Sympathy with Italy, 1859--Garibaldi riots, 1862--Reform League
Meeting, 23rd July, 1866--Police proclamation against it--Attempt
to hold it--Hyde Park railings destroyed.
There were no more meetings in the Park for a long time, but there was
one on Sunday, 8th May, 1859, to propose an address to the Emperor
Napoleon, sympathizing with the Emperor in the course he had taken with
respect to the war in Italy.
This meeting passed off quietly, which was a great deal more than
another did, which took place on Sunday, 28th September, 1862. This was,
presumably, to express sympathy with General Garibaldi, and to protest
against the French occupation of Rome. It was numerously attended, and
especially by large numbers of Irish labourers, whose hatred of
Garibaldi excited their fighting blood to such an extent that a serious
riot ensued, which a violent downpour of rain helped to stop. Several
arrests were made, and the prisoners duly fined.
But this was mild to what occurred the next Sunday, 5th October. The
Irish had had time to brood over it, and although “The Working Men’s
Garibaldian Fund” had not convened any meeting, it was generally
understood that something would take place. By half-past four there
must have been some 80 or 90,000 people present, and to hold them in
order there were but about 400 police, who were ordered not to interrupt
any speaker, nor, if possible to avoid it, to ascend the mound of earth,
or rubbish, which had been chosen by the speakers as the platform from
which to address the meeting. The following is _The Times_ (Oct. 6)
account of what occurred:--
“It appears that the possession of this mound of rubbish was the great
object of contention between the rival supporters of Garibaldi and the
Pope on Sunday week, and so it was yesterday. It appears to have been
first occupied by a mixed body of people, but, owing to an aggressive
movement of Irish labourers, it was soon held exclusively by the
champions of the Papacy. The Garibaldians submitted reluctantly to this
state of things for a short time, and, when two or three soldiers
appeared, belonging to the Foot Guards, a cry was raised for
‘Garibaldi’, and some dozen or so men attempted to regain a footing upon
the mound.
“This was the signal for a fearful conflict. It became apparent, in a
moment, that almost every Irishman had a stick or bludgeon in his
possession, and with these they struck about them right and left,
crushing hats and breaking heads with relentless brutality. The
Garibaldians struck back in return, some with sticks, and some without,
and, for some ten minutes, the struggle was sufficiently fierce to
awaken fears among the spectators that loss of life would ensue. One
stalwart Irishman laid about him with a heavy-looking stick four feet
long and two inches in diameter, and another with a roughly squared
piece of wood, equally long and equally strong, and with sharp edges,
until both were disarmed by the Garibaldians, without the intervention
of the police.
“At the end of this struggle the Irish remained masters of the ‘Redan,’
as it was termed; but suddenly there came up about a dozen
soldiers--Coldstreams and Grenadiers--who shouted for Garibaldi, and
charged up the mound with desperate gallantry. Twice they charged in
vain, but the third charge was successful. Up they went, amid loud
cheers, and cries of ‘Go it, brave Guards,’ and followed by some 200
people. The front ranks of the Irish gave way; then there was another
fierce struggle with sticks and fists on the summit of the mound, and
then the Irish were kept off to a man, leaving the position in the hands
of the Guards and the Garibaldians. Suddenly some sticks and stones were
thrown at them from below, and the Guards plunged down to punish the
aggressors. Away went the Irish, away went the Guards in pursuit, and,
in a minute, a dense disorderly mass of 5000 or 6000 people was flying
across the Park, spreading fear and confusion around them.
“Like a herd of infuriated oxen, they rushed onward, carrying all before
them, till it seemed to occur to them that they were running for
nothing, and then they returned to the mound. This occurred again and
again, women being sometimes thrown down and trampled upon, and men
compelled to turn and fly, till the wonder was that serious injuries
were not inflicted upon many. Then, at short intervals, whenever the
police fixed their eyes on some prominent aggressor, they made a plunge
into the heaving mass, and resolutely brought out their man, generally,
but not always, succeeded in conveying him away in safe custody. It is
impossible to overrate the cool manner in which they set to work. Three
or four officers would thrust themselves fearlessly into a mob of 200 or
300 infuriated men, collar one, cling to him, and hold him, despite the
attempts made to favour his escape, never drawing a staff, nor striking
a blow but holding their man by the bare assertion of the authority of
the law, and this not for a brief period, but during the course of
several hours.
“The Guards and the Garibaldians having firmly established their
supremacy, quiet reigned, at one time for about a quarter of an hour;
and, taking advantage of this interval of rest, a working man, came
forward, who, in a brief speech, denounced the Emperor of the French as
the would-be Dictator of Europe, and the enemy of Italy, the opponent of
liberty everywhere, and, above all, the hater of liberty in England. In
conclusion he called for three cheers for Garibaldi, which were lustily
given, and, when he asked all those who sympathized with Garibaldi to
hold up their hands, a forest of dirty hands were extended.
“Then another speaker followed, who, with great common sense, said,
‘Enough has been done. It had been made plain to the world that the
feeling of the people of London was in favour of the great patriot,
Garibaldi; and with that assurance, they might settle down without any
more speeches.’ This speaker had hardly concluded when the tumult was
renewed, the mound being lost and won several times, and the rushes
through the Park followed close upon each other; while conflicts with
sticks and stones were both frequent and severe. Knives were drawn
several times, and one formidable weapon, apparently a shoemaker’s
knife, with a wooden handle, and a blade nine inches long, was taken
from a man, who said he found it lying on the grass after one of the
tumultuous rushes. This was delivered up to Sergeant Savage, who
forthwith shivered the blade to fragments.
“During one of the assaults upon the mound, a corporal in the
Coldstreams had his bayonet snatched from its sheath, and later in the
afternoon when it was recovered, the Irishman who had taken it was
soundly thrashed, and threatened with a ducking in the Serpentine,
towards which he was carried by several soldiers, who, however, yielded
to the persuasion of others, and permitted him to go at large.
“At half-past five, two strong pickets, one of Grenadiers, and one of
the Fusileers, marched into the Park, for the purpose of carrying off
the men belonging to their respective battalions. They marched straight
to the mound, and, just as they ascended it, a soldier received a
terrific blow on the head from a thick club, wielded by an Irishman. The
blood ran down the face of the soldier, who was led away in a fainting
condition, his dastardly assailant escaping by plunging into a mass of
his sympathizing countrymen. After this, the pickets cleared the mound,
of which they held possession till a body of police approached, half an
hour later, when the military power yielded to the civil. From that
time the police held the mound, and, although there was a great deal of
disorderly and tumultuous rushing to and fro, with an occasional
scuffle, and wholesale destruction of hats, the fear of any very serious
outbreak was passed. The people had begun to disperse at five o’clock,
when a few drops of rain fell, and gradually thinned afterwards. But a
fine moonlight night was the means of prolonging the demonstration; at
seven o’clock, there were still some thousands of people remaining on
the ground, and it was late before the Park was restored to its usual
peaceful aspect.”
During the next week a strong body of men were engaged in levelling the
objectionable mounds, the Guards were forbidden to enter the Park on the
following Sunday, and a notice was issued by the Commissioner of
Police:--
“WHEREAS numbers of persons have been in the habit of assembling and
holding meetings on Sundays in Hyde Park, and the other parks in the
metropolis, for the purpose of delivering and hearing speeches, and for
the public discussion of popular and exciting topics; and, whereas such
meetings are inconsistent with the purposes for which the parks are
thrown open to, and used by the public; and the excitement occasioned by
such discussions at such meetings has frequently led to tumults and
disorder, so as to endanger the public peace; and on last Sunday and the
Sunday before, large numbers assembled in Hyde Park, for the purposes
aforesaid, and, when so assembled, conducted themselves in a disorderly
and riotous manner, so as to endanger the public peace; and, by the use
of sticks, and throwing stones and other missiles, committed many
violent assaults upon persons quietly passing along the Park, and
interrupted the thoroughfares; and, whereas it is necessary to prevent
such illegal proceedings in future:
“Notice is hereby given, that no such meeting, or assemblage of persons,
for any of the purposes aforesaid, will be allowed, hereafter, to take
place in any of the parks in the metropolis; and all well-disposed
persons are hereby cautioned and requested to abstain from joining, or
attending any such meeting or assemblage.
“And notice is further given, that all necessary measures will be
adopted to prevent any such meeting, or assemblage, and effectually to
preserve the public peace, and to suppress any attempt at the
disturbance thereof.
“RICHARD MAYNE,
“The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
“October 9.”
The appearance of about 800 policemen in the Park, and a pitiless rain
in the afternoon of the 12th October, probably prevented a repetition of
the scene of the 5th, as a sufficient number of suspicious characters
were there, but did not stop long. There was an attempt, in Ireland, to
get up a subscription for the injured Irish, but I cannot find that it
met with any success.
For three or four years the Park was not troubled with noisy demagogues,
until there arose an association called “The Reform League,” of whom a
Mr. Edmond Beales, a barrister, was a prime mover. This association gave
out publicly that they would hold a meeting in Hyde Park on Monday,
July 23rd, 1866, and Sir Richard Mayne, in consequence, issued the
following notice on July 17th:--
“WHEREAS information has been received, and it has been publicly
announced in various printed notices, that it is the intention of
certain persons to assemble in the open air at several places in various
parts of the metropolis on the evening of Monday, July 23rd, and to walk
from thence through the streets in procession, with banners, and
preceded by bands of music, to Hyde Park, to hold a meeting there for
the purposes of political demonstration and discussion:
“And, whereas such a meeting, being inconsistent with the purposes for
which the Park is thrown open to, and used by the public, is illegal,
and cannot be permitted, and such an assemblage there of large numbers
of persons is calculated to lead to riotous and disorderly conduct, and
to endanger the public peace:
“And, whereas it is necessary to prevent such proceedings, and to
preserve the public peace: notice is hereby given that NO such MEETING,
or ASSEMBLAGE of persons in large numbers will be allowed to TAKE PLACE
in Hyde Park, and all well-disposed persons are hereby cautioned and
requested to abstain from joining, or attending any such meeting, or
assemblage; and notice is further given, that all necessary measures
will be adopted to prevent any such meeting, or assemblage, and
effectually to preserve the public peace, and to suppress any attempt at
the disturbance thereof.”
A copy of this notice was sent by the Commissioner to Mr. Beales, with a
request that he would exert his influence to prevent any attempt to
hold the meeting. This, in his reply to Sir Richard Mayne, Mr. Beales
declined to do, unless he could be shown by what statute, or law, or
principle of law, the Commissioner was acting in declaring the meeting
illegal: and he went on to say, “The Park is either the property of the
nation, as there are strong reasons for contending it is, under the
transactions which have taken place between the Crown and the people,
through Parliament, respecting it; or it is still Crown property, though
kept up and maintained out of the public purse. If the former be the
fact, where is your authority for excluding the public from their own
property? If the latter be the case, then show me that you are acting
under the express authority of the Crown, as claiming to be the
exclusive owner of the Park.”
An attempt was made to carry out the meeting, and the following is a
portion of _The Times_ account of it. “Meanwhile vast crowds had
collected in the neighbourhood of Hyde Park. A force of foot and mounted
police, numbering 1600, or 1800, were assembled under the direction of
Sir Richard Mayne and Captain Harris, and at 5 o’clock the gates were
closed. Before that hour a considerable number of people had collected
inside, in order to witness what was about to take place, and these were
permitted to remain there. Outside, the throng was, as might be
supposed, much greater. Masses of people had assembled at all the
approaches. The Marble Arch was the centre of attraction, and for an
hour or two previous to the proposed commencement of the demonstration,
traffic was seriously impeded. The windows and balconies of the
neighbouring houses were also crowded with spectators.
“Shortly after 7 o’clock Mr. Edmond Beales, Lieut. Col. Dickson, and
other leading members of the Reform League, in a line of cabs which
headed the Clerkenwell, Islington and other processions, advanced to the
Arch; and, the sub-committee having succeeded in making a clear passage,
Mr. Beales and his friends went up to the police, who were drawn up in
line, staves in hand, some of them being mounted. The crowd immediately
closed in, and endeavoured, by an ‘ugly rush,’ to effect admission. The
police used their staves freely to defeat this attempt; and, it is
stated that both Mr. Beales and Col. Dickson were struck in the scuffle.
At any rate, after having been refused admission, and having raised the
question in the form they desired, they went back to their vehicles,
and, with some difficulty, managed to make their way through the crowd,
in order to proceed to Trafalgar Square, there to hold the meeting,
according to the programme which had been laid down.
“Printed bills were distributed among the various detachments as they
came up from Clerkenwell, Southwark, Finsbury, etc., directing them not
to attempt to force an entrance into the Park, but to proceed to
Trafalgar Square. It is much easier, however, to collect throngs of
people, than to keep them in leading-strings when collected; and a large
portion of the ‘masses’ were not disposed to follow implicitly the
instructions of their leaders. The gates, it is true, were strongly
fortified, but to throw down the railings seemed a feasible
undertaking, and this was promptly attempted. The police, indeed,
hastened to every point that was attacked, and, for a short time, kept
the multitude at bay; but their numbers were utterly insufficient to
guard so long a line of frontier, and breach after breach was made, the
stonework, together with the railings, yielding easily to the pressure
of the crowd. The first opening was made in the Bayswater Road, where
the police, rushing to the spot, prevented, for a time, any considerable
influx of people; but they could not be ubiquitous, and along Park Lane
especially a great extent of railing was speedily overturned, till in
the end the crowd entered _ad libitum_.
“A good deal of scuffling attended these incursions. The police brought
their truncheons into active use, and a number of the roughs were
somewhat severely handled. One man, who was stated to be a mechanic,
named Field, received serious injury on the head, and was carried off
insensible to St. George’s Hospital. It is said that he had just thrown
a brickbat at a policeman. A man named Tyler, living at New Road,
Chelsea, also received blows on the head, and was taken to the hospital,
as were, likewise, others, whose injuries were of a less serious
character. The police, on the other hand, did not come off unscathed.
One of them, named Penny, received a thrust in the side from an iron
bar; another was knocked off his horse by sticks and stones, and several
others sustained slight injuries. Stones were thrown at Sir Richard
Mayne, who, as well as his men, was much hooted. Between forty and fifty
persons were taken into custody in the vicinity of the Marble Arch, and
about as many more at the other approaches. Many of the leaders of the
crowd exerted themselves to prevent a breach of the peace, and Mr.
Bradlaugh got considerably hustled for so doing, falling under the
suspicion of being a Government spy.
“About eight o’clock, a company of the Grenadier Guards, and a troop of
the Life Guards, entered the Park, but it was then too late to prevent
the influx of people; for though the gates were still jealously guarded,
breaches had been effected in every direction in the palings, and the
military, who were loudly cheered by the crowd, confined themselves to
manœuvres, the only effect of which was to oblige the mob
occasionally to shift their position. The numbers in the park were, by
this time, very large; and although, of course, there were a
considerable number of ‘roughs,’ who look on the police as their natural
enemies, many of the persons present appeared to be quiet and
respectably-dressed people who had simply been attracted by curiosity,
and showed no uproarious, nor even any political proclivities. Speeches
were made at various spots, one of the orators being a Miss Harriet
Laws, who delivered a very fervid address on the political and social
rights of the people.”
_The Times_ of next day (July 25th) says:--
“Yesterday morning Hyde Park presented, along its eastern extremity, a
pitiable spectacle. Between the Marble Arch and Grosvenor Gate the
railings were entirely demolished, and the flower-beds were ruined.
Between the Grosvenor and Stanhope Gates, moreover, not a railing
remained erect, those not actually levelled being forced considerably
out of the perpendicular. This had been done out of mere wantoness,
after ingress had been effected at other points, as was evident from the
fact of the flowers and shrubs having escaped damage. On the north and
south sides of the Park much damage had also been done, the railings
having been overturned in numerous places. In many cases the masonry had
given way, and was still attached to the ironwork, while in others the
rails had been forced from their sockets; and one could not but reflect
what appalling results might have ensued had the mob used them as
weapons. The trees and shrubs were greatly injured, and, in fact, the
appearance of the north-western portion of the Park was as if it had
been overrun by an invading army. Waggons were engaged, yesterday, in
removing the broken railings and shattered masonry, and a considerable
sum will, certainly, be required to restore the Park to its original
condition.”
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