The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-06 00:00:00

the Metropolitan Police is an invasion of this right, and ie
subvers ve of the English Constitution
or principle ot local
self-government which has fostered the love of freedom in
this country, has drawn closer the ties which connect the
people with Crown and Parliament, and under which this
City and the nation at large have so long prospered.
That this meeting calls upon the representatives of this
city, and also upon the representatives of the citizens
in the Corporation, to offer, by every means in tucir Fewer,
the moat determined opposition to the passing of the bill for
the amalgamation •f the City with the Metropolitan Police ;
and that a petition from this meeting, embodying the pre-
sent resolution, be presented to the Herne, of Commons by
ono of the City representatives. '
scal:ulbffiul
arceerhsai was
sufficient
tdToa
hsfesniywd
hecaerobr.
uoeludwt
or the
ahoeet
When
failureinefficiencyi(thweaatrsh)_esrheao, onwbfaunt
thtt
that
aoCa
ttiotontyfhepe gaveoCii
itselfict police, ,
wasppa
a police
parti-
culars, it
were efficient, those who desired to amalgamate said, " Well,
but we are not going to make any change. We will adopt
your chief commissoner, your medical officers, and all your
policemen; so shy should you find fault with the alteration
oily of the heads r That was monstrous flue, but it would
soon be found that the heads would alter very considerably,
and that the efficiency which all were new oblig: d to admit
would very soon be lost. (Hear.) They had heard that it
was Sir G• Grey—(hisses)—.who had broue lit in this bill.
He would reed en (pinion expressed by Sir G. Grey iet
the House of Commons in 1856, who, after stating that he
aid not ireend to ne ddle in the matter of the Metropolitan
and City police, went en to say—" Harmony and co-opera-
tion have existed between the Metropolitan and the Ciro
police, and between the Government and the autborities of
the City of London. The utmost readiness has alweys bun
displayed by the authorities of the City to listen to eny stone.
gestiens which have been made by me, with regard to the
employment of the police, and when it has been thought
reinforcements
fsosracreymteont
sfrom h
strengthen,rl t
et the
Metropolitan police
p
force wuliitchei, the
within the eaCrri
aryn
oeby..
the City,
havety,end
been
perfect
harmonyreadily
has is
existed
ed between
y t
the w
two
e:
bodies. While I admit, then, that, in theory, it would be
far better to place the whole police force of the Metro-
politan districts under one
general system of manage-
ment and control, still, as there exists within the narrow
limits of the City an important corporation, possessing
great influence and power, I think a strong case of practical
inconvenience should be established—stronger than any
which lam prepared to say has yet arisen—to induce Par-
liament to leave that corporation in a posi'ion in which no
municipal corporation in the country is placed,—namely,
without any police force under its own management.'"
Now why should Sir Geo. Grey, without any of those cases
arising to which ho had alluded, why should he hold one
language in 1856 and another in 1863 ? He had disclaimed
that it had anything to do with the 7th of March, there-
fore that could not be referred to ; but it was Tether a sin-
gular thing that whenever there was a talk (f the City,
there always was allusion to the 7th of March. Granted
that the City did break down, how had it broken down t
From the enthusiasm of the people—(cheers)—from the
desire to welcome the sweet lady towards whom all hearts
beat responsively. (Cheers.) Men of all parties agreed
that to corporate institutions we owed all our liberties.
Parliament itself was much younger than the corporation of
London. (Hear.) The citizens had enjoyed the right of
watch and ward ter more than a thousand years, and they
boldly said to the Home Secretary that he could not point
to a case in which there had been any practical inconve-
nience from its remaining in their hands. He trusted that
all present in their various spheres would, with one heart
and soul, determine that this iniquity to the City of Lone
don should not be perpetrated. The cause they had to de.
fend was vastly more important than the cause of the City
of London, for if they took away the right of self-govern-
ment, of self-watch and ward, from the corporation of the
City of London, they must, of necessity, take it away from
all the boroughs throughout England, (Hear.) The bus-
tle with which the measure had been thrust forward was so
great that it had violated a standing order, and had been
thrown out upon that order, which required that a measure
interfering with a private bill should itself be introduced as
a private bill. The Government were so anxious to have a
" peck" at the City, that he did not doubt they would try
to waive that standing order; but as it could not be waived
without the consent of Parliament, he looked to his hon-
ourable friends around him, to one and all, to assist in re-
jecting such an a tempt to filch away their liberties.
(Cheers.) The appeal which had been made n
this subject had had some response, for he held
in his hand a long list of those boroughs and
corporati ns which had already spoken out; and when he
told them that Windsor, Dovonport, Exeter, Portsmouth,
Southampton, Rochester, Nottingham, Oxford, Bath,
Bridgwater, Brighton, Birmingham, Beverley, Hu!l, Hall-
tax, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Paisley, arc'cs others, had
all unanimously expressed the same opinion, enough had
been said to induce them to agree with the resolution,
(Cheers.)
Mr. Alderman and Sheriff LAWRENCE, in seconding the
resolution, said that this question ought not to be narrowed
into one of cony°. ience or expediency with reference to the
police, for it really involve•l no. hing mere nor less than the
independence of the municipal institutions of this country,
and the eontinuance of local self-government, with those
guards and protections without which local self-government
was a name and not a re+ility. (Cheers.) The hon. gentle-
man quoted from the report of the select committee of the
House of Commons, ready years back, the following :
" It is difficult to reconcile an effective system of police
with that perfect freedom of action and exemption front in-
terference which are the great privileges of society in this
country. Your committee think that the fcrleiture or cur-
tailment of such advantages would be too great a sacrifice
even for improvements in police and facility in the detection
of crime, however desirable in themselves if abstractedly
considered."
The late Sir Robert Peel, in introducing the measure for the
new police, said the people of this country would never tole-
rate a minister of police, and therefore, in the first measure,
the police had simply been placed under two justices of the
peace. That was the safeguard devised, that the two justices
of the peace should take action before the police could act in
any manner hostile to the liberties of the people of the coun-
try. He was Foil yto say that the Legislature had not looked
so closely as t ey ought into subsequent measures which had
been carded, by which first one commissioner of police had
been appointed, then two assistant commissioners, and,
finally increasing their powers to such an extent that in
troubled times they could, by united action, exorcise complete
control ever the liberties of the people of the country—
(hear)—in spite of the magistrates and local authorities, and
even irrespective of the
pinelo(sal)f
\svuPe
:aeirilwi Parliament, ent , By
allowedy
to
pass,
subse-
quent Acts of Parliament, Sir Richard Mayne had been
made justice of the peace for no less than seven counties,
within which he had the power to hear cases, to sentence,
and commit to trial, without any publicity whatever. H.
had the power of summary conviction ; he could order a
policeman to take up an individual for an alleged offence;
and if it was one which could be summarily dealt with, he
had the power to sentence such offender to a term of impri-
sonment without his being taken before any magistrate
whatever. (Cries of shame.) It was right that the citizens
of London should know what was meant by extending the
police system and absorbing the City force; for by the very
bill introduced by Sir George Grey the man who was to be
appointed assistant-cenamissioner in London was to be made
a justice of the peace for seven counties. (Sbame.) If ih
the case of a riot it should be found necessary or bethought
necessary to call in the military, Sir Richard Mayne had
power to do so singly; and without concert with, and with-
out authority from, any other magistrate, he could autho-
, rise the military to fire upon the people. (Shame.) He
had power to do so, when every magistrate of the district
been
was opposed to it, and when the meeting might havtehor
ty
called for constitutional purposes, under the very. authority
of
thei
of the magistrates of the district and the junsitbiecre
of steps
peace fur the country. (Shame.) A t
~,,„ number
... a minis.
bad been taken in the direction of the creation ,
police for the police
force
oewrr
two years
eo
yf
whiche Police, 4ca egi.::
dO offb etseht
niec such
metropolitana
tot:
‘tav the
0 anl4dc t,tßhebhaeti.tai
lint :o:it:a:hos:e at
Royalui
sou
Iff,i
,i'lytinEieen
previously.x _d(,,,,. There was another
dockyard in all parts of
.the xtitort:.
matter well worth consideration. i
,of fur gre,ater pow
without any le sh euth„rit,
Commissioner had power.
permitted the army to
fHorFSerclileattanretynh,t,toaanrdulswub! f c ' 3 Ile'
eery
policeman in e Metropolitan or e---(ehime)___of
,000
blueraen•
Royal family raid
tfhth,
it ,
hare: tneoli.uietnlhdsclesti
people
instead
piaetzerdhhoh:
teanpoanlastrp,
eurotrdt
koioenedsffesceoctiamnrhroltteel:udtndntsetahsotbpmaeuvvdo ittt
country thewelcome
pc
d on
tsgh:
:at
sd.
:r
ea
print
occasion on whcehr
lcome the bride of the Prince
of Wales had been t
tiltstosniws t.tar,nsTehdteagainst them to give a death blow
dtoralowcaeluilacisttiltl
citizens of London W.tth
tehaearereievettila,of the Princess Alexan-
seni‘tiart.oivf
elsr,eedh ed in the minds of the
catwvoßtl(,Li\olu.pd
cheers,)
Mr. of liberty and the curtail-
ment,t)hatetlishould take every legasitotmneatoef
and
dir re pr e
proper-
metals to prevent the passing of Sir G. Grey's bill through
Parliament. When the bill was brought in ho had given
notice of his intention to move its rejection in the second
reading; and, if it survived the present difficulty with re-
gard to the standing orders, he should do so. It would be
idle for him to occupy their time in saying anything on the
demerits of a measure so ill advised, so unnecessary, and,
under recent circumstances, so ungracious. (Cheers.) Re
could hardly have conceived it possible, after the City of
London had stepped forward in the way it had, and attrtehae
cost of money had exhibited its loyalty to the throne,
to
heir apparent, and to his future bride. that
.1:3:
i it as an
should have seized that occasion,
tohpepolarctutsn
had said that tho events
but be
Home Secretary
with his proposal; .
March had very little to do
oneile that statement wrth
would find it very difficult toi. ec
If it was necessary to op-
rivoiflegtehse. 7th of
bill further, he knew
I 1 assist him in 1 tject-
pse the
Government wou t.
sympathised with
bers supporting the
Mid who hearirly .
Baron notbse ,
r bl to attend on account of ill health„
mg ir. seeking
(Cheers.)t abridgeh a r aa nitedhrhieran‘p.rmber of
Mr.mem-
IN RaTElll`r :•.-O • licit the resolution was put tend
he bill, attei w
condemning t
carried unanimously.
that the foregoing resolutions should be ad-
A rest.dut:on. De ALP., followed in a.,• peech st rongirf
nel . and carried unanimous Iy,
well e • the local organs, Nk d b., me Bond,
morning and evening London paeers
amid
scoon.c,.:
igot in. the Times."
cries
:, of thanks to the Lord Mayor, prepoecel Ler Mr.
Norris, .M.P., and seconded by Mr. J amen Antkrton, c C 9.
was duly responded
.-tit ms:
sed.e,ini/ :11 oil
opportunity
''l
theiWf toi . 'hr'Seetaui:Tseti.
~ts p, 0 p
t, e . _
.. _ ~ _ ~ a 8
to, uad the proceedings terminated. '