are mostly founded upon Statutes made in
the last and present Reign.
The Act of the 2d of William and Mary, cap. 8, for paving, cleansing,
&c. within the City and Liberties of _Westminster_, and the Bills of
Mortality, not having been found applicable to modern improvements,
new regulations became necessary; and an incredible number of private
Statutes applicable to the different Parishes, Hamlets, and Liberties,
composing the Metropolis, have been passed within the last 50 years.
The Act of the 10th George II. cap. 22, established a System for
paving and lighting, cleansing, and watching the City of London: but
the Statute which removed _signs and sign-posts_, _balconies_,
_spouts_, _gutters_, and those other _encroachments_ and _annoyances_,
which were felt as grievances, by the inhabitants, did not pass till
the year 1771.--The 11th of Geo. III. cap. 29, contains a complete and
masterly System of that branch of the Police which is connected with
municipal regulations, and may be considered as a model for every
large City in the Empire. This excellent Act extends to every
obstruction by carts and carriages, and provides a remedy for all
nuisances, which can prove, in any respect, offensive to the
inhabitants; and special Commissioners, called _Commissioners of
Sewers_, are appointed to ensure a regular execution. It is further
improved by the 33d of his present Majesty, cap. 75, by which the
power of the Commissioners is increased, and some nuisances arising
from Butchers, Dustmen, &c. further provided against.
In the City and Liberty of Westminster also, many useful Municipal
Regulations have been made within the present Century. The Acts of the
27th of Elizabeth, and the 16th of Charles I. (private Acts) divided
the City and Liberties into 12 Wards, and appointed 12 Burgesses to
regulate the Police of each Ward; who, with the Dean, or High Steward
of Westminster, were authorised to govern this District of the
Metropolis.
The Act of the 29th of George II. cap. 25, enabled the Dean, or his
High Steward, to choose 80 Constables in a Court Leet: and the same
act authorised the appointment of an Annoyance-Jury of 48 inhabitants,
to examine weights and measures; and to make presentments of every
public nuisance, either in the City or Liberty.--The Acts of the 31st
of George II. cap. 17 and 25, improved the former Statute, and allowed
a free market to be held in Westminster.--The Act of the 2d of George
III. cap. 21, extended and improved the System for _paving, cleansing,
lighting and watching_ the City and Liberty, by including six other
adjoining Parishes and Liberties in Middlesex: This Act was afterwards
amended by the 3d of his present Majesty, cap. 23.--The Acts 5th Geo.
III. caps. 13, 50; 11th Geo. III. cap. 22; and particularly 14th Geo.
III. cap. 90, for regulating the nightly Watch and Constables, made
further improvements in the General System by which those branches of
Police in Westminster are at present regulated.
In the Borough of Southwark also the same System has been pursued; the
Acts 28th Geo. II. cap. 9; and 6th Geo. III. cap. 24, having
established a System of Municipal Regulations, applicable to this
District of the Metropolis; relative to _markets_, _hackney-coach
stands_, _paving_, _cleansing_, _lighting_, _watching_, _marking
streets_, and _numbering houses_, and placing the whole under the
management of Commissioners.
In Contemplating the great leading features of Municipal Regulation,
nothing places England in a situation so superior to most other
countries, with regard to cleanliness, as the _System of the Sewers_,
under the management of special Commissioners, in different parts of
the kingdom; introduced so early as by the Act 6th Henry VI. cap. 5,
and regulated by the Acts 6th Henry VIII. cap. 10; 23d Henry VIII.
cap. 5; and 25th Henry VIII. cap. 10.--afterwards improved by the 3d
and 4th Edward VI. cap. 8; 1st Mary, stat. 3, cap. 11; 13th Elizabeth,
cap. 9; 3d James I. cap. 14; and 7th Anne, cap. 10.
Sewers being so early introduced into the Metropolis, as well as into
other Cities and Towns, in consequence of the general System, every
offensive nuisance was removed through this medium, and the
inhabitants early accustomed to the advantages and comforts of
cleanliness.
Another feature, strongly marking the wisdom and attention of our
ancestors, was the introduction of _Water_, for the supply of the
Metropolis, in the reign of James I. in 1604. The improvements which
have been since made for the convenience of the inhabitants, in
extending the supplies by means of the New River, and also by the
accession of the Thames water, through the medium of the London
Bridge, Chelsea, York Buildings, Shadwell, and other water-works, it
is not necessary to detail.
The Act 9th Anne, cap. 23, first established the regulations with
regard to _Hackney Coaches_ and _Chairs_, which have been improved and
extended by several subsequent Statutes, _viz._ 10 Anne, cap. 19; 12
Anne, stat. 2, cap. 14; 1 Geo. I. cap. 57; 12 Geo. I. cap. 12; 30 Geo.
II. cap. 22; 4 Geo. III. cap. 36; 7 Geo. III. cap. 44; 10 Geo. III.
cap. 44; 11 Geo. III. caps. 24, 28; 12 Geo. III. cap. 49; 24 Geo. III.
stat. 2. cap. 27; 26 Geo. III. cap. 72; 32 Geo. III. cap. 47; 33 Geo.
III. cap. 75.
These Acts authorize _one thousand coaches_, and _four hundred hackney
chairs_, to be licensed for the accommodation of the inhabitants of
the Metropolis; and Magistrates, as well as the Commissioners, are
empowered to decide, in a summary way, upon all complaints arising
between Coachmen or Chairmen, and the inhabitants, who may have
occasion to employ them.
Carts and other carriages have also been regulated by several
different Acts, _viz._ 1 Geo. I. stat. 2. cap. 57; 18 Geo. II. cap.
33; 24 Geo. II. cap. 43; 30 Geo. II. cap. 22; 7 Geo. III. cap. 44; and
24 Geo. III. cap. 27. The Statutes contain a very complete System,
relative to this branch of Police; by virtue of which all complaints
arising from offences under these Acts, are also cognizable by the
Magistrates, in a summary way.
The Act of the 34th of George III. cap. 65, established an improved
System, with regard to _Watermen plying on the River Thames_.--The
Lord Mayor and Aldermen are empowered to make Rules and Orders for
their government;[186] and, with the Recorder and the Justices of the
Peace of the respective Counties, and places next adjoining to the
Thames, have equal jurisdiction in all situations between Gravesend
and Windsor, to put in execution not only the _Laws_, but also the
Rules and Orders relative to such Watermen, which shall be sent to the
several Public Offices in the Metropolis, and to the Clerks of the
Peace of the Counties joining the Thames, within 30 days after such
Rules are made or altered. The Magistrates have power given them to
fine Watermen for extortion and misbehaviour: and, persons refusing to
pay the fares authorised by Law, may be compelled to do so, with all
charges, or be imprisoned for one month; and whoever shall give a
Waterman a fictitious name or place of abode, forfeits 5_l._
[Footnote 186: No Rules or Orders have yet been published, although
nearly six years have elapsed since the passing of this Act. The
Public are, therefore, without the means of punishing or controlling
Watermen, which is felt as a serious misfortune.]
Offences relative to the Driving of Cattle improperly, usually termed
_Bullock Hunting_, are also determined by the Magistrates, in the same
summary way, under the authority of an Act 21st Geo. III. cap. 67; by
which every person is authorised to seize delinquents guilty of this
very dangerous offence.
The last great feature of useful Municipal Police which the Author
will mention, consists in the excellent regulations relative to
_Buildings_, _Projections_, and _Fires_; first adopted after the Fire
of London in 1666, and extended and improved by several Acts of
Parliament passed, from that time, down to the 14th of his present
Majesty.
The Act of the 14th of George III. cap. 78, which repeals the former
Acts, besides regulating the mode of building houses in future, so as
to render them _ornamental_, _commodious_, and _secure_ against the
accidents of fire, established other useful rules for the prevention
of this dreadful calamity; by rendering it incumbent on Churchwardens
to provide one or more engines in every parish, to be in readiness, on
the shortest notice, to extinguish fires, and also ladders to favour
escapes; And, that every facility might be afforded with regard to
water, it is also incumbent on the Churchwardens to fix stop-blocks
and fire-plugs at convenient distances, upon all the main pipes within
the parish; and to place a mark in the street where they are to be
found, and to have an instrument or key ready to open such fire-plugs,
so that the water may be accessible on the shortest possible notice.
That every thing also might be done to ensure dispatch, the person
bringing the first parish engine to any fire is entitled to 30_s._ the
second to 20_s._ and third to 10_s._ paid by the parish; excepting in
cases where chimnies are on fire, and then the expence ultimately
falls upon the person inhabiting the house or place where it
originated.
This excellent Statute, so salutary in its effects with regard to many
important Regulations of Police, also obliges all Beadles and
Constables, on the breaking out of any fire, to repair immediately to
the spot, with their long staves, and to protect the sufferers from
the depredation of thieves; and to assist in removing effects, and in
extinguishing the flames.
These outlines will explain, in some measure, by what means the System
of the Police, in most of its great features, is conducted in the
Metropolis--to which it may be necessary to add, that the Beadles of
each Parish, are the proper persons to whom application may be made,
in the first instance, in case of any inconvenience or nuisance. The
City and Police Magistrates, in their respective Courts, if not
immediately authorized to remedy the wrong that is suffered, will
point out how it may be effected.
It is, however, earnestly to be wished, that (like the Building-Act
just mentioned), one general Law, comprehending the whole of the
excellent regulations made for the City of London, so far as they will
apply, could be extended to every part of the Metropolis, and its
suburbs; that a perfect uniformity might prevail, in the penalties and
punishments to be inflicted for the several Offences against the
comfort or convenience of the Inhabitants.--At present it often
happens, that an Offence in one Parish, is no act of Delinquency in
another.
The great object is to simplify every System as much as
possible;--complicated Establishments are always more expensive than
is necessary, and constantly liable to abuses.
The annual expence to the Inhabitants, in consequence of all those
Municipal Regulations just detailed, is, perhaps, higher than in any
other City in the world.--Including the Poor's-rate, it amounts, on an
average, to full 25 per cent. on the gross rental of the Metropolis;
and is supposed to exceed one million sterling a year!
A Superintending Police would, in many instances, correct the want of
intelligence, which is apparent, and enlighten the local Managers in
such a manner, as not only to promote objects of oeconomy,
calculated to abridge and keep within bounds an enormous and growing
expence, but also to suggest improvements by which it might be
reduced, and many solid advantages be acquired by the Community.
It is impossible to examine, with the mind of a man of business, the
various Establishments which have become necessary for promoting the
comfort and convenience of great Societies, without lamenting, in many
instances, the unnecessary waste that prevails, and the confusion and
irregularity which often ensue, merely for want of system, judgment,
and knowledge of the subject.
Various, indeed, are the evils and disorders which Time engenders, in
every thing connected with the affairs of civil Society, requiring a
constant and uniform attention, _increasing, as the pressures
increase_, for the purpose of keeping them within bounds; that as much
happiness and comfort may be extended to the People as can possibly
arise from a well-regulated and energetic Police, conducted with
purity, zeal, and intelligence.
We are arrived at an epoch full of difficulties and dangers, producing
wonderful events, and still pregnant with consequences, in their
nature, stretching beyond the usual course of human conjecture, where
it is impossible to judge of the ultimate issue.
Under such circumstances, it becomes, more than ever, necessary to
make prudent arrangements for the general safety, for amending the
morals, and promoting the happiness of the People; by improved Laws,
extending protection to all, and correcting those evils, which are
felt as a burden upon the Community.
CHAP. XX.
_A summary View of the Evils detailed in the preceding
Chapters.--The great opulence and extensive Trade of the
Metropolis assigned as a Cause of the increase and
multiplication of Crimes, and of the great extent of the
Depredations which are committed.--Arguments in favour of a
more energetic Police as the only means of remedying those
Evils.--A wide Field opened to Men of Virtue and Talents to
do good.--A general View of the estimated Depredations
annually in the Metropolis and its Vicinity, amounting in
all to Two Millions Sterling.--General Observations and
Reflections an the strong Features of degraded Humanity,
which this Summary of Turpitude exhibits.--Observations on
the further Evils arising from the deficiency of the System
with respect to Officers of Justice.--The want of a
Prosecutor for the Crown, and the inadequacy of
Punishments.--A View of the Remedies proposed--1st. With
respect to the Corruption of Morals.--2d. The means of
preventing Crimes in general.--3d. Offences committed on the
River Thames.--4th. Offences in the Public Arsenals and
Ships of War.--5th. Counterfeiting Money and fabricating
Bank Notes; 6th. Punishments.--7th. Further advantages of an
improved System of Police.--Concluding Reflections._
In taking a summary view of the various evils and remedies, which have
been detailed in this Work, it may be right, previously to apprize the
Reader, that in contemplating the extent and magnitude of the
aggregate depredations, which are presumed to be committed in the
course of a year, it is necessary to measure them _by a scale
proportioned to the unparalleled amount of moving property exposed in
transit in this great Metropolis_, as well as the vast and unexampled
increase of this property, within the last half century; during which
period there has certainly been an accumulation of not less than
two-thirds, in commerce as well as in manufactures.
It has not, perhaps, generally attracted notice, that, besides being
the Seat of the _Government_--_of the Law_,--_Learning_, and the _Fine
Arts_,--the resort of the Nobility and the Opulent from every part of
the British Empire, however distant; LONDON, from being a great
_depot_ for all the manufactures of the country, and also the goods of
foreign nations as well as East India and colonial produce, is not
only the first Commercial City at present existing, but is also one of
the greatest and most extensive Manufacturing Towns, perhaps in the
World; combining in one spot every attribute that can occasion an
assemblage of moving property, unparalleled in point of extent,
magnitude, and value in the whole Globe.--From the abstract of Imports
and Exports in _page_ 215 of this Work, it appears that above 13,000
vessels,[187] including their repeated voyages, arrive at, and depart
from, the Port of London, with merchandize, in the course of a year;
besides a vast number of river craft, employed in the trade of the
interior country, bringing and carrying away property, estimated at
above _Seventy Millions Sterling_.[188]
[Footnote 187: See Table in page 215.]
[Footnote 188: See page 216.]
In addition to this, it is calculated, that above 40,000 waggons and
other carriages, including their repeated journies, arrive and depart
laden, in both instances, with articles of domestic, colonial, East
India and foreign merchandize; occasioning a transit of perhaps (when
cattle, grain, and provisions sent for the consumption of the
inhabitants, are included) _Fifty Millions more_. If we take into the
account the vast quantity of merchandize and moveable property of
every species deposited in the various _maritime magazines_,
_timber-yards_, _piece-goods' warehouses_, _shops_, _manufactories_,
_store-houses_, _public markets_, _dwelling-houses_, _inns_, _new
buildings_, and _other repositories_, and which pass from one place to
another, it will establish a foundation for supposing that, in this
way, property to the amount of _Fifty Millions_ more at least, is
annually exposed to depredation; making a Sum of _One Hundred and
Seventy Millions_; independent of the moving articles in ships of war
and transports, and in the different Arsenals, Dock-yards, and
Repositories in the Tower of London, and at Deptford, Woolwich,
Sheerness, and various smaller magazines, in the daily course of being
received and sent away, supposed to amount to _Thirty Millions_ more;
making in the whole an aggregate sum of _Two Hundred Millions_. Thus
an immense property becomes exceedingly exposed, in all the various
ways already explained in the course of this Work; and the _estimated_
amount of the _annual depredations_ hereafter enumerated under these
respective heads will cease to be a matter of surprise, if measured by
the enormous scale of property above particularized. Although it is
supposed to amount to about _Two Millions_ sterling, it sinks to a
trifle, in contemplating the magnitude of the capital, _scarcely
reaching one per cent. on the value of property passing in transit in
the course of a year_.
It is not, therefore, so much the actual loss that is sustained (great
as it certainly is) which is to be deplored _as the mischief which
arises from the destruction of the morals of so numerous a body of
people; who must be directly or collaterally engaged in perpetrating
smaller offences, and in fraudulent and criminal pursuits_.
This, in a political point of view, is a consideration of a very
serious and alarming nature, infinitely worse in its consequences than
even those depredations which arise from acts of violence committed by
more atrocious offenders; the numbers of which latter have been shewn
to be small, in comparison with other delinquents, and not to have
increased in any material degree for the last 50 years; while
_inferior thefts, river-plunder, pillage, embezzlement, and frauds, in
respect to public property, coining base money, forgeries under
various ramifications, cheating by means of swindling and other
criminal practices, and purchasing and dealing in stolen goods_, have
advanced in a degree, commensurate to the great and rapid influx of
wealth, which has arisen from the vast increase of the commerce and
manufactures of the Country, and the general accumulation of property
by British subjects in the East and West Indies, and in foreign
Countries.