But while watermen are
watermen's judges, I shall laugh at those who carry their complaints to
the hall.
The usual plea in behalf of abusive watermen is, that they are drunk,
ignorant, or poor; but will that satisfy the party aggrieved, or deter
the offender from reoffending? Whereas were the offenders sent to the
house of correction, and there punished, or sentenced to work at the
sandhills aforementioned, for a time suitable to the nature of their
crimes, terror of such punishments would make them fearful of offending,
to the great quiet of the subject.
Now, it maybe asked, How shall we have our shoes cleaned, or how are
these industrious poor to be maintained? To this I answer that the
places of these vagabonds may be very well supplied by great numbers of
ancient persons, poor widows, and others, who have not enough from their
respective parishes to maintain them. These poor people I would have
authorised and stationed by the justices of the peace or other
magistrates. Each of these should have a particular walk or stand, and
no other shoe-cleaner should come into that walk, unless the person
misbehave and be removed. Nor should any person clean shoes in the
streets, but these authorised shoe-cleaners, who should have some mark of
distinction, and be under the immediate government of the justices of the
peace.
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