Chapter I: Part I

A GENERAL SURVEY OF CRIME AND ITS DETECTION.

.....PAGE

Crime Distinguished from Law-breaking--The General Liability to Crime--Preventive Agencies--Plan of the Work--Different Types of Murders and Robberies--Crime Developed by Civilisation--The Police the Shield and Buckler of Society--Difficulty of Disappearing under Modern Conditions--The Press an Aid to the Police: the Cases of Courvoisier, Müller, and Lefroy--The Importance of Small Clues--"Man Measurement" and Finger-Prints--Strong Scents as Clues--Victims of Blind Chance: the Cases of Troppmann and Peace--Superstitions of Criminals--Dogs and other Animals as Adjuncts to the Police--Australian Blacks as Trackers: Instances of their Almost Superhuman Skill--How Criminals give themselves Away: the Murder of M. Delahache, the Stepney Murder, and other Instances--Cases in which there is Strong but not Sufficient Evidence: the Great Coram Street and Burdell Murders: the Probable Identity of "Jack the Ripper"--Undiscovered Murders: the Rupprecht, Mary Rogers, Nathan, and other Cases: Similar Cases in India: the Button Crescent Murder: the Murder of Lieutenant Roper--The Balance in Favour of the Police.....1

Part II.

JUDICIAL ERRORS.

CHAPTER I.

WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS.

Judge Cambo, of Malta--The D'Anglades--The Murder of Lady Mazel--Execution of William Shaw for the Murder of his Daughter--The Sailmaker of Deal and the alleged Murder of a Boatswain--Brunell, the Innkeeper--Du Moulin, the Victim of a Gang of Coiners--The Famous Calas Case at Toulouse--Gross Perversion of Justice at Nuremberg--The Blue Dragoon.....51

CHAPTER II.

CASES OF DISPUTED OR MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

Lesurques and the Robbery of the Lyons Mail--The Champignelles Mystery--Judge Garrow's Story--An Imposition practised at York Assizes--A Husband claimed by Two Wives--A Milwaukee Mystery--A Scottish Case--The Kingswood Rectory Murder--The Cannon Street Murder--A Narrow Escape.....95

CHAPTER III.

PROBLEMATICAL ERRORS.

Captain Donellan and the Poisoning of Sir Theodosius Boughton: Donellan's Suspicious Conduct: Evidence of John Hunter, the great Surgeon: Sir James Stephen's View: Corroborative Story from his Father--The Lafarge Case: Madame Lafarge and the Cakes: Doctors differ as to Presence of Arsenic in the Remains: Possible Guilt of Denis Barbier: Madame Lafarge's Condemnation: Pardoned by Napoleon III.--Charge against Madame Lafarge of stealing a School Friend's Jewels: Her Defence: Conviction--Madeleine Smith charged with Poisoning her _Fiancé_: "Not Proven": the Latest Facts--The Wharton-Ketchum Case in Baltimore, U.S.A.--The Story of the Perrys.....129

CHAPTER IV.

POLICE MISTAKES.

The Saffron Hill Murder: Narrow Escape of Pellizioni: Two Men in Newgate for the same Offence--The Murder of Constable Cock--The Edlingham Burglary: Arrest, Trial, and Conviction of Brannagan and Murphy: Severity of Judge Manisty: A new Trial: Brannagan and Murphy Pardoned and Compensated: Survivors of the Police Prosecutors put on their Trial, but Acquitted--Lord Cochrane's Case: His Tardy Rehabilitation.....169

Part III.

POLICE--PAST AND PRESENT.

CHAPTER V.

EARLY POLICE: FRANCE.

Origin of Police--Definitions--First Police in France--Charles V.--Louis XIV.--The Lieutenant-General of Police: His Functions and Powers--La Reynie: His Energetic Measures against Crime: As a Censor of the Press: His Steps to Check Gambling and Cheating at Games of Chance--La Reynie's Successors: the D'Argensons, Hérault, D'Ombréval, Berryer--The Famous de Sartines--Two Instances of his Omniscience--Lenoir and Espionage--De Crosne, the last and most feeble Lieutenant-General of Police--The Story of the Bookseller Blaziot--Police under the Directory and the Empire--Fouché: His Beginnings and First Chances: A Born Police Officer: His Rise and Fall--General Savary: His Character: How he organised his Service of Spies: His humiliating Failure in the Conspiracy of General Malet--Fouché's return to Power: Some Views of his Character.....191

CHAPTER VI.

EARLY POLICE (_continued_): ENGLAND.

Early Police in England--Edward I.'s Act--Elizabeth's Act for Westminster--Acts of George II. and George III.--State of London towards the End of the Eighteenth Century--Gambling and Lottery Offices--Robberies on the River Thames--Receivers--Coiners--The Fieldings as Magistrates--The Horse Patrol--Bow Street and its Runners: Townsend, Vickery, and others--Blood Money--Tyburn Tickets--Negotiations with Thieves to recover stolen Property--Sayer--George Ruthven--Serjeant Ballantine on the Bow Street Runners compared with modern Detectives.....219

CHAPTER VII.

MODERN POLICE: LONDON.

The "New Police" introduced by Peel--The System supported by the Duke of Wellington--Opposition from the Vestries--Brief Account of the Metropolitan Police: Its Uses and Services--The River Police--The City Police--Extra Police Services--The Provincial Police.....246

CHAPTER VIII.

MODERN POLICE (_continued_): PARIS.

The Spy System under the Second Empire--The Manufacture of _Dossiers_--M. Andrieux receives his own on being appointed Prefect--The Clerical Police of Paris--The _Sergents de Ville_--The Six Central Brigades--The Cabmen of Paris, and how they are kept in Order--Stories of Honest and of Dishonest Cabmen--Detectives and Spies--Newspaper Attacks upon the Police--Their General Character.....258

CHAPTER IX.

MODERN POLICE (_continued_): NEW YORK.

Greater New York--Despotic Position of the Mayor--Constitution of the Police Force--Dr. Parkhurst's Indictment--The Lexow Commission and its Report--Police Abuses: Blackmail, Brutality, Collusion with Criminals, Electoral Corruption, the Sale of Appointments and Promotions--Excellence of the Detective Bureau--The Black Museum of New York--The Identification Department--Effective Control of Crime.....268

CHAPTER X.

MODERN POLICE (_continued_): RUSSIA.

Mr. Sala's Indictment of the Russian Police--Their Wide-reaching Functions--Instances of Police Stupidity--Why Sala Avoided the Police--Von H---- and his Spoons--Herr Jerrmann's Experiences--Perovsky, the Reforming Minister of the Interior--The Regular Police--A Rural Policeman's Visit to a Peasant's House--The State Police--The Third Section--Attacks upon Generals Mezentzoff and Drenteln--The "Paris Box of Pills"--Sympathisers with Nihilism: An Invaluable Ally--Leroy Beaulieu on the Police of Russia--Its Ignorance and Inadequate Pay--The Case of Vera Zassoulich--The Passport System: How it is Evaded and Abused: Its Oppressiveness.....288

CHAPTER XI.

MODERN POLICE (_continued_): INDIA.

The New System Compared with the Old--Early Difficulties Gradually Overcome--The Village Police in India--Discreditable Methods under the Old System--Torture, Judicial and Extra-Judicial--Native Dislike of Police Proceedings--Cases of Men Confessing to Crimes of which they were Innocent--A Mysterious Case of Theft--Trumped-up Charges of Murder--Simulating Suicide--An Infallible Test of Death--The Paternal Duties of the Police--The Native Policeman Badly Paid.....312

CHAPTER XII.

THE DETECTIVE, AND WHAT HE HAS DONE.

The Detective in Fiction and in Fact--Early Detection--Case of Lady Ivy--Thomas Chandler--Mackoull, and how he was run down by a Scots Solicitor--Vidocq: his Early Life, Police Services, and End--French Detectives generally--Amicable Relations between French and English Detectives.....330

CHAPTER XIII.

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN DETECTIVES.

English Detectives--Early Prejudices against them Lived Down--The late Mr. Williamson--Inspector Melville--Sir C. Howard Vincent--Dr. Anderson--Mr. Macnaghten--Mr. McWilliam and the Detectives of the City Police--A Country Detective's Experiences--Allan Pinkerton's first Essay in Detection--The Private Inquiry Agent and the Lengths to which he will go.....364

Part IV.

CAPTAINS OF CRIME.

CHAPTER XIV.

SOME FAMOUS SWINDLERS.

Recurrence of Criminal Types--Heredity and Congenital Instinct--The Jukes and other Families of Criminals--John Hatfield--Anthelme Collet's Amazing Career of Fraud--The Story of Pierre Cognard: Count Pontis de St. Hélène: Recognised by an old Convict Comrade: Sent to the Galleys for Life--Major Semple: His many Vicissitudes in Foreign Armies: Thief and Begging-Letter Writer: Transported to Botany Bay.....387

CHAPTER XV.

SWINDLERS OF MORE MODERN TYPE.

Richard Coster--Sheridan, the American Bank Thief--Jack Canter--The Frenchman Allmayer, a typical Nineteenth Century Swindler--Paraf--The Tammany Frauds--Burton, _alias_ Count von Havard--Dr. Vivian, a bogus Millionaire Bridegroom--Mock Clergymen: Dr. Berrington: Dr. Keatinge--Harry Benson, a Prince of Swindlers: The Scotland Yard Detectives suborned: Benson's Adventures after his Release: Commits Suicide in the Tombs Prison--Max Shinburn and his Feats.....409

CHAPTER XVI.

SOME FEMALE CRIMINALS.

Criminal Women Worse than Criminal Men--Bell Star--Comtesse Sandor--Mother M----, the Famous Female Receiver of Stolen Goods--The "German Princess"--Jenny Diver--The Baroness de Menckwitz--Emily Lawrence--Louisa Miles--Mrs. Gordon-Baillie: Her Dashing Career: Becomes Mrs. Percival Frost: the Crofters' Friend: Triumphal Visit to the Antipodes: Extensive Frauds on Tradesmen: Sentenced to Penal Servitude--A Viennese Impostor--Big Bertha, the "Confidence Queen".....447