The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-07-25 00:00:00

and if any person had
ad be punished for his

NIkTIN le

exercis

3y the Prefect

regard to prostitution in that city
state of things may be, undoubtedly
provement was effected under the stringent
effected by the Prefect of Police. I :don't mean to say
that any exactly similar course would be likely to be
adopted in this country, but still I think it may be neces-

and whatever the

in forty x
after the Mona's queen came

rotes the

very great im-

APPEAL TO Till
mile of five child

7 in a p 1

Lee like Live

portion of crime here to arise

In point of a 6

most serious case to come before you is a charge of s
ing a bank-post bill for £l,OOO from a bani
several cases in which dwelling-houses

formation of the s

ave been broken

thankfully receive

in which an office was broke

and a cash-

and I need

.rdly say I am ye

sensible that

these arc the most dangerous offences which come within
the cognizance of this court, and require corresponding

to check them. I have again to remark that
icking, pockets is a prevalent offence in this town. In
ly opinion it is a more serious offence than is commonly
apposed. The consequences are often serious. It is true

Itrial, one special a
registrar. Mr. SI

=lent, and
er, comr

•om Mr. S

.eet, for work do!
irks, ironfoutxdi

thesvietimfrequently loses only a pocketlaandk,

in Livei
£l4B.

eller, L&

No. 48, ix

will find one case
of two hundred and slit

th even upw

to the de
,fakin obtx

pounds is taken

wing
ler of the eaE

from the man's pocket,

the court closed on S.

cases have occurred in which the savings of a life are gon(
in a moment, in this w

z to a bank to

:1). he h

deposit the produce of property for wl
for years was plundered out of it in this way ; the sailor,
who had been long toiling, and had been paid a large
amount of wages, is plundered in crossing a bridge. Not
_

Mr. James St

on Saturday r

unfortuna

lenan 1

only is the nature of the offence very dangerous and mis-
chievous, but the characters who commit it are commonly
irreclaimable by ordinary imprisonment. It is too fre-
quently the crime that is adopted by idle persons, by
those who, if they had the opportunity, won't work ; and
therefore it is no use, when a person gets the habit of
procuring money in an easy way, without labour,—it is
no use to send him to prison time after time for a few
months. To do that is only to prolong his mischievous
It is necessary that some effectual means should
t only to put a stop_ to it, but to put the party

career,

be taken
und(

a course of severe discipline and training, when be
may become disposed to work. Where I find a pickpocket
with soft hands, I generally send him for a term of penal
servitude; where I find an offence by a man or boy whose
hands are hardened by honest toil, I may pass a more
lenient sentence. But I do think the offence, which is
prevalent in this town, is more serious than is commonly
supposed. In the two cases in which £260 and £B4 were
stolen, fortunately police-officers were at hand, and the
parties were secured ; but in this point of detecting pocket-
picking the police of this town are fortunate in having the
assistance of a volunter,—a young butcher from St. John's
Market, who has added to his laurels at these sessions by
detecting two more delinquents. I wish that the spirit of
assisting in bringing offenders to punishment which, he
shows was universal in all parts of this town. Gentlemen,
there are no less than six cases to come before you
in which knives have been used and parties injured.
That so many are here, shows a determination on
the part of the magistrates to deal with these cases so
as to revive that horror and odium with which the
laws of this country view such an offence, and to which
the people of this country used to be so averse. The
offenders appear to be women and sailors; but whatever
the offenders he, depend upon it, if any case is proved be-
fore me, it shall carry with it a severe lesson. lam sorry
to see cases which seem to have arisen from a desire to
prevent strangers, or persons not working in the same
line of business as before, from earning their bread
honestly in this town. lam glad to recollect that I have
seldom had such cases before me. One case I remember,
in which a shipwright was charged with an offence of this
nature. He was defended by counsel specially retained,
and every exertion made, but he was convicted, and pro-
perly punished, for I would not allow the case sugo•'ested
to pass over with a pecuniary penalty. I thought it right
that imprisonment, and nothing else, should mark our
sense of• offences of this nature. I therefore hold that
such cases are bad, and though individuals may be guilty
of them, I feel confident that the great body of men in
any trade are too intelligent to suppose that they should
succeed in any such tyranny as these cases show. I
should think that the shipwrights in particular were too
well disposed to show any example to anybody in violating
the laws of their country. In one case, to such an extent,
however, was the offender excited, fiJaat he actually pitched
a man down into the hold of a vessel head foremost, in.
which he was working. At the risk of his life that was
done, and the offender thought that he had killed the
man, and fled. He gave himself up afterwards, and was
thankful, properly thankful, to learn that his victim yet
lived. After suffering, his life was spared, but I believe
that one of his senses was entirely injured, or permanently
and seriously impaired. 'This man says he did it
through drink, an excuse too often made, but to which
this court can never yield; because, if drink were allowed
to privilege crime, there would be no safety for the sober
part of the community against the drunkard. That
drink, however, is a fertile source of crime, not ont• this
ease, but many others in the calendar show. Of course
this is an old story. We know that drink is the besetting
vice of this country, but we have seen a great improve-
ment in regard to drinking and swearing in the higher
classes of the community, and I am disposed to hope we
May see the same improvement extend throughout all
classes. It is, however, a subject of deep consideration,
that the legislature frequently has been, and is now, en-
gaged upon. It is probable—it is possible we may see
some change in the licensing system, though no doubt
other influences must be looked to chiefly to check this
offence; and as the time is now at hand when the magis.
trates here will be called upon to perform that disagree.
able duty cast upon them, I can but once more express
my opinion that, in the present state of the law, a. sparing
exercise of their power of granting licenses, a discrimina-
tion also, and careful surveillance of those to whom
licenses have been granted, are the methods by which the
evil may be rendered less formidable. There is one case,
gentlemen, in which an assault is charged upon a police-
officer. The parties engaged in it are said to have been
encouraging one another, saying, " Give it him, lie has no
stick." Gentlemen, if the officers have been deprived,
in some part of their duty, of their sticks, I shall
take care that parties presuming upon that shall be
most severely punished by this court. This court
will make up any deficiency the want of the stick may
create; no advantage shall be taken of it here, and,

Dock on Saturday

misconduct
THE ELI
and, after running up the river towards Eastham, pro-
ceeded to the rock, and lay to, waiting for the Mona's
me in Paris by the powers from I Queen. She was allowed to go a little a-head of the
_ _

re set on full speed,
re stopped, and in five minutes
At this rate, the
about three-ouar-

BENEVOLENT.—A poor man, with
n dependent on him, having been fo

;en reduced to

THE COURT OF PASSAGE was opened before Ed

luiry before the
,sion-agent and brewer's
publican, Prescot-

led kleazer

lict for £7B. 1
nst Mr. Spurr, :

NCIIOLY OCCURRBNCE AT Nl3

been left by the receding
as held on the body on

.t appeg
nyirl4

deith of his only son