Watchdog

“ But there were fist fights by common men which gathered crowds and occasioned betting. Most crime was petty theft, but mobs and riots were frequent, as there were no police. Watchmen and constables were often old and physically incapacitated. The watchmen were householders taking their turn. This duty of householders watching the streets had evolved from the ancient obligation of wards to provide men to guard the walls at night. But few wanted these jobs by which they could offend their neighbors. Many citizens paid a rate to be excused from watch and ward duty. ”

“ The King then spoke to the captain of the guard, saying, 'Shall not a man pass the day in a garden with his wife? Wherefore should they be put in prison? Behold, since thou hast done this thing, thy life is in this man's hand.' And he delivered the captain of the guard to the minister to deal with him as he listed. ”

“ Hunter, after a pause. "It behoves all loyal subjects of her Majesty to aid in discovering the offenders: especially you, sir, a sworn magistrate."
"It behoves me to protect the poor fishermen, who look to me for protection, who have looked to me for it for years; ay, and received it," was the warm reply, "better than it behoves you, sir, to presume to teach me my duty! Richard, leave me to speak. I tell you, sir, I do not believe this concocted story. I am the chief of the place, sir, and I will not believe it. The coast-guard and the fishermen are at variance; always have been ”

“ In conversation, the Inspector’s words come short and sharp, in brief breaths of speech; and he has an uneasy way with him, as if always on the watch and impatient of inactivity. You feel, looking at him, instinctively that before you stands a man who is as incapable of a merciful action as he is of running away from an enemy,—a sharp, active, well-drilled man, who bites before he growls, and has led a life of wild exhausting excitement and danger for some years past. ”

“ When the corporal of the guard or any inferior officer is ordered to accompany a prisoner who may have leave to walk in the garden or on the towers, it is expressly forbidden him to hold any conversation with the prisoner. The officer is there solely to guard the prisoner, and to prevent him from signalling to anyone outside the walls. ”

“ Every officer who shall knowingly make a false muster of man or horse, and every officer or commissary of musters, who shall willingly sign, direct or allow the signing of musters-rolls, wherein such false muster is contained, shall, upon proof made thereof by two witnesses, before a general court-martial, be cashiered, and shall be thereby utterly disabled to have or hold any office or employment in the service of the United States. ”

“ I here allude to the royal signature, 'Nasr-ed-Din, Shah, Kajar.' These superior guardsmen have all the rank of gentleman, and may be called the mounted 'gentlemen at arms' of the guard. They have the customary right of appointment to Court and palace posts, such as door-keeper, usher, messenger, etc. Their service is for life, and is hereditary, a son succeeding his father, and taking his place in the guard when promotion, age, illness, or death creates a vacancy. ”

“ That the warder in charge of a party should be a discipline officer only. If the officer was competent and was permitted to direct the entire work of the party, it could be in many cases a very considerable advantage. ... But I have understood that warders have been fined for giving detailed directions about the work. ... We have a foreman of works who supervises the outdoor men, and may give instructions to the individual warders; but until the foreman comes round again, a warder cannot send a man off like a freeman to tell the foreman he is wanted. ”

“ Inasmuch as the office you hold as inspector general of the said fleet is an office of great trust, and it is necessary that there be exercised therein much diligence, care, and vigilance, I order you to charge and entrust yourself with this trust because it is the one office of said fleet on which all the others depend. Even should there be any negligence in the other offices and should there be no such good foresight and caution as is proper, if you fulfil your duty, it would be less inconvenient. ”

“ Although no officer should be ignorant of the service of the guards, yet it particularly behooves the lieutenant to be perfectly acquainted with that duty; he being oftener than any other officer entrusted with command of the guard- a trust of the highest importance, on the faithful execution of which the safety of an army depends; and in which the officer has frequent opportunities to distinguish himself by his judgment, vigilance and bravery. ”

“ Note—The evidence at the Commission discloses an absence of any uniform principle in the selection of warders. In some places trade warders supervise the labour, in others the warders must not interfere; many are old soldiers, many are country lads; some take deep interest in the works, others none or little, but as a convict witness said (Q. 6,342) are only waiting to get off to the guard room. Might not the superintendent of work see that the warders should have or should acquire sufficient knowledge to supervise work, and result fees might be allowed for successful trade instruction. ”

“ They appointed every man a magistrate who had belonged to our corporation. I was then, of course, made a squire according to law, though now the honor rested more heavily on me than before. For, at first, whenever I told my constable, says I,—'Catch that fellow, and bring him up for trial,' away he went; and the fellow must come, dead or alive; for we considered this a good warrant, though it was only in verbal writings. ”

“ The officer of the guard was inspecting the sentries, when the guard on Post Number Four saw a haggard, white-faced young fellow, with hat gone, clothes torn, hands bleeding from scratches, pull himself up the bank of the creek, and at the sentry's "Halt!" look up with anxious appeal and ask for the captain. ”

“ Let us adjourn to the house of the Chief of Police. He is the magician who needs but to wink when passing a fishmonger's or a wine merchant's. Not only shall we fare well at his place, but also we shall get a game of whist. ”

“ But if the officer simply avers, without more, that there is gambling paraphernalia on certain premises, the warrant should not issue, even though the belief of the officer is an honest one, as evidenced by his oath, and even though the magistrate knows him to be an experienced, intelligent officer who has been reliable in the past. ”

“ There are four grades of prison warders, viz., the chief warder, principal warders, warders and assistant warders. The chief warder, of course, stands first in the list, and his duties, if honestly executed, render him the most important, as he is the most responsible of the prison officials, save, perhaps, the medical officer, who is the autocrat of the place. But, in case anything goes wrong, he is the man who gets all the blame, and when matters run smoothly and well, the governor gets all the thanks. ”

“ A few old men armed with a staff, a rattle, and a lantern, called watchmen, are the only guard throughout the night against depredation; and a few magistrates and police officers the only persons whose employment it is to detect and punish depredators; yet we venture to assert that no city, in proportion to its trade, luxury, and population, is so free from danger, or from depredations, open or concealed, on property.”
[436]
WATCHMEN GOING ON DUTY—1808. ”

“ Are those who have no commissions, but only warrants from such boards or persons as are authorized by law to grant them. The only warrant-officers in the British service are master-gunners and schoolmasters. Technically the non-commissioned officers of the U. S. army are not warrant-officers, though they are appointed by warrants. ”

“ Watchmen and Patroles, instead of being, as now, comparatively of little use, from their age, infirmity, inability, inattention, or corrupt practices, might almost at the present expence, by a proper selection, and a more correct mode of discipline, by means of a general superintendance over the whole to regulate their conduct, and keep them to their duty, be rendered of great utility in preventing Crimes, and in detecting Offenders. ”

“ The chief warder reported to the Superintendent that the man in the cells was a dangerous-looking character, and he was afraid we should have trouble with him, for he had never seen a man with such a hang-dog look. ”

“ I'll fix you up, and tell you later just where you'll find the horse," Brandt answered.
"You're an officer yourself, lieutenant," said the lawyer. "You know just how much evidence it takes to convict. ”

“ The guard can hear the least noise that is made in the cells, and the keepers can see all that is going on in the shops; and not an attempt has ever been made in which the officers have not been more or less criminal. ”

“ If any of that guard are alive now, they must be from threescore and ten to fourscore years of age, because they were then all old men, tried and true, and, as our adjutant said, Sir Colin had told him that no other corps except the Ninety-Third could be trusted to supply a guard for such a duty. ”

“ That whatever Person shall hereafter receive a Commission from the Crown, or attempt to exercise any such Commission heretofore received, shall be deemed an Enemy to his Country; and upon Information being made to the Captain of the Company where he resides, the said Captain shall cause him to be apprehended, and conveyed before the two Select Men of the said Company, who, upon Proof of the Fact, shall commit him the said Offender, into safe Custody, until the next setting of the Convention, who shall deal with him as Prudence may direct. ”

“ His duties with regard to watch and ward were, to keep a roster of the watchmen, to see that they were vigilant and alert during the hours of watching, to receive into custody any guilty or reasonably suspected person handed over to him by the watch, and to keep such [59] person in safety, until he should give bail or be brought before a Justice of the Peace. ”

“ Our guard, or Lossing, as, in imitation of Miss Jenrys and her aunt, I was learning to call him, was now becoming convalescent, and while he had not yet returned to his duties as Columbian Guard, which he had assured me he meant soon to do, he was beginning to go about by night and by day, as his strength increased, quite regardless, seemingly, of the fact that he had been attacked once, and had every reason to think the act might be repeated in some new fashion. ”

“ They ordered that a commission, in due form, be given to the said guards, both in order that they may wield the authority of justice, and that there be no other guards but those who are so nominated by this royal Audiencia; those hitherto acting as guards shall exercise the said duty no longer, under the penalties incurred by those who so act without power or commission in the matter. ”

“ The Chief Mate should see that all necessary assistance is given to the officer of the watch—when he stands days duty—in matters {102} of taking soundings, turning ventilators, setting and taking in awnings, heaving the deep sea lead, etc. Where the Chief Mate stands his watch, the watch officer on duty during a day watch is technically in full charge, and gives his orders direct. ”

“ Nor, after the inspection is finished, should the inspector remain among friends or enemies who have much or little property. Neither should he remain with those of whom there is any doubt. They are fortunate if they are such men as are suitable for this task, and if they proceed with rectitude, rigor, and example, and with zeal for the glory of God, the service of your Majesty, the welfare of this country, with a Christian and disinterested heart. ”

“ About this time I was appointed president of a garrison court-martial. The case was one of much difficulty and complicated evidence, but we got through it, and the proceedings were forwarded to Major-General Robert Douglass (then Adjutant-General to the Forces in the West Indies and commanding the garrison) , by whom they were at once approved, and nothing more was heard on the subject till a fortnight later, when, to my surprise, I saw my name in General Orders as deputy judge-advocate-general! ”

“ About a week ago the Chief Magistrate at Cleves, who is an old friend of ours, motored over, and after a lot of talk, blurted out that I was to consider myself under arrest, and that an officer and a detachment of men from Goch were coming over to guard the house. ”

“ The Intelligence officer considered the whole affair with great suspicion, and when he returned to the headquarters bivouac he walked down to the new guide's entourage and took stock of his "boys" and animals. One of the five "boys" was missing, also a piebald pony which had caught his eye earlier in the day. The Intelligence officer held his peace, but, armed with this information, determined to watch future developments, and flung himself down on the roadside to snatch half an hour's sleep before the forward march should commence. ”

“ And thus standing, they are guardians and custodians, in their own interests—in their own knowledge of the interests of their own people—in their own knowledge that their place in the protection, power, and authority of the Government of the United States, proceeds by the favor and the approval of the local community in which they reside. ”

“ The great Sortie of the Banning Cock Company, which is the more correct name for The Night Watch, represents twenty-nine life-sized civic guards issuing from their guardhouse in a great state of bustle and confusion, while the drums beat and the dog barks. ”