by a Chief Commissioner appointed by the Home Office and independent
of municipal control, has ever since been a subject for controversy
amongst local politicians. Members of the progressive party have
held that the control of the police ought to be transferred from the
Government to the London County Council; and, in support of the desired
change, argue that as the ratepayers find the money they should have a
voice in its expenditure; they contend that it is an insult to London
that she alone amongst the great towns of England is debarred from the
management of her own constabulary. At first sight it would appear
reasonable to extend to London the same measure of self-government in
police matters that provincial towns enjoy; but the answer of those
who are content with the present arrangement is that the Metropolitan
Police is an Imperial rather than a local force--provincial towns
and districts have only provincial interests to guard, London has
responsibilities as wide as the Empire; and however public-spirited
local authorities may be, the danger will always remain that they
may be induced to prefer local to national interests. The Houses of
Parliament, the British Museum, public offices and foreign embassies
happen to be in London, but they are not local institutions: the
head-quarters of the Criminal Investigation Department is no more
inseparable from Scotland Yard than is parliament from Westminster:
London is the focus of crime and it is convenient that it should also
be the head-quarters of the machinery for its prevention, but that
is no reason why the principal detective agency of England should
be subordinated to Spring Gardens influences. The inhabitants of
Canterbury might as well aspire to the control of the National Church
on the strength of their pride of See, as Londoners insist that the
Metropolis must bear the responsibilities of the National Police. It is
repeated that the ratepayers of London pay for the Metropolitan force;
but this is only partly true. It would be more correct to say that they
pay half the bill, and, in return, they obtain the protection they pay
for, the Imperial Treasury providing the balance.[268]
It has been suggested that a fair compromise might be found in a
division of the responsibility, by giving the London County Council
control over a moiety of the force for local purposes, and transferring
to that body the authority to license hackney-carriages, pedlars and
lodging houses together with the management of street traffic, &c.,
&c., whilst retaining a separate police establishment for imperial
purposes; but there is little doubt that such a change would only lead
to friction, and might conceivably bring about a recrudescence of that
jealousy which was the bane of the old parochial system.
The whole question is complicated by the independent position that
the City of London has been allowed to retain. From many points of
view it would be advantageous to concentrate the entire police of
the metropolis under one and the same administration, and to some
amalgamation seems desirable for the sake of uniformity, if for no
better reason; but regularity in our institutions is not in itself a
great end to strive for, and it would be prodigal of labour to tinker
with our going concerns merely to eliminate deviations from the normal.
Against amalgamation much can be urged. The city wishes to retain its
ancient privilege of policing itself, and as long as it maintains an
efficient force entirely at its own expense, the government is not
likely to interfere. The matter is largely one of finance. Under the
existing arrangements, three-quarters of the total cost of the City
police is raised in the city by a local police rate, and the remaining
quarter is subscribed by the Corporation out of its revenue; if,
however, the control was transferred to the Chief Commissioner of the
Metropolitan Police, the city would only have to pay five-ninths of
the total cost instead of the whole amount as at present--or putting
it in another light, amalgamation would cost the Imperial Treasury
more than fifty thousand pounds a year, which sum is the price that
the city now pays for the privilege of managing its own police. A
second objection to amalgamation is that the Justice Rooms at Mansion
House and Guildhall are presided over by magistrates who are experts
in commercial jurisdiction, and consequently the usefulness of these
courts would be to some extent impaired if they became ordinary
metropolitan police courts.
Modern police in the City of London dates from 1839, in which year,
it will be remembered, the Corporation awoke to the necessity of
reorganization, and so escaped the consolidating process that had
already absorbed all the other independent and semi-independent police
establishments within the 688 square miles that surround Charing Cross.
Since then the advisability of fusing together the two London police
forces has often been debated, and after the death of Sir Richard Mayne
in 1869 the threatened amalgamation would have become a _fait accompli_
had the Government been ready to acquiesce in the suggestion made by
the Corporation that the City Commissioner should be promoted to the
command of the proposed combination. In 1894 the Royal Commission on
the Unification of London reported in favour of bringing the whole of
the police of the metropolis under one administration; but its advice
has not yet been acted upon, nor is there any immediate prospect of
its recommendations being carried into effect. If, however, the City
authorities should at any time fail to keep up the high standard of
police that they have hitherto maintained they would certainly lose
their historic privilege of police independence, and the knowledge of
this fact contributes to the undoubted efficiency of the force they
control. At the present day both the metropolitan and city forces
rightly consider themselves _corps d'elite_, and a proper rivalry
exists between them, which is at once creditable in itself and
advantageous to the public interest. We have said that the ultimate
authority over the city police rests with the Corporation. It may
however be remarked that the appointment of any person has to be
ratified by the Crown before he is confirmed in the Commissionership,
and that practically speaking the powers possessed by the Corporation
are exercised by proxy. To a Police Committee consisting of some eighty
members selected by the Common Council is delegated everything that
concerns the pay, allowances, and financial business of the force;
whilst all questions touching the discipline and disposal of the men
under his command are referred to the Commissioner, who is thus supreme
in his own department.
One of the clauses in Peel's Act had disfranchised the new police by
denying to constables the right to vote for the election of a Member of
Parliament for the district comprised in the metropolitan police area:
with the growth of other forces this disability was correspondingly
extended, and all over the country policemen were debarred from taking
their part in parliamentary elections. For the moment the prohibition
was in all probability a wise one; elections were then very turbulent
affairs, public opinion was already aflame with excitement over the
impending parliamentary reforms, and men could only speculate upon the
future behaviour of the as-yet-untried constabulary. Even if it had
been possible to guarantee that the police would maintain a perfectly
correct attitude, prudence would still have counselled the advisability
of dissociating the guardians of the peace from the factious interests
of electioneering. The public were so suspicious, and Peel's scheme had
so many opponents, that in every political contest the losers would
to a certainty have attributed the result to the sinister influence
of the bogey-man in blue. When, however, both popular prejudice and
popular excitement had subsided, there was no longer sufficient cause
for the disfranchisement of a numerous and important class of public
servants who had proved themselves worthy of all trust; but the
original prohibition still held good, to the great disadvantage of the
police service. This continued for nearly half a century, that is until
1887, when the "Police Disabilities Removal Act" of that year for the
first time gave the parliamentary suffrage to all properly qualified
police officers who comply with certain regulations made for the joint
convenience of police and public.[269] Six years later constables
became entitled to vote, if qualified, at School Board, Municipal
and other elections; but in no case are they allowed to canvass, any
attempt to influence an elector rendering the offender liable to a
penalty of £10.
The wisdom of enfranchising the police has been amply proved by the
result, for on no occasion since their admission to the suffrage has
it been as much as suggested that they make an improper use of the
privilege. Although English police of the twentieth century is a very
different thing from Anglo-Saxon police of the tenth century, there is
a potent characteristic which is common to both; that is to say, the
modern system rests, as the ancient one did, on the sure foundation of
mutual reliance. We may rely upon it that the law-abiding character of
the British nation is largely due to the rarity with which espionage
as a method of control has been employed in these islands, just as the
trustworthiness of our English Constabularies is largely the outcome
of the confidence that we repose in the wisdom and integrity of our
peace-officers. We are well served by our police because we have wisely
made them personally responsible for their actions. The constable
suffers equally with the non-official citizen for any illegal action
he may commit; the law protects him only in the performance of acts
authorized by the law; nor can he divest himself of responsibility by
pleading the orders of his superior officer, if those orders should
chance to be illegal. This personal responsibility is not only a curb
to excessive zeal, it is also a spur to legitimate activity. "When,"
says Sir Arthur Helps, "a man can do anything well, and is entrusted
to do it, he has generally an impulse to action which is as strong and
abiding as can be found amongst human motives, and which will even
surpass the love of gain."
To teach the value of self-reliance is one of the most important
duties that a Chief-Constable has to perform, and the efficiency of
the force under his command will largely depend upon the manner in
which he has imbued individual constables with the lesson. To this
end the military model of organization and discipline must not be too
closely followed; soldiers generally act in masses and but rarely on
their own responsibility, whilst policemen do nine-tenths of their
work as individuals. The main object of discipline in the army is
to make a man obey orders from force of habit on occasions when his
natural instinct would impel him to think only of his personal safety,
advantage, or honour; the principal end to be attained in the education
of the constable is that he should know his duty, and do it with
circumspection and self-control, generally on his own initiative and
frequently in opposition to the sympathies of the crowd.
Police discipline has been described by Sir Howard Vincent as "the
obedience and respect to lawful authority which distinguishes an
organized body from a rabble"[270] and Sir Henry Hawkins (Lord
Brampton) has insisted upon the necessity of absolute obedience being
rendered by constables to all in authority over them, "Such obedience
and observance," he said, "I regard as essential to the existence of
a police force."[271] All who have had any experience of dealing with
large bodies of men will endorse every word of these pronouncements.
First obey orders and, if necessary, complain afterwards, is a rule
upon the application of which depends the life and well-being of every
properly-disciplined body; at the same time it should not be forgotten
that the too-strict enforcement of a rigid type of discipline neither
conduces to the value of a police force nor to the advantage of the
public. Periodically since 1829 alarmists have repeated the formula
that "the era of dragooning has dawned"; on every occasion hitherto the
cry has proved as groundless as that of the proverbial shepherd-boy,
but, in order to make quite sure that the fable shall for us have no
actual counterpart, it is politic to remember that a watchdog which is
not kept under proper control may become as dangerous as any wolf. In
Continental Europe this danger has not, as we think, been sufficiently
guarded against: the police functionary is there entrusted with powers
that render him to some extent independent of the ordinary law of
the land, for he cannot be prosecuted for malfeasance unless special
permission has first been obtained from the Government, and this
permission is only granted under very exceptional circumstances.
Occasion has already been taken to remark that the freedom enjoyed by
the Press of this country is an invaluable safeguard against police
tyranny, that the public Press in fact polices the constabulary.
This, however, is only one of the many police functions that modern
journalism performs. When a serious crime is committed the newspapers
raise a Hue and Cry so far-reaching and persistent that soon every
tavern discusses the news, every village harbours a potential
detective. Whenever a criminal is caught and convicted the deterrent
value of the punishment served out to him is increased a thousand-fold
by the publicity given by the Press to the award of the judge. In
former days capital punishment was publicly inflicted with the mistaken
idea that in this way was the maximum deterrent effect of the death
penalty assured[272]; now, not only is what was a brutalizing spectacle
decently veiled from the public gaze, but in place of the depraved
thousands who formerly used to witness the "turning off" of each poor
wretch, normal millions read, and it is to be hoped inwardly digest,
the lesson that these tragedies are meant to convey. The Press also
acts most effectually as a modern substitute for the pillory. The
knowledge that an account of his offence will figure in the morning's
police intelligence for all his friends to read, is far more likely
to prevent a man (who lays claim to even a shred of respectability)
from committing himself, than is any fine that the police magistrate
might impose. Nor is the efficacy of the Press as an auxiliary agent
of police confined to its success as a deterrent--newspapers advertise
the bankrupt's loss of credit, expose the tricks of the swindler,
ruin the trade of the impostor, and chastise many an offender whom
the law cannot reach. Finally, a free Press, being a guarantee for
public liberty, acts as a seton for the escape of evil humours which,
if confined, might become a source of danger to the Commonwealth; for
as Bentham has said, "a people sure of its rights, enjoys them with
moderation and tranquillity."[273]
In his introduction to the "Criminal Statistics for 1898," recently
published by the Home Office, Mr C. E. Troup, of that Department,
says that the general conclusions to be drawn from a study of the
comparative tables which form part of the statistical returns, may be
summed up as follows--"That the actual number of crimes brought into
the courts has diminished appreciably during the last thirty years;
that, if the increase of population is taken into account, the decrease
in crime becomes very marked; that, if we also take into account the
increase of the police forces and the greater efficiency in the means
of investigating and punishing crime, we may conclude that the decrease
in crime is even greater than the figures shew; and finally, if we take
into account the fact that habitual criminals are now for the most
part imprisoned only for short periods and have much more frequent
opportunities than formerly of committing offences, we must hold that
the number of criminals has diminished in an even greater ratio than
the number of crimes."[274]
It is of course impossible to estimate with any degree of accuracy to
what extent this diminution of crime and this increased security of
recent years are due to the exertions of our modern constabularies;
enough has been said to make it abundantly clear that the amelioration
is real, and that it is progressive in its tendency, but the difficulty
is to apportion the credit justly between the various agencies that
have contributed to the result. There is no doubt that the spread of
education and the labours of religious and philanthropic bodies have
done much to civilise the masses; it is certain also that an improved
prison system and a reformed penal code have reacted beneficially on
the criminal classes; but if we believe in the teachings of history we
shall put our trust in no combination of influences directed towards
the maintenance of the peace that does not at least include a good
preventive police-force. If Lombroso's theories are correct, even
if some men are born criminal beyond all hope of human redemption,
these are only reasons for redoubling our police precautions: the
delinquent who is a delinquent from his cradle is the more dangerous
on that account, and to the congenital criminal must be denied the
opportunity for mischief. But such freaks are rare and the normal
criminal is anything but a creature of impulse; his calculations may
not be shrewd but they are undoubtedly deliberate. "Abandon fait
larron!" When poverty or the want of life's necessaries lead to theft,
or where native cruelty and love of bloodshed give rise to deeds of
violence, police, however efficient, can effect but little in the way
of prevention; but it is the almost unanimous opinion of those best
qualified to judge that the bulk of the offences committed in this
country are perpetrated by those who enter upon a criminal career
because it appears to them that it is easy and profitable, and because
they think that it will enable them to obtain luxuries that lie beyond
the reach of their industrious and honest companions. It is obvious,
therefore, that an effective police, by making the profession of
dishonesty difficult and precarious, can remove the principal incentive
that makes men criminal.
The circle of police employment is constantly widening, and many of
the functions delegated to the Constabulary by Parliament and by local
authorities have not been so much as touched upon in this book, which,
in a small compass, has endeavoured to trace the main features of
police development in England through a great number of years. It is
to be hoped, however, that the tendency to load police officers with
duties heavier and more diverse than they have to perform already
will not go on increasing. It is difficult to fix the precise limits
within which it is proper that they should act; but it is certain that
by indefinitely multiplying their duties we run a twofold risk, viz.,
that of rendering the work of police constables so complex and varied
that men of average talent and education will be unable to perform it
thoroughly, and further of undermining the popularity of the force by
exhibiting its members before the eyes of the people as universally
interfering and censorious. It is, of course, right and proper that
the policeman should endeavour to prevent the commission of any act
that he knows to be illegal, at all times and in all places; but it is
generally advisable to employ functionaries who do not belong to the
police for purposes not closely connected with the maintenance of the
peace, whenever the employment of outsiders is equally effectual: it
is more convenient, for instance, that game-keepers should protect the
rights of owners on sporting estates, and that custom-house officials
should examine portmanteaux, than that such duties should be performed
by constables. His Majesty's Coastguard, the Inspectors of Mines and
Factories, and other persons appointed by Societies for the prevention
of cruelty to animals, and for the suppression of mendicity, etc.,
relieve the police of much work by carrying out the various parts
assigned to them by Government or by private enterprise; it is worth
considering whether it would not be more profitable to delegate to
functionaries, other than constables; all duties connected with the
inspection of weights and measures, the enforcement of sanitary laws,
the protection of arsenals and dockyards, and with the maintenance of
order on racecourses. A force specially devoted to the last mentioned
object is desirable on many grounds. In the first place the knowledge
that such a body would possess of the welshers, cardsharpers, and
pickpockets who travel about from one race-meeting to another, and with
whom the different local police forces are unable to cope, would put
an end to a great deal of the crime which is at present unchecked and
undetected; and in the second place, it would no longer be necessary
to withdraw large bodies of police from their proper duties for the
protection of race-goers. On the occasion of the riot at Featherstone
in 1893, the calling out of the Military, and the loss of life which
followed, was largely attributable to the concentration at Doncaster
of all the available Yorkshire constables, an unfortunate arrangement
which bared the rest of the county of its regular protectors, and
encouraged the rioters to proceed to lengths they would not otherwise
have attempted.
Although it will hardly be denied that our police discharge their
office conscientiously, courteously and courageously, the general
public has shewn itself somewhat slow to acknowledge the debt which it
owes to the men who undertake what is by common consent a thankless
task; who armed with no extraordinary powers, and protected by no
elaborate exemptions, perform arduous duties on behalf of their
fellow-countrymen, for little reward, and at considerable personal
risk. Perhaps it may not be presumptuous to hope that the foregoing
pages, by adding their quota to the scanty sources of information on
the subject, may cause a corresponding increase in the tribute of
public goodwill, that has been so well earned, and so long awaited, by
the police forces of England.
THE END
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Fraser's Magazine_, No. xvi. p. 169.
[2] Evidence of Mr Murray, a magistrate at Union Hall, before the
Parliamentary Committee of 1834.
[3] Report of Police Commissioners, 1839.
[4] See Stubb's "Constitutional History," end of para. 60.
[5] In the reign of Edward VI. the well-known legal maxim, "The King
never dies," was first enunciated; since which time it has been held
that there can be no break in the continuity of kingship; that is to
say, that the accession of each succeeding monarch and the decease of
his predecessor are simultaneous.
[6] Chron. Ang. S., _ad ann._, 1135.
[7] "Thane" is here used in the loose and popular sense to signify the
resident owner of considerable territorial possessions.
[8] Headborough, Borsholder, and Chief-Frankpledge are three words
which describe the same functionary. The latter of Norman, and the
two former of Saxon origin. Borsholder = Borhes-ealder--Borhes (often
written Borough as in "Headborough"), meaning Pledge or Surety. It is
probable that the connection between Borough signifying "Town" and
Borough the correlative of Plegium, is merely an accidental coincidence.
[9] It is difficult to avoid the confusion which arises from the use of
the word "Hundred." Here the police-hundreds (probably introduced for
the first time into England by Edgar) are referred to. The statement
does not necessarily imply that the grouping of families into Tythings,
and of Tythings into Hundreds took place before county areas were
subdivided into smaller areas called Hundreds. It may be remarked,
however, that an uninhabited Hundred (and there must have been many
such if the whole kingdom was divided in this way) can have had no
police significance.
[10] See Note on the Liability of the Hundred, p. 180, chap. ix. post.
[11] Burn I. p. 671.
[12] Edgar, Secular Ordinance, c. 6.
[13] Writing at the end of the eighteenth century Jeremy Bentham
declared: "This is the great problem of penal legislation--(i.) To
reduce all the _evil_ of offences, as far as possible, to that kind
which can be cured by a pecuniary compensation. (ii.) To throw the
expense of this cure upon the authors of the evil, or in their default,
upon the public."
[14] In addition to the "Trinoda necessitas" which besides compelling a
man to serve in the Militia, also claimed his services for the repair
of bridges, and for the up-keep of the national fortifications.
[15] See "Spelman's Glossary," _sub verbo_ "Fredus."
[16] _Ll. Aelf._ 40; _Ll. Ethelb._ 34.
[17] The germ of trial by jury.
[18] Gneist. "History of the English Constitution."
[19] Coke. 2 Instit. 73.
[20] Bede H. E., II. xvi.
[21] It is probable that the _scir-gerefa_ was originally elected by
the freeholders in the folkmoot: the Norman Sheriff, on the other hand,
was invariably appointed by the Crown direct.
[22] This fine was called the "Murdrum."
[23] Bacon's "Office of Constables."
[24] (Magna Carta, Section 20). King John also promised as follows:
"We will not make men justiciaries, constables, sheriffs or bailiffs,
unless they understand the law of the land, and are well disposed to
observe it."
[25] Second Great Charter of Henry III.
[26] "Chronicle of Dunstable," vol. i. p. 155.
[27] _Dictum de Kenilworth_, sect. 14, Stubb's "Select Charters."
[28] 10 Geo. II. c. 22, and 14 Geo. III. c. 90.
[29] 13 Edw. I., _Statuta civitatis_ London.
[30] 23 Edw. III., sect. i. c. 7.
[31] "Commissioners' Report," 1839.
[32] From form of oath administered by Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury
("History of Vagrants," by Ribton Turner).
[33] See Chitty's "Office and Duties of Constables": Coke 3 Inst. 116,
117; and 2 Hale P. C. 102.
[34] See "Statute of Northampton."
[35] 3 Edw. I. cap. 34.
[36] Coroners are first heard of in the directions given to the
itinerant Justices by Richard I. in 1194, when four of these officers
were assigned to each county.
[37] 4 Edw. I. Stat. 2.
[38] "History of Vagrants."
[39] Fitzherbert, Dalton, Burn, etc.
[40] The edict of Hubert Walter.
[41] Rot. Pat. 14 Edw. I. m. 25.
[42] Rot. Pat. 10 Edw. I. m. 8.
[43] Stephens' "Hist. of the Crim. Law," i. 112.
[44] 2 Edw. III., c. 3.
[45] Rot. Parl. 6 Edw. III.
[46] 34 Edw. III., c. i.
[47] 36 Edw. III., c. 12.
[48] 1 Edw. IV., c. 2. See Reeves' "Hist." vol. iii. p. 9.
[49] Burn's "Justice," v. 302, 25th edition.
[50] See also in this connection Carter's "English Legal History," p.
93.
[51] I. Hale's Sum. 96.
[52] Hist. Ram. Gale. vol. iii. 416, 417.
[53] Extended to other towns in 1427. By 6 Henry VI. c. 3 Justices are
to discharge in counties the same duties as are performed in towns by
Mayors and Bailiffs.
[54] 2 Hen. V. c. 1.
[55] 4 Hen. VII. c. 13.
[56] _Cf._ Koenig.
[57] Viscount--"an arbitrary title of honour, without a shadow of
office pertaining to it" (Blackstone).
[58] Coke viii. 43.
[59] 13 & 14 Car. ii. c. 12.
[60] Selden Society, vol. vi. p. 35.
[61] Secular Dooms, Cap. 81.
[62] All evil customs of forests and warrens, and of foresters and
warreners, sheriffs and their officers, waterbanks and their keepers,
shall immediately be inquired into by twelve knights of the same
county, upon oath, who shall be chosen by the good men of the same
county; and within forty days after the inquisition is made, they shall
be quite destroyed by them, never to be restored.--_Magna Carta._
[63] Spelman's Glossary _in verbo_ "foresta."
[64] Manwood, "Treatise of the Forest Laws," 4th ed., p. 143.
[65] Vert included trees, underwood and turf; venison comprised the
hart, the hind, the hare, the boar and the wolf, which were beasts of
forest--the buck, the doe, the fox and the marten, which were beasts of
chase--the rabbit, pheasant, partridge, quail, mallard, heron, etc.,
which were beasts or fowls of warren. So sacred was the stag that
should one be found dead an inquest had to be held, and a verdict as to
the cause of death taken. (See Low and Pulling's "Dictionary of English
History," under Forests.)
[66] It was a universal principle of Early English Law that no defence
was valid if the culprit was caught red-handed, he was _ipso facto_
convicted. (See Carter's "English Legal History," p. 175.)
[67] Assisa et Consuetudines Forestae, anno 6, Edward I.
[68] Coke Inst., iii., p. 294. This is according to Coke, who derives
"Mayneer" from the Latin _Manus_. Manwood, on the other hand, has the
phrase "taken in the manner," using manner in the sense of "_maniére_."
[69] Coke Inst., iii. 289 _seq._
[70] Coke Inst., iii. 294.
[71] Although the authenticity of this document is denied, there is
good reason to suppose that, as far as the following enumeration of
forest officers is concerned, its accuracy may be trusted.
[72] Manwood, p. 163.
[73] Manwood, p. 78.
[74] Forest Law, as once administered, was perhaps the worst example
of class legislation ever known to the English Constitution--it was a
deliberate violation of the rights of the many for the gratification
of the few--the same act which was venial in the gentleman became
unpardonable when committed by the villein. For example, a common man
who slew a deer was guilty of felony and might be capitally convicted,
whereas a nobleman riding through the King's Forest was allowed to kill
a stag or two for his refreshment, on the understanding that he did so
in the sight of a ranger, or if no ranger was present, provided that
someone blew a horn for him, "that he seem not to steal the deer" (9
Henry III.).
[75] Dalton, cap. 60, fol. 141.
[76] "Town Life in the Fifteenth Century," Mrs J. R. Green, vol. i.
chapter iv.
[77] "Liber Albus," p. 312.
[78] "Liber Albus," p. 315.
[79] Hist. MSS. Com., ix. 174.
[80] 51 Hen. III., stat. 6.
[81] 12 Edw. ii. c. 6.
[82] See Final Report of H. M. Commissioners appointed to enquire into
the operation and administration of the Laws relating to the sale of
intoxicating liquors, chap. xvi. p. 21.
[83] The King could tax foreign merchants resident in England without
having to obtain the consent of Parliament.
[84] The test was usually a verse out of the 51st Psalm--commonly
called the "neck verse."
[85] 7 & 8 Geo. iv. c. 28; and see Carter's Eng. Leg. Hist., pp. 202,
203.
[86] 6 Edw. I., c. 9.
[87] 22 Edw. IV.
[88] 3 Henry VII., c. 1.
[89] 34 & 35 Hen. VIII., c. 26 (Wales).
[90] "Tables of population," says Bentham, "in which are described
the dwelling-place, the age, the sex, the profession, etc.... of
individuals, are the first materials of a good police" (Bentham's
"Principles of Penal Law," chap. xii.).
[91] The story of young Edward amongst the vagabonds has recently been
told with great charm and pathos by one of the most popular writers of
the day. Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper" may not be history,
but that it presents a truthful picture of the sufferings of vagrants
in the sixteenth century cannot be doubted.
[92] Slaves might be bought, sold, or bequeathed by will, like any
other chattel.
[93] 1 Edw. VI.
[94] 3 & 4 Edw. VI., c. 5.
[95] The command of the Militia was transferred from the
Lords-Lieutenant of counties to the Crown in the year 1871 ("The Army
Book for the British Empire," p. 373).
[96] To this there was one exception, viz., that foreigners were not
allowed to keep inns "unless they have report from the parts whence
they come, or find safe pledges" (Statute).
[97] 5 & 6 Edw. VI., c. 25.
[98] 27 Elizabeth, Private Acts.
[99] Ordinance, 27 Eliz.
[100] "The Commonwealth of England," Sir Thomas Smith, Ed., 1598, bk.
ii. chap. 21.
[101] 5 Eliz., c. iv. sect. 7.
[102] See p. 302, chap. xv., post.
[103] 14 Eliz., c. v. sect. 2.
[104] 39 and 40 Eliz., c. iv.
[105] 43 Eliz. c. 2.
[106] 27 Eliz. c. 13.
[107] 39 Elizabeth, c. 25.
[108] See the Introduction to "Prothero's Select Charters," sect. v.
[109] Rymer's "Foedera," xvi. p. 279.
[110] Prothero's "Select Charters," p. 187.
[111] "Measure for Measure," act ii. scene 1.
[112] Strype's "Annals," 1824, Edn., vol. iv. p. 405.
[113] iii James 4.
[114] See Somers' "Tracts," edited by Scott, vol. ii. p. 266.
[115] 1 Jac. I., cap. vii. sects. 3 and 4.
[116] 7 & 8 Jac. I., cap. iv.
[117] I. Jac. i. cap. 31.
[118] This statute, which gave such extraordinary powers to constables,
only remained in force for twelve months. (See article "The office of
Constable," by H. B. Simpson, "English Historical Review," vol. x.)
[119] See Proclamations, etc., of Charles I. Bodleian, z. i. 17 Jur.
[120] I. Car. i. cap. 16.
[121] 3 Car. i. cap. 4.
[122] Lib. Albo, fol. 41, b, c, d, e; 23 Henry vi.
[123] "Minshæi Emendatio," ad ann. 1626.
[124] See Note on Liability of the Hundred, chap. ix. post.
[125] 4 & 5 Phil. Mary, cap. 2 and 3.
[126] For a full and interesting account of _Cromwell's
Major-Generals_, see an article under that title by D. W. Rannie in the
"English Historical Review," No. 10.
[127] See Professor Gardiner's "History of the Commonwealth and
Protectorate, 1649-1660," vol. iii.
[128] An Excise duty on liquor had recently (1643) been introduced by
the Long Parliament.
[129] Scobell, part i. p. 129; part ii. p. 320.
[130] D'Argenson, lieutenant of police, declared that "there were more
irregularities and debaucheries committed in Paris during the Easter
fortnight, when the theatres were shut, than during the four months of
the season during which they were open" ("Memoirs de Pollnitz," vol.
iii.).
[131] Macaulay's "History of England," 1889 Edn., p. 178.
[132] 13 and 14 Car. ii. c. 2.
[133] The number of such vehicles was strictly limited. In London no
more than 400 were allowed.
[134] 14 Car. ii. c. 12, sect. 15. The statute also provides for the
appointment of special constables in times of emergency.
[135] 15 Car. ii. c. 1.
[136] From "The duty and Office of High Constable, &c." by W. Brown, a
clerk of the Court of Common Pleas. Lond. 1677, pp. 26 and 27.
[137] 13 and 14 Car. ii. c. 12 § 22.
[138] Worthies of England, p. 216.
[139] 13 Car. ii. c. 22.
[140] 4 William and Mary, c. viii.
[141] 6 Geo. i., cap. 25, sect. 8.
[142] "Le Blanc's Letters," vol. ii., 1737.
[143] "The Town Rakes," Brit. Mus., (816--m--19)/74.
[144] 1 Geo. i., stat. 2, § 5.
[145] 10 Geo. ii. c. 22.
[146] 8 Geo. ii. c. 16.
[147] 12 Geo. ii. c. 16.
[148] Ann Reg., 1763.
[149] See Gent. Mag., 1761, p. 475; 1780, p. 1446, and Laurence's "Life
of Fielding."
[150] Of the several Statutes dealing with police passed during the
reign of George II., the most valuable and important is the 24 Geo.
ii., c. 44, which enacts that action cannot be brought against a
constable for anything done by him in obedience to a Justice's warrant,
unless the Justice who signed the warrant is made a joint-defendant
with the constable; and which directs that if action is brought
jointly against the Justice and the constable, then the jury shall
find for the latter, provided that they are satisfied that he acted
strictly in accordance with the terms of the warrant that he pleads in
justification. When making an arrest a constable should, if required,
shew the warrant which is his authority, but he need not allow it to
leave his hand.
[151] 29 Geo. ii., c. 25.
[152] 31 Geo. ii., c. 17.
[153] 14 Geo. iii. c. 90.
[154] Wedderburn.
[155] This was the first occasion on which the word "police" was
officially made use of in the British Isles.
[156] Irish Statutes, 26 Geo. iii., c. 24.
[157] 33 Geo. iii., c. 4.
[158] By 29 Car. ii. c. 7, § 7 it was enacted that no liability
attached to the Hundred if a man be robbed whilst travelling on a
Sunday--"for he should not travel on the Lord's Day, nor ought the
Hundred to watch on that day of rest." Nevertheless it was ordained
that Hue and Cry should be raised against a known offender, despite the
non-liability of the Hundred, in order that depredators should not take
advantage of the omission.
Actions against the Hundred had to be brought within three months from
the date of the damage, and there was no liability for deeds done in
the night-time--if, however, there was just sufficient light to see a
man's face, liability might be proved, whatever the hour. No charge
against the Hundred held good for any robbery done in a man's house,
"because every man's house is his castle, which he ought to defend; and
if any one be robbed in his house it shall be esteemed his own fault"
(Dalton, c. 84); and with regard to liability on account of murder and
robbery committed in the daytime, see "Year Book of the Exchequer," (16
Edward I.)
[159] 42 Geo. iii., c. 76.
[160] Between 1822 and 1828, the increase was about 38 per cent.
[161] It has been calculated that at this time there were as many as
fifty fraudulent mints in the metropolis alone.
[162] In the hope of suppressing the seditious spirit so rife at this
period, six coercive measures generally known as the "Six Acts" were
rushed through both Houses of Parliament in a special autumn session of
1819. These Acts sought to preserve the peace by placing restrictions
on the press, by forbidding the training of unauthorized persons in
the use of arms, by empowering Justices of the Peace to search for
and confiscate weapons, and by other repressive measures of a similar
nature.
[163] "The policy of a legislator who punishes every offence with
death, is like the pusillanimous terror of a child who crushes the
insect he dares not look at."--Bentham, "Principles of the Penal Code,"
Part iv. Cap. xxii.
[164] "The more the certainty of punishment can be augmented, the more
it may be diminished in amount."--Bentham, "Principles of the Penal
Code." Rule viii.
[165] The ethical point of view is well put by Henry Fielding, who
said, "Nor in plain truth will the utmost severity to offenders be
justifiable, unless we take every possible means of preventing the
offence."
[166] In a letter addressed to _The Times_ of November 14th,
1849--Charles Dickens, himself an eye-witness of one of these
brutalising exhibitions, wrote--"I am solemnly convinced that nothing
that ingenuity could devise to be done in this city, in the same
compass of time, could work such ruin as one public execution, and I
stand astounded and appalled by the wickedness it exhibits."
[167] As early as 1597, by an act passed in the 39th year of Queen
Elizabeth's reign--Quarter Sessions were empowered to inflict
transportation, but at first the law could not be enforced because
there was no place to which convicts could be shipped. A number of
royalists were transported to Barbadoes after its capitulation in 1651,
but this was only a temporary measure.
[168] 4 Geo. i. c. 2.
[169] 8 Geo. iii. c. 15.
[170] Escott's "England," 1885 Edn., p. 240.
[171] 7 & 8 Geo. IV., c. 18.
[172] It is impossible to say how far Bentham was influenced by
Beccaria; the two men arrived at similar conclusions, but their methods
were essentially different. Beccaria's great work, "Dei Delitti e
delle Pene," was first published (anonymously) in 1764, and Bentham's
"Rationale of Punishments and Rewards" was written eleven years later.
[173] In 1800 six women were publicly flogged till the blood ran down
their backs for hedge-pulling.
[174] 9 Geo. iv. c. 61.
[175] See "Encyclopædia of the Laws of England" under Licensing Acts.
[176] 7 and 8 Geo. iv. c. 31.
[177] 2 Geo. iv. and 1 Will. iv. c. 70.
[178] "Mysteries of Police and Crime," Griffiths, p. 66.
[179] A River Police Office, with three Justices assigned to it, was
authorised by 39 and 40 Geo. iii. c. 88.
[180] None of this applies to the "City of London" proper, which still
retains its independent position, as far as its police is concerned.
[181] 10 Geo. iv. c. 44.
[182] 10 Geo. iv. c. 45.
[183] The official designation of the Chiefs of the Metropolitan Police
was changed from "Justice" to "Commissioner" in the year 1839. The
change was one of title only, and the Police commissioners were still
Justices of the Peace by virtue of their office. To prevent confusion
the word "Commissioner" is henceforward employed in this book.
[184] "Sir Robert Peel," by C. S. Parker.
[185] Bentham defines the "Lettre de Cachet" as "an order to
punish, without any proof, for a fact against which there is no
law."--(Principles of Penal Law, chap. xxi. part 3).
[186] In the year 1820 the Spanish government suppressed some of the
leading newspapers for daring to adversely criticise the police of
Madrid, and at the same time it was currently believed in England that
Italian police officials employed the torture to procure evidence
against persons suspected of political offences.
[187] Hansard, vol. i. p. 271; and see Ann. Reg. 1830 Chron., p. 185.
[188] See article by Sir C. Warren, _Murray's Magazine_, Nov. 1888.
[189] See Report of Parliamentary Committee, 1838.
[190] 10 Geo. iv. c. 45.
[191] 3 Will. iv. c. 19.
[192] 6 & 7 Will. iv. c. 50.
[193] Peel wished to include the City of London in the Metropolitan
Police Area, but in a private letter to a friend frankly confessed that
he dared not meddle with it.--("Life of Sir Robert Peel," C. S. Parker).
[194] 2 & 3 Vict. c. 47.
[195] See 2 & 3 Vict. 47-71 & 93.
[196] See "The Police of the Metropolis," by Sir C. Warren--_Murray's
Magazine_, Nov. 1888. On the 15th April 1829, Peel informed the House
of Commons that crime was then far more prevalent in the metropolis
than in the country--one person out of every 383 persons having, on
the average, been committed in London, whilst in the provinces the
proportion was only one in 822.
[197] 1st Report Constabulary Commissioners, 1839, page 13.
[198] 3 & 4 Will. iv. c. 90.
[199] This "Lighting and Watching Act" still remains the authority for
the appointment of firemen, who may be "additional constables," and
who, "shall, during the time they shall be on duty, use their utmost
endeavours to prevent any mischief by fire." (3 & 4 Will. iv. c. 90, s.
41.)
[200] 5 & 6 Will. iv. c. 76.
[201] 13 and 14 Car. ii. c. 12.
[202] 1 and 2 Will. iv. c. 41.
[203] 5 and 6 Will. iv. c. 76.
[204] 1 and 2 Vic. c. 41.
[205] Bicknell's "Police Manual," p. 58.
[206] 2 & 3 Vict., c. 93.
[207] In 1840 the Act was amended, and a separate Police rate levied,
by 3 & 4 Vict., c. 38.
[208] In the year 1842, the Criminal Jurisdiction of Courts of Quarter
Sessions, which hitherto had been competent to deal with all offences
except treason, was limited by 5 & 6 Vict. c. 38, which removes murder,
capital felony and some other offences from the cognizance of the
Justices. In the metropolis, at the same time, much criminal business
was transferred from Justices of the Peace to Stipendiary Magistrates.
This was due rather to the increase of commitments consequent upon an
improved police, than to any implied incompetence of the Courts. In
1896 Quarter Sessions were again empowered to try Burglary cases (59 &
60 Vict. c. 57), and a further extension, or rather restoration, of the
powers exercised by Justices in Quarter Sessions is understood to be
now (1901) under consideration.
[209] 5 & 6 Vic. c. 109--amended by 13 & 14 Vic. c. 20.
[210] 10 Geo. iv. c. 97.
[211] See 1st Report 1853 Select Committee, p. 137.
[212] Those landowners who gave evidence before the Select Committee
in 1853 were almost unanimous in their testimony that the value of
property had increased in counties where rural police forces had been
established.--See second Report, 1853 Committee, §§ 2770, 2792, and
2793.
[213] See ante p. 102, Chapter VI.
[214] See Second Report 1853 Committee, pp. 151, 152.
[215] 19 & 20 Vic., c. 69.
[216] 2 & 3 Vict., c. 47.
[217] In the course of these riots £50,000 worth of damage was done.
[218] After these riots the General Convention of Chartists issued a
proclamation declaring "that a flagrant, wanton, and unjust outrage
has been made upon the people of Birmingham, by a bloodthirsty and
unconstitutional force from London, acting under the authority of men
who wished to keep the people in degradation."--"Annals of Our Times,
1839." See also "Chronicles of Crime," Camden Pelham.
[219] _Quarterly Review_, No. 257, 1870.
[220] Sir James Fitzjames Stephen's "A History of the Criminal Law of
England," vol. i. chap. xiv.
[221] Hale, Sum. 36, 37--I Hale, 457.
[222] From "The Commonwealth of England," by Sir Thomas Smith, 1589
edition.
[223] The County and Borough Police Act of 1856 required Rural Police
Forces to furnish annual returns of all crimes committed, persons
apprehended, and subsequent criminal proceedings in their respective
districts, on forms of return supplied by Sir George Gray. From the
materials thus supplied were the Criminal Statistics prepared until
1892, when an improved method of compilation was introduced by the
"Police Returns Act" of that year--(55 and 56 Vict. c. 38).
[224] There were eighty-two cases of garrotting in London between June
and December 1862; nor was the increased prevalence of crime confined
to the Metropolis--most of the larger towns (especially Liverpool)
suffered in the same way.
[225] Transportation to New South Wales and S. Australia ceased in
1850, to Van Diemen's Land in 1852; the last batch of convicts was sent
to Western Australia in 1867.
[226] The Chatham mutiny occurred in 1861, some years after the "Penal
Servitude Act" had become law, but it was due to very similar causes to
those which had occasioned the earlier outbreaks.
[227] 16 and 17 Vict. c. 99.
[228] Select Committee on Transportation 1856, Para. 1824.
[229] In the case of women convicts remission to the extent of
one-third or thereabouts can be earned.
[230] 50,000 is nearer the mark. There were 43,000 in Australasia alone.
[231] Speech by Sir H. Fowler, _The Times_, Jan. 15, 1901.
[232] See the article on Reformatories by Sir E. Du Cane in "Chambers'
Encyclopædia."
[233] 17 & 18 Vict. c. 86.
[234] 18 & 19 Vict. c. 87, and 19 & 20 Vict. c. 109.
[235] 20 & 21 Vict. c. 48.
[236] 24 & 25 Vict. c. 113.
[237] 42 & 43 Vict. c. 49.
[238] 50 & 51 Vict. c. 25.
[239] "Police Code," pp. 80 and 81.
[240] These recognizances may be with, or without, sureties; and the
obligation "to keep the peace" and "to be of good behaviour" continues
during such period as the Court may direct. _Cf._ p. 49, chapter iii.
ante, with reference to the powers conferred on Justices of the Peace
by 34 Edw. iii. c. 1.
[241] Bicknell's Police Manual, p. 244.
[242] 34 and 35 Vict. c. 112.
[243] Female holders of licenses are not required to report themselves
once a month.
[244] See Bicknell's Police Manual, p. 245.
[245] A complete description of the system as employed in England
may be found in a pamphlet entitled "The Identification of Habitual
Criminals," published by _The Police Review_.
[246] See "Our absurd system of punishing crime," by Dr Robert
Anderson, in _The Nineteenth Century and After_ for February 1901.
[247] See also a letter of Mr Justice Wills on the same subject, in
_The Times_, 21st Feb. 1901.
[248] The electric telegraph was first adapted to police purposes in
1841.
[249] See Kirchner's "Law and practice relative to Fugitive Offenders."
[250] 42 & 43 Vict. c. 22.
[251] 47 & 48 Vict. cap. 58.
[252] These Regulations were revised by Sir Richard Webster (Lord
Alverstone), Lord Herschell, and the Right Hon. Hugh Childers in 1886,
and may be found on page 250 of Bicknell's Police Manual.
[253] Now Colonel Sir Howard Vincent, M.P., the compiler of "The Police
Code," and a well-known authority on police questions.
[254] In 1884 the office of Director of Criminal Investigation was
abolished, and the duties formerly appertaining to the office have
since then been performed by an additional Assistant-Commissioner,
appointed for the purpose; but the system remains practically the same
as when it was first introduced in 1878.
[255] See _The Times_, 6th Feb. 1888.
[256] 2 & 3 Vict. c. 47, s. 22.
[257] In addition to the authorized deductions made from the pay of
constables, all monies arising from fines imposed on constables, or
for assaults on constables, from the sale of old police clothing, from
pedlars and chimney sweeps' certificates, from fines imposed by a Court
of Summary Jurisdiction, for offences under the Licensing Acts 1872-74,
and from certain other sources, are now carried to the Pension Fund
(see Police Act, 53 & 54 Vict. c. 45).
[258] 20 & 21 Vict. c. 64, s. 15.
[259] See "The Story of Police Pensions," by J. Munro.--_New Review_,
vol. iii.
[260] 53 and 54 Vict. c. 45 (a).
[261] Disorderly meetings took place on the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 23rd
Oct. '87; on the last of these occasions some two thousand rioters were
guilty of brawling in Westminster Abbey.
[262] There is an interesting article on the "Right of Public Meeting,"
by Professor Dicey, in _The Contemporary Review_, April 1889. See
"Annual Register," 1888.
[263] 5 & 6 Will. iv. c. 76.
[264] 45 & 46 Vict. c. 50.
[265] 51 & 52 Vict. c. 41, &c.
[266] See L.G.A., Section 9, para. 3.
[267] Speech by Mr Morley at Newcastle, 21st of June 1886.
[268] See article in the _Contemporary Review_, vol. lv. (Year 1889),
by H. Evans, who therein pointed out that "the Treasury Grant to the
Metropolitan Police Fund bears a higher proportion to the rateable
value, than is the case with the contributions to the County and
Borough Police."
[269] See section 2, 50 Vict. c. 9.
[270] Police Code, under "Discipline."
[271] From "An Address to Police Constables on their Duties," by Sir
Henry Hawkins, printed in "The Police Code."
[272] Contrasting public with private executions, Henry Fielding
remarked in favour of the latter, that, "the criminal dies only in the
presence of his enemies, without the cordial of public approval to
flatter his ambition."
[273] J. Bentham, "Principles of the Penal Law," chapter xxi.
[274] "Judicial Statistics England and Wales." Part I.--Introduction,
page 25.
INDEX
A
Aberdeen, 351
Abjuration of the Realm, 35, 363
Admiralty, Court of, 62
Agisters, 68
Alehouse Act, The, 222
Alien Act, The, 175
Alfred the Great, 3, 10, 13
Alverstone, Lord, 365
Amercements, 19
America, 208, 209, 364, 371
Anderson, Dr Robert, 362
Anglesey, 305
Anglo-Saxon Police, 8, 14, 232, 401
Anthropometry, 359, 361
Appeal, 91
Assize of Arms, the, 26, 27, 28
Australia, 210, 341, 342
Aylesbury, 72
B
Bacon, Lord, 17, 84, 113
Bail, 50, 324
Barbadoes, 129, 208
Barkstead, Colonel, 128, 130
Bath, 269
Basket Justices, 115
Beccaria, 219
Bedel, 75
Bedfordshire, 45, 126, 304
Benefit of Clergy, 89, 222
Bentham, J., xiii., 6, 94, 204, 205, 217, 218, 219, 223, 247, 347, 404
Berkshire, 45, 105, 126, 305
Bermuda, 209
Bertillon, M. Alphonse, 359
Birmingham, 252, 260, 273, 312, 313, 352, 384
Blackstone, 56, 71, 85
Blood-money, 140, 211
Bonaventors, 115
Bootless crimes, 11
Borsholder, 4
Bow Street, 156, 157, 191, 227, 263
Bow Street Runners, 157, 191, 196, 265, 350, 367
Brampton, Lord, 402
Bravadors, 115
Brecon, 305
Bristol Riots, 272, 277, 318
Buckinghamshire, 45, 126, 305
Bullock-hunting, 197
Burleigh, Lord, 100
Burn, 5, 49
C
Camberwell, 253, 254
Cambridge, 90, 274
Cambridgeshire, 45, 126, 304
Canterbury, 77, 396
Canute, 63
Capital Punishment, 204, 207, 404
Card registers, 360
Cardiganshire, 305
Carmarthenshire, 305
Carnarvonshire, 305
Carta de foresta, 67
Census Returns, 337
Charles I., 119
---- II., 131, 133, 136, 180, 208
"Charlies," 133, 183, 184, 245
Chartists, 313, 314
Chateaubriand, 246
Chatham, 343
Cheshire, 30, 126, 283, 300, 305
Chief Constable, 113, 122, 390, 392, 400
Childers, Mr, 384
Churchwardens, 104, 179
City Marshalls, 187
City of London Police, 6, 30, 32, 53, 186, 231, 263, 267, 397, 398
Civil War, 124, 276
Clarendon, Assize of, 25
Clerks of the Peace, 53
Coastguard, 283, 408
Coke, Lord, 13, 35, 58
Colchester, 34
Coldbath Fields, 256, 319, 382
Colquhoun, Dr, vii., 177, 181, 204, 218, 219, 220, 223, 332
Colthrop, Sir H., 121
Commissioners of Police, 234, 235, 242, 250, 256, 263, 285
Commissioners of Sewers, 133
Commitment Returns, 338, 339
Commons, House of, 47, 52
Constable, the, 43, 55, 56, &c.
Conservators of the Peace, 19, 44, 392
Convicts, 349
Convict Supervision office, 136, 359, 370
Cornwall, Earl of, 45
Cornwall, 96, 126, 305
Coroners, 37, 38, 91, 275
Council of the North, 94, 137
County Boroughs, 393
County Councils, 390, 392
County Courts, 390
County, Power of the, 8, 45
Courts, Ecclesiastical, 62
Courts Leet, 17, 18, 40, 41, 54, 102, 122, 134
Coventry, 270
Criminal Investigation Department, 311, 370, 395
Criminal Statistics, 340, 405
Cromwell, Oliver, 125, 127, 131
Cromwell, Thomas, 94
Cumberland, 126, 138, 305
Curfew Bell, 16, 31
D
Dartmoor, 343
Decennary Police, 9, 18, 24, 75
Decennier, 121
De Goncourt Case, 368, 371
Denbigh, 305
Denville, Sir Gosselin, 39
Derbyshire, 126, 305
Detective Police, 311, 366
Devonshire, 126, 305
Dickens, Charles, 207
Dictum de Kenilworth, 24
Director of Public Prosecutions, 364
---- Criminal Investigation, 370
Dorsetshire, 126, 305
Drawlatches, 29
Dublin Police Act, 169
Duelling, 202
Durham, 126, 304
E
Edgar, 1, 6
Edward I., 24, 30, 31, 36, 44, 60
---- II., 39
---- III., 26, 43, 46, 47, 60, 74
---- IV., 51
---- VI., 2, 46, 94, 96
---- VII., 57
Essex, 45, 104, 126, 301, 303, 304
Expeditation, 66
Extradition Acts, 364
F
Fielding, Henry, 141, 155, 158, 191, 207, 218, 220, 404
Fielding, Sir John, 156, 157, 161, 167, 218
Fightwitt, 6
Flash-houses, 193
Flintshire, 305
Ford, Sir Richard, 194, 224
Foresters, 68
Forest Law, 62, 63, 69, 70, 119
Frankpledge, 4, 15, 20, 42, 77, 121
French Revolution, The, 246
Frithbrec, 6
G
Galton, Mr Francis, 359
Garrotting, 341
George I., 147
---- II., 151
Glamorganshire, 305
Gloucester, 304
Gloucestershire, 126
Gneist, 13
Gordon Riots, 165, 167, 174, 314, 277
Graham, Sir J., 311
Gray, Sir G., 340
Griffiths, Major, 215
Grithbryce, 6
Grosvenor, Lord R., 319, 322
Gypsies, 10, 90, 109
H
Habitual Criminals Act, 357
Habitual offenders, 355, 359, 405
Hampshire, 126, 304
Harcourt, Sir W., 376
Headboroughs, 4, 8, 57, 178, 211
Helps, Sir A., 401
Henderson, Sir E., 379, 385, 386
Henry I., 2
---- II., 18, 63, 68
---- III., 20, 23, 55
---- IV., 54
---- V., 54
---- VII., 54, 82, 89
---- VIII., 93, 137
Herefordshire, 45, 126, 305
Hertfordshire, 126, 139, 304
Hext, Mr, 108
High Constable, 55, 110, 113, 114, 122, 150, 151, 177, 390
High Steward, 100, 160
Highwaymen, 139, 143, 195, 282
Home Office, 190, 221, 232, 275, 344, 346
Howard, John, 217, 347
Hue and Cry, 5, 27, 33, 34, 35, 36, 46, 59, 67, 83, 89, 104, 111, 123,
151, 179, 180, 189, 240, 291, 308, 403
Hulks, the, 342
Hull, 270
Hundred, the, 4, 5, 105, 179
---- liability of, 5, 122, 180
Huntingdonshire, 45, 126, 305
Hyde Park, 320, 324, 327, 384
I
Identification of Criminals, 347, 358, 359
Industrial Schools, 353
Inhabitant Watch, the, 150
Inlaugh, 121
Inspectors of Constabulary, 306, 391
Ireland, 169, 329, 330, 394
Irish Constabulary, Royal, 169, 305
J
James I., 115
---- II., 248
James, Sir H., 388
John, King, 19, 20
Judicium Pillorie, 79
Jury of Annoyances, 159
Justice of Assize, 125
Justices Itinerant, 19
Justices of the Peace, 43, 44, 51, 59, 93, 97, 101, 107, 116, 125, 144,
147, 232, 234, 275, 392
Justices of the Quorum, 93
---- Gaol Delivery, 93
Justice Seat, Court of the, 64, 66
Juvenile Offenders Act, 287, 351
K
Kent, 44, 45, 57, 126, 233, 285, 299, 305, 394
Kerry, 394
King's Bench, Court of, 58
King's Highway, the, 3
King's Peace, the, 1, 2, 62, 124
L
Labourers, Statute of, 60, 108
Lambard, 8, 54, 56, 181
Lancashire, 126, 284, 304, 305
La Reynie, 246
Leet. _See_ Courts
Leicestershire, 16, 126, 304
Lepers, 31, 73
Lettre de Cachet, 247
Lewes, 292
Liber albus, 80
Licensing Acts, 97, 101, 338, 375
Lighting and Watching Act, 274
Lincoln, 34, 289
Lincolnshire, 45, 126, 289, 305
Little-goes, 197
Liverpool, 271, 272, 280, 283, 341
Livery Companies, 88
Local Government Act, 391, 393, 394
Lombroso, 406
London, 6, 30, 32, 53, 73, 76, 78, 80, 125, 126, 132, 140, 144, 150,
165, 171, 182, 229, 243, 248, 252, 274, 280, 309, 318, 378, 384,
386, 395
London County Council, 394, 395, 396
London Docks, 310
Lords-Lieutenant, 97, 278
Lords-Marchers, 93
Lords of the Manor, 17, 51, 134
Lushington, Sir F., 191
Lynch Law, 149
M
Mad Parliament, the, 23
Maegbote, 10
Magna Carta, 19, 63
Mainprise, 50
Major-Generals, 127, 129, 130
Manbote, 10
Manchester, 272, 351, 384
Mansion-House, 152, 189, 397
Manwood, 64, 69
Marching Watch, the, 31
Marine Society, the, 350
Marlborough, Statute of, 20
Martial Law, ix., 106, 107
Mayne, Sir R., 234, 242, 253, 310, 321, 324, 325, 346, 398
Mayneer, 65
M'Hardy, Captain, 301, 303, 305
Melbourne, Lord, 256, 259
Merioneth, 305
Metropolitan Police, 229, 232, 236, 238, 258, 260, 267, 288, 309, 312,
385, 395
Metropolitan Police area, 260, 263, 268, 394
Metropolitan Police District, 237, 394
Middlesex, 45, 57, 100, 126, 170, 195, 196, 233, 394
Middlesex Justices Act, 171, 172, 173, 176, 189, 190
Militia, the, 7, 55, 97, 127, 152, 153, 167, 174
Millbank, 347, 369
Minsheu, 121, 123
Mohocks, 144, 146, 277
Monmouthshire, 126, 290, 305
Montgomery, 305
More, Sir Thomas, 92, 158
Moss-troopers, 137, 138
Municipal Corporations Act, 274, 277, 306, 391, 393
Munro, Mr, 331, 376
Murdrum, The, 16
Mutual Security, 15, 17
N
"New Police," the, 335
Newcastle, Duke of, 158
Newgate, 78, 121, 150, 167, 215, 216
New South Wales, 209, 210
Norfolk, 45, 96, 126, 304
Norman police, 14
Northampton, Assize of, 18, 25
Northamptonshire, 45, 126, 304
Northumberland, 126, 138, 299, 305, 394
Norton, Lord, 351
Nottinghamshire, 126, 129, 304
Norwich, 39
O
Obligatory Act, The, 305, 307, 338
Ordeals, 12
Oxford plague regulations, 118
Oxford, Provisions of, 23, 24
Oxford University, 90, 274
Oxfordshire, 45, 126, 305
P
Parkhurst, 351
Parliamentary Commissions, viii., 26, 160, 162, 199, 201, 221, 227,
228, 230, 234, 244, 255, 259, 261, 336, 344, 352, 360
Parochial System of Police, 176, 182, 211, 237, 291, 355, 396
Passports, 102, 135
Patrol, Foot, 156, 194, 226, 233
---- Horse, 156, 194, 224, 233, 263, 264
Peace Guilds, 6
Peace of the Church, 62
---- of the Sea, 62
Peace Wardens, 44
Peel, Sir R., 227, 228, 230, 243, 245, 251, 256, 262, 309, 372, 399
"Peine forte et dure," 330
Pembrokeshire, 305
Penal Code, the, 204
Penal Servitude Act, 343, 356
Pennsylvania, 347
Pentonville, 347, 348
Permissive Act, the, 293, 296, 298, 301, 396, 310
"Peterloo Massacre," 314
Petty Constable, Oath of, 114
Photography, 359
Pie-poudre, Court of, 270
Pillory, the, 78, 79, 222
Plague, The, 117, 118, 132, 133
Police Act, the, 376
---- franchise, 399
---- Disabilities Removal Act, 400
---- Pensions, 376
---- Returns Act, 340
---- Supervision, 357
Poor Laws, 103
Popay, 253, 256, 310
Portland, 343
Portsmouth, 271, 343, 351
Posse Comitatus, the, 8, 39, 45, 54, 276
Præpositus, the, 14, 56
Press, the, 250, 403
Press gang, the, 341
Presentment, 40, 59, 239
Prevention of Crimes Act, 357, 359
Primarii, 68
Prison Act, the, 348
Prisons, 78, 149, 215
Probation of First Offenders Act, 354
Procurator Fiscal, 288
Prosecution of Offences Act, 365
Public Health Acts, 391
---- Meeting, Right of, 388
---- offices, 191, 264
---- prosecutor, 109, 223
---- works prisons, 348
Purlieu, 66
Q
Quarter Sessions, 48, 112, 136, 151, 222, 293, 295, 337, 340, 390, 392
Quarterors, 115
Queen Anne, 144, 145, 146
Queen Elizabeth, 99, 103, 105, 137, 159, 334
Queen Victoria, vii., 277, 349
R
Radnorshire, 305
Ragged Schools, 351
Rainsforth, Mr F., 161
Rangers, 68
Recognizances, 355
Reformatories, 350, 353, 354
Reformatory School Act, 352
Regard, Court of, 64, 66
Regarders, 68
Richard I., 19, 44
---- II., 46, 48, 50, 53
Riot Act, the, 96, 147, 258
Riotous Assemblies, 314
Riots, 202
---- _see_ Bristol
---- _see_ Gordon
---- Featherstone, 408
---- Hyde Park, 320
---- Reform, 327
---- Chartist, 314
---- Sunday Trading Bill, 319
---- West End, 317, 381
Roaring Boys, 115
Roberdsmen, 29
Robin Redbreasts, 194
Romilly, Sir S., 205, 206, 218, 219
"Route forms," 360
"Round-houses," 162
Rowan, Colonel, 234, 253, 257, 258, 259, 292, 310
Royal Society, the, 133
Rural Police, 102, 182, 279, 295
Rural Police Act, 293, 305
Russell, Sir C., 388
Rutland, 45, 126, 305
S
Sanctuary, 35, 115
Sartines, 247
Sayer, John, 193, 198
Scavengers, 75
Scotland, 93, 288
Scotland Yard, 233, 237, 262, 263, 266, 311, 359, 395
Searchers, 101, 117
Shaftesbury, Lord, 351
Shakespeare, 108
Sheriffs, 7, 14, 16, 36, 40, 44, 45, 97, 119, 276
Shropshire, 30, 126, 304
Sidmouth, Lord, 224, 227
Six Acts, the, 202
Smith, Sir T., 102, 334
Somersetshire, 108, 126, 286, 305
Southwark, 74, 121
Special Constables, 134, 176, 276, 314, 377, 387
Staffordshire, 126, 304
Standing Joint Committees, 392, 393
Statistics, Police, 337, 339
Stephen, Sir J., 333
Stipendiary Magistrates, 173
---- Police, 306, 338
Stocks, the, 72, 77
Street-keepers, 188, 240
Stubbs, Dr, 1, 24, 25
Suffield, Lord, 214
Suffolk, 45, 126, 304
Summary Jurisdiction Act, 354
---- Courts of, 338
Summons of the Array, 7
Superannuation, 374
Superintending Constables, 297
Supervisees, 357
Surety of the Peace, 50
---- the Good Behaviour, 50
Surrey, 45, 126, 233, 304, 394
Sussex, 34, 126, 305
Swanimote, Court of, 64, 66
Sydney, 342
T
Tasmania, 342
Thames Police, 176, 189, 223, 263, 266
Thane, 3, 50
Ticket-of-leave, 344, 345, 356
Tine-men, 68
Tourn, Court of the, 15, 18, 40
Townsend, James, 170, 193, 194, 204, 212
Trade Guilds, 84, 86
"Trading Justices," 115, 169, 170
Trafalgar Square, 378, 381, 387
Trained Bands, the, 152, 248
Transportation, 158, 208, 210, 341, 343
Trinoda necessitas, 7
Troup, Mr C. E., 405
Tumbril (_see_ Pillory)
Tyburn, 141, 149, 158, 159
Tyburn-ticket, 213, 214
Tyler, Wat, 61
Tything, the, 3, 4, 5, 120
Tythingmen, 56, 57, 114, 125, 179, 180
U
Unification of London, 398
V
Vaccination Acts, 338
Vagrancy, 33, 92, 102, 116, 221, 302
Verderers, 65, 68
Vert, 65
Vicecomes, 14, 15, 18, 56
Vincent, Sir Howard, 354, 370, 402
Vine Street Station, 323, 324, 325
W
Wales, 92, 126
Wapentakes, 179
Warren, Sir C., 260, 272, 386, 387
Warwickshire, 45, 126, 305
Watch Committees, 81, 275, 306, 391, 393
Watch and Ward, 21, 26, 27, 33, 71, 122, 183, 189
Weights and Measures, 86, 304, 408
Wellington, Duke of, 220, 243, 245, 314
Westminster, 99, 100, 126, 128, 144, 160, 162, 163, 188, 198
Westminster, Statute of, 159
Westmoreland, 30, 126, 305
Whitefriars, 115, 132
Wild, Jonathan, 141, 143
Willford, Sir T., 107
William I., 2, 15
---- III., 248
---- IV., 251, 274
Wiltshire, 126, 286, 304, 305
Winchester, Statute of, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 33, 36, 39, 42, 55, 71,
79, 112, 122, 151
Wite, 11
Woodmote Court, 64, 66
Worcestershire, 305
Wrecking, 283
Y
Yeomanry, 97
"Yoongmen," 68
Yorkshire, 39, 126, 305, 408
TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Minor punctuation errors repaired.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_
p. 83 When property cansisted only of timber, replaced with
When property consisted only of timber,