_progress of the developement of the Plot_, as given to us through the
channel of these same Papers. When Mr. Watson the elder was taken, the
sons of Corruption promised the public a series of grand discoveries.
His answers to the questions put to him, appear, however, to have been
perfectly open and frank. All that was really found out from him was,
that he was a surgeon who had lived in great esteem, and had a family
who had been rendered so miserable by want, that 'a lovely daughter of
his had died for the want of the things, such as wine, &c. necessary to
her recovery.' His story, of the truth of which there appears to be
no doubt, would have softened any hearts but those of the sons of
Corruption, who, instead of expressing compassion for his calamities,
are as loudly vociferating for his blood, as they did for the blood of
Marshal Ney. They tell us, that he attributed all the sufferings of
himself and others 'to the _Oligarchy_;' but, not a word does he seem to
have said, that can justify these detestable writers in imputing to him
any share in any Plot or in any Riot.
"The lodgings of himself and his son have been searched, and all
their papers seized, amongst the rest, we are told, _a Letter from
you_ to the younger Watson. Oh! what _a prize!_ How the eye must have
glistened upon the sight of your name at the bottom of a letter to the
'Chief Conspirator,' as they call him! With what eager haste were the
contents run over! With what trembling, what slavering expectation must
those contents have been perused! Alas! how the head must have turned
slowly away and the Letter have fallen gently upon the table, when those
contents became intelligible to the fluttering senses, now returned to a
state of coolness!
"Corruption's darlings confess, that there was nothing in '_this_'
letter that showed you to have bad any criminal hand in '_the
conspiracy_.' How came these newspaper writers to _know_ the contents of
your letter? _Who_ was it that _authorized them_ to publish this account
of your letter? Either they know its contents, or they do not: if the
latter, they have published what they do not know to be true; if the
former, why do they not publish the _whole_ of those contents? The
reason is this: the contents of your letter would convince every man
who should see them, that you were not only ignorant of any Plot or
Conspiracy; but that, if your correspondent _really had_ any such views
(which I do not believe) your letter was calculated to _check_ any hope
that he might have entertained of having your co-operation. This is
what, I venture to say, the contents of your letter would have proved to
the satisfaction of every well-wisher to the peace and happiness of the
country; and _because_ they would have proved _this,_ these base writers
have carefully kept them out of their columns!
"But, Mr. Preston, they tell us, boldly _avows_ the intended
'_insurrection_,' and _confesses_ all that can be wished, except,
indeed, the main thing, which is, that _you_ had a hand in the said
'_insurrection_.' However, this is _all a falsehood;_ and, if the
_proof_ of its falsehood be not made clearly appear before this day
month, I will be content to pass for an ideot for the rest of my life.
The account of Mr. Preston's '_confessions_,' as the sons of Corruption
call them, you shall have in their own words. The Lord Mayor, it seems,
went to Mr. Preston's home, and having examined him and his papers,
found no grounds for detaining him; but, since that he has been, it
appears, taken up and kept in custody, and the following is the account
which Corruption's Press gives of his examination: "'The next person of
importance who has been apprehended is Thomas Preston, who is called the
Secretary to the Spa-fields Committee. This poor wretch lives with his
two daughters in a small room in Greystoke-place, Fetter-lane. He
has undergone two or three examinations, in all which be has been as
communicative as the most zealous could have wished.--The substance of
all he related is accurately thus--that a plan of _insurrection_ was
formed--that it was as _general_ as it was _good_, but that precipitancy
had injured its progress, though it had not defeated its object. The
plan, he asserted, must still be carried into effect--it was too
powerful to be resisted when properly undertaken; and the only resource
left to the Government, in order to its being averted, was, by the
Prince Regent answering the petition of the people, and the immediate
adoption of Parliamentary Reform. 'The soldiers,' he added, 'were not
firm;' their friends were starving, but _they_ having a provision,
forgot their pledge and duty. He acknowledged his connection to the
fullest extent with the Spa-fields Meetings, to which he was joint
Secretary. He knew the two Watsons, and had frequently acted with them
upon the Committees, and various other occasions. He denied having taken
the slightest part in the riotous proceedings of Monday, and _deprecated
in the strongest manner the horrid system of taking away the life of
a fellow-creature_. He frequently repeated, that the plan was
_constitutional_, and delivered the whole of his account in the most
undisguised and enthusiastic manner.' In another examination he is
stated to have said, that 'the PLOT had been going on for EIGHT YEARS,
and that he himself HAD WRITTEN TO THE LATE MR. PERCEVAL ON THE SUBJECT,
urging him to ADOPT it, as the only means of SAVING THE NATION!'
"Now, when your laughing fit is over, let me ask you, whether you ever
heard of a _Plot_ and _Insurrection_ like this before? What! an eight
years' Plot! a _good_ Insurrection! Dennis, in his criticism upon
Addison's silly play of _Cato_, ridicules the idea of the conspirators
against Cato's life picking out _Cato's own hall_ for the scene of their
consultations; but these modern Plotters beat Syphax and his associates
hollow; for they, in order to further their view of destroying the
government, communicate their Plot to the Prime Minister himself!
"What must the people _in the country_ think of all this? What a mass
of absurdities and contradictions! What madness it all appears to be!
_Good_ insurrections; _constitutional_ attacks on the government!
_Plots_ which the prime Minister has been urged to adopt in order to
save the nation! What _can_ the people at large make out of such a
strange medley? The sons of Corruption it is who have made the medley.
They wanted a _Plot_. The mad riots in the city afforded them a pretext,
and they have put the words PLOT and INSURRECTION _into Mr. Preston's
mouth_ in order to favour their views. Now, let us see how a plain tale
will put them down and expose their malice to the world.
"About sixteen years ago, a Mr. SPENCE, a schoolmaster in Yorkshire,
conceived what he called a PLAN for making the nation happy, by taking
all the lands into the hands of a just government, and appropriating all
the produce or profit to the support of the people, so that there
would be no one in want, and all would live in a sort of _Christian
Brotherhood_. This plan, accompanied with some political remarks, he
published in 1800, for which he was pursued by a Criminal Information
Ex-Officio, by the present Chief Justice, who was then Attorney-General.
When brought up for trial I was present in the Court of King's Bench. He
had no counsel, but defended himself, and insisted that his views were
_pure_ and _benevolent_, in proof of which, in spite of all exhortations
to the contrary, he read his pamphlet through. He was found _guilty_
and sentenced to be imprisoned for I forget how long. He was a plain,
unaffected, inoffensive looking creature. He did not seem at all afraid
of any punishment, and appeared much more anxious about the success of
his _plan_ than about the preservation of his life. After he came out of
prison, he pursued the inculcation of his _plan_, appearing to have no
other care; and this he did, I am assured, to the day of his death,
always having been a most virtuous and inoffensive man, and always very
much beloved by those who knew him.
"We have all seen, for years past, _written on the walls_, in and near
London, these words, "SPENCE'S PLAN:" and I never knew what it meant,
until, a little while ago, I received a pamphlet from Mr. Evans,
Newcastle-street, Strand, detailing the _Plan_ very fully. This Mr.
Evans, I understand to be a very worthy man, and his pamphlet, though I
do not agree with it in opinion as to many of its propositions, contains
some interesting observations, and breathes a spirit of benevolence
throughout the whole.
"Mr. Preston and the Watsons appear to have been followers of Mr.
Spence; and the '_plan_' of which Mr. Preston is said to have
'_confessed_' the existence, is, as you will see, '_Spence's Plan_,' and
nothing more; and nothing more, no, not a hair more, will Corruption's
sons, with all their torturing and twisting, with all their falsehoods
and affected alarms, be able to make of it! Thus, you will clearly
perceive, that the 'confessions,' as they are called, of your
correspondent, Mr. Preston, are no confessions at all. You will clearly
see, that Corruption's Press has foisted in the words _insurrection_
and _plot_; for, unless you see this, what sense is there in the words
_good_ and _constitutional?_ What absurdity to believe, that a man, and
a _guilty_ man, too, would talk about a _good_ insurrection and about
a plot that was _constitutional_, and which plot had been going on for
_eight years_, and had been _communicated to Mr. Perceval_ as the only
means of saving the nation! But, strip these lying accounts of the words
_insurrection_ and _plot_, and leave the word _plan_, and then the
whole, however wild in itself, becomes perfectly consistent; and such,
you may depend on it, and no other, has been the 'confession' of Mr.
Preston.
"The Courier of Monday last, in pursuance of its endeavours to keep the
scent of a _plot_ from cooling, has these remarks: 'Whether the _plan_
of the _rioters_ was to commence in the morning or at night, is not
ascertained; but from the declaration of Preston, who charges young
Watson with _precipitancy_, it appears _that the operations were not to
commence till dark_. Preston still maintains a high and indignant tone;
he talks more _enthusiastically_ than before of the _extent of the
plot_, and adds, that not less than three hundred thousand persons _were
enrolled in the cause_. Hooper, who states Preston to be the instigator
and great mechanist of the _conspiracy_, has declared that the two
Watsons, himself, and Preston, were in concert together in Spa-fields on
the morning of Monday.'--Now, I dare say, that it will finally turn out,
that Hooper has said no such thing as is here stated. But here again you
see, that the words _plot_ and _conspiracy_ are used instead of the word
_plan_, and this is manifestly for the base and diabolical purpose
of causing the people to believe, that there has been a _conspiracy_
against the government, and that _all the Reformers_ are enrolled in
this conspiracy! But be you well assured, that these eager efforts to
excite alarm will fail of their purpose, and that the workers in them
and their abettors will come out of the attempt covered with infamy,
though nothing can produce in them any feeling of shame.
"In the meanwhile the Spenceonians are posting up, all about, the
prospectus of this plan, and as if for the express purpose of preparing
the way for their own everlasting disgrace, the owners of the Corrupt
Press are publishing this very document, which I insert here as taken
from the Courier of Monday.
"'The following hand-bill, it is stated, was circulated through the
Metropolis yesterday, and _excited much apprehension:_--
'SPENCE'S PLAN
For Parochial Partnerships in the Land,
Is the only effectual Remedy for the Distresses and Oppressions of
the People.
The Landholders are not Proprietors in Chief; they are but the
_Stewards_ of the Public;
For the LAND is the PEOPLE'S FARM.
The Expenses of the Government do not cause the Misery that
surrounds us, but the enormous exactions of these
'_Unjust Stewards._'
Landed Monopoly is indeed equally contrary to the benign Spirit of
Christianity, and destructive of
The Independence and Morality of all Mankind.
'The Profit of the Earth is for all;'
Yet how deplorably destitute are the great Mass of the People?
Nor is it possible for their situations to be radically amended, but by
the establishment of a system,
Founded on the immutable basis of Nature and Justice.
Experience demonstrates its necessity; and the rights of mankind
require it for their preservation.
To obtain this important object, by extending the knowledge of the
above system, the Society of Spencean Philanthropists has been
instituted. Further information of its principles may be obtained by
attending any of its Sectional Meetings, where subjects are discussed
calculated to enlighten the human understanding, and where also the
regulations of the Society may be procured, containing a complete
developement of the Spencean system.--Every individual is admitted,
free of expense, who will conduct himself with decorum.
The Meetings of this Society begin at a quarter past eight in the
evening, as under:
First Section, every Wednesday, at the Cock, Grafton-street, Soho.
Second ............ Thursday, Mulberry Tree, Mulberry-court,
Wilson-street,Moorfields.
Third ............. Monday, Nag's Head, Carnaby-market.
Fourth ............ Tuesday, No. 8, Lumber-street, Mint, Borough.'
"_This_ is the _Plan_! This is the plan, the plot, the conspiracy, and
the insurrection scheme! And, what an impudent, what an incorrigible,
what a hardened impostor, must this writer be, who can tell the public,
that this hand-bill _excited much apprehension_! Apprehension, I
believe, indeed, _in him_ and his associates and encouragers; for it
furnishes the clue to unravel all their falsehoods and to expose them
to scorn and to detestation; but, it is calculated to excite
_'apprehension'_ in nobody else. The public indignation is fast
collecting and winding up to a high pitch; and it only waits the result
of the present examinations to pour down upon the heads of these corrupt
instigators to fury and bloodshed. A gang of spies and informers, in
one of Beaumont and Fletcher's plays, who, after long and wearisome
contrivances to discover a plot and to get the reward, just at the
moment when they are expecting to see their victim swing and to pocket
the blood-money, are sent away abashed and confounded by the discovery
that it was a _Cod's Head_ and not that of the _Sovereign_, against
which he had been _plotting_. Not less complete would be the confusion
of these corrupt writers, if it were not that they are destitute of
every feeling that can lead to shame or remorse.
"Monstrous, however, as are the baseness and malice and cruelty of these
men, they are, I think, still exceeded by their folly. The main object
of all their endeavours, is, very clearly, to render you odious and to
put you down; and, if they had been created for the express purpose of
exalting you, it would have been impossible for them to labour to that
end with more zeal or more effect. Your manner of conducting the second
meeting, the way in which you carried on your communications with
the government, the punctuality and decorum of your proceedings, the
language and matter of your Resolutions and Petition, and the _effect_
of these, very justly entitled you to a large share of public applause;
but, the blows which these ferocious writers have aimed at your _life_
have excited an interest in your favour such as no human being could
have thought possible, and in the tide of which are completely drowned
all your momentary errors and indiscretions, which, besides, having
arisen from an excess of zeal, were not calculated to be long held in
remembrance. Some very good, but very weak and timid people talked of
your _violence_, while they seemed to overlook the _violent_ thing which
you attacked; but in the minds of all good men there is an inherent
abhorrence of baseness like that which has aimed its murderous sting
against your life, and, in the present case, this abhorrence has
overpowered all the alarms of the good and timid people in whose breasts
what is called your violence had excited such alarms. "The vipers
have the mortification to perceive this, and their rage is increased
accordingly. They see your _portrait_, from three different hands,
setting them at defiance in the print-shop windows. They hear your
_speech_ and _resolutions_ cried through the streets, and sold out
of shops in several separate editions. They hear the taverns and
public-houses filled with talk about you. They have contrived by their
endeavours to implicate you in a '_treasonable conspiracy_,' to excite
a strong feeling of some sort or other respecting you in every human
breast. And this is _their_ way of _putting a man down!_ They have, even
by the use of their own columns, made your _name familiar_ to the very
water's edge of these islands. They have made you _the only one of your
kind;_ there is now but one Mr. Hunt in the world. Your ambition must
be a cormorant indeed, if this does not satisfy it. No longer ago than
Monday, they very seriously announced, that 'Hunt was SEEN, _in his
Tandem,_ going towards his home on _Thursday last_!' They seem to think
that the public is much more interested in your movements than in those
of the Prince Regent or of the Queen. I should not wonder if they were
to have a '_Court News Writer_' to give an account of all the movements
of your body; and, after what I have seen within these ten days, I do
not despair of seeing them announce, that 'on Monday, Mr. Hunt took the
diversion of shooting till three o'clock. On Tuesday, Mr. Hunt went
to inspect his barns, and was graciously pleased to express his high
approbation of the ingenious mode of laying the crab-stick on upon
the sheaves of wheat. On Wednesday, Mr. Hunt gave audience to several
tax-gatherers, to whose importunities he did not listen with an
overstock of complacency.' And so on, day after day. Why should I
despair of this, after what I have seen? Your _Tandem_ is become far
more renowned than the _Bulletproof coach_, and your horse _Bob_, is far
more famous already than the charger of old Blucher.
"Oh! the fools! Could not the settled reputation of being the most
consummate of _knaves_ content them? Was it necessary, in order to
satisfy their ambition, to stand unrivalled through the world for folly
as well as for knavery?
"Gratified, however, as you must be by these demonstrations of the
impotent malice of such men, I hope, and indeed, I am sure, that a more
gratifying consideration with you will be, as it ought to be, that these
vile men have added to your power of serving your country, and which you
will now be the better able to serve, because, having given such ample
proofs of earnestness and resolution, you may safely _moderate your
zeal_ without risking any imputation of a want of that super-excellent
quality. That quality, in which so many men are deficient, you possess
to a redundance. Guard against this excess in future: take in a little
sail, and add a little to your ballast: exchange a little of the courage
of the lion for a little of the wisdom of the serpent: give up a little,
and only a very little, of the stubbornness of the oak, for a little,
and only a very little, of the pliancy of the reed: do this, and trust
to the folly and knavery of these stupid and malignant wretches to make
you a _great man_.
"The situation of the country is becoming day after day more and more
perilous, and there can be no relief without a radical cure. The Prince
in his answer to the City of London (which I shall fully notice by and
by) confesses, as he well may, the existence of national _distress_ and
_difficulty_. These are important words, and especially the last. This
is a great change produced since the beginning of last session of
Parliament, when the wondrous _prosperity_ of the country was a
prominent theme of the Speech, and when your Wiltshire County Member,
Mr. Paul Methuen, congratulated the House, that this country bad become
the pillar of legitimacy all over Europe! Alas! how soon things have
changed! Misery is a greater teacher than Messrs. Lancaster and Bell
both put together.
"The Spitalfields subscription swells at a great rate, and, as a means
of _immediate_ relief, I am glad it does, though I shall always contend,
that whatever degree of _good_ may thereby be done, is due to _you_
more than to any other person, and more than to all other persons put
together; for, it is impossible that the misery should not have _existed
before_ the first Meeting in Spa-fields; and why, then, was it not
_before_ relieved? Mr. Buxton must have long _known_ the facts which
he so eloquently and so affectingly described; and why did he not then
describe them _sooner_? The miserable sailors have long been perishing
about the streets with hunger and cold; and why, then, has no measure of
relief for them been adopted until _now_? I do not pretend to say,
nor do I believe, that the greater part of those who now so freely
subscribe, did not before feel for the unhappy sufferers; but, this I am
quite sure of, that it was your first meeting and your petition which
roused their feelings into immediate action; I do not say, nor do I
believe, that the greater part of the subscribers had no real charity in
them; but I defy any one to say, that their charity, which before lay
dormant, was not quickened by your exertions. One of your flags, or
rather of the flags of the Meeting, which had on it 'FEED THE HUNGRY,'
'CLOTHE THE NAKED,' was called by the _Courier_ 'a standard of
_rebellion_;' but, it is a standard under which the subscribers have
hastened to range themselves; for they are serving out _soup_ and _old
clothes_ in all directions! But, this very _Courier_, after the first
Meeting, expressly stated, that the people in and near London, _were not
in want_. He said, that, though work had fallen off and wages had been
lowered _in the country_, it was _not so_ in London; and he called the
poor starving multitudes _mutinous, lazy_, and _rebellious_. He
charged them with designs to _overset the Government_, and plainly and
distinctly asserted, that they _stood in no need of relief!_ How quickly
he changed his tone! And how clear is that change to be traced to _you!_
"But, in the general subscription for the poor creatures of
Spital-fields, you see only a small part of the effects of your labours.
There have been meetings in almost all the parishes of the metropolis
for similar purposes. Large subscriptions are going on in every
direction. Just as if the poverty and misery were not as great a month
ago as they are now! Great indeed they are, and they are producing
symptoms so horrible that one sickens but to think of them. Amongst
others, take the facts described in a _placard_ now sticking against the
walls. 'PUBLIC NOTICE.--United Parishes of Saint Andrew, Holborn, above
Bar, and St. George the Martyr, Queen's Square. At a meeting of the
overseers held this day in consequence of MANY PERSONS DESERTING THEIR
FAMILIES,--It was _resolved_, That, in future, all persons, who desert
their families, whereby they become chargeable to these parishes, or
when the reputed parents of an illegitimate child abscond, _such persons
shall be advertised in the public papers_, or in _posting bills_, with
a full description of their persons, residence, and calling, and other
particulars, and a reward offered for their apprehension. And all
inhabitants harbouring persons for the night, for the like purpose, will
be _prosecuted_ accordingly.'