Star. — London, England, 1817-09-16 00:00:00

tion with him upon this subject. The Recorder wits shewn the evidence which was given by his clerk, and denied being acquainted with any part of the transac tion which is there detailed ; he had, however, heard, that the Under Sheriff claimed a fee as well as his own Clerk, yet he gives him a larger salary than his predecessors ever del, without having any considera tion whatever to his obtaining gratuities or fees, or emoluments of any sort. Your Committee wish ge nerally to observe, that this practice of taking pound age money on these rewards, or deducting, under any pretence, any portion of them, in the nature of fees and gratuities, is highly irregular. The Acts of Parliament are positive upon this subject; and though it is but fit that the money for the stamps should be deducted from the portion of the reward which is paid, and that it prompt payment is demanded, the person who advances the tnoney may have a claim to ere discount ; yet they cannot but think the de-' t eriaed is esurbit iia, And the %slink practice liable toi gre t abase. With respect to the distribution itself, no fixed rule seems to exist ; and, front evidence whet: has been submitted to your Committee, they have reason to believe, and while in some cases a rnuch larger sum than the exertions of the claimant can wart ant, is proportioned to them, in others great partially is sliewn, and services, however important, are suffered to go unrewarded. " There is another species of reward which your Committee would equally. wish to do away with, namely, dim whieit is technically called a Tyburn Ticket, which is an exemption trom the service of parish offices, in the parish where the felony was committed, and v:lucb, by the lUth and I Ith %Yd. liens 111. chap. 23 e is to be given to the apprehender and taker of the filen on his or her conviction. This mode of remuneration has ail the bad consequences of the perhAnientary rewards by money, as the ticket is generally sold, tallying in its price from Wl2 or atl4 to re3o or iff4o, according to the parish in which the exemption is to arise; and. indeed, it may be, considered in 'some respects as worse, it having all ° the of of a money reward without its name. Your Committee think it lit, that the officers of the police should a sufficient salary, ample enough to keep them abase the temptation of corruption ; and if the rewards be abolished, some arrangement to that et feet.shuuld take place.—That portion of the reward which it is now the custom to pay for the expenses of the trial to the prosecutor, 'night be continued, and a reasonable allowance made for loss of time to the . witnesses. But your Committee consider the payment of rewards for the discovery and apprehension of cri. tnivale to be perfectly, unnecessary ; and they think the evidence of Dlr. Shelton, the Clerk of the Ar raigns, decisive urn this (legation, who,, from long practice in the Courts of Law, is so fully capablu of estimating correctly the difficulties attending on cri minal prosecutions. He says, speaking of highway robberies, should conceive there could be nu more difficulty in discovering and apprehending a person charged with highway robbery, where a reward is given, then there would be in the discovery and ap. pieliensiest of Gauntlets guilty of crimes for *hid Vitte IY 1 o rewatd.' " Your Committee remark, that there is no evi dence to prove that any difficulties are fouad in the prueccution of larcenies, or that there is any tuned-, lingtiess in the injured to seek legal redress. The oul) impediments that are to be mrt with upon the general subject of legal presecutions, are of two , kinds :—I st, Tee expenses of the prosecution ; 2dly, The severity ot the laws, which often deter men from pursuing the offender to conviction ; so that if the parties prosecuting were assisted in their expenses by an Aliowance, and the witnesses remunerated for loss of time, the public justice of the country would be so more intetrupted than under the present practice.- " As an illustration of this system of assigning re wards for the apprehension of offenders, your Com mittee refer to the practice which, un the evidence of Mr. Darnley, the beadle of St. Andrew's Parish, Hatton-garden, and Ely -tents Division, takes place in respect of the ton shillings which are paid on the apprehension of a vagrant. This witness stated that he had often seen, when poor people cArrit to the Po. lice-office at Hatton-garden to solicit a pass, that the Officers will give them a penny or two-pence, and tten brink them in and swear that they founJ therm, begging, when in fact they never begged At Ail. The Officers are accustomed to swear that they have Sties% the man, who is thus a petitioner for a pass, begging in the street. who is sett for seven days to the House of Correction, when the Officers get [Us. for their trouble ; in other cases, perhaps the men committed is an Irishman or Scotchman, and they moot pass hitis ; he is often met with again when iffisebarged from prison, again .committed, and lOs. mace more obtained. He was asked it be had ever complained to the Magistrates of this practice his answer was, that he thought it wrong, but he never complained much. A question was put to him, whether any of the vagrants ever remonstrated against the fraud which had been practised on them ? and his reply was, that he once WAS in the Office what an individual laid a complaint, and that the Magistrates mires no answer at all; the Officers of the Police were very iadignant at ,ltis interterence, and threatened him with turning him out of the Office. It is les opinion, front long experience, that Police Officers would rather apprehend beggars than thieves; and he says that the practice is so general, that there is an expression which describes it, and it is called if getting an easy lOs.' The Committee, after giving extracts from the evidence which they have received in confirmation of their opinions, proceeded to observe —n that facts. have recently come before the public that prove the existence of conspiracies have been formed by • Police officer and others, in order to induce people to commit crimes for the Purpose of sweating away their lives, and obtaining the teward on their convic tion. The different Magistrates who have been exe. ithined on this subject, have denied . all belief that this crime has been often committed; but your Commit tee wish to observe, that where the temptation is so i n t eog as that which the rewud offers, to the cupi dity of Police officers, as well as to that of all other been before proved, is no men, the ohne not having evidence.of its non-existence; and they feel them- , selves furtive) ; obliged to remark, that the First Re port of the Police Committee. in 1816, had hardly been issoqd ifoll3 the Press, containing as it did the praises o f fhe Magistrates of their own o ffi cers, es well sii-tt* posiire denial of its being possible they a 1.2 en be affect by any temptation to sacrifice the public interests to their own—when Vaughan, of the Bow-street office, was tried and cast for death, for the crime above-mentioned. And also . that in the I last summer, no less than three other persons were sentenced to a capital punishment for similar offences, on three dtfferent charges. To what extent the evil has extended, and how many innocent persons have suffered, and what crimes have been planned and perpetrated, or how far the increase of offences may he caused by those whose duty it is to lessen their number, by the early apprehension of offenders, your Committee have no means of ascertaining ; but in closing this subject they are decidedly of opinion that, the system, as it is, cannot be too soon abandoned,' as furnishing allurements to officers to betray their trust, to witnesses to break their oaths, as bringing punishment on the innocent, and affording encou ragement to a description of persons, of all others , the most fatal to the peace and well being of society, those who go about to ensnare the guiltless and en trap the unwary, who, while they s!rut their eyes to the commission of offences for which no reward can be obtained, plan the perpetration of crimes, in order to profit by the conviction of the perpetrator." The Committee then states, that ilie next point to which they would direct the attention of the Hinite is, the establishment of a Penit-ntiar j System for ju venile offenders. After (numerating the various causes which contribute to the increase• of crime among the youth of the metropolis, they describe the manner iti which offenders all ages and classes are huddled together in the gaols, and observe...." That it is scarcely possible to devise a system better calcu lated to vitiate and corrupt than the mode in which javenile offenders are thus confined—a number of bogs are mixed indiscriminately together, from 8 to 16 or !V years of age, exhibiting a great variety of character, and differing in degrees of guilt, the tried and untried, and the first offender with the hardened convict." The Committee then states, that the number of juvenile offenders committed to Neagate was, in Ibl3, of those under the age of 16, forty-three boys and nineteen girls, total sixty two ; of whom one was of 9, three of 10, and three of II years of age. In 1811., there were eighty-nine boys and nine girls, total ninety-eight ; of whom four were of 9, eight of 10, and twelve of 11 years of age. In Ibls, there were seventy-six boys and 12 gi: is, total sightreight ; of, whom three were of 10, and eight of 11 years of age.' In 1816, there were one hundred and thirty-four boys and twelve girls, total one hundred and forty. six ; of whom one was of 9, three of 10, and five of eleven years of age. In the other prisons of the metropolis, the ages of the prisoners were not then taken ; but your Com mittee are enabled to state, that in the year 1616, V:wre were confined in the different prisons, 1683 parsons under 20 years of age, Ste. viz. males 1357, females 326, 1633 total; if 17 years and under, males 1017, females 261., 1261 total; and, of 17 years and under, for felonies alone, males 788, females 169, 957 total. Your Committee remaik, that the greater part of these juvenile offenders, some of theta infants of 9, 10, and 11 years of age, are mixed indiscriminately with old offenders of all ages, and all of them with boys of the ages of fifteen or sixteen, many of whom have been long practised in the commission of va rious acts of fraud and crime. No one but those who have witnessed such painful exhibitions, can be aware of the pleasure which the older thieves take in, corrupting those who have just entered into vicious courses, by the detail of their exploits, the narrative of hair.breadth escapes, the teaching of technical phrases; all of which are great allurements to a youthful mind, being the amusements of the idle, and the resources of the desperate, and serving to enliven anti dispel the solitude of prison. The Committee, after shewing to what an extent the intermixture of offenders of different ages, sexes, and degrees of guilt, is carried in the prisons of the nietropotis, observe, " that it is in evidence that the most numerous class of delinquents are street-pil triers, and for stealing privately trom the person; m alt y of those boy s m a y be considered 411 just com mencing a course of crime; the mod: then in.which they are treated on apprehension has a natural ten dency to encourage them in 'Woos practices, for the greater number found guilty of the former offence are ususlly committed for a short time to prison, sometimes severely flogged, and then, without a shil ling in their pockets, turned loose upon the world,, more hardened in character than ever. The Bondi lion at these poor children is of all others the most deplorable; numbers Are brought up to thieve as a' tradk are driven into the streets every morniug, and dare not return home without plunder; others are orphans, or completely abandoned by their parents, who subsist by begging or pilfering, and at night, steep under the sheds, in the streets, and in the ran ket places; when in prison ro one visits them, nor I do they seem to possess one friend in the world; they are occasionally treated with severity, sometimes set:- tenced to be flogged—a practice than which nothing tends more to harden and degrade. Mr. Cranford, who gives this affecting pieorre of the sufferings of these children, addr, that many of them occasionally apply to the Members of their Committee, solititing their advice and rel et,- and declaring their readiness to shun their former connectitns, Auld to, abandon their vicious pursuits ; but how are they sfassist ? Without friends or character, whe witl give them' employment ? Without temporary aid, where can they procure food ? lie is convinced that many are driven to renew their depredations by their nccessi ties. He knows of several instances in which this has been the ease ; and thus some boys are no sooner I discharged from prison than they are again brought in, for in reality a prison is their only home." The Committee then give it as their opinion, that • separate prison should be built for juvenile delin quents, and have given two plaits in their Appendix of buildings for that purpose, stating their 'preference of on delivered in by bkr. Bevans. The cost of a building to contain 400 boys would be still4eooo, which sum use Committee ie cannot help contrastiog with the expense of erecting a Penitentiary at Mil , ' bank," estimated at re 350,000, and to contain oily 800 persons. The Committee gives some interesting details of the various private and public Penitentiary Establish ments in the Metropolis ; and, after stating that they do not wish, Upon the important question of alloying convicts in the different prisons, as well LONDON. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, !SI?. PRICE OF S'IOCKS THIS DAY AT TwELVIt O'CLOCK Reduted shut—Cousols, 7914—D0. for Oct 79i 80 4 per Cent. shut—Navy, 106—India Om& 90 95 pre. Bank Lail Alum shut—Exchequer Rills, 20s. to 255. pr. 1 India Bonds, it will be observed, continne to rise, the premium being miw more than double vihat it was some few days atn, when a snort (as bleb now appears to have been timorous) pievailril, of the interest on theua being about to be reduced from 5 to 1 phvilf.—From the last New York advices, we observe that the American 6 per tents, had risen to 10g.—The British 5 Per cents. would, to preserve a just proportion with thz other fonds, be at about 132, were it not fur the prevalent idea that they are to be paid off; and 6 percents. If we bad such, would be near 160. The American Exchange on London is at a premium of ii per cent. and almost every Where, 4 late, the exchanges on this country have fallen. The extremely favourable exchanges, 'as they are called, operate So far unfavourably to us as to check the demand for our Manufactures. Now that the foreign purchaser does not pay so dearly for his bills, he ega afford to purchase commodities more freely; The Paris Papers of Saturday arrived this morn ing, and bring intelligence of an event which has been for some time past very confidently anticipated --ra dump in the French .The Duke of FuTac has resigned the Mitirary °fear, which has been conferred- on Marshal Gou• VIER SAINT CYR, IO WhOSE situation, as Minister of Maine, Count Mots has succeeded. The Ordon nances containing these new appointments, appear in the Moniteur of SAturilay. It is, perhaps, not unworthy of remark, that the retirement of the Duke of FELTRE is not as that of preceding Ministers has been, accompanied with any sort of parting favour to soothe the wounded pride of the individual, or to protect his fall from.the impu tations of the malevolent or the persecutions of the vindictive. His resignation is simply said to be ac cepted of—he retires without any new mark of distinction—and does not e►en appear to have been Honoured with an audience of leave. The Duke of RICIIIILIZU and M. de LAME had, aftel the announcement of these changes, long au diences of his MAJESTY. The new War Minister has commenced his admi nistiation by a requisition to the Minister of Finances to allow the free exportation of arms by the frontier cities of Bayonne, Bourdeaux, Rochelle, Nantes, Havre, Dreg, Toulon, Marseilles, Lille, Metz, Stras burgh, Besancon. and Perpignan. French 5 per Cents. with div. from Sept. 22, 1817, 661 r. 95c. The brig le Serititeur, in GS days from Buenos Ayres to Havre; the Ann, at Liverpool; and the William, at Portmouth, have arrived farm the Rim Plate, with accounts to the middle of June. Those' we have received are dated the IGth, one day later', than our previous advice:. The post had just ar rived at Cnili, and brought accounts that General SAN MARTIN had joined his army there, and marched against the town of Conception and the fortress of Talcaguano, ♦There the Spaniards were posted. It now appears, that the latter are chiefly troops and people who evacuated Chili when the country was taken, having first sought shelter and assembled in the Ciiiloe Islands. They afterwards landed at Con ception, and since have received a reinforcement from Linaa of 400 men. They amount to about 1500, a force mach too inconsiderable to give the Indepen dents any inquietude. The preparations and orga nization of the tinny intended to liberate*Peru, were going on with great rapidity ; and it was expected this projected expedition would meet with the most complete success. The fact is, the Spaniard?, with their property, are leaving Lima as fast as they can (indeed, several have already arrived in Jamaica, and some in Londoo) ; for, besides the dread of the fu ture, they cacnowatand the heavy contributions levied upon them by King FERBINAND'S representatives. I: they are good Royalists, they are assessed heavily, because they are supposed willing to make great sa crifices; and if they are Americans, the demands are great, in order to prove they are not losargents. The troops which had arrived from Spain, it was ac knowledged by the thinking part of the conunanity, had done infinitely more harm than good—for being chiefly Guerilla mea, they were cornpktely Lim up to plunder an 3 martpXtig, ithich, tooting the pacification of the coun;ry, fresh end:ties to the Royal cause. At Buenos Ayres nothing was said of a new Supreme Director, though t h e present one had expired, rilvi the Congress its Sessions in the Capital. There evr tranquil, and conElence daily re-estahl intetior. The advices received irom Artily acting Upper. Perti, under GRANO, were of A Mont promibing n4tl important advantages had been fair Royalists, w.ho wale retreating as fast through districts entjrcly hnst•le to tt! , ..rm expected that Potosi would soon fall or hands of the Petric•.s. The Buenos Ayteans and rortopese rably go-d terrns. Ites!lec;n , T, the ' strange %ports were on %at. One , va, offered to acknowlet' , ,2-e tndepertden: vince; -. nt 13.1enns Ayre.., it they agreett tere wiei the viee.s of .he Hourm cl Bi Benda °junto]. The tclowing is ai -zitract of one respecti:,g the Portogutbe :It Monte. Vi, " Et 'S ArP.E " It 13 more than twelve m•iiitts Miler the mcnctd their catup.ogn,and ailer having spent .1 they took the fortress of Video, they shut up by he trisiTs of Artip,as, w :u have ihei . at Sai.tc The l'ortestEite trou,is are et Mipstete and Piedoas ; and Artivt's irregular harat4 them r.sarty every ur t , and haveireduct orate of infamy, Laving thdr tort guese now re.t ail their Wipes on 30.10 cavery, srio Intr.l Rio Grande, to co-orcrate with iIIC infant time, the viol! reputati in which they -.squired t the fortress, by their it,ond p o:icy znd Brand porn; parade, is disor,tazi.ig, at Mcnte Video lit new distress than in the tune of the siege by the treors. TErtv is nu bret 1 to be had; a tette there 'rent hence, has been voi'd at _2 dollen pt is dear and scarce, and it so!d by the pound,and . Ina . fortnight without having any ; even for coal they are dependent on Buenos A ries." Intelligence is stated by the last New to have been received there fines St. Dr rival Chiefs Clint;roPirr and Pertox taken the field. The former, with 16,t on his march for the lines near Port the purpose of drawing PETION'i ton coffee plzntations, as they were engage( and Parton had ammbled a force check any inroads which might be atte: opponent. CHRISTOPIIR had suffered the death of Piince JOH!: of Harr', GI of the Kingdom, who died some time at the age of $l. His remains were ern sent to St. Lucie, the place of this birth, f with military honours. He is said to man of talents and probity, and a di of CURISTOPIIII. In another part of our Paper we this our Readers with the substance of a &con. 'important Report made by a Committee , of Commons, on the State of the Police polls. It recommends two great measures to the consider,tion of the LegisWore. the abandonment of the present pernici rewarding these who are instrumental the conviction of offenders. The second blishmeat of a Penitentiary for the recepti nile depredators, with a view to separar the contamination of older offenders, who frequently, Sy their evil instruction, moral ruin of such misguided youths as come Associated With them in prison, an. of their returning to society more hard( prayed than when they were isolated from tentiary capable of receiving 400 boys appears, cost the country more than lig2 It may be recollected, that at the time cure of Eastport (Moose Island), durini certain bonds for duties due to the Uiii into the hands of the British : payment 4 was attempted to be enforced by the ca the Court of Vice-Admiralty at Halif.l7 as three months ago a cotrespondence tween Lord CASTLEREAGH and Mr. A subject and we sow present a copy ship's letter to Mr. AnAlf:, which closed spondence, as a proof of the amicable which the discussions terminated, thou! of the arrangement do not appear: (COPY.) The undersigned, his Majesty's Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, has the honour to acquaint " reference to the Note which the undersigned II: receive from him on the 17th January L,t, Bonds sfized during the late war a Moon_ Ist: have been given for the immediate susrentien of ceedings agalint Mr. BARTER, Z$ well as for Bested by Mr. ADAMS in his Note, the other obi possible operation against them of the Decree I passed by the Vice-Admiralty Court of Halifax, The undtrsigued regrets that such a delay ha , tween the receipt of Mr. ADAM s's Note and ti but Las the honour to acquaint him, that his Map GenerA was anzlousio obtain all the inforcnati respecting the transaction, and likewise to ' 7 . ; , ference with the captors, or the it Agent, be:ore Report of the meths of the case. The undersigned avails Wan Felt of this orporti to Mr. ADAM", the assurance of 1P 1 1j4b (S:g1104i) Torkist: 014 c, May t!! ) 1017. nsteld ct y, mad e 01 , of dim!. (044- 4 A he time n. , Er iessll,l4 very the tlitii , ing die Pe.-'v. 161 ' G.netki •ture. s. ;fled over • . r Z:42y c, TO.• ;.-4 4 .4 .„ e! Vg.tr, int; le 17:f: ....• • • 't A I arei, 11 A rt.::: ;1; •, tloznza of eir ; . Ideo : • E. 4, ••. 11 Port • X renter. 'Ai!, tick lux yrK (ritt era:hen:ll • • ti yro-% 'I fitkr kt; „ iriTy; is the n k s en a ' 13 2. er sufferin g Fri r, P he 41 BISCI!•; , 1 AT: • e wheat tat t.' f t ok • , per fin.ga. nd sourviiner e nxd and Emit t. w York Pa, .. lumingo, cf iteing a f tt , „000 mer„ -111-Prince, 4 irces from 6 I.i i.% t!se c-e. 3 PI e suf f icient ternrteet by j •i. I a grcA . prated Ade-4, • since at 1. 2 ,;.r1 ; initsalmee, 4, 1, to be o have beer. 41 3 , distant 1 his day presto „ econd and ern re of the 1 - 1.14 e , e of the tfv:N. • lures of r,fien - The first it ri :ions system - f a in procari:::: nd is the est+. :eption of ;Hob ate them hos. 'ho now but toe complete el: .s happen id are the cause - dened and sfe• mn it. A Peal s would not, it R21. ; 000. me of the csf. i.v the late war, cited States tall : of ti:ese berth aptcrs M. As r fecc:',l cook place 'Jt• ADA:IF C 7. r of his LorJ• osed the car f• tie mar,n.-.1 ugh the tc;rl i'ecretary of tee t Nrr..scv:r, l bad Cie hctogill tk.l‘l, !fiat ...let of zit fnether 7 1 ' relieving, :t• 514ga:ore tree of conder.r . ...:ica int,evenePe the ,r-erert re- 4 . ' laiest:es ation in his vie: ve a rets sa :JC Stye at ertnelty der.rt n. aihat,s.A.th. as on board the hulks, both as to the Mond no less' than the economical consequences, at present, to give any decisive opinion...." They, however, entertain little doubt that the whole system of maintaining the convicts of the country is susceptible of great im proveinent, and they trust they shall be enabled to enter more fully into that subject early in the ensu ing Session." They conclude theiravery interesting Report in these words :--64 Your Vlmmittee feel conscious that they have not made as full a Report upon the various subjects of their inquiries as, perhaps, might have been expected from them ; they have thought fit to separate these subjects into distinct heads, and they have brought them before the House in the order of their importance. There are, however, MAIly points which they are anxious to take into their serious con sideration, viz.—The Establishments of the Police ; the Attendance of the Magistrates; the Duties of the Inferior Parish Officers; the State of the Public Streets ; the Laws concerning the Sop.pression of Dis• orderly Houses ; all of them are, in their view, ob jects of great public importance; and, in order to bring them in the most advantageous manner under the view and consideration of Parliament, your COM• injure trust they shall be permitted to renew their !labours ip the ensuing Session." THE EVENING STAR.