Indeed, I at this moment remember some additional names. There was Mr.
Thomas, and Mr. Lutherel, a sort of a journeyman attorney, and a Mr.
W. Weech, of all the men in the world one that I ought not to have
forgotten, he was a most worthy elector of Bristol, who, together with
Brownjohn, never flinched for a moment. There were also Mr. Haines
and Mr. Farr, and a brave and worthy elector of the name of Stokes,
a shoemaker. In fact, they were altogether as brave and as staunch
a little band of patriots as ever met to struggle for the rights of
Englishmen--and this was indeed a mighty struggle, the force, the power,
the wealth, and the corrupt influence that we had to contend with, being
beyond all description.
I very soon discovered that there was not the slightest chance of
carrying the election; there being a complete coalition between the
Whigs and the Tories. The whole enormous influence of both the factions
was thrown into the scale against me. The most violent menaces were used
by them to deter my friends from coming forward in my favour. Hundreds
upon hundreds came to say, that they were anxious to vote for me, but if
they did do so they would lose their bread, and they and their families
would be ruined. All the merchants, tradesmen, and masters of every
denomination, openly vowed vengeance against all their dependants and
connexions, if they voted for me. I believe there was never any thing
equal to the threats and intimidation that took place in that city
during that election. As, therefore, there was no chance of contending
against all this with any prospect of success, the only course which was
left for me to pursue, was to make the enemy purchase his victory as
dearly as possible; and, with this view, all my efforts were directed
to impress on the minds of my Committee the necessity of husbanding our
resources, by keeping back all the staunch votes, so as to protract the
poll to the very last hour which was allowed by law. We _did_ accomplish
this; yet how, under such adverse circumstances, we contrived to carry
on the contest for fifteen days, has often been a matter of astonishment
to me.
I had been two days now without any friend to assist me, and whether it
was on the third or whether it was on the fourth day, I am not quite
clear; but, to my great joy, a gentleman from London, whom I had only
met once or twice before, came down, as he said, when he introduced
himself upon the hustings, expressly to assist me in the glorious
struggle. My pleasure was equal to my surprise, when Mr. Davenport, a
gentleman well known in the literary world, walked up on the hustings
and shook me by the hand, at the time that he communicated this
gratifying intelligence. Mr. Davenport was just the very man of whom I
stood in need. If I had taken the choice of the whole world, knowing
him, as I now do, I would have selected Mr. Davenport. He is rather a
little man, but he is as brave as a lion, with an eye as quick as
a hawk's, decisive and rapid in executing any thing that was to be
undertaken, and with wit and talent as brilliant as the sun at noon-day.
I had all along felt myself more than a match for the forty attorneys
and all their myrmidons; but with such a man as Mr. Davenport by my
side, I held them cheap indeed. This was such an accession to my forces
as I had not at all calculated upon. To Mr. Cobbett and to Sir Francis
Burdett was I indebted for the able assistance of such a man. Before
he arrived, I had not a friend that I could communicate with; all the
Bristol men were tradesmen, and they had to attend to their business,
when they were not at work either in the Committee-room or in the field;
but in Mr. Davenport I found at once a delightful companion, and an
indefatigable, able, assistant. When he sees this it will recal to his
recollection many and many a hearty laugh which we had together, in
talking over the blunders and stupidities that had been committed by
the Bristolians during the labours and fatigues o£ the day, and how
we enjoyed the mischief that we were making amongst the agents of The
Boroughmongers. It was calculated that Mr. Davis and his friends did not
spend less than two thousand pounds a day, while we fared sumptuously,
and partook of every delicacy of the season, at an expense not exceeding
twenty-five shillings a day between us; this being the extent of my
expenses, when I came to pay my bill at the end of the sixteen days that
I was at the Talbot. I shall never forget how he used to laugh and enjoy
the fun; and it almost makes me laugh now, even in my solitary dungeon,
when I recollect the way in which _Snuffy Jerry_ tuned up the first song
that Mr. Davenport wrote, beginning--"Tallow Dick! Tallow Dick! you are
cursedly sick of being baited at Bristol election." Tallow Dick, be it
observed, was the name by which the Tory champion was known. After being
_eighteen days and nights in solitary confinement_, in my gloomy, dark,
damp, dungeon, without having been once cheered by the voice of a
friend, I can smile at the recollection of these scenes that afforded
us so much mirth. Ah! my dear and much respected friend, when you read
this, and think of my situation, I know that the tear will for a moment
glisten in your eye, your whole soul will sympathise with your friend.
But again, when you think of the cruel sufferings and persecutions of
those that I love more than my life, I can almost see you jump out of
your seat, and, as you brush the tear indignantly from your eye, I can
fancy I hear you shower down maledictions upon the unnatural monsters
who can thus delight to inflict wanton misery upon a captive and his
unoffending family.
The next morning very early, one of my friends came to my bed-room door
to inform me that a regiment of soldiers had been marched into the city
during the night, and that some of them had actually taken up their
quarters and slept in the Guildhall, the very seat of the election. I
immediately rose, and while I was dressing myself, I ordered my horse,
being determined to go and witness this novel scene, of a regiment of
soldiers taking possession of the Guildhall and the hustings, during
the time of an election; still, however, expecting that as soon as the
authorities were in motion in the morning, they would remove them at
least from the immediate neighbourhood where the election was going
on; but I afterwards found that my haste was unnecessary. I mounted my
horse, and accompanied by a few friends, I rode down to the door of the
Guildhall, which was surrounded by soldiers with bayonets fixed. Upon
hearing that I was coming, for my approach was always announced by the
people, those who had slept in the Hall come flocking down the steps, to
have a peep at this tremendous candidate who had created such a
popular feeling that the election could not be carried on without the
intervention of the military, both horse and foot--two troops of the
Scots Greys and the West Middlesex Militia. Upon one of the officers
coming to the spot, I addressed them as I sat on my horse. But, as
what I said was published at the time, in an account given of the
transactions as they occurred, as well as in the details which were put
forth by the London press, and collected by Mr. Cobbett, who reprinted
them in the 22d volume of the _Register_, I shall insert his account of
it, as follows:--
BRISTOL ELECTION.
From the letter, at the head of this sheet, [Footnote: See page 519.]
the reader will find a pretty good preface to the history of this
election, which is quite another sort of thing than what the friends of
Sir Samuel Romilly appear to have taken an election at Bristol to be.
The intelligence which I have from that City comes down to Wednesday
last, the 1st instant. I may, and, I dare say, I shall, have it to a
later date before this number goes to the press; but, I shall now give
the history down to that day.
Sir Samuel Romilly's friends, at their meeting at the Crown and Anchor,
talked of Mr. PROTHEROE as an opponent; but, not a word did they say of
Mr. HUNT. A _farmer_, was, I suppose, thought beneath their notice. We
shall, however, see that farmer doing more at Bristol, I imagine, than
they and their subscription will ever be able to do. In the letter,
before inserted, I have shown how Mr. Hunt, whose residence is in
Sussex, was taken by surprise. He was wholly ignorant of the vacancy,
'till _Thursday evening_, the 25th of June, when his newspaper of
Wednesday informed him that the writ, in the room of Mr. Bragge
Bathurst, had been moved for on Tuesday.
He came to London on Friday, set off that night for Bath, and got into
Bristol on _Saturday evening_, where he was received by the people with
a pleasure proportioned to their surprise at seeing him come.
Hart Davis had made his entry in an earlier part of the day, preceded by
the carriages of bankers, excise and custom-House people, and, in short,
all that description of persons who are every where found in opposition
to the liberties of Englishmen.
As it was settled amongst the parties, that Davis was to meet with no
opposition from either MR. PROTHEROE or SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY, he expected
a _chairing_ on the Monday, amidst the shouts of some score or two
of hired voices. How great was his surprise, then, and how great the
consternation of his party, when they saw it announced that Mr. Hunt was
about to make his appearance!
_Sunday_ (the 28th of June) passed, of course, without any _business_
being done, but not without "_dreadful note of preparation._"
On Monday morning, the day appointed by the Sheriffs for holding the
election, the Guildhall, the place for holding the election, became a
scene of great interest: an injured and insulted people resolved to
assert their rights against the intrigues and the violences of a set of
men who were attempting to rob them of those rights.
After the _nominations_ had taken place, the Sheriffs adjourned their
court till the next day.
In the evening great strife and fighting and violence took place; the
_White Lion Inn_, whence the _Club_ who put in Mr. Bragge, and who are
now at work for Davis, takes its name; this Inn was assailed by the
_people's party_, and, it is said, pretty nearly demolished. Mr. Davis's
house at Clifton is said to have shared the same fate; and, this and
similar work, with terrible battles in the streets, having continued
till Tuesday night (the 30th of June), the SOLDIERS WERE CALLED IN, AND,
IT IS SAID, ACTUALLY MARCHED INTO THE GUILDHALL!
Pause, here, reader. Look at this spectacle. But, how came this to be
_necessary!_ It is said, that it was _necessary_, in order to _preserve
property_. But, _how came it to be so?_ Who _began_ the violences? That
is the question.
And I have no hesitation in stating my firm belief, that they were
begun, not by the PEOPLE, but by their enemies.
I state, upon the authority of Mr. JOHN ALLEN, of Bath, whom I know to
be a man of honour, of strict veracity, and (if that be any additional
praise) of great property: upon the authority of this gentleman, who
requests me to use his name, and who was an eye-witness of what he
relates, I state, that, there were about 400 men, who had been _made
special constables for the purpose_, who where planted near the place of
election; that these men, who ought to have been for one side as much as
for the other, were armed with _staves_ or _clubs_, painted BLUE, which,
the reader will observe, is the colour of the White Lion, or Bragge and
Davis, party; and, of course, the PEOPLE, who were for Mr. Hunt, looked
upon these 400 men as brought for the purpose of overawing them and
preventing them by force from exercising their rights. These men
committed, during the 29th, many acts of violence against the people.
But, at last, the people, _after great numbers of them had been
wounded_, armed themselves _with clubs too_; attacked the Blues, and
drove them into the White Lion.
Here the mischief would have ended; but the Blues, ascending to the
_upper rooms_ and _the roof_, had the baseness to throw down _stones,
brick-bats, tiles, glass bottles_, and other things, upon the heads
of the people. This produced an attack upon the house, which was soon
broken in, and I believe, gutted.
These facts I state upon the authority of Mr. Allen; and I state them
with a perfect conviction of their truth.
The reader will observe, that the great point is, WHO BEGAN THE FIGHT?
We have heard Mr. Allen; now let us hear what the other parties say. In
the TIMES newspaper of the 2d July, it is said by a writer of a letter
from Bristol, who abuses Mr. Hunt, that when the nomination was about to
take place, "Mr. Davis and his party made their appearance. The friends
of Mr. Davis _wore blue cockades_, and they were accompanied by _some
hundreds of persons bearing short_ BLUE STAVES, who had been sworn in as
_special constables_." This is enough. Here is a full acknowledgment of
the main circumstance stated by Mr. Allen: namely, that hundreds of men,
sworn in as Constables, were armed with _staves_ of the colour of one
of the candidates, and that they accompanied that candidate to the
Hustings.--In the COURIER of the 1st July, the same fact, in other
words, comes out. The writer (of another letter from Bristol), in
speaking of the precautions intended to be taken, says: "Our Chief
Magistrate has summoned his brother officers together, and _as_ the
constables _assembled by Mr. Davis's friends_ are to be all dismissed
at the close of the poll, and _their colours taken out of their hats_,
there will be _no provocation on his part_ to Mr. Hunt's party."--This,
coming from the enemy, clearly shews _on which side the aggression had
commenced_.--Therefore, for all that followed, the party of Davis are
responsible.-- We shall know, by-and-by, perhaps, who it was that
_permitted_ these hundreds of Constables to hoist the colours of one of
the candidates, which was, in fact, "a _declaration of war_ against
the people," and as such the letter in the TIMES says it was
regarded.--Well, but the SOLDIERS ARE CALLED IN; and, as I am informed,
the Soldiers were, on Wednesday morning, between _five_ and _six_
o'clock, addressed by Mr. Hunt in nearly the following words:
"Gentlemen; Soldiers; Fellow-citizens and Countrymen, I have to ask a
favour of you, and that is, that you will discover _no hostility to each
other_ on account of your being dressed in different coloured coats. You
are all equally interested in this election. You are all Englishmen; you
must all love freedom; and, therefore, act towards each other as brother
towards brother." It is added by my informant, that Mr. Hunt was greatly
applauded by the _whole_ of his audience.--He expressed his conviction,
that the soldiers would not voluntarily shoot their countrymen; "but,"
added he, "if military force is to carry the election, the "sooner the
shooting begins, the better; and here am I," said he, laying bare his
breast, "ready to receive the first ball."--Let us now see how the
_factious_ view this matter.--The COURIER abuses Mr. Hunt in the style
to be expected. The TIMES speaks of him in this way: "The poll commenced
at ten o'clock. In this _farce_ Mr. Hunt plays many parts: he unites
in himself the various characters of _Candidate_, _Counsel_, and
_Committee_, as he has _not one human being to assist him_ in either of
those capacities." Well, and what then? What does he want more than a
good cause and the support of the people? These are all that ought to be
necessary to any candidate. What business have _lawyers_ with elections?
And, ought the people to want any committee, to tell them their duty?
The _Morning Chronicle_ takes a more sanctimonious tone. It says on the
2d of July, (in the form of a letter from Bristol): "It is much to be
regretted, that the _regularity_ and _peaceable_ demeanour with which
our elections were _formerly conducted_, are now totally disregarded.
Notwithstanding _the exertions of Mr. Davis's, Mr. Protheroe's, and Sir
S. Romilly's friends_, to prevent a recurrence of the outrages which
endangered Mr. Bathurst's life at a late election, the procession on
Saturday _was assailed by vollies of mud, stones, dead cats, &c. Mr.
Davis fortunately escaped unhurt, except from one stone which struck
his arm._" Here are two things to be observed: first, that _Davis,
Protheroe,_ and _Sir Samuel Romilly's_ friends, the friends of all of
them, are here spoken of as co-operating. Aye, to be sure! League with
the devil against the rights of the people! This is a true _Whig trait_.
But, the _mud, stones, and dead cats!_ Who in all the world could have
thrown them at "the amiable Mr. Davis?" It must have been some _Bristol
people_ certainly; and that of their own accord too, _for Mr. Hunt was
not there at the time_.--Mark how these prints discover each other's
falsehoods. The Courier of the 1st July gave us an account of Mr.
Davis's gracious reception. It told us, that "RICHARD HART DAVIS, Esq.
the late Member for Colchester, and the professed candidate of the
_White Lion party_ in this city, was met at Clifton on Saturday by
_an immense body of freeholders and freemen_, consisting of the most
respectble and opulent inhabitants of the city, and was preceded to
the Exchange by a cavalcade of upwards of one hundred carriages, and a
numerous body of his friends on horseback and on foot." But, not a word
about the _mud, stones, and dead cats_, with which he was saluted.
Yet these were flung at him; and flung at him, too, by the people of
Bristol; by hands unbought; for Mr. Hunt spends not a farthing. They
were a _voluntary offering_ on the part of those men of Bristol who were
not to be corrupted.
The COURIER of Thursday, 2d July, states, that both _horse and foot
soldiers_ had been marched into Bristol.
SIR FRANCIS BURDETT mentioned this circumstance in the House of Commons
on Thursday evening. The Secretary at War said he did not know of the
troops being brought _into_ the city. But this will be found to have
been the case.
WM. COBBETT.
_State Prison, Newgate,_
_Friday, 3rd July, 1812._
After having reviewed the red coat gentry of the West Middlesex Militia,
I returned to my inn and took my breakfast, and at nine o'clock I
proceeded on horseback to the Guildhall, accompanied as usual by a great
number of my friends, the unhired, the unbought, people of Bristol. When
I arrived at the top of Broad-street, I found, to my surprise, that I
had to pass the whole of the way down that street to the Guildhall,
between double lines of the military, drawn up on each side of the
street, with arms supported and bayonets fixed. This was not only a
novel scene, it was such a one as had never before been exhibited at an
election in England. As I passed the first rank and file I halted, and
taking off my hat, said, "Come, my lads, let us give our friends, the
soldiers, three cheers." This was instantly complied with, and as I went
on, each soldier exclaimed, "Hunt for ever;" and this was kept up by the
whole line till I reached the Hall-door, when three more cheers were
given, in which many of the soldiers heartily joined. Unconstitutional
and illegal as was the measure of bringing the military to superintend,
or rather to overawe, an election, it must be owned that the soldiers
were at least much less dangerous than the brutal bludgeon-men. This,
however, had the desired effect of deterring almost all the electors
from coming to the poll, except those who came for Mr. Davis, and knew
that they were protected by the authorities. The very idea of
introducing military at any time into the streets of Bristol, had a very
disagreeable and alarming appearance, and called to the recollection of
the citizens the horrors which had occurred at the massacre of Bristol
Bridge, some few years before, when the people were fired upon by the
Herefordshire Militia, and I think as many as ten or twelve were killed,
and a great many wounded. The introduction, therefore, of troops into
the city, in the midst of an election, naturally excited a great panic
amongst the timid and the weak, and those who prided themselves for
prudence took care to keep from the spot.
The moment that I got upon the hustings I protested against such a
violation of the constitution, such an outrage upon the rights of
freedom of election, and pledged myself that I would present and
prosecute a petition against the return which might be made under such
circumstances. The Sheriffs declared they knew nothing about it; that
the military were introduced by the Mayor to preserve the peace of the
city. The soldiers, nevertheless, continued to occupy the whole of
Broad-street, and kept guard over the door to the hustings, during the
whole of that day.
Seeing the state of intimidation in which the people of Bristol were
placed, and learning the threats and the violence which had been used to
prevent the voters from coming up to poll for one, it now became my care
to husband those few independent votes upon whom I could depend, and to
avoid bringing up those whose bread was dependent upon my opponents. Of
the latter there were some as brave as lions, who, defying danger, set
all consequences at defiance. I recollect some instances of peculiar
devotion and heroism. There was a smith in Balance-street, of the name
of Pollard, a freeman, who possessed a soul that nothing could shake;
there was also a young freeman, named Milsom, and several others, who
attended the hustings every day, but held back their votes to the very
last, and bravely came up to the bar when called upon. It required
nerves, courage, and virtue, of no common cast, to do this, in defiance
of all the authorities, as vindictive and virulent a gang of petty
tyrants as ever disgraced the robes of office. In this manner the
election proceeded from day to day, without any chance ever having been
given by me to enable the Sheriffs to close it.