The Sun.
London, England, 1839-08-23 00:00:00

CITY FREEDOMS.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
A short time since the inhabitants of the city of Lon-
don were apprised by a corporation advertisement that
it was the intention of that body to compel all traders,
wholesale as well as retail, to spend about 14/. in ren-
dering themselves free of the City, in order, as it was
said, to place larger funds at the disposal of the Corpo-
ration jobbers, " wherewith to proceed more rapidly with
improvements which had hitherto gone on only at a
snail's pace." This threat has been followed up by serv-
ag notices on some wholesale dealers who have rendered
themselves obnoxious to the Corporation by exposing
some of their mal-practices. Before the City jobbers
attempted to wring more money from the inhabitants
they ought to have shown that their enormous revenue
of upwards of half a million was honestly and judiciously
expended, and before they took courage to raise more
money by freedoms they ought to have put themselves
in a condition to show that some of the money so de-
rived was not spent in the following profligate manner :
The Lord Mayor (for purposes of gluttony
and ranee shows) six freedoms
Chamberlain, in part of 5,0001. a-year, his in-
come, six freedoms - 150 0 0
First Sergeant of the Chamber, part of 3191.,
one freedom 25 0 0
Third Sergeant, part of 2771., one freedom
Common Hunt's young man 1 part of 350.,
one freedom and part of another
Water Bailiff's second young man, part of 3591
one freedom and part of another
Swordbearer's young man, part of 3491., one _

freedom.. 25 0 0
Cbaplain of Giltspur-street Cornpter, in addi-
tion to 2001., one freedom 25 0 0

The Lady Mayoress has for Pin-money t one or two
/reedons.
This is what becomes of some of the citizens' money,
squeezed from them for freedoms, with which should be
remembered the Irish estate belonging to the citizens
of London. It is admitted to yield about 10,0001.
per annum (but it ought to yield 15,0001.) ; of this
scarcely a single pound comes into the City purse, the
whole of the proceeds being sifted and jobbed by the
Corporators.
Yet so spending the money derived from freedoms,
they have the audacity to demand more, for the pur-
pose of improving the City ! The total cost of a free-
dom is about 141. ; of this sum not more than five
pounds goes to the corporation jobbers, the rest is stop-
ped by their officers in the shape of fees. A man may
carry on a wholesale or retail trade in the borough of
Southwark or in the city of Westminster without pay-
ing 141. for the privilege of living in a district where
local taxation is two and three-fold heavier than any-
where else, which is the case in the city of London.
Mob government is the most tyrannical and expensive
of all government ; and there is no place where so
much money is wrung from the public as by the self-
appointed, irresponsible, sham reformers of the city of
London.

STATE OF CRIME IN THE
COUNTY OF EDINBURGH.

(FROM MR. HILL'S REPORT.)
Of the county generally and the city, Mr. Hill re

ports as follows
" STATE OF CRIME, licc.--About the same, appa-
rently, as at the time of the last report. The prisons
of Edinburgh have been unusually full during part of
the year ; but it is believed that this is a matter of
accident, rather than an evidence of an increase of crime.
Several gentlemen concerned in the administration of
justice (including the Superintendent of the Edinburgh
police) are of opinion that, while there have been more
offenders than usual in prison of late, there have been
fewer at large ; and it will be seen, by referring to the
evidence given in the Report on the Edinburgh Bride-
well, that the same opinion is entertained by some of

the prisoners.
" Captain Stuart, the superintendent of police, states
that there are about 35 convicted and reputed thieves
at present at large in Edinburgh, of whom about 26
are males, and aout 15 females. Of the males, he
says, about seven are above 20 years old ; and that of
these three have returned from transportation, having
received a pardon before the expiration of their sen-
tence. The other male thieves are from 10 to 20 years
old. Of the females six or seven are stated to be above
20 years old, and the others between 14 and 20.
Captain Stuart further states, that there are about
800 prostitutes within the bounds of the police ; and
he adds that the greater part of the thieves are the
children of profligate parents, who first sent them out
to beg.
" The sheriff-substitute, the procurator-fiscal for the
city and county, and the superintendent of police (all
of whom were present at the meeting at which I made
my inquiries), believe that there were only three heinous
offences committed it: the county during the year 1838 ;
namely, one murder and two highway robberies. So far
as they know, there was no rape, no case of housebreak-
ing With violence to the inmates, and no case of fire-
raising.
" The following is a statement of the average number
of cases in the Edinburgh Police Court during the last
fifteen years ; and when it is considered that the pop-

lation has considerably increased during that time, that
the boundaries of the police have been extended, and
that there has, at least, been no falling off in the effi-
ciency of the police, the result appears satisfactory.

1824...8,022
1825...8,055

1829...7,178 1834...7,621
1830...6,930 1835...6,226

1826-.7,645

1831...7,283 1836...6,832

1827...6,660 1832...7,220 1837...6,933
1828...7;391 1833...8,382 1838...6,351
Average of 5 years Average of 5 years Average of 5 years
eading1828,7,554, ending 1833,7,398. ending 1838,6,792."
Mr. 11111 states elsewhere that the property abstracted
by a professional thief is supposed to average 12s. or
15s. per day, which is divided between himself and the
receiver. It would follow that the thirty-five thieves
plying their vocation here must, at 12s. a-day, levy a
tax of 6,0001. per annum on the city.
Instead of confining his inquiries to the officers, Mr.
Hill examined a number of the prisoners, whose evi
dence occasionally throws light on the causes of crime,
and the effects of imprisonment and jail discipline. We
give a few short extracts
EDINBURGH BRIDEWELL.

A prisoner, bred to the law, and who had been corn
mitted for assaulting his wife, says--
" Has often inquired of prisoners what was the cause
of their first offence, and has generally been told that it
wasla r
the
two
mast either
ior s drink,
m common
or
meo m women,
ofn
and gaming, or idle company,
or those
potent of these causes,
causes combined. By
however, in declarant's opinion, is drink. The
very young offenders appear to be generally de-
coyed by men and women, who supply them with
money and various luxuries, including ale, whisky, and
tobacco. These children think it manly to be able to
(for which they
soondrink
acquire
q igreatre a taste),qtian t quantity y
andof
tosmoke spirits,&c.
a pipe. Has
roc
o o
ne(remembers
re-
peatedly heard boys from 10 to 12 years old say they
oean t r
-
o
hadb7el. rob-
bery being
large
tsshtunamttesdtobey finm oownneoe
wondered
ndisentraed
tnhceei;,
how thepossession
the p
money
soon ; and their belief was, that they had been robbed
by the women with whom they lodged while they were
drunk. Has almost invariably heard them confess that
they had no real pleasure in spending the money, and
express regret they had ever gone astray.
" Most of the prisoners admit that they were not
driven to the commission of any of their offences by want,
and that, notwithstandint, their loss of character, they
might still get an honest livelihood, if they had resole-
, tion enough to avoid drink. Declarant never knew a
single instance of want being assigned as the cause of a
first offence, and very seldom of any subsequent offence.
Is accustomed to obtaining, and feels sure that the in-
formation which he has received from the prisoners may
be relied on as true. They had no motive to conceal
the truih from him. Has had several opportunities of
comparing one account with another.
" The craving for drink generally dies away in the
Bridewell in the course of eight or ten days. Has often
heard prisoners express their wonder that they did not '
feel any desire for whisky, and regret at having spent so '
much of their money upon it. Declarant attributes this
change to the simple and wholesome kind of food in use
in the Bridewell, to the restricted allowance of it, and
partly to the bodily system not being in an excited
state. The desire for snuff and tobacco continues much
longer than that for whisky. There is also a strong de-
sire for more food. The subject of eating, and the dif-
ferent modes of cooking food, form a principal topic of
conversation among the prisoners. They delight in talk-
ing about eating.
" Has had a great deal of conversation with thieVes
of all ages who have come to the Bridewell, and the
following is the result of the information he has re-
ceived :—Stealing is generally done systematically, and
as a matter of regular business. Most of the thieves
know each other, and know the circumstances of the
various robberies that are committed. They associate
much together. The chief body of the thieves in
Edinburgh live in the wynds and closes out of High-
street. With vigour and talent on the part of the
police, and with proper prisons to receive the offenders,
the whole system might be knocked on the head.
" Has conversed with several prisoners who have
been confined in the Glasgowßridewell. They describe
the discipline as very strict and formidable. They dwell
particularly on the complete separation of the pri-
soners, and the punishment (loss of porridge) which
is inflicted for slight offences—such as spilling the milk
upon the ground. They also complain much of being
obliged to keep their cell window open, and of being
obliged to get up so early in the morning—often in the
dark. They describe the food as good what's of
it,' but complain of the long fast between the
dinner of one day, and the breakfast of the next.
",They say that they heard nothing of what is doing
in tne house, nor any other noise than the turnkey's
keys, and that the only relief was the mail-guard's horn,
by which they knew what o'clock it was. They say
that it is vain to try to move any of the officers, though
they did not complain of unkindness ; that very few
would ever return to the Glasgow Bridewell if they
could avoid it ; and that if ever a man was likely to
do well, it would be from fear of being sent there again.