A PLAIN AND SUCCINCT NARRATIVE OF THE LATE RIOTS AND DISTURBANCES IN THE CITIES OF LONDON AND WESTMINSTER, AND BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK.
CONTAINING, Particulars of the burning of NEWGATE, the KING'S BENCH, the FLEET, and NEW BRIDEWELL Prisons. Also, the Houses of Lord MANSFIELD, Sir JOHN FIELDING, Messrs. LANGDALE, RAINSFORTH, COX, HYDE, &c. Romish Chapels, Schools, &c. with an Account of the Commitment of LORD GEORGE GORDON TO THE TOWER, AND ANECDOTES OF HIS LIFE.
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, An Abstract of the Act lately passed in Favour of the Roman Catholics. And an Account of the BILL, as moved for in Parliament by Sir GEORGE
AVILE with the Observations of Sir GEORGE and Mr. DUNNING on the PAPIST penal Laws.
THE THIRD EDITION CORRECTED: With an APPENDIX.
By WILLIAM VINCENT, of GRAY'S INN.
LONDON: PRINTED FOR FIELDING AND WALKER, PATER NOSTER-ROW.
M. DCC LXXX.
[PRICE ONE SHILLING.] Entered at Stationer's Hall.
ABSTRACT of an ACT passed in favour of the ROMAN CATHOLICS, INTITULED,
An Act for reieving his Majesty's Subjects professing the Popish Religion, from certain Penalties and Disabilities imposed on them by an Act made in the Eleventh and Twelfth Years of the Reign of King
William
the Third, intituled,
An Act for the further preventing the Growth of Popery.
THE preamble recites, that it is expedient to repeal certain provisions in the Act of King William; and the clauses repealed are as follow:
THAT so much of the said Act as relates to the apprehending, taking, or prosecuting of Popish Bishops, Priests, or Jesuits; and also so much of the said Act as subjects Popish Bishops, Priests or Jesuits, and Papists, or persons professing the Popish religion, and keeping school, or taking upon themselves the education or government or boarding of youth, within this realm, or the dominions thereto belonging, to perpetual imprisonment; and also so much of the said Act as disables persons educated in the Popish religion, or professing the same, under the circumstances therein mentioned, to inherit or take by descent, devise, or limitation, in possession, reversion, or remainder, any lands tenements, or hereditaments, within the kingdom of England, dominion of Wales, and town of Berwick upon Tweed, and gives to the next of kin, being a Protestant, a right to have and enjoy such lands, tenements, and hereditaments; and also so much of the said Act as disables Papists, or persons professing the Popish religion, to purchase any manors, lands, profits out of lands, tenements, rents, terms, or hereditaments, within the kingdom of England, dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, and makes void all and singular estates, terms, and other interests or profits whatsoever out of lands, to be made, suffered, or done, from and after the day therein mentioned, to or for the use or behoof of any such person or persons, or upon any trust or confidence, mediately or immediately, for the relief of any such person or persons; shall be, and the same, and every clause and matter and thing herein before mentioned, is and are hereby repealed.
And be it enacted by the authority aforesa
d, That every person and persons having or claiming any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, under titles not hitherto litigated, though derived from any descent, devise, limitation, or purchase, shall have, take, hold, and enjoy the same, as if the said Act, or any thing therein contained, had not been made; any thing in the said Act contained to the contrary notwithstanding.
Provided always, and be it enacted, That nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to affect any action or suit now depending, which shall be prosecuted with effect, and without delay.
Provided also, That nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to any person or persons but such who shall, within the space of six calendar months after the passing of this Act, or of accruing of his, her, or their title, being of the age of twenty-one years, or who, being under the age of twenty-one years, shall, within six months after he or she shall attain the age of twenty-one years, or being of unsound mind, or in prison, or beyond the seas, then within six months after such disability removed, take and subscribe an oath in the words following:
THE TEST OR OATH
This Oath was framed in consequence of the motion made by Sir George Savile; and that no person who is not well affected to Government may enjoy the benefit of the Act.
.
I
A. B.
do sincerely promise and swear, That I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his Majesty King
George
the Third, and him will defend, to the utmost of my power, against all conspiracies and attempts whatever that shall be made against his person, crown, or dignity; and I will do my utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to his Majesty, his heirs and successors, all treasons and traiterous conspiracies which may be formed against him or them; and I do faithfully promise to maintain, support, and defend, to the utmost of my power, the succession of the crown in his Majesty's family, against any person or persons whatsoever; hereby utterly renouncing and abjuring any obedience or allegiance unto the person taking upon himself the stile and title of
Prince of Wales,
in the lifetime of his father, and who, since his death, is said to have assumed the stile and title of
King of Great Britain,
by the name of
Charles the Third,
and to any other person claiming or pretending a right to the crown of these realms; and I do swear, that I do reject and detest, as an unchristian and impious position, That it is lawful to murder or destroy any person or persons whatsoever, for or under pretence of their being heretics; and also that unchristian and impious principle, That no faith is to be kept with heretics: I further declare, that it is no article of my faith, and that I do renounce, reject, and abjure the opinion, That princes excommunicated by the Pope and Council, or by any authority of the See of Rome, or by any authority whatsoever, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any person whatsoever: And I do declare, that I do not believe that the Pope of Rome, or any other foreign prince, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power, superiority, or pre-eminence, directly or indirectly, within this realm. And I do solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, That I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words of this oath; with out any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatever, and without any dispensation already granted by the Pope, or any authority of the See of Rome, or any person whatever; and without thinking that I am or can be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declaration, or any part thereof, although the Pope, or any other persons or authority whatsoever, shall dispense with or annul the same, or declare that it was null or void.
It concludes with reciting what courts of judicature the oath is to be taken, subscribed, and registered in; and with an information, that the Act shall not be construed to extend to any Popish Bishop, Priest, Jesuit, or Schoolmaster, who shall not have taken and subscribed the above Oath, in the above words, before he shall have been apprehended, or any prosecution commenced against him.
A PLAIN AND SUCCINCT NARRATIVE OF THE DISTURBANCES.
For Notes referred to in the Text, by Letters A B C, &c. see the Appendix.
THE late riots and popular tumults which have happened in the Metropolis and its environs, sufficiently at the instant of their existence, excited the apprehensions of all ranks of people, to awaken curiosity and make a clear and succinct narrative worthy the acceptance of the public. To render the whole affair as intelligible as possible, it has been judged necessary to trace the alledged cause of discontent, the Act for the relief of the Papists, to its source. The original motion for the bill, which afterwards passed into a law, was made in the House of Commons by Sir George Savile: the object of it was, to repeal an act of the 10th and 11th of William the Third. The esverity of this act may be gathered from the repealing act, an abstract of which is prefixed, and from the following observations of the members who introduced and supported the bill.
Sir George Savile stated, that one of his principle views in proposing this repeal was, to vindicate the honour and assert the principles of the Protestant religion, to which all persecution was, or ought to be totally averse. That this pure religion ought not to have had an existence, if persecution had been lawful. That it ill became us to practice that with which we reproached others. That he did not meddle with the vast body of that penal code, but selected that act on which he found most of the prosecutions had been formed, and which gave the greatest scope to the base views of interested relations and unprincipled informers. The act had not, it is true, been regularly put in execution, but sometimes it had, and he understood that several Papists lived in great terror, and some under actual contribution. He stated the peaceable behaviour of this part of his Majesty's subjects, and mentioned the loyal and excellent address they had lately presented to the throne, in which, they not only expressed their obedience to the Government under which they lived, but their attachment to the constitution. As a guard and security however, he proposed, that a sufficient test
Vide abstract of the act, page 4.
might be formed, by which they should bind themselves to the support of the Civil Government as by law established.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Dunning, who with great ability entered into a legal discussion of the principles, the objects, and the past operations of the bill, which was moved to be repealed. Some of the severities by him complained of were the following,—for Priests or Jesuits to teach or officiate in the services of their church, were acts of felony in foreigners, and high treason in the natives of this kingdom. The forfeiture of estates to the next Protestant heir, the power given to a son or other nearest relation, to take possession during the life of the proprietor, and the depriving of Papists from acquiring any legal property by purchase, were, he said, exceedingly oppressive, particularly the last clause, which had a far greater latitude than was understood, for it applied to all legal property acquired by other means than that of descent. He declaimed upon the horrid nature of that law,
which deprived a Priest of liberty,
only for officiating in the duties of his religion, and begged to remind the House, that even when the proposed repealing act had passed, the Priests would not be at liberty to exercise their functions, but would still, under the restriction of former laws, be liable to a year's imprisonment, and the punishment of a heavy sine. He observed, that at the instigation of the most abandoned of mankind, common informers, the magisterial and judicial powers, were of necessity bound to enforce all the shameful penalties of the act. Others of these penalties, held out the most powerful temptations for the commission of acts of depravity, at the very thought of which our nature recoils with horror. They seem calculated to loosen all bands of society, to dissolve all civil, moral, and religious obligations and duties, to poison the sources of domestic felicity, and to annihilate every principle of honour. The encouragement given to children, to lay their hands upon the estates of their parents, and the restitution which debars men from the honest acquisition of property, need, he said, in times like these, of philosophical liberty, only be mentioned to excite the utmost indignation of that House. (A)
The motion was received with universal approbation, and a bill was accordingly brought in and passed without a single negative.
The indulgencies granted by this act to the Papists, such as, not only the free exercise of their religion in licensed chapels, equal to the Presbyterians and all other Dissenters and Sectaries, but toleration likewise
to e ect schools
for the education of youth in the Romish tenets, greatly alarmed many people, some on religious, and others on political principles. The resistance made to a similar act in favour of the Catholics in Scotland, (B) contributed to spread the alarm, and bills were dispersed, and advertisements inserted in the news-papers, inviting those who wished well to the cause, to unite under the title of the Protestant Association, and Lord George Gordon, who had been so active at the head of the Malcontents in Scotland was chosen president. Little notice was taken of these societies, and the president, whose eccentric and desultory character (C) and speeches in the House of Commons were frequently the subjects of ridicule, tended rather, both in and out of Parliament, to place those objects, which, as it has proved, well deserved the most serious attention, in a ludicrous than a serious point of view. He has the manners and air of a modern Puritan; his figure is meagre, his hair strait and his dress plain. The stile of the advertisements published in the name of the Associating Committee, but which were signed only by him, have the appearance of private addresses to the public, and are such as might rather have been expected from the famous William Prynne, than from a noble Commoner in this philosophic age. The following is one of these advertisements, which at the same time that it affords a specimen of the spirit and stile, in which these invitations were written, will shew by what means the attention of the people was engaged, and their minds were incited to a consideration of the tendency of the repealing act, and which only became serious in the opinion of the liberal, from the encouragement and protection it gave the Papists in the
erecting of schools.
PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION.
THIS is to give notice, That in compliance with a petition addressed to the President, the Committee have resolved that there shall be another general meeting of the Protestants before the London petition is presented to the House of Commons.
The Petition will not be presented this week, but will be kept till towards the close of this session of Parliament, to give time for similar petitions from other parts of England, Wales, and Scotland, to be presented before it.
All the true friends of Great Britain, and of civil and religious liberty, are exhorted to unite in support of the Protestant interest before it is too late; for unanimity and firmness in that glorious cause can alone protect us from the
dangerous confederacy of Popish powers.
If we unite, like one man, for the honour of God, and the liberties of the people, we may yet experience the blessing of Divine Providence on this kingdom, and love and confidence may again be restored amongst brethren. But if we continue obstinate in errors, and spread
idolatry
and
corruption
through the land, we have nothing to expect but
division among the people, distraction in the Senate, and discontent in our camps, with all the other calamities attendant on those nations whom God has delivered over to arbitrary power and despotism.
G. GORDON, President.
Welbeck-street, London,
May
8.
*⁎* Those of London and its environs who wish the Repeal of the late Popish Bill, are desired to sign the Protestant Petition, which they may have access to at the President's house in Welbeck-street, every day before four o'clock.
The reader will easily perceive what were the leading features in the character of a man who could write the above address. The following one, which was the means of calling that mob together, whose depredations are the subject of the ensuing pages, may not be thought less interesting, or less singular.
PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION.
WHEREAS no hall in London can contain forty thousand men:
Resolved, That this Association do meet on Friday next in St. George's Fields, at ten o'clock in the morning, to consider of the most prudent and respectful manner of attending their Petition, which will be presented the same day to the House of Commons.
Resolved, for the sake of good order and regularity, That this Association, on coming to the ground, do separate themselves into four distinct divisions▪ viz. the London Division, the Westminster Division, the Southwark Division, and the Scotch Division.
Resolved, That the London Division do take place upon the right of the ground towards Southwark, the Westminster Division second, the Southwark Division third, and the Scotch Division upon the left, all wearing blue cockades in their hats, to distinguish themselves from the Papists, and those who approve of the late act in favour of Popery.
Resolved, That the Magistrates of London, Westminster, and Southwark, are requested to attend, that their presence may overawe and controul any riotous or evil-minded persons, who may wish to disturb the legal and peaceable deportment of his Majesty's Protestant subjects.
By Order of the Association, G. GORDON, President.
London,
May 29.
Lord George had frequently spoken in terms which seemed intended to intimidate the House of Commons; and, in order to shew that he was more in earnest, and had more power than they believed, he took every method to incite the public attention. A report was circulated that he had asserted he would not present the Petition, unless he was attended by
forty thousand
Another account says 20,000.
of the Associators at the least. Every one who wished well to the cause, was desired to appear with a blue cockade in his hat. The Associators separated themselves into four grand divisions, as requested in the advertisement; the London, the Westminster, the Southwark, and the Scotch; and flags were provided for each.
Accordingly, on Friday, June the 2d, at ten in the forenoon, an immense concourse assembled at the place appointed, some with serious intentions, some with wicked, and others out of curiosity: and, notwithstanding the intense heat, which was, that day, very remarkable, kept parading the fields with their flags, singing hymns, marshalling themselves in ranks, and waiting for their leader. About eleven o'clock, Lord George arrived among them, and gave directions in what manner he would have them proceed, and about twelve, (that the whole city might be convinced how serious the people were in their demands) one numerous party was ordered to go round over London Bridge, another over Blackfriars, and a third to follow him over Westminster. A huge roll of parchment,
Or rather several rolls in one.
too, almost as much as a man could carry, containing the names of those who had signed the Petition, was borne before them. They proceeded with great decorum and decency on their route, and the whole body was assembled, about half past two, before both Houses of Parliament, on which occasion they gave a general shout.
But however peaceable and well disposed some of them might be it was very evident, from the habit and appearance of numbers amongst them, that order and regularity were not long to be expected from such an assembly; on the contrary, they soon began to exercise the most arbitrary and dictatorial power over both Lords and Commons. They obliged almost all the Members to put blue cockades in their hats, and call out, "No Popery!" Some they compelled to take oaths to vote for the repeal of the obnoxious act▪ and others they insulted in the most indecent and violent manner. They took possession of all the avenues from the outer door to the very door of the House of Commons, which they twice attempted to force open. The like attempt was made at the House of Lords; but by the exertion of the door-keepers, and the care of Sir Francis Molyneux, it did not succeed. The Archbishop of York was one of the first they attacked. As soon as his coach was known coming down Parliament-street, he was saluted with hisses, groans, and hootings; and when he got out of his carriage, to avoid greater mischief, was obliged to say (which he did in a pitiable and enfeebled voice) "No Popery, no Popery!" The Lord President of the Council, Lord Bathurst, they pushed about in the rudest manner, and kicked violently on the legs. Lord Mansfield had the glasses of his carriage broken, the pannels beat in, and narrowly escaped with life. The Duke of Northumberland was exceedingly ill treated, and had his pocket picked of his watch. The Bishop of Litchfield had his gown torn. The wheels of the Bishop of Lincoln's carriage were taken off, and his Lordship might be said to escape personal injury almost by miracle. (D)
The Lords Townshend and Hillsborough came together: the latter, who was known by the mob, was most grosly insulted, and had not some of them been partial to Lord Townshend, would, in all probability, have been much more so: as it was, they were both much husseled and pushed about, and sent into the House without their bags, and with their hair hanging loose on their shoulders. The coach of Lord Stormont was broken to pieces, and himself in the hands of the mob for near half an hour, during which time they took the most insolent liberties with him, and pelted him with mud: he was rescued at last by a gentleman who harangued the mob, and prevailed on them to desist. Lords Ashburnham and Boston were treated not only with most unwarrantable indignity, but with a merciless and unmanly severity, particularly Lord Boston, who was so long in their power that it was thought necessary by the Peers to go as a body and endeavour, by their presence, to extricate him, but were prevented by the entrance of his Lordship, out of breath and in great disorder, with his coat all powdered and his hair disheveled. The front glass of Lord Trentham's vis â vis was broken, and himself insulted and detained a considerable time. Lord Willough by de Broke, Lord St. John, Lord Dudley, and many others, were personally ill treated; and Wellbore Ellis,
Esq
was obliged to take refuge in the Guildhall of Westminster, (whither he was pursued) the windows of which were broke, the doors forced, and Justice Addington, with all the constables, expelled▪ Mr. Ellis escaped at the utmost hazard, and after exceedingly severe and rough treatment.
The behaviour of Lord George Gordon was such as might be expected. He came several times to the top of the gallery stairs, whence he harangued the people, and let them know the bad success their Petition was like to meet with. He told them first, that it was proposed to take it into consideration on Tuesday in a Committee of the House, but that he did not like delays, for the Parliament might be prorogued by that time.
He came once more, and said he saw little reason to hope redress from the decisions of Parliament—that they should meet again—that they ought not to despair, but to put their trust in Providence.
He came a third time, and said, "Gentlemen, the alarm has gone forth for many miles round the city. You have got a very good Prince, who as soon as he shall hear the alarm has seized such a number of men, will no doubt send down private orders to his Ministers to enforce the prayer of your Petition."
When the mob was raging and roaring in the lobby, General Conway sat himself down by Lord George, and addressed him to the following purpose: "My Lord, I am a military man, and I shall think it my duty to protect the freedom of debate in this House by my sword; you see, my Lord, the Members of this House are this day all in arms. Do not imagine that we will be overpowered or intimidated by a rude, undisciplined, unprincipled rabble. There is only one entry into the House of Commons, and that is a narrow one. Reflect, that men of honour may defend this pass;—and that certainly many lives will be lost before we will suffer ourselves to be overawed by your adherents. I wish, in one word, my Lord, to know whether it is your intention to bring those men, whose wild uproar now strikes our ears, within the walls of this house?" Soon after General Conway had done speaking with Lord George, Colonel Gordon, a near relation of his Lordship's, went up to him, and accosted him in the following manner: "My Lord George, do you intend to bring your rascally adherents into the House of Commons? If you do,—the first man of them that enters, I will plunge my sword not into his, but into your body."
Lord George, it is said, was very much dismayed by what had fallen from General Conway, and his kinsman, Colonel Gordon, and it was in consequence of what they had threatened, that he came to the top of the gallery stairs, and desired the populace to be quiet, and to trust to the goodness of their cause, and to his Majesty's clemency and justice.
While his Lordship was making his second speech, one of his relations, General Grant, came behind him, and by a gentle violence endeavoured to draw him back into the House, and
aid to him, "O Lord George, Lord George! for God's sake, Lord George! do not lead these poor people into any danger."—His Lordship, however, made the General no answer, but continued his harangue—"You see, said he, in this effort to persuade me from my duty, before your eyes, an instance of the difficulties I have to encounter with from such wise men of this world as my honourable friend behind my back."
Alderman Sawbridge and others endeavoured to persuade the people to clear the lobby, but to no purpose; and about nine o'clock, different Members conjured them in the most earnest and pathetic manner to disperse, informing them at the same time of their danger, and of the resolution that was taken to send for the Guards. The young gentleman, the Assistant to the Chaplain of the House of Commons, addressed them, but gained nothing except curses, and "You be damned! Lord George Gordon forever!" soon after this, a party of Horse and Foot Guards arrived. Justice Addington was at the head of the Horse, and was received with a volley of hisses; but on his assuring the people that his disposition towards them was perfectly peaceable, and that he would order the soldiers away, if they would give their honour to disperse, he gained their good will. Accordingly the Cavalry galloped off, and upwards of six hundred of the Petitioners, after giving the Magistrate three cheers, departed from thence.
The greatest part of the day the attention of the House of Commons had been taken up in debates concerning the Mob. When they had obtained some degree of order, Lord George introduced his business with informing them, that he had before him a Petition
Vide Note F.
signed by near one hundred and twenty thousand of his Majesty's Protestant subjects, praying "A Repeal of the Act passed the last Session in favour of the Roman Catholics," and moved to have the said Petition brought up.
Mr. Alderman Bull seconded the motion, and leave was accordingly given.
Having brought up the Petition, his Lordship then moved to have it taken into immediate consideration, and was again seconded by Mr. Alderman Bull.
After some debate, the House divided, and there appeared six for the Petition, and one hundred and ninety-two against it. Soon after this the House adjourned, and the mob having dispersed from the avenues of both Houses, the Guards were ordered home.
But though order and tranquility were re-established in this part of the town, it was far otherwise elsewhere. The Mob had paraded off in different divisions from Palace Yard, and (whether instigated by religious phrenzy or designing men, time alone can discover) as a prelude to the horrid devastations which were to follow, went some of them to the Romish Chapel in Duke-street, Lincoln's Inn-fields, and others to that in Warwick-street, Golden-square, both of which they in a great measure demolished. The military were sent for with the utmost expedition to both places, but could not arrive time enough at either to prevent the mischiefs. Those who had the command of the military were very cautious of proceeding to extremities, much scuffling ensued, and some few were slightly wounded with the bayonets. Thirteen of the rioters were taken, and the mob, for that night, dispersed without any farther mischief.
The conclusion of this evening's disturbance may be said, to be only the beginning of those dreadful scenes of desolation which have since ensued; and which when the perpetrators are long sunk into oblivion, shall be recorded as some of the most unparalleled and daring outrages history can furnish.
The riots which were so alarming on Friday evening partly subsided on the Saturday, and the peaceable part of the inhabitants imagined it was nothing more than the intemperate fury of a few misguided zealots, assisted by those miscreants, who always mingle with the mob, whose trade is plunder, and who are therefore continually active in all scenes where tumult and anarchy prevail. But this was by no means the case, for on Sunday in the afternoon, the rioters assembled in large bodies, and attacked the chapels and dwelling-houses of the Catholics in and about Moorfields. They stript their houses of furniture, and their chapels not only of the ornaments and insignia of religion, but tore up the altars, pulpits, pews, and benches, and made huge fires of them, leaving nothing but the bare walls, and in many places not even them. They publicly avowed their intention to root out Popery, to release those who had been confined in Newgate for their proceedings at the Sardinian and Warwick street chapels on Friday, to pull down the houses of the justices who committed them, and the persons who gave evidence against them likewise.
On Monday the mobs collected again, and became more formidable. They began to put their threats in execution in different quarters of the town. Some paraded with the reliques of havock, which they collected in Moorfields, as far as Lord George Gordon's house, in Welbeck-street, and afterwards burnt them in the adjacent fields. Another party went to Virginialane, Wapping, and a third to N
ghtingale-lane, Fast Smithfield, where they severally destroyed the Catholic Chapels, and committed other outrages. They seemed to have been marshalled out, and different bodies dispatched on these infernal errands. Mr. Rainsforth, tallow-chandler, of Stanhope-street, Clare-market, and Mr. Maberly of Little Queen-street, Lincoln's Innfields, who had appeared as evidences on the examination of those who had been committed, had each of them their houses, shops, &c. stript, or as they wantonly termed it, gutted, and the contents committed to the flames. Sir George Savile's house in Leicester-fields underwent the same fate, his crime was preparing and bringing the bill into Parliament in favour of the Catholics. Happily for Sir George he had prudently removed his plate and some of the most valuable of his furniture, and other effects, in a private manner.
This day also, which was held as the Anniversary of the King's birth-day, a Proclamation was issued, promising a reward of five hundred pounds, to those who would make discovery of the person or persons concerned in demolishing and setting fire to the Sardinian and Bavarian Chapels. The persons formerly apprehended, too, were re-examined, and some were discharged, while others were ordered to Newgate, whither they were escorted by a party of the Guards, whom, on their return, the mob had the insolence to pelt. One of the soldiers who had been hurt by a stone, turned and presented his piece; but the commanding officer humanely ordered him not to fire; and the soldiers were obliged to make a hasty retreat.
All ranks of people began to be exceedingly terrified at the lawless proceedings of this day; and numbers put blue cockades in their hats, (although it might now be said to be the ensign of rebellion,) on purpose to avoid personal injury and insult.
We now come to that period of desolation and destruction, when every man began to tremble, not only for the safety of the city, but for the constitution, for the kingdom, for property, liberty and life, for every thing that is dear to society, or to Englishmen.
On Tuesday all the military in town were ordered on duty at the Tower, both Houses of Parliament, St. James's, St. George's Fields, &c. during the day. Notwithstanding every precaution, Lord Sandwich was wounded in attempting to go down to the Parliament House to attend his duty, his carriage demolished, and himself rescued by the military with difficulty. The house of Lord North was attacked, and only preserved by the exertion of a party of Light Horse, who rode over, and wounded with their swords, several of the assailants.
About six in the evening one party went to the house of Justice Hyde, near Leicester Fields, which they destroyed in less than an hour; another, shortly after, paraded through Long Acre, down Holborn, &c. till they came to Newgate, and publicly declared they would go and release the onfined Rioters. When they arrived at the doors of the prison, they demanded of Mr. Akerman the keeper, to have their comrades immediately delivered up to them; and upon his persisting to do his duty, by refusing, they began some to break the windows, some to batter the doors and entrances into the cells, with pick-axes and sledge-hammers, others with ladders to climb the vast walls, while others collected firebrands, and whatever combustibles they could find, and flung into his dwelling house. What contributed more than any thing to the spreading of the flames, was the great quantity of household furniture belonging to Mr. Akerman, which they threw out of the windows, piled up against the doors, and set fire to; the force of which presently communicated to the house, from the house to the chapel, and from thence▪ by the assistance of the Mob, all through the prison. A party of Constables, nearly to the amount of a hundred, came to the assistance of the keeper; these the Mob made a lane for, and suffered to pass till they were entirely encircled, when they attacked them with great fury, broke their staffs, and converted them into brands, which they hurled about wherever the fire, which was spreading very fast, had not caught. It is almost incredible to think that it were possible to destroy a building of such amazing strength and extent, with so much swiftness as they accomplished this. As soon as the flames had destroyed Mr. Akerman's house, which was part of Newgate, and were communicated to the wards and cells, all the prisoners, to the amount of three hundred, among whom were four under sentence of death, and ordered for execution on the Thursday following, were released. The activity of the Mob was in this instance, as well as every other, amazing. They dragged out the prisoners, many of them, by the hair of the head, by the legs or arms, or whatever part they could lay hold of: They broke open the doors of the different entrances, as easily as if they had all their lives been acquainted with the intricacies of the place, to let the confined escape. Great numbers were let out at the door that leads to the Session's House; and so well planned were all the manoeuvres of these desperate ruffians, that they had placed centinels at the avenues, to prevent any of the prisoners from being conveyed to other jails. Thus was the strongest and most durable prison in England, that had been newly erected, and was not yet finished, and in the building of which the nation had expended immense sums demolished, the bare walls excepted, which were too thick and strong to yield to the force of sire, in the space of a few hours.
Even this was but a moiety of the mischief of this terrible night. Not satiated with the destruction of this great building, a party was sent among the Catholics in Devonshire-street, Red Lion-square; another to the house of Justice Cox in Great Queen-street, which was soon destroyed; a third broke open the doors of the New Prison, Clerkenwell, and turned out all the confined; a fourth destroyed the furniture and effects, writings, &c. of Sir John Fielding; and a fifth desperate and infernal gang went to the elegant house of Lord Mansfield, in Bloomsbury-square, which they, with the most unrelenting fury, set fire to and consumed. The loss here was immense, both to Lord Mansfield as an individual, and to the public. A most valuable collection of pictures, some of the scarcest manuscripts said to be in the possession of any private person in the world, with all his Lordship's notes on great law cases, and the constitution of England, were all sacrificed by madmen and villains; and Lord and Lady Mansfield were with difficulty preserved from their rage, by making their escape through a back door, a few minutes before these miscreants broke in and took possession of the house. The military was sent for, but arrived too late; they were obliged, however, to fire in their own defence, and six men and a woman were killed, and several wounded. Not contented with the havock and destruction they had been guilty of in Bloomsbury, they went from thence to his Lordship's country seat at Caen Wood, which would certainly have shared the same fate, had not they been repelled by a party of Horse which had been sent thither for the preservation of this delightful place. The inhabitants were obliged this night to illuminate their windows.
It is impossible to give any adequate description of the events of Wednesday. Notice was sent round to the public prisons of the King's Bench, Fleet, &c. by the Mob, at what time they would come and burn them down. The same kind of infernal humanity was exercised towards Mr. Langdale, a distiller in Holborn, and several other Romish individuals. Three boys went through the streets, and in particular down Holborn, in the middle of the day, with iron bars, got from the railing before Lord Mansfield's house, extorting money at every shop huzzaing and shouting, "No Popery!" and though numbers were passing and repassing, the inhabitants durst not refuse them money; nor durst any body attempt to secure them, to have them punished. Small parties of the like daring nature were formed in other parts, and the whole city was laid under contribution. One man in particular was mounted on horseback, and refused to take any thing but gold. Two men in the broad day, not contented with the former mischief, got into Mr. Mabberly's house in Queen-street, and staid for upwards of an hour knocking down the wainscoting, and every bit of wood work they could, with safety to themselves; and though a great many peaceable well dressed people looked on, no one molested them. In the afternoon all the shops were shut, and bits of blue silk, by way of flags, hung out at most houses, with the words, "No Popery," chalked on the doors and window shutters, by way of deprecating the fury of the insurgents, from which no person thought himself secure.
As soon as the day was drawing towards a close, one of the most awful and dreadful spectacles this country ever beheld was exhibited. The mob had not only declared their resolution of firing the prisons, and some private houses, but had avowed their intention to destroy the Bank, Gray's Inn, Temple, Lincoln's Inn, the Grand Arsenal at Woolwich, and Royal Palaces. A universal stupor had seized the minds of men: They looked at one another, and waited with a resigned consternation for the events which were to follow. Government indeed had exerted itself to the utmost, as far as their power, under the direction of the civil magistrate, would extend. Now, however, it was become necessary to make use of the royal prerogative, and give discretionary powers to the military. Nothing could convey a more awful idea of the mischief which was dreaded, than the strong guard which was placed in the Royal Exchange for the protection of the Bank, as nothing perhaps could have equalled the national desolation, had the diabolical purposes of the insurgents upon this place succeeded. Besides this, soldiers were distributed at Guildhall, in the Inns of Court, in almost every place tenable as a fortification, and in some private houses; and the cannon was disposed to the best advantage in the Park.
With minds thus predisposed to terror by so many objects of devastation, and in a city which but a few days before enjoyed the most perfect tranquility, let those who were not spectators judge what the inhabitants felt when they beheld at the same instant the flames ascending and rolling in vast and voluminous clouds from the King's Bench and Fleet Prisons, from New Bridewell, from the Toll gates on Blackfriars Bridge, from houses in every quarter of the town, and particularly from the bottom and middle of Holborn, where the conflagration was horrible beyond description. The houses that were first set on fire at this last mentioned place, both belonged to Mr. Langdale, an eminent distiller, and contained immense quantities of spirituous liquors. It is easy to conceive what fury these would add to the flames; but to form an adequate idea of the distress of the neighbouring inhabitants, or indeed of the inhabitants in every part of the city, is not so easy. Men, women, and children were running up and down with beds, glasses, bundles, or whatever they wished most to preserve. In streets where there were no fires, numbers were removing their goods and effects at midnight. The tremendous roar of the insatiate and innumerable fiends who were the authors of these horrible scenes, was heard at one instant, and at the next the dreadful report of soldiers muskets, as if firing in platoons, and at various places; in short, every thing which could impress the mind with ideas of universal anarchy, and approaching desolation, seemed to be accumulating. Sleep and rest were things not thought of; the streets were swarming with people, and uproar, confusion, and terror reigned in every part.
It is hardly possible to collect, in one point of view, the havock of this night; had half the mischief the Mob had threatened been effected, nothing less than national bankruptcy and destruction could have ensued: that they were prevented at those places, on the safety of which the very existence of the empire might be said to depend, was owing not to their want of will but power, and to the exertion of Government. They made two attempts upon the Bank; but were so much intimidated by the strength with which they beheld it guarded, that their attacks were but feebly conducted. They were led on to the first by a brewer's servant on horseback, who had decorated his horse with the chains of Newgate; but were repulsed at the first fire from the Military, and their second succeeded no better. They made an effort to break into the Pay Office likewise, and met the same fate. Several of them fell in these skirmishes, and many more were wounded, as the importance of these places made it necessary to shew but little lenity.
The Regulars and Militia had poured in so fast, in consequence of the expresses dispatched for that purpose, that the citizens on Thursday began to recover from a consternation in which many of them, especially those whose duty it was to have taken the most active part possible, had been disgracefully stupified. They were, however, so thoroughly alarmed, and so much affected by the depredations they beheld on every side, that the shops were universally shut from Tyburn to Whitechapel, and no business of any kind, except at the Bank, was transacted; and here, the run, instead of being greater than ordinary, was near 80,000l. less, a proof that the arrival of the troops had quieted their fears.
It is impossible to ascertain the number of unhappy and deluded wretches who lost their lives on the last dreadful night; but it is a consolation that very few innocent people, or people of credit, a Banker's Clerk excepted, were among the killed. The escape of one young lad, though perhaps he might not deserve so good a fate, merits, from its singularity, a place in this Narration. While the Fleet Prison was burning, the Mob had the audacity, notwithstanding the presence of the Military, to cut the p
pes from, and toss into the flames, a large engine which had been brought to play upon the contiguous buildings. The soldiers were thereupon ordered to disperse them. Among others, there were four people seated upon the roof of the Market-house, who refused to obey the Military, and who were therefore ordered to fire. The discharge of the muskets came from three directions, in the front, and at each side, so that it seemed impossible for any one to escape, and for a considerable time they all four lay dead, as was supposed. At length, however, one of them was observed to raise his head a little, and instantly clap it down and lay still again; he repeated this manoeuvre two or three times, till at last he ventured to slide down, and ran away with great celerity. He was by far the genteelest in appearance of the four. The three were shot dead at the instant, and two were on one side of him, and one on the other. One of the dead was a chimney-sweeper, about sixteen years old, and had forty guineas in his pockets.
The toll-gates at Black friars appear to have been burnt for the sake of the plunder: there were some lives lost there too, and one man who was shot, ran thirty or forty yards before he dropped, as appears by the blood which may be traced in plashes on the pavement.
But powder and ball do not seem to have been so fatal to them as their own inordinate appetites. Numbers, it is said, and at various places, died with inebriation, especially at the distilleries of the unfortunate Mr. Langdale, from whose vessels the liquor ran down the middle of the street, was taken up by pailfuls, and held to the mouths of the besotted multitude; many of whom killed themselves with drinking non-rectified spirits, and were burnt or buried in the ruins. Eight or nine of these miserable wretches have been found and dragged out. (I) The same scenes of beastly drunkenness happened in many other places; at Mr. Cox's, at Lord Mansfield's, where an ill-looking fellow, about nineteen, that was wounded, and had his hair clotted with blood, was too drunk, at one o'clock the next day, to be made sensible; at Newgate likewise many of them had made so free with the liquor that they could not get away, and were burnt in the cells. In the streets men were lying upon bulks and stalls, and at the doors of empty houses, drunk to a state of insensibility, and to a contempt of danger: boys and women were in the same condition, and many of the latter with infants in their arms.
There were six and thirty (K) fires all blazing at one time, and all to be seen from one spot, made from the furniture of the inhabitants, and the wrecks of their houses in and about the neighbourhood of Queen-street and little Russel-street, Bloomsbury. A person who stood and beheld this scene with horror, said to the Officer who was there with a party of soldiers, that he thought a deal of the mischief might be prevented, as the perpetrators appeared chiefly to be boys. This discourse was overheard by another person, a well dressed decent-looking man, who damned the speaker's blood and bade him get home to bed.
But tho' centinels were posted at every avenue, and every shop was shut, tho' the whole city had the appearance of a place that every moment expected to be stormed, and was so well defended that nothing less than a regular army could have endangered it, yet the inhabitants could by no means persuade themselves they were entirely secure. Not only were their doors all scrawled with chalk, intimating that they were no Papists, and their windows decorated with blue flags or ribbands, but the very Jews, in Houndsditch and Duke's Place, were so terrified that they followed the general example, and, unintentionally, gave an air of ridicule to what they understood in a very serious light, by writing on their shutters, "This house is a true Protestant."
The Military were exceedingly active all the day, and secured great numbers of the disorderly; fifty were taken in the Cells of Newgate attempting to rekindle the fire in those few parts, which on account of the vast extent of the building, had not been totally destroyed. It is remarkable that several of the prisoners who had been released by the mob, had so great an affection for those scenes to which they had been long accustomed, that they could not forbear loitering about the Cells, and coming to view them, and were accordingly retaken. Many others were found sauntering near their old haunts in Cloth Fair, Black Boy Alley, Gravel Lane, &c. by the thieftakers, and re-committed by the magistrates. Every hour brought intelligence of the apprehending of some of the insurgents, as all suspicious persons were examined, and all hackneycoaches, stages, and other vehicles, searched. An attack was this day made upon the Marshalsea Prison by the Rioters, but they were repelled.
No sooner were the distressed citizens relieved in part from one fear, than they were invaded by another. They beheld, as before related, the Royal Exchange, the Bank, the Inns of Court, every place in the possession of an armed force. Their lives and property were the moment before at the mercy of a lawless and unprincipled rabble. Their rights, their liberties, the constitution of England, objects of still greater consequence, dearer even than life and property, were now at the disposal of the Court. In such colours, however, did the unusual objects which every where met their eyes paint things to their imaginations▪ They saw soldiers, without the least ceremony, stop whoever they pleased, and no one durst resist: they were sensible of the necessity and propriety of such measures, yet sighed at that necessity, and trembled for their freedom. Those virtuous citizens, who held their country and their laws superior to every thing, who reflected on and rejoiced at the blessings of liberty, and groaned at the appearance only of despotism, had their terrors greatly increased at a report, which every where prevailed, that Martial Law was proclaimed. The following was the occasion of the report.
LONDON. By the KING. A PROCLAMATION.
GEORGE R.
WHEREAS a great number of disorderly persons have assembled themselves together in a riotous and tumultuous manner, and have been guilty of many acts of treason and rebellion, having made an assault on the goal of Newgate, set loose the prisoners confined therein, and set fire to and destroyed the said prison: and whereas houses are now pulling down in several parts of our cities of London and Westminster, and liberties thereof, and fires kindled for consuming the materials and furniture of the same, whereby it is become absolutely necessary to use the most effectual means to quiet such disturbances, to preserve the lives and properties of individuals, and to restore the peace of the country: we therefore, taking the same into our most serious consideration, have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to issue this our royal proclamation, hereby strictly charging and exhorting all our loving subjects to preserve the peace, and to keep themselves, their servants and apprentices, quietly within their respective dwellings, to the end that all well disposed persons may avoid those mischiefs which the continuance of such riotous proceedings may bring upon the guilty. And as it is necessary, from the circumstances before-mentioned, to employ the
military force,
with which we are by law intrusted, for the immediate suppression of such rebellious and traitorous attempts, now making against the peace and dignity of our crown, and the safety of the lives and properties of our subjects, we have therefore issued the
most direct and effectual orders to all our officers, by an immediate exertion of their
utmost force to repress the same, of which all persons are to take notice.
Given at our Court at St. James's,
the seventh day of June, one thousand seven hundred and eighty, in the twentieth year of our reign.
God save the King.
Convinced as they were that it was unavoidable, there was not a word in the latter part of the above Proclamation that did not carry a wound to the heart of every thinking and virtuous Englishman. Martial Law was not, it is true, immediately and rigorously enforced, they did not hang delinquents in the streets without form or process
Though even this was
reported,
a man was said to be hanging upon a lamp iron in Cheapside▪ on Thursday in the afternoon, and six more, the same account added, were to suffer the following morning at Whitehall.
, but they
had
discretionary powers to bayonet or shoot. No abuse of these assumed and delegated powers had been exhibited; but the possibility of abuse, the being but an hour under the controul of a Military Force, was humiliating, derogatory, and alarming. (L)
While an exact state of the fears of all good patriots is related, it is but justice to give Government praise for the proper use they made of the power they were thus obliged to usurp. No part of their conduct reflects greater honour on them than the publication of the following hand-bill, if it were done by their direction, which was generally understood. Numerous copies of them were given away on Thursday, and the whole tenor of it sufficiently justifies what has been asserted, and what most assuredly was severely felt, and seriously thought upon, viz. that the Constitution was endangered.
"Whereas some ill-designing and malicious persons have published, for the purpose of disquieting the minds of his Majesty's faithful subjects▪ That it is intended to try the prisoners, now in custody, by martial law; Notice is given, by authority, that no such purpose or intention has ever been in the contemplation of government; but that the said prisoners will be tried by the due course of law, as expeditiously as may be."
This account of the public attention to their rights is necessarily a part of the Narrative; and is, besides, due to those who, in times of tumult and disorder like these spoken of, had fortitude and virtue enough not to be so embarrassed as to forget that which constitutes the greatest bessing upon earth. It affords this instructive lesson likewise: that it is the duty of good citizens, who have a real, and not merely a verbal love for their country and freedom, to think seriously of establishing that kind of police which shall enable them to defend themselves, without the aid of powers which may, sometimes, be turned to their destruction.
Another very proper hand-bill was circulated, and which it is probable was done by the Protestant Association. The following is a copy.
IT is earnestly requested of all peaceable and well-disposed persons,
(as well Protestants associated as others)
that they will abstain from wearing BLUE COCKADES, as these ensigns are now assumed by a set of miscreants, whose purpose it is to burn this city, and plunder its inhabitants; and who wish, by distributing amongst better-disposed persons, and prevailing on them to wear these marks and distinctions, to screen themselves from the detestation and punishment due to their enormous crimes.
And it is farther recommended to all tradesmen and masters of families, not to employ or retain in their service any persons who distinguish themselves by wearing blue cockades.
It is now time to relate another part of the business, which has claimed the attention of some politicians who pretend to see farther into latent causes than the bulk of the people.
The mischief which had been perpetrated, and that which was evidently intended, were of so black an aspect, and involved so entirely the destruction of the empire, that the most dispassionate, and those who were least liable to be perverted by idle conjecture, could not help sometimes thinking they saw a wicked head directing the violent and rude hands of the mob. The universal destruction of the prisons was a vast project; but such a one as was not altogether improbable to be a favourite scheme with a lawless rabble. History furnishes examples of the like. But no history can parallel the depth of their schemes upon the Bank, the Treasury, and the demolition of the water-works, thereby to prevent the extinguishing any conflagration they had begun; and that these schemes were not the chimeras of fear, were evident. A strong guard was sent to the New River head, and continued there on constant duty. Exclusive of these, the grand Arsenal at Woolwich, the Mansion House, the Inns of Court, and many other places of the greatest national concern, were devoted, and there was scarce a person on the Thursday but was unanimous in supposing the desolation of the city and country was intended. Another handbill, besides those already inserted, was distributed, which perhaps might take its rise from the general opinion; but which, however, tended to give that opinion strength. It was as follows:
NO FRENCH RIOTERS.
This is to give notice, that it now appears, that the horrible Riots which have been committed in this city have been promoted by French money, and to call upon all honest men to stand forth against Rioters, who under the cloak of Religion, are wantonly destroying our property, and endeavouring to overset our happy constitution. If the French are suffered by these means to prevail, Popery will certainly be introduced, which we have no reason to fear from a British Parliament.
Still farther to confirm these conjectures, the Newspapers of Friday gave accounts of louisd'ors being found upon some of the Rioters who had been killed or taken; and what at last entirely gave it credit, was the apprehending, examination, and commitment of Lord GEORGE GORDON. He was conducted to the Tower on Friday evening, under a remarkably strong guard, said to be far the most numerous that ever escorted a State Prisoner. A large party of infantry was in the front. His Lordship followed in a coach, in which were two officers. Two soldiers rode behind the coach, which was immediately followed by General Carpenter's regiment of dragoons. After this, came a Colonel's guard of the Foot Guards; and a strong party of Militia marched on each side of the carriage.
This transaction rung through London, and so entirely was he deemed the original Author, and promoter of the Riots, that few were found to pity him. A thousand surmises were circulated, such as, `whether religion, avarice, or ambition, was the motive that had prompted him in the action, whether France, (M) or any foreign powers had been abettors; and others of the like nature, equally, at present, vague and indeterminate. This much however, ought in justice to Lord George to be observed, that it is apparent from what has hitherto transpired, that he has been actuated rather by a wrong head, than a wicked heart. No better account of the whole affair for the present than the following, which is copied from the public prints, can be procured.
The circumstance that first induced the Members of Administration to turn their thoughts towards taking the Noble Patron of the Protestant Rioters into custody, is said to be this—Lord George, in the heat of his too successful enthusiasm, wrote a letter, which he sent for insertion to the conductor of a Morning Publication, addressed to his religious Associates, wherein he recommended them to nourish the noble spirit that had so laudably taken possession of them, and told them that he did not in the smallest degree doubt that an unlimited compliance with all their requisitions would be the undoubted consequence of their perseverance. He at the same time indeed annexed a kind of exhortation for the preservation of peace and good order; but as this concluding suggestion was too repugnant to the general tenour of the epistle, and also far too faintly urged to produce an adequate effect, the Printer very judiciously deemed it the best step he could take for the welfare and quiet of his country, to send the Copy of this Letter to Government, which he accordingly did, in a note addressed to Lord Hillsborough. His Lordship, immediately on the receipt of the Letter, caused a Council to be convened, before whom he produced it. The unanimous opinion they held upon it was, that it was of a very inflammatory tendency, and that the Author was undoubtedly amenable to the laws, as the Promoter of a traitorous and unconstitutional sedition. As a farther sanction, however, for the measures they intended to adopt towards him▪ an order was immediately issued to the Post Office, enjoining all letters franked
G. Gordon,
to whatever quarter they might be addressed, to be from that time detained, and transmitted to the office of one of the Secretaries of State. In consequence of this mandate, several letters, written by the deluded young Nobleman▪ were stopped, and afterwards laid before the Cabinet. Most of these were directed to Scotland, and were replete with observations equally subversive of order, religion, and liberty. He gave a faithful narrative of the transactions which had taken place in the Metropolis; and instead of accompanying the relation with those expressions of horror and disapprobation which must have actuated every good and well-disposed citizen, he seemed rather to exult in the event, as nothing pervaded these epistles but rapturous encomiums on the "glorious cause," and extravagant panegyrics on the noble spirit displayed by his Brethren in the defence of it. The uniform tendency of all these different letters sufficiently determined the Cabinet as to the propriety, and indeed necessity, of making the Author of them prisoner; and orders were immediately given for that purpose. He was first brought before the Council assembled at St. James's, where he was examined concerning the purport of his various epistles, and particularly interrogated as to the nature of his own designs and motives in writing them. He disclaimed all intentions of violating the public peace, and expressed the warmest attachment for the love of his country, but at the same time vindicated his adherence to the cause he was concerned in with astonishing ability and resolution. To the question, however, which was frequently and forcibly put, by different members of the Cabinet, how he could so far forget his dignity, as an immediate descendant of one of the first families of his country, and also a legislator of England, as to unite with a set of the lowest men in the kingdom, and to be instrumental in producing the shocking disorders and irreparable injuries which had taken place? he only severally replied, "That he had not foreseen those effects in all the degrees to which they had extended; that he did not mean them; and was sorry for them." But against this i
was urged, "Why did he, in all his letters, convey an implied approbation of these disturbances, if such was his disposition of mind as he there represented?" His Lordship made no good answer to this observation. After he had undergone an examination of upwards of an hour at St. James's, he was taken to the Horse Guards, where Lord Amherst sat in his capacity of Commander in Chief, and proceeded to a farther scrutiny into this dark and diabolical business. Here more testimony appeared; several persons were brought who swore to certain expressions of a most inflammatory tendency indeed, which had been used by his Lordship on the day when the petition was originally presented to the House of Commons; his haranguing the Mob from the lobby of the House was dwelt upon, and his expressions with respect to Mr. Burke particularly sworn to. His preparations for an immediate departure into Scotland, as soon as ever the possibility of farther mischief was precluded by the interposition of the military, was also proved as a collateral corroboration of the nature of his views; and about eight o'clock his examination finally closed, with a full conviction on the minds of the auditors, that "his Lordship had been principally instrumental in convening the riotous multitude, which had for six several days and nights infested the streets of the metropolis, and that he had been by his speeches, &c. abetting in producing the great and irreparable mischief to his Majesty's loyal and faithful subjects, which had subsequently arisen."—What his Lordship may have to urge in exculpation of this dreadful charge, on the day of trial, has not yet transpired; but it is hoped, for his own sake, and for the sake of the Honourable Family he sprung from, that he will be able to make some defence against an imputation of so black and infamous a dye.
On the Thursday, previous to the commitment of Lord George, both Houses of Parliament had adjourned tothe Monday se'nnight, alledging that most truly constitutional reason, that it was impossible to transact Parliamentary business, while the military power superceded the civil.
It now remains to collect such circumstances, which either escaped notice in the haste with which this account was obliged to be drawn up, or which could not without injuring the narrative, have been inserted in any other place, and which may serve to corroborate what has been before asserted, relative to the audacity and wickedness of the rioters. The account shall then be closed with an abstract or summary of the mischiefs committed, that is, of the principal of them: a detail of the lesser outrages, frauds, and impositions perpetrated at such a time, and in so extensive a place, is impossible to procure, and would be tedious to read, as well as relate.
On Wednesday evening the Rev. B. Allen was robbed in the street, opposite Mr. Langdale's distillery, Holborn-bridge, between eight and nine o'clock by a gang of pick-pockets, some of whom forcibly held him whilst his pockets were picked of a gold French made watch, seals, &c. a purse with two guineas and a half, his keys, and other articles;—his pockets were turned inside out. A person decently dressed held his cane, and returned it very civilly when the affair was over.
Three or four several times during the general conflagration at Mr. Langdale's, &c. a single fellow, with a blue cockade and a bludgeon, demanded money for the gang, threatening those who made the least hesitation, in Bedford▪ row, and the adjacent streets; and so terrified were the inhabitants, his demands were complied with. But a stronger proof still of the infatuation of the mob, who concluded they had effected the total subversion of order, was the following. On Saturday, when every place was guarded, and all things peaceably settled in their former channel, a man had the temerity to demand money, in the middle of the day, in Holborn. He, however, was presently secured.
In the beginning of the week, the following inflammatory and execrable hand-bill was given away, at a house in Fleet-street, where a paper, calle The Scourge, of an infamous and libelous tendency, had been published:
ENGLAND in BLOOD.
On Thursday morning the 8th inst. at nine o'clock will be published, in one sheet and a half, folio, price only three pence, by C. Thompson, No. 159, Fleet-street,
The THUNDERER:
Addressed to Lord George Gordon, and the glorious Protestant Association; shewing the necessity of their persevering and being united as One Man, against the infernal designs of the Ministry, to overturn the religious and civil liberties of this country in order to introduce Popery and Slavery.—In this paper will be given a full account of the bloody tyrannies, persecutions, plots, and inhuman butcheries exercised on the professors of the Protestant religion in England by the see of Rome, together with the names of the martyrs, and their sufferings; highly necessary to be read at this important moment by every Englishman, who loves his God and his Country.—To which will be added, some reasons why the few misguided people now in Confinement for destroying the R
m
h Chapels should not suffer, and the dreadful consequences of an attempt to bring them to punishment.
And on Saturday Mr. Moore and two boys were apprehended and committee
o separate prisons, on suspicion of writing, vending, &c. the bill and the paper adverti
ed in it.
The same day Mr. Fisher, Secretary to the Protestant Association▪ was taken to the
ower, examined by the Privy Council, and honourably dismissed.
Many families▪ in every part of the metropolis, left town during the insurrection, at which time five guineas were refused for a chaise to go ten miles.
It would be wrong to forget the Armed Associations, who turned out on Thursday, though some have accused them of being very quiet and peaceable till the danger was all over.
No private man has suffered to so great an amount as Mr. Langdale, who has been so often mentioned, not only his furniture, houses, and the utensils of his distillery▪ but an immense quantity of spirits were destroyed. His loss▪ according to the account of one of his head clerks, is upwards of an hundred thousand pounds. (N)
During the first days of the commotion, parties of soldiers were continually dispatched to the aid of the Civil Magistrates, but these seem strangely to have neglected their duty. The officers could not act of themselves, and the soldiers, after being for some time tame spectators, might be said to become accomplices; instead of dispersing they shook hands, drank, and shouted with the mob; were asked if they would fight against their countrymen and encourage Popery? to which the poor fellows, with a deal of honest simplicity, answered in the negative.
In consequence of the complaint made by Lord Viscount Beauchamp against the Lord Mayor, for inactivity during the late riots, and particularly during the time of the fire in Moorfields, the Lord Mayor was ordered to attend a meeting of the Privy Council, on Friday evening. Mr. Foley (Member of Parliament) who happened to be present also at the said fire, and observed the conduct of the Lord Mayor, was ordered to give evidence upon this occasion. After Lord Beauchamp had again stated his complaint, Mr. Foley was asked whether the Lord Mayor had attempted to quell the riot, disperse the rioters, &c.? to which Mr. y Fole answered, that, in his opinion, his Lordship appeared more like a spectator than a magistrate. The Lord Mayor, in his defence, said, the rioters were so violent, and such was his
temerit,
he thought death would be his potion. (O)
On Saturday the Court of Aldermen met at Guildhall, when the Lord Mayor gave the Court an account of his examination, before the Privy Council, and said, with much apparent satisfaction,
that he had got very well off.
He seemed to have no pain at declaring he thought
fear
a very sufficient excuse for his want of activity.
The following is a summary of the Proceedings of the Rioters:
Friday, June 2. The Petition of the Protestant Associators delivered, accompanied by upwards of 50,000 persons.—Lords and Commons insulted and maltreated, particularly Lord Boston and the Bishop of Lincoln.—The Mass-houses in Duke-street, Lincoln's-inn▪ fields, and Warwickstreet, destroyed.
Saturday 3. Thirteen persons taken up for the preceding night's riots, examined, and deposed to by Messrs. Hyde, Rainsforth, Maberley, Clarke, &c. &c.—The Mass-house in Rope-maker's-alley attacked, but preserved from being destroyed by the intervention of the Lord Mayor.
Monday 5. The rioters re-examined, and three committed to Newgate, by a party of soldiers, who were much insulted by the populace in going to and returning from it.—I he above-mentioned Mass-house in Moorfields, with a Catholic School, and several houses adjoining (particularly that of a woman who kept a large Broker's shop in Wheeler-street), burnt down.—Another Popish School at Hoxton destroyed, together with two Mass-houses in Wapping and East Smithfield.—The houses of Sir George Savile, in Leicester-fields, and Messrs. Rainsforth, in Stanhope-street, and Maberley, in Little Queenstreet, gutted of their furniture, &c. which was burnt.
Tuesday 6. Lords and Commons (particularly Lord Sandwich) again ill-treated, in their way to the Houses of Parliament, notwithstanding they were surrounded by a large body of military.—Newgate destroyed, and all the prisoners released.—The houses of Lord Mansfield, Sir John Fielding, Justice Hyde and Wilmot, Messrs. Foster, Neale, and Bevis, near Little Turnstile, Holborn, Mr. Molloy, near Moorfields, Mr. Doughty, Devonshire street, Red Lion Square, Mr. Cox, brewer, Great Queenstreet, Mr. Lyon, Bunhill-row, Mr. Charlton, Coleman street, and a pawnbroker's in Goldenlane, stripped of their furniture, and burnt.—The houses in the City and Westminster illuminated. The prisoners in New Prison, Clerkenwell, released.
Wednesday 7. The prisoners in the Fleet employed all day in removing their goods, preparatory to its being burnt in the evening.—King's Bench Prison burnt, with the houses adjoining, after being previously evacuated by the prisoners, who were allowed to remove their effects.—The New Bridewell in St. George's Fields gutted, and all the materials and furniture destroyed.—The Toll-houses on Blackfriarsbridge and gates burnt.—The houses of Mr. Langdale the distiller, at Holborn-bridge, with eight others adjoining; three houses belonging to Mr. Langdale with all the materials of his distillery nearly opposite Leather-lane, Holborn; three houses in Whitecross-street; a mass-house, and three other adjoining houses in East-lane Rotherhithe, burnt. The houses of Mess. Bullock, in Broad-street; Mollyner in the Poultry, and a house in Houndsditch, were all stript of their furniture, &c. which was burnt; as were also the watch houses in Kent-street, and near St. George's church.
Thursday 8. Some disturbances happened in the Borough in the forenoon, which were quelled by the military; but we do not hear that any property was destroyed; and in the afternoon, by the arrival of a large number of troops, both Horse and Foot, which were stationed in different parts of both cities, the public tranquility was once more happily, and we trust effectually restored.
ANECDOTES
of the Life of
LORD GEORGE GORDON.
In justice to the author, it is mentioned that these anecdotes are by another person.
LORD George Gordon is third son to the late Duke of Gordon. He was born in London, about the year 1747 or 1748, and entered at an early age into the navy. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant, and there, owing to some disgust or disappointment, he gave up his commission. His enemies take occasion to say that he retired because Lord Sandwich would not grant a very imprudent request which he made for a ship, on the moment of his having procured a seat in the House; they say that he threatened the First Lord of the Admiralty, to throw himself into the arms of the Opposition if he did not comply with his demand, and on his Lordship's refusal, that he actually did take a decided part against Ministers, and by that means quarrelled with the Duke, his brother. His friends give a very different account of this business. They say, that from his earliest years he expressed a very zealous, if not a violent attachment to the Constitution of this country, and though of an amorous complexion, that he paid his court to her as his darling mistress.—Having while a Midshipman been in America, he had conceived a very particular affection for the inhabitants, and when the ruinous measures were pursuing in Parliament, which terminated in the dismemberment of the empire, he took a decided part against Ministers from conviction, and not from disappointment. Having done this, and thereby had a temporary disagreement with the Duke, his brother, he had no reason to believe that Lord Sandwich would permit him to rise in the way of his profession; and he left a service in which, in the present day of degeneracy and corruption, men rise by interest, and not by merit.
No man had juster pretensions to independance, though few perhaps in the House were poorer than Lord George Gordon. He has preserved through life the most guarded and decent oeconomy, and with an income of between 7 and 800l. a year has maintained his integrity firm and inviolate, notwithstanding the attacks which Ministers have from time to time made upon it. One of their practices, his Lordship, with indignant spirit, published in the House; Lord North, he said, had been guilty of an
infamous
attempt to bribe him with a place of a 1000l. a year, to give up his seat in Parliament. This charge the Minister received with a distorted face; he denied that he had been guilty of an
infamous
attempt, but he never intended to disprove the charge. This story is differently told. It is said that the Duke, his brother, made application to the Minister for his place, and there were several interviews between them on the subject. The place was promised to his Lordship with the condition of his giving up his seat, and on this ground the treaty was broke off.
The part that his Lordship has taken in regard to the Protestant Association is too recent in the minds of men to require recapitulation. He did not take an active part in opposition to the Bill in favour of the Papists, at the time of its passing; because, as his Lordship says, "he had not then become a speaker." We are well assured that his Lordship had no idea of producing the dreadful consequences that ensued from assembling the Association. He was well convinced, at the same time, that unless the Petition of the Protestants was strengthened by an Association, there was no reason to apprehend that any regard would be paid to it. The measures which he advised and adopted, were founded on his knowledge of the venality of Parliament; and his worst enemies must acknowledge that he has acted openly and candidly throughout the whole business. He gave the House to understand that 150,000 men had determined to have the Act repealed; nay, he even proceeded so fairly, as to move in his place, that 100,000 stand of arms, firelocks, bayonets, and accoutrements might be transmitted to Scotland, to enable them to put themselves in array and accomplish their purpose. The noble Lord has, through life, maintained the character of a facetious companion. He possesses a great fund of wit, and humour, and his temper is withal so sweetened with the quality of good nature, that he has never been known to sacrifice it at the shrine of satire. For the whole of this season no man has been more universally attended to in the House than his Lordship; and he has said some of the severest, and at the same time the wittiest things against both sides of the House, that have been uttered in St. Stephen's since the day of the celebrated Charles Townshend: And should his Lordship fall a sacrifice to his zeal on the present occasion, no man ever received a greater share of public respect, than his Lordship will no doubt meet with.
APPENDIX.
NOTE (A).
MR. Thurloe (the present Lord Chancellor) spoke to the Bill. The purport of his speech was, that though he did not mean to oppose it, he would recommend caution. He desired they would consider what principles the act of William and Mary had been formed upon, and thought the repeal of the penalties against Popish Priests
exercising
their function deserved consideration.
The Bishop of Peterborough (in the upper House) observed that the Bill ought to have been introduced at an earlier part of the session, by which means the disposition of the nation towards it might have been known; and that it was not only worthy their Lordships' attention to look into the real security of the Constitution, but to prevent alarms of imaginary danger with which ignorance and malice heretofore had kindled, and might again kindle flames which the authority of the law might find it difficult to extinguish.
NOTE (B).
THOUGH this pamphlet neither does, nor was intended to contain particulars of the Scotch Riots, yet one of the incendiary letters is so curious, on account of the art with which it is drawn up, and the specimen of oeconomy it exhibits, that it is thought worthy to be presented to the reader. It is as follows:
Men and Brethren,
Whoever shall find this letter will take it as a warning, to meet at Leith Wynd, on Wednesday next in the evening, to pull down that
pillar of Popery
A Popish chapel.
lately erected there.
Edin.
Jan. 29, 1779.
A PROTESTANT.
P. S.
Please to eaod this carefully, keep it clean, and drop it somewheoe else.
For King and Country. UNITY.
The superscription on the back was,
"To every Protestant, into whose hands this lette
shall come, greeting."
NOTE (C).
IT was this character which gave him a privilege to use language in the House of Commons which the most violent seldom ventured to imitate:—"Will any Gentleman (said he, in opposition to the Address of 1778) answer that the people shall pay more taxes without a revolt at home? I mention the
possibility of a revolt
at home because our Constituents have borne much already.
They have been patient and long suffeing.
A Popish chapel.
They have had a successful example in their fellow-subjects of America, who have revolted from the expensive government of England to the protection of
a wise and virtuous Congress.
Yet I see no prospect of a real change, for I do not hear that the people are about to chuse a Congress, or to proclaim a Protector. When the people shew an inclination to demand redress, I will accompany them with the greatest pleasure. I am afraid I speak too loud; so as to give an appearance of passion to what, I assure the House, are
my most deliberate sentiments."
—Vide Parliamentary Debates.
NOTE (D).
THE Bishop is brother to the Lord Chancellor. Mr. Atkinson, an attorney of Westminster, gave him shelter in his house from the fury of the mob, and he escaped, after changing his dress, over the tops of houses. The rage of the Rioters was in this, as in many other instances, unaccountable, as Mr. Thurloe was not a bishop, therefore had no seat in Parliament, when tho Act passed, and his brother was one of those few who rather discouraged than promoted its passing.
NOTE (E).
SOME accounts say it was Colonel
H
lroyd;
but it is right to inform the reader, that, as no strangers were admitted into the gallery of the House of Commons on that day, nothing respecting such conversations can be ascertained. These anecdotes have been related, and are not at all improbable.
NOTE (F).
The PETITION of the PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION.
To the Honourable the Commons of Great-Britain in Parliament assembled, The humble Petition of his Majesty's loyal Protestant Subjects of the Cities of London and Westminster.
Sheweth,
THAT your Petitioners, sensible of the many blessings which, as Protestants and Britons, they enjoy, cannot but be alarmed at an Act, passed in the 18th year of the reign of his present Majesty, repealing certain penalties and disabilities imposed on the Papists by a statute enacted in the 11th and 12th years of William III. for further preventing the growth of Popery.
That it is with the deepest concern they petition the House against a law which has lately received the Royal Assent; but as this Act is so suddenly introduced, and so hastily passed, before the sense of the nation at large could be obtained, or any opposition formed against it, they are encouraged to hope that this application will not prove too late for redress.
That, notwithstanding the late Act might be intended to repeal only detached parts of a single statute, your Petitioners conceive that it is an absolute repeal of the most essential clauses in that statute, and will operate, virtually, to render those Acts against the Papists that are yet unrepealed of no effect.
That your Petitioners apprehend that the Papists construe the late indulgence of Parliament to be a toleration of Popery, as appears by the Mass Houses and Schools which they are opening throughout the Kingdom; and by their printing Popish books, and publicly exposing them to sale.
That Popish Bishops, Priests, Jesuits, and Schoolmasters, now openly exercise their functions, whereby the people, especially the rising generation, are in danger of being led into superstition, idolatry, and rebellion.
That Papists can now purchase what lands, tenements, or hereditaments they please, and inherit the same; that they will, thereby, influence our elections in future Parliaments; and that this must tend to the destruction of our happy constitution.
That as Papists can now, by legal authority, confess the ecclesiastical, or spiritual jurisdiction of the Pope and See of Rome, which our laws, before the passing of the late Act, have constantly disavowed; your Petitioners are very much alarmed, lest they should be involved in the guilt of perjury, when called to declare upon oath, "That no foreign Prince, Person, Prelate, State, or Potentate, hath any jurisdiction or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, in this realm.
That Popery is in i
s nature intolerant, in a Protestant country seditious, and, in this kingdom, disaffected to the present reigning Family; and, therefore, to encourage it, tends to the subversion of the State, to dethrone the King, and to set aside the succession of the illustrious House of Hanover to the Crown of this Kingdom.
That, as England and Scotland are united, your Petitioners cannot but think it a hardship upon the People of England, to have Popery c
untenanced among them by law, when their brethren in Scotland have been officially assured, that no law shall be made to favour Popery in that country; and your Petitioners presume, that their peaceable deportment, and the constitutional steps they have taken to obtain redress, will m
et with the approbation of this honourable House.
That your Petitioners do not desire to persecute the Papists; but to preserve themselves and their posterity from a repetition of those rebellious and bloody s
en
s, which Popery, under pretence of promoting the interest of the Church, has exhibited in these Kingdoms.
Wherefore, to preserve the succession of the illustrious House of Hanover in the Protestant line, and to secure our civil and religious liberties against the encroachments of Popery to the latest posterity, your Petitioners humbly pray that leave may be given to bring in a Bill to repeal the Act lately passed in favour of the Papists.
And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray.
NOTE (G).
THE following hand-bill was distributed on the 6th of June, in Palace Yard, when the mob was assembled before the Parliament House. It is scarcely necessary to observe, that at such a time, and in such a place, it was inflammatory and wicked.
TRUE PROTESTANTS NO TURNCOATS, Or SIX PLAIN REASONS given why Protestants, of all Denominations, should oppose the Growth and Establishment of
Popery,
with the greatest vigour, and without delay; earnestly addressed to every man in his senses. EZRA ix. 4, 14.
1. BECAUSE one of the principal tenets of Popery, is to destroy all Heretics off the face of the earth.
2. Because the Papists are taught to believe and esteem every one a Heretic who does not belong to the church of Rome.
3. Because the doctrines of Popery are inconsistent with reason and diametrically opposite to common sense, witness the doctrine of
Transubstantiation.
4. Because Popery encourages persecution, and countenances murder; witness the Martyrs in bloody Queen Mary's reign, and the inquisition in Spain and Portugal in the present day.
5. Because the doctrines of Popery are not according to Godliness, as they allow pardons for sins past, present and to come, to be bought or purchased with money, so that any one may commit the greatest crimes with impunity, if he does but pay the Popish Priest a few guineas for his absolution.
6. Because Popery in the general leads to the grossest idolatry and superstition, as it enjoins the worshipping of
angels, relies,
&c. and bowing down to and adoration of the
Host,
a consecrated wafer; something like what children call,
a jack in the box.
How far the foregoing reasons may be allowed as in
pe
able objections to the reception or encouragement of Popery, let common sense, reason, and true piety determine.
A CAUTION TO THE UNWARY.
IT is well known that several Popish Priests, since the Repeal of the Act against Popery, have made it a practice to travel through the different counties of England and Wales, to m
ke proselytes, especially among the Poor; the method they use is, when they meet with any persons who are in such low circumstances as to be unable to pay for their children's education abroad, and hardly able to maintain them at home, they readily offer (and frequently with success, as it is no small temptation to such persons and in such circumstances), to take and clothe and educate their children at their own expence, by which means such children are naturally brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, and the parents themselves lur'd by pecuniary gifts are too often induced to embrace the same, for the sake of obtaining the mammon of unrighteousness.
Forewarned—Forearmed.
W.
NOTE (H).
THE total return said to have been given in to Lord Amherst, on the 16th of June, is as follows:
Killed by Guards and Association—
106
By Light Horse—
101
Died in the hospitals—
75
 
282
Prisoners under cure—
173
Total killed and wounded—
455
But enquiry has been made, and we are informed that the account was fabricated to serve some purpose: that his Lordship had received no such account, and that an exact statement, like the above, was hardly possible to procure, not to mention that many have died in hospitals, and other places, since the above was published.
NOTE (I).
AND many more since the first edition of this pamphlet: eleven were discovered on one day, one of whom had a gin bottle in his pocket.
NOTE (K).
A reputable tradesman, in the neighbourhood cited, gave the Author this intelligence. The fires were made smaller and more numerous on account of the narrowness of the streets, which would otherwise have been totally destroyed; but as many, who read the first Edition, expressed a doubt about the authenticity of the information, enquiry was made on the spot, and, it is probable, that the person who related it was deceived in the number.
NOTE (L).
LORD Mansfield has given the doctrine of Military interference an explanation as unexpected as it is new. He has considered them, not as soldiers, but citizens; amenable to the Civil Magistrate for their conduct; and having a right to act, in all cases of tumult, like passengers, or other persons. The Public seem, unhappily, to have acquiesced, and taken his Lordship's word for demonstration. The doctrine is specious, and its novelty, joined to his Lordship's reputation, have given it the force of truth: but, if it is constitutional, the difference between the Government of England and a Military one is imperceptible. A soldier, who is merely passing, is in a very different legal situation to a soldier under arms, called forth to act offensively and defensively: it would seem strange to hang that man for murder who only obeyed the word of command. If Lord Mansfield's assertion is true, all the soldier▪ who have been active in suppressing the Riots are liable to be tried for their lives.
NOTE (M).
IT has been related with great confidence, that an Officer in the service of Congress, who was a prisoner at Charles Town, said, that the Congress had much difficulty to persuade the Americans to continue the war another year, and that they were at last only prevailed upon, in consequence of being assured that the Cities of London and Westminster would be burnt and destroyed this summer. Lord Mansfield, and others supposed to have the best information, have said many things in Parliament too, by which it appears Government is of opinion that something besides Religion has been the occasion of the Disturbances.
NOTE (N).
VARIOUS accounts have been given of the sum total of Mr. Langdale's loss: in Parliament, fifty, sixty, and ninety thousand have been severally mentioned. The account, inserted in the text, was taken as affirmed from the mouth of one of his servants.
NOTE (O).
THIS is a newspaper anecdote; but what Mr. Burke pleaded in his Lordship's behalf, in the House of Commons, was far more severe than any thing his enemies have related or invented: that is, supposing his Lordship possessed of delicacy and feeling; which, however, are things by no means positively ascertained. A daily paper gives Mr. Burke's sentiments in the following words.
All men, he said, were not made alike. The Lord-Mayor, he supposed, was of a timid nature, and without natural courage and capacity that sit some men to act a wise and decided part in trying situations. Neither had he made up, he presumed, the disadvantages of his natural infirmity and timidity, by study and culture. As he never dreamt, in his younger days, of filling so important a station as that of Lord-Mayor of the City of London, it was probable he had neglected to acquire those talents that might be requisite, in certain emergencies, to discharge the duties of it: for these reasons, he hoped, they would have mercy on the
poor Lord-Mayor,
in consideration of his natural weakness, and
total want of education.
[THE Author is exceedingly obliged to the Gentleman who has taken the trouble, in so candid a manner, to correct an error into which he had unintentionally fallen. Truth, without prejudice or partiality, has been preserved, as far as it was possible, with the utmost assiduity, to procure it amidst that hurry and confusion, and that variety of reports which, at the moment the Pamphlet was written, prevailed. The London Association deserves every acknowledgement, every praise, not only that the Author, but that the Kingdom can bestow. The liberty of printing the following Letter, it is presumed, the Author of it will forgive, if not approve; and the original mistake is left as in the first Edition, that those who have not read that Edition may perceive the whole affair. As the following Letter does the Writer of it great honour in several respects, his Name and Address should have been inserted, as on the card he inclosed, but that it was not known whether the insertion would have been agreeable to his inclinations.]
To
WILLIAM VINCENT.
SIR,
IT was not 'till this morning, that a publication, under your name, fell into my hand; "A Narrative of the late Riots;' which is penned with a candor and impartiality that assure me, you would be desirous to correct any assertion to the disadvantage of others, into which you have been misled either by ignorant or prejudiced misinformation.
In the 5
d page of your Pamphlet is the following paragraph.
It would be wrong to forget the Armed Associations, who turned out on Thursday, though some have accused them of being very quiet and peaceable till the danger was all over.
In the foregoing paragraph it is easy to distinguish between two distinct particulars: in the first sentence, you seem to express some favourable sentiments, of your own, towards the behaviour of the Armed Associations; and, in the second, relate only the remarks which others made on their conduct at the late interesting crisis.
As a Volunteer in the London Military Association of Foot, I think it incumbent on me to inform you, that on the
Wednesday
afternoon we made a tender of our services to the Lord Mayor of London. Before the hour of seven,
the same evening,
we were under arms, and continued so all night, in the same duty with the Regulars; first protecting the Mansion House, then marching to such other parts of the City as were actually attacked. Before four in the morning, we had secured the Rioters in the house of Mr. Donovan, in Broad street▪ and saved the house of his neighbour, Mr. Gorman, from the ruin to which it had been devoted; though not without the painful necessity of committing some execution on those who were not, by repeated intreaties, to be persuaded to desist and disband.
Very little enquiry would fully assure you, that the services of the Armed Associations were vigorously exerted, and unremittedly continued, from the moment the Civil Magistrate could be depended on not to suffer them to stand the defenceless victims of that outrage and abuse, which they had, with indignation, seen the Military exposed to in the preceding stages of the late horrid scenes of brutality and confusion.
The Regulars were not permitted to do any actual service till the
Wednesday evening,
and from that very hour, the London Military Associations kept even pace with them, in every endeavour for the preservation of the dearest interests of the community, from the ruin with which they were threatened.
I am,
SIR,
Your humble servant, A Volunteer in the London Military Association of Foot.
Tuesday morning, June 27, 1780.
I send my name and place of address inclosed, that you may▪ if you please, enquire of my reputation for veracity; as an anonymous contradiction of certain facts, with the assertion of others, could not have a just claim to attention.
ADVERTISEMENT.
GREAT care has been taken relative to the authenticity of facts. Some have unavoidably been selected from the
public papers,
but such as nobody contradicts, some
the author
can attest, and others were collected from
spectators
of undoubted veracity.
A strong and lasting impression was fixed upon the mind of the Narra
or, by being present at many of those scenes of horror he has undertaken to describe: an effort has been made to convey them as they were universally felt, but that is next to impossible.
A person who, in the midst of uproar and distraction, composes a Narrative, and gives it in the form of a small pamphlet, cannot be supposed to write for same; but he may be strongly affected by private and public distress: he may sigh with a weak and sickly mother, driven from her habitation at midnight, with all her little ones, terrified and crying, around her: he may groan for a mad, misguided multitude; tossing the brands of destruction on the head of innocence, and exposing themselves to present, or to future death: he may weep over the ruins of a city, and at the desolation of its innocent inhabitants.
The subject is worthy the talents of the ablest historian: the dignity and case of one is little expected in this kind of publication.
If the Author has communicated ideas, so as to impress a
faint
image of that horror and detestation which every good citizen experienced, who was present at the perpetration of these lawless acts, he has effected more than he hoped. Such hope is now only inspired by the favourable reception the Public gave to the first Edition.
FINIS.