The Sun.
London, England, 1816-09-04 00:00:00

POLICE', OP I',lE AllEicitol'ol4ls.

[ExcniattiliiOn of flr. COLAUtfet/N conch ded.~
HOLIts'ES` OF ILL PAWL -
• You think that at present the, law does' ot give
'eutfteient,Vower to touch the greater proportion
of hou%es of ill fume think, at pre.-
...sc.:: is defective as to those houses ; they efto only
be touched by i it indictment ; it is very' difficult
to prove what they call " bawdry,", and they are
.generally convicted on the proof,of their being
'dis,•rtierly ; if there was a summary
I Iti;:k it w.othl he InOrlimore :effectual.
Do,you think y.utiuig offendurs become more in.
!Artie! .1141m1 initiated intotoe ysteni of crime by
viNitiug these hinises it Is site
tsirst,stage of corruption of ntoral, young men girt
titi4 connected with thew leomen„
Do you know c any houses 'within your dis-
trif t pilicolaely set apart as great lodging-Louses
for juvenile dePtedators of both Sehis }—Thei e are
v;irionS streets iii lVestininster where t!,.ere is a
number of those I'l6oBo which lodge prostitutes ;
and the youths, who .natarally Itsix With that
class of people, have immediate access to them in
flieir.npartinents and these facilities to an itlieit
Intercourse with the SeXcs ut Mt early age jaeviil,
I believe, in every quarter of the town mote or

Au you think there are any loilging-b-oases
Ivhich receive altil(th exchisiVely boTs and girls of
character arri not Aware of any that ex;
choicely receive boys and girls of b,id character ;
if there ‘S•ere, we certainly shOold (it we were
aware. of it) miler them to be ibdieted

diately.
You have mentioned that you thought it se' °U
be advantageous to proceed against houses by
gninanitry conviction ; in what •wey would' you
suggest that that proceeding should tekeplitee ?
liy summary convictions, with a power to inflict
smaller penalties or a shorter imprisoument, the
lot iv would reach. a vast. number of pet'SOnt3 ktep-
disordeily houses, which it is impossible to
do in the 'circuitous and expensive mode, of in-
dietment. • -••-• • •
'• h nut-the Idoe•defeated• by the difficultrof oh-
tainiog the names of propritiors.of houses of ill
fame ? Thole -is a. very considerable Iliffienlty -in
proskentioos of dais nature; slthough.the offence
is notorious, it must be proved that the occupier
at the house pays the taxes ; there are a variety
at other legal niceties; and these people or their•
uolvi •er, Jru adepts in -all °lawns, "and are per-
fectly aware Of tile difficulties thet stand. in the.
ray of proc“ring 41 CO victinn, Upon the legal-
bitioir at two housekeepers tit the ttor.table, they.
may be, tool are fi4optently prosecuted at the ex.
litiore of the parish; but the expellee of prose-
enitnius, and the difficulty of findiog the neeescary
prow to procure •a eonviction, it) a great ttleit*Ote
prevent% t tit•sittppression of off, aces of this-nature.
Ali efforts hove hitherto (wiled in remedying the
e it ;• when driven trout one spot they resort to
toother,
-Do. you think persons of feigner! names are
given in as the pinprietors of those houses ?--
Every 'trick that it is possible for the wit of-man
to devise is resented to for the purpose of defeat-
ing the law in Wes of this sort, •
- Do you -think that- the difficulty •in prosecuting
with effect Ord proprietors of houses of 111-fame
tkters many pet-toms (rain attempting it ?—Al-
thaugh the prosecutions may be carried on by the
'parishes upon she t•equisition of two housekeepers,
it seldom Happens that individuals trouble their
beads about it, except where they are particularly
autroyed-by the nuisance. .
Are parishes deterred froth prosecuting, in many
conks, ova account of the difficulty of conviction ?
—The parishes must prosecute It two house-
keepers will require the constable to do so; • but
the prosecutions are certainly less frequent than
the evil to be'retnedied requires.
-Are proseetttiOns' fretplently defeated by the-firi
tifices of the-keepers of those houses ?=-Unless-in
very notorious Cases, they are.,
Then it is entirety owing to the difficulty of
putting the law into execution, and not to •the
tlio ice of ti,e•Aio,giatrates,
iliti'ses of fameexists ,that such a 'mother of
tirfikultiei (as al.
renty mentioned) of putting die laW in execution,
end perli4pi the exp;:i,cc, may have deterred the
16rislies they cannot well refuse it when they
are r,goireil, bet persons nr!ryi Ite deterred from
c!ining ou the parish to prosecute, itt consequence
of the trr,oltle aihl difficult) of bringing forward
the witnesAvs; these difficulties deter Oro, y
iiersons front applying, since they most prove the
offence, • '
Hove yon thought of,airy plait for the summary
eoliviethrn of keepers of houses of ill-fame %--1
should conceive that the mere'eoidence per cons
the itotiseoyhei her they paid the tune,
o'r riot, mid Mitt 'they carried en it disorderly house
fur iodgiog pros;itittes, should be sufficient and
th,,t upon that proof altnte they might be convictt
oul, prov!ded the pit:atty. was mod( rate, alit' the'
in pr i~oir ,eerie dram.
.-DO 41 Meats this to apply to. perions in the
I 'll •
re:trio-ter of servants, w tete tilde employers are
tiot to be found ?---Certainly; let t!ie servants he
,
Finished, and lit any person kerpr;ig scrylum for
sstcir to purpose have the law apply. to him or her
by indictment, as at present, who-re , the, punish-
fluent 11'fitilcr he Set;efer', inastnucb as the pillory
;Light be addCd to ;7pplisplinicut.
t....droultryoto think that the evidence of tWo re-
spectable housekegpers proving alliorderly houie
should be,silaic•icnt in convict ?--71.cortainly do,
VONA iii y‘iiir opinion should constitute a tiiB-
-110116 c i—Tbe evidence' of .men entering
the hoarse se it Wofizeli known to "be common
pi.roslitikfts ; amid the general character of the bonse
being proved' to '6e a liome of evil faire by the
Heighbouis should be consinered OS SaffiClent CVN
tiencc to obtain a conviction in a summer

V" 'vu

It is a well-koown fact, thatio no other capital
in the mold is there the same outrageous belie-
viour .latt the part ot prostitutes infesting the
streets, which there is in this city ; have you ever
thought of any, means by which that great evil
might be checked 1-1 hove turned toy attention to
this excessive, evib many times. I certainly think
that, as the laws .novir stand, it is not possible to
tiornuch towards the,diminution of this mass of
profligacy mid delinquency and I am sorry to.
tiwy. it appears to increese, tint only he the metros
polls, but in all the principal towns in theking-
dom, and its Wail where no prostitutes were at
all, forty years ago. It appears to time, that in
Adkins* to the hicrease of prostitutes, there is
also a great increase of profligacy of Itialltlerd
among that class of unfortunate females. In ad-
.to this, the major part of them derive a
considerable portion of their subsistence by the
robberyol.those who come in contact with them,
of their watches and motley ; a fitSt proportioe
ot them arc associated with thieves, who actually
live with them, and who follow them in the streets,
unit only to tutor theism ie the way „they are to
commit robberies, by pulling out watches, money,
&c. but also are near at hand, ready lowa* them
when' they commit these robberies, in order to
receive the booty and run off.
To what circumstance do you attribute this in-
crease of profligacy?-1 certainly must attribute
it to a deficiency_ in • 1 Lie laws to did the police ;
and a variety ot. other causes, the profiguey al
parents, the total went of education, the want of
means of putting them into repiounle service,ateeht
the time they arrive,at a .certain age ; the i
ot patents, leaving them destitute oephens, grow-
ing up, who have no resuerce but to go opun the
town ; to a love of dress, amid to the seduetion'ot
innocence. The netnertme fairs that arc held to
afferent parts in and near the Metropolis, and in
the villages rowel about, tend infinitely to the cor-
ruption of the murals of females, bud ultimately to
(heir seduction.
‘Votild it be difficult, by directions given to the
existing watchmen and pat roles, Mot perhaps by
employing occasionally officers for that Jun ticvlar
purpose, to prevent the misbehaviour ot:the pros-
titutes to the streets to a certain degree, its hold-
ing the language they doe end seizing people as
they du ?—lt is not understood, accordieg to law;
that a watchman can seize a prostitute, .uhiess
she is in Soule shape disorderly ; it she. isrips oils,
drunk, or diSturbitig the iteighbourhood, they are
intiformly iestructed, :led by law they may then
take them up us disorderly persons, aisd bring
theca before the magistrates, which is very fre-
queetly done ; but what is the result ? I gene-
:tally admonish them, inquire .where their pas cots
'live, eionntit them for seven nays, endeavour
send for their parents or relations, it they have
ariyin town, or offer them a pass to go into the
country flow whence they originally came, it their
settichient is nut in the metropolis. But It' ttp-
peotti.tO time that all we eau do is Hopeless, us: It
metinily; it does tint tete' to (16)611411 the
Have.. you thought Ist any plan for removing
prostitetes front the public sweets Bare beets
cotisulted upon that subjeet by•various respeetet4e
people
.reeiding in streets where they are notch
,annoyed by the clamour of the disorderly prestie
tuiesi and it OCCUITCII to me, that if its aqltilit
were established in each parish, where all women
lotoWn to be prostitutes Could be sent by, an order
and under the authority of, inagistretes, after full
examioation, and ascertaining that they, Were
living by prostitution alone, that menus might be
found through. that medium, autt by the aid of le-
ligious end moral instruction, and introducing
labour, to produce a reform, and itestenie iestalices
to reconcile many of them to their friends, or to
find them employment after being, refortntd.
Do you wen" that Per;Ptie should be sent to
those asylums if they do not belong to the parish
in which they are found i—lf it is
.discovered, oft
doe examination that they do not belong to • the
parish in which they are found, there shall be a
power to remove them to that parish; where an
;asylum is fixed, if in the metropolit, so that each
.asylum shall only be burdened with those prosti-
tutes who-have a legal settlement e in eases where
they have no legal settlement hi the metropolis, it
was proposed 'that after a certain time they should
be sent to the parish in the country to which they
belonged, with it certificate of good behaviour, and
a recommendation to the parish officers, to
endeavour to get t liememployed ; it wes proposed
alsoe that those asylums shoold be supported part-
ly 11 the ,labour of the females, as far as go,
end.partly by•the
,respective parishes, end per.
baps, thet they should have some basislonce front
the general revenues .of state.
in stating that the increased profligacy is owing
to tedeficient police; do you mean a deficiency of
late, ei'e of 'the estidblishnient of police ?-4 must
:state to the Committee, thet there has been tot
;establishment of police at all, .in consequence of
airy. set of Parliament thralls* !mood ; the set. ot
:1i92, which established the.seven offices, did no
more than establish it purer tuagiAravy, excepting
merely that a clause in the act authorized the ape
prehension of persona of
.evil fame and reputed
thieeep, the aeenutecof public places.
Do 'you thiek it would be advauta.geous it the
lew was put more in execetion in respect of per-
sons who ere recognized. by the law as relhaell
IllieVes?77l, confess, myself, .1 should not lie very
willing tri'extend that unieh further thait it is ;"it
is to sit opg ineesure'e it has certainly done good ;
it has its Sonic degeee frightened crithinal peistnis,
but it (Ines not appear to haea materially lessened'
the ant desirous of -fitiditig out the Means
getieially of preventing crimes; by throwing every;
impedintent in the svay,by,theans Of' time police
regoliatiOatValready datailed.in my examination.
have you thought of any plan for the RittalitiktrY
conVietittil keepers of houses ?-7-)
should. conceive that .the OleVO eVideitCe. ;the
persons. residieg in the house, whetheythey paid
tfi.e Jeeee, or nut, and that they carried own dis-
orderly house for lodging prostitutes, sbeued be
Sufficient, and that open that proof alone they
Mighebe convicted, provided the penalty we's Moe
derate, end the imprisonineet eliort„

Do you mean this to apply to person* in the
character of servants, where their emnlovers are

. .
wit to be four.fl ? —Certainly ; let the servints
li ptini.:liefl, end let any person keeping servittits
Ent. such a purpose; have the law applied to him
or her by intlktutent, as .at present, where the
pittlishment would hesevcrer, inasmuch its the pi-

iory might. be tirlded to ittsprilonittetit.

Should yon think that the evidence of two re-
spectable lion4e-aerpers, provinr, a disorderly'
!Jo-Ilse, should be sufficient to convict 3-1 cer-•
tainlydo.

%Vitat, in your opinion, should constitutes dis-
orderly bouts:l-111e evidence of men entering
the house with women known'to be common pros
titutes ;. and the general character of the house
being proved 19 be a house of evil fame by the
neighbours, should be considered as sufficient evi-'
&nee to obtain a conviction in a sun►ntary way,
Where the punishment would be less sth•ere than
by the conviction of a Court of Record.
cra be continued.]

POLICE INTELLRIENCE:

VIGILANCE. OF THE CHIEF MAGISTATE,

MANsioti-Hovse.—Yesterday Benjwitin Ginn
mid henry .Irntstrong, two notorious youths, were
brought up, and underwent a final examinatiou,
charged by the Li/RD MAY4,It with attempting to
pick- the pockets 'of-several individuals on Thurs.
day night Inst. The prisoners, it has been already
stated, were apprehrnded in their nocturnal de-
prllatioths by the LORD MAYOR iiiniSelf, who de-
dining to act as witness and jud:te in the case,
obtained the assistance of Mr. Alderman Goon-
DEIIEBE, before whom his Lordship, being sworn,
gave the following evidence :
He stated, that on Thursday night, about II
o'clock, he was in Leadenhall-street, and observ-
ing the prisoners concerting rather snspiciously
.together, he watched them while they continued
their course down Cornbill, through Chempside,
Ludgate-hill, amid up Fleet-street, as far as Sails-
'bury-court. Here they halted, and atter a short
consnitation returned towards Blackfriars, where
a crowd by the time bad been collected at Mr.
Waithinan's shop, corner of- Bridge-street. in
this assembly the prisoners soon joined, and com-
menced their depredations. One person whom
thee particulatly endeavoured to plunder was a
Gentleman in- 'ilium.) but their purpose was Ile
tented by the sudden interference of his' Lordship
who seized, the-prisoners, and had them couvrye
to the watch-house.

His Lordship, upon the two former necasions
rwhen the prisoners were brought before hint,
!stated, that if they could produce respectable tes-
timony to their character, he might be induced to
forego Wither proceedings• against them. This,
however, they were unable to do, mid Mr. Alder-
man GoorienießEC was of opinion that it was a
fir ease for a Jury.-i--The prisoners were fay com-
mitted for trial.