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THE

BRISTOL RIOTS,

CAUSES, PROGRESS, and CONSEQUENCES.

BY A CITIZEN.
j7fu», u« CJU*^

PRINTED BY GUTCH AND MARTIN, SMALL-STREET ;
AND PUBLISHED BY
CADELL, STRAND, LONDON; BLACKWOOD & CO. EDINBURGH J AND MAY BE
HAD OP THE BOOKSELLERS IN BRISTOL, CLIFTON, BATH, &C. &C.
MDCCCXXXII.

J3yz, B77

TRIAL OF THE BRISTOL MAGISTRATES.
In the Press, and shortly will be Published, in demy octavo,
A FULL REPORT
OF THE
TRIAL OF CHARLES PINNEY, Esq.
MAYOR OF BRISTOL,
On an Information charging him with neglect of duty during the Riots ;
INCLUDING
The whole of ihe Speeches of Counsel,
Mr. Justice Littledale's Charge to the Jury, and the
Entire Evidence of the Witnesses,
Accurately transcribed from the Report of Mr. Gurney, the eminent
Short hand Writer.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS,

CAUSES, PROGRESS, AND CONSEQUENCES.

PART I.
Accounts of the Bristol Riots have already appeared}
but they have been considered either defective in infor
mation or delusive in their spirit — as written too near
the events, or to serve purposes of local feeling. But
the Bristol Riots perhaps less belong to local than to
general history ; and, even among the records of these
important and stirring times, will be viewed and referred
to with a deep interest. The writer of the following
pages, therefore, is aware that he is treating a subject
of great moment ; that his Narrative can only acquire a
value from its truth ; and he has strenuously endeavoured
that his statements, whatever may be his arguments and
conclusions, shall he correct. He makes no apology
for occasionally adopting, in their very language, , such
authentic documents as have already been published.
Nor can he withhold the expression of his admiration
for at least one account, that taken from the " Job Nott"
paper, under the signature of Nehemiah, which, had it
been somewhat more extensive, would have left no task
to be performed.

2 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
In treating this subject fairly, it will be necessary
to shew what was the general or the predominant po
litical feeling at Bristol, up to the very moment of that
sudden impulse, which brought Earl Grey's Ministry
into office ; and what change that impulse, and the
consequent measures ofthe new Adminstration, effected.
For the former purpose, it will be required to make a
few remarks upon the state of Parties in that city ; and
it will appear evident, that had not the most violent
alteration taken place in the public feeling of large
masses of the citizens, Bristol would never have been
disgraced by the encouragement, nor deformed by the
horrors of the riots.
Besides the distribution of parties into Whig, Tory,
and Radical, common to Bristol with nearly every part
of the kingdom, two others, though not political, must
be mentioned — the Corporation, and a Party opposed
to some of their measures.
The first of these two are the local Magistracy,
composed of persons of various poBtieal opinions, and
may contain a mixture of Tories, Whigs, and Badicafe —
and such likewise is the composition of the party op
posed to them. These two are strictly local ; nor would
they come within the scope of this narrative, had not
the differences between them engendered heats, which,
however harmless in other times, in those of unprece
dented and unlooked for excitement must have had a
tendency to weaken the influence of the Magistracy,
and are perhaps now regretted, on this account, by the
greater part of the persons who were concerned in them.
It is but fairness to the Magistrates that the facts and
tendency of this controversy should be mentioned^ other-

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 3
wise the public could not arrive at a right estimate of
the performance of their duties. For it is but reasonable
the pubhc expectation from Authorities, in this respect,
should be measured by the power they possess.
Of the three pohtical parties, the Tory was unques
tionably the most influential and numerous ; in proof of
which it may be only necessary to refer to the general
election of 1830.
Nor can the great respectability and influence of the
Whigs be denied. As if, by a tacit consent, these parties
were unwilling, for mere party purposes, to try their
respective strength; and without any dereliction of
principles on either side, they may be said to have been
on the best understanding with each other. Thus for
instance, at Mr. Davis's election, in July 1830, a very
great proportion of the Whigs gave then- second votes
to the Tory Candidate. Indeed it appeared evident, that
the Whigs were nearly as much disposed to support the
Government, and were as adverse to the Radicals, as
the Tories themselves. And the mention of this cir
cumstance renders it not very necessary to say much
about the strength of the Radical party. Without a
question it contained some respectable persons, strongly
inclined to Republican views ; but the mass were com
posed of all shades of political opinion and all grades
of character, downward to the worst extreme, of dissen
tient and unsocial parts, having little in common except
a real dislike to both Whigs and Tories ; all agreeing in
a desire for change, and though ready to join either, to
further their own ends, too undisguised, and it may be
said too honest or too bold in their opinions, either to
conceal their ultimate views, various and inconsistent as
b2

4 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
they were, or their real hostility to which ever party
might call them into action. The peculiarity of the
Radicals is, that having no one leader, and no one set
of principles, they receive under their denomination the
discontented, — the unsuccessful, who are ever inclined
to ascribe to any thing but themselves their failings —
the dissolute, who are naturally averse to the checks of
law and religion, — the mass without pohtical knowledge,
— men of inflamed passions and Httle understanding and
education — the envious of the rich, — the turbulent, — the
idle, who would prefer the chance of plunder to the toil
and humble gain of industry, — profligates of every des
cription, — the refuse of society; — and all, with then-
several undigested notions and views, seek an im
portance by attaching themselves to a party, which
they find opposed alike to Whig and to Tory ; which
opposition may in fact be considered the only principle
of then- junction. It is evident that this peculiarity, in
times of legislative integrity, when Whig and Tory, and
the large community who mix in political party, are
all against them, constitutes then- weakness, but in
times of excitement, their strength — for they acquire a
numerical force in proportion to the heats and divisions
among the two great parties, and become formidable
in their attempts to disturb the peace of society. It is
true their triumph has hitherto been but temporary,
yet the irruption (although contemptible as to any per
manent or ultimate effects on the British Constitution
or British loyalty,) has often before inflicted very serious
injury on the property and lives of the loyal and well-
disposed in detached districts and towns ; but the first
healing of State divisions has hitherto put an end to

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 5
them. Until lately, any attempt to attach these to either
the Whig or Tory party, for the sake of their physical
force, would have been considered by all, as if by mutual
consent, adverse to the real political principles of both,
and a parricidal act against the Constitution.
It was not likely, therefore, that they would make
proselytes from the ranks of Whig or Tory ; and as
both agreed in considering Radical opinions utterly
subversive of the Constitution, no alliance was attempt
ed. The powerful aid they might have given to either
party, had the balance even been nearly equal, would
have been a triumph to themselves ; yet by themselves,
though they might and did collect tumultuous assemblies,
they had no efficient pohtical power.
This, probably, was not the state of feeling in Bristol
only, but it was that of the country at large ; for the
population do but follow broadly the great distinctions
of party in the State ; — and it is wonderful how strong is
this disposition of attachment, which will often keep
together a party when the principles upon which it has
been formed, and on which it may have acted for
ages, shall have been scattered to the winds by some
bold innovator, commanding the admiration of the
rest, and taking the lead. When leaders are of power
ful minds, it is easier to depose principles than men.
Thus it will be observed how nearly the remark
that have been made upon the conduct of the great
and leading Whig party in the State, are applicable to
their adherents in Bristol. Out of attachment to their
leaders, they are forced upon the same inconsistency,
and with an esprit de corps, rather than reflection upon
their principles, seek in ingenuity and sophistications to

6 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
account for and to justify their change of position.
This principle of action in nature, is generally one of
safety, — a safety guaranteed by the real political sound
ness and characters of the great leaders in the State;
but it may be rendered one of great danger, and afford
powerful persons the means of turning the whole course
and current of human opinions, manners, affections,
and duties. And if social compacts were not frequently
brought to this doubtful position, they would perhaps
have an endless duration. It is this principle which
makes the genius of one man all-powerful, and involves
the history of myriads of mankind in the incidents and
circumstances of a few predominant characters. It is
Caesar or Pompey that is to govern the destinies of a
world. Nor must it be omitted, in speaking of the state of
parties in Bristol, that more than ordinary exertions
had been recently made there, by societies formed for
the express purpose of emancipating the slaves in
the West Indian Colonies, and perhaps more indis
cretion shewn in the choice of language applied to
those most deeply interested in the West India pro
perties ; and the careless use of the terms, liberty and
slavery, and the promulgation of ill-digested notions
on the very elements of society, arising out of these
discussions, and rendered acrimonious hy the pecuhar
character of the times, engendered a spirit in Bristol,
(a city to which the West India interest has always been
and must ever be of so much importance,) the future
influence of which has not yet been either fully weighed
or felt. And it is worthy of note, that this spirit arose
in direct hostility to the leading interests in Bristol, and

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 7
a notion was inculcated with great industry among the
lowest orders, that the great merchants, to whom they
had been wont to look up with respect, were drawing
their resources from human blood, and were collecting
their, revenues through the whip and the slave driver.
This feeling engendered, the names of slave and master
became easily transferable, whenever the demagogue
should find it an object worthy of his art.
The state of parties and of public sentiment at Bristol,
up to the Three Days at Paris, has been, it is confidently
hoped, impartially represented.
The consequences of that event are well known. The
Whigs, while the wound inflicted by Catholic Emanci
pation was still festering, and the Tories were vacillating
and divided, made a desperate effort, took advantage of
the ferment of the French Revolution, and succeeded in
overthrowing the Administration. It was then, finding
themselves inexperienced in office, and conscious of
weakness, that they might secure a lasting triumph over
their fallen enemies, they threw themselves into an
unholy alliance with the Radicals. It is fair to presume,
they calculated on having more power than they really
possessed over their new allies ; that they thought they
should be able to direct, if not command ; but they soon
found their new associates in power were too arrogant
under the adoption to become any thing but masters.
Is it probable, it has been asked, that these highly
Aristocratic Whigs would seek an association that must
be destructive of the Constitution ? Have they not
great names, titles, reputation, and property, and all at
stake ? Undoubtedly, — and Such has been the case in
numberless instances in the history of the world : yet

8 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
kingdoms have been overthrown. Their intentions to
see the State preserved are not brought into question,
but their ability. They may be deluded — deceived —
and hereafter, if they be allowed a respite for thought
by their new and cruel Sovereigns, lift up their heads
in surprise, and bitterly regret that they had put so
much to the hazard of a New Hope; the fallacious
character of which is only to be discovered in the
irremediable and tragic consequences of its failure.
We know from experience that there are passions in
men, that party inflames till they become dominant over
judgment. It is not necessary that men should be
scoundrels, villains, and traitors, to do as much harm as
the worst villains and traitors can do. Self-deception
leads often to greater ruin than evil intention. A long
habit engenders a prejudice, and perverts reason. Or
how shall we account for the contradictions in the same
characters? If Earl Grey's speech to-morrow shall
contradict Earl Grey's speech of to-day ; — if the Ministry
have written most ably, and spoken in cooler days in
direct contradiction to, nay in abhorrence of ihe very
measures they are now adopting, to which period of their
judgment are the public to look ? Can the manifest
open change afford any reasonable confidence for the
future. If their judgment be now good, it was then
bad; yet it is from that which, approving the present,
we must pronounce bad, that we give them any credit
for judgment at all. The pubhc must not be deceived
by high names, characters, or even the high stake the
Ministers may have; for exactly such persons have
destroyed empires, and have fallen with them. The
same contradiction of opinions runs through the party.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 9
They "followed the leader;" they called themselves
Whigs, though not a rag of Whiggism remained about
them ; they herewith bowed down to the despotism of
Earl Grey, and did not see that he was at the feet of
the despotism of the mob.
This honesty they all durst swear for,
Though not a man of whom knew wherefore.
So it was at Bristol ; — when the Ministry of Earl Grey
sought a coalition with the Radicals, the Whigs in
Bristol did the same — they joined forces with the
extremes, and their humbled commanders were hurried
by a new mihtiry rabble into the Praetorium of Political
Union, to be superseded, and receive anew, with a show
of thankfulness, then- commissions of inferior rank.
The general distress that affected the kingdom and
threw numbers out of employ, or afforded but slender
means of subsistence to the working classes, the
causes of which it would be foreign to this narrative to
enquire into, was perhaps as lightly felt at Bristol as at
most places. The Colonial Policy, and the agitation of
new and wild theories about Slave Emancipation, had
indeed been injurious to the interests of the great West
India merchants, the consequences of which have been
since fully known ; but it does not appear that the poorer
and labouring class were sufferers to any extent. The
extensive coasting trade and encreased communication
and trade with Ireland remained a beneficial source of
employment ; and it may be safely asserted, that until the
effects of the Reform Bill produced stagnation in all
trades, and consequent distress, Bristol was more fortu
nately situated, with regard to provision for its poor and
labouring classes, than perhaps any other city in the
kingdom.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

PART II.
Previously to entering more at large into the effects
of the Reform agitation, it will be necessary to state the
excitement produced by the French Revolution. It has
been shewn that the public feeling at Bristol, up to that
period, was tranquil — was one of remarkable confidence
in the Tory Member. It may be as well to pass over
the general feverish condition which that event produced
in the Radicals throughout the kingdom, and how
readily it gave them the command ofthe desperate rabble.
The course of this Narrative will be best pursued by
confining the inquiry to the particulars of the reception
of that event in Bristol.
A meeting was held at the Guildhall, on the 9th of
September, 1830, to congratulate the French on their
Revolution ; when the following resolutions were passed :
" That the French People, by their forbearance in
confining their efforts within the limits of constitutional
resistance to the machinations of their late Government,
so long as that Government adhered to the letter of the
Charter, and by the caution, the moderation, the respect
for civil order, and the sagacity with which they avail
themselves of existing institutions, on the late resumption
of their natural rights, have exhibited a signal and in
valuable example of national wisdom and virtue, which
it may be expected, under the Divine Blessing, will be
crowned with an abundant harvest of prosperity to that
kingdom.

12 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
" That when the late infatuated French Government,
by its infraction of the social compact, proclaimed itself
the enemy of the rights of the nation, — the Inhabitants
of Paris, by the promptitude, the energy, and the heroic
self-devotion with which they defeated its treasonable
attacks, entitled themselves to the approbation and
gratitude of the world at large.
"That the scrupulous respect for the security of per
sons and of property, during the Civil War which raged
for three days in the streets of a populous city, and
especially the humane forbearance from vindictive or
needless effusion of blood, and the generous care for
the security and support of the vanquished, which so
honourably distinguished that memorable conflict, are
unparalleled in the annals of the world, and give the
fairest ground of hope that the progress of modern
civilization, and the influence of popular forms of
government, have already opened a new era in the
History of Man.
"That this Meeting is of opinion, that the grand
exhibition of patriotic resistance to French Despotism,
which has enobled that Nation, first manifested itself in
the Province of Brittany, to the brave Inhabitants of
which enlightened district the best thanks of every
free man, and every friend of constitutional liberty is
especially due.
" That this Meeting cannot omit the opportunity of
recording their profound admiration of the magnanimous
patriotism which has recently crowned the eventful and
virtuous life ofthe venerable General De La Fayette ;
and that the Chairman be requested to forward a Copy
of these Resolutions to that distinguished ornament

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 13
of the human race, to be by him communicated to
the French people in such manner as he shall direct."
It would have been prudence, perhaps, to have waited a
little longer, to have been sure that these resolutions would
have been justified by the subsequent measures of the
French. It is hazardous to pour into the ears of impatient
mobs idolatrous praise of revolutions — of a revolution
effected in the streets, by the multitude against the Govern -
ment, — their success against a military force ; — these are
subjects for cautious admiration, nice survey, — for reflec
tion in the closet, rather than of hasty exposition in the
public streets, and applause before a giddy multitude. But
the danger of such proceedings becomes apparent when,
in inflammatory language, appeals are made to the pas
sions, and they are enlisted on the side of hostility to
the existing state of things in our own Constitutional
Government. The dullest understanding can draw a
parallel case. And " the People" return from such
meetings, if wiser in the art of barricading and resist
ance, certainly not more contented nor more peaceable
citizens — they nourish within them the fire that will
one day break out into flame. Will the authors of the
excitation then deny that they kindled the first sparks,
and supplied the fuel, that shall have burst forth into
conflagration? There is reason to fear they will.
Confession is the tardiest of virtues, and seldom
leaves home.
It would be more curious than advantageous to the
cause of this Narrative, to mark the inconsistency
between the resolutions passed at that meeting, and the
measures of the French Government subsequent to the
three days, and which certainly form a part of that

14 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Revolution. But as we are told in the first resolution
to congratulate the French " on their forbearance
in confining their efforts within the limits of Consti
tutional resistance to the machinations" &c. of " the
sagacity with which, they availed themselves of existing
institutions? we cannot avoid now remarking what
little respect they have since shown for their Constitu
tional Charter, and for existing and unoffending
institutions. What have they done with their House
of Peers ? Where is the respect for the Institution of
Religion ? The multitude, in whose ears the praises of
that day are still ringing, should at least he told hy the
parties who then influenced them, that these ulterior
results do not merit their approbation. Nor can it be
very judicious to pass a resolution at a public meeting
in Bristol, expressing any " ground of hope that the
progress of modern civilization, and the influence of
popular forms of Government, have already opened a
new era in the History of Man"
But if resolutions, preconcerted and digested, are in
themselves unfit for the ear of a public meeting, it can
obtain but little wonder if the speeches are found of a
somewhat more unbridled licence.
The fears of the cautious were treated with contempt
— as of those who absurdly imagined that " Thrones
were to be overturned — the Altars of Christendom
were to be torn down — cloud-capt temples and gorgeous
palaces mere to pass away — War was to issue from his
lair, with Atheism and Massacre at his side —

While at his heels,

Leash'd in like hounds, shall famine, sword and fire,
Crouch for employment?''

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 15
It is not very desirable that the people should have such
passages of oratory to remember, lest they should in
their madness apply them, and cry, in the words
immediately preceding the quotation, " O, for a muse
of Fire /" " But there was a second set of persons,
(continued the speaker) who expressed their fears in a
more reasonable manner. These gentlemen imagined
that all this French caution, moderation and forbearance,
sagacity and love for social order, were things too good
a great deal to last, and they founded their fears on
the circumstance of there having been no distinct
recognition on the part of the French Government of
Providential interference." Now, though our own
Government, in their sagacity, have thought fit to
imitate the French in this singular omission, it cannot
be denied that the fears were reasonable.
Another elass of persons were thus pointed out to the
people. " But there was a third class of alarmists for
whom he had not so great a respect as for the last, and
they were those who laboured under sensibilities and
sympathies exquisitely proportioned to the large interests
they had at stake, and the craft which they supposed to
be in danger. These were they who hated as well as
feared revolutions, because they lead to reformations.
These were they who, could they be dragged into the
temple of truth, and made to speak their undisguised
sentiments, would murmur away in something like this
strain: 'I quake for my comfortable salary so long
paid to me for doing just nothing at all,' exclaims some
trembling sinecurist — ' I fear for my large pension*,
saddled on the pubhc purse for the sake of my great
grandfather,' cries a right honourable idler — ' I fear for

16 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
my fat fees and perquisites of office,' says another — ' I
much preferred affairs as they were,' yawns some slum
bering dignitary in Church or State — ' things have gone
on vastly well from generation to generation,' (he meant
no parody) shout the small fry among the retainers of
the Treasury, or the hangers-on of Government, as they
were justly termed. Among these, and such as these,
who might be described as the pampered plunderers of
the State, &c."
Assuredly, if this language and such as this be held
out to the people, it will in truth " murder sleep," and
" yawning dignitaries," and " right honourable idlers,"
Treasuries and Governments will be allowed to sleep
no more, — or for ever.
Another speaker says, —
" They have separated the Church from the State.*
(Immense cheering.) Some persons have asserted that
this feature of the revolution endears it especially to
Dissenters, because it is regarded by them as the earnest
of the dissolution of Church and State in this country :
as a Protestant Dissenter, I hurl hack the imputation
with an indignant protest."
It is very evident, that the " some persons " above
mentioned had a clear insight into things, and saw that
France would but marshal the way she should go, to
* Even as a Dissenter, or as a. Roman Catholic, I should
recognize the utility of the Church Establishment, because the
civil and ecclesiastical systems, mutually supporting and
supported, constitute that fabric of the State which secures
our persons, our property, and our privileges-, and as the
Church has grown with the growth of the British Constitution
in its happiest periods, and is so interwoven with all its princi
ples, forms, and interests, it is clear that they must stand or
fall together.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 17
England under a Whig administration. It is hoped the
Protestant Dissenter will see the benefit of this protest,
and with the aid of his brethren, make it known where
it may be effected.
This same speaker is very eloquent upon our Consti
tution, and the passage is so directly in the teeth of the
former orator, and of the present Whig doctrine, that
it may be worthy of note, as well as that it is admirable
in itself. It is thus : —
" In the midst of all these commotions, our Consti
tution, like our Island, stands as a rock in the midst
of the deep, defying the fury of the storm. On the
summit, the flame of freedom blazes to illumine neigh
bouring nations in modelling their Constitutions after
our own, as the most perfect pattern to imitate. The
French nation have profited by the model. In our
Constitution they have seen the spirit and power of
monarchy without tyranny — an aristocracy without
oppression — and a popular government without dis
order. They have, by imitating us, declared that
our Constitution cannot be understood without being
admired — cannot be enjoyed without being applauded
by every one, who has sense enough to perceive its
excellence, or gratitude sufficient to acknowledge its
benefits." How soon, alas, has that sense and gratitude evapo
rated ! The Constitution was discovered almost imme
diately after this eulogy, to be a thing of naught — and,
so far from the French being such fools as to imitate us,
they have run a far wiser and wider course, and our
new Government, taking the recommendation of the
Edinburgh Review, are pulling our's to pieces to
c

18 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
re-build it on the last French model." Sic transit
gloria mundi —
" So departs the glory of the world."
But this admirable eulogy is not suffered to make a good
impression, for another speaker rises to tell the multi
tude that " The Press is the support of liberal principles,
and if the great holders of boroughs in England do not
take a warning by the French revolution, and let us
have a reformation of our system of representation, we
must have a revolution."
This speech was not so effective then as it has since
been, so little then did the people think of Reform.
They had not been ministerially appealed to.
It has been thought right to make these short extracts
from the speeches delivered on the occasion of trans
mitting the congratulations of the Citizens of Bristol to
the French upon " their glorious Three Days," because
it was the commencement of a system of gestation and
appeal to popular passion, that has from that day been
unceasingly in operation, vehement operation, up to
the lamentable riots. What exact quantity of friel was
then laid in, or whether the sparks were elicited that
were subsequently to set the city in a blaze, will be best
determined in the sequel. But notwithstanding the
excitement which was destined to work in its due time,
there are conclusions of some importance to this narra
tive to be drawn from that meeting. That then there
were people who did not think so veiy meanly of our
Constitution — nay, that not one in the whole assembly
considered himself, as now unfortunately too many do,
enslaved — and that Reform, yes, so late as at the

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 19
meeting held the 9th of September, 1830, was a matter
they very little, if at all, troubled their heads about.
And this naturally leads to a consideration of the
effect of Reform being ministerially offered to the people ;
and the manner in which it was offered.

C2

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 21

PART III.
There is no need to enter into any detail of inter
mediate proceedings, of little importance to the subject,
but proceed at once to the Reform Bill, the great mea
sure and cause of popular excitement, brought forward
by the new Administration which, in point of time, so
shortly followed the meeting at Bristol that has been
described. And here some further specimens of the deluding
oratory of the system of agitation will be shewn ; and it
may be worth remarking, that Queen-Square, the place
where the most inflammatory speeches were delivered,
was not more the scene of outrageous deeds, than of
words .
But a few preliminary remarks are required, that the
citizens of Bristol, whether orators or actors, may not
bear all the blame. There will be, without doubt,
sufficient laid to their charge. But they had their
supporters and instie/ators, and these must be brought to
the investigation — for it was an extraordinary combi
nation that was able to effect such a condition of things,
as should leave the second city in the kingdom for days
to the merciless unrestrained fury of an incendiary
populace. The Reform Bill was proposed to the Legislature by
the Government, with a confession of its dangerous
tendency. It was admitted by Lord J. Russell to be a
perilous experiment.

22 THE BRISTOL RIOTS,
It may be here fairly asked, why was a measure of
admitted danger brought forward ; when the country had
a right to expect that such measure having been so long
the favourite premeditated scheme ofthe party in power,
— having received the sanction of their matured judg
ment, their increased experience, — and above all, having
been so frequently, unhesitatingly, and urgently pressed
upon unwilling Administrations, and a people unusually
sluggish in apprehending its advantages, (for during
the last forty years it made no progress in the estima
tion of the public, except in times of peculiar excitement
from other causes, — and "the people" still persisted,
in common with the whole civilized world, in their
admiration of the Constitution of England,) why, it may
be asked, was a measure, which had all these advantages
of time, judgment, and experience, for the due concoct
ing it, not fully divested of every thing like danger ?
If it was not in the nature of things that it should be
exempt from peril, why was it not so laid before the
Legislature, that every peculiarity and mischievous ten
dency might be eradicated or amended ? Why was it
put forth with dictatorial authority ? "We acknowledge
it to be fraught with peril, but you shall not touch an
iota of the component parts. You shall pass it — whole
— we will not allow of alteration or remonstrance."
This, indeed, was to exhibit a proud bearing to the
world — but it is not the audacious front that always
indicates confidence and soundness at the heart. If
it proceeded from courage, was it not a courage bor
rowed from their supporters ? It was a confession of a
degrading truth ; — they had discovered their own weak
ness, that their administration could not stand a month,

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 23
that it was sinking fast into universal contempt ; and in
their zeal to maintain their party in place they sought
a coalition with the Radicals and the populace. They
did what no Government ever did before, — called in as
judges between them and their more honourable oppo
nents, the low rabble, the desperate physical force,
whom, if they professed to be a Government, it was their
first duty to restrain. These, however, were not to be
won without a bribe. The bribe was large — it was
pohtical power. It was power — the power of a large
dominion. It partook of the nature of that last and
strongest temptation of Satan, when he offered "the
kingdoms of this world and the glory of them." The
coalition was perfected — and every old Whig principle
was swept away in its potency. Whig principle would
have recommended a deference to a Parliament that
had so scrutinized and thrown open to public gaze
" the Civil List," — that had rejected a Tory Administra
tion, and called the Whigs into power. But no — it was
the fiat of the " sovereign people" that the Bill of the
bribe should not be questioned. Hence the boldness
assumed — the dictatorial decision of the Ministry. Turn
them out of the House, said the people, if they dare to
hesitate— rto suggest the slightest alteration. The
fiat is obeyed. Is the Parliament dissolved on
account of any evil suggestion it dared to give ?
Quite the reverse ; for the recommendation for which
it was nominally ejected, is adopted. There must be a
Parliament of the new coalition power — and the farce
of an appeal to the "sense of the people" is enacted.
The sense of the people is of course in agreement with
the promises held out to them. Delegates, pledged,

24 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
chained down not only to the Bill, but to every measure,
however mischievous, of foreign or domestic character,
until the Bill shall have passed, are returned to a
British Parliament, at the instigation and under the
unprecedentedly exercised authority and influence of the
Whig Administration. But the Whig principles are
sacrificed — they are positively extinct. The new prin
ciples are dominant, — dominant alike over the Ministers
who, in their envy, admitted them to a parley, and over
the best, the Conservative, interests of the country.
These new principles, so directly contradictory to the
old and many of them sterling good Whig principles, must
be forced by a hired Press upon the Executive, lest they
dare retract; and with the aid of the name of Govern
ment, must be forced upon the admiration, or at least
adoption, of all classes.
For civil and religious hberty, a reign of terror must
be commenced. If a Tory appear at an election, the
cry is that he must be struck down. The Parson must
be first insulted, and then crushed. The name of the
King must be sent forth on errands of sedition and
treason against the Constitution. The delegate Com
mons dare not oppose the Bill. If the Peers dare
oppose it, they must be threatened with annihilation.
If the Bishops, they must be dismissed from their seats,
and held up to the execration of an infuriate mob. The
Church is against it — rob her of her tithes, and reduce
her Ministers to the condition of parish paupers. Peers,
Magistrates, Clergy, Gentry — all shall obey — or they
shall not be fit to live. And (is it to be believed ?) these
mandates — from the foul and slanderous breath of a
malignant tyrant mob — are received, are furthered, are
forced into execution by the Whigs !

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 25
Is there no generous spirit yet amongst that once
proud body to break this unnatural bondage, and be
free — to demand of their leaders the charter of then-
party, and to record in protestation the principles of
their foundation ? Insecurity of property, the reckless
annihilation of Civil Rights, and the desecration of
Religion, are not in their charter.
To them, in the moments of cool judgment, may the
Conservatives appeal, and not without hope, that after
their transgression they will hear a better voice " in the
cool of the day, and be afraid." Let them join the
phalanx that still stands firm to the Constitution, and
this detestable tyranny will be of short duration. The
" will of the people" here, is not the old will of the
people, which they would have maintained. The people
of England are not " the people" of the Bill.* The cry
for the Bill might even have been ten times greater, yet

* For who are the people of England? Certainly not
the wretched, vitiated mob, which is always found, when adverse
circumstances encourage the demagogue to call it forth, in
those districts where vicious indulgence and bad habits render
a crowded population fit fuel for the incendiary to inflame.
Yet it is this description of persons to which factious orators,
nay the Whig Administration of this great country, lately gave
the honoured name of the -people of England. On the contrary,
the people of England are composed of all the "ranks, orders,
and classes of the social community established in England,
who, with their connexions and dependents, have a deep interest
in the well-being of this organized system, as it is regulated by
laws and ordinances, either subsisting for time immemorial, or
framed by authorities constituted upon principles which have
subsisted for time immemorial •," — while these tumultuous
assemblies, to which the name of the people has been given,
are mere excrescences, — aggregates of disaffected members, —
which hang loose on society, and which, as exhibiting them
selves in tumult and intimidation, are in direct hostility to the
people ; and in the opinion of every honest and Christian man,
ought to be coerced by the laws of the people.

26 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
not the cry of the people, but the rabble. If so profli
gate a Ministry can be imagined, let there be one that
shall offer to their people, from the ^£10. renter down
ward, the immediate distribution among them of the
confiscated property of the Peers, the Church, and the
Tories, " the Malignants." These people would be in
ecstacy — they would pull down all that stood in oppo
sition to their wills. With this ministerial offer on then-
banners, they would be a desperate army to aid the
Government. Neither then the cry, nor the will of "the
people" so taken, would be the will of England.
And has not some hope, some expectation of this
nature arisen and been fed ? Who can be so bold, in
the face of the outrages in Bristol, to answer in the
negative ?
It is a glaring fact, that the ferocious rabble have
been let loose upon the quiet of society ; and if they
have restrained their hands, it has arisen from those old
habits of respect to rights and property which we owe
to our Constitution, and which are not yet eradicated ;
or, in the hope that an Administration to whom they
can dictate will give them a legal possession, they have
abstained in the affected dignity of power, — or, as an
orator expressed it in Queen-square, " in the dignity
of moderation." England is now actually governed
by the Political Unions. The Parliament of Birming
ham issues edicts. There is little law, little punish
ment — (how long none !) Revolution is openly sought ;
if by intimidation, and the form of law, well ; if not,
by violence. And what encouragement, if we can call
the inactivity, the paralyzed stupor of fear in a Govern
ment, encouragement, has been given to this feeling!

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 27
The greatest men in the kingdom, for birth, for dis
tinguished fame, for wisdom, for integrity, have been
compelled to barricade their houses, an unsightly
disgrace to the eye of a Government. Their houses are
not safe, their persons are attacked, the boast that an
Englishman's home was his " castle" is no more, for
even the castles are demolished, and where is the pro
tection ? None. The mansion of a nobleman adverse
to the Bill is burnt down, — yet Ministers take no notice.
The country is disgraced with outrage — they are still
under the " non-intervention" compact — they dare not,
or at least do not interfere. There is a general confi
dence in mischief. The impunities that have disgraced
Ireland, have been felt, known, and demanded in
England. Up to the time of the Bristol Riots, the
vilest wretches travelled through the country, instigating
the populace to outrage, under promise of absolute
safety. Nay, it required but httle art to persuade the
world of this. Where was the punishment that could
be pointed out in contradiction ? Was it not easy to
point out the honour in which agitation was held, and
all that it had attained ? There was more than reason
able expectation, to every man of ability to agitate, of
rising above bis low condition. Excitement was carried
to its utmost, and the worst part of the populace of the
kingdom were in the fever of Revolution. The Press,
and the Demagogues, and the Political Unions, and
Branch Political Unions, did their work, and well. The
slanders uttered in Parliament against the Constitution,
now issued through the Press, with, for the first time, the
sanction of Government. The inference was plain. The
laws, or Acts of Parliament that deserved not the name,

28 THE BRISTOL ROTS.
were made by unconstitutional Parliaments ;— and were
they to be respected ? The Aristocratic Peers were
odious Boroughmongers, and enslaved the people ; —
ought they then to be endured ? The Bishops were
sneered at by high authority, in Parliament assembled,
and publicly denounced with the solemnity of the Seer
and the Prophet; — they must, therefore, "put then-
houses in order." Magistrates were in especial danger
if they dared to punish — universally so in Ireland — and
there was more than a commencement of a similar
system in the counties in England. Nay, Government
were in friendly, and deprecatory, and complimentary
correspondence with Societies that openly professed a
determination, a threat, not to pay taxes — who openly
defied the laws, and denounced " woe" to those who
enforced one against them. In such a state of feeling,
allowed by the Government, and, it might be said,
produced to its extent with their full concurrence, could
it be reasonably expected that the people would still
respect laws — that they would have any wholesome fear
before their eyes — that they would regard rights, pro
perty, or religion — that they would obey Magistrates —
or that Magistrates would not with some justification
shrink from the more strenuous exercise of their duties,
in which they could see no line of safety, but the cer
tainty of a double danger, and no protection ?
If the Bristol Riots had originated solely in Bristol,
these remarks would have been unnecessary. But they
strictly, most strictly, belong to the chain of causes.
The conduct of the Government, in the excitement they
created and fed, and in the general immunity to out
rageous acts, was followed in admirable imitation, by

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 29
their partisans in Bristol. They became the means, by
which the citizens were acted upon, from without and
within. There was a large party in the kingdom de
termined upon Revolution, and it was agreed that the
first experiment should be tried in this unfortunate city.
If the proofs that will be adduced in corroboration of
this be unsatisfactory, the charge will fall to the ground ;
if they are of value, they tend to throw much of the blame
from the citizens, or at least make them but partakers in
a crime which they are now supposed to have originated.
The public feeling in Bristol, up to the election in July
1830, has been shewn; so rapidly had the evil spirit of
Revolution worked, that in the election which occurred
in May 1831, it was fearfully changed. It was then
the Union of Trades, afterwards embodied into a Political
Union, by tyrannical persecution, intimidated the free
men ; by threatened " civil" excommunication, the ma
jority, who were not freemen of the city, forced those
who were, to give their votes at the dictate of the Union.
Shortly after this the Union of Trades became the
Pohtical Union, and with a concealed President and
concealed numbers, and by audacious threatenings and
assumption of secret power, created a general apprehen
sion that paralysed the better part ofthe citizens.
The fact is necessary to the Narrative, — the details and
all tbe means used would render this undertaking too
extensive. It is thought therefore sufficient to shew, in
a more summary way, both the excitement and the
feelings up to the very outbreaking. And this purpose
will be best effected by extracts from proceedings and
speeches, from the date of peace and tranquillity, to the
moment and immediate occasion of the Riots. Perhaps

30 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
exact order may not be always observed, but they will
be taken from documents accessible to all; and the
Narrator will not disgrace himself or degrade this his
labour from the character he would desire it should
obtain, either by garbling any account, mis-quotation,
or attempting to attach a meaning either to acts or
speeches, which he does not fully believe them to bear.
And here let it be observed, he has Httle to do with the
intentions or motives of parties, but with the tendency
of their proceedings. Whether they were weak, and
the dupes of others, or whether they were criminal
themselves^ or any of them, is not here the question ;
it is one in which they are now more nearly interested
than the pubhc ; they may be considered as those who
have paid in their "rent" and contribution, and the means
they have given are no longer in their own hands, or at
their own discretion.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 31

PART IV.
From the commencement ofthe Ministerial campaign,
under the banners of the new coalition, there was no
respite allowed. The fire of incessant agitation was
kept up by the Revolutionist-Reformers' Press and
Demagogues, in the previously tranquil city of Bristol.
Mr. Protheroe, one of the present Members, thus
addresses the freemen by letter, previous to the last
election : —
" Whether that settlement shall take place through
Reform or through Revolution, — whether we shall at
once reap the peaceful fruits, or be forced to win them
through tempestuous agitation, will depend upon the
promptness and decision with which the national will is
declared." Now this is no hasty passage thrown off in
the heat of oratorical confusion, but a deliberate appeal
to the people, that if they could not reap " the peaceful
fruits," they must " win them through tempestuous
agitation ;" — it was a deliberate stab to the Constitution,
that thus set the will of the rabble, "declared with
promptness and decision," above the deliberation and
decision of the Three Estates of the Realm. Had Mr.
Protheroe a prophetic view of the intentions of the
Revolutionists when he asked the Freemen, " Is the city
of Bristol blotted from the map of England ?"
On another occasion, he informs an excited multitude,
that the Aristocracy are engaged in a struggle " to obtain
corrupt and obnoxious power, asserting their right to

32 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
treat their dependants as slaves, without freedom of will
or conduct." Of the Church he thus speaks : —
"A Church timidly clinging to venerable abuses,
instead of sagaciously yielding to the fair and reasonable
requirements of an enlightened and investigating era."
Was it possible that Mr. Protheroe was ignorant of the
exact nature of those requirements — did he not know
to what specimens of the labours of " the investigating
era," the people would consider themselves directed ?
They had but to refer to their local Press for informa
tion, and they would find it in the same sheet with the
praises of Mr. Protheroe. He knew that the " twopenny
trash" and black lists were in their hands.
At his election, without comment upon the iniquity,
he tells the mobs that the Duke of Wellington had been
" exposed to the hootings and execrations of the popu
lace." He does not tell them undeservedly so ; and why
then should not they extend their hootings and execra
tions to the respectable Tories of Bristol, who had
been so liberally called " robbers, and plunderers, and
wicked ?" It was but a natural transfer — and the minds
of the Bristol populace were equal to it.
After the Bill had been rejected, and with all due
constitutional form rejected — when it would have been
judicious in a Member for the City to have allayed the
consequent ferment, he prefers renewed agitation : —
" It is not a matter of so much importance (he says)
that the voices of gentlemen should be heard, as that a
demonstration should be made of the decided, unaltered,
unchangeable will of the people. (Cheers, and cry of
" the Square") In the mean time, he hoped the
Lords would learn a little more virtue from the people

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 33
for whom they legislate. With regard to ulterior
measures, in case of the bill being again rejected, he
did not contemplate the necessity of any, so confident
was he that the bill would pass ; but as the subject of
resisting the taxes had been touched upon, he would
say that it was their duty at this moment to support the
King and his Ministers, and not desist from meeting
and petitioning till the Bill was secured ; if it should
be again rejected, to that evil day they would leave the
adoption of further measures." (Cheering.)
This is very extraordinary language from a Member of
Parliament to the people. The Lords learning virtue
from them ! ! Their decided will ! ! What if that will
had been expressed not to pay taxes — the expression
of which will has been declared by high legal authorities
to be treasonable — what then? — he will "leave to that
evil day the adoption of further measures." What
further measures — the refusal to pay taxes ? Is this the
meaning ? Is this the alternative recommended from a
Member of Parhament to his constituents ? This is a
point that required the clearest speaking, for it required
reproof — there ought to have been no mistake — and
there was no mistake. "The people" understood it
well — and were they thus taught to respect the laws ?
This was indeed to kindle a flame that would reach the
Custom-house and Excise, when they should come to
their " further operations."
He is particularly cheered in his very gross attack on
the Bishops. " Of the Bishops he would speak in
mercy, — their day was nearly gone by." (Loud and
continued cheers.) But thinking this going some
what too far, he adds the insulting explanation, " He
D

34 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
wished not to be misunderstood. He spoke in a different
sense from what the meeting supposed. He meant that
their seats would be soon supplied by men of greater
piety, and better acquainted with the spirit of the times."
" Men of greater piety !" Their " impiety" in voting
against the Bill, as the resolution of one Reform meetiug
termed it ! Is Reform the idol of the Member for
Bristol and his particular constituents ? But more, — he
looks forward to the day when " the Church of England
would possess members worthy to be associated with
the enlightened gentlemen who had addressed them to
day." Was it wise, in a city possessing so many Churches
and Clergy, a Cathedral, Bishop's Palace, and Deanery,
and Prebendal Houses, to charge the Clergy with im
piety before the people, converting their flocks into
acrimonious judges, that they were at that time unfit,
unworthy to associate with the enlightened gentlemen
who had addressed them ? And who were they ? —
Dissenters and a Roman Catholic Priest ! with whom,
then, the Church was not worthy to associate ; but they
would, under Whig Administration, be made to associ
ate ! ! Here is a source for future agitation, — and the
public were ostentatiously told that Mr. Protheroe was
in the confidence of the Ministers. " He would again
assure them that if any obstacle should be presented to
the Bill, he should call upon his constituents for their
further co-operation. The Lords had not only insulted
the Commons of England, by their insane proceedings,
with regard to this bill, but they had put a stop to many
other good measures." (" Down with them.") Down
with them, as a matter of course, the people would cry,
when they were thus said to be rather fit to be chained
in Bedlam, than to sit in the House of Peers, — a con-

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 35
stituted estate of this realm. Is there nothing revolu
tionary in this ? — and is there no separation among Mn
Protheroe's constituents, — the old Whigs from the new?
Then, he assures the people, that when the Reform
Bill shall have passed, — " The funds which had been
provided for the support ofthe poor and needy would no
longer be applied to electioneering purposes. Toryism
was a ravenous bird — it had exhausted the Treasury of
the State."
Is this respectable, that the Member for the City
should charge the Vestrymen of the several parishes
with applying the money provided for the poor and
needy to electioneering purposes? It is difficult to
persuade one's self that Mr. Protheroe did not know
this was, in all its bearings, a calumny ; if he did not
know it to be false, he was consummately ignorant
where he ought to have been informed; and what is
worse, mischievous in his ignorance. Here, however,
" the people" are directed against the Tories, of whom
were the most respectable of the city, as ravenous
robbers of the Treasury. Should the rabble by any
accident set fire to the houses of the Tories, would Mr.
Protheroe's " people" put out the fires ? Mr. Protheroe
had given these most respectable and hitherto influen
tial inhabitants an ill name, and reason to fear " ulterior
operations." However extraordinary these extracts may seem, Mr.
Protheroe will, in the course of this Narrative, again
appear upon the Revolutionary stage, but the particular
part, in which he will he found to shine, is reserved,
until the Narrative reaches the immediate transactions
of the Riots.
d 2

36 THE BRISTOL RTOTS.
Mr. Manchee particularly directs his vehemence
against Sir Charles Wetherell, and points him out as a
buffoon, and slanderer of the city. Mr. Manchee is the
author of a pamphlet* on the Bristol Riots, dedicated
to Lord Viscount Melbourne, which it is to be hoped
the Secretary for the Home Department returned, with
a just rebuke for the statements it contains and the spirit
with which it is written ; for his Lordship at least must
have known that the attempt to throw odium on one
party, Sir Charles Wetherell, was a gratuitous and
malevolent slander. To an inflamed populace, he
speaks "of 199 unfortunate Peers, who had thought
proper to prefer their own private interests to the rights
of the people? They were deserving only of pity."
He alludes to the people having been called on at Bir
mingham to resist payment of taxes, and gives his
reproofless recommendation in perfect accordance with
the view taken of that matter by the Member ; — for he
tells them it would be a rash proceeding, only because
it would embarrass the Ministers, — not because it was
treasonable, — but looks forward to the hope that if the
Bill be rejected such resistance will be made legal.
W. P. Taunton, Esq. in a city having a Cathedral and
resident Bishop and Clergy, thus speaks of them before
an irritated multitude. " Should I show respect to a
magnificent cathedral, by prohibiting the use ofthe brush
and the shovel, lest the vermin should be disturbed and
the filth removed ?" This must have been delightful
* The main object of this pamphlet appears to be, to make a
desperate effort against the Corporation of Bristol. In a speech at
a Reform Meeting Mr. Manchee took great pains to hold them up
to public odium. " Corporations were too apt to tread people under,
and it was time for them to be interfered with." Ought such a
person to have been chosen to sit on a Committee of Enquiry di
rected against that Body ?

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 37
language to the ears of those incendiaries who after
wards endeavoured, according to evidence, to break
into the Cathedral for the purpose of firing it, and who
doubtless thought, that in burning the palace of a
Bishop, even though he might be buried in the ruins,
they should only be laudably employed in disturbing
the vermin and removing the filth.
It is not attempted to be asserted, that Mr. Taunton
had the slightest notion, that he was encouraging such
proceedings ; but what does he think now of the effect
and tendency of such speeches ? And let him pause,
ere the City be again fired by the incendiary. He will
well know how to apply a quotation : — " Aluistes ergo
hoc incendium quo nunc ardetis."
The inflammatory language of Mr. Matthew Bridges
was indeed of a very extraordinary character, leaving
on the minds of the ignorant a deep sense of injury for
undefined wrongs — totally unintelligible to common
sense, but not the less exciting to the unsteady passions
of the ignorant. The following specimen may be
sufficient : — •
" But take another alternative. Suppose nothing to
be done but to return to the old regime ! that would be
the hour of factious triumph — the knell of Liberty
would be tolled from one shore to another — then there
would be one vast uniformity over the whole surface of
our affairs, but it would be like the waste of a sandy
desert, or the terrific aspect of the glacier— -it would be
the hour when the young earthquake would be born,
that was to overwhelm us — the hour when the monster
of corruption would coil itself to spring upon its victim
— when the magic circle of conspiracy would be wrought

38 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
in darkness — when deep would call to deep — when all
would be uniformly ruinous, and the Sun of England
would go down. It would be the time of pleasure,
mirth, and song, as before — but in the midst of the
festivity a hand would be seen writing on the wall in
characters of fire — the volcano would soon burst, and
the Government would explode in atoms. (Cheers
and bravo.) Civil war would be at the door, and
wailing and woe be heard, to which the cataracts of
Niagara would be but whispers. Thrones, and Mitres,
and Truncheons of Office, would go down into the pit
together, and England, which now set one hand on
the River St. Lawrence, and the other on the Ganges,
would sit down in despair amidst the awful thunders
of Jehovah."
It was a daring hand that painted the original — the
design and the painting are from . the genius of an
infernal "Raphael," which Mr. M. Bridges has so faith
fully copied and interpreted to a populace, ever prone
to give implicit belief to mysterious prognostications,
whatever other infidelity may possess them. Neither
the profligate, the ignorant, nor the wicked are without
their credulity. A wise plotter will often be a true
prophet, and use his prophecy as no contemptible
means to obtain his ends. Has " The Prophetic
Messenger," with its pernicious prophecies, and
coloured plates, been thought unworthy the notice of
the Attorney-General, because with men of education
it would be contemptible ? It is well calculated for
" the People," especially those Ministerial allies of the
Reform Bill, who are thus taught by "The Prophetic
Messenger" that success in outrage is the will of

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 39
destiny — that the " fire," the " volcano," and the explo
sion of Government are in Fate — that Thrones, and
Mitres, and Truncheons of Office should go down into
the pit together. And when the time, the hour of
civic " festivity" is so accurately marked — when " in
the midst of the festivity a hand-writing would be seen
on the wall in characters of fire" — and when the
" explosion," destructive of Thrones, and Mitres, and
Truncheons of Office, so accurately predicts the blow
ing up of the Excise and Custom-House, with barrels
of spirits, the burning down of the Mansion-House of
Civic Authority, and the Bishop's Palace ; — the prophecy
and the interpretation so exactly agreeing with the
event, must lead at least to this suspicion, that the
wretched perpetrators may have gone forth with fire
brands and engines of destruction in their hands, in full
confidence in their success, their triumph, which
destiny had decreed.
This extraordinary speech of Mr. Bridges was de
livered on the 21st Jan. 1831. Let any one turn to the
Prophetic Messenger, at that time in the windows of all
the low shops, and in some others to whom the exhibition
was a disgrace; — The Prophetic Messenger for 1831.
The frontispiece is a picture, of which Mr. Bridges's
speech is as it were a description and explanation.
There is the magic circle of conspiracy — there is the
City in flames — the people and the soldiery — there is
the explosion — the lightning — the coiling serpent — the
axe of Reform at the root of the tree — an army with the
new tricolor-banner, on which is Respublica, and the
cheering commander. There are three coffins, over
which Death is triumphant, one containing the anchor,

40 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
the scroll of law, and the seals of office; — the next, the
book, the sword, and the helmet, and from which arises
the old banner of England ; — the last of the three ex
hibits the mitre, the crown, and the cushion — and on
this coffin is engraved "Woe to the Mighty." On that
where Death is trampling upon the scrolls and the seal —
" Lo the time is come." A hand from heaven is seen
amidst the lightning exhibiting a scroll of the " year of
fate." — The concluding lines are —
Oft the funeral knell will toll,
Oft the pealing thunder roll —
and in larger letters —
Monarchs tremble, nations mouen,
Ocean rage and cities burn.
Gazing with a prophet's eye,
Thus will Raphael read the sky.
Then turn to the Predictions.
The Bristol Riots were the last three days of October.
What would be the state of things in November ? Turn
to "the Predictions" —
" I see a dark veil drawn — I see a throne
Dash'd to the earth — I see a mighty blaze,
As of a City flaming to the heavens —
Another rises, and another throne,
Thereon a crown'd one, God-like — but his face
With clouds o'ershadow'd yet — ha ! is it thou?
Hark ! look the countless nations shout for joy.
I hear those voices like the multitudes
Of ocean's tempest waves — I hear — I see !"
Fall of Nineveh.
" The Sun quartiles Herschel! — woe to a great one.
The Sun squares Jupiter !— woe to one ofthe church."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 41
These are the oracles of the monthly horoscope —
" Death is preparing his phantom dart — soon will strike. Ye who
oppress the poor and needy — who rob the widow and the fatherless
— who fill the land with crimes — who are even as the outcasts ofthe
earth in the eyes of heaven, albeit ye are arrayed in " costly raiment,"
in " purple and fine linen," and Gods as it were in your own con
ceit — take warning. " Lo the time is at hand. Chance can do
nothing."* Far be it from the Narrator of The Bristol Riots in the
slightest degree to insinuate that Mr. Matthew Bridges
had any hand in the fabrication of the Prophetic Mes
senger or that he was aware of any plot or plots, (which
the reader may now think were pretty deeply and
cunningly laid) — and which bis interpretation might
lead to and hasten. The work furnished him with a
rhapsody, which, as an orator, he was proud to display,
without having either meaning or intention. But in
acquitting Mr. Bridges of intention, can the cool pubhc
acquit him of inflaming the populace, and giving them
a most dangerous confidence in " ulterior measures ?"
If there was no other circumstance to lead to more
than suspicion of a deep-laid plot, this Prophetic Mes
senger would be alone sufficient to bring' a strong con
viction to the minds of those who are at all acquainted
with the multifarious workings of Revolutionists.
Captain Hodges, not a citizen of Bristol, but
holding a temporary mihtary official situation under
Lieutenant-Colonel Brereton, was extremely indiscreet
*A Correspondent in Felix Farley's BristolJournal, not long
since, quoted Tacitus, to show that fortune reserves in secret, some
one not in the contemplation of mankind. He was wittily enough
replied to by a writer in the Bristol Mercury, " That chance could
do nothing." Had that writer too seen the Prophetic Messenger ?

42 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
in his language to the populace. Yet this gentleman,
so intemperate and unrestrained by any consideration of
prudence, was subsequently named by the Government
as Editor to Mr. Colburn's Court Journal, and was
permitted to receive his information from official sources.
Is the following language, addressed to a tumultuous
mob, justifiable in a soldier ? —
" Moderation was recommended to them (the people) ;
but he maintained that the loudest and strongest lan
guage should be used; their infatuated opponents were
not to bemo\edv/ithreasoning ;fear alone would operate
with them" He boasts of " a black dose for Sir Chas.
Wetherell and his brother Aldermen to swallow, yet take
it he must." That the people " had a great battle to
fight, — if they should find the struggle going hard with
them, if he were an hundred miles off, though he had
no vote, he would come and throw himself among
them." That he would " shed the last drop of his
blood." After the Reform Bill had been rejected, he
again addresses the mobs : — " He had heard them (the
people) traduced and belied night after night, in the
two Houses of Parhament." * * *¦
"If a Tory Administration had gained the ascen
dency, would they have been allowed to express their
sentiments freely on that day ? No, they would have
had cannons planted at the several avenues of the
Square," (this speech likewise was in Queen-square, the
scene of subsequent devastation,) " and soldiers drawn
up to overawe them ; though, thank God, the Tories had
not much of the army, for a majority of them clearly
saw that their interests lay with the King and the
people. (Cheers.) He did not think the King would

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 43
dare to place the Duke of Wellington at the head of
his Adminstration. If ever that day should arrive, no
power on earth should prevent him from using his own
discretion for the protection of his person and property."
It must be here stated, that the words "would dare"
are denied by Captain Hodges; but the reporter has
referred the pubhc to his original document taken on
the spot, and has offered to make oath to its accuracy.
For what purpose a military gentleman, acknowledged
at the War Office, who had been in official duty in the
city, should promise to throw himself among them, and
shed the last drop of his blood — or, why he should
slander the army by pretty plainly intimating that they
would not fight under a Tory Administration, — are
questions to be asked elsewhere. But no one can for
a moment doubt the tendency of such language.
The Bristol Pohtical Union took its commencement
from the " Union of Trades," at the Election in May,
1831. Shortly after this it was constituted a Pohtical
Union — for which purpose a meeting was held. The
speeches on that occasion were in perfect accordance
with those of similar meetings throughout the kingdom,
clearly proving that not " the Bill" only, but ulterior
measures, were the objects for which these Unions
are formed, and offering a fearful motive to action to
an inflamed populace. A Mr. Powell remarks that —
" Our principal efforts ought to be against Corpora
tion abuses. He said that the Corporation of Bristol
received annually £40,000, though only £20,000 was
given in to the Commissioners of Enquiry."
Mr. Ham, in proposing a Resolution, said —
" In India were Brahmins. * * * The priests,

44 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
who generally took care of all the good things of this
life — (laughter.) Separate orders or castes existed also
in England, and were kept up with as much pertinacity.
In England the titled class would not associate with
the untitled, nor the man of £1,000 a-year with the
man of £900. This was occasioned by the law of primo
geniture. In France the case was different ; there a
Marquis might enter a coffee-house, where he might he
joined by a mechanic, who sat at the same table with
him, and they would play a game of dominos together,
the man of title not considering it any degradation.
(Applause.) Such, he hoped, would be the result of
the Reform Bill, when time had enabled us to adopt
similar measures in this country. (Great cheering.)
In this country the Aristocracy were not contented with
civility from their servants, but expected servility.
(Cheers.) In America the affair was managed much
better — a servant there would not allow himself to be
called your servant, but your help.* (Cheers.) The
tree of liberty had been planted in France, but it had
not yet been watered."
At a meeting of the Political Union, held in conse
quence of the rejection of the Bill, Mr. Herapath
remarks —
" Another had urged that the Bill went too far, and
he (Mr. H.) was prepared to admit, that in one sense
the Bill did go too far — it went too far for the Peers,
but not for the people. The Bill went too far for the
Lords, because it would prevent some from 'doing
what they would with their own,' — because it would
* The French seem to be fond of acting this "high life below
6tairs," in their nervous irritability at being called " subjects."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 45
deprive the Upper House of the £300,000 it swallowed
in pensions." " He did not regret the conduct of the
Lords, for the longer Reform was delayed, the more
would the people demand from them — the more they
would ensure. There was an old adage, punishment
deferred falls the heavier ; and perhaps the Lords
might ultimately bear witness to its truth. He
ascribed many of the evils which afflicted this country
to the law of primogeniture." " The Spiritual Lords
might have carried the Bill, but they chose rather to
turn upon the people who supported them." "They
had now invited their fellow-citizens to deliberate upon
the rejection of the Bill by the Lords — to give them the
earhest opportunity of expressing their wishes upon the
subject, and to enable them to take such measures as
seemed necessary for their future protection."
One of the Resolutions was—
" That Birmingham, being most centrically situated,
it is recommended by the Bristol General Union, that
the Birmingham Political Union be requested immedi
ately to call a meeting of Delegates from other Unions,
to deliberate on the best means of general organization
and simultaneous action."
There was a time when all this would have been looked
upon as wretched trash, the ravings of madmen, and,
however treasonable to the Constitution, innocuous.
But it is not so now. This is the sort of trash that
comes forth now with the sanction of Ministers. Such
persons are their allies and supporters, or governors.
The New Coalition has given the stamp of Government
to edicts of this character. The names of the King and
Ministers are used to cover schemes and doctrines that

46 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
tend directly to overthrow the Monarchy, and all
that attaches to it. It has let loose bands of robbers and
revolutionists, under every presumption of impunity.
It has been the first movement to the Bristol Riots.
Pages might be multiplied without end in the ex
posure of passages and conduct similar to the specimens
above given. But it is not necessary to enter more
largely into the disgusting detail.* Enough has been
set down to shew the nature of the agitation used — the
change of pubhc feeling in the short space of nine
months, and the subsequent pains to make this new
feeling both active and permanent. A state of things
has been produced that never could have existed, but
through and with the unnatural coalition of a Govern
ment with the lawless and disaffected.
Thus the infidelity of the Ministers to their old
Constitutional principles infected their adherents, the
Whigs, in Bristol ; and though the most respectable and
reflecting of that party lent but a cold approbation to the
violent proceedings, then- very abstinence from taking
a leading part left the field of agitation the more entirely
at the command of the abettors of " ulterior measures."
The London and the local Press working together,
left no hope, bad feelings being once brought into action,
for the junction of the moderate.
* The Narrator cannot forbear here quoting from the speech of
an Qrator, and of some note, delivered in the Parliament House
just after the rejection of the Bill by the House of Lords, in October,
the very month ofthe Riots. He is drawing a comparison between
the present state of things and that period — " when the villains were
driven to revolt by oppression — when the Castles ofthe Nobility were
burned to the ground — when the warehouses of London were pillaged,
and an hundred thousand men, (the boasted number of insulted
Reformers in Bristol), appeared in arms at Blackheath." This
passage in the speech of the Hon. and Learned Member, may have
been of some importance at Bristol, of which he is by birth a Freeman."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 47
The work went on, until at last the city became,
in distraction of opinion, turbulence, discontent, insult
to authority, and daring defiance, a very Pandemonium
of Reformers. Yet, even in this state, when certain
danger was an attendant on duty, the friends of order
and good government did not shrink from the peril,
but met for the purpose of expressing their loyalty and
attachment to their Sovereign and the Constitution.
For this conduct the grossest insults were offered to
them, and infamous hand- bills were circulated, lest the
known respectability of the parties should have any
influence to prevent the Riots now determined on.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 49

PART V.

Supposing the existence of a Revolutionary Party,
preparing or prepared for the worst — for " ulterior
measures," — it would be difficult to conceive a more
favourable opportunity for the trial of their predeter
mined operations than that which presented itself on
the 29th October, 1831, the day appointed for the
opening the Commission of Assize in the City of
Bristol. The Gaol contained upwards of 100 prisoners.
By Charter this Court must be held by the Recorder,
and this Recorder was Sir Charles Wetherell, the most
unflinching of the Anti-Reform Champions. Supposing
then such a conspiracy in action, would not advantage
be taken of this circumstance, seeing the City the scene
of so much violence and distraction, perhaps much of it
produced with this design ? Would not such a conspi
racy act precisely as it is found a party somewhere or
other sitting, did act ? Sir Charles Wetherell was the
object of daily abuse in placards on walls and in news
papers. The country was scoured for thirty miles
round, ajidfit persons exhorted to be in Bristol on the
29th October. The numerous Depositaries of infidel
and treasonable tracts sent forth their poison in every
shape, printed on paper and on pocket handkerchiefs.
The lowest Radical swaggerers and brawlers, the
" prowling ballad-singers" were everywhere stirring the
thieves and pickpockets to their work, and the populace
to deeds of bloody mischief.

50 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The Magistrates, aware of unusual excitement and
danger, send a deputation to Sir Chas. Wetherell and
to Lord Melbourne. It having been determined that
the Commission should be held as usual, the Magistrates
lay before that Minister the perilous state of the city, and
throw themselves on the Government for protection, as
well for the peace of the city, as for the safe conduct of
the King's Judge. Upon this Lord Melbourne requests
the attendance of the Members for the city at his office.
The result may be best known by Mr. Protheroe's own
account of the meetings in a letter written by him to
Mr. Herapath, Vice-President of the Political Union :
" Sir, — On Thursday night I received a note from
" Lord Melbourne to wait upon his Lordship, as did my
" colleague, Mr. Baillie. I had bets that the subject
" related to the Cholera or Wetherell. I found a
" deputation in the room for military to protect the city
"from riot, and Wetherell from attack. I argued
" against the policy of the proposal, and stated, that if
" we could be secured from thieves and adventurers
" from other places, J could, with the aid of friends
" (the Union) keep all in perfect order ! I offered my
" services to attend Wetherell, and to do all this, pro-
" vided I might be allowed to enable the people of
" Bristol, thus constrained, to express in some measure
"their strong and unalterable disapprobation of Sir
" Charles Wetherell's political conduct, that we might
" be all insured from the insidious conduct of the Tories,
"who, if the people are quiet, would say there is
" re-action against the Bill."*
Can it be possible that Lord Melbourne received such
a proposal without reproof ! The King's Secretary for
# Mr. Manchee, in his Pamphlet, admits that Mr. Protheroe did
insist that the people should be allowed to express their opinion in
every legal and constitutional way, in order that Sir Charles might
have no pretext for again misrepresenting their sentiments on the
subject of Reform.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 51
the Home Department receive proposals to stipulate
with him, for insult to the King's Judge ! ! Yet Mr.
Protheroe boldly tells his tale, as if he had done some
fine thing, and treats so astonishing a proposal with
lightness, intermixing in his official account to the Vice-
President of the Union, his " bets on the cholera or
Wetherell !" Can this be a Member for the second city
in his Majesty's dominions, returned to Parliament to
protect the interests and rights of the citizens, and
maintain the honour and dignity of the empire ? He
gives his orders to the Union — " if the people are
quiet" — and indeed care is taken that they shall not be
quiet. He would in truth have been proud to ride in
the carriage with the King's Judge, for whose insult
he had stipulated with the Minister ; but in his Reform
ing zeal for insult, did it not occur, that Sir Charles
Wetherell, the representative of his Majesty, and pro
ceeding to his solemn office of administering the laws of
the land, would not be very ambitious to ride in the
carriage with him — especially when acquainted with
the stipulations ? How would the Judge have received
him, when assured that he had stepped into the carriage
to ride with him, for the double purpose of seeing him
properly insulted, to note at the same time the hisses,
and hootings, and execrations, as another official
document for the Political Union, and to protect his
person ?
Protect his person ! ! Is it possible that vanity and
arrogance can reach to that!! Yet there is his own
written word for it. It cannot be believed that Lord
Melbourne, at least an English gentleman, whatever
others may have wished, desired Sir Charles should be
E 2

52 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
insulted. It has certainly been thought that Ministers,
as a body, were desirous that this mark of the people
should be put upon Anti-reforming sentiments — and,
indeed, their subsequent conduct, in passing over
unmentioned the personal attack on the King's Judge
in their celebrated Proclamation,* simply including him
among divers persons, gives too much colour of truth
to the suspicion. But to proceed in the Narrative. What,
is the immediate effect of this letter of Mr. Protheroe's ?
It produced the following letter from Mr. Herapath to
Alderman Daniel, who, it seems, had conversed with
him on preserving the peace : — " October 26, 1831.
"Respected Sir, — When the conversation occurred
" between us on Saturday, respecting the entrance of
" Sir C. Wetherell, I was not aware of the intention of
" the City Authorities to employ an armed force for the
" protection of a Judge of the land — a course unprece-
" dented, I believe, in English history. It has pro-
" duced effects upon the Council of the Union which
" the Magistrates alone must be answerable for. How-
" ever, I feel confident that no member of the Union
" will be found committing outrages on that day.
" I am, Sir, &c.
"W. Herapath."
The effect of this letter may likewise be seen in the
following handbill, issued from the Council of the
Political Union : —
" The Council of the Union have heard with feelings
" of surprise, that the Corporation have requested and
" obtained the assistance of armed troops, for the pur-
" pose of conducting Sir Charles Wetherell, in his
" judicial capacity, into this city. It is the opinion of
" this Council, that if the Magistracy of the City feel
* See Appendix.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 53
" themselves incompetent to preserve the public peace
" without being supported by the Military, they should
" resign their offices, and suffer the Civic Authorities
" to be elected by a majority ofthe votes of their fellow-
" citizens. The Council think that a man clothed in
" robes of Magistracy ought never to be a politician, as
" such a Magistrate cannot be expected to possess the
" pubhc confidence, without which he will always be
" found incompetent to preserve the public peace.
" They would, therefore, recommend to the Corpora-
" tion the immediate resignation of Sir Chas. Wetherell
" as Recorder, such being the means best calculated to
" prevent riot, and perhaps bloodshed. At the same
" time the Council earnestly recommend Members of
" the Union, and Reformers in general, at all times of
" popular excitement, to use their most strenuous
" endeavours for the preservation of the public peace,
" as it is only by such a course they will be able to
" obtain the rights they seek.
" By order of the Council,
" J. P. Ven, Secretary."
" October 25th, 1831."
Did this likewise obtain the sanction of the Member
for the City ? Has he disavowed any connexion, after
such a document, with the Council of the Union ; or
has he published one word of reproof or remonstrance ?
Surely these are questions the Citizens are deeply
interested in asking — the more especially since Political
Unions have been declared illegal.
While the Magistrates were thus appealing to
Government, who were now bound on then- own
responsibility to protect by a sufficient force the
important city thus threatened, a very praiseworthy
effort was made by Lieut. Claxton, R.N., and some
Captains of Vessels in the Port, to form the Seamen,
at all times in Bristol a remarkably well-behaved body
of men, into a protecting force. A Requisition is made

54 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
to the Mayor for that purpose,* and a meeting is
accordingly held on board the ships the Earl of Liver
pool and Charles,t on Tuesday, the 18th October.
Handbills of the meeting had been issued among the
sailors only at nine o'clock in the morning. About
half-past one the ship Charles contained about 300
seamen. Mr. Claxton was voted in the chair. He
stated the laudable object of those who had called them
together — "That information had been received that
Bristol was full of pickpockets, trampers, and vaga
bonds, who would take every opportunity to interrupt the
administration of justice, and that a great moral effect
would be produced, if the Seamen of the Port would
enter into a resolution to support the Magistrates."
But here there is every possible interruption from Mr.
John Wesley Hall, one of the Political Union, and a
Radical Party, who had forced themselves into the
vessels ; the consequence of which is the breaking up
of the meeting. After this the following handbill is
circulated : — " Bristol Sailors' Meeting.
" At a Meeting of the Seamen, held this day, on
" board the Earl of Liverpool, Capt. Claxton, who was
* The following is a copy of the notice : —
" To the Right Worshipful the Mayor.
" Bristol, October 17th, 1831.
" We the undersigned being anxious, in these times of danger
" and difficulty, to express our loyalty, together with that of our
" fellow-seamen of this port, to our friend, our father, our fellow-
" sailor, King William, request you will grant us permission to hold
" a Meeting for that purpose.
[Signed by twenty-one Masters of Vessels.]
" A Deputation from the above having waited upon his Worship,
" and he having most graciously granted their wishes, a Meeting will
" accordingly be held on board the ship Earl of Liverpool, at One
" o'clock precisely, on Tuesday, 18th inst.
T The Ship Charles lay alongside ofthe Earl of Liverpool.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 55
" the self-elected Chairman, and who brought the only
" Resolution to be proposed in his pocket, on reading
" of which some of the by-standers remonstrated with
" him on the impropriety of such proceedings, when
" Mr. Claxton thought proper to dissolve the meeting ;
" and, on further remonstrance, informed them that the
" ship where the meeting was held belonged to him,
" and imperatively ordered every person to leave the
" deck. On the persons who composed the meeting,
" reaching the shore, a temporary hustings was imme-
" diately erected, and John Wesley Hall, Esq.
" unanimously called to the chair; when the following
" Resolution, moved by Mr. J. G. Powell, and seconded
" by Mr. Webb, was unanimously carried : —
" That the Sailors of this Port, on the present occa-
" sion, earnestly express their decided and loyal attach-
" ment to his Majesty and his Government, but will
" not allow themselves to be made a cat's paw of by the
" Corporation, or their paid Agents.
" J. W. Hall, Chairman.
" Mr. J. W. Hall having vacated the Chair, it was
" immediately taken by Mr. J. G. Powell, Jun., when
" a vote of thanks to the Chairman was carried with
" three times three cheers. — Full particulars of the
" meeting will appear in the Bristol Liberal of Satur-
" day next.— October 18, 1831."
If it be asked what object Mr. Hall and his party had
in view, in interrupting a meeting held solely for the
purpose of preserving the peace of the city, and assisting
the Magistrates, the answer must be sought in the
result. Is there not indeed just cause for suspicion
that the " magic circle of conspiracy" was pretty
widely drawn ?
It has been seen that the Magistrates were thwarted
by the Member — were required to abdicate, and were
threatened by the Political Union — and now again,
how another attempt to strengthen their authority was
frustrated.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 57

PART VI.

It has not been yet stated what force the Government
provided in this exigency. In a city so large, and (as
the author ofthe Pamphlet dedicated to Lord Melbourne,
assures us) containing " an insulted population of an
hundred thousand" with places, the sure object of
attack to all mobs, widely distant ; — in a city where it
has been shown the Magistracy were held up to odium,
so as to render even self-defence a difficulty, to say
httle of the subversion of their authority, it would be
presumed the Government would now send such a force
as should ensure safety. Lyons received a force of
30,000 men ? Ninety-three soldiers were thought suffi
cient for Bristol, " to keep down," as the author of the
Pamphlet observes, " an insulted population of an hun
dred thousand" — but he forgot the insult stipulated for
by the Member — which it is presumed, therefore, the
soldiers were to allow — especially " the people having
made up their minds,'' and proclaimed (their intentions)
at the corner of every street !" Two troops, then, of the
14th Dragoons were quartered at Chfton, and one
troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards at Keynsham — the
latter place 5 miles distant — altogether 93 men — with
unusual cautionary orders, not to be used but on the
greatest emergency.*
* It presents a singular inconsistency, that subsequently, during
the trials under the Special Commission, when there was, compara
tively speaking, little excitement, and nearly 4000 constables turned
out, — about 450 infantry, 250 cavalry, and a squadron of artillery,
were sent, having Gen, Sir Robt. Jackson to command them !

58 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The handbill from the Council of the Union de
manding of the Magistrates to resign their offices,
was issued on the 25th Oct. Very extraordinary pro
ceedings had taken place. The Bishop of Bath and
Wells with difficulty escaped the grasp of an infuriate
mob, while performing his sacred office of consecrating
a Church in the Coronation-road, in the parish of Bed-
minster. This was no sudden burst of enmity against
the Bishop, but predetermined, arranged, and promul
gated at considerable cost of placards. It is curious to
enquire whence the funds came. Did the Union pay
the charges ? Did Mr. Hall, or the other Reformers,
who frustrated Mr. Claxton's endeavours to protect the
city ? The Narrator has now before him one of these
placards, with the printer's name of course torn off— it
runs as follows, and is in very large letters : —
" Reformers —
" ' Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.'1
" The Right Rev. Father in God, the Bishop of
" Bath and Wells, will consecrate the New Church,
" Coronation-road, on Monday, the 24th of October.
" Receive him with every demonstration of respect that
" becomes his exalted rank and late vote in the House
" of Lords. Refrain, therefore, from hooting, pelting,
" groaning, hissing, or any annoyance that may be
" offensive to the man who has so recently declared
'' himself against the voice of the people.
" Churchman."
The Sabbath was employed in preparing the outrage
against the Bishop to commence on the Monday. A
watchman in the parish of All Saint's, detected one
person, Isaac N. Pearce, Printer, of Bath-street, muffled

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 59
up, and posting the bills* This attack on the Bishop
of Bath and WeUs was probably intended to serve a
double purpose ; in the first place as an outrage on a
Dignitary of the Church — one of a body who had been
advised to " set their houses in order ;" and secondly,
as a demonstration for the guidance of persons else
where, who were engaged to take part in " ulterior
measures." Some time before the Bishop arrived at the church
on Monday morning, most of the leading men of the
Union and a mob had assembled. Christopher Davis
(who was afterwards executed directly opposite the new
church,) was extremely active in exciting the mob,
by inflammatory language : he stated that the Bishop
received £40,000 a-year out of the pockets of the
poor, and was come there that day for the sake
of the subscription, to which they must not con
tribute. When the Bishop drove up at half-past
ten, he was received with yells, groans, and hisses'
and had it not been for the judicious arrangements of
the Churchwardens and others, it is very probable
his Lordship would have been personally injured, and

* The watchman afterwards pulled down one of the placards and
gave ittothe night constable. An information was laid against Pearce,
for publishing the bill without the printer's name, and the placard
was placed in the hands of one ofthe City Solicitors, at the Council-
House, who deposited it in the volume containing the Act of Parlia
ment affecting the case. On the day of hearing, the placard was not
to be found, and no proceedings could be then taken. Subsequently,
another of the placards was procured, which had been given to
Fisher, the night constable in Redcliff Ward, by Pearce, while the
latter was engaged in posting up other copies, but in consequence
of the information having been laid by Fisher, his evidence could
not be received on the second hearing, when Pearce was in
attendance with Counsel and Attorney; and as the first marked
copy of the placard had never been recovered, the informations
were quashed.

60 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
perhaps murdered. On the Bishop's return, after
the ceremony, a party of gentlemen guarded him to
his carriage, on each side of which were arrayed a
strong body : the mob, therefore, were again foiled in
their attempt upon his person. The post-boys drove off
at full gallop, and although a great number of stones
were thrown, no serious mischief was done. The mob
followed the carriage to the Vicarage opposite Redcliff
Church, but as it only stopped there a moment, they
returned to Harford's-bridge, where they were addressed
in the most violent and seditious language.
If the Union were desirous of preserving the peace of
the city, would it be credited that they should have pub
lished the handbill from the Council ofthe Union, above
given, on the day following this outrageous attempt on
the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The hfe of the Bishop
is put in jeopardy on the 24th, — on the 25th the Coun
cil of the Union express surprise that the Corporation
had required the assistance of armed troops, and demand
of them to resign their authority into hands to be chosen
by the majority of the citizens. Was this intended to
give something like the sanction of authority to a " Pro
visional Government?" In what character are we to
view The Council ; the name is well chosen to impose
upon the mobs, and induce them to acquiesce in their
" ulterior measures." They speak of " bloodshed" as of a
thing determined upon, with no abhorrence, — of crimes
against the laws of God and man, but as " against the
cause of Reform." And what does Mr. Herapath in
his letter, dated 26th, above quoted, to Mr. Daniel,
subsequent to the attach on the Bishop, mean by
" effects upon the Council of the Union which the

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 61
Magistrates alone must be answerable for ?" Did
this Provisional Government of the Council intend to
set up its Reign of Terror ? They were either to be
energetic in mischief, or reckless of any ruin — nay,
reckless (for it was in their contemplation) of bloodshed.
And how well affected is the stale hypocritical recom
mendation of remaining quiet, when they were goading
the populace ! " Seek peace and ensue it," is a rule not
in their new code.
Do the Magistrates, thus thwarted, insulted, threat
ened, remain inert ? If they have hitherto, up to this
point of menaced " bloodshed," done their duty, more
especially by apphcation to Government, — (for had they
not so applied for mihtary force, how loud would have
been the charges against them), — do they still proceed to
use every means in their power to preserve the peace ?
It is necessary, again, here to repeat, they are no political
party — they are not a body of Tories— are not all Anti-
Reformers — they never, even at an election, issued any
pohtical notice or document whatever — never acted in
that odious capacity of pohtical Union, so detestable in
all but Mr. Herapath and his party. The Magistrates,
in prosecution of their duty, endeavour to procure the
voluntary aid of the citizens — apply to the parishes for
the enrolment of 300 respectable housekeepers, which,
with the Constables of the several Wards, they deem
a sufficient escort, but on the day of swearing in, only
about 200 attend. The Magistrates determine to sup
ply the deficiency by employing respectable men, and
the Chiefs of the Wards are directed to return a certain
number of fit persons to act as Special Constables.
These were sworn in.

62 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
That the Magistrates failed in obtaining the full
number of volunteers, is at once the triumph and eternal
disgrace of the Reformers. As it has been so malig
nantly urged against them, it may be as well to bestow
a few words upon this defection of the eitizens, that the
disgrace may attach to the right quarter.
" Upon application to the inhabitants of the seve
ral wards," says the author of the Pamphlet, dedicated
to Lord Viscount Melbourne, "their returns were
insufficient for the number required, which was im
mediately supplied by engaging hired constables for
the purpose; the whole, with the Sheriffs' officers
amounted to about three hundred men ! ! Three
hundred out of our immense population ! ! Did the
Magistrates ever enquire the reason why the respectable
householders refused to be sworn in as special con
stables?" Certainly not — they had no occasion to
enquire. The Reformers had taken care to poison the
minds of " the respectable citizens ,-" and as they suc
ceeded in preventing Lieut. Claxton from embodying the
Sailors of the Port, so had they taken under then-
control the inhabitants of the city. The citizens were
deluded. Had the orators and the press been at work
for nothing? The success had been too apparent.
But were even these hired constables approved ? The
Editor of the Bristol Mercury, the favourite paper of
the Author of the Pamphlet, calls them in his rage,
" hireling bludgeon men and Tories," by which bold he
he might likewise cast an additional odium on the
Tories. But malignity will often overstep its bounds,
and in its blind rage wound only itself. Proud of his
ratiocination, which, like the tail of the scorpion when
the flames are around him, stings the possessor to death,

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 63
the Author is impotent but against himself, and defends
where he would wound. For if the fact be that the
Magistrates (from the virulence of Reform agitation)
were unable to procure a competent number, their
inability must remove all blame. The same author
speaks of " an insulted population of an hundred thou
sand" to be kept down; and in a subsequent part of his
Pamphlet says, " this series of awful calamities were
committed by a mob which was never in possession of
any arms, and which if it had been opposed by judg
ment and decision, by a very small organized force,
had no moral or combined physical means of resistance."
If he be here correct, the preparation of the Magistrates
must have been ample. If he chuse his former state
ment, it is an insult to Lord Melbourne, to whom he
dedicates his labours, that he did not provide more
than the small military force " to keep down an insulted
population of an hundred thousand." But his malignant
blunders go beyond this — for instead of " a mob which
was never in possession of any arms," he afterwards
admits they had " sledge hammers," and that a soldier
was wounded by a " pistol ball."
He proves the necessity of a small force alone, when
he would make it a heinous crime against the Magis
trates that they did not supply a large one ; and with
wonderful convertibility, turns the mob consisting of but a
few wretches, into an hundred thousand— and all insulted !
Would he wish to disguise the fact, that there was a
combined physical force, lest suspicion should fasten
the crime of the combination on the low Reformers, (for
amongst them we trust and believe there is a great dis
tinction to be drawn.) If however it be an argument in

64 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
defence of the Reformers, let it defend the Magistrates.
But they seek no such defence ; — they know now that
there was a revolutionary combination, that the experi
ment was tried in Bristol and failed ; — the Reformers
know it, and are maddened by the knowledge of the
fact, — and in their rage at the defeat and disgrace, the
result of the Riots brought upon their Delusion Bill,
attack indiscriminately Magistrates and Tories, friends
or foes — and blinded by a desperate passion, rush
tumbling over each other into the midst of the ruins,
under which they would fain crush all that is good and
respectable of this once eminently loyal city. How long
will the citizens allow themselves to be thus deluded ?
The Union threatens the Magistracy. How is the
menace put in operation by the people. Persons
respectable in rank, much above the £10. renters,
employed their evenings in going round to the pubhc
houses and beer shops, to excite whom they could find
to insult the Recorder ; and where the Reform question
did not take, they resorted to the old trick, and urged
that Sir C. Wetherell had stated that six shillings per
week was sufficient for a labouring man and family.
When such pains were taken, it need not be asked why
the Authorities did not call out the posse comitatus.
For some days the streets had now been filled with idle
fellows, apparently, by their dress, not of the neigh
bourhood of Bristol. A gentleman coming up from
Somersetshire fell in with two North Country Delegates,
and overheard then proceedings,* and learned they had

'* Birmingham men had been to the Dorset Election, and com
menced the process of Revolutionary attack against persons and
property. Thence they came to Bristol, and had probably been
here before.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 65
been visiting all the populous districts, and urging the
people to be in Bristol on the 29th October* On
Thursday and Friday a large number of letters came
from the North for persons at the beer houses. Much
information of this kind having reached the Council
House, (not the Union) the Authorities issued the
following : — "Council House, Bristol, 27th Oct. 1831.
" It being apprehended, from information received
" through various channels, that some indiscreet p.er-
" sons may be inclined to promote feelings of irritation
" and excitement on the arrival of the Recorder in this
" city, the Mayor and Aldermen most earnestly hope
" that all classes of their fellow citizens, however they
" may differ on pohtical subjects, will see the propriety
" of cordially co-operating to maintain peace and good
" order ; and that they will abstain from manifesting
" any declaration of their opinions on so solemn and
" important an occasion as the delivery of his Majesty's
" Gaol, in cases affecting the lives of the persons to be
" tried for offences against the laws of their country.
" The Magistrates confidently trust that they may rely
" on the good sense and discretion of the inhabitants
" not to depart from that orderly conduct which has
" hitherto prevailed in the city ; but should any dispo-
" sition be shown, tending to create disturbance, they
" feel it will become then- imperative duty to use all
" lawful means for the apprehending and bringing to
" punishment all persons who may be found committing
" any breach of the peace, or other illegal act.
" By Order of the Mayor and Aldermen,
"Ludlow, Town-Clerk."

* They accordingly came, for it appeared that the old inhabi
tants knew few, if any, in the mob.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 67

PART VII.
EVENTS OF SATURDAY — THE FIRST OF THE
" THREE DAYS."
On the morning of the 29th October, that no irrita
tion might arise from the display of the military, (which,
though the stipulation on which they were sent, accord
ing to the new system of extreme deference to mobs,
may be pronounced, from the experience of the Bristol
Riots, a very hazardous doctrme), the troops marched,
the 3rd Dragoon Guards into the Court Yard of the
Gaol, and the 1 4th Dragoons to the interior of the
Cattle Market, by the outskirts of the city, and there
remained out of sight. Indeed, had not the Pohtical
Union been particularly careful, by their pretended
remonstrances, to announce to the people that troops
had been sent to preserve the peace, the fact would
have been but little known.* Early in the morning,
likewise, the numerous constabulary force assembled
in the area of the Exchange, each man provided with a
short staff. The Mayor and Magistrates attended, and
the force was addressed by the Mayor, recommending
that they should use the greatest possible forbearance,
and not by any over-exertion endanger the peace of the
* Great complaint has been made that the troops were paraded;
but they were not. Yet perhaps they ought to have been paraded.
If the 3rd Dragoons were paraded on Sunday, it was not until the
laol was attacked.
F2

68 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
procession, or by endeavouring to take prisoners, their
object being by every means to convey the Recorder
safely. They then proceeded to meet Sir Charles Wetherell
at Totterdown-hill, about a quarter of a mile distant
from the city. Here nothing could have been more
judicious than the arrangement of the Constables, by
the Under-Sheriff, Mr. Hare. The mob had taken
possession of the high banks on each side of the road,
but were driven off. Notwithstanding the change of
the usual hour, the streets were crowded with people,
thronging towards the Bath road, many of them
evidently ripe for mischief. Not a few of them were
women of abandoned character, whose violent language
seemed well fitted to urge on the mob to desperation.
Two of the Magistrates left the Council House between
nine and ten o'clock, and proceeded to Temple-street,
to be in readiness to interpose their authority, in case
any outrage should be attempted on the person of the
Recorder. About half-past ten, Sir Charles was perceived to
approach, at a rapid rate, in a chariot drawn by four
greys, and on stopping at Totterdown, near the entrance
into the city, for the purpose of being handed into the
Sheriff's carriage, he was instantly assailed by the most
deafening yells, groans, and hisses. The constables
were then, in considerable numbers, placed around the
carriage, a gentleman on horseback riding close by the
side of each door, and two or three hundred preceding
and following.* In this manner the cavalcade, which
comprised also the usual number of Mayor's and
* Sir Charles anxiously enquired the temper of the mob, and was
assured that there was not the smallest danger, that his recepti
would be stormy, but that it would be undoubtedly safe.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 69
Sheriffs' officers, mounted, proceeded slowly towards
the city. Just as Sir Charles was passing over Hill's
Bridge, his carriage was assailed with stones ; but no
movement took place with a view to apprehend the
offenders, the whole force being anxious only for the
protection of the Recorder's person. As the procession
moved onward, the crowd continued to increase, and
the expressions of disapprobation from the multitude
became more and more deafening ; and occasionally some
stone or missile was hurled against the immediate object
of their vengeance. In Temple-street, the windows of
the houses were crowded with spectators, and the lower
order of females were particularly vociferous in the
expression of their feelings, frequently charging the men
with cowardice and a want of spirit. In passing from
Bristol Bridge to High-street, one of the constables,
a respectable tradesman, received a dangerous contusion
in the head; and, in the latter street, also, some few
stones were thrown.
On arriving at the Guildhall, in Broad-street, it was
with the greatest difficulty that Sir Charles could alight,
from the pressure of the immense multitude ; but, after
the lapse of a few minutes, he was handed out in safety,
and proceeded to take his station on the bench. The
doors ofthe hall were thrown open to the populace, and
in a few minutes the area was completely filled.
The usual forms for opening the commission com
menced, but the noise and confusion occasioned
considerable interruption. Mr. Sergeant Ludlow, Town
Clerk, then rose and observed, that he believed there was
not an individual present who had come there for the
purpose of insulting the commission of the King : that,
with respect to Reform — (Here some cheering was raised,
mixed with yells and groans; during which Sir Charles

70 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
touched the Town-Clerk's arm, and from his man
ner, for it was impossible to hear a word he said,
manifested displeasure at the introduction of the sub
ject.) — The Town-Clerk then resumed, merely adding,
that with respect to that question (Reform) it had nothing
to do with the proceedings of the day.
The reading of the commission was then proceeded
with, but the confusion again became so uproarious, as
to render the voice of Mr. Brice, Clerk of the Arraigns,
perfectly inaudible.
The Recorder then, addressing one of the officers,
said, if the latter saw any person in court making a
disturbance and would bring him forward, he would
immediately commit him. The only effect of this notice
was to raise, if possible, a louder clamour than that
which it was intended to suppress ; on this fresh ebul
lition of feeling partially subsiding, the Recorder
repeated his instructions to the officer, who replied by
saying that the tumult arose chiefly from a few indivi
duals, and suggested the propriety of some constables
being sent into the body of the hall. Several of the
special constables then disposed themselves among the
people, but the attempt to preserve order was unavailing.
In the midst of this manifestation of mob feeling, the
usual preliminaries were gone through, and the Court
adjourned to Monday morning. The Recorder then
withdrew, and the mob, after giving three cheers for
the King, hastened into the street.
Some considerable time elapsed before the Recorder
entered his carriage for the purpose of being conveyed
to the Mansion-house. During the interval, Broad-street,
and, indeed, the whole line of the route, was occupied
by a dense mass of the populace. Beyond the mere

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 71
voeal expression of their feelings, however, there
was nothing in their conduct, at this period, calculated
to excite much alarm. On Sir Charles's re-appearance,
he was greeted with a repetition of the same conduct
that had before been so liberally directed towards him,
which continued during his progress to the Mansion-
house, with the exception that opposite the Commercial-
rooms he was cheered. The cortege was accompanied
through the town by a great crowd of people, who were
in immediate contact with the carriage and the con
stables. In the mean time numbers had availed them
selves of the opportunity of reaching Queen-square by
various short cuts, while the cavalcade proceeded along
the Quay.
Here the mob had brought a pair of trucks on which
they had placed a large box — and when the Mayor's
carriage was turning along the Quay at the bottom of
Clare-street, an attempt was made to run the trucks
against the carriage and tipping the box under the
wheels to upset it. The scheme failed. The stopping
of the Sheriffs' carriage at the door of the Mansion-
house, necessarily halted the others, when about half-
a-dozen stones were flung at the Mayor's carriage, in
which were his Worship and Sir Charles Wetherell, and
a crash of glass (one of the lamps, the windows being
down) announced that they had taken effect. The
carriage soon drew up to the door, and Sir Charles en
tered the Mansion-house without further molestation.
At this time the crowd about the Mansion-house
amounted to two or three thousand people ; and the
renewal of the disposition to riot was first exhibited by
a few sticks and stones being thrown at the Mansion-

72 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
house. Upon the apprehension of one of the offenders,
the mob, who at this time were unarmed, raised a cry
of " To the Back," where piles of faggots are usually
kept, and in a short time about 600 men returned,
armed with sticks, and gave fight to the constables.
The mob were however routed, and the constables pro
ceeded back in triumph, with bundles of sticks which
had been captured in the affray, or dropped in the
flight. Several running skirmishes took place occasion
ally in different parts of the Square, and many persons
received severe bruises. One of the constables was
actually chased into the Float, from whence he was
taken up by a boatman. One man had his skull
fractured, and was carried off. After some time the
constables retired within the Mansion-house, and at
half-past two o'clock comparative order was restored.
The mob, however, did not disperse; but in conse
quence of what appeared a restoration of order, many
of the constables, fatigued with their exertions, retired
to procure refreshments.
It is with regret the Narrator is compelled to state,
that during these disgraceful proceedings, numerous
respectably dressed persons, who were walking in the
Square, took no notice of the conduct of the mob ; but
if a constable struck any of the mob, they cried " it is a
shame — a pack of Tory constables and bludgeon men."
Several of the rioters, who had been during the morning
taken at the Mansion-house,* were, about three o'clock,
sent off to Bridewell, with a body of police officers. As
* Among the prisoners taken into the Mansion House was a very
powerful man, with his hat wadded with straw; he said he expected
a row, and it was to protect his head. Another very daring fellow,
who refused to give his name, said he came lately from Birmingham.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 73
soon as the mob had intelligence of the prisoners being
sent off, they followed in numerous parties, overtook
them at the end of Nelson-street, soon knocked down
the constables, (one of whom was seriously injured by
kicks in the head) and released all the prisoners.
As evening approached, the mob became more
daring, and renewed their attack on the Mansion-
House. Sticks and stones were discharged in
quick succession at the windows, and no resistance
being offered, they proceeded to further violence.
The Mayor came forward, and called upon the
multitude to disperse. His Worship cautioned them
of the consequences of continuing their refractory pro
ceedings ; and, in alluding to the military, known to be
in the immediate neighbourhood, said, he should be
sorry for it to be hereafter said that, during his mayoralty,
such scenes took place as most probably would ensue,
if he should be compelled to read the Riot Act, and troops
should be called in to quell the disturbances. During
his address, the Mayor was assaulted with stones, and
a very large one narrowly missed striking him on
the head.
About dusk, when the mob was greatly increas
ed, the Mayor and three other Magistrates again
came out in front of the Mansion House, and were
received with a volley of stones, brickbats, &c,
with which they were severely struck. The Riot Act
was then read three times by the Mayor. When
standing on a chair for this purpose, a top rail from
the Square was thrown at him, which, had It struck him,
would probably have killed him.
The constables, after a very meritorious defence, were
driven into the Mansion House, the front and side of

74 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
which the mob attacked with determined fury. The
yells and cries were frightful. " Give us," they cried,
" the b  y Recorder, we'll murder him." Soon all
the window frames and shutters were beaten in, as well
as the pannels of the doors. They raked the hall and
dining-room with brick-bats and large stones, which
they procured by demolishing the court walls before the
houses in the Square. The hall and parlour floors
were covered with stones. A party attempted the
cellars. But now the resolute conduct of the special
constables prevented their storming the house. Beds
and furniture were brought down stairs to form screens
for the constables. The mob thus resisted, then de
termined on setting fire to the Mansion-house ; and a
quantity of straw was thrown into the dining room.*
' The cry was, " a light, a light," when at the moment
two Magistrates came up with the 3d Dragoon Guards.
It may be remarked, that up to this time the mob had
been solely bent on destruction— plunder had not yet
been contemplated as part of the scheme.
During one of the most violent assaults on the Man
sion-house, the multitude of spectators, in imitation of
the admirable rehearsals at several Reform meetings,
sang in full chorus " God save the Kong," as an en
couragement to the more adventurous of their gangs,
who were attempting to burn the King's Judge for
opening his Commission.
While some were destroying the house, others were
forming, according to the rules of revolutionary
science, a barricade with the iron railing in front of

* The Radical Papers, and Pamphlets, though they throw every
possible abuse on the constables for doing their duty, call the
ruffians (speaking of them at this time) a good-humoured mob.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 75
the Mansion House, to prevent the approach of the
mihtary ; poles and planks were also placed across
Little King-street, and the gas lights were extinguished.
About five minutes before the arrival of the military,
the Recorder made his escape, the details of which are
too interesting to be omitted ; but to give them imme
diately, would be an interruption to the course of the
Narrative. (It should be mentioned that the squadron
of the 14th, ordered to Fisher's Repository, having
had to go a considerable round to avoid the city, had
not arrived when the Magistrates reached the stables.
When they did arrive, in about ten minutes, and were •
informed of the proceedings in the Square, they set off
thither at a good pace.) When Col. Brereton entered
the Mansion-House, one of the Magistrates told him
that the Riot Act had been read three times, and that
he must use whatever force was requisite to put down
the mob ; the Mayor coming down stairs at the moment,
the Magistrate appealed to him. The Mayor answered,
" certainly it has my approbation." On the arrival of
the troops the mob retired from the door, but con
tinued to occupy the ground in front in great numbers,
but in the presence of the military did not attempt to
force an entrance into the Mansion House. Colonel
Brereton was then directed to clear the streets, disperse
the mob, and restore the peace of the city. The troops
under his direction continued to march about the Square,
according to orders, "to ride through" and "walk
away" the rioters. Their conduct, however, became
more turbulent. Brick-bats, stones, and other missiles
were continually thrown at the soldiers, the constables,
and the Mansion House.

76 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Two ofthe 14th dragoons were brought in severely
wounded, and an officer of the same regiment was much
hurt by his horse falling under him. Notwithstanding
the mob had made a persevering assault upon the Man
sion house, Col. Brereton expressed his opinion that it
was a " good humoured mob," — and he had no doubt he
should be able to " walk them away." On the wounded
soldiers being brought in, the Town Clerk asked the
Colonel if the usage the poor fellows had received was
a proof of the good temper of the mob. The conduct
of Col. Brereton was indeed of so equivocal a nature,
and so ill-suited to the instructions of the Magistrates
to use all the force necessary to quell the riot, and
restore the peace of the city, that the Town Clerk thought
it necessary to ask him if he had any secret instructions
from the Government which conflicted with the orders
of the Magistrates ; to which the Colonel replied, " My
instructions are to attend to the orders of the Magis
trates." This however he failed to do, and hence the
subsequent atrocities.
Some time after, Capt. Musgrave's troop of the 14th
Dragoons, (the other having retired to refresh and
feed) was ordered to " charge ;" this was about eleven at
night, and the troops of the 14th then drew their
swords for the first time, but the order was given by
Col. Brereton in terms too equivocal to be clearly under
stood, or to be strictly adhered to — the order was " to
use the flat of the sword as much as possible, and not
to proceed to extremities till absolutely necessary ;" and
even this qualified order, to repel by force, was shortly
rescinded ; and subsequently, when that troop received
considerable annoyance from numbers of the rioters,
who had taken refuge in barges, and in places under

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 77
cover, where the troops could not reach them, or make
any return but by means of fire-arms to the incessant
peltings, Col. Brereton gave most peremptory orders to
the troop not to fire.
At this time, eleven o'clock, the Magistrates sent two
or three constables before the troops with lights. Upon
one of the officers of the 14th Dragoons coming in to
complain that the troops would be uselessly sacrificed,
being attacked by the mob, who retreated to the ships,
where they could not be followed, and asking for per
mission to fire, a military gentleman on half pay offered to
go with a party of 25 men, if they could be supported by
the soldiers, and dislodge the rioters ; but this was given
up, upon Col. Brereton's suggesting, that in his opinion
they would soon become quiet and go to their homes,
if they were left unmolested, and saying he would be
answerable for the peace of the city, and would patrole
it during the night. The Magistrates requested Capt.
Shute, of the Bedminster Troop of North Somerset
Yeomanry Cavalry, to muster his troop in readiness
by the next day.
About a quarter before twelve a considerable portion
of the mob moved off to the Council-House, where they
immediately proceeded to demolish the windows, and
force the doors. They had broken about a hundred
panes of glass, and would soon have gained entire pos
session of the building, when Captain Gage's troop
of the 14th dragoons arrived, which (on their return to
Queen-square, after having refreshed and fed,) had
received orders from Colonel Brereton to protect the
Council -house. Capt. Gage being here left to his own
discretion, the rioters were promptly charged through
High-street, Broad-street, and Wine-street, and effec
tually dispersed. After this gallant movement, in which

78 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
about eight persons were severely wounded, not a
rioter was for some time to be seen. The main body
of the mob that had been driven down Broad-street,
ran round through the Pithay and came up the alley in
Wine-street, and pelted with bricks, stones, and pieces
of iron the troops as they passed. Among the most
active in assaulting the soldiers, was a man (belonging
to St. George's parish) in a light-coloured dress, whose
practice it was to advance into the street several paces,
and throw his missile, of stone or iron, with well-directed
aim. Capt. Gage, having observed him do this several
times, drew a pistol and levelled it at him, but it flashed
in the pan; one of the troop fired, and the man fell.
The circumstance of the man being shot has been laid
as the sole cause of the exasperation of the mob against
the 14th ; but it is much more probable that it arose
from the conviction that the 14th would not trifle with
them, and the proof they had given of their determina
tion in driving the mob from their attempt upon the
Council-house ; and how can those who would rest the
ulterior proceedings upon this feeling in the mob against
the 14th, account for the attack upon the Council -house,
when the professed objects of irritation were assembled
within the Mansion-house ? But for the timely aid of
Capt. Gage, the Council-house would have been de
stroyed, and there would have been the commencement
of the incendiarism and plunder.
However the arrival of the troops in Queen-square
may, for the time, have saved the demolition of the
Mansion-house, their presence, unaccompanied with
those active measures which it was their undoubted duty
to have performed, it is more than probable gave a fearful
sense of security to the mob ; and the extraordinary
"conduct of Colonel Brereton, in mixing with and

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 79
shaking hands with the rioters, and admitting their
familiarities towards himself, must have given them
great confidence, and even hopes of the co-operation of
the soldiery, and that their atrocious attempt would be
crowned with a military triumph. And perhaps this,
not unreasonable expectation, may have induced the
principals of the riots to defer their operations, that they
might, in the interval, either gain the soldiers to their
purpose, or direct their first attention to effect the
removal of any they could not trust, or whom they had
at least more reason to fear.
About two o'clock on the Sunday morning, the mob
having mostly withdrawn, and comparative tranquillity
being restored, the troops retired to their quarters, with
the exception of a picquet of the 3rd dragoon guards,
left at the Mansion-house, and a picquet of the 14th
dragoons left at the Council-house, which were reheved
at intervals till between 7 and 8 o'clock in the morning
of Sunday, when Colonel Brereton ordered both the
picquets to return to their quarters.
On this occasion, Colonel Brereton represented to
the Magistrates that the picquet of dragoons must be
withdrawn, — that the troops were greatly fatigued, —
and that the few remaining on duty only collected a
crowd, without doing any good. They were accordingly
sent off. Colonel B. wished the troops to be close
together, and the attendance of a Magistrate was re
quested. One accordingly left the Square with the
Colonel, and Leigh's Bazaar stables were hired for
the troops, — the Magistrates agreeing to pay as for
private horses, and all other horses were removed to
make room for those belonging to the military.

80 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The Narrative has now reached the termination of the
first day of the Riots. It will be necessary, however,
before the commencement of those of the succeeding
day, to return, in order to gather a few circumstances
and particulars which, though important, could not have
been well introduced previously, without disturbing the
clear account of the general proceedings.
In the temporary absence of the Under-Sheriff, be
tween six and seven o'clock in the evening, for the
purpose of ascertaining if Sir Charles Wetherell had
reached a place of safety, Major Mackworth, Aid-de
camp to Lord Hill, (whose personal narrative will be
given in the Appendix) offered his assistance to the
Mayor in organising the constables, which was readily
accepted; they were accordingly sent out in parties
into the Square and adjoining streets ; and in a short
time nine prisoners captured by the civil force were
safely conveyed to the Gaol.* Major Mackworth
remained with the Mayor till two in the morning,
and thus gives his testimony of the propriety of
the proceedings of the Civil Authorities. "During
this period the Mayor and Magistrates appeared
to me to be using every means in their power to call
out the citizens, and enrol them as special constables.*
When I quitted the Mansion-house, the crowd had
nearly all dispersed, and I really thought the worst of
the riot was over. The dragoons had hitherto only
used the flat of their sabres."

* The fact is, the constables were not so disorganized as it would
appear from Major Mackworth's statement. Many of them had
been on duty from eight o'clock in the morning, and had acted
with great courage and propriety, and were then, as the dragoons
had possession of the street, taking some refreshment, their com
mander, the Under-Sheriff, being sent in search of Sir C. Wetherell.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 81
When the necessity of calling in the troops became
evident, two Magistrates made the best of then- way to
the head-quarters of Colonel Brereton. They did not
find him there, and proceeded immediately to Fisher's
stables. But the troop of the 3rd dragoons would not
move without the Colonel's orders. Shortly after,
Colonel Brereton came in, when the extreme danger
of the Recorder was urged, and the order was given
to proceed to Queen-square, at a trot. On then-
arrival, " some of the rabble addressed the Colonel, but
what they said was not heard ; the Colonel then took
off his hat and cheered, as also, from a sense of military
etiquette, did the officer in command of the 3rd, and
some of the men ; but which condescending example
(says the military narrative in the United Service Jour
nal) was not followed by the 14th."
The houses in Queen-square having courts before
them, the mob took possession of these as secure places,
from whence they pelted the soldiers. It was thought
proper to clear them. One of the officers of the 14th
had marked a respectably dressed person very activp
in giving orders to the mob, and pursued him into a
court, riding in after him. The man was very abusive,
and the occupier of the house came down and took part
with the rioter, and joined in ordering the officer out of
the court. In less than four-and-twenty hours that
house was burned to the ground. Such is the reward
of a relinquishment of manly duty, and the gratitude of
ruffians ! ! And such is the safety to his property that
a bad citizen will ensure by his base concession to the
demands of a revolutionary rabble.

82 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
At every stage of the riotous proceedings, instances
occurred which completely refute the assertion, that the
mob acted wholly from momentary impulse. The fact
we are about to quote, shews that the mob were on
the look-out for the means of revolutionary resistance,
against any attempt to counteract their operations,
and that they had well considered the efficacy of those
means. Captain Morley, of the trow Weekly Packet,
of Stroud, states, that on Saturday, the 29th October,
he took on board, with various other goods, a quantity
of oil of vitriol: that about eleven o'clock at night,
a number of men, most of them Irishmen, came from
Queen-square to his vessel, then lying on the Back,
and demanded that he should dehver to them a carboy
of vitriol. He addressed himself to one of the men
whom he recognized as having been employed during
the day in loading the vessel, and asked him what
they wanted the vitriol for. He said, to throw over the
horses in Queen-square (the 14th). The captain told
him the vitriol was under the fore-deck, and that they
could not come at it without discharging the trow.
They said, as there was plenty of room right and left
(meaning overboard) they would not be long unloading
her, and were about to commence, when they heard the
approach of the 14th, who were on their way to the
Back to light the gas lamps which had been put out.
They left the trow, and ran under the Market-house,
and commenced throwing stones at the 14th. In the
mean time, the captain of the trow found assistance,
and hauled off his vessel to the middle of the Float ;
and on the return of the scoundrels they could not
board her.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 83
It may be proper here to give some details of the
escape of Sir Charles Wetherell. It will be recollected
that the populace were prevented from firing the Man
sion-house by the timely arrival of the soldiers ; they
had obtained a short possession of the lower part of
the house, and had tin-own a quantity of straw into
the dining-room and parlour, and were calling for
lights ; — they were in such force that they had driven
the constables to the staircase, which was raked with
missiles from the front door and the side windows.
It was now evidently the intention to make sure of
their victim, by burning him alive within the Mansion-
house. Nor were the ruffians deterred from the attempt
by any consideration of destruction, in the same ruin, of
the Magistrates and constables. The sacrifice was
ordered. At this alarming crisis there was great con
fusion, every one being aware of the imminent danger,
and dreading a devouring enemy from whom no exercise
of courage could save them. The Recorder succeeded
in getting upon the flat roof of a portion of the dining-
room, which had been added to it for the purpose of
increasing its size. Two other individuals had also
taken refuge there. This was a position of great
danger, for there was apparently no means of exit, and
had the mob then rushed in, they would all probably
have been murdered. The Recorder challenged the two
persons, "All friends ?" " We hope all are friends here,"
was the reply; " are you the Swordbearer ?" Sir Charles
readily made himself known to them. Looking upwards,
they observed a hght, and one of the party with great
difficulty climbed up, and seeing through a window in
the next house a female in a state of great alarm,
g2

84 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
he called to her, and enquired if she had a ladder in
the house ; she replied in the affirmative, went away,
and shortly returned with the ladder; but here was
another difficulty, — the ladder could only be placed
in a slanting direction, by no means easy to be ascended.
But in this they succeeded, and were now on the roof,
that which there was a considerable drop to the stables
which were at the back. They, however, descended in
safety; and endeavouring to get into the hay-loft by
breaking the window, the coachman was alarmed, and
ran out from the stable, thinking the rioters were
breaking in. On opening the stable door the mob
rushed towards it ; but the man prudently stepped in
and closed the door. After some time, finding all
quiet, he went into the hay-loft, and was told his master
was there. The window-frame was soon taken out, and
the party got into the stable. The mob at this time
had been driven from the front, and were in great
number in Little King-street, at the back ofthe Mansion-
house. After a while the coachman looked out and
reported the mob were diminishing. Upon this Sir
Charles effected an exchange of dress with one of
the persons he had met on the leads, and instantly
made arrangements of terms, suitable to his apparent
condition, to be used towards him in the presence of
the mob ; and thus, with a low familiar name, he left
the stables with one of the persons abovementioned ;
the other followed shortly after. At the end of King-
street, they met a large party, which, by means of the
dialogue before agreed upon, they passed without ex
citing suspicion. They proceeded along the Quay,
over the Drawbridge, and arrived in safety at a house
on Kingsdown.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 85
After remaining there a short time, Sir Charles
expressed great anxiety on the Mayor's account, and in
consequence left the house and returned to the city ;
he passed along the Quay, and remained in that quarter
nearly two hours ; when, finding the mob were not dis
persed, and that the mihtary were inactive, he remarked,
that it would be useless for him to wait any longer, and
he returned to Kingsdown ; which he afterwards left in
a chaise for Newport. He arrived at Newport between
two and three in the morning. It has been reported
in the Papers that the innkeeper spoke disrespectfully
of Sir Charles ; but it would be injustice to Mr. Giles
to suffer this account to pass uncontradicted. It has
not the slightest truth. The post-boys had informed
the servants that it was the Recorder of Bristol who
had arrived. These acquainted Mr. Giles, who was in
bed ; he arose immediately. Sir Charles sent for him,
and conversed with him half an hour, nor was there the
slightest disrespect shewn. Sir Charles expressed his
fears that the disturbance in Bristol was more than a
common riot, for, added he, " I am not aware that I
ever injured any individual in the city."
It certainly is not a little extraordinary that the Press,
both in and out of London, as if they were in the pay or
under the influence of those who contrived the riots,
should have taken so much pains to direct the public
odium against Sir Charles Wetherell. It cannot be
asserted, with any pretence of reason, that it was be
cause he had said there was a " re-action" in the public
opinion on the Reform Bill, for he was neither the first
or last that had made that assertion. Will that circum
stance then satisfactorily account for the hue and cry set

86 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
up against him ? It was quite astonishing to read the
paragraphs in the papers and pamphlets against the
Recorder of Bristol; — they were the maniac howlings of
demons after their prey, rather than the honest and
wholesome strictures of an English Press, whose boasted
liberty had not until then become the pander to the
assassin. There is a mystery in this not yet explained.
But conjectures are easy.
Before finally closing the account of the Saturday
Riots, it may not be irrelevant to make one remark
upon a charge so frequently urged against the Magis
trates, that they did not, in express terms, direct the
trooj)s to fire. Now it does not appear necessary that
the Magistrates should point out in what precise way
the soldier is to do his duty. It is sufficient if he is told
to do it effectually ; the mode must rest upon his dis
cretion, and his knowledge of the uses of his resources.
But if the reader will bear in mind the communication
of a Magistrate to Colonel Brereton, on his first arrival
in Queen-square, that the troop must fire and put
down the mob, and that "this order had the Mayor's
approbation ; and if he will bear in mind the remon
strances used to Colonel Brereton, and the enquiry if
he had any other orders Ihat forbad him the required
use of the forces under his command, the charge will at
once fall to the ground. And it is a wonderful incon
sistency that an accusation of this character should be
levelled against the Magistrates by the very parties who
were so loud against them for applying at all for military
force. But in fact it should rather be asked, why were
not the military called in, and to instant action, at a
very early stage of the riots ?-=;-and why were the mob

THE BRISTOL RIOTS 87
suffered such an atrocious indulgence as their advocates
demanded and still demand for them ? But here, like
wise, let the candid reader bear in mind the opposition
that was given to the first application for the military,
and the unusual restrictions imposed by the Government
on the use of the means they so tardily granted ; let him
recollect also the known scrutiny which the Govern
ment had so recently taken of Magisterial duties else
where, and the danger attending an energetic exercise
of them ; — let the candid reader bear all this in mind,
and independently of the excuse which he will find in a
natural and humane dislike to shed blood, he will be at
no loss to justify and to applaud the proceeding of the
Magistracy. It is a base and abominable cry that is set
up against them, powerful, because it is the work of a
demon Press, and for the vilest of purposes.* But it
is hoped, even in this case, truth will prevail — and that
there will be a re-action more creditable to the public
feeling. * The envious malignity of the Radical Press against the Corpo
ration has exceeded all discretionary bounds. The Bristol Mercury
ofthe 1st Nov., while describing the horrors of the riots, and the
breaking into the Mansion-house, treats as a ludicrous matter the
exposure of the kitchen : — " the meats turning at the spits, and upon
the ranges the different saucepans, kettles, &c. boiling, unattended
by a living soul." And then, forgetting the feast was provided by
the Mayor, (a reforming Mayor,) as an official necessity and con
dition, the virulent writer makes it a most serious charge of cruelty
and gluttony against the Magistrates, to make the people believe
that they contemplated nothing but the luxuries of a banquet. —
" But the idea which, at the moment, so forcibly impressed us of
the feelings of tbe men, who, anticipating disturbances of importance,
sufficient to justify the calling in of the military, could, under such
circumstances, contemplate the luxuries of a banquet, forbids us to
enlarge upon the subject. We turned from the scene with disgust."
The writer was not such a senseless fool as to have any such feelings;
but it would throw contempt on the authority of the Magistrates,
when that authority was most wanted for the peace ofthe city.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 89

PART VIII.
RENEWAL OF THE RIOTS ON SUNDAY MORNING.
At about two o'clock in the morning of Sunday, when
the greater portion of the mob had withdrawn, all the
troops were ordered to their quarters, except a picquet
of the 3rd dragoons who were left to patrol the Square,
and a party of the 14th protecting the Council-house.
Three Magistrates sat up at the Mansion-house the
whole of Saturday night, during which time carpenters
were at work boarding up all the windows and doors,
which was completed by six o'clock in the morning.
At day break two of these Magistrates were relieved by
others, but the Mayor still remained.
Between seven and eight o'clock, Colonel Brereton
arrived at the Mansion-house, accompanied by Major
Mackworth, and stated that the picquet must be with
drawn, as they were fatigued, and instead of being
serviceable only tended to collect a crowd. They were
accordingly ordered to their quarters.
The picquet had been no sooner removed, than the
mob quickly came into the Square in great force. It is
clear that the greater part of them must have been up
all night, for they came down in a body, as if some
where assembled and organized for instantaneous
action. They immediately again attacked the Mansion
House, tore down all the barricades that had been put
up during the night, obtained complete possession

90 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
of the lower part of the house, and then commenced the
plunder or destruction of every species of property it
contained. It was now that the Mayor and one of the
Sheriffs with difficulty escaped over the roofs. The
Mayor on this occasion showed considerable courage ;
he hesitated even then to quit his post, though it was
no longer tenable ; and it was only on the remonstrance
of Major Mackworth, who told him, though a soldier,
that he thought it his duty to leave, that he was pre
vailed upon. Some constables made their escape at
the same time. During the sacking of the Mansion-
house, the wine cellars were forced, and a very large
stockof choice wines fell into the hands ofthe mob. It
was a prize not to be neglected, and the effects were
soon visible. The intoxicated wretches in great num
bers ran or staggered through the more distant parts of
the city, and this exhibition of their triumph drove fresh
forces into the tumult, and they rushed to the Square
to the indulgence of intoxication and plunder. The
furniture of the ground floor, tables, china, and glass,
were thrown into the Square, and wine distributed and
wasted. The Mayor and Magistrates in person immediately
seek Colonel Brereton, order him to get out the troops,
and, while the soldiers are saddling their horses, knock
at the doors in .College-green and on St. Augustine's
Back, and call on the inhabitants to collect their ser
vants and neighbours, and in the King's name to aid
and assist the Magistrates. The troops arrive in the
Square, Colonel Brereton a their head. (On reaching
the Quay they had qpened their ranks and taken the
Mayor and another Magistrate between the horses.)

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 91
The arrival of the soldiers gave a temporary check
to the proceedings of the mob, part of whom withdrew,
but soon returned and renewed their peltings, with
stones and other missiles. The Mansion-house was,
however, retaken by the constables ; but the rioters,
expelled from the interior, tore away the iron-railings
in front of the house, part of which they employed in
forming barriers across the roadway of the Square to
prevent the troops from acting, and with other portions
of it they armed themselves for purposes of intimidation
and violence.
As soon as the troops were drawn up, the Riot Act
was read by Mr. Alderman A. Hilhouse, and many re
spectably-dressed persons who were standing near were
requested to go away immediately, as the troops would
be directed to fire, and if they remained they must take
the consequences. A second and a third time the Riot
Act was read, and many women and children who were
looking out of the windows of houses in the Square,
were cautioned by signs to retire, lest the shots should
reach them. Each time after reading the Riot Act the
Magistrate addressed the rioters, entreating them to
disperse, and representing the peril at which they stayed.
He then told Col. Brereton that the rioting must be
put down, and the Square cleared. The Colonel's answer
was, " the troops cannot and shall not fire;" they had,
he said, been up all night — that the horses and men were
much fatigued, and were not able to contend against
the mob — that if the soldiers fired, the mob would be so
infuriated that they might overcome the troops, and the
city be given up to slaughter — that it would be better
to keep the mob in temper until the next morning,
when a reinforcement of troops might be expected.

92 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
About half-past ten, Col. Brereton conceiving that the
presence of the 14th, who had killed a rioter, as has
been shown, in Wine-street, irritated the mob, ordered
them back to their quarters. They left the Square by
the Excise avenue. When the front rank of the troop
had come opposite the Hole-in-the-Wall public-house,
a mob of about five hundred, many of them armed with
Mansion-house iron railing, began pelting the rear ofthe
the troop with brick-bats and stones, which made the
horses plunge, and the Sergeant rode to the Captain, who
immediately halted the men, and faced them about.
The order was given to draw their swords, and three
men charged down to the bottom of Prince's-street ; in
turning, one of the horses fell, and three more charged
down ; but the soldier having got up and mounted, they
turned round and re-joined the troop, who again pro
ceeded towards their quarters along the Quay at a foot
pace. The mob, after the troop had passed the end of
Marsh-street, ran down that street and through the lanes,
and reached the Steam Packet Office, near the Draw
bridge, and having thus got before the soldiers, again
commenced pelting. This was borne with the greatest
patience and forbearance, and the troop passed the
bridge. The mob rushed after them, and orders were
then given to present pistols, but as there appeared
to be many respectable persons on their wa to church,
no order was given to fire. Opposite Denmark-street,
about a dozen powerful fellows laid hold of one of the
dragoons, and attempted to pull him off his horse ; he
drew his pistol and shot one of them dead ; the Captain
came immediately to the rear of the troop, and faced
round the rear rank. The mob gave way for a moment,

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 93
and the troop proceeded. In their way up St. Augus-
tine's-back about a dozen shots were fired,* but the
soldiers acted with so much judgment, that not an indi
vidual was wounded that was not actively engaged in
pelting them. The mob ran through Hanover-street
and Denmark-street, and again attacked them at the top
of Unity -street. The officer soon drove them down that
street ; and to their great astonishment his horse went
up the Grammar School steps, and dislodged a party
who were pelting from thence. From the centre of
College-green they were again annoyed with missiles,
and one of the dragoons was severely hurt ; but upon
three or four of the soldiers leaping the railings and
iron hurdles, the mob ran hke a flock of sheep. The
troop then proceeded through the Green to College-
street, where they were again attacked, and four or five
persons were wounded ; after which they reached their
quarters. About a quarter of an hour afterwards,
a party went down to the Boar's Head Yard, with the
intention of attacking the stables, but the centinel fired
his carbine over their heads, and they all moved off.
Soon after the retiring of the 14th dragoons to
their quarters, Colonel Brereton proceeded to the
Mansion-house, and stated to the Magistrates on duty
there, that the 14th had again firedand must leave the
city. The Magistrates remonstrated, that the city
would be left defenceless, and referred him to the Mayor
* Col. Brereton hearing the firing rode to St. Augustine'a Back,
and, near tbe church, spoke to the officer; he then turned round to
the mob, and told them the troop had fired without his orders and
he would take care there should be a strict investigation, and that
they should leave the city. Cheered by the mob he returned to the
Square.

94 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
and Magistrates at the Guildhall. On his arrival there
he applied to those Authorities for their sanction to the
sending the two troops ofthe 14th out of the town; but
he was distinctly told they would not authorise or
consent to this proposal ; that if he sent them away, the
act must be solely on his own responsibility. Having
expressed bis determination to remove them, they did
not refuse to point out quarters. Soon after 12 o'clock,
Colonel Brereton came to Fisher's stable yard, and told
one of the officers that he must immediately quit the
city. Some explanation took place. When Captain
Gage came in, he was told to leave the city immediately.
After a short conversation, he enquired where he was to
go ? " Where you please, only get away," was the reply.
Some person in the yard suggested Keynsham, where it
was settled they should go. At this time there was a
considerable mob in the street, and there being three or
four horses at the Bazaar stables, there was some diffi
culty about their joining the rest ofthe troop. Col. B.
expressed great anxiety about their going, and added,
" You must trot out of town." The squadron left the
yard followed by the mob. In Limekiln-lane one ofthe
dragoon horses fell, the mob made a rush, and a few
shots were fired. They proceeded down the Hotwell-
road, round Cumberland Basin, by the new River, into
the Bath road, without further molestation. No troops
ever showed more forbearance or acted in a more
laudable spirit. Thus were jaded* troops sent to trot
six miles ; yet to their credit be it spoken, they went
with great reluctance.
* Colonel B. admitted on the subsequent Court Martial, that these
troops were fit for any service.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 95
After this, Colonel Brereton returned to the Square,
and informed the mob that he had sent the 14th out of
the city, and they exulted greatly at their success.
The 14th having left the city, it was virtually sur
rendered to a lawless mob.
Soon after the arrival of the Mayor at the Guildhall,
the following notices were issued and posted up in the
Square, and other parts ofthe city : —
" Council-House, Oct. 30, 1831.
" Sir Charles Wetherell left Bristol at twelve o'clock
" last night."
" The Riot Act has been read three times. All per-
" sons found tumultuously assembling are guilty of
" capital felony." " By order of the Mayor."
"Sunday, Oct. 30, 1831."
" The Magistrates most earnestly entreat the assist-
" ance of their fellow citizens to restore the peace of the
" city, by assembling immediately at the Guildhall."
" Guildhall, Sunday morning, half-past ten o'clock."
These were soon torn down, and the unfortunate
bill-sticker knocked about. His kettle was taken from
him, the paste thrown about, and the kettle forced
upon his head, amid the laughter of the mob. A bill
from the Bristol Political Union was also posted, and
remained unmolested !
Besides the pubhc notices given above, the Magis
trates sent letters and messengers to all the Churches
and Chapels, calling upon the Citizens to attend at the
Guildhall. An express had been sent for the Dodding-

96 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
ton Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, and others, and the
following notice had been posted at the Bar ofthe Com
mercial Rooms : — ¦
" The Citizens are requested to meet the Magistrates
at the Council-house, to assist them in suppressing the
riotous conduct of the mob, and to restore peace to the
city." Did the citizens obey these calls ? It appears that
about 150 gentlemen attended, who, after some con
versation as to the means necessary to restore the peace
of the city, were requested to attend again at four
o'clock, with as many friends as they could collect. At
the adjourned meeting it was stated to the gentlemen
present, that they would have to be on duty all night.
This was agreed to on condition that they should be
supported by the troops ; but they expressed unwilling
ness to risk their lives if deprived of the aid of the
soldiers. In the mean while the Square was rather the
scene of brutal drunkenness than of riot, such as it
had witnessed. One act of a revolutionary ten
dency was, however, exhibited. A person mounted the
Equestrian Statue of William the Third, and fixing a
tricoloured cap on a long pole (this cap, it is certain, was
not hastily made,) pronounced aloud "the Cap of
Liberty." A few soldiers were still drawn up in front of
the Mansion-house, but they and the mob seemed
little disposed to molest each other. The mob well
knew that Colonel Brereton had sent the 14th out of
town because they had fired, and were quite indifferent
therefore respecting the 3rd, (or, as they called them,
the red jackets,) thinking they would not act.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 97
Hitherto the attacks of the mob had been confined to
the Council-house and the Mansion-house. They had
not yet completely succeeded at either of these points.
It was now thought time to extend their operations.
About one o'clock a large body was congregated iu
the Old Market-street, among whom many individuals
were observed to be particularly active. About this
time three respectably dressed men arrived in a gig at
one of the inns in that street, as also two men in a fly,
who had come in on the Saturday in a Bath chaise.
After a long conference, the mob moved off in haste
towards the town. There can be but httle doubt that
all their plans were now finally arranged, under the
superintendence of these strangers.

H

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 99

PART IX.
BURNING OF THE PRISONS. — SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
Soon after one o'clock the mob had very much in
creased about the Mansion-house, particularly on the
Charlotte-street side ; and their attacks were renewed
with a violence that indicated a fixed determination to
accomphsh their deep-laid plan of outrage and incendi
arism. The windows of the banquetting-room were
soon dashed in pieces, as the prelude to more extensive
destruction. In the course of the morning, the constables had
apprehended a boy, who it appeared had been active in
throwing stones ; but on the charge being investigated
by the Magistrates, they were not satisfied that the
evidence was sufficiently clear against the boy, and they
accordingly discharged him ; but, as it afterwards ap
peared, he did not quit the Mansion-house, though at
perfect hberty to do so. The mob, however, seized upon
the circumstance as a color to their proceedings, and
there was a general cry of " rescue, rescue," " down with
the house," &c. Upon this, a gentleman of the Society
of Friends told the mob, if they would move off, the boy
should be released, and he went into the Mansion-house.*

* During this occurrence a message was sent to the Magistrates
from the officer commanding the 3rd dragoons, then in the Square,
requesting to speak with them. One of them accordingly went to
him, when the officer told him that the mob wanted a prisoner, who
must be given up, or the force which he had would not be able to
H2

100 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
On communicating the fact to the mob, that the boy
had been released, they exulted greatly, considering
that the Magistrates had yielded through fear ; and very
soon after a cry was raised, " now then, we will have
the prisoners out of Bridewell." During this the 3rd
dragoons and the mob were on the best terms. Wine
was carried about in great quantities from the Mayor's
cellar ; and soon after another body came down, and
instantly the cry was " Bridewell." It was about
half-past one o'clock a party of them proceeded to
Bridewell ; on their way thither they halted and broke
open a smith's shop, in Nelson-street, where they pro
cured hammers, crow-bars, &c.,* and with these for
midable weapons they attacked the Bridewell. Mr.
Evans, the keeper, had, on their approach, taken the
precaution to shut the gates, and endeavoured, with the
assistance of the turnkey and other persons, to resist
the pressure against the gate on the Nelson-street side,
which however gave way, and the whole space was
instantly filled with persons. Mr. Evans and the turnkey
were driven into the house-side of the Bridewell.f The
mob first lifted the large gates off the hinges, and threw
them into the adjoining river Froome, that they might not
be closed upon them while engaged in further operations.
They then began with their bars to open an old window,
keep the mob in check, and that the constables had done wrong in
causing excitement, by uselessly taking persons into custody. The
Magistrate informed him that the prisoner had long since been
discharged. * A quantity of biicks, accumulated for the purpose of new
fronting a house in Bridewell-lane, fell a prize to the mob; about
1,500 were taken for purposes of violence.
f The prison and the keeper's dwelling-house occupied opposite
sides of a court, through which there was a thoroughfare by day ;
at night the gates were closed.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 101
when Mr. Evans made his appearance with a blunder
buss, and gave notice he would fire at the first person that
moved a stone. Thus they were kept at bay for about
a quarter of an hour. The keeper by this time learned
that the 14th dragoons had been sent out of the city,
and seeing no hopes of assistance, he enquired of the
mob what they wanted ; they replied, "release the men
that were committed last night, and we will be off."
The key was handed down, and the prisoners were
Liberated. The keeper, his wife, and children, and some
other persons who were in the house, escaped over the
roof; and in a few minutes after the mob had obtained
possession, the buildings were set on fire.
Soon after the attack upon Bridewell, a large party
proceeded to the new Gaol, a very strong stone build
ing, erected only a few years ago at a great expence.
In their way they attacked the workshops of Messrs.
Acraman. The foUowing is given as a specimen of their
obedience to the orders of their leaders. After the door
ofthe warehouse was forced, a respectably-dressed man,
short and rather stout, in a suit of brown, and a double-
frilled shirt, with three pearl buttons, came up, and
taking off his gloves ordered all but three men out of the
warehouse. These he sent for two dozen sledge ham
mers, as many crow bars and iron wedges, and then
directed the door to be secured. But on consideration
he said, " we shall want some spanners to take off the
nuts ; get three pair, but mind I shall expect all these
tools to be returned !"
The governor of the Gaol, having received informa
tion of the attack, had gone to the Mansion-house,
and was referred to the Guildhall. Here two Alder-

102 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
men, Mr. Hilhouse and Mr. Savage, having collected
about sixty citizens and constables, went with the
governor to the Goal. They found at the time of their
arrival an immense multitude, not less, probably, than
fifteen thousand persons about the Goal, and in front
of the portal or entrance. The streets were filled
with respectably dressed persons, but none of them
joined the Magistrates. This small party, with the two
Aldermen, were instantly furiously attacked with a
volley of stones and other missiles, and forced to
retire — one gentleman was knocked by a brick-bat
on the side of the head, and whilst down was struck
with a pump-handle; — he was taken home insensible.
The force of the mob was every moment fearfully
encreasing, a dense mass had collected, and on the
other side of the river, wherever the eye could range,
thousands were in motion.
Though the mob were in force at the Bridewell and
Gaol at the same time, there was such evident concert
in their operations, that the same system was pursued
at each place, and many ofthe most violent among them
were proved to have been active in both the attacks.*
Messengers had in the mean time been sent to, and had
found Col. Brereton, and told him that the Magistrates
were gone to the Goal, and requested the troops to
join them there. The mob first began their attack on
the small door, which leads to the turnkey's room, but
they could make no impression ; they then attacked the
large gates with sledge-hammers and iron bars — after
some time there was a call for wedges, which were
* William Clarke and Patrick Kearney were afterwards convicted
of assisting in the demolition ofthe Bridewell and Gaol.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 103
driven into the lower part of the large gates. As the
splinters were thrown off they were cast among the
people, and received with great cheering. After about
three quarters of an hour's labour, a hole was made in
the bottom of one ofthe gates, large enough for a person
to go through, when a man crept in and drew the
large bolts ; the gates being open the mob rushed into
the yard and governor's house, and threw every move
able article into the New River ; as the tide was ebbing
fast, all was carried off by the stream. The caravan
used for conveying the prisoners to the Guildhall was
launched into the water, and thither also were thrown
the governor's books, and other property.
They were in the act of releasing the prisoners when
the 3rd dragoons under the command of Cornet Kelson
arrived ; they had proceeded at a foot pace, and when
hi sight of Prince's-street-bridge, the mob ran in every
direction. The soldiers rode up to the large gates, and
one of them looked in. At this time not more than
three of the prisoners had been liberated, and about 200
rioters might have been secured in the Goal, by merely
guarding the entrance. The gates were only partly in
jured, and could have been secured with ease. The road
before the Goal having a high wall on one side and
the river on the other, half a score dragoons might have
beaten off any mob ; had the soldiers then present
about twenty in number, performed their duty, the ring
leaders would have been taken in the prison, and the riots
might have terminated. On the arrival of the dragoons
the turnkey and another person closed the inner gates,
which secured the mob in the prison yard ; but at this
critical moment orders were given to the soldiers to wheel,

104 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
who accordingly returned to their quarters, the dragoons
holding up their hands as the mob cheered them. The
officer in command had received peremptory orders
from Col. Brereton to use no violence, but merely to
go to the Gaol and return.* The rioters now thinking
the city was entirely in their possession, shouted " the
soldiers are with us." The prisoners (170 in number)
were released ; many of them, male and female, stripped
off their prison clothes, and went away almost in a state
of nudity, the mob following them with exultations.
The wretched man, Davis, who afterwards suffered for
his crimes, gave many ofthe liberated prisoners money.
Orders were then given to proceed " to HiU's-bridge,
to stop the London mail." Davis took off his hat, put it
on his umbrella, waved it, and cheered the mob, and
said "Now d — n ye, we will have reform — this is
what ought to have been done years ago." The
prisoners being liberated, the next step taken was that
of setting the prison on fire; and a black handkerchief
having been tied to the weathercock on the top of the
porter's lodge over the gateway, it seemed to be the
signal for commencing operations; for immediately
after, dense clouds of smoke were seen to issue from
every part of the btiilding. The flames began to break
out from the tread-mill, where the rioters had collected
the straw of the wards and set fire to it — this burnt with
fury until it was quite consumed. In about an hour the
governor's house, over which was the chapel, was com
pletely in flames. This was fired by Kearney and the
party with him.
*In his examination on the Court-Martial, Cornet Kelson was
asked what report he made to Colonel Brereton, on his return from
the Gaol. His reply was — " I said I had done what he told me—
NOTHING."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 105
The benches in the chapel were rubbed over with a
liquid, which the mob brought with them in tins in their
pockets ; and putting the benches on their ends, the fire
ran up to the ceiling. From the large body of wood in
the upper part of the building the fire was very fierce,
so as even to destroy the massive stone heads of the
windows. Many attempts were made to fire the Goal in
the wings, but without success. They, therefore, set to
work to demolish as much as they could. Scarcely a
pane of glass was left unbroken in the whole building.
If so dense a mass as that here collected were not all
rioters, the shouts of encouragement were too loud to
be mistaken, and indicated a citizen population willing,
and rejoicing that the King's Goal should be burned ;
and "the King and Reform" were the common pass
words used alike for triumph and security.
About this time the President of the Political Union,
whose placard had given so much encouragement to the
rioters, endeavoured by addressing the mob to quell
the storm. But when the mob become masters they
will not hsten ; — when they did listen, they took other
lessons from their lecturers than those of obedience and
peace. They now, seeing the city undefended by the
soldiers, openly avowed their intention of burning and
plundering private property. One of the prisoners, who
had been convicted of robbing his master in Mary-le-
port-street at the previous Sessions, on his being
liberated went to his master's house with a mob, and
demanded ,£20. After some time £\Q. was given him.*
From the Goal a mob of about three hundred persons
proceeded down the New Cut ; — the main body halted
* This man was an Irishman ; afterwards apprehended in Ireland*
tried, and transported for life.

106 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
opposite the Baltic Wharf gates, and about forty, headed
by a respectable looking man, tall and upright, advanced
towards the Toll-house by Cumberland Basin, and
addressed the party — " These gates were to have been
down five years ago — not down yet ? — go it, my lads."
About a dozen took the towing-path gate off the hinges,
and sent it into the river. The large gate followed.
A rioter, a young man, then went to the toll-keeper,
and told him to remove his goods, while they were
destroying the gates; these being disposed of, he took
a quantity of oil and threw it on the floor, and
also poured part of the contents of a tin case on
the floor, and with fire from the grate set the whole in a
blaze. The mob then took down the window shutters
and threw them into the fire.
While the toll-houses were burning, one of the
ringleaders went to Cumberland Basin, and enquired
what ships had come down that tide, and what steam-
vessels were expected ? After a scrutinizing ex
amination of the Basin he returned. The mob had
stationed some of their number along the line from the
toll-house to the Gaol, to keep up a communication by
signals, in case of their being opposed and requiring
reinforcements. The fellow who had set fire to the Toll-house took
off his jacket and dried it before the fire ; he remained
a quarter of an hour, and boasted to the Collector, that
he had had " hard work at the prison, and got a wet
jacket." In a short space of time, the toll-houses and
gates on Prince's-street bridge were destroyed, and the
ascending flames announced to the mob in other parts
that the perpetrators were ready for their ulterior action.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 107 g,
At the Prince's-street toll-house, a North countryman, in
a fustian dress, enquired if all the things were removed.
He soon went up stairs (the foot toll-house) and said,
" I can wait no longer," sent the bed down stairs, and
ordered all the people out ; in a minute this toll-house
also was in flames.
The next outrage committed was upon the Lawford's
Gate Prison, at the eastern extremity of the city, in
the county of Gloucester. But before following the
mob on their errand of destruction, it is now proper to
detail the proceedings ofthe Citizens and Magistrates.
It will be recollected that the latter had taken much
pains to induce the citizens to assemble in active defence
of their city. While these disgraceful riots were in
progress, about two hundred persons met in the Guild
hall ; the Mayor presided, and informed them that
Bridewell was in flames and the Goal attacked, and
intreated their most strenuous endeavours to restore
the public peace. Some of the citizens present, as we
have before stated, expressed their willingness to act,
but declined risking their lives unless supported
by the military. On the arrival of Colonel Brereton,
Mr. Serjeant Ludlow addressed him on the part and
in the presence of the Civil Authorities, demanding
in their name, and in the most imperative terms,
that the squadron of the 14th dragoons should be
recalled, and the troops be immediately employed for
the restoration of the pubhc peace, and to preserve the
city from destruction. But every demand on the part
ofthe Civil Authorities for the recal of the 14th dragoons
and for the efficient employment of the troops, was
repeatedly and most peremptorily resisted by Colonel

108 THE BRISTOL RTOTS.
Brereton. There was a general exclamation on the
part of the assembled citizens that they were lost with
out the support of the soldiers. Many persons proposed
plans, but, as is usual in such cases, httle good was effected.
There was great confusion, much of which was probably
created by the emissaries of the rebel mob, who mixed
in these assemblies, to interrupt plans of combination,
and to give intelligence of their formation and intention.
The general feeling was, that unless the troops were
recalled the citizens would run into sure destruction or
hazard, without attaining even a prospect of success.
This meeting therefore broke up without coming to
any satisfactory conclusion. After this, many of the
gentlemen proceeded to the Council-house, to defend
that building, while the Mayor and some of the other
Magistrates went to the head-quarters of the Com
mander-in-Chief, to ascertain the places from whence
troops might be obtained, and to confer with him on
the best means of promptly procuring them. It was
here agreed that despatches should be sent to Lon
don, Gloucester, Cardiff, Bath, &c. and seven Post-
Office expresses were at once sent off.
Whilst the Magistrates were finishing then- dispatches,
at the Colonel's office, a proposal was forced on then-
attention, by a person who requested an order to throw
the contents of Mr. Hole's shop (the gunsmith's) into
the river. The value of the arms was required ; and
it turned out the stock was worth £5000. It need
scarcely be added — it was refused. Continually persons
intruded themselves on these meetings, and thus the
mob were made acquainted with whatever was pro
posed or doing.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 109
While the Civil Authorities were thus effective, in doing
all that was left them to do, and remained still in delibera
tion, the Vice-President of the Political Union, having
returned from his fruitless endeavour to prevail with
the rioters to disperse, stated to the Magistrates at the
Council-house what he believed to be the intention ofthe
mob. He further proposed apian, whichhe thought would
be crowned with complete success, that as the mob were
at the Gaol, the bridges should be swung, and thus all
intercourse with the city woidd be cut off. Such a plan
may have a veiy plausible appearance to those un
acquainted with the exact localities, especially when
they are told that the mob were in an island. Such a
plan may serve the purpose of furnishing vulgar accu
sation, and the flourishing comments of a London
Radical Paper, who gloat over charges of selfishness and
imbecility in constituted Local Authorities ; — but in fact
it was a plan altogether ridiculous and impracticable.
In the first place there are ten pair of dock gates, with
a footpath on the top, which it was impossible to swing
while the water remained in the Float. There are also
six swivel or (as they are commonly termed) draw-bridges.
It appears, therefore, that swinging the gates, without
a strong party to guard them, (without soldiers, which
were refused) would have been worse than useless, — it
would have irritated the mob, so great a crime in the
eyes of the Reformers, and have sharpened their wits
to feelings of revenge, as well as enmity. But besides,
there were between fifty and sixty boats on the Float, and
two ferries, and a numerous mob was on the Bedmin-
ster side. The Magistrates, therefore, exercised a sound
judgment in rejecting the plan. Nor was it a very

110 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
slight objection, that there was a vast property which
would, even by this measure, have been left to the
certain fury of the rioters.
Thus we have shewn that although the Civil Autho
rities were active in the discharge of their duties, and
a number of the citizens were ready to second their
efforts, the general belief that what soldiers were left in
the city were become partizans of the rioters, would
have rendered nugatory the best arranged plan of de
fence. It had rained all the day, and about six o'clock
the rain fell in torrents, and the Mayor and most of the
Magistrates were wet to the skin. The Sheriff and part
ofthe citizens remained at the Guildhall, between which
and the Council-house a constant communication was
maintained. But no sufficient force, either of citizens or
constables, could be obtained to enable them to make
any effective resistance.
Directions it will be remembered had been given to
the mob to stop the mail. They would certainly have
effected their purpose upon the mail reaching Hill's
Bridge, had not a small party of the. 14th come down
from the Bath-road, and threatened to charge them.
The mail thus guarded passed the bridge and escaped.
Other parties of the mob had engaged to demolish
the Lawford's-gate prison. They proceeded accordingly
down the Old Market, part of them turned down Glou
cester-lane, another part down West-street by Trinity
Church to the Prison. They opened the iron gates,
and rang violently at the door-bell. The turnkey opened
the door and about twenty of them rushed in, collared
the turnkey, and demanded his keys. In less than five
minutes the governor's house was in a blaze. At this

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. Ill
time none of the prisoners were released; they were
twenty-three, five of whom had come from Gloucester on
Friday night. A boy soon made his appearance, and
cheering called on the mob to knock off his irons ; —
this being done, he ran into the prison and joined
the rioters. Two respectably dressed men were veiy
active in giving directions ; one of them is supposed to
be the same person who issued the orders at the Cum
berland Toll-gates. On the prisoners coming out
ironed, there was a general cry for the keeper, and
the mob were so infuriated that they threw three of
his pigs into the flames. Every part of the prison
which could be burnt was soon in a blaze. They
proceeded across the road to the New Inn, and a few
of them searched the house for the keeper ; they
threatened to fire the house, but Clarke stepped forward
and without doubt saved the premises. Here they
demanded refreshment, which was served to them.
They then broke up the parish stocks, and went to the
Lock-up-house in Pennywell-lane, broke the door and
fastenings, and would have destroyed the place, but it
adjoined the poor-house. Some of the ruffians cried
" To the New Church ;" but they were told that the
Bishop's Palace must be firedfirst.*
The three prisons, in different quarters of the city,
were all at the same moment sending into the air

* On their way to Lawford's Gate Prison, in going down Glou
cester-lane, they stopped opposite the premises of a respectable
wine and spirit concern, and one of them said, " these are the leaders
of the bloody Blues." After having fired the Prison they returned,
broke open the premises, drank a large quantity of spirits, and then
called for a light. The proprietors being universally respected,
many of their neighbours had come down to their assistance, and on
their attempting to fire the premises, came forward, and headed by

112 THE BRISTOL' RIOTS.
their flashes of fire and volumes of smoke, an appalling
sight to the inhabitants of the city, now in consternation
and dismay. Terror ran from street to street, and the
fearful addition of the inmates of goals to the rebel
ruffians, created an alarm for the consequences of the
approaching night not to be described. The worst was
to be feared. The city seemed given up to the lawless
insolence and outrage of the most daring ?villains. It
was about half-past six when Lawford's-gate prison
was fired.

two active men, drove them off. Gregory, who wa3 afterwards
executed for firing a house, was active in this outrage at Lawford's
Gate Prison. At the top of the Old Market he addressed the mob,
having a large bar in his hand, which he used to direct them. Clarke
was also in this riot, and on his way from the prison, called at a
druggist's shop in West-street, asked for some money, and produced
the kevs of the Lawford's Gate Bridewell, and on leaving the shop,
said " I am off for the Palace."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 113

PART X.
FIRING OF THE BISHOP'S PALACE.
The mob proceeded in three divisions to the Bishop's
Palace, two from Lawford's-gate, the other from the
City Bridewell. It is nearly two miles from Lawford's-
gate to College-green, yet the rioters met there — the
first party came up Castle-street, through Mary-le-port-
street and the Market — this was about half-past seven.
Christopher Davis was with them, and when they came
near the Cathedral they beat time on the stones .with
the iron bars with which many of them were armed.
Near the Deanery, Davis began to abuse the Bishops,
stating, among other things, that it was a shame a
Bishop should have £40,000. per annum,* while so
many poor persons were starving.
The entrance gates of the Palace-yard had been closed,
but were soon lifted off their hinges. The mob then
rushed through the Cloisters to the Palace door, which
was forced with a crow bar, and they entered shouting
" The King, and no Bishops." One party rushed into
the dining-room — in a minute the sideboard, large glass
lamp, and chairs were demolished. They then sent the
dining tables into the fire-place, put broken pieces of
furniture under the tables, and set them on fire.
Another party went into the kitchen, where similar
scenes of demolition were enacted — the fire from the
* The Bishopric of Bristol scarcely exceed* in value iQQOl. a-year.
I

114 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
kitchen grate was put on the dresser, and a pile of
wood placed round it. Up-stairs, the feather-beds were
cut open, and live cinders placed within. While these
operations were in progress, others of the mob were
busy in plundering and carrying off whatever was
portable. The Mayor and Magistrates had just returned to the
Council-house from the office of Colonel Brereton, when
they were informed that the Mansion-house was in the
act of being fired : and at nearly the same moment infor
mation was received, that the mob, after firing Lawford's
gate prison, were returning, with the intention of destroy
ing the Bishop's Palace, and Berkeley-square, where one
ofthe Magistrates resided. The Mayor promptly offered
to head a party for the protection of the Mansion-house ;
but after a short parley as to which of the places should
be defended, the Magistrates determined upon directing
every effort to save the Palace, and a messenger was
accordingly sent to the stables to order the dragoons to
meet them.
About two-thirds of the gentlemen present left the
Council -house with three Magistrates, in two divisions.
The first party reached the Palace just before the great
body ofthe rioters arrived from Lawford's-gate. Col.
Brereton was in College Green with some ofthe dragoons,
and they entered the Cloisters together. On going into
the Palace their first business was to put out the fires,
which they effected, the soldiers, about sixteen, having
formed in two lines, face to face, before the door.
The mob ran in all directions, there being here a
conflict. The constables struck some of the incendiary
ruffians as they were coming out of the Palace, upon

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 115
which Col. B. said, before the mob, that if the striking
was repeated he would ride the constables down ! ! Some
of the rioters retreated into the garden ; search was
made for others, and some heavy blows dealt. Several
were found concealed in the house, among them a lad
named Warry, who had led the mob to the Gaol. There
being no place of security to which they could be sent,
they were tied to large casks in the cellar. The second
party of gentlemen from the Council-house were divided
by the mob ; the constables, however, proceeded ; but
at the Deanery they fqund the approach to the Palace
crowded with people. If they had attempted to force
their way through this mass, and the dragoons had
acted, they would have been equal sufferers with the
rioters, for it was not easy in the dark and in a con
flict to distinguish friend from foe. Of the party,
however, who had succeeded in reaching the Palace,
some were in the garden and others in various parts of
the Palace, when they heard a great cheering, and it
was soon ascertained that the dragoons had deserted
them,* — they had moved away without any notice ; —

*One of the charges against Col. Brereton, on his trial by Court-
Martial, embraced this portion of the lamentable occurrences of
Sunday evening : " That about seven or eight o'clock in the evening
of the said Sunday, when the Bishop's Palace in Bristol had been
attacked by the rioters, and the Magistrates bad thereupon required
the attendance ofthe troops to save the said Palace ; and when, after
the said rioters had broken in the gates ofthe said Palace court, and
had also forced the main door of the Palace itself; he, Lieut.-Col.
Brereton, with a detachment of the 3rd dragoon guards, under his
immediate and personal command, entered the said Palace court, and
formed such detachment within the same ; nevertheless he, the said
Lieut.-Colonel, remained in the said Palace court wholly inactive
with the said detachment during the commission of various acts of
outrage by the rioters, under his own eyes ; he, the said Lieut.-
Colonel, refusing or omitting to comply with the application of
certain of the Bishop's servants, as well as of certain constables, and
I 2

116 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
upon which the mob made a rush to the court-yard.
At this time about half the gentlemen were collected ;
but few of them having arms wherewith to defend the
Palace, it was agreed that they should charge the mob ;
this they did with great resolution, and with their staffs
gallantly drove an immense mob before them. It was
very evident that so small a party could not hope to
protect the Palace, or for any length of time their own
persons; some of them separated from the rest, and
one going into the Lower Green was knocked down and
stabbed in the back. The discharge of his pistol saved
his life, and he joined the constables. They were
ultimately dispersed by the mob, and many of them
were very severely wounded. It cannot occasion sur
prise if this gallant party, finding themselves not only
unprotected by, but in danger from the troops, and
threatened to be ridden down by them, should be found
declaring that they would not again risk their fives.
Some of the gentlemen who were at the top of the
house and in the garden escaped with great difficulty ;
one of them, who had shown great spirit and been very
instrumental in saving the Cathedral itself, was long in
imminent danger.

other persons there present, to afford them assistance, in order to
check the outrages of the rioters, and to save the said Palace and
the property therein contained; and on the contrary thereof he, the
said Lieut.-Colonel, gave the most peremptory orders to the said de
tachment not to use any violence to the rioters, or to that effect ;
and passively permitted certain of the rioters returning out of the
said Palace, laden with its plunder, to escape, and at the same time
released, or caused to be released, certain of the said rioters, who
had been apprehended in or about the said Palace, in the act of com
mitting outrages or carrying off plunder, and whom the persons
apprehending them had consigned, or offered to consign to the
custody ofthe said detachment."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 117
Had Col. Brereton assisted this resolute party, they
would have collected some weapons of defence, and the
Palace would have been standing at this moment. But
he left them, and without notice, to the mercy of the
murderous mob !
A third party of the rioters had passed up Broad-
street, in their way to the Palace. They showed a
desire to attack the Council-house in passing, but they
knew the orders they had received must not be dis
obeyed, and proceeded to the Palace.*
Having met with some check by the resolute conduct
ofthe httle band, the mass of the mob showed some
reluctance to attack the Palace again. The Lower
Green was filled with then- numbers, now amounting
to some thousands — still there was a backwardness
shown — a party was collected, and Clarke, after a short
consultation, left them, and went into the Black Horse
public-house with three sovereigns in his hand, which
he shewed, crying out " These are the boys for doing
the work." About thirty of the rioters had refresh
ments, for which they paid, and afterwards returned
to the Palace. It is quite clear that money was given
to the mob to urge them to outrage.
They again entered the Palace in great numbers.
The Bishop's butler, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Phillips, the

* Opposite the Council-house, the word was given from the front
of the mob, to " halt." Some stones were immediately thrown, and
a disposition was evinced to attack that building more vigorously.
One of the rioters, however, exclaimed, " To the Palace." " Where
then ?" asked another. The reply was, " To give the  Alderman
a benefit in Berkeley-square." This party again halted on St.
Augustine's Back, and a consultation was held whether they should
immediately go to Berkeley-square, or first visit the Palace. It was
finally settled by a toss — " The Alderman or the Bishop }"— which
was declared to be in favor ofthe Bishop.

118 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Subsacrist,* (both had shown great presence of mind
during these trying scenes) and a few other persons,
were driven out of the house, and made their escape
through Dr. Hodges' back premises into the Lower
Green. The Palace was again fired and was soon in
flames, and having in it a great quantity of wood, burnt
with astonishing fierceness and rapidity. The great
window of the Cathedral alarmingly reflected the awful
blaze. The lead, which was very substantial, ran off
the roof like water.
While the Palace was burning, the mob kindled a
fire in the Chapter-house ;f but which, after destroying a
considerable number of valuable books and records, and
the collegiate seal, was fortunately extinguished, and
the building preserved. They next attempted to break
through the Cloister doors of the Cathedral, and appre
hensions were entertained that that ancient and venerated
pile would fall a sacrifice. This would certainly have
been the case had it not been for the presence of two or
three gentlemen who happened to be near at the
moment, and who by their entreaties and expostulations
with the most active rioters prevailed on them to desist.

* At the trial of Thos. Bendall and James Simms, for destroying
the Palace, the Lord Chief Justice ordered ,£10. to be presented to
Mr. Jones, as a reward for his spirited conduct in defending the
Palace ; and the Dean and Chapter have presented Mr. Phillips with a
handsome piece of plate, bearing the following inscription : — " The
Dean and Chapter of Bristol to their Subsacrist, Mr. William
Phillips, in testimony of their approbation of his conduct during the
late riots. Dated Feb. 1, 1832."
¦f- While the mob were pillaging the Chapter House, a gentleman
ran off for some soldiers; he met about eight men ofthe 3rd at the
Drawbridge, but they refused to go without orders; they were not
apparently on duty, and were drinking out of bottles handed them
by the mob, with whom they were coquetting, snapping their fingers,
and saying " pop, pop." There was apparently the best understand
ing between them*

THE BRISTOL RIOTS, 119
Among the books destroyed in the Chapter-room
Was a large and valuable bible bound in velvet, full of
plates, and presented to the Chapter by Bishop Wilson.
A sacrilegious ruffian knelt on the book as he tore out
the leaves, and then with horrible execrations threw it
into the blazing fire of the Palace. Tins scoundrel was
a member of the Pohtical Union, and when taken had
on him the V. P. badge, as constable. (He was trans
ported for life.) The Chapter-room had a stone floor,
and the walls being of old Saxon structure, with very
little wood about them, they could not well fire it; but
as if to mark the attempt, they left there a quantity of
combustibles in cakes, of a dark brown colour. This
substance was afterwards analysed. It must have taken
some days in the preparation.
During this attack, the door-bell of a house in Trinity-
street was rung, and on the maid servant opening the
door, four men rushed in with a wounded man. They
ordered the servant to shut the door, and to get a chair,
a light, and some water. The man appeared quite
senseless ; — after remaining about ten minutes they all
went away.
While the mob were at the Palace, a gang took their
station at the bottom of Clare -street, near a gas lamp,
and made every person going by put down his umbrella,
that they might see who it was.
The inhabitants of Trinity-street, soon after the
arrival of the rioters, observed a person walking up and
down a garden adjoining the Palace. When the mob
were beat off he still remained, and on their return,
when lights appeared in the windows he was heard
conversing with the rioters : " Have you done it ?" They
answered " Yes." His manner indicated great impatience.

120 THE BRISTOL RiOTS.
It was about this time, when the Palace was burning,
that the Doddington troop arrived in Bristol.
On the Mayor and other Magistrates leaving the
Council-house with the greater part of the force, in
order to protect the Bishop's Palace, it was agreed that
the Council-house should be put in the best state of
defence. The Chamberlain obtained some fire-arms
and a few swords. It was determined to defend it to
the last. All the doors were closed to prevent a sur
prise, and some of the Magistrates remained to give
orders. The messenger who had been sent to Captain
Codrington in the morning, having afterwards proceeded
to Tetbury for the Yeomanry Corps, on returning passed
the Doddington Troop near Sodbury, and immediately
on his arrival at Bristol went to the Council-house and
enquired for a Magistrate, but not being known to the
door-keeper, he could obtain no satisfactory answer.
He then went to the College-green, but could gain no
information respecting the Magistrates there. Every
thing appeared in a state of great confusion.
The messenger, who had been for the troops, seeing
no chance of finding a Magistrate in the Green, the
night being dark and the Palace on fire, returned
towards the Council-house. In the way there he met
one of the Sheriffs, and informed him he wished to see
the Mayor or a Magistrate. They went to the Council-
house together : the Sheriff being known, the side door
was opened, and one of the Magistrates, to prevent any
delay, went himself to the billet master, and gave him
an order to prepare billets for the Yeomanry Corps,
which was done, and they were signed by the Mayor.
Capt. Codrington arriving at the Exchange, enquired
for the Mayor, and shortly afterwards the Under-Sheriff

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 121
came up, and accompanied the troop to the office in
College-green, where Capt. Codrington enquired for
Col. Brereton, and observed to his men " that as they
had ridden sixteen miles they had better put up their
horses." Lieut. Mc Leroth stepped forward and begged
bim to wait a moment, and he would try and find Col.
Brereton. On his return, he stated that the Colonel
was^ at the Palace, where Captain Codrington went
to him. After remaining there some time, the troop
accompanied Colonel Brereton towards the stables in
College-street, which the Magistrates had engaged for
troops in the morning. Mr. Fisher seeing the troops
in the street, put lights in the stables. Capt. Codrington
and Col. Brereton were engaged for some minutes in
conversation, the subject of which has not transpired ;
but immediately afterwards Capt. Codrington wheeled
round with his troop, in the presence of Col. Brereton,
and taking the Palace and the Exchange in his way,
finally left the city. The Doddington troop consisted
of about 40 men, and might have been employed with
advantage, had Col. B. given them any orders; but he
neither availed himself of their presence nor gave any
directions for their employment or detention.*

* It is much to be regretted, that, after the great personal exertions
used by Capt. Codrington to muster bis troop, and the laudable
activity which his men displayed in turning out when they heard
their services were required, they should, on their arrival in Bristol
at a very momentous period of the riots, have been compelled to
remain inactive, and even to leave the city. It is no small part of
the delinquency that attaches to Col. Brereton that he neglected to
avail himself of the assistance of this efficient corps, after their Com
manding Officer formally reported his arrival to bim, and placed
the troop under his military guidance. This breach of his duty
constituted the eighth charge against Col. Brereton on the Court
Martial, and to which, on the day preceding his suicide, he offered

122 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The circumstances attending the arrival and depar
ture of this Yeomanry Corps have been given in detail,
because great blame has been very unjustly thrown upon
the Magistrates, on account of an inactivity the cause of
which could not rest with them. After Capt. Codrington
had reported himself to Col. Brereton, all difficulty
should have been over. He had then no more to do
with the Magistrates than any other soldiers equally
under the command of Col. Brereton. And were not
the Magistrates at their posts ?— if the Mansion-house
were the post of danger they were there ;— -if the
Council-house, some were there likewise. But, however
they may be knocked down or dispersed by the rush
of determined villains, there are those who are unrea
sonable enough, without procuring for them the gift of
superhuman ability, to demand from them a miraculous
ubiquity. Nor was there any interval at which the
Magistrates were not at their known public posts,
excepting it be after they were driven from the Palace
to Berkeley-square; and if Berkeley-square was the
next object of attack, it was not to avoid danger they
fixed themselves there. It should be remembered, that
the Mayor was separated from the large body of con-

to plead guilty. The charge alluded to was the following : — " For
that he, Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, on the arrival in Bristol of the
Doddington Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry under the command of
Captain Codrington, on the said Sunday evening, which arrival was
reported to the said Lieut.-Col. by the said Captain in person,
neglected or omitted to avail himself (as in his capacity of Com
manding Officer ofthe Troops in Bristol it was his duty to do) of
the services of the said Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, or even to give
any distinct or sufficient orders for retaining the same in the City,
although numerous houses and buildings iii different parts of the
City were then on fire, and although further conflagrations were
threatened and expected."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 123
stables on his way to the Palace. He, however, felt it to
be his duty to remain near the Green ; and knowing that
the Mansion-house had been fired, and that the Council-
house had been put in a state of defence, he was compelled
to go to some private residence. He was refused
admittance at two or three houses nearer the scene of
destruction than Berkeley-square. Having no quarters
left, he went thither, and on his arrival a messenger was
sent to the Chamberlain at the Council-house stating
where he was to be found, and also a messenger to
Col. Brereton to the same effect. Billets were at the
same time sent for the Doddington troop to Colonel
Brereton. It has been reported that the Mayor ordered
the bearer of the letter to Col. Brereton not to say where
he (the Mayor) was ; but the letter itself is the best
denial to such a statement : —
" The Mayor of Bristol desires Colonel Brereton to
" consider himself fully authorised to take whatever
" steps, and give whatever orders, he, as the military
" commander of the troops in this city, may think fit,
" to restore and preserve, as far as possible, the public
" peace. The Riot Act has been read three times to-day,
" Col. Brereton will have the goodness to consider this
" order to apply not only to the troops at present under
" his command, but to any which may subsequently
" arrive in the city.
"Mr. Daniel Fripp's, No. 30, Berkeley-square,
"Sunday night, 12 o'clock, 30th Oct. 1831."

" The Mayor of Bristol begs to inform Col. Brereton
" that if he should have occasion for the orders of a

124 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
" Magistrate, either the Mayor or some other Magistrate
" will be found at No. 30, Berkeley-square, Mr. Daniel
" Fripp's, the second house on the right hand on turning
" into the Square from Park-street.
" Berkeley-square, 12 o'clock, Sunday night.
" This communication is made to Col. Brereton, in
" consequence of Lieutenant M'Leroth calling at the
" Council-house, and requesting to see a Magistrate ;
" Colonel Brereton was gone out when a call was made
" at the Staff station to inform him as above."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 125

PART XI.
FIRING OF QUEEN-SQUARE.
The Narrative must now return to Queen-square.
After the attack on the Gaol, the Square remained com
paratively quiet some hours. There was a mob about
the Mansion-house, and although it was guarded by
six of the 3rd dragoons, there were persons continually
and uninterruptedly leaving the cellar loaded with wine.
The stock was very large, nearly 400 dozen. But when
the other objects of the rioters were accomplished, and
they were thereby enabled to send reinforcements to
their ruffian " army of observation" in the Square, their
further intentions became evident. An attempt was
made to set fire to the back of the Mansion-house ; —
this was communicated to the soldiers, and their aid
entreated. It was refused, on the plea that their orders
confined them to the front.
There was an immense mob in the centre of the
Square, as if waiting some signal for action. About
four hundred persons immediately round the Mansion-
house were now in commotion; four of them were seen
going into the cellar under the kitchen. Two hastily
returned and called for a light. One went up to a dra
goon and spoke to him — there was some parley, — on
going away the fellow said, " Well, you will not fire."
After waiting some ten minutes for a light, one of the
party, (a strong-built bow-legged fellow, about 40 years

126 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
of age,) mounted the gas lamp, and lighted his candle.
He then went to the cellar, and was joined by two
others ; they remained down a short time, and imme
diately on their coming up, smoke burst forth from the
cellar. On the appearance of the smoke the party round
the Mansion-house gave a cheer, which was answered
by nine-tenths ofthe people in the Square. They seemed
now to exult in the sure accomplishment of their diaboli
cal design ; some rushed into the carriage-way, as near
the house as the flames would allow, and with frantic
gestures exhibited their extravagant joy. The con
stables, who were in the Mansion-house, finding it on
fire, made their escape. As soon as the flames broke
out the mob rushed into the building, and seized and
bore away furniture of every description.*
It was not long before the building was on fire in
every floor, and so intent were the ruffians upon their
work, that they were even seen at the bed-room windows
destroying furniture, after all escape for themselves had
been cut off by the very flames they had kindled. In
about half an hour the front of the building fell in with
a tremendous crash, and from all accounts, at least
twenty persons must have been burnt and buried in the
ruins. At ten o'clock, Col. Brereton arrived with a
detachment of the 3rd dragoons. During the burning
of the building the troops walked their horses quietly

* There was such precision and management among these robbers
and ruffians, that there was no confusion in their plundering, no
quarrel for the spoil, but it was liberally entrusted to each other's
hands, as if on some systematic plan. So well-directed were their
efforts, that a new grand piano-forte, which required six men to
carry, was conveyed to Back-street, and sold to a gentleman for a
trifle, who had followed for the sake of its preservation, and removed
it to a place of security. It was returned to the Mayor uninjured.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 127
along the Square, wrapped up in their cloaks, to pro
tect them from the drizzling rain that now fell, and
used no exertion. After remaining about ten minutes
or a quarter of an hour, Col. Brereton marched them
all off, and from that time to the following morning
not a soldier was ordered to the Square, or the slightest
effort made by his Majesty's troops to check the des
truction of public or private property. To use the
words of Sir Charles Dalbiac, " at this awful period of
Sunday night, at a time when the city seemed to be
threatened with total destruction, Col. Brereton thought
fit to retire to his quarters, and to his bed !"
The pictures at the Mansion-house were saved by
the presence of mind of an individual. They consisted
of portraits, — of the Earl of Pembroke, as Lord High
Steward, by Vandyke, an extremely valuable picture ;
Duke of Portland, by Sir Thomas Lawrence; Dunning,
Lord Ashburton ; Sir Vicary Gibbs ; an admirable
portrait of Edmund Burke ; one of George the Third,
by Bird ; and others. These were cut out of their
frames and rolled up. Mr. Henry Smith rescued one
of the state swords, and it was lodged in safety at his
house, which was indeed the depot for an immense
quantity of goods saved from the flames, and from the
houses of those who expected to be attacked. Mr.
Burroughs, of Clifton, and other spirited gentlemen,
were fortunate enough to carry off, concealed in the
trunks and boxes of some female servants, a quantity
of money and other valuables, through the centre of
the rioters, being allowed to pass unmolested.
The rioters, infuriated with success, not now " irritated
by constables," but in their best " humour," rushed into

128 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
the private dwelling-houses adjoining; that nothing
might be spared, they forced open the doors, broke
the windows, threw out the furniture and valuables into
the street, ransacked, and fired the houses one after the
other, and hastened the demon-work by means of trains
of turpentine and other combustibles. In several in
stances they broke through the dividing walls, and
many of the infuriate and insensate mob perished in the
flames. All attempts to save property were now un -
availing; if the inhabitants could escape with their
lives they considered themselves fortunate. Women,
helpless children, naked, homeless, terrified, left the
dreadful spot. At about the centre house between the
Mansion-house and the Custom-house, a party of gen
tlemen had determined to defend the property, but the
rioters entered from the roof of the adjoining house, and
fired every room, and the party were compelled to retreat
from the double danger. The rebel rioters were now
divided into parties, each having its apportioned work.
At the head of one was a man with a watchman's rattle,
(he was one of those who had come from Bath in a chaise
on Saturday.) Another had a bell. The plan appeared
to be, that on attacking a house the rattle was sprung,
when the persons belonging to the particular gang
assembled in front. A division who committed no vio
lence, hut who examined the rooms for plate and
valuables, first entered. They were followed by another,
who removed the furniture into the Square ; then the
firemen, accompanied by boys with torches. The house
was fired either with an inflammable liquid, composition
balls, or an ignitible paste smeared upon the walls. The
goods were taken out of the house by one set, and

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 129
removed away by another ; these carriers were mostly
Irish. The gangs were arranged and their labours
timed. About every fifth house the turn came round
again to the rattle. The fury of the flames will be con
jectured, when it is stated that the cellars of most of
these houses were rented as wine vaults, or for the
holding of bonded spirits, which tended materially to
aid the conflagration.
The fire was approaching the Custom-house, when
at a quarter before twelve o'clock a fellow came, and
gave notice to "move out." There were more than
fifty ofthe officers of the Customs assembled there, who,
when they found the houses fired one after another,
thought it prudent to remove the books and more
valuable papers, as also the plate, pictures, and other
property, which had been sent from the Mansion-house.
About this work of preservation the officers were very
busily engaged when the notice was given. They still
beheved the building would not be fired, and it was
arranged that no person should be admitted, and that
when the mob came, the Custom-house officers should
all be called down. These orders were obeyed — the
rioters came, and one of the officers addressed them :
" This is the King's house, that good King ;" but was
here interrupted by one of the mob-leaders, who ex
claimed — " D — n the King, — go it;" and in a minute the
hall was full. The rush up stairs was very great, and the
mob soon occupied every room in the house ; yet
there was no confusion among them, each division
having their allotted work. While some were breaking
open the desks, others were nailing up linen, smeared
over with a kind of paste, which they carried in tin
K

130 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
kettles. The window frames and large doors were
served in the same way, and in five minutes the long
room was in a blaze— at the same time others fired the
lower offices. The upper rooms were filled with rioters,
and many were on the roof, the mob from the adjoining
house having escaped that way. The Custom-house
officers were extremely active, and with the aid of soldiers
would have defended the building, but the mob came
with an overwhelming force,* and the certain danger of
the fire that was raging around them afforded little room
to hope for security to themselves or the house from
further resistance, and they were fortunate in being able
to escape the fury of the conflagration, which in a short

* It has been so often said, and insisted upon, in reprobation of
the Authorities, that a dozen men would have prevented firing the
Square, that it is worth while for a moment to direct attention to
the fact, that here were fifty men collected, and willing to defend
the Custom-house, yet were utterly inadequate to the task. Eye
witnesses have declared that not 100 soldiers would have preserved
the building. The mob were infuriate, without fear, prepared for
every outrage, and in immense, organized force. And if at any
time so few as twelve men, or fifty, would have been able to preserve
the city, — why could not the very parties, who now make the asser
tion, provide the means ? For they will not pretend to say that the
Citizens were then so ill-disposed, that so small a number could not
be provided. And it may be asked, — what did the thousands of spec
tators do ? In the pamphlet published by Mr. Manchee, a singular
statement is made, and a motive ascribed, to account for the non
interference ofthe spectators, at least as far as it relates to the
destruction of the Mansion-house : —
"If the Mayor had presided at the last Reform Meeting, he would
have been popular with the people, and they would have attended
to his advice ; but he had not attended, and the Reformers would
pay no attention."
Mr. Somerton, on this point, states — " Up to the present moment,
the Palace, three Gaols, and the Mansion-house, being on fire, tbe
mob had been solely employed in the destruction of public buildings,
and it would seem, from the non-interference of the thousands, who
had no share in the transaction, otherwise than as spectators, that
till this time, their proceedings had been viewed with no very general
feeling of dissatisfaction. A thrill of horror, however, ran through

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 131
time became truly terrific. It is supposed that not less
than fifty of the rioters fell victims to the flames they had
kindled in the Custom-house alone. To mention one
instance only which occurred there — a large party ofthe
mob sat down to supper in the housekeeper's room, and
were all burnt to death ! Three dropt off from the
top, one of whom fell into the liquid lead on the roof
of the portico, which was boiling and glowing with the
intense heat, where he lay writhing in torture, uttering
dreadful yells and groans, until life was extinct. —
Another of them was horribly bruised by falling on
the stones ; and just before he died he exclaimed to a
gentleman who ran up to him, " Oh that I had taken
my wife's advice ! — that I had never come to Bristol ! —
but I was persuaded and sent for." On the roof falling,
a person came through one of the end windows and fell
into the street ; he was dreadfully burnt ; but a party
of the rioters carried the body to the Royal Oak, in
Priuce's-street, threatening to burn the house if the door
was not opened ; this demand, after some time, was
comphed with, and they gave the mangled remains in
charge of the landlord, saying they would call for it
next morning.
Having destroyed the Custom-house, the mob crossed
a street, called the Middle Avenue, which separated that

the multitude, as soon as it became evident the rioters were firing
the adjoining private houses." What ! was there a thrill of horror
only then — and none at the destruction of public property, and that
because they were Reformers displeased with the Mayor.for declining
to attend one Reform Meeting ! ! If these statements be true,
the Reformers appear in the character of applauding spectators, if
not actors — and in the secret that public buildings were to be burnt.
It need not be asked why the Magistrates and Constables were
unable to suppress the riots.
K2

132 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
building from the remaining section of the North side
of the Square, and pursued, in the manner already des
cribed, their demon labours. The inhabitants were
ordered, and short notice given for the purpose, to quit
their houses, which were then instantly plundered and
burned. The same arrangements and prepared means
before described were used, — the same signals, — the
same results.
Some of the incendiaries, apparently not more than
15 or 16 years of age, when their retreat from the
attic-floor of one of the houses had been cut off, and
whilst the flames were bursting^out beneath them, coolly
clambered along a coping, projecting not more than
twelve inches, and entering an adjoining house, imme
diately set fire to the bedsteads and furniture; while
many ofthe elder ruffians gave themselves wholly up to
drinking and revelling in the scene around them.
Having swept one whole side (the North) of the
Square, the rioters proceeded to the Western, com
mencing with the Excise-Office, at -the corner* Thus
the Custom-house, Excise-office, Customs' Bonding-
warehouse, and houses on two sides of the Square, suc
cessively fell a prey to the flames, and presented at the
same moment an awful spectacle. The quantity of
spirits in the cellars greatly heightened the terrific effect,
flowing in rivers of burning liquid. Two houses on

* A fellow came to the house and demanded a shilling ; at the
same time the mob had broken into the side door, and the house
was soon in flames. Clarke was very active here. Soon after this
was fired one of the rioters proposed to go to Messrs.  , where
one ofthe Magistrates had a quantity of sugar.. He was answered,
" we will take it in its turn."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 133
the Western side alone remained, of two whole sides of
the Square. It appears that the inmates of these, profit
ing by the notice given at other houses, had removed
all their furniture. The mob however, fired the premises,
but as they had not the means of destruction, elsewhere
at their command, of making a blaze by the aid of light
furniture and drapery, the fire was extinguished by the
activity of the inhabitants.
At the house of Mr. Strong, a man got out from
one of the drawing-room windows, and seating him
self, continued cheering the mob, shouting " The King
and Reform." The house was on fire at the time,
and the flames soon burst out of the window. The
fellow, overcome by the smoke, fell off, and was im
paled on the iron spikes on the court wall, where he
remained some time, an object of mirth to the mob.
He was at length released by some of the lookers
on, but was severely injured. At Miss James's house
a great quantity of combustible matter was used. Kayes
(who was executed) was very active here ; he was seen
to .throw a preparation in powder on the shelves in the
kitchen, and was applied to by a lad for some of this
composition, which he gave him.
Amid the crash of falling houses, the roar of flames,
the volumes of smoke, the frantic gestures of ruffians
brandishing and hurling their glaring fire-brands,
plundering, shouting, and blaspheming, with walls,
roofs, beams, and rafters falling around them ; in the
centre of the Square, by the equestrian statue of William
the Third, surmounted with a cap of liberty, were costly
tables spread, and the revel of a plundered feast, with
yell and imprecation, and wine and blood, was held

134 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
to celebrate this first Sabbath of Reform — of Revolu
tion.* This was a night of suffering not to be described,
what with the agonizing fears of the infirm, the sick,
the helpless, the aged, the tender, the delicate,f — the
general alarm throughout the city, from the scenes of
devastation to the more lonely streets,— the horrors
* Ofthe scenes of brutality that disgraced the area ofthe Square,
it is impossible to conceive any thing like an adequate idea; and
here we sicken at the reflection that, in very many instances, the
conduct of the females was marked, if possible, by even greater
depravity than that which was observable in the males. The
obscenity of conduct and language was revolting to every feeling of
decency, and outraged even the remotest resemblance to civilized
society. In addition to the large stock of wines at the Mansion
House, the stores in the cellars beneath the burning buildings con
tained an abundant supply to keep up the already too much excited
feelings of the mob. Ardent spirits, also, were now circulating in
profusion ; and these, together with the former, were pillaged and
given away, or sold at whatever price purchasers could be found.
In various places were to be seen fellows beside heaps of goods
which they were putting up at auction. Among other articles, an
excellent mahogany chair was put up for a shilling, the ruffian
exclaiming, " will nobody bid a tizzy ?" and, failing to obtain an
offer, he immediately dashed it to atoms. In places ndjacent,
also, 6Hch scenes were by no means uncommon. In King-street, a
fellow had a considerable quantity of furniture piled up in front
of one ofthe houses at the moment when he was putting up a lot,
a tea-tray and a metal tea-pot, which he was offering at half-a-crown.
In the Square, one of the heartless wretches offered what appeared
a beautiful silver tea-pot, for a shilling ; and prime feather beds,
mahogany tables, and, in short, a variety of the most valuable and
costly articles of furniture, were offered at the same rate. Two
fellows rushed out from one of the houses, the one having in his
hand the greater part of a. cold leg of mutton ; and the one en
quired of the other if be had any bread ; on being answered in
the affirmative, they proceeded to seat themselves on the grass,
swearing at the same time most awfully, and saying they would have
a  meal. At one spot, three of the incendiaries, who seemed
exhausted with their fatigues, were joined by two females, and
seating themselves in chairs, the whole group gave themselves up
for awhile to refreshment. Whilst they were eating, and drinking
wine, each one from a separate bottle, they revelled in delight at
the scene before them.
f When a lady fainted away, on hearing the crash of the windows
which announced the approach of the incendiaries, the ruffians
ordered a gentleman who was carrying her off, to let her stay and
be burnt.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 135
anticipated from this " reign of terror," the prowhng
bands of thieves, the outpouring of goals, the daring
avowal of horrid purpose, the repeated acts of intimida
tion* — the curses, insults of drunken maniacs, the howl
ing of savages bursting into the haunts of peace, of
demons into the habitations of domestic quiet, — the
sacrilege, the plunder, the threats of fire, of torture, and
death ; — these are things that defy language ; these are
the horrors which characterised the second of the
Three Days of the Bristol riots.
Before the night had set in, some hundreds of persons
in Bristol and the parishes adjoining received either
letters that the mob intended burning their premises, or
some one called stating that he had heard the mob say
that after burning the Palace, or wherever they then were,
they intended visiting such and such identical house
or premises at which this notice was given. The houses
of Anti-Reformers were principally thus threatened ;
but in the city nearly all the large manufactories and
warehouses received notices. The effect was this —
instead of collecting with the view of putting down
the general riots, every person was kept at home to
preserve his own property.f His books and papers
* While the fires were raging, four of the rioters arrived at the
Bank Tavern, in St. John-street, and ordered Mr. Merry lo open the
doors, and give them liquor, or they would set his house on fire.
" D — n you," was their language, "give us some gin ! Look at the
fires blazing, there shall soon be more of them." Mr. Merry was
obliged to comply, after they had dashed in the window over the
door ; and the four men actually drank three pints of raw spirits.
f Some few of the leading Reformers, who considered themselves
secure, tendered their protection to their neighbours, offering
their homes as places of safety for valuable property. One of these,
having made such friendly offer, was reminded that he had not been
long an inhabitant of his present house, and that the last occupier was
an Anti-Reformer. In an instant the blasted security was changed to
alarm and confusion.

136 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
were moved, and his premises put in a state of defence.
At some of the manufactories the steam-engines were
charged, to play boiling water on the mob in case
the premises should be attacked ; at other places, paving
stones and bricks were collected on the roofs.
Although the whole of the engines in the city would
have been insufficient to arrest the progress ofthe flames,
the firemen belonging to the Insurance Offices were on
the alert,* and prepared to make the attempt ; but so
determined were the incendiary ruffians to complete
their allotted work, that they prevented the engines from
approaching the scene of devastation, and threatened
the firemen with destruction if they persisted.
Never was the dawn of day looked for with more
intense anxiety.

* In the afternoon, when the Bridewell was fired, the firemen
were deterred by the mob from reaching the stations where the
engines were kept.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 137

PART XII.
EVENTS OF THE THIRD DAY. — MILITARY OPERA
TIONS AND SUPPRESSION OF THE RIOTS.
Before day break on Monday the principal roads to
the city were filled with country people, in parties of tens
and twenties, most of them armed with short bludgeons.*
On the Kingswood road they were in great numbers.f
The turnpike-gates and churches seemed particular
objects of their hatred — at the Fire -Engine-gate nine-
tenths of the fellows threatened that they would burn
the house on their return, and that every church should
be levelled.
On the Stapleton road among the numbers flocking
in were a great many North country men, engaged in
cutting the intended rail-way from Rodway-hill to Bris
tol. The Bedminster, Wells,J and Bath roads con
tributed towards filling the city. In the mean time, in
the parishes of St. James, St. Paul, St. Philip and Jacob,
and St. George, parties of from ten to twenty went from
house to house demanding money, and where none was
to be obtained, took some other plunder, and beat in
the windows.
* They have been not inaptly compared to a horde of" wreckers"
on the way to pillage a stranded vessel.
f It is due to a very numerous well-behaved body of men, — the
Coal Miners of Kingswood, — to state, that in no instance did they
leave their work, nor were they in any way concerned in the riots.
£ Some travellers found a difficulty in passing, and were generally
told — "well, you shall pass this time, but you have rode long
enough, it will be our turn soon."

138 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
At three o'clock oil Monday morning, the Mayor, who
was still at Mr. Fripp's, in Berkeley-square, wrote and
dispatched the following letter : —
" Bristol, three o'clock Monday morning,
31st October, 1831.
" Sir, — I direct you, as Commanding Officer of his
" Majesty's troops, to take the most vigorous, effective,
" and decisive measures in your power to quell the
" existing riot, and prevent further destruction of pro-
" perty. " I am, &c.
" Charles Pinney."
This letter was addressed to " Col. Brereton, or the
Officer commanding his Majesty's troops." It was de
livered to Capt. Warrington, at Leigh's bazaar, by Mr.
S. O. Goldney. Captain Warrington hesitated about
opening it, but having at length done so, he observed
that he could do nothing without a Magistrate, and
should require one to go every inch of the road at his
side. He added, that " there was a great screw loose
somewhere." ->
In the course of an hour afterwards, Mr. Alderman
Camplin, accompanied by three or four gentlemen, went
to Captain Warrington's quarters, stated to him the
situation of the Square, and, on his authority, as one
of the City Magistrates, required military assistance.
Captain Warrington said the horses and men were all
tired, nor would he allow them to go unaccompanied
by a Magistrate ; and further, that the troops should not
fire. In the course of the conversation, he said he had
received a letter from the Mayor, but could not find
Col. Brereton, to whom it was addressed. The Alder
man expressed his readiness to accompany the twenty-

THE BRISTOL RIOTS* 139
five men of the 3rd dragoons, which Capt. Warrington
said were all he could send, but the order of Colonel
Brereton for their turning out must first be obtained.
Captain Warrington, at the request of the Magistrate,
accompanied him to the Mihtary Office, to obtain the
required order. The office was shut up ; but recollect
ing that Lieut. Francis, of the Recruiting Staff, resided
in Unity-street, they went there. The Colonel was
there, in bed.* Upon being roused, he resisted the
calling out " the jaded troops," as he termed them,
" for what could they do against such a mob ?" He was,
however, so strongly urged, that at length he consented
to order them out.
The Magistrate collected about fifteen gentlemen, and
after some time the troops came down to the foot of the
Green ; the clock struck five as they entered Prince's-
street, where they found a mob of about 6 or 700 in
front of a warehouse which was in flames. These they
charged through. The gentlemen and Magistrate
reached Queen-square by Farr's-lane avenue, at the
same time the troops were entering. The mob cheered
the soldiers, shouting " The King and Reform."
Part of the rioters had withdrawn on hearing that the
soldiers were advancing ; others of them, rendered con
fident by their past impunity, remained before Mr.
Claxton's house, while a third party were engaged in

* The Mayor of Bath being informed that the 1 4th were at Keyn-
sham, sent a gentleman to Capt. Gage. On enquiry at Keynsham,
he found the 14th were still under the orders of Colonel Brereton,
and was referred to him. On arriving in Bristol, he was directed
from the head-quarters to Mr. Francis's, and was shown into a bed
room, where he found Col. Brereton in bed. On communicating
his letter, the Colonel asked him, " Are the riots still going on, — are
they still burning?"

140 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
battering the adjoining house. The troops formed two
deep in front of Mr. Claxton's. Col. Brereton, however,
seemed to have much reluctance to act at all, and in
the hearing of the incendiaries, who crowded round,
cheering and holding up their bottles of liquor to the
soldiers, expressed his opinion that nothing effectual
could be done ; but Mr. Henry Smith assured Mr.
Alderman Camplin, and the few other gentlemen who
were present, that having been on or near the spot
during the whole night, and being consequently aware
of the scanty number of the remaining incendiaries, he
would stake his existence upon the certainty of checking
the further progress of the conflagration, by the trifling
effort of clearing Mr. Claxton's house of the few plun
derers within it ; after which no other measures would
be requisite than those of keeping the street and courts
clear in front of the houses upon the South side of the
Square. After some further consultation, Mr. Smith urged
the soldiers to do their duty, and stated that the citizens
present would support them. About a dozen gentlemen
then entered, and found the house on fire in every
floor* The rioters retreated to the top room and fought
desperately, but were overpowered. One of them jumped
out of the window, some over the bannisters. The
fire was extinguished without much difficulty.f
* On inspecting the house, it was found almost all the property
had been stolen. One of the front bed-rooms, it was evident,
had been fired by a ball thrown in at the window. The door
of one of the garrets was found fastened, and was with difficulty
forced open, when a man and a woman within knocked down
the two first persons who entered the room. . The man was soon
disposed of, but the woman was most furious and with great difficulty
overcome. j- If the mob had fired the East side of the Square, the effects
would have been dreadful, as a very large quantity of brimstone was
stored at the back of one of the houses. Had this been ignited, to
what extent might not suffocation have reached !

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 141
Major Mackworth, Aid-de-Camp to Lord Hill, reached
the Square about six o'clock, and joined Col. Brereton
and the 3rd dragoons. At this time the mob had
separated into parties of twenty or thirty in different
parts of the Square, and many were busily engaged in
plundering the cellars. Thn soldiers succeeded in dis
persing them. Upon one of these occasions, a dragoon
was wounded by a shot fired from the mob.
About seven o'clock, Major Mackworth rode to
Keynsham for the 14th, who showed great alacrity
in retm^oing to a city from which it was boasted the mob
had driven them. They were joined on their road by a
party of the Bedminster yeomanry, under the command
of Capt. Shute. The troop proceeded to Fisher's stables
to feed. By this time a marked change had been pro
duced in public feeling; — the troops which had been
treated with every mark of popular indignity, and were
finally sent away ih obedience to popular dictation, were
received on their return "with cheering as deliverers.
It has been already mentioned, that expresses had
been sent to various stations for troops. At two o'clock
in the morning the messenger reached Gloucester,
where, it appears, reports had been circulated that the
14th had been driven out of the city by the mob, and
that the rioters were in complete possession of the town.
Very few of the privates had their clothes off; before
the express arrived, their only wish was to be ordered
to the support of their brave comrades under the com
mand of Captain Gage.
Major Beckwith, their commanding officer, im
mediately put Captain Congreve's troop in motion,
and himself posted off for Bristol, where he arrived
about seven o'clock. He proceeded at once to the

142 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Council-house, and received a confirmation of the report
that the squadron of the 14th had been sent away, and
the city had been throughout the night the scene of
unresisted riot and conflagration. Major Beckwith
then urged the necessity of a Magistrate accompanying
him on horseback, and expressed his confidence in being
able to restore order. He was informed that there
would be some difficulty in getting a Magistrate to
charge with a troop of dragoons ; that the Mayor and
senior Aldermen* might well excuse themselves from so
arduous a duty; and that a junior Magistrate would
hesitate ere he undertook so serious a responsibility ;
but the Major was assured that wherever the presence
of a Magistrate was required, one or more would be in
readiness to afford the necessary authority and responsi
bihty. After some further conversation the Major left the
Council-house to reconnoitre the state of the mob, and
to ascertain if any means had been adopted by them for
the purpose of impeding the operations of the troops.
On his return, he required and received a written
authorityf to employ whatever means he might judge
necessary for the restoration of order.

*One ofthe Magistrates having on this occasion stated that he had
not been on horseback for twelve years, even this trifling circum
stance has been made the most of, and maliciously circulated as
the reply of all. It is well known, that several of the Magistrates
are in tbe constant habit of riding into the city every day. The
Alderman who made the observation alluded to, had just returned
from the Square, where he had accompanied the 3rd dragoons, and
had been active in resisting the mob ; sufficient proof this, that he
was not desirous of avoiding personal conflict with them.
f At the Court Martial on Captain Warrington, Major Beckwith
admitted that aLthe time when he requested written instructions for
his guidance, he was not aware of the letter of the Mayor, dated at
3, a.m. on Monday morning, directing the officer commanding his
Majesty's troops to take the most vigorous, effective, and decisive
measures in his power to quell the existing riots.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 143
The period was now arrived when, for the first time,
a determined resistance was to be made to the savage pro
gress ofthe ruffian horde ; for though the return of day
light, and a demonstration of deep indignation which the
events of the two preceding days could not fail to have
excited in the minds of well-disposed citizens, had pro
duced a temporary cessation of mob-violence, they had
been too much emboldened by their revolutionary suc
cess to leave any part of their work unfinished, as long
as they were unopposed by an organised force, backed
with an unyielding soldiery.
Major Beckwith, for the purpose of executing the
important commission entrusted to him, proceeded to
Fisher's stables, to order out the troops. He had
scarcely entered, when intelligence was received from
the ruins of the Bishop's Palace, that a body of the
rioters had beaten off the persons left to protect the
contents ofthe cellars, and were carrying off the wines.
The troops were accordingly ordered to the Palace-
yard, where the mob felt the effects of the sabres, and
were soon dispersed. At this moment a demand for
mihtary aid arrived from the Square, where the mob
were actively carrying on the work of plunder. The
Major, having left a guard at the Palace, marched his
division to Queen-square.
On entering by the Excise Office-avenue, the 14th
spread across the Square, and headed by the gallant
Major and Capts. Gage and Musgrave, they singled out
the rioters with much discernment, and dispersed the
mob ; about ten or twelve were cut down round the statue
of William 3rd. The troops followed the mob to the
Back, and although not absent many minutes from the

144 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Square, the killed and wounded were in the mean time
all carried off. They charged in separate parties down
the Back, through the Square, and along the Grove
into Prince's-street. Major Beckwith had a very narrow
escape, at the head of five dragoons. A fellow threw a
wine bottle with all his force. The scoundrel was in
stantly charged by two dragoons ; he took refuge in a
court, but was followed by a dismounted dragoon who
cut him down* A strong party of rioters had assembled
near the Excise-avenue, and on the coming up of the
dragoons attacked the constables posted across King-
street, with a view of forcing a passage ; but the con
stables kept their ground, and many of the rioters were
cut down.f While the dragoons were in Prince's-street,
a large body of country fellows came down from Bathurst
Basin, having overpowered the constables at the Bed-
minster Bridge. On some soldiers coming up, the
constables, several of whom were much cut and wounded,
rallied, and from that time held possession ofthe Bridge,
and prevented any of the mob from the West entering
the city.
A party of the 14th charged up the Back. On the
mob reaching the steps by St. Nicholas' Church, they
began to pelt, as in a place of security; but to their
astonishment, one of the officers gallopped up the steps
into the Market and pursued some fellows into a shop.
At the end of Marsh-street, a man who attempted to
catch at the bridle of one of the dragoons, had his head
completely severed from his shoulders. The troops
then charged up Clare-street, Corn-street, Wine-street,
* He was sent to the Infirmary, and recovered.
f One man had a cut which took off his nose and his upper lip.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 145
Peters-street, and Castle-street. In the latter the mob
were still in great numbers, and very riotous, and a large
body of them turned into Castle-green with an intention
of again assembling in Queen-square. A party of dra
goons rode up Cock and Bottle-lane, charged them, and
thus defeated their plan. They ran in all directions.*
A very powerful man at the end of Castle-street had been
actively cheering the mob, urging them to keep then-
ground, at the same time pelting the troops; he was
singled out by a private, who with a back-handed blow
cut off his head. This helped to intimidate the mob, who
were by this time quite subdued, — not a word was said
about firing turnpike-houses or pulling down churches,
which they had threatened should be the next step in the
march of revolution.
It is impossible to speak in too high terms of the
exemplary conduct ofthe troops engaged in this arduous
but necessary duty. Their operations were decisive ; for
in less than an hour the city was delivered from the
dominion of as desperate a mob as ever aided the pro
jects of pretended patriots, — of real revolutionists.
In order to render the operations of the troops
effectual, the aid of the citizens was indispensably
necessary; and to ensure an union of effort, the Sheriffs
had, early in the morning, appointed a Deputy in
each of the twelve Wards, with powers to call out the
posse comitatus. These gentlemen accordingly pro
ceeded from house to house, and in the King's name
called on the inhabitants to repair to their respective
parish churches, to be enrolled. About five thousand

* One of the soldiers broke two swords, and not having a chance
of a third, used his scabbard, and did good execution with it.
L

146 THE BRISTOL RfOTS.
promptly obeyed the call, and were each provided with
short staff, and a badge,* to distinguish them from the
mob.f The naval and military pensioners, to the
number of about two hundred and fifty, were also called
out, and Captain Cooke, ofthe North Gloucester Militia,
very handsomely volunteered to organise and command
them.J This combined force, sufficiently numerous to be
of most essential service, were stationed in different parts
ofthe city, with instructions, immediately as the soldiery
had charged through any street and dispersed the groups
• of the disaffected, who were lurking in all directions, to
guard the avenues, and prevent their re-assembling.
This duty was effectually performed, and with the
utmost regularity. Parties of constables were also
posted at the different avenues in the neighbourhood of
Queen-square, for the like purpose. The Magistrates
suggested the propriety of every one, not engaged in
assisting the military, keeping within doors, at the risk
of being exposed to imminent peril ; for as the shops
and warehouses were shut, and business wholly sus
pended, there was no excuse for any individual being
found in the streets, unless employed as a special con
stable, in which character he was easily recognised by
the military, from the linen badge. The assertion,
therefore, that " respectable persons walking the streets
* A strip of white linen, tied round the arm.
T About ten o'clock the Political Union assembled on the Ex
change ; their numbers were very scanty, and their appearance by no
means such as would become " National Guards ;" nor does it
appear to what quarter of the city they afterwards removed.
* A charge has been made against the Mayor for not having earlier
called out the Pensioners, as recommended by Major Mackworth.
The recommendation was nothing more than an incidental mention
of it at a dinner party the day before the Recorder entered the city.
It was made neither at a time or place to give it importance.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 147
on business," and " sober and industrious men going to
their work, were seriously wounded," — is mere fiction —
an ebullition of radical spleen.
Having effectually cleared the streets and the Square,
and placed the city in a state of security, in care of
the posse comitatus, the troops retired to their quarters,
with the exception of patroles, who were despatched
in every direction to scour the vicinity of the city.
One of these, having returned about three o'clock in
the afternoon, reported that the rabble, driven from
the city by the cavalry, were robbing people and plun
dering houses on the Bath road. The men were again
immediately mounted, and Captain Congreve's troop
having been left, with the troop of the 3rd dragoons,
on the bridge, the remaining squadron proceeded
at a quick pace along the Bath road. It came up
with the rioters about four miles from Bristol, instantly
dispersed them, and captured some, who were lodged in
the Council-house. By this movement tranquillity was
restored to the neighbourhood, as it had previously, by
similar means, been secured to the city, which avows
itself to be under the deepest obligations to the 14th and
their active and intelligent commander.
The streets were patrolled* by strong bodies of the
citizens during the day, and presented, in conjunction
with the military, such a formidable appearance, that not
a rioter was seen, nor was there, throughout the city,
any further outrage.

* The inhabitants of St. Mary Redcliff and St. Thomas had
patrolled the streets during the preceding night, and stopt a great
quantity of plundered goods.
L 2

148 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
To repel any attack which might have been planned
against the shipping in the port, the crews were mustered,
and so exasperated were they against the proceedings
of the mob, that had such an attempt been made, the
rioters would have met with a warm and unequivocal
reception. In the course of the day the following placard was
issued by the Magistrates : —
" Council-house, Bristol, Oct. 31, 1831.
" The Posse Comitatus of this city and county having
" been called out to act in conjunction with the military,
" to endeavour to restore the peace of the city ; and as
" the most severe measures must be adopted to accom-
" plish that object, the Magistrates earnestly caution all
" persons, not engaged in official duties as constables,
" to keep within their respective dwellings, as they will
" otherwise be exposed to the most imminent peril.
" C. Pinney, Mayor."
In order to counteract an attempt, which it was
apprehended might he made by the rioters, to cut off
the gas, and throw the city into darkness, the Magistrates
issued the following notice : —
" Bristol, October 31, 1831.
" It will be ofthe utmost importance that the inhabi-
" tants should place lights in the windows of their
" respective houses as soon as it becomes dusk ; and the
" Magistrates again earnestly entreat that all persons
" will strictly confine themselves within their respective
" dwellings. " C. Pinney, Mayor."
The suggestion was very generally adopted ; and the
intention, if it had been entertained, was not carried
into effect.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 149
At various hours during the day troops were pouring
into the city. When those under Capt. Congreve (they
arrived in Bristol about twelve o'clock) reached Hor-
field, on their way from Gloucester, they observed
the road crowded with fellows, who instantly took to the
fields right and left, and ran in every direction. These
were a part of the rioters who had left the city in con
sequence of the charge of Major Beckwith, and who^
probably, thought the 14th dragoons had left Bristol
by another road, with a view of intercepting them.
Captain Wilkins arrived about eleven with the Bath
Troop of North Somerset Yeomanry Cavalry. When
he received an express from Bristol on Sunday after
noon, he immediately rode into Bath. On his going
to head quarters, the White Hart, the mob broke into
the house, dashing in the doors and windows, and did
considerable damage ; in consequence of which serious
riots were apprehended in Bath, and the Magistrates
were obhged to keep the troops during the night. This
attempt of the Bath mob to prevent the soldiers going to
Bristol, to interfere with the mob there, shows clearly
that they acted in union.*

* At Bath, therefore, as well as at Newport, there was evidently
among the mob a kindred feeling to that which was so actively in
operation at Bristol. The following account of the out-breaking in
the neighbouring city is extracted from the Bath Chronicle of the
3d November : —
" In consequence ofthe dreadful state of affairs in Bristol, the aid
of the Bath Troop of North Somerset Yeomanry had been requested
in the first mentioned city. Captain Wilkins, of Twerton, the
Commander of the Troop, having gone into the city in regimentals
to assemble bis men, was followed by some low characters, who
expressed their disapprobation of ihe troops going lo Bristol, for their
intended purpose. Capt. Wilkins then went to the White Hart,
whither he was followed by an increasing mob, who greeted him with
all kinds of opprobrious execrations. It was in vain that he attempted
to conciliate the populace by telling them that he was a Reformer,

150 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Part of the Bedminster troop of North Somerset
Yeomanry were under arms on Sunday, arid (as has
that he was compelled, as a matter of duty, to go to Bristol ; — they
insisted that he should not go thither, and on his refusing to accede
to their wishes, they began to show symptoms of more serious
mischief. Some of the more daring among the mob endeavoured
to follow him into the White Hart, and the doors of that establish
ment having been shut, an attack was immediately made upon the
windows, which were demolished without mercy. Intelligence was
of course immediately sent to the proper authorities. The exertions
however of the police officers were sufficiently required at the
Guildhall, which was seriously threatened with attack by large
bodies of vagabonds, who had assembled in front ofthe building, and
amused themselves by occasionally breaking the windows of the
Hall. As it of course required adequate notice to get a sufficient
force of special constables together, the blackguards in front of the
White, Hart had sufficient opportunity to glut their appetite for
destruction. Not satisfied with breaking the windows, at about 8
o'clock a number ofthe mob proceeded to a fagot-pile in the Upper
Bristol Road, and possessed themselves of formidable bludgeons,
with which they returned to the scene of their former outrage, and
demolishing the shutters of several of the lower windows, some of
them effected an entrance into the premises. Here, however, they
met with a warmer reception than they had calculated upon ; and they
were obliged to make a precipitate retreat. — During the attack
upon the premises Captain Wilkins disengaged himself from his
uniform, and adopting the prudent step of disguising himself, left the
bouse by the back door. A gentleman then appeared on the balcony
in front of the hotel, and told the crowd that the Captain had left
the house; but the intelligence was disbelieved, and the mob in
return for his information, insulted him with a shower of stones,
which induced him to seek his own safety by a speedy retirement
into the house. By this time, however, the Magistrates had sworn
in about 300 special constables, who immediately began parading
the streets, and soon took many of the rioters into custody. —
Tranquillity was soon in great measure restored, though the streets
were not properly clear till nearly two o'clock in the morning.
" On Monday morning the civic authorities took efficient steps
to prevent the recurrence of the disturbance of the preceding
night. Large numbers of special constables were enrolled in the
early part of the day ; and at 3 o'clock in the afternoon a Meeting
was held at the Guildhall for the purpose of concerting measures
for preserving the public peace. — The worthy and respected Mayor,
George Kitson, Esq. addressed the Meeting in a bold, manly, and
energetic manner, and after deprecating the outrages of Sunday
night, proceeded to suggest apian for the future preservation ofthe
peace, which after some observations from the gentlemen present,
was adopted."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS, 151
been already stated) joined the 14th on Monday. They
were ordered to patrole between Prince's-street-bridge
and the new prison. The Yeomanry being pelted
by a party of rioters who occupied a narrow passage
near the Bathurst Hotel, one of the troop imme
diately galloped into the passage, seized a rioter in
each hand, and backed his horse out, dragging his
prisoners with him from their place of fancied security.
Captain Shute was witness of this transaction, which
would have done credit to a veteran soldier, and to mark
his approbation of the conduct of the private, he pre
sented him, on the following day, with a handsome sword.
Capt. Escourt, with the Tetbury troop, arrived in
Bristol about twelve o'clock, having left Tetbury at an
early hour. They were ordered to St. James's Barton,
and remained under arms all night. Their arrival
enabled the Magistrates to guard that approach to the
city, and to keep quiet that populous district.
Captains Tugweil and Lock's troops of the North
Wilts, &c. arrived before dark. Col. Horner with two
more troops of the Somerset Yeomanry arrived, and a
troop from Wells. These, after feeding their horses,
were ordered part to Queen-square and the remainder
to the Old Market. The citizens are under great
obligations to the Lord Lieutenant of the County of
Somerset. An officer of Yeomanry, of which theMarquis
of Bath is Colonel, had been in attendance at Bath the
whole of Sunday and Monday morning, and the Mar
quis lost no time in forwarding all the troops in his
neighbourhood. About eight o'clock in the evening a body of the 11th
regiment of foot, who had arrived by the steam-packet

152 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
from Merthyr, and landed at Shirehampton, marched
into the city. Col. Love, commanding the reserve com
panies ofthe 11th regiment of foot, at Cardiff, as soon
as he had received a dispatch from the Mayor, at six
o'clock on Monday morning, hastened his departure,*
and the march to Newport was performed at the rate of
four miles an hour.
On landing at Shirehampton, Col. Love wrote to the
Mayor to announce his approach, and stated that he
should march to Clifton, and wait there for orders.
On receipt of the letter, a Magistrate immediately went
to Clifton in order to accompany Colonel Love into the
city. But the night being dark, the regiment, on Durdham
Down, passed the turning to Clifton, and came straight
to the top of Park-street, leaving Clifton on the right. On
entering the city by Park-street, the Colonel ordered the
drums to strike up,— in an instant the sashes in every
house were up, and the inhabitants hailed the soldiers
with enthusiastic cheers. This force, with the former
accession of troops, and the determined spirit of resist
ance which had by this time been aroused among the
inhabitants, struck terror into the disaffected, while it
tended to strengthen the reviving confidence of the
* Rioters and Revolutionists understand each other well. The
mob at Newport, in sympathy with their friends in Bristol, attempted
to prevent Col. Love leaving that place in a steam-packet of which
he had taken possession. A regular attack on the soldiers was pre
pared; but a few significant words and more significant signs on the
part of the commanding officer, denoting a warm reception, deterred
them. Having vainly attempted to cut the boat adrift, their fury found
vent in curses and execrations, and wishes for the sinking ofthe vessel,
lest their revolutionary confederates in Bristol should be interrupted.
They attempted to intimidate the soldiers by crying out " Where are
your coffins?" It may be fairly asked of the Reformers, if SirC.
Wetherell was the cause ofthe riots in Bristol, what bad he to do
with the rioters in Monmouthshire ?

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 153
citizens. The troops were stationed in different parts of
the squares and streets, and the approaches to the city,
and parties of the constabulary force (comprising as we
have before said nearly all the respectable inhabitants)
perambulated their respective districts in numerous
bodies. At an early hour on Monday the Marquis of Lansdown
rode into Chippenham, having heard a report of the riots
in Bristol. He immediately sent off a dispatch to the
Secretary of State, and also wrote to Captain Starkie
of the Melksham troop, Lord Andover of the Malmes
bury troop, Captain Calley of the Marlborough, Captain
Smith of the Ramsbury, Captain Locke of the Devizes,
and Capt. Phipps ofthe Chippenham troops. Although
the services of these troops were limited to Wilts, Dorset,
and Hants, they immediately volunteered, and before
night the Marlborough and Malmesbury troops had pro
ceeded on their march, but favourable accounts being
received on Monday evening they were ordered not to
proceed. The city and the country are greatly indebted
to them for their promptitude.
The express sent by the Magistrates to Portsmouth,
reached that place at nine o'clock on Monday morning ;
and shortly afterwards a telegraphic dispatch was re
ceived there from Government, directing that a division
of the 52d regiment, which had just landed from North
America, should be conveyed in a steamer to Southamp
ton, and thence proceed with all expedition to Bristol.
Sir C. Campbell, the Governor, was inspecting them
when the despatch arrived, and at four o'clock they were
all on board the Conference steamer.
A brigade of Artillery, with a supply of ammunition,

154 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
under Major Walcot, were ordered (as soon as the
accounts of the riots reached Government) to proceed
with all speed from Woolwich. The forced march was
effected with characteristic rapidity. The presence of a
single piece of artillery at an early stage of the riots,
would probably have had a decisive effect. Had the
riots continued, Bristol would have been shortly sur
rounded by an immense military force, as directions had
been sent by Government, (who expressed in the
strongest terms their determination now to put down
the riots) to Woolwich, Portsmouth, Dublin, Water-
ford, Cork, Pembroke, and Plymouth, to march troops
with all expedition on the disturbed quarter, and frigates
were ordered to Kingroad, in the Bristol Channel.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 155
CHAPTER XIII.
SEARCH FOR PLUNDERED PROPERTY.
Tuesday was principally devoted to searching after
plundered property. The Exchange was appointed
as a receptacle, and the mass of furniture of every
description — beds, wearing apparel, tables, linen, glass,
plate, &c. &c. collected there during the day was truly
astonishing. Some of the Churches were appropriated
to the same purpose. In Host-street upwards of two
waggon loads of furniture were found in one house.
Marsh-street, St. James's Back, the Dings, and in
fact almost all the lowest and dirtiest parts of the
town were filled with plunder of various descriptions,
though a great deal was hastily destroyed, when it was
known a vigilant search was begun. In one of the
streets, a well was found stuffed with furniture of all
descriptions, soaked with water. Numbers of indivi
duals were found in the greatest state of intoxication,
with bottles of wine under their beds ; and many of
them were taken into custody on suspicion. On the
person of one man was found upwards of two hundred
pounds in money, supposed to have been taken from
the Custom-house, and another dirty ragged fellow had
his pockets filled with sovereigns.* Numberless are the
instances in which property was thus found, but the
quantity lost baffles calculation.
* A fellow was apprehended at Birmingham, having a quantity of
valuable silver plate in his possession, which had been stolen at
Bristol during the riots.

156 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The following bill was issued by the Magistrates on
Wednesday : —
" Council-house, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 1831.
" The Magistrates most earnestly desire that all
" Persons will avoid assembling in crowds in different
" parts of the city, as such assemblages are likely to
" promote disturbances, and interfere with arrange-
" ments now making for the recovery of property and
" detection of offenders. " C. Pinney, Mayor."
Numerous anecdotes might be collected, and incidents
of some interest ; but the detail at any length would
carry the narrative beyond its strict historical object;
a few, however, may be slightly mentioned. Of the
rioters who perished many were pierced through the
body. One man who had climbed a tree was saved
by an officer, who would not allow that he should
be cut down in cold blood. In digging out some ruins
in the Square, a wretched man was found dreadfully
mutilated. He had fallen into one of the vaults in a state
of drunken insensibility, and when dug out, was found
to have had one of his arms burnt off above the elbow.
He was however alive, and immediately he was released
rose up and walked away. On searching a house in
Marsh-street, an Irishman was found sitting by the fire
in one of the upper rooms, severely wounded by a sabre cut
on the shoulder, which had separated the flesh from the
bone down nearly to his elbow. The party offered to send
him to the Infirmary, but he refused, although the
wound had not been dressed. In a corner of the same
room lay the bed, and on the searchers going towards
it a woman begged they would not disturb it ; but, after
some parley, a rug covering was removed, and they

THE BRISTOL RIOTS, 157
discovered a dead man, having a cut across the forehead,
and the woman admitted that the deceased was her
husband. The number who perished in these riots has been
variously estimated, and must always remain matter of
doubt, from the nature of the transactions in which the
guilty sufferers were engaged. It is generally believed,
however, that not less than five hundred lost their hves,
either by being burnt to death, intoxication, or the
swords of the mihtary. The Infirmary reports state
about one hundred to have been admitted into that
Institution ; but as these patients were of course felons,
it is presumed that few cases comparatively were taken
there, and that the greater part were privately conveyed
home. There is one incident, which, as it became the
subject of judicial scrutiny, and is of itself of great
importance, affording proof of that malignant spirit
which is so active in persecution of gentlemen who do
the duty of good citizens, that it has been considered
advisable to withdraw it from the narrative of the course
of events, which it would have impeded, unless passed
over with too much haste. It has, therefore, here a
separate place. The full particulars will be found in
the Appendix, in " the trial of Captain Lewis." —
This honourable man and exemplary citizen promptly
obeyed the call of the Magistrates to quell the riots, in
the capacity of special constable, being himself a native
ofthe city, to which, after an active and honourable hfe in
the service of his country, in every quarter of the globe,
he had retired. He had been resident in Bristol fifteen
years — universally respected and beloved. Bound to

158 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
it by no commercial tie, with a feeling that does him
great credit, he preferred, like a truly good citizen,
expending the revenues of an ample fortune in the
city of his birth, to the allurements of places of more
fashion and pleasure. The unfortunate occurrence may
be thus- briefly stated. Captain Lewis, after having felt
the ferocity of this " good-natured mob," when he was
acting as special constable, having been knocked down,
trampled upon, and in some danger from injuries
received, arms himself with pistols for self defence.
He is collared by ruffians whom he might have shot ;
but out of humanity staid his hand while holding the
pistol. In this state his arm receives a violent blow,
the pistol goes off, and an unfortunate boy is shot.
It may, perhaps, be asked who were the real prose
cutors of Captain Lewis, and from what pockets did the
funds come ? The only person who appeared at the
trial as prosecutor, was a person calling himself
Edmonds, a perfeet stranger to the city ! Was there
here a conspiracy to persecute to death ? Let sus
picion fall where it may, it does not belong to this
narrative to cast so foul a stain on the characters of
any, as to direct such suspicion. The culprits will bear
within their bosoms to their last hour the consciousness
of a sin ofthe deepest dye, and the sure punishment of a
disappointed malignant rancour.
The conduct ofthe Bishop of Bristol was worthy that
excellent and pious Prelate. He had been advised not
to attend at the Cathedral on Sunday morning. The
ruffians had sufficiently marked all who had voted against
the Bill ; but he was a good and pious Bishop, and that
was an additional offence not to be pardoned. Reports

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 159
of the intention of the mob to destroy the Cathedral
and the Palace had long preceded the actual outrage.
But no danger could deter this excellent Prelate from
his religious duties. He replied, when urged to remove
from the city, or at least to absent himself from the
Cathedral, " I thank you for your kind consideration
of my person, but I am to regard my duty to God,
and not the fear of man. It shall never be said of
me that I turned my back upon religion."
On the Sunday evening his Lordship left Bristol,
and therefore escaped the fury of the rebels ; for there
is but small reason for expectation that those who did
not spare the Sanctuary would have spared the Priest.
Most valuable property of the Bishop was either plun
dered or burned in the flames. The ruffians with the
cry of " Reform, the King, and no Bishops," in their
mouths, undertook to "set his house in order" for
him ; and in their hands it soon became a heap of
smoking ruins. The Cathedral indeed was providentially
saved; yet that the crime of sacrilege might not be
wanting, the beautiful private chapel was broken into,
plundered, and fired. When we think of the atrocious
acts — the throwing the insultingly-mutilated bible into
the flames — the scoundrel mobs with their blaspheming
howling and banners, their breaking into and firing the
Palace, tearing down the carved work of the chapel as
fuel to the flames, and this too on the Sabbath day,
and bear in mind the threats and words of the
wretched Davis, that " in six weeks there would
not be a church standing in the land," — who is not
forcibly struck with the description of the enemies of
God, in the 74th Psalm ? — " Thine adversaries roar in

160 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
the midst of thy congregations, and set up their ban
ners for tokens. He that hewed timber afore out of
the thick trees, was known to bring it to an excellent
work. But now they break down all the carved work
thereof with axes and hammers. They have set fire
upon thy holy places, and have defiled the dwelling
place of thy name even unto the ground. Yea, they
said in their hearts, let us make havoc of them altoge
ther." By the mercy of a protecting Providence we are
as yet spared the awful conclusion, — " Thus have they
burnt up all the houses of God in the land."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 161

PART XIV.
PROOFS OF AN EXTENSIVE CONSPIRACY.
Having completed an account of the transactions of
the ever-memorable Three Days in Bristol, and seen
something like a restoration of order, if not of internal
peace, the Narrative may be considered as having
reached a resting place, from whence it may not be
unprofitable to look back; though the sight fill us
with dismay, as that which struck the Patriarch of old
when he beheld and " lo the smoke of the destroyed
cities went up as the smoke of a furnace." A useful
lesson may be drawn from the survey. Here is an
ancient, a great, and populous city, in part sacked and
burned by an infuriated mob. The smoking ruins of
public and private buildings tell a tale of disgrace, that
affects the national character. The suffering is indeed
confined to Bristol ; but neither the disgrace nor the
moral is local. If the view be sickening to the mind, as
frightful to the eye, — reflect, that these riots may have
saved what is a million times the value of the whole
city, the Constitution of England.*
Here was a vast population in commotion. Countless
citizens unable or unwilling to defend the person of the
King's Judge ; — the King's Customs and Excise, the
Public Gaols, whose ruffian inmates were to be let loose

* It will be evident to the reader, that the above was written
before the completion of the tyranny against the Constitution.
M

162 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
upon some premeditated horrid work, — the Mansion-
house of their Mayor, the Palace of their excellent
Bishop, the private dwellings of ejected inhabitants,
against whom not a shadow of a charge could be
brought, — all plundered and burnt to the ground!
It is unparalleled in history. Cities have been sacked
and burned by foreign enemies, and the wretched
citizens honourably buried in their ruins ; but here, did a
band oi patriot ruffians for two days triumph in outrage
unchecked; and the ill-disposed of the citizens looked on
in apathy, in sufferance, and too many in approbation.
Tliey thought it was ihe first step of a revolution,
which a wicked press and a singularly unfortunate coin
cidence of evil circumstances, under the sanction of an
insane Government, had led them in a strong delusion
to desire. They saw in those flames the triumph of
the Black Book of the Press, of Reform, the downfall
of a tyrant Aristocracy, of a grasping Religion, of an
odious local Authority. They saw in those flames the
cancelling of bonds that stood against them, remission
of taxes, annihilation of public debt ; they looked to a
golden harvest of revolution the lying prophets had
promised, and they suffered the work to proceed. Nay,
the boasted Pohtical Union, that they might not be led
by their better feelings to interfere, were ordered to their
own homes, when they should have saved the homes of
others. And in this their abstinence, thus keeping then-
hands from every good work, they helped to paralyse the
inhabitants by the assumption of the power and dignity
of office ; the authority of a " Council," which the timid
naturally enough magnified into a legislative body, dele
gated by a combination too extensively formed, and too

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 163
matured in their plans, to resist ; whose very insolence
was strength, giving formidable encouragement to the
most abandoned wretches, and unnerving the arm of many
a legitimate defender, who, whether true or false, would
conceive this outrage sanctioned by a " Council."
It was a base malignant faction within, that rendered
the population disaffected, and the plotters and revolu
tionists saw it was a fair scene for their experiment. It
failed — and England is yet preserved.
The above remarks naturally lead to a consideration
of the plot. Is there any proof of premeditated
revolution? It will appear that there was a system and organiza
tion in the Bristol riots that can have no other origin.
It is the very nature of a plot to be concealed; could it
be discovered in all its ramifications, there would be
little danger in its existence ; but as the difficulty of
obtaining positive direct proofs may rather intimate
the danger and the certain* secrecy with which it is
invested, so will it make those which can be adduced
of greater importance. And they are, taken together,
sufficient to create alarm and vigilance.
It is unfortunate that those whose chief duty it is, and
who have the best means in their hands (the Govern
ment) appear but little solicitous to make a strict exami
nation of the schemes of Revolutionists, from whom
they have derived an adventitious aid. Bold measures
are indeed publicly proclaimed and owned, blazoned in

* How nearly, from the wonderful secrecy with which the conspi
racy was matured in Ireland, under Lord Edward Fitzgerald, did
that rebellion burst out with every prospect of success. The dis
covery was accidental, owing to no foresight in the Government, and
made just in time.
M2

164 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
triumphant confession, and of such a nature as would,
in other days, have brought their professors into immi
nent danger of a, charge of treason. Yet it may be
suggested that there are under-plots with which many,
even of the demagogues and the ostensible leaders of
Pohtical Unions, may be totally unacquainted, and
secret sub-committees and sub-delegates that may in
cunning wisdom adopt the Union as a blind ; that the
Executive, seeing so much evil owned and pubhshed,
may think there is nothing worse behind. But what
ever may be the inactivity of the Government, and from
whatever cause it may arise, the citizens of Bristol have
a deeper interest in the discovery. They will relieve
themselves from an eternal disgrace, if they can show
that this revolution was not local in its origin, whatever
it has been in its disastrous effects ; — that Bristol was
the theatre in which the revolutionary tragedy was to
be enacted, but that the authors and chief actors were
of an itinerant company, who chose to erect their stage
and make their season in that ill-fated city. It may be
said, that some of his Majesty's servants, stars from the
theatre-royal, condescended to speak the prologue?
though they disdained to tread the boards in the cha
racter of dramatis persons, or to appear in the afterpiece.
To say that the perpetrators of the Bill were in con
nection with the perpetrators of the riots, will not be to
charge upon them the conception of the plot. But
there may be, nevertheless, a connection — and so
it was here. The Bill — the Reform Bill — was the bond
of Ministerial and Revolutionary Union. It was an
ajipeal to the physical force of the people ; aud the
language with which it was urged, when it vilified the

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 165
Constitutional Parliaments of England as " robbers of
the pubhc purse," invested the vilest traitors with the
mantle of patriotism, and thus enabled them, under
allowed audacity, to conceal the real workings of a
widely extended and organized conspiracy.
That such an organized conspiracy did exist, and was
active at the Bristol riots, may be at least suspected from
the following circumstances.
The day was no sooner fixed for opening the Com
mission at Bristol, than persons were sent to the neigh
bouring towns, urging an attendance in Bristol on the
29th October; in consequence of which the city was full
of strangers. At Bath, the mob prevented the troops
of yeomanry from stirring on Sunday evening ; and at
Newport, they made a strong effort to prevent Colonel
Love embarking in the steam packet for Bristol.
In attacking the prisons, the mob went directly
(though out of their way) to smiths' shops for sledge
hammers, &c. — 'Separated for a purpose, and united at
the Bridewell and at the Gaol.
When the mobs were divided, for separate objects,
still with each party there were persons provided with
combustibles. They were divided in attacking the Gaol,
Cumberland toll-house, and Prince's-street toll-house,
yet still they met at Lawford's gate prison.
On their way to the Bishop's palace, some of the mob
wished to attack the Council-house, but the Palace was
first in the plan, and although once beaten off from it,
the fires put out, and nearly two hours elapsed before it
was again successfully attacked, still the orders were
observed, and no other building was assaulted until that
was fired.

166 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
In the Square, the houses were fired regularly, by
bands, and called to action by the rattle and the bell ;—
each party having different occupations, and not inter-
fering with each other.
The expressions of Davis, on Friday, 28th Oct. show
that the city was to be fired.
The conduct of the mob at Mr. Hole's shop, and their
declaration; — the gig-men at the Old Market; — the
combustibles used, which must have been long in pre
paration ; — at the Custom-house, a paste ; — at the Gaol,
a liquid ; — at Miss James's, Queen-square, a powder ; —
at the Chapter-house, a substance in cakes ; — at Mr.
Claxton's, fire-balls ; — at another house, a torch ; — the
cap of liberty, not hastily made ; — expressions of dying
men, that they were sent for; — confessions of prisoners;
while the mob out of doors were doing their part,
their partizans in doors were at work writing notices,
that certain houses or manufactories would be burnt
in the course of the evening. They thus obtained
then- object, by keeping a large body of well-disposed
citizens at home guarding their property, who would
otherwise have been active in putting down the riots.
Had not a plan been matured, this deep design would
not have been executed.
Before the Bridewell was fired, a fireman of the
Crown Fire-Office went down to that place, and mixed
with the mob, to find out their plans. He was informed
that the prisons would be all destroyed, the Bishop
would have a house-warming, and a match would be
placed under the Mansion-house, and they would then
go to bed. This person immediately went to one of the
clerks of the Fire Office, and next to the Bishop, and

THE BRISTOL RIOTS 167
stated what he had heard. During the whole evening
it was remarkable how exactly their plans were carried
into effect. The distance between the Gaol and Law
ford's-gate prison is two miles ; yet the mob, going by dif
ferent routes, all arrived about the same time, nor thought
of any fresh aggression until each pre-concerted object
was effected. The sending offa pigeon from Queen-square
(as mentioned in the United Service Journal,) with a
letter to Nottingham, has been vouched for on good
authority. A person, who had served at the business of a
druggist, was engaged during the week previous to
the riots, in making balls about the size of walnuts ;
they were all ready by the Friday evening. This
person was so far in the secret, that he mentioned
there would be property burned to a great extent, but
not on his side of the town ; in this he was quite correct.
The giving money to urge on the mob, as appears
was the case at the burning the Palace.
The previous attack on the Bishop of Bath and Wells,
at the Bedminster New Church, by parties who were
engaged in the subsequent outrages ofthe Three Days.
These few facts lead to very presumptive evidence,
if not positive proof, of organization in Bristol; it has
been shown that outrages of a similar character were
attempted about the same time elsewhere. But let any
one consider the course of incendiarism, from its first
appearance in Normandy, previous to the French Revo
lution, to its last act of conflagration ; — the extraordinary
circumstances attending it,— the secret, yet sure, agency,
—the skill, and artful management, and manufacture
of means, and the extent ofthe expence requisite for the

168 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
wide execution, — the preparatory cheap publications,
gratuitously circulated among the lower classes — and
for the class above them, the publication of such works
as The Prophetic Messenger, so skilfully contrived as
to create the mischief it foretells; — let any one well con
sider these several particulars, and see them all working
in combination, and he cannot reject the suspicion of a
deep-laid and extensive conspiracy to effect a Revolu
tion, and of the very worst kind.* If the Three Days

*That these conspirators identified themselves with the Reformers
is likewise certain. Reform was the pass-word of safety ; the
" King and Reform" the common shout of encouragement. This
truth is so palpable, that an apology seems necessary for the intro
duction of any matter, in the nature of proof; but it has been so
strangely denied by the virulent of that Party, that one or two
instances of proof may be not improperly adduced. It was in
evidence on Clarke's trial, that he delivered some stolen property
to a party, first asking, "Are you Reformers?" In Gregory's trial,
it appears he stopped a man with a table, and asked whether it was
a Reform table ? " Yes." " Then pass." Davis, at the Gaol, said
" Now d — n ye, ye would not let us have Reform." By a deposition
sworn before Mr. Alderman George on the 5th November, the
fact is established that the Rev. Charles Buck's house in Queen-
square was fired amidst shouts of " Protheroe and Reform for
ever." This deposition was made solely for the purpose of instituting
certain law proceedings for the recovery of damages for property
consumed by fire, and not with any political view. A gentleman
on Sunday night, in Queen-square, was lamenting the sad destruction
of houses to a stranger, who replied, " The Bristol people are against
Reform, and must be convinced." A gentleman, high in the army,
a resident of the neighbourhood, was in Queen-square between the
hours of two and four o'clock on the Monday morning, and saw a
well-dressed man assuming the character of a director of the fero
cious proceedings. He entered into conversation with thisman,who
told him that the affair was intended to have taken place inFebruary
next, though many had fixed it for the Sth of November; but that
the excitement anticipated on the arrival of Sir Charles Wetherell
was considered a favourable moment for carrying the plan into effect
at an earlier period.
Accounts from Exeter, Worcester, and numerous other places,
concur in stating that a simultaneous rising of the disaffected was
apprehended on the 5th of November, when the usual commemora
tion of the Gunpowder Plot was to furnish the cover for the out
break. Let it be remembered -too, that an armed meeting of the

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 169
of Bristol, the horrid outbreaking of rebellion, was the
result of a conspiracy, not originating with the citizens
of Bristol, but one of general bearing; — if the Govern
ment were warned by the Magistrates, and requested to
send such a military force as would protect the city,
under the fearful circumstances laid before them, and
if Government neglected to send sufficient force ; —
and if that force, amid the worst scenes, remained in
active, — it is cruelty," and the extreme of injustice, to
make the citizens the sufferers, with regard to the
immense property destroyed. But if the knowledge
gained at Bristol, prevented a similar attempt in
London ;* — if the final suppression of the rebellion in

" Trades " of London was announced to take place on the 7th.
Can it escape suspicion that " ulterior measures " were to have been
adopted at that meeting, consequent on the expected outrages in
the principal cities and large towns? The Government foresaw
the danger, and prevented the meeting; but if there be any Re
former sceptical enough to doubt the existence of an extensive
conspiracy, let him read the following extract from the Times cf
the 4tb November : —
" With what design (says this ultra-reform print) the meeting of
the " working classes " is summoned on Monday next, we know
not. That the design is not a good one, seems but too probable,
because the implied exclusion of all but those who live by daily and
manual labour, is a malignant one. There is another reason for
more than suspecting the design of White Conduit-house to be an
evil one. We have heard that there are extensive manufactures
of staves and bludgeons carrying on for the performers of that day's
intended Tragedy, — that fire-arms are to be carried under their
clothes, that the example of Bristol is to be appealed to — but that
more effect is meditated, and for that end, that a more elaborate
concert and more studied machination will be resorted to. We affirm
that such intelligence has reached us, and from more quarters
than one." There can scarcely be a doubt that the warning
presented by the Bristol Tragedy saved the country.
* Perhaps the reader will think the appeal toM.Persil, the French
Attorney-General, from M. Lediere, in prison for a libel, rather a
curious document. The quotation is from the Times: —
" In 1829, 1 organized in London the European Committee, which
accelerated the wakening of the nations, and announced their ap-

170 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Bristol was the means of saving the country from
anarchy, bloodshed, and civil war, — the country may
be well content to make good the loss there sustained ;
and if the Ministry feel in any degree conscious that
they themselves were agitators, who excited the turbu
lence, and caused the too general apathy, or that a
little more zeal on their parts to prevent insult to an
opponent, accompanied with manifest danger, would
have altogether prevented any excess, — if they be honest
men, they will not patiently allow the citizens, who in
other respects are so much injured by the riots, to bear
the whole of the punishment.

proaching triumph. In 1830, 1 published in that city Le Represen
tor des peuples; and finally I must say, in my defence, that it is to
my zeal, admirably seconded by the zeal of some powerful friends,
that they owed all the public meetings in all parts of England, to
congratulate France on her Revolution, and to overthrow the
Ministry of Wellington, which dared to condemn it."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 171

PART XV.
REVIEW OF THE CONDUCT OF THE MAGISTRATES.
As so much bitter persecution has gone forth against
the Magistrates, a short recapitulation of their conduct,
detailed in the preceding account, may be in justice due
to them, and to the public, whose object in the survey
of these events is truth. It has been shewn that the
Corporation, that is the Magistrates, are not and never
have been a pohtical body. It has been shewn that the
Mayor, whose mansion was burned and plundered, was
a Reformer. They did not, therefore, by any political
expression or sentiments, cause the riots ; — and to charge
them with producing them, by their application for
mihtary to suppress them, after they knew they were
predetermined on, is an absurdity that requires no con
tradiction. But let it be seen what they did do, as
so much has been said about what they did not.
First. When aware of the intentions of the ruffians,
they send a deputation to the Secretary of State, and
lay the whole danger before the Government, and
require sufficient mihtary force. The Secretary of State
would give them no answer until he had conferred with
Mr. Protheroe. Mr. Protheroe resists the sending mili
tary aid,— and writes to the Political Union, who
subsequently thwart them likewise. All this mischief
is not their doing.

172 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Secondly. They endeavour to procure a stong con
stabulary force, and in defection of volunteers, hire
constables, and prepare three hundred. The citizens,
it is true, had been tampered with pretty openly to
oppose the Magistrates ; — but that was not their doing.
Thirdly. They issue public notices, requesting the
inhabitants to observe peace and good order, and point
ing out the danger of disturbing the quiet of the city.
These are torn down, and others put in their places,
issued from another Council. This was not their doing.
Fourthly. They gave ample orders to the military,
ineffective in numbers as that force was, only 93 men,*
and these sent with unusual orders, not to be used but
on the greatest emergency. They gave the Commander
of these troops sufficient orders to act decisively. If
he did not act decisively to put down the riots, that was
not their doing either.
Fifthly. They protested most strongly against the
removal ofthe 14th dragoons — demanded their stay and
their recall. The dragoons were sent away, and not
recalled until Monday. And this defectionf was no
work of their doing.
Sixthly. They use every means in their power to
assemble the citizens on Sunday, when the rioters had
proceeded to great acts of atrocity, and although many
respectable persons attended the call, yet at no time did
*The Secretary of State, when danger was apprehended of a most
serious character, sends only 93 men ; when the riots are suppressed,
and the excitement over, at the special assize, and when nearly 4000
constables turned out, he sends about 400 infantry, and 250 cavalry,
a squadron of artillery, and General Sir R.Jackson to command them.
f The orders given to Col. Brereton by the Magistrates, on Satur
day night, were disregarded ; — on Sunday morning, disregarded ; —
on the removal ofthe troops, disregarded; — on demanding their re
call, disregarded ; — at the Bishop's Palace, disregarded.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 173
they exceed about 200, out of a population of 100,000.
And if the rebels had their emissaries in such assemblies,
to report proceedings and to create confusion, — that,
likewise, was not the doing of the Magistrates.
Seventhly. The Magistrates are continually at their
posts ; the Mayor quits not the Mansion-house till he
is in immediate danger of being burnt in it. At no
time are the known official stations without some of the
Magistrates present. If one of these posts, the Mansion-
house, is burnt, and the Mayor in consequence obliged
to establish himself in a private dwelling-house, — the
outrage which caused this was not the doing of the
Magistrates. Eighthly. When so estabhshed in a private dwelling,
the Mayor signifies to the other Magistrates where he
is, and writes* to the Commander of the forces to the
* Much has been said, in consequence of the misapprehension of
Mr. Goldney, who gave his evidence on the Court Martial, upon the
supposed anxiety of the Mayor for concealment ; but it will be
recollected that the Mayor's letter to Col. Brereton, dated at twelve
o'clock on Sunday night, is thus explicit: —
" The Mayor of Bristol begs to inform Col. Brereton that if he
" should have occasion for the orders of a Magistrate, either the
" Mayor or some other Magistrate will be found at No. 30, Berkeley-
" square, Mr. Daniel Fripp's, the second house on the right hand on
" turning into the Square from Park-street.
" Berkeley-square, 12 o'clock, Sunday night."
Mr. Daniel Fripp addressed the following letter to the Editor of
the Mercury: —
"In the evidence of Mr. Goldney, on the Court Martial of Capt.
" Warrington, on Thursday last, it is reported that he (Mr. Goldney)
" did not communicate to the Mayor what Capt. Warrington had
" stated, ' as the Mayor had particularly requested him (Mr. Goldney)
" through Mr. Daniel Fripp, not to mention where he (the Mayor)
" was ;'— that of Mr. W. Harris, Jun. is nearly to the same purport.
" / have to state most distinctly and unequivocally, that I received no
" such directions from the Mayor, nor did I communicate to Mr.
" Goldney or Mr. Harris such directions AS FROM THE Mayor. In
" the state of alarm my family was in at the time, it is probable I
" made such a request on giving them, or one of them, the letter in

174 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
same purport, and demands his immediate exertion to
save the city. If no attention is paid, the consequences
are not the doing of the Magistrates. The Commander
of the forces returned no answer to the communications
forwarded at twelve and three o'clock. The Magistrates
were engaged, during the night, making arrangements
for the Sheriffs, preparing summonses for the posse
comitatus, fixing on gentlemen who would undertake
to organize the householders, on their arrival at the
churches, &c. and determining what points should be
principally defended. If, under all the circumstances,
the Mayor had not withdrawn from the centre of the
city, but had remained at the Council-house, the pro
bability is, that that building would have been attacked
and destroyed ; the mob would have fired Broad-street,
Wine-street, High-street, &c. and the loss of property
would have been dreadful. The presence of the Mayor
in the centre of the city would have attracted the mob,
as they knew he had applied for military force against
them. At five o'clock on Monday morning the Magis
trates go, some to the Square, the Mayor and others to
the Council-house.
Ninthly. The Magistrates did head such small parties
as they could collect, at the imminent hazard of their
" question; and after the evidence given by two respectable indi-
" viduals on oath, I am not disposed to doubt it. Such request did
" not, however, prohibit either of those gentlemen returning to my
" house. From the clear description of my residence, to avoid any
" mistake, in the letter of the Mayor, dated 12 o'clock midnight,
" Sunday, and a particular ciicumstance at the time of writing that,
" at three o'clock p.m. Monday, I am convinced it was made to those
" gentlemen as my own individual request, and not by the direction of
" the Mayor, or given as such to either Mr. Goldney or Mr. Harris;
" and therefore, was received by them under a wrong impression, as
" being the request of the Mayor."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 175
lives — they headed a party to the Mansion-house — they
headed a party to the Gaol — they headed a party to
the Palace — they headed a party to Queen square, when
the firing was stopped.
If in these, their many active, courageous attempts
to encourage the citizens and suppress the riots, they
were deserted, knocked down, and threatened to be
ridden down by the soldiers, that discouragement to
the citizens and themselves was not their doing.
Tenthly. They send expresses to several places for
fresh military aid, the arrival of which saved the city.
If the rebels had previously destroyed the Mansion-
house, three Goals, Custom-house, Excise-office, Toll
houses, and a Bishop's Palace — none of this was the
doing of the Magistrates.
It has been urged, that they should early have called
out the posse comitatus ;* but was that attended with
no danger with a population of one hundred thousand,
and all, as the Reformers boasted, haying made up
their minds to insult Sir Charles Wetherell — and when
the Magistrates had a suspicion that this might be a
posse comitatus of rebels? It has been urged they
should have armed the citizens — yet how were they
threatened with " consequences " from the Political
Union — and it should be recollected, that in every riot
in Ireland since Lord Grey's administration, the Govern
ment have left the Magistrates and policemen to the
tender mercies of the vile ; some have been turned out
of the Commission of the Peace, some have been tried
for their lives, and all have been persecuted.
* To call out the posse comitatus requires time ; summonses must
be filled up and served individually; nor can they be issued until the
riot has taken place.

176 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Aii outcry has been raised, and a very senseless one,
against the Bristol Magistrates, that they did not act
the part of dragoons, and (bare and undefended with
the means of protection,) go forth as sure marks for the
fury of the ruffians. But the law as it has been amply
expounded, (which may be seen in the Appendix) acquits
them of any relinquishment of duty here, by clearly
annihilating the argument of necessity.*
On the whole, it seems singular enough that of all
parties to whom the public can turn their eyes, the
Magistrates alone appear to have done undeviatingly
their duty, strictly, honourably, and courageously ; and
it is not improbable that some of the rancour with which
they are now attacked, may proceed from the bitter dis
appointment of the ruffians, whose plans were defeated
by them — from the malignant spite of others who have
always hated them as Local Authorities,f and from the

* Any who saw the movements of the 14th in the street must be
convinced, that if any Magistrate had been mounted and with them,
he would have been separated from the troops the very first charge,
and unquestionably have been murdered by the mob; and if able to
keep up with the soldiers, charging, could he be expected to under
stand military signals and orders of command, by which their move
ments are regulated ? Major Beckwith, on this point, gives evidence
of nothing but his own astonishment, that none of the Magistrates
of Bristol were expert horsemen. He seems to have formed his
beau-ideal of a Magistrate from his recollections of the renowned
Hudibras, who was " Great on the bench, great in the saddle."
T Last year the Corporation proposed to the different parishes the
introduction of a Police Establishment, similar to that in London, in
lieu ofthe present system of watchmen. Meetings were called, the
plan was opposed, and they did not proceed with the measure, in
opposition to the wishes of the citizens. The Corporation, indeed,
appear to have been provident in more instances than one. Soon
after Lord Grey came into office, an application was made to raise a
volunteer corps. The Government refused. Within a month, a
a similar request was made from Salisbury, and granted.

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 177
natural love in those who are really much to blame, of
shifting the disgrace from their own to more convenient
shoulders. But it may yet be hoped, that though there may be
some incurable in their insane Reforming fury, the
Bristol riots will effectually remove the delusion from
the eyes of misguided citizens ; that in the " cool of the
day," they will hear a better voice, and " be afraid ;"
that they will learn, to their own best interests, that it
is the duty of citizens to help to make their city flourish,
and not to rush upon the attempt to found an empire ;
that it is better for them to become industrious trades
men, than political paupers and brawling Unionists.
For the accounts of the Special Commission and
Courts Martial, the reader is referred to the Appendix
— in this place it will only be necessary to make a few
remarks upon them.
It will ever be a subject of regret, that Special Com
missions had not been earlier issued, upon the riots at
Nottingham, Dorchester, and Derby. The passage in
the speech of the Lord Chief Justice, in reference to
this neglect of the Ministers, is worthy remembrance :
" For in the case of offences at once so alarming to
the public tranquillity, and so dangerous to the pro
perty and safety of individuals, it is of the first import
ance to make it known to all, that enquiry and
punishment follow close upon the commission of crime,
in order that the wicked and ill-disposed may be
deterred, by the dread of the law, from engaging in
similar enormities, whilst the peaceable and industrious
may look up to it with gratitude and affection for the
safeguard which it extends over their persons and
property." N

178 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Had punishment followed " close upon the commission
of crime" in the cases ofthe outrages at Nottingham, &c.
there might have been no riots at Bristol.
On the 2d Nov. the Government issue a Proclamation in
the King?s name, in which there is a cautious abstinence
of any severity, nor is the outrageous insult and attack on
the King's Judge, or his name, so much as mentioned.
A Proclamation of this character does not reach the
dignity of a brutum fulmen,— -it is too much in the
whining tone of entreaty to be respected, and tends to
the encouragement of the seditious, by its weakness and
timidity : —
" Whereas in divers parts of Great Britain, and more
particularly in the towns of Derby and Nottingham, and
in the city of Bristol, tumultuous assemblages of people
have taken place, and outrages of the most violent des
cription have been committed both upon the persons
and property of divers of our subjects ; and whereas all
the restraints of law and order have been overborne and
trodden under foot by such lawless multitudes, the man
sions of individuals violently entered, pillaged, and set
on fire, the ordinary course of justice forcibly inter
rupted, the gaols for the confinement of criminals broken
into and destroyed, and malefactors and persons charged
with offences let loose upon the public, to the great dis
turbance and danger of the common weal, and the sub
version of estabhshed government: And whereas the
welfare and happiness of all nations do, under Divine
Providence, chiefly depend upon the observance and en
forcement ofthe law : And whereas it is our firm determi
nation faithfully to discharge the duty imposed on us, to
preserve the public peace, and vigorously to exert the

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 179
powers which we possess for the protection of all our sub
jects, in the entire enjoyment of their rights and hberties :
We, therefore, being resolved to suppress the wicked
and flagitious practices aforesaid, have thought fit, by
and with the advice of our Privy Council, to issue this
our Royal Proclamation, solemnly warning all our liege
subjects to guard against every attempt to violate the
law, and to abstain from every act inconsistent with the
peace and good order of society; and we do hereby
charge and command all Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace,
Chief Magistrates of Cities, Boroughs, and Corporations,
and all the Magistrates throughout Great Britain, that
they do effectually repress all tumults, riots, outrages,
and breaches of the peace, within their respective
jurisdictions, and that they do make diligent enquiry in
order to discover and bring to justice the movers and.
perpetrators of all such seditious and wicked acts as
aforesaid : and we do earnestly and solemnly exhort,
enjoin, call upon, and command all our liege sub
jects, of all ranks and conditions, that they do come
forward upon the first appearance or apprehension of
any such disturbances as aforesaid, as they are bound
by their duty to us, by their regard for the general
interest, and by the obligation of the law, and that they
be actively aiding and assisting to all Sheriffs, Justices
of the Peace, and other Magistrates, in enforcing the
law against evil doers, and in protecting their fellow
subjects in the enjoyment of their property and the
exercise of their rights, against all forcible, illegal,' and
unconstitutional interference, controul, or aggression.
Given at our Court of St. James's, this 2d day of Nov.
1831, and in the second year of our reign.
God save the King. " N 2

180 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
In contemplating the fate of the wretched victims,
whom the law has demanded, who is there that does not
deplore the guilty excitement by which they were goaded
into crime ? But if the more guilty may have escaped,
we must not therefore affect a sickly sentiment, and pule
and whine away the safety of our lives, property, and
Constitution, in our maudlin commiseration of those
who have suffered. Let the wretches who would burn
us in our beds suffer the penalties ofthe law, and let us
reserve our best sympathies for the good and the
guiltless. The affected voice of pity is too often of the
hypocrite and scoundrel, — it is the false whine of the
crocodile, that crawls out of his mud and his slime to
imitate the bewailing tones, and shed the tears of sym
pathy, that he may more surely glut his ravenous appetite
for blood and mischief.* From what justifiable feeling
could the petitions to spare the condemned ruffians
have arisen ? Were they parties to them, who looked
on unmoved, when the life of a Judge of the land was
attempted, and the miserable citizens might have been
burnt in their beds ? And who then complimented the
ruffians with the designation of a " good-natured mob ?"

* The Manchester Political Union, at a meeting held on Sunday,
so worded their address, that ferocity, not pity, would appear to have
been the motive, and blood the object. They thus state the con
clusion of their Council: —
" That there has been blood enough spilt in consequence of Sir
Charles Wetherell's cruel and unprincipled conduct. We dare not
trust our feelings to enter into detail ; our determination is taken.
If one of these men suffer death, unless Sir Charles Wetherell suffer
with them, we shall have lost all confidence in the present Ministry;
and there will be something more added to a long catalogue of crimes
already recorded against the present, as well as former Governments
of this country. Add but this and the catalogue is full. Then the
xvork of justice must begin. The same feeling actuates us relative to
the Special Commission now sitting at Nottingham."

THE BRISTOL RIOTS. 181
Rather let punishment for such crimes be sure ; — that the
blessings we have enjoyed, under our old Constitution,
may not be put to the hazard of every brutal attempt to
be set on foot by the agitator and demagogue.
The trials of Col. Brereton and Capt. Warrington
are at full in the Appendix. The inexplicable conduct
of the former must always be a subject of conjecture.
The termination of his trial by his unfortunate suicide,
as well for other reasons, is likewise to be lamented, as
it deprived the public of much information that might
have been ehcited from his defence. Without an intimate
acquaintance with the character of his mind, it would
be perhaps criminal to ascribe motives. It would cer
tainly appear, that he thought the forces, the Ministry
allowed him, insufficient in numbers, and that he greatly
overrated the power of the mob. It may have been,
that he really thought the Bristol riots the commence
ment of a successful Revolution, to which real resistance
would cause a useless effusion of blood ; and he did
not, evidently, view with very great abhorrence the
atrocities the " people" were committing.
Had the Court Martial proceeded, it would have
been proved, that on the Sunday afternoon, when twelve
or thirteen constables were within the Mansion-house
and four soldiers without, and it was represented to
Col. Brereton that unless a reinforcement of constables
were sent for, or a detachment of military, it was impos
sible to keep possession against the increasing mob 
that then Col. Brereton replied, " I'll go and quiet the
rascals," and that he addressed them thus: — "My
good fellows,— you've released your prisoners,— you've
got them back, — I have sent away the 14th who rendered

182 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
themselves obnoxious to you by their conduct, — a strict
enquiry shall be made into that conduct, and I promise
you that the enquiry shall be strict ; — what do you want
more ? — Now go quietly to your homes, first giving three
cheers for your King." Upon this he waved his cap>
leading the cheer.
These trials prove a strange misconception on the
part of the mihtary in cases of riot. After the able
exposition of the law upon the subject, this cannot well
occur again. The proceedings of the Courts-Martial
will be read with great interest ; they are remarkable
for a display of eloquence and ability rarely to be met
with, more particularly in the concluding speeches of
Major-General Sir Charles Dalbiac, the Prosecutor.

It was the intention of the Narrator of the Bristol
Riots, in conclusion, to have detailed at required length
the Consequences. This part of the work, however,
has been deferred until by the violence consummated
against the Constitution, they have become of httle im
portance beyond the city wherein this first atrocious
Reformers' Tragedy has been perpetrated. He has now
the shorter work to perform, and yet it is grievous.
The Revolutionary events that have crowded into action,
since the above Narrative was drawn up, will make
much, both of the language and proceedings, appear
weak and insignificant. The movement has been indeed
forwarded, and of this we are most convinced by looking
back. The boasted loyalty has fallen before it ; and

THE BRISTOL RIOTS 183
that which we barely dared to suspect, has been openly
and audaciously acknowledged and proclaimed; and
thus much that has been written is confirmed.
Whether the Reform Act shall verify the fears of its
opponents, or the hopes of its authors and supporters,
the expected good of suffering will alone develope.
But though it may possibly be a subject of rejoicing to
the country at large, its agitation will ever be remem
bered by Bristol as the epoch and date of its severest
calamity. Previously to that agitation, it has been
shown that the city was singularly fortunate, in com
parative prosperity, comparative concord and internal
amity, and comparative loyalty to the Constitution.
It is now unquestionably in distraction and distrust, on
the brink of a ruin that may be irretrievable, already
burthened with a debt of 70 or £80,000. of which the
Riots are solely the cause, and which, falling upon im
paired resources, will long be a check to any attempts
to restore its credit and hopes of reviving prosperity.
Agitation has struck a blow, and is still aiming fresh
attacks upon the greatest source of its wealthy — the
West India Interest. The citizens have seen and felt
that the consequences have been hitherto disastrous,
but perhaps do not yet all see, that they must be uni
versal ; — that they must reach themselves, and that the
system, if persevered in, must be fatal, and sink the
second city in the empire into the insignificance of a
mere coasting port.
The active charity of its wealthier citizens has been
ever conspicuous, and the outrages committed against
then- persons and property have not turned.them aside
from those good and kind acts by which the sufferings

184 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
of disease or penury may be alleviated. The once
flourishing city is indeed brought low, for it has not
only disquiet but pestilence in its streets. Happy will
it be for the citizens, if they are led by reflection on the
past, to see and acknowledge that those are their best
friends who fear innovations; and if they resolve now
in their one triumph and many sufferings, to place no
confidence in agitators, who would instigate them to
the burning of private dwellings and the desecration of
churches ; and if they would weigh well, (the one only
cause of dissatisfaction being removed) against the des-
solation they have witnessed, the value of Conservative
Principles, whose professed object is the preservation
and security of property, the promoting public credit
and confidence, without which even industry is unavail
ing, and the establishment of the hberty of offering our
prayers to God, the Giver of all Good, in the temples
which our forefathers have raised to her service.

August 25, 1832.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

STATEMENTS FROM THE MAGISTRATES.

To the Editor of Felix Farley's Bristol Journal.
COUNCIL-HOUSE, Bristol, 14th Nov. 1831.
Ma. Editor, — A fortnight has now passed since the dis
tressing scenes took place in the city of Bristol, which will
long mark Sunday, the 30th October, in the memory of those
who witnessed them. During the interval which has elapsed,
the Magistrates and their Officers have been occupied almost
without intermission in satisfying tbe numerous claims upon
their attention, which the apprehension of persons charged
with offences, the recovery and preservation of abstracted
property, and other matters of continual and pressing occur
rence, presented.
It is hoped that the candour of by far the greatest part of
their fellow-citizens has, in the mean time, spared them from
the censure and reproach which others,, in ignorance of the
facts, and without materials for judgment, have thrown upon
them. Their complete vindication must be left to that full and
fair enquiry by which, whether it be called down upon them by
adverse application, or may take place under any other circum
stances, they feel that justice will eventually be done to all,
and by the result of which they are content to abide. In the
mean time the inclosed copies of two letters sent by the Magis
trates on the 4th Nov., one of them (with the Appendix) to his
Majesty's Secretary of State for the Home Department, and
the other to the Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty's Forces
(a copy of which last letter was also sent to Colonel Brereton,)
will serve to convey an outline of the principal circumstances
as they occurred, and which, it heing ten days since the docu
ments were transmitted to the respective offices, the Magistrates
think they may now, without impropriety, lay before the

188 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

public ; reserving the full detail of particulars for the proper
time and occasion, and wishing to refrain altogether from com
ment. The Magistrates, nevertheless, consider it necessary to
notice a letter, from Capt. Codrington to the Secretary of
State, which has been very generally published in the news
papers.* The facts appear to be these : — Captain Codrington's
troop arrived soon after the firing of the Bishop's Palace, where
some of the Magistrates had gone from the Council-house,
as stated in their letter to the Secretary of State, and had
in the result been separated by the rush of the mob. — The
approach of the troops, on entering the city, was communi
cated by the messenger who had been dispatched for them to
one of the Magistrates at the Council-house, who immediately
went to make arrangements for getting their billets. When
the Officer called at the Council-house he was directed to the
Commanding Officer's station, in the College-green, to report
himself. Shortly afterwards, an Officer called at the Council-
house, from Col. Brereton, to ask for a Magistrate, and was
told the Colonel should hear from the Council-house in five
minutes ; within that time, a call was made at the Colonel's
Office, in College-green: he was not at home, and no directions
could be obtained where to find him. In about half an hour
from this time', the letter in the Appendix, No. 5, and also
billets for the troop, were left at the Colonel's Office ; the troop
had, in the mean time, gone from College-green to the Livery
Stables, in College-street, where the 14th light dragoons had
been stationed, and where, in the presence of Col. Brereton,
the same accommodation was offered to this troop which the
light dragoons had received there ; but, whilst the lights were
being placed in the stables, they went away and left the city.
I am, Sir, your most obedient Servant,
CHARLES PINNEY, Mayor.

* " Mr Lord,— I have the honour to represent to your Lordship, that in
consequence of a requisition from the Mayor of Bristol, between two and
three o'clock yesterday, I collected my troop of yeomanry with as little loss
of time as it was practicable. When your Lordship considers tbat I bad to
send some miles in different directions, you will, I think, admit the alacrity
of my men when I state, that we were enabled to march from hence ( Dod •
ington), with scarce a man missing, by seven o'clock. Having, however,
fifteen miles to go, and the night being very dark, we could not reach
Bristol till after nine, when, I lament to say, We found the city on fire in
many places, the gaols emptied, and the town in the greatest confusion.
Having paraded through the principal parts of the city for more than two
hours, without being able to find a Magistrate ; hearing that they had in
fact left the town after withdrawing both His Majesty's troops and the
police; finding ourselves thus unsupported, and without a hope of being in
any way serviceable, the city being actually in the uncontrolled power ofthe
populace, I had no alternative but that of withdrawing also my men, and
we returned home about five o'clock this morning.
" Feeling it my duty to make this statement to your Lordship, I should
ill perform it towards the brave men I am proud to have the honour of com-

APPENDIX. 189
The Mayor's Letter- to the Secretary of State for the
Home Department.
COUNCIL-HOUSE,
Bristol, 4th Nov. 1831.
My Lord, — The Gaol Delivery having been fixed for Satur
day, the 29th Oct., it soon became evident to the Magistrates,
as well from reports circulated in the city and placards upon
the walls, as also from paragraphs in the newspapers, expressing
the disapprobation of the friends of Reform with respect to
Sir Charles Wetherell's conduct in Parliament, that a strong
public feeling would be excited against him, and that this might
be expected to manifest itself on his arrival and during his stay
in the city. The Magistrates, therefore, took into their consi
deration the propriety of making a communication to Sir
Charles on the snbject, and of submitting to him whether,
under the circumstances, in would be advisable to postpone the
Gaol Delivery. A deputation accordingly waited upon him in
London, to make this representation and ascertain his decision;
and in case it should be determined to hold the Gaol Delivery,
to make a communication to the Secretary of State, and request
that a military force might be sent to assist and support the
civil authorities in protecting the city and preserving the
public peace, lt having been decided on that the Gaol Delivery
ought to be held as usual, the proposed application was at once
made to your Lordship, and your Lordship having assented to
the views of the Magistrates, but wishing to see the deputation
again on tbe subject, you were accordingly waited upon by
them and Sir Charles "Wetherell on the following day. Your
Lordship having then sanctioned the opinion of the Magistrates
as to the propriety of holding the Gaol Delivery in the usual
form, and having directed that troops should be sent to the
vicinity ofthe city, and placed under the orders ofthe Magis
trates, upon the express understanding, however, that their
services should not be required except in case of actual neces
sity, and the failure ofthe civil power to maintain the peace,
the Magistrates immediately took such measures as appeared to
be necessary for increasing the constabulary force.

manding, if I did not further state, that no men could have come forward
with more alacrity ; and, although they might not have acted with the dis
cipline of His Majesty's regular troops, they would not have been exceeded
by them in zeal, loyalty, or a determination to have done their duty ; and
had they had an opportunity of acting, they would have shown themselves
not undeserving of His Majesty's approbation.
" I have the honour to be, my Lord,
" Your Lordship's obedient servant,
"C. W. CODRINGTON,
" Captain ofthe Dodington and Marshfield
" Dodington, Oct. 51." Yeomanry Cavalry."

190 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Upon application to the Inhabitants of the several wards,
their returns were insufficient for the number required, and
such deficiency was immediately supplied by engaging hired
Constables for the purpose ; the whole, with the Sheriffs'
Officers, amounted to about 300 men. On Thursday, the 27th,
the Magistrates issued and published the address contained in
the Appendix No. 1. On the 29th, the Sheriffs met the Recorder
at ten in the forenoon, (being much earlier than th« usual hour)
at the distance of about one mile from the Guildhall, and
much nearer to it than the usual place of meeting.
These precautions, which were adopted in the hope that they
might lessen the difficulties of Sir Charles' coming in, had not
altogether the desired effect ; the number of persons assembled
was much larger than upon former occasions, and considerable
tumult and pressure took place. Sir Charles was assailed with
violent groans, hisses, and other strong expressions of disappro
bation, and occasionally by stones thrown at him, from the
time of his being first received by the Sheriffs to his arrival at
the Guildhall, and again in proceeding from thence to the
Mansion-house, after having completed the usual formalities of
reading the charter and adjourning the Court. In passing from
one place to another, the Constables experienced great pressure
and annoyance, and were frequently struck with stones, and
several of them were considerably wounded.
They, however, performed the duty assigned to them, and
Sir Charles reached the Mansion-house in perfect safety, about
noon. The crowd assembled in front of the Mansion-house
continued there for some hours, without any indication of riot,
except by expressing their disapprobation, as they had before
done, and by occasional skirmishes which took place when the
Constables endeavoured to apprehend persons in the act of
throwing stones, or to disperse those who showed a disposition
to be more forward than the others. This state of things having
continued until nearly dusk, the numbers from time to time
varying, and their behaviour being occasionally more or less
tumultuous, and it appearing some of them had, in the mean
time, provided themselves with sticks, the Mayor, accompanied
by the Magistrates, went out in front of the Mansion-house
and addressed the people, remonstrating with them on the im
propriety of their conduct, pointing out to them the danger of
persisting in it, earnestly entreating them to disperse and go
home quietly, and stating to them the necessity of the Magis
trates using stronger measures unless this recommendation
should have the desired effect. Stones were thrown at the
Magistrates while this address was being made, one of which
struck the person who was standing next to the Mayor, and
knocked off his hat. But the earnest desire of the Magistrates
to abstain from using force until the last possible moment,
prevented them from having recourse to it until some time had
elapsed. About 5 o'clock, however, upon the approach of
evening, the number of people appearing -to be considerably

APPENDIX. 191
increased and their conduct becoming greatly more violent, the
doors and windows of the Mansion-house having been attacked
with stones, aud several of the Constables having been brought
in severely wounded, the Riot Act was read, and this appearing ¦
to have no effect, an order was sent to the troops, who had been
before directed to hold themselves in readiness, to come at
once to the scene of action.
In the interval of more than half-an-hour, which took place
before their arrival, the Mayor, aud those who were with him
in the Mansion house, were in the greatest personal danger.
The people on tbe outside had driven in the Constables, torn
up the iron-railings in front of the house, and with stones and
large pieces of timber battered in the windows and window-
frames, and the pannels of the doors, and were with the greatest
difficulty prevented from forcing a complete entrance by having
the windows and doors barricaded with beds and furniture ;
they had entered into the dining-room, and another room on
the ground floor, and destroyed the contents, and had made
such a breach in the large street-door as enabled them to rake
and sweep the hall with stones and large bars of wood ; and
they had, as it appears, provided and placed straw in the dining
room for the apparent purpose of setting fire to the house.
Upon the appearance ofthe soldiers, the people withdrew from
the attack, hut did not disperse ; and directions were given to
Colonel Brereton, who came to the Magistrates for orders, to
get the streets cleared ; they however still continued to occupy
the courts ofthe adjoining houses and the corners ofthe Square,
near the Mansion-house, in considerable numbers, throwing
stones at the windows and at the 14th dragoons, two of whom
were brought in wounded. Col. Brereton came in from time
to time to report to the Magistrates, and it appeared, from his
statement, that the people were in very good humour, that he
had been shaking hands with them until his own arm was tired,
that their number was lessening, and that he should shortly
disperse them by merely riding the troops about. It appeared,
however, to the Magistrates, that their number was rather
increasing than diminished, and that their conduct was tumul
tuous and violent, as they still continued to assail the house
by throwing stones, and attempted to force their way into the
kitchen and other parts of the building ; and the Magistrates
considered it necessary to have the people dispersed. Colonel
Brereton was asked if he had any directions which prevented
him from acting under the orders of the Magistrates ? and
answered that his orders were to be under their directions ;
upon which he was told that the Magistrates required him to
clear the streets. The people were soon after driven from the
Square, without any cut or wound being inflicted, and they
retreated to the neighbouring streets, in one of which the
soldiers of the 14th dragoons were exposed to great annoyance, .
by being pelted with stones, and being unable to follow the
people with effect, as they retreated across the Quay to the
ships, the lamps having been put out, and it being quite dark.

192 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Upon one ofthe officers of the 14th dragoons coming in to
complain of this, and stating that the troops would be uselessly
sacrificed, and asking for permission to fire, one ofthe special
constables offered to go with a party of 25 men, if they could
be supported by the soldiers, and dislodge them ; but this. was
given up upon Col. Brereton's suggesting that, in his opinion,
they would soon become quiet, and go to their homes, if they
were left unmolested, and saying he would be answerable for
the peace ofthe city, and would patrole it during the night.
The Magistrates recommended the Sheriffs to call out the
civil power of the county, and requested Capt. Shute, ofthe
Bedminster troop of North Somerset Yeomanry Cavalry, to
collect as many of his troop as he could in readiness by the
next day.
It appears that during the night there had been some further
insult and violence towards the 14th dragoons at some distance
from the Square, which in the result led to a man being shot.
Some few persons continued in the Square all night; early in
the morning they began to collect rapidly, and by 7 o'clock there
were many hundreds assembled. Col. Brereton called at the
Mansion house, and ordered home the fewsoldiers who remained
there ; shortly after which, the people commenced another
attack upon the Mansion-house, and tore down the barricadoes
which had been fixed during the night, and entered in full
force into the house. The Mayor and one of the Sheriffs with
difficulty escaped over the roof, and got to the Guildhall.
The troops were recalled, and the people again withdrew, but
retained possession ofthe cellar, and drank the liquors. About
half-past ten the 14th again returned to their quarters, being
followed by the mob, and pelted with stones, which they return
ed by firing several shots in College-green ; notwithstanding
which, the mob continued to pelt and insult them up to their
very quarters. The Riot Act had been read three times by one
ofthe Aldermen, who remained on the spot, and addressed the
mob, and entreated them to return to their houses ; and soon
afterwards the Alderman, in a conversation with Col. Brereton,
requested the troops might fire ; but the Colonel said that the
troops would not and should not fire, — it would be of no avail,
and the mob would be so infuriated that they might overcome
the troops, and the city be given up to slaughter. The Colonel
said it would be better to keep the mob in temper until the next
morning, when a reinforcement of troops might be expected.
Upon the arrival of the Mayor at the Guildhall a notice was
issued, apprising the citizens that the Riot Act had beeh read,
as stated in the Appendix, No. 2, also a notice, Appendix
No. 3, requesting a meeting of the citizens at the Guildhall, to
assist in restoring the peace of the city. The Mayor also gave
notice that Sir Charles Wetherell had left the city, which cir
cumstance took place soon after the first attack upon the
Mansion-house, Sir Charles having retired from it to a house
at some distance, and, by the advice of the Magistrates,
withdrawn from the city.

APPENDIX. 193

About 11 o'clock intelligence was brought to the Guildhall
that the mob were proceeding in considerable force to the City
Bridewell, with the declared purpose of setting at liberty some
prisoners who had been taken into custody, and committed
thereto on the Saturday. At this time the Special Constables,
(being principally tradesmen of the city), who had been on
duty from eighto'clock on the Saturday morning, had returned
to their houses, and only a few of the citizens had answered the
Mayor's request, by coming to the Guildhall, and those who
did attend expressed their readiness to act if they were sup
ported by the troops, but at the same time their unwillingness
to risk their lives unless they could be so supported. At this
time Col. Brereton applied to the Magistrates for their autho
rity to send the two troops of the 14th dragoons out of town,
stating that the mob were so exasperated with them, in conse
quence of their having fired, that the lives of every man of
them would be sacrificed if they remained. He was distinctly
told by the Magistrates that they could not authorise or consent
to this, and that if he sent them away he must be personally
responsible. He also stated that those troops, as well as the
3d dragoon guards, were harassed and fatigued, as well men as
horses, and could not render any assistance, or take any duty,
for some time. The Magistrates remonstrated with him
against this proposal, as the city would be left in a defenceless
state; and as the Colonel still insisted on the absolute necessity
of the measure, he requested the Magistrates to point out
quarters for the men, at the distance of two or three miles from
the city, which the Magistrates therefore did— informing him,
at the same time, they could not relieve him of his responsibility
in this respect, or be considered as sanctioning, in any manner,
the proposed removal of the troops. He insisted also on the
necessity of refreshing the 3d dragoon guards, and it is believed
ordered most of them to quarters for that purpose. In a short
lime after this (the mob having carried Bridewell by force,
and liberated the prisoners, and set it on fire, and being about,
as was alleged, to proceed to the City Gaol for the like purpose)
several citizens having by this time assembled at the Guildhall,
in pursuance ofthe Mayor's requisition, and being called upon
to give their assistance, stated, in Colonel Brereton's presence,
that they would not act unless supported by the military.
Colonel Brereton was again peremptorily desired to call out
the troops immediately, and again gave for an answer that he
could not do it, as their lives would be sacrificed without being
able to do any good. The mob proceeded, as was expected,
and succeeded in getting possession of that prison ; two of the
Magistrates having gone down with such civil force as they
could collect, were driven back ; the particulars of which, and
the conduct of such ofthe troops as were brought out on that
occasion, are detailed in the account furnished by the Sheriffs
in the statement which forms the Appendix, marked No. 4.
It appears that, with reference to sending the 14th dragoons
out of the city, the officers and men were very unwilling to
O

194 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

go, that they were by no means in a state which made them
quite unfit for service, and were anxious to be actively employ
ed ; but Col. Brereton informed them that it was the order ofthe
Magistrates they should go, and go they must. The mob having
succeeded in liberating all the prisoners from the Gaol, pro
ceeded for tbe same purpose, and with the same object, to the
prison of Lawford's Gate, situated in the county of Gloucester,
but in the immediate vicinity of Bristol, where they effected
the same work of demolition and liberation. The Magistrates,
by this time, had established themselves as well as they could
in the Council-house, tbe Sheriff and a party ofthe citizens re
maining at the Guildhall, between both which places a constant
communication was maintained, but no sufficient force either
of Citizens or Special Constables could be obtained to enable
the Magistrates to engage in further conflict, after the result of
the endeavour to relieve the Gaol. About this time an attempt
was made to set fire to the back of the Mansion-house, and
there being six soldiers in the Square at the front, the cir
cumstance was communicated to them, with a request that they
would show themselves at the back in order to prevent it, which
they refused, alleging that their orders were confined lo keeping
the front of the Mansion-house clear. From Lawford's Gate the
mob proceeded, in two divisions, to tbe Bishop's Palace; and
the Mayor/with several persons who had been with him during
the day, and followed by as many citizens as could be collected,
went down to the scene of action, having given orders for all
the troops which could be brought out to be there. The first
division ofthe mob having entered, were followed by many ofthe
Special Constables and the soldiers, who formed inside the court,
and it was hoped the ringleaders might be secured •. but just as
the citizens came in contact with them, the main body of the
mob were heard advancing. The Mayor, and the few persons
who were with him between the two bodies, with difficulty passed
through them ; and the Constables, who had attempted to secure
some ofthe mob, on looking to the place where the soldiers had
been posted, in the hope of finding support, observed that the
soldiers were gone, and finding themselves deserted, getaway
as they could, declaring that they would not again venture their
lives. The Palace was immediately set on fire and consumed.
This was followed by the firing of two complete sides of Queen-
square, containing nearly forty houses, including the Mansion-
house, the Custom-house, and the Excise-office. During all
this time, it will be seen that the Magistrates were wholly with
out any sufficient meaus of protection or defence, the mob
appearing to have had complete possession ofthe city. There
was no interval during which the Mayor and Magistrates were
not at their post, except for a short time after their being driven
from the Bishop's Palace, and retiring, to a private house in
Berkeley-square, of which uotice was almost immediately given
to Colonel Brereton, as stated in the Appendix, Nos. 5 and 6.
About four o'clock, one of the Magistrates went to thequarters
of the 3rd dragoon guards, and stated to the officer in command

APPENDIX. 195
thesituation of the Square, saying that the whole of it would be
consumed unless military assistance was instantly afforded. He
expressed his readiness to attend, but said he could only furnish
24 men ; he mentioned that a letter had been received from the
Mayor; this appeared to be the letter No. 6 in the Appendix.
The officer, at the desire ofthe Magistrate, went with him to
Col. Brereton's lodgings, the door ofthe military office having
been before tried in vain. The Colonel, upon being called up,
and the circumstance stated, said it was of no use to take out
those jaded troops, — they could do no good, — what could they
do against such a mob ? He was, however, strongly and repeat
edly urged, and consented to order out the troops : in about ten
minutes they were out, and, on proceeding to the Square, found
in Prince's-street a warehouse in flames ; and a mob of about six
or seven hundred persons in front of it, which the troops dis
persed, by charging up the street. On arriving in the Square,
the mob, consisting of about six hundred more, were just com
mencing an attack upon the first two houses on the third side of
the Square, two entire sides being in flames. The mob had
entered the corner house with fire, and were battering the win
dows and door ofthe next to it. The troops formed in front of
the two houses. The mob did not disperse, but continued round
the soldiers. The fire in the corner house was extinguished
and cleared, and, from the arrival of troops in the Square, no
attempt was made to attack or set fire to any house.
About six o'clock the mob had separated into small parties of
twenty or thirty, in different parts of the Square, which the
soldiers were occasionally employed in dispersing. Upon one
of those occasions a soldier was wounded by a shot fired by the
mob ; and, by a little activity on the part of the soldiers, the
streets were ultimately cleared. In the meantime, having sent
to Gloucester and other places for assistance, and the two troops
ofthe 14th having been brought into the city from their country
quarters, and Major Beckwith having arrived from Gloucester
and taken the command of them, and receiving directions from
the Magistrates to disperse the mob wherever they were found
to be assembled in force, they were vigorously attacked. By
these measures, and the arrival of a considerable number of
troops of yeomanry from different parts of the country, the city
was soon restored to a state of comparative peace and security.
I have laid before your Lordship, as simply and shortly as
possible, an outline of the principal transactions which have
taken place in this city, wishing to avoid comment or observa
tion upon them. I believe every fact detailed can be fully
verified. If any part of the statement should appear to require
explanation, I shall be most happy to afford it, as I also shall be
to continue the detail at any subsequent period.
I have the honour to be, my Lord,
Your Lordship's obedient humble servant,
CHARLES PINNEY, Mayor.
To the Right Honourable
Lord Viscount Melbourne , Sjc. fye. 0 g

196 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
[The following are the Documents referred to in the Magistrates'
Statements, as the "Appendix."]
No. l.
Council-House, Bristol, 27th October, 1831.
It being apprehended, from information received through various channels,
that some indiscreet persons may be inclined to promote feelings of irritation
and excitement on the arrival of the Recorder in this city, the Mayor and
Aldermen most earnestly hope that all classes of their fellow-citizens, however
they may differ on political subjects, will see the propriety of cordially co
operating to maintain peace and good order; and that they will abstain from
manifesting any declaration of their opinions on so solemn and important an
occasion as the delivery of his Majesty's Gaol, in cases affecting the lives of
the persons to be tried for offences against the laws of their country. The
Magistrates confidently trust ihat they may rely on the good sense and dis
cretion ofthe inhabitants ni>t to depart from that orderly conduct which has
hitherto prevailed in the city; but should any disposition be shewn, tending
to create disturbance, they feel it wilt become their imperative duty to use all
lawful means for the apprehending and bringing to punishment all persuns
who may be found committing any breach of the peace or other illegal act.
By Order of tbe Mayor and Aldermen,
LUDLOW, Town-Clerk.

No. 2.
Council-house, Bristol, Sunday, Oct. 50, 1851.
The Riot Act has been read three times. All persons tumultuously
assembling are guilty of capital felony. By Order of THE MAYOR.

No. 3.

The Magistrates most earnestly intreat the assistance of their fellow-
citizens to restore the peace of the city, by assembling immediately at the
Guildhall. Guildhall, Sunday Morning, half-past Ten o'clock.

No. 4..
The Sheriffs of Bristol having been called on by the Magistrates to report
upon the circumstances of attack upon the Gaol, have instituted an enquiry
into those circumstances, and find that the Governor having-received infor
mation on Sunday afternoon, about one o'clock, that the mob had attacked
Bridewell, immediately resorted to the Mansion-house, to inform the Magis
trates of the circumstances of the case, and to require assistance, when he
found that the mob had obtained possession of the house, and that the
Magisirates were gone up to Ihe Guildhall. On his arrival there, twoofthe
Aldermen, Mr. Hilhouse, and Mr. Savage, offered to accompany him back,
and, having collected about thirty of the Citizens and Constables, they pro
ceeded to the Gaol, which is a building surrounded by a wall of very con
siderable circumference, and although high, yet exposed to be scaled in every
direction. The party, on arrival, found upwards of fifteen thousand persons
surrounding the Gaol, and in front of the portal or entrance, and, on coming
round towards the portal, they were attacked by stones and missiles of every
description; several of the party severely hurt; Mr, Little, the Under-

APPENDIX. 197
Sheriff's partner, dangerously wounded with a sledge-hammer; and the whole
division scattered ; and an entrance was thereupon effected at the portal, by
the mob, who were provided wilh tools they had obtained on their way to the
Gaol, by breaking open an ironmonger and anchor. smith's shop. Tbat im.
mediately after the mob entered, about twenty -four of the 3rd dragoon
guards came towards the spot, at a slow pace, and, as the troops approached,
the mob fled in all directions. The troops moved to the front of the Gaol ;
but, as they took no offensive measures, the populace again drew near to it,
there being then about one hundred persons of the mob within the walls.
The Governor, who had taken shelter from the mob, at a house immediately
close to the Gaol wall, saw the Guards approach, and went towards them,
when he saw them returning, without stopping at all, or interfering with the
mob, the people cheering them, and some of the soldiery waving their gloves
in return. The mob then obtained complete possession ofthe Gaol, liberated
the prisoners, set fire to the Governor's house, which is consumed, and retained
possession of the Gaol until Monday morning, when the cavalry having dis
persed the people in the adjoining square, the possession of the building was
recovered. The Sheriffs have also to report that the damage done to the
Gaol itself is inconsiderable, with the exception of the destruction of the
Governor's bouse.

No. 5.
The Mayor of Bristol desires Colonel Brereton to consider himself fully
authorised to take whatever steps, and give whatever orders, he, as the
military commander ofthe troops in this city, may think fit, to restore and
preserve, as far as possible, the public peace. The Riot Act has been read
three times to-day. Col. Brereton will have the goodness to consider this
order to apply not only to the troops at present under his command, but to
any which may subsequently arrive in this city,
Mr. Daniel Fripp's, No. 30, Berkeley-square,
Sunday night, 12 o'clock, 30th October, 1831.

The Mayor of Bristol begs to inform Col. Brereton that if he should have
occasion for the orders of a Magistrate, either the Mayor or some other
Magistrate will be found at No. 30, Berkeley-square, Mr. Daniel Fripp's,
the second house on the right hand on turning into the Square from Park-
street. Berkeley-square, 12 o'clock, Sunday night.
This communication is made to Col. Brereton, in consequence of Lieui,
Macclesfield calling at the Council-house, and requesting to see a Magis
trate; Col. Brereton was gone out when a call was made at the Staff station
to inform him as above.

No. 6.
Bristol, 3 o'clock, Monday Morning, 31st Oct. 1831.
Sir,— I direct you, as commanding officer of his Majesty's troops, to take
the most vigorous, effective, and decisive means in your power to quell the
existing riot, and prevent further destruction of property.
Iam.&c. CHARLES PINNEY.
To Col. Brereton, or the Commanding Officer
of his Majesty's troops.
Per Mr. Goldney,
Mr. W. Harris, Jun.

198 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The Mayor's Report to the Commander in Chief.
COUNCIL-HOUSE, Bristol, 4th November, 1831.
Mv Lord,— I feel it my duty, as Mayor and Chief Magis
trate of the City of Bristol, to lay before your Lordship a
statement of a few facts relating to the unhappy transactions
which have lately taken place in this city. Three troops of
cavalry had been, upon the application of the Magistrates, sent
to the neighbourhood, before the 29th of October, in order to
assist in maintaining the public peace, on the occasion of Sir C.
Wetherell (as Recorder) coming here to hold the Gaol Delivery
on that day. The public entry of SirCharles into the city, the
reading the Charter at the Guildhall, and Sir Charles's arrival
at the Mansion-House, had been effected by about 12 o'clock
without having had recourse to the troops; and Col. Brereton,
upon his application soon afterwards for orders, was told to keep
them in readiness for immediate service when called upon, the
mob which had accompanied Sir Charles having continued in
front of the Mansion-house, and occasionally thrown stones at
the windows, and having been in other respects noisy and violent.
About five o'clock, the Constables having gone to the assist
ance of a man who was in danger at the distance of a few doors,
two of them being brought in considerably wounded, and being
ultimately driven into the Mansion-house, a violent attack was
made by the mob upon the building; the iron railing in front
was torn up, the pannels of the doors were forced, and the
window frames beaten in. The Constables being unable to
maintain possession ofthe hall, in consequence ofthe brick-bats,
stones, and pieces of timber by which it was raked, the mob
effected an entrance, destroyed all the furniture inthe rooms on
the ground-floor, and, as it appears, had provided and placed a
quantity of straw in one ofthe rooms. Three dispatches were
sent for the troops, who arrived about 40 minutes after they had
been sent for, and relieved the persons in the Mansion-house
from their critical situation. On the arrival of the troops the
mob retired from the door, but continued to occupy the ground
in front, in great numbers, at a very short distance ; and as soon
as the troops had passed the street, the mob returned again close
under the windows ofthe Mansion-house, but without renewing
any attempt to force an entrance. Col. Brereton was directed
by the Magistrates to clear the streets, disperse the mob, and
preserve the peace ofthe city. The troops under his direction
continued at a slow trot to march round the Square, in which
the Mansion-house is situated, and the communicating streets.
The mob cheered the soldiers, and sung God save the King;
and it appears that Col. Brereton addressed them, and shook
hands with many of them. The mob continued at intervals to
throw stones at the windows of the Mansion-house in different

APPENDIX. 199
directions; and, in a short time, two soldiers of the 14th
dragoons were brought in wounded, one of them considerably.
The Riot Act had been read at least two hours before ; and upon
these acts of violence continuing, the Magistrates urged Col.
Brereton to proceed with more effect in getting peace restored.
He dissuaded the Magistrates from directing a greater degree
of force to be used, expressing his opinion that the mob appeared
to be very good-huinoured, and that he hoped and expected
very shortly to get them away. In consequence of the disin
clination he manifested, he was asked if he had any directions
from your Lordship which prevented him from acting under the
Magistrates' orders. To which he answered, my orders are to
take the directions of the Magistrates. And, in reply to this,
it was stated to him that the Magistrates' directions were to clear
the streets, and to get the city into a state of quiet.
A charge in the interior ofthe Square was made, which in a
few minutes dispersed the mob, and they retreated to a place
called the Quay, to which the soldiers followed them, and were
assailed by stones ; they had before put out the lamps, and one
ofthe cavalry officers came to the Magistrates to know if he
might fire some rounds of cartridges down the street, as the
mob, by retreating into ships, when driven by the cavalry to the
brink of the Quay, preserved the means of annoyance, and
rendered it impossible for the cavalry to get at them. One of
the special constables proposed, with five-and-twenty men, if
supported by the soldiers, to go and clear the ships; but this
was given up, as was any further use of active force, it appearing,
upon Colonel Breretou's statement, that they seemed to be
peaceably inclined, and that he expected, if they were left to
themselves, the city would be quiet. The military, therefore,
continued merely to patrol the streets, and, with the exception
of one short conflict, during which one of the rioters was shot
by a soldier ofthe 14th, it is believed there was no disturbance
until the morning. At day-break the people began again to
assemble near the Mansion-house in considerable numbers.
About 8 o'clock, and shortly after the soldiers were removed
from the house, a violent attack with stones and iron bars was
made upon the Mansion-hc-use, which had been barricaded
with planks during the night, and made as secure as circum
stances would permit; and the mob were upon the point of
forcing an entrance, when I, with some others, left the house,
by going over the roofs. The mob immediately afterwards
entered and took possession. Some time before my leaving the
house, Col. Brereton had withdrawn the troops, having men
tioned that the few troops there had no other effect than that of
attracting the mob, without being able to render any service,
and that they were much harassed, and must go to their quarters.
Very soon after the troop had withdrawn, the mob entered into
the Mansion-house, got possession of the cellars, and became
intoxicated, and within 30 or 40 minutes after the troops had
been sent to the stables, they were again called for, but, except
a small party of the 3rd dragoon guards, did not stay long, and

200 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
the mob having followed and pelted the 14th, four or five shots
were discharged upon them. Soon after this, I and several
Magistrates being assembled at the Guildhall, Col. Brereton
applied to us for our authority to withdraw the 14th from the
city, stating that they were so much harassed, and had so much
exasperated the feelings of the public, that they could not
remain, except at the peril of their lives. Col. Brereton was
told in answer, that the Magistrates not only could not
authorise him to do so, but directed it not to be done, saying
that the military had been sent down for the protection ofthe
city, and that the persons and property ofthe inhabitants could
not be protected without them. Col. Brereton stated that their
staying would be utterly useless ; they were harassed and worn
out, and wanted refreshment, and were altogether insufficient
in their present condition, and that it would be many hours
before they would be fit for service again. He was told, if he
sent them off it must be done upon his own responsibility, and
that the Magistrates would not relieve him from it ; at the
same time, upon his asking where it would be best for them to
go, it was stated that the Magistrates would not embarass him
if they could not assist him, and, subject to his responsibility,
recommended Brislington as the nearest quarters.
Soon after this, information was brought that the mob was
proceeding to Bridewell to release the prisoners, and several of
the inhabitants having assembled at the Guildhall, in pursuance
of a requisition of the Magistrates, they refused to act without
the assistance ofthe troops. Col. Brereton was desired to bring
the troops into immediate service, and some time afterwards
was asked, before the citizens, if he had ordered out the 14th,
as well the 3d dragoon guards? He stated that he had not
and could not do so ; they would be useless, and it would
endanger their lives. He was remonstrated with upon this, and
told expressly that the Magistrates demanded and required
their protection. I find that, upon his going to the quarters
ofthe 14th, and desiring them to go out of town, they were
unwilling to do so, and expressed the utmost readiness to act,
hut that they were told by the Colonel that it was the Magis
trates' order, aud that they must go. I find also that the horses, at
that time, were by no means in astate incapable of service. From
this time, up to eight o'clock in the evening, at which time
the Bishop's Palace was fired and destroyed, and the mob had
set fire to the Mansion-house, (in the mean time the Gaols of
Newgate, Bridewell, and Lawford's- Gate having been fired,
and the prisoners discharged) the Magistrates had no assistance
from the military, and, as I believe, no effort whatever was
made to render any — except that some soldiers marched to the
Gaol when it was first attacked, which might, I believe, have
been successfully defended, if the troops had not almost imme
diately retired — and except also that a few troops went to the
Bishop's Palace, in aid of the Constables, and withdrew from
it when the Constables came in contact with the mob — and

APPENDIX. 201
also except about six or eight men who patrolled near the
Mansion-house. Having gone to the Bishop's Palace upon the
first alarm, with several of the Special Constables, and they
having been, as I have understood, in contact with the mob,
and having been disappointed by the retirement of the troops,
just about the time when a fresh body ofthe mob were coming
up, I went to the house of a friend in the neighbourhood, from
which, in the course ofthe night (first at 18, and afterwards at
three o'clock in the morning) 1 sent urgent requisitions to Col.
Brereton for assistance ; not only the Mansion-house and
Custom-house were burning, but other houses had been set on
fire, and by the time the troops were taken down to the spot,
through the personal application of a Magistrate, two sides of
the Square, consisting of nearly forty houses, were burning ;
but, upon their coming down, the mob desisted from further
attempts. On the Monday, Major Beckwith, of the 14th, came from
Gloucester, and, the division of the I4tb having been brought
back, took the command ofthe cavalry, and, under the sanction
ofthe Magistrates, charged the mob wherever they were assem
bled in bodies, speedily dispersed them, and in a great measure,
restored peace and security to the city.
I have considered it proper, with the concurrence of my
brother Magistrates, to submit this statement to your consider-
tion, not intending to make any charge or insinuation against
any body, but thinking it proper that the causes of such an awful
calamity as the city has experienced should be enquired into.
I have every reason to believe that the conduct of the soldiers
and their officers was entitled to your Lordship's approbation ;
but I doubt very much whether the military assistance afforded
to us by his Majesty's Government was employed as it might
have been, and as the pressing exigency ofthe case required.
I have the honour to be, my Lord,
Your Lordship's very obedient humble servant,
CHARLES PINNEY,
To the Right Honourable Mayor.
Lord Hill, fye. fye.

202 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
HOUSE OP COMMONS.— December 6, 1831.
Sir Charles We ther elVs Statement.
[The speech of Sir Charles Wetherell, in the House of Com
mons on Tuesday, is of such peculiar importance as regards the
late disturbances in Bristol, — his defence so complete, — and
his exposure of the falsehoods unblushingly put forth by the
Radical Press so unanswerable, — that we are induced to give it
a prominent place in our columns.] — Felix Farley.
Sir C. Wetherell said there was one passage in his Majesty's
speech which referred to a subject on which he felt a great
anxiety to express himself; and he had no doubt that the house
on all sides would honour him with its attention. (Hear, hear.)
His anxiety arose from several considerations : first, from a
consideration of the duty which he owed to the public ; 2ndly,
from a consideration of the duty which he owed to the laws;
and, lastly, from a consideration of the duty which he owed
to himself. He alluded to that part of the King's speech in
which reference was made to the late calamitous occurrences
at Bristol. (Hear.) For reasons which were perfectly obvi
ous, the speech omitted to go into the history of those disastrous
occurrences. Indeed, as the inquiries into the circumstances
out of which they arose were at that moment in progress, until
they should have been concluded it would have been highly
improper to go into a detail of facts the true nature and extent
of which had not yet been clearly ascertained. He had been
charged by the Press in most parts of Great Britain and Ireland
with being d irectly the author of all the disasters that had befallen
Bristol. But if the smallest part of those calamities were really
attributable to him, he would be content to retire in shame from
that hon. house, and to hide his diminished bead in the obscu
rity to which public indignation and contempt might justly
drive him. (Loud cheers ) But yet that charge had been re
iterated from time to time by all the Press of London, and
especially by those writers who avowed that they had communi
cations with the existing Government — who asserted from time to
time intelligence was communicated to them by the members of
the Government, and who had, at all events, given information to
the public which they could get only from the Government. —
(Hear, hear.) Now, it was not to be inferred that he found
fault with the Government for so communicating with the
Press. But in all those Journals the charge had been made
against him that he went down to Bristol, in the exercise of
his functions as a Judge under his Majesty's Commission,
contrary to the remonstrances of the Government, and of the
Magistrates of that town — that his doing so was the effect of
indiscretion, obstinacy, foolhardincss, and a wish to stimulate
the people to acts of violence : in short, that his conduct was
influenced by every unworthy motive, which the remonstrances

APPENDIX. 203
which were made to him could not restrain. Now, he would
say plainly, that that statement was in every part of it false,
base, and scandalous. (Hear, hear, hear.) If he were to go
over and comment upon every species of calumny with which
he had been assailed, it would be necessary for him to occupy
the house — he would not say four-and-twenty hours, but four-
and-twenty days. (A laugh.) But wheu newspapers, which
were in communication with the Government, made those
attacks upon him and represented him as the author of the
calamities at Bristol, he was compelled to assert, that some
members of the Press were become tyrannical, base, and slan
derous — (hear) — for many of those who made such assertions
respecting him, knew well that they were false. (Hear, hear.)
How stood the case ? A gentleman, connected with the office
of Recorder of Bristol, called on him in the ordinary discharge
of his duty, some time previous to the period fixed for the gaol
delivery in that city, and he informed him that he did not think
it safe for the Recorder to enter Bristol in the usual manner
to perform his duty on the occasion then approaching, without
the protection of a stronger force than the civil authorities
had at their disposal. In consequence of the information he
had thus received, he consulted with the Magistracy, and he
found them to be of opinion that the constabulary force which
they could obtain would not be sufficient to prevent riot ; and
it was accordingly decided that a deputation should wait upon
the noble lord (the Secretary for the Home Department) to
represent to hiin the necessity for a military force. It might be
asked why did not he (Sir C. Wetherell) attend with that depu
tation ? His reason was this, that if the noble lord and the
deputation should have occasion to enter into any discussion
relating to him, he might furnish them by his absence an ample
opportunity to do so. (Hear, hear.) Those gentlemen were
then informed by the noble viscount, that military assistance
should be furnished to the Magistrates, and a request was made
that he should attend with the deputation at another interview.
In two days afterwards, he believed, he did so. Here, then,
was one instance in which it was communicated to the Govern
ment that military assistance was necessary for the protection
ofthe Judge in the exercise of his duty. Word was then sent
down to the authorities at Bristol, that every thing should go
on as usual. Honourable gentlemen opposite were aware of
the truth of his statement, and he was sure that it would be
confirmed by the members of his Majesty's Government.
(Hear, hear, hear.) Now if they saw that military assistance
was necessary to preserve peace at the entry of the Judge, and
that that was a sufficient reason for the suspension of the general
gaol delivery, surely they would have stated that, either at the
first interview with the deputation, or at that which he (Sir C.
Wetherell) was present. For his part he did nothing more
than send down word, as had been agreed upon, that every
thing should go on as usual. (Hear.) He trusted that the house
was now satisfied that he had given a full and flat contradict

204 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
tion to the gross calumny which had been kept up in the
London newspapers for nearly a fortnight, and from thence was
poured through the arteries of the press into every part of the
country, and was conveyed back through the veins, having
undergone the usual alterations in its course. (Laughter )
With whatever glory the slander might appear in the Times of
the morning, additional brightness was shed upon it by The Sun
in the afternoon — (A laugh)' — and the Courier at length took it
off to Paris — (Laughter) — neglecting nothing by the way that
could make it more astringent, acrimonious, and offensive.
(Hear.) Well, the French papers assured the public that his
(Sir C. W.'s) conduct was greatly condemned indeed by the
coteries — that was the word — (A laugh)— but he did not know
whether they meant the coteries ofXa rue des Tuilleries, or
those of La rue de la Paix. (A laugh.) He only knew that
the conduct of the humble individual then before the house
was most unsparingly assailed on all sides. He need not tell
the house that the press of Ireland kept pace with that of
England, and attacked him with no less vehemence and injustice.
All this might seem more than a man ought to endure without
repelling it, nor would he have borne with it, but that he
should have .been unworthy of his station as a Judge — he
should have degraded himself as a gentleman — (Hear) — he
should have forgotten his dignity as a member of the English
Parliament — if he had surrendered his right of opposing the
Reform Bill, and of stating to that house, and to the country,
fully and fearlessly, the grounds of his opposition. (Cheers.)
He would not consent to surrender any of those rights, by en
tering into a controversy with the newspapers for the purpose of
refuting the slanders of his numberless assailants. Indeed, to
do so it would have been necessary to write letters to every
editor in England, informing him that he had been altogether
misinformed as to his (Sir Charles Wetherell's) conduct. (A
laugh.) That course he would not consent to take, but he did
hope the time would come when, in that house, he should have
an opportunity of explaining himself, and of showing to the
nation that which every candid man connected with the Govern
ment must acknowledge to have been the true nature of the
occurrences, Again, it had been said that a deputation from
the Magistrates of Bristol waited upon him in London, to
dissuade him from going down, and that, subsequently,
another deputation met him at Bath, for the same purpose.
But that was not the truth. He had already explained the
nature ofthe communication which he had had with the depu
tation to London, and the gentlemen who waited upon him in
Bath did so for the purpose of communicating to hiin the very
judicious arrangements which had been made for the purpose of
protecting the processiou. It was determined, and, as he
thought, very properly, that the military, which the Govern
ment had placed at the disposal ofthe Magistrates, should not
be displayed parading the streets, as forming part of the pro
cession, but that they should he kept under cover; and, in

APPENDIX. 205
fact, if it were not for the Political Union, it would not have
been generally known in the city that there was any apprehen
sion of military assistance being likely to be required. It was
thought right to avoid the excitement which that might have
occasioned. But he would not go into a detail, which had, very
properly, as he thought, been abstained from in the speech.
It was not true that he disappeared from Bristol as had been
said— (A laugh)— until after the bed of the Chief Magistrate
had been taken off the bedstead, and put in the window of
the Mansion-house, to make a barricade. Then he certainly
did think that the presence of the Judge was no longer neces
sary. (Hear, hear.) The gaol delivery was terminated, and
at six or seven o'clock in the evening of the Saturday he left
the town, so that every thing which occurred on the Sunday
and Monday took place without his knowledge. He thought
that he had now said enough to exculpate himself in the eyes of
the house. (Hear.) If he had not done so, he might appeal to
the liberality — might invoke the spirit — might challenge the
courage of any man in that part of the house, and he might ask
him with respect, would he stand up in his place, and tell
him (Sir Charles Wetherell) what course, in the same cir
cumstances, he would have pursued > (Hear, hear, hear.) —
No, he knew he should not be so answered in that house. He
knew that no man there could go within a hundred leagues of
telling him what imputations, what sneers, what insults, what
terms, inconsistent with the respect due to a gentleman and a
member of the House of Commons, would have been poured
upon him by the many-tongued, many-fanged, foul-mouthed,
venomous Press of England. Would it not have been said that
he had basely and falsely declined to attend to his duty through
a feigned apprehension of tumults which no one else had ever
dreamt of? Would it not have been said that he was a false and
deceitful Anti-Reformer — that he had invented the tale of pro
jected riots, and that, with the cowardice which is the constant
companion of falsehood, he shrank from encountering the danger
which his own invention alone bad created ? (Cheers.) The
newspapers to which he alluded had not even yet exhausted their
calumnies, and had not ceased to throw out imputations, base,
false, and unjust, respecting the disasters of which they stig
matised him as the author, aud the reasons for which his name
had been omitted in the commission appointed to try the rioters.
The hon. gentleman opposite, who seconded the address, made
some allusions to those matters, and he (Sir C. W.) wished to
make one or two observations in reply. That gentleman as
serted that the transactions at Bristol had not grown out of the
reform question, or, in other words, that the delinquents were
not reformers, but strangers to the city, and outcasts, who were
ever ready to take part in riot, and to seize opportunities of
pillage. It was extremely difficult to show what part of the
motives which actuated the rioters was love of reform, and what
part originated in other feelings. In one thing, however, he
agreed with the hon. gentleman, that no respectable citizens of

206 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Bristol took part in the tumults. But he would neither affirm
nor deny that reform was one of the causes. He had a paper
before him, to which he would call the attention ofthe house,
not only as related to Bristol, but as to the proceedings of the
Political Unions throughout the kingdom. In that document
the Bristol Political Union assumed the power of deposing
the Magistrates and the Recorder of that city. It began by
expressing the surprise of the Union that the Magistrates
should have called in the troops to protect the entry of Sir
Charles Wetherell into the town ; and then it went on to say,
that if the Magistrates felt themselves unable to preserve the
peace of the city, they ought to retire from their office and
allow Magistrates to be elected by the votes of the citizens.
Thus the Union first created the disturbance, and then told
the Magistrates, that if they could not put it down, they
must resign, forsooth. (A laugh.) Then they proceed to say,
that men clothed in the robes of the Magistracy ought not
to be politicians. Well, certainly that was rather a strange
doctrine. He wondered what my Lord Brougham and Vaux
would think of it, for, of course, it must be taken to apply to
him. (Laughter.) But for his part, he (Sir C. Wetherell)
saw no reason why a man should be precluded from forming
opinions on great questions coucerning the interests and hap
piness of his country, because he was entrusted with the admi
nistration of its laws. (Cheers.) There was nothing incompatible
or inconsistent in the two characters of Judge and politician,
(Hear, hear.) But the Union thought otherwise, and "recom
mended Sir Charles Wetherell to retire from the office of
Recorder — (A laugh) — as the best means of preventing riot,
and, perhaps, bloodshed." So then, all they asked was merely
that he should retire,' that the Corporation should lay down its
privileges, and allow them (the Union) to elect a Recorder
and Magistrates. (Laughter.) He could not say how they
meant to regulate the franchise — whether it was to be universal
suffrage or limited to the ten-pound householders. But they
gave the Magistrates this election, that if they were not able to
put down the tumults without the aid of the military, then
every crime that should be committed should be attributed to
the Corporation, and its charter must be resigned. They con
cluded their address by " exhorting the people in the mean time
to keep the peace, as the only means of obtaining the rights
which they were seeking." Having deposed the Magistrates,
and having talked about riots and bloodshed as the consequences
of the Corporation not pursuing the line of conduct which they
pointed out. then they concluded, like the authors of most docu
ments of that kind, exhorting the people to peace. He would
repeat, that he could not undertake to say what share in the
motives of the rioters was to be attributed to reform ; but he
could not but think that they who put forth that paper on the
morning of the day on which the tumults commenced, were
much more the authors of those disorders than was the indivi
dual to whom the whole had been ascribed. (Hear.) As to

APPENDIX. 207

the Commission which was about to be sent down, he would
only say, that if the word promptitude, which the honourable
gentleman opposite had used in his speech had occurred in the
address, he (Sir C. Wetherell) would certainly have moved an
amendment — a course which he would be by no means willing
to follow. In that case he should have been compelled to refer
to what occurred some time ago at Nottingham, when (as he
had on a former occasion shown the house) the castle of a noble
duke was attacked because he was an Anti-Reformer. He had
then taken the liberty of stating, that if once it was allowed
that vengeance should be wreaked upon any man for his
political opinions, there would be no safety for the person or
property of any man ; and the partition wall which divided the
castle of the Duke of Newcastle from the mansion of any
reformer was too thin to prevent the conflagration from devas
tating the latter. (Cheers.) What had actually occurred since ?
Why the custom-house of the Chancellor ofthe Exchequer, a
reformer, had been burnt to the ground. (A laugh.) When dis
turbances and tumults have once arisen, they frequently
assume, in their progress, a new character wholly unconnected
with the causes which, in the first instance produced them.
(Hear, hear.) When, therefore, a castle was burnt down by a
riotous mob, solely because its owner held obnoxious opinions,
he (Sir C. Wetherell) exhorted the government to send down a
Special Commission. But there was no promptitude then.
(Cheers.) Neither did he see any signs of promptitude at pre
sent. Speaking on the subject of the Commission, he must
say that he did not know on what grounds the Mayor and the
Recorder had been passed over. He had put in his claim to be
named on the Commission. He had a right to be placed upon
it, and he had sent a written communication to that effect to
the Secretary of State and the Lord Chancellor. It was cer
tainly that species of right which might be superseded by
expediency. But in this case, what was the expediency ? Was
it not iudirectly imputing to him that this was a case in which
personal feelings might interfere with the just and impartial
discharge of his duties as a Judge ? That was a stigma which
he was honestly desirous to avoid, and he therefore claimed his
right to be nominated in the Commission — (Cheers) — and he
made the same claim on the part of the Corporation, and of
the Aldermen who constituted the Court sitting at the gaol
delivery. (Hear.) He would not charge the Government with
intending to do any thing personally offensive to him, if he
could not prove it, nor would he charge them with degrading
the Corporation, if he had no reason to believe they did so.
He thought, however, that they had committed a great error
in not putting in the Commission every name that was in the
Commission ofthe General Gaol Delivery. For now it would
be said, that they gave way to the Union. (Hear.) It was
true, they had given way to another Union, and they corres
ponded with another. (Cheers.) He would, while upon this
subject, notice a matter which had been made a prominent topic

208 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
in the speech from the throne — it was that a new municipal
force would be required for the preservation of peace in this
country. The plan was not very clearly traced out; something
was indicated, but nothing very definitive was stated ; and, at
all events, it' was to be hoped that nothing special against
Bristol was in the contemplation of his Majesty's Government.
(Hear, hear.) Sir Charles concluded by saying, he hoped he
stood before the house, with regard to his moral conduct, as
completely acquitted as he felt entitled to be — as, indeed, he had
been by all on one side, and as he expected to be by many on
the other.

[From Felix Farley's Bristol Journal, Dec. 10, 1831.]
Sir Charles Wetherell. — The following is the justification
of the visit of Sir Charles to hold the Gaol Delivery in this city
in October last, pronounced in the House of Commons by the
Chancellor ofthe Exchequer. Surely after this we shall hear no
more from the Reformers that Sir Charles came here
unadvisedly, or without the full sanction of his Majesty's
Government : —
" The hon. and learned gentleman (Sir C. Wetherell) had
made some remarks for the purpose of exculpating himself from
certain accusatious which had been made against him, and he
(Lord Althorp) was ready to confirm all that part of the state
ment of the hon. and learned gentleman in which he denied
that the Government had remonstrated against his going to
Bristol. (Hear, hear.) The Government had done no such
thing, and if it had done so it would have acted most improperly.
The Government knew that the hon. and learned gentleman
being Recorder of Bristol, the Sessions could' not legally be
held in the city without his presence. It was the duty of the
hon. and learned gentleman to attend at those sessions, and it
was the duty of Government to protect him in doing so.
(Hear.) That duty he would contend tbe Government had
peiformed, but, for reasons already stated, he would not then
go into that part ofthe question. The Learned Gentleman
WAS THEREFORE QUITE ACQUITTED OF HAVING GONE TO BRISTOL
IN SPITE OF THE REMONSTRANCES OF THE GOVERNMENT, AND HE
HAD ONLY DONE IIIS DUTY IN ATTENDING AT THAT CITY AS HE
HAD DONE."

APPENDIX. 209

[The object of the following Narrative U evidently to praise
the exertions of Ihe military, to whom (with mio exception
at least) the citizens of Bristol are deeply indebted. Th:;
writer has, however, inflicted the lash of bis censure on some
parties with more severity than truth. ^Nevertheless the
Narrative is highly interesting, ami will deservcilly take its
place among the records of the memorable " Three Days."]

From the United Service Journal.

Whenever and however the armed force of the country may
be actively employed, it is our special province to record the
nature and results of their services. The receut Riots at
Bristol, contemptible in their origin, but formidable in their
unchecked growth, having been finally put down by military
force, it behoves us to describe the proceedings of the troops
employed, and the circumstances which called them into action.
We shall speak only upon the testimony of eye witnesses,
confining ourselves to facts, and discarding other partizanship,
save the advocacy of truth and duty, whether public or profes
sional. The session of gaol delivery having arrived, the Re
corder of Bristol, Sir Charles Wetherell, proceeded to that city,
with the full concurrence of His Majesty's Government, to dis
charge his important and imperative duties. We need not
descrihe the political opinions of Sir Charles Wetherell, nor
point out to unprejudiced persons, how distinct, under a Consti
tution like the British, are the views ofthe senator in debate
and the decisions of the judge upon the judgment-seat. The
Recorder of Bristol attempted to fulfil, though, it appears, at
the hazard of his life, a public duty, to have shrunk from which,
under the peculiar circumstances, would have exposed him,
and with justice, to charges which no public functionary or
man of spirit would deliberately incur. His advent, however,
was made a pretext for outrages of the most wanton and
atrocious character. It is a lamentable omen of degenerate
feeling in a free people, when a manly independence of opinion
and bearing subjects individuals to personal violence, or even
martyrdom ; while the basest sycophancy and abnegation of
principle are recognized as legitimate claims to the honours of
a rank popularity.
The arrival of Sir Charles Wetherell at Bristol, on Saturday,
the 29th October, was the signal for riot and pillage. Scenes
ensued, and continued for three days, which will remain infa
mously memorable as regards the city of Bristol, its magistrates,
and inhabitants; while the part performed by the handful of
troops employed on this deplorable occasion, gives the army an
additional title to the confidence and gratitude of the country.
P

210 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The city of Bristol is one ofthe most defensible in the king
dom, being intersected and in parts almost insulated by a deep
and muddy river, crossed by several drawbridges, while the
ground gradually rises from the right, or northern channel,
with open spaces on the most central and commanding points.
These last-named localities, though offering little obstruction
to the operations of cavalry, were, by some unaccountable
infatuation, suffered to remain for three days the principal scenes
of riot and destruction. The troops present in the vicinity of
Bristol on the 29th of October, were a squadron of the 14th
light dragoons, commanded by Capt. Gage, and Capt. War
rington's troop of the 3rd dragoon guards. The superior
command devolved on Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, Inspecting
Field-Officer ofthe district, as senior officer on the spot. The
force prepared to meet a danger, of which early and sufficient
notice had been given by the local authorities, was numerically
inadequate to the occasion ; yet did the small band in question
prove fully equal to the emergency, although paralysed for a
time by causes independent of their own efficiency and spirit.
From the beginning to the end of these Riots, there was not a
single moment at which the dragoons, while suffered to retain
their ground, were not both fit and ready to act, if directed to
do so, with prompt and decisive effect. It is evident from the
result, that a moderate display of vigour and decision in the
first instance, might have arrested the progress of these destruc
tive and disgraceful riots — nor is there any inference more
clearly established by experience than that the "soothing
system" but adds fuel to the course of lawless outrage. The
most painful, invidious, and difficult position in which an officer
can be placed, is that which involves duties similar to those
imposed on the troops at Bristol. Here, however, his path was
pointed out by the law itself, whose sword was put into his
hands. The first duty of an officer is certainly the care of the
soldiers committed to his charge — a duty which by no means
embraces a tender regard for the passions and persons of rebels
and robbers, seeking to destroy or disable those very soldiers —
the former outraging the laws, the latter upholding them.
How then are we to estimate the judgment, the patriotism, or
esprit de corps of an officer, who, justified at all points, even ou
the score of humanity, acting with energy, and appealed to by
every motive most cogent with a manly mind, yet chooses to
decline the coercion of outlaws, whom to attack was to defeat,
to spare but to encourage ; who turns the tables upon his own
men, summoned to protect an assaulted city ; and who, by this
act, and others equally considerate, virtually incapacitates the
troops from effecting the sole object of their presence, and
renders them the butt of savage triumph and murderous ferocity!
If we combine the excesses on the one side and the deficiencies
on the other, which marked this audacious tumult, it will be
difficult to find its parallel in history. It furnishes, however,
a pregnaut lesson at the present crisis. It has developed the
actual views and dispositions of the populace, whom liberal

APPENDIX. 211
sycophants style " the People." It has displayed in their
natural colours the debasing selfishness, the sheer poltroonery of
those who, affecting the language of the patriot, but shrinking
from the duties of the citizen, coolly contemplate the progress
of pillage and conflagration, till the destroyer knocks at their
own doors — who spurn the contamination of a judge, recusant
of their political creed, but crouch with a servile fear beneath
the brand and the bludgeon of excarcerated felons — who cry
aloud and lament them at the decay of independence and the
growth of slavery — yet prostrate themselves, their families, and
their possessions, at the first summons, before the Fiend of
Anarchy ! Finally, it has taught, in legible characters, the
value of the army, by which the peace ofthe country is actually
preserved ; and has dissolved by the practical test of experience,
that most mischievous of bugbears, the physical-force delusion ;
teaching, by facts, the utter futility of the demagogue's doc
trine, and proving to demonstration the immeasurable supe
riority and devoted spirit of the troops. Woe to the traitors
who would still doubt their loyalty and brave their power !
The immediate origin of these riots is well known : the mili
tary details which follow are derived from unquestionable
sources. In stating facts, we are compelled, in justice to the
troops, to draw inferences, which, whether favourable or not
to the commander, are clear and not to be evaded. It is far,
however, from our purpose to prejudice the case of Colonel
Brereton — now submitted to a Court of Enquiry ; while, on
the other hand, our information, and it is accurate, allows us no
grounds for acquitting him ofthe mismanagement of the troops
placed under his orders. With his private motives or opinions
we have no concern. In order, however, to deal even-handed
justice as far as our present means permit, as well as to embrace
the whole subject, we shall give the Narrative of Major Mack
worth, which in some points is favourable to Col. Brereton,
together with the statement addressed by the Mayor of Bristol
to Lord Hill, which is throughout criminatory of that officer.
On Saturday the 29th, when the riots were considered serious,
a squadron of the 14th had been the greater part of the day in
the New Market, where Col. Brereton, at five o'clock in the
evening, came to them, and having desired one troop to go to
their quarters to feed, he directed the other, commanded by
Capt. Gage, and a troop of the 3d dragoon guards, to follow
him to Queen-square, where on their arrival they found a large
mob assembled and attacking the Mansion-house, the whole of
the windows of which they had broken. Some of the rabble
addressed the Colonel, but what they said was not heard ; the
Colonel then took off his hat and cheered, as also, from a sense
of military etiquette, did the officer in command ofthe 3d and
some of the men; but which condescending example was not
followed by the 14th. Upon Capt. Gage applying to Colonel
Brereton for orders, he was told to move his men about, and
by kind words endeavour to disperse the rioters, but without
drawing swords J This recommendation had reference to an
p2

212 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
unlawful assemblage, actually engaged in the deslruction of
property and an attempt on the lives of the public authorities.
During- this manoeuvre the Colonel frequently talked to tho
mob and cheered wilh them I The outrages and violence of the
rioters encreasing from impunity, about eleven o'clock the
Colonel ordered Captain Gage to clear the streets, bnt not to
hurt the people !
From that time, until ten o'clock on Sunday morning, the
streets were patrolled hy only a few detached parties, which
were then called in, and the whole troop was ordered to Queen-
square. On their arrival the mob commenced hooting and
pelting the 14th, calling out to Colonel Brereton to send away
the Bloody Blues, as they termed the 14th. The Colonel, with
the same deference to the desires- of the sovereign people which
he had so strongly evineed from the commencement, desired the
officer ofthe 14th to retire to their billets, but the attempt to
obey only encouraged the insolence of the mob, who attacked
and pressed on with such audacity that the troop were obliged
to charge in their own defence, and ultimately to use their
pistols to prevent being torn from their horses. Upon arriving
at their billets, Coionei Brereton ordered Capt. Gage to march
the whole squadron out of the city, as the mob had sworn to
come down aud murder every man: — (Did it follow that they
could?) — but as the officer did not hurry himself in going, the
order was repeated with great impatience, and upon being
asked by the officer where he was to go, the answer was, where
you please — only get away as fast as you can. The squadron
then marched to Keyniham, five miles distant, leaving the
town and the lives and property ofthe inhabitants at the mercy
of an infuriate mob.
On Monday morning, fortunately for the devoted city, Major
Mackworth, who had exerted himself very zealously upon this
occasion, rode with all speed to Keynsham, and ordered back
the squadron ofthe 14th. About eight o'clock they returned,
accordingly, to Queen-square, and after remaining there for
some time, they were ordered to their billets to feed.
A requisition from the Mayor of Bristol for an additional
force of the 14th dragoons having reached Gloucester at two
o'clock on the morning of Monday the 31st October, Capt.
Congrevc's troop was ordered to march immediately to Bristol,
whither Major Beckwith, with the Adjutant, proceeded in a
post-chaise without delay, arriving at the Council-house at
seven o'clock, a.m. In reply to Major Beckwith's inquiries,
the Mayor and Magistrates could only inform him that the
squadron of his regiment had been sent out of the town, but
they knew not where — that it was ordered to return, but they
knew not when — and referred him to Colonel Brereton.
The Magistrates farther stated, that the city was under the
complete dominion of the mob, and that they retained no
authority whatever. Major Beckwith then urged that one or
more Magistrates should accompany him on horseback, and
pledged himself speedily to restore order. This proposition

APPENDIX. 213
they all repeatedly refused", upon the plea that it would make
them unpopular, and expose their properly to destruction.
Thus left to himself, Major Beckwith demanded and received
a written authority to take whatever measures he might judge
necessary for the restoration of order. The Magistrates added,
that the Riot Act had been repeatedly read. Major Beckwith
and the Adjutant then proceeded to inspect the state of the
city, and ascertain if any obstacles had been prepared to impede
the troops. In Queen-square they found a party of the 3rd
dragoon guards; and shortly after Colonel Brereton came up.
Much trifling on the part ofthe latter followed — the details of
which we withhold, as we do many other particulars not neces
sary to our purpose, and of which cognizance will doubtless
be taken elsewhere.
On the arrival of the squadron from Keynsham, Major
Beckwith assumed the command. It was dismounted and placed
in the yard of Fisher's livery-stables ; where it had scarcely
remained a quarter of an hour, when it was reported to Major
Beckwith, that the mob was plundering the Bishop's Palace.
The squadron was instantly ordered to mount, and, in its pro
gress towards the remains of the palace, was furiously assailed
with bottles, stones, and other missiles. The order to disperse
the mob in that part of the town was immediately given, and
as promptly executed. Scarcely was this accomplished, when,
hearing that the rioters were still plundering in Queen-square,
and about to set fire to other houses, Major Beckwith pro
ceeded thither wilh his squadron at a rapid pace, and finding
the mob in the act of pillage, and being again attacked with
the same missiles, the order to disperse them was repeated, and
as completely effected us upon the previous occasion. The
squadron then proceeded along the quays and principal streets,
dispersing every lawless assemblage it met with. These vigor
ous measures quickly restored tranquillity to the city, and
saved it from ruin. During these operations the conduct of the
14th was admirable— and Major Beckwith, on reporting his
proceedings to the Magistrates, received their unanimous
approbation. Earlier on Monday morning the troop of the 3rd dragoon
guards, directed by Major Mackworth, in the presence of Col.
Brereton, had charged and dispersed the mob in Queen-square.
A soldier of this small party, which behaved with great spirit
when let loose, was wounded by a gun-shot discharged by the
rioters. The 14th having been again placed in Fisher's livery-yard,
patroles were detached in every direction to scour the vicinity
of the city. One of these, having returned about three o'clock,
reported that the rabble driven from the town by the cavalry,
were robbing the people and plundering the houses on the Bath
road. The men were immediately mounted, and Capt. Con-
greve's troop, which had now arrived, having been left, with
the troop ofthe 3rd dragoon guards, dismounted on the Bridge,
the remaining squadron proceeded at a quick pace on the Bath

214 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
road. It came up with the rioters about four miles from
Bristol, instantly dispersed them — capturing some, who were
lodged in the Council-house. By this movement tranquillity
was restored to the neighbourhood, as il had previously, by
similar means, been secured to the city ; which, it will be seen,
is, and avows itself to be, under the deepest ohligations to the
14th and their active and intelligent commander.*
During the last named service, Colonel Brereton came up
with the troops upon the Bath road, and while returning to
Bristol issued his first order to their Commanding Officer.
That order was, under all the circumstances, not a little re
markable — but we shall leave it, with other singularities, to
the impartial judgment of his peers.
In the course of these riots, the 3rd dragoon guards, though,.
from their small numbers, not so prominently employed as the
14th, and, to a certain extent, paralysed by the inexplicable
supineness of the Senior Officer, to whom it was natural that
they should look for an example, conducted themselves with
steadiness and obedience to orders. Major Mackworth, who
had the best opportunities of observing their conduct, speaks
of it in high, and, we doubt not, deserved terms. It is to
the unusual cause abovementioned that this troop, with Col.
Brereton at its head, was made to stand by for hours close to
the Mansion-house, and look on while it was plundered and
fired, without offering effectual hindrance to the insurgents,
of whom, on the contrary, they were placed in the disgraceful
predicament of appearing the allies ! It was the same perverse
influence which degraded them into an apparent partnership of
purpose with the felon-assailants of the Gaol, and the incen
diaries of the Bishop's Palace, paralysing the public services,
and prostituting the presence of a gallant troop of British
dragoons, at a moment so critical to life and property !

"Major Beckwith, ofthe 14th dragoons, has received the following letter
from the Mayor of Bristol :— " Council-House, Bristol, Nov. 8.
" Sir,— I am desired by my brother Magistrates to offer you our sincere
thanks for the prompt decision and effectual assistance which you afforded
to the city immediately on your arrival, and also to the officers and soldiers
ofthe 14th Light Dragoons under your command.
" We feel that it is due to tbe officers and privates to express our senti
ments, that even before your arrival the fullest reliance might have been
placed upon them ; and we cannot but consider their removal from the city
on Sunday morning as the unfortunate cause of the calamities which fell
upon it on that day and the following night.
" We are fully assured that the order to withdraw was submitted to with
great reluctance, and we hope that you and your officers and soldiers will do
us the justice to believe, that the order did not proceed from the Magistrates
of Bristol. " I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your very obliged and obedient servant,
" To Major Beckwith, commanding Charles Pinnet, Mayor."
14th Light Dragoons."

APPENDIX. 215

Even the degrading imputation, attempted to be fixed upon
these brave men by the enemies of order, namely, of having
voluntarily cheered in concert with a mob of incendiaries and
felons, owed its origin, in fact, to a mistaken sense of discipline,
a quality which has hitherto so eminently characterized the 3rd
dragoon guards; the officer on the right of the troop, on
entering Queen-square, thought it proper to cheer when the
officer in command gave the signal, and the men merely obeyed
the implied command of their own officer in following his
example. The very inaction of the 3rd, until directed by
Major Mackworth to charge, "and charge home," as they did
on the Monday morning, may rather be taken as a test of dis
cipline, than censured as a want of zeal.
During these occurrences the Magistrates appeared com
pletely intimidated and bewildered ; seeking rather to abdicate
than to exercise their responsible authority, It is an unques
tionable fact* that while any thing remained to be done, not
the slightest assistance was rendered to the troops, either by
the Magistracy, the inhabitants, or the gentry of the " Political
Union." The impudence and hypocrisy of these Associations,
at length denounced by Authority, were ludicrously manifested
upon this occasion. One Herapath, aping the airs of an
Attwood, betook himself to the issuing of manifestoes and the
concoction of protocols, for the due distraction of affairs— but
not a patriot of the " Union" aided, or offered to aid by word
or deed, in the restoration of order, till the troops had obtained
the complete mastery, and placed the result beyond all doubt.
Then, indeed, an offer of assistance was made, and treated as
it deserved. The " Unionists" were planted amidst the smoking
ruins of Queen-square, to guard the sacred fire, and light their
pipes upon the embers of Radical Reform. The cessation of
danger was also the signal for the re-appearance of the Special
Constables, who, armed with white favours, suddenly swarmed
in the streets, like butterflies after a shower.
Not an infantry soldier had hitherto been present — but a
party was in full march from Cardiff for Bristol by an early
hour on Monday morning. At six o'clock, a.m. on that day,
Lieut.-Col. Love, commanding the Reserve Companies of the
11th Regiment at Cardiff, received a dispatch from the Mayor
of Bristol, requesting the aid of the troops under his orders ;
but though pressing for immediate assistance, no means of
accelerated conveyance were promptly furnished, while steam
boats, at the command of the Magistrates, abounded in the
river of Bristol ; as the troops landed at that place, a steamer
was only then starting to convey them from Cardiff. Colonel
Love, however, contrived to enter Bristol, with nearly 200
men, at six o'clock on the same evening Marching first to
Newport, he there seized a steamer, which the mob of that
place, in complete sympathy with their brethren at Bristol,
violently attempted to prevent his occupying. Having pre
pared a regular attack upon the troops, they were only deterred
from carrying it into execution by a few significant words and

216 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
preparatives, on the part of the Commanding Officer, boding
a warm reception from the soldiers. Having vainly attempted
to cut the boat adrift, their fury found vent in execrations, and
wishes for the staking of the vessel,. ere her crew should trouble
their confederates at Bristol.
On approaching the scene of action, Colonel Love heard
firing, and quickened his pace, but, to his surprise, met with
no one to give him directions or information, although he had
twice sent to the Civil Authorities to announce his approach.
On entering the city by Park-street, a quarter principally
inhabited by respectable persons, Colonel Love ordered his
drums to strike up. In an instant every sash was thrown up,
and ladies appeared, cheering the troops in the most enthu*
siastic manner — calling out with grateful emotion, — " Thanks,
thanks, brave fellows ; you are come to save us from pillage and
death." Many ladies and gentlemen rushed from their houses
to the street, to welcome their deliverers, as they styled the
soldiers. The veterans present had never witnessed a scene of
more extravagant joy, even when they fought as the liberators
of oppressed nations, amidst the horrors of actual and foreign
war. It was a scene which no. soldier present will readily
forget, and the memory of which will serve as an incentive to
the faithful and manly discharge of his constitutional duties.
Shorlly after, Colonel Brereton made his^ appearance, and
directed Colonel Love to march to Queen-square, where he
would join and give him orders; which, however, he failed to
do. Having waited an hour, and feeling for the fatigued slate
of his men, who had now been for fourteen hours in movement,
Colonel Love at length proceeded to the Council-chamber.
Here he found the Mayor, and having expressed his resolution
to keep his men together, and not scatter them in billets,
he received permission to place them were he liked. Old
soldiers, in these cases, are not difficult: so the gallant Colonel
contented himself with putting half of his men into the ball-room
ofthe While Lion, and lodgingthe remainder in the Guildhall.
On Thursday Colonel Love, wilh his companies, embarked
for South Wales, whither he was summoned by the apprehen
sion of riots at Merlhyr Tidvil. Thither many of the villains
from Bristol, and others of the same stamp, but more decent
appearance, from Birmingham, had repaired, to excite the in
flammable population of that neighbourhood to repeat the
pcer.es of Bristol — a calamity which was only prevented by the
judicious disposition ofthe troops, and the activitv and deter
mination of the Magistrates, The contagion did, however,
extend to Bath, Worcester, Coventry, and some other places;
but by prompt and resolute measures on the part of the Autho
rities and respectable inhabitants, the march of anarchy was,
for the time, arrested.
Of the Bristol Riots wc could supply abundant anecdoles,
did our time or limits permit. We have been rather solicitous
to give the principal features of these events in historical order,
and to record the official documents connected with them, than

APPENDIX. 217
to diverge into details, which might prove revolting or invidi
ous. \\e may mention, by the way, that during the fire at
Ihe Mansion-house, a man was observed to take a pigeon from
under his coat, having round its neck a ticket marked " Not
tingham." On the person of another, who was killed by one
of the 14lh, was found a list of Ihe houses to be burnt. We
have reason to believe that the number of rioters cut down by
the troops or self-destroyed by their own excesses, fell little
short of 500 — a number in itself sufficient to perpetrate enor*
inous mischief. We affect no sympathy for the atrocious
criminals, thus overtaken by a most righteous retribution.
When the riots at Bristol had assumed a serious aspect, a
brigade of artillery, with a supply of ammunition, under Major
Walcot, was ordered to proceed with all speed from Woolwich
to thai city. This forced march was effected with characteristic
rapidity. The presence of a single piece of artillery at an
early stage of the riots, would probably have had a decisive
effect. On Tuesday morning, the 1st November, Major-General Sir
Richard Jackson, Deputy-Quarter-Master-General, arrived at
Bristol to take command of the troops, which now began tq
pour into thecily and its neighbourhood.

[To insert in this Appendix the " Personal Narrative" of
Major Mackworth, mentioned by the Correspondent of the
United Service Journal, wouli be to enter into a repetition of
numerous facts already detailed in the foregoing pages; and we
must further remark, that some of the Major's statements, for
which we presume he too hastily adopted the information of
filler persons, arc now known to be incorrect.]

SPECIAL COMMISSION
FOR THE TRIAL OF THE RIOTERS,
At ihe Guildhall, Bristol, January 2d, 1 832.
BEFORE
Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tyndal, Knt.,
Lord Chief Justice ofthe Common Pleas.
Sir J. B. Bosanquet, Kt.
Sir W. E. Taunton, Kt.

The Judges were met at Totterdown by the Sheriffs,
George Bengough and Joseph Lax, Esqrs., the
Under-Sheriff, W. O. Hare, Esq. and a numerous body
of police. The procession moved on slowly through
a line of special constables, marshalled and directed by
Mr. Dowling, a superintendant of the metropolitan
police ; and no disturbance occurred.
Merchant Tailors' Hall, Broad-street ; the new Wool
Hall, Thomas-street ; and the late Armoury, Stapleton-
road, were fitted up as barracks for the military. Beds
and bedding for 1500 men were forwarded from Wool
wich. Major-General Jackson was in the military com
mand of the district.
At eleven o'clock the Judges entered the Guildhall,
and took their seats on the Bench. They were ac
companied by his Grace the Duke of Beaufort.
The Commissions of Oyer and Terminer and General
Gaol Delivery having been read, the Lord Chief Justice
adjourned the Court till one o'clock.
The Judges then went to their lodgings in Park-street,
from whence they were escorted with the usual state
and ceremony to the Cathedral, where divine service
was performed, and an admirable sermon was preached
by the Rev. Professor Lee, from Proverbs xvi. 12, —
" For the Throne is established by righteousness."

220 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
At two o'clock the Judges returned to the Guildhall.
There were about five hundred persons, including a con
siderable number of special constables, in Court. The
following Gentlemen were sworn of the Grand Jury : —
Thomas Kington Bayley, Foreman.

Charles Bowles Fripp
Thomas Hill
William Ford
William Watson
Thomas Daniel, Jun.
Adam Holden
Joseph Russell
James Moore
John Tomlinson
James Lean
John Hurle

John Manningford
William Morgan
Richard Ricketts
John May
Joseph Metford, Jun.
John Acraman
Daniel Fripp
Henry Seeley
Robt. Edward Case
Thomas W. Radcliffe
Peter Maze.

The Lord Chief Justice addressed the Grand
Inquest in the following terms : —
" Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, — We are assembled
on the present occasion, by virtue of the special com
mission of his Majesty, for the purpose of inquiring
into, hearing, and determining certain charges of no
ordinary stamp and character, founded upon acts of
tumultuous outrage, violence, and rapine, which have
recently taken place within this city.
" This proceeding, his Majesty, out of his paternal
solicitude for his subjects, has thought fit to institute,
rather than to leave the investigation and punishment
of such charges to the ordinary course and stated
periods of tbe administration of criminal judicature
within this city ; for in the case of offences at once so
alarming to the public tranquillity, and so dangerous
to the property and safety of individuals, it is of the
first importance to make it known to all, that inquiry
and punishment follow close upon the commission of
crime, in order that the wicked and ill-disposed may
be deterred by the dread of tbe law from engaging in
similar enormities^ whilst the peaceable and industrious
may look up to it with gratitude and affection, for the
safeguard which it extends over their persons and
property. But it forms, perhaps, a still stronger
reason for an early trial of these charges, that where

APPENDIX. 221
so large a number of persons as that contained in this
calendar have been placed in confinement, the speediest
means should be adopted to set at large the innocent,
whoever they may be, and to restore them to tbe peaceful
and honest exercise of their «.!i;ily callings.
" Gentlemen, I am unable, from any information
which has been placed before us, to assign the cause
or to trace the exact origin of those enormities you are
now called upon to investigate. It appears, however,
that, a few hours before they were committed, a riotous
and tumultuary assemblage of the people gathered
itself together, with cr. object and for a purpose which
no honest man or wt l-witier to the laws of his country
can sufficiently reprobat ¦:, — I mean the open and avowed
purpose of treating with insult and indignity, if not with
personal violence, a Gentleman placed in a high judicial
station, bearing the authority of his Sovereign in the
administration of the criminal law within this city, and
during part of the very time engaged in the actual
exercise of his judicial functions.
" Gentlemen, it is to be collected from the depositions
which I have seen, that the outrages, which will form
the immediate subject of your enquiry, commenced at
about the time of dusk on Saturday evening, the 29th
of October last, and continued, with short intermission,
until four o'clock on- the Monday morning, when, after
the Riot Act had been read, and the persons assembled,
notwithstanding the proclamation, had refused for more
than an hour to disperse themselves, the further progress
of the riot was arrested, and the tumult entirely sup
pressed, by the vigour and energy of the military, called
in to the aid ofthe civil Magistrate.
." I purposely abstain from a minute description of
the terror occasioned to individuals, and of the outrages
which took place in that interval against property, both
public and private. Such description would be un
necessary to make you understand the application ofthe
law to the facts as they will appear before you in evi
dence, the chief object which I have now in view ; and
and it would have the unavoidable consequence of de
priving you of that cairness of temper and evenness of
judgment which it is your duty to bring to the present
investigation, where, on the one hand, the safety and

222 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
well-being of the community, and, on the other, the
lives and liberty of the accused, depend so materially
upon your decision.
" It is no part of my duty, on the present occasion, to
consider whether the acts of outrage and rapine which
afterwards ensued were caused by the riotous proceed
ings which occurred at an earlier period of the same
day ; or whether wicked and designing persons, taking
advantage of the state of excitement in which the peo
ple already were, availed themselves of it to effect then-
own purposes of destruction and plunder. It may,
however, be safely concluded, that if the excitement
which led to the defiance of the law at the earlier part
of the day had never existed, the weightier crimes, sub
sequently committed by the populace, would not have
taken place ; and it is precisely for this reason, that the
law of England hath at all times held in the greatest
abhorrence riotous and tumultuary assemblages of the
people. No man can foresee at the commencement
what course they will take, or what consequences will
ensue. Though cases may occur in which the object
of such assemblies is at first defined and moderate, they
rapidly enlarge their powers of mischief ; and from the
natural effect of the excitement and ferment inseparable
from the collection of multitudes in one mass, the origi
nal design is quickly lost sight of, and men hurry on to
the commission of crimes, which, at their first meeting,
they had never contemplated. The beginning of tumult
is like the letting out of water; if not stopped at first, it
becomes difficult to do so afterwards ; it rises and in
creases, until it overwhelms the fairest and the most
valuable works of man.
" Gentlemen, it has been well said, that the use of the
law consists, first, in preserving men's persons from death
and violence ; next, in securing to them the free enjoy
ment of their property. And although every single act
of violence, and each individual breach of the law,
tends to counteract and destroy this its primary use arid
object, yet do general risings and tumultuary meetings
of the people, in a more especial and particular manner,
produce this effect, — not only removing all security both
from the person and the property of men, but for the
time putting down the law itself, and daring to usurp
its place.

APPENDIX. 223
" The law of England hath accordingly, in proportion
to the danger which it attaches to riotous and disorderly
meetings of the people, made ample provision for pre
venting such offences, and for the prompt and effectual
suppression of them whenever they arise. And I think
it may not be unsuitable to the present occasion if I
proceed to call your attention, with some degree of
detail, to the various provisions of tbe law for carrying
that purpose into, effect.
" In the first place, by the common law, every private
person may lawfully endeavour, of his own authority,
and without any warrant or sanction of the Magistrate,
to suppress a riot by every means in his power. He
may disperse, or assist in dispersing, those who are
assembled ; he may stay those who are engaged in it
from executing their purpose ; he may stop and prevent
others whom he shall see coming up from joining the
rest ; and not only has he the authority, but it is his
bounden duty, as a good subject of the King, to per
form this to the utmost of his ability. If the riot be
general and dangerous, he may arm himself against the
evil-doers, to keep the peace. Such was the opinion of
all the Judges of England, in the time of Queen Eliza
beth, in a case called " The Case of Arms" (Popham's
Rep. 121,) although the Judges add, " that it would be
more discreet for every one in such a case to attend and
be assistant to the Justices, Sheriffs, or other ministers
ofthe King in doing this." It would, undoubtedly, be
more advisable so to do ; for the presence and authority
of the Magistrate would restrain the proceeding to
such extremities, until the danger was sufficiently imme
diate, or until some felony was either committed, or
could not be prevented without recourse to arms ; and,
all events, the assistance given by men who act in sub
ordination and concert with the civil Magistrate will be
more effectual to attain the object proposed, than any
efforts, however well intended, of separated and dis
united individuals. But if the occasion demands im
mediate action, and no opportunity is given for procuring
the advice or sanction of the Magistrate, it is the duty
of every subject to act for himself, and upon his own
responsibility, in suppressing a riotous and tumultuous
assembly ; and he may be assured, that whatever is

221 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
honestly done by him in the execution of that object,
Avill be supported and justified by the common law.
" And whilst I am stating the obligation imposed by
the law on every subject of the realm, I wish to observe,
that the law acknowledges no distinction in this respect
between the soldier and the private individual,
" The soldier is still a citizen, lying under the same
obligation, and invested with the same authority, to
f reserve the peace of the King, as sny other subject.
f the one is bound to attend the call of- the civil Magis
trate, so also is the other ; — if the one may interfere for
that purpose, when the occasion demands it, without the
requisition of the Magistrate, so may the other too ; — if
the one may employ arms for that purpose, when arms
are necessary, the soldier may do the same. Undoubtedly
the same exercise of discretion which requires the private
subject to act in subordination to and in aid of the
Magistrate, rather than upon his own authority, before
recourse is had to arms, ought to operate in a still
stronger degree with a military force. But where the
danger is pressing and immediate, — where a felony has
actually been committed, or cannot otherwise 'be pre
vented, and from the circumstances of the case no
opportunity is offered of obtaining a requisition from the
firoper authorities, the military subjects of the King,
ike his civil subjects, not only may, but are bound to
do their utmost, of their own authority, to prevent the
perpetration of outrage, to put down riot and tumult,
and to preserve the lives and property of the people.
" Gentlemen, still further, by the common law not
only is each private subject bound to exert himself to
the utmost, but every Sheriff, Constable, and other peace
officer, is called upon to do all that in them lies for the
suppression of riot, and each has authority to command
all other subjects of the King to assist them in that
undertaking. " By an early statute, which is still in force, the 13th
Henry IV. c. 7., any two Justices, together with the
Sheriff or Under-Sheriff of the county, shall come with
the power of (he county, if need be, to arrest any rioters,
and shall arrest them ; and they have power to record
that which they see done in their presence against the
law, by which record the offenders shall be convicted,
and may afterwards be brought to punishment.

APPENDIX. 225
" And bere I most distinctly observe, that it is not
left to the choice or will of the subject, as some have
erroneously supposed, to attend or not to the call of
the Magistrate, as they think proper ; but every man is
bound, when called upon, under pain of fine and im
prisonment, to yield a ready and implicit obedience to
the call of the Magistrate, and to do his utmost in
assisting him to suppress any tumultuous assembly ;
for in the succeeding reign another statute was passed,
which enacts, " that the King's liege people, being
" sufficient to travel, shall be assistant to the Justices,
" Sheriffs, and other officers, upon reasonable warning,
" to ride with them in aid to resist such riots, routs,
" and assemblies, on pain of imprisonment, and to make
" fine and ransom to the King."
"In the explanation of which statute, Dalton, an early
writer of considerable authority, declares, " that the
" Justices and Sheriff may command, and ought to have
" the aid and attendance of all knights, gentlemen,
" yeomen, husbandmen, labourers, tradesmen, servants,
" and apprentices, and of all other persons being above
" the age of fifteen years and able to travel."
" Gentlemen, in later times, the course has been for the
Magistrate, on occasions of actual riot and confusion,
to call in the aid of such persons as he thought necessary,
and to swear them as special constables. And in order
to prevent any doubt, if doubt could exist, as to his
power to command their assistance by way of precaution,
the statute of the 1st Geo. IV. c. 37, and since that has
been repealed by the still more recent Act of the 1st and
2nd William IV. c. 41, the statute last referred to has
invested the Magistrate with that power in direct and
express terms, when tumult, riot, or felony, was only
likely to take place, or might reasonably be apprehended.
" Again, that this call of the Magistrate is compulsory,
and not left to the choice of the party to obey or not,
appears from the express enactment in the latter Act,
that if he disobeys, unless legally exempted, he is liable
to the penalties and punishments therein specified.
" But the most important provision of the law for the
suppression of riots is to be found in the statute 1st
Geo. 1., sec. 2, c. 5., by which it is enacted, "that if
" any persons to the number of twelve or more, being
O

226 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
"unlawfully, riotously, and tumultuously assembled
" together, to the disturbance of the public peace, and
" being required or commanded by any one or more
" Justice or Justices, or by the Sheriff, &c, by procla-
" mation to be made in the King's name, and in the
" form stated in the Act, to disperse themselves, and
"peaceably to depart to their habitations or to their
" lawful business, shall, to the number of twelve or
" more, notwithstanding such proclamation, unlawfully,
" riotously, and tumultuously remain or continue toge-
" ther for the space of one hour after such command or
" request made by proclamation, then such continuing
" together shall be adjudged felony, and the offenders
" shall suffer death as felons."
"Such are the different provisions of the law of
England for the putting down of tumultuary meetings ;
and it is not too much to affirm, that if the means pro
vided by the law are promptly and judicially enforced
by the Magistrate, and honestly seconded by the co
operation of his fellow subjects, very few and rare
would be the instances in which tumultuous assemblages
of the people would be able to hold defiance to the laws.
" Gentlemen, before I proceed to the consideration of
the cases in the calendar, let me impress on the atten
tion of all those who, from idleness, curiosity, or mere
thoughtlessness, suffer themselves to form part of a
riotous and disorderly meeting, that they subject them
selves, unconsciously, to the danger of punishment for
crimes which they never contemplated; for where
many are collected together in the prosecution of an
illegal object, it is often impossible to discriminate
between the active and unoffending part of the mob.
It requires evidence on the part of the accused, which
they may not be able to produce, in order to defend
themselves against the charge of participation in the
guilt of others. The only safe course for the peaceable
and well-disposed, on all occasions of popular tumult,
is this ; to lend their ready aid to assist the Magis
trates in suppressing it, or, at all events, forthwith to
separate themselves from the others.
" Gentlemen, one class of cases likely to come before
you, will be founded upon the statute 7 and 8 Geo. IV.
c. 30. s. 8, by which it is enacted, " that if any persons,

APPENDIX. 227
" riotously and tumultuously assembled together, to the
" disturbance of the public peace, shall unlawfully and
" with force demolish, pull down, or destroy, or begin
" to demolish, pull down, or destroy, any house, stable,
" coach-house, outhouse, warehouse, office, shop, mill,
" &c, every such offender is guilty of felony, and, being
" convicted thereof, shall suffer death as a felon."
" In cases of this description, you will consider whe
ther the individual charged was one of the persons
constituting a riotous assemblage which was effecting
the destruction of the building. If he formed part of
such riotous assembly at the time the act of demolition
commenced, or if he wilfully joined such riotous
assembly, so as to co-operate with them, whilst the
act of demolition was going on, and before it was com
pleted, in either case he comes within the description
of the offence, and within the penalties imposed by
the Act, although he may not have been a person who
actually assisted by his own hand in the demolition of
the building.
" But the more numerous class of cases seems to be
that which is founded upon the second section of the
same statute, by which it is enacted, " that if any person
" shall unlawfully or maliciously set fire to any house or
" other building mentioned above, whether the same
" shall be in the possession of the offender, or in that of
" any other person, with intent thereby to injure or
" defraud any person, every such offender shall be guilty
" of felony, and, being convicted thereof, shall suffer
" death as a felon." In this offence you will perceive
it is no constituent part of the description in the statute,
that the party charged should form one of a tumultuous
or riotous assemblage for the disturbance of the public
peace ; it is an offence that may be committed by a
single individual. You will, therefore, in these cases,
inquire first, whether the party set fire to the building
himself? in such case, no doubt of his guilt can exist;
and if the proof falls short of this, you will then con
sider whether he was jointly engaged in the prosecution
of the same object with those who committed the offence.
If by his word or gesture he incited others to commit
the felony, or if he was so near to the spot at the time
that he by his presence wilfully aided and assisted thein
in the perpetration of the crime, in either of these cases
Q2

228 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
the felony is complete, without any actual manual share
in its commission.
" And where the statute directs that, to complete the
offence, it must have been done with intent to injure or
defraud any person, there is no occasion that any malice
or ill-will should subsist against the person whose pro
perty is so destroyed. It is a malicious act, in the
contemplation of the law, when a man wilfully does that
which is illegal, and which in its necessary consequence
must injure his neighbour. And it is unnecessary to
observe, that the setting fire to another's house, whether
the owner be a stranger to the prisoner, or a person
against whom he had a former grudge, must be equally
injurious to him. Nor will it be necessary to prove
that the house which forms the subject of the indict
ment in any particular case, was that which was actually
set on fire by the prisoner. It will be sufficient to
constitute the offence, if he is shewn to have feloniously
set on fire another house, from which the flames com
municated to the rest. No man can shelter himself
from punishment on the ground that the mischief which
be committed was wider in its consequences than he
originally intended.
" Gentlemen, another class of offenders will be that
of persons who stand charged with acts of plunder and
theft. And these may come before you, either aggra
vated by the circumstance of violence or threats to the
person of the owner; or with the circumstance of
breaking into his dwelling-house, or stealing the pro
perty thereout when the house was already broken
open; in both which cases the offence is considered
of a more aggravated nature, and the measure of pu
nishment is consequently more severe. Or the facts
may assume the shape of a simple larceny of the goods
of another. In all which cases, as in the case of arson
before adverted to, all who are present aiding, assent
ing, and co-operating in the fact, are, in point of law,
principal offenders.
" The only other observation I would suggest upon
the last-mentioned offence is this, that where property
which has been stolen is found in the possession of any
person recently after the theft committed, unless cir
cumstances appear to rebut such presumption, he may
be presumed guilty of the theft, until he can explain

APPENDIX. 229
or prove his innocent possession of the property. Upon
the subject of a very numerous class of cases, relating
to the receiving of stolen property with the guilty
knowledge that it has been stolen, I hold it to be
unnecessary to offer you any observation whatever.
" There is, however, one case which stands in a dif
ferent situation from the rest, and to which it may be
proper that I should call your particular attention. I
mean the case of James Cossley Lewis, who is at present
at large upon his reconizance, but who stands charged
upon an inquest before the Coroner with the offence of
manslaughter, in shooting a boy of the name of Morris.
It appears from the depositions before the Coroner,
that Lewis was acting in aid of the civil authorities in
assisting to clear the streets, after proclamation had
been regularly made requiring the rioters to disperse
themselves, and after they had continued together for
more than an hour from the time of making proclama
tion. It appears also by the testimony of the witnesses,
that the pistol was not aimed at the boy who was un
fortunately struck by the ball. The nature, however,
of the offence committed by Lewis will not depend so
much upon that fact, as upon the circumstances under
which the pistol was originally discharged. If the
firing of the pistol by Lewis was a rash act, uncalled
for by the occasion, or if it was discharged negligently
and carelessly, the offence would amount to man
slaughter. But if it was discharged in the fair and
honest execution of his duty, in endeavouring to dis
perse the mob, by reason of their resisting, the act of
the firing of the pistol was then an act justified by the
occasion, under the Riot 'Act before referred to, and
the killing of the boy would then amount to accidental
death only, and not to the offence of manslaughter.
You will, I doubt not, when the circumstances of the
case are brought before you in evidence, deal with it
as justice requires.
" Gentlemen, these are the only observations, arising
out ofthe unfortunate transactions at Bristol, with which
I think it necessary to trouble you."
In conclusion, his Lordship made a few remarks on
a case that had no connexion with tbe riots, but was,
with others, to be tried under the Special Commission,
the usual course of justice having been impeded.

230 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

THE TRIALS.

It would unnecessarily occupy a considerable space
in this Appendix if we were to insert even an outline of
the different trials ; and as they nearly all possessed the
same leading character, which has been amply described
in our Narrative of the Riots, the reader would find the
repetition not merely uninteresting but tiresome. The
Trial of Christopher Davis, however, who was charged
as the ringleader ofthe mob, and was moreover a man in
better circumstances than the generality of the rioters,
deserves to have some pages devoted to it. The Trials
of the men who were executed with him we shall briefly
narrate. In all the cases, the prosecutions on the part of the
Crown were conducted by the Attorney-General (Sir
Thomas Denman ;) Mr. Sergeant Wilde ; Messrs.
Wightman, Coleridge, and Follett.

TRIAL OF CHRISTOPHER DAVIS,
charged as the leader of the mob.
Before the Lord Chief Justice Tindal and Sir J. B. Bosanquet.
Christopher Davis was charged with assembling,
with others, and riotously and tumultuously destroying
the New Gaol. There were ten counts in tbe indict
ment, but they merely varied the description of the
building. The Attorney-General, in opeuing the case, said— the
riotous proceedings ofthe 29th, 30th, and 31st Oct. were com
mitted by a mob, changed in some instances in its constituent
parts, and in others probably remaining the same throughout
the whole time. Among this class, he should show the prisoner,
Christopher Davis, attending, in the first instance, on the Satur
day at the Mansion-house, conducting himself with violence and
insult, and connected with the mob, at intervals, until the Mon
day morning. Indeed there was not one ofthe great outrages
at which he was not present ; not for the purpose of rescuing
property from destruction— not for the purpose of saving lives,
or of watching offenders with the intention of giving evidence
against them ; but he was there approving the work of dcstruc-

APPENDIX. 231

tion, encouraging and exciting the mob, not only by his presence,
but by language the most inflammatory. It would be found
that the prisoner filled a respectable situation in life, that he
was a man of family, well known, and one from whom better
things might have been expected, and that his language was
directed, not to persons in the same station in society as himself,
but to the most ignorant portion ofthe community, whom his
conductwas raostlikely to encourage in the committal of acts of
violence and crime. He should show the prisoner first at the
Mansion-house, huzzaing the mob as they broke into it; that
he actually condescended to enter the house afterwards and par
take of the repast ; and that he was up and on the spot all night.
Indeed, they would find him in so many places, and at such
short intervals of time, that he would almost appear to have had
the power of being in more places than one at a time ; or, at all
events, of changing his situation very quickly. From the
Square they would trace him to the Gaol — from thence to the
Square — from the Square to the Bishop's Palace, and, lastly, to
the Square again, and, even there, using that kind of language
most calculated to excite the mob to further outrages, cheeriug
them on, and declaring that the fires were a glorious sight, and
what he had long wanted to see. At the Bishop's Palace, when
the gates were being pulled down, he could hardly conceal his
joy — exclaiming, that he had foreseen it for twenty years, and
that it was an example for all the world. Such conduct, it will
be at once seen, was most calculated to excite and encourage
the poor wretches who had left their abodes for the sake of
plunder ; some of them, perhaps, fancying that the destruction
would eventually entail a benefit on them, instead of ruin,
punishment, and death. That the prisoner acted for the sake
of plunder we do not say ; but, it is clear, he lent his counte
nance to their criminal acts. In the course ol this evidence it
¦will be seen that the prisoner went into a public-house, where
he boasted of having drank the wine at the Mansion-house, and
partaken of the repast provided there for the Recorder, using
some such foolish expression as this : — " What a shame it is that
there should be so much waste when so many poor wretches are
starving." Gentlemen, I understand that the defence intended
to be set up by the prisoner is the plea of being intoxicated at
the time ; but you have been told by an higher authority than
myself that a party who subjects himself to crime, by the taking
of liquor, is, in the eye ofthe law, equally guilty, unless, indeed,
it should appear that be was in an absolute state of insensibility.
and incapable of being conscious of what was passing around,
There is another plea, which it is possible may be set up, and on
which it does not become me to animadvert, I mean the plea
of a weak understanding. If such a defence should be set
up, you, gentlemen of the Jury, will have to decide, whether
he was so far incapacitated as not to be responsible for his
actions. The facts I have detailed will be proved by a great
variety of the mojt respectable witnesses, whom I shall now
proceed to call.

232 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

Edward Culliford examined. — I am a grocer; was in Queen-
square on the morning of 30th October, from half-past 8 to half-
pasta ; a great number of persons were assembled heaving stones
and bottles at the Mansion-house ; I saw the prisoner about one
o'clock standing opposite the Mansion-house in the path iuside
the railing ; at that time the mob was rather quiet ; he was b  .
the parsons and blasting the bishops ; he was speaking I believe
as loud as he could -, I think he mentioned the Corporation
first, next the Bishops : he wished that hell might open and
swallow the churches and corporation up ; he had a silk um
brella in his hand, and he lifted his hat above his head; there
were 2 or 3000 persons there; I stood in the Mansion-house an
hour and half, and did not see him again ; when I came out
the mob had considerably diminished.
Cross-examined. — The motion of the hat which I described
is a common mode of relieving a person's head -, he had his
umbrella spread over his head ; the action of the hat was not an
unmeaning one ; I can't say whether it was to ease his head or
excite the mob ; I can't say I did not use the same action with
my own hat while I was there.
Re-examined. — I went directly from the Mansion-house to
Nelson-street, where I heard the mob knocking at the doors of
Bridewell : I did not utter such expressions as he used.
J. Gilbert examined. — I was in Queen-square on the Sunday
of the riots, about one o'clock, and stood under the piazzas ;
Davis said to me this was the end of your d  d magistrates
and bishops, and he would send them all to hell ; this was in an
angry tone of voice, loud enough for every one to hear; he
called them d — d robbers, and he would hang them in chains
in Queen-square if he had his will ; I did not say one word to
him ; I went away while he was talking, for I did not like to
be seen with him ; Alderman Hilhouse came up at the same
time and asked me who he was.
Cross-examined.— I am a merchant, carrying on .business
near the Custom-house; I never attended any of the meetings
held in Queen-square during the last year; I have seen the
meetings from my counting-house ; I can't tell how many were
held ; I did not trouble myself about them ; I should say I
have seen six or seven thousand people at such meetings, not
10 or 12,000 ; I heard they were about reform ; I never took
the trouble to go and hear the speeches ; much damage had been
done lo the mansion-house; I was there the evening before, when
Sir C. Wetherell made bis escape and asked my son for a hat.
Thomas Davey examined. — 1 keep the Pilgrim public-house
in Tucker-street, about a quarter of a mile from Queen-square;
on the day bridewell was destroyed the prisoner was at my
house between 2 and 3 in the afternoon ; he had a glass of beer;
I was in an inner parlour with a person named Cross; the
prisoner said when I brought in the beer, there were pretty
works going on ; he said it was what he expected for a good
many years ; by his talking he appeared as if he had been drink-

APPENDIX. 233

ing ; he said he was almost tipsy, had been up all night, and
had been down in Queen-square ; I said I hoped he had not
been drinking any of the wine ; he said he had ; he said he
wished every b  y church in Bristol was burnt down.
Cross-examined. — I have known him 14 or 15 years, and have
seen him at times when excited by liquor ; he has frequently
expressed himself in an extravagant and violent manner.
John Cross examined. — I was with last witness at the public
house when the prisoner came in ; I heard him say he had been
up all night and was intoxicated ; he appeared to be so; Davey
said to him I hope you have not been taking any of the wine ;
he said he had ; nothing had been said about wine before ; he
said he wished they would burn down every church in Bristol,
or words to that effect
Hugh Wickham examined. — I was apprentice to Mr. Harris,
linen-draper, 27, High-street, at the time of the riots; on the
Sunday, a little after one, I was sitting in the front room of
my master's house, and heard loud talking in the street, which
induced me to go to the window; I saw the prisoner Davis with
an umbrella in his hand; there were from 12 to 15 persons
standing round him; I heard him say, pointing to St. Nicholas
church, " dowu with those churches and mend the roads with
them" ; he pointed with an umbrella ; he kept on talking, but
he turned the corner of Bridge-street and I lost sight of him ;
he appeared to be going towards the bridge ; the persons went
some one way some another ; many of them were car-drivers ;
it was near the coach stand.
Cross-examined. — The bridge was on the opposite direction
from the Bridewell ;he was going in the way to the Counterslip.
By the Court. — Tucker-street is over the bridge -, he had a
black coat, drab breeches, aud boots ; he had a very respectable
appearance. John A. Parker examined. — I am clerk to Messrs. Lucas ;
the Bridewell was burnt during the time I was at dinner about
one o'clock ; I went out to look after the safety of a vessel ;
went from the Cut where I live to the avenue leading to the
back of tbe Mansion-house, and turned into Charlotte-street;
the banquetting-room looked into Charlotte-street ; many per
sons were in that street, throwing stones at the windows, and a
great number looking on ; I passed quickly through the crowd ;
Mr. Davis was under the windows of the room, with his umbrella
iu his hand, and his hat off, lifted above his head ; I heard him
say " hurra ! go it my boys ;" it was not I should suppose at
the extreme pitch of his voice, but I heard it on the other side
ofthe way ; I passed quickly and went to the vessel ; I know
his person well.
Cross-examined. — I have seen him under excitement from
liquor, when if any person differed from him in politics, he
expressed himself violently ; notwithstanding his violence of
language, I should not have supposed him capable of such con
duct as I saw him use on Sunday ; I did not see any person en
gaged in preserving peace.

234 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

Daniel Underwood examined. — I am a boatman belonging
to the Customs ; while the rioting was going on in front ofthe
Mansion-house on Saturday night, I saw soldiers there ; I saw
the prisoner cheering the mob ; he had a stick or umbrella, or
something else, and was waving it ; I did not hear any word he
said; I saw him again on Sunday, opposite the new City Gaol,
not opposite the door, between three and four o'clock ; there
was a great quantity of people about him ; they were looking
on, and some were breaking open the Gaol door ; when I first
saw him he had his hat on his head; saw him take his hat off
and put it on his umbrella ; he cheered the mob ; he said, " now
d — nye, we will have Reform — this is what ought to have been
done years ago ;" I saw him for the best part of an hour ; he
kept the hat on the umbrella about three minutes ; he lifted and
waved it in his right hand ; I saw the door opened and the
prisoners come out.
The witness was cross-examined by Mr. Smith at considerable
length, as to his conviction that the prisoner was cheering the
mob and not the soldiers or the constables. The witness was
unable to describe to the Court the exact way in which he be
came so convinced, but repeated that Davis was certainly
cheering the mob.
James Edwin Carver deposed that he saw Davis in the new
gaol after the mob had entered ; a great number of the mob
were strangers to Bristol, judging from their enquiries.
George Phipps examined. — I live in King-street ; on 30th
Oct. between 1 and 2, I heard the bridewell was destroyed = be
tween 2 aud 3, I saw the prisoner, and about 120 to 150 persons
coming up Back-street ; Davis was at their head, with an
umbrella in his hand ; heard him say, " d — n their eyes, burn
them — down with them ;" they were coming towards my house,
and passed by the side of it ; I heard the hurraing, and looked
over the shutters ; I have known Davis 20 years ; I opened the
back door, and said to him, "Mr. Davis, for God's sake do
come in ;" they went forward in the direction of the mansion-
house; I saw him again about five in the afternoon, going
towards the place 1 had seen bim before come from ; there were
a few persons with him ; Mr. Davis was decidedly tipsy ; I had
known him so long and so well that three glasses would make
him mad at any time.
Cross-examined. — My house is nearly half a mile from the gaol ;
it was my knowledge of his indiscretion when drunk that as an
act of friendship I endeavoured to get him from the mob ; he
is a highly humane and respectable man.
Johu Harvey examined. — On Sunday the 30th Oct. I was in
company with Mr. Wood, in the afternoon, at Prince's-street-
bridge ; while I was there I observed a great number of persons
coming in that direction, huzzaing ; I saw the prisoner in the
midst of the mob ; did not hear him speak ; he took his hat off
and placed it on his umbrella and waved it round ; the mob
were going in the direction of the new gaol ; I could see them
for some distance on the other side of the toll-gate ; he was

APPENDIX. 235

with them ; I remained on the same spot nearly half an hour ;
it is not near enough to hear what was passing at the gaol ; I
saw the gaol on fire about half or three quarters of an hour after
the mob had passed ; I saw Davis after the fire at the bottom of
Prince's-street ; he came close abreast me, but I did not see
from what direction he came ; he addressed me, and said he
had come from the fire ; he said, " it is a beautiful sight, only
it did not burn fast enough to please me ;" he said he hoped all
the Bishops would be hung and the churches burnt; he said he
had been to the gaol with the mob and had liberated the pri
soners, and some of them were timid of coming out ; he said
if they did not come out they should be burnt there ; he
was much intoxicated ; he said that he, with the mob, had
entered the Mansion-house, and had partaken of the dinner that
was intended for Sir C. Wetherell, which dinner was composed
of roast beef, ducks, fowls, &c. and it was disgraceful while so
many poor wretches were starving ; I went from him ; before I
went I beard a man address him — I think an Irishman by his
dialect — and said "Mr. Davis, this is the blaze of liberty;"
Davis replied " I wish I had had a hundred such men as you
with me last night." I then went d irect to my own home, leaving
them at the bottom of Prince's-street ; at the time I quitted
him the inob had increased to about 400 persons.
William Wood the person alluded to by the last witness,
corroborated his testimony, and added, that Davis, on the oc
casion referred to, said he was drunk — that he had been up all
night — that he had entered the Mansion-house with the mob,
who partook of the dinner — that it was composed ,of roast beef,
ducks, fowls, and other things he mentioned ; he said it was
disgraceful ways while there were so many poor wretches starv
ing ; he said he expected this would take place twenty or forty
years ago ; he said he would not mind heading a mob of 20,000
men atany time ; he said it was an example to the whole world,
and it would not end here ; there were many persons round
about there ; he said he hoped all the Bishops would be hung,
and all the churches burnt ; I heard a person speak to Davis a
short time before I left ; that person said, pointing to the flames,
that was the blaze of liberty ; Davis said he wished he had had
a hundred such men with him last night as he was ; I went away
with Mr. Harvey, and left Davis there ; there were persons at
the Gaol before he crossed the bridge to go there.
[In the cross-examination of Harvey and Wood, they stated
that they had previously committed their evidence to writing,
and had compared their notes, for the purpose of refreshing
their memories.]
John House examined. — I am a servant to the Dock-master ;
I collect the tolls at Prince's-street-bridge ; a great number of
persons passed through my gate on Sunday 30th Oct. towards
the new gaol ; they were going tumultuously ; after that I saw
parties coming as from the gaol at different times ; I saw Davis
coming as from the new gaol ; Davis stopt at the gate, turned a
little out of the direction of the bridge on the pier; he said,

236 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

" where now is your d — d Corporation, your d — d Bishops, and
your d — d Dock Company .'" his manner was violent ; I did not
peceive any thing in his hand ; I saw him a short time ; this was
about four o'clock ; about five o'clock some person came into
my house and took a candle out of my hand and asked if I was
ready ? I said 1 had not got all my things out ; they smashed the
windows : I retired, for fear, and soon afterwards the house was
in flames.
Cross-examined. — Davis did not speak to me in particular ; I
thought he was in a violent state of excitement ; he had had
some liquor.
Richard James examined. — I am a carver and gildet ; I saw
the gaol on fire when I was at the lower end of Marsh-street ; I
met Davis in Marsh-street ; I had seen bridewell on fire ; he
caught me by the hand or arm and said," d — n your eyes, James,
this is glorious — this is the sort of thing we wanted." I said it
was not the sort of thing I wanted, and that I did not think he
would consider so if he went home to bed ; he said " I don't
care — we will have every b — y church in England down before
long ;" he was intoxicated.
Cross-examined. — I have known him some years as a man in
business; it was my opinion, and is now, that those would not
be his sentiments in sober moments.
Wm. Harvey examined. — I am a printer ; I was at College-
green on Sunday night, 30th Oct., about eight o'clock ; a mob
came while I was standing there ; they went to the archway
leading to the Bishop's palace ; they appeared to have iron bars ;
they struck them on the pavement, and they rung like metal ; I
saw Davis come from the Drawbridge end of the Green to the
Deanery end ; I have known him for yea's ; he came up to me
and said the d — d Bishops were the cause of all this, or had
brought it all on, or words to that effect ; I told him I thought
the time was come when it behoved men to suppress their feel
ings for the public good ; he answered something ; he said he
could foresee or foretell this 20 years back, and was sure it
would come to pass ; we conversed some minutes; he said what
a shame jt was for one d — Bishop to have ,£40,000. a-year and
so many poor persons starving ; about this time there was a noise
from the Bishop's palace, as of breaking doors open ; we could
distinctly hear it; his conduct then was nothing more than
ordinary, as of one man talking to another ; just at that time
the soldiers rode by ; at that time there were from 20 to 30
persons round us ; but when he first spoke to me there were but
two or three.
Cross-examined. — We were completely separated by houses
from the mob who were doing the violence ; while I saw him
he neither said nor did any thing to excite the mob ; I went away
and left him standing with 20 or 30 people who had collected.
Adam Barton examined. — I keep the Albion public-house in
Prince's street ; on the Sunday the prisoner was at my house,
between 12 and 1 in the day ; there were two others with him,
and he was talking loudly ; I was not aware of the subject of

APPENDIX. 237

conversation ; all I heard remarkable was that he d — d the
Bishop, the Church, and the Clergy ; he seemed in a very agi
tated state ; his conduct was not like that of a sober man ; his
conduct was the very opposite.
William Perry examined. — I am a clerk to Messrs, Davey,
wharfingers ; I have known prisoner three or four years ; on the
Sunday ofthe riots, about one o'clock, I saw him in the house
ofthe last witness ; I heard him make use of violent expressions ;
I consider he was drunk ; on the Wednesday evening following
he came to my house in Trenchard-street, about eight in the
evening, and said he was afraid he was got into an unpleasant
situation, or words to that effect ; that he had heard the officers
had been on the look-out for him ; he remained there the whole
night ; he slept in the same bed with me ; he had never slept
there before ; he remained in the house and slept there each
night, till the Sunday evening after the fire ; I can't tell where he
then went ; I accompanied him to Hillsbridge, where a gig was
waiting for him ; it was about half-past six in the evening.
Thomas Crosby examined. — I am an attorney in this city ; I
have been searching for the prisoner ; on Tuesday week I en
quired for him at a house at Sutton Montis, near Sherborne :
after a search of two hours, I found him in an unfloored attic,
between two joists ; it was a dark room ; he was lying ; I had a
candle with me ; he said, " you have found me then ;" I replied,
"I have — you must come with me ;" he said " I hope you won't
do me any harm."
Cross-examined. — I don't know if there was an information
against him for a capital felony ; I was requested by Mr. Harmar
to search ; I have no reason to believe Mr. Harmar holds any
official situation. Before the search I heard there was a reward
offered for his apprehension ; I am a professional man in Bris
tol ; great excitement prevailed on the subject of the riots when
I set out on the search.
By the Court. — When he said " you have found me," he
added, " I am not here for stealing or for murder ; I am very
happy you have found me ; I am happier now than at any time
since I left Bristol ; I never should have left but on the advice
of my friends."
Wm. Harmar examined. — I pursued Davis with a view of
apprehending him after the riots ; on Sunday week, I went to
Sutton Montis with last witness, who delivered him to me; I
cautioned him not to say any thing which might be given in
evidence ; he took me up to the place where he had been found,
and said he had looked out for it in case the officer came to
take bim ; there was a sort of step, and he had ascended into a
hole about 9 feet high ; he said he had been secreted at Sheplon
Mallett, Batcombe,and other places ; I noticed the coat he had
on, and he said it was one he had borrowed to disguise himself;
on the way to Bristol, he said, " there is one thing against me —
it is what I said ;" I asked wbat it was, and he declined stating.
Wm. Orchard Gwyer and Wm. Henry Selman were called;
the former did not appear, and the latter was not examined.
This was the case for the prosecution.

238 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

The prisoner on being called on for his defence said he would
leave it to his Counsel.
Thos. Myers was then called for the prisoner, and examined
by Mr. Smith. — I am a tiler and plasterer ; I was in Bath-street
when Sir Chas. Wetherell made his appearance ; I have known
Davis five or six years ; we shook hands together : I asked where
he was going ; he said to the end of the street to see Sir Charles
come in ; I dissuaded him ; Davis said, " I hope to God it will
be all quiet ;" he was then sober.
Cross-examined. — This was between ten and eleven in the
morning, when Sir Charles was coming up Temple-street.
Charles Hurditch examined. — I keep the Saracen's Head,
Temple gate, which is half a mile from Queen-square; on the
night of Saturday, the 29th Oct. Davis was at my house ; he
came about 6 o'clock ; I left the house a little before 8, and he
was there then.  Cross-examined. — There was rioting about
the Mansion-house before six.
Michael Tregay examined. — On Saturday evening the 29th
October, I was at the Saracen's Head a little before six ; Davis
was there, and I left him in the room at eight o'clock.
Cross-examined. — He was with a man whom I had never seen
before. John Hodges examined. — I was with the prisoner on the night
of the 29th Oct. at my own house, the Fourteen-stars, Temple-
street ; he lives at the Counterslip ; he came at half-past 10 and
remained till past 11 ; he was quite sensible when he went away,
but was a little intoxicated; he went home; I watched him
into his house.
Priscilla Roberts examined.— I was prisoner's servant in
October, and am now in the service of the prisoner's wife ; he
resided at the Counterslip ; I recollect the Saturday when Sir
Charles Wetherell came to the city ; my master came home
that night between 10 and 11 o'clock ; he was not much intoxi
cated ; he went to bed and got up next morning between 10 and
11 o'clock ; he breakfasted at home, and went out to get shaved
and returned about 2 to dinner ; he went out again in about
half an hour, and returned between 5 and 6 ; went out again after
tea, before 6 ; I don't know what time he returned that night.
Cross-examined. — I went to bed on the Saturday night after
11; got up on Sunday morning about 7 ; my master's usual
hours were what I have stated ; I heard on Sunday afternoon
that the gaol had been burnt; I went to bed by 10 on Sunday
night ; I was not out all day.
T.K.Barnes examined. — I live near the prisoner; on the Sun
day ofthe fires I saw him between half-past 12 o'clock in the day
in the Counterslip ; I think it was before the service was over in
Temple Church ; he was in the street ; I believe I spoke to
him, but have no distinct recollection of what he said ; I next
saw him about 2 o'clock on Monday morning on Bristol-bridge,
I think he was intoxicated ; I saw him on the Monday morning
between 9 and 10 at the Counterslip ; he said "what dreadful
works it is — I hope they will be punished for it."

APPENDIX. 239

This course of examination was objected to by the Attorney-
General and argued at some length. Their Lordships held that
if after-statements were to be received in evidence, any person
would be enabled to make evidence in his favour, when he
reflected on the consequence of what he had done.
Examination continued. — The prisoner has carried on busi
ness in my neighbourhood 9 or 10 years ; I have always known
him an honest, kind hearted, and benevolent man.
David Thomas examined. — I am a tallow-chandler in Castle-
street; saw Davis at the top of High-street on the Sunday ;
bridewell had not been opened ; they were coming up, and he
was standing on the lefthand side ; I shook hands with him ; I
came up with the mob ; he remarked " whata dreadful scene it
is — I thought it would come to this ;" I remarked was it pos
sible they would accomplish it; I went to the bridewell, and
Davis did not accompany me ; I have known him 20 years, and
always found him charitable and humane, honest & industrious.
Joseph Thomas examined.— I am a carver and gilder, in
Nelson-street; I was at the swing-bridge on Bathurst basin
about 4 o'clock on Sunday, about the time of the attack on
the gaol ; saw the flag hoisted ; I and the prisoner were stand
ing together, about 150 yards from the gate ; I was a spectator ;
the mob were throwing things into the water, and I said, "Davis,
this is too bad ;" he said, "it is indeed-," I left him on the
bridge in half an hour; when I left, the mob were proceeding
still ; during that time the prisoner was guilty of no impropriety
or violence.
Cross-examined. — There might be a hundred people about
the bridge ; I saw the people bringing tbe things out ; I was
talking to him about five minutes ; I walked away with a
friend ; Davis remained behind ; I was on the bridge half an
hour ; while I was there I think there was smoke coming from
the lodge ; when I left the bridge he was in the same situation
as I found him; I did not see him in conversation; a good
many people surrounded him ; I was standing near him for 20
minutes, and did not hear him speak to any one ; my attention
was turned towards the gaol ; the mob were increasing, cover
ing the ground quite fast.
Re-examined. — The party who surrounded me and the peo
ple were distinct from the mob ; they were there from observa
tion ; he could have spoken to a person without my seeing it.
George Barton examined. — lam an ironmonger in Nelson -
street ; I was on the swivel bridge with Davis and the last witness
on the Sunday ; I went up to Davis, and said, this was dreadful
work, and he said it was; I saw the flag put up just before I
got there ; Davis said it was an infernal shame such a lot of
thieves should be set at liberty; Ihave known him 10 years;
his character is extremely honest and peaceable.
Cross-examined. — At the time I speak of, be was perfectly
sober and quiet ; I never saw him more steady ; no one could
know him better; I never saw him much elevated with liquor,
though I have known him so long ; I had not seen the pri-

240 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

soners let out; Davis told me 40 or 50 had passed; I can't
recollect what else was said; 1 did not move five yards; no
prisoners passed while I was there ; I left Davis there.
Re-examined. — My intercourse with Davis has been on
matters of business ; I never drank with him.
Mary David examined.— -I am landlady ofthe Ship in Pipe-
lane ; he was there on the Sunday evening of the fires ; he went
out about half-past 9 ; he had been there as I understand an
hour ; when he went out was the first time I saw him.
Reece Elias examined. — lam a tailor, No. 6, Stephen-street;
on Sunday 30th Oct. I overtook the prisoner on the other side
ofthe drawbridge, about 8 o'clock in the evening ; we walked
together to College-green on the College side ; we heard a
great deal of beating and banging about in the direction ofthe
palace ; I proposed to go into the lower green to see what was
going on, and Mr. Davis said, you had better not; I remained
there nearly a quarter of an hour; we came back towards the
draw-bridge; I stopt at Denmark-street and lost sight of him ;
I staid to talk about a fire.
Cross-examined. — I think I was in the College-green about
a quarter of an hour ; the fire I mentioned was at Lawford's
gate ; Davis appeared to be compos mentis ; he advised me not
to go to see the riot, lest I should be taken for one of the mob.
John Hood examined. — I am the manager of Williams's
brewery •, saw Davis near the Custom-house when it was fired;
I was walking through the Square ; I requested persons whom
I knew to assemble at the Exchange to repress the riot ; I asked
Davis to be one of them ; he said he would ; I went on for the
same purpose, and thence to the Exchange ; there were about
10 or 12 there, but no leader ; Davis was regretting what had
occurred when I saw him ; I have known him 15 years ; always
considered him a respectable man ; when he was in liquor he
was a little noisy.
Cross-examined. — Davis was not one ofthe 10 or 12 I saw on
the Exchange; it is easy to distinguish when he was in liquor;
when I saw him I thought he had been tipsy but was recover
ing ; he talked rationally ; his countenance was distorted as if
he had been drunk ; this was the only time on that day that I
saw him ; it was not quite three on Monday morning when I
saw him.
Re-examined. — Many whom I asked to come to the Exchange
did not come.
John B. Harwood examined. — I am a wholesale grocer ; have
known the prisoner three years; I live close to him and know
a good deal of him ; he is honest, and exceedingly benevolent to
the poor-
John Fry examined. — I am a woollen draper on the Quay ;
have known prisoner 8 years as an honest and peaceable man.
John Bland examined — I live in Broadmead; have known
him for 6 or 7 years as an honest upright man.
T. Barrington examined.— I knew him 20 years ago ; he had
a very fair character.

APPENDIX. 241
Mr. Fiske, grocer, examined. — I have known him well seven
years ; his general conduct is that of an honest, industrious,
peaceable man ; I have seen him much excited by liquor; at
other times very peaceable.
The evidence was brought to a close at six o'clock, and the
Lord Chief Justice immediately began to sum up. He remark
ed, with regard to variations in times spokeu to by witnesses,
it was always liable to uncertainty, and knowing this, the Jury
would take into their consideration the contiguity of places,
and the possibility of the prisoner's being at the different places
sworn to, although there existed a variation in the testimony of
some of the witnesses with respect to the precise time. After
commenting upon the evidence in an address of two hours dura
tion, his Lordship left it to the Jury to say whether on the
evidence the prisoner was not instigating and acting in concur
rence with the mob, iu the firing of the gaol, although his own
hand did not commit the violence. Whatever was their verdict,
they were bound to discharge their duty between their country
and the prisoner.
The Jury retired soon after eight o'clock, and at 9 returned
into Court. A solemn silence prevailed while the officer de
manded their verdict, which was that of " Guilty." The pri
soner heard it with uo apparent emotion, and was immediately
taken from the bar.

FIRING THE CITY GAOL.
William Clarke, Patrick Kearney, James Williams, Daniel
ffiggs, James Courtney, and John Mecay, were indicted for
destroying the Gaol.
The Attorney General in his address to the Jury, said it
would be proved that the prisoners had riotously and tumul
tuously assembled together, to the disturbance of the public
peace ; that they were parading the town about noon on Sunday
the 30th October, in the most riotous and disorderly manner ;
that after destroying the bridewell by fire, they proceeded to
the public gaol, and whether for the purpose of liberating the
persons there confined, or whether with a view to the general
destruction of property, he was unable to determine, but it
would be proved that they broke into the gaol, and set fire to
several parts of it.
William Stretton, task-master at the gaol, was the first wit
ness examined. He described the breaking open of the gaol
with sledge-hammers and wedges, and stated that Courtney was
one of the men who assisted to throw the prison van into the
river ; when witness left the gaol, about two hours after the
first assault, he saw Clarke going towards the gaol with an iron
bar on his shoulder; he was walking steadily, aud shook his
head at witness as he passed him.
W. H. Selman deposed that he saw the mob hammering at
the gates ; saw Clarke and Kearney there ; Clarke had some
thing in his hand, and was striking at the lower part of the
R

242 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
large door ; saw an entrance made, the doors thrown open,
and the mob rush in ; remembered the soldiers coming ; had
known Clarke six years ; saw Kearney in the mob going to the
bridewell between one and half-past one : they were conducting
themselves riotously, and a great number of them had iron
bars and hammers; believed Kearney had an iron bar; the next
time witness saw Kearney was at the gaol ; he had an iron bar,
swinging it about, and he struck the door of the gaol with it;
the mob were shouting tremendously at the time, before and
after the soldiers came.
Cross-examined. — Would swear that Clarke knocked at the
door before there was a fire in the gaol ; it was about 4 o'clock
or a little after it, when he first saw him; it was before the
soldiers came ; the prisoners were all liberated before witness
saw any fire.
John Phillips, one of the turnkeys at the gaol, deposed that
about half an hour after the mob entered, Clarke walked in
with an iron bar on his shoulder, and went towards the gover
nor's dwelling. The governor's house was on fire about twenty
minutes after the mob broke the iron gates. It had been
burning about ten minutes when Clarke came in : he went up
the steps to governor's house ; saw him again about an hour
afterwards ; he was then coming down the flight of steps lead
ing from the lodge into the yard. The prisoners had been let
loose before witness saw him the first time. At the second time
he said to the mob.—" Come on, comrades." Some then went
away with him. Whilst he was there the mob were breaking
locks, destroying furniture, &c.
Cross-examined. — Could see the mob distinctly from the
wicket ; if Clarke had been one of the mob battering the gates
witness could not have failed of seeing him. — Did not see Kear
ney there. When witness first saw Clarke he walked in from
the road. Did not observe that he was at all affected with
liquor. James Edwin Carver, who was a prisoner for debt at the time
ofthe riots, was sworn, and stated that in consequence of sub
sequent illness his memory was impaired. The last thing he
could distinctly charge his memory with, was seeing Clarke
strike at the iron gates(in the prison yard) with a sledge hammer.
Cross-examined. — My memory is in such a confused state,
that I cannot venture positively to swear to any one circum
stance. — I imagined I saw Clarke there, but I cannot speak
positively with certainty.
A. Shapcott deposed that he was a prisoner for debt on the
30th Oct. and saw the mob come into the yard with bars and
sledge hammers ; saw Clarke there some time after the breaking
in of the outer gates ; Clarke had his hands in his pockets;
heard him say to the mob, " come here," or " come there."
Cross-examined. — Did not see Clarke commit any violence.
Re-examined. — It was an hour and half alter the attack before
they effected an entrance ; it was some time after the entry of
the mob that witness saw Clarke.

APPENDIX. 243
John Page, ferryman, deposed that when the mob came to
the gaol he was on the other side of the river ; there was a staff
on the gaol lodge with a vane ; saw a man slide down the staff
— not Clarke — but Clarke unshipped the staff and threw it
among the mob, after they had entered the gaol ; Clarke had
passed over the ferry in witness's boat about 10 o'clock in the
morning, and also at a quarter before twelve.
James Wyatt was a collector of tolls at Prince's-street bridge
on 30th Oct. ; a mob of persons passed over the bridge towards
the prison soon after 2 o'clock, with bars like railing, and
bludgeons ; Clarke was with them, and had some kind of bar
on his shoulder ; it was bent -, he said as he went by, they would
have liberty; the mob were huzzaing; they said they were
going to the gaol, and that witness must make ready for them,
for they were coming back to him ; this was said by many of
the people ; some ofthe mob did come back again.
James Cross deposed that he was at the Horse and Jockey in
Limekiln-lane about 12 o'clock at night on the 30th Oct. when
Clarke came in with 4 or 5 men ; they had iron crow-bars ;
Clarke pulled 3 or 4 keys out of his pocket, and said they were
the keys of the gaol, and holding up one of them he said it was
the master-key, and that every gaol in England would be
opened in less than a fortnight.
This evidence was confirmed by R. H. Trickey.
James Moss deposed that he saw Clarke beating bridewell
door with a sledge hammer ; he had before seen Clarke leave
Queen-square with the mob.
Harriet Vowles, servant to Mr. Whittington, Britannia
Tavern, All Saints'-street, deposed that her master's house is
near the bridewell ; that gentleman (pointing out Clarke) came
there between 1 and 2 o'clock on the Sunday of the riots, with
about 20 other persons or less ; witness did not know any ofthe
other gentlemen ; Clarke had nothing with him ; he came again
at about 5 o'clock, and had then an iron bar on his shoulder;
he swung the iron bar round him, and desired the mob to fol
low him ; did not hear him mention any place ; had not heard
that any thing particular had happened, except that bridewell
was burnt and the prisoners let out ; heard Clarke say that
some had hopped out, and he would have more out ; this was
shortly after bridewell was on fire ; heard several of them say
they had let the prisoners out of bridewell; this was the first
time they came.
Thomas Whittington, master of the last witness, corroborat
ed her evidence.
Mary Ann Shoeburn, servant to Mr. Gully, Nicholas-street,
deposed that on 30th Oct., about half-past eight in the evening
Clarke came to her master's house with 4 or 5 other persons,
and had beer ; Clarke shewed a bunch of keys, and said they
belonged to Lawford's-gate prison ; he had some bacon, and
said it was some of Mr. Humphries,' (the Governor of the
City Prison.)
James Rouse ; kept the Boar's Head ; on the 30th October,
R2

244 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

about half-past 1 1 at night, Clarke came to witness's house and
7 or 8 persons with him ; 2 or 3 had crow-bars ; Clarke said he
had been and broken open the three prisons; he had an iron
bar, 6 or 6 feet long, a little bent ; he said he and his few boys
had burnt the Bishop's palace, and that he had done a good
day's work so far.
Cross-examined.— Clarke was a good deal intoxicated.
Margaret Flynn, servant to Mr. Humphries, the governor of
the gaol, deposed to some provisions having been stolen by the
mob — a ham and part of another — also a leg of pork.
John Wise heard Clarke say to the mob who were burning
the Custom-house, " come on, come on."
Thomas Austin, watchmaker, deposed that he saw Clarke in
the Square between 2 and 3 on Monday morning, telling the
mob to come on ; he had dishes and bottles under his arm.
William Perry, constable, deposed to the apprehension of
Clarke at Liverpool on the 6th November. Mr. Harmer
accompanied witness,
William Humphries, governor of the gaol, described the
attack ofthe mob, and stated that he had a master-key and
three common ones, which he kept locked up in his desk ; they
were lost in the riot ; one of the keys was larger than the rest.
Wm. Woodman, saw Clarke in Queen-square about two
o'clock on the Monday morning, with books in his hand.
Wm. Lowe, saw Clarke in Queen-square on the Monday
morning about 8 o'clock with dishes under his arm ; Clarke
saw and recognized witness ; Clarke said " hurrah, come along
my boys," or some such thing.
Cross-examined. — Clarke was far from sober ; witness had
seen him rather rough after he had been drinking— in almost a
deranged state — more excited than men generally are when in
liquor. Witness knew Clarke to be an honest man and a
peaceable citizen.
This being understood to be the whole of the case as affecting
Clarke, Mr. Smith, the Counsel for the prisoner, observed that
he had been not a little embarrassed by the indictment compre
hending So many prisoners, and the evidence embracing so
many different times and circumstances. He wished to know
from the Court if he might be allowed now to call evidence in
favour of Clarke.
The Court decided that the whole of the case for this prose
cution should first be closed.
William Devon (a boy about 10 years of age) was then called.
He deposed that he was at the gaol on the Sunday afternoon ;
was there till it was set fire to ; a man very much like Patrick
Kearney asked witness to go and fetch some straw for him,
where the others went; got the straw and gave it to the man,
who strewed it on the floor and set fire to it; he took a tin out
of his pocket, with stuff in it, and poured some of the turps
over the straw ; was not quite sure that Kearney was tie man,
but if it was hot, he was very much like him.

APPENDIX. 245
Chas. Salter and W. Appleby deposed to having seen Kearney
breaking the governor's furniture while the house was on fire.
John Berry deposed that he knew the prisoner Jas. Williams,
who is a native of Keynsham; saw a great number of persons
at the gaol on the 30th Oct. breaking the things to pieces, with
bars ; saw Williams hit a door once, but does not know whether
he broke it in.
Cross-examined. — All the firing had taken place before
Williams came.
James Pitman, blacksmith at Keynsham, deposed that he saw
Williams at the gaol while the governor's house was on fire ;
he had something in his band about three feet long and § of an
inch square.
Cross-examined. — Did notsee Williams commit any violence.
The evidence of several witnesses was then taken as to the
finding of stolen property, belonging to the gaol, at the house
of Williams's mother at Keynsham.
Charles Cressy witnessed the assault at the gaol; saw the
prisoner, Daniel Higgs, employed in the riots; saw him take a
crow bar from a boy and strike the gate ; saw him hustling the
people and trying to pick pockets; saw him heaping wood
against the gates to increase the fires ; it was tables and chairs ;
this was between 6 and 8 o'clock.
J.King, jun. of Clare-street, was in Broad-street between 2
and 3 o'clock on Sunday the 30th of October, and saw Higgs
at the head ofthe mob coming from bridewell; he was shout
ing, and saying they were going to break open the gaol.
Thomas Watson, night constable, deposed to having seen
Mecay assisting to break open the gaol door.
John Williams deposed that on the Sunday he saw a mob at
the smith's shop near the prison ; some of them had crow bars ;
they forced the doors open, and he saw Mecay bring out a
sledge hammer ; this was about a quarter past two o'clock ;
Mecay then went with the rest of the mob to the gaol, where
witness saw him hammer at the gates ; after the gates were beat
in Mecay assisted to drive the gaol van into the water ; saw
Mecay fling a sledge hammer at the last witness (Watson) ; saw
a portrait of the governor brought out ; Mecay kicked a hole
through the picture, and threw it into the water.
This was the case for the Crown.
Mr. Palmer, Counsel for the prisoner Clarke, submitted to the
Court that Clarke must be acquitted ; the indictment charged
him with felony, but if he had been proved guilty of any crime,
it was of high treason, into which the felony had merged.
There had been evidence given of Clarke's intention to destroy
all the gaols in the kingdom ; that Clarke had not only assisted
in the demolition of alfthe gaols in Bristol, together with the
Bishop's palace, but that he had declared that in a fortnight
all the gaols in the kingdom should be destroyed. This, he
(Mr. Palmer) contended, was an overt act of treason, and came
within the question of a constructive levying of war against the
King. The learned Counsel cited cases in support of his ob
jection, which was ultimately overruled.

246 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Several witnesses were called in favor of Clarke, among
whom was his mother. They deposed that the prisoner met
with an accident in his bead some years since, while engaged
in his business as a sawyer, and that he had since been subject
to fits of derangement ; he became violent with a small quan
tity of liquor. An alibi was also attempted to be shewn as
regarded several of the periods spoken to by the witnesses for
the prosecution.
The other prisoners also called witnesses ; and on the part of
Courtney an alibi was set up.
The Attorney-General obtained leave to call additional
witnesses for the further identification of Courtney, in conse
quence ofthe alibi which had been sworn to in his behalf.
James Racker stated that he was a tide-waiter at tbe Custom
house ; saw Courtney coming from the gaol on the Sunday
evening ; at the toll-gates on Prince's-street bridge, and after
wards at the Mansion-house ; saw him in an underground cellar
at the back part of the Mansion-house, with a lanthorn in his
hand ; he was afterwards in front ofthe Mansion-house with the
lanthorn and a piece of old iron in his left hand, and a stick in
his right. Saw him beating in some of the windows in Queen-
square ; he was cursing at the time ; witness had a full opportu
nity of seeing his features, and was certain of his identity.
William Cross, stationer, in Wine-street, was in the square,
near the Mansion-house, on the evening ofthe fire ; saw Court
ney there from half-past 8 till 9 o'clock, exactly opposite the
front door ; the Mansion-house was not then on fire ; he (Court
ney) was in company with another man, and said, apparently
under much excitement, "D — n my eyes, what haven't you set
fire to it after all ?" Witness had no doubt whatever of his
being the man.
The Court then adjourned, and the Lord Chief Justice
ordered the Jury to be detained all night, and to be provided
with accommodations and refreshments.
On the following morning the Lord Chief Justice read and
commented on the evidence, which occupied above three hours.
The Jury retired at a quarter to two o'clock, and at five,
returned into Court, when they pronounced Clarke, Kearney,
Higgs, Courtney, and Mecay, Guilty. Williams, Not Guilty.

BURNING OF THE BRIDEWELL.
Wm. Clarke, Patrick Kearney , Matthew Warry, John Towell,
and Wm. Osgood, were charged with riotously assembling, and
demolishing the City Bridewell.
The Attorney-General, in stating an outline ofthe evidence,
said, — Gentlemen ofthe Jury, you are probably aware that the
building laid in the indictment against the prisoners, consists of
two compartments, viz. the house in which the governor resides,
the other part termed the prison ; but the whole forms one build
ing, connected by two arched walls, and the way between is

APPENDIX. 247
private property, open to the public as a thoroughfare, it is true,
during certain hours ofthe day, but closed at night, by means
of large folding doors in the archway of either wall. Three or
four persons had been confined in this building, for tumultuous
behaviour, on Saturday Oct. 29th ; and it was probably from
this circumstance that the mob was induced to attack the bride
well, for the purpose of liberating those prisoners who were
confined in it. That the prison was attacked for the purpose of
effecting its destruction, is evidenced by the fact, that from the
time of the first assault the violence was continued until the
original design was completed. It appears that Clarke was
actually employed in the destruction of the building. With
respect to this prisoner, we have thought it to be our duty to
make the most active inquiries with regard to his conduct, and
the result has been, that we cannot find, and we do not believe,
that he was originally concerned in the late disturbances ; and
we have no doubt that he first became connected with the
rioters by joining them on the Sunday morning, without having
any previous intention of so doing ; and his case forms a striking
example of the danger of coming in contact with large and
tumultuous assemblages ; all the bad passions of a man are sud
denly called into action the moment he finds himself united
with such a body acting with impunity; and, accordingly, we
find the prisoner, without any palpable previous intention, no
sooner becomes so connected, that we see him actively employed
in the destruction of property. We have been told that the
intellect of this man is affected when he is in liquor by a mis
fortune which he has received in his head ; but you, gentlemen,
will at once see the necessity for a person of that description to
be more careful of that which hurries him into such excesses.
We shall show that Kearney was extremely active in the attack
at the Bridewell. It appears that his business is that of a
hawker — an itinerant vender of linen-drapery, and, as such, he
must be a man possessed of some little property. The effect of
such a man going among a mob, must be most mischievous,
because it tends to hold out encouragement to the most depraved
portion of society, by lending to it the countenance of those who
are somewhat higher in the scale of society than themselves, The
prisoner, Warry, is a journeyman baker ; he is a little man,
but it does not require great size or great strength for com
mitting acts of violence. Tbe other prisoners will be found to
to be more or less implicated in the transaction. We consider
tbe various acts of violence which took place from the Satur
day to the Monday, as forming one transaction, and it will not
be necessary to show that each individual implicated commenced
at the very outset of the disturbance, if it be proved that at one
period or other he joined the mob with a knowledge of its inten
tions. Neither are we under the necessity of requesting you to
consider too minutely whether the persons implicated were
themselves actually engaged in the destruction; if they formed
part of a mob so employed ; for no man can be wilfully, present,
and form part of such a mob, without encouraging it by his

248 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
presence — without giving it that appearance of strength which,
of itself, holds out the capability of its offering an effectual
resistance to any attempt to put it down, and destroys tbe very
hope of suppressing it in the minds ofthe well-disposed part of
the community. For the same reasons, the encouraging a mob
by shouts unquestionably amounts to the taking an active part
in the proceedings. You, gentlemen, will have it in the evi
dence which will be tendered to you by Mr. Evans, the governor,
that, on Sunday the 30th Oct., a riotous and tumultuous assem
bly assailed that building with violence : that on their approach
the gates were closed upon them by him and his assistants; that
the entrance of the mob into the space between was resisted
until the violent pressure from without compelled those who
were within to give way to it. He will tell you that he then
defended his house with a blunderbuss, and kept them at bay
for a considerable time, until tbe terror of his wife and family,
and his anxiety for their safety, induced him to come to a parley
with the mob, and to give them up the key of the prison, in
order to allow the persons in his dwelling-house time for escap
ing : that, in fact, they did escape, at the imminent risk of their
lives, through a skylight in the roof of the house. That the
mob then liberated the prisoners ; forced their way into his dwel
ling-house, and proceeded in their work of demolition ; so that
on Monday morning he found the whole ofthe building in ruins.
Witnesses were then called in support of the charge. Their
evidence detailed the proceedings of the mob in the attack on
the Bridewell, and the extent to which the prisoners assisted.
Much ofthe proof against Clarke was the same as was adduced
on his trial for firing the Gaol.
The Jury returned a verdict of Guilty against Clarke, Towell,
Warry, and Kearney ; and acquitted Osgood,

BURNING OF THE BISHOP'S PALACE.
Thomas Evans Bendall and James Sims were charged with
having feloniously assembled, with divers other persons, to the
disturbance of the public peace, and destroyed by fire a certain
dwelling-house, belonging to the Lord Bishop of Bristol.
The Attorney-General stated the case to the Jury, and
called the following witnesses: —
William Jones examined. — I was a servant of the Bishop
of Bristol in October last ; about eight o'clock on Sunday
evening, the 30th October, some persons broke into the Palace;
they first broke open the iron gates in front of the Palace
with sledge hammers; there were nearly 100 persons in the mob,
including boys and men; one man had a crow bar, with which'
they forced the palace door ; there was a great shouting when it
was opened ; the first thing I saw demolished was a sideboard
and a glass lamp ; I heard one man say " Strike away ;"soine of
the side windows of the palace look into the front yard, through
which I escaped to the church-yard, and from thence I went to

APPENDIX. 249
the door of the palace, where I waited until the soldiers came
up ; I heard a great noise inside the palace ; some of the mob
were destroying the furniture, whilst others were going away
with property belonging to the Bishop ; after the mob had dis
persed, I went into the palace and found four beds on fire ; the
ticking was cut and fire put inside ; the mob returned about
half an hour after this in considerable numbers ; they were armed
with hammers and iron bars ; I offered resistance to them, and
they threw iron bars at my head, but I again effected my escape
to the church-yard ; I again went round to the front of the
palace, and shortly afterwards the whole ofthe building was in
flames ; I saw burnt books in the chapel ; there was a man inside
handing some things through the windows, and they were
brought into the church-yard and thrown into the palace, which
was in flames ; I remained in the church-yard until five o'clock
in the morning; the whole of the palace and its furniture was
completely destroyed ; I saw the prisoner, Bendall, handing out
the books, and otherwise busily engaged in the work of destruc
tion for an hour and a half; there was a great number of persons,
besides the prisoners, who took an active part.
Cross-examined. — I did not see tbe prisoner when the mob
attacked the palace ; the first time I saw him was when he was
handing out the books from the chapel ; after the mob had
burnt the books they destroyed the book-shelves ; there were at
least ten or twelve employed in destroying tbe books ; I saw the
prisoner hand out several ofthe books; 1 also saw him receive
some others from persons apparently dressed as gentlemen.
H.W. Fedden examined. — I was present during the greater part
of the time the palace was in flames ; I have known the prisoner
Bendall for some time ; on the night of the fire I saw him seve
ral times receive books from different people, which he took
and threw into the flames of the palace.
Cross-examined.— I did not know the prisoner by name, but
very well personally ; I have seen him before with a petition in
his hand.
Mr. Palmer. — A petition — what do you mean, a begging
petition ?
Witness.— Oh, no, sir ; a Reform petition.
Mr. Palmer. — I suppose you are not a reformer.
Witness. — I am neither one side or the other.
David Phillips corroborated the evidence ofthe last witness;
he was confident that Bendall was there ; witness saw him destroy
some books, and afterwards accompanied him to Queen-square,
and saw him destroy some furniture.
John Otton examined.— I took the prisoner into custody on
the Tuesday following the fires; he had tape round his hat and
arm, and a constable's staff; I asked him why he wore the tape,
and he said he belonged to the "Union," and had 4s. a-week
allowed him ; he never said any thing about the palace.
John Robins examined. — I am a labourer at the coal works ;
I know the prisoner Sims; on the Sunday night I went to the
Bishop's palace, about eight o'clock ; saw several persons there ;

250 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Sims had a stick or a bar ; he was in the burial ground at the
Chapter-house window ; the windows ofthe palace opposite the
Chapter-house were out, and the fire was blazing in the palace ;
I saw Sims break the windows of the Chapter-house with a crow
bar or bludgeon ; saw many books handed out at the windows,
and thrown towards the fire ; I was there about ten minutes,
and when the mob came I went away ; one of them had a
candle ; I said to Sims " you are bard at it;" saw Sims in Red
cliff street an hour and half afterwards ; he said he could have
got ten pounds or had lost ten pounds ; Stern was with me ; we
did not stop ; Sims had nothing in his hand.
Charles Stern examined. — I was al the palace on the Sunday
night, about half-past ten ; saw a man breaking the windows
with a sort of bludgeon ; saw books and papers thrown out ; on
our return home Robins and I met a man in Red cliff-street ;
Robins said to him, when he was breaking the window, " Jem,
you are going it, my boy," but I did not hear what the man said
to Robins; he said he had ten pounds taken from him.
Arthur Kelsy examined. — I am a corn and flour factor ; on
the Saturday I was in Queen-square about one o'clock, when
Sir Charles Wetherell's carriage arrived at the Mansion-house
door; the people were very noisy ; I know the prisoner Bendall;
he was there, and had a stone in his hand, which he threw at the
carriage ; a number of stones were thrown.
The Lord Chief Jbstice said this evidence did not affect the
charge in the indictment.
The Attorney-General and Mr. Serjeant Wilde said, the
object was to show continuous acts of riot by the prisoner at
the bar.
Their Lordships concurred in opinion that the distance be
tween the two periods was too great to trace such a continuity.
This closed the case for the Crown, and the prisoners declined
saying any thing in their defence,
Several witnesses were called in behalf of Bendall, and ex
amined by Mr. Payne, his Counsel. Their evidence went to
prove that he was a boy of weak mind.
Mr. Justice Bosanquet recapitulated the evidence ; in the
course of which he observed, with regard to the defence that
the prisoner Bendall was not in such a state of mind as to be
responsible for his actions, the evidence ought to be clearly
and narrowly watched, and as the boy had relations in Bristol
they ought to have been called. Tbe law had provided that if
a Jury found that a prisoner had committed the act imputed to
him, and that he was not in such a state of mind as to be respon
sible for his actions, they should return a special verdict to that
effect, and it was left to the Crown to determine on the disposal
of the prisoner; but it must be borne in mind, that if he is
capable of discriminating between right and wrong, be is to be
considered responsible for his actions.
The Jury retired, and in about half an hour brought in a
verdict of Guilty against both prisoners.

APPENDIX. 251
FIRING HOUSES IN QUEEN-SQUARE.
Joseph Kayes was indicted for destroying the house of C. Bull.
The case having been stated by the Attorney-General,
Mr. Charles Bull was examined. — Lived in Queen-square ; his
house was burnt on the Sunday night of the riots; his family
were obliged to leave the house about balf-past twelve ; some
of the furniture was destroyed, and some taken away.
Isaac Bull examined. — Is the son of the last witness. Was
in the house when it was attacked ; there was a considerable
number of ,. persons round the house at the time ; there were
other houses on fire ; was attempting to save the property ; saw
the prisoner in the court-yard, with several others ; he was
doing nothing then ; came back again in about five minutes,
and saw him in tbe hall; witness was driven out by the mob ;
saw the house on fire from a window in Prince's street, about
ten minutes after ; the house was on the north side of the
Square ; the first in the Square, and the fourth from Prince's-
street ; knew the prisoner by sight before.
Cross-examined by Mr. Payne, who appeared for the pri
soner.— Had seen Kayes driving a gentleman about the city;
began moving the furniture about 10 ; had not removed all by
the time the house was attacked ; the mob allowed him to pass
with a. little pushing ; left his mother, brother, sister, and a
little girl, in the house, when he first saw the prisoner ; the
windows had been beaten in in the front parlours about half an
hour before ; had a chair and some stair carpets in his hands ;
on his returning the second time, the house was full, and the
prisoner was in the hall, near the door ; had some difficulty in
going up stairs.
William Bull, another son of Mr. C. Bull, also proved the
prisoner to have been among the mob.
Joseph Quarman examined. — Is a turner ; had known Kayes
for two years ; saw him between one and two on the morning
of the 31st October, in the house adjoining Mr. Miles's count
ing-house, on the side nearest to Prince's-street ; witness was
standing on the footpath of the Square, opposite the house ;
saw him through the window; there were others in the room
at the same time ; saw him from three to four times in and
out of the room ; the house had been stripped of furniture,
and the next house gutted ; Mr. Miles's counting-house was
then completely in a blaze ; witness saw a piece of timber in
a charred state taken up by some persons, and a light procured
from it ; saw the. prisoner soon after stooping once or twice to
the same piece of timber, as if he were doing the same thino- ;
it was lying by the fire-place on the floor ; saw the prisoner after
wards leaving the room ; believes he was tbe last who left it ;
saw no one in it afterwards ; the room was in a complete blaze
in about three minutes ; the windows had been completely
broken, and the sashes demolished, before witness saw prisoner.
Cross-examined. — Went into the Square between twelve and
one ; Mr. Leman's house was then nearly down, and the Custom-

252 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
house in a blaze ; did not stand opposite Mr. Bull's house at all ;
stood opposite thehouse in which he saw the prisoner, adjoining
Mr. Miles's counting-house ; was not decidedly aware how far
that is from Mr. Bull's house.
Sarah Weeks examined. — Was a servant at No. 49, Queen-
square, at the time of the fires ; assisted to remove the property
about nine ; the Mansion-house was then on fire ; went to and
fro several times ; there was a great crowd about the house
between two and three ; her master's house is on the back of
Prince's street, and is one of the two still remaining on that
side ;" Miss James's house is on the opposite side of the avenue ;
saw the prisoner in the kitchen of that house ; he came over to
her master's house ; witness was knocking at the door, and he
came to her ; Miss James's house was on fire when the prisoner
came out of it ; he had a hat under his arm, and a spit in his
hand ; he said to witness, "  your heart, if you go in, I'll kill
you ;" he then went in front of Miss James's house, and looked
up ; he then went into Miss James's kitchen; witness was going
into Prince's street again, to where her master's furniture was,
and passing by Miss James's door, she stopped there and looked
into the kitchen ; the door was open ; saw the prisoner in the
kitchen ; did not see any one else there ; saw him take some
thing out of his hat and fling it round the kitchen ; did not see
what it was ; saw a mob before her master's house ; saw the
prisoner give something out of his hat to a boy ; this was before
he went into Miss James's kitchen.
Martha Davis examined. — Was in the service of Mr. William
Cross ; his house was demolished by fire ; Mr. Bull's house, the
next door but one from her master's, was demolished in tbe
same manner ; saw the prisoner in the court of her master's
house, with a man in a long coat ; witness went to them, one of
them said to the other, "pull the bell ;" witness said, " it's no
good to pull the bell, for there is no one there;" they said,
" what do you know about it ?" witness said, "I am Mr. Cross's
servant," and the prisoner replied, " we are Mr. Cross's friends ;"
witness said, " you are no friend, but one of the rioters ;" the
prisoner then asked for the key, and witness told him she had
none, and went to fetch her master ; one of them pushed her and
told her to stand on one side ; believes it was the prisoner ; and
thinks her master came in about five minutes after ; tbey were
not then there ; could swear to the prisoner as plain as to her
own master ; believes it was between twelve to one, or from that
to two in the morning ; Mr. Bull's house was fired before her
master's. Cross-examined. — Bull's house was not then consumed ; thinks
the roof had not fallen in ; the house adjoining Mr. Miles's was
then burning, but could not say if the roof had fallen ; the up
stair part ofthe house was burning at that time ; there was a
great number of people present, about two thousand, and very
thick about the premises ; could distinctly see the prisoner ; had
seen the prisoner the same day in the Square; believes he was
walking about nearly the whole of the day.
This was the case for the prosecution.

APPENDIX 235
The prisoner called witnesses to prove an alibi.
Mr. Justice Bosanquet then summed up the evidence ;at the
conclusion of which, the prisoner expressed a wish to address
the Jury ; and, on being permitted, he said that all tbe witnesses
bad sworn to him within one half hour, and he must have been
a very active man to have done it all in that time. He was
sworn to by no one but persons whom Mr. Bull and his son had
brought to tbe prison for that purpose, and it was all a spite
and a grudge.
The Jury found him Guilty.
The witness, Martha Davis, was here called ; and the Chief
Justice said he thought it proper to inform her that, in conse
quence of her extraordinary courage, he had ordered her a
reward of df? 10. The order on the Sheriffs was then handed to
her ; and she curtsied and retired.
Thomas Gregory, Cornelius Hickey, and James Snook, were
indicted for destroying the house of William Strong. The
prisoners pleaded Not Guilty.
The Attorney-General said — Gentlemen of tbe Jury — We
find it impossible to separate this case from other acts of violence
which were perpetrated upon the same night, because it appears
that every thing which was done — -every act that was committed
was but in furtherance of one common cause ; and the violence
that commenced with the Mansion-house was continued along
the whole line of the buildings until all was destroyed. Gentle
men ofthe Jury, you are perfectly aware that, on the Saturday
ofthe 29th, the Recorder of this city was assailed, when in
the discharge of his duty, by a mob, for the atrocious purpose
of doing him some bodily injury. You well know that the vio
lence was continued during his progress to this place, and that
the same conduct was pursued at the Mansion-house, and that
ultimately the house of the Chief Magistrate was destroyed.
There was no part ofthe following day , when the most respectable
parts ofthe city were not exposed to the outrages of a ruffian
mob, effecting mischief to individuals, mischief to property,
and mischief to the public. We have heard that both prisons
and the Bishop's palace were destroyed, and we shall find that
throughout the day the Square was in the possession of the
mob, meditating, and sometimes avowing, their intentions of
destroying it. After the firing of the Mansion-house, the
flames were rapidly spread throughout the whole line of building
to the Custom-house, and then it was that the prisoner Gre
gory appeared in the Avenue adjoining, with a crow-bar upon
his shoulder, and proceeded to the house of Mr. Strong. You
may well suppose, Gentlemen, that, witnessing tbe acts of
that night, the inhabitants retired, taking with them all the
property they could, and leaving the walls of the house to
their fate. It will be shewn, that the prisoner Gregory went
into the bouse with a lighted torch in his hand, for the express
purpose of effecting Its destruction — that he left it with the
torch still iu his hand — that, shortly after his so quitting it, the
house was in flames, and that he was afterwards seen with pro-

254 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
perty in his possession. There can then be no doubt ofthe
intention of this prisoner in being present at the scene of vio
lence. He went there for the purpose of effecting the ruin of a
respectable family — for the purpose of pocketing a share of the
plunder. With respect to Snook, a name which it appears is
the one by which he is familiarly known, we shall show that he
was in the kitchen of the same house, assisting Gregory in the
work of plunder and demolition ; and for Cornelius Hickey,
you will have no difficulty in inferring that he also was a co-
operator with them in furtherance of their guilty intentions.
The charge was clearly proved by the evidence, and the Jury
returned a verdict of Guilty against all the prisoners.
William Reynolds and Richard Vines weie found Guilty of
destroying the dwelling-house of the Rev. Charles Buck, in
Queen-Square.
SENTENCES OF THE PRISONERS.
On Thursday the 12th January, the prisoners who had been
capitally convicted were brought up to receive sentence.
Christopher Davis, William Clarke, Thomas Gregory, Richard
Vines, and Joseph, Kayes were first placed at the bar, and the
Judges having put on their black caps, the usual question was
put to the prisoners, by the Clerk of the Arraigns, " what have
you to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon
you to die according to law ?" When it came to Kayes' turn,
he fell down in a strong fit of agony, during which his convulsed
frame required the restraint ot five or six men ; he exclaimed
" Oh I'm not guilty — I'm not guilty ! — Oh my God ! — my wife !
my children !" By order of the Lord Chief Justice he was
taken back to the cell below the hall, but for a considerable
period his ravings were distinctly heard in the Court, and creat
ed a great sensation. Several females fainted, & were carried out.
Gregory continually addressed the Court in broken sentences
— " O my dear Lord, I'm innocent — I'm innocent as a child
unborn — I never was before a gentleman in all my life, nor in
a prison before — O have mercy upon me, my dear Lord."
Clarke leaned his head over the rail of the bar apparently
feeble and exhausted ; and Vines repeatedly implored mercy.
The Lord Chief Justice addressed the prisoners to the fol
lowing effect ; — " Prisoners at the bar, — You have been con
victed upon evidence in each particular case, which can leave
no doubt of your guilt upou any reasonable mind, of crimes
so deeply affecting the interests, even the very existence of
human society, that your lives have become justly forfeited to
the laws of your country. Assembled together with multitudes
of others, evil doers like yourselves, you have by threats and
acts of violence, thrown the peaceable and industrious inha
bitants of this city into a state of panic and alarm ; you have
deprived many of their only means of livelihood. You have
carried fire to public buildings, and to private dwellings, and
have exposed the property of all to pillage, and the lives of

APPENDIX. 255
many to destruction. Human society cannot be held together
if crimes like these are not put down by the strong hand of the
law. Unless others are deterred from the commission of similar
enormities by the just severity of your punishment, all that
makes life valuable to man, the free enjoyment of the fruits of
his honest industry and protection from personal violence, must
be altogether given up. The innocent and weak will become
a prey to the wicked and the strong ; and brutal force will take
the place of order and of law. What motive could lead you
to the commission of these crimes, it is impossible from the
evidence brought before us to judge with any reasonable cer
tainty. It was not the pressure of want or misery ; it was no
grievance, imaginary or real, under which you laboured. I
rear no other purpose can be assigned that will apply to the
greater number who shared in these wicked transactions than
that of giving up this city to the flames, that it might become
the object of universal pillage. You stand each of you a strik
ing and awful example to others of the wickedness which men
commit, and the misery which inevitably follow it, when
they throw off the restraint of the laws of God and man, and
give themselves up to their own unbridled passions. I can only
pray that your unhappy example may be the means of prevent
ing all others from treading in your steps.
" You, Christopher Davis, are proved to have been present
at the greater part of the lawless acts which have been com
mitted within this city. You appear to have stood amongst the
foremost of tbe multitude in their various acts of devastation.
They were at once encouraged by your presence and example,
and excited to further acts of outrage by your violent and in
flammatory language. It is, indeed, a grievous and unhappy
sight — a man, respectable from his age and station in life as
you appear to be, bringing misery upon bis friends, and destruc
tion to himself, by yielding to the turbulence of his passions.
" You, William Clarke, have also been proved to have been
one ofthe foremost in the work of destruction. By you, a
violent and tumultuous mob were instigated, and led on to the
attack, and the destruction of the bridewell and the gaol.
Your previous condition and habits of life now only serve to
aggravate your crime beyond that of many others, who were
induced by your example to the commission of these enormities.
"You, Thomas Gregory, formed part of that riotous mob
which plundered the dwelling-house of William Strong, and
are proved to have been one of the persons who actually carried
into the house the flaming papers by which it was afterwards
burned to the ground.
"You, Richard Vines, after you had broken and entered
into one house with a tumultuous assemblage of people, are
proved to have fed the fire, by which it was afterwards destroy
ed, with the books and furniture belonging to the owner. You
are also proved to have called upon the mob to come on ; and
with such unlawful aid you broke into another house, which
you first assisted in plundering, and consigning it to the flames.

256 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Let me, therefore, most earnestly exhort you all to prepare
yourselves by every means in your power for that great and
awful change which doth most assuredly await you within a very
short time. Apply yourselves earnestly and fervently to the
Throne of Grace, that you may endeavour to obtain from Him
who knows how to reconcile mercy with justice, that forgive
ness which the laws of man cannot extend to you. And now
nothing more remains than the duty, to me a most painful one,
of pronouncing the last sentence of the law — " That you, and
every of you, he taken hence to the place from whence you
came, and from thence to a place of execution, where you be
severally hanged by the neck until you are dead ; and may the
Lord, in his infinite goodness, have mercy on your guilty
souls." On the conclusion of his Lordship's address, Davis wrung
his hands and exclaimed—" O my Lord, I hope you will have
mercy — I never was in any depredation — I never meddled with
any one thing— I never meddled with the fires — I never drowed
(threw) a stone or nail — I never was in a gaol before— I hope
my Lord you will have mercy upon me."
The following prisoners were then ordered to the bar to re
ceive sentence ; — Patrick Kearney, Daniel Higgs, James Court
ney, John Mecay, Thomas Evans Bendall, James Sims, John
Towell, Matthew Warry, Cornelius Hickey, James Snook, Wm.
Reynolds, Georg? Andrews, Patrick Barnett, Benjamin Broad,
Stephen Gaisford, Michael Sullivan, Timothy Collins, Henry
Green, and Charles Williams.
The Chief Justice proceeded to pronounce sentence on them
in the following terms; — " Prisoners at the bar, after patient
trials before impartial and intelligent juries, each of you has
been found guilty of an offence against which the laws of your
country have, for the security of all, decreed the sentence
of death. You have, with many others who for the present
have escaped the hands of justice, devoted to plunder and de
struction the city in which you live, — the place which had
afforded to all of you subsistence and protection. You have
reduced parts of it to a state of ruin and desolation more com
plete than any foreign enemy — unless the most merciless — would
have inflicted upon it. You have deprived many industrious
families of their only means of support and subsistence, and
the blood which it was necessary to shed in order to repress
your acts of wanton outrage may be justly considered to lie at
your door. You seem to have thought at the moment of your
triumph, when you were excited by the absence of control, and
inflamed by the unrestrained use of intoxicating liquors, that
the law was for ever banished from the land. But you stand
now at the bar of justice— a sad proof to yourselves, and a
monument and warning to all others, that the triumph of injus
tice is short-lived, and that the law of your country is too
strong to be assailed by such vain attempts as yours. Under
the commission of offences so aggravated, I know not that any
just exception could have been taken, if the full measure of

APPENDIX. 257
the punishment, in some of your cases at least, had been allow
ed to take its course. But the earnest hope we entertain that
the sad fate of those on whom the sentence of the law hath been
just passed will operate as a sufficient warning to all others,
induces us to join in a humble recommendation to His Majesty,
that your lives may be spared. I would not, however, have
you expect, that by escaping the bitterness of death, you have
avoided every punishment for your offence ; you will pass the
remainder of your lives in a foreign and a distant land, separated
for ever from parents, relations and friends, and in a state of
severe labour and constant privation. Thus will your perpetual
absence from your own country prevent you from disturbing
again the peace and happiness of society, and will operate as a
warning to all others to avoid the example of your crimes. For
the present, the sentence of death must be recorded against you.
Kearney exclaimed — " I consider I'm deprived of my liberty
owing to false swearing. But I don't care, my life is spared —
Ireland is free — little Ireland for ever."
Richard Dady was then brought forward to receive sentence,
and addressed the Court — "O my Lord, have mercy upon my
wife and children — I did not intend to go and plunder — I went
out with my wife on my arm, and a young man asked me to
take some goods. Look upon my wife and seven children de
pending on the work of my hands, and have mercy upon me !" —
The Chief Justice passed sentence of Six months'' imprisonment
and hard labour. The prisoner had evideutly anticipated a
much severer doom, and on hearing his sentence, he clasped
his hands, and said with great earnestness — " God bless you,
my Lord 1"
Tbe Lord Chief Justice then took leave ofthe Grand Jury,
for whose zeal, care, and assiduity in the discharge of their
arduous and important duties, his Lordship said, the country
was much indebted. His Lordship also complimented the
citizens at large for their exertions in preserving peace and
order. The Chief Justice shortly after left the city for London,
to preside in his own Court.
Sentence on Kayes. — This man was afterwards brought up,
and sentence of death was passed upon him by Mr. Justice
Bosanquet. It is perfectly clear (said his Lordship) that you
formed a part of the mob which committed those enormous
offences, and it has been fully proved that you assisted actively
in destroying three dwelling-bouses. The prisoner, who had
resumed much of the hardihood of manner which he evinced
onbis trial, left the bar exclaiming that he was a murdered man,
and was judged wrongfully.

258 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE SENTENCES.
Of 102 prisoners, 81 were convicted, 21 acquitted, and
against 12 no. bills were found. On 13 indictments no evidence
was offered.
Of the prisoners convicted, 5 were sentenced to death;
against 26 judgment of death was recorded ; 1 was transported
for 14 years ; 6 for 7 years ; and 43 were sentenced to various
terms of imprisonment with hard labour.
The above statement refers only to cases connected with
the riots.

Prisoners Convicted and Sentenced to Death.
Christopher Davis, for destroying the Gaol.
William Clarke, for destroying the Gaol and Bridewell.
Thomas Gregory, for destroying the house of Mr. Strong.
Richard Vines, for destroying the Rev. Mr. Buck's house.
Joseph Kayes, for destroying Mr. Bull's house.
Death Recorded.
Henry Crinks, Joseph Thomas, and David James, for breaking
into the dwelling-house of J. S. Rowe, and stealing spirits.
Patrick Kearney, Matthew Warry , and John Towell, for destroy
ing the Gaol and Bridewell.
Jas. Courtney, J. Mecay, and D. Higgs, for destroying the Gaol.
T. E. Bendall and Jas. Sims, for destroying the Bishop's Palace.
C. Hickey and James Snook, for destroying Mr. Strong's house.
Wm. Reynolds, for destroying the Rev. Mr. Buck's house.
George Andrews, Patrick Barnett, Benjamin Broad, and Steph.
Gaisford, for destroying Mr. Cross's house.
Michael Sullivan, for destroying Mr. Broad's house.
Timothy Collins, for destroying the Mansion-house stables.
H. Green and Chas.Williaras, for destroying Mr. Leman's house.
James Coleman, for robbing Mr. Thomas Blethyn.
James Price and James Dyer, for stealing from the house of
Richard Walters four gallons of beer.
James Walker, for assaulting George Baker, and obtaining by
force, one quart of beer.
Fourteen Years' Transportation.
James Ives, for stealing a gold watch, the property of the Rev.
Charles Buck, and for stealing a silver salver, the property
ofthe Corporation. Seven Years' Transportation.
William Christopher, for stealing wearing apparel, &c. from
Mr. J. S. Broad.
Aaron Martin, for stealing several articles from Mr. Johnson.
James Street and Charles Huish, for stealing five gallons of
wine, the property of Miss Davey.
Richard Neville, for stealing a table, the property of some per
son unknown.
Joseph Keates, for stealing a violin, the property of W. Cross-

APPENDIX. 259
Two Years' Imprisonment, wilh Hard Labour.
Samuel Browning and Felix Wyman, for steal ing various articles
of linen, the property of Joseph Reynolds.
John Harper, John Jeremy, Charles Coates, John Rees, James
Phillips, Edw. Macdonald, Wm. Bennett, Daniel Sullivan, and
Wm. Champ, for riotously assembling & disturbing the peace.
Twelve Months' Imprisonment, wilh Hard Labour.
Catherine Hogan, for stealing silk dresses.
Thomas Gallick, for stealing wearing apparel from B. Bickley.
William Punch, for stealing various articles from T. Evans.
Benj. Donne, for stealing a brass weight belonging to the King.
Wm. Drew, for stealing wearing apparel from John Moxham.
Daniel M'Carthy, for stealing books, &c. from Mr. Barnard.
John Jones, for stealing a military jacket from Robert Say.
William Mason, for stealing a gold watch and silver pin, be
longing to Julia Harford.
Charles Nott, for stealing spirits from Edward Zincraft.
William Beard, for stealing a silver snuffbox, the property of
William Humphries.
William Jenkins, George Styling, Wm. Morgan, Peter Brown,
John Jacobs, Wm. and Jos. Hedges, for riotously assembling.
Six Months' Imprisonment, with Hard Labour.
H. Rees, for stealing a book, &c. the property of H. B. Smith,
William Burgess, for stealing paper, the property of the King.
James Cole, for stealing a box and books from Mr. Johnson.
Edw. Dady, for stealing two drawers, the property of the King.
T. Brimneli, for stealing a bible, the property of J. P Kirby.
Daniel Doyle, for stealing a watch, the property of A. Brettell .
[This prisoner (a lad) was, in addition, sentenced to be pri
vately whipped.]
J ames Bentley, for rioting.
Four Months' Imprisonment, with Hard Labour.
Thomas Hussev, Wm. Jarvis, and Stephen Cullen, for stealing
six bottles of wine, the property of Thomas Kington.
Three Months' Imprisonment, wilh Hard Labour.
John T. Buffin, for stealing plated articles from B. Bickley.
J. Simmonds, for stealing articles from W. Strong & T. Webb.
William Lee, for stealing a silver spoon, from W. C. Stephens.
One Month's Imprisonment, with Hard Labour.
Thomas Lane, for stealing a brass chandelier, from C. Pinney.
Mary Parker, for stealing a sofa, the property of B. Bickley.
Prisoners against whom No Bill was found.
John Britton, charged with stealing a sword, the property of
Henry Jew.
Richard Phipps, Thomas Fitzgerald, and Wm. Beer, charged
with assisting to destroy the Gaol.
Sarah Anderson, charged with having stolen one sofa, the pro
perty of B. Bickley. S 2

260 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Samuel Harding, charged with beginning to demolish the Cus
tom-house.
James Donovan, John Dally, James Bayley, Charles Turtle,
and James Elliott, charged with beginning to pull down a
house in the parish of St. Nicholas.
Prisoners tried and acquitted.
James Williams, charged with destroying the Gaol by fire.
E. Arborn, charged with destroying the house of Mr. Barnard.
William Osgood, charged with destroying the Bridewell.
Samuel Levers, charged with stealing a cancelled order, the
property of J. S. Broad.
John Peach, charged with stealing plated articles, the property
of the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop.
Thomas Martin, charged with stealing several articles, the pro
perty of Mr. Johnson.
Samuel Newton, charged with stealing five b'oots, and other
articles, belonging to Daniel Sheppard.
Mary Charles, charged with stealing a muff, and some stair-
carpeting, the property of Mr. and Miss Barrett.
Margaret Gwyer, charged with feloniously receiving a sheet
belonging to William Humphries.
James Hasty, charged with stealing paper, value two shillings.
John and Sarah Cox, charged with receiving a violin, knowing
it to* have been stolen.
Eleanor Doyle, charged with stealing and receiving property.
Samuel Smith, charged with receiving a dressing table, the pro
perty of Miss James.
John Bond, James Dyer, Robert Ponchard, Anthony Harvey,
Jonas Osborne, and John Howell, charged with riotously
assembling and disturbing the peace.
Prisoners against whom no evidence was offered on the following
charges.
John Tarrant Buffin (in consequence of a previous conviction,)
charged with stealing a snuff-box, &c. from J. Richardson,
and some handkerchiefs from Christopher Claxton.
Margaret Gwyer (in consequence of a previous acquittal,) charg
ed with stealing a sheet, the property of Mr. Humphries.
John Peach (in consequence of a previous acquittal,) charged
with stealing various articles.
William Reeves, (in consequence of insufficiency of evidence to
criminate him,) charged with stealing paper, value 2s.
W. Doherty(in consequence of insufficiency of evidence, )charg-
ed with stealing butter, the property of a person unknown.
Thomas Ayland (in consequence of previous good character.)
charged with stealing a bonnet.
James Williams(in consequence of a previous acquittal,) charged
with stealing two blankets and a pair of shoes, the property
ofthe Mayor and Corporation.
Wm. Osgood (in consequence of a previous acquittal,) charged
on three indictments with various offences.

APPENDIX. 261
TRIAL OF CAPT. LEWIS,
CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER.
(Before Mr. Justice Bosanquet.)
James Cossley Lewis was charged on the Coroner's Inquest*
with killing and slaying one Thomas Morris, on the 31st Oct.,
by shooting him with a pistol.
Counsel for the prosecution, Mr. Ball ; Attorney, said to be
a Mr. Palmer, of London, who appeared by a deputy calling him
self Edmonds. — Counsel for the accused, Messrs. Campbell and
Palmer; Attorney, Mr. Daniel.
The following witnesses were examined in support of the
charge : —
Wm. Watts, the father-in-law of the deceased, deposed that
the boy was named Thomas Morris, and was 12 years of age ;
he worked at the pottery on Temple Back, and left home 20
minutes after 7 in the morning ofthe 31st Oct. ; he died at the
Infirmary. Cross-examined by Mr. Campbell. — I am the prosecutor on
this trial ; I employed Mr. Palmer; I do not know him ; he
is an attorney in London whom I never saw in my life ; his clerk
was here, and I applied to him ; he was here when they were
sitting on the child's body ; I believe it is Mr. Edmonds ; he
does not live in Bristol ; I asked him to take it in hand ; he was
an entire stranger to me ; he spoke to me concerning it ; I don't
know how he happened to be at Bristol at that time ; I never
saw him before ; he told me he was an attorney's clerk ; he
spoke to me in the passage at the Dolphin where the inquest
was sitting ; I mentioned Mr. Palmer to him ; I had heard of
him before ; I heard he was.a gentleman in the law, who would
take it in hand for me ; I never saw Mr. Palmer in my life ; I
spoke to bis clerk ; I have not supplied him with any money ;
did not send to hirn to come to these Assizes; I gave instruc
tions for the first indictment preferred against Capt. Lewis ; in
that indictment Mr. Edmonds appeared as the prosecutor.; he
did so also on the second bill of indictment sent to the Grand
Jury. Re-examined by Mr. Ball. — I had heard of Mr. Palmer's
name before, and knew Mr. Edmonds to be his clerk ; Mr. Ed
monds attended before the Coroner at my request; he cross-
examined the witnesses ; a gentleman named Daniel appeared
on behalf of Capt. Lewis.
By the Court. — I do not know whether the Coroner's inquest
had begun and was proceeding when I first spoke to Mr. Ed
monds ; they had assembled ; the business had begun ; I do not
know that Mr. Edmonds attended the inquest as a short-hand
writer ; I am quite sure the inquest had begun before I spoke
to Mr. Edmonds.

* The Jury ignored a bill which had been presented to them, charging
Capt. Lewis with murder.

262 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Wm. Booth, pig-butcher, of Bedminster, deposed that he
was on the Back on 31st October, near Queen-square ; was
about 5 yards from the boy ; I heard the report of a pistol,
turned my head, and saw the boy fall ; saw two persons pick
the boy up.; I went to the boy, and found that the ball had
gone through his body ; I saw the gentleman run away — that
is the gentleman (pointing to Captain Lewis); some one
jumped on his back, and another was in his front trying to take
a pistol from his hand ; the men who were at his back and front
threw him on the ground ; I did not hear the gentleman say
anything; there was not the least riot or disturbance in that
place ; I could not see the gentleman who fired.
John Sambrook, examined. — I am a carpenter, living in
Cherry-lane; was in Grove Avenue about quarter past 8 on the
morning of 31st October ; saw about20 constables driving a man
out of the Square; they had short sticks in their hands; when
they got him to the corner of the avenue they left him ; I saw
a gentleman in a light drab coat : I do not know him ; he
ordered the men on ; had nothing in his hand ; he followed
tbem down the avenue and ordered a man who had a smock
frock to go on; a second man from the corner came up, and
the second man said to the first, " don't thee go on for him ;"
the gentleman told him again to go on; the man said in a jeer
ing way, " I'm d — d if I goes on for thee ;" the gentleman said
" I'll make you go on;" I saw nothing in the gentleman's hand ;
he pulled a pistol from his side pocket immediately, dropped it
to his side and cocked it, and it went off immediately ; the man
was standing right before him, not a yard from him ; I saw the
direction of the pistol; be pointed it carelessly; he did not
point it at any object at all ; it went off immediately ; I was in
the Avenue ; there were about half a dozen persons in the
Avenue ; I saw a boy drop immediately I heard the report of
the pistol ; the gentleman walked towards Prince's street ; the
man he was ordering away ran after him and jumped upon him ;
I don't know what became of the pistol ; I did not see any
blood or dirt on the gentleman's face ; the constables came up
in a minute or two ; from 20 to 30 came up; they went along
the Grove after the gentleman.
Cross-examined. — The man whom the gentleman was order
ing, was reluctant to leave the Square ; was in a smockfrock;
the gentleman might as easily have shot one as the other ; he
could not have missed if he had tried to shoot them ; the pistol
was not pointed at any object when it went off; it rather de
clined downwards.
James Haynes, sen. examined, — I live in St. James's-barton,
and am a combmaker; went to Queen-square on 31st Oct. for
the purpose of joining the constables; we cleared the avenue,
and returned satisfied ; I saw Capt. Lewis after this happened ;
heard the report of a pistol within the Square, but not in the
avenue ; I continued with the party, and heard a boy cry who
was very near to me ; we came up to where the boy was shot ;
I saw Capt. Lewis raise his head from among the constables ;

APPENDIX. 263
he said he had been insulted, and had done it in his own defence;
I saw 20 or 30 constables; I saw no riot or disturbance in that
place; I saw Capt. Lewis go away from the party and begin to
load again ; I can't say who was with the boy.
Cross-examined. — I saw only one pistol, and had not a per
fect view of that ; I saw him put a ram-rod in the pistol.
Re-examined. — I saw him ram it down as I suppose; I did
not see the pistol taken, but persons interposed to stop the
reloading. Thomas Harril examined. — I was in Queen-square soon after
7 o'clock on Monday morning, the 31st Oct. ; saw Capt. Lewis
there ; the constables drove a man towards the Grove ; Captain
Lewis had some words with the man, and ordered him off; the
man said he should not go ; Capt. Lewis turned from the man,
and the man followed him ; the Captain pushed him, and
insisted upon his going up the Grove ; the man wished to know
Lewis's authority, upon which the Captain drew a pistol from
his side and fired it off; there were very few people in the
avenue at this time ; the boy was within a few yards of Capt.L.
Henry Haynes examined. — 1 am son of Mr. J. Haynes who
has been examined ; I went to Queen-square on the 31st Oct. as
one of the constables ; I was in the Square when the pistol was
fired ; we directly ran down to the avenue leading from the
Square to the Grove ; the whole party, 30 or 40, went ; saw
Capt. Lewis rising ; he had been knocked down ; they asked
what he had shot the boy for ; he said he had been insulted and
done it in his own defence ; I did not see the least riot or dis
turbance in the avenue ; I saw the pistol afterwards ; Mr. Lewis
was preparing to re-load it ; he had just half cocked it ; one of
them said " he is going to load it again;" I don't think they
took it from him ; the boy was sitting down at the bottom of
the avenue ; when I heard the pistol there was not the least
rioting in the Square or Prince's-street ; several houses were
burning. Robert Withers examined. — I am a carpenter, and live in
Merchant-street ; went into the Square on the 3 1st Oct. about
10 minutes before 7 ; found about 30 or 40 constables there, aud
6 or 8 horse soldiers ; I acted as a constable, and had piece of
a mop-stick ; I do not know Capt. Lewis ; I heard a pistol fired,
and ran to the avenue ; saw a boy, with blood running through
his waistcoat ; he was standing, and another lad was holding
him up ; did not see a pistol ; heard a gentleman say he did it
in his own defence; I saw the gentleman, with his face all over
blood, leave the crowd and go away ; I left the place and
went home.
John Angle examined. — I am a butcher ; was in the avenue
between 8 and 9 in the morning ; saw a man there they called
Capt. Lewis ; there were 8 or 10 people there ; saw him push a
mau with his left-hand, and say if he did not go along he would
make him. I then saw him draw a brass pistol with his right
hand rather sideways; saw him fire ; he did not take much of
an aim; saw a boy drop, who was 10 or 12 yards from him at

264 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
the bottom of the avenue; saw no blows struck; I could not
help seeing if any had been struck ; I had a full view ofthe man ;
he had a drab coat ; saw no blood or dirt on his face ; he walk
away as fast as he could after he had fired ; the boy lay on the
left hand side and Capt. L. went on the right hand ; I and my
little boy went home as fast as we could.
Cross-examined. — I saw some blood on Capt. Lewis's face
after the job was over ; I did not see any one else come up
when Capt. Lewis was pushing the man ; did not hear a man say,
" Do not thee move for him;" I saw only the man who was
pushed ; did not see any other handy ; did not hear a man say,
" I be d — d if I go for thee ;" Capt. Lewis could easily have shot
the man near him ; it did not appear to be aimed at the man ;
it seemed to be aimed at somebody, because it killed him.
Re-examined. — I was about seven or eight yards from Capt.
Lewis when he fired.
Edward Eaton called by the prosecutor's Counsel and ex
amined by Mr. Campbell. —When the pistol went off I was
behind the boy that was shot ; before the pistol was fired there
was a dispute between a man in a drab great coat (Capt. Lewis)
and another man ; I did not hear what it was.
Cross-examined by Mr. Ball. — I heard Capt. Lewis say he
had fired in his own defence.
James Symonds examined. — I am a confectioner, No. 4,
Avon street, Great Gardens ; was in the Square on the Monday ;
I went to look at the ruins, and passed round the footpath in
the Square ; heard the report of a pistol ; went down the
avenue ; saw Capt. Lewis near the avenue ; saw persons about
him -, some constables came afterwards ; I saw some one endea
vouring to take the pistol from him, bitting at him; he threw
him on the ground ; I saw no rioting in the Square or in
Prince's-street. Wm. Francis Morgan examined. — I am house apothecary at
the Bristol Infirmary ; a boy called Thomas Morris was brought
to the house at half-past eight on the morning ofthe 31st Oct.;
he died on Tuesday ; a pistol ball had passed nearly through
the body, aud lodged near the skin of the back ; saw the boy's
father-in-law, Watts, there.
Cross-examined. — The ball must have taken a direction up
wards, either from rebounding on the ground or from the
obstruction of a bone in the body ; I think the former mode the
most probable, that the ball struck the ground and rebounded ;
the boy said he thought it was accidental ; he was then aware
of his danger.
Re-examined. — The wound was circular ; I extracted the
ball ; I do not know where it is ; it was an ordinary pistol ball ;
I did not observe any indentation in the ball.
Wm. Watts (the boy's father-in-law) recalled. — I saw the boy
that day in the Infirmary; the boy died on the Tuesday; he
was sensible of his danger to the last minute; he was told he
was like to die ; on his death-bed he said, "it was all very quiet
when I went down, and a man pulled out a pistol and shot me."

APPENDIX. 265
Mr. Morgan re-called. — I had a conversation with the boy
about two hours before his death, and he said he bad been shot
by a constable ; that it was not intended for him, but for a man
who escaped it.
(This was the case for the prosecution.)
Captain Lewis then proceeded to read the following Defence,
which he did with much firmness generally, though at those
portions of it which adverted to the services he had rendered
his country, the serious nature ofthe charge against him, .and
his regret for the accident which deprived a fellow creature of
life, his voice occasionally faltered.
" May it please your Lordship,
" Gentlemen of the Jury. — Having lately, in common with
you my fellow-citizens, endeavoured to contribute to the pre
servation of the public peace, I stand before you, charged with
a crime, which would expose my person to transportation, my
property to forfeiture, and my character to ignominy. I appear
at this bar, accused of Manslaughter, for having, upon tbe
requisition of the Magistracy, and from my own sense of duty,
exerted myself, at the risk of my life, to repress outrages in
this city, so dreadful that no description could equal the recol
lection of them which must ever remain in your minds. Gen
tlemen, it is by your verdict of guilty or not guil'y, that it will
be established, whether, when a Judge coming to administer
justice by authority and in the name of the Sovereign, had been
insulted upon his tribunal, and forced to fly from the city for
his life ; when all the gaols had been set on fire and the pri
soners discharged by an infuriated mob ; when the palace of
the Bishop had been sacked and a great part of it demolished ;
when the house of your Chief Magistrate, the Custom-house,
the Excise-office, and a considerable portion of the fairest
quarter of your city had been laid in ashes; when the perpe
trators of these enormities were still unsubdued and threatened
to continue their devastation ; — an individual, belonging to no
party, having no motive but the discharge of his duty, might
not act in the defence of the laws as a good and loyal subject,
without being liable to be for ever banished from his country —
to be reduced from a state of affluence to beggary — and to have
a lasting stain cast upon a reputation which he will venture to
say, has to this hour remained unsullied.
" But, Gentlemen, I shall appeal only to your calm and delibe
rate judgment; and ask your verdict of acquittal, only, upon
your being satisfied that I in no degree transgressed the law —
and that I am wholly innocent of the crime laid to my charge.
" I shall therefore proceed with succinctness and simplicity to
give you a narrative ofthe circumstances which have placed me
(I think undeservedly) in this painful situation.
" Gentlemen, I am a native of this city, and I early entered
the army in the service of my country ; I originally served in
the cavalry; afterwards in the rifle battalion ofthe 60th regt.
foot. On the return of that corps from North America, I was
appointed to my present regiment. I went out with it to the

266 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
East Indies, and served with it at each ofthe three Presidencies,
but in consequence of the injury my health sustained whilst
performing the duties of fort adjutant at a station in the Upper
Provinces, I was obliged to return to Europe. On the recovery
of my health I was again engaged iu active service, and I ulti
mately joined the army in ihe Netherlands under the command
of Lord Lynedoch. At his express desire I was placed in the
quartermaster-general's department on the staff. On Sir Her
bert Taylor joining the army and taking the command of a.
brigade, I was appointed by him his brigade major — continuing
so, under Col. Browne and Sir Colin Halkett, till the army
finally got possession of Antwerp. I was present, and acted in
that capacity, at the two affairs at Mersem, — at the bombard
ment of Antwerp, and the subsequent unfortunate attack on
Bergen-op-zoom. Were this the proper occasion, Gentlemen,
I could produce testimonials not only from the General Officers
I have named, but from others also, high in command, which
would shew in a manner very flattering to me, their opinion of
my character and conduct.
" Upon the return of peace, I sought the quiet of domestic
life, and settled as a private individual in my Dative city, but
still remaining on the half pay of my regiment. For fifteen
years I have been a resident amongst you, and you can judge
whether I have obtained, and merit, the good will of my
fellow-citizens. [Capt. Lewis here narrated the circumstance of the enrol
ment of special constables, and his being appointed a leader of
20 of this constabulary force in Dec. 1830, with the understand
ing that their liability under the oath then administered did not
cease with that occasion.]
" I was abroad (continued Capt. L.) during the last autumn
with my family iu Devonshire. I returned to Bristol on the
day preceding the Saturday on which Sir Chas.Wetherell made
his public entry into this city, in consequence of having been
summoned to serve on the Grand Jury.
Captain L. proceeded to relate what passed under his own
notice, — the firing ofthe 14th in College-green, on the Sunday
morning, — and went on to say, that he did not go to the Cathe
dral as he had intended, and as was his custom, but to the Com
mercial Rooms, " where, (he says,) I perceived a paper affixed
to the bar, requesting the citizens to meet the Magistrates at the
Council-house without loss of time, to assist them in suppressing
the riotous conduct of the mob, and restore the peace of the
city. I considered it my duty as an individual, residing and
possessing property in it ; — as a constable, sworn to maintain
the peace ; — as an officer in the King's service, and as a loyal
subject, to render all the assistance I could ; and I accordingly
repaired to the Council-house. I met at the outer door other
well-disposed citizens attending for the same purpose as myself.
The Council-house was shut ; we were directed to the Guildhall,
and walked down there together. On entering the passage, we
met about 25 or 30 gentlemen, headed by Mr. Alderman Geo

APPENDIX. 267
Hilbouse, coming out. He addressed me, saying they were
going down to the Square, to endeavour, by persuasion, to
mduce the mob to disperse, and begged me to join them ; they
had no staves.
" I fell into the rear of the party, and accompanied them to the
Square ; on our arrival there, I for the first time saw the devas
tations of the preceding night; a parly of the 3rd dragoon
guards were parading up and down one of the avenues imme
diately fronting the Mansion-house, and occasionally keeping
the people from encroaching on the vacant spot; the latter
were apparently kept in check, and except now and then annoy
ing the soldiers, who rode after them and drove them down the
street, nothing very serious occurred ; but all attempts to pre
vail upon them to disperse and retire to their houses, were use
less. This continued some time. The city constables appeared
to have been completely overpowered, and after remaining there
till about half-past two o'clock in the afternoon, I went home.
About half-past three I was informed that the City Bridewell
was in flames; I went out to ascertain the fact, and found it
to be so. I then again repaired to the Commercial-rooms ;
shortly after, Mr. Alderman George, accompanied by Mr. L. O.
Bigg, the Solicitor, came in, and most earnestly entreated us
to collect a force together, and endeavour to get the riot under.
The Alderman stated that the inhabitants must act with vigour
— that the Magistrates, without their co-operation, were power
less, and had not the means of quelling the riot, which was every
moment assuming a more alarming appearance — that the Bride
well was already in flames — the Gaol threatened — the greater
part of the military withdrawn, and that in all probability,
before morning, unless the most prompt and vigorous measures
were taken, the city would be in ashes. I believe I addressed
a few words to Mr. Alderman George, on the impossibility of
tbe special constables, at that advanced period of the riot,
putting it down, unaided by the military, but I immediately
left the room, and proceeded towards tbe Gaol, which the rioters
were about to break open. On going down Clare-street, on the
right hand side, I overtook a party of about twenty or thirty
fentlemen, with Mr. Alderman A. Hilhouse, and, I believe,
Ir. Savage, at their head, proceeding thither. I joined them.
We found the Gaol completely surrounded by the mob, and,
on endeavouring to get near the entrance-gate, several of us
were knockeddown and very seriously injured. We had no staves.
In short, the mob had every thing their own way. The special
constables, without staves, were powerless, and I was glad to
get from amongst them, but did not effect it till the Governor's
house was in flames, and they had got complete possession of
the Gaol. I then returned home, as the party I had joined
were dispersed, and our assistance, for want ofthe co-operation
ofthe military, was quite useless.
" I had not beeninmy house half an hour when a report reached
me that the Gloucester County prison was in flames, and the
mob were on their way to the Cathedral. I again determined
on rendering what aid I could, and instantly went to the Bishop's

268 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Palace. I found that the mob had plundered it, and having
set it on fire, were attempting to break into the Cathedral, by
the door under the Cloisters, near the Chapter-house. By the
exertions of a small party, whom I joined, they were repulsed,
and the fire apparently extinguished. The alarm was then
given, that the mob were breaking into the houses in Queen-
square, and firing them. Part of the rioters went away for a
short time, and then returned and succeeded in again setting
fire to the Palace. I did not leave it till I saw the smoke issuing
from the roof, and all hope of being of further service was gone.
" I then went to the Square, where the mob were numerous,
and carrying all before them. The Mansion-house and the
several adjoining houses were in flames, and riot and plunder
were uncontrolled. I staid and rendered what assistance 1 could,
but in endeavouring to prevent some ruffians from entering the
Custom-house, I was knocked down and trampled upon, and
so much injured that I was ultimately obliged to return home,
which I did, I think, about two o'clock in the morning. I had
continued to exert myself as long as my strength lasted. During
the whole of these proceedings 1 had no constable's staff, stick,
or weapon of any kind. As I before observed, no staves were
ever given to the constables of the parish where I reside, and I
knew not, in such a state of confusion, where to procure one.
" On reaching my own house, being quite exhausted, after a
short time I went up to my bed-room and laid down in my
clothes. I gotup at daylight, and was told that the Magistrates
had called out the Posse Comitatus. A few minutes afterwards
one of the city officers came to the door, and delivered a message
from the Magistrates, earnestly requesting that I would repair
to the Guildhall, where the citizens were assembling, and join
them in taking measures for restoring the peace of the city.
From the experience I had during the night, in the different
attempts made to disperse and subdue tbe rioters, I was fully
persuaded of the necessity of having with me the means of
protecting myself, and that it was dangerous to face such an
infuriated, drunken, and lawless mob, unarmed. I therefore
determined on taking my pistols with me, and I accordingly
placed them in the inside bosom pocket of my upper coat. I
did this, not with a view of using them offensively, but merely
as a means of self-defence.
[Captain Lewis then noticed the particulars of an interview
which he had at the Guildhall with Mr. Alderman G. Hilhouse,
of whom he inquired whether he was authorised to carry fire
arms i Mr. Alderman Hilhouse replied, if resisted in executing
your duty, defend yourselves in the best way you can, with
arms or any thing else you may have about you. The Posse
Comitatus is called out, and the Magistrates are taking the
most decided steps to quell the disturbances, and I call on you
and all other respectable inhabitants ofthe city to assist them.
He again repeated, " defend yourselves in the most effective
way you can — the gentlemen are assembling in the Lower Col
lege-green, and for God's sake go and join them." On leaving

APPENDIX. 269
the Council-house with Mr. Downman, who was armed, they
proceeded to Lower College-green, and thence to Queen-square,
the devastated condition of which Capt. L. next described.]
"I saw a party of constables (continued Capt. L.) trying to turn
a party of men out ofthe Square; the men refused, or hesitated
to go, and the constables were driving them with their staves.
I assisted, quietly, having no staff. We got them out of the
Square, about half-way down the avenue, when one of them,
who had shown the most reluctance to go, lingered behind ; I
spoke to him, aud said he had better go quietly away ; that he
could have no business there, and that I was sure, from his ap
pearance, he had not been in bed during the night; that it was
quite time for him to go home. He replied, "Nor: have you
been in bed either, that I know d — d well ; why don't you go
home yourself?" During this parley he retreated slowly to the
left corner ofthe avenue, followed by me. At the corner, two
men came forward and joined him; one of them said, " he was
a d — d fool if he went any further." I then discovered that
there was a great many others round the corner and on the
Quay, endeavouring to conceal themselves. On being joined
by the other two, and after the above remark, the man demanded
who I was ? and advanced against me. I told him I was a
special constable, and desired him to keep off. On my raising
ray arm to keep him from closing on me, he instantly collared
me, and at the same moment I received a severe blow on the
temple from one of his companions. I felt that my life was in
danger. I drew one of my pistols from my bosom and presented
it in self defence to the man who held me by the collar. I
repeated that " I was a special constable," which he had ap
peared to doubt. He swore I was no constable, and I immedi
ately received a most severe blow, just above the elbow, on the
arm with which I held the pistol presented at him, which
knocked it down in quite a different direction from that in
which I stood, and it instantly went off in my hands. I declare,
I never intentionally, or consciously, drew the trigger — the dis
charge of the pistol was occasioned by the blow. I immediately
heard the cry of a boy, and saw him sitting about 15 or 16
yards, or perhaps more, on the ground, to my right. He ex
claimed " he was shot" I was greatly shocked, and in moving
a few steps towards him, was surrounded and beat to the ground.
I was rescued by the body of constables. To some enquiry, I
recollect saying, " I was a special constable, and had done it in
self defence." I retired a few paces — some one called me by
name, and desired me to unload my second pistol, for they said
I had another. I attempted to do it, but from the blows about
my head, as well as that on my arm, I felt so faint and sick, I
was unable to get out the ramrod, to draw the charge, I there
fore gave up the pistol to some gentlemen near me, who asked
for it. When I said, at the time I was rescued, and picked up
up by the constables, " that I did it in self-defence," I meant, I
drew my pistol in self defence, not of course that I shot the
innocent sufferer, whom I had not seen till the misadventure

270 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
had happened. I was then advised to make the best of my way
home, which I did, having begged the loan of a hat from the
person iu whose house I took refuge.
" Much as I lament this most unfortunate occurrence, I shall
ever console myself with the reflection that at the time I was
acting in aid ofthe law, and not in opposition to it, and was in
the execution of what I considered a bounden duty.
" I declare to you, on the honour of a soldier and a gentleman,
that I never drew my pistol till I felt that my life was in danger,
and I ask you, gentlemen, were my apprehensions unreasonable,
when I was in the grasp of one ofthe rioters who was supported
by others, and there was no one at hand to assist me ? So con
scious is the ruffian by whom I was assaulted ofthe crimes he
had committed and contemplated, that he has not dared to
appear in that box as a witness against me, knowing that if he
did he would soon be placed at the bar where I unfortunately
stand. Instead of having acted with precipitation or passion,
I think, gentlemen, I may take credit for having displayed
some forbearance and moderation. I might easily have
shot the man who collared me. He was in close contact with
me, I could not have missed him ; but I hoped that the threat
I held out, and the menacing attitude I assumed, might have
been sufficient for ray protection. In the scuffle my pistol went
off. I feel an anguish that I cannot describe, that an innocent
boy, never seen by me, was the victim. But however deeply
you and I must deplore that event, the question is — am I guilty
of a crime? Gentlemen, I bad no criminal intention, and I
can neither accuse myself of intemperance or incaution.
" I am wholly ignorant ofthe subtleties of the law. My life
has been passed in other puisuits. I will not therefore attempt
to touch upon the distinctions between manslaughter and mis
adventure, and justifiable homicide. These I must leave to the
learned and enlightened Judge who presides here ; but I have
ever understood that British justice resembles that brightest
attribute of Heaven, which looks, not to the mere unconscious
act, but to the principle from which the act proceeds, and the
intention ofthe agent ; and, gentlemen, I can declare with the
same solemnity , as if I were instantly to appear in the immediate
presence ofthe Searcher of all hearts, that I was actuated only
by a sincere and anxious desire to perform my duty ; and that
if I were again to go through the same scenes, I know not how
I could differently conduct myself, with a view to gain the good
opinion of others, and the approbation of my own conscience.
" I am extremely reluctant to cast reflections on others, but
I cannot refrain from remarking, that the prosecutor in this
case is not the mother of the deceased boy, nor connected with
his family ; nor can I understand how his interference can arise
from a pure desire for the due administration of justice. What
could be his motive for preferring to the Grand Jury under this
Commission an Indictment against me for Murder, when it
never could have entered into the mind of any reasonable man,
that I was guilty of that offence .* The Grand Jury returned
that bill of indictment, not found as to the whole, although

APPENDIX. 271
they might have negatived it, as to murder, and found it a true
bill as to Manslaughter, it they had thought the evidence suffi
cient to put rae upon my trial, even for the latter charge.
The prosecutor, nevertheless, preferred to them another indict
ment against me for Manslaughter. The Grand Jury, having
listened to all the evidence that could be advanced against me
on the prosecution, and without even hearing my defence, re
turned that indictment riot a true bill, thereby a second time
recording their deliberate judgment of my entire innocence.
Thus may I say that I have been twice tried and acquitted by
twenty-three of my fellow citizens.
" Gentlemen, my fate is uow in your hands. Your verdict of
guilty might deprive me of country, of fortune, of fair fame.
But with the greatest respect for your discernment and impar
tiality, I anticipate at your hands an honourable acquittal, which
will restore me to my afflicted family, and to that creditable
station in society which I have hitherto enjoyed, and which it
has ever been my earnest endeavour through life to deserve."
evidence for the defence.
Mr. Alderman George examined. — I went to the Commercial-
rooms on the Sunday to get the attendance ofthe gentlemen ;
the riot act was read three times on Saturday evening ; there
was great confusion on those three days.
Mr. Alderman George Hilhouse. — Was at the Guildhall,
Monday the 31st October; saw Capt. Lewis there very early in
the morning ; there were several gentlemen with him', who
stated they were special constables, and enquired how they were
to act ; I gave directions to arm themselves in the best way they
could, and to use their best judgment to disperse the mob.
Mr. Alderman A. Hilhouse. — I was in Queen-square early on
Monday morning, and the riots were still going on ; there was
rioting in Prince's-street at 8 o'clock ; I went there with ano
ther Magistrate, and we could not reach the Square by the
direct road on account of the rioting ; went along the Quay
and Prince's-street by the middle avenue in the Square ; there
were two houses on the left side of the Square not on fire, and
the firemen wanted to preserve them, but the mob would not
let them; I applied to Col. Brereton, who sent four dragoons
to clear the entrance to let the firemen in ; engines were in
Prince's-street ; I left Queen-square rather before 8 o'clock,
and there were still detached parties of rioters in the Square ;
I had called on all persons in the King's name to come and
assist on the Sunday ; I told them to come with any arms they
could get ; from the state of the Square when I left, a con
stable by himself would have been a marked man if he exerted
himself. John Lee Harwood examined.— I have charge ofthe Seaman's
Floating Chapel, kept nearly opposite the Grove ; on the
morning of 31st October, I attempted to go into the square
between 8 and 9 ; went to the corner of the Grove-avenue, and
observed a man behaving in a very riotous manner ; he used

272 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
very abusive language ; he said if they were all of his mind he
would not be put out of the Square; this he said with many
oaths and gestures ; observed a tall gentleman walking a man
out of the avenue ; it was Capt. Lewis ; the man said he was
doing no harm ; the gentleman said, you will do no harm by
going ; by that time they had arrived at the corner, where the
first man stood; the first man then took hold of the man whom
Capt. Lewis was putting out, and said he should not be put
out ; the first man then came in contact with Capt. Lewis, and
they were all three together ; the first man caught hold of Capt.
Lewis with both hands; Capt. Lewis had him either by the
collar or bis left hand against his breast to keep him off; I lost
sight of the second man ; I saw Capt. Lewis take the pistol
from his bosom, and it went off suddenly, before he could ex
tend his arm; no aim bad been taken; the going off of the
pistol was accidental ; the man threatened to force his way ; he
said to the second man " you shall not go out — you shall re
turn," and they endeavoured to force their way by Capt. Lewis
into the Square; I saw a constable at the corner of the avenue
nearest the Grove, and he was the only other constable then in
sight ; there were suspicious-looking persons lurking about ; 6
or 7 individuals were near the Grove.
Cross-examined. — I saw the first man run after Capt. Lewis,
after he had fired, and strike him in the neck.
Jane Morgan examined. — I am the wife of Thomas Morgan,
a master mason in this city; on Monday morning 31st Oct. I
' went to see whether any mischief had been done to the Docks,
where my husband had a contract ; I went to the Grove avenue ;
I looked up the avenue, and saw several persons, some inside
the Square, and some in the avenue ; I observed a man in a
drab coat endeavouring to make another man leave tbe square ;
the desperate looking man was endeavouring to push the re
spectable looking man, and they continued to push each other,
like men quarrelling ; I heard the pistol go off; the man had
the gentleman by the collar before the pistol went off; there
were several men in the avenue, and a woman ; I am sure they
were some of the rioters from their appearance ; I heard one
of those men say, " look what they are doing to that man— if
either of you" will go with me I will go and settle that
fellow that's a serving that man ;" this was before the firing of
the pistol.
James Sangar, cabinet maker and upholsterer, examined. —
Was on the Grove on the morning of 31st Oct., opposite the
south avenue ; saw Capt. Lewis making great exertions to clear
the avenue ; one individual appeared very obstinate and deter
mined not to go away ; Mr. Lewis repeatedly remonstrated with
him, saying " you must and shall go away, I am a constable,
and I insist upon your going."
Henry Downman examined. — On Monday, 31st Oct. I acted
with the special constables ; was at the Council-house early in
the morning to assist the Magistrates ; Capt. Lewis was there
before me ; I had a brace of loaded pistols in my pockets, and

APPENDIX. 273
a walking-stick gun loaded; I applied to the Magistrates on
Sunday, and they said it was tbe duty of gentlemen to arm
themselves in the best way they could ; I accompanied Capt. L.
to the ruins of the Bishop's palace, where we understood the
Magistrates were ; I accompanied Capt. L. to see if his horses
were safe, and thence to QueeD-square ; it was disturbed in the
extreme ; met a number of persons dragging furniture of every
description ; there were an immense number of persons . of the
lowest description in the Square ; they appeared to be rioters ;
I beard no firing; if there had been, from the cracking of timber
in the burning houses I could not have heard it ; the houses on
two sides was on fire, and we entered the Square between two
burning houses ; Capt. Lewis remained with me till within two
minutes of the accident ; I heard the pistol go off; I ran to the
spot immediately, and continued there until Capt. Lewis went
away ;he certainly did not attempt to re-load the pistol ; on the
contrary, he attempted to unload a pistol, and tried to screw
up the shot with the ramrod.
John Taylor examined. — I acted as a special constable in
Queen-square, on 31st October, and helped to disperse the
mob to the Back ; there was a considerable mob there ; a pistol
was fired from the mob, about 8 o'clock : it was fired either
at the constables or the dragoons.
James Onion. — I was in the Square from about 4 to 9 in the
morning of 31st Oct. ; it was dangerous for a constable to be
alone at that time ; parties of rioters continued in the Square
till I left.
Valentine Hellicar. — I am a merchant ; I occupied a house
in Queen-square ; it was not burnt ; I was in the square on
Monday morning till 7 or 8 ; was present when the 14th charged
in Queen-square about 10 o'clock; the Square was in a state
of riot ; about 1000 or 1500 persons were scattered about in
the Square in detached parties, as they had beenallthe morning.
W. H. Land. — I am a ship broker; on the morning of 31st
October was a special constable ; 1 was in Mr. Lewis's party
trying to disperse the rioters ; he left the party a short time ;
while he was separated I heard the report of a pistol ; I was in
the Square near the avenue ; I went to the avenue directly ;
saw a crowd of persons, and Capt. Lewis on the ground, sur
rounded by ten or twenty men ; continued in sight of him till he
went away home ; I did not see him attempt to reload his pistol.
Richard Lowe, surgeon, examined. — On Wednesday evening
(Nov. 2,) I was called to attend Capt. Lewis ; he had received
a severe contusion on the left temple, involving the eye ; and I
found the mark of a severe blow on the right arm, obliquely
above the elbow.
Cross-examined.' — The blow on the arm might have been by
any thing which would contuse ; the contusion extended three
or four inches.
Mr. Campbell then called thefollowing witnesses to character:
Arthur Palmer, Esq. solicitor,. examined. — Had been inti
mately acquainted with Capt. Lewis from his youth, except
when engaged in foreign service ; has been particularly ac-
.... , T

274 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

quainted with him for the last 15 years ; " I," (said the witness)
" pride myself on his acquaintance ; he is a man of honour and
integrity, & incapable of doing an act of inhumanity or malice."
Richard Humphrey, Esq. examined.— I was surgeon to the
regiment in which Capt. Lewis served ; I have known him 25
years ; as an officer and a gentleman he was respected by tbe
regiment, and was considered by his troop as a very humane man.
Dr. Griffith examined. — I am a physician ; have known Capt.
Lewis 15 or 20 years ; I consider him a man of strict honour
and integrity — of humane and charitable disposition ; this is the
character I have always heard of him.
Rev. Thos. Griffiths examined. — I have known Capt. Lewis
12 or 13 years, during which he has had the very best character
for peaceable demeanour.
Gebrge Kiddle, Esq. examined. — I am retired from business ;
I have known him from childhood ; as good a man as can be ;
he is charitable and humane.
William Bushell, Esq. examined. — I have known him many
years intimately ; no character could be better ; I have always
been proud of his acquaintance.
Wm. Wright, Esq. examined. — I am a wine merchant ; have
known him nine or ten years; I should say he was a generous,
openhearted, kind man.
R. L. Pearsall, Esq. barrister, examined,— I have resided in
this neighbourhood a great many years ; have been acquainted
with Capt. Lewis ever since I was a boy ; and since I have grown
up, I have had the honour and benefit of his friendship ; he has
always had the character of a perfectly kind, openhearted, and
Tiumane man.
After reciting the various provisions of the Acts bearing on
the case, and stating the leading facts of the evidence, the
Learned Judge left it to the Jury to say, whether in their
opinion Captain Lewis had been guilty of culpable negligence
in the employment of fire arras, which would make the death
ofthe boy, or any other person, either by accident or other
wise, an illegal act, or whether under the circumstances he was
justified in tneir use. The Learned Judge said he would, if the
Jury wished It, read through the whole ofthe evidence.
The Jury said it was not nec'e?sary ; they had paid the greatest
attention to the evidence, and had come to their decision. —
Tney then returned a verdict of Not Guilty. A strong demon
stration of applause was made in the Court, which could not be
immediately checked by the officers. Capt. Lewis retired from
the bar, amidst the warmest congratulations of his friends.
The Learned Judge said that he felt happy in stating that
Captain Lewis was discharged without the slightest imputation
upon him, but that on the contrary he appeared to have done
his duty in a manner which reflected great credit upon him.
The business ofthe Special Commission was brought
to a close on Saturday, 14th January, having occupied
twelve days.

APPENDIX. 275

EXECUTION OF FOUR OF THE RIOTERS.
On Friday, the 27th January, Davis, Clarke, Gregory, and
Kayes, suffered the extreme penalty of the law, at the usual
place of execution, over the Gaol entrance. Vines's sentence
was commuted to perpetual banishment.
Christopher Davis was a man of superior station in society
to the other prisoners, possessing an independence, it is said, of
j£300. a-year ; therefore his encouragement to the mob by his
gesticulations and violent harangues, was highly dangerous and
inflammatory. He has accustomed himself for years past to use
the same kind of language whenever occasion presented for a
display of his political leaning, which unfortunately too often
occurred, and as it seems was diligently sought after, until at
length it brought him to an ignominious death. After the
accession of Earl Grey's Ministry to power, and the introduc
tion ofthe Reform Bill, his party violence evidently increased,
and he lost no opportunity to decry the Bishops, the Estab
lished religion of the country, the Anti-Reformers, and in fact
every individual or establishment which he conceived to stand
in the way of a sweeping change in the public affairs of this
kingdom. His participation in the riotous proceedings was
confined to exciting language and gestures, at various scenes of
outrage ; but it is evident that though he abstained from actual
personal assistance in the demolition of buildings and property,
his conduct was equally criminal with that of the more active.
Wm. Clarke resided at Bedminster, and worked as a sawyer.
It did not appear that he had any share in the riotous proceed
ings on the Saturday ; but having joined the mob on the Sunday,
he took a prominent part in the destruction of the Gaol and
Bridewell, the keys of which he exultingly displayed in his after
progress, particularly when returning from the destruction of
Lawford's Gate prison, in which also he was actively engaged.
In various parts of the city, this man, who was very athletic in
his person, led on the rioters, armed with an iron bar, and using
language of the most violent kind.
Thomas Gregory (a labourer) was proved to have aided in
burning and destroying the house of Mr. Strong, in Queen-
square, and of having been most active and daring in other
scenes of devastation.
Joseph Kayes (a labourer) was convicted of similar enormities,
and assisting in the destruction ofthe house of Mr. Chas. Bull,
in Queen-square.
On the day of the execution, the city was well protected by
the military and civil power, and no disposition to outrage was
manifested in any quarter.

T 2

APPENDIX.

277

COURT-MARTIAL
ON LIEUTENANT-COLONEL BRERETON
AT THE MERCHANTS'-HALL.

First Day. — Monday, January 9th, 1832.

At Eleven o'clock, the Members of the Court took
their places in the following order: —
Head of the Table :
The President — Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Fane.

Right hand side ofthe Table.
1. Major-General Lord Burghersh
2. Major-General Sir John Ross.
S. Colonel Lygon, 2d life guards,
4. Colonel Duffy, Unattached.
5. Colonel Arnold.
6. Lieut.-Colonel Keyt, 84th foot.
7. Lt.-Col.CHAiTERTON,4thdr .guards

Left hand side of the Table.
1. Major-General R. Ellice.
2. Major-General Sir Chas. Bruce.
3. Colonel Warburton, 8th foot..
4. Cot. Lambert, grenadier guards.
5. Colonel Forster, artillery.
6. Lieut.-Col. Grey, 2d drag, guards
7. Lieut.-Col. Clarke, 5th ditto.

Colonel Brereton being in attendance, the King's
Warrant for holding the Court-Martial was read by
Captain Thompson, 81st regiment, the Acting Deputy
Judge Advocate. The Prisoner's Professional Advisers
were, Mr. Hurle, Barrister, and Mr. T. M. Evans,
Solicitor. The list of Officers composing the Court was next
read to the prisoner, who made no objection to them.
The President and the other Members of the Court were
then sworn.
Sir H. Fane, the President, addressed the Officers
composing the Court, entreating them to discard from
their minds any prejudicial feeling towards the prisoner
which they might have entertained.
The several charges were read by the Deputy Judge
Advocate ; to the whole of which Lieut.-Col. Brereton
pleaded Not Guilty.
The Deputy Judge Advocate then read the list of
evidence for the prosecution, and a letter from Colonel
Brereton, containing his list of witnesses.

278 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

CHARGES AGAINST THE PRISONER.
1. For that he, Lieut.-Col. Brereton, having on 29th Oct.
1831, and on the two following days, the command of the
troops in the city of Bristol, with directions (duly authorised)
to be in communication with the Magistrates of the city, and
to arrange with them for the disposal of the said troops in the
event of the services of the troops being required; and great
disturbance and riot prevailing in tbe said city on the said 29th
of Oct. by reason whereof the said troops were, in the afternoon
of that day, called out by the Magistrates of the city, and the
riot act having been repeatedly read, the said Lieut.-Colonel
was several times, during the evening, directed by the said
Magistrates to use force for the dispersion of the rioters, and
the restoration or maintenance ofthe public peace ; nevertheless
he, the said Lieut.-Col. Brereton, did not act with any vigour
or effect in execution of such directions ofthe said Magistrates,
but for the most part declined or neglected to comply with the
same, and conducted himself in a feeble and temporizing
manner, calculated only to encourage the. rioters in their
violent proceedings.
2. For that on Sunday, 30th Oct., when the Magistrates for
Bristol had required the attendance of troops in Queen-square,
to save the Mansion-house, which was violently attacked by a
large body of rioters, and when, in consequence of such requi
sition, one troop ofthe 3rd dragoon guards, and one troop of
tbe 14th light dragoons, were, some time in the forenoon of
the day, assembled in Queen-square under the personal com
mand of him, Lieut.-Col. Brereton, he, the said Lieut.-Col.,
shortly afterwards directed the said troop of the 14th light
dragoons to withdraw to their quarters at Fisher's stables,
adjoining to College-green, in the said city, on the plea that
their presence only exasperated the populace, by which pro
ceeding the said Lieut.-Colonel improperly weakened the force
assembled as aforesaid in Queen-square ; and for that afterwards,
about noon of the same day, the said Lieut.-Colonel ordered
the whole of the squadron of the 14th light dragoons, then
quartered in the said city, including the troop so withdrawn
from Queen-square as aforesaid, to move from Bristol to
Keynsham, a distance of about five miles, contrary to the
declared wishes aud opinions of the said Magistrates, and in
violation of the duty wherewith he was intrusted, of guarding
the peace ofthe city : the said city being then in so disturbed
and riotous a state that the whole of the troops ought to have
been stationed where their services might have been made
available at the shortest notice.
3. For that he, Lieut.-Col. Brereton, stated to the said
Magistrates, or some of them, as a reason for moving the said
squadron as aforesaid from Bristol to Keynsham, on the
said Sunday, that the men and horses of the said squadron were
in so jaded and exhausted a state that they were equal to little
or no exertion (or words to that effect), whereas both the said

APPENDIX. 279
men aud horses were at the time of their removal as aforesaid
in an efficient state, and fit for any duty that might be required
of them.
4. For that he, Lieut.-Col. Brereton, in the afternoon ofthe
said Sunday, repeatedly refused, in positive terms, to comply
with the directions and entreaties of the said Magistrates,
requiring him to recall the said squadron from Keynsham, and
to employ the troops under his command to check the tumult
and riot in the said city, which were then increasing in an
alarming manner, several of the public buildings having been
attacked and broken iuto by the rioters, with every prospect
of a still further extension of outrage, aud of a wide destruction
of houses and property.
5. For that, about four o'clock in the afternoon of the said
Sunday, when the rioters, after having broken into the bride
well ofthe said city, and released the prisoners therein, and set
the bridewell on fire, were proceeding, as it appeared, to the
city gaol, to attack and break into the same; and when the said
Magistrates peremptorily required him, Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
to employ the force under his command in protecting the said
gaol, and putting down the rioters (or to that effect), he, the
said Lieut.-Colonel, refused or declined complying with such
requisitions; and the said Lieut.-Colonel, although he after
wards sent a detachment of the 3d dragoon guards to the said
gaol, did, however, give positive orders to Cornet Kelson,
commanding the same, on no account whatever to use force;
and that he was only to go to the gaol, and come back (or
words to that effect). In conformity with which orders the
said detachment proceeded to the front of the said gaol, and
returned therefrom immediately, without having otherwise
interrupted or interfered with the rioters, and this notwith-
standing that, when the said detachment arrived at the said
gaol, the rioters had broken into the same, and had released,
and were releasing, the prisoners ; and were also preparing to
set fire to the governor's house within the said gaol, which
house was in fact fired and destroyed by the rioters, shortly
after the departure of the said detachment from the front of
the said gaol.
6. For that, about seven or eight o'clock in the evening of
the said Sunday, when the Bishop's palace in Bristol had been
attacked by the rioters, and the Magistrates had thereupon
required the attendance of the troops to save the said palace ;
and that when, after the said rioters had broken in the gates
ofthe palace-court, and had also forced tbe main door of the
palace itself, he, Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, with a detachment
of the 3d dragoons guards, under his Immediate and personal
command, entered the said palace-court, and formed such detach
ment within the same ,• nevertheless he, the said Lieut.-Colonel,
remained in the said palace-court wholly inactive, with the said
detachment, during the commission of various acts of outrage
by the rioters, under his own eyes, he, the said Lieut.-Colonel,
refusing or omitting to comply with the application of certain

280 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
of the Bishop's servants, as well as of certain constables and
other persons there present, to afford them assistance, in order
to check the outrages of the rioters, and to save the said
palace, and the property therein contained ; and on the con
trary thereof, he, the said Lieut.-Colonel, gave most peremp
tory orders to the said detachment not to use any violence to
therioters, or to that effect, and passively permitted certaiu of
the rioters returning out ofthe said palace, laden with plunder,
to escape, and at the same time released, or caused to be
released, certain of the said rioters who had been apprehended
in or about the said palace, in the act of committing outrages,
or carrying off plunder, and whom the persons apprehending
them had consigned or offered to consign to the custody ofthe
said detachment.
7. For that he, Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, about the hour of
eight or nine o'clock on the said Sunday evening, at a time
when the Mansion-house of the city was in flames, and when
he, the said Lieut.-Colonel, was in the immediate and personal
command of a detachment of tbe 3d dragoon guards formed in
Queen-square, in which square the Mansion-house then stood,
did, nevertheless, make no attempt whatever to arrest the pro
gress of such fire, nor did he give any order or make any
provision with the said detachment of dragoon guards to prevent
the committing of further outrages, or the firing of other houses
and buildings by the rioters; but, on the contrary thereof,
after remaining near the said Mansion-house about ten minutes,
be, the said Lieut.-Col. marched off with the said detachment,
or with the greater part thereof, which he ordered to return to
ils quarters, thereby leaving, throughout the whole evening
and night, Queen-square aforesaid, and its inhabitants, unpro
tected and entirely under the dominion of the rioters; in
consequence whereof the houses and buildings composing two
entire sides of the said square, including the Mansion-house,
the Custom-house, and the Excise-office, in the course of the
said night were set on fire by the rioters, and reduced to ashes.
8. For that he, Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, on the arrival in
Bristol of the Dodington troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, under
the command of Capt. Codrington, about eleven o'clock on the
said Sunday evening, which arrival was reported to the said
Lieut.-Colonel by the said Captain in person, neglected or
omitted to avail himself (as in his capacity of commanding
officer of the troops in Bristol it was his duty to do) of the
services ofthe said troop of Yeomaury Cavalry, or even to give
any distinct or sufficient orders for retaining the same in the
city, although numerous houses and buildings in different parts
ofthe city were then on fire, and although further conflagrations
were threatened and expected.
9. For that he, Lieut.-Col. Brereton, having received from
the Mayor of Bristol a certain letter, dated twelve o'clock,
Sunday night, Oct. 30, to the following effect, that he, the
said Lieut.-Colonel, was to consider himself fully authorized
to take whatever steps and to give whatever orders he, as the

APPENDIX. 281
military commander of the troops in the said city, might think
fit to restore and preserve as far as possible the public peace,
did nevertheless, for the space of nearly four hours after he had
received the said letter, which was soon after the date thereof,
neglect to take any steps, or to give any orders to, or make any
attempt whatever, with the troops under his command, for the
purposes in the said letter mentioned; but, on the contrary
thereof, he, the said Lieut.-Colonel, retired to his bed, and
remained there for several hours together during the night of
the said Sunday, the 30th, or morning of Monday, the 31st
Oct. at a time when the rioters, without check or controul,
were committing acts of gross outrage, tumult, and destruction,
in various parts of the said city.
10. For that he, Lieut.-Col. Brereton, when he was after
wards, about four o'clock in the morning of Monday, 31st Oct.
called out of bed by a Magistrate ofthe said city, and desired
by him to march troops instantly to Queen-square, which was
in danger of being entirely destroyed by fire, manifested great
reluctance to comply with such desire, he, the said Lieut.-
Colonel, stating that the troops would be of no use, for that the
horses would not stand such a fire, or other words to that effect.
11. For that he, Lieut.-Col. Brereton, at various times, and
on various occasions during the said 29th, 30th, and 3 1st Oct.
when it was his duty to resist and put down the rioters, weakly
yielded to or temporized with them, frequently shaking hands
with them, addressing them familiarly, and even using to them
language which reflected on the conduct of a portion of the
troops under his command, and which was calculated to add
to the irritation of the rioters, and at the same time to augment
their confidence in their own strength and power.
Such conduct as aforesaid, on the part of tbe said Lieut.-Col.
Brereton, evincing great want of the vigour and decision
requisite for the duties in which he was engaged, being highly
disgraceful to his character as an officer, and prejudicial to good
order and military discipline, and tending to destroy the con
fidence of the troops in their officers, and to reflect dishonour on
his Majesty's service.
Major-General Sir Charles Dalbiac, the Prose
cutor, then read the following
ADDRESS TO THE COURT.
" Mr. President, and the Members of this Honorable
Court, — I appear before you, at the suit of the King,
as the Prosecutor of Lieutenant-Colonel Brereton, the
prisoner at your bar.
" It is unnecessary that I should occupy the time ofthe
Court in expatiating on the nature of the charges here
preferred against Lieut.-Col. Brereton. I shall there
fore content myself for the present by observing, that

282 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
amongst those charges there are some which carry on
the face of them a character of culpability such as I do
verily believe to be altogether unprecedented and un
heard of in the case of a British Officer. Neither is it
necessary that I should detain the Court at any length
by observations as to the great objects or the vast im
portance of this trial. The Bristol Riots, with their
disgraceful consequences, have formed a themefor dis
cussion in every public print, and in every private
society throughout the kingdom. The subject has been
canvassed by all ranks and by all parties ; some ascribing
the consequences to one cause, some to another. There
are those who would affix the greater blame to the civil
authorities ; there are those who insist that blame attaches
exclusively to the military. On one point alone all are
agreed, namely, that in some quarter or other culpability
is unquestionable. These conflicting opinions, as to
the due apportionment of blame, combined with the vast
importance of the subject, as generally considered, have
powerfully fixed the attention of the public, no less than
of the army, on the proceedings of the Court here as
sembled. The intensity of interest excited, with respect
to this trial, is such as has rarely been equalled in mat
ters submitted to the cognizance and the decision of a
military tribunal ; and this interest has been greatly kept
alive by another remarkable circumstance. Never, I
believe, was there a case of which the leading facts and
circumstances (I speak as connected with the military,)
were, after a considerable lapse of time, less perfectly
known, or less distinctly understood ; and yet never,
most certainly, was there a case in which the pubhc had
a more just demand for the fullest and most authentic
information. " I would further illustrate the importance of this trial
by observing, that it must inevitably bring before the
Court a variety of matter which incidentally involves
some questions of deep and vital importance : I mean
questions as to a due and salutary co-operation between
the civil and the military powers of these kingdoms,
upon all occasions of public outrage and disturbance
which may be sufficiently serious to require the assist
ance of the military arm. Questions of this nature
cannot fail perpetually to present themselves to the

APPENDIX. 283
Court during the details which this trial must disclose ;
and questions more truly momentous cannot easily be -
imagined. They relate most intimately to the moral
and professional duties of a soldier. They affect the
personal safety of the subject, and the security of all
property, pubhc and private. They touch in short, more
or less closely, upon almost every interest that is dear
to an enlightened and a civilized community. Nor can
the consideration of such questions, so far as the same
may be connected with the case of the prisoner, and to
an extent compatible with the functions of a military
tribunal, be deemed by this Court to be matter of light
importance. " Up to the present moment, it may be said that the
Bristol Riots, as influenced by the operations of his
Majesty's troops, have been left without public investi
gation. The conduct pursued on that disastrous occa
sion by the Officer who has now to answer before you
has indeed been submitted to a preliminary Enquiry,
before a Court of which I had the honour to be Presi
dent. The functions of such a Court, however, in cases
hke that of the prisoner, bear a close resemblance to a
Grand Jury ; — its proceedings are private ; the object
of it being solely to ascertain whether there exist fair and
sufficient grounds for exposing the party under impu
tation to the disgrace and anxiety of a public trial.
" It is proper I should apprize the Court that the
trial about to commence will impose upon them no
ordinary weight of labour and anxiety. The evidence
to be produced will unavoidably be considerable ; more
so, however, by the number of witnesses to be examined,
than by the body of their evidence ; and no efforts of
mine shall be spared to hghten and simplify the task,
by reducing that evidence into a form as concise as may
be consistent with a perspicuous exhibition ofthe merits
of the case.
" It is further needful for me to remind the Court,
that a large portion of the testimony to be produced will
relate to facts and circumstances which occurred during
three days and two nights of extreme and almost inces
sant disorder and alarm. Occasional discrepancies in
that testimony, as far as relates to questions or time, and
certain other subordinate matters, must consequently be

284 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
expected. I anticipate no difficulty, however, in recon
ciling these variations as to every essential point. Nor
do I entertain the faintest apprehension that the general
tenor of the evidence upon any one of the charges can
be at all invalidated by such slight and comparatively
unimportant disagreements.
" It would be highly presumptuous in me to impress
upon such a Court as this that their clear and simple
line of duty is to pronounce their judgment solely upon
the evidence which shall be produced. Duly however
to estimate the bearings of that evidence upon the
weighty charges preferred against the prisoner, and
patiently to arrive at just conclusions, through a long
course of investigation, often of a character extremely
delicate, will be found by the Court to form a task un
usually arduous. And if this should be felt by the
Court collectively, composed, as I observe it to be
throughout, of Officers distinguished by their rank, and
of acknowledged judgment and experience in the service,
how must it be felt by the individual who has to sustain
the painful duty of conducting the prosecution ? Most
ardently indeed could I have desired that this office
might have fallen upon strength more duly proportioned
to its weight and difficulty. So very unconscious do I
feel of the powers which are demanded for the adequate
discharge of so heavy a responsibility, that I have at
times considered whether his Majesty's service might not
have been benefitted had I solicited an exemption from
the burden : from such solicitation, however, I have been
withheld, by the principle which has uniformly prompted
me through a long professional hfe ; and that principle
is, never to shrink from any duty which the King may
graciously think proper to impose upon me, but to
devote to the execution of it the best of my humble
abilities. I am deeply sensible, however, that upon this
occasion my deficiencies may partially defeat the ends of
justice — that through waut of skill I may possibly fail
to press home upon the prisoner the full force of the
evidence produced against him ; and thus in effect may
relieve him of a portion of the culpability which attaches
to the misconduct imputed to him ; and if this should be
so, I have only to beg that the failure may be ascribed

APPENDIX. 285
exclusively to the want of powers in the prosecutor ; —
to any thing rather than a want of zeal for the service
of his Majesty, or for the honour of the British army.
Such indulgence I confidently expect from this Court,
and still more confidently from the wonted clemency of
our most gracious Monarch.
" There is one circumstance in the present case from
which my mind has derived almost unspeakable relief —
a circumstance which rarely befalls the prosecutor in a
trial by General Court Martial : — it is, that I enter this
Court without the slightest tinge of personal prejudice
or of partiality towards the prisoner at your bar. The
task imposed upon me of conducting the prosecution in
this trial has entirely resulted from my having been the
President of the Court of Enquiry which assembled
within this Hall on the 17th of November last. To me
Lieut.-Colonel Brereton was unknown previous to that
occasion ; and from the moment when I was honoured
with the commands of General Lord Hill, to sit as Pre
sident of that Court, I scrupulously withdrew my atten
tion from every recital of circumstances connected with
the Bristol Riots which tended to reflect on Lieut.-Col.
Brereton, whether such recital were to be derived from
private conversation or from the public prints. My
impressions and conclusions respecting his conduct have
been drawn exclusively from the evidence produced
before that Court of Enquiry ; to the whole of which
evidence Lieut.-Col. Brereton, and his friend, Major
Ellard, were admitted ; and it is no light satisfaction to
reflect, that the prisoner has had the benefit of being in
possession of the substance and the nature of that
evidence, from the time that the Court of Enquiry closed
its proceedings, up to the period of assembly of this more
important Tribunal.
" I feel assured, moreover, that Lieut.-Col. Brereton
and Major Ellard will do me the justice to remember,
that in the examination, by the Court of Enquiry > of
some ofthe early and most important witnesses (I mean
the leading members of the Municipal Authorities of
this city,) I took all the pains, consistent with my situa
tion, to ascertain whether Lieut.-Colonel Brereton had
received all the assistance, and support, and co-operation,
from the Civil Authorities, which, under the emergencies

286

THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

that presented themselves during the Riots in this city,
he, as the Commanding Officer of his Majesty's troops,
had so great a right to expect.
" Having premised thus much, I shall now proceed
with a brief outline ofthe events which took place during
the Bristol Riots on the 29th, 30th, and 31st October,
so far as those events were in any wise influenced by the
disposition or the operations of his Majesty's troops,
under the command of Lieut.*Col. Brereton : this out
line is submitted with a view to connect, for the infor
mation of the Court, the general chain of circumstances,
to which the several charges preferred against Lieut.-
Col. Brereton have reference. It has been drawn with
a scrupulous assiduity for the preservation of truth, from
the most unprejudiced and impartial view of the testi
mony produced before the late Court of Enquiry, and
my chief care has been to introduce no statement or
expression reflecting upon the conduct of Lieut.-Col.
Brereton, that I do not feel prepared to substantiate by
the most full and satisfactory evidence.
" The Session for the Gaol Delivery of the city of
Bristol had been fixed for the 29th October, and the
Municipal Authorities, being apprehensive that dis
turbances might arise upon that occasion, had caused a
solicitation to be addressed to the Secretary of State,
for a military force to be sent to Bristol in aid of the
civil power, for the preservation of the public peace.
Accordingly one troop of the 3rd dragoon guards, and
two troops ofthe 14th light dragoons, were placed at
the disposal of the Civil Authorities ; and these troops
having arrived within the city at an early hour on the
29th Oct. had quarters assigned to them about five
o'clock, p.m. at two extensive livery stables, — one called
the Horse Bazaar, kept by Mr. Leigh— the other called
the Horse Repository, kept by Mr. Fisher. These
livery stables are contiguous to each other, in the im
mediate vicinity and on the north side of College-green :
on the opposite side of the Green is the Office of the
Recruiting District, where was fixed the alarm-post,
and the back of which office looks upon the court of
the Bishop's Palace : at the north-east angle of the
Green is Unity-street, in which street, at No. 2, (the
residence ofthe District Adjutant) Lieut.-Col. Brereton

APPENDIX. 287
took up his quarters during the 29th, 30th, and 31st of
October. I have been particular as to these localities,
because I deem it essential for the Court to understand
that the quarters of Lieut.-Col. Brereton and the Dis
trict Office, where was fixed the alarm-post, and the
stations of the troops, were within easy distance of each
other. To describe these localities with still greater
relative precision, it may be said that the three points
stand as a triangle, each point about 200 yards apart.
" The Recorder made his entry into Bristol in the
forenoon of 29th October. A considerable concourse
of people assembled for the occasion ; — tumult soon
commenced, and continued to increase through the day.
Towards five or six o'clock in the evening, the Mansion-
house was furiously attacked by tbe mob, and the
Civil Authorities therein assembled, being very seriously
threatened, if became necessary to call out the military,
and to read the Riot Act. The troops formed quickly
upon the alarm post ; and here I beg to draw the par
ticular attention of the Court to the circumstance that
the troop ofthe 3d dragoon guards and the troop ofthe
14th light dragoons, which first arrived on the alarm-
post, were severally ordered by Lieut.-Col. Brereton to
load ; the troops loaded accordingly, and thus received
an impression, that if required to act, fire-arms were of
course to be employed.
" Lieut.-Col. Brereton, with the troops, soon arrived
in front of the Mansion-house in Queen-square ; he was
then informed by the Civil Authorities of the violent
proceedings of the mob. He there witnessed the effects
of those proceedings upon the Mansion-house ; he was
told that the proclamation prescribed by the Riot Act
had been made; he was directed by the Civil Authorities
to clear the streets and to disperse the mob. Instead
of carrying these directions into prompt and effectual
execution, as became his duty to do, Lieut.-Colonel
Brereton ordered the troops to " ride through" and to
" walk away" the rioters. The 14th light dragoons for
a time had not even their swords drawn. The conduct
of the rioters became more and more audacious and
turbulent. Brickbats, stones, and other missiles con
tinued to be levelled at the troops, the constables, and
the Mansion-house ; three of the 14th light dragoons,

288 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
and two or three constables, were carried into the
Mansion-house, more or less severely wounded. One
troop of the 14th light dragoons (the other troops
having retired to refresh and feed) had been ordered
to "charge;" this was about eleven at night, and
the troop of the 14th then drew swords for the first
time, but the order to repel by force was given by
Lieut.-Colonel Brereton in terms too equivocal to be
clearly understood, or to be strictly adhered to ; the
order was "to use the flat of the swords as much as
possible, and not to proceed to extremities till absolutely
necessary ;" and even this qualified order to repel by
force was shortly rescinded; and subsequently, when
that troop received considerable annoyance from numbers
of the rioters, who had taken refuge in barges, and in
places under cover, where the troop could not reach
them, or make any return but by means of fire-arms, to
their incessant peltings, Lieut.-Col. Brereton gave the
most peremptory order to the troop not to fire. Between
eleven and twelve o'clock (on the same night, Saturday,)
Captain Gage's troop of the 14th dragoons, which had
previously retired to feed, returned to Queen-square, and
was shortly after dispatched to Corn-street, with orders
to disperse a mob which had commenced a furious attack
upon the Council-house. Capt. Gage, being upon'that
occasion left to his own discretion, obeyed the order
which he had received, as became an officer in his Ma
jesty's service. The rioters werepromptly and effectually
dispersed ; and the Council-house, a noble structure in
the very heart of the city, was thus preserved^ from
destruction. This circumstance forms, in my humble
judgment, a most important feature in the Bristol riots.
The rioters, foiled iu their attempts on the Council-
house, resolved to wreak their revenge upon the soldiers
who had despoiled them of their prey ; they accordingly
retired into the narrow passages and alleys, whence they
kept up a constant shower of stones and pieces of cut
iron, and other missiles, upon the troop, as it continued
to discharge its duty by patroling up and down the
streets, for the maintenance of the public peace. From
out of one of these alleys in Wine-street, whence the
dragoons had been exposed to very great annoyance, a
person was seen to issue as the troop was about to pass,

APPENDIX. 289
a second time, when having advanced nearly up to, and
having commenced to throw stones and other missiles
as before, at the persons marching in front of the troop,
some of which missiles struck the shutters on the oppo
site side of the street, a dragoon fired at the man, and
brought him to the ground ; which had the effect of
clearing every passage and alley in Wine-street. This
circumstance has been laid hold of as the sole cause of
the exasperation of the rioters against the 14th dra
goons ; but the real truth is, the exasperation of the
rioters against that corps, originated in the circumstance
of their having been disturbed by the 14th dragoons in
their attack upon the Council-house ; indeed there can
not exist a doubt, but that for the timely interposition
of Capt. Gage's troop, the work of pillage and of incen
diarism would have commenced with that building.
For what other possible purpose but pillage and demo
lition could an attack have been directed at that period
against the Council-house, when (as is well known,)
the cause of the excitement, on the part of the rioters,
lay in a different quarter of the city, and when the
objects of their irritation were all assembled within the
Mansion-house ? In the course of that night (Saturday)
and the day following, Lieut.-Col. Brereton, whilst in
the personal command and in the presence of the troops
(of the troop of the 3rd dragoon guards in particular)
was repeatedly observed to mix himself with the mob,
to shake hands with the rioters, to enter into other
familiarities with them, and to admit familiarities on
their part towards himself : he was moreover heard to
address the rioters, both with respect to his own mea
sures and sentiments, as well as to the conduct of the
14th dragoons, in language which no circumstances, in
which an officer commanding his Majesty's troops may
be placed, can ever justify towards a lawless and tu
multuous assembly.
" Thus was pursued a temporising system on the part
of Lieut.-Colonel Brereton towards the Bristol rioters,
which forms the serious subject of the eleventh charge ;
the sure results of which system were but too fatally
developed in the course of the following day and night,
by the uncontrolled and outrageous excesses of the
rioters, and by the disgraceful destruction of public and
u

290 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
of private property, whilst the efforts of his Majesty's
troops were paralysed by a most ruinous and distorted
principle of command. Towards two o'clock on Sun
day morning, 30th Oct., a considerable portion of the
mob had moved off, and there being every appearance
of tranquillity, the troops retired to their quarters, with
the exception of a picquet of the 3rd dragoon guards
left at the Mansion-house, and a picquet of the 14th
dragoons left at the Council-house ; which picquets were
relieved at due intervals, till between 7 or 8 o'clock in
the morning (Sunday,) when Lieut.-Colonel Brereton
ordered both picquets to return to their quarters.
" Queen-square being then left entirely without mili
tary protection, and nearly the whole of the constables
having disappeared, the mob commenced a furious
attack upon the Mansion-house ; and the Mavor and
other persons who were then within it, found it expedient
to make their escape by the roof and over the roofs of
other houses. The Riot Act was again read, the troops
were again called into Queen-square, and Lieut.-Col.
Brereton was peremptorily ordered by one of the Civil
Authorities to disperse the mob, which order he, Lieut.-
Col. Brereton, peremptorily resisted. The troop ofthe
3rd dragoon guards which had arrived first, was received
by the mob with cheers ; one troop ofthe 14th dragoons
which followed, having formed alongside the 3rd dra-
doon guards, was received by the mob with hisses and
execrations, and every opprobrious epithet, accompanied
with threats of the most diabolical character. To these
indignities was the troop of the 14th dragoons exposed
for some some time in the immediate presence of Lieut.-
Col. Brereton, whilst certain of the mob advanced up
to, and entered into familiarities with the Lieut.-Colonel.
The conduct of the mob towards the 14th dragoons
became however so outrageous, that Lieut.-Col. Brere
ton went up to Capt. Gage, who commanded the troop,
and addressed him to the following effect : — " It ap-
" pears that the whole of the disturbance at this period
" is caused by the presence ofthe 14th dragoons — you
" will be pleased, Sir, to take your troop home again
" immediately." " No sooner was the troop put in march (in column of
three,) than it was followed by the mob, hissing, abusing

APPENDIX. 291
and pelting the troop with brick-bats, stones, and other
missiles. In Prince's-street the troop was compelled to
put " threes about" and drive back the mob — but when
the troop again retired, the mob faced about, and fol
lowed as before ; and on arriving near College-green,
the troop was so severely pelted, that Capt. Gage, who,
with infinite judgment and propriety, inarched in the
real-, found it absolutely necessary to order " rear threes
— present pistols !" The mob recoiled, and some of
the inhabitants being then on their way to chureh, Capt.
Gage ordered " recover arms !" This forbearance on
the part of the troops only served to make the mob more
daring and outrageous than before ; and renewing their
attacks with redoubled fury, up to the very heels of the
horses, Capt. Gage ordered " rear threes ! — present ! —
fire !" The rear threes, having given their fire, passed
smartly to the front, and the next " rear threes" received
in like manner " present — fire."
" Six, perhaps seven shots, were fired on this occasion
— and it is believed, that one man was killed and two
or three wounded. The troop reached its quarters
without much further molestation.
" Soon after this, Lieut.-Col. Brereton being on his
way from Queen-square towards College-green, en
countered the mob which had pursued the troop of the
14th dragoons to its quarters. The rioters told their
tale, and preferred their grievance to Lieut.-Col. Brere
ton, vowing at the same time tbe most brutal vengeance
against the 14th dragoons, and threatening to destroy
the whole city unless the squadron of that regiment was
marched out of Bristol. It was with this body of
rioters and their confederates that Lieut.-Col. Brereton
thought fit to enter into terms, which compromised the
honour of his Majesty's troops, the safety of the city of
Bristol, and his own character as an officer.
" It was to gratify, or to conciliate this mob, to assuage
their thirst for the blood of the 14th dragoons, that
Lieut.-Colonel Brereton formed the fatal determination,
and gave the fatal promise to remove the squadron of
that regiment out of the city ; he receiving the slender
return of vows and protestations from a set of licentious
miscreants, that all outrage and violence should termi
nate with the departure ofthe 14th dragoons. Lieut. -
y 2

292 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Colonel Brereton most faithfully fulfilled his part of the
contract ; the Court will shortly learn how the mob per
formed their part. Lieut.-Col. Brereton proceeded from
the mob, by the way ofthe Mansion-house, to the Guild
hall, accompanied by Captain Warrington, of the 3rd
dragoon guards, to announce to the Civil Authorities
his determination to move the squadron of the 14th
dragoons from the city, and to endeavour to obtain then-
sanction to the measure. I shall leave to the evidence
which will be produced before the Court in support of
the second charge, to detail the discussion which took
place between the Civil Authorities and Lieut.-Colonel
Brereton ; merely observing in this place, that the alter
nate threats and promises of a licentious mob prevailed
over the demands and entreaties of the Municipal
Authorities. " The discussion at the Guildhall ended, Lieut.-Col.
Brereton proceeded direct to the quarters of the 14th
dragoons, in order to carry his determination into effect.
This was about noon on Sunday, the 30th Oct. The
evidence to be produced in support of that part of the
second charge will detail the orders which were given
on this occasion for the march of the squadron of the
14th dragoons to Keynsham, as well as the indecent and
disgraceful manner in which that squadron was hurried
from its quarters by Lieut.-Col. Brereton. The same
evidence will speak as to the state and condition and
efficacy of the men and horses of the 14th dragoons,
when they marched out of Bristol.
" The squadron was pursued from its quarters by a
portion of the rioters, hissing and abusing-, and pelting
the troops as before ; and it was to this circumstance
that gave rise to the report, (which the Court may re
member to have observed in some of the public prints,)
" that the 14th dragoons had been driven out of the
city of Bristol by the mob." TMs foul and atrocious
libel answered however all the purposes of the moment.
It was the signal for the commencement of the work of
demolition ! Some time after the squadron of the 14th
dragoons had left the city, or towards two o'clock,
Lieut.-Colonel Brereton was again in attendance at the
Guildhall, where several of the citizens had assembled
(at the requisition ofthe Mayor,) to consider ofthe best

APPENDIX. 293
means to restore the public peace, and prevent the fur
ther destruction of property. Some of the citizens
present in the Guildhall expressed their willingness to
act, but declined risking their lives unless supported by
the mihtary; and they impatiently demanded of the
Town Clerk why the 14th dragoons had been marched
away, and the city left defenceless on this occasion.
Mr. Sergeant Ludlow, the Town-Clerk, addressed Lieut.-
Col. Brereton, on the part and in the presence of the
Civil Authorities, demanding of Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
in their name, and in the most imperative terms, that
the squadron of the 14th dragoons should be recalled,
and the troops be immediately employed for the restora
tion of the public peaco, and to preserve the city from
destruction. The evidence to be produced in support
of the fourth charge will prove to the Court, that every
demand on the part of the Civil Authorities, for the
recall of the 14th dragoons, and for the employment of
the troops, was pertinaciously and most peremptorily
resisted by Lieut.-Col. Brereton.
" From this period, until five o'clock on the following
morning (Monday, the 31st October,) the city of Bristol
was left to the uncontrolled dominion and fury of the
rioters. The house of correction was the first object of
attack. The rioters carried it by force, and liberated
the prisoners, and by two o'clock, p.m. it was in flames,
no effort whatever having been made to prevent or to
check this daring outrage.
"Towards three o'clock, P.M. a very considerable
mob proceeded to attack the new gaol, and on this
occasion, a detachment of the 3rd dragoon guards was
ordered out, under Cornet Kelson, but before this de
tachment marched from the alarm post in College-green,
it received the most peremptory orders from Lieutenant-
Colonel Brereton, as alleged in the fifth charge, that in
any attempt to defend the gaol, the Dragoons were to
use no violence whatever against the rioters. In obe
dience to these orders from Lieut.-Col. Brereton, the
detachment of the 3rd Dragoon Guards proceeded to
the gaol. It there halted in front of the building. His
Majesty's Dragoons — I speak it with shame — his Ma-
j esty's Dragoons looked patiently on, whilst the rioters
were busily and deeply engaged in their work of demo-

294

THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

lition, the gaol gates having been already forced. The
detachment remained for a minute or two in front of the
gaol, and then turned back to Queen-square. The
rioters liberated the prisoners from the gaol, to the
number, I believe, of 150 or more, and then set fire to
the governor's house. Such were the results of the
orders given by Lieut.-Col. Brereton to Cornet Kelson,
of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, who commanded that de
tachment. The toll-houses followed the New Gaol.
They were set on fire about five o'clock. Next came
the Bridewell at Lawford's Gate, which was fired at
about half-past six, and soon after seven the flames
began to ascend from the Mansion-house ; to none of
which firings was the slightest interruption attempted.
" Between seven and eight o'clock p. m. on the same
evening (the 30th) a mob was reported to be advancing
towards the Bishop's palace. At that period, the Mayor
and two or three other of the Civil Authorities were
with Lieut.-Col. Brereton in the office of the recruiting
district, in College-green, the back of which office (as
before stated) looks upon the court of the Bishop's
Palace. " Lieut.-Col. Brereton proceeded into the said court
with a detachment of the 3rd Dragoon Guards. The
evidence to be produced in support of the 6th charge
will detail to the Court the unheard of manner in which
the Dragoons, then under the personal command of
Lieut.-Col. Brereton, were restricted from affording the
slightest assistance to the constables and others to re
press the outrages of the rioters at that most critical
period, or to secure the prisoners which had been taken
in the very act of plunder, or of outrage, within the
Palace. After remaining for some time in the court
of the Bishop's Palace, Lieut.-Col. Brereton marched
off with the detachment of the 3rd Dragoon Guards to
Queeu-square, leaving the Palace to the protection of
the constables. The mob returned with an accession of
numbers, the constables fled, and in less than half an
hour the Bishop's Palace was in flames. By the time
Lieut.-Col. Brereton arrived with the detachment of the
3rd Dragoon Guards in Queen-square, the Mansion-
house had been burning for more than an hour.
" The evidence to be produced in support of the 7th

APPENDIX. 295
charge will prove that Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, after
remaining ten minutes or a quarter of an hoiu- in the
Square, marched away with the whole of the detachment
ofthe 3rd dragoon guards, from which time, then about '
half-past nine at night, until five the following morning,
not a soldier was ordered to the Square, or the slightest
effort made on the part of his Majesty's troops to check
the disgraceful destruction of property which followed
the firing of the Mansion-house. Between ten and
eleven o'clock, P.M. Capt. Codrington, commanding the
Dodington troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, reported in
person to Lieut.-Col. Brereton the arrival of his troop
in Bristol. The evidence to be produced in support of
the eighth charge will prove that Lieut.-Col. Brereton
neglected to give any distinct or positive orders to detain
Captain Codrington's troop of Yeomanry Cavalry in the
city, or to avail himself in any way of its services for
the restoration of the public peace, and to prevent the
further destruction of property. Capt. Codrington left
College-green with his troop soon after eleven o'clock,
returning through Bristol by the way that he had
arrived. " At this awful period of Sunday night, (that is, be
tween eleven and twelve o'clock) at a time when the City
of Bristol seemed to be threatened with total destruction,
Lieut.-Col. Brereton thought fit to retire to his quarters,
and to his bed !
" Soon after midnight Lieut -Col. Brereton received
a dispatch from the Mayor, dated Sunday night, twelve
o'clock, requiring him, as commanding officer of the
troops, ' to take whatever steps he might think fit to
restore and preserve as far as possible the public peace.'
" Evidence will be produced, in support of the ninth
charge, to show that the said requisition from the Mayor
was utterly disregarded by Lieut.-Col. Brereton, who,
instead of making the slightest effort to restore the
public peace, and to prevent the further destruction of
property, remained quietly in his bed, after the delivery
to him of the said dispatch from the Mayor of Bristol,
although at that very time the whole of Bristol might
be said to be illuminated by the conflagrations which
were vomiting forth uncontrolled in different quarters
of the city !

296 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
" About half-past four o'clock on Monday morning,
the 31st of October, Lieut.-Col. Brereton was roused
from his bed by Mr. Alderman Camplin, who, in com
pany with two other gentlemen, and Capt. Warrington
of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, knocked up the Lieutenant-
Colonel at No. 2, in Unity-street, requiring that military
assistance should be dispatched as quickly as possible
to Queen-square.
" I shall leave to Mr. Alderman Camplin, and to the
two gentlemen who accompanied him, to substantiate
the tenth charge, by detailing the conversation which
took place upon that occasion between Mr. Alderman
Camplin and Lieut.-Col. Brereton.
" The greater part of the troop of the 3rd Dragoon
Guards having then turned out, Lieut.-Col. Brereton
proceeded with it to Queen-square, which he reached as
nearly as possible at five o'clock, A. M. By this time
the north and west sides of Queen-square, (save an odd
house or two, which appear to have escaped by miracle)
were either in flames or reduced to ashes, and sacking
and pillage were at their height. Indeed from the hour
of seven o'clock on Sunday evening, when the Mansion-
house was set on fire, the firing of other houses in
Queen-square had been continuous through the whole
night. The work of incendiarism had advanced in un
disturbed and systematic progression, from the east end
(where stood the Mansion-house) to the west end ofthe
north side of the Square, and from the north end to the
south end ofthe west side ofthe Square. In pursuance
of this systematic progression, therioters had commenced
firing the house at the west end of the south side, and
had attacked the house adjoining it, when Lieut.-Col.
Brereton arrived with the detachment of the 3rd Dra
goon Guards, at about five o'clock on Monday morning.
It was on this occasion that the swords of the 3rd
Dragoon Guards were first let loose; whether by a
simultaneous and a generous impulse on the part of the
Dragoons at beholding so vast and so iniquitous a de
struction of property, or whether by the implied or the
declared permission of Lieut.-Col. Brereton, I must
leave the Court to consider, according to the evidence
winch will be produced. The mob was promptly . and
repeatedly charged and dispersed by the 3rd Dragoon

APPENDIX. 297
Guards, a good many persons being cut down ; and under
the protection of the dragoons, some of the inhabi
tants were enabled to entei the end house on the south
side of the Square, which had just been fired, and after
driving out the rioters, to quench the flames. Knots
and bands of rioters and plunderers continued, however,
to lurk about Queen-square and the adjoining streets ;
and then numbers having again increased towards six
o'clock, it was thought advisable to charge and disperse
them again, which was effected, as before, in the most
prompt and decisive manner by the 3rd Dragoon Guards.
Lieut.-Col. Brereton then sent for the squadron of the
14th Dragoons from KeynSham. It reached Queen-
square about eight o'clock, where having remained
about three quarters of an hour, and every thing appear
ing quiet, the squadron returned to its former quarters
at Mr. Fisher's stables, near College-green.
" About seven o'clock on the same morning 31st Oct.
Major Beckwith, of the 14th dragoons, arrived in
Bristol with his Adjutant, having left Gloucester at
three in the morning, and having first put in march
another troop ofthe 14th dragoons from the latter place
to join the squadron at Bristol, which troop reached
the city in the course of the forenoon.
" I shall leave to Major Beckwith and to his Adjutant
to relate for the Court's information the interview held
by him with the civil authorities upon his first arrival,
the report made of his arrival to Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
and the operations of the squadron of the 14th dragoons
subsequent to his placing himself at its head.
" Suffice it in this place to say, that the squadron of
the 14th dragoons had not been long in its quarters
before reports were received of outrages and disturb
ances having again occurred in different parts of the
city. The troops were again ordered out. The rioters
were charged and dispersed wherever they were found
to assemble, and before mid-day, on the 31st, perfect
tranquillity reigned throughout the city of Bristol.
This was chiefly effected by that very squadron of the
14th dragoons, which exactly twenty-four hours before
had been pronounced by Lieut.-Col. Brereton, and re
ported by him to the Municipal Authorities assembled
in the Guildhall, to be utterly insufficient to restore the

298 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
public peace, or to offer any effectual check to the out
rages ofthe rioters, or to the deplorable and disgraceful
destruction of property which followed the removal of
that squadron from the city. The tranquillity thus re
stored was never after interrupted.
" Such is the outline whieh I venture to offer to the
Court, of the movements and the operations of the
troops, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Brereton, and
of the events, consequent thereupon, which took place
within the city of Bristol during those riots, which
rendered the three last days of October so disgracefully
memorable. " One word more, before 1 proceed to the fulfil
ment of the arduous duty that awaits me. It is not
impossible that my anxiety to discharge that duty to
the satisfaction of the King and of the service, may
occasionally betray me into some appearance of unbe
coming earnestness, both in the collection of evidence,
and in pressing it home against the prisoner. Should
this be so, I have to beseech of Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
that he will ascribe my urgency to the right cause — a
zealous devotion to the service of his Majesty, and a
deep solicitude for the honor of our common profession.
He will, I am satisfied, acquit me of any motive so
unworthy, as a feeling of hostility towards himself, as
an individual ; and he will, I doubt not, credit my entire
sincerity, when I say that there can be little but unmixed
bitterness in the discharge of a duty, which tends to
bring down punishment or dishonour upon the head of
a fellow soldier.
" It is further possible, that my want of legal know
ledge may mislead me at times into some improper
course. It may induce me to exaggerate the effect of
the evidence against the prisoner, or it may suffer me
to put questions, which are not altogether consistent
with equity, or conformable to the practice of military
tribunals. On this head, however, my anxiety is far
from overpowering. I am happily surrounded by ample
means for the protection of the prisoner, against the
consequence of any errors or inadvertencies of mine.
The Court itself is, in a certain sense, counsel for the
prisoner. His Majesty's Deputy Judge Advocate, an
officer especially selected on account of the labours

APPENDIX. 299
which he has bestowed upon the subject of military trial,
and of the credit which has attended his labours, is at
hand, to check any departure from legal correctness of
proceeding ; and the security of the prisoner against
wrong is completed by the presence of his own profes
sional adviser. It only remains for me, therefore, to
give expression to my own sincere desire, that, when
ever in the course of these proceedings, a doubtful
point may arise relative to the admission or the effect
of evidence, or any other matter, such doubt may never
be turned to the disadvantage of the party accused ; but
that, on the contrary, the decision of the Court, in all
such instances may be, invariably, in favour of the
prisoner. " I have now to submit to the Court the mode of pro
ceeding with respect to evidence. The charges being
numerous, and many of them being distinct in circum
stance and in character, it appears desirable, not less
for the sake of expedition than of perspicuity, that the
charges should be dealt with seriatim, and in rotation,
as they are severally preferred against the prisoner. I
purpose, therefore, with the approval of the Court, to
complete the evidence in support of one charge or more,
as the case may be, before another charge shall be
brought under consideration, and to announce to the
Court from time to time, when the evidence against the
named charge or charges shall have closed. In sub
mitting this, however, as a general plan of proceeding,
I do not mean to abandon the right of calling addi
tional evidence in support of any particular charge or
charges, which may appear to have been previously
disposed of, in the event of any circumstance arising in
the course of the prosecution, to render such additional
evidence essential.
" Should the mode of arranging the evidence which
is here submitted, accord with the views of the Court, I
will now proceed to the production of evidence."

300 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

EVIDENCE.
The first evidence handed in was documentary, con
sisting of eleven letters, either received by the prisoner
or written by him to the different Authorities at the
Horse Guards.
The first was a letter of the 24th October, dated from the
Horse Guards, addressed to Colonel Brereton. It announced
the arrival of three troops of dragoons at Keynsham and Clifton
to obey the commands of the Magistrates of Bristol, and direct
ed the Colonel to put himself in communication with them.
2d. A letter from Col. Brereton to the Quarter-Master-
General ofthe Forces, dated 25th Oct. acknowledging receipt,
and stating that he was in communication with the Magistrates.
3d. A copy of a letter, dated Horse Guards, 28th October,
1831, to Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, from Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
Military Secretary to Lord Hill, desiring Colonel Brereton to
report the next day if there was any disturbance of the public
peace at Bristol, and the circumstances attending such dis
turbance. 4th. A letter from Colonel Brereton, dated Bristol, 29th of
October, 1831, five o'clock, p. m., to Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
acknowledging the former letter ; and stating, that by desire of
the Magistrates he brought the troops into town ; that on the
approach of Sir Chas. Wetherell there was some hissing ; but
that the mob was not so great as might have been expected ;
that about two o'clock some stones were thrown, on a prisoner
being taken to gaol, but that no rescue was effected.
5th. Letter from prisoner of same date, half-past five o'clock
p. m., addressed lo Lord Willoughby Gordon, Quarter-Master-
General — merely a repetition of the former letter to Lord
Fitzroy Somerset.
6th- Copy of a letter from Colonel Brereton, dated Bristol
.district, Oct. 31, 1831, half-past 4, p.m., addressed to Lord
Fitzroy Somerset. It stated in continuation, that on the pre
ceding evening Sir Chas. Wetherell had left the city, which
circumstance he (Lieut.-Col. B.) had made known to the mob ;
that the riot act had been read, and that the military observed
great good temper ; that they bad been ordered to charge, but
were only to use the flat of their swords, and were not to fire
unless a great necessity existed ; that about seven o'clock the
Mayor again called for the assistance of the troops, and that
they arrived in time to save the Mansion-house from being
burned ; that the mob afterwards became furious, and the 14th
were obliged to fire, and one man was killed. That on Sunday
morning the mob again assaulted, and the 14th again fired,
killing one, and wounding three or four more; that it was

APPENDIX. 301
considered advisable to remove the 14th ; expressed fears that
the night would not pass over quietly, and that a strong mili
tary force was absolutely necessary.
7th. Letter from Col. Brereton to Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
dated Bristol, 3"lst October, 1831, stating, that after his last'
letter, the mob went to the work of devastation without the
military being able to resist, and there being in fact no sufficient
civil force. It then gave a list ofthe fires ; stated the 14th were
ordered again in ; another troop on the march from Gloucester,
and part of the Bediniuster Yeomanry, had joined ; that Capt.
Codrington's troop had come in about 12 o'clock the night
before, but not nnding a Magistrate on the spot, they had
marched back again.
8th. A letter from Col. Brereton to Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
dated Bristol, 1st Nov. 1831, with an enclosure signed " T.
Pearsall, Major-General," addressed " my dear Colonel," and
presumed to mean Lieut.-Colonel Brereton. The letter said
that the removal of the 14th light dragoons was not on his own
opinion merely. The enclosure was to the effect that he did
not hesitate to say the continuance of that small force would
have endangered the safety of the small body of troops, from
the fury of the countless thousands of the citizens, and would
also have made the loss of private property greater than it un
fortunately was.
9th. A letter from Col. Brereton, dated Bristol, Nov. 2, 1831,
to the Deputy-Adjutant-General, acknowledging the receipt of
a letter ofthe day before, and stating that he had availed himself
ofthe recruiting service, 60 in number, and 64 pensioners, who
were stationed in the ruins of the city gaol.
10th. A copy of a letter from Lord Fitzroy Somerset to Col.
Brereton,' dated Horse Guards, Oct. 1831, stating receipt of
prisoner's letters ofthe 29th and 30th of Oct., which were laid
before Lord Melbourne, who ordered an accession of force.
Lord Melbourne would not, without further evidence before
him, observe further than that the removal of two-thirds ofthe
small force at his disposal appeared highly imprudent.
11. A letter from Col. Brereton to Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
dated Bristol, Nov. 3, t 831 : it was an answer to that paragraph "
relating to Lord Melbourne's disapproval of sending away the
14th dragoons. It went to defend the line of conduct so pur
sued, stating that his situation was unenviable, as he had an in
adequate force, and no aid whatever from the Magistracy. This
letter concluded by saying, that on Monday morning the mob
were so broken and drunk that the services of the 14th could
be used with advantage ; that this corps had not been removed
without the sanction of the Magistrates ; and that he (Col. B.)
had exerted himself day and night for the public welfare.

302 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The first witness called was
Mr. Sergeant, Ludlow, Town Cleric of Bristol, who was examined
on the First Charge only.
Were you personally known to Lieut.-Col. Brereton pre
viously to the 29th of October last?  Not at all.
Were you at the Mansion-house on Saturday evening the 29th
Oct. ?  1 was there from 12 o'clock on Saturday noon, to 12
at night.
Were the troops called out, and by whom were they com
manded ?  They were called out, and I presume they were
commanded by Col. Brereton.
Was proclamation made on that occasion, as prescribed by
the Riot Act ?  1 cannot positively swear to that fact.
Did you hear or do you kuow of any order being given on
that occasion to Lieut.-Col. Brereton to disperse the mob, and
repel the tumult ; if so, please to state it ?  1 know that orders
were given to Colonel Brereton at the Mansion-house, almost
immediately after his arrival, to disperse the mob, clear the
streets, and obtain quiet as soon as possible.
In consequence ofthe orders given for this purpose, were the
rioters effectually and promptly dispersed ?  In my opinion,
not so promptly and effectually as they mightand ought to have
been. For how long a period did the riot, or tumult, or disturbance,
continue after the time Lieut.-Col. Brereton received orders to
disperse the rioters ?  At intervals it continued up to the
time I left the Mansion-house at twelve o'clock.
Be pleased to relate to the Court any further information you
may possess arising from your personal knowledge or observa
tion touching the conduct of Col. Brereton on that night with
reference to the charge now under consideration?  When
Col. Brereton and the troops came to the Mansion-house, the
people on the outside were engaged in battering in the front
door. They had battered in one of the windows on the ground
floor, and some of them had entered into the dining-room.
The immediate effect of the arrival of the troops was to remove
them from the front of the Mansion-house ; but they did not
withdraw completely, for I repeatedly noticed that the people,
having withdrawn from the streets while the soldiers were pass
ing, returned again in front of the very door of the Mansion-
house, immediately after the troops had passed. Stones were
thrown at the windows, and the tumult did not appear to
decrease. Col. B. occasionally went down stairs and returned.
He said they appeared very good-humoured, and he had no
doubt he could walk them away. Just before one of these
occasions two of the 14th were brought in wounded very
seriously. I asked the men if they thought the mob were good-
humoured. They said no. I also asked if they did not appear
increasing. They said they certainly were. I asked Colonel
Brereton whether he had any secret instructions from the War-
office that were at variance with the orders of the Magistrates.

APPENDIX. 303
I was led to ask this question in consequence of Col. Brereton's
answers. I also asked him if he had any instructions from the
Horse Guards or the Home Office. His answer was, " My
instructions are to attend to the orders of the Magistrates." I
then said, in the presence of the Mayor and several Aldermen,
" Your instructions, Col. Brereton, are to clear the streets as
soon as possible, and get the city quiet ;" or words to that effect.
Some sort of cavalry movement was made in the interior of the
Square shortly afterwards, when the people were driven from
the green part of the square into the courts of the houses on the
sides, and occasionally returned again to the front ofthe Man.
sion-house. The same sort of conduct continued as prevailed
during the early part ofthe evening. They were not effectually
dispersed. About 11 o'clock an officer of the dragoons came
into the room where we were sitting at the Mansion-house.
Col. Brereton was in the room at the time. The officer stated
the troops were receiving considerable annoyance in one ofthe
streets near the Mansion-house, the situation of which he
described. He said the lamps were put out, and the people,
when followed by the soldiers, retreated into some boats or
barges lying in the river, from which they annoyed the troops,
and where, of course, the troops could not follow. He said they
wished to fire a few ball cartridges. One of the Magistrates —
I believe Mr. Alderman Daniel — said, in the situation the boats
were described to be, there were probably a good many people
there who worked in the boats, and it would be desirable to
avoid injuring those persons. One of the gentlemen present,
a special constable, said, " Let me have 25 men, and be sup
ported by the troops ; I will undertake to dislodge the people
from the boats." This certainly would have been undertaken
had it not been for what Col. Brereton immediately said. He
said, " If you will take my advice you will let them alone. I
dare say if they are not disturbed, and it is getting late, they
will go home and go quietly to bed." Some observations were
made as to obtaining peace and quietness, when Col. Brereton
answered that " his men should patrol the streets during the
night, and he would be answerable for the peace of the city."
The officer then went away, and Col. Brereton followed shortly
afterwards. What took place subsequently I cannot say.
When you gave, on behalf of the Civil Authorities, the orders
of the Magistrates to clear the streets and disperse the mob, did
Col. Brereton in any way dispute your authority ?  Not in
the least.
Were the rioters quite dispersed from Queen-square, or were
the streets in the vicinity of Queen-square cleared at any one
period from the time when the troops arrived in Queen-square
on Saturday evening, the 29th October, up to the period of
your leaving Queen-square on that night or following morning ?
 1 should say that the square was in a great measure cleared
at the time I left, and the people retired to the streets in the
neighbourhood. I considered Col. Brereton would have kept
the peace of the city, or I should not have left.

304 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

In answer to some question by the Court,
Mr. Sergeant Ludlow said he had been frequently in com
munication with Colonel Brereton, as the official organ of
the Magistrates. Besides which, when orders were given, some
ofthe Magistrates were always present.
The Court was then adjourned.
SECOND DAY.— Tuesday, January 10th, 1832.
Cross-examination of Mr. Sergeant Lodlow.
When you asked Col. Brereton if he had any instructions to
prevent his acting under the Magistrates, did he not offer to
obey any explicit orders they might give ?  The only answer
I can give is what I stated yesterday, that Col. B. said, " My
directions are to obey the Magistrates' orders;" and in the
course of the evening Col. B. frequently said he was ready to
obey the Magistrates' orders; but at the same time he generally
or always accompanied that with discouraging the use of force.
Did not Col. Brereton repeatedly request tbe Magistrates to
give explicit orders as to the extent they required him to use
Force ?— — I think I recollect, upon some discussion taking
place about firing, the Colonel said once or twice, " If I am to
fire, I must have an explicit order."
Did not the Magistrates consult about giving any explicit
orders as to the force to be used, and avoid giving any explicit
orders?  There was from time to time conversation between
the Magistrates, myself, and Col. Brereton, with respect to the
state ofthe tumult, and the measures necessary. I am not aware
that any explicit order to fire was given in my presence in the
course of that evening. Col. Brereton was frequently informed
by the Magistrates of their desire to have the city restored to
quiet, and that they looked to him to effect that object.
[Major-General Dalbiac here said, perhaps it might save the
time of the Court to admit that late on the evening of the 29th
Oct. Lieut.-Col. Brereton received orders from the Magistrates
not to fire.]
Did not the Magistrates consult about the responsibility of
ordering more force to be used, and decline taking that respon
sibility ? ¦' I am not aware of any consultation, nor of their
having refused to take any responsibility.
Did not the rioters cease from all violence, except occa
sionally throwing stones, after the arrival ofthe military on the
29th Oct. ?  They ceased from battering the door and win
dows of the Mansion-house with pieces of timber, which they
were doing when the military arrived ; the acts of violence of
which I am enabled to speak are the breaking the windows from
time to time, and the wounding of soldiers and constables whom
I saw brought in in that state.
Re-examined by the Prosecutor.
When directions were first given to Col. Brereton to disperse
the rioters and clear the streets, was Col. Brereton restricted

APPENDIX. 305
from the use of fire-arms or the edge of the sword?  Those
which I gave or heard given were altogether without such re
striction. Did any Magistrate in the course of the evening accompany
Col. Brereton or the troops in th« streets, to direct them in the
suppression ofthe tumult?  1 have no personal knowledge of
that fact. The scene of action was close to the mansion-house
where they all were.
Had the riot act been read at the time Col. Brereton requested
authority from the Magistrates to use force ?  I^have no per
sonal knowledge of the riot act having beeii read, but I saw
some of the Magistrates go down stairs for the purpose of read
ing it before the military arrived. That part of the question
respecting the asking permission to use force I do not under
stand. Major-General Dalbiac stated to the Court, that after the
first charge had been disposed of, he meant to submit that the
2nd, 3rd, and 4th charges, though they contained distinct accu
sations, were so blended in facts, that they might be united as
to the receiving the evidence affecting them.
Charles Pinney, Esq., Mayor of Bristol, examined.
Was there a great riot and disturbance in the city of Bristol
on Saturday, the 29th Oct. ?  There was a great riot and dis
turbance iu Queen-square.
Was tbe riot act read ? If so, at what time, and by whom ?
 It was read about 5 in the afternoon by me I read it 3 or
4 times. Did you make any application to Colonel Brereton, as com
manding officer of the troops in this city, for the presence ofthe
military in aid ofthe civil power ?  1 did.
At what period did the troops arrive in Queen-square ? 
About half an hour after the riot act was read.
What was the temper and conduct of the rioters at the time
ofthe arrival of the troops ?  The windows in front of the
Mansion-house had been broken, and the people had entered
the dining-room through them ; the pannels of the door had
been forced in, and the hall had been raked with stones and
sticks; the mob were continuing the same conduct when the
troops arrived.
When the troops arrived, or very soon after, did you give, or
did other ofthe Civil Authorities give. Col. Brereton any direc
tions for dispersion of the rioters ? If so, be pleased to state
as distinctly as you can what those orders were ?  Orders
were given by Alderman Fripp to clear the Square, or disperse
the mob, or words to that effect ; and on Col. Brereton's asking
whether the troops should fire, he was told if it was necessary
to fire he must fire, or words to that effect, which I confirmed.
Upon thatparticular occasion, or at any other period through
the night, was Col. Brereton in any wise restricted by you or
other of the Civil Authorities, from the application of the edge
of the sword ?  He was not restricted by me, and I am not
aware he was restricted by any one. W

306 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Did Col. Brereton at any time on that evening or night pro
test against using actual force ? And if so, what plea did he
urge for abstaining from it ?  He did protest at one period
against using force ; I don't recollect his exact expressions, but
the general plea that he made use of was that they were a good-
humoured mob — that the troops could either ride or walk them
down, and that they were lessening in number. The Colonel
came in at one period, and to shew the good temper of the mob,
said that his arm was tired with shaking hands with the people.
He said in my presence, " The responsibility is with you," ad
dressing the Magistrates and Town Clerk — " I protest against
using force — it is unnecessary and contrary to my opinion ;" or
words to that effect.
Be pleased to relate any further information you may possess
from your own knowledge or observation touching the conduct
of Col. Brereton on that night, with reference to the charge now
under consideration ?  Col. Brereton repeatedly came in to
report respecting thepeople, and we repeatedly gave him direc
tions to clear the square. I cannot call to mind exactly the
expressions or the answers, but I recollect the conduct of Col.
Brereton occasioned the Town Clerk to ask him if he had any
instructions from Government not to act, or words to that effect.
He replied his orders were to obey the Magistrates. The Town
Clerk then said the Magistrates ordered him to clear the square
or get the streets quiet. It was on this occasion he made the
protest. I recollect some soldiers being brought in wounded,
and the Town Clerk making use of the expression " is this a
proof of the quietness and good temper ofthe mob ?" I recol
lect an officer coming iuto the room and saying the mob had
taken refuge in the market, or trading vessels, and assailed the
soldiers from thence, and they could not follow them, and asked
if he might fire into the vessels, as it would be otherwise sacri
ficing the troops. I think it was Mr. Alderman Daniel observed
there were many people on board the vessels, who would be sa
crificed, and who had nothing to do with the mob. A gentle
man present offered, with 25 constables, to go on board the
vessels and clear them if he could be supported by the troops -,
this was not done, in consequence of Col. Brereton's stating that
the mob was dispersing, and that he would patrol the streets,
and be answerable for the peace of the city. In fact, the front
ofthe mansion-house was not again attacked that night.
Were the rioters promptly and effectually dispersed by Col.
Brereton in conformity with the directions delivered to him for
that purpose ?  In my opinion they were not. I think what
was ultimately effected might have been done at an earlier
period. Did the outrage or violence of the rioters increase at any
period during the night of Saturday, after you first gave Col.
Brereton orders to put down the rioters?  In my opinion the
riot did increase.
Do you know that a charge was made by a part of the troops in
the Square against the rioters at a late period on Saturday

APPENDIX. 307
night?  1 understood there was, but I did not see it, Alder
man Savage, who was looking out of the window, told me so.
Was it reported or made known to you after the charge was
said to have been made, that certain of the rioters had taken
refuge in some ofthe adjoining alleys, whence they were offer
ing annoyance to the troops .'——It was.
[Colonel Brereton declined to cross-examine.]
By the Court.
You have stated that tbe riot act had been read before the
arrival of the troops. Was Col. Brereton informed of this ?
 1 believe he was. My impression is that I told him so ; he
must have known it, as it was the subject of conversation in the
room. Do you, as Chief Magistrate of Bristol, deem tbe increase of
riot on the evening of the 29th was owing to the want of energy
and vigor on the part of Col. Brereton, and his disobedience of
the orders of yourself and other Magistrates to use the force
under his command as you had empowered him to do ?  1
cannot tell ; but I think his conduct must have given confidence
to the mob, especially the familiarity with which he treated
them; his conduct was rather non-compliance with, than dis
obedience to, the orders ofthe Magistrates.
Did the Mayor and Magistrates at the time deem that the
couduct of Col. Brereton was more feeble and temporising than
it should have been, or did he or they consider that Col. Brere
ton declined or neglected the discharge of his duty ?  The
impression certainly was that Colonel Brereton's conduct was
feeble and temporising, which opinion called forth the question
from the Town Clerk if he had received instructions not to
obey the Magistrates. I could not account for his conduct in
any other manner. He certainly. neglected to clear the Square
as he was ordered to do, assigning as a reason that the mob were
good-humoured and dispersing.
Was there any Civil Authority in the streets with instructions
to act in concert with the troops, after Lieut.-Col. Brereton
had reported their arrival at the Mansion-house, to assist the
civil power on the 29th Oct. ?  1 knew of none in the streets ;
the Magistrates were in the Mansion-house, from whence all
orders were given. I believe Mr. Alderman Savage came up
with the troops.
Did any Magistrate leave the Mansion-house with the troops,
or with Col. Brereton, when he was ordered to clear the streets,
for the purpose of proceeding with the troops?  1 am not
aware of any.
When you gave Col. Brereton orders to clear the streets, did
you or not imply he was both to fire and lise the edge' of the
sword if necessary ; and did Col. Brereton understand such to
be your meaning?  1 certainly did imply; whatever force was
necessary it was to be used, and I believe Col. Brereton under
stood such to be my meaning.
W2

308 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

Mr. Alderman Abraham HILHOUSE examined.
Were you at the Mansion-house on Saturday evening the
29th Oct., when the military were called into Queen-square in
aid ofthe civil power?  1 went for the military and returned
to the Mansion-house with them.
Was the riot act read upon that occasion ?  1 did not hear
it read, but understood it had been read before I returned.
What was the temper and conduct ofthe rioters at the period
of your arriving with the troops ?  The rioters were exceed
ingly violent, but not so much so as they had been previously
to my return, judging from the havoc they had caused to the
Mansion-house. They fled on the approach of the troops.
Did you or any of the civil authorities in your presence give
Col. Brereton any directions for putting down the tumult? If
so, what was the nature of those directions ?  1 did not per
sonally. I heard directions repeatedly given him by the Mayor
and Town Clerk to clear the square and disperse the mob.
Were those directions promptly and effectually obeyed by
Col. Brereton ?  They were not.
Did the outrage or violence ol the rioters increase at any
period during the night of Saturday the 29th October, after
orders were first given to Col. Brereton to put down the rioters?
 It did very much increase.
At what time on Saturday night or on Sunday morning did
the mob begin to be less violent and to disperse ?  About
eleven o'clock on Saturday night.
[Col. Brereton declined to cross-examine.]
By the Court.
To what cause do you attribute the decrease of the mob at
11 o'clock at night?  1 think more vigorous measures had
been used to disperse them, in consequence of strong remon
strances from the Magistrates.
Do you recollect that a charge was made by a part of the
troops at that time ?  1 did not see that charge — I understood
tbe soldiers had charged, and had struck with the flat of their
swords. Did you go on horseback or on foot when you went for the
troops ?  On foot.
[The Prosecutor said, if he was rightly informed, there was
another cause, which the Magistrates were aware of, which led
to the dispersion ofthe mob.
The President thought it would be irregular to go into that
part of the case at present, and the Prosecutor did not press it.]
You say more vigorous measures were used. Were they used
by Col. Brereton or any other officer ?  1 do not know.
What are the more vigorous measures you allude to ?  1
heard the troops had moved about more actively.
Capt. Gage, 14th Light Dragoons, examined.
Did you command a squadron ofthe 14th Light Dragoons in
Bristol on the 29th of October .'—Yes. "

APPENDIX. 309
Was thit squadron ordered out by Col. Brereton on the
evening of that day ?  Yes.
Where did the squadron first form on parade ?  In College-
green. Did either ofthe troops receive an order from Col. Brereton
to load., and did it load accordingly?  One troop received
such order and did load.
To what part of the city did the troops proceed from the
place of assembling ?  To Queen-square.
Did you receive any orders from Col. Brereton on that occa
sion for repelling the tumult ; and if so, what was the nature
of those orders?  1 was ordered by Colonel Brereton to dis
perse the mob without drawing swords or using violence.
Did the outrages or violence of the rioters increase in Queen-
square at any period of that night after the troop first received
orders from Col. Brereton ?  Yes ; at eleven o'clock 1 was
ordered to clear the streets by force.
Were any soldiers of the 14th seriously injured by missiles
from the mob in Queen-square on Saturday night ?  Three
or four were badly cut.
Be pleased to relate any other information arising from your
personal knowledge or observation, touching the conduct of
Col. Brereton on that night, with reference to the charge now
under consideration, confining your statement at present to
what occurred in Queen-square or the adjoining streets?  '
Finding the men much pelted by stones and pieces of iron, from
boats and barges, where we could not reach the mob, I went to
the Mansion-house and asked leave of the Mayor to take a few
of the men and use their carbines to dislodge the people from
the position they had taken. He hesitated for some time, but
I think be was about to grant it, when I met Col. Brereton in
the door-way at the top of the stairs, who recommeuded that it
should not be done. I then went to the Square again, and en
deavoured to dislodge them without firing. We partly suc
ceeded, with the exception of those who got into the boats and
barges. We had by this time cleared Queeu-square and all the
adjacent streets, and I was about to go home and feed the troop,
and to be relieved by the 2nd troop ofthe squadron.
Did you receive orders between eleven and twelve that night
to proceed from Queen-square with your troop to the Council-
house ?  1 received an order from Colonel Brereton to go to
the Council-house to protect it, as the mob were breaking in.
Were you restricted upon that occasion from using any of
the weapons with which a dragoon is armed, in case the neces
sity should arise for employing force ?  No.
Was the body ofthe rioters considerable, and did their attack
upon the Council-house appear to be of a violent character
when you arrived there with your troop ?  Yes.
Were the rioters dispersed from the front of the Council-
house, by your troop?  They were immediately dispersed,
exce*pt in the alleys, where we could not get at thrin.
Be pleased to relate what occurred in the adjoining street
while you were patrolling to preserve the peace after the rioters

310 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

had been dispersed from the Council-house ?  The party with
'which I patrolled Wine-street were very much annoyed by the
mob pelting us with stone and pieces of iron from the alleys;
one alley in particular which we passed repeatedly, annoyed us
more than any other ; the mob in that alley were headed by a
man in a light coloured dress, who advanced in the streets seve
ral paces before he threw his missile of iron or stone ; the third
or fourth time he did it, I drew a pistol, levelled it at him, but
it snapped ; a soldier immediately on my left fired, and the man
fell ; after that the mob left that passage ; these occurrences
occupied till half-past twelve, when I took the party off, that
part of the town being quiet, leaving Lieut. Dawson and my
Sergeant-Major to patrol the street, with an understanding they
were to be relieved in two hours..
At what period of Saturday night or of Sunday morning did
the whole or any part of Capt. Musgrave's troop return to its
quarters ?  Part of the troop went to their quarters on Satur
day night, about twelve o'clock ; part remained near the
Mansion-house, and were relieved in two hours.
Cross-examined.
After Colonel Brereton had ordered the troops to load, did
you not proceed to Queen-square at a quick trot?  Yes.
Did you see Alderman Hilhouse accompany the troops to
Queen-square ?  No — I do not know his person.
Did not the rioters cease for a time from violence on the
arrival ofthe troops in Queen-square ?  Yes.
Was there any renewal of violence by any large body of
rioters after the arrival of the troops in Queen-square, till just
before eleven o'clock, when orders were given to clear the
streets by force ?  1 did not see any.
By the Court.
You stated that you were otdered to clear the streets by force
about eleven o'clock. Who gave you that order?  Colonel
Brereton. Was Colonel Brereton frequently in communication with
you after the arrival of the troops at the Mansion-house ?—
Yes. [In the course of this day's proceedings the names of about
thirty additional witnesses for the prisoner were put in by his
Counsel.] THIRD DAY.— Wednesday, January 11th, 1832.
The Judge Advocate stated that as it was doubtful, from the
evidence of Mr. Alderman Hilhouse, whether it was with a troop
ofthe 14th or of the 3rd Dragoon Guards that he came, it was
desirable to clear up that point, and Alderman Hilhouse was
called, who stated that he went for the military and returned
with the troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards.

APPENDIX. 311

Lieut. Wm. Jas. Daivson, Wth Dragoons, examined.
Was you on duty with Capt. Gage's troop of 14th Dragoons
in Queen-square, on Saturday uight, the 29th of October last ?
 Yes.
Was that troop detached from Queen-square in the course of
that night, to disperse a body of rioters at the Council-house ?
 Yes.
Was the body of rioters considerable, and did the attack
upon the Council-house appear to be of a violent character ?
 It was of a very violent character, but I could not tell the
number, it was so dark.
Were the rioters dispersed from the front of the Council-
house by the troop of the 14th Dragooons ?  They were.
What became ofthe rioters pr a part of them, after they were
so dispersed ?  They ran away, and disappeared in the entries
and narrow alleys.
Was that part of the troop which you had under your com
mand for the purpose of patrolling the streets, pelted by a part
of the rioters who had been so dispersed ?  They were very
much pelted. I was myself hit seven or eight times.
Cross-examined.
Was there any general riot in Queen-square after the arrival
of the troops, till the orders for clearing the streets were given ?
 1 saw none. I was not there. I came to Queen-square at
seven o'clock aud left it at ten. There was a little attempt at
the back door ofthe Mansion-house, but it was soon defeated.
Was there any general riot at Queen-square from the time
you came on duty there till ten o'clock ?  No -. but an im
mense crowd. Troop-Ser;;eanl-Major John Allen, examined.
Was you on duty with a troop of the 14th Dragoons, on
Saturday night, the 29th of October ?  Yes.
Was you ordered by Capt. Gage, between the hours of eleven
and twelve on that night to patrol the streets in the vicinity of
the Council-house ?  Yes.
Was that part ofthe troop then under your command pelted
by a part ofthe rioters dispersed from the Council-house ?
Very much.
[ Colonel Brereton declined to cross-examine.]
Thomas Garrard, Esq. Chamberlain of Bristol, examined.
Was you at the Council-house between eleven and twelve
ou Saturday night, the 29th of October last ?  1 was.
Did a body of rioters make an attack upon the Council-house
at that period ?  They did.
Were they shortly afterwards dispersed from the Council-
house by the Dragoous ?  They were.
What damage had the rioters previously done to the Council-
house ?  They had destroyed the glass of the windows and
the window frames.

312 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Is it your opinion from the nature of their attack that their
object was to break into the Council-house if they had not been
prevented ?  It certainly was their intention. We had a civil
force of about thirty-five men, which I did not think sufficient
for the protection ofthe building,
Do you know whether the rioters, after being dispersed from
the Council-house, retreated into narrow passages and alleys
in the neighbourhood, whence they pelted the Dragoons as the
latter patrolled the streets ?  They did.
Have you in your possession a piece of cut iron which was
employed by the rioters that night, with which the windows
were broken, or the troops assailed ? If so, be pleased to pro
duce it, and state how and from whom you received it ?  The
witness here produced a piece of broken iron of a conical form
(about five inches in length, and one and a half broad at the
base) and deposed, — a very serious attack was made by the
rioters; observed to one of the troop of the 14th Dragoons,
when he said " is not this too bad for men to be attacked in
this way," and gave me the piece of iron.
Were any of the men that were with you in tbe Council-
house armed ?  Yes, with slaves.
Wm. Harmar, Esq. Solicitor, examined.
Were you present near the Mansion-house during the riot on
Saturday night the 29th of October ?  1 was.
Did you see Lieut.-Col. Brereton near or among the rioters
on that evening or night ?  Yes, several times.
Did you see any behaviour, or hear any language, on the
part of Lieut.-Col. Brereton towards the rioters, or on the part
ofthe rioters towards Lieut.-Col. Brereton, which particularly
attracted your attention?  1 did.
State what it was?  1 saw him pull off his cocked hat and
wave it, and join in the cheers of the mob. I saw him shake
hands with several of the rioters who were making a noise and
shouting. A man in the crowd asked him if he was for Reform.
He answered, as well as I can recollect, " I am, as well as you,
my boys." By the Court.
Was Lieut.-Col. Brereton in a red or blue coat when you
saw him among the rioters on the evening ofthe 29th of Oct.,
during the familiarity you speak of?  1 cannot distinctly
recollect ;. but I now recognise his person.
Was the person you have described apparently in command
ofthe troop at the time ?  He was.
Wm. E. Day as, City Officer, examined.
Were you present near the Mansion-house during the riot on
Saturday night, the 29th of October ?  1 was.
Do you know Lieut.-Col, Brereton's person ?  1 do.
Did you see him near or among the rioters on that evening or
night ? If so, state about what time.  1 did see him between
eight and ten o'clock.

APPENDIX. 313
Did you see any behaviour, or hear any language, on the
part of Lieut.-Col. Brereton, towards the rioters, or on the
part ofthe rioters, towards Lieut.-Col. Brereton, which parti
cularly attracted your attention ? If so, state it.  On that
evening after considerable damage being done to the Mansion-
house, the Mayor ordered myself and another officer to shew
Colonel Brereton where to place the soldiers. The Colonel
mounted his horse a few paces from the door, aud commenced
talking to the mob, and requested them to disperse and go
quietly and peaceably home, for about ten minutes, during
which time the mob frequently cried out " the King and Re
form," and were cheering him. Once Colonel Brereton pulled
off his hat and waved it over his head as if joining iu the
cheers ! !
Sergeant-Major Edward Deane, 3rd Dragoon Guards,
examined.
Was you on duty with Capt. Warrington's troop in Queen-
square, in this city, during a riot which prevailed 'there on
Saturday 29th Oct. ?  Yes.
Did you observe Lieut.-Col. Brereton at any time during the
evening or night of 29th Oct. shake hands wilh the rioters, or
permit them to shake hands with him ?  1 observed the rioters
taking hold of his hand, and shaking it several times.
Did you see Lieut.-Col. Brereton, with his hat off, waving
it with or near the rioters, when they cheered ?  1 saw Lieut.
Col. Brereton with his cap off, waving it with the rioters when
they cheered.
Did you hear any expression or words made use of by Col.
Brereton, or by the rioters on that occasion ?  1 heard Col.
Brereton several times addressing the mob, requesting them to
go to their respective homes; if not, that he' would have to use
violence. I heard the mob sing out, " the King and Reform."
Before Capt. Warrington's troop inarched from their alarm
post in College-green that evening, was the troop ordered to
load .'  They were.
Was Colonel Brereton then present ?  He was.
Cross-examined
Had any act of violence or resistance taken place in your
presence in Queen-square, when Col. Brereton was acting in
the manner j ou stated?  Nothing more than the noise aud
cheering of the inob. By the Court.
Are you certaiu that Colonel Brereton wore a cap, and what
description of cap was it?  A blue cap with a silver band.
I never saw him with any other head-dress but once ; whicb
was with a cocked hat when the troops first came into the city.
Was it not very dark at the time you speak of ?— It was dark.
Were you near eoough to Col. Brereton to judge whether it
was against his will, or with his consent, that several of the
rioters shook his hands?  1 always supposed it was against
his will on that night.

314 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
General Dalbiac here announced that, unless any pecular
circumstance should occur to render it necessary to elucidate
some particular point, the evidence on the first charge was now
closed. He then proposed that as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th charges
were closely blended as to matter of fact, they should now be
entered upon together.
Colonel Brereton did not object to this arrangement.
SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH CHAaGES.
Chas. Pinney, Esq. Mayor of Bristol, examined.
At what the earliest period of Sunday morning the 30th Oct.
was you present at the Mansion-house?  1 was there all
Saturday night, till about 8 o'clock on Sunday morning.
Was the tumult renewed at or near the Mansion-house on
Sunday morning. If so, please to state the time and the par
ticulars thereof up to the time of your leaving it?  It was
renewed, as near as I can recollect, between 7 and 8 o'clock ;
the mob attacked the Mansion-house with stones and iron bars,
endeavouring to destroy the wooden boards which had been
nailed over the doors and windows during the night. They
were in the act of wrenching the boards away from the side
door with an irou bar, when I asked Major Mackworth whether
he thought I ought to retire ? He said, as a military man, he
thought I should retire. I had previously sent the Under-
Sheriff to collect what constables he could, and Major Mack
worth and ourselves escaped over the roof of the neighbouring
houses from the Mansiou-house.
Had the troops been entirely withdrawn from Queen-square
when the rioters made this determined attack upon the Man
sion-house ?  They had. A small picquet which remained
had been withdrawn.
Were the troops ordered out by you in consequence of this
attack on the Mansion-house?  They were; on personal
application by myself, with Alderman Hilhouse, to Colonel
Brereton. Were you at the Guildhall towards noon on Sunday 30th
October?  1 was, about 12 o'clock.
Were you present when Lieut.-Col. Brereton came to submit
to the civil authorises at tbe Guildhall, the expediency of re
moving the 14th dragoons from the city ?  1 was.
Be pleased to relate what passed between yourself and any of
the Civil Authorities, and Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, upon that
occasion, relative to such removal ofthe 14th dragoons ?  As
near as I can recollect, myself, the Town-Clerk, and some
Magistrates were together, when Colonel Brereton came to ask
permission to send the Hth out of Bristol. The Town-Clerk
strongly remonstrated against such a measure. He said, " the
Magistrates not only will not grant permission, but will not
even divide the responsibility with you." I believe at that time
Mr. Alderman Fripp strongly objected. Col.Breretou strongly
urged the necessity of their going. I think hestated, that they

APPENDIX. 315
had fired on the people, and that the people were irritated
against them, and that the men and horses were tired, and re
quired rest, or something to that effect. I believe he expressed
a wish for them to retire only about two miles from Bristol. I
recollect the Town-Clerk told him that the Magistrates would
not grant permission, but if they could not assist, they would
not embarrass the Colonel. Several places were then mentioned
by the Town-Clerk and Magistrates near Bristol for the Blues
to go to. At the same time the Town-Clerk cautioned the
Colonel not to imagine that the Magistrates, in mentioning
such places, acquiesced in the removal of the troops. After
wards Alderman Fripp said something about his (Col. Brereton)
being commander-in-chief and he must use his discretion, but
the Magistrates could not authorise the withdrawing of the
troops, or words to that effect.
Was Keynsham then named as one of the places to which it
might be desirable to remove the 14th dragoons ?  Keynsham
was not named. Col. Brereton proposed only moving them two
miles. I remember all the places named.
Were you present at a subsequent period in the afternoon of
that day, when Col. Brereton again attended at the Guildhall ?
 1 was.
Did you hear, or was you engaged in a discussion which took
place between some of the civil authorities and Lieut.-Col.
Brereton, as to the expediency of recalling the 14th from
Keynsham !  1 was.
Be pleased to state what passed upon that occasion ?  As
near as I can recollect, the Town-Clerk told the Colonel, that
tbe 14th must be brought back. The Colonel said " they
cannot," or words to that effect. The Town-Clerk peremp-
rorily demanded that the Colonel should order back the 14th.
The Colonel positively refused it; stating that it would be only
bringing the men to certain destruction ; and said " I will take
the responsibility on myself." I recollect the Town-Clerk
saying, that if no one else would report it, he himself would,
to the Horse Guards, or words to that effect. At the same
time it was mentioned by the Colonel that the horses and men
were tired. The Town Clerk asked, could not some of the
horses by degress be rested, while others were employed, or
words to that effect. He also enquired whether the men could
not act ou foot, and whether fresh horses could not be procur
ed. None of these proposals were acceded to.
By the Court.
Did you as chief Magistrate of the city, consider that the
troops assembled in Bristol under the immediate command of
Lieut.-Col. Brereton, were under your control ?  1 consider
that they were sent to assist the Civil Authoritiesof Bristol, and
were consequently under their control. I did not consider
myself the commander ofthe troops ; but that the wishes ofthe
Civil Authorities were to be conveyed through the commanding
officer.

316 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Do you consider that when the Town Clerk was issuing the
demands and orders, he was acting under your immediate autho
rity ?  1 consider he was expressing the opinions and senti
ments of the Magistrates.
Did Col. Brereton apply to you, or to your knowledge to
any of the Civil Authorities during the riots, to accompany him
with the troops to put down the mob ? — Not to my knowledge.
Mr. Sergeant Ludlow, examined.
Were you at the Guildhall towards noon on Sunday, 30th
Oct. ?  1 was there soon after eleven o'clock.
Were you present when Colonel Brereton came to submit to
the Civil Authorities at the Guildhall the expediency of remov
ing the 14th dragoons from this city ?  1 was.
Please to relate what passed in your hearing on that occa
sion ?  When Col. Brereton came in, the Mayor, several of
the Magistrates, and myself were present ; he said to the effect
that he wished to have the sanction ofthe Magistrates for the
removal ofthe 14th from the city ; 1 believe I expressed some
surprise ; and he said they had unfortunately fired on the
people, and that the mob were so exasperated against them that
their lives would be in danger if they remained ; either then,
or afterwards in the same day, on the same subject, I asked
Col. Brereton if that was a sufficient reason for a military
man to send the troops out of the city which the Government
had sent down for the protection of the inhabitants? He said
he did not know that soldiers' lives were to be sacrificed unne
cessarily more than those of other persons; and that the men
and horses were so fatigued, that they were altogether unfit- for
service ; I expressed my surprise, and that it was extraordinary
that all the horses should be unfit for action ; he said, " still it
is so ;" he wished them to be taken to some quiet quarters,
where they should refresh themselves, and become fit for action ;
I replied, the Magistrates would not take the responsibility
from him, nor even divide it with him ; if it was done at all, it
must be at his single responsibility ; either then, or in the
course ofthe discussion, an officer of the 3rd dragoon guards
came in, and supported Col. B.'s opinion, by saying that the
horses certainly required rest, without mentioning of which
regiment; that did not alter the opinion that the Magistrates
had formed, or my advice to them, which was, not to consent
to the removal ; I think Col. Brereton said, " I must send them
away, and I wish you would tell me where 1 must send them
to;" one or two places I think were mentioned; the Magis
trates were not willing to mention any place; at last I think I
said, "Col. Brereton, the Magistrates won't embarrass you if
they cannot assist you ; they don't sanction the removal at all ;
but if they are to be sent out of town, send them somewhere
near, from which they can be brought as shortly as possible,"
or words to that effect ; Redland was recommended as the best
place, not being more than two or three miles.
Was Keynsham ever named as one of the places?  1 can
not swear: not to my recollection, certainly.

APPENDIX. 317
Are you, as the Town-Clerk of the city, considered to be the
organ of communication ofthe Municipal Authorities upon all
or most official matters brought under their consideration whilst
you are present?  1 believe so. I generally communicate
their sentiments as a body when they are present.
Did Col. Brereton on any occasion duriug the riots raise any
objection to your being so considered ?  Never.
Were vou afterwards present in the afternoon of Sunday
30th Oct." when Colonel Brereton again attended in the Guild
hall ?  1 was.
Did you hear, or were you engaged in a discussion which
then took place between some of the Civil Authorities and
Lieut.-Col. Brereton, as to the expediency of recalling the 14th
dragoons ?  1 was,
Be pleased to relate what passed.  Many of the citizens
were attending in the large outer hall ; I went out from time to
time to speak to them ; an account had been brought that the
bridewell or gaol, or both, had been attacked by the mob;
they askt-d me why the soldiers were not brought up, and said
" we are willing to hazard our lives if supported by troops, but
will not act without them ;" I said the Magistrates understood
there were few troops in the city that acted ; I mentioned the
subject again to Col. Brereton publicly before the persons in
the Guildhall, representing the dreadful state the city was in ;
he must have said something about horses, as I asked him if
he could not allow the troops to act dismounted ; he said, no ;
I distinctly said to him on the part of the Magistrates and
citizens, " I demand of you to have the troops brought back ;"
I do not recollect the manner of his refusal, but I recollect
going up to him and saying, Col. Brereton, if nobody else re
presents your conduct in the proper quarter, I myself will ; at
this time the city had no protection; the citizens would not act
without the soldiers ; the soldiers were withdrawn.
By the Court.
What was the state of the city at the time of the removal of
the 14th ?  A state of very great confusion, from the power
the mob had acquired ; I consider the city was in the possession
of the mob all of a sudden.
Mr. Alderman Abraham Hilhouse, examined.
Were the troops ordered into Queen-square on Sunday, 30th
October, and at what time ?  1 ordered troops there about 9
o'clock ; I came with the 3rd dragoon guards to the Mansion-
house. Had the Mansion-house been seriously threatened about that
time by a body of rioters ?  The Mansion-house had been
barricaded during the night ; at that time the barricade had
been broken down ; the rioters had gained possession of the
lower part of the house ; had destroyed what little furniture
remained at night ; they had broken into the wine cellar, and
destroyed and carried off a great quantity of wine and furniture.
Was the riot act read on that occasion, aud by whom ? — —I
read it three times.

318 THJ» BRISTOL RIOTS.
Did you, or any other Magistrate in your presence, give
orders to Lieut.-Col. Brereton for the troops to fire on that
occasion, in order to disperse the rioters ?  1 cannot swear
that I directed Col. Brereton to give orders lo the troops to
fire ; but each time after reading the riot act I addressed the
rioters ; I entreated them to disperse, and told them that the
troops would fire ; the last time I addressed them, Col. Brere
ton came up to me; I told him the rioting must be put down,
the square must be cleared ; his answer was, " the troops can
not, and shall not fire ;" their carbines, he said, were not like
infantry muskets ; they had been up all night; the horses and
men were much fatigued, and were not equal to contending
with the mob ; he said we must keep the mob in good hum,our,
and eudeavour to get the troops rested, or the city might be
given up in the evening to plunder and slaughter ; the Colonel
complained of the infuriated feeling of the mob towards the
14th, in consequence of a man beiDg shot during the night;
shortly after he sent the 14th away.
Were you at the Guildhall towards noon on Sunday, the 30th
of October, 1831 ?  No, I was not ; I waited at the Mansion-
house till between two and three.
Were you at the Guildhall ali Sunday afternoon, the 30th of
October, 1831 ?  1 was.
Did you hear, or were you engaged in a discussion which
took place between some of the Civil Authorities and Lieut.-
Col. Brereton, as to expediency of recalling the 14th Dragoons?
If so, please to state what passed.  1 did hear the discussion
which took place ; the Town Clerk directed Colonel Brereton
immediately to bring back the 14th Dragoons ; the Colonel said
he would not; he said upon his own responsibility he refused
to bring them back, feeling assured that if they were brought
back, there would not be a man of them alive the next morning ;
the Town Clerk again ordered them to be brought back ; and
upon his again refusing, said, if no one else reports your con
duct to Government, I will.
Had any of the public buildings been attacked, or broken
into, or threatened at the time the Civil Authorities demanded
the recall of the 14th Dragoons ? Or was there any tumult
then in the city ?  Several public buildings had been broken
into ; the Mansion-house, the Bridewell, and the New Gaol
Cross-examined.
When the rioters were in Queen-square on Sunday morning,
the 30th, did not Colonel Brereton, in the presence of Robert
Marshall, request you to give orders to fire, and did you not
refuse to give such orders ?  1 never heard any such request ;
nor did I refuse to give orders to fire.
Was not the Bedminster troop of Yeomanry in Bristol during
the whole of Sunday, the 30th, with the Magistrates knowledge ?
And was that fact ever communicated, as far as you know, to
Colonel Brereton ?  1 never knew they were in Bristol.

APPENDIX. 319
Sergeant Deans examined on the Second Charge.
Was a troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards ordered into Queen-
square on Sunday morning, the 30th of October ? And if so,
about what time ?  Yes, between nine and ten o'clock in the
morning. When the troop arrived in Queen-square, was it cheered by
the rioters?  1 did not bear them cheer the troop; I heard
them sing out " the King and Reform."
FOURTH DAY.— Thursday, January 12th, 1832.
Sergeant E. Deane's examination resumed.
Did you hear the rioters cheer at all ?  Several times.
Did Lieut.-Col. Brereton join in or acknowledge the cheer
ofthe rioters?  1 did not hear him say anythiug, but I saw
him wave his cap several times.
Did any of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, who happened to be
near Lieut.-Col. Brereton, follow the example set by him as
their commanding officer ?  Yes.
Did you see Lieut.-Col. Brereton shake hands with the rioters,
or the rioters shake hands with him, upon that occasion ?  1
saw the rioters take hold of his hand, and shake it, as it hung
down by his side. Cross-exa mined.
Was there any rioting in Queen-square on Sunday the 30th,
after the arrival of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, until the arrival
of the 14th Dragoons ?  1 saw none, except hooting and
shouting. By the Court.
What time elapsed between the arrival of tbe 3rd Dragoon
Guards and the 14th .'  About a quarter of an hour.
Was there a great mob in Queen-square on Sunday morning ?
 There was.
Had the 3rd Dragoon Guards their swords drawn on this oc
casion, and did they wave their swords on cheering?  They
had not.
How then did they follow the example of the Lieut.-Colonel ?
 They took their helmets off, and waved them.
Cornet Chas. Kelson, 3rd Dragoon Guards, examined on the
2nd Charge only.
Was the troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, and one of the
14th Dragoons, in Queen-square on Sunday morning, the 30th
of October, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Brereton ? 
They were.
Was the body of rioters there assembled very considerable ?
 It was.
Did the troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards arrive before or
after the 14th ?  Before.
Did the mob cheer upon the arrival of the 3rd Dragoon
Guards in Queen-square ?  No.

320 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Did they cheer soon after the arrival of the 3rd Dragoon
Guards, and before the arrival of the 14th Dragoons ?  About
half an hour after the arrival of the 3rd ; and before the arrival
ofthe 14th.
Was that cheering acknowledged by Lieut.-Col. Brereton ;
and if so, state in what manner ?— I did not perceive that it was.
Did Lieut.-Col. Brereton take off his cap or hat and wave it
upon that occasion?  1 did not perceive that he did.
When the troop of the 14th arrived in Queen-square, what
reception did it meet with from the rioters?  Hooting and
hissing. Did you observe the rioters pelt the 14th dragoons with glass
bottles, or other missiles, on that occasion ?  No.
Did you hear any threats, or terms of execration, then used
by the rioters against the 14th; if so, state the terms employ
ed ?  1 did. " Take away the bloody blues."
Cross- examined.
Was any Magistrate present in Queen-square with the troops
on Sunday morning the 30th, about ten o'clock ?  None,
that I knew. By the Court.
Were you with the troop of the 3rd dragoon guards the
whole time they were in the Square the morning ot the 30th ?
 No.
Did you hear the 3rd dragoon guards cheer, or did you see
them take off and wave their helmets ? — —I did not hear them
cheer, but I saw them take off their helmets.
Sergeant-Major Martin, 3rd Dragoon Guards, examined
on the second charge only.
Were you on duty with a troop ofthe 3rd dragoon guards in
Queen-square on Sunday morning the 30lh Oct.?  1 was.
When the troop arrived in Queen-square, did the mob cheer?
 Not immediately, but very shortly after.
Did Lieut.-Col. Brereton in any way acknowledge those
cheers; if so, in what manner ?  1 did not see him acknow
ledge those cheers till after the withdrawal of the 14th.
In what manner ?  He raised his cap from his head ; I saw
several of the mob take him by the hand.
Did he then wave his cap to the rioters ?  Yes.
Did any ofthe 3rd dragoon guards who were near Lieut.-Col.
Brereton do the same ?  1 did not see them.
Did the rioters make use of any particular expressions when
they cheered ; if so, state them ?  They called out repeatedly
" red jackets for ever, down with the bloody blues."
Did Lieut.-Col. Breretou attach himself more immediately
to the 3rd dragoon guards, or take that troop more under his
personal command than the 14th, during the 29th and 30th
Oct. ?  1 consider that he did.
[Lieut.-Col. Brereton declined to cross-examine.]

APPENDIX. 321
Wm. Harmar, Esq. Solicitor, examined on the 2nd charge.
Were you in College-green about 11 o'clock on Sunday
morning, 30th Oct. ?  Yes.
Did you see a crowd in or about the Green at that lime ?
 Yes.
Was Lieut.-Col. Brereton near or amongst that crowd ?  1
saw him entering on horseback, and several boys and men fol
lowing him.
Did you hear any conversation between him and the mob
which particularly attracted your notice? if so, state the nature
of it ? — —The mob were using very cross expressions towards
the blues, as " down with the bloody blues — murder the blues;"
I heard several such remarks ; cannot recollect all the expres
sions; I was about 10 yards from Lieut.-Col. Brereton ; 1 think
he said, " I am going to send them out of town."
Did you shortly afterwards see Lieut.-Colonel Brereton in
Queen-square ?  1 did.
Did you on that occasion hear Lieut.-Col. Brereton make use
of any language to the mob which particularly attracted your
attention; if so, state it?  The mob were exulting about
the 14th dragoons; he said " I have sent them out of town,"
and the mob cheered.
Did Lieut.-Col. Brereton in any way acknowledge the cheer
ing of the mob ? Not that I recollect.
[Lieut.-Col. Brereton declined to cross-examine.]
Capt. Gage, l&tk Dragoons, examined on 2d and 3d charges.
Was a troop of the 14th dragoons ordered into Queen-square
under your command, on Sunday morning, 30th Oct., and at
what hour ?  Yes, about 10 o'clock.
Was the body of rioters very considerable when you arrived ?
 Yes.
What reception did the 14th dragoons meet with from the
rioters on that occasion ?  Groans and hisses, and cries of
" pull them off their horses."
Were the 14th dragoons threatened and pelted, as well as
hissed and abused ?  They were pelted immediately after we
moved from the Square ; we were threatened and abused as
long as we remained in the Square, but not pelted.
Did Lieut.-Col. Brereton sometime afterwards order the 14th
to leave the Square, and return to their quarters ; if so, state in
what terms the order was conveyed ?  Lieut.-Col. Brereton
ordered me to retire immediately with the troop to their quar
ters, as it was evident we were the whole and sole cause of the
disturbance that was then taking place.
Please to state what was the conduct of the rioters, and what
the consequences of their conduct during the march of the 14th
Dragoons from Queen-square to their stables ?  Immediately
on leaviugthe Square they closed in upon our rear, and pelted
us with stones and pieces of iron ; I twice faced the men about,
and charged the mob ; they retreated into the houses and pelted
us ; we formed up, and again commenced our retreat, and were

322 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
again pelted as before ; we charged a third time ; at that hour
in the morning, all the houses being opened, it was easy for
them to retire to places where we could not touch them ; in
consequence, I faced three men about on the rear guard ; the
men were ordered to present their pistols, but not to fire ; I
remained in the rear of the troop myself, and observed that at
first it had the effect of dispersing them ; but on arriving at St.
Augustine's church, they closed in upon the three men that I
had faced about, and I ordered them to fire in self-defence ;
they did fire ; we continued our retreat in that way, covered
with the skirmishers we had thrown out, to our quarters.
Were you ordered by Lieut.-Col. Brereton to leave Bristol
with a squadron of the 14th Dragoons on Sunday, the 30th of
October ; if so, at what hour ?— — I was ordered by Lieut.-Col.
Brereton to leave Bristol on Sunday, as I imagine, between one
and two o'clock.
State the manner and place in which that order was conveyed,
and every thing which passed between Lieut.-Col. Brereton and
you on that occasion ?  1 received the order, verbally, from
Lieut.-Col. Brereton in the yard of Fisher's livery stables : the
words were, " Capt Gage, march your squadron immediately
out of Bristol ; if you do not, the whole squadron will be mur
dered ;" at that moment my own horse and about seven privates
were at Leigh's livery stables, about fifty yards from Fisher's ;
some delay ensued from my having to send for them ; and Lieut.-
Col. Brereton came to me a second time, and said, " for God's
sake, Capt. Gage, will you get out of town ?" I asked him
where we were to go ; he answered " any where you please,
only go away ;" some man in the crowd (I believe an ostler in
the yard) proposed that the troop should be sent to Keynsham ;
Lieut.-Col. Brereton said " Keynsham will do ; now, Capt.
Gage, march your squadron off at a trot;" I moved offatatrot,
and we were again much pelted by the mob ; a man and horse
in the rear of the squadron fell ; the mob immediately attempted
to rush upon bim on the ground ; we faced a party in the rear
to protect this man, and I think I heard two or three shots fired ;
am not positive how many ; we rescued the man, and were no
more molested, but continued our march to Keynsham.
Did Lieut.-Col. Brereton on Sunday morning, the 30th of
October, prior to the march of tbe squadron of the 14th Dra
goons from Bristol, make any enquiry, or call for any report
from you, as to the state and efficiency ofthe men and horses ?
 None whatever on Sunday morning.
In what state, as to the freshness and efficiency for duty, were
the men and horses at tbe time the squadron marched out of
Bristol )— — -I conceive the squadron was capable of performing
any duty cavalry could be called upon to perform.
Do you consider the construction of Fisher's livery stables
lo be such as to have enabled you and your squadron to have
defended the stables against any attack of the rioters?  1
conceive that six men, three at each gateway, could hold it
against any mob.

APPENDIX. 323

Cross-examined.
When Lieut.-Col. Brereton ordered you to remove the 14th
Dragoons as you have stated, did he not order you to remove
them to Brislington ; and as there was but one public-house
there, if you did not get accommodation there, to push on to
Keynsham ? And did he not at the time direct you the road to
Brislington?  1 do not reeollect Lieut.-Col. Brereton order
ing me to Brislington ; but several people belonging to the
yard named different places.
When Lieut.-Col. Brereton ordered you to remove the 14th
as you have stated, did he not order you to keep the horses sad
dled, and to be ready to be recalled as soon as there should be
a re-inforcement ?  Lieut.-Col. Brereton ordered me to keep
the squadron in readiness ; but I am not aware that anything
was said about a re-inforcement of troops.
Was not General Pearson in company with Lieut.-Colonel
Brereton at Fisher's livery stables, at the time when you removed
the 14th Dragoons; and did not General Pearson accompany
you towards Brislington ?  General Pearson was present when
we left the yard, and accompanied the squadron to the Hotwells
as far as a turning which led to his own house at Clifton. There
he left us saying he would go home, wishing us success, or luck,
or words to that effect; and said he should very likely come
out to see us at Keynsham either that evening or the next
morning. On the arrival of the 14th from Queen-square at their stables
on Sunday morning the 30th, did not Lieut.-Colonel Brereton
send to you a sergeant for a report of the reason of firing ? 
Just before I arrived at the stables, a soldier overtook me, and
asked me what the firing was about ? I do not recollect that he
said he came from Lieut. Colonel Brereton. I told him I had
been attacked in the streets, and fired in self-defence. I have
said I do not recollect that he told me he came from Lieut-Col.
Brereton, but the impression on my mind is, that he did.
Re-examined.
Did you not proceed with the squadron of 14th dragoons
from College-green to Keynsham by a circuitous route, and
really with the orders from Lieut.-Col. Brereton to do so ? 
I am not aware that the route was a circuitous one ; but a more
private road than going through the town was pointed out by
Colonel Brereton.
Wm. Gregory, Esq. Attorney, examined on 2nd and 4th
Charges. — second charge.
Was you in Queen-square in the forenoon of Sunday 30th
October, and was there a considerable mob there assembled ?
 Yes.
Was Lieut.-Col. Brereton present?  Not when I was- first
in the Square, but he came soon after.
Did you hear any conversation between Lieut.-Col. Brereton
and the mob on that occasion ; if so, state it ?  After the
troop of the 14th arrived, the mob became very clamorous,
X2

324 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
upon which I saw Lieut.-Col. Brereton go inside the rails on
the gravel walk of the Square, and the mob began to cheer him
and take hold of his hand. He then addressed them, and said
if the soldiers of the 14th were obnoxious to them, he would
send them away, or words to that effect.
Did you observe any particular conduct on the part of the
rioters towards the 14th dragoons, or on the part of the 14th
dragoons towards the rioters; if so, state it ?  Before Lieut.-
Col. Brereton went to the mob as I have before stated, I saw
one of tbe rioters, standing near a tree opposite where I was,
throw part of a glass bottle at the last man but threeof the 14lh;
upon which the soldier immediately drew his pistol, (I believe
the officer interfered) but he did not fire.
ON THE FOURTH CHARGE.
Was you present in the Guildhall on the afternoon of that
day, when there was a discussion between some of the civil
authorities and Lieut.-CoI. Brereton as to the expediency of
immediately recalling the 14th dragoons into this city ? — I was.
Did you hear any of the municipal authorities address Lieut.-
Col. Brereton on that subject; if so, mention in what terms?
 1 did ; I heard the Town-Clerk say to Lieut.-Col. Breie-
ton, " Col. Brereton we must send for the 14th ;" the Lieut.-
Col. said something I did not distinctly hear ; the Town-Clerk
immediately said, " Lieut.-Col. Brereton I demand that you
immediately send for the 14th ;" the Lieut.-Colonel replied,
" I will not, sir."
[Lieut.-Col. Brereton declined to cross-examine.]
By the Court.
Did Lieut.-Col. Brereton in your hearing express any doubt
as to the authority ofthe Town-Clerk to give him (Lieut.-Col.
Brereton) the directions of the Mayor and Magistrates as to
sending for the 14th ?  Certainly not.
Corporal Wm. Smith, 3rd Dragoon Guards, examined on
Second Charge.
Was you with a troop of 3rd dragoon guards on duty in Queen-
square, on Sunday morning, 30th Oct. ? — Yes,
Did you observe Lieut.-Col. Brereton at any time on that
morning in Queen-square, go up to and address the rioters ?
 Yes.
State the conversations between Lieut.-Col Brereton and the
rioters on that occasion, which you heard ? — Lieut.-Colonel
Brereton rode into the Square, took off his cap, and addressed
the mob, " for God's sake, my good fellows, go home ;" an
answer was made, " we will not go till the 14th is removed ;" he
answered, " if I send the 14th out of town, will you disperse ?"
the mob returned, yes, they would, and began huzzaing for the
King and Reform ; Lieut.-Col. Brereton returned to the 14th,
and shortly afterward they went, threes left, aud marched off.
[Lieut.-Col. Brereton declined to cross-examine.]

APPENDIX. 325
Mr. John Fisher, Repository, examined on 2d and 3d Charges.
Was the greater part of a squadron of the 14th dragoons
stationed in your repository on Sunday, 30th Oct. 1831 ? — Yes.
Did you hear Lieut.-Col. Brereton, about noon on that day,
give orders for the march ofthe 14th dragoons from Bristol ; if
so, state in what manner these orders were given ; and any con
versation which took place at that time between Lieut.-Col.
Brereton and the officers of 14th ?  Lieut.-Col. Brereton
came into the yard? Capt. Musgrave was present ; Lieut.-Col.
Brereton said the 14th must leave town ; Capt. Musgrave asked
Lieut.-Col. Brereton what for ? Lieut.-Col. Brereton said it
was through killing that unfortunate man at the top of the
Pithay, in Wine-street ; Lieut.-Col. Brereton said again the
14th must leave town ; Capt. Musgrave asked by whose orders ?
he said by the orders of the Mayor and Magistrates ; in the
mean time Capt. Gage came ; Capt. Musgrave said to Captain
Gage the 14th must leave the town ; I then asked Lieut -Col.
Brereton, Capt. Musgrave, and Capt. Gage, to walk up into
my counting-house; Lieut.-Col. Brereton told Capt. Gage the
14th must leave the town ; Capt. Gage said " what are we to
leave the town for ?" Lieut.-Col. Brereton repeated, " for
killing that unfortunate man at the top of the Pithay," Capt.
Gage asked " who is to give me orders for the 14th to leave the
town ?" Lieut.-Col. Brereton said, " I will ;" Capt. Gage then
asked where he was to go ? the Lieut.-Colonel said they were
to leave the town by way of Gloucester-house, to go to Bris
lington ; if they could not get in at Brislington, to go on to
Keynsham ; I gave Lieut.-Col. Brereton a piece of paper to
write an order for Capt.-Gage ; Lieut.-Col. Brereton wrote
something (I do not know what)* on tbe paper, and ordered me
to get on a horse and shew them the way ; I did not do so.
How far is Keynsham from Bristol by the direct road, and
how far by the Hotwells ?  Five miles by the direct road,
about six by the Hotwells.
Please to state, as briefly as you can, the construction of your
range of stables, and ride, and the number of horses ofthe 14th
Dragoons contained therein on Sunday, the 30th of October ?
 Our ride is about forty-eight yards long, stables on both
the right aud left.
How many horses of the 14th Dragoons were contained there
in ?  We have stalls for forty-three ; but there from fifty to
sixty horses ot the 14th Dragoons between eight and nine in the
morning. Are there folding doors at each end ofthe side, which close on
the inside, and are secure unless forced from without ?  Yes.
[A conversation here took place as to putting a question to
the witness, which terminated in the President announcing,
" the prisoner admits that the squadron was fit for any duty. J
For what reason had you sent your horses out of the stables
at the time when Lieut.-Col. Brereton ordered the 14th Dra
goons to leave the town ?  Alderman Daniel and Under-
Sheriff Hare called on Saturday, wishing me to make all the
room I could for the soldiers.

326 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Capt. C. Musgrave, examined on 2nd Charge.
Was you present at Fisher's stables on Sunday, the 30th of
October, when Lieut.-Col. Brereton ordered the squadron of
the 14th Dragoons to leave Bristol ?  1 was.
State what passed between Lieut.-Col. Brereton and Captain
Gage, or yourself, on that occasion ?  Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
about eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, came to Fisher's
stables, and required to see Capt. Gage, saying Capt. Gage's
squadron must instantly leave Bristol ; Capt. Gage came in,
having left part of his troop in the stables; Lieut.-Col. Brereton
told Capt. Gage he must leave Bristol as quickly as possible,
and not lose a moment, as the safety of the city depended on
their going.
Was the squadron followed from Fisher's stable by the mob,
and was it hissed and abused by them ?  Yes.
Did this happen in sight of Lieut.-Col. Brereton ?  1 did
not see him.
Is there sufficient space in the ride for the number of Dra
goons that were in Fisher's yard to form up when mounted ?
 Hardly room for sixty mounted men.
[Lieut.-Col. Brereton declined cross-examining.]
Mr. John Johnson, glass-maker, examined on 2nd Charge only.
Were you present in Queen-square on Sunday morning the
30th of October; and if so, were you in a situation to have a
good view of what was going on ?  Yes ; on the top of the
Custom-house. Were any of tbe troops there ; and if so, was Lieut.-Colonel
Brereton with them ?  Yes ; the 3rd Dragoons nearly opposite
the Mansion-house, and the 14th nearly opposite the Custom
house. I saw Lieut.-Col. Brereton pass and repass several
times. State any particulars that you saw of the conduct of Lieut.-
Col. Brereton or of the rioters, until you left the Square ? 
I saw some thousands of persons, and tbe rioters who were
nearest to me I saw insult the 14th repeatedly with stones and
sticks. I saw one of the rioters nearly knock one of the 14th
off his horse. The 14th were hissed and hooted in every direc
tion until they were taken out of the Square. I saw Lieut.-
Col. Brereton pass and repass continually, and take off his hat
and huzza to the mob, who were running after him, taking hold
of bis hand, &c. He pulled off his hat, and made his obeisance
to the lowest of the low.
[Lieut.-Col. Brereton declined cross-examining.]
Capt. John Cook, Gloucester Militia, examined on 4th Charge.
Were you present in the Guildhall on the afternoon of Sun
day, the 30th of October, when there was a discussion between
some of the Civil Authorities and Lieut.-Col. Brereton, as to
the expediency of immediately recalling the 14th Dragoons
into the city ? — —I was in the Guildhall about three o'clock,
Lieut.-Col. Brereton arrived a few minutes after. Mr. Ludlow

APPENDIX. 327
had been speaking to the people assembled, but immediately
addressed himself to Lieut.-Col. Brereton, and asked if he was
aware of the state in which the city theu was ; and that the
prisoners had been released from the Bridewell, which was then
burning, and the rioters, he believed, were then proceeding to
the City Gaol ; and he asked if they were not to have the assist
ance of the troops. I think Lieut.-Col. Brereton said they
were jaded and unfit for service, and as the mob was irritated
against them their lives would be in danger. Mr. Ludlow said,
" is that a soldier's reason for keeping them away ? I demand
the return of the 14th from Keynsham ; and I certainly shall
feel it my duty to report this, if it is not done by any one else,
in the proper quarter." I do not remember any reply. There
was a general exclamation in the hall, that they were lost with
out the support of soldiers.
[Lieut.-Col. Brereton declined cross-examining.]
General Sir C. Dalbiac here announced, that the evidence
on the second, third, and fourth charges was closed ; and as the
substance ofthe former part of the fifth charge was conveyed in
the evidence already heard, he should now proceed to the latter
part of the fifth charge. FIFTH CHARGE  LATTER PART.
Cornet C. Kelson, 3rd Dragoon Guards, examined.
Were yon ordered with a detachment of 3rd dragoon guards
to proceed to the new gaol on Sunday, 30th Oct. ; if so, state
as precisely as you can, the time when you marched from Col
lege-green for that purpose ?  1 was ordered so to do ; the
detachment marched from College-green at nearly half-past 3.
In marching through College-green, did you see Lieut.-Col«
Brereton ; and if so, state particularly any orders you received
from him on that occasion ?  1 saw Lieut.-Col. Brereton, and
was ordered by him to go to the gaol ; I asked him what I was
to do when 1 got there ? he replied that he could give me no
orders to act ; he could find no Magistrate to give him orders ;
I was on no account to use any violence ; but to go there and
return. What numbers did your force consist of when you marched
through College-green ; and what numbers when you arrived
before the gaol ?  Eleven men when I passed through College-
green ; twenty when I arrived at the Gaol.
State every thing which you did with the detachment, and
every thing that came under your observation with respect to
the rioters, from the period of your arrival in front of the Gaol
until your return to College-green ?  On my arrival at the
Gaol I saw an immense mob collected ; I marched the men to
the Gaol door, and saw a great number of people inside the gaol ;
they were knocking some things to pieces ; I put my men threes
about, and took them back to College-green.
Did you, on your return to College-green, report your arrival
to Lieut.-Col. Brereton in person ; if so, state every thing that

328 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

passed between you and him when you reported your return ? —
I reported my arrival to Lieut.-Col. Brereton in person ; he
asked me what I had done at the Gaol ; I said I had done what
he told me — nothing (laughter); he told me that he heard that
I had shot four men there ; I replied that I had done nothing of
the sort ; he told me I had acted perfectly right.
' As precisely as you possibly can, state the hour of your so
reporting your return to Lieut.-Col. Brereton ?  About four
or a quarter past.. Cross-examined.
Did you not tell Lieut.-Col. Brereton, on your return from
the Gaol, on the 30th of October, that you found ten thousand
rioters there, and could do nothing against them, and you could
not find any Magistrate or Civil Authority there ?  1 recol
lect telling Lieut.-Col. Brereton that I saw an immense mob at
the Gaol, (but I cannot specify number) destroying it, and that
I had done nothing to check them ; I do not recollect saying
anything about Magistrates.
The Court was then adjourned.

SUICIDE OF LIEUT.-COL. BRERETON.
The investigation was Drought to an abrupt termina
tion, by Lieut.-Col. Brereton committing self-destruction.
After the proceedings of Thursday, Colonel Brereton
dined with some friends at Reeve's Hotel, College-place,
whence he drove home in his gig to his residence on
Lawrence-hill, about a mile from Bristol, about eleven
o'clock. He had, during the evening, been labouring
under a distracted state of mind, which indeed was to
be expected, from the grave nature of the charges on
which he had been brought to trial. After reaching
home, he sat up until about three in the morning, when
he retired to his bed-room. It had been his invariable
custom, the last thing before going to bed, to kiss his
little daughters, his only children, (one three, the other
six years of age) who had slept with his housekeeper
ever since the decease of Mrs. Brereton. The house
keeper, in consequence, never went to bed until the
Colonel had paid the usual parental visit to his children.
On Friday morning, however, Colonel Brereton did not
go into the children's room, and the housekeeper, shortly
after he had entered his own apartment, heard the report

APPENDIX. 329
of a pistol. She immediately went into her master's
room, and found him extended on his bed, and quite
dead ! He had shot himself through the heart with a
pistol, which he had put to his side with his left hand !
The hand which had committed the fatal deed remained
in nearly the position it must have taken to fire ; the
right hand was lying by his side ; he had taken off his
coat, waistcoat and boots, and this circumstance seems
to indicate that the fit of mental agony and distraction
which prompted him to commit suicide was very sudden,
and instantly acted upon.

THE COURT-MARTIAL.
The Court met on Friday morning at the usual hour,
and evidence having been given that the Prisoner was
dead, Sir Chas. Dalbiac addressed a few sentences
to the Court, in the course of which he said, " If the
intelligence of the tragical event which has just oc
curred has caused pain to this honourable Court, how
much more deeply must it have afflicted the individual
who has had to sustain the arduous task of being the
prosecutor of Lieut.-Colonel Brereton ! I rise, gentle
men, under feelings of greater embarrassment than I
ever experienced in the whole course of my life. I have,
however, one consolation, and that is indeed a great
one. 1 declared to you in my opening address, that I
entered this Court without the slightest tinge of personal
prejudice towards the prisoner, and I now repeat that
assertion, as I would before my God. I knew him not,
nor did I even know his person, until the 17th of Nov.
last, when I was ordered to preside in this room over a
Court of Enquiry, appointed to investigate the causes of
the Bristol Riots. I was sent here at the suit — I may
say the command — of my King, whose commission I
have the honor to bear, as the Prosecutor of Lieut.-Col.
Brereton ; and if it had been my duty to appear in'a
similar manner against my personal friend or my brother
officer, I should have pursued the same course as I have
adopted towards the unfortunate prisoner who is now
no more."

330 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The President observed, he was expressing the
conviction ofthe Court when he said that the manner in
which Sir Charles Dalbiac had conducted the prosecu
tion was most honourable to him, and that no proceeding
could have been accompanied with less of acrimony or
personal hostility.
The Court was then cleared, and an Officer was after
wards dispatched to the Commander-in-Chief, with
information of the event which had put a stop to the
proceedings.

APPENDIX. 331
COURT-MARTIAL ON CAPT. WARRINGTON,
Of the 3rd Dragoon 6fuards.

The sudden death of Lieut.-Colonel Brereton having
interrupted the investigation into the conduct of the
Mihtary during the Riots, the Commander-in-Chief
directed a Court-Martial to he held on Capt. Warrington,
who was in command of a troop of the 3rd Dragoon
Guards on that important occasion.
The Court was composed of the same Officers as on
the trial of Colonel Brereton, and was held at the same
place. Major-General Sir Charles Dalbiac was
again the Prosecutor. The proceedings commenced
on Tuesday the 17th Jan. when the following Charges
were exhibited against the Prisoner : —
I. — That he, Captain Warrington, being on the night of
Sunday, the 30th of October, 1831, in the personal command of
a troop of the 3rd regiment of dragoon guards in the city of
Bristol, at a time when that city was the scene of most out
rageous and alarming riots, — insomuch that the said troop had
been repeatedly called out by order of the Magistrates to quell
the rioters, and at a time when several public and other build
ings in the said city had been fired by the rioters, some whereof
were already consumed, and others were still in flames ; and at
a time when by reason of the circumstances aforesaid, it was
peculiarly necessary that the said troop, being then the only
military force in Bristol, should act in the most prompt and
effectual manner for the protection of the city, and that he,
Captain Warrington, as the commander of the same, should
use every exertion for that purpose, subject to the orders of
Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, who then held the chief military com
mand in the city ; and when it therefore behoved the said Capt.
Warrington to forward instantly and without delay to the said
Lieut.-Brereton, every requisition that might be made, or intel
ligence that might be conveyed to him, Captain Warrington, or
to the quarters of the said troop, calling for the services of the
said troop in the city, or shewing the same to be necessary ;
nevertheless he, Captain Warrington, being, between eleven
and twelve o'clock on the said Sunday night, applied to at the
said quarters, where he was in command, by Mr. Thomas
Kington, a merchant in Bristol, and informed by him, as the
fact was, that the rioters were about to fire the Custom-house of
Bristol, and that the presence and services of the troop were

332 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
urgently and immediately required in Queen-square, where the
Custom-house then stood, in order to save that building, or to
that effect, did not only refuse to order out the said troop, or
any part thereof, or to take any step for the purpose so stated,
but used no means of conveying the information so received by
him, or the purport thereof, to the said Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
or of obtaining from the said Lieut.-Col. Brereton any orders
applicable to the occasion : the said Capt. Warrington thereby,
as far as in him lay, leaving the said Custom-house at the mercy
of tbe rioters, by whom in fact the same was shortly afterwards
set on fire and totally destroyed.
II. — For that afterwards, that is on Monday morning, the 31st
Oct., 1831, he, Capt. Warrington, being, as before, in the per
sonal command of the said troop of tne 3rd dragoon guards,
then the only military force in Bristol, and when the riots were
raging in that city with increased and destructive violence, a
letter being, about half-past three o'clock on the said morning,
delivered to, and left with, the said Capt. Warrington at the
quarters of the said troop, where he was then in command,
which letter was from C. Pinney, Esq., the Mayor of Bristol,
and was addressed to Lieut.-Col.Brereton, or the Officer " com
manding his Majesty's troops." — [The letter was here recited.]
— And he, Capt. Warrington, having then read the said letter,
and it being thereupon his bounden duty either to act on the
said letter without delay, or if his orders did not allow of his
so doing, then in that case immediately to transmit the said
letter or to communicate tbe contents or purport thereof to
the said Lieut.-Col.Brereton; nevertheless he, Captain War
rington, neither acted on the said letter as aforesaid, nor trans
mitted or communicated the same, or the contents or purport
thereof to Lieut.-Col. Brereton, but on the contrary retained
such letter in his possession, without taking any step whatever
in reference to, or in consequence of, the same, until some time
afterwards, when he was applied to by a Magistrate in person ;
by reason of which conduct on the part of him, Capt. Warring
ton, the said troop remained inactive in its quarters for upwards
of an hour after his receiving the said letter; during which
interval of time the rioters being left without opposition or con
trol, sacked and fired several houses, and destroyed a great
amount of other property.
III.— For that during the said 30th and 31st of October, 1831,
while the said rioters were perpetrating acts of gross and in
creasing outrage in the city of Bristol, so that the said city for
many successive hours appeared in imminent danger of destruc
tion, at periods when it was peculiarly important that the said
troop of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, being then the only military
force in the- city, should be commanded and directed in the
most efficient manner, for the protection of the city under every
emergency that might arise, and when for that purpose it was
necessary that the said Capt. Warrington, he being the only
commissioned officer in Bristol with the said troop, excepting a
young Cornet of not more than sixteen months' service in the

APPENDIX. 333
army, should constantly remain at or within immediate call of
the quarters ofthe said troop, while the troop continued there,
in order to superintend and direct any movement required of it,
and that in case of the troop or any detachment thereof being
ordered out to meet and put down the rioters, he, Captain
Warrington, should himself accompany and command the same,
and that he, Capt. Warrington, should at every moment be
ready and on the alert for the performance of the said services :
nevertheless he, Capt. Warrington, greatly neglected or violated
his duty in the said several respects, and especially in the fol
lowing instances : —
1st. — In that he, the said Capt. Warrington, at or about
four o'clock in the afternoon ofthe said 30th of Oct., when
a detachment of the said troop, consisting of two-thirds, or
thereabouts, of the disposable part thereof, was ordered
out to the city gaol, which was then attacked and threaten
ed with destruction by the rioters, permitted such detach
ment to march to that service under the sole command of
the said Cornet — he, the said Capt. Warrington, meanwhile
remaining inactive in quarters.
2dly. — In that the said Capt. Warrington did afterwards,
in the course of the said 30th of Oct., the troop having
been in its quarters, altogether absent himself from the
said quarters, and from the neighbourhood thereof; and
remained absent from the same for a very considerable time,
during which time, namely, at or about eight o'clock in
the evening, a detachment of the troop, consisting of nearly
the whole ofthe disposable part thereof, being called out
to protect the palace of the Bishop of Bristol from a vio
lent attack made thereon by the rioters — such detachment
proceeded to the said palace under the command of one
troop officer only, being the young Cornet before men
tioned. 3dly. — In that he, Capt. Warrington, having returned to
the said quarters, during tbe absence ofthe detachment on
the said service, he in place of thereupon proceeding to join
the same, or of waiting its return, did, before the return
ofthe detachment to quarters, which was about 10 o'clock
tbe same evening, retire to his bed.
Lastly. — In that he, Capt. Warrington, between four aud
and five o'clock in the morning of the sai d 31st of October,
when a detachment of the troop, consisting of about two-
thirds ofthe disposable part thereof, was again called out
to stop the progress of the rioters in destroying the build
ings in Queen-square, did again permit the said detachment
to proceed on such service, under the sole command ofthe
said young Cornet, while he, the said Captain, himself re
mained in quarters.
Such conduct as aforesaid, on the part ofthe said Captain
Warrington, evincing a want ofthe vigour and activity requisite
in the situation in which he was placed, being highly unbecom
ing and disgraceful to his character as an officer, and calculated
to bring dishonour on his Majesty's service.

334 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
The President, Sir Henry Fane, expressed his
readiness to afford every possible accommodation to
Capt. Warrington, and requested to know when he
would he ready to meet the Charges. Capt. Warring
ton named the 25th, when, he trusted, he should be
enabled to bring forward evidence to justify his conduct,
notwithstanding the melancholy event of the death of
Lieutenant-Colonel Brereton, which had deprived him
of the principal evidence in his favour.
Second Day — Wednesday, Jan. 25, 1832.
The Court having met this day pursuant to adjourn
ment, the Charges were then read over seriatim to
Captain Warrington, who pleaded to each Not Guilty.
Sir Charles Dalbiac then rose, and in a manner
evincing, when he had occasion to allude to the
unhappy termination of the previous Court Martial on
Colonel Brereton, considerable feeling and emotion,
delivered the following address : —
" Mr. President, and the Members of this Honorable
Court, — It is with feelings of an afflictive nature that I
present myself for the second time before a General
Court Martial in the character of a public prosecutor.
I appear at the suit of the King, to conduct the pro
secution in the trial of Capt. Warrington, the prisoner at
your bar. I say it is with feelings of an afflictive nature
that I find myself once more engaged in this most
invidious hne of duty ; nor is there, I am persuaded,
a single member of the Court who will affirm that this
expression is too strong for the occasion. The office
which I have to sustain is attended, at all times, and
under any circumstances, with infinite pain and embar
rassment. What then must it be when carried on, as
it were, under the very shadow of that awful catastrophe,
with which all who now hear me, scarcely less than the
Prosecutor in this trial, have been so recently and so
painfully affected ? What must it be, when every step
we take, every witness we examine, every fact we touch
upon, may, peradventure, call up the remembrance of
events, which, as connected with the proceedings of a
former Court, every generous heart would willingly

APPENDIX. 335
consign to oblivion ? And yet under these overwhelm
ing recollections, my duty calls upon me to proceed
right onward. I must tread the very same ground
which is stamped with images of sadness ; I must inevit
ably revert, at times, to those very proceedings which
have been brought to so calamitous and so tragical a
termination, I need hardly add, however, that my own
feelings will irresistibly prompt me, throughout this
trial, to spare the Court, the public, and myself, but
especially those who through friendship or consangui
nity, are more intimately concerned, the pain of any
reference to a general Court Martial recently held within
this Hall, whenever the course of our proceedings will,
by possibility, enable me to abstain from it.
" But I wall dwell no longer on the emotions which
oppress me, under this renewed demand upon my
exertions, well assured that they must be fully under
stood by every member of the present Court. I will
address myself at once to the task which hes before me,
forming as it does a series of painful but unavoidable
duties, closely connected with each other. The nature
of this connexion, with respect to the present case, will
be best understood from a brief detail of the circum
stances which have led to the trial of Capt. Warrington,
as well as to my being commanded to conduct the pro
secution ; which circumstances I will accordingly submit
for the information of the Court.
" Gen. Lord Hill had commanded a Court of Enquiry
to assemble at Bristol, on the 17th November, to inves
tigate the conduct of the Officer who held the command
of the troops, during the unfortunate occurrences which
took place in this city on the 29th, 30th, and 31st Oct. ;
which Court was composed of the following Officers : —
Persident : Major-General Sir C. Dalbiac ; Members :
Col. Sir E. Miles, 89th regiment ; Col. Ferguson, 52d
Light Infantry; Lieut.-Col. Lord Loughborough, 9th
Lancers ; Major Walcot, Royal Horse Artillery.
" Capt. Warrington's Troop of the 3rd Dragoon
Guards had formed a part of the force which was placed
at the disposal of the Municipal Authorities of Bristol,
upon the occasion above referred to, Capt. Warrington
being himself in command of the troop ; his evidence,
therefore, was deemed essential to the investigation, to

336 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
which the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry had been
directed — and he was accordingly instructed to repair
to Bristol, to attend the Court, when it assembled in
this Hall on the 17th of November.
" Previous, however, to the examination of Captain
Warrington, the Court was in possession of other evi
dence, touching the events of the last three days of Oct.,
which appeared (in the Court's opinion) to reflect, in a
serious manner, upon the conduct of Captain Warring
ton ; and the Court came to the decision, that it was
out of their power to receive his evidence ; lest, in many
very important points, upon which that evidence had
been deemed essential, his replies to questions, to be
put by the Court, might implicate his own conduct. A
minute to that effect was entered upon the proceedings.
Captain Warrington was required to attend in Court ;
the minute which had been entered upon the proceed
ings was read to him, and he was informed of the cir
cumstances which had led to the Court's decision. Capt.
Warrington very properly addressed a communication
on the subject, to the Commanding Officer of his
regiment, and, with equal propriety, submitted to the
Adjutant-General, for the consideration of General
Lord Hill, a request that his conduct might undergo
investigation. This request of Captain Warrington ac
companied a report, explanatory of the circumstances,
which (as President of the Court of Inquiry) I forwarded
to the Adjutant-General, to be laid before the General
Commanding in Chief.
" An investigation, however, before a Court of In
quiry, could afford no further information, relative to
Capt. Warrington's case, than what had already been
recorded in the proceedings of the Court then sitting.
The General Commanding in Chief directed, therefore,
that Capt. Warrington's case should be submitted to the
decision of a General Court Martial.
" Such are the circumstances under which Captain
Warrington has now to answer before you, to the
charges which have been preferred against him. With
respect to the general character of those charges, the
collective judgment of this Court will form a far more
correct estimate than any I could presume to submit.
" It is also unnecessary that I should go into any

APPENDIX. 337
detail of the circumstances upon which each particular
charge is grounded. There is no lengthened chain of
incidents to unite — no intricate thread of events to un
ravel. Conviction upon each charge may be said to
rest, for the most part, upon the mere proof of certain
alleged and distinct facts : according to the completion
of which proof, or otherwise, the Com't will have to
pronounce. " There are two or three points, however, which bear
upon the charges generally, to which it may be as well
to allude at the present moment, although they will be
brought out separately in the course of the evidence to
be produced.
" I wish the Court to bear in mind that the quarters
of Capt. Warrington's troop, during the Bristol Riots,
were at Leigh's Bazaar — Capt. Warrington's own quar
ters being nearly contiguous thereto, at Reeve's Hotel.
From these quarters the Bishop's Palace, the Recruit
ing Office in College-green, and No. 2, in Unity-street,
(in which the Officer then commanding in Bristol re
sided) are severally distant about 200 yards. Berkeley-
square (whence the Mayor dispatched a letter to the
Officer commanding His Majesty's troops, at three
o'clock in the morning of the 31st of October) is distant
from the said quarters about 350 or 400 yards, and
Queen-square (in which stood the Custom-house, and
where the great destruction of property took place)
about half a mile, a trifle more or less.
" It is necessary I should remind the Court, that a
portion of the testimony to be produced will relate to
facts and circumstances which occurred during a period
of extreme disorder and alarm. Some discrepancies in
that testimony, as far as relates to questions of time, and
certain other subordinate matters, must consequently be
expected ; but I do not apprehend any difficulty what
ever in reconciling these slight disagreements, as to
every essential point.
" I have also to express my desire, and in so doing I
beg to be understood as speaking with the most perfect
sincerity, that whenever in the course of these proceed
ings, a doubtful point may arise, whether as to the ad
mission or effect of evidence, or any other matter
whatever, such doubt may never be turned to the dis-
Y

338 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
advantage ofthe party accused, but that, on the contrary,
the decision of the Court, in all such instances, may
invariably be in favour of the prisoner.
" Having thus submitted to the Court the circum
stances which have brought the prisoner before them,
as well as a few observations with respect to the evidence
to be produced, I have to solicit the attention of the
Court to a few words respecting my own personal
acquaintance with Capt. Warrington, and my own per
sonal feelings towards him. My acquaintance, indeed,
is one of no long standing, or of close intimacy. We
were brought together by a single occasion of profes
sional duty ; which was the only opportunity ever afford
ed me of acquiring any knowledge of the prisoner, prior
to the assembly of the Court of Enquiry in this Hall on
the 17th of November last. It will, therefore, hardly
be suspected that I can be under the influence of any
deep or overpowering solicitude concerning Captain
Warrington as an individual; and yet, in truth, I should
be conscious of something little short of downright
hypocrisy, were I to affirm that my own feelings on this
occasion are absolutely neutral. Captain Warrington
belongs to that particular branch of our military ser
vice, to which I have been devoted through a long
professional life of almost forty years ; Captain War
rington is attached to that particular portion of the
British army over which, hy the most gracious favour
and confidence of His Majesty, I hold a proud, a dis
tinguished, a comprehensive superintendence, as the
Inspecting General of the Cavalry of Great Britain. I
may, therefore, with strict propriety, regard Captain
Warrington as an officer under my own immediate
command. Furthermore, Capt. Warrington belongs
to that particular regiment, which was brigaded with
my own corps, the 4th Dragoons, when I had the good
fortune, for the first time in my life, to draw my sword
against the common enemy of Europe, in the field of
Talavera, under the auspices of that gallant General
who presides over this Court. Now, there cannot
BE A MEMBER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT BUT
MUST HAVE FELT THE MAGIC OF THAT SYMPATHY
WHICH BINDS THOSE CORPS AVHICH HAVE FOUGHT
AND CONQUERED TOGETHER, AS IT WERE, IN A

APPENDIX. 339
BOND OF SACRED BROTHERHOOD. I Would fain
appeal, therefore, to the gallant General — I would
fain appeal to the gallant Officers who compose this
Court — is it likely, is it natural, is it possible, that I
should look with indifference towards the issue of an
investigation which involves the honour of that dis
tinguished corps, or of any individual belonging to it ?
Honestly and distinctly do I declare, that my own per
sonal inclination is in favor of the prisoner at your bar.
" In making this frank avowal, however, it cannot
surely be needful that I should employ many words to
protect myself against perversion or misconstruction.
It will not for a moment, I trust, be suspected that my
regard for the honor of a distinguished corps, or of any
individual attached to it, will cause me to halt in the
straight, though rugged, path of duty.
" If I openly confess that feehngs of solicitude for
the prisoner are lurking in my own breast, what is this
confession but a pubhc pledge to guard myself against
their secret influence, with the most jealous vigilance ?
What is it, but to call down upon my own proceedings
the most watchful and rigorous control on the part of
those who are to pronounce judgment between the King
and the prisoner ? What is it, but to invite the strict
attention of the service at large, to every step I take in
this trial ? What is it, but to bring to the severest test,
the sincerity and the truth of my own professions, when
1 declare, that my duty to my Sovereign is paramount
to all other interests and feelings ?
" I have said that the honor of this corps is dear and
valuable to me. But in saying this, do I not bind
myself in the most solemn form, to preserve that honour,
unsuspected and unsullied; and to bring down the
weighty arm of justice on all whose conduct may have
fixed a stain upon it ? And, in adverting to the high
and honourable post to which the gracious favor of my
King has raised me, what have I done but proclaim the
exceeding weight of my own responsibility ? I should
be a traitor to the noble service thus entrusted to my
superintendence, if every feeling and every faculty of
mine were not ardently engaged in the preservation of
its welfare and efficiency — and of its welfare and
EFFICIENCY ITS HONOR IS THE VERY LIFE AND
Y2

340 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
SOUL. In committing to my charge the interior eco
nomy and discipline of the British Cavalry, his Majesty
has, in a most especial manner, constituted me one of
the guardians of its reputation ; in which (far
MORE EMINENTLY THAN ITS NUMBERS OR ITS SUB
ORDINATE DETAILS) LIES THE REAL SECRET OF ITS
GLORY AND ITS FORCE.
" In conformity with these views of my duty, I feel
myself compelled to declare that (whatever may be my
personal prepossessions in favour ofthe prisoner) I shall
have to press him home with evidence, which, if not
most effectually repelled, must bring down punishment
and dishonour on his head. I must not shrink from
proclaiming, that unless the materials in my possession
turn out deceitful indeed, his conduct during the recent
calamitous disorders must be pronounced utterly inde
fensible. What the resources are, on which the prisoner
may rely for his vindication, I have no means whatever
to anticipate. I can, therefore, only declare that I shall
deeply rejoice if my apprehensions on his behalf should,
upon investigation, appear to be unfounded. It will be
no mean relief to my mind, if he should succeed in
bringing forward facts or circumstances that can mate
rially extenuate the accusation which has been preferred
against him ; and my gratification will be great indeed,
should he be able to turn the accusation altogether aside,
and to come forth from this conflict with an honourable
and a complete acquittal.
" I have now only to submit, for the approval of the
Court, no less for the sake of expedition than of perspi
cuity, that each charge shall be dealt with separately,
and in rotation as preferred against the prisoner. I
purpose, therefore, to complete the evidence in support
of one charge, before another charge shall be brought
under consideration, and to announce to the Court when
the evidence in support of each named charge shall have
closed. Should this mode of arranging the evidence on
the part of the prosecution accord with the views of the
Court, I will now proceed to call evidence in support of
the first charge."
The President signified the acquiescence of the
Court to the mode of proceeding suggested by the Pro
secutor. The following witnesses were then called and
examined : —

appendix. 341
Sergeanl-Major Martin, 3rd Dragoon Guards.
Were you on duty with Capt. Warrington's troop ofthe 3rd
Dragoon Guards iu Bristol, on the 30th and 31st of October
last ?  1 was.
What officers were then present with the troop, and who com
manded them f  The troop was under the immediate command
of Capt. Warrington ; Cornet Kelson commanded tbein.
What number of non-commissioned offieers and men were
mounted and effective with the troop in Bristol .'  Thirty-
three men and horses.
Where were the quarters of the troop and where the quarters
of the officers during those two days ; and were tbe officers'
quarters contiguous to those ofthe troop ? The quarters of
the troop were at Leigh's Bazaar ; the quarters of the officers
at Reeve's Hotel ; they were contiguous to each other.
Was Capt. Warrington's troop, or were detachments of that
troop, called out repeatedly in the course of Sunday, the 30th
of October to quell the riots ?  Yes.
At what hour did the detachment of the troop which had
been ou duty that night at the Bishop's Palace and at the Man
sion-house, return to its quarters ?  1 cannot say precisely,
but to the bestof my knowledge it was about nine o'clock.
At about what hour did the troop next turn out mounted —
where did it first form on parade — and by whom was it com
manded ?  The troop next turned out about twelve o'clock
that night, formed on the road leading to Leigh's Bazaar, and
was commanded by Capt. Warrington.
Did the whole troop then turn out — what duty did it perform
.—and when did it return to its quarters ?  The whole of that
part ofthe troop then in quarters turned out, marched down to
the fiont of Reeve's Hotel, halted a few moments, and then
returned to quarters.
Without reference to a patrole of four men sent to the Guild
hall, upon what occasion did the troop or a part of it next turn
out, mounted on duty ?  About two-thirds of the troop turned
out about four in the morning.
For what duty did it turn out ?  To quell a riot then exist
ing in Queen-square.
Was any non-commissioned officer or man sent by Captain
Warrington or by Cornet Kelson, to yout knowledge, to look
for the officer commanding the troops, between the hours of
half-past ten on Sunday night, the 30th of October, and half-
past four ou the morning ofthe 31st?  No.
[Capt. Warringtou declined to cross-examine.]
Cornet Kelson, 3rd Dragoon Guards, examined.
Were you in command of a detachment of Capt. Warrington's
troop between eight and ten on Sunday night, the 30th of
October ?  1 was.
State as nearly as you can at what hour that detachment re
turned to its quarters at the Horse-Bazaar ?  About half-past
nine or a quarter before ten.

342 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
At about what hour did the troop next turn out mounted,
where did it first form on parade, and who commanded it ? 
The troop next turned out about a quarter before eleven, form
ed in front of Reeve's Hotel, and Captain Warrington com
manded it.
What duty did it perform, and when did it return to its
quarters ?  It remained in front of Reeve's Hotel a few mi
nutes, and then filed into us stables.
Upon what occasion did the troop or part of it next turn out
mounted for duty, not adverting to a Corporal and four men
sent to the Guildhall ?  Part of the troop turned out mounted
for duty about four o'clock on Monday morning to proceed to
Queen-square. Are you certain it was no later than four o'clock when the
troop so turned out to proceed to Queen-square .'——To the
best of my knowledge that was about the time.
Cross-examined by Capt. Warrington.
Were you not ordered first to go to College-green, where you
would meet a Magistrate to accompany you ?  1 was.
Did any Magistrate meet or accompany you when you got
there ?  None.
By whose orders did you go from College-green to Queen-
square ?  -I went from College-green to Queen-square under
the personal command of Col. Brereton.
Sir C. Dalbiac submitted that this referred to the third
charge only.
The President observed that the evidence previously adduced
did not seem to affect the pith of the first charge.
Sir C. Dalbiac had no objection to the course pursued by
Capt. Warrington, but it was necessary for form's sake to esta
blish the fact of riots existing in Bristol. His only object was
the connection of the evidence as it affected the respective
charges. The evidence already adduced was as to the last duty
performed by the troop on Sunday night ; he had not yet
touched on the duty performed on Sunday morning.
By the Court.
You say you went from College-green to Queen-square under
the personal command of Col. Brereton. By whose orders did
you go Irom Leigh's bazaar to College-green ?•  By order of
Capt. Warrington,
Wat was the hour at which you were ordered to College-
green to meet a Magistrate ?  Shortly after 4 in the morning.
T. Kington, Esq. merchant, examined.
Did you in the course of Sunday night, the 30th Oct. apply
to any military person for the assistance of the troops ?  1
applied to Capt. Warrington at the Horse Bazaar, on Sunday
night, between ten and half-past ten, for the assistance of bis
troop ; I represented to him the state of Queen-square, and
earnestly requested him to bring his troop down to the Square
for the purpose of saving the Custom-house from the flames. I

APPENDIX. 343
found Capt. Warrington mounted, with the greater part if not
the whole of his troop. His reply to my application was, " I
should be most happy and willing to go, but I cannot march
my troop without the order of Col. Brereton." I have some
indistinct recollection of Capt. Warrington having s-iid some
thing about a magistrate. I then asked him if the particular
circumstances ofthe case would not justify a departure from
general rules, and whether he would not accede to my request.
Hisreply was, " I cannot move without the orders of Colonel
Brereton." My next question was, " where is Col. Brereton
to be'fouud?" He replied, " I cannot tell," or words to that
effect. Was your calculation as to the time you have speeified made
shortly after the Bristol Riots, or only within the last few days ?
 Only within the few last days.
Did Capt. Warrington in consequence of your application,
send any soldier with you to endeavour to find the officer com
manding in Bristol ?  He did not.
At what hour did you return to Queen-square ?  1 think it
must have been shortly before eleven.
Was the Custom-house set on fire and totally destroyed after
you applied to Capt.Warrington for the assistance ofthe troops ?
 It was. Cross-examined.
Are you satisfied, from the information you have received
within the last few days, as to the time at which you called on
Capt. Warrington for assistance on Sunday evening, and the
circumstance brought to your mind, that it is correct ?  The
information is the result of minute inquiry, aud I believe it to
be correct.
Do you recollect whether Capt. Warrington asked you if you
were a Magistrate ?  1 think he did.
What answer did you give!  My recollection, as I have
stated before, is very indistinct on this part of the business. No
doubt I answered his question ; and I must have told him I was
not a City Magistrate.
Did not Capt. Warrington appear most anxious for orders to
turn out?  1 think he did.
Did Capt. Warrington show a willingness to act, if he had
orders?  Undoubtedly he did.
By the Court.
Had you any official authority connected with your applica
tion for military aid, or did you apply as an individual i 
I applied as an individual.
Did Capt. Warrrington distinctly refuse to move with his
troop, or did he merely excuse himself on the ground of await
ing the orders of Col. Brereton ?  1 can only repeat that he
said he should not move without the express order of Colonel
Brereton, or something to that effect
Do you remember whether Capt. Warrington said he could
not or should not?  1 think 1 should be correct in stating
that Capt. Warrington said could not.

314 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

Richard Stevens examined.

Did you meet Mr. Thomas Kington on Sunday night, the
30th of October during the riots in Bristol; if so, state at about
what hour ?  1 met him at about half-past ten.
Did you accompany him any where to look for the troops ;
if so, state to what place ?  1 did, to College-green, to the
Bishop's palace, and to the Boar's Head yard.
Was the troop of the 3d dragoon guards mounted, and where
was it formed, when you reached the Boar's Head yard .'-^—
They were mounted, and formed in the street in front of the
yard. Relate the conversation which passed in your hearing between
Mr. Kington and the officer who commanded the troop ?  ¦
Mr. Kington informed the Captain of the situation of Queen-
square, and also that the rioters were then near the Custom
house ; Mr. Kington informed the Captain the services of the
troop were requisite ; the Captain said he could not go without
orders from the Colonel or a Magistrate.
Did Capt. Warrington send any soldier with Mr. Kington or
you, to endeavour to find the officer commanding in Bristol ?
— No. (The witness was not cross-examined.)
Lieut. Francis, of the Recruiting Staff, examined.
Did you, between ten o'clock on Sunday night, the 30th of
Oct. and half-past four on Monday morning the 31st, receive,
either at the Recruiting-Office, or at your own quarters in
Unity-street, any dispatch, letter, or message, from any officer
or other person of the 3d dragoon guards for the officer com
manding in Bristol ?  1 did not.
Was the troop of the 3d dragoon guards, or were part of that
troop, called out repeatedly on Sunday the 30th Oct. to quell
the riots ?  They were ; and I went myself about eight at
night to call for the troop for the protection of the palace.
Cross-examined.
Where were you at ten o'clock on the night of Sunday the
30th of October ?  1 was at the office, or out reconnoitring.
[How do you know that no dispatch was received at the office
between ten on Sunday night and half-past four on Sunday
morning ?
Sir C. Dalbiac said the question put to the witness in the
examination in chief was, whether Ae received any dispatch.]
Could Col. Brereton have received any dispatch on that night
between the hours stated, without your knowledge ?— — He
might. Was not the office in College-green considered to be the
public office for receiving all communications for Col.Brereton ;
and was it not kept open for that purpose the whole of Sunday
night and Monday morning ?  It was.
Were not the Magistrates aware of this circumstance .'  1
do not know, but I consider they were.
Were not the Magistrates in thehabit of sending messages
to the District Office during the riots ?  They were.

APPENDIX. 345
When you say that you were sent, about half-past eight on
Sunday mgut, for some of the 3rd dragoon guards, was your
order for a detachment or for the whole troop, aud was the
order in writing ?  It was a verbal order for the troop to
come to the protection of the palace.
Did you not generally receive verbal orders from Colonel
Brereton during the riots ?  1 did.
By the Court.
Did you convey any orders from the late Commanding Officer
of Bristol to Capt. Warrington, not to move from his quarters
without orders having been sent or given to Capt. Warrington ?
I do not recollect conveying such orders, nor am 1 aware of
any such being given.
Did you see Capt. Warrington at the head of his troop at
any time during the evening or night of the 30th Oct. ?  1
don't secollect seeing him at the head of his troop.
Did you see the troop either on parade or in action during
that night?  1 saw them under the command of Cornet
Kelson almost immediately after they had received the order
to march to the palace.
Was Col. Brereton with the party on this occasion ?  He
was. Serge ant- Maj or W. M1LeOd examined,
Were you in attendance at the Recruiting-Office during any
period between half-past ten on the night of Sunday the 30th
Oct. and half-past four on the morning of the 31st ?  1 was
in attendance from eleven at night till half-past two in the
morning. Sergeants Dinidge and Platts were present, except
for a short period, when they went to Col. Brereton's quarters
about billets.
While you and Sergeant Platts were in attendance at the
Recruiting-Office, did any dispatch, letter, or message come
from any officer or other person ofthe 3rd dragoon guards, for
the officer commanding the troops in Bristol ?  None to ray
knowledge. What Sergeant did you find at the Recruiting-Office when
you arrived there at eleven o'clock .'  Sergeant Dinidge.
When you left the office at half-past two iu the morning who
accompanied you, and what Sergeant did you leave at the Re
cruiting office ?  Sergeant Platts accompanied me, and I left
Sergeant Dinidge at the office.
Were you at the Recruiting Office, at the time the Doding
ton troop of Yeomanry Cavalry reported its arrival to the
Officer commanding in Bristol, on the night of Sunday, the
30th of October ?  1 was.
At what time was the arrival of the Dodington troop so
reported ?  The troop arrived in front of the office about
eleven o'clock.
The President objected to the question next proposed, as
affecting the conduct of Colonel Brereton and the Officer com
manding the Dodington troop, as he did not see what this had
to do wilh Captain Warrington.

346 THJt BRISTOL RIOTS.
Sir C. Dalbiac said he had not the slightest wish to reflect
on the conduct of Col. Brereton, or the Captain of the Dod
ington troop. The accusation laid in one part of the charge
was a refusal to order out the troop, and that Capt. Warrington
used no means to obtain orders from Col. Brereton. If, there
fore, he (Sir Charles) had it in his power to show that Colonel
Brereton was for three quarters of an hour within 200 yards of
Leigh's Bazaar, the question would arise, did Capt. W. use
those means to find the commanding officer which he ought .
The Court was then cleared to consider the question proposed
by the Prosecutor. On the re-opening of the Court, the Pre
sident said the evidence proposed would tend to negative that
part ofthe first charge which said the 3rd dragoon guards was
the only military force in Bristol. The Court suggested another
mode of putting the question.
Sir C. Dalbiac consented, and said his object might have
been arrived at in a much more judicious manner than he had
put it. Sergeant-Major M'LeOd, re-called.
Do you know that the Officer commanding the troops in
Bristol was in and out and about the Recruiting Office and Col
lege-green, for half an hour or thereabouts, on matters of duty,
from the time of your reaching the office about 11 o'clock on
Sunday night?  Col. Brereton was not in the office, but he
was in and about College-green for about half an hour.
Was not a part of the said time so occupied by the Officer
commanding in Bristol employed immediately iu front of the
Recruiting Office ?  Yes, a small portion of it.
Cross-examined.
Was the Officer, commanding the troops, when in and about
the Recruiting Office, in plain clothes or in uniform?  In
uniform. Did any person in plain clothes call at the recruiting office
between II at night and half-past 2 in the morning, to enquire
for Col. Brereton ; and if so, how many ?  There were a good
many ; I can't say how many.
Staff-Sergeant Platts examined.
Were you in attendance at the Recruiting Office during any
pait ofthe period between 9 o'clock on Sunday night, the 30th
Oct. and half-past 4 on Monday morning, the 31st; if so, state
with whom and during how much of that time ?  1 was at the
office, with Sergeant-Major M'Leod and Sergeant Dinidge for
the principal part of the time until half-past 2, but I occasionally
left the office.
Upon what occasion did you leave the office during the afore
said period, and what Serjeant did you leave in attendance at
the office ?  1 left the office on the first occasion to take re
freshment, leaving behind me Sergeant Dinidge ; on the second
occasion between 12 and 1, I went with Sergeant Dinidge with
a letter and a blank precept for Col. Brereton ; I left Sergeant-
Major M'Leod at the office.

APPENDIX. 347
When you left the office finally at half-past 2 Monday morn
ing, 31st Oct., what Sergeant did you leave in attendance ? 
Sergeant Dinidge.
When you aud Sergeant-Major M'Leod were in attendance
at the Recruiting-Office, did any dispatch, letter, or message,
come from any officer or other person of the 3rd dragoon guards
for the officer commanding the troops in Bristol ?  Not that
I am aware of. Staff-Sergeant Dinidge, examined.
Were you in attendance at the Recruiting-Offiee at any period
between nine o'clock on Sunday evening the 30th Oct., and
half-past four on Monday morning the 31st?  1 was, from
about nine in the evening till about half-past two, at different
periods, and from half-past two till nine in the morning 1 was
constantly there.
During the whole of that period were you in attendance at
those times when Sergeant-Major M'Leod, or Sergeant Platts,
or both of them, were absent ?  1 was not. I was frequently
sent out by Col. Brereton on messages, and there might not be
either of those persons left in the office.
Did you ever leave the office during the aforesaid period
without leaving either Sergeant M'Leod or Sergeant Platts at
the office ?  Not to my knowledge.
THIRD DAY— Thursday, Jan. 28.
Sergeant Dinidge's examination resumed.
While you were in attendance at tbe Recruiting Office, did
any letter or message come from any officer, or other person
of the 3rd dragoon guards, for the officer commanding the
troops in Bristol?  No.
To your knowledge, was Col. Brereton ever inside the Re
cruiting Office between half-past 10 on Sunday night 30th, and
half-past two Monday morning, 31st Oct. ?  Not withinside,
but in the court.
Do you know that the officer commandiug the troops in
Bristol was engaged in duty in the immediate neighbourhood of
the Recruiting Office and about College-green for about half an
hour sometime between half-past 10 and 12 o'clock on Sunday
night ?  He was.
How far is it from Leigh's bazaar to the Bishop's palace ?
About 200 yards.
How far is it to the Recruiting Office? — Nearly about the same.
How far is it to No. 2, Unity-street?  About 160 yards.
Is not the direct road from Reeve's hotel and Leigh's bazaar,
to the Recruiting Office, and to the Bishop's palace, through
College-green ?  Along one side of it.
Did you not, between 12 and 1 o'clock on Sunday night
30th Oct., convey to the quarters of the officer commanding in
Bristol, an official dispatch, which was delivered for him at
the Recruiting Office ?  1 did. I delivered a dispatch to Col.
Brereton, which I received for the Colonel, at the door of his
quarters.

348 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Did you not consider it to be the especial duty, for which
you and the other Sergeants were retained at the office during
the night of 30th and morning of 31st Oct., to convey to the
officer commanding the troops any letter, or official reference
to him that might be left at, or addressed to him at, the office ?
 Yes. Cross-examined.
Can you state positively that you never quitted the office
between the hours of 9 o'clock at night and 2 the next morning
while Sergeants M'Leod and Platts were both absent ?  1
cannot say positively.
Did the person who delivered to you the dispatch at the door
of the commanding officer, state from whom he brought that
dispatch; if so, be so good as to inform the Court?  He
stated he brought it from the Mayor, and desired it might be
delivered to Col. Brereton as soon as he could be found.
At what hour was that dispatch delivered to you ? — Between
twelve and one By the Court.
Did you see Capt. Warrington during the night of Sunday
30th Oct. ?  Not to my knowledge.
Troop Sergeant-Major J. Allen, \4th Dragoon Guards,
examined on 1st Charge.
Were you on duty with a squadron of 14th dragoons in this
city, during part ofthe riots on 29th, 30th, and 31st Oct. last?
 Yes.
During what period was the squadron absent from the eity
during 30th and 31st Oct. ?  From half-past 12 Sunday morn
ing till about half-past 9 on Monday morning.
Mr. J. Fisher, Repository, examined on 1st Charge.
Did the commanding officer of the troops in Bristol call at
your repository relative to the accommodation of some troops,
at any time between half-past 10 and 12 o'clock on Sunday
night 30th Oct. ?  Yes.
How long did he lemain in and about your repository ? 
From 10 to 20 minutes.
Can you state whether he was engaged in matters relative to
the troops in or about College-green previously to his coming
to the repository ; if so, state how long ?  He was so engaged :
I should think from 20 minutes to half au hour.
How far is your repository from Reeve's hotel and from
Leigh's bazaar? — > — About 150 yards from the hotel, and about
200 from the bazaar.
Sir C. Dalbiac announced that the evidence on the first
charge was closed.
C. Pinney, Esq. Mayor, examined on 2nd Charge.
Did you send a letter early on Monday morning 31st Oct.,
addressed to Col. Brereton or to the officer commanding his
Majesty's troops ?  1 did.
Was that letter uuder your own signature ?  It was.

APPENDIX. 349
If you have a copy of that letter be pleased to lay it before
the Court ; if not, please to relate the contents of it ?  The
purport is this (read from a copy).
" Bristol, 3 o'clock, Munday morning. 31st Oct., 1831.
" Sir,.— I direct you as Commanding Officer of his Majesty's troops, to
" take the most vigorous, effective, and decisive measures in your power to
"quell the existing riot, and prevent further destruction of property.
1 am, &c. " Charles Pinnbv."
It was in my own hand writing.
Be pleased to state as nearly as you can, the exact time in
the morning when that letter was dispatched, and from what
house ?  At 3 o'clock on Monday morning, from Mr. Daniel
Fripp's in Berkeley-square.
Through whose hands was it dispatched ?  Mr. Goldney
and Mr. Harris, jun. Cross-examined.
Is Mr. D. Fripp a Magistrate of this city ?  No : but he is
a relative to Mr. Alderman Fripp, who was with me at the time.
Does his relation, who is a Magistrate, reside at Mr. D. Fripp's
house .'  No : but he was there that night.
When did you write that, which you have given to the Court
as the purport of your letter on that occasion ?  1 copied it
2 or 3 days ago from the copy that I made at the time.
Re-examined.
Were you not told by a Sergeant, during the night of Sun
day the 30th October, that tbe officer commanding the troops
had left his address at the district office, and that if any en
quiries were made for him be was instantly to be informed of
it?  1 have no recollection of being so told.
Did you send any message by the bearer of your letter to the
officer commanding the troops; if so, state what it was?  1
don't recollect sending any message.
If you have the original copy of that letter please to pro
duce it?  1 can produce it by returning to the Council-house.
To what place were the messengers, who carried the letter,
directed to proceed in quest of the officer commanding the
troops?  No place was mentioned, that I recollect; they
were to deliver the letter to Col. Brereton, or the officer com
manding the troop?.
Are you sure that the direction contained the words " or the
officer commanding the troops ?"  1 am, as will appear by
the copy of the letter which I shall presently produce.
Did the messengers whom you sent with your letter, report to
you that they bad delivered it to Capt. Warrington in person ;
or that Capt. Warrington read it in their presence ?  No :
they made no report.
S. Goldney, Esq. Surgeon, examined.
Did you, early on Monday morning, 31st Oct. receive a
letter from the Mayor of Bristol, addressed to Col. Brereton,
or the officer commanding his Majesty's troops ; if so, at what
place was that letter delivered to you ?  It was delivered to
me at the house of Mr. Daniel Fripp in Berkeley-square.
State, as nearly as you can, at what hour ?— About three
o'clock A. M.

350 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
To whom did you deliver the letter, and at what place ? 
To Capt. Warrington, at Leigh's bazaar.
How far from Berkeley-square is Leigh's bazaar by the
shortest road ; and did you take that road when you conveyed
the letter ?  About 3 or 400 yards, and I did take that road.
Did Capt. Warrington open and read the letter soon after it
was delivered ?  He did.
What time elapsed between your receiving that letter in
Berkeley-square and the period when Capt. Warrington opened
and read it ?  From 5 to 10 minutes.
Relate, as correctly as you can, any conversation which
passed between Capt. Warrington and yourself after he bad
read the letter ?— — He said that Col. Brereton was not there ;
that he believed be would be back about 6 in the morning ; and
that he would take care the letter was delivered to him. I un
derstood him to say that he could not himself act without a
Magistrate going every inch of the road with him. He like
wise expressed his willingness to do every thing in his power,
and his regret that the Dodington troop of Yeomanry had left
Bristol, as they would have been of great service to him to have
backed him. There was some conversation about the 14th
leaving Bristol, which I do not recollect, and he said there was
a great screw loose somewhere, but where he did not know.
Did Capt. Warrington say any thing about the state of the
horses of his troop, or of the number of men he could send, if
employed ?  He said he had but 25 efficient men, and that
their horses were so tired that they were scarcely able to carry
them. Had you in your way towards Berkeley-square, before you
received the Mayor's letter, stopt at Leigh's bazaar ?  Yes.
Had you any conversation with either of the officers of the
3rd dragoon guards on that occasion; if so, state it?  1
called there merely to see if the soldiers were at the bazaar as
I had heard. Cornet Kelson was standing on the outside. He
complained how very cold he was, and said he was very anxious
to go out and do his duty. I said that I would endeavour to
get him an order to do so.
From the above conversation, and knowing where the dra
goons were, did you imagine, that by taking the Mayor's letter
to Leigh's bazaar, it would reach its destination ?  Yes.
Cross-examined.
Did you inform Capt. Warrington that the Dodington troop
of Yeomanry had left Bristol ?  1 certainly said so.
Did Capt. Warrington state lo you, when you gave him the
letter before alluded to, that it was not directed to him, but to
Col. Brereton, who was the officer commanding the troops ? 
He did.
Did you not then state to him, that if he would open the
letter, you would take the responsibility upon yourself?  1
cannot state what I said about responsibility, but I certainly
suggested to him the propriety of his opening the letter.

APPENDIX. 351
Did not Capt. Warrington request of you, after he had
opened the letter, to take it to the officer commanding the
troops, whom you would find at the Adjutant's quarters at the
corner of Unity-street ?  Not that I remember.
Did you refuse to take the letter back from Capt. Warring
ton after he had opened it ?  No ?
Did Capt. Warrington offer it back to you ?  1 do not
recollect. Who delivered to you the Mayor's letter ?  Mr. D. Fripp.
When Capt. Warrington told you that his horses were so
tired, did he not add, that notwithstanding that fact, he was
willing to turn out immediately, if he could get proper orders,
or the company of a Magistrate ?  Yes.
By the COURT.
You have stated that when Capt. Warrington had read the
Mayor's letter, he expressed his willingness to take active mea
sures ; did he also express his regret at not being able to forward
the letter to Col. Brereton, or to communicate with him on the
subject, previous to six o'clock, at which hour he expected Col.
Brereton would return ?  Not that I remember.
Did you ask where Col. Brereton, to whom the letter was
addressed, was likely to be found, or urge the necessity of its
immediate delivery ?  No.
Did you observe any backwardness, or unwillingness to act
on the part of Capt. Warrington ?  On the contrary, he ex
pressed every willingness to do anything on a proper order.
When Capt. Warrington stated to you that he could not act
without a Magistrate to go every inch of the road with him,
did you make any reply, or take any measures to communicate
to the Mayor or other Magistrates what Capt. Warrington had
stated ?  No : I did not know where to find any Magistrate,
excepting the Mayor, and he had particularly requested me and
Mr. D. Fripp not to mention where he was,
Mr. Alderman Fripp, examined.
Was you at the house of Mr. D. Fripp early on Monday
morning, the 31st of October last, when the Mayor of Bristol
dispatched a tetter or note addressed to Col. Brereton, or the
officer commanding his Majesty's troops?  1 was; I advised
and dictated that letter.
State as exactly as you can the hour at which that letter was
dispatched from Mr. D. Fripp's house ?  Immediately after
three o'clock.
How are you able to state the time so particularly ?  1
looked at my watch at the time.
D. Fripp, Esq. examined.
Did you receive from the Mayor of Bristol at your house
early on Monday morning, the 31st of October last, a letter
addressed to Col. Brereton, or the officer commanding his Ma
jesty's troops ?  1 did.
Into whose hands did you give the letter ?  1 believe into
the hands of Mr. Goldney.

352 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

H. Smith, Esq. examined.
Was you in and about Qneen-square during Sunday night,
the 30th, and up to five o'clock on Monday morning, the 31st
of October ?  1 was in Queen-square the whole of the night,
except at short intervals, when I retired to ray own house in
Prince's-street, close by.
About what time on that morning did you see a detachment
of dragoons reach Queen-square ?  As near as I can guess
about five o'clock.
Was the whole, or a considerable portion of the southern
wing of the west side of Queen-square destroyed between the
hours of half-past three and five on that morning ?  1 should
think from three to five would be the period of the destruction
of that part ofthe Square.
What proportion of the houses so destroyed between three
and five o'clock was fired or destroyed after half-past three ?
 1 should think all that are now burnt down.
Was any house fired in Queen-square after the dragoons
arrived there ?  None. Cross-examined-
Was any house in Queen-square fired before half-past three ?
 Yes, all the Custom-house side, and part ofthe west wing.
Mr. Wintour Harris, Jun. examined.
Were you with Mr. S. O. Goldney at Mr. D. Fripp's, in
Berkeley-square, early on Monday morning 31st Oct. last ? 
I was, about 3 o'clock iu the morning.
Do you know that Mr. Goldney then received a letter from
the Mayor of Bristol, addressed to Col. Brereton, or the officer
commanding his Majesty's troops ?  Yes.
Did you accompany Mr. Goldney when he went to deliver
that letter ?  Yes.
Where, and to whom, did he deliver it?  He delivered it
to Capt. Warrington at Leigh's bazaar.
Relate, as correctly as you can, any conversation which you
heard between Capt. Warrington and Mr. Goldney, after Capt.
Warrington had read that letter ?  Capt. Warrington hesi
tated about opening the letter ; after he had done so at the
suggestion of Mr. Goldney, he said he should be very happy to
do any thing that lay in his power, but that he could do nothing
without a Magistrate ; that he should require a magistrate to
go every inch of the road with him by his side, and that he
hoped we did not think the blame rested with him ; he like
wise expressed his regret at the Dodington troop of Yeomanry
having retired from Bristol from being unable to find a magis
trate ; and at the 14th having been sent out of town. He ended
the conversation by saying there was a great screw loose some
where. Did any thing more pass between Capt. Warrington and
yourself upon that occasion ?  1 don't remember that there
did. Did Capt. Warrington say anything about the state of the
horses of his troop, or the number of men that he could send

APPENDIX. 353
out if called upon? — — He said he had but 23 or 25 men, and
the horses of those men were so tired they were scarcely able
to carry them. Cross-examined.
Did not Mr. Goldney induce Capt. Warrington to open the
letter, by saying that he would take the responsibility on him
self?  1 believe he induced Capt. Warrington to open the
letter; but I do not know that he look the responsibility on
himself. Did you take any means to apprise any Magistrate that Capt.
Warrington was willing to turn out with his troop, if a Magis
trate would accompany him ?  1 did not know where lo find
any Magistrate except the Mayor, and Mr. Goldney and I were
requested not to say where he was.
Re-examined.
Did Capt. Warrington press you and Mr. Goldney to go back
to the Mayor, and say that the presence of a Magistrate was
indispensable to the employment of the troops? I do not
remember that he did.
Mr. Alderman T. Camplin examined.
Were the riots raging in Bristol, with increased and destruc
tive violence, from 2 o'clock in the afternoon of Sunday the
30th till 5 in the morning of Monday the 31st Oct. last? 
They were.
Did you go to the horse bazaar on Monday morning the 31st
Oct. for the purnose of calling out the troops; if so, be pleased
to state, as precisely as you can, the time of your going there? —
I went there about 4 in the morning to enquire whether the
troops were there.
Who accompanied you, and to whom did you apply for the
assistance of the military ?  -Mr. Danson and 2 or 3 others
accompanied me; and upon hearing that there were troops
there, I applied to Capt. Warrington, who appeared as com
manding officer.
State all that passed between you and Capt. Warrington at
the horse bazaar ?  1 told Capt. Warrington my name, and
that I was a Magistrate of Bristol ; that unless troops were
instantly sent to Queen-square, the whole Square would be
burnt down. He told me that the horses and men were all
tired ; that he had a letter from the Mayor, dated 3 o'clock,
for Colonel Brereton, and that he could not find him any where.
I read the letter and said it was a very proper one. He said he
could not send more than 24 men. I replied "don't talk of
sending, but go yourself, a man of your experience, and do
not send an inexperienced officer ;" or words to that effect. He
said the troop should not fire. My reply was, " I believe there
has been some understanding" (I meant relative to firing). He
then said, the troops should not go without a Magistrate ; on
which I said I would go with them. He then said, "the troop
cannot go till I have seen Col. Brereton." My reply was, " let
us go for him." We went together to 2, Unity-street, College-
green, where we unexpectedly met with him, he having been

354 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
previously denied by two females who looked out of the win
dow. I expressed my pleasure at finding Col. Brereton, and a
conversation ensued between me, and Col. Brereton and Capt.
Warrington, in the presence of several others.
Did a parly of 3rd dragoon guards proceed afterwards to
Queen-square according to your directions?  They did.
What time elapsed from the time when you first saw Capt.
Warrington at the horse bazaar to the arrival of the dragoons
in Queen-square ; and at what hour did they reach the Square ?
Nearly an hour elapsed ; they arrived there about 5 o'clock.
What is about the distance from the horse bazaar to Queen-
square ?  1 conceive about three-quarters of a mile.
What portion ofthe Square was destroyed, when the dragoons
arrived ?  Nearly two sides ; and the mob were commencing
on the third. Cross-examined.
Did Capt. Warrington tell you, before you left the bazaar,
that whatever Magistrate required the troops to fire, must ac
company them ?  Not that I recollect.
Did you, when the troops went to Queen-square, accompany
them ?  1 did, on foot.
How long did you remain with them ?  Until about seven.
When you told Capt. Warrington thatyou were a Magistrate,
did he not say, " come along, then?"— — To the best of my
knowledge he did not.
Were any persons present when you held the conversation
with Captain Warrington at the horse bazaar ?  Yes, Mr.
Danson, certainly, and I believe others.
By the Court.
When you expressed to Capt. Warrington in such strong
terms, that it was your opinion he should go himself with the
dragoons and not send an inexperienced officer, did he make
any specific reply to what you said, or did he merely say that
the troops should not fire ?  He made no specific reply.
You have stated that Capt. Warrington said that he did not
know where to find the officer commanding the troops; at
whose suggestion then was it that you went to Unity-street to
look for him ?  1 had seen a Mr. Francis, an officer connected
with the Staff, some time ago, accidentally going into No. 2,
Unity-street ; that induced me to go there, as I knew Colonel
Brereton's usual residence was two or three miles from Bristol.
C F. Danson, Esq. examined.
Did you meet Alderman Camplin in College-green early on
Monday morning, the 31st of October, and about what hour ?
 1 met him at about twenty minutes after four.
Did any circumstance occur to enable you to mark the hour
with particular exactness ?  Yes, before leaving the house in
which I reside in Park-street, I saw by the clock it was a quar
ter past four.
Did you accompany Mr. Alderman Camplin from College-
green to the horse bazaar ?—— Yes.

APPENDIX. 355
FOURTH DAY.— Fridav. January 27.
Mr. Danson's examination continued.
Did any thing pass between Mr. Alderman Camplin and Capt.
Warrington, or between yourself and Capt. Warrington, on
that occasion ; if so, be pleased to state the particulars? 
Mr. Camplin asked for the commanding officer, and we were
shewn to a place covered with straw, where we saw some dra
goons lying down ; some horses were standing on the other side;
almost immediately afterwards Capt. Warrington came up,
Mr. Camplin told him he was a Magistrate, and that he came to
require the assistance of the troops in the Square. — Captain
Warrington expressed great willingness to come ; he said,
" Very well, Sir, they are ready," and added, enquiringly, to
Mr. Camplin — " Will you go with us ?" — Mr. Camplin seemed
to hesitate, and Capt. Warrington said "No, my orders are
that the troops shall not go without a Magistrate." — I had a
word or two with Mr. Camplin, and then said, " Of course the
Alderman will go down as a Magistrate to direct the use of the
troops." Some conversation ensued about the numbers ; Capt.
Warrington said " I suppose you know we have received a
letter from the Mayor, requiring the troops ?" Mr. Camplin
said, " that seems to confirm what we have come about." —
Capt. Warrington immediately pulled the letter out of his poc
ket and gave it us to read. Capt. Warrington said " I can only
send down five and twenty ;" upon which Mr. Camplin said,
" Won't you go yourself; you had better go with us ?" Capt.
Warrington said " No, I shall send an officer with them." He
(Capt. Warrington) went on to say, " What are the troops to
do when they get down in the Square ?" Mr. Camplin said,
" Oh, they will ride in amongst the mob, and beat them with
the flat of their swords." Capt. Warrington seemed to doubt
the sufficiency of their numbers for that purpose, and I (witness)
said, " As you will have a Magistrate with you, of course you
will fire, if necessary." Capt. Warrington promptly answered,
" No, my orders are not to fire ;" upon which I said, " I take
it for granted you have those orders from the Colonel, meaning
Col. Brereton ; if so, we can't expect you to act to the contrary."
Either Mr. Camplin or myself asked Capt. Warrington to
accompany us to Colonel Brereton to get that restriction with
drawn. How much time do you conceive to have passed in College-
green before you reached the bazaar ; how much during the
conversation there with Capt. Warrington ; and how much in
and about No. 2, Unity-street, 'before you all left that house
prior to the dragoons being ordered to turn out ?  About
three minutes before we reached tbe bazaar, under ten minutes
in conversation with Capt. Warrington, and fully a quarter of
an hour in Unity-street ; altogether about half an hour.
Did you observe the date of the Mayor's letter you have
alluded to ; if so, state the date ?  It was dated 3 o'clock
Monday morning.
Z 2

356 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Did Capt. Warrington, whilst you were at the bazaar, say
any thing regarding the state or the efficiency of his men or
horses ?  Idon't recollect that he did.
What difference is there between the distance of Mr. D.
Fripp's house from the horse bazaar, and the distance of your
own house from the bazaar?  Mr. Fripp's house may be
about 50 yards farther than my own.
Did you and Mr. Alderman Camplin wait for the troops at
the drawbridge, and proceed with them, or as nearly as you
could, to the Square; if so, at what time did the troops arrive
in the Square ?  Yes, we went on to the drawbridge, and
waited for them there; they came in about ten minutes after
we had parted with Col. Brereton in Unity-street ; they arrived
as nearly five as possible, rather before than after.
Cross-examined.
You Slated that Capt. Warrington said he would send an
officer with the troops; was not that observation made after
you had been with him to Colonel Brereton ?  No, certainly
not. Did you see two women at the window ofthe house in Unity-
street; and if so, did you hear either of them deny Col. Brereton ?
I saw two women, but I did not hear any denial given. I did
not not even know Col. Brereton was enquired for; the only
name I heard was that of Sergeant Platts.
Did you go to Queen-square with Alderman Camplin, or did
you see him tbere accompanying the troops?  Yes; we
accompanied the troops closely from the drawbridge until we
came to the entrance to Prince's-street, where there Was a mob
of 5 or 600 people ; the troops charged up, and of course left
us behind. The troop, having cleared that mob, advanced up
Prince's-street and entered the Square by the farther avenue.
We (witness and Alderman Camplin) entered the Square by a
nearer avenue, and made our way up to the corner where the
troops entered. We arrived just before them.
By the Court.
When the detachment of the 3rd dragoon guards went to the
Square, who commanded it?  Col. Brereton.
You have stated that Alderman Camplin said to Capt. War
rington " won't you go yourself; you had better go with us;"
can you recollect whether Capt. Warrington made any other
observation, or used any other words than those you have
already stated ?  1 have repeated his words as nearly as pos
sible. The President said, that from the testimony of the last two
witnesses it appeared superfluous to call a third witness to the
same points; the Prosecutor accordingly declined bringing for
ward further evidence on those points.
Lieut. Francis examined.
You have heretofore said that Lieut.-Col. Brereton might
have received a letter between the hours of 10 on Sunday, the
30th, and half-past 4 on Monday morning, the 31st of October,

APPENDIX. 357
without your knowing it; now state, whether between half-
past 12 on Sunday night and half-past 4 on Monday morning,
he could have received an official dispatch or letter without
your knowing it?  He might.
When did you return to No. 2, Unity-street, on the night of
Sunday, the 30th, or Monday morning, the 31st October? 
A little before 12 o'clock.
State during what part of the period between half-past 12 on
Sunday night, the 30th, and half-past 4 on Monday morning,
the 31st October, the officer commanding the troops in Bristol
could have received an official communication without your
knowing it?  From a little after 1 to a little after 4.
Did you not make two official communications to the officer
commanding in Bristol, between the hours of half-past 12 and
half-past 2 of the aforesaid night and morning ?  1 did.
Were you and the officer commanding in Bristol under the
same roof from 10 o'clock till past 4 on the Monday morning ?
 Yes.
Upon what grounds then, do you. who are Adjutant of this
district, suppose that other official communications besides
the two you have named, could have reached him without your
being apprised of it ? — At the periods you have mentioned, I was
not perpetually with Col. Brereton ; I did not see Col. Brere
ton from 1 o'clock till near 4, and he might have received a
communication in the mean time without my knowing it ; it is
impossible for me to swear that a communication besides the
two referred to, might not have been made.
Do you know of any other official communication, except
the two before alluded to, having been made to Col. Brereton
within the said period ?  None, to my knowledge.
Were either of those two official communications from any
officer, or other person, of the 3rd dragoon guards?  They
were not. By the Court.
If Lieut.-Col. Brereton had received an official communica
tion between the hours of 3 and 4 o'clock on Monday morning,
should you not, as District Adjutant, have been informed of
it, when you saw the Lieut.-Col. at or soon after 4 o'clock ? 
Not as a matter of course, for Col. Brereton did not commu
nicate every official communication to me.
The Prosecutor announced that the evidence on the second
charge had closed, except any thing, which he did not at pre
sent anticipate, might arise in the further proceedings. The
investigation of the third charge was then proceeded in.
Mr. C. Gresley examined.
Were you in tbe neighbourhood of Queen-square between 2
and 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon the 30th Oct., when a body
of rioters was proceeding to an attack of the new gaol ? — Yes.
Did you soon afterwards see Aldermen A. Hilhouse and
Savage and a body of constables, beaten back and pelted by the
body of rioters in the neighbourhood of the said gaol ?  Yes
Did you, in consequence thereof, and in the name of the two

358 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
said Aldermen, proceed to Reeve's hotel or to the horse bazaar
for the purpose of requiring the military to proceed to the new
gaol ? — Yes, first to the horse bazaar, and then to Reeve's hotel.
To whom, and in what particular place, did you apply for
that purpose ? — —On applying at the horse bazaar, a Sergeant
took me to Reeve's hotel, when I saw Capt. Warrington and
delivered the message to him.
State if any other person or persons were present, and what
passed between you and Capt. Warrington ?  Cornet Kelson
was present ; I told Capt. Warrington that the mob were break
ing into the gaol, and the Magistrates wanted what troops he
could send. He said he would send them immediately. Capt.
Warrington said he was very fatigued ; he had been on duty
the whole of Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday.
Were any orders given in your presence by Capt. Warrington
in consequence of your requisition ; and if so, to whom ? 
He ordered the Sergeant, who had brought me down to him, to
order out 10 men immediately, and desired Cornet Kelson to
take charge of them, to proceed to the Mansion-house, to join
the guard there, and from thence to proceed to the gaol.
Did the detachment of 10 men, which turned out from the
bazaar, under the charge of Cornet Kelson, form in front of
Reeve's hotel before you left it ?  Yes.
[Capt. Warrington declined cross-examining.]
Lieut. Francis examined.
Can you state at what time between the hours of 2 and half-
past 4 on Sunday afternoon the 30th Oct., the officer command
ing in Bristol came to the Recruiting-Office, and how long he
remained there ?  He was there between 2 and 3, to tbe best
of iny recollection ; I cannot say how long he remained there ;
he was backwards and forwards the whole day.
Did you take any order for the officer commanding in Bris
tol, about 3 o'clock p. m. on Sunday the 30th of Oct., to the
officer commanding the 3rd dragoon guards, to send a party to
the new gaol to quell the riots ?  1 did not.
Did you take an order from the officer commanding in Bris
tol, about 8 o'clock on the Sunday evening, to an officer com
manding the 3rd dragoon guards, for a party to proceed to the
Bishop's palace ; and if so, to whom did you deliver it?  1
did, and delivered it to Comet Kelson, of the 3rd dragoon
guards. Was Capt.Warrington then with his troop ? — I did not see him.
By the President.
Did you enquire for Capt. Warrington, or the commanding
officer of the troop ?  1 did.
What was the reply ?  That Capt. Warrington was not
there ; Cornet Kelson immediately came forward, and I deliver
ed the message to him, and he acted on it.
Sergeant Platt examined.
Can you state at what time, between the hours of two and
four o'clock on Sunday afternooii, the 30th of October, the

APPENDIX, 359

officer commanding in Bristol came to the Recruiting Office'
and how long he remained there within the same period ?  He
came about three, and remained I suppose more than an hour.
Say what Sergeants of the Recruiting Staff were in attendance
besides yourself, during the whole or any part of those two
hours?  Sergeants Dinidge and Notton occasionally.
Were you sent with any letter or orders from the officer com
manding in Bristol to the officer commanding the 3rd dragoon
guards between the two hours above named ?  1 was not.
Sergeant Dinidge, examined.
Were you sent with any letter or order from the officer com
manding in Bristol to the officer commanding the 3rd dragoon
guards between the hours of two aud four on Sunday afternoon,
the 30th of October ?  No.
Sergeant Notton, examined.
Were you sent with any letter or order from the officer com
manding in Bristol to the officer commanding the 3rd dragoon
guards between the hours of two and four on Sunday afternoon,
the 30th of October ?¦  No.
Cornet Kelson, examined.
How long have you been in his Majesty's service ?  Since
the 8th of June, 1830.
Did you proceed in command of a detachment of the 3rd
dragoon guards to the city gaol, a little after three o'clock in
the afternoon on Sunday, the 30th of October, by order of Capt.
Warrington ?  1 did.
Did Capt. Warrington then remain in his quarters?  1 be
lieve he did.
State the instructions which Capt. Warrington gave you upon
that occasion ?  Capt. Warrington ordered me to take ten
or twelve men, and go into College-green, where I should see
Col. Brereton. 1 uuderstood from Capt. Warringtou that I
going to the gaol. I am doubtful whether Capt. Warrington
ordered me to take up a party in the Square, or whether he told
me to tell Colonel Brereton there was such a party I might
take up.
Did you take up a party in Queen-square on your way to the
new gaol ?  1 did.
What was the total strength of the detachment with which
you proceeded to the new gaol ?  Twenty men.
Was the gaol attacked aud threatened with destruction by
the rioters, when you arrived at it ?  It was.
Does the number of twenty men include theuon-commissioned
officers ?  It does.
Did you find Capt. Warrington in his quarters on your re
turn from the gaol ?  1 did.
Did you receive an order from the officer commanding in
Bristol, about eight o'clock on Sunday evening, the 30th of
October, for a detachment of the 3d dragoon guards to proceed
to the Bishop's palace ?  1 did.
Did you accordingly proceed in command of a detachment
ofthe 3rd dragoon guards lo the said palace ?  1 did.

360 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
What was the strength ofthe detachment?  Twenty men.
Was Capt. Warrington in his quarters at the time you re
ceived the above order ?  He was not.
How long had he been absent ?  The last time I saw Capt.
Warrington was about seven o'clock p. m.
Did Capt. Warrington give you any instructions when he left
his quarters ?  He did.
State what they were ?  Capt. Warrington told me he was
going to General Pearson's, at Clifton, to ask his advice; he
told me that if he was wanted I was to send a servant to General
Pearson's for him
At what time did the detachment which went under your
command to. the Bishop's palace, return to its quarters I 
About half-past nine or a quarter before ten.
Where did you then find Captain Warrington ?  Captain
Warrington was in his bed-room.
Was he in bed or in the act of getting into bed ?  He was
in the act of getting into bed.
How soon afterwards, and on what occasion did Captain
Warrington rejoin his troop at the horse bazaar ?  About a
quarter before eleven on the night of Sunday, when the mob
attacked Reeve's hotel. The troop turned out in consequence,
and Capt. Warrington took the command of them.
Did you proceed in command of a detachment of the 3rd
dragoon guards to Queen-square some time before five o'clock
on Monday morning the 31st of October ?  1 did.
By whose order did you proceed thither ?  By the order of
Capt. Warrington.
What was the strength of your detachment  Twenty-one
men. Relate what occurred when you proceeded to the Square ?
 On marching through College-green, I met Lieut.-Col.
Brereton ; he accompanied me to Queen-square ; two sides of
the Square were on fire, and the mob destroying every thing;
we charged several times down the streets at the" back of the
Mansion-house, and in and about the Square.
Did you send a message from Queen-square to Captain
Warrington ?  1 did.
State the nature of it, the time it was sent, and the person
who conveyed it?  The nature of the message was to tell
Capt. Warrington to bring up his squadron ; the time it was
sent was about half-past six or a quarter to seven ; the person
who conveyed the message was a dragoon of my own party, by
name Llewellin.
At what time did Capt. Warrington arrive in the Square with
his squadron ?  About seven o'clock.
Cross-examined.
Have you not heretofore commanded detachments of the 3rd
dragoon guards in 1830 in riots both in Hampshire and in the
Forest of Dean, in 1831 ?  1 have.
Did not Capt. Warrington order you to report yourself and
party to Col. Brereton in College-green on your route to the
gaol, and to ask for orders .'——He did.

APPENDIX. 361
Did not you receive your orders for the troops to proceed to
the gaol, from Col. Brereton ?  1 did.
When you stated that Capt. Warrington was in his bed-room,
do you mean that you had ever known him to use it as a bed
room since his arrival iu Bristol, until that moment?  1 never
knew that Capt. Warrington had made use of that room as his
bed-room before.
Had you known him occupy any other room as abed-room at
Reeve's hotel previous to that time ?  No.
Was Capt. Warrington completely undressed when you saw
him in the bed-room ?  He was not.
Did you not request Capt. Warrington to lie down, and
promise him that if any thing was required, you would let him
know in person ?  1 did.
Were you not ordered by Capt. Warrington to meet Col.
Breretou and a Magistrate in College-green on the Monday
morning, when you marched to the Square ?  Capt. War
rington ordered me to meet a Magistrate in College-greeu : I
cannot speak as to Col. Brereton.
Did not Capt. Warrington order you to send an orderly for
his reserve party, should you receive orders to act, or anything
be likely to be done ?  Capt. Warrington ordered me to send
an orderly for bis reserve party, if it should be required ; or
words to that effect.
Did you know that the troops were to act, when you went
out with the, party alluded to, on the Monday morniug ?  1
did not know it till I got to Queen-square, when I gave the
orders myself.
From an order which Col. Brereton gave you for Capt, War
rington on Sunday evening, after returning from the Palace,
did you not understand that Capt. Warrington was acting
under his immediate orders, and that he was not to move with
out an order from him ?  Colonel Brereton ordered me to
inform Capt. Warrington from him that he would not call
upon him till the last necessity, and not to move till he did.
Re-examined.
Did not the original order which you received, to proceed iu
command of a detachment to the gaol, proceed from Captain
Warrington at Reeve's hotel ?  Capt. Warrington ordered
me to turn out with a party to go to tbe gaol, but ordered me
likewise to go to Colonel Brereton and receive further orders.
By the Court.
What number did the squdron consist of that Capt. Warring
ton brought to your assistance in Queen-square, on Mondav
morning, the 31st?  Twelve men.
Referring to your answer relative to the orders you conveyed
from Col. Brereton to Capt. Warrington, did you understand
those orders to refer to Capt. Warrington personally, or to him
and the force under his command ?  1 understood the order
to apply to Capt. Warrington personally.
When Capt. Warrington was in his bed-room, at Reeve's
hotel, and as you stated, about getting into bed, was he in
uniform ?  He was not.

362 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
How far was he undressed ?  He had nothing but his
drawers and shirt on.
Did Capt. Warrington take the command of his troop when
he joined you at 7 o'clock on Monday morning ?  He did.
Was Capt. Warrington at the bazaar with his troop, when
the detachment turned out on Monday morning ?  He was.
H. Llewellyn, private in the 3d Dragoon Guards, examined.
Did you convey a message from Cornet Kelson, in Queen-
square, to Capt. Warrington at the horse bazaar, on Monday
morning the 3ist Oct.?  1 did.
At what hour did you reach the bazaar with the said mes
sage ?  Between 6 and 7 o'clock in the morning.
Cross-examined.
Did you find the reserve party quite ready to turn out, and
did they not in fact turnout immediately after you delivered the
message? — They were ready and they turned out immediately.
Did you return with the party to Queen-square ?  Yes.
Did they move at a, trot the whole way ?  Yes, they did.
Did not Capt. Warrington continue actively employed at the
head of his troop after he had taken the command of it ? — Yes.
J. Calkin, Waiter at Reeve's Hotel, examined.
Do you know at what hour Capt. Warrington returned to
Reeve's hotel after 8 o'clock on Sunday evening, the 30th
October ?  Near about ten.
At what time did a body of rioters commence an attack on
Reeve's hotel ?  About 5 or 10 minutes past 11 on Sunday
nighl .
Where was Capt. Warrington at the time of that attack?
— — In his bed-room.
State what became of Capt. Warrington in consequence of
that attack, and when you next saw him ?  He went out of a
side door to his troop; he was mounted on his horse the next
time I saw him, at the head of his troop, near the side door of
our house.
Did the troop immediately afterwards form in front of the
hotel ?  Yes.
Whereabout was the number of rioters that made the attack
on Reeve's hotel, and what damage did they commit ? 
From 8 to 10 or 12 ; in the first place they broke the spikes off
the wall, and then broke the windows of the lower rooms.
What do you conceive to be the greatest number of rioters
whom you saw in or about the hotel during the attack ? 
I should think there were from 20 to 25 ; there may have been
a few more. Cross-examined.
Did you see Capt. Warrington speaking to Mrs. Perry about
8 o'clock on Sunday evening, in Reeve's hotel ?  Not to my
recollection. When you saw Capt. Warrington between 8 and 10 on the
Sunday evening, did he not desire you to send Mr. Kelson to
him the moment he returned with his detachment?  Yes,
he did.

APPENDIX. 363
Could Capt. Warrington have been in Reeve's hotel after
eight o'clock and before ten, on Sunday evening, without your
seeing him ?  Yes, he could.
Can you relate to the Court why Capt. Warrington retired
to a bed-room ?  1 recollect that on Sunday night, Mrs.
Perry, the landlady, was speaking to Capt. Warrington, the
precise time I cannot recollect; she said, " Capt. Warrington,
you look very ill, I think you had better go to bed." She said
she would make him something to take, for she thought the
cold shivers or ague, was coming upon him. He said, " I
think I will," and desired me to call him as quick as possible
if any thing occurred.
Do you know if the clothes Capt. Warrington had on were
wet?  1 do not.
From the time that elapsed after the mob commenced their
attack on the hotel, and Capt. Warrington's appearance in uni
form, do you think he could have been entirely uudressed ? 
I should think not.
Troop Sergeant-Major J. Martin examined.
Were you in command of a party ofthe 3rd dragoon guards,
in Queen-square between two and four on Sunday afternoon,
the 30th of October ?  1 was.
Did Cornet Kelson come to the Square with another party
of 3rd dragoon guards, aud order you to join him with your
party, and to proceed to the new gaol ?  He did.
What was tbe strength of the party when joined together?
 Twenty-one.
Was Capt. Warrington with the party at any period till the
whole of them returned from the city gaol ?  No.
Did you accompany a detachment of Capt. Warrington's
troop to the Bishop's palace in the evening of the 30th of
October?  1 did.
Who commanded the detachment ?  Cornet Kelson ; Col.
Brereton was present.
What was the strength ofthe detachment?  Twenty.
Do you mean that Col. Brereton was present when the de
tachment turned out, or that he took the command at the
Bishop's palace ?  To the best of my recollection, Colonel
Brereton was the first who turned the party out — Cornet Kelson
formed the party, told them off, and gave them the word to march.
Can you undertake to say that Col. Brereton was present
when the party turned out, or is it only your impression that
be was there ?  1 can speak positively as to Col. Brereton
having given me the order to turn out the troop, but I cannot
swear he was present when Cornet Kelson paraded them out.
Did you see Lieut, and Adjutant Francis at the bazaar when
the troop was ordered to turn out?  1 did not.
Was Capt. Warrington absent from his troop when the de
tachment turned out?  He was.
How many iion-commissioned officers and men were absent
from the bazaar on other duty at the time the said detachment
turned out?  To the best of my recollection eight.

364 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Did Capt. Warrington join or take the command of the said
detachment at any time till it returned to quarters?  No.
Were you on duty with a detachment of the 3rd dragoon
fuards which left the Bazaar some time before five o'clock on
londay morning, the 31st of October for Queen-square? 
Yes. Who ordered out the detachment?-- — Capt. Warrington.
Who commanded it?  Cornet Kelson.
What was it strength?  Twenty-one.
Did Capt. Warrington then remain behind in quarters?  r
He did. Cross- examined.
Was Colonel Breretoii with the party that turned out to go
to the Bishop's Palace the whole time, and until they were
ordered to return to their quarters?  1 recollect seeing Col.
Brereton immediately after we left the bazaar yard, and he
remained with us until we returned to College-green. — He was
with us at the Bishop's palace tbe whole time.
Did the party return direct from College-green to their
quarters ?  Yes.
Sir C. Dalbiac here announced that the evidence for the
prosecution was now closed.

FIFTH DAY.— Monday, Jan. 30.
[At nine o'clock, an hour before the time appointed for commencing business, the
Hull was literally crammed by spectators, the majority of whom were ladies. Seldom
had there been an enquiry that caused such universal interest, and that interest was
peculiarly increased this morning from its being known that Captain Warrington would
address the Court in his defence. Never, perhaps, was there so great an assemblage
congregated together in so small a space j and a great number, even of those who had
obtained tickets from the Judge Advocate, were obliged to go away, there being no
possibility of their gaining admittance. At ten o'clock, Sir Henry Fane with difficulty
got to his seat at the table. It was found impossible, however, for the other members
of the Court to take their places. After a few minutes passed in an ineffectual
struggle, the President said, — " It is impossible the business of the Court can be thus
interrupted. I am exceedingly sorry to put the public to any inconvenience, but it is
absolutely necessary that the Hall should be cleared; the members of the Court cannot
take their places." This order not being obeyed, the President, again said, "Major
Mackworth, send for a file of men ; the Court must be cleared." This order had the
desired effect, so as to enable the members to take their seats. The President good
humouredly observed to some ladies standingnearhim, " You see, ladies, I can command
the men, but cannot the women. "J — (Laughter.)
After a short pause, Capt. Warrington proceeded
to address the Court in his
DEFENCE.
" General Sir Henry Fane, and the Members of this
honourable Court, — When the honourable and gallant
General, upon whom has devolved the duty of conducting
this prosecution against me, stated to the Court that it
was with feelings of an afflictive nature, that he found
himself engaged in so invidious a line of duty, I gave
the most implicit credit to the sincerity of that declara-

APPENDIX. 365
tion. And if he felt the necessity of bespeaking your
indulgence, on account of the painful situation in which
he was placed, it may perhaps be permitted to me, with
out the appearance of presumption, to request a similar
indulgence on my part.
" Having, for the first time in my life, to speak before
any assembly, and that under circumstances so novel
and painful, bearing myself designated as ' the prisoner
at the bar,' to be subjected to the forms and ceremonies
incidental to that situation, naturally increases my em
barrassment. " When I reflect that as one engaged in an honourable
profession, by which I must hope to live, I have had
hanging over me an imputation on my character as a
military man, which by my own desire I am now endea
vouring to repel, I trust I may have some claim to the
indulgence of this honourable Court.
" By the address of my Prosecutor, I have been ap
prised that I am tried upon charges founded on the
proceedings of a Court of Enquiry, which was held on
my superior and commanding officer. But when my
prosecutor so feelingly and so eloquently deplored his
melancholy fate, in language more appropriate and
forcible than I could describe, how much more must I
inwardly lament his loss, under whose orders I had
served, and who could, if living, have best satisfied this
honourable Court, whether, in any one instance, while
under his command, I had been inattentive to my duty.
The Court is already aware, that the orders given by
the late Commander of the troops, during the riots,
were generally verbal. I will on no occasion ask this
honourable Court to receive my assurance that I had an
order for any particular duty, in the absence of proof to
support my assertion. And here permit me to observe,
that following the example of my prosecutor, and the
dictates of my own heart, I shall endeavour, on all oc
casions, so far as in my power lies, to avoid all mention
of a name which cannot be uttered without giving me
pain. I would sooner suffer any degradation, or bear all
the odium of these charges, than I would place one blot
upon his escutcheon.
" Nor is my embarrassment in any way diminished
by the generosity of my prosecutor, in having expressed

366 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
an interest in the fate of so humble an individual as
myself, especially when comingfrom an officer so justly
distinguished ; it imposes upon me a debt of gratitude,
that will leave me ever to regret that my conduct
should even for a moment have made an unfavourable
impression upon the mind of one, whose good opinion
it would have been my greatest pride to have deserved,
and who, as the public prosecutor, has discharged his
duty without any vindictiveness or personality towards
me. I labour under an additional disadvantage in
being compelled to speak wholly of myself, in the pre
sence of a tribunal composed of officers, whose gallant
services in the field have been crowned by the most
marked approbation of their sovereign.
" But when I reflect upon the eventful circumstances
connected with this enquiry — the immense loss of life
and property at a time when my conduct is censured ;
the late awful catastrophe, which still throws such a
gloom over this city; and the yet more recent and
appalling sacrifice made within these few hours, and
within a short distance of these walls,* as an atonement
to the offended laws of the country; when I reflect
that I myself am compelled, at this particular juncture,
to launch my bark amongst the shoals and breakers
that have proved destructive to so many others, I may
well be unfitted for any struggle, however necessary for
the preservation of my honour.
" I cannot but be sensible that statements have been
sent forth to the world, in various forms, reflecting on
the military service during the Bristol riots, and in
particular of the troop which I had the honour to com
mand; that these statements having so long remained
uncontradicted, made me anxious, from the commence
ment of this trial, to let some refutation follow each
attempt to substantiate any charge. Notwithstanding
these difficulties I will endeavour to meet the charges,
throwing myself upon the indulgence of this honourable
Court for the inability and inefficiency of my attempt.
" Although it will become necessary for me to make
some allusion to the conduct of others, I do not desire
or intend to evince any vindictive feeling, or to retaliate
* The execution of four of the rioters.

APPENDIX. 367
upon those whose public statements have been calcu
lated to remove odium and responsibility from the civil
to the military authorities. I desire to confine myself
as strictly as possible to a refutation of the charges
against me, and if I could be so ungenerous as to in
tend more, my profound respect for this honourable
Com't would at once deter me from the attempt ; and,
after having stated the various difficulties under which
I labour, I should do injustice to my own feelings if I
did not acknowledge that there is one circumstance
connected with these proceedings which affords me
consolation, and which I hope, without the suspicion of
flattery, I may be permitted to mention;, it. is, that my
honour and character are entrusted to such an assembly,
over which there presides one who has not been more
highly renowned for his gallantry in the field, than dis
tinguished for a reach of ability which renders it un
necessary to consult the high authority on his right hand,
and for impartiality proverbial throughout the army.
" Having taken the liberty of making these general
remarks, I shall now proceed to trouble the Court with
some observations more immediately connected with
these charges; and I shall endeavour to do so as briefly
as possible.
" Upon the first, I humbly submit that, being under
the immediate command of Lieut.-Col. Brereton, from
the moment that my troop arrived in Bristol, nothing
but his express orders, or the written requisition or pre
sence of a Magistrate, could, therefore, have released
me from that command.
" I do not mean to question Mr. Kington's respecta
bility, but as he told me that he was not a Magistrate,
and as his communication was merely verbal, and not
proceeding from any official source, I appeal to this
honourable Court how far I was bound, in the words of
the charge, ' to order out the troop,' or to forward to my
commanding officer either that or the other numerous
verbal communications received that night ; particularly
when I had reason for supposing that there was an inten
tion on the part of the rioters to separate my force.
" I can prove that I invariably directed the persons
making these unauthenticated communications, to the
commanding officer.

368 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
" Mr. Kington and several others speak to my anxiety
to meet their wishes, and that my non-compliance arose
solely from a want of proper authority. In this in
stance, I submit that my refusal to turn out was in
strict accordance with the orders of my commander
and the rules of the service, particularly with the in
structions under which I acted last winter in the south
west district.
" On the second charge, I would observe, that on
Monday morning, the 31st October, about half-past
three o'clock, a letter was brought by two gentlemen to
the quarters of the 3rd dragoon guards, addressed to
Lieut.-Col. Brereton, or " the officer commanding his
Majesty's troops," as stated. Upon reading the direc
tion, I refused to break the seal, observing that the
Colonel was to be found at the Adjutant's quarters,
close by (No. 2, Unity-street.) When repeatedly urged
by those gentlemen to open the letter, one of them
offering to take the responsibility upon himself, I was
persuaded to do so, and read its contents in their hear
ing. I pressed them to take it immediately to the Colo
nel, and offered to return it, but they refused to receive
it. In their presence I desired Sergeant Deane to give
directions for half of the troop, which was not bridled
up, to get ready immediately, firmly believing that they
were gone to Col. Brereton's, to apprise him of the
communication from the Mayor.
" I will prove, to the satisfaction of the Court, that,
upon the subsequent application of the Magistrate
referred to in the charge, I evinced every readiness to
co-operate with him. I do, however, deeply regret
that I relied upon those gentlemen to communicate to
my commanding officer the contents ofthe letter, instead
of taking the more military course of dispatching it by
an orderly. I humbly solicit, on this explanation, the
indulgence and favourable consideration of this honour
able Court.
" The 3rd charge comprises portions of two days,
namely, the 30th and 31st of October, and states that,
at different times on those days, when the excesses were
committed, the troop under my command was then the
only military force in Bristol; that I ought to have been
within immediate call of the quarters, and command

APPENDIX. 369
my detachment that was ordered out, but that I greatly
neglected and violated my duty in several respects.
" In the first count, that about four in the afternoon
of the 30th Oct. I ordered out a detachment of two-
thirds of the troop to the city gaol, under the sole com
mand of a young Cornet. Now, it appears, by the
evidence of Cornet Kelson, that I sent him with 10 or
12 men only to College-green to meet Lieut.-Col.
Brereton ; and although Cornet Kelson did not exactly
recollect whether I ordered him to take up a party in the
Square, or to tell the Colonel that there was a party in
the Square which might be spared, I will make it appear
distinctly that the latter was my order; so that, instead
of sending a great proportion of the troop, I only sent
out ten or twelve men, and they were not ordered by me
to the gaol, but to report themselves at College-green
to the Lieut.-Colonel, and ask for orders. They were
ordered by him to the gaol ; and whatever might be
Cornet Kelson's period of service, it has been proved
that he was employed in 1830 and 1831 in the disturbed
districts, where he acquitted himself creditably ; and on
the 30th Oct. the day in question, he was frequently
under the superintendence of Col. Brereton, who might
be presumed to be the best judge of his competency
when he dispatched him to the gaol.
" The 2nd count states, that while the troop was in
quarters on the 30th Oct. I absented myself for a consi
derable space of time; and that, during my absence, a
detachment was called out to protect the Bishop's
palace ; that it proceeded under the command of one
troop officer only. With respect to this count, I will
not for a moment deny the fact of my absence, but I
will state to the Court the reason of it, and will prove
the steps I took before I left the neighbourhood of my
quarters. " The Court will not, I trust, consider my conduct
as the result of indifference, or the want of the vigour
and activity requisite in my situation. On all former
occasions, when I was employed on similar duties, the
force under my command was invariably accompanied
by a Magistrate; but finding the case so different at
Bristol, I wished for the advice of some experienced
officer to sanction me in resorting to extremities.
A a

370 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
" Having heard that General Pearson, an officer of
great experience and distinction, resided at Clifton, I
stated tp Cornet Kelson my intention to go, while the
city appeared quiet, and ask the General's advice,
although I was a total stranger to him.
" As I left my quarters a little before eight in the
evening, I called to enquire if the officer commanding
the troops had any orders for me, which I will prove,
and that Col. Brereton answered that he had not.
" I went as fast as I could to Gen. Pearson's, and
staid there about five minutes. The General will prove
the short communication I had with him. I returned
immediately to my quarters, and was seen there before
nine o'clock.
" On my return I learnt that a detachment had been
ordered out. Lieut, and Adjutant Francis states that
the order he took was for a party only ; but I am ready
to admit, strictly speaking, I had no right to absent
myself for a moment. I trust, however, that this hon.
Court will see the anxiety I evinced to meet the
exigencies of my situation, and will not condemn the
motive, which induced my absence.
" The third count alleges, that having returned to my
quarters during the absence of the detachment, in place
of proceeding to join the same or of waiting its return,
I did, before the return of the detachment, which was
about ten o'clock in the same evening, retire to my bed.
" I hope the facts relating tq this charge are already
understood. Cornet Kelson has proved that I waited
the return of the detachment. The landlady of Reeve's
hotel had observed some ague symptoms upon me, and,
with difficulty prevailed upon me to retire to a bedroom.
Cornet Kelson saw that I had not all my clothes
off, at a quarter before ten o'clock. John Corfield, the
waiter, states that I could not have been wholly un
dressed, from the short time that elapsed between the
attack on the house and my appearance in uniform,
coming down stairs on my way to the stables.
" By Mr. Kington's evidence it appears that, at about
ten or half-past ten, he saw me mounted at the head of
my troop. So that, taking Cornet Kelson's statement
of the time when he left me in the room, and Mr.
Kington's evidence of my being on horseback in half an

APPENDIX. 371
hour after or thereabouts, the charge will resolve itself
to this, — that while suffering under a shivering fit, from
the consequences of clothes which had been wetted re
peatedly during the preceding 24 hours, I retired to
change ; that after, and not before, the return of Cornet
Kelson and the detachment, I was seen by the Cornet
partially undressed, and received a distinct pledge from
him, when he left the room, that if anything was wanted
he himself would immediately report to me.
" The fourth count of the third charge states, that
between four and five o'clock, on the morning of the
31st October, when a detachment of the troop was called
out to stop the progress ofthe riots in Queen- square, I
permitted the detachment to proceed on such service
under the sole command of Cornet Kelson, while I re
mained inactive in my quarters.
" Now, the fact is, that the detachment in question
was not ordered by me to the scene of the riots ; they
were not in Queen-square under the sole command of
the said Comet; and I did not remain inactive in my
quarters. But, on the contrary, I remained at my
quarters with ten or twelve men as a reserve, by Col.
Brereton's express orders ; and marched off a detach
ment under Cornet Kelson, desiring him to go to Col
lege-green, where Col. Brereton and a Magistrate would
join tbem, and if there was any thing to do I was
instantly to be informed. They proceeded to Queen-
square from College-green, under the immediate com
mand of Colonel Brereton. As soon as they were
ordered to charge I was sent for, and lost not a moment
in bringing up the remainder of the troop and putting
myself at their head. We afterwards frequently charged
the mob, and greatly contributed in quelling the riots.
" To come, however, to the concluding part of these
charges, which insinuates, in general terms, that through
out the period of the riots, there was a want of activity
and vigour, requisite in the situation in which I was
placed, almost approaching to a sympathy with the
rioters, — I propose, with the permission of this honour
able Court, to call Major Mackworth, Major Beckwith,
and the officers of the 14th light dragoons, to state their
opinion of my conduct when they saw me employed
during the riots. I propose to put in several testimonials
Aa2

372 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
of officers under whose command I have been, among
them those of Major-General Sir John Brown, Colonel
the Hon. George Abercromby, Colonel Story, Majors
Maunsell, Hadden, and Frazer. I have also testimo
nials from two gentlemen who had frequent oppor
tunities, as Magistrates in the South West District, of
observing my readiness to co-operate with the civil
power. One of these gentlemen was that distinguished
officer, General Sir Hussey Vivian ; the other, Sir Wm.
Heathcote, one of the most active and able Magistrates
in the district ; that gentleman, or some other Magis
trate, invariably accompanied the troops when called
out to quell the riots.
" I have many apologies to offer for having trespassed
so long on the time of the Court ; my anxiety may have
led me to do so at greater length, from regard to the
gallant regiment to which I belong : from the recollec
tion that my father and brother are both soldiers ; that
my grandfather, great grandfather, and almost every
male relation and connexion, for centuries past, have
held commissions in the British Army.
" In conclusion, allow me to add, that no one can
more deeply deplore the excesses that occurred, and the
calamities that followed the disgraceful riots in this
city ; and I confidently hope that my conduct will in
no way be considered as supporting the accusations
against me."
Captain Warrington having concluded his address,
handed in the following documentary evidence, which
was read by the Deputy Judge Advocate : —
The first was a letter from Sir Hussey Vivian, which stated
that from the opportunity which the writer had of witnessing
the conduct of Capt. Warrington, in suppressing the distur
bances in Hampshire, he displayed all the zeal and a ctivity
that could be required.
The second, from Sir W. Heathcote, a Magistrate of Hants,
expressed the grateful recollections of that gentleman for the
zealous and active co-operation he received from Captain
Warrington, during the riots in that part of England.
The third, another communication from the same gentleman,
stated it to be the invariable custom for every detachment of
military employed on that service, to be accompanied by one
or more Magistrates.
The fourth, a letter from Major-General Sir John Brown,

APPENDIX. 373
stated that the conduct of Capt. Warrington, as an officer and
a gentleman, while under the command of the writer, was such
as to merit his warmest approval.
The fifth, from Lieut.-Col. Story, ofthe 3rd dragoon guards,
declared the conduct of Capt. Warrington to have been always
perfectly correct, and that he was most zealous in the discharge
of his military duty.
The sixth, from Lieut.-Col. Abercomby, bore testimony to
the excellent conduct of Capt. Warrington as an officer and a
gentleman. It stated him to be worthy, in all respects, the
character of a British officer ; zealous and active in the dis
charge of his duties ; and that the writer would have felt the
utmost confidence in Capt. Warrington acquitting himself, on
every occasion, creditably and honorably.
The seventh, from Major Hadden, of the 3rd dragoon guards,
stated Captain Warrington's character to be most exemplary
in every respect; and that his zeal, activity, and intelligence
were such, as to render him an ornament to the profession.
The eighth, from Major Maunsell, of the 3rd dragoon guards,
declared Capt. Warrington to be most attentive to his duties,
and most zealous in performing them. In Nov. 1830, when
under the writer's command, he had acquitted himself to his
perfect satisfaction.
The ninth, from Mr. John Frazer, formerly Staff-Major at
the Cavalry Depot, Maidstone, stated that during the eighteen
months Capt. Warrington was under him, he had entertained
the highest opinion of his conduct aud principles as an officer
and a gentleman.
The following witnesses were then called : —
Cornet Kelson, examined.
Did you hear Col. Brereton give any orders to Capt. War
rington, as he was marching into Bristol, on the 29th October?
--1 did.
State what they were?  1 heard Col. Brereton tell Capt.
Warrington that he was going to remain with the 14th dragoons,
in the cattle-market ; and that all orders to him (Capt. War
rington) must come through Col. Brereton. Some further
conversation took place, but I do not recollect its precise sig
nification. Private William Dbnney, examined.
Did you hear Col. Brereton give any orders to Capt. War
rington, as he was marching with his troop into Bristol, on
Saturday morning, the 29th October?  Yes.
As nearly as you recollect, state what those orders were ? 
In case the troop, or any part of it, should be wanted, he was
not to turn out, except on an order from Col. Brereton, or on
a requisition signed by two of the Magistrates.
Do you know whether any person, on Sunday evening, the
30th October, between 10 and 12 o'clock, called at Leigh's sta
bles, to ask for military aid?  There were three persons.

374 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Did you hear Capt. Warrington ask those persons if they
were Magistrates?  Yes.
Did you hear Capt. Warrington refer those persons to Col,
Brereton's quarters ? Yes.
Private Cole examined.
Did you hear any orders given by Col. Brereton to Capt.
Warrington, on inarching into Bristol, on Saturday morning,
the 30th of October?  Yes; Capt. Warrington was not to
move his troop out of the gaol, without the orders of two
Magistrates. Were there any other orders ypu heard given ?—— Nothing
further. Did you hear Col. Brereton give Capt. Warrington any
general orders on the march to Bristol, for his guidance whilst
in Bristol ?  None but what I have stated.
Do you know whether any persons called at Leigh's stables,
between 10 and 12 on Sunday night, the 30th October, to ask
for the assistance of Capt. Warrington's troop ?  Yes ; three
persons. Did you hear Capt. Warrington enquire of those persons if
they were Magistrates ?  Yes.
What did they reply ?  That they were not.
Did you hear Capt. Warrington refer those persons to Col.
Brereton, at his quarters ;  Yes.
Did Capt. Warrington express his willingness to go out with
his troop if he had an order from a Magistrate to do so ? 
Yes. Private Bromley examined.
When Capt. Warrington's troop was marching into Bristol,
on Saturday morning, the 29th of October, did you hear Col.
Breieton give Capt. Warrington any orders?  1 did.
State what those orders were?  Directly we came over
the bridge, and were going towards the gaol, I heard him tell
Capt. Warrington he should not have an opportunity of being
in the immediate vicinity where the troops were stationed, as
his duty would call him to various parts of the town, that he
himself (Col. Brereton) should keep a continual communica
tion with the Magistrates, and that Capt. Warrington was not
to turn out his troop, or send out any parties, without an order
direct from him, or on a requisition, signed by two Magistrates.
Sergeant-Major M'Leod examined.
Did you see the troop of the Dodington Yeomanry Cavalry
in Bristol, on any part of Sunday, the 30th October last? 
Yes; they formed in front ofthe Recruiting-Office, in College
green, on or about 11 o'clock on Sunday night.
By the Court.
Do you know what was the strength of the troop ?  No.
[Close of defence on the first charge.]

APPENDIX. 375
Cornet Kelson examined on the second Charge.
Did you see a letter delivered tb Capt. Warrington, at
Leigh's stables, on Monday morning, 31st of October, purport
ing to be from the Mayor of Bristol, and addressed to Lieut.-
Col. Brereton, or the officer commanding his Majesty's troops?
 1 did not see the letter delivered ; I saw Capt; Warrington
reading a letter, about half-past three ; I cannot say to whom
it was addressed, or the purport of the letter.
About how long did he remain in conversation with the per
son who brought him the letter?  About ten minutes.
State what you heard pass on that occasion?  1 heard
either Capt. Warrington, or the troop-sergeant-major, say, it
was the King's regulations that a Magistrate should accompany
any party sent out. Cross-ex amined.
Have the kindness to recollect, if you can, whether it was
Capt. Warrington, or the troop-sergeant-major that made that
reply?  1 cannot recollect which it was.
If that reply was made by the troop-sergeant-major, was it
in Capt. Warrington's presence ?-> — It was.
Sergeant Deane, examined.
Did you see a note delivered to Capt. Warrington on Mon
day morning, the 31st of October?  1 did; about a quarter
to four o'clock.
Did you hear any conversation' between the bearer of the
note and Capt. Warrington ?  1 did.
State what passed ?  When the gentlemen brought the note
they asked me for the commanding officer ; I thought they
meant Captain Warrington, and directed them to the stable
where he was amongst the horses. Capt. Warrington requested
me to get a light for him to read the note. After reading.it,
be told them he was not the commanding officer, and requested
them to take it to Col. Brereton, at the corner of College-green,
and that they would be sure to find him there, or at the District
Adjutant's lodgings. They then answered that they had been
looking for him (Colonel Brereton) for three quarters of an
hour or better, and could not find him. Captain Warrington
expressed his willingness to act, if he could get a proper order,
or be accompanied by a Magistrate. One of the gentlemen then
said, he would expose Col. Brereton's conduct. in the public
papers. Did you JieaT any thing said by either of the gentlemen who
delivered the letter about taking the responsibility on himself,
if Capt. Warrington would open the letter; if so, state what
was said f  One of them requested Capt, Warrington to open
the letter, and said he would be responsible.
Were any orders given to you by Capt. Warrington, in the
presence of those gentlemen, about bridling up the horses .' 
There was ; he ordered the horses that were then not bridled, to
be bridled up immediately, as he expected to have orders to turn
out directly.

376 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

Had you any reason to believe that the gentlemen who de
livered this letter went in consequence of the above conversa
tion, in search of the commanding officer of the troops ; if so,
state your reasons for such belief?  Yes, I had ; at thij time
they were going away, Capt. Warrington requested of them to
go to the corner of College-green, as I have before stated,
where they would find Col. Brereton. A short time afterwards,
Capt. Warrington said to me, " My God, what a lime those
gentlemen are away !"
After the receipt of the Mayor's letter, and before the de
tachment turned out to go to the Square, did you see a Magis
trate call ou Capt. Warrington for assistance ?  1 saw a
gentleman talking to Capt. Warrington about wanting the
services of the troop ; Capt. Warrington told him, " I am ready
and willing to act at any moment, if I could only see a Magis
trate. He said, " lam a Magistrate." Capt. Warrington said,
" Then accompany me." He hesitated for some time, and asked
if that was according to regulation. Capt. Warrington said it
was, or he must have an order signed by two Magistrates. He
then requested Capt. Warrington to go along with him to Col.
Brereton's. Capt. Warrington went with him, and previously
ordered every man to stand to his horse.
Did Capt. Warrington show a willingness to go to Queen-
square, in case he had proper authority for that purpose ? 
He did.
Did the person who had represented himself to be a Magistrate,
offer to go with the detachment?  1 don't remember that
he did. Troop-Sergeant-Major Martin, examined.
Did you see a letter delivered to Capt. Warrington on Mon
day morning, the 31st of October ; if so, state at what time?
 1 saw a letter delivered to him between three and four
o'clock. Did you hear any conversation between Capt. Warrington and
the bearers ; if so, state it ?  They requested Capt. Warring
ton to open it ; Capt. Warrington at first refused ; after some
talking, they said they would take the responsibility upon them
selves. Capt. Warrington then complied.
After the conversation, what became of the bearers ofthe
letter?  They left the bazaar.
When the bearers of the letter were going away, did Captain
Warrington give any orders ; if so, state what they were ? 
One half of the troop was unbridled, and Captain Warrington
ordered me to go and get it bridled up.
Were those gentlemen still within hearing when that order
was given ?  It is my impression they were not.
Did you see a person call at Leigh's stables on Monday morn
ing, the 31st of Oct., and hear him state to Capt. Warrington
that he was a Magistrate ?— I did.
Did you hear any conversation take place between that per
son and Capt. Warrington ; if so, state what it was?— —When
he first came in, he told Capt. Warrington that things had ar-

APPENDIX. 377
rived at such a pitch, that he must insist on his resorting to the
utmost extremity. Capt. Warrington replied, that if he would
show him a Magistrate he was ready to attend directly. He then
replied, " I am a Magistrate." Capt. Warrington then said,
" If you will attend me, I am ready to go." The person then
asked if it was according to regulation that Capt. Warrington
should be attended by a Magistrate. Capt. Warrington said,
" Yes." The person calling himself a Magistrate then requested
Capt. Warrington to attend him to Col. Brereton's, and Capt.
Warrington went.
Did the conversation you have mentioned take place in the
Horse bazaar ?  It did.
Priva'e Li. Eir Ellis, examined on the third Charge.
Were you one of the party which accompanied Cornet Kelson
to the city gaol on Sunday afternoon the 30th Oct. ?  Yes.
Did you hear Captain Warrington give Cornet Kelson any
orders as to the place where the detachment was to go, and from
whom they were to receive subsequent instructions ?  Yes ;
he gave orders to Cornet Kelson to march to College-green, and
to wait for further orders from Col. Brereton.
Did you hear any thing said to Cornet Kelson by Colonel
Brereton, before you went to the city gaol, about removing
some of the party from the Mansion-house ?  Col. Brereton
desired Cornet Kelson to go to the Mansion-house, to take up
that party, and proceed to the gaol.
Sergeant Deane examined.
Did you accompany a party of the 3rd dragoon guards, under
Cornet Kelson, from Leigh's stables to College-green, about
four o'clock on Sunday afternoon, the 30th October?  1 did.
What was the strength of the party, and where was it desired
to go, when it left Leigh's stables?  Eleven ; it was directed
to go to College-green. Thomas Darrell, Esq. examined.
Did you accompany Capt. Warrington to Col. Brereton's
lodgings, in Unity-street, on Sunday the 30th October, between
seven and eight o'clock in the evening ?  1 did accompany an
officer ; I do not know whether it was Capt. Warrington.
Did you hear any conversation take place on that occasion
between the officer you so accompanied and Col. Brereton ; if
so, state what it was ?  .1 heard a few words ; when I went
in, the officer asked Col. Brereton what was to be done? Col.
Brereton replied he did not know, he had no orders ; or some
thing to that effect.
Did you hear the officer you accompanied ask Col. Brereton
if he had any orders for him?  1 did not.
Can you recollect whether Col. Brereton's expression was,
" I have no orders for you," or " I have no orders ?" I believe
he said, " I do not know what is to be done, I have no orders."
Thomas Pompett, servant to Gen. Pearson, examined.
Did you see Capt. Warrington call at General Pearson's, on
Sunday evening, Oct. 30 ; if so, state at what hour ? -Yes ;
between six and seven.

378 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Where did General Pearson reside on that occasion?  At
Prospect Cottage, Somerset-place, Clifton.
What time did General Pearson dine on that day, and was
dinner over when Capt. Warrington arrived?  He dined at
five o'clock, and dinner was over.
How long did Capt. Warrington remain with the General ?
 1 should suppose about four or five minutes, from the time
I let him in till the bell was rung for me to let him out.
How was Capt. Warrington dressed?— —To the best of my
recollection he was in uniform.
Do you recollect what sort of weather it was that evening?
1  It was wet.
Can you recollect how long after Gen. Pearson's dinner-hour
it was when Capt. Warrington called?  1 cannot, exactly.
By the Court.
Do you recollect whether Capt. Warrington came on horse
back?  1 do not recollect ; there are several steps before the
door, and I do not know whether he came on horseback or not.
An affidavit was here tendered by Captain Warrington, which stated that General
Pearson was too ill to attend the. Court. It also deposed to certain facts connected with
Capt. Warrington's visit to the General on Sunday night, the 30th of October.
General Dalbiac, after looking over the affidavit, said his duty would not permit him
to allow it to be entered on the minutes, as it prevented him from an opportunity of
cross-examination. It was then proposedby the President that if Capt. Warrington, thought it essential to
obtain the evidence of General Pearson, the Court should adjourn until to-morrow
morning, and-then meet at the General's house.
Capt. Warrington, after consulting with bis friends, said the Magistrate before whom
Gen. Pearson's affidavit was sworn was in Court, and had just informed him (Captain
Warrington) that the General was in that- dangerous state of health that if the Court
adjourned there was no probability of obtaining, his evidence. He would, therefore,
waive the testimony of General Pearson altogether.
Private Daly examined.
Did you receive any orders from Cornet Kelson on Sunday
night, the 30th of October, to go to General Pearson's for
Capt. Warrington?  1 did.
At what hour, and what were the orders given to you ? 
About eight o'clock I was ordered to go to General Pearson's,
and tell Capt. Warrington to return immediately.
Did you go direct to Gen. Pearson's?  1 went to another
place by mistake, and was then directed to the right place.
When you got to Somerset Cottage, did you find Capt. War
rington there ?  No.
Did any person at Gen. Pearson's say how long it was Capt.
Warrington had left the house ?  The servant said he had left
some time, but did not mention how long.
Did you return direct to the bazaar from Somerset Cottage?
 1 did.
How soon after your return did you see Capt. Warrington
and at what place ?  1 saw Capt. Warrington directly after
my return, at the Horse bazaar.
As nearly as you can recollect, what was the hour at which
you saw Capt. Warrington at the Horse bazaar, after your re
turn from Somerset Cottage ?  1 should think it was about
nine o'clock, as near as I can recollect.

APPENDIX. 379
Cross-examined.
Do you know how many men and horses of the 3rd dragoon
guards were there when Capt. Warrington arrived, after his
return from Somerset Cottage ?—— I don't know.
By the Court.
Do you know whether Capt. Warrington went to Somerset
Cottage on foot or horseback ?
[Capt. Warrington admitted that he went on foot.]
John Corfibld, Waiter at Reeve's Hotel, examined.
Were you sent for some medicine for Capt. Warrington on
Sunday evening, Oct. 30lh ?  1 was.
Cornet Kelson recalled.
Did Capt. Warrington absent himself from his quarters at
Reeve's hotel, as far as you know, at any time during the Bris
tol riots, except when on duty, or when he told you he was
going to General Pearson's ?  Not at any other time.
Did you observe that Capt. Warrington was ill on Sunday
evening, Oct. 30th ?  1 did.
Cross-examined.
At what hour was it that you observed Capt. Warrington to
be unwell?  Capt. Warrington complained of being unwell
when I returned from Ihe gaol, about five o'clock in the after
noon. By the Court.
Was it raining at any period between seven and nine o'clock,
on the Sunday evening?  1 believe it was.
Private Dbnney, examined.
Did you hear Col. Brereton give any orders to Capt. War
rington on the morning of Monday, the 31st of Oct., between
the hours of three and four o'clock, at Leigh's stables ?  Yes.
State what you heard?  Col. Brereton was coming on
horseback after Capt. Warrington. He called to Capt. War
rington, and told him to get his troop out immediately, or a
part of it. Capt. Warrington wished to go himself with his
whole troop. Col. Brereton said, " No, you must remain here,
with a few men, as a reserve." Capt. Warrington said, " I
would much rather go out myself." The Colonel replied,
" No, Captain, I think you are very much fatigued, and want
some rest, for you look very poorly." Capt. Warrington said,
" That he was not more so than Mr. Kelson, and the rest of
his troop." Col. Brereton rode off instantly, and desired him
to take his advice.
Were you at that time sentry at the lower end of the yard ?
 Yes.
At which end of the yard were Col. Brereton's orders given
to Capt. Warrington ?  At the lower end.
Sir C. Dalbiac said, that the evidence of this last witness.
went to break down testimony which he thought incontestable ;
he, therefore submitted that he might be allowed to call fresh
witnesses, with regard to the time stated. This he proposed to
do after Capt. Warrington had closed his defence.

380 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Private J. Graham examined.
Did you hear Col. Brereton give any orders to Capt. Warring
ton, at Leigh's stables, about four o'clock on Monday morn
ing ?  1 did; Col. Brereton rode up to Capt. Warrington
and told him one-half of the troop would do: that he knew
that Capt. Warrington was very much fatigued, and might re
main in quarters as a reserve.
Can you speak positively as to the time when this conversa
tion passed, or is it only from conjecture ?  1 consider it to
have been about four o'clock, as nearly as I can possibly tell.
By the Court.
How long was it before the troop was ordered out, that this
conversation took place ?  Just as the troop had turned out.
C. Blissett, Esq. examined.
Did you walk with Col. Brereton to the corner of College-
green, about four o'clock on Monday morning, the 31st of
October .'  1 did.
Did you see him turn down in the direction of Leigh's sta
bles J  I did.
Did any conversation pass between you and Col. Brereton
relative to the duty he was going on ; if so, state it to the
Court?  He said he should be most happy to accompany the
troops to the Square, and that he should be on his horse in
three or four minutes.
Did he state any thing relative to the duty he was going on ?
 1 do not recollect that he stated any thing further. He
said he was going for his horse when he turned down to Leigh's
stables. Had you accompanied Alderman Camplin and Mr. Danson
to Unity-street, or did you see those two gentlemen before you
met Col. Brereton on that morning?  1 did not accompany
them, but I saw them there outside the door.
Cornet Kelson recalled.
Did Col. Brereton, when you met him at four o'clock on
Monday morning, express any surprise that Capt. Warrington
and the remainder of his troop bad not come with the detach
ment under your command ?  He did not.
SIXTH DAY.-Toesoay, January 31.
The Court was not so much crowded as on the preceding
day, probably owing to the sentries being more vigilant in pre
venting many of the tickets from doing double and triple
duty. Major Mackworth, examined for the defence.
Had you any opportunity of judging of Capt. Warrington's
conduct during the Bristol riots?  1 had.
State the opinion you formed of it ?  1 thought he shewed
great willingness to act and strict obedience to his orders.
Did Cornet Kelson of the 3rd dragoon guards command any
detachment of that regiment during the disturbances in the
Forest of Dean in 1831, under your orders?— — He did.

APPENDIX. 381
What opinion did you form of his efficiency ?  IJ thought
he did his duty in an active and intelligent manner.
Cross-examined by the Prosecutor.
Had you any opportunity of judging of Capt. Warrington's
willingness to act between sunset on Sunday night, the 30th
and sunrise on Monday morning, the 31st of Oct. ? None.
Had you not left Queen-square before the arrival of Captain
Warrington with the reserve of his troop, on Monday morning
the 31st of Oct. ?  1 had.
\ By the Court.
What were the orders, to which you have alluded, that Capt.
Warrington received ?  1 heard him repeatedly ordered by
Col. Brereton to clear the Square on Saturday night, and I saw
him instantly and effectually obey his orders.
During the whole time you had an opportunity of witnessing
Capt. Warrington's conduct, did he in any instance evince a
want of vigor and activity requisite in the situation in which he
was placed ?  In no instance within my knowledge.
Under whose orders did Capt. Warrington act on Monday
morning the 31st of Oct. ?  1 don't know.
Major Beckwith, 14th Dragoons, examined.
Were you in command ofthe cavalry in Bristol on Monday,
the 31st of October last?  1 commanded the 14th dragoons.
Col. Brereton was the superior officer, and I gave all the mate
rial orders.
Did you give any orders to the 3rd dragoon guards on Mon
day morning, the 31st of October? — —About ten o'clock on
Monday morning, I recommended Capt. Warrington of the 3rd
dragoon guards what to do. About twelve o'clock Colonel
Brereton gave me authority to give orders to the 3rd dragoon
fuards, if I deemed it necessary. Accordingly, after that time,
did give them the necessary orders.
Did you see Capt. Warrington employed with his troop in
Queen-square on Monday ?  1 did.
Then you had an opportunity of observing Capt. Warrington's
conduct during a considerable period of the riots. Did he shew
every disposition to co-operate with the Civil Authorities ? 
It would be impossible for me to give tbe Court a correct idea
of what I know of Capt. Warrington's conduct, unless I be
permitted to give some detail of the circumstances in which he
was placed when I arrived in Bristol.
Please to state the circumstances in which Capt. Warrington
was placed ?  To do so I must relate in what manner I saw
the Civil and Military Authorities co-operate.
[The President requested Major Beckwith to confine himself as strictly as possible to
the conduct of the prisoner, and avoid implicating parties who were not on their trial
before this Court.]
The Major proceeded. — On reaching Bristol on the morning
of Monday, the 31st of October, I immediately went to the
Council-house, where I found the Mayor and several Magis
trates, who appeared to me bewildered and stupefied with terror.
On hearing the state of affairs in Bristol, I urged that one or
more of the Magistrates should accompany me on horseback for
the purpose of restoring order. They all refused to do so. 

382 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.

[The President again requested the witness to limit his observations to the conduct of
Captain Warrington, and to avoid alluding to parties not before the Court, unless their
conduct went to exculpate the prisoner from any portion of the charges against him. On
that ground only could the Court permit persons to be implicated who were not here
upon their trial, aud had not the opportunity of making their defence. To deviate from
this course would be the height of injustice. Major Beckwith then proceeded to take up
the thread of his evidence.]
 stating that it would make them unpopular, and cause
their property to be destroyed. They also said, that none of
them could ride on horseback except one, whom I pressed to
accompany me, but he declined, saying he had not been on
horseback for 18 years. Seeing therefore that no assistance
could be had from the Magistrates, I demanded and received
from them a written authority to take what measures I deemed
expedient. Prom what I have related, and from what I saw in
another quarter, to which I cannot advert, the impression on
my mind was that Captain Warrington and the 3rd dragoon
guards were in a great measure paralysed by the imbecility and
misconduct of those who ought to have directed them. I have
further to state that during the time I had a personal opportu
nity of observing Capt. Warrington, he appeared to me alert,
zealous, and desirous to do his duty.
By the Court.
Under whose immediate command was Capt. Warrington
acting on the morning of Monday, 31st Oct. previous to 10
o'clock ?  1 suppose under that of Col. Brereton.
During the whole time you had an opportunity of witnessing
Capt. Warrington's conduct, did he in any instance evince a
want of the vigour and activity requisite in the situation in
which he was placed ?  1 do not think he did.
In your answer to a former question you have made use of
the phrase "ought to have directed them •," do you mean to
allude to the officer commanding the troops, or to the Magis
trates ?  To both.
At the time you drew the conclusion you have mentioned
relative to the conduct of those who directed or ought to have
directed the troops, were you aware of the letter of the Mayor
dated at 3 a.m. on Monday morning, directing tbe officer com
manding his Majesty's troops to take the most vigorous, effective,
and decisive measures in his power to quell the existing riots ?
 Yes.
At what time on Monday morning did you arrive at the
Council-house?  -About 7 o'clock.
Were you acquainted with the demand made in the Mayor's
letter alluded to, when you requested written instructions for
your own guidance ?  1 was not.
Had not Capt. Warrington acted with his troop in Queen-
square onMonday morning previous to your arrivall ?-  1 found
him with part of his troop in the Square about half-past seven,
when I first went there.
Captain Gage, 14th Dragoons, examvnnd.
Were you with the 14th dragoons in Bristol, during the riots
on the 29th, 30th, and 3tst of October last ?  1 was.

APPENDIX. 383
Did Capt. Warrington in any instance when you had an
opportunity of witnessing his conduct, evince a want ofthe
vigor and activity requisite in the situation in which he was
placed ?  No — I should say quite the reverse.
Lieut. Dawsos, \4th Dragoons, examined.
Were you with the 14th dragoons at Bristol during the riots
on the 29th, 80th, and 31st of October last ?  Yes.
Did you at any period on the days referred to observe that
Capt. Warrington was unwell ?  Yes.
Had you any opportunity of judging of Capt. Warrington's
conduct during the riots on the days mentioned ; if you had,
state your opinion of it?  1 saw him on Saturday night, be
tween seven and ten o'clock keeping the front of the Mansion-
house, he was then at the head of his troop, and seemed active
and alert. This was the last witness for the defence.
Captain Warrington addressed the President, and said — " I
now beg leave to apprise the Court that I have closed my de
fence, notwithstanding that I have been deprived the benefit of
a material evidence, that of General Pearson, as the Court are
aware. I leave my honour and my character in the hands of
the Court, and feel assured that I can confidently rely on its
impartial decision." SEVENTH DAY.— Thursoay, Feb. 2.
A document was handed in by Captain Warrington
and read by the President. It contained the military
orders of Lord Hill to Sir Colin Campbell, com
manding in the South-west district in the latter part of
1830, when Capt. Warrington was on service there.
The portion of the document to which Capt. Warring
ton particularly directed the attention of the Court was
to the following effect : — The officer commanding any
detachment called out by the civil power is invariably
to require a Magistrate to accompany him, or a written
order signed by two Magistrates.
Sir C. Dalbiac— I am extremely glad the prisoner
has put in that document. He will find that I have
done him full justice with regard to that part of his
duty to which it refers.
Sir C. Dalbiac then proceeded to read the following
REPLY.
" Mr. President, and the Members of this Honourable
Court, — I now approach the last stage of the painful
duty which I have had to sustain during this trial, and
I know not how I can better commence this portion of

384 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
my task than by stating to this Honourable Court how
distinctly I am aware of one melancholy disadvantage
under which the prisoner has laboured in conducting
his defence. The tragical event which brought the
recent proceedings of a former Court to an abrupt ter
mination, has unhappily deprived Capt. Warrington of
a witness whose testimony might have been most im
portant to his cause ; aud I am not only willing, but
most desirous that the loss which he has sustained, may
steadily be kept in view by his Judges.
" I must, however, with perfect freedom, confess
that this disadvantage does by no means appear to
me so severe as the prisoner himself may have been
tempted to imagine. My own honest impression, upon
a dispassionate survey of the evidence, is, that the
points of his defence which have been weakened by the
removal of his commanding officer, are not of essential
and vital importance to his case. I feel the clearest
confidence that it will be in my power to satisfy this
Court that if that witness had been here to speak for
the prisoner, his testimony could have done nothing
more than provide him with certain topics of extenua
tion. It might in certain points of subordinate moment
have strengthened his vindication, but in my conscien
tious belief it could by no possibility have protected
him against the main force of the Charges which have
been preferred in the accusation.
" I repeat, however, that it is my most earnest desire
that the most liberal estimate should be made by the
Court, which the disadvantage alluded to may have in
flicted on the prisoner; and as a pledge ofthe sincerity
of this declaration, I now protest, that in the review of
the evidence which I am about to submit to the Court,
I have made it a part of my own business to weigh and
measure every atom, if I may so express it, of the injury
which the silence of the grave may have brought upon
the case pf the prisoner ; and I have felt myself bound, in
common justice to the prisoner, to make fair allowances
in every particular of his case, in which the voice of the
witness he had lost might have been lifted up in his
defence. " On the other hand, if it becomes our duty to take
care that in the defence which the prisoner has put forth,

APPENDIX. 38.5
he be not permitted to magnify the importance of tbe
testimony of which he has been deprived, or to raise this
negative circumstance, as it were, into a bulwark of
positive exculpation. Neither can we forget the deli
cacy and the justice which are due to the memory of
that witness, whose loss the prisoner had to deplore.
" It must be remembered that were that witness at
this moment amongst us, on many points he could
scarcely open his mouth in exculpation ofthe prisoner,
without pronouncing, to the same extent, his own con
demnation. Those very circumstances which may be
alleged by Capt. W. for the purpose of relieving him
self from some of the weightier parts of the Charges
preferred against him, are the very circumstances which
would press most heavily on the character and the
memory of his late commanding officer. And as that
officer has never been proved guilty, and is now cut off
for ever from the possibility of offering a word in
explanation of his own conduct, it behoves us to be
guarded in giving a hasty ear to topics of defence,
which, if admitted in too comprehensive a sense, could
scarcely fail to bring dishonour upon the name of the
deceased. "Such are the difficulties and such the embarrass
ments which beset the remaining portion of my invidious
and painful office! Nor is this all ! Another circumstance
has arisen materially to increase those difficulties and
embarrassments. "The prisoner has pleaded in extenuation of his
conduct throughout Sunday night, the 30th, and part of
Monday morning, the 31st October, that during that
awful period of the Bristol riots no Magistrate or peace
officer ever made his appearance at the quarters of his
troop to require, to direct, or to enforce the employment
of the military in any attempt to put down the riot, until
Mr. Alderman Camplin arrived, between 4 and 5 o'clock
on Monday morning, at the horse bazaar, and that until
the receipt by Capt. Warrington of the Mayor's letter,
dated 3 o'clock that morning, no Magistrate was to be
heard of.
"The plea, however, which the prisoner has set up of
a want of activity on the part of tbe Magistrates, has
been justified by evidence produced before the Court;
B b

386 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
first, incidentally in the reply of a witness to a question
put by the Court in the course of the prosecution, and
again in the general statement of a witness examined
on the defence. Although, therefore, I do not stand
here to impeach the conduct of the Bristol Magistrates,
I conceive it would be utterly at variance with the
impartiality which I have professed to maintain between
the King and the prisoner throughout this trial, were I
to decline admitting that the absence of all Civil
Authority from the station of the military during the
awful night of Sunday, and until the arrival of Mr.
Alderman Camplin at the horse bazaar, between 4 and
5 o'clock on Monday morning, was a circumstance
calculated, in a variety of ways, to prove prejudicial to
the small military force then employed in Bristol; and
in full justice to the prisoner I must also remark, as the
document is recorded by the Court in evidence against
him, that the letter ofthe Chief Magistrate of the city is
dated simply, "Bristol, 3 o'clock, Monday morning,
31st Oct.," without any designation of the house or the
spot to which reference could be had to the said Chief
Magistrate, in case of urgent or further necessity.
I consider myself bound to make these admissions,
grounded as they are upon the evidence which has been
produced before the Court, purely that the amplest
measure of justice might be done to the prisoner's
defence, and that the Court might be fully satisfied that
the demerits of others have not been suppressed by the
prosecutor, in order to throw out into bolder relief the
demerits of the prisoner. It appears to me, however,
that no circumstance of this kind can relieve the prisoner
of any material part of the accusation against him. I
shall have it in my power to shew that the weighty parts
of the Charges are distinct from any influence which
the conduct of the Civil Authorities, or the orders of the
commanding officer, ought to have produced upon the
conduct of the prisoner ; nor can it be contended, before
a Court like this, that because an officer's difficulties
increase beyond what he had a right to expect, he is on
that account to abandon his duty altogether.
[The gallant General here proceeded to comment
upon the evidence, which he did at some length, and
with much ability, particularly with regard to the exact
time deposed to.]

APPENDIX. 387
" I have been led to trouble the Court at some length
upon this point, not from any apprehension that the
judgment of this Court can be influenced by the ques
tion, as to whether the offence imputed to the prisoner
was committed a few minutes before or a few minutes
after 11 o'clock, but because the time fixed by Mr.
Kington, which I hold to be erroneous, has been made
available by the prisoner in mitigation of a different
portion of the general accusation — namely, the third
count of the third charge.
" The premises and the coincidences, as to time and
circumstance, which are attached to tbe accusation in
the 1st charge, having been thus disposed of, the essence
of that charge resolves itself into a narrow compass,
namely, " That he, Captain Warrington, did not only refuse
" to order out the said troop, or any part thereof, or
" to take any step for the purpose so stated, but used no
" means of conveying the information so received by
" him, or the purport thereof, to Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
" who then held the chief Military Command in the city,
" or of obtaining from the said Lieut.-Col. Brereton
" any order applicable to the occasion."
" And here I must observe, in answer to the appeal
made by the prisoner to the Court, as to whether he
was bound in the words of the charge, " to order out
the troop," &c. that the accusation is not to the effect of
his having disobeyed the order of a Magistrate, but that
being informed by a person of respectability of the danger
to which His Majesty's Custom-House was exposed,
and knowing, as Capt. Warrington well did, the enor
mities which had been committed by the mob through
out the whole day, he did not take those measures which
a regard for the public safety, the honor of his Majesty's
arms, and his own character, as an officer, demanded
of him.
" I shall not stop, at this stage of my reply, to argue
the question, how far an officer, being second in com
mand of a body of his Majesty's troops, under the
circumstances in which the city of Bristol was placed
during the awful night of the 30th October, would be
justified in adhering to general instructions, not to move
from his quarters without express orders from his super
Bb 2

388 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
rior in command, when it is considered that the whole
city was threatened with destruction, that each succeed
ing moment was big with increasing danger, and that
for many hours together (as alleged by the prisoner
himself) the Commanding Officer w as not to be found
where he ought to have been found, or at least to have
been heard of — namely, at the office assigned for
official communication, and when on that account tbe
most natural inference certainly might be either that he
had been intercepted by the rioters, or that some other
casualty had befallen him.
" But if the commands which the prisoner received
not to move from his quarters without the express orders
of his superior officer, were of so very peremptory a
nature, there should at least have been consistency in
the prisoner's obedience. He should not have adhered
to those commands upon some occasions, and have
departed from them upon others. An officer has no
right to blow hot and cold in the same breath, upon
questions of duty; he has no right to play fast and loose
with his command, at a time when the public safety and
the honor of his Majesty's arms are set at their highest
stake. " It is distinctly shewn by the testimony of Mr. Gresley,
produced in support ofthe first count ofthe third charge,
(to which I shall have occasion again to revert) that the
prisoner at 3 o'clock on the same afternoon of Sunday
the 30th had of himself ordered out a detachment under
Cornet Kelson, to proceed to the New Gaol, without
any previous authority for so doing. But the most
remarkable circumstance attending the prisoner's refusal
to comply with the entreaties of Mr. Kington, is, that at
the very moment when he did refuse to comply with the
said entreaties, the prisoner was in the act of violating,
and did then absolutely violate the express orders which
he alleges to have received from the commanding
officer. Cornet Kelson and Troop-Serjeant-Major
Martin distinctly depose that the only occasion when
the troop or any part of it turned out mounted between
ten o'clock on Sunday night, and some short timebefore
5 o'clock on Monday morning, was when Reeve's Hotel
was attacked by the rioters (that is about 5 or 10 minutes
pastil o'clock); upon which occasion John Corfield

APPENDIX. 389
deposes, that Capt, W. came down from his bed-room
that he retired out of a side door of a house towards
Leigh's bazaar, and shortly afterwards appeared mounted
at the head of his troop in front of the hotel. Cornet
Kelson and Troop -Sergeant-Major Martin also depose
(as does J. Corfield,) that Capt. W. on that occasion was
at the head of his troop, and that the troop proceeded
to the front of Reeve's Hotel to repel the rioters. The
Troop-Serjeant-Major further states that the whole
troop (save a corporal and four men then absent on
duty) turned out to repel the attack on Reeve's hotel,
and that the troop first formed in front of the Bazaar
stables; which latter circumstance is also confirmed by
Mr. Stephens. Now I beg to draw the particular
attention of the Court to that part of Mr. Kington's and
Mr. Stephens's testimony, wherein both those witnesses
state, that when Mr. Kington applied to Capt. W. for
the services of his troop to save his Majesty's Custom
House, they found Capt. Warrington at the Horse
Bazaar, mounted at the head of his troop, and that the
troop was mounted also.
" It is quite impossible that this could have occurred
before the prisoner had descended from his bed-room
and had retired by a side door from the hotel ; and as it
has been distinctly proved that the troop never did turn
out mounted between 10 o'clock on Sunday night and a
little before 5 on Monday morning, except upon the
occasion of the attack on Reeve's hotel, I do contend, —
nay, with every possible deference and respect I do
insist, — that I have produced proof incontestible, that,
upon the very occasion, upon the very spot, and at
the very moment, when the prisoner in answer to Mr.
Kington's entreaties replied that he " could, not move
without the express orders of Lieut.-Colonel Brereton,"
the prisoner had violated those express orders by
turning out the troop for the purpose of proceeding with
it to Reeve's hotel; and this most unquestionably upon
his own responsibility ; for not only had there been no-
time for the said restrictive order to be rescinded by
Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, but Capt. W. did himself
declare to Mr. Kington at the very same moment that
he knew not where Lieut.-Col. Brereton was to be found.
Moreover, the prisoner thought fit to repair with his

390 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
troop to Reeve's hotel without a magistrate, and yet the
rioters had committed acts of outrage, and (for aught
the prisoner knew to the contrary) when the troop turned
out, he might just as readily have been brought into
collision with the rioters there as in any other quarter
ofthe city. I can quite appreciate the feeling that
would prompt an officer to afford protection to the
owners of an hotel where he had been courteously en
tertained, and whence he had just before escaped from
the attack of the rioters ; but I cannot comprehend the
feeling under which an officer, after having ordered out
and headed his whole troop for the protection of the
private property of an individual (upon an occasion
when the number of the rioters positively fell short of
the number of the dragoons) could in the very same
moment, and in the very same breath, declare, that he
" could not move" any of his force to that quarter ofthe
city where he knew that the rioters were proceeding
in the destruction of property with systematic pro
gression and with most appalling rapidity. It can
not surely be contended that a few broken windows at
Reeve's hotel were to be put in competion with the
destruction of his Majesty's Custom-house and the
buildings with which it was surrounded ! If then Capt.
Warrington, in defiance of express orders, which he
alleges to have received, and without a Magistrate, con
sidered himself justified in turning out his troop to repel
a body of rioters at the distance of 130 or 140 yards
from their stables, I contend that he had no right to
urge inability to move his troop to a greater distance
without further orders from his superior officer, whom
he alleged he could not find, or without the personal
attendance of a Magistrate whom he alleges he could
not procure.
" With respect to that part of the 1st charge which
imputes to the prisoner his having used no means for
conveying the information received by him to Lieut.-
Col. Brereton, or of obtaining from the said Lieut.-Col.
any orders applicable to the occasion, 1 have to submit
some observations. [Sir Charles again referred to and
commented on the evidence.]
" A question was put by the Court to Cornet Kelson,
towards the close of his evidence on the 27th January,

APPENDIX. 391
whether he conceived the order which he conveyed to
Capt. Warrington not to move without Lieut.-Colonel
Brereton's orders, was intended to refer personally to
Capt. Warrington, or to him and the force under his
command. Cornet Kelson replied, that he understood
the order to refer to Captain Warrington personally.
Such interpretation however, of the order in question
would, in my humble opinion, tend so essentially to
lower Capt.Warrington in the eyes of his regiment, and
of the service at large, and so wonderfully to raise
Cornet Kelson's professional importance above that of
his commanding officer, to a degree far beyond what
his rank or his pretensions could possibly justify, that I
must endeavour to rescue the memory of Lieut.-Colonel
Brereton from the admission of so glaring an incon
gruity, as that of shutting out the services of an officer
of Captain Warrington's experience, who was also next
to himself in command, and of preferring to place his
confidence in a young officer of only sixteen months
standing in the army, when engaged upon a duty as
delicate and important as any in which troops were
ever employed. I cannot, therefore, but ascribe the
extraordinary interpretation which was put upon that
order by Cornet Kelson, to his want of experience in
the service.
" Under either interpretation, however, the order was
disobeyed by the prisoner ; for if it was intended to
refer to him, and the force under his command, he was
not justified, according to his own shewing, in turning
out within an hour afterwards, at the head of his troop
at the mere request of the owners of Reeve's hotel, to
quell a body of rioters who had attacked their house and
premises, without the express authority of Lieutenant-
Colonel Brereton, as well as the personal attendance of
a Magistrate ; and if the said order was intended to refer
to Capt. Warrington personally, or to him alone, how
can the conduct of the prisoner be accounted for in
having kept Cornet Kelson and his troop shut up in
their stables from 1 1 o'clock on Sunday night till half-
past four on Monday morning — an awful interval of
more than five hours, throughout the whole of which
the robber and the incendiary wej e proceeding uncon
trolled from atrocity to atrocity, at a time when public

392 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
and private property was consigned to fire and pillage,
in systematic progression, and when the whole city of
Bristol seemed threatened with universal destruction.
" In proceeding to a consideration of the 2d charge,
I may observe that certain of the premises, or of the
coincidences as to time and circumstance which are
embodied in the accusation, have been proved in the
evidence already referred to in the review of the 1 st
charge, to which there can be no necessity to revert. I
shall therefore address myself at once to the substance
of the offence. In the first place, I may venture to
affirm without any fear of contradiction, that the testi
mony with respect to periods of time which has been
produced in support of the 2d charge, has been given
with most singular but with most unquestionable preci
sion. The Chief Magistrate of the city addresses a
letter to "the officer commanding his Majesty's troops,"
he puts his own signature to it, and he dates it " three
o'clock Monday morning, 31st of October, 1831 ." — [The
gallant Prosecutor here recapitulated the evidence on
this fact.] — Had Capt. W. acted upon the Mayor's letter,
as it was his duty to do, when he first broke the seal and
read the contents thereof, it is as certain as calculation
can make it, that with only a moderate degree of activity
on the part of Capt. Warrington, the troop might have
reached Queen-square before half-past three o'clock,
the distance from Mr. D. Fripp's house whence the
Mayor's said letter was dispatched being distant from
Queen- square, by the way of the Horse bazaar, not
more than about three quarters of a mile ; so that even
then, Capt. Warrington would have had it in his power
to have saved the south wing of the west side of Queen-
square, which was all or nearly all destroyed between
the hour of half-past three and five on the Monday
morning. The unacountable apathy displayed by the
prisoner in having omitted to make a single attempt or
effort to communicate with Lieut.-Colonel Brereton,
between the hours of 11 on Sunday night and half-past
four on Monday morning, has been fully shown by the
observations which I submitted to the Court upon the
evidence produced iu support of tbe 1st charge, which
observations need not be repeated here. But in refer
ence to a question put by the r>nsoner to Sergeant

APPENDIX. 393
Deane, as to whether he, Capt. Warrington, did not
express bis surprise that Mr. Goldney and Mr. Harris
were so long in returning from No. 2, in Unity-street
(where Capt. Warrington seems to have expected they
had gone to report the nature of the Mayor's letter to
the officer commanding,) it may naturally be asked, how
Capt. Warrington could reconcile to himself to confide
an official communication of such importance, and at so
critical a moment, to a private individual, when he
could so easily have conveyed the said letter himself, or
at any rate have dispatched it to Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
by a trusty non-commissioned officer.
" But, unfortunately, that letter appeals to have been
put into the prisoner's pocket and to have been disposed
of with almost as much indifference, as though it had
contained an invitation to dinner — one of the prisoner's
replies being that he should see Lieut.-Col. Brereton at
six o'clock, and would then deliver the letter ; nor has
there been any thing to show that such might not have
been its fate, had not Alderman Camplin called at the
Bazaar for the services of the troop between four and
five o'clock on Monday morning,
" The prisoner put a question to Mr. Goldney and
Mr. Harris in the cross-examination, as to whether the
former had not offered, if Capt. Warrington opened the
Mayor's letter, to take the responsibility on himself — to
which both those gentlemen replied in the negative.
Tre same question, as relating to Mr. Goldney, is put
to Sergeaut-Major Martin and Sergeant Deane, who
both reply in the affirmative. But I have been totally
at a loss, ever since the question was first put, as to any
possible object it could have. I know but of one sort
of responsibility of any consequence to the prisoner —
that is, his responsibility to the King ; and how that
responsibility could be lightened by any act or promise
of a private individual, I am quite at a loss to conjecture.
Upon the whole, then, it is my painful duty to contend,
that with respect to the substance of the 2nd charge,
Capt. Warrington is entitled to no relief whatever, either
from any supineness of the Civil Authorities, or by rea
son of any command which he could possibly have re
ceived from his superior officer. The prisoner was
second in command in Bristol, and at the veiy moment

394 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
that he broke the seal of the Mayor's letter, and read its
contents, it ought to have been conveyed by a safe and
certain hand to Lieut.-Col. Brereton, if he was to be
found ; and if he was not to be found, Capt. Warrington
had constituted himself 'the representative of his superior
officer, and should instantly have acted upon the con
tents of the letter. By neglecting to do so, he compro
mised not only his own character as an officer, but the
character of his superior in command, as weil as the
honour of his Majesty's arms.
" I proceed now to a consideration of the 3rd charge,
and in respect to the 1st count of that charge, I. have to
observe that Cornet Kelson admits his being in doubt,
as to whether Capt. Warrington ordered him to take up
a party in Queen-square, or whether Capt. Warrington
told him to tell Lieut.-Col. Brereton that there was a
party in Queen-square which might be taken up, to join
the party which marched from the bazaar by Captain
Warrington's orders, in order to proceed to the new
gaol. But, as in either case Capt. Warrington might
be the proper person to command the two parties, when
united, it surely behoved Capt. Warrington to take the
trouble of accompanying Cornet Kelson for 200 yards
across College-green, to receive Lieut.-Col. Brereton's
directions ; for it is distinctly shewn by the testimony of
Lieut. Francis aud the Staff-Sergeanjts, that the order
to turn out that detachment did not emanate from Lieut.-
Col. Brereton. Not one word has been adduced to
shake the unsophisticated evidence of Mr. Gresley, who
states that he made the requisition for military assistance,
to defend the goal, to Capt. Warrington in the Coffee-
room at Reeve's hotel. He details the order given by
Capt. Warrington to Cornet Kelson upon that occasion,
precisely in the terms in which that order was carried
into effect — which statement coming from a person of
Mr. Gresley's situation in life, namely, that of a ship
builder, could not by possibility have been conjured up
in his own imagination, and may therefore be received
as strictly correct.
" The collective essence of the 2nd and 3rd counts of
the 3rd charge is, that in the course of the 30th of Oct.
the prisoner ' absented himself from his quarters for a
considerable time,' &c. and that ' having returned to

APPENDIX. 395
his quarters, during the absence of nearly the whole of
the disposable part of his troop, he, in place of proceed
ing to join the same, &c. retired to his bed.'
"The two counts appear to me to form a- complete
Scylla and Charybdis, for in whatever proportion the
weight of one charge may be relieved with respect to
time, the weight of the other charge must be increased.
1 shall take the time as stated by Cornet Kelson, namely,
that Capt. Warrington gave him orders, about seven
o'clock on Sunday afternoon, to send to him at General
Pearson's, at Clifton, in case he shoidd be wanted, and
there is every reason to suppose that at seven o'clock
Capt. Warrington left his quarters. Cornet Kelson
also states, that upon his return with the detachment
from duty, at about a quarter before ten, he found Capt.
Warrington all but undressed, and in the act of getting
into bed, at the hotel. Private Dooley states, that Capt.
Warrington returned to the bazaar about nine o'clock.
It would appear, then, that Captain Warrington was
absent from his quarters about 2 hours, which absence
relates to the essence of the 2nd count ; and that he was
three-quarters of an hour in the bazaar, or at the hotel,
after his return, which relates to the essence of the 3rd
count. With respect to the former count I have nothing
further to add, — the charge is proved. With respect to
the latter, I must observe, that when Capt. Warrington
arrived at the bazaar at nine o'clock, twenty-eight men
and horses out of thirty-three, were on duty, viz. twenty
which had proceeded to the Bishop's palace, and eight
which had been previously sent to Queen-square. Now,
will it not appear extraordinary to the Court, that, when
the prisoner so returned to the bazaar at nine o'clock,
and found only five men and horses of his troop left in
quarters, and knowing the nature of the duty on which
the troop had been sent, aware of the appalling state in
which the city was placed, and observing the conflagra
tions which were then vomiting forth in different quar
ters of it, he should have had no anxiety, or even
curiosity, to cross College-green, to enquire in what
manner his troop was engaged, and whether his own
services could be of any avail ? I do not entertain the
slightest doubt that Capt. Warrington had felt unwell
at some short time previous to the return of Cornel

396 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
Kelson to the hotel ; but in the full discharge of my
duty, I must observe, that at seven o'clock on that even
ing, Captain Warrington was capable of walking to
General Pearson's house at Clifton — that he did not
return to the hotel till nine o'clock — and that in about
one hour, after he had retired to his bed, he was per
fectly capable of appearing at the head of his troop to
repel the rioters who had attacked the front of Reeve's
hotel — and under all the circumstances of that awful
night, no illness short of some risk of absolute destruc
tion of health, ought to have restrained the prisoner
from proceeding in search of the force entrusted to his
charge, when upon his return to the hotel he found the
troop had escaped from his command ; especially as the
point to which it had been directed was within 200 yards
of the prisoner's quarters.
" With respect to the 4th Count of the 3d Charge,
my humble opinion is that it falls to the ground. But
although the detachment which proceeded to Queen-
square on Monday morning, the 31st Oct., appears to
have been dispatched thither under directions issued by
Lieut.-Colonel Brereton, I should not discharge my
duty, were I to omit remarking upon the extraordinary
arrangement with respect to the divided command of
Capt. Warrington's troop upon that occasion, as deve
loped by the prisoner in his defence — for it appears by
his own shewing, that after Cornet Kelson marched off
with the detachment, Lieut.-Col. Brereton had nothing
to do with the reserve, or the time or occasion for its
being called upon. But Cornet Kelson, the inferior
Officer, is to send for Capt. Warrington, his superior
Officer, without any reference to Lieut.-Col. Brereton,
as soon as there is any thing to do : and how does the
Cornet obey that order ? He waits till near 7 o'clock
before he sends for his Captain, although the detach
ment was called upon two hours before 7 o'clock to use
force for effectually putting down the rioters.
" Having thus gone over such parts of the evidence
produced before tbe Court as appear to me to be essen
tial to the case, I should no longer have trespassed on
the time of the Court, had not the prisoner, upon several
occasions, rested his justification, either directly or
indirectly upon the impossibility or illegality of his

APPENDIX. 397
acting in any case against the rioters, without the po
sitive and personal attendance of a Magistrate.
The instructions on which the prisoner acted last
winter in the south-western district certainly were to
the effect, that no troop or detachment was to be taken
out but by the written requisition or personal attendance
of a Magistrate, without which restriction his Majesty's
troops would have been harassed in all directions upon
every village disturbance or expected disturbance, or
whenever a private gentleman chose to fancy that an
attack was about to be made on his house or premises .
But surely the position of an officer holding a detach
ment commanded in a disturbed district, under cir
cumstances such as I had represented, is not to be
laid upon a parallel with the position of an officer
placed in command of a troop, under circumstances
such as those in which the prisoner stood in this city,
between mid-day of the 30th of Oct., till sunrise of the
following morning, during which most awful period the
rioters were proceeding in systematic progression, from
outrage to outrage, and from enormity to enormity,
without check or control, and when the whole of this
vast and opulent city was threatened, under the pri
soner's own eyes, to be included in one general con
flagration !
" Does the prisoner mean to infer that if, whilst he
was acting in the South West District, under Sir Wm.
Heathcote's directions, that gentleman's house had been
about to be fired by a body of incendiaries, whilst the
owner was from home, and if the prisoner had chanced
to be passing by at the time with his troop, he would
not have used force to check so daring an outrage ?
Or had Winchester Gaol been forced by a body of
rioters, no peace officer being present, and had the
prisoner been at hand with his troop, that he would
have hesitated to repel the tumult and the outrage, to
disperse the delinquents, to take them into custody, or,
if driven to the last extremity, to put them to death?
" The principle then which most alarms me in the
prisoner's address to the Court, and which he has
attempted to maintain in different parts of his defence,
is, that the refusal of an officer to act without a Magis
trate is" wi strict accordance with the rules of the
service."

398 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
" Standing as I do here, at the suit of my Sovereign;
I should ill indeed acquit myself of the trust which has
been reposed in me, were I not to record upon the pro
ceedings of this Court, my most distinct and decided
protest against the doctrine thus set up by the prisoner —
a doctrine at variance with all the declared opinions of
our soundest crown lawyers since the days of Eliza
beth — a doctrine not " in strict accordance with,"' but
most decidedly opposed to, the orders and regulations
of his Majesty's service, as well as to the law of this
land — a doctrine calculated not only to destroy the
moral as well as the professional principles of the
soldier, but to expose the person, as well as the pro
perty of the subject, to violence and destruction — a
doctrine which, if admitted, would enable every officer,
when placed in command of his Majesty's troops, for
the suppression of tumult, to place the inertness of
the civil power between himself and the personal res
ponsibility of his station, and, under the protection of
such inertness, to shelter himself from blame and
disgrace. " I need hardly observe to this Court, that the regi
ments of cavalry in Great Britain are for the most part
dispersed over the whole face of the country, and that
cavalry, from the nature of its arms, is more frequently
called out than any other branch of his Majesty's forces
for the suppression of riots.
" A duty more delicate or more invidious, yet more
important, can scarcely be conceived, than that in which
a military officer is engaged, when employed, either
with or without a peace officer, for the suppression of
tumult and the preservation of the public peace ; and
the case now unhappily before the Court affords a most
deplorable illustration of the evils that may arise, from
a misconception ofthe principles by which the discharge
of this duty should be regulated.
" The Court cannot fail then to appreciate the intense
anxiety under which I labour at the present moment,
when there seems occasion to enquire whether his
Majesty's rules and regulations, which have been issued
for the guidance of the army on the subject of suppres
sion of riot, have become a dead letter.
" Surely to God it is time to raise my voice, and to

APPENDIX. 399
put this question, when an officer under my super
intendence, who has now to answer before this Court
for having declined to act against the rioters under a
distinct and written authority to do so from the Chief
Magistrate of this city, has called upon another officer
under my superintendence to speak to his conduct
during the Bristol riots, which officer did not hesitate
to act against the rioters, under a similar written
authority to do so from the said Chief Magistrate of
Bristoir [ Sir C. Dalbiac here read extracts from "/The sub
stance of the law for the guidance of the military in the
suppression of riots," as entered in his Majesty's regu
lations and orders of the army, and also quoted the
opinions of Lord Chief Justice Tindal and other eminent
authorities on the same point.]
. " Far, veiy far indeed, be it from me (continued the
gallant officer) in an humble endeavour to uphold what
I deem to be the law upon such like occasions, to advo
cate the principle, that British troops, in the absence
of a peace officer, are to take redress into their own
hands, and to have recourse to violence, upon every
trifling tumult or disturbance, or breach of the peace,
or in any case where neither the life or the property of
the subject, or their own preservation, is seriously and
distinctly menaced. Such is not the law of the land !
such has never been the practice of the British soldier.
God in heaven forbid that it should ever become either
one or the other ! The humanity and forbearance of
the British soldier, upon eveiy occasion of popular
tumult or commotion, have been proverbial for ages.
Long may those qualities form his highest attributes !
I Would abhor the soldier that could take advantage of
tumult to shed unnecessarily one drop of blood. Bear
and forbear should be our motto. But I may ask, are
there no occasions where forbearance ceases to be a
virtue ? Are there no limits, beyond which forbearance
becomes criminal, when it adds atrocity to atrocity, and
sacrifice to sacrifice, and when the innocent and well-
disposed, rather than the guilty and ill-designing, are
compromised in its consequences ? A reply to these
questions'may be too readily, too mournfully furnished
by the city of Bristol ! Let us consider, moreover, how
many circumstauces may occur to cause the absence of

400 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
all civil authority. Sickness, infirmity, distance, inter
vention, supineness, disinclination, — any of these may
peradventure tend to keep a peace officer from the actual
scene of riot and outrage. It is on those occasions that
his Majesty's troops, and especially the officers who
command them, are to trust to the rules and regula
tions which have been prescribed by his Gracious
Majesty for their guidance, founded indeed upon the
declared and acknowledged law of the land. In that
beautiful Charge to the Grand Jury of this city, to which
I have had occasion to allude, the Lord Chief Justice
is reported to have thus expressed himself: "it has
been well said that the use of the law consists first, in
preserving men's persons from death and violence ;
next, in securing to them the free enjoyment of their
property." " Having thus been informed of the primary use and .
object of the law, I do boldly affirm, that the first
public service due from the soldier to his country, is
the maintenance of that law, in contributing, as far as
in him lies, towards the security of the subject and the
protection of property, and that it becomes the military,
even in the absence of a peace officer, to put down riot
and tumult by force, whenever such riot and tumult shall
be sufficiently outrageous to place the life or the property
of the subject decidedly in danger, and when that dan
ger cannot be turned aside without forcible interference.
And here I may be allowed to observe, that the officer
who is placed in the command of a body of troops upon
such occasion, is not to consider the cause ofthe absence
of the Civil Authority, nor under any presumed derelic
tion of duty on the part of the magistracy, to refuse to
do his duty, when the riot is either so sudden, so urgent,
or so atrocious as imperatively to demand his decided
interposition. " I repeat that my observations do not point at
trifling occasions ; but I have no hesitation in declaring,
that they do point at all such outrages and enormities
as those which, commencing with the destruction ofthe
Bridewell, soon after noon on Sunday, the 30th of Oct.,
were perpetrated throughout the city of Bristol, without
check or controul, or even an attempt at interference,
until five o'clock on the following morning.

APPENDIX. 401
" Is it that we are maintained only that our services
shall be employed against a. foreign enemy ? Is it that
we are paid by the public and that we have no domestic
service to perform ? Shall the open rebel, the public
robber, and the midnight incendiary be suffered to stalk
forth in our streets to proceed from atrocity to atrocity,
and his Majesty's troops be told that he can lay no hand
upon them but in the presence of a Magistrate ? Shall
our laws be violated in their best and dearest interests,
the destruction of public and of private property be
carried on in a systematic progression ? — Shall our gaols
be forced at noon day, and the felons let loose upon
society ? — Shall our city be fired at all points, and
sacrilege be carried to the very thresholds of our altars,
and British troops be taught that they must stand by
and look on, or be held fast in their quarters, till a
peace officer shall arrive to command and to direct their
exertions ? — Shall the aged and the infirm — the sick and
the helpless — the nursing mother and the nestling infant
be torn from their beds at the dead of the night, to glut
the reckless fury of the plunderer and the incendiary —
and the British soldier be told that he must stretch forth
no hand to save, without the sanction of a Magistrate ?
God forbid ! I say, God in Heaven forbid !
" I have now to express my acknowledgments to the
Court for suffering me to trespass so largely upon their
patience. I have yet an indulgence to crave at their
hands. It is well known, I believe, to most members
of this Court, that the observations which I have pre
sumed to offer, with respect to the law for the suppres
sion of riots, as applied to the Military, have arisen, for
the most part, out of circumstances which occurred, in
the course of the prisoner's defence ; and unversed as I
am in legal phrase, it is much more than possible that
I shall have been betrayed into some expression which
may admit of a different interpretation to that which I
have desired to give it ; I request therefore ofthe Court
that they will put any construction upon my expressions
save that which would impute to me the most remote
idea of having contemplated the slightest infraction of
the law, or the slightest usurpation of the Civil Power
by the Military Forces of these kingdoms.
c c

402 THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
" I protest once for all that it is the occasional pros
titution of the Law in the manner of employing our
military forces, and the occasional prostitution of our
military force when called upon to maintain the law,
that I do severely deprecate, and against which only
have I desired to raise my humble voice.
" I now commit the case of the prisoner into the hands
of this Honourable Court; in doing which I have only
to express my earnest desire that when the Com't shall
proceed to pronounce judgment, should the conduct of
the Prisoner in either of the Charges, or in any part
of either Charge admit of different constructions, the
Court will put that construction upon his conduct which
is most favourable to the Prisoner, to the utmost extent
which is compatible with their duty to the King, to his
Majesty's service, and to the obligation under which
their judgment is to be pronounced. And whatever
that judgment may be as affecting the Prisoner, I most
sincerely, most fervently pray, that the results of this
trial may be productive of benefits not merely to the
interests of the British army, but what is of far deeper
import, to the interests of the nation at large! And
may the flames of Bristol serve as a beacon to every
town and city in the United Kingdom !"
Sir Charles having concluded his eloquent and for
cible address, (which occupied 1 hour and 53 minutes
in the delivery) the President asked Captain Warrington
if he had any further observations to make. On his
replying in the negative, the President ordered the
Court to be cleared, that the members might consider
their judgment. Eighth Day.— Friday, Feb. 3.
The Court having met to deliberate on the evidence,
came to the following decision : — That Capt.Warrington
is guilty of the first and second charges, and of the first
three counts ofthe third charge ; and that he is not guilty
of the fourth count of the third charge. And such con
duct, on the part of the said Capt. Warrington, evincing
a want ofthe vigour and activity requisite in the situation
in which he was placed, being uubecoming his character
as an Officer, and in breach of the Articles of War, the

APPENDIX. 403
Court doth, in virtue thereof, sentence him, the said
Capt, William Henry Warrington, of the 3rd regiment
of dragoon guards, to be cashiered.
H. Fane, Lieutenant-General and President.
A. Thompson, Deputy Judge Advocate.
The Court submitted to the Throne, an earnest and
forcible recommendation in favour of Capt. Warrington.
The grounds of that recommendation are described to
have been, —
" l.The extremely difficult situation in which an inexperienced
young man was placed, — between a military superior and civil
authorities, — both acting so as to perplex and paralyze him.
" 2. That his offences were errors of judgment, not proceeding
from want of zeal to do his duty.
" 3. That when under proper command, both at Bristol and
elsewhere, ample evidence had been adduced of Capt. Warring
ton's active and proper discharge of his duties.
" 4. That the strongest testimonies to his general character
were laid before the Court, by several officers of high rank, and
others, under whom he had served."
His Majesty was graciously pleased to authorise Capt.
Warrington to dispose of his commission at the regu
lated value. By the regulations promulgated from the
War-Office, it appears that the full price of a Captain's
commission in the dragoon guards, dragoons, lancers,
aud hussars, is £3,225; the difference in value between
the several commissions in succession to that of Captain
is £2,035 ; and the difference between full and half-pay,
£1,035. Capt. W. was promoted to a troop in the 3rd
dragoon guards in June, 1830. He had previously had
the rank of Lieutenant in the same corps for three or
four years. The 3rd was much distinguished at Tala
vera, Vittoria, and other places in the Peninsula.

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read remarks.
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read his face.
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