Now one great Encouragement to Theft of all Kinds is the Eae and Safety with which tolen Goods may be dipoed of. It is a very old and vulgar, but a very true Saying, 'that if there were no Receivers, there would be no Thieves.' Indeed could not the Thief find a Market for his Goods, there would be an abolute End of everal Kinds of Theft; uch as Shop-lifting, Burglary, &c. the Objects of which are generally Goods and not Money. Nay Robberies on the Highway would o eldom anwer the Purpoe of the Adventurer, that very few would think it worth their while to rique o much with uch mall Expectations.
But at preent, intead of meeting with any uch Dicouragement, the Thief dipoes of his Goods with almot as much Safety as the honetet Trademan: For firt, if he hath made a Booty of any Value, he is almot ure of eeing it advertied within a Day or two, directing him to bring the Goods to a certain Place where he is to receive a Reward (sometimes the full Value of the Booty) and no Quetions aked. This Method of recovering tolen Goods by the Owner, a very learned Judge formerly declared to have been, in his Opinion, a Compoition of Felony. And urely if this be proved to be carried into Execution, I think it mut amount to a full Conviction of that Crime. But, indeed, uch Advertiements are in themelves o very candalous, and of uch pernicious Conequence, that if Men are not ahamed to own they prefer an old Watch or a Diamond Ring to the Good of the Society, it is pity ome effectual Law was not contrived to prevent their giving this publick Countenance to Robbery for the future.
But if the peron robbed hould prove either too honet, or too obtinate, to take this Method of recovering his Goods, the Thief is under no Difficulty in turning them into Money. Among the great Number of Brokers and Pawnbrokers everal are to be found, who are always ready to receive a Gold Watch at an eay Rate, and where no Quetions are aked, or, at leat, where no Anwer is expected but uch as the Thief can very readily make.
Beides, the clandetine Dealers this Way who atify their Conciences with telling a ragged Fellow, or Wench, that they hope they came honetly by Silver, and Gold, and Diamonds; there are others who corn uch pitiful Subterfuges, who engage openly with the Thieves, and who have Warehoues filled with tolen Goods only. Among the Jews who live in a certain Place in the City, there have been, and till are, ome notable Dealers this Way, who in an almot public Manner have carried on a Trade for many Years with Rotterdam, where they have their Warehoues and Factors, and whither they export their Goods with prodigious Profit, and as prodigious Impunity. And all this appeared very plainly lat Winter in the Examination of one Cadoa a Jew, in the Preence of the late excellent Duke of Richmond, and many other Noblemen and Magitrates.
What then hall we ay? Is not this Michief worthy of ome Remedy, or is it not capable of it? The noble Duke (one of the worthiet of Magitrates as well as of the bet of Men) thought otherwie, as would have appeared, had his valuable Life, for the Good of Mankind, been prolonged.
Certain it is, that the Law as it now tands is ineffectual to cure the Evil. Let us ee therefore, if posible, where the Defect lies.
At the Common Law, any one might lawfully (says Lord Hale) have received his own Goods from the Felon who tole them. But if he had received them upon Agreement not to proecute, or to proecute faintly, this would have been Theftbote punihable by Imprionment and Ranom.
But in neither of the foregoing Caes would the Receiver of the Goods have become an Accesary to the Felon. So if one Man had bought another's Goods of the Thief, though he had known them to be tolen, if he had given the jut Value for them, he would not have become an Accesary. But if he had bought them at an Undervalue, this, Sir Richard Hyde held, would have made him an Accesary. My Lord Hale differs from his Opinion, and his Reaon to ome Readers may eem a pleaant one; for if there be any odds (says he) he that gives more, benefits the Felon more than he that gives les than Value. However this, his Lordhip thinks, may be a Midemeanor punihable by Fine and Imprionment; but that the bare receiving of Goods knowing them to be tolen makes not an Accesary.