while the people of Somerset, who were assembled to the amount of six
or eight thousand persons, were gaping and swallowing all the stuff and
trash dealt out to them by these worthies, a Mr. Trip, a gentleman of
the lower part of the county, a barrister, addressed himself to me,
requesting to know if I meant to propose any amendment. I told him I had
some resolutions of a very different nature, which I certainly meant to
move as an amendment. He then shewed me some resolutions which he had
drawn up, and which he had intended to propose as an amendment, if no
others were offered. Upon reading them over, I found that they embraced
all the material points contained in those which I had framed; and as
they went most decidedly to object to the whole that was proposed by
Sir Abraham, it was settled between us that he should move, and that I
should second them. He accordingly moved them, after a very able and
violent speech, which certainly contained a great deal of good matter,
though it was evidently clouded every now and then by ebullitions of
party spirit, which at county meetings generally shews itself. He was,
nevertheless, heard with attention, and received considerable applause.
The moment that I came forward to second the resolutions, a murmur ran
through the crowd to know who I was; and, on my name being announced,
I was instantly honoured with three cheers. In seconding Mr. Trip's
resolutions, I certainly took rather different ground upon which to
found my arguments. I ridiculed, in indignant language, the idea of
granting sixty thousand a-year to a young German adventurer, merely for
marrying our Princess, and of giving them _fifty thousand_ pounds as
an outfit. But the most monstrous and most infamous proposition of the
whole, I considered that of settling _fifty thousand_ a-year upon him
for life, in case of the decease of his wife. It was, I said, a premium
upon her death.
I was going on amidst the laughter and cheers of the whole multitude,
when little Mr. Goodford, the Sheriff, interfered to call me to order;
adding, that as he stood there as the representative of the King, and
as a loyal man, he could never suffer the Royal Family of England to be
spoken of in the way in which I had spoken of it, and he _insisted_ that
I should not go on so in his presence. This interruption was received
with evident marks of disapprobation. Never at a loss upon such an
occasion, I replied, that I considered myself quite as loyal a man as
Mr. Goodford, both to the King and the people, and that, as the meeting
appeared almost unanimously disposed to hear me, Mr. Goodford, as
chairman, had nothing to do but to take the sense of the meeting, which,
if he did not choose to act up to, it was only for him to vacate the
chair, and we would place some one in it that would. The little Sheriff
did not relish the idea of vacating the chair, and therefore the
question was put whether the meeting would hear what I had to say or
not. The show of hands in favour of my continuing in the same strain was
nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand; there being only
three hats, that I saw, held up against it. These three persons
consisted of a little knot of placemen, led on by a notorious
Custom-house scamp of that town; a tall, lanky fellow, whose head was
nearly half a foot above the rest of the crowd. From the visage of this
worthy projected a cocked nose of a very peculiar kind, the nostrils of
which appeared to be two round holes passing horizontally, instead of
perpendicularly, into his head. Upon this delicious proboscis (which was
a sort of mixture between the pug-dog and a Chinese pig), was mounted
a pair of silver barnicles, apparently placed there for the purpose of
hiding a brace of things more resembling coddled gooseberries than human
eyes. That feature which, in men, made as they ought to be, is called a
mouth, was in him not entitled to the name; it being a vulgar gash, with
a pair of very thick lips, extending across two dumpling cheeks, and
nearly uniting a brace of tremendous asinine ears. These altogether
formed something like a half-decayed turnip stuck upon a mop-stick. Let
the reader only imagine to himself a figure of this sort, constantly
opening the slit that I have above described, and vomiting forth at
once, from a fetid carcase, the most disgusting sound and stench, and
then he will have some faint idea of the scene exhibited by this animal
of a Customhouse officer. After being admonished twice to be peaceable,
and not attending to it, he and his satellites were handed out of the
crowd, and banished from the scene of action, amidst the cheers of the
multitude. This operation being performed upon the Customhouse ass and
his two supporters, I proceeded to address the meeting, for the purpose
of winding up the subject upon which I had been dilating, when Squire
Goodford spoke to order. I certainly handled, with very little ceremony,
the trash which Sir Abraham had been sporting, and, after having
admonished my hearers to exercise their own judgment like Englishmen,
and not be led by the nose like slaves, I concluded by seconding the
resolutions which had been moved by Mr. Trip, which, of course, included
a resolution declaring the necessity of a Reform in Parliament.
What followed was more curious than all the rest. Sir John Acland, the
Chairman of the county quarter sessions, now came forward, and, like a
cunning old fox, who saw which way the wind blew, he turned short round
upon those whom he meant before to support, and declared that the
resolutions moved as an amendment by Mr. Trip, and seconded by Mr. Hunt,
had his full concurrence. Sir John saw which was the strongest side, and
which way the current of popular opinion was rolling, and therefore he
was determined to come in for his share of merit, by joining in the cry
and running with the stream. Upon a shew of hands our amendment was
carried by a majority of one hundred to one, at least. I never saw a man
so delighted as Mr. Counsellor Trip was, I thought he would have jumped
over the hustings for joy. It was evident to me that this success came
upon him unawares, and that, although he had made up his mind to move an
amendment, yet he had not the slightest idea that it would be carried. I
was more accustomed to these things, and took it more coolly; in fact, I
felt it necessary to admonish him to bear his victory with more becoming
joy, and not to exult so outrageously. A vote of thanks was passed to
little Squire Goodford, the nominal High Sheriff; I say _nominal_, for,
_in fact_, all the Sheriffs of this county, for many, many years,
have been called _pauper Sheriffs_, and have been merely nominal High
Sheriffs; Messrs. _Perpetual_, or rather Messrs. _Alternate_ Sheriffs,
that is to say, Messrs. Mellior and Broderip, being the real or _bona
fide_ Sheriffs, their masters having been their mere puppets or nominal
Sheriffs.
When the meeting was dissolved, almost the whole assembly followed, or
rather attended me to my inn, where I was obliged to address them from
the window, before they could be prevailed upon to depart. Every one
appeared delighted with the result of the meeting, except poor Sir
Abraham, the Sheriff, and a little knot of Whigs, who had meant to
curry favour with the Prince Regent, by presenting to him an abject,
time-serving address from the county of Somerset; but who had been
foiled, and, in a great measure, by my exertions. Sir Abraham, and his
friend the Sheriff, looked most wretchedly; no Frenchman ever shrugged
his shoulders with a more emphatic expression of disaster, than the Rev.
Baronet did; and he really reminded me of the knight with the rueful
countenance. Will any man who reads this believe that the _worthy_
Judges of the Court of King's Bench had not the effect of this meeting
in their mind, when they sentenced me to be confined TWO YEARS AND SIX
MONTHS in Ilchester Bastile, where they well knew the Rev. Baronet and
the worthy Squire were two of the VISITING MAGISTRATES? Will any one who
reads this have the least doubt, that those who have persecuted me here
have been actuated by the cowardly feeling of wishing to be revenged
upon me, now that they have me in their power, because I defeated their
ridiculous and time-serving projects, and exposed their folly at the
said county meeting at Bridgwater? Can any one doubt that the Ministers
ordered their tools to send me here, that their underlings might exert
their petty tyranny, in order to annoy me?
On the twelfth of May, in this year, the Prince of Saxe Coburg was
married to the Princess Charlotte of Wales. The Parliament, as I have
before observed, gave them for an outfit _fifty thousand pounds_ of John
Gull's money, and settled _sixty thousand pounds_ a-year of the said
John's money, and also settled upon him as a dower, for his life, _fifty
thousand pounds a-year_, in case of her death: so that this hopeful
German now receives annually out of the pockets of the distressed
people of England _fifty thousand pounds a-year_, while the President of
the United States of America only receives _six thousand_ pounds a-year;
so that _Saxe Coburg_ does us the honour to drain the people of England
of a sum more than _eight times_ as much as the President of the
United States of America receives from the people of that country, for
attending to all their affairs, and presiding as the Chief Magistrate of
a vast and free country, containing ten millions of people.
In the middle of May there were disturbances at Bideford, from the poor
endeavouring to prevent the exportation of potatoes. There was also a
riot and great disturbances at Bury, by the unemployed, to destroy a
spinning-jenny. On the 24th, a great body of farmers and labourers
assembled in a very riotous manner at Ely, and committed many
depredations. They were at length suppressed, after some blood had been
spilt. On the 28th, there were great disturbances, amongst the pitmen
and others, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. On the same day a serious tumult
occurred at Halstead, in Essex, to liberate some persons who had been
taken up for destroying threshing-machines. On the 2d of July, the
Prince Regent prorogued the Parliament, after a new Alien Bill, and
a Bill to regulate the Civil List, had passed. On the 12th of July,
1816, there was a public funeral of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Esq.
certainly the most brilliant and accomplished orator of the age. In my
opinion, he far surpassed either Pitt or Fox in real eloquence, and, in
the midst of all his changings and vacillations, he was always, without
one exception, the steady and zealous friend of the liberty of the
press. Poor Sheridan was always in pecuniary difficulties, and
overwhelmed with debt; and he at last became quite a swindler in order
to evade his creditors, and he died at a time when he could not obtain
credit for a pot of porter. On the 22d, the Duke of Gloucester, who was
called by the Royal Family _Silly Billy_, was married to one of his
cousins, the Princess Mary. Fortunately for the public, they have, I
believe, no children for John Gull to keep. On the 2d of August, a riot
took place in the Calton, one of the suburbs of Glasgow, on account of
the soup-kitchens, which was not suppressed till some blood was spilt.
On the 8th of the same month, a mortar of uncommon size, left by Marshal
Soult on his retreat from Cadiz, was fixed in St. James's Park, opposite
the Horse Guards. This piece of ordnance is commonly known by the name
of the Prince Regent's bomb. On the 27th, Algiers was bombarded, and the
batteries destroyed by the English fleet, commanded by Lord Exmouth--a
treaty was entered into afterwards, by the Dey of Algiers and Lord
Exmouth, in which Christian slavery was abolished. On the 16th of
September a riot and great disturbance took place at Preston, in
Lancashire, by the distressed and unemployed workmen. There was also a
riot at Frome, in consequence of a sudden rise of one-third in the price
of potatoes, in which riot the Yeomanry Cavalry sustained a defeat, and
were driven from the field of action by the stones, potatoes, and rotten
eggs that were hurled at them by the multitude, several of whom were
taken into custody. One of that anomalous hermaphrodite race called
Parson-justices, a person of the name of Sainsbury, read the Riot
Act, and called out the cavalry. But, by the judicious conduct of Mr.
Champness, of Orchardleigh, the disturbances were quelled, and peace
was restored. A Mr. Thornhill, who was a paid agent and adjutant of the
Somerset Yeomanry Cavalry, who came over from Bath on the following day,
after all was peace and quietness, wrote a letter to the Editor of the
_Courier_ newspaper, giving a most ridiculous and false account of the
whole transaction. In order to ascertain the truth, as to what really
took place, I drove over from Bath, with Mr. Allen of Bath, and having
detailed the circumstances to Mr. Cobbett, he handled the brave
blustering Captain in a masterly stile, and fixed upon him the name
of Captain Bobadil, which will last him as long as he lives. Captain
Bobadil and the battle of Frome will not readily be forgotten in the
west of England, nor, indeed, in any place where Mr. Cobbett's Register
was read, which was now published at TWO-PENCE a number, and in
consequence had increased ten-fold in its circulation. There were also
great riots at Nottingham, by persons calling themselves Luddites; these
consisted of unemployed workmen, who went about in the most lawless
manner, destroying the frames by which the stocking manufactory was
carried on. There were riots, too, at Myrthir-Tydvil, in Glamorganshire,
by the workmen employed in the iron-manufactories, on a reduction of
wages; and at Walsall, in Staffordshire, amongst the distressed and
unemployed workmen.
In fact, great distress and dissatisfaction prevailed, not only in
England, Ireland and Scotland, but all over Europe, which was in a
calamitous state, produced by the reaction of the war, the fatal effects
of which now began to be felt most severely. The distress amongst
the farmers was very great, and the agricultural gentry began to cry out
most unmercifully. The fools now began to find out that what I had told
them was true, namely, that the Corn Bill would not ultimately serve
them, that it was never intended by its promoters for any other purpose
than to enable the Government, by means of keeping up the price of corn,
to continue to extract from the farmers high rents and high taxes. In
many parts the manufacturers likewise suffered greatly, particularly in
Staffordshire, South Wales, and the Metropolis, and especially amongst
the poor weavers in Spitalfields. The truth was, that the Bank of
England had curtailed the issue of their notes, in order to meet the
demands of their creditors, which they expected they should be compelled
to pay in cash, instead of being longer protected by a pretended
restriction, designed to prevent them from being called upon to pay any
thing more than "I promise to pay," in exchange for "I promise to
pay." This restriction was nothing more nor less than a _Government
protection_ against the demands of their creditors, which enabled them
to refuse to pay their just debts with impunity, and according to Act of
Parliament. Distress and discontent therefore prevailed from one end of
the land to the other, but in no place more than the metropolis, which
was full of discharged seamen, who had been dismissed from the British
Navy, which was now dismantled almost universally. These poor fellows,
who had fancied that they had been fighting the battles of their
country, who had suffered all the hardships of a sailor's life, during a
long and bloody war, and who had been successful against every power for
such a length of time, had become exceedingly disheartened by the
checks and defeats they had experienced in the naval warfare with the
Americans, who, if I may use a familiar phrase, had completely taken
the _shine_ out of the British seamen, a race proverbial for being very
superstitious. They had always boasted that an English sailor was a
match for two Frenchmen, or any other seamen; but Jack found in the
American sailor not only his equal in bravery and skill; but more than
his match. Thus dispirited and almost broken hearted, and the British
Navy being laid up, our sailors were discharged and treated worse than
dogs; they were put on shore at any port, and they had to march to
London, barefooted and pennyless, to receive the little pay and prize
money that was due to them. Hundreds and hundreds did I relieve, as
they passed by Middleton Cottage; broken down in body and in spirit,
they were made to feel that they had been fighting for despotism instead
of Liberty. Soup Committees were established, and subscriptions raised
all over the kingdom, to supply the starving poor with soup; but to the
offer of it they replied, that they did not want charity, they wanted
work, and they would much rather live upon a scanty meal, the fruit of
their own labour, than be feasted by charity.
Some time in the early part of September, I received a letter from
London, signed A. Thistlewood, requesting me, when I came to town, to do
him the favour of a call, as he had to communicate to me matters of the
highest importance, connected with the welfare and happiness of the
people, to promote whose interest he had always observed that I was most
ready and active, &c. &c. As Mr. Thistlewood was a perfect stranger to
me, and as I was a stranger even to his name, I wrote to a Mr. Bryant, a
quondam attorney, and Clerk of the Papers at the King's Bench; a man who
was said to know every body and every thing that was going on in London,
both in high and low life;--I wrote to this gentleman, and requested him
to inquire at such a number for Mr. Thistlewood, and let me know who and
what he was, as I had received rather a mysterious letter from him, and
I wished to know something of him before I gave him any answer. The
answer which I received from Mr. Bryant was such that I never replied to
the letter of Mr. Thistlewood, or took any further notice of it.
Some time, however, in the beginning of November, I received a letter
from London, signed Thomas Preston, Secretary, to say that a public
meeting of the distressed inhabitants of the metropolis was advertised
to be held in Spafields, on Monday, the 15th of November, and that he
was instructed by the Committee to solicit my attendance. This letter
was dated from Greystoke-place, and the writer requested an answer,
which I gave him by return of post, desiring to be informed what was the
object of the meeting. I received a reply, stating, that the object
was to agree to a memorial to the Prince Regent, setting forth their
grievances, and praying for relief. I instantly wrote, to say that I
accepted their invitation, and I would attend the meeting at the time
appointed.
On the next day I rode over to my friend Cobbett, at Botley, to consult
with him what was best to be done. When I mentioned the circumstance to
him, he looked very grave, and said it was a dangerous experiment, and
he scarcely knew how to advise me, whether to go or not. "Oh," said I,
"make your mind quite easy upon _that_ point; there is no difficulty in
it, I have accepted the invitation, and I mean to attend the meeting.
The moment that I ascertained that it was for a legal purpose, that of
addressing the Prince Regent upon the distressed state of the people,
and praying for redress, I no longer hesitated, but accepted the
invitation, and promised to be there in time. All that I want you to
do, therefore, is, to assist me in drawing up some resolutions, and
preparing a proper address to be presented to his Royal Highness upon
the occasion." "That," said he, "I will do with great pleasure." After
due consideration the resolutions and the address were agreed upon, and
drawn up by him. Mr. Cobbett never mentioned one word to me that he had
been invited by the same party to attend this said meeting; but he said
he should be at his lodgings in London at the time.
I arrived in London the Saturday before the intended meeting, and called
at Graystockplace, to inquire for Mr. Thomas Preston. I found no one
there but two or three dirtily dressed, miserable, poor children,
who told me that I should find their father at some house in
Southampton-buildings, Chancery-lane. Thither I repaired, meditating
as I went along on the wretched emblem of the distresses of the times,
which I had just witnessed in the family of Mr. Thomas Preston. When I
reached Southampton-buildings, I knocked at the door, and inquired for
Mr. Preston. The servant said there was no such person there, but she
would go and inquire of Mr. Thistlewood and the Doctor. She then desired
me to walk in, and I was shewn into a very neat and well-furnished
dining-room. I could not avoid observing to myself the contrast between
the elegant apartment I was now in and that which I had just quitted in
Graystock-place; the name of Thistlewood was still tinkling upon the
drum of my ear, I having quite forgotten where I had heard it before.
In a few minutes two gentlemen walked in; the one dressed in a handsome
dressing-gown and morocco slippers, the other in a shabby-genteel black.
The former addressed me very familiarly by name, saying, that he was Mr.
Thistlewood, and he begged to introduce his friend Dr. Watson. They at
once informed me that they were part of the Committee, for whom Mr.
Preston acted as Secretary; that they had called the meeting, and
directed their Secretary to invite me to attend it, and that they had
also written to invite Sir Francis Burdett, Major Cartwright, Mr.
Waithman, Mr. Cobbett, and several other political characters. I then
inquired what was the nature of the memorial or address which they meant
to submit to the Prince Regent? They answered, that they had it not then
by them, but that, if _I wished it_, they would procure me a sight of it
before I went to the meeting. To this I replied, that I certainly did
not wish merely for a sight of it, but for something more; as, if I
attended the meeting to take any part in it, I should choose to have
time to peruse the memorial very minutely before I undertook to give it
my support. This they promised I should have an opportunity of doing,
and the Doctor appeared anxious to have my opinion upon it. I could,
however, see that Mr. Thistlewood had set his heart upon this memorial
as it stood, and he slightly intimated that the Committee had made up
their minds on the subject, and that it was finally settled that
the memorial was to be submitted to the meeting. I inquired who the
Committee were composed of, and I soon found that Mr. Thistlewood and
Dr. Watson, the two gentlemen before me, were in reality the Committee;
young Watson, Preston, Hooper, _Castles_, and one or two others, who
formed the remainder of the Committee, being merely nominal members. I
informed them that I was staying at Cooper's Hotel, in Bouverie-street,
which makes part of the Black Lion Inn, in Water-lane, where they
promised to wait upon me in the evening with the memorial, that I might
look it over.