The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-29 00:00:00

Oee kind of pocket-picking is done in a crowd, or,
when the female is seated in the dickey of a coach, a
pair of scissors are used to cut the gown, and the
pocket is either drawn of its contents or cut away al-
together : the scissars are made broad-pointed.
By frequenting flesh houses the young thief becomes
acquainted with others, who follow the game of " palm-
ing," and " shop-bouncing ;" his success at "starring"
enables him to dress well, an essential in his new pur-
suits, which will speedily repay the outlay with
interest.
" Palming," is a species of thieving much prac-
tised ; it is done most frequently by two, well-dressed
and respectable in appearance, who go into a shop for
the ostensible purpose of purchasing certain articles,
but in reality with the intention of carrying off a consi-
derable booty free Jf,expense ; one party keeps the shop-
keeper "in a line," asking prices, &c., whilst the
other is - engaged in palming articles under
his hand, and so to his pocket ; thus at a cutler's,
a tray of knives is exhibited, from which, in the course
of a few minutes a dozen will be purloined ; at a
ijeweller's, a box of seals, rings, or thimbles, which will
be served in a similar manner. At this game it is not
! unusual for two persons to make 13/. and 20/. a day by
imoving about from place to place. The more versed
s thief engages as his associates boys who are as vet en-
itirely untutored in the arts of thieving, or perhaps re-
Ispectable connexions, with whom he now and then
, becomes acquainted, and from wham he finds it no
difficult matter to obtain a considerable portion of the
I' plunder; far instance, when a dozen fruit knives have
been stolen, instead of dividing the spoil equally, the
elder thief brings only pin of the property to light :
this is a very general practice amongst thieves ; the
mere cunning and crafty make it a rule to cheat of their
" regulars" the young thief, whose emulation induces
him to join boys older than himself.
The same cause, by which so many thefts are com-
mitted with impunity, operates in saving a thief from
punishment ; this remark applies more particularly to
pickpockets ; gentlemen are sometimes so adroitly drawn
of their property as not to perceive their loss, and when
informed of it, the very expertness with which the act
was committed prevents a man of certain philanthropic
and liberal feelings prosecuting the offender ; great pro-
ficiency is attained by long practice in palming ; inten-
tionally a shop is not plundered oftener than once in
three months, or four, but as accident is no respecter
of persons, it now and then happens that palmers go
inse a shop which has been recently served, and
the shopkeeper therefore on the alert ; his
shrewdness not being immediately perceived, the
theft is carried no till two or three dozen
of letre'seme fruit-knives, or silver thimbles, have
been :!stained ; the shopkeeper is seen to give notice to
some one in the back shop ; that is sufficient ; the
thieves observe the sign, go on conversing, and by their
expertness are enabled to palm back every article ht, the
time an officer arrives ; on searching nothing is found
on the person, a strenuous outcry of irreproachable
character being kept up, induces the shopkeeper to
suppose rather that his eyes have deceived him than that
dishonesty was intended, and in many instances an apo-
logy is actually male, the thieves leaving the shop ap-
parently angry, but in fact well pleased at the upshot of
the affair ; this game somewhat resembles cadging
(begging), inasmuch as they are both travelling manoeu-
vres, at which both the paltrier and cadger are enabled
to visit every town of note in the country.
It will be understood that some thieves are more for-
tunate than others, and that some are earlier transported
than others. We have, for the sake of perspicuity,
transported the young thief at a particular time ; we
must now suppose him returned, increased in years, in-
creased in power, increased in criminal knowledge, and
about to pursue his regular course. The next species
of thieving he undertakes is stealing from carts and
waggons, Ste. This is a game at which good booties
have been made. Two, three, or four together go to
work ; sometimes their object is packages from carts in
thoroughfares, at others, in the highway, frequently they
take a vehicle with them to convey the swag (booty) ;
the method of proceeding varies much according to the
object in view. Boxes of every description are taken from
waggons, trunks from chaises, rolls of broad-cloth and
chests of tea from town-carts ; the theft of chests of tea,
or rolls of cloth, is an inferior species of this description
of thieving, the tip-top kind being the robbery of stage-
coaches and waggons. For the latter game a one-
horse chaise is kept in readiness near the spot where The Hon. Henry Fitzroy, only brother of Lord
the booty is intended to be got ; the waggon is entered Southampton, is about to form a matrimonial alliance with
from behind by cutting the corering or other ,eans, one of the daughters of the late Mr. Rothschild. The
articles are then selected and dropped into the road ; bride will have 140,0001.
the confederates, generally two in number, following Last week Mr.Wakley and the Jury re-assembled
with the chaise at a convenient distance to pick them pursuant is adjournment, at the Mitre Tavern, Upper
up ; leather portmanteaus are cut open or cut away
Lisson-street, Lisson-grove, for the purpose of further
altngether from travelling chaises. Stage-coach rob-
investigating the circumstances attending the death of
Thomas Horne, aged thirty-four, of 51, Exeter-street,
beries, where the booty is to an amount, are for the Portman-market, wo, it was alleged, died in consequence
most put up, i. e. some former guard or driver becomes
of the violent treatment he received from some omnibus
connected with a party of thieves ; he knows what
men, on the night of the 9th, or morning of 10th instant.
provincial hank transo.itB 0,,j, to town, the The Coroner summed up at great length, in the courseino
rime of their remittances, and in what part of which he observed that it was useless to protractj the
part of the mail or other coach the money is deposited ; quiry further, but he would suggest that thel . ursye
he enters into an arrangement with the thieves, gives return a verdict that would not affebct anyd utttderiTorbe-t
injuriest% that
them all the particulars, and, according to circumstances, might
h i
obhe considered
ed w necessaryete to
situated ino!) ;hat part of the
they go to work, if the cash is in the inside keep, all of
heawd whicth was most unlikely, and indeed almost irnpossi-
the inside seats in the stage are take,' and occupied by
ble the could be if he received them from a fall. The
men apparently unknown to each other, but in reality
Jul:), returned a verdict—" That the deceased died of in-
they are associates, with the house-breaking instru juries inflicted on the head, but how received there was no
ments ; the property is obtained when the coach is evidence to prove."
going along : the work finished, two leave the coach
with the booty, the others remaining to prevent suspi- PROVIDENTIALDELIVERANCEFROMDROWN.
cion, and give their associates opportunity to get safe
away. When this object is considered gained, the
ta'.-.0 leave also. Carmen in the city often defraud met- IN —On Saturday last, at Deeping, in Lincolnshire,
a young girl haying ventured in a small boat upon the
Y river near that place, was drawn by the current towards a
pair of flood-gates, when, believing the water at that spot
chants, their employers, to a considerable amount, by to be extremely shallow, she sprang out, under the in-
being in league with thieves, to whom they allowed op- fuence of her alarm, to reach the shore but was instantly
portunities of removing valuable packages from their Plunged into a hole about sixteen feet deep. The stream
carts, carried her completely below the flood-gates for upwards
Grocers and iinen-drapers are the chief sof-
ibrers. of a hundred yards, when she rose, floated, and was fortu-
When the thief arrives "at the top of the tree," he nately rescued from a watery grave by the ultimate success
frecitents the same houses as the swell mob, and when of medical assistance, after being consigned for more than
not otherwise engaged accom three minutes to the fatal element whichhad so
upon she
panics parties of them in
their depredating games- These games we must now 1 heedlessly adventured.
THE CHARTISTS.—Almost ever town and
briefly deserib,• What this class of
eople do is upon a y
P c7tif vig, Ir tvidenee to 'heir a: tinier.
superior wale ; their principal game T
1, picking pockets,Throughout the length and breadth of Great Britain public
slot of 3 petty description, their aim being to steal i
meetings are almost daily held.
*