The Sun.
London, England, 1812-04-09 00:00:00

ritiei shall 'me( t, and make .more detailed rules and
regulations for .the instru'Etion and. gLidarice .the
Constable, Beadles, Patrcles, and Watchmen,—
These detailed-instroaions are directed to be written
or printed, and delivered to each of such ,persons. re-
speCtively,
Your Comrl.-iittee would lot-flier propose, that copies
of rules and regulation should be transmitted to the
Police 0 of tire distrim for their 'infotmatioi,
that the principal Officers attached to each Office
may, in til)e'ir nightly visitations, be able to judge
whether such regulations are regularly complied
'with. Copies also. of these regolatiqns should, in
some copvenlent manner, be affixed to the walls in
eaeh 1.4 aicti-house,. By means• such. as these, the
several Boards of Ailagi,trat,es would acquire such a
degree of knowledge, as would enable them to give
instruetions to theirprincipal officers' for their con-
du& during their visitations, and would enable them
further to exercise', with corte&ness, the power
which should' be given them, of displacing
.such of
tire watch Men or patroles as appear to -be unfit
from bodily infirmity, or iron) negligence or mis-
condutc.t.

Hiving thus collet9ed at each repeEißre Police
Ottice a great mass of intormaunn, as to the princi-
ples and details by which the good order tud seen-
E-ity 'of their di,trici- is endeavoured' fo be maio tabled,
and.hlying thus called into activity the attention of
a•great nutober.ot persons as to matters of preventive
Police, and introduced that system of suPerintnd-
arfce and controut wach may keep aliVe and con-,
the-attivity and vigilance which has thus been
excited, it would still_appear that the system would
he imperlea onless_this information, thus colleaed
at each of the seven respective Boards of -Magistracy,
was.accuMulated at i•orne -one central -point, in or-
der i-hzu t4ere may be the means of comparing the
occurrence, and transactions, and caret instanceS of
the various parts.ot the town, and of forming esti.
mates.from the comparisonot such facts, of the pro•
bable means for the seffeelual-preiontiou rif crimes,
or for the dete6tion,, pursuit, apprehension and con-
,.vi6tion of criminals. .

It should seem that the Office -at Bow-street,
which is wholly Uneonnetled with either of the se-
ven Offices, might form the proper t':entre, to which
this various information, should be transmitted. It
'would probably be necessary, considering the great
pressirre of business which cfiivolves on that office,
to attach to it some fit person,• whose immediate
duty it would be to compare and digest such infor.
• 'nation, for the purpose of being cOmMunicated to
that Board of Magistrates, and also to the Secretary
of State for the Home Depattment. .
Your Committee have dwelt the longer on this
brairch,of the subjea, as they deeply feel the neces-
sity of introducing some system which May .g;ve
unity and.conneaion to the scattered parts of which
the Metropolis consists ; and which may, by intro-
ducing more means of superimendance. mid more
means of knowledge, secure a due execution of the
laws, ark!, above all things, way secure that active
vigilance and-precaution which may leSsen the nuw-
ber of criminals, by rendering it difficult to commit

Although your Committee consider this part of
the subject to beof pre7eminent importance, and as
some of the witnesses have said, to be all in all, yet
thero are several other measures' which may come
in aid of this system, aod may conduce materially to
the prevention of crimes. - •
With.this view, your Committee advert to the
Police Office which has been established at Wap-
ping, called the Thames Police Office, for the de-
tedion of felonies, &c; committed' on the River
Thames. The Magistrates of this office have alSo
a jurisdielion co extensive with the' other Magis-
trates. Your COmmittce are fully convinced of the
beneficial effects which have been derived from this
-establishMent ; the increased protehiou which has
been afforded ,to every Tecies of property on the
river, furnishes the stronge,t proof of its utility.—
But it is stated to your Committee,,that the, funds
of this office are at present inadequate for such an
increased establishment' as would be neeessary to
guard the valuable property on the various wharfs
and line of river from London • bridge' to Battersea ;
added to-which, at certain periods. ot the tide, the
communication between the parts of the river above
and below London Bridge is so interrupted, that dut- •
ing several hours the upper part of ilre river is con-
sequently open to great depredation. It is therefore
recommended that ari additional number 'of boats
should be provided, locally applicable to that part of
the river above the bridge.
It has also been represented, that the great and
increasing population in- the neighbourhood of
Greenwich, requites another Police Office on that
sipe of the river. Your. Committee are informed,
'that it is now in the contemplation of 'Government
to remove the Thames Police Office to the Surrey
side for that purpose': this might then be made the
office for an eighth divi,iorr, comprehending Green-
wich and the surrounding parishes. • -
It has also been 1-presented to-your Committee,
that the most notorious pickpockets and other re-
puted thieves are permitted to frequent the public
avenues of the town with impunity., notwithstand-
ing the provisions of 32 Geo. 111. grade for the pur-
pose of their appreher,sion ; but the law, as it now
stands, does not authorize the officer to apprehend
them, unless, first, they are seen in some public
avenue secondly, unless they are reptued thieves
and thirdly, unless they are on the spot with the in-
tent to commit a felony: thiS can be proved only by.
'some overt ad which-they are seen to-commit, such
as hustling, attempting the pocket, or the like. It.
has been suggested, that if further , powers were
given by the Legislature, the apprehension.of thee
offenders would be greatly facilitated ; but, on the
other hand, it has not occurred to your Committee
that the powers already' given could be enlarged,
consistently with the general liberty of the subject.
Doubts, however, have arisen on the construction
of this Ad, and the subsequent Ad-of 31 Geo. 111.
whether they extend to the City of Loudon (pro--
perly so called), which is staled to your Committee
to be at present the resurt of many teputed thieves,
from the shelter afforded by the operation of the
Ad being understood to be so limited ; it seeroc,
therefore, desirable that it should be amended for
',this purpose.
It is at present very difficult to prosecute to cort=
vktioa the receivers of stolen goods ; but your Com-
mittee think that the evil would be much checked,

endless facility wonld be rarirded ili the removal or
stolen property, if the law with respe6 to the exe-
cution of .such %variants were gmended, and the
Officer enable Idol force,. as well by night
as. by day,. under the &et-lion of the IVbgistrates ;
which .your Committee beg leave to suggest to the
future, consideration of the finuie.

It has been proved to your Committee, that
haflk-
ney co tcbes. treqUently are used tor' the conveyance
of stolen property in the night, and, to avoid de-
teaion, the iron plate with the proper number of
the coach is frequently taken off and another sub-
stituted during the time they are in waiting; this
might in some degree be remedied, by directing the
prier number to be painted on the panne' of the
coach, or by Sone sitiailar regulation.
Your Committee, fully agree in the recommenda-
lion of a former_Committee (28th Report Finance),
that the Magistrates should, have further means of
rewarding their different Office., for any extraoidt7
nary ai.ilivity and exertions, in Such a Manner as the
circumstances of the case might require. If this
power was given to a limited extent, it appears to
your Committee, that,the Police Ottice-rsmigllt be
preckided in future from participating in the .rewards
,given 'by:Act of Parliament., The reward.; are usually
divided between the prosecutor and all the wit,-
nesses I the Police Officer has only a small shire of
them; but this circumstance sometimes - tierat
,against his credit as a witness, and to the defeat of
public justice: it seems desirable, therefore, that as
a public Officer, he shin:id be free froth any such;
impUtation, and that his services would, be best .re-'
warded by the Magistrates, without depending on
the convi6tion of the offender.

- The great increasing expence attending all crititi-
nal prosecutions ha; been truly stated to be a great
source of the impunity, and consequently of the
inc' ease of crimes ;- and it seems highly deserting
the attention .of the Legislature, whether the ex-
pences of proSecution to a 11mited extent, and in
particular cases, which may be specified, might not
with propriety be defrayed out of the Parish rates,
or some other
,general fund. Your Committee
think that such a regulation would materially tet:a
to an increased activity in the, prevention and pro-
secution of offenders, and the great relief 'of indi-
vidnals on whom these depreciations are committed.

The Petitions from the licensed Ptiblicans, with
regard to the stealibg of'Pewter Potg, having been re-
ferred to Your Committee, they have heard evidence
on, the subject, and fi.;-id the extent of the evil to be
great, notwithstanding the severity of the existing
law; but it cities not occur to them, that the in.
terest of the Petitioners can be so well guarded by
any new Act of Legislature, as by, regulations
which they are competent to make among them-
selves.,

, Having thus adverted to these subjects, which are
most of them more or less intimately connected
the immediate :object of their inquiries, your
Committee cannot •Conclude their Report without
mentioning the incongruity .which subsists in the
system for the government of. the Metropolis, ow-
ing to the Chief and other Magistrates of the City
of London., which is, situated in the centre of the
Metropolis, being unable to pique, by their war-
rants, beyond the local limits of the City of L9n-
don (properly so cAled) gopds which may have
been stolen within the limits of the City, and may
have been removed beyond these limits. Your
Committee conceive;_that the warrant of the City
Magistrates shoilld have operation, without being
backed by, any other . Magistrate within a circle,
of five roles frn ru the Royal Exchange; and
that warrants signed by County Magistrates, with-
in five miles of the Royal Exchange should ope-
rate within the local limits of the • City, without
being backed by the City Magistrates. Yotir Coin-
mittee conceive, that such an intercommunity
of jurisdiction could not fie considered as affectil:g
any of the valuable
.exclusive 60ns and privileg,s
-of the City, particularly if it was limited to definite
cases: ,

• Whatever the feelings or opinion of the Legis.
lature might be upon this point, your Committee
have conceived, that they could not avoid, after the
evidence they had received, directing their attention
to the subject. •
Your Commits e are aware that there are many
other points which may be considered asintimately
connected with the subject of Police, and to. which
they might have directed their attention ; there are
many branches of the
,criminal law, many circum-
stances connected with the Modes in which such
law is administered ;: the periods for which ofienders
may be imprisoned., the places-. in which they
may be confithd, and the' manner, in which they
may be retrained again upon the_ community, atter
the period of their imprisonment msy be elapsed ;
all which subjects may be considered as intimately
Connected with, Police, as they operate strongly both
On the dispositions .which induce men to commit
crirMs, and od those previous arrangements of pre,.
Caution by. which crime may be prevented.
But". as these subjects have .been referred to
other Committees, your Committee have conceiv-
ed it to be their duty to confine their. investiga-
tions and their obsertiations to, those leading prin-
ciples of preventive., superintendance and controol;
an,l to that syste-ut of provident vigilance, which, by
watching assiduously over the intererests of the com-
munity, may in riotaio, without interruption, its
good order and security..
Since your Cornmitee framed:their report, two
resorts, made in the years 1770 and 1772, ,on the
same subject, have been referred to ; and your Com-
mittee think it their duty to bring them at this time,
to the notice of the House, in -the Appendix to this
, RePoirt:
24th March; 18:2.

The 49th r,gicznent, commanded 'by the Hon..
General MAITLAND, is under orders to return to
England, from Quebec.
Suicine.—A young woman, not more than 1 8
years of age, wit' found dead in her bt.d yesterday
mortfing,.in George-place, Oxford-streer, from the
effeo of arsenic. This unfortunate girl,, uho had-
left her friends in Yorkshire but a few weeks, had
expressed her' determination to rid herself of life,
to a female friend, as long ago as-Sunday last ; and
she had been observed several day's much &jetted.
She left . her home with an officer, since gone to Por-
tugal, and had t brown herself au- the chances of 11;e
.town for support.