"The idle and vulgar men and youths who find sport in annoying other people who enjoy a walk in Hoopern Fields had better take a hint if they desire to escape an appearance before the City Magistrates. Their disorderly conduct, and the damage to property of which they are the cause, have been communicated to the Council.
"The Watch Committee have had the complaints under consideration, and they have instructed the Chief-Constable to send a few plain clothes men to the path fields at frequent intervals and especially on Sunday afternoons and evenings,
"The order will be welcomed by all decent folk, and it is to be hoped the Magistrates, if they get any offenders before them, will so deal with them that they will not quickly forget that the pleasant and secluded walks in the city are no longer to be permitted to be a rendezvous for disorderly persons who fancy themselves licenced to be offensive to anyone they meet."
The pleasant and secluded walks in Hoopern Fields were a good way out of town. Nowadays the equivalent annoyers of other people have taken over Exeter's city centre: the cathedral green, the parks. the gardens and even the open streets. One has the impression that when decent folk complain to the so-called authorities about the anti-social behaviour of the idle and vulgar, such complaints disappear like snow in summer and there is no chance at all that anything will ever be done about their disorderly conduct. At least these Victorians made an effort and the newspapers published the progress of their determinations to the citizens,
Not that I imagine the idle and vulgar were likely to read this Note of the Day in The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 8th June 1898.
No comments:
Post a Comment