The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-01 00:00:00

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night with thieves and ruffians, or must get out by
climbing over the railings. But by the same proceed-
ing all the respectable world is locked out, and the
scoundrels we refer to have only to wait until the
gates are closed in order to be sure of being un-
molested until the morning. Such a practice is most
lazy and inconsiderate. It at once inflicts a great
hardship upon respectable people, and is the greatest
boon to rogues and vagabonds. It is a scandal to
our civilisation that such proceedings as those wh-11
prevail in Hyde Park at night should be tolerated
anywhere. It is monstrous that they should b 5
protected and facilitated in the very centre of
the most wealthy and prosperous part of London.
The Government will be greatly to blame if theY
allow the present occasion to pass away without re"
moving this great abuse. One point of the griev-
ance might be at once remedied without the slightest
difficulty. If the gates must be shut at a certain
hour, a means of escape ought to be provided for
those who may happen to find themselves imprisoned
Nothing is necessary for this purpose but to acl°l)
an obvious expedient, which is already in use at the
entrance to the Green Park. This consists simply
in a turnstile which will admit of passage outwards
but not inwards. If such a device is available on
one side of Piccadilly, it is equally available on the
other. This would afford a means of escape to the,
respectable portion of the public ; but it would, of
course, do nothing to rid the Park of the gangs P.
ruffians who take shelter in it. For this purP°s.:
it is essential that by some means or other—It
is not our business to indicate the precise
method--the Park should be cleared every Ingh.,
before the gates are closed. Above all things 1"
should be lighted ; these evil-doers delight in darl-
, ness, and shun the gas-lamp, which reveals their
iniquities. If the Park were properly lighted and;
efficiently patrolled, if honest men could get out?'
it without risk of breaking their necks, and if 6118"
honest ruffians only lingered in it to find them-
selves dispersed and arrested, the reign of terror
now established after nightfall would cease. These
precautions would not only put a stop to th?
scandalous scenes which now prevail througlion"
the night, but would probably furnish the best
protection to the public from the dangers which
now beset them at nightfall. It is the certainl
that they can remain in the Park all night which
attracts to it so many bad characters, and if they
were certain to be driven out they would not find it
worth while to come so far from their customary
haunts. This would be a somewhat difficult task,
no doubt, but it must be undertaken. Nor is .
only Hyde Park in which a similar measure ought
to be adopted. Whatever else the parks may be:
they should not be the chosen resort of the viers"
characters in London. After a certain hour they
now cease entirely to be places of quiet and re-
creation, and become instead the haunts of vice
and the only public quarters of London in which
a man cannot safely trust himself. In short, under
the present arrangements they are under no stiff".
cient protection, and it is imperative that some more
effectual system should be at once organised.