The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1890-05-23

CHIEF JAMES MONRO.
When the Prince of Wales visited New
York he was amazed to learn that all that
vast crowd had gathered and dispersed
without an act of violence or serious rob
berry. They showed him this general order
issued by the captain of detectives few
days before: ARREST all known pickpockets
on the streets and take them in" The
prince was astonished to learn that "the
liberty of the subject" to be a pickpocket
for instance, was less regarded in America
than in England, and the Duke of New
castle was so exercised about 1t that he
made it the subject of a special paragraph
in his report When the prince and prin-
cess gave their public reception in London
the mob made "rush" and overpowered
the police, seven persons were killed, over
200 badly beaten and so many robbed that
no list was ever made of the smaller
amounts. When the Great Eastern was
on exhibition in England the robberies
were enormous the New York police clam
that of the 1000 persons who visited her
on this side not one was robbed. "Liberty
of the subject" comes high but the Eng
lish think they must have it.
The whole history of London abounds in
curious episodes resulting from this un-
stable compromise between mob and po-
lice, and perhaps the historic method is the
best TO show the development and charac-
ter of the city government London was a
town before the beginning of history, and
was big enough to be mentioned by Tacitus
in A. ID. 95-9S. And at that early date 1t
needed and had a vigilant police. Constan-
tine the Great, the first Christian emperor
of Rome, while a commander In Britain,
built wall around London, according to
some ancient authorities, and established
af. fn1n ha SnN
soon became the capital of England, and
their police was a volunteer body The
citizens were divided into hundreds, with
magistrate for each, and each hundred
into tens, the head of each ten being re-
sponsible for the rest But the city soon
got too big for the volunteer system, and
William the Conqueror granted a complete
charter-the first Of which any copy exists
In 1891 the first lord mayor was inaugu-
rated, and soon after the insurrection of
Wat Tyler in 1881 the general constabulary
was quite well organized; but in the police
proper the voluntary system still prevailed
10 a great extent. In 1865 about 90, 900 peo-
pie "a third of the population) died Of the
plague, and all municipal government ap-
pears TO have lapsed. The next year the
great fire destroyed 1900 houses, besides
churches and other public buildings, being
fve-sixths of the city within the walls, and
after that the foundations of the existing
police system were laid. Still the volun-
tesr principle prevailed to some extent,
nor was it vi 1853 that complete paid
police, independent Of county authority,
was establ!ahed And here the inquirer
finds evideIcc of that tenderness for 1.-THE
liberty Of the subject" which is surprise
10 the American, an absurdity TO the
Franchman and "a honelasslv inaoinh hla
mystery TO the German.
The outcry was so great that the act was
formally repealed, but the government in
troduced the various features OF the system
little by little till l79s. AS late as 1929 there
were but 2,O44 men ON the entire metropoli-
tan night patrol, and as.old sailors and sol
diers and other public servants were pre-
ferred, one-half of these were "aged, feeble
and inefficient" according to Sir Robert
Peal. His bill, passed that year, reformed
l she system- In 1890 there Was another ira