Appendix No. 5. 17. If you have ever regularly attended a place of worship, how long has that attendance ceased? 18. Were you brought up to any and what calling or occupation? Did 19. Were you bound apprentice? By the parish, or by whom? Did you serve your time? you ever run away from your master? If so, what was the inducement or cause of your doing so? Did you board in your master's house? If not, where? How were you punished for misconduct? " 20. Had you an attentive and good master? Did he regularly attend a place of worship, and require you to accompany him? 21. By whom, and for how long, have you been at various times employed? When and where were you last employed? How long was this before your conviction? 22. In what manner did you employ your spare time in the evenings after work? 23. What were your condition and habits immediately before entering upon dishonest courses? Were you addicted to the use of spirituous liquors? 24. What was the immediate cause of your first offence? Whether to procure any particular gratification, and of what kind? From sudden temptation or opportunity; if so, of what kind? Or from distress; if so, state the nature and cause of the distress; whether from imprudence or other misconduct? 25. What circumstances induced you to commit other offences? 26. Did you for any time support yourself partly by labour and partly by crime? How soon did you give up all honest labour, and support yourself entirely by crime; if so, for how long a time? 27. What difficulties did you find in the way of committing crime? 28. What facilities and encouragements? 29. What circumstances do you think might have altogether stopped you? 30. When not in honest employ, how were you maintained? If by depredations, describe their number, nature, and mode of committing them? 31. With whom did you associate? Did they also pursue dishonest courses? 32. In what way did you elude detection, pursuit, or apprehension? In what manner did you ever escape, or were you let off, after apprehension? 33. How often have you been apprehended? 34. How often have you been convicted? 35. How often were you apprehended before your first conviction? 36. Did the prosecutor come forward against you? If not, why not? 37. If, though guilty, you were acquitted through any defect of the law, or any misunderstanding, or any particular management, describe the circumstance. 38. Where did you last reside for the greatest length of time? 39. Were your practices and pursuits in any and what way influenced by fear of the constables? 40. Were you or any of your associates in crime known to the constables? 41. Did you or any of your companions associate with the constables, and if so, to what extent ? 42. Did you or they use any means with the constables, either to distract their attention, or induce them to permit or facilitate your escape? If so, of what kind? 43. Did you derive any and what encouragement in your criminal courses, from the remissness of the police, or constables; or from the co-operation, alertness, or dexterity of your associates; or from any presumed disinclination to prosecute on the part of those whom you intended to plunder? 44. Was there in your case, and do you think there was in the case of others, any encouragement or facility to commit depredations, owing to the deficiency of locks, bars, &c., or to the fact of property being unduly exposed or guarded by the owners? 45. Were your depredations planned and executed by yourself alone, or had you associates? If so, state how many, generally. 46. Do you know of any depredations being planned in prison? State how many, and when and where planned. 47. Do you know of any depredations so planned being afterwards executed? If so, state them. 48. What kind of property did you generally take? 49. How did you dispose of it? 50. How much did you get for it? 51. What proportion did the sum you received bear to the value of the article? 52. Have you any and what reasons for knowing or believing that the purchaser knew or believed that the property offered for sale was not honestly obtained? 53. What did you get by depredations one week with another? What was the highest sum any one week? 54. What to your knowledge or belief did your associates get one week with another? And what in any one week? 55. Were your gains, and those of your associates, regular or irregular? 56. Do you remember the robberies committed by your associates, or yourself, in any one week? Specify them to the best of your recollection? 57. How many depredations have you committed altogether? 58. How long a time elapsed from your entering upon a course of crime to the period of your first apprehension ? 59. How long a time elapsed from your entering upon a course of crime to your first con viction? 60. What in your opinion is the average time before a depredator is apprehended and convicted? 61. What number of hours were you employed daily as an honest labourer, compared with the number of hours employed as a depredator? 62. What were your gains as an honest labourer compared with your gains as a depredator? 63. What time had you for amusement when an honest labourer, compared with the time for amusement as a depredator? 64. Where, with whom, and in what manner, did you spend your time when not on the look-out for booty? 65. Did the landlord of the place where you assembled know of your courses? If so, how know that he did? do you 66. While engaged in a course of crime, what was found to be the greatest hinderance, and what occasioned the greatest fear? 67. Did you find any places or kinds of property so protected as to induce depredators to refrain from attacking those particular places and kinds of property? If so, what was the nature of those protections? 68. Did you or your associates often change the neighbourhood where your depredations were committed, to what places did you remove, and what were the causes of your removal? 69. What, in your opinion, are the most important obstructions which could be placed in the way of depredations? 70. What, in your opinion, are the most important obstructions which could be placed in the way of disposing of stolen property? 71. What, in your opinion, are the best means of preventing the escape of offenders? Appendix No. 5. No. 6. PRACTICES OF HABITUAL DEPREDATORS; as disclosed in a London Prison. Communicated by Mr. Chesterton, the Governor of Coldbath-fields Prison, from particulars collected at his request by a Prisoner from the narratives of other Prisoners." * * * * Most thieves commence their career at seven or eight years of age, and are engaged for Appendix No. 6. some time in petty thefts of loose articles, from street and market-stands, shop-doors, windows, &c. Amongst the earliest " games" of thieves appear to be these: three or four boys go together and take a piece of flesh from a butcher's, or goods from a cheesemonger's or an oilman's, &c.; having obtained the booty, they all make off together. "Prigged" articles of this description are disposed of to Irishwomen at street-stands, or in the low neighbourhoods where they reside, the good dames of the sister isle seldom giving a third of the value for them: the proceeds are divided and squandered in sweetmeats and gambling. At this species of plunder the young thief continues for a length of time, sometimes for two or three years, until in due time justice overtakes him, and for some petty offence he is sent to gaol. Here a new era opens to his view. We will pass over the prison scenes The anxiety for a release from imprisonment to go to work and make the "nobs" pay for their incarcerating in prison men who, in their own opinions, gain an honest livelihood. When a young thief is sent to prison for the first time, he either, by conversation and intercourse with more experienced thieves, becomes fixed and determined in that pursuit, or, by the discipline experienced, dread and terror are imprinted upon his youthful mind, and he is reclaimed. If disposed to follow the pursuits of thieving, by imprisonment he forms so many acquaintances that he is never afterwards at a loss for a companion; he becomes acquainted with thieves more versed in the art than himself, who direct his attention to more lucrative pursuits; his emulation is spurred, and each time his term of imprisonment expires, he enters society with a fresh stock of knowledge, and consequently becomes its more dangerous member. Love of fame forms no small proportion of a thief's composition. The estimation in which his character is held by his companions is determined by the number of times he has been in trouble, and the conduct he pursued on these occasions towards his "pals" or confederates: if he has once informed against them he is deemed unsafe to trust, and until the stain is removed by his hereafter staunch conduct he does not rise in his profession. The young thief, on his release from prison, is no longer satisfied with the pilfering from shop-doors; he becomes acquainted with boys older than himself, and commences picking pockets, &c. In these games one or two pals or confederates are necessary, so as to divert attention, and take a stolen article from the party who steals it on the instant, and make off. If the party who steals the article be taken, and his confederate gets away with the property, a conviction is frequently prevented. Young thieves are well aware that "where the property is found, there lays the felony;" they therefore make a point of putting away stolen articles from the person as soon as possible, and this leads me to speak of" fences," or receivers of stolen property, who, for the most part, are Jews. Fences for household goods, &c. ostensibly carry on the trade of furniture-brokers; those who take in gold or silver goods are generally jewellers, gold-refiners, &c. The latter fencing is not attended with so much risk as the former; for no sooner is the bargain struck, than the plate, however large the quantity, is thrown into a furnace. Pocket-handkerchiefs, when got singly, are pledged: less than six are not generally fenced. The lady Jewesses who receive them, in Field-lane and other places, seldom give more than 1s., 1s. 3d., or, when very good, 1s. 6d. for each. The receiver is one of the thief's best friends; without him but little could be done; the thief would be unable to Appendix No. 6. dispose of his plunder. "Were there no receivers, there would be no thieves." When a young thief commences picking pockets, he is launched into the routine dissipation attending a thief's life; he becomes united to a "mob," many of which there are in London, some named from the house they use, but more generally from the neighbourhood to which they belong-the Rooking mob, Winfall-street mob, Webb-square mob, Whitechapel mob, Seven-dials mob, &c. &c.; he frequents the flash houses, where he is taught to drink, dance, smoke, and gamble: here cards, dice, shove-halfpenny, and other games are always going on, so that sufficient opportunity offers to get rid of superfluous money. It is a common opinion that schools for the tuition of the younger thieves exist at these houses, but no regular system of such instruction is now carried on. Some years ago it was customary for old thieves to select young ones and form them into a mob to act under their direction, and then a system of teaching was practised; but since the establishment of the new police the same facilities do not present themselves, and no regular system is now in practice. It is true that, now and then, when an old thief is present where young ones are, these practise their art upon each other, to show their expertness and superiority one over the other, any deficiency being rectified by the elder thief, but no remuneration is given, the occurrence being accidental and taking place perhaps once a-week at any specified flash house. Most time is occupied at these houses in card-playing and tossing; and this system of gambling often leads the young thief to prison: he plays till all his money is expended, then goes out with a determination to have more, using no precaution, but taking the first thing he can lay his hands upon, and, as will be readily perceived, the chances are in favour of his apprehension. A young thief, having lost all his money, left the house in this frame of mind; the first thing he saw was a watch over a mantelpiece in the back room of a shop, in which a female was engaged at a small round table at needlework; he went in on hands and knees, through the shop, got to the opposite side of the table to that of the female, and was on the point of snatching the watch, when a customer came in; during the absence of the good lady in the shop the watch was taken down, and the young thief resumed his position under the table, with the intention of sneaking out as he got in; unfortunately, when the door was re-opened, the shadow or reflection, being too great for the delicate leg of the table, attracted her attention, she looked down, and the intruder was detected. His first idea was of making his way out, and, expecting resistance, of throwing down his discoverer; but, strange to say, instead of offering obstruction, she stood stunned,-motionless and confounded, and allowed him to pass her unmolested and walk out of the shop: this he effected. In this case the thief was indebted for his success to the absence of self-possession on the part of the lady shopkeeper. Boys are often caught in shops on "the sneak" for the till; and on most of these occasions receive punishment on the spot. They are sometimes horse-whipped, at other times they have their faces and hands oiled and soot sprinkled over them. A boy was severely punished at a chemist's; he had got round the counter, and was returning with the till under his arm, when the shopman, who had been watching him unperceived, came in and caught him; he took him to his master, who directed him to be stripped; all his clothes removed, he set a dog upon him, and, taking a short whip in his hand, he whipped and chased him round the room and about the room, until, quite exhausted, he at length lay down. A jar of tar was then introduced, with which he was bedaubed from head to foot; upon this was thrown a white powder, which caused, for some hours, most intolerable itching and irritation. Not yet satisfied, his clothes being huddled on, his hands were tied behind him and he was sent about his business, with a large placard pasted upon his back bearing the ominous characters of " A Thief." This was a summary, though by no means a justifiable, method. What with the bruises from the whip, and bites of the dog, the boy was confined to his room for a week, and never could endure the idea of venturing that road again, Picking pockets and stealing shop-tills are the two kinds of thieving at which by far the greater number of young thieves gain a living: they occasionally pursue others, but chiefly depend upon these, on account of the certainty of the game; a gentleman finds a handkerchief an essential appendage, and equally is a till essential to a shop. These games have an end sooner or later; the young thief is grabbed, may be with the plunder in his hand, and taken to a police office, where, being his first time, although the case is completely brought home to him, he is sentenced to be whipped and to have a few months' imprisonment. This flagellating system does not agree with him; he receives a check; finds that many of his pals have been sent away, and in all probability he will speedily follow them. These objections, amongst others, being urged against his present pursuits, he passively consents to go to the Refuge for the Destitute, where the confinement is opposed to his views; he thinks he has had enough of that in prison, and, with one or two more of the same disposition, forms a plan of escape, which is too easily effected. Some boys are said to go to the Refuge for the sole purpose of improving their garments. The young thief, finding he is too well known to the police in his own neighbourhood, leaves it and joins a mob in a distant part of town, where he is unknown; here he becomes initiated in other games, such as those of " starring the glaze" (breaking shop-windows), which is practised where valuable articles are exposed for sale in the shop-windows of goldsmiths, watchmakers, jewellers, pawnbrokers, silk-mercers, &c. One or two parties divert attention while another "stars." This is either done by a diamond or by inserting a small pen-knife through the putty near the corner of a pane and cracking it; the wet finger carries the crack in any direction; an angle is generally formed. The piece is wrought to and fro, and removed; if necessary, another piece is starred, to allow of the free ingress of the hand. In a retired neighbour hood, an opportunity is taken of tying the door, in order to prevent any one coming out, and, on the passing of a heavy carriage, the hand is driven through a square of glass, upon which has been laid a piece of strong paper coated with treacle, to prevent noise from the glass Appendix No. 6. falling, and then articles of value are removed. This is termed spanking the glaze. At other times, the parties intending to star go a night or two before and break one of the lower squares of glass; a watch is then put upon the shop, to know when the square is renewed, which of course, the putty being soft, can be removed at pleasure; a piece of leather, upon which is spread some pitch, being applied to the square, to prevent it falling when pushed in: much time is saved in this way. One kind of pocket-picking is done in a crowd, or, when the female is seated in the dickey of a coach, a pair of scissors are used to cut the gown, and the pocket is either drawn of its contents or cut away altogether: the scissors are made broad-pointed. By frequenting flash houses the young thief becomes acquainted with others, who follow the games of "palming" and "shop-bouncing"; his success at "starring" enables him to dress well, an essential in his new pursuits, which will speedily repay the outlay with interest. "Palming" is a species of thieving much practised; it is done most frequently by two, welldressed and respectable in appearance, who go into a shop for the ostensible purpose of purchasing certain articles, but in reality with the intention of carrying off a considerable booty free of expense; one party keeps the shop-keeper "in a line," asking prices, &c., whilst the other is engaged in palming articles under his hand, and so to his pocket: thus at a cutler's, a tray of knives is exhibited, from which in the course of a few minutes a dozen will be purloined; at a jeweller's, a box of seals, rings, or thimbles, which will be served in a similar manner. At this game it is not unusual for two persons to make 157. and 207. a day by moving about from place to place. The more versed thief engages as his associates boys who are as yet entirely untutored in the arts of thieving, of perhaps respectable connexions, with whom he now and then becomes acquainted, and from whom he finds it no difficult matter to obtain a considerable portion of the plunder; for instance, when a dozen fruit-knives have been stolen, instead of dividing the spoil equally, the elder thief brings only part of the property to light this is a very general practice amongst thieves; the more cunning and crafty make it a rule to cheat their "regulars," the young thief, whose emulation induces him to join boys older than himself. The same cause, by which so many thefts are committed with impunity, operates in saving a thief from punishment; this remark applies more particularly to pickpockets; gentlemen are sometimes so adroitly drawn of their property as not to perceive their loss, and when informed of it, the very expertness with which the act was committed prevents a man of certain philanthropic and liberal feelings prosecuting the offender; great proficiency is attained by long practice in palming; intentionally a shop is not plundered oftener than once in three months, or four, but as accident is no respecter of persons, it now and then happens that palmers go into a shop which has been recently served, and the shopkeeper therefore on the alert; his shrewdness not being immediately perceived, the theft is carried on till two or three dozen of handsome fruit-knives, or silver thimbles, have been obtained; the shopkeeper is seen to give notice to some one in the back shop; that is sufficient; the thieves observe the sign, go on conversing, and by their expertness are enabled to palm back every article by the time an officer arrives; on search nothing is found on the person, a strenuous outcry of irreproach able character being kept up, induces the shopkeeper to suppose rather that his eyes have deceived him than that dishonesty was intended, and in many instances an apology is actually made, the thieves leaving the shop apparently angry, but in fact well pleased at the upshot of the affair; this game somewhat resembles cadging (begging), inasmuch as they are both travelling manoeuvres, at which both the palmer and cadger are enabled to visit every town of note in the country. Ringing the changes is a species of palming; it is done in a variety of ways. The scheme is to substitute a similar in appearance but valueless article for one of great value; an order is given to a goldsmith to prepare and make up certain articles in a case, the story being that they are for some family going abroad; the party calls and sees them finished and encased; he directs them to be taken care of till he calls, perhaps states his intention of bringing a friend to look at them, at the same time giving the shopkeeper a hint that his friend may prove a customer; having seen the case, he obtains a similar one, and endeavours on the next visit, whilst the shopkeeper and his friend are contemplating great dealings never to be realized, to ring the changes. Rundell and Brydges, of Ludgate Hill, were defrauded to a considerable amount some years ago by two French gentlemen, who rung the changes in a very masterly manner. The Greys' diamonds, of west-end notoriety, were got away by two Jewesses in the same way. "Shop bouncing" is practised early in the morning, as the shops are opening; the thief goes in, the shopman is perhaps engaged in the back premises, no one in the shop, he may sneak off with the booty; more frequently some one is in the shop; a message is prepared, cut and dried, from Mr. So and so to the master of the shop, and an immediate answer is necessary; all suspicion is removed, unsuspectingly the servant conveys the message to his master, in some instances desiring the thief to keep an eye to the shop during his absence; the latter injunction is strictly complied with, and when the servant, finding he has been hoaxed, returns, his locum tenens has decamped with what valuables were within his reach. When this game is predetermined upon, the thieves go the overnight to reconnoitre and observe the situation of valuable articles. Men living by depredation vary their pursuits and engagements; many adhere to one particular description of thieving; some can palm and cannot star, others can palm and star but cannot pick pockets, which some pursue only, and so on. To understand clearly how their time is spent, I shall follow the young thief through the pursuits of a single day, and to do so we shall merely have to transpose and recapitulate what has been stated. Thieves are not unnecessarily active, but rather of indolent habits. The thief must therefore Appendix No 6. be supposed to have been hard up on the previous night. He arranges with some of his pals, perhaps similarly situated, to go out early on the ensuing morning, and accordingly they turn out, two or three in company, on a morning prowl. This comprises different sorts of thieving, in which persons are taken in who are not sufficiently exercised to guard against knavery and duplicity; for the most part the thief acts upon the credulity of servants, whom he endeavours to throw off their guard, and by this means gains admission into the passage, or down the area; the chief aim is plate: the shops are now opening, and they begin "shop bouncing," which, as the shops open at various times, and as they may go into several before an opportunity of obtaining a good booty occurs, occupies till eight o'clock, unless the touting system of the previous night shows them where to direct their force with greater certainty; having put the booty away (fenced it) they go to breakfast either at a coffee shop, the public house they use, or the house where they slept, a lodging-house where two or three live together, or where two attached pals live by themselves. At all these places they occasionally breakfast, but most frequently at a coffee shop; this finished at nine o'clock; as gentlemen begin to move out in pursuit of their various callings, the thief turns out pocket picking; this game occupies till twelve o'clock; from twelve to one P. M., starring and palming are pursued, and having put away the booty they dine mostly at the flash public house used by the mob to which they belong. Dinner ended, some gamble at cards and tossing, others drink and smoke, till dusk, when, if summer, they turn out picking pockets again; the cloaks and top coats prevent this game in winter, when they turn out on an evening sneak as shoplifting; they notice when the people in the shop are engaged with customers, and sneak off with articles exposed for sale, as boots and shoes from a shoemaker's, hats and caps from a hatter's, coffee and tea from a grocer's, hams, &c., from a cheesemonger's, wearing apparel from a tailor's and pawnbroker's, or, going into a passage, sometimes umbrellas, box coats, &c., are carried off; may be the family are up stairs, and then the thieves have the range of the ground floor: they seldom take tea in the afternoon, but return after their evening sneak to the flash house, where they spend the remainder of the evening in the routine of dissipation peculiar to, and consequent upon, such a life, as drinking, dancing, card playing, and other species of gambling, raffling for pals in trouble, boasting of thefts committed in the day, telling who have been grabbed, and what pals they have individually put away; here they see women, with some of whom they become enamoured, and they assist materially in squandering the result of the day's thieving. Many exhibit stolen articles, and thereby get customers. Watches, rings, and handkerchiefs, &c., are often sold at these houses; cotton handkerchiefs are given away: thus the evening is spent till a late hour, when, if in winter, and the theatres open, they turn out as the company are retiring; on account of the heat gentlemen frequently come out with their coats undone (and some thieves who have perhaps not made a halfpenny during the day will make the best hit) through carelessness; their attention in the theatre being otherwise engaged, gentlemen often leave their opera-glasses, purses, handkerchiefs, and sometimes watches in their outer coat; these are good prizes; a thief will often follow a swell one or two miles, judging from appearances that something more is contained in the great coat than a handkerchief, before he finds an opportunity to rob him, either from his being on the alert, or others following too closely; a thief will often stand outside a confectioner's shop, or other shop, and notice, when gentlemen go in to purchase, where they place their purses; they are thus enabled to pursue the game with more certainty and greater temerity, the expectation of a good booty ever stimulating and emboldening the exertions of a thief: the company having retired from the theatres, the young thief's day's work is over, and he retires for the night; some go to night coffee-houses, where they are encouraged by being permitted to amuse themselves at cards, dominoes; others go to thieves' lodging-houses, where the charge is 3d. or 4d. per bed per night; here various scenes take place, sometimes drinking, smoking, gaming, &c., being allowed, at others no such thing, the thieves not being allowed to congregate together; there are such receptacles in the rookery, St. Giles's, where 40 or 50 beds are made up nightly; some have private lodgings to which they retire. Many men, many minds." Having followed the young thief through the pursuits of a single day, an opinion may be f rmed, how his time is in general spent, bearing in mind that he considers himself fortunate if half the year out of prison, and extremely so if allowed to have a run (pursue thieving) for three or four years before being transported, and this leads us to speak of another epoch in the life of a thief, that is, the time when he must, in the regular course of his degrees, be served; this frequently occurs in the pursuit of his favourite game, or sometimes in attempting something new, and for which he is not sufficiently competent; the sentence of transportation produces no heartrending effect upon the callous thief, it would be wrong to say he suffered no uneasiness or anxiety; the starting tear, so often to be seen at the Newgate bar, demonstrates the contrary, but the uneasiness felt by him is not comparable to that severe distress of mind to which the man who has accidentally committed himself is liable; the thief always lives in expectation of it; its occurrence, therefore, causes no sudden shock to his nervous system, he knows it is a part of his degrees through which he must pass to arrive at that eminence to which all thieves aspire, "the top of the tree in the profession:" filial love considerably diminishes with parental authority, his separation from his family gives him therefore but little uneasiness; that sorrow which alone affects him is caused by his being parted from a pal or two to whom he had become attached from having lately worked (thieved) together, and his sister or girl; if he appears disheartened, he is soon rallied by his more jocular and less thinking companions: but the chief reason counterbalancing any temporary uneasiness felt by the thief at this period, is the idea of meeting with many of his old pals; this recollection removes all pain; when once on board ship he meets with so many boys with whom he has been aforetime in the habit of associating, that he soon finds himself perfectly at home; cul 66 |