The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-05-14 00:00:00

nit LATE MR. ROBERT CLOUGH.

Mr. Clough war,' ever 33 years connected with the
police force of Liverpool, haling joined it when he was
gbout 30 years of age. lie was previously, ?is we
tinderfiand, engaged in a manufacturing business in
Yorkshire, ?r,rt, was not successful. The writer has
been frequently sigh with the knOwledge shown by
Mr. Clough, in reference to cloth, linen, silks, and the
like, as such articles are daily produced in the police
court, in felony cases. Nature was bountiful to Mr.
Old-Ugh, in giving him great shrewdness and sagacity,
and he was atnnt as good a judge of aleviny human
nature as we ever. L'ernci of. According to the theory
of phrenology, his caution was extreme, and thiS gave
him great advantage in his position, far he weighed all
matters properly, and his prudence raised him in estima-
tion, where difficult matters were to be unravelled.
lie possessed a wonderful quantity of patience—an
iniportanst ingredient with any man,-:-hut particularly
so with hint, in the position which he held. These
qualities gave a placidity to his temper, which was
hardly ever ruffled, and had his education been equal to
his natural endowments, and had circumstances thrown
.rim into a higher sphere of action, Mr. Clough would
have played an important and distinguished part in the
drama of life &the world's stage. As the superintendent
of the Liverpool detective
_police he will never have an
equal. A more showy or Mnd successor may be found,
but Robert Clough, in his way, was peerless. To the
reporters of the public press he was ever ready to afford
information, where he thought such would riot prevent
the' attest of a .criminal, or the discovery of stolen
property, On this peculiar point he was often mistaken,
holding, as he did, the antiquated notion that
in some instances publication would be the means
of warning culprits of the impending danger—this is

proved to be a fallacy, for the Mote' publicity an affair
gets, the sooner will the offender be caught and brought
to justice. We only ►know of one difference between
Mr: Clough and the reporters, and that tuok place some
couple Of yetis ago, and was considerably agitated in ail
the local papers at the time ; but then, Mr. Mansfield,
who filled the stipendiary magistrate's chair, was as
much to blame as Mr. Clough. Indeed the transaction
was the only absurd one in which beth magistrate and
superintendent were known to have engaged but some
well-timed and deserved ridicule from the reporters,
directed against both, brought them to their senses, and
everyt%ing went on smoothly afterwards. Mr. Clough
made many important discoveries of felonies and the
like during his career. One may not be now remem-
bered generally. It brought him into considerable
notice. Before an act of Parliament had provided
subjects for surgical dissection, it was usual for what
was termed "resurrection men," or "body-snatchers"
(people who stole human bodies out of churchyards
acid other places), to send human bodies from
Scotland and Ireland to England, and vice verse!,
for surgical, anatemiical, and pathological pur-
poses. However inhuman such a practice was, it did
exist, and on one occasion Mr. Clough discovered on one
of the dock quays several casks of human bodies, that
were landed from some coasting steamer. The discovery
created much public excitment at the time, and was, we
believe, the means of putting an end to the shocking
and revolting traffic. In his capacity of prosecutor, in
the Police-court, he displayed great tact, and often
exhibited considerable ability and legal knowledge. He
knew the law of evidence better titan many persons
brought up to the profession ; but habit, or a moral
conviction of a prisoner's guilt, though the prisoner
might be legally innocent, often led Mr. Clough to
strain points for a conviction. On the other hand, if

he were convinced of a person's innocence, no matter
how strong the evidence might appear against the party,
he would leave no stone unturned to obtain an acquit-
tal, and for this he was to be admired. On the
subject of a police prosecutor, we must here protest
against his successor, or any police officer, taking on
himself the functions of an attorney or counsel. The
Corporation should appoint a legally qualified person to
that important office, as it has long been a reproach ;
and indeed it is illegal for any other person to act so.
The system, although bad and objectionable, was tole-
rated because it had assumed a sort of use in Mr.
Clough's lifetime ; but now that he is gone, that system
should follow him to the grave. We really wonder why
the legal profession of Liverpool tolerate such a thing ;
and trust, for their own respectability and the good of
society, that they will put an end to it. Mr. Clough
could tell some good stories and anecdotes in his own
quiet and peculiar way, and no doubt his journal could
furnish materials for a volume. Take him hr all and
all, he was the right man in the proper place ; he was
respected in life, and his removal is regretted by all who
knew him.