Second Thoughts are Best: Or a Further Improvement of a Late Scheme to Prevent Street Robberies — John Shaqi
Second Thoughts are Best: Or a Further Improvement of a Late Scheme to Prevent Street RobberiesDefoe, Daniel
History
Second Thoughts are Best: Or a Further Improvement of a Late Scheme to Prevent Street Robberies
Defoe, Daniel
Robbery -- Great Britain
Where there are even but twelve houses in a court, and the inhabitants
people of credit, they may have a separate watch to themselves, as is
practised in Boswell-court by Lincoln's-inn-fields, Angel-court in
Throckmorton-street, and many other places in London.
This I think an unexceptionable way to secure the cities and suburbs of
London and Westminster. The only difficulty I can conceive is, that
persons after dark may now and then go a little way round about by
keeping the street way, but the pleasantness and safety occasioned by
the lights and watch aforesaid, make ample amends. Let those go through
byways, and in the dark, whose deeds are so; I am for providing security
for honest men, and obstacle for rogues.
And now we have put a stop to their roguery, let us endeavour to
suppress the rogues themselves; in order to which I shall begin with
their harlots, who are, generally speaking, the first motives to their
villany, and egg them on to all manner of mischief.
And these are generally servant wenches, who stroll from place to place,
and at last, weary of working, throw themselves on the public. To
maintain these creatures, many a man turns rogue. It behoves the
government, therefore, to oblige all young wenches to keep in service.
Masters and mistresses ought likewise to see that servants of both sexes
go not a rambling when sent to church, but that they keep good hours;
for many have been ruined by junketing and staying out, instead of being
at church or at home.
Our common women ought to be restrained in the liberties they have
lately taken; they openly swear and talk so obscenely, it is a shame to
a Christian country.
Having fully handled this topic in two treatises, viz., Everybody's
Business is Nobody's Business, and Parochial Tyranny, I shall not tire
my readers with repetition, but referring them to the treatises
themselves, return to my subject, which is,--
After we have reformed the ladies, let us take their sparks in hand. And
first, let all shoe-cleaners, I mean boys and sturdy vagrants, be
suppressed, according to my scheme in Everybody's Business, &c.; as for
link-boys, alias thieves with lights, there will be no need of them when
the streets are illuminated, according to my project.
That sailors as well as soldiers may not give cause of suspicion, it is
fit they should also be quartered after the same nature; and more to
enforce it, surveyors of quarters should have rounds allotted them.
These surveyors should call at the quarters of every soldier or sailor
at a limited hour, to see if they are there or no, and register them at
home or absent accordingly; absence to be penal.
Every soldier or sailor leaving his quarters till morning, after he has
been found at home and registered, should be punished.
I must be excused if I ward every obstacle, my design being to break up
street-robbers, nest and egg.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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