Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-12-01
THE LONDON POLICE.

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The Pail Mall Gazette Of November 81
has the following comments upon the
recent encounter between officers OF the
Life Guards and the Metropolitan Pc
lice:
The conduct of the police in their re.
cent afiray with certain officers of the
First Life Guards is hardly more dis
creditable. perhaps, than il has been on
many other like occasions; but, as is
usual in this country. the social position
OF the victims has given their case a
notoriety and prominence of which we
should be wrong not to avail ourselves
II only in the interest Of what tn e Times
calls persons Of less distin guished
social station who may not have such aid
within their reach, and be likely to
escape so readily" as Colonel Fraser and
his friends, we think that the occasion
offered by the latest police scandal
should not be allowed to pass unim-
proved. For it is merely the latest, and,
perhaps, not the worst of long series
Of similar scandals, the almost constant
occurrence Of which must have been OBJ
served by every reader of the newspa-
pcios ~ 10 hdIulg luOIt ludu a WCch
since an unoHending barristor, "ex-
cited" by having been hustled in the
street by couple of drunken men, was
hauled of by the police from Bedford row
to the Hunter street station, charged
as drunk aud disorderly," and confined
for three hours in police cell, the mag
istrate the next day dischsrging him as
victim of mistake, who had, how
ever, been guilty of some indiscretion"
apparently for having allowed himself
TO be provoked by the insults of drunken
men into that excitement which the
police are so prone to mistake upon
oath-ior drunkenness. Still more re-
Gently another harmless person was as.
sailed with the most disgusting Ian
guage" by policeman, on the strength
of purely unfounded charge of betting
ir public house, the constable in this
case being fined forty shillings and
gently reproved by the sitting magis- |
trats. Into the particulars of Colonel |
Frazers case, it is unnecessary to enter,
as they have already been voluminously
reported in the newspapers. Suffice it
to say that in this instance, as in others,
the misconduct of the police was of the
worst kind, both in the street and in the
police court, though their behavior as
guardians of order, bad as it was,
shrinks into utter insigni6cance beside
their doings in the witness-box.
That policemen should arrest people
without sufficient cause and should
display unnecessary violence in doing
so, is dscreditable enough but the evil
dence OF conspiracy to support each
other by deliberate and wholesale per-
jury is a far graver matter, and one
which is fraught with far more disgrace
to the police force and danger to the
public than a mere exhibition of blum
dering and brutality. Here the evidence ,
Of such conspiracy was, we regret to
The police witnesses all in a tale as to
imaginary acts of violence and non-ex-
stent signs OF drunkenness on the part 7
IF the prisoners, but it seems evident
hat this disgraceful policy was contem-
plated from the first. 1t is an unpleas.
lntly significant circumstance that Col
Fraser was never taken into custody
It all by the police until he was over.
leard to say that he had taken their tc
numbers, when he was Immediately and n
'iolently seized and the same suspi- b
ious coincidence occurred in the case al
# another of the officers. In other 81
1ords, these two defendants only began 10
o " "obstruct the police" when they
'ere discovered to be persons whose M
MOUTHS it was necessary to stop. And ~
ow we must ask how long this state of "
hings is to continue. Months ago we ST.
fiirmed that the police force had reached
depth of indispipline, disorganization stl
nd disloyalty of which the general pub
C have no conception at all. We said 90
nat long course of weak, blundering
nd vacillating administration had pro- op
uced its naRral effect upon the service a.
, administered in lowering its morale =
nd destroying its esprit de corps, aud an
c s6.Eted out that such a state OF =
lings, if left upamsnded, must lead, and
1uld only lead, to the utter deprivation -
the police, not only as a body Of OIL III
ais having duties toward their official
lperiors, but as body of citizens hav-
g duties toward the public. We pre-
eted that a semimilitary service which
I'd been allowed gpobserved, or at least
to reach a state Of dlsaAeo-
On such as that evidenced by the
Olice mutiny, could not be long in de-
,neratipg iqie ? condition of absolute
ielesspess, i not OF actual danger, TO 4
Q community. We appeal 70 subse- *
tent facts to bear out lie truth OF our z
edietions, and again Ee ask, how long
e matters to go on as at presently Is
iere is probably no,ns nos.,.nnsS else ~ we
'rle Of which the maxim corruptio N
timi pessins is so true as OF a police
-ce. The amount of good which an NJ,
le and well conducted constabulary -
. do, is only measure Of the evil
Iich may be worked By its opposite. A
bat only result can there be from the alw
pid increase of brutal rowdyism, gross ne
lnderng, and unscrupulous perjury viii
long q police having the charge Of sam
y hke LondoRg What must be the -
tain effect upon our criminal classes
Witnessing the transformation Of the -
tropOlis into 4 place where no one is III
e but themselvesY
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