THE STREET DRAINS.

Southland Times, Issue 601, 7 December 1866, Page 3

THE STREET DRAINS.

(to THE EDITOR OP THE SOUTHLAND TIMES.) Sir, — I observed yesterday that the work of clearing the drains in Esk-street has been coiamenced by prison labor. I think that this work is exactly what should have been undertaken long since, but better late than never. It is not to be expected that the Government should spend any large sum in the town improvements that ought to be made by the municipal body, that is dead or sleeping, and therefore I think that if the Grovernment give prison labor for the cleansing of the drains, the owners of the property ought to subscribe to find the material to slab and cover them. In cases that have come to my knowledge great improvements have been made- by the prisoners, but the cost of the material required has fallen on the shoulders of single individuals instead of being shared by all the holders of property in the locality in which the improvements were made. This should not be. There are no municipal taxes gathered, and therefore all should contribute something towards completing the works that the Grovernment is endeavoring to partially carry out. Yours, Ac., Faib ?la.y. Invercargill, 6th Dec.

A THEIVES' COLLEGE IN" LIVERPOOL. There is in Liverpool an establishment known to the initiated as "The Liverpool College for the Education of Thieves." This seminary, which ia composed of many habitations, is situate at the north end of Ben Johnson street, off Scotland road, and is called "Upper Canada;" and here juveniles of both sexes are trained and inducted into all the mysteries of thieving, from the petty larceny of picking a pocket to the grand felonies of burglary, garotting, and highway robbery. There are regular teachers, both men and women, who call themselves " professors " in the several branches of thieving. These professors have been raised from the lowest to the highest positions in the seminary $ consequent on their superior abilities in their different walks. The two primary principles inculcated in the college (for the whole locality is called the college) are " not to be caught in the act of thieving," and if by accident a pupil is " legged" — a slang term for being taken by the police — he must take care to have performed his work in such a manner as to avoid being come at by legal evidence — that is, to manage in a way that would raise a doubt in the mind of a magistrate or jury, and thus escape conviction. This branch is not only inculcated, but strictly attended to by professors who have gone through the ordeal of som 12 or 18 months' imprisonment, and there are some five or six of such, who range from 18 to 25 years of age, who are " professors "in the college. The business of these teachers is not only to instruct the pupils, but to attend the police court daily, watch any criminal case that comes before the magistrates, take all its bearings into consideration, and then draw conclusions as to the weak and strong points of the case, from which lessons are deduced for the future guidance of the young thieves. Many of these professors are known to the police, but they are so cautious that the officers cannot lay hands on them. Amongst the crowd in the body of the police court they may be distinguished by a peculiar necktie, or shirt, and in the streets they wear what is known as skull-cap hats, and some sort of coloured ribbon, band, or tassel. These teachers confine their instruction to pocket-picking in all its branches, between the cotton handkerchief, the purse, watch and chain, and so on. Men more advanced in years teach burglary, garotting, carriage robbery, and the like. Those whose sensibilities are keener impart the knowledge of how to pass base coin, a large stock of which is always kept on hand. There are also the begging letter writing professors ; but this branch is not held in high repute, as it is considered unprofitable and dangerous beyond the risk of the gain. The female educators have an ample field, and therefore to them is committed what is considered an important task, for they have to teach an amalgamation of thieving, begging, and the pious dodge, the latter frequently proving profitable if well managed. Indeed, it was through a move of this description that the materials for this paper were accidentally discovered, and it happened thus : — A gentleman, who is a corn merchant, and who has paid attention to the ills that afflict the sons and daughters of men, had, on market days, at the Corn Exchange, for nearly a couple of months past, observed a poorly, but tidy and cleanly, dressed woman", with a female child about six years of age held by the hand, passing through the crowd of merchants, dealers, and others collected in front of the Corn Exchange. The woman was apparently poor, but not a common pauper — one who came under the tabular head of " seen better days." He observed that as she passed through the crowd, the child, in a very artistic and mechanical manner, stooped and took up an apparently handsome diamond pin, when the mother exclaimed, "Ah, baby, I knew I'd have luck to-day when I brought you out; this will get some comfort for your poor sick father;" and then the pin was offered, not for sale, but as a present, to some one who saw it picked up, and who heard of the poor sick father. Of course the present would be declined, but the offer was generally productive of a shilling or two on the impulse of the moment. The gentleman in question having his suspicions excited by witnessing a repetition of the pin dodge, commenced inquiries, and traced the whole case to Upper Canada, where he found the woman was one of the " professors " engaged to teach the young idea how to shoot ; and he also made a good many other curious discoveries as to the working and support of the Thieves' College of Liverpool. — English Paper.