The Sun. — London, England, 1816-09-07 00:00:00

POLICE OF THE METROPOLIS. r Examination or . RAYNSIIOIeD, Esq. toittinued.] Do you think the mode of payment arising out of the Act of Parliament, giving the 401. to be divided amongst the witnesses and those that con vict an offeoder, the best mode of bringing crimi- Mds to conviction ?—I think, without iome.sti . mins to the officers, very f . ew notorious offender woeld he brought to conviction. If the magis 'trines were empowered to reward the officers ac cording to their merits, when any of them were found particularly active, I think it would be mulch .'suore likely to produce the desired effect, than the .precarious chance the officer has of receiving the share of 401. reward; fur although the officer may have been, extremely diligent, and probably run the risk of his life in the apprehension of the of fender, still he can receive no reward in.the latter case unless the offender is convicted; and we all know how often they escape punishment. Do you not think that the reward being given solely on the conviction of persons committing certain offences specified by Act of Parliament, has. a tendency to render the officers remiss in seizing offenders, till they have committed that offence for which they are to gain some profit by Their conviction acted as a magistrate for some . years before I was in the police, and always en tertained the idea that the officers suffered a man to go on,cononittiitg trivial Offences, waiting for the opportunity of his doing somethimg that would entitle theM to receive what is technically called blood money ;". but since I have been in the police, I am inclined to believe (from the number of persons tylio are daily brought to the Office elittrged with petty larceny, and from my obser vations on the general conduct of . the officers) that I ottertaineif an erroneonsopiniton on that subject. • When persons are either remanded for further exittninatiott, or committed to Prison, to what prison ate they committed from llattort-garden ? general, to the New Prison, Clerkenwell ; but certainly in some instances, where it may hap pen,to he a female, and she has a Child in arms, so that it cannot be disposed of, we commit them tyo the House of Correction in Colahlith-fields, where they have an opportunity of treating them with more humanity, and they have more com forts than tEey can possibly ha re in the New Pt ison ; for that, certainly, of all prisons, is the worst 1 have seen. YOll consider, then, the. New Prison, Clerken well, as one of the worst you have ever seen ?—/ do twist conecientlously ; aj the saute time I beg to state, that the magistrates for the county of Middlesex have latelycome to the resolution of . Lying out sevetal thousand, poIIMIS in intrUedhttely puttihg th.ut prison Into a proper state of repair; and I believe direetimis have been given for that purpose. • Are there not persons there confined undersell fence ?—I ratite' think not; I speak from memory. You du not know whether at this moment' there 4re not %sown confined there under sentence for perjury do not happen to know it. I'vrion3 are committed there for assaults They are committed there for want of finding se curt, o autiti , ii• to the indictment the prosecutor may bring against them. There is no allowance, .no straw, no Vor no bedding ?—Certainly not. . They are all huddled together. in , one or two large rooms, where they, sleep upon. the boards, and are often many days without being able to change their clothes, or to obtain any other ne- Oothrnodation, toilets they pay for it ?••-•-"flint is perfectly cunt:et, with this observation, that the Nvollielt are in a separate room front the men ; pever commit any respectable female or person Of decent appearance there, t hut I can possibly avoid ; butt there are some shocking vagabonds Oat hardly lokow the comfort of a bed, an there fore cannot be supposed to endure the same misery for the want of.it. . • Are not boys, or .more properly children, corn- • milted to that prison, and mixed there indiscri minately with other prisoners ?---Not generally ; . - the magistrates tomunit boys to the other prison ; we arc not in the habit of sinling felons to the I'lonse Of 'Correction, except under particular dr munstances ; the house is frequently so full that lye cannot commit there : I am sorry to say that . three-fourths of the offences now committed in 'this lown, as' far as my observations goes, are by boys. What. is the !owl') Of district the mamwement Of which belongs to your police consists of the cast side of Gower-street, Bedford-sqmire, Charlotte•strect, Drury-lane, the parish of St. frew, the parish of St. Sepulchre, St. James's, lienwell, the liberty of the Rolls in Chancery. Jane, the liberty of Saffron-hill, Islington, St. :Luke's to the west side of Goideu-lane, and Ilun bill-row; including the'western sides of those /greets ; that is what is considered the Hatton- Kril act) district. That district Is principally occupied by the mid.' Ailing and lower classes of society :—Certainly. Vhat is the present state of public morals within that district ?—I think it is not worse than has been ; the district has been remarkably timiet all this winter, when we certainly did ex pect, in consequence of the 'number of persons discharged from the army and navy, we should have had a great number of serious offences emu spitted ; but I can most distinctly state to the committee, .that this winter has been us quiet as iecolleet sineel have been in the police. Do you think that, though the serious offences hive diminished. rather than increased, the smaller and petty offences have not considerably Inereased of late years think that for the last totes matths the Way offences 'have. increased but we Trays no i u district of any case of atrocity within thht period. .Fus pat the munkber of juvenile depredators very nitwit increasottlatterly Can vou give to , the Committee any reason for that increkincrease:thopressure the trines, afiv i„the indiwnce of Rarelys in the losverclasies of life, oecastota .Ikgitilliber of their children to get out holt tome ; having tio Means rof obtaiiing a livelihobtl, they go oat into the streets, attl we all know the young mind is open to be eorruted ; they get amongst the 'co:union thieves, ioti. they make .those young children the instruments of their depredations. ' I)o you . not think 'that there is a regular plan organized thioughout the metropolis, by which it being known that the lak‘s are not rigidly exe• cuted in respect of juvenile depredators, they are used as instruments to those of a More 111Inire age, tor the purpose of Committing various kinds of theft 1-1 do think so; and that they are anyle the instrumeots of other _persons . who mig i ht fearful of comtnitting those offences thentielyes,i because they would must likely suffer the ptinish ment of the law; but from the %veil kunWit inanity exercised is the atitniniitration of justice towards children,. tney perhaps think that, by making a child the instrument, a capital punish meta would not be inflicted for the offence, and transportation is not touch regarded. Do you not think that system has very coosi derahly increased within these few years past ?—I, think most alarmingly so. At what 11gC do you permit a child to take his tri.d for f!lony ?—We have some brought to the office of ten, twelve, and fourteen years of age. Our duty fugitives tis . to" see ‘vbetiter (hoe is suffi cient evi4ence before us that the chilti,has cont mitred wn ofleitce that will justify our sending lii ii for trial; and if tlrat cleat y appears, we 16v e no !timer to do otherwise than commit : him, linty ever we may lament the youthful depravity Of party. Are you not of opinion, • the state'of the public prisons in the metropoli4, ' in which there is lirtle or no separation of the young from the adults, contributes rely mod), by rendei ing the children Worse when they come 'out of prison than they were when they went in, to increase the numb of el Imes am most decidedly of that opinion, and I think it a very alarming, Do you not think it would belnost advisable to establish, if it were possible, some general plan of it penitentiary house foe't he children convicts, brit in which they email, by habits of industry and better - morals being inculcated, become good members of society, instead of beconaing, - as they do, woise and worse, till they are either trans ported or suffer capitally ?—I am most decidedly of that oPinion ; I have seen instances of children that I have been under the painful necessity of committing. to piison, show marks of contrition at the time he has been tinder examination (as far as one can loop into the hffinim 'Him° ; but felt if that child could he _separated when'he kot into the prisOn, .and kept distinct from the de praved characters he mixes with, there would be irason to hope, that when he came out again lie Wight be restored to habits tif industry, and be a useful member Of society; but from the present system of mieing. t hildreo iv ids the 100 St depraved characters, I consider theni as. lost to.society for ever, Are you pot, atta magistrate,' often compelled, from a mere principle of humanity, anticipating the fatal consequences arising from .cotmnittiog one of those intants-to prison, to discharge him %Viten a child lotS been committed for further.ex •loil Mit ion, we du not tell the prosecutor himself, but %Vr find the tneanti of giving hint a hint, that . It hit Hoeft out wish to prosecute, lie limy afford Os an opportunity. of dischArging bins , bring fully Hivrac thin it nould be the ruin of that child, awl tbht he would be lust fur (net.. Supposing it - were made a positive mule, _that lone of the inferior officers shoulil oke fees or retards froll.l persons for the apprehension u , lisrovery of offenders, and no such fund a th:o poi have hinted at were est.iblished, do you think ally tvotild follow 1-1 o f fnk th a t if those-men were merely to depend npon their eolinea a week, and the small pittance they get from serving warrants and summonses, they would not be able to live: as to Whit; they receive troll► . persons emploYing thern, it is purely voluntary ; we do not authorize them in dentabul. ing any thing, the. parties do it of thutoscives, • PUBLIC-HOUSES. , Arc the public-houses licensed before your Board of Magistracy ?—No, it is done. jointly; the police taagistratesin the district a re summon ed to attend, with other county nitigistiates, on the licensing days; nod I occataionally attend ofr those'days, whets not loevented by niy official duly. Are you rigid in your examination of testimo nials of character, prior to granting the license to open a new house ?—We certainly are, and morc particularly as to the necessity of opening a new house, for a certain portion of the magistrates, go round and look at the s it uat i on i n w hiCh t h e new publie-house is proposed to be opened, and see whether there is a sufficient number already to answer the purpose for which public-houses were intended ; and if we find there are, in 'general (vithont some special reason) it is rejected : our primary object is . ,to reduce the number, except ou,sopte occasions where it interferes with private propetty, and there we are tender. • Is it an objection to a house of that sort, that it linown.to he the resort of infamous diorite. : ter., persons engaged in plunder ?—Most cer tainly; and if it c . ante to the knowledge of thie toN..,istrato, I . have no doubt. the license would not be, renewed ; but with respect, to those houses which it bus gone abioad there ate a great number of in thistown, rind which arc technically called flash houses," I 8111 free to say that there are houses of that description, and though certainly it Is a great evil to society that such houses he per• witted, yet at the sante time, as a police magis trate, I am bound to tell the Committee that many of lb• most notorious thieves would escape if it were not fur those particular places of remie4.- eons, which afford us the means of getting those offenders into our power. The officers go into those houses at night, where they see anti mix with five or six men whom they know to be thieves: and if there has been any information of a robbery haviug been committed, and they miss one or two of those men on a particular occasion, Suspicion naturally fulls upon them (owing to their being absent front their usual haunts) that they are in' some mischief; our offi cers ch i me..., diately take the risk upon themselves', and appre hend the parties. Those omen, upon beiiig brought so the office, and notice ,being given - to perscrns who haw been robbed, they are frequently ideAJ tilied, and from no other • cause but that of being absent from their place of rendezvous, and being known to the officers as notorious diorite.: ters. The officers will go into one of those houses, and find six or eight notorious characters 4.ssetn.:, bled ; the thieves will say, "Master, do you want me.? whom do you want 1" Upon receiving an answer, they will go out and stiffer themselves to he searched without any difficulty in the world: At the same thug I would wish the committee . dis-. ti nct ly to ont l ers s a nd, that if it came to our know-- ledge that there was any particular. public-house ihat was a notorious receptacle for thieves, we,. .should make a memorandum of that-house, and should certainly try to put a' stop to the license; .tlie consequence of that would be, they Would be driven from, that house, and would go to an other; and as there always will be thieves, the place of resort of those - thieves will naturally . be the public-!rouses ;. and it certainly is the principal means of our knowing where notorious offenders are to be taken. 1 , have no doubt the public . are surprised; when an o ff ence takes place, at the offender being .so soon taken - into custody ; ' but the cause is ex pl a in u d from what I have stated) h3ve been %old by an intelligent officer at lintton garden-, that when Ihieves.qaarrel amongst them ,elves, they often, trout d ptinciple of revenge ; tell the officers„ Ali! Jack such a one was one nt the persons 'concerned in tUe bur s lai}' the oth..r . hig!it, and he was one concerned another offence;" then away go the o ffi cers and tike this man up; the. rousequencc k, anit the public arc sometimes surprised ; , torious offenders , ., lir, in custody a f ter , • t g the, offence, bin this circumstatice: being, explained, the Anysiciy' l ceases • Do you not think that, thotigh it be true, that tit advantaves 'co he gained to public justice seizing the offe,ndvrs wntre you know their h aunts ate conciderable, the very establishment of those limits, by bringing persons together into a sQ ciely of thieves, pdrtteularly by Winging young boys• to he tranted thjev,ek, does more mis chief to society •than good by the apprehension of the offenderi—l can only answer that question by saying,' that in my 'opinion we should very rarely get hold of notorious offenders, if every place of this sort was done away.. Is there tint, in point of fact, a regularly under stood system bettveen the inferior police-officers, for ti,e mikintenance and support of certain public; houses where the thieves are accustomed to. resort? —Not that ever came to my knowledge. 'Are you not of opinion, that though those h nnes es- ma y facilitate the discovery of offenders, ;.they alsolavilitate the commission of crimes, by being notorious rendezvotts.for persons disposed to enter into schemes of that sort, and by bring ing them acquainted with each other?--'There is tt great proportion of the public-houses fat will not adobe persons, of this description ; at the saute time there are a great many that openly encou rage them, and,l dare saY would conceal them it they hA an'opportnnity. Are the houses which are the resort of thieves partienlarly marked for riotous and disorderly. conduct of the persons who frequent them /—I am not prepared to answer that questiOn. Do yin, not see that the existence of those houses, Flash-houses as they are called, serves the purposes of the discovery hut that at the same time they have a direct tendency to increase the number and facilitate the commission of crimes —I ant decidedly of that opinion. is Whitecross-street, Saint Luke's, within your district ?i—One side is . ; 1 ant not certain whether the whole is. , It is not a very long street ?---4 think not. Do you' recollect the number of public-houses und.dr - din,Aropo there kin that Street ?-1 do not A paper before the Chairman states, there and 23 public-houses mid dram-shops lieenced in that street, and that the street measures three furlongs you not think that numb er t hirtevn poles ; should of public-houses and dram-shops mast intolerably large ?-1 should think it very prejudicial. And much ht. yond the necessary call ?—I should think so.. A n d titre ;bele not many 'called « Houses of Call," where her sons merely step in to Enke (hams and pass on ?—Yes. Is hiolden•lane within your district ?--One side O f Golden-lane is, the other side, I think, is in the city of London. It is ;tared to the Co►ntn►ittee that there are twelve pubnc.honses licenced in that lane, mea suring two furlongs and five poles 1-1 cannot speak to the• number. Within theSe few years do you think tbere has been a great increase or dram-shops I—There has. I think the'nuMber of dram-shops in this metro- otis is one the greatest evils existing ? and . it is always a prim try object with me, as far as I am concerned, to endeavour to prevent as many of those from being licensed as possible ; for it is not the laborious, hard working, honest labour !TT man, that resorts to dram-shops, he generally is content with his porter ; but it is the loose and the dissolute wha are in the habit; of drinking drams, and they drink to such excess as to reduce .themsetres to fl state of partial . madness,, when . they often commit the most desperate crimes. Where is the place Where you keep persons who are accosed, prior to 'their examination ?---4n the back yard there is a place fitted up, that was for merly a stable. How long , are they ever lodged there /—lf they •are committed . for ['Hither examination, they are generally sent immediately to the New Prison or Coldhsth-fields ; but they are sometimes kept in the lock-up house atliatton-Garden till the Ma; gistrate goes away at night ; and the last thing done then is' to send for the officer (who has the custody of them), to inquire whether there is any person in confinement ; and if there is, he is im mediately ordered to he carried to the prison ex pressed in,the warrant of commitment. Is it a fit place to confine prisoners ?—lt is clean. Is it without windows, and damp, and without a floor ?-1 here are two rooms, one for men and 'the other tor women, who Maybe brought to the office of au evening after the office hours, and are examined when the Magistrates come to the of fice in the morning; thbse rootts ItaiT strong oak boarded floors, the walls are .perfectiy dry, and . it is ' a ct place lwrfectly cleau 4 1 cougat tOl - any place that Cali be better, and t barb never heard the slightest complaint of it. There is also ano ther room, where prisoners are confiued in' the day, during the time they arc 'wider examination: the floor of that room is not boarded, but is pave ed with fing-stones :.persons are never shut up 'there all night : that is not so clean as it ought to be, but directions have been given to put it is a proper state. I consider those two rooms pert_ tectly sufficient for the wants of the office. Fro be continue(l CORONERS' INQUESTS. - SUSPICIOUS DEATII.—An inquisition was taken at the Ship Tavern, Camden -street, Islingtotp , Green, before THOMAS STIRLING, 'Esq. Corond for Middlesex, upon ,the body of James Pairneto• better known by the name of Jemmy. the Fi4llolllost in the parish of Islington, who was found drowned on Wednesday night last in the New River. The Jury sat several hours before they brought in theft' verdict, in consequence of some suspicions arising in their minds upon viewing the body of the de" "ceased, there being several marks of violence in d:fferent parts of it, particularly one pleee . ,,under t he, right ear, was quite block, and had an appear" :ince of strangatition about the neck.--,Tlie,Jurt returned, by their Foreman, the foll Owing ver" diet :—" Found drowned in the water of the New River; but how, or by what means, he or° " into the water, there was nnevidence to prove,' " and their tipinioniis, that there were marks of " violence upon the deceased." Yesterday an inquest was held at the Landon ( -I , l i n ts p y i a t n a . l, Jo h y e c f(ze : - U wa N i 7 e l r t : b E e , q , . l)vilig to 00od,' h London DoCks, who, in assisting:, to discharge the cargo of a vessel, fell dorrn it 4 a fit of apoplexy"' verdict accordingly. Also, by the saute Coroner, at the sone place , . on view of the body of Thomas Park , r, when it appeared from the evidence of Francis Wakefield., a cooper employed upon a vat for Mr. Hanbuti the brewer, the deceased was upon the top of a scaffold inside the vat, and fell down in lowering some Wards, the distance of Irr feet. Wakefield: who was under the vat at wqrk, hear the fall in l a a groan ; • he instanily ascended the latter to go down to the assistance of the deceased, wheln be found him very much bruised about the head, Ito speechless. Ile cried out For assistance, t u rd t h r deceased was carried to. the .London Hospita l! where he exlaitell. Verdict—Accidental Death.. .A boy of about 14 years of age hung bini3clibl: a. house in \Yemen-Street, .13irmingW.m. e C y p e r n o i t l i l e g r: s r e J t rry:; *v rci a t: e l e f t i s o a s t v in o g n the ' m a y ' l bd ce r .naccurately, and without any si i ii n g tett r io v i e l l o ll i ite r V . " lug away his life, did hang himself ROOMY OF A HACKNEY COACHNIAN.•Th Togisda'y night, about twelve o'clock, Smith , di iver of the hackney chariot No. 1127 , called to by three men, well dressed, just al lie be ( f put down a fare in Fenchurch-street. O ne them asked him if he had a good p a ir o f horse! o he said he had—.the man s a id t h e y waited as far as Bow, and to return the following MI; ing; he told them his horse s were fresh and would undertaketo do it. They immediall'irg os 1 ,t into the coach, and he throve off; they toile d of the wifidaiv to him to pay the turupike', 7 ,, 1 • 1 they would pay him- a ga i n , which he did. % ;1: he arrived at Bow, they ordered him down Bow•lane towards Bromley ; when t he Y "' ; rived about the middle of the lane, where it ‘7, - , dark and narrOw, they ordered him to, stoP did, and they -got out of the coach, awl 9 '", s , him what was his fare, he told them nine sh ill ' and sixpence, which was in fact less than his lorei. They asked him to change a pound DOte ; h e "1 them he had but 9s.' 6d. which he received folio a Gentleman whom he put down at the P lae , where he took th em up; as goon . MS lie 1/111" L . spoken, one of theni took hold of the horses rcl e g ► and the other two k noc k e d Win down arvi 1.1 • his pockets, when he who held the reins, cat them With a large knife, and threatened to till . ° him into the river if he made a noise ; they th)t ran off towards Blackwall. - On Wednesday, at Chis li wi iß cit l , lll the Lady of Joseph Fle tcher° vi, Ef , ( 4 ) ft , o w } f 'r e a r i d i s h a o l n , A . i .u n :th i e i n R i s e :e r r e a of t , t s h e e e t L ii a die Lambeth e t t h h e c ß b e e t. p . e T l a oi r I 1 39 . 0 / I :;tneathD r u a :ll: 3E rY dsi n q - f; H sotf. o n an s dt e a , nu e ga a iwi r ti m lrs a h.'i rtb u e l n e usbirdey, ofthe G.Liavd.} F . .o f , M. I:P° 0 Es_q. pfa i s ar q g n a a r t e l t d ß li e e t i l r b . ow . p wife o f Moory - Sbro )shire, of a son, after o b f et a m m in es a n rr e ie n i p in ind without ' issi l tr. _...... dbirun'etocien'y-earb Yesterday, Mr. CharlesMA Butler,RRIED of Clapham Conial:st. Sarah, eldest daughter of Ri c h ar d Butler, Esq.._ of „,",;(r: Halt, Cheltenham ; also Mr. Tho ma s Butler, of l'ate:r6o 4 row, Cheapside,. to Sophia, eldest daughter of M r ' nett, of the same place. . • On Thursday, at St. Mary-lc-bonne, Lieutenant naillA. the 6th Foot, to Anne, eldest daughter of J. ThoistP)fli of Hal les-street, 1-4tvendis It-square. Tl' e At Prestvigu, Raduorshire, the Rev..lol l l l Bode"' to Mariafine, eldest daughter of the late J oin) ;ham, Esq. of Grote-House, near Presteigu. 4 VOA At Kingdand. near Leominster, Joseph Georg e Esc;. of the lion. E. I. C.'s Service , to Miss May , 0' '— ,Court. .0 01 ' • At Itadipole , near Weymouth, Mr. Trim, affe tl4 three, to Miss Gis ooden, maiden l ad y , acedghtY rid' On Friday evening, at his mouse, Upper lielgralb laCe ll" - ;• rb ine : l t ' e la d s b e y ldr fic , Esq. in the aotb year: 1 his age, rh o vins • behind him an unblemish d utatio ' Exeter i G h '" _rep a at )l f the l a" ' is ßi l e tY .h uC a ga t : ; 4 l , o l h s a t i l lG e f t ra h au e;a ile il aL , l e dn f c L aa n 'llh a n c :r a ne s l i e e l: r °? , an k rs : Y s a 4 "( . llautiug"il:tr-earnt:' °Q: On Monday last, the Lady of John Frank Novt° ll ' Burgate-House, Ford;ngbridge. samel MO The day, at Keutish T own , after a lingering sincerely regretted. Mrs. Barry, late of Dond-street.. 1 4 e' Duly On the at) inst. in hii I Sth year, John Barry 14 : 11 sin) of Colonel Wilkes, late (inventor of St. llriev 3 ' Jahn f On the 7th nit. aged e 4, Mrs. 'napkins, wife rem 0 Hopkins, Esq. of Upper C:idogan-Ossee. f A ll At Madryn Carnar.vousitire. CONCtillenCe %I 4 o ga IF 'his horse,. award, fifth fion of T. Jon e s Parry, `" s(l %tftle ric* years; he had recently rqttirtie4 front the Array in 'and France. . Aron -141e)y..itt }Tenger, Merlons':osl ll 're; Leis. utle f lig. Captain in the Royal Merionetl4 turd eldc st '! / piol4J late Rev. flohert Anw 1- f Criccieth Cara,rr.„ , rec tor o , .; , f t LONDON :` Printed by J. u: dAttgr Ants , NO., „buildings; .a rut publisbed-hr W. N. SeittliNt m os pri •:,. at tba Stltz-Orrica. Nn..112, StrrixAb?fi (4 Meats ) Orderf ‘ lAttcribafF.,47)` yo,t-9,4 o.l).txkost