New Means to Old Ends 67In their classic work, The Parish and the County, the Webbs argued that the
reluctance of middle-class householders to be constables meant a significant
decline in the performance of those duties. They argued: 'When personal
service died out, the office sank to a still lower grade. In London and other
towns the citizens on whom the service was cast, habitually shifted the whole
of their duties to paid deputies, "a parcel of loose and mercenary fellows",
whose venality and ineptitude became a byword.'^55 Corrupt constables, like
sleeping watchmen, were a comic stereotype by the late eighteenth century.
The Daily Universal Register published a satirical poem that asked: 'And what
are the Constables of the Night about? /Making false charges, taking bribes,
and consigning poor devils of female prostitutes in dark holes.'^56
However, personal service had not died out completely nor were con-
stables inevitably corrupt. In 1772, only one of the constables appointed for
St Marylebone hired a substitute. Nor could all these men be classified as
'the very poor'.^57 They included two victuallers, two plasterers, a breeches
maker, a stable keeper, a seller of china, a bricklayer, a cabinetmaker, a
shoemaker, and a carpenter. By 1797, the parish has 30 constables, most of
whom served in their own right.^58 It is hard to know how typical St Mary-
lebone's constables were, considering their fairly prosperous neighbourhood.
St Marylebone purposely had a large number of constables to lessen the
burden of the office. With 30, no one had to take night duty more than once
a month. Ironically, the use of substitutes seems to have been more common
in less affluent areas. In Walworth, Surrey, two out of the four constables
appointed for 1773-74 were substitutes, as were three out of four head-
boroughs.59
In their criticism of parochial officers, the Webbs did not take into account
the growth in the number of men who served concurrently as constables and
in other parish offices, which increased the number of constables and their
professionalism. These were men who made their living as law enforcement
officers. Additionally, the assumption that deputy constables were inevitably
corrupt or useless is unwarranted. Sir Leon Radzinowicz argued that 'few of
these hirelings were worthy of the trust'.^60 David Philips, on the other hand,
points out that substitutes 'would keep the position for many years and
acquire a fair degree of experience and skill'.^6
Finally, those who hold this more disdainful view of deputy constables
have not taken into account the increased supervision of constables by
vestries and watch committees.^62 Parishes like St Marylebone and StJames,
Piccadilly provided detailed guides for the conduct of constables and all the
officers of the watch.^63 Constables were being disciplined by local authorities
who preferred to do so without recourse to a magistrate.^64 The extent to
which this occurred obviously varied from place to place. Not all
watch committees or vestries were as diligent as those of St Marylebone.
There is enough evidence, however, to challenge the image of parochial