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Phil,
You're a little off the playing field. I've never suggested Le Grand and co. were the only private detectives or wannabe PI's wandering around. All of the patrolmen of the WVC and other vigilance committees (whom Moore probably had in mind when he made that statement) would fit into that category. What Roy asked was when Le Grand was hired by the WVC, and I say September by all indicators. Simon asked how we can be sure Le Grand and Batchelor were the PI's hired by the WVC and I pointed out that the sources prove it beyond any doubt.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott
You're a little off the playing field. I've never suggested Le Grand and co. were the only private detectives or wannabe PI's wandering around. All of the patrolmen of the WVC and other vigilance committees (whom Moore probably had in mind when he made that statement) would fit into that category. What Roy asked was when Le Grand was hired by the WVC, and I say September by all indicators. Simon asked how we can be sure Le Grand and Batchelor were the PI's hired by the WVC and I pointed out that the sources prove it beyond any doubt.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott
(trying to corroborate a chronology of events, political or art-related). Neapolitan newspapers of the early 19th century announce events as late as 5 days to a week to 10 days after the event's occurence, WITHOUT giving the exact date of the event. So it would have been perfectly normal for, say, Il corriere delle 2 Sicilie (which was a major European newspaper in the early to mid 19th century, as Naples was a very important European cultural center at the time), if in a similar hypothetical situation, to mention the hiring of detectives for the VC 10 days after it happened and without mentioning the date of the exact event occurence. Parisian newspapers of the early to mid 19th century are a bit more quick, but still they tend to announce events 2 to 3 days after their occurence, often without giving the exact dates of the event. I have no clue if things started to get more accurate in the 1880s/1890s, but I can ask (next time I bump into any “distinguished colleague“ 
specialized in the Fin de siècle). 
. My budget and frequent mobility at the moment only allow me to buy JUST one of the major works in print, and I've been trying to make up my mind between Sugden, Rumbelow, or perhaps even Begg. (But I have a feeling it'll be Sugden.) I've already ordered Paley (I'm interested in Barnett as a suspect) and a couple of Ripper Notes at my German address to find them when I get there, and it's probably unavoidable that it'll start to accumulate from now on, but everything else ripperological I've ever read so far has been online. I know, cheapskate 
! (But I'm very mobile right now, so I have to be careful about expenses and additional purchases ...) 
. I wish I had that!). I wonder what kind of poetry he wrote, and if it ever got published?
, but a lot younger than that 
.)
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