Lontoolaisen oikeuden edessä

Kuva Old Baileyn salista Wikimediasta.

Olen jo kauemman aikaa tiennyt, että Englannin keskeisen rikosoikeuden Old Baileyn pöytäkirjoja on verkossa tekstihaettavassa muodossa. Mutta meni sitten vähän aikaa ennen kuin tein siellä perushakuni "Finland" ja "Finnish".

Ulos pulahti Carl Peter Lundgren, jota syytettiin 7.4.1874 väärästä valasta oikeudenkäynnissä lokakuussa 1873. Sama syyte, samoilla päivämäärillä kohdistui mieheen nimeltä James Brown. Todistajana oli John Lundgren, joka kertoi olevansa kotoisin Suomesta ja asuvansa osoitteessa 39, Horseferry Road. Hän oli asunut Englannissa vuodesta 1847. Samoin Suomesta sanoi olevansa kotoisin todistaja John Frederick Ghanbeko, joka oli tullut Hullin kaupunkiin vuonna 1853. Heistä ei selviä paljoa enempää.

Vuonna 1867 käsiteltiin merimiehen murhaa. Murhattua kutsuttiin venäläiseksi suomalaiseksi, mutta tästä esitettiin myös vastaväitteitä. Todistuksista selviää siis minkälainen oli tyypillinen "Russian Finn":

... you get them in different ships—they come from Finland—you ship them the same as a Swede or a Norwegian, as long as they speak the English language...
... Finland is a part of Russia—when we ship persons from Finland they are generally called by their Christian names—they go by the name of Finlanders; they speak Russ—I have not seen many inhabitants of Finland—I have seen some—they are not at all like Creoles in colour—the deceased was not at all like a Russian Fin—he had curly hair—there is nothing particularly marked about the complexion of a Russian Fin—the deceased did not speak the Finnish language—I have heard of a prejudice among sailors, that it is unlucky to have a Fin on board. ...
...I believe there is a little animosity or jealousy between the Swedish Fins and the Russian Fins—they do not like each other....

Hakusana Finn vaati hieman enemmän selaamista, sillä sehän on melko yleinen sukunimi. Mutta pieni vaivannäkö tuotti vielä muutaman oikeussaliin päätyneen tai siellä mainitun suomalaisen. Ensimmäinen heistä on varkauden uhriksi joutunut Isaac Wilson, joka kertoi 22.10.1838:

I belong to the barque Nautilus— I am a Russian Finn. I went to bed with the prisoner on the 21st of September—I had five sovereigns in one pocket, and three half-crowns in the other—In the morning the policeman came to me, and I had not a halfpenny—I had a piece of paper in my pocket—this is it—(looking at it)—I am sure the prisoner is the woman I went to bed with.

Väkivaltaisen ryöstön kohteeksi joutui puolestaan Alfred Lindstram, joka todisti omassa asiassaan 13.9.1898 sanoen

I am a sailor, of 156, West India Dock Road—on August 27th shortly after midnight I was in a street off Whitechapel Road, and went into the public-house with a friend and had a drink—the prisoner was there and two other men—he asked me for a drink, which I gave him—it was closing time—I had a bottle of whisky, and gave him a drink out of the bottle—I am a Finn—we had to go—he tried to get at my trousers pocket, and I think I felt him clutching at my watch and chain—I called my mate Taylor, who caught him.

Myös Anton Ollikka todisti 8.12.1908 tulleensa ryöstetyksi

I am a Finn. On November 17, 1908. I was paid off from my ship and went to the Scandinavian Home, Poplar. On the 18th I got there after 12 p.m., too late to to admitted, and went down West India Dock Road looking for a place to sleep. In Three Colts Street I met a young woman, who took me into a house, which I did not like the look of, and I left there in about 10 minutes. I had then between 18s. and 19s. in my trousers' pocket. After walking about a minute along the street I saw two men running behind me with a third man. The prisoner was in front. He shouted after me. I stopped to look round. Prisoner came up and struck me in the face and behind the ear, knocking me down. They took all my money. A policeman came up. My trouser pocket was torn. Prisoner said to the others, "Come on, I have got it," and ran away. My head was cut and was dressed by the doctor.

Suurkaupungeissa tapahtuu ikäviä asioita, mutta jotta tämä kooste ei jättäisi huonoa muistoa Lontoosta, alla kuva St. Jamesin puistosta Felix Leigh'n kirjasta London Town.