Twenty Years' Recollections of an Irish Police MagistratePorter, Frank Thorpe
History
Twenty Years' Recollections of an Irish Police Magistrate
Porter, Frank Thorpe
Crime -- Ireland; Criminals -- Ireland; Ireland -- Social life and customs; Porter, Frank Thorpe, 1801-1882
Soon after my appointment to office, an election occurred, and the city
of Dublin was keenly contested. I received an order to proceed, on the
nomination day, to Green Street, to take charge of the civil force
there, and to report myself to the returning officer, the High Sheriff.
I had consequently, in my official capacity, to present myself to my own
brother, the late Joshua Porter, and I continued during the election,
which was protracted as long as the law allowed, ready to quell any
riotous demonstration. My brother was not fortunate enough to please
all parties. His arrangement of booths and selection of deputies were
denounced as having been made in a partial spirit, and the mob
vociferously expressed an anxiety to be actuated in their treatment of
him by the greatest of Christian virtues, for they unanimously agreed
that it would be a "charity" to pelt him, if any opportunity offered to
make a liberal subscription of stones for the purpose. He was escorted
each day to and from the court-house by a strong body of police, and he
remained in it until the termination of the proceedings in the evenings.
There was usually during the election, a troop of hussars stationed in
Halston Street, at the rere of Newgate, and a party of police was
distributed between them and King Street, North. One afternoon, just at
twilight, I walked out of the court-house, and as soon as I got to the
steps, a crowd in King Street uttered a yell of animosity, and sent a
volley of stones at me. I was not struck by any of the missiles. The
police moved towards the mob, and the latter receded a few yards, but
remained together. I walked towards them, and loudly informed them, that
if they renewed their attack, I had the "Riot Act" in my pocket, and
would instantly read it, and reply by a discharge of carbine bullets.
There was no further demonstration on their part, and I returned to the
court-house. In a few minutes, I was departing for home, when I was
accosted by a carman named Smith. He asked me, "Would I take a covered
car?" and I replied in the affirmative. He brought me home; and on
discharging him, he said that the people had directed him to try "if he
could get to say two or three words to me." He then conveyed to me the
most extraordinary apology that could emanate from a mob for an
attempted outrage. "Yer worship, I was tould to tell you that there
wasn't a man or boy among them would throw anything at you or any other
of yer magistrates, but whin you came out on the steps, in the dusk of
the evening, they really thought that you were THE HIGH SHERIFF."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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