The Sun.
London, England, 1833-09-13 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY EXPERIENCE.

BY THE AUTHOR OF " THE SCHOOLMASTER'S
EXPERIENCE IN NEWGATE."
This is a work of immense value, which
every Member of Parliament, but especially those
interested in the amendment of the criminal
law, ought to have on their tables. Some of the
matter it contains has already appeared in
Frazer's Magazine, but much of it is original.
We have had it so long on our table, buried
under a pile of papers out of notice, we are
ashamed to say, that we almost despair of
being able to quote any interesting part of its
contents not already known to our readers. As
its title implies, the work not only enters
largely into the principles on which our criminal
jurisprudence is founded, but gives all mariner
of details respecting the practices of the thieves
of every grade. The following story is found
under that of housebreakers :
" I can n tine several boys now in custody, who have
been actors in some of the most complicated schemes of
burglary,iand from whom much on this head might be
elicited. One in particular, who began his career by
robbing a gentleman in Mark Lane of plate to a consider-
able amount ; and as it shows one method of committing
a robbery, I will relate how it was accomplished. The
boy wed under sentence of death when 1 got the history of
his !de from him, he having been nine years in the suc-
cessful commission of crime; and although nearly eighteen
years of age, his appearance gave him credit for only being
fourteen. Whilst in custody, his constant theme of regret
was that be had left the parties in whose services he had
been so long and securely employed, to join some of his
own age, embarking in business for themselves ; by which
he was nicked' (taken up.) He was an orphan, and
had been brought up in the poor-house, whence he was
apprenticed to a sweep in the city. Ile was a remarkably
sham p boy, which no doubt was noticed by those who are
always on the look out for agents, to aid them in their
schemes. He was nut one morning early, with the soot
bag on his back, by a man who pretended to be his uncle,
and who gave him a half-crown piece, making another
appointment for a meeting, the result of which was, before
he hail served sixteen months of his time he bad given
information by which fifteen robberies had been committed.
He, of course, had been paid fir his services, which soon
made him disgusted with the sooty business; and he made
an arrangement with the man who drew him into crime,
to leave his master's service, and to commit with biro a
robber yon their own private account before he left. The
house fixed on was the one above alluded to in Mark Lane.
The premises had before been surveyed, and deemed im-
pregnable; that is to say, were consideted too well guarded
to be robbed without detection. They, however, got
possession of the plate in the following manner:—
" The boy was a favourite with the cook of the house,
and she would have no other to sweep her kitchen
chimney; a matter of business which was performed the
last Saturday in every month. It was concerted between
the man and the boy, that the former should dress himself
in the character of a sweep, and accompany the latter as
hie overlooker, or assistant. The real sweep overlooker,
of course, must be kept out of the way ; and here laid all
their difficulty. It cost the boy (to use his own expres-
sion) six months longer punishment as a sweep, and the
man six appearances, at an early hour of the morning, in
the same character, before the object could be carried,
namely, to get rid of the real sweep. At length, one
Saturday, by pretending to forget the job until all the
men were gone out about other work, the boy, affecting
suddenly to recollect it, persuaded the master to let him
go alone, saying he himself could perform the duty. It
was five o'clock in the morning when he and the dis-
guised robber reached the house ; the cook opened the
door, having nothing on save a blanket thrown over her
shoulders. The arch young rogue said, It's only me and
Harry; it's a very cold morning ; if you like to go to bed
again, cookey, we will do it well, and leave all clean, and
shut the door fast after us.' She went to bed, and they
went to the plate depository, which had been well noted
ofttimes before. They put the whole of its contents into
the soot bag, and fearlessly walked through the streets
with it on their backs. The boy, a few hours afterwards,
was so metamorphosed, being dressed in the smartest
manner, with cane in hand and fifty pounds in his pocket,
that he walked the streets in full confidence that not even
his master or his fellow apprentices would know him."
" Others of the gang, belonging to housebreakers,
employ themselves in courting the servant girls ; by which
means they frequently obtain admittance to the house
during the absence of the principals, and thus become
acquainted with all the localities of the premises, and the
habits of the family ; after which, they lay their plans
with almost a certainty of success."
The " march of intellect" may be noted even
among the thieves. The author thus narrates
and exemplifies the change which civilization has
produced on the thieving community :
" Highway robbery, according to the usual acceptation
of the term, is now an unknown crime; llaynes, of
Hounslow Ileath memory, being the last of those termed
highwaymen. It is now only committed by occasional
desperate men, and generally in the suburbs of the metro-
polis, or in a crowd, where a gang of fellows sometimes
surround the person, robbing the party in the face of all
the standers-by. Nothing but the vigilance of the police
can cope with these characters, as the recklessness and dte,
perate state of the thief at the time, arising from went of
money, places the offence out of the pale of al precau-
tionary measures; and it may be relied on, that the gene-
rality of thieves have even an abhorrence of any violence
committed on the person. They have a very unfavourable
opinion of any of the fraternity who cannot carry on
their business without it.
" I had an opportunity of seeing a remarkable instance
of this last year. An Irish itinerary tinker knocked a
captain of a vessel down, in the neighbourhood of the
London Dock!, in a most brutal manner, in the dark, and
robbed hire of his money. When the fellow was coin-
mime! to Newgate, he applied to me to make out his
kief : from the desperate nature of the offence I at first
declined doing it, knowing he must suffer; but the man
urged me so much, that at length I consented ; be saying,
6 It I am found guilty I know I am as dead as Harry the
E;ghth, and shall not blame you.' There were in the
saute yard where lie was, before his trial, nearly a hundred
prisoners, one half of whom wete transports, but not
one of them would associate with him, in consequence
of the
instructions
nature offorhis aff
makeinnege ;a w
out the
thehenbrliesen his fv,tthteoy take
i
called out for me not to do it; and I got some insults for
oi
having undertaken it. They afterwards led the man such
a life, that lie appeared to be relieved when lie was con-
demned and sent to the cell. From this it may be seen,
as !.
On the
Lord Byronm trt:s,
morning of ntl°liisienalaren,sx
alle evil.'ecution, not a word
of commiseration lor him, or reproach on the practice of
hanging, was uttered, by one hundred and twenty men
who followed crime as a trade. On the contrary, they
all, nemine contradicente, said he deserved his fate. Yet
Mr. Wakefiehrl says (p. 185, second edition), It can hardly
be doubted, that every year persons confined in Newgate,
who have never committed crime accompanied by any
violence, are converted into savage burglars and merciless
footpaths, by the feelings of anger and desperation which
the killing of their late companions engenders.'
" The explanation of this is, that the character and
feelings of the public thief, as of all other classes of so-
ciety, have undergone a visib'e and marked change within
the last thirty years. Whether it has been for the better,
is another question. Formerly the heroes of th,ir party
were fellows conspicuous and famed for open and dating
acts of plunder, in whom the whole body had a pride, and
whom they all felt ambitious to imitate ; failing only to
do so for lack of the same quantum of courage. The
more desperate and numerous the instances of robbery, the
more were the parties lauded and admired. It was then
the fasbion among these men to boast of their conduct
under punishment. In those times there must be no
snivelling, no 'peaching, no contrition ; and the malefactor
must die bravely to entitle himself to fame. The Turpins
and the Jerry Abershaws of the day were the objects of their
admiration ; such men as those on the road to execution
would stop and drink gin, offering libations to the success
of all highwaymen, and when or, the gallows kick their
shoes off, swearing with an oath, they always said they

would never die with them on;' or like Despard, who'
when brought out for execution, remarked to the execu-
tioner that it was a tine morning, and wondered whit
sort of weather it was in the other country ; adding,
' But never mind, I shall soon know all about it.' All
this kind of heroism has subsided ; their leaders now are
men rendered famous for scheming, subtlety, and astute-
ness. Formerly, the passport to enrolment under their
banners was a name for boldness and monstrous acts of
outrage; now a certificate must he brought of the man
never having committed an indiscreet act in his calling ;
and that the party is up to all the moves upon the board,
and knows something.' This ' knows something' is a
sentence ever in the mouth of the thieves, and has a very
extensive meaning. When an associate of a set of rogues
recommends an acquaintance for admission into their
party, the first question asked by all the members is,
What does he know ?' If the answer be in the super-
lative degree, Every thing, and is a good operator,' he
is admitted ; but if the reply be in the comparative, and
He only knows something,' then they are very cautious,
even should the party bLt admitted, cf entrusting him with
all their movements: nor will they allow him what they
call regulars; that is, a fair proportion of the plunder.
This is dune by an underst• nding among the rest."

The following presents a picture of a different
kind, and although a strong one, we will ven-
ture to say, was . .ng but of an uncommon
kind during the . Are- such fact-occurring
ought of itself to be sufficient to make the Le-
gislature free the nation from the monstrous
stain which the practice of impressment casts
upon it :
" Meredith, speaking of a bill which was passed to
punish with death, stealing in a shop, or lifting any thing
off a counter with intent to steal, relates a case which is
too remarkable for rue to omit. He says, " Under this
act, one Mary Jones was executed, whose case I shall just
mention ; it was at the time when press warrants were
issued, on the alarm about Falkland Islands. The woman's
husband was pressed, their goods seizd for sonic debt of
his, and she, with two small children, turned into the
streets a-begging. 'Tis a circumstance not to be forgotten,
that she was very young, (under nineteen,) and most re-
markaltly handsome. She went to a linen-draper's shop,
took some coarse linen cff the counter, and slipped it under
her cloak ; the shopman saw her, and she laid it down :
for this she was hanged. Her defence was, (I have the
trial in my pocket,) that she had lived in credit, and
wanted for nothing, till a pressgang came and stole her
hosband from her ; but since then she bad no bed to lie
on ; nothing to give her children to eat, and they
were almost naked ; and perhaps she might have
done something wrong, for she hardly knew what she did.'
The parish officers testified the truth of this story, but
there bad been a good deal of shoplifting about Ludgate--
an example was thought necessary—and this woman was
hanged for the comfort and satisfaction of some shopkeepers
about Ludgate-street. When brought to receive sentence,
she behaved in such a frantic manner, as proved her mind
to be in a distracted and desponding state; and the child
was sucking at her breast when she went to Tyburn. Let
us reflect on this woman's fate. The poet says, An
honest man is the noblest work of God.' He might have
said, with equil truth, that a beauteous woman is the
noblest work of God. But for what cause was God's
creation robbed of this its noblest work ? It was for no
injury; but for a mere attempt to clothe two naked chil-
dren by unlawful means. Compare this with what the
state did, and what the law did. The state bereaved the
woman of her husband, and the children of a father, who
was all their support; the law deprived the woman of her
life, and the children of their remaining parent, exposing
them to every danger, insult, and merciless treatment,
that destitute and helpless orphans suffer. Take all the
circumstances together, I do not believe that a fouler mur-
der was ever committed against law, than the murder of
this woman by law."

LONDON NEW CATTLE MARKET AND

ABATTOIRS.

The utility of a new cattle market and abattoirs
on the skirts of the metropolis, so as to do away
with the nuisances that have so long disgraced many
densely populated parts of London, and endangered
the lives of the inhabitants, has long been felt; and
we have great pleasure in stating that a public-
spirited individual (Mr. Perkins) has at length ac-
complished so desirable an object. It is situated is
the Lower-road, Islington, and was on Tuesday
last submitted to the inspection of several scientific,
literary, and professional men.
The new mart stands upon an area of 22 acres.
The situation is airy and healthful, and is peculiarly
appropriate for the purpose, as it is on the high road
for the northern and eastern parts of the country;
from whence the principal supply of cattle for the
London market comes. An immense square is en-
closed by high walls, around which are erected a
continuous range of slated sheds, supported by no
less than 244 plain Doric pillars, under which cattle
may at all times be protected from the severity
of the weather. These sheds are subdivided
into numerous compartments with lairs en-
closed by oak palings in front, to wlich the
beasts may be either fastened, or allowed to be
at liberty so as to be conveniently subject to
the examination of the purchasers. In each
lair there is a water trough, constantly supplied with
fresh water, by means of pipes passing under
ground, from too immense tanks, which are kept
filled by machinery from capacious wells which have
been sunk for the purpose. The average length of
the sheds is S3O feet, and they are capable of ac-
commodating at least four thousand beasts, and here
they may remain from one market day to the other,
or till such times as it may be convenient for the
purchasers to remove them—an advantage wholly
impracticable in Smithfield.
The open space in the centre is divided into
four quadrangles, intersected by wide pas-ages, and
in these quadrangles are to be erected sheep-pens
(the materials for which are all ready), capable of
holding forty thousand sheep, and so placed as to
be approached with perfect facility. Other pens
are constructed for calves, pigs, arid such animals
as are usually brought for sale to the cattle market,
upon an obviously simple classification, so as to
avoid confusion or irregularity of any sort.
Every necessary office for the salesmen and clerks
of the market will be erected in a large area in the
centre, and the ingress is obtained through a large
arched passage under the market-house, a fine sub-
stantial building, with appropriate offices on each
side for check clerks, and with accommodation up
stairs, either for the counting-houses of hankers, or
public meetings connected with the business of the
establishment. To the leads of this house the
visiters proceeded, mid from thence a full view of
the whole market was obtained, as well as of the sur-
rounding country, at once sliowing the perfect appro-
priateness and unobjectionable character of the site,
which, in point of extent, is four times larger than
Smithfield. The piers and layers are all to be paved,
if we may use the expression, with hard bricks ;
and the drainage is so contrived as to insure perfect
cleanliness in the most unfavourable weather.

ABATTOlRS,—Adjoining the market it is intended
to erect abattoirs for slaughtering cattle of every
description, in which persons may be accommodated
with private slaughter-houses or have the animals
slaughtered under appointed inspectors at a certain
fixed and moderate rate, so that all the expense,
inconvenience, and mischief arising from the present
mode of driving the cattle through the crowded streets
on the market day may be avoided. So much has
been said on the great importance of this part of
the plan that it requires no further remark.
A market tavern, with stable-yard, stables, and
sheds, capable of accommodating the horses of the
frequenters of the market, is also to be erected, to-
gether with a range of shops for the sale of such
things as are calculated to meet the wants of the vari-
ous classes who may be drawn to the spot by
their respective avocations. Every possible want

has, in fact, been foreseen ; and as the place is open
for inspection, the public have an opportunity of
judging of its utility by personal observation.
It would seem that the Corporation of London
have already taken alarm at the popularity, ,which
this market is likely to attain, and in May last Ahey
served a notice on Mr. Perkins (the proprietor),
forewarning him against building or opening his pre-
mises in violation of their " rights, privileges, fran.
chises, charters, liberties, customs," as if sueliiights,
in the present enlightened age, were 'to interfere
with positive benefit to the comMunity,and to entail
upon the metropolis, in perpetuity, a nuisance not
only offensive to humanity, but injurious to health.
At the conclusion of the inspection, the major
part of fae company dined at White Conduit-house,
where the new mart again became the subject of en-
comium, and Sir Anthony Carlisle, Dr. Hodson,
and several of the professional gentlemen present,
expressed their surprise that in this, the first city in
the woad, distinguished as it was over all others for
its vast improvement, and for the regard which was
paid to public health and convenience, the mon-
wrous evils arising from the market in Smithfield
had not long since been remedied. Again, with
regard to the abattoirs, which they were happy
to find were to form part of this establishment,
nothing, they said, was more wanting, as there could
be no doubt that the existence of slaughter-houses
in crowded neighbourhoods had been productive of
the worst consequences to the health of the inha-
bitants, and was calculated in warm weather to en.
gender the most fatal diseases. Ou the continent
these things were managed better ; and rot only
were those abattoirs in appropriate situations, but
public inspectors were appointed, whose duty it was
to see that cattle were in a proper state to be killed,
and fit for human food. They hoped such inspec-
tors would, by legislative enactment, be attached to
the new mart, as every day's experience showed
that nothing was more common than to send meat
for sale to the public markets which was utterly
unfit for the food of man.

The CHAIRMAN having proposed "the health of
Mr. Perkins, and success to the new cattle mar-
ket," which was drunk with every demonstration
of respect,

Mr. FAULKNER rose, and, in the absence of Mr.
Perkins, begged leave to return thanks in his
name. He assured the meeting that Mr. Perkins
was a man above all personal vanity, and in the
present undertaking he was influenced by motives
far removed from ostentation or desire of personal
gain. His sole object was a philanthropic wish,
not only to benefit his fellow creatures, but to ex-
tend the same feeling of benevolence to that brute
creation intended by Providence for man's use.
Shuddering at the repetition of these horrors he
had anxiously hoped that the corporation of the
City of London, urged as they had been by the
entreaties and arguments of the whole civilized com-
munity of the metropolis, would have long since
applied the only rational remedy to the evil, by
erecting a new market, as had been repeatedly sug-
gested, in the neighbourhood of London ; but find-
ing this plan every year more distant from adoption,
he at last determined to erect such a mart hiniselc
leaving, it to the :public and the Legislature to deal
with his project as they might think it deserved.—
(Cheers.) lie had now nearly completed his be-
nevolent and gigantic undertaking, at an ex-
pense little short of 100,0004, every farthing
of which he had expended out of his own
pocket, asking no man for a shilling, and thus
freeing himself from the suspicion of intending
to draw others into a speculation job, with a view
to his own profit. It was Mr. Perkins's intention
to apply to Parliament next session for its sanction
to the new mart, and before that period he trusted
every member would have an opportunity of per-
sonally witnessing the completion of his plans and
forming his own estimate of their utility, lie ha I
already received warns assurances of support, and al-
though aware that he had much opposition to en-
counter, yet he was persuaded, when his motives
were appreciated, that he would have the counte-
nance and assistance of every enlightened and hu-
mane man in the kingdom.—(Cheery.) He (Mr.
Faulkner) wat; unwilling to say more at present,
and he was the more reserved in speaking of the
high attributes of the gentleman to whom he al-
luded, because he well knew that nothing was more
repugnant to his mind than an ostentatious display
of philanthropy. lie was one of whom it might be
said, " He did good by stealth, and blushed to find it
fame."—(Loud cheers.)

Several other gentlemen addressed the meeting,
and the evening was spent with great harmony and
conviviality.

PUBLIC HEALTH.

We feel much pleasure in giving publicity to the
following letters, copies of which have been commu-
nicated from Lord Palmerston's office to the Diplo-
matic and Consular Agents of foreign countries now
in London. These documents show that we are
again free from cholera, which, even by its partial
re-appearance in the metropolis this summer, had
caused some uneasiness :