effects produced by this event in the country were of a nature much to
be regretted. At Derby and Nottingham, more especially, serious riots
took place. At the former place it is exceedingly probable that the
event would have been passed over without any disturbance, but for the
indecent and insulting ebullition of joy manifested by a party of those
who were opposed to the Reform Bill. The bells of the churches had been
tolling during the whole of Saturday evening, the news having reached
the town by express at an early hour on that day, and a number of
persons, amounting to a considerable crowd, having assembled at the
coach-offices, awaiting the arrival of the London coaches, in order that
their fears might be set at rest, they were assailed with laughter and
other uncalled-for insults by their political opponents. The consequence
was a retaliation on their part, which terminated in an attack upon the
houses of those who had made themselves unpopular by their conduct. The
windows of many of these houses were demolished, and the persons of some
of their owners subjected to violence; but at length a considerable
number of the rioters were taken into custody. This served only to
increase their anger, and an attack being made upon the jail, the whole
of the prisoners were liberated. The mob in turn were assailed by the
keeper of the prison and his assistants, with fire-arms, and the result
was that three of their number were killed. The soldiery were then
called out, and tranquillity was at length with some difficulty
restored.
At Nottingham the riots bore even a more serious aspect. The
consternation which was produced by the arrival of the news of the
defeat of the reformers was of a fearful description. During the night
of Saturday anything but tranquillity prevailed; and, on the following
morning, all were on the tiptoe of anxiety for the arrival of the London
newspapers. These brought food to increase the exasperation of the
populace. At dark on the Sunday night thousands of persons assembled in
the streets of the town, and perambulated the principal thoroughfares.
The result was, an attack upon the houses of all those who were opposed
to the measure of reform. Windows were broken in all directions; and, as
the night advanced, a body of the 15th Hussars, stationed in the
neighbourhood, was marched into the town. The people were entreated to
disperse, and they indeed quitted the spot on which they were found
assembled, but only to make a fresh circuit of the town to complete the
work of annoyance to their opponents which they had commenced.
On the next day a meeting of the inhabitants of the town and county of
Nottingham was held in the market-place, in pursuance of a requisition
which had been numerously signed. A stage was erected in the centre,
which was speedily occupied by the mayor, Lord Rancliffe, and many
other of the influential inhabitants of the vicinity. Resolutions were
adopted, and an address to his Majesty, in unison with their tenor, was
enthusiastically cheered. All the speakers urged the people to be guilty
of no excesses; but the mob showed little disposition to listen to
advice so wholesome, and loud and deep murmurs were heard to escape
their lips, expressive of their dislike for their opponents, and of
their anxiety for an opportunity to take revenge upon them for their
unpopular acts. Shortly before the meeting separated, fourteen bodies
organised themselves, and marched in different directions, apparently
intent on mischief. Many of them joined at the outskirts of the town,
and proceeding to the race-course they destroyed a mill there; after
which they shaped their way to the residence of Mr. John Masters,
Colwick Hall. Here they committed havoc of the most serious character.
Attacking the house, they soon forced an entrance, and they carried off
or destroyed every article of property which it contained. The damage
done was immense, and the destruction of some valuable pictures is much
to be deplored. An attempt was also made to burn the premises, which,
however, was unsuccessful, and the mob, armed with the iron palisades by
which the house had been surrounded, returned to Nottingham. The castle
of Nottingham, belonging to the Duke of Newcastle, a determined
anti-reformer, was an object which was soon exposed to their fury. It
had been built about one hundred and fifty years before, by an ancestor
of the present Duke of Newcastle, at a cost of 25,000_l._, and it
presented to them at once the means of gratifying their revenge and
their spirit of mischief. They entered the castle gates, and proceeding
through the court-yard they soon reached the lofty pile. All was
anxiety, but suspense was not long delayed; flames were seen in a few
minutes issuing in abundance from the windows, and by the next morning
the edifice was destroyed. The amazement created in the neighbourhood
was intense; and for a considerable time prevented the inhabitants from
taking any steps to prevent or to stop the proceedings of the rioters.
The fifteenth Hussars were active in the discharge of their duties, and
exhibited both judgment and humanity. On the morning of Tuesday the 11th
of October, the castle was found to be still burning, but the
destructive element had extended its mischievous effects only to the
interior of the building. The external walls remained standing, while
the whole of the interior woodwork, together with a large quantity of
valuable tapestry, which formed its only furniture, had been destroyed.
During the whole of this day the troops patroled the town, but the
spirit of incendiarism was abroad, and a party of the mob of the
preceding night assembled at Beeston, near Nottingham, where they
ransacked and fired a silk mill belonging to Mr. Lowe. The whole of the
machinery and the premises were destroyed, and no fewer than three
hundred persons were thrown out of employment in consequence of this
dreadful act. The mob were attacked and routed, and two or three persons
were killed, besides about twenty being taken prisoners; and it was only
the exhibition of the determination of the military and constabulary
forces to enforce the law which at length thoroughly and completely
dispersed them.
On the following Thursday, tranquillity had been completely restored.
At Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, York, Sheffield, Northampton,
Worcester, and other places, the expression of the popular opinion was
no less distinct, although it was not attended with any of those
mischievous results which characterised it in the districts to which
reference has been already made.
During the ensuing week, at Nottingham, active measures were taken to
secure the persons of those who had been engaged in the riots in that
town. The Duke of Newcastle having arrived at his seat, Clumber House,
issued a proclamation, as lord-lieutenant of the county, and Clumber
House, and Wollerton Hall, the seat of Lord Middleton, were both
fortified and garrisoned, lest any new outbreak should take place. No
event occurred, however, which showed this step to have been necessary,
and in the course of a few days an additional number of twenty prisoners
was made, charged with being concerned in the late riots.
The serious nature of these occurrences attracted universal attention,
and it was deemed fit that the crimes of the offenders should be made
the subject of investigation before a special commission.
The commission was opened at Nottingham, on Wednesday the 4th of January
1832, and the proceedings of the court terminated on Saturday the 14th
of January. Many prisoners had been convicted of minor offences in the
course of ten days, during which the judges had sat, and had been
sentenced to imprisonment, or fine; but on the 14th of January, those
who had been capitally convicted were brought up to receive sentence.
Their names were, George Beck, George Hearson, Thomas Armstrong, Thomas
Shelton, and Thomas Berkins. These were placed in front, and behind them
stood William Kitchen, David Thurman, Valentine Marshall, and Thomas
Whitaker. The prisoners were addressed by Mr. Justice Littledale, in a
feeling manner: and the learned judge having stated the leading
circumstances attending the riots, said that the four last-named
prisoners would be recommended as fit objects for the exercise of the
royal clemency--the others, however, whose share in the riots had been
greater, must prepare to quit this world.
The learned judge concluded by passing the sentence of death upon the
five prisoners to whom he had severally addressed himself.
During the period which subsequently elapsed before the time fixed for
the execution of these culprits, great and meritorious exertions were
made by the inhabitants of Nottingham to procure a remission of their
sentence, which were not entirely unsuccessful. On Tuesday 31st January,
letters were received by the proper authorities from the Home-office,
announcing a determination that the full sentence of death should be
carried out upon Beck, Hearson, and Armstrong, but that the other two
prisoners, Berkins and Shelton, should be respited. Some disappointment
was exhibited that this measure of clemency did not extend to the whole
of the prisoners under sentence; and the arrival of the mail on the next
morning, when the other convicts were to be executed, was looked for
with much anxiety, in the anticipation that further letters might be
received. In obedience to the wish of the townspeople, the execution was
postponed from eight o'clock on the Wednesday morning until eleven; but
at a quarter-past ten the mail arrived with no further respite.
The prisoners were then immediately led from their cells to be pinioned,
preparatory to their execution. They had passed their time since their
conviction in the exercise of such religious observances as were deemed
by Dr. Wood, the minister of the jail, best suited to their position,
and declared themselves perfectly ready to die. During the period
occupied by their being pinioned, they were all three perfectly calm and
collected.
On Dr. Wood's concluding the affecting prayer which is always read to
criminals just before their execution, and on his consigning them to
God's gracious protection and mercy, the procession was formed to ascend
the scaffold. Beck ascended it first with great seriousness, but with a
firm and unfaltering footstep. Hearson, who had joined with much fervour
in all the devotional exercises of the morning, surprised all who had
seen his previous conduct by the manner in which he behaved after
mounting the scaffold. He took his cap off his head waved it in a sort
of triumph, and began to dance like a maniac in his chains. He
recognised some individual who was seated on a housetop opposite the
scaffold, and shouted out, "Well done, Will, lad." A person in the crowd
said to him, "Good bye, Curley," addressing him by the name by which he
was commonly known. This address set him to dancing again; and his
extraordinary conduct at this crisis of his fate is attributed, not to
any spirit of bravado, but to sudden delirium. He turned round to the
hangman, and complained that he had not an inch of rope, saying, "Give
me rope enough that I may be sooner out of misery." Armstrong, who was
brought last upon the scaffold, was much distressed on seeing the
frantic gestures of Hearson. About eight minutes were consumed in these
preparations. Exactly at twenty minutes before twelve, the hangman drew
their caps over their faces; and that ceremony seemed to be the signal
for a thousand voices to utter the fearful cries of "Murder!" and of
"Blood!" These sounds must have been ringing in the ears of the
unfortunate men at the very moment when the withdrawal of the fatal bolt
carried them from the tribunals of man to appear at the bar of heavenly
justice. They were clasping each other's hands at the moment they fell,
but the suddenness of their fall severed the association, and the
agonies of death prevented their renewing it. They struggled, but not
violently, for five minutes. At the expiration of that time, their
frames had ceased to heave, and life was evidently extinct. After the
cry of murder had subsided, the multitude, which must have consisted of
eight or ten thousand people, behaved with great propriety and decorum.
It did not, however, disperse until the hangman made his second
appearance on the scaffold to cut down these unfortunate delinquents.
This was done at twenty minutes before one o'clock. The bodies were then
placed in their respective coffins, and were delivered to their friends
in the course of the next day.
At the ensuing assizes for the county of Nottingham, some further
convictions for robberies during the riots took place; and several
prisoners were sentenced to transportation, to which punishment, also,
the sentences of those who had been capitally convicted before the
special commission, but respited, were commuted.
At the Derby assizes, on Saturday the 17th of March, several prisoners
were put upon their trial for the alleged participation in the riots
which had taken place in that town. The prosecution was sought to be
supported by the evidence of an approver, who, however, was disbelieved
by the jury, and a verdict of acquittal returned.
Other prisoners were not so fortunate, and paid the forfeit of their
offences, by suffering imprisonment for various short periods.
In London, too, a similar measure of justice was dealt out to the
offenders who had been secured, but the prisoners were almost all of the
very lowest classes of the people, and their respective cases presented
no features of general interest.
THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
These disgraceful proceedings were consequential upon the rejection of
the Reform Bill, to which allusion is made in the last article. Sir
Charles Wetherall, who was recorder of Bristol, had, throughout the
debates which took place upon this most important subject, in his seat
in parliament, delivered himself of sentiments strongly opposed to the
great measure, which was justly looked upon as so important to the
interests of the people; and his conduct had procured for him on this
account a notoriety as unenviable as in the sequel it proved dangerous.
The wishes and the desires of the people were treated by him with
levity, and even with contempt; and in Bristol, more especially, a
strong feeling of hostility was excited against him, from the near
connexion by which he was bound to that city.
It was pretty generally known that Sir Charles would enter Bristol on
the 29th of October, 1831, for the purpose of opening the commission for
the trial of offenders; and very natural apprehensions were entertained
that his appearance would produce some popular commotion. The mayor and
civic authorities were apprised of the impending danger; and with a
degree of discretion not usually found to be exercised on such
occasions, they procured the aid of the military, and swore in a great
number of special constables, in order to be ready to meet and quell any
disturbance or riot which might arise. The office of special constable
was looked upon by the more respectable portion of the inhabitants as
one which, under existing circumstances, it would be irksome to hold;
and many persons were sworn in, whose conduct in the end unfortunately
showed how ill the confidence placed in them had been bestowed. The
consequences were of the most fatally appalling nature; and the
following statement of the occurrences of the 29th, 30th, and 31st of
October will be read with pain, not unmixed with disgust at the excesses
which were committed.
On Wednesday, the 26th of October 1831, Sir Charles Wetherall arrived at
Bath; and, contrary to his usual custom, which was to take up his
residence at the house of his sister-in-law, the lady of Colonel Jones,
he repaired to the York-house Hotel. During his stay there, although
there existed against him a good deal of angry feeling, no particular
notice was taken of him. Bills, announcing the place of his sojourn,
were distributed through the town; but even this failed in so far
exciting the minds of the people as to induce them to offer any injury,
or even insult, to the learned gentleman. The ill-feeling which
prevailed against him was, however, known, and its consequences
apprehended; and so desirous were his friends to avoid any popular
outbreak against him, that the period of his departure from Bath was
determined to be concealed. Friday night was therefore openly named as
the time at which he should quit Bath, but, in reality, he did not
retire from the city until Saturday morning at ten o'clock. His carriage
at that hour was drawn up in the back-yard of the hotel, ready for his
accommodation; and, drawn by four horses, the learned gentleman was
quickly driven off.
Although he thus stealthily quitted Bath, Sir Charles had repeatedly
expressed his determination not to enter Bristol in a covert manner. He
declared his belief in a "reaction," which would produce a strong
feeling in his favour; and although he was warmly and strongly
recommended not to adopt the course upon which it was understood he had
fixed, he persisted in pursuing the line of conduct pointed out.
At about half-past eleven o'clock, Sir Charles was perceived to approach
Bristol at a rapid rate, in a chariot drawn by four greys; and, on
stopping at Totterdown for the purpose of being handed into the
sheriff's carriage, he was instantly assailed by the most deafening
yells, groans, and hisses. The constables were then, in considerable
numbers, placed around the carriage; a gentleman on horseback riding
close by the side of each door, and three or four hundred preceding and
following. In this manner the cavalcade, which comprised also the usual
number of mayor's and sheriff's officers, mounted, with favours,
proceeded slowly towards the city. Just as Sir Charles was passing over
Hill's-bridge, his carriage was assailed with four or five stones; but
no movement took place with a view to apprehend the offenders, the whole
force being anxious only for the protection of the recorder's person. As
the procession moved onward, the expressions of disapprobation from the
multitude became more and more deafening. In Temple-street, the windows
of the houses were crowded with spectators, and the lower orders of
females were particularly vociferous in the expression of their
feelings, frequently charging the men with cowardice and want of spirit.
In passing from the bridge to High-street, one of the constables, a
respectable tradesman, received a dangerous contusion in the head; and,
in the latter street, also, some few stones were thrown.
On arriving at the Guildhall, in Broad-street, it was with the greatest
difficulty that Sir Charles could alight, from the pressure of the
immense multitude; but, after the lapse of a few minutes, he was handed
out in safety, and proceeded to take his station on the bench. The doors
of the hall were then thrown open to the populace, and in a few minutes
the area was completely choked up.
The usual forms for opening the commission then commenced; but the noise
and confusion occasioned considerable interruption. Amidst a scene of
indescribable uproar, they were with difficulty gone through; and, at
their conclusion, an adjournment of the court to the following Monday
morning took place. The recorder then withdrew from the bench, and the
populace, after some further marks of their displeasure towards the
learned judge, gave three cheers for the king and retired into the
street. Some considerable time then elapsed before the recorder was
taken up for the purpose of being conveyed to the Mansion-house. During
the interval, Broad-street, and, indeed, the whole line of the route,
was occupied by a dense mass of the population. Beyond the mere vocal
expression of their feelings, however, there was nothing in their
conduct, at this period, calculated to excite alarm. On Sir Charles's
reappearance, he was greeted with a repetition of the same favours which
had before been so liberally bestowed upon him, which continued through
the remainder of his progress, with the exception that, at the
Commercial-rooms, in front of which a body of his admirers had placed
themselves, he was greeted with three cheers. But there was no violence
until the arrival of the carriage at the Mansion-house, in Queen-square.
There a few stones were thrown, and a lamp or a window of the carriage
was broken; but the recorder himself received no injury.
We have now arrived at what we conceive to be the most important part of
our narrative, inasmuch as it was the universal opinion, that the
proceedings which directly followed the arrival of the recorder and
corporation at the Mansion-house were the more immediate cause of all
the disgraceful events which subsequently occurred. A few minutes after
their alighting, a rush was made on the populace by a posse of special
constables, for the purpose of securing the persons by whom the missiles
had just been thrown, and an individual was taken hold of, and dragged
into the Mansion-house. Again another rush took place, and another
capture was made; and this was repeated several times; the conviction
being pretty general, that persons were selected at random. The least
show of opposition on the part of the populace, who, during these
proceedings, were really guiltless of any new outrage, subjected them to
the most brutal attacks of some of the persons who assumed to be special
constables, many of whom, by imprudently brandishing their staves, did
much to excite the feelings of the people.
At this moment the number of persons collected in the square could not
have been less than ten thousand; and a cry having been raised of "To
the back," where piles of faggots and firewood were usually kept, a
large body proceeded thither, and having armed themselves with sticks,
returned in a few minutes to the scene of action. It was then that, for
the first time, any serious collision was apprehended; but the
constables rushing out in a body, in a moment infused terror into the
people, and the sticks were soon to be seen strewed in every direction
upon the ground. These were gathered up in bundles and carried off. This
was about half-past twelve o'clock. From that period till about four
o'clock, the time was passed in occasional skirmishes between the
constables and the populace, which generally ended in some one being
taken into custody. During these proceedings it was visible that the
people were becoming more and more exasperated. Now and then a pane of
glass was smashed in, or a club hurled at the heads of the constables;
and these attacks generally led to measures which heightened, rather
than allayed, the popular feeling.