" Is it your opinion, that if the same mode was pursued by the other magistrates in different districts, that many beggars would be prevented from pursuing that course of life 1—There can be no doubt of it.
" You consider the present laws sufficiently strong, if those laws were put in force ?—No doubt.
" And that if the magistrates were to put the law into force as it now exists, public begging might be prevented ?—There can be no doubt of it.
" You consider that the laws might be so far put in force, as to clear the streets of beggars ; have the goodness to state to the committee the process which takes place with the beggars found in your district?— Any person has a right to capture a beggar in the act of begging ; he is to take him before a magi - atrate • the magistrate, by the confession of the par ty himself, or the oath of another party, is bound to pronounce him a rogue and vagabond, and send him to the House of Correction for the county of Middle sex ; there he remains seven days, and is passed by the pass-master of the county to the next parish leading to his settlement, and ,so forward till he ar rives at the place of settlement ; and for which the person capturing the mendicant is allowed by law 5s.; there is a premium for it. • " Supposing the parish to which he actually be longs remains within, your district, or is that in which he is found begging; there is nothing to pre vent him, on his return, resuming the same practice of begging ?—The law will prevent that, by senten cing him as an incorrigible rogue, to six months imprisonment, if he has been pronounced a rogue and vagabond under the first charge.
" Are those steps frequently taken by you ?—They are brought before the Court, and the Court ad judges them to a further imprisonment.
" How long do they remain there ?—Seven days in the first instance, and six months in the second.' Patrick Colquhoun, Esq. to whom, primarily, his Country is indebted for all the knowledge it has cently gained, and all the improvement it has made in Police, delivered the following testimony ;—" Of late it is inconceivable the number that have ed passes from the magistrates to go to their . ent parishes ; which we give now, though directly in opposition to the Act of 1792, which requires they should be previously' whipped passed a cer tain number of days, and then as vagrants to their parishes; that Act has been found impracticable.
It arose from the Lord Mayor and the magistrates giving innumerable passes, of which I am afraid ma ny make the very worst use; but we are very glad to them out of the town, that they may be subsisted m the quarters to which they belong, or where they have friends; in that way we are relieved of a very considerable number, who must otherwise beg in the streets..
" Do you conceive that the laws as they at present exist relative to beggars, if put into due and strict execution by all the magistrates in London and its vicinity, would be sufficient to clear the streets of beggars ?—I do not indeed ; there lave been at tempts made at different times,. and they have all failed. I think the Act of 17th Gen. II. totally ina dequate to the purpose ; it is loosely worded ; it is not at all adapted to the present state of society; and that Act ought to be revised from the begin ning, and adapted to the present state of society.
" Do you mean individual and separate attempts ? —I mean to say various attempts have been made, by taking up the beggars ; the expence is enormous on the county rate. I believe at one time there was more than L.100 paid to the office I belong to, in the course of the sessions.
" If all the magistrates were to unite, the magi strates of the city of London, the magistrates of Westminster, and the magistrates of the vicinity, to put the laws in execution, do you think that would be successful ?—A s far as my judgment goes, if the whole were to join their efforts it would not succeed." The beadles complain that when they take up beggars the magistrates discharge them. One of the beadles of St George's, Bloomsbury, said, " I took up a man yesterday ;int I observed knocking at every house, regularly, in Bloomsbury-square, two or three days ago. He was again yesterday taking every house regularly ; I waited till the servant came to the door, and he then put a petition into her hand ; I took the petition from him, and took him to the watch-house. I found three copies of the petition upon him. I took him to the office in Hat ton Garden, and the magistrate discharged him.