of the minister, to persecute Mr. Waddington, not for forestalling hops,
but actually for standing up to do his duty in the city of London, as a
liveryman, to oppose the ruinous system of ministers; and it is the best
proof that can be given of his earnestness and sincerity, that they never
relaxed in their persecutions against him till they had ruined him. He was
a merchant, a banker at Maidstone, and a trader, and, of course, he was
largely concerned in money transactions. Now the government can always
silence any man in this situation, or ruin him and his credit, if he
becomes really sincere in his opposition to them; and this is one good
reason why we radicals have nothing to expect from merchants, bankers, and
traders. The ministers have no objection to those persons who carry on a
_regular whig opposition_, because that is all in the way of business.
They are all in the regiment, and although they are upon what is called
half-pay, yet they belong to the regiment, and are always in the
expectancy of being called into active service again. The ministers
generally employ some of these expectants to do their dirty work for them;
and any measure that is prosecuted by the Whigs is, _at least was_, at the
time of which I am speaking, thought by a great number of well-meaning but
ignorant people, to be perfectly justifiable. As I pass along I shall be
able to prove to the reader, how well the _factions_ manage these matters,
how skilfully they always play into each other's hands, against the
rights, the property, and the liberties of the people. For instance, if
the ministers want any obnoxious measure brought into parliament, such an
one as, if it were to be suggested by themselves, would create a great
public feeling, alarm, and hostility to it, throughout the country--to
wit, if they want to carry a corn bill, to raise or keep up the price of
corn three or four shillings a bushel, the effect of which is, to lay a
tax of twenty or thirty millions a year upon the people who consume it,
they are cunning enough to put forward one of those _shoy-hoy_ Whigs. _Sir
Henry Parnell_, an Irish Whig baronet, must, forsooth, be the ostensible
parent of the measure, while the ministers are professing openly to be
doubtful of its expediency and policy. When all this has been done to
sound the people, they, at length, with a seeming reluctance, yield to the
suggestions of the landed interest, and the urgency of the state; and
should the people begin to be importunate, and remonstrate against the
measure, why then it is only necessary to bring upon the scene their
principal _shoy-hoy, Westminster's pride,_ to wit; and if he will but just
say at a Westminster meeting, "_that the measure is of little consequence
either to him or his constituents_;" and if, when he is called upon in the
House, by my Lord Castlereagh, to speak honestly his sentiments respecting
the measure, he will get up and merely tell the Noble Lord "_that he
deserves to be impeached; but that as to the corn bill it will be all the
same to him whether it is passed or not, that he is as much for it as
against it, but that he does not care which way it goes;_" why then the
juggle is rendered complete. Oh, what a farce! What a delusion! but the
ministers having got this hero on their side, the measure passes, and the
people are duped and deceived. As I proceed in my history, I shall be able
to shew to the public how necessary these _shoy-hoys_ are to the
ministers, and how often they have successfully played them off against
the people. So it was in this case. The Judges knew that there was no law
against Mr. Waddington. It was, therefore, necessary to make a shew of
great feeling and interest for the welfare of the people; and this Mr.
Timothy Brown, who was a Whig, and a partner of Whitbread, was selected as
the instrument upon this occasion. He was so selected because he bore Mr.
Waddington a personal hatred, and was glad to pursue him with vindictive
hostility, for a harmless joke which Mr. Waddington had played upon him.
Nor did he cease his attacks upon him till he actually ruined him.
I will now explain the cause of his hatred and hostility. Mr. Waddington,
who was an active, intelligent, persevering man of business, and who,
besides being a banker at Maidstone, in the heart of East Kent[23], was
also engaged in the hop trade, as a hop merchant in the Borough; was a
great speculator in this speculating business, which always was considered
as a business of chance rather than of judgment. As, however, games of
chance are greatly governed by the penetration of those who play them, Mr.
Waddington payed that attention to the growth of hops, that he made it
rather a game of certainty than of hazard. In the spring and summer of
1800, this gentleman thought that he discovered a considerable stagnation
in the growth of the vine, as well as such a degree of disease generally,
in the crop of hops near Maidstone, that he was determined to make a
peregrination on foot through the gardens in all the hop districts in Kent
and Sussex. He carried his determination into effect; and having made such
observations as led to the conclusion, that it would be a very short crop,
he made large purchases of the growers, to be delivered at a certain price
when picked: this was called fore-hand bargains, and was the invariable
custom of transacting business between the farmers and the factors. Mr.
Waddington then started into Worcestershire, and having made a similar
survey of the growing crops in that county, and having come to a similar
conclusion, he made large purchases also upon the same terms as he had
done in Kent. As he returned through London he called upon his friend, Tim
Brown, and, in the true spirit of friendship, he communicated to him the
result of his travels, and his inspection of the hop gardens, both in Kent
and Worcestershire; and, as a proof of his conviction that there would be
a short crop, he informed him of the large purchases which he had made;
and added, that he should still increase his stock as the season
approached; advising, at the same time, his friend Brown, by all means, to
lay in a good stock of old hops, and purchase early and largely of new
ones.--Mr. Brown affected to hold Mr. Waddington's information very cheap,
and in fact treated his advice rather with ridicule than attention.
At length picking time came, and Mr. Waddington's predictions were
realised to the very letter; there being not more than a quarter of a crop
grown that year. Mr. Brown had not only failed to follow his friend's
advice, but, relying upon some other information, had actually neglected
to lay in the usual stock for the house of Whitbread & Co. Mr. Waddington,
rather piqued at the slight put upon his judgment by his friend Brown, and
elated with his own success, sent Mr. Timothy Brown a GOOSE, as a quiz
upon him for his want of discernment, and lack of faith in his
representations. This innocent joke, which, I understand, was at that time
frequently practised by speculating men in the city, so enraged Mr. Brown,
that he vowed revenge; and smarting under the loss of not having had the
foresight to purchase his hops earlier, before they had risen a hundred
per cent. which they had now done, he became one of the remorseless
persecutors of, one of the conspirators to prosecute, Mr. Waddington upon
an obsolete law, for _forestalling_.
A verdict having been obtained against Mr. Waddington, for forestalling in
Herefordshire, and being about to be tried in Kent, [24]the prosecutors
moved, the Court of King's Bench to remove the _venue_ out of Kent, upon
the ground, that the farmers were prejudiced so much in favour of Mr.
Waddington, that they could not obtain a fair jury. Mr. Law, who was
afterwards Lord Ellenborough, was his leading counsel; and upon his
argument, and the authorities which he cited, although they were strongly
opposed by the counsel on the other side, yet, as the prejudice was
proved, Lord Kenyon, upon the principle that the administration ought "not
only to be pure, but that it should be above suspicion," made the rule
absolute, and the cause was tried in Westminster Hall, by a Middlesex
jury. It was mainly upon this case that I rested my application, for the
court to remove the cause of the King against Hunt and nine others, for a
conspiracy, out of Lancashire into Yorkshire. The Middlesex jury was,
however as tractable as that in the country, and he had a second verdict
against him, for which he was sentenced to the custody of the Marshal of
the King's Bench.
It was while he was undergoing his sentence, that, as I have already
mentioned, I became acquainted with him, and I passed my six weeks as
pleasantly as I ever passed any six weeks of my life. To be sure it put me
to a great expense, and a considerable loss, in taking me from my family,
home, and business; but I gained more real information, more knowledge of
the world, and of men and manners; more insight into mercantile,
political, and theological affairs than I should have gained in so many
years, if I had continued in the country, employing my time in farming,
shooting, fox hunting, and attending to the exercise of the yeomanry
cavalry. It is more than probable that I should never have taken the lead,
(such a lead!) in the political affairs of my country, if I had not thus
early been placed in such a situation, and in such company, by the
sentence of the Court of King's Bench. Before that period I had, it is
true, a natural and an inherent abhorrence of tyranny and oppression, and
my excellent parent had instilled into my breast a pure love of justice,
and an invincible attachment for fair play; and, therefore, it is not
likely that I should ever have been a tool of arbitrary power. Yet, if it
had not been for this circumstance, I should never have been such an
enthusiast for equal rights, and such a determined enemy to a corrupt, a
sham representation.
Mr. Clifford found in me a willing, a zealous proselyte to the cause of
rational liberty, and a warm admirer of the principles of universal
political freedom. He recommended to my notice the political works of
Paine, particularly his _Rights of Man_, and applauded my determination
never to mingle religious with political discussions, and never to risk
the cause of liberty by doing any thing which could excite religious
prejudices. Mr. Clifford was a _Catholic_, a _rigid Catholic_,
notwithstanding which, there never lived a more sincere friend of
religious as well as of civil toleration. Some of our party were
frequently introducing theological discussions; and _some_, who ought from
their profession to have known better, denounced all religion as relics of
superstition. Mr. Clifford, as well as myself and Mr. Waddington,
discountenanced, and ultimately prohibited, those subjects. We each
professed our faith, and we did not choose to be dictated to, any more
than we wished to dictate to others, in matters of conscience.
On my return into the country, I was met at Marlborough by my friend
Hancock, who accompanied me to Devizes, where we were joined by a large
party of friends, at a dinner, which was provided for the occasion, at the
Bear Inn. Some of my more rustic neighbours expressed great surprise to
see me look so well, after coming out of a prison; their idea of which had
led them to expect to see me look _thin, pale_, and _emaciated_. On the
contrary, they found that I had lost none of my usual ruddy and florid
appearance, and, instead of looking as if I had been fed upon bread and
water, I had grown stout and fleshy, although I had taken regular
exercise, and, compared with my usual habits in the country, had lived
moderately, and in fact abstemiously. Yet, with all my precaution, I had
so much increased in bulk, that it was very visible to all my friends who
had not called on me in London.
I found my wife and children in perfect health, and they warmly greeted my
return. In fact, my absence was nothing more than passing six or seven
weeks in London. I found all my business going on with great regularity,
my stock in good order, and my hunters in excellent condition; and as I
longed to taste again the sports of the field, and to mingle in the
pleasures of the chase, my favourite mare was ordered to be ready on the
following morning, at the usual hour, that I might ride to join the
hounds, which threw off for the occasion within three miles of my house,
as the sportsmen were to meet upon the down of my farm at Widdington.
Here I met my old brother sportsmen, who appeared rejoiced to see me once
more amongst them; but they one and all declared, that my scarlet coat was
grown too small for me. Some said, that I was grown a stone heavier;
others, that I was increased two stone; and some bets were made,
corresponding with these contending opinions; all, however, agreed, that I
was increased very considerably in weight. Like a true sportsman, I knew
my weight to an ounce before I went to London. It was twelve stone five
pounds. In the midst of this conversation, as we were riding along I
espied a hare sitting at a considerable distance; she was started, and off
we went, to the music of the many pack of harriers, supported by
subscription, but kept by Mr. Tinker, of Lavington.
I was more than commonly elated, and enjoyed the sport with great
pleasure; in fact, I entered into the spirit of the chace with the
greatest enthusiasm. My beautiful high bred hunter was in admirable
condition and spirits, and appeared to participate with the rider in the
full zest of the sport; she almost fled with me across the downs, keeping
pace with the fleetest of the pack. The hills and vallies upon that part
of Salisbury Plain very much resemble those of Sussex, in the
neighbourhood of Brighton race-course. Persons unused to such countries
would consider them as almost precipices. Our horses, however, as well as
their riders, being accustomed to them, mounted them with apparent ease,
and generally descended them at full speed. I had been spanking across the
downs for nearly an hour, with the highest glee, and was going with great
speed down the well known steep hill which leads into Waterdean Bottom,
pressing on my mare, so that she might be enabled to ascend half way up
the opposite hill by the force of the increased velocity that she had
acquired in descending the other, which is the common practice of all good
sportsmen and bold riders in such a country. In passing with great speed
over some rather uneven rutty ground, at the bottom of the hill, I
received a violent and sudden shock, by my poor beast coming all at once
to a stand still. I jumped off without her falling, though she was nearly
down. She stood trembling, and I was shocked to find that she had _broken
both of her fore legs_: the right short off above the knee, and the other
below the fetlock joint. This was a most distressing accident, and the
miracle was, that she had not fallen, and I, her rider, been smashed in
the fall. But her wonderful courage saved me from almost inevitable
destruction, for we were going at the time with the velocity of an arrow
shot out of a bow.
The other horsemen had gone on, and were soon out of sight, and I was left
in this situation upon the open down, a distance of two miles from my
home. Seeing the deplorable state of my poor horse, and knowing, from the
nature of the injury she had sustained, that it would be impossible to
recover her, I determined to proceed on foot to my home, that I might send
some proper person to release her from her misery; and I had gone some
little distance on my road, when, on looking round, I found the poor
creature hobbling after me, indicating, that it was her wish not to be
left alone and abandoned in such a pitiable state. My heart bled for my
faithful and noble beast, and I instantly attended to her apparent call
upon my humanity. I took the rein, and she followed me home, nearly as
fast as I could walk. When we[25] reached there, she was instantly
relieved from her pain by the last sad resource, the fatal unerring ball,
which, when directed by a skilful hand, produces instantaneous death,
without a groan, or scarcely a convulsive struggle. I dropped a tear when
she had breathed her last; consoled only by the reflection, that my life
had been spared by a merciful and beneficent Creator; for had the poor
animal fallen, at the swift pace she was going, my destruction must have
been inevitable. What is very remarkable, I never before or since ever
knew a horse break its legs, when going at full speed, without falling.
But this noble animal, in the struggle, in the amazing effort to save
herself from falling, when the bone of her right leg snapped, actually
fractured the other. I had the fractured bones of both legs preserved, for
the inspection of the curious, for many years afterwards.
This sad accident was a great drawback to the pleasure that I had promised
myself in the chase during the spring of the year, subsequent to my return
from the King's Bench; and to add to my mortification and disappointment,
the first time I mounted my next greatest favourite hunter, I found that
it was brokenwinded. I had lent her, during my _residence in town_, (for
it is a farce to call it imprisonment) to a gentleman of the name of
Tompkins, who lived at Oakley House, near Abingdon; and he had returned it
in the state which I have described, so that my hunting was spoiled for
that season.
Upon my being weighed it was not difficult to account for the lamentable
fate of my lost favourite. I found that I had increased _two stone two
pounds_ during my six weeks comparative inactivity in the King's Bench;
for, although I had taken much more exercise than my fellow prisoner, Mr.
Waddington, yet it was so very different from, and so much less than, that
which I had been in the habit of taking when I was in the country, that I
had increased in size and weight in the rapid manner which I have
described; and to this increase must be attributed the melancholy accident
which occurred to my unfortunate hunter.
My friend Tompkins, who had returned my other hunter broken-winded, in
consequence of his servant's mismanagement in feeding, or his own
indiscreet riding, upon being informed of the circumstance, very coolly
answered, that he was sorry for it; and, in the true stile of a knowing
sportsman, he proposed to accommodate me in return--not by lending me one
of his hunters for the remainder of the season, but by selling me one, a
young horse, as he said, of great power and promise, which would just suit
me; and as a great favour he wrote me word, that he would part with it to
me, as a friend, at the same price which he had given for it. He invited
me to his house to see it, and I accepted his invitation, notwithstanding
his sister-in-law, not knowing of his intention to _oblige_ me with it,
had previously informed me that he was very much dissatisfied with his
purchase; that he had a most unfavourable opinion of the grey horse, and
that he would be happy to part with him at a loss, rather than not get rid
of what he considered as a very bad bargain. From the lady's description
of the horse and of the bad qualities for which Mr. Tompkins wished to
dispose of him, I had, however, formed a more favourable opinion of him,
and I was therefore determined to trust to my own judgment, and go and see
him, particularly as he was well bred. I accordingly visited Oakley for
the purpose, and without one word of higgling I gave him his price, which
was _forty guineas_, my _friend_ assuring me that he did it to oblige me,
and that he considered himself as doing me no small favour. Thus had this
sporting friend, to make amends for the loss he had occasioned me, by
breaking the wind of a favourite and valuable hunter, worth little less
than a hundred guineas, palmed upon me, for forty guineas, as a pretended
boon, a young three years old horse, which he did not think would ever be
worth sixpence! So much for sporting, horse-dealing friendships! However,
I had no reason to repent of my bargain. I got my horse into condition
before I tried him, and he turned out one of the best and most valuable
hunters in the kingdom, to the great mortification of my envious and
obliging friend; for, early in the next season, when he was only four
years old, the Honourable George Bowes, the brother of Lord Strathmore,
offered me three hundred guineas for him. I, however, never parted with
him, which I had reason to repent, for, a few days after I had refused
five hundred guineas for him, my friend Wm. Butcher's horse got loose in
my stable, and by a kick broke his fore leg, when I was obliged to have
him killed, and so ended poor OAKLEY!
I was rather unlucky in my sporting acquaintance, as will be seen by the
following circumstance. Soon after my return from my imprisonment, my
friend Wm. Tinker, of Lavington, and his family came to visit me; after
dinner, amongst other things that I was relating, relative to what had
occurred during my stay at the King's Bench, I mentioned the toast that
was usually drank first by the prisoners every day, which was, "Plaintiffs
in prison, and defendants at liberty." Mrs. Tinker asked whether I and Mr.
Waddington had joined in this toast? I answered, yes; and added, that I
believed it was the first toast drank every day after dinner. This she set
down at once for a very disloyal sentiment, because my nominal plaintiff
or prosecutor was the King against Hunt, and she consequently pronounced
me, as I thought in a mere joke, to be a disloyal man, a jacobin. In this
opinion of hers she was confirmed, by learning that I had called upon
Colonel Despard in the Tower, and hearing me inveigh, in rather warm
language, against packed juries, treacherous lawyers, and corrupt judges,
and also venturing to call in question, "a la Clifford," some of the
measures of the heaven-born minister, she therefore set me down at once in
her mind as a rank jacobin; and, as the sequel will prove, she did not
fail to act upon this impression--for, about a month afterwards, I
received a letter from my only paternal aunt, to say that Mrs. Tinker had
informed her, that, since I had been in London, I became a disloyal man,
and that I had actually drank at my own table the most disloyal toast,
wishing the King to be imprisoned. All my forefathers, said my aunt, had
been loyal men, and one of them, Colonel Thomas Hunt, had been by nothing
short of a miracle saved from losing his head for his loyalty to King
Charles the Second; as therefore I had chosen to take a different course,
by professing different principles, she should alter her will, and leave
that fortune which she had intended for me to some other persons. She most
religiously kept her word; though in my reply I unequivocally disclaimed
any intention of offering the slightest insult to the King, or saying any
thing that could, without the most wanton misconstruction, be deemed
disloyal. Yet I claimed the right to think for myself, and did not admit
that, because I professed the most unbounded loyalty to the King, I ought
to pledge myself to a blind subserviance and attachment to all the
measures of his ministers. All that I could urge against this breach of
confidence, in betraying, nay, in misrepresenting a conversation at my own
table, and the malignity of Mrs. Tinker's motives, were of no avail.
Although this aunt died without any children, and I was her nearest of
kin, yet she made my quondam friend, Tinker, her executor, and never left
me a shilling. The reader will easily conceive that this neither changed
my politics nor increased my confidence in sporting friends. The fact was,
that this old lady was an illegitimate daughter of my grandfather, by a
relation of this Mrs. Tinker, whom he afterwards married. My grandfather
had been induced to leave this daughter a very considerable patrimony, at
the suggestion of my father; and, as she died without issue, it would have
been only an act of justice to have restored the money to its lawful
source. But the kind interference of Mrs. Tinker has sent it in another
direction, and I sincerely wish it may prosper with those who have
obtained it. I envy them not; I have retained my opinions, and they have
got the cash--much good may it do them, I say.