Second Thoughts are Best

London’s night watch comes under sharp criticism in this 1729 pamphlet, which turns anxiety about street robberies into a detailed plan for public safety. Daniel Defoe’s text, presented under the name Andrew Moreton, addresses the king and Parliament while defending an earlier proposal against a rival scheme. Its argument begins with watchmen too frail to protect the streets and expands into complaints about popular stage entertainment and the habits of city life.

The practical recommendations give the pamphlet its particular interest: watchmen placed within sight of one another, horns for raising alarms, better lamps and gates for vulnerable courts and alleys. Even the choice between a bell and a horn receives attention, as does the glare of poorly designed street lighting. Readers interested in London’s history or the development of public policing will find a forceful civic argument built from small, concrete details of movement, visibility and neighborhood responsibility.