86 Before the BobbiesWorship Street, Great Marlborough Street, and Union Hall (Southwark).
Each was staffed by three magistrates, two or three clerks, and six constables.
The constables carried out whatever duties were assigned by the magistrate
on duty, including serving summonses and warrants. Although they invest-
igated crimes once they were reported (and for a fee), these men did not
patrol the streets on any regular basis.^12
Parishes cooperated for the most part with the new officers and exhibited
some enthusiasm for their help. In 1798, the watch trustees for St Luke, Old
Street, ordered four police constables to be rewarded with a total of five
guineas 'for their ll'ouble in improving several Nuisances by disorderly
Women, Alehouses, etc.' P Problems of jealousy emerged later, as the size
of the· government's force increased and police constables began to duplicate
the functions of the night watch.^14 But parochial policing continued to
operate in the same way whether the magistrate who heard the morning
charges was a salaried one or not.
Links were quickly forged between the police offices and the government's
campaign against radicals and reformers. Police magistrates were key figures
in the government spy networks through which informers infiltrated radical
societies and kept the Home Office abreast of their activities.^15 Another link
was John Reeves, author of the failed 1785 Police Bill and later Receiver for
the Police Offices. Reeves was a driving force behind another government
response to radicalism - the Association for the Preservation of Liberty and
Property against Republicans and Levellers.^16 Funded and fostered by the
Home Office, the first Loyal Association met in London in November 1792.
Eventually, even a hostile witness estimated the number of London Associa-
tions at 150.t' Their goals included suppression of seditious publications and
support for law and order.^18
Loyal Associations were most active in the months between November
1792 and March 1793. They moved from hunting sedition to supporting the
war effort when England and France went to war in February 1793. In 1794,
the government called on loyal Englishmen to form Volunteer Corps to help
beat back a French invasion attempt, providing a reserve for the military.^19
Some of the Loyal Associations just changed their name to that of Volun-
teers. Because of this close connection, the Volunteers also participated in
the government's struggle with domestic radicalism.
The Volunteers acted as auxiliary riot police, freeing the army and militia
from this duty.^20 In St George-in-the-East, the vestry called on the inhabit-
ants to join 'an Armed Association ... and [that] such of the Inhabitants as
are desirous of aiding the Civil Power to enroll their names ... as Special
Constables .. .'. Only those who were 'well known for their fidelity and
attachment to the Constitution and Government' were to be accepted. If a
patriotic resident could not serve, he was encouraged to donate money to the
cause. The extent to which the StGeorge's vestry was willing to defend the