BANKRUPTCY.

An Analysis of the Bankruptcies in England and Wales, gazetted in each Month of the Quarter ending June 30, 1846; showing the Counties and Branches of Industry in which they have occurred.-(Continued from p. 192.)

QUARTERLY JOURNAL

OF THE

STATISTICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

DECEMBER, 1846.

Statistical Account of the Constitution and Operation of the Criminal Courts of the Metropolis. By JOSEPH FLETCHER, Esq., Barrister at Law, Honorary Secretary.

[Read before the Statistical Society of London, 20th April, 1846.]

THE most ancient offices, purely of police, now existing in the metropolis, are undoubtedly those of the coroner of the city, and the coroners of the several counties into which the metropolis and its suburbs extend. The coroner for the city receives his appointment from the Common Council, and is sworn in by the Court of Aldermen on his first election. He is generally an attorney; and latterly has been also clerk to the sitting magistrates at Guildhall. He is coroner for both the city and Southwark.

Some inhabitants of Southwark, at the time of a recent vacancy, petitioned the Common Council that a separate coroner might be appointed for Southwark; the petition was referred to a committee, but not complied with. From another quarter there was a petition that the person to be appointed might be a medical man; and the opponent of the present officer was a physician, who had published some discussions on Forensic Medicine, and who was afterwards professor of that science at University College.

The Common Council have been accustomed to appoint the city solicitor to be deputy-coroner, in the absence or default of the principal; but the legal effect of this is, to say the least, subject to very great doubts.

The coroner executes the usual functions of a coroner in the city of London, and throughout the municipal borough of Southwark, including the Temple, Whitefriars, and both the St. Bartholomews, but not the Clink or Ely Place. He does not, however, in Southwark, execute writs in which the sheriff of the county is interested. cause occurred, in which the bailiff of Southwark was interested, the writ would be executed by the coroner. As coroner, he has to attend the Old Bailey Sessions and the Surrey Assizes.

If a

The river Thames is within the coroner's jurisdiction on the London and Southwark sides of the middle of the stream, so far respectively as they are opposite to the territory of the city of London and the borough of Southwark*.

His fees and allowances, in 1833, amounted to 2587. 13s., of which

* Report of the Corporation Commissioners, pp. 45, 88.

VOL. IX. PART IV.

U

all but 78. was derived from the city's cash*. In 1842, however, the total expenses of this office drew the sum of 924l. 28. 8d. from the city's cash, in great part owing to the Corporation being called upon to reimburse the coroner in the expenses (amounting to 5281. 5s. 8d.) incurred by him under 1 Vic. c. 68; his own fees amounting in the year ending 29th September, 1842, to only 395l. 178. The increased charge of this office has indeed emboldened the Corporation to talk of levying a county rate upon the city to meet it!

City Police Courts.

The aldermen, moulded into modern justices of the peace, next prefer their claim to be regarded as the police-magistrates of the city, which, at least in theory, they actually are. The Recorder, though likewise a justice of the peace, is fully occupied with his judicial functions. The aldermen all act as police-magistrates, but the one who is, for the time being, Lord Mayor, alone sits daily. His duties as a magistrate of police are by far the most onerous of all which he has to discharge, though by no means the most expensive.

"The whole of the city is divided into two parts, by a line passing nearly north and south, through Queen Street and King Street. All cases requiring the interference of a justice, which occur to the eastward of this line, are brought before the Lord Mayor, who sits for the purpose daily (with the exception of some occasional relief by other aldermen) at the Justice Room in the Mansion House. If a second magistrate be required from the nature of the business, he must be sent for: this can generally be done without much delay; but it seems to us that an arrangement might be made securing regular attendance in such cases. With respect to such cases as require the presence of two magistrates, the sitting alderman at Guildhall is requested to attend at the Mansion House, twice in the week, to assist the Lord Mayor in disposing of them. The cases to the westward, which we believe to be more numerous than the others, are referred to the sitting aldermen at Guildhall. Sometimes, when the Lord Mayor is prevented by other public business from attending at the Justice Room in the Mansion House, cases are transferred from thence to Guildhall, and heard by the magistrate sitting there. A considerable part of the duty connected with this department arises from private applications, which are continually made to the Lord Mayor, to act as arbitrator and adviser. These applications, though they do not fall within the province of the Mayor's legal authority, are very common, and occupy a part of his time which has been estimated at from half an hour to an hour every day. There appears to have existed anciently something in the nature of a jurisdiction of reconcilement in the city, in which the last-mentioned practice probably originated. Such cases are usually heard before the daily sittings in the Justice Room, which commence at noon, and last about three hourst."

"By stat. 43 Eliz. c. 2, § 8, the alderman of every ward may, in his ward, transact such business as requires two magistrates in other

* Report of the Revenue Committee of the Common Council in 1836; Returns of Officers, Nos. 22 and 77.

† Report of the Corporation Commissioners, p. 77.

cases.

This is not much acted upon. The functions of the aldermen, in their several wards, embrace a general superintendence of the police and internal regulations of the ward, and the duty of presiding at the Wardmotes. All this class of duties, however, except the presiding on St. Thomas's-day at the Wardmote, may be executed by the deputy, and is so in the greater number of cases. But the practice of the different wards is various*."

The labours of the aldermen as sitting-magistrates are nearly confined to the attendance at the Guildhall, in rotation. Two are in attendance every Saturday; and under the recent statute for the regulation of the police courts of the metropolis, (2 & 3 Vic. c. 84,) any two aldermen in London are invested, in addition to their ancient authority, with all the powers given to each of the police-magistrates without the limits of the city.

The mayor, and all aldermen who have passed the chair, are justices of Southwark, by the charter of Edward VI. This containing, however, no non intromittant clause, the county magistrates of Surrey have concurrent jurisdiction. Indeed, until 1814, the whole of the business was transacted by the county justices. This occasioned repeated petitions to the Common Council, and a Committee of that body having presented a report in 1814, an arrangement was made by which two of the qualified aldermen were made acting magistrates for Southwark, under the name of Justices of the Bridge Ward. Their appointment was in form merely a request to act, made by the Court of Aldermen; and they received 4007. per annum each, in consideration of which they alternately attended for a week together, on every day in the week, at the Town Hall in Southwark. The business ordinarily lasted three hours; and latterly there was one day in every week upon which they arranged to be both in attendance, for the transaction of business requiring the presence of two magistrates, as now at the Guildhall on Saturdays.

After the institution of the new police, however, and the passing of the recent statutes which regulate the police courts of the metropolis, it was found that the aldermen acting at the Town Hall in Southwark had no right to act in the case of summary convictions, under 2 & 3 Vic., c. 47, § 76; and that (inasmuch as all summonses and warrants to be issued in any criminal proceedings in the metropolitan police district, which has included Southwark from the first, must be executed by the constables of the metropolitan police force) their powers to act effectively as magistrates out of sessions, in criminal proceedings, was virtually taken away, although there still remained a right to act as justices of the peace in sessions, in cases respecting the poor laws, or in civil matterst.

Under these circumstances, as it appeared that the attendance of a magistrate at the Town Hall in Southwark could be discontinued without prejudice to the rights and privileges which the Corporation enjoy under their various charters, it was determined forthwith to abolish the office of Justices of the Bridge Ward, and close the police court at the Town Hall. Southwark is now, therefore, as exclusively

* Report of the Corporation Commissioners, p. 77.

† Opinions of Attorney and Solicitor-General, the City Law Officers, and Sir William Follett, Minutes of Common Council, p. 179.

under the charge of the metropolitan police-magistrates (being included within the Union Hall districts), as it is exclusively under the charge of the Metropolitan Commissioners for the administrative purposes of police.

Attached to the justice-room at the Mansion House, and to the justice-room at the Guildhall, are a clerk and assistant-clerk, appointed during pleasure by the Court of Aldermen. The clerk of each justiceroom executes the ordinary functions of a magistrate's clerk, except that he leaves parish business and a few other duties, such as the taking of recognizances to keep the peace, and the making out of commitments on summary conviction, to his assistant. In attendance on the salaried justices in Southwark, there was also a paid clerk, so long as their jurisdiction was exercised,-disposing of doubtful cases by a summary conviction, and sending only those of certain guilt for the larger penalties of the higher court. The misgiving of the Common Council as to the character of police justice in the city, is shown by their recommendation to the Government, on occasion of the inquiries of the Corporation Commissioners, "that the aldermen should not be justices until they have served the office of sheriff. Some further insight into the character of the city police courts will be derived from comparison with those of the rest of the metropolis.

The amount of fees, fines, and penalties levied and received in 1835, at the Mansion House was 4491. 5s. 4d., and at the Guildhall, and in the Police Committee of Aldermen, 486l. 10s. 2d., of which sums the amounts received in fees, 4097. 15s. 4d., and 2227. 7s. 8d. were paid into the city's cash, the fines being applied as directed by the Acts of Parliament under which they were levied, with the exception of 397. 19s. 6d. to a police relief fundt.

The total charged in the City accounts for 1842, under the head of Magistracy and Police, amounts to 17,8987. 6s. 5d., but of this sum 10,0477. 188. was expended on the police, and 1,3267. 58. 6d. is the charge for marshals and marshalmen; the remainder, therefore, 6,5147. 2s. 11d. is the actual charge for the justice-rooms at the Mansion House and Guildhall, which includes 1,4167. 11s. 3d. paid to the City Solicitor, on account of business under the directions of the Court of Aldermen, in respect of magistracy and police, and 2,642l. Os. 6d. to the churchwardens and overseers of the several parishes in the City of London, for expenses in removing Scotch and Irish paupers, under 3rd and 4th William IV., c. 40, per order of Sessions.

Metropolitan Police Courts.

In its magistracy, as in its police, the city was greatly iu advance of the rest of the metropolis until a very recent period. The charter of the 23rd of Henry VI. and 20th of Henry VII., give power to the mayor to name to the chancellor two aldermen to be justices of peace, one for Southwark and the other for Middlesex. As late as 1678 he seems to have presented justices for Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, Essex, and the Liberty of Westminster. This was apparently the last in

*Resolutions of the 16th of June, 1836, No. 13.

† Parliamentary Paper, Sess. 1836, No. 323.