1. The 26 Aldermen of London, whose jurisdiction is confined to the ancient limits of the City, comprehending 25 Wards, in which are 21,642 houses on the London side, and Bridge Ward without, in the Borough 26

2. The established Magistrates, three of whom preside at each of the seven Public Offices, appointed by the Act of the 32d of his present Majesty, cap. 53. viz.--

1. Public Office, Queen's-Square, Westminster 3 2. Public Office, Marlborough-Street 3 3. Public Office, Hatton-Garden 3 4. Public Office, Worship-Street, Sh.o.r.editch 3 5. Public Office, Whitechapel 3 6. Public Office, Shadwell 3 7. Public Office, Union-Street, Southwark 3 -- 21

8. Existing (previous to the Act) at the Public Office, Bow-Street 3 -- 24

9. The Thames Police Inst.i.tution at Wapping, for the River only 2 -- 26

Total efficient Magistrates who sit in rotation, -- daily, in the Metropolis 52

The jurisdiction of the Magistrates presiding at the seven Public Offices, not only extends to Westminster and Middles.e.x; (and, in most instances, lately, to the liberty of the Tower:) but also to the counties of Surry, Kent, and Ess.e.x, from which considerable advantages in the prompt detection and apprehension of offenders have accrued to the Public: The only difficulty that now remains to be removed, with respect to the clashing of jurisdictions, is that which regards the city of London; where, from its contiguity, and immediate and close connection with every other part of the Metropolis, considerable inconveniences and injuries to the public are felt, not only from the circ.u.mstance of the jurisdiction of the City Magistrates not being extended over the _whole_ of the Metropolis, as well as the four adjoining counties; but also from the Police Magistrates having no authority quickly to follow up informations, by issuing warrants to search for property, and to apprehend persons charged with offences in the City. The whole difficulty resolves itself into a mere matter of _punctilio_, founded perhaps on ill-grounded jealousy, or misapprehension, which a little explanation would probably remove.

Where the object is to do good;--and where not even the shadow of harm can arise, no limits should be set to local jurisdictions; especially where privileges are proposed to be given; (as in this case, to the city of London;)--and where none are to be taken away.

For the purpose of establishing a complete and well-connected System of _detection_, some means ought certainly to be adopted, more closely to unite the City and Police Magistrates,[121] that they may, in a greater degree, go hand in hand in all matters regarding the general interest of the Metropolis and its environs; making the suppression of crimes one common cause, and permitting no punctilio, regarding jurisdiction, to prevent the operation of their united energy in the prompt detection of offenders; This, from the extended state of Commerce and Society, and the great increase of property, is now rendered a measure in which the inhabitants of the whole Metropolis, as well as the adjacent villages, have a common interest. It is an evil, which affects all ranks, and calls aloud for the speedy adoption of some effectual remedy.

[Footnote 121: The Select Committee of the House of Commons, in their 28th Report, 1798, on Finance, have strongly recommended a Concurrent Jurisdiction; and also, that two Police Offices should be established in London, upon the plan of the others, with Magistrates to be appointed by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen.]

CHAP. XV.

_The prevailing practice explained, when offenders are brought before Magistrates.--The necessary caution, as well as the duty of Magistrates in such cases explained.--Professed thieves seldom intimidated when put upon their trial, from the many chances they have of escaping.--These chances shortly detailed.--Reflections on the false humanity exercised by prosecutors towards prisoners.--Their rudeness and cruelty, when engaged in acts of criminality.--The delays and expences of prosecutions, a great discouragement, inducing sufferers to put up with their loss, in silence.--How the inconvenience may be remedied.--An account of the different Courts of Justice, appointed for the trial of offences committed in the Metropolis.--Five inferior and two superior Courts.--A statement, shewing the number of prisoners convicted and discharged during the last year.--Reflections on this sad catalogue of depravity.--A radical defect somewhere.--The great purity of the Judges of England.--The propriety of a co-operation with them, in whatever shall tend to promote the ends of Public Justice.--This object to be attained, in the greatest possible degree, by means of an authorised Public Prosecutor.--The advantages of such an inst.i.tution, in remedying many abuses which prevail in the trial of offenders.--From 2500 to 3000 persons committed for trial, by Magistrates, in the Metropolis, in the course of a Year.--The chief part afterwards returned upon Society._

Arriving at that _point_ in the progress of this Work, where persons accused of offences are detected and brought before Magistrates for examination, ultimately to be committed for trial, if the evidence shall be sufficient:--It is proper to explain the prevailing practice under such circ.u.mstances.

The task, in this case imposed upon the Magistrate, is arduous and important; requiring not only great purity of conduct, a profound knowledge of mankind, and of the common affairs of life; but in a more peculiar manner those powers of discrimination which may enable him to discover how far criminality attaches to the party accused; and whether there are grounds sufficient to abridge for a time, or ultimately to deprive the prisoner of his liberty, until a Jury of his country shall decide upon his fate.

It frequently happens that persons accused of crimes are apprehended under circ.u.mstances where no doubt can rest on the mind of the Magistrates as to the guilt of the prisoner; but where the legal evidence is nevertheless insufficient to authorize an immediate commitment for trial.

In these instances, (while he commits _pro tempore_,) he is called upon in a particular manner to exert the whole powers of his mind, by adopting such judicious measures as shall be the means of detecting the offenders; by discovering the goods or property stolen, or by admitting such evidence for the Crown as may, with other corroborating testimony, prevent the ends of justice from being defeated.

Where a Magistrate proceeds with indefatigable zeal and attention, and at the same time exercises good judgment, he will seldom fail of success; for in this case a similar spirit will animate the officers under his controul, whose activity and industry are generally in proportion to that manifested by their superiors.

Much as every active Magistrate must regret that deficiency of pecuniary resource, which, under the present system, prevents him from rewarding those who must occasionally be employed to detect notorious offenders, this circ.u.mstance ought not to abate this zeal in any respect; since by perseverance it generally happens, that every good and proper arrangement for the immediate advantage of the Public, may be ultimately obtained.

The Magistrate having done his duty by committing an offender for trial, satisfied of his guilt and the sufficiency of the evidence to convict him: and having also bound over the prosecutor and the witnesses as the Law directs, to attend the Grand Jury, and (if a bill be found) to prosecute and give evidence upon the indictment; it might appear to the common observer, that the culprit's case becomes hopeless and forlorn.

This, however, is by no means a stage in the progress that intimidates a professed thief; he feels and knows that, although guilty of the crime laid to his charge, he has many chances of escaping; and these chances unquestionably operate as encouragements to the commission of crimes.

His first hope is, that he shall intimidate the Prosecutor and Witnesses, by the threatenings of the gang with whom he is connected;--his next that he may compound the matter; or bribe or frighten material witnesses, so as to keep back evidence; or induce them to speak doubtfully at the trial, though positive evidence was given before the Magistrate; or if all should fail, recourse is had to perjury, by bringing the Receiver, or some other a.s.sociate, to swear an _alibi_.

Various other considerations also operate in strengthening the hopes of acquittal; partly arising from the vast numbers who are discharged or acquitted at every Session of gaol-delivery; and partly from the carelessness and inattention of Prosecutors, who are either unable or unwilling to sustain the expence of Counsel to oppose the arguments and objections which will be offered in behalf of the prisoner: or are soured by loss of valuable time, experienced, perhaps in former prosecutions;[122]--or ultimately from a dread entertained by timid persons, who foolishly and weakly consider themselves as taking away the life of a fellow-creature, merely because they prosecute or give evidence; not reflecting that it is the _Law_ only that can punish offenders, and _not_ the individual prosecutor or witnesses.

[Footnote 122: It is true, that by the Acts of 25th Geo. II. cap. 36, and 18th Geo. III. cap. 13, the expences of the prosecutors and witnesses are to be paid; and also (if the parties shall appear to be in poor circ.u.mstances) a reasonable allowance made for trouble and loss of time; but this is connected with the regulations of the Justices, confirmed by one of the Judges of a.s.size, which vary according to local circ.u.mstances, and it is also necessary to plead poverty in order to be remunerated for loss of time: _but as the poor seldom suffer by thieves_, these Acts appear to have had little effect in encouraging prosecutors to come forward; and it is believed few applications are made excepting in cases of real poverty.--In the County of Middles.e.x there is an exception; where witnesses are directed to be paid by the Overseers of the Poor of the Parish, where the person was apprehended; but this mode of payment is seldom if ever adopted.--The fund, however, which the Legislature has thus provided, if oeconomically and judiciously applied by a Public Prosecutor, would remove many difficulties, without any material addition to the county rates.]

False Humanity, exercised in this manner, is always cruelty to the public, and not seldom to the prisoners themselves.--All depredations upon property are _public wrongs_, in the suppression and punishment of which it is the duty of every good man to lend his a.s.sistance; a duty more particularly inc.u.mbent upon those who are the immediate sufferers: through their means only can Public Justice operate in punishing those miscreants, by whom the innocent are _put in fear, alarmed and threatened with horrid imprecations--with loss of life by means of loaded pistols_; or bodily injury, from being hacked with cutla.s.ses, or beaten with bludgeons--under circ.u.mstances where neither age nor s.e.x is spared.--

Yet experience has shewn that these arguments, powerful as they are, are insufficient to awaken in the mind of men that species of Public spirit which shall induce sufferers in general, by robberies of different kinds, to become willing prosecutors, under the various trying delays of Courts of Justice; and frequently with the trouble of bringing a number of witnesses from the country, who are kept in attendance on the court perhaps several days together, at a very considerable expence.

Such a burden imposed upon the subject, in addition to the losses already sustained, in a case too where the offence is of a public nature, is certainly not easily reconcileable with that spirit of justice, and attention to the rights of individuals, which forms so strong a general feature in the Jurisprudence of the Country.

From all these circ.u.mstances it happens that innumerable felonies are concealed, and the loss is suffered in silence as the least of two evils; by which means thieves are allowed to reign with impunity, undisturbed, and encouraged to persevere in their evil practices.

Nothing, it is to be feared, can cure this evil, and establish a general system of protection, but a vigorous Police; strengthened and improved by the appointment of Deputy-Prosecutors for the Crown, acting under the Attorney-General for the time being. An establishment of this sort, even at a very small salary, would be considered as an honourable _entre_ to many young Counsel; who, in protecting the Public against the frauds, tricks, and devices of old and professed thieves, by which at present they escape punishment, might keep the stream of justice pure, and yet allow no advantage to be taken of the prisoner.[123]

[Footnote 123: The propriety of this suggestion is sanctioned by the recommendation of the Finance Committee of the House of Commons in their 27th and 28th Report; and forms part of that System of general controul and arrangement for the prevention of crimes, stated more at large in a subsequent Chapter.]

As it must be admitted on all hands, that it is the interest of the Public that no guilty offender should escape punishment;--it seems to be a position equally clear and incontrovertible, that wherever, from a defect in the system of prosecutions, or any other cause, a prisoner escapes the punishment due to his crimes, substantial justice is wounded, and public wrongs are increased.

It has been already stated in the preceding Chapter, that there are five separate Jurisdictions in the Metropolis, where Magistrates exercise limited authority.--Of course, there are five inferior Courts of Justice, where lesser offences, committed in London and its vicinity, are tried by Justices of the Peace.

1. The general and Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held eight times a year, by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, at Guildhall--_for the trial of small Offences committed in London_.

2. The Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held four times a year at Guildhall, Westminster, by the Justices acting for that City and Liberty--_for the trial of small Offences committed in Westminster only_.

3. The General and Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held eight times a year, at the New Sessions House on Clerkenwell-Green, (commonly called Hicks's Hall) by the Justices only of the County of Middles.e.x--_for the trial of small Offences committed in Middles.e.x and Westminster_.

4. The General Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held in the Sessions-House in Well-Close-Square, by the Justices for the Liberty of the Tower of London--_for the trial of small Offences committed within the Royalty_.

5. The Quarter Sessions of the Peace; held by the Justices for the County of Surry, at the New Sessions House at Newington, Surry, in January;--At Reigate, in April;--At Guildhall, in July;--and Kingston-upon-Thames, in October, each year;--_where small Offences committed in Southwark and the Neighbourhood are tried_.

These five inferior Courts of Justice take cognizance of _Petty Larcenies, Frauds, a.s.saults, Misdemeanors, and other offences punishable by fine, imprisonment, whipping, and the pillory_:--and in certain cases, the power of the Justices extends to transportation.

The higher and more atrocious offences committed in London and Middles.e.x, are tried at the Justice-Hall, in the Old Bailey; by a special commission of Oyer and Terminer to the Lord Mayor, and a certain number of the Judges, with the Recorder and Common Serjeant of the City of London.

Offences of this latter degree of atrocity, perpetrated in that part of the Metropolis which is situated in the Borough of Southwark and County of Surry, are tried at the a.s.sizes, held twice a year at _Kingston-upon-Thames_, _Croydon_, or _Guildford_.[124]

[Footnote 124: Considerable inconvenience arises (and, indeed, great hardship, where prisoners are innocent) from the length of time which must elapse, where offences have been committed in Southwark, before they can be brought to trial; either for inferior or more atrocious crimes. In the former case, prisoners must remain till the Quarter Sessions, (there being no intermediate General Sessions of the Peace) and in the latter case till the a.s.sizes, held only twice a year; this occasions a confinement, previous to trial, lengthened out, in some instances, to three, four, five, and even nearly to six months.]

Thus it appears, that five inferior and two superior Tribunals of Justice are established for trying the different crimes committed in the Metropolis.

As it may be useful, for the purpose of elucidating the suggestions already offered upon this branch of the subject, that a connected view of the result of these _Trials_ should make a part of this Work;--the following Abstract, (including the discharges of Prisoners by Magistrates) has been made up for this immediate purpose: from authentic doc.u.ments obtained from the keepers of the eight different prisons and houses of correction in the city of London, and in the counties of Middles.e.x and Surry.

It applies to the period, from September, 1794, till September, 1795, which is chosen as a sort of medium between Peace and War.

It is impossible to contemplate this collected aggregate of the prisoners annually discharged upon the Public, without feeling a strong anxiety to remedy an evil rendered extremely alarming, from the number which composes the dismal catalogue of Human Depravity.

Every inquiry in the progress of this Work proves a radical defect somewhere.

While the public tribunals are filled with Judges, the purity of whose conduct adds l.u.s.tre to their own and the national character, why should not every subordinate part of the Criminal Jurisprudence of the Country be so organized, as to co-operate, in the greatest possible degree, with the efforts of those higher orders of the Magistracy in accomplishing the purposes of substantial justice?

Nothing could tend more to promote this object, than the appointment already proposed of a Public Prosecutor for the Crown.

An inst.i.tution of this kind would terrify the hordes of miscreants now at open war with the peaceable and useful part of the Community, in a greater degree than any one measure that could possibly be adopted.