“COMPARED WITH DEFEATING ME, DEFEATING BUONAPARTE IS A MERE TRIFLE.”
If there is one thing, more than another, characteristic of the British
soldier, it is his attachment to home. Home, that is to say, in the
hearts of his countrymen, as well upon the hearth of his parents. You
cannot make a hireling of him; nor is he a mere worshipper of glory.
The links that bind him to his comrades are the same with those, which
remain unsevered between him and the civilian-class whence he sprang.
This is obvious enough, when we consider the general demeanour of
the people toward his profession. You may see it, plainly, when the
soldier is “in trouble;” or, when two red-coats are quarrelling in the
street;--but, specially, on that supreme occasion when the band is
playing “_The girl I left behind me!_”
But there have been times where there was danger of these affections
being sundered. Notably, during the later days of the Regency, when
army-legislation went far to make the soldiery a distinct class, with
interests hostile to those of “the mob.” And, during the great war, the
employment of German mercenaries for purposes of home defence (whilst
the English forces were shedding their blood on the soil whence those
had been deported) was naturally productive of some ill-feeling toward
the military profession.
Of the popular sentiment, concerning this topic, there was never
a better exponent than Mr. William Cobbett, late of the 54th. His
constant boast was, that he had been a soldier, and knew soldiers “as
well as any man that ever breathed.” His appeals on their behalf,
whether addressed to the legislature or to the people, breathe
unfaltering affection toward them. He would defend them, would support
them, would animate and would advise them, as his brethren. And, while
inculcating a spirit of respect and affection toward them, on the part
of the people, he constantly objected to everything likely to tend to
the degradation of the military character and calling. Did a company
pass through Botley, he would superintend the billeting; and could not
rest until men and officers were suitably entertained. His army plan,
published in 1806, was entirely upon these lines: that the military
should be bound to their country by the same ties with the rest of
the nation. His anecdotes of soldier-life would, alone, fill a large
volume; and, throughout his long life, there was no source from which
he could so readily draw a pointed illustration of virtue, of energy,
or of loyalty.
* * * * *
During the year 1809, his Majesty’s ministers had much to harass them;
and not the least of their anxieties was the conduct of the liberal
part of the newspaper press, concerning Flogging in the Army and Navy.
They were all condemning the tortures of the lash: the abuse, itself,
being then as bad as it could be. Such was the outcry against it, that
it became evident that there would have to be a struggle over the
matter; and, in the fight which did ensue, may be traced some of those
elements which eventually gave greater freedom to the press of this
country. It was known, at this period, that newspaper-writers had been
warned, and that a severe example would be made of the first offender.
* * * * *
The Attorney-General, then, is on the watch; and woe betide the wretch
who defies Sir Vicary Gibbs!
And who is to be the victim? Shall it be James Perry or Redhead Yorke?
or those daring young brothers, whose _Examiner_ is slashing away at
everything and everybody they choose to disagree with, and who have
just had such a narrow escape over Major Hogan? or one or other of
those provincial editors, who would cut off a little finger for the
sake of publicity and a wider circulation? Perhaps one of these. But
there is game that must be brought down, if possible: the “must” being
so urgent, that the game shall be started by our very best dogs. No
inefficient pointing here, if you please.
Accordingly, ministerial newspapers make ostentation of flogging-cases.
The interests of the country demand: and so on. The exigencies of
the nation require: and so forth. The naval and military forces are
hot-beds of sedition, and nothing was ever known to cure that, but the
cat-o’-nine-tails. And we shall lie at the mercy of the enemy, if the
entire nation is not sound on the subject of mutiny: let us not, then,
be mealy-mouthed in the stern path of duty!
And the _Courier_, in its stern path, records (24th June, 1809):--
“The mutiny amongst the local militia, which broke out at Ely,
was fortunately suppressed on Wednesday, by the arrival of four
squadrons of the German Legion cavalry from Bury, under the
command of General Auckland. Five of the ringleaders were tried
by a Court-Martial, and sentenced to receive 500 lashes each,
part of which punishment they received on Wednesday, and a part
was remitted. A stoppage for their knapsacks was the ground of
complaint that excited this mutinous spirit, which occasioned
the men to surround their officers, and demand what they deemed
their arrears.”
Now, first, what is flogging--rather, what _was_ it?[1] Let us have a
few of Mr. Cobbett’s reminiscences before we proceed:--
“At the flogging of a man, I have frequently seen seven or
eight men fall slap upon the ground, unable to endure the
sight, and to hear the cries, without swooning away. We used
to lift them back a little way, take off their stocks, and
unbutton their shirt collars, and they came to after a little
while. These were as stout, hardy, and bold men as anywhere to
be found.”
“I, who was eight years in the army, who was a sergeant-major
six years of the time, have seen men receive their flogging at
_twice_, at _thrice_, and I remember a man, named Valentine
Hickey, who received his flogging at _four_ instalments.”
“… In addition to the pain of the flogging, the flogged man has
to pay the drum-major for the use of the cats!”
“The whip-cord may be large or small. Ours used to be as thick
as the very thickest twine made use of to tie up stout and
heavy parcels. The knots were about the size, as nearly as I
can recollect, of a dwarf marrow-fat pea; and the length of
the lash was, I think, about fifteen or sixteen inches.… The
drummers used to do the flogging; they were always stripped
for the work, and each, by turns, laid on his twenty-five
lashes, and then another came.”
Just so.
* * * * *
On Saturday, the 1st of July, the _Weekly Political Register_ takes for
its motto the above paragraph from the _Courier_, and begins with the
following comments:--
“LOCAL MILITIA AND GERMAN LEGION.--See the motto, English
reader! See the motto, and then do pray recollect all that
has been said about the way in which Buonaparte raises his
soldiers. Well done, Lord Castlereagh! This is just what it
was thought your plan would produce. Well said, Mr. Huskisson!
It really was not without reason that you dwelt, with so much
earnestness, upon the great utility of the foreign troops,
whom Mr. Wardle appeared to think of no utility at all. Poor
gentleman! he little imagined how a great genius might find
useful employment for such troops. He little imagined that they
might be made the means of compelling Englishmen to submit
to that sort of _discipline_, which is so conducive to the
producing in them a disposition to defend the country at the
risk of their lives. Let Mr. Wardle look at my motto, and then
say whether the German soldiers are of _no use_. _Five hundred
lashes each!_ Aye, that is right! Flog them! flog them! flog
them! They deserve it, and a great deal more. They deserve
a flogging at every meal-time. ‘Lash them daily! lash them
duly!’ What! shall the rascals dare to _mutiny_? and that,
too, when the German Legion is so near at hand? Lash them!
lash them! lash them! They deserve it. Oh, yes! they merit a
double-tailed cat! Base dogs! What! mutiny for the _price of a
knapsack_? Lash them! flog them! Base rascals! Mutiny for the
price of a goat’s-skin; and then, upon the appearance of the
German soldiers, they take a flogging as quietly as so many
trunks of trees! I do not know what sort of a place Ely is; but
I really should like to know how the inhabitants looked one
another in the face while this scene was exhibiting in their
town. I should like to have been able to see their faces, and
to hear their observations to each other, at the time. This
occurrence at home will, one would hope, teach _the loyal_ a
little caution in speaking of the means which Napoleon employs
(or rather, which they say he employs) in order to get together
and to discipline his conscripts. There is scarcely any one
of these loyal persons who has not, at various times, cited
the hand-cuffings, and other means of force, said to be used
in drawing out the young men of France; there is scarcely
one of the loyal who has not cited these means as a proof,
a complete proof, that the people of France _hate Napoleon
and his Government_, assist _with reluctance in his wars_,
and would fain _see another revolution_. I hope, I say, that
the loyal will, hereafter, be more cautious in drawing such
conclusions, now that they see that our ‘gallant defenders’ not
only require physical restraint, in certain cases, but even a
little blood drawn from their backs, and that, too, with the
aid and assistance of _German_ troops. Yes; I hope the loyal
will be a little more upon their guard in drawing conclusions
against Napoleon’s popularity. At any rate, every time they
do, in future, burst out in execrations against the French
for suffering themselves to be ‘chained together and forced,
at the point of the bayonet, to do military duty,’ I shall
just republish the passage, which I have taken for a motto
to the present sheet. I have _heard_ of some other pretty
little things of the sort; but I rather choose to take my
instance (and a very complete one it is) from a public print,
notoriously under the sway of the ministry.”
So much for your “comment-maker.”
* * * * *
What personage had the distinction of walking home from church with Mr.
Perceval, on the following day, history does not record: his comments,
then, remain in oblivion. No matter that, however. In about three weeks
after the above publication, Mr. Cobbett has news from London, which he
thus retails:--
“… I have a most serious business to impart to you, and that
is, that I hear from Mr. White, that the miscreants are about
to prosecute me for the article about the flogging of the local
militia. What I wish you to do is to go to Mr. White and ask
him,
“1. Whether the thing be _certain_?
“2. What is to be done in it by me, in the first instance?
“3. At what time it will be required for me to be in town to
give bail?
“4. When the trial will take place?
“5. Of what nature is the bail that I must give?
“It is quite useless to fret and stew about this. I must meet
it. They may probably confine me for two years; but that does
not kill a man; and may, besides, produce even good effects, in
more ways than one.
“But the main thing is to be prepared. There is a _possibility_
of acquittal, though they push their malice to its full
extent. Let us, therefore, be prepared; let us take all
proper precautions; and then wait the chapter of accidents.
Your better way will be to show this part of my letter to Mr.
White, and pray thank him most heartily, in my name, for his
kindness in giving me the information.… What I would do, in
case of imprisonment, is this. I would make F. Reid come and
take charge of my lands, &c. I will, even _now_, cut off all
expenses of horses, dogs, &c., so as to make up for the loss;
and I would have such a plan of economy as should enable me to
have my family near me, if possible. Thus, you see, my mind is
made up to the thing. I care for nothing that they can do. I
would certainly defend myself.…
“… Let me alone; if they will but leave me the use of the
press, I’ll beat them all, I warrant you.”
Mr. Reeves appears to have been sounded, by Mr. Wright, upon the
possibility of escape from prosecution. Cobbett expresses some
displeasure, however, on hearing of this, and adds:--
“… I am fully prepared for the worst, and therefore am no
longer under any anxiety. I would rather be gibbeted, than owe
my life to the intercession such as you speak of, and such
as I am afraid you half-solicited. I told you to keep very
quiet. Say nothing at all about the matter to any one. Ask no
questions; and only be sure to tell me precisely what you hear.
I am not afraid of them. Times are coming on when we shall all
have enough to do; but, in the meanwhile, I shall not worry
myself to death with apprehension.…”
Instead of any fear of the future, the look-out is rather toward the
welfare and increase of his estate. Some plots of land have just been
purchased, with the object of making freeholders of Wright, Finnerty,
and others. The prospects of harvest are very bad, for the rains have
been so incessant, that wheat is growing in the ear; but the trees are
coming on “delightfully.” Lord Cochrane arrives home, and comes to see
Botley with the tale of his grievances.
Mr. Cobbett pays his occasional visit to Lord Folkestone, at Coleshill;
and horses and puppies, and hares and pheasants, reappear in their
order, not at all as though the threatened danger would be anything
beyond a scare.
* * * * *
Among Mr. Cobbett’s friends was one who had become peculiarly bound up
in his affairs, through circumstances which must now be noticed.
Mr. John Swann, of Wolvercot and Ensham, in Oxfordshire, was an eminent
paper-maker of that day; his mills being the chief sources of supply
for the University of Oxford. He had supplied also the paper for the
_Register_ from a very early period; and it would appear that a strong
attachment existed between him and the Cobbetts. As far back as
September, 1805, when purchases of land were being made in Hampshire,
somewhat beyond Mr. Cobbett’s command of ready money, Mr. Swann had
assisted him by discounting accommodation bills. At the death of the
latter, in January, 1807, his brother James succeeded both to the
paper-mills and to the accommodation paper; and to the friendship thus
continued into another family, we are indebted to some further glimpses
of Cobbett’s happy domestic life. Mr. Swann is initiated into the
mysteries of planting: eels from the sluggish Oxford streams grace the
table at Botley, and game from Hampshire that of Ensham. And, as time
fled on, the perilous accumulation of “credit” seemed only to add new
links of love.
The following selection from correspondence belongs to the later months
of 1808:--
JAMES SWANN to JOHN WRIGHT.
“I am not at all surprised at the increased sale of the
_Register_; every one who reads it is astonished at the
wonderful extent of Mr. Cobbett’s abilities. God grant him
a long life, for the country’s sake!… Mr. Barwis has lately
been with Mr. and Mrs. Cobbett at Botley; they have kindly
promised to be sponsors to a son Mrs. Swann presented me with a
fortnight ago, whom I shall have named William.”
WM. C. to J. S.
“Mr. Barwis has communicated to me your wish respecting my
being godfather to your son, and I assure you, with perfect
sincerity, that I shall look upon it as doing me honour. I
never was yet a godfather to any child but one of my own, who
was born in a heathen country; and there are very few persons,
to a child of whom I would stand godfather; but one of yours I
shall with great pleasure. I hear it is to be after Christmas,
which will suit me best, as I have a great deal to do here
before, in the planting way, which I cannot possibly trust in
any hands but my own.…
“I have now a favour, in the sporting way, to ask of you. I
have had most lamentable luck with dogs, having lost almost the
whole of a fine and rare collection of spaniel and greyhound
puppies. Of the latter I shall not take much pains to get any
more, the places for coursing being at such a great distance
from me; but of the former I want many, because we live amongst
such covers as nothing can be moved out of without a plenty of
good spaniels. The sort we want is the short-legged, rather
coarse-haired, long-eared, and feathered down the legs to the
very tips of the nails. This is the most strong, true, and
resolute race. None other will do in endless covers like ours,
where the stuff is so very thick, and there are such quantities
of matted thorns as sharp as pins. Now, if you should happen to
know of a famous breed--some gentleman whose breed is famous
all over the country--I should like to have a brace; which may,
perhaps, be obtained by speaking time enough beforehand. But
there is another condition (for, when one is begging, one may
as well go the whole length), I wish not to have them till
they are at least four months old. Young puppies, if of a high
breed, will not live.…
“There is, I am told, a fine breed called the Woodstock or
Blenheim breed; but, if you will inquire, you will easily find
out a fine breed. _Every one’s dogs are the best in England_;
but there are some gentlemen and noblemen (a very few) of
standing reputation for their breed of spaniels, and a brace of
this sort it is that I want. Spaniels should have no spice of
_the hound_ in them. Tan colour over the eyes is, therefore, a
sure mark of reprobation. Such will hunt hares; and, when they
have moved one in a large thick cover, the sportsman may go
a-shooting by himself.
“After all, if the thing be attended with much trouble, pray do
not take it, for your time is too valuable to be wasted in the
gratification of my whims.”
J. S. to J. W.
“I duly received yours this morning. I was much amused with
the caricature, it is certainly a good one. I heard from Mr.
Cobbett a few days ago, and am endeavouring to procure him
some good spaniels. I do not expect our christening will be
till about or after Christmas, when I shall be glad to see you
here. I have another son to go through the ceremony besides
William, whom we shall name _John_, and shall beg you to be his
godfather.…”
This excursion did not come off till May, 1809, for some reason or
other. Mr. Wright was very nearly being entrapped into matrimony on the
occasion, with an interesting widow who was one of the visitors.
WM. C. to J. S.
“We got home in very good time; but had the mortification to
see the road drier and drier, as we advanced, till, when we
came to Botley, the dust flew, and we have not had one drop of
rain since. Nevertheless, all my plantations go on exceedingly
well. I am satisfied that, with some people’s planting,
half the trees would now have been dead. Get the books I
recommended, and in the _Profitable Planter_ see the articles
‘Willow’ and ‘Black Italian Poplar.’ The aspen is good, and I
prefer it. But be sure not to plant Lombardy poplar. It is not
fit even to burn.”
An important outward change came over the _Register_ at the beginning
of the year 1809. Mr. Cobbett had for some time been dissatisfied
with the printing of Messrs. Cox and Baylis; and it was therefore
transferred to Mr. T. C. Hansard. An improvement was manifest at once,
and the _Register_ took the position of those publications which were
discarding the antiquated types of the past. Some little notion of
the extent of the enterprise that was going on may be gathered by an
estimate furnished to Swann of the probable _monthly_ supply of paper
that would be required:--
“Register 60 reams.
State Trials 96 “
Parl. History 50 “
Parl. Debates 50 “
----
Total 256 reams.”
As the _Register_ was in 16 pages 8vo, with occasional supplements, the
weekly circulation must have been nearly six thousand at this period.
Very soon after this change, the price was raised to 1_s._ from 10_d._,
at which figure it had stood since its commencement. The price of paper
had risen from 24_s._ to 43_s._ a ream, and the newspaper stamp from a
halfpenny to 3½_d._; besides that, other expenses had proportionally
augmented. Great must have been the hold which Cobbett had obtained,
over a large number of readers, for his journal to have been able to
keep its place under such circumstances.
* * * * *
The threatened prosecution hung so long over Mr. Cobbett’s head, that
some of his friends began to hope that nothing would come of it. He
probably thought, for his own part, that the Government were not
unmindful of the sort of antagonist he would make, when driven to bay;
and that they would think twice before going into the contest without
the minutest preparation, and the best possible opportunity. In a
letter to Mr. Swann, dated 28th November, he says,--
“You have, I suppose, heard of the dead set which the
Attorney-General is making upon us. My opinion is that it will
come to nothing at all. But, if it does, we must beat them, if
there be either spirit or honesty left in England.”
There will be no lack of preparation, however:--
WM. C. to J. WRIGHT.
“Dear Sir,--As I am to have the pleasure of seeing you on
Wednesday, I shall say the less here. But, as to the now most
interesting subject, I cannot help saying a few words, as they
may be usefully communicated to Mr. Bagshaw and Mr. Hansard,
_in confidence_. My resolution is to plead my own cause, if I
am well in health. Nothing upon earth, illness excepted, shall
make me forego this resolution. I am also resolved to defend;
that is, to _justify_; and to render the affair a great public
question. The sooner we begin, the sooner we shall be well
prepared, and the more likely to secure a favourable issue. You
will know how and where to get me the authorities, or facts,
for showing,--
“1. That the ministers, or their partisans, have been employed
for more than six months in publishing libels against me;
atrocious falsehoods (such as the 4000_l._ story) for the
purpose of exciting, in the public mind, an evil opinion of me;
and thus pave the way for this state prosecution.
“2. That the ministers themselves (or, at least, Canning, &c.)
have written libels, if these be libels; and, upon this point,
to get together all the _accusations_, and all the _nicknames_,
used by the Anti-Jacobins against Moira, Nichol, &c.
“3. That there were _caricatures_ prepared under the eye of
Canning, &c., and of whom, and how they were to be represented
as traitors.
“4. That there are writers hired, or paid, by the Government.
“5. To get a good historical view of the state prosecutions
for libel, and show how they have originated with bad
Governments and wicked lawyers; and to show, in short, that the
Stuarts suffered more from this cause than from any other.
“6. To get collected, all the best speeches and strong sayings
of eminent men against an army of foreigners in England. You
will easily get me some good matter upon this subject, by
looking back into the _Parliamentary History_.
“7. Think of any of the poets who have written against
mercenary foreign armies.
“8. Have not the Swiss and Walloon Guards, in Spain, now joined
Buonaparte?
“9. I must have, from good authority, the particulars of the
contract made with the German Legion, about not being sent out
of Europe.
“It will be time enough to set about any part of this, after
you have been here; but you will turn your mind to the several
points in the meanwhile.
“Be particular in attending, now, to any publication whatever,
wherein mention is made of this prosecution, and especially if
it has for its object the prejudicing of the public against me.
When I get hold of such a thing, I shall begin my operations.
“Do as you please about mentioning my intention to defend
myself, to Hansard, or any of them; but be sure to tell them
from me, that I hold the thing in contempt; that I am no more
afraid of the rascals than I could be of so many mice. And,
really, if we have an _honest jury_, it will be a famous thing
altogether.
“I thank you very kindly for your news about my wife. I am a
great deal more anxious about her than about the prosecution.”
He continues to remind his correspondent that it will answer no purpose
to soothe his anxiety by flattering him with hopes of escape. At the
end of the year, there is, however, still no prospect of the trial
coming on. The following is dated 31st December:--
“What I want information about, relative to the approaching
trial, is, in the first place, a reference to all the debates
which you know anything of, against foreign troops.… You said
that Mr. Bosville had a list of instances of those countries
who had fallen under a defence by foreign troops. Can you get
it from him? It would do for a mere enumeration in a speech.
Arguments against a mercenary army apply equally well to
foreign troops. I shall think of other matter in my next. I
will prepare everything here against the 23rd, and, as soon
as we find that the cause _is_ to come on, I will set off for
London, and continue there till the cause be over. In the
meanwhile, I will arrange a defence in my own way. If we have
an honest, I mean an _impartial_ jury, I am no more afraid of
Vicary than I am of a fly.”
On the 8th January, he writes:--
“… I have read the trial of Tooke all through, and also his
other trial, in the case of Fox’s action against him.… What
villains he had to deal with! His life is a history of the
hypocritical tyrannies of this jubilee[2] reign. I shall
profit a good deal from this reading; but mine must be a
defence of a different sort; less of law knowledge, and more of
a plain story, and an appeal to the _good sense_ and _justice_
of my hearers.
“I do not know that I mentioned the following things to you
before:--
“1. That number of the _Courier_ which contained the article
that I took for a motto to the flogging article.
“2. Those numbers of the _Post_ and _Courier_ which, as you
told me, contained an exhortation to prosecute me.
“Indeed, we should have files of those papers for the last
eight months; for I must dwell upon the endeavours to excite
prejudice against me.”
The same letter proceeds to mention his plans for arranging his
pecuniary affairs--a matter of hardly-inferior importance, considering
their tangled condition. As soon as possible, he will then go up to
London to await events.
“… I do not know whether they have given a notice of trial,
formally; but I think they will.… They feel the deep wounds I
have given them; and they lose sight of everything but revenge.
I really do not know which I ought to wish for--a trial or a
_nolle prosequi_. My character and fame call for the former;
but then, my health and my dearly-beloved family call for the
latter, or for anything which shall preclude the chance of a
villainous sentence. However, I am rather indifferent about the
matter.…
“… God send us good luck; but if not, good _heart_, which I
trust I, at least, shall not want. My intention is to meet my
accusers in a manner worthy of the advocate of truth.”
Mr. James Perry was in trouble again, early in 1810. The
Attorney-General had filed information against the _Morning Chronicle_
and the _Examiner_, for a paragraph in which the Whig hopes of the day
were embodied. These hopes were to be fulfilled when the Prince of
Wales succeeded to the throne, and the obnoxious paragraph ended with
these words:--
“Of all monarchs, indeed, since the Revolution, the successor
of George the Third will have the finest opportunity of
becoming nobly popular.”
The interpretation put upon this by the “friends of order”[3] was, that
the life of George III. stood between his people and the blessings
in store for them! Mr. Perry conducted his own defence, and was
acquitted; and the record as against the _Examiner_ was forthwith
withdrawn. This occurrence was a subject of rejoicing to the whole
tribe of scribblers,--at least, of those who were not subsidized; and
the failure of the prosecution correspondingly inflamed the minds of
the administration. Peter Finnerty was another victim of this year.
And, after some further halting, it was determined to bring forward
the record against Mr. Cobbett, after his friends had begun to be
tranquilized with the hope that he would not be molested.
It is highly probable, but for the urging to prosecution, on the part
of the ministerial press, that he might have been let alone. But they
would not be true to the common cause. Bound in the fetters of party,
or of pence, the press was, as yet, ignorant of the latent force which
has since made of it a Fourth Estate. And, with respect to Mr. Cobbett,
it is impossible to withhold the conviction that the envy and the
injustice of his rivals had more to do with moulding his fortunes than
all other causes put together.
WM. C. to J. W.
“Your letter, this day got, contained the best and most
agreeable news.… We have all, I and my wife, six children, and
every soul in the house, drunk Mr. Perry’s health. I made even
little Susan lisp out the words. Pray give my kindest and most
respectful compliments to him; and tell him that I do not only
most heartily rejoice at his success (which, by the bye, does
not surprise me), but beg leave to present my sincere thanks;
in which, I trust, I only participate with the rest of the
gentlemen connected with the press. Nothing but the necessity
of attending to my concerns here this week would have prevented
me from returning to town immediately, in order to endeavour
to urge in person, what I request you to urge for me; namely,
a public dinner at the Crown and Anchor, of ‘the Friends of
the Liberty of the Press,’ at which we ought to pass a vote of
thanks to Mr. Perry, and to proclaim some principles that may
be of the utmost importance in future. Now is the time for us
to assert our rights, and the respectability of our profession
and character.[4]… Mr. Perry has done more good than any man of
his time, and it is for us to profit by it.…”
Another public incident, of this period, was the celebrated conflict
of Sir Francis Burdett with “Mr. Speaker.” Mr. Gale Jones had been
imprisoned by the House of Commons; and Burdett took occasion to
address his constituents,--by means of a long letter in Cobbett’s
_Register_--denying the power of the House to imprison any but its own
members. The letter was composed by Cobbett himself.
Mr. Speaker walked home from church[5] with Mr. Perceval on the
following day. The latter proposed to move the House to commit Burdett
to the Tower, and order the attendance of Cobbett. And so, as every
one knows, the metropolis was upset, for the space of two or three
months, by an indecent squabble, which brought the House into great
disrespect, and made Burdett the idol of the populace. In the end, it
required 50,000 soldiers and militia to get him into the Tower; but
not all the king’s horses, nor all the king’s men, could rend away
the mantle of ridicule which the action of ministers had brought upon
themselves.
Mr. Cobbett was not ordered to attend the bar of the House. More the
pity: Cobbett in Newgate, illegally imprisoned by order of the House of
Commons, would have been a very different affair to Cobbett in Newgate
_ex_ The Attorney-General! Yet he was not forgotten.
WM. C. to J. W.
“So, then, the honourable House have, at last, resolved to have
the _Register_ read to them. That is one sign of amendment, and
if they do but follow it up by a similar motion every week, it
cannot fail to do them a great deal of good, if anything in
this world can do them good. If they call me before them, I
shall say that, as the Speaker himself sent me his speech to
publish, I, of course, thought it right to publish the speech
of any member of the House, especially when he put his name to
it.
“But what I am, at this moment, anxious about, is that Mr.
Madocks should again bring forward his last year’s motion.
You will perceive that the worry now making is about breaches
of privilege, tending to degrade and vilify the House. Now,
what can have so clear and strong a tendency this way, as the
having _sold seats in the House_, and the having turned out a
member for not being willing to vote against his conscience?
Why not punish those who were guilty of such offences? This
is the ground whereon to proceed; and what a fine, what a
striking, what a glorious effect it would have now, to renew
Mr. Madocks’s motion! What could they do? What could they
_say_? Good God! what an exhibition they would make before the
country!…”
“… So far so good! I am delighted with what has taken place,
and especially with the conduct of Lord Folkestone,[6] who,
as I always told you, is the truest man in all England. Don’t
you remember the eulogium that we pronounced upon him, at your
house, on Friday? That is the good of him: you may always
depend upon him for more than he promises you. Who would have
thought, some years ago, that he would have been the man to
answer the minister? And to beat him, too! His speech, even
as reported, is a master-piece; and there was no time for
preparation. I always told him what he was able to do, if he
could but muster up courage.…”
“… The decision upon the Walcheren affair is what was to be
desired, I think, looking to the only object which we ought
to have in view, a Reform of the Parliament. Now, then, what
will the Edinburgh Reviewers say? I shall now quote their own
words against themselves. Will they now openly join us, as they
said they would, or will they again shuffle? At any rate, the
honourable House, so far from agreeing with the country, have
approved of what the country has most unequivocally condemned.
This cannot fail to tell. Will the Whigs _now_ join the people?
They have no other rational course left, but will they not
rather sink into eternal oblivion?”
In the middle of May, the Attorney-General had made up his mind; and
Mr. Cobbett came up to London to the “naming” of the jury.
Upon his return to Botley, his hands are fuller than ever. Money has
to be provided, so that there shall be no tradesmen in Hampshire left
unpaid. “Since last January we have paid for everything, the butcher
excepted, as we have had it. No bills of any sort; and I must leave
here none at all, if I can help it, when I go up to the trial.”
Copy for the _Register_ goes up to London in undiminished quantity; and
there is, besides, the preparation for his defence. Friends furnish
hints, and supply him with books:--
“To-day has been devoted wholly (since seven o’clock) to the
reading of the volumes sent me by the coach. That sent by Mr.
Holt White is full of most excellent matter. In short, if those
who are to decide are not _baseness itself_, I am safe.”
Those who were to decide were, at length, brought together, and they
took two minutes over it.
FOOTNOTES
[1] “In after-life he [‘my father’] described the ‘Hydra’ as a hell
upon the waters, and the brutal flogging of the sailors for the most
trivial offences as something too horrible for contemplation. ‘Often,’
he used to say, ‘have I wondered that men, who were treated as if they
had neither hearts nor souls, should yet, in the hour of danger and of
duty, forget their wrongs and indignities, act like true heroes, and
pour out their heart’s blood with sublime unselfishness for a country
that treated them so detestably.’--Charles Mackay, “Forty Years’
Recollections,” i. p. 13.
[2] On the previous 25th of October, the occasion of the King’s
entering the fiftieth year of his reign, there had been great
“rejoicings.” The Parliamentary Reformists, however, did not approve of
it, holding that _the prosperity of the country_ was a hypocritical and
delusive cry. Mr. Cobbett boasted of his refusal to subscribe toward
giving the twelve hundred thousand paupers “that rarity, that luxury,
a bellyful,” and gave very good reasons for it. The Whig papers, too,
heaped much derision upon the affair. One of the incidents of the day
was a fellow sticking up a placard at Charing Cross, in these terms:
“May God disperse the votaries of Cobbett, as the clouds of this day!”
[3] The _friends of order_ were fairly proficient in the language
of the fish-market; e.g., “To the indignation and execration of the
British nation do we therefore consign this damning specimen of the
abominable and infamous sentiments by which the base faction are
impelled in their most unprincipled and diabolical pursuits,” was the
remark of the _Post_, at the close of its comments upon the wicked
_Chronicle_.
[4] The “profession and character” of the fraternity had just been
roughly assailed in Parliament by Mr. Windham. The question of
excluding reporters from the gallery of the House of Commons was one
which would come up at intervals, and it was one upon which most
public men changed their opinions, from time to time, according to
circumstances. Mr. Windham was now for shutting the gallery; and he
described the publishers of the Debates as bankrupts, lottery-office
keepers, footmen, and decayed tradesmen, and he had heard “that they
were a sort of men who would give into corrupt misrepresentations
of opposite sides.” As Mr. Wright was the only person among the
parliamentary reporters who could be put under the head of “bankrupts,”
the _Political Register_ gave Mr. Windham a castigation.
The venal writers of the day, of course, called this black treachery
and ingratitude. But then such writers had no interest in upholding
the craft--rather the other way. Of this class was the _Satirist,
or Monthly Meteor_, one of the foulest pieces of rubbish that ever
disgraced the periodical press. This paper recommended that Cobbett’s
article (which was in extremely temperate terms) should be framed and
glazed by every public man, as a warning never to trust this wretch, &c.
The _Satirist_ was one long-drawn libel. The editor must have been
utterly insusceptible of shame, or else must have been in the habit of
deadening his moral feelings by artificial means. Even the good and
patriotic Whitbread was represented as one who delighted in practising,
upon his own estate, that tyranny against which he declaimed in the
House of Commons. As for Finnerty, he is always “the miscreant,” and
Mr. Wardle, “the l----r.” Wright is described as “the poor devil who
now corrects Cobbett’s bad English, edits his Parliamentary History,
brushes his coat, puffs him in coffee-houses and debating-shops, and
does all his other dirty work,” &c.
It is very difficult to please everybody. The _Examiner_ presently
began to write down Mr. Windham, supporting itself with this affair
of the reporters, and howled at Mr. Cobbett for not doing the same.
The fact being that Cobbett was especially careful to avoid needless
animadversions upon his old friend.
[5] Lord Colchester’s “Diary and Correspondence,” ii. 240.
[6] Lord Folkestone had reminded the House, on the 26th March, that it
had been the practice of Andrew Marvel to write a full account of the
proceedings of the House of Commons to his constituents every week.