History of Dover

George Wheeler a fish hawker, was charged by P.C. Baker with obstructing the footway in Bulwark Street and using obscene language on the previous evening. P.C. Baker said that on the previous Sunday evening about half past six o’clock he met the defendant in Bulwark Street. The defendant had a basket of sprats, which he was trying, with a view of selling them. He told him that hawking sprats on a Sunday was contrary to the law and that he must not cry them. He also told him that he should summon him. At the same time there were thirty or forty boys in the neighbourhood of the pier-crying "sprats" and the disturbance occasioned serious annoyance. The defendant on witness telling him that he should summon him, threw the basket of sprats upon the ground and made use of very abusive language and as he disputed the witness’s right to interfere with him and by his violent language occasioned a crowd to assemble, witness took him into custody. The defendant appeared to think his detention a very good joke and persisted in crying “sprats” after he was in custody all the way up Snargate Street.

The magistrates gave the prisoner the benefit of supposing that he believed he was right in hawking the sprats, but told him that it was quite true that owing to the annoyance occasioned by the practice it had been forbidden to cry sprats on Sunday evening. When the policeman interfered he ought to have submitted. For the obscene language he would be fined the mitigated penalty of 1s and the costs 6s in default seven-day’s imprisonment. The prisoner said he must go to gaol. (1870)