The Sun.
London, England, 1816-09-06 00:00:00

POLICE OP ;fl-11. METROPOIS.

(Exa»tinationif . ST,'A FPO 1.1, vonclu ded.l,l

NVI)At is We' practice in .ciise of a con)plaint
beind fala adainst n vit;ttialcr on" tilt:
day ?—The,practiie is to suspend the iiconsitig.

from the first day, which is ..,etie'rally held early iu
'the Month, int'til 'the ittijOnrtied tne-eting, and itt
the mean time take into ,Conikieration any peti.
tiotth or representations .made relative to the c6nt-
plairiti and to send thelitlieers; or the magistrates
go thvms'elves, to ascertain there, is 'eny
•
truth in it. .• .

And'that is the invariable practise; hoveevei
trifling the.complaint is ?—lt is:
Are there not among the low public-hatties
the courts sad alleys in the vicinity of, the theatres,
public-houses gtot are kept by persons uhu
nominally take out a lisctnte, but whose real
trade is the keeping of a brothel t—No, do not
know any house myself., that is licence(' it, one
district, that might come under thitt denomina-

tion except one, which is a very .respectable house
in point. of appear►tnce;, and I never heard any
complaint against .but nobody can doubt for
what, purpose the house is kept : I doliat know
of anY other.
The question refers to that class of houseskept
by reputedlhieves,, who are well know.rt to have
been thiev6, and to Intye retired iron) the trade,
considering it, iti'dangerous, and to I►ave set II
wider the plea of. keepers of a p►►hlic-house, br►t
in reality keepets of brothels ?—1 do not know-
any thing of the' kind'; there ure brothels in the
neighbourhood of Covimt-garden, w:iich the oc-
cupiers call taverns and hotels, but infact they
are not ►icensed.

Do you. think th.nt it i. Oaisitklo that such a
practice as that describeil li4v.. taken place
t'vitlioitt its being known at •your office think
not, • , .

Should you not consider it a's very culpable re-
missness on the part of the persons employed in
the office, if it yeas so such honses were kept
under. the ,colour.of. a license, in the neighbour..
hoed. of 'the office, I should think certainly there
was. cuittable•retnis'sneis in the persons belonging
to the .otlice being Unacquainted with it.
, Have yen the oceans of telling the Committee
where those miserable women that you see prowl-
ing about the streets in such numbers in the vici-
nity of the theatres at all hours of the night lodge ?
all parts of the town; many_ of them, be-
lieve, come from S. thorge's:tields, and from the
lower parts of Westminster, from .St, Wes's,
and.every part of the metropolis in-
habited -by. persons of that description; the num-
ber.of People frequenting the theatres, nectsarily
draw many other persons after them ;,certainly
the, hulk oldie( women do not reside in the neigh-

►ourhootl of the theatres, the grater part cotae
'row H diltance.

.`Dots.. it, come within your, obseryation that
there bas.bee.n.ki,reat.indreast, ofiate years, of
juvenile, (lepOdutors ?-1 tbink,tbere fits been an

nereme.

Can you assign to the Connnittee any. reason for
that inerouse2,--The principal reason that strikes
mejs,, 1 apt sorry to sq..a general laxity of ni,4-
rats arnottg the lower order of
,people, which-h4s
:appeared of bite year; ;..they aro not so attentive
to their. religions. or, ntorui duties ai,they)ed to
be and I,ottrihnte the, increase cat elintes.of
younger braneltes of the conimuniry to the I fixity
of tho“: whosetitity it is to iootruct at d look after

them.
Do you think it is,the result of poverty, and
that the situation of, tb e lo.s'er classes of the people
has been considerably. I IccprioratO within, the few
last years think in some instancts.it may arise
from poverty,, but snore generally from a careless-
ness anti.negligence of the duty which attaches to
parents *take .coreof their offspring ; many
men and Wotuen might.take cared their children,
and.bring thew up, in refigious and moral habits,
if they were so inelined themselves.
Do you not know that a great pioportion of the
children brought before you are ,persons who have
been deserted by their parents, anti left to seek
theit.subsistence in the, streets ? —ln some instances
they have been deserted by their parents, and ni
others corrupted by their jitvenile companions and
others; and induced to run away from school oc
front their parents. ,
Ilas.it fallen within your observation to ascer-
tain whether the number of schools which have
been established bus bud any effect in preventing a
greater, increase, than the state of public morals,
such as you have described, would have led any
one to consider to be the civic ?-1 ant not able to
answer that question further than by stating, that
1, have not observed any material alteration lately.

Dry you think that the nun-obser %Inlet of the
Sunday hits any effect upon the public morals
ainoig the lower classes of society ?---.No doubt
()lit ; I think if they were taught regularly to, ob.
,erve the Sunday, that world have a great effect
upon them ; ,but. instead of that, they are suffered
to gkt,and play about in courts anti alleys, and in
the fields, and get into bad company, instead of
going to church.

o )ou think Sunday papers have any cirect
opou public morals 1-1 think not ; I think Sun-
day pnpets are not numb read by the lower classes
of society, sometimes they induce the mechanic
to go trio public house and think a pint of por-
ter, to read the news ; hut not further than that.
Po you think the trading in Sunday papers has
any effect to deteriorate pgblie morals can-
not say it has-; but it certainly is an improper thing
sounding horns and selling them about thestrect*
as tbeyrdo on Sundays. ,
Have you bad occasion to notice the number
of boys playing, in the fields on a Sunday ?—Fre-
go en y..
What is your opinion of the effect of that habit ?
If they are boys that 'are employed all the week,
I think the- effect of that habit is likely to lead
them to improper courses and to get into bad
company ; they were sent to church and kept
proper company, they would get touch better ha-
bits, no'donbt.
allss, irollttlideleititrveictlolifnsyozr oieribsa eur;taitoir
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