University of Virginia Library

OF THE HONESTY OF COSTERMONGERS.

I heard on all hands that the costers never steal
from one another, and never wink at any one
stealing from a neighbouring stall. Any stall-
keeper will leave his stall untended to get his
dinner, his neighbour acting for him; sometimes
he will leave it to enjoy a game at skittles. It
was computed for me, that property worth 10,000l. belonging to costers is daily left exposed in the
streets or at the markets, almost entirely un-
watched, the policeman or market-keeper only
passing at intervals. And yet thefts are rarely
heard of, and when heard of are not attributable
to costermongers, but to regular thieves. The
way in which the sum of 10,000l. was arrived at,
is this: "In Hooper-street, Lambeth," said my
informant, "there are thirty barrows and carts
exposed on an evening, left in the street, with
nobody to see to them; left there all night.
That is only one street. Each barrow and board
would be worth, on the average, 2l. 5s., and that
would be 75l. In the other bye-streets and
courts off the New-cut are six times as many,
Hooper-street having the most. This would give
525l. in all, left unwatched of a night. There
are, throughout London, twelve more districts be-
sides the New-cut — at least twelve districts — and,
calculating the same amount in these, we have,
altogether, 6,300l. worth of barrows. Taking in
other bye-streets, we may safely reckon it at
4,000 barrows; for the numbers I have given in
the thirteen places are 2,520, and 1,480 added is
moderate. At least half of those which are in
use next day, are left unwatched; more, I have
no doubt, but say half. The stock of these 2,000
will average 10s. each, or 1,000l.; and the bar-
rows will be worth 4,500l.; in all 5,500l., and
the property exposed on the stalls and the markets
will be double in amount, or 11,000l. in value,
every day, but say 10,000l.

"Besides, sir," I was told, "the thieves
won't rob the costers so often as they will the
shopkeepers. It's easier to steal from a butcher's
or bacon-seller's open window than from a cos-
termonger's stall or barrow, because the shop-
keeper's eye can't be always on his goods. But
there's always some one to give an eye to a cos-
ter's property. At Billingsgate the thieves will
rob the salesmen far readier than they will us.
They know we'd take it out of them readier if
they were caught. It's Lynch law with us. We
never give them in charge."

The costermongers' boys will, I am informed,
cheat their employers, but they do not steal from
them. The costers' donkey stables have seldom
either lock or latch, and sometimes oysters, and
other things which the donkey will not molest,
are left there, but are never stolen.