The Sun.
London, England, 1830-09-10 00:00:00

THE THIEVES AT BRIGHTON.

The class of London thieves who in slang lan-
guage are designated the " swell mob," have fol-
lowed in the wake of Royalty, and have mustered
in • considerable numbers at Brighton, where they
pursue their vocation with their wonted dexterity
and with a success almost unprecedented in the an-
nals of thieving. These fellows parade through the
town in groups of four or five, dressed in the first
style of fashion, and, assuming the airs of men of
consequence, mingle without notice or suspicion in
all the amusements of the place, and contrive upon
each occasion to lighten the pockets of those who
are deceived by their appearance, and who never
dream of being robbed in such genteel society, until
the loss of their watches or purses causes them for
the first time to suspect their company. The sub-
scription-rooms and libraries afford ready access to
these accomplished thieves, and their depredations
at those places have been carried on to a consider-
able extent. The arrival of a coach from London
is sure to .collect a crowd of idlers, nud of this cir-
cumstance the swell mob never to fail to take advan-
tage by hustling the passengers and possessing
themselves of watches, purses, and pockets, in the
confusion which ensues. The appearance of his
Majesty on the parade attracts, of course, a con-
siderable concourse of persons, and none are
more eager in pressing forward to catch a glimpse
of his person, or more loud in the express
„skip of their loyalty, than his grateful subjects, the
swell mob of London, many of whom have been
seen to salute his Majesty with the greatest possible
effrontery, and to receive in turn a gracious bow.--
But where, it will be asked, are the police of
Brighton, that have lately been modelled en the plan
of the new police in the metropolis, and of whose
efficiency so much has been said ? Sauntering up
and down the town with their hands-behind them,
these watchful guardians of the public scarcely ever
enter a crowd, and thus the swell thieves are left
undisturbed to draw the pockets of the King's
lieges. It is, however, but fair' to add, that the
Brighton police are wholly unacquainted with the
persons- of the swell mob of London, and without
some pre-gonehnowledge, few of them would be
hardy enough to question the respectability of such
well-dressed dashing fellows as Messrs. Prendergast
and Gascoigne, who, in • imitation of many of the
Brighton loungers, appear on the parade in the
mornings, loosely attired in dressing
.gowns and
yellow slippers. During the late rejoicings at
Brighton in honour -of his Majesty's visit, the
swell mob were more than usually active, and the'
loss of watches, pures, and every description of pot t-
able property was great in propoition.' On the
following morning the town; crier with a face
of more than usual importance, came forth with
his bell, and a long list of missing property, and be-
ginning with " Oh yes 1" and ending with " God
save the King," he enumerated the various
.articles
which had changed owners on the preceding night,
amongst which were several watches, sundry bills of
exchange, and divers Bank notes, not to mention an
abundance of loose cash and a variety of private me-
morandums "of no use but to the owners." On
several mornings since this occurred the crier has
been similarly employed, and in the crowd which
his bell attracts together may be seen some of the
swell mob, apparently in high glee at the success of
their speculation' and mocking the useless labour of
the crier, who, however, pockets a fee for every
article he cries, and who, therefore, to his loyal
finale of " God save the King," may add, " and the
swell mob." A few days ago a very elegantly
dressed • female was standing near the Pavilion, ac-
companied by some friends, when it was announced
that his Majesty was approaching. A general move,
merit was of course the consequence;' and the lady,
in her anxiety to see his Majesty, was for a moment
separated from her friends. In this dilemma a
fashionably dressed man offered his services, and
proceeded very politely to point the attention of the
lady to the King, who was just advancing. The eyes
of the lady were for a moment rivetted upon his Ma-
jesty, and us soon as he passed she turned to think
the gentleman to whose politeness she had been is-
debtor], but found that he was gone, and upon jon—
ing her friends, she discovered that u valuable gold
watch which she had worn appended to her side
had vanished also. It is scarcely necessary to men-
tion -that the polite gentleman was one of the " swell
mob." In short, the thieves of London, and more
particularly those who are at the head of fluter-
eity, have reaped a most plentiful harvest since the
accession of his Majesty ; and so grateful do they
feel for the many opportunities afforded them by
his Majesty's frequent appearance in public, that
they seem determined to follow him wherever his
Royal pleasure may chance to lead him. It is a
fact, that some of the swell thieves,. at present in
London, are at this moment busily engaged in pack-
ing up preparatory to a tour of speculation to Ports-
mouth, where his Majesty, we believe, has signified
his intention of proceeding shortly. We under-
stand, that it has been notified to some of the offi-
cial persons about the King, that a portion of his
Majesty's light-fingered subjects are in the habit of
pressing rather too close to the Royal person, and
it is hoped that some experienced officer, to whom
the persons of the swell mob are known, will in
future be appointed to prevent such depredations
upon the public as are now carrying on at Brighton.
The presence of one or two experienced officers
would rid the town of their presence in a very short
time.—Morning Paper.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

))OW-BTBI ET.

William Randall, the nvin who stood charged
with having committed a rape upon Mary Ann Ito-
binaon, a child only eight years of age, was brought
forward for a re-examination. in consequence of
the father of the child having absconded from his
lodgings, to prevent his giving evidence against the
prisoner, a warrant had been issued for his appre-
hension, and placed in the bands of Mr. Thomas, the
superintendent of the police, who discovered that
the man had removed with his family to Leeds, and
us there was no fund to pay the expenie 'of pursuing
him to that place, and no means of compelling him
to give evidence if he were brought forward, it was
deemed advisable to forego the prosecution, and Sir'
R. Dtion was reluctantly compelled to discharge
the jrisoner.

Sir R. ButNIR received -a letter from a Governor
of the Royal Exchange, humanely offering to use
his interest to obtain tin) admission to an orphan
school of the infant brother of the unfortunate
young woman, whose case was reported in The SOU
of Wednesday, and who it appeared had supported
the child from the wages of her prostitution. The
Magistrate upon receipt of this letter . sent for
Serjeunt M'Sweeney of F. division, who had dis-
closed the affecting particulars when the' young
woman was charged at this office; and expressed .a
strong desiie that she should be made acquainted
with the benevolent intentions of the writer of the
letter. In the course of the day the young woman,
accompanied by her little brother, a fine boy only
eight years old, were brought before Sir
by ,_seljeaut M'Sweeney, who had used the most
praiseworthy mallow; to discover their retreat, and
the Magistrates bevies read the letter, the young
woman appeared overjoyed at the offer it contained,
and expressed -her grateful acknowledgment to the
writer.

Serjeant M'Sweency said that the young woman
had at first told him that her name was Sarah John-
son, but (rum inquiries he had since made, he dis-
covered that her real name wits Alexander, adding
that her story was true in every particular, and that
she hail not only paid for her brother's maintenance,
but had been the sole support of her mother timing
her lust illness. Iler father had been for some time
in the employment of a mercantile house in the city
as traveller, and her mother had lived as confidential
servant with a Mr. Pellatt, who resided near St.
Paul's-church-yard.

Sir R. BIRNIF. gave Serjeant i4l'Sweeney a letter
to the benevolent gentleman whose communication
be bad received, with directions to proceed imme-

diately to his residence at Cornhill with the girl and
her little brother. The Magistrate added, that he
scarcely ever assisted in a charitable action that
gave him more satisfaction.