The Birmingham riots of 1791.
The picture which Priestley drew of his life in Birmingham at this
period, as given in the autobiographical sketch published after his
death, is almost dramatic in its pathos when we bear in mind that it was
written almost on the eve of that maniacal outburst of popular passion
which eventually drove him from our shores. He said he considered his
settlement at Birmingham as the happiest event in his life, as being
highly favourable to every object he had in view, philosophical or
theological. He thanks God that his prospects are better than they have
ever been before, that his own health, and that of his dear wife, is
better established, and his hopes as to the disposition and future
settlement of his children are satisfactory. He has particular reason to
be grateful for the happy temperament of body and mind he owes to his
parents, and for the fundamentally good constitution of body to which
was due an even cheerfulness of temper which had but few interruptions.
Another great subject of thankfulness to a good Providence was his
perfect freedom from any embarrassment in his circumstances, for his
supplies had been always equal to his wants, and his indifference to an
increase of fortune was the means of attaining it.
[Illustration: THE PILLAGING OF PRIESTLEY'S HOUSE DURING THE BIRMINGHAM
RIOTS]
"When," he says, "I began my experiments I expended on them all the
money I could possibly raise, carried on by my ardour in philosophical
investigations, and entirely regardless of consequences, except so far
as never to contract any debt.... But having succeeded, I was in time
more than indemnified for all that I had expended.
"Yet frequently, as I have changed my situation, and always for the
better, I can truly say that I never wished for any change on my own
account. I should have been contented even at Needham if I could have
been unmolested and had bare necessaries. This freedom from anxiety
was remarkable in my father, and therefore is in a manner hereditary
to me; but it has been much increased by reflection, having frequently
observed, especially with respect to Christian ministers, how often it
has contributed to embitter their lives without being of any use to
them. Some attention to the improvement of a man's circumstances is no
doubt right, because no man can tell what occasion he may have for
money, especially if he have children, and therefore I do not
recommend my example to others. But I am thankful to that good
Providence which always took more care of me than ever I took of
myself."
This serene contentment is reflected in his correspondence at this
period, and we find further evidence of it in the letters of his
friends.
"I esteem it a singular happiness to have lived in an age and country
in which I have been at full liberty both to investigate, and by
preaching and writing to propagate, religious truth; that though the
freedom I have used for this purpose was for some time disadvantageous
to me, it was not long so, and that my present situation is such that
I can, with the greatest openness, urge whatever appears to me the
truth of the Gospel, not only without giving the least offence, but
with the entire approbation of those with whom I am particularly
connected."
Dr Aikin, visiting him in 1784, says in a letter to Mrs Aikin:--
"The great philosopher, with his simple, bland, unaffected manners,
contented and happy, and declaring that he had not a wish on earth
unsatisfied, gave me infinite delight."
These halcyon days were, however, but as the calm before the storm, and
the contented and happy philosopher had soon need of all his philosophy,
and of all his Christianity too, in face of the ungoverned fury of the
mob which, to use Wedgwood's words, swept like a hurricane over him and
his friends.
The 14th of July 1791--the anniversary of the French Revolution--was
celebrated in several towns in England without interruption or any
untoward circumstance; that day, however, was long remembered by the
inhabitants of Birmingham with feelings akin to horror. It is certain
that the popular rising which then took place in that town was in the
outset mainly directed against Priestley. The course of events proves
this. As it happened, the appetite in the mob for mischief grew by what
it fed upon, and many others, his friends and political and religious
associates, were involved in the disaster which overtook him. For it
would appear that those who, in the first instance, instigated and
directed the outrage lost all control over the forces which they
invoked, and the rising, which in the beginning was intended to visit
Priestley with the vengeance which the Cracow mob inflicted on his
prototype Socinus, developed into a wild anarchical riot, confused and
purposeless except as gratifying a wanton lust for rapine and
destruction. Many contemporary accounts exist of the Birmingham riots of
1791, and although, as might be expected from the temper of the times,
some of the narratives are not wholly uncoloured by prejudice and the
partisan spirit of political and religious feeling, it is not difficult
to put together a true view of an episode which profoundly affected all
parties and sent a thrill of apprehension and alarm throughout the
country. Political feeling at the period ran high. Europe had recently
witnessed the spectacle of a revolution which had filled the governing
classes of every state with awe and even terror, and the great masses of
the people in this and other countries, to whom all political power was
denied, were beginning to realise what might be possible to concerted
action properly organised and vigorously pressed. Every bureaucracy was
in a state of trepidation. The political atmosphere was heavily charged
with electricity and no one could foretell where and when the next
thunderbolt would descend. Naturally enough the great vested interests
in Church and State looked askance at, and were disquieted by, these
periodical celebrations of such an event as the destruction of the
Bastile and all that it symbolised, with their odes to Liberty,
Fraternity and Equality, and their impassioned appeals to Demos, and the
rising hopes of a people grown restive and impatient under what they
were taught to believe was political thraldom. It required but a small
spark to bring about a conflagration, and designing and unscrupulous men
saw in the approaching anniversary of the memorable 14th of July an
opportunity of which they were determined to take advantage. Priestley
had himself, unwittingly, laid the train which brought about the
catastrophe.
"Dr Priestley," says Corry, writing in 1804, "from the commencement of
his residence at Birmingham, had undoubtedly turned his attention too
much from the luminous field of philosophic disquisition to the
sterile regions of polemic divinity and the still more thorny paths of
polemic politics. His tracts on these subjects amounted to upwards of
thirty, and from his celebrity they had a very general circulation. As
a philosopher he clearly saw defects in the most perfect of human
institutions, and expressed himself with a boldness and freedom which
alarmed the neighbouring clergy of the Established Church, and excited
their resentment. The labouring classes in Birmingham certainly looked
upon him as a disaffected and dangerous man. Incapable of deep
reflection themselves, they abhorred his Unitarian principles as
subversive of Christianity, and the idea that the Church was in danger
was propagated among them by men of deeper discernment, who wished to
render Dr Priestley odious and unpopular. A very considerable number,
however, of the more enlightened inhabitants, who were convinced of
the Doctor's integrity as a man, sincerity as a preacher, and
superlative merit as a philosopher, were his strenuous advocates and
admirers. The collision of parties became every day more violent, and
the events which were daily transacting in France kept alive the
jealousy arising from uncongenial opinions."
A contemporary account states: The vigorous and repeated attempts of the
Dissenters to obtain a repeal of the Corporation and Test Laws [repealed
in 1828], excited much alarm and apprehension amongst many of the
Established clergy, and were most forcibly felt by those residing in
Birmingham. The name and writings of Dr Priestley were as much dreaded
by his opponents as they were admired by his friends; and as he long
resided near this town, and was eminently conspicuous in his endeavours
to procure a repeal of these laws, and in the promulgation of Unitarian
doctrines, it is not surprising that his sentiments should have been
represented to the lower classes of the people as dangerous to the
Church and State.
Attacks made upon his principles and motives in different pulpits were
answered from the Press, and produced among other things his _Familiar
Letters Addressed to the Inhabitants of Birmingham_, in which his
opponents are combated with much force and severity. In the course of
his controversial publications Priestley had made a comparison of the
progress of free inquiry to the action of gunpowder. The conclusion of
the passage ran thus:--
"The present silent propagation of truth may even be compared to those
causes in Nature which lie dormant for a time, but which in proper
circumstances act with the greatest violence. We are, as it were,
laying gunpowder, grain by grain, under the old building of error and
superstition, which a single spark may hereafter inflame, so as to
produce an instantaneous explosion; in consequence of which that
edifice, the erection of which has been the work of ages, may be
overturned in a moment, and so effectually as that the same foundation
can never be built upon again."
This paragraph became to the enemies of the Dissenters a common topic of
allusion, and was read in the House of Commons as an unquestionable
proof of the dangerous designs of that body with respect to the
constitution of this country. Hence the mischievous thinkers found no
difficulty in persuading the unthinking actors that the real intentions
of the Dissenters were to destroy the churches.
That mischief was being deliberately planned in view of the coming
anniversary was certainly known to not a few of those in authority, some
of whom from their position were responsible for the order and good
government of the town. Some days before the outbreak a number of copies
of a seditious hand-bill had been left in a public-house by an unknown
person, and this had been copied and circulated throughout the town,
causing a general ferment in the minds of the lowest class of the
people. Its character was such that the magistrates promptly offered a
reward of one hundred guineas for the discovery of the Writer, Printer,
Publisher or Distributer of the inflammatory hand-bill. But
notwithstanding that the Dissenters themselves afterwards offered an
additional reward of one hundred guineas, and the Government also
proclaimed a further reward of one hundred pounds, no clue was ever
obtained to the persons concerned in its preparation or distribution.
Such, however, was the feeling of apprehension in the minds of those who
were about to take part in the proposed celebration that it was
determined to publish the following advertisement in the _Birmingham
Chronicle_:--
Birmingham Commemoration of the French Revolution.
"Several hand-bills having been circulated in the town which can only
be intended to create distrust concerning the intention of the
meeting, to disturb its harmony and inflame the minds of people, the
Gentlemen who proposed it think it necessary to declare their entire
disapprobation of all such hand-bills and their ignorance of the
authors. Sensible themselves of the advantages of a Free Government,
they rejoice in the extension of Liberty to their Neighbours, at the
same time avowing, in the most explicit manner, their firm attachment
to the Constitution of their own Country, as vested in the Three
Estates of the King, Lords and Commons. Surely no _Free-born
Englishman_ can refrain from exulting in this addition to the general
mass of human happiness. It is the cause of _Humanity_, it is the
cause of the People.
"Birmingham, _July 13, 1791_."
We learn from a letter in the same newspaper, written a few days later
by Mr William Russell, Priestley's friend, and himself, with his family,
a sufferer in the events which followed, that in spite of this
disclaimer there was still good grounds for believing that evil was
brewing. He says that on the morning of the 14th many rumours of the
probability of a riot were brought to the friends of the meeting; and as
there was too much reason to think that means had been used to promote
one, they determined to postpone the intended dinner and prepared a
notice to that effect.
"This," says Mr Russell, "was sent to the printer, but before he had
composed it, Mr Dadley, the master of the hotel, attended, in
consequence of having the Dinner countermanded, and represented that
he was sure there was no danger of any tumult, and recommended that
the Dinner might be held as was intended; only proposing that the
gentlemen should take care to break up early, and then all danger
would be avoided. This measure was then adopted, and orders given to
the printer to suppress the hand-bill. Accordingly there was a meeting
of eighty-one gentlemen, inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood, at
the great room in the hotel, where they dined and passed the afternoon
with that social, temperate and benevolent festivity which the
consideration of the great event that has diffused liberty and
happiness among a large portion of the human race inspired."
Mr Russell continues:--
"It is but justice to the liberality and public spirit of an
inglorious artist of this town to mention that he decorated the room
upon this occasion with three elegant emblematic pieces of sculpture,
mixed with painting, in a new style of composition. The central piece
was a finely executed medallion of His Majesty, encircled with a
Glory, on each side of which was an alabaster Obelisk; one exhibiting
Gallic Liberty breaking the bands of Despotism, and the other
representing British Liberty in its present enjoyment.
"A truly respectable gentleman [Captain Keir], a member of the Church
of England, was chairman; others of that profession were of the
company, nor was a single sentiment uttered, or, I believe, conceived,
that would hurt the feelings of any one friend to liberty and good
government under the happy constitution we are blessed with in this
kingdom."
The mob, if they thought at all, thought otherwise. Although, we are
told, the utmost harmony prevailed at the festive board, and the company
dispersed without the least disturbance, they found a considerable
number of the populace assembled in the neighbourhood of Temple Row,
evidently bent on mischief. The crowd remained in the vicinity of the
hotel, their numbers gradually increasing, for a couple of hours after
Captain Keir and his friends had left. Whether the people expected
Priestley to be of the company, and fancied he was being detained in the
hotel on account of their threatening attitude, is uncertain. As a
matter of fact he had not been at the dinner. Suddenly the cry of
"Church and King!" was raised, and at that signal every window in the
front of the hotel was promptly broken. Thereupon, as if by a common
impulse, or if as acting under direction, the crowd swept onwards to the
New Meeting, where Priestley preached; this they assailed, we are told,
with incredible fury. The New Meeting was erected in 1730: it was
described as a considerable pile, "more remarkable for plainness and
simplicity than for any uncommon elegance of workmanship or superb style
of decoration. The vestry contained a valuable collection of books for
the use of the Society which assembled there." The gates and doors were
soon burst open, the pews demolished, the cushions and fragments carried
out and burnt in front of the building, and at length fire was carried
in which consumed it to the outer walls. The mob was now roused to
frenzy. Some of the magistrates strove to quell the riot, and even those
who had connived at the outrage grew alarmed at the dangerous temper
which they had roused. But the infuriated rabble by this time was
thoroughly out of control, and no sufficient force was at hand to cope
with it. The Old Meeting-House was next demolished with the regularity
of workmen employed for the purpose. A party armed with crow-bars,
bludgeons, etc., tore down the pulpit, pews and galleries, and burnt
them in the burying-ground, afterwards setting fire to the body of the
Meeting-house. The cry of "Church and King!" was again raised, and the
rioters marched in a body to Fair Hill, about a mile from the town,
where Priestley resided. His house was described by Aikin as "a most
comfortable and pleasing retreat." "Although," we are told, "it belonged
to a gentleman who was deservedly a favourite of the poor, yet because
it was the dwelling of Dr Priestley it was doomed to destruction," and
was "attacked with the most savage and determined fury." Priestley, when
the news was brought to him by his friend, Samuel Ryland, of the
destruction of the Meeting-Houses and of the impending attack on Fair
Hill, was playing backgammon with his wife, as was his custom after
supper. He could hardly be persuaded of the danger in which he stood,
and it was with difficulty that Ryland hurried him and Mrs Priestley
into the chaise which was waiting at the door. He and his wife were then
quickly driven to Showell Green, the residence of his friend, William
Russell, leaving his son William Priestley, and some other young
persons, with the servants to protect the property. What followed may
best be gleaned from the graphic narrative of Miss Martha Russell,
written within a few days of the occurrence, but first published in _The
Christian Reformer_ of 1835, Vol. II. p. 293:--
"As we were at supper, Tolley, our footman, came in with a countenance
as pale as ashes, and told my father a messenger was just arrived to
inform him that a mob had collected and set fire to the New
Meeting-House, and were then employed in destroying the Old
Meeting-House also, and they declared their intention to come from
thence to Dr Priestley's house and then to ours, and that no
magistrate appeared or could be found to disperse them. Consternation
and alarm now filled our minds. My father ordered his horse, intending
to go and meet the mob, and search out the justices to quell it.
Whilst he was loading his pocket-pistols to carry with him, a chaise
drove up to the door with Dr and Mrs Priestley and Mr Samuel Ryland.
The latter had taken the alarm, and, procuring a chaise, had hurried
the Doctor and Mrs P. away from their house, fearing the mob would be
there immediately. So great was the panic he had felt and inspired
them with that they had secured nothing, but seemed as if happy and
fortunate in escaping with their lives. We all united in begging my
father not to leave the house, and urged the danger he would be in by
meeting such an ungovernable concourse of people, and that, being
alone, he could do nothing towards quelling them, and no doubt but our
friends in Birmingham would some of them exert themselves and stir up
the magistrates without his running such a risk. He would, however,
hear nothing of it, but declared 'he would be his own master that
night.' Seeing him resolved to go, Mrs Priestley requested him to
bring her a small box of money she had in her chamber, and Dr P.
wished for his pocket-book, which contained something of value, and
which he had left on the table in the parlour, so great was their
hurry and alarm.... We walked up and down the foot-road leading to
town in a dreadful state of suspense and apprehension, clearly
discerning the fire from the two Meeting-Houses, and distinctly
hearing the shouts of the mob....
"In about three hours my father returned and informed us he went first
to Dr Priestley's house, where he found William Priestley, whom he
instructed to begin and move all the Doctor's manuscripts he thought
most likely to be valuable, by means of persons in the neighbourhood
whom my father had brought for that purpose, and on whom he could
rely, to a place in the vicinity he had fixed upon as secret and
secure. This he urged him to do as expeditiously and quietly as
possible, and to continue this employ, including also any other
valuables he recollected, till my father should send him word to stop,
not attending to any reports that might be brought him. My father then
rode on to town as far as Digbeth, and there meeting the mob, he tried
in vain to proceed. He met many of his friends, all of whom requested
him to return, telling him he did not hear the threats that were
uttered against him. At length, one of them, I believe Mr J. F----,
suddenly turned his horse, and giving him a cut with his whip, the
press was so great and the spirit of the horse so roused my father
found himself obliged in a manner to return. Arriving at Dr
Priestley's gate before the mob, he stationed himself withinside till
the mob came up, and then addressed them, endeavouring to induce them,
by fair words and money, to desist and return home. At first they
seemed a little pacified and inclined to listen, till one more loud
than the rest, and who had the appearance of a ringleader, cried out,
'Don't take a sixpence of his money: in the riots of '80 in London a
man was hanged for only taking sixpence.' They all then vociferated,
'Stone him, stone him!' and began to fling stones. My father then,
finding it rashness to brave two or three thousand men, turned his
horse and rode up to the house, telling William Priestley that he must
desist and take as much care of the house as he could, and advising
him to make all the doors and windows as secure as possible. He then
rode off home and informed us he did not think our house yet in
danger, but thought we had better remove with Dr and Mrs P. to Mr
Thomas Hawkes, about half a mile off, for fear we should be suddenly
surprised. During this time several messages were sent, and friends
came to warn us of our danger. All seemed to apprehend the mob would
visit us, and we had been advised to set out a barrel of ale on the
lawn, thus attempting to pacify them and persuade them to desist. This
done, and proper persons left to watch, we all walked up to Mr
Hawkes's. Here we found the family up and under great apprehension;
and here we soon heard the shouts of the mob at Dr Priestley's house
(and I shall never forget what dreadful and hideous shouts they were),
intermingled with a loud noise of battering against the walls, and
such a confusion of cries, huzzas, etc., as cannot be imagined. Soon
the flames burst forth, and then all seemed quiet. What were the
emotions of our minds at this moment no one can imagine unless they
had beheld our countenances and heard the broken, short sentences that
formed all the conversation which passed amongst us: yet the extreme
agitation of our minds did not prevent us from admiring the divine
appearance of the excellent Dr Priestley. No human being could, in my
opinion, appear in any trial more like divine, or show a nearer
resemblance to our Saviour, than he did then. Undaunted he heard the
blows which were destroying the house and laboratory that contained
all his valuable and rare apparatus and their effects, which it had
been the business of his life to collect and use. All this apparatus,
together with the uses he had made of them, the laborious exertions of
his whole life, were being destroyed by a set of merciless, ignorant,
lawless banditti, whilst he, tranquil and serene, walked up and down
the road with a firm yet gentle pace that evinced his entire
self-possession, and a complete self-satisfaction and consciousness
which rendered him thus firm and resigned under the unjust and cruel
persecution of his enemies; and with a countenance expressing the
highest devotion, turned as it were from this scene and fixed with
pure and calm resignation on him who suffered the administration of
this bitter cup. Not one hasty or impatient expression, not one look
expressive of murmur or complaint, not one tear or sigh escaped him;
resignation and a conscious innocence and virtue seemed to subdue all
these feelings of humanity.
"About four o'clock my father returned and informed us that as the
fire had consumed the doctor's house the mob were nearly dispersed,
half drunk, having been up to their ankles in wine in his cellar,
where they had broke the necks off all the bottles and inundated the
cellar with that portion of their contents they could not drink; that
the fields round were now covered with these fiends sleeping from
drunkenness and fatigue, and that as day was now come he thought it
most likely they would disperse entirely, and that consequently we
might return home again. Accordingly we set off, and never shall I
forget the joy with which I entered our own gates once more.... A room
was prepared for the Doctor and Mrs P. We all looked and felt our
gratitude; but the Doctor appeared the happiest amongst us. Just as he
was going to rest, expressing his thankfulness in being permitted to
lie down again in peace and comfort, my father returned from Fair Hill
with the intelligence that they were collecting again, and their
threats were more violent than ever, that they swore to find Dr P. and
take his life. The chaise was now ordered with all speed, and instead
of the much-desired rest the Doctor and Mrs P. were obliged to dress
again and get into it, scarcely knowing whither to go. Mr Ryland
accompanied them, and it was thought most advisable to take a by-road
to Heath, where Mrs Finch, the Doctor's daughter, lived, near Dudley."
"He remained at Heath Forge," says another account, "until Saturday,
July 16th, meanwhile writing to Lindsey and to his sister, Mrs Crouch,
then living at Gildersome, fearing that she would receive false
accounts through the newspapers. On the afternoon of that day he set
off on horseback, with a servant, for Worcester, intending to catch
the London mail that evening. But the fugitives lost their way on the
Morfe, a common between Heath Forge and Bridgenorth, and wandered
about all night. They, however, reached Kidderminster safely in the
morning, and were met by Mr Ryland, who offered Priestley his own wig
and coat by way of disguise. But the doctor declined. He had on a coat
buttoned up to the chin, a wig and a cocked hat, with the point in
front, his usual dress out of doors. Mr Ryland accompanied Priestley
as far as Worcester, and arrived just in time to take a place for him
in the mail to London. He travelled all night, reaching London between
six and seven in the morning of Monday, July 18th, and went to his
friend Lindsey's in Essex Street, Strand."
Miss Russell's apprehensions proved to be only too well-founded. Showell
Green was destroyed, as were Bordesley Hall and Moseley Hall, and other
houses in the vicinity of Moseley; Mr Ryland's house at Easy Hill, and
Mr Hutton's house in High Street and his country seat at Wash Wood
Heath.
On Sunday the rioters proceeded to King's Wood, seven miles from
Birmingham, and destroyed the meeting-house and the dwelling of the
Dissenting minister. For the greater part of three days the town was in
a state of siege, the majority of the shops were closed and business was
at a stand-still. Attempts were made to organise a force of constables,
but the number got together was insufficient to cope with the mob, and
in an effort to protect Mr Ryland's house the police were beaten after a
severe contest, and many were wounded. A number of the rioters lost
their lives; one man was killed by the fall of a coping stone from
Priestley's house and a number were wounded. At Easy Hill the drunken
wretches in the cellars were overwhelmed by the falling in of the
flaming roof, six were got out alive, but terribly burnt and bruised,
whilst ten dead bodies were dug out of the ruins.
Late on Sunday night three troops of dragoons reached the town:--
"Their arrival," says a contemporary chronicler, "was announced by the
sound of their trumpets and the acclamations of the inhabitants.
Anxiety, which had been strongly depicted in every face during the
day, was succeeded by the smiles of joy and the congratulations of
neighbours. The town was illuminated, the rioters, conscious of their
delinquency, soon dispersed, and order was happily restored without
bloodshed."
The King, writing to Mr Secretary Dundas in approval of dragoons having
been sent to Birmingham to quell the tumult, thus continues:--
"Though I cannot but feel better pleased that Priestley is the
sufferer for the doctrines he and his party have instilled, and that
the people see them in their true light, yet I cannot approve of their
having employed such atrocious means of showing their discontent."
From Mr Lindsey's house Priestley sent the following letter to the
_Birmingham Chronicle_:--
"To the Inhabitants of the Town of Birmingham.
"My late Townsmen and Neighbours,--After living with you eleven years,
in which you had uniform experience of my peaceful behaviour, in my
attention to the quiet studies of my profession and those of
philosophy, I was far from expecting the injuries which I and my
friends have lately received from you. But you have been misled. By
hearing the Dissenters, and particularly the Unitarian Dissenters,
continually railed at, as enemies to the present government in Church
and State, you have been led to consider any injury done to us as a
meritorious thing, and, not having been better informed, the means
were not attended to. When the _object_ was right you thought the
_means_ could not be wrong. By the discourses of your teachers, and
the exclamations of your superiors in general, drinking confusion and
damnation to us (which is well known to have been their frequent
practice), your bigotry has been excited to the highest pitch, and
nothing has been said to you to moderate your passions, but everything
to inflame them; hence, without any consideration on your part or on
theirs, who ought to have known and taught you better, you were
prepared for every species of outrage, thinking that whatever you
could do to spite and injure us was for the support of Government, and
especially the Church. In _destroying us_ you have been led to think
_you did God_ and your country the most substantial _service_.
"Happily the minds of Englishmen have a horror of _murder_, and
therefore you did not, I hope, think of _that_, though by your
clamorous demanding of _me_ at the hotel it is probable that at that
time some of you intended me some personal injury. But what is the
value of life when everything is done to make it wretched? In many
cases there would be greater mercy in dispatching the inhabitants than
in burning their houses. However, I infinitely prefer what I feel from
_the spoiling of my goods_ to the disposition of those who have misled
you.
"You have destroyed the most truly valuable and useful apparatus of
philosophical instruments that perhaps any individual in this or any
other country was ever possessed of, in my use of which I annually
spent large sums, with no pecuniary view whatever, but only in the
advancement of science, for the benefit of my country and of mankind.
You have destroyed a library corresponding to that apparatus which no
money can re-purchase, except in a course of time. But what I feel far
more, you have destroyed _manuscripts_, which have been the result of
the laborious study of many years, and which I shall never be able to
recompose; and this has been done to one who never did, or imagined
you, any harm.
"I know nothing more of the _hand-bill_, which is said to have enraged
you so much, than any of yourselves, and I disapprove of it as much,
though it has been made the ostensible handle of doing infinitely more
mischief than anything of that nature could possibly have done. In the
celebration of the French Revolution, at which I did not attend, the
company assembled on the occasion only expressed their joy in the
emancipation of a neighbouring nation from tyranny, without intimating
a desire of anything more than such an improvement of our own
Constitution, as all sober citizens, of every persuasion, have long
wished for. And though, in answer to the gross and unprovoked
calumnies of Mr Madan and others, I publicly vindicated my principles
as a Dissenter, it was only with plain and sober argument, and with
perfect good-humour. We are better instructed in the mild and
forbearing spirit of Christianity than ever to think of having
recourse to _violence_; and can you think such conduct as yours any
recommendation of your religious principles in preference to ours?
"You are still more mistaken if you imagine that this conduct of yours
has any tendency to serve your cause or to injure ours. It is nothing
but _reason_ and _argument_ that can ever support any system of
religion. Answer your arguments and your business is done; but your
having recourse to _violence_ is only a proof that you have nothing
better to produce. Should you destroy myself, as well as my house,
library and apparatus, ten more persons of equal or superior spirit
and ability would instantly rise up. If these ten were destroyed one
hundred would appear; and believe me, that the Church of England,
which you now think you are supporting, has received a greater blow by
this conduct of yours than I and all my friends have ever aimed at it.
"Besides, to abuse those who have no power of making resistance is
equally cowardly and brutal, peculiarly unworthy of Englishmen, to say
nothing of Christianity, which teaches us to do as we would be done
by. In this business we are the sheep and you are the wolves. We will
preserve our character, and hope you will change yours. At all events,
we return you blessings for curses, and pray that you may soon return
to that industry and the sober manners for which the inhabitants of
Birmingham were formerly distinguished.--I am, your sincere
well-wisher,
J. Priestley.
"London, _July 19, 1791_.
"_P.S._--The account of the first toast at the Revolution Dinner in
the _Times_ of this morning can be nothing less than a malicious lie.
To prove this a list of the toasts, with an account of all the
proceedings of the day, will soon be published. The first of these was
_The King and Constitution_, and they were all such as the friends of
liberty, and of the true principles of the Constitution, would
approve."
One of the earliest letters of sympathy he received was from his
steadfast friend and benefactor, Wedgwood. It was written from Weymouth,
at that time the most fashionable seaside watering-place in England, and
condoled with him on the "irreparable loss" he had "sustain'd from the
brutality, or rather let us hope the temporary insanity" of his
neighbours.
"If they had arisen merely from the ungovern'd madness of a mob from
the lowest order of our species, one would then lament all its effects
like those of a storm or hurricane, but if there is reason to believe
that the rabble were acted upon and encouraged to such proceedings by
those who should be their superiors, one cannot but perceive the too
evident spirit of the times, or of the place at least, by which you
and so many of your worthy neighbours have suffered."
Wedgwood then earnestly begs his friend to let him know how he can be of
service to him:--
"Instruct me in the means of doing it and I shall esteem it as one of
the strongest instances of your friendship."
Priestley's reply was written from the house of his son-in-law, William
Finch, Heath Forge, Birmingham, and was as follows:--
"Your very kind and sympathising letter was very acceptable to me. The
shock was no doubt very great, but I thank God I have been able to
bear it without any loss of health, or, indeed, of spirits. I begin to
suffer most from want of employment and absence from my family, which
indeed is irksome to me. My wife behaved with the greatest heroism at
the time, but continuing in the neighbourhood, and hearing continually
of the bad spirit that prevails in the place, I perceived that her
mind began to be affected by it. She cannot remove, as my daughter
expects to be brought to bed in about a month, and she cannot bear
that her mother should be absent at the time. This circumstance adds
much to my difficulty. Could we go together to some distant place for
a month we should be much more comfortable. One good thing has already
come out of this evil--I have a kind letter from Mr John Wilkinson
inviting us to any house of his, and bidding me not to regard any
losses that money can repair."
His brother-in-law promptly sent him £500 after the riots, and
subsequently transferred to him £10,000 in the French funds. As these
were afterwards nonproductive he afterwards gave him an annuity of £200.
Immediately after the riots he received a great number of addresses and
testimonials from his theological and philosophical admirers, and an
address transmitted by Condorcet was sent to him from the French Academy
of Sciences.
One of the earliest letters he dispatched from London was to Keir, under
date July 22, 1791.
Priestley to Keir.
"I am very happy to see a copy of your letter to the printer of the
_Birmingham Chronicle_, and in return enclose copies of my 'Address to
the Inhabitants of Birmingham,' and of Mr Russell's 'Account of the
Proceedings on July 14th.' Both these have been in the London papers
and I have just sent yours to the printer of the _Morning Chronicle_.
"I am happy to hear that all is quiet with you now, but when it will
be proper for me to come to you I cannot tell. I fear not before the
next Lunar Society. Whether I shall ever have it in my power to
collect another apparatus for experiments is quite uncertain, as
indeed is, in a great measure, my settling again at Birmingham, though
there is no place in the world that I should prefer to it.
"The extra copies of my last paper for the _Philosophical
Transactions_ are printed, and I shall soon send some to Mr Galton to
be presented to each of the members of the Lunar Society.
"I beg my compliments to them, and as long as I live I shall with much
satisfaction think of our many happy meetings."
In a letter to Wedgwood, dated four days later, he sends two copies of
his paper, and says:--
"I fear I shall not soon be able to furnish materials for another.
Indeed, what I shall do, or where I shall settle, is uncertain. I
shall, however, continue at Birmingham _if possible_, and resume all
my pursuits, in which case I must thank you for a fresh stock of
_retorts_, tubes, etc., etc., etc. This invasion of the Goths and
Vandals I little foresaw, and hope it will never be repeated, as I
fancy the _experiment_ will not be found to answer."
The next letter to Keir, dated July 29, 1791, is interesting as throwing
further light upon the causes of the riots:--
"I never thought of returning to Birmingham till my friends there
should think it safe and, on their accounts, advisable; and this, I
now begin to fear, will not be so soon as you intimate. However, I am
ready to attend the first summons, and earnestly wish it may be before
the next Lunar Society. But your meeting must not depend upon this
event.
"With this I send each of you a copy of my late, and I fear _last_,
paper for the _Philosophical Transactions_. I shall always recollect,
with peculiar satisfaction and regret, our many cheerful and improving
meetings; and if not a constant, shall indulge the hope of being an
occasional, attendant.
"You were certainly a better judge than I was of the _spirit of the
times_. But even you could not have expected such brutal excesses as
have taken place; and yet I am willing to hope much from _time_, from
your seasonable letter, and the representations of the more calm and
reasonable members of the Church of England, if not from the
interposition of Government and the execution of the laws, in which I
_wish_ for moderation.
"I lately dined with Mr Sheridan, who said I should meet Mr Fox.[15]
He, however, was prevented from attending, but desired Mr Sheridan to
say that he wished to take the matter up in whatever manner we should
think proper, by motion in the House on the subject. They conceive
that the encouragement given to this High Church spirit by the Court
arises from their willingness to crush Mr Fox, who has taken our part,
and that they hoped by these measures to intimidate us into silence.
"This I can hardly think to be the case, and I am unwilling to connect
our cause with that of any political party; since upon the face of it,
as you have clearly shown, it is wholly of a religious nature.
However, I said there would be time enough to take our measures before
the next meeting of Parliament."
Dr Withering, himself a sufferer, hastened to express his sympathy.
Priestley replied to his letters as follows:--
"Your generous contribution towards the re-establishment of my
philosophical apparatus cannot but give me satisfaction, though I am
sorry to be so burdensome to my friends, especially my
fellow-sufferers, among whom you are ranked. But what the country will
do towards indemnifying us appears very distant and uncertain, and my
claims will be liable to the greatest uncertainty, as the _proof_ that
may be required of my losses cannot be given.
"I am happy to find that your alarms and sufferings have no more
affected your spirit and health than my own did mine, and that we may
so soon expect your third volume.[16]
"It will be a considerable time, with every assistance that money can
afford, before I can be at work again, and hardly ever to so much
advantage as at Birmingham. Such assistance from philosophical friends
I should in vain look for here, and as long as I live I shall look
back with pleasure and regret to our Lunar meetings, which I always
enjoyed so much and from which I derived so much solid advantage. If I
could find the same _intelligence_ in any club of Philosophers here, I
could not find the same _frankness_ which is the charm of all society.
"I have nearly printed _An Appeal to the Public_ on the subject of the
late riot, and shall direct the printer to deliver you a copy.
"I am sensible that it will more exasperate my enemies, but it is
addressed to our common judges, and may conciliate _them_, at least in
a course of time.
"I have lately written to Mr Watt, and desired him, or the Lunar
Society as a body, to make a proposal to those who act for the
country. I hope you will see the propriety of it and contribute to its
effect."
The _Appeal_ evidently cost Priestley much pains in its composition.
Part of it was sent in sheets to his intimate friends in Birmingham,
notably Dr Withering, Mr Galton and Mr Russell, who conferred together
and with Captain Keir as to the advisability of publishing it. Like him
they were sensible that it would certainly more exasperate his enemies.
Captain Keir endeavoured to dissuade him from its publication, at least
in its proposed form, saying that it would "irritate his professed
enemies, and furnish them with a new source of abuse," and that he
feared that "Government would become more remiss in prosecuting the
magistrates and in protecting the Dissenters in future if they should
meet with any passage that would give them offence."
On learning the opinion of his friends Priestley wrote to Wedgwood:--
"I have desired the printer to send you a copy of my _Appeal_ on the
subject of the riots, in order to have your opinion and advice with
respect to publishing of it. Several of my friends in Birmingham,
viz., Dr Withering, Mr Keir and Mr Galton, think that it had better be
suppressed, or published with many alterations by way of softening.
Others, and especially my friends here, are for its speedy
publication, or about the time of the meeting of Parliament. In this
state of suspense I beg your perusal of it and your free opinion. I
think that if I write at all it should not be with less spirit than I
have usually shown, and that there is nothing more violent or
offensive in _this_ than in several of my preaching publications. But
as others are interested in the event of this publication I am willing
to be advised by them."
On August 24, 1791, at the Warwick Assizes, John Green, John Clifton and
Bartholomew Fisher were indicted for that they, with one William Jones,
at large, with others, to the number of fifty and more, did, on the 15th
of July, unlawfully and riotously assemble and with force of arms begin
to pull down the dwelling-house of Joseph Priestley, LL.D. The jury
found Green and Fisher guilty and Clifton not guilty.
John Stokes, for beginning to pull down the Old Meeting-House in
Birmingham, was acquitted, on account of the defects in the indictment.
The following was Baron Perryn's sentence:--
"Prisoners, you have been convicted by very human and attentive juries
of the enormous crimes of setting fire to and destroying the houses
and property of your fellow-subjects in a manner as wanton as it was
unprovoked. Your cry of 'Church and King!' was nothing but a pretext
to commit depredation and robbery. The Law and Constitution is a
sufficient shield to protect the Church and the sacred person of His
Majesty and all his good subjects in their lives and property.
"At the same time the Law possesses sufficient energy and vigour to
make examples of those bad citizens who wickedly and wantonly violate
it.
"You, miserable criminals, are of that number, and it is necessary
that your lives should atone for your crimes, as a public example. You
must therefore be removed from this world; and I most earnestly
recommend you to employ the short space of time which will be allowed
to you to make your peace with your offended Creator, who alone can
grant that mercy which you must not expect from your country."
Priestley's own account of these proceedings, as given in his _Memoirs_,
is very naïve and even studiously dispassionate. He says:--
"About two years before I left Birmingham, the question about the
'Test Act' was much agitated both in and out of Parliament. This,
however, was altogether without any concurrence of mine. I only
delivered, and published, a sermon on the 5th of November 1789,
recommending the most peaceable method of pursuing our object. Mr
Madan, however, the most respectable clergyman in the town, preaching
and publishing a very inflammatory sermon on the subject, inveighing
in the bitterest manner against the Dissenters in general and myself
in particular, I addressed a number of 'Familiar Letters to the
Inhabitants of Birmingham' in our defence. This produced a reply from
him and other letters from me. All mine were written in an ironical
and rather a pleasant manner, and in some of the last of them I
introduced a further reply to Mr Burn, another clergyman in
Birmingham, who had addressed to me 'Letters on the Infallibility of
the Testimony of the Apostles concerning the Person of Christ,' after
replying to his first set of letters, in a separate publication.
"From these small pieces I was far from expecting any serious
consequences. But the Dissenters in general being very obnoxious to
the Court, and it being imagined, though without any reason, that I
had been the chief promoter of the measures which gave them offence,
the clergy, not only in Birmingham but through all England, seemed to
make it their business, by writing in the public papers, by preaching
and other methods, to inflame the minds of the people against me. And
on occasion of the celebration of the anniversary of the French
Revolution, on July 14, 1791, by several of my friends, but with which
I had little to do, a mob, encouraged by some persons in power, first
burned the meeting-house in which I preached, then another
meeting-house in the town, and then my dwelling-house, demolishing my
library, apparatus and, as far as they could, everything belonging to
me. They also burned, or much damaged, the houses of many Dissenters,
chiefly my friends.
"The criminality of the magistrates and other principal High Churchmen
at Birmingham in promoting the riot remains acknowledged. Indeed, many
circumstances which have appeared since that time show that the
friends of the Court, if not the Prime Ministers themselves, were the
favourers of that riot, having, no doubt, thought to intimidate the
friends of liberty by the measure."
"The years following the riot of 1791," wrote Mr Matthew Devonport Hill,
"witnessed various displays of hostile sentiment. In preparation for a
municipal dinner shortly after that event, of which a member of the
powerful and wealthy party opposed to French principles bore the cost,
the list of guests accustomed prior to the outbreak to be invited on
public occasions had been sedulously cleared of adverse elements. By
inadvertence, however, the name of Dr Parr was retained; and the sturdy
divine, although he must have surmised that he would be the only
representative of his opinions, duly obeyed the summons. The cloth being
drawn, the Chairman proposed, as the Doctor no doubt expected, the toast
of 'Church and King.'
"Parr instantly started to his feet, proclaiming in a stern voice his
dissent. 'No, sir,' said he, 'I will not drink that toast. It was the
cry of Jacobites; it is the cry of incendiaries. It means a Church
without the Gospel, and a King above the Law!'"