dreadfully alarmed at their own deeds. Hulton and Hay took the lead, and
we were marched off to the New Bailey, to which we were committed upon a
charge of High Treason; it being necessary to make some highly sounding
charge, in order to take off the attention of the public as much as
possible from the foul deeds that had been perpetrated by the drunken
infuriate Yeomanry. I think there were twelve in all committed, and
amongst the number was Mr. John Tyas, who attended as a reporter for
the Times Newspaper. This circumstance I shall ever consider as a most
fortunate. Mr. Tyas is a gentleman of a most respectable family and
connections, and it is unnecessary to expatiate on his character and
talents, it being, as far as regards these, quite enough to say, that he
has long occupied the station of a reporter to the Times Newspaper, a
lucrative and responsible situation, which none but a man of character
and talent could fill for any length of time. Mr. Tyas was not only
present during the procession from Smedley to the Hustings, but he was
upon the Hustings, he was apprehended there, taken before the worthy
Magistrates, and sent to the New Bailey, where he had the honour to pass
twenty-four hours in a solitary cell. He was an eye-witness of the whole
affair, and, as he was totally unconnected with any of those who called
the meeting, he was capable of giving, and he did give, the most
unprejudiced evidence upon the subject, and I hope he will yet live to
give his evidence upon an inquiry into this atrocious affair, either at
the Bar or before a Committee of the House of Commons; for if ever I get
into that House, I pledge myself never to cease my exertions to procure
an investigation, a _national investigation_, into the whole affair. If
I should become a member of the House of Commons, I will leave no stone
unturned, at whatever hazard to myself, to cause such investigation to
take place. We were detained in separate cells, in solitary confinement,
for eleven days. I was _once_ brought _privately_ before the worthies,
and questioned, but as _it would not do_, as they could make nothing of
me, they gave it up, and we were at last brought up in open Court, and
ordered to be held to bail, for a CONSPIRACY to overturn the Government,
by frightening out of their seven senses all the old women in breeches
who resided at Manchester. It was not so with Johnson. I believe the
worthy Magistrates tried us all round, and found us all too staunch to
be tampered with; all but Johnson; he, it appears by his own confession,
was brought before them, and had several PRIVATE examinations, during
which, he offered to give up all the letters which I had written to him,
and he at length wrote a letter to his wife, with an order for her to
deliver them to the messenger. Fortunately they had been placed by Mrs.
Johnson in the hands of his attorney, who had too much honour to obey
such disgraceful, such unprincipled instructions from his client. Not
that I was afraid of any thing that I had written to any one. But as I
had written in the greatest confidence to him, and had sent my letters
by coach, via Oxford and Birmingham, because they should not be opened
at the Post Office, it would have been a breach of every principle
of honesty, honour, and fair dealing, to have given them up to the
Magistrates, while I was in their custody under a charge of High
Treason. In my political connexions, I have met with some very base and
unprincipled fellows, but amongst them all, I do not believe that I
ever knew any one, except Johnson, the Brush-maker, who would have
voluntarily become such a shameless pander, such a thorough-paced time
server, as to have given up my private letters to save his own worthless
carcase from the chance of a Trial for High Treason. I repeat that,
amongst all the political apostates I have ever known, and they are
many, and some of them very vile indeed, I never knew one that I believe
would have been so poor and mean a creature as this Johnson.
When we were brought up for final examination, the charge was shifted
from that of High Treason to a Seditions Conspiracy to overturn the
Government. I was to give bail in £1000 myself, and two sureties in £500
each, which Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. Chapman were ready to enter
into for me; but, as I was very hot and fatigued with the examination, I
returned to my apartment to change my shirt before bail was given. I
had not been in my room more than ten minutes before the goaler came to
inform me that I must prepare to set off for Lancaster Castle in five
minutes, as the magistrates had left the Court, and had ordered that we
should be conveyed there immediately, for want of bail. I replied that
Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. Chapman were prepared to give bail for me,
and that they were gone, or going, with Mr. C. Pearson, my attorney, to
Mr. Norris's house to do so. The gaoler, a very civil little personage,
lamented that he had no discretion, that his orders were peremptory,
that a stage-coach, which had been hired for the purpose, was ready, and
we must depart in less than five minutes, as a Military Dragoon Guard
was in attendance, ready to conduct us thither. I answered _that I would
be ready in half the time_, and I began to change my shirt and pack up
my trunk before he left the room. The fact was, that the parties had
made up their minds, (as is generally the case), before they came into
Court; they had resolved upon a committal on the charge of High Treason,
and they had given previous orders to prepare a coach and the Military
Guard. A messenger had also been dispatched to Bolton, Blackburn, and
Preston, to order the troops stationed in those towns to be ready to
relieve the guards as they arrived, and to proceed forward. These relays
were to have been ready as early as two o'clock in the day, the worthy
Magistrates not having calculated upon the turn the question took in the
Court, in consequence of my cross-examination of the witnesses produced
to substantiate the charge. This cross-examination, which lasted several
hours, during which I caused all the witnesses to be removed out of
Court except the one under examination, by which means I contrived to
make them, not only equivocate and contradict each other, but actually
contradict themselves on every material point. This unexpected
circumstance caused the worthy Bench of Magistrates to pause a little;
they retired to consult, and held a private conferrence with Mr. Maule,
the solicitor to the Crown, who was sent down to conduct the prosecution
for the Attorney General. The result of this conferrence was, that the
charge of High Treason was abandoned, and we were to be held to bail for
a misdemeanor only.
After I had retired, Johnson and Moorhouse procured bail in Court, and
they were liberated immediately. Johnson, I understood, was carried to
his home on the shoulders of the populace, but he was totally regardless
of what became of his _friend_, who was a stranger in the town. I
stepped into the coach, and was followed by John Knight and Dr. Healy;
Saxton, Bamford, and three others, wholly unknown to me, were placed
on the top of the coach, each attended by one of the police, and with
pistols and blunderbusses, &c. Mr. Nadin did us the honour to ride in
the coach with us, whilst his runners took their stations aloft; a troop
of horse, with swords drawn, surrounded the coach, and off we went
for Lancaster, a distance of fifty miles, without my having had an
opportunity of seeing or writing to my attorney or friends to apprise
them of our departure. As I sat in the coach I wrote three lines with a
pencil to Sir Charles Wolseley, merely stating the fact; and I handed it
out open, requesting that it might be conveyed to him; but I saw that
it was instantly seized by one of our amiable attendants, who took care
that it should never reach its destination. We were paraded in this way
to Bolton, from which place a fresh troop conducted us to Blackburn;
another troop forwarded us to Preston, and a third attended us to
Lancaster. At Preston we halted and took some refreshment, for which I
offered to pay. Mr. Nadin, however, insisted upon it that I should not
do so, as he had _already_ given an order upon the treasurer of the
county to pay all expenses. Thus, for the first and only time in my
life, I was compelled to take a meal at the public expense.
Previous to our arrival at Preston we were nearly overturned, and the
pole of the coach was broken short off. We were consequently obliged to
dismount and walk to the next village, to get it repaired. Nadin, who
had hitherto conducted himself with great moderation, now burst out into
such a strain as would have made a Lethbridgeite's hair stand on end
upon his head; he poured forth a volley of oaths, which for atrocity and
vulgarity exceeded all I had ever heard before or since, except in the
instance of Bridle, the Ilchester Gaoler; he swore that he should lose
all his prisoners, &c. &c. and that he would blow out the brains of
the coachman and all his runners. I sat perfectly quiet during this
disgusting scene, and heard with horror his beastly epithets and
dreadful imprecations. At length, having exhausted his rage, he appealed
to me in the utmost confusion to know what should be done. I told him we
would walk to the next village, where he could get the pole mended; and,
as I found that he was preparing to handcuff them together, I assured
him that I would be answerable for the safety of all the prisoners. With
this assurance he was satisfied, and we proceeded to a small inn upon
the road. The news soon spread, the house was very quickly surrounded,
and a rescue was boldly and openly offered. This kindness I of course
declined, and Mr. Nadin's fears were soon dispelled.
During our stay at Preston, almost all the gentlemen of the town came
to see us, as we were at supper. Amongst the number were some sincere
friends, although total strangers, who shook me cordially by the hand,
in token of their sincerity. We arrived at Lancaster Castle about three
o'clock on the Saturday morning, where we found the gaoler, young
Higgins, ready to receive us; he having, of course, been previously
apprised of the intention of the worthy Magistrates to send us thither,
right or wrong. At the door I thanked the officer of the Dragoons for
his polite attention, lamenting sarcastically, as I had done to each of
the others, that he should have had so much trouble on my account. We
then entered the walls of Lancaster Gaol, and were conducted into a
spacious dirty room, from which some other prisoners had been removed to
make way for us. In an adjoining close room we were all to sleep, and
beds were ordered for us. I expostulated against this arrangement, of
our all sleeping in the same room; upon which Mr. Higgins replied,
that I should be accommodated with a cell. Soon after this we were all
removed into a much better and cleaner apartment, adjoining to one of
the new round towers, where we spent the day, Saturday, in procuring
materials for cooking, &c. &c. At Lancaster Castle nothing was provided
for political prisoners, not even a trough to wash their hands in. My
companions, not having anticipated such a journey when they attended the
meeting on the 16th of August, could only muster a few shillings amongst
them, but as I had a few pounds in my pocket, every thing necessary was
soon provided, such as it was.
The fools, the mad-headed fools, who sent us to make a parade through
their county, little dreamt of the feeling which it would create; I own
I felt very indignant at the selfish conduct of Johnson, who had
invited me to Manchester, although I never expressed this to my fellow
prisoners. I was, however, quite sure that the moment Sir Charles
Wolseley, Mr. Chapman, and Mr. Pearson were made acquainted with
the dirty trick of the Magistrates, that they would lose no time in
procuring bail, and forwarding it for my release.
When seven o'clock came, we were ordered into our cells in the Round
Tower, and most infamously close they were. I thought that I should
have been suffocated for some time after I entered it. I, however, laid
myself down, and soon fell into a sound sleep, from which I was roused
about nine o'clock, by the turnkey, who came to inform me that a
gentleman was arrived with bail for me and John Knight. I soon dressed
myself, and having taken leave of Saxton and Bamford in the adjoining
cells, we proceeded to the Lodge, where I found my worthy friend
Chapman, who had come over from Manchester, as soon as he could get Mr.
Norris to take the bail of himself and Sir Charles Wolseley, which the
Magistrate had contrived to avoid on Friday night, under a pretence that
he was engaged. Mr. Chapman had procured two Magistrates of the town of
Lancaster, one of them of the name of Salusbury, who came down to the
Gaol to take our recognizance, notwithstanding it was an excessively wet
night, and which might have afforded them something like an excuse
to have kept us in the Castle till Monday morning. But they proved
themselves the very reverse of the Manchester Magistrates, at whose
conduct they appeared to feel ashamed and disgusted, and they did all
that honourable men and gentlemen could do to wipe their hands of all
connection with them.
We bid adieu to the Castle, and slept at the inn in Lancaster that
night. In the morning we proceeded on our return to Manchester, where
Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. Pearson were waiting to receive me. We
stopped and took some refreshment at Preston, where some of the worthy
Electors of that town introduced themselves to us, and there and then it
was that I received and accepted an invitation to become a Candidate for
the Representation of that Borough, at the approaching general election.
In the evening we reached Bolton, at which town we slept, and there I
became acquainted with some of the very best men in the kingdom. In
fact, to have been introduced to the worthy men of Preston and of Bolton
was worth more than all the inconvenience I suffered from being dragged
through the county under a military escort. The enthusiasm manifested by
the people of Bolton, of all ranks and degrees, surpassed every thing I
had ever before witnessed, and it impressed my mind with a respect and
attachment for that town, which will never be eradicated from my breast
till the heart which it contains ceases to beat.
My reception in Manchester, the next day, which place we entered about
three o'clock, surpassed all description. Sir Charles Wolseley and
Mr. Pearson came to meet us about a mile beyond Pendleton, and the
spontaneous expressions of the whole population, which appeared to have
turned out to receive and welcome me, it is utterly impossible for my
pen to describe. From my worthy friend Chapman, during our journey from
Lancaster, I learnt the history of the bloody proceedings of the 16th
of August, and my soul was struck with horror and indignation by the
recital.
I returned to Johnson's house at Smedley, although Mr. Chapman had
informed me of the report of his cowardly and base conduct, while he was
confined in the New Bailey, of his having offered and actually written
to his wife to give up all my confidential correspondence to the
Magistrates, to enable them to make out a charge of _High Treason_
against me, upon condition that he should be admitted what is called
KING'S EVIDENCE. Notwithstanding Mr. Chapman assured me that he believed
this report to be true, and produced to me almost incontrovertible proof
of the fact, still I could not possibly bring my mind to believe that
any one could be guilty of such incomparable baseness, and much less
that Mr. Johnson, with all his devotion, with all his professions of
friendship and regard, could be such a mean, dirty, cowardly dog; and I
never should have credited it to its full extent if the wretched slave
had not confessed it with his own lips.
While I was confined in the New Bailey, not a soul was allowed to have
any access to me but the officers of the Gaol, and latterly my servant,
in the presence of the gaoler. I had written to Mr. Charles Pearson, to
request his professional assistance, which of course was the greatest
proof I could give of the high estimation I entertained of his honour,
talent, and political integrity. It is true that I was only slightly
acquainted with him at the time, but the result proved that I was
perfectly justified in the choice which I made, and the confidence which
I placed in him. To have been cursed with either a fool or a knave,
under such circumstances, would have been worse than death itself; but
I found him to be, what I expected, a man of brilliant talent, and of
inflexible political honesty, yet possessed, at the same time, of an
intimate knowledge of all the quirks, quibbles, tricks, and shuffles of
both the bar and the bench, as well as of all the intermediate ranks
between the lowest catchpoll and the highest elevated judge upon the
bench. Though he has since been unfortunate in his pursuits, and though
he was sometimes inattentive and careless, and though I have heard
others complain of him, yet, in the midst of all his foibles and
follies, for follies and foibles he has as well as other men, I can
safely say that up to this hour, when put to the test, in all his
dealings, relations and connections with me, I have found him actuated
by the strictest notions of honour, honesty, and conscientious
integrity. In a matter of importance, in a case of life and death, such
a case as I was then concerned in, I would rather have the professional
assistance of Mr. Pearson, even under his present circumstances, if he
would devote himself to it, than that of any other man I ever met with
in his profession.
While I was imprisoned in Manchester, Mr. Wooler called a Public
Meeting, at the Crown and Anchor, and some spirited resolutions were
entered into; and a subscription was set on foot for the relief of those
who had suffered at Manchester, and to bring to justice the perpetrators
of the horrid murders and cruelties committed on the 16th of August.
Major Cartwright was appointed the Treasurer. Sir Francis Burdett
likewise addressed an excellent letter to his Constituents, to call
a meeting upon the subject. This letter was calculated to rouse into
action every man in the kingdom who had a heart in his body, and I
verily believe that in any country in the world, except England, such a
letter, written to the people by a man of Sir Francis's rank, would have
caused the whole people to rise in arms to avenge the horrid murders
which had been committed upon their helpless, unoffending countrymen.
Meetings were, however, called all over the kingdom, to petition the
King and the Parliament to investigate the affair, and to bring to
justice the authors of such a dreadful outrage upon the lives and
liberties of the people.
In the mean time the subscription set on foot by Mr. Wooler began to
fill apace---a circumstance which was calculated to have the very best
effect. It, nevertheless, excited the envy and jealousy of the worthies
who composed the Westminster, the Borough, and the City of London Rump
Committees, and they lost no time in devising the means of getting
the management out of the honest hands of those who had taken up the
measure. These gentry, who understand how to manage their matters so
well, soon wormed themselves and their agents into the Committee, in
sufficient numbers to form a majority; and this being accomplished, the
next step was to propose to elect four of the Westminster or Burdettite
Rump; four of the City, or Waithmanite Rump; and four of the Borough, or
Wilson Rump, and these twelve worthies were to form what they themselves
were pleased to denominate the Metropolitan Committee, to manage the
Subscriptions, and the affairs of the Manchester Sufferers. Major
Cartwright and Mr. Wooler were disgusted with the proceedings, and the
Major immediately resigned his office of Treasurer, upon which they
appointed their own Treasurer, and, in the most unblushing manner,
proposed to send Mr. Harmer, a relation of one of the leaders of the
party, down to Lancaster, to prefer Bills of Indictment against the
Yeomanry, and to assist in defending myself and others who had been
prosecuted by the Government. It was, however, suggested by some one of
them, that it was too bare-faced a job to send Mr. Harmer down, who had
written for, and had already got Mr. Pearson down to assist us, and
therefore it was agreed upon, to appoint Mr. Harmer and Mr. Pearson to
act jointly in this affair. Mr. Harmer was consequently sent off post to
Manchester, to do that which Mr. Pearson, who was on the spot, was so
fully competent to have done.
The moment that I heard of these proceedings, I foretold, to Mr. Pearson
and Sir Charles Wolseley, every thing that would happen, and how the
subscriptions would be misapplied; all of which predictions have been
verified to the very letter. Mr. Harmer did not arrive till after we
had undergone the final hearing before the Magistrates, till they had
abandoned the charge of High Treason, till we had been sentenced to
Lancaster Castle, after having undergone an imprisonment of eleven days'
solitary confinement; he did not arrive till all this had taken place,
and we had been bailed and returned from Lancaster; all this had
occurred, and we might have all been committed to Lancaster Castle
for High Treason, several days before Mr. Harmer, the Attorney of the
Trinitarian Rump Committee, reached Manchester, if it had not been for
the assistance of Mr. Pearson and my own personal exertions.
Bills of Indictment were preferred before the Grand Jury at Lancaster,
against Owen, Platt, and Derbyshire, for perjury. The first was found a
true bill, although bills against the two others were ignored upon the
very same evidence. Bills were also preferred against several of the
Yeomanry Cavalry, for cutting and maiming men, women, and children, in
the most wanton, cruel, and murderous way, on the 16th of August, not
only at the meeting on St. Peter's Plain, but likewise in various parts
of Manchester; and, in one or two instances, for cutting and maiming
those who had never been at the meeting at all, and who were merely
standing at their own doors, looking at the military, who were hunting,
driving, cutting and slaying in all directions, regardless of age or
sex. All the bills, notwithstanding they were supported by the most
unquestionable testimony, and all the parties were identified, ALL, ALL
of them were ignored and thrown out by a Lancashire Grand Jury, the
foreman of which was Lord Stanley, the great Whig Member for that
County. Lord Stanley is the eldest son of Lord Derby, who is a regular
supporter of the Whigs in the House of Lords, and Lord Stanley is a
regular supporter of all Whig measures in the House of Commons.
This Whig, Lord Stanley, was also one of the most violent against a
parliamentary inquiry into the transaction, when the question was
brought before the House of Commons.--The Lord deliver us from the
tender mercies of the Whigs, I say!
The bill that was preferred by the Crown, against myself and others, for
attending the Manchester meeting, was found immediately, and bail to a
heavy amount was required for the appearance of all the parties at the
Assizes; which bail could never have been obtained for many of the
party, who were very poor men, had it not been for the magnanimous and
truly generous conduct of Sir Charles Wolseley. He not only, in the
first instance, came to Manchester to bail me, but he remained at
Manchester, assisting in causing the bloody Yeomanry to be indicted, and
he went to Lancaster, and attended the whole time, and at length became
the voluntary bail for every one that could not procure it otherwise.
This was really acting a true, noble, manly, and patriotic part! Sir
Charles actually saved several of those who were indicted with me from
remaining in prison from September to the following March. By
his magnanimous behaviour he proved himself to be in reality, an
independent, upright Radical, a real friend to justice and humanity. In
this affair, Sir Charles Wolseley did more to serve the cause of Liberty
and the People, than was done by all the Aristocracy and all the Country
Gentlemen in England put together.