.■3^2 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



says, " Tha( he knows the public 

 opinion is against tlie officers en- 

 tirely, in consequence of that le- 

 waril by act of parliament j and 

 the officers are not considered by 

 the public so respectable as they 

 ■would be if those rewards were 

 done away." 



Mr. Philip Holdsworth, the 

 Upper Marshal of the city of 

 London, informed your committee, 

 that he has witnessed officei's giving 

 evidence .igainst criminals, swear 

 hard against the |)risoner, evi- 

 dently for the sake of the reward ; 

 that lie knew one instance where 

 a wrong person was convicted in 

 consequence, and has heard of 

 several more. 



Thonia." Shelton, E^q. clerk of 

 the Sessions of Oyer and Terminer, 

 and (iaol delivery, at the Old 

 Bailey, for London and Middlesex, 

 and who has held that situation 

 for '.V3 years, upon a question 

 being put to liiui, if he observed 

 the effect of the rewards on the 

 evidence that is tendered in court, 

 informed your conniiittee, that it 

 appeared evident to him that wit- 

 nesses have been desirous to ob- 

 tain them; that he believes officers 

 sometimes get briefs given to 

 counsel, when there aie difficul- 

 ties in the case, which shows an 

 anxiety foi' conviction; and th.at 

 not only among officers but among 

 other witnesses : he considers pro- 

 bable that these rewards warp the 

 minds of wit!i.e?ses, and occasion 

 stronger testimony on ])oints that 

 aie doubtful, than woidd other- 

 wise be given ; lie adds also, that 

 he has witnessed cases vvhei'e it 

 has happened that persons were 

 put on trial for tlie ciime of high- 

 way robbery, when on examina- 

 tion, although property had been 



taken from the person, there has 

 appeared little or no reason for 

 the offence being so laid, except 

 for the sake of the reward on con- 

 viction. But it is not only that 

 the system of rewards stimulate 

 witnesses to foiswear themselves, 

 in order to obtain them : facts 

 have recently come before the 

 public that |)rove the existence of 

 conspiracies which have been 

 f<nmed by a police officer and 

 others, in order to induce people 

 to commit crimes for the purpose 

 of swearing away their lives and 

 obtaining the reward on their con- 

 viction. The different n.agistrates 

 who have been examined on tliis 

 subject have denird all belief that 

 this crime has been often com- 

 mitted ; but your conmiittee wish 

 to observe, tliat wlieie the temp- 

 tation is so stiong as that \\ hich 

 the reward offers to the cupidity of 

 police officers, as well as to that 

 of all other men, the crime not 

 having been before proved. Is no 

 evidence of its non-existence ! and 

 they feel themselves furthei obliged 

 to remark, that the Hist report of 

 the police committee in 1816 had 

 hardly been issued from the press, 

 containing, as it did, the ]jraises 

 of the magistrates of their own 

 officers, as well as their positive 

 denial of its being possible they 

 could be affected by any tempta- 

 tion to sacrifice the public inter- 

 ests to theii'own, when Vaughan, 

 of the Bow-street office, was tried 

 and cast for death for the crime 

 aliove mentioned. And also, that 

 in the last summer no less than 

 three other persons wire sentenced 

 to a capital pimishment for similar 

 offences, on three different charges. 

 To what extent tlie evil has ex- 

 tended, and how many innocent 



persons 



