Crime has always been a part of life. In England today most
people would agree, the punishment does not always fit the crime. As history
proves, this is still the case. Then again, just sometimes, that’s not such a
crime.
In 1873, Peter Mckenna from Monkwearmouth was certainly known and obviously
disliked by the police, he was arrested for creating a disturbance. Peter was
said to have been dancing, singing and whistling with his friends in John
Street. When the arresting officer P.C. Short gave his testomony he said he had
also heard Peter shout cheese my lads. Which when asked a smiling P.C. Short
said cheese my lads is slang and means, Beware the police are at hand. As Peter
already had a long list of convictions he was fined 40 shillings. Which in the
1870’s was a large amount of money for such a small crime.
Also in 1873, a group of seven girls, two of which were Jane and Fanny Curry
were charged with unsocial behaviour. Their unsocial behaviour was blocking the
footpath in Fawcett Street, by carrying baskets of rhubarb on their heads.
Apparently this forced other pedestrians to have to walk in the gutter to get
passed the girls. The case was dismissed.
Where today television is blamed for what children do wrong, in the late 1800’s
it was newspapers and novels. Such was the case in April 1879 for two
Sunderland lads. George Cleminson 17 years old and William Clark 15 years old,
they were charged with stealing two hens. They were caught and arrested in
derelict buildings, with the evidence of one carcass and one hen still only
half cooked. They were still hungry no doubt. Both boys had novels in their
possession, The Backwoodsman and Chief of Spies. The police decided that by
reading such rubbish, they had gotten strange ideas put into their heads.
George Cleminson was given a two month sentence while being younger William
Clark was only given a one month prison sentence.
In 1883, Sunderland saw 15 year old George Paulin in front of the bench, on a
charge of shouting and using an offending weapon. He was apparently shouting
and hit a passer-by with an animal bladder. Not surprisingly this case was
dismissed.
