Parking January 1988
Trevor Leggett was head of the Japanese Department of the BBC.
This is one of his broadcasts to Japan
Zubari for January 1988
Hello listeners! Today I am going to say something about Crime and Punishment. It is the title of one of Dostoevsky’s masterpieces. But the talk today is not profound; it is about everyday life.
I live in a London street which is about two miles west of the centre of London. They are old houses and streets, built about 150 years ago. When I moved here about twenty years back, the price of my flat was not very expensive, but now the prices have increased about ten times. So, some of my neighbours, who came only recently, are rich people.
Nearly all of them have a car, and there is not really enough room for parking at night. Both sides of the street are lined with parked cars in the evenings. It is forbidden to ‘double-park’; the penalty is a fine of thirty pounds. But there are rich people who ‘double-park’ when the street is full; they are ready to pay the fine.
It is inconvenient for their neighbours, who find their cars bottled up in the morning. The trapped car-owner simply hoots on his horn, and then the rich man comes out and moves his car. If he is reported, he does not mind: he just pays the fine.
As I do not have a car, I am not inconvenienced, but some of my car-owning neighbours have asked me about it. They know that I graduated in Law at London University, though I have never practised as a lawyer.
Well, when I was studying Law, one of the subjects was the ancient Roman Law, which we had to study in Latin. I was interested in some of the curious cases in ancient Roman times. So, I tell my present-day neighbours that under Roman Law, the penalty for a non-serious assault was a fine of 200 silver pieces, which had to be paid to the man who had been attacked. That was the fixed penalty.
Well, a very rich Roman named Vitellius used to walk through the streets of Rome, carrying a little cane, and followed by two slaves bearing a tray covered with a cloth. When he met a man in the street whom he did not like, Vitellius would go up to him and give him a smart blow on the shoulders with his cane. Before the man could decide what to do, Vitellius snapped his fingers, and a slave took from under the cloth a little bag full of silver coins. He presented this respectfully to the victim, and Vitellius said contemptuously, “Two hundred silver pieces – that is your compensation under the law,” and went on. The other man used to stand bewildered, holding the little bag. He could not dispute the argument.
However, on one occasion Vitellius did this, but met an unexpected reaction. The man whom he had struck took the bag, and then stepped forward and punched Vitellius in the face. Then he threw the bag at him and growled: “Two hundred silver pieces and that’s your compensation!” This time it was Vitellius who was left standing bewildered.
Well, I tell this story of Roman times to complaining neighbours who are rich, and say to them: “Suppose you come out late at night, and let out the air from the tyres of the cars double-parked; even if someone sees you do it, you could afford to pay the fine.”
Generally, they say, “Oh no, I mustn’t do that.” But I can see them thinking about Vitellius, and perhaps one day….
© Trevor Leggett