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15
too often happens while Watchmen do not consider themselves as amendable to
Magistrates or liable to punishment for neglect of Duty that they connive at
offences which they ought to detect and too often extort Money unwarrantably from
ignorant or timid Persons under the pretence of their being guilty of irregularities:
and while it would be expedidient for Magistrates to possess the power of punishing
it would also be of the greatest use that they had the ability of rewarding by small
pecuniary Gratuities such Parochial Officers Watchmen and Patrols as should
manifest any degree of Vigilance and extortion in apprehending Offenders
during the night and in watching the motions of the known receivers of stolen
Goods and particularly those dealers who are meant to be regulated by virtue of
the propose act. For it often happens at present when such persons apprehend
Offenders during the Night and bring them before the Magistrates the succeeding
forenoon that they are often disgusted with the loss of time which such
attendance occasions and which working people can ill afford without some
pecuniary recompense and hence it follows that even the well disposed among
this Class of People are less Vigilant and active upon their Duty than they
otherwise would be knowing that it must subject them to a certain loss
of that time which would be otherwise occupied in Labour for the support of
their families. Nothing can be so useful to the Establishment of Vigilant and
energic Police as a Power to Magistrates to distribute small premiums and
gratuities for meritorious Services performed by persons of every description who
shall assist in detecting Crimes either by means of private information by
apprehending Offenders and as the present Bill must be considered in the
light of a Bill of Revenue appropriated to the purposes of Police it is
humbly submitted how far some regulations might not be introduced whereby the
Police Magistrates may be empowered under certain restrictions to disburse
annually a certain limitted Sum of Money arising out of this
Revenue for the purpose of giving greater energy and effect to the cowise
of executive Justice.
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Identifier: | JB/149/027/003"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 149. |
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149 |
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027 |
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003 |
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copy/fair copy sheet |
3 |
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recto |
f13 / f14 / f15 |
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49881 |
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