The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-12-23 00:00:00

SUNDAY TRADING IN LONDON.

Some correspondence has recently taken place be-
tween the Vestry Board of St. Mary's Lambeth, and
Colonel Hendenion regarding Sunday trading in
the thoroughfare known as the "New-cut," Lambeth.
The communications referred especially to the dealers
curl costerrnongera who on Sunday morning retail
their wares from carts and barrows in the street.
r ',done' Henderson refuse.' to interfeie unless
similar measures to those proposed were applied
in the ease of the shopkeepers who keep their
places open until twelve or one o'clock on Sundays.
The Vestry then passed a resolution to the effect
that printed notices should be posted through the
parish, cautioniag all th...se persons who were in the
habit ..f keeping stalls, stands, harrows, or baskets in
the streets, and exposing goods of jay description for
sale, that such standing for sale would not in future
be allowed on Sunday mornings, and that any verson
MO offenliiie4 would he summoned before the magistrate
on the charge of creating an •bAniction, the penalty on
conviction being 40s. It was also resolved that, as the
police declined to interfere, the inspectors of nuisances
for the parish should he employed to see that the
terms of the notioe were strictly enforced, especially
in the New-cut, where the evil it was desired toremove
hietly existed.

—.-.., ---
(in Sunday morning last, great excitement prevailed
In the thoronghfare named regarding the course which
would be aslopted by the :111th°raj., and a serious riot
was generally anticipated. Though the police did not
directly interfere, every preeantion was taken to check
disturbance. The police force generally on duty on
Sundays was doubled, and a reserve was kept in reaili
nein at the Tower-street Station. At the usual hour
for commencing business, the stall-keetiers came out in
full free— men, women, boys, and girls —from their
dwellings in the courts awl alleys of the neighbour-
kwid, their barrows, stands, and Laekets, being
laden with their wares ; and, taking up their usual
stands by the sides id the fw(tways, they
began to dispose of their goods to the crowds if poor
people who at that time on Sundays always assemble
in the " Cut" 'hi do their marketing." For about
an hour matters went on as usual ; but at nine o'clock
six of the Lambeth nuisance inspectors in uniform
appeared upon the scene, and, each accompanied by a
police-constable, and followed by a large body of
roughs, yelling and hooting, visited the stall-keepers
in succession, ordering them to remove their stall,
barrow, or basket at once. If they merely removed
to other places they were followed by the inspector, who
took down the same and address Id the offending dealer,
informing him that he would be duly summoned for
creating an obstruction. As a rule the officers, while
performing their disagreeable duty were treated
with civility by the costermongers ; but were
very generally told that, if prevented gelling their
gods as usual, they (the dealers) would lie compeiled
to throw themselves upon the parish, as they mainly
depended for their scanty living upon the profits if the
Sunday morning sales, when they did more business
than on all the other days of the week. The great
majority of these street dealers, especially those who
sell vegetables, fruit, tapes, chimp hosiery, toys, tic..
are old women or infirm old men. Many of the shop-
keepers, sympathising with their more humble brother
tradesmen, offered them a portion of their frontsve
upon which to place their stalls. This course would
take them out of the twins of the notice.

fy ten o'clock an immense crowd of working men,
intludieg a large proportion of the rough element, had
seeembled in the " ut." awl every dispoeitioti was
evinced to get no a row; but fortunately the in-
epectors had by that time nearly completed their duty
of taking the names and addresses, and, ns the police
did not interfere, the excuse for a formidable riot did
not exist. As it was, however, the inspector, were con-
siderably hustled awl chaffed by the roughs, who in-
dulged in their usual horseplay, and any respectably-
dressed man who passed done. the " Cut' between 11
awn o'clock was hootedas a "Maworin" or a "Lambeth
vestryman." The stall-keepers themselves profited by
the crowd and excitement, for there were but few
them who had not dispised of all ijleir wares Mug
before the usual hour of packing up, and the extra
profits will go towards paying the fines that may be
inflicted upon them for thus disoleiing the orders ,d
the Lambeth vestry. The uproar awl confusion, which
had lasted all the morning, ceased before one o'clock.