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'vforWuej 'atinding c fa. 'College in- this Colony',

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BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME
OF THE
Alfred E. Perkins Fund

LETTER
Mulish Philosophical a*id Polemical Institution
Addressed.
To HENRY HUNT, Esq.

HoMton, 1§th Jumt 1829.
Sir, The Members ofthe British Philosophical and Polemical
Institution, have desired me to present you with their
warmest and sincere thanks, for your distinguished conduct
in the cause of general Liberty. They have witnessed In
your late exertions an union of the rarest and noblest Virtues j
wisdom, coolness and intrepidity, have been displayed with
a degree of perfection, unsurpassed in the annals of your
country : they feel the strongest sympathy in a fate un
merited, and while the dungeon deprives the sacred cause
of freedom of an invincible Patriot, the recollection of the
sacrifice will create an host of citizens, determined to fee
free, virtuous and. happy; they feel with peculiar anxiety
for the continuance of your health, as the basis of those
expectations, they fondly cherish, will be ultimately real
ized; hut their minor doubts vanish, under the full assur
ance, that when the Philosopher and the Patriot are com
bined, he will exercise his best endeavours to convert every
occurrence, however painful, to the welfare of his country.
I am, Sir,
With great respect,
Your most obedient Servant,
G. KNAPP.
To H.Hunt, Es<*.

Mr. HUNTS REPLY.

JMesisr Jail, Tuesday, June 20, 182».
Sjk, Will you do me the favour to convey to tbe Members
of the Philosophical and Polemical Institution my grateM
sense of the very flattering manner in which they have been
pleased to 'notice my humble, though sincere and zealous,
exertions, in the pause of general Freedom.
To have received at such a moment as this, the
Bae«juivoeal testimony of the approbation of so numerous^
respectable and enlightened a body of my fellow Citizens, is
to me indeed a source of consolation unniingted with alloy.
The consciousness of having merited their kindness
and'confidence, consists in the conviction, that every move
ment of my public life has been disinterestedly directed
to the attainment of the freedom and happiness of tbe
whole human race.
This conviction of the purity of intention, imparts
to the captive in a solitary dungeon, a calm, delightful
serenity of mind, such as could never gladden the bear$
of vice or tyranny, and which is an heir loom so securely
entailed upon virtue and patriotism, that is not in the power
of a packed jury, nor even of timeserving corrupt judges ta
disinherit him who possesses either.
Hitherto I have enjoyed good health, with the
exception of a cold, the natural result of a sudden transition
from a comfortable home, to the gloomy recesses of a daipp

3

unwholesome cell j and as far as cheerfulness of mind and
temperance of body will contribute to that, the greatest of
all earthly blessings, 1 hope to secure the continuance of it;
but I confess that hope is sometimes shaken, when 1 look
through the grated window of my dungeon, and behold
nothing but high, damp, yawning walls, surrounding a very
confined court, I feel that it has more the air of a Well,
than the abode of a human being.
Permit me, however, to assure the Members of the
Philosophical Institution, that the high reward of their good
opinion is not the less grateful and flattering to me because
I am personally unknown to them ; and at the same time,
they may rest perfectly satisfied, that neither time, place,
nor circumstance, shall ever deter me from continuing my
poor endeavours to protect and defend the oppressed, and
boldly and fearlessly advocate the right of all, to enjoy an
equal participation of rational Liberty.
I am, Sir,
Your obedent humble Servant,
H- HUNT,
To G, Knapp, Esq. Hoxtok.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Mr. Hunt begs to acknowledge the receipt of Letters from
friends at Manchester, Leeds, York, Warwick, Paisley, Bristol,
and Bath, &q. During the progress of these Memoirs, Mr.
Hunt will take care to have introduced correct Engravings of
Ilchester Jail, Lancaster Castle, the New Bailey Prison Man
chester, wherein he has been confined, as well as of the interior '
and the exterior of the Dungeon in which he is writing the
History of his Life; also a correct representation ofthe bloody
massacre of the 16th of August, with correct likenesses of
Captain BirUy, Parson Hay, Hulton. of Hulton, Mr. Justice
Bayley, Counsellor Scarlett, and some of the Jury, &c.

No. 2, and succeeding Numbers of the Memoirs
will contain Three full Sheets.

TO THE RADICAL REFORMERS, MALE
AND FEMALE, OF ENGLAND, IRE
LAND, AND SCOTLAND. Ilchester Jail, July 1st, 1820.
My beloved Countrymen and Countrywomen,
Having now finished the manuscript for the second
number of my Memoirs, I proceed to redeem the pledge which I
gave, to address myself particularly to you once a month, which
I intend to do in every number, by having my letter stitched on
to the work, without interfering wilh the pages; so that the
Memoirs may ultimately be bound up either with or without the
addresses, as it may suit the taste of the reader.
These are busy times, my friends, for the enemies of Reform!
Since I last did myself the honor to address you, a multitude of
important matters have occurred, but the arrival of the Queen
stands pre-eminently conspicuous ; and the second edition of the-
Delicate Investigation trumpt up against her Majesty has excited
the indignation of every honest man and modest woman in the
country. One of the greatest crimes that she has committed is,
that she has been welcomed by the Radicals ; that she has received
the support and the countenance of the people. To be beloved
by the people is a crime never to be forgiven by the venal press,
and accordingly the editors of the Courier, the Post, and the
Mock Times, daily vomit forth their cowardly maledictions against
her, ahd pour out their time-serving, unmanly, obscene, and un
founded insinuations against the honour of this unprotected, defence
less female. The Radicals, in common with every honest man in the
country, appear anxious to protect her from the malignant and
dastardly attacks of her assailants ; and, if possible, to rescue her
firom the dangers with which she is threatened, by one of the
foulest conspiracies, that ever (even in this age of plots and con
spiracies) was levelled first against the life, and then against the
honour, of any human being. I most devoutly hope that the
people of England will never again shed one drop of each others
blood, about what is called the succession to the throne; that
they will never again be induced to make war against each other,
about white or red roses ; that they will never again be led away
from looking after, and endeavouring to obtain their own rights,
by joining in the squabbles of those who are wrangling and con
tending only for the power of tyrannising over them. If the people
of England are to be governed by good laws, made by themselves,
and honestly and fairly administered, it will be then of little con
sequence to them, whether their chief magistrate bears the name
of York or Lancaster ; whatever name he may bear, his throne,
under such circumstances, will be seated upon an imperishable
rock, and he will live and reign m the hsarU of a free and loyal

people. But, if the people of England are to be ruled with a rod
of iron, aud are to be governed by laws which are made by others,
who have no interest in common with the public; if those laws
are to be administered by corrupt and wicked men ; if the very
sources of justice are to be polluted and perverted to a base and
profligate state policy ; if things are to be carried on in this way,
and men's lives and liberties are to be sacrificed, under the cloak,
the mere deceitful forms, of law and justice ; if, in fact, the people
of England are to be ridden over, trampled upon, cut down and
murdered, by a lawless, sanguinary, brwte military force, without
any law to protect Ihem from the fury uf their oppressors, while
all sorts of laws are made and put in force to punish them even
for cemplaining of these things ; why then, I say, it will be of
little moment to the people of England whether these atrocities be
sanctioned by the name of GuelpU, or by that of Austin. But,
although I am firmly persuaded that the radicals will never risk
^heir lives in the support of such a system as that which I have
described, yet I am confident that there is not a radical in the
kingdom w ho would not cheerfully hazard the spilling of the last
drop of his blood, if it were necessary, in the defence of a helpless,
an injured, and a persecuted female ; and particularly if it should
turn out that the persecutors of that female are the implacable
enemies of the rights and liberties ofthe people of England.
Now, my friends, one word about our own immediate affair'.
The anniversary of the bloody deeds of the Manchester" massacre
is drawing nigh at hand ; and although time will never efface the
recollection of such a wanton, cruel, and unprovoked slaughter
- from the memory, yet it becomes the duty of the reformers, iu
common justice to the martyrs who were sacrificed, to stamp the
character of that day in some memorable way, so as to hand it
down to future ages as a day upon which an indelible stain, a pur
ple blot, was cast upon the present age, which can never be wiped
away until a just enquiry takes place, aud the murderers are
brought to condign punishment ; for, in the language of Mr.
Charles Grant, (a ministerial member), delivered in the
honourable house upon Mr. Daly's motion on the state of Ireland,
on Wednesday, the 28th of June, it is, as he truly said, a fact,
" That never, in the history of the world, had injury been dene to
" a people with impunity, never had the interests and welfare qf
" a people been sacrificed without retribution, hear, hear,"
Since writing the above, I have seen the report of the proceed
ings of the honourable house on Thursday night, where 1 find
the following — " Sir Francis Burdett begged to withdraw
" his motion on the Manchester affair for the present." What
^hink you of this, my friends ? The honourable Baronet gave
notice of hjs motion early in the session. — -The honourable
Baronet's motion for a new trial came on to be argued in the
court of King's Bench. — The motion for the enquiry in the honour-
able house was withdrawn and fixed for a future day. — The motion
or a new trial in the court of King's Bench till the next term was
put off.— The motion for the enquiry was again withdrawn and
fixed for future time.— The motion for a new trial is afrain nut nff

till next Michaelmas term. Well, my Lords, the Judges, who
have the arbitrary power in these matters, still hold the thin" in
terrorem over the Baronet's head ! What think you of this, my
friends of Manchester ? Why, forsooth ! the Baronet beas to
withdraw his motion onthe Manchester affair for the PRESENT !
Oh ! how are the mighty fallen ! What think you of this, ye radi
cals of Westminster 1 What think you of this, ye Concentrics of
Liverpool 9. How is this \ Sir Francis Burdett was found guilty
upon all the Counts charged against him at Warwick, several da\s
before the famous verdict was found against me at York. I have
been in prison seven weeks on Monday. Two whole terms are
passed over since-my sentence. Sir Francis Burdett has been at
the King's drawing room, 1 see, where he was received very
graciously ; the King having spoken very kindly ' to him. Sir
Francis Burdett has made his motion about the Manchester affair,
and withdrawn it again three times. The Judges have put off his
motion for a new trial three times. I have heard of coquetting ;
but this match of putting, off; this race between my Lords the
Judges and the Baronet, beats every thing ofthe sort I ever heard
or read of. What would I not give now for the Baronet's knack
at a quotation from Shakespeare. Buti defy even Shakespeare
to find a parallel for this — " But Brutus is an honourable man."
Sir F. Burdett, my Friends, although he has for the third, and I
fear the last, time withdrawn his motion ; "yet the honourable
Baronet is an honourable man !!"
What think you of this, my worthy friends, ye. radicals of Presr
ton \ Do you remember what I told you, when you were making
your patriotic disinterested exertions to return me as your repre
sentative to parliament ? You, I am sure will never forget this,
that I said, " Tf you send me into the House of Commons, it is pos-
f sible, by honest and determined perseverance, that there may be
*' an enquiry into the bloody deeds of the 16th of August ; but un-
" less 1 am in that house, I'll pledge my life there is never any en-
" quiry into that transaction." To be sure, after the exposure
which came out upon oath at the trial at York, there was not a
man in the country but was convinced of the peaceable character
of the meeting ; and the general cry was, "well there must be
some enquiry now into the affair." The editor of the Times, when
I was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment, briefly
remarked — " At all events, now the conduct of the magistrates
*' and the yeomanry will be enquired into." But, my friends, you
will never place any reliance again upon any thing of the sort.
There may be some notice of a motion ; there may possibly be
some sham motion — but, as I said before, I pledge my life there
will never be an enquiry into that transaction in the House of Com
mons, unless I am a member of that House. I will, in some
future number, " a tale unfold" of the intrigues of the Baronet's
Rump in this affair. But, Sir Francis Burdett is a member of
parliament, and at liberty, and I am in a prison, therefore, my
friends, we shall have no inquiry.
But,- though enquiry is denied to us, we can, nevertheless, (!•¦>
something to commemorate the event in a manner which uill

4
he at once becoming th« melancholy occasion, and reputable Hi
piirselves. During the last twenty-five years of war against the
liberties of France, preparatory to our own enslavement, we had
every now and then a fast day imposed upon us. Now what
say you, my friends the Radicals of England, Ireland, and Scot
land, to a VOLUNTARY FAST DAY on the sixteenth of next
August, which shall be observed by all sincere Reformers on every
future anniversary of that day, and we will call it the fast day
of BLOOD-GUSH. I, therefore, hereby solemnly declare that,
on Wednesday the 16th day of August next, I will put on MOURN
ING, and that I will taste nothing but bread and water ; and
that the whole day shall be religiously spent in prayer offered up
for the peace of the souls of our friends that were murdered at
Manchester on that day twelve month ; and i will also most de
voutly pray for our enemies, and for those, whoever they may be,
that instigated or committed those murders ; but, mark me well,
the prayer shall be, that they may all be brought to justice, and,
if found guilty, to condign punishment : and I call upon every
real sincere reformer in the united kingdom to follow my exam
ple. Meet on tbat day, my beloved friends, at each others houses,
and as well as fasting and praying, let us seriously contemplate
the past, look steadily at the present, and make up our minds for
the future.
With this solemn and sacred determination on my own part,
and with a confident hope that you will, by following my example,
convince our and our Country's enemies that that foul and bloody
deed shall at least once a year occupy our undivided attention, and
that we will never rest satisfied till there has been a full, fair and
open inquiry into it, and a strict investigation of the conduct of all
the instigators and perpetrators of that atrocious and cowardly
massacre, I am,
My beloved Fellow-countrymen and Fellow-countrywomen,
Your sincere and faithful Friend,
H. HUNT.
P. S. In some future number I will give you a History of the
intrigiies that have been going on, in London and Westminster, to
prevent public opinion from being expressed on my sentence, and
to mar Mr. Wooler's Plan for a Permanent Fund, for those whc
are persecuted in the cause of Reform. Although I am in a Jail, I
know what is going on ; and you, my Friends, shall be made
acquainted with it all in good time.

In No. 3, will be given an exterior View qf
Ilchester J ail, drawn by a gentleman on the spot, ex
pressly for this work.
[Printed by W. Molinetix, i, Br«am'« Buildings, Ckancery L»me.

TO THE
Radical Reformers, Male and Female, of
England, Ireland, and Scotland.
Ilchester Jail, July 25lh, 18-20.
My beloved Fellow Countrymen and Fellow Countrywomen,
If we had not before been proud ofthe nam^- of radir
cais, we most assuredly should be so now ; for, now ilial tile
corrupt and venal tools of government have denounced their
amiable and lovely Queen as a radical, there cannot be a man
or woman in the kingdom, whose heart beats iri the rght
place, but must feel disgraced if they were not thought lo
have a title to that appellation. Every one who is viri nous,
brave, and kind-hearted, every one who dares to act up
rightly and honestly, every one who thinks correctly and
speaks what he thinks, is by these vermin denominated a
radical. Within one short month, since I last had the honour to
address you, my friends, we have witnessed some strungi-
and momentous occurrences. It is pretty clear, notwith
standing they have got me safe and snug in Jail, that the
enemies of reform have not been resting upon a "bed of
roses." It is not more than two short mouths since a woman,
a persecuted and defenceless, though brave and matchless
woman, invaded this mighty land, end in spite of the threats
of Castlereagh, and in defiance of the mighty Wellington,
the "greatest captain of the age?' (as Brougham so repeat
edly and so fawniugly called him to his face,) jn spite of this
mighty warrior, and his mighty army, England has been in
vaded by a Woman, and she has marched like a second
Napoleon from the distant provinces, and taken possession
at once of the capital and the hearts of a generous people,
without firing a single shot, or spilling one drop of blood.
This brave and high-spirited lady has certainly gained .the
hearts, and secured the support of nine-tenths of the popu
lation of the country, male and female. You will be aware
that her enemies are the enemies of reform, and that thos?
enemies have proved themselves rery powerful and danger
ous, and that by experience they have shown that they < an,
when thpy please, gef any one found guilty contrary to evi
dence, let thtm be ever so innocent. You will not fail to
recollect, and to repeat it when you read this, that I was
found guilty contrary to the clearest and most indisputable
testimony ; and, in spite of that testimony, was sentenced to
a punishment seldom inflicted upon tho most guilty. And
you will add, that this was quietly done, in spile of the
opinion of the public, and in opposition to the voice of mil
lions, which millions had not the power of preventing my

sentence from being carried into execution ; and that thopt
who sent me here are the self-same parties that are the per
secutors of our amiable, lovely, and brave Queen. You will
say too, that if they wish it, they Can condemn the Queen in
the same way, without any evidence, or even without a hear
ing, and the people, although they abhor such injustice, will
tamely look on upon a mock trial, supported by witnesses
that would not be for one moment listened to, even on a ques
tion where the dispute was about five shillings, and all thi*,
although nineteen twentieths of the people will not be
lieve one word of this suborned testimony : nevertheless,
if the accusers can get a court ora jury chosen by themselves,
to say the word guilty, that then her degradation and punish
ment will follow in spite of any thing, and every thing, that
can be done by the people.
I know this will be the language of many, but I entreat
you, my faithful friends, and real lovers of justice, to mark
well the difference of the two cases. Recollect, that when
the refoimers of Manchester were about to hold their memo
rable meeting on the 16th of August, they had nineteen-
twentieths ofthe public press of England decidedly hostile,
not only to the meeting, but also to the object ofthe meet
ing, which they knew, or at least guessed, was for the pur
pose of obtaining universal suffrage ; that when the meeting
was over, and the sanguinary and murderous deed stared the
public in the face, and that a great portion ofthe public press
disapproved of those deeds, yet it covertly urged the
Government to punish those who called and attended the
meeting ; it always pointed me out as a fit subject for the
vengeance ofthe ministers, and many of those editors, who
professed to abhor the bloody acts of ihe yeomanry, never
theless unequivocally reprobated the ministers for not
having put me down before. Although they contended that
the meetings were legal, yet they urged the ministers to
punish those who were the cause of such meetings being call
ed, and they promised the government, whenever they would
punish me, right or wrong, that they would support them
and justify them i.-i the act, however unjust or tyrannical it
might be.
In this they acted for once consistently ; for, although it
would have been too barefaced to justify either the verdict,
or the infamous sentence, yet tbey have taken special care
never to write one line in reprobation of that sentence ;
when I say they I mean the daily London press, and lam
quietly placed here for two years and six months, in opposi
tion to the honest judgment of nineteen twentieths ofthe
people, ahd with the full conviction that the verdict against
me was an unjust verdict, obtained by a packed jury, and
that tbe sentence was a cruel, vindictive, and unmerited
sentence.

I Now, mark well the difference between my case and that
of the Queen. The Queen, from the first, has had nine-
tenths of the public press of England decidedly iu her favour;
and since the outrageous and barefaced ill treatment which
she has experienced she has not only nine-tenths of the pub
lic press in her favour, she has not only all the honest and
impartial, portion of the press in her favour, but she has
niaety-nine hundredths ofthe talent belonging to the whole
press of England manfully, boldly, and honestly, advocating
her cause, and exposing the villany of her accusers ; in fact,
she has only opposed to her the dirty, grovelling, das
tardly Courier, the Mock Times, and the dull, con
temptible, worn-out, woe-begone Morning Post, with
about as many dirty, petty, underling, hirelings in the
country. Only think of the power and the talent of the
Times, Morning Chronicle, British Press, London Morn
ing daily papers; and the Traveller, 'the Statesman, the
Star, and the Globe, London daily Evening papers. Only
think, my friends, of the combined power and talent of all
these Loudon daily papers : the Queen has all these deci
dedly in her favour! Why, the power and talent of the
Times alone, is more than treble in weight and influence to
all that they can muster Against hej. Then there are all
the Sunday papers of any character or talent; — there are
the Examiner, the News, the Observer, the Champion, &c.
Then there are all the radical weekly unstamped publica
tions ; there is Cobbett's Register and Wooler's Dwarf, and
these two are a host in themselves ! You will say that the
Reformers always had their support. It is very true; but
we had never the mighty combination of talent and intellect
that is now united in one invincible phalanx in the support
of the Queen. In reality, she has all the talent and integrity
in the country that is worth having; and iri consequence of
this daring attempt to injure and blast her fair fame by the
the means of a secret inquisition, appointed by her
accusers themselves, aud of the last act of cruel and bare
faced injustice, in refusing her a list of the infamous
wretches who are to be dragged forward to appear
against her, every honest roan, aud every virtuous womaii in
the United Kingdom ; every one, in truth, who is not paid
and hired by her accusers, have enrolled themselves in her
irresistible ranks ; whose numbers are such that they cannot
be described by any other name but that of Legion.
And, in God's name, who is there opposed to her? Why,
first and foremost, and mark him well, is Lord Eldon, the
Lord High Chancellor of England, the keeper of the King's
conscience ; a man who has risen from the humble ranks,
his father being a coal merchant. There stands next the
Earl of Liverpool, and who is be? Why, forsooth, the
son of old Jenkinson, a low-bred attorney, Next comes

my Lord Castlereagh, from Ireland, and who h hel
Why, the grandson of a Scotch pedlar. Then conies the
Gaoler General of England, the saintly Lord Sidmouth,
and who is he? Why, the son of old Dr. Addington, of
Reading. And, last, though not least, comes the
Mountebank of the Honourable House, and who is he \
Ah ! my friends, who is he, indeed ! that's a secret worth
knowing ! because nobody can possibly inform us, not
even Madam Ilunn herself; but this we know that he is the
son of Mother Hunii, a low-bred actress, who did not
figure above a third-rater, even iu that profession. And
those terrible high-bred gentry are the lofiy, noble-minded
persons who charge her Majesty with the crime, aud
this is one of the greatest crimes they will ever be able to
prove against her, " of having promoted Mr. Bergami, who
was a courier, to the honour of being her Majesty's Cham
berlain, and having conferred upon him some order and some
tillc." This charge is surely the greatest libel against the
late and present King of England that was ever preferred
against royalty ; for, if il be a crime for a royal personage to
iamo low-bred, low-born beings into power, and to trust, and
to dub them with titles and orders, what will be said of
George the Third, for raising these low-born gentry into
place and power, and granting them titles. What must be
said of him, for bestowing upon them orders of the Garter,
&c. &c.
But to be brief, the Queen has not only invaded the Ca
pita], and taken possession of the people's hearts, but she
lias actually gained a decisive victory, by bringing tho mi
nisters' noses to the grindstone. She has made them chas
tise the wayward child, and take away his rattle from him ;
or, to speak plain, she has compelled them to abandon the
Coronation. This is, indeed, a proof of what the united
voice of a people can accomplish. The Ministers, although
reluctantly, have been compelled to abandon the puppet-
(¦how that they had provided for their master and John Gull*.
Be ye, therefore, united, my friends ; keep a steady eye
upon the motions of iny Lord Eldon, who, it is said, has
made a million and a half of money, since he has held the
office of Keeper qf the King's conscience. — -This immense sum
must, though in a circuitous way, and, no doubt, quite accord
ing to law, have come out of the pockets of the poor suitors
of the Court of Chancery, mostly consisting of infants,
widows, bankrupts, and lunatics. I say, therefore, let tho
people of England keep their eye steadily fixed upon the
Lord Chancellor, who has put himself at the head of the
Queen's accusers, and who is the principal stickler against
granting her a list of the witnesses intended to be brought
forward for ihe purpose of criminating hpr.
The commencemtnt of the fiial, if it may be called a trial,

6*!*4H take place in the House of Lords on the 17th day of
I August, the day following the Anniversary of the bloody
deeds at Manchester. When that day comes, I ara credibly
informed that her Majesty will meet her accusers face to
face ; she will go down to the House of Lords, accompanied
with fthe blessings, the prayers, and the good wishes, of
millions, and she will be attended and protected thither and
back, by myriads of her faithful and warm-hearted subjects ;
she, like her predecessor Queen Elizabeth, will require no
hired guards ; her whole people of the metropolis will turn
out to protect her, and to defend her against the intentions
of her hired traducers.
And here, my worthy Friends, is again a great contrast
between the Queen and any other subject; no seditious
meeting act can apply to her, no multitude, however nu
merous, can be deemed seditious from its numbers, or any
other cause ; no riot, no tumult, no blood, will be spilt upen
this occasion ; no troops will be called out upon that day,
and, if they were, I have no hesitation in saying, that I do
not believe there is a single soldier in the army that would
raise a finger, and much less a sword, either against their
lovely Queen or any of her friends and supporters. In fact,
throughout the army, from north to south, from east to west,
I have it from all quarters that the watch word of the loyal
military is, " God save the Queen I" Let me caution my
Lord Eldon, who is a long-headed, sensible man, how he
sanctions the calling out of Troops upon this occasion,
for 1 say the Queen will want no other Guards but her
faithful Citizens; should she, however, want any, 1 have no
doubt but she will have the hearts of the British soldiers.
Perhaps even the existence of a second Quiroga is a thing
which is not impossible ?
Well, my friends ! the Sixteenth of August, the day of
wanton blood-spilling, is fast approaching, and I am happy
to hear that you are preparing to commemorate the Anniver
sary of that fatal day with a solemnity becoming the oc
casion ; that you mean to make it a day of rest, of fasting,
and of prayer. I have procured, from my worthy friend
Bamford, a Hymn to be sung on that melancholy day, by
those who are sincere Reformers, which will be inserted
with this letter. It will be very proper to be chaunted over
the graves of those who were murdered on that never-to-be-
forgottcn day. 1 hope that all the Reformers of Oldham
will take their children to the grave of poor Lees, and im
press upon tlieir young minds the baseness and wickedness
of the way in which he was murdered. Those who have no
other mourning, will do well to wear a piece of crape on that
day. Mfet together, and arrange among yourselves tbe best
P!'jari3 of raising and securing a permanent fund for reform;

<5
let every village have a fund ; for, believe mc, you ought to
be prepared to meet the worst. I sincerely trust that you
do not suffer that brave and steady fellow, the Bev. Mr.
Harrison, to vvant for any thing in Chester Castle ; think
of Knight, Adamson, Dewhurst, and others, in Lancaster
Bastile. I am sure you will not fail also to recollect Bam-
frd, Johnson, aud Healy in Lincoln Castle. I see there is
a poor fellow sentenced at York to thirty months' imprison
ment, for crying " Hunt and Liberty ;" think of him. I have
this moment received a letter from that excellent, worthy^
true-hearted Reformer, Sir Charles Wolseley. 1 have the
pleasure to inform you that he writes in the highest spirits, and
that he enjoys the greatest of blessings, perfect health, I am
sure that 1 cannot inform you, my friends, of any thing that will
give you greater pleasure, than by assuring you that it is my
serious and decided opinion, that there are not two men in
England who enjoy more real happiness than Sir Charles
Wolseley and myself — Oh howfwe laugh and enjoy ourselves,
while those who sent us into jail are surrounded with compli
cated miseries by day, and are nightly haunted with the ex
pectation that the day of reckoning is nigh at hand !-  ^ —
Forget not the Sixteenth of August ! !
I remain, my beloved
Couutrymen and Countrywomen,
Your sincere Friend,
H. HUNT.
I have requested the Publisher to insert a Copy of the
Bristol Address which was unanimously adopted by a Meet
ing of 20,000 of its Citizens, and which I had the honour to
present to the ^iueen, when she was Princess of Wales. You
will find mc cousistent ; the same man either within or with
out the walls of a jail. The bloody butchering work that is
going on at Glasgow, and Stirling, &c. in Scotland, and at
York, does not appear lo interest the public at all. The
people of England witness executions for high treason with
as little feeling, and with as little chance of deterring others
by example, as the hangings for passing forged bank notes.
If any one will inform me what is become of the Two Mem
bers for Westminster, or at least what they have been doing
during the last Sessions of Parliament, they shall he hand
somely rewarded for their trouble. Oh! Westminster's Pride,
and England's hope, whither art thou fled !
Mr. Hunt, ihe late Candidate for Bristol, presented the
following Address from the Freemen, Burgesses, and Inhabi
tants of thai City, to her Royal Highness the Princess of
Wales, at Montague Mouse, Blackheath, by appointment, a,t
two o'clock yesterday ;

"lo Her Royal Highness Caroline, Princess &f Wales.
'*« The Dutiful and Loyal Addfess of a numerous and ¦ rr>
spectable Public Meeting of Ihe Freemen, Burgesses,
and Inhabitants of the City of Bristol, held ou the Pub
lic Exchange, the 22d day of March, 1813.
" May it please your Royal Highness,
" We, the Freemen, Burgesses, and Inhabitants of the
ancient City of Bristol, in public meeting assembled, beg
leave to approach your Royal Highness, not iu the language
of unmeaning adulation, which would be as disgusting to ttis
dignified mind of your Royal Highness to accept, as it would
be degrading and disgraceful in us as Englishmen to offer;
but we'begto be permitted, in the language of truth and sin
cerity, humbly, though zealously and firmly, lo assure your
Royal Highness that we are actuated soh-ly with the love of
justice when we declare that we entertain the most profound
respect and veneration for the Character, as well as the most
invincible attachment for the Person, of your Royal High
ness.—— We should inflict the greatest torture upon our
feelings if we were to neglect upon this occasion to congra
tulate your Royal Highness, in terms the most unequivocal,
upon the developement of that Conspiracy against your
Royal Highness, which has terminated in the most glaring
exposure of the wicked intentions of your suborned Acch-
sers, the discomfiture of your abandoned and perjured Tra-
ducers, and, at the same time, the most unbounded acquittal
of your Royal Highness in Ihe eyes and hearts of every un
prejudiced person in the universe. But it would be impos
sible to governour feelings if we were to endeavour to ex- -
press our abhorrence in terms adequate to the resentment we
entertain for those who were the promoters aud instigators
of the false, detestable, and groundless accusations against
your Character, for. the base, cowardly, and cruel purpose of
bringing your Illustiious Person to an untimely and ignomi
nious death.'-  We were delighted with that conscientious
rectitude of soul which inspired your Royal HighnebS with
fhe virtuous courage to demand of the House of Commons,
thae ' you may be treated as innocent, or proved to be guilty.'
But we are far more delighted with the result, which has
proved to the whole world that the Character of your Royal
Highness was impregnable tothe deadly and poisonous shafts
of the most malignant and cowardly Slander.  Wehave
only to add, that by this severe trial we are convinced that
your Royal Highness "has secured the love, the veneration,
and the esteem of every manly and feeling heart in the Em
pire ; long may your Royal Highness hve to receive tlieir
willing homage; long, may you enjoy the uninterrupted 1
society of your Illustrious Daughter; and that you may
always succeed in frustrating the machinations of all:,your
Enemies, is the sincere and ardent prayer of your 'faithful.

dutiful, and loyal Fellow-Subjects, the freemen, Burgess?^
and Inhabitants ofthe ancient City of Bristol.
Signed on behalf of the Meeting,
Henry Hunt."
To which Her Royal Highness returned the following
Answer :
" I return my best thanks to the Freemen, Burgesses, aud
Inhabitants ofthe City of Bristol, who have been pleaded to/
send me this handsome testimony of their approbation of my
conduct, and their congratulations on the failure of that con
spiracy which was wickedly contrived by perjured and
suborned Traducers against my Life and Honour."

THE SONG OF THE SLAUGHTER.
Tune. — " Sicilian Mariners' Hymn."
Parent ofthe wide creation,
We would counsel ask of thee !
l,ook upon a mighty nation,
Rousing from its slavery !
If to men our wrongs are stated,.
No redreis for us be found j
All our actions reprobated,
We are but the faster bound,
Thou hast made us to inherit
Strength of body, daring mind ;
Shall we rise, and, in thy spirit,
Tear away the chains that bind ?
Chains, but forged to degrade us,
O, the base indignity t
In the name of God, who made us,
Let us perish, or be free !
Can we e'er forget our brothers,
Cold and gory as they lay i
Can we e'er forgive those others,
For their cruel treachery ?
Ah ! behold their sabres gleaming,
Never, never known to spare !
See the flood of slaughter streaming !
Hark the cries that rend the air '
Youth aud valour nought availed !
Nought availed beauly's prayer ! >
E'eu the lisping infant failed
To arrest the ruin there !
Gi»e the ruffians time to glory •
Theirs is but a waning day ;
We have yet another story,
For the page of history.
Sam. Bamford.
N.B. This song is the exclusive prope^y of Samuel Bamford, for
whose benefit it is published separately — price One Penny.

Printed by W. Molineux, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chaocer; Laue.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

Ilchester Bastile the 12th day of the 2nd year after the
ManchksterMassaciie witliout enquiry.
My beloved Fellow Countrymen and Countrywomen,
I shall in future, date my addresses to you as above,
calculating the day and the year, from tbe fatal 16th of Au
gust, 1819, where an open naked military despotism com
menced, by the slaughter of a peaceable unarmed body of
men, women, and children assembled, in order to exercise a
constitutional right, and which right had, heretofore, been
considered, not only a legal, but a praise-worthy duty — that
of petitioning and remonstrating with the throne against the
tyrannical encroachments of persons in power, upon the
property, the lives, aud the liberties of a long suffering
and patient people. It is not enough, my friends, that we
should never forget the bloody and cruel acts committed on
that day, it is not enough that we should commemorate the
wanton and unprovoked outrages on the anniversary of each
revolving year; but since a whole year has passed over our
heads without even the shadow of an attempt to obtain any in
quiry; since every rational man in the country is now convinc
ed, that there never will be any enquiry as long as the present
system lasts; since the shuffling trickery of those who, in
order to create a diversion in favour of the enemy, pre
tended to take up the subject, and wlio gave several sham
NOTICES of motiorrs in the last Session of Parliament, to
make the Reformers believe that some investigation would
take place : since all these things have become natoiious, it
would be worse than weakness to expect any parliamentary
enquiry : therefore, I say, that we should never let an op
portunity pass without doing something almost every day of
our lives, not only to show our indignation and ab
horrence of the murderous acts themselves, but to convince
our persecutors that the Tecollection of those acts will never
be blotted from our memories, till the foul and bloody stain
be washed out by afair, open, and impartial enquiry, and
the crime expiated by the condign and exemplary punish
ment of flu- murderers, their instigators and abettors, f,

therefore, take the liberty earnestly to recommend the real
Radical Reformers of the united kingdom in future, from
hftnceforth to calculate their political calendar from the 16th
of August, 18J9, and to date all their public documents, and
private letters accordingly. I have now denominated this place
the Ilchester Bastile, because from the new restrictions
imposad and the cruel tortures inflicted upon me without even
the shadow of complaint having been preferred against me,
or the slightest cause assigned to justify such treatment, it is
made nearly to resemble the descriptions we have heard of
the Bastile in Paris before the French Revolution.
Before I proceed slightly to touch upon the nature of this
treatment, which I intend briefly to do, I know it will be some
satisfaction for you to hear, as well as it will be agreat con
solation for me to state, that although they have inflicted the
most cruel mental torture upon me, that it was possible for
the invention of man to suggest, although they have left
nothing untried that could afflict and agonize the feeling
of a susceptible mind, although they have past the
climax of mental persecution and have but barely stop
ped short of personal torture and corporeal punishments ;
yet, my; friends, I feel that the conscious rectitude of a
pure disinterested patriotism rouses at once my indignation,
elevates my spirits to a height far above all their malice,
and places the noble mind upon a solid pedestal, at an i'm-
measurable distance, beyond the reach of their vindictive
though impotent revenge.
At such an eventful period as this, when your time
and your active exertions ought to be better employed, it
would be puerile to trouble you with a long detail of my suf
ferings, which detail will shortly come before the public in a
more authenticated and regular form than a mere paragraph
in this address, it is sufficient, therefore, to say, that on
my arrival here at 10 o'clock on the night of the 17th
of May, I was thrust into a cold, damp, unoccupied dungeon,
by the jailor, where there was a bag of musry oat straw
placed upon a jail truck, not fit for the resting-place of a
hog. A stool and a table were the only furniture of my
day dungeon, which had a northern aspect, where the sun
never deigns to shew its ravs for six months in the year.
For the first fortnight 1 was neither allowed fire-irons noi-
fender of any sort, but as fingers were made before either of
these, I contrived to do without them. This place opens
into a small court, about ten yards square, surrounded by
walls about twenty feet high, built of porous stone, which
imbibes every drop of rain that falls upon them, so that in
wet weather it presents the aspect and feeling of a damp

,empty well, and iu hot weather it reflects the heat so as to
convey a sensation like that which a man experiences who
puts his head into the mouth of a baker's oven after the
bread is drawn ; in fact, it is alternately the atmosphere of
an oven and a well. Within the pestilential air of these
walls I was immured for seven weeks without once taking
the fresh air, with which my health was evidently affected,
and which has occasioned me rheumatic pains which 1 shall
be more than fortunate if I get quit of while I remain here.
Thus much for my situation. But what was much more
than this, my friends were only permitted to see me at
three separate hours during the day, and 'not after four
o'clock in the afternoon, so that some who came from a
great distance, even from London, and could not wait over
the night, were obliged to return without seeing me at all :
others came in time, merely to see me a few minutes, and
were then obliged to depart. To be brief; the lime of the
Jail Sessions approached, and Sir John Acland, the
Chairman af the Quarter Sessions, paid me a visit, upon
which the door -of an adjoining larger yard was thrown
open. He suggested several little necessary, accommo
dations, which were immediately effected; and having
heard what farther I required, which principally consisted
in the wish to see my friends at all reasonable hours, he
was pleased to say that they were so reasonable and con
sistent wilh common sense, that he had no doubt but it
would be granted ; and before he left the jail he entered on
the books a strong recommendation to that effect. In a
few days the sessions were heJd, and a large body of magis
trates with Mr. Dickenson the member for the county,
and the other chairman of the Quarter Sessions, asssisted by
the Under-Sheritf and the Clerk of the Peace, attended,
and after a minute investigation upon the spot, made an
order complying with every thing 1 requested agreeable to
the recommendation of Sir John Acland. I was perfectly
satisfied with this arrangement, which continued for seven
weeks to the mutual satisfaction of all parties, without one
regulation or order being violated or encroached upon by
me, and without any complaint being made by the jailor or
any inconvenience arising either to him or any of the officers;
when, suddenly, an order came from the Grand Jury rescind
ing all the material paris of the former arrangement, in pro
hibiting my friends or any other persons to see me only at
fixed hours, and totally excluding all females unless
they saw nie at the double-grating, where all felons, con-
victa, and those charged with oi convicted of unnatural and
other crimes saw aii d met their visitors and associates; and

4
this order was suddenly carried into effect with the most
savage and cruel ferocity, accompanied by circumstances
most revolting to human nature. The visiting-magistrate,
Mr. Moody, and the Reverend Dr. Colston, of Ledford,
came upon being sent for, and as the jailor unequivocally
declared before them that he had never the slighest rea
son to complain of me or any of my visitors, and that
as no inconvenience had arisen from the former regu
lations, I am left to draw my own conclusions upon the
cause of this unheard of, and unmerited punishment. All
that I could learn was, that as Sir John Acland had re
signed his situation as chairman of the quarter-session, and
the Reverend Sir Abraham Elton, of Cleveland-
Court, near Bristol, was appointed in his place, ("JSew
Lords new Laws,")- that Sir John Hawkins ofKELSToN-
Park, near Bath, was foreman of the grand-jury, and
that Sir John Cox Hippesley, of Storeaston, near
Wells, and several reverend magistrates of the county (whose
names will hereafter appear), together with an Edmund
Brodrip, Sen. the perpetual under shetiff of the county,
signed the order, and which the visiting magistrates, however
much they lamented it, had no power to alter. But it is
not for me to say what motives actuated the minds of these
magistrates, although I may be permitted to say, that thoir
proceedings not only annulled, but are diametrically op
posite to the gentlemanlike and truly English feeling of
Sir John Ackland, Mr. Dickenson, and the seven other
magistrates who composed the jail sessions. But the Rev.
Baronet, Justice, and Stipendary, Chairman of
the Quarter-Session, Sir Abraham Elton, who is
the avowed associate of Mrs. Hannah MoRt, and the
professed friend of the late Sir Samuel Romilly, this
gentleman will I hope accept my thanks for one thing,
which is, for inflicting the torture all at once, for after what
they have done, I defy the power of the most vindictive
malice itself to devise any new act of cruelly, (with the
exception of taking my life,) that I care one farthing
about. Now, my Friends, let us look a little upon what is
passing at head-quarters, qur brave, amiable, lovely, per
secuted and innocent Queen, is undergoing what the venal
and corrupt, hirelings of the press, the Courier, the Mock
Times, and the poor deserted woe-be-gone Morning Post
calls a Trial, but who, and what sort of persons are her,
judges? Pray take a " Peep at the Peers" and you will
have at once a more explicit and clear answer than with
out this peep it would be possible to give in seveu or seventy

years.-— Wc must thank the Queen and our persecutors for
this at all events- Look at the Att orney and the Solicitor
Generals my friends, let them from this time forward bear,
and be known by the names, the first of Majomet and the
latter of Majocchi, this will stick by them as long as they
live ; Attorney General Majomet, Solicitor General Ma
jocchi. — I answer to the numerous enquiries of the
Radicals from all parts of the united kingdom, I have no
hesitation in saying that, it is their bonnden duty to rally
round their Queen ; let them take a " Peep at the Peers"
and then answer me whether they think she is not a per
secuted woman, and whether she have any chance of a fair
trial. — I unequivocally state, that I believe Mrt Alderman
Wood to be as honest as he has proved himself brave, and
that the people may rely with the greatest confidence in his
integrity. — As for tho opmion that the Queen is in danger of
being sold by a place-hunting-lawyer, I entreat you my
friends to make yourselves easy about this.- — I believe with
you that this lawyer would have sold her many years back,
that he intended to have sold her at St. Omers, that he
would have sold her at the famous Protocol meetings, that
be was preparing the way to sell her when the extraordinary
answers were given to the addresses from the people of
Nort/iampton and Preston, my fixed opinion is, that he has
been waiting for an opportunity of following the example of
Percival, by betraying and selling her in order to feather
his own nest. — My opinion is, that his frequent expressions
of his unqualified reliance, upon the integrity, the impar
tiality, the honour and justice of her judges the Peers, at
the same moment that the Queen unequivocally declares in
her letter, that she has every reason to object to their being
the judges between her and her husband the King, who has
the power to elevate, to enrich, or to degrade and disgrace
whenever he pleases, as is fully explained in the " Peep at
the Peers," and that she has no reliance upon either their
honour or their impartiality; I therefore, believe, that this
lawyer is calculating upon the price that be always has
been calculating upon, the price that he shall be able to
make of her, but he will be disappointed — I pronounce
that! he will never have it in his power to sell the Queen,
if all that I believe of his intention to do so be true;
and I tell you why he never will ; it is for this plain reason,
SHE WILL NOT BE SOLD. I have the same opinion
of this lawyer now, that I had before the Queen left Eng
land. When I presented the Bristol address to the Queen
I had an opportunity of knowing how matters were carrying
ou by a previous interview that I had upon the subject with

H
Mr. Whltbread, and I communicated Ibis opinion which I
then had, and still entertain, of the intentions of this law
yer, to Lady Charlotte Lindsey, that she might caution the
Queen against his treachery, which 1 have good reason to
know was communicated to the Queen, and I have great
satisfaction in believing, that in consequence of this, her
Majesty has been enabled to avoid being entangled in some
ofthe snares that have since been laid to entrap her. Let
every man take a " Peep at the Peers," let every one pur
chase this work, and he need not trouble himself about ihe
evidence of Majocchi, nor the infamous slanders of Mr. At
torney-General Majomet. Where is Mr. Canning gone to ?
This is worthy of inquiry. If I had the examination ofthe
son of Mother, Hunn, I think. I could make more of him
than Mr. Lawyer Brougham made of the cross-examination
of Majocchi. Perhaps he would be able to inform us who
employed Baron Ompteda to break open the Queen's
writing-desk — perhaps he could tell us what he broke it
open for. Itis just possible, if he were upon his oath,
and in the hands of a steady, acute cross-examiner, one that
would not let him shift from the point, it is just possible,
that he might give us some clue to guess at what letter or
letters the Baron was employed to filch from the writing-
desk, and, at all hazards, to procure for his employers.
Was he instructed to rob the Princess of Wales of the fa
mous letter said to be written by her husband, some time
after their separation, when it is said the mingled influence
of Bacchus and Venus got the better, in an unguarded mo
ment, of his previous dislike to his wife ? Was this the
letter that was so much wished to be got out of the posses
sion of the Princess ? And if it were so, pray, Mr. Can
ning, pray, Mr. Offspring of the lowest ofthe lower orders,
will you be so kind as to answer us one more question — Are
you quite sure that there was no other letter iu the
hands ofthe Queen that you particularly wish to get Irom
her ? Answer me this question : Did you never write any
letters to the Princess of Wales at the time thai she was the
life, the grace, and the ornament of society? Come, come,
Mr. Canning, I would say, if I had the examination of this
reviler of the Radicals, this vilifier of the lower orders, this
mocker of the agonies of the ruptured Ogden, this frothy
declaimer against the Reformers, come, come, sir, I think
you told us iu your speech of the present charges against the
Queen, that " you still possessed all your former respect
regard, VENERATION, and AFFECTION (if you'
might be permitted to use the expression), for her Majesty l hat
you formerly had entertained — pray, good, kind, affection-

ate sir, be so obliging as lo inform us, whether you ever
wrote any affectionate epistle to the Queen? And if
you did, pray did you ever apply to the Queen to get
these famous letters of your writing out of her pos
session ? Did you, or did you not, employ Baron Omp
teda to get more letters than one out of the Queen's
writing-desk ? And now tell us plainly and squarely, why
it is that you privately join with your amiable colleagues
to accuse the Queen, and openly profess to leave them in
the lurch, wretched and miserable as they are, in the hands
of the contemptible Attorney-General Majomet ? If I
were the Queen, 1 would put this frothy affectionate
gentleman into the witness box, and have these questions
put to him ; her Majesty knows him too well to be de
ceived, she knows what he is gone out ofthe way for..
Again, my friends, mark well the proceedings of the Lord
Chancellor Eldon. The papers say that his Lordship begins
to talk about his conscience, aud that he shed tears. The Lord
have mercy upon the Queen, the Lord preserve her from the
LordChancellor'sTEARs! I see his Lordship has found time to
read a "Peep at the Peers,", and he has in his place in Parlia
ment denounced it as containing a great number of falsehoods,
but his Lordship has forgot, at least, he did not chose to
point out one of them. But his Lordship might have said,
the account of my own emoluments and those of my family
are very false, because they are very much under-rated. My
Lord Lauderdale has also denounced, or rather advertised,
this little book, but will he undertake to deny any one item
lhat is placed against his name? In fact, the '* Peep at the
Peers" is a most valuable work, and which should be in the
possession of every man in the United Kingdom. It has,
I see, been compiled with great care and industry by the
only man in the country who was capable of doing it equal
justice. This " Peep at the Peers" has, as ray old adjutant
says, taken the bandage from off the eyes of thousands who
were possessed with the most inveterate blindness. The
author deserves a statue of gold to be erected to his me
mory, and. is entitled to the thanks of every well wisher
to the freedom and happiness of the country. Yet in the
teeth of this, the Queen's Counsel, Mr. Brougham, would
persuade her Majesty and the country to have unlimited
confidence in the impartial justice of the Peers ! Why, my
friends, we, the real radicals, never used to meddle with
these Peers ; we always had an idea that the Peers should
be left alone, not but that we knew they held large grants
from the Crown, that they received innumerable sums annu
ally of the public money — yet we always said, let the King

8
and the House of Lords alone. Give us but a pure House
of Commons, let us be fairly represented in the people's
House of Parliament, and we are content. But the Peers
have now suffered a set of dirty groveling Ministers to drag
them forth to public view, and hold them up to public exe
cration and public indignation, with all their mighty sine
cures, places, pensions, grants and emoluments, that they
annually receive from the pockets ofthe people, heaped upon
them ; most of which emoluments, &c. may be taken from
them at the will and pleasure of the Crown — excellent judges
these to sit in judgment between the King and a subject.
I can only say for myself, I would not be without this little
book, this book of books, this " Peep at the Peers," for
twenty, guineas, if I could not have it otherwise. It conveys
more real, substantial, unequivocal knowledge, as to the real
state ofthe politics of the country, than all the books that
have been published the last century. From the author of
this work 1 had heretofore derived more knowledge of poli
tical economy, than from all the other writers that have ever
wrote upon that subject; but for this work alone, if he had
•never written another line, he is entitled to the thanks of
every lover of his country. There is also the editor ofthe
Times, who has heretofore been a great and mortal enemy
of the radicals, and perhaps there is no paper in the king
dom that has published more false and scandalous libels
against me, personally, than the Times , and when Dr. Slop
was the editor of that paper, it certainly urged the govern
ment to put me to death. But notwithstanding all this, the
able, powerful, excellent and convincing reasoning of that
paper, in the cause of justice and the Queen, has completely
disarmed me from any wish for revenge. It has my unqua
lified thanks, and I have no hesitation in stating it as my firm
conviction, that the Times and the Traveller are at this
moment full half the press of England ; therefore with such
power as this, backed by all the respectable part of the
press, and the whole people, the Queen must ultimately be
rescued from the cruel and vindictive fangs of her accusers.
I shall conclude, by begging every one to take a " Peep at
the Peers," and then judge for themselves.
I remain, my beloved
Fellow Countrymen, and Countrywomen
Your sincere friend,
H. HUNT.

POSTSCRIPT.
1 beg leave to return my grateful thanks for the kind and
flattering addresses that I have received from various quar
ters of the country, since the anniversary of the 16th of
August, and to assure those who have sent them, that I
entertain a due sense of the regard and esteem of my fellow
countrymen, and that their kind sympathy and attention
have, iu no small degree, contributed to enable me to look
down with contempt upon the impotent and malignant exer
tions of those in whose power I am for the present placed,
to torture and to harrass my mind. Although the way in
which 1 am at present treated by petty tyrants, more than
quadruples the severity of tbe sentence passed upon me by
the Court of King's Bench, yet I look forward with delight
to the time, which I believe will be at no great distance,
when the day of retribution shall come ; and I sincerely
pray that when that time arrives, that we shall act mote
humanely and more justly towards our persecutors than they
act toward us, or the Lord have mercy on them. Iu my
lastLetter I made particular enquiries after the two tedoubt-
able Members for Westminster, but I have not yet received
any satisfactory answer. I have heard of ONE speech that
the worthy Baronet made, and some gentleman has written
to say, that he made two speeches during the last Sessions
of Parliament, although he admits one of them was very-
short and of little moment. Oh Westminster ! Westmin
ster! One Speech during a Sessions! What would the
ghost of Fox or of Sheridan say to this? Westminster's
pride and England's hope made <tne speech during the last
Sessions of Parliament. But my correspondent adds, that
he gave several notices of motions — really!!! There are
secrets going on within the walls of this bastile worth
knowing, and a Peep into a Prison will be no bad subject
to enable the Philanthropist to judge of the real state of
prison discipline — horrible !! horrible!!!

A NATIONAL PRAYER;
Intended lo be used on the 16th of August, 1820, the Annicemtiru of ike
Manchester m*******j hy all Britons, whose sentiments and wh</se
complaints it skull be found to ex]>ress.
ALMIGHTY GOD! Creator of the Universr.
FATHER AND JUDGE OF ALL MANKIND ! Look down
from the high and holy place -which Thou hast inhabited
from eternity, and lend a merciful ear to the prayers of an
oppressed people- While we bow be fore Thee, a I this time,
we ure come together to commemorate the day ol'thc *'***>**

10
of qur brethren. One of those periods by which the sun jh
ThyHeavens hath taught us to corapute our time, is passed
away, since we* assembled with a vast multitude of fellow-
sufferers, to make known our wrongs to those who rule over
us and to petition them that they would relieve us from the
griveous load of our manifold burdens, and restore to us that
freedom which Thou gavest to all mankind. Great
Searcher of heabts! Thou kuowest that we sought not
that which was not ours ; Thou knowest lhat our breast*
harboured not a thought against She life even of our deadliest
foes; yet, O God ! while the voice of nature, while the
laws divine and human, all spoke in our behalf, did the arm
ed troops of those whom we were about to supplicate come
amongst us ; and, though opposed only by the pleading cries
of defencelessness, did they violently disperse as at the edge
of the sword, sparing neither the old man, nor the infant;
the young man, nor the maiden ; the mother who had just
borne a child, nor the babe that was hanging at her breast !
We appealed for justice to the men " who are placed iu
authority over us, that they may be a terror unto evil doers;"
but we have been despised and derided. To Thee, O thou
judge of all the earth! will we now appeal: and
Thou wilt not turn a deaf ear to us; Thou wilt not laugh us
to scorn. Not unto the men of violence, not uuto them, but
unto Thee, do we ascribe the praise, that death followed not.
their every stroke. But oh ! Almighty Father! they
who perished, were they not creatures into whose nostrils
Thou hast breathed the breath of life 1 and hath not Thy
Son, tbe Redeemer of the World, declared, that even the
hairs of their heads wereall numbered ? The blood that was
spilled, was it not the blood of the innocent and the defence
less, which bath a voice more powerful to pierce the Heavens
1-h.an are the groaas of a dying army ?— Thou wilt he its
avenger. Vengeance belongeth unto me, and I will repay,
saith Jehovah !
The hand of oppres-.ion, O Lord! still presscrh heavily
upon us. Thou gavest to man I he earth for his inheritance,
and all its fruits, and all the beasts ofthe field, and all the
fishes of the sea, tube his food. The land in which our lot
is cast, is a gocdly and a pleasant land. Here the earth
teems with fruits, and the hillsaiid valleys look bnghtin their
season wilh abundant harvests. Here is foo.d enough for
In this, and one or two subsequent passages, the prayer a? it
stands, is evidently adapted only for persons who were present at the
Manchester Meeting. A very trifling alteration will make it proper for
all Reformers, who were not present. Instead of" we assembled with
a vajt multitude of our fellow-sufferers," let it be read "- a -vast multi
tude of our fellow-sufferers assembled." This alteration,' with Ibe
substitution of tbe -words " them," for " us ;" " tliey" for " we ;"
" their,"' tor '• uur," will be all that i.1- rerjrisitf.

11
tvcry thiug that lives, fhe blight and the mildew, the piagui;
and the pestilence, and the earthquake, we know not. Yet,
O God 1 are we, yet are millions of our-brethren, in this land
of plenty, wasting away under the influence of want. Thou
ordainest that man should live by the sweat of his brow; but
we toil ere the sun begins his race ; when the curtain of night
is drawn around to invite us to] repose, our hand ceaseth
not ; and when we obtain our daily bread it is but a mockery.
The tax-gatherer hath left us but a morsel ! thou hast said,
tbat he who will not work shall not eat; yet, to tens of thou
sands whose brows the sweat of toil never damped, do wc
see lavished the fruits which our labour has produced ; and
while their appetite chooses for itself among a thousand deli
cacies, do we hear them, blaspheming thy name, say unto us
" Your distresses we cannot relieve ; — they are the work of
Provibence ! " Bountiful Creator ! Thy hand hath
showered around us all that is needful lo support and to
sweeten life; but our task-masters deny us, and we cannot,
partake. "Arise, O God, for the sighing ofthe. poor, and
fhe crying ofthe needy ; set them in safety from such as defy
thee." " Siiy to the mighty ones of the earth, that thoygh,
they deal proudly, thou art above them." Judge our cause
thou whose judgments are all righteous! Wc come not
presumptuously before thee, as though we had no sin.
Our sins against I hee are manifold 5 do thou forgive them
and say unto us wiih the voice of Almighty power and grace,
' Go and sin no more.' Our sins against thee are many ;
but against the men who oppress us, have we not sinned.
Long did they cause us to suffer; and we murmured not.
Often did we approach them with such language of suppli
cation, as it became not men to employ but to their Maker.
We have presented ourselves before them, showing the re
duced pittance that we had to satisfy the cravings of our
selves and children ; — of that piltance they have snatched
another part; and, whi'e they held the sword to our bosoms,
have exclaimed " Complain and ye shall die"! — What mean
they that they beat thy people to pieces, and grind the laces of
the poor! Rebuke them, O, thou Most High ! " Break <he
staff of the wicked, and shiver the scrj.tre of unrighteous
rulers'' !
O God! many of our brethren are immured in dungeons,
because they would not stand sileut by while the earth was
rilled with wrongs ; because they lifted up their voices for
their distressed countrymen. Illumine, we beseech Th.ee,
the darkness of their prison-house with Ihe light of Thy
comforts & and be Thou the companion of their solitude.
But, O.ijibid! do thou shorten their captivity; and, if it
pledse Tih e lo inflict chastisement, let the guilty sufftr.
And wliile we beseech Thee for ouisclvcs, and for out

12
brethreu, we would not forget lo implore Thy protection iY
one, whose station it set far above ours, who feels not wani
and misery like that which we suffer ; but against whom are
now leagued the powers of evil. Be Thou, O God ! unto
our Queen, the shield of defence from the malice of her
enemies. Make the fiery darts which they hurl against her;
to recoil upon themselves. Cover them with shame and
everlasting confusion, for their base renewal of twice-
baffled efforts to compass her destruction. "May no false
witnesses be allowed to rise up against her ; and may the
mouths of all liars be stopped !"— We feel confident that
thou wilt deliver her speedily ; and that in the hour of her
triumph will be heard a voice like the thunders of heaven
proclaiming, that OUR DELIVERANCE IS AT HAND !
Even now, O God of Justice and of Freedom ! do
we hear that Thou art striking the thrones of many tyrants.
Even now do we see that Thou art causing the swords and
the spears on which they rested for safety, to break beneath
them, or to pierce themselves. We thank Thee, that the
inquisition is no more ! We thank Thee, thai the land of
flocks and riueyaids, where this fiend of bigotry with its
tu in-born tyranny had long reigned, and which they had
made a desert, and a land of slaves, — now smiles with re
newed beautv, and is become the abode of men who kneel
to no mast' r but their Maker ; and who own allegiance only
to Thy laws, and to those ordinances which they themselves
taking thine for their principles, frame, in order to strengthen
the silken bsnds of human society. We would praise Thy
name that the star of their example has led to emanci
pation, another people who had been sunk for ages in sloth.
and ignorance, and slavery. — Already hast Thou commis
sioned the Angel of Liberty to go forth among the
nations : O let him not stay his flight till, throughout the
world, tyrants and slaves he known only in tho records of the
past! Hapten, we earnestly beseech Thee, the time when he
shall revisit every nation; when the brightness ofhis counte
nance shall shine around all mankind; when tlie invigorat ion of
his prisence shall enable the oppressed to snap as under their
chains, as Thy servant of old, snapped the slender twigs with
which the Philistines had bound him in his slumber : when
tyrants shall flee before him as at the frown ofthe Omnipo
tent ; and when he shall breathe into every soul the inspi
ration of his spirit, never, never to fail !
For the sake of Him whom Thou didst anoint to preach
good lidiugs to the poor, whom Thou didst send to bind up
the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty lo the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound; — for
the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour ;— hear Thou in
Heaven thy dwelling-place, and grant to our prayers an an-
w«it of peace. —Am

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

Ilchester Bastile, Monday the 40th day of the 9nd year
after the Manchester Massacre witliout enquiry.
My beloved Fellow Countrymen and Countryioomen,
Revolution ! Revolution ! Revolution !!! In the short
space of two months we have had three Revolutions, effected
by the Military, effected by Standing Armies in time of
peace. Tlie slaves of Spain, Naples, and Portugal have
been emancipated, almost without blood-shed, by the
Standing Armies, in the employ of their tyrants. Come,
cheer up ! my friends and fellow martyrs, who are incar
cerated at Lincoln, at Lancaster, at Abingdon, and Chester ;
"we have been labouring hard, we have been struggling to
obtain a Reform without Revolution, because we dreaded
the bloodshed that we thought was almost the inevitable
accompaniment of a revolution. We always saw that our
enemies, the Boroughmongers, were hastening Ihe country
into that state which must end in a revolution ; we have,
by every means in our power, endeavoured to obtain a
radical reform in the Commons' House of Parliament, as
the only means of arresting the danger of a revolution, and
for this we are now incarcerated in his Majesty's different
jails, above named. Our enemies, the enemies of the Queen
and ofthe happiness ofthe human race, have contrived to
raise and foster an antipathy between the people and our

fellow citizens the soldiers, and they have hitherto been too
successful in their designs ; but since we have seen, in other
countries, that the soldiers have a feeling in common with
the people, and that, when it has come to a pinch, they have
one and all acted with the people in recovering and consoli
dating the freedom of the people, I think that the radicals
all over the kingdom should be the first to offer the olive
branch of peace and reconciliation to the soldiers. There
never was a better opportunity for effecting this desirable
object than the present moment. Let the name of our be
loved Queen be the rallying point of peace, union, and har
mony. The example of magnanimity and patriotism set us
by our gallant queen has animated every manly and virtuous
breast in the united kingdom; — every British heart leaps
with joy, and every tongue gives utterance to the happy
sensation, and expresses the most unbounded delight to find
that the cowardly traducers and malignant accusers of the
Queen have so completely failed to substantiate their foul
and unnatural charges against her Majesty, even by their own
bribed, hired, and peijured witnesses, who have been so
completely convicted of falsehood out of their own mouths,
that there is not one impartial honest man, nor one disin
terested virtuous woman, in the land that believes one word
of the evidence brought against her Majesty, or one word
ofthe balderdash and obscene falsehoods and calumnies that
have been so impudently, so unblushingly and so unsparing
ly asserted by the despicable and degraded Attorney and
Solicitor General, at the bar of the House of Lords.
It appears very evident to me, my friends, that the Minis
ters Castlereagh, Liverpool, Eldon, Sidmouth, and Welling
ton, are taking rapid strides towards a revolution in this
country, and I am told, and I can easily believe, that Cas
tlereagh and Wellington are for bringing the matter to an
issue as speedily as possible, but that Sidmouth, Liverpool,

and Eldon begin to tremble as they approach the precipice.
At all events, it is our duly, my friends, to be prepared
for the worst, and, by timely anticipation, to endeavour,
as much as possible, to avert the dreadful consequences
that may arise during the impending storm. Some may say
that this is premature ; it may possibly be so ; but, my
friends, there is no harm in being prepared : the man who
has timely notice that an old house is about to fall upon
his head, would be considered an ideot or a madman if he
did not walk out of it, to avoid the impending danger; so
it would be the heighth of folly in us, not to make some
preparation after the numerous warnings that we have had.
In Spain, in Naples, and in Portugal, the people have
had a constitution to form. In England, let what will hap
pen, let the threatened storm burst when it may please my
Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington, the people
of England have the constitution of their ancestors to revert
to. The Radicals have always said, and honestly said, that
they want nothing new, they only want the constitution i
and a reformed House of Commons, chosen by the whole
people, would at once restore that constitution. When the
day of retribution comes, the Radicals will be found the
most consistent, the most rational of all the political par
ties ; and as I am quite sure the Radicals will then have
great power, because they are not only the most numerous
class, but because they are also the most hardy and the most
active class, they are the bone, the muscle, the sinew, and
the nerve of the nation ; therefore, let the Radicals prove
themselves the friends and protectors of freedom. In the
first place, all that we have ever demanded is rational liber
ty, and the very essence of rational liberty is the protection
of personal property ; and, as a revolution may be brought
upon us by our enemies, like a " thief in the night?' let us
be prepared to follow the example of the people of Spain,

Naples, and Portugal, by holdiug all private property sacred
and inviolable, aud as far as we have the means of protect
ing it, let it be held most sacred.
But when it shall please my Lord Castlereagh and Duke
of Wellington to bring about this Revolution, even then the
Radicals will only demand that which they have so often
prayed for, an honest and a fairly-chosen House of Commons.
Well! but the question is, what would a reformed House of
Commons do I My answer is, let us have a reformed House
of Commons, without a revolution if we can, and justice will
be done to the whole nation. If, however, you force the
country into a revolution, why then you must at last have a
reformed parliament, which will produce the same thing;
justice to all, and the inviolability of private property. Then
the question is, what would you do with the army 1 Why
the answer is most easy. Disband them at once ! for they
would not be wanted if you had an honest and a fairly-cho
sen House of Commons. What, then, is this the way in
which you would reward the brave soldiers? send them
about th- ir business, turn them adrift to starve, the same as
the brave sailors were served by the government after they
had fought, bled, and won all their battles for them ! gently
my friend ; pause a little ; not quite so fast ! my answer is
this — If I were a member of a reformed parliament, I would
propose that every soldier and non-commissioned officer
should have his full pay settled upon him for life as a pen
sion, and that every officer should have half pay for life ;
always keeping in view the value of money, asit is possible,
nay most probable, if there were a reformed parliament, that
there might be a great change in the value of money. There
fore, the pension of the soldier should be regulated by the
price of bread. J would calculate how many quartern
loaves a soldier can purchase with his pay now ; I will sup
pose that with his pay now he can purchase fen quartern

loaves _per week, consequently his pension should be always
sufficient to purchase him ten quartern loaves a week, and so
in proportion as to the half pay of the officers. And I would
also go much further, if I were a member of a reformed par
liament; every soldier that has been ten years in the service
should have enough money given him to build a cottage, J
and he should have an allotment of from two to five acres of
land, according to the extent of his services, so as to enable
him to keep a cow, a pig and poultry, and to raise corn and
vegetables enough to support his family; and all that I would
require of him in return is that he should keep his musquet
and his accoutrements in good order, and attend two or
three days or so in each year, in his district, in order to be
prepared at all times to resist an invasion. And this mea
sure I am sure would be sanctioned by three fourths ofthe
members of a reformed parliament. All former military pen
sions to remain as they now are. And I will undertake to
prove,that the nation should save six millions annually by
this measure. The whole pa}', together with building the
cottages, would not amount to more than four millions annu
ally; whereas the army estimates last year were upwards of
ten millions.
In the next place, I would endeavour to see justice done,
and retribution made, to a grossly-injured and cruelly-treated
body of men ; I mean the discarded sailors and midshipmen.
Every sailor that was in the navy at the end of the war
should have full pay for life, and every lieutenant and mid
shipman also should have full pay for life, and if they were
upon service they should have their pay increased at least
one third. All this I am sure a reformed parliament, chosen
hy the people, would instantly agree to. Why the droits
pf the admiralty would more than pay these injured men
their pay for life, and leave a very large surplus for th« ser
vice of the country. Iu fact, what is squandered away up
on lords of the admiralty would go a great way towards

relieving this grossly neglected body of men. Only think of
300O midshipmen, after suffering all the hardships of war, to
fee turned adrift, many of then* without a shilling in their
jwt:kets,t0 go at once to day-labour, or perhaps worse, or to
starve! — What a disgrace to the -country! In tkis Jail,
there is, nay I think I may venture to say that there is not
a Jail in the cc-uutry without, one or more of these injured
young men being confined within its walls for debt.
Oh ! say the venal press, the radicals wish to destroy all
eur ancient institutions ; nay, what says that sprig of the
House of Russell, Lord John, the thing that moved in the
House of Commons for the release of the boroughmonger-
ing Sir Massey Lopez, from Exeter jail] what says
Lord John Russell? "why, forsooth, that the radical re
formers aim at revolution aad anarchy, and the means by
whieh they hope to obtain it, is by forgery and murder?"
Lord John's father, the Duke of Bedford, I believe, holds
large estates and possessions belonging to the public, of what
is vulgarly called erown-lands ,- lands belonging to the pub
hc, the income of which used to go for the support of the
erowra. But the late King when he came to the throne,
found them granted out to great borough-proprietors at a
vevy low rent, for nothing at all in some cases," therefore he
made a bargain with the public, that they should have the
erown-lands, and that the public should pay the King eight
hundred thousand pounds a year out of the taxes in lieu of
them, which is called civil-list money. Now, perhaps, my
Lord John intends to restore these crown-lands to the
light owners, the public, when my Lord John gets the
reform tbat he has been prattling about in the House of
Commons; if he does, and Lord Grosvenor and the patri
otic Lords should follow his example, there will be more
than enough land in the hands of the public, to give each of
the soldiers of the army, and each ofthe disbanded sailors,
'ten acres of laud for his services instead of five, if it should

saver be thought proper to do it. However my fiienrls
these things are well worthy of his lordship's serious con
sideration, and I think he could occupy his time to much
more advantage in devising immediate means for the relief
of the thousands of starving midshipmen and sailors; but I
fear that I shall eradicate every benevolent feeling towards
those of our felhjw-citizens, when I inform him, that, iu
consequence of the ill treatment they have received at the
hands of the government, they are nine out of every ten of
them become most determined radicals. However, as Mr,
Cobbett says, " we shall see."
Now, with respect to my own affairs here, I shall be very
brief indeed. I cafe little about myself, so that my suffer
ing fellow-countrymen are in a fair way of having their in
juries redressed. I remain in the same state, in solitary con
finement twenty out of the twenty-four hours, and since tire
magistrates of the Bath division met at Wells, with tli«
famous John W  -of Shockerwick, at their head, and
made the famous order of exclusion, the geiitleraen/aj'/oj-A' aad
turnkeys here have been trying their hands, to see if they
cannot add to the torture by a humane experiment or two
of their own invention. A son of this r. W  shot a
poor man, ofthe name of Hmii, about three years ago, and
was tried for murder. I pitied the father at the lira", aud
having an opportunity, I, fool-like, assisted the son;
and, by so doing, 1 completely verified the old sayin«,
" save a thief from the gallows and he will cut your
throat." The famous Francis Drake, of notorious memofy,
who was employed in a secret expedition to dispose of
Napoleon secretly, and for which he does us the honour to
receive twelve hundred pounds a gear out of ihe (axes, he
was also there, and signed the order for inflicting torture
upon me. If the agents of Napoleon had been ten minutes
curlier, the people of England would have saved twelve
hundred pounds a year, and this gentleman would not havehad
the gratification of giving me a slab behind my back. I have

writtento Mr. Justice Bayley ; but no more of this till after
the jail sessions, which will be held here on the llth. of
October, when I hope the same magistrates will attend, that
I may learn in what way I have offended, so as to merit the
rescinding the necessary accommodation that they had pre
viously ordered me. Thank God ! the accumulated perse
cution I have experienced has not in the slightest degree
impaired my mind ; neither have I the least fear that any
thing they can do, will ever make me flinch from my duty
to myself, and to you my suffering fellow-countrymen.
Well, what think you of the public press ? The Times
says, on Friday, " we have the ear qf the nation in our pos
session, to an extent that really now almost makes us trem
ble at the responsibility." This is, I believe, perfectly true ;
and I hope that Mr. Walter will take care hovv he misuses
this tremendous responsibility. After what he has said,
with so much courage, and so much talent, one would think
that he can never abuse aud vilify the radicals again. One
more word and I have done upon this subject, can any good
kind soul inform me what is become of " Westminster's pride
and England's hope ? Poor Sir Francis ! do you really
think that your silence will save you from a jail ? Your
money may save you, the alteration in the times, the
Queen, a woman may save you ; but your sneaking silence
will not save you, neilher could you, your man, nor your
rump prevent the dinner to celebrate the triumph of national
liberty in Spain, Naples and Portugal. You will meet at ihe
Crown and Anchor on the day that I have been five months
incarcerated in Ibis dungeon, for advocating ihe cause of
rational liberty in England. I am,
My dear Fellow Countrymen and Countrywomen,
Your faithful Friend,
H. HUNT.

W. MOLINEUX, Printer, Bream's Buildinsrs.
Chancery Lane.

Extract prom the MANCHESTER OBSERVER.
" Mr, Hunt's Birth Day. — The friends and admirers of this
" patriotic and persecuted gentleman, inlend to celebrate
" the return of his next birth day, atPRESTON.by a public
" dinner. The anniversary takes place on Monday the 6th
" of November; and we understand it is in contemplation,
" in several other places, to testify the respect in which Mr.
'• Hunt's exertions and sufferings in the great cause of Re-
" form are held amongst the people of Lancashire, by a simi-
" lar tribute of esteem and gratitude."
The Courier said a short time back, " Poor Hunt is
quite forgotten." — Publisher.
TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,'
op
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

Ilchester Bastile, 5th day, 3rd month, 9nd year, of tha
Manchester Massacre without enquirj.
Saturdny, October 21st.
My beloved Fellow Countrymen and Countrywomen,
In my last address, I informed you that I had written
to Mr. Justice Bailey, relative to the treatment I have
met with here; calling upon him to perform his promise,
made in the name of the Court, on the day he passed the
"Sentence upon me, (that I should be incarcerated two
YEARS AND SIX MONTHS IN THIS INFAMOUS BASTILE)
namely, "that in case I should have any reason to com
plain, an application to the Court would be attended to."
When I wrote my letter to him, the request that I made,
seemed to me, as well as to those friends whom I had an
opportunity of consulting, to be so reasonable, and so con
sistent with common sense, that we expected it would be
granted ; aud, that I should be thereby saved the painful
necessity of agitating the subject any further. The local autho
rities at Wells appeared, indeed, determined to keep my mind
in a state of activity.by their accumulated petty persecutions,
instead of permitting me t*receive those social and rational

comforts, which are so apt to make a man forget that which
he ought always to keep in his mind's eye, and to make him
overlook, palliate, and even forgive, that which he ought
never to forgive. But, as they are resolved that I shall not
sink into a sort of inglorious ease, I ought, I am sure, to
feel more disposed to thank them for tlieir hostility, however
malignantly intended, than to entertain any anger towards
them. In fact, they are more entitled to my pity than to
either: I will, therefore, without further preface, insert a
copy of a letter to Mr. Justice Bailey, and then inform you
of fhe proceedings that have taken place thereon.
TO SIR JOHN BAILEY, KNIGHT.
" Ilchester Jail, September 16, 1S20.
" SlH,
"On the 5th of May last, you, in your judicial capacity,
as Senior Puisne Judge of the Court of King's Bench,
passed the sentence upon me, " that I. should be impri
soned in this Jail for two years and six months."
I then made an application to you personally, to know if
the Court meant that it should be solitary confinement ;
upon which you warmly replied, " that the Court meant no
stick thing ; that the Court made no such order ;" and you
were pleased emphatically to add, " that, in case I should
have any reason to complain of my treatment, an application
to the Court would be attended to, and that if any grievance
should arise, (beyond that qf imprisonment), it would be
remedied?' These, to the, best of my recollection, (and I
believe that I shall never forget any part of the proceedings
of that day,) were your precise words. It appeared" to me
that you, Sir, at the time, were thoroughly impressed with
the conviction, that the extreme length of the period of the
imprisonment (being upon a common calculation, full one
QUARTER OF- THE REMAINING PART OF MY NATURAL
life,) was quite sufficient punishment, without having
inflicted upon me any torture ; your language and your
manner*evidently conveyed to the understanding of every
one present, that the Court did not contemplate any thing

further than that of safe custody; and, I believe, that this
assurance, given by you, Sir, in some measure softened
down, in the eyes of the public, that which otherwise was
generally considered as a cruel and vindictive sentence.
"lam fully impressed with a belief that I am addressing
myself to a gentleman, a man of feeling, a Christian, (and
setting aside state policy,) a humane Judge : therefore I
shall be very brief and very candid in stating the reason'?
that have at length induced me to appeal to you, Sir, as a
man of honour and integrity, to fulfil the solemn pledge
which you made in the name of the Court, to remedy any
grievances of which I might have to complain.
" I will not trouble you here with a lengthened detail of the
disgusting circumstances accompanying the execution ofthe
privations which I have endured since the 15thMay ; because,
although I know you have been placed by your official duty
in a situation, which has imposed upon you the painful and
awful task of frequently consigning your fellow creatures to
eternity, with a single breath from your lips ; yet I would
fain believe that a 6are RECITAL of the loathsome practices
of this jail, which have been attempted to be exercised upon
me, would at once fill your breast with indiguation, and
freeze your blood with horror. I shall, therefore, merely
submit, for the present, that my son, a youth of seventeen,
who was in the court at the time, was so astounded at hearing
you pronounce the words two years and six months, that he
fell senseless upon the floor, and would probably have in this
way breathed his last, had it not been for the humane and
skilful assistance of a medical gentleman who happened acci
dentally to be present. When the information reached my
home, the unexpected, unexampled severity of the sentence
produced such an effect upon the nervous system of one ofthe
female branches of my family, that she was suddenly seized
wilh a paralysis, a total loss of the use of all hor limbs,
which baffled the skill, the unwearied care, and kind atten
tion of one of the most eminent physicians "in the metropolis
for five weeks; during whicli time she suffered in conse
quence great bodily pain and mental anguish, and wa& never
able to stand one moment alone. Under these appalling

circumstances I was dragged away suddenly from town,
without a moment's notice, down to this distant jail, without
being enabled to take a parting farewell of my afflicted
family. So you will perceive, Sir, that in the execution of
the first part of the sentence, I had to encounter no com
mon privations, and lo endure no common sufferings; yet,.
I believe that I should have borne this with silent disdain,
together with the accumulated torture of solitary imprison
ment, which has since been inflicted upon me here, bad not
that innocent and unoffending family been again made the
victims of my persecution, and rendered more than partici
pators in my sufferings. In one word, Sir, after that family
had travelled 150 miles in the hope of soothing the miseries
of my confinement by their kind attentions, and of softening
the rigours of a jail by procuring and providing for me those
common necessaries of which, in consequence of my unex
pected and hasty departure from London, I stood so much
in need, and without which life itself is rendered of very
little value ; you will scarcely believe it, Sir, but that family
was not only prevented from performing these common acts,
of kindness and benevolence, but they were literally pro
hibited from SEEING me, unless it were under such abhorrent
and disgusting conditions as are revolting to human nature,
and which would have rendered the interview ten thousand
times more distressing to me than even death itself. I haye
only to add that this unnatural prohibition was inflicted
without the slightest cause of complaint having ever. been
urged against me by any one, the jailor still protesting to
me, and to the magistrates, that he never had the shadow of a
reason to be dissatisfied with any part of my conduct. Ihave,
therefore, to appeal to your justice to perform your pledge,
to interpose so far with the local authorities here, that they
may place me upon a similar footing with my co-defendants,
Johnson, Bamford, and Healey, who are imprisoned,
(although for a much more reasonable period), in Lincoln
Castle. I do not mean as to local situation, because it is
impossible to render this confined, crowded, and pestiferous
jail, equal in comfort to the salubrious, airy, and commo
dious jcastle of Lincoln ; but I request, with confidence, that

I may be placed on an equal footing with them, so as to be
exempt, as they are, from solitary confinement, and enabled
to enjoy, as they do, the society of their friends, at all reason
able hours. I make this request to you, Sir, with the con
viction that it is so reasonable and consistent with common
sense, common humanity, and common justice, that you will
notvhesitate to comply with it ; and I am actuated to make
it with the more confidence, because, in doing so, I am
guided by that beautiful Christian precept, which says,
'' do unto others that which you would they should do unto
you." I am, therefore, asking no more from you, Sir, than
that which I should feel it my bonnden duty to grant, if, in
this wonderful age of revolutions, by any accidental change
of circumstances and events, by any possible contingency in
the mutability of human affairs, our relative situations should
be reversed. As I shall wait with considerable anxiety for
your reply, the bearer, my son, will leave this at your house,
aud will call again the next day, to ascertain, to a certainty,
whether it has been delivered into your hands ; and as I rely
with confidence on your upright, gentlemanly feeling, I trust
that no state policy will interpose to preyent your early
answer. " J am, Sir,
" Your obedient humble Servant,
" h. hunt:*
My son waited upon Mr. Justice Bailey with this letter,
at his own house, on the very day he returned from the
Northern Circuit. The Judge, after having enquired into
the particulars, informed him, that he could make no order
in his individual capacity ; that my application must be made
to the Court; but that he would enclose my letter to Lord
Sidmouth without delay. This was done, and my letter was
immediately forwarded by Lord Sidmouth down to the
visiting magistrates here, in time for them to lay it before the
meeting of magistrates at the jail sessions ; Wm. Dickenson,
Esq. the member for the county, in the chair. When I
came before them, the letter was produced, and I was asked
if I had any further complaint, or any further application to

G
make to the magistrates ? I answered that there were several
li' tie things that I wished, but I should leave them to be
disposed of_ by the visiting magistrates; that the letter con
tained the principal cause of complaint, and also all that
I required at their hands, which was, to be permitted to see
my friends at all reasonable hours, the same a3 I did before the
order of the magistrates was made at the assizes of Wells ;
but I added, that I was prepared to give them any explana
tion that they might call for, as to any part of that letter to the
judge. They answered that they did not require any; but they
would immediately take it into consideration. About half
an hour afterwards, 1 was called up again, and informed that
they had agreed to refeF my letter to the General Quarter
Sessions atTaunlon; which was to be held ou the following
week. I then repeated the expression of my readiness to
explain any part of the letter, nay, I even said it was my
wish to do so ; but they declined asking me any questions.
You will see, my friends, that there are some grave
charges in this letter. Who would have thought that a
body of Magistrates, assembled for the express purpose of
enquiring into, investigating, and settling the business of
ihe jail, would have separated without making some en
quiry, without putting some such c , v.on as the following;
"Pray, Mr. Hunt, will you info-m us what sort of loath
some practices are carried on in this jail, of which you say,
the bare recital would freeze the blood of Mr. Justice Bay-
ley with horror?" No, not one word to investigate or to ex
plain the mjstery was thought necessary by these gentlemen.
They appeared all so satisfied with the justice and the mo
deration of my request, that it was useless to make any en
quiry, and particularly as the jailor had over and over again
declared to them that, during the time I was allowed to see
my friends, which was from the 6th of July to the 14th of
August, not the slightest inconvenience had arisen, that I
had not taken the slightest liberty beyond what was granted
me, that he had not the most distant cause of complaint to
make against me, or any of my visitors, and that, to use his
own words, " the service had iu ito way suffered or been,
interrupted thereby."

Although I was of opiniou that the Magistrates were al
most bound to make some enquiry into such charges as are
contained in my letter; yet, personally, I thought that I
had no reason to complain, because their declining to do so,
was a clear demonstration to me that they intended to do
away with all reasonable cause of complaint on my part,
since nothing could justify them for departing without mak
ing the necessary enquiry, except a full determinaiion to da
away with the odious and unnatural restrictions in future.
1 therefore rest perfectly satisfied that they will not lend
themselves to the disgraceful DRAKE-eyed policy that go
verned those who made the order at Wells, which was as
follows : — "That uo female visitors whatever should be ad
mitted to come to see me, except my wife and children."
Now, my friends, what think you of Ibis 1 when 1 inform
you that there was never before any such order as this mode
for any other persons since this jail was built. There are
now persons confined in this jail for every species of crime
in the catalogue of human depravity : — Some for rapes,
~~»pme for brutal assaults upon jemales, one for beastiali tt
qf the most revolting kind, some fox forgery, for house-break
ing, manslaughter, murder, &c. &c— yet, not one of these
j persons is prohibited from seeing his female friends upon
the same terms, and at the same time and plat e that he set's
his MALE friends. — You will not fail to perceive, my friends,
how well these humane Magistrates, with Ihe notorious
Francis Drake at their head, understand the method of
inflicting torture upon a political opponent, when they
chance, to get him into their clutches. Kind souls! they
say you may see your wife aud children, when they all knew
at the time that I had been separated from my wife, by
mutual consent, upwards of eighteen years ; and that I had
no female children. What tender-hearted creatures ! They
knew that I had sisters, and other female friends and rela
tions, as respectable as their own families, but they took
care to exclude all these, and say you may see your wife !
Was there ever such mockery of the feelings ? Was there
ever such canting hypocrisy 1 Was there evct such refine
ment upon cruelly ? But it may be said, all this will ccr-

8
tainly be done away with at the Sessions. I must, never
theless, intreatyou, my friends, to look at the injustice and
cruelty that has been dealt out to me for the last two
months. I will shew you that this torture was reserved for
me alone. I will shew you that they have made these odious
rules expressly to torture me.
I will shew you how they have treated other prisoners, and
leave you to settle by what motives they have been actuated
in their conduct to me. The only other person ever sent
here by a sentence of the Court of King's Bench except my
self is Mr. Kinnear, who was sentenced for two years for a
conspiracy also. I suppose I shall be answered that this was
not a political offence, but the court sentenced Mr. Kinnear
to be imprisoned in Ilchester Jail for two years, and when I
came here as a sentence is a stntence, of course I had every
night to expect to be treated as well as this gentleman.
After Mr. Kinnear had been in this jail a few days, his
treatment at first being very similar to that which I expe
rienced on my arrival ; he applied to the magistrates for
those accommodations which were necessary for his com
forts and his convenience, and now let us see what were the
rules and regulations of the jail then. The magistrates very
properly attended to his request, and he was immediately
removed into the Governor's house, where he was accom
modated with every thing consistent with reason aud common
sense. He had a private sitting and bed room, and he took his
meals with the Governor's family. He went to, and left
there when he pleased, none of his friends, male or female
wore prevented free access to him at all hours when the
jail doors were open, which I believe was from six or seven
iu the morning till eleveu or twelve at night, at all events, he
saw all the visitors male and female that came to the house,
and, I believe, that he was never locked into a room the
whole of the time, although he has never told me so, and I
believe a key was never turned upon him more than it was
upon the Governor, with the exception of the door atthe
lodge. Before this, a person by the name of Duncan
Campbell was sentenced to be imprisoned here for six
months for having sliot a man at Lansdown fair, near Bath,

I believe he was tried for murder, but the jury found him
guilty of manslaughter; ho was also accommodated with
apartments in the Governor's house, and, I believe his
family were with him the whole time, at all events, afl
male and female visits were permitted to have free access to
him. I suppose I shall be answered that this was not a
political offence, true, but I mention this among a hundred
other things, some of them of the greatest atrocity, to show
what the rules and regulations of the jail were before I came ;
and, as it is evident that no improper liberties were taken,
or no improper use made of these accommodations, it is
also evident that all new restrictions are levelled at me. As
this is now Saturday, and the Governor is expected home
this evening, I shall, ere long, know what has been decided
at the sessions, and, as there are some gentlemen amongst
the magistrates, and particularly those who made the former
order at the jail sessions in July, which was so satisfactory
to all parties, and out of which, not the slightest inconve
nience arose to any one, I will not doubt for a moment
but they will make such on order as will be agreeable to
the request I made, particularly to see the females of my
family, or in fact any respectable females who may conduct
themselves with propriety. It. will be recollected, by the
famous order from Wells, I am placed iu a much worse
situation than any felon or convict in the Jail. The order
says, no females to be admitted to the said Henry
Hunt, &c. &c. by this order they excluded all females, even
in case of illness or approaching dissolution, when for all
other prisoners -there is a standing order that, in case of ill
ness, females may be admitted to attend the prisoners. This
may be very convenient to keep persons from me, in case
there is any foul play intended ; but if nothing but fair
and honourable tieafment is meant, they will never be ex
cluded at reasonable hours under proper instructions ; but
this is all surmise, after the horrible scenes, which I kuow
exist here, and the disgusting occurrences such as are
revolting to human nature, and totally subversive of all
morality are connived at, and which, of course, must be
sanctioned by some persons, I must make up my mind

10
for any thing, however monstrous and unjust, although
till the promise of Mr. Justice Bailey be proved not
to have been sincere, I am not prepared to submit to
unnecessary torture without using every means in my power
to gain redress, and expose and ''punish the authors of it. I
ought to apologise for having taken up so much of your time,
my fiiends, with my own particular affairs, when there are
go many subjects of much more importance than any thing
that can happen me ; my only excuse is, that the destruction
of the Boroughmongers appears to be so effectually pre
paring by the work of their own hands, that no aid of mine
can possibly hasten or retard their inevitable fate. I will,
therefore, explain that which 1 have been so frequently
asked, whether 1 could account for the odd six months
which were added to the two years of my sentence. This
SIX months will have expired on Monday week, the 30th
of October, and as term is approaching, it may be of some
service to those who are to he brought np for judgment
within the four first days cf term. Sir Francis Burdett,
Major Cartwright, Mr. Wcoler, Mr. Lewis, &c. &c. and as
it may be some amusement to the public, as I believe my in-
formalion lo be correct, I shall give it very frankly and
briefly, which is as follows : when any one is to be brought
up for judgment for a political offence, or in other words,
when state policy requires a political victim, thf judges meet
in their private room before they go into court, and they
discuss the matter as to the quantum of punishment, if they
are agreed, it is all very well, if they are not, they settle it
in this way — alter hearing the parties, they lay their heads
together, apparently for the purpose of consultation, about
that which they have already agreed upon, but each writes
down upon a slip of paper the number of years or months he
wishes to have inflicted upon the party, in proportion to the
antipathy he bears him, ani the zeal he feels in the service of
the administration. I will take my case for an illustration —
Best wrote five, Abbott three, Holroyd two, Bailey, who
tried the cause, none; these being added up make ten, and
being divided by four, the number of the judges there re
mained two and a-half, this was the number of years which
I was destined to be incarcerated ; but Mr. Justice Bailey,
who passed sentence, said two years and six montlis, about a
fortnight less than two years and a half. But it has been
asked, why send him to such an out of the way place as
Jlchester — this I can answer, Best, who is a native of this
county, and being born a very few miles from this place, he

11
well knew that this was one of most confined and one ofthe
most unhealthy situated jails in England ; in consequence of
which it has for many years been scourged by an epdemic
fever, whicli has carried off many of the prisoners, and some
years it has raged so violently, that the judges have been
afraid to have the prisoners brought to be tried at the assizes,
unless <»rea! precautions were taken. In the next place it
was believed there were very few if any Radicals in the
West of England. In the first case the judges were cor
rectly informed by Best, but in the latter, they were never
more mistaken in their lives, the whole of this county
swarms with Radicals of the most sincere kind. How this
hobbling gouty mass of corruption must have been astonished
to have heard that Ilchester was one of the first places in
England to send up a spirited and radical address to the
Queen, and that since that, the people of this county have
done themselves the greatest honour, Bath, Bristol,, Bridge-
water, Taunton, North Potherton, Cokers, Adcone, Chi*
nock, Yeovil, having followed the example of Ilchester and
Glastonbury, aud almost tlie whole of the West of England
being prepared to do the same. As for the conspiracy
against the Queen, it is now exposed to the whole world,
and all you hear come from the lips of every honest person in
it now is execration at the cowardly authors of it. The
hireling traitorous scoundrel of the Courier is struggling in
the agony of despair, and after belching forth the grossest
treason, and threatening to sacrifice the King in case he
should be dsposed to do justice to the people, he implores
in vain for the assistance of those dirty tools of corporate
towns to stand forward and present addresses to his Majesty
instead of the Queen. I can only tell him that I do not
believe that there is a town in England where, if any base
and dirty tooL in it were to call a public meeting to address
the King, but ihe honest feeling of the people would
support an amendment and carry an address to the
Queen in its stead. What an exposure have Mr. Pearson
and Mr. Haydon made — as the treason creeps out my
friends — Fletcher's famous hand bills of the selfish fac
tion have had a long run — they have enabled the tyrants
to spill some blood and to send me, Sir Charles Wolseley,
Bamford, and others to jail — these government hand bills,
issued in the name of the Radicals, were good tools for the pack
ed juries to work with — and does any mart believe that these
packed juries did not screen themselves under the sanction
of these hand bills when they found us guilty 1— the famous

12
Smithfield hand bill was a rare justification for my Loi ds
the judges amongst themselves for the sentence they passed
upon me. I do not say, neither do I believe that the packed
Yorkshire jury or the judges would have acted otherwise if
there had not been these hand bills or any other bills
— but I say these bills 'were a fine salvo for their
consciences — never mind, my fellow ft iends, 1 laughed heai-
tily when I saw that the good and zealous Charles Pearson
was gone to France with Vickery — I am glad to hear
that he is returned, for to the absence of Franklin from
France is he indebted for his safety — I said at the
lime, that iu case Vickery, Sir Robert Baker s own Vickery,
found they were likely to come up with Franklin, Mr.
Charles Pearson would find himself in a French dungeon,
while Vickery and Frankliy would be laughing logether in
their sleeves at the neat way in which they had left him in
the lurch. In fact,' Vickery and Sir Robert Baker knew
Franklin was not gone to Dover, or they would never have
had a warrant to pursue him — Lord Sidmouth took good care
not to interfere against his friend till ht knew he was safe,
and that Mr. Pearson was upon a wrong scent. Then, and
not till then, was a reward of 200 guineas offered — I see by
the Courier, that Mr. Justice Be>t has been making new
laws, or rather reviving those of Jefferies, Empsom, and Dud
ley, by fining Mr. Davidson for making his defence is his
own way. Well done, thou man of the " loicer orders," if
the gout spare thee a little longer, and the system go on,
or even if it do not, thou wilt have thy reward ! I have a
deal to say of ibis man at another time ; but no doubt his
motives are pure, as pure as they were when he was counsel
for poor Colonel Despard. But more of this hereafter.
Best's brother lives within tive miles of this place, he is a
canvas weaver, and another brother's widow I understand,
keeps the workhouse at Dorchester, and her daughter lives
wilh the judge. But this cannot affect his high blood; fine
away thou modern Jefferies, I know what you sent me here
for. If I should escape the annual t\phus fev»r of this
jail, you know your friend Drake is near at Land, do you
remember his motto " Destroy them without pity,
PITY IS NOT THE VIRTUE OF A POLITICIAN." " Monsieur Rosey."
In health and spirits, I remain, my beloved friends,
Yours, sincerely,
HENRY HUNT.
W. Molineux, Piiuter, Bream's Buildings, Chancery- lane.

GLASTONBURY ADDRESS.

To her Most Excellent Majesty Caroline, Queen ofthe
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
May it please your Majesty,
We, your Majesty's dutiful and affectionate subjects, the
Lord ofthe Manor of the ancient town and hundred of
Glastonbury, in the county of Somerset, with the Steward
of the said manor, the Jury, the Constables, and other
Peace-officers, assembled at the Court Leet thereof, held on
the 24th day of October 1820, together with the under
signed Inhabitants' residing within the said manor and hun
dred of Glaston Twelve Hides in the said county, beg leave
to approach your Majesty at this eventful period, with a
tender of our devoted services, and to offer you our most
heartfelt congratulations upon the detection and complete
exposure of this last wicked and horrid plot formed against
your life and your honour; which was hatched in the ma
lignant brain of your Majesty's remorseless enemies, reared
up and nurtured by a detestable gang of hired Spies and
Informers, prejudged and sanctioned by a Secret Tribunal
unknown to the laws, the members of which are now acting
the threefold character of your Prosecutors, your Judges,
and your Jury, then promulgated with fiend-like ferocity
by the despicable Law Officers_of the Crown, and which
they ultimately endeavoured to support and substantiate
by the false swearing of highly-bribed foreign witnesses,
whose perjuries were so gross and palpable, and which
were proved out of their own lying lips so completely, that,
if your Majesty had not even produced one single witness
to contradict their vile and unnatural fabrications, yet even
then the foul conspiracy of your enemies, thus unmasked,
would have stood-so naked and exposed to the view of the
whole world, that your innocence would have been so un
tainted, your honour unsullied, and your whole character
so spotless, that it would have shone resplendent in the es
timation of every honest man and woman in it. But, we
have one consolation arising out of these atrocities, that the
plot is so unequivocally demonstrated to the whole country,
that if there be even the semblance either of law or justice
left in the land, those who intended to assassinate your
Majesty's honour, and the conspirators against your life,
will l>e impeached, and ultimately be brought to condign
punishment.

%
But, In the midst of these expressions of our joy at the
detection and exposure of this foul and unnatural plot, and
of our indignation against the cowardly and vindictive
authors of it, we cannot refrain from condoling with your
Majesty upon the loss you experienced in being bereavd of
the support and protection of your Father-in-law, Un ele,
and Friend, the late King, in consequence of the most
awful and severe dispensations of Providence that were ever
inflicted upon any one human being. But above all, how
shall we find words to express our lacerated feelings when
we endeavour, (which we now do with the greatest sincerity)
to sympathise with your Majesty upon the premature loss,
the unmerited fate, the untimely end, of your amiable and
lovely daughter, the late Princess Charlotte, whoe melan
choly, singular, and heart-rending doom, we firmly believe,
to have heen greatly hastened, if not finally sealed, by the
agony she felt at the cruel absence, at such a moment, of
her much-loved, persecuted, banished Mother. The anxiety
of her mind, the torture of her feelings, which she inces
santly experienced from the knowledge and the harassing
recollection of that mother's persecutions and sufferings, at
once enervated her whole system to such a degree, and
brought on such a depression of her spir its, as left
her in a state little fit to bear the pains and perils of child
birth. Butalas ! when the dread hour arrived, the
cruel and unnatural separation from her she held most dear
upon earth, a beloved parent, a tender mother, a kind
friend, and an endearing comforter, rendered her situation
hopeless, and when in the most trying moment she looked
in vain and called for the help of her mother, instead of
being animated by her cheering, well-known voice, in
stead of being consoled by her heavenly smile, instead of
being soothed by her tender care, and roused into life by
her unwearied attention executed with breathless anxiety,
oh, horrible cruelty! she found herself surrounded by
aliens and strangers, and when in the agony of death with
her last breath she implored in vain, and whispered for her
mother, she was abandoned to her fate, and was only an.
swered by the drowsy slumbers of an unfeeling, negligent,
mercenary, hireling nurse.
We your Majesty's faithful and zealous subjects have long
felt a firm conviction iu our minds, that, had the wish nearest
your amiable daughter's heart been granted, — had this so
litary boon that her much loved and affectionate Mother
should be permitted to attend and watch over her at this

most anxious, and, to her, most dreadful moment, if thi
single supplication had not been denied by your and her
unnatural and remorseless persecutors, we have not the
least doubt, but the Nation would still have been blessed
with her fostering care, and your Majesty would now have
been shielded from the deadly and envenomed shafts of
your enemies' malice by the asgis of her protection.
But the ways of Providence, although inscrutable by
man, are wise and just; your enemies well knew that they
had no chance of successfully effecting your Majesty's de.
struction during the life-time of your amiable and affec
tionate daughter, and the very, means that they have now
adopted to perpetrateyour downfall, will, we sincerely be
lieve, and firmly hope, lead to the detection of their own
former guilt; and we trust that all those who have
been in any way concerned in such foul and unnatural
deeds, will be dragged forth from their lurking holes, and
he made to suffer that punishment which they so richly
deserve. We, your Majesty's dutiful and affectionate Subjects, the
Lord of the Manor, the Steward, the Constables, the Peace
Oflicers, and other Inhabitants, of the manor and hundred
of Glastonbury, do therefore most sincerely hope that we
shall soon hail the day when you will" have overcome all
your enemies; and that you may live long and happy to
reign over a free, a brave, a generous, and a loyal People,
is our most earnest prayer. And we further cherish the
flattering fond hope, that as your Majesty has encountered
and overcome so mauy difficulties and dangers to be enabled
to visit the Tomb of Christ in the Holy Land, yon will some
day condescend to bless the ancient town of Glastonbury
with your presence, that you may not only receive the
willing homage of its inhabitants, but that your Majesty
maiy also view that spot where one of his disciples first
set foot upon British ground.
(Signed) Henry Hunt, Lord of the Manor,
Richard Cotton, the Steward, the
Jury, the Constables of the Hun
dred, the Portreeves, the Church.
wardens, the Tithingmen, and other
Peace-officers of the town and hua-
dred, with upwards of 500 Inha
bitants, all signed in two days.

ADDRESS
Of the Reformers of Lmicashire,
TO
HENRY HUNT, Esq.

Sir,
We, the undersigned, inhabitants of the county of Lan
caster, beg leave most respectfully to address^ you on this the
first anniversary of the fatal and melancholy day on which
the peaceable and orderly meeting, held under your presi
dency, on St. Peter's Field, was dispersed at the edge of
the sword and the point of the bayonet, on the pretence,
then first advanced, that the vast assemblage was, from its
mere numbers and carefully-preserved regularity, calcu
lated (o inspire terror and create alarm.
We need not recall to your mind, Sir, the events of that
dreadful day. They must be too deeply engraven upon
your memory, as they are indelibly fixed in our's. Never,
Sir, shall we forget the gleaming sabres and sudden violence
with which we were assailed, while quietly exercising one
of the most important, and, till then, unquestioned, of our
political rights— a right which the reigning family was
called to the throne to protect and maintain. The odious
mass of revolting calumnies, under which the true character
of that meeting was sought to be buried, was for ever
destroyed by the consummate ability which you displayed,
in conducting your admirable defence at York. All England
is now well acquainted with our conduct on that memorable
day, and as well acquainted with the unjustifiable means
nsed in the forcible dispersion of the meeting. We abstain,
because we feel it unnecessary, from commenting upon the
fallen and degraded condition of our enemies. Despised
and detested, let them fester in their iniquity. Humanity
disavows their deeds, and the voice of outraged nature calls
aloud for their punishment.
We viewed your efforts in the Court of King's Bench to
obtain a new trial, with anxiety and admiration. Your
failure is a matter of no surprise to us. You, Sir, did th»

5
utmost which human ingenuity could devise ; if you did not
succeed it was not owing to the want of force and weight
in your arguments. On that occasion, as at York, yon
gained a triumph in public opinion, whatever might be the
verdict of the tribunal before which you pleaded. The vic
tory was your's. Your enemies felt the disgrace and humi
liation of defeat. To this day do they bend beneath the
load of infamy which the result of your trial heaped upon
them. The day of justice, however, will arrive ; the guilty
shall yet be punished. Meanwhile you are suffering the
rigours of incarceration for your public-spirited efforts to
relieve us. When all those who claimed to be regarded as
our natural leaders refused to take their station at our head,
or deserted to the ranks of our persecutors, you readily
obeyed our summons, and placed yourself in the post to
which we invited, you. Hence proceeded the inveterate
malice with which you were pursued. Hence are you to
date the origin of that prosecution which has consigned you
during 912 days of the most valuable part of your Ufe to
the gloom of a prison !
We beg to assure you, Sir, that your exertions in our
behalf are remembered with the most lively gratitude, and
that your steady patriotism and extraordinary talents still
excite the same high esteem and profound respect which
we have at all times entertained towards you. Punishment
fails in its design, when affection follows its object to the
dungeon. We regard you with unabated esteem. We can
never forget the unhesitating and fearless manner in which
you came amongst us; and we now feel anxious, while
you are suffering for us, to offer you this testimony of our
respect. We beg you to accept it as a sincere, though
insufficient acknowledgement, how much we stand indebted
to you. The day will assuredly arrive, when the friends
of freedom, now pining within the prisons of their oppres
sors, will come forth amidst rejoicing and triumph. On
that day we shall be able to confer upon you a more suitable
reward. [Signed by 122,776 names.]

LETTER FROM THE COMMITTEE
OP
Female Reformers of Manchester,
TO MR. HUNT.
Manchester, October 25, 1820.
Dear Sir,
We cannot suffer the opportunity to pass by which offers
itself, in consequence of Mr. Saxton being deputed to pre
sent to you the Lancashire Address, without renewing our
assurances of respect and esteem. Our Tyrants have im
mured you in a dungeon, and we have enshrined you in our
hearts. Never, Sir, shall we cease to pray for your happy
ness and welfare, and never will we relax in our exertions
to obtain for you those objects so dear to us.
Weare but Women, itis true, but if our unnatural ene
mies appear to despise us on that account — we have only to
instance the case of our brave and matchless Queen.
The cowardly dastards who let loose their bloodhounds
to plunge their sabres in our bosoms, and' traople us
under their horse's' hoofs, shall find, when the day of retri
bution arrives, that the wrongs which they have heaped
upon our heads shall recoil on their own. They shall find,
too, that their cowardly attempts to intimidate us are vain
and futile ; — in spite of all their efforts —
*' Still will we keep our course — still speak, and evenjight,
Till death shall plunge usin the shades of night."
We trust, Sir, that 'ere long, the Sun of Liberty will
allume your dungeon, and that the Captive of Ilchester will
yet meet the reward of his unparalleled exertions in the
Cause of the People. You may, Sir, have friends, perhaps,
possessed of greater power to serve you, but we will yield
the palm . to none in zeal and ardent attachment to you,
cause. Weare, Dear Sir, with the greatest esteem,
Yours, most sincerely,
MARY FILDES, "|
. SUSANNAH SAXTON, 1
MARY BLACK,
ANN THOMPSON, > The Committee of
NANCY WHEELER, f Female Reformers.
MARY JACKSON,
MARY THORNBER, J

THE ANSWER.
To Mrs. Fildes, Mrs. Saxlon, Mrs. Black, Mrs. Thomp
son, Mrs. Wheeler, Miss Jackson, and Miss Thornber.
Ilchester Bastile, 23d Day, 2d Month, 2d Year
Manchester Massacre, without any enquiry.
My beloved Friends,
Will you do me tbe favour to communicate to the female
reformers of Manchester in whose names you signed the
kind and flattering address, which you deputed our worthy
aud brave friend Saxton to deliver to me, that I accept this
testimony of their respect and esteem with unmixed delight.
Such an unequivocal proof of the continued zealous support
and attachment of the brave and enlightened females of
Manchester has indeed illumined my dungeon and chased
away the pestilential vapours- of the petty tyrants' malice.
with which they had enveloped me, and with which they
had vainly hoped to destroy me. If it had required
any other motive to impel me to do my duty, than a
conscious and indignant sense of the murderous wrongs
which I have seen inflicted upon you, your heroic
example would inspire me into action. That man who is
insensible to the influence of female charms and female
virtue, is placed beneath the character of a savage — he who
would not risk his life to protect a female in distress, and
to rescue her from brutal and cowardly violence is unworthy
the name of man ; but he who is dead to the call of female
honour, female courage, and female patriotism, to stand
forth the champion to vindicate her rights and revenge her
country's wrongs, is a wretch undeserving a female smile,
and may such, if such there be, never be blessed with the
virtuous aud chaste embrace of her he loves. Proceed, my
lovely friends, in the noble and praiseworthy course you
have so well begun, and by your patriotic example and
irresistible influence continue to animate your husbands.your
brothers, your sweethearts and friends, to deeds of noble,
virtuous, and disinterested patriotism. Be but the friends
of Universal Suffrage united, then our tyrants will fall and
you will be free. I am, my beloved Friends,
Your sincere admirer,
H, HUNT.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.
And particularly to the 122,776 Radicals of Lancaster,
who signed the foregoing Address to me, which was
voted on St. Peter's Plain, in Manchester, on the 16lh
August, last, the first Anniversary of Ike never-to-
be-forgotten Bloody, Cruel, and Cowardly Massacre,
onthe IQth of August, 1819.

Ilchester Bastile, 1st day, 3rd month, 2nd year, of tbe
Manchester Massacre without enquiry.
\7th November 1820.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
Victory! Victory!! Victory!!! My friends, the
victory that we, the radicals of Great Britain and Ireland,
have gained over our cruel, vindictive, and bloody minded
enemies, by rescuing our persecuted and innocent Queen,
from the jaws of her persecutors and our tyrants, has spread
a lustre of joy over the face of the earth ; but my friends, in
the fullness of our hearts, in the excess of our rejoicings, we
must be vigilant ; we must follow up the blow, while the
monster is reeling from the effect of our attack : recollect
that the snake of tyranny is only scotched, it is not yet dead ;
it therefore behoves us, the radicals, to be not only upon our
guard, but we must, to be successful, be vigilant and perse
vering. In consequence of this foul and fiend-like attack
upon our matchless Queen, we have added millions to our
ranks ; and it will be our own faults if we do not profit by
the situation in which we are placed. Let it never again be
said, that the people, the radicals, are nothing in the great
scale of public justice. The radicals have done every thing
for the Queen. To Alderman Wood and to the
Radicals is the Queen wholly and solely indebted for her
safety. Had not Alderman Wood flown to her .aid, and
met her bsfore the wily and place-hunting lawyer had

Cached St. Omers, she would have been betrayed and
M>ld; had not Alderman Wood stood firm to her Ma
jesty, she would have been sold when the memorable depu
tation from the Honourable House waited up her, aud who,
Judas-like, meant to have betrayed her with a kiss. Had
not Alderman Wood stood firmly by her, she would have
been betrayed and sold at the time ofthe famous, or rather
infamous, protocol meetings. Had not Alderman Wood's
advice beeu taken, in opposition to her lawyers, her Majesty
would have been betrayed and sold, when those lawyers,
Messrs. Brougham and Denman, uaknown to her Majesty,
returned such insolent and infamous answers to the addresses
from ihe people of Nottingham and Preston. Since Alder
man Wood frustrated those machinations, and since her
Majesty's famous radical letter to tbe King, it has not been
in the power of any one to sell her Majesty; because she
would not be sold. Since her Majesty's letter to the King,
and the brave and radical answers she gave, (unassisted and
even discountenanced by the lawyers,) to the radical ad
dresses presented to her, the people have taken up her
cause so earnestly, and so universally, that the power of
public opinion struck such terror into the hearts of her per
secutors as compelled theru, much against their wills, to
abandon their prey. It is evident that the Ministers had
the power to have carried the infamous bill through the two
incorruptible Houses of Parhament ; and it is very evident
that, in the House of Peers, they would have had a much
larger majority, had it not been for the dread of public
opinion, so unequivocally expressed by the whole radical
nation. To the public press is her Majesty also greatly indebted
for her safety. The Times Newspaper has been her M a-
jesty's, and is now our best ally. To the Traveller, States
man, Globe, Morning Chronicle, Star, and all the London
Newspapers, possessing any character or talent, her Majesty
and the country are greatly indebted for their able and pub
lic spirited efforts. But the editor ofthe Times has certainly
out:done them all. The Times is daily inundating the
whole country with the most powerful, most efficient, and
most radical truths. Mr. Cobbett says the Times has sup
ported the cause ofthe Queen, and has been ably supporting
the radicals, because it was its interest to do so ; never
mind that, my friends ; it is nothing to us what were his
motives ; the editor of the Times is not the only good public
writer that has suoported radicalism because it was bis
B

interest fo do so. The editor of the Times says he is *M»
friend to the Radicals, but wliile he continues to disseminate
the purest radical principles, under the cloal£ of abusing the
radicals; while he daily sends forth his irresistible and
forcible radical doctrines into ev«ry town in England, into
every coftee room, and reading room in town and country,
as w«fi as into the houses of thousands of the most respect
able families ia the kingdom; while he does this aad with
the greatest taJeat too, he may profess, if he pleases, to dis
like the radicals. I, for one, will forgive him with all my
heart. Ia the Times Newspaper of last Moaday, Nov. 13th,
amongst a nuw>ber of excellent things* are the following
passages — speak iag of the triumph of the Queen, the editor
says— " Countless myriads Jlew te> her support, and beJtold the
" result ! Ok / Let Monarciis, then, love and cherish tlieir
" people ; and distrust those who throng theh- palaces?'
Then follows another paragraph of only two lines —
" It is the people wha bestow and take away Crowns ; not
"pampered Courtiers and factious Ministers of State."
This Es pretty well, I think, my - Friends, for one who
pretends to dislike the radicals. Why, really, in good truth,
this beats any thing that the, radical press has ever said — at
any rate since the Jive ads have passed I This is perfectly
true to be sure; this is maintaining tbe sovereignty of the
people with a vengeance. We, the Old Radicals, always
contended for this principle, that all power emanated, from
the people: but then we said that this power ought to be
exercised by the representatives ofthe people, fairly chosen
by the people. — Yet this same Mr. Walter, of the Times,
says, almost in the same breath, that Le is an enemy of the
radicals, that he never approved of universal suffrage. Then
pray, Mr. Walter, will you tell us in wltat way the people
have the power and the right to take away and bestow
Crowns? Come, come, Mr. Waiter, hold hard a little, you
are going now far beyond any thing the radicals ever pro
fessed, or intended ; to be sure the times are altered — but
you. must come hack (o the radicals, and agree with them to
exercise the sovereign power by means of fairly-chosen re
presentatives, or else the radicals must make a move and
come up to your mark. I agree with you, that the people-
have power to "bestow" and "take away" crowns; but
1 Still think it would be better and more justly done, by

21
means of tkeir representatives, than by " relentless myriads"
iu a body. This latter method, of your suggestion, savours
much more of anarchy than umxrevsal suffrage. Good God !
what a change this magnanimous Queen of oars has worked
in the language of this same Mr. Walter; he calls upon
" Monarchs to cherish the people, and to distrust those who
" throng their palaces," and he says, " ike people have ihe
" p&ujer : 'tis the people's right to bestow and take away
*' crowns; and not the right of pampered Courtiers and
"factious Ministers ef State F
Ah I Mr. Walter ! how the times are changed, how often;
bare you urged these same factious Ministers of State to
put me to death, to destroy me in assy way, as a monster not
fit to live, because I, at pobfic meetings, read a list of suae-*
cure placemen* and: pensioners ; because I complained of
the immense sinecures of Marquises Camden and Bucking
ham of 3E» thousand a year each, act? that of Lord Arden of
38 thousand a year; because I complained of Lord Grcn^
ville holding two offices incompatible with each other, those
of first Lord of the Treasury and Auditor of the Exchequer ;
because I complained of these men receiving such large
sums, as sinecures, out of the Taxes ! Because I did this,
how often have yon called me all sorts of hard names, and
held me up to public execration, as a villain who
wished to degrade to my own level every thing tbat
was ancient and venerable in the state, when now Mr.
Walter, in your paper, the Times of Wednesday last,
yon yourself publish their names — you hold up the very
same noblemen to scorn, and broadly accuse them ©f
being influenced to vote against the Queen in consequence
of "their holding those very sinecures ! And you now talk
of pampered courtiers and factious ministers of state I " O
tempQfa ! O mores I"
' ,ijt is" perfectly true, my friends, that this same Mr. Walter,
who ifsed to abuse us so unmercifully, is now become our
best and most powerful ally. If any one would take out the
leading articles of the Times for the last four months and
publish them in a pamphlet, it would be nearly as we'll
worth -the reading and attention of the radicals as Maine's
Bights of Mao. Every principle of liberty that we have
ever contended for has been republished in the Times, and
maintained with irresistible talent. In fact, there is no ra
dical writer dares publish that which has been published by
the Times ; not even Mr. Wooler, the boldest of our radical
public writers ; even he docs not come up to the Times. But

12
Mr. Walter writes with impunity : he has got possession of
the public mind; or, in other words, he writes up to ih©
public feeling ; he prints and publishes his paper in the
city of Loudon, and he knows that it is not in the power of
the Attorney-General to pack a jury in the city that would
return a verdict of guilty against the proprietor ofthe Times,
for any thing that he may write in the cause of the Queen,
of liberty and of radicalism, provided that lie does not
openly praise the radicals. This is a most wonderful epoch
in the history of our country.
The Times is calling upon Lord Grey and the Marquis of
Lansdown to conciliate the peopl®, and prepare for putiing
themselves at their head. The Courier, that ministerial
rotten tool, has for some time past been calling lestily upen
thoir old battered underlings in country towns, and the
rotten corporations of rotten boroughs, to come forward and
address the King. But, although neither of these calls have
been answered, tho brave people of tho county of Lancaster
have not been unmindful of- their duty; without any call,
without any prompter, except their own generous feelings,
they have signed a flattering and a cheering address, which
they have caused to be presented to the captive of Ilchester
Bastile, in his dungeon; and this address is signed by ONE
HUNDRED and TWENTY-TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUN
DRED and seventy-six names; a number by far exceed
ing, nay more than double the number of signatures that
were ever before placed to any address, petition, or docu
ment of any sort, in this, or I believe in any other county I
And why is this matchless honour conferred upon a hum
ble individual, entombed in the dungeon of an insulated dis
tant jail X Is it merely sympathy for my unmerited suffer
ings \ No, my friends ! you have been actuated by a
higher, by a still nobler impulse than bare sympathy. The
address speaks for itself; it is because I have never deceived
the people ; because I have never under any circumstance,
deserted the people. Itis because no danger, no threats,,
ever deterred mo from obeying the call of my distressed,
persecuted, and much-wronged fellow-countrymen. It is, i,i
your own words ofthe address itself, because, '• When ALL
" those who claim to be regarded as our natural leaders re-
" fused to lake their station at our head, or deserted to the
" ranks of our persecutors, you readily obeyed our sum-
" mons, and placed yourself in the post to which we invited
" you. Hence proceeded the inveterate malice with which
" you were pursued." How often have I said that the peo-

13
pie of England never deserted a public man, unless that
man first deserted Ihem. Again you say, " Punistimcni
" fails in tts design when affection follows its object to the
" dungeon. We regard you with unabated esteem. We can
" never forget the unhesitating andfearlesa manner in which
" you came among us, #e." I sincerely believe you, my ex
cellent, kind-hearted, generous friends ; I never had tho
slightest reason to doubt your sincerity and attachment
which you have now evineed in such unequivocal language!
It is a great consolation to me to feel that 1 deserve your
confidence, and it is the highest satisfaction to know that
I possess it. Then there is the female address, signed by up
wards of forty thousand of my fair countrywomen ofthe
county of Lancaster. It is impossible for me to find words
adequate to express my feelings of gratitude and pride for
this testimony of your esteem and attachment. One extract
from your much valued address, penned by the fair hand of
one ofthe bravest and atthe same time one ofthe most vir
tuous of your sex, will easily explain that it requires more
than words can express, to do justice to the flattering honour
conferred upon me. " Oun tyrants have immured you
" in a dungeon, aud we have enshrined you in our hearts?'
These kind and endearing words from such a host of my
fair and amiable countrywomen, would, if I were a younger
man, beflatlering to my vanity ; but 1 am old enough to re
ceive them as they are meant, as the honest and kind-hearted
testimony of your approbation and confidence for the part
I have taken in behalfjrf our brave, though suffering fellow-i-
creatures. These addresses, with their signatures, were delivered
to me by our worthy and brave friend and fellow labourer
in the cause of rational liberty, Mr. Saxton. If any thing
could have made them more acceptable to me — if any thing
could have heightened the pleasure T felt at receiving them —
it was that you, in your kindness and consideration, deputed
my worthy friend Saxton to deliver them to me in person,
which he did on the 6th of November, my birth-day. —
Never did man receive a more flattering birth-day present,
then this tribute of your esteem, confidence, and attach
ment. This heart-inspiring, warm-hearted fellow, cheered
my solitary dungeon ; the language of your kind address
chased away the gloom of my prison-house ; and the recol
lection of your zeal and affection will cause many a solitary
hour to pass delightfully away

u
I find' that you have honoured me, ia rt>y absentee, fey
celebrating my birth-day at Manchester, Preston, Oltlbans,
Ifcoyton, Ashton-under-Line, Lees, Pendleton, Leeds, and
various, other places in the north. This I esteem to be more
than a compliment; it is an honour that no private indivi
dual ever before received in this country, during his life
time at least— not even the Great Captain of the Age! —
and it is with pleasure I inform you, roy friends, that I
have received letters from various parts of the kingdom,
informing me that the same manifestations of respect were
shewn ine on tbat day ; nay, I was not forgotten in the
west. The radicals of this rotten borough set the bells
ringing a merry peal before I was up in the meaning, and
they celebrated it in the evening over the cheerful glass, and
a large party of the inhabitants drank my health publicly
at the market cross. I had a party of friends, who came
to spend the day with me, from tbe enlightened town, of
Taunton — in fact, more than the keeper of the prison chose
to admit ; it being one of the restrictions of the sapient
justices of this county that only a limited number of friends
should be allowed to see me at once, — they having beard,
bo doubt, that my Lancashire friends meant to visit mein
a body some day. If, by the bye, thirty or forty thousand
able-bodied, unemployed Lancashire lads should march
over to sse me sotne day, bow it would make tbe west-
eonntry cuckoo magistrates stare I
I am sure that it will give yon pleasure to hear that we
have some of the most determined radicals in this county
that England can boast. Our friend Saxton hfts'vfsited my
radical iriends at Taunton, and he will be able and willing
to inform you of what sort of stern stuff theyare composed.
I can only say, that I have received the greatest kindness
and attention from them since I have been shut ftp in this
bastile. I would wish it to be impressed upon the minds of
my frinds in the north, that there are some as brave, pub
lic-spirited, disinterested, patriotic, and enlightened radi
cals at Taunton, a3 this or any other country ever produced.
They haie long since emerged from tbe gloom of political
darkness, and they only wanted an incident to make them
speak out. The horrible massacre at Manchester, without
either redress or investigation, both of which were refused
by the courts of justice, as they are ironically nicknamed,
as well a3 by both Houses of Parliament; and my being
subsequently sent for incarceration here by one of these
same courts, for two years and six months, has had this

15
«Be good effect, that it has made these brave men determine*
mo longer to submit in silence to such unheard-of acts of
injustice. They have now joined their voices to yours, my
friends, and they are accompanied by myriads in the west
Wellington, the town from which the Great Captain »f ife
Age takes his title, is composed almost entirely of radicals;
there not being more than five or six individuals in the whole
place but what glories ia the name of radical. White hats,
the true emblem of radicalism, areas common here, in pro
portion to the number of its inhabitants, as they are at Man
chester or its neighbourhood. Till we can get a better, let
a white hat be still our emblem, my lads — I know no better,
and I will wear cue as long as I live, at least iu summer,
Jt originated in my having a white hat by accident — it was a
white hat that the bloodj'-minded yeomanry cut through and
tlirough upon my head, on the bloody 16th of August, at
Manchester. You have adopted white hats in compliment
to me, tny friends, therefore let it continue to be our w«ll
known, undisguised emblem of pure and genuine radical
ism. My Taunton friends all came to see me in white hats,
although itis in the winter season. One of these friends, a.
very clever man, reading while he was with me, how some
of the high-minded members of the hospital of incurables
tossed up their high-mettled noses about our gallant Queen
establishing an order of " St. Caroline of Jerusalem," when
she visited that ancient place, proposed that / should estab
lish an order of " St. Henry cf Ilchester?' to reward all
true radicals who «ame to visit me here, by creating them
"Knights of the order of the Cross cf Ilchester." The
idea was no sooner broached then it was adopted, and all
who came to \isit me that day were created and anointed
" Knights of the sublime order of the Cress of Ilchester?
My friend Saxton was amongst the rest, of course ; and he
has a diploma under my hand and seal to that effect.
This may appear at first view ridiculous enough, to see
us radicals imitating the fooleries of those who affect to des
pise tlie -"loW«r orders," and who, in return, are most
heartily despised and execrated by us. But, my friends,
we will, if you please, endeavour to turn it to a good ac
count. It may be made a rallying point for all true radicals.
The first jntention was only to reward those who made a
pilgrimage to visit me in my dungeon at Ilchester. But,
when the first 'made knights meet again, we may propose
some scheme for extending tlie order. Tor instance, my
right trusty -friend and true radical, to wit. Sir John

10
Thacker Saxton, Knight of the sublime order of the
Cross of Ilchester, having' obtained a diploma, under my
own baud and seal, muy grant certificates of merit, pro
vided always that the said certificate be signed by two
knights of the order. This will enable the bearer to be
come a candidate for the order, and will, of course, entitle
him to the respect of the radicals during his probation, and
upon his receiving his diploma from me will, also entitle him
to their confidence.
If this plan meets with your approbation, and should
succeed, it will be the means of our keeping up a commu
nication, and a regular correspondence, without our being
subject to the treachery of spies and blood-money men. —
Perhaps our enemies will say that we are encroaching upon
their prerogatives, and that we are assuming honours and
titles that do not belong to us. But, once for all, we in
form them, that we esteem the title as a mere bauble ; nay,
that, in consequence of the recent inundation of knights,
we have considered it hitherto as rather a badge of disgrace
conferred upon the most base and servile' of mankind,
the mere title of knight being now as common as that
of chimney sweep, without being half so reputable. Our
order is established for the purpose of creating an union of
good fellowship amongst the leaders of the radicals, to
whom they may look up to for advice and protection against
the encroachments of arbitrary power, and the daring in
roads of tyranny. I have often wished for some measure
of this sort, by which the radicals in all parts of the king
dom may be enabled to communicate with each olhcr, on
all matters relating to their personal safety and well being.
For instance, it will be very advisable to have two Knights
of Ilchester in every large town throughout tlu kingdom,
and one in smaller towns and villages ; so that, in case there
should be any moi e spy plots, such as Oliver's, Castles's,
Edwards's, and Franklin's, they may, by means of the
Knights of Ilchester, be at once detected, exposed, and
punished. Now, my friends, the way to carry this plan
into effect is, to call a meeting in every town and village
throughout the north and other parts; but particularly in
the north, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, &c. At
each meeting appoint amongst yourselves two of the most
discreet and brave citizens, in whom you can place reliance
ia case of emergency. Having done this, if you will for
ward to me their names and residences, accompanied by a
voluntary wish of their own, I will immediately forward to

17
eaoh of them a diploma ofthe orderof the Cross of Ilchester.
If you approve of this scheme of union, I trust, my
friends, that you will neither be laughed out of it, nor bul
lied out of it. It is not for me to dictate to you. I wish
the radicals to choose their own leaders; that is, 'the men
in whom they have confidence. Let me not be told that
there are not plenty of proper men; there is not a town in
the north where they may not be found in abundance — to wit.
at Mauchester, I could point out a score ; at other places
in the same proportion. I will only mention a few in whom
I have confidence, namely — at Manchester, Saxton,
Whitworth, Candalet, &c. &e.; at Bolion, Brandreth,
Oliver Nicholson, Wolstenholme, and Nevitt ; at Oldham,
Joseph Taylor and Joseph Dixon ; at Middleton, Amos
Ogden, John Buckley, and Bamford, as soon as he returns
from Lincoln; at Royton, Wm. Fitton and Juo. Kaye;
at Ashton-under-Line, Charles Walker, and Robt. Wilde ;
at Stockport, James Brokenhurst and Charles Marshland ;
at Lees and Saddleworth, James Wood; at tfury, Mr.
Edmond Grundy and James Holt; at Blackburn, Mr. Slater;
at Cockey Moor, Baron ; at Preston, Irving and Huffman ;
at Dewsbury, Dickenson and Willan ; at Leeds, Mann and
Mason ; at Hallifax, Crabtree and the Rev. Mr. Ellis ; at
Sheffield, Evett and R. Rogers; at Barnsley, Watson;
at Hull, Jackson, &c. &c.
These are all gentlemen in whom I have confidence; I
could name hundreds more ; but I repeat, that every town
and every village should immediately choose its own leaders.
1 have no doubt if this plan succeeds, our enemies will say
that there is " more meant than meets the eye ;" and unless
our able ministers have something better about which to em
ploy their valuabletime, 1 should not be surprised if they were
to bring a bill in, during the next sessions of Parliament,
to prohibit and abolish the order of the Cross of Ilchester.
Well, what then? th^y cannot prevent us from being
Knights of Ilchester, if they do. Now recollect, my
friends, I do not mean to dictate to you; neither do I know
that the above-named gentlemen would accept of this order;
I only say, that they are all men that may be relied upon
by the radicals, for advice upon any emergency.
Every day now produces some new matter of importance,
for the consideration of every man who wishes well to his
country. No sooner has Lord Liverpool given the go-by io
the revolutionary measure against the Queen, than our -
sapient ministers get into trash difficulties. I know that it •
was the opinion of many, that it would bring matters to a
C

crisis, if the ministers would push (he bill through both
houses ; which they could easily have done, if they had not
been deterred by public opinion. I am sincerely rejoiced
that the infamous bill was thrown out, because it has shown
what power the people, the radicals, have ; if thev are but
united. But, be you assured my friends, tbat the present
ministers will not heritate to push matters to an extremity,
in some way or other. You see that Lord Liverpool has
refused the Queen a palace to live in. The people have
made them abandon their puppet show, the coronation.
The people have made them abandon their infamous plot
against the life of the Queen, and the liberties of the peo
ple—the bill of pains and penalties. Do you believe, then,
that the people, the voice ofthe radicals, which is the voice
of public opinion, will not make the ministers abandon their
infamous intention of keeping her Majesty out of one of the
palaces, all of which are public property ? The people will
not be permitted by these said ministers to rest upon their
oars. There will be a busy Christmas yet.yoii may rely upon
it, my friends ; and it is perfectly right that we should
be prepared to meet the revolutionary measures of the mi
nisters. A reform of parliament we shall certainly have, at
some time or other; as 1 see that the little Lordling, Lord
John Russell, was in a chair at a public meeting, held in the
parish of St. Giles's in the Fields, ISloomsbury, at a reform
meeting ; at least a meeting where those assembled came to
a resolution lhatit was necessary to have some reform, to be
enabled to punish the present wicked ministers. I see Ma
jor Cartwright was there ; how the Major's ears must have
been tickled with the eulojurn made by Mr. Thelwall, now
the head of the Westminster rump, upon the said Lord
John's letter to Mr. Wilberforce, wherein he states " fraud,
forgery, and murder" to be the means thereby the radicals
intend to carry their object of reform. This was the cha
racter the said little Lordling gave the radicals a few months
ago : and this, it seems, drew down a warm eulogy fiom Mr.
Thelwall, the editor of the Champion. I wonder Mr. Thel
wall had not also moved a vote of thanks to the little Lord
ling, for making a motion in the honourable House for the
liberation of Sir Massey Lopez, the convicted trafficker in
seats in Parliament. However, it is well to observe, how
these dandy politicians change their opiniuns ; this Lordling
said, at this meeting, " that the minister who had called Ihe
" people a base populace must reflect with shame upon the
" expression, as the people had gone with music, flags, and

19
" banners, and in great multitudes, contrary to all the pro-
" visions ofthe late acts, to Brandenburgh House, and had
" not committed any thing like violence, or a breach of the
" peace." This is very true Lordling ; it was very base and
very insolent of Lord Castlereagh to call the radicals a base
populace ; but it was not more base, more insolent, nor more
false, than it was for you, Lordling and Changeling, to say
that we meant to carry our reform " by fraud, forgery, and
murder." Are you not ashamed ofthe falsehood, Lordling 1
If you had possessed one particle of honesty or can
dour, you would have confessed your owu error, and apolo
gised for your own falsehood, instead of attacking the minis
ters; and if you ever expect the people, the radicals, to
place any confidence in you, Lordling, you must confess
your falsehood as openly a3 you told il. We, my friends,
must look narrowly after those Whigs now ; they prick up
their ears now, in hopes of getting into place and power ;
they are a hungry set, and we must not forget the fable of
the " fox and the grapes." Let them get into power as
soon as they can ; but let us radicals take care that I hey
do not mount upon our backs to get there. We had a spe
cimen how they would ride us, whip and spur, when they
, were last in place.
A very worthy friend of mine, and a real friend ofthe
/ people, too, has written to me several times, begging nie not
( to attack ihe Whigs. He now says the Whigs will coine
"\ into place, and we shall be out of prison. My worthy
/ friend, you know little of the Whigs ! And if the whigs
/ were in power to morrow, and were to offer to release me
; from my dungeon instantly, on condition that I would pro
mise to refrain from telling them of their former crimes
against the people, when they were in power, I would re
ject their offer with disdain ; I would linger out my life, and
' rot here afterwards, rather thau accept such an offer from
that gang. Let us look at the acts of that gang. The first
thing they did when they got into place was to make Lord
Grenville First Lord ofthe Treasury, and at the same time
Auditor of the Exchequer; their second act was to make
-^ Lord Ellenborough, apolitical judge, one of the Cabinet ;
: their third act was to vote forty thousand pounds of the pub
lic money to pay Pitt's debts, upon the score ol his public
services ; their fourth act was to raise the income tax from
6^ to 10 per cent. : their fifth act was to exempt the King's
private property from the operation of the tax, at the same
time that they left the income of the widow and the orphan

20
of fifty pounds a year subject, without any abatement, to all
its odious and inquisitorial powers, although Mr. Tierney,
when Pitt first proposed to lay on five per cent, said in his
place in parliament, that it was so unjust and unconstitution
al a measure that the people of England would be justified
in taking up arms to resist by force the collection of it;
their sixth act was to raise the salaries ofthe younger
branches ofthe royal family from twelve to eighteen thou
sand pounds a year ; their seventh act was to continue the
war on the continent for the king's foreign possession of
Hanover, in violation of the Act of Settlement, they im
pudently anil insolently asserting, in violation of that sta
tute, that " Hanover ought to be as dear to us as Hamp
shire ;" their eighth act was to bring a bill into Parliament
to make all beer brewed in private houses liable to the ex
cise, thus intending lo violate the sacred privacy of every
family in" the kingdom ; their ninth act was to originate
their Orders in Council, which led to the war with America;
their tenth act w as to propose to bring a bill into parliament
for the emancipation of the Roman Catholics, but, upon
finding that the king, their master, had a personal objection
to the measure, tliey abandoned the catholics and the bill
together, in order to save their bacon aud keep their places,
and they were ultimately kicked out of pla~e, to the satis
faction of every good man in the country ; and their last
act was, to have a bill drawn up, which they left in their
office, which bill was afterwards passed into a law, making
it in Ireland transportation for any person to be out of his
house after sun-set and before sun-rise in the morning !
We must, therefore, my friends, look after these Whigs
narrowly. This was in 1807, when they were last in
power; and what has been their conduct ever since ? have
not many of them, upon all occasions, joined the minister to
make laws to put down the radicals? have they not seized
every opportunity to vilify and belie the radicals? In 1817,
did they not vie with the ministers to see who could abuse
the people most outrageously ? Lawyer Brougham attempted
to outclo Baily Canning in his abuse of the Reformers;
particularly in that famous speech of his, where he spoke of
the " Utile nostrums and big blunders" of the venerable
Major Cartwright. Look at their parliamentary conduct
upon the Manchester murders; in that case, they set aside
all decency. Look at the speech of Mr. Baring, the great
Whig stock-jobber, in the Honourable House, on Tuesday,
the 9lh of December, 1819. Speaking in praise of the pre-

21
sent system of borough corruptions, he said, " Under what
" si/stem did their manufactures arise ? under what system
" did their wealth and resources increase, whieh had no
" parallel in any state in ihe world? was it not under the
" same parliamentary system to which modern agitators
" impute all the distress and misfortune ? Such was the ex-
" tent of the miserable delusion under which the people
" laboured, that, in all their cottages, all over the north of
" England, he had seen the picture of that Charlatan
" Hunt hanging up ; they looked up to him as the only
" person on whom they could rely for assistance and ad-
" vice !!
You see, my friends, when it comes to a pinch, these
Whigs are always the greatest sticklers for the system.
This gentleman, you see, could condescend to use this un-
gentlemanly language in parliament; and in his eagerness
to uphold that infamous system, under which he had grown
so rich, aud the people so poor, he could travel out of his
way to abuse an individual with whom he bad never spoken
in his life. But you see this person was more fool than
knave upon this occasion; for he announced to the whole
world that he had had ocular demonstration of my popu
larity, and the confidence which the people in the North
had in that very man whom he wished to decry. And yet
this Mr. Baring is sent to parliament by some of the most
enlightened radicals in the kingdom, the electors of Taunton.
But I must leave this subject for another letter.
The radicals must be very careful not to be really deluded
upon this subject. Some persons are holding up Mr. Can
ning as the friend of the Queen ; but I have no fear of any
one being deluded by such trash. I see far more danger
in holding Lord Grey up as worthy the notice and confi
dence ofthe people. With some public writers, Lord Grey
is now the only man worthy to form a new administration ;
because, forsooth ! he has been a great supporter of the
Queen in the House of Lords. Mark this well, my friends;
for this delusion comes from a very dangerous quarter. The
Lord Grey thus held up for admiration is the Lord Grey
who declared in the House of Lords that he " totally dis
approved of the answers which the Queen made to the ad
dresses of the people ;" those very answers for which we so
much admire the Queen, those very answers which tended
the most to rouse that spirit of the people which was the
Queen's best and only safeguard; without which public
feeling Lord Grey and all the Whigs might have spoken till

f> r.

this time without adding one to the number of the Old Whig"
Faction. Lord Grey who is the avowed and open enemy
of radical reform ! That Lord Grey whose brother, Sir
Charles Grey, Governor of Portsmouth, " by his eloquent
speech persuaded the people of Portsmouth not to address the
Queen? That Lord Grey who iu the House of Lords, on the
30th of Nov. 1819, said, after a long invective against the
radicals, " that he abhorred ibeir principles." Then there
is Mr. Tierney, who, in passing the bills against seditious
meetings, declared the Whigs to be the most determined ene
mies of the radicals ; and who asserted " that the Whigs
had always placed themselves in the foremost ranks against
the radicals." Upon Lord Althorp's motion, on the state
ofthe nation, made on Tuesday November the 30 h ; his
exact words were as follows:—" The Noble Lord, Castle
reagh, had charged the Whigs with a disposition to form
an alliance with the radicals; although it was notorious
that they, the Whigs, stood in the front of the battle against
those deluded persons." This was the language of that Mr.
Tierney who crept into the Court of King's B'-nch to have
the pleasure of hearing my sentence passed. Then there was
Whig Plunket, who was the ministers' best ally against
the radicals upon the whole of the Manchester question.
Then there was Whig Scarlett, the greatest legal bully of
the age, who was also selected, picked out to conduct the
proceedings against me at York. It was a Whig Jury also
that was packed to try me ; every one of them b ing marked
by Mr. Counsellor WhY Nichols, and approved of, as good
men, by the Whig Club at York : but when I came to
York, not one of this mighty Whig Club came forward to
render me or my associates any assistance. I have a tale
to unfold, one of these days, upon tlrs subject. Some per
sons, who have never done half or a quarter so much iu the
Cause of reform as 1 have done, and in fact, who have never
done any thing for it without being well paid for it, pretend
to blame me, because I thanked the judge for giving me fair
play, when opposed to the ruffian bully Scarlett. I would
rather have had another year added to my incarceration
than not have had fair play with this cock of the bar. I am
told that this gentleman is quite modest ever since, when he
is upon the northern circuit; and particularly when he is
at York. If I bad not been tried by a whig-packed jury, I
should have had no reason to complain of the judge ; and,
as I shall always be ready to give the Devil his due, I shall
always thank Mr.Justioe Bailey for giving me an opportunity

23
of convincing the people of York, and the whole country,
that Lord Fitzwilliam "s pocket-whig member for Peter-
boiough was nothing, even upon his own dunghill, when
opposed to a man of courage and talent; although he volun
teered, and was accepted, to do the dirty job. Mr. Raine
was the senior council upon that circuit; but he was bought
off, merely to give Scarlett, the Whig Scarlett, the oppor
tunity of taking the lead against Hunt. This cock's comb
was so cut that he will never forget the job! Well, my
friends, we must therefore be careful how we trust the
Whigs, unless they will manfully confess their error, and
promise to be better boys in future.
I am neither afraid nor ashamed to say, that Mr. Justice
Bailey has done his best to get the infamous restrictions
taken off here since I wrote to him. No man, who is a
man, will blame me for speaking the truth; no man will
suspect me of sneaking and tampering, Aft-r the verdict,
or when I was brought up for judgment, did / ever shew
a disposition to flinch ? Does any man believe that / shall
ever tamper to have any part of my sentence remitted ?
No, not 1! Read my affidavit; read our Glastonbury
address to the Queen. — In the affidavit you will collect,
my friends, in what way my petly tyrants treat me. The
radicals of Somersetshire will recollect, that Goodford of
Yeovil is the thing that exposed its ignorance at the first
county meeting which I called at Wells, and the same
Goodford was Sheriff when I caused him again to expose
his own ignorance at the county meeting at Bridgewater.
I believe this man courted the office of visiting magistrate,
in the hope that he would have an opportunity to gratify his
revenge ; but he has only exposed his folly once more, at
which I laugh, heartily. Believe me, my friends, I am
above his reach. I have a thousand things to say to yotti;
therefore I will address you again at the end of a fortnight,
instead of a month; in the mean time believe me your
faithful and dungeon-proof friend,
H. HUNT.
P. S. I have just received Mr. Wooler's last Dwarf;
read it my friends ; read it, by all means ; there you will
discover the character of a really brave man, defying his
tyrants at the very moment thev are shaking the keys of the
dungeon in his face. This is the time to try a man's honesty
in the cause. Let me recommend you also to procure my
friend Dolby's new publication ofthe " Total Eclipse." It
is a most excellent tl ing ; and does him the greatest credit.

24
I have a great deal of important matter to communicate l<»
the radicals of the north; aye, and also ofthe east, west and
south, which I mean lo do myself the honour of addressing
to them about the middle of December, by wry of a chrism-
mas box, which I shall stile " the dungeon-proof radical's
christmas-box to all his brother radicals who are at liberty."
And as I understand many impediments have been thrown
in the way of the sale of my memoirs, particularly in the
neighbourhood of Manchester, I have appointed Mr. Saxton
as my particular agent for that county, who will take care
to prevent the recurrence of this in future ; and I hope I
shall not have any occasion to expose the contemptible
wretches, who, under the guise of reformers, have been
guilty of such baseness. Mr. Saxton is also appointed my
agent for the sale of my genuine " breakfast powder" and
all communications sent to him, or Mr. Dolby, will be regu
larly and carefully forwarded to me.

AFFIDAVIT OF Mr. HUNT.
In the King's Bench.
The King against Henry Hunt, Samuel
Bamford, Joseph Johnson, Sf Joseph
Healy.
HENRY HUNT, of Middleton Cottage, in the
county of Hants, but now a prisoner in his Majesty's
jail of Ilchester, in the county of Somerset, maketh oath
and saith, that on the 15th of May last, he was sentenced,
by this Honourable Court to be imprisoned in Ilchester Jail,
for two years and six months, when upon this deponent en
quiring of Mr. Justice Bailey, what was to be the nature of
his imprisonment, and whether it was to be solitary, the
Learned Judge, in reply, intimated, that the Court made
no such order, neither had the Court any intention of
inflicting any further punishment than that of safe custody;
aud the Learned Judge emphatically added, if the depo
nent should have any reason to complain of his treatment,
that an application to the Court would be attended to. —
This deponent further saith, that on his arrival at the jail,

25
on the 17th day of May, at 10 o'clock at night, he was
placed by the jailer in a cold, damp ward, or cell with
two prisoners habited in the jail dress, where there were
three straw bags placed upon three jail trucks, one of
which was pointed out by the jailer as the place of rest for
this deponent. That for the first fortnight this deponent
was allowed neither fire irons nor fender; that for seven
weeks he was confined within the pestilential walls of a
small yard, about ten yards square, which materially
affected the health of this deponent, the effects of which he
still feels. That during this time his friends were excluded,
except at three separate hours of the day, and not allowed
to see him at all after four o'clock in the afternoon. That
hi consequence of this prohibition, this deponent suffered
great pecuniary losses, his affairs being left in a very de
ranged state, this deponent not having expected that any
sentence of imprisonment would hav? been passed upon him. ¦.
That on the 6th of July a body of Magistrates attended
what is called the Jail Sessions, held iu the prison, qnd
they made an order, after consulting the keeper of the
jailj. that the friends of this deponent should be admi'.ted
to see him in his ward from nine o'clock in the morning till
sunset,, with which order this deponent expressed himself
perfectly satisfied. This regulation continued to be put in
force to the mutual satisfaction of this deponent, the visiting
Magistrates, Aaron Moody, Esq. and the Rev. Dr. Colston,
as well as the keeper of the jail and all his officers, till the
1.4th of August, when, as this deponent is informed, and
verily believes, upon the suggestion of Francis Drake,
Esq. of Wells, who is a Magistrate of the county, and one
of the grand jury at the assizes, an order was made (with
out any reason being assigned, and without there being
any sufficient cause) to exclude all female visitors from tfie
ward of the said deponent, and that they should only be
permitted to see him at the double grating, at the same
time and place where felons, convicts, and prisoners,
charged with, and convicted of, unnatural crimes, beastia-
Hty, and murder, see and meet their associates. In conse
quence of this iharsh and unnecessarily cruel treatment,;.
this deponent's family, consisting of two females, one of,.
them this deponent's ward, who had come to Ilchester from
London, to see him, were locked out of the jail without''
any notice being given to them or this deponent, or any
cause assigned for the same, and in the most brutal, and
savage' manner they were refused access to this deponent,
who was never even' "permitted to see them to take leave of •
them : that since that time this deponent has been treated
D

26
hi the most cruel manner, and amongst other things he has
been frequently locked up for hours together in his dungeon
in solitary confinement in the day time : In consequence of
this treatment this deponent has not only suffered great
mental torture and bodily injury, but he has sustained great
pecuniary losses by being thus deprived of all communica
tion in person with his family, who have the sole care and
management of the little remaining part of his property
that he has saved from the ravage and wreck of his fortune,
occasioned by the persecutions he has endured ; thus in
flicting on this deponent a punishment much more ruinous
than any line the Court could have imposed. This depo-*
nent further saith, that his ward, who is solely dependant
upon him for protection and support, became at this time,
by the death of her grandmother, entitled to certain estate*
in Ireland, of the yearly value of 8001. and upwards, which
¦were bequeathed to her by the will of her grandfather, and
She having received a fetter from her late relation's agent,
stating that the said estates were seized and usurped by a
person in no way entitled to them, she came to Ilchester
with her deeds and papers, and the wills of her late mother
and grandfather, in order to consult and advise with this
deponent how to proceed so as to counteract such illegal
proceedings: yet, although this deponent informed the said
visiting Magistrates of this fact, she was not permitted to havo
access to him— in consequence of which cruel treatment
this deponent's ward has already suffered and will ultimately
suffer great pecuniary loss, as the trouble, difficulty, and
expence in recovering the said estates will be greatly in
creased for want of timely proceedings, which were
wholly prevented by the unjust, cruel, and unnecessary
prohibition of the said female minor from seeing and con
sulting with this deponent, her sole guardian and protector.
This deponent further saith, that by an order made at the late
Session at Taunton purporting to be an order of Sessions with
the consent and approbation ofthe Sheriff of the county, all
female visitors are s- till excluded from visiting this deponent ;
but it is left by the said order to the discretion of the visiting
Magistrates or the Sheriff to admit females if they think
proper, upon an application being made to them for that
purpose; whereupon this deponent applied to the visiting
Magistrates, Mr. Goodford, of Yeovil, and the Rev. Mr.
Whalley, of tQ permit his family to visit him
at the same hours that this deponent's male friends are ad
mitted to see him, in case they should come to Ilchester for
a week or a fortnight, which is between the hour of nine
p'clock in the morning and four in the afternoon, but which

27
reasonable request was peremptorily refused by the said
Mr. Goodford and the Rev. Mr. Whalley, although the
keeper - f the prison, Mr. William Bridle, unequivocally
declared to the said visiting Magistrates that he had not the
slightest cause of complaint to make against this deponent.
And thjs deponent saith that he hath never violated any of
the rules and regulations laid down for him by the said
Magistrates, nor has there ever been any complaint made
against this deponent, and that when this deponent's family
and friends visited him they never violated any of the rules
and regulations of the jail, but conducted themselves with
the strictest propriety and never c msed the slightest trouble
or inconvenience either to the said keeper or his officers, as
he declared to the said Magistrates, and the said Mr, Bridle
further declared to the said Magistrates that by this depor
nent's family and female friends visiting this deponent the
safe custody of his person would not be in the remotest de
gree endangered. This deponent unwilling to trouble this
Honourable Court while there was any possibility of other
wise gaining redress for this cruel, wanton, and unnecessary
torture, wrote a leiter to Sir Charles Bampfylde the Sheriff
a' copy of which is hereunto annexed, requesting the Sheriff'*
permission to see his family, in whose custody this deponent
conceives he legally is, but the said Sheriff in his answer, a
Copy of which is hereunto annexed, has refused to interfere
With the custody of this deponent, in violation of the statutes
lt and 12 William III. chap 10, and 14 Edward III.
chap. 10, notwithstanding which statutes no Sheriff or
tinder-she i iff has ever been to the said jail since this depo
nent has been imprisoned Iherein ; and this deponent further
saith, that he is informed, and verily believes that neither
the Sheriff Or his Deputy the Under-sheriff had any thing to
do with the making or sanctioning the said order of Sessions
made at Taunton, as neither the Sheriffor Under-sheriff were
present upon that occasion. But this deponent is informed
and verily believes that a person by the name of Edmond
Broderip, of Wells, an agent of the above named Francis
Drake, esq. did interfere and prejudice this deponent at tlie
$aid Sessions, and this deponent further saith that the said
Edmond Broderip has interfered with the custody of this
deponent and that he has had personal interviews withlne
keeper of the said jail, and that he has written to the said
jailer directing him to treat this deponent in the most cruel
manner, and for which cruelties inflicted upon this depo
nent,' the said keeper has produced the letter of the said
Edmopd Broderip as his justification to the visiting Magis
trates* Aaron Moody, esq. and the Rev. Dr. Colston, although
the said Edmond Broderip is 'neither Under-sheriff nor a

ssr
Magistrate. This deponent therefore saith that this invidi
ous distinction of excluding females from visiting him, a dis
tinction which was never before made for any other prisoner
in the said jail, and as this deponent verily believes, in no
other jail, appears to be an illegal punishment inflicted upon
this deponent and a new sentence imposed by the aforesaid
•lilagistrates, ten times more severe than this Honourable
Court intended or the law will admit, and by this conduct
of the Magistrates and the said Edmund Broderip, who
appears to have gained an influence over the keeper of
the said jail, in consequence of his being alternately the
tender-sheriff of this county with his partners in violation of
the statutes 42 Edward III. chap. 9, confirmed by 23
Henry VI. chap. 7 and 8, and by the Henry V. chap. 4.
this deponent hath been and is by such conduct made to suf
fer more punishment in this jail in one month than his co-
defendants suffer in one year in Lincoln Jail, where no such,
cruel and unnecessary hardships and maltreatment has as
this deponent is informed, and verily believes, been adopted,
or permitted. And this deponent further saith, that in c,on-;
sequence of these cruel acts and some other suspicious cir
cumstances, and especially the recent removal of two bolts,
the interior fastenings of the cell or ward of this deponent,
whereby he is exposed to attack in the night-time, he is
really and truly apprehensive of serious bodily harm. And
this deponent therefore prays that he may be brought before
this Honourable Court by >a Writ of Habeas Corpus, to
shew cause why he should not be removed out of the custody
t)f the said Francis Drake, Esq. and the said Edmond Bro
derip, or to obtain an order of the Court to relieve him from.,
any other punishment but that awarded by the Court,
namely, safe custody; and particularly that he, this depo
nent, may be allowed to have his family and female friends
to visit him at reasonable hours the same as his male friends,
so long as they conduct themselves with propriety, violate
none ofthe rules ofthe jail, and cause no inconvenience to'
the officers thereof.
Sworn at the Jail at Ilchester"
' aforesaid, the Seventeenth i
Day of November, OneS. HENRY HUNT.
Thousand Eight Hundred (
and Twenty, before me,

f

HENRY TUSON,
A Commissioner for taking Affidavits for the City
and County first above mentioned.

I

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.
" The dungeon proof Radical's Christmas Box to all his
Brother and Sister Radicals who are at Liberty?'

Ilchester Bastiie, 25st day, 3rd month, 2nd year, of tlis
Manchester Massacbe without enquiry.
Wth December 1820.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
By the time this will be read by many of you, Christmas,
the season for merry-making and good old English hospi
tality, will have arrived ; and while you are sitting round
your cheerful hearths, blessed with the society of those yoii
love and vp.lue most upon earth, your families, giving and
receiving pleasure, " the captive of Ilchester" will be locked
up in his solitaiy dungeon ; not only shut out from the ken
of mortal eye, but absolutely out of the hearing of any
human bekg ; and yet how many millions of fellow-crea
tures there are who will not be half so happy as 1 shall
be, how infinitely happier shall I be than any one of that
herd of riespicabla beings, who have been instrumental in
sending me hare, by the support which they have given
to corruption and misrule, how infinitely happier than any
one of those petty tyrants who have employed their little
dirty, dastardly, groveling minds in devising the means of
pers icuting and 'torturing me and my family, since 1 have
besn here ! Before that time arrives I shall have been
incarcerated here eight months, one quarter of my
sentence. Time waits for no man. The minions of
power, nay, the mighty monarch George the Fourth, with
all the standing army of England, and " the great captain
of the age" at its head, all, all lumped together cannot recall
one single moment that is passed ; and every tyrant in
Europe trembles and reflects that every moment brings him
nearer to his fate. Do not think, my friends, that I repine.
Printed by W. Molineux, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane.

Or that I bewail my cruel destiny ; no, believe nie, no man a
time hangs less heavy upon Iris hands than mine. When I
know that the day of retribution must and will come ; when
I know that the day is not far distant, when I reflect that
every minute brings us nearer to that time, O how de
lightfully those minutes pass, even in a dungeon.
You will have read my affidavit, published in my last
number ; that will give you some faint idea of my situation,
and of the inhuman manner in which I have been treated.
Every particle of that affidavit 1 am prepared to substantiate
to the very letter, with the exception of one technical error,
which in no way alters the fact ; but the brave Mr. Scarlett
informed the Court of King's Bench that he had got a num
ber of long affidavits, which were a complete answer to what I
had deposed, as they contradicted the most important parts
of my statement. We shall see how this is by-and-by. If
what Mr. Scarlett states be true, it will not be necessary in
future to send to Lancashire for Hulton of Hulton ; neither
will our sapient ministers find it necessary to send to Milan
for Majochis, De Monts, and Sacchis, to support even a
fouler conspiracy than that which has been trumped up
against the Queen. But, my friend, the peep which my
affidavit enables you to take into my dungeon, is scarcely a
bird's eye peep, when compared to the mass of infamy that
is accumulated within these walls. If the court will grant
me a Writ of Habeas Corpus to be taken before them, (at
iny own expense of course) I will undertake to shew that
every word of my affidavit is true to the very letter, let who
may swear to the contrary, till they are black in the face. If
the court will not grant my application, I shall expect
no justice there ; none whatever, if the business is to be done.
by swearing without my being present to explain facts, and
detect falsehoods and inconsistencies. But even then, if the
court should refuse to hear me, why, even then, I shall not
despair of having justice ultimately done me, and of being
able to bring to light and to expose the fraud, the cheat, the
gross imposition and deception practised upon the public,
by the false character which is given to this jail. I know
now that the high sheriff has been grossly imposed upon : I
believe that the Magistrates have been imposed upon ; and I
am not yet quite clear that the under-sheriff himself has not
been imposed upon, and made a tool of by some great snake
in the grass, by some hollow, pretended, false friend, one
who has all along professed himself to be my friend, and has
evinced, as far as words and protestations go, every desire
to oblige me ; one who has lamented that the magistrates

have put it out of his power to do any thing for me one
who has done all this, and ten times more tomy face, but
who, I have great reason to believe, has held very differ
ent language behind my back, and who has by his actions
given the lie direct to his professions. But " we shall see "
when we come to dissect these famous affidavits.
Before I appealed to the court, I tried in vain to procure
redress from the local authorities. At length, I wrote a
letter to the high sheriff, Sir Charles Bampfylde, which, as
I thought, was couched in the most respectful language,
such as he was entitled to from his high official situation, as
well as by his rank. After some time I received a laconic
answer from Mr. Melliar of Wells, his under-sheriff, sayin"
that he was instructed hy Sir Charles Bampfylde to inform
me " that he declined interfering.'" After having thus
written a respectful letter to the high sheriff to complain of
my treatment, and request his interference on behalf of "a
prisoner who is in his custody, and the only answer whicfit
received being that he declined to interfere, I thought ii high
time to appeal to the court for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. The
court, in the first instance, refuses the Habeas, but grants a
rule that I did not apply for, unless I was permitted to be
present. Since the Term has been over, not only the old
torture has been repeated, but new and aggravated punish
ments have been inflicted. A friend who came to visit me,
who knows Sir Charles Bampfylde, and to whom I showed
my btter and the answer of his under-sheriff, at once decla
red that he could never think him capable of treating a re
spectful application from a prisoner in such an unfeeling man
ner. I therefore wrote again to Sir C. stating a]specific act of
torture inflicted upon me, his prisoner, without any good or
sufficient cause, and claiming his protection. By the next
post I received a letter, from the Baronet himself, saying,
that he had ordered his under-sheriff to proceed without
loss of time to Ilchester, to investigate the cause of my com
plaint, and to make a report to him ; at the same time ex
pressing a disposition to do what was fair and honourable. —
This letter was written ou the sixth, but I have not yet seen
nor heard of any uncler-shetiff, although this is the tenth.
As, however, I do not believe that Sir Charles Bampfylde,
the high-sheriff, will submit to be imposed upon any longer,
1 have reason to hope, that 1 shali obtain a fair and open in
vestigation, and that, at any rate, if I do not procure indul
gence, I shall receive justice at his hands, which is all that
I require. •' But we shall see,'' ;

In the meanwhile, my friends, let us look round with a
steady eye upon the passing events of the day. In the
first place, if the ministers and the minions of the Court
have been deprived of their puppet-show, the coronation,
why the Radicals have procured for John Bull a spectacle
worth ten thousand of such mummeries as a coronation.
The Queen's triumphal entry into the City of London and
her visit to St. Paul's, was the victory of public opinion over
perjury and tyranny ; it was the spontaneous effusion of the
heart, and, therefore, worth more than ,all the coronations
that ever took place in Christendom. In the next place,
the scene which occurred in the Honourable House
on the meeting and the proragation of Parliament, requires
our attention. What ! and is it come to this at last ? —
Alas! poor House of virtual Representatives. Bless me !
why the Banishment Act, to prevent any one from bringing
¦jthe Honourable House into contempt, will be no better
than so much waste paper without a Concomitant Act to
prevent the Honourable House from bringing itself
into contempt. Lord Casilereagh did not actually take
his Irish cat-o'ninetails, and flog the poor pitiful Whigs out
of the house, but he took the little Honourable Manners
Sutton under his especial protection, and without the least
ceremony, he marched him through their ranks, and
snapping his fingers at them, he treated them just as they
deserved. I have not heard that he actually spit upon
Mr. Bennett, or that he sneezed in the face of the httle
pert dandy thing, Lord John Russell ; I do not know that
he actually kicked the breech of Sir Robert Wilson ;
neither am I sure that he gave Mr. Hume and Sir Gerard
Noel a box ou the ear ; I cannot say that he tweaked Lord
Folkstone and Milton by the noses ; nor that he actually
took Scarlett's, Denman's and Dr. Lushington's wigs and
beat them about their ears ; but I have heard that he
absolutely burst out laughing in the faces of Mr, Tierney and
Brougham ; and if he had actually done all the rest, is there
a reflecting man in England who will lay his'hand upon his
heart and say that the temporising Whigs did not deserve
it at his hands. As for for the puny Burdettite faction, I
believe that he considers them to be too contemptible
even lo wipe his shoes upon. He has only clapped one
of his myrmidons, the Attorney-General, upon the back
of " Westminster's pride and England's hope," and he has
rendered him as tame and as harmless as a hare with a
weazle stuck on to his poll. Do but look, ray friends, at
the Westminster Meeting, in Covent Garden the other day.

It was quite a mummery ! Such is the stupidity of the tail
end of the rump, that I am told they actually passed the Re
solutions, and the address to the King, without offering one
word as to the propriety of them. The Baronet has at last
brought the Westminster meeting just to the pitch of insig
nificance to which he has been long labouring to reduce it.
He does not want any one to make speeches but himself
and colleague. Only think of a meeting of the people of
Westminster, and not one single sentence u'Jered about
either the address oy the resolutions ! There was even
such a paucity of talent that the Kigh Bailiff threatened to
dissolve the meeting, for the want of some one to open the
business. Well, at fcngth, Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Fish
read the resolutions, and they were put and passed ; the
same gentlemen read tbe address to the Queen, and it was
put and passed " without any remarks." The same gen
tleman read the petition to the King ; it was put and
passed " without any remarks." Mark this, my friends. The
whole of the business for which the Westminster " inhabi
tant householders" met, the whole was proposed and se
conded by two electors, and was p'tU and carried " without
any remarks? But now begins the farce for which they
met. Mr. Gardiner, the same gentleman, proposes a vote
of thanks to Sir Francis Burdett and Ms-. Hobhouse, tlieir
members ; Mr. Fish now makes a speech — a crying speech,
about the sending poor Westminster's pride and England's
hope" to jail, and says " that Ike Ministers would be glad
to place suck a man as Sir Francis Burdett hors de
combat , but he hoped and trusted that that spirit which
had saved the Queen from the persecution of those Ministers
wquld also be excited to save Sir Francis Burdett from their
vindictive purpose." Well, Mr. Fish makes t'rv-ffo posi
tion in the hearing ofthe Baronet; the people hear it with
indifference; and then the Baronet comes forward anu
makes a long speech, palliating the conduct of the King,
and making allowances for his passions, &c. &c. ; and as
usual too, in general round terms, he abuses the Minis
ters, and, as usual, repeats the whole stale story, about
their deserving to be impeached— a story which we have
heard from him in almost all his speeches during these last
ten years ; nay, he now boldly declares (hat they ought to
to be hanged ; but, mark it well, he does not not say one
word against Mr. Fish's proposition, urging the people to
save him from going to jail ; he makes no arguments to
show that it is weak and childish, because they had not the

u
power to carry the suggestion into [effect. Mr. Hobhouse
followed in the same strain, and contended that the Minis
ters ought to be impeached. , .
What ensued ? Mark it well, 1 entreat you. Before this
farce was over, Mr. Benbow drew out of his pocket a short
resolution, " ready cut and dry," and such a resolution as
any stranger who had heard these rump patriots talk, and
who did not understand the Rump trick, would have
thought musthave been beyond measure delightful to "West
minster's pride." A stranger could not fail to have ex
claimed, " Aye ! there now is a resolution, so much in
accordance with their speeches, that Sir Francis and Mr.
Hobhouse w ill support it with might and main ;" but how
astonished must such a man have been/jtojiave heard and
seen the Baronet put his paw upon it, and, as Mr. Cobbett
would say, " crush it in its shell." The resolution was as
follows : -
" That this Meeting has heard with peculiar satisfaction
the declarations of Sir Francis Burdett, Bart, and John
Cam Hobhouse, Esq. of the propriety and necessity of im
peaching his Majesty's Ministers, for their unconstitutional
and illegal proceedings against the Queen, aud also for the
atrocious violation ot the constitutional rights of the subject,
which has long characterized their counsels and measures;
and that this Meeting, feeling the greatest confidence in the
zeal, perseverance, industry and talents of their Representa
tives, do hereby request that Sir Francis Burdett, Bart, and
John Cam Hobhouse, Esq. will undertake, in the name and
on behalf ofthe people of England, to move and conduct an
impeachment of the Ministers of the Crown, and that the
other Members of Parliament now present be requested to
support the same."
Sir Francis Burdett trusted that the Meeting would not
adopt such a Resolution as this upon the spur of the mo
ment. The propriety of impeaching his Majesty's Ministers
was one thing ; the necessity of doing so was another.
Both he and Mr. Hobhouse strenuously opposed the mea
sure; Sir Francis saying, that it would be " quite childish"
to pass such a motion, wh'ch they had not the power to
carry into effect. Accordingly, the motion, to the great
joy of " Westminster's Pride," was withdrawn ! What
think you of this, my friends? It will be asked, how could
Mr. Benbow know so well what the Bump Members would
say, so as to bring his motion in his pocket? Oh, my
friends, the gentleman who drew up that motion, and sent

7
Mr. Benbow there to move it, knew as well what Sir Fran
cis Burdett and Mr. Hobhouse would say, quite as well, as
they did themselves ; and you may depend upon it that he
anticipated the result would be that the cunning wary Baro
net would oppose il. Oh, Mr. *******! if it were not for
the good that has been done by exposing the hollowness, the
sickening trash of these heroes, prating as they always do in
general terms about impeaching the Ministers, I should
think you were a hard-hearted man ; it was the most cruel
cut at " England's hope !'' When 1 read the account in the
Morning Chronicle, whicli was much the best report, as
soon as I saw the name of Benbow, and saw the first line
of the resolution, I knew as well what was coming as if I
had been there and heard it read. And oh, how I laughed !
1 may venture to say, without betraying much vanity, that,
with the exception ofthe person who drewup-that resolution,
and sent Benbow to move it, there is no man in England who
understands these matters, all the trickery ofthe Baronet
and his Bump, belter than I do. I own, if I had been
there, as the motion was once moved, I would have had it
put to the vote, let what would have come of it ; even if it
had caused six or nine monthsto beadded to the Baronet's sen
tence. There is but one thing that would have annoyed the
Baronet more, and that one thing would h ive been to have
moved a vote of thanks to tlie Hon. Baronet and to the
Hon, Cam, for having given " a notice of a Motion in the
last Session of Parliament, for an inquiry into the murders
of Manchester ; the meeting* lamenting at the same time
that the verdict of the Leicester Jury should have placed
the Baronet in such a situation as to induce him repeatedli)
to withdraw the said Motion, during the hearing of his
application for a new tt ial in the Court of King's Bench.''
Oh, " Westminster'1; pride and England's hope," only think
of two years and six months for being found guilty
but upon part of one Count out of eight, and a packed jury
were between four and rive hours before they agreed to that
verdict; and then two of them agreed to that nominal ver
dict from an impression, made on them by the Judge's sum
ming up, that I should never be called up for judgment !
Only think, Sir Fiancis, if I had two yeaks and six
months for such a verdict, what will you have for a verdict
of Guilty upon all the Counts ? Observe, I do not say that
you were guilty of any crime in writing Ihat letter; but I
think you ought to be impeached and hanged for compromi
sing the INQUIRY into the Manchester massacres, of which
you had given notice in the House of Commons, and

which notice you withdrew as often as your motion for a
new trial was coming on in the Court of King's Bench. Ob
serve, too, that I am not so fond of hanging as to say that
you ought to be impeached aud hanged in any other sense
than that in which you said, at the Westminster Meeting,
that the Ministers ought to be impeached and^banged;
always bearing in mind your own convenient logic, "that the
propriety of impeaching, Sec. Sec. was one thing ; the neces
sity of doing so was another."
After all, Mr. Fish's proposition, to urge the people to
save Sir Francis from gyici, to jail, was infinitely more
childish than Mr. 3enbow's resolu ii :,i\ :. and I am not quite
sure but it was rathsr more imprudent. Well ! Sir Francis
Burdett was found guilty at Leicester about four days before
I was found guilty at York. Before ue -eceivsr, his sentence,
I shall have been in jail niije mouths. Hia money and
his trickery have kept iii.ii out of j .il all itis time, but when
the time coases the people wiil let IiI-iji go to ia.l just as
quietly as he c."me out of the backdoor cf tha Tower, while
the multitudes •fers waiting io receive him at xlie front door.
His money, however, may save him yal. Let ten thousand
pounds be given to s:.ch of the four *«***-* aad twenty
thousand po:»j<is between {he ******* '¦* and ****-
* * * % * * * s * * * *} aatj jje may i;evei* be' brought up for
judgment, or, when he is brought up he may have a
lenient ssntence. C-ixly thoi's&nd pounds is nothing to him;
little nore, if any thing, '{ban a year's income. If he
should be sent to Ilchester, I shall only askone favour;
that he will never again say one word about the Manchester
massacre, nor ever open his lips again shout Impeaching
his Majesty's Ministers; for, if he mention the
former, I shall involuntarily exclaim " Motion for a new
Trial," and if ihe 'rtter, " Benbow ! '
The whig faction has also been exposed and routed at the
Middlesex meeting. But you, my Mends in the country,
should never attach much weight to a Middlesex meeting,
although it is the metropolitan county ; for I have seen
more persons at a county meeting for Wiltshire, Hamp
shire, Somersetshire, than would make half a score Mid
dlesex meetings. A Middlesex meeting used to be com
posed of about half a dozen of the Westminster rump,
three or four Waithmanite whigs, out ofthe city, and gene
rally Major Cartwright and two or three of his friends ; it is
always held in a room, aud that room I never saw full.
A thousand people is a large meeting for Middlesex. Yet,
when Major Cartwright sent a requisition to the other

day, Mr. Sheriff Waithman talked about the respon»ibilitv
of bringing the freeholders of this great country together
The gallant Major was, however, upon the alert, and he'
not only sent his man Mills to make a motion, but he went
to support it Byng and Whitbread did the same as the
two Westminster men did; they laboured hard to get rid of
the Major's amendment, but they were defeated, and the
Major carried his address for reform, to the great mortifi
cation of allthe whig gentry, Mr. Chamberlain Waith
man and all. I can, when I have time, tell a pretty story
about this said anticipated Chamberlainship. John Wilkes's
mouth, it will be remembered, was stopped with this crust.
Mr. Alderman Cox called upon me the other day, and he
let me into some secrets worth knowing. Perhaps Mr.
Waithman and Sir F. Burdett recollect Mr. Sheriff Qox
being sent to Newgate, by a committee of the House of
Commons, for being too partial to Sir Francis Burdett,
when the latter was a candidate for Middlesex. The
Alderman informed me that, though the Baronet was his
schoolfellow, and though he had been committed to Newgate
for his zeal to serve him in his election, yet, Burdett-hke,
he had the ingratitude never to call upon him, or even to
send to enquire for him, during his three months imprison
ment ; and as for Waithman, oh shame ! shame ! But it
shall out when I have more room.
At this meeting there were also Mr. Wooler and Mr.
Pearson, but the gentlemen reporters never give the public
their speeches, though I wiH venture to say that they were
by many degrees much the most eloquent of any speeches
that were delivered there. Mr. Hume's was a good
speech, and I like the conduct of this gentleman much bet
ter than 1 do that of any member of the honourable house ;
he is a much more likely man than any I know at present
to do some good in that honourable place. He appears to
be a man of business, and I would rather see an impeach
ment undertaken by him, and backed by Alderman Wood,
than 1 would in the hands of any two men that are now in
the honourable house. They possess integrity, talent, and
perseverance. But nothing will be done by the " shoy-
hoys ,¦" rely upon it, my friends, that they will do nothing.
How shy the Baronet is about the Queen ! Have he and
Lady Burdett been to call upon her ? Ah Sir Francis ! per
haps you do not recollect the exact words you uttered to me
about the Queen? But then to be sure your son was in the
J.0tb. htr husband's regiment of hussars, and you were

10
noticed at his levees and files as well as private parties.
1 am glad to see Mr. Waithman become a friend ot the
Queen ; yet Mr. Alderman Wood and I could remind the
worthy sheriff of his conduct in the city, to prevent a Com
mon HaU to address the Queen ; and which he did succeed
in preventing for nearly a whole year; and when the Com
mon Hall was at last called by Mr. Alderman Wood, he
cannot forget how he came forward to oppose it, and how
he brought poor old Sturch out of Westminster, upon the
hustings in the Guildhall, to assist him to oppose lAlder-
man Wood's motion for an address to the Queen. Poor old
Mr. Sturch, was, however, driven off the hustings, with his
" welt weighed opinions." The Queen, as well, Mr. Alder
man Wood her best fiiend, knows Mr. Waithman too well
ever to suffer him to do her any harm.
You must not be angry with mc, my friends, because I
speak with freedom of these things; you may rely upon it I
am more fully informed respecting them than you are. I
know well all the parties of whom I have been speaking.
I have devoted some years of my Ufe, in order to under
stand the bearing of their politics. There is not ono of
them towards whom I feel any personal ill-will; let them
stand fairly forward to save the country and the oppressed
people, and I freely forgive them all the evil^that they have
intended me by their malignant slanders, which have arisen
solely from their jealousy.
Let us now change the scene. What a pretty mess the
Corn-bill Gentry are got into ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! It is
impossible not to laugh at the ridieulous figure they cut.
They have had their day, and no set of men ever carried
themselves so haughtily and blusteringly towards the poor,
as the sleek-headed, rosy-gilled, empty-pated farmers have
done. I am told, that one man, who lives within a hundred
yards of the walls of this jail has been selling good wheat
for four shillings and tenpence a bushel. The poor devil
that grew it has brushed off to save himself from a lodging
in the worst jail in England. Will any kind friend in
Wiltshire inform me what is become of Mr. John Benett,
pfPyt-house, the great CoRN-BtLL champion] I cannot
help laughing at his dupes, his gulls, the WUtshire yeo
manry ; thev have sent him to parliament as a member for
their county ! Oh, how he is laughing in his sleeve at
them ! 1 heard that one booby said, in Devizes' market,
that now they had got Hunt in prison, and Benett in par
liament, the price of corn would soon get up again. We all

11
know what is become of Mr. Webb Hall. Oh how quiet
and snug he is with his 'large salary as' Secretary to the
Board ol Agriculture ! Hunt, the great opponent of the
Corn-bill is in jail; John Benett and Webb Hall
are the great champions for the measure ; the one of these
is in parliament, and the other has 5001. a year as Secretary
to the Board of Agriculture ; each has his sop, and both
are silenced. Ha! ha! ha!
We shall soon have the meeting of Ihat wise and virtuous
body, the Bath Agricultural Society. I continued a mem
ber of that body for about twenty-five years, to watch ihem.
In my next number I wiil endeavour to dissect them a little.
When I first entered my name amongst them, my father
briefly gave me their true character in the following words.
" The Society," said he, " are composed of a set of greedy,
" rapacious landholders, some long-headed, cunning par-
" sons, and a number of vain, empty, conceited, boasting
"farmers. The business of the two former is to suck the
"[brains of the latter, and to ascertain their profits, that
" they may know how high they may screw up their rents
" and tythes ; and the joint business of the whole is to
" impose upon and plunder the public." Keep your eye
upon these wise and amiable gentlemen. If I have lime I
will give you, in my next, an anecdote or two of this imma
culate bcdy, as a proof of their wisdom and their honesty.
1 shaH'conclude by giving you a brief outline of a fresh
act of my amiable and humane keepers, into whose custody,
for the present, Sir Charles Bampfylde, the High Sheriff,
has consigned me. On Wednesday last iny daughter, who
has been married about two years, and lives in the lower
part of Devonshire, came to pay her father a visit, and to
shew me her infant, my granddaughter. As she was passing
through the place with her family, she had prevailed upon
the coach proprietors to wait for her twenty minutes, while
she came in to see me. She walked to the door of the
lodge, her maid servant bearing the little infant in her
arms; but when she entered the yawning portal of this
hellish place, and found herself surrounded by beings who
looked more like monsters than men, and also by massy
iron bars, hung with weighty fetters, and other implements
of torture, never having been within the walls of any prison
before, and having now entered one for the purpose of see
ing an incarcerated father, her heart failed her, and sinking
under her agonizing feelings, it was with difficulty that she
sobbed out her name, and the object of her solicitude. —

12
Hating given her name and place of abode, she was about
to pass on to her father's dungeon, when the monster ot *
turnkey rudely stopped the servant, asked her if she too was
my daughter, and upon being informed that she was the
nurse-maid, ordered her to stand back, and told her that no
female was permitted lo see Mr. Hunt, unless she was a
relation. My poor daughter was speechless wilh sorrow,
and nearly fainting. In this state she was obliged either to
take the child, and carry it through the jail, surrounded by
felons, convicts in irons, dressed in the gaol dress, attended
by the more ferocious looking turnkey, and to leave her
servant maid behind her, or return without seeing me. A
young friend of mine, who was accidentally present, im
plored in vain for the servant to be permitted to carry the
child through the prison down to the door of my yard, to
assist the poor distressed fainting mother, who was herself
almost unable to stand. The frighted infant was all this
while clinging to her nurse for protection. This heart-rend
ing scene appeared to heighten the ferocity of this animal in
the shape of man ; and, in a voice like the growling of a mon
ster gorging the blood and delighted wilh the agonizing
convulsive screams of its victim, he rudely refused. The
poor mother, with a sort of hysteric grasp, seized her infant,
and with the assistance of my young friend, she literally
reeled and staggered to my dungeon ; and upon the door
being opened, it presented to my view — my child faint and
senseless with the agony of woe. The few minutes she had
to remain were gpent in recalling her wandering senses;
and the recollection of her sufferings wrings my heart, — but
to attempt to describe them requires a more able pen than
mine — The next day the visiting justices, as they are called,
came to the prison. I shortly related the facts in the pre
sence of the keeper, and requested to know if they sanc
tioned such proceedings. They entirely disclaimed any par
ticipation in them, and expressed their horror at such treat
ment, and the keeper excused himself by sayiag that he was
not at home, and knew nothing about it. In tbe evening,
the turnkey informed me that the magistrates had spoken to
him on the subject, and that both the magistrates and the
keeper had approved of his conduct, and told him that he
had done his duty. What think you of this my friends I
and yet I despise and spurn their malice, and I am quite
sure that they will never gain their ends ; that they will
never break my spirit.
I remain, your dungeon-proof Friend,
H. HTTJVT.

13
P. S. The ninth number will be published on the firit
day of January. — I must trouble correspondents to pay tho
postage of their letters, as I am compelled to refuse taking
in those which are unpaid. This must be my apology for
not answering any such letters ; because I never fail to an
swer those I do receive. I believe that I have written nearly
nine hundred letters since I came here. The following
lines, so complimentary to me, were recited by Mr. Walker,
the author, amidst the greatest enthusiasm, at the Union
Rooms, Manchester, on my birth-day. — The curious ac
counts given in the Manchester Observer require my future
attention.

HENRY HUNT, Esq.
Recited by Mr. Walker, at the Union Rooms, Manchester, on the 6th of
Not?. 1820.

" Hail, generous Champion of a sacred cause,
Undaunted advocate of Freedom's laws !
We, who now greet thee on thy natal day,
And for t hy lengthen'd life with fervour pray,
Deem thee far happier, though in prison's gloonr,
With bed of straw and solitary doom,
Happier, aye, nobler! than the sordid thing
That flutters 'neath the favor of a King.
Loftier in thy lowliness, more loved,
Morebonour'd by the virtuous, more approved,
Than if with soul-degrading robes attired,
His gifts, whose mandates those base deeds admired
That fill'd each heart humanity would claim
With just abhorrence and iudignant shame:
Deeds such as History on her page ne'er drew,
And Nature sicken'd, on our plains to view :
Deeds that have left a stain on England's name,
Which, nor her conquests norher warlike fame.
Nor all the waves that lash ber sounding shore,
Can to tbat name its purity restore.
Deeds, that have made the wreath she erst display'd,
(Which neither foe conld soil nor sunbeam fade) ;
And the bright banner which she late unfurl'd.
The jest, the scorn, and hatred ofthe world.

15

But know, ye caitiffs, thousands wait tbe hour,
When vengeance o'er tlieir foes shall redly lower.
YeB, by that field of Peterloo, we swear,
By w Oman's wail, and her unheeded prayer,
By helpless age put vilely to the sword,
By in fants' shrieks unpitied, not unheard,
By modern Herod's hosts, by modern Rachels mourn'd,
By every law, divine and human, spurn'd,
By virtue's sacred name, by beauty's charm.
And all the joys that Hope's fond visions warm,
The blood which from that field ascending cries,
And mounts in circling vapours to tbe skies,
Shall be avenged : nor distant now the day;
When man shall hurl his manacles away,
Justice and Truth o'er Villainy prevail,
And each free brother bid his brother hail !
Filled with this vision (from Oppression fell)
We turn, to thee (its victim) in thy celt ;
Turn to thy honest, noble, unbought mind,
Thy matchless eloquence, thy mannei s kind,
Thy patriot feeling, and thy purpose true ;
That neither power can bribe, nor chains subdue;
Thy self-devotion, that with Hampden's zeal,
Would spill thy life's-blood for thy country's weal :
These are tbe sureties, that new hopes inspire,
And 'gender in our breasts a kindred fire.
That fire shall quenchless glow, till life be o'er ;
Virtue forgot, or freedom loved no more. —
Pale, o'er thy dungeon, beams fair Freedom's star,
But 'tis a guide that cheers us from afar ;
And while Oppression's gloom still deepens round,
Brighter, and clearer will that guide be found;

10

Till burning with ihtenutt of light,
It " marshals" millions, to assert their right
To equal justice : and a morn arise,
More beauteous than has dawu'd on mortal eyei,
When man shall walk erect, in manly pride ;
Nature his temple; and her book his guide :
The race emancipated from their yoke,
Their bauds asunder torn, their fetters broke' ;
And this loud Psan rend the vaulted skies — ¦
" Oppression's reign is o'er, the daemon flies."
• »•?#«•*••«•••
Pauses that day ? Yon shout from Tago's shore
Proclaims it near, and Scyllas' echoes roar.
Shall the dry bones resuscitate again,
And mock the chartered vaunts of English mbn !
Shall abject Sicily, aad bigot Spain !
Be the first followers in freedom's train 1
Forbid it countrymen ! forbid it ye,
Whose glorious song, once was and still shall be,
«' Or give us Death or give us LIBERTY."

Printed by W. Motin»«x. i, Br*»m'»-SUil4i»St, flia»«ery<'j±«.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE.
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.
The "Captive of Ilchester 's" New Year's Gift to his Brother
and Sister Radicals who are at Liberty.

Ilchester Bastile, 7 th day, 4th month, 2nd year, of the Manchester
Massacre without retribution or enquirj .
December 23, 1620.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
As 1 anticipated in my last address to you, Sir Charles
Bampfylde, the High Sheriff of this county, has proved
himself to be worthy the honour of possessing the title of
an old English Baronet. I stated to you, that he had
written to his Under Sheriff, to go to Ilchester, to investi
gate my complaints, and to report to him thereon ; but, as
soon as Sir Charles Bampfylde found that his Under-Sheriff
began to make excuses instead of doing his duty, he lost no
time in repairing to the jail himself; and having personally
satisfied himself that the cause of my complaint was well
grounded, he at once removed the odious and unnatural
restriction of excluding my female friends from visiting me :
which restriction, I now find, had been imposed upon me
in the name of this very sheriff, without his consent, or even
his knowledge Thus, my friends, has this gentleman, by
a single act of justice towards a prisoner in his custody,
done more in one hour to uphold and dignify, for its justice
and humanity, the character of the aristocracy of the coun
try, than all the dirty, mean, underhanded, backsliding
Printed by W. Molineux, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane.

petty tools of degpotism can do to degrade it in one year.
But what you will be most surprised to hear, and what
will most astonish the country, is, that all the torture that
has been inflicted upon me, all the restrictions that have
been imposed upon me, all ibe disgusting insults which
have been offered to me, and all the gross, unmanly.
cowardly indignities that have been heaped with worse than
savage, with unnatural ferocity upon the unoffending and
unprotected females of my family, have been all done in
the name of this very gentleman, Sir Charles Bampfylde ;
while, so far from this being done with his consent, he was
kept in total ignorance of it, and would still have remained
so, had he not seen, in the public newspapers, that, in the
Court of King's Bench, a charge of cruelty and injustice
had been brought against him. To crown the whole, an
impcstor, in confederacy with the gaoler, has been prac
tising upon the credulity of certain magistrates, representing
himself as the sheriff's deputy, and ordering the infliction
of torture upon me in his name. So you will perceive, my
friends, that I have at length discovered that all their ille
gal nnd unjustifiable treatment, has been caused by those
who had no more rightful authority over me, than the ami
able Mr. Joseph Nadin, the deputy high constable of Man
chester had ; and that this paragon of humanity would have
been quite as much justified in riding up to Ilchester, and
ordering me to be heavily ironed, chained down to an iron
bedstead, my head to be shaved, and blisters upon it as a
punishment ; and my gentleman gaoler here, would have
been fully as much justified, by every known law, in obeying
his orders, as he has been in obeying the orders, and inflicting
the torture, directed by those who, without the consent of
the sheriff, have interfered in my custody since I have been
here. This you will think quite enough. There is, how
ever, one thing more to be told to complete the climax. A
letter, which I sent to the sheriff, was detained by some one,
and was answered in his name, without his knowledge.
That fraudulent answer was the sole cause of my application to
the court of King's Bench, which application I am now convin
ced it would never have been necessary for me tomake, if the
letter which I wrote to Sir Charles had not been surrepti
tiously detained, and answered in the inhuman way in which
it was, without his knowledge. Sir Charles by declining to
be made a tool of, and taking the trouble of looking after
his own affairs, however, has rescued the county from the

foul disgrace which had stained its character; and he has,
I hope, convinced two gentlemen of the county Ihat, if
they are determined to commit flagrant acts of injustice
and cruelty, to gratify their own personal pique, they must
take the responsibility and the odium upon their own
shoulders, for that he will not suffer them to fix tbe stigma
any longer upon his character. Was there ever practised
before such an impudent barefaced fraud, such an audacious
imposition, for the purpose of inflicting torture upon an
iudividual! After the quarter sessions held at Taunton, a copy of a
pretended order was delivered to me, purporting to be an
order of sessions, signed " Coles, Clerk ofthe Peace,"
which was as follows — " It is ordered, by and with the
consent and approbation ofthe sheriff of the said county of
Somerset." Now, I pronounce this to be a cheat and a
fraud, committed for the purpose of inflicting torture upon
me. Who it was thattcommitted this fraud it is not for me
to say ; all that I know is, that the gaoler delivered it to
me as his justification for continuing to punish me by tor
ture. Whether he1 manufactured it, whether , the afore
mentioned impostor, who fraudulently represented the
Under sheriff, manufactured it, or whether they did it be
tween them, I know not ; but I cannot believe that i a body
of gentlemen, magistrates of the county, acting in the com
mission of the peace and holding the quarter session* of the
county, could ever have deliberately and openly made
themselves a party to the fraud. I never can believe but
that they were imposed upon by some one ; although
there might be among them one or two individuals who
would stoop to do any thing, even such an act as
this, to be able to gratify a little dirty revenge for
a personal pique. No ! I will never believe that a
body of magistrates, composing the bench at a county
quarter sessions, could ever have signed such an order as
being the order of the sheriff without his being present, and
I never will believe it, unless 1 have it from their own
mouths ; though Mr. Goodford of Yeovil, and the Rev. Mr.
Whalley of Limington, the two visiting magistrates, appear
ed to recognise the said order, by giving their sanction to
the most odious part of it. But tbey must have been
deceived, especially the Reverend Justice, because I have
heard what his opinion was of the verdict against me. It
was the opinion of an- honest conscientious man. When he

read the newspaper, which communicated the account of
the verdict, he said, "If I had been upon that jury, how -
" ever much I might have disapproved of Mr. Hunt's poh-
" tics, yet I never could have found him guilty upon the evi-
" dence that was produced?'
I know that there are a great many honourable and
humane men, magistrates of this county, who never would
have lent themselves to such a proceeding, if they had known
the truth ; therefore I have a right to presume that they have
been imposed upon. There is one thing quite evident ; that
the cunning fellow who framed this order, whoever he may
be, knew enough of the law to satisfy himself, that as I was
committed by the court of King's Bench to the County
Jail, at Ilchester, I was therefore in the safe custody of the
Sheriff of the County; — that no human being, that no
body of men, had any lawful power to inflict any punish
ment upon me, but the Sheriff of the county ; that, in
fact, it was illegal for any one to interfere at all with my
custody but the Sheriff. Consequently, without the know
ledge of the Sheriff, without his being present, and without
his being even consulted upon the subject, and, as I am
credibly informed, without even the Under-sheriff being
present; and, in fact, without any other authority but his
own audacity and malignity, he unblushingly used the autho
rity ofthe Sheriff, as follows, " It is ordered, by and with
the eonsent and approbation of the Sheriff of the said coun
ty of Somerset," &c.
Now, whether Sir Charles Bampfylde will think it worth
his while to have this matter investigated, I am not prepared
to say ; the moment he knew of my situation he took mea
sures to relieve me, and the moment he found that his orders
were not obeyed, he came post himself, between twenty and
thirty miles, to do an act of justice personally, though in the
mean time, he left his house full of company ; and when he
came he did his duty in the most gentlemanlike manner ;
there was no shuffling, no equivocation, he at once gave the
order for the free admission of my female as well as male
friends, and he charged the deputy gaoler, in my presence,
(the principal gaoler not being at home) to take care that
there was no obstruction given to the admission of my
friends, both male and female, at proper hours — emphatically
adding, " It is quite enough to suffer imprisonment, without
" having any other punishment inflicted, and it is an act of
" cruelty to separate Mr. Hunt jrem his female friends." —
And he gave this under-gaoler a strict injunction to tell the

gaoler what he said, as soon as he returned home. Well
the gaoler at length returned ; one whole day passed over^
without my seeing or hearing any thing of him, though I had
hot been honoured with a visit from him for a fortnight ;
another day arrives, and between one and two o'clock the
gaoler makes his appearance, and accosts me with a smile,
saying, " so I find our great man has been here to see you,
" since I have been from home." " Yes." " Well, I shall
" put his order into execution with great pleasure." I
begged to know what the order was, and then, for the first
time, at the end of six days, I have the first official notice
that an order has been made to remove what he knew I con
sidered as the severest restriction and the heaviest punish
ment, that could possibly have been inflicted upon me.
I mention this to shew how coolly and how indifferently
these finished gentlemen-gaolers tamper with the feelings of
the victims that are handed over to them. Six days elapse
before I am informed what order the High Sheriff made.
Now let us see how this gaoler conducted himself, upon
another occasion. An order is made, at the assizes at Wells,
to exclude my female friends, at which time I had two of
my family visiting me. The said gaoler returns from the
assizes, and within one hour after his return, at least as soon
as he could get the order copied, with the ferocity of a
savage watching his victims, without a moment's notice,
he suffers the ladies to come to the gate, and present
themselves as usual at my dinner hour, he having given
directions to his turnkey to refuse them admission, with no
other explanation than that " the magistrates have ordered
" that no females be admitted to Mr. Hunt, and you cannot
" pass." After having witnessed this to him gratifying
scene, he comes to me, and presents the order, saying also
that he had given instructions to the turnkey, " who had
" done his duty, and shut the ladies out." There
they were, without a moment's notice, shut out from me,
and they were never admitted afterwards; and I had to take
leave of them through the grated bars ofthe prison wallr
across a river, ten or fifteen yards wide; and I have not the
least doubt, if the truth could be known, that this humane
gaoler was some where concealed, looking on, enjoying the
misery he had created. So you will perceive, my friends,
that when any thing pleasant is to be communicated to me,
I am made to wait six whole days before I am to know
it ; but, when any privation or restriction is to be imposed,

6
it is not to be delayed an hour; and so it has been with
every thing since I have been here. Well, you will say,
you will now be blessed with the society of your family
again. I hope so; but they are with their relations one hun
dred and fifty miles distant ; their being driven away aud
their return to me, will cost them in travelling only nearly
thirty pounds, besides all the misery they have suffered from
such cruel, unmanly, and unnatural treatment.
To Sir Charles Bampfylde I owe a debt of gratitude,
which no time nor circumstances will ever induce me to con
sider as being fully repaid ; and for this act of justice and
humanity his name already rings with the praises that are
bestowed upon him throughout the county ; and when it is
generally known he will have the thanks of every humane
man and woman in the country ; and I will pledge my exist
ence, that there are a million of radicals in the kingdom who
would willingly risk their lives to render him any service
in their power.
So much for jail politics, my friends. Now, let us look
round us a little, and take a short review of what is passing
upon the grand theatre of public affairs. It strikes me, that
one ofthe most important circumstances that has occurred,
since I last did myself the honour of addressing you, is, the
finding of a true bill by the grand jury against the govern
ment spy Franklin, for having sent an inflammatory printed
letter to each ofthe special jurymen ofthe county of Leices
ter, who were appointed to try Sir Francis Burdett for a
libel, in consequence of his having written and caused to be
published his celebrated letter to the electors of Westmin
ster, upon the Manchester massacre. This circumstance
requires the grave consideration of every lover of justice,
and every friend of rational liberty, in the country. To Mr.
C. Pearson alone is the countiy indebted for the detection
and the exposure of this second Oliver — Franklin ; to Mr.
C. Pearson alone is the country indebted for the several
bills of indictment that have been found against this minis
terial spy, this worst of traitors ; to Mr. Charles Pearson
alone are we indebted forthis last exposure of the atrocious
conduct of this agent of Hell. Although he is no attorney of
Sir Francis Burdett, he has done him personally a much
greater service, by causing this bill to be found against
Franklin, than all the attorneys and all the council, with
Mr. Attorney General Scarlett to boot, ever did him in hig
life. Mr. Pearson, the radical Charles Pearson, has saved

the honourable Baronet from one of Sidmouth'* dungeons
in spite of the honourable Baronet himself. You know'
my friends, that I have all along reprobated the temporising
conduct of Sir Francis Burdett, ever since the verdict ot"
guilty was pronounced against him ; nay, I have censured
him for his public conduct ever since he wrote that letter.
The letter itself was most excellent, and did honour to his
head and his heart ; but he never followed it up. Even at
the very meeting which the letter produced, which was the
largest and the most enthusiastic that was ever assembled in
Palace Yard ; even at that meeting, he by no means acted
up to the spirit of the letter. There was then an opening
again for him to have made himself the most popular man
in England, as he had been some years before ; but jealousy,
the green-eyed fiend jealousy , his greatest enemy, checked his
zeal ; and, rather than contribute to the hard-earned prac
tical popularity that /had obtained, by my unwearied exer
tions in the cause of public liberty, he sacrificed and damned
his own, I fear for ever. I am well informed that, when a
vote of thanks was moved to me, the enthusiastic shouts of
his own constituents so far exceeded any thing he ever heard
expressed towards himself that he turned pale, and his lips
quivered and shook with envy and jealousy ; and that he
suffered his own myrmidons of the Rump to lay violent
hands upon a gentleman, whom he knew to be a personal
friend of mine, and actually to pull him down by force to
prevent his speaking at all, for fear he should say something
in my favour that might be likely to call forth afresh those
proofs of enthusiastic attachment, which had appeared to be
wormwood to him, and to excite his spleen. From that
moment, he has never appeared earnest in the cause. His
defence was any thing rather than that which the occasion
required, and which he was so capable of making; it was so
miserably weak, it was such a milk and water production,
when compared to the letter, and was delivered in such a
repentant manner, that a gentleman of Liverpool, who was
subpcened upon his trial, and who is one of his best friends
and warmest supporters, informed me, when he returned to
York, that it was impossible that ihe jury could have done
otherwise than find him guilty. Then, instead of demurring
in tbe first instance to the plea, his driving it off to the last
moment, and at length attempting to creep out of the t -ialby
a technical objection, was an act unworthy of the ' cause
which he espoused. Equally blameworthy was his sending

his myrmidons of the Rump, with Alexander Galloway at
their head, as a self-appointed treasurer, to paralize the sub
scription, and fritter that money away in all sorts of useless
purposes, in order to prevent any of it being left to conduct
that trial at York, for which the greatest part of it was
subscribed ; and in which unworthy purpose they were too
successful. And, then, his having given a notice of a
motion in the House of Commons to move for an enquiry
into the Manchester murders, and having put it off from
time to time, as often as the Attorney General began to act
against him in the Court of King's Bench ; by which tem
porising conduct ho has kept out of jail ever since, now nearly
nine months, though, at the expense to the cause of justice
and humanity, of naving prevented Mr.Bennett, Mr. Hume,
Alderman Wood, and many others, fro m bringing the Man
chester question before the House, till it became a dead
letter there altogether, and went entirely off.
For all these things I have always said, and I still say,
he deserved a jail. But, when we view the transaction of
Franklin, when we look at the conduct of this agent ofthe
very ministers who were prosecuting the Baronet; why
then the case assumes a different aspect. Notwithstanding
all that he has done, it is now, I think, impossible that he
should ever receive any sentence upon that verdict. The
bare possibility that one of his jury may have been influen
ced by the diabolical letter of Franklin, would make a sen
tence passed upon the Baronet, the most monstrous, the
most barefaced injustice, that ever disgraced any court, and
the very worst of tyrannies. No! no! this can never be;
this can never happen, without even the forms, the outward
show, the mere shadow of justice, vanishing like a dream.
If this man be ever sentenced to a prison or fine under such
circumstances, there is at once an end to every pretence of
justice. Oh! if the Baronet had acted like the Queen;

9
if he had followed up the "praiseworthy principles, and put
in practice the excellent doctrines, contained in that very
letter, no court in England would have dared to commit
such an act of barefaced injustice as to touch a hair of his
head, any more than the House of Lords clared to touch
that of the Queen. " But we shall see !" We must keep
our eyes fixed steadily upon the judges ; the judges of the
court of King's Bench must never be lost sight of, Every
tuan, who wishes well to the laws and constitution ofthe
country, should go down to Westminster Hall, and take an
accurate look at the judges. Let him get into the court, and
hear them if he can; but at all events t».ke a look at them,
either as ihey pass in or pass out of ihe court. It requires
a very minute inspection when they are in their robes, to
know them when they are out of theim The-e, judgQs, if
they act honestly, f^foly, and impartially, are some of the
best characters in the country; but if they become the tools
of the ministers, and punish men contrary to law for politi
cal charges, merely because a packed jury have found them
guilty; if they act corruptly, they are not only the worst,
but the most dangerous men in the kingdom,,. ¦ .,
A gentleman ofthe bar( a barrister, who practices in the
court of King's Bench, and who has been to see me here*
informed me that, when the sentence of two years and site
months imprisonment was passed upon me, even Mr. Scar
lett turned' round, and said, in his hearing, and in the
hearing, of mOsf of the gentlemen who sat behind him,
" that it was an infamous ahd vindictive Sentence, and that
I shoidd have the sympathy of every man in tlie country?'
When judges, who are sworn to dispense justice in mercy,
begin to pass Vindictive sentences, is is high time that
their motions should be narrowly attended to.
I have received several letters, from various places, oom^
plaining not only of the omissions, but ofthe misr&presenta-

10
tiotas, that were published in the Manchester Observer,
1-e-lating to the accounts given of what passed at the numer
ous meetings that were held to celebrate my birth-day.
My only answer is, that those who conduct the press are
their own masters, and we cannot compel them to publish
what they do not like; and 1 dare say those gentlemen who
conduct the Manchester Observer, understand better than
¦we do, what sort of information will pay them best. I could
not, however, help laughing heartily myself to see, that at
one place where a meeting was held to celebrate my birth
day, it appeared; by the Manchester Observer, that the
name of " Hunt* was never mentioned. At another place,
at Oldham, where they met for the same purpose, the only
mention' of my name was, that my worthy and excellent
friend " Mr. Fitton of Royton, passed an eulogium upon
Mr. Hunt, when his health was drUhk." Butthat a very
long speechwas made by a Mr. Evans, which detailed an
account of some local squabble in Manchester, about some
alterations that were meditated in widening Market street,
in that town ; and although one of my correspondents does
not appear to see the object of this, yet it is very visible to •
Jne in my dungeon, and at all events the discussion about
Market-street, I dare say, was full as interesting as, and
certainly more novel than, any thing Mr. Fitton could have
said about me.
With respect to the Manchester Observer becoming a
Burdettite Chronicle, the idea is quite ridiculous. Cow-
droy's paper will beat th^m hollow if they ever attempt
that. The Manchester Observer must be really radical or
nothing. With respect to a weekly paper, 1 must tell you,
that I have been favoured with threo copies of a New
London Weekly paper, published every Friday, entitled the
Catholic Advocate. If I might be permitted to recommend
a newspaper to the notice of ray radical friends all over the

11
kingdom, aud particularly to my catholic and protestant
brethren, who have imbibed a foolish and bigolted prejudice
against each other, I would earnestly recommend the
Catholic Advocate, published by W.E. Andrews, No.!
Q, Drake Street, Red Lion Square, London. Though I
do not know this gentleman, yet I have no hesitation ia
saying boldly, and fearless of contradiction, that if he con-
tiuues to conduct it upon the same liberal, enlightened, and
truly philanthropic principles, as those on which he has
commenced it, his paper is not only deserving of the atten
tion, but will be eagerly sought for, by every real friend of
religious toleration, and every advocate of civil and religious
liberty, in the United Kingdom. It is just such a publica
tion as was wanted, and 1 hope all my catholic friends at
Preston, at Manchester, and all over the north, will lose
no time in procuring a sight of it.
I am, my beloved friends,
In high health and spirits, your's devotedly,
H. HUNT,

Printed by W. Molineux, &, Bream's Buildings, Chaneery-IaBe.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

Ilchester Bastile, 7th day, 5th month, 2nd year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or enquiry,
January 23, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
Fifteen years ago, this day, died the greatest apostate to
the cause of Radical Reform that ever existed, namely,
William Pitt ; and since the time that he became a
traitor to these principles, the cause of Reform was never
so prosperous as it is at this hour — Hail ! all hail, my Ra
dical friends ! Since I addressed you last, in the course of
one short month, we have had a greater accession to our
holy cause than during any one year of my recollection ;
and if we proceed in this way for another month or two,
we shall be all Radicals together. In the first place,
I must sincerely congratulate you upon the accession of
the great body of our Catholic brethren of Ireland to our
ranks — Radical ranks! Daniel O'Connell, Esq. the Irish
barrister, so much respected, and so deservedly, the great
leader of the -Catholics in Ireland, has at length ac
cepted the olive branch that was held out to him and his
fellow countrymen, by the address unanimously passed
at the great meeting of Reformers held in Smithfield,
in July, 1819, at which I had the honour to preside.
Mr. O'Connell, in a letter whicli has been published in

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

almost all the public newspapers except the Times, has
boldly recommended to his insulted fellow-countrymen,
no more to petition an unrefonned Parliament for Catholic
emancipation ; but to join, heart in hand, with the people of
England, and demand Reform.
In the next place, I most heartily congratulate you, my
friends, on the success of your perseverance and unanimity
in demanding- Universal Suffrage, a real Radical Reform.
By this perseverance and this unanimity, you have brought
your greatest enemies to be at least civil. Those who,
only one short year since, used to attack us open mouthed;
those who never let an opportunity slip, without vomiting
out some malignant, false, and cowardly calumny against us,
are now not only all at once become very civil, and mealy
mouthed ,• but many of those very enemies now actually
speak with respect of the Radicals, and many of them
begin to shelter themselves under our very wing, under
the title of Radical.
It shall be my task to mark and record the progress of
Reform, and of public opinion, in our cause. We were very
strong in the year 1817, when upwards of a million of the
most active and most useful portion of the population
signed petitions, and caused them to be presented to tbe
House of Commons for a Radical Reform, upon the prin
ciples of Universal Suffrage. Well! to put down this
formidable exertion of the Radicals, and to prevent us
from holding any more great public meetings, such as had
been three times held in Spa-Fields, by the Radicals of
the metropolis ; such as had been held at Bath and Bristol,
in the West of England, and at Manchester, Leeds, and at
almost every town in the North of England ; to prevent
all this, a Seditious Meeting Act was passed, and the
Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, upon the hackneyed
plea of putting down sedition and treason. In answer to

3
the assertions made by ministers, as a justification of their
measures, I got Lord Holland to present a petition to the
House of Lords, denying many of these assertions. I
attended at the bar of the House, and I shall never forget
the words and looks of Lord Sidmouth. Alluding to those
persons who had taken an active lead at those great
meetings, he compared them with those who took an
active lead in the French Revolution ; and turning round,
and looking nie full in the face, he said, " those men who
wish to produce a revolution in this country by similar
means, possess equal talent, industry, and perseverance,
with those who promoted the revolution in France ; and
I assure your Lordships, that some of them (shaking his
head at me), persevere with an energy far surpassing any
thing I ever remember to have read of respecting the
French Republicans."
The Bills passed ; many of the -leaders of Reform in the
north were apprehended, torn out of their beds in the
dead of the night, handcuffed, and heavily ironed ; they
were dragged up to London, taken before the Privy Coun
cil, and immured in various dungeons in different distant
countyjails, and removed from time to time, at the pleasure
of the Home office ! Our worthy and excellent friend Knight,
of Manchester, who is now in Lancaster Castle, a martyr to
the cause, was dragged out of bis bed from his poor wife,
in the dead of the night, by Nadin, and he was treated
with such brutality in her presence, that the shock had
such an effect upon her nerves, that she has never enjoyed
one moment's health since. He was first thrown into one
of the dungeons of the New Bailey, at Manchester. The
next day he was taken in the coach, still heavily double
ironed, to London, to the Police-office at Bow-street;
from thence before the Privy Council ; from thence he was
removed to Tothill Fields ; from thence, in the night, to

Reading; and when Lord Folkestone made an effort to
see him there, he was secretly and suddenly removed to
the jail at Salisbury,- out of which, nearly sinking under
the weight of his sufferings, he was removed to Dorchester
for fresh air, and from thence to Gloucester; and he was
kept confined and removed in this way, without any soul
being suffered to know where he was, for ten or eleven
months, at the end of which time he was discharged, with,
I think it was, five guineas to carry him home, a distance
of one hundred and sixty miles, and all this without any
charge being made against him ! ! — But he had been a
chairman at a Reform meeting at Manchester.
Many, many others of the best friends of Reform, who
had stood forward, were served in a similar manner, under
the operation of the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act.
Mr. Cobbett, our great literary champion, had taken flight
to America ; and I, who had attended the three great
meetings for Reform in Spa-fields, and had presided at the
great meetings held at Bath and Bristol, surrounded
by military, expected nothing less than to have shared a
similar fate. Conscious, however, that 1 had never
violated any law, or ever been present where a single
breach of the peace was committed, I was determined to
stand my ground. I would have lost my life before I
would have fled; this was my taste, and 1 believe
I escaped merely because I had never attended any private
meeting whatever, and by that means had been fortunate
enough to avoid the snares and the traps that were laid
for me by Messrs. Oliver and Castles, although the
latter one contrived to wriggle himself into my company ;
and a second time, when I met him in Cheapside, on the
2nd of December, 1816, as I was going to the Spa-fields
meeting, when this amiable protege of the amiable Lord
Sidmouth, kindly invited me to return with him, as the
meeting had been over an hour, and the people (young
Watson and Co.) had taken possession of the' Tower,
where he was going to make some arrangements for the
future well-being of his fellow-citizens.
After these acts had passed, after our great public
writer in the cause was driven not only out of the field,
but out of the coimtry, and all the leaders of Reform in the
north were safe in dungeons ; after four of the Spenceans,
Watson, Thistlewood, Preston, and Hooper, had been
apprehended and tried for high treason, and the two
more wary of their party, the two Evanses, were im-

prisoned under the Suspension Act, the ministers had the
game quietly in their own hands. But it will be asked,
where, all this time, were the natural leaders of the
people, as the Whigs call themselves? Oh, my friends,
they were very snug indeed, and a great many of them
had joined their opponents, the ministers, and urged them
on to make those laws and put down the Reformers.
Watson and Co. were tried for high treason, and acquitted;
and as I had given the most important evidence upon
their trial, I was invited to preside at a dinner at the
Crown and Anchor in London, to celebrate their acquittal,
in honour of the trial by Jury. This was esteemed a
daring and imprudent attempt, as the Habeas Corpus Act
was still suspended. I, however, did not conceive it to
be any crime to rejoice that four fellow-creatures had
escaped from the jaws of Lord Sidmouth and his spy,
Mr. Castles. I attended, and at this meeting the princi
ples of Radical Reform were once more publicly promul
gated. In the mean time, other literary advocates for
Radical Reform sprung up, and amongst them an able and a
powerful one, Mr. Wooler, of the Black Dwarf.
Another of Lord Sidmouth's spies now prompted a
ridiculous rising of a few poor distressed persons in
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, who were deluded by
this artful scoundrel, and urged into a most ridiculous and
contemptible riot, which the government chose to call
high treason ; and these persons being very poor, and not
able to raise money to conduct their defence, which, in
consequence, unfortunately fell into the hands of Mr. Cross,
of Manchester, Brandreth, Turner, and Ludlam, were
found guilty, and executed for high treason at Derby,
in October, 1817. Thank God, I attended and witnessed
those trials ; for, what I became acquainted with there, will
form a very material part of my Memoirs, when I come
to it.
It will be again asked, where were all the natural
leaders of the people while this bloody tragedy was
acting? Alas! alas! none of them were present; and,
what is still more horrible, some of the professed and
hitherto esteemed friends of liberty, actually, by an artful
trick, contrived to set aside and prevent a public meeting,
which I had taken measures to call at the Crown and
Anchor in London, to raise a subscription to enable these
poor fellows to conduct their defence. They not only
prevented the subscription, but endeavoured to deter me

0
from going to Derby, to lend them my personal aid. The
result was, three poor paupers were hanged and decapi
tated for treason, and thirty-six more were transported
for life. But Mr. Cross, their leading counsel, was soon
after rewarded with a silk gown, and is now Mr. Sergeant
Cross. Reform was now at a low ebb for some time, but the
Habeas Corpiis Act Suspension Bill at length expired, and
on the 7th of September following, I, being invited, attend
ed and presided at the first public meeting called under
the provisions of the Seditious Meetings Bill, in Palace
Yard, Westminster. A declaration and a remonstrance to
the throne were passed, which remonstrance I carried and
delivered immediately to Lord Sidmouth, at the Home-
office, being attended to the door by many thousands cf
the people. Thus was the ice once more broken, and
Reform meetings were soon held again in several places in
the north. I was invited and attended at a great reform
meeting, to be held in St. Peter's-field, at Manchester, on
the eighteenth of January 1819, at which I presided,
where it was determined, by the unanimous voice of at
least fifty thousand people, not to petition an unreformed
parliament any more for Reform ; and a similar declaration
and remonstrance to the throne were unanimously voted ;
which remonstrance I was deputed to convey to Lord
Sidmouth, to be presented to the Prince Regent, which 1
did in person as soon as I returned to London. When I
called for my bill at the inn, I found that the Reformers
had paid it, and they had taken my place and paid my
fare in the mail to London. I mention this because it was
the first apd tlie only time 1 ever had one shilling of my
cxpences paid in my life.
Reform meetings were now revived all over the north,
and in the July following, the first great meeting was held
in Smithfield, to which 1 was invited, and at which 1 pre
sided. At this meeting it was computed that seventy
thousand people attended. The same declaration of the
Reformers, and the same remonstrance to the throne, were
again passed, as well as an address to the Catholics of
Ireland, offering the olive branch of Union, which has
been now so unequivocally accepted by the recommen
dation of Mr. O'Connell.
It will be asked, where were all the natured leaders of
the people all this time ? Alas ! alas ! the people were in
distress, the people cried for help, but none came, either

to relieve them, to advise them, or to admonish them.
1 was called upon, I did my best, but 1 never turned a
deaf ear, or refused to obey their call. Reform flourished,
and was now considered as being at its height, and that it
must, ere long, bo attended to by the. parliament. In the
latter end of July, I received a pressing invitation to attend
another meeting at Manchester, to be held On the 9th of
August; Manchester was 200 miles from Middleton-Cot-
tage. I attended, but the meeting-was put off to the 16th.
The day came, the people assembled, and Reform was put
down by the sword ! Sixteen persons were put to death,
and 618 wounded ; the ministers thanked the magistrates
and the butchers for their services ; and they flattered
themselves thai they had silenced the voice of Reform for
ever. I and my friends were committed to solitary dun
g-eons for high treason ; but Reform was not put down j
meetings were held all over the country, to petition the
parliament to inquire into and to punish the authors and
abettors of the murders, but all inquiry was smothered
both in the parliament and the courts ; every attempt that
I made in the courts to bring the authors of such foul deeds
to justice, was refused to be heard. The famous eleven
days trial took place at York, which convinced every man
in the kingdom of the peaceable nature ofthe meeting,
and of the bloody massacre of the peaceably assembled
multitude ; but, nevertheless, I was sentenced here for
two years and six months ; which sentence did as
much to convince the wavering public of the necessity of
Reform, as the massacre itself.
The late King died, the Queen returned, in spite of Mr.
Brougham's intrigue to bribe her to stay away ; she was
persecuted, and the cause of Reform gained millions to its
ranks. The whole nation feels and declares the necessity
for Reform ; but the national leaders of the people, the
Whigs, are very coy and shy ; they declare that it is ne
cessary for the ministers to be turned out, and themselves
to be turned into thejr places ; they seize the advantage
ofthe agitation and dissatisfaction created by the conduct
of the government ; first, to the people at Manchester ; se
cond, in refusing all inquiry into the circumstances ; third,
in imprisoning myself and my friends, the injured party ;
fourthly, in persecuting the Queen ; but the Reformers
very properly cry " hold a little, natural leaders ! where
have you been for the last ten years, and what have you
been doing during that time ? We have never seen you

8
taking the lead amongst us, although we have constantly
supplicated you to do so ; pray do let us have your opinion
upon Reform, before we put our shoulders to the wheel, to
shoulder the ministers out of place, and shoulder such
wonderful natural leaders into their places."
The first Whig meeting is called at Durham ; but all the
object appears to be, to get the ministers out of place, and
the Whigs in place. The people begin to stand aloof, and
all the Reformers say, " we will assist you to carry your
meetings, but, unless you will pledge yourselves to Reform,
we will never submit to put you into power ; we had a
taste of your rule in 1806, and we will not trust you again,
unless you give us some substantial pledges." Some of
these chaps, such as Lord John Russell, abuse the Radi
cals ; and at all their meetings, for some time, they open
ly attacked the Radicals ; but the steady conduct of the
Radicals has, I hope, at length brought them to their
senses. Lord Grey, Lord Holland, Lord Erskine, Lord
Albermarle, Mr. Coke, of Norfolk, the Duke of Bedford,
Mr. Lambton, now declare that Reform is absolutely
necessary. Mr. Coke, of Norfolk, who is worth, both for
character and fortune, a score of Pitt's lords, declares that
it is absolutely necessary to have a Radical Reform ; Lord
Albermarle declares that he glories in the title of Radical;
and even Lord Erskine, who has been one of our most in
veterate enemies, now speaks of us with respect ; he says,
in a letter to the Fox meeting at Norwich, " the time for
Reform is notonly come, but come with unqualified safety."
It is astonishing, my friends, how civil, respectful, and
even kind, these Whigs are become all at once towards the
Radicals. We are told that we are neither seditious,
treasonable, nor blasphemous. How lucky it is that
they have found this out at last, and what a pity it is that
they did not make the inquiry before they denounced us so
often as such, and joined in full cry with the ministerial pack
of hell-hounds, so long and so loud against us ! At all the
great county meetings that have been held, the noblemen
and respectable gentlemen have lately treated the Radi
cals at least with respect ; but there is still, every now and
then, a yelping hungry cur, who is seeking after a crust
at the expense of the people, and dreading at least a Re
form, that would deprive him of the chance of plundering
the public ; such a one will still shew his teeth, although
he dares not bite. At the Wiltshire meeting, at Devizes,
where Mr. Paul Methuen, the late member lor the county,

9
made such an excellent radical speech as would have
caused a Radical, if he had delivered it six months back,
to have had at least two years imprisonment. At this
meeting, one John Bennett, the person who gave such in
famous evidence before the parliamentary committees in
favour ofthe Corn Bill, and who declared at a meeting at
Warminster, that unless- the price of corn was kept up to
eighty shillings a quarter, by a Corn Bill, he would leave
the country and live in.France; this man in his speech said,
that the people were neither seditious nor blasphemous,
generally, but that there would always be some scoun
drels, who would wish to create disturbances in a state,
for the chance of the plunder they might get in the scram
ble, the same as there would be highwaymen and house
breakers. This was very true, but he should have con
descended to tell us who the scoundrels were. He might
have said, that there are always scoundrels upon the look
out for plundering the people, and grinding the face of the
poor ; he might have cautioned the people against placing
the least trust in any canting, knavish scoundrel, who, like
the bat in the fable, conceals his political sentiments till
the result of the struggle is no longer doubtful, when he is
sure, without the least regard for principle or honour, to
join the victorious, the strongest party. He might have said
" avoid the hypocrite as you would a pestilence, and if you
know a scoundrel who, in canvassing for an election, becomes
all things to all men, a Tory with the Tories, a Whig with
the Whigs, a moderate Reformer with the moderate Refor
mers, and a Radical with the Radicals, sanctified with the
religions, although an atheist by profession and practice —
if you should meet a scoundrel of this class, a bankrupt in
fortune and character, prowling about with a lank un
meaning form, a cadaverous shark-like visage, the emblem
of a black and rankling heart within, fly from his touch,
for it is as venemous as the tooth of the viper."
We will turn, my friends, to a more pleasing character,
to an honourable ally, Mr. Coke, of Norfolk; in every
thing the reverse of the imaginary monster which I have
described above. Mr. Coke, of Norfolk, one of the most
wealthy commoners in England, the member for the county
of Norfolk, said as follows, at the late meeting at Norwich,
to celebrate the birth-day of Mr. Fox. I will insert it ver
batim, as I find it reported in the Times newspaper of the
22dinst. "The. system to which Mr. Fox had been opposed, had
c

10
lost us America, had ruined our manufacturing and agri
cultural interests, and had reduced the whole nation to a
state of bankruptcy. Mr. Pitt was the life and soul of that
System ; and now that he was dead, his followers conti
nued to act in the full spirit of it. It was thus, as he had
stated in the House of Commons, that they had been the
instigators of the massacre at Manchester ; if they had not
been so, would they have been so resolute in preventing
any inquiry from being made as to who were the authors
of it ? A similar employment of an armed force to put down
the petitions of the people had been lately witnessed in
Ireland ; and if the freeholders had not exhibited the
greatest forbearance there, the same scenes would have
been acted at Kilmainham as had previously been acted at
Manchester. To counteract the petitions of the people,
which were now so numerous, ministers had directed their
adherents throughout the country, to send up loyal ad
dresses to the King, in order that they might by them be
enabled to keep their places ; and those who had places
under the ministry, naturally sent up such addresses as
were wanted, in order that they too might keep their
places as well as their employers. (Laughter.) After se
veral other remarks in the same strain, the worthy mem
ber proceeded to make a few observations upon Parliamen
tary Reform. As long as he had a seat in the House of
Commons, he had ever been ashamed of the bad company
which he was accustomed to meet there ; and he was now
sorry to say, that he became more and more ashamed of
it every day. He was therefore convinced of the necessity
of a Radical Reform in it, and he could not see that there
was any thing terrible in making such a Reform. If a man
was ill, did he not wish for a radical cure ? Why then
should the country seem to be afraid of undergoing a Radi
cal Reform ? He for one was ready to confess that he was
a decided advocate for such a Reform, because he saw that
unless it was effected, taxation would be so followed by
taxation, that nothing less than a miracle could save the
country." Mr. Macdonald, the friend of the late Sir Samuel Ro-
mily, also avowed himself a Radical at the same meeting,
and unequivocally supported the principles of universal
suffrage. In speaking of the revolution in Naples, he
said, " He could not foretell the result of the contest in
which that government was soon going to be^engaged^
but he devoutly prayed that the lightning of heayen might

11
blast those who were the first aggressors against it, and
humble in the dust power so prostituted. (Loud cheers.)
He could not help remarking to them, that one of the
most striking and gratifying features of the late revolu
tions in Spain, Portugal and Naples, was, that they did
not originate in any wild, absurd, disorganizing philoso
phy^ — that they did not aim at the overthrow of social or
der, but that they sought to establish it on the sure basis of
national peace and tranquillity. They have therefore been
conducted throughout with a moderation, and an atten
tion to their first object, which was perfectly surprising ;
and there would consequently be no rational grounds for
jealousy or suspicion regarding them."
This gentleman knew that Spain, Naples and Portugal
have established representative governments, upon the ¦
principles of universal suffrage, every man to have a
vote ; and now, my friends, what is become of our wild
and visionary schemes ? It is not necessary to say one
word upon these speeches, they speak for themselves ;
and I therefore maintain, that the cause of Radical Reform
never before was so prosperous as it is at this hour. It has
long had the support of numbers and talent, now fortune
and rank have joined us, and if we are but steady, active,
and persevering, we must carry our point.
The parliament has met, and I have this moment got
the king's speech — ha ! ha ! ha ! — What is become of the
sedition, treason, and blasphemy scoundrels now ? Be
steady, be active, and be persevering, my friends ; you
have compelled the ministers to dash the cowardly lies of
the hole and corner addressers back in their teeth. This is
a great victory ; be steady, and persevere.
I have received a letter from our worthy friend James
Willan, of Dewsbury, who informs me that the gentry of
the Whig Club, at York, have been proposing a union
with the Radicals of that county. What, are these coy
cocks coming about ? I fear they are playing the coquet. I
understand they want the Radicals to propose terms, and
they want the Radicals to make a declaration of how little
Reform we would be satisfied with — ha ! ha ! ha'! — Really
I cannot help laughing. Poor things ! they are very far
gone indeed ! poor York Whigs ! What, have you found out
at last, that you are nothing without the people, nothing
without the Radicals ? Poor things ! they are always a
month's march behind. What an insult is this question !
Has it not already been answered by millions ? Why the

12
very least we will be satisfied with is, liberty for all men,
for all God's creatures— UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE, and
at all events, till they are accustomed to freedom, the
protection of the ballot. How little indeed! If these
namby-pamby politicians do not soon shelter themselves
under the wings ofthe Radicals, they will be cyphers in
the present crisis.
What were these Whig jockeys at when I was at York ?
they struck my jury — and is it true that they struck out all
the Whigs, and left on the list nothing but ultra Tories.—
How came their secretary to leave out the name of T. Hut
ton and Clayton ? Is this the Hutton and Clayton whose
names I lately saw to an ultra loyal address to the king ?
How is this, Mr. Nichols ? My friend, Mr. Mann, of Leeds,
took you one list, and Mr. Pearson sent another, in both
of which Hutton and Clayton, and Hall, &c. were marked
as good men, but by the verdict of which good men, re
commended as my jury by the Whig Club, I am here for
two years and six months. However, never mind me,
my friends ; if they will join the Radicals, Mr. Coke, of
Norfolk, &c. we will freely forgive them for all their hosti
lity to us.
lam delighted to see by the papers, that the Reformers of
Leeds have unanimously passed a vote of thanks to Sir
Charles Bampfylde, the High Sheriff of this county. This
I consider as the highest compliment that can be paid
me ; he has truly deserved this vote, and I understand the
friends of liberty in this county mean to present him with
a piece of plate, as a testimony of respect for his upright
and truly Englishman-like conduct to me.
I have never yet said one word about the subscriptions
that have been voluntarily made by the Radicals, with the
intention of indemnifying me for some of the expences to
which I have been put, in my endeavours to serve my
fellow-countrymen. Although I am too proud ever to
have asked for any thing ofthe sort, yet I am neither too
proud, nor too rich, to accept such an offering, voluntarily
made by the many to protect one, who has had to contend
not only with both Whigs and Tories, but with enemies,
who have had the treasury of England at their command.
A few generous friends of liberty proposed the measure at
the Crown and Anchor, in London, by passing the reso
lutions that I shall insert at the end of this address. Every
penny that has either come to my hands, or those of Mr.
Dolby, has been acknowledged and published upon the

13
wrapper of my Memoirs. I should do a great violence to
my own feelings, and I should be guilty of great injustice
to my friends, if I did not say, without any reserve, that
so far from feeling it any disgrace, or, that it is any way
disreputable, to receive the assistance of my fellow labour
ers in the cause, to enable me to meet the expences which
I have incurred in fighting such a battle as I have fought,
without having ever shrunk from the contest, or retreated
from the field, or without ever having sheltered myself
under any faction ; I esteem it, under such circumstances,
a generous" token of respect and devotion to the cause,
which confers equal honour upon me and the subscribers.
I shall say not one word about my losses and sacrifices. —
I have always been a volunteer in the service, and having
received a slight wound, the fate of war, I should be a
monster indeed if 1 were not grateful to those who would
pour oil into it, bind it up, and heal it, so as to enable me
to take the field again, like a giant refreshed. The pound
note, that was subscribed, and sent to me here, by the
poor relations of the late Edmond Dawson, of Saddle-
worth, who was murdered, cruelly murdered, at Man
chester, on the bloody sixteenth of August, was indeed
balm to my wound. Those friends who can afford it, and
who will get. my Memoirs from Mr. Dolby, my publisher,
and have them sold in their neighbourhoods, will be con
ferring upon me a great obligation, as it is the only means
which I have of communicating my sentiments to my bro
ther Radicals. I shall insert a copy of the affidavit that 1
have sent up to be presented to the Court of King's Bench,
and then we shall see. I shall also insert a specimen of a
west country petition to parliament, signed by 1073 names,
four-fifths of the male population of the district of Lang-
port. I am, my Friends, yours faithfully,
H. HUNT.

14

TO CORRESPONDENTS, AND READERS OFTHE MEMOIRS.
Mr. Wild is this moment arrived ; he has been on fool
a pilgrimage of 400 miles ; he passed through Lancashire,
Huddersfield, Leeds, Selby, Hull, from thence to Burton
and Lincoln, Colsterworth, Oakham, Northampton, Wee
don, Tpwcester, Oxford, Abingdon, Newbury, Whit
church, Middleton-Cottage, Andover, Salisbury, Sher
borne, and Ilchester. He has brought me such import
ant communications, that I deem it necessary to convey
them as early as possible, to the Reformers throughout the
United Kingdom, and I shall, therefore, have the ele
venth number of my Memoirs ready to be published by
the middle of February, instead of the first of March. I
have only time now to say, that the whole of the calum
nies that have been propagated about our friend Bamford,
in Lincoln Castle, by a busy, meddling Unitarian Priest,
and others, are wholly false ; he is, as he always has
been, an honour to our cause, and an ornament to the
county that gave him birth. — To the numerous applica
tions, to inquire about the intended meeting at a tavern
in London, to agree to a declaration for the Reformers,
I can only reply, that 1 am not in the confidence of Mr.
Cobbett. Those who read his Register, must recollect
that he informed the public, soon after his return from
America, that he should have no intimate political con
nections but his own sons. Soon after this, a violent, scur
rilous, and unfounded attack, signed by a person of the
name of Mills, was made upon me, and published in his,
Mr. Cobbett's, Evening Post, though Mr. Cobbett knew
the charges to be without a shadow of truth. Mr. Cob
bett went to Coventry, and 1 went to Preston, and we
have neither spoken nor communicated with each other
since. Adieu, my friends, till the middle of February.

IS
ain the tttttg'g Bench.

THE KING
against
HENRY HUNT and Others.'

HENRY HUNT, late of Middleton Cottage, in the
County of Hants, Esquire, but now a prisoner in his Majes
ty's gaol at Ilchester, in the County of Somerset, maketh
oath and saith. That since his imprisonment in the said
gaol, restrictions have been imposed upon him, which he
considered a great hardship ; that on the thirtieth of Octo
ber last, this deponent wrote a letter to Sir Charles Bamp
fylde, Bart. High Sheriff of the County of Somerset, re:
questing him to remove, or cause to be removed, the re
strictions imposed upon him : that on or about the tenth
of November last, this deponent received a letter from
Mr. William Melliar, the Under Sheriff of the said County,
stating that he was instructed by Sir Charles Bampfylde,
the High Sheriff, to say, that he declined to interfere in
removing the restrictions which this deponent complained
of: that in consequence of this answer to his letter to the
High Sheriff, this deponent, having no further hope of
relief from that quarter, applied to this Honourable
Court for redress ; when copies of the said letter written
by this deponent to the High Sheriff, and the answer
thereto, written by the said Mr. Melliar, the Under
Sheriff, were laid before this Honourable Court, upon
which a rule was granted, calling upon the said High
Sheriff, and his gaoler of Ilchester, to shew cause why the
restrictions imposed on this deponent, in the said gaol,
should not be removed: that on the last day of Michaelmas
Term, when the application of this deponent to this Ho
nourable Court came to be heard, the Counsel for this de
ponent, in the exercise of his discretion, applied to this
Honourable Court to have the rule enlarged, which was
granted: that impelled by the state of suffering in which
this deponent remained, he wrote another letter to the said
High Sheriff, urging his interference for his relief:
that the said Sir Charles Bampfylde, the High Sheriff,
did in consequence come to the gaol on the 15th day of "
December last: that this deponent then enumerated to
the said High Sheriff, the restrictions, hardships, and
cruelties, inflicted and imposed upon him in the said gaol ;

m
and this deponent laid before the said High Sheriff the let
ter of the said Mr. William Melliar, his Under Sheriff:
that the said High Sheriff informed this deponent that the
said letter of the said Mr. William Melliar, his Under
Sheriff, was written without his knowledge or consent,
whereupon the said High Sheriff inquired of this deponent
and of the deputy gaoler (the principal gaoler being from
home), the nature of the restrictions which had been im
posed on this deponent, and the hardships he was suffering
under: that Sir Charles Bampfylde, Baronet, the said
High Sheriff, immediately before he left the gaol, gave
unqualified orders, written and verbal, to remove the
restrictions and hardships of which this deponent com
plained, and that in future no punishment should be in
flicted on this deponent, nor any restriction imposed upon
him, beyond what was necessary for safe custody ; and the
said High Sheriff stated, that if in future there should be
any just cause of complaint, he, the said High Sheriff,
would afford this deponent redress: that, since those orders
so given by the said High Sheriff, the family and friends,
both male and female, of this deponent have had free
access to him in the day time : that an interior fastening
has been placed on the door of his apartment, so that he
can now sleep in security ; and this deponent's situation,
generally, greatly ameliorated : and, lastly, this deponent
-maketh oath and saith, that the orders given by Sir
Charles Bampfylde, Baronet, the said High Sheriff, and
his interference, have rendered all further application by
this deponent to this Honourable Court, or their interference
on his behalf, unnecessary.
HENRY HUNT.

17
At a numerous and respectable Meeting, held al the Crown
and Anchor, in the Strand, on Monday, April 3, 1820,
J. HAYDON, Esq. in the Chair ;
THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS WERE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY :
I, That it is the duty of the People to support the Friends of
the People; and neithrsr to forsake them while under persecution, nor
withhold liberal approbation for their meritorious exertions in the
public cause.
II, That- it appears to this meeting that HENRY HUNT, Esq. for
courageously advocating the rights and interests of the people, has
been grossly vilified by the venal part of the public press; and that
the unfounded impressions thus created have been made accessory to
a system of proscription against which he ought to be protected, by
the voice and purse of every man whose practices accord with his
professions. III. That, independently of the general merits of Mr. HUNT in
conducting many great public meetings, held with a view to arouse
public feeling in the great cause of Parliamentary Reform, he has
evinced in every situation in which he has been placed by the. trans
actions at Manchester, great courage, manly conduct, and un
impeachable prudence ; as well while surrounded by the sabres of
those who had1 sworn his destruction, as while in prison, under ex
amination, and during the subsequent discussions in, the courts at
Westminster. IV. That, during the late prolonged and harrassing trials at York,
the conduct of Mr. HUNT drew from the presiding Judge such testi
monies of personal approbation, as have seldom been conceded to a
defendant on a State Trial ; while his acute cross-examinations, and
his dexterous application of every point of law which bore on his case,
extorted the admiration of all who heard him, and particularly of those
who had previously imbibed unfavourable prejudices, from the mis
representations of the press.
V. That, under all these circumstances, the people of the United
Kingdom owe a Debt of Gratitude to Mr. Hunt, as the Champion of
their Civil Rights, which obligation this meeting cheerfully acknow
ledges ; but as Mr. Hunt has been involved in considerable expences
by his personal exertions, and by the legal proceedings, of which he
has been the object, this meeting feels it an incumbent duty, at least,
to indemnify him against the same.
VI. That therefore this meeting recommends a General Public
Subscription among the Patriots of the United Kingdom, for the
purpose of indemnifying Mr. HUNT against bis past expenses, and
also as a solid testimony of their sense of gratitude for his past services'.
VII. That the Friends of Liberty generally, are earnestly-invited
to concur in promoting the Subscription among their connections, and
to transmit the amount to the Treasurer as early as possible.
VIII. That an open Committee of Subscribers Should meet from time
to time for the purpose of paying over the sums received in. such
manner as may best accord with the independent feelings of Mr.
HUNT, and with the patriotic intentions of the Subscribers.
IX. That these Resolutions be advertised in various Morning and
Evening Newspapers, and be transmitted to the Editors of patriotic
newspapers throughout the empire, who are requested to -aid in pro
moting the design within their respective districts ; and that the names
of subscribers be inserted every Saturday in the Statesman.
X. That T. Dolby, 299, near the New Church, 'Strand, and 34,
Wardour-street, Soho, be appointed Treasurer, to whom all Sub
scriptions should be addressed or paid for the purposes designated by
the previous resolutions. D

To the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, in Parliament assembled.
The PETITION of the Freeholders, other Landholders,
and Inhabitants of the ancient Town of LANGPOR1,
and its Vicinity, in the County of Somerset,
Humbly sheweth,
That your Petitioners have witnessed with great
delight, the complete failure of the attempt made by his
Majesty's Ministers, to degrade her Majesty the Queen
by a Bill of Pains and Penalties ; that in common with a
great portion of our fellow-countrymen, we entertain the
greatest disgust for those who originated that disgraceful
Conspiracy against her Majesty, and the greatest abhor
rence of those who endeavoured to support it, by the most
obscene evidence, put into the mouths of the most aban
doned, perjured, and highly bribed foreign witnesses; and
we most sincerely rejoice at the signal defeat of all those
concerned in it, by the triumph of truth over falsehood and
villainy. Your Petitioners next beg to carry back the atten
tion of your Honourable House to the fatal and
unprovoked Slaughter of the never-to-be-forgotten 16th
of August, 1819; that Bloody Deed, to the disgrace of
the ag-e we live in, has never yet been inquired into. Such
wanton Cruelty calls for, and the People demanded retri
butive justice. The People of Manchester, on that fatal day,
violated no Law, gave no insult, did no wrong, committed
no Murder ! They assembled in peaceful deliberation to
state their unheard-of sufferings, their unmerited wrongs,
in order to have them redressed, by constitutional means.
Then, why were they butchered, maimed, and illtreated
by a ferocious Yeomanry ? "Who, for their deeds of ******
and *****; were thanked by the Ministers of the Prince
Regent; and instead of bringing those cowardly Savages
to justice, those same Ministers protected them both in
Parliament and in the Courts of Law, while at the same
time they instituted Prosecutions for Conspiracy, and have
consigned some of the best Patriots of the land to loath
some Dungeons, because they, like ourselves, have dared
to complain of the fell Deeds of Tyranny, Wrong, and
Oppression ! We earnestly and confidently appeal to
your Honourable House, if such daring and wicked Pro
ceedings ag-ainst the Lives and Liberties of the People of
England are just ? If not, we implore your Honourable
House in its wisdom and in its Justice to set the Captives
free ; and to institute a solemn and sincere inquiry into

10
and cause Legal Proceedings forthwith to be taken against
the Murderers andjheir Abettors.
Your Petitioners beg leave to express their sincere and
firm conviction, that your Honourable House having
declined in the first instance, and afterwards neglected to
inquire into the daring outrage and slaughter committed
at Manchester, his Majesty's Ministers were emboldened
thereby to make an attack on the last surviving Rights and
Liberties of the People of England, by an attempt to
degrade, divorce, and punish our long-suffering, much
injured, cruelly persecuted Queen; but the People, at
length roused by the repeated atrocities committed by his
Majesty's Ministers, with one voice protested against their
measures, and public opinion rescued her Majesty from the
fangs of her implacable Enemies.
Your Petitioners therefore pray that your Honourable
House will cause her Majesty's name to be restored to the
Liturgy, and that you will make a Settlement out of the
enormous Civil List, suitable to her rank and station as
Queen Consort; and we pray your Honourable House to
enter into an immediate Inquiry into the Conduct of the
Ministers of the Crown, and into the origin and the ap
pointment of the disgraceful Milan Commission, from
which all the Charges against her Majesty appear to have
originated. And your Petitioners finally implore your Honourable
House, in order to prevent a recurrence of such disgraceful,
unjust, and wicked proceedings in future, and to save our
Country from the impending storm which is awfully sus
pended over it, to promote such an effectual Reform, as
has been longed prayed for in vain, by treble the number
of persons that ever before petitioned your Honourable
House, and which Reform alone will make your Honourable
House, in fact and in truth, what it professes to be, and
what the Constitution says it ought to be, the REAL
instead of the VIRTUAL Representatives of a brave, a
free, and a loyal people.
And your Petitioners shall ever pray, &c.

Printed by T. Dolby, 299. St. and.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

Ilchester Bastile, 28th day, 5th month, 2nd year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or enquiry.
February 10, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
To be sure, miracles will never cease! 1 have just received
the newspaper, which brings me the account of the last
act of the farce that has been so long performing in West
minster Hall, by Messrs. Burdett, Scarlett, Copley, Gifford,
Rump and Co. I must not say one word about my lords,
the pure and incorruptible Judges. Ha ! ha ! ha I ! !
" Westminster's pride, and England's hope" has con
trived by one means and the other — by fair means and by
foul means, by tampering and by begging, he has contrived
at last to wriggle himself out of a gaol ; for to say that to
be sentenced three months to the King's Bench is any
punishment at all, is childish in the extreme. Oh, how
well have all the parts been got up. If the minis
ters had suffered their shoy hoy, their grand, their
long tried, their most efficient shoy hoy to have es
caped without the farce of being brought up for judg
ment, without the farce of a sham sentence, they well
knew that it would be such bare-faced deception, that
they could never make use of him, that they could never
play him off any more with any effect, even amongst his
own dupes. Gracio»s God ! that the Hero of the Tower,
that " Westminster's pride and England's hope," should
have come to this at last — that he should have sat listening
in the court while the Whig, Scarlett, begged, prayed and
implored the Attorney-General not to bring him up for
judgment. That he should have been so debased in his
own estimation, as to have listened to the Attorney-Ge
neral's suggestions, that his brother Scarlett should not
Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

2
have put this upon him in open court — that any proposition
should be made to him in PRIVATE. It seems, this
suggestion was not thrown away upon the honourable
pride of Westminster, for the Attorney-General had quite
altered his opinion of the crime imputed to the honourable
defendant the next time he came into court ; and no doubt
both he and his brother Copley had received the most sub
stantial, the most weighty, and the most convincing proofs
ofthe innocent intentions ofthe Honourable Baronet, sub
sequently to Mr. Attorney having thrown out the hint , that
it was Mr. Scarlett's duty to apply to him in private if any
accommodation was wanted. Mr. Scarlett, I am also told,
has received the most substantial, and the most con
vincing proofs, to induce him to swear by the private and
public character of his honourable client. I am told that
a thousand pounds was the price of the character that he
gave the baronet, and what was of much more consequence,
of the learned counsel's influence with the court. I should
think, in the whole, that the gentlemen of the long robe
have not had less, in a direct manner, than ten thousand
pounds, and, under the rose, no one knows how much.
This is all. fair ; Sir Francis Burdett is immensely rich —
the amassing of wealth has been his principal occupation
for many years, to my knowledge. I am much within the
mark when I calculate that he has two hundred thousand
pounds in the funds — that, and ninety four thousand
pounds, the expences of his contested election for Mid
dlesex, he has saved since the year 1803. His estates let
for upwards of thirty thousand pounds a year, so that all
together, his income is not less than forty-five or fifty thou
sand pounds a year ; out of which, when I knew him, he
never spent ten thousand a year.
With such immense wealth, it might have been quite
fair to make use of it, and I do not blame him for this,
neither do I. blame him for using all the influence which
he possesses amongst his relations and friends. To be
sure, it looked a little suspicious that all was not going
quite straight, when Sir Francis and Lady Burdett conde
scended to abandon their family dislike to Mrs. Coutts.
Oh, the moment I learned that Lady Burdett had become
friends with Mrs. Coutts, which I must remind you,
my friends, happened since " Westminster's pride" was
found guilty at Leicester— the moment I heard this, I
made up my mind for that which has taken place.

For the information of my country readers let it be
known, that Lady Burdett is the daughter of Mr. Coutts,
the banker — the rich banker. When the late Mrs. Coutts,
Lady Burdett's mother, died, the old banker, who had
been tied up for many long years with an ill-tempered old
woman, almost immediately married Miss Mellon, a young,
lovely, and accomplished actress of Covent-garden The
atre. Lady Burdett never chose, as I understand, to visit
the present Mrs. Coutts, till since her husband was found
guilty, although the latter was visited by all the fashion
ables in London ; and, in consequence of the great wealth
of her husband, she continued to give the most splendid
and costly entertainments, at which the King and the
Royal Family were frequently present ; and it is con
fidently asserted, that his Majesty and many of his
brothers, as well as some of his ministers, have conde
scended not only to be of the parties of Mrs.- Coutts,
but also to accept some very large loans of money from
Mr. Coutts. Mrs. Coutts very deservedly possesses great
power and influence over her husband, and has no doubt
very properly great and deserved influence in certain
quarters, that could influence certain persons, who in
such a case as Sir Francis Burdett's are omnipotent;
therefore Lady Burdett was quite right, and played the
part of a good wife, so to conduct herself as to gain the
powerful influence of Mrs. Coutts ; consequently, J neither
blame Sir Francis nor his lady for gaining and accepting
the aid of Mrs. Coutts ; in fact, I do not know how he could
refuse it. I should almost be puzzled myself to know
how to refuse a boon that had been obtained by the inter
cession of so fair and amiable a suppliant, so that it
was obtained without my own degradation. But that
" Westminster's pride" should so far disgrace and degrade
his political character, as to submit to sit and hear his
counsel, Mr. Whig Scarlett, make such tender advances to
the coy, to the shy Attorney-General. Oh, how coy, how
shy the poor thing was ! but what a true coquette ; — he,
poor little, gentle modest soul, could not bear the boisterous,
the open, and rude approaches of his learned friend, but, like
a wanton, he must be wooed in private. Then, Sir Fran
cis, when you were broughtup for what is called judgment,
to listen to Mr. Scarlett while he bedaubed you, to pay a
hireling to praise you up to the skies for those virtues,

public and private, which he, the whole bar, the whole
bench, and the whole court, as well as yourself, knew you
did not possess. How much did you pay Mr. Scarlett for
this? How much did you pay him for denouncing me,
for having opposed and exposed you at the Westminster
election ? How much did you pay him for denouncing,
in your name, me and those who attended the Manchester
meeting, as well as the objects of the meeting ? The
world and posterity will judge of the sincerity of
your political motives, by the sentences that have been
passed upon us. Henry Hunt is sent to be incarcerated
within the pestilential walls of a distant county gaol, de
prived of almost every comfort for thirty months, and
at the end of that time to give security not to attack the
system of corruption for five years, that is, unless I will
enter the ranks with you, and do it as a shoy hoy, which
rather than do, they know that I would remain and rot
here. Sir Francis Burdett is committed to the custody of
the Marshal of the King's Bench, in London, for three
months. Which do the ministers think have been in
earnest ? " Look at this picture and look at that."
The last time you were in a gaol you were sent to the
Tower — great multitudes assembled to greet your libe
ration, and to conduct you to your home in triumphant
procession, You betrayed your friends, and while they
were waiting for you at the front door, you slunk out at
the hack door, and retired to Wimbledon, over the water.
I was the first man that you ever visited afterwards. Do
you remember coming to dine with me in the London-
road ? Do you remember the conversation ? I do, and
when the time comes I will remind you of it, as well as
what your now bosom friend, Frank Place, said of you.
We shall see what deception you will next practice
upon the credulity of the Rump ; or at least what tricks you
will get those parties to uphold you in : you are rich and
they are rapacious, yet you have become avaricious. What
will you do when you come out now ? You are slippery,
but there is no back door out of the King's Bench, there
fore take my advice for once, when the 8th of May, comes,
" hang a calf's skin on those recreant limbs," and walk
home through the streets in your own proper character ;
even then the Rump will praise your patriotism, and Mr.
Scarlett, for another thousand, will swear with a solemn

visage, that you are a paragon of virtue and consistency
Alas, poor " Westminster's Pride and England's
Hope I" how low you must be fallen, to merit the praise
of a hireling — and such a hireling as Mr. Scarlett !
But let us now,my friends, contemplate a more pleasin°-
subject than that of the detection of a secret enemy, who
has been long deceiving us by sailing under friendly colours.
It must and will be a great consolation for the Radicals
of the United Kingdom, to read the narrative of Mr.
Wilde, and to learn, that those who are imprisoned for
political offences in Lincoln, Oakham, and Abingdon
gaols, are treated with a proper degree of attention, and
with that humanity and justice to which they are entitled.
I assure you, that it has lightened the rigour of my treat
ment ; at least it has enabled me to bear the cruel and
unnatural restrictions which are still imposed upon me
here, with great cheerfulness, because it is delightful to
know that none of my friends are suffering equal to my
self. In fact, it is a great consolation for me to hear, from
the mouth of Mr. Wilde, a description of the situation of
those who were found guilty by the same packed jury,
and sentenced at the same time, and for the same imputed
offence, though for a much more limited period. To
be sure the contrast is great, but when our relative situ
ations in life are taken into consideration, the contrast is
still rendered much greater. Sir Charles Wolseley is
treated with becoming respect. But the magistrates of
Berkshire are gentlemen ! I am sorry to hear that there
had been a most vile and cowardly attempt to traduce
and calumniate the character of our friend Mr. Bamford,
who is in Lincoln gaol, amongst the Reformers in Lan
cashire, by a person, who, from his situation in life and his
profession, should have acted a very different part. The
visit of Mr. Wilde to Lincoln, has, however, dispelled the
cloud that was attempted to be cast over the character of
Mr. Bamford, in consequence of false and unfounded ca
lumnies being propagated by a Unitarian Priest. To
prove that they were false and malevolent also, the said
parson had never spoken to or been in the company of
Mr. Bamford when he propagated his falsehoods ; and to
exonerate the object of his calumny from the charges,
the governor and all the turnkeys of the gaol voluntarily
signed a certificate of Bamford's good behaviour during
the whole time he has been there, in addition to the con-

6
current testimony of all the respectable debtors of the
prison, with whom he associated. I hope this will be a
warning to the Lancashire Reformers, how they counte
nance such busy meddling gentry in future. I shall not
mention names at present, but 1 am sure the Unitarians,
who are, or at least all of them that 1 know, and I believe
generally, sincere friends of liberty and liberal sentiments,
I am sure they will discountenance such underhanded
proceedings. Mr. Wilde has brought me some valuable information
of the state of the public feeling in those parts through
which he passed, and I find that there is a general and
universal desire for a sincere and efficient union ; but
that some of my most worthy friends have an objection
to the title of " Knights" of Ilchester. I have inserted
a sensible communication upon the subject, from our ex
cellent friend, Willan, of Dewsbury, and I shall be happy
to receive any suggestions upon the matter. So that it
can be rendered useful and permanent, I care not about
the title. Names or titles are poor things to rely upon.
This folly is most ably exposed in the last Catholic
Advocate, of the 4th of February ; in giving an his
torical account of John Hampden and Lord Russell, who
it thereby appears were nothing more or less than a brace
of religious bigots — mere Whig party men ! No wonder
we have been eternally pestered by the Whigs, with the
" illustrious house of Russell."
You should, my friends, not neglect to read this Catho
lic Advocate. As I anticipated, this is the very best
weekly paper that I ever read ; it is written with great
talent, and in the true Radical spirit of civil and religious
liberty. This one article, published on the 4th of Febru
ary, is worth all the leading articles published in those
weekly papers called Radical, in a whole year. In this
paper has also appeared, the excellent and honest letter
of Sir Charles Wolseley, to the Staffordshire Gentlemen,
and his still more excellent answer to the handsome and
becoming address presented to him from the Radicals of
Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire ; — and
why not the Radicals of Staffordshire, I should like to
know ? Only let some honest fellow propose the measure
amongst the Radicals in the potteries, and I'll warrant ye
they will do the worthy Baronet that justice, by their
numerous and willing signatures, which he so well merits.

Look at the sentence of this Baronet, my friends. Eigh
teen months ! Six times as much as the Tower Hero.
The ministers therefore admit that he is six times as ho
nest and sincere in your cause as the Westminster Baronet,
and they might with great truth have said sixty times as
sincere. A slight view of the Honourable House will be enough
to show what a state they are in. Mr. Bennet said at the
Surrey Meeting, and no one knows them better, " the
House of Commons might be judged of from this circum
stance — that there were 72 or 73 of those honourable mem
bers who were kind enough to take office under ministers,
or in other words, to live upon the revenue of the country.
From some documents to which he had referred, it ap
peared that there was divided between this number of
members, a sum of not less than from 170,000?. to 180,000?.
This he thought was about the sum ; and what was the
effect ? Why that these 72 or 73 members were dead votes
to Government. They attended daily in the house, and
gave their votes whenever they were asked by ministers.
Then if a tax were proposed on malt, these TO gentlemen
voted for it, because they were paid beforehand; (hear,
hear) — and thus it was that ministers carried their in
fluence into every measure to such a degree, that unless
there was almost a popular disturbance at the doors of
the House, it would be nearly impossible to hope that they
would do their duty."
What think you of this, my friends ? Whatever we
thought, did any one of us ever say such as this ? So then
it is necessary, is it, for the people to go down to the
doors of the House of Commons, and use almost popular
violence, before we can expect the members to do their
duty ! Really, Mr. Bennet it is very lucky you are an
honourable member. Oh, if I had ever said such a thing
as this, what a cry there would have been set up against
me ! I have over and over again stated the fact of 70 or
80 members of the Honourable House, receiving one hun
dred and eighty thousand a year out of the taxes ; but I
never said that it was necessary to go down to the House
and almost use popular violence to make the members do
their duty. I wish Mr. Bennet would just tell us what
he means by almost popular violence ; it is a pretty sound
ing phrase :— does he mean that the people should use the
honourable members as the priests were served in Ireland

8
during the rebellion ? Does he mean half hanging, by
the word almost ?
But let us now proceed to look within the walls of the
Honourable House ; — what a scene is exhibited there ! to
see the Whigs nibbling at the ministers in all sorts of
ways, they appear sometimes almost in earnest with them,
as Mr. Bennet says ; but they have clearly shewn how
cordially they hate the Queen, because she is a Radical.
I find, however, that Mr. Creevey is coming up to the
mark. I see, upon the committee of ways and means, on
Friday the 9th, he made the following speech, which I
shall insert, because it is taken almost word for word
from a speech that I made upon the Exchange in Bristol,
in the year 1812, and which was published in a small
pamphlet, but which none of the newspapers would in
sert. But for my staling these facts, the Whig and Tory
papers one and all abused me as a blood-thirsty monster,
who wished to destroy all the ancient and venerable in
stitutions of the State. It was sedition, treason, and
blasphemy, when coming from my mouth ; but, thank
God ! I have lived to hear a whole speech of mine re
peated in the Honourable House ! It is as follows.
Mr. Creevey said, — " An hon. member, a friend of his,
(Mr. C's.,) hailed the attack on the fundholder, and
showed great anxiety, as he said himself, to be at it —
(Hear, and laughter?) The Right Hon. Gentleman,
(the Chancellor of the Exchequer) laughed. He (Mr.
Creevey) would wish to know what Mr. Pitt would have
said if he had lived to hear such sentiments avowed in that
House ? But what did those declarations prove ? They
proved the monstrous distress under which the country
laboured — distress so great as to prepare one part of the
community to go to war with the other, for. the possession
ofits property — (Hear, hear,) — andyet in this deplorable
state, nothing in the way of relief was even hinted at by
government ; they heard no plan for the amelioration of
distress ; night after night they had before them the old
story of Committees of Supply, and Ways and Means ;
but they heard not one word about Reform I — not one
word upon the necessity of retrenchment, Under such
circumstances, he would not consent to grant one farthing
ofthe public money — he would divide the House upon
every vote, until he had some distinct pledge from those
who took upon them to manage the affairs of the country,

9
until some plan of practical Reform should be submitted
to that House. He would call upon the landholder and
the fundholder to unite — to unite against monsters ; the
monsters were not the fundholders ; the monsters were
those who held places under the Crown, and sat in that
House. They appeared in tbat House under various cha
racters ; as Lay Lords ofthe Admiralty ; as Puisne Com
missioners of the India Board, but they shewed that they
were real pensioners, dependents on the bounty of the
Crown; their presence in that House was useless — it was
worse than useless, for there they were to vote, on all occa
sions, with the ministers, never with the people. Let it not
be supposed that he objected to the responsible ministers of
the Crown sitting in that House, their presence was ne
cessary ; but it was a monstrous thing to see persons hold
ing places at pleasure under the Crown sitting and voting
in that House ; these formed a part of the pack which
stood firm and united ; it was found impossible to break in
upon them. There were seventy-two persons in that
House who held places to the amount of 120,000?. a year,
yet forty members were sufficient to make a House, to
vote away the public money, or to invade the public li
berties ? Was such an abuse to be endured? was it pos
sible from such men to expect the introduction of any plan
of economical Reform ? There was another body of men in.
that House, who were called independent members ; there
were no greater enemies to the country than those inde
pendent members — their votes were with the ministers —
their families lived upon the taxes ; and, did any one doubt
it? could the right hon. gentlemen deny it ? the brothers,
sons, and more distant relations of those members, would
be found, throughout the country, holding places in the
customs, in the distribution of stamps, andin various other
departments. The right hon. gentleman knew that re
peated and daily applications were made to ministers from
members of that House. He knew that the steps ofthe
Treasury were daily beset by men, calling for what they
called theirproperty — (a laugh.) The fact was notorious,
he knew such people, respectable persons, who very com
fortably lived upon the taxes. These were the persons
who effectually prevented any Reform in that House. The
seventy-two pensioners, and the " independent mem
bers," whose families were quartered upon the country,
and lived upon the taxes, stood between the people and
c

10
their rights. Those were the persons who composed the
majorities against the people ; he was not surprised at those
majorities ; indeed far from it, he was only astonished
that the friends of the country were able to make so good
a fight as they had made in that House. These were the
grievances, and the redress of those grievances ought to
go before the grant of one shilling of the public money.
He regretted tbat he did not see his right hon. friend, the
member for Knaresborough, (Mr. Tierney) in his place.
He hoped that that right hon. gentleman would bring in
a Bill to prevent placemen from sitting in that House,
whose presence was not necessary for the public service.
By the introduction of such a Bill, his right hon. friend
would do a great public service. (Hear, hear.) An hon.
gentleman, to whom the country was greatly indebted,
had submitted, during the last session, a new system for
the collection of taxes. He demonstrated, that of the
monstrous sum of four millions, which the bare collection
of the taxes cost the country, a saving of at least one mil
lion might be effected. (Hear.) He also proposed to
take some measure to secure the remainder from coming
within the rapacious grasp of Members of Parliament. —
(Hear.) What he had said he believed to be as true as
that he stood in that place ; and then, he asked, were the
people, ground down as they were to the utmost extre
mity of distress, to be treated without the slightest sym
pathy or consideration V
Oh, how many times have I repeated, not only the very
sentiments contained in this speech, but the very words I
I do not say that Mr. Creevey repeated my speech as it was
printed ; but it is very extraordinary that some of the pas
sages are verbatim. To this I knew that it must come at
last. Every word of what he has said is as " true as that
he stood there." Well, if the Hon. House do not look
about them, they will require six more acts, and even
that will not protect them from exposing their own dis
grace, which they have brought themselves into.
One hon. member said, that " the House had made war
upon the people." The Speaker, (the son of the Arch
bishop of Canterbury) called him " to order." The
hon. member explained, and said, that he meant to say
the conduct ofthe Hon. House, in voting against the una
nimous expression of public feeling, would Yave the ten
dency to make the people think so.

11
As for the declarations of Sir Thomas Lethbridge
against the Queen, I must leave the consideration of them
to my next number. He, it is supposed, will be called
soon to the Upper House, by the title of Lord " Leather-
breeches," or, Baron " Bristle," — because he is too good
a judge to offer himself to the freeholders of this county,
at the next election ; as they have proved themselves,
almost to a man, to be Queen's men. It is in the con
templation of a great body of the most independent free
holders to offer the representation of the county to Sir
Charles Bampfylde. I sincerely hope that he will accept
the offer; as such a truly independent man would do
honour to the county, as their representative. Sir Charles
will soon be out of the office of sheriff ; William Han-
ning, Esq. of Dillrighen, is appointed the new sheriff.
We shall soon see whether the latter gentleman is under
the controul of the perpetual under-sheriffs. Mr. Hanning
is a gentleman of independent fortune, and liberal princi
ples ; and we shall see. The Wells cabal, the perpetual
under-sheriffs, it is said, have boasted of the pecuniary fa
vours with which they have accommodated the gentlemen
belonging to the combination of the Oldown club. At all
events, Mr. Hanning is out of their reach in this respect.
" We shall see."
You have read my affidavit in the last number. I have
instructed my counsel, Mr. Chitty, to have the rule dis
posed of this term, even if I am to pay the costs. I have
obtained all that I asked for by the motion ; I have got my
family to see me ; I am removed out of the custody of
Messrs. Broderip and Drake — Mr. Drake — the famous Mr.
Drake — being removed by the hand of death, and placed
in that custody from whence he will never escape. I have,
therefore, nothing to gain by pressing the discussion of the
motion; I have obtained the object ofthe motion; and
if the court orders me to pay for these accommoda
tions, I must submit. This will be quite in character ;
and as for the affidavits, which Mr. Scarlett said he had
got to answer mine, as they will be of no use now to
the parties, if the under-sheriff, the gaoler and his man,
and Mr. Broderip, wiil send them to me, I will publish
them in my next number, tbat the public may know what
they will swear ; and, in order io induce them to do this,
I hereby promise not to proceed against either of them for
perjury. I am, my friends, yours, most sincerely,
HENRY HUNT.

12
NARRATIVE OF MR. ROBT. WILDE.
I was deputed to present an address to Sir C. Wolesley,
from Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire ;
and was also requested to visit the prisoners confined for
political offences in Lincoln and Oakham gaols, on my
way to Abingdon ; and after presenting the address,
(which I did on the 20th of January) to proceed to Il
chester, in Somersetshire.
I arrived at Lincoln, at six o'clock on Wednesday morn
ing, the 3d of January, and visited the prisoners at eight.
I had no difficulty in seeing any of the prisoners during my
stay, which was five days — nothing more was necessary
than to rap at the gate, and say 1 wanted to see such a
one. The answer was, " Oh ! walk in, sir;" and without
further interruption I passed on to the rooms ofthe prisoners,
where I remained until nine o'clock in the evening. The
hour of locking up was then announced by an officer of
the Castle, who would very good-naturedly conduct me
to the door, and bid me " good night." The treatment of
one day was the treatment of the whole.
The Castle stands on a hill covering nearly four acres of
ground — the prison in the centre. The yard, or lawn,
which is about two acres, is in front of the prison, and is
appropriated to the use of the prisoners for misdemeanor
or debt. They have free access to it at all hours of the
day. The external appearance of the prison is decent, and
the interior is remarkably clean. The staircase, passages,
•rooms, &c. are pretty well lighted, and the situation is
airy and salubrious. The rooms are about five yards by
five, two of which size are occupied by Mr. Johnson, and
one each by Messrs. Bamford and Healey. The water is
- good, and every indulgence is allowed consistent with the
safe custody of the prisoners.
At Oakham I had a very limited view of the prison.
It was seven o'clock when I arrived in town, and wishing,
if possible, to set forward on my journey at seven in the
morning, 1 went immediately to the gaol, which stands a
short distance to the North of the town. I applied, and
had no difficulty in seeing Mr. Lewis, in his room, which,
though small, is comfortable, and sufficient for Mrs. Lewis
and himself. It is better than the one which he had be
fore Sir Gerard Noel visited him, and kindly ordered him
a better apartment. The gaol is, I understand, in rather
an unhealthy situation ; but a free circulation of air is ad
mitted by the lowness of the walls.

13
On my arrival at Abingdon, I sent a message to Sir
Charles Wolseley, and, in answer, received an invitation
to go to the gaol immediately. 1 did so, and found the
truly worthy baronet walking under the piazza, who,
after a hearty shake by the hand, and a few questions,
conducted me to his sitting-room, which is the one occu
pied by the grand jury during the sessions — itis spacious,
airy, and well lighted, with every necessary convenience.
The piazza in front of the gaol, a lawn which is bounded
by the Thames, and a large garden, are his places of ex
ercise. Walls about three feet high, and about five feet
of iron palisadoes, surround so much of the gaol as is oc
cupied by Sir Charles ; so that he can see the people pass
along the streets, who, on his first going to Abingdon,
(tbe gates being wide open and no one to prevent them)
flocked in crowds to salute him, and inquire after his
health, &c. &c. Being continually interrupted- in his
walks, he was under the necessity of applying to the ma
gistrates to have the gates locked, which they ordered,
as also a private door from the lodge, for the admission of
Sir Charles's visitors. Here, while duty is done it is tem
pered with humanity, as it ought to be. 1 remained with
Sir Charles each night until ten o'clock. ,
I arrived at Ilchester on Thursday, the 25th of January.
It being only five o'clock, I expected the same treatment
there as elsewhere ; but hold ! not so sweetly ! I had
scarcely rapped at the gate/when my business was demand
ed. 1 wished to see Mr, Hunt ; but was answered ill-na
turedly, it was " too late." After a little entreaty, and
assigning my reasons for being so late, finding all 1 could
say was useless, I begged to know if they would deliver a
message to Mr. Hunt, which they also refused to do. At
length they did condescend to inform me, that I could not
see Mr. Hunt until nine o'clock in the morning, and not
later than four in the afternoon, and that no message
could be delivered at any other time.
I applied again in the morning, at ten minutes before
nine, but could not be admitted until the clock had struck.
I got in with some difficulty at nine, and after a few side
looks, my name and place of abode were demanded, and
entered in a book placed there for the purpose. After a
considerable delay, 1 was conducted to Mr. Hunt's dreary
abode, where 1 found him — not weeping and whining, but
as cheerful as any man in England. The door was closed
upon me with violence, and 1 found, for the first time
since I left home, that I was really in a gaol.

14
From the moment of my entrance I conceived a worse
idea of this place, than I had imbibed from the account in
Mr. Hunt's Memoirs ; and I shall here state my opinion of
"Ilchester Bastile." It struck me at first as something
like the old enchanted castles described in fabulous stories,
which I had read while a child. The gaol is a large irre
gular mass of building, standing upon something- less than
an acre of ground, three-fourths of which is covered with
buildings, and one-third ofthe remainder, which is divided
into wards, some of them not more than seven or eight yards
square, covered with walls of three to four feet thick ; the
inner as well as the outer walls are twenty feet high. I
can compare it to nothing with so much propriety as an
old hulk, moored in a swamp, in which are immured two
hundred persons of all distinctions, huddled together like
so many pigs in a stye. The whole of Ilchester is, from
the lowness of its situation, generally unhealthy, and fre
quently visited by typhus and other epidemic fevers ; yet
those who have had the direction of the building of this
gaol, appear to have been guided by no other considera
tion than a desire to exclude every possibility of a free cir
culation of air. Only think of a yard, or ward, about ten
yards square, on the north side of a high building, and
that yard surrounded by a wall twenty feet high, which
totally excludes the sun for four months in the year from
the yard, and nine months in the year from Mr. Hunt's
room, which may, with the greatest propriety, be called
a dungeon — it is about three yards by four, with grated
windows, and a black wall twenty feet high at the dis
tance of ten yards, which gives the place a singularly aw
ful appearance.
I was ordered out of the gaol at four o'clock, and on the
following morning, it being my second visit, 1 made bold
to wish this man in " authority" (the turnkey) " good
morning." The only answer I got was, a sour black look,
enough to poison a rat; indeed the whole ofthe turnkeys
seem as much benighted to pleasure as they are to huma
nity, one spark of which they cannot boast. What a con
trast to my treatment at Abingdon, Oakham, and Lincoln!
When 1 am taken to Mr. Hunt's ward, the door is banged
to, the key turned, and I am as much a prisoner as he is,
until it pleases one of the gentlemen in office (the turn
keys) to release me ; there being no means by which any
one can be called. Mr. Hunt had a bell, hung- by order
of the magistrates, which he could ring when any one
wished to go out ; but during my stay, the principal gaoler
4ias had it muffled, and thereby rendered useless.

15
Myself and others of Mr. Hunt's friends, are sometimes
close prisoners for several hours together, against our
will. These fellows march into Mr. Hunt's room when
they please, and always with their hats on, thereby intend
ing to insult him, but which he laughs at most heartily.
The sheriff, the magistrates, the gaoler, and his deputy,
always enter uncovered, thereby showing an outward
appearance of respect ; but these fellows are no doubt
ordered to insult him by coming in covered. Although this
is most contempitble, it shows the discipline of the gaol.
When I visited the other prisoners I had no imper
tinent questions asked me, nor any key turned upon me, but
that of the outer gate. Here my name is taken down
every time I enter, and I am a close prisoner from nine
till one, and from two to four o'clock, unless by chance
some one should come to Mr. Hunt's yard, which he has
well described, by calling it a " well," which it resembles,
not only from the extreme height of the surrounding
walls, and their continual dampness, but from the con
fined state of the air, which in summer must occasion an
intolerable heat. Before I came here, I had no idea that
there could be so infamous a gaol. The other prisons are
palaces compared with this ; — common felons in other
gaols are not treated worse than Mr. Hunt is here. Al
though his place of confinement has been greatly improved
by the direction of the sheriff, Sir Charles Bampfylde, no
opportunity is allowed to pass without an attempt being
made to aggravate his imprisonment, and render him
uncomfortable. In giving the foregoing account, I have been strictly
guided by truth. In contrasting the treatment of Mr.
Hunt with that of the other prisoners, I would not be
supposed to insinuate that they enjoy more than they
ought to do — quite the contrary ; I think that imprison
ment, in any sense of the word, especially to a man sepa
rated from his family, is bad enough, without the inflic
tion of any unnecessary punishment. My sole aim in this
plain unvarnished narrative is, to show to what hateful
lengths political enmity will lead even those who ought
to divest themselves of such meanness '. yea, in the very
teeth of our boasted laws do they torture a man, whose
only offence is that of " daring to be honest in the worst
of times."
J R. T. WILDE.
Ilchester, 1th Feb. 1821.

To Henry I-Icnt. Ilchester Gaol.
Dewsbury, I2lh Mo. 7th, 1820.
Respected Friend,
No doubt but it will surprise thee to be troubled with a letter from
one whom thou never saw or corresponded with ; but as my name,
my conduct, and my sentiments appear to be well known, even within
the walls ofthe Boroughmongers' Bastile at Ilchester, I trust the pub
licity thou hast given me in the seventh number of thy Memoirs, will be
accepted as my excuse for occupying any portion of thy time, or laying
claim to any share of thy attention.
In ihe publication above alluded to, Willan, of Dewsbury, is men
tioned as one in whom thou hast confidence, aud on whom his neigh
bours might, with safety, rely for advice on any emergency. Having
formed such an opinion of me. under circumstances which cannot lead to
the most remote suspicion of flattery, I make free to give thee my
thoughts on thy new Order of Knighthood.
Disclaiming all ideas of any title for myself, and considering them
merely as badges of arrogance, and slavery, I fear lest tlieir use
amongst us should produce the same fruits which so eminently mark
the Knights of other Orders, and instead of a noble race of Radicals,
fearlessly sacrificing self-interest to principle, and braving the terrors
of incarceration, and even military execution, give rise to a titled
generation of no-ability, who, possessing the name without the energy,
would only disgrace themselves. But this, perhaps, would excite a
hungering and thirsting after that " mob darkness" which already ob
scures the American continent, where the people were induced by the
reasonings of a Paine to out-grow the leading-strings of nobility, and
get breeched in manhood.
Burns did well describe the impotence of earthly title-makers, when
he said, The King may mak a belted knight,
A Marquis, Duke, and a' that ;
But an honest man's abune his might,
Gude faith he canna fa' that.
And a Henry Hunt would succeed no better in the art of ennobling
than a George Guelph, had he the same materials to work on.
Surely knight-making is a trade which thp persecuted Radicals will
not be eager to engage in; it has done little of itself, towards elevating
the most favoured of its children in the scale of moral excellence ; and
as to use, it can by no means be compared to that of the coal-
miner, and the chimney-sweep, for they could-not be taken out of
society for a single day, without being missed and deplored ; while ex
perience must convince even those who are
Hung round with stag-bands,
And stuck round with strings,
thatth'eir ".bub" and'1, ^honourable" distinctions are not essential
to the happiness, independence or prosperity of a nation.
The means of communication to which it turned thy thought, is the'
most valuable, indeed the only valuable, part of the knighting scheme.
Had: something of the kind been long since in operation, it might have
prevented the cannibal Corruption from feasting its insatiable appetite
with the dupes of its Jaekalls, who are ever prowling about seeking
whom it may devour. We should not then have been told ofthe dread
ful designs of those who only "make Reform a stalking-horse," neither
should we have witnessed the risings which latety agitated this part of
the country and Scotland, and which have yielded a harvest of sorrow
that must sicken every feeling man at the bare remembrance.
I should rejoice much to be instrumental in forwarding any plan that
may stop that disgrace to civilized society, and outrage to human
nature, the spy system, of which I. happen to know something by ex
perience ; and although I ciinnol become a Knight of the Order of
Ilchester, 1 still consider it more reputable than those which are em
ployed to stamp with notoriety the destroyers of their species, inas
much ae it is more reputable to save than to destroy.
- In the earnest hope that the day is at band when an adequate Repre
sentation, which would give liberty to the captive and let the oppressed
go free, will be the inheritance of the Commons of England : in the
earnest hope that thou niayest be favoured with Ihe blessing of hearth
during unjust incarceration, and through life; and that its days may be
very greatly shortened, I remain thy sincere well-wisher, JAMES WILT.AN.
P. S. My friend and neighbour, John Dickson, coincides in the
- above, joilis me in his remembrance, and divides the expence ofthe
postage. T. Doi.n*-, Printer, -X)9. Slrnwl.

TO

THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

Ilchester Bastile, 6th day, 6th month, 2nd year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or enquiry.
February 22, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
One more Term has passed, and it will be useful to take
a retrospect of some of the proceedings of the Courts of
Law, and particularly of the Court ef King's Bench, and
put them upon record ; because the transactions that
occur in that Court under the forms of law and justice, are
now become of more importance to the liberties of the
people of England than even the proceedings of theHouse
of Commons. Every man in the country knows how le
gislation is carried on. A man must be wilfully ignorant,
not to understand the corrupt state of the representation ;
and if there were a few wilfully blind, it is impossible for
them openly to profess to continue so now, without be
coming the laughing-stock of all the rest of mankind.
There has been so many " peeps" of late taken into the
system, that its deformity is at length laid as bare as the
" sun at noon day." In fact, no one attempts to defend it
now — no one except the bare-faced hireling — the avowed
and paid agents of a detected and repeatedly exposed and
convicted boroughmongering oligarchy. To Mr. Creevey
the people of England are greatly indebted for his exer
tions, and the manly exposures which he has made in the
House of Commons. This Mr. Creevey has, during this
one short session of Parliament, done more for the cause of
a Reform than the " Hero of the Tower" ever did in his
life. Since I last did myself the honour to address you,
I see that he has opposed and divided the Honourable
House on a money bill. Did " Westminster's Pride" ever
do this? — Never I On the 14th of February, on the Chan^
Printed by T. Dolby, 2P9, Strand.

cellor of the Exchequer moving for a vote of money on
the Malt Duty Bill, Mr. Creevey, in a manly and patriotic
speech, opposed " the voting any more money till griev
ances are redressed ;" and to prove that he was in earnest,
he divided the House upon the question, and the following
members voted in the minority. This is coming to the
point, and I shall insert their names below, as a proof of
my gratitude for their exertions. They are twenty-four
in number, and I offer them my hearty thanks for making
a beginning. They have only to follow it up, and they
will soon find that they are supported by the people of
England. MINORITY
AGAINST VOTING ANY MONEY UNTIL GRIEVANCES ARE
REDRESSED, FEB. 14.

Barrett, S. M. Hume, Joseph Palmer, C. F.
Bennet, H. G. Hutchinson, Hn.C. Parnell, Sir H.
Berjial, R. Kennedy, T. F Pryse, Pryse
Davies, T. H. Lambton, J. G. Ricardo, D.
Denman, Thos. Lloyd, Sir E. Sefton, Lord
Fergusson, Sir R. Martin, J. Western, C. C.
Folkestone, Lord Monck, J. B. Wyvill, M.
Hobhouse, J. C.
Tellers — Sir R. Wilson and Thos. Creevey.
We have often been accused, my friends, of abusing all
public men. Jt has been said, that the leading Reformers
have constantly attacked the best and most honest friends
of the people. This I deny. We have accused certain
pretended, professing friends of liberty, for neglecting
their duty to the people ; and I for one will never fail to
expose them, when I find them doing so. But I shall he
always ready to praise them when they do their duty by
the people honestly and fairly. LetMr.Creevey,Mr.Hume,
Alderman Wood, Mr. Grey Bennet, Mr. Denman, Sir Ro^
bert Wilson, Mr. Hobhouse, and those other Gentlemen,
who have lately stood forward, apparently in earnest, let
them continue to do so, and, instead of attacking them,
they shall find that we will give them our best assistance
and support ; , though I will never compromise my right
to call their conduct to account, as public men, whenever
I think they merit it. For instance, though I give Mr.
Hobhouse full credit for his vote upon this occasion, yet I
shall not fail to tell him, that he has not done justice to
the people of Langport, who signed the petition which

3
he presented to the Honourable House, and a copy of
which I caused to be published in the 10th number of my
Memoirs. I beg my readers to turn back and peruse the
petition from Langport, at the latter end of that number,
and then tell me whether Mr. Hobhouse has done his duty,
when 1 inform them that this petition was intrusted to his
care, and that he presented it to the Honourable House
the night that Lord Archibald Hamilton made his motion.
In the Times report it is said, " Mr. Hobhouse also pre
sented a petition from Langport ; it prayed that the
Queen's name might be restored to the Liturgy, and also
for the dismissal of Ministers." This was all that the
honourable member said upon the subject ; at least as far
as the Times report goes. Read the petition once more,
my friends, and you will find that nearly the whole of the
important matters which it contained were entirely slighted
over by Mr. Hobhouse. Not one word was said of the Man
chester murders'. — not one word about bringing the mur
derers to justice ! — not one word about Reform ! ! ! Mr.
Hobhouse, perhaps, never read tbe petition ; because if
he had he would have found that the petitioners did not
pray for " dismissing his Majesty's Ministers ;" but if
Mr. Hobhouse did not read the Langport Petition, Lord
Castlereagh did, for he actually threw the last clause in
the teeth of the Whigs, when they were bothering him
about the number of petitions that were presented, praying
the Honourable House to restore the Queen's name to the
Liturgy. His Lordship said, he was neither to be petitioned
nor dragooned into the measure ; and as for the number
of petitions that had been presented, " the venerable
Major had caused treble the number of petitions to be pre
sented for Radical Reform" — and he might have added,
and the House took no more notice of them -than they do
of these.
A similar petition was presented from Nottingham, by
Mr. Denman, on Tuesday, the 20th; and in consequence of
its being presented in a very different manner, and not
slighted over, as the Langport petition was, it produced a
spirited and interesting debate. Mr. Denman did his duty
to his constituents manfully. The Manchester butchery
formed the principal topic of debate ; and Sir Robert Wil
son, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Philips, of Manchester, expressed,
as did also Mr. Denman, in proper terms, their indignation
and horror at those atrocious murders, and their execration
of the authors of them. Mr. Bootle Wilbraham, one ofthe

4
Lancashire Mag-istrates and Grand Jury — he, good soul, is
for inquiry ; but he wishes the inquiry to be before Lord
Stanley, and a Lancashire Grand Jury ! He, however,
gave the Hero of Westminster a gentle rub, about his
putting off 'his notice of amotion upon the subject, and
threw out a sarcastic sneer at the Honourable Baronet's
last notice of a motion for a distant day, on the 15th of
next May. Where was the Honourable Baronet's Ho
nourable Colleague, Mr. Hobhouse ? Surely he did not
sit still in the House, and hear his great idol quizzed in
this way without making some reply ! Excuse 1 know he
could make none that would bear investigation.
On the loth of May, the anniversary of my sentence, the
mountain is to be in labour again, is it ? Well, this is
pretty well ; " Westminster's Pride and England's Hope"
is going to make a motion on the Manchester slaughter of
men, women and children, when fourteen were murdered,
and 618 sabered and maimed, on the With of August, 1819;
the Hero is to make a motion for an inquiry into this
bloody affair, owe year and nine months after the outrage!
one year and three moni/is after the famous trial at York,
where the meeting was proved to be peaceable, and the
people non-resisting. One whole year after 1 was sen
tenced to be incarcerated in this dungeon, the magnani
mous Hero of the Tower back-door has promised, by his
colleague, Mr. Hobhouse, to make a motion in the House I
Gracious God, grant me patience ! So " Westminster's
Pride" has had the address, or rather the impudence, to
get all inquiry upon this most important affair — these un
natural murders, put off for three more months ! He has
once more succeeded in preventing those active members,
Sir Robert Wilson, Mr. Hume, Mr. Bennet, Alderman
Wood, Mr. Creevey, and many others, from bringing this
all-important measure before the House. He has done
this in order to give him time to get out of prison, that he
may damn it — for damn it he will, I am quite satisfied ;
however, time will prove all things, and we shall see!
There is one thing which is quite clear— that the blood
that was spilt at Manchester is unrequited ; there has been
neither inquiry instituted nor justice done the people ;
and while the murderers are walking at large, those who
committed no crime are the victims of unheard-of perse
cution. All that 1 can say is, that the people of Notting
ham and the people of Langport have my grateful thanks
for their honest and patriotic petitions ; and I should now

hope ihat the peopU of Lancashire, and the neighbourhood
of Manchester in particular, now an example has been set.
them by the people of Nottingham and Langport, will
never again sign any address or any petition, without
making the all-important transactions of the never-to-be-
forgotten, never-to-be-forgiven 16th of August, the ground
work — the main spring of all such addresses or petitions.
I was very much pleased to see an advertisement in the
Manchester Observer, for information to be forwarded to
Mr. Saxton, of the names and residence of all the Yeo
manry, and of all the persons who were actively concerned
in the slaug-hter of the 16th of August. This information
is most desirable — 1 have long wished for this list, and if
Mr. Saxton will send it to me, I will publish it in my
Memoirs, that the names of the heroes may not be for
gotten when they are dead and gone. To be sure we
shall have justice, or an inquiry at least, some day or
another ; and when we are in a hurry we may not know
where to call upon these gentlemen, unless we have a
printed list at hand. Pray let the list be complete, from
Hulton, of Hulton, down to the lowest of Nadin's run
ners, inclusive.
Now, my friends, as to the proceedings in the Gourt of
King's Bench this last term. It is very necessary that we
should look narrowly after these courts. The farce of Sir
Francis Burdett's punishment beats every thing of the
sort I ever knew. If ever there was what these Courts
and Judges call a libel, the excellent letter of Sir Francis
Burdett was a libel ; and it was calculated to produce, in
any other country but England, an open resistance of the
bloody and tyrannical acts of the Government ; because
at the moment when it was written and published, the
people were almost inflamed to madness, by the account
of the bloody and cruel murders committed at Manchester.
Every word of the letter was true, and therefore it was
calculated to do the greatest mischief to the Ministers and
the Government. Notwithstanding all this, the Baronet
has got off with a mere nominal punishment ; and as for
ihe fine, it is not more to him than the expense of swearing
an affidavit" is to me. Mr. Scarlett begged and wept " salt
tears," I am told, and made it a personal request to the
Judges to spare him. Mr. Scarlett is as good as a fifth
Jud«-e, and the other four dare not refuse his supplications.
Al for the cause of Mr. Wooler, Major Cartwright, Mr.
Edmonds, and others, 1 am delighted to see that they have

beaten the Court ; or at least, that the Court seems deter
mined to let them off. They have fought the battle man
fully — they have never flinched — never compromised any
principle whatever, and yet the Court does not know what
to do with them, and the cause is deferred till the next
term ; but if there is a spark of justice left, they must have
a new trial, and there will be an end of the Legislatorial
Attorney Conspiracy, on the* charge of which these
gentlemen have been most infamously harrassed and op
pressed by the proceedings against them.
The last evening of the term, Mr. Chitty obtained the
discharge of the Rule that was granted me, to call upon
the Sheriff and Gaoler, " to show cause why my family
should not have access to me at all reasonable hours
in the day-time, and why I should not be removed
out of the custody of the Magistrates and Edmund
Broderip, of Wells." I applied for the Rule to be dis
charged, because Sir Charles Bampfylde, the High Sheriff,
had been here and granted all I asked for. But I was
obliged to submit to pay the costs of the application, or
else allow the rule to stand over until next term ; in which
case there must havebeen more fees, more refreshers, and,
what was still more dangerous for my rule, to have it be
fore the Court after Sir Charles Bampfylde had quitted the
office of Sheriff, and with the chance that the new Sheriff
may not be quite so well disposed* honestly and inde
pendently to do his duty. The Court had refused to grant
me a writ of Habeas Corpus, to attend to shew cause in
person. I was, therefore, liable to the vindictive attack
of the fifth Judge, by which title I shall call him in future.
In fact, he is much more valuable to the Court where he
is, than if he were on the bench. When, therefore, he
makes a personal request, their lordships will not, for
multifarious reasons, be so ill-mannered as to refuse it.
The fifth Judge made it a personal matter against me,
and I was, without any ceremony, sentenced for two
years and six months, to the worst and most unhealthy
county gaol in England ; a sentence more severe by six
months than has been passed upon any one for a political
offence since the revolution. The fifth Judge made it a
personal matter in favour of Sir Francis Burdett, and
he receives a mere nominal sentence of three months, in
the custody of the Marshal, and a fine, which is of no more
consequence to him, than one week's expences to me^
here. And again, 1 am to be bound over in heavy bail for

five years, before I come out ; so that the Court and the
Government were fearful that I was honest, and that un
less they held me in bonds I should sin against them when
I came out ; but as to the Hero of the Tower, no doubt the
fifth Judge convinced the Judges and the Government,
through Mr. Attorney General, in PRIVATE, that this
very best representative may be trusted at large without
bonds ; Mr. Scarlett's word was quite enough to satisfy
every one, that " Westminster's Pride" would never sin in
earnest against corruption any more. No one can enter
tain a doubt but Mr. Scarlett was as well paid- by the
Government for h\spersonalvre\ghtwith the Court against
me, as he was well paid by the Hero, for his personal
supplication to the Court in his favour. And yet we
shall be told that justice is fairly and honestly adminis
tered, and that justice is neither bought nor sold J
Now, my friends, mark well what I am going to re
late. On Monday the Rule is discharged against the
Gaoler and Co. ; on Tuesday, the 13th, the day following,
the new Sheriff was sworn into office, -af twelve o'clock ;
at twelve o'clock on Tuesday, Sir Charles Bampfylde goes
out of office, and from that hour I am once more handed
over, bound hand and foot, into the power and custody of
the Philistines.
Now, my friends, you shall see how I was treated by
these Philistines ; but, in order that you may be prepared
to estimate properly the conduct towards me of these per
sons, now usurping authority, I must first request you to
read attentively the following extract from the Courier
London evening paper, of the 12th : — " Sir Francis Bur-
" dett, on arriving at the King's Bench prison, on Thurs-
" day, was in good spirits. He was conducted to the cham-
" bers over the lobby, the same which were occupied by
" Lord Cochrane. There are a sitting-room and a bed-
" room, both conveniently and comfortably furnished. A
" dinner was immediately provided for the honourable
" baronet, at the public kitchen of the prison, to which
" he and half a dozen of his friends sat down at six o'clock.
" Yesterday and Friday, most of the leading members of
" the opposition called upon the honourable baronet, and
" on each day he had a select party to dinner. The ho-
" nourable baronet, when desirous of taking exercise, is
" not under the necessity of entering that part of the prison
" devoted to the debtors, but has the privilege of walk-
" ing up and down the court-yard in the front of the prin-

" cipal entrance, which is surrounded hy a wall, and
" which extends over a considerable space. He is of
'• course upon his parole of honour not to go beyond the
" gates for the admission of strangers. Thus, it will be
" seen that the honourable baronet is in the full enjoyment
*' of every advantage which his state of coercion will
" permit." Thus you see, my friends, that the Courier even ap
pears rejoiced to find that the man who had the benefit of
Mr. Scarlett's personal supplication, was in the full en
joyment of every comfort, and upon his " parole of honour."
Now, " list, oh hst," while I describe shortly the contrast;
the full enjoyment ofthe comforts granted to that man,
against whom the same Mr. Scarlett threw his personal
wish into the scales. On Monday, the 12th, the Court
discharged my rule with costs ; on Tuesday, the 13th, the
old Sheriff goes out of office ; and at twelve o'clock in the
forenoon, the new Sheriff is sworn into office ; now, mark
this fact well. On Tuesday, the 13th, three visiting jus
tices, the old squad, are assembled at the gaol, impati
ently waiting for the clock to strike twelve, which time
no sooner arrives, than they commence their operations.
Haying, called me before them, they inform me that, as
the late Sheriff is out of office, they shall no longer suffer
any orders of his to be acted upon, and that they have
come to a determination to put into execution, the origi
nal order of sessions, to exclude my family from, visiting
me ; and that they had given orders to the governor to en
force those regulations, and turn my family out. I knew
that it was in vain to expostulate, and rather than suppli
cate such beings, I would have been crucified alive ; I,
therefore, merely informed them, that I was not in their
custody, but in that of the Sheriff. With a sneer they an
swered, that they considered that they had the power now,
and that they would exercise it, and that I might apply to
the new Sheriff, or to the Court, as I had before done ;
thus pretty clearly intimating that I might apply to the
Sheriff, but that they knew their man.
It is curious to notice who were the Gentlemen who
were selected to perform this amiable and gratifying office
— the Reverend Doctor Coulston, of Lidford (oh, the old
cow !) and the two Mister Thrings, Master Thring and
his Papa. A pretty sample of Somersetshire Magistracy !
The first a justice of the peace grafted upon a parson, one
of the dignified pillars of the church : the other an old

9
Warminster Attorney and his son, transplanted into So
mersetshire, and dubbed two ofthe quorum ! I am told by
*' puss in the corner," that the two latter, these quondam
men ofthe law, volunteered their services to assist at this
delightful ceremony. They were, therefore, appointed,
together with"Aaron Moody, Esq. to be visiting E.agis-
trates for this quarter. Mr. Moody was not present ; but
his name, and the names of the two Mister Thrings, were
Sent back to the gaol as those of the three visiting magis
trates. When, however, Mr. Moody was applied to, and
informed of the honourable post designed for him, with
two such honourable coadjutors, he, for some reason or
other, declined it. A few days afterwards, Pike, the turn
key, informed me, that it was not Mr. Moody, but that it
was Mr.'Newman who was appointed visiting magistrate,
together with the two Things ; but still there was np
meeting of magistrates. Mr. Newman, who was in the
same regiment with, and a friend of, the Honourable Baro
net, Sir Charles Bampfylde, rode over to the gaol to see how
the ground lay ; but when he found what sort of duty it
was expected that he should assist in performing, he also,
for some reason or oilier, declined the honour intended
for him. Well, we were all at sea here in the gaol !
There was no meeting of visiting magistrates for six weeks.
I heard of prisoners being punished and heavily ironed at
the discretion of the humane gaoler. All sorts of tricks
were played me. ; and even the bell that was put up by
Mr. Moody was now muffled, by which myself, friends, and
visitors were put to great inconvenience. But by the
order of the gallant Sir Charles Bampfylde— God bless
him ! — I had my family with me from nine till four ; there
fore, I scorned to make any complaint about common suf
ferings. But, in the midst of all this, there was no meeting
of Magistrates as usual ; at length, the long wished-forday
arrived, Sir Charles went out of office, and with breathless
haste the two Mister Thrings, who had stood their ground,
in conjunction with the Parson Justice, Dr. Colston, whom
they had picked up by some means or other, came to the
prison and performed the dignified office of countermand
ing the humane and gentlemanlike act of justice ordered
by Sir Charles Bampfylde, and with manly authority and
benignant humanity they directed that rhy family, two de
fenceless and unoffending females, should be turned out of
the gaol and kept locked out.
Now read this over again, my friends, and note well the
c

10
contrast between my treatment and the treatment of Sir
F. Burdett. You will recollect, my friends, tbat my de
mands have been all along most moderate. What were
they '? Why, merely this :— I applied to the visiting magis
trates to " admit my friends to visit me at reasonable
hours, in the day lime, provided they conducted themselves
With propriety, and violated none of the rules of the gaol."
I have never shifted my ground. I applied to the sessions,
for what 1—the same. I applied to Mr. Justice Bailey, for
what ?— the same. 1 applied to the Court of King's Bench,
for what ?— still the same. 1 applied to Sir Charles Bamp
fylde, for what ? — " to see my family" — still the same rea
sonable request. It is granted, and I am content. But
that is not the object; I must be punished beyond the sen
tence, and that family are again driven from my presence.
Thank God, I have yet health and strength to laugh at
and despise their malice. We shall see whether Wm.
* Hanning, Esq. of Dillington, the new Sheriff, is underthe
shackles of the Wells junto of perpetual under-sheriffs ; in
fact, we shall see whether he is a man or a monster.
1 have written to the humane Mrs. Fry, to describe to
her the situation of a lovely young damsel, a Quaker, who
is confined here for debt — for debt, mind. I have written
to Mr. Dolby, to get a copy, if possible, of that letter, which
I wrote in haste ,"and to publish it in this number of my Me
moirs ; and as I understand that Mr. Goodman was pre
vailed upon to take charge of a petition to the House of
Commons, from another poor debtor, who has been con
fined fifteen years in this bastile for a small sum, as a crown
debtor, he being now seventy-four, 1 have particularly re
quested Mr. Dolby to procure a copy of it from the. Vote
Office, and publish that also for the information of the be
nevolent. Gracious God ! if this poor man has stated a
hundredth part of what he has suffered, during fifteen
years, in this horrible place, it will harrow up the soul of
the most flinty-hearted being that ever lived ! These do
cuments will speak for themselves ; and, as I am now
pressed for time, I must conclude, till my next, by the as
surance, that I am honestly, steadily, and faithfully, and
ever will be, the advocate of Universal Suffrage and Vote
by Ballot, and your friend,
H. HUNT.
P. S. 1 see by the Times newspaper, that about five
hundred people were addressed by Sir Francis Burdett,

11
at the King's Bench Prison. Very good — then Henry
Hunt, in Ilchester Gaol, is only allowed to have four per
sons to see him at any one time. No fear or danger of
Sir Francis with five hundred — great danger to be appre
hended by admitting five persons to me at one time ;
another little contrast. 1 have also this moment read the
excellent defence of Mr. John Hunt, of the Examiner.
This is a brave man : — what a contrast to the whining,
begging, crying, supplicating defence of Sir Francis Bur
dett, made for him by the Whig, Scarlett. My name-sake,
of whom I feel proud to have such a man of the name of
Hunt, has done more real service to the cause of Reform
by this manly and eloquent defence, than Sir Francis
Burdett has done by all his speeches in Parliament, and
all of it for the last twenty-four years. And Mr. Hunt's*
defence will create ten times as much effect : but more of
this in my next. Thank God, no Reformer but the Baro
net has flinched from his duty in the courts ; even the
women and children begin to laugh at and despise the dun
geons of tyranny.
The neic Sheriff , William Hanning, Esq. had appointed
the Magistrates to meet him here to day, to investigate my
application to have the admission of my friends. They
are met in great force ; but another blow-up, of a more
tremendous nature has occupied them for four hours. All
must and will out. What a scene of iniquity is a gaol !
particularly Mr. Favel Buxton's crack, moral gaol of
Ilchester.

LETTER TO MRS. FRY.
Dear Madam, Ilchester Bastile, }1lh Feb. 1821.
Your benevolent and intelligible endeavours to alleviate
the sufferings, and improve ths situation of female pri
soners, will entitle you to the approbation of the wise and
good ; and as you are before the public in this enviable
character, I make no apology for obtruding myself on
your attention by this letter. On the 27th of January Miss
Churchill, (one of the Society of Friends) a respectable
young lady about twenty-two years of age, was commit
ted to this place ; without ceremony she was thrust into
a dreary, damp, dark dungeon, without a window, and
into which a ray of the sun never penetrated; situated in
an unpaved yard, about seven yards square, of Northern

12
aspect, and surrounded by walls (at this season of tbe
year saturated with wet) between twenty and thirty-feet
high, and without any aperture to admit a circulation of
air. The apartment itself, into which this young female
is deposited, in solitary confinement, is about seven feet
wide, and nine feet long, with a stone floor, and a vaulted
roof sufficiently lofty for her to stand erect, and hitherto
has only been used as a place of punishment for turbulent
or refractory prisoners ; thus being but irregularly occu
pied — probably full of noxious vapour. I am aware that
you must be reading with breathless haste to arrive at
the detail ofthe horrid crime — of the outrage against the
laws of God and man, of which this person so treated has
been guilty, therefore I do not delay to tell you, that she
is here for — debt I — for having, to assist her brother, be
come bound to pay that which she was unable to do, a
sum of £125. Is it in this age of liberality and charity,
and in this Christian country, where individual and col
lective exertions to diffuse the benign influence of religion
and morality are so conspicuous, that a young female,/or
debt, and that debt contracted too, under circumstances
greatly alleviating the error of it, is to be put in solitary
confinement, where health is endangered, and comfort
and decency disregarded ; in an apartment as cold, and
nearly as scanty of conveniences and comforts, as are to
be found in that last dark abode which we must all occupy !
Did I not hope some good would result from this letter, I
would refrain from going on to tell you, that the young
woman is precluded from seeing any friend or acquaint
ance in private, or in her own apartment; and can but
for a very circumscribed period of the day see any one
any where, and that is usually in the presence of others : 
that instead of, in decency, being under the charge of the
Matron (and there is one in the place), the persons who
have access to her are the Gaoler and his Turnkeys, and
you may know what characters such gentry usually are.
There is no inner fastening to the door of her dungeon, to
guard against abrupt intrusion, early in a morning or late
at night. There is no partition, no curtain, no screen, in
this miserable sepulchre, to shelter this lonely female from
the rough and rude gaze of her keepers ; nor, in the event
of illness, has she any means of soliciting or obtain
ing assistance, but by the screams of the human voice,
which, alas ! would be vainly exerted where the milk of
human kindness flows so sparingly as it does here ; but if

13
a woman was taken ill, would she any longer have any
claim to female delicacy, if she did not prefer patiently to
sink into the arms df death, rather than accept the gruff in
terference about her person, or make known her nameless
ills and wants to an unfeeling gaoler and his turnkeys.
Some of my relations being Quakers, (my natural uncle,
Mr. William Powell, of Nusted, near Devizes, you may
know,) I am sure I have said enough to excite inquiry,
but I am sure that your inquirer will not resemble those of
avery young man, Mr. Barclay, sonof Mr. Barclay, the brew
er, (I believe) who passed through this place last summer ;
in his hands were a paper and pencil, he appeared to be tak
ing notes, and in his manner there was ap air and tone of so
lemn inquiry, but none of its reality ; he would not stay or
stop to take information from any one, but the gaoler, who
would no doubt tell him (he would tell him) that prison
ers came here sinners, and went away saints ! that their
health and morals were objects of unceasing attention, and -
that wise rules and regulations, (though they are unde
fined and not promulgated) promoting morality, preserving
cleanliness, and producing good order, were rigidly acted
upon. But had this gentleman really wished to be in
formed of the true state of this place, I could have shewn,
and would have shewn him, if he would have staid and
made inquiry, the water (the only drink of seven-eights
ofthe prisoners here), and from its colour and stink he
might have been able to inform the committee who sent
him on his errand, that it was as foul and nauseous, as wa
ter in the Thames at its confluence with one of the great
city sewers ! — On the subject of classification, justly con
sidered so important in a prison, Mr. Barclay might have
been told to go and look at three school-boys, under
eleven years of age, committed by a magistrate for one
month, as a punishment for filling their pockets with some
of their neighbour's apples, when he would have found
those children associating with felons and convicts ; and
if he had further inquired what became of them at night,
he would have found that they became the bedfellows of
the same associates r In pursuing your inquiries into the
case of Miss Churchill, you will, perhaps, be told that
there are no means of accommodating her betterin this con
fined and inconvenient gaol ; but is there any other gaol
in England, where ^female confined for debt, is shut up in
a solitary dungeon, and where her mother, her sister, or
female friends, are denied access to her in private, in her

14
own apartments, at all reasonable hours in the day? For
the sake of the cause of humanity, I should hope not. Your
inquiries will probably disclose to you the fact, that there is
but one other female debtor inthis bastile, and the unfortu
nate widow is still more unhappily situated than Miss
Churchill, by being made the associate of the faniale
felons and convicts, in the teeth of apositive Act of Parlia
ment, to prevent such intermingling. Would it not have
occurred to any other persons than those who have direc
tion of this receptacle for unfortunates, to have placed two
women debtors committed to their care, in the' same ward
together, that they might protect and assist each-other,
and be under the charge ofthe matron?
Sir Charles Bampfylde, the High Sheriff, I am persuad
ed, will, on your application, give instant ledress, and the
gentleman who will in a few days succeed him, (W. Han
ning, Esq.) 1 should hope would not be less prompt to do
what is just. 1 offer no excuse for troubling you with the*se
details, as relieving the unfortunate is your profession.
I am, Dear Madam,
Mrs. Fry, Your obedient servant,
St. Mildred's Court, H. HUNT.
Poultry.
P.S. If your intelligent friend, Mr. Favel Buxton, could
have been so far duped and deceived, as to the state of this
prison, as to be induced to hold it up as a pattern for the
example of others, you will not be surprised at any report
that might have been made to the committee, by so young
and inexperienced a man as Mr. Barclay.

SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT.

To tlie Purchasers, Venders, and Consumers of the
Breakfast Powder.
It will be recollected, that just as I was about to set
off to attend my memorable trial at the York assizes, last
spring, a seizure was made by the officers of Excise, ofthe
manufactory of my Breakfast Powder. In a hand-bill and
advertisements, I then promised the public, that I would
try the question in the Court of Exchequer, whether the

15
poor were to be prevented drinking a wholesome and nu
tritious beverage, made of prepared and roasted grain, the
production of theirnative soil, merely because the Govern
ment wished to force down their throats a heating, delite-
rious, narcotic berry, the production of a foreign clime,
upon which the legislature had imposed a heavy tax.
When I made this promise, I little thought that 1 should
become the inhabitant of a dreary dungeon for the next
two years and six months, in a distant county gaol. —
But soon after my arrival there, the Attorney General,
not satisfied with the lengthened period of the incarcera
tion of his victim, followed up his blows, by giving me
notice of trial in the Court of Exchequer, for the penalty
of £100, for making a wholesome and economical beve
rage for the poor, which I called "Hunt's Breakfast
Powder." I immediately applied for a Habeas Corpus,
to be taken up to the Court of Exchequer, to conduct my
own defence ; but the specimen they had at York, in
duced the Attorney General rather to forego the cause,
than bring me into the immaculate Court of Exchequer ;
and my attorney was informed that he could not have a
Habeas, but that the trial would not be brought on in my
absence, thus putting on a shew of justice : however, the
cause was brought on about ten, days back, and although
1 caused two applications to be made to the court for a
writ of Habeas Corpus, to be present to conduct my own
defence, they were both refused, and a verdict went for
the Crown, of course, with a sort of sham defence, for
£200. Well, under such circumstances, shut up within
the walls of a gaol, I must submit ; but, as I see by the
newspapers, that the gallant Sir Robert Wilson has called
the attention of the Government to the proceedings and
the verdict, I have directed my son to have the stock re
maining on hand, which is about 500 lbs. weight, to be pack
ed up nicely, in pounds and half pounds, with my label of
directions for use upon it; and, as I am not allowed to sell
it, I have directed that one pound each be. sent to the
King, the Queen, and Baron Garrow, who tried the
cause ; and that half a pound each be sent to the rest of the
Royal Family, the Lord Chancellor, the Peers of Parlia
ment, the Bishops, the Judges, the Attorney and Solici
tor General, all the great Officers of State, and to each of
the Members of the House of Commons, as a small present
from the Captive of Ilchester, with a request that they
may still punish me, if they please, by fine and imprison-

16
ment, but that I hope they will take the distressed state
of agriculture, and the sufferings ofthe poor, into their
consideration, by repealing that law, if there be any such,
which prohibits a poor family from purchasing a whole
some, cheap, and nutritious beverage, made from the
roasted grain of the country. In the mean time I shall' do
as 1 did in the last spring, manufacture a salubrious article
adapted for spring use, " Hunt's British herb tea,"
composed of the most wholesome, pleasant, aromatic, Bri
tish Herbs, which I have selected from the list which
Dr. Solander manufactures his vegetable tea, which I shall
call the " Ilchester Mixture." To be sold, wholesale
and retail, at No. 21, Little Earl Street, St. Giles's, in
pounds, half-pounds, and quarter pounds, for two shil
lings per pound; which will be found a delightful spring
beverage, and much more pleasant and wholesome than
the taxed tea.

VOL. I. of the MEMOIRS of HENRY HUNT, Esq.
will be ready for sale in a day or two, in boards, price
12s. &d:
The addenda matter, containing Addresses to the Radi
cal Reformers, &c. may be had, bound up with the Met
moirs, or stitched separate,, price 3s.

T. Dolby, Printer, £99, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

Ilohester Bastile, 10th day, 7th month, 2nd year of tlie Manchestbh
Massacre, without retribution or enquiry.
March 25, 1821.

My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,

What an awful month for the tyrants of the earth,
what a month of warning for the enemies of mankind has
passed since I had the honour to address you last, my
friends ! Let the Radical Reformers of this country only
be temperate, be patient, and firm ; I implore them, for the
love they have for the cause of rational liberty, not to be
led away by false or imprudent friends, not to listen to the
voice of those who would urge them to commit any hasty
or indiscreet act. I have heard Of delegate meetings with
great pain, because I am fearful that good and worthy men
who mean well, and who are real friends to the cause of
liberty, may be led into danger and difficulty ; and that
they will be betrayed if they do any thing privately, I
have not the slightest doubt. If any of you, my friends,
should be induced to attend delegate meetings, let me im

printed by T. Dolby, 909, Strand.

plore you to have them open and public. The Ministers
are driven into a corner, they are beset on all sides, and
nothing can extricate them for any length of time, but the
success of some new plot. Depend on it, Castlereagh,
Sidmouth, and Co. are dying for a plot ; and be you assured
that the detection and exposure of Franklin's plots will
not deter them from setting- other engines and other agents
at work, to seduce the unthinking and the unwary into
their toils, and their cruel and inexorable employers are
preparing to celebrate the sacrifice.
I have this moment received a letter from a. most wor
thy and intelligent friend at Bolton, which contains these
important words: "I have just learned that the spies are
at work about Manchester, to excite the people to send an
Address to the King, requiring a free Constitution, after
the way of Naples, &c." Shun these people as you would
a pestilence, my friends ; avoid the snare that is laid for
you ; you may find zealous worthy men led away by the
seeming plausibility of such a measure ; and thousands of
unsuspecting Radicals, impatient that Englishmen should
be less free than the bigoted slaves ofthe continent, may,
in an unguarded moment, fall into the net that is spread
for them, no doubt, by the humane employers of Oliver,
Castles, Edwards, and Franklin.
I understand that there is a turn-out amongst the opera
tive workmen in the Bleaching line, for a rise of wages :
those blood-hunting spies will be sure to find their way
amongst these oppressed men, therefore it is the duty of
every respectable Reformer in those districts, to advise and
admonish these poor fellows not to listen to the advice of
strangers, monsters in human form, who are prowling
about like hungry wolves, to see whom they can way-lay
and destroy.

Have patience, my friends, the cause of Liberty is gain
ing strength every day, and I sincerely hope and believe,
that the grave of tyranny is digging in Naples and Italy!
O how I pray for the success of the holy cause of the Nea
politans! O that I had the power just to place the brave
and persecuted Napoleon in Piedmont ! Gracious God
what myriads would flock to his standard, that they might
annihilate the hordes of barbarians from the north ! I say,
be patient; we, the Reformers of England, cannot do bet
ter than look steadily on a little while.
1 have most important information from France. The
hour that sends old Louis to his last home, will give liberty
to millions; it will be the signal for every true Frenchman
to rally once more round the tri-coloured flag-, which will
then triumphantly float in the air pendant from every
steeple in that beautiful country. 1 hope Napoleon will be
there to direct their efforts with his powerful mind ; but at
all events his spirit will animate them to brush the but
chering hordes of the tyrants from the face of the earth.
When that day arrives, take my word for it, the dynasty
of the Bourbons, and the reign of terror, will have one
common end ; and I trust they will be buried in one conir
mon grave. Therefore we will not despair, for we have
the best grounds to hope that England will not be the last
power on earth to recover her freedom ; we only want a
Radical Reform, and a Reform we shall have, or a Revo
lution, which will, I hope, when my Lord Castlereagh and
the farcical Duke — Duke of Wellington — please to bring
it about, come without bloodshed. The army has done this
in Spain, Naples, and Portugal, and the army of England,
if my information be correct, are not altogether disposed
to be behind hand with their brethren of the Continent.
We were most of us surprised at the sudden and unex
pected abandonment ofthe prosecution of our amiable

Queen in the House of Lords, by her Majesty's amiable,
Upright, and impartial judges, giving up the Bill of Pains
and Penalties— what a curious fact it will be in history,
that the solution of this mighty problem should have been
promulgated by the Captive of Ilchester. Mark me well !
certain gentlemen who had taken upon themselves the
management of that great political movement were stag
gered and astounded with the reports that constantly came
to their ears, ofthe opinions and sentiments ofthe soldiers
in favour of the Queen. The real state of the case was
ascertained as follows : — Twenty-four Colonels of " Regi
ments stationed in and near the Metropolis, were summon
ed to a conference, arid each Colonel was plainly asked if
he could depend on his men in case of a popular tumult in
favour of the Queen. Four Colonels of Regiments of
Cavalry said they thought they could; the remaining
Twenty of Infantry and Cavalry unequivocally declared
they could not, in the Queen's business. This is the
grand secret, and this settled the affair in the House of
Lords the next day. This is a secretworth knowing, and
my informant knows me too well to suspect that 1 shall
ever betray his confidence.
Before 1 propeed to my domestic affairs, or rather to gaol
politics, 1 beg to correct two or three unintentional errors
that I havebeen led into during the publication of theflrst
volume of my Memoirs. In speaking of those who signed
the infamous order made by the Magistrates at the Assizes
at Wells, I alluded to Sir Abraham Elton signing the
order asthe new stipendiary Chairman of the Quarter Ses
sions. I have been assured from very high authority,
that Sir Abraham has no salary for acting as Chairman of
the Quarter Sessions; and I am also informed, from the
same respectable source, that the worthy Baronet did not
sign it in the capacity of Chairman, but in his individual

capacity as a Magistrate, without having taken any part
in promoting the measure, and certainly without thinkino-
that it would operate as such a bar to my comforts. I was
led into this error by what fell from the Gaoler, who, upon
being asked if he could account for such an infamous order,
answered, "New Lords, new laws," in allusion to Sir
John Acland, who had behaved in the most liberal and
gentlemanly manner to me, having resigned the office
of Chairman, and Sir Abraham having been elected to it.
I own I was astonished that the friend of the benevolent
and humane Romilly should have lent himself to such inhu
manity. But I have ten thousand times more pleasure in
retracting the error.that I unwittingly was led into, than I
had in promulgating it. A friend of the late Mr. Drake,
of Wells, has also assured me that he never took any part
in such a petty, mean, dirty act, and that he disclaimed
it on his death-bed.
I find, also, that I made a slight mistake in the manner
that the Judges of the Court of King's Bench calculated
the number of years and months that 1 should be imprison
ed here. I have been informed by a gentleman well ac
quainted with the Judges that it was as follows: Best
wrote " Six Years;" Holroyd " Two Years ;" Abbot "Two
Years ;" Bailey " Not an Hour." So it will be seen, that
my first info rmantwas pretty correct, although he had given
Mr. Justice Best credit for one year less, and" Mr. Justice
Abbot for one year more than they intended to honour me.
When 1 was finishing my last address, I informed you
that the new Sheriff and Magistrates were assembled in
great force, that a " tremendous blow up" had taken
place, and that the iniquity of this gaol would all come
out, first.or last. It appears that the gaoler was surrounded
with difficulties ; that in consequence of the statements in
my Memoirs, his conduct was pretty freely discussed in this

part of the county, and having been detected in a bare
faced falsehood, in laying the charge of muffling my bell
to Hobbs the taskmaster, when it was proved that he had
been the sole instigator of it himself, and finding that
some ofthe magistrates were growing suspicious of him,
in order to save himself he made a desperate plunge, and
preferred charges against his wife for having acted impro
perly, by receiving company to play at cards with the pri
soners, gambling, &c. and keeping the gaol open till late
hours, in his absence ; and having very readily proved this
fact, which had been well known to himself, and notori
ous in the whole gaol for years, &c. ; he next made a
charge against Hobbs the taskmaster and his wife, for
having connived at those improper proceedings. Hobbs
and his wife were called up, they admitted the fact, but
added, that they did not conceive themselves justified in
interfering with Mrs. Bridle or her company ; that as Mr.
Bridle, when he was at home, had card parties and gamb
ling with the prisoners, and drinking- parties till day-light,
keeping the doors open all night, they did not conceive
that they had any power to prevent Mrs. Bridle having
card parties in his absence. This was enough ; upon this
ex-parte statement Hobbs and his wife were dismissed
withot't an hour's notice, and trundled out of the gaol that
very night. The truth is, that Hobbs and his wife are two
humane kind-hearted people, and, which was an offence
never to be forgiven, they had been invariably civil to
me. And as a confirmation of this fact, the juniorturnkey,
Davis, who was the only one who had made an affidavit
against me when 1 made an application to the court, and
who had treated me and my friends with marked rude
ness, was instantly promoted into his situation of task
master ; thus are thirty or forty prisoners superintended
in the manufactory of cloth by a person that knows no

more about the making of cloth than he does of Greek •
and who have their accounts kept by a man that can
scarcely write his own name. This gentleman is now
become quite the Dickey Gossip of the gaol. He has the
command of the shop — he is the guardian of the milk wo
man, task-master, and assistant male-matron, having the
care ofthe female prisoners; and last, he is promoted to the
honourable office of Spy, having confessed before a magis
trate, that he has been occupied for hours together in
listening and endeavouring to overhear the conversation
that took place between me and my friends, which he was
employed to communicate to the gaoler. Well, you will
say this fellow must have a delightful time of it. He
has been trying his hand in laying some traps to catch nie
off my guard, but he finds that his occupation will end in
disappointment similar to that of the fowler, who vainly
endeavoured to entice old birds into his net with mere
chaff. About seven weeks after I came here, an order was
made that I should walk in the passage of the factory-
yard, when the men were not at work -f a place nine feet
wide and forty yards long, which, having a small hole cut
through the wall at one end of it, admits a little fresh air,
when the wind sets that way ; this I consider a great ac
commodation, scanty as it is. But, as a trap, the door at
the upper end of this passage was left open, which leads
to the lodge, to see if I would give them an opportunity
to- curtail this necessary accommodation. The old bird
was not to be taken with chaff. I walked to, but never
passed, the line an inch. However, to shew what would
have been the result if I had— one of the prisoners placed
here to wait on me hy day, wanting something in a hurry, ran
out about ten yards beyond this line to call a turnkey, for
which he was locked up in solitary confinement two days

s
and one night. Since Davis has become taskmaster ha
has had the command of this yard, and about the second or
third day after his promotion he began his experiments as
follows: As I was walking in this passage, a little girl,
about six years old, came wandering up to me to inquire
for her daddy, Mr. Davis, who was superintending the
digging a new well in my ward, where I directed the
child; after staying some time with her father she was
sent back alone into the yard to me, playing with two
of the gaol keys, one of which led to the female ward ;
almost as much as asking me to accept the original, or to
take a pattern. This trap did not take the old bird, al
though, no doubt, it was considered irresistible. For the
worthy Justices to prohibit a prisoner from even the sight
of a female — and a tractable turnkey to offer him, as it were
by stealth, the key to the female ward, where he might
have access to them at any hour of the night, must have
appeared to these immaculate worthies a scheme thatcould
not fail to be an irresistible bait ; but it did not take, for
I conducted this little trembling female guardian of the
morals of Ilchester gaol, back to her parents, that" she
might restore them those keys that had been so invitingly
tendered for my use. Nothing daunted by their repeated
failures, a few mornings after, a grand move was made.
Having ascertained, about three days after, that I was
walking alone in this factory passage, about seven o'clock
in the morning, while 1 had stepped into my own room
for five minutes, upon my return I found they had, in my
temporary absence, conveyed a ladder, which was placed
invitingly against the wall ; and to make the means of es
cape both easy and safe, a long strong rope was laid
delightfully tempting at the foot of it, so that I could have
been at the top of the outward wall in one minute by the
ladder, and down on the other side, by means ofthe rope.

9
with perfect ease in the next. I could not avoid laughing
at this barefaced attempt to get rid of me at any rate.
But as it did not take any better than the more concealed
plans, they are, I think, by this time convinced, that I
am determined to remain with them twenty months
longer, in spite of all their arts to dispose of me. Ah,
Mr. Davis, pray give over these pranks, and employ your
time in making yourself acquainted with the art of weav
ing, if you mean to superintend the manufactory of cloth,
for, take my word for it, if you were to leave the door
wide open all night long, I would not walk over its
threshold. I have so much to say to you, my friends, that I am
determined to have the next, No. 14, published in the
middle of April, and No. 15 on the first of May. I have
only time now to say, and it is with great pleasure I have
to inform you, that the result of my letter to the benevo
lent Mrs. Fry, relative to the cruel and illegal treatment
of the unfortunate female Quaker, has heen " her release
from captivity." You may easily imagine, but it is im
possible for me to describe the pleasure I feel in knowing
that I have been the means of giving liberty to an incar
cerated human being, and that being a female. I have
no doubt we shall ultimately succeed, with the assistance
of the worthy Alderman Wood, in giving liberty to the
poor debtor Hill, who has been incarcerated in this hell
of hells for 15 years, for a debt of £34, to the crown. If
we cannot obtain liberty by wholesale, it is delightful to
dispense it to individuals. How often have I afforded the
finest feelings of my heart an inexpressible treat, by pur
chasing the liberty of a feathered songstress, that I have
seen imprisoned in a cage. Nay, I have frequently, whilst
yet a child, run the risk of a scolding or a flogging for
having secretly released a poor little caitiff captive mouse,

10
that had the misfortune to be caught in a wire trap, which
was perhaps otherwise destined, first to torture and then
to inevitable death. How often have I, in a hot summer
day; caught a fly in the act of extracting blood with its sharp
proboscis from my leg, and instead of putting it to death,
while yet smarting with the momentary pain which it had
inflicted, have I walked deliberately across the room, and,
opening the window, given it life and liberty ? If, then,
I have been animated by such a feeling, which every
one who knows me can vouch for, what must have
been the sensations of such a heart, at the reflection of
having contributed to the release from prison of a fellow
creature ? I am sure that I felt much more pleasure at the
news of Miss Churchill's release from this horrible bastile,
than I should have done if the news had been brought me
that one year of my own sentence had been remitted.
If I could envy a man a share of his pleasure, it would have
been to participate with the gallant Sir Robert Wilson, in
the delightful sensation of having released Lavalette from
the remorseless fangs of his intended murderers.
Sir Robert Wilson, you will have seen, my friends, has
not been unmindful of the " Captive of Ilchester." This
worthy man certainly deals in good deeds as well as pro
fessions — his gentlemanly, and I must say friendly interpo
sition, to get the fine of £200 remitted which had been
imposed upon me by a verdict in the Court of Exchequer,
unsolicited by me, recollect, merits my unqualified and
grateful thanks ; and I am sure it will not be.forgetten by
you, my friends, when you recollect that he has proved
himself the brave and undaunted advocate for an inquiry
into the Manchester murders on the never-to-be-forgotten
16th of August. I shalL have much to say to you upon
this subject in my next No. 14. In the mean time, Sir
Robert Wilson is making every patriotic exertion to get a

11
repeal of that law which, as it stands by this verdict, t>ro-
hibits the sale of roasted grain. If he succeed I shall be
prepared to serve my Radical Friends all over the
kingdom, with prepared roasted grain, so beautifully
and sweetly manufactured, free from fociled gas or sul
phur, that shall enable them to procure a quart of whole
some, nutritious, and invigorating beverage, for break
fast, dinner, or supper, at the price of one penny, which
will far surpass either tea, coffee, gin, or beer.
1 have now only just time to call your serious attention
to a new " Peep," to be published by Mr. Dolby, on the
first of April. We have seen published a "Peep at the
Peers," an excellent and valuable work, which should
be read by every man in the kingdom. Then we had a
"Peep at the Commons," published by Mr. Dolby for Mr.
Lewis ; this was interesting and useful, but nothing equal
in value to the Peep at the Peers. Then great promises
were made, and public curiosity was raised in expectation
of the " Links of the Lower House ;" but, like the moun
tain in labour, a mouse was the production ; it is totally
unworthy to be called a companion of the " Peep at the
Peers ;" it is deficient in every page, and there are frequent
omissions even of the names of the Members. The com
pilers had, as the slang phrase of the courts would say,
" the fear of God before their eyes," or rather the fear of
the Honourable House, to the Members of which it has
not at all done justice. But this Peep, to be published by
Mr. Dolby, entitled "A Peep into a Prison, or the
Inside of Ilchester Bastile," is the Peep of all Peeps,
and will be found a most interesting Peep, desirable to be
looked well into by every man, woman, and child in the
kingdom. It will be dedicated, without permission, to
Win. Hanning, Esq. the High Sheriff, and the Magistrates.
of the county of Somerset: it will be published the same

T2
size and type as my Memoirs, embellished with an engrav
ing as a frontispiece, faithfully delineating three species
bf "secret torture inflicted upon prisoners in this bastile, as
exemplified in Wm. Gardner and James Hillier, of Bris
tol, and Miss Smith, a poor Irish girl. This Peep will
contain a detail of the infamous transactions carried on in
this gaol ; together with the petitions of William Hill,
who has been confined here 15 years, for a debt of £34
to the crown, and also that of James Hillier, which, to
gether with the engraving, will speak best for itself. It
will give you a more correct account of the place in which
I am incarcerated, and of the persons with which I am
surrounded, than the limits of this address will admit ;
and it will conclude with a letter, which I have done my
self the honour to address to Mr. Fowell Buxton, M. P-
for Weymouth, the brother, I believe, of the late philan
thropic Mrs. Fry. Pray read this book throughout atten
tively, my friends.
The day that the Justices assembled in such force they
were too busily employed in suffering themselves to be
hood-winked by our amiable gaoler, to attend to any appli
cation of mine, therefore Mr. Hanning, the Sheriff, briefly
informed me, that as he understood the Magistrates thought
they had the power to inflict the torture upon me of which
I complained, he could not interfere till he had got Ser
geant Lens' opinion. You will see inserted an address to
this gentleman, which some liberal friends, in various
parts of this country, are signing to present to him — " We
shall see." In the meaa time keep your attention directed
upon the movements of Alderman Wood, who will do
his duty, I have no doubt, as faithfully, as fearlessly, as
honestly, and as perseveringly in the House of Commons
for the oppressed and suffering prisoners, as lie did for
our amiable Queen.

13
Another little anecdote, and I have done till the 16th of
April. My son, who had travelled from town to see me<
came directly off a journey, hung his great coat, that was
wet, up to dry ; one of the turnkeys came in, and searching
the pockets found a small popgun of a pocket pistol therein.
He came to me with a very grave face to tell the story.
The pistol was taken out by my son, with a request from
me that he would not travel with a pistol again. Enraged
at his own carelessness, I understand that he afterwards
threw it into the river, it being a trumpery toy that he had
given four shillings for in London. But this was too good
a thing to be passed over, therefore it serves for a pretence
for searching my friends ever since. Well, this I must
bear. When I first came here, a very respectable gentleman
who lives in the neighbourhood informed me, that he al
ways carried a loaded pistol to protect himself, particularly
when he came into the gaol. However, I hope my friends
will never bring any thing in without shewing it at the
lodge, no persons being admitted here with rowels in their
spurs, excepting visiting Justices and Bumbailiffs. I should
like to be informed how many pistols, and what quantity
of fireworks, were brought into the gaol by the populace,
when the gaol doers were thrown open, and they were
admitted within the walls, with flags, banners, and music,
the day after the last election, when the dance was led
down, and the ball opened in the interior court by Mr.
Wnf. Bridle, the Governor, and an electioneering lady by
the name of Six Feet, while the turnkeys lay upon their
backs, dead drunk?
I beg to acknowledge the receipt of the Address from
the Reformers of Leeds, signed vby nine thousand persons.
It came too late to be inserted in this number. I beg,
also, to acknowledge the kind communication from my

14
worthy friends at Bolton. I shall never forget the kind
and enthusiastic reception I met with from the Reformers
of Bolton and Leeds; buti must defer the expression of
my gratitude till my next.
I have this moment received the Catholic Advocate, con
taining a full report of a public meeting of my friends, held
at the Union Rooms, in George Leigh Street, Manchester.
It is impossible that I should be insensible of this kindness
to me personally, but I have a still greater satisfaction, in
witnessing the continued zeal, and increasing devotion o
the cause for fearlessly and unequivocally advocating
which, I am not only honoured by a longincarcerationinthis
hell of hells (see Peep) ; but 1 am still further honoured
with the persevering and vindictive malice ofthe petty ty
rants connected with it. However, you, my worthy friends,
will do me the justice to believe, that I am incapable of
flinching from that cause, for which I have so long con
tended; and as every minute of my incarceration increases
my convictionof its injustice, so every fresh insult and indig
nity that is offered in my person, to the Radical Reformers
of England, increases my determination never to compro
mise or abandon the holy principle of Universal Suffrage
and Vole by Ballot. I am delighted to see that the Radi
cals of the north can depend upon the insertion of Radical
News in one paper, and that paper is the Catholic Advo
cate. Since the time the Manchester Observer was the
property of Mr. Wroe, and edited by Mr. Saxton, the Radi
cals have had no public newspaper so honestly to advocate
their .cause as the Catholic Advocate.
I am very sorry to hear that Mr. Johnson's cruel suffer
ings in Lincoln Castle have brought on him a pul
monary complaint; thank God, the end of his imprison- -
ment draws very nigh. He has sustained an irretrievable
loss, and under such circumstances it was rendered trebly

15
distressing — my heart wept drops of blood for him. Shall
his hardened and unfeeling persecutors escape vengeance ?
forbid it, Heaven !
I am, my beloved Friends,
Your's sincerely,
H. HUNT.
In No. 14, which will be published on the 15th of April,
I shall give some account of the Water of the gaol. After
10 months' expostulation the well of my ward was opened,
and lo ! it communicated direct with the common sewer,
the offal ofthe whole gaol ; also, in digging a new well, I
shall describe the digging off a dead man's head and shoul
ders, about 2£ feet under ground. I believe I have called
this Mausoleum my Sepulchre, I may now add that of
Golgotha. I am much pleased to see that Mrs. Fildes, and my other
female Reform friends at Manchester, entertain, in common
with all mankind, a just sense of indignation against the
unnatural conduct of the Visiting Justices. How could it be
otherwise. — But what will they say when I inform them
that the present three gentlemen, backed by the new
Sheriff, have construed the order even more odiously than
it was intended, for they have gone so far as to prohibit a
woman from coming once a week to clean my room, and
I am obliged to scour it myself, or go as filthy as the rest
of the gaol. Only look at the morality of this gaol in the
Peep, the Peep, the Peep.

TO WILLIAM HANNING, ESQ.
High Sheriff of the County of Somerset.
Sir,
We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, freeholders,
other landholders, and inhabitants, male and female, ofthe

16
county of Somerset, many of us who pay directly towards
the enormous county rate, and all of us who pay our share
of the same in the price of the bread we eat and the
beer we drink, beg leave to call your attention to the
state of our county gaol at Ilchester, and the suffer
ings and privations of the prisoners confined therein ; and
particularly we address ourselves to you, Sir, as High
Sheriff, upon the treatment of those prisoners who are
consigned to your immediate custody ; first, the debtors ;
second, Mr. Hunt, a state prisoner, sentenced by the Court
of King's Bench, for the protracted period of two years
and six months, for having accepted the invitation of
his distressed fellow countrymen, and presided at a peace
able and orderly meeting at Manchester, on the never-to-
be-forgotten 16th of August, 1819, in order to petition the
Legislature for a legal and constitutional Reform in Par
liament; and last, all those prisoners who are sentenced
to the county gaol, and who not being in the House of
Correction, we presume the law has placed them in your
immediate and safe custody, as Sheriff of the county.
It has been represented to us, and pretty generally
believed — First, that the prison is supplied with very bad
water; second, that the prisoners are crowded together
in great numbers, without sufficient room and air, in con
sequence of the very small county gaol of Ilchester hav
ing had added to it, within its already too circumscribed
walls, the House of Correction, which at some periods
have increased the number of inmates to nearly three
hundred persons, confined and huddled together within
the space of one acre of land, being surrounded and inter
sected with high walls, which, together with a neglect of
cleanliness, has produced for many years an alarming
epidemic gaol fever.
aIt has also been confidently asserted, that the persons

1?
whose misfortune it is to be committed to this gaol for
debt, are, in consequence of the above circumstances
crowded together, and thrust in great numbers into the
same bed-room to sleep — that they are locked up in a very
small yard, which is rendered still more incommodious
from a considerable portion of it being appropriated to the
gaoler's private use as a garden. That the debtors are
prevented seeing their friends for more than three hours
in the day, and then only in a small public room, never
being permitted to visit them in their own rooms. That
the poor debtors are not allowed to purchase any beer or
cider — and that they are absolutely prohibited from
receiving a pint of beer or cider, as a gift, from a friend or
relation. They are never allowed to see their wives in
private, which leads to scenes which are disgraceful to
human nature, and too revolting to mention here. That
such is the inconvenient and confined state of this gaol,
for which such an immense sum is annually appropriated
. out of the county rate, that some of the debtors, and even
sick persons, for want of an hospital, are placed in solitary
cells, the usual abode of refractory felons and convicts,
and that other debtors are actually placed amongst the
convicts and felons, contrary to the statute, prohibiting
such intermingling.
We further beg to state, as a notorious fact, that
Henry Hunt, Esq. a state prisoner, sentenced for a poli
tical offence, for a lengthened imprisonment in our county
gaol, was treated with unnecessary and vindictive harsh
ness, and amongst other things cruelly excluded from the
society of his family, till he was relieved by the manly
and humane interference of Sir Charles Bampfylde, the
late Sheriff, who directed that he should be treated with
proper attention, and that his friends should be allowed
to see him at reasonable hours in the day time ; and we

18

lament to hear, that, since the late worthy Sheriff went
out of office, Mr. Hunt has been subject to the same
privations and ill-treatment ; and, to the disgrace of the
county of which we are inhabitants, that his family have
actually been again driven from the prison, and refused
all admission to him.
We, therefore, beg most respectfully, but earnestly, to
call your immediate attention to these grievances, that
you, who have not only the power, but whose duty it is,
will have them investigated, and if found true, removed
and remedied. And we further trust that you will,
without delay, rescue our county from the disgraceful
stigma of suffering the prisoners confined within the gaol
thereof, to be treated with less humanity and comfort than
they are in other gaols. And lastly, should any political
bias prevent you from treating Mr. Hunt with that libe
rality to which we think he is entitled — yet, for the "
character of the high official situation you hold, we con
fidently hope that you will render him at least justice, and
take care that, while he is in your custody, he is Dot
deprived of the society of his family, and those necessary
comforts which are allowed to captives of his class in other
prisons all over the kingdom.

T. Dolbv, Printer, E99, Strand.

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CLARENCES DREAM; or, BILLY BINNACLE receiving
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TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE ano FEMALE,
oe
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.
Ilohester Bastile, 26th day, 7th month, 2nd year of the Manchestbr
Massacre, without retribution or enquiry.
AprU 11, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
Since my last address, the despots, the tyrants of the
earth, have obtained a momentary victory; but they may
depend upon it, that their savage joy at their triumph in
Naples will only be transitory ; the spirit of Liberty is
abroad, and it is beyond the power of tyranny to destroy
it. The dastardly, braggart, cowardly Neapolitans have
deserted their standard, the standard of Liberty, and may
all the horrors of remorse afflict their guilty souls ; and in
addition to their own galling chains, may the heart
rending groans of every victim of tyranny in the universe
eternally haunt their cowardly consciences, till they are
driven to madness and despair, so that they may bury
themselves and their deadly invaders in one common grave !
But, my friends, we will not despair; the Radical Re
formers of England, Ireland and Scotland, have nothing
to fear, but their own imprudence and rashness, arising
from impatience. Once more, my friends, let me entreat
you to act with caution. Do not suffer yourselves to be
drawn into any snare, either by wicked spies, or indiscreet.
and imprudent,though zealous friends to the eause of Liberty.
Let me implore you to have patience a little; the cause of
Reform is working every day greatly in our favour, its
2 A

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

enemies are driven into a corner, and nothing but a plot,
a spy plbt, or an indiscreet and hasty movement of the
Reformers, can possibly retrieve them from their difficulties,
or save them from certain and inevitable discomfiture.
I am the more serious and correct in this advice, my
friends, in consequence of a letter which I have received
from a worthy and excellent friend of Liberty and Reform,
at Hulme, near " Bloody Manchester;" for so he always
dates his letters to me. This gentleman has enclosed me
a copy of a " Declaration," professing to be the " Decla-
" ration of the Reformers of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Che-
" shire, and Derbyshire, by the Committee appointed for
" the purpose of forming a declaration of their sentiments,
" concerning the measures necessary to promote the
"freedom of the country." This paper is drawn up with
considerable ability, and it contains some very excellent
abstract as well as practical notions of Liberty. Its object
appears to be to get the Reformers to demand a Constitu
tion, which would give them a pure elective republic.
And this is done under the plea that no one knows what
the British Constitution is. Then it goes on to state of
what this Constitution should consist. But, before I say
one word or give any opinion of the principles contained
in 'this document, there is one simple plain question ne
cessary to be answered, namely — pray who are the gen
tlemen that compose this Committee? And who has
appointed them to form a Constitution for the whole
nation ? Good heaven ! this is one of the most sweeping
acts of despotism that ever emanated from the brain of
mortal man. I have no hesitation in saying, that those
who openly adopt this declaration, must be prepared at
once to defend it, by taking up arms to resist the present
Government, for it is an open act of rebellion against the
present form of Government. This document was com-

municated to me before, but, as such traps have been so
often and so repeatedly spread to catch me, 1 had no
doubt at the time it was sent me, but it was one of a
nature similar to those of Franklin's manufacture. But
now that I find it seriously talked of, and sanctioned by
good and worthy men, 1 should be unworthy the confi
dence that the Reformers have hitherto placed in me, if I
did not at once caution them against being hastily led into
the adoption of any such measure. Lord Castlereagh
would be in extacy, he would be delighted to find such
a measure as this adopted by the Reformers ; it is just such
a plan as he wants at the present moment; it would be
a sanction to him for all that he has done, or all that he
may hereafter do, against the liberties of the country.
Mark me well, my friends, the main principles con
tained in this declaration are excellent, the reasoning
is just in the abstract ; but there is one little error, or, so
berly speaking, there is one monstrous and overwhelming
error, which is this: — These Gentlemen, this Committee,
chosen by God knows who, and coming from God knows
where, have, in their kindness, had the modesty to form
and promulgate a CONSTITUTION for the whole people
of England, and then they say that the whole people shall
choose Representatives annually to administer this Con
stitution, framed by this Committee. What absurdity !
What injustice!! What a tyrannical measure!!! Can
any thing be more ridiculous and despotic at once than
such conduct? It is beginning just at the wrong end.
Instead of this Committee taking upon itself the task of
forming a Constitution for the whole people of England,
the whole people of England ought to elect Representa
tives, to define what our present Constitution is, and how
it should be administered ; and if it should be found not
to be calculated for the benefit of the whole, then the

representatives of the whole people Would be justified iri
forming a new Constitution, or re-modelling of the old
one. This, my friends, brings us back to what we have
always professed. Let us have a House of Commons fairly
chosen by the people, and then my worthies of the Com-
mittee, you may, if you please, submit to those represen
tatives, the propositions contained in your declaration ;
but it is downright tyranny, and the greatest impudence,
for any Committee, unless the members are chosen by the
whole people, to pretend to say what shall and what shall
not be the Constitution or laws by which the whole shall
be governed. Therefore, although this Committee should
be composed of the wisest and the best men in the king
dom, I have nothing to do with it, and particularly as the
persons composing the said Committee have not signed
their names to the paper they have put forth.
Now, my friends, you will recollect that I cautioned
you against simultaneous meetings, which led to the
hangings and transportations for High Treason. I cau
tioned you against that measure, because I knew that it
was in bad hands, that every action, every movement,
of those concerned in promoting it, was watched and
well known to the Government ; and, in fact, because the
measure was urged on by the very agents of Government.
It turned out that the spy Edwards held nightly meetings
with those who prompted you to adopt that fatal and
wanton measure. I was very much abused by some very
zealous Reformers, for having taken that step, and for
having written the letter which1 was published in Mr.
Wroe's Manchester Observer; but I say again, that I
should then have been unworthy your confidence if I
had suffered any private considerations of my own to
have interposed to prevent me from doing my duty by
you. Recollect, that I by no means insinuate that this
declaration is either drawn up or promulgated by spies. -
But, rely upon it, my friends, of all things this is the very
thing that the Spies will glory in and promote, as the
very plan of all others that will suit their purpose ; and
that those sanguine and enthusiasti- m^en who take the
lead in the measure will be sacrificed, 1 have not the least
doubt. Let us stick to the principle of Universal Suffrage

and Vote by Ballot, by which to obtain an honest Parlia
ment, and they will secure to us every blessing that Free
men can desire, or ought to enjoy.
You will not fail to remember that^Sir Francis Burdett
was almost the only Member of Parliament who would
support the Shopkeeper or Householder Suffrage, when
we first demanded Universal Suffrage in 1816. But,
though the Baronet is not come up to our mark, yet a
considerable number of Whigs have come up to his mark,
and have joined him in the plan of triennial Parliaments
and Householder Suffrage. Although these Whigs are
not to be trusted, yet it is worthy your attention, to see
them creep on, always a week's march in the rear of the
real Reformers. Look at the City Dinner, the other day,
to announce Mr. Lambton's motion and plan of Reform,
at which dinner, Sir Robert Wilson and Dr. Lushington
made some bold and patriotic speeches. 1 was, however,
very sorry to see that no man there had the courage to
propose an union with tbe people. But, if we remain
steady to our purpose, and do not fly off, they must and
will come up to us by and bye, because they will find that
they can do nothing without us. I therefore entreat the
Committee, whoever they may be, to attribute this my ad
vice to the proper motive. As to my worthy friends at
Leeds, I am not surprised at their impatience, or that their
indignation should be roused almost to madness, at the
insult that is offered to them in the Grampound Disfran
chisement Bill. Why, my friends, do not you remonstrate
against it to the House of Lords, and call upon them to
protect you from such a daring and infamous personal
outrage Upon you ? Will you patiently look on, and suffer
Mr. Stuart Wortley and my Lord John Russell to i mpose
these £20 a-year petty despots over you, and let the prin
ter, old Bains, elect a Member for Leeds, and call the
shoy-hoy your representative ? Forbid it justice and com
mon decency ! The worst Member that ever sat for Gram-
pound would be better than this.
You will have noticed the pretty farce that has been
getting up in the Honourable House upon the Catholic
Question, Mr. O'Connell's Letter to the Catholics, calling
upon them to join the Radical Reformers, has made Lord
Castlereagh look out for a " Tub to amuse the Whale."
I do not think this Bill of fresh Pains and Penalties against
the Catholics will pass ; but if it do, and if there be one
particle of good arise from it to the Catholics, let them fall

down upon their knees and thank Mr. O'Connell. If
the King should visit Ireland, and the people should be
pleased and flattered with the visit, let them all, Catho
lic and Protestant, thank Mr. O'Connell ; for, whe
ther they get Catholic Emancipation or a visit from
the King, or any concession whatever, they will be solely
indebted to the spirited and excellent letters of Mr. O'Con
nell to the Roman Catholics, calling on them to join the
Radicals, and demand Reform. This was the touchstone,
and if the Catholics follow his advice, they will, ere long,
in conjunction with us, bring their and our persecutors to
their senses.
If you have read the " Peep into this Bastile," which I
earnestly recommend you to do, you will perceive that,
though locked up within the walls of danger, I am not
unmindful ofthe sufferings of my fellow-creatures. 1 have
already effected some salutary reforms here, to wit: — The
gaoler never attended the chapel but four times during
the first eight months that I was here. In consequence
of my representations to the proper authority, he now
goes every Sunday when he is at home, Pike, the prin
cipal turnkey, never attended divine service since he has
been in that office, till within the last month ; now he at
tends regularly. The poor prisoners never had any clean
stockings for the first six or seven months, and in the sum
mer time being allowed only one pair, without a change,
' they were absolutely eaten into the flesh of many of them
with filth, till 1 represented the infamy of such treatment.
They have now got clean stockings, and I have no doubt
but I shall soon procure a change for them, that they may
sometimes have a clean pair. You will see by the letters
which I have addressed to Mr. Fowell Buxton, in the Peep,
to the Rev. Sir Abraham Elton, Bart., the Chairman of our
Quarter Sessions here,Wm. Dickenson, Esq. the member for
this county, and Aaron Moody, Esq., an active magistrate
of this district, which I shall publish in this number, that
I have paid some attention to the state of this gaol, and
that I have taken some pains to expose the faults, in order
to have them rectified. When I came here, I had been
so far imposed upon as to believe that the management of
the prisoners was conducted in a rational and humane
manner, and as long as I was treated with common decen
cy I very readily believed that other prisoners were treated
at least with humanity. But when I found that every spe
cies of unmanly and vindictive treatment was inflicted upon

me j who had in some measure the power of exposing and
making public the conduct ofthe petty tyrants, I began to
reflect what must be their treatment of poor prisoners who
had no means of making their complaints known; and
when I discovered the character of some of the Visiting
Justices, I made the necessary inquiries, and the " Peep" is
the result. I have received most polite and satisfactory
answers from Mr. Buxton, Mr. Dickenson, Mr. Moody, and
the Sheriff; all of them expressing their readiness to pro
mote an immediate inquiry into such horrible transactions,
and to rectify them without delay. Before this goes to
press, Alderman Wood will have made his motion for a
Committee of the House of Commons, to inquire into the
state of this bastile. " We shall see" the result ! At any
rate, the Magistrates ofthe county must, for the sake of
their own characters, investigate the matter, and if I have
fair play, I will not only prove all that I have stated, but a
great deal more of a similar nature, that has since come
to my knowledge. The Sheriff has appointed the nine
teenth of this month for a meeting of the Magistrates, at the
gaol, to give mean opportunity to substantiate my charges,
which I shall most readily accept. I must, therefore,
break off for the present, my friends, and
I remain,
Your's most sincerely and devotedly,
H. HUNT.
P. S. My Friends and the Public will perceive by the
" Peep," that my time has been occupied not with any
idle indulgence of my own, but for the purpose of promot
ing the comfort of others, even at the risk of my own per
sonal accommodation ; I therefore rely upon the indul
gence of my valuable correspondents, to excuse my delay
in answering their communications. Since I sent the fore
going to the press, I have learned that there are two or
three slight mistakes in the " Peep,"which the parties wish
to have rectified: namely, Sarah Hewitt says, that her
bastard is not a boy but a girl ; this inaccuracy is excus
able on the part of the Editor, when it is considered that
he had his information from the midwife. George Snook,
the musician, says, it's a fudge about " Sir David Hunter
Blair," for the tune played, was the " Devil amongst the
Taylors" when the Jailor led off with Six Foot, and Mr.
Badcocke, the woollen-draper, followed down the dance,
with Miss Fudge in the Gaol. Parson Ebrie is since dead,

and as he usually took Dummy for his partner, there will
be a great gap in our gaming table. Mr. Farmer Pester,
to whom no offence was or is intended, says, he has no
recollection of having injured the Sopha, but that if he did.,
it belongs to Mr. Bridle, and not to the County. But when
it is considered that Treganzer, the turnkey, and another
person, carried him home in the gaol bread-basket, no one
will be surprised at his not having a clear recollection of
the circumstance.
Some ladies charge the Editor of the Peep with a want
of gallantry, for insinuating that, when on a visit to the
gaoler's house, they had their linen washed by the prisoners
and did not pay for it ; they said that they always paid for
it, which may be true ; but the question is, did the county
get the money? The stocks here for the females, are not
such clumsy "things as are represented in the engraving,
although there are holes in them to manacle the women's
legs. It is not George Hillier, now residing in Yeovil, re
ferred to in the Peep, it is three or four years ago since he
was chained in a similar manner neck and heels together
in this gaol,andhe was only kept in that position/our and
not nine days.
I have only to add, that the Fifteenth of May is fast ap
proaching, and, while I am doing my duty to my suffering
fellow creatures, although in a dungeon, I trust that the
Reformers of Lancashire, who attended the Meeting on the
fatal 16th of August, will not fail individually to do their
duty, by every one of them forwarding his or her petition
to some Member of Parliament, stating what they saw
and felt on that day, that it may be presented to the Ho
nourable House. Let no one who was wounded on thatday
fail to send up a petition to Sir Robert Wilson, Alderman
Wood, Messrs. Hume, Creevey, Bennet, Hobhouse, or
some one of those Members of Parliament who have lately
shown a disposition to do their duty ; and to shew that you
are not vindictive, and that, if he has truly repented of his
past sins of omission, you will give him an opportunity, I
would even send Sir Francis Burdett one or two petitions,
so that they are not very important ones ; for if they are, I
would not trust them to him. He cannot, I think, slink
out of it now ; he must- make the motion ; and Sir Robert
and the other honest Members will speak out — therefore,
my dear Mrs. Fildes and the Female Reform Committee,
I rely upon you to make a proper exertion. Let every one
sign a single petition and send it up.

TO THE REV. SIR ABRAHAM ELTON, BART.
Sir,
I have not yet had the honour of seeing you here, in
your character, ex-officio, of Visiting Magistrate; but, as I
know information to a cultivated mind is always desirable,
I take leave to refer you for some insight into the state of
this gaol, to a statement, published by Dolby, 299, Strand;
and fearing that you only absent yourself from this place,
under the delusive idea that the prisoners here are treated
tenderly and humanely ; and also fearing that the senti
ments of Sir Isaac Coffin, delivered in his place in the
House of Commons, may rivet such opinions, I will en
deavour to undeceive you.
Tlie gallant Admiral may himself be as humane as he is
brave, and be, therefore, easily induced to believe, that
others in command possess similar qualities ; but if Sir Isaac
had heard of a human being having had an irritable blister
applied to the' already ruffled skin of his bare scalp, as a
punishment ; if he had heard of a man being drawn hands
and heels together with iron chains, and left in that painful
position, in solitude and darkness, for nine days and nine
nights, till the irons with which he was encumbered, had
sunk and nearly been buried in his' flesh; if Sir Isaac had
heard of these things, would he have eulogised the man
(does he deserve that appellation ?) who invented and
inflicted such punishments ? I believe not ! If Sir Isaac
had been within hearing of your jailor, while he was
telling Mr. Jones, an artist from Bath, and a prisoner here
for debt, who was taking his likeness, that the final
touches must be deferred for a few days, as he had a man
to flog, which occasions exhilirated his whole frame,
and always gave him such spirits as imparted to his
countenance its happiest animation, which it was desirable
to seize !
If Sir Isaac had heard such a statement, which was by
the bye expressed in the presence of a third person,
also a prisoner, would he not have execrated him who
was capable of so expressing himself? He would ! 
When you come here, pray do not forget to inquire after
the stocks, into which they occasionally place women,
because I almost feel sure you will order that machine to
be burnt at the market-cross by the hands of the hang
man: in this you will have the cordial assent of your
brother Chairman, who, it is stated, shrunk back when
2 B

so
this contrivance was exhibited to him, exclaiming, " that
in this place all the novelty and invention seemed to con
sist in implements of torture." I believe the worthy
member had just come from examining a model ofthe new
dro,p. I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient humble Servant,
H. HUNT.
P. S. Although it was foreign to my present purpose
to say ^ny thing of my own ill-treatment, yet I cannot
refrain from drawing your attention to the contrast be
tween your conduct and that of Sir John Acland; a very
short time after my arrival here, he came to visit me,
ex-officio, as Chairman of the Quarter Sessions, and
ordered me every necessary and rational accommodation.
As soon as you became chairman, you, without ever coming
to inquire into the circumstances, signed an order to
deprive me of them: but you are a Whig, Sir John Acland
is a Tory.

TO AARON MOODY, ESQ.
Sir,
It has been observed to me, that you take an active part
in all that concerns this gaol, therefore I take leave to call
your immediate attention to a bill now pending in Par
liament respecting gaols, and for the better regulation of
Gaols and Houses of Correction in England and Wales ;
this is an important measure, and the legislature ought to
be assisted by those who have any practical knowledge
of the subject. Therefore, I feel sure you will not
hesitate to contribute all in your power.
As to the present condition of this particular gaol, I
beg to call your attention to a statement published by
Dolby, 299, Strand, from your perusal of which, I am
sanguine enough to hope some good will arise.
My chief object in now addressing you, is to request
that you will take the very earliest opportunity of pro
posing in Sessions, to have produced and printed, all
accounts and vouchers of every sort, even to the most
minute, appertaining to this Gaol and House of Correction
since the period of Jan. 1816, up to the present time. I
have been a payer of county rates in Somersetshire for the

11
last twenty-five years, which I am sure you will consider
sufficient for not deeming me impertinent in making this
request; and I beg also to add, that I have it in contem
plation to suggest some most beneficial and important
sayings, as well as to detect some fraudulent practices in
this place: these are objects which 1 cannot but believe
will meet with the hearty aid and concurrence of yourself,
and all the other Magistrates of the county.
As I have my pen in my hand, perhaps, I shall meddle
with that which you will say I have nothing to do with ;
however, with a consciousness of rectitude in my motives,
I am not very scrupulous as to what other people think of
what I say or disclose.So the Magistrates have dismissed
poor Hobbs. I am not at all prepared to> say that in this
they have done wrong, they may have reasons for so
doing, of which I can know nothing, yet I fear, his very
great fault in the eyes of his accuser, was his general
humanity towards the prisoners, and his very greatest
offence, attention and civility to me; but the ostensible1
causes of his dismissal, if I am rightly informed, were, his
having been seen drunk in the gaol, and his permitting
the gaol to be kept open till unseasonable hours by Mrs.
Bridle and her company, in the absence of Mr. Bridle, and
not informing him of it on his return home. Certainly,
neither of these are to be justified ; Hobbs is offered up as
the scape-goat sacrifice, for the real offender. But I
suppose the Magistrates will pursue the inquiry further,
therefore, in the end, the great assiduity of their jailor, to
make out a case against poor. Hobbs, may prove matter
for congratulation ; however, I must tell you something
about this Hobbs that I believe you don't know, but which
I think you and the other Magistrates ought to know.
When Hobbs came here as an officer in a place of trust,
he was indebted to your jailor about 600?. including
interest since accumulated, and without the means of
paying one shilling of it ; from that period to the present,
Bridle has been in the habit of retaining a great portion
of the salary allowed to Hobhs by the county, and of late
years as much as two-thirds of its amount, to liquidate this
demand of his own against Hobbs. It may be said that
the Magistrates have nothing to do with a private affair
between Bridle and Hobbs; but can this be called a
private affair? Can it be said to be & private affair, when
the money set apart by the county for the payment of its
servants, and entrusted to the jailor to be by him dis-

12
tnbuted to subordinate officers, is cut off from its legitimate
destination, without the knowledge of the Magistrates,
who had ordered it to be appropriated to a particular
purpose, and without the consent of the person for whom
it was destined? Hobbs saw per force at last, what every
man of common sense or observation must see at first,
that diverting the salary from its legitimate purpose, ot
enabling him to fulfil the duties of the situation, was a
fraud upon his employers, for, from the want of it, he
did not perform his duty so efficiently as he could
and would have done, if he had received it: with such
feelings, Hobbs lately demanded of Bridle to cease for
some short period to detain his salary, but the latter refused
to accede to so reasonable and honest a request, and as
Hobbs was (from necessity) peremptory, it was useless for
Bridle to retain him any longer in the gaol, if the money
of the county was not, as heretofore, to go to the liquida
tion of this "old and otherwise desperate debt. The Ma
gistrates place Hobbs in a responsible situation,, where the
intromissions are of consequence and value, and they allot
to him a salary which they deem adequate to enable him
to fulfil its duties effectively, and at the same time place
him above the temptation of dishonesty: but this discre
tion of theirs is defeated by their own other servant, with
out their knowledge, and while at the same time it was
the duty of this other servant, to report to the Magistrates
this very inadequacy of, Hobbs to fulfil the duties of his si
tuation, which he (Bridle himself) occasioned. Is it pru
dent in any man's private concerns, and how much less
prudent in a public institution like this gaol, to have a ser
vant, with a wife and eight children, holding a situation
where loose property, like wool, leather, money, &c. is
passing through his hands, and yet all the while know
that he has no visible honest means of subsistence? God
forbid I should insinuate any thing dishonest against
Hobbs ; on the contrary, I have some good reason to know
and believe that he met this dilemma by partly starving
himself and family, and partly by getting into fresh debt.
In this manner has this affair gone on for many years, till
now that the debt from the task-master to the gaoler is re
duced to an amount, less than the accumulated interest
of the sum due; therefore it is not now so material to
Bridle what becomes of Hobbs.
Drunkenness is certainly a great offence in such a place
as this, and deserved a severe reprimand, if not dismissal ;

13
but had Hobbs been capable of saying any thing for him
self, he could have told the Magistrates there was ho spe
cific rule or regulation against it ; and, that if example
would sanction it, he had had that of Mr. Governor himself
many, many times over, and of so late a date, too, as within
a few weeks of Hobbs' dismissal, when he reeled home
from a neighbouring farmer's and staggered into the gaol
at five O'clochin the morning.
With regard to the other charge, Hobbs might have
told the Magistrate that he only observed Mrs. Bridle do
that in Bridle's absence, which was a constant practice
when the gaoler was at home, and, consequently, fairly
assuming it was with his consent ; in short, had the Magis
trates encouraged poor Hobbs to speak to them, and per
mitted him to go on talking in his own prosing way, they
would have heard from him a great deal of honest truth
regarding this place, which they stand much in need of,
and, perhaps, it is not yet too late. Hobbs, with all his
foibles, was a credit to the gaol, and behaved, as far as he
had it in his power, with candour towards the Magistrates,
which, by and bye, will appear to be a virtue of no little
value ; for if candour here had not been so scanty, corrup
tion could not have grown so rank.
I hope you will not deem me presumptuous if I suggest
to you occasionally, as a visiting Magistrate, to make
your visits without your intention being previously known
to any one in the gaol. So remarkable is the preparation
for your reception, that the person who waits on me comes
into my room in a morning to tell me " the Magistrates
are to be here to-day." " How do you know?" I reply.
" They are scouring the passage, Sir ; and Mr. Pike has
" ordered me to take down the towels that were hung out
" to dry." Nine times out of ten he is right; therefore,
the visiting Magistrates come to see a gaol made up for
their inspection ; whereas, if they came when the persons
here were ignorant of their intended visit, they would be
less liable to be imposed upon, and might sometimes even
be amused. There have been days on which, if they had
happened to visit, they would have seen their gaoler in his
holiday clothes: black cassimere breeches with top-boots,
a scarlet waistcoat and light green coat ; the crown of his
hat more than usually low, and its brim more than usually
broad. This figure they would have seen dancing in the
middle of their gaol with w  s and r  s from a neigh
bouring town, the drums beating and flags flying ! I

14
know you will scarcely believe, on my assertion, that so
monstrous an exhibition could ever have been made in
your gaol ; but I am sure you will believe it when it is
embodied in a report of a Committee ofthe House of Com
mons, which it certainly will be if one be appointed to in
quire into the state of this gaol.
If this letter affords you information or amusement you
shall have another, if I am apprised that this one is ac
ceptable. I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient humble servant,
H. HUNT.
P.S. When you last did me the honour of a visit, in com
pany with the present High Sheriff, you will recollect
thatl expressed a wish for an opportunity of communicat
ing some important matters relative to this gaol ; but as I
have not been honoured by a second interview, you will
find some part of it embodied in a statement just published
by Dolby, 299, Strand ; to which I beg to call your atten
tion. TO WILLIAM DICKINSON, ESQ. M.P.
Sir,
I observed with much pleasure, by newspaper reports,
that you expressed yourself in the House of Commons,
when Alderman Wood presented the petition of William
Hill, as if you wished for a committee to inquire into the
state of this gaol ; that is what an honest Member of Par
liament and a respectable country gentleman ought to do.
If you will take the trouble to read a statement of the
present condition of this place, published by Dolby, 299,
Strand, you will find circumstances therein disclosed,
which 1 feel quite sure had you known before, you could
not have quietly reposed on your pillow, 'till you had
come personally to inquire into and rectify them.
That under a pretence of classification, the females
should be separated from the male prisoners, and that
then bastards should be begotten and born and brought
up in the gaol, at the county expence, without the cir
cumstances under which all this occurs, being inquired
into and recorded, or so much as the name and identity
bf the father ascertained, would be quite incredible, if one of

15
the mothers, withher bantling-, was not now here to make
out her case. Governor M'Quarry, who, I understand, is
daily expected in this country, will be able to state,
whether or no any female convicts sent from here, were
in the last stage of pregnancy when they arrived at Botany
Bay. Is it possible that you can know that there is no, school
here for juvenile offenders, at the tender age of very
children, but that they are, as if by positive enactment,
sent to loiter about by day and sleep by night, with felons
convicted of nameless enormities?
Perhaps I shall not be able to induce you, Sir, to
believe, 'till evidence is spread before you, that when
prisoners here are in disgrace, or suffering punishment for
misbehaviour, they are on Sunday brought to chapel in
their refractory attire of fetters and hand-cuffs, placed
within the railing, and seated around the Holy Commu
nion Table ! Is there any other place of worship in this
Christian land, where a seat at the Communion Table is
marked out as being one of disgrace, dishonour, and re
proach? God forbid! — Does it require a sage to determine
whether such an exhibition in the face of a congregation
of criminals, will have a beneficial or pernicious influence
on their future lives ? certainly not ! When this spectacle
is coupled with the danger of typhus and other epidemic
fevers, whichTmust arise from a crowd of filthy persons,
with stinking dirty feet, crammed together into a chapel,
much too small to accommodate half the number, you
will see gross injustice in punishing me because I do not
frequent such a place, by illegal solitary confinement once
a week in the day time, contrary to the usage of this
prison, and without any rule or regulation, or record to
sanction it. Your jailor does not seem to relish this
chapel much better than I do, for he was only four times
there during eight months of last year, yet he did not find
leisure to conjure up any written or traditionary rule or
regulation, to interfere with his electioneering exploits
on Sunday.
As one of the judges at the Quarter Sessions, I am sure
you will not think it beneath your notice to inquire,
whether or no the sentences you pronounce are regularly
carried into effect or tampered with.
Dr. Bryar, who attends here as surgeon to the prisoners,
recommended me many months ago, to drink none of
the water in the gaol, but to get water from the river and

16
filter it, or send elsewhere for it, and I wish I had taken
his advice at first, which at last I have of necessity
adopted. After repeated representations on my part, for
the space of ten months, which were scouted, and repeated
orders from the Magistrates which were long disregarded,
the jailor was at last prevailed upon within these few
weeks, to open the wells, when it was found that part of
the contents of the common sewer of the gaol, flowed by
an aperture of several inches circumference into this well,
and probably has done so for many years past! A new well
has been sunk, and in digging for it, but a very short way
from the surface, the workmen stumbled on a human
carcass, the head and shoulders of which they cut off. I
think you will agree with me, that there is something very
far from comfortable in the idea of drinking water that
flows out of a common sewer, and filters through the eyes,
nose, and ears of a human skeleton, and something rather
ominous, in seeing mortal remains scattered up and down
the inside of a gaol.
I beg to conclude by assuring you, that I place some
reliance in your justice and integrity.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
H. HUNT.

Printed by T. Dolby, 399, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and. FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.

Ilchester Bastile, 19th day, 8th month, 2nd year of the Manchester
Massache, without retribstion or enquiry.
May 5, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
You who have read the Catholic Advocate will have
obtained some faint idea of what has been passing within
these walls, since I last addressed you in the fourteenth
Number of my Memoirs, and I will now briefly put you in
possession of the present politics of this Bastile. The
High Sheriff appointed the 1 9th of April to enter
upon an investigation ofthe conduct of Bridle, the gaoler,
in consequence of a letter I wrote to him while he was at
tending the Judges at Taunton Assizes, in which letter I
enclosed him " the Peep into this Gaol," pledging myself
to prove the allegations therein contained, if he would
give me an opportunity.
It will be recollected by you, my friends, that for the
last six months I have repeatedly and earnestly called the
attention of the Magistrates to the infamous state of this
gaol, and the enormities practised herein. This had not
the slightest effect upon them that I could ever perceive,
otherwise than that of encouraging their gaoler to heap
upon me fresh insults, inflict new indignities, and to offer
me every species of petty, low, dirty annoyance, in addi
tion to the infamous, unmanly, and ungentlemanlike re
strictions they had imposed upon me. This treatment
Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.
3 A.

was perfectly in unison with all that 1 had learned from
those prisoners who were here before me, namely, " that
"¦ any complaint of a prisoner was sure to be visited with
" punishment instead of relief or redress." You, the real
Radicals, know my character too well to believe for a mo
ment that I should be deterred from doing my duty by
such unjustifiable conduct. The farce of Visiting Magi
strates attending this gaol every now and then, had been
carried on with so much address, for such a length of time,
that I really now begin to believe that some of those gen
tlemen, who acted the leading characters, had at length
so far imposed upon themselves as to believe that their
attendance here had at least the show of justice amongst
the prisoners ; but such is the force of custom, that they
had even duped themselves in this respect. 1 do not be
lieve the most simple, the most ignorant prisoner in this
gaol could be brought to allow, that the farce of Visiting
Magistrates had even the show of justice in it: for, as
poor old Mr. Hill, who has been a prisoner here for a debt
to the Crown, of about 30L, for the last fifteen years, ad
dressed me with tears in his eyes, said," I hope you will
" succeed, Sir, in your laudable undertaking, and you shall
" have all the assistance that it is in my power to give
" you ; but, since I have been here, I never knew a pri-
" soner make a complaint to the Magistrates that ever g-ot
" any redress ; but, on the contrary, nineteen times out of
" twenty, he was visited with punishment, by fresh re-
" strictions, new privations ; and he was held to be a lucky
" fellow if he escaped being locked-up in solitary confine-
" ment." The gaoler, who is, as I have proved him, the
greatest liar that ever existed, always contradicted the
poor prisoner's statement, and as it was much easier to act
upon the gaoler's statement than to investigate the mat
ter, he, the gaoler, was always believed, and the poor pri-

soner bad generally the mortification of not only feeling
his punishment, but knowing that he was unjustly pu
nished, and was driven almost to despair because he had
no hopes of redress. Well, as you have seen, nothing
daunted by the apparently insurmountable difficulties that
presented themselves, I deliberately, perseveringly, and
resolutely proceeded, and having, by my assiduous in
quiries, ascertained the nature of some ofthe cruelties and
tortures inflicted, upon the poor prisoners, I put all my
own privations and sufferings out of the question : all per
sonal considerations and selfish feelings I cast far behind
me, and deliberately determined to expose such horrible
cruelties, and obtain redress, or perish in the attempt. I
caused the petitions of Hill and Hillier to be presented to
the House of Commons by the worthy Alderman Wood,
who I took care to furnish with such facts and documents
as could neither be controverted nor denied without ex
posing those who did so. The Worthy Alderman gave
notice of a motion for a Committee to inquire into the
state of this gaol, the day was fixed for the motion, when
the " Peep," the " Peep," was published. I sent one to
the Sheriff, and caused one to be put into the hands of
each of the Judges at Taunton, and demanded an oppor
tunity of proving the facts therein stated. The Sheriff
and Magistrates agree to investigate the conduct of the
gaoler, the House of Commons agree to address his Ma
jesty to appoint and send down a Special Commission to
inquire into the state ofthe gaol. The Sheriff and Magis
trates assemble, they call upon me to substantiate my
charges against the gaoler, which 1 laid in writing before
them, a copy of which charges I have directed Mr. Dolby
to publish in this number. The Magistrates and Sheriff
came to a determination, at my request, to examine wit
nesses upon oath, and that they would proceed in a rega-

lar way, following as nearly as possible the rules of a
Court of Justice; that I -should call all my witnesses and
examine them first, and then that Bridle, or his counsel or
solicitor, should call his witnesses for his defence. As it
was the particular desire of the Magistrates that the evi
dence should not be published till after the Quarter Ses
sions, to be holden at Wells, it was agreed upon the part
ofthe Magistrates, myself, the accuser, and Bridle the ac
cused, that neither party would publish the evidence till
after the Sessions, at which the Magistrates and Sheriff
undertook to make their report.
These preliminaries being settled, I was requested to
call my witnesses. Having briefly stated that I should
not occupy their time or waste my own by any speech, to
the surprise of all present, I believe, I called Richard Pike,
the principal turnkey, who had been Bridle's right-hand
man, and to whom he looked up to mainly to exculpate
him from the charges. Pike, although evidently an un
willing witness, brought to light such a mass of cruel
ty, &c. &c. &c. as induced Mr. White, of Yeovil, a respect
able solicitor, who acted as Bridle's advocate, to tender
the resignation of the gaoler ; and it was now intimated
to me, that if I was satisfied with this arrangement, the
Magistrates and Sheriff would proceed to make their re
port. But as I contended this formed no part of the pro
ceedings, and as this would have appeared like a compro
mise on my part, 1 declined irterfering, adding, that it ap
peared to me to be more a question for the Magistrates
whether they would suspend or commit the gaoler, not
whether his resignation was to be accepted or not, my
only object being to obtain justice for the poor prisoners,
none of whom I had yet called ; and although I had al
ready, I believe, convinced th^ Magistrates that the
" Peep" (instead of being, what some of them had repre-

sented it to be, a mere fabrication,) was only a part of the
truth, I requested that I might proceed with my witnesses,
which was readily assented to. I now requested that one
of the debtors might be called, and that the poor debtors'
charity box might be opened. This was immediately
agreed to by the Sheriff, and the keys were demanded.
After some demur and delay, they were all produced by
Mr. Gaoler, srx in number, all found to be in the posses
sion of this immaculate, honest, benevolent, and humane
gentleman. Mr. Hill, the oldest debtor, was sent for by
the Sheriff, who, with myself, the Clerk of the Peace, and
some of the Magistrates, proceeded to open it, when, lo
and behold, three keys opened it, and it was found to
contain 6l. 19s. Of dL, which was given by the Sheriff.to be
divided amongst the prisoners in the poor debtors' ward —
a circumstance that had never happened before since Mr.
Hill had been in the gaol. A letter, which was addressed
to me by the poor debtors the next day, a copy of which
I shall do them and myself the justice to have published
herein, is more than a sufficient reward for all my hazard
ous and unwearied exertions, although the situation of
the debtors, as well as all the other prisoners, is greatly
ameliorated since the investigation began. No torture
has been or will be inflicted again ; the key of the debtors'
bed-rooms is left in the door, and no one offers to prohibit
them from going there upon any reasonable occasion ;
their wives have been permitted to bring them in good
water out of the town ; and one of their wives, Mrs. Col-
lard, has been kindly permitted to bring her husband, who
was ill, some milk, upon special application to the Sheriff,
although she had been out in the town for something for
him once before that day. This, my friends, was an in
dulgence that was never before granted to a poor debtor,
and much less to any other prisoner. 1 do not despair of

< he Sheriff, by and bye, permitting these poor fellows (o
receive as a gift a little small beer, many of whom are
.suffering great bodily pain, being afflicted with the gravel,
in consequence of not being allowed any thing but the
water of the gaol, which is proverbially extremely per
nicious. I shall in this number also have inserted the Petition of
Wheeler, a poor boy of 13 years of age, wherein his
sufferings are faintly described ; which petition was
presented to the Honourable House on Wednesday last,
by the Honourable Henry Grey Bennet, and supported
by those real friends of humanity and justice, Alderman
Wood and Sir Robert Wilson. Where were the Barings*
the Fowell Buxtons, the Coffins, and the numerous
advocates of this humane gaoler, and his humane system
of classification, industry, and morality? "Not one word
to throw to a dog?" Really, my worthy friend Alderman
Wood, this was a matchless victory for you; what a
triumph over your malignant and cowardly traducers,
that all you have said in the Honourable House, all the
petitions you have presented, all your insinuations even
are admitted to be true; not one chatter-box, not one
political charlatan, not one Treasury scamp had the im
pudence nor the hardihood to contradict you. So far
from any part of the " Peep" being imaginary, it is true to
the very letter; every insinuation, every thing that was
only hinted at as a suspicion, is now proved to be a fact,
as notorious within the walls of this gaol, as the sun at
noon-day. Read the petitions of Sarah Hewett and Elisabeth
Wilkins, to the King; do pray read them, if yoii can,
without blushing, Mr. Fowell Buxton. These petitions
have been kindly forwarded by Mr. Dickinson, the Member
for this county, to Lord Sidmouth, that they may be laid

before his Majesty ; and as Mr. Dickinson appears now
disposed to make all proper and gentleman-like retribu
tion for the error that he has been led into, 1 call upon
you, Mr. Fowell Buxton, as a man of honour, a gentleman,
a philanthropist, and a statesman, to add your influence to
that of Mr. Dickinson, in endeavouring to rescue these
poor women from their hapless state.
Is Mrs. Fry, the benevolent Mrs. Fry, alive or dead,
Sir? If she be yet alive (and I pray God that the news
paper reports of her death might have originated in
mistake), what a subject is poor Sarah Hewett for her
benevolent attention. If she be unfortunately no more,
what humane benefactress of human. woe, has stepped
into her shoes? If there be such a female, down she will
come, having, with your kind assistance, first obtained a
pardon from the throne of mercy: what heavenly bliss
will enter her soul when she leads poor Sarah Hewett
out of the door of this hell upon earth, and humanely
protects her from those foul embraces Oh, Sir, if you ,
could but hear her pitiable story ! if you could have witness
ed her agonizing throbs, while she was detailing the arts
that were made use of, the threats that were held out
to induce her to submit to the embraces of your in
telligent, humane, and moral friend, the amiable and
immaculate Mr. William Bridle, the gaoler of Ilchester1
Ah, Sir, it was enough to melt the heart of a stone. But
it will be a wholesome lesson to you, Sir, to be more
careful in future how you pin your faith, and risk
your public character, your word as a man of honour,
upon the mere ipse dixit of a gaoler.
The letter I did myself the honour to address to Mrs.'
Fry, quickly obtained the release of the young female
Quaker, Miss Churcher; which letter was read by Miss
Churcher, in the presence of Mr. William Pitcher, her

neighbour, to whom she voluntarily and seriously affirmed
that every word of it was true, although she admitted
that she was induced to sign a paper as to the good
conduct of the gaoler and his officers ; but, as she em
phatically added, " / did this when I was in their power,
and not my own mistress. Although 1 never saw her but
once, I am delighted at her liberation, and she is very
grateful for my successful endeavours to assist her. The
Quakers did well to look to this, and they are entitled to
my thanks for paying such prompt attention to my repre
sentation: they are a very worthy body of people, and as
I was very happy to have it in my power to render a real
service to one of their society, by calling their attention
to the melancholy situation of Miss Churcher, so I am
very much pleased and gratified with the very flattering
and numerous acknowledgments that I have received
from respectable members, male and female, of their
society. I shall on some future day call their attention to
look a little further into the state of the male as well as
the female debtors of their friends who may be sent here.
To one of whom, William Gcss, of Street, I refer them
for the present ; he can such a tale unfold, as would
harrow up the soul of every moral man with horror; it is
much too revolting even for the private ear of any female.
I now take leave to call the serious attention of the
County Rate Payers of Somersetshire, whether
Radical or Corrupt, to the manner in which their
money is squandered in the conducting of this nota
ble establishment. As a matter of ceconomy alone,
leaving humanity out of the question, this is well
worthy their immediate and serious consideration. If
they will give me their support, and if I am allowed fair
play in examining the accounts, I have not the slightest
doubt but I shall save the pockets of the Rate Payers of

this county, at least Two Thousand a year in this ona
establishment, if it be worthy that name. And they may
rely upon it all the other gaol establishments are con
ducted in a similar profligate way. There is an old
saying " what is every one's business is no one's business."
This might have been very well for the . farmers to crack
their jokes about, ten or fifteen years back, when money
came in faster than many of them could well tell what to
do with it, but the case is altered a little now, I rather
think. I believe there are very few rack-renters now but
could find the means to dispose of ten or fifteen pounds
every year, instead of paying it towards an unnecessary
county rate. I do not know how other people in the
county find it, but as for myself, when I apply to my,
tenants to pay up tlieir rents, the answer is, " Lord, Sir,
the poor rates, out of which, mind, the county rates are
paid, are so heavy and the taxes are so high, that I cannot
make up my rent as I used to do. The day before
yesterday, I was informed that one of my tenants at
Glastonbury, was become a tenant of Bridle, our gaoler
here, and instead of paying me the last year and a halfs
rent, he now rents a bed of the said William Bridle, at
half a crown a week, in the gentlemen debtors' ward,
preparatory to his paying off all old scores with me, by
taking the benefit of the Insolvent Act. Let it be recol
lected, that although he paid the county rate, and bilked:
me out of nearly two years rent, that I had no hand in
sending him here. I have another tenant at Glastonbury,
who, when his rent became due last Michaelmas, begged'
off till Lady-day: one great excuse was, high poor rates,
out of which county rates are paid. Well, Lady-day
has arrived;, but no rent yet; he has promised me from day
to day, and has as often disappointed me; and if they all
go on in this way, I must come to county allowance
3 b

10
myself soon, end even with this 1 shall be better off than
some of you who are left yet out of gaol, and compelled
to support me by paying enormous county rales, while
many of your children are starving, and your land
lords are calling in vain and threatening to distrain
upon you for rent.
You will see by an answer tbat I received to an appli
cation that I made to the Justices assembled at the Quar
ter Sessions, that they are so tenacious of your money,
that they doubt whether^they have the power to vote a
few pounds to enable me to send for witnesses to promote
an investigation into the extravagancies as well as in
famies of this gaol. These same gentlemen can vote
thousands of your money to be squandered away annually
upon a ridiculous hobby-horse in this gaol, but they have
no power to vote a few pounds, to obtain a knowledge
of how those thousands are squandered, and how some
of them may be saved; and so it will go on, I suppose, as
long as you pay up your rents ; the question is, whether
the county rates are worth your notice. But as poor old
Hill says, " these Magistrates have always appeared to
him to possess unlimited power to inflict punishment
upon the prisoners, and to make all sorts of restrictive
and arbitrary laws, to curtail the convenience and com
forts of the prisoners ; but the moment any of them applied
for relief, all their power is gone in an instant," they have
no power, forsooth, to do an act of justice or humanity;
all their power is at an end the moment a poor prisoner
wishes to have his restrictions taken off.
jit is a very curious fact, and well worthy of notice, that
those who have acted the most hostile to me are Whigs,
it was a Whig Jury that found me guilty at York, of half
a count only, to be sure; when I came here, Sir John
Acland, a thick and thin supporter ofthe present Ministers ,

11
came to visit me, and afforded me every rational accom
modation that the place would admit of. The moment he
resigned his situation as Chairman of the Quarter
Sessions, and the Reverend Parson, Justice, Baronet, Sir
Abraham Elton, a notorious Whig, filled his situation of
Chairman, the most infamous, unmanly, and ungentle
manlike restrictions and privations were inflicted upon
me, without his having ever come to see me. The present
Sheriff is also a Whig, and he has no power to relieve me,
notwithstanding the honourable example of his predeces
sor, Sir Charles Bampfylde. The fact is, that the Minis
ters, the Tories, sent me to gaol, but they acted something
like gentlemen towards me ; but it was left for the Whigs
to wreak their dirty, petty malice upon a prisoner in their
custody. After all, tyrannical as the present Ministers are,
they are incapable of lending themselves to such mean,
dirty, groveling acts as the base Whigs are guilty of.
To-morrow, the Sheriff and Magistrates meet again to
proceed with the investigation ; they really appear anxious
to come at the truth, at least the Sheriff and some of
the Magistrates are, although others appear equally
anxious to smother it. The motto with some is, " we must
" protect our own officer." However, " we shall see"
by and bye. Mr. Alderman Wood writes n>e word that
the Special Commissioners are appointed by the Crown,
to investigate the state of this gaol. 1 do not think they
will be able to humbug the country as the Special Com
missioners did at Lincoln Gaol. At all events I shall be
upon the spot, and 1 shall soon see what course they mean
to pursue. The Commissioners names are Munday, Phelps,
and Estcourt. 1 know who the latter gentleman is well,
he is a Member for Devizes, and married a niece of Lord
Sidmouth's; the two former 1 do not know, therefore I

12
shall be obliged to any one who does know them, to
favour me with particulars.
I have desired Mr. Dolby to insert two Addresses that
have been forwarded to me here, one from Leeds, and the
other from Wakefield, in Yorkshire, the former signed
by nearly Ten Thousand names, and the latter by a
number equivalent to the size of the town; that from
Leeds was accompanied with ten pounds, and that from
Wakefield, with five pounds, towards the payment of
some of my expences in the cause of Liberty, and in the
defence ofthe People's Rights. I am very sensible of the
kindness of the real Radicals all over the kingdom ; my
greatest pride is to possess their confidence, and my
greatest solace and support under my sufferings is to
know, that I never have and never will betray it. I have
been so incessantly occupied in preparing evidence for the
investigation of those charges which I have made against
the gaoler, that I have not even had time to answer the
letters of my own family, therefore my friends must excuse
me for not answering their letters, particularly my friends "
at Manchester, Bolton, Warwick, &c. &c.
I am very much indebted to those who have poured in
information relative to the infamies so long practised
in this gaol, as well as at Shepton Mallet and Taunton.
The conduct of the Shepton Mallet jailor and turnkeys
has already attracted the attention of the Sheriff and
Judges, and some of the injured parties have been with
me, and are gone to London to lay their cases before the
Legislature and the Court of King's Bench. Those who
have been so cruelly treated, should get some one to
draw up petitions for them, and send them to Alderman
Wood, Mr. Bennet, Sir Robert Wilson, Mr. Hume, or
Mr. Fowell Buxton.
The young man who was so cruelly treated and died in

13
consequence, last week, at Stoke-lane, should hav..> had a
Coroner's Inquest held on his body at all events, notwith
standing the reason assigned why it was not done ; the
Coroner being the brother-in-law of the gaoler, was no
excuse for the parish neglecting their duty.
My Friends and the Public may expect to have the
whole of the evidence, taken upon oath before the Sheriff
and Magistrates, printed, the moment that the investiga
tion is concluded, or the moment there is any hitch in
the proceedings, as I have got it all prepared and ready for
the press ; and as it is quite proper the public should know
what has been going on within the walls of this Bastile
for so many years. I shall have to attend the Magistrates
in two hours from this time, and shall then learn whether
they mean to promote the investigation of the truth, or
whether they wish to smother it. " We shall see" whe
ther they have the will to send for witnesses, who have
been their servants in this gaol, or not ; as for the power,
that is quite out of the question.
I am, my Friends, your's most faithfully,
H. HUNT.

THE PETITION OF JOHN WHEELER.
To the Honourable, the Commons of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parlia
ment assembled ;
The Humble Petition of John Wheeler , a poor friend
less Boy, of thirteen years of age, confined in His
Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester, in the County of So
merset,
Most humbly Sheweth,
That your Petitioner's Father having been transported
for poaching, your Petitioner was reduced to the greatest

14
wretchedness and poverty, and when he was between
eleven and twelve years of age, he was tempted, by dire
necessity and pinching want, to steal a pair of worsted
stockings, to cover and hide his nakedness, which he saw
lying at a door as he passed along the street, for which
offence he was unfortunately sentenced at the Quarter
Sessions to be confined to hard labour in this gaol for two
years : that during the flood which inundated this gaol in
the winter of 1819, as your Petitioner was passing through
the Back -yard, to his ward, with another boy, they saw
some onions floating upon the water, and wading up to
their knees they saved a few of them from being washed
away in the stream ; for which they were charged by the
Governor wilh stealing his onions, and for which offence
your Petitioner was punished by eight days and nights so
litary confinement in a cold, dark, damp cell, that never
had a fire-place in it ; and it being extremely severe wea
ther your Petitioner suffered most dreadfully by catching
a bad cold, from the effects of which he did not recover for
several months after. Having complained of this treat
ment, an advantage was taken to punish your Petitioner
some time afterwards, by placing him in the stocks all
day long for the space of one week, in which position he
was obliged to work in great pain ; this punishment was
inflicted merely because another boy had tripped up your
Petitioner's heels in play. At the end of this time your Pe
titioner was taken before the Visiting Magistrates, Aaron
Moody, Esq. and the Reverend Dr. Colston, when Mr.
Moody proposed to forgive your Petitioner, but Dr. Colston
wished to have him flogged, and your Petitioner was at last
forgiven. Very soon after this, your Petitioner was (in the
month of December last) most wrongfully charged with
having broken a hole in the bottom of a fellow prisoner's
old saucepan, value about sixpence, and because your Pe
titioner would not fell a lie, and beg pardon ofthe Go-

Vernor for an offence which he had never committed, and
of which there never was the slightest proof offered against
him, your Petitioner was ordered into solitary confinement
in a cold, damp, dark cell, where he was kept for sixteen
days and nights! and during the first twelve days and
nights, your Petitioner's hands were fastened behind him
with hand-bolts, which caused him to suffer excruciating
torture ; the pain inflicted by continuing for such a length
of time in this racking position, together with the extreme
inclemency ofthe season, caused your Petitioner almost to
perish with pain, cold, and hunger, which drove him
nearly to a state bordering upon desperation. At the end
of your Petitioner's twelve days and nights of indescriba
ble misery, his hand and wrists had not only greatly swolen
but were completely raw, by the iron hand-bolts having en-
tirelyeaten through the skin,and partly eaten into the flesh;
they were then taken off, and after your Petitioner had
been continued there for four days and nights longer, till
his wounds were partly healed, he was restored to the
ward with his fellow-prisoners. When your Petitioner
was released from this melancholy and afflicting position,
he felt almost as much pain in endeavouring to bring his
arms into their natural state, as he had before suffered from
their being fastened in an unnatural position ; and in con
sequence of having his sinews and muscles so over-stretch
ed, for such a length of time, your Petitioner has never
aince had the proper use of his hands and arms, and he con
stantly feels pain in following his work as a weaver, of
which pain he has been fearful of complaining, from the
dread of being punished in a similar manner again. Your
Petitioner, when he came here, could read pretty well, but
as there is no school, and no one to instruct him in this
place, he has nearly forgotten what little of learning that
he had acquired when he was sent to this prison. But

16
your Petitioner has been placed in a common ward, with
men and boys convicted of all sorts of crimes, felon con
victs committed for robbery, house-breaking, uttering
base money, and amongst others your Petitioner has work
ed in the same shop, and remained in the same ward as the
associate of John Kew, who was sentenced to death at the
late assizes for robbery and intended murder, and who is
left for execution, and is expected to suffer the sentence of
the law every day: your Petitioner slept in the same bed
with a felon convict by night; worked in the same shop,
and eat and drank in the same room by day, with felons,
convicts, house-breakers, shoplifters, and utterers of bad
money, amongst whom your Petitioner has heard more
crimes boasted of and explained, than he ever heard talked
of or ever thought of before he came here. Your Petiti
oner, therefore, prays, that your Honourable House will
take his case into your most serious consideration, and that
you will cause a full, fair, and open investigation of all the
cruelties and tortures inflicted upon defenceless prisoners
who have the misfortune to be committed to this horrible
gaol, and protect them from similar cruel treatment in fu
ture, by the lawful punishment of those who have been
guilty of such inhuman offences; but your Petitioner hav
ing felt what it is, to suffer the horrible, agonising, inde
scribable pangs of torture, therefore most humbly and
earnestly implores your Honourable House, not to award
such a punishment as that of torture to be inflicted even
upon his remorseless persecutors: and your Petitioner fur
ther prays your Honourable House to protect him from
being punished by the Governor, or his officers, because he
has sent this Petition to be presented to your Honourable
House. And your Petitioner will, as in duty bound, ever pray,&c.
The mark of JOHN Vi WHEELER.

17
THE PETITION OF SARAH HEWETT.
To His most Gracious Majesty George the Fourth,
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland ;
The humble and dutiful Petition of Sarah Hewett, a
convict, under sentence of transportation, in his
Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester, in the County of So
merset,
Most humbly sheweth, a
That your Petitioner was convicted at the Spring
Assizes, held at Taunton in the year 1817, of felony, on
proof that she had a small quantity of table-linen in her
box belong-ing to her master, Mr. Sommers, for which
crime your Petitioner was sentenced to seven years', trans
portation, and was sent back to this gaol, where she has
remained ever since in a state of uncertainty more to be
dreaded than death itself. That your Petitioner being a
good cook, was removed into the house of Mr.- William
Bridle, the gaoler, to act in that capacity as his servant ;
after remaining there for some time, giving great satisfac
tion both to her master and mistress, the former took ad
vantage of the power he possessed, and by alternate pro
mises and threats, he, at length, induced your Petitioner
to give up her person to his embraces: the fruit of this, in
tercourse was a female child, born about two years back,
which child has remained in the prison with your Petitioner
ever since. That.the gaoler, by the same or similar means,
prevailed upon your Petitioner not to disclose that he was
the father of the child ; and he contrived that your Petiti
oner should never be brought before the Magistrates to
be questioned upon the subject. That your Petitioner,
with the exception of this misfortune, has always conduct
ed herself since she has been confined in this gaol with

18
strict propriety ; and she has never been punished or even
reprimanded, during the four years and one month she has
been imprisoned since her trial. Your Petitioner pros
trates herself before your Majesty, and most humbly sub
mits her forlorn and hapless situation to the humane and
benevolent consideration of the King, to whom she can
only look up as the fountain of that mercy which she most
humbly implores may be extended to her under her pecu
liar and unfortunate situation. Your Petitioner, therefore,
most earnestly and most humbly implores your most gra
cious Majesty, to extend to her that pardon which to your
Royal clemency may seem most meet, so that your Pe
titioner may be enabled to affiliate her child, and to make
that retribution to the character of the Magistrates which
she has never yet had the power of doing.
And your Petitioner will, as in duty bound, ever pray, &e.
The mark of SARAH X HEWETT.

Witness, ^ Mrs' Elj^j;™ °AVIS'

THE PETITION OF ELIZABETH WILKINS.
To His most Gracious Majesty George the Fourth,
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland ;
The humble and dutiful Petition of Elisabeth Wil'
kins, a convict, in his Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester,
in the County of Somerset, under a sentence of seven
years' transportation,
Most humbly sheweth,
That your Petitioner was sentenced at the Spring
Assizes, held at Taunton in the year 1817, to seven years'
transportation, for having a gold ring, value seven shillings

Ht
and sixpence, in her possession, which was afterwards
proved to have been stolen. That your Petitioner has now
been confined/oiw years and one month in this gaol, since
her trial,.during which time she has suffered the greatest
hardships and privations : that about two years back, she
acted as nurse to Sarah Hewett, a fellow prisoner, who be
came pregnant in the gaol, and gave birth to a female
child, who with its mother, who is under sentence of
transportation, is still here : that your Petitioner was in
duced to conceal the fact which Hewett had disclosed to
your Petitioner during her illness, and often since confirm
ed, that Mr. William Bridle, the gaoler, was the father of
the child, for fear of being sent by him to Botany Bay:
that your Petitioner was employed between six and seven
years at the Post-office, at Chard, in this county, and she
was never accused of any dishonesty in her life till this
unfortunate affair, and she received the most unequivocal
testimony from her employer, Mr. Charles Tucker, the
Master of the Post-office, at Chard, as to her honesty and
good character: that your Petitioner's husband, Jonathan
Wilkins, has served your Majesty zealously and faithfully ,
as a marine, for upwards of eleven years, on board the Im
pregnable, the Revolutionaire, and other of your Majes
ty's ships of war. Your Petitioner, therefore, most ear
nestly implores your Majesty, who is the fountain of mercy,
to take her case into your most gracious consideration,
and she humbly prays that her lengthened imprisonment,
during which time she has conducted herself with proprie
ty, may induce your Majesty to extend to her that most
gracious pardon which is alone in your power to grant.
And your Petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.
ELIZABETH WILKINS.
-..,.. i Mrs, Elizabeth Davis,
Witness, ^ Matron.

20

LETTER FROM WILLIAM HANNING, ESQ. HIGH
• SHERIFF, TO HENRY HUNT.
The following Letter from William Hanning, Esq. the
High Sheriff of the County of Somerset, was sent to Mr.
Hunt, in reply to a Letter tent by Mr. Hunt to the High
Sheriff, inclosing a copy of the "Peep into Ilchester
Gaol."
" To H. Hunt, Esq. Gaol, Ilchester.
" SIR, Dillinglon, April ]0t,h, 1821.
" To render equal justice to the honour of the county,
to Mr. Bridle, the accused, and you, the complainant, I
have given orders to Mr. Bridle to permit such prisoners
of either ward, whom you may think requisite to examine
respecting the alledged abuses proposed to be investi
gated on the 19th, to be brought to your Room, or the
Visiting Room, to enable you to take their informations ;
the names of such prisoners whom you may wish to ex
amine, you will first deliver to Mr. Bridle, in writing ; but
that order cannot extend to more than two persons at one
time. I am, Sir, your obedient, &c.
" WILLIAM HANNING."
On which occasion Mr. Hunt informed a Friend — " 1
lost not a moment in accepting- this offer, notwithstanding
that Iknew nothing of the fate of Alderman Wood's motion
for a Committee of the House of Commons, for I am and
was prepared to substantiate all the' charges contained in
the " Peep," before it was published, without the oppor
tunity of previously examining the prisoners ; but with
this facility I am prepared to go into it at a week's notice,
as he desires ; and shall not refuse to give the Sheriff and
Magistrates an opportunity to do equal justice now, al-

•21
though the offer would have come with a much better
grace, if my repeated applications for inquiry had been
attended to before it had assumed so serious a shape in the
House of Commons. However, if the Sheriff continue
to act up to the spirit of this letter, I wiil not complain of
any delay that has taken place heretofore. I cheerfully
join issue with the Sheriff's declaration, " Equal Justice"
— this is all I want or ask for.
" I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,
" H. HUNT."

Charges preferred against Mr. Wm. Bridle, the Gaoler
of the. County, and Governor of the House of Correction
in his Majesty's Gaol at Ilchester, in the County of So
merset, by Henry Hunt, Esq. a prisoner confined in
the County Gaol, under a Sentence ofthe Court of King's
Bench, for two years and six months, for attending
a peaceable Meeting al Manchester , August \6th, 1819.
First — Gross neglect of duty.
Second — Drunkenness within and without the gaol.
Third — Gambling in the gaol with the prisoners.
Fourth — Swearing blasphemous and shocking oaths in
the gaol.
Fifth — Neglecting to attend Divine Service.
Sixth — Opening the gaol doors during the election, and
admitting the populace with flags, colours, and bands of
music ; dancing, himself and others, with the women of
the town; giving them liquor and making them drunk,
and all this in the presence and sight of some ofthe felons
and other prisoners, and within the hearing of the whole.
Seventh — Cruelty and injustice to the prisonefs, male
and female, and amongsi. other things, withholding from

them, during sickness and fevers, meat, wine, and other
necessaries allowed by and charged to the county, and
appropriating them to the use of himself, his family, and
visitors. Eighth — Permitting at other times these necessaries,
charged to the county, and intended for the sick prisoners,
to pass through the hands of his brother and sister-in-law,
the task-master and mistress, who had a large family of
children, that he knew were deprived of the common ne
cessaries of life, in consequence of his having stopped back
and withheld half their salary which the county had al
lowed them, and applied it, without their consent, to pay
offa real or pretended claim of his own.
Ninth — For inflicting torture on the prisoners, male and
female, and infants.
Tenth — For compelling boys and men, for misdemean
ours, to associate with, to work, and even sleep with felons,
convicts, housebreakers, forgers, coiners, and even making
boys sleep with a man convicted of beastiality.
Eleventh — For compelling decent and well-behaved
though unfortunate women, convicted of misdemeanours,
to associate and sleep with felons, convicts, criminals of
all sorts, convicted of uttering forged notes, base coin,
street- walkers diseased and infectious, to the great in
jury of their morals, comfort, and health.
Twelfth — For suffering male and female prisoners to
mingle together under his own roof, and their bastards to
be supported at the county expense, without bringing
them before the Magistrates to be sworn to the fathers,
and being strongly suspected not only of connivance,
but of participating in such irregularities.
Lastly — For conniving at the prisoners being imposed
upon ; 'of knowing that they had nothing but bad water to
drink, and refusing their having other water, although he

knew it was unwholesome and pernicious ; and, in fact, of
having been guilty of all those things charged in a publi
cation called " A Peep into Ilchester Bastile," with the
exception of one or two errors of the press.
H. HUNT.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Poor Debtors' Ward, Ilchester Gaol,
SIR, April 17 th,] 821.
We, the poor Prisoners confined in this gaol for debt,
take this early opportunity of returning you our grateful
and heartfelt thanks for the Inquiry which you have
caused lately to be instituted into the conduct of William
Bridle, the gaoler of this gaol, and for your having al
ready brought to light some of the most gross enormities
that have ever disgraced the inquisition of this or any
other Christian country — but more especially as it con
cerns us, in your causing the box containing donations for
the poor debtors, yesterday, to be opened, and the con
tents thereof distributed amongst us by the High Sheriff
for theflrst time ; for, disgraceful as it may appear to them,
who ought to have regularly distributed the money, the
oldest Debtor amongst us, and who has been confined
nearly fifteen years, never knew the, poor box to have
been opened before for our relief; although, for the ap
pearance of fairness, six keys belong-ed to the box, for re
ciprocal checks on its contents, yet they were all found in
the possession of the gaoler ; and a benevolent public will
be greatly astonished to find that the accumulated dona
tion for so many years amounted to only 6l. 19s. Ofof. We
have been thinking amongst ourselves of the propriety
of inserting an advertisement in the public papers, to ap
prize the charitable donors to our box of its accumulated ^

contents', in hopes at the same time to ascertain from them
something like the amount of what we must have unfairly
been deprived of. We earnestly request, for the sake of
humanity, that you will persevere in the great work you
have undertaken, and that you will call on us in support of
those charges which apply to the Poor Debtors' ward,
which we are able to prove to the very letter. Your ex
ertion in our behalf is the first ray of hope which has
beamed upon us since our having been immured in this
most horrible dungeon; and we hope and trust they will
be followed up by an inquiry into other gaols, where we
have every reason to believe similar abuses exist.
Thousands will have cause to bless your endeavours, but
,none will ever fee! more* grateful than
Your devoted and obliged servants,
CHARLES HILL, committed May 20, 1806, for balance of
34/. to the Grown, for Taxes.
THOMAS GILLINGHAM, committed February 6, 1819, for
debt of 352.
NATHANIEL HODGES, committed January 19, 1820, for
debt of 202. and upwards.
NICHOLAS COLLARD, committed March 19, 1820,' for
debt of 97/.
CHARLES BARTLETT, committed April 9, 1820, for a
debt of 101.
HENRY CHILD, committed May 10, 1820, for a debt of -201.
WILLIAM MATHEWS, committed May li, 1820, for a
debt of 70/.
WILLIAM RAYNES, committed May 30, 1820, for a debt of
501.
• ¦ JOHN GEORGE, Jx! his mark, committed August 17, 1820,
for a fine of 29/. for a breach ofthe Excise Laws.
GEORGE GOODMAN, X his mark, committed September
18, 1820, a fine of 15/. 10s. for selling cyder without a
licence.
JOSEPH ATKINS, X his mark, committed September 31,
1820, a fine of 15/. I9s. for ditto.

2.5
ISAAC VICKERY, X his mark, committed October 9, 1820,
a fine of 161. for selling cyder without a licence.
' EDWARD CROUCH, X his mark, committed January 93,
1821, for a debt of 3/. 10s. 9rf,
P. S. There are three more men in this ward, who con
sider themselves under the immediate controul of the Ma
gistrates and the Gaoler, therefore they refuse signing
their names to any document. — Their names are, John
Hayes, the Gaoler's constable of this ward ; Robert Ro
gers, and George Calley — all- three confined for breaches
against the Excise laws.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
The Address of the Radical Reformers of Leeds, in York
shire.
SIR,
We, the undersigned Inhabitants of Leeds and its vici
nity, in the County of York, beg leave most respectfully
to address you, and to assure you that your great exertions
in the cause of Liberty are remembered with the most
lively gratitude and admiration. Your undeviating course,
and the intrepid manner in which you have at all times ad
vocated the rights and liberties of our country, regardless
of contending factions, who would sacrifice the best inter
ests ofthe country at the shrine of despotic power ; have pro*-
duced in our minds a firm conviction of your being worthy
of the esteem of every true friend to Liberty; for when de*
serted by those who ought to have protected them, you
nobly came forward and advocated the right of the people
to Radical Reform.
And while we lament the loss which the country sus
tains by your unjust confinement within the walls of a
dungeon at this momentous crisis, while the guilty au
thors of th? atrocious massacre are at large, and no inquiry
3 D

26
made into their conduct on the ever-memorable outrage
Upon the people, who were lawfully assembled to discuss
and to state their wrongs and grievances — it is with heart
felt satisfaction we contemplate, that in your memorable
trial at York, you displayed those abilities and that cou
rage which manifestly pointed you out as a person in whom
the people could rely for the ultimate recovery of their
rights. You were before endeared to the people by your gene
rous disinterestedness, in coming forward on various im
portant occasions, and exposing the vile machinations of
the people's enemies ; but now you are doubly endeared
to them by your sufferings in their common cause ; and,
while we would condole with you on your sufferings (for
we are assured that the conscious rectitude of your conduct
will sweeten the bitter cup which your oppressors have
filled for you, and the benignant rays that beam from your
virtues will enliven the gloom of your dungeon with a ra
diance that the courts and palaces of your enemies could
not possibly bestow), we also wish to express the plea
sure and satisfaction which we derive from perusing the
Memoirs of your own Life — the active and impressive
scenes you there delineate, accompanied by the reflections
of experience, and written in language, at once simple,
eloquent, and convincing, cannot fail to entertain, instruct,
and improve your readers. Your able addresses, also,
to the Radical Reformers generally, are altogether so
many proofs of unabated ardour and anxiety for the liber
ties and happiness of your countrymen, and at the same
time shewing to your oppressors, that dungeons, privations,
and tortures can neither damp your courage nor diminish
your activity. We exult in the defeat of the base designs
of your enemies, for while they intended to degrade you
in the opinion of the people, they have increased the pubr

27
lie confidence in your principles, your integrity, nnd your
wisdom ; for we are assured that the noble struggles vou
have so repeatedly made for the independence of your
country, and the ardent glow of Liberty which pervades
your manly bosom, now animates the breasts of millions
of your fellow-countrymen ; and whilst the least spark of
that sacred fire continues to burn within them, they will
remember your patriotic deeds with enthusiastic admira
tion: yes, Sir, be assured that it is the expression of the
genuine feelings of our hearts when we say, that your
virtues have endeared you to our affections, and we claim
you as the undaunted champion of our rights and liberties;
TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
SIR,
We, the undersigned Inhabitants of Wakefield and its
neighbourhood, in the West Riding of the County of York,
beg leave most respectfully to address and condole with
you in your present situation, and to assure you that your
eminent services in ttj cause of Liberty and Reform are
deeply engraven on our hearts, and will be remembered
by us with the liveliest sentiments of gratitude and esteem.
The zealous, manly, and consistent manner iri which
you have at all times advocated the people's cause excites
our warmest praise. You obeyed the people's summons,
and sacrificed your personal comforts and conveniences to
place yourself at our head. At a time when those who
should have been our natural leaders, either deserted or
stood aloof from, us, you undauntedly stood forward, regard
less of the calumnies tbat were heaped upon you by the
enemies of the People and Reform, and nobly and unhesitat
ingly asserted the inalienable right of an Englishman to
be represented either in himself or by his deputy, and
maintained the necessity of a thorough and radical Reform
in the Commons' House of Parliament, from the thraldom

28
of a Boroughmongering domination, that equally enslaves
the prince and the people. You have always been the in
defatigable assertor of the people's right to petition— a
right which the Revolution of 1688 sanctioned, and which
the present reigning Family were called to the throne to
protect and secure — aright for the maintaining of which
you are now cruelly suffering incarceration within the
walls of a prison.
But, while we lament your imprisonment at this import
ant crisis of national affairs, when the necessity of Reform
becomes more and more apparent, your able conduct, both
on and subsequent to the memorable 16th of August, 1819,
was such as commanded the admiration of the country at
large. Your inimitable defence at York set the proceed
ings of that fatal day in their true light, and dispelled the
mists and calumnies that had been thrown on those pro
ceedings by the abettors of corruption ; and although the
verdict of that tribunal was against you, you gained a
triumph in public opinion, which all the hosts of your ene
mies will not be able to erase.
We cannot let this opportunity pass without assuring
you of the pleasure we derive froni^'perusing the Memoirs
of your Life, now publishing; the active scenes you there
pourtray, accompanied as they are by the reflections of
your experienced mind, cannot fail not only to edify the
present generation, but generations yet to come, and sti
mulate others to follow your glorious example.
Nor can we repress the satisfaction we feel, that al
though suffering the rigours of a dungeon, you still con
vey your useful and patriotic advice in your able addresses
to the radical Reformers — it shews that neither bonds nor
imprisonment can cool or diminish your generous ardour
and activity in the people's cause. We consider punish
ment fails in its design when it excites increased affection
and esteem towards its object.
We beg you, Sir, to accept the above sincere though in
sufficient acknowledgment for your unwearied exertions
in our behalf, and trust you will live to come forth from
your present imprisonment amidst the rejoicing and
triumph of your grateful countrymen.
Printed b> T. Dolby, 299. Strand,

To
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 10th day, 9th month, 2nd year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry
May 26, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Felloiv Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
We have had a busy time of it since I did myself the
honour to address you last. The High Sheriff and Magis
trates assembled and sat from day to day, patiently to in
vestigate the truth relative to the infamous transactions
carried on within the walls of this Bastile by their Gaoler,
Bridle, and his accomplices. I have no hesitation in say
ing that they gave me fair play in the examination of the
witnesses I produced before them ; although they declined
to send for witnesses, alledging as a reason for not doing
so, that if they did, it would look like their becoming a
party against their own Gaoler, upon whom they were
sitting in judgment ; and they also refused to pay any of
the necessary expenses in procuring witnesses to promote
the object of the inquiry, upon the ground that they
had no power lo apply the County Stock for any such pur
pose. I urged the injustice of my being compelled, out of
my own private property, to pay the expenses of procur
ing witnesses to enable them to ascertain the amount of
embezzlements practised upon the County property by
their Gaoler, and contended that it was their bounden
duty to advance a few pounds, to come at the knowledge

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

of those facts that would cause a saving of some thousands
a year to the County ; yet they were inflexible upon this
point ; and as it has ever been the case with me, in my ex
ertions to promote the cause of public justice and humanity,
I have now, as heretofore, been obliged to pay the whole
expense out of my own pocket, although I should do an in
justice to my own feelings if I were not to add, that I
have been assisted by some very able volunteers in this
arduous undertaking, and amongst that number stands
pre-eminent, my friend, Mr. Shillibeer, land surveyor, of
Taunton, who has never deserted me for one moment dur
ing the wole investigation; for his zealous and persever
ing attention I shall ever feel grateful, and he has not only
merited the gratitude of every prisoner confined within
these walls, but he is justly entitled to the approbation of
every friend of humanity and justice. I also seize the ear
liest opportunity to acknowledge the receipt of Five
Pounds, and One Pound, sent in to me here, by The Gen
tlemen, County Rate Payers, towards the expenses of the
investigation. On Thursday, May the Seventeenth, 1 closed my case
against the Gaoler, at the end of fourteen days examina
tion of witnesses and accounts. It is a curious coincidence,
that it was on the Seventeenth of May, 1820, 1 arrived in
this gaol, and that on the Seventeenth of May, 1821, that
very day twelvemonth, I closed my case upon the charges
that I had preferred against the Gaoler. Evidently for the
purpose of delay, the Gaoler requested a month to prepare
for his defence ; this proposition was also warmly contend
ed for by Mr. White, his solicitor, who declared that it was
impossible for his client to be prepared to enter upon his
defence earlier ; and this Gentleman used many ingenious
arguments to induce the Magistrates to accede to his re
quest ; but the Sheriff and Magistrates replied, after what

had been proved, they had a public duty to perform, there
fore they should assemble on that day week, the following
Thursday, when they expected the Gaoler to be ready to
proceed with his defence, if he had any ; therefore, they
adjourned till Thursday, the 24th, when they met against
theg-aol and called upon him to proceed with his defence;
but his Attorney, Mr. White, replied, that 31 r. Bridle had
been advised not to make any defence before the Magis
trates. The whole case being thus suddenly closed, the
Sheriff and Magistrates came to the conclusion that' they
would make their report at the adjourned Quarter Ses
sions, to be held for the purpose of receiving it on the
Sixth of June. Well ! " We shall see." I can only say
that every charge that I made against this said Gaoler I
brought witnesses to prove, not one of whose testimony
was shaken in the slightest degree by their cross-examina
tion, and as no defence was made, it is almost impossible
to doubt the result of the report ; although, after what
I have seen, I can make up my mind for any thing. I
have not the slightest hesitation in saying, that the
Sheriff and the Magistrates, with one or two exceptions
only, evinced the most earnest desire to elicit the truth.
At four o'clock the same day, before I had as yet had
time to wash my hands of the filth that had accumulated
upon them, in wading through such a mass of infamy as
was developed during this investigation, a messenger an
nounced the arrival of his Majesty's Commissioners, and
begged that I would attend to hear the Commission read.
I obeyed the summons with alacrity ; when I arrived at
the Gaoler's house, I found the Sheriff, the Magistrates,
the Debtors, the Gaoler and Turnkeys, assembled ; the
three Commissioners, Thomas Grimstone Estcourt, Esq.
M.P. Charles Godfrey Munday, Esq. and  Phelps,
Esq. standing at the head of the table. As soon as I had

paid my respects, Mr. Estcourt, the Chairman, desired
their clerk, Mr. Osman, to open the Commission and read
it, which stated that the Commissioners were sent by the
King to inquire into the state of the Gaol and the conduct
of the Gaoler of Ilchester, and all matters appertaining
thereto. Mr. Estcourt, in a. neat and appropriate speech,
informed all present that they were prepared to hear any
complaints and investigate all grievances, therefore they
should open the court for that purpose at eight o'clock the
following morning. I stood forward and stated to the
Commissioners, that the Magistrates had been investigat
ing charges, that I had preferred against their Gaoler, for
the last month ; that they had assembled that morning to
hear his defence ; that he had declined to make any, there
fore they had come to a resolution to make their report
immediately; but that I should be prepared by the morn
ing to prefer similar charges against him, which I would
lay before them — which charges I wished to have an op
portunity of substantiating upon oath, and that, with their
assistance, I would procure witnesses to do so. These
preliminaries being settled, the Commissioners proceeded
to inspect the gaol, water, &c. &c. thus giving the lie to
the generally received notion, that men in office perform
but little labour for their money. These Gentlemen had
travelled from Andover, a distance of .nearly seventy miles,
that day; this, with opening the Commission, would, by
men in general, have been considered an ample day's
work: however, they continued to inspect the gaol, and
paid me a visit between seven and eight o'clock ; they had
very properly declined to have any one to attend them
who was in the remotest degree implicated in the charges
to be preferred ; therefore, at my suggestion, the new task
master, who had only arrived a few days before, was se
lected by them to accompany them round the different

wards of the gaol. By their conciliating manner, I under
stand that they encouraged the prisoners to speak out
freely, and communicate their sufferings without fear or
disguise. When they came into the poor debtors' ward,
they addressed themselves to poor old Mr. Hill, to know if
he had any complaints to make ; his answer was — " Yes,
Gentlemen, a great many more than it will be convenient
for you to hear at this time." Friday morning they con
tinued their inspection, which took up nearly the whole
of that day, and having heard two or three individual com
plaints, they fixed to commence with my charges at nine
o'clock the next morning, at which time I laid twenty-one
distinct charges before the Commissioners, which were
read over by their clerk, in the presence of the said William
Bridle. Bridle now begged for time to send for his Attorney,
and the Court was adjourned accordingly till two o'clock.
Soon after two o'clock the Court met again, when
Bridle, attended by his Solicitor, Mr. White, of Yeovil,
and a copy of the charges having been handed to him, I
called, as my first witness, John PhillipSj Esq. of Monta-
cule, a Magistrate of the County, and one of those who fre
quently acted as a Visiting Magistrate at the gaol. Mr.
Phillips had attended the whole of the previous investiga
tion, and had conducted himself throughout in such an up
right and impartial manner as evidently proved that Jie
was in no way implicated in the charges that I had pre
ferred against the Gaoler, any further than having, in com
mon with several other very worthy gentlemen in the
Commission ofthe Peace, placed too much reliance in the
said Gaoler. Mr. Phillips proved the nature of the Gaoler's
Occurrence Book, the interlineations, erasures, interpella
tions, and false entries made therein, calculated to mislead
3 B

and delude the Magistrates. He never heard or knew of
any stocks being kept in the gaol till lately; never
heard of any prisoners having had blisters put upon their
heads, or irons placed upon them, as a punishment, when
put in solitary confinement, till the late investigation ; in
fact he proved, that he, at least, was quite ignorant of any
of those tortures having been inflicted of which we com
plained, and of which he had lately had proof upon the
oath ofthe present oflicers of the gaol, Pike and Davis.
Mr. Phillips proved the hand-writing of John Goodford,
Esq. signed to an order in the Magistrates' Journal, posi
tively prohibiting boys from sleeping with men in the pri
son, in consequence of a transaction that had occurred four
or five years back, too revolting to mention; thus clearly
exonerating the Magistrates from that part of the case
which charges that boys have been made to sleep with men
of bad character, and which has been proved on the oath
of Pike and others, that Holbrook, a boy of fifteen, was
placed as a bed-fellow with George Stilman, a man con
victed of beastiality.
Mr. Phillips having proved the foundation upon which
I mean to build my case, I called the Matron and then the
notorious Sarah Hewitt, the convict, who, being placed as
Bridle's servant, became pregnant there, and has her child
still kept at the county expense in the gaol.
The Commissioners then adjourned till eight o'clock on
Monday morning, when the inquiry will be proceeded in
with all possible dispatch, as they propose to sit tjll seven
or eight in the evening. How far my health will enable
me to follow up this laborious and incessant application to
the examination of witnesses, must be doubtful to my
readers, when I inform them that I am locked up at nine
in the evening and not let out till six in the morning,

thu* giving me very little time for meals and sleep, and
scarcely any to prepare my witnesses. If I had not so re
cently gone over the whole case it would have been quite
impossible to attempt it ; however, with the blessing of
God, I shall not shrink from the performance of this great
public duty, which is now become national; although the
number of hours allotted by the Commissioners for the
examination is rather apalling, when it is considered that
I am shut up the remainder of the twenty-four hours
within a close yard, of about ten yards square, suri-buhded
by walls twenty feet high, and one of those walls within
four feet of my window. " We shall see."
Well ! the Hero's long-talked-of and long-delayed mo
tion upon the Manchester Question has been brought on
in the House of Commons at last ; and you see, my friends,
it has gone off like a " flash in the pan," as a sportsman
would say. Really, my friends, you will soon begin to
think me a sort of political prophet. In my address to you,
published in the Fourteenth Number of my Memoirs, you
will recollect, in advising you to send petitions to the
Honourable House, I used these remarkable words : " to
try his sincerity once more, I would even send Sir Francis
Burdett one or two petitions, so that they are not very im
portant ones ; for if they are I would not trust them to
him." Only look at the debate in The Times upon this
question, when he brought on his motion: after some
scores of petitions had been presented by the various
Members, Sir Francis Burdett rose, and stated, " that he
had received a similar petition to tlioso already presented,
from John Knight, but that he had unfortunately
not brought it with HIM to the House." Ha ! ha! !
ha! ! ! What think you of that, my friends! I have heartf
of a man who hastened to the battle in such a fright that

he forgot the sword with which he meant to defend
himself. I have also heard of an absent man who entered
a drawing-room full of company having forgotten to put on
the usual covering of a pair of breeches : but I never before
heard of a Member of Parliament going down to the House
>to make an important motion, of which he had been bab
bling nearly a year and a half, and then forget to bring
with him the only petition that was intrusted to him,
upon which he meant to found his motion. I say, ha ! ha'. !
ha!!! Here is a brave Legislator to run in couples with
Lord Fitzwilliam's pocket Member for Peterborough,
Lawyer Scarlett. They are a precious pair, as the Devil
said of his old shoes. I had a very interesting letter from
a Member who was present in the House, and who informs
me that with the exception of the time when Sir Robert
Wilson presented my second petition, it was most dull and
insipid. When that blister was applied, it made some of
the gentlemen dance again with rage ; his words are,
" they quite foamed at the mouth like madmen !" Ha !
ha!! ha!!! Mr. Bright, of Bristol, made a furious burst in
favour of the discipline of this Bastile ; and Mr. Scarlett
pledged theword of a lawyer that it was all false ; he had
had a brief, faith, from our amiable Gaoler, and therefore
anything that was said against his client, of course, was
all false. Mr. Hunt had applied to the Court of King's
Bench, and had consented to pay the costs to withdraw his
motion, therefore there was no foundation for his charges.
But, Mr. Scarlett, you forgot to state the slight fact that Sir
Charles Bampfylde had removed the cause ofthe motion,and,
therefore, at that time, there was no ground for proceeding
with it: but more of this hereafter. If, my friends, I should
ever, like Sir Francis Burdett, become the object of Mr.
Scarlett's idolatry, from that moment I shall be unworthy

of your confidence, which I value as I do my life; there
fore, rave on, rant on, behind my back, Lawyer Scarlett;
if I ever live to meet thee face to face, do not shelter your
self, as you have often attempted before, from my castiga-
tion, under the wing of the Court. And, because I could
not set this Jay," in borrowed plumes, down, this Lawyer,
garbed in the Fitzwilliam livery, 1 had been guilty of the
horrible crime of intimidation, menace, and insult in a
Court of Justice. What said Mr. Justice Bailey at York ?
But more of this hereafter. The clock strikes and the
Court is waiting. Now for another occupation.
I am, my Friends, your's in haste,
H. HUNT.

To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament assembled.
The Petition of HENRY HUNT, late of Middleton
Cottage, in the county of Southampton, Esq. but now
a close Prisoner in His Majesty's Jail of Ilchester,
in ihe county of Somerset,
Humbly Sheweth,
That your Petitioner is now confined in His
Majesty's Jail of Ilchester, in the county of Somerset,
under a sentence ofthe Court of King's Bench, for two
years and six months, for having- attended a Public
Meeting on the 16th of August, 1819, at Manchester;
which meeting was assembled in the most peaceable and
orderly manner, for the express purpose of " taking into
consideration ihe most legal means of obtaining a Reform
in the existing abuses of your Honourable House," arid

10
for no other purpose whatsoever ; which peaceable meeting
was no sooner assembled, than the people attending
thereat, were violently assaulted, cut, maimed,
crushed, rode over, and killed by a charge made
by the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry, with
out the slightest provocation having been given, or one
single act of resistance made by the unresisting multitude,
which consisted of men, women, and children indiscrimi
nately mixed together ; that the said yeomanry cavalry,
aided and assisted by two troops ofthe Cheshire yeomanry,
the 15th Hussars, the 81st regiment of foot, and two pieces
of flying artillery, proceeded, violently, to disperse the
multitude, during which dispersion, fourteen persons
were killed or received mortal wounds, which terminated
in death, and upwards of six hundred were badly, many
of them incurably wounded, by the newly sharpened
swords of the yeomanry, and the trampling of their
horses. That your Petitioner begs leave to remind your
Honourable House, that all attempts to bring any of the
parties concerned in this cruel massacre to justice have
hitherto wholly failed, and that no inquiry or investigation
of the circumstances whatever has as yet taken place ;
that, when the matter was broug-ht forward in the last
Parliament, all inquiry was resisted and abandoned, upon
the plea that the Courts of Justice were open to any of
the parties aggrieved, and that any premature inquiry of
the Honourable House was calculated to prejudice the
decisions of those Courts ; and many of the Members of
your Honourable House will not fail to recollect that
the Honourable House was most grossly imposed upon
amid misled, by many false and scandalously fabricated
mis-statements, that were palmed upon some of the Mem-

11
bar« of that Honourable House; and that many asser
tions of the most gross and unfounded nature, were made
and insisted upon as true, which have all since been
proved, upon the oaths of the most respectable and nu
merous witnesses, to have been mere impositions and
fabrications, having no foundation whatever in fact.
Your Petitioner, therefore, most earnestly and respect
fully implores your Honourable House to institute an im
mediate inquiry into this most important, most melan
choly affair, in which so many valuable lives have been
sacrificed, and in which such a large number of his Ma
jesty's peaceable, loyal, and unoffending subjects, have
been so severely wounded, and otherwise injured by the
cruel and wanton outrage inflicted upon them; and that
your Honourable House will feel it an imperious duty im
posed upon it to interpose, more particularly now it is
clearly ascertained, that all the doors of the Courts of
Justice have been fast closed against ihe Aggrieved persons,
who are poor and friendless, and who are unable to con
tend against the aggressors, who are many of them rich
and powerful individuals, some of them being Magistrates
acting under the sanction and protection of the Ministers
and the Law Officers of the Crown, and who have been so
sanctioned and screened by them, as to have been placed
above the reach of all Law; which your Petitioner
submits to your Honourable House, has been clearly
proved and demonstrated by the following facts and
occurrences: —
First. — As to the Lancashire Grand Juries, who threw
out all the bills of indictment preferred by your Petitioner
and others against the Yeomanry, for cutting and maiming
the people, which bills, had they been found, it is true,
would, in all probability, have deeply implicated some

Vi
ol the said Grand Jury, and many of their relations and
brother Magistrates of the said county, in a charge of
felony. Second. — That the Magistrates of the said county
refused, when application was made to them upon oath,
to grant any warrant, for the apprehension ofthe Members
ofthe Yeomanry who stood charged with cutting and maim
ing women and men, in which refusal they were sanction
ed, justified, and protected by the decision of the Court
of King's Bench.
Third.- — Your Petitioner begs to direct the attention
of your Honourable House to the extraordinary and un
precedented manner in which the famous Coroner's In
quest, held upon the body of the murdered John Lees, of
Oldham, was got rid and disposed of.
Fourth. — As a further illustration and confirmation of
the allegation, " that all the doors of the Courts of Jus-
" tice were closed against the aggrieved parties," your
Petitioner, at the beginning of the first Term after these
bloody transactions had occurred, lost no time, but applied
to the Court of King's Bench, for a rule to shew cause,
why a criminal information should not be filed against
those Magistrates of Manchester who had instigated the
Yeomanry to charge the unoffending and unresisting .
people. This application was supported by numerous
affidavits made by indifferent and disinterested persons,
who witnessed the whole affair. But ihe Court, instead
of entertaining the application, they the Judges refused
even to hear the affidavits read by their own officer, and
closed the door of that Court against your Petitioner in a
very summary manner, by making a new Rule of Court,
viz. " That no person could be permitted to act for him
self when a prosecutor in a criminal cause ;" which new

13
regulation your Petitioner earnestly submits, was neither
supported by law nor precedent, but a direct violation of
both. Fifth. — Your Petitioner, nothing daunted when acting
in the cause of truth and justice, then applied to the
Attorney General, and offered to lay his affidavits before
him, requesting him to bring the matter before the Court;
but this the Attorney General positively refused.
Sixth. — Your Petitioner, loath to leave any effort un
tried while there was even the most distant hope of ob
taining justice, sent for witnesses up from Lancashire, and
preferred fresh bills of indictment for cutting and maiming,
against some of the aforementioned members of the yeo
manry, and sent them in before the Grand Jury, assem
bled at Westminster Hall, attached to the Court of King's
Bench, as the Grand Jury of all England ; which, not be
ing the Grand Jury either for Westminster or Middlesex,
had hithertofore been considered, by men eminently con
versant in constitutional Jaw, as " The Grand Inquest
of the Nation," having cognizance over all matters
commensurate to that Court, to which they were imme
diately and solely attached. Many of the members com
prising this Jury being of this opinion, they were about
to entertain' the indictment and to call the witnesses, .but
some doubts having arisen, they applied to the Court for
instructions ; which Court again decided against the ag
grieved party, and informed the Jury that they had no
power to take cognizance of any such matters committed
out of the county of Middlesex.
Your Petitioner, therefore, having spared no pains nor
trouble ; and having incurred an enormous expense, which
he has paid out of his own confined income, and finding
himself foiled and frustrated in all and every attempt he
made to obtain justice, and to bring the matter fairly be-
3 c

l-l
fore the Courts of Law, as a dernier resort, now humbly,
but zealously and earnestly, appeals to your Honourable
House, to obtain that justice for the poor, helpless, un
offending, persecuted, and cruelly-treated inhabitants of
Manchester and its vicinity, which has been denied them
in the Courts below, in whose behalf your Petitioner
begs to state this fact, that although they escaped from
the bloody massacre of the 16th of August with their
lives, yet many of them are left orphans and widows ;
and others are reduced to the most abject state of wretch
edness and want, in consequence of their being' rendered
cripples for life, from the wounds and bruises they had
inflicted upon them by the remorseless hands of an infuri
ated and drunken yeomanry.
Your Petitioner, therefore, earnestly implores your
Honourable House to take these matters into your most
serious consideration, and in case any one should so far
forget what is due to your Honourable House, and dare *
again to attempt to impose upon its credulity, by repeating
any of the false and groundless statements which were
upon a former occasion advanced ; your Petitioner begs
leave to direct your attention to the incontrovertible tes
timony given upon oath, at the late trial of your Peti
tioner and others at York, where it was proved that not
the slightest provocation or insult was ever given to any
one of the authorities, either civil or military, first or
last; but, that an unexpected and sudden charge was
made upon the unsuspecting, unoffending, and unresist
ing multitude, without the slightest possible notice or
intimation having been previously given, to enable any
one to escape from their fury. And in case any one
should attempt again to deny these facts, your Petitioner
begs to call the attention of your Honourable House
to the fact, that the whole evidence and other pro-

15
ceedings of the trial at York, were taken in short-hand,
by Mr. Gurney, for the Crown, and that these notes having
been produced by the Crown and referred to by the Judge,
who tried the cause in the Court of "King's Bench, there
fore it is competent to your Honourable House, by the pro
duction and printing of these notes, to set all these asser
tions and contradictions at rest. Although it will appear
that the Learned Judge, who presided at the trial at York,
prevented your Petitioner from examining witnesses to
prove the cutting, maiming and killing by the Yeomanry,
yet when your Petitioner was brought up for judgment he
caused to be filed several affidavits to prove the fact of the
number of persons- actually killed and wounded, copies of
which affidavits may be easily obtained from the proper
office for the information of your Honourable House.
Your Petitioner has been more particularly induced to
appeal to your Honourable House, in consequence of hear
ing of a debate which arose from the treatment of a pri
soner in Lancaster Castle, wherein some humane and pa
triotic Members of your Honourable House have revived a
latent hope that they are disposed, at length, to listen to
and redress the wrongs of an individual, although those
wrongs are inflicted under the sanction of a lawless Ma
gistracy. Your Petitioner having been confined in Lan
caster Castle one day, in justice to the Gaoler, can speak
of his own knowledge as to his conduct to prisoners who
are committed to his custody on charges of a political na
ture. When a Prisoner of this description is consigned to
the care of young Mr Higgins, the Gaoler, (the father,
as this Deponent was informed, living out of the gaol, the
son manages as his deputy), it is no uncommon thing for
a wretch, who, to save his own life, acts as a hangman
and is kept within the walls of the prison — this gentle
man, (for all are called gentlemen who are servants ofthe

16
Lancaster Magistrates).attends the prisoner and demands
an inventory of his clothes, insolently observing, that they
will be his vails, or perquisites, when he has the honour of
hanging him, which he hopes and expects will be very
soon. This actually happened to a decent young man of
the name of Adamson, a tailor, who was committed
about that time for attending a public meeting in the
neighbourhood. As for a prisoner making any com
plaint of such conduct, the answer would be hard" la
bour or solitary confinement ; and that to repeat a com
plaint it would be almost as much as a man's life was
worth. This gentleman (Jack Ketch) did not actually
overhaul the clothes of your Petitioner and his fellow-
prisoner when they were committed ; but he was
paraded in his dress of office upon a platform or tower in
the front, and immediately in the view of the yard where
your Petitioner and his friends were almost the whole of
the day, making gestures of what he wished to be at.
Every species of extortion was allowed ; and to detail the
manifold acts of cruelty there practised, which came to
your Petitioner's knowledge in one day, would exceed the
limits of a petition; therefore, your Petitioner humbly but
most seriously entreats your Honourable House, in its hu
manity and consideration, to throw the shield of its bene
volent protection over the Petitioner, Broadhurst, as well
as over Adamson, who are still confined in the same gaol,
to save them from the horrible torture which inevitably
awaits them if they are left to the mercy of young Mr. Hig
gins, who appears to be a willing instrument in the hands
of such persons as the Lancaster Magistracy, whose tyran
ny is so unequivocal, that your Petitioner and his fellow-
sufferers, now confined in Lincoln Castle, would have
rsked their lives in any enterprise, however desperate,
rather than have been replaced in that English Bastile,

17
under the care of young Mr. Higgins, and subject to
the controul of such Magistrates as Mr. Hulton, of Hulton.
Your Petitioner, therefore, humbly sues and earnestly
prays, that your Honourable House will in its wisdom,
discretion, and humanity, cause an immediate and radical
inquiry to be made into the transactions above detailed.
All and every the allegations contained in this petition
your Petitioner is ready and willing to pray that he may
be permitted to prove by the most disinterested and un
questionable witnesses, either at the Bar or before a Com
mittee of your Honourable House.
And your Petitioner, as in duty bound, shall ever pray,
&c.
H. HUNT.

To the Honourable the Commons of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parlia
ment assembled ;
The Petition of the undersigned Poor Prisoners con
fined for Debt in His Majesty's Gaol at Ilchester,
in the County of Somerset,
Most humbly Sheweth,
That from the construction of that part of the gaol in
which your poor Petitioners are confined, or rather crammed,
the internal walls being so unnecessarily high as to pre
clude a free currency of air, renders their lives most horri
bly miserable/ from the unwholesome damps in the winter
and the insufferable closeness in the summer. That your
poor Petitioners have no other beverage allowed them than
water, which is so proverbially bad and totally unfit for

I?
use, that the health of the greatest part of them is greatly-
impaired ; and scarcely any that have been confined here
any length of time are free from the gravel : that should
the hand of Charity bestow on your poor Petitioners a
cup of .ale or cyder, by the regulations, or rather the
abuses of this horrible place, we are denied the same,
until it is sanctioned by the doctor, who lives five miles
distant, and who sometimes does not come near the gaol
for a week or more together ; so that we are, in this re
spect, transferred from the Sheriff to the mercy of a man
whom we humbly conceive ought to have nothing to do
with us except in his medical capacity. That your poor
Petitioners, in consequence ofthe water being so noxious,
have, very lately, been allowed, sometimes, to procure
water from the river which washes the walls of the gaol,
and which, although generally very muddy, is a luxury
when compared to that obtained from within the walls.
That your poor Petitioners are only suffered to see their
friends from nine to ten in the morning, from twelve to one
at noon, and from three to four in the afternoon, wives
excepted, who are allowed to be in the gaol from nine in
the morning till five in the afternoon ; but if it should so
happen that either of your poor Petitioners are in want of
milk, provisions, or other necessaries, and their wives go
out of the gaol more than twice in one day for the same,
they are not allowed to enter the prison walls again that
day, so that in case of sickness your poor Petitioners are de
prived of their natural and legitimate attendants. That al
though there is a small court attached to, and as we sup
pose intended for, the purposes of recreation, yet the only
part where the sun shines is appropriated to a garden for the
cultivation of vegetables for the use of Bridle, the gaoler ;
and we your poor Petitioners are prohibited, under pain of
solitary confinement, to intrude even upon the borders

19

thereof, there being a constable, appointed by the gaoler, al
ways on the watch over the said garden. That no rules or
regulations for the restrictions, convenience, or comforts of
your poor Petitioners' are exposed to view in the ward,
excepting such as have been long since rescinded ; and,
therefore, the gaoler, at his pleasure, makes new rules,
inflicts new severities, and that too in such an unexpected
way and under such unheard-of excuses and pretexts, that in
many cases it is difficult, and in some quite impossible, for
the helpless objects of the gaoler's persecution to know if
they are doing right or wrong. That your poor Petitioners
humbly conceive it to be unmanly and ungenerous, under
any circumstances, to prevent men from seeing their wives
in private, which is the case in this dreadful abode of mi
sery, and the only place where your poor Petitioners are
visited by their wives, relatives, and friends, is a place
called a Conversation Room, of the following shape and
dimensions:

That your poor Petitioners many of them know that
prisoners, similarly confined in the King's Bench Pri
son, are allowed from eight o'clock in the morning
until eight o'clock at night, to see their wives, rela
tives, and visitors ; and we all humbly conceive, that as
we are confined in this prison under the same law
which consigns prisoners to the King's Bench, we ought
to be allowed the same privileges, and not suffer privations
made specifically for this gaol alone. If this be the law,
we conceive it wants amendment ; and whether it is law or

20
not, we know and feel it is not justice. Another grievance
we would venture to point out to your Honourable House
is, that the Under Sheriff's office is always situate at Wells,
a distance of 18 miles from this place. Whoever may hap
pen to be High Sheriff of the county, Mr. Broadrip and
Mr. Millar, who are, as we understand, partners, alter
nately JS11 the office of Under Sheriff; so that your poor
Petitioners are put to the expence of sending a messenger
to Wells on the arrival of their discharge. We, your poor
Petitioners, therefore, humbly and earnestly pray your
Honourable House to take our miserable situation into
your immediate consideration, and not suffer us any longer
to be so inhumanly degraded, and by your kind inter
ference in our behalf enable us to feel that although we
are poor unfortunate prisoners, yet that we belong to the
human race.
And your poor Petitioners will, as in duty bound, ever
pray, &c.
(Signed) Henry Child, Thomas Gillingham, Edward
Crouch, William Mathews, Nicholas Col-
lard, Charles Hill, William Lewis, Tho
mas Kerslake, Charles Bartlett, William
Budge, John George, William Rayner,
Edward Mugleworth, John Hill, Gabriel
Purse, and George Goodman.
Presented by Mr. Baring to the House of Commons,
Thursday, May 17th.

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

THJil RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 23d day, JOth month, 2nd year of the Manchester
Massache, without retribution or inquiry.
July 9, .1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
, and Countrywomen.
From the 19th of April till the 30th of June inclusive,
the Magistrates' Committee Room in this Bastile has been
turned into something like a Court of Justice, or, mo\;e
properly speaking, a Court of Inquiry. For ten weeks
we have been trying our Gaoler; this is rather a novel
spectacle ! A Prisoner, locked up within the walls of a
gaol, preferring charges against, and causing his own Gaol
er to be put upon his trial ! 1 know, my friends, that you
will exclaim this is not only a very novel but a very ha
zardous speculation. For ten weeks have I been calling
witnesses, examining them, and proving against my Gaol
er charges of great magnitude — charges which include
crimes of a heinous and revolting nature. This busi
ness was going on all the day ; and when night ar
rived, those who presided as Judges quitted the gaol,
and handed me, the Accuser, over into the custody of the
Accused; who, with his myrmidons, have had me locked
up every night in their power. But here I am, as yet,
sound in wind and limb, notwithstanding I have been
under the care, and have strictly followed the orders, of
two Physicians; have been bled four times by two Sur
geons, and have taken modiriiie enough to kill a team of
4 A

Printed by T. Dui.ifY, SB9, Strand.

horses. Yet I have survived the whole ; and, unless im
keepers find out some hereditary cancer for me, as the
Keepers of the brave Napoleon have done, I have not
the least doubt but I shall survive the remaining seven
teen months of my incarceration in this execrable, pesti
lential Bastile; even if my remorseless keepers should con
tinue to exercise the same tyranny, and to inflict the same
torture upon mc which they have hitherto done, with such
unabated, such savage, and unrelenting ferocity. Torture
on, ye unnatural Monsters! I have, in return, inflicted a
sting which has reached your very souls, your guilty souls ;
for 1 have detected and exposed your monstrous infamy,
and unveiled your deep seated hypocrisy ; and 1 will cause
your unequalled atrocities to stand before the world as
glaringly naked as the sun at noon-day.
Having once made up my mind to bring my Gaoler
to justice, or perish in the attempt, and having calm
ly and deliberately calculated upon the dreadful al
ternative of a failure, I prepared those facts which after
wards came before the public, under the title of " the
Peep into Ilchester Bastile." But, before I sent the manu
script to the press for publication, I proceeded to take all
due precaution, that, in Case of accidents, contingencies,
or the defeat of my object, no one should run any risk of
being injured but myself. I therefore carefully packed up
all my papers, and particularly all the letters which 1 had
received from my numerous Correspondents since my ar
rival here, and sent them to be carefully deposited in the
custody of a faithful and long-tried friend in London ; thus
taking care to have every scrap of paper removed, by
which others might, even by possibility, be implicated or
injured. Having now nothing left but the bare walls of
my prison, and my own person ; my dungeon being as un
encumbered as the decks of a ship when she is cleared for

action, 1 sent forth the messenger of war, the " PEEP!"
the " PEEP!" the first edition of which 1 contrived to have
down in time to -place a copy in the hands of the High
Sheriff, and the Judges of Assize, assembled at Taunton,
on the Spring Circuit. The petitions of Mr. Hill, the debt
or, who had been confined here 15 years, and that of
James Hillier, a prisoner who had been tortured by being
cruelly ironed, hand-cuffed, and chained neck and heels
together for nine days and nights, in a cold, damp, dark
dungeon, had previously been presented to the House of
Commons, by tbe patriotic Alderman Wood.
This decisive measure, of issuing the " Peep" at the
period of the County Assizes, avowing the work myself,
and boldly demanding of the Sheriff an opportunity of
proving the charges contained therein against the Gaoler,
had the desired effect. The High Sheriff, William Han
ning, Esq. replied without delay to my letter, saying,
that he would call the Magistrates together at (he
gaol, and give me an opportunity of substantiating,
if I could, the charges I had made against the Gaoler. I
will give Mr. Hanning all due credit for his promptness
and decision in this affair, although I have not the least
doubt but my request was granted under the firm convic
tion that my charges were too monstrous lo be true ; and
the general opinion was, that 1 had committed myself, arid
that 1 should ultimately be defeated, in consequence of
iny having propagated statements which had not any
foundation in fact — even my very best and warmest friends,
who knew me too well to believe for a moment that I
would assert any such thing without my having good and
substantial grounds, even they trembled, fearing that 1
should be deprived of the means of proving them. Know
ing, as they did, the hands in which 1 was, and the sort of
enemy I had to contend against, they very naturally dread-

ed the consequences of my failing to prove that which
they believed to be true.
The publication of the " Peep" caused a great and ge
neral sensation throughout the county, and particularly at
the assizes at Taunton. The placards that had been post
ed were torn down by order of the authorities, and dread
ful denunciations were fulminated against any one who
should dare to sell such a scandalous and false publication !
The Gaoler and his myrmidons were at work, threatening
everyone who might venture even to read the "Peep,"
or be seen with one in his possession. But all this only
excited more universal curiosity. The High Sheriff was
seen reading the little book, with a green wrapper, as he
sat behind the Judge upon the bench. Another was hand
ing it about amongst the barristers, and every one had
an eye at the " Peep." But, without the judicious and
manly assistance of my friend, Mr. Shillibear, the work
would have been only partially circulated ; the bookseller
to whom they were sent, who sold my " Memoirs," (Mr.
Webb), had been threatened, and was alarmed ; but Mr.
Shillibear interposed, and, having got the placards well
posted, he prevailed upon Mr. Webb to sell the " Peep"
publicly, which he did. The Gaoler applied to the Sheriff
to have it suppressed by his authority, and requested that
he might be permitted to apprehend those who were
vending them ; but the Sheriff, who, doubtless, had commu
nicated with the Judges, very properly paused, and de
clined to comply with this modest request of Mr. Gaoler,
who now became very boisterous, and declared that he
woujd prosecute Hunt immediately ; and that for such an
impudent libel, he should have him in his power for, at
least, two years longer. Mr. Shillibear, however, who
heard this, did not, in consequence, relax his exertions to
promulgate that which he believed to be true, and a con-

siderable part of which he knew to be true ; and which
infamous practices required only to be known to be uni
versally execrated. You may easily conceive, my friends,
that, during this time, I remained in a state of anxious
suspense, as to what impression the " Peep" had made at
Taunton. I learned that Pike, the turnkey, had dis
patched a messenger off to Taunton with a copy, which
he had procured at Ilchester, where it had created such a
sensation as might have been expected. The preparations
which 1 had made here, to meet any emergency, I have
compared to clearing the decks of a ship of war before
action, and my feelings may, with truth, be compared to
those of the captain of the ship, who had made up his
mind to conquer the enemy or to perish in the attempt. —
My situation was, however, ten times more desperate,
seeing that the enemy, to whom I had offered battle, and
at whom 1 had, indeed, fired the first shot, had me com
pletely in his power, and kept the key of my dungeon,
having previously removed the interior bolts or fastenings
of the door thereof, that he might at all times have free
access even to my bed-room, night or day .without interrup
tion. I was in this state when I received the letter from the
High Sheriff, to say, that he had appointed a meeting of
the Magistrates, onthe 19th of April, to inquire into the
conduct of the Gaoler, and to give me an opportunity of
proving the charges which 1 had made in the " Peep;"
and that he had given orders that the prisoners out of any
of the wards shouldhave free access to my room," two at a'
time, upon my applying for them in writing to Bridle,
the Gaoler. This was, in fact, giving the accused person
an opportunity of knowing what witnesses I sent for
anion0- the prisoners ; and when it is considered that all
these prisoners were in his power, and what were his op-

portunities for tampering with them, it must be obvious
that 1 had a hazardous task, and run a great risk in call
ing them. Yet, though 1 learned that he had been en
deavouring to tamper with many of them, I had the plea
sure of finding that he only succeeded in one instance. —
Every other attempt being instantly communicated to me,
1 took prompt and efficient means of counteracting his ne
farious plans, by not calling those persons who were
doubtful ; but, where they were staunch to the truth, 1
took care to turn his own attempts at subornation against
himself. I was, of course, obliged to call prisoners of all
classes, and those convicted of every description of offence ;
but, before 1 began with them, I boldly called Pike and
Davis, the two principal turnkeys ; and, by what 1 extract
ed from them, 1 laid such a foundation upon whicli to
build, with the corroborative evidence of tlie prisoners
whom I called, that J do not believe there was one of
them whose testimony was even doubted, much less dis
credited. I dragged out of Pike, Davis, and the Gaol Doc
tor, the facts of the torture which had been inflicted upon
Hillier, Gardner, Wheeler, and others. This being done,
the sufferings of each victim of the Gaoler's cruelty, as
described by himself, was readily believed, because his
testimony only came as a corroboration of the infliction of
each particular act of torture, as sworn to by Pike and
Davis, who had merely acted as the agents of Bridle in
"applying that torture.
Pike and Davis were evidently unwilling witnesses.
the former particular!}' so ; and it was not till after the
most laborious examination of Pike, for nearly three com
plete days, that the whole truth could be extracted from
him. But, this being once fairly done, my task was com
paratively easy. After tlieir examination, the minds of
tlie Sheriff and Magistrates, who sat as the Judges, were

imperceptibly prepared to receive the truth, even when it
came from criminals. In fact, 1 did not attempt to prove
any one fact by a single witness ; and it always came out
that others were privy to each fact, who might have been
called to disprove it if it had not been the truth. I called
Hillier, and then I had the same horrid manacles placed
on his limbs, the same heavy doubled irons were fastened
on his legs, tlie same hand-bolls were fixed upon his
wrists, and the same chain was locked first on the fetters,
and being drawn through the hand-bolts , he was locked
neck and heels together, in the same horrid position in
which he had remained nipe days and nights ; and all this
I caused to be done in the presence of the Magistrates by
Pike, the very same turnkey who had originally placed
them upon the poor fellow ! Having done this, 1 caused
Pike to be sworn, who deposed that they were the same
irons, hand-bolts, chain, locks, &c. &c. ; to which Hillier
also testified. Pike was then sent out ofthe room, and the
poor fellow, thus manacled and ironed, told his own
pitiable and heart-rending story, and with ten-fold the
effect that he would otherwise have done ; for, in describ
ing the agonising torture that he suffered from the weight
ofthe irons upon the handcuffs, which had eaten into, and
were nearly buried in the flesh of his wrists, the pain and
torture that he endured, by being confined in such an un
natural and cruel position for nine nights and nine days,
was made so evident, by ocular demonstration, to the Ma
gistrates, that it required only to be told to be believed.
When this poor fellow was first manacled by Pike in
the room, Dr. Colston smiled ; as he went along with
the recital of his sufferings, the Doctor's lip fell ; but when
he came to that part where he stated that on the second
day he was brought before the Visiting Magistrates, the
Rev: Dr. Colston, the Rev. Mr. Turing, and his father,

and when he was asked by me whether these Reverend
Christian Magistrates did not order his instant release
from such torture, he answered, " No, Sir ; Doctor Col
ston ordered mc back again, saying, it would leach me
how to hit Penny again." The Doctor's chin dropped
upon his chest, and I never saw him smile after
wards during the whole investigation ',
By this time the weight of the irons upon the poor
fellow's wrists had already caused great inflammation, the
blood being nearly ready to start from the flesh. I saw
the big tear standing in the eye of one or two of the Ma
gistrates, and although by this time I was in some measure
hardened by the repeated recital of these monstrous cru
ellies, yet this horrible exhibition once more overcame
me, and I was obliged to give a loose to the feelings of my
heart. Pike was ag-ain called in to unturn the bolts ofthe
massy locks, to unscrew his fetters and hand-bolts, and to
release him from his painful situation, which was evidently
very much so, even although he had been manacled only
for about a quarter of an hour, or twenty minutes.
Hillier has been described as a huge ruffian, who could
be managed only with difficulty and great personal vio
lence. He is, however, quite the reverse of this — heis
about twenty-three years of age, five feet eight or nine,
rather delicate, and very slim, and appeared emaciated,
which was brought on by the torture that had been in
flicted upon him, from which he has by no means reco
vered yet, notwithstanding he has been attended by the
doctor for the last six weeks, and has lately been allowed
some strengthening medicines and nourishing food. Ihave
just seen Hillier, and he says he shall never recover the
effect of his cruel torture. In appearance he is scarcely
half a man, and Pike, standing by his side, looked like a
g-iant to him.

Next I called Thomas Gardner, and demanded that
the straight-waistcoat should be put on him, that he
might give his testimony in a similar manner to that of
Hillier, clothed in the implements and paraphernalia in
which he was tortured. This was immediately complied
with, and Pike was ordered to bring a straight-waistcoat;
and, having strapped and buckled him up tight therein,
he left him to proceed with his examination. Gardner is
a good looking lad of eighteen, slight grown, about five
feet eight, with an open countenance, and altogether a
very interesting decent youth. But, O God ! to hear him
relate this tale of misery and woe, the torture of his mind
and body, while suffering under the hand of Pike, by the
order of Bridle, for one whole month, in a dark cell, with
out any human being but his remorseless keepers ever
coming near him, and without a Magistrate being made
acquainted with it first or last, was enough to melt the
heart of a stone ; and it actually made Dr. Colston look
very grave, and once or twice shake his head, when the
poor fellow was describing the pain which the blister
created, on its being replaced upon his raw skull a second
time by Pike, after he, Gardner, had rubbed it off. His
words were, " I did not know what it was they had put
" upon my head, but it felt to me as if pins and needles
" and pen-knives were running into my brain; I was
" quite distracted at times ; I have never heard well since,
" and I consider my eye-sight materially affected by the
" torture, the agitation of my mind, and the violent cold
*' that I caught by sleeping in a cold, damp cell, in the
" midst of winter, without the power of keeping myself
" warm by placing the bed-clothes upon me." The tale
of poor Gardner excited great commiseration in all
who heard him. Even Bridle appeared affected; but
whether this proceeded from contrition or the fear of pn-
4 »

10
nishment, must be left to those who know him best.
Poof Gardner has been the victim of a succession of pu
nishments since he has been here; his whole imprison
ment has been one continued persecution and torture. I
saw him yesterday ; he is in pretty good health and in high
spirits, and lives in the confident hope that he shall see Bri
dle punished for his cruel and inhuman conduct.
I next called John Wheeler, a most interesting, hand
some, open-countenanced lad, of thirteen years and a
half old. Wheeler's petition was presented to the Hon.
House by Mr. Grey Bennet. This poor orphan lad has
been incarcerated within the walls of this Bastile for two
years. A nice lad, of eleven years of age, was sentenced,
by Sir John Acland, to be immured in this seminary of
iniquity for two years, he having- been convicted of the
petty theft of stealing a pair of stockings, value, perhaps,
eighteen pence ! Gracious God of Heaven ! what a sen
tence ! Setting aside the torture that has been inflicted
upon him, the horrid school for vice and iniquity in which
he has been placed, is calculated to corrupt a much
stronger mind than he can be supposed to possess. I have
seen him to-day, and I have given him all the good ad
vice that I was master of; but he ingenuously confessed
to me that he had learned to pick locks, knew the cheap
est market for bad money, or flimseys, and, in short, that
he had become acquainted with every other vice in the
catalogue of human depravity; he having spent two
whole years in the society of the worst of criminals, many
of whom delighted to instruct boys in infamy, and seduce
youthful minds into the high-road of vice ! Wheeler has
passed his two years in a perpetual round of punishment
and torture. When he first came here he fell into the
disgrace of the Gaoler, for not having pulled his cap off
and bowed quite low enough to him, and he has ever

II
since been liable to the said Gaoler's revengeful punish
ments ; amongst the number of which is that of being
placed in the stocks for eight days, during which time he
has been made to work in the stocks for eight days toge
ther in great torture ! He has also been hand-cuffed with
his hands behind him, for twelve days and nights, without
intermission, which so distorted his muscles that he has
not yet recovered, and probably never will recover the
proper use of his arms.
I have merely selected these three cases of torture,
which I had enumerated, I think, in the " Peep," as a
specimen only of what has been the practice in this Bas
tile ! Here are three lads more or less disabled for life
by the torture that has been so cruelly inflicted upon them.
Only look at the case of Wheeler, an orphan, friendless
and parentless , at the tender age of eleven years ; in
distress, misery, and want, he stole a pair of stockings
to cover his limbs, the value, probably, at the utmost,
not two shillings; for which he certainly ought to have
received timely correction, and with a due admonition and
proper treatment, he might have' been restored to the
path, or rather placed in the path of honest industry, and
might have made hereafter a useful and respectable mem
ber of society. But, alas ! he was sentenced to be kept
to hard labour in this hell of hells for two years, by Sir
John Acland, the Chairman of the Quarter Sessions. —
Gracious God ! what a sentence for such an offence ! —
There are many, many prisoners here who received sen
tence of death for the highest class of felony, but which
sentences have been commuted for imprisonment ; some
for six months, some for nine, some for a year, and a
few for one year and a half, and one or two for two years ,-
and here is this poor child doomed to two years imprison
ment for stealing a pair of stockings as he was passing by

12
where they hung at the door of a shop ; and here he has
passed his time mixed with the very worst of criminals, and
is in consequence, I fear, ruined and lost forever ! Alas !
alas! Mr. Fowell Buxton, what have you been doing all
your life ? Have you not been, though perhaps uncon
sciously, imposing upon and deluding the public ? How
is the intention of good laws perverted by their infamous
administration ? The developement ofthe atrocities com
mitted here will, however, I hope, lead to a general in
vestigation into all gaols of the kingdom ; but unless there
be a Hunt in every gaol, to attend the investigation, I
fear we shall never come at any thing like the truth ; for
there are thousands of dupes, thousands of Fowell Bux-
tons, to mislead and deceive and hide the truth, where
there is one Hunt to discover and make it known.
Well, my friends, I shall not, I find, be able to give you
even a brief outline of what has been the nature and extent
of our inquiry here ; I must therefore refer you to the
twenty-one charges which I laid before the Commissioners,
and which charges I called seventy-two witnesses to sub
stantiate. The same, the very same scenes were exhibited
before the Commissioners, by Hillier, Gardner, and
Wheeler, giving their evidence clothed in the implements
of torture in which they suffered. The situation of poor
Hillier excited the greatest sympathy in the Commis
sioners, and ardently drew down* their indignation upon
the author of his punishment; for I caused this heart
rending exhibition to be repeated before the Commissioners,
by Hillier, Gardner, and Wheeler. The only defence
set up by Bridle for inflicting these tortures was, that Dr.
Colston and Mr. Thring, two Clergymen Justices, had
been privy to his putting Hillier in such irons, and that
they had sanctioned the torture being inflicted, because
they had ordered him to be continued in that situation,

13
instead of disapproving of it by releasing him: As for
the torture of the blister upon Gardner's head, he plead
ed guilty, and trusted to the mercy of the Commissioners,
and endeavoured to obtain it by saying, " that he had
suffered more in his mind ever since, than Gardner had
suffered in his body at the time ,•" of course he meant
since I had delected him.
You will read the charges, which 1 have inserted in
this number, and I have not the slightest hesitation in
affirming that they were all proved by incontrovertible
testimony, and so completely was this done, that Charles
Frederic Williams, Esq. the barrister, who was employed
by Bridle as his counsel, said openly in Ilchester, when I
had finished my case, that every charge I had made was
so unequivocally proved, that it was impossible legally to
disprove one of them, which turned out to be precisely the
fact. Bridle only attempted to disprove a very few of them,
in which attempt he, in every instance, completely
failed. Notwithstanding this complete failure, the base and
impudent scoundrel of the "Morning Post" has inserted
in that receptacle of infamous falsehoods the following
paragraph, which has been published in all the hireling
ministerial newspapers, and the propagation of such in
famous falsehoods is called the liberty of the press. But
it will be recollected that the editor of the Morning Post
is the most foul-mouthed, unmanly, and unblushing libel
ler of a woman, and that woman our persecuted Queen.
The author of this barefaced falsehood knew at the time
he wrote it, that every charge had been fully substanti
ated before the Magistrates, as well as before the Commis
sioners, as their Report will fully confirm, whenever it is
made ; but desperate men, when drowning-, will catch at
•traws, and they must be desperate indeed who can calcu-

14
late upon deriving any benefit from such a shert-lived
fraud and falsehood, which only requires to be read to be
detected and exposed. ILCHESTER INQUIRY.
(From the Morning Post.)
" The Commissioners appointed to investigate the se
rious charges brought against Mr. Bridle, Governor of.
the Gaol of Ilchester, terminated their arduous labours on
Saturday last.
" After four months unceasing exertion of the great
green-eyed Radical Hunt, his host of adherents without,
and 200 culprits within — after 14 days of inquiry by a Com
mittee, and 36 by the Commissioners ofthe House of Com
mons, not a single charge has been substantiated against
the Governor. On the contrary, his conduct has been
proved to be most laudable ; although in preserving peace,
good order, and industry in the gaol, and in protecting
the weak, the unsuspecting, and well-behaved part of the
community consigned to his care, from those whose des
perate conduct and disappointment were a perpetual an
noyance to their fellows in adversity, he was obliged to
exercise occasional punishment. Hunt's mortification is
extreme, and has produced a visible alteration in his
person." These truly virtuous correspondents of the Morning
Post well know that a lie, however palpable, will find
credit amongst some ofthe besotted, stupid, wilfully blind
readers of that infamous and contemptible print. A per
son who is the conductor of a Bath paper, and who is a
pot-companion and brother-gambler with Bridle at the
Assizes and Sessions, and frequently in the gaol, is said
to be the author of this gross and barefaced falsehood.
However, this person admits " that he was obliged to

If.
"exercise occasional punishment ;" that is, he was obliged
occasionally to put a blister upon a man's head as a pu
nishment, and to torture men by distorting their limbs
and excoriating their flesh with body-irons, feiters, bolts,
bars, chains, locks, &c. while they were in solitary con
finement, and occasionally (as it was proved by Chapman,
an old turnkey,) when an unfortunate victim was ironed
and chained, neck and heels together, the unfeeling
Gaoler would have him led down, and with a stick,
or whip, beat him about his unguarded and unpro
tected head and face, his hands being chained to his
feet, till the blood dropped down upon the pavement.
As for the charges of cruelty and torture, as well as that ,
of filthiness, and riotous and disorderly conduct, by the
Gaoler having a drunken populace, with music, flags, and
banners, into the interior of the gaol, and dancing him
self with a female convict, Sarah Hewett, who became
pregnant while acting as a servant in the Gaoler's hoilse,
and was delivered of a bastard, which is now, and has
been for the last, two years, kept at the county expense ;
these charges having been proved by Pike and Davis,
the two turnkeys, and corroborated by almost every pri
soner who was called up in the early part of the inquiry,
the Commissioners informed me publicly in the Court that
they were so well satisfied of these facts, that they begged
I would not call any more witnesses^ to prove them, un
less Bridle attempted to contradict them in his defence,
which if he did attempt, I should be at liberty to call
other witnesses to confirm it. I therefore declined to call
thirty or forty other witnesses, who could have confirmed
these charges ; and as Bridle and his attorney did not at
tempt to contradict or disprove them, I had no occasion to,
nor did I, call these witnesses at all.
As the public will soon be enabled to judge for them-

16
selves, by reading the evidence taken before the Commis
sioners, which will be published in numbers by Mr. Dolby,
as soon as I can possibly prepare it for the press, I shall
merely insert a letter, written by Mr. Shillibear, who has
acted as my secretary during the whole investigation, to
William Dickenson, Esq., one of the Members for this
county, the day before he went to the Quarter Sessions,
where he acts as one of the chairmen. The letter will
speak for itself; to which Mr. Dickenson returned a satis
factory answer. This will show how far the lying Post
is correct, when it said that " not a single charge had
been substantiated against ihe Governor."
The g-aol surgeon is already dismissed, for having pre
pared the blister that was applied to Gardner's head.
But dismissal will not be the whole of the disgrace that
awaits the Goaler, who applied the torture. The Sheriff
and Magistrates have appointed Wednesday, the 18th, to
hear Bridle's defence, if he have any to make, against those
thirteen charges which were proved before them, as to
his immediate conduct as their servant. He will be sus
pended in the meantime, and an adjourned sessions will
be held to decide finally upon his case, as far as they are
concerned. He will ultimately be dealt with by the
House of Commons, when the Commissioners make their
report. The Magistrates will also take the embezzlements into
their consideration ; and whether they will suffer the
Gaoler to be at large, and escape from justice, is a matter
for them to decide upon. Of this I am quite sure, that the
county, from this inquiry, will be enabled to save from fif
teen hundred to two thousand a year. The expenses of
this infamously conducted sink of vice and immorality have
amounted to five thousand pounds a year. It could
be conducted magnificently for three thousand pounds

IT
a Year. I now call upon the county-rate payers of Somer
setshire, to protect themselves from being thus plundered
of their property. I believe that Bridle has never made
less, in a fair way, than from twelve to fifteen hun
dred a year by this gaol. Now, I hope that we shall have
something like a man of education and humanity ap
pointed to supply his place ; and how many honest, ho
nourable, humane,\ and active men are there, who would
be happy to fill such a situation for a clear three hun
dred pounds a year, exclusive of house rent and
taxes. Then let the Magistracy of the county do all they
can to redeem their character, which has been so much
disgraced by the sanction they gave to Bridle, a vulgar,
illiterate, unfeeling, inhuman person, whose only education
was received on board the Hulks, as was so emphatically
said upon oath by Sir John Acland.
Pressed as I am for time, I yet cannot refrain from offer
ing my very best thanks to my worthy friends at Manches
ter, who attended at the meeting called at the police-office,
to consult upon the best means of celebrating the approach
ing Coronation. Saxton often delighted me, when he was
at Ilchester, by his sallies of wit and patriotic enthusiasm ;
but when 1 read the amendment that he moved, relative
to the nine wise-acres and the yeomanry cavalry, I was
convulsed with laughter, and I never think of it without
laughing out loud. O! how I should have enjoyed the
spectacle ! Saxton is a brave fellow, and, in spite of all
his failings, is always ready to do his duty to the public.
I beg tha he and Mr. Candalet will accept the warmest
thanks of the " Captive of Ilchester." The brave and ge
nerous Stockport lads, I see, are also determined to cele
brate the occasion in an appropriate manner. I thank
them kindly for their remembrance of Henry Hunt.
Butoh ! my brave friends, although you are quite right to
' 4 o

18
remind our enemies of their injustice, yet they will never
release me till they are compelled to do so. They never
intended that the brave Napoleon should leave his prison
alive, and they have carried their intention into effect.
They never intend that I shall leave this bastile alive. But,
I will do all the good I can even while I am in captivity.
I barricade the door of my dungeon every night, and as I
cook my own victuals, I take my carving knife with me
to bed, and I am determined to sell my life as dear as I
am able.
The gaol Coroner was examined before the Commis^
sioners, as to an inquest held upon a prisoner here, of the
name of Ford, who, we had it in evidence, was knocked
down in his cell, where he was double-ironed and hand
cuffed, at eight o'clock in the morning ; he was found
dead ten minutes afterwards ; the inquest was held at
three o'clock, and having returned the convenient verdict
of" died by the visitation of God," he was snugly buried
in Ilchester Church-yard, at five o'clock the same day.
So you see they do business of this sort in " double quick
time !" I therefore gave the said Coroner a written notice,
in the presence of the Commissioners, that when he is
called upon to hold an inquest upon my body, he should
send for two surgeons, Mr. Sherland, of Ilchester, and Mr.
Davies, of Andover, whom I had authorised to open my
body, having bequeathed my heart to the Radical Re
formers, male and female, of the North.
One more word, and I shall close this address, which, I
fear, is already too long. Read the letter, the circular
letter of Lord Sidmouth ; sent first to the Gaoler of Glou
cester Gaol, and inserted in the Magistates' Journal of this
Bastile, for the guidance of the Gaoler. But, in spite of
this letter, and in spite of the general order of the Magis
trates, every letter coming to the prisoners, or going from

19
them, with the exception of myself and Mr. Kinnear, has
been opened and read by the myrmidons of the Gaoler, up
to the day that I gave the said letter in evidence before
the Commissioners, when examining Sir John Acland,
whom 1 had consigned to my care for nine hours. From
that moment every letter has been brought to, and taken
from, the prisoners, to the post-office, unopened, and with
out the seal being touched. This, this alone, was worth
all my troubled exertions. For ten weeks there has been
no torture. The prisoners have been since allowed
good water and good bread. Previous to this inquiry
the bread had been infamous, adulterated, and unwhole
some ; and all the wells of the prison, except one, have
been pronounced even by Dr. Sir George Gibbs, of Bath,
to have been contaminated by a communication with the
common sewers and the privies of the Gaol. The ame
lioration of the prisoners' condition in this gaol, since the
investigation began, has been greater than I can describe
in this letter. I have received the grateful thanks of all,
and 1 despair not of receiving the thanks of the whole
county. I beg Colonel Williams, of Liverpool, to read Lord Sid-
mouth's letter, and let him call Lord Sidmouth and my
self as witnesses, at Lancaster, when Higgins's indictment
for a libel against him is to be tried. Let Colonel Wil
liams move for a Habeas Corpus to bring me down to
Lancaster as a witness, and I will pledge my existence the
trial is either postponed, or that he will obtain a trium
phant verdict of acquittal. However, this comes of
putting gaolers over magistrates. Higgins does not make
less than three thousand a-year out of the county of Lan
caster ; no wonder the ruffian is so insolent ! Look to
this, ye county-rate payers of Lancashire !
I beg to offer my grateful thanks to the Radicals of

20
Rochdale for their present of the most beautiful piece of
flannel that ever was manufactured ; I will wear it for
their sakes. I have received the handsome subscriptions
from the Radicals of Birmingham, thirty pounds ; Bristol,
ten pounds ; Preston, seven pounds ; and others, as will
be published upon the wrapper. I have need of the sup
port of the Radicals, to enable me to fight such a fight
against power and tyranny as was never before fought,
under such appalling and discouraging circumstances ;
and the Radicals are nobly and generously doing their
duty to aid me. You will see, my friends, by the letter
which I put into the hands of the Commissioners, the
moment before they left the gaol, that 1 have paid the
whole of the expenses of this arduous and trying investiga
tion out of my own humble means ; and you have enabled
me to gratify the proudest wish of my heart, to maintain
my consistency and my independence. The Commissioners
had given checks upon the Treasury to my witnesses, who
had come from a distance, to the amount of twenty or thirty
pounds, and when they were expecting my demand upon
them for about sixty pounds more, I had the supreme sa
tisfaction of returning every one of those checks, and de
clining to receive from them a penny.
I am, my excellent Friends,
Your's, sincerely,
H. HUNT.

Charges preferred against Wm. Bridle, the Gaoler
of ihe County, and Governor of the House of Correction
in his Majesty's Gaol at Ilchester. in the County of So
merset, by Henry Hunt, Esq. a prisoner confined in
the County Gaol, under a Sentence ofthe Court of King's
Bench, for two years and six months, for attending

21
a peaceable Meeting at Manchester, on the 16lh of
August, 1819 ; before Thomas Grimstone Estcourt,
Esq. M. P. Charles Godfrey Munday, Esq: and
 .  Phelps, Esq. His Majesty's Commissioners
appointed to inquire into the conduct of the Gaoler , and
the state of the Gaol at Ilchester.
First — Gross neglect of duty, and disregard of the orders
of the Magistrates.
Second — Drunkenness within and without the gaol. "
Third— Gambling in the gaol with some of the pri
soners for pounds, and inflicting torture upon others for
playing for pence.
Fourth — Swearing horrid oaths within and without the
gaol. Fifth — Absenting himself from divine service, and se--
lecting a wicked and abandoned debtor as his clerk, who
never attends divine service.
Sixth — Opening the gaol doors during the elections and
at other times, and admitting the populace with flags,
colours, and bands of music ; dancing himself, in the pre
sence ofthe prisoners, with the women ofthe town, giving
them liquor, and encouraging drunkenness, debauchery,
and riot, within the walls of the gaol.
Seventh — Cruelty and injustice to the prisoners, male
and female, and, amongst other things, withholding, dur
ing sickness and fevers, .meat, wine, and other necessaries
allowed by and charged to the County, and appropriating
them to the use of himself, his family, and visitors.
Eighth — Permitting at other times such necessaries,
charged to the County, and purchased for sick prisoners,
to pass through the hands of his brother and sister-in-law,
the task-master and mistress, who had a large family of
children that he knew were deprived of the common ne
cessaries of life, in consequence of his having stopped back

22
and withheld half their salary, which the County had al
lowed them, and applied it, without their consent, to pay
offa real or pretended claim of his own.
Ninth — For embezzling the property of the County —
candles, soap, straw, meat, wine, groceries, &c. intended
for the sick.
Tenth — For inflicting torture upon the prisoners, male,
female, and infants, unknown to the Magistrates.
Eleventh — For compelling boys and men, for misde
meanors, to associate with, to work, and even sleep with
felons, oonvicts, housebreakers, coiners, and even making
boys sleep with a man convicted of beastiality.
Twelfth — For compelling women of all classes of
crimes, as well as debtors, to mingle together in the same
ward, and sleep together in the same cells.
Thirteenth — For licentious conduct towards female
convicts, two having become with child in his own
house, being himself the father of one of the bastards, and
strongly suspected of being also the father ofthe other;
which bastaids have been kept at the County's expense,
and the County deprived ofthe labour of their mothers.
Fourteenth — For placing debtors in solitary confinement,
and depriving them from seeing their wives in private
without an order from the Magistrates.
Fifteenth — For conniving at the prisoners being im
posed upon by the Shop people, and imposing arbitrary
and partial rules without their being sanctioned by the
Magistrates or the Judges of Assize.
Sixteenth — For making interlineations, erasures, and
false entries in a book, called the Occurrence Book of the
Gaol, in order to deceive, impose upon, and hood-wink
the Magistrates, so that he may be the better enabled to.
carry on his infamous and cruel practices in the gaol with
out detection.

23
Seventeenth — For breaking open the letters of the pri
soners, contrary to law, and in direct violation of a circu
lar letter from Lord Sidmouth, entered in the Magistrates
journal. Eighteenth — For compelling the prisoners to wear one
pair of stockings for many months together, without any
change or washing ; also their linen for many weeks toge
ther, without washing ; thus endangering the health and
safety of the whole establishment by pestilence and fever.
Nineteenth — For employing some of the prisoners to
work at hard labour on tha Sabbath day, and continuing
to do so the whole of chapel hours, himself and clerk set
ting the example of a total disregard of all religious du
ties, while he caused other prisoners to be locked up in
solitary confinement for not attending chapel.
Twentieth — Illegally and inhumanly placing prisoner?
in heavy irons before trial, and causing them to take their
trials so manacled and shackled, and constantly executing
criminals in irons.
Twenty-first — For concealing from some of the Ma
gistrates that the water of the gaol was bad and un
wholesome, and that the , prisoners were suffering great
bodily pain therefrom ; and conniving with other Magis
trates and the firm of perpetual Under Sheriffs, " Messrs.
Broderip, and Co." to debar the prisoners, particularly the
debtors, from receiving milk, water, beer, and other neces
saries, in reasonable quantities, at reasonable hours in the
day time ; and, in fact, of being instrumental to all those
atrocities enumerated in a publication called the "Peep
into Ilchester Gaol," a copy of which is hereunto an
nexed.

•24

(copy.)
To the Honourable Commissioners appointed under the
Great Seal ofthe United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, to inquire into the conduct of the Gaoler, and
the state of Ilchester Gaol, in the County of Somerset.
Gentlemen, Ilchester Bastile, fune 30, 1821.
In consequence of your having refused to com
ply with my earnest request to grant a summons directed
to the Warden of the Fleet, to bring before you John
Kinnear, Esq., a prisoner in his custody, but late a pri
soner who resided for ten months in the Gaoler's house, in
this gaol, and who had thereby become acquainted with
all the debaucheries and atrocities committed therein, as
well as the torture and injustice inflicted upon the pri
soners, and most of the tricks, deceptions, and delusions
practised upon the Magistrates ; also, your having refused
to grant a summons, directed to the Sheriff of Middle
sex, to bring before you Matthew Hobbs, a prisoner in
his custody, who had been employed as task-master, in
this gaol, for the last five years ; I have been deprived
of these two most material and necessary witnesses to ena
ble me to make out the charges that I preferred against
William Bridle, the Gaoler, on behalf of the public, my
fellow-prisoners, and myself; and, without whose testi
mony, you, the Honourable Commissioners, can have but
a faint idea 'of the transactions that have been carried on in
this gaol. Under these circumstances, and impressed with
a feeling of conscious pride, that I have never in my life
received, either by myself, or any of my family, one six
pence of the public money ; I therefore now beg leave,
most respectfully, to decline accepting any sum of money
from you, the Honourable Commissioners, towards paying
the expenses 1 have incurred by those other witnesses,

25
seventy-two in number, which I have called before you
to substantiate the charges which I preferred against the
Gaoler. I am, Gentlemen,
With great respect,
Your obedient, humble servant,
HENRY HUNT,
This letter was delivered to the Commissioners, on
Saturday evening, the 30th of June, the last thing before
they left the prison ; in consequence of which, the Com
missioners immediately proceeded to London, and exa
mined both Mr. Kinnear and Mr. Hobbs, without whose
testimony, notwithstanding all they had seen and heard
at Ilchester, their report would not have been complete.

King's Weston Inn, July 9, 1821.
Sir,
Finding you were from home, and being pressed for time,
I beg to inform you that I have left a letter at your house
from Mr. Hunt, with whom I have just parted.
I had intended (but your servant informed me I should
not see you to-day) to have done myself the honour, as
an humble individual, personally to protest to you, as
Chairman of the Quarter Sessions, against Bridle, the
present Gaoler at Ilchester, having the care of the person
of Mr. Hunt ; for having been present during the whole
of the investigation before the Magistrates, and the In
quiry of his Majesty's Commission into the state of the
gaol and the conduct of the gaoler ; and having also at
tended during the whole of Bridle's defence, which only
amounted to testimony as to character, from gentlemen
who had been deceived, up to a certain period, and others
4 »

26
of the most abandoned description, who had been kindly
treated by him, without an answer to, or a refutation of,
one of the charges ; and from a thorough conviction in
my own mind that the Gaoler cannot further disgrace
himself by any act he can do, I feel myself justified in
stating to you that I am apprehensive for the life of Mr.
Hunt, who has endeared himself to his friends, and whose
conduct will always entitle him to respect even from his
enemies. I have made the same communication to Mr. Hanning,
as High Sheriff, and I should feel ashamed if I did not do
the same to you, as Chairman of the Quarter Sessions.
I have the honour to be, &c.
H. B. SHILLIBEAR.
To William Dickenson, Esq. M. P.

(copy.)
Letter addressed by Lord Sidmouth to Mr. Cunningham,
the Governor of Gloucester Gaol, dated the 9th Nov.
1814, which was sent as a circular to every county gaol
in the kingdom, and entered in the Magistrates' Jour
nal at the Gaol of Ilchester, by the order of Sir John
Acland, Chairman of the Quarter Sessions for the
county of Somerset.
" SIR, Whitehall, 9th Nov. 1814.
" I address this letter to you in consequence of certain
complaints that have been made relative to the govern
ment of Gloucester Gaol, and the report of the Visiting
Magistrates thereon. It appears that there has been a
practice of opening the letters, either addressed to or
written by prisoners of the classes of felons and fines,
under a notion that it was your duty to do so : I feel my-

27
self, therefore, called upon to repeat the opinion which
A expressed in a letter addressed to the Chairman of thei
Quarter Sessions of the county of Gloucester, onthe 12th
July last, that the law will not warrant such a practice. — '¦
Letters should be opened in such cases only in which there
is reasonable ground to suspect that a communication is
intended for purposes of confederation and crime, or
which may produce disorder in the gaol, or lead to escapes^
or other mischievous consequences. It must be left to your
discretion to decide upon individual cases in which fair
suspicion may warrant you in opening such letters, to pre
vent -apprehended mischief; but if it be done as a general
practice, or without probable cause of suspicion, it will be
highly reprehensible. I think it also necessary to repeat,
though not called for in the same degree by every prac
tice proved to have existed in the gaol under your care,
that the legal advisers or friends of prisoners should be
permitted at seasonable times to have access to them, for
the purpose of preparing for their defence or trial, or for
the protection of their rights and interests. But as appli
cation of this sort may be made a practice for improper or
unseasonable communications, it must remain for you to
exercise a fair and honest discretion in deciding whether
the application for access or communication be for the
real purposes stated, and act accordingly. " I am, Sir,
(Signed) " SIDMOUTH."
P. S. As the High Sheriff and the Visiting Magistrates
are annually appointed, I have to request that you will
communicate to them from time to time, as occasion may
require, the contents of the above letter.

28
Copy of the amendment proposed by Mr. Saxton, at
the Town's Meeting, held at the police office, Man
chester, convened by the Boroughreeve, to consider the
means of celebrating the approaching Coronation.
" Resolved — That the nine Wiseacres who acted so con
spicuous a part on the 16th of August, 1819, be tarred and
Feathered, and that they head the procession, the Rev.
Mr. Hay bearing a black banner, with this inscription,
' Thou shalt do no murder? and Mr. Hulton another
banner, * Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbour ;' and that they be followed by the Man
chester and Cheshire Yeomanry Cavalry, with jackets
turned, mounted with their faces to the horses' tails, and
to prevent accidents, the Special Constables be requested
to lead their horses during the order of procession."

NAPOLEON THE BRAVE IS DEAD.
The mighty is fallen ! and shall no more be seen I
Whatever is terrestrial is transitory. This huge globe it
self shall pass away, and to beings of a superior order its
extinction shall appear not more striking or remarkable at
its annihilation, than the passage of a meteor to the inha
bitants of this world as it vanishes and falls to rise no more.
As the history of planets to such superior beings who are
competent to observe on their creation, revolutions, pe
riods of existence, and final destruction, so man is capable
of remarking, relating, and recording the deeds of those
great meteors, those wonderful individuals, those men
who have signalized themselves as the»chief agents in the
most arduous achievements of the human race. Such a
meteor has Napoleon been ; but even he, who made ty
rants tremble, who created Kings and Queens and extin-

29
guished kingdoms, who, unlike other Kings and Em
perors, knew well
" Parcere subjectis et debellare superbos,"
" Who bound the strong in arms, but spared the feeble'
'* hand ; who was a stream of many tides against the foes
" of his people, and as the gale that moves the grass to
" those who sought his aid, is now no more !" Even Na
poleon has submitted to the inevitable lot of man ! Na
poleon is dead. But " non omnis moriar : exegit monu-
" menta cere per ennius." True history will faithfully re
cord his deeds, his valour, his unrivalled genius, his mag
nificence, his justice, impartiality, wonderful capacity in
the field and in the cabinet, his gratitude, his honour, his
universal knowledge and skill in all arts and sciences, the
first of men, the most wonderful man that ever existed !
That such a man as Napoleon should become obnoxi
ous to all tyrants and despots, is no wonder; and it is not
my object at present to inquire whether his terrestrial
race were terminated by assassination, or the quick or slow
effect of the poisoned cup, for that will always remain in
a state of mystery as inexplicable as the verdict of an Old
ham Inquest ; but it is clear, and is the verdict of all man
kind, that a man may be murdered in the scorching and
pestilential climate of St. Helena, by a fiat from Down
ing-street, and an Act of Parliamentary Boroughmongers,
as effectually as by the drop at Newgate.
Now that the Boroughmongers of this country, and
their stewards and clerks that meet in Downing-street or
Whitehall, and their Holy Allies of Russia, Prussia,
and Germany, have had their will, that their brother
despot has ascended the throne of France, and a petty
tyrant has been reinstated at Naples, what have these
enemies of mankind got ? In the way of their trade they
have destroyed, indeed, many millions of their fellow-

30
creatures : they have hunted Liberty out of Europe, en
slaved the human race, robbed the people of all their
rights and privileges ; from a great, flourishing, and a
happy people, they have made a discontented, starving,
insignificant, bankrupt nation, without credit, esteem, or
respect, as formerly, among the nations ofthe earth. For
your rights you have no vindicators ; your patriots are in
chains and thraldom ; your burthens are intolerable ; you
pay taxes without commerce ; you must make bricks with
out straw ; your laws are equivocal ; and speak too much
the will of their administrators. Is all lost ? No ; printing is
still known ; knowledge is disseminated; men read and
write, they learn their rights, and they will vindicate and
soon break their chains.
Though Napoleon be gone, a love of liberty is not ex
tinct. The Junta of Holy Allies will crumble to pieces ;
the grand bubble will burst ; and as Spain and Portugal,
under their Quirogas and other patriots, have secured to
their compatriots their natural rights and privileges, so
will France and England soon re-assert their rights and
liberties, and the inhabitants of these two nations again
see golden days, when every man shall sit under his
own vine and fig-tree, enjoying civil and religious li
berty, and none making them afraid. Then will the op
pressors hide their heads, or call on the mountains to
cover them, or expiate, from the justice of God and man,
their numerous crimes ; and the present veil which leaves
the exit of the ever-to-be-lamented Princess Charlotte,
Mrs. Griffith, Croft, Romilly, and Whitbread, in mystery
and darkness, be for ever removed.

31
ON THE STAR OF " THE LEGION OF HONOR.'
Star of the brave ! whose beam hath shed
Such glory o'er the quick and the dead ;
Thou radiant and adored deceit,
Which millions rushed in arms to greet ;
Wild meteor of immortal birth,
Why rise in heaven to set on earth ?
Souls of slain heroes formed thy rays,
Eternity flashed through thy blaze ;
The music of thy martial sphere
Was fame on high and honour here ;
And thy light broke on human eyes,
Like a volcano of the skies.
Like lava rolled thy stream of blood,
And swept down empires with its flood ;
Earth rock'd beneath thee to her base,
As thou didst lighten through all space :
And the shorn sun grew dim in air,
And set while thou wert dwelling there:
Before 1hee rose, and with thee grew,
A rainbow of the loveliest hue ;
Of three bright colours,* each divine,
And fit for that celestial sign :
For Freedom's hand had blended them
Like tints in an immortal gem.
One tint was of the sun-beam's dyes ;
One the blue depth of seraph's eyes ;
One the pure spirit's veil of white,
Had robed in radiance of its light ;
The three so mingled did beseem
The texture of a heavenly dream.
* The tri-colour.

32
Star of the brave ! thy ray is pale,
And darkness must again prevail :
But oh ! thou rainbow of the free, '
Our tears and blood must flow for thee 
When thy bright promise fades away.
Our life is but a load of clay.
And Freedom hallows with her tread,
The silent cities of the dead ;
For beautiful in death are they
Who proudly fall in her array ;
And soon, oh Goddess ! may we be
For ever more with them or thee.
Lord Byron.

Printed by T. Dolby, 899, Strand.

to
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
¦ ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 10th day, 12th month, 2nd year of the Manchester
Massacke, without retribution or inquiry.
July 26, 1921.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Well, thank God, the long-talked-of, long-delayed
gewgaw of a Coronation is over at last, without the
cowardly assassin of the Courier being gratified with
the spilling of human blood. This remorseless being
longed this time in vain to see the streets of the metropo
lis stained with the blood of the people of England ; he
predicted that which he wished, that the nineteenth of
July, 1821, in Westminster, would be dedicated to scenes
similar to those that were perpetrated on St. Peter's plain
at Manchester, on the never-to-be-forgotten, never-to-be-
forgiven Sixteenth of August, 1819 ; nay, the fellow
threatened it, if the Queen should appear at Westminister
on the day of her husband's Coronation. This was done
to deter the Queen from her purpose ; but neither this
fiend, nor his fiend-like employers, are capable of esti
mating the character of an injured, persecuted, though
brave and innocent, woman. I am delighted beyond
measure that the Queen kept her word, in spite of the
threats of this literary ruffian, this foul-mouthed agent of
the Queen's persecutors. This was well resolved, it was
bravely executed by her Majesty. The people of Eng
land may take this as an earnest that their Queen's word
5 A

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

is to be depended upon in future : when the brave Queen
resolves, doubt not, my friends, but it will be executed to
the very letter. When I obeyed the call of my distressed
. fellow-countrymen at Spa-fields, each of the three times
was my life threatened ; and the military, horse, foot,
and artillery, were called out to execute the man
dates of the Courier's masters ; but, having promised, did
I ever fail to attend to redeem the pledge I had given ?
When I accepted the invitationsof the distressed people
of Bath and Bristol to attend their meetings, in the year
1816, I was threatened again with military execution if I
dared to perform a civil right, and I was attended and
surrounded by horse and foot soldiers ; but, while I was
justified by the law, was I ever deterred from performing
my duty by their illegal and unconstitutional threats ?
My life was threatened by these literary bravoes of the
Ministers to deter me from attending the two great meet
ings in Smithfield ; but I performed my promise and my
duty to the people, and attended those meetings. My
life was to have been forfeited if I performed my promise
by attending what was considered an illegal meeting on
the 9th of August, 1819, at Manchester, and denounced
as such by the authorities ; but as there was no law at
that time which made it illegal for the people to meet, on
the 9th of August I entered Manchester ; but as those
who had' signed the requisition had deferred the meeting
to the Sixteenth, at their request I remained in Man
chester to attend that meeting. In the mean time, every
species of threat and intimidation was held out to induce
me to give up my purpose ; but having once given my
word to my friends, although my life was an easy sacri
fice, yet to break my promise, deceive my friends, and gain
the merited contempt of the people, was much worse than
death, and I attended the meeting on the Sixteenth

of August. The fatal result is known to the whole
civilized world, and the authors and perpetrators of it are
execrated by every honest man and woman in it. Per
haps I shall be told this is egotism. Be it so. I only an
swer, is it not the TRUTH? The Prince Regent, the
present King, caused his thanks to be given to the cold
blooded Magistrates and the cowardly Yeomanry of Man
chester, for their military oprations against unarmed men,
women, and children, peaceably assembled to exercise
a legal and constitutional civil right.
His gracious and benevolent Majesty, the- father
of his people, the King, has been Crowned ; but was
there ever such a Coronation since England had a
King? The description of what I have heard and read of
what passed in the metropolis, the grand scene of action,
is just such as it might have been expected, had it not been
for the glittering tinsel gewgaws with which the King
and his servile courtiers were clothed. The exhibition
was so'mournful, that it might have passed for a funeral
procession in commemoration of the murder committed
upon unoffending men, women, and children on S*. Peter's
Plain. All was " flat, stale, and unprofitable ;" what was
going on in other parts of the kingdom we shall perhaps
never hear ; for in many places the scenes that were ex
hibited were too disgusting to be recorded in print.
However painful, it shall be my duty to recount some of
the transactions that occurred in this part of the world.
At Ilchester it was a melancholy day ; not one cheer
ful countenance was there to be seen in this borough ; I
heard not of one heart being made glad, not one merry
peal, nor one token or expression of delight or joy did I
hear of, as being exhibited in Ilchester. We have
heard since that some benevolent persons, or rather some
loyal gentry, of Bath, clubbed a few pounds and sent it

down to Ilchester to be given amongst the prisoners at
this Bastile, to enable us to drink his Majesty's health
(God bless him !) and a long and glorious reign to George
the Fourth. But, as it has been many and oft the time
before, the letter and the money both fell into the rapa
cious hands of our amiable, loyal Gaoler, in whose safe
custody it quietly remained, and, in all probability, there
it would have snugly remained without the prisoners ever
hearing one word of the matter, or ever being one penny
the better for it, if it had not been discovered, some days
after the Coronation was past, that the benevolent and
loyal gentry at Bath took care (very properly) to have
their charitable deeds recorded by an advertisement in
one of the Bath newspapers. This led to an inquiry,
which being communicated to me by one of the debtors,
1 forwarded it to Wm. Hanning, Esq. the High Sheriff,
who immediately ordered Mr. Gaoler to lug out the 9l.
] 8s. and divide it amongst the prisoners, which was done
yesterday, amounting to 1*. 2d. each prisoner. Had this
been distributed amongst them, as it was intended, on the
day of the Coronation, it might have produced a very dif
ferent feeling to that which I was sorry to see prevailed
throughout the gaol on that day. 1 believe that I was
almost the only cheerful person within its walls on that
occasion. This may be fairly attributed to the elasticity
of my nerves, and the evenness of my spirits : all days are
equally cheering to me, with the exception of the Six
teenth of August ; on that day the character of my
country sustained a foul stab, which will ever remain a
blot upon its calendar — a stain of the deepest dye upon
that page of its history — and I will mourn as long as I
live on that day, until inquiry, redress, or retribu
tion be obtained. But, my friends, 1 beg not to be mis
understood. I do not say that I will mourn only. No,

no, my friends, I solemnly declare, in the face of Heaven
and my country, that 1 will never cease to demand inqui
ry, I will neverslacken my endeavours to obtain redress ;
and as long as these are denied us, I will never, to the
very last moment of my existence, fail to cherish the hope,
and seek RETRIBUTION. It is no use to lie down and
cry " God help me ;" no, my friends, this would be a base
dereliction of duty to ourselves and to our neighbours ; if we
were to cease our demands for justice or slacken our ex
ertions to obtain it, we should be tacitly sanctioning the
bloody deed, and it would be offering a mental premium
for a repetition of such cowardly atrocities.
Will you, my friends of Manchester, stand mute on the
second anniversary of the Sixteenth of August ? Will
you suffer your sorrow on that day to pass away in dumb
shew, or will you speak out? Will you cower down like
slaves, or will you stand erect like free men? 1 know
your answer will be that which will do honour to your
natures. I shall have you in my heart's best-keeping on
that day, and you will not fail to think of and recollect the
" Captive of Ilchester ;" your generous sympathies
will flit o'er the walls and enter the door of my dungeon ;
I shall fancy I hear myriads of well-known north country
voices whisper, in gentle notes, " this is the second anni-
ver sary of this day thai our Friend has passed immured
within the yawning walls of a pestilential dungeon." And
for what, you will exclaim, is he thus immured ? For com
ing amongst us, at our own request ; for obeying our call
to assist us to recover our rights in a legal and peaceable
manner ! My spirit and the spirit of Liberty will be with
you ; you will call to your recollection how and when I
came amongst you ; it will be present to my imagination
with what enthusiasm I was received by you when 1 ar
rived at Stockport, at Manchester, at Bolton, at Black-

burn, at Preston, at Leeds, and, in fact, at every place
throughout the north ; I shall be present, in imagination,
with you all on the bloody Sixteenth of August; we
shall be in full communion with each other on that day ;
although we shall be from two to three hundred miles
apart, our hearts and souls will beat in unison, and at the
very same moment (about twenty minutes past one o'clock)
our voices will, with one involuntary action, call aloud for
justices or vengeance, urged on by the recollection of
the dying groans of our slaughtered fellow-countrymen,
and the heart-rending shrieks and piercing cries of our
wounded, bleeding countrywomen, and their hapless,
mangled, screaming children. I ask you, once more, can
you think of these and be mute ?
My Friend, Mr. Shillibeer, of Taunton, who participates
in our feeling upon this subject, and who has voluntarily
acted as my secretary during the last ten weeks' Investi
gation into the atrocities committed in this Bastile, by the
unfeeling monster of a Gaoler ; and to whom I am greatly
indebted for his kind attention and able assistance, and
without whose judicious aid and incessant application, I
could never have obtained a correct copy of the evidence
given before the Magistrates and his Majesty's Commis
sioners, so as to have published it to the world. Mr. Shil
libeer, determined not to oblige by halves, has promised
me that he will visit you, my friends, at Manchester, so as
to meet you upon the Sixteenth of August, to relate
to you, in person, what has .been going on within the
walls of this Bastile, during the last three months : he will
be able and willing to communicate to my Radical Friends
a faithful detail of my exertions to bring to light the gross
abuses, the secret and wanton torture inflicted upon the
poor and friendless prisoners, confined in the custody of
Mr. Gaoler Bridle.

Our friend, Saxton, was introduced and visited Mr.
Shillibeer at TaUnton. Saxton can give you an account
of the west-country Radicals, an honourable specimen of
whom he saw at Taunton ; the worthy friend that received
Saxton with such true hospitality at Taunton, I hope will
accompany Mr. Shillibeer to the north, that they may have
an opportunity of witnessing the .sort of materials that
compose the Lancashire Radicals, Yoti will so conduct
yourselves on that day, my friends, as will convince the
murderers and their cowardly abettors, that you have not
and that you will not ever forget their dastardly conduct
on that day. You will visit St. Peter's-field — you will
take your children with you to that " Golgotha" of the
present system of terror and misrule — you will recount to
them the scenes that transpired thereon that day two
years: and when he returns, he will inform me what you said
and did upon the occasion. I. trust that you will not fail
to honour the graves of the murdered Martyrs of Reform
with your presence, and that you will take your children
with you, that the truth may be handed down to your
childrens' children. Teach them to lisp, with a proper
feeling, the irreverend names of Parsons Hay and
Ethelston, the names of Hulton, Mariott, Tatton,
Norris, Trafford, and the rest ofjhe unworthy nine
wise-acres, who figured as Magisterial desperadoes
on that day. The names Of Birley and  will
always be synonymous. I am much mortified tbat I have
never been enabled to publish the names of the whole
gang that were confederated against the lives and liber
ties of the people on that day. Pray let some one send
me the Christian and sirnames of all the nine Wise-acres,
age, height, complexion, and place of residence ; the same
ofthe officers ofthe Manchester and Cheshire Yeomanry,
who were employed on that day. Also, the names of as

many of the privates as can be collected, their description
and occupation, and their place of residence, whether in or
out of Manchester, and 1 will undertake to publish them
in my Memoirs, together with the names of the York
Special Jurymen, and those who gave evidence at the
trial : I wish to publish, in one number, as many of the
gang, who were concerned in this affair, as possible, that
I rimy hand them down to posterity. Depend upon it, my
friends, the day will yet come when such a list will be
most valuable, for the day of retribution must and will
come. It is not necessary for me to call to your recol
lection that the " Captive of Ilchester" is the only
victim of that day who remains incarcerated. Poor
Knight, it is true, is in Lancaster Castle, but his sentence
is for having attended a Meeting at Burnley : I am the
only remaining victim of the Sixteenth of August,
-1819. Ah! my friends, how the tyrants expose their in
justice in my sentence ; how they have honoured nie by
their hatred. Johnson, Bamford, and Healy have had
their prison doors opened for nearly three months past ;
they had only twelve months' imprisonment, I am to have
thirty months ; their imprisonment in Lincoln Castle,
was rendered a paradise compared to what I am doomed
to suffer in this accursed pestilential Bastile. Their's was
mere imprisonment. Johnson occupied good, spacious, and
airy apartments, consisting of two rooms, as good, I am
informed, as any man could wish for ; he was never de
nied the society of his family and friends. And, as for
Bamford and Healy, with the exception of being in a pri
son, they were better accommodated than they ever were
in their lives at home, as I am credibly informed by those
who have seen both their homes and their prison. They
had their wives to sleep with them whenever they chose
to visit them, and all other persons were admitted at all

reasonable hours in the day time; in fact, they were very
properly allowed every indulgence and accommodation
that could be had in a prison. It is true they had com
mitted no offence, and imprisonment at all was a great in
justice; but their offence on the Sixteenth of August
was surely as great as mine. They had assisted in calling
the meeting, they had invited me to attend the meeting,
they had invited others to attend the meeting witliout con
sulting me, and Johnson had invited Mr. Carlile to attend
the meeting, unknown to me, and I was never more asto
nished in my life than when 1 saw Mr. Carlile walk into
Mr. Johnson's to attend the meeting ; I was the more sur
prised at this, because I had never seen Mr. Carlile at any
public meeting before in my life, neither in London, where
he resided, nor elsewhere. I had not the least objection to
Mr. Carlile, on the contrary, I believed him to be a very
honest man — I had found him so in all my dealings
wilh him: he had materially assisted me during my con
test at the Westminster/election, and had acted a brave
and disinterested part; but I never knew him obtrude any
of his theological opinions, public or private, and I con
sidered him a mere seller of Paine's theological works, in
the way of his trade ; at all events, I never meddled with
these matters, and he never forced them upon any one.
Mr. Carlile attended, as I conceived, at the Manchester
Meeting-, as a spectator, the same as the rest of the multi
tude of two hundred thousand who attended. He was
never consulted about the resolutions or any other mea
sure that was to have been submitted to the Meeting-, and,
in fact, he had nothing to do with it. Mr. Johnson and
some others invited him, and he attended, for which at
tendance, I believe, I am indebted, at least, twelve months
of my time ; although, so far from being instrumental to
Mr. Carlile's attendance, I did not even know that he was
5 B

10
invited or that he was expected. Mr. Carlile had as much
right to be there as I had, or any other person, as there
was no law against it at that time. I believe Mr. Johnson
is a Deist from principle, and, very much to his credit, I
believe, he never has disguised his principles ; they are
certainly not considered dangerous, neither does his undis
guised hostility to the clergy, prevent the pious, worthy,
and very Reverend Dean of Lincoln joining in a Petition
to the King to promote Mr. Johnson's comfort and ac
commodation at Lincoln Castle. The Lincoln Clergy
Magistrates behaved towards Mr. Johnson in a very differ
ent way from that which the Parson Justices have treated
me here ; but, I thank God, that I am thought worthy to
be honoured with their hostility, and perhaps the sentence
of Two years and six months passed upon me, confers
the highest honour that could have been bestowed upon
an Englishman in the corrupt sera of 1820. Thank God !
my fellow-prisoners at Lincoln were treated like men,
and that they are now at liberty I most sincerely rejoice ;
they must Be cowards indeed, if their unjust sentence (for
unjust it was, although it was only two-fifths of the time
that I was doomed to suffer, and unjust it would have been if
they had only been imprisoned one month instead of twelve)
— they must be cowards ofthe lowest class if persecution such
as their's deter them from continuing to do their duty , or make
them abandon their principles. But I will not anticipate, for
a moment, such a result ; persecution never yet made a
convert to despotism, and we can never suspect that it will
have that effect upon a sincere lover of Liberty. Bamford
and Healy are old, staunch, and long-tried Reformers, they
have had their share of persecution before and flinched
not ; Mr. Johnson, to be sure, is but a young recruit in the
service, and he got wounded very early in his first cam
paign, but he was a most zealous and determined friend
to the cause while it lasted.

11
You must have observed", my friends, that Mr. Hobhouse
followed the example of Sir Robert Wilson, and mention-
ed the severity of my sentence in the Honourable House,
calling upon his Majesty's Ministers to advise the Crown
to pass an act of grace to those confined in prison for poli
tical offences ; I shall insert it as it was published in the
Traveller newspaper, as follows:
" Mr. Hobhouse wished to take this opportunity of say
ing a few words upon a hint which had been thrown
out to Ministers by a Gallant Friend of his, a few even
ings ago. He was anxious, as far as in his power, fo
strengthen what had then been recommended to them,
and he trusted that what he said would be taken in good
part. There was, at this moment, a number of persons
in prison for political offences — and he was sure, that, on
the approaching Coronation, Ministers might, with the
greatest propriety, advise the Crown to mitigate the
punishment of those individuals. One of the individu
als now in prison was descended from an ancient family ;
and he believed that none of the persons in prison had
been before guilty of any political crime. With respect
to the case ofMr.H. Hunt, there was not an individual
in the country who did not think that the punishment to
which he was sentenced had been directed against the
man, and not against the crime. In saying this he did
not mean to cast any imputation upon the Learned
Judges by whom that sentence was given ; he could not
think of allowing Parliament to separate without call
ing the attention of the Ministers to this subject. In
deed, he had heard that many of the Jurymen who con
victed Mr. Hunt had declared, that had they known he
was to be visited with so severe a punishment they
would have returned a verdict of not guilty ; besides,
it should be recollected that Mr. Hunt was convicted-
only on one ofthe many counts laid against him, and that
even upon that there was considerable difficulty of proof.
On a former occasion Ministers had thought proper to
interfere in behalf of a man who had been guilty of that
which, were it not so common, he (Mr. Hobhouse)
should call one of the greatest crimes which could be
committed in a free State — a crime which went to poi
son the very sources of legislation — that of tampering
with the returning Members to that House. He would

" have brought the question before the House in another
" shape early in the session, were it not that he felt the
" inexpediency of legislating on such matters. Such an
," act of Royal clemency as that which he wished now to
" press upon the attention of Ministers, would give more
" splendour to the Royal pageant which was to take place
" than any ornament which was in preparation for it."
In the first place, I beg leave to say, that this application
was made by Mr. Hobhouse without my knowledge or
concurrence, and if Sir Robert Wilson said any thing of
the sort, he did it without consulting me, and without my
knowledge or concurrence. I feel personally much
obliged to Sir Robert Wilson and to Mr. Hobhouse, ne
vertheless. They did an act of public duty, and they have
done themselves honour by the observations that they
made; and, I am not the less grateful to them for their
good intentions, because they did it without consulting me.
It was attended to by his Majesty's Ministers just as I, who
know them well, should have expected; and, before I
would have consented to such a motion being made — such
an application being made in my name, I would have
rotted in gaol. But, Mr. Hobhouse and Sir Robert Wilson
have done unto me and others, incarcerated for political
offences, as 1 trust, and believe^ we should have done by
them, had our cases been reversed. Sir Robert knows
what it is to be ina prison ; he was incarcerated for assist
ing the escape of Lavalette from a French prison ; he
knows how to feel for another, and feeling thus, he is too
brave not to express his sentiments. Mr. Hobhouse, also,
has tasted the fruit of an arbitrary decision ofthe House of
Commons, who sent him to Newgate: during his stay
there, he made application to the Court of King's Bench.
for justice, and received a pretty fair specimen of their
judicial impartiality. , Mr. Hobhouse said, " With respect
t° the case of Mr. H. Hunt there ivas not an individual
m the country who did not. think that the punishment ivas

13
directed against the man and not the crime." This was
very well, and perfectly true: why then, Mr. Hobhouse,
did you follow it up by saying, that " you did not mean to
cast any imputations upon the Learned Judges by whom
that sentence was given." Pray, Mr. Hobhouse, if you did
not mean to cast imputation upon the Judges who passed
the sentence, on .whom did you mean to cast it ? Blame
you certainly attribute, because you say, and say justly, that
the infamous senteneewas not passed against any crime I had
committed at Manchester, but against the man, against me
personally. Is this law, is it British justice — or is ita violation
of all law, a wanton and arbitrary stretch of power ? If the
Judges are not to blame — those who passed the sentence
to punish the man and not the offence — who is to blame ?
Ah, Mr. Hobhouse, your desire to exculpate my Lords the
Judges has caused you to throw the most serious imputa
tion upon them. Why, I suppose you mean to say the
Judges were not to blame, but the Ministers who
caused the Judges to pass such an unjust and partial
sentence. I believe this to be very true ; but what con
temptible puppets you have made the four Judges of the '
Court of King's Bench. They may be* as you insinuate,
the most time-serving tools of Ministers ; then why not
manfully say so? I know you will say, " why, if I had
done so I should have had no chance of carrying my point.
I honestly wished to see you and others released from pri
son, and if I had said this of the Judges, I am sure the Mi
nisters would not have done any thing for you." Why,
my good Sir, upon such terms as these I would not have
accepted my liberation. By all 1 hold dear upon earth,
by the character I wish to leave behind me,jf his Majesty
wotild offer me & free pardon to-morrow, upon the condi
tion that I would promise not to impeach the Judges for
the passing such a sentence, 1 would scorn the offer, and

14
would perish in gaol rather than accept it upon any such
terms. By Heavens, the greatest pleasure I have is to
dwell upon the hope that 1 shall live to impeach the four
Judges that sentenced me, and particularly the junior
Puisne Judge, Sir William Draper Best. Perhaps Mr.
Justice Bayley, who tried me, deserves it more than the
said William Draper Best, because, he pretends, at least,
to be an impartial Judge and a conscientious man. He
heard the trial, saw and heard the extraordinary evidence
of Hulton and others who appeared against me. He gave
me fair play as opposed to Scarlett, but he contrived to
get a verdict, which no Judge, who wished it, could have
missed with a. packed and corrupt jury. If I live, and
have the opportunity, I will impeach Mr. Justice Bayley ;
but I should find great difficuly in serving him as, I think,
he did me, viz. pass a cruel sentence upon him merely be
cause my brother Judges thought he ought to be punished
for some other offence besides that of which he was found
guilty. King Alfred always made a point of hanging
corrupt Judges as often as he could detect them. If we
had an Alfred now, he would think the bench needed
a little purifying. Look at Sir William Draper Best's
conduct to Mr. Cooper when defending Mary Anne Car
lile: read his language to the female defendant during
what he called his summing-up. Yet Mr. Hobhouse would
be very careful how he cast any reflection upon such a
venerable and learned Judge. I say these Judges want
to be looked after more than any set of men in the coun
try. 1 would exhibit articles of impeachment against the
said William Draper Best for his conduct to Mary Anne
Carlile when upon her trial, within one week after the
meeting of Parliament, if I were a Member : no danger
should deter me from endeavouring to bring him to pu
nishment.

15
Since my last address to you, my friends, Bridle, the
Gaoler, has been called upon by the Magistrates for his
defence. Some of these Magistrates must have committed
themselves with this fellow; he must have got some of
them under his thumb, or they would have dealt with him
according to law some months back. However, they
have given him every indulgence, every protection in
their power. In the first instance, they refused to assist
me in procuring any witnesses, either by using their influ
ence to bring them, or paying their expenses. As for pay
ing expensesof witnesses to prove that Mr. Gaoler had de
frauded the county, they, forsooth, had not got the power —
the Act of Parliament gave them no power. I wonder, by-
the-bye, who paid Sir George Gibbes's expenses in
coming from Bath ? Who paid Dr. Woodford's expenses
for coming to make a report upon oath to contradict that
of Dr. Kinglake? And when the said Dr. Woodford
had made his report upon oath, it came out, upon my
cross-examination, that the sapient Doctor, Solomon like,
had taken his information from Mr. Governor upon most
of the material points. This gaol-physician, and the gaol-
surgeon, cut a pretty figure before his Majesty's Commis
sioners; in fact, whenever their names were mentioned,
after they gave their evidence, or their practice alluded
to, the grave Commissioners, as well as myself and those
who heard them give their evidence, were convulsed with
laughter. However, Bridle declined to make any de
fence before the Magistrates once more. This was the
second time he had declined to do so. He was very coy,
although they pressed him and courted him to make some
defence. Even at the last hour on Friday, the 20th,
they quite begged him to make some defence ; and
well they might, for both Gaoler and Magistrates
stood grossly committed in the evidence produced.

ie
and he implicated the Magistrates as well as him
self, by declining to make any defep.ee. Well, they -as
sembled this day, Friday, the 27th, in great force, at the
adjourned Quarter Sessions, to hear the report ofthe Comr-
mittee,and decide upon his fate. His fate is decided
upon. They came to an unanimous resolution, " That
William Bridle, their Gaoler, is unworthy to hold the
office any longer, and he is discharged,", giving him
the usual time to prepare and make up his accounts and
pack up his traps, &c. and a new gaoler is to be adver
tised for in a few days. This has been officially announced
to me by the High Sheriff and the. two Visiting Magis
trates, and the Clerk of the Peace has just delivered the
said sentence of the Court to the said William Bridle
in writing.
So much for the infamous fabrication of the " truth-
telling Morning Post." The report of the Committee
was made in secret conclave. It must be a choice docu
ment, which, in all probability, we shall never be favour
ed with a sight of. These Magistrates stand in a very
awkward situation. In passing sentence upon Bridle
they condemn themselves : in proportion to the extent
of his criminality is their negligence or connivance self-
evident. I believe, from my soul, from what I have now
seen, that they would have screened him altogether, to
save " certain other Gentlemen," if there had not been one
little obstacle in the way — the Report and the Evidence
taken before his Majesty's Commissioners : these must and
will come before the world. I have certainly seen a dis
position in the High Sheriff, and some few of the Magis-r
trates, to do justice ; and if they had possessed the resolu
tion to act up to their own judgment of what was the
right course, they would have either committed Bridle,
or put him under arrest within three davs' after the in-

17
quiry first commenced. After hearing the evidence of
Pike arid Samuel Hobbs, if it had been against any other
man, they would have committed him for embezzlement.
But the public will read the Evidence, arid judge for
themselves. The whole of the Evidence taken before
the Commissioners will be published in Numbers, price
one shilling each, by Mr. Dolby, 299, Strand, and sold
by all the Booksellers in the United Kingdom. The first
Number, containing three sheets of closely printed bre
vier type, with a correct likeness of the Ex-Gaoler, Bri
dle, as a frontispiece, dedicated to the King, with
an Address to his Majesty by myself, will be publish
ed on the 1st of August, and continued weekly till it is
complete. This will be a most interesting publication,
and ought to be attentively read by every person in the
kingdom, particularly by his Majesty's Ministers, the
Members composing each branch of the Legislature, all
the Judges and Counsellors, all Magistrates of every de
scription, all Attorneys, and particularly those who act as
Justices Clerks, every Sheriff, Under Sheriff, Deputy
Sheriff, and Sheriff's Officer, and all persons who are
likely ever to be called upon to act in either of the above
capacities. All Gaolers, Turnkeys, Gaol Scouts,
and Gaol Birds of every description, will find it pecu
liarly interesting. Among these latter of course I include
Gaol-physicians and Gaol-surgeons, Chairmen of Quar
ter Sessions, Clerks of the Peace, Mayors, Constables,
&c. and all their hangers-on ; but, above all, every Pri
soner in the United Kingdom should read this Evidence,
as well as every one who by possibility may be drawn
into what is whimsically enough called a Court of Justice,
or liable to become the inmate of a Gaol. All, all, every
one of these will find something to suit his taste, or be ap
plicable to his own particular case.} But I would most
o fe

18
earnestly recommend its perusal to those black-coated Gen
try, the Parson Magistrates, who will do well to get
Cobbett's Sermons also, and read them without delay ; and
those whose congregations have fallen off would act wise
ly to preach them now and then, instead of their worn-out
trash. With regard to the discharge of Bridle from his
office of Gaoler, I believe, the Magistrates flatter them
selves that they have accomplished a great undertaking —
that they have done a brave act to remove him at all. A
Gaoler, let me tell you, my friends, becomes so inter
woven with, and so necessary to, the system, that he is a
personage of great consideration* — he cannot avoid be
coming acquainted with the pretty practices carried on in
the Secretary of State's Office. Besides, you will see by the
evidence of Sir John Acland, when you come to it, in the
Inquiry, you will see that I extracted from the worthy ex-
Chairman, in my cross-examination of him (which, by-the-
bye, lasted eight hours), that there are such thing-s as
PRIVATE CALENDARS made up for Chairmen and
Judges, by these trust-worthy Gaolers. Oh, what a scene
* It must surprise many people, that these Gaolers should all get
such excellent characters in the House of Commons, whenever a com
plaint is made in that place against either of them. When the Worthy
Alderman Wood laid the heart-rending case of Hill before the Hon.
House, Mr. Dickenson, Member for this County, said, " There were
ttoo Visiting Magistrates to the gaol, and before every Quarter Ses
sions a number of gentry surveyed the prison ; and if Mr. Hill, Mr.
Hunt, or any other person had any complaint to make, it would be at
tended to."
Sir Isaac Coffin, " commended the vigilance and humanity of Bridle,
the Ilchester Gaoler."
Mr. Buxton " Had derived much information from tbe Gaoler; and,
as far as his own experience went, he had never seen a gaol under
SUCh EXCELLENT RE6ULATI0NS !"
Sir T. Lethbridge " Was satisfied that if the state of the gaol were
inquired into, it would appear to be conducted in the most perfect
manner." Extracts from Dolby's Parliamentary Register,
March 9, 1821.
Be it remembered that the two-legged brute of Lancaster, got a
character equally good when a complaint was made of him.

19
of iniquity is come out ! — English justice is come to
something at last : so then, a poor prisoner's sentence de
pends upon the private calendar of the Gaoler ! Here is
law and justice with a vengeance! Some very worthy per
sons, who knew of these secret springs of justice, could
never make up their minds that the Magistrates would
dismiss Bridle, let what would happen ; and he, good
soul, thought he was as firmly seated in the saddle, and
as impregnable as the rock of Gibraltar. But a good cause
and PERSEVERANCE will do wonders. Bridle's friends
give out now, that Lord Sidmouth is to do something for
him ; they say, Lord Sidmouth must provide for him,
Bridle is too much in the secret to be got rid of in this
way. But, " we shall see."
You have no idea, my friends, of the obstacles and im
pediments that have been thrown in my way to deter me
from proceeding in my determination to bring the nefa
rious and black transactions, practised in this gaol, to light.
Every attempt at intimidation was tried in vain; soon
after the Commissioners came down, the Gaoler, in con
junction with the perpetual Under-Sheriff, began a fresh
scheme, and opened a fresh battery upon me to divert my
attention. One morning, as I entered the room where the
Commissioners sat, I had a peremptory notice to attend the
taxing the Bill of Costs ofthe Under-Sheriff and Gaoler.
Upon my first application to the Court of King's Bench for
a Habeas Corpus, that I might bring their conduct before
the Court, instead of the Court granting this application,
they prevailed upon Mr. Chitty ' to accept a Rule to shew
cause why I should not be entitled- to that which I never
applied for (namely, lo have the same indulgence as other
prisoners confined in this gaol for misdemeanors.) What
kind souls, my Lords, the Judges of the Court of King's
Bench are, and how nicely Mr. Chitty let me into the se-

20
cret, you shall see. This was precisely what I did not want ;
of all things, I would have avoided trusting myself in the
haudsof Lawyer Scarlett and the amiable Judge Best, unless
I could have been present. However, Mr. Scarlett opposed
the Rule on the part of Mr. Gaoler and Mr. Perpetual
Sheriff. In the mean time, Sir Charles Bampfylde, the
High Sheriff, came to my aid ; and, in the most gentle
manlike manner, granted me all I asked; having, as
he informed me, and as his letters will shew, been duped
and kept completely in the dark — my letter to him having
been smuggled and kept from him. Well, I withdrew my
application to the Court, as Sir Charles had granted me all
that I applied for. But, hold, said Lawyer Scarlett, your
client, Mr. Chitty, must pay the costs. The dread of fur
ther expense and unnecessary trouble, together with the
reluctance I felt at having my name and intentions bandied
backward and forward between the Fourth and the
Fifth Judge of the Court of King's Bench, behind my
back, made me agree to this. Now you shall see, my
friends, what it has cost me for merely filing an affidavit in
the Court, to ask them to hear my complaint against my
Gaolers. My own costs and expenses, out of pocket, were
just 202. and the taxed costs of Mr. Perpetual Oppressor
and Mr. Amiable Gaoler are 44J. 12s. 4d., as underneath :
BILL OP COSTS.
Michaelmas Term, 1820.
The King v. Hunt.
Attending at Crown Office to bespeak office copy rule to shew
cause why the defendant should not have as much liberty
as other prisoners confined for misdemeanours, and affida
vit in support, and afterwards for same  £0 3 4
Paid for office copy rule and affidavit  1 19 0
Carriage of parcel therewith into the country  0 3 6
Instructions to oppose rule  0 6 S
Journey from Wells to Ilchester out and home, 36 miles, to
obtain information relative to Mr. Hunt's confinement 
Post-chaise hire and expenses  2 13 0
Instructions for affidavit of gaoler  0 3 4
Drawing and engrossing same, fo. 91  4 11 0

21
Paid six duties and oath  ...'•  £0 17 0
Instructions for affidavit of F.Drake, Esq.   -  0 3 4
Drawing and'eugrossing it, fo. 8  0 8 0
Paid duty and oath  •  0 3 8
Drawing and engrossing supplementary affidavit of Francis
Drake, Esq. fo. 3 •  0 5 0
Paid duty and oath  ¦  0 3 8
Instructions for affidavit by Messrs. Quantock and Whalley 0 6 8
Drawing and engrossing it, fo. 12  0 12 0
Paid duty and oaths /¦ •'  t> 4 8
Instructions for affidavit of Aaron Moody, Esq.  * 0 3 4
Drawing and engrossing it, fo. 7  0 7 0
Paid duty and oath  0 3 8
Instructions for affidavit of John Goodford, Esq.  0 3 4
Drawing and engrossing it, fo. 5  0 5 0
Paid duty and oath  0 3 8
Instructions for affidavit of Edmund Broderip, Gent.  0 3 4
Drawing and engrossingit, fo. 9  0 9 0
Paid duty and oath  0 3 8
Instructions for affidavit of Edward Shephard  0 3 4
Drawing and engrossing it, fo. 3  0 5 0
Paid duty and oath  0 3 8
Instructions for affidavit of Thomas Davies  0 3 4
Drawing and engrossing it, fo. 3  ¦  0 5 0
Paid duty and oath  • • ¦ •' • ¦  0 8 S
Briefing the above affidavit for Counsel, 178 sheets, and fair
copy thereof  5 19 4
Copy rule to annex  •  0 1 0
Attending Mr. Moore with brief  0 3 4
Paid him fee therewith and clerk  3 5 6
Fair copy brief for Mr. Scarlett, 18 sheets  2 198
Copy rule to annex  •  0 1 0
Attending him therewith  0 6 8
" Paid fee and clerk  ¦  4 6 6
November 29th, attending Court, when rule enlarged till the
next Term  0 6 8
Paid Clerk in Court's attendance  0 3 4
Paid for office copy enlarged rule  0 13 ti
Term fee, clerk and solicitor  0 13 4
Letters  •  •  0 6 0
Attending to file affidavits, no opposition to rule  0 3 4
Paid filing • -  4 14 8
Hilary Term, 1821.
Paid Mr. Scarlett refresher, fee, and clerk  3 5 6
Attending him  0 6 8
Paid Mr. Moore refresher and clerk  2 4 6
Attending him  0 3 4
January 24lh, several attendances, when the case stood in the
peremptory paper, but it was not called on  1 0 0
Paid Clerk in Court's attendance  0 10 0
February 1st, attending Court when the case was called on
in the peremptory paper, but it was ordered to stand over,
the defendant not consenting to the rule being discharged
with costs   •  0 6 8
Paid Clerk in Court's attendance  ¦  0 3 4
February 12th, attending Court, when by consent of the de
fendant the rule was discharged with costs  0 0 S

22
Paid Clerk in Court's attendance . ...-  ,•¦•¦.  £0 3 4
Paid for rule of Court  •  0 16 0
Copy and service at Ilchester  0 10 0
Drawing bill of costs and copy  0 6 0
Copy to deliver to Mr. JIunt-.-  0 3 0
Attending the Master of the Crown Office, appointment to
tax, notice thereof, copy and service at Ilchester  0 6 4
Drawing and engrossing affidavit of service, duty and oath 0 9 0
Attending taxation  • •  0 6 8
ClerkinCourt   0 6 8
Paid taxing  0 5 0
Attending to demand costs 
Term fee, Clerk in Court, and solicitor  0 13 4
Letters and messengers  •  0 6 0
Attending first appointment to tax.but no person attended for
Mr. Hunt  0 6 8
Letter to gaoler with costs for Mr. Hunt 
Drawing and engrossing affidavit of service, duty and oath 0 9 0
Attending for second appointment, and service on Mr. Hunt 0 5 0
,£53 II 4
For blank above  2 2 0
£&& 18 4
Taken off by the Master  12 1 0
£U 12 4
I appoint Tuesday, 29th May, at ten in the forenoon, to tax peremp
torily. (Second Notice.) E. W. LUSHINGTON.
Crown Office, 22d May, 1821.
So here you have the exact PRICE that it costs a pri
soner in Ilchester Bastile, making an application lo be
heard only, FORTY-FOUR pounds, twelve shillings
and four-pence. Ah ! Mr. Fowell Buxton, ah ! Mr.
Dickenson, this is the cause, the only cause, that the atro
cities, the cruelties, the torture, the murders — ah ! I say
the murders of Ilchester Gaol, have been so long conceal
ed from the public. Well, but through Sir Charles Bamp-
fylde's honourable, Englishman-like feeling, I saw my fa
mily. But the very minute Sir Charles was out of office,
the Holy emissaries of the Church, the preachers ofthe
Gospel, the Parson, Justices, the Reverend Dr. Colston
and the Reverend Parson Thring, stepped in, and banished
my family once more from my dungeon. By this time, I
began to learn a little more of the history of my prison-

23
house; I remonstrated at such dirty conduct — such nasty
revenge. But the only reply I could get either from the
Holy Justices, or the Sheriff, was, " If you are not satis
fied with our conduct, you may apply, as you have done
before, to the Court of King's Bench for redress." And
this was said in the most taunting manner. This I was
obliged to bear ; but as' I had two objections to follow
ing this advice, namely, the price, and trusting myself in
the hands of any lawyer, and having got ample materials
to work upon, with the assistance of the Worthy Alder
man Wood, I opened a battery in a different quarter.
Such an undertaking was never before crowned with suc
cess. You must read the evidence before you can be
partially acquainted with what have been my labours. I
had no sooner finished off the Commissioners, and paid my
last shilling, almost, to remunerate my own witnesses, than
Mr. Under-Sheriff called me on one side, to inform me that
he had received at his office, a process from the Exchequer
to seize me and my property for the penalties of 200Z.,for
making Breakfast Powder. I only answered, " you have
got my carcass, which you scarcely know what to do with
and you must take my property if you please; but if I live
upon gaol allowance, that shall never deter me from pro
ceeding in the Inquiry ;" and 1 very coolly returned to
the charge. There is a tale hanging to these penalties
upon the Breakfast Powder that requires explanation.
The Gallant Sir Robert Wilson certainly applied, without
consulting me, to get these penalties remitted; but,
although the Chancellor ofthe Exchequer intimated in the
House, that possibly they might not proceed for the reco
very of them, yet they never intended to remit them — they
had no objection to hold them over my head in terrorem,
that they might pounce upon me at an unguarded moment,
and that moment they seized upon as the most likely to

24
serve the purpose of intimidation — the moment I was sub
stantiating charges against the amiable gaoler of Ilchester,
while in his custody. To seize my property at such a mo
ment as that, was too delightful a repast for my enemies
to forego. Now look at the conduct of the public press —
good kind souls, how pleased they wrere to blazon it all
over the kingdom that these penalties were, through the
interference of Sir R. Wilson, remitted. They knew at
the time they were propagating a gross falsehood, but
they had an object in this. A tool of the rump, the West
minster rump, who had been sent down to Manchester to
neutralize the Manchester Observer, heard that it was
the intention of my radical friends at Manchester, male
and female, to raise a subscription to pay these penalties,
and he hit upon the following scheme to frustrate their
kind intentions, and immediately inserted in his paper a
palpable lie, boldly stating that the Government had re
mitted the fine: he knew this would stop the subscription,
and it had the desired effect to a miracle. The amiable edi
tors ofthe London press took the hint, although they knew
that it was false, and they kept up the cheat by inserting
the lie. I gave the fellow credit for his ingenuity, how
ever dishonest, for it succeeded. But this is the way a
real friend of the people is always served by the public
press. I am much pleased to hear that the county- rate payers
of this county are about publicly to acknowledge the ser
vices that I have rendered them by the detection and ex
posure of the numerous frauds committed upon -their pro
perty in this bastile. But they must look into their own
•concerns a little ; while they continue to pay their rents to
Mr.^Dickenson and the other magistrates, the county-rates
will not be decreased. Stop Short in time, my friends, or
you will not have a shilling left to keep you when you

25
come to gaol. Call upon these guardians of your pror-
perty not to suffer every villain to plunder you who
chooses to fawn upon and flatter their vanity.
In answer to letters from Bath, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
and Stockport, I beg to state that every halfpenny sub
scription that has either come to my hand, or that of Mr.
Dolby, is published upon the wrapper of my Memoirs. I
have heard of many subscriptions that are not come to
hand — " Many are called but few are chosen."
I remain, my excellent friends,
Yours most sincerely,'
H. HUNT.
I have heard of the curious affair of the Bridgewater
Yeomanry, at their dinner at the Globe, on the 4th of June.
A Captain or Cornet Straddlepen, having declined to
obey the call of the troop to drink the Queen, when he
had become stupid and intoxicated, gave as a toast " The
Manchester Yeomanry, and the way in which they did
their duty." This produced a burst of indignation, and an
amendment was carried by a majority of ninety to six,
" Henry Hunt, Esq.," whieh was drank with three times
three, and Mr. Straddlepen narrowly escaped heing thrown
out of the window.
I beg you to read the Report of Dr. Kinglake, Mr. Shor-
land, and Mr. Robertson, two medical gentlemen of Il
chester ; read this attentively, my friends, then add to it
that Mr. Bryer, the gaol surgeon, gave in a list of those
who had been on the sick list in the gaol within the last
ten years as follows : " Prisoners admitted to the gaol
6,700, in the last ten years onthe sick list, out of that num
ber, 4,050 :" so you see this place, from its pestilential at--
mosphere, is rendered more like an hospital than a gaol,
two thirds of the whole population on the sick list.
Since I wrote the above I have received the following
5 D

26
additional demand from "Mr. Perpetual?' 5l. 6s. 8d. costs
of attachment ; so this makes the price 70l. that a pri
soner has to pay for only making a complaint in Ilchester
Bastile. Read the evidence of Mr. Charles Hill, the
debtor, and see how completely it corresponds. But /
have, and shall, in spite of all these vexatious extortions,
" BRING THE GeNTLEMENS' NOSES TO THE GRIND
STONE." COSTS OF ATTACHMENT.
Trinity Term, 1S21.
The King v. Hunt.
Drawing and engrossing affidavit of William Bridle, fo. 5. £. 0 5 0
Paid duty and oath  ...088
¦ Drawing and engrossing affidavit of Joseph Lovell, fo. 7. .070
Paid duty and oath  038
Paid filing affidavits  0 11 4
Briefing affidavits one sheet, and fair copy for counsel . . 0 10 4
Copy rule to annex ...  ..010
Fee to Mr. Moore  0 10 6
Attending court when rule for attachment granted . . 0 6 8
Paid for attachment  . . 0 IS 6
Fee thereon ... ..  008
Bill of costs and copy . . . ... 030
Terra fee, letters, &c. . .  0 16 0
Attending to lodge attachment  . 0 3 4
£5 6 8

Report of Dr. Kinglake, M.D. of Taunton, and Messrs.
Shorland and Robertson, Surgeons of Ilchester, de
livered upon oath lo the Commissioners appointed to
inquire -into the state of Ilchester Gaol.
Pursuant to the directions given by the Commissioners
appointed under the great seal of the united kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, to investigate and report the
present state of the county gaol at Ilchester, we, the
undersigned, have closely inspected and examined every
part of the said gaol. Our attention having been especi
ally directed by the said Commissioners to the general and
particular ventilation of the gaol ; to the state of the public

27
and private apartments ; to the culinary and other offices;
to the infirmary and surgery for the use of the sick ; to
the quality of the water consumed in the gaol ; and the
condition of the drains ; we have judged it right to submit
a few observations on each of these heads.
STRUCTURE OF THE WALLS.
The outer wall of the gaol is substantially built of stone,
is about twenty feet high, and, excepting where it bounds
the court in which the manufactory is placed, is without
any apertures for the admission of air. The inner or par
tition walls are similarly constructed, equally high, and
without any other openings than low and narrow door
ways, which are usually closed. The inevitable effect of
such obstructed ventilation is either an oppressive heat or
chilling dampness, according to the temperature of the
prevailing weather ; in either case to breathe such con
fined air must necessarily be very unwholesome, and
highly conducive to disease. This hurtful obstruction may
in a considerable degree be removed by either lowering
the outer and partition walls to about seven feet high, and
surrounding them with secure iron railing; or, by making
openings at that height in all the partition walls, and at
distances of from ten to fifteen yards apart in the outer
wall, of about six feet square, securing them with iron
grating. By this alteration a comparatively free admis
sion would be given to air, light, and sun, by which the
court areas, as Well as all the apartments, would be ren
dered much more salubrious and comfortable than they
are at present. APARTMENTS IN GENERAL.
We have inspected and measured all the apartments ap-
proprialed to the custody of the prisoners of every de
scription, and also the various offices connected with them

28
Presuming that it would be unnecessarily minute, and
that it is not the object of the Commissioners that we
should state the precise dimensions of every part, as taken
to assist our private judgment, we have thought it suffi
cient to confine our report to a general statement of our
opinion of them. SITTING AND LODGING ROOMS.
The apartments appear to us almost in every instance,
whether referring to those used for sitting or for lodging,
to be too small, not sufficiently high, and too scantily
ventilated, either for the comfort or health of those who
may occupy them. WASH-HOUSE AND LAUNDRY.
In this general reference we cannot avoid particu
larizing the washing and laundry apartments, both
which are within much too narrow limits for the de
scription of work performed in them. The washing
room is not more than 14 feet 6 inches long, by 14 feet
wide, and 9 feet high, lighted by two moderate sized
windows, two-thirds of which are obstructed by fixed
wooden screens, by which the air and light that might
otherwise be admitted are most injuriously excluded. At
the inner end of this office is a privy, and near it an open^
ing for an occasional access to a drain : the exhalations
arising from these places in the high temperature con
stantly kept up by the fire of the washing furnaces, are
intolerably offensive, and cannot fail to be extremely in
jurious to the health of the persons breathing and labour
ing in them. LAUNDRY.
The laundry room is equally objectionable for narrow
ness of dimensions, obstructed ventilation from fixed
wooden screens before the windows, and the excessive
heat occasioned by fuel burnt, in a large stove, without
nn open chimney.

20
INFIRMARY.
"A great and lamentable deficiency in this gaol esta
blishment, is the want of a suitable building as an infir
mary for the sick ; various parts of the gaol have been
used at different times for that purpose, but under objec
tions as to smallness of the rooms, insufficient air, and not
being exclusively kept for invalids, but suffered to be pro-
miscuously inmated by the uncomplaining and the dis
eased that urgently require efficient correction.
INFIRMARY WARDS PROPOSED.
We presume to suggest that the only adequate remedy
for this great defect would be erecting, in a proper situ
ation, at least two roomy wards, one' for the male and
the other for female patients, to be set apart solely for the
use of the sick ; to which any prisoners, on becoming un
well, should be immediately removed ; and not, as at pre
sent, be allowed to.remain with those who are not com
plaining of any illness. SURGERY' PROPOSED.
A suitable office or surgery should be attached to these
new proposed infirmary wards, from which may be
promptly furnished the medical and surgical aid that may
be occasionally required ; at present the necessary ar
rangements appear to be wanting for either advantage
ously relieving the sick, for restraining the progress of
infectious disease, or for fulfilling the various intentions of
medical assistance. DEBTORS' SIDE.
The part of the gaol appropriated to the debtors is ex
tremely deficient in proper accommodations. The sitting
and lodging rooms are very low, and liable to be crowded
to an extent that must be seriously injurious to the health,

30
and insufferably annoying to the personal convenience of
thone.who occupy them. Several of the individuals who
are now breathing the vitiated air of these apartments are
actually suffering from disease induced by its noxious in
fluence ; and the whole of them have ever a very unhealthy
aspect. The court area allotted to the debtors for walk
ing exercise is too limited, and is further abridged by cui
tivating the sunny part of it as a garden, into which the
debtors are penally prohibited from entering.
CHAPEL.
The chapel for religious worship is much too small, and
very insufficiently ventilated for .the number of persons
required to assemble in it. Unless the utmost precaution
be observed with respect to the cleanlinessof the prisoners,
both as to their persons and wearing apparel, great risk
must be incurred by breathing an air polluted by the foul
exhalations proceeding from so numerous a congregation
in such confined dimensions. Enlarged windows, and a
dome ventilation from the roof, would contribute to reno
vate and purify the air during divine service.
BATHING.
As medical practitioners conversant with the important
benefit accruing to the individual and general health of
large assemblies of persons permanently confined to a
limited space, we regret to find that there is no establish
ment in this gaol for cold and warm bathing. We are of
opinion that the personal health and comfort of a nume
rous body of prisoners within the narrow dimensions of the
gaol at Ilchester, cannot be effectually obtained and pre
served without the salutary practice of either cold, tepid,
or warm bathing, according to circumstances of individual
health, at least once a week, oftener. perhaps, would be
more salubrious ; and, we think it should never be dispensed

31
with on Saturday, preparatory to assembling on the fol
lowing Sunday at divine service ; a change of body and
bed-clothes, particularly stockings, should be had at least
once a week. We are induced more particularly to re
mark the advantages of personal cleanliness, from observ
ing an apparent inattention to this most important cir
cumstance in the persons of many of the prisoners, and
especially on the debtors side of the gaol.
WELL WATER AND OBSTRUCTED DRAINS.
1 The water furnished by all the wells of the gaol has a
brackish flavour, indicating the presence of mineral or sa
line substances, the precise nature and quantity of which
could only be ascertained by a correct analysis. Most spring
waters are impregnated or hold in solution a greater or less
portion of mineral or saline substances, but, like the water
of this gaol, not in sufficient concentration to become a
decidedly unwholesome beverage. The well water of
this place appears to be much more objectionable, from the
accidental contaminations which it receives from the re-
fluence or oozings of obstructed drains, inconsiderately
placed in every instance in a direct line with the wells,
than from its mineral or saline qualities. Whenever the
water of the adjacent river rises above the level of the
drains intended to be vented into that channel, there can
be no outlet for the accumulated filth of the numerous
privies, and ofthe various domestic and culinary washings
of the whole gaol. On these occasions the obstructed
foulness, instead of draining off, is forced through the sur
face of the court areas, and through openings in the ground
apartments of the gaol ; and, no doubt, to a great and de
leterious extent also in the wells from which the water
consumed in the gaol is supplied. This, in a moderate con
sideration, is an insufferable evil, and might possibly be
removed by sinking fresh-water wells in parts of the gaol

32
securely distant from any drain, and transferring the wa
ter, where required, by means of leaden pipes ; this would
be a practicable measure, and would perhaps obviate un
answerable objections at present existing against the uni
form salubrity of the water.
GENERAL REMARKS.
We cannot conclude our report on what was pointed out
for our more particular attention by the Commissioners,
without expressing our conviction that the gaol is much
too large for the space on which it stands — that all the
apartments are on too small a scale to admit of free venti
lation and aerial purity — that the general scite ofthe gaol
is lower than could be desired — and that the ground floor
is not sufficiently above the bed' of the adjacent river de
signed to receive the foul drainings ofthe prison, to admit
of those impurities being constantly and uninterruptedly
carried off. — Much, however, may be done towards render
ing the gaol comparatively healthful, as before observed,
by either lowering the outer and partition walls and by
substituting iron railing, or by perforating them in proper
situations with grated lights of about six feet square ; by
removing the fixed wooden screens from the windows
wherever they are placed ; by sinking fresh-water wells in
situations that could not be affected by obstructed drains ;
employing leaden pipes to convey water to those parts of
the gaol that may be within the reach of detained impu
rities during a flood or high water in the river; by insti
tuting a regulation of at least weekly bathing on Satur
days, with a view to assembling with safety in the chapel
on Sunday; by improving the ventilation of the chapel.
and by carefully abstaining from washing the floors when
they are unavoidably occupied.— The chilling and hurtful
dampness occasioned by this practice, and the noxious ex
halations which are inhaled during the drying on these
occasions, are subjects deserving the most cautious and
serious attention*
(Signed) ROBERT KINGLAKE, M.D.
WM. SHORLAND, > _
JOHN ROBERTSON, \ SurSTeon«-

Printed by T. Dolby, 299,.Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND ;
But. particularly to those who attended the Meeting and the Proces
sion to St. Peter's Plain and to Hulm Chapel, on the Second
Anniversary qf the bloody, never-to-be-forgotten, never-to-be-for
given, Sixteenth of August, 1819.

Ilchester Bastile, 8th day, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacbe, without retribution or inquiry.
August 24, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
It is scarcely two short months since, in the Seven
teenth Number of my Memoirs, I had to record the death
of one of the bravest men that ever lived — Napoleon
Buonaparte, late Emperor of France. I have now the
melancholy task of recording the death of one of the
bravest women that ever breathed, " Caroline op
Brunswick, the injured Queen of England." Na
poleon's remorseless gaolers were Caroline's implacable
persecutors, even to death ! His gaolers and her persecu
tors are our never-ceasing deadly enemies ; the enemies
of rational Liberty ; the enemies of all that is praiseworthy,
amiable, and noble in human nature!
It is one of the most extraordinary coincidences of this
eventful age, that at the very moment when the mortal
remains of .our much injured, persecuted, beloved Queen
were hurled from England's shores — at that very moment
when her corpse was swung from the pier at Harwich —
at that very moment which was selected by her and our
6 A

Printed by T. Doluv, 809, Strand.

enemies, to drive with indecent haste her loved remains
from England's shores, to be deposited in the tomb of her
fathers; — at that very moment, you, you, my beloved
friends of Manchester, were assembled to commemorate,
in a solemn, dignified, and becoming manner, the second
anniversary of the bloody deeds of the never-to-be-
forgotten, never-lo-be-forgiven Sixteenth of August,
1819. Alas! poor, persecuted, deeply injured, murdered
Queen ! ! ! Death has robbed thy cowardly enemies of
their prey! Another extraordinary coincidence of this
extraordinary eventful period is, that, at the very moment
the people of England and Scotland were bathed in tears,
and absorbed in sorrow and the deepest mourning of the
heart, at the death of their much-loved, sincerely-lamented
Queen, the people of Ireland were drunk with joy, were
exhibiting symptoms of mad and frantic revelry, at the
visit and arrival at Dublin of the dead Queen's husband,
George the Fourth. While the King's Horse-Guards
were sabring and shooting his Majesty's subjects in
the metropolis of England, to prevent them from perform
ing the last sad and mournful honours to the remains of
Queen Caroline, the deceased Consort of George the
Fourth, his most potent Majesty, George the Fourth, is
huzzaing with his half-drunk, half-mad subjects in the
metropolis of Ireland, and promising them that, in defiance
of all former example, instead of shutting himself up, and
putting on the show of mourning for the death of his
Queen, he will drive away and drown all sorrow, by drink
ing his most loyal Irish subjects' good health in libations
of whiskey punch. " 0, temporal 0, mores!" We
live in strange times ! But, my friends, I see no cause for
despair. While his Majesty's most loyal, most dutiful,
most enlightened, most peaceable, most humble, most
prosperous, most happy, most grateful, most free, most

mildly governed, and most contented subjects of Ireland —
Protestants, Catholics, Dissenters of all denominations,
including Quakers, Orangemen, White-boys,. Peep-o'-day
boys, Ribbon-men, and all other men and women and
children in the land of potatoes, are prostrating themselves
and worshiping his most gracious Majesty George the
Fourth, even to idolatry: whilst the loyal people of the
Irish metropolis are thus honouring and exalting their
character, the disloyal, discontented, and rebellious sub*-
jects of George the Fourth, in the metropolis of England,
are disgracing their character, by actually creating a riot
in the King's own theatre, the Opera House, to drown
the voices ofthe performers, in order to prevent them from
singing the old National Anthem of God save the King.
This is one of the many anomalies of the present age.
These are, indeed, strange times ! But I say again and
again, there is nothing in these unusual things to make
us despair. To be sure they are so very extraordinary and
complicated in their nature, that, when I think of them, I
scarcely know, at times, whether to laugh out loud or
look grave, but, upon reflection, I cannot avoid doing
both ; I look grave and am serious when I reflect upon
the sufferings of my fellow creatures ; and I am delighted
at the prospect of their being soon relieved from their per
secutions by some great and awful change ; and I laugh
out loud, when I see, by anticipation, the awkward and
ridiculous figures which our tyrants will cut when we
obtain a real Radical Reform in the Commons' House of
Parliament, ha ! ha ! ! ha ! ! !
The Irish people appear to be infected with a sort of
loyal frenzy. Pat is such a good natured easy soul that he
forgives all his indignities at the mere sound of royalty ;
and its presence has had such an effect upon his memory as
to make him forget, or pretend to forget, the effects ofthe

Union. Even the very off-scouring of Royalty causes Pat
to prostrate himself. Lord Castlereagh is cheered through
the streets of Dublin by the populace ! Bravo, Pat ! no
one, in future, will deny that you possess, in an eminent
degree, the Christian virtue of forgiveness ! What ! was
it false, then, all that we heard of hangings and half-
hangings, of picketings, of whippings, &c. &c. Were Mr.
Finnerty's affidavits all false ? Were Mr. Clare's affida
vits false ? Was Dr. O'Connor's affidavit false ? All, all
false ? And if they were not false, but true, what kind
forgiving souls are the people of Dublin! What does all
this mean ? Surely the tender hearted Lord Castlereagh
can never design to coax the Irish soldiers to perform the
same bloody office towards the people of England, that the
English soldiers practised against the people of Ireland
during the rebellion. This Royal visit can never have
had for its object such a scheme as that ! Yet, really, if
we had the Queen to bury over again, I do not know but
such troops might be wanted ; the Horse-Guards might,
upon such another occasion as that, stand in need of an
army of reserve.
As to the funeral of our beloved Queen, that happened
which might have been, and was, anticipated. If the
Government can but g-et a few lawyers into the ranks of
their enemies, they are sure to have auxiliaries who will
play into their hands. The Queen had been, for a long
time, in a great measure, placed in the hands of her law
yers ; she was obliged, in some measure, to submit to the
opinion of her legal advisers ; therefore, they took good
care to place the Queen out of the power of being a rally
ing point for the people, and they also so contrived it, that
the people should have no power effectually to serve her
Majesty. The poor Queen is taken out of a troublesome
world ; she is relieved from all her persecutions ; and,

what is a great consolation to me, is, that no lawyer will
ever again have an opportunity of betraying and selling
her. If she had lived, 1 fear she would have remained in
the hands of the lawyers ; and as long as that had been
the case, she would have never been suffered effectually
to serve the cause of the people. She never would have
been an effectual rallying point for the people ; but she
would have remained a mere stepping stone, by means of
which a few lawyers would have mounted into place and
power. The Queen's last visit to England rendered, however,
the most important service to the cause of Liberty. To
Alderman Wood, and to him alone, are we indebted for
her coming to England. To Alderman Wood, and to
him alone, are the people of England indebted for all those
noble productions of genuine patriotism, those irresistible
effusions of freedom, which were promulgated to the
world in her glorious and heroic answers to the nu
merous public-spirited addresses that were present
ed to her Majesty from all parts of the United Kingdom.
Had it not been for the manly, patriotic, and honest prin
ciples of the Worthy Alderman, Mr. Fellowes would never
have been permitted to exercise either his talent or his
pen in her cause, or the cause of Liberty. Had these an
swers been left to the lawyers, as they were in the two
cases of Preston and Nottingham, the Queen's character
and the people's rights would have been equally compro
mised in all her other answers as they were in those.
Had Alderman Wood been an executor, the disgrace
ful proceedings which took place at her funeral would
never have occurred; but the lawyer (supposed to be
one of the best of them too) has discovered the cloven-
foot at last. Read, my friends, the following communica
tion sent by Alderman Wood, from Harwich, on the 18th

of August, addressed to the editor ofthe Traveller news
paper in London. This speaks volumes. It needs no
comment from me. You, my friends, will understand it as
well as I do. TO THE EDITOR OF THE TRAVELLER.
Harwich, August 18, 1821.
Sir — Hearing that several inaccurate accounts have ap
peared in the public prints relative to my attending the
funeral of our late beloved Queen, I think it right, in jus
tice to all parties, to lay before the public an authentic
statement of the facts. Although I have had reason to
know the feelings of Government with regard to myself,
and the violent attacks made on me by the Government
Press, yet I have no wish to charge them unjustly. Upon
the demise of her late Majesty, I foresaw great difficulty if
the funeral were to be under the direction of the Govern
ment, and therefore wished that the executors should be
the sole conductors of it, confident that the expenses
would be cheerfully defrayed by those who were attached
to her Majesty through life. Had this course been adopt
ed, the Royal Remains would have been conveyed to the
tomb with all becoming decency, without that empty
military parade so constantly denied her Majesty when liv
ing, and so little in unison with her feelings ; which would
have afforded to all her friends an opportunity of paying
the last tribute of respect to their injured Queen.
On the 10th instant, I wrote the following letter: —
" 77, South Audley-street, Aug. 10, 1821.
" My Dear Sirs,— To you it must be almost unnecessary to ex
press how earnestly I wish to pay the last tribute of respect and de
voted attachment to our lamented Queen, by attending her to her last
earthly resting place. Since the period of her late Majesty's return '
to this country, I have never left her, cheerfully devoting my whole
time to her interests, and promoting, to the utmost of my power, her
honour and her happiness. Her Majesty gave me the only reward I
looked for — her most unbounded confidence (perhaps beyond what she
bestowed on any other individual), and she honoured me with the only
title I ever coveted, by naming me her friend, and evincing, at all
times, by her conduct, the sincere friendship and esteem she so con
stantly expressed for me. The awful dispensation of the Divine will
has now left me but one sad duty to perform, and I should be grieved if
I were not permitted to follow to the grave the remains of her I have
so long loved, honoured, and revered ; whose loss I now deplore witA
the deepest anguish, and the most unceasing sorrow and regret.
" I remain, my dear Sirs, yours most sincerely,
" MATTHEW WOOD."
" To Dr. Lushington and Thos. Wilde, Esq. &c &c."

The following answer was delivered into my hand by
Dr. Lushington himself: —
" My Dear Sir,— Mr. Wilde has communicated to me your letter
requesting to attend the remains of her late Majesty to the grave. To
this request we can have no hesitation in acceding, and will certainly
include you in the arrangements we are making in conjunction with the
Government, for the due performance of this melancholy ceremony.
" Relieve me, your faithful humble servant,
" Aug. 11, 1821." " S. LUSHINGTON."
Dr. L. at the same time observed, that from the conver
sation he had had with Lord Liverpool, he thought it pro
bable that none but her late Majesty's household would
be allowed to attend, and he wished to know if I could
be considered in the character. I replied, " Certainly not,
as not having any specific appointment; but having remained
four months at Brandenburgh-house when her Majesty had
no other attendant but Lady A. Hamilton ; having con
stantly opened and answered all her letters since her ar
rival in this country ; having acted as her almoner ; hav
ing treated for, and made the final arrangements for her
Majesty's residence ; if these and many other unpaid ser
vices are not sufficient to warrant your sending my name
to the Government, I must contrive other means of paying
my last tribute to my Royal Mistress."
Communicating afterwards with Mr. Wilde (for I never
could bring these gentlemen to meet me together on this
subject), he said, if Dr. L. refused to return my name, he
himself would write a letter to the Under Secretary of
State ; which he accordingly did upon Dr. L.'s refusal.
Mr. Hobhouse replied, *' that he understood from Dr. L.
that as I was not ofthe household, he could not, without
a return of my name by the executors, give any orders for
my attendance. This was only intimated to me the night
before the funeral, Dr. Lushington observing, that he had
power to allow four persons of the household to attend
who were not named, and suggesting my going as one.
I answered, I would rather go at my own expense, and
consequently provided myself with a mourning coach,
scarf, and hat-band ; but, on the morning of the funeral,
a coach having become vacant, Mr. Bailey called my name
and I followed the executor. Arrived at Harwich, I was
given to understand that had the executors, even here,
returned my name for embarkation, which Dr. L. refused
to do, the Government officers would have made no ob
jection, as several persons were allowed to go who were
not of the household. I felt this treatment most severely,

for on many accounts I had no reason to expect it from
such a quarter. I am now waiting for the packet to Cux-
haven, and shall reach Brunswick in time to follow to the
grave the remains of our neglected and injured Queen.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Matthew Wood.
The proceedings which took place on the day her Ma
jesty's corpse was removed from Brandenburgh-house, on
the 14th of August, have been so generally promulgated
in all the newspapers, that there is little more to be said
upon the subject. The fact was, that the worthy execu
tors of the Queen having handed over her body to the
custody of her husband's Ministers, those Ministers deter
mined to send it out of the country with all possible dis
patch, and they also determined that the body should not
pass through the city of London, to receive those honours
. which were due to the remains of so much virtue, so much
courage, and so much patriotism ; and which' honours they
knew the people were prepared and anxious to pay, as
the last sad tribute of the respect, love, and admiration,
which they bore to their beloved Queen. The Ministers
were determined to accomplish their object by military
force, and the Horse-Guards and the Blues were appointed
to carry their intentions into execution, by forcing the
procession round the outskirts of the metropolis, soas to
avoid passing through the city of London. But the peo
ple, the brave people of the metropolis, were equally
determined that the procession should pass through the
city of London. They knew the intention of the Govern
ment, and with one spontaneous feeling they were re
solved that their Queen's remains should not be so dis
graced. There was no time for concert, there was no
previous arrangement, the people had no leaders, no one
in whom they could place any confidence to consult ; but
they acted with one common feeling, and they were re-

splute the procession should pass through the city. They
did not shut themselves up in their houses and put on
mourning ; no, they came forth to act.
The first thing which the people did was to blockade
the entrance into the lane which leads to Kensington gra
vel-pits, with waggons, carts, &c. &c. Oh, excellent,
waggons and carts ! Here was a considerable contest be
tween the constables and the people ; but the people.were
firm, and they prevailed. The procession passed on to
wards the city of London, the conductor of which, a per
son of the name of Bailey, who appears to have been a
true " Jack in office," made several unsuccessful attempts
to turn it out of the main road, to avoid the city. These
attempts Were, however, frustrated by the strenuous
efforts of the people. But, after the procession had got
through Hyde Park turnpike, into Piccadilly, and Sir
Robert Baker, the police magistrate, had given his Word
that the corpse should pass through the city, and the peo?
pie were thereby put off their guard, by a trick,;a shabby
trick, the hearse was turned unexpectedly short round,
and passed unopposed and unobserved through irito, Hyde
Park. This paltry trick enraged the multitude, and they
endeavoured to prevent the procession from passing out
at Cumberland-gate. The Horse Guards forced open the
gate sword in hand. The people retook the gate,, and I
understand, from a person who was present, (and not an
inactive spectator) that the gate was taken and, retaken
several times, inspite of the murderous- sabres ofthe HorSe
Guards, with which many of the people had been
wounded. The military now began to fire indiscrimi
nately upon the people, and to cut them down with their
sabres. Two were killed, and there would certainly have
been a second edition of the Manchester slaughter, had it
0 r;

10
not been that there was room for the timid lo fly, and
room for the brave to fight.
The soldiers for a moment prevailed, but the people
only retreated to collect their forces, and to prepare them
selves for resistance. At Tottenham-Court Road they
formed an impenetrable barrier of waggons, carts, drays,
and coaches, where there was a body prepared to dispute
the ground inch by inch ; and if the military gentry had
attempted to proceed, they must have fought their way
and dragged the hearse over innumerable dead bodies of
the people. It is very doubtful whether the soldiers would
have been successful, but, even if they had been so here,
they must again have fought their way at every turning;
and when they had reached Battle Bridge they would
have had to contend with a more formidable force, for
there a determined host had not only barricadoed the street
with waggons, carts, drays, and coaches, with their
wheels taken off and chained together, hut they had got
sufficiently armed to have made a brave if not a successful
resistance. The taste, however, which the gentlemen
guards had at Cumberland-gate, fortunately made them
desist and decline the fight at Tottenham-Court Road, and
the procession quickly passed through the city ; so that in
this struggle the honest bravery of the people gained a
most decisive and triumphant victory, over military des
potism. There are two things necessary to be recorded, which
the people should never lose sight of, which are these :
first, that horse soldiers, mounted troops, can never pene
trate nor pass a strong barricado of waggons, carts,
drays, and coaches, particularly if some or all of their
wheels are taken off, and they are well chained together:
recollect, my friends, that this is an excellent safeguard

11
and great protection from the unlawful violence of mili
tary force. The next thing is what came out in the evi
dence of Mr. William Spratt, a shoemaker, the eleventh
witness at the adjourned inquest on the body of George
Francis, who was shot by the soldiers at Cumberland-
gate. In answer to a question from Mr. Henson, on his
cross-examination, he said, " The soldiers cut at the peo
ple without provocation ; ihe soldiers appeared to me to
be cowards ; they fired at those who did nothing ; but
they did not face those who threw stones at them." These
two facts should never be forgotten ; they speak for them
selves, and require no comment from me. An umbrella
appears to have afforded some sort of protection to some
persons ; but, in such a dreadful emergency, I should
think one of the iron palisades with which all the squares
and streets in the west end of the town abound, would
be the best guard against a sabre, and even to protect
oneself against a horse ; for a slight blow either on the
head or the fore leg of a horse with one of those bars,
¦would at least prevent him from proceeding, if it did not
bring him and his rider to the ground. The reader will,
of course, perceive that I am not so imprudent as to urge
the people to resist the King's troops lawfully employed ;
for this would be bordering upon high treason ; but I am
supposing that troopers or any other horsemen should be
acting unlawfully, without the orders of any Magistrate,
or any lawful authority ; in that case what I have sug
gested would be the best means of a man protecting him
self from being murdered. Even if the King's troops were
lawfully employed, and I had one of those iron bars in
my hand, surely I might lawfully hold it over my head to
save myself from being cut down ; surely this would not
be high treason. To be sure, if, after having saved my
self from being murdered, by having my skull split in two

12
by the sabre of a horse*soldier, I were to use my iron-
bar, and by a blow with it, either oh the head or fore legs,
bring the horse to the ground, and then by another slight
pat, I were to send his rider (who had just attempted to
murder me) to the next world ; why even then "my con
science would acquit me; although it is possible a jury, as
they are at present selected, might not.
The Inquests upon the bodies of Richard Honey and
George Francis, are admirable specimens of what the law
is come to in England, and how anxious the people ought
to be not to violate those laws, which are so impartially
and so honestly administered. Mr. Sheriff Waithman, my
old political opponent, appears to be doing his duty man
fully ; for which I most readily give him every praise ; he
is entitled to the thanks of his countrymen, for his exer
tions to obtain an honest verdict. The conduet of the Co
roner is such as will astonish no one, who reflects upon
the w'ay in which the Coroner who held the inquest at
Oldham was protected by the Courts and by Parliament.
I am not surprised at Mr. Waithman's indignation being
roused at the treatment experienced by the witnesses at
the barracks. It is enough to irritate anyone, much
more his Welch blood; but I would advise Mr. Waithman
(if I may be permitted to offer my advice to so great a man
as the Sheriff of London and Middlesex) to keep his tem
per 5 far he may rely upon it he will have occasion for all
his forbearance before the thing is concluded. I am
happy to see that he is bringing the matter to a conclusion.
There is quite enough evidence for the Jury to come to a
conclusion upon ; they have now only to identify the per
son who shot the man. The great, the intolerable error
of the Oldham Inquest was, the enormous length to which
the evidence was spun out by Mr. Harmer, even after the
Jury had expressed themselves satisfied. There was a
mystery in this which I never could fathom.

13
Now, as to gaol politics, here We are in " statu quo" as
to any alterations in the buildings, notwithstanding the
report and the evidence of the medical men as to the un
wholesome situation of this Bastile. The yard of my den
is literally like the mouth of a baker's oven after the batch
of bread is drawn ; and I am obliged to ascend into my
bed-room to draw a mouthful of fresh air, it being so in
sufferably hot. and close below, in consequence of its be
ing surrounded with walls twenty feet high, one of them
being within four feet of my window. To shew you the
state of the air in the lower part of the yard, where my
sitting-room is situated, 1 have only to mention the follow
ing curious circumstance : I have some mignionette and
other sweet flowers planted, which are in full blossom ; the
bees seldom descend, although apparently attracted
thither by the fragrance of the flowers, but when one does
venture down, he remains but a very short time before he
reels off over the wall, as if he had received some bodily in-
jury. I have not the least doubt now, from the observations
that I have made, that this is occasioned by the foul air,
whieh stultifies even this industrious insect. In fact, most
persons who come to see me are affected with the unu
sual pressure ofthe atmosphere — many of them are affect
ed with a violent head-ach before they have remained
with me half an hour. Amongst the latter number are
several medical men, who have expressed their surprise
that 1 should have existed so long here. But I suppose I am
now pretty Well seasoned. It has, nevertheless, evidently
affected my health, and my constantly looking against a
white wall, which stands close before my window, has cer
tainly impaired my eye-sight; which is not at all: surpris
ing, for 1 am told that if a bird were to be confined here
a twelvemonth, it would in all probability render it totally
blind.

14
Let it not, however, be supposed that I am in a state of fret
ting and irritation. I have become too much of a philosopher
to be tormented and worried to death by everlasting petty
insults. A repetition of such indignities is said to have great
ly accelerated the premature decease of Napoleon. I do
not know what is the cause of it, but I suppose I am com
posed of different materials, for I really think such con
duct does, in no small degree, assist to promote my
health, by keeping my animal spirits in motion. I now
begin to laugh at and enjoy their little dirty acts of petty
malice ; at the same time that I despise the authors of
them. As a specimen of their paltry, narrow-minded
policy, I will mention one circumstance : when I first came
here, an order was made that I might receive three pints of
beer per day ; but, as I never drink any beer myself, this
order was useless, unless I had some of my family, or some
friends with me. A neighbouring farmer, hearing that I
was fond of cider, sent me two bottles, as a present, but
it was detained at the lodge by Pike, the turnkey, who
said that he had no order for the admission of cider. This
was in January last. In February, I mentioned the cic-
cumstance to the Visiting Magistrates, the Reverend Dr.
Colston and the Reverend Mr. Thring, but they took- no
notice of it. In April, the fact came out, in the exami
nation of Pike, the turnkey, who stated that he had the
cider still detained at the lodge, because there was no
order for its admission. Still no notice was taken of it by
the Magistrates, and the two bottles of cider were kept
impounded there till yesterday, when they were sent
down to me, by the order of the present Visiting Magistrate,
Aaron Moody, Esq. But the liquor was, of course, totally
spoiled, being more like vinegar than cider.
One more specimen of this sort of conduct I must
give, to show how systematically it is kept up. When

15
I first came, the matron occasionally made me a
tart or a pie, and baked it in her oven. But Bridle hav
ing communicated this great indulgence that was shown
me, to the Rev. Dr. Colston and the Rev. Mr. Thring,
positive orders were given, that no accommodation of that
sort should in future be granted me ; so that I had not an op
portunity of tasting any pastry since the 13th of February
till last week/when a friend having made me a currant tart,
I applied to one of the turnkey's wives, who acts as a mes
senger, to get it baked for me. She replied that the deb
tors had an excellent oven, erected at the county expense,
and they would bake it for me with pleasure. But she
had the precaution to ask permission (unknown to me) of
Mr. Gaoler ; to which application he replied, " by no
manner of means." So you see, my friends, the cur shows
his teeth to the very last moment, although he has re
ceived orders not to interfere with me, and I have never
seen him since the Inquiry was finished. These little acts
speak for themselves. But I console myself in this way,
for the loss of my cider, and the absence of pastry, to both
of which, particularly the latter, they had ascertained that
I was extremely partial: — I laugh and say it is probable
the cider might have created acidity upon my stomach,
and that the pastry might have produced indigestion and
heart-burn. The Fourth Number of the Evidence given before the
Commissioners is now published, and it will be read with
the most lively interest by every friend to humanity, and
every enemy of oppression and cruelty in the kingdom.
The Fourth Number contains an Address to Baron Gra
ham, who presides at the Crown Court at the present
Assizes for this county, at Bridgewater. The First Num->
ber was dedicated to the King, in an Address to his Ma
jesty George the Fourth. In that Address the following

10
passage occurs : — " Perhaps it never occurred to your Ma
jesty, that a Member of Parliament for a county, dispens
ing the laws as a Chairman of Quarter Sessions, can be
nothing more nor less than a Political Judge, where
two-thirds of the cases he has to decide upon involve
parties who have been either his partisans or opponents
at the election for the county. These men, however ho
nest they may be, cannot divest human nature of her
never erring laws; therefore, a Member for a county
acting as a Chairman at a Quarter Sessions, must be a Po
litical Judge of the most dangerous cast. In this Bas
tile I find many of the prisoners attribute the "severity or
leniency of their sentences to this cause." A Gentleman,
who called upon me yesterday, informed me, that some
persons had construed this passage to allude to Mr. Dick
enson, the Member for this county, who has occasionally
acted, as Chairman ofthe Quarter Sessions. But, as " the
cap does not fit," Mr. Dickenson, of course, will not place
it upon his head. As, however, I should be extremely
sorry to give, even unintentionally, any pain to Mr.
Dickenson or his friends; I have not the slightest hesita
tion to declare, that no personal allusion is meant, or ever
was intended to apply, to Mr. Dickenson1 or any other in
dividual. The reasoning is general, and evidently in
tended to apply to the practice, and not to any individual;
which practice I am firmly of opinion is most dangerous,
and ought to be avoided; and therefore I have humbly,
but honestly, called his Majesty's attention to the sub
ject. I believe Mr. Dickenson to be an amiable man
and an upright Magistrate, though he has been one of
those who have been duped and imposed upon by Bridle,
the Gaoler, as to his conduct; and management of tlie
gaol ; and I have, no doubt he was acting under this dej
lusion when he made such observations in his place- in

17
Parliament; neither have I any doubt hut Mr. Dickenson
will readily admit his error when the report of the Com
missioners is laid before the House. Mr. Dickenson's con
duct to me personally, since I have been here, has been
that of a gentleman and a man of feeling; and, as I have
before stated, he was one of those Magistrates who at
tended at the gaol on the 6th of July, soon after my ar
rival, and granted me those necessary accommodations
with which I expressed myself perfectly satisfied ; and he
has never since signed any order, or been instrumental in
any way that I know of in the imposing of those restric
tions, and inflicting of those tortures upon me of which I
so justly complained. In all respects, therefore, Mr.
Dickenson is one of the last men of whom I would inten
tionally say any thing that could wound his feelings.
The alterations that have been made in this gaol for
the better, the great amelioration in the condition of the
prisoners, and altogether the improvement in the manage
ment of them, made by the Sheriff and present Visiting
Magistrates, is an earnest that more important and lasting
alterations will be made, for which there is still ample
room. Nothing is yet done to the gouts, or sewers ; in
fact, it is impossible to make any improvement so as to
carry off the filth of the gaol, as it stands upon a dead
level for the space of 400 feet ; therefore, as long as it
remains a gaol, the filth must accumulate so as to render
the air pestilential, particularly as each of the small yards
or courts is surrounded with high walls, as if for the pur
pose of excluding every particle of fresh air. This was,
indeed, the opinion of every reasonable man when the in
terior high walls were building, and as yet there are no
steps taken to remove them. Such a gaol as this is, in
every respect, as to situation, air, buildings, &c, a
disgrace to such a county. Only think of a county gaol
6 c

IS
being placed at the fag end, at one extremity within fiv^
miles of the county of Dorset, and a distance of from eigh
teen to twenty-five miles from each assize town. There
is not such a thing as this to be met with in any part of
the kingdom besides. Well, we are to have a new
Gaoler and a new Doctor, at any rate. But it is of no use
to shift or shuffle. When the report ofthe Commissioners
is made to Parliament there must be a new gaol. In the
mean time, not a moment ought to be lost in improving
the present building, so as to render it as wholesome as its
very unwholesome situation will admit. The interior walls
should not have been suffered to remain an hour after the
evidence given and the report made by Dr. Kinglake,
and Surgeons Shorland and Robertson. .The drains should
be cleansed by manual labour at least once a month, or
oftener. What a wretched place this has been for the last twelve
years, since hulk discipline has been introduced ; and
what wretchedness and woe has been the lot of those
persons who have been incarcerated here ! The present,
or rather late, gaol doctor has attended, or rather re
ceived his salary for attending, this prison for fifteen
years. Was there ever such wanton cruelty inflicted upon
a community of from two to three hundred persons, look
ed up and crammed into unwholesome and pestilential
dungeons, obliged to live upon bad bread and worse
water, many of the wells communicating direct with the
common sewers, which rendered them liable to sudden,
frequent, and violent attacks of illness, which must have
sometimes terminated fatally before the gaol-surgeon,
who lived at a distance of five miles, could be brought
to their assistance? In fact, the last man that died in this
gaol, Edmund Treble, was taken seriously ill, kept his bed
for several days, and died before the gaol-surgeon arrived

10
to visit the gaol. 1 heard a gentleman, a professional
man, say yesterday, that while he was imprisoned here, a
space of eighteen months, more than one prisoner died for
want of immediate and timely medical assistance. Well,
we shall see what the Magistrates will do at the next
Quarter Sessions.
Notwithstanding all that is come out in evidence, I
have heard that some medical men, who live at a distance
of several miles from the gaol, are canvassing for the si
tuation, and that their pretensions are supported by some
of the Magistrates, although there are two skilful sur
geons who reside, one of them within twenty, and the
other within one hundred yards of the walls of the gaol :
either of them eminently qualified to fill the office with
credit to the county, honour to themselves, and to the
satisfaction, comfort, and safety of the poor prisoners. I
never can believe that the Magistrates, when they reflect
upon the subject, will again tamper with the health and
risk the lives of poor prisoners, by having a medical man to
attend the gaol who does not actually live upon the spot
As for the new Gaoler, that will be a question not so
easily settled. There is no difficulty to procure a com
petent surgeon, but there may be great difficulty in ob-
taining,oratleast selecting, a proper person to fill the office
of Gaoler. The Magistrates have fixed the salary at 4001.
per annum, clear of house-rent, taxes, travelling expenses,
&c. &c. This is double the income of many of the Par
son Justices of the county ; and it is an enormous salary,
considering the price of provisions, and the means of the
county-rate-payers to pay it. But for this sum it is to be
hoped that the Sheriff, whose officer the Gaoler is, will
take care to procure a servant of talent, education, and
industry ; and, what is of more consequence than all these,
he ought to possess a benevolent and humane disposition

20
— one who will feel it to be his duty to render the situa
tion of those unfortunate persons who are committed to
his care, for safe custody only, as comfortable and as hap
py as their confinement will admit; one whose inclina
tions will lead him to perform that duty with alacrity ;
one who will, when there is any doubt upon his mind as
to the meaning of any order of the Magistrates, always
give the benefit of that doubt in favour of the prisoner,
instead of construing it, as it has always heretofore been,
against the prisoner.
One great reason for giving the Gaoler so large a sa
lary as 4001. a year is, that he is obliged to find security
for his good behaviour, and give bail to the amount of
10,000/. to the Sheriff. Thus are the county -rate-payers
obliged to pay smart money, to save the Under Sheriff
from a great portion of his duty. If the Under Sheriff did
his duty, by living near, and visiting the prison constant
ly, to see that the Sheriff's prisoners were treated pro
perly, and that their safe custody was not incompatible
with their comfort, there would be no occasion for the
Gaoler to give the Sheriff 10,000L bail ; which, after all,
is nothing more nor less than mere nominal bail, for, if
report speak true, men of straw have been accepted as
bail for the late Gaoler. But, if the Magistrates make
him render a faithful account of his stewardship, and re
fund to the county the value of all the tea, sugar, coffee,
grocery, crockery, vinegar, grits, straw, meat, leather,
shoes, rugs, blankets, &c. &c. &c. that has either been pur
loined, or misapplied, during the thirteen years tnat he
has been the keeper of his gaol, and has had the handling
of from three to five thousand a-year of the county money,
they will then see of what his b&d are composed.
I was. in hopes I should have been enabled to give you
a faithful detail of the occurrences which took place at

2J
Manchester, on the commemoration of the second anni
versary of the fatal Sixteenth of August ; but my friend
Shillibeer has been prevented seeing me as he intended,
in consequence of the melancholy and alarming illness of
our worthy friend Mr. Jacobs, whose life I have this mo
ment heard is despaired of. If we lose Mr. Jacobs, it will
be a severe blow indeed i I had been promised a New
Manchester Observer, which was to have been printed in
London and published at Manchester this day, the 25th,
which I understood was to have given a detailed account
of the proceedings on the Sixteenth, as well as of the
Public Dinner on the 20th. This paper is, however,
either not published as was intended, or the publisher has
treated me with the same sort of neglect which I have
experienced from the conductors of the Manchester Ob
server, ever since it has been out of the hands of Mr.
Wroe. However, I will give a brief outline of tho pro
ceedings, as they have been communicated to me by Mr.
Shillibeer. On the morning of the 16th, a large meeting
was held at the Union Rooms, George Leigh-street,
Manchester, where Mr. Shillibeer was received with due
respect ; from whence the people proceeded in solemn
procession to the field of blood, St. Peter's Plain, where
they arrived about half-past one. The multitude passed
the bloody spot uncovered, and then continued their course
to Hulm Chapel, where the Reverend Mr. Scolefield
christened nine children by the name of Henry Hunt ;
at once to commemorate in the most solemn manner the
melancholy occasion, and to confer upon me, its most
marked victim, the highest and most lasting honour that
their parents could possibly bestow. I esteem it as a
proof of the sincerest respect and devotion of those who
are determined that, in spite of the bloody murderers, my
name shall never die — an honour that, I believe, was

22
never before, to such an extent, conferred upon any other
individual in this country. I shall request my publisher' to
insert their names and the names of their parents at the
end of this address, if he can procure them. Mr. Scole-
field then delivered a most admirable discourse to one of
the most crowded audiences that ever honoured a place of
worship. His text was, most appropriately, the whole of
the 94th Psalm. I understood it was a most able and im
pressive sermon, and caused his numerous hearers to
be bathed in tears. For the good of the public I hope
he will print it. The procession then returned to George
Leigh-street, and, after some suitable and appropriate
speeches from Mr. Shillibeer, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Candelett,
Messrs. Johnston and Drummond, who were confined in
ChesterCastle (not Johnson who was confined at Lincoln),
the meeting peaceably dispersed.
On Monday a public dinner was given at the Union
Rooms. About three hundred persons sat down, Mr.
Shillibeer in the chair. Water was the only beverage
drank, in compliment to my recommendation, to abstain
as much as possible from all highly taxed liquors. Many
appropriate toasts were given : myself, Sir Charles Wol
seley, Major Cartwright, Alderman Wood, Mr. Cobbett,
Mr. Wooler, Mr. Carlile, Mr. Knight, Reverends Messrs.
Harrison and Scolefield, Messrs. Lewis, Edmonds, Mad
dox, and Dr. Kinglake and Thomas Jacobs, Esq. of Taun
ton ; the nine young Radical Christians who were
Christened Henry Hunt on the 16th; to the memory of
the fourteen murdered Martyrs of Reform, on the 16th of
August, 1819 ; to the immortal memory of Thomas Paine;
to the immortal memory of "Caroline of Brunswick, the
injured Queen of England ;" Mr. Ex-Sheriff Parkins ; the
immortal memory of Napoleon Buonaparte, &C; &c.
At the public meeting,at theUnion Rooms,onthel6th,a

23
very flattering address was unanimously passed, to be pre
sented to me ; an account of which I was lo have seenin the
new London Manchester Observer, if that paper had ever
come to my hands. Without knowing what the address con
tains, I can only say I am very sensible of the honour in
tended me, and proud of the confidence which the Radi
cals of Manchester have always placed and still continue
to place in me. I have desired my Publisher, Mr. Dolby,
to insert it below, if he can procure a copy in London.
1 am always delighted when I hear that the Radicals
pay any tribute of respect to my worthy and excellent
friend Sir Charles Wolseley ; he is most deserving of
their highest consideration and confidence. I am happy
to hear that you drank his health with appropriate ho
nours, and that you passed a vote of thanks to him for his
noble exertions in your cause. In less than three months
the worthy Baronet will be restored to the bosom of his ami
able family; having bravely passed through the fiery ordeal,
and he has not been found wanting — I am quite sure the
people of Stockport will not fail in their duty to Sir
Charles. Now will be the time to let your enemies
know and feel that the people never desert or neglect
one who proves himself faithful to them. I do not recol
lect what bail is required of Sir Charles for his future
good behaviour; but this I know, that he voluntarily flew
to Lancaster to give bail for me, and as many others as re-
quiredit, when a true bill was found against us for attending
the peaceable meeting at Manchester ; and this I know,
also, that there is no honour which can be conferred on Sir
Charles Wolseley by the Radicals, of which he has not
proved that he is highly deserving. I should like to hear
from some of the Stockport and Cheshire Radicals upon
this subject.
I have just heard, from Mr. Shillibeer, that an address

•it
of mine was read at the dinner, recommending a plan for
a great Northern Union, and I am de!ig-hted to find that
this plan was approved and immediately adopted, by a
committee being- formed to carry it into execution. We
want union, co-operation, and organisation, for some le
gitimate object. This cannot be easily attained without
some forms for communication ; as far as my Memoirs
reach this shall be attained. But such a Manchester Ob
server, published at Manchester, as the Old Observer was
in the time of Mr. Wroe, when it was conducted by our
worthy friend Saxton, this is the thing that is wanted.
And, if you establish " The Great Northern Radical
Union," this will easily be established. I have no doubt
but this London Manchester Observer will be a very use
ful paper, if it be published : but we want Manchester
news — direct from Manchester, piping hot. However,
" we shall see ;" and, as I have neither time nor room to
say more at present, believe me, my excellent friends,
Your sincerely devoted,
H. HUNT.
P. S. — I have addressed this letter to the Radicals of
Ireland as well as England and Scotland, because I should
hope there are some who are ashamed of the slavish con
duct of the people of Dublin — who, like spaniels, are so
ready to lick the hand thatflogged them, and to fawn upon
and idolize him who has been their greatest scourge.
" Lord Castlereagh is cheered in the streets of Dublin." —
Mr. John Lawless is an honourable exception ; and Mr.
George Ensor must have hid his head with shame, at
the folly and baseness of his countrymen.

25
TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
London, August 27, 1891.
Dear Sir, — On the 16th of August, 1821, being the
second anniversary of the famous battle of Peterloo, which
was fought by the brave, the heroic Yeomanry Cavalry of
Manchester, against a multitude — oh, brave ! — a very
numerous multitude of unarmed men, women, and chil
dren, who had assembled in St. Peter's Field, Manchester,
in expectation of hearing the question of Parliamentary
Reform discussed, and for the purpose of giving their
sanction to a petition to Government for redress of
grievances; and if the number of victims can add any thing
to the glory of conquest, surely it would be impossible
for any thing to exceed the brilliancy of the laurels ob
tained by the gallant heroes of that dreadful day ;- for
the number of killed and wounded, including women and
children, amounted to six hundred and twenty, whilst
the brave cavalry escaped from the field of blood, without
the loss of a single soldier, or even so much as having
one wounded ! A few humble, though zealous, friends
of rational, but Radical Reform, met to commemorate
the glorious deeds of that ever memorable and eventful
day, when the following address to you was unanimously
agreed to.
ADDRESS TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Now confined in Ilchester Gaol, in the County of Somerset.
Dear Sir, — Your unremitting exertions, both in
and out of prison, in defence of the oppressed part of
your fellow 'countrymen ; your constant and strenuous
opposition to acts of tyranny, wherever and by whom
soever exercised ; the generous ardour you have so often
and so courageously displayed, in advocating what you
conceive to be the true principles of genuine and rational
liberty, founded on the broad basis of universal consent —
¦iiniveral representation being, as you conceive, the only
rational mode of Government ; your unabated vigilance ;
your almost unprecedented perseverance ; the bold and
undaunted intrepidity you have invariably evinced, under
circumstances the most trying and difficult ; and, above
all, your disinterested zeal and integrity, justly entitle
you to the esteem and gratitude of every man whose
bosom glows with a love of liberty, of justice, and of man.
We do most sincerely thank you for having so nobly ex-
C d

26
erted yourself in vindicating the rights of a people suf
fering, if we do not greatly err, the most wanton and cruel
oppression. We most cordially agree with you in your
political sentiments.
We confess that we feel great and serious alarm at the
increasing vigilance and assiduity of certain persons who,
we think, are strenuously endeavouring to utterly anni
hilate all freedom of discussion, by establishing the very
worst of all censorships on ihe Liberty of the Press— the
persecution of Publishers for the promulgation of sen
timents that may be at variance with their particular
interests. We believe that the appointmentof special juries, for the
trial of political offences, amounts to the same thing as
to select and appoint twelve persons to try the cause,
who, g-enerally speaking, are, either directly or indirect
ly, interested in the verdict they pronounce ; which pre
sents td our minds an act of arbitrary authority not au
thorised by the long-established usages of English Juris
prudence ; and we look upon your trial at York, as an
eminent instance of the correctness of our opinion ; for,
we conscientiously believe, that it would have been im
possible for any twelve men, indiscriminately taken, after
duly considering the evidence adduced on your trial, to
have pronounced you guilty. The people, in behalf of
the sufferers, have earnestly solicited investigation. In
quiry has been peremptorily denied. Yet, what is the
most surprising of all is, we are told that the parties ac
cused court inquiry. We also conceive it to be uncon
stitutional and unjust, for Judges to turn advocates and
plead against a prisoner, or to interrupt him in making
his defence.
Notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary,
we still entertain the opinion — -
First — That the meeting of the 16th of August was a
strictly legal meeting :
Secondly — That the subsequent passing of an Act of
Parliament, for the purpose of making- similar meetings
illegal in future, amounts to a bona fide proof of the le
gality of that meeting:
Thirdly — That the passing of that Act was an as
sumption of arbitrary authority, inasmuch as it was
made in open violation of that part of what they
are pleased to call the Constitution of England,
which guarantees to us the free uncontrolled right of

27
meeting in the open air, for the discussion of public
grievances, it having been passed by men whowere sworn
to be the guardians of that Constitution.
We most solemnly declare, that it is unequivocally our
opinion that, although a Constitution may confirm, enu
merate, and explain our rights, it is, nevertheless, impos
sible for any Constitution to confer upon us any political
right; for, in that case, it would be a privilege and not a
right; political rights being the real hereditary property
of all men, imprescriptible and inalienable.,
We beg of you to accept of this Address as a tribute of
our unfeigned attachment to you for the noble and dis
interested steal you have ever manifested in the cause of
public liberty. We commiserate your sufferings ; but,
we rejoice that you bear them with fortitude, and relax
not in your endeavours to accomplish your grand object
— the restoration ofthe people to the blessings of' liberty ;
and that you are able to look down on your vindictive
persecutors with a smile of benignity. We most ardently
hope, that the Reform we wish will be obtained, and
without violence on our part ; for, we verily think, that
the very means our enemies take to retard it, will only
serve to accelerate its progress.
Whatever may be the imperfections of the style and
grammatical diction of this Address, we hope it will not
lessen the Addressers in your esteem, as it emanates from
a few individuals in humble life, unconnected with any
party, who have nothing to boast of but purity of inten
tion and sincerity of affection, for every nmn who has
the courage and ability to raise his voice, or draw his pen,
in defence of the common rights of all.
Signed by order, and in behalf of the meetings
R. W. ALGAR.
Postscript.
Sir — On the 3rd June, 1820, a few zealous friends of
yours in humble life, in the neighbourhood of Bethnal-
green, commenced a penny-a-week subscription, which
they have continued up to this time, and which they intend
to continue till the term of your incarceration expires :
the present amount of our contributions is jiine pounds,,
which we beg your acceptance of, not as a reward for
your ptiblic services, though we think you better entitled
to reward than many who annually pocket large sums of
the public money, but as a tribute of our gratitude to you

28
for the manly manner in which you have defended our
rights, to assist you in defraying the expenses of your trial
at York ; and we do earnestly invite all true lovers of
liberty, all respecters of the rights of others, to assist in
repairing the injuries you have sustained in their defence,
so far as such injuries are reparable.
The Address would have been forwarded to you imme
diately after the 16th, but that it was then agreed that a
general meeting of the subscribers should take place
this day, for the purpose of taking into consideration,
whether it would be better to let the money remain in the
hands of the treasurer till the time of your imprisonment
expires, or to pay it into some person's hands for your
immediate use, when the latter was determined on.
1 have the honor to be, Sir,
Your unfeigned friend,
And well-wisher,
R. W. ALGAR.
Signed on behalf of the Subscribers,
this 27th August, 1821.

ADDRESS TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
FROM THE RADICAL REFORMERS, MALE AND FEMALE,
r,OF MANCHESTER, AUGUST 16, 1821.
(Extracted from the Nem Manchester Observer.)
Mr. Saxton said, there had been placed in his hands
the form of an Address to Mr. Hunt, which he would then
submit for the approbation of that meeting, and which,
with the permission of the Chairman, he would read: it
was as follows : —
" Respected Sir, — The solemn occasion which has call
ed us together, cannot be better improved than in ad
dressing the Man by whose virtuous magnanimity and
forbearance, thousands of victims were prevented from
being added to the bloody catalogue of those who were
inhumanly put to the sword, on the ever-memorable Six
teenth of August, 1819. Your conduct on that eventful
day, was but the prelude to the incalculable benefits re
sulting to mankind, from the unabated exercise of those
transcendant abilities given you by nature and education,
so that we can now scarcely regret the sacrifice of our
nearest and dearest relatives, when attended by conse-

29
quences highly influential to the present and future hap
piness of the human race. We wish not to speak the ful
some language of adulation, but of truth. It is the
malevolence of your enemies that has exalted your vir
tues, and called forth that manly display of eloquence and
intrepidity, which made your impugners stand aghast,
and entitled you to the esteem and gratitude of millions
yet unborn.
" It has been the practice of tyranny in all ages, to
banish or proscribe the virtuous and the brave. To this
system has Napoleon the Great fallen a sacrifice ! By this
accursed policy was our exalted and innocent Queen driven
an exile from her rightful home, and returned only to be
persecuted to destruction and death 1 — and by the same
system were you, Sir, incarcerated in the most noxious
and horrid Bastile in this kingdom, with the sanguinary
wish, that death might finish what iniquity had attempted
to accomplish ! For you, however, it was reserved to sur
mount and defy their fiend-like machinations. You have
discomfited their hopes, and frustrated their projects; and
from the dungeons of that very prison which they trusted
would prove your grave, you have rescued from the
fangs of oppression, numbers of devoted and defence
less victims ! With more than Herculean force, you
have cleansed the Augean stable, and exhibited its
filth and nastisness, to day-light and detestation ! —
You have indeed ' loosened the bands of wickedness ;
let the oppressed go free,' and will yet, ' break every
yoke.' " With the name of Henry Hunt will ever be assailed
all that is generous, noble, or praise-worthy. Your and
our latest posterity shall reap the fruits of that glory
which you have achieved — a glory that can neither be
eclipsed nor weakened by time or circumstances ! But
why should we look to posterity alone? May you, Sir, in
your own person, realize what you have so heroically be
gun ! You have ' passed the Rubicon ;' proceed in your
god-like enterprise, and conquer ! Your enemies fear
you — your admirers will support themselves in supporting
you ! Of the issue who can doubt ? , Already the hydra-
headed monster, Corruption, flies before you. — You have
' scotch' d the snake;' — another such stroke, and Liberty
will triumph !
" We cannot close our present Address, Sir, without
first thanking you for that kind consideration which in-

so
duced you, in your constrained absence, to send as your
representative, a gentleman of Mr. Shillibeer's ability
and urbanity of manners. His conduct has considerably
lessened our regret for the deprivation we have expe
rienced ; but we confidently anticipate a speedy time
when you shall receive our personal demonstrations of
increased regard. When that day arrives, the boasted
triumphant entries of C«sar and Pompey into ancient
Rome, shall dwindle into mere pageants, before the real
splendour of the spectacle which will then present itself, in
the spontaneous expression of a brave and free people."
This Address was heard with the most profound atten
tion, and was carried with rapturous applause. Mr.
Saxton then delivered it to Mr. Shillibeer, with a request
that he would present it to Mr. Hunt as the deliberate act
of that meeting.
Mr. Shillibeer shortly thanked the assembly for this
proof of their confidence. He undertook the charge with
pecul ar pleasure, and congratulated himself upon being
the bearer of a document, which he was conscious his il
lustrious friend would receive with feelings of exultation
and gratitude.

List ofthe Parents and Childrcns' Names, baptized at Christ Church;
Hulm, by the Reverend J. Scholefleld, August 16th, 1821.
Henry Hunt Carlile, son of William and Mary Walker.
Henrietta Hunt Carlile, daughter of James and Nancy Wheeler
Henry Hunt, son of John and Sarah Crowshaw.
Henry Hunt, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Stevenson.
Henry Hunt Thomas, son of Benjamin and Ellen Lee.
Henry Hunt, Son of Thomas and Mary Bullock.
John Cartwright, son of William and Mary Fildes. (The parents of
this' child had a son christened twenty months ago by the name of
Henry Hunt.)
Henry Hunt, son of William and Elizabeth Barnes, of Bolton.
Henry Hunt, son of Thomas and Hannah Mores.
Henry Hunt, son of Thomas and Ann Crabtree.
This interesting ceremony being gone through, the
Reverend Gentleman ascended the pulpit, and addressed
the parents of the children ; admonishing them of the
duties they had to perform in the religious education of
their offspring.
He paid a tribute of praise to their patriotism in calling
the young Christians after a man of such great talent and
political firmness, as Henry Hunt, and trusted his name
sakes would emulate his virtues without being subject to
the persecutions and misfortunes which had distinguished
the life of that noble patriot.

31
At a public meeting of the subscribers to a fund to in
demnify H. Hunt, Esq., held in the Union Rooms, George
Leigh Street, Manchester, on the ninth day of July, 1821 ;
it was unanimously resolved, that the thanks of this meet
ing are due to, and are hereby given H. Hunt, Esq., for
his manly, upright, and independent conduct, not only
since his incarceration in bringing to justice the petty
tyrants of Ilchester Bastile ; but, during the whole of his
political life ; and this meeting confidently anticipates that
he will still continue his praise-worthy endeavours, in
exposing and holding up to" contempt and derision all the
vile horde of sinecurists, placemen, pensioners, &c. who
are revelling on the very vitals of the country, and who,
by their vile practices, have reduced us to our present de
graded state in society.
Signed on behalf of the meeting.
John Thacker Saxton, Chairman.

ADDRESS FROM THE RADICAL REFORMERS OF
BRISTOL, TO H. HUNT, ESQ.
Bristol, August 15th, 1821.
Dear Sir, — The friends to freedom in the city of Bris
tol, admiring your fortitude under the most cruel, unjust,
and abominable persecution you are now suffering for your
patriotic zeal for the freedom and welfare of our oppressed
country ; and, also, your perseverance in endeavouring, in
your present situation, to bring to deserved and condign
punishment those diabolical agents of a corrupt tyrannical
power, who tyrannise over and torture their fellow men,
(fellow, do we say ? forbid it, Heaven ! for such tyrants
cannot be human, are they not rather subjects of the re
gions of eternal darkness ?) beg you to accept of the small
sum of 24/. 3s. 6c?.* as a token of their sincere respect and
esteem ; which they transmit to you by the hands of Mr-
John Cossens. It would be absurd in them to apologize
for the small amount, it being all which the public plun
derers and tax-gatherers will permit them at present to
convey. Nevertheless, they have this consolation, that,
however gloomy the present prospect may appear, they.
cannot but foresee that the vile agents of iniquity are
rapidly approaching that abyss where they will inevitably
* Ten Pounds had been forwarded from the same place before.

32
sink intodirp oblivion, to rise no more, otherwise than with
their country's curses on their viperous heads.
That you, dear Sir, may enjoy stability of health, till
the time of your enlargement ; and then long live, vigo
rous andhappy to triumph over your implacable enemies,
and those daring projectors of our country's wrongs, are
the sincere prayers of your zealous friends and admirers,
The undersigned Radicals of Bristol.
To Henry Hunt, Esq.
(See List of Subscribers onthe Wrapper of this Number.)

INVESTIGATldN INTO THE ABUSES OF
ILCHESTER GAOL.
The PUBLISHER of Mr. HUNT'S MEMOIRS most respectfully
recommends to the READERS of that work the EVIDENCE given be
fore the Commissioners appointed by the Crown to investigate the state
of Ilchester Gaol, the conduct of the Gaoler, the treatment of the
Prisoners, &c. This work will shew, that no circumstances, however
hopeless, or even perilous, can call off a great mind from the con
templation of great and glorious enterprises. The celebrated John
Howard won the esteem of all good people, by leaving bis home, and
a happy competency, to pay religious and charitable visits to those
¦who were in captivity. Mr. Howard, however, had ample pecuniary
means, and unrestrained power of loco-motion. In the case of Mr.
Hunt, we see a man locked in a dungeon, under every deprivation, yet
fearlessly grappling with the iron-hearted tyrant who had him under
lock and key ; and although the said tyrant had the reputation, (out of
prison) of being a " very good kind of man," and backed and sustain
ed by equally good sort of people in the shape of Visiting Magis
trates, Gaol Doctors, and Itinerant Philanthropists ; yet has the
spirit of the intrepid and intelligent captive burst from its fragile con
fines, and overwhelmed the little crew in their own mire. To take
even a brief review of matter so various as this Evidence contains,
¦would exceed the limits prescribed for this short address ; there will
be found something to excite the zealous, something to shame the
cowardly, something to animate the brave, something to touch the
tender-hearted, and something to confirm the religious in that grand
position, that " doubtless there is a God that judgeth in the earth !"
299, Strand, August SOth, 1621.

T. Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand, Loudon.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OP
ENGLAND,  , AND SCOTLAND.

Ilchester Bastile, 8th day, 2d month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
September 24, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Since I addressed you last it has given me very great
pleasure to hear that the UNION, which I recommended
in a Letter which I addressed to the Radicals of Manches
ter, when my friend Shillibeer visited them, has been very
generally adopted throughout the North, particularly in
Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, &c. But as I mean to
lay down a plan in this Letter for the consideration, and,
if adopted, for the future guidance of the Members of this
Great Radical Northern Union, to shew how this measure
originated, and what has been already done, I will here
insert my Letter to the Radicals of Manchester, above al
luded to, which was read at a public dinner, held in the
Union Rooms, in that town, on Monday, the 23d of Au
gust, and being unanimously approved of and adopted, it
was published in the second number of the revived Man
chester Observer, on Saturday, the 1st of September, as
follows: —
7 A

Printed by T. Dolkv, 300, Strand.

" TO THE MALE AND FEMALE REFORMERS OF
MANCHESTER.
" Ilchester Bastile, the Eve ofthe Second Anniverfary of
the Bloody Manchester Massacre.
" My brave and excellent Friends,
" Before this can reach Manchester you will have com
memorated the cowardly and inhuman slaughter of our
peaceable and unarmed fellow Reformers, on the never-to-
be-forgotten, never-to-be-forgiven, Sixteenth of Au
gust, 1819. To-morrow is the Second Anniversary of
that fatal day, when you, my brave friends, will, for the
second time, prove to the cowardly Ruffians, and their
Abbettors, of your town, that their deeds are written in
such characters of blood, and are so deeply engraven upon
your hearts, that nothing but justice, even-handed jus
tice, or ample retribution, will ever cause you to cease
your exertions for one moment, to obtain vengeance upon
the heads ofthe murderers.
"My friends, Saxton and CANDELET,have informed me,
that you intend to give the West Country Radical, my
worthy Brother Shillibeer, a Public Dinner at the Union
Rooms, on Monday next. Although I cannot be one in
person among you, yet as my heart and soul will be pre
sent with you, I cannot resist the pleasure of addressing
you very briefly, by letter, upon so propitious an oc
casion. " I conjure you, my excellent friends, by the groans of
our martyred brethren, by the heart-rending shrieks of our
wounded and murdered sisters; by the piercing cries of
the sabred and crushed infants ; and, above all, let me im
plore you, by the indignation you feel at the denial of
justice we have since expeYienced ; and by the persecution
and torture that have been inflicted on myself and others,
who survived the slaughter only to become the victims of
Tyranny ; — by these considerations, added to all you hold
dear upon earth, your liberties, — let me conjure you, not
to separate, till you have laid the foundation for a sub
stantial, a permanent, and consequently an irresist
ible, invincible UNION ofthe Radical Reformers of
the North, which will soon extend to the utmost corners
of the kingdom. Let the Union be formed upon such a
basis as will at once secure safe communication and
prompt co-operation. — Without such a Union, the Re
formers are like a ship at sea, without a rudder or a pilot :

with nuch a Union, they will be irresistible. To form
the basis of this Union, there must be some ostensible ob
ject; and however presumptuous it may appear for me to
suggest any plan, yet as some one must do it, and as the
very existence of freedom in England might be, and will
be hazarded if something be not speedily and effectually
done, I take leave to throw out a hint for your considera
tion : — It is quite clear there is public spirit \enough in the
country, it only requires to be concentrated, to be drawn
together in one firm phalanx by one indissoluble Union.
There must be one ostensible — one general object, to
which the whole may be induced to contribute by a small
weekly subscription, for the two-fold purpose of register
ing the names, and forming an adequate fund for carrying
any well-digested plan into execution. Only look at the
Methodists ! and see what 100,000 men enrolled may com
mand. If nothing better suggests itself, why not instantly
begin to enrol names (the grand object) to subscribe one
penny per week, to raise a Fund to enable the Radical
operatives of the North, to send One Representative
of their own into the corrupt Senate — the House
called the Peoples' House of Parliament. How easily
might Preston be secured ? The Peoples' Candidate, or
Member, never to have the disposal of a penny of this
Fund. Begin this scheme as becomes the occasion ! Act
like men determined to be free ; and you may have half a
million of names enrolled in one Union in three months.
Let it be called the " Great Northern Union of Radical
Reformers '. .' .'" Recollect that I divest myself of all selfish
motives, and consider the good of the whole community to
be paramount to all other considerations. There must be a
beginning, and there must be an ostensible and a legal
object. It will not do to associate without some visible
and open purpose ; neither will it do to unite for any
illegal end ; and it will be necessary, in order to disarm
our opponents, to have an open, legitimate, avowed
object. Now, mark me: — our enemies can turn or twist
any thing almost that they please, into what they call a
conspiracy; therefore it behoves us to guard against their
conspiracies, aimed at the subversion of the last spark of
our liberties. We must follow up the blows wehave al
ready given to the system of tyranny. We must not relax,
but pursue, and we are sure to gain our holy purpose — ra
tional ^iberty for all. This is, and always has befen, my
great end ajid aim. Now then : — to unite ,- to enrol names ,-

for the great body of the Reformers to co-operate, and
act as one man, must be the wish of all good men : — for
without some plan of this sort, our power is rendered nu
gatory. Our enemies know well how to profit by our
want of Union ; they put in practice the never-failing po
licy to " divide and conquer." Let us resolve to be
united, and we shall soon frustrate all their schemes to
enslave us, and drive them to desperation. But every
man must put his shoulder to the wheel. Let not another
moment pass without making a beginning. Form a Com
mittee the moment you have heard this letter read : let
that Committee be called the Manchester Central Commit
tee ; — and invite every town in Lancashire, Cheshire,
Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire, to form a
Union Committee. Let your avowed object be to unite and
raise a subscription to send a Member or Members of your
own into Parliament. Let every committee divide their own
districts into sections — appoint their own Collectors, &c.
Let us set about a legal organization — by this means we
may do some good. Make SirCharles Wolseley your Trea
surer ; Sir Charles is anhonest, noble man ; or appoint three
persons joint trustees of your fund — say Sir Charles Wolse
ley, Matthew Wood, Esq. and T. Northmore, Esq. or any
other three persons you please to place your funds on good
security : or perhaps you had better appoint one person only
that you are sure will act. I see no end to the good that may
arise from this plan, if it bepromptly adopted. Let every thing
be done openly ; you will probably have some spy in the
room who will hear this letter read, and the intimation
will be instantly carried to the head-quarters of corrup
tion: allthe better — if it be acted upon, it will strike
terror into the hearts of the wicked and profligate. You
have some excellent men all over these counties, in every
town and township : — lose no time in communicating
with them. But to secure your object you must have a
press of your own — the Manchester Observer News
paper. Think of this, my friends. In the mean time I
will give you all the circulation in my power to any plan
you may enter into, as far as my Memoirs extend. In
fact, if my name is of any service, use it for so good a pur
pose ; you know you will have my heart and hand. I
must leave all minor arrangements to those who so well
understand matters of this sort amongst you. At the time
you are reading this, I shall be thinking of you; -and that
the spirit of peace and union may animate your actions, shall

be my sincere prayer. Accept my grateful thanks for all your
kindness to me — my reliance upon that kindness has alone
prompted me thus to address you.
" 1 remain, your sincere and devoted friend,
 " H. HUNT."
Committee Room, George Leigh-street,
Thursday Evening, August 23, 1821.
At an adjourned Meeting of the Committee appointed
at the Public Dinner in the Union Rooms, on Monday last,
for furthering the measure proposed in Mr. Hunt's Ad
dress, of securing the election of at least one independent
and upright Member to the Commons' House of Parlia
ment, it was resolved : —
That a Circular Letter from this Committee be prefixed
to Mr. Hunt's Address, and forwarded to our friends in the
different towns in the kingdom, to secure their immediate
and effective co-operation.
That, in order to prevent any possible misconception of
the manner in which the fund contemplated is to be
raised, and may possibly be applied, this Committee feel
it incumbent on them to state, that they forcibly recom
mend Henry Hunt, Esq. as one proper person to be
nominated and1 chosen at the next election ; and that the
sole expense shall be defrayed from the fund raised by
small weekly subscriptions in the manner recommended
hy Mr. Hunt, or in any way that may be sanctioned at the
first public meeting of the friends to the measure. Such
member or members to be considered as the Representa
tives of the Radicals of the Union, and expected to en
force their just claims in that House.
That as a Public Meeting ofthe Reformers is appointed
to be held in the Union Rooms, George Leigh-street, on
Monday evening, the 3rd of September, at seven o'clock,
the Committee will then and there submit their proposi
tion respecting Mr. Hunt for consideration and decision,
and will also suggest such other plan or plans, as will
appear to them best calculated for carrying the wishes
and intentions of the meeting ofthe 20th instant, into
full and complete execution.
That Mr. J. T. Saxton be requested to continue his
services in the Committee, and to send and receive com
munications.

P. T. CANDELET.
J. RIDDLE,
J. REDFEARN,
W. WALKER,
W. THOMPSON,

J. WHEELER,
J. COX,
J. RHODES,
J. GANT,
J. WALKER.

In consequence of those Resolutions, Circular Letters,
including the above Address and Resolutions, were sent to
all the leading Reformers of the North, and to various
parts of the kingdom. In pursuance of this notice, and a
public advertisement, a very numerous Public Meeting
was held, at the Union Rooms, George Leigh-street, Man
chester, on Monday, the 3d of September, Mr. Robert
Pilkington being called to the chair. The letters received
from various parts, in answer to the circular, being read ;
Mr. Saxton read the Report of the Committee and the fol
lowing Address to the Radical Reformers of the Empire,
which was unanimously adopted by the Meeting.
" TO THE RADICAL REFORMERS THROUGHOUT
THE EMPIRE.
"Fellow Labourers in the Cause of Liberty,
*' Permit us, the Tradesmen, Artizans, Mechanics,
and others, of the town and neighbourhood of Man
chester, in Public Meeting assembled, to address you in
the spirit of independence and in the language of truth.
We are met for the purpose of discussing the best and most
constitutional mode of effecting an object which must be
dear to every one who values the expiring liberties of his
country, and wishes to resist the further inroads of lawless
power, and the aggressions of usurped authority. The
never-to-be-forgotten irruption of an infuriated yeomanry
on a multitude of defenceless men, women, and children,
onthe l6thof August, 1819, is yet witliout investigation
—without atonement, without retribution : and ' military
execution' has again been let loose, on a brave, a loyal, and
a generous people, wishing only to pay the last tribute of
respect to the remains of, a magnanimous, an insulted,
and much injured Queen ! And where are we to look for
redress for these accumulated wrongs? Not to the
Throne, for from thence our oppressors have received
thanks ; — not to the Oligarchy, for from the Sidmouths
and the Liverpools haye issued the orders by which we
were lawlessly put to the sword ; not the Commons'
House of Parliament, as at present constituted, for
by them have our petitions been rejected, and our
manifold wrongs treated with scorn ! It is to ourselves we

must turn in this state of wretchedness: it is from our
selves we must seek relief, and from ourselves we must ob
tain it. To accomplish this object one thing only is ne
cessary — a complete union of the Reformers — a concen
tration of their energies in the persons of firm and tried
champions — returned to Parliament by the people, and
being the real organs of their sentiments, and the advocates
of their privileges. An opportunity may speedily offer it
self of trying the experiment ; but We must be prepared
for the conflict ; we must ' trim our lamps' before the hour
cometh. By the simple and easily accomplished collection
of one penny per week, a fund may be realized more than
equivalent to the task we have set ourselves. The pro
gress of the intrepid Mr. Hunt at the last election at Pres
ton, where, single-handed, he bravely withstood and
almost discomfited the aristocratical coalition by which he
was opposed, and this without expending one farthing of
money, gives us the assurance of his complete success,
when aided by the judicious application of a fund raised to
defray necessary expenses, and for indemnifying those
who may be thrown out of employment by their task
masters for voting for a popular advocate. We entreat
you, then, fellow-labourers in this work of necessity, to
rouse into decided activity : strain every nerve to set sub
scriptions on foot in your respective neighbourhoods ; nor
cease your endeavours until you have perfected the plan
now recommended. There is one admirable resolution en
tered into at Bolton, which is worthy of imitation ; they
have resolved, that according to the extent of their means,
they will receive into their houses, and in employment, all
those who may be driven from their work in consequence
of the votes they may conscientiously give at the Preston
election. Let but a similar spirit pervade the great body
of Reformers, and corruption is deprived of its strong
hold. The people of Preston have long been the ' un
willing slaves' of a vile faction ; convince them but once
that they will meet with sympathy and support, and they
will straightway cast off the galling bondage.
" The election of Mr. Hunt for Preston would act as a
talisman to throw open every city and borough in the
kingdom ; nay even counties might be accessible to a
power which would thus know no limits to its strength —
no boundaries to its usefulness. It might do more to ame
liorate the condition of mankind, than all the plans of all
the Quixotic projectors ofthe day.

" There is one thing necessary to observe : — not one
penny of the money which is raised is to be at the dispo
sal of the people's candidate or member. By this regula
tion every rational fear of the improper application of th*
fund is done away with.
" That which is once begun is half ended r let us entreat
you, therefore, to lose no time in putting your arrange
ments into practice. The Manchester Central Committee
will afford you every information in their power which
can facilitate your labours, and feel happy in being favour
ed with an early notification of your proceedings.
" Wishing once more to impress upon the minds ofthe
Radical Reformers, the necessity of a prompt and vigorous
union in carrying into effect what appears to this meeting,
the only rational mode for a Radical and complete re
generation of the Commons' House of Parliament, we
remain your fellow labourers in the great cause in which
we are all engaged.
" (Signed on behalf of the meeting-)
" ROBERT PILKINGTON, Chairman."
The Meeting then appointed a Committee and elected
Sir Charles Wolseley, Bart, the Treasurer for the General
Union ; and after passing votes of thanks to several dis
tinguished patriots of the day, and a strong vote of cen
sure upon Dr. Lushington and Mr. Wilde, the Queen's
Executors, for their illiberal and infamous treatment of
Mr. Alderman Wood, in regard to his attending the fune
ral ofthe Queen, the meeting separated with the greatest
harmony and decorum. Since that, I see there has been
Meetings in Nottingham, Leeds, Bolton, Blackburn, Barns-
ley, Royton, Stockport, and various other places, all zea
lously entering into, and joining the Great Northern Ra
dical Union ; which will cement in one bond of brotherly
love and unanimity, the great mass of the Radical Re
formers of the United Kingdom. Although this proposi
tion of mine has been made barely a month, yet the elec
tric spark has kindled from one end of the land to the
other. The staunch Radicals of the West are determined

9
to unite and become a branch of the Great Radical Union.
One Gentleman in this neighbourhood has undertaken to
enrol 300 names in his immediate vicinity ; and at Taun
ton, Bristol, and Bath, the Radicals are upon the alert.
At Leeds, a large public meeting was held at the Union
Rooms, Richmond Hill, Mr. James Mann in the chair; at
which meeting, a letter I had written to Mr. Mann was
read, stating that 100,000 Radicals, subscribing one penny
per week each, would amount, at the end of the year, to
21,633£. 6s. Sd. — enough to purchase seats for five Radical
Members, even if they were obtained at the Borough-
mongers' price. It was unanimously resolved to form
themselves into a " Branch of the Great Northern Union,
as recommended by Mr. Hunt." The Editor of The Times
inserted this article in that paper, on Monday, September
the 17th, upon which he makes the following very wise
and intelligent remarks : —
" We copy the above from the Leeds Mercury of Sa-
" turday, and must say that we have received much
" amusement as well as surprise from the statement which
" it contains. We had thought that ' the indissoluble
" union,' ' the irresistible efforts/ and ' central committees'
" of the Radicals, with their political nostrums and penny
" subscriptions, were now as much out of date and fashion
" as the sect of Flagellantes, the wonders of alchemy, or
" the South Sea scheme. What is the purpose of this
" patriotic fund here recommended by Mr. Hunt ? Why!
" to buy '-all the seats of the Boroughmongers for once?
" that the Radicals may obtain possession of them for
" ever. So these penny subscribers would purchase the
" lease of the premises in order that they might oust the
" landlord ; and yet they suppose the latter will be such a
" fool as to admit them for tenants on these terms."
Really, Mr. Editor, you are a precious compound of im-
2 b

10
pudence and ignorance! So you really thought that Ra
dicalism was quite out of fashion, did you ? You are both
amused and surprised, are you? Had it no other effect
upon you? Are you quite sure that a little fear was not
mingled with your surprise ? Pray, Sir, what have you
been writing for, the last fifteen months ? I really thought
that you had promulgated Radical principles till they
were become quite fashionable with the readers of The
Times. " Oh, dear me \" 1 fancy I hear you say, '' you were
quite mistaken, Sir \ we never wished to promulgate such
Radical principles as you support: we never wished the
Radicals to act or think for themselves. It was all very
pretty and very delightful to see the Radicals of the Me
tropolis and all over the Kingdom come forth at our call
to support the Queen, or rather to support that faction of
which we have been the organ: but we were in hopes, that
by doing this, we had thrown dust in the eyes and stupi-
fied, if we had not blinded, the real Radicals : we had
hoped that they would have left the game to be played
by us ; but, alas ! we find that we are deceived. These
ragged Radicals have imbibed the spirit of Liberty, and
all our efforts have not been able to make them swerve
from their obstinate purpose." Really, Mr. Editor, yod
have discovered the cloven-foot in this paragraph ; you
have discovered that you knew that you were writing a
falsehood, when you assert that " you thought the Radi
cals with their political nostrums were as much out of
fashion as the sect of Flagellantes, the wonders of alchemy,
and the South Sea scheme." You knew this was false
when you wrote it. There was a time, some months back,
when you might have consoled yourself in your dreams
that the spirit of Radicalism was buried in the Manchester
Guardian ; but, at the time you wrote this article, yoii
knew that the Manchester Observer was revived in

11
ull its glory, in all its former splendour, and conducted
with the same talent and the same spirit and the same pen
as it was before the bloody Sixteenth of August, 1819;
with this fact before your eyes, you wrote the above arti
cle, which you knew was a barefaced falsehood when you
sent it to the press. Come, come, Mr. Editor of The
Times, 1 do not say that we shall do it, but if we get but
100,000 Radicals to unite and become Members of our
Great Northern Radical Union, depend upon it we will
not, like the sect of Flagellantes, set about whipping each
other ; but our business shall be to whip such coxcomical
gentry as you into good manners. As for the study of
alchymy, we shall at any rate come as near the mark as
the Editor of The Times, although we may not know how
to spell quite so well. And instead of following the ex
ample of the South Sea scheme dupes, we will endeavour
to be ready to take advantage of the bursting of that
bubble which the Editor of The Times for so many years
supported, and which he would still wish to support. Pray,
Mr. Editor, how came you not to insert a true account of
the Leeds Meeting ? you have inserted a garbled and
false account. How came you not to insert the excellent
speech of Mr. Mason ? Do, in future, my good Sir, take
your Radical news from the Manchester Observer, and
then your readers will believe it, because they will know
it is genuine. But although you skipped over Mr. Mason's
speech, I will not: although it has been published in the
Manchester Observer, I will insert it here as a specimen
of the sort of men which compose the Yorkshire Radicals ;
and that my readers may draw their conclusions from this
speech, whether the principles of Radicalism are likely
soon to be out of fashion while it is supported and advo
cated by such men as Mr. Mason.
After the address of Mr. Hunt had been read from the

12
chair, Mr. Mason addressed the Meeting in the following
words : —
" Gentlemen,— In moving the resolutions which have
heen read, you will permit me to make a few remarks in
behalf of the object of our present meeting. Gentlemen,
I have of late been very frequently saluted with taunts,
such as the following: ' Your cause is drooping: that
spirit of liberty, of which you so much boasted, is dead.'
My answer has generally been, ' It is not dead, but
sleepeth.' Yes, Gentlemen, I am persuaded that it has
only slumbered for awhile, and that it is now about to
awake, like a strong man renewed with a tenfold vigour.
Dead! Gentlemen. It cannot die : it is an emanation from
the Deity: it is imperishable; and tbat bosom which has
once been enlivened by its sacred firer would cease to
heave without it; and that man who has once tasted of
its sweets, would consider life as insipid, and scarcely worth
enduring, without it. We have now, Gentlemen, an op
portunity of re-uniting in the glorious cause ; and I am sure
we shall with ardour embrace it. Let us, then, bury in
oblivion all past dissensions: let all petty quarrels be for
gotten and forgiven: let all other considerations be sub
servient to this great object : and let our union be indis
soluble. Surely, we shall not suffer religious disputes to
damp the ardour of freedom ! Are you Christians ? Re
member your Master hath said, ' That he who would be
the greatest amongst you, let bim be the servant of all:'
and whatever the hirelings of the day may say, with re
spect to passive obedience and non-resistance; we know
that Jesus never taught any such slavish doctrines. He
pointed to the people as the only source of legitimate
power ; and if an offender of the people would not hear
them, he was to be treated as a Heathen and a Publican.
— Christianity, then, acknowledges no laws but those
which emanate from God and the People ; and here, the
voice of the people is the voice of God. Let, then, these
loyal and sapient divines, who confound the circumstances
of the early Christians under a Heathen Government,
with those of modern times, living under a Government
professedly Christian ; let them read the 18th chapter of
Matthew, and connect with it the proceedings at Man
chester on the 16th of August, of bloody memory, when
the people met to complain of offences ; and then let them
say, who were the resistors ofthe ordinances of God ; and,

13
consequently, who are the characters who shall receive to
themselves damnation? Again, Gentlemen, are any of
you Deists, and acknowledge no other religion but that
which nature teacheth ? Survey, then, the wide expanse
of nature, and view the myriads of conscious existences
in their native wilds, and you will perceive that it is liberty
which gives a zest to their enjoyment, and mirth to their
playful gambols ; and it is only when they are enslaved by
tyrant man, that they cease to be happy. Examine also
the construction of the human mind, attend to the feelings
of your own bosoms, and you will find that nature has
there implanted a love of liberty inseparably connected
with your enjoyment, and that the God of Nature never
did create a human slave. ( Applause.) Should there be any
amongst you who are neither Christians nor Deists, who
view unmoved the earth on which yott tread, with all the
mighty wonders which it contains, nor ever iook through
Nature up to Nature's God, no nor listen to the soothing
voice of Revelation, and who neither fear "God, nor regard
man ; to such characters, permit me to say, now bend your
stubborn knees, and learn to worship at the sacred shrine
of Liberty, or else go swell the ranks of our opponents,
and meanly cringe beneath the oppressor's scourge, and
stretch your servile lungs in behalf of passive obedience
and non-resistance;
' And chaunt no othei-song, but such as slaves would sing,
In praise of Right Divine, should log or stork be King.'
(Applause.) Gentlemen, success in our present under
taking entirely depends upon union. You have heard
the fable Ofthe Old Man and his Sons with the bundle of
sticks ; but I have been told that some amongst you will
not act if this or the other individual have any thing to do
in the cause; but I will not believe such tales ; such a pro
cedure would demean you, Gentlemen. Were you faint
ing with hunger or thirst, and a sumptuous table should
be spread before you, abounding with the choicest viands,
and the most exhilarating wines, of which you were all
invited to partake: would you refuse, on the ground that
you did not like this or the other person who assisted in
serving it? Surely, you would not: and is not liberty as
dear to you as meat and drink ? What has been said with
respect to religion will also apply to liberty. It is written,
' Man shall not live by bread alone.' No; we may here
say with the Poet: —

11
' This life is, indeed, at the best,
A compound of bitter and sweet ;
Now pain and fatigue, and now rest,
Now ihorn, now flowers 'neath our feet ;
'Tis Freedom that sweetens the draught,
'Tis Liberty gives the repose ;
'Tis She from the thorn plucks the shaft,
'Tis She who presents us the rose.
Then if life's worth enduring 'tis whilst we are free,
Tell this to the wretch who your tyrant would be.'
(Loud Applause.) And now, Gentlemen, a word or two
on the subject of our Union. It is to enable us to return
Radical Reformers to the Commons' House of Parliament.
Methinks I hear you exclaim, with respect to the numbers
we might me able to send, ' Alas ! what are they among
so many?' One honest,independent man might do much.
A little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump. Though it is
true corruption has now accumulated to a mighty lump,
yet, as it has been said that the ' voice of a King causeth
the earth to melt,' surely, the voice of an honest man
would do much towards melting this lump of corruption.
(Loud and continued applause.) But, Gentlemen, there
is a probability of us sending numbers, and where there is
but a chance of success in such an important cause, every
effort should be made. At all events, let me conjure you,
by that love of liberty which now animates your bosoms —
by the sufferings of those intrepid patriots, who are now
immured within the gloomy walls of a dungeon, and, espe
cially by your attachment to that undaunted champion of
liberty, Mr. Hunt, whose unrivalled exertions in the cause
of freedom, nor dungeons, bolts nor bars, could ever yet
relax : and by every thing that is dear to you in life, let
me conjure you to use every exertion in the cause we are
now engaged in, and we shall then enjoy the pleasing re
flection, even though the event should not answer our ex
pectations, that if wehave not been able to command suc
cess, we have done more — we have deserved it." (Loud
Applause.) He concluded by moving a series of reso
lutions, to form " themselves into a branch of the Great
Northern Union (as recommended by Mr. Hunt), to be
denominated the Leeds Central Committee of Radical Re
formers." Thus I have fairly laid before you, my friends, the ori
gin and the first movements that have been made for es
tablishing the " Great Northern Radical Union." I

15
will now proceed to lay down my plan for carrying its ob
ject into execution ; but, before I begin, I have no hesi
tation in saying, unequivocally and undisguisedly, that, in
proposing this Union, my only end and aim is to obtain a
real Radical Reform in the Representation of the People
of England, by establishing its basis on Universal Suf
frage, the Votes to be taken by Ballot. The means by
which 1 propose to attain this end, by this Union, are two
fold. The first is, by organization and co-operation.
The second is, by raising a Fund, by small weekly sub
scriptions, adequate to carry into effect, as far as pecu
niary aid is required, the object we have in view. I think,
I shall easily convince you that all which is required to
accomplish this, is Union among ourselves. Even the
Editor of The Times does not appear to doubt for a mo
ment but we have the means in our power ; but all his
sarcasm is directed at our disunion ; he builds his hopes of
our failure upon the certainty of our disunion, and that
" an indissoluble union" amongst the Radicals, is nothing
more than a mere theoretical speculation. He takes his data
from the failure of the numerous attempts that have been
made to form political unions amongst the Radicals. But
I will shew that he has made his calculations upon a false
proposition. It is true that there have been many attempts
made to unite the Radicals, but in these attempts there
has been no fixed and definite plan to bind them together
—there has never yet been a fixed, clear, and definite ob
ject laid down for the guidance of the whole. It is true
that the great leading principle of Annual Parliaments,
Universal Suffrage, and Vote by Ballot, was adopted by
all the Radicals in the kingdom ; and to support this prin
ciple, without any guiding star to direct them, upwards
of a million of Radicals signed and sent up petitions to a
corrupt House of Commons, calling upon the corrupt

1C
Members of that body to reform themselves, without hav
ing one sincere advocate in that House to support the
prayer of our petitions, or to enforce the principles for
which we were contending ; but even then, without any
regular or fixed plan, our Union would have been indis
soluble and overwhelming, if the same corrupt Parliament
had not passed laws to prevent us from meeting to con
sult upon the best means of promoting the object of our
petitions. To be sure, there had been Hampden Clubs
formed all over the country, but these Clubs were not
united. The Members of the Hampden Club in London,
with Sir F. Burdett at their head, sent an Irish agent
round the coimtry to form Hampden Clubs. In the mean
time the distressed inhabitants of the metropolis called a
public meeting in Spa Fields, to which they invited the
leading members of the said London Hampden Club, and
other public political characters to attend, to advise them
how to act to obtain a Reform in Parliament, so that they
may gain some relief and redress. The day arrived — the
15th November, 1816 — a hundred thousand people assem
bled, but not one single individual of the Hampden Club
attended — not one of all the public characters that had
heen invited and solicited to attend came near the place
except myself. At this meeting I proposed an address
to the Prince Regent, and recommended petitioning for
Annual Parliaments and Universal Suffrage. The re
commendations of the little band of Aristocratical Hamp
den Club Gentry (who, by-the-bye, Would on no account
support any Reform that extended the suffrage beyond
direct tax-payers and householders), the recommenda
tions of these gentry were instantly abandoned, and half
a million of Radicals had signed petitions for Universal
Suffrage, by Christmas. Principle got the better of the
Hampden Club aristocratical democratical policy, and the

17
Hampden Club Unions were dissolved, and no other
Union was established amongst the Radicals than the ge
neral spontaneous feeling that actuated, and still actuates
every real Radical, to obtain suffrage for all, for the whole
people, or perish in the attempt. Sixteen persons were
murdered, and six hundred were sabred, maimed, and
grievously wounded by the dispersing of a peaceably as
sembled, unarmed, and unresisting multitude at Manches
ter, on the 16th of August, 1819, who met to take into
consideration the " best and most legal means" of obtain
ing that Reform which we had so long prayed for in vain.
Instead of these deeds being inquired into by the faith
ful Commons, as they were ironically called, six new Acts
were passed to prevent public meetings to petition, and
to make it illegal to assemble for that or any other pur
pose, except under certain restrictions, and to harrass,
curtail, and gag the liberty of the press. I, who was in
vited to preside at the meeting, was convicted at York, by
a packed jury, with some others who attended it, after a
trial of eleven days, during which time the jury had been
permitted illegally to separate ten different times, con
trary to the law and all former practice. When we re
ceived the judgment of the Court, as it is called, those who
had planned and called the said meeting, and who had
invited me to attend it, were sentenced to one year's
imprisonment in an airy and salubrious prison at Lincoln ;
but I, who had merely accepted the invitation to attend
the meeting, and who had nothing at all to do with call
ing or collecting it, was sentenced to he confined for two
years and six months in this unwholesome and in
famous Bastile ; and yet we are told that the laws are
equally administered in this happy land of liberty: and
this it was that induced the editor of The Times to pre
tend that he thought the plans of the Radicals were quite
3 c

is
out of fashion. Let him read over the excellent speech of
Mr. Mason ; once reading it will do ; it is so clear, " he
that runs may read" and understand it. After he has
read.this speech, let him give his readers his honest opi
nion, whether he thinks Radical doctrines (which are no
thing more or less than sound principles of rational liber
ty), whether he thinks they are out of fashion now, or
whether they will ever be out of fashion with that gene
ration who have once honestly imbibed them.
The. plan which I shall now take leave to recommend,
seriously recommend, for your adoption, my friends, is at
once simple and practicable, and if zealously put in force
will. in a very short time prove irresistible. Sir Charles
Wolseley has been most judiciously fixed upon as your
general treasurer. England does not contain a more eli
gible or a more honourable man for the high and im
portant trust. My plan would be to concentrate and con
solidate the union by sections of one hundred and six men
in each. At the head of each section should be a Centu
rian ; under him five trusty men ; each of these trus
ty men will enrol twenty men in his immediate neigh
bourhood. I propose that each Centurian shall subscribe
sixpence a week towards the general fund ; each Trusty
Man threepence a week ;. and each Brother of the re
maining hundred (for they shall be all called and known
to each other by the endearing name of brother) one pen
ny a week. Each Trusty Man to collect the pence from
the twenty that have enrolled themselves under him,
and hand it over, together with his own threepence, week
ly,. to the Centurian; which sum, when collected, will
amount, with the Cenjurian's sixpence, to ten shillings
and one penny per week. As soon as this is accomplish
ed and" paid over, to the Sub-Treasurer of the Central.
Committee, this section shall be complete, and shall be

19
enrolled as No 1, with the Centurian' s name and residence
attached to it, and so on to the extent of any number of
sections.' The Treasurer of each Central Committee to!
remit all sums that come into his hands every month or
six weeks to Sir Charles Wolseley, the General Trea
surer, who shall in return communicate to each Central
Committee the whole sum or sums received by him.
There is a Central Committee established at Manchester
for the county of Lancaster ; there is also a Central Com--
mittee established at Leeds, for the county of York ; and
I have great pleasure in" hearing that there is a Central
Committee established for the county of 'Somerset.; in
Taunton ; and it is proposed to establish a Central Com
mittee in each county in England and Scotland.- I can
not venture to say any thing as to Ireland; .at present^
Pat appears, to be, stupified, and. his head) is swimming
with the effects of his late intoxication, his late debauch^
of Royalty and whiskey punch. I shall, therefore, -leave
Irelandout of the calculation for the present. • I have laid
down my plan, which you see, my friends, is both simple "
and intelligible. Very great care will be required in the
selection, or rather the election, of. Centurlans ajajd
Trusty Men. All. these will be voluntarily elected; ftw
twenty men must voluntarily enrol their names to pay
their weekly subscriptions to an individual before he can
become a Trusty Man ;. and every one will take care to
know who is the Centurian into whose care .the joinjt
weekly subscriptions ef the Hundred Brothers is to be
placed. They will take care that those persons in 'whom
they are about to place confidence are sober, discreet,
brave, and zealous friends of rational liberty. Itwillfoeia
very small hamlet indeed that does not produce a Trust
ty Man. with a score of Brothers, to be united to some ad
joining hamlet to make up the section.

20
Now let us see what this plan will produce if it be zea
lously acted upon. The first grand object is union and
co-operation. The second, subscriptions, which in itself
is of minor importance ; but when considered as the sure
means of cementing the union, and giving it strength and
stability, it adds greatly to its all-commanding object. If
100,000 Radicals enrol their names in this Union, and pay
their weekly subscriptions for one year upon the foregoing
plan, they will amount to 26,216?. 13s. 4d. by the follow
ing scale : —
100,000 Subscribers, at one penny per week each  £ 21,606 13 4
1,000 Centurians, at sixpence per week each  1,300 0 0
5,000 Trusty Men, at threepence per week each  3,250 0 0
.£26,216 13 4
If 106,000 persons should be thus united and enrolled
upon this plan, by the 6th of November next 26,216?. 13*.
Ad. will be the amount of the subscriptions on the 6th of
November, 1822; and if the subscriptions continue to be
collected, and the interest paid thereon half yearly, it will
amount on the 6th of November, 1824, to 83,347?. 2s. 5d.
But if it be laid out in the purchase of sovereigns, and
laid by without interest, it will amount by that time to
the sum of 78,649?. 10*. We have been often told lately,
by very able political writers, that the Reformers have
nothing to do but to look on and wait for the coming of
that event, which the debt and Mr. Peel's Bill must na
turally produce. But 1 ask you, my friends, whether
100,000 Radicals, united and co-operating together, with
eighty thousand pounds at their disposal, would not be in
a much better condition to take a proper advantage of that
event than they would be if they continued disunited and
disorganised as they are now. I could easily carry the
calculations much higher, but we will wait and see what
effect this plan will have by the 6th of November, the
anniversary of my birth, which I understand by the Man-

21
Chester Observer, as well as by private communications
from various parts, that the Radicals in the North intend
to celebrate by holding public meetings, in order to con
solidate this great and all-important union. This I shall
certainly esteem a double compliment to me during my
captivity. By promoting the object of the Great Northern
Radical Union at the same time that you are commemo
rating tha day of my nativity, I sincerely trust that from
that day we shall be able to date the accomplishment of
our wishes, the complete establishment of this powerful
union. Let that day be really a day of union and recon
ciliation amongst all classes of Radicals — let each Brother
meet and be reconciled to his brethren. Recollect this,
my friends, and let it be always impressed upon your me
mories, that we have been designated a low, degraded
crew, ragged Radicals, without power and without pro
perty, disunited and disconnected, and therefore totally
unworthy of any other notice but that of contempt. Now,
my friends, our insolent enemies have spoken of us thus
contemptuously, solely from the impression that we are
like a rope of sand, and that nothing will unite us ; but
we will teach them that we have the spirit to unite and
the power to punish their insolence. Let them reflect,
that the income of 100,000 Radicals, average their earn
ings as low as 10s. a week each, amounts to 2,600,000?.
a year, reckoning nothing for the earnings of their wives
and families. I calculate that there are, at the very lowest
rate, three million Radicals in England and Scotland,
determined Radicals, not doubtful men, whose earnings
average at least 10s. a week, which makes their yearly
income amount to 78 million pounds ; and if we allow 5s.
a week for the average earnings of each of their wives
and families, it amo.un.ts to 39 millions more, making the
income of three million working Radicals, with their wives

22
and families, amount to 1 17 millions of pounds a year, and
yet we are called a low, degraded crew, without power
arid destitute of property. Oh, how I wish I could shew
you at one view how large a portion of this large sum of
money is voluntarily paid by you to the Boroughmongers
for beer and spirits only. But I have one more proposi
tion to add to my plan, which is this : let tlie members of
this Union come to a solemn resolution not to deal with
any man, not to lay out one penny of their money with any
one unless he be a Member of the Union. They may
Cast us into dungeons — they may persecute us and vilify
our motives, and they may make all sorts of laws to har-
rass, oppressVand plunder us ; they may make Corn Laws
to take half our earnings away from us in the price ofthe
bread we eat, to enable the g-reat landholders and the
boroughmongers to pay a large standing army, in time of
peace, to sabre and shoot us ; they may make Banishment
Laws; they may rise and sink the price of money as often
as they like, but they cannot yet compel us to lay out our
earnings with whom they please. Therefore, let ns lay
out every halfpenny of our one hundred and seven
teen millions annual earnings with Radical Bakers,
Butchers, Grocers, Tailors, Shoemakers, and Milk
men. Oh, how the vipers will scream and ra've when
they hear this proposition. Let us, my friends, imitate
the Methodists in this respect ; and oh, I implore you not
to enter the doors of a public-house. More than half the
prisoners in this gaol attribute their imprisonment to
drunkenness. There is a Lancashire lad, from Warrington,
imprisoned ' for two years here for what occurred in a
drunken frolic. Be careful, my friends, not ¦ to enrol your
names under any man who gets drunk: trust him not.
Let his heart be ever so good, at some time or other he
will betray you. In fact, a drunkard can never be, ought

'23
never to be, depended upon. Perhaps we shall be asked,
where will you find Radical tradesmen ? Let our answer
be prompt and decisive. If we cannot find honest Radi
cal tradesmen to be our Centurians and Trusty Men,
we will set up our Centurians and Trusty Men in trade,
and we will support them. Let us but stick together, my
lads,, and fight these devils with their own weapons, and
we will soon show them that the ragged Radicals can do
better without them, than they can do without us. Oh !
say the corrupt knaves, this is building castles in the air ;
where will you find a thousand Centurians ? Only but
put my plan in practice for one month, and we will soon
have plenty of candidates in every town for the office of
Centurian. Those who are the first to stand forward as
Captains of hundreds, let them have the support and cus
tom of thousands. I hope every good Radical will enter
into this plan from principle. Those who have not the
principle, let them enter into it as a token of respect for
the advice of the Ilchester Captive. When I leave
my dungeon, I will come down into Lancashire and set up
a shop myself, rather than you should lay out your earn
ings, your money, with the very villains that would hang
you and cut your throats. If I could serve the Radicals
as well and as cheap as the Boroughmongers agents and
tools, I think the Radicals would give me the preference.
Then be sure to deal with Centurians and Trusty Men.
I have gone into such a length with this plan that I
have; not room for any Gaol politics in this Number. But
as I have a great deal that I wish to communicate to
you, my friends, before you meet on my birth-day, the 6th
of November, I will publish the twenty-first Number
about the middle of October, so that the twenty-second
Number shall be out by the 1st of November. In the
mean time let me request you to read the Evidence given

24
before the Commissioners sent by the King to inquire in
to the;state of Ilchester Gaol, published in six closely
printed Numbers, by Mr. Dolby ; there you will see that
every word published in the " Peep" is proved, and dou
bly proved. Poor Holier and Gardner, who were so
cruelly tortured by the monsters here, leave the gaol to
morrow. I found them morose, vindictive, and full of re
venge — determined to have vengeance upon their cruel
tormentors. But they have been heard — their complaints
have been attended to, and they will return to their homes
satisfied that justice has been rendered them, in some mea
sure, by the disgrace of those who sanctioned their tor
ture, and the dismissal of those who inflicted it. I shall
see all your proceedings faithfully recorded in the Man
chester Observer, which is once more open to the Ra
dicals. The Radicals have once more a stamped news
paper in which they may place confidence. It is revived
in all its former glory. Our worthy friend Saxton has
once more taken his proper station. My Memoirs and the
New Manchester Observer will be the great rallying
points of information for the " Great Northern Radical
Union." Saxton has been, and will still prove, the brave
and honest chronicler of real Radical intelligence. I beg
to offer my grateful thanks to my worthy friends at
Greenock, Ashton-under-Line, and Oldham, for the flat
tering testimonies of their approbation, regard, and con
fidence. 1 hope to hear that the brave Reformers of Scot
land have joined our Union, before I publish my next
Number. lam, my beloved fellow-countrymen and countrywomen,
your faithful friend,
H. HUNT.

25

FROM THE RADICAL REFORMERS OF ASHTON-
UNDER-LYNE TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Worthy Citizen, August i9, 1821.
A second anniversary has passed ofthe never-to-be-for
gotten, never-to-be-forgiven, fatal 16th of August, with
out retribution being awarded to the sufferers ; punish
ment to' the guilty; or even an inquiry made respecting
the murders committed on that day — a day, that if we
could blot from our memory, or neglect to commemorate
in the most solemn manner (till the authors and abettors
of the deeds committed on that day are arraigned before
an upright tribunal of their country) — we should be de
serving of all the cruelties, insults, and indignities which
a wicked and corrupt Administration ever did, or ever can,
heap upon us. Notwithstanding the 16th instant ' was
particularly unfavourable in consequence ofthe rain which
continued a long time without intermission ; notwithstand
ing the contemptuous sneers and insults which the hire
ling, servile tools of power attempted to throw upon' us —
we are happy to state that the procession far exceeded
that of the preceding year, and more than doubled the
numbers ofthe coronation procession in this town, although
this procession had all the aids that bribery ¦ and threats
could give it: this furnished another proof that-our cause
is the cause of truth and justice; and though thousands of
patriots may perish in the arduous struggle for freedom,
yet we feel confident that we shall finally succeed in dis
lodging tyranny from the strong hold it has too long pds-
sessed. Our pens would faintly describe our feelings on
beholding the Mood-stained ruffians of St. Peter's-field,
who are still at larg*e, allowed to mix with society and
pollute the fair face of day with their diabolical
presence, while you are suffering under a sentence' such
4 D

28
as never before disgraced the annals of history, mere
ly for attending (at the request of your suffering coun
trymen) a public meeting, legally convened, for the
purpose of taking into consideration the intolerable
grievances under which our country has long laboured,
and to point out the most efficient remedy for those
grievances. But we pledge ourselves, before that Being
to whom the secrets of all hearts are open, that we will
never lose sight of the murderers, nor slacken our efforts
to obtain justice, until the blood of our innocent country
men and your sufferings are fully atoned for. We feel,
Sir, particularly anxious concerning your welfare; well
knowing your inestimable value in the great cause in
which we are engaged, and knowing also the imminent
danger in which you are placed (for we feel assured that
your enemies will stick at nothing, however wicked or
base, to accomplish their diabolical ends) ; you have our
warmest wishes that you may escape their cruel machi
nations, and be restored to that society of which you are so
bright an ornament, in the most perfect health ; we yet
hope to see you filling the post of honour in the service of
your country, to which millions of your countrymen think
you are justly entitled. Even during your unjust incarce
ration it will be some consolation to your wounded feel
ings to know, that every rational and virtuous man and
woman in the kingdom feel an interest in your behalf;
your name need only to be mentioned to call forth the
spontaneous ebulition of gratitude from the good and vir
tuous, for what you have already done in behalf of your
oppressed and long-suffering countrymen. While your
enemies, with all their power, backed by their immense
wealth, with all their means of crushing those who are
inimical to them ; yet, with all these resources of bribery
and intimidation, they can call forth no expression of pub-

27
lie feeling, save those of execration and disgust. Our
amiable, our benevolent, our patriotic, our inestimable
Queen is no more. Tyranny hath prevailed ! The wick
ed have triumphed ! Short and transitory be their triumph,
is the fervent ejaculation of millions of Britons : for cal
lous to every humane feeling must be the heart of that man
whose cheek is not bedewed with the tear of sensibility,
when taking a retrospect of the persecutions and suffer
ings of this Illustrious Female. May speedy vengeance
overtake her persecutors ; may you speedily be restored
to liberty, and our country freed from its thraldom, is the
sincere wish of the Radical Reformers of Ashton-under-
Lyne. ' Signed on their behalf,
JOSHUA HOBSON BARKHOUSE.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Much respected Sir — The Radical Reformers of Old
ham, male and female, eagerly embrace the opportunity
afforded them by the kind visit of Mr. Shillibeer, your re
presentative, of conveying to you, through the medium of
that Gentleman, the assurances of their unaltered attach
ment and respect towards yourself personally, as the
Champion and Leader in the great and sacred cause of
Radical Reform, and also of their unabated zeal in the
furtherance of that glorious work. When the tyrants im
mured you in the horrible Bastile of Ilchester, they vainly
imagined that they had effectually crushed the Reformers.
Our intrepid and matchless leader in a dungeon — our ranks
broken and discomfited — our oppressors imagined them
selves secure ; but they have found themselves disappoint
ed ; for although the sphere of your usefulness became,
to all appearance, so contracted by your confinement
you have, by your bold and unwearied exertions, succeed-

28
ed in exposing such scenes of villainy and barbarity — you
have brought to light such atrocities, practised within the
walls of your dungeon, as were never before disclosed,
and which very few believed to exist. We beg leave to
congratulate you most heartily upon your complete suc
cess in this most arduous undertaking. You have indeed
assailed Corruption in her strongest hold, and where, we
are firmly convinced, no other man would have been bold
enough to commence the attack, or persevering enough
to continue the contest, opposed to such an enemy, and
with such appalling difficulties to contend against. You
have, however, completely succeeded. You have sur
mounted every obstacle ; and by this exposure dealt Cor
ruption one of the heaviest blows she has yet received,
and for which you deserve, and will receive, the warmest
thanks of every sincere lover of freedom. When we look
back at your past efforts in the people's cause — in the sa
cred cause of truth, justice, and freedom — it is impossible
to tell which public act of your life most to admire. From
the time you first obeyed the call of the Reformers of the
metropolis, and placed yourself at their head, till you so
narrowly escaped with your life from the cruel and bloody
monsters on St. Peter's Field, on the never-to-be-for-
. gotten 16th of August, 1819 ; your bold and manly conduct
at the New Bailey, at Lancaster, and before the Court of
King's Bench ; the very able and eloquent manner in which
you defended yourself and others. at York; and, finally
your recent exertions in the cause of justice and humanity
within the walls of your Bastile, call forth our warmest
acknowledgments — but above all, your never-ceasing ef
forts to bring to justice the murderers of the 16th of
August, 1819, must endear you to every lover of freedom
and justice. The second anniversary of that bloody day
has just passed by, and we feel it our duty to notice to you

'29
the manner in which the Reformers of Oldham observed
it. Early in the morning great numbers of flao-s were
seen waving from the windows and chimneys; the num
bers in the town and immediate neighbourhood were more
than 150; they were all in mourning, and the general in
scription upon them was, " Murder, murder!!! 16th of
August, 1819." You well know that the people's task
masters would not proclaim a general holiday, as they
did on the day of the Coronation, therefore it would have
been dangerous for such ofthe Reformers as are employed
in the different manufactories to have been absent from
their employ on that day ; but in the evening a very nu
merous meeting was held in the Union Rooms, where
Bamford's song of " The Slaughter'' was sung, and many
appropriate pfeees recited by the scholars, most of which
related to the murderous deeds committed on that fatal
day. The company were also addressed by two or three
Gentlemen, and finally the song of " The Slaughter" was
again sung on Bent-Green, the place where our public
meetings were held before the passing of the " Six Acts;"
and, throughout the whole, such a spirit was shewn, as
clearly manifested that the Reformers of this place still
bear fresh in their memories the atrocities of that memo
rable day, and that they will never rest satisfied till jus
tice overtakes the authors and perpetrators of those
bloody deeds.
With the deepest sympathy for your unmerited suffer
ings, we remain your sincere friends,
(Signed, on behalf of the male and female Reformers
of Oldham, met at the Union Rooms, in West-street, on
Monday, the 20th of August, 1821,)
JAMES CLEGG, Chairman.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Greenock, SOth August, 1821.
Sir — At a time like the present, when our country is
doomed to suffer a multiplicity of evils, notoriously arising
from a system of corruption, destructive of all that makes
life valuable, it is with no small pleasure that we, a few
friends belonging to the town of Greenock, now address
you as a mark of our high esteem and sincere gratitude,

30
for your disinterested and manly exertions in the cause of
freedom and humanity.
We have long been mournful spectators of passing
events, and while we deeply deplore the many and still
accumulating wrongs so universally felt, we rejoice that
there are still some brave spirits endowed with courage
to assail the power of tyranny, and integrity to resist its
seductions, and who stand forth an useful and glorious ex
ample of moral and political excellence.
It would be a tedious demonstration of our attachment
to your interest, were we to review the various struggles
in which, for the common good of mankind, you have
been engaged ; but it is our earnest wish to assure you of
our conviction of your worth, and of our sympathy for
your sufferings. And while we esteem and feel for the
oppressed, we also know and can appreciate the op
pressors. We behold in you all the qualities of a worthy patriot,
smarting under the lash of arbitrary power, and regard
less of your own afflictions, with singular courage and hu
manity, nobly and effectually exercising your talents for
the good of your country, by faithfully detecting and fear
lessly exposing the intolerable evils which surrounded and
menaced the hapless victims ofthe dungeon.
We fondly indulge the hope, that talent so usefully
and successfully exerted, will have the effect of rousing
others, possessed of similar capacity and rectitude, to
unite their energies with yours, and to banish all factious
distinctions in a friendly co-operation, for the purpose of
ameliorating the condition of the suffering part of the com
munity. We know not the cause of the seeming apathy of our
countrymen in this part of the kingdom, who have not
yet, so far as we know, made any acknowledgment to you
of their gratitude for your services. But we are willing
to ascribe it to that notoriously corrupt borough-system
which, having placed the appointment of all local and
civil power in the hands of a few great families, extends
its ramifications through all the monied and influential
classes of the community, blasting and withering every
germ of freedom and manly independence. But while
we deplore the Scottish borough-system, let us not with
hold praise where it is due. Our own town forms a rare
exception from the general corruption, and our local au
thorities, being the delegated agents of a popular elec-

31
tion, present, in Scotland, an almost solitary example of
open and honourable conduct, the natural result of re
sponsible power.
Permit us, Sir, while we mention our domestic concerns,
to recall to your remembrance a transaction which bore
some resemblance to that of which you were a witness at
Manchester. We too have seen the slaughter of our
townsmen by the wanton and unprovoked barbarity of
the armed association of a neighbouring town, under the
influence and command of a late placeman. Yet, unatoned
for, and even uninvestigated, this affair of blood has pro
duced no other consequence to the perpetrators than that
consciousness of guilt which ever accompanies crime, and
the sure symptoms of which are exhibited in their droop
ing countenances.
Accept, Sir, this small mark of our respect for your
character and services ; and that the public institutions of
our country may be speedily purified from every corrupt
and sinister influence, and that you may long live honour
ed and rewarded as the intrepid advocate of the people's
rights, is our sincere wish.
In the name of your friends at Greenock,
I am, Sir, your humble servant,
JOHN SHANKS.

ILCHESTER GAOL INVESTIGATION.
Taunton, September 17, 1821.
The Taunton Committee, formed for the purpose of
paying a tribute of respect to, and for indemnifying Henry
Hunt, Esq. now a prisoner in Ilchester Gaol, from the
expenses he has lately incurred, in the arduous investi
gation into the conduct of Bridle, the Gaoler of the said
gaol, and for his indefatigable exertions in the cause of
humanity; came to the following Resolutions: —
First,— That Mr. Hunt has brought to light and caused
such an exposure to be made in the management of the
said gaol, the conduct of the gaoler, and in the expendi
ture of the County Rates, as cannot fail to produce a very
considerable saving to the County-Rate Payers of Somerset.
Second, — That Mr. Hunt having been engaged in this
great undertaking for upwards of three months succes
sively, under circumstances the most disadvantageous to

32
the inquiry, in which he must of necessity have been put
to a very considerable expense ; it is deemed expedient
that a SUBSCRIPTION be set on foot immediately for
the purpose of indemnifying Mr. Hunt, and that the
County-Rate Payers be particularly requested to contribute
towards the remuneration of a man, who has freed them
from such galling impositions as have hitherto existed in
this county.
Third, — That leaving out of the question all political
considerations and opinions, and adhering solely to
public justice and humanity, Mr. Hunt is intitled to the
thanks and support of all classes of persons of every rank
and description, and of every sect or persuasion, for his
long continued exertions, and the indefatigable zeal
which he has manifested in their behalf, in the late ex
traordinary Investigation at Ilchester, before the Magis
trates of the County and his Majesty's Commissioners, of
the particulars of which the public might up to this time
have remained in ignorance, if Mr. Hunt had not published
them to the world.
Fourth, — That Mr. Thomas Jacobs, brewer, of Taunton,
be appointed Treasurer of the Subscriptions; and that
Mr. H. B. Shillibeer be requested to act as Honorary Se
cretary to the Committee for the purposes aforesaid ; and
that Subscriptions be also received by Mr. Dolby, 299,
Strand, London.
Fifth, — That the Secretary be requested to furnish a
copy of these Resolutions to every Parish in theCounty;
and to those County-Rate Payers and others, who may be
likely to co-operate, with such observations as may occur
to him, he having been present the whole time at the Il
chester Investigation. By order, and on behalf of the Committee,
H. B. SHILLIBEER.

The Sixth and last Number of the ILCHESTER GAOL INVESTI
GATION is published, aud may be procured of any Bookseller or
Newsman. The whole may now be had, complete, in extra boards,
price 6s. 6rf. at Dolby's, 299, Strand.

T.Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand, London.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND,  , AND SCOTLAND.

»@Sfec

Ilchester Bastile, 23d day, 2d month, Sdyearof the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or Inquiry.
October 9, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Since the publication of the 20th Number of my Me
moirs I have been highly gratified at receiving communi
cations from various parts of the kingdom, highly approv
ing of my plan for the organization and conducting the
Great Northern Radical Union, and that in many places
meetings have been held, the plan has been adopted, and
is already acting upon. The greatest unanimity and cor
diality appears to govern the zeal and patriotism of the
brave Reformers of the North. I have heard of but one-
instance where there is the least difference of opinion,
and that difference appears to me to be a mere matter of
opinion, and not of principle. I believe one principle go
verns the whole of the Radical Reformers ofthe kingdom.
" Liberty above all things," is our common motto ; we
may very honestly differ as to the best means of acting in
some particular cases to obtain this great end, but it is for
tunate that we are all agreed as to the g-reat principle of
equal and Universal Suffrage. We do not mean an equal
share of wealth, because that is an impossibility: we may
8 A

Printed by T, Dohif\, 299, Strand.

as well contend for an equality of talent ; but what we
all agree in is, that every one should have an equal share
in choosing those representatives, who are to make the
laws by which the whole is governed. With this great
leading principle to guide us, 1 hold that it is the duty of
all good Radicals to conciliate and to act with forbear
ance towards each other as to all minor arrangements. I
hear with pleasure that the Northern Union is rapidly in
creasing in Yorkshire. At Leeds, as I anticipated, they
had called a meeting and entered into the Union with that
spirit and resolution which has for so many years govern
ed the actions of the worthy and true-hearted Radicals of
that town. The electric spark has kindled at York, Brad
ford, Wakefield, and the surrounding country. But by
two letters which I received yesterday from Leeds, one
from my worthy friend Mr. Mann, and the other from that
true-hearted Radical, Mr. Joseph Wasse, I find that there is
a little disunion amongst some of the best friends of Liberty
and staunchest advocates of Reform in that town, which,
I fear I have, although unintentionally, been in some mea
sure the cause, and which I shall, without loss of time,
endeavour thus publicly to remove ; at least, I will endea
vour to atone for any apparent negligence of my own, and
thus set a practical example of a sincere wish to conci
liate and unite all Reformers \n one bond of brotherly love
and amicable co-operation. Some time after I came here,
a copy of a declaration was sent to me, purporting to be
the declaration of the Radical Reformers of Lancashire,
Yorkshire, Derbyshire, &c. &c. agreed to at a meeting of
delegates held at Stockport. This declaration was sent
forth without any signature being affixed to it whatever ;
and as it contained sentiments which I had never before
heard proposed or adopted at any of the great meetings
of Radical Reformers, I instantly concurred in opinion

with a worthy and excellent friend of Bolton, who had
forwarded it to me, that it was the production of, or in
stigated by, some infernal agent ofthe Government, and
as such, if I recollect right, I treated it in one of my ad
dresses to the Radical Reformers, cautioning them to be
ware how they fell into the net, which it appeared to me,
this anonymous document formed one of the meshes. I
felt myself justified in taking this step, not only from the
document being anonymous, which is of itself quite enough
to cause just suspicion amongst the Radicals, but the lan
guage and the doctrine contained in this declaration ap
peared to me to be taking a very different ground from
that which the Reformers had always taken and publicly
expressed. I, therefore, felt it my duty, in a double sense,
to caution the Reformers not to have any thing to do with
the approval of this declaration. However, some time
afterwards 1 received a letter from a person of the name
of Brayshaw, of Leeds, if I recollect right, avowing him
self to be the author of the said declaration, and stating
that it had been sanctioned by a meeting of delegates,
held at Sotockport, and, I think, calling upon me to dis
avow the opinion I had given that it was the production
of some spy. I believe I wrote to Mr. Brayshaw in an
swer to this letter, and in very mild terms I expressed my
disapprobation of such a document being sent forth as the
declaration of the great body of Reformers of the North,
when it was impossible that a thousandth part of them
could in any way have been consulted upon the matter.
At all events, although I regretted giving him any pain,
yet I thought it a piece of arrogance, amounting to pre
sumption, for any body of delegates, not chosen by the
whole people, to declare what should and what should
not be the constitution under which they were to Hve.
Some time after this I received another letter from Mr.

Brayshaw, and, I-believe, signed by several other persons
oHLeeds, none of whom did I know either personally or
by name : what was the nature of this letter, or any part
of its contents, I now have no recollection, nor any means
of reference, as it was packed up and sent away with all
myother letters when I was clearing the decks for ac
tion with the Gaoler and the Magistrates of this county.
Whether the letter came at the time when I was so par
ticularly engaged that it escaped my memory to answer
it, or whether I thought that Mr. Brayshaw ought to have
been satisfied with my former letter, I cannot take upon
myself to say at this distance of time ; and I should hope
that Mr. Brayshaw will give me credit for this assertion,
without thinking that any slight was meant to him, when
I inform him, that I have received and written nearly
twelve hundred letters since my incarceration here ; I
mean, that I have received twelve hundred letters, and
have written twelve hundred letters, during the seventy-
two weeks I have been here. Without going back to
inquire whether this declaration contained those princi
ples which the Radicals ought or ought not to adopt, 1
have not the least hesitation in saying, that I meant no
personal disrespect to Mr. Brayshaw or his friends by
not answering his letter ; and I am very sorry if any
thing that I. felt it my duty to address publicly to the Re
formers has given him any pain, as I assure him that no
thing could be farther from my heart than meaning to give
personal offence to any one. But having said thus much
in the true spirit of conciliation and an anxious wish for
unanimity, I must, once for all, unequivocally state it as
my opinion, that it would be an act of the greatest ar
rogance, the most insufferable presumption, for any body
of men to attempt to make laws for the people of Eng
land, unless that body of men was fairly and disinterested-

ly chosen by the universal consent of the whole people.
— Thus you see, my friends, try back or look forward to
any distance, we must always come to this conclusion, that
the great distinction between Liberty and slavery is this,
that a people who are governed by laws made by those
representatives which they have each had an equal share
in electing, are free ; but a people who are governed by
laws made by representatives over whom they have no
controul, are slaves. This is the rational and legitimate
Freedom that the Radicals have long contended for, and
I trust will ever maintain with their latest breath. The
principles of Universal Suffrage are the principles ofthe
Constitution of England ; it is this principle of common
consent which alone justifies the taking the life of a fellow
creature. It is not because twelve men have said that a
prisoner is guilty of such a crime, nor because the law
says that he shall suffer death for that crime, that justifies
the execution ; but it is alone justifiable upon the principle,
that the whole people have voluntarily consented to be
judged by such a law ; it is common consent by represen
tatives, chosen by Universal Suffrage, that alone justifies
the practice, either in the eye of God or man, of executing
criminals in cold blood. 1 should hope that I have said
enough to satisfy Mr. Brayshaw and his friends, that others
may very honestly differ with them as to wluch is or is not
the best sort of Constitution. One may approve of a Re
publican form of Government; another, may prefer a
limited Monarchy ; but who has a legitimate right to settle
this point between them? Why, surely no man, nor any
set of men, but the Representatives of the whole people,
chosen fairly and freely, by common consent, every one
having a vote in the election of such Representatives.
Therefore, my friends, let us, one and all, unite to obtain
this common object, then, and not till then, will it avail us

to discuss or dispute about what laws ought to be, or ought
not to be, enacted.
Let us now look at another scene that has been acting
in the grand political drama ; let us inquire a little into
what has been going on at Preston, amongst the Electors
of that town ; this is worthy our particular attention, be
cause that is the only town in England where the suffrage
is universal. Every man of the age of twenty-one, who
has resided in Preston six months, has a vote at the elec
tion, whether he be a householder or a lodger ; therefore,
it is peculiarly interesting to all those who advocate the
principles of Universal Suffrage, to observe every thing
that takes place amongst the Electors of Preston. It ap
pears by the public newspapers, that the 20th of Septem
ber was the day fixed upon by the friends of Mr. Counsel
lor Williams, in that town, for presenting to him a piece
of plate, as a token of approbation of his exertions for the
late lamented Queen, as one of her Counsel. It will be
recollected that Mr. Williams was a candidate at the last
election for that borough, and it is proper to observe that
all those electors who voted for me, with the few excep
tions of those who gave me plumpers, voted also for Mr.
Williams. A public dinner was provided upon this
occasion of presenting the plate, at which about 200 per
sons sat down. Now, as all the public newspapers have
studiously misrepresented what actually occurred at this
dinner, with the exception of the Manchester Observer,
and as they have all most cautiously kept out of view the
most material occurrence of the day, and as Mr. Cobbett,
in his last Register, has also joined in this deception upon
the public, by giving a partial statement of what took
place, most carefully abstaining from the least allusion to
the particular occurrence that I have alluded to ; it shall
be my business here to expose the cheat, and to unveil

the deception. In The Traveller the article is headed
" Her late Majesty and her Counsel." In The Times, I
understand it was the same ; but that the day following
there was a bitter article against me, but not one word of
what occurred about me at the Dinner Meeting at Preston.
In Cobbett's last Register he has a good article upon the
subject, which he heads " Festival of the Geese and
Foxes ;" although he plays the fox himself by keeping
the principal feature of the meeting as totally out of sight,
as if it had never occurred. All these newspapers, Cob
bett and all, tell us that a Mister John Lowe was in the
chair; and that the following immaculate list of toasts
were drank — Mr. Williams (the hero of the day), Mr.
Brougham, Mr. Cottingham (who the devil Mr. Cotting-
ham is, nobody can inform me ; all that I can learn is, that
he is a learned friend, a brother wig-and-gown friend of
Mr. Williams) ; then came Dr. Lushirigton, Messrs. Den
man, Tindal, Wilde and Scarlett, and the whole host of
sharks that attend the northern circuit in btack g-owns and
white wigs ; they were drank by the worthy Electors of
Preston, under the designation of the " Independent Gen
tlemen of ihe Northern Bar;" and they were all drank to,
as these honest chroniclers inform us, with great applause,
some of their names were received with enthusiastic ap
plause. Mr. Cobbett properly enough calls this the festival
of the Fox and the Geese ; but I shall, whenever I speak
of this famous meeting, call it the Feast of the Gown
and Wig. Here are eight lawyers' healths drank ; add to
these that of Mr. Sergeant Lens and Lord Erskine, it makes
ten bumper toasts drank all to the learned friends, so that
it was literally the feast of the Gown and Wig. I should
like very much to know who and what this Mister John
Lowe, the chairman, is; I see The Traveller calls him
John Law, Esq. and 1 will bet a trifle that he has some-

8
thing to do with the law, or he would never have toasted
such a host of learned friends, ten by name, and the
whole independence of the bar on the Northern Circuit
into the bargain. Good God ! what a host of cormorants,
or, as my father always called them, " sharks ;" he always
declared that they reminded him at the assizes of
" sharks ;" and that they looked as eager for a fee as a
shark would for a dead carcase, when they were follow
ing a ship, when the crew were infected with someepi-,
demical disease. But these newspaper accounts all agree
in the toasts that were drank. They have sent it forth to
the world that the friends of Liberty at Preston, all of them
electors of that borough, had a public dinner meeting-, at
which dinner a great number of toasts were drank, but
that the name of Henry Hunt, who was the popular candi
date at the late election, was never once mentioned or
noticed. Now let us see what was the real fact, what :s
the truth. I will insert two accounts, published in the
Manchester Observer, sent by two different persons who
were present, and after you have read them, my friends,
restrain your indignation if you can, and follow my exam
ple, by laughing most heartily at the impotent attempts of
the whole public press of England, including that of Cob
bett's Register, to suppress the fact, that my health was
drank with a degree of enthusiasm seldom equalled upon
any similar occasion. The following accounts were pub
lished in the Manchester Observer of the 29th of September
and the 6th of October. Preston, September 21, 1821.
" Yesterday, the streets of this town exhibited a scene
of uncommon bustle and activity. It was the day ap
pointed for presenting to John Williams, Esq. a piece of
plate in testimony of the sense which the inhabitants at
large entertained of that gentleman's late services in the
cause of our much-injured Queen: he was escorted from
the outskirts ofthe town, by a great number of burgesses

and others, preceded by the flags of the different trades, to
the King's-arms Inn, from a window of which he address
ed the multitude in a speech of considerable animation.
Mr. Williams and his company then proceeded to Mr.
Woodcock's large room in Fishergate, where they sat
down t6 supper. After the cloth was drawn, Mr. John
Lowe was called to the chair, and many toasts were given ;
some of which appearingto savour too much of whiggism,
were received with marked coolness. Several songs were
sung, and Mr. Williams and Mr. J. Smith of Liverpool,
severally addressed the meeting. Mr. Huffman wished
the health of Henry Hunt, Esq. to be given, but the chair
man had the temerity to over-rule the toast, and Mr.
Smith, after paying a tribute of high eulogium on Mr.
Hunt, wished to propose the toast in a way which might
meet the more general feeling of the meeting, he would
therefore give, by permission from the chair, ' All the in
carcerated friends to Liberty ;' which was drank. But
there was a radical principle in the company, which was
not to be thus beat down. One of Mr. Hunt's strenuous
admirers boldly stood upon his seat, and in an undaunted
tone, gave 'The health of Henry Hunt, Esq. with three
times three? ¦ The moment the words were uttered, an in
stantaneous burst of applause broke forth, and nearly the
whole of the assembly jumped upon the chairs and tables,
and drank the toast amidst the most rapturous and repeat
ed cheers which were ever witnessed in a public meeting.
It is scarcely necessary to add, that the discomfited chair
man was severely mortified, nor did he recover himself
during the remainder of the evening. The above is a
specimen of what may be expected, when our brave and
intrepid 'captive,' shall re-appear amongst us."
" To the Editor ofthe Manchester Observer.
, "Preston, September 28, 1821.
" Sir, — Permit me, through the medium of your widely
extended and public spirited paper, to notice the conduct
of men, from whose rank in society better might be ex
pected. I allude to the ungentlemanly manner in which
John Lowe, Esq. the Chairman at the entertainment lately
given, on occasion of presenting to Counsellor Williams a
piece of plate, in Preston, chose to fulfil the duties im
posed upon him in that capacity —
The cloth being withdrawn, and a number of toasts and
songs being gone round, and Mr. Williams and some other
8 B

10
gentlemen having addressed the meeting, Mr. Huffman
rose, and said, 'that they had heard a great deal about
liberty— this was all very good: — they had also heard
, much flattery — this would have been better let alone.'
Here the Chairman unceremoniously interrupted Mr. Huff
man, and asked if he had any motion to ground upon his
observations ? Mr. H. answered in the affirmative. He
intended to propose the health of the brave and intrepid
Henry Hunt, Esq. The Chairman replied that he had not
got through his list of toasts, and he should therefore re
fuse to give that proposed by Mr. Huffman, or suffer it to
be given. This decision appeared to give considerable
dissatisfaction to the majority of the company ; and Mr.
J. Smith, of Liverpool, by way of conciliation, said he
should propose a toast, in which Mr. Hunt would be in
cluded, without mentioning his name: it was — ' Our in
carcerated countrymen in the cause of Liberty.' Just so
did the notorious Castlereagh plead when the friends of
her late Majesty, our noble and unspotted Queen, were
urging the right and necessity of inserting her Majesty's
name in the Liturgy of the Church. 'She is prayed for,'
exclaimed his Lordship, ' She is included among the
Royal Family.'
" However, notwithstanding all this quirk and shuffling,
the enthusiasm of the company finally prevailed, and the
health of the illustrious captive of Ilchester was drank
with the most rapturous applause.
" Little did I imagine that there were men to be found,
who either openly or covertly would have endeavoured to
prevent the real expression of general feeling, in a place
where the people were assembled for the ostensible pur
pose of paying a tribute to the advocate of the injured.
" I hope, Sir, you will join with me in giving praise
to those noble minded men who boldly drank Mr. Hunt's
health, in defiance of his declared enemies, or pro
fessed friends ; and that you will expose the unworthy
and vindictive conduct of the Chairman, to its merited
infamy. "Yours, &c."
The rast writer talks about the rank in society held by
this Mister John Lowe, alias Law. Pray, my good friends
of Preston, do send me an account of who this person is —
bis birth, parentage and education. 1 recollect hearing

II
the name of Lowe when I was at Preston, but who he is I
cannot for the life of me recollect : do tell me if he be a
cotton spinner or a quill driver, I strongly suspect he is an
attorney, but more of him hereafter ; — he is a precious fel
low, at any rate, to take the chair and wheedle the Radi
cals out of their money to subscribe to Lawyer Williams's
" Superb Epergne," and to pay for a dinner ticket to drink
the health of Lawyer Scarlett, the Attorney General and
public prosecutor of the Radicals ofthe County Palatine
of Lancaster. I see that my friend Huffman was there ;
this will be a lesson to him how he keeps bad company in
future. These Gown and Wig gentry could take his sub
scription to the superb epergne, they could take his money
for his dinner ticket ; but hold your tongue, Mr. Huffman,
if you please, they want none of your honest , manly
radical speeches: you will make a most useful underling
— but none of your speeches or toasts, if you please, Mr.
Huffman. I can easily conceive how Mister Lowe, alias
Law, and Mr. Cottingham, alias Cottencram, stared,
when honest Mr. Huffman, with his deep-toned manly
voice, told them, " that they had heard a great deal about
Liberty — this was all very good : that they had already
heard much flattery — this would have been better else
where." This was a language not to be endured, because it
was the plain truth ; but when he proposed the health of the
brave and intrepid Henry Hunt, oh ! this was daggers to the
wearers of gown and wig ; and I am told the Chairman
turned as pale as ashes ; and if it had not been for the effect
of the wine, my informant assures me, that he really be
lieves that he would have fainted. The much dreaded
name of Henry Hunt has the same effect upon these
sham, half-spun Reformers, as quick lime has when thrown
upon slugs; but we will try what effect the Great Nor
thern Radical Union will have upon them, I suspect it will

12
be Hke gravel between their teeth. Now let us inquire a
little what it is that Mister John Lowe and his faction want
to accomplish by placing Mr. Williams in Parliament as
the Whig Member for Preston, instead of Mr. Hornby, the
present Whig Member. The representation of the town of
Preston has for many years, I may say ages, been
rendered a nonentity. By a compromise made between
the in and the out faction, one of each gang has been re
turned to the House. Mr. Horrocks has become so large
a cotton spinner, and has had such a number of weavers and
spinners under his immediate controul, that he has been
able to compel a great majority ofthe votes to poll for him,
the Tory Member, and he could always have returned, by
this corrupt influence, two Tory Members, but he kindly
condescends to take Mr. Hornby, a Tory Whig Member,
by the hand ; so, by this coalition, they have always been
able to return a Tory and a Whig Member : Hornby always
voting with the Whigs and Horrocks with the Tories in
the House, except it be when there is any Bill brought
into the House to curtail the Liberty of the Press or the
Rights of the People, and then they generally join heart
and hand and vote with the Ministers of the Crown, as the
Government must, forsooth, be supported against the
views and intentions of the Radicals. On all common
questions when Horrocks says aye, Hornby says nay, so
that if there were no Members for Preston each question
would be always carried with the same number in the ma
jority, whether these worthies were in the House or not.
And now I should like to be informed by Mr. John Lowe,
or any of the refractory Whigs, whether they have the
face to say, that they honestly think it would be in the
slightest degree altered, if Mr. Counsellor Williams was
to be returned their Member instead of Mr. Counsellor
Hornby ? I mean, whether it would make any difference

13
to the People of England, or the votes in the House of
Commons.' I am very well aware that it would make
this difference, that the good things which Mr. Hornby
has now to bestow upon his friends, would, in case Mr.
Williams were to be returned in his place, be bestowed
upon Mr.'John Lowe and his fraternity, who are the friends
of Mr. Williams. But, my honest friends of Preston, I ask
you, the one thousand one hundred and twenty-
seven truly independent Electors, who voluntarily
gave me your unbought votes at the last election, I ask you
seriously, whether you think the little faction who wished
to smother your honest spontaneous feelings, by endea
vouring to prevent my health being drank at the late feast
of the Gown and Wig ; whether you think they will ever
destroy that coalition which is at once the bane and dis
grace of your town.
It will very naturally be asked by some who are friends
to Universal Suffrage, if the principle of Universal Suffrage
was acted upon at Preston, how came you, who was evi
dently the popular candidate, how came it that you were
not elected? The reason is obvious. The town had
been canvassed by all three of the other candidates and
their friends long before it was known that I intended to
offer myself as a candidate ; a majority ofthe electors had
promised their votes to one or the other of the other can
didates ; I never canvassed' the electors at all ; I never
asked one man for his vote ; but, notwithstanding all these
combined disadvantages, if I had not. been called away at
the end of the seventh day, to attend the Court at York,
to meet, to face, to detect, and to expose the murderers
of Peterloo and their abettors, I have not the least doubt
in my mind that I should have been elected, and triumph
antly returned at the head of the poll, in spite of all the
foul play, in spite of all the intrigues of the little Gown

14
and Wig faction, in spite of all the- open hostility of the
contemptible coalition, and in spite of all the illegal acts
of the returning ofiicer to keep back my votes ; and, in
fact, in spite of all the coaxing, all the threats, and all
the open force and false imprisonment of the voters, by
their masters, many of whom, I was credibly informed,
were locked in their factories and fed there, to prevent
them from coming to the hustings to poll for Hunt, which
they had resolved to do in spite of all consequences.
This was the state of Preston at the end of the seventh
day's poll, when I was compelled to leave it to go and
fight the battles of the Reformers in another Court, at
York. If my voters had been allowed by the returning
officer to have polled for me when they presented them
selves, I should have been 500 at the head of the poll on
the seventh day. But, instead of this being done, the re
turning officer and his gang, seeing the enthusiasm that
there was to poll for me, made a rule that they would
only take the votes by tallies of five, so that it was impos
sible that the popular candidate could poll more than
the others. I remonstrated against this illegal proceed
ing, and called upon Mr. Williams to support me in de
manding that every elector should be allowed to poll
whenever he pleased to tender his vote, as it is at West
minster and other populous elections. But the cunning
Gown and Wig faction saw that I should be placed by a
large majority at the head of the poll, and although they
might have fairly anticipated that Mr. Williams would
have been placed second upon the poll by following this
course, yet such was their envy and jealousy of me, that,
by a mean and dirty compromise, they agreed to take the
votes by tallies. Thus did this little Lowe faction sacri
fice the interest of their own favourite candidate to pre
vent the fair and spontaneous effusions of the electors in

15
my favour. If this little junto had acted fairly, there is
not the least doubt but their little gown and wi"- hero
might have come in under the wing of the great Radical
Candidate. But they, such men as Mister John Lowe,
would rather have elected Horrocks, Hornby, or the De
vil, than they would have contributed to the election of
Henry Hunt. But in spite of all three of the factions at
Preston that were conspiring against my election, how
stood the poll at the end of the seventh day, when I left
it for York? Why 1 had polled two votes more than
either Horrocks or Hornby. Hunt and Williams polled
on that day 145 each, and Horrocks and Hornby polled
only 143 each. The enthusiasm and determination to
poll for me had increased, and was increasing every hour,
although there was not a penny expended amongst them,
while all those who voted for the other candidates were
bribed with as much liquor as they could guzzle, and f hey
and their friends got from the other candidates as much as
they could eat and drink, besides ribbons and colours for
their wives and families, as well as for themselves ; at the
same time that my voters had to pay for their own eating
and drinking, as well as for their colours. Not one pint
of beer did it cost me during the whole election ; 934
voters had voluntarily, without any solicitation, polled for
me during the first eight days; but the moment I left
Preston for York, as might very naturally hive been ex
pected, the votes began to fall off, notwithstanding the
honest and noble exertions of as brave a little band of
Patriots as ever breathed, at the head of whom was my
worthy and excellent friends, Irvin and Huffman, two
as brave, «s honest, as zealous, and as public-spirited ad
vocates of the liberties of their fellow-countrymen as ever
graced the page of history. If I could have staid but two
days longer in Preston, the Gordian knot would have been

10
unravelled, the spell would have been broken which
bound a host of the electors in adamantine chains. The
electric spark had already kindled, and it only required
the slightest puff of my breath to have fanned it into a
blazing and overwhelming fire of patriotic and irresistible
exertion. Those men who had been locked up by their
masters in their factories, to prevent them from polling
for me, were every moment about to burst their slavish
chains, to throw off their galling fetters, and were pre
paring in a body to have hurled them at their oppressors ;
but, in consequence of my unavoidable absence, this spark
of heavenly freedom, which had entered their bosoms,
was allowed to dwindle down into their hearts, where it
is cherished with a holy care, ready to burst forth with
tenfold splendour, with redoubled, with irresistible and
overwhelming power.-
If we could accomplish so much under such appalling
and overwhelming difficulties, unprepared and unas
sisted as we were at the last election, what may we not
fairly anticipate at the next election, thus early prepared
and assisted, as we shall be, with the mighty power of the
Great Northern Radical Union. Now is the time, my lads
and lasses of Preston, strike while the iron is hot, and your
labours shall be formed into Freedom's brightest emblem.
Let " Union and Perseverance" be our motto ; let us take
time by the forelock, make an instant beginning, we will
not be behind-hand this time. I hereby promise you,
IF I AM ALIVE AND AT LIBERTY, THAT I WILL STAND
ONCE MORE UPON YOUR HUSTINGS, AS A CANDIDATE FOR
YOUR HONEST SUFFRAGES AT THE NEXT ELECTION ; and
if it be your wish, I will come and canvass you in person
the first opportunity after I leave the walls of my dun
geon, and to offer you those thanks in person for your
former support, which my unjust incarceration alone has

17
delayed so long. Let us then have a feast, my friends,
which shall be devoted to sweet Liberty, and not to fac
tious or party spirit. Let Mr. John Lowe and his little
faction invoke the Attorney-General Scarlett and the
Bar of the Northern Circuit to aid and assist them, but
we will acknowledge no other patron than the Million
Radicals of the Great Northern Union, whose powerful
aid has been voluntarily proffered to assist in the restora
tion of the rights of men, through the instrumentality of
the united and individual efforts of the Electors of Pres
ton. Since 1 began this Address, 1 have received two letters
from two different parts of the kingdom, informing me of
meetings having been held and my plan adopted. This
plan appears to meet with universal approbation, and that
part.of the plan where I recommend the Radicals not to
lay out any portion of their immense income of one hun
dred and seventeen millions per annum with any of our
avowed enemies, meets with their most unanimous con
currence. I have had several applications to know whe
ther 1 would recommend the female Reformers to unite
in the same sections under the same Centurians, or to form
separate sections of female unions under their own Centu
rians. This may be just as it suits the taste or the con
venience of the parties. I would by all means recom
mend the closest union between the male and female
branches, and that they should hold their meetings and
mix as much as possible together ; but I think it would
be advisable that the females should enrol their names
in twenties under separate Trusty Men, or Trusty Women,
if they please. What 1 mean is, that there should not be
ten females and ten males under the same Trusty Man.
For instance, there might be forty females and sixty males
under the same Centurian ; but the forty females should
8 c

18
be enrolled under two Trusty Men or Women, and the
sixty males be enrolled under three Trusty Men. There
might be some duties to perform in which it would be im
proper for the women to interfere or be present. For
example, if ever it should be found necessary to hold such
a meeting as was held at Manchester on the 16th of
August, 1819; that is, supposing the Six Acts to be re
pealed, which Acts make it illegal to hold such a meeting,
in that case, if such a meeting was about to be held at
Manchester, or elsewhere, and I was invited to attend it,
if I found that Parson Hay, Squire Hulton, Parson
Ethelston, Messrs. Fletcher, Wright, Norris, Tat-
ton, Marriot, Silvester, &c. &c. were assembled, and
had been plotting mischief, threatening to set the law at
defiance, and to resort to illegal violence to prevent our
meeting, although I should not fail to attend the meeting
myself, nor advise the male Radical Reformers not tcf at
tend such meeting, seeing that it was not only perfectly
legal and justifiable, but also that it was our duty to at
tend, yet, under such circumstances, I should certainly
strongly recommend and earnestly enforce the necessity
of women and children remaining at home. I would
never recommend them voluntarily to place themselves in
a situation to be rode down, trampled upon, sabred, and
mangled by infuriate and drunken savage troopers, as
they were in St. Peter's Plain, so hemmed in and crowd
ed that their male friends had neither the means to pro
tect them from the savage ferocity of their assailants, nor
to punish the ruffians for their inhuman and cowardly con
duct. Upon another occasion of a similar nature, if it
should ever happen, I would certainly advise the females
to remain at home, as their presence would be the greatest
stimulus for such drunken, cowardly ruffians to attack us,
well knowing that the presence of females and children

19
was their best safeguard, and that if those were-absent,
and the men assembled by themselves, that they would
never be permitted to commit such illegal acts with impu
nity. But nothing of this sort is intended by the pre
sent Union, the sole purpose of which women, and even
the younger branches of families, can promote and assist
to accomplish as well as men. The Great Northern Union
should be open to all classes and ages of both sexes, so
that it may become a permanent and standard rallying
point of Liberty, and a lasting protection for those who
might be persecuted by the iron hand of our inhuman and
cold-blooded oppressors.
You will observe, my friends, that the rich and powerful
will always unite to protect or assist each other; only look
at the dismissal ofthe Gallant Sir Robert Wilson from the
army, by the King, the other day. It is most delightful
and cheering to see how the rich and powerful are com
ing forward to indemnify him for the loss of his half-pay
as a Major General. Two individuals have subscribed
500Z. each : — Mr. Lambton, 5001. ; Sir Francis Burdett, 500Z.
The Baronet can come down when one of his own rank is
attacked; besides, he has a son in the same army from
which Sir Robert was dismissed ; but we will give him
full credit for this ; it is a noble act, and worthy ofthe Ba
ronet in his best days. Earl Grey,200Z. &c. &c. The
constituents of Sir Robert have called a Meeting in the
Borough of Southwark, headed by the worthy and truly
patriotic Alderman Wood. Of all the public men in Eng
land, this excellent man is certainly the most consistent
and straight-forward in doing his duty ; he is always to be
found in the right place, ever ready and willing to assist
and protect those that are persecuted, whether Queen or
subject. I am most happy to see the aristocracy come for
ward in this way to protect the Gallant General. I have

20
not the slightest doubt but a' subscription will be raised
sufficient to purchase an annuity for him of double the
amount ofthe half-pay that he has been so meanly robbed
of. This act of the Government is the greatest proof that
Sir Robert Wilson is an honest, upright public character;
it has conferred upon him, in my estimation, the highest
honour — as it is a proof that he has completely cut the
whole gang. Sir Robert voted for the payment of 18,000L
of the public money to the Duke of Clarence, and this is
the reward lie has received for his private gratitude to the
Royal Family. I'll warrant you that the Members of the
Holy Alliance have passed a vote of thanks to his Majesty
and Lord Castlereagh (we all know him best by that title)
for having, as they supposed, disgraced Sir Robert Wil
son; they all owe him a grudge; they detest him from
their very souls, for having robbed them of their victim,
La valette; for having rescued the devoted victim of
the Wellington policy from their hellish fangs. They one
and all detest and hate him for the attention he paid to the
murdered Queen, and the honest zeal that he evinced in
her cause; but, what they hate him most for, that which
he could never expect to be forgiven for, is, that he has
frequently spoken out in plain and intelligible language
in the Honourable House, as to the nature of the vindictive
and cowardly sentence passed upon their victim, the Cap
tive of Ilchester. Castlereagh and his gang always had
an answer for every thing that Sir Robert said in the
Honourable House but this, when he boldly and honestly
said in his placein Parliament, " that the sentence passed
upon Mr. Hunt was vindictive and cruel ; that it was not
a sentence against the offence, but a sentence passed
against the man." This was unanswerable ; and Castle
reagh and the whole fraternity knowing that every man
in the kingdom, even their own partizans, were so sensible

21
of this truth, that they always held their heads down in
conscious shame, without attemping any reply. " Ah !
there's the rub." We know that the King can forgive or
pretend to forgive those who were the Queen's friends.
The Duke of Leinster and his Duchess visited the Queen,
yet, we are told, that at the Curragh of Kildare, the King
shook the Duke of Leinster most cordially by the hand
several times. 1 wonder whether they mutually congra
tulated each other upon the Queen's death — the riddance
one of his wife and the other of his friend. But Sir Robert
Wilson committed an offence when he was employed as a
General ; he wrote and published a pamphlet against the
horrible practice of flogging soldiers ; this was so un-
Wellington-like that he was soon after put upon half-pay.
Sir Robert was also one of the Committee for the relief of
the Manchester Sufferers ; he deserves not the less praise
from us, nor created the less hatred from Castlereagh and
Co. because that fund was misapplied. In good truth and
in earnest, Sir Robert Wilson has sinned beyond forgive
ness, and he must e'en join the Radicals. At all events, he
is beloved by the army ; he is idolized by the soldiers; and
whether he will be called upon to act the glorious and
noble part of a Quiroga or a Reigo, remains yet to be seen ;
but his gallant offer to serve the cause of Liberty and enter
the ranks of the patriots of Naples, is a sure guarantee that
he will never again draw his sword but in the cause of
Freedom. What! he interfered with the officer of the
Life Guards, did he? to save the effusion of human blood,
he acted the part of a real hero ; but, possibly, if he had
known what was in store for that immaculate body, he
might have spared himself the pains, and his enemies the
excuse they have set up for punishing him, as they call it,
for old and new. The same set that caused the dismissal
of Sir Robert Wilson from the army, caused the dismissal

22
of Lord Cochrane from the navy, and struck out the name of
Sir Charles Wolseley from the commission ofthe peace. Ha!
ha ! ! ha ! ! ! Could they have paid either of them a higher
or a more lasting compliment in the eye of every honest
man and woman in the universe? They never had any
thing to strike my name out of, or they would have gree
dily seized the opportunity, long, long ago ; all the honour
they could confer upon me, they have done, by their open
and implacable hatred, and by setting their myrmidons of
the Gown and Wig tribe to rob and plunder me of my pro
perty ; but here I am, my lads, safe and sound yet. We
all know that Lord Cochrane is fighting the battles of Li
berty in South America, and making English ships prizes
who transgress his laws ; we also know that the union of
the largest body of Englishmen that ever associated, the
Great Northern Radical Union, have unanimously elected
Sir Charles Wolseley as the Treasurer to their fund ; and
we shall soon see what post of honour will be given to Sir
Robert Wilson. Let Castlereagh beware ! ! !
A very curious fact has come to my knowledge, from
such a quarter as leaves me no room to doubt the truth of it :
we all recollect the conduct of the Blues, as contrasted
with the conduct of the Life Guards, on the day of the
Queen's funeral passing through the City of London.
An account was published in all the newspapers, a few
days afterwards, that some of the Life Guards had written
up, in chalk, against the walls of the Horse Guards,
" Cowardly Blues," &c. &c. &c. which remained till the
officer commanding the Blues made some of the Guards
wash it out. The next day, or the day following, the
Blues sent a challenge to the Reds, to fight it out in the
Park, either mounted or dismounted. This challenge
the heroes of Cumberland-gate treated in the same way
that the hero of Waterloo, the Great Captain of the Age,

23
treated the challenge of the brave son ofthe brave mur
dered Marshal Ney ; they took no notice of it. My in
formant had this fact from one of the Blues who sent the
challenge. As for gaol politics, we go on here very smoothly at pre
sent ; at least, there is not the slightest interruption or of
fence offered to me or my friends ; and as to the comfort of
the prisoners, it is like heaven upon earth compared to
what it was before the Investigation. The High Sheriff,
gave positive orders to Mr. Gaoler not to interfere with
me, in any way whatever; these orders, I understand,
were given on the day he received his discharge, as being
unfit to hold the office any longer; and I have never seen
him but twice since, and that was accidentally, and at a
distance. Three of the convicts whose sentences had been
tampered with, and who had been detained here by the
gaoler, whose cases I represented in a letter, which I ad
dressed to Baron Graham, when at the Bridgewater As
sizes, and which address was published in the third num
ber ofthe Evidence given at the Gaol Inquiry, have since
been liberated from prison; Elizabeth Summers, whose
sentence was transportation for life, and William Marsh-
ment and Joseph Bailey, whose sentences were seven
years' transportation ; the former had been here upwards of
fouryears, and the two latter upwards of three years each.
It will be seen by a reference to the Evidence, that all
these three persons were examined before the Commis
sioners. Well, we have, it seems, a new gaoler appointed ; a
Mr. Hardy, late Clerk of the Papers at Newgate: there
was a Captain Rowe from the neighbourhood of Bristol,
who came with the recommendation of a great body of the
Magistrates in his pocket ; there was, also, a Mr. Barret,
of Uminster, whose claims, it was said, were supported by

24
the Sheriff and a considerable body of the Magistrates;
and there were many other candidates for this honourable
and, heretofore, lucrative post ; but, it is whispered, that
a mandate from the Secretary of State's Office, rendered all
these Magisterial recommendations abortive; and my
Lord Sidmouth's commands, although coming in the shape
of a recommendation, were instantly obeyed, and Mr.
Hardy was appointed without a murmur. If this be true
the Magistrates of the County of Somerset have received
a very severe rap upon the knuckles indeed. For if his
Lordship has done this, it is very genteelly telling the Ma
gistrates, that they are unfit to be trusted with the ap
pointment of their own gaoler. If this be true, which is
asserted with great confidence by some who profess to be
in the secret, these Magistrates have brought their pigs
to a very pretty market at last. This is, indeed, a most
severe reprimand. But matters of still greater importance
are likely to be brought to light, through the late Gaol In
vestigation; matters which not only require the attention
of the County-Rate Payers of Somerset, but all the Rate-
Payers in the Kingdom. The sum collected for County-
Rates in this county, amounted to seven thousand
pounds for the quarter preceding the Investigation ; the
Rates about to be collected for the present quarter amount
only to two thousand pounds. Read this, ye County-
Rate Payers, and look to it. The amount of the
Rates for this county, for the quarter before the Investiga
tion, was after the rate of twenty-eight thousand
pounds a year. The amount for the quarter since the In
vestigation, is after the rate of eight thousand pounds
a yea.r only. I say, look well to this, ye County-Rate
Payers. Here is a saving of twenty thousand pounds
in one year in County-Rates alone. I understand the Rate-
Payers are making a subscription to present me with a

piece of plate. In good truth they can well afford it. It
appears I was fully justified in my statement, that the In
vestigation would cause a saving of fifteen hundred
pounds a year in this gaol only. I believe I was much
within the mark.
The Evidence is now complete, and sold in boards at
6s. Qd. by Dolby, 299, Strand: those who have taken it in
numbers, and wish to complete their sets, should lose no
time, as they will soon be out of print. The numerous ap
plicants, who have been disappointed in procuring sets of
Memoirs, in consequence of the three first numbers being
out of print, are respectfully informed, that they are re
printed and may be had at Dolby's ; and, in consequence
ofthe increased demand for the work, and to prevent simi
lar disappointments in future, the twentieth number is
stereotyped, as will all the future numbers, as well as the
back numbers, as fast as the present edition is out of print.
The Public will observe how extremely cautious the
Editors of Newspapers have hitherto been, as to saying
any thing of the Ilchester Investigation ; but, in spite of all
their efforts to smother it, extracts of the Evidence keep
peeping out in some of the journals. I was pleased to see
a long extract in the Morning Chronicle the other day ;
and then The Traveller has condescended to insert it, or
part of it, as an extract from the Morning Chronicle. I
am the more pleased at the Chronicle noticing it, because
the Editor of that Paper actually refused to advertise the
Peep (which should yet be read), and they returned Dolby
the money which was sent with the advertisement. And
this was treating the subject much more fairly than many
of the proprietors of the country papers did, who, I believe,
neither inserted the advertisement nor returned the money.
I beg to offer my sincere thanks to Oliver Ha y wooD.Esq.
of Mudford, for his very handsome present of a half hogshead
8 d

•26
Of some of thefinest cider that ever was drank; it is much sit
periorto any home-made wine ; of course themoral Parson-
Justices would not permit me to have it in here, but 1 have
got a friend in the town to take it in for me. My friends
have been exceedingly kind in sending me plenty of game,
for which they have my best thanks. The worthy farmers
on the banks of the river Coquel, in Northumberland, are
informed that the ewe cheese is arrived safe in London
from Newcastle. This cheese was made for the brave
Napoleon, and was to have been sent to St. Helena for
him, if he had lived ; but when he died, these worthy
farmers resolved to send it to the captive of Ilchester. I
beg to inform the kind Radicals of Rochdale, in Lanca
shire, that the beautiful piece of flannel that they sent
me has proved of infinite service to me during the late
rainy, damp season, and it has completely relieved me
from all rheumatic pains ; the fineness of its texture is
the admiration of all who have seen it, and I shall make
the Rochdale Radicals laugh heartily, when 1 tell them,
that I gave the Lady of a Doctor of Divinity two yards
and a half to make her a petticoat, and I understand she
is, since she wore it, converted into a staunch Radical.
So much for the virtue of Rochdale flannel.
" PENNY SUBSCRIPTIONS."
I have this moment got The Traveller newspaper of
the 9th, wherein is a report of a public meeting held at
the City of London Tavern, for forming a Female Auxi
liary Bible Society. There was a great assemblage
of beautiful and elegant females, and amongst others the
following resolution was unanimously passed : " That all
persons subscribing the sum of one penny or more per
week, or making a donation of one guinea or upwards at
one time, shall be members of this society." Bravo ! what
think you of this, my fair members ofthe Female Union of
the North. To this assemblage of beauty Mr. Luke
Howard, a Quaker, was moved by the spirit to address
the following speech: " The scriptures told us that the

27
male and female were one in Jesus Christ, and therefore
we might be allowed to infer, that they were one in all
Christian graces and all good works. This consequence
flowed as naturally as the stream from the source, and if
the male and female were one, it was clear that without
female co-operation the great work of charity would
only be done by halves." Bravo, Luke Howard !! ! Come,
my fair friends of the North, here is scripture authority
for female co-operation and penny subscriptions ; there
fore, enter without delay into the Great Northern Radi
cal Union. 1 am, my beloved friends,
Yours, most faithfully,
H. HUNT.

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.
All subscriptions or parcels sent to Mr. Dolby, 299,
Strand, London, will be regularly forwarded to me. I am
happy to hear that Mrs. Wright is safe returned to Lon
don from her pilgrimage to Ilchester. Her suggestions
will be attended to. The letters from the Lady signed
S. G. are all come safe to hand, as do all letters that are
postpaid; none others, unless I know from whom they
come, are taken in by me. This Lady's communications
are very valuable, particularly considering the quarter
from whence she derives her information. I wish she
would send me her real name' and address, that I may an
swer them. The communications I have had from a high
quarter are always most valuable, and I pay due attention
to them. There is nothing like having a friend in the
enemy's camp. I am fully aware of the extent of the
number and power of those friends, but it is not time for
them to speak out yet ; they can do more good to remain
for the present in statu quo, and communicate as usual to
the same person. The information of this sort from Man
chester is exquisite. Oh, what a state the villains are in.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Taunton, near Ashton-under-Line, 'Kith Sept. 1821.
Dear Sir,
I have the honour, on behalf of the Inhabitants of Taun
ton and Littleness, two small hamlets near Ashton-under-
Line, of forwarding to you the sum of 2l. 10s. 6d. the
amount of a subscription raised by them, to assist in in-

28
demnifying you for the many and great sacrifices you have
made, in fearlessly advocating the rights of the people of
England, who never yet deserted their leaders, except their
leaders first deserted them ; a circumstance which we have
not the least fear will ever have to be recorded of our Radi
cal friend, and dungeon-proof patriot, Henry Hunt, Esq.
The bloody transactions ofthe never-to-be-forgotten, never-
to-be-forgiven 16th of August, 1819, are still fresh in our
memories, when the dearest rights of Englishmen were
grossly violated in your person ; and when old men, wo
men, and helpless infants, were knocked down, trampled
on, and sabred by a drunken and infuriated band of Yeo
manry Cavalry, for which deeds they received the
thanks of the present King. These things, dear Sir, we
never shall forget, and until justice be done for so foul a
stain upon the character of our country, we will lose no
opportunity in assisting you to bring the authors and
abettors of that bloody act to condign punishment.
We shall in the course of the week meet to establish a
branch of the Great Northern Union, of which it be
hoves' every Radical Reformer instantly to become a
member, as it is calculated to be ofthe utmost importance
to the people of England, provided it be generally and
zealously entered into. We think that before the term of
your imprisonment be completed, your and our enemies
will find themselves beset with such difficulties as they
little thought of when they had gotten you secure.
Weak and deluded men, they thought that if they could
incarcerate you, and some others that were taking an
active part in the cause of Liberty, all would be well; they
could then use the lash at their pleasure upon the poor
people of England, whom they sell and treat as beasts of
burthen ; but, dear Sir, we think that neither the walls of
a dungeon, nor bribes nor threats, will ever deter you from
doing your duty, nor us from doing ours, in labouring to
obtain, by all legal means, a Radical Reform in the House
of Commons. We are ready to cleanse that augean stable,
by any legal means, or die in the attempt.
In the hope that this will find you in good health and
spirits, the greatest of all earthly blessings, and that you
will continue to receive the same during the term of your
imprisonment, is the ardent wish of the Inhabitants of
Taunton and Littleness, for whom I subscribe myself
Your most obedient, and
Most humble servant,
SAMUEL HIBBERT.

T. Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand, London,

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND,  .  , AND SCOTLAND.
-*=i©8B©o-
Ilchester Bastile, 10th day, 3d month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacke, without retribution or inquiry.
October 26, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Before this goes to press, I shall have passed one year
and six months of my incarceration in this dungeon of
the Boroughmongers West Country Bastile. On Tuesday
next, the 30th of October, I shall have one year more
to remain here. Now give me leave to ask Mr. Justice
Bayley, my Lord Castlereagh, all the boroughmongers,
all their agents, and all their abettors, whether I have,
by any act of mine since I have been in their power, given
them the slightest reason to hope or expect, that they
will ever put down the Reformers, or ever extinguish the
bright flame of Liberty, by persecuting its advocates?
Nature's summer foliage, the green leaf, has a second
time began to fall : the sun has a second time taken its
farewell of my living mausoleum ; I shall not again be
hold its rays, even in the yard in which I am entombed,
before the middle of next April. The long, gloomy,
winter nights are a second time arrived, during which I
am locked into my dungeon, in solitary confinement,
9 A

Printed by T. Dottv, 899, Strand.

fifteen hours out of each twenty-four. The old rotten
high walls that surround the yard in which I am enclosed,
are already so saturated wjth wet, that they strike a chil
ling damp, much more penetrating than the walls of an
ice-house : they will remain in this state till the March
winds blow them dry again, unless they are removed by
an order from above, in consequence of the Report of the
Commissioners, which' will not make its appearance, of
course, till the worthy Alderman Wood moves for its
production before the House of Commons. Thus situated,
immured as it were alive, cut off from the sound of any
human voice, nearly two-thirds of the day ; I shall have,
as Mr. Justice Bayley observed, plenty of time for con
templation, as well as reflection, for the next five winter
months : but, does any one of our tyrants think that I
shall become a less zealous advocate for the rights of
my fellow-countrymen, less anxious to obtain freedom for
the whole human race, because I am deprived of my own
liberty, and thus basely persecuted by a gang of petty
despots, into whose power I am fallen ? NO ! There is
not a man amongst them believes this. What, if the un
tutored Indian can nobly set at defiance the savage tor
tures inflicted by his enemies, during the agonising con
flicts of his last moments, shall I cower down and sue for
pity from my equally inhuman, although more cowardly
tormentors? Forbid it, heaven! If such a thought
should ever enter my breast, oh! snatch me from the
world in a whirlwind, and scatter my bones like chaff in
the air, ere I have the power to give it utterance. No,
no, my friends; be you assured that I enter upon the
long dreary nights of my second winter, with as much
cheerfulness as I did the first. Time rolls alongj and
I am sure you will be delighted to hear me say, that I
have never had owe moment to hang heavily upon my hands

since I have been here, tedious and dreary as it may
appear to be locked-up in solitary confinement, for five
months in the year, from five o'clock in the evening till
nine o'clock the next morning ; yet I solemnly assure you,
that it has never once felt long, tedious, or dreary to me.
There is something in the stillness of this place very de
lightful to me ; and that which my Gaolers supposed
would be a dreadful punishment, is, in reality, one of my
greatest enjoyments. My dungeon is situated quite at the
extremity ofthe gaol, far away from the busy haunts of man,
so that after I am locked-up I never hear the voice of ahuman
being. I am placed completely beyond the reach of the
sound of any waggons, carts, or carriages; occasionally I
hear the distant bleeting of the sheep and lowing of the
oxen, at day-break, in the adjoining fields, which are the
only interruptions to the peaceful passing of my time.
Johnson, Bamford, and Healy, who were tried for the
same pretended offence, who were found guilty by the
same jury, and who were sentenced by the same Court at
the same time that I was, have been at liberty these six
months. Sir Charles Wolseley, who was sentenced on
the same day that I was for one year and a half, will
be at liberty on the fourteenth of November. Time waits
for no man, and in one short year more, before our ene
mies will have time to look round them, I shall be at li
berty again, if I live so long ; but if I had twelve years to
remain instead of twelve months, 1 would scorn to sue for
mercy from the despicable tyrants who failed to treat
with common humanity the bravest man that ever lived,
who showed neither justice nor mercy to the brave Napo
leon. How many times have I been asked if I had no
friendly Member of Parliament that would move for my
liberation, as Lord John Russell did for the liberation of
the boroughmonger, Sir Menasseh Lopez ? How many

times has it been slyly hinted to me, that the Ministers
only wanted some pretence for giving me my liberty, and
if any Member of Parliament would move it in the House,
there was no doubt but it would easily be effected ! My
answer always has been, the Honourable Members of the
Honourable House might do as they liked, but that I will
rot in my dungeon before any Member shall have autho
rity to do so from me. I'll warrant you, that I have slept
as soundly for the last year and six months as any one of
the Yorkshire Jury, that agreed to the verdict of Guilty,
have done ; and I have not the least doubt but I shall sleep
quite as sound as Mr. Foreman Hall, of Hull, and Mr.
Talesman* Septimus Bromley, of Sculcoates, will do, for
the next twelve months to come. I'll warrant you, my
friends of Yorkshire, that I have enjoyed quite as much
peace of mind, and that I shall continue to enjoy quite as
much peace of mind, in my dungeon, as the Halls, the
Huttons, the Chaytors, the Chadwicks, the Selbys,
the Bromleys, and others of the honest jurymen who
sent me here. These humane and conscientious gentle
men, who, by their verdict of Guilty, turned me over,
bound hand and foot, to the custody of those who never
yet knew how to shew mercy to a sincere political oppo
nent, when they got him in their clutches, must have an
excellent opinion of each other's honesty, when they think
of their- verdict, and when my sentence of two years and
six months flashes across their minds. I would not my
self inflict upon them a greater punishment than to have
them placed in the same room together once every year,
on the anniversary of the day they gave their verdict
ag-ainst me of guilty, that they might have the mortifica
tion of looking at each other, and of reflec ting upon the
punishment and persecutions to which they doomed me.
Recollect that I do not say that they do not deserve a

much higher punishment than this, although I would not
inflict a higher punishment myself. If they had lived in
the days of Alfred, they would, most likely, have been
exalted for their  . But I beg you always to bear
this in mind, my friends, that it is these convenient jury
men who are the most dangerous agents of tyranny ; it is
packed and corrupt juries that are the mpst effectual tools
with which the Boroughmongers prop up and plaister
over a rotten and falling system. You will never fail to
recollect that this jury was selected by the York Whig
Club. Oh, the faithless, treacherous Whigs ; after all,
they are the most determined enemies of Reform ; they
are the most relentless persecutors of the real friends of
Radical and efficient Reform.
I will, at the end of this address, or in my next number,
give a correct list of the names of the Yorkshire Jury who
sent me here ; I say the Jury who sent me here, for it is to
them I feel that I am indebted for my two years and a
half deprivation of Liberty. I understand that some of
these gentlemen say, that they did not. expect that I
should receive any imprisonment at all ; that if they had
expected that the Judges would have imprisoned me, that
they never would have consented to a verdict of guilty.
This, I believe, is the feeling of a great majority of them
now ; and that they cry shame at my sentence. But this I
know had been said by one of those who was the most
zealous and determined to find me guilty. But for them
to endeavour to throw the blame upon the Judges, is only
adding cowardice to their former servility and baseness.
The Judges are the regular agents of the Govern
ment, and they perform their task without the least
remorse ; give them but a verdict, and they will
sentence their victim with the greatest unconcern .
it is their trade ; and after a Jury have once said

guilty upon a political victim, they pass sentence of
deprivation 'of Liberty or loss of life, with as little cere
mony, and without thinking themselves any more re
sponsible than the butcher does, who having once pur
chased the lamb or the ox of the grazier, orders his
men to slaughter them for the market. I wish some
of my Yorkshire friends would send me the correct
address of each of these jurymen. I mean the Christian
and sirname of each of the parties, their place of abode,
near what town it is,&c. &c. ; for instance,  Hall, mer
chant,  street, Hull ; country house, if any, where
situated, and then describe his person : about 40 years of
age, 5 feet 10 inches high, dark hair, broad face, and
very much marked with the small-pox. I do not mean
to say that this description is correct ; but Mr. Jack
son, of Hull, will oblige me by a line as to the particu
lars 'in this respect of Mr. Hall, Septimus Bromley,and
any other of the jurymen that he knows ; and some other
Radical friend, I hope, will send me a similar particular
of Chaytor, Chadwick, the two Huttons, and all the rest
of them, that I may have them printed under the follow
ing head: "A true list of the names, place of abode,
description of the persons, age, &c. &c. of the Twelve
Jurymen who, upon their oaths, returned a verdict of
Guilty against Henry Hunt, at the York Assizes in March,
1820, for attending a peaceable meeting of his fellow-
countrymen at Manchester, onthe 16th of August, 1819;
at which meeting sixteen persons were murdered by the
military, and upwards of six hundred sabred, trampled
upon, and cruelly maimed and wounded. In consequence
of which verdict Mr. Hunt was sentenced to be imprison
ed Two Years and Six Months in Ilchester Bastile ;
which imprisonment expires on the 30th of October,
1822." Now when I get this list, I will print it in my

Memoirs ; and I think it would be very desirable, and
very handy as a matter of reference, to have this list
printed in hand-bills, so that one of them may be stuck
up in each of the public-houses, and other public places,
throughout the county of York.
Speaking of the Whigs, I see that they are beginning
to make a fresh effort to humbug the people again. All
the public newspapers throughout the kingdom have bla
zoned forth the account of the first General Meeting " of
the Cheshire Whig Club." Although I do not believe
that the Whigs will ever be able to deceive and delude
the people again, yet there are some circumstances at
tending this Cheshire Whig Meeting and dinner, that are
worthy of notice, as relates to those whom the Radicals
have had represented to them as friendly to their cause,
and who attended this meeting. As for Lord Crewe, the
Chairman, Lord Grosvenor, Lord Anson, Sir John Stan
ley, the Wilbrahams, the Birches, the Bunburys, the Phil
lipses, and Davenports, no one, I believe, has ever accused
them, or suspected them, of being any thing more or less
than regular supporters of the Whig Faction. But as an
attempt was made at Preston, during the last election,
strongly and unequivocally to represent Mr. Counsellor
Williams to be a Radical, it will be necessary to inquire
how his conduct at Preston squares and agrees with
his., conduct at this Cheshire \Vhig Meeting, which
has made such a shew in the public newspapers. It
must not be lost sight of, that Mr. Williams was a can
didate for the Borough of Preston, where the suffrage is
universal in the fullest sense and meaning ever applied
by the real Radical Reformers, in their claims of Universal
Suffrage. At Preston every male of the age of twenty-
one years has a vote at the election, provided he has re
sided or lodged in the town six months ; and the settled

practice and usage is such, that it construes the term re
sidence in the most liberal sense. It was decided over
and over again by the returning officer, in my presence, at
the last election, that if a person, when objected to as a
vote by the opposite party, could prove that he had been
a resident, or that he had been a lodger in the town for
the last six months, he has a good vote. In the first case,
if the voter claimed to vote as a resident, he must prove
it ; and if he could bring proof that he had slept in a hay
loft that time, he was deemed a good vote. In the case
of his claiming as being a lodger, if he proved. that he hired
lodgings, or lived with his relations, it was not necessary
that he should have' slept there the whole time, but if he
had worked out of the place and returned to his lodgings
once a week, and even once a fortnight, so that he could
prove his clothes were washed there, he was deemed a good
vote. Now I fearlessly proclaim this to be the Universal
Suffrage that I have been contending for so many years.
This is the much-dreaded Universal Suffrage, that has been
declared to be impracticable, and merely theoretical.
This is all that we have ever asked for, this is all that we
have ever claimed as the constitutional and natural right
ofthe people of England ; we have never even in the most
fervid and heated expressions, as to the possession of Uni
versal Suffrage, carried the theory further than it is prac
tised at Preston, with the exception, that we thought it
should be fixed at three months' residence instead of six.
But I honestly confess, till I attended the election at Pres
ton, neither in Major Cartwright's Bill, or in any expres
sion of my own, or that of any other Radical, was it ever
contemplated by our theory, that Universal Suffrage con
strued to be so sweepingly liberal, as I found the practice
at Preston. Now, in referring to what Mr. Williams said
to the electors of Preston, 1 shall first quote what the Old

Whig Member Hornby said, to which Mr. Williams's
observations were meant as an answer. Mr. Hornby said,
when he addressed the electors from the hustings, after
having been proposed as a candidate: " Speaking of Re
form, he must again refer to the measures adopted in 1688.
Wise and learned statesmen in those days, thought trien
nial parliaments a sufficient security against undue influence,
and he, Mr. H. had, by his vote, supported this principle.
Whether Annual Parliaments had ever existed or not, or
been part of the constitution of the country, was immate
rial. He was satisfied ihat Annual Parliaments had at
one time existed, but to support them on that ground,
changed as was the situation of the couutry, would be as
preposterous as it would be in this day to advocate the
restoration of the feudal system, because it had once been
the practice and the constitution of the country. In re
gard to Universal Suffrage, this, he contended, had
never been the general right of voting, or the practice of
the constitution ; and voting by ballot he considered was
still more objectionable, as it would operate as a cover for
shameless corruption, and screen the names ofthe corrupt
ed. The franchise he should support, was that of house
holders paying direct taxes; persons of this description he
considered most capable of exercising a sound discretion,
and an unbiassed disposal of their suffrages." Well, what
think you of this speech, ye electors of Preston ? What
think you of these principles ? What say you to Mr. Horn
by's extension of suffrage? What think you of his plan
of Reform? which would, if carried into effect, as I told
you at the time, disfranchise one-half of the electors of
Preston ; of that very town where he was offering himself as
a candidate, it would disfranchise and reduce to slavery one-
half of those very electors whose votes he was soliciting.
The insolence of this speech, upon such an occasion, ad-
9 b

10
dressed to the electors of Preston, either proved that he
calculated upon being supported by a corrupt influence,
or that he was addressing a set of ignorant willing slaves,
who were prepared to assist in making and forging their
own chains. Now let us see what Mr. Williams said in
reply, when he addressed them from the hustings, knoW-
ing as he did, that he was speaking before from twelve to
fifteen hundred determined Radicals. " One ofthe re
spectable gentlemen, Mr. Horrocks," he observed, " had
abstained from giving any account of his parliamentary
conduct. His honourable friend, Mr. Hornby, had, how
ever, entered into some history ofthe proceedings ofthe
last parliament, and his own share in them. Mr. Hornby
would, it seems, vote for Triennial Parliaments, so would
he, Mr. W., he would also go somewhat further, and, by
some few specimens of what would have been his conduct
in the last parliament, give them some opportunity of
judging what is likely to be his conduct, if returned to
serve for them in the next. He, then, Mr. Williams, would
have voted against the grant of 10,000L per annum to the
Duke of York, upon an occasion, and for a purpose, offen
sive to the feelings of the country ; he would in every in
stance, where an opportunity was afforded, have voted for
the extirpation of those ' shameful parts of the Constitu
tion,' as they had been termed, the delinquent and peccant
boroughs, which are fruitful only in venality and crime,
without even a shadow of a representation ; and he would
transfer the right to unrepresented portions of the commu
nity, in doing which he should only endeavour to assimi_
late ihem to ihe actual stale of real representation, which
they, the electors of Preston, enjoyed." This was the lan
guage of Mr. Williams, you will recollect, my worthy
friends of Preston, this he delivered from your hustings,
when he offered himself as a candidate for your suffrages,

11
and upon which declaration alone did he obtain upwards
of twelve hundred votes, and after this unequivocal decla
ration, that he approved of, and would support Universal
Suffrage, you must all recollect that 1 never offered one
objection against his pretensions, although you will not fail
to bear in remembrance, that I said this open and manly de
claration did not accord with the views and principles of
the little faction who were at the head of those who con
ducted his election. Now let us see what were the prin
ciples avowed and adopted at the famous Cheshire Whig
Club Meeting, lately held at the Royal Hotel, Chester, at
which meeting Mr. Counsellor Williams not only made
one ofthe party, but his health was drank as a conspicuous
member of the club, and, in return for which, he made a
speech declaratory of his principles as a Whig. But we
will first see what was said by other members of the club,
in the hearing of Mr. Williams, one of the late Radical
candidates for Preston. Sir Thomas Stanley, after his
health had been drank, said, " That the name of Whig
had been insulted and despised, it had been united with
every thing licentious and vile, by demagogues and de
signing knaves ;" but it was left for Mr. Davenport, who
appears to have been a sort of" Bell-wether" to the whole
flock, it was left to him to speak out as to the views' of the
Whigs: upon his health being drank, he said, " That short
parliaments were recognised by our best statutes, and it
was well known that the honesty of parliament bore an
inverse ratio with its duration, he was therefore for a ' safe
and constitutional Reform ;' but," said he " ivith respect
to Annual Parliaments and Universal Suffrage, he might
confidently assert, that not one man in the room favoured
those doctrines." Thusdidthisman,inthenameoftheclub,
denounce the principles of Universal Suffrage, by declaring,
that there was not a man in the room who favoured those

12
doctrines ; and, as far as the newspaper reports go, there
certainly was not one man in the room said one word in
opposition to the avowed principles thus expressed by Mr.
Davenport. The question is, did Mr. Williams give his
silent assent to this proposition, or did he get up and
maintain boldly those principles which he had avowed at
Preston: let us hear what he did say upon Mr. Counsellor
Williams's health being drank ; he said " The right of
representation should be fully recognised as the basis of
our government. The county of Chester had in old times
felt the evil of being taxed without being represented, and
by a powerful petition obtained its rights. It was the case
also with Wales, for when that province became united
under the legislature of England, representation was given
not to Snowden, to Caderldris, or to the goats upon those
mountains, but to men, taxed men. Durham was also
admitted to representation upon the same grounds, and
that county now elected one whom he was proud to call
his honourable friend (Mr.Lambton),whose efforts for Re
form he should be proud to second." So here is Mr. Wil
liams proclaiming himself an avowed Whig upon the tri
ennial and householder principles of Mr. Lambton, and
eulogising the representation of Wales and the counties of
Chester and Durham, as the sort of representation that he
approves, which representation is nothing more nor less
than it is in all other counties, Freeholder Suffrage, to the
exclusion of four-fifths of the population. Thus has Mr.
Counsellor Williams followed the example of the great
northern luminary ofthe bar, his learned brother Scarlett,
who at the same time that he was a AVhig candidate for
the Borough of Lewes, voted for Mr. Holme Sumner, a
high Tory, at the election for the county of Surrey. Mr.
Williams was a Radical at Preston, and is now a Whig at
Chester. But let us, my friends, see what were the prin-

13
ciples promulgated in the toasts drank at this immaculate
club dinner ; first, " May the Bill of Rights, and the Act
of Settlement, be the standard of our principles, until
something better be pointed out to us :" pretty modest
gentlemen these. Then they drank — " The perfect Union
ofthe people with the WHIG aristocracy of the country."
We have heard a great deal about poor, ignorant, deluded
wretches ; but was there ever a set of more ignorant,
deluded wretches, assembled together in this world, than
the members ofthe Cheshire Whig Club, if they believed
that the people would be caught in this old Whig trap, in
the year 1821. But there is some apology for them, I
see this was the thirty-third bumper toast that they
had drank, so that all those who were not three bottle
men, must have been dead drunk — so much for the first
general meeting of the Cheshire Whig Club.
Now a word as to the progress of the Great Northern
Union. I have received letters and valuable communica
tions from many parts of the kingdom, approving of the
plan,and,what is of much more consequence, many of them
have began to carry it into execution. As a matter of
course some of my more ingenious and mechanical corres
pondents are suggesting alterations and improvements,
and additions, but most of these hints are calculated to
perplex, and render it too complicated for a young esta
blishment. But the suggestion of a very worthy friend
will not do at all, we must have nothing mysterious, much
less secret. All our proceedings must be as open, candid,
and fair, as the plan itself; every act of our union must be
as plain and undisguised as the sun at noon-day. No se
cret meeting, no private committee, no secret correspon
dence ; the best means of communication is through the
columns of the Manchester Observer. No secret or un
known members ; in fact, nothing to violate any of those

14
lawsjwhich have been passed to punish seditious meetings,
or for the suppression of societies established for seditious
and treasonable practices, and to prevent unlawful com
binations. We must recollect that we are surrounded by
all sorts of laws and statutes, to avoid being entangled in
which it will be necessary that our proceedings be as undis
guised as our object is pure and patriotic. Let the object
always be openly avowed, which is, to promote the pu
rity of election, and to pay the legal expenses of returning
honest, upright Radical Members to Parliament ; and, if it
should be approved of hereafter, by the-Members of the
Union, to prosecute those guilty of bribery and perjury
at the elections where Radical Candidates are supported
and patronized by the Union. 1 am happy to see that
those assembled at the first meeting, held at the Union
Rooms, in Manchester, agreed to act upon the plan that
1 had the honour to propose for your adoption ; because
there must be, to insure success, one general plan to guide
the whole ; therefore it was that I confined my plan with
in the most simple, easy, and practicable bounds. We
will prove ourselves the best friends of the English Go
vernment, by our strenuous labours to restore the best
part of the English Constitution to its original purity. We
will endeavour to restore its beautiful theory of represen
tation to early practice. The Members of the Northern
Union want no delegates, nor are they in any dread of
spies; all our movements will be as open and clear as the
noon-day sun. Trusty Men, Centurians, and Treasurer,
all volunteers ; no hired or paid officers either to embez
zle or betray. I am decidedly of opinion, that every
Trusty Man should pay threepence per week to the fund,
and every Centurian sixpence. The man that will not
make the sacrifice of one pint of beer per Week, he that
cannot afford to do that, cannot afford the time to collect

15
from the twenty Brethren. But the fact is, that no time
ought to be lost by the Trusty Men but that of handing
over their collection once a week to their Centurian ; the
twenty Brothers should carry their penny each to their
Trusty Man, for the practice of going round to collect is
very objectionable. It is one great common cause, to ob
tain one common object for the good ofthe whole; there
fore, every one should put his shoulder to the wheel.
With regard to my recommendation, that the Radicals
must have " a press of their own," I am more and more
convinced of its necessity. I have received numerous
letters upon this subject, some of them grievously com
plaining that they cannot obtain the Manchester Observer
in London, unless it be first sent to Manchester from Lon
don, and then returned from Manchester to the metropo
lis. This is very bad management somewhere, and I am
quite sure that the fault does not lay at our friend Sax-
ton's door ; but I hope that he has sufficient controul over
the management and delivery of the paper to rectify this
serious evil. Even when persons go to the office where
it is printed, with the money in their hands, they are re
fused a paper. This is indeed playing the game of our
worst enemies, that of keeping the Radicals in the metro
polis in ignorance as to what is going on iri the North.
I am also informed that the Manchester Observer has
never been advertised or placarded in London, neither is
it to be purchased at any of the shops of the venders of
Sunday newspapers. Really I should hope that this seri
ous evil will be immediately rectified. I am obliged to
answer those who have written to me upon this sudject
thus publicly, that it may be seen by all parties that I have
paid due attention to their numerous recommendations.
The circulation of the Manchester Observer is ofthe most
vital importance to the cause of real Radical Reform, and

16
particularly to the Members of the Great Northern Union,
It is not enough that this paper should have a wide cir
culation in the North ; but as long as it is under the direc
tion of our true-hearted friend Saxton, it is of the utmost
importance that its circulation should be general. I have
received several letters upon the necessity of establishing
a Radical Press in London, the metropolis ; one of which,
that I have got from a gentleman of Bungay, in Suffolk, I
will insert, as it throws out some valuable hints for the fu
ture consideration of the Radicals of the Great Northern
Union. As the writer is a perfect stranger to me, and as
he has not authorised me to publish his name, I shall give
the letter without doing so. I merely lay the sugges
tions before the public for the future consideration of the
Radicals, if they should think them worthy of their atten
tion. 1 was pleased to see the letter published in the Ob
server signed Machiavelli Inglese, not only for the
valuable information it contained as to the former history
of this country, but because I am convinced that' it pro
ceeds from the pen of one of the best and truest of our
Radicals in the West. The stile and talent of the late
Radical Candidate for Exeter is too evident to leave any
doubt of its author. I only hope that he will repeat his
labours ; it only requires that he should be known to the
Radicals ofthe North to secure him their admiration, re
spect, and esteem.
I have noticed a paragraph published in most of the pa
pers, that the infamous Meagher, the trumpeter of the
Manchester Yeomanry, Captain Birley, Withington, Oli
ver", and Tebbutt, three other members of the troop, have
been served with King's Bench writs, to answer for an
assault committed by them on the bloody Sixteenth of
August, upon a Mr. Johnson. It is added, that it is not
the Mr. Johnson who was tried with Mr. Hnnt at York,

17
but some other person, and that a Mr. Hayward, of Tooke's-
court, in London, is the attorney. As I know nothing of
this Mr. Johnson, or of Mr. Attorney Hayward, nor ever
heard of them before, I should like very much to have the
particulars inquired into by our friends at Manchester.
It appears to me to be a very extraordinary proceeding at
this period, more than two years after the transaction oc
curred. I own I am become very suspicious as to these
matters, I have seen so many tricks played off of late.
Suppose it be all fair and honestly meant, I am very scep
tical as to any good that is to arise from this Course of pro
ceeding. Murder, murder — black, premeditated murder—-
was committed on that day, and hundreds were dread
fully maimed with the intent to kill. After the trial at
York no one was left in doubt as to the facts. What ! are
those very men who have had bills of indictment preferred
against them before the Grand Jury at Lancaster, for cut
ting and maiming women with an intent to kill, which
bills were thrown out by the Lancashire Squires, who
composed that Grand Jury — What ! are those men now
to have actions brought against them for a common as
sault, to be tried at Lancaster before a special jury, com
posed of the very same Lancashire Squires ? Come, come,
my friends, let us look into this affair a little. A Mr.
Hayward is the attorney, it seems ; who, 1 should like to
know, is to be the learned friend that is to have the
management of these actions? Ah, there's the rub. If
this be all honest, it requires looking after. A pretty
mess the learned brother Brougham or Soarlett would
make of this affair. Such a Case entrusted to either of
them, with a packed special jury of Lancashire Squires,
and such witnesses as we know may be produced from
Manchester, &c. by the defendants, a very neat scene
will be exhibited at Lancaster Assizes, if these actions be
* 9 C

18
brought to trial there ; and if it be not all honest, the
sooner the plot is exposed the better. However, after
what we have witnessed at Bow-street, after the com
plete management of Franklin's affair, and the more re
cent management of Mr. Benjamin Bloomfield's affair,
it becomes us to look about rather sharply after this mat
ter. Now, my friends, as usual, before I conclude, a word or
two upon Gaol politics. Well, Mr. Hardy, the late Clerk
of the Papers of Newgate, is appointed as Keeper of this
Gaol ; and Mr. Tompkins, of Yeovil, is appointed as Sur
geon; so you will perceive that since last March we have
got a new Gaoler, a new Surgeon, a new Parson, a new
Taskmaster, and a new Matron. A pretty tolerable
sweeping out, you will say, of " the best and most humane
officers of the best regulated gaol in the kingdom," as the
Honourable Members of the Honourable House would
say and vouch for. As the old saying goes, " good rid of
bad rubbish," therefore we will let that lot pass. But
these are not all that we have cleared out of the Gaol.
Since I addressed the letter to Baron Graham, which was
published in the Third Number of the Evidence of the
Gaol Investigation, pardons and remission of sentences
have been sent down for six of those convicts whose cases
I represented to the worthy Judge. Elizabeth Summers,
Marchmont, Bailey, Gibbs, Pow, and Shoal, these have
all been liberated ; the five former, as will be seen by the
Evidence, having been examined by me before the Com
missioners. And all this has been done before the King's
Commissioners have had an opportunity of laying their
Report before the Guardians of our Rights and Liberties,
the faithful Representatives of the People, the Members
of the House of Commons. But this is not all the good
that has been derived from the investigation. The Gaol

19
management is now no more like what it was nine month*
back than St. Paul's is like Billingsgate. All torture is
abolished ; no blisters are now applied as a punishment in
solitary confinement; no body-irons; no handcuffs with
hands behind ; no chaining hands and heels together in
solitary confinement ; no females nor boys have been
placed in the stocks since; no letters have been opened;
no females who have been sentenced to solitary confine
ment have been left to the mercy of the turnkeys, but they
have been very properly attended to by the matron. The
prisoners have been supplied with good bread, and al
lowed to send out for good water; and the treatment of
the prisoners altogether is completely altered from bad to
good, to the great advantage ofthe moral character ofthe
Gaol. One of the sober, well-behaved men, who left the
Gaol the other day, assured me, that in his ward, since
the prisoners had been treated like human beings,
there had not been so much blasphemous swearing for the
last three months as he had frequently known before in
one day. Read this and tremble, ye cruel and hypocriti
cal advocates of harsh prison discipline ! ! ! Think of what
a deluge of blasphemy you have daily caused, by occa
sioning human beings to be treated worse than brute beasts !
The Sheriff has caused a great amelioration in the con
dition of the debtors and myself (in whose custody it is
now admitted we are), as to the admission of our families
and friends, at reasonable hours in the day-time, which,
you will not fail to recollect, from first to last, is all that
I ever contended for. Nothing can render this infamous
gaol, built on a dead level, in a swamp, in a low marshy
country, enveloped as it is in fog a great portion of the
year, surrounded and intersected into small wards, with
interior walls, the same height as the outward walls ;
nothing can make a residence here either comfortable or

20
healthy ; but what can be done, I have no doubt will be
done, ultimately, to improve this place, till another gaol
is built in a more salubrious and convenient situation.
One thing appears to me, that it would have been still
better if the Gaol Surgeon had resided upon the spot,
instead of at a distance of five miles, because, in case of
sudden illness, a great inconvenience must arise from the
Surgeon being to be sent for at that distance, when there
are two Surgeons living within a few yards of the gaol.
However, it is not my business to quarrel with this choice
of the Sheriff and Magistrates ; in all other respects but
this distance, Mr. Tompkins appears a very eligible,^ com
petent, and extremely diligent young man ; the change
for the better, the very great improvement in the medical
department of the gaol is most obvious. If the new-
Gaoler should prove to be as much superior to the old
one, as the new Doctor is to the old one, I do not be
lieve that any one will have occasion to reg-ret the change
that has been made — more regular attendance, or more
discreet and proper conduct, I never observed in any
young man, than in that of Mr. Tomplrins.
Bridle is still here, winding up his accounts, it is under
stood, in which, it is said, he is assisted by a young man,
who was an assistant at the village school ; but those who
profess to be in the ex-gaoler's confidence, have given out,
that he has hired this young man to write a book, which
he means to publish in his vindication, in which myself,
the sheriff, and those magistrates who dismissed Mr. Gaoler,
are to be attacked and caricatured ; they say it is to be
entitled, " The Gaoler's Justification for inflicting Torture
upon Male Prisoners, Debauching Female Convicts, and
keeping their Bastards atthe County expense," &c. &c. &c.
To be dedicated to those great northern luminaries, the
Edinburgh- Reviewers. One would have thought that

21
the devil himself would not have tempted Bridle to have
stirred any more in this dirty pool, knowing what he knows
has taken place in this Gaol, which never came out before
the Commissioners, and which, he might easily guess, has
come to my knowledge since. Bit he must be anxious to
give me an opportunity of publishing these small trifles.
Perhaps, he is displeased that the evidence given before
the magistrates by Mr. Kinnear, as to his friend Mrs. How-
ard, and that given by Samuel Hobbs as to his friend Mrs.
Badcock, of Wells, and young Maynard, is not published?
Possibly, he wishes to see the kitchen scene, as described
by Samuel Hobbs, in print ? But the diabolical debauch
eries that have been practised in this gaol within the last
ten years, if recorded, would make Lewis's Monk appear
in comparison quite innocent.
The young man who is editing Bridle's Justification, many
times expressed a wish, since the investigation, to be in
troduced to me, and he wrote me several letters, in one of
which, speaking of Bridle, he uses the following language :
" I congratulate you, Sir, on the success of your late un
dertaking. — If to expose wanton cruelty, base ingratitude,
and most perfect and thorough-bred villainy, be the way
to claim the admiration and thanks ofthe world, you, Sir,
cannot fail of such a reward. Northover, August 1 1th,
1821." As this was the gentlemen's unbought opinion, it
will be curious to see what change a good round sum may
produce. " But we shall see;" he has repeatedly said
even worse than this of his present employer, and the
whole of his letters to me may prove by and bye of what
value his opinion is.
Now, one word to " the County-rate payers." The
amount of the whole rates collected for the quarter before
the " Peep" came out, was 7,229Z. 3s. 5%d. The quarter
after the " Peep" was published, and Alderman Wood, in

22
the House of Commons, had moved for a committee,, to
inquire into the abuses of this gaol, it fell to 5408?. 10s. 6d.
But the first quarter, after the investigation was ended,
which was paid in the Michaelmas session, at Taunton, the
amount was reduced to 2 162?. 16s. lOd. What think you of
this, ye county-rate payer,s ? here is a saving of 5066?. 6s. 6 Jc?
a quarter, which is after the rate of 20,265?. 6s. 6c?, a-year-
What think ye of this, ye county-rate payers? This is quite
enough to build a good handsome County Gaol, in a sa
lubrious and convenient situation, if it be not made a
county job. I told you in the Peep that there might be a
saving of 1,500?. a-year in this Gaol, but I little thought
that there would have been such an immense saving in the
whole county-rate. But the parties who have so neatly
managed these affairs, " smelt a rat" so strongly, that they
drew in their horns sooner than I expected. I have now
no hesitation in saying, that there will be a saving of
2,000?. a-year in this Gaol alone, if you follow up what I
have begun, although if you do not attend to it yourselves
there will be a re-action. I have no doubt but there will
be a saving of from three to four thousand pounds a-year
in the Gaol department alone ; that is, if you look after
your oion business, and follow up the blows which I have
inflicted. I may not stay here for ever, although some of
the fools have expressed a wish to have me here in their
power for another year or two after my time of two
years and six months are expired.
One other great benefit has arisen out of the inquiry
and investigation of the abuses of this gaol, and which will
contribute to the keeping down the county rates.
Amelioration has extended beyond the gaol, it has ex
tended to the Quarter Sessions. It used to be a very
common thing to sentence prisoners from the Quarter
Sessions for petty thefts and for misdemeanours for too

23
years. The little boy Wheeler, who was confined so
cruelly with his hands behind him night and day for a
fortnight, was sentenced for two years for stealing a pair of
stockings, but this- boy had learned to weave, therefore
was useful in the factory. Three others were sentenced
for two years for a drunken frolic, a misdemeanour, and
here they are now, and many others for similar sentences.
BUT at the last sessions since the investigation, the longest
sentence for imprionment is six months.
I am, my Friends and Fellow-countrymen, Your's sincerely,
H. HUNT.
P. S. Since writing the above I have seen the account
of the proceedings of the meeting held at the London
Tavern, to promote the subscription for Sir R. Wilson.
Mr. Lambton in the chair. When the first resolution was
put, " Mr. J. G. Jones immediately came forward and
" attempted to address the meeting. He was, however,
" assailed by cries of ' off, off!' from every part of the
" room. Having gesticulated for a short time, in vain, he
" was obliged to descend from the table." The Whigs
are playing their eld game again of exclusion. " Mr.
" Walker then attempted to speak, and met with a similar
" reception." The resolutions were carried unanimously.
What think you of this, my friends. If the Radicals had
ever conducted themselves in this infamous partial manner,
they would have deserved to have been called all the
names, and have merited the abuse that has been heaped
upon them. At the conclusion of the meeting Mr. Lamb
ton said he had received a note from a gentleman with
whom he was not accquainted, who complained that he
had not been able to obtain a hearing, and requested his,
Mr. Lambton's interference to procure it. It was not his

-24
wish to prevent any one from being heard ; but he could
not exercise any compulsion on the meeting, with whom
the matter must rest. Oh ! the Whigs; a pretty broad
hint this. " Mr. Jones presented himself, (but, as might
have been expected after this speech,) he was assailed
with a storm of hisses, &c. he gave way, and descended
from the table." Such infamous exclusion, such partial
conduct as this, would never have happened at any other
place but the London Tavern or the Crown and Anchor,
it would have disgraced a meeting of Hottentots. Oh !
shame, shame. The only motive for the exclusion of Mr.
Jones must have been, because the little faction knew
that he would have eclipsed all their gabble with his
eloquence, this is the Teason that he has been so often put
down.

io

TO THE HUMANE AND BENEVOLENT MAGISTRATES OF
THE COUNTY OF SOMERSET.
The humble Petition of Jane Hobbs, late Matron, and
Wife of Matthew Hobbs, last Taskmaster, of the
Gaol at Ilchester.
Humbly sheweth,
That your petitioner and her husband were appointed
to the situations of matron and task-master of the gaol at
Ilchester, by the magistrates of the county, at the January
sessions, 1816. That they served the county in that capa
city five years honestly, faithfully and diligently, without
giving any cause of complaint, and without any complaint
being- made against either of them by the said magistrates,
who attended the gaol during that period, for any neglect
in the discharge of those duties which were separately
allotted to each of them within the said gaol.
That William Bridle, the gaoler of Ilchester, having vo
luntarily lent his brother-in-law, your petitioner's husband,
500?., although at the time he knew that her husband was
insolvent, and soon afterwards prevailed upon him, much
against your petitioner's wish and consent, to leave his
farm at Lymington, and to accept of the office of task-mas
ter to the said gaol, which he said he could procure for
him. That their joint salary, when they first came to the
gaol, was 130?. a year, out of which the said William Bridle
detained 50?. a year, without asking the consent ofthe said
Matthew Hobbs ; this he did for the two first years ; the
said Will iam Bridle then detained 20?. a quarter, or 80?. a
year, against the consent of said Matthew Hobbs, who com
plained of having so little left to live upon and support his
wife and family : soon after this, the said William Bridle
informed your petitioner, that in consequence of the great
attention she had paid to the sick, and her activity in, and
9 d

•26
care of the business of the laundry, that he had prevailed
upon the magistrates to raise your petitioner's salary 20?. a
year, which would enable her husband to pay him the"80?.
a year without any grumbling.
Your petitioner's family having increased to eight chil
dren, after the said William Bridle had detained 80?. a
year out of their salary, they had not enough left to supply
them with the common necessaries of life, and to appear
so respectably dressed as their situation demanded, and as
was expected by the magistrates. In order to keep up a
decent appearance in the gaol, they beeame indebted to
several of the shopkeepers of Ilchester, of which petition
er's husband informed the said William Bridle, and applied
to him to pay him the whole of his salary for one year,
that he might get out of debt, and that he would willingly
then continue to pay him 50?. a year afterward, which was
as much as he could afford ; but this the said William Bri
dle declined to do ; but he said he would recommend the
said Matthew Hobbs to fill the situation of gaoler of the
county gaol of Stafford, where he would get a salary of
300?. a year, besides fees and other emoluments. The said
William Bridle accordingly gave him, the said Matthew
Hobbs, a most excellent character, as being in every respect
worthy of, and competent to fill that situation ; in which
good character he was joined by the recommendation of
all the magistrates who visited and attended the said gaol,
during the time he, Matthew Hobbs, filled the situation of
task-master, in the said gaol of Ilchester ; but when the
said Matthew Hobbs failed in obtaining his situation at
Stafford, and finding himself still more embarrassed in his
circumstances, he again applied in a more earnest manner
to the said William Bridle to pay him the whole of his sa
lary for a short time, that he might pay off those debts in
the town to satisfy some small creditors who began to be

27
clamorous, and also to purchase his children some clothes',
of which they stood' much in need; this application he
peremptorily refused, and from that time his behaviour to
your petitioner and her husband was very much altered,
having frequently abused the said Matthew Hobbs in the
most unfeeling, brutal, and ^blasphemous manner, in the
presence of the other officers of the gaol, as well as before
the prisoners. At length the said Matthew Hobbs was
driven to the necessity of demanding the payment of the
whole of his salary, or he told the said' William Bridle he
should be compelled to appeal to the magistrates : to this
the said William Bridle made no reply, but in a very short
time afterwards, your petitioner and her husband were
suddenly and unexpectedly called before the magistrates,
to answer charges which were preferred against them by
the said William Bridle ; charges as false as they were
malicious ; but your petitioners being thunderstruck at
such unexpected and groundless xharges, they were unable
so to explain themselves ; and being totally unprepared
with any proof to controvert them^theywere instantly dis
charged by the magistrates accordingly, the evidence thus
adduced being evidently for the purpose of imposing on
the visiting magistrates by the said William Bridle*
Driven to the greatest distress, and dreading the re
peated threats of Bridle, the said Matthew Hobbs left
Ilchester to seek for some employment in London, but
even there the vengeance of his brother-in-law appeared
to have preceded him, amongst all his relations and
friends. He was arrested and thrown into prison for debt,

* " And they were inhumanly turned into the street that very night,
with six of their helpless infant children, without a bed to lay on, and
with only 12s. in the world between them." The magistrates refused to
subscribe any thing till the above paragraph was struck out, and the
paragraph in italics inserted in its stead; when this was done, the \0l.
was sent through the hands of Mr. Dickenson.

28
upon avhich he presented a petition to the Insolvent Court,
praying for the benefit of the Act for his discharge. During
this time your petitioner had to support seven of her chil
dren by selling the little furniture and household goods
that she possessed, and out of this she had to support her
husband in gaol, and to pay the necessary fees for obtain
ing his discharge : to enable her to do this she has been
often driven to the greatest distress, and suffered the
greatest penury and want, and she certainly would have
been starved, with her children, had it not been for the
kind assistance of some friends ; but even these daily fell
off in consequence of malicious and unfounded reports pro
pagated by the said William Bridle, to the prejudice of
your petitioner. While these had the effect of nearly starv
ing your petitioner, and her children, the said William
Bridle was preparing to incarcerate his victim, your peti
tioner's husband, by opposing his discharge in the Insol
vent Debtors' Court ; which opposition, he attempted,
(thank God, in vain,) to support by the testimony of
Charles Marshall and John Jones, two persons employed
in the gaol by the county, which testimony consisted of
the most palpable falsehoods ; they also got a poor igno
rant country girl, a mere child, who had acted as your
petitioner's servant, to make an affidavit, to confirm some
of these false statements. But the Commissioners having
severely censured those who had procured the affidavit of
the said child, discharged the said Matthew Hobbs with
out asking him one question.
Your petitioner has since been compelled to sell every
thing she has or can find purchasers for, even the clothes
from her back, to satisfy the hunger of her wretched
starving children; she is anxious not to trouble the parish
for relief, and wishes to remove herself to her husband in
London, that they may starve together upon 12s. a week,

29
which is all that he is at present enabled to earn by his
labour. Your petitioner, therefore, most humbly, but most earn
estly prays the assistance of the benevolent magistrates
assembled at the gaol, to subscribe a trifle to enable her to
pay for her lodgings, and the expenses of removing her
self and children to London ; and she will ever pray that
those who assist her may never be reduced to the same
wretched and forlorn situation.
Ilchester, Oct. llth; 1821. Jane Hobbs.
This memorial having been this day delivered to me by
William Hobbs, the son of the memorialist, I very readily
(in consideration of her distressed circumstances) contri
bute a trifle for her support, having before expressed a
wish and intention of so doing; but I cannot concur in the
correctness of some of the particulars, which are therein
stated. John Goodford  £ 1 1 0
Remitted by Wm. Dickenson, Esq. M.P.,
Chairman of the Quarter Sessions . 10 0 0
Yeovil, Oct. 13th, 1821.

Bungay, Oct. 19th, 1831.
Sir, — As a stranger to your person, 1 ought perhaps to
apologise for presuming to address you ; but as I trust I
am no stranger to your character, I shall not attempt to
offer an excuse, when I feel that the motives which induce
me to trouble you with this, need none.
I have just received from a friend the twentieth number
of your Memoirs, where, in your excellent address to the
Radical Reformers of England, you mention the establish
ment of a General Union. A hdpe that this letter may be

30
instrumental in promoting such objefct, prompts me to sub
mit it to your consideration. You observe in the address
alluded to, that to secure the object desired, the Radicals
must have a press of their own. This is a most obvious
truth, and the establishment of such a press in the follow
ing manner, would not only promote the general circula
tion of our genuine principles, and consequently forward
the wished-for union ; but, would also be a considerable
inducement to many to become subscribers.
First, then, let it be understood that every 25 subscri
bers should be entitled to one, arid every complete section
to five papers per week, to be paid for quarterly, by the
Centurian, previous to his remitting his accounts to the
general treasurer. The subscription of two months would
probably be sufficient to furnish an office in London for
some independent and powerful writer of our principles-
the property might be secured to the general treasurers,
and interest received for the use of it, till the principal
should be repaid.
This central and metropolitan paper, aided by the Man
chester Observer in the North, would do much indeed.
The money raised quarterly by each section would be
as follows:
Centurians subscription ......£ 0 6 6
Trusty-men  0 16 3
100 Brothers  544
/ 
Making a total of ....;.. . 671
The expense of five papers, at 8s. per quar
ter, each  200
Leaving in hand  , . £4 7 j

31
So that admitting your calculation of 186,000, there
would, by this method, be circulated weekly 5,000, and
yearly, 260,000 papers, devoted to the cause.
I understand that Mr.  , has written to you
on the subject ; his independence has- kept him poor, but
he is a most excellent writer, and one on whose princi
ples I would hazard my life.
I hope, Sir, I may request an acknowledgment of the
receipt of this, as I am deeply interested in the cause, and
shall be happy and proud to hear from one who is entitled
to the gratitude of all sincere patriots.
"y - I am, Sir, with every sentiment of respect,
Your obedient servant,
To Henry Hunt, Esq. W. H. S.

T Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand, London.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 8th day, 4th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacke, without retribution or inquiry.
November 24, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
On the sixth of November, the day of my nativity,
on which I entered upon my forty-ninth year, you realised
my most sanguine expectations ; from one end of the
kingdom to the other, I have received the intimation of
yonr having assembled to celebrate my Birth-day, and to
cement the Union ofthe real Radical Reformers. On the
dawn of that day, the first sound I heard was the merry
peal of the church bells of this town ; at the adjoining
village of Mudford, the residence of my worthy friend
Oliver Hayward, Esq. the repetition of the merry peals
continued the whole day, and other tokens of respect
towards the neighbouring ' Captive,' made the " wrekin
ring again." In many other parts of the West similar
demonstrations of esteem were manifested by the inhabit
ants. About one o'clock my friend Jacobs, of Taunton,
arrived with his son, attended by two porters, bearing a
massy trunk, containing the presents sent me by my kind-
hearted, generous, brave friends, the Radicals of Bolton.
On the trunk being opened, the first thing produced was
the following address :

T. Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand, London.
10 A

2
" TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
" Dear and much respected Sir,
" Permit us to congratulate you on the arrival of ano-
her anniversary of your birth-day ; — a day which we hail
with joy, as giving birth to a man so distinguished by
his talents, courage, perseverance, and devotedness in the
cause of universal liberty. Since we were last assem
bled to celebrate this day, what a variety of aspects has
the political horizon presented — how varied has been the
chequered scene ! The year had presented the sublime,
the ' soul-cheering spectacle of three beautiful countries
rising in the majesty of men determined to be free, and
shaking off the shackles of despotism. But, alas ! — the
delightful prospect has been clouded by the triumph of
the ' deadly Austrians,' in one of those countries. Italy
is again in -chains. Napoleon, who had experienced all
the mutations of fortune, has died a prisoner in the keep
ing of the English Government ; and the hopes that were
raised in every bosom, of speedy triumph over oppression,
by the signal victory the people had obtained for the un
fortunate, the brave, the persecuted ' Caroline of Bruns
wick, the injured Queen of England,' ceased to glow at
the consummation of her persecutions : — and though the
gloom was dispelled for a moment, by the signal, the
decided victory gained by the citizens of London, this was
in its nature transitory, and lasted only for a moment.
From this gloomy recital of the past, let us, however, turn
and contemplate the prospects of the future. While our
minds were disgusted with the riotous adulation displayed
in a neighbouring country, and depressed by the melan
choly death of our late beloved Queen, the idea of the
Great Northern Union burst from within the walls of your
Bastile, like the sun from behind thick clouds, to cheer and
illuminate our future prospects — to point out a way to
attack our enemies in their own citadel of corruption.
' What,' we think we hear some exclaim, ' can be effected,
if you could succeed in returning ten members of the
greatest talents, the most determined courage, and the
most unvaried perseverance — they would only be as the
puny dwarf to the strong giant ; — they might be crushed
in the contest — might die martyrs to their temerity, but
could never hope to succeed in wresting from the giant
hand of our oppressors, the liberty we wish for, but cannot
hope to obtain!' We acknowledge that corruption ap-

3
pears strong, that she has hitherto succeeded in/putting
down almost every one who has had the courage to at
tack her. But are we to despair of the future, because
past efforts have not been able to consummate our wishes ?
Are we to believe, that the bloody deeds of the never-to-
be-forgotten, never-to-be-forgiven 16th of August, are
not to be atoned for — that no reparation is to be made for
the many, the deep wounds which the advocates of Reform
have received — that every species of injustice, cruelty, and
oppression, is to be practised without any retribution being
had? That, in short, all the rights of man, and the de
crees of Heaven, are to be violated with impunity ? No ;
the idea is preposterous : — to entertain it, is to libel the
spirit of humanity, the prowess of Englishmen, and the
justice of Heaven ! It is true, we repeat, that our oppres
sors appear strong ; but what if it should prove to be all
outside show, like the ' painted sepulchre,' white without,
but within full of rottenness and dead men's bones — a
mass of putridity enervated by debauchery, and corrupted
by licentiousness. Goliah had been the vanquisher of
armies, but he fell, though shrouded in armour, by the
hands of a stripling — a shepherd's boy. Ofthe success.of
your future exertions in the cause of Reform, and of our
final triumph, your late investigation into the cruelties
practised in Ilchester Bastile, has given us a sufficient
pledge. Who that contemplates the dangers to be over
come, the difficulties to be surmounted, and the triumph
achieved, can despair of the success of any cause under
taken by a man so g-ifted with superior talents, determined
courage, and unremitting perseverance. Your conduct
in this investigation has been such as to secure you the
confidence of every Reformer — as to call forth the admira
tion of every lover of justice — :and the love of every friend
of humanity. By it you have laid bare and exposed a
mighty engine of oppression. You have dispelled a thick
cloud of calumny which obscured the virtues of the suffer
ing Reformers. What member of ' the Honourable House'
will have the hardihood to reply to your complaints against
the cruelties of Prison-keepers, by eulogies on their hu
manity and good nature ? Or if any should possess the
effrontery to do so, who will have the folly to believe
them 1
" As a tribute of our admiration of your conduct on this
occasion, we beg your acceptance of the Marseilles Bed-
Quilt, Counterpane, and Muslin sent herewith. They are

but humble offerings. We have no ' superb epergne'
that might be handed down to your posterity — no massy
service of plate to decorate the tables of luxury— nor gor
geous cup from whence to draw the libations of intoxicat
ing pleasure, to offer you, but articles that contribute to
the simple comforts of life, and hope you will receive them
as a homely token of our esteem. Hoping you will sur
vive the power of your and our enemies, and enjoy excel
lent health and spirits, to bear your future persecutions
with as much fortitude as your past, we have the honour
to be, on behalf of the Subscribers,
" Your fervent admirers and friends,
JOHN JACKSON, MICHAEL TAYLOR,
JOHN ENTVV1SLE, JOHN BUTLER,
JAMES BROWN, M. WOLSTENHOLME,
HENRY ORRELL, WILLIAM ENTWISLE.
" Committee."
The next thing was a pair of Lancashire clogs, very
highly finished, and the workmanship equal, if not supe
rior, to any thing ever produced in any part of the king
dom. Round one quarter the following is neatly worked
in silk: " H.Hunt, Esq. the undaunted advocate of Li
berty." Round the other quarter," Mary Walker, closer,
mother of H. Hunt Walker." This fine specimen of Ra
dical workmanship was manufactured by Mr. James
Brown, accompanied with the following letter : —
Sir — I trust you will do me the favour to accept these
clogs, as a token of the respect and esteem which I have
for you, for your unwearied exertions and assiduity in sup
porting the cause of Radical Reform, although you are
enclosed in the horrors of a dungeon. I perceive, by your
excellent and well-digested Memoirs, that your exertions
in the welfare of those who feel a due regard for your
happiness and comfort, are not in the least diminished.
Youhave courage enough for truth, and you are far above
the meanness of dissimulation. I believe the words of
youi mouth are the thoughts of your heart ; and as long
as I live to breathe the sweets of the intellectual atmos
phere, I shall espouse the cause for which you are now
illegally suffering. I beg leave to subscribe myself,
Respectfully yours,
JAMES BROWN.
Bolton-, Hth Sept. 1821.

The next we came to was a Marseilles waistcoat-piece, of
the finest texture. Next was a parcel containing a piece of
book-muslin and a piece of cross-bar muslin, both very ex
cellent specimens of that description of weaving. The next
parcel was a most beautiful and exquisitely manufactured
Marseilles bed-quilt, ten feet square. This quilt was
wove by Charles Chadwick, and was accompanied by the
following letter : —
Worthy and Respected Sir — It is with peculiar
pleasure, as well as with unfeigned gratitude, that I com
municate to you, that I have had the honour to weave this
Marseilles quilt, which will be presented to you on the
6th day of November next, as a tribute of respect and es
teem the Marseilles Quilt Weavers and other Radical
Friends of Bolton have for you, for your intrepid and per
severing exertions in the cause of Liberty, and the manly
and disinterested manner in which you have advocated
the people's rights and privileges. Thousands of men,
women, and children have been to view it, and they ex
pressed themselves highly pleased in having the honour
to touch Mr. Hunt's quilt.
The many pleasing encomiums and judicious remarks
which my fellow-workmen have passed upon you during
the time I was wrorking it, would complete a volume,
were I able to give you a detail of the particulars ; per
mit me to say, they consider themselves under an indis-
pensible obligation towards you, which they will ever
hold dear to their hearts, for your wise, vigilant, and con
stant zeal for the people's cause, and your inviolable at
tachment to the poor. I find that good and useful know
ledge accrues from the perusal of your well-penned Me
moirs ; and although you are enveloped within the strong
walls of a prison, I perceive they have not robbed you of
that paternal feeling for your countrymen, which every
rational being ought to be possessed of ; you are not re
gardless of the people's wants, nor unfeeling of their
woes. You never beheld the poor man groaning on the
bed of sickness, nor the unfortunate languishing in the
horrors of a dungeon, but your hand was ready to relieve
and comfort him. I beg leave to subscribe myself,
Your obedient servant,
CHARLES CHADWICK.
Bolton-lc-Moors, Oct. 27th, 1821.

Next came from the bottom of the trunk a very heavy
parcel, which, when unpacked and opened to view,
presented to the eye one of the most exquisitely
beautiful, and magnificent specimens of the weaving
art, such as, 1 believe, was never equalled in this or
any other country. It was an elegant and stupendous
counterpane, measuring twelve feet by ten, richly em
bossed all over with the most admirable and correctly
worked flowers, surrounded by a beautiful border, taste
fully festooned. At the head of this beautiful counter
pane the following inscription is embossed: —
" To Henry Hunt, Esq. the undaunted Champion of Reform,
" Aud the exposer of Ilchester Bastile,
" This tribute of respect from the Reformers of Bolton
" Was presented to him November the 6th, 1821."
In the centre is my crest, and motto " Pertevere." At
the bottom the following lines :
" To those who innocently fell
" On Peterloo's foul day,
" This humble tribute long shall tell
" That Justice lost her sway.
" John Butler, Artist."
To describe this admirable specimen ofthe art of weav
ing, is beyond the power of my pen ; it requires to be
seen to enable any one to form the slightest idea of its
splendour and magnificence ; I may safely say, that there
is not a sceptered Monarch in the universe that can boast
any thing of the sort equal in beauty or value. Btj.t you
shall hear what the worthy weaver says for himself. It
was accompanied by the following letter from Mr. John
Butler, the Artist : — Little Bolton, Oct. 26, 1821.
Respected Sir — As artist and operative weaver of
the counterpane which the Radical Reformers of Bolton
are presenting to you, and being myself also a Radical, I
shall not, I am sure, be deemed presumptuous in address
ing you without further introduction.
Ibeg to send you the little instrument (which we call
a picker-up) with which the nobs of the figures in the
counterpane are raised. The nobs are pulled up one by

one with the hand, by means of the little hook at the end
ofthe picker-up: this will give you some idea of the la
bour necessary for its completion. Iliad prepared a new
picker-up to send you, instead of the one which you will
find enclosed ; but some of my friends thought the old one
would be more acceptable, it being the one actually used
in the weaving of the counterpane.
You have heard already, through the Manchester Ob
server, that we have established a branch of the Great
Northern Union in Bolton, in which I have the honour to
be a collector ; but we yet want organization, and I hope
the principles laid down in your address of the 1st inst.
will be taken into consideration and be adopted.
As Radical Reformers, consistency of conduct is as much
required as amongst professors of religion, for the purpose
of showing that we deserve that freedom for which we
contend. The world has its eyes upon us, and will al
ways treat with contempt all our professions of freedom,
till we shew by our conduct that we can govern ourselves.
O, how we have to deplore drunkenness in professors !
Would that it were possible man could be raised to a pro
per sense of moral feeling and dignity, that this worse than
beastly vice might cease ! Your advice relative to this
matter, delivered in an address through the Swan win
dow, in this town, had its desired effect for a considerable
time, and public-house keepers complained bitterly of the
injury you had done them, and the public brewers began
to think seriously of the consequences that would result
to them ; but, alas ! it was of but too short a duration.
Mr. Cobbett also wrote some excellent essays, as to the
evils resulting from drunkenness, both in his Registers
and in one of his sermons ; but how few comparatively
can get to read them.
If the following hints meet with your approbation, you
will, no doubt, make such use of them as will cause the
object that I have in view to be effected : — I think it would
be proper to divide the members of the Great Northern
Radical Union into classes of ten men each, to meet at
each others houses one evening every week; each class
to chuse one man from among them for the purpose of
conducting the meeting, and over so many classes to
place, as you have stated, Trusty Men over fifties, and
Centurians over the hundreds. The use 1 would make of
the classes would be, to effect a reform in the conduct of
professing Reformers. First, at the weekly meeting al-

ways to have read by the' leader of the meeting, or by
some other person, an essay either on the subject of Re
form, or some moral and religious publication, such, for in
stance as Cobbett's Sermons, your own Memoirs, or any
other publication which the meeting might think proper
for their own edification or instruction. I would also in
culcate economy, a very important matter indeed ; for
what in the world is the use of talking about Reform with
out at the same time endeavouring to give the people a
- qualification to enjoy its blessings ? If this plan was
adopted, what a mass of mind would be the consequence !
Real information on the state of the nation's affairs would
be communicated to an extent not before known; a zeal
encouraged and promoted on domestic economy, sobriety,
&c. &c. ; and the real benefit of the Union secured in a
degree not to be obtained except by some such like plan.
At the end of the meeting (the meeting not to exceed
two hours), the pennies should be collected, and the meet
ing disperse.
For myself, I beg to say I have abstained from tea,
coffee, tobacco, snuff, public-house heer, porter, spirits,
sugar, &c. ever since you delivered the address, before al
luded to, out of the Swan window; and have resolved to
continue to abstain from them so long as yourself, Rev.
Mr. Harrison, and others, are incarcerated in prisons in
the cause of Liberty ; and I declare I am stronger, and
have had my health much better, since I adopted this
course of abstinence, than when I took my drink at the
public-house, &c. &c. I will conclude this letter with the
sentiments of the noble La Fayette at the close of the
American Revolution — " That to love liberty, is sufficient
only to know it ; and to be free, sufficient only to will it."
With best wishes for your health and welfare,
I remain, respected Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
JOHN BUTLER.
Green-street, Little Bolton.
My friend Jacobs now addressed me nearly verbatim as
follows: —
Sir — In the absence of your Secretary, who is this day
with the brave men of Manchester celebrating the birth
day of their noble Champion, I beg, in the name of the
worthy Reformers of Bolton, to present this counterpane
and quilt to. you, being striking specimens of the industry

yf one ofthe most useful classes, who are impudently call
ed, by the most slothful and useless of human beings, the
lower orders of society. The Boltonians, Sir, as well as
the whole of the industrious classes of this kingdom, look
on you as the bold assertor of their rights and liberties,
and wait with patience for the time that will place you,
together with other true Patriots, in the Senate, that be
ing the only place in which you can advocate the cause of
the people with success — to do which, we all know, would
be your greatest pride, and the Reformers' anxious wish.
The sixteenth of August, 1819, is a day never to be for
gotten, when you, Sir, with myriads more, were peace
ably assembled on St. Peter's Field, Manchester, justly
denominated the Field of Blood, to petition the Legisla
ture for a redress of grievances, which had for years
been accumulating, under the domination of what is
called the People's House, at which place the Royally-
thanked, would-be pensioned, and mitred Magistrates,
let loose the dogs of war, to destroy men, women,
and children, who were legally and constitutionally
assembled, to- consider the best and surest way of
conveying the knowledge of their great and manifold suf
ferings to the Throne ; occasioned by supporting long,
useless, and bloody wars, carried on for the express pur
pose of crushing the rising spirit of Reform in England,
and to extinguish the newly fanned flame of Liberty in Ame
rica and France. It is, Sir, some consolation to the lovers
of Liberty, that no oppression, not even the deprivation
of the society of your dearest friends, can daunt your as
piring mind ; but, during your incarceration in this gaol,
your time has been constantly employed in ameliorating
the sad condition of its wretched inmates, and you have
prosecuted an inquiry which has brought to light some of
the greatest tortures that were ever inflicted on human
beings, in this or any other country. As a considerable
payer of county-rates, I take this opportunity of informing
you, Sir, that since the investigation into the abuses of
this prison, the county-rates have been reduced two-thirds
of their amount, which proves to the world that when in
tellect and energy, combined with honest intentions, are>
directed for the good of mankind, corruption must stag
ger, and ultimately fall, by the well-timed remedy of ex
posure, in all its native deformity. vYou, my dear Sir,
have my best wishes for your health and happiness, and
may you live long- and happy to be a terror to evil doers."
1 0 b

10
Now, my friends, only contemplate this scene in my
prison-house ; picture to yourselves the victim of oppres
sion, the " Captive of Ilchester," standing mute, with his
heart overflowing with gratitude, and his feelings so over-
Whelmed with a sense of the kind attention of the Radi
cals of Bolton, that he was incapable of giving utterance
to the delightful sensations of his soul, and then call to
your recollection the way in which George the Fourth
(in whose name I was persecuted) was passing his time
amongst his dear Hanoverian pig-butchers, while his
Majesty was enjoying the disgusting slaughter of the poor
animals, which his German subjects call pig-hunting,
then ask yourselves which is the most honoured, which
the happiest man of the two ? The truth-telling editor
of the Courier says, " poor Hunt is quite forgotten." As
a confirmation of the truth of this assertion, let us look
into the Manchester Observer of the 10th of November, to
see what was passing in the North at the time, from
which I select the following extracts : —
" Manchester. — At the hour appointed for the pub
lic dinner in honour of Mr. Hunt's birth-day (five o'clock),
the large room of the Union-buildings, in George Leigh-
street, was filled to excess hy hundreds of the male and
female Reformers of Manchester and its vicinity; Mr.
Samuel Drummond in the chair." Upon my health being
drank, Mr. Shillibeer shortly returned thanks, when Mr.
Saxton read the following address, which I had trans
mitted, for that purpose : —
" TO THE BRAVE REFORMERS OF MANCHESTER,
MALE AND FEMALE.
" Ilchester Bastile, November 3, 1821.
" My kind and excellent Friends,— I perceive by an ad
vertisement in the Manchester Observer (the press of
the Radicals), that you intend a second time to honour me
by celebrating my birth-day on the sixth of November,

11
and as my friend Shillibeer has promised to call on me
before he leaves this country, to, accept of your kind and
flattering invitation to join you at the Union Rooms on that
day, I seize the opportunity of briefly addressing you : — In
the first place, to offer you my grateful thanks for this
fresh mark of your esteem and confidence, which is alike
flattering to my feelings, and hateful to the vain pride of
our malignant and persecuting oppressors. In the second
place, permit me to congratulate you upon the successful
commencement of that Union which I had the honour to
recommend to your notice, the last time you assembled
in the Union Rooms, when Mr. Shillibeer was in Man
chester on the 20th of August. One great and leading
object of your present meeting, I sincerely trust, is to
promote and consolidate the all-important Union amongst
the Radical Reformers. That Union is commenced under
sufficiently happy auspices, to secure its ultimate and un
bounded success, if it be followed up with that zeal and
perseverance which are the genuine characteristics ofthe
Radical Reformers of the North, amongst whom you, the
Radicals of Manchester, are justly entitled to the most
honourable station.
" I trust that it will not be esteemed either presumption
or vanity, in the ' Captive of Ilchester,' to offer you upon
this, or any other occasion, those suggestions which from
time to time may appear to me to be necessary to the
success and well-being of that cause, for which you have
been so long contending, and for which J have already
suffered one year and six months' imprisonment, and for
which I am still suffering, and have to endure, for one year
longer, in this dreary, and pestilential bastile. 1 am quite
sure that you, my beloved brethren, and that you, my
amiable and worthy sisters, now congregated together for
the most holy purpose of affectionate union, will at any
rate give me credit for my good intention; therefore, let
me implore you, by the sacred name of Liberty, to dismiss
at once from your minds all jealousies of each other ; let
all minor differences and disputes be banished from your
breasts, and be buried in eternal oblivion ; let the hellish
torch of discord, which has been kindled by the bloody
and treacherous hands of our cunning and remorseless
enemies, be smothered and extinguished by the pure
stream of brotherly forbearance, forgiveness, and affection.
Oh ! how do I pray that the Olive Branch of Peace and
Union may wave triumphantly over the whole of your

12
proceedings throughout the North, on the 6th of Novem
ber, 1821 ; and that the Olive Branch of Union maybe
your future emblem, shall be my earnest prayer, and my
future study to consecrate.
" I shall never cease to inculcate amongst you, above
all things, sobriety. No man that is addicted to
the beastly vice of intoxication can be, or ought to be,
relied upon. I am not such a severe moralist, as to de
nounce a man for having on some occasion exceeded the
bounds of discretion, by being betrayed into the dreadful
and beastly sin of drunkenness ; every thing should be at
tempted to restore him to reason, and to induce him to
abandon this greatest of all moral and political sins ; but,
till he has resolutely determined to forbear from such
beastly practice, trust him not ! Even if he be the dearest
friend upon earth, trust him not ! for at some time or
another he wiil betray you, although it may be uninten
tionally, in one of his fits of temporary derangement —
one of his momentary suicides of his senses, when reason
is sacrificed to his voluntary delirium and infuriated mad
ness. Let those who like it take their rational, cheerful
glass; but, my friends, avoid an habitual drunkard as you
would the tooth of the adder and the rattlesnake, under
which is concealed the deadly venom that poisons and
destroys all that come within its influence. Liberty and
licentiousness never dwelled in the same habitation ; they
are the most mortal foes — the most deadly enemies. That
you may be cheerful, merry, and happy, not only when
you meet together, but at all seasons, is my sincere prayer,
because happiness and cheerfulness are the constant com
panions of abstemiousness and sobriety.
"May the God of Truth, of Justice, and Liberty, guard,
protect, and unite you, is the sincere wish of
" Your faithful and grateful friend,
" H. HUNT."

After an eloquent speech from Mr. Rose, Mr. Saxton
proposed the following address to me, which being
seconded in a very flattering speech by Mr. Johnstone,
was carried Unanimously.

13
" TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
"the illustrious captive of ilchester.
" Esteemed, and well-respected Sir,
" The Male and Female Reformers of the town of Man
chester, and its neighbourhood, assembled at the Union
Rooms, in celebration of the anniversary of the proud day
which gave you birth, beg leave to express their high
gratification at the kind and affectionate Address with
which you have remembered them on the auspicious oc
casion. Be assured, Sir, that nothing which proceeds
from you, can be looked upon with indifference by them ;
and they trust that their connexion with you, will be ce
mented and strengthened by a long-continued and more
intimate intercourse. They would feel themselves defi
cient in gratitude, for your persevering and invaluable
services in the cause of mankind, were they not to seize
with avidity every opportunity of expressing their un
abated attachment to your person and interest. They re
gret that the base machinations of wicked men, who are
alike the enemies of the Prince and the People, have so
far succeeded in their diabolical object, as to place you
under personal restraint, thereby preventing you from
being present at this joyous meeting; but they anticipate
with unalloyed satisfaction the next anniversary, when
they hope that your presence will give an additional zest
to the feelings of the company.
" The Reformers of the North are far from being dis
mayed by the unceasing malice and persecution of your
and their oppressors. The period is fast approaching when
these boroughmongering tyrants shall no longer have the
power to distress and annoy. The Plan of Union which
your wisdom originated, is rapidly advancing to comple
tion ; and the object of regenerating the Constitution of
the Commons' House of Parliament, will be gradually ac
complished. The sphere of your usefulness will soon be
enlarged: — you have done much, but much yet remains to
be done. You then cancombat with more decided success
the enemies of your country, and foil them on the very
dunghill of their own corruption. The people have
ranged themselves on your side, and who shall gainsay it ?
The most virtuous of our patriots will rally round the
Standard of Freedom, on the Altar of St. Stephen's, until
the final overthrow of boroughmonger tyrants and tyranny
shall crown the bloodless contest with a glorious victory !
" Signed this 6th day of November, 1821, on behalf of
the Meeting, bv "THE CHAIRMAN."

14
Major Cartwright, Thomas Northmore, Esq. and Mr.
Jacobs, having been invited to attend, sent the following
answers, which were read and received with great ap
plause:
" TO MESSRS. THOMAS CRABTREE, WILLIAM
WADDINGTON, JAMES RIDDLE, WILLIAM WAL
KER, AND THOMAS DARLINGTON.
" Burton Crescent, London, Oct. SO, 1821.
" Gentlemen,
" Would the state of my health admit of it, I should
be particularly happy in complying with the application,
made in your letter of the 27th, just received, to pre
side at your proposed celebration of the anniversary of
the birth-day of Mr. Hunt ; as no man is more disposed
than myself to do justice to the merit which that gen
tleman has displayed — nor can any one feel more abhor
rence than myself of the atrocious massacre of men, wo
men, and children, perpetrated in your town on the
16th of August, 1819; a massacre which deeply stained
the character of our country, and was a sad reproach
to the religion its people profess.
" I also persuade myself, that no one wishes more ar
dently than I do, to advance that Radical, or, in other
words, that constitutional Reform in the national Re
presentation, of which we have been nearly half a cen
tury in active pursuit ; but it was an object of a nature
not to be" very speedily accomplished, although our pro
spect, in my humble judgment, affords reason to hope
that complete success is now not distant.
" When I assure you, that my age and infirmity ob
liged me a few days ago very reluctantly to decline
the honour of presiding at another approaching anni
versary in the cause of freedom, which celebration was
to be in the metropolis, you will feel, that to decline
your flattering invitation to preside at a dinner so distant
from London, must be still more unavoidable.
" Convinced as I am, that the genuine patriotism of
seeking our Reform through the incontrovertible truth
and rectitude of our well-known principles, is in the
spirit of true morality and genuine Christianity, I must
necessarily, so long as I retain my reason, continue a
Radical Reformer.
' In this view of things the rise of what you term
the ' Great Northern Union,' 1 hailed with the most
heartfelt satisfaction.

15
" As among fishermen and others of the humblest classes
of society, the foundations of a great revolution for the
better, in the condition of mankind, were laid by the
greatest Of Reformers, one who had the deepest insight
into the heart of man ; so, among the same classes ofthe
community, we may be certain are best laid the foundations
ofthe moral as well as political Reform we seek ; a Reform
now evidently necessary to the earthly salvation of our
country. Well and wisely as are laid these foundations,
we may, with the most lively satisfaction, watch the gra
dual rising ofthe pyramid, of a solidity formed for duration
to the end of time.
" May, therefore, the ' Northern Union' extend its
foundations to every shore, and every corner of the king
dom ! — Excuse haste for saving the post, and
" Believe me, Gentlemen,
" Your obliged and obedient,
" JOHN CARTWRIGHT."
"Sir, " Teignmouth, Nov. 1, 1821.
" Your favour ofthe 27th ult. has reached me at this
place, and I regret extremely that I cannot have the gra
tification of celebrating, with the brave Radicals of Man
chester, the birth-day of a man, who, for intrepidity, per
severance, and ardent love of Liberty and truth, has rarely
been equalled, never excelled. Justice herself has re
ceived a wound through his person : — thank God ! that
wound is not mortal. I have visited this brave patriot in
his prison, and if (as a celebrated Ancient has observed)
' one of the sights most pleasing to the Deity is a virtuous
man nobly struggling with adversity,' with that sight
have I been gratified at Ilchester ; and my respect for his
character, immortalised as it is by his late noble exertions
in the cause of humanity, makes me (1 repeat) deeply re
gret that the great distance of my present abode, the
shortness of notice, and private business of importance
which demands my immediate presence at home, prevent
me from accepting your flattering invitation of meeting
the genuine sons of freedom with the worthy Patriarch at
their head^-but my heart is with you.
" With my good wish for the success ofthe great cause,
and many happy returns of the day to its bravest defender,
"I am, Sir,
" Your most obedient,
"THOMAS NORTHMORE."
" Mr. Joseph Redfearn, 7, Cornwall-street,
Oldham-road, Manchester."

](i
*' Gentlemen, Taunton, Nov. 2, 1821,
" I duly received your kind invitation to celebrate the
birth-day ofthe brave ' Captive of Ilchester,' at the Union-
Rooms, Manchester, on the 6th instant, for which I beg to
return you my most heartfelt thanks. I should be most
happy to meet the brave Reformers of the North on so
glorious an occasion, but illness prevents me doing what
my inclination ardently prompts. I hope and trust my
strength will admit of going to Ilchester on Tuesday next,
to dine with the noble Captive, at which time you may
rest assured I shall not be unmindful of you. I am happy
to hear that the ' Great Northern Union' flourishes so
well. The Methodists have for years subscribed pennies
per week, to support ' passive obedience, and non-resist
ance ;' but thanks to the most powerful supporter of the
most useful classes of society, in proposing the Northern
Union, the pennies of the Reformers will be a powerful
engine for the destruction of tyranny, under whatever garb
it appears ; and may it be the mean's of getting those brave
men into Parliament, who will advocate the cause of the
British people, and support that Parliamentary Reform
which will give to honest labour its just reward. Tax
ation without representation is unjust; and may its sup
porters soon fall under the just indignation of a much-
injured, long oppressed, but industrious people, is the
sincere wish of him who begs to subscribe himself
" The ardent lover of Liberty, and the sincere friend of
those brave patriots who are now labouring in the cause
of Reform.
" THOMAS JACOBS."
" To Messrs. Wm. WALKER, Wm. W ADDINGTON,
Jas. RIDDLE, Thos. DARLINGTON, and
Thos. CRABTREE, J. REDFERN,
Gentlemen composing the Committee for managing the
celebration of the birth-day of that great patriot, Henry
Hunt, Esq."
The healths of these gentlemen were drank, and that of
the worthy baronet, Sir Charles Wolseley, was received
with raptures of applause, together with the healths of
other incarcerated Reformers.
Extracts from the Manchester Observer of the 17th : —
" Preston.— Tuesday, the 6th, being the birth-day of
H. Hunt, Esq. was commemorated in Preston by public

17
dinners at three different places. Mr. John Irvin pre
sided at that held at the Royal Oak Inn."
" Bolton. — The birth-day of that dungeon-proof Cham
pion of Liberty, Henry Hunt, Esq., was celebrated in this
town with great eclat. Nat fewer than three public din
ners took place — one at the Union Rooms ; another in
Little Bolton ; and a third in Union-buildings, Bradshaw-
gate. At the latter Mr. Robert Dawson was called to
the chair, which was most tastefully and magnificently
adorned. A triumphal arch, beautifully decorated with
brilliant colours, encircled the portrait of Mr. Hunt,
which, added to a richly embroidered silk flag, covered
with appropriate inscriptions, had a grand and imposing
effect. A letter from Mr. Hunt was then read by the Pre
sident, recommending the Reformers of Bolton to join the
Great Northern Union. It is impossible to describe the
effect which this letter of our great leader had upon the
company. Every proposition was carried with acclama
tions, and Centurians and Trusty Men were instantane
ously elected. Mr. Wolstenholme rose, and in an excellent
speech recommended the adoption of Mr. Hunt's plan to
be carried into immediate effect."
" Ashton- under-Lyne. — On the 6th instant the Ra
dical Reformers, male and female, met at the house of
Mr. John Higson, to celebrate the birth-day of Henry
Hunt, Esq. Mr. Edward Hague in the chair."
" Taunton (Lancashire). — November the 6th, being
the anniversary of the birth-day of Henry Hunt, Esq. the
friends of Liberty and Reform, resident at Taunton, met
to celebrate the same at the house of Mr. John Hibbert,
where a most sumptuous dinner was provided for the oc
casion. Mr. John Sacon in the chair."
" Oldham. — Pursuant to advertisement, the friends of
10 c

18
Reform met at the Lower Union Rooms to celebrate
the anniversaty of Mr. Hunt's birth-day, when 150 persons
sat down to dinner. Mr. Fitton in the chair."
At Osmaldwhistle Stonehill, the inhabitants in
general partook of a public breakfast, in honour of
Mr. Hunt's birth-day, which consisted of the wholesome
and cheap beverage made from the celebrated powder
invented by Mr. Hunt, and manufactured in London at Irs
establishment. In many houses dinners were provided
for the occasion, and the day was spent as a holiday."
, " At Rushton, the Lord of the Manor allowed the in
habitants the use of the parish school, for the purpose of
celebrating Mr. Hunt's birth-day, having previously pre
sented them with a quantity of malt, that they might be
regaled with good home-brewed ale upon the occasion."
" At Tamworth, Harewood, Chorley, and Der
went ; at Failsworth, Newton, Denton, Lees, Sad-
dleworth, and Millbottom, and innumerable other
¦ places, the anniversary of Mr. Hunt's birth-day was kept
up and celebrated in a manner strongly expressive of the
hold which his many patriotic virtues have given him on
the people's affections."
" Halifax. — On Tuesday, the 6th instant, upwards of
seventy persons sat down to dinner at the Bull's Head
Inn, in this town, in order to express their attachment
and respect for Henry Hunt, Esq. The Rev. Joseph El
lis in the chair. Mr. Hunt's plan for the Great Northern
Union, accompanied by a circular from the Manchester
District Committee, was read and highly approved of by
the meeting, and a Committee was appointed for carrying
its provisions into immediate effect."
" Leeds. — Tuesday, the 6th, being the anniversary of
Mr. Hunt's birth-day, it was celebrated by the Reformers

19
of this place by a dinner at the Union Inn, Mr. Wass in
the chair, who, together with Mr. Mason, addressed the
Meeting in excellent speeches."
Without intending the slightest disrespect to my
excellent friends, who made most admirable speeches at
the various meetings which I have enumerated, the whole
of which 1 would most cheerfully insert, if I had room ; 1
will give the speech of Mr. Wrightson, delivered at ti:e
Leeds Meeting, as a specimen of Radical talent in that
part of tho world, which was as follows : —
" Gentlemen, — I stand before you on the present oc
casion, an humble advocate of that cause for which a
thousand bosoms have bled, and for which its brightest
ornaments are now incarcerated in solitary confinement.
Notwithstanding I have never presented myself before
you on any former occasion, it has not arisen from indif
ference or lukewarnmess to the cause, but from a humili
ating consciousness of my own inferiority. When I be
held you surrounded on every side by men of honesty and
brilliant talent, whoce combined eloquence, like tile sun
in the centre of our horizon dispersing the mists of super -
ttition, pointing you to the temple of Light and Liberty,
and directing jou in the only honourable and practicable
path, 1 have stood like the statue wrapt in silent wonder
and admiration. The love of liberty 1 am well persuaded
accompanies us from the first dawnings of reason and
cogitation, through every period of life, nay, more, 'tis a
principle developed in the economy of universal nature —
how soon the humble lily droops and withers when its
roots are fettered by the despotic spread of noxious weeds,
and its spotless head hid from the exhilirating influence
of Vesper, by o^er-hanging briars and thistles — how
soon the monarch of the forest, the noble oak, which
might have stood the conilict of desolating storms, and
spread unscathed throughout the frosts of a thousand
winters, decays and dies when insects like the satellites of
corruption invade and sap his massy trunk; even the rains
which water the scorched plains of India, and the frozen
banks of Lapland, would soon spread their stagnant va
pours over a lifeless world, if their perpetual progress
was impeded by the unhallowed hand of tyranny. But
there is a principle engrafted in the heart of man, by

20
which he is enabled to distinguish truth from error, and by
which he is led intuitively to love the one and hate the
other. Consequently the love of liberty bursts upon him
as the natural result of this discriminating power, well
knowing that ignorance and error are the secret butpower
ful engines of tyranny and despotism, whilst truth and
knowledge alike expose and overwhelm them, and the
gradual expansion of this knowledge, which is spreading
like the imperceptible march of time, felt not in its pro
gress, but seen in its effects, will, at some not far distant
period, emancipate us from slavery and oppression, with
out hostility or bloodshed. The advocates of tyranny
tell us we are free : — this is an error. Are we free ? —
when the poor industrious peasant, earning by hard la
bour, 20s. per week, pays ten of it indirect and indirect
taxes to Government, while the proud lordling with
40,000?. per annum, if he expended no more, would not
contribute sixpence more towards the public expenditure.
Are we free, when this unequal effect of taxation is im
posed upon us, without our consent? Are we free, when
a gallant General, who has fought his country's battles,
and received the unqualified approbation and praise of
Britain and her Allies, is dismissed, unheard, unarraigned,
for what proves to be an act of undaunted humanity ?
Such a state as this, Gentlemen, would be read with ab
horrence, even associated with the cruelties of feudal
times ! — but what will posterity say, when such actions
sully the pages of history? Thus, we are not free ! — and
in this situation it behoves us to follow the dictates of
wisdom. I need not tell you, that wisdom is the right use
of kRowledge, or knowledge so applied as to be con
ducive to the welfare of mankind ; and who will have the
temerity to deny that to increase the sum of general
happiness and comfort, by giving to all men their privi
leges of freedom, consistent with moral and divine laws,
making every man equal, as it regards the exercise of in
dividual power, (I do not mean wealth) by which every
act of legislative authority would emanate from the unani
mous voice of the people ; and from which would result
the diminution of disaffection and crime, and the gradual
but general augmentation of wealth and happiness ; I
say, who will have the hardihood to deny that this is wis
dom ? Whatever our enemies may say, it is to Mr. Hunt,
and his brave undaunted colleagues, that the country stands
inbebted for a large share of its present political And theo-

21
logical knowledge. The religious societies, alarmed at
the rapid spread of infidelity, which unfortunately was
too much associated with Reform, aroused themselves
from the lethargy of contentment and security, and spread
throughout every part of the kingdom, their religious
Tracts and Essays, to counteract the dreadful poison of in
fidelity, until every village had its almoner, and every
cottage its weekly guardian. One sect, in particular, not
content with publishing their caveats and antidotes, open
ly opposed, in every shape, the politics of Radicals ; but
fortunately, their narrow-spirited inveteracy recoiled upon
themselves; and their volumes, so far from reclaiming
political apostates, increased the number to an alarming
extent. At length, finding- reason and argument pre
ponderate against them, they are following the principles
of their great prototype — the rod and excommunication.
Thus, to Mr. Hunt, even religion and morality owe much ;
but political Reform, more than it is willing to acknow
ledge — much more than it is able to pay. Were it not ¦
for the barbarity, and the cruel, mental, and physical
sufferings which our great Champion is experiencing, I
should hail his imprisonment as pregnant with greater
blessings, and greater hopes, for the complete emancipa
tion of our distracted country, than could possibly have
arisen from any exertion of his, in a state of bodily free
dom. His imprisonment exhibits him to us, as a man
ready to sacrifice his life for his country. His Memoirs,
and unremitting industry in exposing the imposition and
cruelties which have crept into our prison discipline (but
above all the refutation which his character and conduct
gives to all the insinuating and devilish calumnies of his
enemies, together with the resignation and uncringing,
fortitude which tranquillizes his mind, and animates his
hopes), present a picture of devotedness at once irre
proachable, and worthy of our unqualified approbation
and praise. I am sure there is not one in this company,
and I hope the time will come when every bosom that
throbs within the sea-girt shores of Britain shall join
with heart and voice in the loud acclamation, ' Long
live the Champion of Liberty.' — (Rapturous Ap
plause) — But I am sorry to add this lamentable fact,
that men of genius and power are continually prosti
tuting their abilities to feed the vicious triumph of a
tottering oligarchy; like the bowels of Mount JEtna, big
with tremendous ill, and ready, even when its base 'is

22
covered with vegetation in all its variety and beauty, and
would tempt us to cull in confidence and security, ready,
even when the setting sun reflects from its snow-clad
crater a million glittering gems, to burst with rum and
conflagration upon a devoted world. Perhaps, the best
monarchical government that ever existed, was enjoyed
by the ancient Egyptians ; its constitution resembled ours
in its original purity; and from this source the subsequent
ages modelled theirs; and so long as Mr. Hunt con
tinues to advocate tbe fundamental doctrines of our
original constitution, so long will he enjoy my unbound
ed confidence and esteem. When 1 contemplate the
patriots that adorned ancient and modern history, the
champions and martyrs of Greece and Rome, of Helvetia
and Britain — when I behold Patroclns before the walls
TDi'Troy; Caesar in the Senate house; the corps of Tell in-
gloriously borne on the bosom of the pitiless wave ; Bruce
inhumanly mangled by the cold-blooded treachery of a
fellow-chieftain ; Hampden gasping on the gory field ;
and Sydney bleeding at the horrid shrine of tyranny — me
thinks the blood of all those champions flows in the veins
of our Hero — methinks their glorious deeds are ever pre
sent to his view, their dying words ever reverberating in
his ears, and their courage and mr.gnanimity animating his
heart. With such a concentration of patriotsm, talent,
and fortitude, he is worthy to be your polar star; and ere
he sets with splendour in the western sky, cheered with
the hope of an eternal reward, may the sun of universal
light and liberty spread his morning beams on our happy
and united country." — (Loud and continued Cheers?)
Let George Canning, the son of Mother Hunn, read the
speech of Mr. Wrighteon. George called the Reformers
a low, degraded crew.
" Holungwood. — On Tuesday, the 6th, a numerous
and respectable meeting of the company of Reform -sat
down to an excellent dinner, provided for the occasion,
with Radical beverage, at the Union Rooms. Mr. Wm.
Booth in the chair."
" Charlestown, near Ashton-under-Line, a numerous
and respectable company, both male and female, of Mr.
Hunt's friends, to celebrate his birth-day."

23
" Blackburn.— On Tuesday, the 6th, upwards of loo
friends to Reform sat down to a sumptuous dinner in ho
nour of the birth-day of Henry Hunt, Esq. The occasion
on which they were met seemed to infuse more than an
ordinary spirit of enthusiasm, though of that it is well
known the brave people of Blackburn were never defi
cient. Mr. Cragg in the chair. A similar dinner-party
assembled in another part of the town, which was nearly
as numerous as the above. Concord and union was the
order of the day, and the whole of the proceedings did
honour to the birth-clay of Mr. Hunt, to the Radicals of
Blackburn, and to humanity."
Bradford. — Mr. Mann writes me word that a nu
merous company of Reformers assembled and dined to
gether to honour my birth-day, on the 6th; and what is
still more gratifying, he informs me that tliey also formed
a branch ofthe Northern Union.
Holbeach. — Also that the Radicals Of Holbeach did
the same.
Greenock (Scotland). — Mr. Shanks informs me that
a number of my friends dined together to celebrate my
birth-day, on the 6th instant.
" TO HENRY HUNT, Esq.
" Dear Sir, Greenock, Oct. 15, 1821.
" We have great pleasure in being enabled to inform'
you of the adoption and success of your plan of union and
co-operation in this town. Soon after its developement
appeared in your Memoirs, we ordered five hundred copies
to be printed and circulated, and the result has been, that
upwards of three hundred have already joined the Union.
But our hopes are not confined to this number. Where-
ever our influence extends, no zeal shall be wanting in
warmly recommending a plan, which, if generally acted
upon, promises more national good, with less possible in
convenience to individuals, than any thing that has yet
been devised. And we have much satisfaction in reflect
ing, that we have been instrumental in directing the at-

24
tention ofthe Paisley Reformers to your patriotic exertions,
and you will ere long have an address from them, declara
tive of their sentiments, accompanied with their subscrip
tion, in aid ofthe humane cause in which you have been
lately engaged. It was a happy thought, Sir, which led
you to devise the means of turning the weapons of cor
ruption against herself, and thus to show to the world that
her strength consists in weakness ; that she is in fact most
vulnerable in the place where she esteems herself im
pregnable. We trust that there is yet as much public
spirit in the country as to realize your expectations in
their fullest extent, and that all but those who have an
interest in misrule and oppression, will cordially and zeal
ously unite for this great purpose. No power on earth
can arrest the progress of knowledge. And it is neces
sary only to know what justice is, and to have it enforced
upon the attention, in order to act upon it. The triumph
of constitutional principles, and of the deductions of rea
son over corruption and brute force, may be slow, but it
is certain and inevitable. It may be possible for the
tools of a corrupt but declining cause, to procure out of
a population of many millions a few wretches, who are
wicked enough to sabre and shoot their unoffending fellow
countrymen, while peaceably met to consider their griev
ances, and to petition for redress ; and it may also be pos
sible for a profligate ministry to return the thanks of their
sovereig-n for the act, without the facts ofthe case being
known to him ; the policy of such measures may be com
mensurate with the intelligence of men in power, and in
strict accordance with their moral feelings ; but when
such ave the combatants, when truth, justice, and the im
prescriptible rights of Englishmen are attacked by the
sword, it is the conflict of mind with matter ; and who
can, be doubtful of the issue ? Wickedness like this only
establishes the necessity of Reform the more clearly, and
disseminates that opinion the more widely. Injustice and
violence have in their very nature the elements of their
own destruction, and it is consolatory to the friends of
Reform to perceive that their enemies have little else to
oppose to their claims.
" In compliance with your recommendations we ordered
Mr. Saxton to send us the Manchester Observer, and it is
with pleasure we inform you that there are now in cir
culation among our friends here four copies of that excel
lent paper. On the evening of the 6th instant, a number

25
>jf your friends, who are also the friends of that cause with
which you have identified yourself, met in the White Hart
Inn here to celebrate the anniversary of your birth. After
partaking of a dinner, limited in expense according to
your suggestion, ' Health and long life to Henry Hunt,
Esq. the intrepid Advocate ofthe People's Rights, and that
he may be conducted in triumph from the Bastile to the
senate,' was drank with the most enthusiastic applause.
Many other loyal and patriotic toasts were given during
the course of an. evening spent in a manner the most gra
tifying to all present ; but as it is intended to transmit a
full accountofthe proceedings to the Manchester Observer,
we will not detain your attention any longer at present to
the subject. Wishing you all the consolation which con
scious rectitude can afford to the victim of legal oppression,
" I remain, for your friends in Greenock,
" Your humble servant,
"JOHN SHANKS."
ADDRESS FROM THE INHABITANTS OF BIR
MINGHAM TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
"It is with mingled feelings of grief and indignation,
that we the Inhabitants of the town of Birmingham, thus
presume to convey to you our expressions of heartfelt con
dolence, to sooth, as far as weare able, the miseries which
a base and relentless system has doomed you to endure.
" As we are, in some degree, aware ofthe dreadful suf
ferings you are compelled to undergo, we flatter ourselves
it will afford some consolation to your mind to learn, that
in this great and important town, (once the seat of indus
try, happiness, and joy) there are thousands who feel sa
tisfied that nothing can rescue them from the awful state
of misery and degradation to which they, in common with
their countrymen, are reduced, but the establishment of
those immutable principles of justice, of which you have
been the constant, zealous, and fearless Defender, and for
advocating which, you have been consigned, by the harpies
of corruption, to experience the dismal and dreary horrors
of a Boroughmonger's dungeon.
" When we review the black catalogue of crimes com
mitted by the same faction which condemned you to a
long and solitary confinement, the severity of your sentence
no longer remains a matter of surprise. That detestable
faction incessantly pants for your heart's blood ; and as
we are well acquainted with the implacable malice which
10 D

26
our enemies bear towards every semblance of British»Li-
berty, we are fearful, lest further measures which have
occupied our attention, should be realized ; which God n
his goodness avert !
" It is to us a source ofthe greatest sorrow, when we say,
that to sympathize with you in your misfortune is all we are
now capable of. Alas ! the beings who compose the greedy
Aristocracy of the country have torn from us every co m-
fort that renders life a blessing. Their cruel Corn-laws —
their Bank-protection Acts— the maintenance of their Stand
ing Army in time of peace— their enormous Sinecures and
Pensions — and their intolerable system of Taxation, have
succeeded in completely stopping up the channels of our
commerce — ruined our trade, and brought us into a con
dition that beggars all description; and did not hope sup
port us in the expectation, that the period was not far
distant when the Constitutional Liberties of England will
be firmly established, we should be tempted to consider
ourselves the most miserable creatures upon the habitable
globe. " We beg to assure you, that the sanguinary event
which paved the way to your Bastile, has made an im
pression upon our hearts, that can never be obliterated, so
long as memory holds a seat in the human intellect. The
recollection of that event chills the blood in our veins —
fills our minds with horror, and fires the heart with indig
nation against its inhuman perpetrators. But oh ! what
words can adequately express our abhorrence ofthe Mem
bers of that Administration, who by the sanction of such
atrocious and diabolical crimes, have covered themselves
with indelible infamy? It is, however, a satisfaction to re
flect, that the historian who will hand down their names
and their conduct to the deserved execration of posterity,
will not fail to dwell with admiration and gratitude on
that inflexible integrity, that manly independence — and
that hatred of oppression, which have characterized your
invaluable life.
" That the GOD OF JUSTICE may hasten the day
when the doors of your prison shall fly open, and you be
liberated, to witness the triumphant reign of those inherent
principles for which you have so nobly contended, is the
prayer of " Your ever grateful Countrymen."
November 20, 1821. Signed by 8,000 Names.
These demonstrations of kindness to me, and devotion
to that cause which I have so long espoused, and for

27
which I am suffering- incarceration in this Bastile, makes
the lying catiff of the Courier writhe again, You my,
friends, have made the cowardly cur show his teeth once
more. The Courier and Bull will call this " disgusting
egotism." The poor devils, Mudford and Theodore Hook,
the editors of these papers, must obey their masters. I
pity them ! But the editor of the Times would either
praise or abuse me, the Devil, or any one else, if he
thought it would sell his paper. I despise him !
To attempt to offer you thanks adequate to my feelings,
would be in vain ; therefore I can only say, that the best
return I can make you will be to persevere steadily and
resolutely in the same straight-forward, upright course of
public duty; to continue the same inflexible advocate of
Universal Suffrage and vote by Ballot ; the same stea
dy friend of equal Justice; the same zealous friend of
Freedom, both civil and religious : and, in fact, the same
unceasing defender of the just rights of the whole people?
against the tyrannical usurpation of the few. Without
looking to the right or the left, 1 will endeavour to secure
your esteem and confidence by the same means that I have
obtained tbem.
But to the gallant, liberal, brave, and kind-hearted Re
formers of Bolton, something more is due from me Their
generous devotion surpasses all tbat I ever experienced
from the people of any other town. This warm-hearted
enthusiasm commenced the first time I ever entered Bol
ton, when I passed through it as the Boroughmongers'
prisoner, under military escort, in my road to Lancaster
Castle, and it has been continued up to the present hour.
My own heart teaches me to be grateful; but I must call
upon you, my friends of Bolton, to teach me how to make
amends for your individual kindness and devotion. Say
the word, and I will risk my life to serve you ! The
splendid specimens of your industry and talent, which you
have presented to me, shall be publicly exhibited as a
lasting monument of the useful character ©f Radical in
genuity, and as a notorious mark of the infamy of those
slothful Drones who have impudently dared to brand
you by the degrading epithet of " the swinish multitude"
(ofthe pensioned Burk), the " lower orders" of the de
scendant of a Scotch pedlar, and the still more im
pudent assertion of the mushroom-spawn of the Green
room, that the Radicals were a " low, degraded crew."
If the mechanical and operative Radicals will aid and
assist me, 1 will undertake, by this day twelve month,

28
to Open an Exhibition in the Metropolis, in ho
nour of their talent, skill, and industry. I have
already got enough to surpass and eclipse Miss Lin-
wood's exhibition of needle-work in Leicester-square.
The Radicals have almost all honoured me with the
title of the Champion of their political rights ; 1 now
voluntarily offer myself as the Champion of their talent,
their skill, and their industry. 1 therefore call upon the
Radicals of every class, of every trade, of every manufac
ture, and every profession, to come forward to aid this
Radical national undertaking, by preparing, each in his
separate branch, correct specimens of their art. This
shall be an institution dedicated to the industrious and
enlightened Radicals of England, Scotland, and Ireland,
to uphold the dignity and character of human nature.
We will teach these slothful titled drones, and these
mushroom Right Honourables, that the Radicals are not
such a " low, degraded crew" as they would represent
them. If you will assist me in this task, we will give
them an ocular demonstration that all the wealth of the
nation consists of the labour and talent of the useful or
working classes; and that all the luxuries which the
wealthy enjoy are produced -by these useful classes, which
they insolently call the " lower orders." This will be a
grand national, as well as a Radical, institution. What
shall we call it ? Let it be " Hunt's Radical Museum,"
consisting of specimens of native acquirements in the arts
and sciences. Let ns never drop the significant word
Radical, it is so much better than the Boroughmongers'
old bugaboo of Jacobin.
Now a word as to the progress of the Great Northern
Radical Union (and here again let us never drop the word
Radical). At all the meetings that were held on my
birth-day, which 1 have partly enumerated, 1 understand
that the plan proposed by me was generally adopted, and
entered upon with the greatest ardour and spirit. I am
delighted to find that it is approved of by the brave and
intelligent Radicals of Scotland. I beg the attention of
the reader to two letters which I shall send to be pub
lished in this Number, one from Mr. Shanks, of Greenock,
and the other from Mr. John Butler, of Bolton, the wor
thy and true-hearted Radical who wove the beautiful
counterpane. I had, I thought, paid due, attention to the
subject, and well dig-ested my plan, and I really thought
it as perfect as simple ; but I should be an obstinate ass

29
indeed if I refused tojisten to reason, or shut my eyes to
conviction. I am so thoroughly convinced ofthe improve
ment suggested by Mr. Butler, that 1 hesitate not to re
commend it for immediate adoption. The alteration will
be this: — Instead of five Trusty Men under one Centu
rian, there will be only two, one to each fifty, instead of
one to each twenty. The sections to consist of ten instead
of twenty, so that they may meet at each other's houses
once a week. This will be a means of avoiding public-
houses, unless it be once a quarter, when I would by all
means recommend the whole hundred, with the Centurian
and the Trusty Men, to meet, and perhaps take a frugal
meal together. Great public meetings out of doors are
now prohibited by law ; therefore we should meet the
more frequent in small parties within doors, but even at
these quarterly meetings, where it can be so arranged,
any where would be better to meet at than a public-house.
The whole plan is intended to be elective. For instance:
ten men form themselves into a section ; they agree to
meet once a week at each other's houses ; when assem
bled they elect .one of the ten as chairman or leader for
the night, who is to be the collector for the week ; as soon
as five sections are formed, they meet and appoint or elect
a Trusty Man ; as soon as ten sections are formed they
elect a Centurian, who, together with the two Trusty
Men, are to hold their office for one year, unless in cases
of misconduct, and in that case a special meeting may
be called, provided a requisition be signed for the pur
pose by not less than twenty of the members, to take into
consideration the propriety of discharging the old one
and electing a new one. At these rational and domestic
meetings of tens, I would propose, for the inculcating of
sobriety and morality, to make it a fine for any man who
came intoxicated to the meeting, say threepence or six
pence ; also a small fine to be inflicted for swearing dur
ing the time of meeting (two hours) ; but this must be left
to the discretion of each section to say what the fines shall
be. I shall say more upon this subject in my next Num
ber, which will be published on the 14th of December, as
I have a great deal to say which I shall not find room
for in this address ; and as my time grows short, I pro
pose to publish a Number every fortnight instead of every
month, while I remain in this Bastile.
Now, while 1 have yet room, a word or two on Gaol
politics. On Saturday, the 10th, Mr. Hardy, our new

30
keeper, was inducted into his office, and introduced to me in
form by the Sheriff and Magistrates ; and the amiable and
lamb-like Governor, Bridle, was dismissed with as much
disgrace upon his shoulders as ever discarded servant bore
away with him. Ihe inhabitants of the town testified
their joy at getting quit of such a man, by ringing a
merry peal upon the church bells, and some of them even
proposed to treat him with a ducking before his de
parture ; but prudent advice caused them to forego their
intention. The day he left us, a scamping chap, one
of his hangers-on, was discovered by me during my walk,
taking apian ofthe factory, 1 rang my bell and informed
the taskmaster of it, who ordered him away: sometime
afterwards 1 found him at the same employment, and 1
remonstrated with him and asked to know what his object
was in taking a plan of the gaol from which he and his
relations were expelled. The gentleman becoming rather
pert, I asked him if he was taking a plan to enable him
to come and rob it some night. This passed off, and
after he was gone I thought no more about it. On Mon
day morning the 12th, the gaol was inundated with the
flood, and for some time no one could, I understand, come
to the lodge, unless it was on horseback or in a boat. On
Thursday morning the 15th, I was informed that the
alarm bell which had been hung for my accommodation
when I first came here, in case of fire, or illness in the
night time, was going to be removed by an order made by
the Magistrates before Bridle left the gaol. As this ap
peared to me te be a very mysterious and suspicious move
ment, 1 wrote a letter to one of the Visiting Magistrates,
requesting that it might remain till I had an opportunity
of seeing him, but as there was no time for me to receive
an answer before the removal would have been accom
plished, I wrote to Mr. Hardy earnestly requesting that
the bell might not be removed till I had an opportunity of
seeing ihe Magistrates, to expostulate with them. Mr.
Hardy instantly complied with my request, and the bell-
hanger was sent away, and the bell remained, unknown
to any one but ourselves. About nine o'clock I was
alarmed with the falling of slates or tiles from the roof of
the building, which appeared to me to be some one en
deavouring to enter my apartments in that way. I pro
ceeded up stairs with the red-hot poker, with the inten
tion of giving them a warm reception, but when I entered
my room a volume of smoke and flames were passing

si
close to my bed-room window. The far-famed factory
was on fire, which had broken out within ten feet of my
bed-room. This was the first time 1 had occasion to ring
my bell in the night-time since it had been erected, near
ly a year and a half. It was some time before the bell was
answered, and I runj again ; ultimately I was released,
when the flames were raging against the wall and roof of
my apartments. Providentially the walls were saturated
with the wet, and the hand of Providence also caused the
wind to change, or the whole of this Bastile would have
been burnt to the ground. The factory was a heap of
rubbish, with nothing but the bare walls remaining, by
twelve o'clock. The taskmaster being alarmed with the
ringing of my bell, ran to ring the gaol alarm bell, but the
first lime he pulled the rope it came tumbling down to the
ground, and the bell was mule. These facts speak for
themselves. I have no doubt upon my mind, after mature
reflection, but this fire was caused by the hand of an incen
diary, who intended to have roasted me alive in my cage.
Daniel was cast into the lions' den, but the Lord was with
him and he perished not. I have had a miraculous escape!
The Times and the Courier call this egotism. The
Lord preserve me from poison ; but, although I fear
naught, yet I shall never consider myself safe, while any
of Bridle's gang remain here, and particularly while his
chief agents -have any power of access to me, and
that my food necessarily passes through their hands.
This factory was a school and nursery for laziness, and
if it had been burnt down ten years ago, or had never been
built, it would have been a saving of a thousand a year to
the county-rate payers. — Well, I hope the Magistrates will
find some employment for the Chaplain now, and make
him do something towards earning his 120?. a year.
For what he has done hitherto he would have been
most liberally paid with 50?. a year. This gentleman
is of humble origin, and I suppose learned to read at a
ma'am's school, where he acquired a twang which has
always stuck by him. To be sure, if what the prisoners
tell me is true, the Church Service here is quite a mock
ery of religion. They describe the reading and preaching
of the parson to resemble the noise of a " bee in a honey-
pot," which even lulls the officers to sleep, and the whole
of the prisoners are amused with the snoring of Charles
Marshall: and it becomes a question amongst them which
is the most edifying, the preaching of the Chaplain or the

32
grunting of Mr. Deputy Turnkey. Surely the Magistrates
will have something more than this for 120?. a year. In
my next I will give an account of the way in which Sir
Charles Wolseley was conducted through Birmingham,
onhis return home from Abingdon. — Also the list ofthe
Yorkshire Jury, and an account oiAhe Election of Co
roner, which is raging in this town. The British Lion has
thrown off his trammels. He has shaken his mane, and is
majestically stalking abroad in the beautiful and fertile val-
lies of Somersetshire. I am my beloved Friends,
Your's faithfully,
H. HUNT.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
I have received letters from the prisoners in almost all the Gaols
in the kingdom, thanking me for the exertions I have made here, and
the consequent exposure and dismissal of the Gaoler, which, they in
form me, has tended greatly to the amelioration of the discipline and
the restrictions in those Gaols, all the Gaolers in the kingdom having
been alive to this inquiry. To those who have written from Durham,
Horsham, Maidstone, Bristol, and other places, requesting informa
tion how to proceed to bring their Gaolers to j ustice, I must take leave
to refer them to my Memoirs, published by Dolby, 299, Strand ; also
to the Evidence taken before the Commissioners in this Gaol, publish
ed in boards by Dolby ; also to the " Peep into Ilchester Gaol," pub
lished by him. These can be purchased for a few shillings, which
will be the cheapest and only means of obtaining the necessary infor
mation. I must take leave to offer my Correspondents one word of
advice, which is, by no means to undertake or attempt any inquiry
into Gaol abuses, without good proof, and without a resolution to go
through with it without fear or favour ; but, above all things, not to
trust their cases in the hands of any attorney. These men are, nine
teen times out of twenty, tools of the Magistrates, and will betray them.

Printed by T. Dom v, 299, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
-o©S©c=-
Ilchester Bastile, 8th day, 24th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
December 10, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
I concluded my last address to you by promising that I
would in this Number give you some account of the
contested election for a Coroner of this county, at
that time carrying on in this town, which is the county
town of Somersetshire. One of the Coroners having died
(not the famous Squire Caines, who was examined before
the Ilchester Gaol Inquiry), some half dozen candidates
offered themselves. This being a matter of very little in
terest, it excited but a very small portion of my attention
till the day of election. Although my interest and sup
port was earnestly solicited for two of the candidates, I
declined to take any part in the proceedings ; but, on the
day when the election commenced, it being communicated
to me that some of the Magistrates were taking a very
active, and, as I considered it, a very unjustifiable part, on
the behalf of one of the candidates, I made it my business
to ascertain the truth of this information. The Deputy of
the Under Sheriff (for there was neither Sheriff nor Under
Sheriff present) declared the shew of hands to be in fa
vour of the Magisterial Candidate, a Mr. Gaye, of Dunster,
11 A

Printed by T. Domv, 299, Strand.

situated at the very extreme end of the county, upon the
borders of Devonshire. A poll was demanded by the
friends of the other candidates. It got wind that Sir
Thomas Lethbridge, one of the county Members, of hair-
standing-an-end memory, had been heard to canvass the
Magistrates for Mr. Gave, at the Bridgewater Sessions;
and, as usual, when any thing is to be effected against the
people, both Whig and Tory Magistrates now combined
to carry their man. Some of the respectable freeholders
of the county came open-mouthed to me, loudly condemn
ing this sort of dictation, saying-, that all the Magistrates'
Clerks in the county were making an active canvas
amongst the little freeholders in their separate districts ;
and, as one of them justly observed, we all know what
the canvassing of a Magistrate's Clerk means — it is no
thing more or less than a command to vote for their can
didate, or to take the consequence the next time they
have any business to call them to the Petty Sessions.
Another party came in with the information that one of
these Magistrates, who is a great Turk, and bears the
character of an overbearing tyrant in his neighbour
hood, had been openly threatening that he would send up
five hundred freeholders the next day, and overwhelm
the opposition of the little freeholders. One of my friends
said, this is too bad ; let the Magistrates appoint their
own Gaolers and Turnkeys, the law empowers them to
do so ; but after what came out upon the Gaol Investiga
tion as to the inquest upon poor Ford, 1 think it is high
ly necessary that the freeholders should appoint an honest
man, who is not a tool of the Magistrates, as a Coroner,
to hold the inquests in the Gaols, in case of the sudden death
of any of the prisoners. Upon this sensible suggestion, a
hasty hand-bill was drawn up by me, calling upon the
freeholders to " look to themselves," directing their at-

lention to the enormous height to which the county-rates
had attained before the Ilchester Gaol Investigation, and
the sudden fall of those rates, full two-thirds of their
amount, since the Investigation, and reminding them of
my admonition and advice at the county meeting held at
Wells in the year 1811, warning the farmers of that ruin
which is now come upon them, and urging them to think
and act for themselves, in spite of Magisterial dictation.
This bill was printed and circulated amongst the free
holders, without allusion to any particular candidate ; but
it had its weight, as will hereafter be seen.
During the first day of the election 1 had nearly two
hundred and fifty visitors — the freeholders from all
parts of the county, to pay their respects and to shake
the " Captive of Ilchester" by the hand, congratulating
me upon my miraculous escape from the fire, and offering
up prayers for my future safety. In the morning I under
stand hundreds were refused admission, and went away
without having an opportunity of seeing and thanking
me for my public exertions, and particularly, as they all
said, for causing the investigation into the abuses of this
gaol, which had produced such salutary effects far and
near. The order still exists prohibiting the admission of
more than four visitors to see me at one time ; what was
the cause I know not, but at last this rule was set quite at
naught ; some got orders from the Magistrates, others
got orders from the Sheriffs deputy, and others would
not take a denial ; and for hours my room and yard were
absolutely crowded ; the fame of the beautiful counter
pane had spread far and near, and all wished to be gra
tified with the sight of it, and all were gratified : it was
kept open in my room the whole day ; sometimes I had
twelve or fourteen in my room at a time, while twenty
or thirty were waiting in the yard to be admitted as soon

as the others had departed. Some brought me presents
of cheese, some of game, some of wild fowl, some of
poultry, some of hams, and some of pickles ; all appear
ed pleased to see me look so well and so cheerful, and all
expressed their admiration at the beautiful workmanship
ofthe elegant counterpane, quilt, clogs, and shoes, (which
latter, by-the-bye, I have received from the worthy Jour
neymen Shoemakers of Bolton,) they shall be preserved
for the museum. I also beg to acknowledge the receipt
of a beautiful Marseilles waistcoat, sent from a few poor
Weavers of Manchester ; and a handsome white hat from
a Lady at Middleton.
I have no doubt but the Ministers sent me here — first,
because they knew that it was one of the most unhealthy
situations in the kingdom ; next, because they thought I
should be far, far away from all my friends. Oh ! how I wish
hobbling Best could have been in my room to have wit
nessed the kindness evinced towards me by the freeholders
of this county; and it would have done him no harm to
have heard the execrations and curses that were bestowed
upon those that sent me here. When the poll closed in the
afternoon, Mr. Uphill, a neighbouring surgeon and apothe
cary, was at the head, having a slight majority in his favour,
so that the Magistrates' cock stood second-best only. The
next morning, a Gentleman from Yeovil called upon me
on business, and as he was totally unconnected with the
election that was going on, I listened with great atten
tion to the following information : — He said, " the Magis
trates, he understood, were making great exertions for
Mr. Gaye ; that at Yeovil, Mr. White, the clerk to the
Bench of Magistrates, had been making an active canvas
amongst the glovers. He understood that he asked each
voter to poll for Mr. Gaye, which, if he declined, he then
requested that he would not poll for any other person ;

if he did, he would offend Mr. Goodford and the Magis
trates." As this came from a relation ofthe party alluded
to, I have not the slightest doubt of its truth, particu
larly as my informant had no idea that I felt at all inter
ested for either of the candidates ; but, whether true or
not, this, coupled with what I had before heard, deter
mined me in the course I would take. I had been asked
my opinion, by a great number of the freeholders,
the first day, which I considered the most eligible
candidate, but I declined giving any opinion: many
said they would vote against Uphill because Dr. Col
ston proposed him, adding, that it was impossible any
good should come from any person that he recommended :
but it was suggested, that it was possible that the said Dr.
Colston might have been employed by the great body of
the Magistrates to propose Mr. Uphill, that he might be
thereby deprived of all chance of becoming the popular
candidate. But in spite of this damning- circumstance the
feeling appeared to be in favour of Mr. Uphill, therefore it
was at once determined that he should receive the support
of the independent portion of the freeholders. Another
hand-bill was issued, denouncing all magisterial dictation,
and calling upon the freeholders to come forward and as
sert their rights, by opposing this combination of Magis
trates. My son started to canvas for Uphill against the
Magistrates, and by Saturday they, brought in an over
whelming force from Glastonbury. Crowds of voters came
down to me, and said, " Sir, we have been and poll'd for you."
By the following Monday such a spirit was roused as I
never before witnessed at a County Election. Mr. Gaye's
agents found the spirit was raised upon the presumption,
whether true or false, that he was supported by the Ma
gistrates; a presumption which, three years ago, would,
to a certainty, have carried his election ; but the times are
altered, and, ridiculous as it may appear, yet it is a fact, that

Mr. Attorney Lee, the agent of Sir Thomas Lethbridge,
who attended the election forMr. Gaye, actually denounced
the Magistrates, and disclaimed any connection with them,
as a means of recovering some portion ofthe popularity;
but this declaration came too late ; and the Magistrates
were disclaimed by both parties ; which disclaimer, three
years ago, would have lost any man his election : but on
Tuesday night Uphill had a majority of 414 votes, and the
Magistrates' cock, with drooping wings, declined the con
test. This was literally a successful struggle of the little
freeholders against the arbitrary power of those who have
for ages ruled them with a rod of iron. The spell is broken ;
the British lion knows his power, and he will in future ex
ercise it. The freeholders are determined to follow up
the blows that they have given the monster, Corruption,
in this county. Yesterday, in pursuance of an advertise
ment which appeared in the public county papers, a pub
lic meeting and dinner was held at the Mermaid Inn, at
Yeovil, to celebrate the victory which the freeholders had
gained, by electing their candidate in opposition to that of
the Magistrates : Oliver Hayward, Esq. in the chair. I
understand the following toasts were drank, which I shall
insert as a specimen of the feelings of the farmers and
freeholders of the West of England.
* 1st. The King; and may his Majesty's Irish and Hanoverian heart
teach him not to be unmindful ofthe Rights of his English subjects.
2nd. Freedom of Election, the birthright of ever}' Englishman — three
times three.
3rd. Mr. Uphill ; and may he always be guided in the discharge of
his public duty, by the same upright and impartial spirit whicli animated
the Independent Freeholders of the county of Somerset to elect him
their Coroner— three times three.
4th. The 1978 Freeholders of Somersetshire, who convinced the over
bearing dictators of the county that they not only know their Rights, but
that they have the honesty fearlessly to exercise them— thi ee times
seven.

5th. The only remedy for the agricultural, commercial, and manufac
turing distresses of the country ; Landlords to lower their rents, Par
sons to reduce their tythes, and then join the people in demanding a
real Reform in Parliament, and a reduction of Taxation.
6th. May the sun never shine upon the palace of a tyrant, nor set
upon the cottage of a slave.
7th. Our fair countrywomen, the Ladies of Somersetshire, and may
they ever be blessed with beauty, and be adorned with virtue and pa
triotism — three times three.
8th. Henry Hunt, Esq. — three times seven.
9lh. Sir Charles Warwick Bampfylde, Baronet, and the emancipation
ofthe county of Somerset from Magisterial dictation and professional
influence. 10th. May the English Constitution be speedily restored, and become
in reality what it professes to be.
llth. The cause of Freedom all over the world — three times three.
12th. Alderman Wood, the faithful long-tried friend of the injurod
Queen of England, and the honest representative ofthe people — three
times three.
13th. The Patriots of Si ain and Portugal, who have abolished Ty
ranny, and established real Representative Governments.
14th. Lord Cochrane, and the brave fellows who are fighting for
Liberty in South America— three times three.
15th. Success to the cause of the Greeks— three times three : with
many other loyal and patriotic toasts.
The freeholders have established a union, and have
agreed to meet and dine together the first Monday in
every quarter. Their next meeting will be held at Pether-
ton, on the first Monday in January. Thus has a foun
dation been laid for rescuing this county from the thral
dom and bondage in which it has been held by a few great
families for ages past.
Now look back, my friends, to the patriotic toasts that
were drank at this county meeting of yeomen, farmers,
manufacturers, professional men, and half-pay officers,
who would be shocked at the idea of their being thought
Radicals ; and yet, all these toasts were received and

drank with the greatest enthusiasm. Read the fifth toast
attentively, my friends. The gentleman who presided in
the chair is a respectable and wealthy yeoman, who oc
cupies one of the finest estates in the kingdom, of his own,
whose income exceeds, in all probability, that of half a
score of our parson justices. This toast being drank, I
consider the highest compliment that could possibly be
conferred upon me ; this is the very language, the very
words that I used at the county meeting held at Wells,
in 1811 ; this is what I told the farmers at that meeting,
who had been canvassed to attend to vote against the
Address to be proposed by Mr. Hunt. I told them then,
that this was the only remedy to save them from that ruin
which is now come upon them, and they now do me the
honour and the justice to acknowledge this, and say, that
it is the only remedy for the distresses of the country ; and
still they would not be thought Radicals.
A mandamus was sent down to compel the Corpora
tion of Ilchester to choose a Mayor or Bailiff, after which
a feast was given, on Thursday last. At this feast the
Corporation drank the health of Henry Hunt, Esq. ; yet
they are not Radicals. They are every mother's son of
them Radicals to the back-bone, my friends, without their
knowing it. They disclaim the word Radical, yet their
every action proves that they know not its meaning. A
party ofthe Somersetshire freeholders, on the first day of
the election, seriously asked me the real meaning of Ra
dical. I instantly replied, a real Radical is an honest man,
who wishes to be governed by good laws instead of the
sword. Every man of them shook hands with me, and
swore that they were Radicals. Thus works the system,
and these very farmers, who have, as a body, been its
warmest supporters, now begin to turn round and are
become the loudest in their complaints against its over-

whelmi ng effects. Their brains, which ' have been as
muddled as the soil that they have cultivated, now begin
to grow clear, and they are ashamed of their former folly
and stupidity. " Oh, Sir," said one of them the other day,
" if we had followed the advice that you gave us ten years
ago, when you got a requisition signed to call us together
at a county meeting, to petition for Reform ; if we had
followed your advice then, things would never have come
to such a dreadful state as they are in now; but our land
lord, Squire  , and our Parson told us, what you
meant by Reform was a bloody revolution, to cut off the
King's head, as they did in France ; and that if we listen
ed to you, Buonaparte would come with all the French
troops, ravish our wives and daughters, rob us of our pre
sides, and then run us through the body with their
bayonets. Sir John Cox Hippisley," said he, " a cunning
old fox, told us to rely upon our landlords and the Ma
gistrates, and not to listen to you, and then all would
come about again in time ; but instead of coming about
again, it has gone on getting worse and worse ever since.
What do you think, Sir, will become of us, and how will
it all end?" This was a sweeping question, but I answer
ed it in the following way : — " Why, my friend, you tell me
that your landlord, the Parson, and the tax-gatherer, have
already eased your pocket of the fifteen hundred pounds
that you saved and laid by during the dear times ; take
my word for it, if you do not join heartily and honestly
with the Radicals in demanding an honest House of Com
mons, that the harpies will very soon have your stock ;
they will then -seize your household furniture ; then they
will take your clothes from your back. All this, I take it
for granted, you will bear patiently ; but when th^y can
get nothing else from you, they will begin to skin you
alive, that they may tan and sell your hide to make danc-
11 b

10
ing-pumps for their wives and daughters. When they be
gin this last operation, probably you will complain ; if so,
you may think yourself well off if you are allowed a bed
in the parish workhouse ; but if you kick or resent this
skinning, they will assuredly shoot you with the aid of
their hired soldiers, possibly composed of some of your
own family and neighbours : this, farmer, I take it, will
be the end of you ! ! !" As I went along with the recital of
what would be his fate, when I touched his favourite
stocks and his household furniture, I saw that he had an
ticipated this, and the tear glistened in his eye ; but as I
proceeded to read his fortune, he wiped it hastily away
with the cuff of his coat : I saw that his eye reddened
with anger, and before I had scarcely closed the catas
trophe, he jumped out of the chair where he was seated,
he pulled up the waistband of his breeches with both
hands, stamped his foot upon the floor, and, seizing his
cudgel, which he brandished in the air, swore a tremend
ous oath that he would not submit to be plundered of his
last shilling without making an effort to prevent it. He
d — d all Parsons, Tax-gatherers, Corn Bills, and Agricul
tural Societies ; declared that they were nothing but
bawds, pimps, and swindlers ; that he believed every
word I had uttered was true ; that they had actually
served several of his neighbours exactly as I had describ
ed, all but the skinning ; but in the place of that, they were
literally starving to death, and that it was high time to
look about them, or all the farmers would be in the same
situation. He became so violent, and vowed vengeance
so unequivocally, that it was with some difficulty that I
could pacify him ; however, he left me with a determined
resolution to join the Radicals, and send his son's resigna
tion in as a Yeomanry Cavalry-man the next day. Really
the Webb Halls, the John Elmans, the William

11
Ilotts, and the John Benetts, have wheedled these
poor fellows along from bad to worse, with false and vain
promises about the relief that would be obtained first by
Corn Bills and now by countervailing duties, and such
quack nostrums, that they are at length arrived at a state
nearly bordering upon desperation, and almost ripe to
follow the example of the dreadful retributionwhichisnow
so horribly practised in Ireland. If the farmers listen
much longer to the trash which is daily promulgated by
these agricultural fanatics , they will soon be left without
bread to eat. It seems the only way to John Gull's brains
is through his pocket and his belly. The distress is be
come universal amongst the little farmers, and it is fast ap
proaching the Yeomanry Cavalry ; and I shall not be
surprised before I leave this Gaol, if I hear of their mount
ing their half-starved horses and drawing their swords to
keep off the Tax-gatherers, Tithe Collectors, and Sheriffs'
Oflicers, with warrants to seize for rent. I have bought
a prime leg of mutton this day for 3 \d. per lb. My te
nant's son dined with me yesterday ; he brought me a
beautiful roasting-pig, and he informed me that his father
had twenty more equally good, but the highest price that
he was offered for them was a shilling each. At Lime,
in Dorsetshire, the other day, at a sale under a distress for
rent, a waggon, as good as new, with four good cart
horses and harness complete, were sold for less than twen
ty-seven pounds. The last lot of this description I pur
chased was in the year 1813 ; it cost me two hundred
and forty pounds. When I sold it off, about three
years after, in 1816, I got for it about one hundred pounds.
One of these gentlemen, which I have named above,
writes in the Sherbourn Mercury as follows : — " It is
heart-rending to reflect how much is, and has been, suf
fered, and how many worthy and industrious men have

1-2
been, and must be, ruined." This is now the crying lan
guage of a " Mr. William Ilott," and he is urging the
farmers and land-owners to come forward and join in
a combination and a conspiracy to raise the price of corn,
by petitioning, or, rather, by bullying the Parliament to
pass a law to impose forty shillings duty upon every
quarter of foreign corn that is brought into this country.
I do not recollect hearing that this tender-hearted Mr.
Ilott made any complaints about the suffering of the num
berless worthy and industrious men and their numerous
families, who were literally starved to death by the high
price of corn and provisions, during the late war in 1816
and 1817. Mr. Ilott does not seem to care about the in
evitable and^ wide-spreading ruin that must be produced
amongst the labouring poor of England, Scotland, and
Ireland, if this Starvation Act, which he recommends,
should pass. Asses as these fellows are, they from expe
rience know very well that such an Act will not benefit
the farmer, as it will only enable him to continue a Httle
longer to pay their rent, their tithes, and their taxes.
But, my worthy friends in the North, and, in fact, the Ra
dicals all over the United Kingdom, I most earnestly re
quest you to be upon the alert, and not to treat lightly the
nefarious and wicked plots of these agricultural conspi
rators. I believe if their plans are carried into effect, that
it will cause a civil war. Men will not lie down and
starve by hundreds without making an effort, a desperate
struggle, to relieve themselves. It is much better to be
shot and put to death at once, than to be starved to death
by inches ; therefore, take my advice, look well after the
movements of these agricultural incendiaries and conspi
rators. There will be a set of desperate gamblers and
fellows of this description meet together at Bath ; they
call themselves the Bath Agricultural Society; it shall be

J 3
my business to watch and expose their infamous conspi
racies to rob, to plunder, and to starve the people. I
have watched their motions for twenty years, and a more
nefarious set of sharks and impostors never disgraced
the face of the earth. I will still continue to watch their
motions. The gallant, true-hearted English Baronet, Sir
Charles Wolseley, is at liberty once more ; and what
have the Boroughmongers gained by sending him to
Abingdon for a year and a half? Has he ever once
cringed to them — has he ever asked for their pity or for
giveness ? Has he lost one friend amongst the millions
that venerate his virtues, and who honour his patriotism ?
Has he not rather added millions to the number who
would risk their Hves to serve him and to shield him from
harm ? He has nobly triumphed over his dastardly and
cowardly persecutors ! ! ! After he had left Birmingham
he passed on rapidly towards his beautiful mansion at
Wolseley Park, in Staffordshire ; and as he had arranged
to arrive there after midnight, he intended to escape all
public parade ; but when he arrived at Rudgeley, a small
town about two miles from Wolseley Park, about half-
past twelve o'clock at night, upwards of three thousand
persons were assembled to receive and to welcome him
home to the seat of his ancestors. The people of Staf
fordshire were not to be cheated out of their anticipated
pleasure of testifying their devotion to their honourable,
their brave, their patriotic neighbour. They received
him with joyful shouts that rent the air, in which a thou
sand torches were waving ; off went the horses, and, in
the most imposing manner, they proceeded on the road
to Wolseley, headed by a full band of excellent musicians,
playing the exhilirating tunes of " See the Conquering
Hero comes," " Scots wha ha' wi' Wallace bled," " Rule

14
Britannia," &c. As they passed along, the country was
illuminated with bonfires. They arrived at Wolseley
at two in the morning — the torches still burning — the band
playing, and the whole country illuminated by an immense
bonfire on the top of the beautiful hill in Wolseley Park
— both the inns at Wolseley Bridge illuminated from top
to Bottom — in fact, there never was a finer nor an honester
political feeling shewn upon any occasion in any part of
the kingdom. Upon being drawn up to the door of his
mansion, the gallant Baronet sprang from his carriage,
and embraced his amiable and lovely wife and children ;
he then returned, mounted on the top of his carriage, and
thanked the honest-hearted fellows for their attention,
&c. ; upon which they departed, delighted with having
performed a duty most pleasing in the eye of the whole
nation, with the exception of those who are preying upon
the vitals of an impoverished and starving people. Lady
Wolseley gave a ball to the Baronet's poorer tenants and
neighbours the next night, with plenty of true old English
hospitality, and a second ball the following night to the
richer tenants and some of the principal yeomanry of the
neighbourhood ; ninety sat down to a magnificent supper
prepared by the Baronet's cook, and the festivities were
kept up till six o'clock the following morning. Two
days after, the Marquis of Anglesea gave a buck-hunt to the
"greatest Captain of the Age," Duke of Wellington, who
was staying at his nephew's. Sir Charles went out to shew
these Waterloo heroes that he was not ashamed. It was
given out that the Duke was to be cheered when he came
up, and the Marquis almost begged the sportsmen for a
cheer, but it would not do ; our gallant friend, Sir Charles
Wolseley, was there, and he was the hero of that field.
He was greeted, congratulated, and caressed by almost
every man in the field ; and it was esteemed the greatest

15
honour of the day-rto have the gratification to shake the
worthy Baronet by the hand, while the " Great Captain"
was not taken any more notice of than a great calf would
have been. It was a struggle who could shew the g-reatest
attention and respect to the " new man," " the prisoner,"
the gallant Sir Charles. The public, the people, begin to
come to their senses ! ! ! Look at the worthy Baronet's
address to the Magistrates of Berkshire ; what a degrad
ing contrast has he drawn between the conduct of the
gentlemen of Berkshire, and that of the despicable wretch
ed minions of power here. How gratifying to the man of
honour — how humiliating to the slave of vindictive, low
bred feeling ! ! !
Sir Charles Wolseley, myself, Bamford, Johnson, and
Healey, were all sentenced on the same day, the 15th-of
May, 1820. Bamford, Johnson, and Healey, have been
at liberty these seven months ; I have never heard a word
of either of them, or from either of them since; it looks
as if they were ashamed of the lightness of their sentence
when compared to mine. Sir Charles, thank God, has
been at liberty a month. This kind-hearted, true Radical,
did not forget his brother, the " Captive of Ilchester," as
he passed through Birmingham, surrounded and idolized
by myriads of his admiring and applauding countrymen.
The gallant Sir Charles was not unmindful of his friend,
because he was left in captivity, to linger out another
long dreary twelvemonth, immured within the walls of a
pestilential Bastile. — No ; he made the old walls of my
prison-house reverberate his kindness. To tell you the truth,
my friends, the last six weeks here has been a most horri
ble punishment indeed to me ; in consequence ofthe con
tinual wet weather, I have not been able to obtain an hour's
exercise in the open air scarcely for a week together.
The old rotten walls are a mass of water, and the chilling

16
damp which they emit it is not possible to describe; none
but those who have felt it can have the slightest idea of
its baneful effects ; all my visitors complain,^and few es
cape its malignant influence. I do not know how I pre
serve my health under such appalling circumstances ; my
medical friends have apprehended the most fatal conse
quences, and I have twice been nearly falling a victim to
its deadly venom ; but, thank God, here I am, sound in
wind and limb, and never in better health in my life ; in
fact, I think my constitution, naturally excellent, is greatly
renovated lately ; if I survive three summers and two long
winters, in such a hell of hells as this, I believe I shall be
bomb proof against any thing, and I shall not fear to face
the pestiferous vapours of St. Stephen's, if any of my coun
trymen should think proper to send me there. I am sure
I shall make you laugh at a curious adventure that took
place in my yard last week. By accident, some business
called the Visiting Magistrates to pass it, just after there
had been a storm of rain ; one of these gentlemen, who is
severely afflicted with the effects of rheumatism, as I
sidled him into one of the pools of water that constantly
stand in my yard in wet seasons, exclaimed, " Good God*!
what does all this mean ?" I replied, " It means nothing
new, it is always the same in wet seasons, and it has not
been otherwise the last six weeks." 1 then pointed out
to him the state of the walls, which, although not half so
bad as they are sometimes, yet they were dripping with
wet. " Why," they both exclaimed, " this is too bad ; it is
enough to breed a fever ,• this is not a fit place for any
one to live in; this must be altered immediately." " But,"
added the gentleman who is afflicted with the rheumatism,
" I must be off ; I must go into your room, Mr. Hunt, I feel
the ill effects of it already ; if I had known the real state
of this place it should not have remained so a minute."

17
The gentleman had not remained in the yard more than a
minute or two, when 1 saw that it had an evident effect
upon him ; he shrugged up his shoulders, and the muscles
of his face were literally convulsed. He gave orders for
the pavement to be altered, to carry off the water, and a
coping to be put upon the walls, to carry off the drip im
mediately. I now learned, that in consequence ofthe re
presentations of the medical men, made before the com
missioners last June, the county surveyor had suggested
a plan for carrying the drip off these walls, instead of its
running down the sides and soaking into them ; but here
they have remained in statu quo ever since ; and here have
I been ever since, suffering the greatest privations, and
subject to the greatest inconvenience and danger ; for one
might as well venture into a fiery furnace, as remain any
time exposed to the damning influence of these walls, when
they are in the state which they now are, and in which
they have been the last six weeks. Here have I been shut
up in this, as the French would call it, frightful climate,
twenty months. I have written and published twenty ar
ticles upon the state ofthe walls and yards. A Committee
of Magistrates was sitting for two months to inquire into
the state of the Gaol, before whom I produced evidence of
the foregoing facts upon oath. The King's Commissioners
were sitting here nearly five weeks, before whom similar
evidence was produced, and deposed to by two physicians,
and other respectable medical men. I never failed to
point it out to the Magistrates, and expostulate with them
whenever I had an opportunity, and have suggested me
thods to remedy the' evil. Six months back the county
surveyor planned and directed what was to be done ; but
all would not dp ; nothing was done or begun, and nothing
was intended to be done, or ever would have been done,
if Mr. Goodford, the Magistrate, who unfortunately is a
11 c

IS
martyr to the rheumatism, had not accidentally come here,
and saw with his own eyes, and felt its deadly and noxious
effects. " Seeing is believing, but feeling is the perfection
of truth," is an old axiom. Well, there is to be a coping
now put upon the walls ; but all the mischief is done ; they
are soaked with wet from top to bottom, and, as not a
particle ofthe sun's rays ever shines upon them, they will
remain in the same horrid state, till the March winds
blow them dry ; and this job of coping, if it is to be done
by gaol labour, will be the greatest annoyance to me, and
most likely I shall be kept up to my ears in mortar almost
as long as I remain here, and after all, this remedy will be
worse than the disease. Magistrates, the new keeper,
and every one admit that these interior walls are so many
nuisances, and yet they have not the resolution to order
their removal, merely, 1 suppose, for fear of giving offence
to the fool rogue Bridle, who had them erected. So far
from this contributing to the safety of the Gaol, it is ex
actly the reverse, for, as they all communicate With the out
ward walls, they make so many step ladders to assist in the
escape of any prisoner who may choose to make the attempt ;
perhaps, on this account there is less safety in this Gaol
than in any prison in the kingdom. If I were the gaoler,
and had given a bond of 10,000?. to the Sheriff, and 1,000?.
to the Magistrates, to insure the safe custody of the prison
ers, I would instantly demand the removal of all the inte
rior walls that communicated with the outward wall, or I
would make the Magistrates and Sheriff responsible for the
safe custody of the prisoners.
Since I suggested the propriety of finding some employ
ment for, the Gaol Parson, besides preaching his audience to
sleep on a Sunday, I find that the Magistrates have taken
the hint. He is directed to attend two schools in the
Gaol — one of the gentlemen prisoners, and the other of

19
the lady prisoners — one hour in the day each. Well, this
is something towards his earning one hundred and twenty
pounds a-year of our money, brother county-rate payers.
This Reverend Gentleman works like a wire-drawer
of a Sunday. Besides serving the Gaol twice last Sun
day, he served Tentenhull Church, where he is perpetual
curate, which brings him in about 200?. a-year, and then
he rode whip and spur to save another flock at the parish
of Chilthem. Pretty sharp work this, you will say, my
friends, in these short days. He also acts as journeyman
parson to perform the weekly service in the borough of
Ilchester, for one of our Parson Justices, who is joint pa
tron of this delightful rotten borough with my Lord Dar
lington and Lord Huntingtower. Our Chaplain, it ap
pears, has enlisted under the banners of the latter ami
able Nobleman, who has bribed him with a good garden
and the offer of pasture for his cows. It is said that our
Solomon Justices objected to Bridle in consequence of his
interfering with borough politics ; but they have no ob
jection to a political Parson, who has already began to
meddle in matters that will keep him in hot water for
some time, he may depend upon it. This Reverend Gen
tleman contrives, I understand, to clear by his preaching,
and other odd jobs, about 400?. a-year, which is quite as
good as a thousand a-year was ten years back ; and yet
this Gentleman has a son educating at the Blue-coat Cha
rity School in London, I am informed.
When I said in my last Number " ihe Lord preserve me
from poison," I little thought an actual attempt had been
made to accomplish such a diabolical act. But it now
turns out that one of Bridle's gang actually tampered with
a biscuit-baker last summer, while the Investigation was
going on in this Gaol, to try an experiment of this sort
upon me ; but although the biscuit-baker was not to be

-20
bribed, I am not quite sure that some sort of slow poison
was not administered to me by some means or other.
During the whole of the Investigation, I daily laboured
under the most excruciating pain in my head, which
proceeded from, and was attributed by my medical at
tendants, to a disordered stomach, and I considered it
to arise from indigestion at the time ; but when I reflect
Upon all the circumstances, and the means that some of
the diabolical wretches had to administer slow poison, by
introducing it in my food, some part of which daily passed
through their hands, and when 1 remember that Mr. Shil
libeer, who occasionally took his meals with me, was also
attacked with a similar complaint of the head, which he
had never experienced befere in his life, and which we
attributed at the time to the extreme closeness and un
wholesome state of the atmosphere within the walls of the
gaol ; when I take all these facts into consideration, and
when I know the character of the abandoned villains
which were employed at that time, I could be very
easily persuaded that the attempt had been actually
made, but failed to have any other effect than that of
producing extreme nausea and debility of the stomach.
It has also come to my knowledge within the last ten
days, that another of these villains, a deputy turnkey,
employed about the gaol, has been making a propo
sition to shoot me with a pistol. Knowing as I do that
this gang are in constant communication with the dis
carded and disgraced Bridle, who has taken up his resi
dence at Bath, with one Smith, the editor of the Bath
and Cheltenham Gazette, (of whom I shall have to say
more at some future time) knowing these things, I find it
necessary to look sharp about me, and take care of what
food I partake. The conduct of this fellow who proposes
to shoot me, and who is one of the drunken electors of

21
Ilchester, and one of Bridle's prime ag-ents, I thought
proper to communicate to the Magistrates, who promised
to investigate the business ; but as it is driven off to some
future time, I applied to Mr. Hardy, who had forbid the
fellow coming near me, but here he remains in the Gaol
still. Bridle privately made a complaint against poor
Hobbs, the task-master, to the Magistrates. They assem
bled, and without bringing his accuser face to face to him,
and without hearing any evidence upon oath against him
(in his presence, at least,) they dismissed him with his
wife and seven children, who were turned out into the
street that very night, without a house to receive them or
a rag to cover them, or any money in their pockets to pur
chase or to provide any. But although this complaint has
been made against Mr. Charles Marshal, for proposing to
put a prisoner to death by shooting him, upwards of a
week, yet the gentleman is still snug in office, and struts
about like a lord o' the ascendant.
I have received several letters highly approving of the
plan of a National Radical Museum, which I hereby beg to
acknowledge ; also a ten pound bank-note from the Radi-
calsof Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It appears that some mistake
has arisen in this subscription not having come to hand
before, but I beg to assure the subscribers that not one
shilling has ever come to my hands, or to that of my pub
lisher or the committee, without its being acknowledged
upon the wrapper of my Memoirs, in the very next number
that has been printed. I have directed a correct list of
the Yorkshire " especial " jury to be published at the end
of this address. I am much obliged to Mr. Jackson, of
Hull, and to the other Gentlemen of Yorkshire who have
given me such valuable information upon the subject.
But I beg some friends to send me the particulars of
Chaytor, Chadwick, and the two Huttons. One of the

22
latter, who is a drunken fellow, I understand, swore that
he would attend and find me guilty the moment he was
summoned. One of the Jury has split. A challenge was
given, and an apology made during the time of their de
liberation. George Beswick, Esq. of Scarborough, acted
the manly part. It is a misfortune that he suffered the
cringing cock to wheedle him out of his opinion. But we
will have it all out in due time. Le* me urge you, my
friends, to persevere in your glorious undertaking to pro
mote the Northern Union, and look steadily on upon the
passing events of the day. I am sure that you will not
suffer yourselves to be made the dupes of the Whigs or
any other persons. Let us prepare for that event which
is fast approaching. I am, my beloved Friends,
Your's most sincerely,
H. HUNT.

TRIUMPHANT RECEPTION OF SIR C. WOLSELEY,
AND HIS WELCOME TO THE HOME OF HIS
ANCESTORS. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT AT BIRMINGHAM.)
Sir — I embrace the opportunity of forwarding to you
an account of the manner in which Sir C. Wolseley was
received in this town, upon his being liberated from the
fangs of his oppressors. My pen, however, is mute in at
tempting to describe the feelings that animated the inha
bitants on Wednesday last, upon learning that their
Wolseley would be with them in the evening. The
topic of conversation was, the manner in which they
should honour the arrival of their ' legislatorial attorney.'
Sir Charles was expected about eight o'clock: his car
riage with four beautiful horses, together with his two
sons, wearing white hats, as emblems of genuine Radi
calism, were in readiness to convey him to the mansions
of his ancestors. Half-past eight o'clock had passed and
the Oxford Coach had not reached its destination. As
the lateness of the hour increased, the number of people

23
and the interest excited by the desire to see the man they
honoured, increased also. Thousands of heart-beating
citizens were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the only
British Baronet who has ' dared to be honest in the worst
of times.' At length, about nine o'clock, the foe to op
pressors — the terror of despots — the fearless advocate of
his country's freedom, SIR CHARLES WOLSELEY,
arrived in Birmingham, after having suffered eighteen
months incarceration in the prison of Abingdon. Nothing
could exceed the enthusiasm of the people at this moment.
As Sir Charles alighted from the coach, he was welcomed
by the hearty congratulations of the assembled multitude.
Hats, bonnets, and handkerchiefs were waved triumphant
ly in the air ; and so great was the pressure to get a sight
of the worthy Baronet, that it was with considerable dif
ficulty a passage could be made for him to the door of the
Swan Hotel. ' Wolseley for ever !' was the shout which
vibrated on the ear like the sound of so many waterfalls.
Sir Charles ascended the high flight of steps in front of
the hotel, and silence being obtained, addressed the peo
ple in a speech, of which the following is a brief outline : —
" Gentlemen — I am happy to find myself again among
the faithful and constitutional Reformers of Birmingham.
(Cheers.) I am the person whom you made choice of as
your legislatorial attorney, and although I did not exer
cise the functions of that high office, by going within the
walls ofthe House of Commons, and there demanding that
this populous and patriotic town should be represented in
Parliament, rest assured, my friends, it was not because- 1
was afraid of doing so, but because circumstances proved
it would not be worth my while to waste my breath in
such a place. (Cheers, and cries of it would be of no use.)
Gentlemen, I was liberated from prison last night at
twelve o'clock, previous to which a most extraordinary
circumstance transpired, at least I fancy it extraordinary,
considering this is a Christian-like country, and, as we
are told, a land of freedom : — what 1 allude to is this — I
was bound for my good behaviour, myself in the sum of
One Thousand Pounds, and two sureties of Five Hundred
Pounds each (shame, shame) ; so that you see it is neces
sary I should be very cautious in my proceedings; how
ever, I do not intend to lock up my mouth so long as my
tongue remains in it. (Cheers and laughter.) Gentle
men, 1 will defend your liberties to the latest period of
my existence. (Huzsa! Wolseley for ever.) As I have

24
just observed, I am bound to be of good behaviour, though
I do not know what some persons mean by that term ;
nevertheless, I do know, that, in my mind, the good be
haviour of an Englishman consists in upholding the Rights
andrLiberties of his Country. (Bravo!) If I wanted a
stimulus to urge me forward in the cause at stake, I should
find it in the reception I have this evening experienced ;
but Jet me beg of you to believe that the branches of the
Tree of Liberty are too deeply grafted in my bosom ever
to be eradicated. ( We know it.) I am the same man as
I was before my imprisonment. (Bravo !) You see me
now, what I was then, and I am happy to find that you
also are the same men still, and I trust you will always re
main so. (We will.) Gentlemen, if 1 desert you in the
hour of need — if I leave you during the mighty struggle
for England's Liberty — if I commit any action that shall
make you dissatisfied with your ' legislatorial attorney,'
' take him behind the camp and stone him to death !' "
Such was the honest language of a British Baronet to
the people of Birmingham ; the most deafening plaudits
succeeded its conclusion. Sir Charles looked remarkably
well, and delivered his speech with great animation, dur
ing which every head was uncovered, out of respect to
this bold and generous hearted patriot. Shortly after
wards, the worthy Baronet, after again addressing the
people, calling upon them " to kick him out of Birming
ham when he neglected their interests," proceeded for
ward amid thunders of applause. The multitude follow
ed the carriage with astonishing- rapidity, which halted in
Dale-end, where Sir Charles a third time addressed the
people. The horses were now attempted to be loosed,
but in consequence of the Baronet's observation, that he
had been long absent from his family, and was anxious to
get home, promising at the same time to revisit Birming
ham very shortly, the object was given up, and the car
riage again started; but in Stafford-street he was met by
such overwhelming multitudes of people, that it was
found impracticable to force a way through. Sir Charles
here put his hand out of the window, and after shaking
hands with hundreds of the assembled inhabitants, again
exerted his eloquence to the following effect : —
" He was overjoyed at shaking hands with so many of
his brave countrymen and countrywomen, who, he was
convinced, were real sterling English people, and possess
ed real English hearts. (Cries of God bless you.) He

25
had one favour to ask of them, would they grant it?
(Cries of we will grant our lives ! ! !) There was an in
dividual whom he considered the bravest and most in
flexible patriot in existence, and who at the present mo
ment was languishing his life away in one of the pestilen
tial strong holds of his oppressors — he need scarcely say
he alluded to the Captive of Ilchester, HENRY HUNT.
(The applauses here were like succeeding peals of thun
der.) What I ask as a favour is, that three cheers be
given for Mr. Hunt. (Nine times nine distinct rounds
of applause were given!) You do yourselves infinite ho-
hour by this demonstration of your feelings. Mr. Hunt is
a man who will ever contend for your happiness and your
rights, and he will never suffer them to be violated with
impunity. By his conduct in bringing his gaoler to the
bar of justice, he has proved that nothing is too great for
him to undertake; and as he has been successful in that
mighty enterprise, I have only to add a prayer, that he
may meet with like success in his warfare in behalf of the
rights and liberties of old England."
The Baronet now yielded to the ardent solicitations of
the populace to draw his carriage, and who drew it, with
its illustrious owner, more than a mile beyond the suburbs
ofthe town, where it halted, and Sir Charles, after a fifth
time addressing the multitude in a most forcible and ener
getic manner, proceeded rapidly towards Wolseley Park,
which he reached at half-past one o'clock in tbe morning.
Thousands of people were collected from all the villages
within ten miles round his residence, to hail his arrival.
About two miles from Wolseley Park, the horses were
again taken from the carriage, and he was drawn by torch
light, amid the acclamations of the people of Staffordshire,
to the home of his ancestors.
Birmingham, Nov. Wth, 1621.

11

20

SIR CHARLES WOLSELEY, TO THE MAGIS
TRATES OF THE COUNTY OF BERKS.
on his quitting abingdon gaol, after an imprison
ment of eighteen months.
Gentlemen,
I cannot think of leaving your custody, without ex
pressing my just sense of the courtesy and liberality I have
received at your hands, during the period of which I con
sidered myself unjustly detained as a prisoner of war to
the Boroughmongers , by the assistance of their potent
allies, the informers, false swearers, special jurors, and
political Judges, of the ancient County Palatine of Chester.
Had it been my good fortune to have met an assembly of
my countrymen in the county of Berks, instead of that of
Cheshire, I should have escaped the privation of liberty
for the space of eighteen months ; and should have been
protected, as well as justified, in the exercise of what I
have been induced to consider were not merely the pri
vileges, but the rights, of an Englishman. I have,
however, been taught, that I walk and speak by sufferance
of a set of political adventurers , who have bound the an
cient aristocracy, and landed gentry of this realm, in the
same chain with the multitude ; so facetiously denomi
nated by a pensioned slave, the " swinish multitude :" an
epithet, which, out of mere decency, might have been
spared by a gentleman adventurer, who was himself about
to condescend to rob the hog-tub ! — Not having been ac
customed to the trammels, it was no wonder I fell into the
snare. I had been abroad during the period when the
meshes of the net had been considerably narrowed, and
had no conception that an English gentleman was obliged
to walk as cautiously as Frenchmen, before lettres de cachet
were abolished ; and before that strong hold of Gallic
despotism, the Bastile, had crumbled to pieces before the
awakened indignation ofthe people.
I know not whether I shall, even after my present school
ing, be able to walk between the ploughshares, without
burning my feet further ; as I yet feel an old English spirit
stirring in my bosom, which the fear of our Sovereign
Lords, tbe Boroughmongers, may not always sufficiently
master ; that whispers, I have the right, as well as the in
clination, to enjoy the practical blessings of our ancient
laws ; and to endeavour to assist my fellow-countrymen to

27
defend what of political good they have left remaining,
&nd to remove what of political evil has been unjustly im
posed on them. But, perhaps, I have been mistaken all
this while; and it may have happened, that the Borough
mongers have made an absolute conquest of the counties of
Lancaster, Somerset, Chester, and, perhaps, some others,
which have been heretofore governed by English law ; —
but which is now replaced by the judico-politico-military
legislation of the triumphant victors ! I am led to suspect
this, from the certain fact, that in Berkshire,, which I sup
pose yet remains subject to English law, 1 should have been
accused of no crime ! nor vindictively pursued for any ima
ginary offence ! — and this suspicion is the more natural,
from the different treatment experienced, by men accused
of the same criminal pursuit of the public good, in the
counties I have named, and that in which I have had the
good fortune to have been placed. In your care, I have
experienced only the evils attendant upon the judgment
ofthe Court. I need not say, how impatiently or indig
nantly I have borne the chains, which 1 consider have been
unjustly imposed. But I have to thank you, Gentlemen,
for not poisoning the darts thrown at me, with aggravated
torture, or barbing them with wanton cruelty. In the
difference of treatment between other sufferers and myself,
I perceive the distinction between men, who are solicitous
to soften the harshness of a necessary duty ; and those who
make their pretended duty a means of gratifying either a
barbarous disposition, or the worse feelings of a personal
animosity. If Somersetshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire,
were not as effectually separated from the benign influence
of English law, as if an earthquake had torn them from the
neighbouring country, and confirmed the separation by an
intervening sea ; how could it have happened, that the cap
tives of Ilchester, Lancaster, and Chester, could have been
treated with such unrelenting severity ; and the captive of
Abingdon with such liberality and respect ? The differ
ence is not less striking than the difference between En
gland and Algiers ! ! Nevertheless, however, look at the
conduct of these victims of magisterial vengeance ! Do
they tremble ? do they sink under their sufferings ? No !
they are Reformers ! they are Patriots ! and would sooner
rot in their dungeons, than complain ! They cry aloud,
however, for redress ! Ofthe brave, the intrepid " Captive
of Ilchester," to use the words of Thomas Northmore, Esq.
of Cleve-House, Exeter, in his late answer to those who-

28;
had invited him to a dinner, given at Manchester, on the
6th instant, on the anniversary of Mr. Hunt's birth-day ;
speaking of him, he says, " Who, for intrepidity, perse
verance, and ardent love of liberty and truth, has rarely
been equalled, never excelled ; Justice herself has received
a wound through his person : thank God ! that wound is
not mortal. 1 have visited this brave Patriot in his prison ;
and if one of the sights most pleasing to the Deity, is a
virtuous man, nobly strug-gling with adversity ; with that
sight have 1 been gratified at Ilchester, and my respect
for his character, immortalized as it is, by his late noble ex
ertions* in the cause of humanity, makes me deeply regret
an inability to accept the invitation. While I regret that
England should be disgraced by the conduct to which I
have alluded, I cannot but rejoice that there are yet En
glish Magistrates who are worthy of the name, and an
English county in which freedom and justice maintain
some portion of their ancient influence. — While I despise
those who have renounced the feelings which were once
the noblest characteristic of their country, I can honour
those who retain them. And I shall ever feel grateful
for an attention which rendered the loss of liberty the only
consolation it could Teceive."
Passing from personal to general considerations, may I
be permitted to remind you of p letter addressed by me
to the gentry of England, which probably stimulated the
attempt to intimidate me by persecution, from the further
discharge of what I felt to be an imperious duty — that of
awakening a class of individuals, who ought to be most
feelingly alive to the evils that threaten their country, to
a proper sense of their neglected duty. That letter has
been in part prophetic, and 1 fear its remaining anticipa
tions will be too fatally correct. 1 tremble to see that
the ancient aristocracy ; and the landed gentry, have lost,
by their unaccountable apathy, that respect among the

* It has appeared to me rather odd, that the Magistrates having so
good an opportunity during my abode in this gaol of satisfy ing them
selves all was right, I have not had the slightest question put to me
by any of them, as to what observations I might have made ; it shews
they are satisfied with their own ; I would advise them, however, to get
the " Ilchester Investigation," and if they read it with attention, I am
certain it will do them no harm, for it ought to be read by every Ma
gistrate in the kingdom.

29
people, and that influence over the public mind, which
rendered them so terrible to bad ministers, and so formi
dable to misjudging princes, in former periods. By with
drawing from .the people, they have become " Cyphers in
the grand account !" The ministry laugh at their impo
tent threats of rendering public delinquents responsible,
and smile atthe imbecile attempts made to dislodge them
from their injurious elevation. This I saw must be the
inevitable result. It was not the Whigs but the people
that were ever dreaded. When the Whigs represented
the public feeling, they borrowed the essence of power
from the public influence. Without it, they may possess
the plumes, but not pinions of the bird of strength. The
people, and the party against the people, are all the real
dis*inctions that can be known. A party against the
ministry, and not for the people, is as fanciful a chimera,
as the Centaur! The Whigs now resemble the fabled
suspension of Mahomet's coffin, — hanging midway
between power and popularity ! — not able to ascend to
the one, and not willing to return to the other ; although
the only confessed and apparent means of obtaining the
elevation which they so ardently desire.
Circumstances have varied a little since I last addressed
the gentry of England. It then appeared to me that their
fears, or their venality, would not suffer them to awake
from their apathy until they were not wanted! until their
proffered assistance would be mocked, and their tardy
acquiescence scorned, by those who had achieved the
work of reformation without them ! A worse fate, howr
ever, than this, seems now to await them. TL*ey will be
reduced so low, in the scale of degradation, that they will
be utterly unable to exert any of that salutary influence
which they once possessed ; and when squeezed like
oranges, they may be trampled on without any danger
that the worms will turn again ! The pressure of tax
ation now bears upon the landed interest. The fee-simple
ofthe estates of the landed gentry is said to be mortgaged
to the "Fund Lords;" and it is certain that the rents
of the land-owners are mortgaged to the poor-rates and
the taxes! and the collectors and parish officers are en
forcing their bonds. During the period of the public dis
tress, the farmers and their landlords smiled, alid looked
on, and passed by, like the Levite of old; and itis not sur
prising that the public should now look on, with as much
indifference, at the ruin of the agriculturists and landlords.

.30
The boroughmongers have thus accomplished their grand
object. They have divided that they might destroy; and
while the people remain divided, while one class rejoices
at, oris indifferent to, the ruin of the other, all will be
ruined in their turn, until some fatal convulsion will shake
the land to its centre, and all adventitious interests be
blended in one mass of confusion and destruction ! That
this final and necessary result of the Pitt system, and the
boroughmongering legislation, may be prevented, by fully
and completely returning to the land-marks of our ancient
law, is the earnest wish, but scarcely the hope of,
Gentlemen,
Your much obliged and obedient Servant,
CHARLES WOLSELEY.
Abingdon, Nov. 10, 1821.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
I am much obliged to the respectable Oculist who has, amongst
other precautions, advised me not to read and write by candle-light.
He little knows the nature of the vindictive and hard-hearted persons
that have the custody of me here. I am locked-up every night in so
litary confinement at five o'clock in the evening, at the same time that
the felons and convicts are locked-up. When he recommends that I
should pass my evenings in cheerful conversation with my family and
friends, he little thinks that the monsters have excluded my family and
friends after five o'clock. I beg leave to exclude the new keeper, Mr.
Hardy, from the slightest participation in this unmanly and vindictive
conduct: he knows that State Prisoners always saw their friends till
ten o'clock at Newgate. — I am very thankful for the game, wild-fowl,
&c. from various quarters ; it has been very acceptable, and it will be
particularly so for the next two months; as I expect part of my family
will be with me. But those who send me presents are requested to
put their names to it, or drop me a line. I must beware of poison,
and recollect the murders in Maidstone Gaol.

31
The names- of the Yorkshire Especial Jury who re
turned a verdict of Guilty against Henry Hunt, Esq. and.
four others, for attending a Public Meeting at Manchester,
on the 16th of August, 1819, to take into consideration
the best and most legal means to obtain a Reform in the
Commons' House of Parliament. Although this meeting
was conducted in the most peaceable manner, yet the per
sons attending it were illegally assaulted by an armed mi
litary force, by which sixteen persons were murdered and
upwards of six hundred badly wounded. Inconsequence
of this verdict Mr. Hunt was sentenced by the Court of
King's Bench to be imprisoned two years and six
months in Ilchester Bastile, and to give security for his
good behaviour for five years, in two thousand pounds bail :
especially chosen.
William Hall, Esq. of Hull, Foreman.
William Chaytor, Esq.
Thomas Parker, Esq. of Layton.
John HuttOn, Esq. of Marsh.
George Atktnson, jun. Esq.
Thomas Robson, Esq.
Timothy Hutton, Esq. of Clifton.
George Beswick, Esq. of Scarborough.
John Chadwick, Esq.
William Selby, Esq. TALE8MEN.
Septimus Bromby, of Sculcoats, near Hull.
George Addy.

32
A NEW SONG FOR THE BIRTH-DAY OF HENRY
HUNT, ESQ. SUNG AT THE OLDHAM DINNER.
[Tune — " Death or Liberty. ."]
O Liberty ! fair goddess bright,
Descend and join our humble lay,
In all thy splendour, shew thy light,
On this thy favorite's NATAL DAY.
Then each Briton's song will be,
Hail to HUNT and LIBERTY.
Yes, hail! — tho' sycophants deride,
And wily statesmen on thee frown,
Thou art each virtuous Briton's pride,
And Heaven will sure thy projects crown.
Then each Briton's, &c.
Tho' cowards sabres round thee gleam'd,
In British beauty's blood besmear'd,
Tho' wounds around thee gaping stream'd,
Yet e'en assassins thee rever'd.
Then each Briton's, &c.
Corruption trembles at thy name,
E'en from thy dungeon shrinks aghast,
There in thy fetters still the same,
The dauntless hero to the last.
Then each Briton's, &c.
Great champion of thy country's rights,
Accept a grateful nation's praise,
'Tis thy example that excites,
'Tis thou that giv'st reform its rays.
Then each Briton's, &c.
Thy great exertions in our cause,
Thy fortitude, thy many woes,
Thy injured country's broken laws,
Shall yet recoil upon its foes.
Then each Briton's, &c.
For short and transient is their day,
Vain minions of despotic power,
Their " baseless fabrics" melt away,
Before fair Freedom's genial shower.
Then each Briton's, &c.
While thine shall be a deathless name,
Hist'ry a wreath for thee shall twine,
With Hampden and with Sidney's fame,
With Tell and Wallace record thine.
Let each Briton now with me,
Drink to " Hunt and Liberty."
Oldham, Nov. 6th, 1821.

T. DotBv, Printer, 299, Strand, Lomlon.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastil*, 8th day, "4th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massache, without retribution or inquiry.
December 24, 1821.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Since I last did myself the honour to address you, we
have had two fires and two floods in this Gaol.
Within the last five weeks, this Bastile has been visited
with three fires and three floods. The Editor of
the Times may call this " disgusting egotism," for the
amusement of his readers, if he pleases, but that will
not alter the fact, that there have been three fires
in this same Gaol, within six weeks after the expul
sion of the old Gaoler; who, when he was discarded,
published a letter in his friend and associate Smith's
Bath and Cheltenham Gazette, and most of the county
newspapers, accusing the Magistrates of treachery and
desertion, and threatening to be revenged, in the follow
ing words : " The trodden viper will sting my Lords and
Gentlemen." Within three days after this, on the 15th
of November, the Factory was burnt to the ground, hav
ing mysteriously taken fire in the night, five hours after
all the persons had left it, within ten feet of my bed-room.
The Times will say, this was " accident." Egotism or not
egotism, it does not, it cannot do away with the fact.
12 A

T. Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand, London.

•I
On the eighth of this month, in the night, a fire oc
curred in the Wash-house of this prison, which merely
ended in the destruction of some linen belonging to Mr.
Hardy, the new keeper. No doubt the Times will say
that this was also " accident?' He may call it egotism,
but that will not do away with the fact.
On Saturday night, the 15th of this month, just as it
was dark, and all the prisoners were locked up, and I
was taking my last turn in the Factory-yard, I heard the
cry of " Fire ! the Laundry is all on fire!" I rushed to
the spot, and reached it just in time to see it extinguished.
The vigilance of the Taskmaster and the other officers, as
well as that of Mr. Hardy, had been roused to a very
active scrutiny, in consequence of the two former " acci
dents ;" and although it was not discovered till the place
was in flames, yet fortunately it was discovered in time
to give way to the most prompt and resolute application
of a quantity of water, which providentially happened to
be near at hand. In a few minutes more the whole of
the wash-house, laundry, store-rooms, and offices belong
ing to the keeper, would have been in a blaze ; which
offices communicate to those of Mr. Tuson, a respectable
attorney of Northover ; and the conflagration must have
heen much more serious than that which accidentally hap
pened in the Factory. The facetious and unfeeling Editor
of the Times may call this " disgusting egotism," and
say that this was also a mere " accident;" but that will
not do away with the fact, of three fires having happened
in this Gaol, between the fifteenth of November and the
fifteenth of December, 1821. Egotism or not egotism,
I say, and so will all my friends say, thank God, I have
escaped being burnt in my cage three times, in the short
space of thirty-one days.
Mr. Hardy received the keys, and entered upon his
office, on Saturday the tenth of November : since he has

been here, the Gaol has been three times overflown with
the flood. Yesterday morning, at eleven o'clock, it was
eight inches deep in the Debtors' kitchen ; seven inches
deep in the Turnkey's parlour at the front Lodge ; and
it was six inches deep in my ward : and the very
men who, a month back, had their shoes nearly burnt
off their feet in endeavouring to extinguish the
flames in the factory, were this day employed up
to their knees in water, carrying planks and stones
and stools about the Gaol, to enable the officers to
go from one ward to the other. The whole country for
miles round Ilchester is under water; and although Mr.
Fowell Buxton, Mr. Baring, Mr. Dickenson, Sir Thomas
Lethbridge, and old Sir Isaac Coffin, may say and swear
that the Bastile is a dry, healthy, and salubrious Gaol,
yet it will not do away with the fact, that it is constantly
under water in wet seasons, and that it has been inun
dated three times within the last six weeks. " Facts
are stubborn things;" and although Bryar, the late Gaol
Apothecary, and Woodford, the late Gaol Physician, may
swear till they are black in the face, that Ilchester is a
healthy and salubrious situation, and that " no incon
venience could arise from a man being locked up within
high damp walls, and excluded from the rays of the sun
for four or five months in the year," yet it will not do
away with the fact, that flat, low countries, which are
frequently inundated, are naturally unwholesome; and
that in the last ten years, out of six thousand prisoners
who have been confined in this Gaol, four thousand of
them have been upon the sick list. Swear away, Bryar
— swear away, Woodford — but you must not expect to
be believed against the evidence of such facts.
A very ludicrous scene took place here yesterday. In
the morning the Parson attended to perform divine ser
vice in the chapel at the usual time ; but before he and

Moses, the clerk, had been within the walls ten minutes,
the water had risen so rapidly that the prisoners could not
pass from their wards to the chapel without being half
way up to their knees in water. Mr. Hardy having ra
ther more regard for the health, comfort, and safety of the
prisoners than the ex-gaoler, did not choose to compel the
poor fellows to sit for two hours with wet feet in a cold
chapel, recommended the Parson and Moses to be off as
quick as possible, to save themselves from being obliged,
to swim home out of the Gaol. These worthies readily
took the hint to be off, but before they got to the lodge
they found that the water had already intercepted their
intended flight, it being almost knee-deep in the only road
where they could pass. The gaol truck was, in the hurry
of the moment, resorted to ; and, like Neptune and Am-
phitrite, they mounted this marine car, and hugging each
other to avoid being* precipitated into the watery element,
they were drawn out into the town by four of the pri
soners, dressed in zebra coloured jackets, to the great
amusement ofthe multitude who had assembled upon the
bridge to witness the novel scene. In the evening my family
were happy to embrace the same conveyance. Mr. Thomp
son, the new Surgeon, arrived soon after, riot deterred by
the flood, although he had ridden his horse nearly a mile
through the water, which was up to the skirts of his sad
dle. When he came here the water was seven inches
deep nearly all over the Gaol, and as he could not ride his
horse round to the different wards, he mounted upon the
back of one of the prisoners, and rode him round ; but
before he had accomplished his journey, his two-legged
horse made a trip, and, falling in the water, unhorsed his
rider (whether accidentally or otherwise, is not yet clear
ly ascertained). Nothing can exceed the dreadful state
of the whole Gaol this day, now the water is sunk, leav
ing behind a scum and a settlement which emits the most

noxious and pestilential exhalations. Three medical
men have called upon me this day, to caution me against
its deadly effects, and they anticipate, as is usual in this
low, -flat country, after a flood, that agues and typhus
fevers will be very prevalent and fatal. Since my last,
new coping stones have been put round the wall of my
yard, by the order of Mr. Goodford, the Visiting Magis
trate. The walls, when the old coping was taken off,
were found to be saturated with wet to, the very centre ;
and the new coping does not appear to do the least good
this weather. Every well in the Gaol is filled with water
out of the drains, and, in fact, all the water that comes
into the prison ascends through the drains.
Mr. Northmore and Sir Charles Wolseley have been to
visit me during the last week; they were horrified with
the wretched place in which I am- entombed alive. Sir
Charles, when he arrived, found me surrounded by my
family; and every thing looking cheerful, he exclaimed,
" Why, Hunt, you have made the worst of it : although
the entrance is dreadful between your high, damp, gloomy
walls, yet your room is not so bad, when you get into it, as
I expected to find it ;" but he had not been with me long
before he began to discover his error. It is impossible
to describe the pleasure I felt to see this gallant Radical
look so well and so full of spirits, after his incarceration
The conscious pride of a real Patriot sparkled in his eye,
and his pilgrimage of one hundred and fifty miles to visit
the " Captive of Ilchester," at this dreary and inclement
season of the year, must still farther endear him to all
true Radicals. He made a point to visit Messrs. Wooler,
Edmonds, and Maddox, in Warwick, in his road here.
His desire was to promote the comfort of the incarcerated
victims of the Boroughmongers. He waited upon some
ofthe Warwickshire Magistrates, and obtained a promise
that the accommodation desired by Mr. Wooler should be

granted. He was also extremely anxious t© gain similar
accommodations for me, by a personal application to the
Sheriff, an old schoolfellow of his, exclaiming most bit
terly against the restrictions and privations which I yet
endure ; but as I have borne it so long, I was determined
not to lay myself under any obligations to those who
treated me and my family so unmercifully and so inhu
manly for such a length of time, and I would not suffer
him to degrade himself by such an application, or rather,
I would not give them an opportunity of refusing him.
Nothing but the most urgent family affairs would have
prevented his proceeding immediately with Mr. North-
more to visit every incarcerated Reformer in the various
prisons of the Boroughmongers: but I have great pleasure
in informing you, my friends, that the worthy Baronet
and Mr. Northmore have agreed to make a holy pilgrim
age, in the spring of the year, to the dungeons of all the
incarcerated Radicals. This will be a most laudable pil
grimage. We hear of some of the professed friends of
Liberty making tours into the North, some into the West,
some to the East, some to Paris ; some go upon sporting
tours, some upon tours of pleasure ; some are making agri
cultural tours into the North, South, East, and West ;
but they all have passed the dungeons of the incarcerated
Radicals unheeded by. But the gallant Sir Charles
Wolseley is no sooner at liberty himself, than he begins
to plan schemes how to relieve and assist those who
are in bondage.
We have heard of the reception of his Majesty in Ire
land, and in Hanover ; rt seems his Majesty had a light
travelling waggon to accompany him through Germany,
and that in the various towns through which he passed,
he dispersed his blessings amongst the needy inhabitants;
which blessings consisted of money and other rich pre
sents, which his Majesty kindly condescended to purchase

with the money which had been collected in taxes from
his English subjects ; your shoes, your salt, your candles,
your soap, your sugar, your tea, your beer, in fact, every
thing that you eat, drink, wear, touch, or look at, was
taxed to enable his gracious Majesty to reward his grate
ful and loyal Hanoverian subjects, and to pay them for
serenading him; and to pay them, no doubt, for listening
to the noble speech which his Majesty made to them out of
the window. What an imitative creature man is ! Who
should have thought that his Majesty would have conde
scended in Ireland and in Hanover to have endeavoured
to imitate " Orator Hunt V Oh, how well you all recol-
lect the abuse that has at various times, for years past, been
heaped upon me by the venal press, for addressing the mul
titudes " out of a window." I addressed a hundred thou
sand people " out ofthe window" of the Merlin's Cave, at
Spa Fields, on the 15th of November, 1816. Oh, what a
vulgar thing this was represented to be by the venal press !
I did the same thing, at the same place, on the 2nd of
December, 1816, to a similar multitude. Oh, how I was
abused ! The Times newspaper actually published a
grave account of my death, by an accident in going to
present the petition of the people to the Prince Regent.
In January, 1817, I was again invited, and again attended
at the Merlin's Cave, in Spa Fields, and again addressed
an immense multitude out of the window. There was
only this little difference between my conduct on that oc
casion and his Majesty's conduct in Ireland and Hanover,
I set the example, and his Majesty has, God bless him,
followed it; I had nothing to give the multitude, his Ma
jesty had a light waggon full of precious metals ; I travel
led at my own expense, his Majesty travelled at the ex
pense of the public ; I am a humble individual, he is a
mighty Monarch of a mighty nation, whose people are
rich, and who pay him annually out of their earnings

upwards of a million of money to support his royal dignity,
and to enable him to pay for his Royal Irish frolics, and
his Royal Hanoverian serenading. His gracious Majesty,
by the aid of his Judges and the assistance ofthe Borough
mongers, has contrived to place •' Orator Hunt" in a dun
geon; he has got him a safe " Captive" in Ilchester Bas
tile, and his gracious Majesty has therefore no rival at
speaking out of the windows. I hope by the time I come
out of this place, that his Majesty will have mustered
courage to address his English subjects out of a window.
Oh, how I should like to hear his gracious Majesty declare,
that a little bit, that one corner of his Irish and Hanove
rian heart was English. We were told by the public
papers that his gracious Majesty, when he returned from
his serenading in Germany, intended to enter his good
city of London publicly, to give his g-ood English subjects
an opportunityof offering up their prayers and their blessings,
testifying not only their joy at his safe return, but to ex
press to him personally their approbation of his magnani
mous conduct to his late Queen ; and their applause for
his gracious goodness in ordering the Manchester Magis
trates and the Butchering Yeomanry of that town to be
thanked in his Majesty's name, for the care that they took
of the lives, limbs, and liberties, of his faithful subjects on
St. Peter's Plain, on the 16th of August, 1819. Perhaps,
his Majesty intends to delay this gratifying sight till I am
once more at liberty, and that he purposes to grace his
triumph by ordering me to be present. Be that as it may,
I am sure that you will agree with me, that the tour of
Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. Northmore into the North,
to visit the incarcerated Radicals, will be quite as interest
ing to you, my friends, as his Majesty's visit to Ireland or
to Hanover. Sir Charles and Mr. Northmore's will be a
most laudable, a most holy purpose ; they will travel at
their own expense, they will not receive one halfpenny

out of the taxes to bestow in presents and gifts ; they will
not be accompanied by any light waggon to carry treasures,
to pay for serenades ; but they will come with the true
spirit of Radical Philanthropy, and then let us see how my
brave friends will receive them ! I will warrant that you
serenade them without being paid for it ; " we shall see ;"
I will give you timely notice of tlieir journey. They, I
know, wish to do good by stealth ; I know that it will be a
great gratification to them privately to visit, and unosten
tatiously to relieve, each suffering persecuted captive Ra
dical. But theirs is a national object ; they will be the
noble agents of a great and glorious cause ; and the good
deeds of such men, upon such occasions, must not, cannot
be hid under a bushel. They must do this noble act as
becomes them ; they must perform this holy Radical Pil
grimage, as becomes the object of their journey. They
must and will come amongst you publicly, and I know
that you will receive them in a manner that will do honour
to yourselves, and be most creditable to that cause, for
which we have been so long and so zealously contending,
and for which 1 hope and trust that there is not a man
amongst us but, if necessary, would cheerfully risk his
life. They have promised me that I shall be made ac
quainted with their movements ; and, as they must begin
somewhere, it is possible that they may meet and begin
their journey from this Bastile. My Memoirs shall be
the Radical Gazette, to announce the time of their
departure ; and our friend Saxton shall not be kept in the
dark, it shall be regularly promulgated in the Manchester
Observer, and we are quite sure ofthe aid of Mr. Wooler
in the Black Dwarf. It will be no Royal tour, it will be no
Ministerial or Whig tour; there will be no parade, no
pomp, no national treasure to be expended, no money
taken from the pockets of the people to pay for it, but it
will be a real Radical Tour, and the spontaneousfeelings
12 B

10
ofthe Radicals ; the spontaneous, unpaid, unbought expres
sion of public opinion will be the only trophy. You will
have an English Baronet, and an English Country Gen
tleman, a Magistrate ofthe county of Devon, come to visit
you. You know Sir Charles Wolseley ; you ought to
know Mr. Northmore, you will be delighted with him.
The Radicals are now admitted, even in Parliament, to
be one ofthe great parties of which Englishmen are com
posed. The Tories, the Whigs, and the Radicals ; the
Burdettite faction is become too contemptible to be no
ticed as a party, they are merged into the Whigs, and
some of them have joined the Radicals ; but amongst all
the Aristocracy of the kingdom, Sir Charles Wolseley and
Mr. Northmore are the only two that I know, who are
really and honestly for Universal Liberty, for the Rights
of the whole People ; I mean that they are the only two
who have spoken out; one would hope that there are
hundreds, but they have not shewn themselves ; but it is
no use for us to look for them ; that day is gone by ; they
must come to us, or they may remain where they are. The
Radicals have been left to manage for themselves too long
to seek for " natural leaders" from amongst the ranks of
the Aristocracy ; we shall be most happy to receive them
in our ranks, but we shall not seek for them. The worthy
Radicals of Leeds have set the example of addressing Sir
Charles Wolseley, upon his release from the Gaol of the
Boroughmongers. I shall insert an account of this meet
ing in this Number, although it has been inserted in the
Manchester Observer and the Black Dwarf; such meetings
should be recorded in the whole of the Radical Press ;
in fact, these three publications appear to be almost the
only regular part of the press that the Radicals can have
access to now. But we get on with these vastly well ever
since 1817, ever since our great political writer, Mr. Cob
bett, left us for America ; for since his return he appears

11
to be too busily employed with the farmers and the fund-
holders to notice the Radicals ; but as he clearly sees that
we can get on by ourselves, he directs his attention to
other quarters ; the incarceration and liberation of Sir
Charles Wolseley have not been deemed worthy of notice ;
the incarceration of Messrs. Wooler, Edmonds, Maddox
and Lewis, I have never seen taken up by him ; I do not
recollect that he ever noticed my sentence or my suffer
ings •; I have never seen or heard whether he approved or
disapproved of my labours during the Investig-ation into
the abuses of this Gaol ; I was too much engaged to no
tice what he said about it ; it must either deserve censure
or approbation. We have established the Great Nor
thern Union, thousands have enrolled their names in it ;
I understand that Mr. Cobbett has never noticed it in his
Register ; but, as I said before, as he knows that we are
going on very well without him, he is directing his pow
erful pen and his powerful energies in another direction,
all tending to the same end. He has most successfully
exposed the folly of the Agricultural Asses ; and he now
calls upon the Radicals to hold themselves in readiness to
petition against the reduction of the National Debt, till
we have a Reform in Parliament. I think, my friends,
that we ought to be very cautious how we meddle (by
petition at least) in these matters ; my opinion at present
is, that we should stand aloof, that we should look steadily
on, while the landholders and fundholders fight it out.
You will recollect, my friends, that when we petitioned
for Reform, when a "million and a half of us petitioned for
Universal Suffrage, we petitioned also/ for a reduction of
the National Debt, which we always declared was the
debt of the Boroughmongers ; that it was contracted by
them without the consent ofthe people ; therefore, we dis
claimed any participation in it, and contended that it was
unjust to compel the people to pay the interest of it against

12
their consent. Should we not justly be charged with in
consistency and folly, if we were now to petition the
House of Commons not to reduce the interest of the Debt 1
And, again, we, the Radicals, in 1818 and 1819, pretty
generally declared, that we would not, as a body, petition
those who ought to be our stewards and our servants, any
more, till they had at least taken our former petitions into
serious consideration, instead of treating- them with levity
and contempt. To be sure, we came to this determina
tion when Mr. Cobbett was in America, out of harm's
way. We held the great Meetings at Manchester,
at Smithfield, in Palace-Yard, and all over the
North of England ; and at all these Meetings we deter
mined to remonstrate with the Throne, and not petition
the House of Commons ; let us do the same now, if
you think proper, my friends ; but to petition the House
of Commons in a body, as Radicals, I am for doing no such
thing. It may be, and it is very proper, that individuals
should send up their petitions to the House, to make their
persecutions and particular acts of injustice known to the
public; this might be all very proper; but I would advise
even individuals to be careful to whom they entrust their
petitions. You will not, my friends, forget the fate of
poor John Knight's petition, which he sent up to Sir
Francis Burdett, to be presented when the Manchester
question was to come on last May. The Baronet had
given notice of his intention to bring on this question for
about fifteen months before he had withdrawn his notice
three times. At length he brought it on ; and although
he had been publicly preparing- for this motion for more
than a year, yet in all this time, and with all this pom
pous parade and announcement, he was only entrusted
with one petition — that of Mr. Knight's, a most import
ant one, from Lancaster Castle — and that one the very
Honourable Baronet forgot, or pretended to forget, to

13
carry down to the Honourable House with him ; and it
was not presented till after his motion was made. Many
petitions were presented from individuals by Alderman
Wood, Sir Robert Wilson, and others. I also sent up a
petition, which I had drawn up a year before, when
" Westminster's Pride and England's Glory" first gave
his notice for bringing on the question. 1 likewise sent
another, with a detail of the grievances existing- in this
Bastile. Sir Robert Wilson presented them both ; the
first was received, and dishonoured with being laid upon
the Table, and taken no more notice' of; the. second was
honoured with the rejection of the Honourable House,
because it was said to cast aspersions on the Judges, for
whose honour, meekness, and humanity, the fifth Judge
of the Court of King's Bench, Scarlett, the Attorney-
General for the County-Palatine of Lancaster, vouched.
A little whipper-snapper chap from Bristol rose, and
not only vindicated the character of the Judges, but
he also volunteered an eulogium upon the Gaol and the
then Gaoler of Ilchester; declaring upon his honour, that
all I said was false, although every word of it was proved
upon oath to be true, before His Majesty's Commission
ers, during the Gaol Investigation.
The worthy Alderman Wood presented the petitions of
Hill, Hillier, and Gardner, and produced my famous
"' Peep" in the House ; and by his persevering integrity,
and disregard of the falshoods that were uttered against
him, he obtained that commission which was sent down
to this Gaol, which has been the cause of so many bene
ficial results, to enumerate which would fill a volume.
You all know and have all heard of the cruel
sufferings, privations, and tortures that the poor pri
soners were subject to in this Gaol before the com
mission was held ; they were treated with more cruelty
and more inhumanity than was ever inflicted upon brutes.

14
One great injustice and cruelty was the loading all the
prisoners, even before trial, with irons, at the discretion
or caprice of Mr. Gaoler, or Mr. Pike, the humane turnkey ;
prisoners for misdemeanors were, at the arbitrary will of
these monsters, loaded with irons, the weight of which
were regulated by their caprice or the humour they were
in ; and this was done in the most partial manner. We
had it in evidence, that a man for misdemeanor was loaded
with heavy irons before trial, that he was acquitted in
irons ; and, at the same time, prisoners who were com
mitted for murder, because they were Ilchester electors,
had no irons on, while some were confined in irons, tried
in irons, and those sentenced to death were all executed
with irons and handcuffs on. There were a hundred
prisoners at a time since I have been here, suffering under
this and other species of torture. Now hear me, my friends,
now listen to what follows. THERE IS NOT ONE
PRISONER IN THIS GAOL NOW WITH IRONS ON.
There is not one prisoner suffering torture of any sort.
There is not one prisoner even in solitary confinement,
unless it be those who were sentenced by the Court to soli
tary confinement. No prisoners' letters are opened either
in going from or corning to the prison. The stocks , male
andfemale, are abolished ; the body irons, the monkey,
the handcuffs, ihe chains, bolts, bars, and screws, with
which ihe limbs and bodies of ihe prisoners were hereto
fore manacled, are all rendered useless, by the proper
treatment of the officers. Straight jackets, blisters for
punishment, thumb screws, gags, and neck irons, are all
abolished. Gracious God ! what I suffered the last and
only time that I ever went to the chapel, to see men drove
in, like so many slaves in Algiers, loaded with irons ; to
see some of them dragged up and placed at the Com
munion Table as a punishment, sinking under the torture
of heavy irons, exhibiting their mangled flesh to theirfellow

15
prisoners, instead of attending to the service ; to hear the
horrid clanking of all their irons, at one and at every time
they knelt down or rose up again, was such a disgusting
scene, such a mockery of religion, as I never before wit
nessed, and such as, I hope, I never shaU witness again.
" The iron entered my soul," and if I was ever near sink
ing under the weight of lacerated feeling, that was the
time. If I live, and am well, I will go to the chapel next
Sunday, to witness the heart-cheering contrast. When the
information was communicated to me yesterday, Christ
mas-day, that Mr. Hardy had removed all the irons from
the prisoners, you may easily conceive, my friends, what
were my sensations of pride and of pleasure, but it is im
possible for me to describe what 1 felt.
The Editors ofthe Times, the Courier, the Sun, (if the
contemptible thing be yet in existence) and all the venal
press, may rail on at me aslong as they please ; they may
call it " disgusting egotism," when I claim to myself some
share of the merit, for having produced this wonderful
change, for having relieved such a number of my fellow-
creatures from the suffering of torture. Rail on as long as
you please, Gentlemen, but you have not the power to de
prive me of the sweet and delightful thought of having
accomplished this at my own personal risk, and by my
own personal exertions, and at my own expense. Is there
a being under the sun who will deny that I was the great
and immediate cause of the Inquiry ? Will any one deny
that I drew up the petitions of Hill, Hillier, and Gardner ?
Will any one deny that I got Alderman Wood to present
them to the Honourable House, with the assurance that
they were all true ? Will any one deny that I single
handed preferred all the charges that were preferred
against the Gaol, the Gaoler, and the Magistrates, before
the Commissioners ? Will any one deny that I preferred
charges before the Magistrates against the Gaoler ? that

16
I, single handed, attended fifteen whole days to substan
tiate these charges before the Magistrates, fifteen days
also before the Commissioners, and sixteen days in watch
ing and cross-examining the witnesses produced by the
Gaoler in his defence before the Commissioners ? Will any
one deny that I, by these means, obtained the expulsion of
the monster, who had been the cause of inflicting all
the cruelties above-named ? Will any man deny that the
Investigation was the cause of all these ameliorations and
wonderful alterations ? Is there a candid man upon the
face of the earth will believe, that the pardons and remis
sions ofthe sentences of Elizabeth Summers, Marchmont,
Bailey, Pow, and Gibbs, would have ever been obtained, if
it had not been for the Investigation ? Is there any can
did man who will for a moment believe, that the county
rates would have been reduced in one year, from seven
thousand pounds a quarter down to two thousand pounds
a quarter, if the Ilchester Investigation had not taken
place ? No man believes this, say what he will. — No man
will deny that the Investigation was the cause of all these
benefits to the prisoners and to the county, and that I was
the sole author of the Investigation. Then, why may
not I, with honest manly pride, claim the honour of being
the benefactor of the prisoners, and the merit of having
accomplished by my exertions, although in captivity, these
mighty changes, and the g-reat savings to the county-rate
payers, without being accused either of vanity or egotism.
But, said a friend to me to-day, how much money did it cost
you out of your own pocket to accomplish all this good
for others ? Have you not paid nearly three hundred
pounds out of your own pocket ? Did not your first appli
cation to the Court of King-'s Bench, which was the be
ginning of the Investigation, cost you nearly one hun
dred pounds ? Did not you labour incessantly, night and
day, for nearly four months ? Were not your exertions such

17
that you nearly lost your life ? Were you not at every
farthing of the expense out of your own pocket? Did
you not pay and keep all those who pretended to be volun
teers to assist you? Did you not pay and keep all your
witnesses ? And, after all your expense and trouble, and
all the saving you have effected for the county-rate payers,
have any of them come forward to remunerate you; and
do they not, at the same time that they save their twenty
thousand a-year, laugh in their sleeves at your generous
and unprecedented exertions ? And has not the Govern
ment, as a reward for your trouble, sent down an extent
and confiscated your estate at Glastonbury, for 200?., the
penalties incurred for roasting grain to make a cheap,
wholesome beverage for the poor? Had you not much
better have saved your money, at least two hundred pounds
of it, to have paid these penalties to the Excise, and saved
your estates from being confiscated ?" " Hold," said I,
" there is no pleasure to be obtained in this life without
its corresponding inconveniences. I have all my . life
lived for the good of others more than for my own wel
fare. I own that I believe the Government would never
have pressed for these penalties, if 1 had not exposed their
nefarious Gaol system of tyranny and oppression. I be
lieve that the only reason that the county-rate payers do
not come forward to remunerate me for my expenses out
of pocket, is, first, because what is every body's busi
ness is nobody's business ; and next, because the rate
payers have enough to do to pay their two thousand pounds
a quarter, instead of seven thousand pounds. But after
all, to tell you the truth, I never spent 300Z. in my life,
with so much satisfaction to myself, as I have done this;
and if I never receive a halfpenny in return, I have had the
satisfaction of doing that which I believe no other man
would have accomplished with three thousand pounds."
It is worthy of notice to see hov/ the Government works,
12 c

18
in all the relations of life, an honest determined enemy to
corruption. Before the Investigation took place, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer certainly gave Sir Robert
Wilson (who brought the matter forward in the House
without consulting me) to understand that the penalties
would not be exacted ; at least every body understood it
so. It was quite clear that there was no intention to de
fraud the Excise. The day that the Investigation was
closing, the Sheriff gave me notice that he had got a war
rant from the Excise to levy 200/., and he should distrain
my tenants for the rent due. Instead of doing this, he re
turned the writ, and the other day he told me that he had
got an extent down, with orders to seize my person and
my estate, and to sell the latter for the benefit of the
Crown ; that he should summon a jury to attend the Gaol
to examine me upon my oath as to my estate, before it
was to be put up to sale. I desired him to go and take
the rent at once, instead of putting me to such an unne
cessary expense ; that since he had given my tenants no
tice they had paid me no rent, and he had therefore better
proceed to do that at once, as I would authorize him to do
so, to save further trouble and unnecessary expense. He
said that he did not dare to do so : he had received his in
structions, and he must follow them. What think you of
this, my friends ? This is the way in which I am honoured
by the agents of Government. But I am not alarmed ; Ihope
to live to see them brought to their senses yet, and to be
punished for their tyranny and oppression. Any other
Government but this would have rewarded me with ten
thousand pounds for bringing to light and exposing such
iniquities ; any other people in the world but the impoverish
ed people of England would have at least paid my expenses
out of pocket, for an exertion that had saved them fifty times
the amount in one year. Oh, how often have I been taunt
ed lately for not joining the factions. Oh, how often has

19
it been thrown in my teeth within the last month, what a
fool I am for sticking to the poor Radicals ; that if I had
been a Whig or a Burdettite, all my expenses would
have been paid, and that I should have been released
from prison long ago. My answer is, if I had been a Whig
or a Burdettite, I never should have undertaken the task
that I have accomplished in this Gaol ; I never should
have had the delightful satisfaction of rendering such an
important service to my fellow-creatures ; and although
I might have been rich, and perhaps in power, I should
have despised myself for my hypocrisy and inconsistency.
A curious fact has come to my knowledge lately, relative
to the liberation of the Boroughmonger, Sir Menassah
Lopez ; and as this affair, I understand, will be brought
before the Parliament, I will relate it. Sir Menassah
Lopez wrote to the Government to say, unless he was
released from prison that he would return Mr. Hunt and
Mr. Cobbett for the borough of Westbury, as Members of
the Honourable House. This immediately brought about
a compromise, and an offer from the Government, which
was, that if Sir Menassah would let the Ministers name
two Members for Westbury, that they would release him,
and remit him his fine of ten thousand pounds. Sir
Menassah would not do this, but proposed to put in two
Members who should always vote with the Ministers, if
they would give him his liberty. This was accepted;
and the next thing was to get a tool, one of the Whigs,
to move for his liberation. Lord John Russell was fixed
upon, and undertook the job. The whole of this trans
action was managed and arranged through a Government
agent of the name of Fortune ; but the Government not
having paid this worthy equal to his expectations, he has
exposed the whole transaction, and actually showed the
letter of Sir Menassah, wherein he threatened to have

¦20
myself and Mr. Cobbett elected, to a friend of mine, who
has been to see me here. We shall see, when " the col
lective wisdom ofthe nation" meets, whether this notable
transaction is brought to light in the Honourable House.
I am very happy to hear of the progress which the
Great Northern Radical Union is making, in spite, of all the
obstacles that have been thrown in the way of its accom
plishment. 1 am happy to see that the Rochdale lads
have made a beginning, and sent their subscription to Sir
Charles Wolseley. I cannot refrain from repeating my
warmest thanks to the worthy fellows who sent me the
beautiful piece of flannel, from the town of which Parson
Hay is the Rector. I am Indebted to these worthy Ra
dicals for the health and comfort that I enjoy, I attribute
both mainly to the wearing their flannel next my skin ; I
have not had any attack ofthe rheumatism since I wore it,
notwithstanding the horrible state of this Bastile. Yes
terday, Christmas-day, we had the Gaol once more inun
dated with tbe flood. This is the fourth time that the
whole Gaol has been under water within the last six
weeks. Sir Charles Wolseley caught a violent cold and
inflammation upon the chest, the first day that he volunta
rily immured himself within these pestilential walls. He
was very ill, but a piece of Rochdale Radical Flannel,
placed double, and applied to his chest, very soon gave
ease, and removed his cough and the pain he had previ
ously felt, and the Baronet was nearly restored to his
usual health before he left me. I am sure that my Roch
dale friends will agree with me, that I could not have ap
plied their Flannel to a more useful or a more honourable
purpose than that of giving ease, and restoring the health
of our worthy and excellent Treasurer of the Great Nor
thern Radical Union. I shall not part with any more of
this Flannel to any one ; I have about ten yards remain-

21
ing, that shall be reserved to grace our National Museum,
and it shall be placed side by side with the beautiful Quilt
and Counterpane, from Bolton.
I have made up my mind, as soon as I can collect the
necessary materials, to publish " A Political Memoran
dum Book," for the use of the Reformers. This book
shall be published in the usual form of a pocket-book.
which shall have two pages for each week, one opposite
the other ; the first may contain the seven days of the
week, with the cash lines (received and paid) ; the second
will contain the political events which have occurred in
England principally, since the French Revolution, such as
subversion of justice, treasons against the Constitution,
suffering of prisoners, dates of sentences, spies, plotters,
blood-money-men (such as Oliver, Castles, Reynolds,
Franklyn, Clegg, &c. &c), not forgetting Judges, Jus
tices of the Peace, Preachers (whether of gospel or ca
lumny); we shall have a rich supply of these from
Manchester, such as Fletchers, Hays, Hultons, &c. &c. ;
Clerks, Gaolers, Counsel, &c. such as Bridle, Higgins,
Blacow, Scarlett, Governor Aris, &c. ; Understrappers,
Coroner's Inquests, Sec such as the Oldham Inquest on
poor Lees; the Westminster Inquests on Honey and
Francis; ditto on Sellis; Caines' Inquest on Ford, in Il
chester Bastile, &c. ; verdicts of Murder, never investi
gated or inquired into ; Public Delinquents and notorious
Convicts, in seat swapping, &c. &c. ; Bribery and Per
jury ; when great public meetings were held ; and when
wicked laws were passed, such as Suspension of Habeas
Corpus Acts, Corn Bills, Six Acts, Manchester Meeting,
16th of August, 1819, &c. &c. &c. ; the whole to make a
most useful, cheap, and necessary work for every man
who wishes occasionally to recur to the past political
events of the last twenty-five years. This is a publica
tion that has been often talked of, and long wished for

22
by the friends of Liberty and Law. I had thought of
bringing out this publication by the time of the meeting
of Parliament, but to do it well it will require more time,
and I shall have to claim the assistance of all the perse
cuted martyrs of Liberty. And I hereby invite all those
who have suffered persecution and imprisonment, either
by verdicts in Courts of Justice, or by Magisterial ty
ranny, to send me their particular cases in a brief state
ment of the date, taking care to mention the name of the
prosecutors, Judges, Magistrates, and Counsel, employed
upon the occasion. Also 1 have to request of the friends
ofthe parties who are dead, to forward me the particulars,
as to dates, &c. of each particular occurrence (such as
those of Muir and Palmer, Morice Margarott, Rieley,
&c. &c. &c.) These communications I must trouble the
parties to send by post, post paid, as no letters not paid
are taken in for me at this Gaol.
Well, the Bell-hanger is arrived once more to remove
my bell ; this is another most extraordinary movement, but
the Magistrates have condescended at length to inform me
their reason for having it removed. Really these worthy
Gentlemen are quite unfathomable ; I never suspected for
a moment that they were at all privy to, or in the least
instrumental in, having my bell removed the day before
the fire broke out in the Factory, although they did it
quite unknown to me, or my ever having been consulted
about it. The bell was originally hung in the most con
venient, and in fact the only convenient place, both for
me to give an alarm, if it was necessary, and for the
officers to hear it, in case I did ring it. Nothing could be
more satisfactory to all parties, no complaint had ever
been made by me about this bell, on the contrary, I had,
from the first to the last, expressed my perfect satisfac
tion upon the subject — no complaint had ever been made
by me that the Task-master did not attend to ; nor was

•23
any complaint ever made by him that the bell was trou
blesome : upon this point, then, all was perfectly satis
factory, and the only reason that 1 have ever attributed
to the Magistrates for ordering it to be removed was, be
cause it was satisfactory to me. But the case now as
sumes a different aspect. Now the reason is out, I am
greatly puzzled. What think you is the excusefor having-
my bell removed from the Task-master's Lodge to that of
Mr. Turnkey Pike's Lodge? Why, forsooth, because the
Under-Sheriff had often complained that any other per
son had a key to come to me but the Keeper, who was
the only person who gave security to the Sheriff, and as
I was a Sheriff's prisoner, of course he only ought to have
access to me in the night. But how does this square with
the order to remove the bell from the Task-master, and
place it under the surveillance of Bridle's chief agent,
Pike, the famous Turnkey. To take it from a place of
safety, and to carry it 100 yards farther out of doors,
where the wire could be cut off at any time, and hang it
in Mr. Pike's lodge, a place of no safety at all. As for the
excuse of security, Bunter, the Task-master, gives security
to the Magistrates of 500Z. If Pike gives any at all, it is a
mere trifle ; at all events, Pike does not give sixpence se
curity to the Sheriff, and yet my bell was to have been re
moved into the custody of Pike ; and the excuse is, that it
was to be removed because no one but the keeper ought
to have access to me, who gives security to the Sheriff.
But, mum ; I shall trust to Providence and my own pre
sence of mind. I am, my Friends,
Yours, most faithfully,
H. HUNT.
P. S. The Agricultural Asses at Bath shall be attended
to in the next Number.

24

LEEDS PUBLIC MEETING.
On Monday, December 10, a public meeting was held
at the Union Room, Richmond Hill, for the purpose of
taking into consideration the propriety of sending an ad
dress to Sir Charles Wolseley, Bart, and also to further
the Great Northern Union.
Mr. Joseph Wass in the Chair, who opened the business,
by stating the object for which they were met.
Mr. Mason. — Gentlemen — In moving that an address
be presented to Sir Charles Wolseley — an address of con
gratulation on his liberation from a cruel and unjust in
carceration, you will permit me to make a few observa
tions, though I think that you, with me, will admit that
no arguments need be urged in order to prove the pro
priety of such an address being- sent. We need only
glance at the conduct of persons in the higher ranks of
life, to enable us duly to appreciate the services of such
gentlemen as Sir Charles Wolseley. Such are the fasci
nating charms of power and courtly influence, that few of
our high-bred pretended patriots have been able to resist
them ; and events of no very distant date have presented
us with instances of such characters descending from the
Temple of Liberty to the Cavern of Vulcan, for the pur
pose of forging thunderbolts to hurl at the heads of such
patriots who still remained to fill the ranks of freedom,
which those apostates had so recently deserted. I need
not name such characters to you, gentlemen — they are
too well known. I need not remind you of the conduct
of our late Heaven-born Minister; that grand apostate
and munificent rewarder of apostacy. I need not name
to you some of our modern lords and knights, with their
trusty esquires, who still profess themselves the advocates
of Liberty, but who, when they do venture to pronounce

25
her sacred name, they do it so feebly and falteringly, that
one Would almost imagine they were conscious of the dan
ger of violating the third Commandment, and were about
to take the name of the Lord in vain. And what do these
instances of apostacy and supineness teach us, gentlemen?
What but the necessity of Reform, and a Radical Reform,
too, in our representative system. They are a few amongst
ten thousand instances, of the dangerous policy of entrust
ing too much power to individuals. They shew us that
the people are the legitimate source of power; and for
them to give the reins out of thir own hands, is as danger
ous an expedient as of the foolish god, of fabled memory,
who permitted his hair-brained son to guide the Chariot
of the Sun. Yet, although we can number but few ge
nuine patriots in the higher ranks of life, at the present
day, Sir Charles Wolseley stands amongst the foremost of
that few: he generously stepped forth to advocate the
people's cause. His rank in society must acquit him of
any sinister motive. Should it be urged that he had am
bition to gratify, and therefore he courted the applause
of the people ; to such an insinuation I would only again
pointto his elevated situation in life, which would certainly
afford him a greater scope for the gratification of ambiti
ous views, than advocating the eause of an injured and
despised people could do. We infer then that he has
been actuated by disinterested motives ; that he is indeed
a patriot, and worthy of our highest esteem ; we there
fore cordially congratulate him on his restoration to liber
ty : we sincerely rejoice that his fetters are broken ; that
the arrows of corruption, as they respect him, are spent;
and that he is once more at liberty to assist, by his per
sonal efforts and his influence, that sacred cause in which
he has so recently suffered. We can do but little, gen
tlemen, by way of compensating our suffering patriots ;
for God's sake, then, let not that little be withheld. We
12 D

•Zf.
can, at least, tell them, that we approve of their conduct,
and give them our thanks for their exertion ; and if we
cordially enter into the plan recommended by Mr. Hunt,
for promoting the Great Northern Union, we shall be
able to do more, we shall be enabled to place them in a
situation where they can serve the cause more effectually,
where they will have the opportunity of perpetually
harrassing corruption, and combatting her on something
like level ground. Any plan, gentlemen, that will tend,
in the most remote degree, to forward the cause of Radi
cal Reform in our representative system, ought to have
our most cordial support ; as for what is termed a mo
derate Reform, I contend would be no Reform. Why
are we refused a Radical Reform ? Because those who
now hold the reins of power would, in giving it, have at
the same time to give them into the hands of the people,
and such a measure they are not disposed to adopt ; and
should they be induced to grant us a moderate Reform,
which I believe would be very moderate indeed, we should
still be subject to their caprice, and what they pleased to
grant us to-day, they might, if they pleased, deprive us of
to-morrow ; in short, they would still be our masters, and
we should continue to be their slaves. No, gentlemen,
this will not do ; for I am persuaded that nothing short
of a Radical Reform will overthrow the power of corrup
tion—nothing short of a full and equal representation of
the people, can stay the hand of tyranny, or break the
yoke of oppression ; and this, I contend, will do it, and it
is all that we, as Reformers, have at present to do with.
When the people are indeed represented, then let them
speak, and they will then be heard ; let them then com
plain, and, as far as is within the compass of possibility,
their grievances will then be redressed. Here then I
take my stand, on the right of Britons to a full and equal
representation, and 1 will not be diverted from my sta-

21
tion by any "lo-heres"or"lo-theres,"for I considerit found
ed upon a rock, which rock is the basis of all public liberty,
and neither the wild schemes of the visionary, the subtility
of the sophist, nor the anathemas ofthe abettors of corrup
tion, shall ever be able to prevail against it.
Mr. Mann, in seconding the motion, said — Gentlemen,
I have much pleasure in coming forward to second the
address to Sir C. Wolseley, whose patriotic conduct and
uniform exertions in the people's cause, are deserving of
the gratitude and esteem of every true friend to his coun
try. When a man, high in rank and property, comes
fearlessly forward to advocate the cause of the oppress
ed, regardless of the threats of contending factions, and
joins heart and hand with the people in the sacred cause
of Liberty, we should be unworthy the name of Britons
did we not congratulate so distinguished a patriot on the
termination of his incarceration, and on his safe return to
the bosom of his family and friends. Sir C. Wolseley
has proved himself the friend of the persecuted Reformers;
in 1819 he voluntarily and unsolicited flew to Manchester,
to give bail for Mr. Hunt and the other persecuted Re
formers there. He generously came forward to give bail
for Messrs. Johnson, Bagguley, and Drummond, at Ches
ter ; and at a moment's notice, he went to give bail for
Mr. Lewis, at Coventry. Imprisonment has not damped,
his ardour, nor diminished his exertions, in the cause of
Radical Reform ; he has accepted the office of General
Treasurer to the Great Northern Union of Radical Re
formers, recommended by that illustrious Champion of Li
berty, Mr. Hunt, an union which every true friend to Re
form ought to encourage and support. The Reformers
have too long been like a rope of sand, without union or
leader. "Divide and conquer" is the maxim of tyrants; let
our motto be, " Unite and be free." Conscious of the
justice of our cause, and animated by a sense of our duty

28
to our country /let us place in the House of Commons
.those tried and able Radical -Reformers who will prove
themselves the assertory of our rights. Then it, may be
said that we have come to close quarters with the Bo
roughmongers ; let men of all religious persuasions rally
round the standard of Reform, and join heart and hand in
the sacred cause of Liberty.
*,The address having been read",
Mr. J. Brayshaw then proposed the following address
as an amendment, which, after a very, long discussion,
was carried by a majority : —
"TO SIR CHARLES WOLSELEY, BART.
" SiR,^-We take the liberty of presenting to you our
congratulations on your return from a dreary confinement,
to the enjoyments of domestic life ; more particularly on
account of your confinement having been caused by your
exertions in the cause of justice and humanity. We de-
.test flattery, and we look with a mixture of , pity and
contempt on those whoi attach importance to rank, for
tune, ortitles, and who follow the popular character of
the day in which they live, without regard to the princi
ples by which such a character may be actuated. In pre
senting to you our congratulations on your return from a
dreary confinement to the enjoyments of domestic life,
and in, expressing our admiration of your conduct, we
trust we shall not be guilty of those practices which we
• condemn in others ; but we hope our commendations of
' yourself will be such as may be used' without degrading
ourselves to the character of sycophants.
. " When we contemplate the situation in which you are
placed;, and consider' that you are yourself possessed of
rank, title, and fortune ; and that you may justly be con
sidered as being placed beyond the reach of those priva
tions ahd miseries which afflict so large a portion of your

29
countrymen ; we cannot sufficiently admire the benevo
lence which has marked your conduct, in exposing your
self to danger, by advocating the rights of those who
have hitherto been kept in slavery by the artifices of men
in power. We feel satisfied, that your conduct, in this
respect, could only arise from a pure desire to elevate
man to his native dignity, by the establishment of a sys
tem of pure representative government, under which all
should enjoy equal liberty and protection.
" That men who daily feel the iron hand of oppression,
men whose lives have been embittered by political and
religious slavery, and whose every hope has been blasted
by a degrading system, should be desirous to reform
abuses, and to obtain for themselves a voice in the choice
of those who exercise authority in making or executing
laws, by which their liberty, their property, and their
lives are affected, is naturally to be expected. To such,-
the motives are sufficiently strong to induce them to action ;
but on you, in the station in which you are placed, these
motives can have little effect. The only selfish motive
which can actuate your mind, must be the anticipation of
the pleasure of having been instrumental in establishing
justice, and promoting the moral elevation of man. A
purer motive cannot actuate the breast of any human
being. We feel satisfied that, in advocating a pure sys
tem of representative government, thereby showing the
dignity of man, and endeavouring to place him in his
proper rank in creation, you will enjoy a degree of satis
faction in your own mind, of which oppression cannot
deprive you.
" With the most ardent wishes for your health and
happiness, and for the accomplishment of the political
salvation of our country, we remain the sincere admirers
of your past conduct."

30
A number of resolutions were then agreed to, which
recommended a cordial co-operation with the Great North
ern Union. The thanks of the meeting were given to
Mr. Hunt, Major Cartwright, Mr. Wooler, Mr. Cobbett.
Mr. Carlile, Mr. Knight, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Lewis, Mr.
Edmonds, Mr. Maddocks, and all other brave Patriots
who are now suffering in the glorious cause of Liberty. —
Thanks were also given to the Chairman, who returned
thanks, and the meeting dispersed.

(jC|* The Tub of Herrings, from Mr. H. Martin, Junior, of
Yarmouth, has been gratefully received.

T. Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand, London.

The Publisher respectfully informs the Subscribers to
Mr. Hunt's Memoirs, that a parcel, containing a consi
derable portion ofthe copy for No. 25, was delayed several
days on the road between Ilchester and London ; and
this accident has necessarily caused two days delay in the
publication. 299, Strand, Jan. 2, 1822.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.

Ilchester Bastile, I9th day, 4th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacue, without retribution or inquiry.
January 12, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
On Saturday, the 29th of December, we were once
more visited with an inundation, in this dry, healthy, and
salubrious Gaol. Early in the morning the whole ofthe
ground floor of the building was under water ; it was
fifteen inches deep in Mr. Turnkey Pike's parlour, at
the front Lodge, and it was two feet deep in the debtors'
kitchen ; so that this beautiful, healthy, and extremely dry
and wholesome Gaol, as the Honourable Members of the
Honourable House declared it, has been six times over
flown with water, within the last six weeks ; and this has
always been the case in all wet seasons. A pretty place
for a Gaol, this, indeed ! It had been so roundly denied
by Honourable Gentlemen in the Honourable House, that
when the fact was first stated upon oath by Pike, the Turn
key, before "the Commissioners, I wsaw that they stared
with astonishment, as they were impressed with the idea
that Honourable Gentlemen had spoken the truth: and
what makes these inundations much worse in this Gaol
than in other places is this, that instead of the water run
ning off, as might be expected where a considerable por-
13 A

T. Dolbv, Printer, 299, Strand, London.

tion of the yards are paved and pitched, it is quite the re
verse here ; for the perverse idept, who had the manage
ment and the direction of this work, actually had the
pitching- and paving stones laid down loose and dry, with
out being secured with mortar ; therefore, instead of the
water draining off as the flood subsided, a very great por
tion of it must inevitably soak into the earth, which, being
of a porous and marshy nature, actually leaves us to ex
perience all the ill effects of a residence upon a bog
or a swamp ; and such is the salubrious situation of this
delectable Gaol, that on a summer evening the fogs and
damps are so prevalent and so pernicious, that they will
penetrate through a man's clothes to his skin in a few
minutes, if he has the hardihood to venture out of doors
after sun-set. But I thank God for a good constitution,
and by the greatest care and attention I am become proof
against the pestilence of this place, and at present I enjoy
an excellent state of health. 1 attribute this mainly to the
Rochdale Radical flannel, and to my inflexible perseverance
to obtain regular exercise out of doors when the weather
will permit, at least three hours every day ; when it is fine
I regularly walk from four to six miles every morning be
fore breakfast. In the summer I regularly walk from
twelve to sixteen miles a day ; and in the winter I walk
from eight to twelve miles a day : I not only reckon this
by the distance I walk in an hour, but by the number of
yards that I walk each time I pass up and down the Fac
tory yard ; I can fairly average it at twelve miles a day,
summer and winter : thus, at the end of two years and six
months, or eight hundred and ninety-eight days, at twelve
miles a day, I shall have walked, if I live so long, ten
thousand seven hundred and seventy-six miles. Before
I came here I do not recollect that I ever walked three
miles at one time for the sake of walking, or for what is

called for exercise, in my life. I was always so fond of
riding on horseback that I generally mounted one to go
even the shortest distance : my father, who was a most
active athletic man, and a great walker, used fre
quently to say, that I had better have my poney
saddled to ride up stairs to bed. I never but once
in my life set off to walk a distance of ten miles-, and
that was from Enford to Devizes, before I was five
years of age ; with the exception of this instance, I
never in my life set off to walk a distance of seven miles,
and that was from Devizes to Melksham ; with these two
exceptions, I do not recollect that I ever set out with the
intention of walking to any place a distance of more than
five miles, and that but very seldom in the course of my
life ; not but that I have been always capable of walking :
I have walked in shooting, perhaps, on occasions, from
thirty to forty miles a day ; but my habit has been to ride
on horseback on all occasions ; I rode hunting, coursing,
shooting, and even fishing. But if ever I leave this place
I shall be able to walk twenty or thirty miles to anyplace
as I used to be to ride that distance : so if the Borough
mongers should not leave me enough to keep a horse to
ride, thank God, I shall be able to walk or do any thing
else to keep independent of them.
I mentioned in my last address, that the Ministers ofthe
King had sent down an extent to seize and sell my es
tate, the manor of Glastonbury, and the property that
belongs to me within the said manor. The worthy per
petual Under-Sheriff Broderip, of Wells, served me with
a notice during the Investigation, that he had received a
warrant from the Treasury to distrain upon my property
for the penalties of 200i., and unless I paid him the
money, that he should proceed to distrain upon my te
nants at Glastonbury for the rents due to me. 1 desired
him to do so, and informed him what rents were due,

adding, that at Michaelmas there would be more than
enough to pay him the amount. He knew that I had
just taken upon myself to pay the whole expense of my
witnesses that I had called before the Commissioners, to
prove the charges that I had preferred against his Gaoler,
Bridle ; and the Ministers also knew that I had refused
to receive an order upon the Treasury for the money :
well, the worthy perpetual, who, with his partner, has
filled the office of Under-Sheriff for this county contrary to
law, and in violation of an express Act of Parliament, for
the last twenty-eight years, with the exception of
one year — one of the partners acting as the attorney,
and the other acting as Sheriff, the whole of that
time, in the teeth of an Act of Parliament, and in vio
lation of the law, as well as in violation of every
principle of justice — this worthy gave my tenants notice
not to pay me any more rent, but never took the slightest
means of recovering it himself. No, this worthy having
prevented them from paying me, his end appears to have
been answered, and he took no more pains about it ; not
one sixpence did they ever pay me afterwards. Well,
Michaelmas arrives; they pay me no vent; neither does
the worthy Sheriff take any measures to make them pay
him for the Crown. Well, Christmas comes ; and the
worthy Sheriff, instead of taking my rents, informs me,
that he has got an extent from the Crown, with orders
to take my person, to seize and sell the manor and estate
at Glastonbury. I replied, " why do you not go and take
the rents and pay yourself, without further trouble ?" " Oh,
no," said he, " 1 have received instructions, and I know my
duty too well to disobey those instructions. I shall sell
your estate, and I now give you notice that I shall sum
mon a jury to attend at the Gaol, at the time of the Gaol
Sessions, on the :enth of January, to examine you upon
oath as to your title," &c. &c. I replied, " why what

occasion is there for all this trouble and expense ? you
know my title as well as I do ; you acted as my steward
when I came to the possession of this estate, and for
many years afterwards, when you had the deeds in your
possession, and you know their contents better than I do,
as you, I believe, drew up the conveyance to me." " All
this," said he, " is very true; but, pray, let me alone ; 1
know what I am at, I know my own business better
than you do, and therefore prepare to meet the jury
on the tenth of January." I own I had made up
my mind to see to what lengths they would go,
and I was prepared to await the event; but, upon
relating the circumstance to my worthy friend, Mr.
Prankerd, of Langport, who is an attorney of the county,
and who has been an eye-witness to the pranks of these
worthy perpetuals, and has had many clients who have
been pulled to pieces by them, he earnestly advised me to
make my tenants pay their rents, and pay the penalties at
once, and get rid of the enormous expense which he plain
ly saw was the intention of the perpetual to put me to.
To this advice I assented, and he immediately took mea
sures to compel my principal tenant to pay his rent, at the
same time giving the Under-Sheriff notice that the object
was to get the rent, as he did not choose to do it, and to
pay the penalties. The tenant refused to pay the rent,
the worthy perpetual having, as he said, given him fresh
notice not to pay me: at the same time finding that I was
making- an effort to pay the penalties, having prevented
me obtaining the rent, he gave me notice that he had sent
to summon a jury to attend at the Gaol on Monday, the
seventh, instead of Thursday, the tenth of January. Thus
you see, my friends, these harpies ofthe Government were
proceeding with breathless haste to sell my manor and
estates, worth even in these times many thousand pounds,
to pay a penalty of two hundred pounds, which they could

have recovered at any hour by the simple process of dis
training for the rent that was due ; or, as they had my
consent, they might have obtained it for merely asking
for it. The object, you will plainly see, was to rob and
plunder me of my property, which this worthy perpetual
would have accomplished very adroitly, I have no doubt,
had he been left to his course and suffered to have fol
lowed the bent of his inclinations, particularly as he would
have had no one to impede his progress while he had got
me safely locked up in this Bastile. But my friend Pran-
kerd advised me by all means to pay the two hundred
pounds, and get myself out ofthe hands of these harpies of
the law, these devils in human form, relating to me a few
instances of their management of the victims of their law
ful proceeding, few of whom ever escaped ruin and a gaol.
If these worthies could have managed this matter in such
a way, and have made me the victim of their proceedings ;
if they could with such little ceremony take such a course
with me, who have in my hands some means of making
it known, only picture to yourselves, my friends, what
must be the deplorable state of the thousands of wretched
beings who have been sacrificed to their cupidity. On
Friday, I heard that a great number of freeholders
in the neighbourhood (twenty-four, I understand,)
were summoned to attend at the Gaol, on Monday,
to hear and determine, &c. in the matter of his Ma
jesty the King against Henry Hunt, &c. &c. My te
nants also were summoned to give evidence on the
part of his Majesty (God bless him). In fact, everything
was prepared, and the victim was to have been offered
up on Monday, and Sacrificed at the shrine of Moloch,
without pity or remorse. On Saturday morning I sent
the two hundred pounds, and had it paid into the
hands of the worthy representative of Majesty ; and I sin
cerely believe if this person, this Under-Sheriff, had been

informed of the death of his only son, that he would not
have been more shocked, or so much mortified, as he was
to have his intended victim thus escape out of his clutches.
God bless his Majesty ; I hope my two hundred pounds
will be grateful to his wishes ; I hope that I shall never
want it : of this I am quite sure, that I will starve and rot
before I would ever ask him to return it. I have never
yet touched one shilling of the public money ; his Majes
ty never had a shilling in his life that was not pub
lic money. God bless him, I hope that he will sleep as
sound after receiving it as I did after paying it. But in
consequence of these proceedings of writs and extents
issued against my property, they have contrived to circu
late a report amongst the ignorant and the ill-disposed,
that my estate was forfeited to the Crown, and by these
means some miscreants have been urged to commit all
sorts of depredations upon my property. One fellow dug
up and sold upwards of fifty tons of freestone, the founda
tion of an old market-cross that belonged to me as the
lord of the manor. Another fellow actually cut down
seventy-three fine young trees that were growing upon
the waste, and carried them away in broad day-light,
without the least possible pretension whatever to them ;
a fellow who has not an acre of land that I know of in the
whole manor ; and all this is done under the impression
that my property is confiscated, and that the Under-
Sheriff will protect them from any harm. However, I
have commenced an action against this fellow, and I have
no doubt but there are those who will urge him on to de
fend it, to put me to an expense, under the certainty that
the said Under-Sheriff will have to impannel the jury
that is to try and assess the damages. But " we shall
see." At my Court Leet, which was held the other day,
some of the jury were persuaded to hesitate before they
presented these and other encroachments, under an idea

that the manor did not now belong to me, but that it was
forfeited [to the Crown. You, my friends, have been too
long accustomed to witness and to suffer acts of tyranny
and oppression ; but was any thing- equal to this ever re
corded in history, that a Government, not satisfied with
incarcerating an individual in Gaol, but that they should
descend to such low, dirty, vindictive means of injuring
his property and effecting his ruin while they had got
him locked up in their custody ? Was there any thing ever
so disgraceful or so mean ? But I despise their malice,
and have not. the least doubt that I shall yet Hve to see
them brought to justice and punished for their villainy.
When they got Napoleon, the brave Napoleon, confined
upon a barren rock, in, a pestilential climate, why then
all was glory. They had seated the wretched Bourbons
on the throne of France, and restored the Pope and the In
quisition in Italy and in Spain, then it was we had
peace and plenty. By their account all the misery of the
world was created by one man. Well ; they had, by vio
lating every principle of the law of nations ; every prin
ciple of justice, both moral and divine; by abandoning
every principle of honour and good faith ; by treachery
and cowardice the most base, they had got this one man
into their custody ; he had surrendered a prisoner of war,
and was entitled to the protection of those to whom he
had surrendered ; but, blind to honour and honesty, and
devoid of every generous and liberal feeling, like cow
ards of the lowest and most abandoned cast, instead of
giving this brave man his liberty, after peace was made,
the dastardly Boroughmongers caused him to be confined
on a barren rock in the midst of the ocean, there to lin
ger and perish in a pestilential climate, deprived of the
society of his wife and only child, merely because their
cowardly hearts made them afraid of his superior talent
and courage ; and because John Gull had been wheedled

9
and coaxed and bullied into a belief that this great man
was the cause of all their burdens, their taxes, and their
distresses. Well, Napoleon was imprisoned, and peace
was obtained; the Bourbons and the Pope and the Inqui
sition were restored, yet John Gull was oppressed and
distressed. O, I shall never forget driving into Newbury
on a market-day, after Napoleon had surrendered a pri.
soner to the English ! O, the base dogs of farmers, they
had got an effigy of this brave man exhibited hanging
upon a gallows, and all the big-headed, besotted, bloated,
purse-proud brutes of farmers were drunk with joy at the
cheering sight ! But Gull did not grow rich with all this
glory; some said that things would never prosper while
Napoleon was alive; and many actually proposed to put
him to death, by knocking him on the head or drowning
him, as they would a rat or a mouse that they had taken
in a wire trap. By and by these wiseacres found out that
the Reformers must be put down, before the country
would prosper: all the evil was attributed to Hunt and
g-reat public meetings. Well, the collective wisdom pass
ed laws to put down the Reformers and prevent public
meetings, unless they were called by some of their own
gang; having murdered sixteen, and basely wounded six
hundred peaceable men, women, and children at Man
chester, on the ever-memorable and never-to-be-forgotten
16th of August, 1819. To mislead the public, and to
cloak their own crimes, a bill of indictment was preferred
against myself and other Radicals, which was tried at
York, and, by means of a packed special jury, after five
hours' deliberation, they acquitted us of seven counts and
a half out of the eight counts, and returned a verdict of
guilty upon half the first count, merely that we had at
tended a meeting with flags, banners, &c. No candid
man in the kingdom expected that we should have been
imprisoned an hour; but at length, on the 17th of May,
13 B

10
1820, I was sentenced to be imprisoned in this Bastile for
two years and six months. The Morning Post and other
ministerial papers now exulted exceedingly; now that
the great leader of the Radicals was once safe in the
custody of the Boroughmongers, now all things were
expected to come about again, and the land would once
more be blessed with prosperity, and the people would
grow rich and happy. The editor of the Morning Post
expressed his savage delight, his malignant joy, at my
sentence, in the following way, in that paper of the 23d
of May, 1820, a few days after I came here: " I have,"
said he, " no hesitation in declaring, that all the nume
rous verdicts for the Crown that of late have asserted the
majesty of law, including the convictions of high treason,
have not done half so much for the real interest of social
quiet as the radically never-dreamt-of conviction of the
Lord of the Manor of Glastonbury." Another cor
rupt tool of the same gender and occupation exultingly
said, " The game is now up." All, all these venal tools
agreed that, when I was incarcerated, there would be
no more complaints of distress. But soon after this the
Queen was brought to England by the worthy Alderman
Wood ; then she was represented as the very focus of
Radicalism, and a glorious stir was made by the people
for her. It was necessary to put her down, but this was
a task not quite so easy. Heaven and earth, and all hell,
with Italy to boot, was set in motion to destroy her, by
means of false charges and false witnesses ; but the peo
ple of England stood faithfully by her side, and protected
her with the shield of their omnipotence ; and, in spite
of Lawyer Brougham, and the rest of the lawyers, they
did protect her from that premeditated and cold-blooded
attempt to bring her to condign punishment, which was
intended to have been inflicted upon her by his gracious
Majesty's Ministers. But ultimately she died of a broken

11
heart, after Messrs. Brougham and Co. had caused her
political death. Yet John Gull began soon again to grum
ble. Soon after this, the news that the brave Napoleon
had breathed his last, was brought to this country. Well,
Napoleon is no more; the Queen is dead; Hunt and
Wooler, and other Reformers, are imprisoned in the power
of the Boroughmongers, and still the distresses of the
country are increasing, and misery and wretchedness are
stalking through the land. The blustering farmers are in
distress; those men that rejoiced when the Reformers
were put down ; those men that hung the brave Napo
leon in effigy, are in deep distress; those men who for
the last twenty years have been roaring and ranting in
favour of the war, and exclaiming against all those who
wished for peace and Reform ; they are overwhelmed now
in distress, and ruin stares them in the face. O, how
these chaps used to drink and swagger and bully; how
they used to carouse on market-days, and gallop their
cavalry horses home after the market was over ! One of
my tenants at Glastonbury, who was here the other day,
talking of those times, assured me that it was dangerous
for any one to cross the street at Glastonbury in the even
ing or night, after the cattle-markets at Wells ; the far
mers and graziers used to ride home in bodies, whooping
hallooing, mad drunk, riding and driving over all who
came in their way: these were glorious times for the far
mers ; no set of men ever conducted themselves with such
unbecoming blustering pomposity, as they did, during
their prosperity. O, how they used to guzzle ale, gin,
and wine, and drink d — — nation to the Reformers ! But
now the case is altered ; they are as meek and as mild
and as quiet as possible; and to see them come sidling
and whining to the Reformers, to claim their compassion
and solicit their aid to help them out of the mire, is quite
pitiable. Only think that these yeomanry cavalry bucks

should, after seven years of peace, be holding public
meetings all over the country, to petition the Honourable
House for redress, for reduction of taxation, and for re
trenchment and economy. The Webb Halls, the Ellmans,
the John Benelts, the Ilotls, and the Bath Agricultural
Asses, are for petitioning the Honourable House for re
dress, for relief from distress ; but these wiseacres are for
leaving the way in which this is to be effected, entirely to
the discretion of the same collective wisdom that brought
them into the scrape. But some of these meetings begin
to become very interesting indeed ; every now and then
some man of talent starts up amongst them, and then a
little plain, common sense is interspersed with the insuf
ferable nonsense uttered by the jolterheads. At Lewes,
in Sussex, my Lord Egremont has presided at one of these
meetings, and his Lordship expatiated upon the blessings
of taxation, and the prosperity of the country, as exem
plified in the national debt, which his Lordship, in imi
tation of Mr. Justice Bayley, considered to be a proof of
national riches. A Mr. Blackman appears to have been
an interloper amongst these jolterheads, for he talked
common sense, and told the farmers what was the real
cause of their distresses; but the jolterheads stuck to
their delusion, and another meeting was proposed. It
has been held, and Mr. Davies Gilbert, alias Mr. Davies
Giddy, was called to the chair. It was attended by Lord
Chichester, one of Pitt's Peers, who is at present Joint
Post-Master General. This mushroom Nobleman and
sinecure placeman of course disapproved of farmers at
tending such meetings ; it was too much in the Radical
style for him ; they had much better stop at home, for
sooth, and mind their own business. Here is a pretty
specimen of upstart Nobility; here is a pretty fellow;
here is a legislator, who endeavours, but with a puny
effort indeed, to upset the beautiful maxim of the great

13
Lord Bolingbroke, who said, " that the Constitution of
England was' the business of every Englishman." Mr.
Blackman was there again, and moved some sensible re
solutions, which, upon being put, were carried by a large
majority, although they were completely Radical. But
the cunning old tool of Pitt, Davies Giddy, contrived by
a trick to have it sent forth to the public that the humbug
petition of Earl Chichester was carried. Lord Stanhope
has addressed a letter to the farmers and landholders of
Kent, he having proposed a county meeting, which was
objected to by the more cunning and older cocks of the
system. His Lordship speaks out pretty plainly in much
about the same sort of language that was used by myself
and the Radicals ten years back ; and he proposes the
same sort of remedies, now the mischief is done, that we
proposed then to prevent the mischief. This Lord Stan
hope, I believe, is a relation of Pitt's by the mother's side,
and made a flaming speech on his first appearing in the
House of Lords, after the death of his father, in support of
that system which brought the country into its present
state of distress. Two meetings have been held in Kent,
and another in Sussex, at Battle. This last meeting was at
tended by the notorious Jack Fuller, of Rose Hill, for
merly Member for that county. At the time of the Duke
of York and Mrs. Clark's affair, Fuller made himself very
conspicuous by a vulgar speech that he delivered, saying,
" those who did not like Old England may leave it and
be d  d ;" and upon being called to order by the
Speaker for his conduct, in a drunken fit he was going to
throw a chair at the Speaker's head. Mr. Curteis, M.P.
for the county, made himself a precious fool, by talking a
deal of nonsense. Lord Ashburnham was in the chair-
After the meeting was broke up, a majority of the com
pany sat down to a dinner in the same room where the
meeting took place. Mr. Cobbett, who had attended as a

14
hearer, wras invited to join the party at dinner, which he
accepted, and was voted into the chair to preside at the
second table, Mr. Curteis, the Member for the county ?
being in the chair at the other table. Mr. Cobbett's
health was drank with great applause, upon which he
made an eloquent and comprehensive speech, in which the
main cause of the agricultural distress was clearly and ex
plicitly pointed out. His speech was received throughout
with the greatest attention. There has been several
" agricultural distress" meetings also in this county.
One held at Taunton, last Wednesday, called by the Ma
gistrates, was numerously attended. The county Mem
bers attended and talked plenty of trash ; Dr. Kinglake
and Mr. Shillibeer spoke to the purpose, and pointed out
the cause as well as the remedy. A Gentleman who was
present informed me, that there were twelve Gentlemen
who addressed the meeting, and they all spoke in favour
of Reform as being absolutely necessary, with the excep
tion of Mr. Dickenson, the Whig Grenvillite, Member for
the county ; he declared he would oppose Reform in any
shape and under all circumstances. Look to this, free
holders of the county of Somerset. If my information is
correct, if Mr. Dickenson actually said this, will you ever
disgrace your county by sending him to Parliament as
your representative any more ? It is high time you should
look about you. You have proved by your late spirited
conduct in the election of Coroner, that you know your
power, and that you have the courage and the honesty to
exercise it as becomes the character of Englishmen. If
this man did use this languag-e, if he had the impudence
to make this declaration, let him from henceforth repre
sent some rotten borough of the Grenvilles, but suffer
him not any longer to be our representative for this
wealthy county, nor the servant of its high-spirited inha
bitants. Let him continue to figure away as Chairman of

15
the Quarter Sessions, and as Recorder of the Corporation
of Glastonbury, but, by the blessing of God and the spirit
of your independence, he shall no longer be M. P. for the
county of Somerset. Let us, my friends, look out in time
for a proper man. We have Sir Charles Bampfylde and
we have Colonel Tynte ; let us call uponthese Gentle
men ; let us have one or the other of them at the next
election. We have very lately shewn these haughty Ma
gistrates what the freeholders can do if they please; and
we will teach them a Jesson at the next election that they
will not forget for some years to come. I am happy to
find that the second meeting of the Freeholders' Union
was so well attended at North Petherton, on Monday last.
Follow this up, my friends of Somersetshire, and you will
soon bring your haughty oppressors noses to the grind
stone. At this meeting the Reverend Henry Creswell,
the Vicar of Creech St. Michael, was in the chair ; and my
worthy friend Oliver Hayward, Esq. of Mudford, was his
deputy. The health of Sir Charles Bampfylde and the
emancipation of the county of Somerset, was drank with
enthusiasm ; as was that of Colonel Tynte, Alderman
Wood, Lord Cochrane, the Captive of Ilchester, Mr. Hume,
&c. &c. Mr. Creswell and Mr. Hayward took a very ac
tive part against Magisterial dictation at the late election
for Coroner ; and Mr. Creswell has published an account
of that contest, and the speech he delivered in the County
Hall upon that occasion ; and in a spirited address to the
freeholders of the county, he has made some pointed and
severe strictures upon the conduct of some of the Magis
trates, as to the part that they took in the Hall to inter
rupt him during his speech, &c. &c. Let us not be inac
tive, but prepare to make another successful effort to eman
cipate the county. Let all those who brought up the lit
tle freeholders to vote for Mr. Uphill take care to have
their freeholds entered upojn. the land-tax list, to pay a

16
small annual sum of threepence or sixpence a-year each
to the land-tax, and this will make them good votes
at an election for Members for the county. Now
there are from thirty to fifty persons who have made
encroachments upon the waste lands in the manor of
Glastonbury; I hereby give them notice, that if they will
apply to me, I will grant them a freehold lease upon each
of their houses and gardens, merely for paying for the
writing-s; this will give them a title to theirproperty,
which, by the bye, they have not at present ; and it will
also give each of them a vote at the next election for
Members for the county. 1 do not mean to influence them
in the exercise of their rights, I only offer them this boon
as a reward for the zeal and public spirit which they
evinced at the late election, by coming forward to a man
in the cause of Liberty, the moment that an appeal was
made to them. I have no doubt but many other gentle
men in the county, friends of Liberty, will follow my
example, if not to grant freehold leases, at any rate to
be sure to have the little freeholds registered in the Land
Tax books of their several parishes : but, above all things ,
make up your minds upon this point, not to promise
your votes to any Attorney. Let us get rid of these
intruders: these fellows have boasted that they could
return two Members for the county. Let us have nothing
to do with paid agents ; let Sir Thomas Lethbridge and
Mr. Dickenson hire these hirelings, but vote for no man
who employs any of them. Almost every attorney in the
county was employed for Sir Thomas Lethbridge's man,
Mr. Gaye ; but the spirit of the freeholders being roused,
these sharks had no chance. " These are the muckworms
that eat out all the happiness of kingdoms ;" therefore
vote for no man who employs an attorney for his election
agent. Nearly two thousand votes were polled for Mr.
Uphill, the whole expense incurred for which was under

17
fifty pounds : this was managed so reasonably, because
no attorney was employed. Upon the same principle we
can return an independent Member for the county for less
than five hundred pounds expense ; and I see no reason
why we should not return two; for if our present Mem
bers were to be shaken in a bag, 1 am sure it would be a
nice point to decide which would come out first.
After the manuscript of my last Number went to press,
I received a letter from Mr. Alfred Cox, of Nottingham,
the secretary to the committee of the Nottingham Fund
for the relief of Persecuted Reformers, inclosing copies of
several letters that he had received from the Reverend
Joseph Harrison, and the other incarcerated Reformers
confined in Chester Castle, complaining of the neglect of
their brother Reformers who are at liberty, lt appears
that Mr. Drummond of Manchester had written to Mr.
John Stubbs, one of the prisoners confined in Chester
Castle, and amongst other excuses for not being able to
collect in Manchester more than eleven shillings for him,
he insinuates that the Radicals , there are rendered un
able to subscribe towards the relief of their incarcerated
brethren, because they subscribe all their money towards
the funds of the Great Northern Union. Mr. Cox also ap
pears to have adopted this opinion, that the Great Northern
Union was calculated to produce injury to the funds for
the relief ofthe prisoners ; and I also find that this opinion
has been very industriously circulated by those who had,
long before the Northern Union was proposed, abandoned
their brethren in prison, and disgraced their own charac
ter, by withdrawing their penny a week subscriptions to
support them in prison, that they might add that trifle to
their criminal and beastly indulgence in intoxicating
taxed liquors. It has been also very fashionable amongst
these sottish guzzlers, these pretended friends of Reform,
to excuse themselves from subscribing to the Great Nor
thern Union, because, forsooth, they object to the Radicals
becoming Boroughmongers. Once for all, once more I
beg to repel this insinuation, by assuring my readers, that
it was never the intention of the promoters of the Great
Northern Union to spend one shilling of their money
amongst the Boroughmongers, or to promote perjury or
bribery ; the sole object was, to devote the subscriptions
towards paying the unavoidable expenses necessarily in
curred to support a popular candidate at a contested elec
tion. I myself have stood two contested elections for Bris-
13 c

18
tol, one for Westminster, and one for Preston ; at. neither
of these places did 1 ever give the value of a pot of porter
to an elector ; there was no bribery, no treating, no guz
zling, not even the value of a ribbon was ever given away ;
but yet the legal expenses that were imposed upon me
cost thousands of pounds. The hustings alone, at West
minster, cost me five hundred pounds, including law ex
penses, in resisting such an enormous claim. I petitioned
the House of Commons against the illegal return of the
Members for Bristol, who were elected by the aid of mi
litary force : this cost me nearly a thousand pounds. Is
it right, or is it proper for a candidate who has sworn
never lo touch one shilling of the public money to be
put to such expenses as these, or is it more proper that the
Radical millions should forego a quart or two of guzzle,
or a swallow or two of gin, to subscribe their pence for
such a laudable purpose ? Before I proceed further I
shall take leave to say, that the first great duty of the
Reformers ought to be to take care that their brethren
who have fallen into the hands of the enemy, who are in
carcerated by the Boroughmongers, should not want for
those comforts which they are allowed to receive in a
prison, much less should they want for the common neces
saries of life. If such men as Mr. Harrison or Mr. Knight
have been neglected during their incarceration in Chester
and Lincoln Castles, it is a foul stain, a disgraceful blot
upon the character of the Reformers, and it will be such a
stigma upon the very name of Reform that ages will not
obliterate. To the Committee of Reformers at Notting
ham, who have collected and distributed their funds for
this laudable purpose, the highest praise is due ; their
names will stand recorded in the history of their country
for genuine philanthropy and generous patriotism ; they
have set their brethren of the North a great and glorious
example. But I must take leave to inform Mr. Cox, that
he labours under a most egregious error, if he believes
that the formation of the Great Northern Union has pre
vented one penny from being subscribed to the funds
for the relief of incarcerated Reformers ; on the contrary,
I proposed the formation of this Union for the purpose of
recalling the Radicals to a sense of their dut)' to themselves,
and to their brethren in adversity. I had heard that they
had returned to guzzling and drunkenness, and my great
object was to withdraw them from that beastly, worse
than beastlv vice, that deadly sin, and to unite them in

19
sobriety and reflection. 1 will pledge myself that ther*
has not been one penny withdrawn from the funds to sup
port the incarcerated Reformers, which has been applied to
the subscriptions ofthe Great Northern Union. We have
calculated that there are three millions of Radical Reform
ers in the kingdom ; if there are not that number, the
majority is against us, and we shall not, ought not, to have
Reform, and there is an end of that subject; but if there
are three millions of Reformers, only let them drink one
quart of intoxicating guzzle less in the year than they
have been accustomed to do, and subscribe the amount,
sixpence a year each, to a fund for persecuted Reformers,
and we shall hear no more of their wants. Three million
sixpences are seventy-five thousand pounds. In
Lancashire and Cheshire there are at least half a million
of Radicals, only let them subscribe the amount of one
glass of gin, or one pint of guzzle, three-pence each per
annum, and we shall hear no more of Mr. Drummond's
complaints about the incarcerated Radicals being neg
lected : half a million threepences are six thousand two
hundred and fifty pounds. Look at this, ye sots,
ye drunkards, ye guzzlers , only to refrain from one swallow
of gin, or one guzzle of ale in a year, and you have the_
power to effect that Reform for which you have been so
long contending ; and do you'deserve a Reform, are you
worthy to enjoy the blessings of Liberty, if you will not
make such a sacrifice once a week instead of once a year.
Believe me, Mr. Cox and Mr. Drummond, that this is the
sole evil, the sole cause why the incarcerated Reformers
are neglected, and why the people of England are
slaves. I am, my friends and fellow-countrymen,
Your's sincerely,
H. HUNT.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
I beg to acknowledge the receipt of Communications and valuable
Christmas Presents from my Friends at Burghclere, Great Yarmouth,
Canterbury, Andover, Salisbury, and Bath. The Venison, Game,
Mutton, Beef, Brawn, Red Herrings, and Currant Wine, all came
safe, and proved excellent.

20

ADDRESS WITH THE SUBSCRIPTION FROM THE
FRIENDS OF REFORM AT NOTTINGHAM,
TO MR. HUNT.
The Friends of Reform in and near Nottingham, ex
cited by their sense of Mr. Hunt's exertions and services
in the cause of Liberty, of Parliamentary Reform, of
Justice, and of suffering Humanity, have thought it their
duty to exert themselves in soliciting and collecting for
his use the sum of Forty Pounds, the value of the bills
enclosed, of which they request Mr. Hunt's acceptance*
as a very small part of the indemnification due from his
countrymen, for his pecuniary sacrifices in their behalf.
Mr. Hunt's personal exertions and sufferings in the
same glorious cause, being above all pecuniary estima
tion, can be compensated only by the consciousness that
he has deserved well of his country, and by the grateful
esteem and veneration of his fellow-citizens.
The Nottingham Reformers are proud on this occasion
to join the general voice of the nation in expressing their
high estimation of Mr. Hunt's character and services, and
their admiration of those virtuous energies which have
converted the very means chosen by his adversaries to
wreak their vengeance upon him, into the means of a
signal triumph over their injustice and malignity.
Signed, on the behalf of the Subscription Committee,
JOSHUA DOUBLEDAY, Treasurer.
Bottle-Lane, Nottingham, Nem-year's Day, 1822.

T. Dolby, Printer, 299. Strand, London.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 7fh day, 5th month, 3dyearof the MANcHESTEtt
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
January 23, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
MORE FOUL PLAY INTENDED.
In my address to you, published in the Twenty-fifth
N umber of my Memoirs, and in the fourteenth page of that
Address, you will recollect that I pointed out the benefi
cial results ofthe late Investigation into the abuses of this
Gaol, and the very great amelioration, in ' the condition
of the prisoners confined therein; that all torture was
abolished, and all those cruel and unnatural restrictions
which were put in force before the Investigation, had been
totally abolished, since Mr. Hardy came to this Gaol, The
effect, produced amongst the prisoners, in consequence of
their being treated like human beings insteadbf like brute
beasts, were these: in the first place, all the prisoners
were more tractable, and more ready to attend to the
commands of the officers ; there was great diminution of
s wearing. I believe that Mr. Hardy has not had occasion
to complain of any prisoner to the Magistrate, neither has
any prisoner complained of any ofthe officers ofthe Gaol ; the
contrast was most evident and gratifying. I will venture
14 ' A

T. Dolby, Printer, 290, Strand, London,

tosay, that there have been more blasphemous oathg sworn
in the Gaol amongst the prisoners, in consequence of cruel
and oppressive treatment, in one day, wliile Bridle was
here, than have been sworn in the Gaol altogether since
Mr. Hardy came here ; in fact, every thing went on
smoothly and peaceably ; my family and my friends had
been admitted from nine o'clock in the morning till sun
set ; the debtors also were allowed to sec their wives in
private, and in case of illness, to be attended by them or
other parts of their families, and they were allowed to
bring them in good water, food, or other necessaries, at
all reasonable hours in the daytime; their families and
visitors were treated civilly, instead of haughtily and
rudely. Notwithstanding, these rules and regulations
were severe enough in all conscience, when compared
with other Gaols, yet they were carried into execution in
such a way as rendered the horrors of a prison in some
degree supportable ; at least, as far as it could be expected,
when it is considered that this is one of the very worst,
most inconvenient, and unwholesomely situated Gaols in
the kingdom. Six floods in six weeks, and apartments
and wards excluded from the sun five months out of the
year: these unavoidable inconveniences and privations,
one would have thought, were quite enough, without having
to endure others ; but, as the devil envied the happiness
of our first parents when in Paradise, so some evil spirit
appears to have envied me the little comfort that I en
joyed in my captivity; and it has had such an influence
over the worthy Magistrates of this county, that they have
made a law, to have me locked up in solitary confinement,
without one human creature being permitted to see me
while I remain here. What think you of this, my friends ?
My family has} this day, for the third time, been
inhumanly turned out of the Gaol ! When I first came
here I was prohibited from seeing iny friends, except it

was at three separate hours in the day. Sir John Acland
came to visit me at tho end of seven weeks, and I then ap
plied for permission to have my friends to visit me at
reasonable hours in the day time; this was immediately
granted me. I then sent for my family from Sussex, a
distance of one hundred and fifty miles ; they came to alle
viate the horrors of confinement ; but, before they had
been in Ilchester a month, an order was made to exclude
all females ; this order was signed by Dr. Colston and
nineteen other Magistrates ; and my family were, without
a moment's notice, turned out ofthe Gaol, and totally ex
cluded from seeing me, unless I would condescend to see
them in the conversation room, which will be seen by the
Evidence* was a place dedicated to all sorts of debauchery,
and not fit to be approached by any decent female. Well,
they returned to Sussex ; yet, my son, and male visitors,
were permitted to see me as usual. After an application
to the Court of King's Bench, Sir Charles Bampfylde, the
High Sheriff, came at the end of three months, and relieved
me from this unnatural and g-rievous restriction. He gave
positive orders that my family and friends should have free
access to mo at all reasonable hours in tho day time, as
usual. Well, I sent for my family again, they left Sussex
once more, and travelled the one hundred and fifty miles
back again to be enabled to visit me. After they had been
in Ilchester about a month, Sir Charles Bampfylde went
out of office, and a new Sheriff, William Hanning, Esq.
of Dillington, was sworn in. On that very day, at the very
hour that Sir Charles Bampfylde was out of office, the Rev.
Dr. Colston, the Rev. Parson Thring, and his papa, a
quondam attorney, the three Visiting Justices, assembled
at the Gaol, unknown to the new Sheriff, and made an
order to prohibit all females from visiting me ; well, my
family was turned out once more, and after several fruit
less efforts to get an order from the new Sheriff for their
* Sr* Ilchester Gaol Investigation, ra?' s 46, 73, 71, TH, 9-2, 07, 101

admission, they set off once more to their friends in Sussex
one hundred and fifty miles back again ; yet my son and
my male visitors were permitted to see me as usual. This
was last February.
In consequence of several petitions that were presented
to Parliament, a commission was sent down to inquire into
the abuses of this Gaol, and the conduct of the Gaoler ;
this Investigation lasted between three and four months,
and at its conclusion the Gaoler, Bridle, was discharged,
as being an unfit person to fill that office. The Sheriff,
Mr. Hanning, then made an order that all my visitors
should once more have free access to me at reasonable
hours in the day time, from nine in the morning till dusk.
My family came once more, the third time, one hundred
and fifty miles ; but before they had been here a fortnight,
they were called back again by the dangerous illness of a
near relation, which illness terminated fatally ; they
returned to eat their Christmas dinner with me, as
Mr. Hanning assured me that they should be admit
ted as long as he remained in the office of Sheriff.
But it appears that the Clerk ofthe Peace delivered to Mr.
Hardy, at the termination of the quarter-sessions at
Wells, last week, some new orders of the Magistrates,
which orders are said to have been revised and confirmed
by JUDGE BEST. This notable document prohibits ail
persons whatever from having any access to me, unless it
be at the felons' cage, or double grating, at the front
lodge, in the presence of a turnkey. This, they know,
would act as a total prohibition ; and the Reverend Dr.
Colston, the pious Parson-Justice, is appointed as a Visit
ing Magistrate, together with Mr. Newman, the Magis
trate who swore so roundly before the Commissioners one
day, that the Gaol bread was good, and afterwards ac
knowledged that it was not good, but unwholesome. These
two worthy Magistrates ara to see this rule carried into effect,

and my family are for the third time turned out of the
Gaol. When I heard that the Doctor was a Visiting
Magistrate, I involuntarily exclaimed " 0, the old Cur !"
It was the turn of one of the Mister Thrii.gs to have been
Visiting Magistrate this quarter, but it appear* they have
declined the office. The old one was always considered,.
while he practised at Warminster, a cunning, wary, sly
Old Limb ofthe Law, and he, it appears, is now disposed
to keep himself and his Reverend Son out of harm's-way.
Those who read the evidence given before the Commis
sioners, when they recollect the cross-examination of these
two worthies, will not be surprised to find that they have
declined the honour of becoming Visiting Magistrates with
Doctor Colston. The old cock, 1 believe, does not. much,
relish the idea of being called to the bar ofthe House of
Commons ; but if there be a particle of justice remaining
in the country, he will yet have to answer at the bar of
a Court of Justice, for the cruel assault and unheard-of tor
ture inflicted upon poor Hillier.
Now, my worthy friends, when you read this account of
my treatment, I implore you to keep your tempers. I
have no doubt but that this cruel act of injustice is inflicted
upon me for the purpose of driving me and my friends to some
act of desperation. The fact is, I have received an intimation
from a friend in the enemy's camp, that this is the object ;
for you must not believe, my friends, that all the Magis
trates have concurred in this act of injustice and inhuma
nity. I know that several of them strongly protested
against it, but they were out- voted.; and it never would-
have been carried 'f such a man as Sir Charles
Bampfylde had been the Sheriff. I do not accuse Mr.
Hannin"- of concurring in such a hellish measure — I know
that he did not, because I have his opinion upon the sub
ject upon oath. Before the Commissioners, he. swore,

0
when «sked by me why he did not follow the example of
Sir Charles Bampfylde, and make an order for the admis
sion of my family and friends — " I am of opinon that the
Magistrates of the county have the power to make rules
and regulations for the government ofthe whole Gaol, and
which, when approved by the Judges of assize, are impe
rative, against the opinion of the Sheriff." But, " think
ing the request of Mr. Hunt not improper or unreason
able, under all the circumstances of the Gaol, I applied
personally to the Magistrates of the Quarter Sessions,
that Mr. Hunt, my prisoner, might have the accommo
dation he applied for, but my request has not been com
plied with." Here lies all the mischief, you see, my friends.
Here is a High Sheriff soliciting and begging the Ma
gistrates to do an act of justice which the law empowers
him to do himself ; supplicating those very persons that
he ought to command. What a degradation to the office
of High Sheriff! was there ever such a perversion of the
law! But these Magistrates knew the sort of man they
had to deal with. Why, if they had dared to have inter
fered with the order of Sir Charles Bampfylde, he would
have taken every man Jack of them into custody. What,
said he, shall tbe very men that I have the power to order
out at my command under the posse commit atv a Act,
shall they be permitted to dispute my authority ? certainly
they shall not ; and you, Mr. Gaoler, at your peril prevent
any one of Mr. Hunt's friends from coming to see him ;
while I am Sheriff, no man, Dor set of men, shall interfere
with my authority. These poor creatures of Magistrates,
before such a man as Sir Charles, shrunk as it were into a
nut-shell. But over poor Mr. Hanning they swagger and
bully like Hectors ; and he, who, by the by, is a well-
meaning good sort of man, chooses to submit to them.
If this was a question of mere matter of right, it may be all

very well for him, if he pleased, for what is called peace
and quietness, to humour these gentry ; but as it is a. great
constitutional question, Mr. Hanning is the first Sheriff
upon record thathas compromised the character ofthe office.
He submits to an act that he admits is partial and unjust, and
then he screens himself by a pretended opinion of Mr. Ser
geant Lens. I say pretended, because I do not believe
that Mr. Sergeant Lens ever gave such an opinion as he is
represented to have done; that he has given an opinion, I
have no doubt, because Mr. Hanning has informed mc so.
But what is it an opinion of? Who drew up the case ? Why
Mr. Clerk ofthe Peace, forsooth ; the very gentleman who
drew up the fraudulent order at the Michaelmas Sessions
at Taunton, in 1820, stating that the said order was
made " by and with the consent of the Sheriff;" al
though , as Mr. Clerk of the Peace deposed before tho
Commissioners, neither the Sheriff nor theUnder Sheriff
were present at that Sessions. Therefore I have a right
to presume that this case was drawn up to obtain a par
ticular opinion, for a particular purpose. But it is in
vain to reason upon the subject. It is the worst sort of
tyranny to live undor uncertain and changeable laws.
Three times have the. laws of this Gaol changed since
I have been here ; three times have laws or rules been
made for the admission of my family; three times have
the Magistrates altered these laws when my family have
been with me, for the purpose of the savage gratification
of turning the females of that family out; and three times
have they been turned out after they had encouraged me
to send for them each time a distance of one hundred and
fifty miles ; and now this last time they have actually
made an order that no human being is to be admitted to
see me but the officers of the Gaol, the Magistrates, the
Sheriff, the Under-Sheriff, and the Clerk of the Peace ;
so that this is an order for solitary confinement to all

intents and purpo^. Mv son, who is in Ilchester, can
not seeme; ahair-divs .jr cannot be admitted to cut my
hair; a tailor cannot come to measure me for clothes; and,
as the order stands, no medical man but the Gaol Doctor.
who lives at a distance of five miles from the Gaol, can
be admitted to see me, ill or well- Then adieu to physic,
well or ill, I'll have no more of it; for 1 will not be poi
soned by him, if I know it. He must have some object in
view more than 'the salary of one hundred pounds ; he
cannot afford to ride ten miles every day in the year, three
thousand six hundred and fifty miles a year, and find me
dicine and surgical instruments, and attend from one to
three hours each day in the Gaol, for one hundred pounds
a year. That is quite out of the question ; it is not a com
mon post-chaise driver's wages. I do not say that Mr.
Tompkins would be bribed to poison me, neither can I
make up my mind to think that he would ; but it is my
duty to be suspicious of all those who are connected with
the worthies who have so far overstepped the bounds of
the law of England, and who have so far disgraced their
own characters, for the gratification of their vindictive
revenge against me, because I have detected and exposed
the atrocities practised in this Gaol, and checked the abo
minable profligacy in the expenditure ofthe public money
in this county. Men who would deliberately inflict tor
ture upon the mind of a captive in their power, to gratify
a malignant feeling of revenge, in my honest opinion
would not hesitate to put that captive to death by poison
or any other means, if they had the power of doing so
with the probability of not being detected. This is my
serious, deliberate, and honest opinion ; therefore, I mean
to be strictly upon my guard. It may be, and I now be
lieve it is, the intention that 1 should never leave this Gaol
alive, and this is the opinion of my friends and family ; but
it will be my care to frustrate their intentions. I trust

i)
most confidently that I shall live to see these worthies
brought to justice, and punished for their cruelty and inhu
manity. As I am anxious to place this subject upon record in a
clear point of view, I will go back a little, and insert the
opinion of other Sheriffs and other lawyers, and place
them side by side with the opinions of William Hanning,
Esq. our Sheriff of Somersetshire, backed by the opinion
of Mr. Sergeant Lens. These may be very good, but we
will now see what other doctors have said upon this sub
ject. It will be recollected, that when Mr. Finnerty was
imprisoned in Lincoln Gaol, in 1812, that he complained
to the House of Commons ofthe ill-treatment of Merry-
weather, the Gaoler, and of the Reverend Dr. Caley
I'llingwOrth, one of the Visiting Magistrates of that
Gaol. Soon after this the Sheriff went to the Gaol and
relieved Mr. Finnerty from those privations which he
had complained were inflicted upon him by the Magis
trates. I will give an extract from the Morning Chroni
cle of the 28th of March, 1812: — " G. Lister, Esq. the
new Sheriff, has visited Lincoln Castle, and examined
every department. To the complaints of Messrs. Drakard
and Finnerty he gave the most gentlemanlike attention,
and promised complete redress. For Mr. Finnerty he or
dered an airy apartment in the front of the prison, for
which that gentleman had so long looked in vain ; and
the prisoners heard with peculiar satisfaction the declared
purpose of the Sheriff, ' that the Magistrates shall not in
terfere with his authority? " Mr. Lister kept his word,
and supported the due dignity of the office of Sheriff, and
defied these Parson Magistrates to interfere with the com
forts of his prisoners. But it seems that this Rev. Dr. Ca
ley lllingworth would be meddling, like the old cow; he
was too fond of persecution to drop it altogether in con
sequence of one rap upon the knuckles ; therefore, I find,
14 B

10
that on Thursday, the 25th of June following, a discussion
took place in theHouse of Commons, foundedupon the peti
tion of Thomas Houlden, late a debtor in that prison,
who complained of the ill-treatment of Merryweather
and the said Dr. Caley lllingworth. This petition was
presented by the late Sir Samuel Romilly, who stated,
" that one of the Magistrates of the county of Lincoln had,
upon a complaint made to him by the Gaoler, ordered the
petitioner to be removed out of the debtors' part of the
prison, and placed in solitary confinement, or at least a
place where his friends could not have free access to him.
But, he could not help asking, what was the authority
under which the Magistrates meant to shelter such an
act of oppression? (Hear, hear!) He knew of none-
(Hear, hear !) The common law, he was confident, gave
none. But it had been contended for, he understood,
that all their authority was derivable to the Magistrates
under the operation of the 31st of the King; he had read
the Act attentively, and had found in it no such authority.
(Hear!) It did give'certain powers in the controul of
houses of correction to the Magistracy, but such prisons as
the Castle of Lincoln and county gaols, were, he contended,
the prisons of ihe Sheriffs, and not of the Magistracy.
(Hear, hear !) If this power had been given by the Act,
it would have been given in plain and direct words ;
and if the power be not given, it was in vain to talk to
that House of what this or that lawyer thought of the
construction that might be put upon that Act, when it
was evident to any man who read it, that no such con
struction was within the meaning of the Legislature at the
time it was enacted. (Hear, hear!) He knew not the
authority under which the Magistrates made such an or
der, and he spoke as a lawyer when he said that the Ma
gistrates had no right to meddle with the management of
priaoners in county gaols ; such gaols and prisoners were,

11
he contended, the Sheriff's, whose duty it was, not to
ride on a caparisoned horse into the assize town before
the Judge, with white staffs and trumpets sounding, but
to-consult the ease and comforts of his prisoners (for his
they were) as far as that comfort was consistent with their
confinement." Now here is the opinion of Sir Samuel
Romilly, who, as he said, spoke as a lawyer. I should
like very much to see Mr. Sergeant Lens' opinion side by
side with this. I should like to see Mr. Hanning's print
ed answer to this opinion. Here we have Sir Samuel Ro-
milly's opinion, the first law legislator pf his day, at any
rate, and surely as good a lawyer as any of the present
race. Here also we have seen G. Lister, Esq. successfully
acting upon that opinion, consulting the ease and comfort
of his prisoners in spite of the petty-fogging malice of the
Reverend Doctor Caley lllingworth. You will also re
collect that Sir Charles Bampfylde acted upon the same
opinion, when he came to this Bastile and abolished the
vindictive and unnatural order of the Reverend Parsons,
Drs. Colston and Thring. Sir Charles Bampfylde de
clared, as long as he held the office of Sheriff he would
support its character, and no Magistrate should interfere
with his authority, " I am responsible for the prisoners
in this Gaol," said he, " and while I am in office, at your
peril, Mr. Gaoler, prevent any of Mr. Hunt's friends from
coming to see him. Imprisonment is quite bad enough,
without any other punishment, and it was an act of cruel
ty to prevent his friends from coming to see him." This
was the language of Sir Charles Bampfylde, now let us
hear Mr. Hanning. He very honestly says, " that he dis
approves of such restrictions and privations, but that Mr.
Sergeant Lens' opinion has been taken, which says, that
the order of the Magistrates, sanctioned by the Judges of
Assize, is imperative as against the Sheriff." And thus
he submits to have the office of Sheriff disgraced and de-

12
graded, by giving up a prisoner in his custody, to be tor
tured by the vindictive rules and regulations of the Ma
gistrates. Thus stands the case at present ; but, my
friends, I implore you not to believe tbat I shall whine
and pine and supplicate my persecutors. Not I, indeed:
I will punish them, if! ever have it in my power; and I
will never cease my endeavours, as long as I live, to bring
them to justice ; but they have not the power of breaking
my heart, as they did the poor Queen's, neither shall they
drive me to desperation. I have not seen a soul for two
days, although my disconsolate family are within a hun
dred and fifty yards of me, instead of one hundred and
fifty miles distant. It is Keart-breaking work for them ;
but even the women and children begin to despise and
laugh at such dirty, contemptible malice.
I know it will be asked, how it happens that these Ma
gistrates conduct themselves in this way just as the Report
of the Commissioners is about to be laid before Parlia
ment ? The natural inference is, that the Member for the
county, Mr. Dickenson, has promised to bring them off
with flying colours. I believe that this said Mr. Dicken
son has been at the bottom of this all along. It will be
remembered that he defended Bridle and the Magistrates,
and praised the Gaol when Alderman Wood presented
the first petition of poor old Mr. Hill, who has been falsely
imprisoned as a debtor to the Crown for nearly sixteen
years in this hell upon earth. Mr. Hill has petitioned
the House before, twice, 1 think, enumerating many of
the same grievances that were proved before the Commis
sioners ; but the denial of this said Mr. Dickenson pre
vented any inquiry, and in consequence, these intolerable
evils have continued to exist for many, many years, and
would have continued to the end, if I had not been sent
here. Mr. Dickenson has lived always within five miles
of this Gaol, and he has been a constant attendant at all

13
the Gaol Sessions ; therefore, in the double capacity of
Magistrate and Legislator, he has mainly contributed to
perpetuate the system that was carried on in this Gaol.
In fact, he has acted many parts. 1st, As a Magistrate, to
commit men to prison for trial ; 2d, as Grand Juryman at
the Assizes, to find the bills against them ; 3d, as Chair
man of the Quarter Sessions, to sentence prisoners to two
years' confinement for misdemeanours, &c. &c. ; 4th, as a
Magistrate at the Gaol, to inflict and order punishment for
the prisoners after they are sent here ; and 5th and lastly,
as a Member of Parliament, to defend the Gaoler and the
Magistrates in the House of Commons, whenever any peti
tions have been presented to the House. So that Mr.
Dickenson might be said to have " played many parts" in
this Gaol scene ; and as his friends, the Grenvilles, are
now come into place, I have no doubt he will cut a con
spicuous figure in the House when this question comes be
fore it. At all events, I hope the Honourable Member
will be able to give some account of that hospital which
he informed the House was in progress at the time of the
debate upon Hill's petition, during the last session of Par
liament. I hope that he will not jump down our worthy
friend Alderman Wood's throat, when he next speaks upon
the subject, for speak he will, and exult too in the proof
of all the statements that he made as to the goings-on in
this Gaol. The Alderman has got a good cause prepared
to his hands, and if he and his friends do not do their duty,
I shall be much surprised indeed. If there be any justice
left in the Honourable House, surely they will order the
Attorney-General to prosecute Bridle, Colston, two
Thrings, Pike, and Carter, for the torture that they in
flicted upon Gardener and Hillier; and I should think
that Mr. Coroner Caines should not escape the censure, if
not the punishment, of the House. But we shall see what
will be the report of the Commissioners. 1 know the Ho-

11
nourable House too well to be over sanguine about any
thing they might do ; if they please they will protect Bri
dle, Colston, Thrings, and all ; but, for common decency
sake, one would hope they will do something. But why
make such odious rules and regulations just at the moment
that the report is coming out to be laid before the House?
Why it seems these rules and regulations were signed by
the Judges of Assize, why not put them in force at the
Michaelmas Sessions ? O, there are good reasons for that :
they were all cut and dry, to be sure. But then my poor
family were not here ; then they would have saved them
the trouble and expense of travelling three hundred miles
backwards and forwards ; then the most gratifying sport
of all would have been lost ; Dr. Colston would not have
had the felicity of torturing me or of insulting them, by
ordering them, two unprotected females, out of the Gaol.
The Doctor's conduct was most glaringly exposed before
the Commissioners. He was under the operation of my
hand for seven hours in his cross-examination, and it
would not have been treating the Doctor with proper at
tention not to have afforded him the gratification of exult
ing over the sorrow of two distressed and unprotected fe
males. The Doctor well knew that I despised his malice,
that I execrate his character, and hold all his vengeance
upon me in the greatest contempt.
I am sure you will excuse me, my friends, for detaining
you so long about myself, but it is right that you should
know the way in which the dirty, cowardly Borough
mongers serve their Captive, when they have him in
their power. But, my friends, the day is not far distant
when it will be our turn, and then, I suppose, these
caitiffs will expect mercy : to be sure, they deserve none.
I might say, do unto them as they have done unto me;
if so, the Lord have mercy on them. However, their
time is fast approaching, and if I have fair play I shall live

15
to see it; although I would not give a farthing to live
another hour, life would not be worth preserving, if it
were not for the firm hope, that we shall live to see the
Manchester butchers and the Somersetshire brutes brought
to condign punishment. You will live to see it, my
friends, whether I do or not; but if they murder me
openly, I will sell my life as dearly as I can; if they
effect it by poison, or the secret dagger, my last breath
will be, to implore you to take a glorious and ample re
venge. If I thought that my death would be the certain
signal for the emancipation of my countrymen, I would
most cheerfully lay down my life, and think it well sold,
to purchase the freedom and happiness of millions.
I know it will be said by some, that I go too far, by
suspecting that the monsters will attempt my life ; but I
have more reasons for this suspicion than you are aware
of. I have stated, that one assassin endeavoured to pre
vail upon the person who supplied me with biscuits, to
put arsenic in them, to poison me. Another scoundrel,
one of Bridle's scamps, secretly communicated to the same
man his wish to assassinate me, by shooting me with a
pistol. I brought forward this baker, who offered to
depose to these facts before the Magistrates, the amiable
William Dickenson in the chair. They heard what the
man had to say, but refused to administer an oath to him,
although he is a person of excellent character, and brought
a paper in his pocket, signed by the clergyman and all the
respectable inhabitants of Somerton, giving him the best
of characters, which he produced to the Magistrates, some
of whom bore testimony. Now look at their justice. They
called Charles Marshall in, and asked him if it were true ;
he answered, no ; he wished God might strike him dead if
it was. Upon which the complaint was dismissed, and
the worthy servant of these worthy Magistrates is con
tinued as an officer of the Gaol, Assistant Turnkey. These

15
worthies having made an order that the keeper shall not
dismiss any of the scamps about the Gaol ; but that this
power shall be exercised by the Magistrates, God bless
them. What think you of this, my friends ? The Keeper
of his Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester is prohibited from
hiring or dismissing the occasional assistants about that
Gaol, for the good management of which, and the security
of the prisoners confined therein, he gives a bond of ten
thousand pounds to the Sheriff, and one thousand
pounds to the Magistrates. Under such circumstances
has he any security for the safe custody of the prisoners ?
But every one must see throug-h this. The said Charles
Marshall is kept for more purposes than one. He is a spy
upon the Keeper, and communicates to Bridle every thing
that takes place in the Gaol, and he would, no doubt, be
a very handy fellow for a particular job. Mr. Hardy is
left no discretion. The Gentlemen knew the character of
Bridle well ; every thing was left to his discretion ;
he hired assistants, suspended the officers, and inflicted
torture upon the prisoners at his dis cretion ; but to Mr.
Hardy, who has given ample proofs of his humanity,
they have not left the slightest discretion. In these new
rules he is treated more like a criminal convict, than like
the responsible Keeper of his Majesty's Gaol. To be sure,
they have pretended to make general rules, but they
know that itis impossible to carry them into execution ; the
fact is, and every one who reads them must see that they
are not intended to be carried into execution against any
one but myself. I beg the reader to understand me
correctly, that I mean not even by insinuation to hint any
thing ag&inst Mr. Hardy, who has conducted himself, as
far as he has power, with great humanity ; but if he sub
mits to these degrading rules, he must expect not only to
be despised and held in derision by the Magistrates them
selves, but to be treated with contempt by the whole

IT
community. There is not a medical servant in the king
dom that is bound down by such humiliating and degrad
ing shackles. But " we shall see." For the present we
will pass to another subject.
We begin to feel the effect of the floods already ; two
debtors having been sent to their long home last week,
both lying dead in the Gaol at the same time. An In
quest was held upon the body of James Bryant, on Satur
day last, by Robert Uphill, Esq. our new Coroner. Upon
the request of the poor widow of the deceased, I was 9ent
for to attend on behalf of herself and family. Mr. Uphill,
the Coroner, expressed himself determined to enter into a
full inquiry into the cause of the prisoner's death, as well
as that of every prisoner who died in the Gaol. The Jury
were selected in an impartial manner, six from the town,
and three from each ofthe debtors' wards. After viewing
the body, the deposition of the widow, the debtors' turn
key, the Gaol and two other Surgeons that were called
in by the Coroner, and those who had attended the de
ceased in his illness; after a patient investigation, during
which all three of the medical men deposed that he died
of an inflammation in the stomach and liver, which com
plaint was greatly aggravated, and his death greatly ac
celerated by the damp and unwholesome state of the-
Gaol; the widow deposed that she found her husband
lying on a gaol-truck, two feet wide only, in a small,
close room, and nothing- fit for the accommodation of a sick
person. Her description of his situation was most heart
rending. The Gaol Surgeon distinctly stated, that there
was no hospital, nor any appearance of one having beeh
begun. The Jury, after due deliberation, returned their
verdict — " That the deceased had died of an inflammation
ofthe stomach, but that his death had been greatly acce
lerated by the damp state of the Gaol, and the inconve-
14 c

IS
nienee or want of accommodation for sick prisoners."
Before the Coroner left the town he ordered another Jury
to be summoned for the next day (Sunday), to hold an
Inquest upon the body of  Honiball, a prisoner, who
died while the other Inquest was holding. John Honi
ball, the son of the deceased, also a prisoner, deposed that
his father had been in the Gaol about a fortnight ; that he
had been in a dying state nearly the whole time ; that his
father, the deceased, had kept his bed for fourteen weeks ;
that he was arrested and dragged out of bed when in this
deplorable state by the Sheriffs officer ; that his clothes
were forced on him, he was placed in a cart, and broug-ht
to the Gaol, thirty-two miles, without any food or refresh
ment, and that he was carried into the Gaol more dead than
alive ; that he was carried up stairs and put' to bed in a
room with ten other prisoners, where he had lingered
for a fortnight ; that he died in the same room with these
prisoners, many of whom had been obliged to sleep in
the same room with the corpse, the next night after his
death ; that his complaint was a dropsy ; that he has
never been tapped ; that he had never been removed,
because there was no hospital or other place for sick pri
soners, &c. The Turnkey confirmed this statement, and
Pike swore that he was obliged to carry him out of tbe
cart or gig into the Gaol, as he was unable to walk, and
that the name of the Sheriff's officer was James Austin,
of Wellington. The Gaol Surgeon, and two other medi
cal men, were examined, who differed in opinion as to the
immediate cause of his death ; therefore the Coroner, at
the request of the Jury, directed the body to be opened.
Verdict — " Died of a general dropsy ; but the death of the
deceased was greatly accelerated by the ill-treatment and
inhumanity of the Sheriff's officer." The Jury strongly
remonstrated against the placing of sick prisoners in the

19
same room with other prisoners, and expressed great in
dignation and horror at the prisoners being compelled to
sleep in the same room with a corpse, and urged the Co
roner to represent the state of the Gaol and the want of an
hospital, to the proper authorities. It was also deposed
by Davis, the Turnkey, and others, that during Bryant's
illness, there had been six floods ; the Gaol had been six
times inundated in six weeks, and once that it was
two feet deep in the debtors' kitchen, and six
inches deep in their sitting-room; that Bryant could
go to no fire without being six inches deep in water, and
that he actually had to go through the water, nearly two
feet deep, lo attend the calls of nature; that after doing this,
whenhe was taking powerful medicine, he vjas taken worse,
and lingered till he died. Read this, my friends, and then
you will not wonder at my treatment. Recollect that
Mr. Hardy has now no discretion, neither can any blame
be attributed to him. There was no other place to put
these poor dying men into, unless they had been placed in
cells. Under his humane directions the wife and daughter
attended poor Bryant. But the laws are altered now, no
doubt with an eye to me. If I am ill by having poison ad
ministered to me, no human being can have access to me
but the Gaol birds appointed by the Gaol Doctor. No
medical man ; no nurse ; no attendant of any sort,
but what the Gaol Doctor selects from amongst the Gaol
birds. If I should be ill, what I should dread most would
be my attendants; therefore the only chance I have
will be, in case I am taken ill, to bolt myself in, and trust
to God and Nature. Recollect that I am now in perfect
health, never better in my life: but do not be surprised to
hear that I was found dead in my bed some morning, of an
hereditary cancer. I have publicly desired the Coroner,
in case of my death, to call in Mr. Shorland, Mr. Robert-

20
son, and Mr. Davis^ of Andover, three skilful surgeons.-afcd
have my body opened. But my medical men have told me
that nothing is easier than to accomplish death by poispn-
ousdrugs, without its being discovered. But no more of
this — if I am murdered, I have bequeathed rhy- heart to
*the Radicals of the North. Let this be the signal, my
friends, for justice andrelributiOn, and forget not that in
the twenty-first month of my incarceration, the Magis
trates of the county of Somerset have passed afresh sen-
tehee upon me, ten times more vindictive and unnatural
than the original sentence, and that too without any fresh
«harge having been brought against' me.' And you will
<ho.t fail to recollect that the Sheriff of the county of. Somer
set, whose prisoner I am, and into whose custody I was
committed, has delivered me over, bound hand and - foot,
into the-poWer of the Magistrates, contrary to law,' con
trary to justice, contrary to all former preceden , and in
violation of every principle of -humanity- and fair dealing.
- " -Saturday Night.— Since writing the above, -I have- ¦
been sWffering-with a cramp in the chest, -whether broiig-ht
©ii by -the agonized state of niy- feelings>- or whether it
was caused by taking cold, I cannot say-; possibly it may
have-been promoted by both causes. I had lleft- offa warm
Rochdale flannel-waistcoat, to- be washed, and had put on
bnenot.so warm ; but finding inconvenience therefrom, I
sent for' a tailor to measure me, and make a new-one. Snip
¦earne to' the gaol-door as -usual, little expecting- that his
necessary trade was to-be impeded by the command of our
-goodly Magistrates, all persons being admitted in-common
with necessaries to -sell- beitWeen nine and four. But the
poor tailor was ordered baek again, and told that he could
not see me. , Well, I went -without my waistcoat, and the
bailor went without his job; however, the cramp and
spasms iri'my; chest increasing, I Wrote out tothe surgeon

21
ofthe village, who has very kindly attended me since I
have been here, requesting his immediate assistance.
About two hours after I got the following answer : —
" Ilchester, Jan. 26tk, 1822, half-past five o'clock.
" Dear Sir— Agreeable to your summons I went immediately to
the Lodge of the Gaol, about five o'clock, and requested to see
you professionally. I was detained till Mr. Hardy was sent for, who
expressed his regret, in the most polite manner, at the necessity of his
refusing me admittance to you ; but said, under the existing regula
tions, he was obliged to do so,
" I remain your's truly,
" WILLIAM SHORLAND, Surgeon."
In ten minutes after I got the above note, I was locked
into my dungeon without any further questions being
asked, and, for aught the parties knew or cared, I might be
a corpse before the morning. I suffered greatly for two
hours, and I would have perished before I would have
sent a messenger five miles *fov the Gaol Surgeon, or, ih
fact, before 1 would have taken any of the county medicine.
I would quite as soon die with the cramp and spasms in
the chest, as I would with the effect of drugs administer
ed by order of my persecutors. But what think you of
this treatment of a prisoner in a Christian country, and
that country England ? Mr. Shorland is a respectable sur
geon, who has been in practice these forty years, and by
no means a Radical. But the object is plain and visible to
every one. Nature is an excellent physician ; and, thank
God, I have, for the present, overcome this attack ; there
fore we will go to another subject.
THE GREAT NORTHERN RADICAL UNION.
1 hear from all quarters that the Members of this
Union are daily increasing, and its object is, in a
great measure, sure to be realized. I have received vari
ous applications and communications upon the subject from
quarters too numerous to admit of my answering them
til in any ether way but by this general address. The

22
letter of Mr. John Butler, of Bolton, is particularly to the
purpose, and I hope the plan of meeting at each other's
houses once a week, ten in number, will be generally
adopted. There is a double advantage in this plan.
First, it keeps the parties from a public-house ; and next, it
renders the office of Collector easy and unaccompanied with
trouble or loss of time. The plan of Collectors or Trusty-
Men going round to collect the subscriptions, was never in
my calculation. The pence ought to be placed in the Cen-
turian's hands without the least possible trouble to any
one ; therefore the very best plan is to meet at each other's
houses in tens, once a week, where some useful and en
tertaining publica tion might always be read by a person,
one of the number, selected upon the occasion. I find
that some of the mechanics in the metropolis are at least
about to rouse themselves, fand are preparing to establish
a metropolitan branch of the Union. I have received se
veral letters upon the subject, requesting that I would
notice their intention, and requiring information how to
proceed. Nothing can be more simple and easy in its ac
complishment. Ten persons sign their names, and agree
to meet somewhere once a week, any where better than
at a public-house or a gin-shop, at one of the houses or
lodgings of the number is best, which may be varied as
often as is convenient or agreeable. One person is select
ed out of the ten to read some useful publication or paper
for the evening. After this is done, each person pays his
penny into the hands of the Collector, who hands it over
to the Trusty-Man or Centurian, to be forwarded to the
General Treasurer, Sir Charles Wolseley. I have been
asked again how the funds are to be disposed of? My
answer is, that the sole object of the subscription is for the
purpose of paying the necessary legal expenses to support
Radical candidates to represent the people in Parliament.
Who those candidates should be, must and will be left en-

*3
tirely to the vote of the majority of the Members of tha
Union. Every Member, after having his name enrolled
and having paid up his subscription three months, to haVO
a vote as to who shall or who shall not be supported by the
Union in the payment only of his legal expenses as a can
didate. I think no one can object to the principle of three
months' subscription previous to a Member's being com
petent to vote for the application of the funds. I am for
universal suffrage in aH elections, in its broadest principle
and to its fullest extent ; but as it is proposed in Major
Cartwright's Bill, as agreed to and directed by the dele
gates at the Crown and Anchor, in 1817, that three
months' residence should be the basis on which to estab
lish the right of voting, so I would suggest the propriety
ofthe parent branch at Manchester to make three months
as the basis of a vote for the Members of the Union. But,
to prevent all exclusion, supposing an election about to
take place, any Member, who had not been enrolled so
long as three months, should be entitled to a vote by pay
ing a small sum to the fund, say one shilling, so that it
made up in the whole the amount of one quarter's or three
months' subscription. And surely no one will object to
this plan, to entitle him to give his voice as to who shall
be supported as candidates out of the general fund, and, who
shall not. The parent branch at Manchester have longsince
declared their intention to support me, and pay any legal ex
penses that may be incurred at the next election for Preston,
in Lancashire. But before I accept of this offer I shall be
most anxious to take the general sense of the members of
the society. Each Centurian to return the numbers of his
division to the Treasurer, or to the General Central Com
mittee at Manchester. A man so supported and so elected
must, to all intents and purposes, be the Member of the
Northern Radical Union, although very few of the mem
bers might have an actual vote at the election. I beg to

21
recommend this to the earnest attention ofthe Manchester
Committee ; and I request that our worthy friend Saxton
will promulgate this, my opinion, in the once more revived
Manchester Observer. I had written a long article
upon the discontinuance of the Manchester Observer, for
my last number, but Mr. Dolby having ascertained that
matters were accommodated between Mr. Wooler and Mr.
Saxton, and that the Observer was to be published again
on the 26th (this day), my article was left out. Depend
upon it, my friends, that every effort will be made by the
venal, the corrupt, the treacherous, and the hypocritical,
to put down the Manchester Observer, because it is
always open to Radical information. Bat I call upon the
Radicals of the whole kingdom to make a stand against
this sort of tyranny. The Manchester Observer has
always excited the jealousy and the mortal hatred of the
Whigs particularly, because it has mainly contributed to
expose the delusions and the visionary schemes of the
Whigs ; and as it is the rallying point ofthe Great North
ern Union, it merits our wannest support. I shall be very
glad to see it once more. It will be to me an old friend,
but I trust not with a new face. 1 have no doubt but our
friend Saxton will conduct it with renovated vigour, and
that the check which he has received, I am quite sure, will
neither deter nor destroy his spirit.
TO THE FREEHOLDERS AND RATE-PAYERS OF
SOMERSET.
If I have been an instrument in the hands of Provi
dence, to render your county a great and lasting benefit;
if I have detected and exposed great atrocities, and
brought to light most foul deeds committed in this your
County Gaol; if I have been instrumental in putting a
stop to most wanton, wasteful, and lavish expenditure ef

25
the county stock, by causing a 'check upon the profligacy
ef those who ought to have b.een the faithful and prudent
guardians of the money drawn from your poc^ts, und^r
jthe title and name pf County Rates ; if by these exertipns
I have drawn do-wn upon myself .Jhe VENGEANCE pf
those who have had , their wickedness exposed.; if these
persons are about to inflict, torture upon me because I
have put it out of their power to plunder you, .and abuse
your confidence any longer; will you, the rate-payers,
stand silently by, andj see me sacrificed to their malice?
py will you not rather come forward and remonstrate
against such • glaring acts of violence, such perversion of
justice, such inhuman torture ; such as. was never before
inflicted upon any man of my class,, since the House of
Brunswick came to the throne of these kingdoms t I caR
upon yoii to come manfully and bbldly" forward, legally to
stand between' me" and those who meditate my destruc
tion, because I have exposed their wickedness, aha be
cause I have served the cause of justice, truth, and
humanity. I do not believe that I shall make this call
upon the people of the county of Somerset iri vainj- when
I remind them, that the amount of the County-rate col
lected this quarter is the same ,as the last, £2,162 16s.' lodT.'
the corresponding quarter last year being £7,029 4s. 8|e?.
a spring of nearly £5j000 in the quarter, or £20,000' in
the year. It has been as .high as £12,000 a quarter, I
understand, or,£48,6o'0 a year ; now it is after the rate
of £8,600 a yeaJr; Shall we never, think you, my friends,
make these faithful guardians of our money account to
us for what they expended the odd forty thousand ?
If Hive, we-Will bring them to book ill The expendi
ture of this Gaol used tb be £1,250 a quarter, or £5^000
a year. In consequence of my looking dyer these jGfaol
accounts, detecting and exposing the frauds and profligate
waste of your County-rates, my friends, they are reduced
14 d

26
to £650 a quarter; a saving on this Sink op Infamy
alone, of £2,400 a year. No wonder Bridle was such a
prime chap with many persons. Some persons used to
have the fingering of from £20,000 to £30,000 a year of
your money — they are deprived of this plunder, and I
am placed in Solitary Confinement, and not even
allowed lo see a Surgeon, in case of illness or approach
ing death.
Adieu, my Friends! believe me
Your's, sincerely,
H. HUNT.
P. S. The following Petition of the father and mother of
poor West was sent to me, with a request that I would
hand it to some Member of Parliament. This came to me too
late to be presented during the last session, 1 therefore
gave it to Mr. Dickenson, our famous M. P. with a request
that he would cause an inquiry ; and with the petition I
delivered into the hands of Mr. D. at the same time, the
depositions of eight or nine persons, who were ready and
willing to come forward and prove upon oath the whole
ofthe statement contained in the said Petition. This was
on the llth of last October. Mr. D. of course promised
to inquire into the horrid transaction, and, as I observed
to a fijiend at the time, a precious inquiry it would be.
All the inquiry that I have heard of is, that the parties
have written to me, wondering that they have never
been called upon. I therefore demanded the Petition and
papers back again, which, after a deal of shuffling, I have
at last got back again.
Amongst one hundred other cases of cruelty, I laid that
of a prisoner in Shepton Mallet, by the name of Wilkins,
also before Mr. Dickenson, and the worthy Magistrates, at
the last Gaol Sessions. " O," said they, " give us the let
ter, and we will inquire into it." " No, no," said I, " no

27
more of such inquiries, if you please ; if you will bring the
parties to me, I will prove the charge."
I have this moment received a letter from a respectable
attorney of Devizes, who writes as follows :
" Our Governor, at the recently erected House of
Correction, near this place, has just been discharged, for
gettnig three women prisoners under his controul with
child, during the last three months. Mr. Estcourt,* at
the meeting of the Magistrates at our General Quarter
Sessions held here last week, publicly declared that the
proceedings at the New Prison, for some time past, out-
Heroded those of Ilchester Bastile. What makes the thing
worse is, that Mr. Bretton married, about six months ago
a very pretty woman. Surely there must be something
contagious in prison discipline." Pray read this, Mr.
Fowell Buxton !
To the Honourable the House of Commons, of the United
Kingdom of England and Ireland, in Parliament as
sembled. The humble Petition of Philip West, of the parish of
Leigh on Mendip, weaver, and Margery, his wife,
sheweth, That the son of your petitioners, Isaac West, in the
prime of life, was, about the 23d of January last, commit
ted to the Gaol of Shepton Mallet, in the county of Somer
set, by the Rev. Mr. Sainsbury, one of His Majesty's Jus
tices of the Peace for the said county, on a charge made
against him for taking up a wire, supposed to have been
set for the purpose of catching a hare. He was at this
time labouring under considerable indisposition, and being
at the time under a course of mercury. That, on his en
trance into the Gaol, he was compelled to submit (at that
cold season ofthe year) to be stripped naked, and washed
* Mr. Estcourt was the Chairman ofthe Ilchester Commission.

28
all over in cold water; in this situation hie was compelled'*'
to have his hair cut off, and was kept in a draught or cur
rent of air for the space of one hour ; that in consequence
of this treatment of your petitioners' poor unfortunate son,
he caught a violent cold, which shook his whdle frame,
and- a few days after lie had medical assistance afforded to
him once.
That,, for thirty-three days afterwards he had no me
dicine administered td him, and his disorder continued to
increase to a very alarming degree ; bis legs and Other
parts of his body being swollen very much, and began -to
trim black, and in this situation he had little or no fest by
night or by day. That, during this period, he often so
licited the turnkeys to bring the doctor to him, or
procure him some~ medicines, but without effect. That.
yourv petitioner, Margery West, having heard of the la
mentable and -cruel situation of her unfortunate son, went
t«r the said Gaol twice, in order to administer to his wants,
but, on application, she was each time refused admittance,'
and spurned from the door, with inhuman contempt, by
the officers attending the same. That the said Isaac-
West continued to linger in his miserable confinement un
til the latter end of April, When he was discharged from
the Gaol, and with great difficulty reached his home, - a
distance of five miles only. That, on his, being liberated,
Pitman, the Gaoler, gave him three shillings, and request
ed him to say nothing against him, the Gaoler, • or the
officers of the said Gaol. That, twelve days after the
said Isaac West had thus reached his home, he died, and on
the third day of May last he was buried. That, during the
time the said Isaac West lay dead, the.; Coroner, Mr.
Scadding, (who is a relation to Pitman, the Gapler) held
an Inquest on the body of another person deceased in the
immediate neighbourhood, and was applied to by a friend
of the said Isaac West, to perform the same office on the

29
deceased Isaac West, when Mr. Scadding said there was
no occasion, and the Doctor of the Gaol, then present,
said to the friend of the said Isaac West, he had better
hold his tongue. That your petitioners verily believe
their son, the said Isaac West, came by his death in con
sequence of the cruelties he experienced in the said Gaol,
and the want of proper medical aid. And your petitioners
also believe, that the refusal of the Coroner to hold an
Inquest on the body was, in consequence of the relation
ship subsisting between him and the Gaoler.
We, your humble petitioners, do, therefore, most
humbly and earnestly intreat, that your Honourable
House will take the above melancholy case into your
immediate consideration, and cause a strict inquiry into
this most horrible transaction, in order that the perpe
trators may be brought to a proper tribunal of Justice,
and in order that the offended laws of the country may
be satisfied in this gross violation.
And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.

PHILIP WEST, X his mark.
MARGERY WEST, X her mark.
Witnessed by us,
GEORGE SEASON,
BENJAMIN BUDGETT.

Leigh on Mendip, June 4, 1821.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
In answer to those Gentlemen of the county of Somerset who hate
written to know what Magistrates to apply to for obtaining admission
to see me, I know of none. I am the Sheriff's prisoner, and for my
safety and proper treatment 1 shall hold him responsible some day. If
he wished it, he has the power to relieve me. William Hanning, Esq.
of Dillington, near Ilminster, is the man. But if my friends wish to
know the active Magistrates in this affair, I am informed by the Sheriff
that they assemble at this Bastile on the 5th of February ; that is the
time and place for my Friends to apply, if they have any faith in Ma
gistracy. Your amiable Representative is to he at the head of them,
as he always has been here. Think of this, Freeholders. — I am much
obliged for the newspapers, particularly for that excellent paper, Mr.
Drakard's Stamford News, with the full account of the dinner given to
Mr. Cobbett, at Huntingdon. I am of course much gratified to hear
that the Gentlemen assembled did not forget the Captive of Ilchester;
but I am sorry to see a disposition to place the cart before the horse.
In their petition they pray, first, for a reduction of taxation, and then for
a Reform in Parliament. If any persons attempt to persuade you that
there will be any efficient reduction of taxation till the Parliament is
first reformed, they are only deluding and deceiving you. 1 see you
also pray for a full, fair, and free Representation. Why not say at
once, Universal Suffrage, and Vote by Ballot? You will never have
justice or rational freedom till you join the Radicals, and come up to
this mark. You must come to us ; and the time is fast approaching .
Why then be coy 1 Speak out, my friends — speak out !

Printed by T. Dolby, 399, Strand.

Taunton •Agricultural Meeting.
JUST PUBLISHED, PRICE EIGHT-PENCE,
A
DELIVERED BY
PER. H. B. SHIIiLIBEER

7
LAND-SURVE YOR, $a.
AT A

MEETING

ttoaltttott of tne Saafit'gsf anDr Vortas,
ASSEMBLED AT TAUNTON ON THE 9th JANUARY, 1893,
FOR THE PURPOSE OF GULLING THE FARMERS.
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED
Some Observations on the Parsons and " Life-and-Fortune Men," who at
tended on the occasion ; with a description of their Hissings and Hoot-
ings at Ihe mention of a little wholesome Truth ; and also the most ex
traordinary conduct of William Dickinson and Sir Thomas Buckler
Lethbridge, the two Representatives of Somersetshire.

DEDICATED TO H. HUNT, ESQ.

Moreover the profit of the earth is for all ; the King himself is saved by the field."
Ecelesiastas, Chap. v. Ver. 9.

Sontron :
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY T. DOLBY, AT THE BRITANNIA PRESS.
SOT, STRAND; AND SOLD BY WHITE, ILCHESTER; WEBB, TAUNTON:
COSSEN8, BRISTOL; EVERTON, BATH; AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
op
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 26th day, 6th month, 8d year of th8 Mamchestir
Massacbe, without retribution or inquiry.
February 11, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
TWENTIETH DAY OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.
On Saturday, the fourth day of my being shut up with
in these walls, and all human beings excluded from me,
as I stated in my last, I was taken with a cramp in my
chest and violent spasms of the heart. I sent for a sur
geon, who was refused admittance ; but, as I found the
spasms increase, the next day (Sunday) I wrote out to
another surgeon, stating my situation, and requesting him
to demand admittance of the keeper, saying that it was
absolutely necessary he should see me, for without medi
cal assistance my life might be endangered. Mr. Hardy had
no discretion ; his orders were positive ; and he (the sur
geon) was also refused. I continued in this state till the
30th, the ninth day of solitary confinement, on which day
the Visiting Magistrates arrived at the Gaol — the amia
ble, the pious, the chaste, the humane, the very Reverend,
Christian Divine, William Hungerford Colston, Doc
tor in Divinity ; and the profound honest judge of good
bread, John Newman, Esq. I had written to the Sheriff
to request that he would give orders that I might see my
visitors in the keeper's house, as that would not be a
violation of any of the rules. The renowned and gallant
Sheriff, Wm. Hanning, Esq. wrote me a very civil answer,
saying, " that he could see no objection to granting so
moderate a request, but he had no power, the orders be
ing signed by the Judges of Assize, all the power wai
15 a

T. Doldy, Printer, 299, Strand, London.

vested in the Visiting Magistrates: if he were a Visiting
Magistrate he should make such an order immediately,
and he should think no Visiting Magistrate would refuse
it." As soon as these worthies arrived, I sent this letter
up to them by Mr. Hardy, hoping that it would save me
the pain of a personal interview with such persons. How
ever, the letter was returned to me, and down they came
to my dungeon, to know if I wanted any thing of the Vi
siting Magistrates. I desired fhem to walk in, and, look
ing Colston in the face, I coolly said, " So, Doctor, you
are come to enjoy your triumph over a prisoner in your
custody." The creature began palavering, vowing and
protesting that he had no hand whatever in making- the
rules, and he could assure me that he was no enemy of
mine. " Come, come," said I, " have you seen the letter
I received from the Sheriff?" Yes, they had. " Are you
disposed to order that I might see my friends in the
keeper's house?" They really could not -, but the Doc
tor said, " Pray do, Mr. Hunt, not press the matter till
next Tuesday, the 5th of February, there will then be a
meeting of the Sheriff and the Magistrates, and your
case shall be taken into consideration ; it is only a week."
" I have been nine days in solitary confinement, and you
tell me to wait another week and then you will consider
of my case: but I have been and am very ill, will you
give an order for the admission of a surgeon V " Oh, no,
it was impossible ;" Judge Best had signed the orders, and
they, good souls, had no power to alter them. Every
thing was, I found, to be laid upon the shoulders of the
poor hobbling cripple, Best. " Do wait till Tuesday, it is
only a week: good day, Mr. Hunt ; good day, Gentlemen;"
ahd off" they marched, chuckling at what they, no doubt,
thought a great victory. But as they were going, I said,
in as sneering and sarcastic manner as I could, " Every
dog has his day, and this is your day, Doctor ; make the
most of it. Your victory is not half complete, you can
not bend your victim. Good day, Sir * good day, Gentle
men." What think you of this, my friends, for a prison
scene in a dungeon? Well, time creeps on ; even in a so
litary dungeon the week passed, during which time I had
occasionally suffered most severely with the cramp and
spasms, but I was determined that I would have nothing
to do with the Gaol Doctor. I forgot to say that I had
sent for my attorney, Mr. Prankerd, of Langport. I men
tioned to Mr. Hardy that I wished to see my attorney, to

make an affidavit to go before the Court. " O," said he,
" I do not know that I dare refuse an attorney ;" and
upon this I wrote to him, saying, that I had no doubt but
he would be admitted. He came the day the worthy
Visiting Magistrates were here, and applied, to them for
admission to see me ; but they, without the slightest cere
mony, refused to admit him. Tuesday, the 5th, arrives ;
he was desired to come that day, but he was too ill to
leave his home. I was also very ill, obliged to keep my
bed, and I believe that Mr. Hardy was alarmed, and urged
to the assembled quorum that it was absolutely necessary
that I should have medical assistance ; but this had but
little weight, I suspect, till the arrival of a deputation of
some neighbouring gentlemen and yeomanry of the coun
ty, who waited upon the Sheriff, and' put into his hands
the following requisition to call a county meeting :
" TO THE HIGH SHERIFF OF THE COUNTY OF SOMERSET.
" Sir — We, whose names are hereunto subscribed',
freeholders and other landholders, inhabitant householders
ofthe county of Somerset, request that you will, on some
early day, be pleased to convene a public meeting of the
county, to take into consideration the propriety of pre
senting a petition to Parliament, to address the King for
the pardon of Henry Hunt, Esq. a state prisoner in your
custody, in his Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester. Also, to peti
tion the House of Commons to institute an immediate and
strict inquiry into the cruel and illegal treatment lately
inflicted upon Mr. Hunt in the said Gaol, by placing him
in solitary confinement, and depriving him of the society
of bis family and friends, contrary to the express direction
of the Judge who passed the sentence upon him, and in
direct violation of the orders of Sir Charles Bampfylde and
William Hanning, Esq. the late and present Sheriff; also
denying him medical aid during severe illness, and re
fusing access to his solicitor, thus inhumanly and illegally
cutting off all means of bringing bis case before the Court
of King's Bench by affidavit, or other legal process, ear
nestly praying the Honourable House to bring the unna
tural authors of this cruelty and torture to immediate and
exemplary punishment. Also, to take into consideration
at the said meeting the best means of obtaining relief for
the distresses of the agricultural and commercial commu
nity. " Feb. I, 1822."

This requisition had been signed in two days by five
hundred and ten freeholders and yeomen in the im
mediate vicinity of Ilchester. The Sheriff stared, and
riggled, and hum'd, and haw'd, and spit, and cough'd,
and having consulted the Magistrates, he found out at last
that he was going out of office so soon, that he had
not time to call a county meeting- ; but that he Would
hand it over to the coming-in Sheriff, Mr. Vincent Stuckey,
of Langport, as soon as he was sworn into office, which
would be on the 14th, together with another requisition
which one of the gentlemen presented to him, signed by
two hundred and two freeholders and yeomen, to call a
county meeting upon the agricultural distress. This
was a precious pill for a conclave of Sheriff and Magis
trates; this will stick in their stomachs without digestion
for some time, I fear; but I understand that another dose
is to be administered in due time, if this does not operate
properly. Mr. Oliver Hayward, Mr. Perrett, and the rest
of the deputation are too sincere friends of justice and hu
manity, to leave the patient or the solitary prisoner in
such a state as this, without endeavouring to purge the
one and relieve the other ; therefore, after having each of
them requested in vain to see me, who they had heard was
very ill, they determined to get a copy of the same re
quisition, signed by a few more names, to be administered
to the new Sheriff as soon as he comes into office.
We shall see by-ahd-bye how matters stand. O, how
I should like to have seen this precious junto when Mr.
Hayward, Mr. Perrett and Mr. Prankerd presented them
with this preparatory pill ! Never did any poor child
nauseate a dose of salts more than these worthies did this
dose, Hanning, Colston, Thring, Newman, and Whalley.
Just as this amiable conclave had decided that I should
not have any medical attendant, or any medicine, unless I
would take the county pills administered by the county
doctor, in pops a county physician, in the shape of three
sturdy freeholders, earnestly recommending the worthy
Sheriff and Magistrates to take a pill of their prescribing.
I must request my friend Oliver not to write me such lu
dicrous descriptions in future, or I shall laugh myself into
hysterics ; you really ought to have some mercy upon my
sides, as they are quite sore ever since, with the effect
of immoderate laughter. *' O, the old cow.", After read-,
ing this requisition signed by 510 of their neighbours,
they humanely ordered, tbat Mr. Shorland, the surgeon,
might be permitted, as a great favour, to come and see me ;

this was the. eleventh day after I was taken ill: thus was
I locked up in solitary confinement, suffering with extreme
pain and alarming illness, eleven days and eleven nights,
debarred by these most humane, amiable, and christian
like Gentlemen Justices of medical advice and assistance ;
nothing but the constitution of a cat, which is said to
possess nine lives, one would have thought, could have
survived such horrid treatment ; but here I am, still alive,
reserved for more of these Christian tortures. It has given
my constitution a dreadful sheek, and will in all proba
bility shorten my life ; at any rate, one grand purpose
is answered ; my constitution being impaired will render
me less capable of future exertions, and less capable of
making similar exposures to those I have made since I
came into this Bastile. Cramp and spasms in the chest
and heart, produced by indigestion, cold, and great agita-
tation of mind; this was the complaint of which I was
suffering eleven days and nights without medical assist
ance. I might have had the Gaol Doctor, and have taken
the county drugs, if I had chosen; and, in fact, the Gaol
Doctor sent me some, but I honestly told him that I was
afraid to take his medicine. I begged hard of the Parson
Justice to see my surgeon: no, it could not be; it was
against the rules. I have desired to see Dr. Kinglake,
of Taunton ; I understand he is coming into this neigh
bourhood. My surgeon tells me that long continued
spasms of the heart, without medical relief, produces fre
quently a rupture of some of the vessels of the heart,
which ends in speedy dissolution. Would not an honest
Coroner's Jury have returned a verdict of wilful murder
against those who had denied access to my medical friends ?
If I should die within a twelvemonth and a day from the
30th of January, the day that the Visiting Magistrates po
sitively refused to admit my surgeon ; if my death should
have been accelerated by that cause, I call upon the Jury
to recollect that William Hungerford Colston, Doc
tor in Divinity, of Lydford, near Butby, in this county, and
John Newman of Barwick, near Yeovil, in this county,
were the two Magistrates who denied me this assistance ;
and I also call upon the whole kingdom to recollect this. Col
ston is a sleeked -headed rosy -gill'd priest, about 5ft 9in. high,
commonly rides a grey horse, and wears military boots.
Newman is a short, thick-set, countryfied looking chap,
with a hard, unmeaning countenance, greyish hair, and
generally wears top boots. I am very much obliged to my

Yeovil friend for the history, birth, parentage, and edu
cation of Jack Splitfig. The account will do admirably
for" the last dying speech and confession, birth, parentage,
and education, of Jack the younger, who suffered at the
new drop," &c.
Well, when Mr. Shorland arrived he gave me some
powerful medicines, which soon gave me relief, so far, at
least, to get up to meet the assembled conclave, the
Sheriff and Magistrates both having promised, in fact,
especially appointed to take my case into consideration,
whether 1 should or not see my friends in the Keeper's
house. I sat waiting and waiting for several hours, still
in great pain, expecting to be called by my humane
keepers, but after waiting until it was nearly dark, news
was brought to me that the gentlemen had left the Gaol,
that they had made no order respecting my seeing my
friends, nor had they taken any more notice of me than as
if 1 had been a dog. When I applied to Colston and
Newman, to grant this order, the former said, " Pray do
not press it, Mr. Hunt, till next Tuesday, when the She
riff and Magistrates will all be here, and then we will see
what can be done for you. It is only a week, you know,
Mr. Hunt." That week passed, the day arrived,
AND THEY NEVER CAME TO ME, NOR SENT FOR ME. I had
heen fourteen days in solitary confinement, and all my
Christian keepers walked off out of the Gaol without
taking any more notice of me than they would of a dog.
And this is England and English laws, is it ? the envy
and admiration of surrounding nations ? I wrote to Mr.
Justice Bayley, and I wrote to Mr. Secretary Peel : the
former answered my letter in the Court of King's Bench,
by making an order for the admission of my attorney and
my medical attendants. The latter gave me a very civil
answer, by saying, that " I must be aware that the County
Gaol is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff, and open to
the visitation of certain Magistrates, appointed by the
Court of Quarter Sessions for the purpose." Mr. Peel
had no doubt "that every grievance of which I could justly
complain, would be redressed upon my applying to them,
therefore he did not see any ground for his interference at
the present time." Mr. Peel does not appear to have the
slightest idea of what sort of gentlemen Somersetshire
Sheriffs and Magistrates are composed of. It is a bare
faced falsehood to say that I had made an application to
the Court of King's Bench. I have done no such thing.

I only wrote a letter to Mr. Justice Bayley, and he made
an order accordingly. I had enough of the Court of
King's Bench the last time I applied for that, which, the
moment Sir Charles Bampfylde, the then Sheriff, heard
of, he came to the Gaol and granted me, that of seeing my
friends at reasonable hours in the day time. Having ob
tained all that 1 asked for or wished, I applied to the
Court of King's Bench to stop the proceedings, but the
answer was — you must pay the costs. I did so, and it
amounted altogether nearly to a hundred pounds. My
son had got the two surgeons of the town and my attor
ney to make affidavits, and he sent them up to have the
Court moved, but Mr, Justice Bayley had anticipated the
motion, and ordered the medical men and my attorney to
be admitted. Thus stood the case, when Mr. Alderman
Wood presented a Petition from my son to the House of
Commons ; but previous to this, the Editor of the London
Courier, put forth the following paragraph : —
" In the early part of last week information was forward
ed to town, by Mr. Hardy (tbe present Governor of Ilchester
prison,) complaining of the conduct of Hunt, and request
ing an order for his closer confinement. The Magistrates
of the county of Somerset also concurred in the necessity
ofthe measure; and accordingly the required order was
made absolute by Mr. Justice Best, and immediately for
warded to Ilchester."
This barefaced lie was copied into every Ministerial
puper in the kingdom, particularly into all those pa
pers which are any ways connected with Gaojs, most
of whom adopted it as their own , as a lie is always more
acceptable to them than the truth. Several Editors of
papers in this county seized it with avidity, and Mrs.
Sarah Lickspittle Crutwell, the buxom widow of the
Sherborne and Taunton Journal, who knew it to be a
falsehood, sends it forth to her simple culleys of readers
as a matter of fact, who, as she is a sort of gaol bird, sprung
from the Dorchester Gaol family, is supposed to be
acquainted with what takes place in all such receptacles.
She follows it up by another lie, as follows: —
" In consequence of the good behaviour of the pri
soners for trial, in Shepton-Mallet Gaol, the Keeper has
taken off all their irons, and there is not one prisoner wear
ing them at this time."
This also the slippery dame knew to be false. She
knew that in consequence of Mr. Hardy having managed

the prisoners in this Gaol without loading them with irons,
the Magistrates gave Mr. Pitman orders to remove the
irons also from the prisoners in that Gaol, for if he could
not take care of the prisoners without irons, some one else
should. But at all events the irons are removed from the
prisoners in all the Gaols in this county now : — thanks to
the Ilchester Investigation. The pious Parson-Judges
may keep me in , solitary confinement as long as they
please, but I have spoilt their sport in a great measure ;
for not only the irons are removed from the legs of the
prisoners, but the large, heavy massy iron chains, which
were attached to each ofthe iron bedsteads in this Gaol,
and to which the poor suffering prisoners used to be
chained down, and locked on to, every one of these, a
cart-load, were unrivetted and knocked off by order of
the Sheriff, on Thursday last, the 7th of this month. Good
•God ! what delightful sensations were produced upon my
mind by the hammering off and the rattling of these, the
last remaining emblems of torture left about this Gaol.
The chinking of gold was never half so grateful to the
ears of a miser, as the clanking of these chains and the
hammering of them off was to my ears. If ever man
had just reason to be proud of his achievements, I have
good reason to be proud of the result of the Ilchester In
vestigation. Where is the man than can say he has ac
complished so much for humanity as I have accomplished,
even when 1 was in bondage, under lock and key,* and in
the power of the inhuman tyrant and oppressor. Let
every real friend of humanity rejoice with me in this
victory. What if those that I have robbed of their prey,
what if they inflict torture upon my mind — they may put
me in solitary confinement — they may deprive me of the
society of my family and my dearest friends — they may
torture and harass the minds of all those that are connected
With me — they may plunder me of my property, and drive
me and my family to all sorts of unnecessary and ruinous
expence ; but, they can never rob me ofthe solid satisfac
tion of having accomplished so much in the cause of hu
manity. After the Colstons, the Thrings, the Newmans,
and all the mushroom race of Parson Justices and Squire
Justices are dead and gone, rotten and forgotten, the be
nefits which I have accomplished in this Gaol and in this
county, will hang upon the lips of the babe that is yet
unborn. The name of Hunt will last longer than the
walls of this Bastile ; and centuries hence, when not one

stone shall stand upon another in this Gaol, tradition will
hand it down to after ages, and he that passeth by will
say, there once stood the Bastile, in which Hunt was im
prisoned for two years and six months, for advocating
those rights which the people of England now enjoy:
during his imprisonment he detected and exposed the
most wanton and wicked tortures — the most profligate
and abandoned practices, and by dint of courage and per
severance almost unequalled, he at length brought the
monster of a Gaoler so far to justice, as to have him dis
graced and expelled from his situation. Mr. Hunt was
persecuted as long as he remained there, by the abettors
of this Gaoler in his cruelty and lust ; but before he left
the place, he had the delightful reward of seeing every
species and specimen of torture abolished from the Gaol, ex
cept the torture that was inflicted uponhimself. When you,
ye Gentlemen Justices, shall be dead and gone, and rotten,
and nothing more remembered of you, then I shall record
in these letters as to your share of torturing- me : my name
will be remembered with grateful praises by every friend
of, humanity, while your deeds, as long as they are remem
bered, will be execrated by every honest man and woman
in the world. Oh, how 1 despise their malice ! and I
should laugh at it too, if it were not for the sufferings of
my poor distressed, unoffending family.
On Friday, the 8th of February, Mr. Alderman Wood
presented a petition from my son to the House of Commons,
when the following debate arose: —
Mr. ALDERMAN WOOD rose to present a petition from Mr. Thomas
Hunt, the son of Henry Hunt, Esq., at present a prisoner in Ilchester
gaol. The petitioner complained ihat he had been prevented from
visiting his father. He (Mr. Alderman Wood) understood that Mr.
Hunt had been placed in a very extraordinary situation : he had been
precluded from all intercourse even with his solicitor or his son:
Mr. Hunt had likewise been very ill, and was prevented from obtain
ing medical aid as early as the necessity of the case required ; the
medical gentleman who attended the prison living at the distance of
five miles. There were some rules made for the regulation of the
prison under an Act of Parliament. It was necessary, before those
rules could be Enforced, that they should be signed by two or three
Judges. The rules had been in existence for several years, but whether
it Was that they were considered too severe, or for any other reason,
he could not say, but the Judges had never signed them until some
time since, during the last Session of Parliament. It certainly appeared
very extraordinary that rules, which had not been signed for so many
years, should all at once be signed and put in practice. The peti
tioner set forth, that his father was debarred from all intercourse
with his family, and his medical attendant. The House might ba
15 B

10
aware that Mr. Hunt had made an application tp the Court of King's
Bench, and that the Court had made an order that Mr. Hunt should
see his solicitor and his surgeon ; but beyond that, he was to receive
no indulgence. He had not seen the rules, but he understood they
were very severe. Mr. Hunt was placed at an iron grating, and was
allowed to see his friends only once for a short time in 2<t hours. It
ought to be remembered, that, in consequence of a petition of Mr.
Hunt, the House had ordered a commission to investigate the cir
cumstances of which Mr. Hunt complained, and that commission
found it necessary to discharge the gaoler, whom an Hon. Member
had declared to be immaculate. He expected that the Hon. Mem
ber to whom he alluded would acknowledge that he had been deceived
when he spoke so loud in the praise of that man. When the evidence
which was given before the commission should be in the hands of
Hon. Members, he should feel it his duty to bring the whole question
under the conside ration of the House. The evidence would show
that the former gaoler had been guilty of foul and criminal offences.
He trusted that the House would not suffer Mr. Hunt, who, according
to the declaration of the Judge who sentenced him, was not to be
held in solitary confinement, to be treated in the cruel manner of
which he complained.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL begged leave to inform the House
of what had passed with reference to Mr. Hunt, in the Court of King's
Bench, since the subject had been referred to by the Hon. Member
who had just sat down. The individual whose petition was before
the House made an application to the Court of King's Bench, complaining
that his father was not allowed to have intercourse with his solicitor,
or with his medical adviser. The moment this communication was
made to the Court, the Judges met to determine what course of pro
ceeding it would be necessary to pursue. The result of their delibe
ration was, the issuing of an order, the object of which was to cause
an investigation into the circumstances which formed the subject of
complaint. The investigation was pending, and the moment the
evidence arrived, it would form the subject of consideration in the Court
of King's Bench ; and if it should appear that there had been any im
proper conduct on the part of the gaoler, or any other individual
connected with the gaol,, the Court would doubtless correct it.
SIR F. BURDETT was of opinion that the subject before the
House was one of the most important that could occupy its attention.
What the Solicitor-General haci stated with respect to the proceedings
of the Court ,of King's Bench was all very well, but there still ex
isted a question for the consideration of Parliament. Surely the in
dividual was not tojbe confined in the manner stated until he could ob
tain an order from the Court of King's Bench. The sentence which
had been passed upon Mr. Hunt was, under all the circumstances ofthe
case, most disgraceful. — (Hear.) That sentence was calculated to
bring the judicial character into disrepute. — (Cheers.) It was a
sentence more severe than any which had been promulgated since
the infamous time 6t the Stuarts. If such sentences as that whicli
was pronounced upon Mr. Hunt frequently occurred, the character of
our Judges would be brought into the disrepute which Lord Claren
don described it to have been in at the period to which he alluded, and
which that great writer stated to have resulted from the infliction of
punishments disproportionate to the offences.— (Hear, hear.) The
sentence pronounced upon Mr. Hunt seemed not to have been ap
plied to the offence, but to the individual.— (Hear.) It was not an
act of justice, but of Vengeance.— (Hear, hear.) It was a paying off

11
of old scores. They had got an individual who had offended them in
their grasp, and they could not let slip the opportunity of wreaking
their vengeance on him. — (Hear, hear.) The sentence of Mr. Hunt
was dreadful. For his own part he would as soon be dead as suffer three
years' imprisonment — that, he believed, was the term of Mr. Hunt's
confinement. The health of Mr. Hunt must be affected by his long
imprisonment, that was still aggravated by a species of torture which
was even worse than any other species, because all the sufferings
of the victim were hidden from the eyes of the public. It was impos
sible for him to avoid expressing his abhorrence ofthe treatment of Mr.
Hunt. The Judge who presided at his trial seemed to think that he
ought to have been acquitted. He was, indeed, acquitted on all the
counts but one, and his conviction upon that turned on a point
of law, rather than any thing else. — (Hear.) How could Mr. Hunt
know that the meeting at which he presided was an illegal assembly?
No violence took place upon that occasion, und, as far as Mr. Hunt
was concerned, no man could have conducted himself with more pru
dence, discretion, or merit — {Hear, hear.) The Judge, in summing
up the evidence, had said as much ; and if Mr. Hunt had not had the
misfortune to be tried by a jury — for it was a misfortune upon that oc
casion — but had it depended on the Judge for his acquittal or convic
tion, the former would certainly have occurred. However, he was
only convicted of that which he did not know to be a crime. All
the individuals who attended the meeting thought they were acting
legally, and so did Mr. Hunt. Whether the meeting itself was prudent
or not, was another question. All the individuals who attended it,
with their wives and children, supposed they were acting under the pro
tection of the laws. Even the magistrates, who afterwards accused
Mr. Hunt, sanctioned the legality of the meeting by their opinion. It
would be recollected that a meeting which had been proposed to take
place was abandoned upon an intimation from the magistrates that
it was illegal. The meeting, for being present at which Mr. Hunt
was now suffering punishment, was then announced, and no intima
tion of its illegality having been given by the magistrates, it ac
cordingly took place. The people met, as it were, under the sanc
tion of the magistrates, who, it was evident, did not at the time
think the meeting was illegal, and could not afterwards prove it to
be so. Be that as it might, Mr. Hunt was only convicted of having
caused so large a number of persons to assemble as was calculated to
excite alarm in the minds of other persons. Under those circumstances,
the slightest possible punishment should have been inflicted. But
when the heavy sentence under which Mr. Hunt was suffering was
inflicted, and that gentleman had, during his confinement, effected
the public service of bringing to light a public grievance, by exposing
the cruel and disgraceful conduct of his gaoler — a task which would
appear more difficult, when it was considered that that individual
(the gaoler) veiled his improper proceedings under circumstances
which imposed upon the magistrates of the county — it was quite
scandalous to allow a gaoler, or magistrate, to aggravate the severity
of his punishment. — (Hear.) With respect to the rules which had been
referred to, he conceived that they were intended only for the regu
lation of the prison. Mr. Hunt did not come within the scope of
their application. During the course of last Session, Mr. Hunt com
plained of certain proceedings which had been instituted against him
for selling roasted corn. Upon that occasion the law officers of the
Crown had declared, that they did not mean to sue him for the fine
which was imposed upon him ; but it seemed they had done so. He

12
knew that circumstance had nothing to do with the question then be
fore the House ; but it was important as shewing the quo animo
with which Government regarded that individual. lie had no connec
tion with Mr. Hunt ; but he stood before the House as an aggrieved
person,' and in that character he knew him. He could not know the
feelings with which some persons might regard him ; but if he were
objectionable to any, that circumstance should only render them more.
cautious not to suffer him to be unjustly treated, lest his case should
hereafter be made a precedent.
Mr. B. BATHURST contended, that the House ought not to enter
upon the discussion of a question which was already under the con
sideration of the Court of King's Bench, the tribunal to which Mr.
Hunt had himself appealed. He blamed the Hon. Baronet who spoke
last, for employing his privilege as a Member of that House, to cast
aspersions on the judicial authority. Ke trusted, however, that the
Judges would not be deterred by the Hon. Baronet's similitudes, from
doing that which they conceived to be their duty.
The HON. H. G. BENNET wished to know who those Magistrates
or Judges were, who had made the order of which Mr. Hunt com
plained. He was confident there were no gaol-rules which would au
thorise a gaoler to act as the gaoler of Mr. Hunt had acted. What!
prevent him from seeing his solicitor or his son? Gracious God I
he should have thought it impossible that any men, having the feel
ings of fathers, would have proposed such an order. .They were told
that the Court of King's Bench would consider the matter, and he did
not doubt the Court would exercise a right judgment upon the subject;
but the question was, by what right the orders complained of were
originally made? He would take upon him to say, that no law had
ever been passed which would authorise such orders. It could not
be pretended that the measures which had been adopted were ne
cessary for the security of Mr. Hunt. If he meditated escape from
confinement, it was not necessary that he should consult his solicitor,
his surgeon, or his son, upon the means of putting his design into exe
cution. Upon the same pretence he might have been placed in irons.
He viewed the affair with suspicion, and could not help thinking
that the treatment which Mr. Hunt was at present experiencing was in
tended as a punishment for the investigation which he had caused, the
guilt which he had detected, and the misrepresentation which he had
exposed. — (Hear.) Looking at Mr. Hunt as an oppressed individual,
oppressed by an iniquitous judgment — for he would still call it so, not
withstanding the reproof which the Right Hon. Gent, opposite had
given to his Hon. Friend, the Member for Westminster— he had de
sired to take the decision of the House upon his case : but he had ab
stained from doing so, because lie knew that the decision would be
unfavourable. He knew well that no person, connected as Mr. Hunt
had been, with the disturbances which had arisen some time back,
would obtain justice in that House. — (Hear, hear.) Had he known
any House of Commons that was willing to have afforded redress,
he and many others would have been anxious, in the first instance, to
have come forward upon the subject. The persuasion that no such
House existed, had deterred hiin from publicly staling his opinion ;
but in private he had always avowed his detestation of that sentence
of iniquity and folly pronounced by the Court of King's Bench — of
iniquity, because the punishment far exceeded any offence imputed ;
of folly, because it converted an object of perhaps just reprehension
into a public martyr.
Mr. DICKINSON denied the assertion that any of the complaints

13
of Mr. Hunt arose out of ill-treatment he received beeause he had
occasioned the recent investigation nnd exposure at Ilchester. With re
gard to the rules of which so much had been said, it was proper to ob
serve, that though they had existence, they had no operation at the time
Mr. Hunt was first sent to the gaol : they had been long prepared,
but had never, as was necessary, been signed by any of the Judges!
They had been postponed from assize to assize, by the different
Judges ; and Mr. Justice Burrough and Mr. Justice Holroyd having
declined to inspect thera, they had very recently met the approval
and signature of Mr. Baron Graham and Mr. Justice Best.— (Cheers
from the Opposition benches.) — He (Mr. Dickinson) had waited upon
Mr. Justice Best with the rules, and he had pointed out particularly
the effect of one of them upon Mr. Hunt, who; wished to be visited
by what he called his family, which meant nothing else than that
he wanted the company of a lady of the name of Vince, who, as was
well known, had long been living with him. After the rules had
been once approved by the Judges, he (Mr. Dickinson) conceived,
that the Quarter Sessions had no power to alter them.
SIR I. COFFIN was merely desirous of saying, that when he
formerly bore testimony to the character of the keeper of Ilchester
gaol, he had not the slightest suspicion that thumbscrews were ever
employed there. — (Hear.)
SIRT. LETHBRIDGE maintained that nothing but the indulgence
granted to Mr. Hunt had led to the complaints of which the House
had already heard too much. — (Hear, hear.) — If he had been treated
like other prisoners charged with similar offences, all the troubles
that had lately arisen would have been avoided. — (Hear, hear.) — He
vindicated the conduct of the magistracy of the county of Somerset,
contending that they were incapable of being actuated by any unworthy
motives. They had only discharged their painful duty. With re
gard to the petition, he did not think it became the House to at
tempt to reverse the sentence of a Court of Law. — (Hear.)
Mr. HOBHOUSE begged to be informed whether the son of
Mr. Hunt came within the objection taken by the Hon. Gentleman
(Mr. Dickinson), on the score of improper connexions. He did not
mean to treat morality with any slight — he was the last man to do
so ; but the Court of King's Bench did not, by the terms or by the spirit
of its sentence, exclude even that female whose name had. been intro
duced into the discussion. It was strange, indeed, to hear of the rules
of a prison which, for any offence, much less for that for which Mr.
Hunt was confined, interdicted all communication between a father
and his son. One of the Hon. Members for Somersetshire (Sir T.
Lethbridge) had talked of the trouble Mr. Hunt had occasioned, and
of the complaints he had made, as the cause from which such evils had
resulted. What were those evils ? Was the detection 06 the use
of thumb-screws and torture an evil ? Was the removal of a gaoler,
in whom so much misconduct had appeared, an evil ? If it were, he
hoped that many more evils of the same kind would befall the coun
try. He (Mr. Hobhouse) found by a document upon the table, that
there was a case, in which an individual had been sentenced to no
less an imprisonment than four years and a half. No more atro
cious sentence could be pointed out, even in the period to which
the Hon. Baronet (Sir F. Burdett 1 had referred — the reign of Charles I
The ATTORNEY GENERAL thought, that if there existed any
real ground of complaint against any quarter, the charge ought to
have been specifically brought forward. — (Hear, hear, from the
Opposition side.)— He begged to inform the Hon. Member fbr West-

14
minster (Mr. Hobhouse), who had referred to the case of the much-
injured Carlile, that that individual was imprisoned for four years
and a half, not for one, but for a succession of offences of the same
character.— (Hear .) With regard to the expectation of the learned
Judge upon the subject ofthe verdict at York, he (the Attorney Ge
neral) could take upon himself to assert, that the statement just made
was wholly void of foundation. A more impartial trial never took
place. The defendant had chosen his own county, his own jury ;
and the Judge, after the decision, had been complimented by Mr.
Hunt himself, on his fairness and impartiality. — (Hear, hear.) The
Judge had afterwards stated that the verdict was quite satisfactory to
his mind, and such was the opinion of the whole Court, which, in
passing sentence, had observed, that the offence of which the de
fendant had been convicted approached very nearly to high treason.
Mr. HOBHOUSE denied that he had in any way alluded to the
case of Carlile. By a return on the table, he found that a man whose
name was not given had been sentenced to an imprisonment of four
years and a half, and this not under the jurisdiction of the Court of
King's Bench. Carlile had been sentenced by that Court, but it
was very clear why the Attorney General endeavoured to couple
him (Mr. Hobhouse) with such a man as Carlile.
The ATTORNEY GENERAL assured the Hon. Gentleman, upon his
honour, that he had no improper motive in mentioning the name of
Carlile in connexion with the Hon. Gentleman. He took it for granted,
perhaps hastily, that the reference was to the case of Carlile.
The petition was brought up, read, and laid upon the table.
Mr. ALDERMAN WOOD, in moving that it be printed, added,
that if he had proposed any specific relief, he knew he should have
been immediately told he was out of form, and that the House could
not interpose. Tlie High Sheriff had also been advised that he
could not interfere on behalf of Mr. Hunt. He (Alderman Wood)
had seen Mr. Hardy, the present governor of Ilchester gaol, on Satur-
daylast, and he declared that he had not the slightest reason to com
plain of the conduct of Mr. Hunt.
It was ordered that the petition should be printed.
My worthy friend Alderman Wood always does his duty
manfully ; but the speech of Sir Francis Burdett was wor
thy of the Honourable Baronet in his very best days ; Sir
Francis spoke out like himself again ; read his speech over
and over again, my friends ; if he continues to act in this
way he will soon win the hearts of the people again, and
it does him the more honour when it is considered that the
Baroner and myself have been at daggers drawn ever
since the Spa-fields meetings in 1816, when, as I thought,
the Baronet deserted me and the cause we had advo
cated so long together ; in consequence of this, I opposed
him at the election for Westminster, and was the cause of
his being below Sir Samuel Romilly upon the poll. I un
dertook this as a public duty, having been persuaded of
the necessity of this, to be sure, by others. I also opposed
his friend Hobhouse, by supporting Major Cartwright
when poor Sir Samuel Romilly died suddenly. I believe I

15
was the cause of the opposition to, and the defeat of Mr.
Hobhouse upon that occasion ; I was an avowed and open
political enemy — I might have been wrong, but I was ac
tuated by the purest principles of public duty. But after
this, to see the Baronet take such a decided part, and with
such ability and force denounce those who had passed such
a sentence upon me, as well as those who are now wreak
ing their vengeance against me, to witness this, is an evi
dent proof that principle has overcome the passion of re
venge in his breast. To be sure, none but the most vin
dictive rancorous wretch — none but the most dastardly
coward would remain silent from personal pique upon such
a question as this. I thus publicly offer to Sir Francis Bur
dett my most unqualified and grateful thanks, and I as
sure him that I am not the less grateful because he has
thus spoken upon public instead of private grounds. I offer
my thanks also publicly to Mr. Grey Bennett and Mr. Hob
house, for the support which they gave the petition pre
sented by the worthy Alderman. If these gentlemen will
continue to act in this way they will be very soon idolized
again by the people, Radicals and all ; and I am sure that
my Radical Friends will not believe that I am sacrificing my
principle by saying this : nothing shall ever prevent me
from being the staunch, steady, persevering, consistent
advocate of Universal Suffrage and vote by ballot. Sir
Francis Burdett says, very truly, that he has no connec
tion with me— he used to know me well, and the time
was, when I would have interposed my body to have re
ceived the ball that was fired at him ; and he will give
me credit for being a steady, zealous, persevering, and de
voted friend to Liberty. The sentence that was passed
upon me was certainly the most vindictive that has ever
been passed since the reign of the Stuarts. Since the pre
sent family came to the throne there has never been a sen
tence for a longer period for a political offence than two
years, except mine. Mr. Carlile was sentenced for three
years, two years for one conviction, and one year for the
other. But his cannot be fairly called a political offence,
his was for maintaining, publishing, and selling theologi
cal oginions in opposition to the Christian religion. It will
be recollected that Mr. Carlile was the mere publisher of
these works ; Paine's Age of Reason, &c. fop Mr. Sher-
win. Mr. Carlile could scarcely be called a political cha
racter till he was prosecuted for selling the Age of Rea
son. Will any one tell me, or remind me of any political

ir,
meeting that Mr. Carlile ever attended before he was pro
secuted for what is called blasphemy. Mr. Carlile was in
London, 1 believe, during all the great meetings for Reform
held in Spa-fields — did ho attend any one of them ? There
was he busily employed selling his books during the
great meetings in Palace-yard and at Smithfield: did he
attend, and take any part at any public meeting for Reform
in his life? He attended the meeting at Manchester, it is
true, but then he was under a prosecution for blasphemy.
What did he do at that meeting ? Did he face the police ?
Or, did he run away like the rest of the multitude ? His,
I always thought, a very different trade from mine ; he was
in the way always of making money by his politics as well
his religion ; the latter he sold at an enormous profit. —
I always spent money in every political move that 1 ever
made in my life. I contend that Mr. Carlile had a right
to sell or maintain any opinion he pleased, but I never had
the least idea that Mr. Carlile maintained any particular
opinion either in politics or religion, because such politics
and such religion was contained in the books he sold. I
have no doubt but Mr. Carlile is very sincere now in what
he professes to believe ; but it is the firm conviction of my
mind, that Mr. Carlile had never read Paine's Age of Rea
son till he published it for Mr. Sherwin. I know nothing
of this, but this is my opinion. I never had any connec
tion or conversation with Mr. Carlile upon theological
matters. 1 believed him to be an honest pamphlet- vender.
I knew him to be sober and industrious, and it was no
business of mine what his creed or belief was. I never
read any of these theological works, nor did I ever see
any of them in the hands of more than one person that
professed himself a Radical Reformer. When the subject
was once mentioned in Mr. Carlile's shop, all that 1 said
was this, and I said it from my heart — " Mr. Paine, for
aught I know, may have been as great a bigot as to his
belief as any violent sectarian or religious enthusiast. I
do not choose for Mr. Paine or any other human being to
think for me in matters of faith ; I must and will think
for myself." The subject of theology was never intro
duced where I was afterwards. When I offered myself
upon constitutional principles as a candidate for the city
of Westminster, Mr. Carlile and Mr. Sherwin, both of
them, joined my committee as volunteers. Mr. Carlile un
dertook to get the flag and the Cap of Liberty, and upon
my being asked by him what motto I should like, I re-

17
plied, '' Universal Suffrage, surmounted by the Cap of
Liberty, will be quite enough." However, when the flag
was brought into the room and displayed, at the Crown
and Anchor, there was " Universal Suffrage" on one side,
and on the reverse " Hunt and Liberty ;" also upon the
border of the cap was painted " Hunt and Liberty."
These two last mottos were added by Mr. Carlile without
my being consulted at all about the matter. Thus to Mr.
Carlile are we indebted for the motto " Hunt and Liber
ty." After the election was over, as Mr. Carlile pur
chased the cap and flag at his own expense, of course he
claimed and had it returned to him, and, unknown to me,
he sent it to Mr. Wroe, at Manchester, to be used at the
first Manchester meeting that I attended ; and thus was
Mr. Carlile the cause ofthe motto of " Hunt and Liberty"
being raised in the North. Although I do not agree with
Mr. Carlile, nor ever did agree with him as to the advan
tage of propagating the theological opinions of Paine and
Mirabeau, yet as I contend for the right of every-- man
maintaining his own opinions, whatever they may be, I
consider Mr. Carlile's persecutions most severe, and his
persecutors I abhor and detest as much as any man living.
Poor Harrison is also imprisoned in Chester Castle for
three years, under two sentences. I consider this an ex
treme hard case, and an act of persecution nearly equalling
that which has been inflicted upon me. Mr. Harrison I
esteem as a real, genuine, devoted friend of Liberty. There
could be no motive for his patriotism but love of Liberty.
He was no pamphlet-vender ; he made nothing by his
politics; he devoted his time and his life to the cause of
Radical Reform, and he is entitled to the approbation, the
protection, and support of every Radical Reformer in the
United Kingdom. What I have said of Mr. Harrison ap
plies in an equal degree to Mr. Knight, who is confined in
Lancaster Castle. Mr. Knight has devoted a long life to
the cause of real Radical Reform. I beg both Mr. Knight's
and Mr. Harrison's friends to remember me to each of
them in the kindest manner, and assure them both of my
highest esteem and regard. I have very reluctantly ab
stained from writing to "them, but I have resolutely re
solved that my letters should never be touched by the fil
thy contaminated fingers of Mr, Gaoler Higgins, or Mr.
Gaoler of Chester, and this has been rny only reason for
not writing to them. Poor Swan is confined in Chester
Castle for four years, but that is for three sentences for
15 e

18
three different verdicts. One, I believe, for attending a
public meeting, and the other two for vending pamphlets.
These sentences were passed by the Magistrates at the
Quarter Sessions for the county of Chester. Recollect this,
my friends. But the sentence which comes nearest to
mine is that which was passed upon a man at the assizes
for the county of York — thirty months — and the only
thing was, that the man had a pike in his hand, and voci
ferated " Hunt and Liberty." I hope the Radicals of
Yorkshire do not forget this man. Mr. Lewis's case,
who is sentenced, I believe, for two years in Oakham Gaol,
is also a peculiarly hard one. All that I said of Mr. Har
rison applies to him. If the people of Coventry, War
wick, and Birmingham, do not take good care of Mr.
Lewis, the everlasting disgrace of after-ages will fall upon
them. But it would be an insult to our common nature to
suspect any such thing. But as Sir Charles Wolseley and
Mr. Northmore will commence their Radical tour early in
the Spring, as soon, at least, as he returns from Paris, I
must request the friends of each incarcerated Radical to
send me an account of the prison in which he is confined,
the period of his imprisonment, and when his time expires,
as I know it is their intention to visit all. All they wili
see, except the " Captive of Ilchester," him they cannot
see, as he is doomed to nine months solitary confinement ;
but they will see all the rest. These letters must be post
paid, or they will not be taken in at the lodge.
The speeches of Mr. Bennet and Mr. Hobhouse will
speak for themselves; but the speeches of our worthy
Members for the county are such as might be expected
from men who are sent to Parliament by the very beings
who are torturing me. Only let the freeholders of the
county of Somerset read these speeches over attentively,
and then they will not be surprised at the enormous coun
ty rates which have been drawn out of their pockets for
so many years. O, the exposure and the detection of the
frauds upon the county stock ! this was the unkindest blow
of all: there the shoe pinches; there the galled jade winces;
there is the rub. But we shall not be able to bring these
county Members to their senses till the next election ; and if
ever there is another election upon the same base system,
Dickenson and Lethbridge will not be again returned for
this county. Instead of Mr. Dickenson introducing the
name of a Lady who never gave him or any other person
any offence, he would be acting a much more consistent

10
part to listen to the prayers of his tenants to lower their
rents, which still stand at the enormous high rate to which
they were screwed up in the dear times. However, this
is the current report of the county. But it is said and
believed that the worthy Member expects to have a place
ofprofttagain under the Government, now that his patrons,
the Grenvilles, are come into palace again., But " we shall
see;" mark them well, and look to the part they are play
ing, my friends of Somersetshire; and if you have any
doubts remaining as to the talent of your county Members,
pray, pray read the little pamphlet written by Mr. Shilli
beer, and published by Dolby, giving an account of the
wonderful wisdom of these profound politicians, as ex
emplified in the speeches that they vomited out at a snug
agricultural distress meeting that was got up at Taunton.
From henceforth, my friends, we will call this Mr. Dicken
son the " Calculating Conjuror."
My friend Oliver Hayward has this moment sent me
copies of letters that he has written to the Marquis of Bath,
the Lord Lieutenant of this county, and to the said Wil
liam Dickenson, the gallant Colonel ofthe Somersetshire
Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry ; but as these letters speak
for themselves, I will insert them at once, only premising
that Mr. Oliver Hayward is a g-entleman of two thousand
a year estate, which he occupies himself, and that he has
been an officer in the Yeovil Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry
for many years, Read, read his letters below, and then
judge for yourselves, my friends, whether this said Mr.
Dickenson and the Somersetshire Magistrates, by the aid
of the humane Judge Best, are not bringing an old
house about their ears. Read ! read ! ! read ! ! !
Mi Lord, Mudford, near Yeovil, Feb. 7, 1822.
When I first entered the Yeovil Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry,
fourteen years ago, I was actuated by the purest principles of loyalty
and patriotism ; I have performed my duty zealously and conscien
tiously, during seven years of war and seven years of peace; but the
only reward that it appears I am likely to receive for my services, is
to be called upon to pay war taxes, to support a large standing army
of regular soldiers at the end of seven years of profound peace, and to
pay a still more rapacious army of placemen, pensioners, and sinecu
rists, the rotten prop3 of a corrupt system of misrepresentation. As
I esteem it the reverse of Loyalty or Patriotism to draw my sword to
support such a system of misrule, I take leave to resign my commission,
as Colonel ofthe Yeovil Troop of Yeomanry, which I herewith inclose,
uito your Lordship's hands, as pure and unsullied, I flatter myself, as
when I first received it.
But in doing this, I beg to assure your Lordship, that I shall at all
times be ready and willing to risk my life in the support ofthe real

20
honour, dignity, and safety ofthe Throne, and [to maintain tho rights
and liberties ofthe people of England.
I am, my Lord,
Your Lordship's obedient servant.
OLIVER HAYWARD.
To the Most Noble the Marquis of Bath, Longleat, near Fromc.
Sir, Mudford, Feb. 10, 1822.
I have for some time pastentertained serious doubts in iny own mind
whether or not I was either serving myself or the real interest of our
country, by continuing to hold a commission in the Yeomanry Cavalry,
atthe end of five or six years of profound peace.
The system of persecution followed up with such unabated rancour
against our late lamented Queen, tended greatly to strengthen me in
the opinion that I ought not to continue any longer in the Yeomanry
Cavalry. But, Sir, when I have witnessed the disgraceful persecution and
torture inflicted upon Mr. Hunt, who is confined in Ilchester Gaol, by
the depriving hiin of the society of his family and friends, without any
cause whatever being assigned for such a cruel proceeding, I cannot
but feel that a portion of the disgrace will attach to me, if I remain
any longer as an officer of the Yeomanry in the immediate neighbour
hood ; therefore, after having personally ascertained the fact on
Tuesday last, by application to the Sheriff and your brother Magis
trates at the Gaol, I instantly sent my resignation and my commission
to the Lord Lieutenant of the county, which I think proper to commu
nicate to you as the Colonel of the liegiment.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient humble servant,
OLIVER HAYWARD.
To WUliam Dickenson, Esq., M. P., 8, Upper Harley Street, London.
I have this moment seen a Bath Journal. I see a copy
of the requisition which Mr. Oliver Hayward presented
to the High Sheriff is published' in that, the only inde
pendent, impartial newspaper in this county. There is also
a letter from Mr. Perratt, of Middlezoy, addressed to his
brother freeholders and yeomanry of the county : a letter
well worthy their serious attention, relative to his present
ing a requisition signed by 200 freeholders of the county,
on the same day and at the same time that Mr. Oliver
Hayward presented his requisition, requesting the Sheriff
to call a county meeting to take the agricultural distresses of
the country into consideration. I am happy to see that the
spirit which was evinced by the freeholders of this county,
during the late election for Coroner, is not evaporating,
but that it is concentrating and consolidating. " We shall
see" whether the new Sheriff" will resist the call of the
county as the last did. Now is the time, freeholders of So
mersetshire, for you to exert yourselves ! I am most
happy to announce that you have a paper published in the
county that is now open to all parties. I think we may

21
from henceforth look to that paper as the vehicle of honest
communications. You will recollect, Gentlemen, that
this was the only paper which contained an account of the
public dinner at Yeovil, held to celebrate the election of
Mr. Uphill, or rather the victory of the independent yeo
men and freeholders of the county over magisterial dicta
tion and tyranny. This was the only paper that an
nounced your second dinner, held at North Petherton.
This is the only paper in the county which has dared to
give you any thing like a true statement of the state of
gaol politics, and I am sure that the people of Somerset
shire will not be the less disposed to read that paper, when
they hear that the notorious ex-Gaoler of Ilchester, the
discarded Bridle, has brought an action against the editors
for a libel — for a libel, mind, against his excellency — his
late excellency, I mean, the notorious Bridle. Oh ! my
friends of Somerset ! the rascally newspaper editors of
this county are sold and bribed with your own money, to
delude and deceive you ; while they unblushingly insert
the most barefaced falsehoods to delude and deceive their
readers. They actually refused to insert an advertisement
to announce your freeholders union dinner. They all,
the editors of both genders and equivocals , also seized with
avidity the lie last week put forth in the London Courier,
which I have below inserted. But as this lie was calcu
lated to injure Mr. Hardy, who has conducted himself
with so much propriety and humanity since he has been
here, he thought proper promptly to contradict it,
which I shall give as follows, with a note I wrote to the
editor ofthe Times myself: —
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Uchester Gaol, Feb. 6.
Sir — A paragraph having appeared iu the Courier of Monday last,
and copied into your paper on the following morning, which in false
in every respect, I shall feel obliged by your inserting the following
copy of a letter addressed by me to the editor ofthe Courier: —
TO THE EDITOR OF THE COURIER. Ilchester Gaol, Feb. 6.
Sir— I was very much surprised at a paragraph that appeared in the '
Courier ot Monday evening, stating, that " I had sent to town, com
plaining of the conduct of Hunt, and requesting an order for his closer
confinement." So far from this being the fact, Sir, I should be doing
a great injustice to my own sense of propriety, if I did not instantly
contradict such a malignant report, by unequivocally stating, that since
I have had the care of this Gaol committed to my charge, I have never
had the slightest reason to complain of the conduct of Mr. Hunt or any
of his visiters — quite the reverse. I have nothing to do with Mr.
Hunt's politics, neither was I ever consulted about any of the new

22
rules or regulations, or over saw them, till thev were placed in my
hands by Mr. Coles, the Clerk of the Peace, at the late Quarter Ses
sions at Wells. The person who imposed upon you, Sir, by propa
gating such a falsehood, had a double purpose in view— traducing the
character of aprisoner, and injuring that of
Your humble servant,
W. E. HARDY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir — I should think myself quite neglected, if I was not sometimes
honoured with the abuse of the Courier, and I should have but a very
mean opinion of my own consequence in the political world, if its editor
did not occasionaily manufacture a falsehood to keep up the hostility
of his readers against me. But as I see you have copied a paragraph
which appeared in that paper on Monday evening into your widely-cir
culated paper, containing a gross and wanton calumny against me,
and calculated to injure the character of Mr. Hardy, the new Keeper
of this Prison, in common fairness I hope you will lose no time to con
tradict it. Instead of Mr. Hardy ever having had occasion to make
any complaint against me, I have heard him manfully state to the
Sheriff, that I had, neither by myself or any of my visiters, given him
the slightest cause of uneasiness since he came to this Gaol ; and he
further added, that he never knew a person confined in Newgate or
any other gaol for a political offence, placed under such restrictions
as I am here, by some new rules, signed, it is said, by Mr. Justice
Best. I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Ilchester Bastile, Feb. 7. H. HUNT.
The pimping, lying, shuffling Mercury, printed at
Sherborne, instead of inserting- this manly and honest
letter of Mr. Hardy, the dastardly fellows inserted a
garbled extract. Listen not to these time-serving, despi
cable editors of county newspapers. If you had not
pinned your faith, and listened to their falsehoods, your
eyes would never have been closed so long against your
own interests and the interests of the community. Only
think of the base, dirty, time-serving, pimping- scoundrel
of the Taunton Courier. After the public meeting of
agricultural distress gentry, who met at Taunton, the fel
low inserted a false and manufactured account of what
took place at the meeting; upon which Mr. Shillibeer
published his speech, with his account of the meeting, with
some very sensible and proper strictures and observations
upon the foolish speeches made by your two ganders' of
Members, in which he has certainly proved them, out of
their own mouths, to be two of as contemptible things
as ever lived. Of course I am not speaking of
them as Members of Parliament, but as speechifyers
at a public meeting held at Taunton. In this pamphlet,
published by Dolby, (which every man in the country
should read) Mr. Shillibeer noticed slightly an occur-

¦23
rencethat took place at the meeting. A blustering, bully
ing, empty-headed fellow, a time-serving Tory of the name
of Liddon, it appears, was amongst the number of those
who interrupted Mr. Shillibeer in his speech at the meet
ing, but some persons present retaliated upon this Liddon
with the cry of " no mackerel broth," alluding to some old
electioneering joke. Mr. Shillibeer observes in his ex
cellent pamphlet, tbat after this, Mr. Liddon was as quiet
as a mouse. This Liddon, who is an apothecary, and an
athletic powerful man, way-laid Shillibeer, and with a
large stick, having- first stunned him with a tremendous
blow of the fist, he beat him in a most unmerciful and,
cowardly manner, so much so, that he was taken home
and put to bed, and has been confined to his room ever
since, more than a fortnight, and Dr. Kinglake, who has
attended him, and who has had him bled twice in the
arm, and once or twice opened the temporal artery, has
yet some doubts of his recovery, he having received a
violent concussion of the brain, and a most serious in
jury in one of his kidneys, by the inhuman treatment
of this creature in human form. The whole town, and
the whole county sympathise with poor little Shilli
beer, who is as a lamb to a wolf, I understand, as com
pared to this fellow. But the next day the amiable editor
of the infamous obscure Taunton Courier, publishes the
following gentleman-like and humane paragraph: —
" Mr. Liddon, Surgeon, of this town, having been, with a number
of other respectable persons, grossly traduced in a scurrilous pam
phlet, issued by a man named Shillibeer, yesterday.morning encoun
tered his calumniator in one of our streets, and began to inflict on him
summary chastisement with a walking stick. The rod of castigation
broke soon after the commencement of this attempt to exercise the
evil spirit put of the slanderer, but the spell was completed by Mr.
Liddon wresting from his opponent a very stout oaken cudgel, which
was applied con amore to the shoulders of the offender, until his re
treat into a neighbouring house terminated the short but impressive
meeting. The foolish creature whom Mr. Liddon has thus visited with
his corrective energies, is the Ilchester Gaol Secretary, and Manchester
Delegate of Mr. Henry Hunt ; also Captain General of the Radical
Forces of this town, and President of the pot-house politicians of that
stamp : — ' The very bellows
And tinder box of all his fellows.'
Whether his ignorance and malignity should have been treated with
pity and contempt, or his impudence and falsehood with the punish
ment he has received, may admit of some doubt; but for ourselves,
we think that the loss of Mr. Liddon's walking cane is the only thing
to be regretted on the occasion."
Now what think you of this for West-country law ? This

2-1
would have been pre-meditated murder if he had killed
Mr. Shillibeer, for 1 understand this man, Liddon, has
threatened and boasted how he would serve him ; but
what excuse can be made for the malice-hearted, cold
blooded scoundrel of an editor. What will this fellow
say for himself when he is put into the witness's box, and
upon his oath asked, who gave him this information ? —
Suppose it should turn out this is Mr. Liddon's own ver
sion of the affair. Tho inhabitants of the town ought to
take this up immediately, and the ruffian should be indicted
by the parish, while Mr. Sliillibeeer should proceed against
him by an action of damages. There are two prisoners
now in this gaol, acting as my servants, to clean the yard,
rooms, &c. They were sentenced by the moral Mr. Dick
enson, for an assault committed in the public streets at
Frome, of not one thousandth part the atrocity and savage-
ness of this assault ; he sentenced them to be imprisoned
in this gaol for two years ; now, we shall see what
Somersetshire justice is — " We shall see." Let that pass
for the present : Dr. Kinglake, who came to see me this
morning, by the order ofthe Court of King's Bench, tells
me that he has hopes of Mr. Shillibeer's recovery, although
he cannot walk across the room yet, as the concussion of
his brain was of a most serious and dangerous nature. I am
very much obliged for Drakard's Stamford News: this is an
excellent and honest country newspaper; let the people of
Norfolk read this paper if they wish for honest and pub
lic-spirited information ; this newspaper has always been
conducted with great talent and public spirit ; Mr. Dra-
kard was sentenced to be imprisoned in Lincoln gaol, in
1811 or 1812, for what the authorities termed a libel in an
article written to call the public attention to the disgrace
ful spectacle of German soldiers keeping guard and su
perintending the flogging of some local militia men in the
Isle of Ely, in Cambridgeshire. But Mr. Drakard did not
abandon his principles of truth and justice, because he
was sentenced to one of the dungeons of the borough
mongers. I am indebted to Mr. Drakard for the know
ledge of my health being drank at the public dinners at
Huntingdon and King's Lynn, in Norfolk ; had I not seen
Mr. Drakard's impartial paper, the circumstance would
never have come to my knowledge. I read Cobbett's
Register, but the gentlemen who met at Huntingdon and
those who met at King's Lynn must have been (as 1 under
stood some of them were) rather surprised tfi see the

25

omissions in Mr. Cobbett's account of these meetings,
but they will, by and bye, understand the management
of the public press better than they do now. To shew
the little reliance that is to be placed in these published
accounts, I will give a specimen of that published in Dra
kard's Stamford News, which I should presume to be
correct, and on the other side that published in Cobbett's
Register. DRAKARD'S ACCOUNT OP THE
HUNTINGDON MEETING.
Drakard's Stamford News,
Jan. 25, 1S22.
" Mr. Cobbett, sen. gave the
health of Mr. Hunt, Mr. Wooler,
and all tlie persons suffering in the
cause of Reform, which was drank
amidst immense applause — ' May
the wrongs of the Queen and-the
massacre at Manchester never be

COBBETT'S ACCOUNT OF THE
HUNTINGDON MEETING.
Cobbett's Register,
Feb. 2, 1822.
" Several toasts were drank dur
ing the evening — ' The King' —
' The Memory of the Queen' —
' Prosperity to the County of
Huntingdon' — ' Lord John Rus
sell' — ' Earl Fitzwilliam' — ' Lord
Milton, ' and many others, amongst
which was Mr. Cobbett's."
COBBETT'S ACCOUNT OF KING'S
LYNN MEETING.
" On Tuesday a public dinner,
at which nearly 200 persons sat
down together, was held at King's
Lynn, on the subject of Agricul
tural Distress. Mr. Cobbett at
tended in consequence of a special
invitation. The fbllowing toasts
were drank—' The King' — ' The
Sovereignty of the People' — 'The
Memory of Caroline of Brunswick,
the Illustrious and Injured Queen
of England' — ' Prosperity to the
Agricultural Interests ofthe Coun
ty of Norfolk.' The Chairman (Mr.
Ayr) proposed tlie health of Mr.
Cobbett, who made two speeches.
and some resolutions being passed,
Mr. Cobbett then withdrew, and
the meeting gradually dispersed."
Look at this picture.
Account of myself and Co.

forgotten or forgiven till amply
atoned for."
DRAKARD'S ACCOUNT OF KING'S
LYNN MEETING.
" 'The brave Captive of Ilches
ter, Henry Hunt, Esq. and his fel
low sufferers in prison ; may the
violation of the laws in their per
sons, and the blood shed at Man
chester, be neither forgotten nor
forgiven till inquiry be made and
justice administered' — ' The vene
rable Major Cartwright, the long
tried and zealous advocate, of
that Reform which can alone be
effective — Annual Parliaments,
Universal Suffrage, and Vote by
Ballot' — ' Sir Charles Wolseley
and Mr. Northmore ; thanks to
them for their sympathy and at
tention to those who are now suf
fering in the cause of Reform' —
three times three. — ' Mr. Wooler,
whose Black Dwarf has produced
many a giant in the cause of Radi
cal Reform.' ''
And look at this.
Radical account.
Do not look grave, my friends, but laugh with me ; the
press qf England has been employed to write me down
these ten years, but they have not quite accomplished
their purpose yet. The editor of The Times said, when
Cobbett was coming home from America, that he would
attack his friend Hunt, as he had done Sir Francis Burdett.
15 D

26
It would be much more manly to do so than to impose a
false statement of a public meeting upon his readers,
merely for the purpose of depriving a captive, in a dis
tant gaol, of the pleasure of hearing that a body of his
countrymen, although perfect strangers to him, did him
the honour to drink his health with enthusiasm ; but
leaving me and my name out ofthe question, is Mr. Cob
bett's a true account ? Why, by his account, the healths
drank were royalty, majesty, aristocracy, and Mr. Cob
bett. Look at the other side, and you will see that at both
meetings, they were a brave, honest set of back-bone
Radicals, and instead of being a meeting or meetings of
jolter-head loyalists, they were meetings of enlightened,
real, Radical Reformers, who appear to understand matters
quite as well as Mr. Cobbett does himself, however much
he may have endeavoured to keep this Radical feeling out
of view. The Radicals in the North will, every man of
them, understand this the moment they read it, and so
will the gentlemen who met at Huntingdon and King's
Lynn, and Mr. Drakard will also understand it.
One word more as to the press, which requires reforming
as much or more than the Parliament. I wish my Radical
friends, and particularly the members of the Northern
Union, to take my advice upon this subject. Mr. Andrews,
the late able and honest editor of the Catholic Advocate,
has now published the Third Number of his Weekly Po
litical Adviser, called the People's Advocate. I recom
mend this work as most worthy the attention of all Radi
cal Reformers, and I hope that it will be taken in and read
by every branch of the Great Northern Union, from one
end of the land to the other ; it will be found to be a most
valuable companion for the Manchester Observer, and I
would suggest to the different branches of the Union in
and near the metropolis, to communicate any information
relative to its progress to Mr. Andrews, that it might be
inserted in The People's Advocate. This is the sort of
publication that will be particularly adapted to the en
lightened views of the Radical Reformers of the North,
it will be an acquisition to the library of every man of
science, and every pupil who wishes to study the pure
principles of political economy.
You will see, my friends, on the wrapper of this Num
ber, a list of respectable names to a very liberal subscrip
tion that I have received from Liverpool. I am indebted
for this very handsome addition towards indemnifying me

27
for the expenses I have incurred and am daily incurring
in the cause of humanity, since I have been in this Gaol,
to the liberal and enlightened author of three letters that
were published in the Liverpool Mercury, under the sig
nature of O. P., treating the subject ofthe Ilchester Inves
tigation with a masterly hand. These letters, accompa
nied with the introductory remarks of the editor, will be
immediately published by Mr. Dolby, together with the
letter which I addressed to Mr. Justice Bayley, which pro
duced the order of the Court for me to see my attorney,
and be allowed the assistance of medical men in case
of illness. This little pamphlet will be a useful
work for reference, and for the reading of those who
wish to understand the subject of the Ilchester Inves
tigation, without wading through the whole of the volu
minous evidence. The editor of the Liverpool Mercury
avows himself to be an enemy to what he conceives to be
my politics, and has, I am told, repeatedly attacked me,
principally in consequence of my opposition to Sir Francis
Burdett. But he appears to be that sort of true English
enemy, that scorns to triumph over one that is persecuted
in captivity. O, give me a liberal, open enemy to deal
with ! how much more to be respected is such a man,
than an artful, lukewarm, perfidious, treacherous, pre
tended friend. I see the editor of this paper admits the
justice of theprinciple of Universal Suffrage, but he doubts
the policy of such a Reform. Surely he will not long
contend for any thing unprincipled: — " Honesty is the
best policy;" and principle will ultimately prevail. The
gentlemen of Liverpool have done more to serve my
exertions in the cause of humanity, than even the Radicals
of any other town in England, with the exception of Bol
ton, and they have done it in the most handsome manner
too, not one of whom, to my knowledge, did I ever
see in my life.
" The Great Northern Radical Union." I
need not say one word of this Union ; it will very
soon speak for itself in a language more intelligible
and more powerful than any I am master of. In conse
quence of little petty selfish feuds and jealousies, this
Union did not advance in the first instance with that ala
crity which I might have expected; but my expectations
will soon be realized to their fullest extent — The Great
Northern Radical Union is making rapid strides,
and 18 increasing like a mighty torrent, that will

28
SWEEP AWAY CORRUPTION IN ITS IRRESISTIBLE PRO
GRESS. I am, my excellent friends, although in solitude,
Yet your zealous Advocate,
H. HUNT.

LETTER FROM MR. HUNT TO THE HON. MR. JUSTICE
BAYLEY.
Ilchester Bastile. Feb. 3, 1822,
Twelfth Day qf Solitary Confinement.
Sir — In the twenty-first month of that incarceration
which you doomed me to suffer by a sentence of two
years and six months imprisonment in this Bastile, 1 am
under the necessity s>f troubling you, for the second time,
to recall to your recollection what fell from your lips upon
the bench when you passed that sentence.
Upon my application (made rather ironically, I own)
to know if my imprisonment was to be solitary, you ra
ther indignantly replied, " Certainly not ; no, Sir, that
does not form any part of your sentence ; and if you are
not treated properly, an application to the Court will be
promptly attended to."
In the sixth month of my imprisonment, I had occasion
to complain, that, without any cause assigned, my family
and female friends were prohibited from visiting me, by
the Rev. Dr. Colston and another Visiting Magistrate. 1
then applied to the Court, by affidavit, for a writ of Habeas
Corpus, to be taken at my own expense before the Court,
that I might state in person the grievances which I had
sustained. The Court refused to grant that which I prayed for,
but, in its discretion, they granted me that which I did
not ask for, i. e. a rule Nisi calling upon the Sheriff and
Gaoler of the county to shew cause why I should not be
treated " like other prisoners confined in the said Gaol for
misdemeanors;" i. e. to wear the gaol-dress and be put to
hard labour.
Sir Charles Bampfylde, the then Sheriff, who had been
hitherto kept in the dark by the connivance and the in
trigues of his Under-Sheriff, Broderip, and his Gaoler,
Bridle, hearing of this application to the Court, came im
mediately to the prison, and granted me all that I required,
which was, the free admission of my family and friends at
reasonable hours in the day time. I then applied to the
Court to withdrawthe application that I had made, as my

29
request had been complied with by the said Sheriff; but
the Court informed my Counsel that his client must pay
the costs. I did so, and it cost me nearly 1001., the costs
of Mr. Under-Sheriff being upwards of fifty pounds.
The very hour that Sir Charles Bampfylde went out of
office, the same Magistrate, Dr. Colston, came to the
Gaol, and put in force the former restrictions, by ordering
my family again to be turned out ofthe Gaol, and prohibit
ing all females from visiting me.
I then applied to a higher tribunal, the Court of Parlia
ment, who caused a special commission to be sent down to
inquire into the state of the Gaol and the conduct of the
Gaoler. Before these Commissioners all the grievances
of which I had complained to the Court were literally and
severally proved upon oath, and the Gaoler was in con
sequence dismissed and disgraced, as being unworthy to
hold his situation any longer.
A new keeper was appointed, my family and friends
were again admitted to visit me, and I was treated, as far
as the confined, inconvenient, and unwholesome state of
the Gaol would admit, with becoming decency.
On Tuesday, the twenty-second of January, my family
were turned out, and told, when they left the Gaol, that
they could not be admitted again, as the new rules sent
from the sessions by the Visiting Magistrate, Dr. Colston,
were signed by Mr. Justice Best, and that, in future , no
person whatever would be allowed to visit me.
I was imprisoned eleven days in the New Bailey, at
Manchester, in solitary confinement, after the bloody 16th
of August, 1819. This is now the twelfth day that 1 have
been kept in solitary confinement in this Gaol, without
any human being having had access to me but the officers
of the Gaol. I had a bad cold, and sent for a tailor to
make me an under-waistcoat ; he was refused admittance.
In consequence of seeing my family, for the third time,
thus harrassed, insulted, and oppressed, my mind became
so agitated that it brought on violent spasms of the
stomach and heart. I sent for two medical men, surgeons
of the town, who had been in the habit of attending me
since my arrival here. They both applied in vain for
permission to see me ; they were inhumanly refused, and
told that Mr. Justice Best had signed the order, and it
could not be violated. I was, therefore, in this state,
locked up in my solitary dungeon, and left to my fate.
The next day I sent for my attorney, with whftm I had

30
business of importance to transact, intending to consult
him, and to swear an affidavit, to lay my complaints once
more before that Court which had promised, in your per-
_ son, to protect me from ill-usage while I was undergoing
your mild and merciful sentence of two years and six
months imprisonment. He came at my summons, a dis
tance of ten miles, but was denied all access to me, not
only by the Keeper, but by the Visiting Magistrate, the
amiable and truly Christian Divine, the Rev. Dr. Colston.
As I am deprived of the means of applying to the Court
by affidavit, I now call upon you, Sir, by letter, to per
form your promise, and see that the remainder of your
merciful sentence is carried into execution with that re
gard to moderation and justice with which the law of
England was formerly wont to be administered. I call
upon you, Sir, in the character of a man, a Gentleman, a
Judge, and a professed Christian, to keep your promise
to your captive, and order me forthwith to be taken out
of solitary confinement, that the word of Judge Bayley may
not in future be held up as a laughing stock and treated
with derision and contempt, and the laws and the consti
tution of the country be set at defiance by the arbitrary
proceedings of such men as the Reverend Christian, Dr.
Colston.
If I recollect right, Sir, Saint Paul, in upbraiding his
friends for neglecting him in his adversity, said or used
these words: " I was in prison, and ye visited me
not." Thus clearly demonstrating, that even in those
days of injustice and persecution, when Pontius Pilate
passed sentence upon the great Reformer of that day,
Jesus Christ, that he should be crucified on a cross for
preaching Reform ; even then a man was not prohibited
from having his friends to visit him in a prison.
I think I might venture to add also, that in no period of
the history of the world was a man in prison, suffering
excruciating torture from spasms of the stomach and heart,
refused medical aid, till the days of Henry Hunt and
Judge Bayley. We shall go down to posterity together,
Sir. Exert yourself, therefore, to wipe away this foul
stain from the character of the administration of the laws
of England, or possibly, Sir, the day will arrive when you
may call in vain for that mercy and justice yon have de
nied me.
I take leave to assure you, Sir, that I am as sincere in
my faith that a Radical Reform is as absolutely necessary

31
to the salvation of the freedom, happiness, and the ad
ministration of justice of the people of England, as the
Great Reformer was in his day ; and whether I am mur
dered in a prison, tied and burnt at a stake, executed upon
the scaffold, or put to death upon the cross, I shall never
cease to advocate that holy cause of truth and justice till
life is extinct. I am, Sir, although in solitude,
Your obedient servant,
H. HUNT.

PETITION OF MR. THOMAS HUNT, COMPLAINING OF
UNDUE RESTRAINT ON HIS FATHER.
The Petition of THOMAS HUNT, son of HENRY
HUNT, Esq., to the House of Commons, set forth, That
the petitioner came to reside in the town of Ilchester, for
the purpose of attending his beloved father, a prisoner in
his Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester, under a sentence of two
years and six months, for having attended a public meet
ing at Manchester on the 16th of August, 1819, to petition
for a constitutional Reform of the House ; that the peti
tioner, actuated both by inclination and duty, has endea
voured to alleviate the horrors of his much honoured pa
rent's incarceration in a close, damp, unwholesome Gaol,
by personally conveying to him the scanty comforts which
he was permitted to receive, such as milk, vegetables, and
clean wholesome water from the town, there being no
water within the walls of the Gaol but that which is con
taminated with the filth which flows out of the common
sewers of the prison into all the wells thereof ; that at
three different periods of his father's imprisonment the
female part of the family have been turned out of the
prison and prohibited from seeing him for many months
together, by laws made by the Magistrates, to exclude
from him all female visitors ; but on Wednesday, the 23d
January, when the petitioner applied at the door of the
Gaol as usual to be admitted to his father, the doors were
closed against him, and he was told by the turnkey that,
unless his father would condescend to go into a small cell
about six feet square, called the felons' cage, and there
mingle with felons, murderers, housebreakers, and those
convicted and sentenced for beastiality and unnatural
crimes, and submit, in the presence and hearing of these
persons, publicly to communicate with the petitioner
through a double grating four feet apart, the petitioner to
be placed at the same time in a similar cell opposite, in

32
company with the associates ofthe afore-mentioned felons,
&c. ; unless the petitioner and his father would submit to
these horrid terms, he could not see him at all ; the peti
tioner was further informed, that this sort of interview,
horrid and revolting as it would be, could only take place
once in 24 hours, and that only at the same hour that all
the felons and convicts in the Gaol were to assemble to
hold conference with their friends and associates at this
said place ; in fact the petitioner's father has been
ever since the 23d day of January placed by these new
rules and regulations (said to be signed by Mr. Jus
tice Best) precisely upon the same footing, and classed
with felons committed and sentenced for the highest
crimes known to the law. The petitioner's father was
taken suddenly ill with violent spasms in the chest,
on Saturday the 26th day of January, upon which he
sent out, by one of the officers of the Gaol, requesting two
surgeons of the town to attend him, but they were both
peremptorily refused all access to him whatever ; thus the
petitioner's father has been suffering severe illness, as he
is informed and believes, for more than a week, for want
of medical assistance, which is still inhumanly denied
him. The petitioner's father then sent for an attorney to
make affidavit of the facts, but he was also denied all access ;
in fact, every human being is prohibited from seeing him
but the officers of the Gaol, and he is thus placed in soli
tary confinement, without the slightestground of com
plaint ever having been made against him or any of his
visitors. The petitioner has applied also to the High
Sheriff, Wm. Hanning, Esq., and to the Visiting Magistrates,
the Rev. Dr. Colston and John Newman, Esq., but all in
vain ; the only answer he could obtain from them was, that
the orders were signed by Mr. Justice Best, and that they
could not be altered: the petitioner begs to state, that a
requisition was signed by 510 freeholders and yeomen of
the immediate neighbourhood of Ilchester, in the course of
two days, which was this morning presented to the High
Sheriff, requesting him to call a public County Meeting,
to petition the House to inquire into this alarming and
cruel treatment of the petitioner's father, without any
reason or cause being assigned for it ; the High Sheriff
declined to call a County Meeting, upon the plea that he
was very soon going out of office, and that he should not
have time to do it ; therefore, the petitioner being de
prived of all other means of redress, as the oppressors of
his father are placed above the law, as a " dernier resort"

33
he throws himself upon the mercy of the House, earnestly
praying that they will grant him relief; and the petitioner
humbly prays, that the House will call the keeper, Mr.
Hardy, immediately to the bar thereof, and if it should be
found, apon due inquiry of the said keeper, that neither
the petitioner's father nor any of his visitors ever gave the
slightest ground of complaint, and that he has never in the
slightest degree misconducted himself in the said Gaol,
that the House will then, in its justice and power, order
the petitioner's father out of solitary confinement, a pu
nishment which the petitioner heard the Judge declare,
when he passed the cruel sentence of two years and six
months imprisonment, was no part of that sentence.

3ht the iu'ng'js Bench.
the king against henry hunt, esq.
William Shorland, of Ivelchester, in the county of
Somerset, Surgeon^ and Apothecary, and John Robert
son, of Northover? in the said county, Surgeon and Apo
thecary, severally make oath and say, That they are
well acquainted with Henry Hunt, of Middleton Cot
tage, in the county of Hants, Esq. now a prisoner in the
Gaol at Ivelchester aforesaid, under sentence of imprison
ment for a Misdemeanour, and that they severally have
been employed for some considerable length of time by the
said Henry Hunt to attend him professionally, and are
consequently well acquainted with his habit of body and
constitution, which in their respective opinions requires
much care and attention.
And this deponent the said William Shorland, for him
self, further saith, That on the twenty-sixth day of Janu
ary now last past, he this deponent was informed by a
letter received from the said Henry Hunt, that he felt very
poorly and should like to see him, this deponent, at the
Gaol, as he wished to have the assistance of this deponent's
medical experience relative to his malady ; and that he,
this deponent, consequently attended at the said Gaol at
about the hour of half-past four of the clock in the after
noon of the same day, and requested of the keeper to be
permitted to visit the said Henry Hunt professionally ; at
the same time submitting to the said keeper the necessity
of an immediate admittance to the said Henry Hunt, for
the preservation of the health of the said Henry Hunt: And
15 K

34
this deponent further saith, that he was refused such admit
tance as being contrary to the then existing regulations
of the Gaol. And this deponent John Robertson for him
self saith, that on the twenty-seventh day of January now
last past, he this deponent was also informed by a letter
he received from the said Henry Hunt, that he the said
Henry Hunt was seriously and dangerously indisposed
with severe spasms at the stomach and other alarming ill
ness ; and that he this deponent consequently attended at
the said Gaol at three of the clock in the afternoon of the
same day, and requested of the keeper of the said Gaol
to be per mitted to visit the said Henry Hunt profession
ally ; at the same time submitting to the said keeper the
great necessity of an immediate admittance to the said Henry
Hunt for the preservation of his health, and probably of
his life : and this deponent further saith, that he was re
fused by the said keeper such admittance, as being contra
ry to the then existing regulations of the said Gaol.
And these deponents lastly severally say, they really be
lieve that this privation is an act of extreme cruelty, and is
likely to destroy the health and endanger the life of the
said Henry Hunt.
WILLIAM SHORLAND,
JOHN ROBERTSON.
The said William Shorland and
John Robertson were severally
sworn to the truth of the fore
going Affidavit, at Ivelchester
aforesaid, this First day of
February, 1822, before me,
Samuel Raynes,
A Commissioner for taking
Affidavits in the Court of King's Bench,
at Westminster.

Sftt tne lung's tttnctu
the king against hunt and others.
John Prankerd, of Langport, in the county of Somer
set, Gentleman, maketh oath and saith, That he is the
Attorney and Solicitor of and for Henry Hunt, Esquire
a state prisoner in His Majesty's Gaol of Ivelchester, in
the said county, and has at present several matters in
hand for the said Henry Hunt, on which this deponent

35
ought to see and advise with him the said Henry Hunt;
particularly an action he has commenced in the Common
Pleas, as Lord of the Manor of Glastonbury, returnable
the first return of this present Hilary Term, and to which,
as this deponent hath been informed and verily believes,
an appearance has been entered. That having real and
bond fide business with the said Henry Hunt, this depo
nent went to Ivelchester, for the purpose of seeing and
consulting with the said Henry Hunt, yesterday, but this
deponentwas denied access to his said client, and referred
to the Visiting Magistrates then present, viz. 
Newman, Esq. and the Rev. Dr.-Colston, before whom
this deponent was called: And this deponent having ap
plied to them, as such Visiting Magistrates, for a private
interview with the said Henry Hunt, on business of ur
gency aud importance, particularly the said action, they
both refused to grant this deponent's said request, and he
did not see the said Henry Hunt.
JOHN PRANKERD-
Sworn at Langport Eastover, in
the County of Somerset, the
Thirty-first day of January,
1822, before me John Williams,
A Commissioner in the said Court-

MR. HUNT.
THE COMMITTEE for conducting the Subscription to
indemnify Mr. HUNT, consider the present a suitable oc
casion for appealing to the sympathies, justice and libe
rality of the British nation, in behalf of that persecuted
and much-injured martyr of public liberty.
The sums already subscribed and advertised, amount
to £676 6s. ll^d. not half the expenses which he has
incurred, without considering his personal sacrifices and
sufferings. It is the hope of the Committee, that by the
simultaneous exertions of all the friends of freedom, an
amount may be raised worthy of the cause, and sufficient
to teach an impressive moral lesson to its enemies.
Subscriptions continue to be received by T. Dolby,
Bookseller. No. 299, Strand, London.

36
AN ADDRESS F>ROM THE REFORMERS OK BOLTON TO
SIR CHARLES WOLSELEY, BART.
Sir— In placing in your hands, as Treasurer of the
Great Northern Union, our first deposit, we beg leave to
congratulate you on your recent release from the dungeon
of tyranny, after a confinement of eighteen months, for
performing an act which we consider to be warranted
both by the laws of God and the spirit of the English Con
stitution. We feel ourselves called upon to do this, more
especially when we consider your rank in society, the
situation in which our country was placed when you
stepped forward to join a people, rousing themselves from
the stupor in which they had long been sunk, to demand
a restoration of those rights which Nature intended them
to enjoy, and the sufferings you have had to endure in
consequence. England had long been celebrated for the
wisdom of her institutions, the justice of her laws, the
jealous care with which she watched over them, and the
alacrity with which she checked every encroachment
upon popular rights. The freedom and happiness of her
people were the constant theme of panegyric. She was
feared and respected by her neighbours, and ranked fore
most among the nations on the earth. Her heroes, her
statesmen, her philosophers and poets, were all the
genuine sons of freedom. She was, indeed, the " envy of
surrounding nations, and the admiration of the wrorld."
In this situation was she when the men in power, con
vinced, by past experience, that tyranny would never be
borne by Englishmen, if it was known to exist — that her
laws must be adhered to, and her institutions respected,
determined to do that by fraud, which force could not ac
complish; to maintain power hy means not so easily
detected, by professing a regard for her institutions, and a
paternal care for her rights. With this view was esta
blished the funding system — a system calculated to do
more real injury to the liberties of a people than the
greatest stretches of prerogative ever attempted by the
most violent of our English princes. A system by which
the nation might be drained of its wealth, and the labour
of posterity pawned to gratify the lust of power, and the
thirst for false glory ; — that places at the disposal of the
Ministers of the Crown the means of corrupting and ener
vating the body politic to a degree frightful to contem
plate. Thus was the Crown, which had been stripped of
much of its prerogative, invested with influence more,

37
much more dangerous. The nation was cheated out of
its rights, and that noble spirit which animated our fore
fathers to deeds, the recital of which makes the coldest
heart glow with enthusiasm, was destroyed. The people
were lulled to sleep by the appearance of freedom being
exhibited — by being told that they were the freest and
happiest in the world ; and the Nobility and Gentry were
bound to the Court by interests, which the soft blandish
ments of luxury rendered necessary to be supported. In this
state was England, when an event which astonished the
world, and made every despot therein tremble for his safety,
took place. The people of France, whom Englishmen
had been taught to consider as natural enemies, and as
men not worthy of the name, for their base submission to
the tyranny of their rulers, bowed down to the lowest
state of slavery, rose with a majestic effort, shook off their
chains, asserted their rights, and assumed the dignity of
men. When the astonishment caused by this mighty
event had somewhat subsided, the people of this country
began to perceive their situation : the perverted optics
which caused them to see in a Frenchman an enemy, had
well nigh been destroyed, and they began to view each
other as brothers. The fire which had been kindled in
France was fast spreading in flames ; and bid fair to consume
every system of corruption in Europe. In this situation a
cry of danger was raised — Englishmen were persuaded
that their Religion and Laws were in danger — that every
thing valuable would be taken from them and destroyed ;
and by these means persuaded to support a war against
the rising liberties of France. Thus were they actuated
by the base, unmanly fear of losing their own ideal rights,
to use means the most repugnant to reason and justice,
to prevent othersfrom attaining theirs. It was after this de
grading war had been closed — when the Bourbons, the
Pope, and the Inquisition had been restored — when the
effects foretold by some wise and honest, but discarded
and persecuted men, began to be felt, that we were again
roused from the state of stupid, fancied security, into
which we had been lulled by a false, unnatural, and inju
rious prosperity, that we recognized you in the ranks of
contending Patriots, nobly endeavouring to obtain for us
our just rights. It was then we saw you at the post of
duty, which you have never since deserted. And oh !
Sir, how did it delight us to see you, the brave Captive of
Ilchester, and the venerable Major Cartwright, men of
influence, of talent, and of property, nobly assisting and

38
directing us in our great work of emancipation ; while
the great body of Nobility and Gentry were either pro
fessed supporters of the men in office, or joined with a
band of greedy expectants, who make a shew of friend
ship to the people, and opposition to Ministers, for the
sake of gaining power themselves. All were hostile to
the people — all were determined to retain the power they
then possessed. Whether they will be able to do so or
not, time will determine ; but to us their reign of terror
appears to be fast drawing to a close. The " roarings and
plungings of despotism in distress" are apparent — the
" bold frauds of bankrupt power " will not long avail —
down the system must and will come with a terrible crash.
On its ruins will rise Liberty and Prosperity — Virtue and
Happiness. That you may live in the enjoyment of do
mestic happiness, undisturbed by the myrmidons of power,
to receive the reward of your labours, is the sincere prayer
of your admirers and friends.
On behalf of the Subscribers,
WILLIAM NAISBY, Treasurer.
RICHARD THOMASON, Secretary.
Resolved, That a Subscription be entered into to defray
the expenses incurred by a writ of extent, issued against
Henry Hunt, Esq. for making Breakfast Powder.
Resolved, That the thanks of this Meeting be given to
Henry Hunt, Esq., Major Cartwright, T. Northmore,
Esq., T. Jacobs, Esq., Mr. Cobbett, Mr. Wooler, Dr.
Kinglake, Mr. Shillibeer, the Rev. Mr. Harrison, Messrs.
Carlile, Knight, Lewis, Edmonds, Maddox, and all Radi
cal friends, both in and out of prison, for their exertions in
the cause of Reform.
Sir — The above Address and Resolutions were unani
mously agreed to at a public meeting, held on Monday,
the 17th inst. in the Union Rooms, Moor-lane. The Ad
dress has since been forwarded to Sir Charles, together
with our first deposit of 10L Should you deem them
worthy of insertion at the end of your Memoirs, you will
greatly oblige your Bolton friends.
(Signed) HENRY ORREL, Chairman,
RICHARD THOMASON, Secretary.

39
SIR CHARLES WOLSELEY'S ANSWER.
Sir — I was highly pleased on the receipt of the parcel
from the honest Radicals of Great and Little Bolton, con
taining the first deposit of Ten Pounds, towards the fund
for carrying into effect the object of the Great Northern
Union. Proceed, my worthy friends, as you have began,
and the day will be ours, in spite of the machinations of
our vile and detestable foes. With men who can breathe
such animated and constitutional sentiments as are con
tained in the address which you have done me the honour
of transmitting by the same parcel, 1 am proud to rank
myself as their friend and coadjutor; and they may depend
upon my keeping the straight forward and honest path,
which I am certain will lead to the attainment of our
wishes. The sentiments of kindness and affection you
express towards myself, are of a nature to call forth my
warmest thanks ; and when I consider the trifling effort
that I made for it, was only an attempt to do a part of my
duty towards the people, I feel I am amply repaid on the
knowledge that my brother Radicals are satisfied with my
conduct. As you have expressed a wish for an answer by
return of post, I must hastily conclude, with every good
wish for the furtherance of the grand object we have in
hand, and remain, Your's with sincerity,
CHARLES WOLSELEY.
Wolseley, Jan. 22, 1822.
Mr. William Naisby, Draper, Bolton-l^-Moors, Lancashire. g
In reply to the Preston Address, Sir Charles Wolseley
has sent the following patriotic answer, addressed to Mr.
John Booth, of the Great Northern Union Committee,
Preston, Lanpashire: — Wolseley, Jan. 1, 1822.
Mr. Booth — I am but this moment returned home, and
have found your letter, with its inclosure of Five Pounds,
being the first deposit of the Preston District Committee
of the Great Northern Union. I hasten to acknowledge
the receipt of it, and to thank the Committee for their
warm-hearted, and affectionate address. I am proud to
think there are so many of my fellow-countrymen who
approve of my political conduct. I can assure you, and
them, that, notwithstanding the detestable machinations
of our enemies, I shall fearlessly] pursue the same
line of conduct I have so long chalked out for myself, as
the one every English gentleman ought to adopt. I am
happy to find you have made a beginning at Preston.
The Union is increasing at all points. I received by this
day's post the first deposit from Greenock, in Scotland ;

32
may it proceed to the discomfiture ofthe borough tyrants !
That that will be the case, if carried on with the same
spirit with which it has begun, I have not the least doubt.
As the post is going out, and you will be anxious to have
an acknowledgment to your letter, I must hasten to con
clude, once again thanking my brother Radicals for their
kind wishes, and remain, Your's, very sincerely,
C. WOLSELEY.
To Mr. Cox's letter the sub-treasurer for the Manchester
district, inclosing a fifth subscription of Ten Pounds, Sir
Charles replies in the following- laconic note: —
Mr. Cox — Your letter of the 22d was an agreeable sur
prise upon me, for I did not expect the fifth ten pound
remittance from the Manchester district to be made so
soon after the last. I hereby acknowledge the receipt
of it, and remain, Your's truly,
C. WOLSELEY.
Wolseley, Jan. 22, 1822.
A number of our friends in various parts of this populous
district having expressed a desire to have some definite ex
planation from our worthy and respectable chairman, as
to the application of the funds deposited in his hands ; on
the circumstance being hinted, Sir Charles, with a promp
titude that does honour to his head and his heart, has been
pleased to address the following letter
TO THE EDITOR OF THE MANCHESTER OBSERVER.
Wolseley, Jan. 27, 1822.
Sir — May I beg leave, through the medium of your paper, to ob
serve, that as the money in my hands on account of the Great Northern
Union, is now approaching in amount to a serious sum, I think it be
hoves me explicitly to state to the members, that the funds should only
be applied to those purposes which the majority of the contributors
should by public meeting direct. This statement, for the satisfaction
of all parties, I feel it my duty to make, as I understand some little
schisms have originated in many populous districts on this question,
which I trust will now be set at rest, and a general union and good un
derstanding in future prevail among the brave Reformers ofthe North.
I think it also requisite to state, that as I ara under the necessity of
going to the Continent for a few weeks on particular business, I shall
depute Thomas Northmore, Esq. of Cleve-house, near Exeter, to re
ceive those subscriptions that may be gathered in during inj absence,
which I have no doubt he will be happy to do : but give me leave to ad
vise, for the sake of.economy, that no sum is remitted less than 10/. at
a time. Probably in large districts it might be as well to put it at 20/.
I am happy to say, from the sums already received, and those I am re
ceiving weekly, the Union is flourishing in such a degree as will make
our enemies pause in their career of wickedness and. misrule. And I
remain, Sir, Your's very sincerely) C. WOLSELEY.

T. Doldv, Printer, 290, 'Strand, London.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND,
Ilchester Bastile, 9th day, 6th month, 8d year of the Manchbstb*
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
February 25, 1822.
THIRTY-FOURTH DAY OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
First and foremost, I beg my excellent friends of Pres
ton to accept my most grateful thanks for their kind,
prompt, and efficient support and protection of the distant
solitary Captive. I see by the public newspapers, that my
zealous Constituents of Preston, although nearly three
hundred miles distant from me, have been the first to for
ward their respectful and earnest Remonstrance to Parlia
ment against the infamous and cowardly treatment that
I am receiving at the hands of the contemptible agents
or the tyrannical Boroughmongers. I address you by
the endearing name of Constituents ; it is possible, my
friends, that the promptness with which you have acted,
in causing your Petition and Remonstrance to be presented
to Parliament, has saved my life; for those who placed
me in solitary confinement, and out of all communication
with my family and friends, meant more by this appar
ently vindictive proceeding than at first view meets the
eye; this was meant as a feeler, to try the experiment j
1« A

T. Dolby, Printer, 899, Strand, Lon< on.

to see how the public would bear it ; to try how the pulse
of the public would beat ; if that pulse had not beat high
with honourable and patriotic feeling, if there had been
the least apathy shown by my friends, depend upon it
that the next account you would have had from Ilchester
would have been of a still more atrocious cast than that of
torture inflicted upon the mind of the solitary captive.
The amiable Mr. Charles Marshall is still kept in office.
Mr. Hume did his duty most manfully; h'e did justice to
your Remonstrance ; he did not go canting and crying to
the Ministers for their mercy or their pity (and God for
bid that he should have done so). No'; he bravely
taunted them with their dastardly, iniquitous, proceed
ings, and he boldly demanded Justice! Justice!! Jus
tice ! ! ! Mr. Grey Bennet and Mr. Lockhart ably sup
ported him against Sir Thomas Lethbridge and Mr. Ser
geant Copley, the Solicitor- General. The former poor
thing is obliged to defend the Magistrates of the County,
and the other poor thing is obliged to defend the Minis
ters, and my Lords the Judges. " Ye shall know a tree
by the fruit that it bears."
I will give you an extract from the Solicitor-General's
speech upon the Manchester slaughter, delivered in the
House of Commons on the 24th of November, 1819: —
" Bodies of men, to the amount of four, five, and six
thousand, met in the night, in retired places, for (he pur
pose of being drilled in the military exercise." Again,
"It was proved that they intended to resist the soldier's on
the 16th of August." Again, " The yeomanry troops,
before they had attempted to strike.a blow, were attack
ed by the crowd, some of them unhorsed, and their
horses thrown." Read this, my friends, and you will not
be surprised at any thing that Mr. Solicitor-General says.
.Now for Sir Thomas Lethbridge. When tbe motion was

made by him in the House of Commons, that Sir Francis
Burdett should be committed to the Tower, he was Mr.
Lethbridge then ; he said, " 77te language of the Hon*
Baronet, Sir Francis Burdett, made his hair stand on
end upon his head." — (Loud laughter.) — " Gentlemen may
laugh ; but upon the word and honour of a genllemqnt
the Honourable Baronet's language had that effect upon
him." — (Immoderate peals of laughter.) — This man now
says, in his endeavour to vindicate the Magistrates, he
does not believe that Mr. Hunt is placed in solitary con
finement, although the statement is signed" HenryHunt."
No ; it is quite within the comprehension of Sir T. Leth
bridge, that a gentleman may sometimes tell a lie. It is
said that this gentleman's name is Leather-breeches ; that
his grandfather was a foundling ; that he was picked up
by a parish-officer one morning, with nothing on him but
a little pair of hog-skin leather breeches. He was car
ried to the workhouse, where he was bred up and taken
care of, by the name of Jack Leather-breeches. The fa-
ther of Sir Thomas having amassed a large fortune, a title
was purchased, and he became transformed into Sir John
Lethbridge, and this is the hopeful heir of the house of
Lethbridge, alias Leather-breeches ; by the latter name
he always went amongst the common people in the lower
part of this county, till he made his famous hair-slanding-
on-end speech. Since that time the people of this county
have sunk the leather-breeches, and mounted that of Por
cupine, by which title he is as well known as either of
the other alias's. Whether this is the truth or not, I am
not answerable ; I can only say that I believe it to be true,
and we know there is no accounting for people's creeds.
But where was the other gallant Knight for the county ;
where was Mr. Dickenson ? He was as quiet as a mouse in
a cheese, while Mr. Hume and Mr. Grey Bennet bela.-

laboured his friends, Sir T. Lethbridge and Sir John Copley.
Has Mr. Dickenson smelt a rat, or has he, in groping about
for the pelf, run his head against a lighthouse ? " 0, the
Lighthouse!" Where, my friends of Preston, where were
your two worthy Members, Horrocks and Hornby? What,
not one word ? No, they had not the courage to support
your Petition ; neither had they the impudence to oppose
it. We will have a word of a sort with them upon this
subject the next time we meet upon the hustings at Pres
ton, and that we shall meet there more than once, I have
no doubt. I will here insert the Petition and the whole
of the debate, so that they may go down to posterity
together. THE PETITION from the Inhabitants of Preston and
its vicinity, in the County of Lancaster, and which was
signed by between 4,000 and 5,000, set forth, That,
although the Petitioners have long been impressed with
feelings of the deepest regret at what they consider the
extreme severity of the sentence passed upon Henry Hunt,
Esquire, yet the respect for the institution and iaws of
their country induced them to remain silent so long as the
imprisonment of the individual alluded to was strictly
conformable to the words used by the Learned Judge in
passing it; the reply of Mr. Justice Bayley to Mr. Hunt,
as to whether his imprisonment was to be solitary, was,
the Court had not given any such order, his confinement
was to be with as few privations as the due execution of
the sentence would allow ; the Petitioners, therefore,
never for a moment conceived that either the caprice or
malice of the Sheriff or Magistrates of the County of
Somerset, could have led them so far to forget the feelings
of humanity as to have inflicted that punishment ; it is
therefore with sensations ofthe utmost sorrow and surprise
the Petitioners have learnt that Mr. Hunt is now, by an
order of Quarter Sessions of the said County, made in
January last, and confirmed by Mr. Justice Best, con
signed to the horrors of such a situation ; believing, as the
Petitioners firmly do, that Mr. Hunt was guiltless of any
crime against the laws of his country, in attending the
meeting at Manchester on the 16th August, 19l», they

consider confinement itself, in such an unwholesome
Gaol as Ilchester, for the term of two years and six
months, amply sufficient to atone for any presumed viola
tion of the law, without resorting to a mode of punish
ment at which the heart jsickens ; independently of these
observations, they beg leave to call to the notice of the
House the following cogent, and to them irresistible
reasons for considering such -rigour unmerited : First, the
general belief of the strict legality ofthe meeting at Man
chester, supported by the opinions of many learned indi
viduals in both Houses of Parliament: secondly, the ex
treme severity of the punishment : thirdly, the manly,
humane, and patriotic conduct 'of Mr. Hunt, in exposing
before his Majesty's Commissioners, at his awn personal
risk and expense, the flagrant abuses previously existing
in the Gaol of Ilchester, and the consequent great benefit
derived by the County of Somerset, in times of such un
paralleled distress : and, fourthly, to contrast the remis
sion of the sentence passed upon Sir Manasseh Lopez,
Baronet, for an offence which the Petitioners consider
far more heinous than the one of which Mr. Hunt was
convicted, and that only upon half a count of the indict
ment preferred against him, with the present cruel ad
dition to his sufferings, an addition so revolting to Eng
lishmen, so repugnant to the common feelings of hu
manity: it is therefore that the Petitioners, anxiously ea^
deavouring to avoid every incentive to irritation, appeal
to the House upon the broad principles of humanity and
justice against a punishment so contrary to the mild pre
cepts of the British Constitution, so completely at variance
With the expressed meaning of the Learned Judge who
passed the sentence, so abhorrent to the first impulses of
their nature ; and humbly pray the House to address his
Majesty, requesting that he will be graciously pleased to
remit the remainder of the sentence, or otherwise com
mand the order of Quarter Sessions above alluded to,
which directs that Mr. Hunt should be precluded the so
ciety of his family, connexions, and friends, to be forth
with rescinded.
Mr. HUME said, if the circumstances stated in the petition were
true, and of their verity he entertained no doubt, then he hesitated not
to say, that the petition deserved and demanded the attention of Par
liament. He had written to the individual himself, to know whether
the statements contained in the petition were or were not correct, aud
as far as he was concerned, his statement went to substantiate the
facts alleged. It appeared that Mr. Hunt had l-oen placed for a

certain number of days in solitary confinement — not a human creature
being allowed during that period to have access to him. He was taken
ill and sent for his surgeon, who resided in the town ; but that indi
vidual was not allowed to see him, and he suffered under severe spasms
in the head, until a surgeon who resided at the distance of five miles
was sent for. It was, under these circumstances, the duty of the
House to see that the individual, in undergoing the sentence ofthe
law, was not sacrificed by those in whose power he was placed, what
ever might be their motives for adopting a system of extreme severity.
— (Hear.) The petitioners stated that they were unwilling to call
on the House to interfere with the sentence of a court. of justice, be
cause they wished not unnecessarily to meddle with the established
laws and institutions of the country; but they felt themselves bound
in this instance to come forward, because a punishment was inflicted on
Mr. Hunt which the Court of King's-Bench did not authorise. This
was evident from the fact, that when Mr. Hunt was sentenced, he
inquired whether he was to undergo solitary confinement, and he was
answered, by Mr. Justice Bayley, in these words : — "The Court has
given no such order," and he directed that Mr. Hunt's imprisonment
should be attended with as few privations as possible. The petitioners
therefore thought, that neither the malice nor the caprice of the
Sheriff, nor of the Magistrates of Somersetshire, should be suffered
to inflict a punishment on Mr. Hunt which the Court had not contem
plated. They went on further to observe, that the order under whicli
this individual was placed in solitary confinement, was signed in Sep
tember last, by Mr. Justice Best ; and they thought that, as Mr. Hunt
never entertained any idea of violating the law, two years' and a half
imprisonment in so unwholesome a gaol as that of Ilchester, was punish
ment sufficient for any supposed infraction ofthe law. Tlie petitioners
were themselves of opinion, that the meeting at which Mr. Hunt
presided was perfectly lawful ; and he (Mr. Hume) had no hesitation
iu Saying that he held the same opinion, which was also entertained by
many Members of that House. He thought that the arguments
adduced by the Learned Member for Nottingham (Mr. Denman),
were quite conclusive in proving the legality of the meeting ; and he
considered that the arguments offered by the Solicitor-General on the
other side, as wholly inapplicable — (Hear.) That opinion he never
would alter ; and, entertaining it, he could not avoid thinking that
Mr. Hunt was most unjustly sentenced. Having, however, been found
guilty by a Jury of his country, he could blame no person for what
had subsequently occurred, but the Judges. Punishment ought to be
awardedin proportion to the offence committed; and Mr. Hunt having
attended a meeting which he conceived not to be of a criminal nature,
and which was stated in that House to have been legal, it certainly
followed that a very mild punishment ought to have been inflicted.
But he was sorry to say that the severity of punishment which had
recently been resorted to was likely to bring some of the great insti
tutions of the country into contempt. If the House looked at the con
duct ofthe courts of law for the last two or three years, they would find
that the severity of punishment adopted during that period, went
beyond all precedent in the history of England, except those that oc
curred in the time of Judge Jefferies. When Ministers and Judges
authorised a course of unmerited severity, their conduct ten/led to
injure the institutions of the country, and endanger the safety of the
constitution itself. He would ask of the Learned Solicitor-General, if
an individual were merely sentenced to imprisonment in a particular
gaol, and instead of ordinary imprisonment, solitary confinement were

iuilicted, whether that was not, in fact, altering the sentence, md
indicting a new and a far more severe punishment t (Hear.) If common
confinement could bo changed at pleasure' into solitary confinement,
he saw no reason why the power thus assumed might not be pushed
much farther, even to the hanging of the man who was only sentenced
to imprisonment. (Hear, hear.) Such arbitrary proceedings were
calculated to bring the courts of law into discredit, and to occasion a
feeling of disrespect towards the Judges. The petitioners adverted to
the case of Sir Miinasseh Lopez, whose sentence had been remitted,
and whose offence,, contrasted with the alledged offence of Mr. Hunt, as
sumed a character of more than ordinary criminality. Yet the sen
tence of this individual had been mitigated, while Mr. Hunt was
placed in solitary confinement. That man, he would boldly say, could
have no humanity, could entertain no love for his fellow creatures, who
would attempt to change ordinary confinement into that most dreadful
punishmt-iit — solitary imprisonment. The House ought, and he hoped
would take care that no set of men should be allowed, from a petty,
paltry, mean feeling,~to punish an individual, not for the crime actually
committed, but for offences of a former date. (Hear, hear.) It was
shameful that an order of a quarter sessions should be enforced in such
a manner as to preclude Mr. Hunt from a free intercourse with his
family. Why should such severity be exercised towards him, while
Sir M. Lopez was treated with the utmost lenity, although his offence
was described by one of the Speaker's predecessors as the highest
crime that could be committed against the constitution? Such par
tiality was disgraceful. The Hon. Member concluded by moving —
" That the petition be brought up."
SIR T. LETHBRIDGE did not rise to oppose the -bringing up of
the petition, but to enter his pnotest against some ofthe statements of
the Hon. Member for Aberdeen.- He had before affirmed, and he
now repeated the statement, that it was quite impossible for the
magistrates of the county of Somerset to act from such motives as had
been ascribed to them by the Hon. Member; and he thought it was
very hard that magistrates, while acting conscientiously in the per
formance of their arduous duties, should be subjected to such unmerited
attacks. (Hear, hear.) He thought the House would do well to
set its face against such proceedings. (Hear.) He would not oppose
the bringing up of the petition, but, in his opinion, the House should
do something to show its disapprobation of the calumnies that had
been cast on the Magistrates of Somersetshire, ever since they had
any thing to do with this individual. (Hear.) With respect to the
prayer of the petition, he conceived it would be very -wrong for the
House to set aside, in any manner, the sentence pronounced by a
court of law. (Hear.) The Hon. Member for Aberdeen was wholly
in error, if he thought Mr. Hunt had been treated with malice or
caprice. He was equally wrong if he supposed that that individual
was treated as a prisoner sentenced to solitary confinement. The fact
was, that when Mr. Hunt was first placed in the prison,"he received
Indulgences which no person, under his circumstances, had a right
to expect ; and the privations of which he now' complained were occa
sioned by the withholding the indulgences that were originally extended
to him, (Hear, hear.) It was therefore extremely hard, that the
Magistrates, whose duty it was to see the prison* rules and regulations
put in practice (rules and regulations drawn up and signed by the
proper authorities), should now be attacked for taking the due course
which that duty imposed on them. He denied altogether that Mr. Hunt
had been improperly treated. He did not mean to oppose the petition,

8
but he hoped the Hon. Member who presented it would in future
abstain from such observations as he had thought fit to indulge in —
(Hear.) The SOLICITOR-GENERAL felt himself called on to make a few
observations, after the language which had been used by the Hod.
Member for Aberdeen. It was a remarkable circumstance that Mr.
Hunt had chosen to repeat this charge. (Mr. Hume — " Itis not Mr.
Hunt who repeats the charge, but the people of Preston, in Lanca
shire.") Jt was, then, (continued the Solicitor-General) extraordi
nary that the Hon. Member had thought fit to repeat the attack on
the Magistrates of Somersetshire, which had been indulged in some days
ago, on an occasion similar to the present. He (the Solicitor-General)
stated to the House at that time the situation in which Mr. Hunt
stood. That individual had made application to the Court of King's
Bench that Jie might be attended by his surgeon and attorney. It was
Hot, however, customary for the Court to act, except on affidavit ; and
they took the necessary steps to enable Mr. Hunt to state, on oath,
what he had to allege against the Magistrates. Those very Judges
who had been so scandalously libelled by the Member for Aberdeen —
(Hear, hear, from the Ministerial benches) — contrary to the usual
course which obtained in such cases, and although the statement
contained in Mr. Hunt's letter was not supported by affidavit, did,
on that mere statement, direct an order to the gaoler, desiring that Mr.
Hunt's attorney should be admitted, for the purpose of giving the com
plaining party an opportunity of making the necessary affidavits, in
order that the complaint should undergo an investigation on oath.
(Hear, hear, hear.) Notwithstanding this, Mr. Hunt had taken no
steps in the business. He had made no regular application to the
Court of King's Bench during the last term. (Hear, hear.) It
was not, therefore, too much to suppose that the complaints were
exaggerated; and he hoped that the House would suspend their opi
nion of the conduct pursued, both by the Judges and by the gaoler,
until the subject was investigated before a competent tribunal, on oath.
That would be the fairest course, not only with respect to Mr. Hunt
himself, but with reference to all the parties who were implicated.
(Hear, hear.) The Member for Aberdeen had pointedly alluded to
the conduct of one of the Judges, in signing the orders in question.
(No, no, from Mr. Hume.) He (the Solicitor-General) understood
the Hon. Member to say, that owing to the order which had been
signed by Mr. Justice Best, Mr. Hunt had been confined in a solitary
place. What the Hon. Member said with respect to the observation of
Mr. Justice Bayley was in substance correct. Mr. Hunt asked, whether
he was to be punished by solitary confinement, and he was imme
diately told that the Court entertained no such intention; but he (the
Solicitor-General) was quite sure if any thing were contained in that
petition, alleging that Mr. Justice Best had changed the judgment,
or had ordered Mr. Hunt to be confined in a solitary place, or had
altered the punishment which had been awarded — that such an allega
tion was utterly false and unfounded. (Hear, hear.) That Mr.
Justice Best and Mr. Baron Graham had signed the regulations for
the government of Ilchester Gaol, was correct. He (the Solicitor-
General) had sent persons to Ilchester to see what those regulations
were, and to put him in possession of them ; and he could confidently
affirm, that there was not a single order of tho^e Lcirned Judges that
violated Jin the smallest degree the law of the l„nd ; nor was there
a single order amongst those allowed by Mr. Justice Best that had not
been also allowed by some of his predecessors — by as humane and

9
honourable men as ever sat in a court of justice, 'and who were as
much attached to the law and constitution of this country, and to the
rational liberty of the subject, as the Hon. Member could possibly be.
(Hear.) With respect to what the Hon. Member had said of his (the
Solicitor-General's) false and inapplicable arguments, and of the un
answerable and irrefragable reasoning of the individuals hear him,
when he stood forward as an umpire between Gentlemen on opposite
sides of the House, and decided in favour of his own friends, he would
only say, that the question came before the Court of King's Bench,
that it was argued with great letirning and ability by the counsel of
Mr. Hunt, that it was heard with a degree of patience almost unex
ampled, and that the Judges unanimously decided against the
application. Whether the Member for Aberdeen possessed a know
ledge of the law so much superior to that of the Judges, who had
passed their Hves in legal pursuits, and who were sworn to administer
justice according to law, as to render their opinion of no value, it was
for the House to judge. (Hear, hear.) He, however, felt that his
argument on the point in question was not answered by the other side ;
and he believed that if the subject again came before a court of jus
tice, the decision would be precisely the same. (Hear, hear.) He
must protest against the course pursued by the Hon. Member. It
was of very great importance that the character of the Judges should
stand fair and pure before the country. (Hear, hear, from the Oppo -
sition benches.) If, therefore, a charge could be made against any
one of those learned individuals, notice ought to be given in a fair
manner — the subject ought to be brought openly before the House,
instead of being introduced incidentally on the presentation of a peti
tion. (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member ought not to traduce and
calumniate the Judges in the scandalous manner, he would say, if
he were not in that House, in which lie had been pleased to indulge.
(Hear, hear.)
The HON. H. G. BENNET said, the Learned Gentleman appeared
to be misinformed of the particulars of Mr. Hunt's case. That indi
vidual had made no application to the Court of King's Bench, but had
merely written a letter to Mr. Justice Bayley. He (Mr. Bennet) was
not in the habit of corresponding with Mr. Hunt, but he had received
a letter from him this morning, complaining of his treatment. Perhaps
the severity exercised towards him might have originated in his having
so successfully exposed the malpractices that had long existed in
Ilchester gaol. He believed that the arrangements made in the gaol,
under the order of the Judges, were not applicable to persons under
sentence for an offence Jike Mr. Hunt's. Those rules and regulations
were, in fact, directed against felons. The rule was what was known
by the name of " felons' fine ;" and lie believed it was the first time
that a person in the situation of Mr. Hunt had been subjected to it.
Under the operation of " felons' fine," Mr. Hunt was not permitted to
see his family and friends, except with the intervention of a grating.
He had visited ma'ny of the gaols in this kingdom, and he had seen no
such instance, even where people were confined for the worst of
blasphemous libels. It had been stated to the Learned Judge who
signed the rule, that it would perhaps inflict on Mr. Hunt the punish
ment of " felon side." He said, " it might be so," but still he
signed the order ; and whether it was copied from a former order,
or was itself an original one, was of no importance to the person who
suffered by it. It appeared, from what had fallen from the Hon. Bart.
(Sir T. Lethbridge) that the magistrates of Somerset were determined
to make up, by present severitv, for recent remissness. Be that ai it
16 B

lo
might, however, the rule was evidently bad, and ought to be abolished
as soon as possible. (Hear, hear.) lie did not know whether it was
in the power ofthe magistrates to act otherwise than they had done,
while that rule existed ; but if it were not always rigidly adhered to,
if it were occasionally relaxed, and indulgences were allowed in parti
cular cases, he could conceive none in which such relaxation would be
more justifiable than in that of Mr. Hunt. He now begged leave to
make a few remarks on the lofty tone which the Learned Gentleman
had thought proper to assume on this occasion. He had expressed
himself as if he were in the magisterial chair at the Old Bailey, lec
turing some witness or solicitor. (Hear, hear.) Now, certainly, though
the Learned Gentleman might bring the practice of the courts below
into that House, he ought not to bring with it the manners of the
courts below. (Hear, hear.) He was, however, sure that the Learned
Gent, had used phrases which he might very well have spared. When
the Learned Gent, came into a society like the House of Commons, he
ought to use- such language as became his own situation, and the situa
tion of those to whom he addressed himself. (Hear, hear.) Such
expressions as " scandalous," and " libellous," were really new
within the walls of that House. (Hear) Where the Learned Gentle
man acquired that language, he did not know ; but to use it in that
House was highly unbecoming. (Hear, hear.) With respect to Mr.
Justice Bayley, he revered his character, and admired his conduct.
Every day proved how well he deserved the situation which he so
meritoriously filled. But, much as he respected that individual, he
never would allow it to be contended, that it was not the duty of a
Member of Parliament, if circumstances arose in the conduct of those
who presided over the Courts below, which excited his suspicion, to
bring those circumstances before the House. (Hear, hear.) Let
gentlemen remember what Lord Coke said. His observation was,
that " Parliament Was,bound to keep the Judges in order, as well as
other men." Of course, those learned individuals ought not to be
rashly charged. But if, in a great legal question, the Judges of
the land came to conclusions, which, in point of prudence and law,
they ought to have abstained from ; if they hazarded a judgment,
which, in prudence and law, they ought not to have done, the Member of
Parliament who thought so, was not an honest man if he did not come
to that House and say so. (Hear, hear.) The remarks of the Learned
Gentleman, therefore, went for nothing. A Member of Parliament,
who conceived the conduct of a Judge to be incorrect, would be more
blameable if he were silent, than if he stated what he felt. (Hear,
hear.) Mr. LOCKHART was of opinion that the House had a right, when
it was necessary, to investigate the couduct of the Judges ; because
the absence of that right might give rise to a species of slavery. The
Learned Gentleman had denied that the judgment of the Court of
King's Bench was in anyway altered. But the question was, whether,
by the constitution of the country, such rules and orders could be
maintained, as might, in fact, alter an original sentence? The Learned
Gentleman said, that certain rules and orders, signed by the Magis
trates and Judges, were put in force at Ilchester. Now, if those rules
and orders could have the effect of inflicting any punishment on an
individual, other than the court had sentenced him to suffer, he held
them to be unconstitutional. If there were any new laws which dele
gated the power of changing a sentence to any set of Magistrates,
they ought to be compared with the old laws, and their foundation

11
thoroughly investigated. When he first came to the bar, he never
heard or read of solitary confinement, and it certainly was a practice
of a very dangerous nature. A person thus imprisoned might be visited
with mental affliction or bodily illness, and yet, in consequence of his
situation, be deprived of all opportunity of communicating his state to
those whs might relieve him. That which was not originally intended
by the law, ought not be affected by subsequent regulations. If it
were allowed, the punishment of individuals would be placed in the
discretion of a class of persons who could have no knowledge of the
crimes of those who were condemned, except what they gathered
from the prison calendar ; and they must all be aware that a knowledge
of the circumstances under which offences were committed was neces
sary to the due apportioning of punishment.
SIR T. LETHBRIDGE explained.
' On the question " that the petition be now read" —
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL rose and said, that he again offered
himself to the notice of the House, for the particular purpose of ex
plaining what passed in the Court of King's Bench with respect to
Mr. Hunt. The Hon. Member for Shrewsbury misunderstood what he
(the Solicitor-General) had said, or intended to say, on that point. Mr.
Hunt did not, indeed, make a regular application to the Court of
King's Bench, but he wrote a letter to Mr. Justice Bayley, who
communicated ft to the other Judges, in which he complained that his
surgeon and solicitor were excluded from him, and expressed a wish
that an order should be made to allow of their attendance. The Court
of King's Bench could make no order, and could give no judgment
except on affidavits; but the Judges did all they could do. They
sent to the gaol, and desired that the solicitor of Mr. Hunt should
be admitted to him, in order that he might draw up the affidavits
whicli were necessary for a regular application. That was what he
stated. The Hon. Member had thought prbper to charge hira with
having used unbecoming language, not to himself, but to another Hon.
Member of that House. Now it would be recollected that the Hon.
Member for Aberdeen, not adverting to the language of the petition,
but expressing his own private feelings, stated that no judgment was
ever pronounced in the Court of King's Bench more infamous than the
judgment in question, since the days of Judge Jefferies. When that
was the case, he would ask whether he was at all out of order, or
whether he used indecent or unbecoming language, when he stated
that the Hon. Member for Aberdeen, in using such expressions, had
grossly libelled the Judges ?¦ (Hear.) If the Hon. Member for
Shrewsbury imagined that he was to form his manners, or to adapt his
language to that Hon. Member's taste, he was much mistaken. (Hear.)
When he spoke of that Hon. Member's conduct, or adverted to his
sentiments, he would state nothing which he would not justify on
every occasion and in every place. (Hear, hear.)
The SPEAKER said, he was quite satisfied, that however myste
rious the language of the Hon. and Learned Member might be, it was
of a nature not consistent with the freedom of debate in that House.
He was bound to suppose that the words used by the Hon. and Learned
Gentleman were meant to convey nothing but what they plainly and
distinctly expressed. His impression was, that the Hon. and Learned
Gentleman did not intend to evade the Orders of the House by using
mysterious language; and he trusted the Honourable and Learned
Gentleman would be the first person lo rise and disclaim such an
intention. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL Said he merely wishod to justify

12
himself against any charge or attack in which the Hon. Member
for Shrewsbury might indulge with respect to him.
The petition was then read.
Mr. HUME, after moving that the petition be laid on the table,
said that every expression in the petitiori was correct and proper, and
that there was nothing in it which the most fastidious gentleman could
object to. He felt, however, that he was called upon to advert to
two observations which had been made. An Hon. Baronet had denied
that Mr. Hunt had suffered solitary confinement. Now it would be
recollected that when certain allegations of Mr. Hunt had been on a
former occasion before the House, the Hon. Bart, had taken on himself
to deny them. They were, however, proved to be true. He there
fore called on the House not to place more reliance on the denial of
the Hon. Bart, than had already been found to be due to it. He (Mr.
Hume) wrote to Mr. Hunt to inquire if the fact was that he was sub
jected to solitary imprisonment. Mr. Hunt answered that it was true ;
that he had .been literally more than eight days without one person
being allowed access to him. He understood that up to this day, that
was, for 26 days, Mr. Hunt was confined in the same manner. It was
too much for the Hon. Bart, to take upon himself to deny this without
stating any authority for doing so. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman
had adopted a course which was not uncommon with him. It was
indoed too much his practice to substitute abuse for argument. (Hear.)
He (Mr. Hume) had asked him a question which he was obliged to
the Member for Oxford for having repeated. The Hon. and Learned
Gentleman had thought proper to put the word " infamous" into his
mouth. Whatever he might think, he had never used that word.
The Hon. and Learned Gent, had then chosen to say, that this use of
the word '' infamous" was scandalous. When he (Mr. Hume) had
addressed him, he had expected argument. Instead of that, he had
received abuse. If the Hon. and Learned Gentleman thought that he
added to the authority or dignity of Courts of Law, either there or out
of doors, by such abuse, he would find himself much mistaken.
(Hear, hear, hear.) It was by conduct conformable to law and the
legitimate use of authority, and not by the dictatorial tone of office,
that the dignity of law and its administration was to be supported.
(Hear.) With respect to the sentence upon Mr. Hunt, his sentiments
were entertained by millions of men. The same feeling pervaded the
whole country upon the subject. One town sent a petition signed by
4,000 individuals. [Hereafter he would submit some motion on the
subject. SIR T. LETHBRIDGE said his authority was not written ; it was
not documentary, but it was the authority of a public officer, of whom
he had asked the question, and who had said that Mr. Hunt suffered no
such thing as solitary confinement. He (Sir T. Lethbridge) was
quite sure that it was contrary to the sentence, and to the sentence
of the magistrates. According to the statement of the officer fo
whom he alluded, access was allowed to his son and to the apothecary.
If it should turn out that Mr. Hunt was even for eight hours in soli
tary confinement, he should be the foremost to say it was improper.
But at present he did not belieye it even on the authority of a statement
signed " Henry Hunt."
The petition was ordered tobe printed.
Thus you see, my friends, that you have been the cause of
this excellent debate ; the home truths that came from the

13
lips of Mr. Hume, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Lockhart, ought
to be read in every corner of the civilized world. It is
most gratifying to me to hear that my friends, the friends
of humanity, justice, and liberty, are acting the same no
ble part all over the kingdom ; this has driven the truth-
telling editor of the Courier almost into a state requiring
one of Bridle's straight waistcoats ; he is sorry that the
Solicitor-General should be in a passion and forget him
self; at the same time that the dirty hack, Mudford (of
whom I shall relate an anecdote or two hereafter) is
gnashing his teeth and writing in a state of phrenzy
himself. He begins by saying, that he is surprised that
Hunt had no more than 5,000 Radicals to sign a petition
for him ; that he used to have ten times this number in
England to follow him. Hold hard, as the huntsmen say ;
stop a bit, Mr. Mudford, have a little patience, wait a
little, and you will see ; this fellow would wish to make it
be believed that the cause of Radical Reform is abandoned,
and that there are very few Radicals in the kingdom who
care a rush about me or that cause which I have so long
advocated ; but " we shall see," the time is come for the
Radicals to speak out once more ; dash back the lie in the
teeth of this dirty hireling, my friends.
I see there was a meeting held at the Paul's Head Ta
vern, Cateaton-street, in London, last week, to take into
consideration what was best to be done to relieve me ; Mr.
Gale Jones in the chair. There were some excellent reso
lutions passed ; very flattering and very gratifying to me ;
there were some excellent speeches, as there always will
be where Mr. Gale Jones is, he being one of the very
best and most eloquent speakers in the kingdom. A pe
tition to the House of Commons was proposed, and
objected to upon the ground that it was beneath the
character of the people to petition their servants, who
had so long disregarded the 'prayers of the people. The
following resolution was proposed: " That it is the de
cided opinion of this Meeting, that they cannot con
sistently petition on any subject, a House of Commons
which has so long disregarded the prayers of the peo
ple." This, I think, is carrying our hostility a little too
far ; why not, then, have petitioned the House of Lords ?
The question was, have we a friend and a brother in
solitary confinement, subject to the secret torture of his
persecutors, who possibly meditate his death ? We are
assembled to take into consideration the best means of af
fording him relief, and of averting that catastrophe which

14
we should all deplore. Well, my friends, what is the
best way, let us look at the power that you have to ac
complish the end: if you had the power you would march
down to Ilchester, and dash the shackles with which I am
incumbered, in the teeth of those that have illegally im
posed them upon me, and, at any rate, relieve me from
solitary confinement ; but you have not the power to do
this ; there is a standing army to arrest your progress.
Well, what have you the power to do ? why, you have
the power to express your indignation. All very good,
and very satisfactory to the Captive ; but this will neither
relieve him, nor deter his remorseless persecutors from
proceeding to greater lengths, and inflicting greater tor
tures, because the expression of your opinions are only
known to a few, and never reach the ears of the tyrants.
Well, how is this to be remedied? look at the conduct
ofthe brave men at Preston; while you are debating
what to do, they act; they express their opinions and
sign a remonstrance against such cruel and cowardly con
duct; and they take the only means of giving force to
their opinions ; they send the remonstrance up to Mr.
Hume, to present it without delay, and give it, by his
sanction, a double force, for he speaks and promulgates
those wholesome truths as a Member of Parliament,
that the petitioners (or remonstraters, for it is the same
thing) dare not utter in the face of the Six Acts. Other
Honourable Members do the same ; the Ministers' chief
judicial agent is driven in a state of frenzy to expose him
self; it is published in every newspaper in England ; in
three days after, it is read in the most remote corners of
the kingdom ; in a week, it is read all over Europe ; in
a few months, it is read by the whole civilized world ;
and is propagated and discussed in the most remote cor
ners of the earth. By these means, my friends, your
power is unbounded ; you may meet at Cateaton-street
every day in the year, until my bones are rotten, and
until your children's children are no more, and not in
the whole time be able to give so much currency to
your opinions as you would by laying them once upon
the table of the Honourable House.
It is perfectly true that in the years 1816 and 1817 a mil
lion and a half of people petitioned for Reform ; our pe
titions were presented to the then House of Commons ;
our prayers were disregarded and scoffed at by all factions
and all parties ; we had not one man in the House to en
force our prayers and our grievances upon the attention

15
of the House, and by that means promulgate them to the
world. The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, and
laws made to restrict the power of meeting to petition.
Mr. Cobbett, our great literary champion, fled to America,
declaring that no honest man could walk upright and look
our enemies in the face without being in danger of the
dungeon or the halter. It was in vain for us to petition
under such circumstances, while {he Habeas Corpus Act
was still suspended. Seven householders in the metro
polis signed their names, and gave notice to the proper
authorities of their intention to call a public meeting ; they
advertised the meeting to be held in . Palace-yard, West
minster, on' the 7th of September, 1817, agreeable to the
forms of the statute ; they invited me to preside at that
meeting. I never refused the call of my countrymen, 1
attended it; and at my suggestion a strong, firm, and
constitutional remonstrance to the Throne was agreed to,.
and a declaration of the rights of Englishmen unanimously
adopted, wherein we declared our resolution not to peti
tion that Parliament for Reform anymore, which had disre
garded the prayers and the sufferings of a million and a
half of the people. I, as chairman, carried that remon
strance, and presented it immediately to Lord Sidmouth,
the Secretary 'of State, at the office ofthe Home depart
ment, attended to the door of the office by eight or ten
thousand people. This was all done legally, recollect,
under the operation of the law, and during the time that
the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act was in full
operation. There was no other public meeting held out
of doors that I recollect in the kingdom, during the con
tinuance of this suspension of the Personal Safety Act.
As soon as that was repealed, a great meeting was held at
Manchester ; fifty thousand people agreed to the same re
monstrance to the Throne, but refused to petition the House.
Although Lord Sidmouth had refused to present the re
monstrance to the Prince Regent, agreed upon in Palace-
yard, yet I carried the same remonstrance from the people
of Manchester, and called upon his Lordship once more to
lay it before the Throne ; he again refused. The same re
monstrance was universally agreed to at the great meet
ing first held in ..Smithfield, sanctioned by seventy or
eighty thousand people of the metropolis ; I again laid
it before the Secretary of State, and demanded that ifmay
be presented to the Regent ; it was a third time refused.
Do you remember rall these things, my friends ? Did I

16
ever desert you in t,he hour of need? Did lever leave the
people in the lurch, or play them foul ? Did I ever lead
you into any scrape ? Did I not so manage as to keep
within the strict bounds ofthe law ? The amiable editor
ofthe Courier? the organ ofthe Ministers, says, in speak
ing of the Preston petition, " We have not forgotten
Hunt's long career, of cunning impunity. We would not
abate one1 jot of whatever penalty the law authorises. We
feel no sympathy for his present situation; we should
not feel any for whatever degree of privation and suffering
the laws may apportion him." Impotent hireling! base
hack ! who the devil do you think ever suspected you of
sympathy ? Thank you, thank you, my friends of Preston,
for this ; you have made this Treasury-hack speak out ;
you have made "the gall'd jade wince;" you have made
the stupid ass throw his impotent heels in the air, and ex
pose at once his malice and his stupidity. The boy would
never have placed a thistle or a nettle under the tail of
the ass, if it had not been for the fun of seeing him wince
and kick. So it is with you, my friends of Preston, you
have, through the instrumentality of Mr. Hume, applied
the nettle to the tender parts of the State-ass, and Messrs.
Courier and Solicitor-General kick and wince to some
purpose. Ha! ha! ha! I all along said, let us petition
and remonstrate upbn individual grievances ; we have now
a proof of its good effects ; and we shall see a little more
of it yet before we have done with these gentry. But, let
us look at the question in another form. The Courier
adds, " The whole country rejoiced when the arch-dis
turber was at last caught in the toils of justice;"
if he had said toils of injustice, he would have spoken
nearer the truth. But the point to be looked to by the
Radicals is this : In 181^-1817 we had not one man in
the House of Commons who would support the prayers of
our petitions for Reform, therefore it was folly to proceed
in petitioning. Have we now any man who will do this ?
Is there now any man, or set of men, who will support our
prayers, and enforce our remonstrances upon the attention
of the House ? I, for one, think we have. We have not
altered our opinions or our principles ; but if they are
come up to our mark, and allow the justice of our claims,
let us, in God's name, not draw back or stand still, but let
us one and all hold out the olive branch of union, and re
ceive them into our ranks with confidence and liberality.
Try them, on my lads, with your Petitions for the Captive;

n
demand that justice be done him. 1 would rather be tor
tured to death than you should sue for mercy for me. I
ask not mercy at the hands of tyrants. I demand justice ;
do you the same, and we will convince the Courier' » mas
ters, that although your leader is " caught in the toils of
justice," yet, that he is not fallen so low as to ask his life
as a matter of favour, but that he demands justice as a
right. Recollect, my friends, that we have millions who
have joined the standard of Reformation since we left off
petitioning. Shall we turn our back upon these new
allies, or shall we not rather say, in the language of Scrip
ture, " There is more joy in Heaven over one sinner that
repenteth than over ninety and nine just persons." Then
let us join hand, heart, body, and' soul, and generously
receive the repentant sinners into the bosom of our holy
cause, and make another, another, and another grand ma
jestic struggle for Reform. I will publish the Preston
petition, and all the petitions that are about to be presented
in behalf of your " fallen leader." The requisition
presented to the Sheriff of this county to call a county
meeting to petition Parliament upon the subject, was
signed by 2370 freeholders and yeomen of the county.
The" Black Diamond Merchant" to the Gaol has refused
to call a county meeting ; and I understand petitions are in
preparation in all parts ofthe county ; Taunton and Ilches
ter have set the example : " we shali see." My health is
better, and I should be a dunghill indeed, if I were to suf
fer my spirits to flag, while my friends and the cause were
so much alive as they now are. If I had nothing else to
keep up my spirits the kicking and wincing ofthe State-
Ass would afford me infinite amusement. God bless you
all, and believe me your faithful friend,
H. HUNT.
P. S. The most gratifying and effectual way to com
municate .with me now, will be through the medium ofthe
Honourable House. Alderman Wood, Messrs. Hume,
Bennet, Burdett, Hobhouse, Wilson, Maddocks, Creevey,
Lockhart, Lushington, andothers, I understand, are to have
petitions. — " We shall see."

18

IS
To the Honourable the Commons of the United King*
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament
assembled.
The Petition of Henry Hunt, late of Middleton Cottage,
in the County of Hants, but now a Prisoner in his Ma
jesty's Gaol at Ilchester, in the County of Somerset,
Humbly Sheweth,
That your Petitioner has been incarcerated in the pesti
lential Gaol of Ilchester for twenty-one months, under a
sentence of the Court of King's Bench, for two years
and six months' imprisonment, for having attended a
peaceable meeting at Manchester on the 16th of August,
1819 ; which meeting was constitutionally assembled for
the sole purpose of taking into consideration the most legal
means of obtaining a Reform in the corrupt representa
tion ofthe Commons' House of Parliament.
That your Petitioner, when he first came to the Gaol,
was placed in a cold, damp cell, with a stone floor, with
nothing but-a gaol truck to sleep upon, instead of being
allowed to occupy apartments in the Gaoler's house, as
Mr. Kinnear was then doing ; and as all other prisoners,
sentenced from the Court of King's Bench, had done : that
while a small room was fitted up, nine feet by twelve, for
your Petitioner, in a cold, damp ward, with a northern
aspect, where the rays of the sun never appear for five
months in the year, he was obliged to reside in u common
cell without any window. At the end of seven weeks,
Sir John Acland arrived at the gaol, and ordered that your
Petitioner might walk occasionally in a larger yard than
that which he had been up to this time confined in, only
about eight paces square ; an order was then made for the
admission of your Petitioner's friends at reasonable hours
in the day time, they having been hitherto restricted to
three separate hours in the day. On the 14th of August
an order was made by some Magistrates assembled upon
the Grand Jury at the Assizes at Wells, that all females
should be prohibited from visiting your Petitioner, unless
it was at ihe double grating of the felons' cage, called
the felons' conversation-room. This order was enforced
by the Rev. William Hungerford Colston, Doctor
in Divinity, who was one of those Magistrates assembled
at Wells who had made the order.
Your Petitioner applied by letter to the High Sheriff
and personally to the Magistrates, for redress, but in vain:

19
at length he was driven to the necessity of making an ap
plication to the Court of King's Bench, which coming to-
the knowledge of Sir Charles Bampfylde, the High Sheriff,
he came to the Gaol immediately, and removed those re
strictions which had been placed upon your Petitioner by
the Gaoler, the Under Sheriff Broderip, and some of the
Magistrates who had intercepted your Petitioner's letters
to the said High Sheriff, Sir Charles Bampfylde, and
whose name they had surreptitiously and fraudulently used
to effect their malicious purpose.
This was on the 15th of November, 1820. On the 13th
of February following, the very day that Sir Charles
Bampfylde went out of office, the Rev. Dr. Colston and
another Reverend Magistrate came to the Gaol, turned
out his family and renewed the order for the exclusion of
all females, even his sister, who was then ill, and who
never had an opportunity of seeing your Petitioner after
wards, even up to the time of her decease.
Your Petitioner then caused several petitions to be for
warded to your Honourable House, detailing some few
of the horrible cruelties practised in the said Gaol, by the
gaoler and Visiting Magistrates. The allegations in these
petitions were denied by the Members for the county, and
other Members of your Honourable House ; who eulo
gized the vigilance and honour of the Magistrates, the
humanity of the Gaoler, and the salubrity, conveni
ence, and good government of the Gaol. His Majesty's
Ministers, however, consented to send down a Commis
sion of their own appointing, to investigate the conduct
of their Gaoler, and the state of the Gaol ; and it was
alledged by some of the Honourable Members that the
whole of the charges against the parties would be
proved to be false and unfounded. In the mean time,
the Sheriff and Magistrates called upon your Petitioner to-
prove those charges which he had previously laid before
them, and which they had hitherto refused to investi
gate ; this your Petitioner readily consented to ; little
thinking, as it was a public inquiry, that the said Ma
gistrates would compel your Petitioner to pay all the ex
pense of procuring witnesses ; and moreover, they re
fused to use their authority and influence as Magistrates
to procure the attendance of any of his witnesses. This in
vestigation lasted nearly two months, which, at last, ap
peared to have no other object in view than that of ena
bling the Magistrates and Gaoler to become completely
acquainted with your petitioner's \yhole case, and the

20
evidence by which he meant to substantiate his charges ;
for, as soon as this was accomplished, they adjourned the
inquiry, and never called upon the Gaoler for his de
fence until the very day that the Commissioners arrived.
Your Petitioner was now called upon again to prefer his
charges before the Commissioners, although he had only
a few hours to prepare himself; and although he was
labouring under severe indisposition in consequence of
the close confinement he had endured ; yet, relying upon
the justice of his case, instead of shifting his ground,
he increased the number of his charges against the
Gaoler from 13 to 21, which he laid before the Com
missioners, on which he was called upon immediately
to proceed to prove them. Your Petitioner here begs
to observe, that the Magistrates and Gaoler, having
now become acquainted with his case, and having
been informed when the Commissioners would arrive,
they directed their whole attention to the best means of
counteracting detection and exposure ; all the gouts and
common sewers were cleansed, and all the mouths of all the
wells thrown open and exposed, that the noxious and
gaseous effluvia might escape observation : these had
been proved to exist in a high degree, in consequence
of the human excrement and the filth of the sewers
communicating with the water in all the wells. All
the officers and all the prisoners were employed in
scouring, cleansing, white-washing, painting, and re
moving all appearance of filth that had before existed.
All your Petitioner's witnesses were now known to
the Gaoler; and none of them could come to your
Petitioner without their names and places of abode be
ing taken down in a book for the inspection of the said
Gaoler, many of which witnesses were in his power
and custody ; all of them were open to be tampered
with by himself and his officers ; no female witness
could come to your Petitioner to be examined, unless
it was in the presence and hearing of an officer of the
Gaol : by these means many of his witnesses were in
duced by threats and bribes to withold their testi
mony. Under these accumulated disadvantages, your Petitioner
again collected all his witnesses, except the two most
material and important, upon whose testimony your Peti
tioner greatly relied to prove many of the charges that he
had made ; these were John Kinnear, Esq. and Matthew

21
Hbbbs ; the former had lived in the Gaoler's house for
nearly two years, and the latter had been Task-master for
five years previous. These the Honourable Commission
ers did not think themselves competent to summon, as
they were in the custody of the Sheriffs of London and
Middlesex at the time ; thus was your Petitioner unex
pectedly deprived of the benefit of two of his most mate
rial and most necessary witnesses.
Under these apparently insurmountable obstacles, your
Petitioner had, at the end of sixteen days; called wit
nesses, not only to prove all the allegations contained in
the Petitions of Hill, Hillier, Wheeler, and Gardener,
which had been presented to your Honourable House, but
they substantiated all the charges preferred against the
Gaoler. At the end of five weeks the Gaoler had finished
what he called his defence, which did not go to contra
dict the charges, but mainly they were witnesses to for
mer good character ; these were principally Magistrates,
who had connived at and upheld him in his mal-conduct,
and others were discharged felons, who had been con
victed and sentenced two or three times each, either to
the gaol or to the hulks.
Your Petitioner states, that at the end of the third day's
examination, the Sheriff and Magistrates offered to com
promise with your Petitioner, and stay the proceedings
altogether, by the discharge of the Gaoler, who had ten
dered his resignation ; but as your Petitioner was only
anxious to discharge a public and painful duty, he posi
tively refused to become a party to any such compromise.
Upon which the Under-Sheriff gave him notice to attend
tbe taxation of his costs before the Master, and a few days
afterwards issued out an attachment against your Peti
tioner for the payment, amounting to upwards of fifty
pounds : this was for resisting the application which hd
had made to the Court of King's Bench for the admission
of his friends, which Sir Charles Bampfylde granted the
moment he heard of it. As soon as the Commissioners
had closed the proceedings, which had not cost your Peti
tioner less than Three Hundred Pounds, he was served by
the Under-Sheriff with an Exchequer Writ for Two Hun
dred Pounds, penalties incurred for discovering and effect
ing a preparation of English Rye, which he openly manu-,
factured into a cheap, wholesome, and nutritious bever
age for the poor, without the least intention to commit
liny fraud upon or violate the Excise laws. Notice was

22
served upon your Petitioner's tenants at Glastonbury not
to pay him any more rent, which your Petitioner urged
the Sheriff to take, and pay himself the penalties at once ;
but instead of doing this, he delayed for some time, and
then gave your Petitioner notice that an extent was sent
down from the Crown to seize and sell your Petitioner's
manor and estate at Glastonbury ; and your Petitioner
urged him again to receive the rents, and stay such un
warrantable and unnecessary proceedings ; but the Sheriff
replied, that he had his instructions, and he knew his
business better than that; he then gave your Petitioner
notice that he should summon a jury on the 10th of Ja
nuary, and proceed immediately to sale. Your Petitioner
now instructed his Attorney to distrain for his rents, and
gave the Sheriff notice to come and receive the penalties
out of the same ; upon which the said Sheriff, having first
prohibited the tenants from paying any part of the rents
due to your Petitioner, hastened to summon the Jury on
the 7th instead of the 10th of January ; so eager was he
to sell your Petitioner's estate, in preference to receiving
the penalties. However, your Petitioner, to counteract
such a nefarious proceeding, raised the Two Hundred
Pounds, and paid the same to his Majesty's Ministers,
God bless them ! During these proceedings, a report was
raised that your Petitioner's manor and estate was confis
cated by the Crown, in consequence of which all manner
of depredations and encroachments/were committed there
on : one person actually took possession, cut down, and
carried away, seventy-three valuable young trees, stand
ing and growing upon the waste ; and this was done in
open day-light, while the Rev. Dr. Colston was riding by
, the spot where they grew.
Some time in July the Sheriff decided that the Gaoler
was unfit and unworthy to hold the office any loDger ;
and the said Sheriff now made an order for the admission
of your Petitioner's visitors once more, after they had
been excluded five months ; but the Magistrates continued
the Gaoler in office one hundred and eight days after the
Sheriff had declared him unfit and unworthy to hold the
situation, and seven months after they had offered to com»
promise the inquiry with your Petitioner, by discharging
him: during the whole of this time your Petitioner was left
to the mercy, and placed under the lock and key, in the
uncontroulable power of the said Gaoler, which power he
never failed to use in the most brutal manner towards your
Petitioner and his friends, as well as towards all the pri-

23
soners who had given evidence against him. All remon
strance was used in vain with those Magistrates who had
been exposed by the inquiry of having connived at, and,
in some instances, sanctioned, the said Gaoler in his ill-
treatment, and the acts of torture which he committed
upon the prisoners.
On the 10th of November last, Mr. Hardy, the new
Keeper, arrived, and the old Gaoler was finally discharged.
From this time forward great improvements and amelio
ration in the condition of the prisoners, and the manage
ment ofthe Gaol, took place. All torture was abolished;
and the fetters were removed from all the prisoners ex
cept those under immediate sentence of transportation.
Your Petitioner and his friends were for the first time
treated with civility. During the first six weeks that Mr.
Hardy was in office, the Gaol was six times overflown, and
inundated with the floods ; at one time it was two feet
deep in the Debtors' Kitchen, and six inches deep in the
Debtors' Sitting-room. During the whole of the winter,
all the water in the Gaol has been contaminated with
the filth and excrement that flowed from the common-
sewer into all the wells ; no part of this horrible griev
ance having been removed since the Commissioners left
the Gaol. These sewers have been cleaned out during
the present month of February, and they were found to
be two feet deep in a solid mass of filth, that had accumu
lated in the Gaol for the last six months : as the whole
Gaol is situated in a swamp, and the drains and
sewers are upon a dead level for a length of 400 feet,
they are never cleaned in any other way, nor can the filth
be removed but by human labour. There is no hospital
of any sort for sick prisoners. Two debtors havp died
since the floods ; the verdict upon one was, that his death
was accelerated by the damp, unwholesome, and incon
venient state ofthe Gaol. The other lingered a fortnight,
and died in the same room where ten other prisoners slept,
many of whom were obliged to sleep in the same room
with the corpse.
The Magistrates and Sheriff having given up the ma
nagement of the Gaol to Mr. Hardy, the new keeper, a
vigilant discipline was exercised with humanity and pro
per treatment ; this produced corresponding good behavi
our in the prisoners, who executed all orders with alacrity,
and their labour was performed with assiduity and cheerful
ness : theformer commonpracticeofblasphemous swearing,
used indiscriminately by the Gaoler, the officers, and th*

24
prisoners, appeared to be nearly abolished ; your Petitioner
having heard more horrid oaths used in the Gaol in one
day, during the reign of the late Gaoler, than he has
heard in the whole of the three months since.
When the Keeper returned from the last Sessions, he
brought home some new rules and regulations ; these
rules are reported to have been signed by Mr. Justice
Best ; no rules or regulations made by the Magistrates of
the County of Somerset for the government of the Gaol,
or rather the House of Correction, was ever before
sanctioned or approved by any of the other Judges.
Your Petitioner has it from good authority, that these
said rules, in a mitigated shape, were submitted to Mr.
Justice Holroyd and Mr. Justice Burrough, at the last
Spring Assizes, held in this county ; each of these Judges
had them at his chambers in London for some time, but
after carefully perusing them, they returned them to the
Clerk of the Peace, both having refused to sign them :
this information your Petitioner had from the late Sheriff
and Clerk of the Peace.
By these rules, intended only for felons, your Petitioner
is classed amongst persons committed for the highest
crimes known to the law ; he has been prohibited from
seeing any human being but the officer of the Gaol, un
less he would submit to see them at the double grating at
the felons' cage, or felons' conversation room, as it is cal
led, which consists of two small cells, about six feet
square, placed opposite each other at a distance of four
feet ; in each of these is a grated window : at three sepa
rate hours in the day, the visitors of all the felons, all
the convicts sentenced for beastiality and unnatural crimes;
all persons sentenced for housebreaking, and even those
committed for murder, are all assembled in one of those
cells ; when there is room for them, all the prisoners are
placed in the other cell, and they are obliged to hold their
conversation indiscriminately and publicly in the presence
and hearing of each other : without your Petitioner would
condescend to make one of this disgusting and revolting
spectacle ; without mingling, and in fact, huddling to
gether with the above description of prisoners, and with
out your Petitioner's friends would condescend to mingle
and be placed in the same cell with their companions
and associates who come to visit them, he is not allowed
to see a human being, except the officers of the Gaol ; as
there is only one cage for male and female prisoners, they
frequently manage to meet at this place1, where scenes
too revolting to mention frequently occur.

25
These rules were put in force, and your Petitioner in
consequence has been placed in solitary confinement ever
since the 22d day of January. Three days after, he was
taken seriously ill with cramp in the chest and spasms in
the heart ; he sent for a Surgeon who had attended him
ever since he came to the Gaol, but he was denied admit
tance to your Petitioner, who remained for eleven days
and nights, suffering great bodily pain, without his me
dical attendant being allowed to see him. Your Peti
tioner earnestly entreated the Rev. Doctor Colston^ (who
is, by some strange fatality, the Visiting Magistrate again)
to admit his Surgeon to see him ; but the Rev. Doctor po
sitively refused, saying, that there was the Gaol Doctor
and the county medicines, if he wished for any thing.
Your Petitioner replied, that he had two objections, one
was, that the Gaol Doctor that is employed by the Magis
trates lives at a distance of five miles from the Gaol, while
your Petitioner's Surgeon lived within twenty yards of its
walls : the other reason was, that he did not like to take
the county medicine. The said Visiting Magistrate also
refused to admit your Petitioner's Attorney, whom he had
sent for to make an affidavit of these facts. Your Peti
tioner addressed a letter to Mr. Justice Bayley, stating
these facts, that he was deprived of the assistance of his
professional attendants ; upon which the Court made an
order and sent down to the Keeper to admit his Surgeon
and his Attorney; but your Petitioner has made no appli
cation to the Court of.King's Bench, for he cannot afford
to pay another hundred pounds to fee counsel, and pay
the bill of Mr. Under Sheriff..
Your Petitioner has applied to the Sheriff, the Magis*
trates, and to the Secretary of State, to relieve your Peti
tioner from this horrible punishment of solitary confine*
ment. The Secretary of State refers your Petitioner to
the Sheriff, who has, as he states, the jurisdiction of the
County Gaol. The former Sheriff expressed a great wish
to grant your Petitioner what he considered a most rea
sonable requests — that of seeing his friends, as usual, at rea
sonable hours in the day time; but he doubted his au
thority, as he was informed that the signature of the Judge
took away the power of the Sheriff, and gave it to the
Visiting Magistrates. Doctor Colston and Mr. Newman,
the Visiting Magistrates, have treated your Petitioner's
application with the greatest contempt, and refused him
all redress. The New Sheriff is a banker, and engaged
in large business, does us the honour to supply the Gaol
16 D

with coals, timber, slate, &c. &c. therefore he has not
had time Jo answer your Petitioner's applications, although
he has written to him twice, and your Petitioner's friends
have waited upon the Sheriff, and presented a requisi
tion signed by 2,300 Freeholders and Yeomen of the
neighbourhood of Ilchester, urging him to call a public
meeting to petition your Honourable House upon the sub»
ject of your Petitioner's ill-treatment. Mr. Hardy, the
Keeper, has declared to the Sheriff and Magistrates, in
your Petitioner's presence, that although there were si
milar rules and regulations- in Newgate, yet they were
never considered to apply to, neither were they ever put
in force against, any one committed from the Court of
King's Bench, either for a political misdemeanor or for
blasphemy. In fact, your Petitioner is much worse off
than any felon in Newgate, and placed upon a level with
felons in this Gaol.
Your Petitioner begs to state, that he has never been
charged with any misconduct whatever since he has
been in the Gaol, neither has there ever been the slightest
complaint made against him or any of his visitors, with
the exception of his preferring charges legally against
the Gaoler and Visiting Magistrates ; which charges against
the former were investigated before the Commissioners,
they having no power to investigate the conduct of the
Magistrates, only that of the Gaoler and the state of the
Gaol: your Petitioner fearlessly appeals to the Honour
able Member for Devizes, one of the Commissioners, whe
ther in their examination it ever appeared that your Pe
titioner or any of his friends ever misconducted them
selves. Your Petitioner, therefore, earnestly prays that your
Honourable House will protect him from the vengeance
of the Magistrates, who are placed above the law, and
¦who have usurped the authority of the Sheriff. Your
Petitioner's sentence of two years and six months may be
considered severe, seeing that it is more outrageous than
any one sentence that has been passed since the present
family cam,e to the Throne ; but this sentence, severe as
it is, is mild, moderate, and merciful, when compared to
the cruelties that your Petitioner has been sentenced to
by the local authorities since he has been here.
Your Petitioner, therefore, prays your Honourable
House to grant him justice, he would scorn to sue for
mercy from any earthly power, even if he had committed
any crime, much less then would he do so under his present

27
feelings, but he confidently trusts that your Honourable
House will afford him that protection against cruelty and
torture which the htws'of England entitle him to.
And your petitioner, as in duty bound, shall ever
pray, &c.
HENRY HUNT.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE RIGHT
HON. ROBERT PEEL AND MR. HUNT.
Sir, Ilchester Bastile, Jan. 30, 1822.
As I have just ascertained that Mr. Hardy, the keeper
of this prison, is going to London with some Convicts,
and presuming that he will have business at the Home
Office, I take this opportunity of requesting the favour of
your attention for one moment to the situation of a captive
in a distant gaol:
Never having, that 1 recollect, in the course of 'my po
litical struggles for Reform, said or done any thing to
give you personal offence, probably you may not feel in
disposed to do me an act of justice by your interference to
relieve me from the punishment of solitary confinement in
his Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester.
This is a punishment, Sir, that the Judge who passed
ihe sentence of two years and six months imprisonment
upon me, expressly stated was no part of my sentence ;
although that punishment has been inflicted upon me for
eight days, in consequence of an order from the Local
Authorities, passed at the Quarter Sessions, held at Wells,
last week.
This, I believe, is the eighth sentence which has been
passed upon me by the Magistrates since I have been in
this Gaol ; but to have this new sentence passed upon me
in the twenty-first month of my imprisonment, without
any cause assigned, without my having infringed upon
any one ofthe rules that were laid down for me by Mr,
Hardy, the New Keeper ; thus to be totally excluded from
the eye of any human being but the officers of the Gaol„
even from medical assistance when ill, I cannot but think,
Sir, is an act of cruelty, that will not be sanctioned by
you. But I flatter myself that you will interpose tbe au
thority of your high office, to protect me from, future tor
ture, of this sort, and that you will give instructions to
Mr. Hardy for my relief, as soon as he returns to Ilchester,
or that vou will take such other steps as you may deem,

28
most proper to remove the cruel and illegal restrictions
under which I am suffering.
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
H, HUNT.
To the Right Hon. Robert Peel, S(c.

Ilchester Bastile, Feb. 14-, 1822.
Sib, 23d Day qf Solitary Confinement.
This is the first day that I have had an opportunity
of laying your reply to my letter ofthe 30th ult. before
the Visiting Magistrates, the Rev. Dr. Colston and Mr.
Newman. After they had read it, I thought I discovered
for the first time a disposition to attend to the grievances
of which I have justly complained, that of denying all ac
cess to my family and friends, in spite of the written orders
ofthe Sheriff, that they should be " permitted to visit me
between the hours of nine in the morning and dusk in the
winter, and nine in the morning and seven in the evening
in summer."
I was always aware (and so must every one that is not
wilfully blind) " that the County Gaol is under the juris
diction ofthe Sheriff, and open to the visitation of certain
Magistrates," but what I complain of is, that the express
orders of the two last Sheriffs, directing in writing that
my friends should be admitted to see me at reasonable
hours in the day time, have been three times disputed and
set aside by the Visiting Magistrates ; and three separate
times have my family and friends been turned out of the
Gaol and prohibited from seeing me, unless it was at the
double grating or felon's cage, and at the same time, and
in the company and hearing ofthe said felons, and others,
sentenced for unnatural crimes, beastiality, &c.
Each of these times when my friends have been so ex
cluded the Gaol, the Rev. Dr. Colston was one of the
Visiting Magistrates.
But I hope you will give me credit, Sir, for entertain
ing too much the feelings of a man and a gentleman, to
think that I ever disgraced myself or wounded the feelings
of my friends by voluntary exposing them to scenes so
horrid and revolting to humanity.
I certainly should not have troubled you, Sir, nor Mr.
Justice Bayley with an application of this sort, had I not
previously applied in vain for redress, to the Sheriff as well
as the Visiting Magistrates. The Sheriff having unequivo-

29
cally declared, that he thought my request so reasonable,
that he did not hesitate to grant it ; but as the Visiting
Magistrates disputed his authority, he was unwilling, just
as he was going out of office, to make any new order ; but
he positively refused to revoke the old orders that he had
made for the admission of my family and friends, under the
restrictions of not more than four being admitted at one
time ; but Mr. Hardy, by direction of the Magistrates, I
suppose, has been induced to act upon the Order of Ses
sions, in preference to the Order of the Sheriff, thus dis
puting and setting at defiance the jurisdiction of the
Sheriff over the County Gaol.
You will perceive, Sir, that this attempt of the Visiting
Magistrates to assume that jurisdiction which you so justly
say belongs to the Sheriff, has rendered me the victim of
the most cruel and unheard-of persecution.
The Visiting Magistrates this day, after reading your
communication, shewed me a letter which they had writ
ten to you, and as they now appear anxious to get the
sanction of superior Authority to assist them out of the
dilemma in which they are placed, I hope that you, Sir
will put an end to their difficulties and my torture together,
which will be effected by tbe slightest recommendation of
yours to admit my friends as usual, agreeable to the order
of the Sheriffs ; provided always that there is no complaint
against me or any of my visitors.
It was very erroneously stated by the Solicitor-General,
in the House of Commons, last Friday, when Mr. Alderman
Wood presented my son's Petition, that I had applied to
the Court of King's Bench. It was a private letter that I
wrote to Mr. Justice Bayley, which induced the Court to
make an order for the admission of my Attorney and my
medical attendants, who had been previously excluded
during eleven days that I had been suffering under an ex
treme ill state of health.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient humble Servant,
H. HUNT.
To the Right Hon. Robert Peel, $c.
P.S. I was in the Court of King's Bench when your
brother was sentenced to be imprisoned for a misde
meanour. Gracious God! what would have been your
feelings, Sir, if, when you called to visit him at the prison,
where he was confined, you had been informed by a brutal
turnkey, that you could not see him unless it was at the
double grating of a felon's cage, side by side, and in com-

30

pany with those who had been committed for murder, and
convicted of house-breaking, beastiality, and unnatural

crimes.

When you think of the bare possibility of being placed
in such a situation, I flatter myself that you will lose no
time to do me the justice which has been denied me for
the last twenty-four days.
Sir, Whitehall, Feb. 5. 1822.
L am directed by Mr. Secretary Peel to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the 30th ult. in which you
complain of having lately been kept in solitary confine
ment, and ask for the interposition of his authority to
relieve you from that state.
You must be aware that the County Gaol is. under the
jurisdiction of the Sheriff, and open to the visitation of
certain Magistrates appointed by the Court of Quarter
Sessions for that purpose.
Mr. Peel having no doubt that every grievance of which
you can justly complain, will be redressed upon your ap
plying in a proper manner to those gentlemen, to none of
whom do you appear by your statement to have yet ad
dressed yourself, does not see any ground for his interfer
ence at the present time. I am, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
H. HOBHOUSE.

Sir, Whitehall, Feb. 16, 1822.
I am directed by Mr. Secretary Peel to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter ofthe 14th instant, relative to
the mode of your imprisonment in Ilchester Gaol.
In your former letter you led Mr. Peel to suppose that
the order of which you complained was an order exclu
sively applicable to yourself, instead of your being af
fected (as he has since learned by a communication from
the Visiting Magistrates to be the case) by the operation
of a code of rules and regulations for the general govern
ment of the Gaol.
Those rules having been sanctioned by the proper au
thorities according- to the Acts of Parliament upon that
subject, Mr. Peel does not consider it would be consistent
with his duty as Secretary of State, to direct a contraven
tion of them. 1 am, Sir,
Your most obedient humbleservant,
H. HOBHOUSE

31
ADDRESS FROM THE REFORMERS RESIDING AT BETH
NAL GREEN, TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Dear and Respected Sir, — Impressed with a deep
and grateful sense ofthe many oblig-ations we owe to you,
as the bold and intrepid defender of our rights ; and feel
ing, as we do, that you are now suffering the most cruel
persecution for our sakes, for having nobly, honestly, un
equivocally, and constantly, advocated the rights of the
industrious classes of society, we should consider ourselves
unpardonably criminal, though we have not the power to
ameliorate your sufferings, were we to look on your ac-
cuiMflilated wrongs with apathy or indifference. But that
isimrlossible, it cannot be, weare too well acquainted
with yqur worth not to feel poignantly every stripe the
tyraiits inflict on you. The image of Henry Hunt is so
engraven on our affections, that it is impossible for a single
injury to be inflicted on him, but we must feel it as a dag
ger in our very souls. Tyranny in every shape we de
test. But the tyrants who afflict, who punish you, for
our sakes, we hate with such a perfect and unalterable
hatred, that our tongues shall cleave to our mouths when
our hearts shall forget to curse them. Our childrens'
children shall curse them. Nations that as yet have not
a name, shall curse them that oppress you. Though indeed
we have not the power to rescue you from the fangs of
oppression, yet, we assure you, in the sincerity of our
hearts, as much as one man can feel the afflictions of
another, do we participate in your unmerited sufferings:
we grieve for you though we cannot assist you. Indeed
we are excessively apprehensive for your personal safety;
we are dreadfully afraid lest some secret means should be
devised for depriving the public of your future services, by
sacrificing your invaluable life. Although we most heartily
condemn the dastardly conduct of your vindictive enemies,
yet we do confess ourselves alarmed lest their malice
should prove fatal to you. Their cowardly souls cannot
muster courage enough to play the tyrants openly and un
disguised ; they dare not come and drag you forth outside
the walls of your prison, and put you to death publicly,
but by all the nasty, little, petty meannesses and vexations
in their power, do they endeavour to destroy you secretly.
Buonaparte died of an hereditary cancer, Caroline of a
broken heart, and shall our brave Champion fall a victim
too, to the death they intend him?, Floods, fires, and pes-
tiferious vapours, as yet, have all refused to yield obe
dience to the wishes of despotism ; and shall the poisoned

32
cup, or the concealed dagger in the hand of the midnight
assassin, drink the blood that animates the noblest soul
that ever panted for freedom within the walls of a dun
geon ? Forbid it, Thou, whose awful nod shakes empires to
their base! Put forth thine hand and save the Patriot,
that the nations complain not that justice hath forsook
the earth ! Let the people of Britain live to see Liberty;
seated on the throne of their ancestors, before the Brave
Hunt shall go to sleep with his fathers. The throne is the
peoples, and when Liberty is seated thereon, let the lions
ofthe land protect her from insult. Then, should Britain
be assailed by domestic foes, let justice end the strife ;: ithen
let soldiers, indiscriminately taken from the bulfeioqithe
people, form an army of Patriots, that will always; fee]
it their duty and advantage to defend their country from
the assaults of foreign enemies.
We hope it will be somewhat consolatory to your feel
ings to know that you are not quite forgotten by the
working people of the metropolis: it is true they have not
come forward by tens of thousands to sign addresses to you
during your confinement ; but they have to encounter
many impediments, that people unacquainted with London
know nothing about ; we however believe they are well
disposed, and we entertain not the least doubt but that
when the day shall arrive for you again to make your ap
pearance amongst them, you will be received with as
much enthusiasm as at any former period. The working
people of London are very poor ; in fact, it appears to us,
that industry and poverty are in England inseparable
companions — it used not to be so : many of us can re
member when the labouring classes were better clothed
and fed.
We beg of you to accept our most sincere thanks for
your unceasing efforts in the cause of universal freedom.
We also thank you for your noble exertions in the cause
of humanity, in causing to be instituted the Ilchester
Gaol Inquiry. We think you justly entitled to the thanks
of every Briton, at least, for your excellent Memoirs. We
conceive it will be a book of inestimable value to future
generations ; a book wherefrom future historians will be
enabled to extract a great number of important and un
sophisticated truths not to be found in the garbled histo
ries of our times. We beg of you to give us frequent ac
counts of the state of your health, that should any thing
fatal happen to you during your imprisonment, which
God forbid, we 'may not be cheated into a belief that you

33
had laboured under any lingering or hereditary disease •
but we hope you still will baffle all the designs of your
enemies, and be restored safe and sound to a rejoicing-
public. We hope you will come out of prison like refined
gold, a more sterling Radical than you went in. Wish
ing you health, long life, and prosperity, we take the li
berty to subscribe ourselves, in all brotherly affection,
your sincere Radical Friends.
( Here follows an immense list of signatures.)

P. S. The Report of the Royal Commissioners has been
laid upon the table of the Honourable House. As a Mi
nisterial document, it is more complete than we could
have expected ; the Magistrates are of course protected
as much as possible. But it is quite enough to condemn
the Gaoler, the Magistrates, and the Gaol. I have di
rected Mr. Dolby to publish the Report in a cheap form,
that every man in the kingdom may read it. I wrote to
one of the Members, to say that it was wrist-screws, not
thumb-screws, that were made use of in this Gaol. His
answer was, " / have just read the Report of the Royal
Commissioners, and think that had the thumb-screws
been used they would have added but very littlo. to such a
mass of cruelty and horror.
Rejoice once more with me, my friends ; poor old Mr.
Hill, who has been illegally confined, and subject to
every species of torture for sixteen years, has at last
been relieved by the Government. He is 76 years of
age, and has been incarcerated in this Hell of Hells six
teen years, where his inhuman persecutors have sworn,
over and over again, that he should remain as long as he
lived ; this they have frequently repeated since I caused
16 E

34
hit, petition to be presented by Aldermuii Wood. Thanks
to him, and the Rev. Henry Cresswell, of Creech; we
were preparing to attack them with such a battery as the
Government were ashamed to meet. Now let us see
whether the character for humanity is extinct in the land
or not. Now for a subscription, to enable this perse
cuted man to recover his estates.

Printed by T. Dolby; 299, Strand.

Books Printed and Published by T. DOLBY, 299, Strand.
ILCHESTER GAOL.
The REPORT of the ROYAL COMMISSIONERS is in the
press, and will be published in a few days, price ls. printed verbatim from the
Official Copy ordered to be printed by the House of Commons. This long-
looked-for REPORT will be found to confirm, in every essential particular,
the CHARGES exhibited, and, after an arduous struggle under every impedi
ment, established, by Mr. Hunt against the Gaoler and the Local Authorities
of Somerset.
MEMOIRS OF HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
This day is published, No. 29, of Mr. HUNT'S MEMOIRS,
containing, in addition to the Memoir, Mr. Hunt's Letters to the Secretary of
State respecting his (Mr. Hunt's) Solitary Confinement, and the Answers ;
another Petition from Mr. Hunt to the House of Commons ; also, the Preston
Petition, and the Debate which rose out of it in the Hon. House. — N.B. The
Memoirs are now published on the 1st and 15th of every month, and contain
the whole history and mystery of Ilchester Gaol Politics, -with some choice
specimens of Somersetshire Clerical Justices ; also, the questions which have
been, and will continue to be, brought before Parliament and the Courts of
Law. The celebrated PEEP into ILCHESTER GAOL, price ls. is
still on sale. This pamphlet was the forerunner of the GAOL INVESTIGA:.
TION, and still continues to surprise and to shock every person who may be
disposed to read a faithful description of English Prison Abuses.
The EVIDENCE taken before COMMISSIONERS appointed
to inquire into the STATE of ILCHESTER GAOL, with Engravings of
some of the principal characters who have distinguished themselves in the ma
nagement of that hitherto unexplored Sink of Iniquity. The Evidence may be
had in six closely printed numbers, or complete in extra boards, 6s. 6rf.

Taunton Agricultural Meeting.
.JUST PUBLISHED, PRICE EIGHT-PENCE,
DESIVERED BT
ME, H. B. SHILIiIBEER,
LAND-SURVEYOR, $c.
AT A
MEETING

Coalition of tht ©Kntgg mis !m>s,
ASSEMBLED AT TAUNTON ON THE 9th JANUARY, 1822
FOR THE PURPOSE OF GULLING THE FARMERS.
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED
Some Observations on the Parsons and " Life-and-Fortune Men," who at
tended on the occasion ; with a description of their Hissings and Hoot-
ings at the mention of a little wholesome Truth ; and also the most ex
traordinary conduct of William Dickinson and Sir Thomas Buckler
Lethbridge, the two Representatives of Somersetshire.

DEDICATED TO H. HUNT, ESQ.

•' Moreover the profit of the earth is for all; the King himself is saved by the field."
Ecclesiastes, Ch»p. y. Ver. »

HonUott :

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY T. DOLBY, AT THE BRITANNIA PRESS.
S99, STRAND; AND SOLD BY WHITE, ILCHESTER; WEBB, TAUNTON
COSSENS, BRISTOL; EVERTON, BATH; AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
-o8(g©c—
Ilchester Bastile, 19th day, 6th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacbe, without retribution or inquiry.
March 11, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Thanks to my g-allant friend, Sir Charles Wolseley,
who recommended the Reformers to remonstrate with the
House of Commons ag-ainst the treatment I was receiving-
in this Bastile; thanks to the gallant Reformers of Pres
ton, of Greenock, of Taunton, of Blackburn, of Bolton, of
Eccles, and of Ilchester, whose remonstrances were pre
sented to the Honourable House by Alderman Wood, Mr.
Hume, Sir Robert Wilson, Mr. Warre, and Dr. Lushing--
ton ; thanks to the g-allant Reformers of Manchester, of
Liverpool, of Leeds, of Stockport, of Lynn, of Bath, of
Bristol, of Exeter, of Salisbury, of Heytesbury, and other
places, who were signing1 Remonstrances; and, above all,
thanks to the 2370 Freeholders and Yeomen of the county
of Somerset, who sig-ned a requisition to the Sheriff, de
manding' a County Meeting to petition Parliament upon
that subject ; thanks to the thousands who signed a Cotinty:
Petition, as soon as the Sheriff refused to call a County
Meeting; thanks to Mr. Wooler, Mr. Saxton, Mr. An-
1 A

Printed by T. Dolby, Britannia Press, S90, Strand.

drews, Mr. Drakard, Mr. Egerton Smith, and other public
spirited Editors of the Public Press, who lent their able
aid ; and thanks to the gallant assistance of Messrs. Wood,
Burdett, Hume, Hobhouse, Grey Bennet, Wilson, Lock
hart, Lennard, Warre, and other Members of Parliament,
who presented and supported the above Petitions and
Remonstrances ; thanks to these, my enemies the Ma
gistrates of the County of Somerset have sustained an
other defeat, and have been compelled once more to
open the doors of my dungeon, and admit a free inter
course to my family and friends, between the hours of
nine o'clock in the morning and sun-set. A peremptory
order was dispatched from head-quarters on Saturday
night, the second of March, which arrived on Sunday
night, commanding the Keeper of his Majesty's Gaol of
Ilchester to admit the family and friends of Mr. Hunt to
visit him the same as they did immediately preceding the
rules signed by Judge Best being put in force. This
order was communicated to me on Monday, the fourth of
March, and my family and friends were once more ad
mitted to me, after I had been shut up, by the orders ofthe
said Magistrates, signed by the said very venerable Judge,
for forty days, in solitary confinement. Your victory,
my friends, is complete ; for it was accomplished against
the will of the Justasses, who held out, like stubborn ani
mals, to the very last hour ; and, what pleases me more
than all is, that they have received this severe rap upon
the knuckles without ever being consulted upon the sub
ject. The truly Christian Parson, the pious Dr. Colston,
was peeping and strutting about, and giving- his orders
for further curtailment, further annoyance, and further
vindictive restrictions, to the very.last. The little trap
door, six feet by two, which leads out of my small ward
into the Factory-yard, had been left open since the Report

of the Commissioners came down, condemning its close
ness, to admit a little fresh air. On Thursday, the 28th
of February, this pious Christian Parson Justice, with
his worthy colleague, arrived at the Gaol, and amongst
other things, they commanded this door to be kept fast
closed, which excluded every breath of fresh air ; kindr
tender-hearted lambs !
On Friday, the 1st of March, three surgeons assembled'
by appointment to perform a painful and delicate opera
tion — that of extracting a tumour from the interior part
of my right eye. I was anxious to have kept this a secret
from my family till the operation was performed, but one
of the Surgeons having inadvertently mentioned tbat
they were going to perform a very dangerous operation
upon one of my eyes, by cutting out a tumour, which he
expected would produce very considerable inflammation
of the parts, my son and my ward hastened to the Gaol
in a state bordering upon distraction, to implore that they
might be allowed to attend me, in company wilh the me
dical gentlemen, duringthe operation. Mr. Hardylamented
his inability to grant their request, adding to my son," My
orders are peremptory ; and if your father was dying I
dare not admit you." The operation was performed with
great address by three skilful surgeons, and it could not
have been accomplished with less : while one held the
eye-lids wide open, the second had to force the eye nearly
out of its socket, while the third seized the tumour with
a sharp crooked sort of needle, which he held in one
hand, while he cut it out with the other ; considerable
hemorrhage ensued ; and as a consequent inflammation
was anticipated, constant fomentation was directed to be
continued with cold water till night, and then repeated
fomentations of warm water was to be applied dur
ing the night. To enable this to be done, the Surgeons

certified that it was absolutely necessary that I should
have a nurse to attend me during the night. The Surgeon
having communicated this to my son and my ward, he ad-
Vised them to apply again, thinking it impossible they
should be refused under such circumstances. They applied,
requesting that they might be permitted to sit up with me
during the night. Mr. Hardy knew the implacable and
remorseless character of the Magistrates too well to have
any doubt about the course he. was to pursue. With ap
parent reluctance, he declared it was as much as his si
tuation was worth to comply, and they were refused all
admittance, even to see whether I was dead or alive.
Such was the terror inspired by the very Reverend Chris
tian and worthy Magistrates amongst the officers of the
Gaol, that not one of them, male or female, dare come
near me to offer me the slightest assistance. Pike, he who
was Bridle's chief agent to inflict torture upon the prison
ers — he who applied and repeated the blister to Gardiner's
head — -he who strapped on the straight waistcoat upon a
poor fellow night and day, to prevent him from all means
of easing the pain — lie who bound down the cap, with
the large tassel in the inside, pressing upon his raw scalp —
he who could jeer him, and laugh at his misery, and the
torture that he suffered — Pike, who manacled poor Hillyar
neck and heels together in such a horrible way for nine
days and nights together ; he who refused to procure him
large hand-bolts, to ease the torment he suffered from his
lacerated wrists — Pike, who bolted with iron hand-bolts
the hands of the poor boy, Wheeler, behind him, for 12
days and nights together — Pike, who is kept as the spy
upon the conduct of Mr. Hardy and the other officers of
the Gaol — Pike, forsooth, was sent to say that the Sur
geons had certified that it was necessary that I should
have a nurse to sit up with me, and if I pleased I might
have one of the Frome weavers, who had lately been com-

mitted for rioting ; one of these men might be locked into
my room with me all night, if I pleased. I indignantly
declined to accept the assistance of a perfect stranger that
I never saw, a greasy weaver, from being locked up all
night in the same room with me ; and I was, without fur
ther ceremony, locked up alone, and left to my fate, with
out the slightest offer from any one to do any thing, or to
procure any thing for me. This sort of premeditated tor
ture, I am quite sure, is foreign to the nature of Mr. Har
dy ; and he must have been well aware that any cruelty
and any torture that he might inflict upon me, would be
grateful to the Magistrates ; and that any accommodation
or any attention from him or any of the officers would en
danger their situations, before he would have suffered me
to have been treated in such an inhuman manner. For
the want of assistance I remained in great agony till near
ly four o'clock, when I rung for some one to get me a
little warm water, as I was nearly blind with the inflam
mation. After ringing for nearly half an hour, who should
make his appearance but Pike. You well recollect, my
friends, the removal of my bell from the Task-master's,
which is only a few yards from my room. This bell was
about to have been removed to the lodge of Pike the day
on which the fire took place at night ; but upon my re
monstrating, it was suffered to remain a short time. At
last it was explained to me the necessity of removing my
bell to Mr. Hardy's, as no one gave the Sheriff any secu
rity but him ; he was the only person who ought to have
access to me, particularly in the night. This bell now is
hung nearly 200 feet from my room, and the small wire
passes out of doors the whole distance by the windows of
the felons, &c. so that the wire may be cut off at any time.
Of course, when I heard Pike's voice, I kept my door fast
bolted till he had called up some one to get me some
warm Avater. If I had opened it at once, the next time I

fang possibly Bridle himself, and some of his old myrmi
dons, might appear. O, the removal of this bell has a
black look with it ! It is not the least security to me, and,
in fact, it was removed, I have no doubt, to take all con
venience and security away from me. I thank God my
eye is better, although the sight is considerably injured
of both eyes since I have been here. All the hot weather
in the summer I have to endure the reflection of the sun
upon a grey wall, close in the front of my window ; all
the winter I am locked up every night, and have to sit and
write and read six or seven hours by candle-light. Be
ing quite alone, it is impossible that I should sit with my
arms folded and do nothing ; I cannot avoid writing or
rending. If 1 had a friend or my family with me till ten
o'clock at night, as other prisoners for political offences
have had, I might pass the time in rational or cheerful con
versation, and save my eyes ; but as it is, they have suffer
ed greatly.
I must take leave here to offer my thanks to Mr. J. W.
Parry, silversmith, for two pair of beautiful silver specta
cles, and to acknowledge the receipt of the first five shil
lings subscription from him at the same time for poor old
Mr. Hill, which I will convey to him with great pleasure.
I would thank Mr. Parry by letter, but he has not sent me
his address. I shall feel much obliged to him if he will
send me a pair of green spectacles, proper to save the
eyes by candle-lig-ht. If he will leave them with Mr. Dol
by, he will pay him for them and forward them to me here.
The beautiful little pair shall be kept for the Radical
Museum. I know that, you, my worthy friends, will excuse me for
saying so much about myself; but after being locked up
in solitary confinement the same number of days that Jo
nah was said to have been confined in the whale's belly,
I think that I should not have been doing my duty to those

rriends who have come forward so bravely and so prompt
ly to my assistance, if I did not communicate to them free
ly and frankly what has taken place. But you will find,
that while I did every thing to expose and punish the au
thors of my solitary incarceration, that I have not been un
mindful of the sufferings of others.
In my last Number, I called upon you to rejoice with
me that poor old Mr. Hill, who had been illegally detain
ed here for the' last sixteen years, subject to every species
of torture and insult, was at last relieved by the Govern
ment. About three weeks since an order was sent down
from the Exchequer for Mr. Charles Hill's discharge. Our
humane Keeper lost not a moment to communicate the
joyful tidings to the venerable, much-injured inhabitant of
this hellish Bastile. It was found that there was also a
detainer against him for ten pounds, a friendly action com
menced against him by his sister, Mary Dunn, with the in
tention, if possible, to remove him from this " horrible
Bastile" (as Mr. Denman very properly called it in the
House of Commons) ; but as he was a Crown debtor, he
was not suffered to be removed from that, gloomy sepul
chre, where it was intended he should dwindle out a life
of wretchedness and woe, and breath his last. He there
fore paid his sister the debt and costs, and obtained from
her attorney the following discharge : —
" In the Exchequer, C Mary Dunn, Widow, Plaintiff,
Between < and
( Charles Hill, Defendant.
" Discharge out of your custody the body of the above-
named defendant, Charles Hill, as to this action, for which
this shall be your sufficient authority. — Dated this 28th
day of August, 1820, " Wm. Concanon, Plaintiffs Attorney.
" To the Sheriff of the county of Somerset, his Deputy,
or whom else it may concern. " Witness, John Hughes."

Mr. Hill immediately produced this discharge, and gava
it to Mr. Hardy, who was going to Wells the next day to
the Under-Sheriff upon business, and promised to take it
for him, as it would save him five shillings for a messen
ger. When Mr. Hardy returned, he informed Mr. HiU
that he must procure a fresh discharge from Mr. Conca-
non ; it being dated a year and a half back, the Sheriff did
not choose to liberate him upon it. Well, poor old Hill's
spirits now began to droop ; and he exclaimed with a
deep sigh, that he feared he should never see the outside
of the walls alive. However, a letter was dispatched to
London to procure another discharge. Mr. Concanon is
dead, but Mr. Hughes, the subscribing witness to the
former discharge, and brother-in-law to Mr. Concanon,
sent down another discharge, dated 28th February, 1822,
signed John Hughes, for Mr. Concanon, deceased, plain
tiffs attorney. Poor Hill, fearing another refusal from
Mr. Under-Sheriff to liberate him, sent to his sister to send
him a discharge under her own hand, which she immedi
ately complied with. Mr. Boucher, an attorney, drew up
the discharge, and Mary Dunn having signed it and di
rected it to the Sheriff, she sent her son with it to the
Sheriff, who also took the two discharges, one from Mr.
Concanon, and the other from Mr. Hughes. Thus armed
with three discharges, two from the plaintiff's attorneys
and the other from the plaintiff herself, he hired a horse,
and proceeded to the office of Mr. William Mellior, of
Wells, the Under-Sheriff, and requested his uncle's libera
tion, which the said Under-Sheriff peremptorily refused to
give him, making use of such language and assigning such
reasons as, the young man informed me upon his return,
it would be very imprudent for me to, attribute to Mr.
Mellior ; but which will form ample scope for comment
in the House of Commons, and to a jury upon an action
for false imprisonment. However, if what this young

man, the nephew of Hill, informs me is true, if Hill lives
he will recover most exemplary damages for false impri
sonment. But here is poor Hill still, detained for a debt
often pounds, although he has produced three discharges,
after having been incarcerated here nearly sixteen years ;
and by this cruel conduct of the Under-Sheriff, he is com
pelled to go to the expense and to wait for a supersedeas,
and if this does not speedily arrive, I very much fear that
it will come too late. What think you of this for Somer
setshire law, my friends ? God forbid I should leave Hill
behind me here, subject to the vengeance of those whose
villainy and cruelty he has mainly contributed to expose.
But " we shall see." This conduct of the Under-Sheriff,
I understand, was communicated to Mr„ Vincent Stuckey,
the High Sheriff, on Saturday last, when he was in the
Gaol. He did not do me the honour of a visit, or, I would
have tendered him the debt and costs, although it has been
paid before. It was thought very extraordinary that the
High Sheriff did not call upon me to receive the thanks
that were due to him for the orders that were sent through
him for my liberation from solitary confinement. But
Mr. Stuckey is a modest man, and knows that " praise un
merited is satire in disguise." " The new lights" did not
break in upon, him till he visited head-quarters. A few
days before he commanded his Under-Sheriff to write me
an answer to an application which I made to him by let
ter, on the 15th of February, the day after he came into
office, requesting that he would give orders for me to see
my friends as usual. In this formal reply, written by his-
formal deputy, you will see he has no power to grant my
request ; and it is very evident also at that time he had as
little inclination to do so as he professed to lack power. I
will treat you, my friends, with this correspondence at the
end of this address ; and as there is nothing like original
documents, I will insert Mr. Sergeant Lens's opinion.
1 B

10
You will see by this that these worthies, my persecutors ,
had, as they thought, got armed at all points before they
made this last attack upon me. They had well pored over
the Act of Parliament ; they had taken advantage of every
obnoxious and arbitrary power that they flattered them
selves the Act gave them. They then got the sanction of
the worthy lawyer, Mr. Sergeant Lens's opinion ; and, to
close the whole, they were backed up in their precious
scheme by Mr. Justice Best. Thus clothed with the au
thority ofthe Bar, the Bench, and the Act of Parliament,
I understand, they made the attack with great confidence,
in spite of the remonstrance of some of the more sagaci
ous and more honourable of their gang, who reminded
them of former defeats, and cautioned them (although in
vain) against the irretrievable disgrace of another defeat
from the same quarter. But the reasoning and conclusive
arguments of the more rational and more discreet part of
those assembled at the last Quarter Sessions, were over
powered by numbers, and they were out-voted by those
who have brought this foul disgrace upon the whole coun
ty. The names of the gentry who were assembled in
conclave, and a majority of whom voted that the famous,
or rather infamous rules, designed only for felons, should
be put in force against me, are as follow : —
" Somerset, ) At the General Quarter Session of the
lo wit. $ Peace of our Lord the King, held at the
city of Wells, in and for the county of Somerset, on Mon
day, the 14th day of January, in the second year of the
reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Fourth, by the
grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, and in the year of
our Lord 1822, before William Dickinson and John Phe-
lips, Esquires, Chairmen, the Right Honourable the Earl
of Cork and Orrery, the Honourable William Waldegrave,
Sir John Cox Hippisley, Sir Thomas Buckler Lethbridge,
Baronets, William Hungerford Colston, Doctor in Divi
nity, Malachi Blake, Doctor of Physic, James Bennett,
James Bathurst, John Barrow, Richard Thomas Combe,

11
Thomas Strangeways Horner, Francis Byrt Morgan, Aaron
Moody, John Newman, Charles Phillott, John Frederick
Pinney, Robert Phippen, Thomas Poole, Vincent Stuckey,
Esquires, Thomas Coney, John Frederick Doveton, Henry
Gould, Caleb Rockett, John Gale Dalton Thring, Elias
Taylor, George Henry Templer, Richard Thomas Whal-
ley, Thomas Williams, and John Heathcote Wyndham,
Clerks, Justices of our said Lord the King assigned to keep
the pe ace of our said Lord the King."
I know some who protested and voted against it ; but
let them declare themselves openly, or let them share the
disgrace. You will see, my friends in the North, while you were
active, my friends in the South were not inactive. The
Freeholders and Yeomen of this county, to the number of
2370, signed a Requisition to the Sheriff in a few days, and
it was delivered to him by a deputation of Freeholders the
day after he came into office. These Gentlemen, at the
head of whom was Mr. Cresswell, the Vicar of Creech,
delivered also at the same time the following spirited re
monstrance and request : —
TO VINCENT STUCKEY, ESQ. HIGH SHERIFF OF THE
COUNTY OF SOMERSET.
We, whose names are undersigned, and who now wait
on you for the purpose of convening the county of Somer
set, to take into consideration the injustice of the late re
strictions imposed on Mr. Hunt, do further pray you, as
High Sheriff of the county, and as such obliged to shew
protection to your prisoner, the aforesaid Mr. Hunt, that
you will be further pleased to give instructions that he
may be allowed to receive and communicate personally
with his friends, as he was wont to do when under the
care of Sir Charles Bampfylde and Mr. Hanning, until
such time as the justice or injustice ofthe present proceed
ings be determined on ; and we further give it as our full
and explicit opinion, that from no set of men does he, the
prisoner, require greater protection than from the Vi-

12
siting Magistrates, inasmuch as they are concerned, to
screen themselves, by throwing, if possible, unjust odium
on his, the prisoner's, character and actions. And we
moreover argue thus : — That if Mr. Hardy, the Gaoler,
has disclaimed the" restrictions ; if the late Sheriff, Mr.
Hanning, had nothing to do with them ; from whom could
they emanate but from the Visiting Magistrates ?
HENRY CRESSWELL,
OLIVER HAYWARD,
JOHN BAKER.
Langport, signed this \6th day of February, 1822.
In the mean time a petition was signed at Taunton by
1200 inhabitants of that town, and other petitions were
signing all over the country. On the 26th another remon
strance and demand was forwarded to the Sheriff, signed
by Mr. Jacobs, Mr. Cresswell, and Mr. Shillibeer, as fol
lows : —
TO VINCENT STUCKEY, ESQ. HIGH SHERIFF OF THE
COUNTY OF SOMERSET. Taunton, Feb. 26, 1822.
Sir — We beg leave jointly to address you on the sub
ject of the restrictions imposed on Mr. Hunt, now a State
Prisoner in your Gaol at Ilchester, to know whether, in
your capacity of High Sheriff of this county, you have yet
interfered to protect him from the cruel and unconstitu
tional persecutions of the Visiting Magistrates ; and we
likewise now request, or rather demand as our right, as
Englishmen, and consequently freemen, at your hands, an
order to be admitted to the presence of Mr. Hunt, having
communications to make of importance to him, which we
wish to deliver personally.
We are, Sir, your most obedient servants,
(Signed) THOMAS JACOBS,
HENRY CRESSWELL,
HENRY B. SHILLIBEER.

13
By these documents you may perceive, my friends, the
sort of feeling that was created in this part of the country ;
but my persecutors would have laughed at all this feeling
if it had not been for the feeling created thoughout the
whole kingdom by the Petitions presented to the House
of Commons, and the excellent debates which followed ;
it was these, and the impression created in the House, that
produced the desired effect ; it was these that caused Mr.
Sheriff Stuckey's masters at the Treasury to discover all
at once that he had the power to relieve me, although
he left me twenty-five days in solitary confinement after he
possessed that power, and instructed his amiable tender
hearted deputy at Wells to refer me to the rules and re
gulations. But I understand that some of these Christian
Magistrates have had a private hint from head quarters
to beware, that some of them are sneaking about ready to
die with fear, while others are gnashing their teeth, and
vowing- vengeance, and, ideots like, determined to keep
the public feeling alive till the time of my liberation,
some are for open law, others for private revenge ; how
ever, all are disposed to afford me ample opportunity for
exposing the tricks, the cabals, the injustice, and the
frauds that have been practised upon the people of Somer
setshire. But " we shall see ;" every day brings me fresh
proofs of the necessity of Reform in this county; and
I believe nine out of every ten persons in the county
are also convinced of it. At all events, there has been
already an enormous saving in the county-rates. There is
such a spirit alive in the county, that for the expense of
about one hundred pounds the freeholders elected their
own Coroner, in spite of all the Magistrates, and all the
Attorneys ; and let them rest perfectly satisfied that the
freeholders are determined to have two Representatives
in Parliament of their own choosing at the next election,
and then, and not till then, they may expect to have an

14
inquiry into the enormous waste ofthe public money for the
last ten years in this county. I, a prisoner, have already
brought to light how about from two to three thousand
pounds a-year was wasted, or at least how the county
was robbed of it in this Gaol. The moment you have, my
friends, elected two, or even one Representative for your
county, independent of, and unconnected with, ihe Magis
trates, then, and not till then, will you know what has be
come ofthe money collected in the county-rates.
I see by the Courier that Mr. Carlile has been attacking
me most violently, for which the Courier praises Mr.
Carlile. It is with him " Mr. Carlile and Hunt." I give
the Courier joy of his new ally, and I give Mr. Carlile joy
of his ally the Courier. This alliance, I should think, will
open the eyes of those, if there be any so blind as not to
understand the object of this attack. The Courier leagues
with Mr. Carlile and Atheism against Hunt ; and he would
league with the devil against Universal Suffrage and Vote
by Ballot. I have desired a friend to send me this notable
production of Mr. Carlile's, not with any intention of re
plying to it, which I shall certainly decline. If it had not
been for the Courier I should never have known that I
had been the subject of Mr. Carlile's rage. By a let
ter that I have this moment received from one of the
parties, who has, it appears, been also attacked in the
same paper, it is evident that Mr. Carlile has not been very
scrupulous about the means that he has used. The Gen
tleman begins his letter " Dear Sir, — I have this moment
read Carlile's statement respecting you ; if these facts are
as much misrepresented as those with which I am con
nected, it is indeed an atrocious string of falsehoods."
By another letter I find that Mrs. Fildes, of Manchester,
has come in for her share, and that she has written to Mr.
Carlile to contradict all that he has stated ; and another
says, all that he has insinuated against Mr. Harrison, of

15
Stockport, is an infamous falsehood, as Harrison is as good a
man as ever lived. However, it appears to be a sweeping
attack, and that Mr. Carlile concludes by declaring that
no Reform can be of any service till " all religion is de
stroyed." My friend observes, that Mr. Carlile makes
himself out to be a very brave man, quite a hero, and that
I am a coward. But, says he, a clergyman who was
placed so as to overlook the hustings, told me, that when
the yeomanry were cutting their way through the crowd,
he kept his eye Upon the atheist, and he was ready to
faint with fear. That  , and  ,
the two atheists, were the only persons upon the hustings
who discovered any fear. This may or may not be true,
but if it be true, it does not augur much in favour of the
scheme for destroying all religion. With regard to this
question of religion, I can most solemnly declare, that I
never entertained a wish to destroy it ; I never will be
concerned in any scheme ofthe sort ; but I will, as long as
I live, contend for the justice of placing all religions upon
the same footing, and to establish full political liberty.
I abhor priestcraft as much as the great Reformer, Christ,
did ; I abhor all intolerance ; I would have every one
worship his Maker in his own way, and I shall certainly
never trouble myself whether Mr. Carlile worships God
or mammon. But I protest in my own name, and in the
name of all the Reformers I ever knew, against the intole
rant and bigotted dictation of Mr. Carlile. I believe the
great mass ofthe Reformers are religious, but I hope they
are neither bigotted nor under the influence of priestcraft.
From all I have heard of this attack of Mr. Carlile upon
me, it is illiberal, unjust, and untrue. But I am glad he
has openly declared, at the same time he denounces me, his
determination to destroy all religion. I therefore promise
him not to retaliate, and he is at perfect liberty to abuse
and denounce me with impunity ; 1 shall take no notice of

16
it; I would only recommend him in future to keep a little
nearer the truth, if he ever expects to gain any credit
either for principle or honesty. 1 consider him a persecuted
man, a persecuted bookseller, but not a persecuted Re
former; for I understand that he denounces every Reformer
who does not adopt his notions upon religious subjects.
I abhor his persecutors, and if I had been placed with him
in Dorchester Gaol instead of Ilchester Gaol, 1 would
have brought his inhuman and dirty persecutors to justice,
and have exposed and punished them as I have exposed
and punished the dastardly wretches who persecuted and
tortured the poor prisoners confined within these walls.
I am, my friends,
Your sincere and faithful
H. HUNT.
P. S. I see in the Traveller newspaper of last night,
an account of the fatal action against Messrs. Birley and
the Manchester Yeomanry — Redford versus Birley and
others. I am still of opinion that this cannot be an honest
bond fide proceeding ; because I do not think there can
be any person or persons so idiotic, so muddle-headed, so
besotted, as to believe that any good can possibly be de
rived from it ; nor can any man be such a contemptible
ass as not to anticipate the very worst and most mis
chievous. Gracious Heaven ! I understand a Mr. Joshua
Evans is to be pitted against Mr. Scarlett ! ! ! Good Lord
deliver us ! ! ! I could weep tears of blood when I think
of it. So then at last what the Government have been so
long sighing for in vain; what Mr. Scarlett, the Solicitor
and Attorney-General $ what my Lords, the Judges/ my
Lord Castlereagh, and all the Ministers, have been begging
for in vain, is now to be conceded them. So then the
bloody massacre on the 16th of August at Manchester,
where sixteen persons were murdered, and six hundred

17
sabred and badly wounded, is at last to be settled by an ac
tion of damages by a base calculation of pounds, shillings,
and pence, instead of demanding blood for blood. If I was
Castlereagh, if I was one of the Ministers, I would have
given a million of money to have obtained such an action,.
if I could not have got it without. Why it is worth half this
sum to Birley and the authorities. Why, if I was Hulton
qf Hulton, I would have given half, nay all, that I was
worth in the world for such an action. Even Scarlett
would have given a year's income, penurious as he is.
We shall now see Nadin, Parson Hay, &c. and the
whole host of swearers come forward; that precious tribe,
that very set, who were ready primed and loaded
waiting at York with the intention of outswearing every
thing and every body, till they saw the example that I
made of Hulton of Hulton. We shall now see them all
come forward. Hunt is safe in a West Country Bastile, and
I should not be at all surprised, if, through the, instrumen
tality of the sagacious Mr. Joshua Evans and Co. they
were to prove the Riot Act being read — prove the attack
of the unarmed people upon the' military — prove the sticks,
stones, pikes, Sec. I should not be surprised at all if they
were not only to prove all that they attempted and failed
in doing at York, but if they should prove all that was
asserted in the House of Commons and House of Lords.
Gracious God! here will be a mess of it. Mr. Joshua
Evans pitted in the Court at Lancaster against Mr. Scar
lett — a frog against an elephant. Well, well ! ! we must
bear it all, but I never expected to see such a mess of it
as this. Why, I abandoned my action against a cowardly
ruffian who struck me with a bludgeon upon the head
while I was in custody and pinioned by the constables,
because I saw all the misery attendant upon a trial at
Lancaster, for an assault, after the Grand Jury threw out
the bills preferred for a capital felony. Well, I would rather
1 c

18
have suffered another sentence of two years and six months,
than have lived to see this trial.
I see also that Sir Francis Burdett has given notice that
he will move an Address to the Crown, praying for ad
mission of the remainder of my sentence. This will pro
duce a curious debate at any rate. I trust it will take
place before the infamous trial at Lancaster, or my friends
would have a further damper. I have made no application
to any one, either directly or indirectly, for any thing of
this sort ; it is done entirely without my knowledge or
concurrence. I shall write my determination, and send it
to Mr. Saxton, that it may be hereafter published. 1 see
that Bir. Hobhouse has also recommended that I should be
removed to some other gaol. I would consent to this
only upon one condition, which is, that I will submit to
be removed to any gaol in England, provided the King
will send down a Commission within one month after I
am there, and I'll warrant to establish similar charges
ag-ainst nine out of ten of the Gaolers and Visiting Magis
trates in the kingdom.
I have received letters from almost all the gaols, and if
I was of the nature of Sir Thomas Lethbridge, I should
say that the accounts from all quarters have made my hair
stand on end — at all events they have made my blood run
cold all over my body at times, and at other times it has
made it boil again. Adieu.
On the 30th of October, in spite ofthe Boroughmongers,
I shall leave this place. I ask not — I want no mercy. I
demand justice, and / do not wish one jot of my sentence
abated.

19

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE SHERIFF OF
SOMERSET AND MR. HUNT.
Ilchester Bastile, Feb. 15, 1822.
Twenty-fourth day of solitary Confinement.
Sir, — As I understood from Mr. Hanning that you were
to be sworn into the office of High Sheriff for this county
yesterday, I lose no time in applying to you (in whose
custody I now am) for that relief and protection" which
it is evident, by the letter which I have received from Mr.
Peel, the Secretary of State, and which my son will de
liver you with this, that you, as Sheriff, are the only per
son who possesses the power to make laws or regulations
for myself, and those confined in the County Gaol. You
will see that Mr. Hobhouse says for Mr. Secretary Peel,
" that you must be aware that the county gaols are under
the jurisdiction of the Sheriff." What I ask at your hands
is, that you will follow the example of the two last She
riffs, Sir Charles Bampfylde and Mr. Hanning, to make
an order that my friends shall have access to ire at rea
sonable times in the day-time. Mr. Hanning's order stands
from nine in the morning till dusk in the winter, and from
nine till seven in the summer. Having suffered illegally
for such a length of time the punishment of solitary con
finement, contrary to my sentence, I trust, Sir, that you
will lose no time in giving the necessary orders for my re
lief. You will please to return Mr. Peel's letter by my
son. I am, Sir,Your obedient servant,
H. HUNT.
Vincent Stuckey, Esq. High Sheriff, Langport.
Sir, — In reply to your letter of the I5th instant, to
Vincent Stuckey, Esq. High Sheriff of Somerset, I am di
rected by him to refer you to the Rules which have been
made, under the authority of an Act of Parliament, for
the regulation of Ilchester Gaol, and since reviewed and
signed by the Judges on the last circuit ; and which, ac
cording to the opinion of Mr. Sergeant Lens (a copy of
which I am directed to enclose), the Sheriff conceives he
has no power to alter ; nor does he see any thing in Mr.
Secretary Peel's letter to induce him to think Mr. Ser
geant Lens' opinion is not correct.
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
WM. MELLIOR, Under-Sheriff
Wells, Feb. 20, 1822.

20
MR. SERGEANT LENS' OPINION.
I am of opinion that where orders, rules, and regula
tions, have been made by County Justices in Quarter Ses
sions, for the Gaols within their respective jurisdictions,
and the same have been sanctioned by the Judges of As
size on their circuits, in the manner required by the
statutes here referred to, the Sheriff has no authority to
make any order inconsistent with such rules so approved,
as no such power or authority is committed to him by the
statutes ; and that the Keeper of the Gaol is bound to the
observance of them, notwithstanding any order from the
Sheriff to the contrary. No such order or alterations of
them, are effectual or operative till the order or alteration
intended to substituted has received the like approbation
of the Judges of Assize at the ensuing circuit.
JOHN LENS.
Serjeant's Inn, March 9, 1822.

PETITIONS RELATIVE TO THE TREATMENT OF
MR. HUNT.
The following Debate took place in the House of Com
mons, on the 27th ult. on presenting a Petition from Gree
nock :
SIR ROBERT WILSON said, he was requested by 1,500 inhabitants
ot Greenock, to present a petition on behalf of Mr. Hunt. The sentence
of that individual had been generally displeasing to the country, be
cause it was viewed as a sentence, not upon the offence, but upon the
man: and his imprisonment had been aggravated by certain arrange
ments — secret arrangements ns regarded the public — of the Somerset
shire Magistrates. It would be said, and it had been said already,
that the Magistrates of Somersetshire had no animosity against Mr.
Hunt, either personal or political; but the Sheriff of that county, Sir
Charles Bampfylde, had declared, that, on his accession to office, h«
found hard and obnoxious regulations against Mr. Hunt, which he took
off during his service, but which wereagain enforced after his seces
sion ; and from what possible motive, except that of hostility, could
those regulations have been devised or insisted on .' Sir Charles Bamp
fylde had kept his prisoner in safe custody; why was that prisoner to
suffer inconveniences which were not essential to his being so kept in
custody? Surely it was enough that Mr. Hunt was condemned to con
finement fortwo years and a half in a prison declared to be pestilential.
Surely it was punishment enough to drink water confessed to be filtered
from common sewers, (cries of "from privies"), and to live in a
chamber inaccessible to the free air, or to the light of the sun.
Surely it was enough to suffer these miseries, without having a sen
tence of ordinary imprisonment screwed up to one of solitary confine
ment. (Hear, hear). It was peculiarly unfortunate, too, for thte'
Magistrates of Somerset, that these additional severities had been
inflicted on Mr. Hunt after his exposure ofthe atrocities which had beeo
eommitted in Ilchester Gaol — after he had enabled Government to

21
correct lhus» abuses, which had violated the law and disgraced the
eouBtry. If Ministers possessed either justice or generosity, they
would cordially concur in the prayer of the present petition. Sir
Robert sat down by moving that the petition should be read.
Mr. WAHRE understood, that the regulations of Ilchester Gaol were
such as pressed hardly and unjustly on Mr. Hunt. It mattered not a
farthing about Mr. Hunt's politics or his character — (and the Hon.
Member neither approved the one nor defended the other) ; but it was
not fit that, as to the admission of his visitors, he should be placed
upon a level with the felons of the prison. By the existing regulation*
of Ilchester Gaol, no person was permitted to see his friends, excepting
in an apartment called the common day visiting-room. Into that room
Mr. Hunt had refused to go, and rightly refused, for he must have asso
ciated with felons ; and the only individuals who were permitted to havo
access to him were three— a surgeon, a physician, and an attorney ;
even these being admitted as matter of favour, and in mitigation of the
standing orders of the prison. Now he (Mr. Warre) did not mean to
deal in loose or general accusation ; he only wished to see such regula
tions established as should distinguish between criminal and political
offences. Mr. Hunt's own son had been refused permission to see him.
Ilchester Gaol (it might be known) stood upon the banks of a river.
Kroin the apartment in which Mr. Hunt was confined a small aperture
looked upon the stream, and it was only through that aperture, Mr.
Hunt, Jun., taking a boat and lying on his oars, that the father and son
had the means of communication.
Mr. DICKINSON defended the conduct of the Magistrates. The
rules of Ilchester Gaol, he said, could not be changed, unless by order
ofthe Judges of Assize. The Hon. Member spoke from immediately
under the gallery, and we did not get his words exactly ; but we under
stood him to complain that the Hon. Member for Aberdeen had taken
a course without his privity, to which he should have felt happy in
lending his assistance.
Mr. HUME said, that one of the Hon. Members for Somersetshire
had been in the House when he had presented his petition ; and that
seeing one Hon. Member in the discharge of his public duty, he had not
thought it necessary to wait for the attendance of the other. An Hon.
Gent, however, on a late evening, had denied that Mr. Hunt was in
solitary confinement—
A MEMBER (Sir Thomas Lethbridge, we believe) said— '-Ashe
understood." Mr. HUME had documents now in his hand which proved that Mr.
Hunt's son, and also his surgeon, had been refused admittance to him ;
and he had a letter in his possession from the Sherifl of Somersetshire
to Mr. Hunt, which put the nature of his imprisonment beyond dispute.
The letter ran in these terms : — " I lament that any one should be kept
in solitary confinement, unless suffering such punishment by the express
sentence of the law. I believe that it was not the intention of the
Judges of the Court of King's Bench to inflict such a description of
punishment upon you. I regret that, as Sheriff, I am prevented, by
existing regulations, from affording you the comfort of seeing your friends
in the same way as previous to this time I had the power of doing. I
granted that convenience to you as an act of justice, and because I knew
that it had been done in other gaols, for prisoners under circumstances
similar to yours." After this letter, little need be said as to the nature
of Mr. Hunt's confinement. But the Magistrates, some said, were not
to blame. Let the House read the Report of the Commissioners of
Ilchester Gaol. They would find it stated in that document, that Mr.

22
Hunt's room was dark, damp, ill ventilated, and unhealthy; those were
the very words of the report. Let the House go farther, and they would
find that the whole prison had been refused permission to obtain pure
water, when that which they were, from the denial of such permission,
compelled to drink, was actually the draining of privies and common
sewers. (Hear, hear.) Why every page throughout the Report proved
the grossest and most blameable negligence on the part of the Magis
trates. Let the House turn to page 21, and they would find that ten
pounds of iron' had been put on a man's wrists ; that he had been cramped
in such a way as barely to be able to stand upright : and that even that
fact had escaped the notice of the Visiting Magistrates. Taking the
whole of the circumstances into view, and notwithstanding all he had
heard, he was convinced that the Magistrates could not free themselves
from blame ; and looking- at the Report of the Commissioners, it was
impossible to think the matter could rest here. No man was more alive
to the great advantages which this country possessed over every other
nation in the services of an unpaid magistracy ; but surely it would not
be maintained, that because so much benefit was derived from their
exertions, we were to overlook any evil which might arise from their
negligence. He did not know whether any criminal proceedings were
io be instituted against any of the parties, but his own opinion was,
that strong grounds existed for such steps on the present occasion.
With respect to the charge of the Hon. Member (we believe Mr.
Dickinson) that he (Mr. Hume) had declined his assistance in this
affair, he could assure him, that he felt no disinclination to receive as
sistance or information connected with his duties in that House, from
him or any respectable quarter. The Hon. Member then mentioned
a case where he had had an offer of assistance on the subject of
Irish tithes, from an individual who, after having given him some docu
ments on the subject, made a charge of 251. for his trouble. This
he (Mr. Hume) had refused to pay, alleging that he had made no en
gagement of the kind ; and that he would give nothing, unless the
person demanding it could prove himself entitled to it — for it was a
rule with him not to receive information from any person who gave
that information for payment. (Hear, hear.) He would repeat it,
what, he would ask, would be his situation, if gentlemen on the other
side were to know that he paid for the information he received?
(Hear, hear.) But the person who had made this charge was in
possession of his (Mr. Hume's) letter, in which he stated that he
would not receive his assistance for payment. (We give this as well
as we could collect it, under the noise which at that time prevailed
in the gallery, and which entirely prevented us from hearing how
the Hon. Member connected it with the rest of his speech.)
SIR T. LETHBRIDGE said, that notwithstanding all that he. had
heard on this" subject, he did not believe that Mr. Hunt had been or
was at present in solitary confinement. He had always understood
solitary confinement to be the prohibition of all communication with
the person confined ; but if it was meant to be said that he was in
solitary confinement, because the rules of the gaol did not allow him
to receive the visits of all those he wished, then he (Sir T. Lethbridge)
would assert that that was not solitary confinement (hear, hear) ;
and he would say farther, that any person in or out of the House.
who asserted the contrary, was in error. The petition complained
that Mr. Hunt was ill treated ; if that were the case, the Magistrates
were not in fault. It was not their fault that he was confined in a
gaol which had bad regulations. If they were bad, he (Sir T. Le'h-
bridge) was sorry for it : he was sorry, that he had ever been sent

2.3
io that gaol (liear, hear) ; but as he was sentenced by a Court of
Law to undergo an imprisonment there, he could not see what right he
had to complain in being subjected to the same treatment as others.
He would be the last man to sanction any extension of his punishment,
but he could not admit that he had been treated with undue rigour.
He regretted some things which were stated in the Report. Some
circumstances were of a nature that must excite the indignation of
those who heard them. They were, he trusted, such as would never
occur again in this country. In bringing such transactions to light, no
doubt a great good would be accomplished ; he was satisfied to let the
blame rest where it ought; but he could not admit that it rested
with the Magistrates.
Mr. M. A. TAYLOR said, that from the view which he took of the
case, he did not think the Magistrates free from blame. He was
not acquainted with any of them except the members for the county ;
but he did think, that if they had done their duty as the Magistrates
of other counties with which he was connected had done theirs,
they would not have waited for any commission to detect and remedy
such abrfses. They should have attended, as was their duty, to the.
comforts and convenience of the prisoners — to see that they were
properly supplied with provisions — that they were not exposed to
injury from cold and damp air. He had visited several gaols, and
far from acquitting' the Visiting Magistrates of this gaol, he felt he
was bound in justice to concur in every Word that was said by the
Hon. Member (Mr. Hume) ; and seeing a Right Hon. Gent.
(Mr. Secretary Peel) in his place, he trusted that such steps would
be taken on this subject as would let the Magistrates know that the
eye of the Government — that the eye of the Secretary of Slate was
upon them ; and that they could not with impunity be guilty of such
negligence. He trusted that a full inquiry would be made into the
whole of these transactions.
The HON. H. G. BENNET said, he would have left the Hon.
Bart. (Sir T. Lethbridge) to the enjoyment , of his own ingenuity
were it not for the cheers which he had heard from the other side at
part of his statement. The Hon. Bart, had hit upon the words " soli
tary confinement ;" that that sort of confinement could not exist unless
a man was immured between four walls, debarred from all commu
nication with any person ; not seeing even the face of his gaoler, and
having his food thrust in through a hole in the wall .pf his cell.
That was solitary confinement, and of the worst kind ; but was there
no other description of solitary confinement ? What could that mode
of imprisonment be called which would subject a man to restraints,
which would force him to associate with such infamous characters,
that, to avoid them, he might prefer the tender mercy of the Hon.
Baronet in his explanation of solitary confinement ? This was the sort
of confinement to which Mr. Hunt was subjected, and he believed
that this gaol was the only one in the kingdom where persons confined
for political offences were obliged to associate with felons. This was
owing to the Magistrates of Somersetshire, who had drawn up the
regulations which were submitted to and sanctioned by Mr. Justice
Best. In a few days he would move for the rules of the gaol, and
it" would be seen that they were as severe as ever were instituted for
the government of any gaol, as ever were drawn up by the most
oppressive Magistrates, or sanctioned by the most arbitrary Judge.
Would the House believe it, that until lately there was no written rule
whatever for the regulation of this gaol? He thought that in the
Report there was fully sufficient grounds to warrant the House in
agreeing to an address to the Crown for a removal of those jrentlemen
from the eoniniission of the peace. The case to which he wished to

24
,»&U the attention of the House, was that of Mary Cuer, a prUoner
confined in the gaol. It was thus mentioned in the Report of tha
Commissioners :— '• The case of Mary Cuer appears to us to be ona
of extraordinary cruelty :, with a young infant at her breast she was,
during a period of severe frost and snow, locked up in a solitary
cell from Thursday till Sunday. She had had a quarrel with another
female prisoner, who, with "her infant, was also subjected to the
same punishment. It appears by the evidence of Mary Uuer, that
for the two first days there was no fire in her cell ; that the child suf
fered severely from cold, and that during the whole of her four days
confinement she was provided with bread and water, in a bucket,
without the use of any lesser vessel to drink out of (hear, hear) ;
and she was not allowed au opportunity of laying out, for the benefit
of her child, the money granted by the parish for its maintenance ; nor
even of warming a part of her own allowance of bread and water
for its support ; and her own milk having under those privations failed
entirely, no mitigation to the sufferings of the infant could be derived
from that source. (Hear, hear ) Such a case needed no comment.
Mr. ALDERMAN WOOD expressed his regret at what he had
heard from the Hon. Bart. (SirT. Lethbridge), asit would appear
from it that no relaxation was intended in the mode of Mr. Hunt's
confinement. It was said that nothing more than the rules of the
prison were exercised towards Mr. Hunt, but some of those rules
(the fourth and fifth) were the same in oth,er gaols. They were
the same in Newgate ; and the Magistrates in Somersetshire, as
well as other counties, had the power of mitigating their severity,
if they pleased. The fact was, they seemed to have no fixed prin
ciple with respect to the mode of treating Mr. Hunt. They assembled
in fives and nines, and revoked on one day what they enacted on a
former one. At one time they ordered that he should be allowed a
bottle of wine in two days — that he should be allowed to receive four
visitors, and at another time no visitors allowed ; and yet, during
all this time, there was no complaint or charge whatever against him
(Mr. Hunt) or against any person who visited him, and this was men
tioned in the Report. He trusted, therefore, that, under these cir
cumstances, the Magistrates would order the removal of some of the
restraints under which he was confined.
The petition was then brought up. On the question that it be read,
Mr. DICKINSON observed, that the Magistrates of Somerset
shire, without waiting for any inquiry by the commission, had dismissed
the gaoler and the surgeon, of whose conduct complaints had been
made ; and he was satisfied that, except the building of a new gaol,
they would attend to all the suggestions which they (the commis-;
sioners) had made.
Mr. LENNARD had not seen the minutes of evidence taken
before the commissioners, but from what he had (as we understood)
seen of the short-hand notes taken by Mr. Hunt's attorney, he thought
there was a case which it behoved the House to inquire into, and
from that inquiry he feared the Magistrates would not come quite
clear. It was stated, though he could not vouch for the fact, that
on the first inquiry one of the Magistrates said, " We must defend
our gaoler." But let the House recollect who this gaoler was — a
wretch taken from the hulks, a drunken brawler in the prison, a de-
spoiler of the unfortunate beings who were committed to his charge,
and a pander to the worst vices which disgraced human nature. As
the evidence was in the hands of Government, he trusted they would
allow it to be printed, and that a strict inquiry would be instituted
into the whole of the case.
The petition was then read and is as follows :—

25
The Petition of the inhabitants of Greenock and vicinity,
set forth, That Henry Hunt, Esq., a prisoner in the Gaol at
Ilchester, in the county of Somerset, having by his great
. exertions in the cause of humanity, succeeded in detect
ing and exposing a series of most wicked, cruel, and bar-
. barous acts, practised within the said Prison, acts such as
. the Petitioners could not have conceived to exist in a
country claiming to be the fitst for its high civilization, and
for the Christian purity and the liberality of its institu
tions ; and that the said Henry Hunt has thereby incurred
the deadly hatred and • revenge of certain Magistrates
and others in the aforesaid county, under whose super
intendance the affairs of the said Prison are conducted,
andwho have either winked at orprofited by these abuses;
and although the Learned Judge who presided at his trial
expressed no doubt that the persons to whose custody he
should be committed would show him every indulgence
consistent with his safety, and took it for granted that
every thing would be done to avoid aggravating the in
convenience of imprisonment, yet it is with extreme sur
prise, sorrow, and indignation, that the Petitioners have
learnt that his family, his friends, and also his physician,
have been prevented from approaching him ; and they
have every reason to think that the most base and cow
ardly attempts have even been made upon his life ; the
Petitioners do therefore humbly and earnestly entreat
that the House will immediately intercede with his Ma
jesty, that his Majesty may be graciously pleased to remit
the remaining part of the imprisonment of the said Henry
Hunt, and that the House will also cause such inquiry to
be made as may expose the malice of his enemies and
vindicate the hitherto unsullied justice of the country from
a possibility of being reproached with a dark, vindictive,
and flagitious policy.
The following Petitions, complaining of the treatment
pf Mr. Hunt, have been presented since the last number
was published :
From the inhabitants of the town of Taunton, and its
neighbourhood, setting forth, That the Petitioners respect
fully state to the House the deep concern which they expe
rience for what they cannot but regard as the unmerited
and unjust sufferings to which Mr. Henry Hunt, now a
prisoner in Ilchester Gaol, is subjected, in consequence of
new regulations which have been lately introduced into
1 E

*->6
the government of that Gaol ; the Petitioners have to
submit to the House their full persuasion that the solitary
confinement which may be deemed necessary for the safe
custody of felons cannot be reasonably supposed to be ei
ther requisite or appropriate for persons imprisoned for
the offence imputed to the said Henry Hunt ; the Petiti
oners further presume earnestly to press on the consider
ation of the House the important fact, that Mr. Justice
Bayley, who passed the sentence of imprisonment, on
being distinctly asked by the said Henry Hunt whether
solitary confinement was intended, expressly declared that
such an extent of punishment was neither contemplated
nor directed ; the Petitioners therefore confide in the jus
tice and humanity of the House to interpose their imme
diate authority, and to direct that the unsentenced and
unintended severity of confinement which the said Henry
Hunt has for several weeks undergone, should now cease,
and be no longer enforced.
From the inhabitants of Blackburn, and its vicinity, in
the county of Lancaster, setting forth, That the Petition
ers have heard, with extreme surprise and regret, that by
an order of the Quarter Sessions of the county of Somer
set, made in January last, and since confirmed by Mr.
Justice Best, the sentence of the Court of King's Bench
upon Henry Hunt, Esq. has been aggravated by the hor
rors of solitary confinement ; the Petitioners beg to re
present to the House, that such an incarceration is repug
nant to the sentence pronounced by Mr. Justice Bayley,
and is an outrage of the principles of justice and huma
nity, which never was contemplated at the time the sen
tence was passed ; that while the Petitioners can never
sufficiently express their abhorrence of such an atrocious
violation of the sentence of the law, they appeal to the
House to exert its all-powerful aid to shield from the iron
grasp of persecution a man whose humane endeavours in
behalf of his tortured countrymen in Ilchester Gaol, may
have rendered himself obnoxious to those at whose in
stance the order may have been obtained ; that while the
Petitioners presume not to express any opinion as to the
legality or illegality of the meeting held at Manchester
on the 16th of August, 1819, they are aware it has been
held by many eminent legal characters in both Houses of
Parliament, that by holding such meeting no existing law
of the land was broken ; the Petitioners therefore submit

57
to the House, that an imprisonment of two years and a
half, with as few privations as the due execution of the
law would allow, may surely atone for any presumed vio
lation, without having recourse to a mode of punishment
at which the hearts of Englishmen shudder ; the Peti
tioners appear before the House divested of all partyfeeling,
and guided solely by theimpulsesof humanity, sincerely sym
pathising with the magnanimous sufferer, and ih the firm
confidence that an appeal to the humanity of the House in
behalf of a man suffering a punishment at variance with the
terms of his sentence, will not be made in-vain ; the Pe
titioners humbly represent that the House did lately in its
wisdom recommend a remission of the sentence passed on
Sir Manasseh Lopes, Bart, for an offence of far greater
enormity than that of which Mr. Hunt was found guilty,
and do most earnestly implore the House to address his
Majesty on behalf of the injured sufferer, requesting that
he will be graciously pleased to commute tbe punishment
of Mr. Hunt, or otherwise rescind the order of Quarter
Sessions before alluded to, and command that his impri
sonment be in conformity with the sentence passed by the
Learned Judge.
From the Bailiff, Capital Burgesses, and Inhabitants of
the Borough of Ilchester, in the county of Somerset, set
ting forth, That the Petitioners, in common with a great
portion ofthe people ofthe county of Somerset, have wit
nessed with admiration the laudable and persevering ex
ertions of Mr. Hunt, a state prisoner, confined in the
county gaol, situated in the town of Ilchester, bringing to
light, and exposing the mal-practices, committed within
the walls of the said gaol, by William Bridle, the late
gaoler, and his abettors ; in consequence of the represen
tations of Mr. Hunt the House addressed the King, and a
Royal Commission was sent down to Ilchester, to inquire
into the conduct of the gaoler and the state of the gaol ;
during the investigation before the Honourable Commis
sioners, and previously before the Sheriff and Magistrates
ofthe county, it came out upon oath that great atrocities
had been perpetrated for a long period with impunity ;
that torture and the most cruel and wanton punishments
had been inflicted upon the prisoners ; that great frauds
and waste had been committed upon the property of the
county ; that the most immoral, profligate, and abandoned
debaucheries were carried on and connived at; and, in
fact, that such a horrid system was adopted and practised

'28
as would have disgraced the character of the most savage
and unenlightened period of our history ; the conse
quences have been, that the gaoler has been disgraced,
and discharged, a new gaoler has been appointed, great
amelioration has taken place as to the condition and treat
ment of the prisoners, torture has been abolished, great
savings have been made in the county expenditure,
amounting to one-half of the sum of the gaol expense, and
to two-thirds of the whole county-rates; and altogether the
character ofthe county has been rescued from the disgrace
of continuing to connive at and countenance practices
which were long known to exist, and had frequently been
complained of; but which no one had the courage or the
ability to grapple with and expose till Mr. Hunt devoted
his time, his talent, and his property, to the accomplish
ment of the Herculean task, which he did under such
disheartening and appalling circumstances as, the Pe
titioners firmly believe, would have deterred any other
man from making the attempt, particularly when it is
considered that Mr. Hunt was left in the "power, con
signed to the safe keeping, and placed under the lock and
key ofthe accused during- the whole time ofthe investiga
tion, and, what is still more extraordinary, he was left
in this precarious situation for several months after the
gaoler had received notice of his discharge ; the Petition
ers cannot avoid expressing their regret that at a time
when they thought Mr. Hunt entitled to the thanks and
the protection of the County of Somerset, and meriting
the gratitude of every friend of morality, humanity, and
justice, in the kingdom, tbat restrictions, of a nature be
fore unexampled, should have been imposed upon him by
those persons from whom (if they were not implicated iu
the charges preferred against the gaoler) he ought not
only to have received all necessary and rational accommo
dation, but he was deserving of their indulgence, and the
reward of the County at large ; the Petitioners would
wish to avoid giving any opinion as to the justice or in
justice of the sentence passed upon Mr. Hunt, although
the punishment of two years and six months imprison
ment in such a confined, inconvenient, damp, and un
wholesome gaol as that of Ilchester, appears to the Pe
titioners to be a more severe sentence than any that they
remember to have heard of for a political misdemeanor
since the present Royal Family came to the throne, even
if he had received that liberal treatment which was
granted to other prisoners sentenced from the Court of

29
King's Bench for misdemeanor, to wit, when Mr. John
Kinnear was sentenced for a conspiracy to that gaol, he
was, by the order of the Magistrates, accommodated with
the best apartments in the gaoler's house, where his family
and friends had free access to him at all hours, from the
opening of the doors of the gaol till ten, eleven, and
twelve o'clock at night ; the Petitioners therefore cannot
but feel indignant, in common with the whole country,
that the punishment of solitary confinement should be in
flicted upon Mr. Hunt, and that his family and friends
should be excluded from all intercourse with him, for his
having done nothing but that which the Petitioners esteem
most praiseworthy, that of bringing to light fraud, cruelty,
torture, and lust, perpetrated for a long time with im
punity within the walls of an English gaol ; and the Pe
titioners trust that the House will agree with them in this
opinion, when it is recollected that these important ser
vices were effected by Mr. Hunt legally, under the sanc
tion of a Royal Commission sent down to Ilchester at tbe
suggestion, and by a vote of the House ; the Petitioners
therefore humbly but earnestly pray, That the House will
lose no time, but exert their power to remove the illegal
and unmerited restrictions placed upon Mr. Hunt, a punish
ment which they consider a violation of all law, a viola
tion of the Constitution, and an arbitrary sentence passed
upon him out of Court, a hundred fold more vindictive
than the original sentence passed by the Court of King's
Bench. From the Inhabitants of Eceles and township of Barton-
upon-Irwell, in the parish of Eceles, in the County Pala
tine of Lancaster, setting forth, That the Petitioners can
not but view with alarm and anxiety the inroads which
have recently been made upon the constitutional liberties
of the people by the enactments of certain restrictive laws,
uncalled for by the actual situation of the country, and
equally subversive of sound policy ; the right of English
men, a right hitherto undisputed in the reign of our most
arbitrary Sovereigns, of assembling ina deliberative body
to petition either the august Throne or the House for a
redress of grievances that has been unrighteously trenched
upon without even the shadow of just cause, and the free
dom of the press has been shackled by a control which
has sought to destroy that open discussion that was once
the distinguished boast of our favoured nation ; some of
our bravest and most virtuous countrymen have been

30
brought to trial for imputed offences which in any wise
were dubious and equivocal, and one of these supposed
offenders is now suffering under what the Petitioners
humbly deem the vindictive sentence of a warped Court ;
the Petitioners, as dutiful and loyal subjects, would wish
to speak with tenderness of the legal administration of
the law, but when they hear of the multiplied and unde
served indignities which are deeply heaped upon Henry
Hunt, Esquire, now incarcerated in his Majesty's Gaol
of Ilchester, they can no longer refrain from beseeching
the House to forthwith exercise the wholesome privilege
with which it is invested, and to advise his Majesty to the
only measure that can relieve the Petitioners from the
fears which they feel compelled to entertain for Mr. Hunt's
life and safety ; by extending to this persecuted individual
an immediate remission from the remainder of his confine
ment, his Majesty will at once show his discernment in
wielding tbe sceptre of mercy, and merit the gratitude
of his faithful people ; whilst the Petitioners are thus
earnestly calling upon the House to plead the cause of an
innocent sufferer, they cannot but advert to a melancholy
transaction with which that cause must ever be intimately
connected; the unprovoked inroad of an armed force
among an assembly of unoffending people, peaceably met
together for what they conceived to be a legal and con
stitutional purpose, still continues without any efficient
investigation, and the authors and perpetrators of the
atrocities of the ever memorable 16th of August 1819,
have yet escaped the punishment due to their crimes ; the
Petitioners therefore humbly implore the House to take
such steps as to its wisdom may seem meet, for rendering
the real culprits amenable to the infringed laws of their
country. THE «' BIRMINGHAM UNION AND PATRIOTS' FRIEND
SOCIETY," TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Dear and Respected Sir, — Although the Bastile of
an enemy conceals you from our sight, we mark with in
creased satisfaction your energies, still exerted in a dun
geon, to diffuse that knowledge which is, indeed, power
with the people, a terror to despotism, and calculated to
restore the force and majesty of English law ; and we
embrace this opportunity to express our admiration at the
humanity, courage, and perseverance, (on your part) which
have effected the abolition of practices as cruel, unmanly,
and distressing, as history can parallel. And we desire

31
you to accept our thanks for tbe bettered condition of
those of our fellow-creatures, who will bless your efforts
to the latest period of their existence. We sincerely regret
tbat a gentleman, raised to an office of such high import
ance's that of Sheriff, should suffer his authority to ba
superceded by the slavish tools of despotism ; thereby
demonstrating his insufficiency for the office, or his indif
ference to the lives and comforts of those who are com,'
mitted to his keeping. A Sheriff, while such practices as
these exist, is, in our opinion, a mockery of the intentions
of our ancestors, in their institution of the office. After
the exposition made -by you of the cruelties practised on
those around you, and after the manly example of the
late Sheriff, Sir Charles Bampfylde, that you should be in
your present situation, reflects darkly on the want of firm
ness or integrity on the part of Mr. Hanning.
We learn with Indignation, the despicable abettors of
injustice are permitted to inflict on you all the ill-treat
ment which personal hatred can suggest ; and while we
read with inexpressible abhorrence your unexampled per
secutions, we admire the noble scorn with which you bear
these inhumanities, beneath which many would have sunk
in lassitude and despair. Words are incapable of express
ing our feelings, and the detestation we bear toward your
torturers, even if we could speak it, in the present state
of things, without prejudice to the liberty of those who
desire, in spirit, to enter your prison-house, as the friends
of justice and humanity. We know why these injuries
are allotted to you: reason and experience convince us.
The cruelty of despotism will ever be commensurate with
its fears : and we acknowledge with gratitude the brave
efforts you have made, to snatch the expiring liberties of
our country from the grasp of those who would extinguish
them for ever ; and we hope, by our conduct, to convince
you, we will never forsake you, or the cause you have so
ably served. Our brother Reformers in the North have
adopted petitioning, as a means to rouse those who should
be the guardians of the life and liberty ofthe subject, to the
performance of their duty. We hail with satisfaction this
show of indignation (on their part) at the gross violation
of the laws of their country, and of their feelings as men :
but we cannot again, with the slightest degree of hope,
approach that body which has, more than once, twice, or
thrice, convinced us our petitions are of no effect. We
will not crouch before them in language such as they pre
tend is necessary, if we would be heard — nor humbly pray,
on the part of a man yyho has so justly exposed the cor
ruptions of the representation. You have proclaimed your
wrongs to the world. Does he who bears the parternal
name of King, or they who should be his agents to instantly

32
remove the causes of complaints, know this ? If they
do, why not redress them? — if they know them not, why
remain they in ignorance? We know them: and trust
every friend to humanity, every Englishman, deserving to
be free, will express, in some way or other, publicly, a
manly detestation of the vindictive sentence and cruel treat
ment you endure. While we desire to express our attach
ment to your principles, andto sympathise with you whilst
struggling in the toils of your enemies, we cannot, with
out the most serious alarm, reflect on their increasing ma
lignity. Ih youf ease, we see the insecurity of every
Englishman: and, by your treatment, we judge how our
enemies would dispose of mer'it, when in their power.
Where the slaves of power will stay their career, whilst
backed by a dangerous and usurped authority over the
laws, which promises them indemnity, we cannot deter
mine ; but this we know— -they have slaughtered the
Reformers openly and at noon-day, and have exulted to
see their remaining national liberties suffer a dreadful
diminution. As brothers in the Great Northern Union, we congra
tulate you upon the wise and important plan delivered to
hs from your prison-house ; and, while we see it adopted
with alacrity around us, we are convinced, if persevered
in by the members of each association, after the example
of its founder, they will effect the salvation of our country.
The sun of Liberty seems to gleam in the perspective, while
we anticipate the consummation of this Union ; and, may
you, uninjured in body, and superior to the malice of your
mightiest foe, come from your dungeon, to stand among
the ranks of the United Reformers : — who, with justice for
their aim, shall demand retribution for the injuries sus
tained by their leaders, from those who, after subjecting a
man to loss of property, and depriving him of liberty, ex
erted themselves by barbarous means to torture him in
prison ; who denied even his son the consolation, of solacing
for a moment the pains of unmerited imprisonment; and
aggravated the agony of feeling, which every member of
his family must have suffered, by insult and calumny.
Then may we, with effect, call for justice against the
abettors and perpetrators of the Manchester massacre ; —
then may we expect that they, beneath whose merciless
and persecuting vengeance our late beloved Queen became .
a sacrifice, will be arraigned before a just tribunal of their
country, and that justice, so long estranged to us, will
resume her empire in our land, and bear her sword in equal
love for all. Signed on behalf of the Meeting,
JAMES TREV1TT,
Chairman.

T. Doi.by, Printer, 299, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
v OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. \
Ilchester Bastile, 9th day, 7th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacke, without retribution or inquiry.
March 25, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Once more rejoice with me, my friends; the venerable
Captive, who has been incarcerated in this horrible Bas
tile for sixteen years, poor old Mr. Hill, is at liberty ;
the worthy perpetual Under-Sheriffs could keep him no
longer; his supersedeas was obtained from the Court,
and he was discharged out of their custody on Monday,
the 18th of March, 1822. I own I felt more pleasure at
being instrumental to the release of this venerable old
man, at the age of 76, than I have at any one thing that
has happened to me since I came to this Gaol. Before I
had been in this Bastile a week, I formed the resolution of
effecting the liberation of this venerable inmate of this
wretched abode ; an imprisonment of fourteen years
for debt was quite enough for me to resolve upon gaining
him his liberty. I made my inquiry of the Gaoler, Bridle,
as to his case ; and received for answer, " that he was a
damned troublesome old rogue, and it was not worth my
while to trouble myself about him; that he had been

Printed by T. Dolby, Britannia Press, 299, Strand.
1 A

here fourteen years ; that he would certainly die in the
Gaol ; and that, if he had hopped the twig yekrs back, it
would have been a good thing for the county: a sad
fellow, a sad fellow ! have nothing to ' do with him, Mr.
Hunt,~he is a damned -troublesome old jockey," &c. I
pressed to know what crime he had committed/that fourteen
years' imprisonment had not expiated ; but.all I could get
out of Bridle was, " that he was a damned qbstinate,
troublesome, old rascal." " It that is the case," said I,
"have you never taken any pains to get rid of' him out
of the Gaol V ", Oh, no," said Mr. . Gaoler, " that is the
very reason that we keep him here. Do you know the
oM dog has had the impudence to petition the Judges se
veral times ;. and once or twice he has petitioned the Par
liament ; but he is got sick of that, we have taught him a.
trick worth two of that, and I'll warrant you he never pe
titions Parliament again. Our Member, Mr. Dickenson,
soon settled his damned complaints there ; and now, nei
ther the Magistrates nor any one else will take any pains
to get him out ; and although he has been a very trouble
some guest heretofore, yet he is a tenant for life at our
shop, you may rely upon it. He has tried every manceuvre
to get out, and at last he has given it up for a bad job,
and appears determined to make the best of a bad bargain :
he is a tough" old dog, or he would have died long ago,,
but he cannot last it much longer, as he gets quite feeble."
The amiable Bridle ran on with a great deal more of this
sort of lingo, and I believe he would have continued if
he had not discovered that I was absorbed in thought, and
was not listening to him. He left me with expressing an
earnest wish that I would not trouble myself to make any
inquiries about the old rogue. But, somehow or other^
the more earnest he was to prejudice me against the' old
man, the more interest-! felt in his fate. After he left me
I ejaculated to myself, " Troublesome old dog \" " Peti-

tion the Judges and th& Parhrment!" "Fourteen years;
in Gaol'lY -'Tenant Ubr life !" "Die in the Gaol !" -I
jumped up-put of mychairj and exclaimed,!' By heavens,
he shall not, if 1 canprevent it!" From that moment I
never lost sight of this poor*oldr man : in my imagination..
I had never seen him, and I found by Bridle that he would ;
take, care that I should, hbtcsee him, \£he co'uld<helpit.; I
made -inquiries of Mr.. Kinnear, who appeared to commis-
seratethe poor old man'sl>fate. Althoughl found that
Bridle, had prejudiced him sagainst ¦ the old gentleman ^ -yet 5
Mr.Kinnear. perfectly agreed with me, ihat>suoh<a length
of imprisonment was most . horrible, but, as he ¦ was : a .
Crown debtor/ he saw no immediate means ofihis release;
and I saw that he.had imbibed the idea that he was des
tined toabreathe his last with'n these walls. If immediately!
said it was worth an efort, at any vate ; and he most rea
dily concurred in the- propriety of the attempt, adding,:
"Poor Hill could unfold a melancholy tale, if he chose ; he
must have witnessed som© horrible scenes here during his
imprisonment." i All communication was cut off ; the most
vigilant watch, was kept to see that t had no intercourse
with any of the other prisoners, particularly with the
debtors. However, when tke 20th of- August arrived,
and the famous orders came from the Wells Sessidns to
exclude all females from visiting me, -unless' it was- at the
felons'- cage, or double -grating, then it was that I made
up-my-mirid'at all hazards to make myself master of the
secrets of.this Prison house, and if they turned out to be
such as they Were represented, why, at all hazards to
bring them before the public. &nd expose the atrocities'to>
the world." I was ably and zealously assisted although in
confidence, by Mr. Kinnear. - I undertook to stand the
whole brunt, of the battle, and by means of a third person
I opened a communication with Mr. Hill, and I soon'
found that he was in possession: ofthe most important

matters, and he developed such scenes of atrocity, cruelty,
persecution, and torture; as at first I could scarcely give
credit to, but I was very soon made acquainted with such
facts as left me no reasoned doubt the statements of.Mr.
Hill ; and his Petition, under my direction, was drawn np,
taking care not to state any allegations but what we were
prepared to substantiate upon oath,: if it were necessary.
Having done this, I placed his Petition in the hands of my
worthy friend, Alderman Wood, with the assurance that
the statements were all true, and that I was prepared
with proof of the facts, if it were found necessary. The
Alderman knew that he could rely upon me, and the Pe
tition was presented on Friday, March 9, 1821, on which
day the campaign against the atrocities committed in
Ilchester Gaol began. The gallant Alderman, took the
field in grand §tile, but like a prudent as well as a
skilful general, he kept the Petition back till he had
reconnoitred the enemy's forces. By. a correspondence
with me, he made himself master of the case before he
ventured to present it,, and then he did it'with the very
best effect. He was attacked and assailed by the bull-dogs
of Corruption from all quarters, but principally from the
Opposition Benches. Mr. Dickenson, Sir Thomas Leth
bridge, Dr. Lushington, Sir Isaac Coffift, Mr. Baring," and
Mr. Fowell Buxton, all flew at the worthy Alderman open
mouthed, like so many tigers. They all answered for the
humanity of the Gaoler, and the excellent discipline and
superior management of the Gaol ; Mr. Creevey and Mr.
Christopher Hutchinson being the only two Members who
gave the worthy Alderman any support at all. However,
;the Alderman knew his man, he knew that I would not
mislead him, and he met all their jeers and sneers by offer
ing to prove the facts contained, in the Petition ; and, mor^
over, gave notice that he would at some future day^move
fm a Committee to; inquire into the transactions of vfrhich

5 >
he complained. The Alderman was put upon his mettle,
and to him is the public indebted for the Commission that
was ultimately sent down to inquire into the state of this
Gaol; and for the famous Report of the said Commission
ers, which, has created such a sensation throughout the
whole country.
To Alderman Wood are we indebted for the liberation
of the venerable and much-injured, grossly calumniated,
Mr. Charles HiU, than whom a more worthy man does not
live. *I believe him to be as honest and as honourable a
man as any Magistrate in the county ; and perhaps you
will exclaim, after what you have heard,' that is not saying
much for him neither. Well, then, I believe him to be a
truly pious Christian and a good man, ahd that, his only ,
crime has been, that very soon after his incarceration in
this Bastile, he had the penetration to discover the vil
lainy and injustice Of those who were connected with this
Gaol, and he had the courage and honesty to endeavour
to expose and to check them. For this haslie been falsely
imprisoned, I verily believe, for the last ten years. I under
stand that the same gang that have all along persecuted'
him, vow vengeance against me now ; they threaten
actions, and prosecutions, and the devil knows what:
HoweTer, Mr. Hill was liberated on Monday, and my son
ha<J the pleasure to drive him home in a gig on Thursday
last, and restore him to the arms of his wife and family.
The worthy Vicar of Creech, the Reverend Henry Cress
well, Mr. Jacobs, and Mr. Shillibeer, of Taunton, came to
Ilchester on purpose to accompany him home to tbe place
of his nativity, frtjm which he had been an alien for the last
sixteen years. This was an occupation worthy a, Mi
nister of the Gospel ; he could take a journey of forty
miles to restore one of his flock to his home; his family,
and his friends, after an absence of sixteen years. • The old
gentleman shook me by the hand at parting, and shed a

tear of delight while he poured out his grateful thanks,
and-blessed:me as his benefactor and deliverer. ^Gracious
heaven ! what would, my persecutors give to taste such
perfect bliss ? what would old hobbling Best give, if he
could once in his life feel- the sort of pleasure that I
then felt ? I was left quite alone for the remainder of the
afternoon, and I believed I enjoyed as much happiness, . as
1 perfect bliss as, it. is permitted for,mortal.to.enjoy on earth.
The delightful reflection of having been instrumental in
rescuing the venerable victim,,. from. the remorseless fangs
of .his inhuman, cold-blooded persecutors, elevated my soul.
almost above human feelings.. They started from Ilches
ter. about four o'clock, my son driving the venerable re
leased captive in a gig, followed by Mr. Jacobs, Mr. Sh^-
libeer, and^Mr. Cresswell, in the carriage of the latter;
they arrived at {Creech St. Michael a little before seven,
amidst the ringing of the ChUreh bells, which welcomed
their approach ; the whole population of that and the
neighbouring villages had assembled to the amount of
three or four hundred persons, attended by an excellent
band of music ; they hailed the return of this worthy man
with the loudest demonstrations -of joy, and in thjs way
they entered the village and alighted at the. door of the
worthy JVicar, who rolled out a hogshead of cyder, that the
whole populace, the old and the yonng-, might drink the
healthand happiness of Mr. Hill. After doing this, with
nine cheers, the whole cavalcade moved on, preceded by
the band playing an affecting air and colours flying, till
they arrived at the door of the worthy man's honse, the
threshold of which he had not passe'd fora long, long, six
teen years, where his wi/e and four daughters were
anxiously waiting to, receive him to-'their. bospms ; but
here, O God ! a scene ensued that requires a much abler
pen than mine to attempt to. give it even a faint de*
scriptiorir

When he was dragged from his family and his home,
his infant daughter was. clinging to the breast of; its
mother, while the other three daughters, the' eldest only
six years old, were screaming: at being thus robbed of their
father, around whose kh'ees they clung till, they were re
moved by the rude hand of the ruthless Sheriff's officer.
His wife was in the prime of life, as -I have observed, with
an infant at the breast. But sixteen lbng years hadi made
a wonderful alteration^— his wife, alas ! With sickness and
affliction, was fast sinking into the grave ; she had been
unable to visit him in his wretched abode for manyyears ;
he had not beheld her once for the last eight years, and
they had long given Up the' hope of ever meeting again
iri this world. Let the readers who- possess a heart that
can feel for the sorrows of their fellow-creatures, and who
can participate in the blessings enjoyed by others,/ pic
ture to themselves what must have been the joy expe
rienced, by this worthy old man,-- when, his Wife, ani- ,
mated with new -life, and four blooming daughters, now
' grown up women, fleW out of their neat farm-house to
assist him from the carriage, and to welcome him once
more, after such a cruel absence, to" his home and their
longing, arms. What miist have been his . feelings ? what
must have been their feelings ? what must have been the
sensations of the worthy Vicar of Creech to have wit
nessed such a scenej while they overwhelmed the vene
rable victim with their tears and their caresses? The
music involuntarily ceased, as if fearful of disturbing
the extatic silent bliss. ' The whole multitude, men,
women, and children, wept with joy ; my. son describes
it as the most affecting;' spectacle. he -ever. beheld. Well
might the worthy, generous, noble-hearted Christian
Divine, pathetically exclaim, in the hearing of the whole
flock, "this is the proudest moment of * my life J" This
gentleman is really deserving, the character of the-father,

.thep'astor, thcguafdian, the protector', and the instructor
of his flock. Here ds a living example of what a clergy.
tten,* a preacher ofthe" Gospel, oUght to be. Gh! ye
Colstons, ye Thrings, ye Eltoris, ye Whalleys, and ye,
the whole host of Parson Justices, Why willye not obey
the instructions of your Great Master, and go' and, do like-
iWise ? When ye think of the happiness' that sueh conduct
dispenses around; anfl^the consolation that it must afford to
Mm who pursues it, how ye must envy him, whomye dare
aot imitate. But Mr. Charles Hill is out of your power
once more, arid; thank God, he is restored to his family
and his home. As he entered the door Of his farm-house,
the band struck up again, the Colours waved, and the air
resounded with acclamations, and the happy villagers re
tired delighted and gratified to reflect with solid pleasure
upon the scene in which they had been enabled to partici
pate, through,* the kindness1 and li-b'eraiity of their worthy -
Vicar. . The church bells reiterated the 'merry peal till
day-light the next morning, and the' population of the
Whole .surrounding country, with one or two solitary ex-
ceptioass,, rejoiced at4he liberation of Mr. Hill. ' ;
• Actively engaged in such occupations as this, my friends,
my. eriemies, and the enemies of the human race; may lock
me up in solitary confinement again, if they please ; but ia
spite of all their- petty impotent malice) (-shall enjoy more
real pleasure in one' such a day, than they ever experienced
in their business of persecution during' their whole lives.
It is indeed most cheering t6 the " captive" to expe
rience such repeated proofs that his exertions in the
cause of Liberty are so flatteringly estimated by his few
countrymen'who are at liberty. What consummate asseS
my impotent persecutors must think themselves, thanks to
their malignant Unfeeling folly for creating the extraordi
nary expression of public feeling in my favour,- Which' has
,heeri so peculiarly exemplified by the petitions' and reriiori-

•trances which have beeo sent to the House of Common*
from all parts of the kingdom. Thousands and tens of
thousands have signed and aeat ap their remonstrance*
to the House against the injustice of my sentence, and the
still greater injustice and cowardly manner of carrying it
into execution ; many have kindly been induced to de
mand my liberation, but, thank God, few, very few, hawe
asked for mercy of those who applauded the slaughter
of the unoffending men, women, and children of Man
chester. I would rather rot in gaol — I would rather, suf
fer the worst torture that was aver invented by the greatest
enemies of the human race, than sue for mercy ; not I, in
deed ; I demand justice— justice upon the heads of the
guilty murderers and their abettors ; and I will call aloud
for justice till it be obtained, or at least till I sink into
futurity ; and after what I have accomplished in this Gaol,
I do net despair of living to see justice, ample justice, yet
done. I know of no better way of testifying my gratitude
to those brave and generous persons who have stood foe-
ward to protect me from the: vengeance of a Best and a
Colston,, than hy assuring, them that I will never cease
my endeavours to obtain for the people of England a full,.
fair, and equal representation in the Commons', or People's
House of Parliament, upon tlie constitutional basis of An
nual Parliaments, Universal Suffrage, and Vote
vt Ballot ; and thus, in the language ef the good men
and true of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, use my best endeavours,
through gpod report and through evil report, " to make
the Honourable House still more Honourable." I am
grateftd! to all.my friends, but I am particularly grateful to
the brave men of Newcastle, and I hope to live to shake
that hand which drew up the exceUent Petition from
Newcastle. Yon,, my friends, hit the right nail upon the
head — you have most justly, honestly, although sarcasti
cally, pointed out tbe ONLY CRIME of which! havo been

•OfiVitftec? f'ycOi-biW 'attributed; my prosecutibnsis tonth*
' jfastPea^^nd'^ofcihavAe placed the saddleof infarfiy upon
fftfiMlgt^i^eij'tlta M
fl^«^;flW*y, 4beth'$ttdlMrv Lambton; ^sss;overitthfefe^Slinl
ehf§aW#HO>fi$th'e~rblame upon the -contempiiblepexgdfa-*
bfi> thing' of a 'Gaoler, thelmere tool, the mere rftaclrinepby
which the torture has feeeri' inflicted. 1 hope {thatffSiT
FrMeiS Burdett will do; his duty; to his country^nflithe
oflen^ed laws j whicli have been violated in: my preVs<a# I
hl4pe: he' Will riot, from any 'vaaYliope; of heads^tS^.
jhae*!"a;personal service ; — Is sincerely hopeivtiia$J he'
wSill hot bp^duped intcwfo'rjbea»ari6e'> and^ spareathe
most!GoiLvr^, asiMJF^Lamtotomidid hi ;Bu,t; alas^hbwtfesfc
merit are "there'thata^e' independent bf the. Judgesic; Sifcd^
Bffidett, Mr.',' Grey Bentie*? arid Mr.i Hume, have -spoikeri
etolrke Englishmen, andmanfully denounced the sentence
asvindietivie "and arbitrary, calculated : to. bring thd Courts'
OipJustice into contempt.1 But the* cond«tct^)f a Judge, wfeo
cOuid ^sanction the MagistratesioC this; County initheiE-arbi-
tra¥y-' and 'vindictive proceeding,' -to place me1 in solitary
'^flflnemeritjSuYpasSes'all that we have ever; read: of sinc§
the'aays^bf Jefferiesj E mpsom, and Dudley -mrmor, -j - <
s I have desired-Mr. Dolby, my Publisher, to . record all
the "PfetitiorisJ that are presented .to" the House] ia-imy
MSmoirs;!as we'll as allthe debates; -and as Pe*pect thathe
fHJFiriSfert.the whole of the debate, if any take place/upori
the* motion of Sir F. Burdett, on Wednesday next, Iisliall
lfeMire room for. its insertion; arid bidtyou adiea for the
jjl^seht. I am your sincerely obliged Friend, ---i
ui ml '"v_ '¦;.- ; : ,. j.,, ,, ,, . h. HUNTvo.-;
«i • . A>i,o, TO. CORESPONDENTS.
To the numerpuSj^rresrioridents' whose Letters I have
not answered' for'-1 the'lasl VbrtriigM, I am sure2 1' shall
obtaki th&r indulgence. When; -I. informo AhemU -that I
a^B.-compi|inde,d . by onejS of tlie^ most \emjnent,OsuIjf$s
inthe .kingdom;, who" has* ypli^^&fd^his'sfervices/toTor-
JMt- wHthig' 'So;' m

hmg^so;- mU^by/dafadl'TiigTrt, ot T shall' lose ttie
sight of one of my eyes.a

11
PETITIONS RELATIVE TO THE TREATMENT OF
, .; MR. HUNT.
To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament as
sembled. The undersigned Inhabitants of the town and neigh
bourhood' of Liverpool, conceiving, in the spirit of the
British Constitution, that the political grievances of an
individual are matter Of public concernment, humbly beg
leave to direct the attention of your Honourable House to
the case of Mr. Henry Hunt.
It will be in the recollection of the Members of your
Honourable House, that the above-mentioned gentleman
was';tried at York, -in the Lent Assizes ofthe year 1820,
on an indictment which comprehended a multiplicity of
heavy charges ; on all, save one, of which the Learned
Judge who presided at his trial directed the Jury to ac
quit him ; and that the Jury, in finding him guilty on one
count, seemed rather to settle a point of law than to fix
upori him the imputation of any moral offence.
Your Petitioners, therefore, could not but be surprised
at the severity ofthe sentence to which Mr. Hunt was ad
judged, namely, an imprisonment of two years and a half.
The motives which impelled the Judges to inflict this sen
tence are known only to themselves, and that God, at
whose tribunal your Petitioners hope the said Judges will
find more mercy than they shewed to Mr. Hunt. Without
canvassing those motives, then, your Petitioners may be
permitted to observe, that, judging by their own feelings:
and observation, they are persuaded that the sentence in
question has operated rather to excite in the breasts of
the public at large sympathy and compassion for the pri
soner, than indignation against his offence..
But the main object of your Petitioners is, earnestly to
entreat the Members of- your Honourable House to ex
amine into', and reflect upon, the circumstances of Mr.
Hunt's imprisonment in Ilchester Gaol. And, irithe first
place, as to the scite of the ward in which Mr. Hunt is_
confined, they have the authority of the Commissioners1,
who lately inquired into the state of. the Gaol, for assert-.
ing, that " with high walls, a northern aspect, and no
good admission of air, all tbe worst effects of damp pre
vail in it to an aggravated degree, and that the cold eva
poration of wet seasons, and the heat of summer, each
generate a species of atmosphere, distressing and insalu-'

14
brious." Your Petitioners trust that your Honourable
House will concur with them in opinion, that when the
Judges committed Mr. Hunt to such a a pest-house, they
must have been ignorant of its unheal thiness, and that the
continuing to detain him there will be an act of deliberate
cruelty. In the conduct ofthe Visiting MagistratesofllehesterGaol
towards Mr. Hunt, on the subject of his intercourse with his
family and friends, your Petitioners can discern little be
sides a system of extreme, and, as the Commissioners of In
quiry justly style it, " irritating" harshness. When the
Sheriff has granted him indulgences in this particular,
those ind-ulgences have been withdrawn by the Visiting
Magistrates, in consequence, as they alleged, " of inconve
niences having arisen from the same." Your Petitioners
beg leave to point out to your Honourable House the im
portant fact, that the Commissioners of Inquiry distinctly
state in their Report, p, 13, that " no evidence of such in
convenience was adduced before thera by the same Ma
gistrates, although repeatedly demanded by Mr. Hunt."
What then must be thought of the conduct of these Ma
gistrates, in depriving Mr. Hunt's friends of all means of
communication with him except through the felons'
grating ; in denying his surgeon access to him, whilst la
bouring under painful illness ; in precluding him from
confidential communication with his solicitor ; in denying
his son access to him, and thus consigning him to a species
of custody not contemplated by the Judges who passed
sentence upon him ? In these circumstances Mr. Hunt's
punishment is more severe than that of felons. The latter
enjoy the comforts of society ; but, whilst almost the
whole community who are not prisoners in Ilchester Gaol
are denied access to Mr. Hunt, he is virtually condemned
either to solitude, or to association with characters befit
ting neither his education, his rank, nor his conduct in
life. Your Petitioners cannot for a moment forget that the
Magistrates who exercise this harshness towards Mr.
Hunt, are the very men under whose superintendance the
late Gaoler acted, whilst he perpetrated in the prison the
most horrid deeds of barbarity; that the most active of
these are the very men who could see, unmoved, a prison
er galled and oppressed with irons in the manner de
scribed in the 9th page of the Report ofthe Commission
ers, and who could order him back to solitary confinement

IS
in those very iroftB, and never afterwards make any in
quiry after him. .
By Mr. Hunt's sagacity the villanies of the Gaoler were
detected; by his courage they were brought to light;
and your Petitioners submit to your Honourable House,
their humble, but honest opinion, that it is a disgusting
and alarming circumstance that he is left to the mercy of
these Magistrates, whom he has convicted in the toce Of
their country of extraordinary failure in the discharge of
their duty ; and whose conduct is so pointedly censured
by the Commissioners of Inquiry, in the remark which
they make in p. .13 of their Report, that " the internal
government of the Gaol appears to be considerably dete
riorated since the declining health of Sir J. P. Acland has
deprived the county of Somerset of the advantage of his
unwearied and vigilant Superintendance."
Considering the premises, your Petitioners humbly be*
seech your Honourable House to address the Crown,
praying for a remission of the remainder of Mr. Hunt's
term of imprisonment ; or, if this must not be, for his re
moval to a place of confinement more healthy, and where
he may enjoy that participation in the comforts of society
usually allowed to political prisoners of his rank arid
station. To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingditfii
of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament as
sembled.
The Petition ofthe undersigned Freeholders and the In
habitants ofthe city of Bath, in the county of Somerset,
Humbly sheweth,
That your Petitioners have witnessed with admiration
the laudable and persevering exertions of Mr. Hunt, a
State Prisoner, confined in the County Gaol, situated in
the town of lichester, iri bringing to light and exposin*
the mal-practices committed within the walls of the siid
Gaol by William Bridle and his abettors.
In consequence of the representations of Mr. Hunt,
your Honourable House addressed the king, and a Royai
Commission was sent down to Ilchester to inquire into
the conduct of the Gaoler and the state of the Gaol.
During the investigation before the Honourable Commis
sioners, arid previously before the Sheriff and Magistrates
Of the county, it came out, upon oath, that great atrocities
had been perpetrated for a long time with impunity:

14
That torture.and the most cruel and. wanton, punishment
had been inflicted on the prisoners : That great frauds
and waste had been committed upon the property of the
county : That the most unnatural, profligate, and abai>-
doned debaucheries were carried on and connived at; and,
in fact, that such a horrid system was adopted and prac
tised as would have disgraced the character of the most
savage and unenlightened period of our history.
The consequences have been, that the Gaoler has been
disgraced and discharged, and a new Gaoler has been ap
pointed: great amelioration has taken place as to the
condition and treatment ofthe prisoners: torture has been
abolished : great savings have been made in the county
expenditure, amounting to one-half ofthe sum of the
Gaol expense, and to two-thirds ofthe whole county rates ;
and altogether the character ofthe country has been res
cued from the disgrace of continuing to connive at, and
countenance, practices which were long known to ex
ist, and had frequently been complained of, but which no
one had the courage or the ability to grapple with and
expose, till Mr. Hunt devoted his time, his talents, and
his property, to the accomplishment of the herculean '
task ; which he did under such disheartening and ap
palling circumstances, as, we firmly believe, would have
deterred any other man from making tbe attempt, parti
cularly when it is considered that Mr. Hunt was left in the
power, consigned to the safe keeping, and placed under
the lock and key ofthe accused, during the whole time of
the investigation ; and; what is still more extraordinary,
he was left in this precarious situation for several months
after the Gaoler had received notice of his discharge.
Your Petitioners cannot avoid expressing their regret
that at the time when they thought Mr. Hunt entitled ta
the thanks and protection ofthe County of Somerset, and
meriting the gratitude of every friend of morality, huma
nity, and justice in the kingdom, that restrictions of a
nature before unexampled, should have been imposed
upon him by those persons from whom (if they were not
implicated in the charges preferred against the Gaoler)
he ought not only to have received all necessary and ra
tional accommodation, but he was deserving of their in
dulgence, and the reward ofthe county at large.
Your Petitioners would wish to avoid giving any opinion
as to the justice or injustice of the sentence passed upon
Mr. Hunt, although the punishment of two years and

six months imprisonment in such a confined, inconve
nient, damp, and unwholesome Gaol as that of Ilchester,
appears to yourPetitioners to be a more outrageous sen
tence than any they remember to have heard of for a po
litical misdemeanour since the present Royal Family came
to the Throne: even if he had received that liberal treat
ment which was granted to other prisoners, sentenced
from the Court of King's Bench for misdemeanour, to wit,
when John Kinnear was sentenced for a conspiracy, &c.
to this Gaol, he was, by order ofthe Magistrates, accom
modated with the best apartments in the Gaoler's house,
where his family and friends had free access to him at all
hours, from the opening of the ddors ofthe Gaol, till ten
o'clock at night. This indulgence also was g-ranted to a
person sentenced for manslaughter.
Your Petitioners, therefore, cannot but feel indignant, in
common with the whole country, that the punishment of
solitary confinement should be inflicted upon Mr. Hunt,
and that his family and friends should be excluded from
all intercourse with him, for his having done nothing but
that which your Petitioners esteem most praiseworthy,
that of ^bringing to light fraud, cruelty, torture, and lust,
perpetrated for a long time with impunity within the
walls of an English Gaol ; and your Petitioners trust that
your Honourable House will agree with them in this
opinion, when it is recollected that these important ser
vices were effected by Mr. Hunt legally, under the sanc
tion of a Royal Commission, sent down to Ilchester at the
suggestion, and by a vote of your Honourable House.
Your Petitioners, therefore, humbly but earnestly pray,
that your Honourable House will lose no time, but exert
your power to remove the illegal and unmerited restric
tions placed- upon Mr. Hunt; a punishment which they
consider a violation of all law, a violation ofthe constitu
tion, and an arbitrary sentence passed upon him out of
Court, a hundred-fold more vindictive than the original
sentence passed by the Court of King's Bench ; and your
Petitioners further pray that your Honourable House will
immediately bring tbe authors and abettors of illegal and
cruel conduct to justice, and your Petitioners shall ever
pray, &c. Signed by 3,000.

10
The following Petitions, complaining of the treatment
of Mr. Hunt, have been presented to the House of Coip-
rkiibs since the last Number of tbe Memoirs: —
From the Inhabitants of the City of Bristol and it*
environs, setting forth, that the Petitioners view with
abhorrence the tyrannical measures adopted towards, and
the manifold oppressive cruelties illegally inflicted on, the
person of Henry Hunt, Esq. a prisoner in his Majesty's
Gaol of Ilchester, in the County of Somerset, by the act
ing Magistrates of that County; they having refused
all access to him on the part of his legal advisers, his phy
sicians, his family, and friends, and sent him into solitary
confinement, in violation of his sentence, and in direct con
travention of the orders of the late Sheriffs of the said
County : that the Petitioners perceive with satisfaction
that the said Henry Hunt hath been the means of bring
ing to light and exposing before the world (upon an inves
tigation authorised by the House) such scenes of cruelty
practised in the said Gaol, as are only to be equalled by
the tortures said to be inflicted in the dungeons of the In
quisition : that, in the judgment of the Petitioners, the
conduct of the Magistrates, whose duty it was to regulate
the discipline of that Gaol, in permitting such atrocious
and heart-rending scenes to. take place, in defiance of the
known laws of the land, and the dictates of humanity,, not
less unjust and monstrous in principle than in practice,, is
entitled to the reprobation of mankind : that ignorance
forms no< excuse ; for,, if they were really uninformed upon
these subjects, their ignorance amounted to crime, inas
much as it could not exist but through their criminal
neglect of duty, and, if they were not ignorant, they are
more criminal than Bridle, their dismissed Gaoler: that
Mr. Hunt.having been the means of bringing these atroci
ties to light, is, in the opinion of the Petitioners, enti
tled to the thanks of his country ; and, as they find that
his persevering exertions in the cause, of humanity have
brought down upon hira the relentless and vindictive re
sentment of the men whose conduct he has thus exposed,
and in whose power and custody he still remains, the Peti
tioners appeal to the House, as Representatives of the
People, as the guardians of their rights, liberties, and
persons, to shield him from the unheard-of restrictions
and cruelties inflicted upon him ; and for this purpose they
implore the House forthwith to address his Majesty to
extend his most gracious pardon to the said Henry Hunt,

17
or to remove him from the custody of those who at present
tyrannize over him, during the remainder of his captivity,
as the House in its wisdom shall think fit. '
From the Burgesses, Householders, and other Inhabit
ants of the town of Paisley and its vicinity, setting forth,
that the Petitioners learned with astonishment the very
severe sentence passed upon Henry Hunt, Esq. in conse
quence of his attending the ever-memorable meeting at
Manchester on the 16th August, 1819 ; that, when the Pe
titioners take into view the offence alleged to have been
committed by, and the sentence passed upon, Mr. Hunt,
together with his present sufferings, they cannot refrain
from the painful conclusion, that his punishment bears
, more the resemblance of oppression than of justice; that
the Petitioners cannot remain silent, convinced as they are,
that additional punishments are inflicted upon Mr. Hunt ;
punishments neither contemplated by the Judge, nor in
cluded in his sentence ; not only is he doomed to solitary
confinement, but it would appear he has to suffer all the
mental torture that malignity can invent, or petty tyranny
can inflict ; that, independent of its injustice and cruelty,
such conduct on Mr. Hunt's oppressors is extremely impo
litic, as it cannot fail to keep alive those feelings of resent
ment which were so universally excited by the lamentable
and grievous transactions out of which arose his trial and
conviction ; that when the Petitioners reflect upon the
deeds of cruelty, torture, and oppression, committed in Il
chester Gaol, brought to light by Mr. Hunt, and proved
before a Commission appointed by the House, strong ap
prehensions are raised in the minds of the Petitioners even
for the personal safety of Mr. Hunt ; that, when they call
to mind the successful result of the interference of the
House in behalf of Sir Manasseh Lopes, convicted of en
deavouring to obtain a seat in the House by means of
bribery and corruption, they are induced to hope that the
House will promptly and decisively exert its influence for
the liberation of the oppressed individual who is the sub
ject of this Petition, especially as the Petitioners are of
opinion that the services he has rendered to the country
and to humanity, since his incarceration in Ilchester Gaol;
by his exposition of the flagrant abuses and disgraceful
practices there existing, give him strong claims to the
leniency and protection of the House ; the Petitioners do
therefore humbly and earnestly pray the House to address
our. most gracious Sovereign, beseeching him to liberate
2 c

IS
without delay Henry Hunt; Esq. at present; a prisoner in
his! Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester.
From the Inhabitantsof the town and neighbourhood
of Manchester , setting forth, that the Petitioners cannot
but view with the most poignant apprehension and alarm
the late encroachments on the personal liberties of the
subject, the freedom of the press, and the imprescriptible
and inalienable right of Englishmento discuss and explain
their grievances, and to state them to the Sovereign and
to Parliament, unawed by the fear of interruption from the
civil or military power ; that the uses and abuses which
have already been made of the recent restrictive Acts of
Parliament, demand from . the Petitioners and from the
people the exercise of their utmost watchfulness, to pre
vent a further accession of power being placed in the
hands of men who have invariably endeavoured to de
stroy the very vestiges of that freedom, the bulwarks of
which were obtained and cemented by the blood of our
brave. forefathers ; that unless an immediate and effectual
remedy be resorted to for our accumulating oppressions,
the reign of his Majesty King George the Fourth will in
evitably prove the grave of our yet surviving liberties, and
the Petitioners are convinced that this remedy is onjy to
be looked for in a radical, complete, and efficient' Reform
in the Commons' House of Parliament ; that the Petitioners
have observed with sorrow and regret the subterfuges
under Which the House has evaded the loudly-called-for<
inquiry into the horrid scenes exhibited in Manchester by
the base minions of corruption on the blood-stained plains
of St. Peter, in the month of August 1819, and the Peti
tioners are convinced, that until the authors and abettors
of these never-to-be-forgotten outrages are brought before
a competent tribunal, and have the penalty due to their
misdeeds awarded them, the lives of Englishmen are as
much at the mercy of a hot-headed magistracy and their
enfuriated satellites as the life of a Greek Slave is at the
mercy.of.a Turkish Bashaw and his ferocious Janissaries ;
the Petitioners, more particularly wish to call the attention
ofthe House to an event intimately connected with the
above transaction — the trial of Henry Hunt, Esq. for an^
imputed offence, dubious and equivocal in its nature, and
undefined by any then existing law, the Petitioners consi
der as a measure at onoe unconstitutional and tyrannical,
and the sentence of the Court (even admitting the .misde
meanor) vindictive and excessive, and unprecedented in

19
is extent, since the period when the House of Brunswick
was called by the people to the sovereignty ofthe British
Empire ; the severity of Mr. Hunt's confinement in an
unwholesome prison, subject to rigorous and unnecessary
deprivations, appears to the Petitioners to merit the sym
pathy and consideration of the House, whilst his admirable
intrepidity, magnanimity, and philanthropy, in developing
the iniquities and cruelties practised in the Gaol of Ilches
ter, and the benefits he has thereby conferred on humanity,
render him still more worthy of interference in his behalf;
the sufferings sustained by Mr. Hunt have already been
more than adequate to the punishment of any crime with
which he was ever charged ; and the Petitioners there
fore most earnestly entreat the House to exercise the con
stitutional privilege with which it is invested, and to ad
dress his Majesty, praying him to extend to that perse
cuted Englishman the prerogative of justice and mercy,
by granting him a full and free remission from the remain
der of the sentence under which he is at present confined.
From the Inhabitants of Mossley and its neighbourhood,
in the parish of Ashton-under-Line, and county of Lan
caster; setting forth, that the Petitioners, as friends to
justice and humanity, feel it their bounden duty to crave
the attention of the House to the severe and cruel treat
ment which Henry Hunt, Esquire, now a prisoner in Il
chester Gaol, is subjected, after being sentenced to suffer
two years and six months' imprisonment for attending a
confessedly peaceable Meeting at Manchester, on the ever-
memorable 16th of August, 1819; which unprecedented
sentence, the Petitioners are of opinion, was inflicted
upon Mr. Hunt by the Agents of Power, with a view to
screen from punishment the authors and perpetrators of
the foul and bloody deeds committed on that fatal day ;
after seeing this brave and patriotic Englishman pursued
with such unrelenting severity, and almost ruined with
the expenses incurred by defending himself against what
the Petitioners conceive to have been a most harsh and
vindictive prosecution, they could no longer consider
themselves worthy of the name of Britons, were they to
refrain from expressing their indignation at the shameful
and cruel privations which Mr. Hunt is now made to en
dure ; his prison notoriously damp and unwholesome, de
prived of the society of his family and dearest connexions,
and compelled to submit to solitary confinement, or as
sociate with common felons ; and these cruelties, in all

20
probability, inflicted to insatiate the malice of those
men, whose abominable misdeeds he has recently ex
posed, by promoting and prosecuting an inquiry into the
conduct ofthe late Governor of Ilchester Gaol — a service
which, in the opinion of the Petitioners, entitles Mr.
Hunt to the thanks of every honest and humane English
man ; the Petitioners, therefore, venture to express a hope
that the industry, magnanimity, and philanthropy display
ed by that injured and suffering gentleman on that occa
sion, will be duly appreciated by the House; and they,
therefore, most earnestly pray, that the House will take
into their most serious consideration the sufferings which
Mr. Hunt has already sustained, and that they will be
pleased to exercise the Constitutional privilege with
which it is invested, of advising his Majesty to grant a
full and free remission of the remaining part ofthe sentence
under which that much-injured gentleman is now severely
suffering ; the Petitioners also pray, that the House will
immediately take such steps as may be deemed necessary
to bring to condign punishment the authors and agents of
the cruelties and atrocities of lately practised in his Majes
ty's Gaol of Ilchester ; and, finally, they most earnestly
pray, that the House will be pleased to institute an imme
diate inquiry into the horrid outrage committed at Man
chester onthe 1 6th of August, 1819.
From the Inhabitants ofthe town of Oldham and its vi
cinity, in the county of Lancaster, setting forth, that the
Petitioners, as enemies to injustice and oppression, beg
leave to call the attention of the House to the severe treat-iyt&tif
which i»b* Henry Hunt, Esq. now a prisoner in his Ma
jesty's Gaol of Ilchester, is subjected ; the Petitioners can
not repress their indignation at the cruelties and unnecessary
privations which that gentleman is made to endure, con
fined in a damp and unwholesome prison, deprived ofthe
society of his family and dearest connexions, and treated
like a common felon, for no other purpose, in the humble
opinion of your Petitioners, than to gratify the malice of
his enemies, and this at a time too, when, in the opinion
of the Petitioners, the whole British nation, and the
county of Somerset in particular, are greatly indebted to
Mr. Hunt, for the admirable intrepidity, magnanimity,
and philanthropy which he has recently displayed, in de
veloping the iniquities and cruelties practised in Ilchester
Gaol; that, connected with the events which took place
on the 16th of August, 1&19, the trial of Mr. Hunt for an

21
alleged crime, dubious and equivocal in its nature, and un
defined by any then existing law, was, in the opinion of
the Petitioners, a measure at once harsh and unconstitution
al, and the sentence of the Court unprecedented and exces
sive ; that, until the authors, abettors, and agents of the
horrid outrages committed at Manchester, on the 16th of
August, 1819, are brought before an equitable tribunal,
and have the penalty due to their misdeeds awarded
them, the Petitioners must conceive the lives of English
men to be at the mercy of a hot-headed Magistracy, and
an infuriated and misguided soldiery ; that the Petitioners
cannot but view with the greatest apprehension and alarm
the great encroachments upon the personal liberties of the
subject, the freedom of the press, and the imprescribable
and inalienable right of Englishmen of publicly assembling
to discuss and state their grievances to the Sovereign and
to Parliament, unawed by the fear of interruption from
the civil or military power ; that^ unless an immediate
and effectual remedy be adopted for their accumulating
oppressions, the reign of his present Majesty will, in
the opinion of the Petitioners, inevitably prove the grave
of their yet surviving liberties ; and that this remedy,
the Petitioners are firmly convinced, is to be looked
for only in a radical, complete, and efficient Reform of
the Commons' House of Parliament ; that to the want
of a pure Representation of the People in the House, the
Petitioners alone attribute the apathy and indifference with
which the complaints of the people are generally treated ;
and the Petitioners cannot but express their firm convic
tion, that if the people of England had been fairly re
presented in the House, an inquiry into the horrid scenes
exhibited in Manchester, in the month of August, 1819,
would not have been so long evaded ; the Petitioners,
therefore, humbly, respectfully, but most earnestly pray,
that the House will take into their most serious conside
ration the sufferings already sustained by Mr. Hunt, and
that the House will be pleased to exercise the Constitu
tional privilege with which it is invested, of advising his
Majesty to grant a full and free remission of the remain
ing part of the sentence under which that persecuted
Englishman is at present confined ; and the Petitioners
further pray, that the House will be pleased to institute an
immediate inquiry into the fatal transactions which took
place at Manchester on the 16th of August, 1819 ;
and finally, they most earnestly pray, that the House will
immediately take such steps as may be necessary to effect

22
a speedy and efficient Reform ofthe House, upon the Con
stitutional principles of Universal Suffrage, Annual Par
liaments, and Election by Ballot.
The following Debate took place in the House of Com
mons on the 1st of March, on presenting the Petiiions
from Taunton and Blackburn:
Mr. JAMES presented a petition from certain inhabitants of tho
town of Taunton, expressive of their regret at the unmerited sufferings
which Mr. Henry Hunt was now suffering in his imprisonment in
Ilchester Gaol, in consequence of the new regulations which had
been recently introduced for the management of the prison. The
subject to which the petition referred had been so fully discussed
on a former evening, that he would not now occupy the time of the
House by making any observations upon it. He was, however,
completely at issue with the Hon. Baronet, the Member for Somer
setshire (Sir T. Lethbridge), as to what constituted solitary confine
ment. The Hon. Baronet had contended that Mr. Hunt was not
placed in solitary confinement, because he was permitted to see his
surgeon and solicitor. Now he maintained . that when only that
limited intercourse was allowed, the prisoner must be considered to be
placed in solitary confinement. The petition was read, and ordered to
be printed.
Mr. HOBHOUSE said, he held in his hand a petition, which he
was sure was well worthy of the consideration of the House. The
petition, which was signed by upwards of 5,000 persons living in the
town of Blackburn, in Lancashire, complained of the hard treatment
to which Mr. Hunt was subjected in Ilchester Gaol; and after mak
ing various remarks upon that point, it concluded with praying that
the House would address the King to beseech him to commute the sen
tence of Mr. Hunt, or at least to rescind the resolution adopted at the
last Quarter Sessions for the county of Somerset, in consequence of
which Mr. Hunt was now so severely treated. From the number
of petitions which had been presented in favour of Mr. Hunt, the
House might perceive that, in proportion to the oppression which was
exercised towards that individual, the commiseration of the people was
excited for his sufferings. When he spoke of the people, it brought
to his recollection the very extraordinary language which had lately
been used in that House upon that subject. A new division of the
people had been made, and they were now, it seemed, to be classed
under the heads of legitimate and illegitimate — true and false ; mean
ing, he supposed, those who were well and those who were ill
dressed. Notwithstanding the attempts which were thus made to place
a part of the people in the situation of outcasts in their native lands,
he should consider that that unfortunate portion of his countrymen
were always entitled to his exertions, humble as they were, in his
character of Member of that House. (Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman
then proceeded to express his disapprobation of the manner in which
Mr. Hunt had been treated during his confinement, and particularly
censured the resolution which had been adopted at the last Quarter
Sessions for Somersetshire, for the regulation of Ilchester Gaol. He
thought it extremely hard that any part of the expense attending the
inquiry into the abuses which had prevailed in Ilchester Gaol should
have devolved upon Mr. Hunt ; but yet it appeared that he had ex
pended no less a sum than 3001. in the prosecution of that inquiry. The

23
Hon. Member then eulogized the conduct of the Commissioners, and
dwelt at considerable length upon a variety of details, which have
already in several shapes appeared before the public. He called
upon the House to look at the total absence of control in the prison.
The Gaoler was not checked by the Surgeon, the Surgeon by the
Coroner, nor the Coroner by the Magistrates. Let them remember
the abuses and cruelty proved : Hillyer loaded with irons, and beheld,
so loaded, without interference by the Magistrates ; and Mary Cuer,
with her new-born child, exposed to cold and hunger. Let Members
advert to the badness of the bread, and to the impurity of the water —
to the absence of air and sunshine, and to the presence of instruments
of torture unparalleled but by those brought over in the Spanish
armada. Mr. Hunt's imprisonment was an evil as regarded himself,
but it had been the source of incalculable advantage to the community ;
and, whatever had been his course before he went to gaol, his conduct
since had made him a public benefactor. The least that Government
could do for Mr. Hunt would be to take care that his heavy sentence
was not aggravated by ill treatment. Such was the prayer of the
petition which Mr. Hobhouse was requested to present, and which he
now moved should lie on the table.
Mr. DICKINSON assured the House that there was every disposi
tion on the part of the Magistrates of Somersetshire to carry ameliora
tion as to gaol discipline into effect.
Mr. BERNAL said, that by the Act, the 31st Geo. III., the county
Magistrates had power, in cases of necessity, to revise and alter rules
laid down by Judges of session. Such power might be beneficially
exercised in the present case.
Mr. W. SMITH knew nothing at all of Mr. Hunt ; but believed
that, as far as Ilchester Gaol was concerned, he had been the means
of producing very considerable good. The Hon. Gentleman then
adverted to the debate of a former evening as to the privilege of
franks. Several Gentlemen had treated the privilege ol receiving let
ters unopened from prisoners, as though it were a matter of advan
tage to Members of Parliament. In fact, such privilege, as far it
went, became a disadvantage. It was a disadvantage, because, under
it, that right was used by prisoners, which, in the absence of applica
tions from those prisoners, might have been otherwise employed. The
privilege for which Members had been so sedulously contending, was
not a convenience but an inconvenience, to themselves ; and it had
only been sought for, inasmuch as that it afforded an opening to per
sons confined for the utterance of their grievances. The House had
been told that prisoners aggrieved had the power of complaining to
Visiting Magistrates ; but the Report of the Commissioners proved
such power to be insufficient ; for it declared that the regulations of
the Visiting Magistrates themselves had been of a contradictory and
irritating tendency.
SIR R. WILSON thought that the Visiting Magistrates deserved
blame for not having exercised a more strict vigilance over the conduct
of the Gaoler. The manner in which they allowed one ofthe prisoners
to remain with iron handcuffs round his wrists, which, according to the
Report, weighed ten pounds and a half, could not be too much repro
bated. The Commissioners themselves expressed their strong disap
probation of such treatment : and yet such was the terror which the
oppression of his keepers inspired, that when this unfortunate prisoner
was brought before the Commissioners, he never ventured to complain.
The Report described, in very strong language, the nature of this
punishment ; that it required a considerable degree of force to bring

24
the irons to meet round the wrists ; and that though only on for tt
short time, they produced a considerable swelling in the arm.
Mr. P. MOORE said, that whether the offence of Mr. Hunt was of
a political nature or not, his case should be considered as much as
that of any other British subject. In his opinion, Mr. Hunt had been
cruelly and barbarously treated; and if his Majesty's Ministers did
not apply the proper remedy, he would say they would be guilty of a
dereliction of their duty. The Hon. Member then alluded to an ex
amination into abuses which existed in Kilmainham Gaol and other
prisons in Ireland, and observed, that notwithstanding the misconduct
of the Governor of the former prison, he found that he was now a
pensioner on Government with 400J. a-year. He hoped that at some
future day they might not see the name of the late gaoler of Ilchester
among the list of pensioners.
The petition was brought up. It was from the inhabitants of Black
burn, in Lancashire, praying the House to interpose to procure a
remission of Mr. Hunt's sentence. It was read and ordered to be
printed. Mr. ALDERMAN WOOD said, he had a petition to present from
Mr. Hunt himself, but he was unwilling to delay the House, as the
hour for entering on the public business had now arrived : he would
abstain from presenting it for the present. He had another petition
signed by 4,000 of the inhabitants of Bolton, in Lancashire, in which
they called upon the House to interfere for Mr. Hunt. They mentioned
an address to the Crown by the House, praying that the sentence on
Mr. Hunt might be remitted altogether. The petition also alluded
to th* question of Reform, but only incidentally. It stated, that if a
Reform in that House had taken place, Mr. Hunt would never have
been exposed to such a punishment ; nor would the massacre at Man
chester ever have occurred. As he (Alderman Wood) was on this
subject, he was anxious to know from the Learned Solicitor-General,
whether any order had been made by the Court of King's Bench, for
the removal of some ofthe restraints of which Mr. Hunt complained?
That Learned Gentleman had on a former evening stated, that any
relief which could be afforded must come from the Court of King's
Bench. He was surprised that some relief had never since been
extended. But without waiting for this, he was satisfied that relief
might be afforded by the Magistrates, if they were so inclined.
The petition was brought up, read, and ordered to be printed.
In the House of Commons, on the 4th of March,
ALDERMAN WOOD said, he had a petition to present from Mr.
H. Hunt, confined in Ilchester Gaol. It was not his intention on the
present occasion to advert to airy of the facts stated in the Report of
the Commissioners respecting the cruelties practised upon this indivi
dual. He would confine himself to some recent cruelties which Mr.
Hunt said had been inflicted upon him. These were contained in a
letter which he had received that morning from Mr. Hunt. The Hon.
Alderman here read some extracts from Mr. Hunt's letter, from which
it appeared that a fresh instance of persecution had occurred on last
Thursday, by order of the Reverend Dr. Colston and another of the
Visiting Magistrates. They discovered that there was a small door,
through which Mr. Hunt had access to a small yard, to which allusion
was made in the Report. This door Mr. Hardy, the gaoler, had
suffered to remain open; but as soon as the Magistrates discovered
it, they immediately ordered it to be shut up. Mr. Hunt further
stated, that in consequence of being shut up every night, and using

.25
candle-light from five to twelve o'clock, he had got a great weakness
in his sight, and was nearly blind of one eye. A short time back, his
own surgeon and the surgeon of the prison had to perform an opera
tion on his eye. He wished to have that concealed from his family;
but it somehow reached their ears, and his son, and a young lady, his
ward, applied in a state of distraction to be admitted while that ope
ration was performing. They were refused admission, and Mr.
Hardy, the gaoler, observed, that even if he (Hunt) were dying, he
dared not admit them without the consent of the Magistrates. After
this operation, he had been ordered frequently to foment his eye
with warm water. Finding that he should frequently want assistance,
he asked to be allowed to have a nurse ; but this was refused, unless
he accepted the services of one of the female convicts for that pur
pose. The assistance of his son and his ward were also denied him.
He was thus locked up from six in the evening till five in tlie morning ;
the door was then opened, and some warm water given, and it was
again shut, till the usual time of opening, when his surgeon came to
see him ; and during this time he continued to suffer the greatest
pain. Surely (continued the Hon. Member) the sentence on this
individual was of itself severe enough without aggravating it by
such cruelties. He would only add, that all the statements which he
had received from Mr. Hunt had turned out to be correct. He was
glad to learn that on Saturday last an order had been sent down by
the High Sheriff of the county, to have Mr. Hunt treated with more
lenity than he had recently experienced. He trusted this benevolent
disposition might not be frustrated, as that of a former High Sheriff
had been.
Mr. DICKINSON also noticed the order of the High Sheriff, and
added, that Mr. Hunt would now be placed in the same situation in
which he was before the regulations complained of.
The HON. H. G. BENNET, alluding to the order for shutting
up the door by which Mr. Hunt had been further restrained, expressed
his surprise how that could have been sanctioned by a Rev. Gentle
man, whose situation should have fulfilled that description of good
works—" I was sick and in prison, and ye visited me." He should
have remembered that comfort to the afflicted, and not increased per
secution, was inculcated by this passage of the Scriptures.
Mr. HOBHOUSE expressed a hope that the attention of Govern
ment would be turned to the case of Mr. Hunt, with the view of his
removal from that gaol altogether, if they should not go farther. He
remembered when Mr. Hunt was sentenced, it was stated in that
House by an Hon. Member, that Ilchester Gaol was chosen as a matter
of favour to Mr. Hunt. It now seemed, however, that it was no
favour, and he trusted, therefore, that Government would order his
removal to some other prison : Government alone could effectually
assist him, and not the Magistrates.
Mr. SCARLETT said, as he was the Member to whom the Hon.
Gentleman had aUuded, he would say, that at the time of Mr. Hunt's
sentence, Ilchester Gaol was considered as one of the best regulated.
It had since turned out, certainly, that this was not the fact.
Mr. C. W. WYNN considered that the remedy for Mr. Hunt's
complaint lay with the Magistrates. Government could do nothing
as to his removal. He never understood it to be a privilege of the
Crown to remove a man from one gaol to another, who was under a
criminal sentence. The precedent would be a bad one ; for though
the removal might be made in mitigation of punishment in one case,
yet, if the principle were admitted, it might be adopted by way of
aggravating punishment in another.
2 D

2G
¦.Mr. DENMAN admitted that the power of removal did not exist;
but the punishment might bi> commuted by consent ofthe Crown, and
he dared to say Mr. Hunt would be glad of it.
Mr. LOCKHART thought thought that a very injudicious mode
had been adopted in this case. He would admit that neither the
Sheriffs nor the Magistrates had any authority to aggravate the sen
tence of a prisoner ; but no inquiry on this subject had been gone
into by the House. If the petition had been intrusted to his care,
he would have moved that it be referred to a Committee ; and lie was
satisfied that if any cause of complaint was proved to exist, the House
would not suffer it to continue.
Dr. LUSHINGTON, though he had himself a petition to present
upon this subject, would make use of the present opportunity to deli
ver his opinions upon it. He conceived that a great deal of the in
convenience which Mr. Hunt had suffered arose out of a misconcep
tion on the part of the Magistrates. From the Report of the Com
missioners, it was evident that in the course of nine months they had
made nine distinct orders regarding the manner in which visitors
were to be admitted to Mr. Hunt. That circumstance was of itself
sufficient to prove that they had been in doubt of the conduct which
they ought to pursue towards him ; and being so in doubt, they unfor
tunately resorted to that mode of remedying their doubts which
absolutely aggravated the disorders they were called upon to check.
By availing themselves of a sanction contained in an Act of Parliament,
they had bound up their hands, and left themselves no discretion what
soever. He adverted to that circumstance to remind such Magistrates
as had seats in that House, that they ought not to submit to the Judges
a series of definite regulations for the internal management of prisons,
without being certain that no exceptions would arise to them. It
never was intended by the Legislature that the Judges should lay down
a system of prison discipline — (Hear) — for, from the very nature of
the thing, it was evident that much of the discipline in every prison '
must be left to the discretion of the Magistrates. He therefore
deprecated Magistrates tying themselves down to any such orders, as
had been done in the present instance. With regard to the rule
which had been borrowed from Glocester Gaol — namely, that no
person should be allowed to converse with a prisoner except at a
stated time, and in a stated place — it ought to be recollected that the
rule was enforced in that gaol, owing to the great chance that there
was of a felon's escaping from it, if some such regulation was not
adopted. The case was, however, very different at Ilchester; and
besides, the rule was never intended to apply to persons confined for
misdemeanour, much less a political misdemeanour. He therefore
trusted that the Magistrates would at an early period place before
the Judges a new set of regulations, to do away with the inconvenience
arising from the present set. With regard to the chaplain, he must
observe, that he ought to be present in the gaol, not merely to perform
his spiritual duties, but to be an inspector over the gaoler, and to
furnish the Magistrates with an account of any grievances which he
might see inflicted. He should shortly have to present a petition
from several respectable persons at Ilchester, praying that the present
restrictions should be taken off; and he had therefore taken the pre
sent occasion to deliver his opinion regarding them.
Mr. ALDERMAN HEYGATE said, he had read the Report of
the transactions in Ilchester Gaol with the deepest regret. He knew
not whether the statements in the letter read by the Hon. Alderman
(Wood) were accurate ; but, without that letter, a case had been

27
made out by evidence, in the Report to which he referred, to induce
the House of Commons to look at that prison with peculiar watchfulness
and jealousy. He need not say he was no advocate for tbe proceedings
of Mr. Hunt ; but he was entitled, like every Englishman, to justice,
and not to be visited with a severer punisliment than the law and the
Judges intended,. He was confident it could not be the wish, either
of the Government or the Magistrates, to countenance proceedings
like those to which he had alluded ; and he trusted means would be
taken without delay to prevent the possibility of their recurrence.
The petition was then laid upon the table, and ordered to be
printed. Dr. LUSH1NGTON presented a petition from the inhabitants of
Ilchester, praying that the restrictions might be taken off under which
Mr. Hunt was at present suffering.
SIR I. COFFIN supported the petition, because he had been desired
to do so by his constituents, and also because it appeared that Mr.
Hunt had been treated with illegality and severity. On no other
account would he have supported it.
SIR R. WILSON presented a petition from the parish of Eceles,
in Lancashire, signed by a very considerable number of inhabitants,
praying the House to exercise its privilege, and to address the Throne
to obtain the release of Mr. Hunt from his present confinement. —
Brought up, and ordered lo be printed.
In the House of Commons, on the 13th of March,
SIR R. WILSON said, he held in his hand a petition from a per
son of the name of Joseph Healy, which he had been requested to
present to that House. The object of the petition was to implore
the House to address his Majesty, in order to obtain a remission of
the remaining part of Mr. Hunt's sentence. The petitioner was one
of those persons who had been arrested at the same time with Mr.
Hunt, aud was sentenced, for what he did not conceive to be an
offence, to an imprisonment of one year in Lincoln-castle. The manner
in which the -petitioner spoke of his treatment whilst under confine
ment, formed an agreeable contrast with the descriptions which
the House had lately so repeatedly heard with respect to the usage of
Mr. Hunt in Ilchester Gaol. Mr. Healey, it appeared, had been
treated, during his imprisonment, with that humanity which the laws of
this country always contemplated.
Mr. T. F. BUXTON said, he had been prevented by unavoidable
absence, when this subject had been brought before the House on
former occasions, from making a fair observation, which he would
now, however, take the liberty of addressing to the House. In the
first place, he was of opinion that the charges which had been made
out against the government of Ilchester Gaol, both by Mr. Hunt and
the Hon. and Learned Alderman— (a laugh)— he begged pardon, he
meant the Worthy Alderman (Alderman Wood) were fully and clearly
established — (Hear, hear.) — He declared, without the least reserva
tion, that he believed those charges to have been fully substantiated,
and that a case of great hardship and oppression had been made out.
The House would allow him shortly to allude to the facts upon
which this opinion was grounded. He found from the evidence
which had been taken before the Commissioners, that the Gaoler had
resorted to the extraordinary and cruel proceeding of applying a blister
to the head of a prisoner named Thomas Gardiner, by way of punish
ment. The treatment to which another prisoner, named Hillyer, was
subjected, was also most unjustifiable. It appeared that this unfortu-

28
nate man was loaded with double irons on his arms and legs, and the
chain by which they were connected was so short, that it was almost
impossible for him-to stand upright. In this manner the prisoner had
been confined for nine or ten days. The Commissioners, upon visit
ing the prison, had very properly directed the irons to be placed on
Hillyer, in order that they might judge from their own observation, of
the state in which he had been placed. Upon that occasion, although
the irons were permitted to remain on the prisoner only for a short
period, they caused a deep indenture in his flesh. A still more striking
instance of the improper treatment of prisoners was exhibited in the
case of a female, named Mary Cuer. This prisoner was confined in
irons with her child, in a cold and damp cell, during a period of
frost and snow. In consequence of the treatment she had received,
and the situation in which she was placed, the unfortunate woman was
unable to afford any nourishment to her child, other than that which
could be derived from bread and water, with the latter of which
articles she was supplied in a bucket. This, it must be allowed,
was a most flagrant instance of cruelty ; but another, perhaps, more
shocking, was to be found in the Report of the Commission — he alluded
to the case of a debtor of the name of Treble, who, after having
been confined in a cold cell, was allowed to expire in the common
lodging-room, subject to all the noise and disturbance created by the
other prisoners'. All these cases to which he had alluded, led him to
the conclusion, that abuses had existed in the Gaol, and that the con
duct of the Gaoler had been exceedingly illegal and cruel, and that
Government ought to order the prosecution of that officer. Another
conclusion to which he had come was, that all the allegations which
the Worthy Alderman had made with respect to the management of
the Gaol, were completely established by the evidence ; and he was
of opinion that the Worthy Alderman was entitled to the thanks of the
House and the country, and particularly of all persons interested in
the good management of prisons, among whom he (Mr. Buxton)
might be classed, for having, in spite of all the obstructions which had
been thrown in his way, so effectually discharged his duty, by bringing
the subject under the notice of the House. Having borne this testi
mony to the merits of the Worthy Alderman, he trusted the House
would excuge him for alluding to a circumstance connected with him
self. He (Mr. B.) had formerly made a favourable report of Ilchester
Gaol, and it was known that the Commissioners had now given an
unfavourable one. To account for this discrepancy, he would willingly
admit that he had been wrong : but the House would recollect, that
he had examined the Gaol in 1818, and the Commissioners in 1821 ;
and it was in the interval that the malpractices which were com
plained of had been introduced. He was justified in saying this by the
language of the Commissioners. The Report stated, that the abuses
which had been lately detected, had grown up in the Gaol since the
period when Sir John Palmer Acland was the Visiting Magistrate.
Now at the time he rMr. B.) examined the Gaol, Sir John Palmer
Acland was then Visiting Magistrate. He must also observe, that
the Commissioners, in their Report, alluded to every thing connected
with the Gaol but the manufactures, which, however, was the subject
to which his attention had been particularly directed. It must be
evident, therefore, from all the circumstances which he had stated,
that he was not to blame for the Report which he had made respecting
the Gaol at Ilchester. Having said so much in his own vindication,
he felt it necessary to make a few observations with respect to Mr.
Hunt. The House knew from the declaration of an Hon. and Learned
Gentleman (one of its Members) that the Judges, in sentencing Mr.

29
Hunt, had taken into their consideration the supposed advantages of
the prison in which he was at present confined. Those learned autho
rities believed that prison to be one ofthe best in England; and they
supposed that they were sentencing Mr. Hunt to be confined for 30
months in a wholesome and well-regulated Gaol. Without meaning to
cast any reflection on those learned persons, he must say they had
been misinformed. For 20 mouths, the sentence of Mr. Hunt had
been aggravated by the treatment he received, and the unhealthy
state of the Gaol. Of the latter circumstance there could exist no
doubt, seeing that it was proved, that out of 600 persons who had last
been confine! in the Gaol, no less than 400 had been attacked by
sickness. A still more convincing proof of the unwholesome state
of the Gaol might be found in the evidence which had been given
before a Coroner's Inquest which sat upon the body of James Bryant,
an individual who died in the prison. It appeared from the evidence
to which he alluded, that the Gaol had been flooded six times in the
course of as many weeks, and that there was no room in which the
deceased could sit with a fire during his illness, that was not at
least six inches deep of water. The jury, upon hearing the evidence,
declared that the deceased had died by the visitation of God;4)ut
added, that the event had been accelerated by the damp state of the
prison. In this prison Mr. Hunt was now living. It was clear, that
the Judges never intended that he should suffer such a punishment.
He had no hesitation in saying, that if the remainder of Mr. Hunt's
imprisonment was passed in that Gaol, he would suffer more than the
law intended— ("Hear, hear.)— tie trusted that Government would
take the circumstances of Mr. Hunt's case into their consideration, and
resolve to remit the time yet unexpired of the period during which he
was sentenced to "be confined. He did not plead for Mr. Hunt from
any motives of private friendship, or because he approved of the con
duct and principles of that individual ; he did not mean to say that M r.
Hunt merited the favour of Government, or that his sentence was
originally too severe ; but for this he would contend — that whether
the conduct of Mr. Hunt had been good or bad, whether he were the
best or the worst man in the country, he was entitled to justice,; and
justice required that he should suffer no greater degree of punishment
than was defined in his sentence — (Cheers.)
SIR THOMAS LETHBRIDGE Said, that he had only a few
observations to make on the present occasion. He quite agreed with
the supporters of the petition, that if, upon mature investigation, it
should appear that a case was made out of Mr. Hunt's having suf
fered an aggravation of his punishment, by any conduct pursued
towards him during his imprisonment, sufficient ground would be laid for
considering the expediency of something like a remission of a part of
his sentence. He then adverted to the Report of the Commissioners,
and said that he was not disposed to uphold improper regulations, or
justify mal-practices committed by the Gaoler. Wherever blame was
due, there it must fall — (Hear.) He was glad that whatever abuses
prevailed, were detected and remedied, and had no desire to screen any
party proved culpable. He was glad that the prison had been on a
former occasion visited by the Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Buxton),
and it was apparent that at the time, that Hon. Member had no reason
to find fault with the management of the Gaol.
Mr. DICKINSON was ready to admit, that the Magistrates had,
in the instances of abase which were detected, been deceived by the
Gaoler : they were, doubtless, induced to confide too implicitly in his
general disposition, in consequence of particular examples of extraor-

30
dinary good conduct. In the document which had been alluded to, the
manner in which the Gaoler behaved in several remarkable instances
was noticed in terms of unqualified admiration. The Magistrates of
the county, after such proofs of his good conduct, had naturally confided
in this Gaoler : but the moment Mr. Hunt complained of that person's
conduct, they gave him every opportunity of having the inquiry pur
sued in the fullest and most comprehensive manner. He (Mr. Dickin
son) had no hesitation in declaring (and he would do so, if necessary,
upon oath in a court of justice) his belief, that the three Visiting
Magistrates were as incapable of countenancing any premeditated
act of inhumanity, as any Gentleman who now heard him — (Hear.)
Mr. PEEL said, that after the appeal which had been made to
him, he felt unwilling to remain entirely silent, and he was also
averse to invite discussion, until the whole of the evidence now in pro
gress of printing, should be laid on the table of the House. In
a few days, he expected, it would be published, and then the whole
case could with fairness be considered. lie had read the Report
with that regret which any man must feel at discovering the par
ticular instances of misconduct alluded to. No man could read without
indignation the treatment inflicted upon three of the prisoners, on
the head of one of whom a blister had been put, not for the purpose of
administering relief or consolation, as such remedies were applied in
cases of disease, but to augment the punishment of an individual
for refractory conduct. Such an instance of cruelty could not be
read without indignation, not only against the person applying for a
blister, but the medical man who had administered it. He did not ask
the House to withhold their unqualified censure from those who had
so justly incurred it ; but he only called upon them to suspend their
judgment upon the whole case, until tlie evidence necessary to enable
thein to form a correct opinion, was in a state to be presented. With
respect to the case of Mr. Hunt, he should only remark, that the
circumstances must, indeed, be very special and very strong which,
in the present instance, would induce him to discuss it, particularly
as the subject would, in a few days, come before them in the shape of
a specific motion ; but he had no objection to state the result of the
inquiries he had made into Mr. Hunt's condition in the prison. Mr.
Hunt occupied two rooms in the Gaol, which had a northern aspect ;
the adjoining ward was appropriated for the reception of two prisoners
who waited on him; and he had the privilege of walking at stated times
in the yard. That contradictory orders had been issued respecting Mr.
Hunt, he knew ; but he must defend the Magistrates ofthe County of
Somerset from the suspicion of being actuated by unworlhy motives
in any part of their conduct. He believed that the Magistrates who
attended the Gaol were as well disposed as possible to make the
situation of Mr. Hunt as comfortable as was consistent with the dis
charge of their duties. Commissioners were now sitting to consider
how far the situation of Ilchester Gaol was susceptible of improve
ment. With respect to the admission of Mr. Hunt's friends, he could
only say that the High Sheriff had taken upon his own responsibility
to admit them, subject to the terms of the former regulation which sub
sisted when Mr. Hunt first entered the' prison, and to which he
was not understood to have objected. It was evident, from what had
transpired, that the Magistrates had taken the greatest pains to
render the Gaol as commodious as possible, and to remedy the obvious
defects of its situation. They had directed an inquiry to be conducted
by the Clerk of the Peace and the county surveyor, to ascertain
the best manner of repairing the prison, and to report the progress

31

tliey had made at the next quarter sessious. That some of the Magis
trates wore guilty of negligence, lie would candidly admit, but it
had obviously arisen from their confidence in the Gaoler, who had de
served every praise for his conduct during the time that the typhus
fever raged in the prison. He did not refer to that conduct as in
any degree palliating the subsequent misconduct proved against the
Gaoler, but only as justifying the confidence which it appeared tha
Magistrates had reposed in him; he came to them from the Hulks,
recommended by an excellent character, and it was by his previous
conduct he had been able, naturally enough, to impose upon them.
So well had he deserved that character when he first had the superin
tendance ofthe prison, that the Hon. Member opposite (Mr. Buxton),
when he had visited it, said, " I was not so fortunate as to see the
Gaoler, but the general aspect of the prison convinced me that he had
done his duty well towards the Magistrates, who had also nobly
discharged theirs." The Right Hon. Gentleman concluded by urging
the propriety of placing a confidence in the integrity and impartiality
of the Magistracy, op account of the great importance of their gra
tuitous sen ices to the country, and the necessity of giving them the
fullest support.
Mr. BENNET said, that nobody would be more ready to retract
at his own cost a hasty expression, than he should ; for, by doing
so, he should have the consolation of feeling that he was performing
an act of justice. But here he felt no disposition to retract the ex
pressions he had applied to tho Visiting Magistrates for their neglect.
The censure which he cast upon them was justified .by the Report,
and he should feel it to be his duty, if the subject were not taken up
by others, to move an Address to the Crown for their removal. Why
had they not inquired into the case of the man who was thrown in
irons into a solitary oell? Why had they not taken the trouble to
look over the prison books, and inquire the cause of their being
so interlined, so mutilated, and so defaced 1 He begged not to be
understood as passing a sweeping censure upon the whole Magistracy
of the County of Somerset. God forbid that he should cast imputa
tions upon such a body, or undervalue their general utility. It was
the Visiting Magistrates of whom he complained, for a negligent
discharge of their duty in superintending the affairs of the prison.
Mr. HUME disclaimed any sweeping charge against the Magis
tracy ; but he stiU thought, with his Hon. Friend, that the imputa
tions against the Visiting Magistrates were sustained by the Report.
He had, however, no objection to await the printing ofthe evidence,
and to withhold his final decision until he had heard both sides. He
was glad to hear the Right Hon. Gentleman recommend their not
deciding until both sides were fully heard. It would be well if the
Right Hon. Gentleman's example were adopted by his Majesty's
Ministers in general, instead of pursuing the course which they had
decided upon in the recent case of an Hon. and Gallant Friend of his,
by an unjust, hasty, and ill-digested proceeding.
The SOLICITOR- GENERAL was merely anxious to state, in
explanation of the repeated allusion which had been made to the part
taken by two of the Judges respecting the regulations for Ilchester
Gaol, that he had seen both the original and the altered rules. In
the original, there were certainly three or four very harsh regulations,
which the Judges deemed improper, and had disallowed; but neither
in point of law, nor in point of feeling, could he see any thing objec
tionable in the rules now adopted.
The Petition was then brought up, and ordered to be printed.

3-2
In the House of Commons, on the 14th of March —
Mr. NEWMAN presented a petition from the inhabitants of the
city of Exeter, complaining that the sentence of Mr. Hunt, at present
confined in Ilchester Gaol, had been considerably aggravated by the
regulations which had been enforced by certain Magistrates ; one of
the effects of which had been to place the prisoner in solitary confi
nement. Mr. STUART WORTLEY took this opportunity of stating that
he fully concurred in the sentiments which had been expressed last
night, on the subject to which the petition referred, by an Hon.
Gentleman opposite (Mr. F. Buxton.) No man could approve less
than he did of the usage which Mr. Hunt had received. He was
of opinion that that individual had been exceedingly ill-treated (loud
cries of hear), and that he had suffered more punishment than the
Judges intended he should receive. lie could not help thinking that
it would be generous on the part of Parliament to take measures to
induce the King to extend his mercy to Mr. Hunt. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. HUME observed, that the Hon. Bart, who represented the
county of Somerset (Sir T. Lethbridge) had stated, on a former night,
that the High Sheriff of the county had issued orders that Mr. Hunt
should be at perfect liberty to walkabout for exercise when he pleased.
Now, he held in his hand a letter from Mr. Hunt, dated yesterday,
from wluch it would appear, that the statement of the Worthy Bart.
was not correct. Mr. Hunt said, in his letter, that, by order of Dr.
Colston, the door of his little ward was still kept closed, except dur
ing three hours. If this fact were true, it afforded evidence, after all
that had passed, of a disposition on the part of some persons to per
secute Mr. Hunt.
Mr. N. CALVERT expressed his full concurrence in all that had
fallen from the Hon. Member for Yorkshire (Mr. S. Wortley).
SIR T. LETHBRIDGE affirmed, that the High Sheriff of the
county of Somerset had written a letter, to direct that Mr. Hunt should
receive every indulgence compatible with his safe keeping. The peti
tion stated, that Mr. Hunt had been placed in solitary confinement.
That was untrue. It might appear from investigation that Mr. Hunt had
been subjected to some regulations contradictory one with another,
and which he did not stand there to defend. Those regulations had
excited the indignation of Mr. Hunt, and it might be said, that he
had placed himself in solitary confinement. He was convinced that
it would turn out, upon investigation, that Mr. Hunt had given un
necessary trouble to the House, by bringing forward unfounded
charges. With respect to himself, he (Sir T. Lethbridge) could say
that he had very little to do with the management of the Gaol.
When Mr. Hunt was first consigned to the prison, he (Sir T.
Lethbridge) having known him for several years, visited him, and
commiserating his situation, endeavoured to procure for him every
allowable indulgence. He, however, as he had before observed, had
very little influence upon the management of the Gaol, as he lived at
a considerable distance from it, and visited it very seldom. He en
treated the House to pause before they proceeded to pass sentence
upon those persons against whom Mr. Hunt had preferred charges.
Here the Hon. Bart, alluded to what had been said last night with
respect to the unwholesome state of the Gaol, and expressed his belief,
that when the improvements which were contemplated should be carried
into execution, no ground of complaint could remain. The Gaol
had not always been in its present state. There was a time when
Mr. Hunt thought it a more excellent prison than any other. He was

33
inclined to think that not the state of the Gaol, but Mr. Hunt's opi
nions, had undergone a change.- It appeared almost impossible that
a Gaol which Mr. Hunt had once described as a perfect paradise, should
be so radically bad as some persons would have the House and the
country believe.
SIR R. WILSON drew this inference from the statement which
the Hon; Bart. (Sir T. Lethbridge) had made of the opinion which
Mr. Hunt had formerly entertained of the Gaol — namely, that Mr.
Hunt had not gone into confinement with a discontented mind, and a
disposition to complain. The favourable opinion which Mr. Hunt had
formerly expressed with respect to the Gaol, fortified rather than im
paired his present statements. It appeared that during the period
when the management of the Gaol was under the directions of Sir
Charles Bampfylde, Mr. Hunt was treated with perfect kindness ; and
it was only since the control of the prison had been taken from
the Baronet, that Mr. Hunt complained of the usage which he had
received. After some further remarks from Sir T. Lethbridge, Sir J. Graham
and Mr. Newman, the petition was ordered to be laid on the table
and to be printed.

To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament as
sembled.
The Petition of Charles Hill, late of Creech St. Michael,
but for the last sixteen years a prisoner in his Majesty's
Gaol of Ilchester, in the county of Somerset,
Humbly Sheweth, ,
That" your Petitioner was the Collector ofthe Parochial
and King's Taxes in the parish of Creech,, in the years
1802f and 1S03 ; that in consequence of his inability to col
lect the said faxes, he became iri arrears to the Crown in
the sum of 719/. 13s. 6d. whereupon your Petitioner was
thrown into Ilchester Gaol — his property and his estates
were sejzed and disposed of in the most lawless, ruinous,
and wasteful manner. The proceeds, by the shewing of
those who took upon themselves, without any lawful
authority, to dispose ofthe said estates, amounted, with the
arrears of uncollected taxes, to 6851. leaving a balance due
from your Petitioner to the Crown of 34L, for which sum
your Petitioner has been incarcerated in the horrible Bas
tile of Ilchester foi- 16 ^ears; a place far surpassing in in
famy and insalubrity any thing of the kind ever before
known in once free'and hajjpy England; ¦
Your Petitioner has lately1 ascertained that the persons
who thus' illegally seized and sold his property, dishonestly
detained it, And never paid it to the Crown, which may in
some measure account • for the apparent cruelty of the
2 E

34
Lords of the Treasury, in keeping an old man of 76 years
of age, so long incarcerated in a damp, unwholesome, and
pestilential gaol.
Your Petitioner, for the last 12 years of his imprison
ment, in common with other prisoners confined in the said
Gaol for debt, has suffered the greatest privations, and the
most cruel and unwarrantable treatment from the Gaoler,
who has always been encouraged and protected in his
mal-conduct by the Magistrates.
Your Petitioner, at the early period of his imprisonment,
made frequent and earnest representations of his grievances
and ill-treatment to the Magistrates, but ahvays in vain ;
for when your Petitioner made any complaint and solicited
redress, however respectful and humble in his application,
he always met with a rebuff from the said Magis
trates, who never gave your Petitioner a fair op
portunity of substantiating his charges, but imme
diately, without any inquiry, they acted upon the
false representation, and decided upon the bare assertion
of the Gaoler, who has been proved to be a notorious, aban
doned, and barefaced liar ; and instead of your Petitioner
gaining redress, fresh privations or new punishment was
sure to follow.
Your Petitioner begs most distinctly to state, that up to
the period of the late investigation (before the Magistrates
and the Commissioners), which was conducted by Mr.
Hunt, he never recollected an instance where the com
plaint of a prisoner was investigated, or ever redressed ;
and as far as your Petitioner's memory serves him, he can
recollect but very few instances where the complainant
escaped persecution or punishment.
To the Visiting Magistrates and to the Perpetual Under-
Sheriffs are these dreadful evils, and all the cruelties and
atrocities that have been committed in the said Gaol, to be
attributed (some few of which only are detailed in the evi
dence taken before the Commissioners) ; for although your
Petitioner believes that the Gaoler, Bridle, possessed a bad
heart and a cruel disposition, yet he could never have car
ried on such horrid practices for so many years, if he had
not been upheld in them by the said Visiting Magistrates
and Under Sheriffs,, (the High Sheriff having seldom or
ever attended the Gaol ; and your Petitioner never re
collects any Grand Jury having attended the Gaol, during
the whole period of his cruel incarceration), your Peti
tioner unequivocally states," that the said Magistrates and

35
Under Sheriffs, Brodrip and Mellior, cannot with any sh ew
of truth, plead ignorance as to the existence of these atro
cities, because, to your Petitioner's knowledge, they were
repeatedly laid before them, many, many years back.
Your Petitioner, driven almost to despair, made many
fruitless attempts' to call the attention of your Honourable
House to those grievances and atrocities, but these, alas !
have met. with the opposition, and his faithful, honest, and
true statement of facts contained therein, has been flatly
and broadly contradicted by the Honourable Member for
the county, William Dickenson, Esq. who has always re
sided very near the Gaol when in the country, and who
has been a constant attendant at the Gaol Sessions ; and
your Petitioner is sorry to add, he has always been one of
the foremost to put down and stifle all fair inquiry into the
afore-mentioned transactions, as well in the Gaol as in
your Honourable House.
In consequence of such cruel treatment during such a
long imprisonment, in such a damp and pestilential place,
your Petitioner has suffered great mental affliction, and his
constitution has been grievously impaired and broken
down. During most ofthe winters that your Petitioner has
been an inhabitant of the horrid pest-house, it has been
repeatedly inundated with the floods, consequently the
Gaol has been visited with dreadful fevers, and great sick
ness amongst the inmates, so much so at one time that the
Judges refused to try the prisoners. During the last win
ter there were six floods in a few weeks, which inundated
the whole of the ground-floor ofthe Gaol.
Your Petitioner, for eight years, was illegally prohibited,
in violation of the Statute Law of the land, from purchas
ing even a pint of beer, and with savage inhumanity, at
the same time that he was prohibited by the Visiting Ma
gistrates from receiving even a pint of small beer as a
gift from a friend or relative, your Petitioner was obliged
to drink the most filthy, disgusting, and unwholesome
water, which was contaminated from the oozings from the
privies, he being savagely prohibited from having any
water from the town.
Your Petitioner, for the last twelve years of his incarce
ration, was never allowed to see a friend, his daughter, or
his attorney in private, being compelled to see them in the
common conversation-room, where felons, convicts, and all
those committed for the worst of crimes ; and even where
those committed for murder, saw and consulted with their

36
attorneys ; and where scenes the most revolting to
decency and humanity constantly occurred. Amongst all
the hardships, amongst the black catalogue of atrocities
and cruelties, illegally inflicted upon the poor debtors
confined in the said Gaol of Ilchester, by the said Magis
trates and Under Sheriff, this your Petitioner considers to
be the most disgraceful, cruel, inhuman, and unnatural ; and
what renders this circumstance still more revolting is, that
since the Report of the Royal Commissioners has been
made, the said Magistrates have made an order which sub
jects even the wives of debtors to this horrible and dis
gusting association in the said infamous conversation-room :
a degradation and prostitution of all decency* that they
were never before compelled to submit to. While your
Petitioner was in the said Gaol, the wives of debtors havinu-
been always before admitted into the wards with their
husbands, where they are now prohibited from going ;
thus have these wanton violatorsof the law, daringly set
at defiance the pointed suggestions in the Report of the
Honourable Commissioners.
Your Petitioner therefore humbly but earnestly prays
that your Honourable House will make a signal example
of the said Visiting Magistrates and Perpetual Under
Sheriffs, as a warning to others, so that such wicked and
evil-disposed persons may in future be deterred from
wreaking their malignant and cruel passions upon the
poor and defenceless prisoners who may unfortunately be
placed in their power.
And your Petitioner shall, as in dutv bound, ever pray.
&c. i CHARLES HILL.

Printed by T. Dolby, Britannia Press, 299. Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE ahd FEMALE,
oj?
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Iletiister Bistii.k, 23d day, 7th month, "d yearof the M*nch«it»*
Massacse, without retribution or inquiry.
April 8, 182a.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
" Poor Hunt is quite forgotten," exclaimed the hire
ling editor of the infamous Courier newspaper, about a
year and a half back ; but I should think that the debates
in the House of Commons, arising out of the numerous pe
titions presented from all parts of the kingdom, within
the last two months, must have made the readers of the
dirty time-serving hack blush for his falsehoods.
Since my last address to you, my friends, petitions have
been presented to the Honourable House from the cities
of Exeter, Bath, Bristol, York, and Coventry.; from Liver
pool, Manchester, Stockport, Leeds, Paisley, Moseley, Old
ham, Warwick, Kenilworth, Heytesbury, Bethnal-green,
Ashton-under-Line,Rochdale,Bedminster,and other places,
all remonstrating with the Honourable House against the
infamous treatment I have received at the hands of the
worthy Somersetshire Magistrates, most of them condemn
ing the vindictive sentence of two years and six months'
imprisonment, and many of them praying for a remission
of my sentence. Other towns, such as Hull, for instance,
not choosing to petition the House any more till their
3 a,

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

former petitions were taken into -consideration, have sent
up addresses, numerously signed, to be presented to the
King for the same purpose. For this generous expres
sion of public opinion, I am most truly grateful ; it
has had the desired effect; I have been released from the
persecution of solitary confinement ; I have been allowed
to see my friends ; and although the Rev., Dr. Colston and
the, other Visiting Magistrates have been guilty of one
or two little -flirty acts, such as closing the door of my
ward, and, as far as they had the power, excluding every
breath of fresh and pure air from my- apartment, yet the
g-eneral indignation and disgust which their conduct has
excited, has at length induced them to keep at a respect
ful distance ; and, at any rate, I am relieved from being
obliged to witness the disgusting spectacle of seeing them
perform their preposterous anticks, and I am no longer
insulted with their presence and the- mockery of being
/asked, " if I wanted any thing of the Visiting Magis
trates?" Many, of these petitions have been signed by
targe numbers, of from three to ten thousandnames, hastily
procured: I have received letters from Paisley, to say,
that four thousand signatures were voluntarily affixed to
the petition from that town in the short space of two
days ; that the numbers would have been treble, but the
petitioners were anxious to have it presented before Sir
P. Burdett's promised motion. It was the same at Leeds,
Newcastle, and various other places. My, worthy friend,
Mr. Jackson, writes me from Hull, that the address to
the King sent from that town received the signatures
of the' most respectable Magistrates, Clergy, Bankers,
and. Merchants, always excepting, of course) the tools
and expectants of the Ministers. If this expression of
public .opinion has not satisfied me and my friends, we
must have been most unreasonable beings indeed ; in
fact, I am so much gratified; that it has surpassed in re-

ality and effect my most sanguine expectations,1 and I
shall consider, myself under the most lasting obligation to
Judge Best, Judge Dickenson, the amiable and Reverend
Dr. Colston, and the rest of the^worthy junto of Justices
ofthe Peace for the bounty of Somerset, who so happily
planned, and1 -so humanely carried into execution the
notable and Christian-like plan of, locking;me up; iii soli
tary confinement. They have rendered me the' most, impor
tant service, which I promise them never to forget. Icon-
sider Best, the Judge of Assize, and Dickensony the Judge
of Quarter Sessions, to be the principals in this affair ;
the others are mere underlings, and therefore they are
not entitled to so great a. portion, of my attention. But
the debates in Parliament upon the subject- have pro
duced the very best effect.- The supporters of tyranny,
persecution, and injustice are quite ' chap-fallen. Many
of them who endeavoured to stifle all inquiry and com
plaint when the petitions- of Hill, Hillier, and Gardener
were presented to the: Honourable House by Mr. Alder
man, Wood, have now recanted ; many of those- who
endeavoured to brow^beat and drive the .worthy Alder
man from his purpose, by denying all the allegations con
tained in the petitions, and declaring that all the state
ments of the worthy ; Alderman were unfounded — those
who-decla'red that the Somersetshire Magistrates were
the most honourable, the Ilchester Gaoler the most hu-
111 ane, and the Gaol the very best and most morally and mildly
corfductedin the whole world — who almost swore that the
Gaol and the Gaoler were the envy of surrounding nations
— all these, with the exception of Baring, the Member for
Taunton, have retreated, eaten their words, and; apolo
gized to the worthy Alderman, the Honourable House
and the country, for the manner in which they attempted
to impose upon them. Amongst this number is Dr. iush-
ington, Sir Isaac Coffin, Mr. Fowell Buxton, Mr. Bright,

of Bristol, Scarlett, and several others. Dickenson and
Lethbridge still endeavour to brave it out, as to the Ma
gistrates and the Gaol, in spite of the Report ofthe Com
missioners; and they now lay it on thick and three-fold
upon the wretched, abandoned devil of a Gaoler, as if
this would take off the odium from themselves and the
rest of the Magistrates of the county, who have so long
and so obstinately supported, protected, screened, and
upheld the said Gaoler in his atrocious and cruel proceed
ings. What is become of the redoubtable Member for
Taunton, the loan-jobber ? You will not fail to recol
lect, my friends, that it was mostly the Whigs that en
deavoured to stifie the inquiry and to deter Alderman
Wood from proceeding to present the petitions of the poor
suffering prisoners — you should never forget this. It was
the Barings, the Fowell Buxtons, the Brights, the Lush-
ingtons, and the Coffins, that rose in full cry, and joined
the ringleader, Dickenson, to vouch for the character of
the Magistrates and the Gaoler, who wished the Honour
able House to take their words that the above amiables
were the most just and humane men in the world, and
that all which the prisoners had stated were falsehoods,
not to be believed, and which ought not to be attended
to. It is the sanction of these mock patriots, the Whigs,
that have upheld the system so long ; without their sanc
tion it could never have lasted half this time ; and if the
worthy Alderman bad not been staunch to the back-bone,
they would have bullied him. out of it. I sincerely be
lieve there is not any other man in the House, excepting
Alderman Wood, but would have been beat down and
deterred from proceeding by the jeers, the taunts, and
the insults which these gentry offered him. Of all the
assertions that were made, none were more calculated to
stifle inquiry than those put forth by a person of the
name of Bright, the Whig Member for Bristol. This

Gentleman blazed away at the Alderman ; declared all
his statements to be false; that the Magistrates of the
county were, by his account, the most honourable ; and
the way in which the Gaol of Ilchester was conducted
reflected the greatest credit upon them ; and, from his
account, the Gaoler was entitled rather to reward than
censure. He also took occasion to vilify me, because, no
doubt, he thought it would please the hypocritical Whigs
of Bristol, who were always in their hearts greater ene
mies of Liberty than the Tories ; in fact, the advocates
and partizans of Sir Samuel Romilly proved themselves
the greatest tyrants, and more intolerant than their op
ponents of the White Lion Club. One of theirown agents,
James Mills, when he was examined before the Committee
of the House of Commons, stated, upon his oath, that
there was as much bribery and corruption carried on by
the friends of Sir Samuel, as there was by the friends of
Davis and Protheroe ; that Mr. Hunt was the only candi
date whose election was conducted upon constitutional
principles. This upstart Gentleman, Mr. Bright, it is true,
has recanted, and has, in the vulgar phrase, eaten his
words ; the fact is, that when he made such a gallant at
tack upon me behind my back, and where he knew I
could not answer him ; and when he attacked the worthy
Alderman, and denied his statements, he knew nothing
at all about the matter ; he knew nothing about the Gaol
or the Gaoler, but he let fly at a venture ; and if the whole
House of Commons had been composed of such Members
as he is, no inquiry would have taken place, Bridle
would have still had the power of torturing his fellow.
creatures, and, in all probability, I should have died of
some hereditary cancer long before this time. Talk of
the representatives of the people, indeed — this upstart
chap is as much the representative of the people of Bris
tol as, he is the representative of the Janissaries at Con-

stanlinop-lei Of the two, Mr. Davis;'tobl as he is, is' the
better man. But: I hope I shall some day have an oppor
tunity of calling this upstart to an account for his conduct
to his face. -I . shall be told, perhaps, that he is a young
manandhe knew no better, and that' he has repented.
Well, then, if he has, and if he means what is right, let
him, the next time he goes to Bristol, cause an inquiry into
the' conduct ofthe humane Gaoler Humphries; he will
find quite enough to reform in the new'prisbn at Bristol.
This worthy, humane Mr. Humphries is a most intimate
friend of the infamous Bridle, who has been very lately to
visit him, for !th& purpose of tampering with one of the
witnesses that gave evidence before the Commissioners
at Ilchester. This'is a circumstance that deserves inquiry,
and Mr. .Bright might, try his hand for once in endeavour
ing to tread in the steps'of an honest man, such as Alder
man Wood. Let iim look at home, he will find quite
enough to do at the Bristol New Gaol, where, I under
stand, the very humane Mr. Turnkey Harvey has been
promoted from Shepton Mallet Gaol ; and if he conducts
himself in the same humane manner as. he did there; the
Lord have mercy upon the poor prisoners. "'* ¦
As for the motion of Sir Francis Burdett-, it is in vain
for him to put it Off. It is quite childish to expect that
the Ministers will advise,his Majesty to grant me a par
don ; they' will do no such thing. This would be a direct
censure upon their tools, the .J  ; iri fact, it would be
to censure themselves, for it was evidently their sen
tence. To* palaver and beg: and pray the Ministers to
get the remainder of my sentence remitted, upon the plea
that I have been made to suffer more than the Judges in
tended, this is all a hoax ; and besides, I do not believe
it to be true. I may have suffered more than, Judge Bay-
ley: intended ; but will any honest man place his hand
upon his heart and say that he believes that I have suffer-

ed'more than Best and the other two Judges ofthe Court
of King's. Bench intended?.. I believe that Judge Best
would have had me tortured to death, if he Could have bad
his will. 1 believe he votedtformy sentence to be six year's
imprisonment; Holroyd voted for two, Abbott two,
and Bailey not an hour. But six for Best, and two each
. for Holroyd and Abbott, > added together, make- ten.
Ten divided by four, the number of Judges of the Court
of King's^ Bench, makes two and a half, This; it
seems; did not satisfy Best ; but he took the Western
Circuit last summer, and when at Bridgewater, he signed
an order for nty being excluded from seeing any human
being but the officers of the Gaol, unless it was at the
felons' cage' or double grating. .Therefore, to say that I
have suffered more than the Judges intended, or so much
as some*of them, intended I should suffer, is quite absurd,
preposterous, And untrue : therefore I trust that neither
Sir Francis Burdett, nor any other honest Member of Par
liament, will urge a remission of my sentence upon any
such sham-plea. Remission of sentence, indeed ! I warrt
none of their remission: Mercy, forsooth! mercy from
those men who sanctioned the cowardly and cruel mur
ders of unarmed men, women, and children, at Man
chester ! — Not I," indeed: I scorn their mercy. If the
King chooses to kick the. rumps of the Judges and his
Ministers, by sending me down a pardon, why I cannot
help myself; Mr. Hardy can, turn me out of this dungeon
at once. By Heavens ! I solemnly, declare, that I will
accept of nothing short of this ! and I would father cut
my tongue out,, than I would suffer it to pronounce thanks
even for that. . Not I, indeed — I want no mercy — I will
accept of no favour: they, know me .too well — they dare
not offer nie any compromise. Mercy, indeed ! I demand,
and boldly demand justice upon the heads of the guilty
murderers — justice upon the more guilty instigators —

justice upon the still more guilty cold-blooded abettors —
and justice upon alj those who have been concerned in
committing the grossest act of injustice, and insulting the
whole nation in my person. I had written my determina
tion to Mr. Saxton and to many other friends, and, in fact,
to some of the Members of Parliament, who have stood
up so manfully in the Honourable House on my behalf,
when I was suffering in solitary confinement. I meant to
have said nothing till Sir Francis Burdett had made his
motion ; but that the Honourable Baronet has, for the
third time, postponed it over the holidays, and upon the
express understanding that he will make this motion on
the 24th, (when there will be a call of the House) unless
his Majesty's Ministers should do something in the
mean time to render his motion unnecessary. After this
declaration of the Honourable Baronet, it is necessary
that I should speak out, and say most unequivocally, that
I am no party to this apparent sort of compromise : I feel
myself called upon to say this, lest it should be thought
that I was privy to the Baronet's delaying his motion. I
take leave unequivocally to state, that Sir Francis Bur
dett gave notice of his motion without my knowledge,
and without any previous communication with me or any
of my friends. But, previous to the time of his bringing
on the intended motion, I wrote to him my sentiments
upon the subject, and expressed to him unequivocally
what my feelings were thereon, which were in unison with
what I have above written. I did this in justice to Sir
Francis as well as myself, that I should not be liable to
the accusation of pertinacity or ingratitude hereafter, and
because I thought it would be treating him with disrespect,
and doing myself an injustice, to suffer him to proceed in
his motion, without acquainting him with my honest opi
nion upon the subject : in doing this, I did not presume to
dictate to him, who is so very competent to act for him-

self; 1 merely stated candidly what were my views and
feelings thereon. I believe that my letter discovered
fresh matter, which the Baronet thought proper to make
himself fully acquainted with, before he brought on his
motion. I am not the least disappointed at the delay,
perhaps it is much best that it should be so, as there will
now, in all probability, be a full attendance, and an im
portant debate may ensue. Perhaps the Honourable
Baronet was quite right in saying what he did when he
deferred his motion till after the holidays, because it put
his Majesty's Ministers in an awkward situation, by hint
ing at that which he knew they had neither the inclina
tion nor the policy to perform. All that I am anxious for
is, that it should be clearly understood^ that I am no party
to any compromise, or to any communication with the
Ministers whatever. I am not at all impatient under my
sentence ; I am perfectly ready and willing to endure the
full measure of the incarceration that was intended by the
sentence. The thirtieth of October will arrive al
most before I am prepared for it. All I require is, to be
treated properly ; all I ever did require for myself was,
to be treated as other prisoners committed for political
offences were treated. I beg it- to be clearly understood,
that so far from my being insensible ofthe kind intentions
of those numerous friends who have petitioned for the
remission of my sentence, I am excessively grateful for such
unanimous expression of public feeling ; but what may be
perfectly correct for the petitioners to demand, may be
very inconsistent for me to accept, of those who advised
the King to thank the Manchester Yeomanry for slaugh
tering his unoffending subjects. I have said, if these Mi
nisters should comply with the wishes of the petitioners,
and yield topublic opinion, that eveu then I will not thank
them. I certainly will not ; for, in the first place, all my
thanks would be due to your public spirit, my friends ;
3 b

10
and, in the next place, I would not thank the Ministers*,
because Iam sure that they would do nothing to serve me
or the cause of liberty or humanity. If they were to ad
vise a pardon, (which, by the bye, I do not believe they
have either' the courage or the honesty to do) but -if they
were to do it, I am sure it would only arise from cold, cal
culating stale policy; the very same policy that induced
the Ministers to have me imprisoned two years and six
months, might possibly induce them to order the doors of
mycfungeon to be thrown open. Nothing would have
induced them to do the one, nor will any thing impel
them to submit to the other, unless the crafty Castlereagh
should fancy that by such proceedings he should injure
my 'character with the public; if he thought it would
induce you/my friends, to withdraw your confidence from
me, and that, it wpuld lessen me in your estimation, why
then, from such policy as that, your wishes might be com
plied with. Only read the amiable writer in the Old
Times Newspaper the other day. He takes pains to con
vince the Government, that the best way to destroy my
power with the people, is to release me instanter, upon
the ground that I have already suffered more than the
, amiable Judges intended. Mr. Walter points out so very
sagaciously how the Ministers could most effectually in
jure me arid the cause of Reform, it is such a precious piece
of logic, it discovers so completely the Jesuitical character
ofthe author, the sort of policy' that a certain fac.tion which
supports the Times, would follow, if they were inpower: in
fact, it'is altogether so very unique, and at the same time'
so very simple arid so crafty, that I Will insert it to create
a laugh amongst my friends. The very meanest iri capa
city will see tlirough it at one glance ; it is divested of that
obscure sort Of reasoning with which the leading articles
of the Times are frequently mystified — it does riot require
to be read over' twice — it will be perfectly understood* at
the firsxt glance.

¦ .11
Extract from, dhe OWTiijies, April 4th,, 1822.
"Sir F. Burdett's motion for the liberation of Henry
Hunt has been postponed till the 24th. To treat this, sub
ject with the utmost delicacy, we must say, that all men
were surprised at the length .of Hunt's imprisonment ; and
it is impossible to. deny (in fact, no man can deny it in ear
nest), but that iq parsing that sentence, circumstances were
taken into consideration, which had not been tried by a
Court and Jury— namely,, the antecedent life and practices
of the defendant. A remission ofthe sentence; however,
or of any partof it, by the Crown, would, weare ready
to acknowledge, have been in the first instance unwise,
because it might have appeared to cast a reflection ^ upon
the Judges: but .since it has been discovered that even
that sentence, has been aggravated by the severity with
which it has been inflicted, it would have been no reflect
¦'--¦• i>v n'.',.." o.l -.-'¦ . - 1,1
tion upon any man to have^suffered the prisoner to buy out
'", . ' ' -' ¦ t"'1 .:. *C ,)'; '-j.jii' /.. ,
the future duration pf his confinement by its past severity.
What a. power ful effect, was produced, upon , the public
mind, bojth here and in France, by the gentle sentence
which was passed upon Sir Robert Wilson, Mr: Bruce, and
Mr. Hutchinson, for saying Lavalette. The defendants
might by law, have been sentenced to two years' imprison
ment. We can well, recollect the agreeable feeling which
was produced by the sentence ofr three months' confine
ment. .The most. determined enemies of the Bourbons
were silenced, or forced to acknowledge that the Judges
had acted most wisely for the interests of the reigning
family. There was no murmur of dissatisfaction any where.
-''¦ '• . ' -¦ i. "' " -VK i.'.-'u:
Government acquired the reputation of being strong
enough tp show mercy.
"• It is, besides, astonishing that Ministers cannot under
stand the policy of humanity, even exclusively of the re-'
ligioits obligation which all men are under to forgive their
ene^nies. If Hunt were let out- now, it would be clear to

12
every one that he owed his liberty to the clemency ofthe
Gpfvernment ; and let him conduct himself how he might,
he must do them service. If, from a sense- of obligation,
he were temperate and mild in his future proceedings,
they would have the advantage Of the altered tone: per
haps he might, even be cast off by his followers' ? as too
tame for their purposes. If he recommenced his. reform
ing career with equal violence, to the other faults with
which he has been reproached, would be added that of
ingratitude ; and as the fate of Old Cob'bett shows the
, appearance of some moral qualities is necessary even in
those who lead the meanest of mankind, Government
would have gained by the apparent deterioration of cha
racter in one of iis adversaries. Should the motion of
Sir F. Burdett fail, whenever Hunt does come forth from
his prison/ he will come forth as a martyr, and he will be
hailed, cheered, and solaced by admiring myriads. If the
only legal object of human punishments be the correction
of offence, the end of this punishment, -thus unwisely pro-
, tracted, will be to increase offence, and to multiply incal
culably the partisans and friends Of the offender. Hunt
will be thought to be retained in prison simply and exclu- "
sjvely from a vindictive feeling. And if, as is acknow
ledged on all sides, he has., from the manner of his confine
ment, suffered more than the Judges intended to inflict, it
is now proper to ask — what compensation is to be made
him for his excess of punishment?' A proper leniency
towards him for the remaining part of his term cannot
' undo the rigours of tlie past. He is, therefore, an aggrieved
subject." Ha! ha! ha! Do laugh with me; my friends, lay down
, the number, and have a good hearty laugh at the sublime
stupidity of Mr. John Walter, of the Old Times. . You see
this worthy has always an eye to the main chance ; he be
gins already, although slyly, to long for another subject

13
to give, a staft to the sale 6f The Times— Profit and Losi
is his motto ; in his heart he Icings, for another Manchester '-
massacre— another York trial. The farce that is now .
performing at Lancaster will^ftot pay for the express—'
there will be no increased sale of The Times produced by
the mighty exertions of Mr. Joshua Evans and Mr. Black-
bourn. No, no ! Mr. Wa Wer knows -this ve¥y well, and
therefore he begins, atthbugh slyly, to fight a better cock.
I understand that he (pen says that Hunt is the best
friend The Times ever had ; it is currently reported that
at the' time of the Manchester affair, and the: York trial,
the sale of The Times wasijicreased to an enormous ex
tent, and that it has continued to sell two thousand a day
more ever sihpe. This increased sale of two thousand a
day puts into Mr. Walter's pocket not less, tharr ten thou
sand pounds a year. He talks in the paragraph above of
my ingratitude to the Government ; many openly accuse
Mr. Walter of ingratitude to me — his best friend ; but let
Mr. Walter alone, he knows well how to make the most
of me, I'll warrant you, he knows how tp fight his cock ;
he knows that the only "wdy that he can raise me in the
estimation of the public, is to profess to' dislike me, and
to abuse me. The article above is aspfecimen of Mr. Walt
ter's talent, he dare not write what he thinks, because it
would not suit many of his readers, they are notyetprepared
to Telish the truth ; therefore,, my friends, you miist not. set '
Mr. John Walter down for so bad a sort of fellow as he
might seem to be. It is a sublime idea that' " of buying
out future confinement by past severity." This shows;
the man to a,hair. When Walter's father was sen-
teheed tb Newgate for a gross libel upon the present King*
at the time he was Prince of Wales, it seems he was hired
to do.so by the Ministers of that day, firho promised to in
demnify him ; however, after having nearly undergone the
term of his imprisonment, he was not satisfied with the

14
price, and he wrote or sent to Lord Folkestone, who was
in the oppositipn, saying, that the Ministers had not per
formed their promise, that they had only given him seven
hundred, pounds, and if they did not come down more
handsomely, that he would expose them. This is always
the way with these independent politicians ofthe daily
press,' once put yourself in their power, and they will
fleece you without mercy ; and if you will not stand ex
tortion, they will betray you. So it was with this worthy,
the gentleman came out of Newgate,- if not a martyr, a
much richer man than he went in ; he kept his carriage
very soon after, and The Times flourished in Government
patronage, and was a ranlc supporter of Ministers till the
worthy proprietor found that he could do better by pretend
ing to be an oppositionist, taking-care at all times tosupport
the Ministers in the most wicked and dangerous part of
their system. The. circulation of The Times is much larger
and more extensive than any pther daily paper, perhaps
it doubles that of The Morning Chronicle, which is next
to The Times in point of sale. -I have- said often before,
and I now repeat it, The Times never attempts to lead
public opinion, it ; always follows it for profit. Profit,
profit, profit, is urMtriably its motto ; its praise or abuse
is always regulated by the calculation of pounds, shillings,
and pence. This is so determinedly its ruling quality, that
I sincerely believe that it would even praise Mr. Cobbett,
if it thought that its sale would be increased by it.
Now, my friends, let us look a little at what my Lord
Castlereagh has been sending forth for the benefit of the
jolter-headed country gentlemen, and for the besotted,
half-starved, ruined farmers, to chew the cud upon during
the Easter holidays. Look at the Report of the famous
Agricultural Committee. Lord Castlereagh meant it as an
April-fool trick upon the jolter-heads, but if carried into
effect it will be sure to add greatly to the power of that

15
monster ENGLAND'S GREATEST CURSE— corn law
taxation. Its evident intention is to raise the price of
bread corn, the staff of life, from TWELVE to FIFTEEN
shillings a quarter. Now mark what I am going to
say, if the price of wheat is risen TWELVE SHILLINGS
a quarter, it will raise the quartern loaf THREE HALF
PENCE ; this is an average poll-tax (taking the popula
tion at eighteen millions) upon each individual of-
THREE POUNDS TEN SHILLINGS annually, and is
a cruel and ruinous tax upon the consumers of bread, the
labouring classes of SIXTY-THREE MILLIONS of
POUNDS a year. Mark my words, and my warning
voice, once more : if the price of wheat is risen FIFTEEN
SHILLINGS a quarter, it will raise the quartern loaf, at
least, TWO PENCE ; this is an average poll-tax of FOUR
POUNDS THIRTEEN SHILLINGS upon each indi
vidual annually — for every thing that he eats, drinks,
and wears will be risen in proportion to the rise in the
price of bread, and it is a cruel and starving tax upon the
consumers of bread of EIGHTY-FOUR MILLIONS of
pounds a year. Now let the labouring and manufacturing
classes look to this in time — let them not disregard the
warning voice of ihe Captive of Ilchester. If they do
not instantly remonstrate against this new " STARVA
TION ACT," this new attempt to promote " ENG
LAND'S CURSE," it will be too late to cry 'cart after
the measure is once past. Those that have any squeamish
notions, or any delicacy about sending their remonstrances
to the House of Commons, would do well to send their
petitions to the House of Lords.
I remain, my friends,
Your's, most sincerely and devotedly,
H. HUNT.

16
I have received the Simnel Cake from the generous bids
and lasses of Bury, for >vhich I beg them.to accept my kind
est thanks. — (See address,) .This magnificent cake mea
sures two feet in diameter, and six feet in circumference.
THE INFAMOUS JUGGLE NOW PERFORMING AT
\.,.i. LANCASTER ASSIZES. r. , ."._
The newspapers inform us that the triaj , of Redford
versus Birley, and others of the. Manchester' Yeomanry,
has commenced. Mr. Justice Bayley and the Attorney-
General for the' county palatine of Lancaster, Scarlett, hav
ing declined to become a party to . the juggle, the per
formance is left to the care of Mr. Justice Hpltw/d, ^er-
ge^ants Hullock and Cross, Messrs. Ljtfiedale and Starkey,
as Counsel fpr the defendant and the, profound Messrs.
Joshua Evans, and Blackbourn for, the plaintiff All
that I predicted has already come to pass. The
case of Rjedfjorp: is closed ; *f good, Lord deliver, us'- from
such another. If Mr. Sergeant Huljock had no other ob
ject to obtain. but a verdioffor the defendants, he would
have appealed, tp; the. Judge, who would, I haye n°, doubt,
have directed a nonsuit at , once,.withput going into any
defence, as the plaintiff certainly made out no case at all.
However, the witnesses for the defence being ready drill
ed and well primed, and as there was no danger of any
detection from ,the csoss-examination pf > the profound
Messrs. Blackbourn and Joshua Evans, the defence
will be made tp serve all the purposes that I anticipated,
and as I expected. It is already proved — 1st, that the
Riot, Act was read ,• 2d, that the Yeomanry were assailed
by the unarmed people ; 3d, that the people were locked
together arm-in-arm seven _or eight deep mound the hust
ings ; 4th, that Redford himself, had been trained and
drilled ; &c. &c. Nay, the said Joshua called several of '
his own witnesses to prove that they had been drilled ;
and, altogether, he appears to have made a much worse

17
hand of it than I expected. I did expect that the said
Joshua would have put on the shew of cross-examination
at any rate ; but, from the report of the newspapers, they
have not kept up common appearances. The juggle is
too bare-faced. I shall only insert again what I said upon
the subject on the 1 1th of March, published in the post
script of my Letter to the Radicals, in the 30th Number
of my Memoirs, and there I shall leave it for the present.
Extract from the addenda of the 30th Number of Mr.
Hunt's Memoirs, published on the 1 6th of March: —
" P. S. I see in the Traveller newspaper of last night,
an account of the fatal action against Messrs. Birley and
the Manchester Yeomanry — Redford versus Birley and
others. I am still of opinion that this cannot be an honest
bond fide proceeding ; because I do not think there can
be any person or persons so idiotic, so muddle-headed, so
besotted, as to believe that any good can possibly be de
rived from it ; nor can any man be such a contemptible
ass as not to anticipate the very worst and most mis
chievous. Gracious Heaven ! 1 understand a Mr. Joshua
Evans is to be pitted against Mr. Scarlett ! ! ! Good Lord
deliver us ! ! ! I could weep tears of blood when 1 think
of it. So then at last' what the Government have been so
long sighing for in vain ; what Mr. Scarlett, the Solicitor
and Attorney-General ; what my Lords, the Judges, my
Lord Castlereagh, and all the Ministers, have been begging
for in vain, is now to be conceded them. So then the
bloody massacre on the 16th of August at Manchester,
where sixteen persons were murdered, and six hundred
sabred and badly wounded, is at last to be settled by an ac
tion of damages, by a base calculation of pounds, shillings,
and pence, instead of demanding blood for blood. If I was
Castlereagh, if I was one of the Ministers, I would have
given a million of money to have obtained such an action,
if I could not have got it without. Why it is worth half
this sum to Birley and the authorities. Why, if I was Hul
ton of Hulton, I would have given half, nay all, that I was
worth in the -world for such an action. Even Scarlett
would have given a year's income, penurious as he is.
We , shall now see Nadin, Parson Hay, &c. and the
whole host of swearers come forward ; that precious tribe,
that very set, who were ready primed and "loaded
waiting at York with the intention of outswearing every
3 C

18
thing and every body, till they saw the example that I
made of Hulton of Hulton. We shall now see them all
come forward. Hunt is safe in a West Country Bastile, and
I should not be at all surprised, if, through the instrumen
tality of the sagacious Mr. Joshua Evans and Co. they
were to prove the Riot Act being read — prove the attack
of the unarmed people upon the military — prove the sticks,
stones, pikes, Sec. I should not be surprised at all if they
were not only to prove all that they attempted and failed
in doing at York, but if they should prove all that was
asserted in the House of Commons and House of Lords.
Gracious God ! here will be a mess of it. Mr. Joshua
Evans pitted in the Court at Lancaster against Mr. Scar
lett — a frog against an elephant. Well, well ! ! we must
bear it all ; but I never expected to see such a mess of it
as this. Why, I abandoned my action against a cowardly
ruffian who struck me with a bludgeon upon the head
while I was in custody and pinioned by the constables,
because I saw all the misery attendant upon a trial at
Lancaster, for an assault, after the Grand Jury threw out
the bills preferred for a capital felony. Well, I would
rather have suffered another sentence of two years and six
months, than have lived to see this trial."
From what I have seen ofthe evidence produced for the
plaintiff, I have not the slightest doubt but there will be
a verdict for the defendants, even setting aside the circum
stance of its being tried before a Lancashire packed jury ;
but supposing that there should be a verdict for the plain
tiff, the object of the Government, the Magistrates, and
the Yeomanry will have been completely obtained. I
can only say, that amongst the whole number of persons
wounded, to the amount of seven or eight hundred, per
haps if the Government had been allowed to select a
case, they could not have found one better adapted to their
purpose than that of Redford. Mr. Sergeant Hui lock,
although he is a very heavy, stupid man, yet he appears
to be very superior to his profound adversaries, who may,
for aught I know, be very honest and honourable men
for lawyers ; but if they are no party intentionally to the
juggle, they must be the most simple of mortals.

19
COUNTRY BANKERS.
It is now high time to caution my friends not to keep
any country bank-notes, or, in fact, any bank-notes at all,
if they can get cash. These country bankers are dropping
off daily like rotten sheep. Mr. Ellice, Member for Coven
try, stated, on Wednesday, the 3d instant, in the House of
Commons, that by returns from the Stamp Office, it ap
peared that
In 1818, the issue of country bank-notes was £12,000,000
In 1821, the issue was only  2,500,000
This speaks for itself. Most of these paper-dealers either
are, or they pretend to be, landed proprietors. This pro
perty is daily deteriorating ; half of it is mortgaged for
more than its value, and when they stop payment, it is
generally found to be mortgaged or entailed ,• so that the
holders of their notes may think themselves well off in
future if they get one shilling in the pound under such cir
cumstances. At Warminster Market, on Saturday, Farmer Mundy,
of Boreham, sold ten sacks of wheat for five pounds, 2s. 6d.
a bushel. The notorious John Benett, of Corn Bill ce
lebrity, the Wiltshire Member, has discovered that the
country is not in so bad a state as some would make it
out to be ; and he sees great hope of relief for the farmer,
and appears to have set his heart upon a good slice of the
Chancellor ofthe Exchequer's 3,000 ,000Z. that is to be lent
at 3 per cent.

COPY OF AN ADDRESS TO THE KING FROM HULL.
May it please your Majesty — We, the undersigned
Clergy, Bankers, Merchants, Tradesmen, and other Loyal
Inhabitants of the town of Kingston-upon-Hull and its vi
cinity, beg leave most humbly and respectfully to address
your Majesty, for the purpose of expressing our sorrow
and surprise at the cruel treatment which your Majesty's

20
prisoner, Henry Hunt, Esq. has long experienced in the
Gaol at Ilchester: and further., considering the confine-
merit which said prisoner has already undergone, to be a
punishment more than adequate to his alleged offence, we
most earnestly implore your Majesty to exert the'just pre
rogative of the Throne in his behalf, and command the
immediate liberation ofthe said captive.
Hull, Uth March, 1822.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Respected Sir — The Reformers of Bury, impressed
with a high sense of gratitude for the services you have
rendered to the great cause of civil arid religious Liberty,
by the ability and perseverance with which you have un
masked corrupt peculation, and the undaunted manner in
which you have, in the midst of violent persecution and
vexatious, unmerited prosecutibns, inculcated the .neces
sity of Parliamentary Reform, beg leave most respectfully
to present you with their warmest thanks for your patri
otic exertions ; and at the same time to beg your accept
ance ofthe simnel that accompanies this, as a mark of their
esteem. Midlent Sunday, or (as it was formerly called
by the Catholics) the Sunday of refreshment, arid now de-
nominated by the inhabitants of this town Simnel Sunday,
is- the principal festival that is kept here,,, and the custom
is, perhaps, coeval with the town itself. " Having provided
themselves with cakes (made similar to the one now sent)
and eggs and ale, the inhabitants invite their relatives and
friends from the surrounding country and neighbouring
towns, arid regale friem with egged ale and simnel. When
the weather proves favourable^ vehicles' of every descrip
tion, from ihe capacious stage-coach to the humble taxed-
cart, arrive loaded with passengers. The young men and
maids generally contrive oh that day to exhibit their
best attire ; the shop-windows are open, and fill--

21" '
ed with simnels exposed-to sale:; arid such is sometimes
the influx of visitants* that the streets present one grand
panoramic view of the inhabitants of Manchester, Bolton,
Rochdale, &c. in bustling throngs moving through them,
each countenance beaming with satisfaction, and all seem
ing to partake of the < general joy. In the midst of these
festivities, the Reformers1 wish not to forget their incarce
rated friends/ but wish them to partake of their, joy as
much as the nature of their imprisonment will allow of.
Weare well aware that you, will not estimate the.gift by
its- own nominal value (for it would then, even though
the largest simnel made this year, be but a mere trifle),
but by the disposition and motives of the donors. It is
not presented to you by men nursed in the lap of luxury,
and fed on the produce of the labour of other hands than
their own. 'Tis'not the offering of an hungry expectant,
or a time-serving sycophant. It is the offering of your
labouring countrymen and countrywomen, who have.
cheerfully subscribed their pence to send you a humble
token of their esteem.
We have heard with indignation of the petty malice of.
your enemies at Ilchester. They seem not to be satisfied
with the sentence passed by the Court; in their, estima
tion it is not sufficiently severe, and their petty malice
prompts them to the infliction of any additional punish
ment the authority they possess will allow. But, with1
pleasure we have also heard, that through your resolute
opposition to their contemptible measures, their malicious
projects have been in a great measure defeated. We
hope, at the expiration of the term of your imprisonment,
you will be restored to your countrymen in perfect health ;
and that yoti will live to see the enemies of the people,
the perpetrators of the outrages of the fatal never-toibe-
forgdtten sixteenth of August, brought to justice. We,
on that fatal day, 'witptessed their thirst for blood; we

22
heard the cry of havock, and saw " let slip the" new-
fledged " dogs of war." The deeds of that day gave
the encrimsoned finishing stroke to the characters of our
enemies. We assembled with our fellow-countrymen,
confiding in the protection of the law ; the humane Ma
gistrates gave no notice of their intention to disperse the
meeting ; no Riot Act read ; no time given to disperse
peaceably; but we were exposed to military execution
without trial, or without even the knowledge of crime.
Meditating no breach ofthe peace, we assembled unarm
ed, relying on the justice of our cause. The opponents of
Parliamentary Reform could not meet us in the field Of
argument, but, as we were then circumstanced, they
knew they could with the sword. And for what were we
sabred ? — for what those very men, who then were opposed
to Reform, are now demanding — for seeking a redress of
grievances that pressed the industrious labouring class of
the community to the earth, and which now begins to be
felt by the landowner and the farmer. Their eyes are
opened, and they now make use of stronger language
than ever you or your colleagues ventured to utter. Why,
then, are they not subjected to Manchesterian law ? Or
why are you and your fellow-sufferers not released from
your dungeons?
Are they deluded? Send the brandy-valiant, gore-
droping, laurelled heroes of Peterloo to teach them the
" fundamental feature" on which true Tory loyalism
" hinges." To teach them humbly to " stand prostrate,"
to " turn their backs on themselves and prostrate their
understandings" to the powers that be, and if they are
refractory send them to Ilchester,
We hope at no very distant period to see the clouds
vanish from the political horizon ; to see the panders of
corruption unnested, and the rights of Englishmen respect
ed ; and in this hope we are strengthened from what has

23
already been effected by your own individual exertions,
and the persevering efforts of your friends. Let them
each do as much in the counties in which they reside, and
in the prisons they visit, as you have done in the Gaol
of Ilchester, in the county of Somerset, and the work is
done. With the best wishes for your happiness and welfare,
we remain your friends and fellow Britons,
Signed, on behalf of the Reformers of Bury,
JOHN RAY.
Bury, Lancashire, March 22d, 1822.

PETITIONS RELATIVE TO THE TREATMENT OF
MR. HUNT.
The following Petitions have been presented to the House
of Commons, since the publication of the last Number.
From the Inhabitants of the parish of Bedminster, in
the county of Somerset ; setting forth, that the Petition
ers have witnessed with admiration the laudable and per
severing exertions of Mr. Hunt, a state prisoner confined
in the County Gaol, situated in the town of Ilchester, in
bringing to light and exposing the mal-practices committed
within the walls of the said Gaol by William Bridle, the
late Gaoler, and his abettors. In consequence of the re
presentations of Mr. Hunt, the House addressed the King,
and a Royal Commission was sent down to Ilchester, to
inquire into the conduct of the Gaoler, and the state ofthe
Gaol; during the investigation before the Honourable
Commissioners, and previously before the Sheriff and Ma
gistrates of the county, it came out, upon oath, that great
atrocities had been perpetrated for a long period with im
punity ; that torture, and the most cruel and wanton
punishments had been inflicted on the prisoners; that
great frauds and waste had been committed on the pro
perty of the county ; that the most immoral, profligate,
and abandoned debaucheries were carried on and con
nived at; and, in fact, that such a horrid system was

24
adopted and practised as would have disgraced the cha
racter of the most savage and»unenlightened .period of our
history ; the consequences have been, thatthe Gaoler has
been disgraced and discharged; a new Gaohjr. has been
appointed ; . great, amelioration has -taken: place as to the
condition and treatment ofthe prisoners ; torture has been
abolished; great savings have been, made in the county
expenditure, amounting to one^haK ofthe sum ofthe Gaol
expense* and to two-thirds of the whole county rates ; .
and altogether the character of the county has been res
cued from the disgrace of continuing to connive "at,* and
countenance practices "which were long known, to exist,
and had frequently been complained of, but which no one
had courage or ability tp grapple with and expose till Mr.
Hunt devoted his -time, hisitalents, and his property, to
the accomplishment of the Herculean-task;, whicli he did,
under such disheartening and appalling circumstances, as
the Petitioners firmly believe would- have deterred any
other man from making the < attempt; particularly when
it is considered that Mr. Hunt was left-in the power, con
signed to> safe-keeping, -and placed under the, lock and
key ofthe accused during the whole time of. the investiga
tion, and, what is still more extraordinary, he was left in
this precarious situation for several months after the Gaoler
had ijeceived notice of his discharge; the Petitioners cannot
avoid expressing their regret; that at the time when they
thought Mr. Hunt entitled to the thanks and protection of
the county of Somefset, and meriting the gratitude of
every friend of morality, humanity, and. justice, in the
kingdom, that restrictions of a nature before unexampled
should have been imposed upon him by those from whom
(if they were not implicated in the charges preferred
against the Gaoler) he ought not only to have received
all necessary and rational accommodation, but he was de
serving of their indulgence, and the reward of the county
at large ; the Petitioners would wish to avoid giving any

25
opinion as to the justice or injustice of the sentence passed
upon Mr. Hunt, although the punishment of two years and
six months' imprisonment in such a confined, inconvenient,
damp, and unwholsome Gaol as that at Ilchester, appears
to the Petitioners to be a more outrageous sentence than
any that they remember to have heard of for a political
misdemeanour since the present Royal Family came to the
Throne ; even if he had received that liberal treatment
which was granted to other prisoners sentenced from tha
Court of King's Bench, for misdemeanour, to wit, when
Mr. John Kinnear was sentenced for a conspiracy, &c. to
that Gaol, he was, by order of the Magistrates, accommo
dated with the best apartments in the Gaoler's house,
where his family and friends had free access to him at all
hours, from the opening of the doors of the Gaol till ten
o'clock at night ; this indulgence also was granted to a
person sentenced for manslaughter ; the Petitioners there
fore cannot but feel indignant, in common with the whole
country, that the punishment of solitary confinement should
be inflicted upon Mr. Hunt, and that his family and friends
should be excluded from all intercourse with him, for hi*
having done nothing but that which the Petitioners es
teem most praiseworthy, that of bringing to light fraud,
cruelty, torture, and lust, perpetrated fpr a long time with
impunity within the walls of an English Gaol ; and the
Petitioners trust that the House will agree with them in
this opinion, when it is recollected that these important
services were effected by Mr. Hunt legally, under the
sanction of a Royal Commission, sent down to Ilchester
at the suggestion and by a vote of the House ; the Peti
tioners therefore humbly, but earnestly pray, that the
House will lose no time, but exert their power to remov»
the illegal and unmerited restrictions placed upon Mr.
Hunt, a punishment which they consider a violation of all
law, a violation ofthe Constitution, and an arbitrary sen-
3 D

26
tence passed upon him out of Court, a hundred-fold more
vindictive than the original sentence passed by the Court
of King's Bench.
From the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the city of
Bath, in the county of Somerset, complaining of the
treatment of Mr. Hunt ; and containing the same allega
tions and prayer as the Petition of the Inhabitants of the
parish of Bedminster.
From the Inhabitants of the Borough of Warwick,
setting forth, that the Petitioners have heard with horror
and astonishment ofthe wanton cruelties and horrible out
rages that were detected by Henry Hunt, Esquire, (now
a prisoner in His Majesty's Gaol at Ilchester, in the county
of Somerset, under sentence for a political misdemeanour),
and committed by the late keeper of that prison, and his
hard-hearted associates, cruelties and outrages inflicted
upon the defenceless prisoners, which they had hitherto
believed were confined to the dungeons of the most bar
barous and despotic tyrant; that the Petitioners are
equally aggrieved and astonished to learn, that, appa
rently, for no other reason than his brave, disinterested,
and meritorious exertions in the cause of humanity and
justice, the said Henry Hunt, Esquire, has been himself
subjected to unnecessary privations ; that he has been
denied the assistance of his doctor, the advice of his soli
citor, the society of his friends, and even the consolations
of his family ; that he has been subject to such cruel re
straints, which it is doubtful whether any law imposes on
the worst of felons, and subjected to the most arbitrary
aggravations of a sentence which appears to the Petition
ers to be very far beyond what was required by the ver
dict pronounced against him ; and the Petitioners con
ceive that if these aggravations of the sentence, which

27
have been an excess of punishment not intended by th*
Court, together with his generous and more meritorious
exertions in bringing to light thp shameful atrocities of
his prison-house, were but laid before our most gracious
King, he would know of a subject that calls for a Sove
reign's mercy ; the Petitioners, therefore, most earnestly
pray, and humbly hope, that the House will agree to ad
dress the Crown for a remission of the remainder of the
sentence pronounced against the said Henry Hunt, Esq.
From the Inhabitants of Heytesbury, and its vicinity, in
the county of Wilts ; setting forth, that the Petitioners
have for a long time witnessed with admiration the laud
able and praiseworthy exertions of Mr. Hunt, a state pri
soner in His Majesty's Gaol at Ilchester, to promote the
welfare and happiness of his fellow-creatures, by his en
deavours to obtain for them that Reform in the Commons'
House of Parliament which can alone save the country
from ruin ; and the Petitioners are rejoiced to hear it uni
versally admitted, even within the walls of the House;
that Mr. Hunt's recent successful labours in bringing td
light the horrid cruelties and great atrocities committed
within the walls of Ilchester Gaol by the late Gaoler and
his abettors, have justly entitled him to the character of
a benefactor to his country ; the Petitioners, therefore;
earnestly pray, that the House will intercede in Mr. Hunt's
favour, and that the intercession will procure him a free
pardon for the remainder of his sentence, through the ex
ercise of the Royal prerogative.
From the Inhabitants of the township of Hoghton and
its vicinity, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, praying that
the House will, in compliance with the earnest intreaties of
multitudes of His Majesty's most loyal and faithful subjects,
to the House very dutifully expressed, take into their ser
nous consideration, as soon as the standing orders of tha

2S
House will permit, the present corrupted state of the ad
ministration, and the most effectual means of securing to
the British people an equitable and a faithful representa
tion in the House of their real state, rights, nnd liberties ;
and the Petitioners further pray, that the House will be
pleased to express to his Majesty, the King, their unfeign
ed wishes that His Majesty may graciously be pleased to
extend his Royal clemency to Henry Hunt, Esquire, by
remitting the remainder ofthe sentence passed upon him
by the Court of King's Bench, and restoring him to his
disconsolate family and social connexions ; and the Pe
titioners further pray the House to institute an impartial
inquiry relative to the unjust and arbitrary treatment to
which Mr. Hunt has been unmeritedly subjected during
his confinement in Ilchester Gaol ; the Petitioners also
further humbly pray, that the House will be pleased speedi
ly to institute a legal inquiry into the causes and effects of
the transactions at Manchester on the memorable 16th of
August, 1819, when many of His Majesty's loyal, peace
able, and unoffending subjects, were inhumanly murdered,
atthe instigation, and with the sanction of those to whom
the defence and maintenance of the most sacred rights of
Britons were committed, that the perpetrators and abet
tors of such inhumanity and injustice may be convinced
that the principles and laws of our most truly-glorious
Constitution are not to be contemned and violated with
impunity. From the Inhabitants of the city of Coventry ; setting
forth, that the Petitioners read with horror and astonish
ment the record of the wanton cruelties and horrible out
rages detected by Mr. Henry Hunt, now a prisoner in His
Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester, on a sentence for political mis
demeanour, and committed by the keeper of that prison
and his associates, cruelties and outrages upon the defence-

29
less prisoners, and even helpless females and unoffending
infants, which they had hitherto believed were confined
to the dungeons of the most barbarous despotisms ; that
the Petitioners are equally grieved and astonished to hear,
that, apparently, for no other reason than his exertions in
the cause of humanity and justice, the said Mr. Henry
Hunt has been himself subjected to the most unheard-of
and unnecessary privations ; that he has been denied the
society of his friends, and even of his family; that he has
been subjected to cruel restraints, which it is doubtful
whether any law imposes upon the worst of felons, and
subjected to the most arbitrary exaggerations of a sentence
which appears to the Petitioners to be infinitely beyond
what was required by the nature of the verdict against
Mr. Hunt; that these aggravations of the sentence being
an excess of punishment not intended by the law, the Pe
titioners conceive, independent of the recompense which
they think his exertions merit at the hands ofthe Crown,
from the discovery and prevention of the atrocities of Il
chester Gaol, that he has a legitimate claim on its justice
for the remission of the remainder of his imprisonment, in
creased as the tortures of it have been by the mental agony
which has been inflicted upon him in the persecution of his,
oppressors; that the Petitioners therefore humbly hope
the House will agree to address the Crown for a remission
of the remainder of the sentence of imprisonment of the
said Mr, Henry Hunt, and that the House will also ap
point a Committee for the inquiry into, and redress of,
the grievances complained of by other persons who are
now suffering imprisonment for political offences of a si
milar nature, and who have been unnecessarily, and, as
the Petitioners believe, illegally tortured, by the exclu
sion of their families and friends, by the violation and sup
pression of their family and confidential correspondence,
and other insults, owing to the caprice or inhumanity of
their brutal keepers, or the usurped authority of local Ma
gistrates ; for the Petitioners believe that the treatment
of prisoners under the sentence of any of the Courts of Law
ought not to depend upon the caprice or arbitrary pleasure
of local authorities, but should be fixed and determined
by the positive and immutable laws of the land ; and,
while the Petitioners hear with pleasure and satisfaction
of the liberal and manly treatment which Sir Francis
Burdett, Sir Charles Wolseley, Mr. Wooler, and pthers,
have experienced, and are proud that a great proportion
of the Magistracy of the country are above lending them-

3o
selves to any personal persecution, they feel more strongly,
the indignation which arises from a consideration of the
treatment of Mr. Hunt at Ilchester, Mr. Knight and others
at Lancaster, the Rev. Mr. Harrison and others at Ches
ter; and they cannot refrain from calling upon the House
to endeavour to regulate the treatment of all upon prin
ciples consonant with the laws of the land, and the judg
ments which have been respectively pronounced against
such prisoners ; the Petitioners beg also most humbly to
call the attention ofthe House to the extreme hardship of
the case of Joseph Swann, who is now in Chester Castkj
under a sentence of four years and a half imprisonment,
for attending apolitical meeting, and selling a publication
adjudged to be, a libel, a sentence which was pronounced
by a local Magistracy, and which appears to be severe be
yond measure, and vindictive beyond precedent, and to
call for a mitigation on the part of the Crown, for which
the Petitioners humbly pray, that the House will take such
measures as to their wisdom may seem necessary and
proper. From the Comb Manufacturers, and other Inhabitants of
Kenilworth ; complaining ofthe treatment of Mr. Hunt,
and containing the same allegations and prayer as the
preceding Petition.
From the inhabitants ofthe town and neighbourhood of
Liverpool, setting forth, that the Petitioners conceiving, in
the spirit ofthe British Constitution, that the political
grievances of an individual are matters of general con
cernment, humbly beg leave to direct the attention of the
House to the case of Mr. Henry Hunt. It will be in the
recollection ofthe Members of the House, that the above-
mentioned gentleman was tried at York, at the Lent
Assizes ofthe year 1820, on, an indictment which compre^
hended a multiplicity of heavy charges, on all save one
of which, the Learned Judge who presided at his trial,
directed the Jury to acquit him ; and that the Jury on
finding him guilty on one count, seemed rather to settle a,
point of law, than to fix upon him the imputation of any
moral offence ;. the Petitioners, therefore, could not but
be surprised at the severity of the sentence to which Mr.
Hunt was adjudged, namely, an imprisonment of two
years and a half; the motives which impelled the Judges
to inflict this sentence, are known, only to themselves, and
that God at whose tribunal the Petitioners hope the said
Judges will find more mercy than they showed to Mr.

31
Hunt ; without canvassing these motives, then, the Peti
tioners may be permitted to declare, that, judging by
their own feelings and observations, they are persuaded
that the sentence in question has operated rather to excite,
in the breasts of the public at large, sympathy and com
passion for the prisoner, than iridignation against his
offence: but the main object ofthe Petitioners is, earnestly
to entreat the Members of the House to examine into, and
to reflect upon, the circumstances of Mr. Hunt's imprison
ment in Ilchester Gaol ; and , ih the first place, as to the
site of the Ward in which Mr. Hunt is confined. They
have the authority of the Commissioners who lately in
quired into the state of that Gaol, for asserting that,
" with high walls, a northern aspect, and no good admis
sion of air, all the worst effects of damp prevail in it to an
aggravated degree, and that the cold evaporations of wet
seasons, and the heat of the summer, each generate a
species of atmosphere distressing and insalubrious ;" the
Petitioners trust, that the House will concur with them
in opinion, that when the Judges committed Mr. Hunt to
such a pest-house, they must have been ignorant of its
unhealthiness, arid that the continuing- to detain him
there will be an act of deliberate cruelty in the conduct of
the Visiting Magistrates of Ilchester Gaol towards Mr.
Hunt. 0n tne subject of his intercourse with his family
and friends, the Petitioners can discover little besides a
system of extreme, and as the Commissioners of Inquiry
justly style it, " irritating harshness:" when the Sheriff
has granted him indulgences in this particular, these indul
gences have been withdrawn hy the Visiting Magistrates,
" in consequence," as they alleged, " of inconveniences
having arisen from the same." The Petitioners beg leave
to point out to the House the important fact, that the Com
missioners of Inquiry distinctly state in their Report, p. 13,
that no evidence of such ihconveniences was adduced
before them by the said Magistrates, although repeatedly
demanded by Mr. Hunt. What, then, must be thought of
the conduct of these Magistrates in depriving Mr. Hunt's
friends of all means of personal communication with him,
except through the felons' grating ; in denying his surgeon
access to him whilst labouring under painful illness,; in
precluding him from confidential communication with his
solicitor : in denying his son access to him ; and thus con
signing him to a species of custody not contemplated by the
Judges who passed senten«e on him ? In these circum-

32
Stances, Mr. Hunt's punishment is more severe than
that of felons ; the latter enjoy the comforts of so
ciety ; but while almost the whole community who are
not prisoners in Ilchester Gaol, are denied access to
Mr. Hunt, he is virtually condemned either to solitude,
or to an association with characters befitting neither
his education, his rank, nor his conduct in life. The
Petitioners cannot for a moment forget that the Magis
trates who exercise this harshness towards Mr. Hunt,
are the very men under whose superintendance the
late Gaoler acted, whilst he perpetrated in the prison the
most horrid deeds of barbarity ; that the most active of
them are the very men who could see unmoved a prisoner
galled and oppressed with irons, in the manner described
in the ninth page of the Report ofthe Commissioners, and
who could order him back to solitary confinement in those
very irons, and never afterwards made any inquiry after
him : by Mr. Hunt's sagacity, the villanies of the Gaoler
were detected, by his courage they were brought to light :
and the Petitioners submit to the House their humble, but
honest opinion, that it is a disgusting and alarming cir
cumstance, that he is left to the mercy of those Magis
trates whom he has convicted, in the face of their country,
of extraordinary failure in the discharge of their duties,
and whose conduct is so pointedly censured by the Com
missioners of Inquiry, in the remark which they make in
p. 15 of their Report, that." the internal government of
the Gaol appears to have been considerably deteriorated
since the declining health of Sir J. P. Acland has deprived
the county of Somerset of the advantage of his unwearied
and vigilant superintendance." Considering the premises,
the Petitioners humbly beseech the House to address the
Crown, praying for a remission of the remainder of Mr.
Hunt's term of imprisonment; or, if this must not be, for
his remo val to a place of confinement more healthy, and
where he may enjoy that participation in the comforts of
society usually allowed to political prisoners of his rank
and station.

Fr intedbj-T. Dolbt, 299, Strand,

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Basthe, 8th day, 8th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
April 24, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Counlrymen ,
and Countrywomen.
Once more I have to call upon you to rejoice with me,
my friends, on the occasion of my having gained another
victory over my dastardly persecutors ; the little door of
my ward, which was ordered to be closed by Dr. Colston
and Mr. Newman, is again thrown open by the order of
a new and a better set of Visiting Magistrates. Half the
high walls which surrounded my ward is removed, so that
instead of their being twenty feet, they are now only ten
feet high. I once more breathe fresh air again, and the
sun has been permitted to penetrate the dark and pesti
lential recesses of those dungeons from which it had been
totally excluded for the last twelve years, to gratify the
savage propensities of monsters who have disgraced the
character of human nature.
On Thursday, the 18th, Sir Francis Burdett honoured
my dungeon with his presence. He came to pay me a
visit previous to his making his promised motion, of which
he had given notice for this day, the 24th, for the House
to address the King for the remission of the remainder of
my sentence, or, in other words, for a pardon. In justice
to the Hon. Baronet, as well as to myself, 1 deem it right
to repeat what I said in my last number, that he gave no
tice of this motion without having had the slightest com
munication with me or any of my friends ; it was an act
dictated by the spontaneous feelings of his own heart,
without my knowledge or concurrence. Having made
5 A

T, Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand,

up his mind to do justice to this motion, he was induced
to postpone it, that he might have an opportunity of
making himself master of it by a personal interview with
me upon the spot. He rode over from Bath on Thursday
last, and passed two days with the Captive of Ilchester
for that purpose. This visit was made with the true
spirit of friendly feeling, and without the least parade or
ostentation. This was not only flattering, but very grati
fying to me. It was more than I had any right to expect,
after the violent opposition that I had made to the Hon.
Baronet, and, I fear, in many instances, unjust attacks upon
his public conduct. At any rate, I am now persuaded
that they were very imprudent and unnecessary attacks,
for his present conduct convinces me that I must have
been greatly deceived and mistaken in him. However,
every one will agree with me in this: that unless Sir
Francis possessed a truly great mind and an innate no
bleness of character, he never would have forgiven me.
But forgiveness of injuries is the genuine characteristic of
a noble soul ; and I think he must be convinced that my
errors proceeded from the head and not from the heart;
and that in committing them, I was actuated, perhaps, by
an over zeal in the cause of Liberty, which frequently im
pels men to attack and quarrel with its best friends mere
ly because they do not feel and act with the same zeal
and warmth in that cause as they do ; or, more properly
speaking, because they do not fall into their particular
views upon the subject, forgetting that the true spirit of
Liberty entitles every man to think and act for himself,
which he ought to do, without being suspected either of
desertion or apostacy. I fear that in my ardent pursuit
ofthe great cause of Reform, I have been too prone to
fall into this error, the indiscretion of which, upon re
flection, I most acutely feel, from a conviction upon my
own mind, that 1 have done many a worthy, honest, and
sincere Reformer great injustice, when I have been la
bouring under the impulse of this over-zealous mania.
Buti am grown older, and, 1 hope, more prudent; yet
although 1 by no means intend to relax in my zeal to pro
mote the cause of Universal Liberty, the time that 1 have
had for reflection, and the use that 1 have made of it, has
strongly engraven upon my heart the necessity of acting
towards others, who do not exactly conform to my views
of the necessity of Annual Parliaments, Universal Suf
frage, and Vote, by Ballot, with more temper and more

liberality than I have been accustomed to do. Sir Francis
Burdett has set me a noble example, which I shall fol
low with the greatest pleasure, that of forgiveness pf in
juries, where those injuries have not been inflicted with
a deliberate and cold-blooded intention to give a deadly
wound; Every man who stands forward the bold
and undisguised advocate of civil and religious Li
berty, is sure to be vilified and abused by its secret and
open enemies, and, therefore, he feels the most poignant
disgust when he is assailed by its avowed friends.
Every political act of my life has been open and undis
guised ; 1 have never felt any interest in concealing the
objects 1 have had in view ; I have been the avowed advo
cate of universal, civil, and religious Liberty ; and the
means with which I have always proposed to obtain this
object, have been by endeavouring to procure a just and
equal representation of the whole of the people in the
Commons' House of Parliament, the members to be an
nually chosen by the whole adult population, and by bal
lot. By zealously supporting this measure, 1 flatter myself
that I stand totally acquitted ofall appearance of selfishness
or dictation. I am for giving every man an equal share in
making all laws affecting life, liberty, and properly, whether
moral, religious, or political. A Parliament once assem
bled, chosen by the whole people, every law sanctioned
by a majority of that Parliament, would be religiously,
morally, and politically binding upon the whole people ;
till the people returned a majority of its members, who
would, if found injurious to that majority, repeal that law.
This is what 1 have always contemplated by Reform in
Parliament — this is what 1 have ahvays openly professed ;
and I boldly challenge any honest man to produce one
instance of my ever professing that in public or in private,
which 1 have ever failed to act up to. There will always
be found some canting hypocrites, who not daring to be
honest, open, and candid themselves, will insinuate that
you mean more than you profess, that there is something
dangerous lurking behind, which you do not openly avow ;
that those who wish for such a Parliament are Republi
cans at heart, and they know that a Parliament so consti
tuted would lead to a republic. This also is the language
now resorted to by the openly avowed friends of a repub
lican form of government. Now there is something
equally inconsistent and unfair in both these descriptions
of reasoners : what have we Reformers ever said or pro-

fessed more than this— we love rational Liberty, that Liber
ty which gives every man in the state an equal share in the
election of those persons who compose the House of
Commons. Whatever may be the decision of a majority
of that House so chosen, we say ought to be the law of the
land, and binding upon the whole. We do not wish to
bind that Parliament "by every dictum of our own pre
scribing-. Who is the intolerant bigot that would wish to
lay down rules, or to bind in fanatical trammels such a
Parliament? The greatest fanatic, or the greatest liber
tine, the Atheist, the Deist, the Protestant, the Catholic,
men of all religions and no religion, if such should be
amongst its members, each would be at free liberty to
bring forward any proposition in unison with his own
creed, and if sanctioned by a majority of its members,
it would become the law of the land. So in politics ; —
each member would be entitled to propose any measure
but that of abolishing Universal Suffrage ; and whatever
was the decision of that majority, would, I have no doubt,
ultimately become the law of the land, in spite of the
Other two branches ofthe legislature. For the real repre
sentatives ofthe people having the public parse-strings at
their command, they would exercise a constitutional con
troul, such as would ultimately correspond with the voice
of the people.
I have been led into this train of reasoning, in conse
quence of another violent attack that has been made upon
me by Mr. Carlile, because I do not choose to avow my
self a Republican, and an enemy to all religion. I have
neither time nor inclination to dispute these points with
Mr. Carlile, neither shall I condescend to go into detail
to notice each particular falsehood that he has fabricated
with regard to me. I am disposed to look upon his rav
ings with an eye of pity rather than of resentment. I
had made up my mind, after reading the unwarrantable
attack which he published against me on the 1st of March,
not to take any further notice of it than what I had pre
viously said in the 30th number of my Memoirs ; neither
should I have been urged to do this by the puffs and ex
tracts that had been published in the Courier, the New
Times, and Cobbett's Register, had he not had the unblush
ing impudence to put forth the following bravado, on the
12th of April : — " I challenge you to impeach any one
item of the statements made in my last letter." Now I
have no hesitation distinctly to state, that in this said

letter there is not one statement relating to me, that is not
grossly exaggerated; wherein the truth, if any, is grossly
perverted, and, in several instances, the assumed fact is a
perfect invention, an infamous fabrication, from beginning
to end. Although I shall not condescend to go into par
ticulars relating to myself, yet there are two or three
falsehoods put forth by Mr. Carlile, relating to what took
place at Manchester, in August, 1819, which are of more
public moment. I shall, therefore, take leave to be more
particular in refuting such wanton and premeditated false
hoods. First, Mr. Carlile says, that " It was offered to
you that fifteen thousand men should come to ihat meeting
armed wilh pikes." This is an infamous and -a wanton
fabrication, for which there was never the slightest shadow
of a shade of truth ; but whether this was the invention
of Mr. Carlile, or of the young man that he found at
Smedley Cottage, 1 must leave to be settled between
them; but the first time it ever came to my knowledge,
was through the wonderful publication of Mr. Richard
Carlile. The story ofthe " linking of arms," is well told ;
but itis a barefaced falsehood, invented by Hulton, to justify
himself, and adopted by Carlile for a much baser purpose.
To insinuate that I accused the people of Manchester of
cowardice, because they fled from the newly-sharpened
swords of the infuriated Yeomanry, would be unworthy of
notice, if it were not to remind you of the distinction that
I meant to draw, which islhis, that it was the duty of the
people to fly and protect themselves, as much as it was the
duty of any one who pretended to be a leader not to fly.
The two letters which I alluded to in the thirtieth num
ber of my Memoirs, I have by me, and the extracts I made
from them, shall be produced for the perusal of any honour
able man who will promise me that the names of the
writers shall not be given up to the vulgar assassin of pri
vate character. As for Mr. Carlile's insinuations, that I
had set Mr. Wilde to abuse him, I will shew him that it
is as false as the rest of his insinuations and assertions. Mr.
Wilde wrote to me to say, that Carlile had been publish
ing some infamous falsehoods relating to the Manchester
Meeting, and as he, Mr. Wilde, was present, and upon
the hustings the whole time, he had written a letter to
Mr. Carlile upon the subject, which completely refuted
his false statements ; but as Mr. Carlile had refused to in
sert it in his publication, and had returned him an impu
dent and a vulgar answer, he asked me permission to have

it published in tha Addenda ofthe thirty-second number
of my Memoirs. I wrote in answer to Mr. Wilde, that as
I should decline saying any thing- more myself of Mr. Car
lile's assertions, I thought it would not be proper to admit
the reply of a third person, whose name had not been
mentioned ; and as for publishing it in a pamphlet, (ofthe
propriety of which he asked my opinion) 1 replied,
" Better let him alone ; give him rope enough, he will
soon hang himself." But the case is now altered ; Mr.
Carlile has thought proper to attack Mr. Wilde with his
accustomed intolerant spirit, and, as Mr. Wilde is in every
respect more than a match for Mr. Carlile, particularly as
I know he will stick to the truth ; and he knows much
more about the Manchester Meeting than Mr. Carlile does,
he having marched into Manchester at the head of four or
five thousand Reformers from Ashton-under-Line and its
vicinity, and was on the hustings two hours before Mr.
Carlile arrived ; and as he considered himself too much of
a leader to run away, he remained upon the hustings till
he was taken into custody, was imprisoned in the New
Bailey and Lancaster Castle, and was afterwards tried
and acquitted at York ; 1 shall from henceforth wipe my
hands of Mr. Richard Carlile, and leave him to Mr. Robert
Wilde ; and I positively assure him, that I will, on no ac
count after this, take any notice whatever of his ravings,
railings, and lying. If he finds that he can sell his
pamphlet, or amuse himself by abusing me, he may do so,
as far as I am concerned, in future with impunity. I shall
leave Mr. Wilde to answer for himself, only adding, that
his answers shall, if he wishes it, be inserted in the
Addenda of my Memoirs, as Mr. Carlile has refused to
publish them ; but if he will take my advice, I would re
commend him to publish them in a separate pamphlet,
although I have to assure Mr. Carlile that Mr. Wilde is no
more under my influence than he is.
With respect to the tales about Dr. Watson and the
placards, and the refusal to drink my health at the cele
bration of Mr. Paine's birth-day, it may be true, or it
may be, like some of the other statements, invention ;
all that I can say is, I was perfectly unconscious of the one
and the other till Mr. Carlile published them.
One word more and I have done with this gentleman —
Mr. Carlile says, " / candidly tell you ihat I derived,
PLEASTjRE/roin seeing you sent to a neighbouring gaol to
fill out a period of imprisonment equivalent to mine."

Whether this satisfaction was created by his religious or
his political principles, I must leave to his own amiable
meditations. But as nothing but the most malignant pas
sion could have urged him to publish such a sentiment for
the perusal of his readers ; and as no one but a fiend
would boast of feeling pleasure at hearing ofthe persecu
tions of a fellow-creature ; and as the same spirit induced
him to rejoice at hearing that I was placed in solitary con
finement, and to express great indignation at the exer
tions that were making all over the country by sending
Petitions to Parliament for my relief, I beg to inform him
that his predictions and his wishes have proved as impo
tent as they were malig-nant.
In consequence of the exertions of my friends, every
restriction that I ever complained of is now removed, and
the day after Sir Francis Burdett left me, two new Visit
ing Magistrates called upon me — Mr. Hanning, the late
Sheriff (who has not been a Visiting Magistrate these ten
years), and General Bathurst, the son of the Bishop of
Norwich, accompanied by Mr. Dickenson and Mr. Phelips,
the two Chairmen of the Quarter Sessions. Every wish
that I expressed was complied with ; the little trap-door
of my yard was ordered to be left open to admit the
ingress and egress of my friends, without the intervention
of lock or key after they pass the front door ; no person of
any class is refused admission. Three high walls which
surrounded my yard were ordered to be lowered, and they
are since, by the activity of Mr. Hardy, reduced from
twenty to ten feet in height. At three different periods
since my incarceration have the Parson Justices succeeded
in making laws to exclude my family from visiting me ;
thrice have I defeated them against their icills, and com
pelled the door-keeper to throw open the doors Of the
gaol for the admission of all my friends aad visitors, in
spite ofthe written orders of Quarter Sessions, and print
ed orders signed and sanctioned by the Judges of Assize.
In no instance have these petty tyrants received the credit
of relaxing-in their persecutions, but each time they have
been flogged into good manners, and have been compelled,
by superior authority, to submit to my proper treatment.
All their ORDERS stand recorded in the Magistrates
Journal without one ORDER of their own to rescind
them; but each time, thrice have I caused them to be
abolished by orders from superior authority. I fear that
I shall somewhat detract from the great pleasure that Mr.

Carlile has derived from hearing of my imprisonment in a
neighbouring gaol, and the delight that he experienced
from hearing that some persons in London declined to pe
tition for my release from solitary confinement, when I
inform him and the Public, that I have now obtained every
accommodation for myself and my friends who visit me that
I have ever asked for ; and as the time of the year is now
arrived that I am not locked up till near nine o'clock, I have
allthe accommodation and indulgence that I wish for. I be
lieve that Mr. Carlile will be the only person in the kingdom
,that will be mortified to hear this, therefore I could not
do so great an injustice to the rest pf the community as to
deprive them ofthe pleasure of rejoicing at it. What is
most gratifying to me is, that I have accomplished these
objects and gained these victories over my remorseless
persecutors, in the two first instances, by my own personal
exertions, and in the latter with the assistance of myriads
of Friends to Civil and Religious Liberty. But during
these successful exertions, to do myself justice, I have in
no instance been unmindful of the sufferings of my fellow-
prisoners. I have, thank God, accomplished as much for
them as I have for myself. To enumerate the various
benefits they have derived from my labours, would far
exceed the limits of this address ; but there is one circum
stance which I have omitted, which I shall briefly recur to.
In a former number I believe I said that mine was the most
outrageous sentence that had been passed for a political
offence since the House of Brunswick came to the throne.
Mr. Carlile seized hold of this as drowning men are said
to catch at straws, and in order to prove that this opinion
wasincorrect, he says " Mr. Henry White,the Editor ofthe
Independent Whig, was confined three years in the room
from which I now write to you,foronelibel,asitwas called,
in his paper." I remember' the case of Mr. White well,
arid a most infamous sentence it was. I shall not be urged
to draw any invidious comparison between Mr. White's
case and mine ; but I will briefly relate in the next num
ber of my Memoirs a circumstance relating to Mr. Hart,
Mr. White's printer, that occurred at the time, which I
had forgotten, and which has been brought to my recol
lection by the mention of this subject, and will, I have no
doubt, redound to my credit, instead of contributing to
my disgrace in the way in which Mr. Carlile intended it.
Mr. Carlile talks of jealousy — poor young manrI pity him
from my heart. I never heard of any one thing belonging

t p him, or of any one act that he has performed, which any
man in common life would be jealous of. Thus I take my
leave of Mr. Carlile, with a sincere wish that when he
leaves Dorchester gaol, he will be willing and able to do
as much for those poor fellows who are imprisoned in
various gaols for selling his publications, as I did for Mr.
Hart, the printer ofthe Independent Whig, who was im
prisoned at Gloucester gaol at that time ; and as much for
those victims of his cupidity as I have done for the prison
ers confined in this gaol since I have been here.
I have just read The Times newspaper, containing the
brilliant and unanswerable speech of Sir Francis Burdett,
and the debate which followed his motion, made on Wed
nesday, the 24th, in the House of Commons, " to address
his Majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased
to remit the remainder of Mr. Hunt's punishment." Per
haps a more eloquent speech was never delivered within
the walls of the House of Commons. The Courier says,
and says truly, " that Sir Francis Burdett, in his warm
eulogiums upon Hunt, returned good for evil." The un
qualified praises of such a man, upon such an occasion,
delivered with so much force and eloquence in the British
senate, is indeed enough to make a man proud. I am in
deed proud of such praise, if I were not I should not be
susceptible of the best feelings of human nature. It has
fallen to the lot of very few men in our history to have re
ceived such a reward.for their exertions during their life
time ; let their actions have been ever so brilliant, their
exertions ever so successful, they have generally been
laid in the cold and silent tomb, unconscious of passing
events, long before the reward of such praise has been be
stowed upon their memory. The detection, the exposure,
and the removal of the atrocious cruelties practised in this
gaol, was indeed a hazardous, an herculean task. Jn ac
complishing that task I had sacrificed time, health, and
property, but I had long, long since, been more than
amply rewarded for all my labour, all my arixiety, and all
my sacrifices, by the conscious reflection that I had ren
dered an important and a lasting service to the cause of
humanity and justice. I had rescued the victims of op
pression from the remorseless fangs of the cruel oppres
sor. I had received the grateful thanks of the rescued
victims, and I had witnessed the disgrace and the down
fall ofthe cruel monster who had so inhumanly tortured
them. I had seen a humane and temperate system adopt-
5 B

10
ed instead of cruelly, tyranny, oppression, injustice arid
torture ; and I had seen the very implements of torture
abolished in this Bastile, and I should have passed the re
mainder of my time in the quiet and uninterrupted enjoy
ment of the conscious reflection that I had done my duty
as a man, an Englishman, and a philanthropist. But
no ! the worthy and amiable Dr. Colston and Co., with
the Venerable Judge Best as their bottle-holder,
decreed it otherwise. New and unnatural restrictions
were imposed upon me ; my family and my friends, even
my Son, my Solicitor, and my Surgeon, were denied all
access to me, even when I was labouring under severe ill
ness with spasms and cramp in the chest. I addressed a
letter to Mr. Justice Bayley, who immediately ordered the
admission of my Surgeon and Solicitor; and Mr. Alderman
Wood having presented a petition from my son, my friends
and the public took the alarm, and -an expression of public
opinion has been since manifested in such an unequivocal
manner, as, (excepting the case of the late Queen) was
seldom or ever before expressed in favour of any individual.
Petitions and remonstrances have been poured in from all
quarters of the kingdom ; my excellent friends at Pres
ton, in Lancashire, and Greenock, in Scotland, having
taken the lead. These prompt and efficient manifesta
tions of public indignation soon produced the desired ef
fect, and the infamous restrictions which had been im
posed upon me were wholly removed, and my family and
friends were once more admitted to visit me as before.
But as Sir Francis Burdett had given notice of a motion to
address the King for the remission of the remainder of my
sentence, petitions still poured in from every part of the
kingdom, to further the object ofthe Baronet, whose mo
tion was finally fixed for Wednesday, the 24th, on which
day petitions were presented from the cities of Norwich,
Glasgow, and Salisbury ; the towns of Halifax, in York
shire, Rothbury, in Northumberland, and Lynn, in Nor
folk. To these numerous friends of liberty, justice, and
humanity, I once more offer my most grateful thanks, and
to assure them, although the motion of Sir Francis Bur
dett was lost by a majority of 223 to 84 (a motion which
neither myself nor Sir F. Burdett ever for a moment ex
pected to be carried), yet I beg leave most sincerely and
unequivocally to assure all my friends, that every object ot
my most sanguine expectations has been fully attained
by their kind and patriotic exef tions. If I know my own

11
heart, I am ten thousand times more pleased with the de
cision of the Honourable House, than I should have been
if the Ministers had unanimously assented to Sir Francis's
motion ; for I calmly and deliberately declare, that I should
consider it the greatest affliction, the greatest misfortune,
the greatest curse that could befall me, to have it go
forth to the world that those who approved of the mur
ders, and sanctioned the murderers of the people of Man
chester, had a friendly feeling for the Captive of Ilchester.
Sir F. Burdett, Mr. Hobhouse, Sir J. Mackintosh, and Mr.
Fowell Buxton supported the motion: a Mr. Dawson, Mr.
Dickenson, Mr. Peel, and Mr. C. W. Wynn, spoke against
the motion. Dawson, Dickenson, and Wynn, as they
could not answer any of the arguments, or contradict any
of the facts alleged by Sir F. Burdett, most gallantly, in
revenge for the exposures which I had caused to be made,
and which they dare not defend, endeavoured most man
fully to plant a dagger in the bosom of an unprotected
and defenceless female. Gallant, magnanimous, noble-
minded British legislators ! I believe this Mr. Dawson is
a Deputy Secretary of State, a Jack-in-office, that is well
paid for doing dirty work. Mr. Dickenson is the ring
leader of the Visiting Magistrates of Ilchester Gaol, that
is quite enough for the present. Squeaking Wynn, there
may be some excuse for him : the same cause that has
created the high treble note in his voice, may have natural
ly engendered a hatred of the female sex. But what will
the King, the Duke of York, and the Duke of Clarence
say to the moral lectures of these worthies ? What will
Mrs. Fitzherbert, the Dowager Lady Jersey, the Mar
chioness of Hertford, the Dowager Duchess of Rich
mond, and the Marchioness of Cunningham say to these
gallant, moralizing legislators ? What will Duke Wel
lington, Marquis Wellesley, Marquis and Marchioness
Anglesey, and a numerous train of others of the Nobility,
say to the moral lectures of these gallant legislators, who
have so invidiously broken their heads over my shoulders,
and given them a thrust through the bosom of an absent
lady. Mr. Peel scorned to follow such an example, but
opposed the motion upon open and manly grounds. It
, was perfectly fair and honourable to attack my public cha
racter and conduct, if he thought proper ; but he refrain
ed, he scorned to wreak his vengeance upon a woman,
particularly as he knew from the evidence all that had
been asserted about that lady, by his underlings, was false,

12
For this conduct he has my thanks ; although, God knows,
he misrepresented my public character quite enough.
But I feel not the least offended with him for this, and I
cannot but admire the resolute and determined manner in
which he declared, " that nothing should induce him to
recommend the Royal mercy to be extended to Mr. Hunt."
But the gentleman-like conduct of Mr. Estcourt must not
be overlooked ; having heard what all the speakers on
both sides said, although he is a Ministerial Member him
self, yet he is a Gentleman, and too much of a man of
honour to disgrace himself by telling a falsehood, or giv
ing his silent assent to the gross misrepresentations of
others. He certainly gave Messrs. Dawson, Dickenson,
and Wynn a most severe rap upon the knuckles. He said,
" Mr. Hunt had appealed to him in his petition, as one of
the Commissioners, to bear testimony to his conduct ; and
he must, in justice to that individual, now say, that ke
had seen nothing improper in it, nor heard of any thing
incorrect in that of any of his visitors ; but, on the con
trary, there was direct evidence of its being perfectly cor
rect." This was manly — this was honest, candid, and
honourable, for which I shall respect and venerate the
character of Mr. Estcourt as long as I live. I certainly
had formed a proper estimate of the gentleman-like and
honourable feeling of Mr. Estcourt, or I should not have
made the appeal to him which I did in my petition, and
his manly conduct has fully answered my expectations.
Thus did one of the Commissioners give the lie direct to
the base and unmanly assertions of those who had made
such unworthy insinuations against the conduct and cha
racter of myself and my visitors. But the best of it all
was, that Mr. Wynn should do me the honour to produce
my Memoirs in the Honourable House, and recommend
them to the notice of the public and the whole world, by
reading an extract from my last address to the Radical
Reformers, Male and Female, of the United Kingdom,
for the benefit of the collective wisdom of the nation.
This certainly did not produce quite so much effect as if
I had been in the House to have delivered my sentiments
in my proper person ; but I see by the papers that it pro
duced a great effect. It expressed my opinion of the in- .
famous sentence, and it expressed my opinion of the
Judges, and particularly my opinion of Best. This opi
nion was received with cheers from both sides of the
House. Bravo, Mr. Wynn ! Really, my friends, this is

. 13
what I could not have calculated upon — this is an honour
that I did not expect. What would some writers give to
have their publications read in the Honourable House ?
If tMs had happened to some public writers that I have in
my eye, we certainly should never hear the last of it as
long as the parties were able to hold a pen, or dictate a
paragraph. I do not despair after this of being heard, in
person, some day in the Honourable House. But it de
pends entirely upon you, my friends, whether I shall
ever meet these worthies face to face in their own den, or
have an opportunity of answering them upon their own
dunghill. Mr. Dolby will publish the whole report of
this debate, and you will judge for yourselves, my friends,
upon its merits.
I am anxious to address my friends of the North upon
the flattering progress of the great Northern Union. I
have only time to say here, that it is making rapid strides,
and its members have only to persevere as they have be
gun, and they will be the principal effectual instruments
by which to work a real Reform at last. How the sys
tem has worked since I have been here ! Millions are now
anxious to be thought Radical Reformers that would have
been startled at the mere name of Radical two years back.
" But we shall see," if we keep our eyes open. I am
quite delighted with Sir Robert Heron's description of
the Lincoln county meeting. The idea of" constitutional
confusion," as contrasted with treasonable order, is de
lightful. I have a great deal to say to the freeholders,
farmers, and rate-payers of the county of Somerset ;
but, to be sure, there is some hopes for them at last, since
there is a Constitutional Club established under the
auspices of TEN SOMERSETSHIRE MAGISTRATES.
To be sure the name of Somersetshire Magistrates smells
rather unsavoury just at this moment. But nevermind;
we must keep our eyes open. I suppose we shall be told
by-and-bye that the Ilchester Investigation had nothing
to do with the formation of this Club. If any good ever
comes from this Club, I shall claim the merit of having
been very instrumental (unintentionally, to be sure) to its
formation. At any rate they profess themselves friendly
to Reform : this is good — let us keep our eyes open. I
must take leave to remind the people of Somerset, that
many of these ten Magistrates have been for many years
superintendants of the affairs of Ilchester Gaol. Dur
ing Mr. Hanning's Sheriffalty I was deprived of the so-

11
oiety of my family. This might, by him, be considered
very constitutional. I believe Mr. Hanning, Mr. Poole,
Parson Thomas, Dr. Blake, and Mr. E. Sandford, were
present at the Michaelmas Quarter Sessions, at Taunton,
when a pretended order of sessions was made, imposing
the most infamous and unnatural restrictions upon me, a
prisoner in this Gaol ; which order expressed to be made
" by and wilh the consent of the Sheriff," although Sir
Charles Bampfylde positively assured me that he was not
near the place ; and so far from its being made by him or
with his consent, he totally disapproved of it ; and the mo
ment he heard of it, he came to Ilchester and relieved me
from its operation, denouncing those who had made use of
his name as most infamous. These worthy Magistrates
may think this most constitutional. Were not some
of these worthy Magistrates concerned in making and
drawing up, and afterwards attending the Quarter Ses
sions at Wells, where the late rules and regulations which
placed me in solitary confinement were sanctioned and
passed ? Perhaps these Gentlemen may think these per
fectly constitutional ,- but I doubt whether they will get
an honest man in the kingdom to agree with them. How
ever, they say now they are for Reform — let us look to
them. I hope they are real converts, and are now in
earnest ; but let us keep our eyes open. At any rate they
can do no harm now; they will not'gull even the John
Gulls of this county any longer.
I will in a short time publish an Address, which I shall
call " A Warning to the Freeholders, Farmers, Trades
men, ahd Rate-payers of the County of Somerset, by the
Captive of Ilchester, in the year 1822." In this,pub-
lication matters of the most serious importance to every
man, woman, and child of the county, will be introduced.
Alderman Wood's motion to take the Report of the Com
missioners of Inquiry into Ilchester Gaol into consideration,
is finally fixed for the Fifteenth of May, the anniver
sary of my infamous sentence.
I am, my friends,
Your's faithfully,
H. HUNT.

15
The following Debate took place this day (the 24th
April, 1822) in the House of Commons, on Sir Francis
Burdett's motion for an Address to the King, for the remis
sion of the remainder of my sentence : —
SIR F. BURDETT. — After the numerous petitions which had been
presented to the House on the subject on which he then rose to ad
dress it, . arid in favour of the motion with which he intended to con-
elude, and after the able manner in which those petitions had been
supported, and especially that presented by a Noble Lord from
Lynn, in Norfolk, he must own that he felt somewhat embarrassed
regarding the manner in which he should address them, because he
thought that the Noble Lord, though shortly, had strongly occupied
all the grounds on which he felt it his duty to press this subject on the
attention of Parliament, the Noble Lord having delivered his senti
ments in a style that could not fail to produce a strong impression
upon the House, from the unaffected simplicity of his manner. (Hear.)
He must repeat, that he felt more than usually embarrassed, embar
rassed as he was upon all occasions in opening a question so mate
rially affecting the liberty of the individual concerned, and so interest
ing as it appeared, from the numerous petitions from all quarters of
the country, to be to the public at large, and not without strong
symptoms of its being favourably considered by a large portion ofthe
House itself. He was also apprehensive that he might not forward,
but, by an over-zealous effort, retard the object he had in view — he
meant the liberation of an individual from an imprisonment which,
in the minds of all impartial men, was a more than adequate punishment
for any crime of which he had been found guilty. He must own, that
up to the latest moment, he had entertained strong hopes that the
Ministers, of the Crown would have spared him the trouble of address
ing the House upon this question. He had been in hopes that when
«o plain and palpable a course of proceeding was open before them
— a course at once consistent with justice and propriety — a course
that would not have been less grateful than just— grateful to the
public mind on many accounts, of which the omission would answer
no one purpose, but the accomplishment of all those ends which ought
to be avoided — namely, that of creating a sympathy with the person
punished, from a feeling that the crime bore no proportion to the
magnitude of the punishment. Under all these circumstances, he had
been in hopes that Ministers would have recommended the Crown
to do that which he did not despair of still persuading them to do, if
the House should support him in his present motion. Notwithstand
ing he was aware of the difficulty under which the members of adminis
tration sometimes laboured, and of those trammels by which they
felt themselves bound to support generally what they did not on all
occasions individually approve, he did not altogether despair of having
the able and efficient assistance of the Right Hon. Secretary for the
Home Department on the present occasion. He flattered himself the
more with the hope of obtaining it, because oh his having occasion to
apply to that Right Hon. Gent-, on behalf of two persons, who lived
* near his seat in the North, who had been convicted and Sentenced
to a punishment which appeared more than commensurate with their
offence, and who bore besides so good a character that their neigh
bours doubted whether they had been properly convicted ; he repeated,
that on making known their cases to the Right Hon. Gentleman,
he had, with a promptitude and humanity that were highly to his
eredit. taken them into consideration, and afterwards recommended a

16
mitigation of their punishment. He would not say that lie was
obliged to the Right Hon. Gent, for the attention that he had thus
paid ; he would not pay him the Parliamentary compliments usually
offered on such occasions, not from any want of courtesy towards him,
but from a wish that the Right Hon. Gent, would take what had
fallen from him as he intended it — as a tribute to his integrity and
assiduous attention to the duties of his office, and without any regard
to the quarter from which it came. (Loud cries of hear from both
sides ofthe House.) Under these circumstances, he trusted, that if he
made out the following propositions — first, that the sentence on Mr.
Hunt was sufficiently severe for the crime of which he had been con
victed (and here he must observe that it was not necessary for his
argument to impugn the severity of the sentence) ; and secondly,
that the mode of carrying it into execution had augmented it tenfold,
and in a manner which the Judges themselves never dreamt of— if
he made out these propositions, he trusted that he should have done
that which would ensure him the support of the Right Honourable
Gentleman. Besides these two reasons for liberating Mr. Hunt, he
had another, which, though he placed last, he did not value least.
He thought that Gent-, had a claim, and a strong claim loo, upon the
public, for having brought to light, and for having conducted to a suc
cessful termination the important inquiry which had been lately insti
tuted into the treatment of prisoners in Ilchester gaol. In treating of
the first proposition which he had laid down, he must beg leave to
call the attention of the House to the nature of the charge against
Mr. Hunt. In stating that charge, he could not help observing, in
passing, the great hardships that sometimes arose from legal proceed
ings. When a person had different charges preferred against him in
what were called the different counts of an indictment, containing every
gradation of guilt, from the highest to the lowest, the hardship was,
that after a defendant had been acquitted on all the heavy charges,
after he had been found guilty of only one small part of one of the
charges, by a jury which took five hours to deliberate on their verdict,
and which acquitted him of all the rest, and even of all the heavy part
of that individual charge on which they found him guilty — the hard
ship, he repeated it, was, that the persecuting lawyers might direct
the jury to find a defendant guilty upon that count which contained.
the minimum of guilt, and which, if it had stood alone, would never
have been thought fit to form the subject of an indictment. In legis
lating regarding the fisheries in some of the rivers of the country, the
House had passed an Act to prevent the meshes of the nets used in
them from being made so small as to catch the smallest fishes. Now
it was particularly hard that these legal meshes should be made so
Small that even offenders of the slightest nature could not escape them.
There was no evidence to support the heavy charges that were imputed
to Mr. Hunt ; but the narrow meshes ofthe law were drawn so tightly
around him, that it became impossible for him to escape them. Even
if Mr. Hunt had been found guilty of the heavy part of the charges
preferred against him, he (Sir F. Burdett) would have said that the
punishment inflicted on him was a severe punishment. But when he
recollected that the offence of -which Mr. Hunt had been found #
guilty was a misdemeanour, and was enumerated by Blackstone inter
minora delicta, for which an imprisonment of from one to six
months was deemed sufficient, he was compelled to say, that visiting
it with the punishment of imprisonment for two years and a half, was
more than sufficient for the purpose of justice. But Mr. Hunt was
even minimus inter minora ; for of all the charges preferred against

17
him, that on which he was convicted was the slightest; so that they
had the anomaly before them of a man suffering a heavy punishment
for a crime that was as small as possible. A great deal more might
be said o:i this part of the subject, because, at the time of Mr. Hunt's
committing the offence for which he was now suffering, he was, in
mind at least, as innocent a man as could be. It was au ancient maxim of
English law, that " actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea ,-" but in
Mr. Hunt's case a new practice had been introduced — the intention of
his mind was not considered ; his knowledge of the legality or ille
gality of his conduct at Manchester was not inquired into ; though it
was clear, from his previous deportment and his peculiar character,
that he would not have adopted that course of proceeding which he
afterwards did adopt, had he known it to be in violation of the law.
It was not unnecessary, at this stage of the argument, to repeat that
the magistrates had sanctioned the meeting of the 16th of August,
by not protesting against it; and with regard to what took place at
that meeting, he must repeat on the present what he had said on a
former occasion — that he was at a loss to know what the crime was of
which Mr. Hunt had been guilty, either individually or collectively
with others. However, let his guilt have been what it might, of this
he was sure, that no person could say that an imprisonment of two
years and a half was not a punishment sufficient for it. Our old
lawyers, who were men that valued highly the freedom of the subject,
were accustomed to hold that the slightest corporal infliction or de
privation of freedom was a much severer punishment than a heavy
fine. If that doctrine were sound, then again must the House admit
the great severity of the sentence on Mr. Hunt. — Indeed he would
ask them if an imprisonment of two years and a half was not more than
sufficient for so small an offence as that on which Mr. Hunt was
convicted, to what period of time they would have limited his con
finement, supposing that he had been found guilty of the heavier
charges that were preferred against him 1 If they observed the same
proportion, Mr. Hunt's whole life would not be sufficient for the
punishment, unless, indeed, it were prolonged to the age of Methu
salem ; and not even then, unless the life of Dr. Colston were ex
tended to the same age also. — (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) He
next came to the second proposition which he had laid down, having,
as he trusted, rendered it impossible for any person to doubt of the
severity of the punishment which Mr. Hunt was now enduring. In
entering upon this part of his subject, he did not intend to introduce
any topics that were extraneous from it, or to forestall that discussion
which would come more naturally before the House, when the state
of Ilchester gaol shall be brought before it.— He would, however,
go as far into it as the Report of the Commissioners and the petition
of Mr. Hunt would bear Mm out. It would, no doubt, be recollected
that Mr. Hunt, on receiving his sentence, did, before he left tlie
Court, ask it with great readiness and sagacity, whether he was in
tended to suffer solitary confinement? and that the Court said to him
in reply, " By no means." Now when Mr. Hunt was sent to Ilchester,
it was said in that House that he had been sent there becauseiit was
one ofthe healthiest and best conducted gaols in England. If such
were really the motive for sending him there, when that gaol was
found out to be one of the worst gaols, in the kingdom, and to
be oppressive anil insalubrious to a degree that could hardly be
credited, he had a right to say, that even those who inflicted the
sentence on Mr. Hunt never intended to submit him to the inconve-
niencss which he had since suffered ; and he was glad to observe that
5 c

IB
bo gentleman in that House had ever contended that Mr. Hunt should
b? punished in the manner he had been. Not even the Hon. Mem
bers fgr Somerset had justified the treatment -which Mr. Hunt said
that he had received. One of them had said that he did not believe
the charges which Mr. Hunt had preferred against the gaoler, but at
the •same time admitted, that he ought to have all possible accom
modation in the prison. The other, who was as incredulous as his
colleague -to the misconduct of the gaoler, declared that Mr. Hunt
ought not to be permitted to suffer any other inconvenience than that
of imprisonment for two years and a half, which was inconvenience
enough in all conscience,. After such declarations,' he had, no-doubt
that the two Hon. Members to whom he had alluded would, upon
finding that Mr. Hunt had really been treated in the manner in which
he bad.described in his able petition, agree with him in saying, that
the House ought to do every thkig it could to relieve that gentleman,
ahd that the deration of his sufferings ought to be diminished as
tlieir severity had been increased. When Mr. Hunt was first sent
to Ilchester, he , was put into the northern ward of the prison,
¦where no sun ever came for five months of the year — into a room
which was cold and damp, and 'liable to all the changes of the
weather and atmosphere, and into which, when the sun did shinet
it Shone not to bless but to annoy him ; for it shone upon a high white
washed wall, within four or five yards of the -window of his apartment,
ahd from that wall was reflected a light so strong and dazzling as
to be extremely distressing to the eyes, as he (Sir Francis Burdett)
had himself experienced, on visiting the prison.. In consequence of
this, his eyes had suffered very severely, and he was not likely to
recover the consequences of this injury. When he entered the prison
he was ushered into a room which had a stone floor, and no sort
of accommodation-. In this place he found two persons confined, who
were to be his co-prisoners, his companions in this quarter of tho
gaol. They were intended to be his sleeping companion's, upon two
truckle beds which adjoined the apartment; and. one of them, in his
gaol-dress, was kindly appointed to assist Mr. Hunt in the room of his
own servant. The other prisoner who was, as he had already said, to
be his companion, was a half-witted fellow, but a whole rogue, who
was charged with an attempt to murder his own wife and family.
(Hear.) Mr. Hunt naturally enough objected to the social enjoyment
of such company : they were, he thought, rather too good, for him,
and at his desire these fellows were remanded to other cells. It
was at this time that Sir John Acland visited Mr. Hunt in his apart
ment ; and it was due to Sir John to state, that so far. as he was per
sonally concerned, Mr. Hunt always received at his hands the most
considerate attention and best treatment. , (Hear, hear.) Sir John,
at the' visit to which he alluded, apologized to Mr. Hunt for wearing
his hat in the room, and called on Mr. Hunt to do the same thing, -as
he feared the consequences of cold, from his head being exposed in
so damp a place. He ordered in a board, to stand upon while he
remained ih the apartment, and recommended Mr. Hunt .to take the
same precaution against dampness in his feet on such a spot.- Sir
John Acland also gave directions that the stone-floor should be imme
diately boarded over, the windows well closed and secured, and, in
Short, the apartment made as decent fpr Mr. Hunt as it was capa'ble ot
being rendered under the circumstances ofthe prison. Mr. Hunt acknow
ledged this attention on the part of Sir John Acland, and felt grateful
for it. This showed the previous state of the gaol, which they had been
told was selected for the accommodation of Mr. Hunt, as a maricof fa*

19
vour undec.Ms sentence; but which was in every respect adapted'ffiii,
and calculated lo iproduce; an aggravation of the severe lot of his impri-
lonmeut, It was impossible to impose greater hardships upon any pri
soner than those which Mr. Hunt endured in this prison. 'What reason
upon earth could there have been for denying him the assistance of his
9 wn servant? : Why have prevented the attendance of his usual assist
ant? But to returti to the state of the prison, "The'small ward in-whicb.
¦he was confined was, strange to say, intended by the prason directors
for a dispensary, an office for which, of all other places,; it was the worst
•calculated: it was, indeed, the very best place that could be selected
lo qnalify or prepare a man for the benefit of a dispensary— (a laugh)
—but. the worst, possible one to secure for him any fair chance of
¦achieving a cure : and on the subject; of a dispensary, it was a remark
able fact, that no such place was,' up to the present moment, provided
in Ilchester Gaol. In this part of the prison Mr. Hnnt was placed, and
ie was, not aware that in the whole prison a better apartment could be
found for him, except in the gaoler's house. When he was first eon-
fined he was only allowed the benefit 6f air iu a small close yard,abDtrt
24. feet in length ; from it a door- opened into a larger yard, one, per
haps, twice the length of that House, and from which alone any
adequate ventillation could be procured for the ward in whifch-. he
lived ; but to tlie' larger yard he was for a long time denied access.
At last, however, that indulgence was granted, to do away; perhaps,
the effect of his previous solitary and dreadful confinement; Here; in
justice to Mr. Hunt, he ought to say, that so reasonable and moderate
were hisdemantis;-. that whenever the parties to whoni he applied were
got to consider his applications, they were usually successful-; 'and it
was deemed proper to. admit their necessity. (Htar.) Sir Charles
.Bampfylde, the late Sheriff, who on this, as on every other occasion,
demeaned himself like an upright Magistrate— (Hear) — issued an
order against Mr. -Hunt's solitary confinement,-, and directed thatihjs^
.visitors, bothanale and femate friends,, should be admitted to see himi;
and that, in fact, a more liberal and becoming system 'of treatment
should.be observed towards him; but even before that worthy Sheriff
diad retired from office, the Rev Dr. Colston — a Visiting Magistrate,
.unfortunately; at this prison — interfered, in spite of Sir Charles Bamp-
fylde's positive orders for an amelioration of Mr. Hunt's treatment,
and enforced against him the most unjustifiable restrictions; He (the
Rev. Dr. Colston) acted in this case in the most unjust, imperious,
cruel, and ungentlemanly manner in the treatment of Mr. Hunt; and
4hree times ih defiance of the Sheriff's orders,'r.enewed the scandalooa,
degrading, and disgraceful restrictions which it was the object of
those orders to remove.--^ flfc/tr, hear.)^-lt was while suffering, under
these cruel orders that Mr. Hunt was at length struck, from the oppor
tunities of unavailing complaint, with the gross malversation carried
on in the gaol, and' the necessity, if possible, of. some inquiry, in the
hope of exposing so much cruelty. Lt was under these, circumstances
of restriction and privation, ' which' few men cduld'bear up against,
and with an energy rarely possessed,: that Mr. ' Hunt, surlsounded by
difficulties, having before him, as things then stood:, an impossibility
almost of obtaining a fair hearinlg, -and little chance of getting a- foil
or fair inquiry — it was under such cirdumstances,: and superior to fheiir
all, that Mr. Hunt called for, or rather demanded,, an inquiry into the
prison abuses. He firmly demanded it, too-, against a gatorler, -<Jho had
acquired a sort of character for integrity in his office; who had, in
fact, obtained not only the ear of, bat a degree of ascendancy over,
-the Magistrates that should, have controlled, him— who used' to din*

20
at table with some of them, rather upon the footing ef a companion
and friend, than as a subordinate person, bound to act under their
directions, and submit to their authority. This gaoler had succeeded,
by a course of deceit, by unaccountable cunning, by a tissue of hypo
crisy, in having insinuated himself Jnto the confidence of those about
him, nnd in having imposed upon honourable and worthy men, so as
to have obtained a high character for probity and humanity. It was
this successful deceit, which had unfortunately enabled him to continue
so long a dreadful instrument of inflicting human suffering, to a degree
hardly to be equalled in the annals of tyranny within the sphere of a
gaoler 's opportunities. Mr. Hunt first applied in the way of charge
lo the Visiting Magistrates, and at last, after stating various strong
and convincing facts of harshness and oppression, he compelled them
to give ear lo his complaint. The gaol-committee, then, at his sugges
tion, or rather upon his firm demand, instituted the inquiry, and they
had not proceeded more than three days in the investigation, when,
struck with the confirming evidence of the truth of the complaints,
they offered a sort of compromise to Mr. Hunt ; they agreed that the
gaoler ought to be dismissed ; they said his resignation must be ten
dered, if Mr. Hunt were satisfied not to press for further proceedings.
Mr. Hunt treated this proposal as it deserved. He said — "No; it is
your province to determine upon the conduct of the gaoler as you shall
think proper, and to decide upon the facts as they shall appear in evi
dence. I charge,your public officer with being guilty of great public
abuse, and I am ready to prove that charge, and let you see the nature
of his conduct. I must call for inquiry, not only with a view to his
punishment, but also to secure future prisoners from the recurrence
of such cruelty : it is for you to conclude the matter ; I shall not consent
to its suspension." — (Hear, hear.) It was a singular coincidence, that
the moment Mr. Hunt rejected this proffered compromise, that the
gaoler's solicitor, Mr. Joddrel, who, by the way, was mixed up with
all these proceedings, served Mr. Hunt with the copy of an attachment
for costs,, which he represented himself to have been put to, by an
application to the Court of King's Bench, made by Mr. Hunt, in tho
hope of getting relief from some of the scandalous acts of oppression
and exclusion to which he found himself exposed. This attachment,
he repeated, was served the moment Mr. Hunt refused to stifle in
quiry : and another strange coincidence was, that on the heels of it
came another legal process, demanding payment from Mr. Hunt of ex
cise penalties, for what was construed to be a breach of the law ; but
one which, on all hands it was admitted, was quite unintentional: it
was for an act, which, he must say, did not in any sense come within
the purview, not to say of the severity, but of the plain and obvious
meaning of these harassing laws: it was for a, discovery that roasted
rye was capable of being made into a good, cheap, and wholesome
breakfast-beverage, as a substitute for coffee for the poor. For this
discovery, meritorious and useful as he (Sir F. Burdett) must pronounce
it to have been, Mr. Hunt was convicted by the Excise, and ordered to
pay a penalty of 100/. for selling the article, und another penalty of
100/. for making it — (Hear, hear.) No man believed that when Mr.
Hunt made this breakfast-powder, he dreamt of infringing upon any
excise law. He could have had no private or public motive to induce
him to evade that law : but, notwithstanding this evident innocence on
the part of Mr. Hunt, he was, by a technical construction of the law,
exposed to a severe and cruel penalty. Besides, he understood that a
law officer of tlie Crown in that House had intimated, that it was not
intended to press for those penalties. He thought there had been a

21
complete understanding upon that point ; but he should perhaps be
told, as had been said that evening by a Right Hon. Gentleman oppo
site (Mr. Wynn) upon another singular misapprehension (respecting
Sir M. Lopes), that it was all a mistake, and that what they thought an
expression of disinclination to inflict the penalties, was an assurance
that there was no intention to mitigate them — (Hear, hear.) He
would still repeat, the impression was, that the Crown did not mean
to enforce the penalties against Mr. Hunt, for an act which, in truth,
was doing a great service to the public. Yet so it was, the penalties
were enforced, and Mr. Hunt was at the same moment saddled with
them, and the expense of his application to the Court of King's Bench ;
while he was in both cases a public benefactor. When this Crown
extent was issued, notice was at the same time served upon Mr. Hunt's
tenants, not to pay him any rent ; so that at the very moment the de
mand- for payment was made, under all the terrors of the law, to a
prisoner in close custody, the parties making it took the decisive step
of cutting off from him all means of satisfying their imperative de
mands— (Hear, hear.) Mr. Hunt, in this situation, requested that the
Sheriff would collect the rents, in satisfaction of his extent. Oh, no !
the Sheriff refused to collect them ; and proceeded at once to adver
tise his estate for public sale, on account of the excise penalties. Every
body knew what was the nature of a Sheriff's sale, %nd the condition
in which all property was placed when subject to it. The conse
quence was, a general notion prevailed that the, estate was abandoned
to summary confiscation, and exposed to the dilapidations which usually
precede such sacrifices. He believed some timber was wantonly cut
down and removed, and other spoliation committed by marauders
on the occasion. The day of sale was first fixed for the 10th day of
February, and afterwards a nearer day, the 7th, was named for the
Sheriff's auction. Mr. Hunt, however, found means to raise the 2001.
to pay the penalties, and thereby saved his estate from the then im
pending confiscation which threatened it. How did it happen, he
must again ask, that these penalties were not called for until Mr. Hunt
was engaged in detecting and exposing local abuses? Legal or not
legal, under the construction of the harshest and worst code of laws
existing in the country, why had they not been called for at the time
they were said to have been incurred? Was Mr. Hunt to be told, that
he was the only man in the community who could not venture to do his
fellow-subjects service, but at the expense of his property! Was he
to be told, that what would have been meritorious in any other person in
the community, was in hiin to be converted into an offence, for which
there was a determination that he shouldincur a harassing responsibility ?
Independent of the hardship, there was great impolicy in this proceed
ing against Mr. Hunt. At a time when loud and general complaints
were made, from one end of the country to another, of the pressure of
agricultural distress — -when one cause of the complaint was, that the
glut in the market was such, that there was no suitable demand for the
commodity — here was a man who, by his discovery, opened a new
source of demand, a new channel of consumption in the market, which
served both the seller and the consumer, and yet he was to be
punished for his sagacity ! He should have rather been presented
with a premium, as a reward for his ingenuity, than a penalty for
a violation of law which he never- could have contemplated — (Hear,
hear.) And yet such had been the fate of Mr. Hunt. There were,
however, other parts of his treatment of a yet more atrocious charac
ter ; for instance, the refusal of admittance to his visitors ; and,
amongst them, the denial of permission to an anxious and dying sister,

22
f# take the last opportunity she was likely to enjoy of seeing a»
affectionate and afflicted brother. Would it be believed,. that. ,thi»
refasal to a dying sister, to take a last farewell of an imprisoned
brother, was given by a man of station in society? Or, still more,
would-it be believed,' that that man professed to be a teacher of the
lessons inculcated' by the mild spirit of Christianity — that he was a
Minister of religion, and that religion the Protestant faith — a believer
in the religion, of Christ? Would it, he said, be believed, that from
such a man the hard-hearted and cruel refusal came to an expiring
'.'woman to tatas her last 'leave of a brother whom she loved — (Cries
of hear.) But so it was: she was refused this sad consolation, and
She diedy without ever again seeing her brother-^-fifear ¦.) How far a
refusal, under the circumstances in which she was placed, tended
to accelerate that doom to which she was then approaching, he could
not pretend fo say ; but this he knew, that the refusal was the, most
outrageous, the most atrociousv and the mosj repugnant act to every
feeling of humanity and justice, that he knew upon record — (Hear?)
It was done by the Rev. Dr. Colston, and irt doing, it he must be
told, that .he had not only violated his professional, and sacred duty
as an English -clergyman, but also his legal duty as a magistrate;
that -he had paid no attention either to law or to gospel; that he -had
Ventured to forget both by a more heartless, a more wicked, a more
cruel and flagrant act; than had a parallel in the transactions of . the
most atrocious institutions that ever cursed mankind in the most cruel
times — (Hear, hear.) — It was worse, taking all its attendant cir
cumstances into the account, than anything he had read of in the dark
proceedings of the Spanish Inquisition, before the reform of that tri
bunal in the late revolution. That history, should have the pain of re
cording such scenes in England, and in the year 1832, was a humi
liating- and degrading fact. It was one of the singular circumstances
• attending the malversation in Ilchester gaol, that the very enormity
ofthe Wickedness practised within its walls, furnished, for a long
time, its best protection. The llagrancy of the deeds was, such
as to stagger credibility; it was impossible to believe that sueh
men were engaged in the perpetration of such acts, and no ear could
for a length *>t time be opened to their recital, ¦ They were, however,
unfortunately proved to. be too true — they wiere, through the perse
vering and unappalLed energy of Mr. Hunt, confirmed by irrefragable
evidence ; arid he (Sir F. Burdett) would say, ,that for bringing for
ward such an inquiry, and for the- ability that -he displayed ih con
ducting that investigation when it was commenced, Mr. Hunt was
entitled to public thanks ; he deserved that -tribute for his fortitude, at
Sueh a moment ; but, above all, he was entitled td it for the benefit
, which his country Could not fail to derive from the result of the inquiry.
Every man in England would have cause to rejoice in the consequences
of that investigation ; and that man had a strong" claim hpon public
gratitude, who had put an end to this atrocious system of prison .
oppression, and had held out to all the gaolers of the empire, both
now and for time to come, a memorable example of disgrace and
punishment. (Hear.) '¦ The Government ' had also Ufe benefit of
these efforts,' singly made by Mr. Hunt— they would be relieved iby
them from a great and general- cause of odium — they would be re
lieved from a .great and heavy responsibility, which'exposed them to
something like- a charge of permitting the practice of criieWy and' op
pression. The Government were too often held ansWerabh* for tho
acts of underlings in office who compromised their character, and it
was often in some degree proper that they should be lipid to parti-

23
*ipate in the responsibility of such men ; for Government, then, it
would have been most unfortunate if such atrocities were kept from
the light, and all investigation stifled. They had, therefore, reason
to be glad of the detection and exposure of acts calculated to bring
shame on their character and influence. (Hear, hear.) This Rev.
Doctor (Colston), among his many other acts of oppression towards Mr.
Hunt, had, during Mr. Hunt's solitary confinement by his order, and
while he was, through that severity, severely afflicted wilh cramps and
spasms in his stomach, refused his application to have the professional
aid of a medical gentleman in Ilchester, who had previously attended
him. He (Dr. Colston) had treated this application as he had all
others that were made to him from the same quarter, with the utmost
contempt, and referred Mr. Hunt to the regular gaol doctor. Now,
when the House should look at the evidence respecting that man
(the then gaol doctor) — when they found him mixed up as a party with
almost all the acts of the gaoler, and, according to his own evidence,
guilty of misapplying the great means which the healing- art furnishes
for alleviating human affliction — remedies painful in themselves, and
Only resorted to to relieve most acute and dangerous disorders; when
they found this doctor avow the application of these painful remedies,
not to mitigate human misery, but for the purposes of barbarous
torment — (hear, hear) — he thought they would not be much surprised
at hearing that Mr. Hunt preferred resting upon the recuperative ener
gies of nature, and the vigour of a sound constitution, to availing
himself of the recommended aid of this healing practitioner. (Hear,
hear.) Putting aside the severe manacling of sick prisoners with heavy
irons, the locking their hands behind their backs, and torturing them
for days by retention in so painful a position, it was quite enough lo
know that he had put a blister upon a man in heavy irons, merely
because (according to his own words) he was " a troublesome fellow."
(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) In the three cases of Evans, Hawkins,
and Gardner, he had upon his own showing ordered blisters as a pu
nishment — in the first case, to mend the manners of a " troublesome
jockey," and in another, because he thought " the fellow shammed,"
or some such expression. He thought the House would, after these
lights shed upon the character of so humane a doctor, entirely concur
with Mr. Hunt, that it was better to trust to nature than to resort to
such a practitioner for his sympathising aid. Eleven days Mr. Hunt
endured the pains of his indisposition ; and would it be said after this,
and the other instances of unrelenting cruelty to which he was ex
posed, that he had not suffered a far greater share of punishment
than was intended by the Judges who had framed his sentence?
(Hear, hear.) It was no answer to say that all cause of grievance
and oppression was removed by the recent regulations of the prison.
His reply was, that a greater punishment had already been inflicted
upon Mr. Hunt, than the court which sentenced him could possibly
have contemplated. (Hear, hear.) He should now, without trou
bling the House with tedious details of the evidence adduced before
the commissioners appointed to investigate the abuses in Ilchester
gaol, just glance at one or two parts of their report, to show how
Mr. Hunt's principal allegations had been supported in evidence. He
(Sir F. Burdett) must say, that when he first heard the names of the
gentlemen who were directed to investigate tho commission, he ex
pected from them a sincere and honest inquiry. (Hear, hear.) Be
sides his confidence in the general character of these gentlemen,
one of them (Mr. Munday) was a relation of his own, and a man
incapable of tolerating any injustice. That confidence which he at

24
first entertained, the commissioners had amply justified in the result.
(Hear, hear.) In the course of their proceedings it was observable,
that so far from desiring to make a bad case too apparent, they had,
as far as the consciences of honest men disposed and prepared to do
their duty would suffer them, rather endeavoured to soften down the;
case which was made out before them. (Hear, hear.) They, how
ever, did state, that the whole condition of the gaol was the very
reverse of what it ought to be ; that the very situation of the gaol
rendered it impossible to have effective improvement; and that as
to regulations for the management of the prison, they were in too
many instances unattended to, and that the Visiting Magistrates had
been remiss in the due performance of their functions ; they, in fact,
left far too much to the discretion and judgment of the Rev. Dr. Col
ston — they reposed in him the duty of being the leading director, and
did too little of themselves. Indeed it was apparent, that the other
Visiting Magistrates rather leaned to screen this man's acts, than to
investigate and correct them. With respect to the powers and conduct
t>f the magistracy as a body, he was as ready as any man to admit
their beneficial effect, and their advantage to the country at- large :
but he must protest against the lumping way in which some gentle
men were prone to speak of the acts of the magistracy. It was said
that they ought to be protected in the performance of their disinterested
and gratuitous duty, and that they ought not to be exposed to too rigid
a scrutiny, and too severe a responsibility — that what they did when
they did wrong, was to be overlooked for their motive, and not to
be afterwards made the subject' of inquiry. He protested against
this doctrine. (Hear.) He objected to the opinion, that because
they were unpaid they should be irresponsible. If receiving no pay
entitled them to freedom from inquiry, in God's name then let them be
paid for their services, and held answerable for their acts. (Hear.)
But, unfortunately the great body of the upright magistracy of the
kingdom were thus insulted, and their real utility (which no man
was more ready to admit than himself) decried, by being mixed up
with these ignorant, meddling, and pettifogging individuals, who had
crept into the magistracy to gratify some pusillanimous desire for
petty power, and consequential authority, and make a gaol, or a
neighbourhood, the scene of their mean tyranny, or the instrument of
their malicious or corrupt oppression. (Hear, hear.) But to return
to the state of this prison : its locality, it was said, exposed it to
every kind of disadvantage — there were no means of effectually cleans
ing it, except by the constant application of human labour. The
pumps for supplying the gaol with water were constantly contami
nated with filth, and the various drains which ought to have carried
off noxious ingredients, never did sweep away the impurities; nay,
strange to say, although there was a river within a stone's throw of
the gaol, it was deemed too great an indulgence to suffer debtors to be
supplied with water from its bed ; they were not allowed even to
receive a pint of beer from a friendly visitor, without permission from
this humane doctor and his colleague, the equally humane gaoler. All
this was against law ; it was contrary to the provisions of an Act of
Parliament. Bad as was the old law for governing prisons, it was
not half so harsh or severe as this wanton practice: it would be
in vain to preach up the reformation of prison discipline, if augmented
torture and oppression could be inflicted with impunity. By the evi
dence it would be seen, that a considerable manufacture had been
carried on in this gaol, and that Mr. Hunt offered to prove that the
gaoler derived great profits from it. The commissioners refused to

25
enter Into that head of inquiry, and left it for the consideration of the
cbtinty: Independent of the cruelty inflicted, enough appeared to
show 'that the gaol was utterly without classification. The women
were separated from the men, it was true, for purposes of morality ;
but they were confined sometimes in condemned cells, always locked
up by men turnkeys, to whose visits at alf hours they must have been
consequently exposed. There^waS; in fadt, an utter disregard of
everything like prison discipline in this gaol; and yet it had been
held out as a model of perfection to the whole kingdom. (Hear.)
There was another singular thing apparent in these transactions ; —
it was remarkable that the turnkeys, or persons under the gaoler, in
stead of being selected from men who deserved reward for their good
conduct, were taken from the worst characters in the gaol.' So said
the commissioners. One of them was a man who had been three times
confined for different offences, and who was a remarkably bad charac
ter. Such were the persons intrusted with the gaoler's confidence, It
was his duty to repeat, that the principal allegations of Mr. Hunt
were sustained by the evidence before the commissioners. The Hon.
Baronet went on to express his hope that before the subject before
them should be disposed of, Hon. Gentlemen would take the trouble
of looking at the evidence upon which the Report he held in his
hand was founded. A more important subject than the present one
could not possibly be brought under the consideration of Parliament ;
for in its consequences it must affect the system and condition of our
gaols in general. The commissioners reported the particulars of
the gross and scandalous conduct of the late gaoler, and expressed
their own sentiments of indignation; but on such a matter there could
be but one opinion among all who heard him, and it was not necessary
therefore that he should more particularly advert to this part of the
Report. But he would just notice the case of Mary Cuer, which the
commissioners described as " one of extraordinary cruelty ; that with
a young infant at her breast, this young woman was, during a period
of severe frost and snow, locked up in a solitary cell from Thursday
till Sunday. She had had a quarrel with another female prisoner, who,
with her infant, was also subjected to the same, punishment. It ap
pears by the evidence of Mary Cuer, that for the two first days there
was no fire in her cell : that she suffered severely from cold, and that
during the whole of the four days' confinement she was provided
only with bread and cold water in a bucket, without the use of any
lesser vessel to drink it out of, and she was not allowed the ppportunity
of laying out, for the benefit of her child, the money granted by the
parish for its maintenance, nor even of warming a part of her own
allowance of bread and water for its support; and her own mijk
having, under these privations, failed entirely, no mitigation to the
sufferings of the infant could be derived from that source."
(Loud and repeated cries of Hear,.) He did think that this was
a case of iniquitous cruelty exceeding anything he had ever heard
of. He knew of no form of language, of no felicity of expression,
which could be more emphatic or more affecting than this simple
and unlaboured statement of a mother, with a famishing infant at
her breast, shut up in a prison at Christmas —in that inclement season
when the snow and frost without, increased the bodily sufferings of
those who were immured within ; and denied even the sustenance
of water, excepting in a bucket — (hear, hear,) — as jf it were neces
sary1 that cold water phould be conveyed to her in a manner which
might most aggravate her other punishments. Great God! did the
torments of Hell itself exceed in bitterness the pangs of thjs unhappy
5 D

26
woman ? Was it possible for the human mind to conceive a picture
of more wretchedness and agony, than a helpless mother, thus shut
up, excluded from all relief, from all sympathy even, with an infant
starving at her breast, and her ears for ever pierced with the unavail
ing cries of her own offspring for its food ? Could any ingenuity pro
duce a more deplorable or afflicting case? (Hear.) And did this lay
no ground for the proposition which he was about to submit to
the House? Why, he was prepared to say, that if Mr. Hunt had
done no more than used his exertions in bringing to light such enor
mous cruelties as these, and thus endeavoured to become the second
ary cause of preventing such scenes from ever occurring again in our
gaols, he might now reasonably claim some consideration from a body
professing, to a certain degree at least, some sympathy with the
feeling of the public. On this ground alone Mr. Hunt would surely
be entitled to some manifestation of favour from the House of Com
mons. If a House of Commons, at a former period of our history,
had received an eulogy from a celebrated poet, for having inquired
into the abuses of gaols, and detected the evils of the then existing
system — if Thomson could have been moved to commemorate that
band of patriots, not to be forgotten —
" And here can I forget the generous band,
Who, touch'd with human woe, redressive search'd
Into the horrors of the gloomy gaol,
Unpitied and unheard, where misery moans,
Where sickness pines, where thirst and hunger burn,
And poor misfortune feels the lash of vice?
While in the land of Liberty, the land
Whose every street and public meeting glow
With open freedom, little tyrants rag'd ;
Snatchdthe lean morsel from the starving mouth;
Tore from cold wintry limbs the tatter'd weeds ;
Ev'n robb'd them of the last comforts, sleep ;
The free-born Briton to the dungeon chain'd ;
Or, as the lust of cruelty prevail'd,
At pleasure mark'd him with inglorious stripes.
And crush'd out lives by secret barbarous ways,
That for their country would have toil'd or bled.
O great design! if executed well,
With patient care and wisdom temper'd zeal.
Ye sons of mercy! yet resume the search;
Drag forth the legal monsters into light,
Wrench from their hands oppression's iron rod,
And bid the cruel feel the pains they give."
If, for the exertions which a House of Commons at this period
made in such a cause, it had received this memorable eulogy, what
ought to be the praise of Mr. Hunt? What was his desert, who
had brought to light such a monster as this execrable gaoler?
(Hear.) Let Gentlemen consider how Mr. Hunt was situated when
he rendered this service : he was under the lock and key of the same
relentless torturer, and even his life he considered to be in danger :
and surely, under the same roof with such a gaoler, no man's life
was safe. It appeared, however, that the Visiting Magistrates (and
he, Sir F. Burdett, had heard this stated, not without the utmost
astonishment) had offered to compromise matters with this disgraced
character, after Mr. Hunt had succeeded in making known some of
these excesses and enormities. The motive of such an offer, he (Sir
F. Burdett) could not possibly divine. Was it not too much that these
gentlemen should think of leaving Mr. Hunt under the power of the
man, after such exposures had been made? (Hear.) He would
confess, that to him it did appear to be something almost providential
and miraculous, that the other unhappy individuals, whose names

27
were found in the Report, should have been so fortunate as, by their
evidence, to make out and corroborate those charges which Mr. Hunt
had had the boldness to bring forward against their infamous oppressor.
It was much that Mr. Hunt had done — especially when it was remem
bered that he had to deal with the evidence of witnesses of whom he
never could be certain. He (Sir F. Burdett) did think it highly im
portant — as matter immediately applicable to the motion with which
lie should presently conclude, and as matter tending to show what
had been the sufferings of Mr. Hunt himself in this prison — to read
to the House that part of the Commissioners' Report, in which they
spoke of the situation in which they discovered that gentleman on
visiting the gaol—" We had the opportunity of seeing these three
wards under different circumstances of weather," (these three wards
constituted the infirmary) " and the impression left on our minds is,
that they are, for the purposes to which they are intended to be appli
ed, the most objectionable part of the gaol. It is in this part that
the inconvenience of high walls is most sensibly felt : with a northern
aspect and no good admission of air, all the worst effects of damp
prevail in an aggravated degree ; the cold evaporations of wet sea
sons and the heat ofthe summer, each generate a species of atmosphere
distressing and insalubrious. When to this is added the distance
from that assistance so constantly required in hospitals, we consider
the ward intended for the sick peculiarly ill-suited to its purpose,
and therefore received satisfaction from finding, that it is proposed
in the projected alteration to convert it to some other purpose. When
we visited Ilchester, this ward was occupied by Mr. Hunt and the
adjoining refractory ward, in which are two cells, each nine feet
ten inches, by seven feet five inches, and having a fire-place, was
given up to two prisoners who attended upon him. The Magistrates
appeared to have made many alterations calculated to improve the
apartments for the occupation of Mr. Hunt; and in the general ar
rangement it did not occur to us that the gaol could have admitted
(without great sacrifice) of a disposition more conducive to his comfort.
So long, however, as such an exclusion of sun and air continues, the
main objection to the ward cannot be considered as removed." Why
now, to be sure, the mere exclusion of sun and air from the prison
chamber of a man who was sentenced to be confined there two years
and a half, was a pretty considerable grievance in itself. (Hear,
hear.) But if, in addition to being confined in this way, he was to be
subjected to the personal cruelty of his gaoler, it was no great mercy
not to have taken his life at once. (Hear.) Of the Visiting Ma
gistrates (the Hon. Baronet continued) he should not say much, ex
cepting only of the Rev. Dr. Colston. However extraordinary it
might seem that an individual of his profession should be so disposed,
it was no less true that Dr. Colston appeared to have been the man,
who, on every possible occasion, was foremost in his endeavours to
deprive a prisoner of all the means by which his health might be
preserved or his comforts extended. Nay, the disposition of this Rev.
Gentleman towards Mr. Hunt was manifested even after the new gaoler
had gone down to the prison. That individual, for the sake of venti
lation, had left a little door open, which led into a sort of yard near
Mr. Hunt's room. But then, down came Dr. Colston, and notwith
standing that the Commissioners had reported this indulgence in terms
of commendation, and that every principle of common humanity and
common sense required its continuance, he ordered the door to be
shut up. At present, however, it seemed, not only that this door was
again left open as before, but that even the high walls which had

28
been complained of had been lowered to such a degree as consider^
ably to increase and improve the ventilation of the gaol. He (Sir
Francis Burdett) did mean to say, that after Mr. Hunt had been thus
Subjected to the vexatious caprices of an arbitrary Magistrate, and
of a brutal gaoler — after he had passed twelve months of solitary
confinement (and it was important to remark, that solitary confine
ment formed no part of his original sentence), an aggravation which
was never intended to be inflicted — he had a fair claim upon the
consideration of Parliament, His case was still further aggravated,
by the insult contained in the observation of an Hon. Member, who
had said that Mr. Hunt's was a voluntary solitary confinement; be
cause, forsooth, Mr. Hunt did not condescend to avail himself of a
permission to walk in a very small cave or room or yard, with felons
and other prisoners, who had obtained " a rule," as it was term
ed. Mr. Hunt did not care to mingle with these unhappy men, covered
as many of them were with filthy rags ; and among whom he must
have been under the necessity of being found by his visitors of either
sex. The offer itself was only adding cruelty to insult. And on the
subject of the cruelty exercised towards Mr. Hunt, it was proper
to state, that at first he was allowed to see some persons among
his friends ; then he was forbidden to see certain others of them ; and
at length Dr. Colston positively prohibited all visitors whatever.
These severities had aggravated the original sentence of Mr. Hunt
beyond all reason or measure. Another thing not to be forgotten was,
that Mr. Hunt was only one out of a number of persons who were
included in the same verdict. There were Johnson, Healy, Knight,
and another person, who were all of thera included ; and if there was
any guilt in the transaction in regard to which they were tried (though
he, Sir F. Burdett, was at a loss to conceive how any guilty intention
could have existed on that occasion, and certainly none was proved
against them), each of those persons was more guilty than Mr.
Hunt. Mr. Hunt was the invited person only ; but they had framed
the resolutions, and originated the meeting. Yet, strange to say,
they had been sentenced to one year's imprisonment only in Lincoln
shire gaol ; and, excepting only their imprisonment, neither of these
fonr individuals' had had any reason to complain of severity. Now
the term and the nature of their imprisonment, although if any
guilt existed the largest share certainly rested with them, did not
equal one tenth part of the weight of Mr. Hunt's punishment. How
had it happened that all these insults should have been heaped upon
Mr. Hunt ? Was it possible for the public to form any other judgment
on the subject than this— that Mr. Hunt was, in truth, the victim
of a vindictive feeling? (Hear, hear.) The people did think that his
Majesty's Government had done themselves no good by their treat
ment of this individual. They had, in fact, by their own act and deed,
elevated Mr. Hunt into the character of a martyr. (Hear, hear.)
They had taught the people to look up to him as their victim — (hear,
hear) — and after the exposures which he had caused to be made, the
people could not but feel that he had done a most important service
to his country. (Hear, hear.) The inquiries which his (Mr. HHnts)
own representations led to, must, ere long, tend to produce an en
tirely new modification of our gaol system, and of the severities of
solitary confinement. However well intentioned the late Mr. Howard
might have been, his system in this respect might have been productive
of more mischief than any other system of imprisonment. In this
day it was common to hear declamations against theories as Utopian;
but he (Sir F. Burdett) knew of none that more . deserved that name

29
than the scheme for making a prison a house of reform. It was
only justice, however, to admit, that Mr. Howard intended that
those who were to be iu solitary confinement were to have no irons put
on them, that there should be no cruelty, no oppression ; he only in
tended that the solitude of imprisonment should relieve the guilty
from the contagion and example of crime ; but it was his wish
that the imprisoned should be treated with the utmost humanity — that
they should be visited by chaplains and magistrates — that they should
be expostulated with, made sensible of their crimes, and reclaimed
from the paths of wickedness to those of virtue. The' philanthropic
Howard never wished that under his system men should become
imbecile ; or that in solitary confinement they should be driven to
madness and despair. Yet of these disastrous consequences the his
tory of our gaols furnished but too many examples. That humane
individual never, desired that human beings should be shut up in places
where one would not keep a dog on equal terms. (Hear.) But the
men who, to a sentence of more than two years' solitary confinement,
had superadded numberless cruelties, who on the victims of such a
sentence, under any term, had in many instances imposed irons also,
and who aggravated punishment by insult, had introduced into the
country a system of imprisonment totally repuguant not only to all the
mild and rational intentions of the old English law, but totally repug
nant to every feeling of humanity, to every principle qf justice, and to
every dictate of common sense. (Hear, hear.) On the grounds he
had stated, he did trust that Mr. Hunt would be considered, if it were
in the scale of merit even, to have some claim to the favourable treat
ment of that House. It appeared to him (Sir F. Burdett) that if
Ministers wished that these deeds of darkness and iniquity should be
brought to light, and checked in their origin, they must feel that in
quiry and detection were the only means of effecting their wisl.os; but
if, on the other hand, they thought that such detection was mischiev
ous, they would perhaps consider, not that Mr. Hunt had any claim
upon them, but that he was a fit object of further punishment. Be
that as it might, the public would not come to this last conclusion.
Whether, however, they would remit the smaller and by far the lighter
part of Mr. Hunt's sentence, it was now for them to judge. For
his own part, it became his duty to submit to the House three pro
positions : 1st, That Mr. Hunt's sentence was originally more than
sufficiently severe ; 2d, That that sentence had been aggravated by
the abuse of the powers vested in the local authorities of his pri
son, to such a degree as rendered that sentence, however severe in
itself, merciful in comparison to the punishment he had since undergone ;
and 3dly, that he possessed some claim on public gratitude by reason
of the successful exposure which he had made of the abuses existing
in the prison at Ilchester. If Hon. Gentlemen should agree with
him (Sir F. Burdett) in all, or in any of these points, he trusted that
they would not think the course which he was now about to propose
at all objectionable — namely, an address to his Majesty, which would
give him the opportunity of exercising that prerogative which he felt
assured was most congenial to his Majesty's beneficent disposition,
by remitting the remaining portion of a punishment, the complete
infliction of which could be attended with no public benefit. (Cheer
ing.) He therefore moved — " That an humble address be presented
to his Majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased to remit
the remainder of Mr. Hunt's punishment."
Mr. G. DAWSON was for some moments not audible in the gal
lery, owing to the noise prevailing in the House. After paying some

30
compliments to the talents and eloquence of the Hon. Baronet, who*
had just sat down, he declared that in the observations he was about
to offer, he did not mean to defend the departure which had to a
certain extent taken place from all principles of humanity and right,
in the conduct of the late gaoler of the prison in question — (Hear.)
God forbid he should be the advocate for a man, against whom such
serious charges had been substantiated as the Commissioners had
reported upon. At the same time he thought that the feelings of men
might seduce their judgments. No man ever went to a dungeon where
he witnessed the situation of an unhappy convict, without having his
compassion highly excited. He proposed to examine into the chaVges
of cruelty preferred on the part of Mr. Hunt ; but it should be calmly
and dispassionately; for he would not allow his judgment to be
warped in any way whatever. The Hon. Baronet had assumed that
the sentence passed upon Mr. Hunt was too severe ; he (Mr. Dawson)
did not conceive that he should be justified in opening this question,
and on such a subject he could not but bow to the decision of the
learned Judges who passed that sentence. It did happen, however,
that Mr. Hunt's own complaints, those complaints which had been
proffered by himself — included not half the grievances -stated by the
Hon. Baronet. — (Hear.) Mr. Hunt made no complaints about the
blister on the head — the irons — the waterbucket ; but he represented
that he was confined in a dark room, with a high brick wall, which shut
out the sun, and that he was debarred from communication with his
family. In regard to the matter of cruelty, the Hon. Baronet, so far as
Mr. Hunt was concerned, had totally failed to establish his charge ;
and if he (Mr. Dawson) should be able to showthat Mr. Hunt had him
self praised the salubrity and convenience of his apartment, he did
feel that that part of the question would be< entirely disposed of. —
(Hear.) On the 15th May, 1820, Mr. Hunt was sentenced to two
years and a half imprisonment. When that sentence was passed, he
applied to Mr. Justice Bayley to know whether his confinement was
intended to be solitary? Mr. Justice Bayley replied, "Certainly
not ;"' and added, that if Mr. Hunt should find reason to complain of
improper hardship, he might appeal to the Court of King's Bench,
who would grant him his remedy. On his first removal Mr. Hunt
was placed in a room of the prison which the Hon. Baronet had been
pleased to call a dungeon. It was, however, situated in the female
ward of the prison, and therefore not very likely to be placed in the
most uncomfortable situation. It certainly had the air of a gaol
apartment ; but Hon. Gentlemen must be aware that the rooms of a
prison were not exactly like those of private dwellings. — (Hear, hear,
from the Opposition.) When Mr. Hunt first arrived, two or three
beds were in this room, and did remain there for one night, in con
sequence of the absence of the gaoler: but onhis return they were
removed, and a comfortable feather-bed was provided for Mr. Hunt at
the expense of the county. — (Laughter.) Now the fact was, that
the persons with whom Mr. Hunt had been described as not con
descending to mix were not felons, but imprisoned for misdemeanours
only. The Hon. Baronet might feel almost angry and ashamed that
he had been so imposed upon ; but he (Mr. Dawson) appealed to
the Members connected with the county of Somerset, whether what he
now slated was not matter of fact. For the convenience of Mr. Hunt,
bells were hung, in order that his attendants might more readily wait
upon him ; and the floor of his apartment, which before was of stone,
was replaced with one of wood. — (Hear, hear.) This was at Mr.
Hunt's own suggestion. To show that those attentions were felt and

31
acknowledged by Mr. Hunt, he would now read a letter from that gen
tleman, which was inserted in the Sherbourne Mercury. (The Hon.
Gentleman then read a letter which contained some passages to this
effect :— " I believe no man that ever lived was more happy than I
am here." (Dated, " Ilchester-gaol.") " In fact, I have every possible
care taken of me." — (A laugh ) "I am in the enjoyment of that
tranquillity for which I have so long wished, and possess that purity
and serenity of mind which can result alone from a consciousness of
the rectitude of my intentions. — (Hear.) " Coupled with all this, I
enjoy a strong habit of body, the effect of temperance and exercise,"
&c. (Loud cries of " the date, the date.") It was dated July, 1820.
— (Hear, hear.) It was very true this was only a few weeks after
his committal; but he (Mr. Dawson) begged the House would bear in
mind the contents of this letter. — Shortly after the appearance of this
letter, an order was made by the Visiting Magistrates for the admis
sion of Mr. Hunt's family. Among the visitors who came, however,
was a Mrs. Vince, a woman who was notoriously living (her husband
being still in existence) with Mr. Hunt, whose wife was also alive.
This was considered to be too grossly immoral. — (Loud cries of
" hear.") In spite of the cheers of Hon. Gentlemen opposite, he
(Mr. Dawson) would contend that such a scandalous connexion the
Magistrates were bound to discountenance ; and they forbade those
visits accordingly. — (Hear.) From the time that Mrs. Vince was
refused admission, every thing became jaundiced in he eyes of Mr.
Hunt. He applied to the Court of King's Bench, and in his petition
prayed, " that no other punishment might be inflicted upon him than
that which had been awarded by the Court." He asserted in his
affidavit, that, on being conveyed to Ilchester gaol, he was placed
in a cold, dark, miserable dungeon — that he was not allowed fire-irons
or fender (no very important deprivations), and that his health was
materially injured " by being confined within the pestilential walls
of a small yard." How did this statement correspond with the letter
Mr. Hunt published in the Sherbourne Mercury? He had there been
guilty of a voluntary falsehood, or in his affidavit committed a wilful
perjury. He complained also to the Court that " the females of his
family" were not only excluded, but driven away in a brutal and
ferocious manner, and all this was read in the presence of Mr. Justice
Bayley ; so that there never was an aggrieved person who had a fairer
prospect of redress, if he had made out a case requiring it. The
Court of King's Bench called upon the Gaoler and the Magistrates
for their reply to Mr. Hunt's charges, and they put in an answer so
satisfactory, so completely refuting what Mr. Hunt had brought for
ward, that the complaint was not only dismissed, but dismissed with
costs, to shew the sense the Court entertained of the application. —
Besides, whom had Mr. Hunt dared to call " the females of his family !"
One of them was a woman with whom he was living in open adultery.
— (Hear.) The females of his family, properly so called, had never
been excluded— his mistress only was refused admission. The refusal
of the Court of King's Bench to interpose, was, he (Mr. Dawson)
thought, a sufficient warrant for the House to reject this motion for its
interposition. He admitted that some slight hardship might have
arisen out of the want of accordance between the Magistrates and the
Sheriff; they did not act together, and what at one time was refused,
at another was granted. It would have been far better if this vacil
lating system had not been pursued, but even by that Mr. Hunt1 had
been in some respects a gainer, for he had been allowed to continue his
adulterous intercourse in the most unblushing manner. The House,

32
however, had nothing to do wilh this want of concert between the local
authorities: the simple question for it was, whether the punishment,
as it had been inflicted, was disproportionate to the offence of Mr.
Hunt, and whether any thing had been done contrary to the sentence
of the Court? He (Mr. Dawson) did not think that his imprison
ment had been attended with any unjust or unnecessary restrictions.
His medical, legal, and personal, nay even " the females of his
family," had been admitted, although, for some time, an objection,
on the score of decorum and morality, was made to Mrs. Vince.
This objection and these restrictions, such as they were, had continued
till the 16th December, 1820, when Sir C. Bampfylde took the manage
ment of the gaol in his own hands, and free access to all Mr. Hunt's
friends was allowed; but no sooner had Sir C. Bampfylde retired,
than the Magistrates thought themselves bound to put the rules of the
prison in force, and they supposed that Mr. Hanning, the new High
Sheriff, would continue the opinions he had held as a Magistrate.
Matters thus remained until the investigation, when Mr. Hanning
relinquished his previous notions, and admission was again given to
Mr. Hunt's mistress. The Magistrates again succeeded in procuring
her exclusion ; but subsequently the admission of Mr. Hunt's friends,
male and female, was granted at all times ofthe day, and at the pre
sent moment the only hardship he suffered was the deprivation of
personal liberty . That the Magistrates had the right to impose and
enforce the restrictions they had imposed and enforced, there could be
no doubt, as the 32d George III. c. 60, was passed for the special
purpose of giving Visiting Magistrates authority. — They acted accord
ing to the spirit of the law, and they did so on their own responsi
bility. There was, in truth, no reason why Mr. Hunt should not be
treated like all other prisoners ; yet he had been even more favoured
than the debtors, for the debtors in Ilchester gaol were not allowed
to be visited by their wives. — (Hear from the Opposition side.) Such
was the regulation of the gaol ; he did not mean to defend it, but
there was no reason why Mr. Hunt should be particularly indulged.
On the contrary, he (Mr. Dawson) was of opinion that the Magistrates
would have forfeited their characters, and neglected their duty, if they
had permitted the adulterous intercourse between Mr. Hunt and Mrs.
Vince. Of all men in the world, Mr. Hunt had the least right to
expect favour. He had run a long career of dangers ; and, with a con
siderable share of talent, he had applied it to the worst purposes. He
had thrust himself forward every where : he had even gone out of
his way to attract popularity: he had put himself at the head of
mobs, whom he had instigated to rapine and violence ; he had put
himself at the head of a new school of infidels and blasphemers. —
(Hear, hear.) He had kept the country in a constant state of
alarm and disturbance, until his course was happily at length arrested
by the strong arm of the law. Since he, with those incendiaries
Wooler and Carlile, had been safely imprisoned, order and tranquillity
had been re-established. He trusted that the result of this night's
discussion would not afford a hope to the friends of confusion and
anarchy that the public mind would again soon be poisoned by the
seditious artifices of Wooler, or by the odious blasphemies of Carlile.
—(Hear.) Mr. HOBHOUSE, from the temperate opening of the Hon. Under
Secretary, had not at all anticipated the heat and violence of bis con
clusion. If such men as Wooler and Carlile endeavoured to inflame
the country, such men as the Hon. Gentleman and his friends did their
utmost to inflame the House — (hear, hear) — to excite its passions

33
against an unfortunate Individual, by mixing up his name with those.
with whom he was not in any way connected. In this attempt the
Hon. Gentleman had shown far more skill than fairness, though the
portion of skill, judging at least by its effect, was indeed scanty enough.
— (Hear, hear.) — He (Mr. Hobhouse) begged the Hon. Gentleman
to show him, if he could, what Wooler or his " seditious artifices"
had to do with this debate, or how Carlile and his " odious blasphemies"
affected the question before the House ? Blasphemy and impiety
were, no doubt, highly censurable and injurious, but they seemed to
excite a peculiar horror on the other side, as if infidelity, in their sense,
meant a resistance to, and a disbelief of, the infallibility of Ministers.
But blasphemy and impiety had nothing to do with this motion, nor
were they on the record, of charges brought against Mr. Hunt .
He had attended closely to the speech of the Hon. Gentleman, and he
had heard hiin assert that the Hon. Baronet had coloured and exag
gerated facts ; but the Hon. Gentleman had not adduced an instance of
the kind, nor could he, for the whole statement was borne but by the
Report of the Commissioners. He might here take occasion to com
plain that the Hon. Gentleman, in endeavouring to impugn the testi
mony of Mr. Hunt, had set at nought the testimony of the Commis
sioners. — (Hear, hear.) — He would not fatigue the House by fresh
references to the Report ; but it established, beyond contradiction,
all that Mr. Hunt had advanced against Bridle and even against the
Magistrates. It appeared to him also that the Hon. Under Secretary
had gone very far out of his way to read the House a lecture upon
adultery — -upon the scaudalous impropriety and immorality of Mr.
Hunt. He (Mr. Hobhouse) had quite as high a veneration for morals
as the Hon. Gentleman, and he well knew that the friends of liberty
had need to keep the strictest guard upon their conduct, for it would
be sifted with the utmost scrupulousness, nay with the most scruti
nizing malice, for there was no malice so severe and unrelenting as
that which was paid for being so. The Hon. Under Secretary was
new in his office, and warm in his zeal for decorum, but he (Mr. Hob
house) warned him to be more cautious in future, or he might give
offence in a quarter which he had but recently been able to please ,
When he talked with such detestation of adultery, and of infringe
ments of morality, it behoved him to recollect whom such a charge
might affect, and how high it might reach. — (Much cheering from
the Opposition benches.) — His censures might apply to others, per
haps, with much more justice than to the unfortunate individual whom
he had dragged forward in company with Wooler and Carlile. It
was, of course, scandalous that such a connection as that of Mr.
Hunt with Mrs. Vince should subsist, but who were the Geutlemen
so dreadfully .shocked by it, according to the statement of the Hon.
Gentleman ? the Visiting Magistrates ; yet it was proved, in the Report
of the Commissioners, that they had permitted the most disgusting
intercourse between the male and female prisoners, and there was
good reason to suppose, that even the governor himself — that moral,
humane, and excellent man— had had a criminal connection with one
of them. — (Hear, hear.) — Why, then, did the Hon. Gentleman direct
the thunders of his indignation against Mr. Hunt alone, excepting that
he thought his back was broad enough to bear the charge, and because
it suited his purpose to represent liim as a rebel, a traitor, a blasphe
mer, an infidel, and an adulterer — a monster which the world had never
yet produced?— (Hear.)— Considering how horror-struck the Hon.
Gentleman had appeared, it, was somewhat singular that Mrs. Vince
was actually, at this moment, aUowed to visit Mr. Hunt. It was either
5 E

31
proper to exclude her, or it was not, and she had not been excluded.
Extravagantly, therefore, as the Hon. Gentleman had bepraised tho
Magistrates for refusing admittance to her, it was quite clear that his
applause was wholly unmerited, or if they had dreamt ofthe glowing
panegyric he had pronounced this night upon morality and decorum,
they never Would have relaxed the severity of their first denial. He
(Mr. Hobhouse) had now, he thought, disposed of the Hon. Gen
tleman's laudable disgust at immorality, which he had thrust so for
ward in the battle, and upon which so few other forces were to be
found in the rear, it was evident he had placed his chief reliance for
victory. However, a few further remarks might be necessary. The
Hon. Under Secretary had adverted to the discordance between Mr.
Hunt's letter and his affidavit, but had purposely kept back the date
ofthe letter. It turned out, however, that it was written in July, Mr.
Hunt having been sent to Ilchester in the latter end of May, and,
having spent the summer months without feeling the inconveniences of
confinement, he was afterwards, on the change of season, obliged to
complain. But the date of this letter was of little or no conse
quence while the Report of the Commissioners was before the House,
for that bore out all the charges, and if Mr. Hunt were deceived, it
was no more than the County Members and others, who had lavished
their praises upon Mr. Bridle, had been obliged to confess. — (Hear,
hear.) — The Report asserts that the sun and air could not reach the
cell of Mr. Hunt. Sun and air were trifles certainly, but such trifles
as, if wanting, would deprive the House even of the benefit of the
moral lectures ofthe Hon. Under Secretary; though it seemed that
earth and water had a good deal more to do with their composition
than sun and air. — (Hear.) — However, it appeared from the Hon.
Gentleman, that when Mr. Hunt was ill, the county made him a mu
nificent gift of a feather bed and a bell: important as these matters
were made in the speech just delivered, the Report of the Commis
sioners was wholly silent regarding them : they thought that insigni
ficant matters of this sort made no difference in the general severity
of the punishment of Mr. Hunt. The Hon. Gentleman seemed to think
that Mr. Hunt was to be treated like any other prisoner, forgetting
that there were degrees in offences warranting a variation of treat
ment. It was undeniable that Mr. Hunt had been made the object
of irritating and contradictory orders, and he had a right to remon
strate against being placed at the mercy of those who had no
mercy, and who were but the despicable instruments of petty ty
ranny. The Hon. Gentleman had himself made concession sufficient
to warrant the motion : he had admitted the enormities and the cru
elties exposed by Mr. Hunt, and it Seemed only reasonable that a
man who had performed such a service should be treated as a public
benefactor. God knew that he (Mr. Hobhouse) had no reason to feel
any particular affection for Mr. Hunt, but he looked upon him as a man
who had suffered more than the Judges who sentenced him intended.
The Hon. Gentleman had misrepresented what had been said by the
Hon. Baronet on the subject of that sentence ; he (Sir F. Burdett)
had contended that two years and a half imprisonment was at least a
sufficient punishment, He (Mr. Hobhouse) felt the same conviction.
The Judges themselves, nay, the Learned Gentleman opposite, must
think, unless there existed indeed a most vindictive thirst for ven
geance, that two and a half years' imprisonment was quite enough
for an anomalous crime which the jury could hardly find a crime, and
which they could mft make a crime untiljth-e Judge had sent them back
for the purpose. The Hon. Gentleman had maintained that all men were

35
bound to yield even their opinions to the decisions of the tribunals
of the land. He (Mr. Hobhouse) had not so read the laws or consti
tution of the land. From the Bench the language of revenge might oc
casionally be heard, and of old this House was accustomed to exercise
a control even over the Judges. If we were-to have any liberty (any
true liberty, not that fictitious liberty which so often served to turn a
period on the other side) a severe and scrutinizing inspection ought to
be kept up, not only of the conduct of the Judges, but of the sentences
they might pass upon criminals in times of turbulence and heat. He
was convinced that the House would do itself immortal honour by
listening to the proposition of his Hon. Colleague. Those who held
that there was any thing peculiarly dangerous in the character, con
duct, and talents of Mr. Hunt, would only give them weight and in
fluence by persevering in this unjust punishment. If Ministers wished
to destroy his political importance, let them begin by treating him with
lenity. No man who voted for the motion would ever have to repent
it on the score even of justice, putting mercy out of the question. As
men, as Gentlemen, as Christians, all were bound to support it.'
Mr. DICKINSON spoke from under the gallery, and began, as
well as we could collect, by noticing the readiness with which the Ma
gistrates of Somersetshire had commenced the inquiry regarding Il
chester Gaol, by instituting an inquiry before the arrival of the Royal
Commissioners. They had at that time dismissed the gaoler and the
surgeon, as having been guilty of atrocious practices; and this dis
missal had given general satisfaction in the county of Somerset. He
had to-night, for the first time, heard of a compromise with the gaol
er ; he scarcely knew what was meant by this supposed compromise ;
he only knew that the gaoler was removed for his misconduct. The
Hon. Gentleman then proceeded to notice the exclusion of Mr.
Hunt's sister when ill, and expressed his conviction that the Magis
trate charged with being the cause of this exclusion, was a man of
great humanity and forbearance. With respect to what the Hon.
Bart, had called solitary confinement, as applied to Mr. Hunt, he
would state accurately to the House what was the fact. Mr. Hunt
had the opportunity of walking in a space larger than that occupied
by the House, for three hours every day. In that solitary confine
ment, as it was called, Mr. Hunt was attended by two individuals.
As to the apartments occupied by Mr. Hunt, he would ask of any person
who examined them, whether the upper [room was not perfectly airy,
and whether the lower room was not comfortable and convenient?
That they had the air and gloom of a prison about them, he admitted ;
but was it possible that that could be avoided? When Mr. Hunt
signified that he had a complaint in his eyes, and requested that cur
tains might be put up to moderate the light, the request was imme
diately complied with. Many an individual, who had not committed
any offence, would feel extremely happy, if he could command two
such rooms as those that were appropriated to the use of Mr. Hunt.
The conduct of the Magistrates had been severely arraigned on this
occasion; but surely some allowance ought to be made for them.
They felt that it was their duty to act up to the spirit of the rules
laid down for the regulation of the prison, and they had done so.
They were the custodes morum of the gaol, and they took those steps
which appeared to them the best calculated for keeping the prison in
order. It should not be forgotten, that Mr. Hunt was the first person
ever sent to this prison for a political offence. The Magistrates
never had a case of that description to deal withbefare ; and if they
erred in consequence of the novel circumstances under which they
were placed, much, matter of extenuation might be pleaded for

36
them, tt could not be forgotten, that ihe regulations in conformity
with which they acted, were approved of by Mr. Justice Best, which
was a proof that they were not in themselves objectionable. If tho
Magistrates of Somerset had acted improperly on this or any other oc
casion, those who were aggrieved had had the power of applying to
the highest tribunal in the state, for the purpose of bringing them to
justice. By that tribunal they might be called to account in the most
summary manner — (Hear)— but though their conduct was brought
before the House, no formal application on the subject was made to
that tribunal. He would not occupy much of the time of the House
in describing the offence for which Mr. Hunt was originally con
victed. Mr. Hunt had been the means of assembling together a vast
body of people, in a most unusual manner, and, as appeared from
the trial, without any good intention. Such an offence could not be
lightly overlooked. It was argued, that the |punishment was unne
cessarily severe, but the principle on which it was inflicted, did not
refer to the mere punishment of the individual : it proceeded on tho
ground of deterring others from a repetition of the offence, and on
that principle of wholesome and salutary example, all punishment
ought be founded. — [The situation, under the gallery, from which tha
Hon. Gentleman spoke, rendered it extremely difficult to catch his ob
servations.] Mr. PEEL. — The strong impression he felt, that this particular sub
ject, the remission of the sentence of Mr. Hunt, was not fit for the con
sideration of that House, was a sufficient guarantee that he would not
trouble them with many observations. He had also another motive,
which would induce him not to trespass long upon their time— it was,
because he felt that he might almost put it to the House, whether
in the course of the Hon. Bart.'s speech, he had laid down any thing
like sufficient grounds to induce Parliament to interfere with a judicial
sentence — to interfere with the exclusive and sacred prerogative ofthe
Crown, and to depart from that which had been the unvaried practice
of the House of Commons ever since the Revolution. That prac
tice was, not to express any opinion as to the continuation of a
punishment awarded to an individual by a Court of Justice — (Hear,
hear.) On the propriety of adhering to that wise and rational prac
tice, unless compelled to depart from it by some overwhelming ne
cessity, there could, he thought, be but one opinion. But if there
were any man who, more than another, ought to entertain the opinion
that this practice should not be departed from, the Hon. Bart, was
that individual. With his known and avowed opinions of that House
— with hi.s recorded complaints of its encroachments on the peculiar
province of the Crown — he conceived that the Hon. Bart, ought to be
the last man to propose a precedent, which, if once established and
followed up, would arrogate to that House a power that did not
belong to it ; «. power, than which none could be conceived more fatal
to the constitution, since it would have the effect of enlarging the
functions of the democratic part of that constitution, far beyond its
useful and natural boundary. The question was simply this, was
there, in this case, circumstances of that overwhelming nature,
which would tempt the House to interfere with this most important
prerogative — that would induce them to meddle with that peculiar at
tribute of the Crown, which was wholly alienated from the powers of
that House, and was unconnected with the ends for which it was in
stituted ? Before he applied himself to the particular case now before
the House, he would offer a remark or two on the observation with
which the Hon. Bart, had prefaced his speech. The Hou. Bart.
alluded to a communication which he had, some time ago,with him

3?
(Mr. Peel), relative to the punishment which had been awarded to
certain individuals who were apprehended on suspicion of a highway
robbery. The Hon. Bart, said, he (Mr. Peel) must not consider it
as arising from want of courtesy, if he did not pay him a compli
ment for the course he pursued on that occasion. Good God ! could
any one suppose that he expected a compliment on such an occasion 1
He should consider it as the most severe satire, if it could be ima
gined that he looked forward to a compliment because he had dis
charged a duty — (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Bart, stated to him the
ease of two individuals who were sufferiug punishment, on account of
a highway robbery. But on examining the facts of the case, their
conduct assumed the character rather of a culpable frolic than of a fe
lonious design. When acquainted with all the circumstances, he
took the necessary steps for remitting the remainder of the sen
tence, and the individuals were liberated. He claimed no merit for
this act, which, as he before said, was an act of duty. The exercise of
mercy ought to be as prompt and as pure as the visitation of jus
tice. Where good reasons were advanced for the extension of mercy,
he would immediately attend to them ; but he never would consent to
recommend any one on the ground of personal favour — (Hear.) But
the inference which the Hon. Bart, attempted to draw from this
transaction was, that the system which he (Mr. Peel) was anxious to
adopt, would lead him to call for the remission of Mr. Hunt's sen
tence. In the transaction to which the Hon. Bart, alluded, he had been
influenced by a sense of public duty alone ; and if he opposed Mr.
Hunt, his opposition sprang from the same source. After having
fully considered the subject, the strongest conviction was impressed
on his mind that nothing could be more inexpedient, nothing could
be more fatal, than that the House should agree to this address.
They would, if they allowed this motion to be carried, establish a
most dangerous precedent — a precedent inseparable from their ac
quiescence in it — (Hear, hear, hear.) — Who was Mr. Hunt, and
for what crime had he been committed to this gaol ? The Hon. Bart.
had quoted several writers to show that his offence was inter minora
crimina ; but he must look to the intentions of Mr. Hunt if he wished
to discover the particular crime for which that individual was punished.
(Hear, hear.) The duty of inquiring into the motives of Mr. Hunt
was not assumed voluntarily hy him. That duty was imposed on him,
in the common course of things, by the Hon. Bart.'s motion. The
Hon. Bart, had put him on his trial — he had called on him to state
to the House on what grounds he refused to recommend a mitigation
of Mr. Hunt's sentence. His reason was recorded in the criminal juris
prudence of the country, where it was entered that Henry Hunt,
James Johnson, and others, were found guilty of " assembling with
unlawful banners, and in an unlawful manner." (Cheering from the
Opposition benches, which ivas answered from the Ministerial side
of the House.) Was it possible, he asked, that such a statement
could be treated with contempt? Was it possible that a meeting
which assembled with unlawful banners for the purpose of inciting
the liege subjects of the King to the hatred and contempt of his
Government, to be treated with levity ? (Hear.) If it were so, let
that circumstance operate as a warning to the House not to agree
to this motion. (Hear.) Let the House pause — let them well con
sider the consequences, before they acquiesced in an address which
told the country that the charge brought against Mr. Hunt was so slight,
and his conduct so admirable, that the Commons of England were
induced to interfere, and to call on the Crown for a mitigation of

SS
punishment. (Hear, hear.) Was there auy man who had read
what occurred In Lancaster within th..- last fortnight, wiihout'being
convinced of the magnitude of tho offe.ice ? Did any -man see, in
the full consideration which the subject then received— in the per
fect establishment of all that nad been slated on that (the Ministerial)
side of the House — in the complete refutation of what had been
called the Manchester massacre — (loud cheering from the Oppo
sition) — did any man see, in these circumstances, the least reason for
supposing that the meeting w'as an innocent one? Had gentlemen'
read those proceedings ? Had the}* professing as they did a respect
for the decision of a jury, onsiuered the verdict which was returned
by the jury at Lancaster? Were not the most decisive proofs given
of the previous drilling — ofthe manner in which the parties marched
— of their inflammatory banners — and of expressions which left no
doubt as to the almost avowed object of the meeting ? Were they,
after such evidence, to be ci-joled into a belief, that the object ofthe
meeting was peaceable — that it was only assembled to petition Par
liament for a redress of grievances? Would they suffer themselves
to believe this, and allow the constitution to be sapped and undermined,
and invaded, by those who took advantage of the liberty which that
constitution provided, in order to destroy it with the greater security?
(Hear.) The enemies of the British constitution had become too cun
ning and too skilful to direct their attacks in the form- of open war
fare. No : they proceeded by making complaints of the liberty of
the subject, and tbe liberty ofthe press, those great privileges which
they were the first to violate and abuse. But after having defended
the country against open and avowed enemies, let not the English
people be swindled out of the rights they now enjoyed by the machi
nations of secret foes. Let it not be said of them hereafter, that
they had not the 'courage to defend themselves against open and de
cided attacks, but that they had not the sagacity to perceive the dan
ger which threatened them from the covert attempts of base incen
diaries. He could never view the sentence pronounced upon Mr. Hunt
as too severe for the crime he committed. (Hear.) Believing,
as he did, that his punishment was fully merited, conceiving that the
evidence adduced at his trial fully supported the charge that was
preferred against him, he never would, as a servant ofthe Crown,
consent to advise the Crown to remit any part of his sentence. (Hear.)
Nay, he would declare, with all respect for the decision of that House,
even its unanimous assent tc the motion of the Hon. Bart, would
not induce him to depart from the line of conduct he had adopted,
after the most mature and deliberate consideration that he could pos
sibly give the subject. (Hear, hear.) He saw nothing in the case thaf
called for commiseration. He saw nothing but accumulated proofs
of Mr. Hunt's enormous guilt, in availing himself of that distress by
which the country had been visited, for the purpose of inflaming the
minds of those with whom he had no other connection except a
community of bad feelings. (Hear, hear.) If he saw nothing in
the case of Mr. Hunt that called for Parliamentary interference, still
less could he see any thing that ought to influence the House in
those other circumstances which the Hon. Bart, had thought proper
to introduce. Those circumstances could not induce him to give any
particular distinction to the case of Mr. Hunt. The Hon. Bart, said,
he would show the House that the sentence of Mr. Hunt was aggra
vated by the conduct of the Magistrates ; and he also had stated, that
he would confine himself to Mr. Hunt's case, and leave all discussion
relative to the general discipline which had prevailed in Ilchester
gaol for the motion of the, Hon. Alderman (Wood;s Here he wished

:-;o
to observe, that when the motion to whicli he had referred was
brought forward, he would be ready to discuss it, and most certainly
he would not defend those acts of arbitrary power which were al
leged to have been committed. (Hear.) He would fully state
his opinion then ; but until then, as he saw no necessary connection
between the question now before the House, and the system which had
prevailed in tne prison, he would abstain from noticing it. He
would not follow the example of the Hon. Bart,, who, perceiving
that there was nothing in the case of Mr. Hunt, had," with the skill
of an artist, referred to other facts in order to inflame the passions
ofthe House. No motion was introduced, it should be remembered,
for the release of those prisoners who were thus incidentally mention
ed ; but Mr. Hunt, who of all the prisoners in Ilchester gaol, had suffer
ed the least, was selected as au object of special favour J He would put
out of the case the woman who was placed in solitary confinement — he
would put out -of the case the blister which was applied to a prisoner's
head: no man could defend such acts, no man condemned them more
than he did ; but he now rejected them, because they were not con
nected with this motion. He called on the House not to give up
their understanding to sophistry or skill : and if they meant to decide
dispassionately, they»would leave out of their consideration subjects
that were not before them. He found that the Magistrates and the
gaoler had issued contradictory orders with respect to Mr. Hunt ;
but he must impute the necessity in which that conduct originated to
Mr. Hunt himself. Now, admitting every thing that had been staled
to be true, supposing nothing more horrible could be found in the
annals of the Inquisition than was experienced in that gaol, why, he
asked, was Mr. Hunt selected from amongst the sufferers, as the only
object of mercy? Was the insalubrity of the air the great cause of
- complaint ? That wa,s an evil, if it existed, which all must feel as
well as Mr. Hunt. In the course of 20 years about 25,000/. had
been expended on this gaol to make it as convenient as possible ;
and, at the present moment, many persons were confined there who
had not been convicted of any crime, but who had the misfortune of
being in debt. Many debtors were confined there who had forfeited
their liberty, not through their own fault, not because they were in
attentive to business, but in consequence of that distress which had
visited the county of Somerset with peculiar severity. Now, he asked,
was it consistent with justice to call on the Crown to mitigate the sen
tence of a convicted offender on account of the insalubrity of the gaol,
while persons who were confined as debtors, were exposed to the same
evil ? Could they possibly request the Crown to relieve the one,
without relieving the other ? Or, if they did, would not the omission
be fatal, and justly fatal, to the application ? With respect to the
other ground advanced by the Hon. Bart., that it was through Mr.
Hunt's means that an inquiry was set on foot as to the conduct of the
gaoler, and that very important disclosures were made in consequence,
he must say, that if the Hon.-Bart. compelled him to look at the con
duct of Mr. Hunt, he must also take a view of his motives. He did
not mean to enter into any details on this point ; but he did not think
that the motives of Mr. Hunt were of the most disinterested character.
He believed, also, that had he been placed in any other prison in
England, some ground would have been discovered on which, in the
opinions of some, a Secretary of State ought to recommend the re
mission of his sentence. (Hear.) On the three grounds which he
had mentioned, and which formed the Hon. Bart.'s argument, he must
oppose the motion. The Hon. Bart, had, he thought, utterly failed

40
inmakingoutacase. He had not shown that the conduct of Hunt was
such as demanded tha interference of Government — he had not shown
that the severity of his sentence had been aggravated by the con
duct of the Magistrates — and he never could be induced to think that
the punishment of the offender was uncommensurate with the offence
he had committed. On these grounds he would oppose the introduction
of a principle which had not been acted on since the revolution.
But above all, he implored them not to let it go forth to the country,
that they relieved this man, because he was guilty of sedition,
while innocent persons, who were suffering through unavoidable
misfortunes, were left unpitied to their fate. (Hear.)
SIR J. MACKINTOSH.— Before he proceeded, as briefly as he
eould, to state the grounds on which he would give his vote this
evening, he was particularly anxious, on account of the tone which
had been adopted by the Right Hon. Gentleman who had just sat
down, to declare the grounds on which his vote would not rest. It
did not follow, as the Right Hon. Gent, seemed to suppose, that those
who supported the present motion approved of the conduct of Mr.
Hunt. He, for one, did not approve of his conduct ; but he would
support the motion ori general principles, and not with reference to
the course which Mr. Hunt had pursued. When the Right Hon.
Gentleman asked, " Who is Mr. Hunt?" he (Sir J. Mackintosh)
would answer " He is an Englishman !" He knew him only in
that capacity. On his behalf he made no claim of favour ; but he
demanded whether he had, or had not, a claim of justice on that
House ? He should despise himself if, on account of any displeasure
he might feel at Mr. Hunt's conduct— if, because that conduct was
obnoxious to the House, he could be induced to abstain from defend
ing those rights of justice which were as sacred in the person of Mr.
Hunt as in that of any other Englishman. (Hear, hear.) He did not
under-rate the charge brought against Mr. Hunt ; he did not arraign
the verdict, nor dispute the justice of the judgment. He did not
take these points into consideration, because they were foreign to
the question before the House. He was not ignorant of that painful
part of the duty of a Judge— the exercise of a discretionary power,
and the infliction of a discretionary punishment. No doubt the grave
and learned persons who apportioned the punishment in this instance
were satisfied in their minds it was just. But when he made this
remark, he felt himself bound to add, that if he saw any thing which
appeared to him to be wrong, he would not shrink from discussing and
examining the conduct of "any Judge. One of the most important
duties which belonged to a Member of the House of Commons, was
that of arraigning, with severity, the proceedings of a Judge, if they
appeared to be improper ; and he could not help thinking that it was
unwise and undignified on the part of the Judges, or of their advo
cates in that House, or elsewhere, to deprecate a fair discussion
of their conduct. (Hear.) What was the conduct of Judges before
that House had a right to investigate their proceedings — before the
press noticed their actions — before the- public scanned their decisions?
They were like Judges in all despotic governments, venal, corrupt,
and arbitrary. Such were the Judges of the infamous Star-Chamber.
Before the period when a free and fair examination of the Judges be
came common, they were wicked or contemptible : since that period,
they acquired a reputation, which rendered them the pride of their
own country, and the admiration of the world. (Hear, hear.) No
thing was calculated to exalt their character so high, as the bold and
manly examination of their conduct. (Hear, hear.) He was not

41
called on now to eontsit their judgment ; but though he had a reve»
ramie for Judges, it was not a blind one ; and if he thought it acces
sary, to arraign their conduct, he would do so without hesitation.
Neither was it his intention to make any attack on the Magistrates of
Somersetshire, farther than to say, that their negligence allowed an
alteration to be made in this prison, by which the punishment awarded
by the sentence of the Court was aggravated. As to his Hon. Friend
below him, though he attempted to defend his brother Magistrates,
he had pronounced on them a very severe censure, when he stated
his own liberal opinions, from which it appeared they had dissented.
Now the ground on which he supported this motion was, that Mr.
Hunt had already suffered more than the CoUrt sentenced him to, or
eould have wished him to suffer. He did not found this opinion on
any statements contained in the petitions which had been laid on the
table — petitions distinguished by foolish language and questionable
facts: neither did he adopt it in consequence of the declaration*
of Mr. Hunt ; but he was induced to form his opinion on the Re
port of the Commissioners, which had been very cautiously kept out of
view during the discussion. (Hear, hear.) Th.e Right Hon. Gentle
man had observed that no precedent could be found, since the Re
volution, for addressing the Crown as to the exercise of this preroga
tive. The contrary was the case. There was an abundance of pre
cedents both before and since the Revolution ; but there was not an
instance in which the precedent was so strongly called for, or where it
was so likely to furnish an useful example to future times, as in this
case. Surely the Right Hon. Gentleman must recollect the case of
Sir Harry Vane, in the time of Charles II. It was a very remark-,
able case. On an address from Parliament, the King promised not
to prosecute that individual ; but he afterwards broke his promise,
and Sir Harry Vane was convicted. That was in November, 1680.
Iu the same, month the House addressed the King to give up proceed
ings against two persons named Fair and Dennis. In 1697 a most
remarkable precedent occurred — a precedent much stronger than any
address to the Crown for the pardon of an offender. In January,
1697, an address was presented to the King, requesting him to stop
the pardon of Thomas White. He would ask the House whether
this was not a much greater intrusion on the feelings of the sove
reign, than any address for mercy could possibly be ? The House
of Commons sent on that occasion a commission to Newgate to ex
amine evidence and to report their opinion. This, be it observed,
was in the year 1697, in the reign of King William, and nine years
.after the Revolution. This commission performed the duty assigned
it, made a report on the subject of the inquiry intrusted to it, and upon
that report the House resolved that it would interfere no further,
but leave the case to the pleasure of the Crown. The facts of this
ease rendered it extremely strong as a precedent. It was an inter
ference of the House, not calling for the exercise of the prerogative
of mercy residing in the Crown, but against it — not requiring a Se
cretary of State to represent to his master, that a» sufficient punish
ment had been endured, the Royal clemency might be extended to tbe
offender ; but to check in the Sovereign the exercise of those feelings
which he might esteem it his greatest privilege to indulge. Yet,
notwithstanding the nature of the case, the House decided that it
would interfere, and King William and the Secretary of State of that
day deferred to its judgment. The Minister of King William did not,
on that occasion, use language, like that which had been heard to-night.
He did not declare that he would resign sooner than convey to hi*
5 F

42
Majesty the wishes and views of his faithful Commons. (Hear.) He
djd not assure Parliament that whatever resolution it might pass, it
would never induce him to second it by a favourable representation.
(Hear.) There was no such Secretary of State in that day. On
the contrary, the greatest deference was shown to the opinion of tha
House of Commons, and no threats of resignation were uttered.
(Hear, hear.) In no other sense could the language of the Right
Hon. Gent, be understood, when he said that not even the vote of
the House would induce him to recommend to his master a compli
ance with the Hon. Baronet's motion, than that he would resign if
that motion was carried ; for he (Sir J. Mackintosh) could never sup
pose for a moment, that, continuing in office, he (Mr. Peel) would
advise the Crown to resist the wishes and recommendations of the H oust*
— (hear)-rthat setting up his own opinion and his own judgment against
the opinion and judgment of the Commons of England, and the
expressed sense of the country, he would counsel his Majesty to
rely upon the former, and to disregard the latter ; or that he would
incur the danger of impeachment by endeavouring to create divisions
between the King and his Parliament. By declaring, therefore,
that the unanimous vote of the House would not induce him to advise
the exercise of the Royal clemency in this particular instance, the
Right Hon. Gent, intended to express his resolution to resign, if the
motion of to-night was carried. Threats of resignation had been more
frequently made than faithfully observed. When Ministers could not
carry a tax that they thought essential to the maintenance of their
power, or accomplish any other measure of general policy, they some
times threatened to resign ; but till now he never heard a Minister
utter a threat of this kind, if he should fail in resisting successfully
a motion of such a limited nature, as whether, in a single instance,
the Royal clemency might be extended to remit the punishment of au
individual. Had the Right Hon. Gentleman ever heard of another
case in which the House had interfered in favour of the exercise of the
Royal clemency 1 Had he ever heard of the proceeding with respect to
the Rebel Lords in 1716? (Hear, hear, from Mr. Peel.) He (Sir J.
Mackintosh) understood the meaning of that cheer from the Right
Hon. Gent. ; but before he had done with him, he should " stay his
voice and check his pride." Sir Richard Steele presented a petition
to the House of Commons in that year, and made a motion in favour
of those Lords, which was opposed by Sir Robert Walpole, the then
Minister. Be it remembered that the case was of infinitely greater
importance than the present ; it concerned men of high rank and.
station — men who had committed high treason — who had been found
in arms against the Government of the country, and immediately after
a rebellion which threatened the overthrow of the Throne. Sir R.
Walpole, therefore, would have been justified in using strong language
on the occasion ; and if he had pursued the course followed by the
Right Hon. Gent., he ought to have risen and declared, " What
ever vote the House of Commons come to, I shall never advise his
Majesty to remit the punishment of these Lords : if the House should
come to an unanimous vote, I shall still oppose my opinion to that
vote: if the motion is carried, I shall rather withdraw my services
from the country, and resign my offices under the Crown, than ad
vise his Majesty td comply with it ; or I will incur the penalties bf an
impeachment, by openly advising the Crown to hold it in contempt."
Such was the language of the Right Hon. Gentleman ; but Sir R.
Walpole did not take so high a ground, nor threaten the nation with
a loss like that which the House had heard threatened that night.

43
(Hear, hear.) He (Sir J. Mackintosh) had been led thus far in an
swer to the appeal to histoty which had been made by the Right Hon.
Gentleman : he had probably* extended his observations to too great .»
length, but he would be as brief as he could in the remarks which
he had yet to make. The question at present before the House was
extremely simple and limited ; it was merely whether the punishment
which Mr. Hunt had endured was not greater than that which was
intended to be inflicted ; and whether, in consideration of that excess
of unintended severity in the earlier part of his imprisonment, it was
not incumbent on the House to address the Crown to remit the remain
der. He (Sir J. Mackintosh) would omit altogether any reference
to the character of the offender ; he would entirely pass over the
eloquent description of his offence, given by the Right Hon. Gen
tleman—a description which would have done him honour had ho
been acting as Attorney-General, and pleading in aggravation of his
sentence. He would not inquire into the nature of the transactions
out of which the prosecution of Mr. Hunt arose, or discuss tlie merit
ofthe judgment which was pronounced upon him. The tendency of
all observations like those in which the Right Honourable Gentleman
had indulged on this subject, could be nothing else than to inflame the
passions of the House, and to lead them from the only question now
under tlieir deliberation, viz. — whether Mr. Hunt had not endured a
severity of punishment which was not contemplated by the ve
nerable Judges who had framed the sentence, and whether, there
fore, mercy here would not be justice? By considering the cir
cumstance on which the present application was founded, it
would appear that there never was a case in which the interfer
ence of the House of Commons would be less liable to be re
garded as an encroachment on the prerogative of the Crown. He
considered that the subject was relieved from all difficulties. It
involved no question as to the degree of punishment proper for his
offence, or as to the justice of the judgment pronounced upon him.
It was simply whether more was not suffered than was intended ; and
this could not be a question of frequent occurrence, or one that could
excite any alarm as to being drawn into a precedent. He would now
state how the argument stood. Iri- consequence of certain statements
made in that House, and certain proceedings consequent upon them,
an inquiry was instituted into the state of Ilchester gaol ; and, on the
recommendation ofthe House, a Royal Commission was sent down
to conduct it. These Commissioners had made a Report, which con
tained discoveries of abuses existing in the management of that gaol.
This investigation was set on fpot by the House; these discoveries were
made by a Crown Commission, appointed on the recommendation of
the House, and the House was now called upon to follow up a
proceeding which originated with itself. Such was the history and
genealogy of the measure which now remained to be matured. The
Right Hon. Gent, had said, that although abuses existed, Mr. Hunt,
who complained, did not suffer by them. Take the evidence as stated
in the Report of the Commissioners. If a person suffered from the
cruelty of the gaoler, like that unfortunate woman, Mary Cuer, (than
whose case nothing- more horrible could be imagined), he (Sir J.
Mackintosh) would ask, could such treatment be indifferent, or rather
was it not material to the situation of Mr. Hunt ? He (Sir J. Mackin
tosh) would not require the Right Hon. Gentleman to believe all
that Mr. Hunt had said— he would not ask him to believe that Mr.
Hunt had possessed those tender sympathies, or that humane dispo
sition, which would prompt him to take any steps for the relief of his

fallow-prisoners — he would not ask him to believe that lie suffered!
through his moral feelings — he would merely require his asBent tc
what could not be denied, that he possessed the common feelings of
our nature, and that he was accessible to pain through his fears and
apprehensions. Who, then, placed like Mr. Hunt, could feel security,
or be free from alarm, in such a prison ? Was it nothing to be under
a cruel gaoler, who he knew inflicted torture on his prisoners, and
who might extend a similar treatment to himself — (Hear, hear.)—
What degreu of apprehension, what fear, must not the oppressions,
the cruelties, the dark malignity, and ungoverned passions of this man,
not have excited in the breast of all the persons who were acquainted
with his conduct, and who felt themselves under his power? — (Hear,
~Kcar.) It was monstrous to suppose that any person was so insen
sible as not to feel the greatest uneasiness and suffering from an
exposure to such alarms, lt had been stated that the prisoners at
•ne time were not liable to such treatment ; but what said the Com
missioners ? They said the whole system was one of cruelty and irri
tation. The Right Hon. Gentleman had here ventured upon the only
argument which he had employed against the motion, in saying that
if the House interfered to mitigate the sentence of Mr. Hunt, it ought
likewise to interfere in favour of the other prisoners who had been
the victims of the gaoler's tyranny, and even in favour of the debtors.
How he supposed that the Crown could be Called upon to remit their
imprisonment to the latter, he did not understand ; but with regard to
tbe former, he would show the difference between their case and that
of Mr. Hunt. His case was altogether different from theirs. Tha
Judges chose Ilchester Gaol as the place of his imprisonment, but
the other prisoners were in it as belonging to the county. And why
did the Judges make such a selection ? Because, as was stated
en passing the sentence, the place was considered a model of good
management, was supposed to be under the rule of a merciful gaoler,
and had been described as one of the best regulated prisons in Eng
land. They had made the choice with these views and under these
impressions, which they derived not only from popular report, con
firmed in a publication ofthe Hon. Member for Weymouth (Mr. Bux
ton), who had laudably devoted a great deal of attention to the state of
prisons. No similar selection was made for the other prisoners who
belonged to the county, and were sent to that gaol for misdemeanours
and offences, as to their natural place of confinement. This supposed
well-regulated prison had turned out to be a scene of disorder and
mismanagement : the gaoler, who was previously thought humane and
merciful, was found to be a monster of cruelty. Instead of a medical
attendant, who was imagined skilful and attentive, they met with a man
ignorant, obstiuate, and capricious, who employed those remedial
applications that belonged to his art, as the means of torture and
punishment. The situation of the gaol, instead of being dry and
salubrious, was humid and unhealthy. In short, this prison, instead
of bearing any resemblance to the representations made of it, exhi
bited an absolute contrast between the real state of things, and that
eontemplated by the Judges when they sent Mr. Hunt to reside within
its walls. The Court was deceived : it intended Mr. Hunt's confinement
to be passed in a well-regulated prison. This prison had turned out
otherwise ; the Judges could not correct their mistake ; and there
fore it was incumbent on the House, who had made the inquiries
wbich terminated in this discovery, to address the Crown to do
an act of bire justice, in remitting a punishment not originally
contemplated. The House ought tc complete ils own work ; it ought

4a
Rot have addressed tha prown for a commission, which had gone
through the farce of reporting, unless it was prepared to act upon
that report. No apprehension need be entertained that the present. case
would often occur, or that the interference of the House would encou
rage many similar applications. The Hon. Under Secretary (Mr.
Dawson) had denied the severity of Mr. Hunt's punishment, and had
quoted a letter from Ilchester gaol in tho first months of his confine
ment, in which he praised the gaoler, and expressed his comfort in his
new situation. This letter was written in July : it was probably a
flourish, intended to shew his friends how much he despised the
efforts of his enemies, and with what stoicism he could bear his
misfortunes. But even though true aud sincere, what did it prove ?
Why, that from May to July he had not begun to suffer what ha
afterwards endured, and that he was enjoying his few halcyon days.
He (Sir J. Mackintosh) was not called on to support the veracity of
Mr. Hunt, and he would only beg the Right Hon. Gentleman to
believe him when he was confirmed by other evidence. The Court
of King's Bench refused to receive the affidavit of Bridle, when his
character came to be known. The Magistrates, as well as Mr. Hunt,
bad been at first deceived and gulled by this man ; but let any One
of them read the case of Mary Cuer, who had suffered so dreadfully
from this atrocious ruffian, and he was sure that no credit would
be lent him. From the evidence before the Commissioners, it was
clear that Mr. Hunt had suffered more from this man and in this gaol,
than was contemplated by the Judges. He would warn the House
against allowing the obnoxious name of an individual (and he was
sensible how obnoxious was the name of Mr. Hunt) to be a palliative
of any injustice. He was sure the House was too just and generous to
adopt the maxim, that any illegal severity could be practised upon
any individual because he was odious, which they would not counte
nance towards another of more estimable qualities. The injustice
established in one case was soon imitated. Tyrants were too quick-
sighted to begin with the mild, the gentle, and the amiable. It was
among the obnoxious that the rights of all were first attacked. He
therefore called upon them, on all these considerations, to support
the Hon. Baronet's motion, and not allow this individual, whatever
objections they might have to his character, to suffer from injustice. —
(Hear.) Mr. C. W. WYNN adverted to the precedent stated by the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman who had just spoken. In the case of il White"
the House reversed its own decision, and therefore the precedent did
not apply. In the case of the Rebel Lords, the House of Peers, who
had tried them, interfered as a jury to recommend them to mercy,
and the House of Commons, who carried up the impeachment, inter
fered as prosecutors in the same application. This, therefore, was
not a similar case. It had been said, that the offence of which Mr.
Hunt had been convicted was not a very grave one ; but in his opinion
it was an offence bordering, as nearly as possible, upon high treason.
It had not been shown that Mr. Hunt, during his confinement, had
suffered any hardships which were not also shared by the other pri
soners ; in fact, he believed Mr. Hunt had less cause of complaint
than any other person in the gaol. The circumstance which Mr.
Hunt appeared to consider the greatest hardship to which he had been
subjected was his seclusion from the society of a person who did not
form part of his family. This person was a female with whom he was
connected. There was no reason why Mr. Hunt should, in this re
spect, be allowed greater indulgence than the other prisoners. Was

46
he to be permitted exclusively to practice immoral conduct? If Mr,
Hunt had been allowed the society of that female, the Magistrates
could not, in common fairness, have refused to any other prisoner the
privilege of receiving any prostitute with whom he might be acquainted.
— [Here cries of question and coughing prevented the Hon. Member
from being distinctly heard for some time.] — He concluded by read
ing a passage from one of the numbers of Mr. Hunt's Memoirs, in
which that individual stated that he had heard Sir F. Burdett intended
to move for the remission of the remainder of the sentence which
had been passed upon him, on the ground that he had already suffered
more than the Judges intended. This last idea he (Mr. Hunt) thought
was all r hoax. Would any man lay his hand en his heart and say
that he had suffered more than Judge Best and two other Judges of
the King's Bench had intended? Had he suffered more than Best
intended he should? He believed that he (Best) would have had
him tortured if he could." — (" Hear, hear," from the Ministerial
Benches, answered by loud cheers from the Opposition.")
Mr. BUXTON said, that having on a former occasion fully stated
his opinion with respect to Mr. Hunt's sentence and treatment whilst
in confinement, he would not this night have said one word, had it
not been for the pointed and repeated allusions which his Hon. and
Learned Friend (Sir J. Mackintosh) had made to him in the course of
his speech. His Hon. and Learned Friend had referred to him as a
kind of witness to the good conduct of Bridle. He begged the
House to understand that at the time he (Mr. Buxton) visited the
prison, and made a favourable report of its management, none of
the evils which had since been proved to exist prevailed. He would
now say a few words with respect to the question before the House.
He dismissed from his mind all consideration of the former conduct
of Mr. Hunt ; he looked upon him only as a man under sentence. Both
the term and nature of his sentence were defined ; and it was known
that the Judges who delivered the sentence believed the prison to be
wholesome and well disciplined. Now it had been proved by the
Report of the Commissioners, and by the result of the coroner's inquest
on a prisoner named Bryan, that the gaol was in a damp and un
wholesome state. If, therefore, Mr. Hunt remained in that prison
the whole period which the law had awarded for his confinement, he
would suffer more than the Judges intended — he would suffer injus
tice. (Hear.)
SIR J. MACKINTOSH stated, that the Hon. Member who spoke
last had misunderstood what had fallen from him, if he supposed him
to say that he (Mr. Buxton) approved~of the recent management ofthe
gaol. Mr. ESTCOURT adverted to some arrangements which had been
made in the prison, all of which tended to afford additional conve
nience to the prisoners. Mr. Hunt had appealed to him, as one ofthe
Commissioners, to bear testimony to his conduct, and he must, in
justice to that individual, now say that he had seen nothing improper
in it ; but, on the contrary, that there was direct evidence of its being
perfectly correct.
SIR FRANCIS BURDETT would not at that late hour occupy
the attention of the House for any considerable time. Never on
any occasion did he feel less strongly the necessity of replying, for
nothing in the shape of argument had been offered in opposition to
the motion. The vague and general declamation in which the Right
Hon. Secretary opposite had indulged, he could look upon only as a
kind of vapour which net unfrequently arose from that side of the-

47
House. The Right Hon. Secretary had not condescended to support
his declamation against the general conduct of Mr. Hunt by any proofs.
Every person must feel how vague and indefinite a charge it was
to say a man had an intention to subvert the principles ofthe consii-
tution. Ministers would think every man liable to this charge who
might attend a public meeting to endeavour to obtain a redress for
public grievances. The Right Hon. Secretary had entirely over
looked all the hardships which Mr. Hunt had been proved to have
suffered. Another Hon. Gentleman had said, however, that some of
these grievances had been redressed. But what inference should be
drawn from this circumstance ? That Mr. Hunt ought to remain iu
prison? No; but that he had suffered inconveniencies , which he
ought not to have suffered, during a great part of the tenn of his con
finement, and should therefore receive atonement for the injury. If
any measures of relief had been adopted with respect to Mr. Hunt,
that was a proof that he had formerly been improperly treated : if that
which was now done was right, that which-before existed was wrong.
He was sorry that some observations had been made on the subject of
the intercourse which was said to have been carried on between Mr.
Hunt and Mrs. Vince. He oould see no necessity for alluding to that
lady. When it was considered that two convicts employed in the
governor's house had. proved with child, and that the moral Magis
trates, who superintended the gaol, were in the habit of putting boys
to sleep in cells with men who had been guilty of unnatural crimes,
it did appear a little extraordinary that the purity of the gaol could not
endure the contamination of Mrs. Vince. Mr. Hunt's private affairs
were a subj-ect with which he was disinclined to interfere. Misfortunes
might happen to all men. Mr. Hunt, it appeared, had been separated
from his wife at an early period of his life ; perhaps this might be
considered a misfortune ; and he had lived with Mrs. Vince for eighteen
years. He would wish to know, then, since Mr. Hunt had not been
sent to prison to reform his morals, or to be interdicted from inter
course with any person, why he should be deprived of the society of
that lady ? He contended that there was more immorality and scan
dal in unnecessarily dragging that circumstance before the public, than
in allowing it to pass unnoticed. (Hear.) It had been said that
the motion before the House interfered with the prerogatives of the
Crown. No man was more desirous to uphold the prerogatives of
the Crown than he was ; he would do nothing tending to infringe them,
and no such effect would result from his motion ; but those who
now opposed his motion on the ground that it was inimical to the kingly
prerogatives, upon other occasions surmounted their scruples on that
point. In the case of Sir M. Lopes, who was convicted of an of
fence deeply affecting the honour and dignity of Parliament, the House
had made a representation in the proper quarter in favour of that
individual, the result of which was, the remission of the half of his
sentence. Could it be improper for the House to interfere in behalf
of Mr. Hunt, when it had exerted itself in favour of Sir M. Lopes,
notwithstanding the atrocious attack on the purity of election made
by that unfortunate old gentleman ? He would not detain the House
by any further observations from coming to a decision on the question,
but would conclude with stating, that he remained of opinion that
the three grounds upon which he rested his motion, and which he
had stated in his former speech, had not in the least degree been
shaken. — The House then divided, when the numbers were —
Ayes  84
Noes  223
Majority against the motion  139

(J^* In consequence of the great length of the Debate
on Sir Francis Burdett's motion, several Petitions to the
House of Commons, Addresses to Mr. Hunt, Mr. Wilde's
Letter to Mr. Carlile, &c. are unavoidably postponed till
the publication of No. 34, of the Memoirs, on the 15th
instant.

Printed byT. Dolby, 299, Strand,

TO COUNTRY BOOKSELLERS AND THE SUBSCRIBERS
TO MR. HUNT'S MEMOIRS.
Country Booksellers and the Subscribers to Mr-
Hunt s Memoirs in general, are respectfully requested
to observe, that the Memoirs are published on the 1st and
15th of every month. Occasionally, owing to the author's
being at a distance of more than a hundred miles from the
press, in a prison, and subject to all sorts of privations, a
delay of a day or two occurs ; but, in general, the succeed
ing numbers are published at the periods above stated.
This notification has been rendered necessary by a regu
lation recently adopted by Mr. Cobbett, who, affecting
great concern at the country agents not having their
Register parcels despatched from London by Friday's
coaches,* has requested all Agents to write directly to
him for the Registers, and, moreover, that he will pay the
carriage of the parcels. This appears very kind and liberal
of Mr. Cobbett, but on a closer examination it may prove
to be quite the reverse.
.It is well known that Mr. Hunt's Memoirs, a
work of established and rapidly increasing popula
rity, have hitherto been sent all over the island in
the same parcels with Mr. Cobbett's Register ; and if
country Agents cannot now receive the Memoirs by tha
same conveyance, but are obliged, if they get them at all,
to pay for their conveyance in a separate parcel, they will
at once discover the extent of Mr. Cobbett's liberality.
The Publisher of Mr. Hunt's Memoirs is unwilling to
indulge in any expression that may have the effect of caus
ing a quarrel between his employer and Mr. Cobbett ;
between whom there is, unhappily, already, a coldneas
which it may, ere long, be necessary to explain and ac
count for ; in the meantime, he feels it to be, his bounden
* the fact is scarcely worth mentioning here, but there was hardly
ever a sufficient supply of the Registers ready for Friday's coaches.

Printed by T. Dolby, Britannia Pi-pca 9QO Strand.

duty to take care of his employer's interests, and to pro
tect, as far as lies in his power, the property intrusted
to his keeping.
Mr. Hunt has ever been a most zealous and sincere de
fender of the liberties of his country, and latterly his popu
larity has attained, and most justly attained, an eminence
too dazzling not to excite a little envy in the breasts of
those who may heretofore have fancied themselves peculiar
objects of popular regard. Country Booksellers and the
readers of Mr. Hunt's Memoirs are therefore requested to
contemplate this fact, and when they have done so, to
consider what the justice of the case requires ; favour is
neither asked for nor expected.
Shall the man who has combatted, out -manoeuvred, out
witted and exposed the cant and cruelty of a whole host
of Parson Justices — shall he who brought monsters to light
that had knocked down a dying man and afterwards found
bim dead. ..by the visitation of God ! — shall he who has
caused hoary-headed victims, unjustly incarcerated, to be
set free? — shall the avenger of wrongs done to the helpless,
to females, and to sucking infants, himself, after all, be
oppressed, and his voice stifled? This can never; this
shall never, be done !
For the present, what has been said may prove sufficient:
great reliance is placed on the good sense and generous
feeling of Country Booksellers. They will never be parties
to a measure, when once convinced of its tendency, which
shall have the effect of barring up that interchange of civi
lities so becoming in persons engaged in the bookselling
trade. Should, however, any attempts be made to exclude
Mr. Hunt's Memoirs from the customary channels of
conveyance, it is requested that information thereof may
be sent, properly authenticated, to 299, Strand, London,
and a due exposure shall be made of the names of all the
parties engaged therein.
299, Strand, May lith, 1822,

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester JLvstile, 28th day, 8th month, 3d year of the Manchester.
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
May \i, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow -Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
To-morrow I shall enter upon the third 'year of my in
carceration, for having accepted an invitation and attended
apublic meeting atManchester, on the 16th of August, 1819,
" to take into consideration the best and most legal means
to obtain a real Reform in the representation ofthe Commons'
House of Parliament." Two years ago to-morrow, did tha
Judges of the Court of King's Bench pass the extraordina
ry sentence of two years and six months imprisonment
upon me, in this infamous Pest-house, this horrible Bastile.
Well ; here I am, just as inflexible a Radical as I wa*
when I was proceeding amidst the cheers of one hundred
and fifty thousand people, to mount the hustings upon St.
Peter's plain, on that fatal, blood-stained day. Let me ask
you, my friends, to lay your hands upon your hearts, and"
honestly say, whether I have, since that time, for one
moment flinched from my public duty — rcompromised my
principles — deserted the cause of Liberty, or ceased to
advocate the rights ofthe people? When the Yeomanry
approached the hustings, did I attempt to fly, or betray
any fear for the safety of my own person? When I was

dragged before the Magistrates, amidst the assaults ofthe
newly-sharpened swords of the drunken, infuriated Yeo
manry, and the assassin-like blows of the ruffian special
constables, did I act in any way unworthy the Chairman
of a great public meeting of Englishmen ? During the
eleven days that I was immured in a solitary dungeon in
the New Bailey, at Manchester, under a charge of high
treason, did I write or say one word to compromise my
principles, or betray my friends ? When I was brought
before the Bench of Magistrates, did I betray any fear, or
evince a want of presence of mind, to do myself, my fellow-
prisoners, and the cause of the people, justice ? When I
was, by a dirty trick, taken under military escort fifty-four
miles to Lancaster Castl e, while my bail was in waiting,
did I betray any impatience or want of firmness ? When
I attended again at the Assizes at Lancaster, to prefer
bills of indictment against the Yeomanry for cutting and
maiming, and to plead to the indictment for a conspiracy,
&c, did. I put in bail and depart, leaving my poorer fellow
prisoners in prison who could not get bail, or did I remain
and declare that I would not leave the town, till bail was
procured for every one of them ? Did I not effect this, and
return with them all to Manchester ? Did I flinch from
or neglect any part of my duty, in endeavouring to bring
the Magistrates who ordered the violence, to justice, by
incessant applications to the Court of King's Bench?
After having, by my own personal exertions, got the trial
removed-from Lancaster to York, did I not defend myself
and fellow-prisoners in Court, at the trial, in a manner
worthy the cause that I was contending for ? Did I not
afterwards, in moving for a new trial in the Court of
King's Bench, do my duty in a consistent and spirited
manner? When before the Court for judgment, did I
betray any fear, did I vacillate, or even hint at any com
promise, or meanly sue for mercy ? During the two years

that I havebeen here, have I ever written or published
one sentiment that has not been consistent with my whole
political life? Have I ever shrunk from the bold and
dpen avowal of my sentiments? Have I ever crouched or
supplicated my dastardly, though vindictive persecutors ?
Have I not been the sole cause of having torture abolished
from my bastile, and having detected my remorseless mon
ster of a Gaoler in inflicting cruelty and torture upon the
prisoners ? Did I not, regardless of my own ease, comfort,
and safety, expose the villain and his abettors to the whole
world ? The monster is not only discharged from his
situation, and disgraced even in the eyes of his own myrmi
dons, but the Secretary of State for the Home Department
(Mr. Peel) was compelled to state to Mr. Alderman
Wood, on Friday last, " that he had felt it to be his duty
to order the late Gaoler, Bridle, lo be prosecuted by the
Attorney-General ,- and he therefore hoped, that the
Worthy Alderman would not persist in his motion on
Wednesday the 15th." On the very day two years that my
sentence was passed, Mr. Alderman Wood meant to have
moved the House of Commons to order the Attorney-
General to prosecute the monster who had me in his
custody for a year-and-a-half ; but the Secretary of State
has thought proper to anticipate that part of his motion,
by ordering the prosecution of the cruel villain himself.
This is done, no doubt, to screen those Magistrates who
have been his guilty abettors. We shall see ! We shall
not have another Lancaster hoax, I hope : this must be
looked to. The Worthy Alderman and his friends in the
House, must not let this question slip through their hands
in this way. Mr. Grey Bennet pledged his word that he
would move to have the names of some of our right wor
thy Visiting Magistrates struck out of the Commission.
I trust this will not all 'end in high-sounding words ; I
hope that Mr. Bennet will keep his promise. It is car-

rently reported that Young Parson Justica Thring has
resigned, and that Mr. Dickenson also advised Dr. Col
ston to resign ; but that the Doctor said, that he would
rather resign his life than the power which he derived
from being in the Commission of the Peace ; but it is
thought that common decency will induce the Rev. Dr.
to decline to act in future. We shall see !
On Friday night, after the humbug question upon Ca
tholic Peers sitting in the House of Lords, was settled, the
reporters, it appears, all left the House, when Alderman
Wood moved for the production of the Journal kept by
the Visiting Magistrates of Ilchester Gaol, for the last
twelve years. This motion was ably and forcibly sup
ported by Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Grey Bennet, Sir Ro
bert Wilson, Mr. Denman, and Lord Ebrington, and it was
(in the language of the Alderman) feebly opposed by Mr.
Dickenson, Mr. Peel, and Mr. Dawson. At length Mr.
Peel said, " that he had felt it to be his duty to order the
prosecution of Bridle, the late Gaoler, and to send down
some surveyors to make some inquiries as to the situation
of the Gaol at Ilchester ; therefore he hoped Mr. Wood
would not persist in his motion." Does Mr. Peel think:
then that the prosecution ofthe wretch Bridle will satisfy
the country? Where is he to be prosecuted, and what
is he to be prosecuted for? This will not satisfy me. I
care not whether the monster is prosecuted or not ; the
wretch has had the verdict of public opinion already pass
ed upon him, and g'uilty, guilty, guilty, has been pro
nounced upon him by the Sheriff and Magistrates, by the
Commissioners, by the House of Commons, and by the
public, and I care not a rush about any further prosecu
tion of Bridle. I wish to see those that are even more
guilty than the ex-gaoler prosecuted. I do not at all re
lish this volunteering of Mr. Peel to order the prosecution
of Bridle. We are not to learn in the summer of 1822

that there are such things as mock trials got up to suit
particularpurposes. The Manchester Magistrates chuckle
and laugh in their sleeves, and fancy that they are com
pletely white-washed by the odd sort of trial that took place
at Lancaster last Spring Assizes. To be sure, they only
deceive themselves ; but (heir brothers of Somerset
would have no objection to a similar white- washing ; and
who doubts that we have all the materials for a similar
exhibition in this county ? First and foremost, we have a
perpetual Under-Sheriff, the staunch friend of Bridle,
and quite the master ofthe Magistrates. They have been
Under-Sheriff, with the exception of three years, for the
last thirty years ; I have no doubt but they have a charm-
ing freeholders' book, a delightful list of Esquires, out of
which to choose a Special Jury. A proper Special
Jury, of course, will be readily obtained ; then for honest
attorneys and notable learned friends, there is no
want of them ; they flourish in all climates; and there is
no lack of them on the western circuit. Then for wit
nesses, there are all the Magistrates ; and if that is
not enough, there are all the Gaolers and Turnkeys in
the county ; they are all more or less implicated, and they
will feel an interest to justify themselves; and if this will
not be enough, Bridle had about seven thousand very
respectable inmates while he kept this Bastile, out of
whom he may call plenty of witnesses to character. From
amongst the above I think there might be selected all the
materials for a mock trial. I beg pardon, I had nearly
forgotten a very material personage, My Lord the
Judge — a venerable Judge, an upright, pure, disin
terested, honest, moral, temperate Judge, will be
necessary, or all may be lost ; and, 1 have no doubt, if Mr.
Dickenson will only apply in time to Mr. Justice Worst,
he will take the Western Circuit on purpose. O, what a
charming trial it will be ; or, at least, what a charming
job may be made of it ! There is that damned troublesome,
cross-quest'oning fellow, Hunt, we shall have him safe in
Gaol till it is all over, and delightfully settled. Gracious

8
God ! how gratifying it will'be to find- that all the atro
cities which were proved before the three ignorant Com
missioners were all false. Hunt invented the whole, and
got even Pike and Davis, and all the turnkeys, to swear it,
as well as the prisoners ; but, with the aid of a brace of
notable learned friends, the whole of this may be sworn
out of Court. If they can be spared from the Northern
Circuit, I should not wonder if we were to have Messrs.
Evans and Blackbourn sent down to manage this trial
for the Attorney-General. But " we shall see."
I am, my excellent friends,
Your's faithfully,
H. HUNT.
P. S. I must apologize to my friends for the shortness
of my address in this Number; and I believe it will be
only necessary to state one cause out of a number to
obta;n their indulgence. I have been greatly occupied
by preparing for Mr. Aldei'man Wood's motion, which
he has given notice for Wednesday, the loth of May, the
2d anniversary of my sentence. But my principal reason
is, that I am obliged to refrain from writing so much, in
consequence of the serious complaint in my eyes. A
month back I had but little hopes of coming out of this
Bastile without the loss of one eye at least, if not both ;
but, thank God, the complaint has taken a favourable
turn within the last week, and I have now great hopes,
with care, 1 shall look my enemies in the face once more
with both eyes. The most eminent oculist in the king
dom having heard of my situation, with a liberality be
coming the character of a real philanthropist, voluntarily
tendered me his assistance, for which I shall ever feel
grateful: but there is an old saying, "that a man is
either a fool, or his own physician at forty ;" and as I
am eight years beyond that age, I flatter myself that the
knowledge of my own constitution has been of great
service. If my own plan succeeds, which is very simple,
I shall make it public for the benefit of my fellow-crea
tures. — To make up for the want of original matter, I
have requested Mr. Dolby, my publisher, to insert the
leading articles Upon the subject of Sir F. Burdett's mo
tion, on the 24th of April, of the Times, the Examiner,
the Thistle, a new Sunday newspaper, and Mr. Drakard's
Stamford News, as I have before observed, a very excel
lent and public spirited country newspaper. These ex
tracts will speak for themselves ; they show the spirit and
feeling ofthe times.

GRUEL TREATMENT OF MR. HUNT, AND MOTION OF SIR
F. BURUET'P FOR MITIGATION OF PUNISHMENT.
(From Drakard's Stamford News.)
We have never read any thing half so barbarous as the
treatment of Mr. Hunt, which has occurred in the annals
of imprisonment, since the days of the execrable Star
Chamber. Placed in a cell where gentlemen could not
visit him for a ftiw moments, without getting a plank to
stand upon and wearing a hat ; deprived of the shining of
the sun for five months in the year ; injured severely in his
health and his eye-sight, without being allowed the medi
cal aid that he desired ; excluded from the enjoyment of
free air ; deprived ofthe comforts arising from the visits of
his friends ; and subjected to other most vexatious insults,
this gentleman has been made as much the sport of the
Rev. and moral Dr. Colston, the HUMANE Dr.
Colston, and other such humane beings, as Sampson was
of the Philistines : and tbat he has not wholly lost his eye
sight, is owing more to Providence than to them. His
active mind has, however, been at work, even in prison, in
detecting abuses, and he has exposed transactions in Il
chester gaol which would have disgraced the dungeon of
the Turk or the Algerine. In the face of danger, and with
the probability of greater sufferings if he failed in estab
lishing facts against the parties concerned in the nefarious
transactions, he nobly refused to make any kind of compro
mise. But, if not punished one way, he lias been punished
another. For inventing the Breakfast Powder, which
would furnish a cheap and nutritive beverage for the poor,
and the means of consumption of an immense quantity of
corn for the farmers, a Crown extent was issued against his
property, and it was put out of his power to pay it by the
stoppage of liis rents, nor would the- sheriff, on his order,
collect his rents. The estates were actually advertised
for sale, and the kindness of his friends in raising the
means of paying the penalties, only saved Mr. Hunt's pro
perty from entire destruction!!! 'ihis has happened in
England in the year 1821-2, in the reign, not of a Stewart,
not of a Tudor, but of a Brunswick. In the nameof huma
nity and justice, where are we ? What are we doing ? Is
this the land of Liberty, or is it not ? The people of Eng
land ought in justice to do every thing in their power to
remunerate Mr. Hunt for his sufferings, though they may
never'be able to restore all he has lost of health and eye
sight. Mr. Hui.t has shewn his talents in ferretting out
iniquity, and he will be a skilful, and we think there can b»
* 5 B

10
no doubt but he will also be a faithful, servant of the pub
lic. He is under no obligations to Ministers ; and for him
to knuckle to them, would, with a witness, be holding a
candle to the devil. In similar cases he could never forget
his own durance-vile, and his heart must ever be governed
by the well-known sentiments of Dido — ' A sufferer my
self, 1 can feel for the woes of others.' We hope ere long
to have to report some of the speeches of this gentleman,
delivered in a certain assembly, and that he will occupy
some seat now occupied by some one less worthy than
himself. With respect to the speeches delivered on the occasion,
Sir Francis Burdett did complete justice to his subject,
and, considering some past occurrences between him and
Mr. Hunt, discovered a greatness and patriotism of soul,
that do him real honour. The humane Dr. Colston must,
we think, have been completely blistered — We hope it may
cool his head.
Mr. Hunt has, it seems, been unhappily long separated
from his wife, and has lived with another lady for eighteen
years. This lady has been prevented from visiting him,
and Mr. Under Secretary Dawson considered that her ad
mission to this pure gaol would be grossly immoral.
Whenever these subjects are touched, they always lead to
some further discoveries, and out it came that the late ex
cellent gaoler , was not contented with being grossly im
moral, but superlatively so, for he had two strings to his
bow within the prison ! This was the very friend and
companion of the virtuous Magistrates. Besides, Mr. Hob
house, with his usual keenness, remarked, 'when he talked
with such detestation of adultery, and of infringements of
morality, it behoved him to recollect whom such a charge
might affect, and how high it might reach !' Mr. Peel
talked about infringing- on the prerogative of the Crown,
and about no precedent for any such thing- ; so that if an
unjust punishment be inflicted, according to him, if there
were no precedent for appealing to the King to remit it,
we must not now begin ! Such is the gospel of Ministers.
He talked about the English constitution and secret foes —
we wish that he better understood the one, and knew less
of the other — and all he said was to any thing but the
question. He professed some knowledge of British law,
but Sir James Mackintosh here took the trouble to set him
right. Mr. C. W. Wynn, in reply to Sir James, spoke of
the opinion of Mr. Hunt respecting Mr. Justice Best, which,

il
if true, would render hima very unfit man for his office. We
could nWer suppose that in this day of philanthropy there
could be found a British Judge whose heart could long
to see the infliction of torture on the greatest of criminals;
but Mr. C. W. Wynn, quoting from Mr. Hunt's Memoirs,
actually said (so the papers report), ' Would any man lay
his hand on his heart, and say that he, Mr. Hunt, has suf
fered more than Judge Best and two other Judges of the
King's Bench had intended? Had he suffered more than
Best intended he should ? He believed that he, Best,
WOULD HAVE TORTURED HIM IF HE COULD.'
So then, according to this opinion, it was intended that
Mr. Hunt should be in a damp and dark dungeon ; that he
should be deprived of the sight of his friends; that his
health should suffer; and that .his eye-sig-ht should be
half ruined ; — he not having suffered more than Judge
Best and two other Judges had intended ! But Mr. Hunt;
says, Best would have tortured him — put him to the
rack — broken him on the wheel: — for this is torture. .All
we can say is, that perhaps Mr. Hunt knows Judges bet
ter than we do, but — with our slight knowledge — vye
hope this opinion is not true. Mr. C. W. Wynn did not
say what so displeased Judge Best — whether Mr. Hunt's
politics or his adultery. Mr. Buxton's opinion is worth
noticing. He said, ' the Judges had refined the sentence,
and that they believed the prison to be wholesome and
well disciplined, but it was proved that the gaol was in a
damp and unwholesome state. If, therefore, Mr. Hunt
remained in prison the whole period whichthe law had
awarded for his confinement, he would suffer more than
the Judges intended — he would suffer injustice.' Eighty-
four Members of the House of Commons declared the
same opinion, but two hundred and twenty-three said the
contrary. Considering, however, how the House is consti
tuted, the former opinion speaks volumes. Mr. Hunt's case
now excites universal sympathy. We consider that a man,
out of several counts, found guilty on only half a one, and
that all were on dubious points of law — we consider such
a man as deserving some clemency ; but if that cannot be
obtained, we think the people of England should strive to
pour balm into the spirit of the wounded, and we hope,
if Mr. H. is not seated in Parliament at some very early
period, that he will be returned for more places than one
at the next general election. We verily believe that he
possesses political virtue, and certainly he has been a great

n
political sufferer. We envy not the iron hearts of those
who think his punishment slight, and who would wring
from him the last aiom of suffering.
(From the Times.)
Ministers have got the happy talent of rendering those
whom they hate objects of general interest to the coun
try. How many myriads of people are there, who were
before averse to the practices of Mr. Hunt, and who are
now, from compassion, and a sense of the injustice under
which he has suffered, leaning towards him ! The aggra
vation of his punishment, or at least the defence of that
aggravation, rests upon the same principle as the original
sentence ; for it will be observed throughout the debate
of Wednesday evening, that no one attempted to justify,
or affected to approve of, the severity with which he was
treated, without calling into review all those occurrences
of his past life for which he had never been tried, and
for which, therefore, he ought not to havebeen punished.
If that bit — that scrap of an indictment upon which alone
he was originally found guilty, could have justified all the
cruelties to which he has since been subjected during
more than two years, what need was there to ransack his
life for other matter? — to tell of " his having run along
career of dangers ? — of his having thrust himself forward
every where ? — of his having gone out of his way to at
tract popularity? — of his having put himself at the head
of a new school of infidels and blasphemers ?" These,
we are but too ready to allow, may be the offences for
which he suffered ; but they are not those for which he
was tried, or for which the Yorkshire Jury found him
guilty. In behalf of Colston the Magistrate, it is gratifying to
humanity to learn that not one voice was raised. Excuses
and palliations were urged in behalf of the other Justices :
but put them in competition with Hunt, and see on whose
side the scale of humanity will preponderate. It is ac
knowledged on all sides that the most dreadful horrors
were practised in the prison. The sufferings of the poor
young woman, Mary Cuer, who, with a child at her breast,
was locked up in a solitary csU from Thursday to Sunday
— during the first two days without a fire, while frost and
snow covered the earth, and during the whole time with
only bread and cold water for herself and infant to feed
upon — will, we suppose, be allowed to be a little severe.
The case of one man who was so chained that he could

13
not stand upright ; of another or two who were blistered
for the purpose of torture, ai'e things that may shock a
few. We do not say that these cruelties were all inflict
ed by the Magistrates : but were they discovered by them ?
And if not, by whom were they discovered ? Why, by a
man who was himself liable to suffer from the same re
morseless monster whose crimes he detected. Let it be
recollected, that had not Runt been most providentially
sent to this prison of Ilchester, the same cruelties would
still have been practised there. The Magistrates had all
the opportunities in the world to detect them, and detect
ed them not. Hunt both laboured under every disadvan
tage in making his discoveries, and was subjected to every
danger in bringing them to light ; and yet he did discover,
and did bring to light, these scenes of iniquity of which we
have spoken. And, whatever Hunt's demerits may have
been on other occasions — whatever may have been his
motives for acting in this particular instance, it is one
among the incidents of this sad story, not the least shock
ing to humanity, to reflect that the man who has rescued
his fellow-creatures from such horrors, is himself left to
pine out the few remaining months of a long confinement
in that dreary prison to which he has rendered such ser
vices. Men may say what they please in favour ofthe So
mersetshire Justices, but till the naked facts that the hor
rors of Ilchester Gaol were not detected by those Justices,
and that they were detected by a prisoner, which prisoner
still lingers there — till these facts, we say, can be talked
away " into air, into thin air," neither the present nor
future generation will need to be told what the conduct
of those Justices has been, nor what has been the conduct
of the Executive Government in its treatment of him who
detected the abuses. Mr. Hunt will at length, however,
come forth from that Gaol of Ilchester. His popularity
has been alleged as one of the causes for sending him
there — will he come forth shorn of his rays? Will that
popularity which has been so much the object of dread
be abated ? We shall see !
(From the Thistle.)
In the course of the past week there have been two
grand divisions or trials of strength in Parliament, on two
questions of nearly equal importance, namely, the case of
Mr. Hunt and Parliamentary Reform. We say they are
of nearly equal importance, for the one does not more in
volve the purity of the makers of our laws, than the

14
other involves the purity of those who execute them ; and
the only circumstance which gives a degree of preponder
ance to the question of Parliamentary Reform, is the fact,
that were Parliament only reformed, our Courts must re
form of themselves ; Judges could no longer dare to be
either partial or cruel.
We look upon the punishment which has been inflicted
on Mr. Hunt as one of the greatest blots on the adminis
tration of justice in England since the horrid days which
preceded the revolution. Were the whole empire called
upon as one great jury, to declare upon soul and consci»
ence, whether they think the sentence passed upon Mr.
Hunt was solely on account of what was proved against
him in the trial at York, we are convinced that they would
answer with one voice, that they think it was not. Think
ing and averring are indeed two different things ; and
persons not on their oath may, perhaps, be found to tell
us that, improbable as it may seem, the Judges did not
travel one hair's-breadth out of the record, in judging of
the punishment incurred by Mr. Hunt. Against the im
pressions of a whole nation, however, there is no contend
ing ; and all the special pleading in the world will never,
probably, convince the people of England that they are
wrong in a notion they have conceived, that Mr. Hunt,
when he received sentence for the misdemeanour at
Manchester, was visited with what his political opponents
thought a fit punishment for the imputed sins of his whole
political life.
How far such a principle of administering the laws is
consistent with the safety of our liberties, it is scarcely
necessary to say. If Judges are once suffered to wander
out of the record in search of aggravation, there is no
thing too atrocious which they may, not commit in the
name of public justice. Party feelings, private resent
ments, corrupt designs, may all be served in their turn,
and the laws become at last nothing but instruments in
the hand of the powerful to intimidate and destroy all
who are opposed to them.
The speech of Sir Francis Burdett, on proposing an
address to the Crown to remit the remainder of Mr.
Hunt's sentence, will not lessen the impression enter-,
tained by the country of the hardship of his case. It is a
plain and unadorned, yet affecting, statement of facts.
We should, perhaps, have liked it better, had it been of a
higher tone ; had it breathed more of the indignation of

15
violated freedom ; but we are not blind to considerations^
which may have induced the worthy Baronet, in his sin
cere desire to effect some good by his motion, so to temper
his language as to conciliate the support of all who might
be in the least disposed in its favour. The number of
such, however, was not great, for on a division, the mo
tion was rejected by a majority of 139, and Mr. Hunt has
now no other hope of release from his sufferings, but in
drinking out, to the- last dregs, the bitter cup which power
has placed in his hands. (From the Examiner.)
Sir Francis Burdett's anxiously-expected motion, re
specting the treatment of Mr. Hunt in Ilchester Gaol, was
made lastYVednesday, and defeated by the usual majo
rities, not, however, until after an animated debate. The
statement of Sir Francis was comprehensive and forcible,
his argument cogent and manly, with occasional eloquent
bursts of feeling, which delighted the sincere, and ap
palled the corrupt. He grounded his motion upon three
propositions: — 1. That the sentence on Mr. Hunt was
severely disproportioned to the technical' illegality of
which he was -convicted. — 2. "That owing to this horrible
treatment in prison, his punishment has been enormously
aggravated beyond the intention ofthe Judges. — 3. That
by his exposure ofthe shocking abuses in the Gaol, under
circumstances which reflect great credit on his courage
and perseverance, he had rendered an important service
both to the people and the Government. And for these
three unanswerable reasons, the Honourable Baronet
maintained that, in common justice, Mr. Hunt should be
spared the remainder of his allotted term of confinement.
This clear and simple mode of putting the thing, left no
possibility of an honest and candid reply. One Mr. Daw
son, a new-made piece of " insolence in office," was put
forward to perplex the question ; and he accordingly be
gins with an attempt to convict Mr. Hunt of inconsistency,
by suppressing the date of a letter that gentleman wrote,
when he first went to Ilchester, and was well treated.
This laudable endeavour being defeated, Mr. D. launches
into a torrent of jargon about blasphemy, sedition, and
other horrors, which have about as much to do with the
case, as if the man in office had talked of the Shunites of
Persia. There is one thing in Mr. Dawson's speech which
should not be lightly passed over ; we mean his unmanly
and unfeeling introduction of the name of a lady, who for

16
eighteen years has lived with Mr. Hunt in a manner which
might afford a pattern to many married people. Whether
it is Mr. Hunt's misfortune or the law's fault, that they are
not man and wife in form as well as in fact, is of no conse
quence to this question ; but it is indeed a new system,
when a man falls under tbe blow of the law for a political
offence, that his family matters are to be inquired into, and
himself arbitrarily punished by any local tyrant. Mr,
Hobhouse was very spirited and cutting in his exposure
ofthe pitiful cant about preserving the Gaol from an im
moral spectacle (that Gaol where the most brutal gross
ness was carried on!) ; and most men will be inclined to
agree with Sir Francis Burdett, that the real immorality
consists in dragg-ing forth such matters before the public
eye. To back the Under Secretary, Mr. Peel took part in
the debate. His alarm lest the proposed Address should
encroach upon the privileges of the Crown, was very
naive and amusing : no less so was his principal point in
reply to Sir Francis. " Mr. Hunt was not worse treated
than the debtors ; and if he was to be enlarged, why not
they also ?" Why not, indeed !

address to henry hunt, esq.
Illustrious Patriot,
A portion of your fellow-Britons, residing in the city and
suburbs of Glasgow, fully sensible of your ardent attach
ment to the cause of the people; duly appreciating your
zeal and perseverance in the assertion of their rights, and
admiring that inflexible opposition to corruption, which
even the walls of a bastile cannot intimidate, nor its loath
some damps extinguish, consider it a duty they owe to
you, to themselves, to their country, and to the cause of
political rectitude, thus to testify their sense of the uni
form integrity, indefatigable exertions, and unshaken
fidelity, manifested by you on a series of interesting occa
sions: and also to express their regret, that your regard
for the public welfare should have subjected you to incon
veniences, hardships and sufferings, similar to those expe
rienced under the iron arm of despotism, in every ago, by
the virtuous patriot and tho bold philanthropist.
Confinement has generally caused a cessation to toil:
the captive son of Liberty, as far as concerns active opera
tions, is lost to his country. Recording, for public good,
private sufferings, the causes which led thereto, and calcit-

17
lating upon the final consequences of public delinquency,
and the abuse of power, are accounted the ne plus ultra
of human prowess in those receptacles of horror. You,
Honoured Sir, have done these, and more ; you have ac
tually attacked one of the outworks of corruption, while
pent up within its noxious bowels ; and if you have not,
like the ancient inmates of the gaol of Phillipi, been the
means of causing your gaoler to tremble from compunc
tions of conscience, you have at least caused the tremulary
agitation arising from fear of exposure; and hence you
claim the esteem of every friend of humanity.
The consideration is afflicting, that under the direction
of a pretended minister of the peaceable doctrines of
Christianity, the meeting over which you were called to
preside on the ever-memorable 16th of August, should
nave been dispersed with the sword, and yourself treated
with violence: and it is curiously coincident, that your
.sufferings in consequence, should not have reached their
climax, until you came under the unrelenting dominion of
another of the fraternity.
But be not depressed inspirit: from the vindictive ma
lice of all your enemies you will shortly be delivered, and
we hope restored to the full ebullition of that popular
feeling which awaits the determined and consistent ad
vocates of man's inalienable rights.
We, in common with many other admirers of that per
severing fortitude which distinguishes you, Sir, as the
friend ofthe people, have petitioned Parliament in, your
behalf; not that we anticipated any compliance with the
prayer of our petition, but that your enemies might per
ceive, that when violating the principles of justice, they
are observed by the people ; and also that we remain
sincerely attached to the cause of Radical Reform.
We are, Sir,
Your's affectionately,
(Signed on behalf of the Committee),
HUGH M'GREGOR, Preses.
WM. WARRALL, Secretary.
Glasgow, May 2, 1822.

18
The feuafg, Householders, and other Inhabitants qf the
village qf Johnston, county of Renfrew ,JVorth Britain,
to Henry Hunt, Esq.
Sir, — We take the liberty to transmit to you this small
'testimony of our respect for your public spirit and patriotic
zeal, which, instead of, being subdued or weakened, ap- '
pear to be- strengthening under accumulating persecutions
a«d sufferings.
Feeling, in common with the nation, a deep interest
in that unfortunate situation in which you have been placed ,
for advocating the rights of man and the cause of justice,
a situation better suited to the merits of your malignant
enemies, than for one, whose exertions for the welfare of
the inhabitants of. these realms have proved him worthy
of their highest praise — We come forward to discharge a
part of that debt of gratitude, under which; in a national
point of view, your many invaluable services have laid us.
At a period so notorious as the present for the abuse and
prostitution of talent and power,* employed in abridging
our constitutional rights and privileges, can you suspect,
Sir, that yielding to the strong- excitements of despair, we
have been looking with cold-minded indifference , on -the
unhallowed march of oppression, and consequently callous
•spectators of your unmanly and inhuman treatment? —
Surely, no ! With feelings of sorrow mingled with indig
nation we hear of those deprivations and insults to which
you are subjected. But, above all, Sir, when we learn
that attempts of the most wicked and villainous nature
have been made upon your life, and lightly passed over
without a fair and public inquiry — we cannot but openly
avow our suspicions ofthe base intentions, respecting yoii,
of those persons into whose hands you have been commit'
ted. But,v Sir, : such unfeeling and malignant conduct on
the part of your enemies, ceases to be matter of surprise
to us when we reflect upon the flagrant and glaring abuses
which you have so ably and successfully proved to exist
in the very gaol in which you are incarcerated— abuses,
the disgrace of our national executive polity— abuses,
worthy only of men lost to the feelings of humanity ; and
the developement of which has acquired you as much,
honour and credit as it stamps disgrace and infamy uppn
the authprs of these abuses.
By a certain class, of men, Sir, you are looked upon as
a noxious weed in society, the extirpation of which is ne
cessary for their own' corrupt growth — men, who watch
narrowly and eagerly for your tall, and would not 'scruple

13
tQ fall upon foul and unmanly measures to accomplish itV
But. the voice of the nation, Sir, is your 'safeguard— that
voice, which is ready at all times to rise in resentment of
oppression, as Well as in the dtefence and reward of per
secuted, yet persevering patriotism.
Brave, but ill-requited Briton! Whether you are im
mured in a dreary cell, pondering over the impending
miseries of our connected and mutually beloved countries ;
whether in public, asserting and demanding, as you did,
the natural rights of man, or in private life, proving by
the exercise of social virtues the sincerity of your public
professions, you have shown yourself an unwearied: and
inflexible champion. of Liberty, instead of a turbulent de
magogue, which you have often been designated.
Like our brave countryman, Hiime, whose admirable
and unremitting efforts in Parliament have justly placed.
him at the, head of Scottish Representatives, you have
boldly and openly attacked and exposed, public delin
quency ; and thus have ajso exposed your , person • and
property to theyengeance arid grasp of those laws, by
which you have been declared an offender.
Sir, if this small but sincere token of respect for- your'
public worth, from a portion of your applauding Northern
friends, can in any degree soothe your mind in your pre-'
sent adverse circumstances, we shall receive a dpuble
gratification. A severe sentence has. been passed upon you — a sen
tence, however, which we shall abstain from comment
ing on further, than by saying, that were your case left
to the voice ofthe nation,1 you would soon be restored to
its open arms, and to the exercise of those philanthropic
qualities, which have gained you the applause and esteem
of every friend of freedom.
We feel sincerely interested in you,. Sir ; your . cause is -
ours. It is.one in' which (through patience) you will ul
timately triumph. Shall that unconquerable spirit which
has long distinguished you leave you at this momentous
'crisis? No, it will not. Cheer your lonely moments
with this reflection, that, at the barbarous treatment of
you and other BritisTi "Patriots, a feeling of national indig
nation has been roused at human.oppressiOn, which shall
only subside with the dispersion of those impervious
clouds which have So long obstructed the beams of the
glorious luminary of unshackled Constitutional Liberty.
' Signed in the name of the Committee,
DAVID M'KAEL-

20,
tO HENRY HUNT, ES<$.
SiR,-i-Deeply impressed with sentiments of the mosjt
lively gratitude to you for your persevering, indefatigable,
and great exertions in the sacred cause of Liberty, we -beg
Ieaverto address you at thismomentous crisis, and this we
do from a conviction in our. minds that you will be pleased
to accept this tribute of our approbation of your conduct,
.although we are sensible of the insufficiency of the ac-
' knowledgment which you; justly merit for the many and
eminent services which you have performed in our behalf.
We have witnessed with the most pleasing sensations
the, activity of your political career, the disinterested purity
Of your motives, in having devoted the best part of your
life ; in having sacrificed great pecuniary, advantages ; in
having deprived yourself ofthe comforts and conveniences'
which you so liberally enjoyed, in order to avert your
country's ruin, and ameliorate the- sufferings of your dis-:
tressed countrymen : this must appear conspicuous to
every mind not obscured by the dark mists and prejudices
of . ignorant stupidity, or wrapt up into the selfish,- per
nicious, and destructive principle" of fattening on the de* .
testable spoils of the many-headed, mbnster of Corruption.
When Petitions to Parliament were poured- from every,
town, hamlet, and village throughout the United King
dom, for a Reform of that House, where the selling o£sea£&
was declared by the Speaker to be as notorious, as the. sun.
at noon-day, we observe, with the deepest regret, the
desertion- and vacillating conduct of some of those, who,
stood high in the public estimation; but, notwithstanding
these, misgivings, we always found ,yau at your post, tha
warm, consistent, and able advocate of Universal Suffrage,
Annual Parliaments, and Election by Ballot.
The great talent which you displayed in- your admirable
defence at York, gave to the nation a convincing proof of
your consummate abilities.- The legality of the Meeting
on the ever memorable 1 6th of August; the orderly and.
peaceable behaviour of the people; both, before and: when,
assembled; the vindictive spirit of the Magistracy; the
ferocious barbarity of the. Yeomanry, are^paurtrayed in-
su^ a luminous manner, and- inco lours so glowing, that
itcannot fail to. fix upon the mind: of the reader, that deep
and marked impression which neither time nor circum
stances will ever be able to eradicate.
, The severity of your sentence is a sure proof bf the
hatred and malignity which your relentless persecutors

21
bear to the principles of freedom ; but even that severity,
which was intended should proVe fatal to you, has been
productive of much general good ; it hag thinned the ranks
of despotism of many thousands, who now openly avow,
that their principles are truly Radical : even the cruel anpl
unjust treatment which you have suffered from the Magis
trates and Gaoler, since your imprisonment, has been
highly beneficial to many, by your able exposure of the
gross frauds, the open indecencies, the cruel barbarities,
which were practised in that sink of iniquity in which you
are confined, and which has led to that investigation
so highly honourable^ to your character and feelings. The
manly manner in which you preferred and brought for
ward the charges against the Gaoler ; your unremitting
and diligent attention throughout tbe. whole course of the.
inquiry ; the skill with which you conducted your evidence,
and the great penetration you evinced in cross-examining
Bridle's witnesses to elicit the truth, would alone endear
your name to every friend of humanity and justice.
We have perused your Memoirs with much satisfaction ;
the unaffected eloquence in which they are written is truly
pleasing, and the many incidents they contain make them
very interesting ; we trust they will be useful and instruc
tive in improving the minds not only of the present but
of future generations.
Conscious of the rectitude of your intentions in devoting
your life to the true interests of your country, you will de
rive, even in your Bastile, the pleasing consolation that
you are suffering for the truth, and that very reflection will
cheer your spirits, and lighten the gloom of your dungeon.
As your principles are built on the solid basis of eternal
truth, they will sooner or later prevail. That you may
long live, and triumph over your enemies ; and that you
may reap the benefit of your labour, by seeing the people
restored to their just rights, is the sincere prayer of your
affectionate friends.
The above address was agreed to at a meeting of your
friends, assembled for the purpose of celebrating the an
niversary of your birth-day, in the Saracen's Head Inn,
Paisley, on the 6th of November, 1821.
Signed in the name, and by the appointment of the
Meeting, JAMES FLEMING, Chairman,

22
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR. CARLILE AND
MR. WILDE. ,
TO MR. R. CARLILE.
London, March 26, 1822.
Sir, — On reading in a late number of your Republican,
a letter addressed by you to Mr. Hunt, I had some inten
tion of answering certain parts of it, but a consciousness
of my inability to handle the subject as it deserved, in-;
duced me to wait, to see if some one more capable and
better gifted with talent would undertake to combat the
errors, exaggerations, and misrepresentations which you
have deliberately put forth. No one having, to my know
ledge, as yet thought you worth notice, I take the liberty
of attempting a briejf answer.
In the first place, you are grossly mistaken: about the
pikemen who had (you say) promised |to attend the meet
ing at Manchesteron the 16th of August, 1819. No man
who was there, ahd thoroughly acquainted with, the, cir
cumstances attending the calling of that meeting,, will
back your assertion. I am bold to say, and I challenge
contradiction, that there would not have heenfifleen pike-
men, let alone 15,000, even if your mighty self had ]been
generalissimo of the forces, and had issued your " veto"
for their attendance ! The report of the pikemen, ,and
that of the " linking arm in arm," which .you declare to
hive taken place round the hustings on the advance of the
Yeomanry, Was derived from the same source. The fact
is, there, was no linking for more than an hour before your
arrival, and then it was done to preserve room round the
hustings, for the accommodation of the females and bands
that might attend, alid for no other purpose ; and no one
but Hulton of Hulton and Richard Carlile have ventured
to say i to the contrary; no, not even the celebrated Jo»
Nadin himself, who* is so far and so justly famed for
swearing and **** *. So that whether you- had your
information from " your friends" or from the columns of

23
the Courier, (the latter appears most likely) it is not the
less a;falsehood, calculated to misinform those who had
the good fortune not to be there. Even you yourself (on
-your own shewing) only remained on the hustings " until
the cavalry came- nearly within, sabre's length/'' so that
you must be comparatively ignorant of all' but the runr
ning-away part, whieh to be sure you deny. What a
glorious opportunity for you, who was no ", coward/' to
have signalised yourself, by leading the " 15,000 pike
men" to-victory ! ! or, which is more likely, the country to
tne grave of its already expiring remnant of liberty ! Bu>
like a brave and 'skilful General of modern fame, you
sought for a glorious victdry in an ignoble flight ! ! !
In another part of your letter you make a wonderful dis
covery, nothing less than that at the January Meeting at
Manchester, inl81 9, the people paidMr .Hunt's coach fare to
London,; which appears toyou a contradiction of Mr. Hunt's
assertion, that he " lost by every political move ;" when
you well know that he has mentioned this over and- over
again as an exception to -every other meeting that he had
ever attended. Still I presume the coach fare was not his
only expense, so that he lost even by that move.
You ask also if Mr. Johnson found Mr. Hunt a liberal
spender in his political moves while at Smedly Cottage,
to which I answer (for like others you can " insinuate"),
Mr. Johnson was paid by Mr. Hunt every- expense attend
ing his visit, even to servant's board wages, and more.
With respect to the trial at York, you admit that Mr. Hunt
paid his own expenses, but say he left the other defend
ants to do the same. Now here again you are misinformed,,
for he paid Mr. Johnson's bill, and has not yet been repaid.
That the remainder of us paid our own expense's, I admit,
<and not much to your credit either, when it is known that
you .have ever since that time had 10/.' in your pocket of
the subscriptions which were raised for our defence ; in

24
consequence of which conduct on your. part, and perhaps-
of Others,,! had, after paying my expenses at the Inn, only
4|d in my pocket to set off home with fa journey of sixty-
five miles.
I pass over your acknowledged profit of 200 per cent'. -
upon your books, and your attempt to make it believed
that Mr. Hunt's Breakfast Powder was manufactured at a
¦j .
profit of 150 per cent., by observing, that you state that
Which is a downright falsehood.- I believe you say you
make your calculation of profit from what Mrs. Carlile sold
<fin Fleet-street, forgetting that she bought most of it of
people who had scarcely "arty rent or taxes to pay, and
who knew as little about the real way of manufacture as
you do, at 4d. per lb., and sold it at ls. per lb. as " Hunt's
Genuine Breakfast Powder .'" and that she had Mr.
Hunt's bills in the window to enable her to carry on the
fraud more effectually ; and indeed she so far succeeded as
to physic all her customers with the stuff, to the great
injury of her own and every other person's sale.
From the opinion that I had formed of yonr principles
by ^your professions, I little expected to see the attack
which you. make upon that worthy Radical, the Rev.
Joseph Harrison, or Parson Harrison, as you call him, than
whom' I know of ho man more entitled to the esteem of a
liberal ami enlightened Public ; for if affability and kind
condescensionof manners, mixed withbenevolenceand uni
versal philanthropy, and a spirit above intolerance, entitle
their possessor to esteem and respect, such is Mr. Harrison.
" Go thou, and imitate his virtues." I deny the truth of
your assertion, that lie lived by preaching politics ; on the
contrary, -his time was devoted to the support of person's
confined for alleged political offences, and in no one in
stance (amongst many to my knowledge) for his own emo
lument or profit. You aSk what made him a Reformer ?
OT whait brought him to Stockport? My answer is, to the

¦25
first, a conviction that Reform was necessary, I should
hope the same feeling that made you one. To the second,
the same reasons that induced you to come to London, in
duced him to go to Stockport; any other construction
that you put on his conduct is an ungrounded one, and
borrowed from an unworthy source — a source which, on
reflection, you will be ashamed of.
In conclusion, let me recommend to your imitation the
men whom you, for very evident reasons, affect to despise.
Their consistency would do honour to you, and certainly
not before it was wanted. Their temperate feeling to
wards one another, on all occasions, is worthy of your emu
lation. I advise you never to question either the honesty
or the sincerity of any man, or set of men, merely be
cause they differ from you in opinion either in politics or
religion, or any thing intermediate; if you do, blush
deeply when you complain of Christian intolerance and
persecution. I am led to this by your writing of late, because, if you
are sincere in what you have written, you only want the
power to make yourself dreaded. You say, in speaking of
a man who believes what you do not, that, " if he was in
a room with you, and made use of such language in the
argument in dispute, you would kick him out of doors;"
from which I am bold enough to say you are quite as into
lerant as your remorseless persecutors, added to the re
lentless ferocity of Dr. Slop — yea, the very Vice Society
itself is completely eclipsed in your person.
That you may see the necessity of really becoming what
you profess to be, i. e. a genuine Deistical Republican,
without ambition, scorning intolerance, living only for the
good of all, " doing unto others as you would they should
do unto you," is the sincere wish of,
Sir, yours, &c.
R. T. WILDE.
* 5 D

26
P. S. You will perceive that I have left many parts of
your letter untouched, because I wished only to meddle
with that with which I was personally acquainted, and
which concerned myself. I have left others to do the
same. R. T. W.
MR. R. CARLILE'S ANSWER.
Dorchester Gaol, March 31, 1822.
Mr. Wilde, — I expect you will pay to Mr. John Jones
the sum of ten-pence, of which you have robbed me this
morning, by sending me a letter that did not concern me.
I shall address another letter to Mr. Hunt the moment I
see No. 30 of his Memoirs.
I shall have nothing to say direct to any person he may
set to catch at me.
I know my man, and shall not be drawn from him by
any manceuvre.
What he writes about me I will answer, but no one
else for him. R. CARLILE.
REPLY. London, 8th April, 1822.
Mr. Carlile, — I have received your very ingenious
letter, but have not been applied to yet for the amount of
the " robbery," (10d). I am very unfortunate in being
stopped in my career so soon, when you have the credit of
having now in your possession (whether by robbery or
equally honourable means, you know best) the money that
was subscribed towards paying mine arid others expenses
in our trial at York.
Besides having robbed you, I have robbed myself of
many ten-pences in serving you ; but now, forsooth, I have
expressed my dissent to your ipse dixit, and am, sans cere-
monie, put in your first class of non-conformists (all those
who differ from you in opinion being placed in your grand

27
classes — i.e. robbers and bigots), with which classification
I assure you I am no way dissatisfied ; tis the lot of many
good men.
If you had looked over my letter after your rage had
abated, you would have found that I had avoided as much
as possible saying any thing personally of Mr. Hunt, and I
assure you that that Gentleman knows no more about such
letter than you did at the moment of my writing it. Mr.
Jones, your shopman, knows I promised you one the
moment I received yours from his hands. In fact, I am as
independent of Mr. Hunt as I am of you : 'tis not the ten-
pence, but the tenpennyworth that provokes you. How
ever I will pay the one, and maintain the other, while I
am, as I hope I always shall be,
R. T. WILDE.
P. S. I demand the insertion of my former letter in your
Republican, not as a favour, but as an act of common jus
tice to me, as one of those whom you have basely misre
presented. If I had been disposed to have defended Mr.
Hunt, 1 could have done it quite as effectually as I have
already repelled your slanderous assertions and insinua
tions in those parts of your letter that I have touched
upon. ANSWER TO LETTER II.
Mr. Wilde, — Your writing to me is quite vain, I shall
insert nothing you can write in the Republican. I sent
your first letter, as I do the second, back to London within
three hours of receiving it.
If you can point out to me one instance where I have
misrepresented you, I will pay attention to it and explain
publicly. From report I have always entertained the best
opinion of you, and do now. I consider your fidelity to
your employer has overbalanced your public principles,
and driven you to intemperate ideas. Mr. Hunt is quite

28
capable to answer for himself, leave him to himself. You
will see another letter to him in No.  of the Republi
can, at least I sent it to London for that purpose.
Whatever tenpences you have spent in serving me, you
have no right to amuse yourself at my expense. If your
letter had been anonymous, I should have returned it to
the Post-office, as I do all such letters ; and there is scarce
a day but I receive some such, although I never allow any
of them to rob me. I open every letter and return all im
proper correspondencies, so that I recover the sums, what
ever they be, for postage.
I am not so easily angered as you imagine, though I am
ever ready to repel an insult.
Respecting the 101. in my possession, I am quite ready
now to pay it, as I proposed when I published my having
possession of it. If you will say, and bring a competent
voucher that you sustained a loss in consequence of the
outrage at Manchester, I will pay to you the amount of
' that loss, or as far as my subscription-money will go. I
despise all your hints and threats upon that subject,
because I never made any secret of having it ; all I want
is a proper place to apply it, now I have recovered the
means. I did not receive it by appointment, at least the
appointment was, that when Major Cartwright was Trea
surer, and the Major having received some of the same
scurvy treatment as I did, would have no connections with
the parties, nor receive any more money to pass through
their hands.
You are all trying to shuffle and stifle the mean point of
the dispute between me and Mr. Hunt : but none of you
shall gain the object. In the next letter to Mr. Hunt you
wiirfind your name introduced ; if any thing erroneous be
connected with it, I will refer you instantly to my author.
Take notice I have two weekly parcels from London, so

29
you had better send what you think proper to write
through them. You know my agents. R. CARLILE.
LETTER HI.
Mr. Carlile — Your answer to my second letter is just
come to hand, and requires little or no reply, further than
just to say, that I was aggrieved by every part of your
letter which I have commented upon, particularly your
misrepresentation of facts concerning the Manchester
meeting, the falsehood of which statements you well
knew at the time you were writing them. It is nothing
less than a charge of perjury against all our witnesses on
the trial at York, and a charge of subornation of perjury
against me, as One of those who collected the evidence
adduced. Neither was I unconcerned in your observa
tions about the expenses on our trial at York, which
came with a peculiar bad grace from you.
I was also attacked by you, in speaking about the*
Breakfast Powder ; still, if you had only stated truth, I
should not have cared a straw, defying, as I do, you, or
any other man in existence, to shew that there is more
than a regular trade profit on the manufacture of the arti
cle. Neither you nor your new Puffer-general can make
it as good as I now do (at the same price), even if you
had the grain for nothing. But so eager were you to ex
pose others, that you '' let the cat out of the bag," by
observing, that you had only five shilHngs per copy profit
as publisher of Paine's Theological Works ; the trade-
price of which was 7*. &d., and only a bare half-crown
more if you retailed it, making altogether a sorry 300
PER cent. !!!
In attacking a good man without cause, you attack
every member of society ; and on that principle, knowing
Mr. Harrison to be such, I defended him, as I would do
any man similarly circumstanced.

30
1 am not satisfied with your explanation, apology, or
whatever you choose to call it, about the 101. The abuse
which Major Cartwright received had nothing to do with
you; and even if it had, your inexplicable resolution of
allowing no more money to pass through your hands,
ought not to have prevented you from letting that pass
out which was then in your hands, and collected bona
fide for our defence at York, and not as pocket-money for
any individual, however meritorious or self-subservient.
I now come to your second letter, which, like your first,
is addressed ostensibly to Mr. Hunt, wherein you call upon
him to give up the name of the person who wrote the
letter spoken of by him in the 30th Number of his Me
moirs, and who had complained of being attacked in the
same paper with him, or you call upon the author to do
it himself, and you engage to find proof of every sentence
ofthe letter. I avow myself to be the author of the let
ter ; I used the very words quoted, in my letter to Mr.
Hunt, informing him that you had been abusing him in
the Republican ; and that through him you attacked every
one in any way concerned in the Manchester Meeting ; but
that, if I might judge of the whole from what I knew of
the matter, it was " an atrocious string of falsehoods,"
which I now repeat, and which I had told you of
long before you wrote that letter. Mr. H. could not
have seen your Republican at that time, for it was
not until the 9th that he sent for it. I also informed
him, on the authority of a person from Manchester,
that Mary Fildes had written a letter to you before your's
of the 1st of March appeared, contradicting your vague
statements about the meeting. It now remains for you
to prove your assertions, or say you cannot do it.
You could not finish your rigmarole without making an
insidious attack upon me personally, and without any real
cause, no one having, as you assert, set me to " abuse"

3 J
you. I explained the reason why I had not written
sooner, or at least why I had not sent it sooner (for I had
written the original, of which that was almost a correct
copy, soon after your's appeared), and only waited, as I
stated to you, " to see if no fitter person would under
take to combat the errors, exaggerations, and misrepre
sentations which you had put forth." I repeat again, I
am as independent of Mr. Hunt as I am of you, particular
ly with respect to religion. You ask how, if Mr. Hunt
" has such a distaste for republicanism and deism, such a
veneration for monarchy, aristocracy, and divinity, he
should have in his employ persons so directly opposite in
sentiment ?" Now here you have shewn the cloven foot ;
in this you shew yourself to be what you really are, a
most intolerant — (I beg pardon, " tolerance and into
lerance are words that you discard altogether") — but this
is most uncharitable, and what I call rank narrow-mind
ed bigotry with a vengeance ; especially coming from
" the living model of all the virtues, R. Carlile."
What will you say when I tell you that Mr. Hunt never
in his life asked me what religious persuasion I was of, or
whether of any ? He was not the intolerant bigot to do so ;
and as to your charging him with hypocrisy, I never
knew of any profession made by him, either as to reli
gion or politics, that he did not strictly act up to. If you
can point out an instance to the contrary, I will give you
credit for some knowledge of what you are writing
about, which at present I am disinclined to do.
I now come to the meeting on Paine's birth-day, at
which I was present ; but before I proceed, I beg leave
to ask you one plain question. You say that Mr. Hunt's
name was inadmissible in the list of toasts, he being nei
ther a deist nor republican : the memory of " Wallace,
Bruce, and Burns" was toasted — were Wallace or Bruce
republicans or deists ? Bruce was a King ! Wallace was

32
his faithful friend, who fought for him, and preserved the
Royal regalia of Scotland for his enjoyment as a King —
do you call these deists and republicans ? I must confess
f I have not read sufficiently the history of their time to
have found any thing to favour the opinion (but the con
trary, for I believe it will be found that they were Catho
lics). I should like to know where their words or deeds
are recorded, by which they are entitled to such a dis
tinction from other aristocrats " out of office" or in dis
grace (for it is a general maxim with Kings and their
minions, when involved in difficulties, to court the favour
and assistance of the democratic part of the community).
Perhaps it was this which led " your men" astray ; for it
was worse than useless to urge the claim of Mr. Hunt
upon their attention, and attempt to convince them that
there was less inconsistency in toasting Mr. Hunt's name
in a republican assembly, than there was in toasting a
Scottish King, a Scottish Baronet, and one or two Eng
lish Lords " in conjunction with the name of Thomas
Paine ;" who would, I am sure, could he have been made
sensible of being in such company, as the saying is, have
" turned himself in his grave ;" and no unbiassed mind
could for a moment entertain the idea of toasting such
gentry to the exclusion of one whose whole life has been
devoted to the political salvation of his country, and
whose character stands too high to be injured by the
drivelling malignity of miserable scribblers. I certainly
expressed my indignation, as I trust I ever shall, when
men are so blindly subservient as to be dictated to by
either you or any other individual.
It was cowardly in the extreme in you, who have your
wife and family along with you, to sneer at a fellow-pri
soner about the loss of his " ladies," saying that it had
driven him beside himself. You write on this subject as
you do on most others, in the spirit of demonaic misan-

3.3
thropy.. As to comfort or convenience, barring confine
ment, you are much better situated in every respect to
ensure tranquillity and ease than ever you were in your
life before you were sent to Dorchester Gaol ; and as to
your sleeping upon a gaol bedstead, it is aduxury,! be
lieve, that you always dispensed with while in London ;
so that before you compare your imprisonment with Mr.
Hunt's, you ought, in fairness, to take into consideration
your different station in life, manner of living, habits,
and general circumstances ; and it will be found that
what would be cruel treatment to Mr. Hunt, would scarce
ly merit a complaint from you; so much does a life of toil
and labour differ from a life of rational enjoyment of every
luxury, comfort, and diversion. I question whether the
same means would not have made you any thing rather
than what you now profess to be.
Upon the question as to whether or not you are a poli
tical prisoner, or whether you are a persecuted Reformer,
I say that you have no right whatever to claim a connec
tion with politics, strictly speaking, inasmuch as you are
not confined for a political but a religious libel, for which
you would have been certainly prosecuted if you had con
tinued at your tin-pot-making, and never dabbled in un
profitable speculations upon political questions. You
may say that your persecutions arose from political en
mity ; but that is improbable, as you had never written
any thing worth the parchment of a full-sized indictment
before you published Paine's Theological Works. Why
then do you say that you have a claim upon the Reformers
further than the advocates of Reform partake Of your
principles, or sympathise with your sufferings. The
Jewish Rabbi, a Mussulman, a Ranter or modern Me
thodist, the followers of Joannah Southcote, or the disci
ples of Decker, the American prophet, or any other mo-
5* E

34
dern impostor, if indicted for libelling the Christian church
and religion, or impugning its doctrines, might with
equal grace make out a connection with political Reform
and Reformers, at the same time that they were declaring
them to be dishonest and insincere. Like you, they might
assert that their plan of reforming the community was of
far more' importance than any thing else connected with
politics. I think I hear you say, " Oh ! but my creed is
far superior to the creed of those you have mentioned ;
their's is miserable jargon compared with mine." And
so they would say of their's to the disparagement of
your's ! Between a canting hypocrite and an intolerant
fanatic there is little to distinguish at first sight ; but of
the two evils give me the former, for he will do some
good in keeping up appearances, while the latter sticks
at neither appearance nor principle.
A word or two upon the utility of agitating questions
upon religious subjects when you are not allowed the
power of speech, and of refusing to join in obtaining one
good form of Government because another is supposed to
be better, while even the worst of the two would grant
you freedom of discussion, without which no great good
can be accomplished, no sound doctrine established. You
are fighting against every religionist except those who
are of your opinion, or believe as you do ; and you refuse
to accept of any Reform, unless it be for the establishment
of a republican form of Government, and the concession
of every man's opinion to your's. To shew the ahsurdity
of your conduct, I will draw a parallel case, by supposing
that two travellers are benighted and fall into the hands
of robbers, who strip them of their arms, clothes, and
money, and detain them as prisoners; and to pre-
vcn* the possibility of escape, have them tied hand
and foot, in which situation they are to linger out their

35
days, subject to the vigilant superintendance ofthe thieves.
However, in time they mutually agree to effect their es
cape, but disagree as to the means. One, more philoso
phically inclined than the other, begins with argument
upon his oppressors, urging their injustice, cruelty, &c. in
manacling him; the other, less considerate (mark the
simile), openly declares war, against not only the rob
bers, but his companion in wretchedness, because
he shews a disposition to accept of the use of his limbs
preparatory to absolute liberty, which he well knows he
cannot contend for, situated as he is. The result is, one
has his limbs freed from restraint, while the other not
only continues fettered by his own mad choice (in not ac
cepting part, without all), but is gagged (which, like an
indictment, is a summary proceeding) for his insolence,
and urging more than the robbers are disposed to grant,
although the taking of a part would not set aside the pos
sibility of obtaining all. In this situation death puts a
period to his existence, while his more fortunate ahd bet
ter gifted fellow-prisoner finally makes his escape, seeks
that redress which his case demands, obtains all that a
man can wish, justice — observing, " if I had been as
stubborn as my friend, I had ended my life as he did, un
avenged!" Profit by the example of the supposed travellers — your
situation is very similar, and in one of them you see a pro
file likeness of yourself. As you " consider your career as
only just beginning," take a friendly hint, and cease your
petulant and vindictive strictures on the character and
conduct of better men than it is in your nature to be ; set
an example of liberality and charity in the same propor
tion as you expect it from others, and never allow your
self to descend to the meanness and arrogance of your
persecutors, while you condemn it in them : so shall you

3C
avoid the contempt and scorn of liberal-minded men of
all classes, sects, and denominations, and ensure the
esteem of your's, &c.
R. T. WILDE.
P. S. Considering your kind condescension in informing
Mr. Hunt, and, through him, your readers, that you had
" spent all your ill-will" in the moderate space of about
four sheets of closely printed demy octavo, or sixty pages of
your " Republican," I am inclined to follow your very
liberal example, by informing you, and whoever else it
may concern, that I have no wish to say more at present
(never having had any " ill-will" to spend), provided
that I am not compelled to do it.
R. T. W.

This Day is published (in a separate Pamphlet), price Sixpence,
THE
BETWEEN
Mr. WILDE and Mr. CARLILE,
WITH
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
BY R. T. WILDE.

Sold by R. T. Wilde, 21, Little Earl-Street, Seven-Dials ; and may
be had of T. Dolby, 299, Strand. ,

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
-o©lS©e-
Ilchester Bastile, 8th day, 9th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
May 25, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
In my last Number I was compelled to apologise for
the shortness of my address, principally in consequence of
a very serious and dangerous complaint in my eyes, which
had been very troublesome and painful for a long time ;
and I am sorry to add, that it has not yielded to a severe
operation, nor the painful caustics which, under good ad
vice, I had applied to them. I was then in great hopes
that I had received considerable benefit from the applica
tion of milder and a more soothing plan ; but the ill effects
of reading and writing by candle-light six or seven hours
every evening, during the continuance of two long dreary
winters, and the glaring reflection of the sun upon a light
grey wall, placed within a few yards of my window,
during two scorching summers, had made too deep an
impression to be so easily removed as I had expected, and
I am sorry to say that the same cause will induce me to
be more brief in my present address than 1 could wish.
To make amends for my brevity in the last Number, I
caused to be inserted some excellent comments published

Printed by T. Dolby, Britannia Press, 299, Strand.

upon the subject of Sir F. Burdett's motion in the House"
of Commons, fbr my liberation, in the Times, the Thistle,
the Examiner, London newspapers, and in. the excellent
copntry paper, Mr. Drak'afd's Stamford News. These
extracts speak an intelligible language, and- may be fairly
s$id ia'he'a pretty correct criterion of the -public feeling
upon the subject. I^ee that Mr. Dolby has also. inserted
, addresses forwarded to me irom the Reformers of the
city of Glasgow, the town of Paisley, and village of Jolin- ;
stoned in Scotland. I have sent this week to be inserted
also an address from Greenock, in Scotland, and another
from Romsey, in Hampshire. These flattering testimo
nials and kind assurances of support from my fellow-coun
trymen, would, under any circumstances, be very grateful
to my feelings; but in my present situation, and under
present circumstances, they are doubly valuable. I beg
to assure these worthy men that I ain highly sensible of
their kindness, confidence, and- esteem. 'TTo.my excellent
friends at Greenock:, and particularly to' those" worthy and
patriotic men, Messrs. Shanks and Cameron, who stepped
[forward so .promptly and, so efficiently to petition "the
House of Commons to.ihterfere to remove the infamous
restrictions that were imposed upon "me, and who were
* thereby so instrumental in releasing me from' solitary cori-
finement,.and'#ho have so nobly promoted and supported
the, branch. of the, ^prthera Union establishe4 in their
town ; to ^hem I am particularly indebted : and -they
have laid me under a fresh Obligation by the very harm-,
some and much-valued present of a Tartan Plaid Cloak
and Highland Bqn/iiet (see address). With this fresh
proof ;of the, kindness and esteem of the, Radical Re
formers, Iriale and female, of Greenock, I am highly de- -
lighted.' The workmanship, the colours) the. beautiful
-silver clasps, formed of the national emblem, the thistle,
. and the national motto— " Nemo ,m,e impwne lacessit'?-*- <
all combine 'to make this present most valuable- and most
flattering tp my feelings. ' If I live, I will wear this beau
tiful present, the Tartan cloak*, sent by the Radicals of
Greenock, the. day I leave this Bastile, "the 60th of Octo
ber next ; and if I live to pay my intended visit to
Greenock, I will Wear this Tartan plaid cloak and. High
land bonnet into their town, as a proof of the high estima
tion in. which; I hold the riatjoHal character, and the
steady, persevering, truly brave, and patriotic exertions
of the Radicals of Scotland'; and visit that country I will,

;/ / live to the spring of 1823. In the mean time the
Tartan plaid and the Highland bonnet shall occupy a
favourite niche in the National Radical Museum.
In my last Number I see that Mr. Wilde has accepted
my offer, and has published his correspondence with Mr.
Carlile. This correspondence, which took place unknown
to me, I haw admitted into the Addenda of my Memoirs,
as an act of justice to Mr. Wilde, Mr. Carlile having first
attacked him in the Republican, and then refused to give
insertion to his reply in the same publication. What
Mr. Wilde has said in answer to a base and unfounded in
sinuation, that I was indebted to Mr. Johnson, late of
Smedley Cottage, Manchester, has induced that Gentle
man to write to me for the first time since he left Lincoln
Castle, just one year before, to request that I would con
tradict Mr. Wilde's assertion, that I paid him .for the ac
commodation I received when I accepted an invitation to
Smedley Cottage, previous and subsequent to the fatal
sixteenth of August. As Mr. Joseph Johnson appears to
have very prudently quitted the political world ever since
he was released from Lincoln Castle, I am very sorry in
deed that his name should have been thus unnecessarily
dragged before the public again ; but for this he is
wholly indebted to Mr. Carlile. Although I had heard
of insinuations of this sort before, that I had borrowed
money of Mr. Johnson, yet I would have scorned to notice
the repetition of this insinuation in the Republican of the
1st of March. But Mr. Wilde, having accidentally be
come acquainted with a small pecuniary transaction be
tween Mr. Johnson and myself, has thought proper, with
out consulting me, to speak of it in a manner that is very
naturally unpleasant to Mr. Johnson ; but for this, I re
peat, he is wholly indebted to Mr. Carlile. However, as
it has been mentioned by Mr. Wilde, and as I am called
upon by Mr. Johnson, in justice to all parties I will briefly
state the particulars, however unpleasant it may be to
bring the domestic disputes of the Reformers before the
public. After. the 16th of August, 1819, I left my ser
vant and -horse at Mr. Johnson's, at Smedley, while I
went to Lancaster to plead to the indictment, &c. that I
might have him fresh to return home .when I came back
from Lancaster. By some means or other, my servant was
induced to let my horse and gig go out of his possession,
partly at the instigation, as hYhas since informed me, of
Mr. Johnson, and ultimately it was driven over to Lan-

caster, I believe the day before I was about to return.
Whether the horse was injured by driving, or whether he
was poisoned, I could never clearly ascertain ; at all
events,the next day, with great difficulty, poor I?o& was
taken back as far as Preston, where he died in great
agony : and I have no doubt in my own mind but he was
poisoned, as he was in high health when I left him at Man
chester. I was most dreadfully hurt at the loss of a great
favourite and most valuable animal, but particularly mor
tified at the cruel cause of his death; and when I return
ed to Smedley I refused to see my servant, to whom I at
tributed all the blame, for having suffered the horse to
go out of his possession without an order from me, ahd I
declared my intention to discharge him from my service
in consequence. Mr. Johnson and my worthy friend
Chapman, who was one of my bail with Sir Charles
Wolseley, and who had driven poor Bob to Lancaster,
endeavoured to exonerate the servant, and took all the
blame upon themselves; and by their persuasion, I at
length agreed to let them send my servant home to Mid
dleton Cottage, to his wife, but I refused to see him, as I
still considered him highly reprehensible for suffering my
horse to go out of bis possession for any one. My servant
was therefore sent home by the coach, and I returned to
London with the loss of a favourite horse, for which I had
given my friend, Mr. Wm. Akerman, of Palney, in Wilt
shire, one hundred and thirty pounds. The next time I
saw Mr. Johnson was in London, the following Michael
mas, when he informed me that a subscription was made
in Lancashire, and he was to purchase me another horse.
I replied, that as there was a great deal in fancy, and as
I was particular what sort of a horse I rode, I hoped that
he would let me have a trial of him before he finally
made the purchase. But, to be brief, I never was put
to the trouble of a trial, for I never afterwards heard an
other word either of the horse or the subscription, so I
made up my mind to pocket the loss. The next time I
went to Manchester, in my way to Preston, and on my re
turn from thence, in my road to York, I declined to visit
Smedley Cottage, not from any incivility or want of at
tention, as I was treated when there with the greatest po
liteness by both Mr. and Mrs. Johnson ; what took place
before the authorities during Mr. Johnson's private ex
aminations at the time we were confined in the New
Bailey under a charge of high treason, was my orily rea-

son for declining to visit Smedley Cottage afterwards:
it is needless to mention here what that circumstance was.
During the fortnight we were at York, myself, Johnson,
and Chapman boarded and lodged together at thesame
house. Our bill was eighteen pounds some odd shillings.
Mr. Johnson having put himself to a very considerable
and, as it turned out, very unnecessary expense, in send
ing for witnesses that he thought would rebut some par
ticular charges that were sworn against him, was short of
cash, and borrowed of me six pounds to pay his share of
the bill, which he faithfully promised to repay me in a very
short time, but which he has not done to this day ; at the
same time it was reported at Manchester, amongst Mr.
Johnson's friends, that I had borrowed a very considerable
sum from him, which he could not get repaid. The only
person I ever mentioned the circumstance to was Mr.
Chapman, who was present when I paid Johnson's share
of the bill at York. I observed to him in London, when
we were up for judgment, that it was extraordinary that
Johnson had never offered to pay me, but that I should
not ask him for it at such a time, having experienced the,
misery of being harassed for money myself. Some time
after I was in this Bastile, I heard that the Reformers had
neglected Bamford, and that Johnson did not treat him
with that kindness and attention in Lincoln Castle which I
thought him entitled to. I sent Bamford an order to re
ceive six pounds from Johnson, which he owed me, and I
wrote to Johnson to pay him that amount, and Bamford's
receipt should be his discharge. Then for the first time I
heard of a claim upon me for three pounds, which he had
paid to my servant to take him home from Manchester
when my horse was killed. Soon after this, Wilde was
about to visit Lincoln in his road to Ilchester, and as John
son and Bamford had quarrelled and did not speak, I
wrote to him to settle with Johnson, to make the deduc
tion of three pounds which he had paid my servant, and
pay over the remaining three pounds to Bamford; but it
then appeared that fresh demands were set up for some
expense that my servant had incurred by washing, &c.
while he was at Smedley, and there was an end to the
affair. This circumstance having come to the knowledge
of Wilde in this way, I have no doubt was the reason of
his replying to Mr. Carlile's insinuations in the manner he
has done, by saying, that " Mr. Johnson was paid by Mr.
Hunt every expense attending his visit, even to servant's

r>
board-wages, and more ;" very naturally calculating that as
I had paid for Mr. Johnson's board and lodging at York, it
was more than an equivalent for any expense that he
might have incurred from my visit to Smedley. He could
have no other motive for what he has said, nor any more
reason to believe that I paid Mr. Johnson for what I eat
and drank at Smedley, than he had to think that Mr.
Johnson paid me for what he eat and drank when he visit
ed me at my lodgings in London. It is extremely un
pleasant for me to enter into these explanations ; but as
Mr. Johnson has demanded of"me to contradict Mr. Wilde's
statement, I felt myself bound to do it fairly. I could have
wished that the subject had never been mentioned, and
that Mr. Johnson's feelings and my time had both been
spared ; but, however unpleasant it might be to Mr. John
son, he has solely to thank Mr. Carlile, and not Mr. Wilde
or myself, for what has been said upon the matter.
GAOL POLITICS.
I observed in my last, that Mr. Secretary of State Peel
had stated in the House, in order to induce Mr. Alderman
Wood to withdraw his motion, that he had ordered the
prosecution of Bridle by the Attorney-General. The Al
derman withdrew his motion, but we have heard nothing
more of the prosecution of Bridle. Upon the representa
tions that I caused to be laid before the House of Com
mons, they addressed the King to send a Commission down
to Ilchester to inquire into the state of the Gaol and the
conduct of the Gaoler. The King appointed three Com
missioners (Ministerial men, of course), and sent them
down, before whom I preferred charges against the
Gaoler and the management and situation of the Gaol.
A laborious, indefatigable, patient, and solemn investi
gation took place, and his Majesty's Commissioners sat
for nearly six weeks, hearing- evidence upon oath and in
quiring into every minute particular. With great pains
and care they drew up a very able and concise Report.
This Report and the evidence has been laid before the
House of Commons, and printed by the order of that
House, upon the motion of the worthy Alderman Wood,
who gave notice- for a motion to take the Report into
consideration, but which, notice is abandoned, I am sorry
to say, merely because Mr. Peel said he had ordered the
Attorney-General to prosecute the Gaoler ; but upon
being further pressed for an explanation by Mr. Alder-

man Wood, he now says that he has sent a Commission
to the Lord Lieutenant to call for an explanation from
the Visiting Magistrates as to certain parts of their con
duct, as detailed in the Report of the Commissioners laid
upon the table of the Honourable House. Thus stands
the affair at present in the House of Commons. Upon the
motion of the Earl of Darnley, the Report and the Evi
dence has been printed and laid upon the table of the
House of Lords. On Saturday last information was
brought me that seven of the Magistrates had received an
official letter from the Lord Lieutenant, calling upon them
to account for their conduct as Visiting Magistrates of
Ilchester Gaol. This letter was couched in such lan
guage, as very naturally led one of the most respectable
of them, and one of them whose conduct stands as clear,
and who is less implicated perhaps than any ofthe others,
to declare, as my informant states, that he considered it a
hint that their services would be dispensed with in future;
in fact, it is impossible that any honourable man should
take it in any other light. But " we shall see !" Dr.
Colston, the Reverend Dr. Colston, has ventured to state
to the House of Commons, by a letter to Mr. Peel, upon
the word and honour of a Clergyman and a Magistrate, in
answer to what came out upon the motion of Sir Francis
Burdett, of my being deprived of seeing my deceased
sister; and in answer to what I stated in my petition
about the Reverend Doctor having ordered the small door
of my ward to be closed, which had been left open to ad
mit the fresh air by Mr. Hardy, the Keeper. First, the
Doctor roundly asserts, " that he never knew that Mr.
Hunt had a sister, till he saw an account of it in
Sir Francis Burdett's speech, published in the news
papers." Secondly, he asserts also upon the word and
honour of a Clergyman and a Magistrate, " that the reason
why the door of Mr. Hunt's ward was closed was, that the
factory having been burnt down, it was necessary lo em
ploy a number of workmen in rebuilding it ; that dur
ing the time these workmen were so employed, it was ne
cessary to close the door, to exclude Mr. Hunt from the
yard." This last assertion appeared so complete an an
swer to my charge, that it was hailed by the House with
loud cheers ; and which, by-the-bye, it might have been
if it had been true. But here we have something at last
in a tangible shape ; and I am now for bringing the
credibility of the'Doctor and myself to the test upon this

issue; and if I do not prove the Doctor to have stated
gross falsehoods to the House, or at least in his letter to
Mr. Peel (if he ever did state this), I will be content to
be set down for the remainder of my life as an abandon
ed and barefaced liar. In the first place I declare, and I
am ready to prove upon oath, that, on the 24th day of
August, 1820, one year and three quarters before the
Doctor wrote letters to Mr. Peel, Sir Francis Burdett,
and Mr. Dickenson, declaring that he never knew I had a
sister, that I informed him I had two sisters, with one of
whom I held joint property, and had business of import
ance ; and I then expostulated with the Doctor upon the
hardship and cruelty of being deprived of seeing this sis
ter, unless it was at the felons' grating, and that of not
being allowed to have any conversation with her unless
it was in the presence and hearing of others. Mr. Moody,
who was a Visiting Magistrate with the Doctor at the
time, replied, that he for one should certainly not object
to my sister's visiting me ; but the Doctor said, he was
very sorry for it, but the order of the Magistrates, made at
tbe Wells Assizes, on the 14th of August, left them no dis
cretion, and no female could be admitted to me but my
wife and children. I shall never forget the impression
this conversation made upon me ; but not trusting altoge
ther to memory, within ten minutes after the conversation
took place, I wrote the facts down in my memorandum-
book. The extract is as follows: — " 24th August, 1820.
I demanded of the Visiting Magistrates (Dr. Colston and
Mr. Moody) to know what complaint was made against
me. They answered none. I demanded whether they
had directed that my ward, Miss Gray, should not see me
in any other place but at the grated bars, where felons
and convicts meet their associates ; whether they meant
by such order that I should stand by the side of a mur
derer or a person who had committed an unnatural crime,
and that my ward or sister should at the same time
stand unprotected by the side of their accomplices and
associates, each unavoidably to hear the conversation of
the other." And yet Dr. Colston has declared, upon the
honour of a Clergyman and a Magistrate, that he never
knew I had a sister. Moreover, about five months before
the Doctor wrote this letter, one of my sisters died at
Bristol, which, 1 believe, was as well known to the Doc
tor and others about the Gaol, who particularly employed
themselves in prying into my affairs, as it was to myself,

as my ion and myself went into mourning xin the occasion;
and about two months before the Doctor wrote this let
ter, it was necessary for me, as one of my late sister's ex
ecutors, to sign an order, to be witnessed by two house
keepers, to enable my other sister, who had jointly ad
ministered to our late sister's effects, to take some money
out of the Bristol savings bank to pay the funeral ex
penses ; but as this order came during the time the Doc
tor was Visiting Magistrate, and I was suffering solitary
confinement, Mr. Hardy, acting under the Doctor's strict
orders, did not even dare to admit two housekeepers, even
in his presence, to witness my signing it, and the order
went without being witnessed by any housekeeper. As
this was a glaring proof of the illegality as well as the
cruelty of placing me in such a situation, and as it made
a very considerable noise at the time in the Gaol, I have
not the least doubt but the fact was recorded and commu
nicated to Dr. Colston. In fact, long before the Doctor
wrote this letter he must have known that my other sister
had been more than once to visit me ; because I under
stand the' Doctor always took care to le»rn who did visit
me, by examining the visiting-book, where the names of
all visitors are taken down at the lodge. So much for
that ***. As for the second assertion, about the closing
the door, every Visiting Magistrate, every officer and
helper in the Gaol, and every one who has visited the
Gaol since the fire, knows that not one stone of it has
ever been rebuilt. So much for the second ***. But
" we shall see" whether the Doctor is to come off in this
way. How, in God's name, the amiable Quarter Sessions
Judge could sit still and quietly hear Mr. Peel palm these
falsehoods upon the House, without standing up to contra
dict them, is only to be accounted for in one way. If Sir
Thomas Lethbridge heard Mr. Peel it must have made, his
hair stand-on-end, unless he is got callous to these sort
of Parliamentary fibs. But after Mr. Dickenson's state
ment in the House about Wyatt, I shall make up my
mind not to be surprised at anything. If the statement
sent down to the Sherbourn Mercury is correct, Mr. Dick
enson stated, upon the motion of Sir Francis Burdett, that
" Wyatt was a witness in the true sense of the
word ;" that is, of course, that he was a good witness
and worthy of belief; and this is the opinion of a Quarter
Sessions Judge, recollect. Now let us see what sort of a
Witoefes this is. First and foremost, he attempted to mur-
S B

10
der his wife and child ; and having failed in this, he cut
his own throat in the most dreadful manner. He was
committed to prison for a twelvemonth, for want of bail ;
he was hired by Bridle as a witness, having been placed
by him as my servant, or rather as his spy, in this prison ;
he swore before the Commissioners that he had been very
much addicted to drinking; that he did not know or re
member any thing that took place when he attempted the
life of himself, his wife, and child ; that he always con
sidered himself under the influence of the moon one half
of his time — this is, in his own words, " 1 have considered
that you were mad one half the moon, and me the other.
You say that upon your oath ? — Yes." He also swore that
he said " when he went out of the prison that he would
have a cocked-hat, a large white wig, a pair of green spec
tacles, and a green coat, and in this dress he would ride
through the country, mounted upon a white bull. And
so you proposed to ride through the country, I think 1—
Yes ; my reason for wearing such a dress as that was,
being one of John Bull's own sons, I thought I could not
shew myself to belter advantage." Whereupon the Com
missioners stopped the further examination of this poor
lunatic, and turned him out of the room as totally un
worthy of credit (see Appendix, page 33G). Yet Mr.
Dickenson, our Somersetshire Quarter Sessions Judge, de
clares, before the House of Commons and in the face of
the public, that this said Wyatt was a witness in the true
sense and meaning of the word. The Lord have mercy
upon the poor souls that are tried by such a Judge ! Alas !
poor Jehu Whitcome, thou art suffering under the lash of
this Judge's tender mercies. Esau Whitcome, James
Taylor, and Jehu Whitcome were tried before Judge
Dickenson at the July Sessions, at Bridgewater, 1820, for
an assault upon Lucy Webb, a profligate, abandoned, and
drunken prostitute, at Frome, in a drunken frolic. They
had behaved very indecently in exposing the woman,
whom they found drunk in the streets, and being aban
doned by their counsel and found guilty, they certainly
deserved some punishment as an example for other
drunkards, and Mr. Judge Dickenson sentenced them to
hard labour in Ilchester Gaol for two years, to mend
their morals. Esau, who was much the worst criminal of
the three, received a pardon last January, at the end of one
year and a half's imprisonment ; Taylor, who was much
less guilty, remained in prison for twenty-two months,

11
and received a pardon last week ; and poor Jehu, who
was much the least guilty, and who actually protected
the woman from the further violence of Esau, and guard
ed her to her home, is left here to drag out the remainder
of his two years sentence alone. He is a quiet, sober,
steady, honest, and faithful fellow ,- he bore a good cha
racter before he came to prison, and he will leave the
prison with as good a character as any man that ever came
into it. He was known to be a good weaver before he
was sent here; he conducted the machinery for carding
and spinning till the factory was burnt down, one year
and a half. By his exertion alone the machinery was
saved from the fire, which he effected at the risk of his
life, and his reward is punishment, punishment, by remain
ing in prison to see those who were ten times more guil
ty than himself pardoned and liberated. But character
for honesty and good conduct operates in a different way
in this place from that which it does in any other : the
better the character, the better the behaviour, and the
more useful a prisoner makes himself or herself, the less
chance there is for a pardon. For instance, there is a
female prisoner here by the name of Elizabeth Wil
kins, who was sentenced to transportation for seven years.
The facts were as follow: Wilkins was employed
for five years by the post-master at Chard, to carry
out letters, and was consequently intrusted with
very valuable property ; she always discharged this trust
with honesty and fidelity, and bore an excellent and un
impeachable character. Her sweetheart made her a pre
sent of a gold ring, which she wore openly on her finger
for some time, perfectly unconscious of having committed
any offence : ultimately it was ascertained that this ring
had been stolen from some shop, and she was tried for
stealing it ; her trial being delayed to the latter end of a
long assizes; her witnessess, wearied out with expense,
left the town ; her counsel deserted her, and she never
offered to deny having the ring in her possession ; she was
convicted of stealing a gold ring, value 7s. Gd., and sen
tenced by Judge Dampier to be transported for seven
years. She was sent back to this Gaol, and soon found
by Bridle to be too useful a woman to be parted with,
and she has been kept here now, going on for the sixth
year; during the whole ofwhich time her conducthas been
most exemplary, and her character unimpeachable, for
which three taskmasters and three matrons will be answer-

15
Sble, all of whom have declared to me that Betsy Wilkins
is much the most useful and much the best behaved woman
they had placed under their care while they held their
situations. But mark well, my friends,what follows. Sarah
Hewett, when she was turned out of Bridle's house
in the family-way, was placed under the care of Betsy
Wilkins, who nursed her during her laying-in, and to
whom she confessed that the Gaoler Bridle was the fa
ther of her child ; this Wilkins stated upon her oath be
fore the Commissioners. (See Appendix, page 217.) Sarah
Hewett, a married woman, who had a bastard in the
Gaol, is pardoned, and long since released ; but Betsy
Wilkins remains, having suffered more than five years'
imprisonment, although other prisoners kept "back from
transportation for seven years for hard labour in Ilchester
Gaol, and the very worst of characters both in and out of
the Gaol, have all been liberated at the end of three
years and a half. So much for the equal administra
tion of justice in Ilchester Gaol. Recollect I do not mean
to accuse Mr. Hardy of being- a party to this job ; on the
contrary, I know he has always given the woman the
highest character to the Magistrates, and has done every
thing in his power to get her liberated. It is even hinted
that this poor woman is yet to be sent to Botany Bay — a
living example how dangerous it is to confess even upon
oath that the Gaoler is the father of a female convict's
bastard. Huzza, well done Bridle ! She has since dis
closed the fact, that Bridle gave Sarah Hewett a sum of
money after she had confessed that he was the father of
the child before the Magistrates, to swear before the Com
missioners that George Bridle, his brother, the turnkey,
was the father ofthe child.
But the secret is out at last; I have just learned that the
worthy Dr. Colston had a conversation lately while he
was Visiting Magistrate with the two female convicts,
Sarah Hewett, and Elizabeth Wilkins. It is said that he
gave the former a scolding for being such a naughty
woman, but the latter he praised for her good conduct ;
he told them that he was going to write to the Secretary
of State, and that he should recommend Wilkins for
mercy, but that he could not give Hewett any hopes oi
mercy on account of her being such a naughty woman,
and her name having become so notorious. Well, the
Doctor wrote to the Secretary of State' it seems, but
whether he made a mistake, and recommended the wrong

id
person or not, or whether the Secretary of State chose to
act in direct opposition to the Doctor's recommendation, is
not yet clearly ascertained ; but this we ascertained, very
soon after the Doctor wrote, a pardon was sent down for
Sarah Hewett, but not a word was said about poor
Wilkins. This is a very curious fact, and I would give
a brass sixpence to see the Doctor's letter, to ascertain
whether he made the mistake by recommending Hewett
instead of Wilkins or not. But we shall see if we keep
our eyes open, and we are spared the sight of them.
It seems that young Parson Justice Thring has sent up
a memorial or statement to the Members for the county ;
this memorial I understand is called by some the last dying
speech and confession of the younker ; copies of it have
been printed at the Lithographic press, and handed about
amongst the Ministerial Membersof the House of Commons;
it is a precious document, and as 1 have had a copy sent me
from afriend at Court, I have desired Mr. Dolby to insert
a true copy in this number, upon which I shall take leave
to offer a few comments in my next. The story of" we
must support our own officer" is well told ; to be sure it
is deficient in one material respect, which is, that there
is notfa word of truth in it, the whole is an invention ;
but, however artfully it may be wound up, I will under
take to unravel it in my next by a very plain tale. Mr.
Thring not only said, we must support our own officer,
(meaning Bridle) but he did every thing in his power to
the last moment to act up to his words. This memorial of
young Mr. Thring is written to exonerate the young gen
tleman and his papa, in doing which he has totally left his
friend the Doctor in the lurch, and he lays it on rather
unceremoniously upon Mr. Hanning, the late Sheriff, who I
understand took leave to contradict the assertions of the
young gentleman when he rehearsed his part, by reading
it to the Magistrates at the last sessions, and Mr. Hanning
unequivocally denies this statement as far as he is concern
ed, and was astonished to find that it ha4 been handed
about by his friend, Mr. Dickenson, nearly three weeks,
without his being informed any thing about it. But Mr.
Dickenson appears to be playing, if not a double part, at
aDy rate a very artful and cunning game. How comes it
that Mr. Peel has not called upon Mr. Dickenson to ac
count for his conduct, as well as calling upon Messrs.
Phelips, Moody, Quantock, and John Thring; and Messrs.
the Reverend Dr. Colston, Whalley, and young Parson

14
Thring? Surely, surely, Squire Dickenson is as much, if
not more, in for the plate than several of these Gentlemen.
When Mr. Moody, at the last Christmas sessions, manfully
and honestly opposed the carrying into effect those infa
mous regulations and restrictions which placed me in soli
tary confinement, and which caused the Honourable
House of Commons such a fund of amusement by the pre
sentation of so many excellent petitions, and the country
so much information by the able speeches of Alderman
Wood, Mr. Hume, Sir F. Burdett, Messrs. Bennet, Hob
house, Lennard, Fowell Buxton, Sir Robert Wilson, &c.
When Mr. Moody, like an honest, upright Magistrate,
and an independent Country Gentleman, did this,
I ask Mr. Dickenson whether he was not the man that
put Mr. Moody down, by saying that it had been already
agreed upon, and therefore could not be discussed there ?
If Mr. Goodford, of Yeovil, had not been suddenly taken
ill with the gout, which prevented his attendance at that
sessions, it would have been discussed, I believe, to the
shame and mortification of Messrs. Dickenson and Co.
Mr. Goodford would have moved that those rules and
reg-ulations, which had been signed by the amiable Jus
tice Best, should only be applied to felons in Ilchester
Gaol, and not to Mr. Hunt; and Mr. Moody would have
seconded the motion ; and the weight and respectability
of these two Gentlemen would have caused a discussion
in spite of Judge Dickenson or the stammering insinua
tions of Mr. Combe, who is made by young Parson Jus
tice Thring to cut such an obscure, dark, and equivocal
figure in his notable memorial, or statement, or last dying
speech. I am for giving every one his due, and for plac
ing the saddle, and girthing it firmly and tightly, upon
the right horse. While the Magistrates hung together
like a knot of well-trained *******; while the malignant
and cruel had the art and the cunning to make the more
honest and humane quietly sit down under their share of
the disgrace and the odium, I could dono less than lump
them up altogether in the same corrupt and filthy heap
of rubbish in which they had voluntarily placed them
selves ; but as fast as the more honourable amongst them
chose to separate themselves from their dirty and con
temptible associates, nothing will give me greater plea
sure than to do them all the justice in my power. But as
the thing stands at present, no one of the Magistrates of
the county, except Sir Charles Bampfylde, has acted the

1.-,
part of a Gentleman or a Christian towards me, during my
captivity ; that is, no one has had the honesty and the
courage to come forward, and, in defiance of the gang
with which he was connected,, say, " I will do unto him
as I would be done unto." Mr. Moody, I must say, has
always shewn a disposition to do this ; but then he has
not had the courage to shake off such a thing as Dr. Col
ston, who has been tacked on to him as Visiting Magis
trate. He had not the resolution to risk a quarrel with
his brother Magistrates, by doing that which I know his
heart dictated : at any rate I shall be always grateful to
him for the kind and open manner in which he performed
an odious and unpleasant duty. Mr. Hanning, I am
quite ready to admit, would, if he had been left to him
self, and had not been urged on by such men as Mr.
Combe, have done every thing that was right; he
would have followed the dictates of his heart ; but Mr.
Hanning had not the resolution to act like Sir Charles
Bampfylde, and the result was, that during five months
of Mr. Hanning's Sheriffalty I suffered the greatest in
justice, and my family were totally excluded from visit
ing me. Mr. Hanning will know better another time, if
he ever lives to have such another opportunity ; he is now
experiencing the bitter fruits of his weakness. Young
Parson Thring is endeavouring to shift the burden from
the shoulders of himself and papa, to place them upon the
back of the late Sheriff, Mr. Hanning ; and Mr. Dicken
son is aiding and abetting this pious, parson-like, and
neighbourly job. But the order of the day is now
amongst these gentry — " the devil take the hindmost."
The falsest horse in the team is always sure to shift his
neck out of the collar first. So much for that lot for the
present ; as no one appears disposed to bid any thing for
them, the lot shall be put up again at a future time.
I have this moment received a letter from my old friend
Mr. Waddington — not little Waddy, he, poor fellow, I
see, is in Newgate. As Mr. Waddington's letter, I have
no doubt, gives a faithful account of the scenes that have
passed at Wolverhampton, which appears to have beeif
imperfectly noticed in the newspapers, I shall insert it
at length, as another curious specimen of the fruits of
drunken Yeomanry being put under the command of
Parson Justices. This is a melancholy instance of the
folly of calling out ignorant, undisciplined armed men, to
do that which ought to be performed by the civil power.

This rash, bloody-minded, horse-whipping fellow, I hope,
will be indicted for murder. But there is no hopes of
any justice from these reverend warriors. Till there is a
law passed to prevent Parsons from acting as Justices, we
must expect such acts of cruelty and injustice. But I do
not agree with Mr. Waddington in comparing this mur
der to the murders at Manchester. In the latter case the
people were evidently assembled for an avowed illegal
purpose. However much they may be entitled to. our
pity, ducking is not legal ; and it was the duty of the
Magistrates to have called out the civil power and pre
vented such breaches of the peace, but not to suffer the
murder of the people. The people of Manchester were
assembled for an avowed and for a real bona fide legal,
constitutional, and laudable object, when they were base
ly murdered and inhumanly butchered by hundreds.
I beg to call the attention of my readers to a letter I
have just received from Mr. John Butler, of Bolton, the
worthy weaver who manufactured the beautiful and su
perb counterpane sent me on my last birth-day. The
letter speaks for itself in a language too honest and candid
to be misunderstood. I am, my excellent friends,
Your's most faithfully,
H. HUNT,

THRING'S MEMORIAL and APOLOGY,
Lithographic Impressions of which have been generally circulated
amongst Ministerial M. P.'s.

" COPY OF A STATEMENT SENT TO THE MEM
BERS OF THE COUNTY OF SOMERSET.
Mr. Lennard is reported, in the Courier, to have said in
the Debate of Wednesday, the 27 th ult. " He thought the
evidence made against the Visiting Magistrates ; but there
was one point in particular, which he believed would be
proved hereafter, and it was, that when the Inquiry was
going on, a Magistrate exclaimed, " We must defend our
Gaoler." Mr. Lennard is incorrect in the words : the
expression which Hunt has always accused me of having
used, is, " We must support our own officer." Now, I
most solemnly aver, and am willing to state the same on
oath, that I never did from the commencement to the termi
nation ofthe inquiries, either before the Magistrates or Com
missioners, make use of either expression, norof any other of
the same or a similar tendency ; and that I never did at any
other period whatever, declare myself asdesirousor willing
to screen or defend, much less sanction the Gaoler iri the
commission of any illegal or cruel act. On referring
to the evidence taken before the Commissioners, as pub
lished by Hunt, in his cross-examination of my father,
page 229, is the following question : " You don't recollect
upon my wishing the Magistrate to proceed in the inquiry
(namely, concerning the muffling of his bell) your son's
saying, " Come, come, we must support our own officer,
you will be very well satisfied with our decision ; you shall
have the use of the bell again." Mr. Hunt, therefore,
confines the expression to a particular circumstance and
day, namely, the 13th of February, 1821. Now the first
day on which the Magistrates assembled to investigate
the charges preferred against the Gaoler, was the 19th of
April, 1821, two months subsequent to the time at which
Hunt represents me to have used that expression. The
Commissioners did not arrive till the 24th ofthe following
May, at Ilchester, and therefore Mr. Hunt himself affords
the most complete refutation to the assertion of Mr. Len
nard, that I had spoken when the inquiry was going on ;
6 c

18
for it must be borne in mind, that in no publication of his
hitherto has Mr. Hunt ventured to affirm, that I ever made
use of that expression on more than one occasion. But it
is my wish to disguise nothing, and the second time which
I saw Mr. Hunt, the precise date I do not recollect, but
long before the commencement of the inquiries, he asked
me, in a sneering tone, " Why we had not forgiven that
poor man who was brought before us V I did not imme
diately recollect the Case, and he recalled it to my memory
by stating, that he meant the person who quarrelled with
the constable ; to which the impression on my mind is,
that I replied in the very words which he has attributed
io me, " We must support our own officer ;" signifying,
that it was necessary for the preservation of discipline and
subordination, to protect our officers in the execution of
their duty, and not permit them to be knocked down with
impunity by delinquents, for having given information
against them. At this period, I was totally in the dark as
to the manner in which Hillyer had been ironed, or the
duration of his confinement for that offence. I conclude
that Mr. Lennard has been misinformed, for I do not be
lieve that any person in his situation would wilfully tra
duce the character of another. The charge is as abhor
rent to my feelings as it can be to his. Ydu are aware
that the animosity with which Hunt follows us, arises
from our having enforced the order of the Court, at Taun
ton, of the 16th of Octob er, 1820, (at which we were not
present) respecting the admission of his female visitors ;
and he declared before the Committee of Magistrates, that
he would never cease to persecute us on that account. We
challenge the strictest inquiry, and if any act of ours,
through the whole course of our lives, shall prove us to
be deserving the character which, till the general ferment
on the subject shall have somewhat subsided, will in all
probability be very liberally* bestowed on us, then will
we consent to be abandoned by our friends, and to be
proscribed the society of all good and honourable men.
J. G. D. THRING,
March, 1822.
Our conduct having been severely arraigned for having,
at the expiration of Sir Charles Bamfylde's Sheriffalty,
given directions for the re-enforcement of the order made
at the preceding Michaelmas sessions, with respect to the
admission of female visitors to Mr. Hunt, without the &v-

19
thority ofthe Sheriff, I beg to offer the following expla
nation ofthe motives by which we were actuated on that
occasion. It is true that we had no direct authority from the
Sheriff, but it is also true that we had his virtual consent.
He was one of the twenty Magistrates who signed the
original order (vide Commiss. R. p. 12), dated Wells,
August, 1820. He was subsequently a Member of the
Court of Quarter Sessions, held at Taunton, 16th Octo
ber, 1820, on which day the aforesaid order was confirm
ed. At the following Epiphany Sessions, at Wells, the
interference of Sir C. Bampfylde underwent a discussion,
and it was very apparent that the feeling of the Court
was in direct opposition to his conduct, although it was
thought prudent to avoid any conflict with him on the oc
casion ; and I well remember that a Magistrate, whose
opinion carries the greatest weight (Mr^Cigi^b^), * then
turned to Mr. Hanning, and said, that he had no doubt
when there was a new Sheriff that every thing would be
set right ; to which Mr. Hanning expressed no dissent,
but signified that he should always hope to act in conjunc
tion with his brother Magistrates, or something to the
same effect; thus, for the third time, testifying his appro
bation of the original order made at Wells the preceding
August. In November, 1820, several Magistrates also, some of
whom had acted from ten to fifteen years, made affidavits
before the Court of King's Bench, that, to the best of their
judgment and belief, the said order was essential to the
good government and regulation of the Gaol. We cer
tainly, therefore, understood, and I am convinced that it
was the opinion of a great- majority of the Court, that as'
soon as Sir C. Bampfylde should be superseded in his
office, the authority of the Magistrates, with respect to the
order in question, was again to be enforced ; and by so
doing, we had every reason to believe, as must be evident
from the above statement, that we were executing the in
tention of those Magistrates who had always taken the
active and leading parts in the county business, and with
the virtual concurrence of the then Sheriff.
I should also mention, that a doubt was entertained at
this time how far the Sheriff had authority to contravene
an order of the Court of Quarter Sessions, although such
order had not been confirmed by the Judges, provided no
assizes had passed at which their sanction might have been
* This name is thus imperfectly obliterated in the original Lithogra
phic impression, from which this is taken.

20
obtained. Nor did we carry the measure into execution
with that precipitancy which has been represented; we
announced to Mr. Hunt, on the 13th of February, that we
had directed the Order of Court to be enforced on and
after the 20th of that month, which left him ample time
to refer to the Sheriff, which he did ; and on the 24th of
the same month, the Sheriff met a Committee of Magis
trates at the Gaol, and had then an opportunity of revers
ing our order, had he been so disposed ; but on our ac
quainting him with our motives for not having previously
communicated with him on the subject, he cordially thank
ed us for having relieved him from a disagreeable onus,
and I know that he expressed himself in the same terms
in other quarters, notwithstanding he afterwards changed
his opinions. *
It is true that my father and self were of private opi
nion, that it was neither just or decent that Mr. Hunt
should be permitted to receive his mistress in his own
apartments ; an indulgence which was never granted to a
debtor with his wife, by the regulations of the Gaol.
This class of prisoners, the least peccant in the eye of
the law, would have had ample reason to complain of the
partiality manifested in his favour : he had already been
made an exception to the discipline exercised towards
them, inasmuch as he was permitted to receive his male
visitors in his private apartments for four hours, during the
day, and his wife and children, of both sexes, without re
striction. All other female visitors he had permission to
see in the conversation-room. This is the substance ofthe
order respecting his visitors, which we directed to be en
forced February, 1821.
J. G. D. THRING.
April 9, 1822.
The ground on which, if I am not mistaken, it is pro
posed to move an address for the expulsion of Dr. Colston,
my father, and self, from the Magistracy, is, that we have
been guilty of such an omission of duty in not having ob
served the mode in which James Hillyer t was ironed, as
* I should regret extremely if any thing which Ihave urged in justi
fication ot our owh, should be misconstrued into a reflection on the
conduct ofthe Sheriff, as I have no doubt but that he was actuated by
the purest motives.
+ Hillyer was the only prisoner brought before us for punishment
during the quarter.

21
to be unworthy of remaining in the Commission of the
Peace. It having been invidiously reported that my father and
self had officiously stood forward and volunteered our ser
vices as Visiting Magistrates, I will first briefly advert to
the circumstances which led to our appointment. Doctor
Colston and Mr. Newman had been nominated for the
quarter, but the Clerk of the Peace discovered that the
latter had not qualified under the new reign, and was
therefore ineligible. Mr. Hunt had already rendered the
duty a peculiarly disagreeable one, and those Magistrates
who had been in the habit of discharging it refused to take
it out of their turn. We were then named by one of the
Chairmen (Mr. Phelips), as beingthenextnearest residents
to the Gaol, and in vain urged our excuses. Mr. Newman
qualified on the following' morning, and my father imme
diately applied to the Clerk of the Peace to have our names
withdrawn ; who replied, that it was impossible, the Order
of Court was made, and could not be altered. I will now
proceed to the more immediate object of this statement.
On the 13th of February, 1821, the day on which Hil
lyer was brought before us, we reached the Gaol, I be
lieve, before 11 o'clock, A. m. and did not return home
till it was almost dark; and, excepting the time which we
necessarily passed on the road to and from Ilchester, em
ployed the whole interval in attending to the concerns of
the Gaol ; it is evident, therefore, that a great variety of
business was submitted to our consideration. Added to
this, up to that moment, and long after, the greatest con
fidence was reposed by the whole Bench in the Gaoler ;
not the slightest suspicion attached to him of, being capa
ble of committing an illegal or cruel act; no rules existed
for the guidance of the Magistrates in the infliction of, or
sanction of punishments ; and those especially who were
inexperienced as Visiting Magistrates would necessarily
depend much on a Gaoler of such a character, for not ex
ceeding, in the absence of rules, the customary discipline of
the Gaol in the correction of offenders, and, at all events,
for not passing the limits prescribed by law. Entertaining
these sentiments, (which I may say were common to us
with the county at large) towards that officer, who-had
long filled his situation with unimpeached credit, we
concluded that the prisoner underwent no other than the
ordinary coercion for similar misconduct, and made no
particular observation on his irons. Indeed, at that pe-

22
riod both my father and myself wej-e ignorant that they
were worn in the solitary cell. A Magistrate of Wiltshire
happened to be present at the time, and the severe mode
m which Hillyer was shackled escaped his notice also ; so
that it is extremely probable that under the same circum
stances any other Magistrates would have been equally
unobservant with ourselves. Neither the Gaoler, Turn
keys, nor the Prisoners themselves said one word, or ex
cited the least suspicion in our minds of there being any
thing unusual in their punishment, nor did the manner in
which they were chained attract our attention. For it
must be remarked, that all prisoners committed for felony,
and all convicts for transportation, were ironed at that
time; there was nothing, therefore, extraordinary in the
sound or appearance of irons ; the space, moreover, in
which the prisoners and their attendants were crowded
between the table at which we were sitting and the door,
did not exceed six feet in length, by half that width. The
best proof that we were not disposed to exercise any ex
traordinary severity, is, that we immediately forgave and
dismissed Hillyer's companions in the original offence of
gambling, and the former was remanded for having
knocked down the constable ofthe ward, who had given the
information against him ; but on the understanding with
the Gaoler that he was to release him as soon as he
evinced a disposition to reform his conduct. I cannot,
therefore, perceive the impropriety of having invested a
Gaoler with a discretionary power of this nature, concern
ing whose humanity and rectitude no doubt was entertain
ed; a discretionary power, moreover, which he had been
daily in the habit of exercising in the absence of Magis
trates, and which had been repeatedly recognised and
sanctioned by their orders, from the time of his first en
trance on his office.
I have always understood that the malus animus, or a
wilful and culpable negligence in the discharge of, or an
abandonment of duty, formed the very essence of an avail
able charge against a Magistrate ; but where such charac
teristic marks are to be discovered in the present instance,
I am at a loss to conjecture.
I now beg to draw your attention to the manner in
which the Commissioners have reported on this punish
ment, V. R. p. 9. They have been very minute in de
scribing the sufferings which Hillyer must have endured,
but have neither commented on his offence or general bad

¦ts
conduct. Not that I. mean to apologise for any undue
severity exercised towards the worst criminals ; but where
every thing is detailed on the side of the accuser, it was
to be expected that nothing would have been omitted
which could fairly have been adduced in favour of the ac
cused. Hillyer is proved to have been addicted to gam
bling, swearing, quarrelling, and inflammatory language.
The " offence committed against the constable of the
ward," although not specified in the Report, was of a
very dangerous and heinous nature. Hillyer admits that
Tig knocked him down, and also that he did not deny that
fact before the Magistrates ; and that he did not offer to
show his hands to them. Penny states, that immediately
befere he was knocked down by Hillyer for having re
ported him, that he was accosted with the following
coarse threat, " you d — n'd son of a b — h, I will knock
your b  y head off;'' that he stunned him, and that
he felt it several days afterwards ; and that after being
forgiven, Hillyer told him that locking-up had not hurt
hin ; that he should be out of prison before him, and in a
day or two before he went would very nearly kill him;
that he (Penny) asked Mr. Pike to place him in another
ward, because Hillyer was always threatening what he
vauld do to him. R. Gibbs confirms the above by stating,
that Hillyer knocked Penny down flat on his back in the
kitchen, for having reported him; that Penny appear
ed stunned by the blow, and was heaved up by some of
the men, when he knocked at the trap for Mr. Pike to
come up.
It was not only the violence of the assault, but the per
son against whom it was committed, which, in our judg
ment, characterized the offence ; and the good order of
the ward must have been endangered had we at once for
given Hillyer, especially as he manifested no sign of con
trition. The length of the one link only between his legs is
omitted in the otherwise very accurate description of the
irons: it was, with the connecting rings, thirteen inches.
The weight of all the irons was ten pounds and a half. I
have lately seen Pike, who states that Hillyer, when in
the presence ofthe Commissioners, contrived, by standing
in a certain position, with his legs as far apart as possible,
his head very erect, and his elbows somewhat drawn back,
to convey the idea, that the fetters, which, with their
links, weigh seven pounds, rested on his wrists, as well ss

24
the handcuffs and connecting chain ; but that he (Pike)
will certify on oath that Hillyer could have stood upright
without sustaining half of the whole weight of irons on
his wrists ; but that not having been questioned to that
point, he did not feel himself at liberty to show how the
deception was practised. The weight of the handcuffs
and connecting chain was three pounds and a half, and
by lifting the chain with either hand, Hillyer could ease
his wrists of nearly the whole weight, excepting that of
the handcuffs : these were taken off every day for an hour
or more, when he was let down to wash himself, and take
air and exercise. I am prepared, therefore, to prove that
the Commissioners were led to believe, and have conse
quently represented in their Report, that Hillyer under
went a greater degree of pain than he actually did. But
whatever the measure of his suffering was, it depended
on his own contumacy, and had it been so extreme, it is
hardly conceivable that he would have persisted in re
fusing to ask pardon. J. Wyatt states that he saw him
the day after Dr. Colston and two other Magistrates came
to the Gaol ; that he saw him then in irons, and asked
him why he did not make proper contrition to the Magis
trates to release him from his confinement ; upon which
he said, " d  n and b  r his b  y eyes and limbs,
if ever he would make any sort of contrition to any b  r
whatever;" and made a great noise, so as to occasion the
officers to come up to know what was the matter. He
was once present when his handcuffs were taken off;
there was friction where the iron had touched the hand,but
no wound at the time he saw it. Charles Marshall heard
Pike ask him why he did not ask to be forgiven ; and he
said, " he would see them all d  d first :" he mention
ed Mr. Bridle and the Magistrates both. Thomas Davis
states that he removed the handcuffs two or three times,
but never saw the wrists swollen or sore ; and he is sure
that he went to work the next morning, if he did not the
same day on which he was released.
The Commissioners have reported that Hillyer, when
he stood upright, " carried by so doing, according to the
Statement of Pike, the turnkey, a weight of iron upon his
wrists amounting to about ten pounds and a half." This,
I take leave to observe, is not a legitimate deduction from
the evidence, which is as follows : — Could he stand up
right ? — Yes. What weight of iron hung to his wrists ? —
: If he pulled the iron up, ten pounds and a half. But

it does not follow that by standing upright he was com
pelled to pull the iron up ; and Pike is ready, as I have
shown above, to come forward and prove the contrary.
If, therefore, Magistrates are to be held accountable for
grievances, of the existence of which they are ignorant ;
and that shield of protection is to be withdrawn from
them, when visitors of a Gaol, which the law, where no
evil intent is presumed, extends before them in all other
cases ; if they are liable to be degraded whenever pri
soners, by omitting to complain of their wrongs, shall pre
clude them from an opportunity of redressing them, I
know not who in future will have the hardihood to incur
so indefinite and fearful a responsibility,
J. G. D. THRING."
April 2, 1S22.
TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Bolton, May 24,th, 1822.
Sir — When I last wrote you I informed you of the
commencement of a subscription in this town towards
the fine which the " Thing" imposed upon you, for supply
ing the kingdom with a cheap and wholesome beverage,
called by you " Breakfast Powder," and which the
" Thing" has since talked of laying a tax on. What it
will do before it falls to pieces, is impossible to say ; but I
think (if Reform do not take place in the mean time) its
new paper walls will be as easily knocked down as the
walls of Jericho were with the sound of rams' horns.
I have great pleasure in forwarding you the amount of
the subscription, £7, which, though small, is the free
will offering of those who have contributed, and will, I
hope, stimulate those in other places to come forward,
who detest the mean,' dastardly conduct of the " Thing,"
and its not less unprincipled agent, Mr. Perpetual.
The Northern Unjon has flagged a little, in consequence
of the attacks of Mr. Carlile, and may be retarded in its
operation in this town for the present ; but have no fear
of its ultimate reviving, to be more extensively embraced.
The Carlile party were voted out of the Union Rooms
about a fortnight ago, in consequence of having with
drawn their support from it. " Two cannot walk toge
ther except they be agreed."
Mr. Carlile's objections to the Union are those which
have before been brought forward and refuted. He talks
mt the Union purchasing a borough — a plan which no man
6 r>

26
of sound principles entertains. He next insinuates that
the money is to bribe electors; just as if he had not
known that candidates are put to expenses (without
bribing electors), which no man ought to bear, if he be
expected to serve his country faithfully. My opinion is,
they ought to be sent to Parliament, not only free of ex
pense, but they ought to be paid for their time also.
Mr. Carlile says, " Electors of Preston, return Mr. Hunt
and Mr. Cobbett to Parliament, if you can ; but do not
be disgraced with bribes for that purpose ;" which is all
very good, but it is something like saying, " be ye warm
ed, and be ye cloathed," without taking any of the means
of doing the one or the other. Mr. Carlile ought to have
known that bribery and corruption at elections are what
you have always opposed in all your former contests.
Every thing Mr. Carlile touches appears to be done with
a bad spirit.
What possible good is to arise by his telling all men
that Christians are only half Reformers ? This he says
ofthe Reformers of Leeds, who are building or have built
a chapel, in which to worship God in that manner which
best accords with their views of Christianity. If Mr. C.
have cast aside every thing ofthe name of religion, he is
very much deceived if he suppose any great portion of
the Reformers have done so ; and it would be well if he
were, in this respect, to follow Mr. Paine, where he says,
that " religion Js a compact between man and his Maker;
as man, finding himself in a world which he did not make,
with every thing suited to his reception, his first act must
have been devotion, and devotion will continue sacred to
every man, according as he lives under this divine im
pulse." \
The Christian religion needs not the support of the
civil power ; it is quite adequate to the defence of its
own principles; and it fears no attack, let it come from
what source it may.
With best wishes for your health and happiness, I am,
Sir, your most obedient servant,
On behalf of the Subscribers,
JOHN BUTLER.
Green-street, Little Bolton.
P. S. Haslam, the attorney, who went to Lancaster from
this place to prefer charges against you for one of your
speeches through the Swan window, is dead ; and the other
two worthies, Barlow and the milkman, Briers, whom you

27
exposed, have both been in difficulties — i. e. in poverty.
We sometimes see the guilty overtaken in this way by re
tributive justice. ,
I beg to acknowledge your kind remembrance of me
through Mr. Brandreth. Take care of your eyes — we
shall have need of you. J. B.
TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Romsey, May 6, 1822.
Respected Sir, — The Radical Reformers of Romsey,
and its Vicinity, feeling intensely for you, on account of
the many aggravated and horrible sufferings and priva
tions that you have been made to endure, in addition to
that sentence, which, in its mildest administration, we
conceive to be a Persecution of Political Virtue;
and considering also, the enormous pecuniary sacrifices
you must have made on the altar of your Country's
Liberty ; and feeling that it behoves all who regard the
cause, to support its champions, and save them from
pecuniary loss, we therefore beg your acceptance of our
second mite. We are very much, Sir, for upholding the
doctrine of rendering unto " Caesar" what is " due unto
Cesar;" and liking you almost as well as we do Caesar,
we wish you to receive this as your due; and only wish
Caasar's chaps would leave us in a condition to be able to
contribute more to suffering Patriotism : but we are only
Radicals — an appellation, by the bye, that we do not
mean to relinquish, after enduring the taunts, the sneers,
the misrepresentations, the gagging laws, the dungeon
ing, the dragooning, and all the filth which Corruption
has flung at Radicalism, but which would not stick.
We are glad to find, Sir, that your health is improved,
and that some of the cruelties of your black persecutors
have been restrained ; but it rejoices us to behold in you
that towering spirit, which is as much superior to the
malice of your enemies, as the erect dignity of man is
superior to the grovelling of the reptile. We applaud
your determination to ask no favours from wickedness
in high places, but to relax not in your demands for
Justice. We cannot conclude, Sir, without an expression of our
admiration at the daring that could conceive, and the
energy that could carry you successfully through your
Bastile investigation ; during which such a disgusting
catalogue of the blackest crimes was exposed to the face

28
of day, at which humanity shudders. Were this the only
public act of your life, the applauding pen of history
would record the deed, and posterity place you in a
niche, amongst the benefactors of your species.
We hail with pleasure the approaching term of your
incarceration, and hope you will come from your dungeon
to receive the greetings of applauding millions, with a
body as sound, as we believe your mind will be unshaken
in the cause of Radical Reform, the necessity ofwhich
every day of our lives increases the conviction. We
hope you will live to see obtained and long enjoy the
fruits of that renovation of our political institutions, with
out which, to adopt the sublime language of the Rev.
Robert Hall, " The Sun of Great Britain is set for ever,
her glory departed, and her history added to the cata
logue of the mighty empires which exhibit the instability
of all human grandeur ; of empires which, after they rose
by Virtue to be the admiration of the world, sunk by Cor
ruption into obscurity and contempt. If any thing shall
then remain of her boasted constitution, it will display
magnificence in disorder, majestic desolation, Babylon in
ruins, where, in the midst of broken arches and fallen
columns, posterity will trace the monuments only of our
ancient freedom !" *
But we cannot, with the prospect which the political
horizon presents, despond : though our country has long
groaned under the iron hand of Oppression, yet, we
believe, the day is not far distant when she will arise,
and indignantly shake off her fetters: we believe with
George Canning, that the sun of our prosperity (or
Liberty, it is all the same) is only hid behind a cloud,
and that she will burst forth with renewed splendour.
Signed on behalf of the Radical Reformers of Romsey, '
THOMAS COLCOTT.
* Vide Hall's Apology for the Freedom of the Press. Conclusion of
Prefaee.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Greenock, April 30, 1822.
Worthy Sir, — Your great and many exertions in the
cause of Liberty and Humanity, certainly give you a high
title to the esteem and gratitude of your countrymen. —
A few friends here, fully impressed with a high sense of
your many patriotic virtues, and wishing to give an ex-

59
pression to you of their esteem, beg leave to present you
with this Tartan Plaid (manufactured at Bannockburn,
the seat of ancient story), which we trust you will accept
as a small tribute of our regard. Your spirited plan of
instituting a Museum, consisting of articles the workman
ship of Radicals, or what the base tools of Corruption
denominate " the lower orders," is certainly an idea wor
thy of its founder, and ought to call forth the attention
of every individual who is able, in any way, to contribute
to the support of the institution. As there is no manufac
ture in this place worthy the notice of the curious, we
thought that the Plaid would be comfortable and useful
to you in your present situation : and, Sir, when you put
it on, we trust you will consider it as an emblem of for
mer days, and that it will remind you of our forefathers,
who, when ihe first act of what by them was considered
an infringement on their liberties, was also considered as
the signal to draw and defend them.
We would congratulate you on the many signal defeats
which you have so successfully and successively given
your and our country's enemies. We trust that the over
bearing progress of that Union which you had the honour
of proposing, will one day, and we hope that day is not
far distant, when the good resulting from cordial union
will enable you to triumph over all your enemies, and
when your great powers will be brought into full play for
the good of your country, then shall our prospects and
wishes be accomplished, and the object of the Great
Northern Union attained. We would likewise congratu
late you on that spirit of freedom you continue to diffuse
through the nrfsts of your pestiferous dungeon — that spirit
which has revolutionized the intellect of the nation, and
which has given to its tone and feelings a bias, which all
the force of lawless power shall never be able to counter
act. We would condole with you, Sir, on the many and
aggravated sufferings you are made to endure ; and since
it now appears that, in defiance of, and utter regardless-
ness of the people's petitions, you are to be kept to the
last hour of your  and  sentence. We
earnestly entreat the great God, that he may, as hitherto,
endow you with powers of body and mind to withstand
all the malignant and wicked designs of your enemies :
but, above all things, we would call to your recollection,
that glorious and happy period when, if it please God,

30
you shall march forth from your dungeon, amid the accla
mations of millions of your fellow-countrymen, who shall
hail you as their deliverer, and to whom you shall point
out the road to Victory. Then shall the finger of Scorn
be pointed to your and our country's foes ; and the bright
page of history shall refuse their unhallowed names,
unless it be to hold them up to the detestation of the
world, and as a warning to posterity.
We remain, with our most earnest wishes for your
safety and happiness, Your most faithful Friends.
(For the Friends) JOHN SHANKS.
P. S. Your Female Friends, wishing to shew their
esteem, have sent the Bonnet, as an accompaniment to
the Plaid, that you might have an idea how our fore
fathers decorated themselves.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
243, St. Margaret' s-hill, Southwark, 25th May, 1822.
My good Friend — I am but this moment arrived, and
I scarcely know whether the heat, &c. will allow me
composure to save the post, and in time for your next
periodical publication.
The newspaper reports relative to the outrage near
Wolverhampton, on the 29th ultimo, were so suspicious,
that, having a leisure day or t\Vo, I repaired to the neigh
bourhood, and it is with grief I premise another edition
of St. Peter's-field — another charge of intoxicated Yeo
manry Cavalry-— a cruel deed has been committed on
a native of the county of Durham, a harmless person, who
happened to be passing from his day labour to his misera
ble residence in Wolverhampton.
To be brief — a great dispute has long existed between
ironmasters and men, relative to wages. It is but neces
sary to say, that, to prevent the punishment of ducking,
the Rev. Mr. Justice Leigh, accompanied by about 24 of
the Yeomen Cavalry, undressed, but armed and mounted,
were in the act of preventing this chastisement, when
one of the party (well known) thought he would repair
to another group, and disperse them with his horsewhip.
This West Indian tactic, however, naturally produced a
volley of stones ; the young warrior therefore returned to
the main body, who were at some distance, and,-having
forgotten his own arms, borrowed the pistols of one of

31
his comrades, and deliberately going back, without any
further provocation, shot John Robins in the side, of
which he lingered 24 hours and expired, after dreadful
suffering. Of course the whole party of these warriors,
assailed by a volley of stones, fired their pistols also, and
then made a precipitate retreat.
Mr. Smith, the Coroner, and also concerned in iron
works, summoned from that and four adjacent parishes,
not twelve, but sixteen inhabitants, and, after examina
tions of two days, in which the suspected party was as
sisted by an attorney of the name of Willim, he desired
them to meet him again that day week, when he informed
them such adjournment had been made in order to take
the legal opinion of Mr. Barrister Russell, of London. The
examinations then proceeded for four days longer, in
which time, but for the sagacity of one or two of the jury,
great impression would have been made by the artifices
of Mr. Attorney Willim. It is but, however, necessary
for me to say, the sequel was " excusable homicide by
some person unknown ;" although, in an earlier period,
" wilful murder" had been nearly agreed upon, because
not even a pretence was made that a single line of the
Riot Act had been read by the pious Priest and Magis
trate, Leigh. *
It was afterwards my duty to visit the wretched widow,
who had been delivered but three weeks of her fifth
living- child when the deceased was brought home. I
fear she will not long survive ! O, what a spectacle for
the benevolent, or for the admirers of military law and
arbitrary measures ! Mr. Wm. Walker, also the Foreman,
a resident maltster of Wolverhampton, a man of rare ta
lents, of honour, and patriotic virtue, who also is in pos
session of notes of the whole proceeding of this strange
Coroner's Inquest, not only assured me he would faith
fully convey to the widow the contributions of " the
worthy and the good," but, what is of higher national con
siderations, has convinced me no general Gaol delivery
will pass over without, a bill of indictment and a solemn
rehearsal of as atrocious an outrage of the laws as any
in the British annals, save and except the memorable mas
sacre ofthe I6th of August, 1819.
S. FERRAND W ADDINGTON.

32
To the Honourable the House of Commons of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament
assembled.
The humble Petition ofthe " undersigned" Inhabitants of
Bethnal-Green and its Vicinity,
HUMBLY SHEWETH,
That your Petitioners are impressed with the deepest
veneration for the ancient institutions of the country,
which they wish to see upheld in their original purity, for
the benefit and happiness of the people ; but your Petiti
oners have learned, with the utmost horror and indigna
tion, that the laws of justice and humanity have been
outraged and trampled upon, in the person of Henry Hunt,
while undergoing the sentence of the Court of King's
Bench, for attending and presiding at a Meeting to con
sider of the necessity of a Radical Reform, which he
judged, as do many of the Members of your Honourable
House, to be strictly legal. For such an offence — an
offence which many Honourable Peers and Commoners
have since been guilty of without censure, and even with
out commendation, your Petitioners consider two years
and a half confinement in a horrible and unwholesome
§-aol ample and sufficient atonement. How great then
must be their surprise, how revolting to their feelings to
find that Mr. Hunt is not only subjected to the sentence of
the Court of King's Bench, but is also the victim of Magis
terial vengeance, malignity, and cruelty, the most refined
and sanguinary, and hitherto unparalleled. Indignant as
your Petitioners feel, as Englishmen and freemen, at such
dastardly and barbarous conduct, their' indignation is still
further increased at the fact, that the principal inflictor of
the cold-blooded torture endured by Mr. Hunt, is the person
wearing the garb of a Minister of the religion established
by law, whose duty should be to visit and cheer the cap
tive in his dungeon, and not wantonly seek to irritate and
increase his sufferings. Your Petitioners, therefore, beg
your Honourable House will take the case of Mr. Hunt
into their serious consideration, and address his Majesty to
remit the remainder of his severe sentence, not as an act
of mercy,, but as one of justice, on the following grounds,
which to your Petitioners, and they presume to your Ho
nourable House also, appear irresistible and undeniable.
First, because the offence of Mr. Hunt was of an equivocal
nature, and the verdict on which he was convicted was

35
founded only on half a count of the indictment under
which be was tried. Second, because the sentence is the
most severe that has been passed for a political misde
meanour, since the House of Brunswick came to the throne
of these realms. Third, because the severity of his sen
tence has been four-fold increased by the restrictions
which have been laid upon him, and by the forty days'
solitary confinement he has recently endured ; a degree
of imprisonment your Petitioners conceive to be opposed
to the Gospel, which tells us, that at the great day of retri
bution, the most terrible woes will be inflicted on those
who do not visit and comfort the imprisoned ; which can
not be done if the door of his dungeon is closed by clerical
and civil Magistrates. Fourth, because of the great ser
vices he has rendered to the cause of humanity, in his
indefatigable and almost super-human exposure of the
cruelties and abuses practised in Ilchester Gaol. Fifth,
because those opinions for which he is now suffering, and.
which have been falsely represented by a corrupt press
as proceeding from seditious motives, are now universally
sanctioned not only by the voice of the people, but by the
adoption of them at several county meetings lately held,
at which many Members of your Honourable House, and
many distinguished Members of the House of Peers,-as-
sisted and coincided in the proceedings. Your Petitioners
further beg leave to lay before your Honourable House,
that they cannot contemplate the present awful and alarm
ing state of the country, without being filled with appre
hension and dismay, lest by some sudden and violent
convulsion, too often the fate of states and empires, the
institutions of the land, originally established to preserve
the liberty and property of all classes ofthe community,
should be swept away through the want of a timely and
Radical Reform. Your Petitioners think it cannot be
denied that the demand for Reform is now more loud and
universal than at any former period ; nor can they wonder
at the circumstance, when they take into consideration the
unparalleled distress of the labouring and trading classes,
and the overwhelming weight of debt and taxation they
have to sustain, to pamper and support a huge beiy of
Placemen, Sinecurists, and Pensioners. Your Petitioners
have before expressed their great veneration for the just
laws and ancient institutions of their country. This rever
ence, which they declare to be unfeigned, makes them
tremble lgst tbe conduct of designing and misguided men
6 K

34
should alienate the affections of the people from the con
stitutional establishments, and plunge them into despair.
Your Petitioners have viewed with marked contempt and
disgust, the busy and mischievous proceedings of a nest of
profligate intriguers,who call themselves the Constitutional
Association, in prosecuting poor pennyless individuals for
vending what the associators term blasphemy, and con
signing them to hard labour and a dungeon for two years,
wider pretence of upholding the Government and Religion
of the country ; and your Petitioners cannot help thinking
that religion is much more scandalized, and the Govern
ment much more injured in public opinion, by the appoint
ment of Clergymen to be Magistrates, from their officious-
ness to become the instruments of every political oppression
that is enforced to violate and infringe the liberties ofthe
people, in the hope of receiving promotion. Your Petition
ers appeal to the candour and wisdom of your Honour
able House, whether the orders issued by a clerical Magis
trate to an infuriated Yeomanry, to cut down and trample
upon a peaceable assembly of unarmed men, women, and
children, and the subsequent promotion of this unfeeling
political justice to a rich ecclesiastical benefice, be calcu
lated to inspire the people with reverence for the Christian
Religion, or attachment to the Government ? Your Peti
tioners further appeal to your Honourable House, whether
the atrocious, inhuman, and disgraceful treatment of Mr.
Hunt, under the superintendance and sanction of another
clerical Magistrate, can by any means tend to inspire a
reverence towards the mild spirit ofthe Christian Religion,
so long as this outrage against its precepts remain unpu
nished ? Your Petitioners disclaim any, the least intention
to insult your Honourable House by any remarks they
may make upon its character, which they wish to see
pure and unblemished in public opinion, but they cannot
help observing, that when it has been stated in the public
prints, that the purchase of seats in your Honourable
House, which should only be obtained through the free
and unbiassed voice ofthe people, " is as notorious as the
sun at noon-day," when they see it stated by these prints,
that a Cabinet Minister openly avowed the necessity of
having useless places to confer upon Members of your
Honourable House, in order that Government might have
sufficient influence to carry any question in your Hon.
House, which was originally designed to be a check upon
the Government ; when your Petitioners see it stated in

35
the New Time* paper ofthe llth of February last, that a
Mr. Spooner asserted at a public meeting at Worcester,
that he had been in Parliament but a very short time,
still an opportunity had been afforded him of seeing how'
the majorities of Ministers were constituted ; boys were
sent into Parliament who came solely to vote according
to the dictation of Ministers, and never heard a single iota
of the merits of the question on which they were to decide ;
he had heard the most important questions agitated in the
presence of sixty or eighty Members, till the period of
division approached, when swarms suddenly collected
from coffee-houses, theatres, or balls, who only looked on
which side stood the Marquis of Londonderry, and on which
side Mr. Tierney, in order to determine their votes: when
your Petitioners see such a statement made repeatedly in
the public papers, without meeting the least contradiction,
and the publishers remain unpunished, while Mr. Hunt is
languishing and suffering in a pestilential Gaol, for pub
licly expressing his opinion that such abuses ought to be
removed; they cannot help thinking that shallow must be
the mind, or blind the interest of that man who does not
see the necessity of an immediate remedy, for the abuses
that have crept into the institutions of the country, in
order to preserve them from destruction. Your Petitioners
therefore, most earnestly implore your Honourable House'
to address his Majesty, to order his Attorney-General to
prosecute to conviction the guilty perpetrators of the in
human deeds that have been inflicted on Mr. Hunt, and
carried on in the infamous Gaol of Ilchester ; and that
you will take into your most serious consideration the
urgency of a Radical Reform in the representation of
your Honourable House, on the basis of Universal Suf
frage, as is now enjoyed by the people of Spain and
Portugal. And your Petitioners will ever pray.
The Protesters against this Petition seem not to have
known what they protested against. It is not the
Petition of the Churchwardens, nor of the Parish of
Bethnal-Green, but of about a thousand Inhabitants of
Bethnal-Green and its neighbourhood, whose names were
signed to itrf as the heading of the Petition specifies.

TO COUNTRY BOOKSELLERS, Sec.
Country Booksellers will please to take notice that
Mr. Cobbett can always have the Memoirs to supply their
orders, if he will. If he fail to send them, when ordered,
it isentirely from the ungenerous motive before stated, or
because he will not pay the same price for them
which he himself charges for his Register : therefore, all
the . excuses he makes for not sending Mr. Hunt's
Memoirs, however his ingenuity may disguise the matter,
are false. 899, Strand, May 80th, 1822.

Printed by T. Dolby, 399, Stria*,

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastili;. 25th day, 9th month, 3d yearof the Manchester
A1a.ssa€ke, without retribution or inquiry*
June 10, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Time rolls steadily along, in spite of the Borough
mongers. To-morrow I shall have only five months
remain here ; and, as I said before Sir Francis Burdett
made his motion for my liberation, the 30m of October will
arrive before I am scarcely prepared to leave this place.
My sentence of two years and six months will expire
at twelve o'clock at night, on the 29m of October. I men
tion this particularly, because I understand it is the inten
tion of my friends to commemorate this event by lighting
bonfires on the tops of the high hills in this and the
neighbouring counties: whether this compliment will be
paid to the majority who voted against Sir F. Burdett's
motion, in other counties, or not, I have not, yet heard ;
although I know of no better method of reminding the
Judges, the Yorkshire packed Jury, the Counsel, the
Parson-Magistrates, and the Boroughmongers, that my
time is expired, than by the old English fashion of com
municating any particular intelligence, by lighting fires
on the tops of the.high hills : by this simple, easy means,
7 A

Printsd by T. Dolby, Britannia Press, 299. Strand.

every district in the kingdom might be made to participate
in the same feeling at one and the same time. I can
scarcely refrain from laughing out loud, every time I
think of the folly, the silly conduct (setting aside its
malignity) of Messrs. Dawson, Dickenson, Wynn, and
Peel, and the silly vote that the Hon. House came to upon
the motion of Sir Francis. By the bye, I have written
twice to Mr. Dolby to procure a list of the majority, as
well as the minority, upon that occasion. Pray, once
more, do let us have them, Mr. Dolby, cost what they
will; do let us put their names upon record: there is
nothing like a list of names in black and white.
The list of the Magistrates and the Yeomanry who acted
such a bloody tragedy on St. Peter's plain, in Manchester,
onthe never-to-be-forgotten 16th of August, is now pub
lished weekly in the Manchester Observer, together with
the names of those who were murdered on that day;
it would be very desirable to haye a list of the Police,
beginning with the Boroughreeve ; and also, as far as
could be procured, as correct a list as possible of the
names, trades, and residence, of those who acted as spe
cial constables upon that occasion. This, by some, might be
thought superfluous; but I assure them it is most important
to procure this list as correct as possible, because the time
will come when this muster-roll will be most valuable,
and highly useful. It is a well known fact, it is a noto
rious fact, that a conspiracy of the most diabolical na
ture, of the blackest die, was hatched in Manchester
during the week preceding- the 16th of August, 1S19,
wickedly devising, contriving, and plotting- the murder
and destruction of the peaceable inhabitants, who had
given public notice of their intention, legally and peace
ably to assemble,' to agree to a petition for a Reform in
the representation of the Commons' House of Parliament.
Thjs most atrocious and diabolical conspiracy was

consummated on Monday, the said Sixteenth day of
August, 1819, by the killing of sixteen, and the maim
ing of six hundred persons ; and I hold it of the most
vital importance, that a regular record of the names
of all the wicked conspirators should be forthwith
procured and published ; and I call upon our worthy
friend Saxton to persevere till he obtains them. The
Magistrates, the Yeomanry, and the murdered victims,
their names are now regularly printed every week in the
Manchester Observer. This is excellent as far as it goes,
and they shall be copied into my Memoirs ; but this is not
enoug-h ; we must have the names of all the conspira
tors, and all those who aided and abetted them, as far at
least as we can procure them. These, the whole op
these conspirators, must be included in one grand
national indictment, one great public impeach
ment; and if the people of England will place me in a
situation whero I can do this with effect, it shall bb
done. It would be the heighth of folly to. indict br im
peach a few of such wicked conspirators, and suffer their
abandoned accomplices, their participators in murder, to
make a desperate attempt to save them by their perjuries.
1 would include the accessaries before as well as after the
fact ; amongst the latter number, my Lord of S 
stands pre-eminent. But, we shall see ! If any one should
answer me and say in his heart, this will be too difficult a
task to accomplish — I reply with great confidence, that I
do not believe it half so difficult, or half so dangerous an
undertaking, for a Member of Parliament, backed by the
opinion ofthe people of England, to bring the murderers of
the people of Manchester to justice, as it was for a prisoner
locked up within the walls of a Gaol, and cut off from every
resource but his own courage and ingenuity, to bring his
Gaoler to justice. All that! shall here add is, put me in
a situation, I will run the risk, I will boldly make the at-

tempt, and I will persevere till I succeed, or parish in
the undertaking. Buti repeat, that it remains with the
people of England, it remains with the Reformers, it
remains with the real friends of Liberty, whether I shall
or shall not have an opportunity of doing them justice in
a proper place ; that place is the House of Commons : but
to prevent the man who has by his own personal exer
tions, brought the redoubtable Bridle and his supporters
to justice, from having a seat there, all the Borough
mongers, all their agents, Parson Justices, Squire Jus
tices, Attorneys, and the whole host of the pettyfog-
ging myrmydons, will be put in motion, and the very
imps of Hell will be raised to assist them to oppose nie.
It Will be for the friends of Liberty, aided by the Mem
bers of the Northern Union, to decide whether they
think the devoted and unwearied exertions of such a man
is worth the struggle necessary to be made, to meet and
conquer these powerful agents of a corrupt and profligate
system. I can only say for myself, " once for all," that I
shall in future take very little personal trouble, and I
never will spend a shilling to obtain a seat in Parlia
ment.- I have sworn, solemnly sworn, that I will never
receive one shilling ofthe public money, and I well know
what Will be the sort of life I shall allot to myself, if I
ever am" placed in that House. In the first place^ it will be
a life of bodily labour and toil far surpassing that of a
dray horse ; in the next place, the incessant labour and
exertion of the mind, will be equal to that ofthe body, it
will be always extended to the utmost bounds of elasti
city, in a steady, persevering, and inflexible endeavour to
restore the liberties of my countrymen, and to place their
rights upon , an imperishable basis, while I shall never
neglect an opportunity to detect, expose, and punish their
cruel and dastardly oppressors.
At the end of two years and one months imprisonment,

while I'have yet to remain five months longer, it requires
no small share of nervous resolution for a man at the age
of forty-nine, to make up his mind to offer himself up as a
sacrifice for the public good, and to submit to pass the
necessarily short remaining portion of his life in the dan
gerous and hazardous occupation of opposing the greatest
tyranny under the sun, supported by an immense standing
army, and disguised and entrenched under the mask and
the forms of law and justice. It may be in vain, it may be
presumption, it may be fatality, but I have the ambition-
to dare it, and I have the. ambition to hope that, with the '
aid of the people of England, and well backed up and
supported by the united power of the Radicals of England
and Scotland, by perseverance I shall be able to
vanquish this mighty mass of corruption. If it be the will
of the people of England to place me in the Commons'
House of Parliament, I shall cheerfully accept the task,
and I will resolutely set about the Herculean labour. I
am ready to brave the power ofthe people's greatest ene
mies ; " no compromise" shall be my motto, "justice to
the people, or death to their foes," shall be our watch
word. For the good of my country and the happiness of
my fellow-countrymen, I am willing to brave and to bear
even more than this ; I am prepared not only to encoun
ter, the malice, the hostility, and the deadly hatred of all
the Boroughmongers and all their train of dependants, but
I am prepared to endure the malignant and cold-blooded
attacks, excited by the envy and jealousy of every up
start politician, every mushroom, self-created patriot, who
has the vanity to think that he alone was born to rule ;
that his fantastic notions or visionary schemes, are singly
calculated to produce a millenium upon earth. How many
of those fluttering upstarts have I had to encounter during
my long political career ? How many scores of pot
valiant political heroes have I seen figuring and flourishing
about like a butterfly in the summer months, and who

have vanished when there has been any peril or dang-er,
like that gaudy fly at the approach of winter ? How many
could I name of this description, if they were worthy to
be named. These gentry of the mushroom race have
seldom any fixed principles ; true political weathercocks,
that are blown about with every wind, who have no fixed
principles either in politics or religion, and whose sole
patriotism consists in blustering and professions, always
decrying the steadiest friends of Liberty, and ridiculing
their principles as not going far enough. The Lord protect
me from such politicians as these ; nothing can be so dis
tressing to a real steady friend of Liberty, who never feels
doubtful about the success of the cause he is advocating
as he does when he is attacked by such persons, because
some portion ofthe giddy public are always ready to toss
up their caps and halloo for any thing new.
In the Addenda of my last number was published the
precious document put forth by young- Mr. Parson Justice
Thring, as a sort of an apology or excuse for his conduct in
the true magisterial slang, or rather in the true slang of the
Court of King's Bench, when it is intended to protect
one of these Justices of the Peace. The young Clerical
Justice pleads ignorance, and attempts to conceal the
malignity of his conduct under the cloak of his stupidity ;
this might have all done very well if the gentleman Iiad
kept to the truth ; but I have no hesitation in saying, that
there is not a shadow of truth in his statement, where he
endeavours to explain, or rather trumps up a motive for
his having said, " we must support our own officer." The
little gentleman appears to think Mr. Lennard has been
misinformed ; he appeared to me to have a most correct
opinion as to the character of the Gaoler, and I do not
think he is very much mistaken as to little Parson Justice
Thring, when he observed that one ofthe Magistrates had
said, during an examination, " that we must protect our

own Gaoler." The fact was very different, totally different
to what Mr. Thring had stated it in the foregoing docu
ment, and was as follows : — Some time before the 13th of
February, 1321, (a day which will never be forgotten by
Messrs. Colston and Thrings) Bridle knowing what sort
of Visiting Magistrates he had to deal with, had been con
ducting himself in a most infamous and outrageous man
ner to me and all my visitors ; amongst other things he
had caused my bell to be muffled, so that I had no means
of calling any one, let what accident would have hap
pened. One day poor Hobbs, the late taskmaster, came
to my room and said, he hoped that I should not be of-
, fended if he did not answer my bell when I rang, as Mr.
Bridle had ordered him " to muffle that damned bell of
Hunt's." I asked him what was the cause of this, and
whether there had been any complaint made of my ring
ing it ? Hobbs answered that he did not know of any
cause but Bridle's temper, and he was quite sure that no
complaint had been made by any one, as I had given no
cause of complaint. This passed on, I believe, nearly a fort
night with the bell muffled, and I took care not to say a word
about it till the Magistrates came (Colston and the two
Thrings) : I then rather unexpectedly put the question to
Bridle in the presence of these worthies, to know why the
bell that had been ordered by Mr- Moody for me was
muffled ? The fellow hesitated a little, and replied,
" that Hobbs, the Taskmaster, had complained to him that
a great portion of his time was taken up in answering my
bell, and that he could not attend to his business if it were
not stopped — that he then told Hobbs that he must pre
vent it in the best way he could." I knew this was a lie
at the time, and therefore I took care to fix him, by asking
him the following questions : — " Then it was Hobbs that
complained to you about the bell, and not you to him V
" Certainly." " And you did not order Hobbs to muffle

the bell, but desired him to prevent being called out of his
work as well as he could ?" " Yes, certainly." The cle
rical visitors then said, as Mr. Moody had ordered the bell
for my use, I must have the bell restored, and some per
son must be placed to attend to it if it took Mr. Hobbs
out of his work ; and so this affair was to have been set
tled, but I said Bridle had made a charge against me, that
I had given unnecessary trouble, and as this was the only
charge that had ever been made against me since I came
to the gaol, I demanded that Hobbs should be called in
that it might be investigated. Bridle, as well as the Ma
gistrates, began to shuffle, but I insisted that Hobbs should
be sent for, and as Bridle was going out of the room after
him, I begged that he would remain where he was, and
let the bell be rung for Hobbs ; this was done, and Hobbs
came trembling into the room. As soon as the door was
opened, Bridle began open- mouthed at him, but I instantly
stoppedhim, and said, I have sent for Hobbs, and, with
your leave, Gentlemen, I will put a question or two to him.
*' Pray, Mr. Hobbs, have you made any complaint to Mr.
Bridle about the ringing of my bell V (Hobbs trembling)
" No, Sir, never in my life." " Did you not tell Mr.
Bridle that my bell was rung so frequently, that it took
you out of your work ?" " No, Sir, never." " How
came the bell to be muffled ?" " Mr. Bridle ordered me, Sir,
to muffle the bell, without my saying a word about it ; I
never complained, Sir, of your ringing the bell ; I had no
occasion to complain ; you have never hindered my work
five minutes since you have been here, Sir." I was going
on, every question producing an answer that convicted
the cadaverous looking, black-hearted scoundrel of a
barcefaced, premeditated lie; when young Parson Thring,
who was standing with his back to the fire, between his
father and Doctor Colston, put a stop to my questions,,by
saying-, " Come, come, we must support our own officer ;

you may go, Hobbs. Mr. Hunt, you will be very well satis
fied with our decision ; you shall have the use of the bell
again." There stood the caitiff wretch Bridle, a convicted
liar. You will see, my friends, what sort of a story
young Mister Thring makes of this in his statement sent
to the Members of the County of Somerset, and very
industriously circulated amongst the Ministerial Members
of the Hon. House. (See pages 17 and 18 of the last
Addenda.) Now I solemnly declare, that I never spoke to
this Mr. Thring about Hillyer in my life, unless when I
had him under cross-examination before the Commission
ers ; and so far from it being true, that the second time
Mr. Thring visited the Gaol, which was on the 5th of March,
I asked him, " Why they had not forgiven that poor man,
who had been brought before them?" meaning Hillyer.
So far from this being true, at that time I had never
seen Hillyer, nor did 1 know, for several days after, that
he had been ironed or manacled in such a way ; and after
I did know it, I never had an opportunity of seeing the
said Parson Thring-, till I met him in the Committee-
room, when I preferred the charges against Bridle ; and
I never mentioned the subject of Hillyer's torture, till his
petition was presented to the Hon. House by Mr. Alder
man Wood. But Mr. Thring, by this invention, has placed
himself in another dilemma; he acknowledges that the
felon constable of the ward is one of the Magistrates
officers ,¦ so that if this be true, the infamy of having se
lected the greatest villains, and the most abandoned
scoundrels in the Gaol, to be constables of the wards, be
longs to the Magistrates, and not to the Gaoler. The
Commissioners have reported this fact, " that persons of
extraordinary bad character are employed in this Gaol as
constables of the wards," &c. I think I cannot do better
than leave the remainder of this notable document to
speak for itself — it is too contemptible to deserve further
7 E

10
notice, and I should apologize to my readers for taking up
so much of their valuable time about such a thing. The
notorious Charles Marshall, who was proved before Squire
Dickenson to have proposed to the biscuit-baker to put
me to death by shooting me with a pistol, has been re
tained here ever since, up to the beginning of the last
month, much against the wish of Mr. Hardy, who would
not have kept such a scoundrel for an hour, if he * had
been allowed to act for himself; nay, I am sure, no one
but Squire Dickenson would have kept him a minute after
what was proved by the biscuit-baker. However, it has
been ascertained that this fellow and one Jones, two great
favourites of Bridle, have, as under-tumkeys, for years been
in the habit of swindling almost every prisoner who came
into the Gaol, out of their money, in all sorts of ways ; in
fact, it has been always known, that these two worthy
associates and colleagues of Bridle, have been in the
habit of spending more money at the public-house than
their wages came to, yet they were great favourites of
certain of the Magistrates. However, I preferred my
charges against the last of them that remained, on Satur
day, and he was discharged forthwith. We have only
one more move to make, and the augean stable will be
completely cleansed of all Bridle's filth, rubbish, and
rascality. But nothing can more clearly show the dispo
sition of the majority of the Magistrates of this division,
than the fact that they have cherished Bridle's old gang
as long as they could ; even Pike, the very fellow that
was Bridle's most willing agent to inflict torture upon the
poor prisoners, he who, it was proved, not only inflicted
torture upon the poor fellows, but who enjoyed the fun,
and made a laughing stock of their sufferings — this man,
who swore before the Magistrates, and also before the
Commissioners, that he never heard Bridle swear an oath
since he had been in the Gaol (a space of three years),

11
when the fact was well known, and can now be proved,
that there was never three days, during the whole time,
that Pike did not hear Bridle swear. Mrs. Pike also, with
a very steady face, swore to the same tale. These two
persons , are still retained, and, it appears, are in great
favour with some of the Worthy Parson Justices ; so much
so, that instead of Pike being discharged from his situation,
for his infamous and cruel conduct to the prisoners, he,
forsooth, had his salary risen from sixty pounds to eighty
pounds a-year, while the salaries of the other officers of
the Gaol were reduced ; and this has been done, recollect,
ye county-rate payers, since the investigation. When
Mr. Pike first came as a turnkey to Ilchester Gaol, I think
his salary was fifty pounds a year ; at that time it took
about twenty sacks of wheat to pay his salary. In conse
quence of the dearness of provisions, the turnkeys' salaries
were risen from 50/. to 60/. a-year ; it then took about
twenty-four sacks of wheat to pay Pike's salary ; it will
now take at least sixty-five sacks of good wheat
to pay the said turnkey's salary this year. Look at this,
ye farmers and rate-payers ! you have to pay the piper.
Would not honest guardians of the public purse, even if
Pike had been a humane and deserving officer, would they
not have reduced his wages in proportion to the price of
provisions, instead of raising it one-third, at a time too
that your stock, cattle, and grain are reduced two thirds.
But the rate-payers ofthe County of Somerset little dream
how their money is spent and squandered away. Let us
ask the worthy Chairman, William Dickenson, Esq., and
his associated Judges, who sat with him upon the Bench
at the Quarter Sessions, whether they have made any
reductions in the salaries of their treasurers and surveyors,
or not, in consequence of the fall in the price of provisions?
Let us ask them by what law it is that such enormous
sums are annually paid to the Clerk of the Peace, and to

12
the Clerk of the Assize ? Will this worthy and active Judge
and Guardian of our rights in the House of Commons,
and kind dry nurse of our property out of the House,
will he be so obliging- as to tell us whether there is not an
express Act of Parliament to restrain these worthy Clerks
of Sessions and Assize from extorting these sums ? and by
what law is it, I should like to be informed, that the
worthy Perpetual Under-sheriffs do us the favour
to ease us of so large a sum annually out of the county-
rates. Not one farthing was ever paid to the Under-
Sheriffs out ofthe county stock till the year 1803. What
law has there been made since, to authorise the Magis
trates to pay Messrs. Broderip and Co. hundreds of pounds
a-year out ofthe county rates ? But these things must be
looked to ; yet I am quite sure that complete justice will
never be done the county, till the freeholders elect a
Member for the county, who is totally unconnected with
the Magistracy. How often have I heard it said before I
came to reside here, that Mr. Dickenson was a very useful
Member of Parliament, and a very active Magistrate.
God knows, I have ascertained that in particular matters
he is active enough as a Magistrate ; but about his useful
ness in Parliament, I am at a loss to find out to whom he
has been useful, except to himself, and to protect the
Gaoler and Visiting Magistrates. The slang character
that all the worthy Magistrates gave Bridle, when they
volunteered to give evidence in his favour, they all swore
to the same slang phrase — " That he was an active and
efficient officer." This is good. I believe when we know
all, that we shall find the said William Dickenson,
Esquire, Member of Parliament for the County,
Chairman and Judce at the Quarter Sessions, Lieu
tenant-Colonel of the East Somerset Militia, Lessee of
the Flat-holm Light-House, upon the Bristol
Channel, by patent from the Crown, Visiting

13
Magistrate of Ilchester Gaol, &c. &c. &c. ; that the
said William is " a most active and efficient officer." God
only knows how many more offices he holds ; but these I
have ascertained that he holds, and I think when I ex
plain a little farther, my brother freeholders of the county
will agree with me, that Mr. Dickenson is not only a very
active, but a very expensive servant, and that it is high
time he should be discharged, or, at any rate, put upon
board wages.
I see by a return ordered to be printed by the House of
Commons, on the 17th of April, 1822, being a statement
of the sums which have been issued on account of Corps
of Yeomanry Cavalry, in Great Britain, for the service of
the year 1821, that there was paid on account of the
County of Somerset, as follows : — Total.
North Somerset, Col. Horner, . . . 1623/. 18s. |
Permanent duty exercise under the Act 1012Z. 9s. 4rf. *
East Somerset, Lieut. Col. Dickenson  1523 0 0
West Somerset, Col. Earl Carnarvon  1638 10 0
Wells, Capt. Tudway  97 10 0
,£5895 II 0
Look at this, ye freeholders of the County of Somerset !
Your worthy Member for the county, Wm. Dickenson,
does you the honour to receive £1,523 out of the taxes,
as Colonel of the East Somerset Yeomanry, out of which
he may possibly pay two or three hundred to the adjutant,
the Serjeants, and the trumpeters, &c, and the remainder
he does us the honour to accept for himself. Read this
attentively, ye freeholders of the county, and you will see
that you have a very active and efficient officer in Col.
Dickenson, although a very expensive one. Some time
back it struck me that the said Wm. Dickenson was a very
active and efficient supporter of the Government under
the rose, therefore I was induced to pry into the affairs of
this worthy Grenvillite Whig Member of ours, and I smelt

14
out that he derived a very considerable plunder of the
public-money, by renting a light-house of Government,
somewhere upon the Bristol Channel ; I also ascertained
from a friend at Bristol, that several thousands a-year
were paid into the custom-house at that port, for William
Dickenson, Esq., M. P., on account of a light-house.
Well, to get at the particulars of this neat, sly job, of out-
worthy Member, I got Mr. Hume to move for a return of
the total amount collected in the United Kingdom, as
duties for light-houses and floating lights, stating the rates
and charges collected from each, &c. &c. Ordered to be
printed by the House of Commons, 2d of May, 1822.
Amongst the list stands the " Flat-holm Lighthouse, rent
per annum £10, term of years unexpired 12. Rates of
duties: over-sea traders, three half-pence per ton ; foreign
ers, three-pence per ton ; coasters, one penny per ton ;
Irish traders, one penny per ton ; lessees, William Dick
enson, Esq., M. P.., and others. Patent from the Crown,
dated 2d of June, 1737." After the said Mr. Dickenson
has paid all the expenses of collection, &c, &c, I believe
he receives at the very least, two thousand a-year clear
profit from this grant ofthe Crown, which, it will be seen,
has been received by him ever since his father's death ;
and by his family, in the whole, eighty-five years ; so that,
putting it at the low valuation of two thousand pounds a
year, our worthy Member and his family have received no
less a sum than one hundred and seventy thousand pounds
out of the taxes, exclusive of the pickings out of the
Yeomanry Cavalry funds. Our independent Member has
got a pretty snug birth of it — he appears to have fea
thered his nest pretty warmly before these rough times
came on. This worthy, at this rate, received out of
the taxes, last year, as much of our money as three
thousand sa«ks of wheat would sell for. Bravo,
Squire Dickenson, I do not wonder that you gave such

15
determined support in the Honou rableHouse to your brother
Magistrates ; no one that reads these Reports laid before
the Honourable House, when he sees the conspicuous
figure Squire Dickenson's name makes there, will feel
any surprise at the defence which he has constantly set up
for the Magistrates and Gaoler. No wonder that Bridle
has never been called to an account, and made to disgorge
and refund the thousands that he robbed the county of.
No one will now be surprised at the pretended speech
which was published in the lying Mercury of Sherborn,
said by the Editor of that vile Paper to be spoken by our
worthy Member for the County — no wonder that we find
him linked into harness between Dawson and Wynn — no
one will now wonder at the necessity which he said
there was to inflict further punishment upon me, as an
example to deter others from exerting themselves to pro
cure a Reform of the Commons' House of Parliament. No
wonder that Squire Dickenson voted against Sir Francis
Burdett's motion, and raised his voice to have me dun
geoned for six months longer, after I had suffered here two
years. Ah ! Mr. Dickenson, the 30th of October will
soon come, in spite of your mumbling, lisping speeches, or
your Ministerial votes. But mark my words, Sir, in spite of
your opposition there will be a Reform of Parliament, and
when that day comes, you will be made responsible for the
large sums that you have drawn from the pockets of your
Constituents and the people ; and if I am in the House
before that time arrives, I will endeavour to bring both
you and Bridle to book, take my word for it. I believe
that I have stated the amount of the sums that you
annually receive out of the taxes, under the mark ; but
as a freeholder of this County, and therefore one of your
constituents, (although I thank God I never had the dis
grace to vote for you) yet, as one of your constituents, I
demand of you to give a correct and faithful account of

16
your receipts and disbursements, as Lieutenant-Colonel
of the East Somerset Yeomanry, since you held the situa
tion. I demand this also as one of those who have been
taxed, highly taxed, to pay you. I also demand of you
to give a correct and faithful account of your receipts out
of the rates and duties of the Flat-holm Light House. I
demand this, not only as one of your constituents, but
as one of those who have contributed my share of the
sums that you have received in the price of sugar and
all the other articles of commerce that I have purchased,
the price of every single article of which that has passed
up or down the Bristol Channel is enhanced by the Light
House duties which have been collected for your use. No
wonder we have not had a [county meeting in Somersetshire
— no wonder that both the last and the present Sheriff re
fused to call a County Meeting — no wonder the requisitions,
signed by the most numerous and respectable names for
this purpose, even to this day, remain unattended to.
Were you afraid of some awkward questions being put to
you, Squire Dickenson ? But we shall see.
HUNT'S BREAKFAST POWDER.
So it appears the Ministers are about to pass a Bill to
legalise the sale of my Breakfast Powder, and at any rate
to reward my invention with an Act of Parliament. Well,
this is excellent, after the persecution and the fines that
were levied and extorted from me ; after seizing and car
rying away my property to the amount of One Hundred
andFifty Pounds ; after instituting proceedings against me
in the infernal Court of Exchequer, wbLli the Government
took good care not to bring to trial till they had got me safe
in a dungeon of this Bastile ; after proceeding in the most
vindictive manner against -me for two penalties of one
hundred pounds, one for manufacturing, and one for sel
ling the Breakfast Powder, and this too while I was
locked up in Gaol; after doing this, ( when Sir Robert

17
Wilson brought the matter before the House of Commons,
the Government were so ashamed of their conduct, that
the Chancellor ofthe Exchequer distinctly stated, that the
prosecution was instituted to try the question, and that the
penalties would not be exacted — after all this, when
I was labouring and persevering- in the Ilchester
Gaol Investigation, a process was first issued by
the Board of Excise to recover the penalties of two hun
dred pounds — after giving my tenants notice not to pay
me any more rent (a proceeding, by the bye, not very ne
cessary, as matters now stand between landlord and tenant)
— after having issued an extent from the Crown to proceed
to the sale of my manor and estates at Glastonbury, to
pay these fines — after having extorted- from me in this
way 200 sovereigns that I had collected for another pur
pose^ — after having been repeatedly told of this infamous
conduct towards an individual — after having been so glar
ingly exposed and denounced by Sir Francis Burdett for
such cruel, mean, and vindictive proceedings against me —
after all this, one of his Majesty's Ministers, Mr. Lushing-
ton, proposed the following resolutions, which were una
nimously passed by the Hon. House of Commons on the
4th of June, 1822: VEGETABLE POWDER.
Resolved 1. That it is expedient to allow the manufacture and
sale of scorched or roasted corn, peas, or beans, by persons not
being dealers in coffee, cocoa, tea, tobacco, or snuff.
Resolved 2. That every manufacturer, dealer in, or seller of
such scorched or roasted corn, peas, or beans, shall take out a licence
for that purpose, and for which licence Ihe sum of two shillings and
sixpence shall be payable.
Mr. Lushington was directed to bring in a Bill embody
ing the above resolutions ; he brought it in, it was commit
ted, and in a few days it will be a law. I do not know
7 c

18
what you think, my friends, but I call this another victory
gained over the Boroughmongers. I shall certainly claim
this Bill as my own, and I think it may very fairly be
called " Hunt's Bill." We have Peel's Bill, the Grenville
Act, Lord Ellenborough's Act, &c &c. many Acts of Par
liament being designated with the name of those who were
the cause of such Acts being passed. I think I may claim
the title of this Act. To Sir Robert Wilson, Sir Francis
Burdett, and the Marquis of Lansdowne, great praise is
due for the parts they have taken in this affair ; but if I
had not invented the Breakfast Powder, or rather restored
and put in practice an old French recipe for procuring a
substitute for coffee, this Act would never have been
passed. When the Court of Exchequer sentenced me to a
fine of 200£. I believe that my worthy friend, Sir Charles
Wolseley, wrote to Sir Robert Wilson to call his atten
tion to the subject, and Sir Robert immediately brought
the affair before Parliament, and pointed out the malice
of the Government and the injustice of the prosecution
against me. Sir Robert has never ceased to remind the
Ministers of this act of injustice^ and he has from time to
time denounced them for their infamous conduct towards
me ; and I beg that it may never be forgotten
thtit Sir Robert Wilson repeatedly denounced the
cruelty of my sentence, and repeatedly taunted
the Ministers and condemned the Judges, by boldly
asserting in his place in Parliament, " that it was a vin
dictive sentence against the man, and not a punishment
for the offence." It will not be forgotten that Sir Robert
Wilson stood alone upon these occasions, and that no one
but him made use of this language in Parliament till after
the Ilchester Gaol Investigation ; therefore, to Sir Robert
Wilson I shall always feel'graleful. I was in prison — I
was shut up in a loathsome dungeon — and the whole
press of England had conspired together to encourage, by

19
their silence, my persecutors to destroy me ; but Sir Ro
bert Wilson manfully stood forward in the House of Com
mons, and bravely denounced my persecutors. Do you not
think, my friends, that this was taken into the account by
those who honoured him with a dismissal from the army ?
While Sir Robert Wilson, Sir Charles Wolseley, and Sir
Francis Burdett were acting in this way, there wore those
connected with the Radical press — those to whom I had
rendered great and important services — those to whom I
had been most devoted and most faithful at all times and
under all circumstances — who were taking every base
and underhanded means to injure me, and amongst other
things, instigated by the most malignant passion of jea
lousy, were endeavouring to destroy the little remaining
sale of my Breakfast Powder, by insinuating that I made
too large a profit by it ; recommending every body to
make their own breakfast powder, by roasting or frying
wheat ; swearing that it could be made for twopence half
penny or threepence a pound. These malignant persons
were travelling out of their road at all times to do this,
and having succeeded in surfeiting all those that lis
tened to their advice, I know they glory in the consum
mation of their malice ; and I will venture to say, thai
the party would never write another line upon the sub
ject, if it were not to gratify their own malignant passions.
Almost every one who has been induced to use common
roasted wheat, and to drink the nauseous, foetid draught
which it produces, has been completely sickened and sur
feited. The experiment has been made upon a hungry,
half-starved sow. Some of this roasted wheat mixture
was given amongst the wash to a hungry sow : she eat
it as she did other things, ravenously the first time ; the
second time it was given her, she eat very sparingly ; the
third time she put her nose to the pail, but walked away
and never touched a drop of it. I will venture to say,

20
that no animal will take it three times, but some few of
such two-legged animals as I have in my eye, whose
stomachs are still more1 rapacious than a half-starved
sow. Great pains have been taken to hring Hunt's
Breakfast Powder to great perfection, which have
succeeded equal to my most sanguine expectations. In
consequence ofthe persevering malice of the Government,
I was obliged to withdraw my son from the concern, and
it has been carried on ever since by Mr. Robert Wilde,
who has acted most faithfully towards me, and who has
proved himself worthy the confidence and the trust that
I reposed in him. The whole apparatus at the manufac
tory has been improved ; and I will venture to say, that
no one can manufacture an article in flavour, strength,
and salubrity equal to Hunt's Genuine Breakfast
Powder. I therefore offer it to the public in full confi
dence of their support ; and I think if I only make it as
good, and I am sure if I make it better than any other
person, I shall receive their countenance, custom, and
patronage. My son is gone again to London, and under
his superintendance, assisted by Mr. Wilde, the manu
factory of the Breakfast Powder will be carried on till I
leave this Bastile, when I shall certainly endeavour to
carry those plans into effect which I premeditated before
L came here. As soon as the Act is passed, agents for the
sale of Hunt's Breakfast Powder will be appointed in
every principal town in the kingdom; and as a very
large profit will be allowed to agents and those who
retail, a remittance, post paid, or an order upon some re
sponsible person in London, will be expected to accom
pany the first order, as the allowance will insure a ready-
money trade. The retail price within 150 miles of London,
or where it can go by water, will be ls. per lb. ; in other
places, where the land carriage is Very heavy, one half
penny or a penny per lb. may be added, according to the

21
distance. All letters directed, post paid, to Mr. Thomas
Hunt, Breakfast Powder Manufactory, Broad-wall, Sur
rey-road; or Mr. Robert Wilde, No. 21, Earl-street, St.
Giles's, will be punctually attended to.
I am, for the present.
Your sincere friend,
H. HUNT.

' * ''"-;- '.;-¦"; ,-tf.-

?)ni? -,-.;¦>//¦-

?? .^eff
' .'.ofsO

TO COUNTRY BOOKSELLERS, &c.
Country Booksellers will please to take notice that
Mr. Cobbett can always have the Memoirs to supply their
orders, if he will. If he fail to send them, when ordered,
it is entirely from the ungenerous motive before stated, or
because he will not pay the same price for them
which he himself charges for his Register : therefore, all
the excuses he makes for not sending Mr. Hunt's
Memoirs, however his ingenuity may disguise the matter,
are false. 300, Strand, June 15th, 1828.

Printed by T. Dolby, 800, Strand,

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OP
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilohester Bastile, 6th day, 10th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
June 22, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
In one more month our precious hole-digging assembly
will be prorogued, and the hopeful Members which com
pose it, will be sent home to their rotten boroughs, to
give an account to their corrupt voters of the feats
they have performed in the House of Commons during
the late sessions. The County Members, who are very
little better than the representatives of rotten boroughs,
will require some ingenuity and talent, and a considerable
portion of brass, to be able to look the John Gulls of
farmers in the face, when they ask them to pay up their
last half-year's rent. It would puzzle the devil himself to
point out one act which these virtual representatives have
passed, which will be of the slightest benefit to the
farmers : to be sure, the reduction of the duty upon salt,
will make some little difference in the expense of making
butter and cheese, but the consumer, and not the farmer,
will, of course, ultimately reap the benefit of this mea
sure. I asked a farmer the other day, what he should
save upon the making of a hundred weight of cheese, in
consequence of the anticipated reduction in the price of
8 A

Printed by T. Doiby, 899, Strand.

salt: his calculation was, that it would cost 2s. &d. less,
perhaps, per hundred ; but, .said he> the cheese jobber
will know that it costs me so much less in the price of salt^
and he will, therefore, expect to purchase the cheese for
lis. $d. per hundred, less, than he jiow gives me, so that I
dp not expect to be benefited by the reduction of the price
of salt, any further than what I shall save by the price of
the salt, that I shall myself consume. I should be ex
tremely obliged, if any7 one would inform me what mea
sures have been, adopted by the Ministers, or what laws
have b.een passed by them,_which. will tend, in the re
motest degree, to relieve the distresses amongst the
agricultural community. The farmers and. landholders
who do not derive any of their income from the taxes,
begin to grumble at last,' with some show of reason. A
person from Devizes told me. the other day, tbat he was
offered thre.Q hundred of skim jcheese for one guinea. This
offer came fr,om, a dealer in . cheese, who informed him
that he should get,-three_shillings, by .the bargain, as he
had purchased it of a farmer for six shillings per cwt.
Good butter sells for 5d. and ed. per pound, good lamb 4d.
per lb., and good, veal, 3d. per lb„ and all farming produce
equally low ; wheat, good new wheat, that is the growth
of last year, will not sell for more than 4s_. 6d. per bushel.
If, therefore, the evidence of John Benett; the Member
for Wiltshire, which he gave in the House of Lords in
support of acorn-bill, be. correct— if this evidence, some
extracts „from which I published in my last Number, be
true, what must be the condition ofthe farmer at this time ?
Most pitiable indeed: to be sure, they showed, neither
pity nor mercy to the Radicals, to the poor weavers and
spinners, and mechanics, whenthey were in. distress in
consequence of the high price of provisions, they then
laughed in their sleeves, and pocketed the" cash ; the poor
-devils have now no cash to pocket; the poor creatures

of this county stand mute and almost petrified, they feel
and see their ruin coming daily upon them, but see none
coming to help them. They hear and read of Castlereagh
accusing Sir Thomas Lethbridg-e of using inflammatory
language in the Honourable House : what a pity the Ho
nourable House should be inflamed! Ah, Sir Thomas,
have a care, or my words may yet come true ! Soon after
I came here, Sir Thomas called to see me, in his road to
attend his duty in the Honourable House, no doubt
that he might assure his friends, when he got there,
that he had seen the Arch-Radical safe in his cage.
Sir Thomas was mighty civil, and said, as an old
friend of mine, he would not pass through Ilchester
without calling to ask me how I did, and added —
" I understand they are going to fit up your room, Mr.
Hunt; I hope you will take care to make it comfortable
for him, Bridle." " Aye, aye," I replied, " by all means
make it comfortable, Sir Thomas, while you are about it, for
there is no knowing whose turn it may be next ; perhaps
you may have to take my place, Sir Thomas, when I am
gone." Have a care, Sir Thomas, or my words may come
true ! I spoke these words in rather a deliberate and
emphatic manner, and not at all in jest ; and I saw they
made a deep impression upon the Baronet, which was
observed by Bridle, as well as my fellow-prisoner, Mr. Kin
near. Sir Thomas drew back, and having drawn his
breath rather short, or rather having held his breath in
for a time, he stammered out, " Very true, Mr. Hunt,
very true ; nobody knows what may happen ; I b. lieve it
is best not to meddle at all with politics ; but those who
do meddle, as you say, must take their chance. Good
morning, Mr. Hunt ; I hope you will make yourself com
fortable." " Good morning, Sir Thomas ; never fear me,
look to yourself." I rather suspect that the Baronet did
not tell the story of his visit to me, when he got to Lon-

don, with quite so much glee as he had promised himself
he should when he was about to pay me the visit. Sir
Thomas found in me no repentant Radical, as Mr. Cobbett
said of Sir Charles Wolseley. Mr. Cobbett was very
much deceived in Sir Charles, then ; but not more so than
he is in Sir Thomas now. He says in his Register of June
8th, " Let us hear, then, none of those accusations against
Sir Thomas Lethbridge, who, at any rate, is not actually
in the act, like so many others, of holding with the hare
and running with the hounds." Hold hard, a little, Mr.
Cobbett, do not you be too cock sure of this, or you may
be mightily deceived ; although I assure you, you will not
deceive any of your Somersetshire readers : we know Sir
Thomas too well to believe him all at once that man of
" sincerity and integrity" which you would represent
him to be, merely because he blusters a little in the House
of Commons, by the reason that he finds his pockets
empty, and no rents coming in. We know Sir Thomas of
old, and we shall not so easily be made to forget, that he
has not only been a staunch supporter of that system
which has reduced the country to its present state, but
that he has been a persecutor of the Reformers. We
recollect that he was the man, of all others, who stepped
forward as the willing tool of Ministers, to urge the com
mittal of Sir Francis Burdett to the Tower, because he
manfully raised his voice against that system which perse
cuted the Reformers — because he raised his voice against
the corrupt and arbitrary power that sent Mr. Gale Jones
to Newgate, as sincere a Reformer, and as steady and in
corruptible a friend of Liberty as lives. We shall not be
made to forget this, because Sir Thomas Lethbridge
bullies and blusters, and flounders about a little in the
House of Commons ; neither shall we suffer any personal
hostility towards Sir F. Burdett to make us listen to the
praises of this porcupine politician. Sir Thos. Lethbridge

a man of " sincerity and integrity," forsooth ! and you are
quite sure he is not " holding with the hare, and running
with the hounds." But — we shall see ! ! ! Has Sir T.
Lethbridge acted like Mr. Coke, of Norfolk ? — has he called
or attended any county meeting ? — will he call any county
meeting ? We shall see ! ! ! Has he not been the apolo
gist, with his hopeful colleague, Dickenson, of the Visiting
Magistrates and the Gaoler ? Has he not been the very
champion of intolerance in the House, even up to the very
hour that these praises are lavished upon him ? Have a
care, Mr. Cobbett ; you may deceive yourself, but you will
deceive no one else, by praising Sir T. Lethbridge.
I am delighted to see how the success of Mr. Cobbett at
the Kent County Meeting, has galled both the factions in
the Hon. House. I am much obliged to the gentleman
who sent me the Maidstone Gazette, which gives such a
full and excellent report of the meeting ; all that I lament
is, that it was so much less numerous than usual : if Mr.
Cobbett had by any means communicated his intention of
being present, I'll warrant you there would have been no
lack of numbers ; those who had heard his clear and
forcible eloquence before, would have certainly attended
—and those who had only heard of him, would have been
there. Mr. Cobbett is as good a speaker as he is a writer ;
and I need not say more to convince every one who has
read his writings, what a powerful influence such a man
must have over any meeting that he addresses ; the puny
Whigs must have had no chance with him — they must
come up to our mark, or remain in the back ground.
Well, the fact is this — the people of Kent, at a County
Meeting, proposed to petition the Parliament for a Reform
ofthe House of Commons, as a means of relieving the
present, and preventing future distress. This was good :
but Mr. Cobbett moved an amendment, to add, by way of
rider, the following prayer to the petition : —

" And your petitioners do further most humbly beseech
your most Honourable House, that you will be pleased to
effect a just reduction of the interest of the public debt,
as soon as you have completed a Reform of your Honour
able House."
To be sure, this is rather an Irishism — this gives one
rather a confused notion of the subject. The petitioners
pray for a Reform of the Hon. House. If I understand the
meaning of that prayer, if I understand what is meant by
Reform, it is that the House should be composed of Members
chosen by the people, and not by the Boroughmongers ;
of course the House will then be composed of different
Members from those who sit there now ; men of a different
cast of mind altogether — men whose duty it will be to
promote the interest of the whole community, instead
of the interest of a few proprietors of rotten boroughs.
Well, if this measure is carried, I cannot, for the life of me,
see what sense there is in praying the present " most
Honourable House" to make the " Reformed House"
effect a, just reduction of the National Debt. What, are
we to be told that the present most Honourable House
will still exercise a power over a Reformed House of Com
mons ? if so, I believe that we shall gain nothing by
Reform. But this will not be the case: the present men
will have no power over a reformed House of Commons,
and, therefore, it was folly to propose such a prayer, at
least in such a shape. When we have reformed the House
of Commons, we shall not want a Kent County Meeting
to teach its Members their duty. A House so constituted,
will, no doubt, act for the benefit ofthe whole community.
It was all very well to petition the present House to do
any thing in its power ; but to petition them to do that
which will be, and which of necessity must be, out of
its power, namely, to influence a Reformed House of Com
mons to do any thing, was sheer nonsense. This was not
doing things in Mr. Cobbett's usual clear manner, and

this arose from beating round the bush, and not coming to
the point at once : but no matter ; the main point is, that
the majority of persons assembled at the Kent Meeting,
have petitioned for a just reduction of the National
Debt ; and this part ofthe petition was proposed by Mr.
Cobbett. Now, my friends, let us go back again a little. If my
memory serves me correctly, some time early in the pre
sent session of Parliament, Mr. Cobbett, in his Register,
called upon the Radicals to come forward to petition the
House of Commons " not to pa$s any law for the reduction
ofthe National Debt." I took leave, in the next number
of my Memoirs, earnestly to caution the Radicals not to do
any such thing, not to act so inconsistently ; that we, the
Radicals, had all along for many years disclaimed any par
ticipation in creating that debt, which is falsely called
National ; that we always opposed that infamous system,
and those ruinous, unjust, and unnecessary wars to support
and carry on which this debt was contracted; and that
we have always denied that we were morally obligated to
pay that debt ; and we have often at our meetings, and in
our resolutions, declared, that it could only be collectedTby
the force of the standing army, therefore, that we had
better not interfere at that time, and particularly not to
petition against its reduction. You, my friends, the whole
body of the Radicals of the United Kingdom, without one
exception, did me the honour to attend to my recommen
dation, and you rejected Mr. Cobbett's proposition. I
think both you and Mr. Cobbett will now thank me for the
advice I gave you ; I know that you will, and I am sure he
ought to do so ; for only think what a ridiculous figure we
should now make if we had listened to the earnest in-
treaty of Bir. Cobbett, and had come forward to petition
the House not to reduce the National Debt ; we who had
before so often called for a reduction of this infamous debt,

8
by making the Boroughmongers and their connections
disgorge to pay it off. I say, that the House of Com
mons, as it is at present constituted, ought to have the
disgrace of cheating those of whom they have bor
rowed this money under false pretences. The Minis
ters have begun already to act the part of dishonest
men, by reducing the interest of the debt, by reducing the
five per cents to four per cent. To be sure, they
have begun at the wrong end; but let them go on,
give them rope enough and they will hang themselves.
A Reformed House of Commons would not reduce the in
terest of the widow and the orphan, who have got their
all in the funds, one shilling, till they had made the Bo
roughmongers disgorge those immense sums of which
they have plundered the country. What! let the Duke of
Buckingham, and the Marquis of Camden, Lord Arden,
the Grenvilles, and all the sinecurists, carry off untouched
the millions of which they have plundered the country
while they reduced the widows' annuity of 501. a-year
perhaps to 25l. a-year. To be sure this will be a subject to
be settled by a Reformed Parliament ; but if I am in that
Parliament this national disgrace shall not be perpetrated
without a struggle. When we, the Radicals, begin to pe
tition again, we will not change our g-round one iota. We
will petition for a large reduction of the Civil List, that
the salaries of all the younger branches of the Royal Fa
mily may be again reduced from eighteen down to twelve
thousand a-year, the sum at which they stood before the
Whigs rose them, in consequence of the high price of all
the necessaries of life (not one of whom, now all the prices
have fallen more than one-half, have said one word about
reducing). We will petition for the reduction ofthe sala
ries ofthe Judges again to the old standard, which were
risen under the same pretence ; we will petition for the
abolition of all sinecures and unmerited pensions ; and we

will demand, as the birthright of every Englishman, a real
Radical Reform, which shall give us a House of Commons,
the Members of which shall be chosen by Universal
Suffrage and Vote by Ballot. These are the things that
millions of us have petitioned for before, and these we will
demand again and again till we obtain them. Let us not,
my friends, shift our ground ; they have yet had no op
portunity of taunting the real Radicals with being incon
sistent, we will give them no reason to do so. I am de
lighted at the success of Mr. Cobbett at Maidstone ; he is
hammering some sense into the heads ofthe farmers, and
he knows that the only way to their brains is through
their pockets and their bellies. Not that it should be be
lieved for one moment that the majority ofthe Kent Meet
ing was composed of farmers, as it was no such thing ; the
majority of the Meeting was composed of tradesmen and
inhabitants of Maidstone and its vicinity; it will always
be the case at county meetings, that the majority of those
who attend are persons who live in the town or city where
the meeting is held.
Before I conclude, it will be well to put upon record
here what was said in the Hon. House by little Lord John
Russell and Lord Castlereagh, when the Kent Petition
was presented ; the whole debate was delicious, and must
have been very flattering to Mr. Cobbett ; but the follow
ing is peculiarly worthy to be remembered :
" Lord John Russell begged to say, that he knew of
no such thing as a just reduction of the National Debt.
The country was bound in honour to discharge the debts
contracted by the Parliament. Nothing but the most
overwhelming and admitted necessity could induce him
to consent to a reduction, by law, of the National Debt;
and he was satisfied there was no such necessity for it at
present. " The Marquis of Londonderry, however strongly
he reprobated the paragraph in question, thought that it
did not afford a reason for rejecting the Petition. He only
8 B

lp
trussed that it would warn othercpunties against being be- .
trayed into such disgraceful .conduct as that which marked
the proceedings at the Kentish Meeting. He conceived
that 'the rights of the public creditor were as inviolable as
those ofthe family ofthe Noble Lord himself to their large -
'possessions. , The public creditor had as good a, right to
his debt, as the Duke of Bedford to his manors; and the
necessity alluded to by the Noble Lord, which would call
for the reduction of one, must destroy the safety of the
oth.er. It must be a necessity which would make the
measure in question one of pure violence."
Well done, Castlereagh ; that is right ; stick to that.
We shall see!
I was pleased to see by the, following advertisement/
published by Mr. Cobbett, in his Register of the 8th of
June, that there was some chance of a Radical Meeting
in London. A Radical dinner would be a good thing, and
although the object was only to celebrate the anniversary
of Peel's Bill,yet it would be attended by Radicals ; there
would be a meeting, andfout of fair discussion good must
come. - ,
"\ Dinner, to celebrate the Anniversary of Peel's Bill.
" Anniversaries' are held on several accounts ; but on n6
account was One ever held more worthily than in honour
ofthis famous, Bill, which has produced already such won- '
derful effects, and which has for us such prodigious bene
fits in store. For my own part, I look upon the passing
of this Bill as the greatest event that England ever yet-
saw;1 and I have been,, hot reluctantly^. I .confess, bu|
with great, cheerfulness and pleasure, induced, however
incompetent to- the task, to take the chair upon this occa
sion. Itis meant simply to celebrate the passing of this
Bill. " What-speeches will-be made', or what other exhi
bitions will take place, may depend, perhaps; upon ca
sual circu/nstances. The dinner is to beheld atthe Horns
Tavern^ Kennington, on the second of July. Further par
ticulars, as to the mode of obtaining th'e tickets, and the
like, will be stated in the next Register. The room will
.actually dinesix hundred^persons ; • and, there -are other
- rooms besides". It is meant, in order to do as much. honour
to tihe thing as possible, and to cause, at Ihe same time,

11
an agreeable association of ideas, to confine the number of
tickets to six hundred and fifty-eight, that being precisely
the number of seats in that matchless assembly which first
gave its unanimous sanction to this immortal Bill. 1 shall
say no more upon the subject at present, and have said
this, merely in the way of notice to our friends at a dis
tance from London."
Mr. Cobbett had announced that there was only one
toast to be drank, but whether this was to prevent drink
ing wine or to prevent any particular person's health
bein"- drank, I understand produced some discussion in the
political world. However, a dinner there was to be, and
the number of tickets was to be 658 ; this was good, and
I, for one, was looking forward to the second of July.
Blan is tickled with a feather — but lo, and behold, I see
thefollowing notification, published in Drakard's Stamford
News of last week.
" Dinner at Kennington. — Great ' inconsistency,' to be
sure, in not persevering in my intention with regard to
this dinner. It was intended to be a burlesque celebration
ofthe Anniversary of Peel's Bill ; but it having been sug
gested to me by persons on whose judgment it becomes
me to place great reliance, that such celebration might be
construed into the existence of a want of feeling on my
part for the innumerable tradesmen and farmers, in every
part of the kingdom, of whose most dreadful anguish of
mind that Bill has been the immediate cause, I have re
solved not to run the risk of any such construction; and,
therefore, the intention of having the dinner is given up
I know well that great numbers of persons would see the
celebration in its true light; but 1 also .know that there
are innumerable hirelings of one sort or another, and par
ticularly those attached to the stock-jobbing crew, who
would be ready to give a wrong turn to the thing; and
that they might, possibly, raise a clamour, which would
be injurious to a cause, no part ofwhich ought to be risked
for the sake of half a day's fun. The/east of Ihe Gridiron
is a very different thing. That will be to celebrate merely
the accomplishment of prophecies ; and cannot possibly
wound the feelings of any one, except it be those whose
feelings it is desirable to wound.
" Wm. Cobbett,"

12
Mr. Cobbett may rest perfectly easy, no one who reads
the Register will accuse him of great "inconsistency," I
am sure, because he has often done the same thing before,
" advertise a dinner," and very prudently, when it
did not take, advertise to git'e it up again : to be sure,
it is only a little tantalizing to his disciples, but then it is
a good thing to teach people to bear disappointments with
proper temper and patience. The Radicals are not like
Aldermen ; it would break the hearts of half the Alder
men in the kingdom to have two or three dinners adver
tised and to be disappointed of them all. But there is no
thing like using people to bear disappointments, and it
will be nothing to the Radicals in time, they will be like
the eels, skinning will be nothing to them when they are
used to it. I recollect, soon after I came here, Mr. Cobbett
advertised a, dinner, to be held at the Crown and Anchor,
in London. I think it was to celebrate the birth-day of
Mr. Paine ; at any rate, it was in honour of Mr. Paine ; but
whether Mr. Cobbett listened to the " suggestions of per
sons, on whose judgment it became him to place great re
liance," or whether he was fearful of being suspected of
" want of feeling" towards any person, or whether the
Rump interfered, I do not exactly know ; but this I know,
that Bir. Cobbett advertised that the dinner was given up.
Immediately preceding the present session of Parlia
ment, Mr. Cobbett advertised a dinner to be held at the
Crown and Anchor, to promulgate his remedy for agri
cultural distress. This meeting was to be composed of
two gentlemen or farmers, at least, from every county in
the kingdom, and as many more as chose to attend : the
tickets were to be half a sovereign each. When the
time arrived, Mr. Cobbett advertised, that it was put off.
I only mention the facts to show, that it was not " incon
sistent" for Mr. Cobbett to put off the famous intended
feast atthe Horns Tavern, at Kennington ; I have no

13
doubt but he had good and substantial reasons for putting
off all three of these publicly announced dinners. Two
gentlemen have written to me from different counties,
who intended to have been present, and each of them say
that they meant to have proposed the same toast ,• and
they both think the dinner was put off for fear this obnox
ious toast should have been proposed by some refractory
disciple; but, for my own part, I cannot think they are
correct in their conclusions. There is no doubt but it was
put off for fear of " hurting the feelings of certain trades
men and farmers." I am one of the disciples that have
very great faith ,• but I must confess, that it is staggered
a little with regard to public dinners, advertised in the
Register ; and I would recommend my brother disciples
not to be in too great a hurry in future, but pause a little
before they set their hearts too much upon any forth
coming feast that may be advertised in a similar way.
However, I have the pleasure to inform my readers, that
I think I may venture to say, that the Radicals will soon
have a real feast. On the 26th day of July, our Friend,
Mr. Wooler, will leave the dungeon of the Borough
mongers, at Warwick, and the brave Radicals of Bir
mingham, I understand, have invited him to a public
dinner in their town on that day ; Sir Charles Wolseley
in the chair, supported by Thomas Northmore, Esq., of
Cleve-house, near Exeter ; and probably they will be
attended by the Rev. Henry Creswell, the patriotic Vicar
of Creech St. Michael. Now I will take upon myself to
say, that this will be no sham — that this is no false alarm
— that there will be no put off for fear of " hurting the
feelings" of any of the Boroughmongers, whose feelings
will not be consulted upon this occasion. They, for
sooth, did not consult Mr. Wooler's feelings when they
sent him to one of their dungeons ; and I should be very
sorry to hear that he consulted their feelings when he

14
leaves it. Now I beg you to recollect, my friends, that
Mr. Wooler has been the steady and persevering advocate
of all his incarcerated brother Reformers ; during the
whole time of his own incarceration, he has not. suffered
any jealous or petty feeling to warp him from the strict
line of his public duty ; through his means alone", Mr.
Saxton has been enabled to publish the Manchester Ob
server, a real Radical stamped newspaper, in the very
citadel of infamy, in Bloody Manchester. The co
lumns of the Black Dwarf have been always open to the
complaints and the sufferings of the persecuted and the
oppressed Reformers. For myself personally, I feel that
I am greatly indebted to him ; he has nobly and gene
rously stood forth, the champion of the oppressed, whose
cause he has pleaded most ably and successfully. I beg
you not to forget, that at the time I preferred my charges
against the Gaoler and Visiting Blagistrates of Ilchester,
the whole public press of England, with very few excep
tions, leagued in a conspiracy, either boldly to denounce
my assertions as false, or to throw discredit upon them
by its suspicious silence ; at this time, Mr. Wooler man
fully and honestly took up the cudgels in the cause of
suffering humanity, and all along he demanded that I
should be heard ; and he predicted, that I should ulti
mately prove my charges against the ruffian Gaoler, and
the still more guilty Magistrates. The result proved that
he was correct. In fact, Bir. Wooler will leave Warwick
Gaol like pure gold, having gone through the fire with
out being tarnished. No man can charge him with ever
having- compromised his principles or his character. Soon
after Mr. Cobbett left England, and sailed for America,
in 1817, Mr. Wooler wrote a most severe attack upon him
in the Dwarf, accusing him of cowardice for having de
serted his post in the hour of danger, and for having aban
doned his friends and his followers to the fury of the Go-

15
vernment, instead of remaining in England to defend
them from its persecutions. Bir. Cobbett was my friend ;
and I felt it my duty to defend an absent friend — and I
assailed Bir. Wooler in return, accusing him of a wish to
build his fame and his fortune upon Bir. Cobbett's down
fall: I did not know Bir. Wooler at that time personally ;
but I believe he was soon convinced that I was actuated
with no other view, but to defend an absent friend ; and
whatever hasty indiscretion I might have been led into,
he attributed to an amiable weakness — or, at least, to an
excuseable folly ; for he discovered by his conduct since,
that a sense of public duty is paramount with him to all
feelings of private animosity.- I sincerely regret that ever
I should have been led into such an error ; and, although
I know be has long, long since forgiven it, yet this ac
knowledgment to him is due from me, and I am happy to
make it before he leaves Warwick. We have been upon
the best of terms ever since I have been in this Bastile,
and the good feeling that subsists between us, I shall be
happy to cherish as long as I live. It must not be for
gotten, that Bir. Wooler has been a zealous and able sup
porter of the Northern Union ; and so far from being jea
lous of its success, he has done every thing in his power
to promote ils interests. I have no doubt but many
worthy Radicals from the North will meet the Radicals
from the West, and that there will be such a meeting at
Birmingham on the 26th of July, as will do him honour,
and be a credit to the cause of real Radical Reform. I
shall give the particulars of this intended liberation dinner
in my next number.
The gallant Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. Northmore
have been to visit the Captive of Ilchester since my last.
I had the pleasure to introduce them to the worthy Vicar
of Creech, to Mr. Oliver Hayward, and to Mr. Perrott, as
fine a specimen of Somersetshire freeholders, as the coun-

16
ty could produce. My old friend, Waddington, from Lon*
don, and Cousens, from Heytesbury, in Wiltshire, coming
to pay me a visit at the same time, gave a zest to the Cap
tive's dungeon that it has seldom experienced since his
arrival. NATIONAL RADICAL MUSEUM.
Mr. Northmore has made me a present of an ingenious
model of a bridge, invented by himself, so that a man can
form a bridge over a river by himself, without any as
sistance. This will be a splendid acquisition to the Mu
seum, which I flatter myself will soon prove worthy the
character of the Radicals, and an honour to him who
planned the institution. I have received promises of Ra
dical manufactures from various parts of England and
Scotland, and I assure my friends that I shall value these
specimens of Radical talent and ingenuity far above money.
If my plan succeeds, of which I have not the slightest
doubt, I shall appropriate a considerable portion of the
profits, when they amount to more than the expenses, to
wards the support of incarcerated Reformers ; there
fore, having this object in view, I confidently call upon
the Radical Reformers of every class, male and female, in
every town in the kingdom, to furnish some trifle, as a
specimen, for this national undertaking. Rochdale and
Bolton set the first great and prominent example. My
plan will be, that a Committee of three be formed in. every
town or city that contributes any thing to the Museum ;
that this Committee shall have, two tickets of free admis
sion, which shall be transferable at all times to any two
persons who may come up to London from such town or
city ; by this means there will at all times be some public
place in London where the Radicals from all parts of the
kingdom may be sure to meet each other when they are
in the metropolis. These tickets or letters from these
Committees shall form an introduction to the person who

17
shall have the care of the Museum ; by this means he will
know that they are good men and true, and they will thus
get introduced by him to others from different parts of the
kingdom who may be in London at the same time. Thus
for instance — suppose a staunch friend of Liberty from
Greenock is coming to London, he brings in his pocket a
ticket or letter of introduction to the Museum from the
Committee of that town, appointed and chosen by those
who sent the beautiful Tartan plaid Cloak and Highland
Bonnet, &c. When he has a leisure hour he repairs to the
Museum, and shews his letter of introduction to the per
son in attendance, who introduces him as a friend of Li
berty and Reform from Scotland, to any other Radicals
who may be present or in town from Lancashire, York
shire, Somersetshire, Cornwall, or any other county. A
letter from any one of these Committees will also be an
introduction to me, if I am in London ; and thus an ho
nourable, a safe, and confidential communication may be
kept up, such as there has never been before in England.
By these means the establishment of this Bluseum may
lead to the most beneficial and important results ; at all
events, it will be a means of perpetuating the character of
the Radical Reformers for industry, ingenuity, and talent,
and be a lasting monument for future generations to know
that the Radicals of the year 1822 possessed all those use
ful and brilliant' accomplishments which can adorn and
honour human nature.
GREAT NORTHERN RADICAL UNION.
I am happy to find that the Blembers of this Union pro
gressively increase, in spite of the envy and jealousies of
those who have endeavoured in vain to impede its slow,
but steady and sure march. I understand that the friends
of Liberty in Glasgow, Paisley, and Johnston, in Scot
land, feel some difficulty in following the honourable ex
ample of their brethren at Greenock, in establishing
8 o

brandies of the Union; and that my excellent friends of
the latter place, Johnston, are disappointed that they have
not heard from me in answer to their address. I beg to
assure them that I am truly sensible of the honour they
did me in sending me such a flattering testimony of their
approbation and confidence, and my only reason for not
writing to them to acknowledge it was, that I never re
ceived any letter from any one to whom I could address
an answer. I shall be most happy to hear from any gen
tleman at Johnston, that I may have an opportunity of
communicating with him by letter. To the friends of
'Freedom in Scotland, and of Greenock, Glasgow, Paisley,
and Johnston in particular, I beg to offer my warm and
grateful thanks, and to assure them that I estimate their
good opinion as the highest reward that can be bestowed
upon any human being. I am delighted to see that the
brave and enlightened weavers of Glasgow have done
themselves such immortal honour in their reception and
treatment of the patriotic Irishman, John Lawless, Esq.
the Editor of the Belfast Irishman newspaper — alas!
alas ! the solitary instance of an independent and patriotic
newspaper in that hapless and devoted country. At a
public dinner given to Bir. Lawless, in Glasgow, the fol- -
lowing toasts were drank: —
" The King, and may his professions to Ireland be the practice of
his representative."
" Civil and Religious Liberty to all mankind."
" Mr. John Lawless, and the Independent Press of Ireland, and
may the cause which he advocates find its way to the remotest parts of
the globe. "
" Bolivar, and the Independence of South America."
" The Independence of Greece, and may its Inhabitants be animated
by the spirit of their Fathers."
" A full and unrestricted Emancipation to the Roman Catholics of
the United Kingdom."
" A speedy Relief to the distressed Poor of Ireland."
" The cause of Reform, and may its advocates persevere in every
constitutional effort to obtain it, till their labours be crowned with suc
cess." " Daniel O'Connell, Esq. and the Reformers of Ireland."
M Henry Hunt, Esq. the Reformer of Ilchester Gaol, and may he

19
hereafter be as successful in reforming all other Houses that are equal
ly infested with corruption."
" Jonathan Wooler, Esq. the prisoner of Warwick Gaol, and may
his health be equal to his spirit and his genius."
" W. E. Andrews, Esq. of London, the able vindicator of a calum
niated people."
Bfr. Lawless then gave —
" The Chairman's health, and that of the honest and independent
Weavers of Glasgow."
On which toast he addressed them for a considerable
length of time — pointed out the progress of Reform, not
withstanding all the obstacles which malignity, or folly,
or public treason threw in its way.
WRETCHED, ILL-FATED IRELAND.
Who has not read the heart-rending accounts of our dis
tressed, ill-governed, persecuted, and starving fellow-
creatures- in Ireland with the deepest sorrow and dismay ?
It will be seen by the documents that I have ordered to be
inserted in this Number, that the suffering Captive of Il
chester has not been deaf to the call of his hapless fellow-
creatures. The bare recital of their incomprehensible
misery has made his heart bleed. Thanks to the brave
and generous Reformers of Scotland and England, their
liberality has enabled me to gratify the best feelings of my
nature, by adding my humble mite of half a ion of my
Breakfast Powder — " a drop in the ocean" — in the fond
hope that it may assist to allay the horrors of starvation-
I have not published these documents from pride or osten
tation, but in the earnest hope that others may go and do
likewise, and to shew that even the hand of charity can
not be raised in England without its being grasped by the
blood-stained fangs of an overwhelming agent of corrup
tion. The freight of this Breakfast Powder to Ireland
will cost only 40 shillings, while the port charges amount
to nearly three pounds. No doubt some amiable William
Dickenson, Esq. M.P., or some such, has his picking out
of this charge in light-house fees, &c. &c.
I have this moment received a letter from a gentleman

20
of family and fortune residing in the county of Cork, from
which letter I give the following extract: —
" Reform has made no great progress amongst us ; it is,
however, rapidly increasing ; the borough and funding
monsters, working through their natural offspring, Peel's
Bill, are recruiting for us ; and, as a potent auxiliary, there
is every appearance of an early and abundant harvest,
though really our cultivation this year is far short of other
years; the people had not the means of tilling the land,
and many were prevented by the work of persecution for
the last nine months ; however, should the weather favour
the saving what is in the ground, our ruin is certain, and,
monstrous anomaly ! — the more food we grow, the more
extensive is our distress ; — the causes, we are under tribute
to England, or rather to the Boroughmongers ; our pro
portion of the interest of the debt, borrowed for us with
you, and spent there, is too great ; then come the absen
tees, taking between them ten to eleven millions worth of
raw produce, lessened in value by Peel's Bill, nearly, nay,
full one half; with such a drain, without any return, al
ways owing and always paying, we can be no other
than a nation of beggars ; and as for the projects now in
operation, fifty thousand from Parliament, and all that can
be given in charity — why, Ihe whole would not suffice to
keep the life another half year in the poor of a couple of
counties — Cork and Kerry. You read many appalling
accounts of want of food, or rather want of means of
purchasing it ; heart-rending as these accounts are, they
fall short of the truth: but you hear nothing of the want
of clothing, the absolute nudity ; even if fed, should the
winter be severe, the cold must kill hundreds of thou
sands. But I will no longer harrow your feeling heart
with this doleful subject ; you well know the causes and
remedies. I trust in God, you will be assisting, 'ere long,
in applying the latter."

11
Gracious God! I exclaimed, when I read this, is there
no man in the House of Commons — no Irishman who will
jump up and seize Castlereagh by the throat, and make
him personally responsible for all these horrors which his
cursed, cruel misrule, has brought upon his wretched
countrymen. But, although he ought to be made respon
sible for these evils, yet it is necessary for every feeling
heart to endeavour, by immediate personal assistance, to
do something towards rescuing these poor souls from the
jaws of death, which now stares them in the face in the
most hideous form. This leads me to observe, upon the
various pompous, splendid frauds, that are committed upon
the public, and upon the poor creatures, by the outward
show of charity. Of these take the following specimen : —
It is somewhat singular that all the public attempts to
draw money from the people in favour of distressed Ire
land, through the medium of plays, balls, gifts of private
benefits, &c. &c, with one exception — the ball at the
Opera House — have entirely failed. Ofthe product of the
night given by the Drury-lane manager, we never heard
a syllable : the same may be said of that given at Covent-
garden. The following result of Bir. Kean's benefit, as
published by the Committee, however, sets this matter in
a very singular point of view : —
Mr. Kean's benefit  £244 18 6
Less the charges  .242 6 4
Leaving  2 12 2
I do not offer any blame to Mr. Kean for this ; I only
take this as a specimen of a certain pompous show of cha
rity — this pious fraud — when at the very same time, if
the truth could be known, I should not wonder if this
description of gentry threw up their noses when they
read in the papers (if ever it was published in any), that
I had humbly sent half a ton of Breakfast Powder, the
retail price being 56l., and the mere port charges for
which I paid more than Mr. Kean's whole benefit at

22
Drury-lane, amounted to. When to the sum I have
inserted for port-charges, 11. 7s., and 5s. 6d. cartage, that
alone amounts to 8d. more than the benefit of Bir. Kean
amounted to at Drury-Lane Theatre. This is curious.
TO COUNTRY BOOKSELLERS AND READERS OF THE
MEMOIRS.
Having had numerous complaints lately made to me by
letter, that the Memoirs have not reached their destination
at various places, I wrote to Mr. Dolby, to whom I leave
the whole management of printing and publishing, to urge
him to be more particular and attentive in future ; and
from whom I received the following answer : —
" I understand the Memoirs are not regularly con
veyed to Hull, Greenock, and some other places. I am
very sorry to hear it ; the more so, because I do not send
parcels to those places, and, therefore, have no remedy.
Hull, Greenock, Glasgow, and several other important
places, are now supplied direct from Bir. Cobbett ; and
wherever his influence extends, not a single Number of
the Memoirs can go."
This, certainly, is one way of accounting for the delay.
I had observed, with pain, the publisher's notification, two
or three weeks following. Does Mr. Cobbett think to put
me down by such, or by any means ? If he does — But we
shall see ! ! ! I am, my friends,
Your's steadily and faithfully,
H. HUNT.

23

COPIES OF THE BILLS OF LADING.
Shipped in good order and well-conditioned, by R.
T. Wilde, in and upon the good ship called the
Union, whereof is master for this present voyage,
P. Head, and now riding at anchor in the River
Thames, and bound for Cork, ten firkins of Ve
getable Powder, being marked and numbered as
R. R. in the margin, and are to be delivered in the like
good order and well-conditioned, at the aforesaid
port of Cork (the act of God, the King's ene
mies, fire, all and every other dangers and acci-
dentsof the seas, rivers, and navigation of what
ever nature or kind soever, excepted) unto
Richard Ronayne, or to his assigns, he paying
freight for the said goods, two shillings each,
with primage and average accustomed. In wit
ness whereof, the master or purser of the said
ship hath affirmed to three bills of lading, all of
this tenor and date, the one of which three bills
being accomplished, the other two to stand void.
Dated in London, 7th June, 1822.
, Contents unknown to P. Head,
Shipped in good order and well- conditioned, by R.
T. Wilde, in and upon the good ship called the
True Blue, whereof is master for this present
voyage, J. Godfrey, and now riding at anchor in
the River Thames, and bound for Limerick, six
firkins of Vegetable Powder, being marked and
J. M. numbered as in the margin, and are to be deli
vered in the like good order, and well-condition
ed at the aforesaid port of Limerick, (the act of
God, the King's enemies, fire, and every other

24
dangers and accidents of the seas, rivers, and
navigation of whatever nature or kind soever
excepted), unto James Morgan, or to his assigns,
he paying freight for the said goods, two shillings
each, with primage and average accustomed. In
witness whereof, the master or purser of the said
ship hath affirmed to three bills of lading, all of
this tenor and date, the one ofwhich three bills
being accomplished, the other two to stand
void. Dated in London, 7th June, 1822.
Contents unknown to John Godfrey.
Shipped in good order and well-conditioned, by R.
T. Wilde, in and upon the good ship called the
Triton, whereof is master for this present voyage,
Wm. Darby, and now riding at anchor in the
River Thames, and bound for Belfast, four firkins
of Vegetable Powder, being marked and num-
J. L. bered as in the margin, and are to be delivered
in the like good order and well-conditioned, at
the aforesaid port of Belfast (the act of God, the
King's enemies, fire, all and every other dangers
and accidents of the seas, rivers, and navigation, of
whatever nature or kind soever, excepted), unto
John Lawless, or to his assigns, he paying freight
for the said goods, as customary, with primage
and average accustomed. In witness whereof,
the master or purser of the said ship hath af
firmed to three bills of lading, all of this tenor
and date, the one of which three bills being
accomplished, the other two to stand void.
Dated in London, 7th June, 1822.
Contents unknown to Wm. Darby.

25 .
Mr. R. T. Wilde, To Edwd. Colebatch,
1822.
Housing and loading 20 firkins of Powder 0 6 8
Marking § trucking to Cust.-House Quay 0 4 8
Rent  0 1 8
Entry, &c, 3 ships, at 5s. 6rf. each 16 6
Wharfage and shipping  6 8
Lighterage  7 6
Bills of Lading  3 6
 1 14 2
£2 7 2

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Bolton, January 15, 1822.
Respected Sir — I felt highly gratified with your no
tice of my suggestions, relative to- the Great Northern
Union, which will, I have no doubt, be attended with
good effect, if acted upon, either by those whose plans
are yet to form, or those whose plans are organised ; and
however some men may object to shackle others in the
name of Liberty, I conceive that no real liberty can exist
where there is either a want of knowledge, or a want of
moral rectitude in the people at large. I dp not see how
the alteration, pointed out by you in your Address ofthe
1st ult. would so materially affect any arrangement made
upon your previous plan, that will form any objection to
its adoption : as, for instance, in your first plan, the classes
were formed, and Trusty Men were appointed to collect
from the different members. In the second plan, the mem
bers meet at each other's houses once a-week, and bring
their money. Here, in the first place, is a saving of a
great deal of labour to the Trusty Bien, besides prompting
8 D

26
ihe great object ofthe Union, by associating its members;
and when they are together, what more proper than an
endeavour to improve both their moral ahd intellectual
powers. I believe- about 50 copies of your Memoirs are
taken in Great and Little Bolton, " but what are they
amongst so many." If this plan be adopted, and if attend
ed to, what will be the result ? — Why, extensive infor
mation on those subjects connected with Reform as cannot
" be had through any other medium. About 30 to 35 copies
of Mr. Cobbett's Register are taken in, to which the same
remarks may be made as those above ; and I am sure you
will coincide with me when I tell you, that the members of
the Union consist in Little Bolton of 150, Great Bolton 210
—making together 360. Is it of no importance whether
these 360 men read or not ? Some persons with whom I
have had conversation on this subject say, the reading
plan would be too expensive; but let them consider, that
the 50 copies ofyour Memoirs, and the 35 copies of Cobbett's
Register, might be lent to the Trusty Bien, and if the
meetings were well arranged, the whole of them might
have them in the course of the week. Is it of no import
ance to cultivate a love of home and the enjoyment of do
mestic happiness, rather than men spend their evenings in
public houses? Probably this also may be called restraint
in the name of Liberty ; the fine of three-pence for each
man who may come to any of the meetings drunk may
also be called restraint ; but the question is, ought not we
to have such restraints ; if not, and drunkards and immo
ral persons are to be recognised as Reformers, I defy any
man to shew of what use Reform would be to such like
men. We are sending this evening 5l. lis. from Little Bolton,
4l. 9s. from Great Bolton — making together 10/. to Sir
Charles Wolseley, accompanied with an address on his li
beration from prison.

27
Eighteen books are opened in Great and Little Bolton,
to defray the expense of the fine imposed upon you by the
Exchequer, for the Breakfast Powder, which we trust
will be followed by those towns who are not before us in
this good work. Bien who devote themselves to the pub
lic interest should be supported by the people ; and, I
trust, the people will never let it be said they ever de
sert a man who does not desert his duty.'
On Christmas-day I had Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Fyldes to
dine with me, when we drank your very good health, and
the health of all the incarcerated Reformers, in water. I
am preparing a counterpane upon a new plan, which I
hope to have ready for your Radical Museum by the time
you will be ready to open it. This I intend to do at those
times which, before your address from the Swan window,
I used to spend at public houses.
With best wishes that your health may be preserved
during your incarceration in your damp cell,
I am your most obedient servant,
JOHN BUTLER.

28
i
ADDRESS FROM THE FEMALES OF THE BOROUGH OF
PRESTON, TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
P,reston, June \8th, 1832.
Highly respected Sir — We, a few of your perse
cuted and insulted fellow-countrywomen, inhabitants of
the borough of Preston, in Lancashire, beg to join our
feelings of liveliest gratitude and compassion to those of
our Radical brethren and sisters, who have so nobly
come forward to lay their mites of approbation at the Pa
triot's feet, for his many and great sacrifices and sufferings
in the cause of truth and justice, such as no other man has
made in this or any other country in our days or those of
our fathers, unless we revert to the days of that hero of
freedom, Sir William Wallace, of deathless memory.
Sir, our feelings of gratitude for your long and unerring
career in the cause of public freedom, are only equalled
by our indignation and abhorrence ofthe cursed Borough
mongers and enslavers of a brave British people. These
are the monsters who, by exorbitant taxation, have di
minished and squandered the wealth and impeded the
progress of every machine of national greatness for the
mere gratification of their ambition. The only re
compense afforded in return for all the miseries brought
upon us by a long- and bloody war, is the subjugation of
tlie liberties of Europe, and a debt, the interest of which
wearu o" futr.i i^s are now s<arving to pay. These are
,?onie of * v ti i:j0s that have enslaved and broken the
.-lemts of tbe iiid'is'rious inhabitants of a once high-mind
ed nation. And, Sir, in our opinions we sht>ll never be
much better until the corrupt descendants of that heaven-
born fiend of apostate memory be driven from the power
they have so basely usurped, and honest men deputed to
supply their places ; men who shall have been fairly and
freely chosen by the people, who will have their interests
at heart: then, and noi^ till then, will the nation have

29
justice done it for what it has suffered in your person —
then shall the base instigators of murderers be brought
to condign punishment; those wretches who, to satiate
their thirst for individual as well as general ruin, have
selected you as the chief of their victims.
But, Sir, we rejoice to think that the great Spoiler of
Corn Bills, whom those miscreants have the impiety to
blame for bringing the distress on the nation, which their
own plunder-stained hands have wrought, has sent
plenty, the blessings of every age and every land, for
which his great name is blasphemed with impunity by
those who should defend his cause. Thanks to his name
who vouchsafed to shield your head in the hour of danger,
and has yet baffled the dark designs of the midnight as
sassin. We believe had it not been for that great gift of
heaven conferred on you in a particular manner, a strong
presence of mind, backed by a spontaneous expression of
public opinion, that they would ere this time have con
signed you to a fate which our minds shudder to contem
plate, and still we cannot trust them. They are only baf
fled vipers: do take care of them, Sir, they will turn and
sting you if it is in their power ; and we see no chance
of your liberation from that dismal sepulchre until
you have drank the last bitter dregs of corruption's cup.
But, thanks to the great cause of all good, the day is fast
approaching, in spite of a -packed jury, a political judge,
and a vindictive sentence, aggravated over and over again
and again by Judge  and his brethren in iniquity,
the unconstitutional and mercenary wretches the clerical
Visiting Magistrates, who are a disgrace to their profes
sions, either civil or religious. Sir, that day will be hail
ed with joy by every lover of liberty and truth from one
end of the empire to the other; when we shall see the
martyr of fair freedom's cause come forth triumphant over

30
his and his country's enemies, amid the acclamations of
surrounding myriads, " like gold tried in the fire, more
and more refined."
Sir, we have witnessed with pleasure the memoran
dums and tokens of respect coming from one extremity of
the empire to the other ; we then began to exclaim one
to another, have we no interest in the Patriot's cause ?
Shall the faithful historian tell the world that our fellow-
countrymen and women had adorned his brow with well-
won laurels and we had no share in them ? At first
*we thought we saw ourselves over-ridden and held down
by two or three factions, who divide the spoil and leave
us scarcely any thing to subsist on, much less to do ho
nour to such worth. Still all did not deter a few of us
from coming to beg your acceptance of this small but sin
cere free-will offering of six pounds sterling, to assist in
paying the expenses of your struggle with despotism. We
are only sorry that it is not more ; but the good-will with
which it is sent fully convinces us that it will be accept
able when it reaches you.
It is true we are but poor politicians ; but our husbands
and fathers are not so far in the back ground. They tell
us that every mite sent to you adds to your glory, not
such as Wellington or Trafford glory, but true glory, the
reward of virtuous patriotism. They likewise tell us it is
driving a nail into despotism's coffin, and we sincerely
pray that you may have the gratification and honour of
driving the last one, and trampling its accursed remains
in the dust. Then, Sir, we should with ten-fold vigour sing
and teach our little ones to sing " Hunt and Liberty," and
in rapturous delight witness the complete annihilation of
tyrants from the soil that gave birth to a Wallace, a Bruce,
a Sidney, a Hampden, and the rest of the heroes of yore ;
till then we shall continue to pray for your safe liberation

31
and good health, to make use of your matchless talents
and courage in combating corruption's knaves, face to
face, in their own den of supposed safety.
We have the honour to be, Sir, with pride and since
rity, your admiring fellow-countrywomen, onbehalf of the
subscribers,
Sarah Jefferson, Jane Waterhouse.,
BIargaret Isherwood, Elizabeth Stuart,
Alice Smart, Hannah Bolton,
Helen Bell, Margaret Leeming,
Helen Mercer, Anna Atkinson,
Mary Bateson, Jane Salisbury,
Margaret Irvin, Anne Mitchell.

The MEMOIRS of HENRY HUNT, Esq., are sold in
the following places by the Booksellers or Agents whose
name is given with each place respectively, viz : —

Andover (Hants) — King.
Bath — Everton's Newspaper-Of
fice, near St. James's Church.
Birmingham — C. Tibbetts, 68
Dale End, and C. Cooper, Union
street.
Bolton — J. Heyes:
Boston — Jackson.
Brighton — Turness, 6, Meeting
house-lane.
Bristol — J. Cossens, 4, Castle-
street.
Bury St. Edmund's — J.Birchinall
Coventry — B. Barton, Wells-str.
Dundee — Alexander Brookes.
Exetei  J. Besley, jun., News-
Office.
Glasgow — W. Brock, 151, Tron
gate.
Great Yarmouth — J. Boldry, Row
30.
Hull— Mr. J. Jackson.
Ilchestei — Mr. White.
Ipswich — S. H. Cowell.
Langport — Denham.
Leeds — J. Mann, 68, Briggate.
Leicester — T. Thompson, Chronicle
Office.
Lewes — Veness.
Liverpool— T. Smith, Paradise-str.
Maidstone — Dawson, Stone-street

Milborn Port — Pope.
Manchester — J. Wroe, 49, Great
Ancoats-street ; S. Reddish.
Monmouthshire — S. Etheredge,
Printer, Newport.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne — J. Mar
shall.
Norfolk— J. Dininore, Lynn.
Norwich — G. Wright, Back of
Inns; J. Watling, Bethlem-str.,
St. Peter's.
Nottingham  M. Colclough,
Duke's-place, Barker Gate.
Oxford — Mr. Gulliver, Banbury.
Petersfield — .John Pince.
Portsea—G. Broughton,23, Queen-
street.
Reading — R. Snare, Printer.
Rochester-;- J . Berry.
Salisbury— Mr.Barling, Fisherton.
Sheffield — E. Goddard, No. 10,
Broad-lane.
Southampton — J. Sims.
Stamford — J. Drakard.
Stokesley — Armstrong.
Sunderland— W. Chalk, High-str.
Surrey — J. Fisher, Mitcham.
Sussex— Wm. Metcalf, Battle.
Taunton — Webb.
Yarmouth — Alexander.
York — Emmerson.

Some of the above Agents receive their parcels direct from Mr.
Cobbett ; and, in giving their orders to Mr. Cobbett, they are requested
to be very particular in desiring to have the MEMOIRS inclosed. I
have the pleasure of living very near Mr. Cobbett, who employs peo
ple, the same as I do, to fetch and carry. I am ready, at all times, to
supply Mr. Cobbett with any Number without a moment's delay, and
upon Mr. Cobbett's own terms, viz.- — the same terms which Mr. Cob
bett himself charges to me and to all others in the trade for his books.
I hope this explanation will remove all impediments"; if, however, it
should not, this conclusion will be inevitable, namely — that Mr. C. is
determined to contravene the great maxim of all morality and all
religion, and refuse to do by others that which he compels others to
do by him !
THOMAS DOLBY.
299, Strand, June 29, 1832.

Printed by T. Dolby, Britannia Press, 2P9, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 26th day, llth month, 3dyearof the Manchester
Massacke, without retribution or inquiry;
Julyli, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
I have to apologise and to account to you for the delay
which has taken place, and the unusual lateness of the
period for bringing out this Number ; and I do this the
more readily, because no blame whatever should attach to
my publisher, Mr. Dolby, in this respect. First and fore
most, then, I have been too ill to furnish him with the
manuscript before. This illness has arisen from my neg
lecting, or rather being prevented, from taking my usual
quantity of exercise ; and this has been occasioned partly
from two causes. I had always been in the habit of walk
ing an hour at least before breakfast, and frequently an
hour and a half or two hours, from six to eight o'clock in
the morning ; and as this exercise was taken in the fac
tory-yard, in a comparatively pure air, before any of the
prisoners were employed there, I contrived, with great
care and abstemiousness, to preserve my health much
better than my friends expected, or that I could scarcely
hope for in such a vile, pestilential, and contaminated pest-
house ; but when my evil genius, Doctor Colston, and
his hopeful colleague, Squire Newman, were Visiting
9 a

Printed by T. Doiby, 299, Strand.

Magistrates, which was between Christmas and Lady-day,
they not only had the door of my close and confined yard
shut, so as to exclude all possibility of a free circulation
of air as well by day as by night, but, as if for the purpose
of destroying me and depriving me of every particle of
fresh air, they had two furnaces erected just in the centre
of the factory-yard, for making soup for the prisoners, the
chimneys of which being within the walls, and so con
trived as not to reach above half their height, as if for the
purpose of preventing any portion of the smoke or soot
escaping. However, as soon as the fires were lighted in
these furnaces, which was every morning a few minutes
after the doors were opened, I was not only driven out
of the factory, but I was obliged to close the door and
window of my dungeon, to prevent myself from being
suffocated with smoke, and my clothes, books, and papers
being completely covered with soot, which issued in torrents
from these bastard, clerical-contrived chimneys, and found
its way into every crevice and cranny of my room, and spoil
ed my milk and covered my food in the pantry with soot to
such a degree as rendered it frequently totally unfit for
use. It was in vain either to complain, expostulate, or to
point out any means of relief while these worthies re
mained visitors, because any attempt of that sort would
certainly Jiave increased the inconvenience, if they possibly
could have so contrived it ; therefore, for that quarter I
bore it patiently, although I was totally deprived of my
morning exercise. When the present Visiting Magis
trates, Mr. Hanning and General Bathurst, came and or
dered the interior walls of my ward to be lowered, and
the door which Dr. Colston had closed to be thrown open,
and evinced a disposition to render my situation more
comfortable and salubrious, I mentioned to them the
dreadful inconvenience arising from the soot and smoke

issuing from Dr. Colston's furnace chimneys, which were
not above six feet high, and placed as it were just under
the nose of my window. They saw the folly, or rather the
wickedness, of the Doctor's scheme, and ordered them to
be immediately raised, so as to carry the smoke and soot
over the walls. I call them the Doctor's furnace-chim
neys, because I do not think any other Magistrate in the
county would have had such erected ; especially when it
was known, which is the fact, that there was already
what is called a cook-house for the prisoners, where all
their soup and meat used to be dressed, at the back of the
keeper's house, where there was a large chimney already
erected, much higher than the walls, and capable of car
rying off any smoke that might have been made in boiling
the furnaces, had they been erected there. However,
when the prisoners began to raise the chimneys, it was
found that, like all the rest of the Doctor's works, there
was no good - foundation to build upon, and the attempt
was abandoned, and I Was left to endure this horrid rejj-
sance another month or two, till the Magistrates came
again ; for, by-the-bye, they appear to me to leave Mr.
Hardy no discretion, and of course take all the responsi
bility, good, bad, and indifferent, upon themselves. In
the mean time I found my health evidently declining for
want of exercise, which it was useless for me to attempt
to take under such a complication of smoke and showers
of soot. When the Magistrates arrived, I must do them
the justice to say, that they gave orders for having this in
tolerable nuisance removed by funnels placed on the top
of the Doctor's dwarf chimneys, which carry both smoke
and soot over the walls, for the benefit of the surrounding
country, instead of depositing itself, as it did before,
within the walls and in every department of the Gaol.
Another reason for my not taking so much exercise as I
ought to have done at other times of the day, when the

Doctor's agents were not at work, is, a desire and an at
tempt to answer all the letters of all my correspondents.
This I find it impossible to accomplish, without I abandon
all exercise and every consideration of health, which I
cannot submit to. Some weeks, if I were to write from
Monday morning to Saturday night, I could not answer
the letters of all my correspondents ; therefore, I really
must request the indulgence of my friends, not to accuse
or suspect me of inattention, negligence, or disrespect,
if I should not answer mere common-place and compli
mentary letters. I will endeavour to answer all letters of
importance and all letters of business, and all others, as
far as I have it in my power ; but I cannot perform im
possibilities, neither can I exist without health, for with
out health even liberty is valueless ; therefore, I earnest
ly request the indulgence of my friends in this respect_
But I am happy to inform you that I have already felt
the benefit of having the smokey, sootty nuisance removed,
at i having been bled by my skilful friend Mr. Shorland, I
feel myself gaining strength and health again every day.
So much for myself, now for some public matters.
First and foremost, the blunder-headed, " hair-sland-
ing-on-end" Sir Thomas Lethbridge presents himself to
our notice. This impudent, thorough-paced, open-avow
ed tool, for such a number of years, of the most corrupt,
and at the same time most contemptible set of Ministers
that ever disgraced the administration of this or any other
country, has at last turned tail upon his keepers, and is all
at once "become a repentant and refractory Tory, and be
gins to denounce those very measures to support and per
petuate which, he has been the wilful, the unfeeling, the
wicked, and the besotted advocate and apologist. Has
not every vote that he has given since he has become a
Member of the House of Commons, as far as he has had
the power, prolonged the system till it has at length pro-

duced the wretched state of things that is beginning to
drag Sir Thomas Lethbridge down in its mighty torrent
to the level of his grandfather's original obscurity and po
verty. Like the sea-bear, prowling for its prey, is dragged
into the vortex of the mighty and overwhelming whirl
pool ; the very first round he makes, as he is impelled on
by the irresistible power of the phenomenon, instinct deve-
lopes his danger, and he first growls, then howls and bel
lows and roars in vain for help ; no one being near to save
him, he is soon hurled and dashed to pieces at the bottom
of the appalling abyss, disregarded and unpitied. So it is
with Sir Thomas; he will fall by his own hand. He is
much more deserving of his fate than the poor bear is :
entangled in the vortex of that destructive system which
he has assisted to create, he may growl and howl and
bellow and roar in vain ; he that never showed any mercy
to the Reformers when they were in distress, will now fall
unpitied and unlamented. I will insert, for the amuse
ment of my readers, a paragraph which has been put forth
by one of Sir Thomas's despicable underlings — by one of
the dregs, the off-scourings of the system — the contemptible
editor of the Taunton Courier. The following extract
from the Times newspaper is so very appropriate, that I
cannot refrain from inserting it : —
" A paragraph in the Taunton Courier, which we have
extracted, gives a proof of the embarrassments of the
landed interest in Somersetshire, by the example of one
gentleman. We regret all such instances, as we would
pity madmen returned to their senses, but whom we saw
bleeding under gashes and wounds of their own inflicting
during the paroxysm. The Blidsummer rents are now
due. They are, we fear, in niost cases already condemned ;
they were anticipated, voted away in support of those ex
travagancies of which we have summed up a few above.
But now, could Rlinisters only get a House of Commons as
virtuous, honourable, and intelligent, as that which passed
the celebrated resolution about the one pound note and
the guinea, to pass a resolution equally true that no rents

are as good as full rents, then the landlords would no doubt
begin to thrive — the evil would be removed !"
"We hear occasionally, with much concern, of persons
who are compelled, from the diminution, and in too many
cases the annihilation of their incomes, to reduce their es
tablishments to a degree of painful and humiliating
economy. Among others, we regret to state, is Sir T. B.
Lethbridge, Bart., one of our county representatives, who
but too truly predicted in Parliament the destiny which
awaits the landed interest, and who is now, in conse
quence, about to give a practical illustration of the mis
chiefs, to avert which his efforts were so perseveringly
directed. Sandhill Park, the patrimonial residence of the
Honourable Baronet, is to be vacated, and he retires to a
habitation at Luxborough, better suited to the humbler
fortunes to which he must accommodate himself, from the
perverse state of the times. Individually considered, this
is a circumstance to be regretted; but, as a gnomon which
points to the certain fate of a very large, efficient, and
most valuable class ofthe community, the event is preg
nant with the most dismal forebodings. It fell to our duty
some years since, to report the incidents of a day spent by
a large military body at Sandhill Park, where, under the
ample shade of the majestic trees which adorn that lovely
spot, several hundreds were regaled by the Honourable
Baronet with his hospitalities, while a numerous assemblage
of officers partook of sumptuous liberalities within the
walls of his mansion. Verily, the proverbial ingratitude of
Ministers seems but too truly -asserted; for the country
gentlemen are but scurvily requited for their honourable
but too ardent loyalty and public services, and their firm
but incautious confidence in those by whose measures they
are now left the victims of a heartless policy. Volunteer
corps and local militias, it is true, are not at present want
ed; but that Government must be of very questionable
wisdom, which embitters the lives of so many thousands
who have been most zealous in upholding it, and whose
preservation is still essential to the resources of the state.
Like the food, mentioned by Shakspeare, in the jaw of the
ape, they seem to have been ' first mouthed, to be last
swallowed'." — Taunton Courier.
This wretched hack has been hired and paid for insert
ing this infamous falsehood, this pitiable, this crying ac
count of Sir Thomas's distressed and forlorn condition.

I should like very much to know who the devil cares whe
ther the porcupine, mushroom, Baronet, quits Sandhill
Park, or whether he vegetates there a little longer. Who
the devil cares whether he growls at Sandhill or at Lux-
borough. I understand BariNg the Loan-jobber says he
will purchase Sandhill whenever he pleases to sell it. If
he cannot afford to keep it, let him part with it. Baring
sounds quite as well as Lethbridge, and he can afford to
put one of his underlings in the Stock Exchange to reside
there, who will be able to spend double the sum annu
ally amongst his neighbours that Sir Thomas can ; and he
may depend upon it that the worthy tradesmen of Taun
ton will pull their hats off and bow quite as low to Mr.
Scrip, Mr. Omnium, or Mr. Discount, as they have here
tofore done to Sir Thomas. The whole County of So
merset is in a roar of laughter at the mountebank tricks
that Sir Thomas is playing. The farmers say he is play
ing the second act of the farce exhibited by John Benett,
Esq. at Warminster, a few years back, relative to the
Corn Bill, as related in the 36th and 37th Numbers of my
Memoirs. Mr. Benett then threatened to leave us, and
go and live in France, if the Ministers did not pass an Act
to keep up the price of corn and his rents. The people of
England said to Mr. Benett, " who the devil cares where
you go to : go to France or to the devil, and be  , for
what we care." The people of Somerset say the same
thing in answer to the threats of their most worthy and
magnanimous Member Sir Thomas Lethbridge — " go to
Luxborough or go to the devil and be  , for what we
care ;" and they most of them add, " if you will take
your hopeful colleague, Wm. Dickenson, Esq. along with
you (so that he leaves the Flat Holme Lighthouse be
hind him), we shall be more obliged to you, Sir Thomas,
than we ever have been for any piece of service that you

have ever done for us since we were first acquainted."
At any rate, I, for one of the people of Somerset, say this ;
and I know thousands in the county that agree with me.
I hope that the brazen-faced Sir Thomas does not deceive
himself into the belief that he will cheat one man in the
county of Somerset, by his bullying and blustering about
agricultural distress, or by his whining and canting de
claration that the measures of the Ministers have driven
him to be a Radical. No, no ; however dull the people
of Somerset are, they all know Sir Thomas, and they also
know that his Radicalism consists not of principle, but of
empty pockets and no rents. I will ask any man to tell
me what Sir Thomas has done, during the last session of
Parliament ? He floundered about at the beginning ofthe
session, and became quite the Jack Fuller of the Ho
nourable House ; and as soon as the Honourable Blember
for the county of Somerset rose, all the other Members
prepared themselves to laugh. At length, seeing himself
made quite the butt of the House, he became desperate,
and even threatened Castlereagh with the yeomanry, if
he did not do something to keep up the price of rents.
Castlereagh threatened Sir Thomas for using inflamma
tory language, and Sir Tommy declared himself a Radical.
Really empty pockets produce in some men a sort of tame-
ness and sheepishness amounting even to cowardice. Emp
ty pockets make the Baronet desperate, if not courage
ous. But let us contrast his conduct with that of the
Member for Norfolk, Mr. Coke. Mr. Coke has got a re
quisition signed to call a county meeting, which he attend
ed, and supported a petition for Reform, which' was car-
ried,"and which he presented and supported in the Ho
nourable House. Mr. Coke has attended many hundred
meetings in the county of Norfolk, which were called at
his suggestion ; and he has presented petitions from al-

most every hundred in the county, agreed to at hundred
meetings. Take the following a-3 only one out of numer
ous examples of Mr. Coke's exertions : —
Sir William Ro.". ley presented a petition from the in
habitants of the hundred of Brickford, in Suffolk, com
plaining of agricultural distress, and praying for relief.
They also prayed for Parliamentary Reform, which they
stated to be necessary to stop that corruption which was
the bane of the happiness and prosperity of the people.
The Hon. Baronet made some remarks on the petition,
but from the low tone in which he spoke they were whol
ly lost in the gallery.
BIr. Coke also spoke on the petition ; but we were en
abled to collect only a few of his observations. We un
derstood him to say, that he had been requested by the
petitioners to complain of the conduct of two magistrates
of the hundred — one of them a clergyman, who at first
refused to call a public meeting, and afterwards, when it
was known that it was intended to hold one within doors,
they gave notice that if it exceeded 51 persons, they would
break open the doors. The Hon. Blember then made
some allusion to the other Blember forSuffolk (Mr. Gooch)
with reference to the petition ; but we could not collect
its import.
Mr. Gooch said, that from the observation ofthe great
proprietor of land opposite (BIr. Coke), it would seem as
if he thought he monopolized all the independence ofthe
country to himself, as if he wished tp be considered not
only the Solomon of Norfolk, but the Solon ofthe empire.
He (Mr. Gooch) thought that most conscientious and in
dependent men might differ from the opinions of the peti
tioners. He himself was one of those who did so ; but so
far was he from wishing to obstruct their petition, that if
no other Member did, he should be ready to second the
motion for its lying on the table. As to the two magis
trates alluded to, he could say, that they were most re
spectable, and would not do any thing which they did
not think within the scope of their duty.
Mr. Western condemned the conduct of the Magis-
trates, in endeavouring to obstruct the petitioners. It
went to interfere with the most valuable privilege of the
people — to meet for the discussion of grievances. Such
conduct, he thought, called for the attention of the House,
and he hoped some Blember would take occasion to bring
the subject fully before them.
9 B

10
Bir. Hume said, that the present was one of the evils
arising from the appointment of clergymen to the com
mission of the peace. He thought no clergyman should
be allowed to act in such capacity, as it went to interfere
with his discharge of duties from which civil affairs should
be kept quite distinct. It held out temptations to the
clergy to act with partiality, when they found that the
vilest acts were often rewarded by his Majesty's Ministers
with church preferment. He therefore thought that the
clergy should be excluded from the office of civil magis
trate. But he had not any more objection to them than
to others under the influence of the Crown, and therefore
he would also exclude Crown pensioners from the com
mission of the peace. He found one of those magistrates,
a BIr. Merry (we think), who had a pension of 1,700£. a
year, because he had been for some time an ambassador.
Now, how was it to be expected that such persons could
be favourable to meetings for economy and retrenchment,
when they themselves were paid out of the pockets ofthe
people ? He was surprised that the Hon. Member (Mr.
Gooch) was not prepared with some answer to the charge
against those two magistrates, as he must have been aware
of it before now.
The petition was read and ordered to be printed ; as
was a similar petition, presented also by Sir W. Rowley,
from the hundreds of Headwash and Thingo, in the same
county. Mr. Coke not only took occasion more than once of
reporting the conduct of Magistrates, who attempted to
throw impediments in the way of holding Hundred Meet
ings to petition ; but he attended those meetings personally,
where these black sheep, these cormorants, these Clerical
Justices, these pests of society, had been interfering to
prevent, public meetings for Reform, where he set an
example to the freeholders and yeomanry, worthy the
character of a representative for a county; and I have not
the least hesitation to declare,' that Bir. Coke, by the honest
and manly example he set at any one of these Norfolk
Hundred Meetings, did more to serve the cause of real
Reform, than all Sir Thomas's blustering and bullying
would do in seven years. The Blinisters know him

11
well, as well as they know his hopeful colleague, William
Dickenson, Esq. and they care no more for them than they
do for a pair of gingerbread dolls. What has been the con
duct of these two worthy members of ours, as to our
Parson B'lagistrates, and their amiable Gaoler, during the
late session of Parliament? have they not defended the
said Magistrates through thick and thin, in spite of the
report of the Hon. Commissioners ? The following spe
cimen of Mr. Dickenson's support of the Magistrates will
speak for itself, especially when the petition of all the
respectable inhabitants of the Parish of Tintinhull is read.
This petition was forwarded to Mr. James, but he being
obliged to leave London, placed it in the hands of Mr.
H. G. Bennet, who- promised to present it. We shall see.
Read the following extracted from the Times : —
COMPLAINT AGAINST TWO MAGISTRATES.
Bir. James presented a petition from a person named
Priddle, formerly a Licensed Victualler at Tintinhull, near
Ilchester. The petitioner stated, that he had kept a pub
lic-house in that place for about fifteen years, from the
profits of which he had endeavoured to maintain himself
and a family of nine children — that some time ago his
license was taken away, or refused to be renewed, by two
Magistrates of the county (of Somerset — we did not hear
the names distinctly). The only ground which he could
allege for such a proceeding, which reduced himself and
family to ruin, was his having, in common with nearly the
whole of the inhabitants of his neighbourhood, expressed
their great joy at the rejection of the Bill against her late
Majesty. It could not have been for any disorderly con
duct on his part, for all his neighbours, including the head
constable of the place, were ready to attest his having
kept most regular hours; and that at all times his house
was quiet and peaceable. He prayed the House to grant
him some relief, to save himself and children from ruin :
and also to pass a Bill to prevent Magistrates from exer
cising a similar authority in future. The Hon. Member
added, that the House would not be so much surprised at
these charges when they learned, that these two Magis-

12
trates were some of the notorious Visiting Magistrates of
Ilchester Gaol; and if what was now alleged against them
were true, it would seem that they were no less arbitrary
without the walls of Ilchester Bastile than they had been
culpably negligent within them.
Mr. Peel said, he was satisfied that, while on the one
hand the House was willing to encourage petitions, pray
ing for redress of any real or supposed grievance, they
would, on the other, be disposed to give the fullest hearing
to the case of the parties against whom any charge might
be made. He would now briefly inform the House of the
nature of this case, from the statement of the two Bla-
gistrates; oneof whom, from his own personal knowledge,
he could state to be a most respectable individual, and the
other, from what he had heard of hira, he believed to be
not less so. The Right Hon. Gentleman here read a writ
ten statement made by the two Blagistrates, from which it
appeared that long before the licensing day, complaints
had been made to one of the Blagistrates, by the church
wardens, of the disorderly state of the house kept by the
petitioner. He (the Blagistrate) refused to suspend the
license, unless the parties complaining came to confront
the petitioner on the licensing day. The churchwardens
did so, as did also a woman whose husband had been kept
drinking in the petitioner's house three days together. —
It was also charged to the petitioner's face, that he gave
encourag-ement to poor persons to spend their money in
drink at his place, and it was known that pauper? there
expended in drink, the sums which they had obtained as
parochial relief. It appearing to this Blagistrate that
these charges were well founded, he and his brother
Magistrate felt it their duty not to renew the license. As
to the imputation that the licence was withdrawn in con
sequence of the petitioner's having illuminated his house
on the rejection ofthe Bill against the Queen, it was, Bir.
Peel observed, refuted by the honest admission of the
Blagistrate himself, that from the first, he (the Blagistrate)
was of opinion that the Bill ought not to have been
brought in against her late Blajesty. The other Magistrate
also had sent a statement, from which it appeared, that, in
consequence of the complaints against the petitioner, he
had been warned three times, but without effect ; and that
it was only after a full investigation of the case, that the
renewal ofthe license was refused. Having thus informed
the House of what he had reason to believe were the real

13
circumstances of the case, and he trusted they were of a
nature to convince the House that no blame could attach
to those gentlemen, he would only add, that he considered
it extremely unfair on the part of the Hon. Member to
endeavour to prejudice the House against them, by describ
ing them as amongst the notorious Visiting Blagistrates
of Ilchester Gaol. However, from what he had stated, the
result of such a charge would be far from injuring them,
and it would be manifest that they had acted with pro
priety and from a sense of duty.
Mr. Dickenson bore testimony to the fact, that the
petitioner had been warned several times in consequence
ofthe irregularity of his house, and that on the licensing
day the complaints were publicly urged against him.
BIr. H. G. Bennet said, he was sorry that when the
complaints were first made, the parish officers had not
acted upon the present law, by which the petitioner might
have been lined. Such a step would have been better
than the summary one of withdrawing the license, by
which it was probable the man would be mine").
The petition was now read. — On the question that it do
lie on the table,
Mr. James said, he had no intention of casting any in
sinuations against the Blagistrates. He stated what was
in the petition, without vouching for its truth, but he
stated that, to the truth of which several respectable
neighbours of the petitioner were ready to swear. He
ought to have mentioned, that at some periods the peti
tioner's house was disorderly ; and these were, when the
clergyman, the churchwardens, and other parish officers,
held their annual meeting there.
BIr. Peel did not think the Hon. Blember was respon
sible for the statement contained in the petition, but he
must repeat, that it was unfair to speak of the gentlemen
Complained of as some of the " notorious Visiting Bla
gistrates" of Ilchester.
The petition was ordered to lie on the table.
Read what Squire Dickenson says, my friends, and
after vou recollect how he eulogised the Gaol, the Gaoler,
and the Blagistrates of Ilchester, and when you see how
ready he is to vindicate the Blagistrates, or at least to
make bungling excuses for them, then only contrast this

14
conduct of the two Members for Somerset with that of
Mr. Coke of Norfolk. Now, what have Sir Thomas and
Squire William, our two Members, done — what have this
precious pair done for the county to relieve the farmers
from their distress ? Have they called any County Meet
ing ? Have they called any Hundred Meeting ? Have
they signed any requisition for that purpose, or have they
urged their friends, the Sheriffs, to attend to the requisi
tions ofthe freeholders of the county ? Upwards of two
thousand freeholders and farmers of the county signed a
requisition to the Sheriff, urging him to call a County
Meeting ; amongst other matters, to take into considera
tion the distressed state ofthe agricultural interest. The
Sheriff refused to call a meeting. Another requisition
was presented to }he Sheriff, signed by upwards of two
hundred most respectable farmers of the county, request
ing him to convene the freeholders and farmers of the
county, expressly to take into consideration the agricultu
ral distresses ofthe county. This also was refused by both
the present and late Sheriff. Did, or did not, the County
Members interfere upon this occasion ? — They were con
sulted ; and the result was, that both the Sheriffs declined
to call a County Meeting. To be sure, there might be
good reasons for these gentlemen wishing not to have the
county called together. A meeting called upon either of
these requisitions would certainly have produced a dis
cussion, and a vote upon my treatment in this Bastile by
the Magistrates. These worthies, if any of them had at
tended, would have been cross-questioned a little; and
Squire Dickenson might have, been asked to account for
the sum of one thousand five hundred and twenty-three
pounds, which was paid to him last year out of the taxes, on
account of the East Somerset division of Yeomanry Cavalry ;
and he also might have been asked to account for the

15
thousands which he has received annually out of the
taxes, by his Government job of renting the Flat-Holm-
Lighthouse. Ah, Squire Dickenson ! well you may dread
to meet the freeholders of the county face to face, since
Henry Hunt caused these deeds of darkness to be brought
to light, and proved to them and to the world what a very
independent and disinterested Member of Parliament you
are. No one will wonder that you voted with the Minis
ters against Sir Francis Burdett's motion for my liberation
from your Bastile, at the end of two years' imprisonments
no wonderyou voted for my being incarcerated six months
longer, as an example to deter others from treading in my
steps. You knew very well what I had been at, and you
knew that the disgraceful jobs of the East Somerset
Yeomanry Cavalry, and the Flat-Holm Lighthouse,
would soon be exposed ; and I am not at all surprised at
your wishing and voting for giving me six months'
longer imprisonment. I should be very sorry to be left
to your mercy, Squire. I have no doubt but you think'me
entitled to death, or, what is worse, imprisonment for life,
for having brought your handy works to light ; but I pro
mise you, Squire, that my time shall not be idly spent
while I remain here. I have turned it hitherto, in the
midst of all the persecutions which you and your brother
Magistrates have heaped upon me — in spite of these I
have been able to attend a little to you as well as myself,
and 1 promise you, while I remain here, that you shall re
ceive all due attention. With this promise I leave you
your Yeomanry Cavalry fees, and your Flat-Holm Light
house rates and dues, for the present.
LIBERATION DINNER TO MR. WOOLER.
In my last number I stated that Mr. Wooler would be
liberated from the Dungeon of the Boroughmongers at
Warwick, on the 26th of this month, and that the worthy

-lis
Reformers of Birmingham meant to give him a dinner on
that day. Uriavoidablecircumstanoes will detain Mr. Wooler
in Warwick on important business till the -twenty-seventh,
and -the twenty-eighth being Sunday, the Dinner will take
place on Monday, the Twenty-ninth,, precisely at two
o'clock, as will'be seen by a letter oFinvitalion, addressed
by the Committee to the Rev. Henry Cresswell, of Creech
St. Michael, in this county, a copy of which letter I have
directed to be published a-t the end of this address. Sir
Charles Wolseley has accepted their invitation to take the
chair, and in allusion to some intimation, & la Manchester ,
in order to prevent;him from attending the Dinner, as the
authorities of Manchester did Mr. Cobbett, when he had
promised to dine there after his return from America,, Sir
Charles writes as follows — "I accept your invitation, and"
wilPdo myself the honour to take the chair. I neither
heednorfear the tyrants." BIr. Northmore has also ac
cepted the invitation, which L insert with his answer ; he
' will be there ; so that Mr. Wooler will be well supported
¦by men of rank, talent, and character, eminent in the
ranks of Reform. As there- appeared to be a great deal
of coquetting between the occupier of the Vauxhall-Gar-;
dens, where they intended to have had the Dinner, the
brave Reformers of Birmingham at once came to the re
solution of providing a place themselves ; and the Dinner
18 TO TAKE PLACE IN A SPACIOUS AND NOBLE AMPHI
THEATRE TO BE ERECTED EXPRESSEY1' FOR THE PUR'-'
pose. .Major Cartwright has been invited, of course, and
has written an able answer, excusing himself iii conse
quence of his extreme age and illness. The presence of
the worthy Major would have given an addi'tiojia4 zest to
the meeting, identified as he. was with, the cause, for which
Mr. Wooler was incarcerated. But with, the,^gallant^ir
Charles in the chair, supporter}, by Mr, Northmore, and, I

17
hope, my friend Cresswell, and other steady, unbendujo-
friends to Liberty. Bir. Wooler's reception at Birming
ham will be such as will be most gratifying to his feelings,
and will do honour to the Reformers of Birmingham. I
had pledged myself that there would be a Dinner, and I
find that I knew the stuff that the Reformers of Birming
ham are made of; notwithstanding the most vexatious
and harrassing impediments have been thrown in their
way, they will redeemmy pledge, in spite of all opposition.
It will be a gallant and gratifying fete. But you will see,
and I shall hear of it.

HUNT'S BREAKFAST POWDER.
The Agents for selling Hunt's Breakfast Powder are
informed, that they shall be supplied as soon as it is pos
sible to get a stock made. Upon the faith of the resolu
tions which were moved by Mr. Lushington, and passed
by the Hon. House, my son and Mr. Wilde began to
manufacture, and had prepared several tons ; a great part
of which was ground and packed up, in readiness to meet
the numerous demands which had been sent from all
parts ofthe United Kingdom. But when the Act passed,
it was found to contain a clause to prohibit the sale of it
in any other slate but whole and unground, under a pe
nalty of fifty pounds; so that all their labour and
expense is thrown away, as far as respects the sale of it,
for none can be sold in that state. Fortunately, about one
ton remained unground, and more is preparing as fast as
possible, to meet the demand, and the Agents shall be
supplied as soon as it is made. I shall neither look to the
right nor the left; but I shall, with all due diligence,
cause them to be supplied, after the first two or three
weeks, in the most regular manner ; and I am sure that
all my friends will make due allowance for any trifling
9 o

18
delay in ^ the onset, arising from the circumstance I haV*
stated above, particularly when they 'recollect, that I am1 iriJ '
carcerated in Ilchester Bastile, one hundred and fcOR'tif
mi^,es from the manufactory. Ih spite of e'nH, hatred,
and malice,, and all ujnchaRitableneS's, I have already
respectable Agent? appointed in more than one hun
dred towns and cities, East, West, North, and 'South,
in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales ; ahrj I beli&ve
I am greatly indebted to the mean-spirited,' raticorMsj ahd
dastardly maliceofmyenemies,forthe Unho'uMe'd kihdhfes's
and support which I have already met with, and ani likfel'y
to receive from all parts of Ihe empire ; and Iknqyo that I
am solely indebted to the black-hearted, though impotent
malice of ascertain person, for offers from some ofthe most
respectable and responsible ^'ehtliernen to become Agehts
for the sale of my roasted grain. I have inserted the A,et
of Parliament, and I shall have a printed copy , enclosed ,
and sent with the first order to every Agent, that «ach
person may know the Act as Well as myself. I never
made any mystery, or attempted to conceal the sort of
grain with which my Breakfast Towder was inahufae-
tured. I am perfectly satisfied with that part of the Act
which compels people to sell it WHOLE, for every one
will now know what it is that the beverage is, made of.
j Some persons used to object to the Use of the Powder,
fearing that there might b'e something in it' Injurious to
health., Not one ounce was'ever manufactured by me pf
any other grain, material, or ingredient, b\it English
Rye— of English 'Rye alone will it continue to, he manu
factured in my name. The- prbfcgss ^rhich ihe rye goes
through in preparing it for the roasteri gives it apart jeularly
pleasant flavour, peculiar to roasted grain' of Hunt's ma
nufacture,, only divested of all mixtures of 'smoke, gas,
sulphur, and that nauseous smack which }& found in
common roasted grain. -Those who use it, will find it

19
much improved by grinding it, or bruising it with a
rolling pin immediately before it is vised ; and it will add
greatly to its flavour and freshness, if it be placed in a
Dutch-oven, or in a plate before the fire, a short time
before it is ground, as the French do their coffee, but by
no means to place it in any pot, or frying-pan, or vessel
over the fire, for by that means it will acquire a smoky
flavour. Those who recommend people to roast their
own corn over the fire, are nothing more than common
imposters, and will always be considered as such by those
why try the experiment. Every one who has the means,
if I could have my wish, should certainly try their own
making once, and I would venture a trifle that not three
out of a hundred would ever try it a second time,
if they could purchase such as is manufactured by me.
With regard to the price, I only sell wholesale ; and I
shall sell it at such a price as will, I hope, insure me a
fair profit ; and if I am favoured with a large sale, in con
sequence of its superiority in flavour and salubrity, I hope
to make a handsome income by it ; and, in case of a large
sale, if I clear one penny per pound, after all expenses,
outgoings, risks, and losses are paid, I shall be very well
satisfied : the person who retails it of course will be
entitled to a much larger profit, which I shall not envy
him; neither will any one envy me my profits, what
ever they may be, unless it be some selfish, mean-spirited,
dirty, groveling wretch, who envies every honest man,
because he possesses that treasure which the wretch
himself has thrown away for ever — a self-approving con
science. After the bloody slaughter which I witnessed at Man
chester, on the 16th of August, 1819, 1 had acquired some
influence over the minds of the Radicals in the North ;
and the way in which I exercised that influence, was
by endeavouring to inculcate the practice and habit of

•20
sobriety ; and I strongly urged them to abstain as much as
possible from the use of intoxicating liquors, particularly
taxed beer and spirits; and I lost no opportunity of di
lating upon the evil and fatal effects which resulted from
labourers, artizans, and mechanics spending their money
and their time at public-houses. When 1 entered London
on the 13th of September following, attended by almost
the whole population, before I left the barouche in which
I rode, at the door ofthe Crown and Anchor, I recommend
ed the people to abstainfromtheuseof all deleterious.intox-
icating liquors, and highly taxed articles, such as tea and
coffee ; and I declared my intention to abstain from them
myself, till every means had been used to obtain an in
quiry into the bloody murders committed at Manchester
on that day. Very soon after I retired into the country to
Middleton Cottage, I received various communications
from different parts ofthe country, with the pleasing intel
ligence that my recommendations had been adopted by
great numbers of persons, and particularly in the North ;
that in many places, and particularly at Bolton, the publi
cans and brewers began to complain of the loss of their
trade. This information first induced me to turn my
attention to the providing some untaxed substitute ; I went
to London, and after consulting with many ingenious
persons, I beg-an to make some experiments, by roasting
pease, beans, wheat, Indian corn, French beans, and a
thousand other things, none of which appeared to produce
so pleasant a beverage as Indian corn, and none made a
more noxious and nauseous draught than roasted English
wheat. As I made no secret of these things, it was talked
of all over London, and many of the samples upon which I
had been trying the experiments, were handed about ; at
length I discovered by an old French recipe, that rye, ma
nufactured in a particular way, and then roasted in a
manner not to imbibe the smoke, gas, or sulphur, was a

21
good substitute for coffee, and much more wholesome and
nutricious, at the same time that its flavour was equal, if
not superior, to coffee. I soon made the experiment, and
found it answer ; and, by dint of perseverance, I discovered
a method how to extract the oiley and nauseous quality
contained in the bran, which, when roasted, gave the
beverage made from it a very disagreeable and disgusting
flavour. In the mean time, others began to roast pease
and beans, and wheat, and I believe little Sam Wad-
dington was the first who began to roast pease for sale,
but no one ever attempted regularly to manufacture pre
pared rye or other grain for sale, that I ever heard of,
before I opened my manufactory at Broad-wall. I can
now venture to say, that with great care, labour, and
expense, I have brought the manufactory of this article to
a pitch of perfection never yet equalled by any one, and
for having discovered this valuable method of manufac
turing English grain into a pleasant, nutricious, and par
ticularly wholesome beverage, I have had the satisfac
tion of being pronounced to be a " benefactor lo my
country;" and this has been declared in the House of
Commons, unanswered and unopposed by any one. I
was prosecuted by the Government, and fined two hun
dred pounds. In speaking of the savage and vindictive
manner in which these fines were exacted, Sir Francis
Burdett said in his place in the House of Commons, that I
had rendered an important service to my country by the
discovery I had made, and I was entitled to a premium
instead of a prosecution from the Government of the
country. These praises, coming from such an honourable
and enlightened source, very naturally excited the keen
envy, the bitter hatred, and the most piercing pangs of
malice, in the breasts of those who are jealous of any
person's prosperity but their own. These selfish persons
have lost no opportunity to endeavour to injure me, by all

22
*orts of falsehoods about the manufactory of the Breakfast
Powder: but I have the pleasure to inform you, my
friends, that the malignant shafts of these venomous rep
tiles have fallen harmless to the ground hitherto ; and I
now hear from various quarters, that their malignity has
heen so barefaced, and has been mixed up with such
palpable falsehoods, that it is likely to be of the greatest
service to me in promoting the sale of the article. I
believe I am indebted to thousands purchasing of it, that
would never have done so, had it not been for these cow
ardly and dirty attacks.

GREAT NORTHERN UNION.
The Lord have mercy upon us ! My worthy friends of
the Northern Union, at Manchester, are really become
quite witty and funny. Ha' ha!! ha!!! The DUKES
of Norfolk arid Bedford— the EARLS Grey, Albemarle,
Carnarvon, and Grosvenor — and LORDS King and
Erskine, &c. &c. &c. &c. &c. &c.,are invited to become
Members of, and subscribers to, our Northern Union. The
Lord save us ! the Lord help us ! ! the Lord have mercy
upon us ! ! ! I am, my Friends,
Your's most sincerely,
H. HUNT

23

TO THE REV. HENRY CRESSWELL.
Birmingham, July 8, 1822.
Worthy and Respected Sir, — The Committee for
arranging the proceedings of a dinner intended to be given
to Mr. Wooler, on his liberation from confinement, have
deputed me to solicit the honour of your company on the
occasion. Bir. Wooler's exertions in the cause of the People, entitle
him to the respect of every man through whose veins
flows the honest blood of independence; and, identified
as the Reformers of Birmingham are with that Gentleman's
sufferings, they cannot but rejoice on his once more
leaving the dungeon of his oppressors; they are deter
mined no effort shaU be wanting on their part to convince
him of the truth he has proclaimed — that Britons are not
yet prepared to become the sworn minions of despotism.
Gentlemen of eminence in the patriotic ranks have been
invited to attend at the proposed dinner ; and I doubt not
but these proceedings will be such as to give increased
vigour to those principles of Liberty which constitute the
inherent birthright of a People.
The Committee desire me to convey to you their grate
ful thanks for your prompt and efficient exertions attend
ing the liberation of the venerable Charles Hill from the
Bastile of Ilchester, and to assure you that should it be
convenient for you to attend at the intended dinner, it will
be their study to afford you every comfort and conve
nience. Waiting your reply,
I am, Sir,
Your obedient humble Servant,
JAMES TREV1TT, Secretary.
No. 5, Digby-street.
Dinner will be on the table precisely at two o'clock on
Monday, July 29.

24
TO THOMAS NORTHMORE, ESQ.
Birmingham, July 4, 1823.
Worthy and Respected Sir, — I have the pleasure
to state, that the Reformers of this town and neighbour
hood have come to the determination of providing a
Public Dinner for Mr. Wooler, on his release from im
prisonment; and as it cannot be doubted but a most
respectable company will attend on the occasion, 1 feel
proud in the trust delegated to me by the Committee for
arranging the proceedings, of inviting you to honour the
meeting with your attendance.
It will be a gladdening spectacle to behold so many
resolute Patriots assembled tog-ether for so cheering a
purpose. The system of delusion so long carried on with
success in this part of the kingdom, has received a blow
from which it can never recover ; and the advantages
obtained by the friends of freedom and humanity, require
only to be followed up with vigour and perseverance, to
ensure a glorious triumph. It is evident that the dinner
intended to be given to Mr. Wooler will produce the most
beneficial effects among the already confirmed Reformers,
and may tend in a material degree to weaken the forces of
' their enemies, and increase their own strength. In fact,
it is impossible to foresee the advantages that may arise
from the proposed measure; and as the people of Bir
mingham would feel highly gratified at the presence of
such a truly high-minded Englishman as yourself, at such
a period, I feel conscious that if it does not operate to
your personal inconvenience, you will accede to their
request. Waiting your early reply,
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant,
JABIES TREVITT.
No. 5, Digby-street.
The precise day on which the dinner will take place,
will hereafter be notified through the medium of Mr.
Hunt's Memoirs, the Black Dwarf, and the Manchester
Observer.

25
TO MR. JAMES TREVITT. Teignmouth, 7th July, 1822.
Sir — It is with considerable satisfaction that I have this
day received the information that the Reformers of Bir
mingham have come to the determination of honouring,
by a public dinner, that truly consistent patriot, and very
able writer, Mr. Wooler ; and I feel highly flattered by
the kind invitation with which the Committee has ho
noured me upon the occasion.
Nothing, Sir, shall prevent my participation in the festi
val of Freedom, and her twin sisterReason, but a relapse
of that complaint under which I have been suffering for
five months ; but from which, thank God, I am now, by
the benefit of sea air, &c. rapidly recovering.
I perfectly agree in the sentiments conveyed in your let- '
ter. Under all this accumulation of taxation, misery, and
starvation at home, and weakness and degradation abroad,
it is impossible that the triumph of corruption should be
lasting. In the scale of nations we are already become
a second-rate power, from which nothing can raise us, but
a restoration of the constitution to its original purity, and
ofthe people to their best birth-right.
I am, Sir, your's, &c.
THOS. NORTHMORE,

ANNO TERTIO GEORGII IV. REGIS. Cap. 58.
Ali Act to regulate the Manufacture and Sale of scorched
or roasted Corn, Peas, Beans, or Parsnips, and of
Cocoa Paste, Broma, and other Mixtures of Cocoa.
[5th July, 1822.
Whereas by an Act made in the forty-third year of the
reign of his late Majesty King George the Third, to amend
so much of an Act made in the same session of Parliament,
for granting additional duties of Excise, as relates to the
exportation of tea to Ireland, for regulating the granting
of permits for the removal of coffee, tea, and cocoa nuts
out of warehouse, and for more- effectually securing the
duties on coffee, it was enacted, that from and after the
- 9 D

26
1st day of September, 1803, if any burnt, scorched, or
roasted peas, beans, or other grain, or vegetable substance
or substances, prepared or manufactured for the purpose
of being in imitation of or in any respect to resemble cof
fee or cocoa, or to serve as a substitute for coffee or cocoa,
or alleged or pretended by the possessor or vender there
of so to be, shall be made or kept for sale, or shall be of
fered or exposed to sale, or shall be found in the custody
or possession of any dealer or dealers in or seller or sellers
of coffee or cocoa, or if any burnt, scorched, or roasted
peas, beans, or other grain, or vegetable substance or sub
stances, not being coffee or cocoa, shall be called by the
preparer, manufacturer, possessor, or vender thereof, by
the name of English or British coffee, or any other name
of coffee, or by the name of American cocoa, or English or
British cocoa, or any other name of cocoa, the same respec
tively shall be forfeited, together with the packages con
taining the same, and shall and may be seized by any
officer or officers of Excise ; and the person or persons
preparing, manufacturing, or selling the same, or having
the same in his, her, or their custody or possession, or the
dealer or dealers, in or seller or sellers of coffee or
cocoa, in whose custody the same shall be found, shall
forfeit and lose the sum of one hundred pounds: And
whereas it is expedient, notwithstanding the provisions
herein-before recited, to allow the manufacture and sale
of scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, as
herein-after mentioned, by persons not being dealers in or
sellers of coffee or cocoa : Be it therefore enacted by the
King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice
and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and
Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by
the authority ofthe same, that from and after the passing
of this Act it shall and may be lawful for any person or
persons, not being a dealer or dealers in, or seller or
sellers of coffee or cocoa, to manufacture, deal in, and sell
scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, whole,
and not ground, crushed, or powdered, under the licence,
and subject and according to the rules, regulations, and
restrictions herein-after mentioned and contained ; any
thing in the Act herein-before contained to the contrary
notwithstanding. II. And be it further enacted, that all and every person
or persons, who shall manufacture for sale, deal in, or sell
any such scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or pars-

27
nips as aforesaid, shall, before he, she, or they shall manu
facture, deal in, or sell any such scorched or roasted corn,
peas, beans, or parsnips as aforesaid, take out a licence
authorizing such person or persons to manufacture, deal
in, or sell such scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or,
parsnips as aforesaid, which licences shall be granted in
manner herein-after mentioned ; (that is to say), if any
such licence shall be granted to authorize the person pr
persons to whom the same shall be granted, to manufac
ture, deal in, or sell any such scorched or roasted corn,
peas, beans, or parsnips within the limits of the chief
office of Excise in London, the same shall be granted un
der the hands and seals of two or more of the Commis
sioners' of Excise in England for the time being, or of sueh
persons as they the said Commissioners of Excise, or the
major part of them for the time being, shall from time to
time direct for that purpose ; but if any such licence shall
be granted to authorize the person or persons to whom
the same shall be granted, to manufacture, deal in, or sell ,
any such scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or pars
nips, in any part of England out of the limits of the said
chief office, the same shall be granted under the respective
hands and seals of the collectors and supervisors of Ex
cise, within their respective collections and districts ; and
in case any such licence shall be granted to authorize the
person or persons to whom the same shall be granted, to
manufacture, deal in, or sell any such scorched or roasted
corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, within the limits of the city
of Edinburgh, the same shall be granted under the hands
and seals of two or more of the Commissioners of Excise.
in Scotland for the time being; or if any such licence
shall be granted to authorize the person or persons to
whom the same shall be granted, to manufacture, deal in,
or sell any such scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or
parsnips, in any part of Scotland out of the limits of the
city of Edinburgh, then the sq,me shall be granted under
the respective hands and seals of the collectors and super
visors of Excise in Scotland, within their respective col
lections and districts ; and such respective Commissioners
of Excise, or two or more of them respectively, and the
persons to be directed by the said Commissioners of Ex
cise in England, or the major part of them, and also all
such collectors and supervisors, are hereby respectively
authorized and required to grant such licences to the per
sons who shall apply for the same, on the person or per-

28
sons applying for the same first paying the sum of two
shillings and sixpence for each such licence.
III. And be it further enacted, that the said several
sums of money by this Act directed to be paid for such
licences respectively, shall be paid for such respective
licences to such persons as are herein-after in that behalf
respectively mentioned ; that is to say, such thereof as
shall be paid for licences which shall be taken out within
the limits ofthe chief office of Excise in London, shall be
paid at the chief office of Excise in London ; and such
thereof as shall be paid for licences which shall be taken
out within the limits of the city of Edinburgh, shall be
paid at the chief office of Excise iB Edinburgh ; and such
thereof as shall be paid for licences which shall be taken
out in any part of Great Britain not within the said re
spective limits, shall be paid to the respective collectors
of Excise in whose collections such respective licences
shall be granted.
IV. And be it further enacted, that no person or per
sons shall manufacture, deal in, or sell any such scorched
or roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, after the expira
tion of such his, her, or their licence, unless such person
or persons shall take out a fresh licence for the like pur
pose in the manner herein-before directed, ten days at
least before the expiration of such former licence, and so
in like manner renew every such licence from year to
year; and if any person or persons shall begin to manu
facture for sale, deal in, or sell any such scorched or roast
ed corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, without first taking out
a licence authorizing him, her, or them so to do, and re
newing the same, as herein-before in that behalf directed,
he, she, or they shall for every such offence forfeit and
lose the sum of fifty pounds : provided always, that persons
trading in partnership, and in one house or shop only,
shall not be obliged to take out more than one licence in
any one year for manufacturing, dealing in, or selling any
such scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips ;
and that no one licence which shall be granted by virtue
of this Act, shall authorize or empower any person or per
sons to manufacture, deal in, or sell any such scorched or
roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, in any other house,
workhouse, warehouse, shed, room, or other place than
the house, workhouse, Warehouse, shed, room, or other
place, whereof entry in writing shall be made at the office
of Excise, in the name or names of such person or persons,

29
for manufacturing, dealing in, or selling any such scorch-
ed or roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, at the time of
granting such licence, and in respect whereof such licence
shall be granted.
V. And be it further enacted, that all the monies arising
by the licences by this Act required (the necessary
charges of raising and accounting for the same excepted),
shall from time to time be paid into the receipt of his Ma
jesty's Exchequer at Westminster ; and the said money -so
paid into the said receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer as
aforesaid, shall be carried to and made part of the Con
solidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland.
VI. And be it further enacted, that before any such
person br persons as aforesaid shall begin to manufacture
for sale, or deal in or sell any such scorched or roasted
corn, peas, beans, or parsnips as aforesaid, he, she, or they
shall and they are hereby required to make a true and par
ticular entry in writing, according to the laws now in force
in respect to Excise entries of places, of every house,
room, and place, and of every utensil by him, her, or
them respectively made use of, or intended to be made
use of, in or for the scorching or roasting or keeping of
scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips for sale,
at the office of Excise within the limits whereof such
house, room, or place shall be situate, and shall be subject
to the survey of the officers of Excise, in like manner as
coffee dealers are now by law subject ; and all and every
such person or persons shall, as soon as any such corn,
peas, beans, or parsnips, has or have been scorched or
roasted, put and make up the same whole, and not ground,
crushed, or powdered, and unmixed with any other arti
cle or ingredient whatsoever, in packages, and stamp or
mark the cover of every such- package with the words
" roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips," as the case may
be, and with his, her, or their name and place of resi
dence ; and shall not have or keep, or sell or offer to sell
or deliver, any scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or
parsnips, under any other name or description whatever
than scorched or roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, as
the case may be, or in any other state or condition than
whole' and not ground, crushed, or powdered, or mixed
with any other article or ingredient, or otherwise than so
made up into such packages so marked as aforesaid, on
pain of forfeiting for each and every such offence the sum

30
of fifty pounds, together with all the corn, peas, beans, or
parsnips, and other articles or ingredients mixed, or of the
like kind as are mixed therewith, and also the utensils
for the scorching or roasting corn, peas, beans, or parsnips,
which shall at any time be found in any house, room, or
place so made use of orintended to be made use of as afore
said, and whereof no such entry shall be made as aforesaid,
or which shall be in the custody or possession of any such
person or persons not licensed as aforesaid, or had or kept
by him, her, or them, or sold or delivered, otherwise than
as aforesaid ; and the same shall and may be seized by any
officer or officers of Excise : provided always, that nothing
herein contained shall extend, or be deemed or construed
to extend, to repeal or alter the Act or provisions herein
before recited, in any other respect, manner, or degree
than is and are expressly provided by this Act.
VII. And be it further enacted, that from and after the
10th day of October, 1822, it shall and may be. lawful for
any person or persons duly licensed to deal in cocoa, who
shall first make entry of his, her, or their premises, for the
purpose herein-after mentioned, at the nearest office of
Excise, and who shall not be a scorcher or roaster of corn,
peas, beans, or parsnips, or a dealer in or seller of scorched
or roasted corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, or have in bis
possession any such corn, peas, beans, or parsnips, to make
and manufacture in such entered premises, and with the
knowledge of the proper officer, cocoa paste, broma, and
other mixtures and preparations of cocoa with sugar and
arrow root flour or other farinaceous powder, such arrow
root flour or other farinaceous powder not being baked,
scorched, roasted, or otherwise disguised or altered from
its natural state, except by being mixed with cocoa as
aforesaid, and to sell and offer and expose to sale such
cocoa paste, broma, or other mixture or preparation as
aforesaid: provided always, that every such person and
persons shall inclose all such cocoa paste, broma, and otfyer
such mixtures and preparations of cocoa as aforesaid, as
soon as the same is made,, and before the same is sold,
offered, or exposed for sale or delivered, in paper sealed
and stamped, or in some pot or other vessel to which a
stamp shall be affixed, in such manner as the Commis
sioners of Excise shall from time to time direct for that
purpose, and which stamp the Commissioners of Excise
shall from time to time furnish and cause to be delivered to
every such person and persons as aforesaid, upon hjs, her, or

31
their request ; and upon such person and persons paying to
such Commissioners for such stamps so to be used sixpence
for every stamp to be attached to a pound weight, and three
pence for every stamp to be attached to half a pound
weight, and three halfpence for every stamp to be attach
ed to every quarter of a pound weight of all such cocoa
paste, broma, or other mixtures as herein described ; and
if any person or persons shall make or manufacture any
cocoa paste, broma, or other mixture or preparation of
coeoa as aforesaid, without first making such entry as
aforesaid, or shall mix with any cocoa any baked, scorch
ed, or roasted material whatsoever, or any ingredient
whatsoever, except as aforesaid, or shall keep, offer for
sale, sell, or deliver any such preparation of cocoa, other
wise than in the manner and inclosed ki the paper or pot
as aforesaid, containing not less than one quarter of a
pound, or more than one pound, stamped as aforesaid, or
shall use any such stamp or paper a second time, or imi
tate or use any stamp for the purpose aforesaid, which
shall not have been issued by or by the order of the Com
missioners of Excise, or shall use any art or contrivance
by which the officer surveying such premises shall be pre
vented or deceived in taking a true account of all such
compound cocoa, broma, or other mixture of cocoa with
sugar and arrow root flour, or. other unbaked, unscorched,
unroasted, and undisguised ferinaceous powder as afore
said, or shall obstruct or hinder such officer in taking such
account, every such person and persons in such cases re
spectively offending shall for every such offence severally
forfeit and lose the sum of one hundred pounds.
VIII. And be it further enacted, that all fines, penalties,
and forfeitures imposed by this Act, shall be sued for, re
covered, and levied, or mitigated, by such means, ways, or
methods as any fine, penalty, or forfeiture may be sued
for, recovered, levied, or mitigated by any law or laws of
Excise, or by action of debt, bill, plaint or information, in
any of his Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster, or
in the Court of Exchequer in Scotland respectively ; and
that one moiety qf every such fine, penalty, or forfeiture'
shall be paid to his Majesty, his heirs and successors, and the
other moiety to him, her, or them who shall inform, dis
cover, or sue for the same.
IX. And be it further enacted, that all and every the
powers, directions, rules, penalties, forfeitures, clauses,
matters., and things, which in and by an Act made in the

32
twelfth year of the reign of King Charles the Second, in
tituled " An Act for taking away the Court of Wards and
Liveries, and Tenures in Capite, and by Knight Service
ajid Purveyance ; and for settling a revenue upon his Bla
jesty in lieu thereof ;" or by any other law now in force
relating to his Majesty's revenue of Excise, are provided
or established for managing, raising, levying, collecting,
mitigating, or recovering, adjudging or ascertaining the
-duties thereby imposed, or any of them, shall be practised,
used, and put in execution in and for the managing, rais
ing, levying, collecting, mitigating, recovering, and pay
ing the licence duty of Excise by this Act imposed, and
for preventing, detecting, and punishing frauds relating
thereto, and all and every breach and breaches of the re*
gulations hereby imposed, as fully and effectually,- to. all
intents and purposes, as if all and, every the said powers,
rules, directions, penalties, forfeitures, clauses, matters
and things were^ particularly repeated and re-enacted in
this A,ct.
X. And be it further enacted, that this Act may be al
tered, amended, or repealed by any Act or Acts to be
passed in this session of Parliament.

Printed by T. Dolby, Britannia Press, 399, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
-0©©©=°-
Ilchester Bastile, 7th day, llth month, 3d year ofthe Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
July 23, 1922.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
Ilchester Bastile is to be razed to the
ground ! ! ! Squire Dickenson, our Quarter Sessions
Chairman, in his charge to the Grand Jury at the Sessions
held at Bridgewater, last week, took occasion to inform
the public, through this charge, that the Grand Jury hav
ing presented the Gaol of Ilchester as being totally unfit
for a County Gaol, and the Royal Commissioners having in
their Report condemned the scite, situation, and buildings
of the said Gaol altogether, the Magistrates had, after the
most mature consideration, come to the resolution of en
tirely removing it from Ilchester to Shepton Mallett. A
Sheriffs' Gaol was to be added to the present House of
Correction at Shepton, which would be enlarged, and the
establishment at Ilchester would be entirely removed, and
the scite and buildings would be sold to help to pay the
expenses of building the new Gaol, which had been esti
mated at 10,000L Well, Bir. Thomas Fowell Bux
ton, what say you to this ? You who published a book
almost on purpose to eulogize the Gaol, the Gaoler, and
the Magistrates of Ilchester. When I came to this Gaol,
10 A

Printed by T. Domr, 8SW, Strand.

on the 17th of May, 1820, the tricksters and impostors be
longing to this place had so managed, that it was cried
up to be one of the tip-top, crack Gaols in the kingdom.
The Governor, Bridle, was said to be a most humane, ex
cellent man, and one of the most able and efficient officers
in the kingdom ; and the Magistrates bore the character
of being active and vigilant, and that their management
of this excellent Gaol was most praise-worthy. They
had all of them contrived, by means of the county money,
to get themselves puffed off in the Lying Post or Sher
borne Mercury, and the Taunton and Bath papers, whose
columns are always open to any puff, however disgusting,
that was sent to them either by Bridle or Sir John Ac-
land. Scarcely ever a Sessions or1 an Assizes passed for
many years back, that these vehicles of falsehood and
fraud did not vomit forth some time-serving, fawning,
flattering account of the humanity and activity of the
Gaoler, and the praise-worthy conduct of the Visiting
Magistrates. Every complaint that had ever been made
against the Gaoler or the management of the Gaol had
been put down with a high hand by the Magistrates.
Turnkeys, Task-masters, and Matrons had been dismiss
ed and discharged without ceremony or any fair inquiry,
for merely whispering aught against the Gaoler. Phillip
Avery, his wife, and John Chapman, two Turnkeys, were
discharged without any hearing, because they complained of
Bridle's conduct, and charged him with having robbed
the county. Lake, the Task-master, and his wife, were
also discharged for merely hinting something to the dis
credit of Bridle ; and as he boldly repeated his charges
after he left the Gaol, Sir John Acland and his brother
Magistrates held a sort of sham inquiry in the absence of
Lake, the person who made the charges, at the end of
which inquiry, which was a precious affair by their own
shewing (which I will insert below) , they came to the

unanimous resolution that the amiable Mr. Bridle was an
injured and calumniated man, and that Lake had fabri
cated all his charges merely to ruin the said amiable per
sonage. The following is their own account, published in
the Taunton Courier and the other newspapers of the
county at the time. Pray read it attentively, my friends :
" ILCHESTER GAOL.
"' A short time since, one Lake, a man employed as Task
master at Ilchester Gaol, was dismissed from his appoint
ment, in consequence of improper conduct. The charges
against him were confirmed by BIr. Bridle, the keeper of
the Gaol, and this circumstance appears to have excited in
Lake a determination to effect the ruin of Mr. Bridle and
his family. For this purpose Lake addressed letters to
several Magistrates of the county, containing a number of
charges against Mr. Bridle for misconduct in the execu
tion of his office', and even Mrs. Bridle was included in the
calumnious imputations.
'•' Upon receiving these charges, Mr. Acland (the Chair
man), with his characteristic promptitude, immediately
proceeded to institute an inquiry into the facts. For this
purpose, a notice was left at the presumed residence of
Lake, in London (his brother's house), requiring hiin to
attend on the day appointed, to give evidence. Instead,
however, of making his appearance, he sent down a let
ter, containing a frivolous excuse for his non-attendance,
and referring to several persons in the Gaol, whom he
averred could justify his complaint.
" Although thespecific charges adduced against BIr. Bri
dle were thus abandoned, yet the Magistrates having as
sembled for the purpose of effecting a plenary inquiry into
them, very properly resolved on examining the persons
referred to in Lake's letter. A most minute examination
of the different prisoners accordingly took place, but in no
one instance did it appear that the accusations were borne
out by the facts ; ou the contrary, it was satisfactorily
shewn that the charges were wholly invented and the
Magistrates, after a patient investigation, which lasted
from eleven in the morning until five in the evening, una
nimously declared their opinion, that the charges were
malevolent and utterly destitute of foundation. Mr. Bri
dle has in consequence instituted a prosecution against
Lake for his atrocious conduct ; but we hear that the lat-

ter has, or is about to quit the country, probably to avoid
the legal consequences ofthe proceedings against him.
" The care, the anxiety, and unwearied attention display
ed by Mr. Acland and his brother Magistrates in the ad
ministration of their duties, are as conspicuous as they are
important, and in this instance reflect on them the greatest
honour. Had the charges against Mr. Bridle proved
correct, their duty ivould have become imperatively obvi
ous ; but the reverse having appeared, the public mind is
prevented nourishing a groundless calumny, and the in
tegrity of an useful, though humble, public officer, is un
equivocally certified hy ihe result of their laudable investi
gation." Only read their own account, my friends, and you will
easily discover the sort of investigations that used to take
place ih this Gaol. The whole humbug took place in the
absence of Lake, who never appears to have had any no
tice ofthe intended meeting but by accident, and then too
late to attend it. You will perceive that " even Mrs. Bri
dle ivas included in the calumnious imputations." But it
seems all, all w,as disproved, and declared to be a mere in
vention qf Lake's to ruin Bridle. You will easily believe
me when I inform you, that every charge that Lake made
was perfectly true ; but what will you say when I inform
you that the very witness which Bridle then produced be
fore the Blagistrates to prove what Lake had said of his wife
was not true, he has since brought forward to serve his
own purpose, to swear it was true what Lake said of his
wife. So much for Ilchester Gaol investigations before
the Magistrates. As far back as the year 1814, poor old
Mr. Charles HiU sent a petition to the House of Com
mons, which was presented by Mr. Henry Grey Bennet,
the great stickler against prison abuses — a few evenings
after this petition had been presented, which complained
of the conduct of the Gaoler and the Visiting- Blagis
trates, the said Mr. Henry Grey Bennet came voluntarily
forward in the House, and took occasion to slate, " that

since he had presented the petition of Charles Hill, a
debtor, confined in Ilchester Gaol, he had received a com
munication from Mr. Dickenson relative to the petition he
had presented, by which communication he was satis
fied that the petitioner was no way warranted in the
statement he had made, and that the complaint was un
true. He (Mr. Bennet) embraced with pleasure the op
portunity of declaring, that from all he had ever heard,
the Gaol of Ilchester was one of the best reglh
lated in the kingdom, and the magistracy who
gontrotjled its management amongst the most
meritorious." This I found recorded in the Magistrates'
Journal, and it is extracted and published in the 48th page
of the Appendix to the Report of the Commissioners on
the state of Ilchester Gaol, and the worthy Magistrates
have made the following order immediately below: —
" Ordered, that the Clerk of the Peace do cause the same
to be promulgated through the medium of the county pa
pers." O, rare Mr. Bennet, you are a precious friend of
the poor prisoners ! I'll warrant that this precious lie
which BIr. Bennet was urged to promulgate in the House
of Commons, was promulgated through the county papers
in great stile. I should like to know how much of the
county money was paid to the precious printers of the
said county papers for promulgating the said lie. I call
it a lie, because every word that Charles Hill stated in the
petition that was presented by Mr. Bennet, and which he
was so easily satisfied by the communication that he
had from Squire Dickenson was true — I say every word
of it was proved upon oath before the Commissioners not
only to be true, but it was also proved to have continued
for several years afterwards, and that the said Charles
Hill had continued to suffer the very same grievances that
he complained of in his petition in 1814, up to the very
period of the arrival of the Commissioners in the year

1821. O, brave BIr. Grey Bennet — O, brave Squire
Dickenson — you are two worthy members, I believe, of
the Committee for improving prison discipline ! Under
the authority of Mr. Henry Grey Bennet poor old Mr.
Charles Hill suffered the most cruel privations and tor
ture for sevenyears, and had made up his mind to endure
the said privations and torture in this Gaol, without com
plaining, for the remainder of his life, till, as the poor old
man so emphatically said, Mr. Hunt was providentially
sent to rescue him from the cruel persecution of his re
morseless gaolers. Alas, poor old Mr. Hill was perse
cuted to death's door after this sanction of Mr. Henry
Grey Bennet's, and he was made to suffer the most
horrid and dreadful privations that ever disgraced a civi
lized country ever afterwards, till I came here. I found
him broken-hearted and bending under the weight of his
persecutions ; hopeless and full of despair, expecting no
relief but from the hand of death) which he daily prayed
for. O, BIr. Grey Bennet, I hope you will read this, and
1 hope it will teach you better in future than to volunteer
your services to proclaim to the world that a poor prisoner
had palmed an untruth upon you and upon Parliament !
The evidence of BIr. Hill was, " that he had never known
a prisoner that made any complaint get any redress ; and
that he seldom ever knew an instance of a prisoner escap
ing punishment who made any complaint." Look at the
case of Joseph Evans : he complained to Bir. Dickenson,
and informed him that county timber had been cut up and
misapplied by Bridle, or for Bridle's use. What is his re
ward ? He is placed in irons, and put in solitary confine
ment for six months. (See page 48 ofthe Appendix to
the Commissioners' Report.) Next comes Mr. Thomas
Fowell Buxton and his book ; but to be fair, and not gar
ble it, I will re-publish the whole of this precious fraud
upon the public — printed for Butterworth and Sons, Fleet-

Street, 1818, entitled, " An Appendix lo the first edition
of an Inquiry , whether Crime and Misery are produced
or prevented by our present System of Prison Discipline.
By Thomas Fowell Buxton ; containing an Account ofthe
Prisons at Ilchester and at Bristol."
" ILCHESTER GAOL.*
" This Gaol stands in an airy situation; a considerable
part of it was built by prisoners, without the assistance of
any other mechanic, artizan, or labourer ; and that part is
allowed to be, both in point of stability and neatness, the
best workmanship in the Gaol. This happy suggestion
has produced a very important saving to the county ; it
has. certainly produced a very imporiant change in the
manner of the prisoners. Their behaviour, and the skil
fulness they have acquired in the various departments of
building, may excite a well-g-rounded hope, that, when
released, they will desist from their former practices, and
adhere to those habits of industry, and to those methods
of obtaining an honest livelihood, which they have thus
learned. One cannot but admire an arrangement, which
employs prisoners in erecting their own prison, and in
preventing the possibility of their own escape; and which
at once, and by the same effort, enlarges the Gaol, and
diminishes the number of its future inmates.
" But besides the buildings which have given employ
ment to a number of masons, bricklayers, carpenters,
painters — manufactures lo a considerable extent are car
ried on. All the prisoners are clothed in a dress, every
article of which they make. In the store-room I saw a
collection of suits of clothing for the men, worsted caps,
dowlas shirts, jackets, waistcoats, breeches, stockings,
and shoes ; for the general use of the prison-, beds, mat
tresses, sheets, linen, &c. Each of these numerous
branches of labour furnishes occupation to a proportion of
- the prisoners ; and the knowledge of each trade is per
petuated, by apprenticing all who come in to some expe
rienced workman.
i
* " I visited this Gaol, April, 1818. When I had written the account,
I sent it to the Governor, earnestly requesting bis attentive perusal, and
the correcting of any errors. He pointed out one or two small inae-
curacies, and assures me that, with these alterations, th* description
is perfectly eorrect."

" It was a sight of much interest, to see the whole pro
cess of converting wool into cloth, carried on in one yard,
and that yard within the walls of a prison. In the first
workshop several were engaged in washing the wool ; in
the second, in dying it ; in the third, in hand-carding it ;
in the fourth, in spinning it ; in the fifth, the looms were
in activity in weaving it ; and, lastly, the tailors were
busy in making it into clothing. In the laundry, which,
I am persuaded, equals that of any institution in the
kingdom, all the female prisoners are employed in wash
ing the weekly changes of linen and bedding, and in
making all the dresses worn by themselves and the females
in the Bridewell.
" In another part of the Gaol, my attention happened
to be directed to a lad of about seventeen years of age,
by an accidental resemblance which he bore to a boy
whom I had seen in Newgate. I found that this youth
had been confined about eight months ; that he came in
knowing next to nothing; that now he can make a
blanket from beginning to end ; and that, on his discharge,
he will be able to earn a man's full wages. He had
learned also to read and write ; and he had learned sub
jection of mind, an acquirement much more considerable
than will be at first apparent to those who are ignorant of
prisons, and therefore do not know how many come there,
from a wilfulness and turbulence of temper, which dis
dains control. Had he (like the unhappy youth of whom
he reminded me) been committed to any gaol of the
metropolis, he would have increased his knowledge of
the methods of successful fraud — he would have enlarged
the circuit of his infamous acquaintance — he would have
added their stock of iniquity to his own — and, at length,
he would have been thrown upon the world, more ad
dicted to crime, because more confirmed in idleness — a
more dangerous, because a more skilful villain.
" Let us suppose that these boys, before their coming to
prison, were in the same circumstances — possessing the
same tempers, the same habits, the same propensity to
criminal indulgence — the most cautious calculator upon
human actions must entertain an expectation of the per
manent reformation of the one. With regard to the other,
can the most sanguine advance beyond a very feeble
hope, that he may not go out a great deal worse?
" I have said that it was a sight of much interest, to ob
serve the whole process of converting wool into cloth,

carried on within the walls of a prison ; but he must be
blind, indeed, who does not perceive, that intimately con
nected with this, there is carried on also another process
of a higher order — a moral change — an operation upon
the heart of man — a conversion of those rude principles,
and those vicious habits, which make up the character of
the man who is a terror to all around him, into those
habits and principles which constitute the useful, the in
dustrious, and the decent member of society. This much
is certain, a man must leave this prison more competent
and more prepared for a life qf honest labour ; probably,
he will leave it more industrious, and, therefore, probably
more honest. It is possible that, in the solitude of his
cell at night, and the regular avocations of the day, he
may have found a sense of the enormity of his sins, and
contrition for his offences towards man and towards
God. " The boys are in a school separate from the men, and
are all taught to read and write. The men also who
come in ignorant of these useful acquirements, are in
structed. I particularly remarked the copy-book of one,
who, on his entrance six months ago, could not form a
letter, and now writes a'hand more than sufficiently good
for all the ordinary purposes of life.
" The prisoners have a proportion of their earnings, a-
part of which is given to them weekly, and a part is re
served till their departure. Men in general receive 9d.
per week, and 4\d. additional is funded for them. But
those who are skilful, and whose conduct merits encou
ragement, gain 2s. per week ; half is given to them at the
time, and half at the expiration of their sentence. On the
other hand, when a prisoner is guilty of any neglect in
his work, or any improper or disorderly conduct, he is
suspended from all portion of earnings, till he shews
visible symptoms of sorrow and amendment. Persons
from ihe town are allowed lo offer various articles for
sale, but this can only be done al staled hours, and under
the immediate inspection of Ike Gaoler; consequently
every thing improper is excluded.
"It must be confessed, that Ilchester G^ol is defective
in point of inspection. The Governor's house does not
command a view of every yard, day-room, and work-shop,
(a requisite of the very utmost importance, and one which
I trust will be attended to, in the erection of every new
prison); and the loud laughter and conversation ofthe
10 B

10
prisoners during their hour of recreation, seemed to im
ply, that this want of observation was not unattended
with evil. With this exception, however, the Gaol is
excellent. ' I look upon it? said the task-master, ' that
a man's mind must be occupied with something ; if it is
not taken up with a good thing, it will with a bad one?
Upon this wise maxim the whole is founded. Every tried
prisoner is fully employed. ' We have been (says the
Gaoler, in a letter to the Magistrates of Norfolk) in the
habit of creating work of every description ; knowing
from experience, that our Gaol is never in such good order
as when the prisoners are well employed.'
" The consequence of this is, that there is no filth, no
disorder, no tumult. Nothing that would disgrace the
most quiet and well-regulated manufactory. There is
something in the manners of prisoners not easily described,
but seen in a moment, which furnishes a very sure criterion
of their state. In a Gaol without labour or inspection,
their conduct is marked by a kind of sullen desperation ;
without intending to be offensive, they assail you with
rude and importunate complaints, and display, even in
their efforts to awaken your compassion, the licentious
ness to which they are accustomed. On the other hand,
where a system of judicious discipline is pursued, you
' observe an orderly, submissive deportment, and a kind of
silent and unobtrusive civility. So uniform is the con
nection between certain rules in the prison and certain
manners in the prisoners, that I am persuaded any person
familiar with the subject, being told the behaviour of the
inmates of a gaol, will predict the rules by which it is
governed ; or, knowing the rules, will anticipate the beha
viour to which they give birth- Now, if this criterion is
at all certain, its verdict speaks strongly in favour of the
management pursued here ; for a more decent, respectful
assemblage of men, I never saw. It is difficult to exem
plify this, because civility consists not so much in parti
cular acts, as in general propriety of behaviour : it may,
however, be gathered from this circumstance : — Forty-six
were in a day-room, during their hour of recreation; I
stood at the door when they were called out to their work,
and every one as he passed touched his cap, and no one
spoke to me. Another consequence is, that every man is
divested, for a certain period, of those habits which pro
bably brought him to prison ; had he been idle, his idle
ness had been suspended ; had he been drtinken, he has

u
been kept from all stimulating liquors ; had he been ad
dieted to gaming or swearing, gaming and swearing are
here effectually prohibited.
" Man (says some one, Lord Bacon, I believe) is a bundle
of habits ; if from this bundle you can take away those that
are noxious, and introduce others which are good and
serviceable, the probability is, that the mass will eventu
ally be improved. But besides this change of habit, ac
quirements are made cf vast importance. If a prisoner
cannot read, he learns to do so ; if he knows no trade, he
is taught one. ' Some ofthe prisoners (says the Governor,
in answer to my letter, requesting him to examine this
statement with accuracy) brought from the last assises
six weeks ago, can already weave tolerably ; others are
being brought on, in other departments of the trade.
Threeboys, of the ages of 13 , 14, and 15, under sentence of
transportation, are employed, with a promise, that if they
behave well, they will be recommended to mercy? Three
men had been discharged the preceding week ; they came
in ignorant of every branch of mechanical labour, and
they departed, one a weaver, and two very tolerable
masons. Supposing that but one of these three becomes
a reputable member of society — to him and his family the
wise regulations of this prison may be matter of eternal
gratitude; and to those who framed these regulations it
will be no mean satisfaction to reflect, that while they have
augmented the security of their neighbourhood, they have
also turned a sinner from the error of his ways, and saved
a soul from death. Again, another consequence is, that
by an examination of the apothecary's book, it appears,
that on the 26th of March, there were 265 prisoners, of
whom only six were unwell. Another, and the greatest
consequence is, that upon the average, if 100 are dis
charged, not above seven return.
" / was not so fortunate as to see the Gaoler, but ihe
aspect of the prison convinced me, that he had well per
formed his duly lo the Magistrates who employ him, and
that they had nobly discharged theirs, to the county in
which they reside."
Only look upon this, my friends, and then contemplate
what mischief such a man as Mr. Fowell Buxton is capable
of doing, by meddling in matters ofwhich he knows but
little, and in which he is so easily duped and deceived,
and because he is duped and deceived, he sends forth the

12
deception, and promulgates it to the world in his name as
the truth. Such was the fraud and deception practised
upon the public, and such was the false character stamped
upon this Gaol when 1 came here, that anyone who dared
to question the truth of it was immediately put down,
and the names and authority of Henry Grey Bennet
and Thomas Fowell Buxton were thrown in his teeth ;
and it was almost as much as a man's life was worth, if he
was a prisoner, and dared to complain. A petition that
Sir Robert Wilson presented to the House of Commons,
was almost unanimously rejected, because I stated that
the Judges had sent me here (one of them was born
and bred up within a few miles of the place — the ve
nerable Judge Best), knowing that it was damp and
pestiferous, and one of the worst Gaols in the kingdom.
Upon which, up starts Lawyer Scarlett, Lord Fitzwil-
liam's Member for Peterborough, and declared that it
was the best Gaol in the kingdom ; and because it was
the best Gaol, and the best regulated, and the most scdv-
brious, the venerable Judges, the amiable Judges, the
kind-hearted and just Judges, had selected Ilchester Gaol
to send me to, as a matter of favour — and the Hon.
House cried Hear, hear, hear ! So that for the bare
making a complaint against this Gaol or the Gaoler, or
the precious Blagistrates, a man was to be held up to the
world as a liar and a discontented fellow, and 999 men
out of a thousand would have succumbed, and have
never placed himself in such a situation again as that of
being branded as a liar, in a place where there was no pos
sibility of proving the truth of one's assertion. I say, such
was the stamped character of this Gaol, and such was the
situation in which I was placed, when 1 began to lay
the foundation of my charges against the Gaol, the
Gaoler, and the Blagistrates ; and it must not be for
gotten that this stamp had been mainly iixed by BIr.

13
Grey Bennet and Mr. Fowell Buxton. Mr. Bennet
had declared in the House of Commons, " that the Gaol
at Ilchester was one of the best regulated in the kingdom,
and the Magistrates who controlled its management,
among the most meritorious;" and Mr. Fowell Buxton
had published a book, and had it printed, and sent forth
to the world with his name to it, wherein he states, after
visiting the Gaol, as follows : — " / was not so fortunate as
to see the Gaoler, but the aspect of the prison convinced
me that he had well performed his duty lo the Magis
trates who employ him — and that they (the Magistrates)
had nobly discharged theirs, lo the county in which they
reside." Bravo! bravo!! bravo!!! Bennet and Bux
ton for ever! was the cry of Bridle, Colston, and Co.
Well, this was the character of the Gaol, the Gaoler, and
the Magistrates ; and, under the sanction of this character,
they had inflicted such tortures for years, with impunity,
as those which I proved they had inflicted upon Gardiner,
Hillier, Wheeler, Mary Cuer and her infant, and poor old
Mr. Charles Hill, who had been incarcerated in their cus
tody, and had been subject to their tender mercies for fif
teen years. The Gaol of Ilchester was the most airy, the
most salubrious, and the ,best managed Gaol in the
kingdom. The Gaoler was the most humane, most
amiable, and most intelligent man of his species — and he
was the most active, able, and efficient officer in the
world. And as for the .Magistrates, the Colstons, the
Thrings, and Co., they were nothing less than a phalanx
of little demi-gods — " among the most meritorious"
who had " nobly discharged their duty" to God anfr
their country ! Ha ! ha ! ! ha ! ! ! Mark what follows : — •
Henry Hunt was sentenced to be imprisoned in this said
Gaol for two years and six months, by Abbott,
Bayley, Holroyd, and Best. A real investigation has
taken place upon oath, before the three Commissioners

14
appointed by the Crown, before whom all the Visiting
Magistrates were examined and cross-examined upon
oath. The result is, that the Gaoler has been disgraced,
and discarded from his situation, and is now under a
prosecution at the suit of the Attorney-General, by order
of the Government, for mal conduct practised for many
years, and for inflicting torture upon the prisoners. The
Magistrates have been declared by the Report of the
Commissioners, and the Parliament, to have grossly
neglected their duty, and have been reprimanded, and
called upon publicly by the Lord Lieutenant of the
county, to account to the Government for their conduct.
And the Gaol has been condemned by the said Commis
sioners, presented by the Grand Jury (who have never
seen it, by the bye), as being totally unfit for the recep
tion of prisoners; and the demi-gods of Magistrates have
been compelled to make an order of Sessions for the
removal of prisoners, and the total demolition and anni
hilation of Ilchester Gaol. Bravo, Bennet! Bravo,
Buxton ! ! Bravo, Squire Dickenson ! ! ! So much for
the renowned Gaol, the humane Gaoler, and the notorious
Visiting Magistrates of Ilchester.
PROSECUTION OF THE EX-GAOLER BRIDLE.
A criminal information was filed by the Attorney-Ge
neral against William Bridle, the late Gaoler of Ilchester,
for inflicting TORTURE upon James Gardiner and
Mary Cuer, two prisoners in his custody, and upon the
infant child of the said Mary Cuer. This information was
31ed, I believe, in the month of May, and consists of fif
teen counts. Now mark this down in your memories, my
friends ; and let it never be forgotten that a criminal in
formation has heen filed by the Attorney-General, by
order of the Government, against a notorious scoundrel qf
a Gaoler for committing SECRET TORTURE upon two

li
prisoners in his custody, and placing the infant child of
one of them in a solitary cell for many days together, in
the midst of winter, without a fire, and with nothing but
bread and cold water in a bucket for the poor mother to
feed it upon — its natural support, the mother's milk, having
left her in consequence of such barbarous and cruel treat
ment. That this criminal information was filed against
the said Gaoler in consequence of the Report of the Comr
missioners of the Crown, sent to inquire into the state of
Ilchester Gaol. That this criminal information has been
filed upwards of two months, and not one newspaper
or register or political pamphlet in England has
taken the least possible notice of it. The general opi
nion is, that it is a mere sham prosecution, a second Lan
caster farce. Bridle's friends and attorney say, that it is
a sham indictment, drawn up in such a slovenly manner,
with so many flaws and misnomers in it, that it is evident
ly intended to let the caitiff slip his neck out of the halter.
But " we shall see."
HUNT'S BREAKFAST POWDER.
Every impediment has been thrown in the way to pre
vent the manufactory and sale of the roasted grain for
making my Breakfast Powder, by the gemmen of the
Excise Office. As soon as the Roasted Grain Bill was
passed, which was on Friday, the 5th of July, my son and
Mr. Wilde applied to the Excise Office and at the Stamp
Office for a license to commence the manufacture and sale
agreeable to the Act of Parliament. They were put off,
and sent from one office to another, from day to day, for a
fortnight, with all sorts of excuses, first saying they had
no instructions, then that the Act was not printed, and
then again that they had no instructions. Thus they kept
my son and Mr. Wilde dancing attendance upon them up
to Saturday last, the 21st, sixteen days after the Act was
passed, without their being able to get any thing like a

it;
satisfactory or intelligible answer. Mr. Wilde having
tendered them the money for a license to proceed with
the manufacture, at length their importunities brought
the gemmen to speak out. One of them said, " Bir. Hunt,
when he was calling of us robbers and plunderers for seiz
ing his Breakfast Powder, little dreamt that he would get
into our clutches, and come under our power by an Act
of Parliament." Ultimately, they refused to grant a li
cense in my name because I was not present ; and they
told my son and Mr. Wilde that the only way I could pro
cure a license was, to send a PETITION to the Board,
praying that I might make the entry at Ilchester, and
then PRAYING that the Honourable Board would grant
a license upon the certificate of the Excise-officer at Il
chester. Bravo, Mr. Dipstick '. Upon this, Mr. Wilde
came off that night by the coach down to me here — all
the workmen having stood still for nearly a fortnight. I
have declined the honour of petitioning the Honourable
Board to comply with the Act of Parliament, but I have
given Mr. Wilde a power of attorney to act for me, and
to take out the license and enter the premises in my name,
and then to tender the gemmen of the Excise the power
of attorney and the money for the license once more, and
having done this in the presence of witnesses, he will, of
course, proceed to manufacture the rye, and supply my
agents. I understand that some of the scamps connected
with the Government now say, that the only reason for
their persevering to exact the penalties from me was, be
cause I was obstinate and not submissive enough for them.
Now let us see how this matter stands. When the Chan
cellor of the Exchequer intimated to Sir Robert Wilson
in the House of Commons, that the Government did not
intend to exact the penalties from me, Sir Robert wrote
to me to request that I would send a memorial to the
Board of Excise, stating the particulars, and requesting

1?
the penalties may not be exacted, and he had no doubt but
that would end the matter; that it was better to do this
and get a formal discharge, than to have it hang over my
head. I did so, more to oblige him who had taken the
matter up so handsomely, than with any hopes of its be
ing attended with any good consequences. I therefore
drew up the following memorial, which Sir Robert Wil
son kindly presented for me to the Lords Commissioners
of his Majesty's Board of Excise: —
TO THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS* OF HIS MAJESTY'S
BOARD OF EXCISE.
The Memorial of Henry Hunt, late of Middleton Cot
tage, in the county of Hants, but now a Prisoner in
His Majesty's Gaol of Ilchester, in the county of So
merset,
Sheweth,
That your memorialist, greatly feeling for the sufferings
of the poor, and the distresses of the agriculturist of his
country, in the latter end of the year 1819, made some
experiments for the purpose of ascertaining whether he
could not, by means of manufacturing the grain of his
country, make an economical and salubrious beverage,
which might in some measure relieve the sufferings of the
one and alleviate the distress of the other. After two
months close attention to the subject, the result of his in
vestigations and experiments ended in his having disco
vered a method of preparing and roasting English rye,
which, being pounded or ground, and boiled in water or
milk, produced a wholesome, salubrious, and nourishing
diet for the poor, at two-thirds less price than any other
warm meal they could procure. Your memorialist then
threw away all the refuse of his previous experiments, and
publicly advertised his Breakfast Powder as the produc
tion of roasted grain of British growth. Your memorialist
erected a manufactory over Blackfriars^bridge, in the
10 c

IS
county of Surrey, where he manufactured it in the most
open and public, manner, not having the slightest idea
that he was violating any law, and without the slightest
intention of committing any fraud upon the Excise. Your
memorialist always sold his Breakfast Powder openly and
publicly as roasted rye. When the officers of Excise made
a seizure of your memorialist's Breakfast Powder and ma
nufactory, he happened to be present, and he solemnly
declares that his men were making it openly and pub
licly, and that the officers made the seizure and carried
away more than half a ton of the manufactured rye, with
out the slightest interruption or molestation whatever,
either from your memorialist or his servants, any further
than your memorialist demanded the names and residence
of the officers who made the seizure. That the officers
also seized the roaster, boiler, stoves, &c. &c. and placed
a man in possession of the manufactory, where he remain
ed for many weeks without any interruption or molesta
tion. At length the man was removed out of the pre
mises, and possession was again given up to your memo
rialist of his property ; and under the impression that the
Excise did not mean to proceed any further in the prose
cution, nor prohibit the manufactory of the Breakfast Pow
der, sold bona fide as roasted grain, your memorialist's son
has continued to manufacture roasted rye, and nothing
else, ever since. But your memorialist was disappointed
in this expectation by hearing that the cause was brought
on to be tried in the Court of Exchequer in the absence
of your memorialist, which, he verily believes, was princi
pally the cause of the verdict being given against him.
Your memorialist having seen in the public papers, that
an Honourable Blember of the House of Commons, Sir
Robert Wilson, has mentioned the subject, and that the
Right Honourable the Chancellor of the Exchequer has
intimated an intention of his Majesty's Government not

to proceed any further against those who manufacture
roasted grain, and who sell it bona fide as such, your me
morialist begs leave respectfully to submit to the Lords
Commissioners of his Majesty's Board of Excise, that, as
he always made, sold, and publicly advertised his Break
fast Powder as roasted rye, and as he never disguised the
fact, and never intended any fraud upon the Excise, whe
ther they will not be pleased, in their discretion and jus
tice, to remit tho penalties incurred in consequence of the
verdict of a jury in the Court of Exchequer upon a doubt
ful clause of an Act of Parliament.
Your memorialist has lastly to request the liberal in
dulgence of the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's
Board of Excise to make allowance for any want of form
or any technical error, that he might have committed in
drawing up this his memorial, he never having been re
quired to exercise his talent in a similar manner before,
and being now incarcerated in a distant country Gaol, he
has no means of procuring the assistance of any one ac
quainted with such forms.
Your memorialist, therefore, begs leave respectfully
to subscribe himself,
Your Lordships' most obedient,
Most humble servant,
H. HUNT.
After some considerable delay, I received a letter, sign
ed Lushington, to say that the Lords Commissioners of his
Blajesty's Board of Excise did not think proper, under the
circumstances of the case, to grant my request. The
readers ofthe Memoirs know the result, that the 2001. was
exacted from me ; but not till after I had prosecuted my
charges against Bridle, and had so completely exposed the
system, as it is carried on, in his Blajesty's Gaols.
Since the Roasted Grain Act has been passed, and the
Government have intimated that it was their intention to

20
remit the penalties, upon application being made by the
sufferers to the Lords of the Treasury, Sir Robert has again
urged the propriety of my making that application with
out loss of time ; and he added, that if I did it in a respect
ful manner, he had not the least doubt but the penalties
would be remitted. I shall do this in a respectful, not in
a cringing manner, and " we shall see."
It appears that the half ton of my Breakfast Powder that I
sent over to the suffering Irish, as a humble subscription
from the Captive of Ilchester, has stuck in the gullet of a cer
tain person, who has very properly christened himself " 1
MYSELF I," alias William Cobbett. In the 37th Number
of my Memoirs, in my address to the Radicals, I stated
that I had shipped half a ton of the Breakfast Powder as
my subscription, the retail price being 56l., and the mere
•port charges nearlj' 3l. In the Statesman, a London
evening paper, published last Saturday, the 20th of July,
my old friend William Cobbett, alias '' I myself I," puts
forth the following very liberal observation, which is per
fectly consistent with his general character both for truth
and honesty : — " The poor, starving labourers in Ireland
want money to purchase the food which they themselves
have raised; and want not to be insulted by that impudent,
bragging • charity? whose ' feeling heart' ships them off
half a ton of rye-meal, costing th ree pounds, and stuns, or
would stun, the nation wilh the intelligence of the boon,
put down at fifty-six pounds ! The Irish do not want this
imposture sort of work." If this was as true as it is
false, that it only cost me " three pounds," I might ask
if the writer of this falsehood ever gave half that sum in
charity in his life ? But the writer knew, when he put
forth this barefaced lie, that the port charges and shipping
cost me nearly three pounds ; he knew that the mere coals
for manufacturing tho half ton of Breakfast Powder cost
nearly that sum ; he knew, when he was writing the lie,

21
that the rye alone cost double that sum ; he knew that
the wages alone for manufacturing half a ton of my
Breakfast Powder amounts to nearly double that sum ;
he knew that the rent and taxes amounted to more than
that sum ; and he knew that the casks and the paper in
which it was packed cost half the sum that he has named
as the whole expense — " three pounds." I have been
often asked, what motive can Cobbett have for writing
such bare- faced falsehoods, that every person who reads
them must cry shame at his baseness ? I generally an
swer, that habit is a second nature ; but in this instance,
envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness, drives
him thus to expose himself. The fact is, he knows I am
in possession of certain facts, for which he will never for
give me. Neither will he ever forgive me for the visits
that Sir Francis Burdett has paid me in this prison. When
he came from America, he offered to be upon terms, and
to go hand-in-hand with Sir Francis Burdett, which the
Baronet rejected with disdain ; and therefore he can never
forgive him nor me for the reconciliation that has taken
place between us. Now let us see what the Irish them
selves say to this matter. 1 shipped five cwt. of the Break
fast Powder for Cork. In the Cork Mercantile Chronicle,
of the 12th of July, the following account of the. trans
action is given : — " MR. HUNT.
" The public will perceive by our advertising columns,
that this Gentleman's liberal gift of five hundred weight
of salubrious and wholesome Breakfast Powder, now in
such general use in London and all over England, as a
cheap and excellent substitute for tea and coffee, is on
sale at Mr. West's Chamber of Commerce, and at a price
to save considerably in families who use the above arti
cles ; the proceeds to go to the fund for the relief of the
poor. Instructions how to use it are given in every pack
age. We present below a copy of his letter to Mr. Ro-
rtayne, accompanying this gift ; the style is happy, the

22
sentiments benevolent and kind-hearted. — We have also
given BIr. Ronayne's letter to the Committee, with the
prompt and polite answer of their Secretary, BIr. New-
som : — " To the Committee for the Relief of the Poor.
"¦ Gentlemen — You will find herewith the copy of a
letter to me from Mr. Hunt, by which you will perceive,
though the county of Cork is named, the generous donor
has given me full discretion to dispose of his excellent
Breakfast Powder, in such manner as will best fulfil his
humane views ; thus empowered, and thinking it more
suited to the habits of our poor people in Cork, than to
those in the country, I beg to place it at your disposal, for
distribution here.
" I have the honour to remain your obedient servant,
" R. RONAYNE."
" Cork, July 10, 1822."
" My Dear Sir — I have given orders to my agent in
London, to ship on the vessel for Cork, five hundred
weight of my genuine Breakfast Powder, packed in half
pounds in ten casks, directed for you, as the humble offer
ing of the Captive of Ilchester to his distressed fellow-
countrymen in the county of Cork, to be distributed in
any way you may think most likely to answer the object
of humanity.
" To contribute what must afford greater relief, would
be more in accordance with my disposition and feelings,
but you must take ' the will for the deed,' and although
but as a drop in the ocean, I trust it will be accepted as
the Captive's mite. I have been rendered comparatively
a poor man, but if I were reduced to a single sixpence, I
hope I should know how to share it with a suffering fel
low-creature in distress.
" I am, my dear Sir, your's very sincerely,
" H. Hunt.
" P.S. — One ounce ofthe Powder boiled in two quarts of
water, with a little sugar and milk, will make a whole
some and nutritious meal for five persons.
" Mr. R. Ronayne, Cork." " July 10, 1822.
" Dear Sir — I am directed by the Committee for the
Relief of the Poor in the city and liberties of Cork, to ac
knowledge the receipt of your letter of this- morning, to-

23
gether with a copy of Bir. Hunt's letter to you, statin"-
his having forwarded, as his contribution to the funds
raising in this country, for the relief of the poor, ten
casks of his Genuine Breakfast Powder, containing five
hundred weight. And I am further directed to express
their obligations for your kindness in placing at their
disposal this humane gift of Mr. Hunt. They have re
quested Mr. James Daly, to whom the bills of lading have
been handed, to take the necessary care to have the casks
landed and stored, until the Committee shall resolve upon
the most judicious mode of applying them.
" I am, Sir, with much respect, your obedient servant,
" T. Wilson Newsom, Secretary.
" To Richard Ronayne, Esq."
The advertisement published in the same paper is as
follows : —
" Cheap and Nutritious Substitute for Tea and Coffee.
" The Committee having ordered the sale of Mr. Hunt's
contribution of 5 cwt. of his celebrated Breakfast Powder,
to be sold for account of the fund for the relief of the
poor, is now on sale at Wm. West's Room, Chamber of
Commerce, in half pounds, at 6d. each."
So you see, my friends, if I had boasted that my boon
amounted to fifty-six pounds, it would not have been
very far from the mark, as you will perceive, that this five
cwt. sent to Cork (half the quantity which I sent to
Ireland) will produce the Committee twenty-eight pounds.
But the fact was, that I boasted of no such thing ; I merely
stated that the retail price was fifty-six pounds, and if it
is sold for the benefit ofthe poor, and it produces fifty-six
pounds, it is quite as good to them as if I had subscribed
this sum, although the half ton of powder might not have
cost me a quarter the amount. If Mr. Cobbett will send
over 2240 of his Registers, as a subscription to the suffer
ing Irish, and they should be sold for their benefit at 6d.
each, that would produce 56l. ; therefore the suffering
Irish would be benefitted 5§l. by the boon, although it
might not have cost BIr. Cobbett so much as my half ton

•24
of Breakfast Powder cost me. At any rate, if the Irish
are satisfied with my subscription, " I myself I," might
hold his malignant tongue till he has i-ubbed out my mark.
Mr. Cobbett has told several of my friends, that he will
not openly attack me while I am in prison, but the moment
I leave this place, he will fall foul on me. It would be
much more manly for him to attack me openly at once,
than it is to take every dirty opportunity to injure me
privately, by dark and cowardly insinuations. Let him
fulfil the prediction of the Editor of the Times without
further delay. The Editor of the Times said, when
he was coming home from America, that he would some
day attack and vilify his friend Mr. Hunt, as he had
done Sir Francis Burdett. The Editor ofthe Times said,
let Hunt beware of him. Mr. Cobbett abuses the Editor
of the Times upon all occasions without mercy; but the
said Editor, it seems, without being a conjuror, knew the
character of BIr. Cobbett well ; and although he wrote
this at a venture, yet BIr. Cobbett has taken care to fulfil
his predictions to the very letter. I have seen but three
Statesman newspapers since he has been connected with
it, till yesterday ; in each of these there is a malignant
attack upon me about the sale of my Breakfast Powder. I
had three sent me yesterday; or, at least, two of them were
brought me, containing this cold-blooded falsehood about
the price of the Breakfast Powder sent to Ireland. I see in
one ofthe papers brought me, that " I myself I" pretends
to be very angry with the Times, for not publishing the
account of the beastly transaction between the Irish
Bishop and the soldier: the Editor of the Times has been
guilty of suppressing an affair that ought to have been
made public, that the authors of it might be execrated by
all mankind. But does Mr. Cobbett never suppress any
thing ? What has been his motive for suppressing, both
in the Register and in the Statesman, that fact, that a

25
gaoler has had a criminal information filed against him
by the Attorney-General, for inflicting torture upon two
prisoners in his custody — and one of those prisoners a
woman too, with an infant at her breast. It was just as
base in him, and probably it was from a more corrupt and
base motive that he has suppressed this fact, and all along
suppressed every thing relating to the detection of the
cruelties and torture inflicted upon prisoners confined in
this Gaol ; this has been done, probably, from the very
same motive that induced him to publish so many malig
nant falsehoods to injure the sale of my Breakfast Powder
— and it has been done from the very same motive that
induced him to publish in his precious abortion, the
Morning Post, in 1820, that I had a Government protection
in my pocket on the 16th of August, when I was at
Manchester. What did he make this attack upon me for ?
He knew it was a malignant falsehood : and when my
friends applied to him at the time to contradict it, he
acknowledged that it was a wicked lie ; and he said that the
villain who propagated it, was, in all probability, a spy
himself: but he refused to give any explanation upon
the subject. What was his motive for this? Was it an
endeavour to bring me down to a level with himself?
He says he will -attack me as soon as I am out of
gaol: let him do it as soon as he pleases: if he will
keep to the truth, which I fear is not in his power, he can
state nothing to, my injury, and all his malignity, how
ever vulgar or false, will, I am sure, make me friends
instead of enemies. I believe that I have gained thou
sands of friends in consequence of his mean-spirited and
cowardly attacks upon me since I have been incarcerated
in this Bastile ; and I am sure that I have not lost one
friend in consequence of his hostility, that was worth
preserving. If he speaks the truth, he will never accuse
me of having offered to compromise with the Government,
10 i>

26
arid denying it to all my' friends, till it was proved by a
letter hi my owft hand-writing in a court of justice. He
Vvill ritii accuse me of denying my. own hand-writing, and
Swearing that it was a forgery, till it was proved to be the
cohtrary — he will never accuse me of having deserted my
friends, and fled from my country, when she was in danger
—-he will not accuse me Of having raised large subscrip
tions all ovet the country) and refused to acknowledge
the receipt ofthe money. In fact, he may lie and swear
all sdrts'of things against hie, but he Will not, I believe,
accuse me of having become a fraudulent bankrupt, to
cheat all my creditors ; neither will he accuse me of having
attempted to bilk my bail, rior of advising a political
rival to bilk his bail, and fly the country, merely that I
might have an Opportunity of : saying that he was as great
a rogue, and as great a coward as myself. Mr. Cobbett is
well aware that I know him, and that the public, nay, even
the Editor Of the Times ,'dbes not half 'know him yet. I shall
defend myself as Often as he attacks me, Whether under-
hahdedly or Openly; I fear him not in arty Vvay, in prison
or out ; and when I leaVe this place, 1 shall lose no oppor-*"
tunity to meet him face to face, whenever or wherever he
pleases, to shew " / myself 1," in public; he shall
choose his own dunghill, and I will Meet him upon it the
very first opportunity after the 30th of October; but let
him recollect^ that then there will be two of us, insteadof
"I Myself I." Let him either deny. the falsehood that
he caused to be published in'his Momirig Post, namely—
that I had a Government - protection in my pocket
when I Was at Manchester, or let him prove it. It
is his duty to the public to do this. It is, the duty of
every Reformer in the kingdom, of every Radical, to call
tipOn him to prove this, if it be true — or deny it, if it be
false. And I will undef take' neve* to show my face again
before thepublic^ ifhecah bring any proof that I eVer had

27
the slightest connection with the Government, or with
any individual belonging to the Government, directly or
indirectly, in any way, or for any purpose whatsoever, J
except it has been to carry the petitions and the remon
strances ofthe people publicly to the Secretary of State's
office, to be presented to the Prince Regent, agreeable to
the instruction of the people ; and unless he can do this,
he must and will remain a liar and a slanderer of the first
class ; and amongst liars and slanderers he may well say
of himself, I am " I myself I." I know Mr. Cobbett is
an able and a most powerful writer, and that he will
almost make black appear white, or white appear black,
just as it suits his purpose ; his writings will always be
read ; I always read the Register when it comes in my
way, and his inconsistencies have caused me many a
hearty laugh, and I shall continue to laugh at " I myself
I," let him vilify and abuse me as long as he will. If he
does not know it, he will give me leave to tell him one
fact, which is this, because persons do read his Register,
it is not necessary for them to believe what he says.
There are thousands who read his work constantly,
who would not take either his word or his bond
for the value of a pinch of snuff. He has done a great
deal of good by his writings, but I believe, also, he
has done a great deal of harm ; his insufferable vanity
and selfishness have prompted him always to write that,
merely to show his own knowledge of the subject, which
has put our enemies upon their guard. I believe that the
paper system would have long since brought the Bo
roughmongers to a stand-still, and that we should have
had a Reform before this time, if it had not been for
Mr. Cobbett's incessant labours, which put our enemies
upon their guard, and made them avoid those rocks which
they would otherwise have split upon. It is very true,
that the reading of the Register has enlightened the

28
weavers and the mechanics of the North, and all those
who have perused them; but, at the same time, they
have enabled the Boroughmongers to avoid those errors
and those difficulties which they would inevitably have.
fallen into. For instance, his publication upon the " puff-
out" was certainly calculated to defeat its own purpose:
by this publication, the Government and the Bank were
put upon their guard, and they were prepared for, any
thing that might hare happened, which otherwise might
have blown up the paper bubble. . He is everlastingly
telling the Government that the debt must bring a Re
form, and he ¦ tells, them how this will bring about a
Reform ; by doing this, he enables them to meet and
ayert the difficulty, at least for a time ; therefore, although
, he has enlightened, the people, yet he has enlightened
their greatest enemies, and he has greatly contributed to
furnish them with the means of preventing Reform, and
driving that off, perhaps, to a distant period, which, in the
course of events, would have come ere this, had it not been
for his vanity and cupidity. For instance, suppose two
Wrestlers were to enter a ring to contend for a prize, and
suppose one of them, being a very confident upstart fellow,
a sort of " I myself T".;chap, was to say to the. other,
" Now I mean to throw you a particular fall in a particular
manner, I shall take you by such a hold, and I shallthrow
you in such a way ;" now is it not clear to every one, that
this Would put the- other upon his guard; and, at any rate,
render it ten- times more difficult for '!; I myself I" to
accomplish his purpose? But it mays and I have no doubt
it will be answered, that, the truth should be spoken, and
that it is^ only fair play to put your enemy upon his guard ;
but then it will be recollected, that Mr. Cobbett has
very properly denounced the system as infamous, and
cruel, and treacherous, and therefore that it is fair to take
all sorts of advantage of it. But it is Mr. Cobbett's trade

28
by which he has lived — and it is the only tradeJsy which
he can live; — he has tried . farming in England,, and
shopkeeping in New York, and neither of these have
answered. The writing of the Registers is a trade
that Mr. Cobbett well understands, and as long as it is a
profitable trade, he. will follow it, whether the nation is
stunned with'' I myself I" or not; " We shall see."
The hoax upon the people qf Birmingham was well
played off by " I myself F' in grand- style; but this
was perfectly consistent.

MR. WOOLER'S LIBERATION DINNER.
The Reformers of Birmingham are doing their duty
manfully. I only hope that Monday next, the 29th,
will be, a fine day for the fete. The Dinner will ialce
place at two o'clock precisely, and will be given in the
Fives Court, Lawrence Street ; and, in spite of the petty
shifts and tricks of the Whigs, I have no doubt but this
Dinner will excite more' interest, and be more numerously
and respectably attended, than any Dinner that has ever
been given in Birmingham in trje memory of man. Sir
Charies Wolseley takes the chair ; and Mr. Northmore
is now with the Captive of Ilchester, on his road to
Warwick, to accompany Mr. Wooler and the worthy
Baronet from that town to Birmingham — the Warwick
shire lads and lasses Will take care to give them a warm
reception, and a hearty English welcome. There will
be no envious snake in the grass amongst them, to dis
turb the harmony of the ay, or to mar the universal
feeling of pleasure created by the presence of such men
as Wooler, Wolseley, and Northmore. There will be
no selfish " I myself I."

30

THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE BLOODY 16th OF
AUGUST.
The third anniversary of the blood-thirsty ^urders co%i-
mit-ted on St. Peter's Plain, at Manchester, will have
passed, before my next Number reaches the public. I
have no doubt but every honest Radical in the kingdom
will do it justice.
; -,; j, .. I remain, my excellent Friends,
Your's, most sincerely,
H. HUNT.
P. S. The numerous applications for agency in all
parts of the kingdom, for the sale of my 'Breakfast Pow
der, shall be attended to as soon as possible ; but the
demand at present exceeds our power to execute them so
promptly as we could wish. :

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

The MEMOIRS of HENRY HUNT, Esq., are sold in
the following places by the Booksellers or Agents whose
name is given with each place respectively, viz : —

Andover (Hants) — King.
Bath — -Everton's Newspaper-Of
fice, near St. James's Church.
Birmingham — C. Tibbetts, 68,
Dale End, and C . Cooper, Union-
street.
Bolton — J. Heyes.
Boston — Jackson.
Brighton — Turress, 0, Meeting
house-lane.
Bristol — J. Cossens, 4, Castle
street.
Bury St. Edmund's — J.Birchinall
Coventry — B. Barton, Wells-str.
Dundee — Alexander Brookes.
Exeter — J. Be.,ley, jun., News
Office.
Glasgow — W. Brock, lot, Tron
gate.
Great Yarmouth — J. Boldry, Row
30.
Hull—Mr. J. Jackson.
Ilchester — Mr. White.
Ipswich — S. H. Cowell.
Langport — Denham.
Leeds — J. Mann, 68, Briggate.
Leicester — T. Thompson, Chronicle
Office.
Lewes — Veness.
Liverpool — T. Smith, Paradise-str.
Maidstone — Dawson, Stone-street

Milborn Port — Pope.
Manchester — J. Wroe, 49, Great
Ancoats-street ; S. Reddish.
Monmouthshire — S. Etheredge,
Printer, Newport.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne — J. Mar
shall.
Norfolk — J. Dinmore, Lynn.
Norwich — G. Wright, Back of
Inns; J. Watling, Bethlem-str.,
St. Peter's.
Nottingham  M. Colclough,
Duke's-place, Barker Gate.
Oxford — Mr. Gulliver, Banbury.
Petersjield — John Pince.
Portsea— G. Broughton,23, Queen-
street.
Reading — R. Snare, Printer.
Rochester — J. Berry.
Salisbury— Mr.Barling, Fisherton.
Sheffield — E. Goddard, No. 10,
Broad-lane.
Southampton — J. Sims.
Stamford — J. Drakard.
Stokesley — Armstrong.
Sunderland — W. Chalk, High-str.
Surrey— J. Fisher, Mitcham.
Sussex — Wm. Metcalf, Battle.
Taunt on— Webb.
Yarmouth — Alexander.
York — Emmerson .

Some of the above Agents receive their parcels direct from Mr.
Cobbett ; and, in giving their orders to Mr. Cobbett, they are requested
to be very particular in desiring to have the MEMOIRS inclosed. I
have the pleasure of living very near Mr. Cobbett, who employs peo
ple, the same as I do, to fetch and carry. I am ready, at all times, to
supply Mr. Cobbett with any Number without a moment's delay, and
upon Mr. Cobbett's own terms, viz. — the same terms which Mr. Cob
bett himself charges to me and to all others in the trade for his books.
I hope this explanation will remove all impediments ; if, however, it
should not, this conclusion will be inevitable, namely — that Mr. C. is
det- rmined to contravene the great maxim of all morality and all
religion, and refuse to do by others that which he compels others to
do by him!
THOMAS DOLBY.
209, Strand, June 29, 1822.

Y

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OP
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
llchester Bastile, 25th day, 12th month, 3d year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
August 10, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow^Countrymen,
and Countrywomen.
One more victim of the Boroughmongers has been
released from the iron grasp of their tyrannical measures,
Mr. Wooler was liberated from his dungeon in Warwick
Gaol on the 26th of July, and on the 29th, the brave
Radicals of Birmingham gave him a public dinner, at
once to celebrate the happy event, and to show their per
secutors that neither dungeons, chains, nor torture, can
subdue the noble mind — that the cause of Liberty will
never cower down before its base, selfish, and detestable
opponents: they had a living example before them, that
a brave man is elevated by persecution into a martyr, and
that he would lose his life rather than cringe, and creep,
and crawl, or compromise, or sue for mercy from the cor
rupt knaves of power. The gallant Sir Charles Wolseley
was in the chair, supported by the equally patriotic Mr.
Northmore, and surrounded by some of the brave victims
of tyranny — Messrs. Saxton, Johnston, and Wroe, from
Manchester — Messrs. Edmonds, Ragg, Whitworth, Russell,
and Brandis, of Birmingham, all persecuted patriots, who
have drank deep out of tyranny's bitter mp, and who
11 / A

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

have all been incarcerated in the dungeons of the Bo
roughmongers, and who had all suffered bravely in the
cause of Reform, without flinching from their duty — ho
nourable associates on such a day and upon such an occa
sion. As I am anxious to record this event, I will insert
tlie account of it as it appeared in the Manchester Ob
server, of the 3d of August:

PUBLIC DINNER AT\EIRMINGFTAM, IN HONOUR OF
MR. WOOLER.
In presenting a detail ofthe proceedings at the dinner
provided at Birmingham, on Monday last, on the occasion
of Mr. Wooler's liberation from imprisonment, we have to
entreat the indulgence of the public for the abridged
manner in which the report is made: to give a complete
account of the transactions of that day, would consume
more than our pages will admit. We trust, however,
that the following epitome of what took place, is suffi
ciently accurate to convey to ^hose who were not present,
the manner in which the worthy1 Radicals of Birmingham
honoured Mr. Wooler, on his leaving the dungeon of the
" common enemy." For some time previous to the 29th
ult., there had been a constant succession of rain, and it
was g-reatly feared that its continuance would damp the
expected proceedings ; but the day was ushered in with
every probability of fair weather ; the Sun of Liberty rose
early in the morning, attended with all the radiance of
its glory, and the inhabitants welcomed it with the most
lively demonstrations of joy: it was looked upon as a
propitious omen by the people. It may now, perhaps, be
necessary to observe, that to such a fallen state are the
publicans of Birmingham reduced, that not a man among
them could be found sufficiently daring to provide the
dinner within his walls ; and the Committee who arranged
the proceedings, b„eing determined not to be jostled out
of their intention of providing the dinner, evinced a show
of patriotism worthy to be recorded, and resolved to
overcome all difficulties, by erecting a noble and capacious
booth expressly for the purpose. Previous to the dinner,
we went to inspect this place, and were much pleased
with its appearance : it was built in a firm, substantial
manner, completely secure from the weather; and in the

inside it was tastefully decorated with laurel, flowers,
ribbons, and other emblems of triumph. Flags and ban
ners were displayed in several parts of this immense
place : over the situation assigned for the Chairman, was
a beautiful silk flag, bearing the inscription in letters of
gold, " God arms the Patriot," which was surrounded
with laurel wreaths ; opposite to this was another flag,
on which was inscribed the words engraved on every
Briton's heart, " Liberty or Death."* A large tri-
coloured silk banner attracted particular attention ; on it
was recorded " From unity proceeds strength," -and en
circled with flowers was " Unite and be free ;" under
which was " England, Scotland, and Ireland." On the
right of the chair was a flag " Major Cartwright's
Bill of Rights and Liberties," and farther on " Sir
Charles Wolseley, and no Corn Laws." On the left of
the chair, a flag, motto, " Thomas Jonathan Wooler, and
the Liberty of the Press." In a large scroll on another
flag, was " England expects every man to do his duly;"
and another flag stated, that " For a nation to be free, it
is sufficient that she wills it ;" another, " The Sovereignly
of the People." But it would be impossible accurately to
describe the whole of the interior of the booth: it was a
sight we would not have omitted seeing for all the wealth
of Peru. But to proceed with our narrative: Mr. Wooler
had notified to the Committee, that he had no desire for a
public entry into the town, on the ground that he did not
wish to become a, prominent object in a procession; in
consequence of this, no notification was given of a pub
lic entry being contemplated. Nevertheless, on Monday
morning, the people collected in thousands and tens of
thousands around the place where the Committee were
sitting, and there being no alternative, those gentlemen,
with rosettes on their breasts and laurel in their hats,
proceeded on the road to Warwick to meet the fearless
advocate of the people's rights ; they were followed by
a most excellent band, playing " Ye Warwickshire Lads,"
and by the people in countless multitudes. On their ar
rival at the Mermaid, they met Sir Charles Wolseley, Mr.
Wooler, and friends, in three carriages. But, oh ! God ! how
is it possible to describe the sensations ofthe people at this
moment ? Every head uncovered ! every voice exerted ! —
Wooler, Wolseley, Northmore, were among the Reformers
of Birmingham ; the former just liberated from the strong
hold of his oppressors, after suffering fifteen months incar-

ceration. The gods themselves might envy this sight!
What were the triumphs of Wellington, compared with
this? Here was the homage of a faithful people paid to
the generous leaders of Reform. Mr. Lakins, the Chair1
man ofthe Committee, advanced with a steady air, and in
the name of the assembled party, welcomed Mr. Wooler
into Birmingham, by reading the following address: —
" Sir, — The Committee for arranging the proceedings
of the public dinner to be provided this day, have deputed
me to welcome you into Birmingham, after so long and
cruel imprisonment in the dungeon of your enemies. I
wish the task had fallen into abler hands ; yet I must con
fess that I feel proud ofthe delegated honour of addressing
you on such an interesting occasion. The cause, Sir, for
which you have so severely suffered, is the cause of the
people ; and they will ever feel grateful for your exer
tions in support of their happiness and liberties. You see
before you men whose principles coincide with your own ;
and, in fact, with those of every man who is not, in some
degree, instrumental in supporting that  system
of delusion and oppression, which, unfortunately, the
people have suffered, till its grievances have become too
heavy to be longer endured with patience. We now see
misery spreading its devastating effects amongst every
class of society, with the exception of the Jews and Job
bers of the system, whose riches appear to increase in pro
portion as the property of private individuals decreases.
However, Sir, leaving these matters to take their course,
or to be arrested in their progress by the. energy of the
people, I am sure I express the sentiments of every indi
vidual in this large assembly, when I state, that we are
happy to see you again at liberty ; and from the bottom of
our hearts we abhor and detest your merciless oppressors.
The day cannot be far distant when unerring justice shall
guide the helm of state ; and till that eventful era arrives,
1 am confident I may venture to promise you the support of
the Reformers you see before you, in your efforts to hasten
its arrival."
Mr. Wooler then addressed the Committee and the
multitude to the following effect: — Gentlemen, for these
marks of your esteem — for thi,s assurance of your respect,
allow me to thank you most fervently. You see me ag-ain
amongst you, uninjured in health, untamed in spirit, un
shaken in mind, and eager again to join you in the march
onward to the Goal of Reform. We were told that the

distresses ofthe country Were solely owing to the clamour'
that was made about them ; and that if " the disturbers of
the public peace," (among whom I have had the good
fortune to be deemed one, by certain persons who are so
comfortably situated, that they do not like to be disturbed)
would only be quiet, there would be no such thing as dis
tress any more heard of. You laugh at this, and well you
may; but there are honourable senators who are silly
enough to believe it ; or else wicked enough to say what
they do not believe. However that may be, the power of
delusion is at an end, as far as the people are concerned :
and there are no means of persuading you- that the Re
formers have caused the burthen of the immoderate taxa-
tion of which they complain ; or that they have enacted
the arbitrary laws under which the nation groans with an
indignant impatience. The course of events has been
favourable to us, and converted our former predictions into
historical facts. The effects of a bad system are even fast
recruiting our ranks from the ranks of our oppressors ; and
though there may be little dependance upon such recruits,
still, if they add nothing to our force, their desertion di
minishes the force of our opponents. I am truly glad to
see that, while our enemies are thus changing, you remain
the same ; and I trust that our steady perseverance in the
glorious cause of Liberty, will be crowned by witnessing
her triumph over a system that converts abundance into a
curse, and reproaches Providence for its benevolence —
(General cheers?)
Sir Charles Wolseley then addressed the multitude,
having been announced to the assembly by Mr. Saxton.
Sir Charles said the formality of introducing him, made
it appear as if he were a new man ; but they would re
member he was their legislatorial attorney, and that
they would never find him a new man in the cause of Re
form. Mr. Northmore was then introduced to the assembly
by Mr. Wooler, and addressed them in an appropriate
speech, in which he remarked and lamented the apathy of
the English gentlemen at such an awful crisis ; and said
he found himself happy to take his place in the ranks of
the people who were endeavouring to obtain a Radical
Reform. Mr. Edmonds, Mr. Saxton, and Mr. Johnston, of
Manchester, severally congratulated the people on the
occasion, and the multitude began to return towards the

town ; the Committee led the way, followed by the band,
which, on Mr. Wooler's arrival, struck up " See the con
quering Hero comes," and continued to play the most
enlivening airs, till the party reached the place of destina
tion. The people took the horses from the carriages, and
drew them with their arms linked to each other ; and we
solemnly declare, that this triumphal procession of more
than FORTY THOUSAND PEOPLE, thus linked toge
ther, was the most glorious spectacle we ever beheld. As
the procession proceededmp the hill in Digbeth, it was
particularly striking ; and Mr. Wooler stated it to be the
grandest sight he bad ever witnessed in the course of his
existence. It has been computed that upwards of 1000
persons-were in the booth, and immediately after dinner
a great number of very respectable ladies entered the
place according to arrangement, and were accommodated
with seats — their presence added greatly to the interest of
the scene.
Sir Charles Wolseley, Bart, took the chair amid
the acclamations of the company. On his right hand was
Mr. WOOLER, the hero of the day'! Next to him
were the persecuted patriots of Birmingham, Messrs.
Edmonds, Ragg, Whitworth, Russell, Brandis, and others.
On the Chairman's left hand were Thomas Northmore,
Esq. Mr. Robertshaw, of Derby, and a number of other
gentlemen from different parts of the -country. After the
ladies were seated, the band struck up the tune of the
" Song of Slaughter." "•¦
Sir Charles Wolseley then rose, and after an elo
quent and feeling address, proposed as a toast —
" The Sovereignty of the People."
Tune—" The Tyrolese Hymn of Liberty."
Letters from Major Cartwright, the Rev. Henry Cress
well, and Oliver Hayward, Esq., whose attendance had
been requested, but to whom it was inconvenient to at
tend, were now read, and the expressions of ardent patriot
ism they contained, elicited the most unbounded applause.
Mr. Saxton, after an animated speech, here read the
Address from the Reformers at Leeds to Mr. Wooler, on
his release from confinement. »
Mr. Attwood's note to the Committee for conducting
the public dinner in honour of Mr. Wooler was next read.
The Chairman, after passing very high eulogiums on
Mr. Wooler, complimenting him for his disinterested

devotednoss to his country's interests, and the services he
had rendered to all mankind through the medium of his
invaluable writings, proposed to the company
" The health of Mr. Thomas Jonathan Wooler, the able, eloquent,
and intrepid defender of tne people's rights." v
This being drank with nine times nine rounds of applause,
sufficient to deafen all the enemies of popular feeling,
Mr. Wooler, after a reiterated shout of approbation
had subsided, rose to thank the assembly. He said the
feelings natural to such a situation as the proud one in
which hethenstood before them, were notto be expressed ;
but he trusted they would be fully appreciated by those
who had done him that day so much honour, as to consider
him not only an ardent, but a useful servant in the com
mon cause. The situation he held was the highest that
could be assigned him, until the period should arrive
which might call him to witness the triumph of their
honest wishes in the success of Reform : — for, next to the
gratification of obtaining success, was the satisfaction of
enjoying the confidence of those with whom we are en
gaged, and the contentment of one's own conscience. He
had witnessed the most sublime and majestic spectacle
social nature could afford— an immense multitude assembled
spontaneously at the sound of the trumpet of Reform —
the whole population of Birmingham had been poured
into its streets, and yet maintaining the most sacred order:
the scene reminding one ofthe best periods of Greece and
Home; — and of our own country, when the British Lion
walked his native woods, in the proud consciousness of
security in his own strength ; but far above the petty idea
of using it against his insect enemies. To have been the
individual in joy at whose release this feeling has been
manifested, was a satisfaction beyond all price ; and the
elevation on which he then stood, of more value in his
eyes, than the proudest throne in Europe. The period of
his imprisonment had not been idly passed ; and the aspect
ofthe day showed that the cause of Reform had not been
retarded because the Reformers had marched more silently
than before. The addresses and congratulations that met
him there, from all parts of the country, were sufficient
proofs of this ; and it was a great pleasure to know that
he had spoken as effectually, and as usefully" from his prison
abode, as from his ordinary residence. He could not but
rejoice at the altered feeling which had been produced

among part of the opponents of Reform Almost every
conscientious opponent had abandoned his opposition: and
the letter of Mr. Attwood to the meeting did equal honour
to the individual, and to the company assembled. He
had nobly thrown aside conclusions which his mature
reflection did not confirm as just; — and the difference of
opinion remaining between him and them, would cer
tainly be removed, when Mr. Attwood had examined the
necessity of Universal Suffrage as closely as the necessity
of that Radical Reform in the representation of the people,
to which he professes himself to have become a convert ;
and he (Mr. W.) felt the full value of the compliment
which Mr. Attwood paid him, in naming him as one of the
teachers of that Reform. It was not necessary to repeat
there the arguments on which Universal Suffrage was
rested, as the only means of securing the advantages of
Reform : but he conld not avoid noticing the plausible but
paltry query of Mr. Curran, who asked " whether you
would give a vote to a beggar on the bridge'." He an
swered yes ; quite as soon to the beggar on the bridge,
as to the beggar at the Court ; and much sooner would he
give a vote to the beggar on the bridge, than the disposal
of the lives and fortunes ofthe people to a beggar at the
Treasury. When the opponents of Universal Suffrage
could show him a man upon whom the state laid no bur
thens, he would admit they had discovered a man who
was not entitled to a vote ; but while the state burthened
all, and enforced the services of all, he could not under
stand the nature of its right to proscribe any from a voice
in the election of those who make so free with their pro -
perties and their lives. This question was not then before
them. It is the business of the people to determine what
system they will have ; for if all power emanate from
them, and should be delegated for their benefit, it is for
them to order, and their representatives to obey. The
present system could not boast of exemption from any
absurdity ; and it would be a whimsical test ofthe gravity
of a company of sensible men, to propose for the first time
such a system as that which was the envy and admiration
of the world. Suppose one senator should say to his
brethren, I have two pig-styes at Appleby, and I want
two representatives for them : that another should demand
two representatives for an old tree at Old Sarum; and a
third to propose half a dozen venison-eaters of his acquaint
ance as very proper persons to elect representatives for

the borough which they taxed to find them venison.
But monstrous as these beauties ofthe system are, they are
nothing to that happy contrivance of corruption, which
secures the representation of the pig-sties, the old tree,
and the venison-eating aldermen, by proclaiming that the
people shall not be represented at all. The exposure of
such a monstrous system must lead to its downfall. It has
no basis in reason ; it stands only on the pedestals of force
and fraud. Take away these two stilts, and down will
the dagon fall. But we must be earnest in our exertions
to remove them ; they will not fall at the mere flourish
of the trumpet. The Reformers must put their shoulders
to the wheel. It is quite useless to pray to our borough
idols to lessen the weight of their pressure ; and to labour
with any effect, all those degrading jealousies, all those
petty animosities, which have so much injured the cause
of Reform, and the reputation of the Reformers, must be
foregone. They are too contemptible to be particu
larized; but it will be requisite in future to consider all as
ceasing to be Reformers, when they can find nothing more
important to do than to quarrel with each other, and
nauseate the public with petty disputes between A. B.
and C. To know what a man is, let us ask what he is
doing? If he is quarrelling with his friends, when he
should be fighting his enemies, he is not worth much,
either as a soldier or leader. There is quite enough for all
of us to do : and those who leave their own duty, to inter
rupt others in the discharge of theirs, are fighting the
battles of the enemies of Reform ; and have no longer any
pretence to be called Reformers, at least till they return
to their duty. I do not find myself equal to the task of
commenting upon the almost countless subjects which on
this occasion press upon the consideration. My health, I
believe, is unimpaired ; but want of practice makes exer
tion painful: and I must, therefore, conclude with remark
ing, that it is public support alone that can give any effect
to the labours of public men ; and that if the public are
indifferent to their own interests, it is impossible they
should be essentially served by any man. The proud dis
play of feeling which had animated Birmingham to-day,
was a sufficient proof that the inhabitants of Birmingham
were willing, and able, to do their duty in the common
cause ; and thrice happy in having been the humble in
strument in calling it forth, with the most sincere thanks
for their personal attention, and with still more pleasure
11 B

10
at the effect it could not fail to produce, he concluded with
assuring them, that though their exertions and assistance
might enlarge the Dwarf to the dimensions of a Giant,
yet whether he were Dwarf or Giant, he would always
endeavour to be active and useful.
After the applause that followed this address, a song,
composed for the occasion, was sung : —
" Wooler and Liberty."
Tune — " See the Conquering Hero comes."
Bir. Edmonds had a toast to propose to the company
which he had no doubt would meet with their entire con
currence. An English Baronet was among them ; not a
servile aristocratical tool of power — but a genuine, sterling
patriot, who had nobly dared to deviate from the customs
of his equals in rank, and rush to the support of an injured
people — (Great applause.) He (Mr. E.) thought that
every individual throughout England, Wales, Scotland,
and Ireland, was greatly indebted to Sir Charles Wolseley
for the part he had taken against the destroyers of human
liberty — (Bravo.) If they wanted an instance, of his
readiness to serve them at any moment, they might wit
ness it in having him among them on the present occa
sion : with what alacrity had the worthy Baronet obeyed
their call to preside this day — he thought they were in
duty bound to honour such a patriotic act, and he was
sure he need not say another word to induce them to
show their attachment to the person of Sir Charles
Wolseley, whose health he had the honour to propose. —
Drank with three times three and great animation.
Tune—" Ye Gentlemen of England."
Sir Charles Wolseley rose amid the plaudits of the
meeting, and observed, that the approbation of his coun
trymen was the greatest gratification he could receive.
He trusted they would believe him when he said, that he
preferred such a demonstration of their feeling, before all
the honours which it was in the power of kings and em
perors to bestow — (Bravo.) It was become the duty of
every honest man to use every effort to stem that torrent
of corruption, which threatened every moment to under
mine the foundation-stone of civil society ; and for his
own part, he had resolutely made up his mind, never to
shrink from his post, so long as the vital spark of life re
mained within him — (Wolseley for ever.) They were
embarked in the cause of Radical Reform, which he was

11
convinced was necessary for the salvation of the country.
— (Cheers.) If the people persevered towards that ob
ject, they must eventually obtain it ; and unless they
sought to possess it by every means in their power, he, for
one, would say, that they did not deserve it. However,
from the spirit he had this day seen displayed, it would be
impossible for him to despair ; and he would say, that if
they did not relax in their exertions, the day of their
triumph could not long be deferred. The star of Liberty
was likely to burst forth into a resplendent sun, which
would shine without distinction upon them all. — The
Baronet called upon the company -to recollect that he was
under heavy recognizances to be of good behaviour to
wards the "'Powers that be," and he intended to fulfil
those recognizances, by being of good behaviour to the
people. He had a sentiment' to propose to them, which
he conceived was a proper one : it was as follows: —
" The immortal Memory of the Barons of Runnymede, who forced
the Tyrant, John, to sign Magna Charta ; and may the Barons of
every age emulate their glorious example." — (Great applause.)
Mr. Wooler rose to propose the health of a brother
conspirator — who had happily intimidated his enemies so
far by his virtues, that oppression, not daring to touch
his honoured head, had been obliged to content itself
with putting its hands into his pockets, and taking out a
hundred guineas, as a fine, for daring to be present when
the rights of the people were discussed. Though he should
have been proud to have had his company that day, he
rejoiced that prudence had prevented him from joining
them, as his life was too valuable to have his health en
dangered by a ,journey of such a length. — He proposed
" The health of the venerable Major Cartwright — the personification
of inflexible virtue, and inextinguishable patriotism, whose heart
bnrns with the love of Liberty, even under the cold hand of Death."
Song — " The Tyrolese Hymn of Liberty," loudly encored, three
times three.
The Chairman was now about to submit to them the
health of a gentleman who had peculiar claims to their
support — he meant the Captive of Ilchester, Henry Hunt.
(Tremendous shouting.) He was glad to hear that deaf
ening approbation of a man whose whole life had been
identified with the best interests of his country — (God
bless him.) Mr. Hunt, he was satisfied, would never
shrink from his post ; he would never desert the people so
long as they acted the part of men. He had visited Mr.

12
Hunt in his horrible Bastile ; and he had heard tbe great
Patriot declare before the high altar of Liberty, that he
would rather perish in the midst of his direst enemies,
than live a degraded slave — (Huzza) — and if Mr. Hurt
did not fully rely upon the energies of the people, be
(Sir Charles) had no hesitation in giving it as his firm
conviction, oppression would feel the prowess of Mr.
Hunt's single arm — (Cheers.) He would not detain them
another moment.
" The Captive of Ilchester, Henry Hunt ; and may his exertions to
bring the murderers of Peterloo to justice, be crowned with complete
success." This toast was received with the most unbounded ex
pressions of approbation, which continued for several
minutes. After the cheering had iri some measure sub
sided, the band struck up
" Oh ! give me Death or Liberty !"
Song — Mr. Butler. — " Whate'er our fate in Freedom's cause."
Sir Charles Wolseley next observed, it was become
the fashion to decry the man who was resolute enough to
stand forward the advocate of an oppressed and insulted
nation — as a person aiming at the destruction of property,
religion, and domestic comforts of life : and to such an ex
tent was oppression able to spread its poisonous precepts,
with the assistance of Parson-Justices, Lords-Lieutenants,
Police-officers, and a long train of well-paid hirelings, that
he really felt a little surprised their effects were not more
widely diffused. Men of rank were coming forward to
join the ranks of the Radical Reformers ; and though they
came late, they should be allowed to partake ofthe glory,
as converts to the " poor Radicals ;" and he hoped they
would persevere with as much ardour as those Radicals
had persevered before them. There stood near him a gen
tleman not a new convert, but one who had always gone
hand in hand with the friends of Liberty. That gentleman
was Mr. Northmore — (Great applause.) He was happy
to see that they duly appreciated Mr. Northmore's con
duct. He could assure them, Mr. N. was a person who
might be implicitly relied upon, when his assistance was
necessary : and he should propose
" The health of Thomas Northmore, Esq., with the thanks of the
Meeting for the honour of his company on this occasion." Three
times thre», succeeded by great applause.

13
Mr. Northmore answered — " I have never in my life
been so much gratified as by the conduct ofthe Reformers
of Birmingham — so patient, so wise, so provident, and
yet so firm and decided on all occasions, as to be beyond
all praise ; alike disregarding bayonets, dungeons, and the
quirks and quibbles of the law, in the journey to the haven
of Liberty, guided by the polar star of truth. I have
come to the liberation of one patriot, from the dungeon
of another — I mean that of Mr. Hunt — (Cheers) — who, I
am sorry to say, has lost five years of his life from the
effects of his incarceration — (Shame.) His eye-sight is
affected, and he has exchanged the hale aspect of a coun
try gentleman, for the paleness produced by an unwhole
some dungeon. But his spirits are yet as high as ever —
his mind is in full vigour, and his soul is here at this mo
ment, exhorting you to perseverance, and applauding
your glorious efforts — (Cheers.) And I am glad to see
that he is in your recollection also, as having done more
good in gaol than most men have done out of it ; as hav
ing razed gaols to the ground, and sent Gaolers and Jus
tices to the right-about; for it is now determined that the
Gaol shall be demolished ; and if there be any justice in
the county, a monument will be raised on its scite to
Henry Hunt. Besides this, he has obtained an Act to
legalize the sale of that beverage, for vending which he
was fined 200L, and had his manor threatened to be
seized and confiscated to the Crown ! The affections of
the county are with him; and the inhabitants are now
preparing a piece of plate to present him with on his
liberation, which will be one of exultation and triumph
to the whole country. I have heard there are two spies
in the room ; and you all know that their business is not to
hear what is said, but what is not said,; not to see what is
done, but what is not done ; and though we are as quiet
and as loyal as we ought to be, it is very likely they will
say we are a set of noisy and disaffected fellows. So, if
you find any two in the company more noisy than the rest,
bringthem to me, and as I am a Magistrate of the County
of Devon, I will swear them in as special constables, to
keep the peace — (Cheers.) I said we were loyal ; and I
will prove it by the unquestionable authority of our late
King, who, in 1771, said, " I have no other object, and I
«an have no other interest, than to reign in the hearts of
a free and happy people. The support of our excellent
constitution is our common duty and interest. By that

14
standard I would wish my people to try all public prin
ciples, and professions." Now, then, let us try how our
excellent constitution has been supported, and see how
happy we are- The constitution says, elections ought to
be free. Are they so ? It says also, 25 Ed. I. that no acts
or taxes shall be levied but by the common assent, and
for the common profit of all ; and this is the reason we are
told why Acts of Parliament are binding on all; because
every man is considered as a party consenting- to them.
This constitution is a very different thing from what is
meant by the cuckoo cry ofthe " envy and admiration of
the world." This cry must be pretty near its end, and I
will endeavour to give it a final blow. So far from the '
French admiring or envying us, they curse us, as the au
thors of their being again plagued with the Bourbons,
Does Spain admire us? The Spaniards reproach us with
being the authors of their dissentions, and are at this
moment capturing our ships. Do the Portuguese admire
us ? They have shown it by warring upon our com
merce, and have just laid a duty of 15 per cent, on wool.
The Russians, Austrians, and Germans, admire our money
— but nothing else ; for they prohibit our goods, and are
already speculating'on the exclusion of our trade from the
Mediterranean. Do the Americans admire us? 'Ihey al
ready rival us in the East and the West ; and tell us to
look at their bits of striped bunting, and come and depose
Mr. Maddison, if we dare — while we have the memory
of our cock-boats which gained the victory in the great
sea-fight on the Serpentine river, and the new Achilles of
bronze, lined with plaster and cow-dung, which has been
set up in Hyde Park. At home we are equally unfortu
nate in our constitution ; and in Ireland, the bounty of
heaven is converted into the curse of a Tantalus, and
thousands are perishing for food, in a country which ex
ports millions of pounds in value of provisions. O,
what an envy and admiration ofthe world it is ! Now let
us see whether we cannot give it a coup de grace. AH
the matter lies in the misapplication of the word world.
There are three worlds, you know ; and the thing is, to
find out which is meant. It cannot be the world above ;
for there is everlasting joy and happiness, we are told ; and
that no thieves, no hypocrites, no liars, no murderers, ever
disturb it. It cannot be this world ; for we are objects' of
scorn to other nations, and our own gentlemen are leaving
us as fast as they can. I should even go myself, but for

15
two reasons : — the one is, a partiality for the land of my
fathers — and the other, that I think it would be cow
ardice to desert it, because wicked men have got the
upper hand. So, it being neither this world, nor the
world above, that envies or admires us, it must be the
world below — (Cheers) — where we are told that hypo
crites, slanderers, plunderers, tyrants, false imprisoners,
and murderers, have their portion. Let us, however, do
our duty, and make the constitution lovely in its purity.
Let us correct that spirit of dissention that forms the best
security of our oppressors, who find it easy to govern
those whom they can divide: let us show corruption a
bold and decided front ; and say to it, thus far shalt thou
go, but no farther ! The President of the Spanish Cortes,
in his answer to the King, has told us nobly what is the
duty of the representatives ofthe people: — "to procure
for the constituents the greatest sum of good, at the ex
pense of the leastpossible sacrifice;" which is something
different from fhe doctrines of Lord Liverpool, and my re
lation, Mr. Vansittart, who argue, that the greater the sa
crifice, the greater the benefit ; and demonstrate the
prosperity of the nation by the amount of the spoil which
it furnishes to the Treasury. Lord Liverpool says — " He
looked at the country altogether, without regard to any
particular interest; and he was entitled, upon such a
view, to say, that the wealth of the country had not dimi
nished, though it was altered in its situation. The in
creased amount of the revenue, and of the increased con
sumption of exciseable articles, were, he should always
contend, fair points of reference to form an opinion on
this subject; and at these he could look with satisfaction,
and repeat that the solid wealth of the country had not
diminished. He was perfectly persuaded that things
would right themselves, though he admitted that this
must be preceded by much distress and much political
evil." This is an odd mode of righting themselves, by
much distress, and much political evil ! But the whole doc
trine is false. Lord Bacon very wisely observes, that " the
King's Exchequer is like the spleen. When that swells,
the whole body pines." And it is clear that tbe greater sum
thestate abstracts from productive employment,the greater
the injury done to the people. Queen Elizabeth was ac
customed to say that her Exchequer was in the people's
pockets ; and he is but a novice in politics who knows notr
that a rich government always makes a poor people ; as iu

lc
Asia Minor, Ireland, and many other instances. The more
wealth is diffused, tho more happy, safe, and free, are the
people. Sir M. Forster, one of the very few honest
lawyers, says, " the esteem (not the spoil) of the people
is the support of all government ; — though such miserable
princes as Edward II. and Richard II. . " thought their
people's good inconsistent with their own power." The
Whigs and Tories seem equally afraid ofthe public good,
as incompatible with their influence. Thus all their pre
tended reforms are ridiculous affectations. They discard a
borough, to hand a county over to greater rottenness: as
Jonathan Wild was accustomed to give a traveller, whom
he had robbed, an odd shilling or so to pay turnpikes with
on his way home ; and for this treatment the boroughs
mongers expect the people to say, " thank your honours !"
instead of making them disgorge the whole. I shall con
clude with a short story that may illustrate the silliness of
the Six Acts. A boy a Leicester, in the dispute between
Charles and his people, offended a captain in the King's
forces, by calling his men rumps ! The captain took him
to the Mayor, and wanted him hanged; but the Mayor
happening to think there was no great offence in the mat
ter, and being firm enough to maintain the superiority of
the civil power, dismissed the complaint, with a re
primand, on a promise from the boy never to offend
again. The next day, the troops were drawn out ; the
boy took his usual place ; and as the clock struck twelve,
thrust his head out of a hole in the window. All were
breathless expectation ! The captain looked fierce, the
soldiers sheepish : when, after a pause, the boy called out,
"Aye! aye! Master Captain ! you know what I mean !"
So, while your enemies threaten us with vindictive laws,
put all our best patriots in their unwholesome dungeons,
and subject our political writers to fines and incarceration,
if they do prevent us speaking out, they know what we
mean : and what is still more galling to them, they cannot
prevent the public from understanding what we mean,
too. I thank you for your patient attention, and beg leave
to drink all your healths." — (Loud applause).
Tune—" The Marsellois Hymn.''
The Chairman then proposed the health ofthe Rev. Henry Creswell,
Vicar of Creech St. Michael's ; Oliver Hayward, Esq. and Thomas
Parrot, Esq. (3 times 3.)
Tune — " God save the Rights of Man.''
Mr. Edmonds stated, that his feelings were strong in

17
favour of what he was now going to advance. The place
Mr. Wooler had just been liberated from, contained in it a
person whose name was familiar with them all  he
alluded to Charles Maddocks, (cheers) who had done
more for the cause of R.eform, in proportion to his means,
than almost any other man in the country. He was particu
larly gratified in proposing the health of such a man. (Mrs.
Maddocks was at this moment recognized among the
ladies, and was much affected by the spontaneous approval
of her husband's conduct.) This toast being about to be
put from the chair, Mr. Wooler came forward amidst the
plaudits of the company, and observed that he could not
suffer the toast to be proposed, without requesting to
trespass upon their time for a few moments. Mr. Ed
monds had resided nine months with Mr. Maddocks in
Warwick Gaol ; now he (Mr. W.) had the advantage of
residing fifteen months with the same individual, and he
could conscientiously say, that he knew no person for
whom he entertained a higher respect ; — he knew no
person in whom he would place more implicit confidence,
he (Mr. W.) knew no man who was willing to suffer more,
or less prepared to give ground to his country's oppres
sors — that Mr. Maddocks was a fine specimen of the ster
ling stuff of which the host of Reform should be composed ;
though his imprisonment had been augmented in conse
quence of his fearless and independent conduct before
the Judges of the Court of King's Bench, he merit
ed a civic crown for it instead of a dungeon. There
were other Reformers incarcerated ; Mr. Swann, Mr. Har
rison, and Mr. Lewis were in prison ; and while speaking
of the latter gentleman, he wished to make mention of
a useful publication Mr. Lewis was now engaged in pre
paring — a History of the Persecuted Reformers, or the
Patriot's Book of Martyrs ; in which would be recorded
the sufferings of those who deserved well of their country,
and he (Mr. W.) would take the liberty of recommending
Mr. Lewis to insert, as a sort of appendix, the names of
the persecutors, in order that when the day of reckon
ing arrived, a regular debtor and creditor account might
be presented, and the balance regulated according to cir
cumstances — (Very great applause.) He concluded by
hoping the assembly would do something in support of
their incarcerated brethren during their confinement —
(cries of " We will subscribe now'." and a subscription
was immediately entered into, and produced in a few
11 c

18
minutes upwards of I5l.; which was announced amidst
thunders of applause).
The healths of Messrs. Maddocks, Lewis, Harrison, and
Swann were now drank, with 3 times 3.
Song : " In Liberty's cause I could yield up my Life."
The healths of Messrs. Saxton, Johnston, and Wroe, of
Manchester, were next drank, with 3 times 3, and great
acclamation. Mr. Saxton observed he was not an unfledged youth in
the glorious cause ofthe people — he had been accused of
high-treason and sedition times immemorial ; chains of 60
pounds weight had been put upon him ; — nevertheless he
was still alive, and still an opponent of the borough-
monger system (applause.) He had been a United
Irishman ; and after witnessing the exertion of Birming
ham, he could not but confess that he was now a United
Englishman. — He was proud to find that Birmingham
possessed so many brave unconquerable spirits, and trusted
that 'ere long the whole kingdom would join in the cheer
ing cry of " Liberty or Death" — (loud cheers).
Mr. Johnstone observed that he was a " Radical
Taylor," and proceeded in a humorous manner, which
drew forth expressions of mirth and approbation from the
company, to state his antipathy to certain persons whose
master was black and resided in the regions below.
(Loud laughter,) Mr. Johnstone afterwards stated that
he had some thoughts of exhibiting a sign-board, emblema
tical of his calling, on which he would have it notified
that he was ready and willing to execute orders for
shrouds to cover all the tyrants in existence, previous to
their being deposited in that " bourne from whence no
traveller returns." (Loud cheers.) He had spent three
years and a half in gaol, for advocating the principles on
which were founded all good governments, but his spirit
was as high as ever ; and he had stronger hopes now than
ever that oppression was about to be extirpated from the
creation. Mr. Wroe had enjoyed the high honour of being an ob
ject of Boroughmongering vengeance. In 1819, the ma
nagers of the system had formed a conspiracy to ruin him ;
and at one and the same time they had no less than 15
indictments against him, his wife and family, among whom
was a brother only II years of age (shame, shame) ; how
ever he was not yet prepared to renounce his claim to the

19
freedom of his country, which, he could assure the meet
ing was still dear to him, and which he trusted would be
obtained in spite of all the efforts of corruption and its
tools, (cheers).
The Chairman proposed —
" Success to the Birmingham Union and Patriot's Friend Society,'-
which called forth the treasurer, Mr. Thomas Larkins, who,
to the agreeable surprise of a great part of the company,
presented to Sir Charles Wolseley, the treasurer of the
Great Northern Union, the sum of 10/. in aid of that insti
tution. Mr. Larkins further observed, that in a short time
the society hoped to render still greater assistance.
The money was presented amid the plaudits of the as
sembly, and Sir Charles, on receiving it, took occasion to
express the gratification he felt in the presence of so
many firm patriots, of stating that he was in the constant
habit of receiving sums from various parts ofthe kingdom ;
and he had strong expectations it would be the means of
placing the " Captive of Ilchester" in the House of
Commons. The next sentiment he had to propose, would meet
their sanction, as it related to the inhabitants of Bir.
mingham who had severely suffered in the glorious cause.
Messrs. Edmonds, Whitworth, Ragg, Russell, Osborne, Brandis, and
Mansfield, (3 times 3.)
Mr. Edmonds said he had never met his townsmen
under circumstances so gratifying as the present, to
congratulate a man whose moral worth was equal to his
political integrity: — it was also a satisfaction that they
were not met for any partial, petty object. He had served
his town, and was ready to serve it again ; but this was not
a meeting on parish affairs: the company were now as
sembled to promote the general interests of mankind with
out distinction. Mr. E. went on to demonstrate that the
proper object of a Government, was the happiness of the
governed. He spoke at great length, attended through
out with the cheers ofthe people.
Mr. Whitworth returned thanks in a very able speech.
Mr. Ragg then came forward, (supported by a pair of
crutches) and begged to return them his most grateful
thanks. He was pleased to find that his exertions met
their approbation ; and he would assure them, that as
long as he lived he would support their holy cause. He
had struggled through a cruel imprisonment of one year

10
and nine months duration, which had brought upon him
such an illness, that he might say he was still incarcerated,
for he was unable to leave his room ; and nothing but the
present gratifying occasion could have tempted him to
risk himself, by leaving home this day: yet, feeble as he
was, he hoped he should live to see his persecutors
brought to that punishment they so richly deserved at
the hands of the people — (Very great applause).
Mr. Wooler, after commenting upon the advantages. fo
be derived from the influence of the ladies, to the cause of
public as well as private Reform, took the opportunity of
proposing the health of the ladies who had favoured them
with their company as spectators of the proceedings ;
which was drank with great applause.
The following toasts were afterwards drank: —
" The Committee for arrangingthe proceedings" — " The Reformers
of Great Britain"— " The Rights of Man" — The United States of
America" — " Lord Cochrane" — " Simon Bolivar" — " Trial by Jury" —
" The Liberty of the Press."
After the meeting was dissolved, the people retired
peaceably, highly delighted with the proceedings of
the day. — A large company afterwards assembled at
the Pump Tavern, and Mr. Wooler having been so
licited to attend, honoured the room with his presence,
accompanied by his noble friends — and on separating, every
one joined in the shout of " Wooler for ever."
It is only necessary to add, that the Report which was
forwarded to the printer of the Observer, I understand
was obliged to be very much curtailed in consequence of
its length ; 1 am sorry for this, as the columns of the
Observer cannot be better occupied than with the faithful
and full report of such Radical Meetings as this. The
Reformers of Birmingham, and the whole country at large,
have good reason to rejoice at the liberation of Mr. Wool
er ; not so much on account of his being able to walk
without the bounds of his prison-house, and range the
fields at his pleasure ; — but they have great reason to
rejoice and to exult that he had passed through the fiery
ordeal of Boroughmonger persecution, without disgracing
the cause of Reform, by any tampering with the common
enemy. He has emerged from his dungeon untainted
with the offer of any compromise — he scorned to fly
from danger — and when overpowered by brute force, he
disdained to sue for mercy ; and he has employed his time,

21
during his incarceration, by dealing out deadly body
blows to his persecutors. He has indeed proved him
self worthy to be received again into the first and most
honourable ranks ofthe Radical Reformers. I understand
that his friends in London intended to have given him a
liberation dinner upon his arrival there — a certain gen -
tleman was to have taken the chair ; but when the time
came, he endeavoured to bind the party who took the
lead in the measure, down to terms, and proposed to sti
pulate for the exclusion of a certain toast; but the party
treated the proposition with the scorn it merited, and the
dinner is in consequence delayed. O, enyy, hatred, and
malice, what objects of con.smpt and derision ye make
those who abandon themselves to your demoniac in
fluence ! But *' we shall see."
THE BISHOP AND THE SOLDIER;
OR, THE PILLARS OF CHURCH AND STATE IN DANGER.
I believe we are indebted to Mr. Clement, the upright
and independent proprietor of the London Sunday Ob
server, for the first exposure of the beastly conduct of
this holy scoundrel, the Most Reverend Father in
God, the Honourable Percy Jocelyn, Lord Bishop
of Clogher, a Commissioner of the Board of Educa
tion, a Member of the notorious and infamous Bridge
Street Gang — brother to the Earl of Roden ; and, if I
mistake not, uncle to that Lord Jocelyn, a Member of
the House of Commons, who moved the Address to the
Prince Regent at the opening of the Parliament a few
years back. To Mr. Cobbett, or rather to the proprietor of
the Statesman, who is responsible for all that is published in
that paper, we are indebted for the full exposure of this
Honourable and Right Reverend Father in God — this
noble pillar of the Church — Percy Jocelyn. The coun
try has heard quite enough of the infamous and diabolical
crime of which this monster was detected, but it can never
hear too much of the conduct of the Police Magistrate,
Mr. Dyer, in taking such inefficient bail of the said Right
Rev. Father in God. I might very fairly be excused for
drawing a contrast between the conduct of Parson Hay,
the very Rev. Vicar of Rochdale , in my case, and that of
Mr. Dyer, in the case of the said Rev. Father in God.
When the very worthy and reverend Magistrates of Man
chester were ordered by their masters, Sidmouth and Co.
to abandon the charg-e of high treason against myself,

?2
Johnson, Saxton, Bamford, and others, and to hold us to
bail for a misdemeanor, for attending the meeting in St.
Peter's Plain, at Manchester, on the memorable 16th of
August, 1819, I was ordered to enter into security for my
appearance at the Assizes, in 1000/. myself, and two
friends in 500/. each, making my bail 2000/. While my
friends, Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. Chapman, were
arranging to join me in giving this bail, and while they
were actually in waiting for the Magistrates to accept it,
I was hurried into a coach in less than a quarter of an hour
after the examination took place, and, unknown to my
friends, I was taken off under a military escort, a distance
of fifty-four miles, to Lancaster Castle, where my friends
were obliged to follow in a post-chaise, to rescue me fiom
sleeping in one of the worst cells of that Bastile, in
which the amiable Gaoler, Higgins, had locked me up for
the night. Here w"as I, a man of small private income,
held to bail for attending the Manchester Meeting in
2000/. — a sum equal to three years of my whole income.
And thisjwretch, this Bishop, this Right Reverend »
and Honourable Father in God, only held to bail in a
1000/. for a crime ofthe most abominable nature — not more
than a tenth part ofthe annual income that he receives out
ofthe public plunder ofthe country, in the shape of church
preferment. This is quite enough to show the partial and
arbitrary manner in which the mockery of justice is admi
nistered in this country. But we now hear that the pri
vate soldier of the foot guards is also bailed by the same
Mr. Dyer for the same sum, in the same amount that was
demanded for the Honourable and Right Reverend Father
in God, Percy Jocelyn, Bishop of Clogher, kc. Bravo,
Mr. Dyer ! if this is not bringing the church into disgrace,
if this is not bringing the administration of justice into
disgrace, I do not know what is. How often have we
been told that the'Church and Stale are in danger in con
sequence of seditious and blasphemous writings, calculated
to bring into contempt and disrepute our holy religion
and our excellent constitution, the envy and the admiration
of surrounding nations ! Once more, I will boldly tell
these prating, canting, hypocritical knaves who use this
language, that the infamous and profligate conduct of the
clergy, is ten thousand times more calculated to bring the
church into disgrace and contempt, than all the writings
of all the Deists and all the Atheists that ever lived. The
Rio-ht Reverend and Honourable Father in God, Percy

23
Jocelyn, Bishop of Clogher, has done more to bring the
Church into contempt and disgracs, and to injure the
Christian Religion, more than all the writings of Voltaire,
Rousseau, Paine, and the publishing of all the Carliles
that ever lived. No, no; it is not these writings nor these
publishing that will ever bring Christianity into contempt;
it is not these that will destroy our holy religion; but it
is the conduct of such men as the Bishop of Clogher, and
their abettors — it is the conduct of such men as is described
in the following paragraph : —
" Disgraceful Conduct of a Clergyman. — A curate who
serves two churches in the neighbourhood of Bilesden, was
so intoxicated on Sunday last, as to be incapable of doing
his duty. On ascending the pulpit at R  , he could
scarcely articulate a sentence distinctly, and the service
was consequently abruptly concluded. At S  , his con
duct was, if possible, more reprehensible; for after disgust
ing his congregation to such* a pitch as to cause them to
quit the church soon after he had entered it, he actually,
on being desired to leave the pulpit, " showed fight," by
placing himself in a boxing attitude, and using threatening
language to one of his parishioners. — A similar misconduct
in a vicar of the same neighbourhood, was passed over a
year or two ago, notwithstanding representations of the
case were set forth in a memorial signed almost by every
respectable parishioner in the village." — Leicester Chro
nicle, July 24.
It is the conduct of such men as the above, that will,
and has brought our holy religion into contempt and dis
grace. Look at the conduct of a Curate of Boston, in
exhibiting himself naked on the Frieston shore, as de
tailed in the Stamford News. Look at the conduct of
Parson-Justice Hay, and Parson-Justice Ethelstone. Look
at the conduct of their precious twin brothers of Somer
setshire, Parson-Justice Colston, and Parson-Justice
Thring, and Parson-Justice Sir Abram Elton, and Par
son-Justice Whalley, and some half-score more Parson-
Justices of this immediate neighbourhood. Read the
evidence given by How and Johnson before the Commis
sioners sent to inquire into the state of this Gaol : read
what they say of the transactions carried on here by
Slillman and Dredge, under the inspection of these wor-
thies, and then say who is likely to bring the church into
da nger, who is likely to bring our holy religion into con-

24
tempt and disgrace. My worthy friend, Sir Charles
Wolseley, has published the following letter, addressed
to the inhabitants of Staffordshire. Read that, my
friends. Sir Charles Wolseley's Address to the Inhabitants of
Staffordshire, on the subject of Tithes.
" There is no subject more deserving of public attention
than the question of tithes. It is equally important to all
classes ; and nothing more than a proper understanding
of it, is requisite to promote a material alteration for the
better. When we find clergymen chusing this period of
general distress to fleece their flock by clerical exactions,
it is necessary to inquire whether they have law ; for vve
are aware that they have neither reason nor justice on
their side. There has been a curious decision on this
matter, in Norfolk, which calls upon the tithe-payers of
every county to make a stand, and to see that they are
not spoiled of more than the law requires. I will copy
the account from the public papers, and subjoin a few re
marks for the further elucidation of the matter.
" ' important decision relative to tithes.
" ' At the last Norfolk Quarter Sessions, held at Nor
wich on the 17th of April, 1822, the Court came to a most
important decision on the Poor Laws, on an appeal by the
Rev. Dr. Bulmer, Rector of Cawston, against the poors'
rate for that parish. The Doctor had been rated at 550/.
per annum for tithes, against which he appealed, upon
the ground that it exceeded a fourth of the assessment,
upon the titheable property in the parish, which, he con
tended, was the proportion at which tithes should be
assessed to the poors rates. The Court dismissed the ap
peal, being unanimously of opinion, that there was no rule
in law for fixing a proportional assessment on tithes, com
pared with land ; and that the only principle was to
assess all real property, according to the productive value
of profit which it yielded. This determination is import
ant, as it recognizes a principle, the general application
of which, at the present time, will necessarily be attended
with the most serious results, both to the farmer and the
clergy, upon the latter of whom the chief burden of sup
porting the poor will now, as informer times, be thrown.
According to this principle, it is evident, that at the pre
sent time, the assessment upon land ought to be merely

•25
nominal, and that tithes should be assessed at their full
amount ; it being notorious, that no profit whatever is
now afforded from the land in general; and that that
which the landlord receives in the name of rent, is, in
fact, a payment out of the farmer's capital ; while tithes,
being taken clear of taxes, and all other expenses attend
ing the raising of crops, are nearly all profit. This deci
sion has created a great sensation in Norfolk, and the
farmers in many places have already insisted upon a reduc
tion of their assessments, and upon rating the parsons to
the full amount of their tithes, as well where they are
compounded for, as when taken in kind- The above
principle was acknowledged in its FULL EXTENT, a
short time since, in the Court of King's Bench ; Mr. Jus
tice Holroyd having- expressly declared, that a rate on
land is, in effect, a rate on the profits of land: for where
theTe are no profits, there is no beneficial occupation.'
"' " This decision may truly be called important; and
as its justice is apparent to all, let all those who are
subject to the payment of tithes, see that this principle
is carried into effect in all other districts. It is neces
sary that the clergy of the church of England, who,
as a body, have been most active in supporting every
Ministerial measure, and in subjecting the people to the
operation of a most grinding taxation, should bear their
full share of the burdens which they have been most fore
most in loading upon the shoulders of others. And it is of
all things the most unpardonable and intolerable, that
they should seek to shelter their tithes upon the charges
made upon other property. Taxation, to be just, should
only fall upon the profits of capital employed. When it
touches the capital itself, it becomes a robbery; for to
take from any man the means which he uses for his sup
port, and thus to reduce him to beggary, in spite of his
labour, cannot be justified by any pretended necessity,
unless that necessity implicated all alike, and called for a
greater sacrifice. When a man, therefore, can show he
has no profitable occupation of land, he is exempt from
any charge upon the land, and the burden mustfall where
the benefit rests. The tithes are all profit: — the tithe-hold
er is at no expense in manuring or cultivating. He only
comes to fetch away his portion. He has no taxes to pay in
the labour of production, and is clearly the only profitable
holder of the land at present ; which may be said to ba
held in trust for the taxes of state, and the tithes of the
11 D

26
church ! Neither the landholder nor the cultivator of
the land, can obtain any profit; therefore the maintenance
of the poor must, and should fall upon those Who have the
profits ofthe land, which is chargeable by law with their
maintenance, as well as other burthens. But there is
another reason why the church should be imperatively
called upon to maintain the poor ; or, at least, to give up
that considerable portion of the tithes, which are as much
the property of the poor, by the title under which the
church holds the right of collecting them, as a portion
belongs to the church. You have heard a great deal of
nonsense lately about tithes being the private property of
the Church. The holders of such absurd doctrines might
as well tell us that the poors' rates are the private property
of the overseers. Tithes originated in this way : — in the
year 600, Christianity was introduced into England. There
were then no tithes upon tbe land ; and the Monks, who
brought over Catholic Christianity, brought no authority
with them to demand any. Their converts endowed mo
nasteries and churches ; the care of the poor necessarily
fell under the jurisdiction of the Church ; and in the
' Canons of Elfric ;' we find the following account of
the tithes (and which I must beg leave to say, is corrobo
rated by ' the learned Selden,' whose work on tithes I
have this moment before me) — ' Let the priests receive
the tithes ofthe people, and keep a written account of all
that they had paid them ; and divide them, in the pre
sence of such as fear God, according to canonical autho
rity. Let them set apart the first share for the build
ings and ornaments of the Church — and distribute the
second to the poor and strangers, with their own hands,
in mercy and humility, and reserve the third part for
themselves.' This is the ancient law of tithes ; the legal
origin of the claim, and the mode of distribution, is. as
sacred as the right of collection. By this law, the priest
has a claim only to one-third for himself; he is made the
collector of the whole ; but he is required to distribute
one-third to the ' poor and stranger,' and to appropriate
another third to the maintenance of religious edifices: —
this was the law. There is no pretence of ' private pro
perty.' A certain proportion of the produce was by law
assigned to certain purposes. This proportion may be
made more or less, by any other law, in the same way as
the salary of any public officer may be increased or dimi
nished by law ; and while the salary of the monarch is

27
under the controul ofthe Legislature, shall it be said that
the grants of the people to the Church cannot be inter
fered with by the Legislature ? However, at present, let
us keep to the law, and see whether we cannot compel
the Church to return to the law, and this will reduce the
tithes two-thirds — for since the poor and the strangers,
and the maintenance of religious edifices, have been very
cunningly turned over to other funds, the clergy have
only a claim to one-third of the sum which they now re
ceive. They can shew no law which confers the whole
tithe on them, nor can they be allowed to plead com
mon law in their favour ; and since it is certain, that
up to the period at which custom is admitted to be law, it
was the custom of the Clergy to divide the tithes with the
poor, and to repair the religious buildings from the same
fund. The poor might be occasionally defrauded of their
due share; but a share they had, until the period of the
Reformation certainly ; and in all probability until the
system of the poor laws was devised in the reign of Eliza
beth, which by dexterous contrivance, called upon society
for a provision, which already existed, and left the priest
to pocket what was the properly of the poor! I say left
him to do this: for it gave him no authority to do so,
though this plunder of the poor was connived at: — for if
the priest have any ancient title lo tithes, the poor have
the same ancient and unrepealed title to one-third of their
amount ; which the priest is by law bound to ' distribute
in the presence of such as fear God, according to the
canonical authority.' Those who call upon us to venerate
our ancient institution, will do well to restore them to us.
Any thing in our old records which bears against public
rights, or tends to sanction the spoil of public property,
is eagerly quoted, and our immediate subscription is re
quired. But when ancient history is in favour ofthe pub
lic freedom, or the public weal, it has become obsolete and
old-fashioned, and has ceased to be law ! This is the
doctrine of the day, in favour of all abuses, and against all
that is valuable to the public; and unless the people shew
themselves far more determined to uphold the law, than
they have hitherto been, there will not long be left any
legal benefits for them.
" Having shewn the law of tithes — as far as there is any
law about them — is a very different thing from what the
church would have us believe it is, it may be necessary to
remark, that the pretended derivation of the English sys-

28
tern of tithes from the scriptures, is equally fallacious.—
The Jewish tithes, which were not a tenth of the produce,
but a tenth ofthe increase, or profits, (to speak in modern
terms) were devoted to the erection of temples, the sup
port of the widows, the orphans, the poor, and the
strangers, besides defraying the expenses of government;
for the tribe of Levi were in fact the governors, as well as
the priesthood and instructors of the people. Besides
which, the tribe of Levi gave up their inheritance in the
land to the other tribes, and were thus entitled to their
shareof the produce, independent of any service rendered
to the public. But did the church of England ever give
up any portion ofthe tithes to the community? Have its
members any other claim than for the services they ren
der ? What has placed them on the shoulders of the peo
ple any faster than the Catholic Church was fixed there?
and did the Catholic Church ever attempt to exact at the
rate -the Church of England has done? Never! — What
should prevent the legislature from interfering to regulate
the pay of the Church according to its services, when
the legislature laid violent hands upon the property ofthe
Catholic Church, and transferred it to the Protestant es
tablishment, both in England and in Ireland ? From
what the legislature has done, we may infer what it can
do ; and when we read of its having taken the crown
from one individual, to place it on the head of another, it
is too ridiculous to tell us it cannot restore to the poor
what it had given them from ages before usurpation and
audacity appropriated to the priesthood the fund, of which
it was only the legal depositary. To enforce the principle
of revision and restoration of the laws, let all who are in
terested, exert themselves to carry into effect the legal
decision of the Quarter Sessions at Norfolk, and the cor
responding declaration of Mr. Justice Holroyd. The
Clergy and the State have all the beneficial holding of the
land; and since the Church has been profuse in its pane
gyrics, on the late just and necessary war, which has
made all the taxation necessary; as it has always re
echoed the ministerial cry, and eulogised the ministerial
measures ; it ought in justice to feel the burthen of the
innumerable poor, which those measures have created and
multiplied throughout the country. This will be a just
mode of returning the bitter cup to its own lips, and com
pelling it to take the hyssop mixed in delusion and mock
ery, for others. I shall feel it my duty to exert myself, in

29
order that justice may be done to all parties ; and I trust
I shall not be found alone in the discharge of one so ne
cessary and so important,
" And remain, my fellow-countrymen,
" Your obedient humble servant,
" C. WOLSELEY."
" Wolseley, July 6, 1822."
Having read this, my fri«nds, I beg you to read atten
tively the following comparative statement of the price
that the clergy of all the Christian world cost their hear
ers every year: read this, and then compare the amount
paid to the clergy of the Established Church of England
and Ireland, bv John Gull. Read this.

30

COMPARATIVE
Expenditure on the Clergy of all the Christian World, except the
Kingdoms of Gi'eat Britain and Ireland.

Name of the Nation.

Number of
Hearers.

Expenditure
on the Clergy.
per Million
of Hearers.

Total Amount
of the Expen
diture in each
Nation.

France 
United States 
Spain 
Portugal 
Hungary, Catholics 
Calvinists 
Lutherans 
Italy 
Austria 
Switzerland 
Prussia 
German Small States 
Holland )
Netherlands )
Denmark 
Sweden 
Russia, Greek Church 
Catholics & Lutherans
Christians in Turkey 
South America 
Christians dispersed elsewhere
The Clergy of. .

30,000,000 9,600,000
11,000,000 3,000,000
4,000,000 1,000,000 650,000
19,391,000
18,918,000 1,720,000
10,536,000 12,768,000 2,000,000
3,000,000 1,700,000
3,400,000
34,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000
15,000,000 3,000,000

35,00060,000
100,000
100,000 80,00060,000
40,00040,00050,000
50,000 50,000 60,000
80,000
35,00070,000
70,000 15,000
50,00030,00030,000 50,000

£.
1,050,000 576,000
1,100,000 300,000 320,000 63,000
26,000
776,000950,000 87,000
527,000
765,000 160,000
105,000119,000
238,000 510,000
409,000 180.000
450,000 150,000

198,728,000, receive . . £8,852,000

31

TABLE.

Expenditure on the Clergy of the Established Church of
England and Ireland.

Name of the Nation.

England and Wales ,
Ireland 

Number of
Hearers.

6,000,000 400,000

Expenditure
on the Clergy
per Million
of Hearers.

1,266,000
3,250,000

Total Amount
of the Expen
diture in each
Nation.

£.
7,596,000 1,300.000

The Clergy of  6,400,000 people, receive £8,896,000 "

Extract from the Stamford News : — " The recent ac
counts of the abominable conduct of one of the ' right
reverend fathers,' have not, we presume, vanished from
our' readers' recollection Parson Hadwen's indecency be
fore females at Freiston-shore. Our statement, made in
the most unequivocal manner, has not been contradicted.
The reason is obvious : it was a statement of fact. Yet,
notwithstanding this exposed depravity — this outrage
upon common decency, manifest as the ' sun at noon
day,' — Mr. Hadwen was honoured (if anything under
such circumstances can be deemed honour) at the visita
tion recently held in Boston, with particular marks of fa
vour and distinction from the Bishop. That a statement
of the affair was laid before his Lordship, is pretty cer
tain: at any rate he could not be ignorant of the matter,
for who in the three kingdoms has not heard of it? Yet
— would you believe it, reader? — on the Bishop's pro
ceeding from the church to the inn, in order to partake of
' the good things of this life,' in all the ' pomp, pride, and
circumstance' of office, Parson Hadwen walked at his
side ! Nor did the matter rest here ; for while at table
with his ' reverend brethren.' 'the Bishop again distin
guished him in a particular manner ! We hear, too, that
females — and females making pretensions to modesty —
still admit him into their company. We hope, for the
honour of our countrywomen, that the number of such
is but small."
Some time back a clergyman ofthe Church of England
was transported; another was committed to the house of
correction in London, as a rogue and a vagabond; another
was sent to prison at Bath for a similar offence; and we all
remember that Dr. Dodd' was hung for forgery. These
are things that bring our holy religion into contempt. I
remember a poor fellow being tried at Salisbury Assizes,
for having charged a clergyman of Devizes, with attempt
ing to commit an unnatural crime ; but as it was proved
that he had written a letter to the clergyman to extort
some money from him, he was found guilty, and I believe
transported. I heard this trial, and I shall never forget it.
Poor Byrne was tried and convicted in Ireland of having
accused the Honourable Percy Jocelyn, then Lord Bishop
of Ferns, of an attempt to commit an unnatural crime. The
Right Reverend Father in God was examined as follows : —
Question by the Solicitor-General. — Did your Lordship
take or use any indecent familiarity with his person ? — No.

33
Did your Lordship use any obscene or indecent conver
sation with him ? — 1 did not. / am not in the habit of do
ing so.
Are the contents of that paper, which contains his
charges against your Lordship, true or false ? — His Lord
ship rose, and in the most impressive and dignified man
ner placed his hand on his breast, and said ' FALSE.'
Here the counsel for the prisoner declined to cross-ex
amine his Lordship, and intimated to the court that they
had given up the case.
Mr. Justice Fox then proceeded to pass sentence to the
following effect: — James Byrne, you have been found
guilty of a libel against the Bishop of Ferns, imputing to
his Lordship an attempt to commit what is emphatically
called an unnatural crime. You have also been found
guilty, that not confining to your own breast the horrid
malignity of your mind, you did conspire, with others
unknown, to impute to the said right reverend prelate
the horrid charge. I really am obliged to pause for words
to express in any adequate terms the feelings of my mind
— feelings which are painted in the countenances of every
person in court, at the extreme audacity of hardened guilt,
that could induce you to impute a crime of this nature to
such a man. I speak not to you for the purpose of excit
ing contrition, for it is impossible but that a heart which
could imag-ine — a mind which could mark for destruction
a character of such sanctified purity , must be utterly impe
netrable to shame — you have caused an exposure in this
court of a crime which can scarcely be thought of with
out horror and amazement — you have sought to asperse a
clergyman of the established religion, raised by his sove
reign to the highest station in our church — elevated still
higher by those virtues which are not made known by the
casual ebullition of a day or of years, but by the whole
period of a life devoted to the uniform exercise of every
duty which becomes a man and a christian — elevated by
religion and education, and by those principles which, if
he departed from them, would have made his guilt great
er than that of ordinary men. What motive could mark
out to your mind an individual so exalted, to whom you<
are scarcely known, and with whom no probability of
such an intercourse could exist ? You have acted with a
degree of guilty phrenzy, with horrid and unprincipled
villainy ; and, soaring above all idea of probability of
being believed, you have given vent to so wicked-- a ca
ll E

34
lumny that no idea is too horrible to be formed of you,
That you, not the servant ofthe Bishop of Ferns, should be
so infatuated astoexpecl lhatyou shouldfor a moment make
it be accredited that guilt of such a nature would make its
way into such a mind, is astonishing, and I believe your
effrontery is unprecedented. The sacred person who was
the object of your malignity has unnecessarily produced
himself in this court, to give the sanction of his name and
his virtues to an investigation of a charge which aimed
against him the most deadly injury. It has already been
mentioned that terror has frequently influenced the minds
of men under charges of this kind to yield to the demands
of miscreants. I mention this, to contrast the dignity of
mind, the purity of sentiment of those who disdained any
compromise with guilt. That noble family possesses an ho
nourable ascendancy in this country, and never did they
earn their high reputation better than when, instead of
yielding to the threats, they dragged them into light, to
deter other miscreants. It remains for me to pronounce
the sentence of the law which your crime is visited with;
I regret that I cannot make it more adequate to your guilt,
but it is necessary that you should feel, for the purpose of
deterring others from following so bad an example. Your
sentence is, that you, James Byrne, be imprisoned in the
jail of Kilmainham for two years, from this date: that you
are to be whipped three times, at such periods as I shall
appoint; and atthe expiration of the two years you enter
into security for your future conduct, yourself in 500/. and
two sureties in 200/. each.
Counsel for the crown, the Solicitor-General and Messrs.
M'Cartney, Parsons, Joy, M'Nally, and Green — agent,
Mr. G nest.
Counsel for the prisoner, Messrs. Ridgway and Wallace
— agent, Mr. Walker.
[From the Papers of Monday, Nov. 4, 1811.]
" Byrne, the person who preferred the unwarrantable
charge, of which our readers are already aware, against
the Bishop of Ferns, received A SEVERE FLOGGING
on Saturday, as PART ofthe punishment he had been sen
tenced to endure for the flagrant act."
Read this, my friends, and then you will, I am sure, agree
with me, that when there isan act to be committed more atro
cious than common, we generally find a parson or a lawyer
concerned in it — and very frequently both. Here you see
the worthy counsel for the prisoner not only declined to

35
cross-examine the worthy Father in God, but they actu
ally betrayed their client, and gave up the case. Now-
let us hear what poor Byrne himself says upon the subject,
in an extract from a Dublin Newspaper :
"To the Editor of the Dublin Evening Herald.
" Sir, — Through your valuable paper, I offer to a gene
rous public my most grate ful acknowledgements, who have,
through the wonderful ways of divine providence Come
to the knowledge of the persecution visited on me in the
Case of Bishop Jocelin, ofwhich person at present I do not
wish to speak much — But to that public which have by the
sound of their Voice given more Comfort to my poor afflict
ed mind than anything I have ever experienced — to that
generous public I offer a simple narrative of the treatment
I Reed, from my arest to the end of my doleful imprison
ment. — as the god of truth hath mercifully shewn the
wrongs done to nie, I shall honour him by not telling a
lie. " It being my intention to bring the Case in question to
I rial, the knowledge of it came to the ears of my opponants
(perhaps thro' some of my own imprudence) before I Could
be prepared ; when on the 7th day of octb. 1811, I was
served with a Lord Mayor's Summons, to appear before
his Lordship ; before that time I was endeavouring to Rise
means to bring to trial the Charge 1 had to make — and
after many applications I Reed, from a Distress'd friend,
20/. tho' I was accused on my trial to belong to a society
that supported me : the amt of my Atty. Bill of Cost was
32/. the balance I was never since able to pay — I did ap
pear before his Lordship, and a number of gentlemen,
the Honble. John Jocelin, Mager Stratton, Mr. Metge of
the Castle and Colonel Howard — they all Examined me in
a tone of uncommon * * * * — as I had not Room to
offer one word in my defence, I drew from my pocket two
letters Imprudently, which I had Reed, from one of the
Bishop's servants named Leonard the purport of them was
that every thing should be done for me provideding that I
would be silent on the Business — the Lord Mayor Commit
ted me to the prison of Kilmainham, after Refusing
suficient Bail for my appearance ; on the last of
Octobr I was brought to trial — my Attys. affidavit, the
trial and my sentence is already before the public, my
sentence was to Kilmainham prison, but was kept in New
gate, a prison where more severity was expected than

36
theformer, (ogethe-r with the loss of good air, which Kil
mainham affords — the Saturday after my trial I was
brought out to be whipt. I call on those who witnessed
the execution to Judge of the punishment. — In Parliament
street by the force of the executioner the lashes broke,
the horse and car that I was tied to was stopped for about
15 minutes, and lashes Renewed ; every blow I Reed, afer
tormented me doubly, and to make the distance longer
they ran the horses head as far as the College Railing
would allow them to drive, a thing never heard of before
— I am not able to state what I suffered in the cure, nor
the privations I was under in prison some time after the
first whipping — and nearly to the approach of the second
as expected, I was presented with an Instrument for me
to sign, which contained that all my Charge against the
Bishop was false — the appearance of my distress'd wife
and four Children, together with the severity of the
prison, Induced me to do what I never before done, de
claring truth to be a falsehood. The difficulty of getting
Bail on my liberation was very great, I was detained
two days after Bail was entered until my affidavit of my
Incapacity to pay the fees, I was let out. — I am Sir your
and the publics most grateful and faithful servant.
" JAMES BYRNE."
The Editor of the Dublin Evening Herald then states,
" Sympathy for the sufferings and oppression of the poor
ought to be most lively and active amongst the poor them
selves. We shall be much disappointed if none of the
two hundred thousand tradesmen, labourers, and servants,
comprised in the population of this vast city, do not indi
cate, by a small subscription, the delight which it is so
natural that they should feel at the triumph of poor Byrne
over all the tortures and degradation to which he has been
exposed. Every man can afford something , and even ten-
pence will be received and acknowledged at the office of
this paper, for the use of this poor man and his large and
helpless family. When the horrid transaction in London
was first made public, every one asked " in what quarter
of the earth is the wretched man whom the monster got
flogged almost to death in 1811?" We can now answer,
that he is an inmate of one of the hospitals in Dublin ;
poor, friendless, and sinking under infirmity : and we can
inform those classes in which he ought to expect to find
most pity, that even a single penny from each individual

37
of which they are composed, would put- him in possession
of nearly one thousand pounds — or enough to raise him into
comfort and independence for the remainder of his life."
Is this Mr. Justice Fox still alive ? Is this Lord Mayor
alive? Are Messrs. Ridgway and Wallace, the two precious
counsel, alive? Are any of the Jury alive? If they are, are
there no means by which they can be punished? Is there
no law to bring them to justice ? In my opinion they are
equally deserving of punishment with the Honourable
and Right Reverend Father in God. Of course there is
no law to punish Mr. Dyer for suffering the worthy pious
Bishop to escape. There was no law to punish him who
suffered the traitor spy Franklin to escape; neither will
there be any law to punish either of these, nor any law
to punish the murderers of the people of Manchester, till
there is a Reformed House of Commons.
A SOLDIER FLOGGED TO DEATH.
JohnFiTrnell, a private in the second regiment of foot,
was flogged at Hull, in Yorkshire. He received three hun
dred lashes, and was pronounced by the verdict of the Ju
ry to have died of the same, and ofthe fever, mor
tification AND DEBILITY ARISING THEREFROM. Oil
the first day of the Inquest one of the Jurymen went to see
the body, then in a state of putrefaction : when he returned
he described the bones of his back to be as clear of
FLESH AS IF THEY HAD BEEN SCRAPED WITH A KNIFE \ ! !
It would be dangerous to make one word of comment up
on this affair; and as it is by no means necessary, it would
be folly to do so, the fact speaks for itself. I shall there
fore only observe that, one would think, some persons
must tremble every time they reflect that BISHOPS are
the main pillars of the CHURCH, and that Soldiers are
become the principal props of the STATE.
GAOL POLITICS.
" At the Durham Assizes, Michael Angelo Taylor,
" Esq. as foreman of the Grand Jury, made a Report ofthe
" state ofthe Gaol, after a FULL INVESTIGATION of
" complaints alleged by one of the debtors. Every cir-
" cumstance of complaint was entirely disproved, and the
" conduct of Mr. Wolfe, the Governor, proved to be ex-
" tremely correct, humane, and judicious." Fudge. This
is sublime humbug. The debtors confined in Durham
Gaol wrote r<> me nine months back, staling some of t'ic"'

38
horrible privations and cruelties that they had suffered ;
expressing their thanks for my exertions in this Gaol ; say
ing that it had the effect of lessening the rigour with which
they were treated ; adding, that their condition was greatly
ameliorated since the investigation at Ilchester, but that
they were still subject to some very harsh and wanton
restrictions and privations ; wishing to know from me
what was the best way to proceed to bring their com
plaints before a legal tribunal, and soliciting my advice
and assistance. In my answer I informed them, that the
only way was to petition the House of Commons, by way
of exposure; but that I would caution them how they at
tempted anyinvestigation before the Magistrates and local
authorities; for however just their cause of complaint, it
was a hundred to one against their chance of substantiat
ing it before such a Court. And above all things I cau
tioned them not to put their case into the hands of any
attorney ; I told them that, in all probability, if they made
any such attempt, they would be put down, and the
Gaoler would be declared a humane and vigilant officer,
as Bridle had been here ; and that the complainants were
unworthy of belief, as poor old Mr. Hill, in this Gaol, had
been declared, by the two worthy Whig Members, Mr.
Dickenson and Mr. H. Grey Bennet. It appears that they
did not take my advice, arid the very worthy Whig Mem
ber of Parliament, Mr. Michael Angelo Taylor, has made
the above Report. Just what I anticipated — only Mr.
Wolfe (what a name !) has been extremely correct,
humane, and judicious . I'll warrant this has been a pre
cious inquiry. I believe every word that the debtors
wrote me to be true, and that their treatment has been
most harsh and illegal. But where is the Gaoler who
does not keep two or three Charles Marshalls about him,
who will prove at any time that his conduct is extremely
correct, humane, and judicious? Bravo, Mr. Whig
Taylor.
PREPARED ROASTED GRAIN, TO MAKE HUNT'S BREAK-
FAST POWDER.
Every ounce of the 500 weight of Breakfast Powder
that I sent to Cork was sold in a few days. The Cork
Chronicle has announced that the doors of Mr. West's
office were crowded from morning till night, as long as
any of the powder remained for sale. This paragraph
was copied into the Traveller London Paper; so that I

39
fiave the pleasure of knowing that my subscription to the
suffering Irish, at Cork alone, has produced twenty-
eight pounds, deducting the expense of freight, and the
trouble of selling it, in spite of falsehood, envy, hatred, and
malice, who had the brazen-faced impudence to publish
to the world, that the whole half ton only cost me three
pounds. The editor of the Traveller Newspaper has
behaved liberal and fair upon this occasion, as well as
upon others relating to me, since I have been confined in
this Gaol. One act of generosity towards the Captive of
Ilchester, by the Proprietor of the Traveller Newspaper,
I shall no longer withhold from the public ; perhaps I
have done wrong not to have acknowledged it before,
but it was always my intention to have publicly announced
it at the expiration of my incarceration. The day after
my arrival here, I received a polite note from the editor
of the Traveller, requesting me to accept a copy of that
paper ; which has regularly been forwarded lo me every
day since that time, now upwards of two years and
three months. When I state that I have not the plea
sure of being personally known to this Gentleman, I have
no hesitation in saying, that I consider it most liberal,
generous, and patriotic, ten times more so in this way
towards me than all I have received from all the persons
connected with the Public Press in the United Kingdom.
Divesting myself of the g-ratitude which I must naturally
feel for such liberal attention, I can honestly say, that I
believe the Traveller to be the most impartial, upright,
and honest Evening Newspaper that is published. There
are some things in politics with which I differ from the
Editor of the Traveller, but they are points upon which
we may very honestly hold different opinions ; but after
all, the Traveller is an excellent Evening Paper, always
promulgating liberal principles, and generally correct in
its reasonings and deductions. At any rate I shall always
entertain a grateful recollection of the Editor's kindness,
attention, and liberality to me during my sojourn in the
Boroughmongers' Bastile of Ilchester.
But to return to the Breakfast Powder. I have again
to apologise to my numerous friends, for the great
delay that has occurred in forwarding to them the
Prepared Roasted Grain, which they have ordered. I
have received the most flattering testimonials of its
very great superiority over any thing of the sort
ever offered to the public; and in consequence of this stipe-

40
riority. added to the kind and generous intentions of
my very numerous friends, our orders are more than
double what we anticipated, or in fact were prepared to
execute, so promptly as 1 could have wished : added to
this unexpected demand, every impediment was at first
thrown in the way, by the Gemmen ofthe Excise ; these,
with other difficulties that I could not have foreseen, have
been the cause of the delay so justly complained of from
almost all quarters. I flatter myself that I have only to
remind my friends, that I am locked up within the
WALLS OF A DUNGEON, 140 MILES FROM THE MANU
FACTORY, to induce them to look over any temporary
delay that may arise in supplying them with the Prepared
Roasted Grain, till the time of my liberation, on the 30th
of October, after which time they may rely upon a regular
supply. In the mean time all that circumstances will ad
mit shall be accomplished, and the best in my power shall
be done, to supply the demand as regularly as possible. —
But I am under the necessity of craving your patience, my
friends, for three short months, and then we shall see.
GREAT NORTHERN UNION.
" Steady she goes," nothing can check the progress of
this Union, if the Radicals will but discountenance the
jealousies of those who are envious of the success which
this institution so happily promises. Let every one divest
himself of all selfish motives, and ambitious views of per
sonal advantage, arising from his public exertions in the
cause of Liberty, and our holy cause will soon reign trium
phant ; let us all unite for the good of all, for universal
Liberty. I have long seen that great heartburnings and
petty-minded jealousies have instigated certain persons to
endea vour to prejudice thejRadicals against becomingmem-
bers of this Union, by misrepresentations the most bare
faced. The original object of this Union was by means of
one penny a week subscriptions, to enable the unrepre
sented Radical Reformers of the United Kingdom to send.
or to endeavour to send, representatives of their own
choice, to maintain their rights and to fight their battles in
the House of Commons. These subscriptions were, and
are solely to be appropriated for the payment ofthe neces
sary and legal expenses always incurred at a contested
Election. Not one halfpenny of this money is to be, or
ever was intended to be devoted to the purposes of cor
ruption, by bribery of voters, or purchasing seats of the

41
Boroughmongers. There never was an instance of a
popular election being carried, nor ever will be under the
present system, without considerable expense: till the
present system is abolished, great legal expenses will be
incurred ; therefore, the question comes to this — is it the
determination ofthe Radicals to endeavour to send one,
two, three, or more members of their own choice, to
enforce their claims in the present Corrupt Parliament? if
it be, let them persevere in spite of envy, hatred, and
malice, and all uncharitableness. Let them persevere in
spite of all impediments thrown in their way, s.nd they
will ultimately prevail.
Having had the honour to propose the Great Northern
Radical Union, and the still greater honour of seeing it so
promptly adopted upon my recommendation by the
Radicals of the North ; I should have been proud to have
become one of their representatives in the Commons' House
of Parliament ; and I had the ambition to think that I
should have so conducted myself, that they would never
have repented of their choice. I had long seen and de
plored the fact, that the great body of the people had no
vote for Members of the House of Commons; that the
Radical Reformers of the United Kingdom, amounting at
least to Three Millions of the male adult population, had no
vote or share in the representation in Parliament ; and
that, therefore, they were totally excluded from the paie
of our constitution, which says, that no man shall be taxed
without his consent. When I considered that these three
millions of Radicals were the most active, useful, and
powerful portion of the community ; and when I considered
that theirincome, including thatof their wives and families,
estimating the earnings of each of these upon an average
at the low rate of fifteen shillings per week, amounted to
upwards of o:;e hundred millions a year, it struck
me, that it was solely from the want of management and
organization, that such immense wealth remained wholly
unrepresented in the House of Commons. To remedy
this evil, I proposed the Great Northern UnicJn, that the
members might raise a fund, by means of one penny a
week subscriptions, to enable them to send representatives
of their own choice, to maintain their rights* to watch over
their interests, and to protect their lives, their liberty,
and their property in Parliament. I calculated, and
calculated correctly, too, that if half the number
of Radicals in the kingdom had subscribed the sum
of one penny a week, at the end of the first year
11 F

42
there would have been a fund sufficient to have sent into
the House six Members of Parliament of their own ap
pointing, even supposing that the Radicals had conde
scended to purchase their seats, in the same manner that
all the rest of the Members of the House of Commons do ;
for it is folly to say that there is one Member now re
turned to the House, without paying for his seat in. one
way or another ; and perhaps those who represent popular
places and counties, pay a much larger sum than the Mem
bers of rotten and close boroughs ; for the expenses of a
contested election for a popular city or a county, will cost
frequently four or five times the regular price of a seat for a
borough that is regularly paid for to the borough proprietor ;
for instance, every Ilchester elector who voted for Lord
Darlington's two Members for this borough, at the last
election (Doctor Lushington and Sir Isaac Coffin),
have been since paid thirty pounds each for their votes.
This is the way that Whigs and Tories are placed in the
House. When Sir Francis Burdett was first returned for
the city of Westminster, the common expenses were
twelve hundred pounds/ besides all the immense la
bour, trouble, and expense of all his private friends ; — if
all these could be brought fairly to account, I have no
doubt that election cost as much as is regularly paid for
the seats of four regular Borough Members ; so that you
will clearly see, my friends, that under the present in
famous system, no man can get into that House without its
being paid for in one way or another. When I stood a con
test for the city of Westminster, in the year 1818,itdidnot
cost me less, in one way and another, than 800/. although
not one man was ever canvassed or asked for his vote ;
not the value of one pot of porter was ever given to one
of the voters; and although numerous other expenses
incident to an election were not incurred, yet the very
least that it ultimately cost me was 800/. besides the ex
penses of a number of my friends. The Hustings alone,
including the expenses of resisting such an infamous
charge, cost me nearly 500/. of that sum. Only look at
the following, and then say whether the people ought
not to have a few Members of their own in that House.
It appears by a recent return made to the House of
Commons, that 67 Members of Parliament hold offices
under the Crown, at the pleasure of the Crown or other
wise, the net emoluments of which are 108,565/. lis. ;
that there are 13 Members of Parliament holding offices

43
in the appointment and the pleasure ofthe public officers,
the net emoluments of which are 28,107/. 4s. 2d. ;
that there are seven Members of Parliament holding
offices or pensions, for life, under grants from the Crown,
the emoluments ofwhich are 9,658/. 8s. lOd. ; that there
is one Member of Parliament holding office for a term of
years, under grant from the Crown or other public officers,
the emolument ofwhich is 15/. 9s. Id.; that there are
four Members of Parliament holding offices for life, under
appointment from the Chiefs in the Courts of Justice, or
from other Public Officers, the emoluments of which are
10,030/. Is. 3d. ; that there are five Members of Parlia
ment holding pensions or sinecures, or offices chiefly exe
cuted by Deputy, held by Members of the House of Com
mons, under grants from the Crown, or by Act of
Parliament, the emoluments of which are 7,478/. ; that
there are two Members of Parliament holding the rever
sion of offices under the Crown after one or more lives,
the emoluments ofwhich are 6,489/.; that there are 79
Members of Parliament holding naval and military com
missions ; and that 59 of them hold other offices, and are
included in the preceding classes. It then appears to the
Committee, that 89 Members of Parliament hold offices
or pensions either in possession or reversion, not including
those who have naval and military commissions, to the
annual amount of 170,343/. 14s. 4d. — After reading the
above, and what I have said upon the subject, do you
think, my friends, any good can be done by petitioning, or
that you have the slightest chance of obtaining justice in
that House, unless you have a Member or two, or three
Members of your own in that House ? With your immense
income, (for in the labour of the Radicals consists the
principal wealth of the country) a penny a week sub
scription from each, for two years, would have produced a
sufficient sum to have purchased three boroughs, and
then you might have returned six Members of your own,
without bribing any of the voters. However, the object
of the Union was to procure the return of men of your
own choice, free of any expense to themselves, by your
paying the legal expenses attending a contested Election.
This was my sole object in proposing the Union. This I
believe to be the sole object of those who have taken a
lead in it. I believe Mr. Wooler is the only man con
nected with the public press, with the exception of Mr.

44
Saxton, of the Manchester Observer, who has endea
voured to promote the object of tbe Union, .either with
their talents or the use of the columns of their publican
tions. The members of the Central Branch of .the Union
have*, Ithiiak, recommended that I should be the first per
son "that theTJriion should endeavour to return to; Parlia
ment. At many public meetings it has incidentally come
out, that it was the wish of the members of the Union, to
have me as one of their representatives. This has caused
great jealousies and heart-burnings in ihe breasts of cer
tain persons who may think themselves more capable to
serve you, and better entitled to your confidence and sup
port than I am ; and in tlfeir paroxysms of envy and hatred
of me, they have endeavoured to decry the intentions of
the members of the Union, and at all hazards to destroy
and break up the Union itself. Now, my worthy friends
.ofthe Union, as my only, wish is to- promote .the interest,
the welfare, the happiness, the safety, and the liberties
pf the people, I have always bjeen, and I still am ready to
¦sllppress my own ambition, and to sacrifice my own views
aftd expectations at the shrine of public happiness. I
hereby propose tp withdraw every pretension that you
may fancy 1 am entitled to, and to resign into your hands
every claim that I might have fancied that I had upon
your support, that you may, without delay, confer that
preference upon any other Gentleman that your kindness
might have designed for me. Recollect that I value yoin-
approbation, and prize the confidence that you have placed
in me, far above 'wealth, or power, or all the honours and
titles that are in the gift of all the monarchs and despots
in the world: I' would much rather lay ''down my life
than do any thing that would merit the disapprobation,
contempt, and, the loss of the confidence of myfellow-
« countrymen ; and nothing; shall ever induce me, while I
have a spark of, li^e remaining, to abandon or desert that
cause for which I havet'so long contended, namely, the
¦i tight of the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland, to
" he free. In alljtjmes, in all places, and upon all occa
sions, while 1 have life, I will contend for the right of
every, Eng-lishman, Scotchman, and Irishman, to enjoy
that freedom which car| alone be obtained by every man
having a vote, for Members of the Commons', jor People's
Pouse of Cqmmons, the full right and exercise of Annual
arliamenlst,^%ivefsdM.Suffragc, and Vote by Ballot. —

45
In return for thus pledging my life in the cause of the
people, I solemnly call upon the people to do me, without
delay, an act of justice.
When I first exposed the treacherous, base, and hypo
critical conduct of the Whigs, at Palace Yard, at Bristol,
in the Guildhall of the city of London, and other places,
they not being able to answer my arguments, or to deny
the facts which I brought forward against them, set
their agents to work to denounce me as a Spy, and an
Agent of Government. But the people stood firm to me,
and believed them not.
When I endeavoured to expose Sir Francis Burdett's aban
donment of our cause, at the time that he declined to sup
port Universal Suffrage, and denounced what I conceived
(whether erroneously or not) to be an abandonment of his
duty, some ofthe base underlings ofthe RumpCommittee
went about, and endeavoured to persuade the people that
I was an Agent of the Government, employed to oppose
Sir Francis Burdett, their greatest enemy. Yet the peo
ple remained firm to me, and believed them not.
Soon after Mr. Cobbett returned from America, in 1820,
he published a letter in a daily paper, called Cobbett's
Evening Post, accusing me of having a Government
Protection in my pocket when I was at Manchester,
on the 16th of August, 1819. To be sure, the people still
remained firm to me, and believed him not.
The charge of my being a spy, and an agent of the
Government, made by the Whigs and the Burdettites, was
mere verbal calumny, a vague charge, which, althoughit
was common enough, it was very difficult to prove; and
as it came from those with whom I was at open, de
clared war, I was obliged to submit to, and to trust to
my own straight-forward and undisguised conduct, and to
the good sense and correct judg-ment of the people, to
convince the world of its falsehood and malignity,
But in the case of Mr. Cobbett's charge, it is very dif
ferent. This charge was printed in Cobbett's Evening
Post, the paper belonging to one who was my professed,
my avowed friend: here is something tangible, something
that I can produce ; it is a direct charge that is capable of
being proved, if true, namely, that I had a Government
Protection in my pocket when I was at Manchester.
Now what I claim of my friends of tbe Northen Union is
this, that they will take measures to investigate the truth,

46
or falsehood of this charge. Mr. Cobbett's motives we
will not inquire into. All that I wish to be ascertained
is, whether Mr. Cobbett had any proof of the truth of this
charge, or whether he published it without the slightest
shadow of a shade of proof whatever. J invite, I demand
a public investigation. The proper time for this will be
within one month after I am liberated from two years
and six months incarceration, inflicted without
feeling or mercy, by that very Government whose agent
these worthies would have it believed I am. I have to
request that the members of each branch of the Northern
Union will call a meeting, and that each branch will elect
a delegate or deputy, to send up to London in November,
and when assembled, that they will choose one, two, or
three honourable men to act as judges, (one being a magis
trate) they themselves acting as the jury; that they will
call upon Mr. Cobbett to come forward to prove his charge,
or stand publicly convicted, by his own confession, of being
the base calumniator of a man, for whom he was profes
sing at the time the strictest friendship.
I am, my friends, &c.
H. HUNT.

P. S. So Castlereagh has slipped through our fingers.
He should not have died in this way. I lament his death !
He was the most likely personage to bring about a Reform
of any man in England. Will George Canning be sent
out to India now, or will he be detained to patch up and
to prop up a degraded and falling Administration ? —
Castlereagh was the key-stone of the system — will Can
ning be chiselled to supply the gap ? We shall see.
The excursions of our Monarch are rather curious ; I
hope that he will not leave a famine in Scotland, as he did
in Ireland.
Bridle, the Ex-Gaoler of Ilchester, is to be tried at
Wells, to-morrow, upon a Criminal Information, filed by
the Attorney-General, for inflicting secret torture
upon Thomas Gardiner, and Mary Cuer and her Infant,

47
while in solitary confinement in his custody. In my next
Number I shall give a list of his jury, and the account of
his trial. It will be very curious to see whether this will
be a mock trial, or whether the Government mean to
make the Gaoler the scape-goat, to save the bacon of the
Magistrates ! This will not do : but " we shall see ! ! !"

John Bradley, Portrait and Ornamental Painter, Keigh-
ley, Yorkshire, presents most respectful compliments to
Henry Hunt, Esq. and informs him, that he intends to send
a few Oil Paintings to the Radical Museum, when it opens,
Wednesday Noon.

T. Dolby, Printer, Britannia PreSf, 999, Strand, London,

YiTha^EMOIRS of HENRY-HUNT, Esq., are sold in
the "following places by the Booksellers or. Agents whose
rianfe.'is given with each place respectively, viz:—
¦i i ""- -, ¦•

Andover (Hants) — King.
Bath — Everton's Newspaper-Of
fice, near St. James's Church.
Birmingham — C. Tibbetts, 68,
Dale End, and C . Cooper, Union-
street.
Bplton — J. Heyes.
Boston — Jackson.
Brighton — Turness, 6, Meeting
house-lane.
Bristol — J. Cossens, 4, Castle
street.
Bury St. Edmund's — J .Birchinall.
Coventry — B. Barton, Wells-str.
Dundee — Alexander Brookes.
Exeter — J. Beiley, jun., "News
Office.
Glasgow — W. Brock, 154, Tron-
gate.
Great Yarmouth — J. Boldry, Row
30.
Hull — Mr. J, Jackson.
Ilchester — Mr. White:
Ipswich — S. H. Cowell.
Langport — Denham.
Leeds — J. Mann, 68, Briggate.
Leicester — T. Thompson, Chronicle
Office.
Lewes — Veness.
Liverpool — T. Smith, Paradise-str.
Maidstone— Dawson, Stone-streel

Milborn Port — Pope.
Manchester — J. Wroe, 49, Great
Ancoats-street ; S. Reddish.
Monmouthshire — S. Etheredge,
Printer, Newport.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne — J. Mar
shall.
Norfolk — J. Dinmore, Lynn.
Norwich— G. Wright, Back of
Inns; J. Watling, Bethlem-str.,
St. Peter's. *
Nottingham  *M. Colclough,
Duke's-place, Barker Gate.
.Oxford — Mr. Gulliver, Banbury.
Petersfield — John Pince.
Portsea—G. Brdughton,23, Queen-
street.
Reading — R. Snare, Printer.
Rochestei — J. Berry.
Salisbury— Mr.Barling, Fisherton.
Sheffield — E. Goddard, No. 10,
Broad-lane.
Southampton — J. Sims.
Stamford — J. Drakard.
Stokesley — Armstrong.
Sunderland — W. Chalk, High-str .
Surrey — J. Fisher, Mitcham.
Sussex— Wm. Metcalf, Battle.
Taunton— Webb.
Yarmouth — Alexander.
Fori: — Emmerson.

Some of the above Agents receive their parcels direct from Mr.
Cobbett ; and, in giving their orders to Mr. Cobbett, they are requested
to be very particular in desiring to have the MEMOIRS, inclosed. 1
have the pleasure of living very near Mr. Cobbett, who employs peo
ple, the same as I do, to fetch and carry. I am ready, at all times, to
supply Mr. Cobbett with any Number without a moment's delay, and
upon Mr. Cobbett's own terms, viz. — the same terras which Mr. Cob
bett himself charges to me and to all others in the trade for his books.
I hope this explanation will remove all impediments ; if, however, it
should not, this conclusion will be inevitable, namely — :that Mr. C. is
determined to contravene the great maxim of all morality and all
religion, and refuse to do by others that which he compels others to
do by him.' THOMAS DOLBY.
999, Strand, June 29, 182?.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
Of
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AKD IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastile. Sth day, 1st month, 4th- year of the Manchester
.Uassacke, without retribution oT inquiry.
August 24, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen .
and Countrywomen.
The THIRD anniversary of the blood-stained, butch
ering, murder-blackened , sixteenth of August, have
I spent within the walls of this Bastile ! On Friday last
the first person that entered my dungeon brought me the
intelligence that the wretch Bridle had been, the even
ing before, found guilty, by a  Somersetshire Special-
Jury at the Wells Assizes, of torture secretly inflicted
upon a prisoner in his custody, while confined in a soli
tary cell. At the same time Castlereagh was a
corpse, having cut his own throat with a knife.
I had been disposed, as usual, to put on mourning and to
fast on that day ; but the reflection, that the most deadly
enemy of the liberties of Englishmen — the great sanc-
tioner and defender of the murders committed at Man
chester — the apologist of tyranny all over the world —
having become his own murderer — having fallen by
his own hand, I exclaimed, may every enemy of the
human race meet the same fate, to save the trouble of
the executioner of the law ; and I resolved, upon such an
occasion, neither to mourn nor to fast. I had solemnly
declared, that if ever I should be sent by th'e people into
12 a

Printed bvT. Doluy, 209, Strand.

the House of Commons, I would, within one month of that
day i, lay animpeachmcnt upon the table of iheHouse, charg
ing ihe said Castlereagh with high crimes and misde
meanours, for aiding and abetting murders by torture in
Ireland, and murders by military execution at Manches
ter, on the blood-stained 16th of August, 1819. But Cas
tlereagh' s own hand has robbed justice and humanity of
their victim. A French writer says — " The success of
the French revolution killed Burke : the battle of Aus
terlitz killed Pitt: and Fox died for joy on finding him
self in office." Perceval was shot by Bellingham, a man
that he had grossly injured and persecuted ; and Castle
reagh cut his own throat to save himself from the ven
geance of that people whom he had tortured, plundered
of their property, and robbed for many years of their
rights and liberties.
As I promised in my last number, I will now insert the
trial of Bridle verbatim, as reported in the Times news
paper, which always contains the very best report of those
trials, as well as the best report of the Parliamentary
debates. WELLS, Thursday, August 15.
Tho town was quite alive so early as five this morning, with the
influx of persons to hear the trial of this information. By half-past 7
o'clock- the doors of the Court were surrounded with expectants of all
ranks; but no one except those who had immediate business in the
cause were admitted until after the arrival of the Judge. At S o'clock
Mr. Justice Richardson took his seat, and the doors were then thrown
open to the public.
Two common jury causes of no interest being disposed of,
THE KING V. BRIDLE
was called on. Twelve special jurors — Charles Simpson, George
George, John Jones, William Shepherd, Daniel Stanton, William
Daropier, Francis Rogers, Jacob Wilkinson, Shuckburgh Howe,
WfUiara Waters, Samuel Rodberd, and Harry Foulkes Edgell, Esqrs.,
answered to their names, and were sworn.
Mr. Sei/wyn opened the pleadings. The information consisted of
two distinct charges : the first charge alleged that, on the 16th of No
vember, 1818, the dofendant being keeper of Ilchester Gaol, and
maliciously intending to injure Mary Cuer, a prisoner under bis charge,
did, without sufficient or justifiable cause, confine the said Mary Cuer,
she haying an infant at her breast, in a cold and unwholesome cell ;
neglecting to supply her during that confinement with necessary firing,

or with Ihe bread and v ater necessary for her sustenance. The, second
charge alleged Ihat, on the 20th of November, 1820, the defendsnj,
intending to injure one Thomas Gardner, also a prisoner in Ilchester
Gaol, put a blister upon Gardner's head, and a strait waistcoat upon
his body, confining him at the same time in a solitary cell.
To this information the defendant pleaded Not Guilty.
Mr. Sergeant Pell opened on the part of the prosecution, \j,y-jyi-
verting to the very heavy character ofthe charges brought agamsttfee
defondanS. No duubt the jury had frequently been empanelleid upon
serious casts, but never upon more solemn than that which they were
now about to decide. Mr. Bridle had been appointed keeper of Il
chester Giol in the year 1607; it was a situation which afforded him »
very considerable salary, and he continued to fill it tUl the month,©f
Julv iu 1821. when he was discharged from it, for improper conduct,
by|the Magistrates of the county. The causes out ofwhich the dismissal
of Mr. Bridle had arisen, it would be necessary briefly, to lay. before
the jury. Early in thr- last year, certain representations had been
made by Mr. Henry Hunt, then a prisoner in Ilchester Gaol, which
led to an inquiry by the House of Commons into the state of that
prison. A commission was appointed under the order of Parliament
to examine how far the complaints of Mr. Hunt were well founded ;
and in consequence of the report which the commissioners returned,
the King ordered his Attorney-General to prosecute the defendant. —
It was unnecessary for him (the Learned Sergeant continue J) to remind
the jury that this case had excited much attention through ihe country ;
and when they recollected that il arose out of certain acts of cruelty im
puted to have been committed by a Gaoler upon the unhappy arid de
fenceless beings subjected to his control, they would feel that the
degree of sympathy to which he alluded did credit to the hearts and
feelings of the public. In justice to the gentlemen whp had exercised
the office of visiting magistrates to the Gaol of Ilchester, he was
bound to state that there was nothing in the present proceedings which
impugned their characters with respect to the duties of the important
office which they had filled. What farther inquiry (if any) might here
after be thought necessary, it was not for him (Mr. Sergeant Pell) to
know, or for the jury to decide ; the inquiry in the present case must
be confined distinctly and rigidly to the conduct ofthe defendants there
were charges against him which at least demanded injuute investigation,
and which merited, if made out, the severest punishment. The charges
against Mr. Bridle were two in number: the first regarded a. woman
named Mary Cuer, and Ihe second a man named Thomas Gardner ;
both of whom appeared lo have been treated with unheard-of cruelty.
Mary Cuer, to whose case the first part of the information referred,
appeared to have been put into Ilchester Gaol in the year 1818. Shje
had been sent there for committing some trifling offence, sufficient of
course to justify her detention, but not of a gross or aggravated charac
ter. This unfortunate woman, who had a child at her breast, when she
went to prison, was so unfortunate, somehow or other, as to excite Mr.
Bridle's displeasure. She had quarrelled with some woman who was
her fellow prisoner — a thing not very unlikely to occur in such a placa
as a Gaol : but admitting that she had conducted herself in a refractory
manner, there was nothing to, justify that brutul and wanton cruelty
which the defendant, asit appeared, had caused to be inflicted upon
her. In consequence of this woman's supposed misconduct, Mr. Bridle
thought fit, on Ihe 19th of November, 1818, (being on a Thursday) to
confine her in a dark and solitary cell. The v,e*ither vas extremely
cold ; snow had fallen and was upon the ground ; and Ilchester Gaol

at all times unfortunately was subject to severe damps ; but noiwhlr-
, standing all those circumstances, Mary Cuer, with a sucking infant at
her breast, was shutup'without fire in a solitary cell, and kept in that
situation from Thursday the 19th, to Sunday the 22d of November.— ,
No doubt it was necessary to intrust every Gaoler with some discreti
onary power over such persons as were committed to his custody, and
therefore <he (Mr. Sergeant Pell) would not press too severely upon
the confinement lor four days-; but it must be something nuich stronger-
than mere irregularity which could justify the shutting up a woman in„
the situation of Mary Cuer, in a cold, dark, damp, unhealthy cell, wilh
no other nourishment, though she had a child living at her breast, than
dry bread and cold water. And the way in which these wretched pro
visions were supplied was an aggravation of the misery whicli the un
fortunate woman was subjected to. At times she was permitted to
'leave her abode of wretchedness, and, as she passed through an open
'jafd, there was a pump at which she might drink. Water was some
times carried to her cell, but it was carried in a bucket, and it was out
of the bucket that she must drink if. The consequences of such treat
ment might well enough be anticipated. At the end of four days Ihe
child became ill, and the mother still worse ; she found complaints
coming on her. of the most serious nature ; she then expressed contri
tion for her supposed offence — as who would not have made any con
cession under such circumstances?— and, on her submission, after all
these sufferings, she- was in the end released from confinement. Such
was the case which the jury would hear proved with respect to Mary
Cuer, and a case of greater aggravation could scarcely, perhaps, be
submitted to them. A great deal of that which was to be done on the
present occasion would depend upon the manner in which Mr. Bridle
conducted his defence. There was an entry, however, in the regular
Occurrence Book of the Gaol, which proved the main part of the
charge with respect to Mary Cuer ; that entry, which would be given
in evidence, was to the following effect, and with reading it io the jury
he (Mr. Sergeant Pell) would dismiss, for the present, the first part of
the information. The entry was this — " Ilchester Gaol, November 19,
1818. Put Elizabeth Smith and Mary Cuer into solitary confinement,
for being disorderly and fighting in the prison. November 22, .1818,
released them upon a promise of future good behaviour." He would
now come (Mr. Sergeant Pell said) to the second charge in the infor
mation — the charge touching the treatment of the prisoner Thomas
Gardner. Thomas Gardner had been sent to gaol in the year 1820. —
He had been a mason by trade, and certainly was committed to prison
for a more serious offence than that committed by Mary Cuer : so far,.
of course, his testimony would be more guardedly received. It hap
pened, however, in the month' of November, 1820, that Thomas Gard
ner incurred the displeasure of Mr. Bridle ; and on the 4th of that
month there was the following entry with respect to him in the Occur
rence Book : — " Ilchester, Nov. 4, 1820. Thomas Gardner's earnings
to be suspended until further orders, for picking the pocket of William
Whitcombe of a ptjrse with 2s. in it ; the purse being found under some
stones." -A second entry, on the 9th of November, was in these terms :
" Nov. 9th, 1820— Thomas Gardner having since been very idle and
indifferent about his work, and refusing to take notice of the advice
given to him from time' to time, has this day given up work altogether
Upon a plea of being ill, and unable to p-o on. Being sure that this is
a mere excuse intending to impose upon the service, I put him imme
diately into solitary confinement." Now this entry was written in
Bridle's own hand-writing/; and there was, thereforo, .his own distinct

admission to prove, that he never believed Thomas Gardner to be ill<
but supposed his statement to be a falsehood, to avoid being put to
work. On the.20th of November, 1820, a third entry appeared in the
Occurrence Book :—*" Thomas Gardner has applied to -be restored to
his liberty; but it being ieported by the surgeon that his illness was
feigned, and by the turnkey Davies, that his conduct continues imper
tinent, I. ordered him to remain in confinement. ' The constable taking,
him. to his cell, advised him to behave better, but he answered 'that
he would see the justices and all of them d— d first'." A further entry
appeared upon the. same subject in the beginning of the month of1
December : — " Gardner, having promised to behave better, is rer
leased from solitary confinement, but his earnings remain suspended
until farther orders." Now -it was clear from the contents of all these
entries, that both Bridle and the surgeon considered Gardner as per
fectly well. , The man had been kept in solitary confinement upon a
charge of picking the pocket of a fellow-prisoner. How farthe charge
was or was not well founded, would be of very little importance to
the trial of the present information ; the proof had not been quite so,
clear as a jury perhaps might have been inclined to desire ; but the.
case, if admitted, amounted only to this— that Gardner-, having been*
sent to Ilchester for a theft, had not amended his morals during his con
tinuance in prison. Take the theft of the purse— the " very head and.
front" of Gardner's offending — to have been proved; give Mr. Bridle,
if it was worth having, the full benefit of that fact, and how far did it
justify the consequences with which it had been visited? Gardner had
been ordered well into solitary confinement ; and by the law of the
land, nay, by the avowed law of Ilrchester Gaol, sei itary confinement
was all that he eould suffer. Did his punishment slop at solitary con
finement? The-jury should hear. The sufferings of Gardner had not
stopped at solitary confinement. Tortures had been inflicted upon hifn
of a nature so horrible, that mercy and humanity shrunk affrighled
from their contemplation. Better it were that the compact of society
should cease, and that human beings like wild beasts-should openly<
prey upon each other, than that. such acts as those of the defendant
should be committed and pass unpunished. The first act of Bridle's
had been to call in a man, a convicted felon, who had been sentenced
to death for horse, stealing, but whose punishment had been remitted;
that man so called in had been ordered to shave Gardner's head. That
operation being performed, and it was performed by force, a blister
was procured from the surgeon of the prison.' The name ofthe sur
geon who furnished that blister was Brier, (a name, worthy to be re
memberedin England as long as England is a country)— Brier was
the name of the surgeon of Ilchester Gaol, who supplied a blister of the
most pungent description to be applied to the head of a man whom he.
knew to be in health. The blister was put, the jury would find, upon
Gardner's head ; to prevent his removing it when the irritation should
commence, he was confined in a strait waistcoat, and in that wretched
state the man remained for four days. The pain which he suffered.
was distracting : the miserable food which was given him he was un
able, from the confinement of the strait waistcoat, to raise to his
mouth ; it was laid before him upon a trough, and he ate it lying down
like a dog ; at length growing almost mad with the pain, he actually
rubbed off the blister against the stone wails of the cell in > which he
was imprisoned ; and with the blister and the cap which had, confined.
it, the whole skin of the head came off. (An universal murmur of hor
ror ran through the Court as the Learned Counsel staled this horrible
fact ) Eventually the unfortunate man, being wearied out with conti-

tuied, suffering, begged pardon, and submitted, as Mary Cuer had
done before him, and was released, as by the entry of the 5th of
December in the Occurrence Book. He had mentioned (Mr. Sergeant
Pell continued) the name of Mr. Brier , and he hoped that gentleman
was in Court to hear what was being said about him. He might more
than probably be called as a witness in the cause, and let him beware
how he answered the questions which would be put to him. Brier
was the man who had supplied the blister. Did he see Gardner, and
ascertain that he was ill and required it? No; he furnished it merely
at Bridle's request, neither knowing nor earing what consequences re
sulted from it; and in his book, which should have contained an entry
day by day of every thing which was provided for the prisoners in the
gaol, no entry of that blister was ever made until six weeks at least
after the date of its application ; Mr. Hunt, in the mean time, having
discovered and promulgated certain circumstances about the gaol which
seemed likely to end in inquiry. And one word, in this place, with re
spect to Mr. Hunt. He (Mr. Sergeant Pell) meant to speak of him
only as connected wilh the present transaction ; but he did say, and he
should go, down to his grave wilh no other impression— he did say that
if Mr. Hunt had been the means of bringing before a jury of his coun
try transactions like those which had just been detailed, as far as his
conduct in that particular affair was concerned, he most certainly did
stand as a benefactor to tho public. (A disposition to applause here
manifested itself among the lower classes in Court ; but Mr. Justice
Richardson declared that he should be compelled to commit any person
who violated the rules of decorum). He might be permitted (the
Learned Counsel proceeded) lo mention the feelings of his Majesty's
Government upon the case now in question. Never had a prosecution
been brought forward with a desire more sincere for the furtherance of
public justice. Representing as he did the public officer of the country,
he could only say, for his own part, that his fi eliugs went along with
those of the powers which retained him : if a case could be made out
against Mr. Bridle, he did heartily hope he would not escape; but if
the defendant could clear himself from the charges alleged against him,
he should rejoice in the acquittal which it would be the duly of the
jury to pronounce. To what had already been stated to the jury, it
would be necessary further to add very little. What was the nature of
the defence to be attempted, time and the speech of the defendant's
learned counsel would show. No doubt tbe evidence of Cuer and of
Gardner must come before the jury with a certain degree of reproach
upon it. The crime committed by one of the parties, and the situation
in life of both, would of course throw some taint of suspicion upon their
testimony ; but it would be seen that the Crown had no choice but to
call them. That which Cuer and Gardner were to stale would be con
firmed by witnesses higher in rank and in character than themselves ;
great part of it would be confirmed by the admission, and in his own
hand-writing, of Mr. Bridle himself. And suppose it should turn out
that Cuer and Gardner were the worst of persons ; suppose them to
have committed a thousand offences ; still the question came back, not
to their conduct, but to the treatment they had received : the one had
been cruelly imprisoned with her infant child at her breast; the other
had been tortured, by having a blister put upon his head. The Learned
Sergeant sat down by repeating his ignorance of the defence which was
to he made on the part of Mr. Bridle, and assuring the jury that he
waited with much anxiety to hear it.
-The Learned Sergeant then proceeded to call witnesses to his case.
Mary Cuer examined by Mr. Gaseiee.— (Thu witness was a plain-

looking country woman, about 30 years of age.) — I \»as in Ilchester
Gaol about three years and a half ago. A quarrel took place there be
tween me and one of my fellow-prisoners. It was Betty Smith. We
were both punished. We were had down and locked up. I continued
locked up from Thursday to Sunday. This-was in November. It was
vpry cold weather. There was a little sleet and snow on the ground.
Triad at that time an infant of four months old at my breast. This was
about one month after I went into prison. It was between one and
two o'clock on the Thursday. Iliad no fire till Saturday morning at II.
There was a stone floor in the cell, and very cold. I was allowed
bread and cold water. I had- not as much water as I wanted. One
day I was without any. ( was locked np that day all day, and saw no
one to ask for water. This was the Friday after I went in. I got
water on the Saturday. It was brought in a bucket, and the bucket
was left in my cell. There was nothing to drink out of but the bucket.
I was obliged to drink out of the bucket. I never had any thing to
drink out of but the bucket till I came out ; I was let out for about an
hour on Saturday morning ; I was not out at all on Friday. On Thurs
day evening I came out and went to my bed-cell, and drank at the pump
in my way. I was in the bed-cell all the day on Friday. On Saturday,
when I got a fire, it was in another cell ; my child was with me all this
time ; I had nothing to supply it with during the whole of this time. —
I found my milk fail me, and all Friday night I had no milk for the
baby to suck. When I got the water on the Saturday morning, I drank
a great deal, because I was very thirsty : I was well when I went in
on the Thursday It was very cold when I -was let out on the Sunday
mprning, and on Sunday night I was very ill in the middle of the night,
and was obliged to call up Mrs. Hobbs : I was very bad in my bowels,
sick and bad. Mr. Bridle himself it was that locked me up on the
Thursday. I know a person named Treganza; I saw him while I was
confined. It was not the bed-cell I was locked up in on Thursday ; it
¦was not very light or very dark. Mr. Treganza brought me out to the
bed-cell on Thursday night, and I remained there all Friday. Tbe
place I used to sleep in before was up in the ward with the women.
Cross-examined by Mr. C. F. Williams'. — I had beer/ three months
in prison altogether. I am not a married woman. I have two children.
I have had three. I saw Mrs. Hobbs before I was locked up. I had
no tea-things at Mrs. Hobbs's. I had my crockery along with the other
Women. I had a basin arid cup and saucer in the pantry of the ward
with the other women. It was about two aclock when 1 was locked
up, and about seven when I was let out to the bed-cell. To go from
one cell to tbe other I passed -the pump and drank. I could not go to
the other cell without passing the pump. The basin I had was as large
as, a sugar basin. I did not take my basin because I did not know where
I was going. I did not know how long I was going to he confined
down below. I was not offered fire while in the celL I never said
•' I'll be d — d if I have any fire." I never said " I'll be d — d" while
I was in prison. I was not let down to walk on Friday. Betty Smith
was also confined, but not with me. Nobody came to me to the bed-
cell on Friday ; I had no additional rug or blanket sent to me on Friday.
Mr. Williams. — I now ask you on your oath whether you did not
swear before, that you asked for water several times on Friday, and
could not get it ? — No, I never said so ; I asked for water on the Sa
turday morning when I came out. The question was put again, and
witness answered — ¦" If I said so, your honour, I did not see no one on
the Friday." I never saw any buckets in other cells. I was in no
other cell but that in which I slept. When I came down on Saturday.

i saw Mr. Treganza, and' I said I was cold, and asked for a little fire.
I told him I wanted to speak to Mr. Bridle. He said Mr. Bridle was
engaged and had company. I told him my child was ill. He gave me
a candle and the fire was 'lighted. The fire was -lighted in the cell
where I had bet?n on Thursday. There had been fuel in the cell before.
Saturday was the first day 1 asked Cor fire. I knew Mr. Bridle before.
He never used me ill before this. I remember his setting a subscrip
tion on foot to pay a fine to release me from prison. -I was confined at
that time for taking a few turnips. It was my mother who went about,
and Mr. Bridle who put the last shilling. I ean'tsay Mr. Bridle wrote
the pfiper". I can'f say he did not write it. I don't know. This was
the first time I was in prison. When the Magistrates came after this,
I made no complaint.. I saw Mr. Hunt last Thursday. He sent for me
to know whether I was going to the assizes. I know nothing of Mr.
Hunt's kindness except his talking. I know a Mrs. Shepherd. Ire-
member when I was sent for by Mr. Hunt. I don't remember meeting
Mrs. Shepherd that day. I often met her. I don't remember having
told her that I did not know what he (Mr. Hunt) sent for me for ; for that
Mr. Bridle always behaved well to me. ¦ Mr. Bridle was kind to me
the first time, and until the time I was lofked up. I was locked up for
fighting with another woman. She called me a d — d liar, and' I struck
her. I might have Spoken to Mrs. Shepherd about Mr. Bridle. I
often went down to Squire Hunt. He was very good to me. I used
to take gooseberries and other things I used to sell down to the Gaol.
I can't swear that Mr. Hunt never talked to me about this in his cell —
I spoke to him last Thursday about it. I don't know how many times
before. It was not five or six times, He mentioned it to me once or
twice, when I went down with things, but I never went on purpose.
I was allowed Is. 6d. a week for my child.
Re-examined. — I did not have the Is. 6d. till I came out of prison.
Mrs. Jane Hobbs examined by Mr. Adam. — I was at one time
matron of Ilchester Gaol ; I was so for nearly five years; I think I
left it in the year 1820. The duty of the matron is to superintend the
females; they are kept indifferent wards; I remember the, last wit
ness, Mary Cuer, being in prison three or four years ago ; there was a
woman named Smith there at the same time ; 1 remember Mary Cuer
being put into close confinement; Iam not certain as to the day, but
it was either a Wednesday or Thursday ; she had a child at her breast ;
I don't recollect its age, but I believe about five months ; Mary Cuer
was absent from the ward until I fetched her on Sunday morriing ; she
was in a cell behind in the back part ofthe prison ; these cells are for
locking up persons who are disorderly ; \he cell was a small damp cell ;
I did not observe the floor ; she complained of being cold ; there was
a bed in this cell ; I took her back to the ward, and she still complained
of being" cold ; I requested the cook lo give her some tea or gruel ; I
Vemember her being taken ill on that night. There was an alarm
given, and my husband got up and gave her some medicine. My hus
band was the task-master of the prison. This was in November. It
-was dry, but very cold.
Cross-examined by Mr. Erskine. — There was a quarrel between
Mary Cuer and another prisoner. I believe my husband sent for the
gaoler. I supply small articles to the females in the ward. They 'sup
ply themselves with earthenware, and when put into solitary confine
ment they take all they have with them if they choose. I can't speak
positively as to whether Mary Cuer did so, buti believe she had a pint
basin with her in the back cell. The cell to which Mary Cuer was
sent was the same as the other cells in tbat part.

9
Mr. Edward Coles examined by Mr. Selwyn.— I amclerk of the
peace -for this, county. I have the " Occurrence Book" of Ilchester
Gaol. Witness, turned to an entry of Thursday, November 19 1818
That was in the hand-writing 6f Mr. Bridle. Witness read  " Thurs
day, Nov. 19th, -1818.— Put Elizabeth Smith and Mary Cuer into soli
tary confinement for being disorderly, and fighting in their ward."
Witness was directed to turn to the entry of Sunday, 22dofNov.
It was in the hand-writing of Bridle.— "Released Elizabeth Smith and
Mary Cuer from solitary confinement, on promise of future good be
haviour.— See Nov. 19th."
This witness was not cross-examined.
Thomas Gardner, a smart-looking and well-dressed lad, examined
by Mr. SeegeantJPell. — I am nearly_ 20 years old. I was a prisoner
ia Ilchester Gaol; I was there two years ago last March ; I am not
now a prisoner ; I was released on the 27th of last September. I have
worked as a blacksmith. I am living with my uncle and aunt at Bristol.
I remember in November, 1820, a charge was made against me in the
gaol for having picked one of the prisoner's pockets. In consequence
of this, a report was made to the Governor, and I was had in before
him on Sunday. Mr. Bridle charged me with the crime, and I told him
I knew nothing at all about it. Mr. Bridle then stopped-ray wages for
it. This was on the Sunday. On the Monday I was taken very ill out
at my work. I had a very bad pain in my inside, and a bleeding at the
nose. I saw Mr. Bridle pass, but I did not speak to him nor he to me.
In the night I was taken worse. It was a continuance of the same com
plaint. No person carte to roe. . The next time I saw Mr. Bridle after
this was next day at three o'clock. This was on the Tuesday. Mr.
Bridle asked me what was the matter with me? I told him I" had
a bad pain in my inside. Mr. Bridle said he considered I had a fever
quite strong on me, and he said he would find an hospital for myself. —
1 was then put into a solitary cell by myself. It was a dark cell which
we sleep in. It had a stone floor. I remained there three days, and
then the doctor came to me. During those three days Mr. Bridle did
not come to me. Mr. Valentine was the name of the doctor who came
to me. Af'er the doctor came, I continued in the cell nine days longer.
I saw Mr. Bridle at the end" of that time. I had not seen him during
any part of those nine days. When he came he asked roe how I was ?
nnd I said I was better, and asked him to forgive me ; but he said he
did not think I was quite well enough. He then left me, and I was re
turned to the solitary cell. I had been brought down to the door of
Mr. Bridle's house. In the evening after, a person of the name of
Carter came up and took me out into the passage. Carter was a pri
soner. He (Carter) was charged with horse-stealing. I was then
set down in the passage, and had my hair cut. There was then a
lather put on, and my head was shaved. There was afterwards a tor
turing blister put on, and they put a cap over, and tied it on. Carter
put it dn. A man named Pike was there during- the whole time, and
saw it all. Pike is a turnkey. I had a strait jacket put on, and I was
put to bed. Mr. Pike put the jacket on. I had the strait jacket.put.
on before my head was shaved. When I was put to bed, I had the
blister and the nightcap and the strait waistcoat on. I remained so all
night. In the morning Carter came up, and Pike just afterwards. I
suffered great pain duriflg the night. It was justthe same as if needles '
and pins, or penknives, were running into my head. Carter took the
cap off.' They then took off the blister, and said it had not rose. They
then put it on again, and tied it on in the same manner, and left me.—
The strait jacket was taken off for me to put on my clothes, and in
12 < B

10
about a quarter of an hour they put it on again, and left me. I could
not use my hands. About twelve o'clock the blister became worse. —
Iwascrying, and Pike caine up. Before this I rubbed off the blister ; -
I rubbed it off against the wall. I could not use my hands, and rubbed
my head against the wall. My head was then bare. Pike asked me
what was the matter with me, and I told him I was very bad. I beg
ged him to go down to speak to Mr. Bridle, and ask him to forgive me.
He asked me, did I wish to see Mr. Bridle ? I said I did, and he went
down. H6 came back again about three o'clock. This was about
twelve. He asked me what was become of the blister, and where it
was? I told him it was in the chamber-pot. He said " there was
d  d impudence !" and that he would go and tell Mr. Bridle, and have
another blister put on. No person came to me before the evening. —
My head remained bare all the time,, and the strait waistcoat on. In
the evening Carter came to me and put on a dressing to my head. This
was on a Tuesday, I believe. I remained till the Sunday- following in
the same cell. On that day Mr. Bridle had me down before his door.
I asked him if he would be pleased to forgive me. He answered he
did not think I was quite well enough, and he would have another blis
ter put on. I was then returned to the cell again. Three or four days
after this, Mr. Bridle asked me how I was? I told him I was ready
to go to' work, if he would forgive me. He said if I would own the steal
ing the purse, he would forgive me. I told him I knew nothing about
that any more than a baby. The strait waistcoat was taken off to go
down to Mr. Bridle. The strait waistcoat remained on till the Sunday-
after. It used to be taken off at night, to allow me to undress, and was
then put on with all-my clothes off. ltused to be taken off in the morn
ing to dress, and then put on again. It remained thus till I was re
leased from solitary confinement, except one morning when Mr. Pike
took it off and left it off for the whole evening. During this time I had
bread and water. I placed them on the beadstead in the morning be-
' fore the waistcoat was put orj^ When I wanted to eat or drink, I used
to get down on my hands and knees. I was released in the morning
from the waistcoat to walk. It was then kept on during the day when
I was in the cell. When I was thus walking one morning, Mr. Bridle
came to the rails and asked how I was ? I told him' I should be glad if
he would forgive me. He said I must beg Mr. Davis's (one of the
turnkeys) pardon. Idid not know what for. I was taken out to the
lodge. I did beg Mr. Davis's pardon. I was not taken before any
Magistrate the day after this. Nothing more was done to me.
Cross-examined by Mr. Williams.— I don't know a Magistrate of
the name of Quantock, or Stuckey, or Wall. I was taken before some
Magistrates a few days after I was released. No Magistrate came to
my cell during the whole time of iny punishment : I think it was about
three days after my punishment that I was taken before the Magis
trates. I did not know why I should beg Davis's pardon. I did not
ask why: I did not ask any questions at all. I can't say how many
times I have committed offences in the prison.; it was not a great
many ; I can't say whether five or six times. I did not run a penknife
into a man's knee. It was one of the knives ofthe prison. The name
of the man was Zebedee Beauchamp. It was a bit of a scud (a
scratch) ; I don't know the difference between a scud and a scratch.
I have not told the jury all the punishments I got. I have not told the
jury all that was done. I never said to the turnkey, " D— h all the
Magistrates in the country, I wish them in hell." All the rest I have
said is as true as this, and this as true as all the rest. I never said'
"D—fl the Magistrates," to anybody. I don't know-how old I was

11
when I went to prison. I was in prison in Bristol. I nevar was in any-
other gaol but Bristol and this.
Mr. Williams. — What were you sent to the Bristol gaol fort— Am
I obliged to tell you ? I don't choose to tell you. I am not livin«-
with my uncle and aunt in Bristol, because T am now living here iu the
court. When I went out of Ilchester Gaol I went under my aunt's ju
risdiction. The question as to his living with his uncle and aunt was repeated,
and witness answered— I lived with my uncle and aunt about a fortnight
.before I came here. It is about a fortnight ago since I received *
subpoena to attend here.
Mr. Williams. — Was it then you went to live with your aunt ? — Is
it any difference to you, Sir, where I live ?
Mr. Williams. — But it may make a great difference to you by
and by.
With whom did you live before this ? — I have been to lodgings.
Be so good as to say where. — Near Great Gardens, not near Law
ford's Gate ; I have lived near Lawford's Gate.
Did you live at your aunt's at this time ? — I could not live in the two
places at the same time.
Do you know what it is to " live upon the cross?" — I suppose you
know it, Sir, as well as me ; I have knowed it, but have not lived that
kind of life since I eame out.
What were you in Ilchester Gaol for ? — I don't wish to tell that at
present, my character goes quite far enough as it is. It was not till
the dead of the night, after the blister was put on, that it was like pen
knives in my head ; it did not rise at all.
Mr. Justice Richardson.— We ought to know what the prisoner
was in gaol for, to know the relative situation of him and the de
fendant. The question was again asked.
Witness. — I was charged with house-breaking.
Was this before your trial or after ? — Before 1 broke open the house,
Sir. It was after my conviction.
Examination continued. — I never said to a person named Marshall
or to Pike, or to Wright, or to John Pool, " D— n the Justices, I
wish they were in hell." I never said this to any person. All I said.
to-day is as true as what I now say of Marshall and the rest. I never
knew such a person as Anne Davis, or Davidge. I never said to any
woman in person, or any body else, that I was up to a thing or two —
that this was a good job ; that the blister did not hurt me, and that I
would make by it.
Mr. Coles, examined by Mr. Gaselee, was desired to turn to the en
try inthe " Occurrence Book" of November the 4th, 1820. It was in
Bridle s hand-writing. He read it. "Thomas Gardner's earnings to
be suspended for picking the pocket of his fellow-prisoner." " No
vember the 9th, Thomas Gardner having been very idle since the sus
pension of his earnings, and pretending illness, I ordered him to be
confined in a solitary cell." The wilness then read the other entries
as they were stated in the opening speech.
Cross-examined by Mr. Williams. — This is the book exposed for
the inspection of the Magistrates, when they call at the gaol ; and they
have power to make inquiries respecting any entries therein.
James Brier examined by Mr. Adams. — I am a surgeon. I was
surgeon to Ilchester Gaol in the year 1620. I kept a journal of my
proceedings in the gaol ; that journal I left in the gaol. I remember
a prisoner of the name of Gardner. I was just going, after making

12
up the medicines and seeing all the people, when Mr. Bridle came
through a door from a cell to me, and asked me how the people were ?
I said there were a few^atients, butnothing particularly extraordinary.
He then said, " If you can cure your patients, 'tis more than I can do
with mine, for I have got a very troublesome man in confinement."
He said, " Can 3 oil give him a strong black dose?" I said I had no
such medicine. He then said, " What do you think of a blister ?" I
said, you may have a blister, and as his head seems affected, you may
put it pretty high on the poll." Gardner was the man. I ordered a
blister to be spread. I went away, and left the blister to be applied
by the attendant.
Mr. Adam. — Did you not visit the prisoner ?— I am sorry to jay I
did not. The attendant's name was Carter. The conversation which
I have mentioned, is, I believe, all that passed between Bridle and me
on that occasion. [A book was here handed to witness.] This is the
book I kept at the surgery in the gaol. Witness was asked whether
he saw an entry on the 21st of November, 1820 — " A blister to the
head, for Thomas Gardner." I made this entry, but not at the time it
bears date. I believe it might be a month or six weeks after, that I
made it. Mr. Bridle asked me if I had entered the blister for Thomas
Gardner's head. I told him I had not. He said, I think you had bet
ter do so. Upon that I made the entry. I did not hear at the first
time that Gardner had a strait waistcoat on.
By the Court. — I never visited the .patient (Gardner) during his
confinement. Carter, who was my assistant, was a prisoner, and knew
nothing of surgery. He only did what he was told. Sometimes my
partner went to and from the prison, when I did not attend.
Here the case for the prosecution closed.
Mr. Williams now rose to address the jury for the defendant, but
was for a moment so overpowered by his feelings, that he was unable
to proceed beyond the first sentence. He begged leave to retire into
the open air for a while. On his return, he recommenced his address.
He said, that never, in the whole course of his professional life, had
he risen under such feelings as -those which at that moment almost
overpowered him. He was not ashamed to avow those feelings : for,
after all he had heard of the atrocious acts said to have been perpe
trated by his client — after what he had known of his sufferings and
misfortunes — after the solemn opening which had been made that day
— after the detail which had been gone into of what were called " un
heard-of cruelties," and after the evidence which they had just heard,
it was impossible for him to conceal the feelings which pressed upon
him on hearing his Learned Friend say at the close of such evidence,
" That is our case ;" and he trusted that there was not a person in
court who did not sympathize with him, or rather with the unfortunate
man (Mr. Bridle) who sat behind him. Never in the course of his
life had he known any individual whose character and conduct has been
so heaped with every kind of obloquy. He was represented as a mon
ster, as a being, who, if the reports which had been industriously cir
culated against him were true, was almost unfit to live. From that
obloquy and from the effects of those most slanderous rumours, it was
now his duty to rescue his character; and before he did so, he would
lay open before the jury the early history of Mr. Bridle, that they
might see the whole of his career during a long period, and the better
to judge how far the opprobrium which had been so unsparingly heaped
upon him was borne out by his actions. Mr. Bridle, very early in life.
had the misfortune to have a father in failing circumstances ; finding
this, the defendant left his father's house, disdaining to eat a morsel of

IS
bread which he could not earn, and which it might press on his father
to afford. He then entered the regiment— the Somersetshire Fencibles
—as a private soldier. He would trace him up from that period ; he
would show his conduct from the evidence of those who then knew,
and whose knowledge of him continued through all- the subsequent
stages of his progress, up to the time he left Ilchester Gaol ; and from
these, the jury would, he had no doubt, feel satisfied that a cruel or
inhumane act was as foreign from his heart, as the evidence which they
had just heard was from the charges it had been adduced to support.
He would fully convince the jury that the respectable individual for
whom he now addressed them, was in every respect the reverse qf the
cruel monster which he had bean represented. (At this part, and
during several subsequent parts of his address, Mr. Williams was so
much affected, as with difficulty to give utterance to his words.) Soon
after Mr. Bridle's entrance into the Somersetshire Fencibles, he rose
to the rank of serjeant-major of the regiment— no inconsiderable evi
dence of the strict, propriety of his conduct up to that lime. In this
situation of serjeant-major he continued to rise ia the esteem of his
officers, and by the aid of their favour, he was placed in a situation of
superintendant in one of the hulks. There his conduct was marked
with the same humane attention to those; who were placed under his
care, as had distinguished it while in the regiment. He had, in the
course of his superintendance of those unfortunate beings committed to
his care, so endeared himself to them by his benevolence and humanity,
that when he wt-s leaving that situation they presented him an address,
in which they gave him — all they could give — their grateful thanks.
From the situation in the hulks, he had been induced to offer himself
as a candidate for the governorship of Ilchester Gaol, then vacant ;
and such was the high reputation in which he had been held, that he
was selected out of 56 candidates who had offered themselves for the
same office. At that time, it was unnecessary for him to observe, the
discipline and arrangements in the gaol were not in very high repute ;
but in a short time this character no longer belonged to it. From the
day of Mr. Bridle's appointment, his conduct gave such general satis
faction, and effected such material improvements in the discipline and
management of the gaol, that persons came from other gaols in dif
ferent parts of the country to observe how Ilchester Gaol was con
ducted, and to copy its improvements. This, which he should prove,
would bring the history of the defendant up to the occurrence of a cir
cumstance which he should allude to hereafter. He would call before
them gentlemen who had for many years acted as Magistrates of the
county. Amongst others, he would call Sir John Acland, who had
been for upwards of 13 years the chairman of the county. If the
Learned Gentleman who conducted the case for the prosecution would
put the question to Sir John Acland, and to the other respectable wit
nesses who would appear for him in the box, they would find that the cha
racter of Mr. Bridle, during the time that he was Governor of Ilchester
prison, was marked by a continued series of acts of benevolence and
humanity. They would find the goodness of his heart daily and almost
hourly exhibited : they would find that from his- own table many of the
unfortunate prisoners were supplied with articles which they could
not otherwise procure ; that his attention was frequently directed to
alleviate the miseries of those unfortunate beings under his cafe, who,
being convicted of atrocious crimes, were deserted by their former
friends and acquaintance. These would be found to be the constant
actions of a man whom the jury had heard described as a monster,
whose heart was steeled against the common feelings of human nature

14
—who had wantonly inflicted torture on one of his fellow-creatures,
and had barbarously treated a woman and her infant child in the
way that had been described. He would thus exhibit before them the
conduct of his client for a period extending over 20 years of his life,
and this would be attested by persons of the highest respectability,
who would describe their impression of the defendant's character
during the whole of that time. If he were to rest his client's case upon
the proof of what he had just stated, he might go to the jury with confi
dence : but he would not rest here. It would appear, that from every
part of the country to which the papers containing the calumnies against
him had reached, he had received letters from many of the persons
who had formerly been in prison, under his care, and who offered to
come any distance, and at any inconvenience, to prove the kindness with
which he had uniformly treated them. This fact in itself spoke volumes
for him. Now, having stated thus much of his case, he would ask who was
the party by whom Mr. Bridle was accused? Why, a wretch, who, it
appeared from his own statement, was a veteran in crime before he ar
rived atthe years of manhood — a convicted felon, whose life would have
been forfeited if the lenity of the Crown had not preserved him, and
whose behaviour in Court that day was such that no jury could think of
hurting the humblest individual onhis testimony; yet it was testimony
upon which a jury of the county of Somerset were called upon to pro
nounce a verdict which would effect the total ruin of his respectable client.
He would not — it would be unnecessary to state how this villainous
proceeding had originated. Tiie jury saw the way in which it was
conducted in Court, of which he did not complain ; but they did not
see, they could not be aware of the manner in which it had been got
up. C^ses of a similar character were often got up clandestinely.
They had heard the witness, Mary Cuer, say that she had been sent
for by Mr. Hunt a few days ago. What had he (Hunt) to do with it ?
Was not his malignity satisfied with having procured the almost entire
ruin of the defendant? Was it not sufficient that he had been de
prived of his situation, but that an effort must be made to pursue him
to utter destruction ? But he would not stop to comment on such con
duct ; but one would have thought that a man of his (Mr. Hunt's) pru
dence, would have sent for sueh a being as the witness Gardner, who,
as the jury saw. manfully denied every thing, and not for a woman,
who, being less hardened in crime, had told -what she recollected of
the transaction. But he had, it seems, sent for that unfortunate woman,
and from the manner in which she had given her testimony, they
might judge of the pains which had been taken with her. He would
now proceed to examine that part of the charge which affected her.
The Learned Gentleman here read the counts of the indictment which
embraced the case of Mary Cuer. God forbid that he should be dis
posed to press hard upon any woman in her situation. The jury
knew, as well as he, that when the bloom was taken off the honesty
and integrity of such a woman, she lost some of her best feelings, and
her testimony must be received in a different light from 'that of a per
son who had not forfeited her honest character. Still, however, he
did not mean to press too much on this point ; but it did appear from
her own statement, that she was looked upon as in some respects in
corrigible by the Magistrates, and was committed to prison. What
was her account of her first imprisonment, as far as it affected Mr.
Bridle ? — that without ever having seen her before, she was no sooner
under his care than he exerted himself to rescue her from the unhap
py situation in which she had placed herself; she described him as
extremely kind to her. This was the description by a prisoner of a

15
gaoler— of a man, who, from the time he rose in the morning, until he
lay down at night, had the clank of the murderer and the house
breaker's chaiu sounding in his ears ; who was the daily and hourly
witness of that incorrigible depravity which no discipline how
ever strict, no kindness however exerted, could effectually remove,
and who, from his constant observance of such scenes, could not ex
cite surprise, if he did not feel an immediate commiseration for the
wants of the guilty. But what was the account given of this man by
the witness Cuer? — that within two days after her first arrival in the
prison, he set on foot a subscription to release her from the contami
nation which must await her in such a place — that he was the first to-
suggest and the last who subscribed to this benevolent object. It was
true he gave but a small donation ; but a shilling from him, and for
such a purpose, was worth-thousands in a moral consideration. This
was not a solitary instance of his benevolence, for he could show that
his whole life was gemmed with similar acts of benevolence. Now
let the jury look to what this woman swore ofthe conduct of Mr. Bri
dle, on the subject of the solitary confinement— that conduct which the
whole skill aud ingenuity of his Learned Friend (Sergeant Pell) was ex
erted to make appear as "unheard-of cruelty." The story was this
in effect — that two Women had fought in a prison, where discipline had
been, as it was necessary it should be, kept up, and that in consequence
of this they are sent to solitary confinement. Was there any thing
contrary to law — contrary to general practice, that sueh a discretion
should be. exercised by a governor of a prison, when his orders for
the good conduct of the prison were not obeyed? What would be the
situation of the governor of a prison, if he were to suffer himself to be
disrespected and his orders set at nought? It was unnecessary for
him to tell the jury that no rule or order could be kept up where the
keeper of the prison did not exert himself to enforce it. It appeared,
then, that he sent this woman, Cuer, to a solitary cell ; but the grava
men of the charge was, that she had an infant at her breast, and was
kept without water the whole of one day. Now, upon her own show
ing, this was improbable : for it appeared, that from the cell in which
she was confined, to the bed-cell where she was to sleep, she could
not go without passing the pump. But even if that was not the case,
could she not cry out if she wanted water ? A person in her situation,
with a child struggling at her breast, would, with the feelings of a
mother, which he must suppose her to have, have made the place re
sound with her cries for assistance, rather than let her infant suffer ;
but it did not appear that she ever cried out at all. So that, unless the
jury supposed her to be so monstrous as to be indifferent to the suffer
ings of her infant, they must suppose her not to have told the truth on
this part of the case. But the fact was, she came too recently from
her conversations at Ilchester Gaol, to let the jury hear the whole
truth. Then she described herself as having been without fire ; but
how did this appear in fact*? The very moment she said she was
cold and wanted a fire, a lighted candle was brought to her-; and for
what? — to kindle fuel which was already placed in her cell. Did
that look like an intention to keep her without fire ? But what motive
could Mr. Bridle have for this treatment? The witness had never in
jured him nor any of his family, and the report of her conduct, on
which her confinement was founded, was made to him through ano
ther; so that it was impossible that he could have any personal mo
tive in the transaction. TheTe was another woman, Elizabeth Smith,
why was she not on. his Learned Friend's notes ? She was also in
solitary confinement, why had she not been called for, as the treat-

' . 16
ment was the same? She would have been-an excellent witness, but
about her the jury had heard nothing. The jury had heard the evi
dence of that respectable witness Mrs. Hobbs, stated in the language
of truth, that she could not say whether Cuer had a basin with her in
the ,'cell or not, but that to the best of her belief she had. Why it
was the most natural thing in the world to think she had, for, having a
baby to nourish, the necessity of having a small vessel out of which
to supply herself, would very naturally have forced itself upon her a,t-
1 tention. He would not dwell much longer on this point : indeed, from
the whole of his Learned Friend's speech, it would appear that, he
himself was convinced that the more he stirred in this matter the worse
it would prove. They had heard a deal about her being without
water. Now it does not appear that she was without her usual allow
ance of bread. How came it to pass that when the bread came she did
not ask for water ? Now, taking these circumstances into considera
tion, was there not more than reasonable cause to doubt her story ?
But he would set the matter beyond all doubt by the witnesses whom
he should call, and he could make that Court ring with the testimony of
Magistrate after Magistrate, and prisoner after prisoner, to some of
whom the kindness of the defendant was known, and by the others ex--
perienced. If the Learned Counsel on the other side should examine
them as to particulars, it would be found .that this day would be a day
of triumph to his client, which would put an end to the calumnies by
which he had been for so long a time assailed. If the questions to
which he alluded* were asked, the answers would convince the jury,
as the facts had already convinced him, of the entire and perfect inno-
oence of his client ; and he could not but observe that such a result
would be satisfactory to the high officer by whose orders this inquiry
had been instituted. He had the honour of knowing that Right Hon.
Gentleman, who through life, though he might have had many adver
saries,, had no enemies; and he felt convinced that as the elucidation
of truth was the only object he had in ordering this trial, so the re
sult which he (Mr. Williams) anticipated, would be lo him a source of
satisfaction, inasmuch as it would free an injured man from a load of
unjust aspersions. But to come to the case : malice, it would be re
membered, formed a main, indeed a vital ingredient in the informa
tion before the Court — malice must be shown, or nothing was done.
And what malice was shown— what was proved? Why, Mary Cuer
herself acquitted Mr. Bridle of ill-feeling towards her ; she admitted
that upon all occasions, except the one immediately in question, he
had always behaved to her with peculiar kindness. He would now
come to the second part of the information — the charge which referred
to Thomas Gardner. That charge had been opened by the Learned
Leader for the prosecution as a charge o£ cruelty almost or quite un
heard of. The jury, by good fortune, had heard Gardner give his evi
dence ; and after listening to his statements and marking the manner
iri which he made them, could they give an iota of credit to any thjng
that he had said? Thomas Gardner ! Why, what was the man? A
thief from his cradle — a man capitally convicted before he was 19. "In
gaol at Bristol for burglary ; in gaol at Ilchester for something else ;
even in prison committing thefts and stabbing his fellow-prisoners !
Would the jury find any individual in the creation guilty upon the
testimony of such a creature as Thomas Gardner? But the most curi
ous1 part of the matter was to come. Mr. Bridle was accused of hav
ing maliciously applied the blister, to Gardner. Why it stood upon
the very evidence called by the prosecution, that the proposal of the
blister had not proceeded from Bridle at all. Mr. Brier, called by

17
the counsel for the prosecution, and likely, from the observations
which had previously been made, to throw blame as far as possible
from his own shoulders, Mr. Brier distinctly stated that Bridle asked
him to give Gardner a black dose ; and that he (Brier) saying he had
none, added—" You may have a blister, if you please." And this was
Bridle's malice : the idea of the blister not proceeding from him ; the
adoption of it a measure occurring on the sudden. This was the case
of determined injury, of unheard-of cruelty, and of premeditated male
volence. And after all, to take the fact even as it was alleged on the
other side, what did such a fact, in cool consideration, amount to?
What were the prodigious sufferings of Gardner ? He had had a
blister put upon him— a thing that was done to idle schoolboys every
day. He (Mr. Williams) stated no more than was fact, and fact capa
ble of proof. Nothing was more common in the Blue-Coat School
than when an idle lad shammed sick, to give him a dose of physic or
a blister. The thing was done in the army constantly. It was not an
act which, perhaps, could be absolutely justified, or which a man
would commit a second time : but it was an act, to say the worst of it,
of very trifling culpability. And look at the whole course of Mr. Bri
dle's conduct: had his ministry been distinguished by general seve
rity or inhumanity ? Why had he held his office at Ilchester for seven
teen years, and all that the severest scrutiny could pick out against
him — all that hatred, revenge, and slanderous disposition could sug
gest, was a charge of misconduct in two poor instances — the wretched,
varnished, got-up cases which were now, in the shape of an informa
tion, before the Court. The jury would not be carried away by the
eloquence of the Learned Counsel for the prosecution. They would
not listen to sweeping assertion, but would restrict their attention to
facts as they actually were proved. The defendant was accused of
having put a strait waistcoat upon Gardner. A strait waistcoat, to be
sure, carried a sort of terrific character along with it : but did any of
the jury ever see a strait waistcoat ? It was absolutely the most easy,
and at the same time the most safe, mode which could be adopted of
confining a prisoner closely; It was a process incomparably less se-
\ ere than the putting a man in irons; and that the defendant might
have put Gardner in irons, was there any man who could doubt ? Again ;
the blister, the jury was told, was put upon Gardner's head. Why it
was perfectly well known to every medical man, that of all the parts
of the human body the scalp was that part which would be the least
sensible of such an application. If Gardner had reallythought himself
ill treated in the transaction, why had he not made his complaint im
mediately to the Visiting Magistrates? The Magistrates came round
regularly ; Gardner must have seen them ; why had he not spoken 1
He had been silent, because in truth he had felt that he had no com
plaint to prefer ; he had been silent because he knew that his general
character stood upon record such as must render him unworthy of cre
dit. But the jury would hear the evidence adduced on the part of Mr.
Bridle ; and this day of trial, whieh had been meant to ruin the de
fendant, would, in truth, turn out the proudest of his life. The jury
would find persons of all ranks, servants who had been employed by
Mr. Bridle — prisoners who have been under his charge— friends who
had intimately known him— and Magistrates who had watched his con
duct in the execution of his duty, coming forward to bear testimony in
his behalf. The evidence of these persons would, Mr. Williams trust
ed, silence the charges which emanated from a source, from which no»
thing but evil ever had proceeded, or ever would proceed. The jury,
in looking at the occurrences such as they were proved, would re*
12 C

18
I
member, in' judging of motives, the excellent character which the
defendant had borne so long. They would remember that the man
who was now charged with misconduct as a gaoler, was the man to
whom gaolers had been sent to lertrn their duty ; in their judgment,
they would, according to the divine command, temper justice with
mercy; and their verdict— and that verdict could surely beTno other
than a verdict of acquittal— would be such a verdict as mah and Hea
ven would approve.
Witnesses were then called on behalf of the defence.
Elizabeth Sommers, examined by Mr. Erskine, said— 1 was a pri
soner at I-lchester'' in November, 1818. : I recollect Mary Cuer being
in the gaol. I remember Elizabeth Smith, and the quarrel between
her and Mary Cuer. I was hot present at the quarrel ; but I know
that Mary Cuer went into solitary confinement for it. In the course
ofthe same evening that Cuer was confined, I went to the cell where
she was. I carried her a saucepan^ There was a fire-place in her
cell, and fuel. Fire was offered to Mary Cuer by Mrs. Hobbs, who
went with me to her cell; but she answered that her time was hot
long, and that she did not mind it ; she would be d — d if she would
hive any fire at all. I saw Mary Cuer in her cell ; she had an earthen
basin to drink out of.
Cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant Pell.— Witness said I live now
in Bath, -where I was born and bred. I went to Ilchester Gaol irt
Aug. 1S18, on suspicion of robbery. I was tried and found guilty>
and sentenced to transportation for life. I have now been 12 months
out of prison. - Mary Cuer had a child in the gaol, which she suckled ;
when she came out ofthe solitary cell she said she was ill , " but I did
not bulieveit. I saw her child, and it seemed very well; quite well,
and lively as if well fed. The mother seemed lively and well too, as
if she had been well fed. This was when they came out of tbe soli
tary cell. „The weather was cold. The solitary cells at llbhester
are not damp without rain. Whether there had been snow that day
(the Thursday) or not, I do not recollect. I have had children myself;
but I never suckled a child four days on bread and water. Mary
Cuer was notkept on bread and water ; she had bacon and butter on
ThurSday'evening;T s4w it carried to her. Elizabeth Smith, who
quarrelled with Cuer, had a child, and suckled it. She was let Out Of
the solitary confinement at the Same time that Cuer was. Smith was
not ill when she came but of the solitary cell, nor was her child..
Mary Thomas said, I am the -wife of an innkeeper at Ilchester. I
saw Mary Cuer some time after she was discharged from Ilchester
Gaol, and conversed with her.
Mr. Sergeant Pell objected to heating that conversation. Mary
Cuer had not been examined as to any conversation held with Mrs.
Thomas.
~* Witness.— I have known Mr. Bridle eleven years. "My house is not
more than 300- yards from the gaol. I always heard Mr. Bridle
spoken' of as an uncommonly kind and humane man.
i John Trcganz a said, I am the master of the new House of Cor
rection at Bedford'. I was once a principal turnkey in Ilchester Gaol,
and was promoted from thence to my present situation/ I know the
solitary cells at Ilchester. When the wind is one particular way, rain
may beat against the doors, and make them ,a little damp ; they are
not damp otherwise. I was principal turnkey at Ilchester while Mary
Cuer was confined there. It was my duty generally, as principal
turnkey, to attend those prisoners who were put into solitary confine
ment. I recollect Mary Cuer as a prisoner ; but I have no remem-

19

after them. The county allows only bread and water in "the "solitary
cells ; but if the prisoners have any other food, they are allowed to
carry it with them. I was more than two years in Ilchester Gaol. I
left it in November, 1819. When prisoners have been sick, I have
known Mr. Bridle sendthein provisions. I have had abundant oppor
tunities of knowing Mr. Bridle, and always considered him as an ex
tremely humane man. I believe he has done many things for prisoners
which he was not at all bound to do, and which he did entirely out of
kind feeling towards them.
Jane Long said, I am wife to a serjeant in the Somersetshire mili
tia. 1 was under sentence of transportation in Ilchester Gaol, in the
year 1818. I remember Mary Cuer and Elizabeth Smith there, and I
remenber their quarrelling: Cuer beat Smith. Mr. Bridle was called
in. I saw Mary Cuer go away to the solitary cell ; she carried with
her bread and bacon, which she took out of our pantry, and a basin
which belonged to her. I saw Cuer again after her liberation from
the solitary cell, and I saw her suckle her child that same day.- I was
a year and eleven months in Ilchester Gaol, and I always thought Mr.
Bridle a gentleman and a good governor.
John Poole said, I was a constable in the convict-ward of Ilchester
Gaol, inthe year 1820. I knew Thomas Gardner there, and remember
his being locked up in the solitary cell. While he was confined, he
damned the Magistrates and Mr. Bridle too. I advised him to humble
himself to Mr. Bridle. He said he would see Mr. Bridle iu hell first,
and the Magistrates too.
What was the general character of Gardner?
Mr. Gaselee objected to the question.
Witness. — I can tell it the gentleman without his asking any ques
tion at all.
Mr. Sergeant Pell insisted that Poole's opinion could, not be evi
dence. The witness continued. — Gardner was a great reprobate ; always
swearing and cursing until the blister was put on his head, and then he
was quieter a good deal. He gave very bad language (o the officers of
the gaol, both before their faces and behind their backs.
Cross-examined. — I was in Ilchester Gaol myself on a charge of
misdemeanour. It was for dealing in smuggled cider. The blister
put upon Gardner's head was about the size of the palm of my hand.
Carter and I put it on between us. We shaved his head a bit first; to
make room. We put him on a strait waistcoat too. In about two
days afler the blister was on, Gardner got pretty quiet ; before that
he was sulky. The strait waistcoat was taken off when Gardner went
to bed at night, and put on again in the morning ; it was also taken off
for him to get his meals. I had been in gaol-before I was at Ilches
ter in 1820. I was in about twelve months before. That first con
finement took place in the year 1818. I can swear that Gardner was
not confined twelve da>s; the longest was eight. I attended him
night and morning during the whole time. I never saw a strait waist
coat in Ilchester Gaol, excepting that which was put upon Gardner.
I remember the blister being found iu the urinal after Gardner pulled
it off. He had a cap put on over the blister. He used to.say, very
often, that he wished he had the hanging of me, or the skinning of me
alive, he would not care which. It was Carter that ordered nie to help
shave Gardner's head ; who ordered him to do it, I do not know. I

20
took him down to Mr. Bridle four or five times during his confine
ment ; Mr. Bridle never threatened to put him on a second blister.
Upon those occasions (the meetings) Gardner was always sulky or in
solent ; Mr. Bridle, in fact, was too good to the prisoners — too indul
gent altogether.
Charles Marshall said— I was two years and a half an officer in Il
chester Gaol ; I had the superintendance of the men at work ; I remem
ber Gardner, and have heard him curse the Magistrates heavily ; he
has often threatened to do for me ; he threatened to do this with a
hammer: he said he would do for the Magistrates, and Bridle, and me
too; he was idle, and, at times, would not work ; I saw him take up
a mallet once, and threaten to knock out another prisoner's brains ;
Mr. Bridle was always very kind to the people under his charge.
Cross-examined. — I never heard of Gardner's having a blister on,
and don't believe the thing ever happened ; I am not in Ilchester Gaol
now ; I left it three months ago.
Robert Gibbs. — Was a prisoner in Ilchester Gaol in the year 1S20,
under sentence of transportation ; remembered Gardner's being in the
prison ; I remembered a man named Beacham also in the prison ;
Gardner ran a knife into Beacham's knee, in the presence of witness ;
the knife went almost an inch into the knee, and the blood followed
rapidly when it was pulled out ; Gardner's general conduct was very
bad. He was a very violent, dissolute young fellow.
Cross-examined. — Beacham gave Gardner no provocation when he
stabbed him ; they had no quarrel whatever.
Vincent Stuckey, Esq., Sheriff of Somerset, said— I remember
Gardner in Ilchester Gaol. I remember in September last seeing him
very violent in his conduct. I was Visiting Magistrate at Ilchester
from July to October. While I visited, Mr. Bridie put Gardner in so
litary confinement. On finding by the Occurrence Book that Gardner
was in prison —
Mr. Sergeant Pell felt himself compelled to interfere; and
Mr. Justice Richardson decided that the matter was not evidence.
Mr. John Valentine, surgeon, at Somertnn. was partner with Mr.
Brier in the year 1820, and frequently attended the gaol for him.—
Remembered seeing Gardner at Ilchester in 1S20 ; saw him profes
sionally. Gardner was in a solitary cell ; he complained of sickness.
Witness felt his pulse, and examined his tongue, but thought he was
in perfect health. Witness knows Mr. Bridle well, and always consi
dered him to be an extremely humane kind-hearted man.
Sir John Acland said, I have been a Magistrate 40 years, and 16
years chairman ofthe sessions. Nearly the whole of those 16 years I
have been active in the superintendance of the gaols. Mr. Bridle was
appointed Gaoler, at Ilchester, in July, 180S, and 1 have had constant
opportunities ever since of noticing his conduct. Through the whole
course of those opportunities, I have thought Bridle a kind-hearted,
humane, benevolent man, extremely careful of all under his charge. —
He exercised all Christian charities towards his prisoners, and was most
bearing and forbearing towards them — the farthest in the world in his
conduct and feelings from nourishing any thing like vindictive principle.
I took every opportunity of inquiring among the prisoners themselves
as to the treatment they received iu Ilchester Gaol. 1 constantlyin iny
visits went into the different wards, and inquired for complaints against
the officers of the gaol, saying, that if there were any such complaints
I would hear them in private. From the statements Ihave uniformly
received from the prisoners, I think Mr. Bridle entitled lo the charac-

21
ter I have given him. I think him an honest man, and a most merito
rious officer.
Cross-examined. — In July, 1818, I formally retired from the situa
tion which I held as chairman of the sessions, but I have kept up my
knowledge of Mr. Bridle ever since. Even after the year 1818, I
knew every thing which passed in the gaol, for I had constant corre
spondence wilh the defendant.
Thomas Poole, Esq. said, I am a Magistrate of the county of Somer
set. In that capacity I have frequently visited the Gaol at Ilchester.
I^have visited for the last seven or eight years. I have had abundant
opportunities in that time of learning the character of Mr. Bridle — op
portunities going down to the time of his dismissal. From all I have
ever seen or heard, I believe Mr. Bridle to be a most humane person. —
If I had now to name a Governor for a gaol, Mr. Bridle should be the
man ; and I believe I should do the country a service by appointing
him. Cross-examined. — Mr. Bridle was dismissed in July, 1821. I know
the reasons which operated upon the minds of some Magistrates to pro
duce his dismissal.
Sir John Cox Hippisley said, I have been a Magislrate 16 or 17
years. I have had frequent opportunities of knowing Mr. Bridle's cha
racter, and have always considered him a most humane, as well as
intelligent officer.
Mr. Coles, clerk of the peace for the county, had the highest opinion
of Mr. Bridle's general character.
Mr. Edmund Broderip had been under-sheriff of the county six or
seven times since Mr. Bridle's appointment at Ilchester. Witness al
ways considered and understood him to be a man of the most benevolent
character. Vincent Stuckey, Esq., sheriff of the county, always thought Mr.
Bridle kind and humane to those under his charge.
Charles Allen, Esq., had known Mr. Bridle 24 years; knew him
when he was serving in the Fencibles. Always believed him to be a
kind, humane, and worthy man.
 Newman, Esq., a Magistrate 15 years, bore witness to the ex
cellence of Mr. Bridle's character.
Francis Burt Morgan, Esq., five years a Magistrate, corroborated
the testimony of the former witnesses to character. Had known Mr.
Bridle a great many years.
Mr. William Mellior, under-sheriff, spoke to the same effect.
Mr. Lang, Coroner for the county, had known Mr. Bridle ever
since his appointment at Ilchester ; and entertained the highest opinion
of his character. <¦
Mr. Richard Pople Caines, Mr. John Bourne, Mr. E. Chippeter,
Mr. Uriah Messiter, and Mr. IV. Smith, bore witness, generally, to
the defendant's character for humanity and benevolent feeling.
Wm. Erasmus Hardy has now succeeded Mr. Bridle at Ilchester
Gaol, and was before Deputy-Keeper of Newgate. Witness has
known the defendant 17 years, and always considered him a man of the
greatest humanity and worth.
Mr. J. Gunes expressed the same opinion.
John Quanted, Esq., a Magistrate of the county, had been a Visiting
Magistrate at Ilchester Gaol. Witness had had constant opportunities
of knowing Mr. Bridle's character, aud always thought him a most
humane, meritorious officer.
This was the case on the part of the defendant.

, 22
Mr. Sergeant Pell in reply observed, that he fully concurred ia
the remark of his Learned Friend, that the Jury were called upon to
perform a most important duty. He felt, also, the great responsibility
ofthe duty whicli had been assigned to him, as there representing the
great law officers of the Crown, by whom he had'beeninstructed ; and
feeling that responsibility, he would tell the jury, that by their verdict
they had to say whether Mr. Bridle was a persecuted man or not. He
trusted he should never live in a country where the Government could
become an instrument of persecution- to any of its subjects; and'he
would take it on him to say, thit if Government had not instituted this
prosecution, it would have failed in its duty to the country at large. —
Rumour^ which waS ever busy, and so often -malevolent, had said that
this was not a sincere prosecution on the part of the Government. He
would, in reply to this, say that as far as those now present were con
cerned;; and particularly as far as he was concerned, it would' be sup
ported with sincerity, as it was founded in truth. This was his duty,
but the duty of the jury was not less important. They were to-day to
decide -by theirverdict whether the defendant was justifiable in what
he had done.
Mr. Jus-dice Richardson here observed, that it was the duty, of
the Jury to decide whether the defendant was or was not guilty of the
facts, charged in the indictment.
Mr. Sergeant Pell said he would repeat it boldly, unless contro
verted by the Learned Judge,: that it -was the duty of the -jury to
decide whether the defendant was or was not justifiable ifr what he
had'don». Mr. Justice Richardson said he was sure his Learned Brother
did not mean todrawthe attention of the jury from the real-pause; but
lest his remarks should have that effect, he would say that the duty of
the jury was to decide whether the defendant was guilty of the facts as
charged — whether they did or did not approve of his conduct, might be
quite another question. '
Mr. Sergeant Pell said he was surprised the Learned Judge could
have supposed him so ignorant of his profession as not to know how
to conduct his cause without drawing-the attention of the jury to a
wrong point. At thei time the Learned Judge had interrupted him, as
was his duty, if he conceived he was taking a wrong- course, .he was
about to call the attention of the jury- to what was the nature of the
charge, and td examine how far it was supported by -the evidence
for the prosecution, and contradieted by the evidence for thedefence.
The Leartfed Gentleman here read the charge as laid in the indictment.
arid observed that the question was, whether, in'the facts charged, the
Gaoler had neglected his duty by the commission of those acts. If the
^jury believed the case as' sworn to for the prosecution — if they be
lieved thai he had imprisoned the. woman Mary Cuer, and ordered
the blister for, the witness Gardner, they must find him guilty. He
denied entirely the law as laid down on this point by his Learned Friend,
for it was not necessary to show particular malice towards the indivi-
" dual ; for there were certain acts from which, unless satisfactorily ex
plained, the law inferred malice. The law inferred the motive from the
act; unless that act were Satisfactorily explained, it would suppose
malice. Now he would be willing to let this case be judged by the
rule he had mentioned. His Learned Friend, Mr. Williams, had, in
an eloquent address, endeavoured to shake the testimony of' the wit
nesses by aspersions on their character, while he was as loud ih
eulogizing the character' of the defendant. Now he would admit the
excellence of the character given to the defendant, for it was not his

23.
object tqLpr-ess any thing. against that unfortunate individual which was
npt founded in evidence. But then the great-value of character was in
cases. of doubt, aid if the jury, eotertained any reasonable doubt on
this case, they would bf course give the prisoner the benefit of the
character "they had heard of him. But in talking, ofthe character ofthe
witnesses, his Learned Friend should recollect that he (Mr. Sero-eadt
Pell) had in the outset stated that his case must necessarily be°sup-
ported by persons forwhose character he could not and would not
vouch. Let him recollect thatif we had called convict felons, he had
called Ihem also. But he did 'not mean to say that because* these, un
fortunate persons came from, a gaoLthey were not 'entitled to credit,
though less entitled to it than persons whose characters were not so
tainted. He could not but coinplainof the conduct' of his Learned
Friend, in making the allusions h4 had made with respect to the insti
tution of- this prosecution. He spoke of the villainy of -those with
whom it originated ; aid he afterwards alluded to the Circumstance of
Mary Cuer having visited Mr. Hunt in Ilchester Gaol. What the
Learned Gentleman had- said of Mr. Hunt was not called forby any
previous remark of his (Sergeant Peel's.) .What he did say was, and
he did not wish to speak of Mr. Hunt beyond what was necessary f<rt\
this cause, that if hVwas the means of bringing on this investigation
he was undoubtedly entitled to the thanks of the country., and he'now
repeated the: statement. . But, said his Learned Friend, where is Eli
zabeth Smith? she was confined aswell'as Mary Cuer; why Had" she
not been called ? She could confirm Mary Cher. Where is she ?• He
said where is she also; and if his Learned Friend wished- to run this
race, he would find himself distanced. He would answer for himself,
Ihat he did not want the testimony of Elizabeth Smith to confirm the
evidence of Cuer : but he would ask his Learned Friend why he had
not called Elizabeth) Smuh, because if Mr. Bridle Was so kind to herl,
hei' evidence would' have been of value to -him. Butshe was not called;
and he would go further— ^he would take up his Learned -Friend's prin
ciple, and ask why were not Pike, and Carter, and Davis called, all
aridevery one of whom could have contradicted Gardner, if he had told
a falsehood: butthey were not called, and let the jury draw their
own inference; and lie would remind the jury that in a case Which had
occupied the attention -of the country from one end to the other, the
H&t calling of particular persons was held of great weight in the consi
deration ofthe case. .But if he were asked why haveyou not called
Pike, or Carter, or Davis, the answer which he could give, and which'
could not be given on the other side, was, thatif called for- the prose
cution, they, would be called to criminate themselves, because they
were participators of Bridle's guilt ;• but 'the same reason did not hold ,
ontbebtherside,. where the parties, ifcalled< couM only be called tp
prove themselves innocent, as well as Bridie. As to the observations
of overacting his rfart in- a failing case, he < was sorry his Learned
Friend had used the remark, because it was not hisxharacter-!-nor, he
was sure, that orthe English bar. Again, he was told that blame was
to be attached to Mr/Brier, but why had not a question been put to him
on the subject ? Not one. His Learned Friend had stated that in one
of oBr public schools — the Blue-Coat School— and als6 in the army,
the application of a blister was; frequent, :to detect imposture. He
was one pfthoSewho highly Valued-that excellent establishment—the
seminary of all that was great, and all that was brave — and he would
only say, that if such was the practice either in this school or in the
army, the sooner it was inquiredinto, and the sooner it was got rid of,
the better; Good God ! could if be believed that to a jury of his country-

24
men — a jury of Englishmen— one of his brothers in the profession,
could speak so lightly of a species of torture, from the very name of
which the niture of an Englishman would revolt? He trusted, how
ever, the appeal would not have more than its just weight. His Learn
ed Friend, in conclusion, hoped that the jury would temper justice
with mercy. In this he (Mr. Sergeant Pell) went along with hiin. He
sincerely hoped they would ; but in thinking of mercy, he hoped they
would not forget justice. They were both the attributes of the Sove
reign ; but mercy always followed justice, and the former could never
be properly exercised where the latter was neglected. He felt it ne
cessary to make those remarks on the address of his Learned Friend.
He would now come to the evidence by which the case was supported,
and contrast it with that for the defence. The Learned Sergeant then
recapitulated the evidence of Mary Cuer, and contended that the main
facts of her having been in this cold damp cell — that she was confined
there with her infant baby the whole of the Friday witliout water —
that on her coming out on the Saturday morning she drank largely at
the pump, and that, in all probability, was the cause of her subsequent
illness. None of this was contradicted by the evidence for the de
fence ; even admitting the story about the basin and the bacon to be
true.* It was proved that this unfortunate woman, Mary Cuer, who.it
should be observed, was not a felon, the cause of whose imprisonment
was, probably, the child that hung at her breast — it was, he said, in
evidence, and not contradicted, that this poor woman was with her
child, nearly the whole of, Friday and Friday night without water. He
woidd prevent, if he could, this case going abroad to foreign countries:
for the honour of his country he would not wish it should be known
that in England, which, if more remarkable for one trait of humanity
than another, it was for the attention they paid to the distressed, the
sick, and the imprisoned, even one case of such cruelty as this could
be found. Let the jury consider the nature of the charge; a woman
and her infant child thus deprived of the commonest necessaries of
life. If ever there was one object of more interest than another iu
this wretched world, it was that of a mother giving sustenance from
her breast to her own child ; and that man, indeed, must be devoid of
the commonest feelings of humanity, who could inflict such a cruel pu
nishment on a woman so circumstanced. Would it be pretended that if
any of the Visiting Magistrates had seen this wretched creature in the
situation described, they would not have instantly ordered her release ?
lie would say, that the Magistrate who could see this, and refuse to
order an immediate release, would not only be undeserving the cha
racter of a Magistrate, but the name of a man. Let them take the whole
of this poor woman's testimony, and they would find as much of it un
contradicted as would be sufficient to bear ont the indictment, as far as
her case was concerned. He would now come to the other part of it —
the case of Gardner. They had heard that evidence, and he would admit
that any thing coming from him should be received with great caution.
But how was it contradicted ? It was attempted to be contradicted by the
testimony of Poole. He had sworn that Gardner was most refractory,
refused to apologize, damned the Magistrates, and a variety of other
circumstances ; but observe what he swore in addition — he swore that
Gardner was confined only eight days. This was Mr. Bridle's own
witness, and by whom was he contradicted ? Why, by the testimony
of Mr. Bridle himself, who, in the " Occurrence Book," wrotefthat Gard
ner was confined from the 19th of November to the 5th of December.
Now, after that alone, what reliance was there to be placed on his evi
dence? Next he would come to the evidence of Mr. Brier, the sur-

25
f eon. The Learned Sergeant now read tha evidence of Mr. Brier,
and contended, that it was confirmatory ofthe guilt of the defendant.
But let the jury look at the conclusion of Mr. Brier, and would it not
Imply a motive in the defendant ? Mr. Brier said, that he entered the
application of the blister in his journal, but he admitted that the entry
was not made for a month or six weeks after, and that he made it at
the request of Mr. Bridle — what for? Why, it could be for no
other motive but to cover himself from blame. Any other construction
on his conduct, however charitable it might be intended, would exceed
the bounds of justice. This was the case; and now he would ask,
was Mr. Bridle a persecuted man? Was not the" Government not only
justified in bringing on this trial, but would it not be a just ground of
complaint, if after what had gone abroad— if what had been heard
from one end of the country to the other on this subject, that Govern
ment neglected to prosecute the man who had so conducted himself ?
Was it to be tolerated, that that should be done in England by a Go
vernor of Ilchester Gaol, which could not be done by the king him
self — which could not be done by the proudest man in Europe? After
what had gone abroad, it would now be known through the same me
dium, and he hoped the time would never come when the proceedings
of our Courts of Justice should not find the greatest publicity. But
surely it would not be justice to the subjects of this realm, that in a
country, the Government of which, in every part of the world, had ex
erted itself to mitigate the sum of human suffering, a keeper of a
gaol should, at his own discretion, be allowed to inflict a punishment
not known to the law, or to inflict any more restraint on the prisoners
under his care, than that which the law prescribed for their safe cus
tody, and the due discipline of the prison. He would repeat, that if
Government had not taken the steps it had done, it would have evinced
a great neglect of one of its greatest duties ; and he would also repeat,
that the individual, Mr. Hunt, through whose instrumentality these
facts first became known, was entitled to the thanks of his country ;
and, no doubt, at the close of his (Mr. Hunt's) earthly career, the re
collection of having been the means of alleviating the misery of one of
his fellow-beings, or of preventing the infliction of pain on others,
would be to him a source of great comfort, and most undoubtedly
would be remembered in his favour at the great seat of justice and
mercy. He had now done his duty. The jury were to do theirs, and
he had no doubt they would do it conscientiously. To the conscientious
discharge of that duty he would now leave them.
Mr. Justice Richardson said, that the inquiry before the Court
was one of deep interest both to the defendant and to the country;
it would be the duty of the jury to consider it like any other matter,
regardless of opinions without doors, either the one way or the other ;
applying.their best faculties to the consideration of the case, and re
turning such verdict as their judgment and their consciences should
direct. The information which was trying consisted of two charges,
distinct from each other as to the time in question and the individuals
concerned : and distinct, also, as it happened, as respected the evi
dence which had been given in the case. Before he called the atten
tion of the jury, which he should do very briefly, to the testimony on
one side and on the other, he would just make a few observations
upon a point or two of law— a few observations which occurred as
important to him, and which might perhaps be of service to the gen
tlemen whom he was addressing. Some comment had been made
both on the part of the defence and on the part of the prosecution,
as to the kind of evidence which would be necessary to support tho
12 D

26
malice alleged in the indictment. Now the word " malice," taktsn
in a legal sense, did not, as he viewed it, imply of necessity the ex
istence of ill-will towards the party affected by the act which was
charged as being done maliciously. Malice, in law, was merely a
translation, of the Latin word malicia. and that te'rm would be just as
well translated' by the word "wickedness" as by "malice." Ma
lice, in a legal sense, might be, and frequently was, inferred from the
natur'e of the peculiar act. A deed in itself being of such description
and character as showed the mind which contemplated it to be regard
less' how' injurious its consequences might be to others, the showing
of that fact was clearly sufficient to support the allegation df malice.
AH persons, for instance, invested by law with authority — keepers of
gaol's among others — were bound by law to exercise their power tem
perately, discreetly, and ; according to the rules of law ; and in case
such persons conducted themselves oppressively in office, deliberately
doing that which the law did not warrant them* to do, then the mere
proof'of sucli an act being done was sufficient to support a charge that
it Was done maliciously. Both the parties affected by the conduct of
Mr. Bridle appeared from the evidence to have been prisoners under
him at Ilchester; and the charge as regarded the first (Mary Cuer)
was this — that He had confined her in a damp and solitary cell, without
sufficient fire, food, or water, for the space of four days, she having at
the time a sucking infant at her breast, for which, no more than for
herself, any adequate provision was made. In support of this charge,
Mary Cuei- herself was the principal witness ; and it would beremen>
bere'd that, although she had been a prisoner in Ilchester Gaol at thei
period in question, she had been sent there only on account of her
having an illegitimate child, and that she did not, therefore, like some
of the witnesses who had been called, come, already convicts for fe
lony, into the Court. It appeared from the evidence of Miry Cuer.
that she had quarrelled with a- woman in the same prison, named
Smith, arid that the dispute between them having. ended in blows, the
defendant had, as a punishment, ordered Cuer into solitary confine
ment. Now, as regarded the measure of solitary confinement merely,
the tearn"d Judge was not prepared to say that Mr. Bridle had act
ed illegally. Doubtless it was most necessary to preserve discipline
iri prisons, and that object could not be accomplished without the ex-
erciseof a discretionary power by the keeper. But the same law
which gave tbat discretionary power to a gaoler, provided that in
the employment of ii he should be vigilantly watched, and that any
abuse of it should render him liable to adequate punishment ; and
the charge against Mr. Bridle unfortunately was, not a charge of
•having merely confined Mary Cuer, but of having confined her in a
damp, cold, and unhealthy cell, criminally neglecting to supply her
¦with such water, food, and fire,' as the situation of her infant render
ed peculiarly necessary. The jury had heard the evidence, both in
support of the first charge and against it. Mary Cuer was contra
dicted in many points by the witnesses for the defendant ; and she
was riot confirmed by all the persons who had been called for the pro-*
secution. One thing admitted of no dispute. If it was necessary to
shut up a woman in a solitary cell with a sucking child at her breast,
it was at least the bounden duty of the person by whose order She
was so confined td see that she was furnished with the necessaries of
life, whether food, fire, or both, sufficient ;for the maintenance both
of the infant and herself. If the defendant had, from neglect, for
borne to attend to those arrangements in Mary Cuer's case, his moral
guilt was certainly less than if he had wilfully meditated the injuring

•27
her ; still there was sufficient in such a culpable neglect: pf duty to
bring hiin within the scope of the present information. Ujjon'the first
charge in the information there certainly was contradictory evidence,,
and which way the balance of testimony lay, it would be for the jury
to decide. But he now came (his Lordship continued) to the second
portion of the indictment— the evidence as to wluch was far more dis
tinct than as to the first, and such, indeed, he feared, as could leave
very little doubt upon the minds of those who bad heard jt. The
charge in the second ease (the matter, of Gardner) was, that the de
fendant had, by way of punishment, and certainly therefore illegally,
applied ^nd fixed a blister to that individual's head., Now Gardner
¦was admitted on all hands to be a man of most infamous character ;
he had been convicted of felony more than once; his conduct in- the
prison had been outrageous in the highest possible degree ; and his
deportment before the jury could not have prejudiced them strongly
in favour of his testimony. JUpon the unsupported ev^nc" of such a
man as Gardner, the jury, far from convicting a man of high character,
would be- cautious of convicting any man whatever; but unfortunately:
the case, as against the defendant, was made out almost without any
proof from Gardner at all. The ill conduct of Gardner could have
no weight in the present cause.. The question wasnot W;hat he had,
done, but what the defendant had done — not whether his behaviour
had merited punishment, but whether the defendant had inflicted such
punishment upon him as the law forbade to be inflicted..,; Mr. Brier,
the surgeon, who, however culpable he had otherwise conducted him
self, had giyen a very candid testimony on the present occasion — Mr.,
Brier's evidence was proof almost sufficient of what had. occurred..
Poole, the defendant's own witness, proved the putting on of the blis-'
ter, and there could be no reasonable doubt that it had been put on by
order of Mr. Bridle. It was in vain to hope that Mr. Bridle could es
cape upon a plea that for medical treatment the surgeon was the re
sponsible party. If the surgeon lent himself to the purposes of the
gaoler, and aided him, under the mask of medical proceeding, to in
flict punishment upon a prisoner, it was not the culpable participation
of the surgeon that would shield the gaoler from the Consequen -es of
such a ^ross violation of law and of his duty. Now, the principal, evi
dence on the part of the defendant had been evidence to the general
excellence of his character ; and tbe witness which had been borne
by many of the. first gentlemen in. (he county placed that /act,, up. to the
occurrerice ofthe acts in question, certainly beyond all doubt. In an
other Court that evidence as to character would have its weigh'.; But.
in a Court which was to decide upon a question of fact, character
could only be thrown into the scale where tlie balance of evidence
was doubtful. Was the evidence doubtful in the case now before the
Court ? If the jury thought that there was any reasonable doubt, they
would give-the defendant the benefit of his very excellent character, ;
but if they saw clearly that he had committed the acts, or either of
them, laid to'his charge, then, however they might do it.with reluc
tance, they were bound to find him guilty. , . _,
The Jury, after deliberating a few minutes, found the defendant
Guilty npon the charge that referred to James Gardner only ;, and'
strongly recommended him to mercy in the Court above, on account, of
Iris former excellent character. '
Mr. Justice Richardson said that the recommendation should, cfer-:
tainly be carried to the proper quarter.
The trial lasted from nine o'clock iu the morning, until near eight in
the evening.

28
Read this, my friends, it requires no remark from me.
Then read the following letter which I received from Mr.
Cresswell, the worthy Vicar of Creech St. Michael.
"Creech St. Michael, August 17th, 1822.
"My dear Hunt,
" It was your earnest wish that 1 should be present to
hear the trial of Bridle, at Wells, on the prosecution of the
Crown ; I need hardly add, your wish in this instance was
(and asit always shall be) a law to me. I now therefore
transmit to you the impression made on my mind, and can
safely assert, if this has been asham-fight, a mock trial got up
to deceive the country, the end has been completely de
feated by the straight-forward conduct of Mr. Sergeant Pell,
the Advocate of the King — nay, let me pause a moment,
and designate him the Advocate of the Public also, upon
this occasion. This has been a proud day of triumph to
the people of England in general, to the people of Somer
set in particular ; I do not mean as far as regards a fallen
and an already punished individual — no, I mean a triumph,
inasmuch as it was a successful stand made at odds, and at
the greatest disadvantage, against the encroachments of
the rich and powerful on the natural rights and liberties,
nay, on the very lives of the unfortunate and unprotected ;
and safely may I use the term " unprotected," as the very
guardians deputed to watch over the few and scanty pri
vileges of these wretched outcasts, have been the men who
have most grossly neglected their solemn trust, and in the
face of the insulted public, have dared to come forward
with a view to screen from the arm of justice the man
whose cold-blooded atrocities, O, most wonderful fact !
have at length aroused and alarmed the dull and apathetic
ear of Government itself. Yes, 1 repeat it, it has been the
triumph of ' humanity,' over the specious, designing, su
percilious attempts of the seeming good and great. A

29
triumph, notwithstanding a jury prepossessed and ready,
(I will. not say for what) — a triumph, gained in spite of
the large and mighty efforts, made by a little, puny, nar.
row-minded — 1 shall be too severe if I designate him
truly, therefore I check myself, and only retort an assertion
of his own, an over-confident and assuming "actor" of a
part, his real feelings, if correct, could never have borne
him out in. Did Mr. Williams plead in reality the cause
of Bridle? or was it not rather the cause ofthe Somerset
shire Magistracy? Were not his ready and abundant tears
shed for the purpose of washing out the foul stain of their
delinquency ? Who could for a moment doubt it, who with
an impartial eye beheld the anxiety depicted on the
countenances of certain personages that day at Wells,
when this most memorable weeping trio* took place.
These are assumptions which cannot be denied ; I assert
them roundly. Let the Magistrates look to themselves
quickly then, they have been tried this time by proxy i
their 'over merciful,- their 'too good,' ' humane,' ser
vant has been proved guilty of the main part of the charg
es brought against him ; he hitherto has been the wretch
ed, luckless scape-goat, but whose turn comes next ? A
greater sacrifice to the offended laws will be demanded.
I will not, however, anticipate, yet such consequences
must follow directly or indirectly, as sure and certain as
the day will arrive (if God in his mercy spares your life)
that shall restore you, Sir, to your anxious friends and to
long-lost liberty. Somerset, and I hail with enthusiasm
the happy chance that cast me a native on her soil, that
cast you, Sir, though a prisoner, on her bosom — Somerset
was chosen as fhe ' arena,' the stage on which this most
important drama was to be 'acted ;' or rather, for 1 like
* Counsellor Wilde and Bridle accompanied Mr. Wjlliams in thi*
tender-hearted scene, shedding tears for sympathy's sake I

30
not the last term, it hath proved the spot on which the
mighty stake hath been fought for and boldly won. Shall
she not warm then, shall not the kindly spark of Liberty
kindle into a glorious universal blaze, when her honest,
unsophisticated sons shall learn truly to appreciate tlie
nature of the work already done ? Will they be con
tent to let 'the struggle' end with this? Shall other
envying counties now most anxiously looking on, waiting
for the event, have hereafter to reproach us with this sar
casm, 'you had the means, you had the opportunity, you
had the Man ; you have basely neglected all V No, this
can never happen ; by last Thursday's pleadings, Pell laid
a county at your feet ; and with this, I remain,
" My dear Hunt,
" Your sincere well wisher and friend,
"H. Cresswell.
" P. S. You shall hear from me again, that is, as soon as
I shall have seen the manner in which the public prints
treat this trial: any thing like a garbled statement shall be
fully exposed."
Only look at the gang of witnesses that gave evidence
to Bridle's character. Justices, pickpockets, strumpets,
swindlers, Sheriffs, bumbailiffs, and the very Under-She
riff who APPOINTED THE JURY. O, rare Broderip
and Co. ! I understand Squire Rodberd was foreman of
the Jury. Ha! ha!! ha!!! Squire Rodberd got him the
Situation in the gaol. Squire Rodberd was his former
patron, hisi friend and his protector. O, rare Mr. Maule !
never was a case so carelessly, so slovenly got up. Never
was a case left so bare, although witnesses might have
been called to have made it complete. And yet such a
Jury were obliged to say guilty, but they recommended
the wretch to mercy. May that mercy be shewn to him,
which he never shewed to any one who was in his power !

31
A more heartless, cold-blooded, inhuman, remorseless
, ruffian never disgraced the face of the earth. Yet a So
mersetshire Magistrate could swear, that he was such a
man, if there was a vacancy, that he would recommend
him for the situation of gaoler. We shall see, next Novem
ber, whether the Government intend to sanction secret tor
ture in the dungeons of gaols or not.
ILCHESTER ELECTORS.
In my last number I stated as a matter of notorious fact,
that every elector of Ilchester who voted for Sir Isaac
Coffin and Dr. Lushington received Thirty Pounds for
his vote. When I said this, I meant every elector who
chose to receive the money; of course I did not mean
that such a man as Mr. Shorland, the surgeon of Ilchester,
received that sum. I believe Mr. Shorland is far above a
bribe, nor do I believe for one moment that he was so in
cautious as to be in anyway concerned in bribery ; although
a wretch has been found to swear to the fact before the
Grand Jury ofthe county, at the Assizes, upon whose oath
a true bill has been found against Mr. Shorland, notwith
standing the Grand Jury at the last quarter sessions threw
out the said bill. It is as notorious as the sun at noonday,
that every one of Lord Darlington's voters, who voted for
his members at the two last elections for Ilchester, received,
if he chose it, Forty- five Pounds ; and every one who
voted the last time for Dr. Lushington and Sir Isaac Coffin
received Thirty Pounds, except Culliford the butcher,
whose horse-raddish was stopped back by some one, for
some cause or another, which caused the town to be in an
uproar for many days. This was as publicly talked of
and as publicly known in Ilchester, as that the sun on a
fine day in July shines at twelve o'clock. I believe that
every elector in the Borough of Ilchester, on both sides,
both Darlingtons and Manners' , are bribed and payed

32
for their votes, with the exception of Mr. Shorland, and
perhaps one or two others. Nothing on earth could
equal the conduct of the agents of Sir William Manners
to the people of Ilchester. To the spirited conduct of
Mr. Shorland are the people of Ilchester indebted, even
for a house to live in ; and instead of being indicted for
bribery, the child that is unborn in Ilchester will have to
bless Mr. Shorland for the little freedom that is left to its
share, which has been solely obtained by the laudable
exertions of Mr. Shorland to oppose the tyranny of Sir
William Manners, alias Lord Huntingtower. He has al
ways proved himself truly the poor man and poor woman's
friend, and I have no doubt in my own mind that be will
be acquitted of the infamous and unfounded charge that
has been laid against him; and I hope that those who may
perjure themselves by endeavouring to prove it, may be
transported for their pains.
I am, my excellent Friends,
Yours most sincerely,
H. HUNT.
P. S. It is necessary to inform my readers, that there
are two persons at Manchester very often and very impro
perly confounded and believed to be the same ; one of
them, Mr. John Johnston, the Radical tailor of Salford, is
an old veteran in the ranks of Liberty, and a staunch Re
former; he it was who was incarcerated three years in
Chester-Castle withBaguly and Drummond; he has never
flinched from his duty, nor offered to compromise with his
persecutors. The other, Joseph Johnson, keeps a Brush-
shop, in Shude-hill ; he was one ofvour mushroom Reform
ers who figured for a very short time upon the political
stage in 1818 and 1819. He was one of those who invited
me to Manchester to attend a public meeting; and when
I arrived there he had not the courage to appear upon the

33
hustings with me ; the second time I went to Manchester
he was one of those who did attend upon the hustings on
the 16th of August, and was sentenced to be imprisoned
in Lincoln-Castle for one year, from which place he has
been liberated about fifteen months: he was never heard
of amongst the Reformers before, and he has kept com
pletely aloof from them since ; it being Mr. John John
ston, of Salford, who has attended all the public meeting's
at the Union Rooms, &c. which we have read an account
of in the Manchester Observer ; and it was this gentleman
who was invited with Mr. Saxton, by the Radicals of Bir
mingham, to attend the liberation dinner of Mr. Wooler,
and not Joseph Johnson, the brush-maker. The latter
has lately published what he calls an Address to me,
which his patron Cobbett has advertised twice in his
Register, full of falsehoods and the most base misrepresen
tations. When this Johnson was confined in the New
Bailey at Manchester, after the 16th of August, tog-ether
with myself and nine others, he underwent several secret
examinations, unknown to any of us, before the Magis
trates ; and in order to screen himself, he offered to give up
the private letters that I had written to him previous to
the 16th. He wrote to his wife and gave the letter to the
Magistrates, desiring her to deliver all my letters to them.
When they applied for them, the answer was, that Mrs.
Johnson had given all those letters to his attorney, Mr.
Wood- Johnson then wrote to Mr. Wood, and ordered him
to give up my letters to the Magistrates ; but Mr. Wood
had more honour than his client, and positively refused to
do so, or all my private correspondence would have been
placed by the said brush-maker in the hands of the Man
chester Magistrates, while I was in their custody under a
charge of high treason. Johnson, upon reflection, was so
overwhelmed with his own baseness, that he attempted
to cut his throat in his cell. These facts were communi-
12 E

34
cated to me before 1 left Lancaster Assizes, which I cer
tainly did not give any credit to, nor should I ever have
believed it possible, if Johnson himself had not confessed
it to me, Sir Charles Wolseley, and Mr. Pearson. After he
had written these letters to his wife and his attorney, to
deliver up my private letters to the Magistrates, he felt so
much remorse, that he (his words were) " / took out my
razor several times with an intention to cut my own
throat, and my only reason for not doing it was, that I
thought the rasor was not sharp enough." I certainly
shall not disgrace myself by any further notice of the
falsehoods and calumny of such a man as this. For two
years after this transaction he had the sense to hold his
tongue, and never appeared amongst the Reformers, but he
has now become the tool and ag-ent of a more artful scoun
drel than himself, who, to gratify his own malice, has
caused this poor, degraded creature to drag himself once
more before the public.
Every man who wishes well to his country, every Radi
cal, every moderate Reformer, and every honest man
in the kingdom, ought to read a statement that was pub
lished in the Times newspaper of the 20th of this month,
August 1822. If this statement be true (and it is made
very explicitly), the public will easily account for all this
virulence against me. If you can possibly procure a sight
of it, read the Times of the 20th of August, my friends.
The Statesman newspaper is become the apologist of
Bridle, and the sycophantic adulator of the Scotch, for
" ihe good, kind, and noble reception they have given to
their King." Ha! ha!! ha!!! Speaking of the ex-gaol
er's trial at Wells, the Statesman says, "In the face of all
this evidence, il would be abominable indeed to affect to
believe that this was a cruel and ferocious man." This
requires no comment from me, it speaks for itself.

35

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
No. 3, South Street, Keighley, July 24, 1823.
My dear Sir, — Circumstances over which I have no
controul, forbids any possibility of my visiting you in your
Bastile: but neither circumstances nor length of time
will ever efface from my mind the rooted indignation that
1 feel towards the herd of persecutors which have pursued
you through every part of your public life ; nor can I
cease to admire and applaud the courage and resolution
which you have opposed to every step of their infamous
proceedings. At the outset, every venal print in the
kingdom was employed for the purpose of vilifying your
character, and impugning your motives ; when this failed
of its object, were not the blood of our citizens shed in
our streets, in order to stop the march of liberal opi
nions, and to get unlawful possession of your person?
whilst the afterpiece to this tragedy will for ever remain
a reproach to the actors, and a stain on the national cha
racter. It is quite fresh in my recollection, how the minions of
lawless power rejoiced when you were safely lodged in
prison ; they did not calculate on the deadly blows you
were prepared to deal out so unsparingly on the system of
corruption, whilst an inmate of a gloomy dungeon. Cow
ardly simpletons! they vainly imagined that they could
crush the spirit of Liberty and Reform by the incarceration
of Its champion ; but, so far from destroying it, they have
not even succeeded in impeding its progress, norhas it at all
damped the courage of its champion, who, although you
have been confined upwards of two years in the vilest
dungeon in the'land, surrounded with fiends in the form of
men, hired to torment you in every possible way that the
meanest malice could suggest — subjected as you haye been

36
to every privation and insult that could be heaped on an
individual — yet still, thanks to Divine Providence, you
have been hitherto protected from serious harm. To the
annoyance and mortification of your enemies, and the joy
of your friends, you are still alive and in health ; your
mighty spirit is unbroken, your soul is unconquered, and
your principles are unconquerable.
I do greatly rejoice at the near approach of the time of
your being liberated from prison ; it is an event that will
give joy to the nation. The midnight hour will resound
with the shouts of thousands of voices on the moment of
your liberation, The bonfires from every hill in Britain
will dispel the gloom of night, and blaze forth the triumph
of Liberty from one end of the kingdom to the other.
I cordially acquiesce in your proposed plan for the open
ing of a Radical Museum in-London. The Reformers have
long been stigmatised with the epithets "idle, ignorant,
stupid, and illiterate ;" but let the call of our champion
rouse the emulation of every Radical genius in the coun
try, in order to show to which part of the community these
epithets are really applicable, and let the world decide.
It is my intention to paint two landscapes purposely for
the Museum. I shall also, with the assistance of a friend,
prepare and send at the same time a square tablet, contain
ing the words" Hunt's Radical Museum," done in Roman ca
pitals, formed by different kinds of polished pebbles, incrus
tations and spar, which were collected on a late excursion to
the caves and mountains of Craven. This is intended as
a present lo you ; you are aware that it will not be as va
luable as the snuff-boxes which were squandered away in
Germany for the purpose of showing our national wealth
and prosperity, though at the same time the purchase-mo
ney was wrung from the wants of a starving population:
but it will have one peculiar merit attached to it, it will

37
bethe"gift of friendship;" and that, to a mind constituted
like yours, will be a sufficient guarantee for its reception.
In a list ofthe names of persons who have stood forward
as the advocates of Reform, inserted in an early number of
your interestingMemoirs,you have done me the honour to in
sert mine,and proposedinstitutinga new order of knighthood
Had I not at that time expected to visit you in person, I
should have replied by letter, that stars and garters have
been productive of great mischief to this country, and
therefore should not be introduced amongst us ; at the same
time assuring you, that I could wear my " blushing ho
nours " with a great deal more ease, receiving them from
the Captive of Ilchester, than of either the Waterloo-man,
or the Dandy of Sixty. In conclusion, it will not be impro
per to remark, that I am perfectly agreed with you as to
your principal object in forming the new order, which was
the union and co-operation of the Reformers ; for indeed
nothing effectual can be attempted without it ; and should
you be of opinion that a person of such retired habits and
humble abilities as myself, be at all worthy of your notice,
please to inscribe my name amongst the friends and admir
ers of the Captive of Ilchester, and I shall consider it the
highest honour you can confer on, my dear Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
Elijah Crabtree.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
The underwritten Reformers of Devizes and its vicinity,
together with their small subscriptions, present their un
feigned thanks to Henry Hunt, Esq. their late highly re
spected neighbour, for his manly exertions in the great
cause of Liberty and humanity. Without Liberty, Sir,
life would be a burthen, and we are fully of opinion that
our liberties can only be ensured by a radical Reform of
the Commons' House of Parliament. May all Reformers

38
unite their exertions and guard against disunion, which
would cause our enemies to triumph, and our righteous
cause to languish !
Your exertions in the cause of humanity deserve the
highest commendation of your country, and we, as part of
that country beg you to accept our sincere and ardent
thanks. £. s. d.
John Fowler  •  1 0 0
Jasper Cox  -  10 0
Charles Hook, jun.  1 0 0
A Friend  •  1 0 0
William Cozens  0 10 6
John Blackwell, jun.  •  0 10 6
Thomas Batt, many years servant to Mr. Hunt  0 6 0
James Batt, School-master, Haxon  0 6 0
A Friend to Suffering Humanity  ••>  0 10 6
An Enemy to Oppression  0 2 6
An Admirer of Mr. Hunt's political career  0 5 0
A Friend to Reform  0 10 6
Two Friends of Liberty  0 2 0
A Friend to Justice  0 5 0
A Loverof Fair-play  ...-0 1 0
A Radical Reformer  0 2 6
AFriend to H.Hunt, jEsq. and all Friends of Liberty- ¦ 0 2 0
J. C.  0 2 6
Thomas Dangerlield  0 2 6
A Friend to the brave Mr. Hunt  0 5 0
J. H.  0 2 6
Three Friends of Reform  0 15 0
Anonymous  ,0 2 6
R. S.  0 5 0
An Inhabitant of Lord Sidmoulh's Borough  0 5 0
J. G.  -.  0 2 0
T. Tag  0 2 6
A Friend to Liberty's Champion  0 5 0
A Mite to the Patriot  0 10 6
W. W  0 2 6
William Winkworth  026
Y  0 2 6
A Foe to Oppression  ....050
W. W  0 2 6 ,
Duplex  050
No Oppression  :... 050
Two Friends of Liberty  020
I myself I  ..026
William Cleave  050
A Well-wisher to Mr. Hunt  0 2 0
12 8 0

T. Dolby, Printer, Britannia Press, 399, Strand, London.

The MEMOIRS of HENRY HUNT, Esq., are sold in
the following places by the Booksellers or Agents whose
name is given with each place respectively.

Andover (Hants) — King.
Bath — Everton's Newspaper-Of
fice, near St. James's Church.
Birmingham — ¦ C. Tibbetts, 68,
Dale End, and C . Cooper, Union-
street.
Bolton — J. Heyes.
Boston — Jackson,
Brighton — Turness, 6, Meeting
house-lane.
Bristol — J. Cossens, 4, Castle-
street.
Bury St. Edmund's — J.Birchinall.
Coventry — B. Barton, Wells-str.
Dundee — Alexander Brookes.
Exeter — J. Bedley, jun., News-
Office.
Glasgow — W. Brock, 154, Tron-
gate.
Great Yarmouth — J. Boldry, Row
30.
Hull — Mr. J. Jackson.
Ilchester — Mr. White.
Ipswich — S. H. Cowell.
Langport — Denham.
Leeds — J. Mann, 68, Briggate.
Leicester — T. Thompson, Chronicle
Office.
Lewes — Veness.
Liverpool — T. Smith, Paradise-str.
Maidstone — Dawson, Stone-streel

Milborn Port — Pope.
Manchester. — J. Wroe, 49, Great
Ancoats-street ; S. Reddish.
Monmouthshire — S. Etheredge,
Printer, Newport.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne — J. Mar
shall.
Norfolk — J. Dinmore, Lynn.
Nor»i-icA — G. Wright, Back of
Inns ; J. Watling, Bethlem-str.,
St. Peter's.
Nottingham  M. Colclough,
Duke's-place, Barker Gate.
Oxford — Mr. Gulliver, Banbury.
Petersfield — John Pince.
Portsea — G. Broughton,23, Queen-
street.
Reading — R. Snare, Printer.
Rochester — J. Berry.
Salisbury — Mr.Barling, Fisherton.
Sheffield — E. Goddard, No. 10,
Broad-lane.
Southampton — J. Sims.
Stamford — J. Drakard.
Stokesley — Armstrong.
Sunderland — W. Chalk, High-str.
Surrey — J. Fisher, Mitcham.
Sussex — Wm. Metcalf, Battle.
Taunton— Webb.
Yarmouth — Alexander.
York — Emmerson .

Some of the above Agents receive their parcels direct from Mr.
Cobbett.; and, in giving their orders to Mr. Cobbett, they are requested
to be very particular in desiring to have the MEMOIRS inclosed. I
have the pleasure of living very near Mr. Cobbett, who employs peo
ple, the same as I do, to fetch and carry. I am ready, at all times, to
supply Mr. Cobbett with any Number without a moment's delay, and
upon Mr. Cobbett's own terms, viz. — the same terms which Mr. Cob
bett himself charges to me and to all others in the trade for his books.
I hope this explanation will remove all impediments ; if, however, it
should not, this conclusion will be inevitable, namely — that Mr. C. is
determined to contravene the great maxim of all morality and all
teligion, and refuse to do by others that which he compels others to
do by him! THOMAS DOLBY.
299, Strand, June 29, 1822.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
M4LE ano FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 2-lth day, 1st month, 4th year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
September 9, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Country men,
and Countrywomen,
In my last address I had no room to make any comments
upon the Trial of Bridle, or the Verdict of the Jury ; and
very little would be required for me to say upon this sub
ject. As the poor devil is found guilty, I should be quite
content to leave him to be dealt with by ihe same four
worthy and tender-hearted Judges who sentenced me to
be imprisoned in this Bastile for two years and six months ;
a Yorkshire packed Jury having found me guilty upon
half a count, and not even that, till they had been locked
up five hours. If, under these circumstances, I was sen
tenced by the Judges of the Court of King's Bench to
such a length of imprisonment, in such a place as this,
what will, or at least what ought to be their sentence
upon the Ex-Gaoler Bridle ?
The New Times, the John Bull, the Erc -Gaoler's, alias
the Bath and Cheltenham Gazelle; the Lying Post, alias
the Sherborne Mercury; the Statesman, and such like
newspapers, have been making some great efforts to save
the Gaoler Bridle from the punishment that awaits him ;
and they have laboured hard in their vocation to make it
13 A

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

appear that Bridle is a humane man, notwithstanding all
that was proved before the Commissioners appointed to
inquire into the conduct of the said Gaoler upon the spot.
Those three Commissioners were appointed by the Crown,
tbat is, selected by the Ministers to come to Ilchester, to
inquire upon the spot into the nature and truth of the
charges that I had preferred against Bridle the Gaoler,
and the management of the Gaol. Those three Gentle
men, although in themselves very honourable men, yet it
is evident they were known to have a strong bias in
favour of all the measures of the Government, and might
be fairly said to be, and have long been, staunch sup
porters of the present system. Bridle was a zealous
agent, one of the minor props, and a willing engine of
that system. It was very evident that they came to
Ilchester without having imbibed any prejudice in my
favour, and, as was their duty, with a determination not
to find the said Gaoler guilty of the charges preferred
against him, without the clearest and most satisfactory
proof of his guilt. These Commissioners sat from the
25th of May to the 30th of June inclusive, five weeks,
without any intermission, nine hours each day. They
examined every officer about the Gaol; they examined all
the prisoners who had any thing to state ; they even paid
Bridle's witnesses' expenses, who came from a distance of
150 miles. Bridle's defence began on the 15th of June,
and continued till the 30th of June inclusive; during this
time sixty witnesses were called and examined on his
behalf. The Commissioners, whenever there was any
doubt about the truth of the statement of any witness,
relative to the dampness of any cell, or unwholesomeness
of any part of the Gaol, immediately repaired to the
spot in question, to satisfy themselves with their own
eyes. They saw the cell in which Mary Cuer and her

infant were confined in the depth of winter, and they
compared her statement with the effect of their own ob
servation, as to the place of her confinement. Treganza
was examined, and all the officers of the Gaol, but no
one dared, or attempted to contradict one word of Mary
Cuer's testimony ; and those who have since appeared at
Wells, to contradict some part of her testimony, were
very prudently mute before the Commissioners at Ilches
ter ; for if they had sworn the same here as they did at
the assizes, they knew that I had the means of convicting
them of falsehood out of their own mouths. Gardner
was examined in the very straight waistcoat that he had
on when he was tortured with the blister, and this in the
presence of Pike, the very fellow who had tortured him.
Pike and Davis, the two turnkeys who attended him,
both confirmed his statement as to the blister. The Com
missioners examined him with the straight waistcoat on,
and they examined the cell in which he had been tortured :
in fact, they spared no pains to come at the truth, and
they reported him guilty, after due deliberation, not only
upon those charges, but upon others, more atrocious and
cruel, if possible, than even these. But it was necessary,
in order to punish this remorseless ruffian, that he should
go before a Jury of his countrymen: till they had found
him guilty, he could not be legally either fined, or impri
soned for these misdemeanours: for inflicting torture in
England, although it is illegal, yet it is only a misde
meanour. Well, he has been found guilty by a Jury who
were appointed by the very Under-Sheriff who had the
hardihood to give him a character for humanity in the
Court at Wells. These same men gave him the same
character before the Commissioners at Ilchester ; but they
were not believed, and the Commissioners reported ac
cordingly. The cry of the corrupt editors of the above-
named newspapers is, that Bridle is not such a cruel mon-

ster as he has been represented to be. What such men
as Smith, the editor of Bridle's Bath Gazette, may say, is
of little consequence. He, the said Smith, was, and has
been for many years, one of Bridle's pot-companions, not
only in the Gaol, but at the Sessions and Assizes, where
they were equally notorious for their gambling and pro
fligate conduct. To this Smith I am willing to give credit'
at least, for sticking to his friend to the very last. It was
expected by Bridle's cronies at Wells, that so favourable
a Jury, with Mr. Rodberd as their foreman, would have
acquitted him through thick and thin ; and they had
actually got a car decorated with ribands, &c. with the
intention of having him carried to his lodgings in triumph,
as soon as the words not guilty had been pronounced ;
and while this feeling lasted, Bridle was surrounded hy a
number of the said cronies ; but, as soon as the Jury had,
although reluctantly, found him guilty, all his friends
deserted him but Smith, the editor of the Bath and Chel
tenham Gazelle, and he was the only person who would
accompany him out of Court. I am willing to give Smith
his full share of credit for this conduct towards his fallen,
deserted friend. Smith, it is said, has received some sub
stantial marks of Bridle's friendship, which possibly he is
^lot prepared to repay in any other way than by his per
sonal exertions in his favour during his trial ; and, under
such circumstances, it is very excusable in Smith to endea
vour, by all that lays in his power, to save him, if pos
sible, from punishment. But " we shall see \"
What excuse can be made for the Editor of the States
man, who professes to be a friend of Liberty and huma
nity? What can his praises of Bridle be intended to
accomplish? He roundly asserts, that " in the face of all
this evidence, it would be abominable indeed to affect to
believe that this was a cruel and ferocious man:" and Mr.
Cobbett asserts this in the face of the Report of the Magis-

trates, in the face of the Report of the Commissioners,
and in the face of the evidence which was taken 'before
the said Commissioners; and which evidence has been
printed, by order of the House of Commons, as well as
the House of Lords: which evidence was also published
by Mr. Dolby, 299, Strand, London, where some few
copies may yet be had.
Now let us see how far Mr. Cobbett's assertion is borne
out, that Bridle was not a cruel and ferocious man. We
will take the evidence of John Chapman, who was four
years the principal turnkey of the Gaol, and who is now
a respectable farmer in the neighbourhood — (See p. 45) :
" John Chapman called up again, and resworn.
" Mr. Hunt. — Were you formerly an officer in this prison? — Yes, I
was a turnkey, and left the situation at Christmas, 1810: I was turn
key four years, two years before Bridle came and two years afterwards.
While you was in the gaol were the debtors in the same situation as
now? — There were two wards onthe right hand as you come in, the
upper and lower debtors' wards. At that time, and in the two first
years after you came, were the bed-rooms locked up at night ? — The
bed-room doors were not locked, and the prisoners could go from one
room to the other ; but the two general doors were locked, and they
could not get into the yard by night : there was nothing to prevent
them from coming into the kitchen by night, and no other lock was
upon them by day except the outside doors. During the first two
years, were there any debtors escaped, or attempted to do so? — No.
During tbat time the debtors' wives could, after they were first let
into the gaol, have access to their husbands privately? — Yes, and
during this time could have a pint of beer for breakfast or dinner and
supper, and the other prisoners a pint of beer, if they could pay for
it. When the debtors saw their wives and children, the latter were
allowed to drink beer with the prisoners in the ward ? — Yes, they
were allowed to do so ; at that time they were supplied with milk
nights and mornings. How soon after Bridle came was there an alter
ation made about the debtors seeing their wives? — Very soon after.
While you were here, were there any interior high walls in the gaols ?
— There were not ; but the outside walls were begun to be risen before
Mr. Bridle came : there was only one ward for both sorts of debtors :
some of the interior walls began to be erected before Mr. Bridle came:
the lodge was began soon after I came : when I first came you could
go quite round the gaol without interruption. Did you ever know a
bad fever in the gaol before the interior walls were built? — No. Was
it ever the practice, whilst you was here, for the Governor, Bridle,
to put the prisoners in irons and beat them? — Yes, by Bridlr, buti
never saw any person beaten by the former Governor. Have you ever
seen him yourself beat any prisoner with a large stick ? — Yes, I have ;
one who was so punished was beaten to that degree, that he was obliged
to be placed under the doctor's care. Have you ever seen a prisoner
in handcuffs for fight days, and double irons, beaten by the Governor
himself, with a whip, so as lo occasion the blood to flow ? — Yes, I have :

the first prisoner's name was Pain, he was sent to the river, on a Sun
day, out of the gaol, for water, to water the Governor's flowers in
the front court ; whilst he was out he tried to make his escape : I don't
know who employed the prisoner to fetch this water ; I was the turn
key at the lodge ; and the other turnkey saw him out of the outside
door and went with him. Were prisoners in the habit of being em
ployed on Sundays for such things as this?— Yes, they were, as much
as other days. Was this prisoner caught and brought back again ? —
He was ; and when he was brought back, Bridle came to the lodge, and
with a stick he beat the prisoner ; he beat him with one hand, and held
him with the other. I said. Oh ! don't you, don't you, Mr. Bridle, beat
the man so ; you will kill hira To which he replied, damn him ! Ihave
not half beat him. And after I had so interposed, and begged him not
to beat him, he continued beating him for some lime. The man was
then sent into the boys' ward, at the back of the time-yard. He had
a chain and a log of wood affixed to his leg. In consequence of this
he was so ill that Mr. Bryar, the surgeon, was obliged to attend him.
What was his complaint? — I went in three or four days afterwards,
and saw he had voided blood by his stools. Do you recollect the name
of the other prisoner who was so beaten with the horsewhip ? — I don't
recollect his name : he was in solitary confinement, in irons and hand
cuffs, and was taken therefrom and led down to Bridle, who, with a
large heavy horsewhip, beat him over the face and eyes and other
parts, until the blood ran down on the stones : I saw it myself. The
first man attempted to escape and the other was taken from solitary
confinement, to be placed in the refractory ward, and was beaten on
his way thither. Was Mr. Bridle in the habit of cursing and swear
ing at the prisoners and his officers ? — Yes, he was always in the
habit of doing so, especially when he was not pleased.. Was the
county washing done in the gaol? — Yes. Did you ever know of any
person's clothes being washed in the gaol, besides the officers' clothes
and the prisoners? — Yes, Mr. Webber's clothes. Who is Mr. Web
ber ? — Mr. Bridle's father-in-law, who occupied the principal farm
near the town : I have seen the people bring in the clothes and I have
seen them come for them again. Have you known prisoners do any
work in the house as servants? — Ihave known time-men and women
in the house as servants. Have you known a carpenter, and a debtor
named Powell, I think, working, and making any thing for Mr. Bri
dle's private use, on a Sunday? — Yes, Ihave; 1 think his name was
Powell, and he came from Bridgewater. What was he making of?—
A cot, or a bed to sleep in. Was it made out of the county timber ? —
Yes, it was made out of county oak ; and he was at work during the
whole of the chapel hours; I heard him hammering myself: the rest
of the debtors, at this time, were locked up in the kitchen. Then all
those debtors who do not choose to go to chapel or work for Mr. Bri
dle, were locked up during chapel hours? — Yes, they were ; the man
at work was down in the carpenters' shop ; I can't tell whether he was
locked up. You were the turnkey at that time ? — I was ; I could dis
tinctly see him at work. Did Mr. Bridle keep late hours ? — Yes, ge
nerally ; either out of the gaol in the town, or in his own house in the
gaol. I have known Mr. Bridle, the Governor, playing at cards and
gambling with the prisoners until late in the morning: a debtor of the
name of Morris, of Lyng, was a debtor who I have seen him play
cards with. Sometimes I have been kept up till day-light to let Bri
dle in and his visitors out of the gaol. Have you seen the Governor,
Bridle, drunk? — Yes, I have seen Mr. Bridle, with others, very
drunk, and, at one time, by day -light in the morning : I have seen

the m intoxicated, having been sitting up all night carousing, throwing
beer at each other in the front court. On those occasions, I was always
kept up until all the visitors were out, and all others belongiSg to the
gaol in. Did any other officer see the beating of either of the pri
soners ? — Yes, Philip Avery, a fellow turnkey, was present when the
first beating took place."
This is the evidence of a late turnkey, who is now as
reputable a man as any in the county. I will give one
more specimen of Bridle's humanity, for which Mr-
Cobbett is so ready to vouch, the evidence of John Wheel
er, who was sentenced to two years' imprisonment to hard
labour by Sir John Acland, for stealing a pair of stockings,
value one shilling and sixpence, when he was eleven years
of age only. (See page 25, of Dolby's edition of the
Evidence.) "John Wheeler, swor.
" Court. — You are a prisoner in this gaol? — Yes. How long have
you been so ? — Twenty-two months, or rather more.
"Mr. Hunt. — Whatwereyou committed for? — For stealing a pair of
stockings. Your sentence ? — Two years' imprisonment. What sort of
stockings ?— Cotton stockings. What has been your occupation here 1
Sentenced,, to hard labour, weaving at the broad-loom ; I can now
weave as well as any man. Did you learn in the gaol ? — No, I was
apprenticed to the trade before I came. Do you recollect when the
gaol was flooded? — Yes, I was walking then in the back yard with my
stockings and shoes off, going into the boys' yard. I saw some onions
floating about in the water ; I picked up about a quarter of a peck, and
I carried them into the ward ; Harper the constable came in, saw the
onions, and went and told Bridle I had stolen them ; there was a boy
with me, George Priddy ; on being reported, we were both locked up
eight days ; I was taken before no magistrate ; the water was quite up
to iny knees the winter before last: before I was locked up, I was
taken before Bridle, and about three or four days afterwards I was
had before him again, who informed me, that the other lad (Priddy),
should have told all about it, and that I had better tell too : I said, that
I had picked the onions up, as they were floating about the yard, and
without hearing me further, he ordered Pike to lock me up again : I
was confined eight days, during which time Bridle never came near me
at all. When was the next time you were punished ? — I was locked up
a, fortnight. What was that for ? — A boy struck me and I struck him
again ; this time I was taken before the Magistrates, and they ordered
nie to be locked up a fortnight, but the other boy was forgiven ; I am
certain the other boy struck me first ; I was kept up a fortnight upon
nothing else than bread and water. When were you next punished ? —
There was a man whose name was Ingram, in the ward, who had his
saucepan broken ; I told him I thought I knew who did it ; Ingram ap
plied ta Pike, and he came in and asked me ; I, in reply, told him
/ did not know who it was, that I only said it out of fun ; Ingram
said I ought to be flogged with a cat-o'-nine-tails : in answer, I told
him, that he, nor no one else, could do that without the Magistrates'
order : Pike took me directly into Bridle's, and told him I was saucy
to him ; Bridle gave orders that I should be locked up ; I was locked

8.
up in a dark cell with my hands handcuffed behind me. 1 was kept ia
this situation twelve days and nights successively ; the cuffs cut ray
wrists and made them raw ; the flesh was swollen over the handcuffs ;
my fellow prisoners, Southward, Mathews, and others, saw me; after
t had been up two days, I was brought down before the Magistrate :
in the presence of Bridie, the Magistrate had me in, and asked me
how long I had to stay? I said nine months ; he replied that I ought to be
locked up nll.the time I had to stay here. For what reason? — I don't know,
only he said I did not look sorry for it ; Bridle did not ask pardon for me,
but told the Magistrate that I was brought before him every time he
came ; it was not before this the Magistrate said I ought to be locked
up ; none of them who accused me came before the Magistrates ; but I
was ordered back, and I was kept in the cell ten days, with my hands
cuffed behind me ; after I saw the Magistrate, the cuffs were taken off.
Explain to the Commissioneis the punishment you suffered. — The
morning the handcuffs were taken off I could not lift my hands to my
head ; nor at the end of twelve days I could not raise my hands to my
work, the pain caught me so violenly in the shoulders ; I showed my
fellow prisoners my wrists ; they endeavoured to lift my hands to my
head, but I could not bear it, and to this moment I still feel the effects
of it at my work : when I push the loom forward the pain catches me in
my shoulders ; I have frequently told my fellow prisoners so : during
the fourteen days I was in the dark cell, Mr. Bridle never came once to
visit me. Have you ever been placed in the stocks? — Yes, as I was
walking down the passage, a boy tripped my heels up, and Mr. Hobbs
or Davis said I had been fighting ; Mr. Hobbs ordered me to be put in
to the stocks; I was kept in them about a week by day; that was, from
eight o'clock till one, when I was let out to dinner ; put in again at
two, and remained till six ; I could not sit down to restNnyself the
whole time. Did Bridle ever come to the factory while you were in
the stocks ? — No, Sir.
" [Here the stocks were introduced, and the witness put in them.]
"Witness continued. — Bridle did not come to the factory above once a
month, sometimes only once in two months ; he came oftener when I
first came, but he seldom comes now ; for the last twelve months not
very often ; he scarcely ever visited the ward, unless he was sent for-.
llow did you contrive to sleep by night with your hands handcuffed be
hind your back? — I lay on my side; I was never but once had up
before the Magistrate : I was in the same ward with Kew that was
hung the other day. When did this punishment take place ? — I think it
was in last September."
Sir John Acland, who sentenced this poor boy, also
swore before the Commissioners that he, as chairman of
the quarter-sessions, transported a man once for stealing
a bundle of straw, value fourtoen-pence. This Sir John
Acland was one of Bridle's principal witnesses to charac
ter for HUMANITY. A rare witness. This testimony of
Wheeler's, as to the fact of his having being handcuffed
behind for twelve days, was confirmed by Pike and the
other officers of the gaol. I could produce the evidence of
Hillier, Parmenas Mathews, John Trayt, Samuel Hobbs.

and scores of others to prove by demonstrations of facts
not by matters of opinion, that Bridle was a most cruet
and ferocious man. But I have given asufficient specimen, •
although I have received a hundred other proofs since the
investigation was ended and the gaoler discharged ; and
particularly now, since he has been found guilty, acts
of greater atrocity and more fatal in their results have
come to my knowledge ; and if we ever get a committee
of the House of Commons to inquire into the conduct of
the Magistrates, (which, if there be any justice remain
ing in the country, we certainly shall) these things will
come out. However, Bridle is found guilty, and is to be
brought up for judgment in Michaelmas Term, which
commences on my birth-day, the sixth of November.
We shall see. He has been found guilty of torture, and
whether the Judges will fix upon him the whole or only
part of the punishment due to this heinous crime, remains
to be seen. If they think any part of this belongs to the
Magistrates,** the Visiting Magistrates, of course they
ought to take their share ; and if the Judges choose to lay
it upon the shoulders of the said Magistrates, instead of
Bridle's, with all my heart ; bad as he is, I think some of
the Magistrates are worse. And when Alderman Wood
brings on his motion to take the Report of the Commis
sioners into consideration, as to the conduct ofthe Magis
trates, we shall see what answer those Magistrates made -
to the demand ofthe Government, sent through the Lord-
Lieutenant of the county, requiring them to account for
their conduct. We shall, I hope, then have no more
shuffling, by saying that the answer of the said Magistrates
would prejudice Bridle at his trial : that part of his trial
is passed, and whatever we may say now cannot prejudice
his jury, and of course the four immaculals Judges of the
Court of King's Bench are far above thereaeh of pflejudioe.
13 b

10
But we shall see by their sentence whether these venera
ble men will sanction the infliction of secret torture in our
gaols or not; perhaps they will think differently from
Sir John Acland, and Squires Poole and Newman; at any
rate the Judges are not at present implicated with Bridle.
The eyes of all England will be fixed steadily upon these
Judges when Bridle is brought up for judgment ; then we
shall see whether the Government is disposed to lay the
blame upon Bridle or the Magistrates ; for a light sentence
upon Bridle would be a severe and heavy denunciation
upon the heads of the said Magistrates.
I have received letters from Bolton, Manchester, and
Leeds, from gentlemen of the most undoubted veracity,
authorising me to use their names to disprove the atro
cious, barefaced falsehoods published by Joseph Johnson.
I am very much obliged to those gentlemen, but I have
" other fish to fry " than that of noticing the falsehoods
and malignant calumnies, and the vulgar ribaldry contain
ed in the Squire Brushmaker's attack, his own townsfolk
have given quite a sufficient answer to his falsehoods.
The Female Reformers of Manchester had issued a pla
card to call a public meeting at the Union Rooms, George
Leigh Street, Manchester, to promote a subscription to
purchase a piece of plate to be presented to me on my
liberation. Poor envious Johnson issued a placard in
hopes of frustrating this act of kindness on the part ofthe
Female Reformers, and with a view to advertise his recent
attack upon me. The meetingwas nevertheless held, and
as soon as the parties had assembled, the previous produc
tion of Squire Bristle was read, when the following resolu-
lutions were unanimously passed by Mr. Johnson's own
neighbours, who have watched his motions very narrowly
ever since he first thrust himself forward as a Reformer,
who know the man well, and who are very capable

11
of appreciating his motives. But read the following reso
lutions ofthe neighbours and townsmen ofthe Squire, and
then say, my friends, whether it would not be worse than
useless for me to spend my time in noticing any thing that
the Squire says : " Manchester, 26th August, 1822.
" Resolved Unanimously, That the author of the hand
bill or placard just read, is a mean, pitiful paltroon, a das
tardly liar and slanderer ; and that whether he be the once
warm friend and eulogist of Mr. Hunt, or his open and
libellous enemy, he equally merits the contempt, detest
ation, and abhorrence of every part of mankind.
" That the manly, intrepid, and patriotic conduct of
Henry Hunt, Esq. before and after the murderous 16th
of August, 1819,cannot be too highly appreciated ; and that
he is worthy of every token of esteem and attachment,
which the heart of a mother, a wife, or a sister, can pos
sibly bestow.
" That the Female Radical Reformers particularly ap
plaud the undaunted perseverance by which Mr. Hunt ac
complished the discharge of the infamous Bridle, the late
Governor of Ilchester Bastile ; which soothed the condi
tion of many oppressed victims to its sanguinary discipline ;
and forced the discharge of others from its pestilential
walls ; and through whose exertions also, the country has
determined to raze the polluted fabric to the ground ; and
finally to bring the culprit to the bar of justice; and thus
having established the truth of the allegations which had
been heaped upon the wretch by the recent verdict of an
English Jury.
" That as the period of Mr. Hunt's imprisonment is
about to expire, the Female Reformers of Manchester and
its vicinity find themselves called upon, by duty and incli
nation, to present to the illustrious Captive a more lasting
memorial of their attachment than a mere address of
thanks ; and that therefore an immediate subscription be
entered into, for the purpose of enabling them to offer to
his acceptance, at the time of his liberation, a Piece of
Plate somewhat commensurate to his worth.
" That in order to carry the above resolutions into effect,
the following Females be elected as a Committee for super
intending its due execution : Mrs. Aspinal, Mrs. Oddy, Miss
Mary Evans, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Saxton.
and Mrs. Fildes.

12
" That two of the Committee be requested to wait per
sonally upon the friends of Reform in the respective dis
tricts, and solicit their aid in furthering the object for
which the present meeting was convened
" That the Committee above nominated be fully empow
ered to contract for and purchase such article of plate ag
they may conceive will most gratify the wishes of the dis
tinguished Patriot ; to inscribe it with a suitable inscrip
tion ; and to present it in a way and manner which may
appear to them eligible.
"That the Committee be instructed to invite over Mr.
Mason, of Leeds, at his most early convenience, to give
a Lecture at the Union Rooms, George Leigh Street, for
the benefit of the fund."
This is the opinion which Johnson's neighbours enter
tain of hira, and which opinion they have deliberately and
unanimously agreed to at a public meeting. His backers are
Cobbett, Carlile, Dr. Slop of the New Times, the editors
ef John Bull, and the Sherborne Lying Mercury. Cobbett
has put forth the following precious contemptible mass of
ribaldry in the Statesman of the 2d of September: —
TO " SAINT HENRY OF ILCHESTER,"
Munchausen long has borne the prize
From all the Quacking 'Squires;
But, what are all his heaps of lies
To thine, thou prince of liars !
How t'would have made the German stare
To see thy wires and pegs !
How blush, to see thy loving mare
" Trot on with broken legs!"
The thund'ring lie 'bout " Bank and Note,"
Which you so glibly utter,
Stuck fast had, in Munchausen's throat,
And made him keck and stutter.
" The Poor-man's friend, thou, sure, must be,
If ever there were any,
Since only twelve pence he gives thee
For what costs thee a penny.

13
This is the root of " Union's tree"
(Thou louder sweai^st and louder) ;
" All to Reform must traitors be
" That will not buy my powder."
One thing more (a saint-like thought)
To make " Reform" the truer ;
Into the ranks is Gardner brought
With virtuous Mary Cuer.
It is not who is good or wise,
But who in thee believes;
And such, we see without surprise,"
Are Fools or Drabs or Thieves.
The " operation" on thine eye,
Great Saint, we've all a heart in,
Oh ! could'st thou hear us, how we sigh,
" My eye and Betty Martin !"
One thing t'were cruel to refuse
(To name that thing were idle) :
A thing 'bout horses much in use,
And stouter than a Bridle.
Of " Statesmen" thou hast " never seen,"
From first to last, " but three,"
To sweeten, then, thy rancid spleen,
Take now afourth from me.
A friend who has long been a keen observer ofthe tricks
of " I myself I", has sent me the following song, which he
says he at first intended as an answer to the lines in the
Statesman ; but, says he, those lines are such senseless
ribaldry that no " answer" could be given to them. Every
ballad singer knows the tune of " I've kiss'd and I've
prattled with fifty fair maids, and changed them as oft
d'ye see." -

14
COBBETT AND HIS MAN BRISTLE ;
OH,
" BUYING A BRUSH."
Tune—" I've kiss'd and I've prattled with fifty fair Maids."
When a trickster is foil'd, and hemm'd round ev'ry way,
And his projects no further can push,
His only resource, in the slang- of the daj',
Is said to be  " Buying a Brush."
When the spruce Serjeant-Major so earnestly strove,
With his lies his commanders to crush ;
A Court-Martial called on him his charges to prove,
And he prov'd them, by  " Buying a Brush."
The Serjeant turn'd Author with ink and gall mix'd,
And he pounc'd on the famed Doctor Rush ;
A Jury of Yankees the damages fix'd,
And he paid them, by  " Buying a Brush."
His writings on flogging the Soldiers were good,
But when matters came to the push,
He flounder'd about, and he would, if he could,
Have answer'd, by  " Buying a Brush."
He offer'd submission in meekness and tears,
The fierce legal beagles to hush ;
But they clapp'd him in Newgate a couple of years,
To keep him from  " Buying a Brush."
His libels on Wright, he, at first, JUSTIFIED,
But, Radicals ! hear it and blush ;
At the Trial his OWN WORDS and PLEA he DENIED,
Which was, legally,  " Buying a Brush."
When the Six Acts were pass'd by the Castlereagh crew,
Reform and Reformers to crush,
He " pack'd up his all" and t'America flew,
In the manner called  " Buying a Brush,"

15
How he came by the " needful" to take such a flight —
No matter — but — he was quite flush;
He snatch'd (in a moment of fraud and of fright).
And kept it, by  " Buying a Brush."
These little sly goes would sound sweetly in rhyme,
But, wouldn't the Cobbettites blush?
Besides, we can let the whole out at some time.
When singing of  " Buying a Brush."
'•' Saint Henry," indeed! why, thou old "tricky blade,"
'Tis enough to make Englishmen blush,
To find Thee sarcastic, a trickster by trade,
And a bolter, by  " Buying a Brush."
When grim danger threaten'd, did HUNT ever bend,
Or peep at his foes through a bush ;
Did he e'er fear a tyrant, bamboozle a friend,
Or quit them, by  " Buying a Brush."
Go, Cobbett! and take with thee Bristle thy friend.
Nor advice from thee scornfully push ;
Turn honest; or, keep Bristle Johnston at work,
To save thee from  " Buying a Brush."
A friend writes to remind me of the following lines of
Hudibras : —
" When there's no honour to be gained,
'Tis thrown away in being maintained,
'Tis ill for you, you have to do
With so dishonourable a foe ;
But since the paltroons that fling dirt
Defile themselves, but cannot hurt,
So all the honour they have won
Or you have lost, is much as one."
And my friend adds, " really the opinion of the world
has already so completely disposed of all that Cobbett has
said, or can say, respecting the character of any one, that
it has left you nothing to effect with respect to him ; and

1C
as to Johnson, his own vanity and folly will be the best
corrective, if you do not raise him into momentary noto
riety, by kicking him." I am so convinced of the truth of
this, that I would dismiss the subject at once, if it were not
from a desire to oblige the entreaty of a particular friend
at Bolton, to clear up the charge that Johnson has made
against me, of having received 10Z. subscription at York
through his hands, which he says I have never accounted
for, and which the fellow has the unblushing effrontery to
place on the debtors side of an account which he has
trumped up against me, as a set-off against some money
that I lent him at York, with the promise, in the presence
and hearing of Mr. Chapman, that he would repay me as
soon as he came to London. His item is — " Paid to you at
Leeds ten pounds, sent by Mr. Baron, towards defraying
the expenses of the trial, \0l." Read the following letter,
my friends, from Mr. Cross, a perfect stranger to me, then
imagine to yourselves to what a pitch of infamy this poor
brushmaker must have been driven, before he could have
screwed himself up to the pitch, of making me debtor to
him for this ten pounds.
TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ. ILCHESTER.
" Bolton, September 2, 1822.
" Dear Sir, — Seeing a letter published, signed Joseph
Johnson, charging you with cowardice, lying, and decep
tion, among other things he mentions a ten pounds he re
ceived at Leeds, in a letter, and gave it to you, and which
he says you have not accounted for. As I was the bearer
of that letter, I think it my duty to state to you the
facts of the case. On the Monday previous to the trial
at York, in March, 1820, being at Bolton, Peter Baron,
Esq. of Cockey Moor, knowing I was going to York the
day following, said he had some money to send to you,
which he requested I would take and give it into your
own hands. He said a few of his neighbours and him
self had made a small coUection for your own separate
use, fearing (as you had been from home so long) you
might be unprepared ; and this money, said he, is to bear
his own private expenses at York. The money is not yet

17
collected, therefore cannot say exactly the amount but it
will be about ten pounds. Accordingly as I was goino- on
the coach through Cockey Moor, the day following P.
Baron, Esq. gave me up a letter, directed Henry Hunt,
Esq. saying, do wit,h that as I told you yesterday. When
I got to Leeds that evening, to the inn where I understood
Mr. Hunt was, and inquired of a girl in the bar for you,
she shewed me up stairs ; in going up I met a man on the
landing; he asked my business; I told him I wished to
see Mr. Hunt. He said you cannot see him. I remonstrat
ed with him, when he said, he will see nobody to-night;
he is poorly, and just got in to bed ; therefore you cannot
possiblysee him to-night. I told him I was the bearer of
a letter addressed to him, and my orders were, to give it
into his own hands, and no other; when he said again,
you cannot see him, but if you will give me the letter, I
will take it- to him. I asked his name ; he answered Joseph
Johnson, of Manchester. I then gave him the letter, and
waited on the stairs for an answer, and in a few minutes
he came back and said he had given it Mr. Hunt, and it
was right. I applied to you, at your lodgings at York,
and you gave me an acknowledgment for the receipt of
101. in a letter from Mr. Baron, which receipt I someway
mislaid, not being able to find it when I got home ; and
seeing Mr. J. Brandeth on the Monday, I asked when he
was writing to you ? he said, to-day. I told him the cir
cumstance, and desired he would request you to acknow
ledge it, which you did in a letter to Mr. Baron, and for
tunately Mr. Brandeth is in possession of a copy, which I
have seen to-day, from which I extract the following.
Extract from Mr. Hunt's letter to Peter Baron, Esq. dated
101, Great Portland-street, 27th April, 1820:— ' Permit
me to say, that I received 101. sent by you to me at York,
which is every halfpenny I ever received upon this or any
other occasion towards defraying the expenses of my
public exertions. 1 appropriated that money towards pay-
ino- the expenses of my servant as a witness at York, and
for his paying -a person to look after my house, &c. &c. in
his absence (one month). Do tell me candidly if you
thirik this was properly applied, agreeably to the inten
tion of those who sent it ; if not, pray say how it was in
tended, and I will immediately apply it as you wish.'
" With a hearly wish for a Radical Reform,
•' I am, dear Sir, yours very respectfully,
" Joshua Cross,"
13 o

18
As this does not require a word of comment from me,
I shall leave Cobbett and his man Bristle either to
" buy a brush," or to make one whenever they please.
GREAT NORTHERN UNION.
It must be very gratifying to the real friends of Liberty
and Radical Reform to witness the steady march of this
Union, in spite of all the dirty .tricks that have been
played off to impede its progress. Mr. Mann, of Leeds,
writes me word that the friends of real Reform in York
shire are upon the alert; he says, that the friends at
Halifax have just remitted 10L to Sir Charles Wolseley,
which is their second remittance; that those of Bradford,
at their next monthly meeting, will remit 10/. which will
be their second remittance ; and that, as there is a new
Committee appointed at Leeds, consisting of tried and
zealous friends of Liberty, another remittance will soon
be forwarded from that town. The following letter has
been forwarded to Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. North-
more, with a remittance of 101. The progress of this
Union will soon be irresistible. I understand that Mr.
James, the Member for Carlile, is become one of its Mem
bers, and that Sir Francis Burdett has written to Sir
Charles Wolseley, to say that he shall at all times be ready
to add his name to the list of those who are so strenu
ously struggling for Liberty. Thus we creep on, my
friends. You will please to recollect that Mr. James man
fully declared himself in the House of Commons, last
session, to be a determined advocate fbr Universal Suf
frage ; therefore at all events, if we should be induced to
petition once more, we shall be sure of having one friend
in the House, who will not only present but who will
support the prayer of our petitions for Universal Suffrage
and the Vote by Bailot. And I sincerely hope and trust
tbat the Reformers, the Radical Reformers, will never be
gulled again to petition for any thing short of Uni
versal Suffrage.
" EVERY ENGLISHMAN OUGHT TO BE A POLITICIAN."
"To Sir Charles Wolseley, B:r'. and Thomas Northmore, Esq.
with a Remittance from Failsworth, of Ten Pounds, for the Great
Northern Union.
"Honoured Patriots and Countrymen, — At the memorable
Meeting of Peterloo, in Manchester, remarkable for a dreadful mas
sacre, there was a flag sent by Failsworth with the motto, ' Let us die
like men, and not be sold tike slaves.' The motto, however, we
make use of on the present occasion is — Every Englishman ought to

19
be a politician. It hath long since been a common saying among
foreigners, that Englishmen submit to taxation without inquiry. This
we consider as a reproach to the nation — if ever a nation loses its-
Liberty it is through the political ignorance of the people. The ad
vice of the penny-wise and pound-foolish, is not to meddle in politics,
and signify their ' passive obedience and non-resistance,'' bv saying
that they do not mind if they can obtain a livelihood with hard-working.
They may act as they please; but for our parts we do, and will med
dle in politics, and we would advise all our countrymen to do the same.
It is impossible for an enlightened people to become slaves to any ty
rant, or set of despots ; for where there is a tyrannical Government,
there are ignorant subjects in a state of political apathy."
" We have lighted the candle of the Union here, and we will keep
it in, notwithstanding the efforts of those who would blow it out. Ac
cording to Doctor Shebhear, in one of his ' Letters to the People of
England,' ' Liberty consists in a people possessing a power of doing
all that they ought to chuse.' That the People of England may never
be constrained to do that which they ought not to chuse, is the sincere
desire of " Your Radical Servants,
" John Chapman, John Taylor, and others,
"Failsworth, July 3\st, 1822."
HUNT'S BREAKFAST POWDER.
From the arrangements that I have made within the
last month, I think I may venture to say, that I am now
enabled to secure my friends a regular supply of my
Prepared Roasted Corn, which is now brought to a high
pitch of perfection, and manufactured with great care
by. my agent, Mr. Robert Wilde, at my manufactory,
Broad Wall, Blackfriars Road, London. We have now
completely surmounted all the impediments which were at
first thrown in the way by the Commissioners of Excise,
who for a long time pretended not to know anything
about the provisions of the Act ; and then delayed the
workmen nearly a fortnight, under the pretence that they
could not grant me a licence for manufacturing^ unless I made
the application in person, they at the same time being
aware that I was safely locked up within the walls of this
Bastile, a distance of 130 miles from the Excise-office.
However, my servants are now working fifteen hours in
the day, to be able to execute those orders which have
poured in from all parts of the country, to a much larger
extent than I had anticipated. This alone has been the
cause of the delay in supplying my friends, but this incon
venience will in future be avoided. I have received the
most flattering testimonials of the superior quality of my
Prepared Roasted Grain, manufactured under the superin
tendance of Mr. Wilde, by the means of improved machi
nery and apparatus ; and no pains or expense will be

20
spared to continue it worthy of that kind patronage which
has hitherto been so liberally bestowed upon it. Many
persons who had been induced to manufacture Breakfast
Powder by a simple process of roasting grain, have aban
doned their roasters and become my agents, candidly
admitting the very great superiority of my manufacture
not only over all they had made themselves, but over any
thing ofthe kind ever offered to the public. It only
requires a trial to convince those who use it, that it is as
grateful to the palate, as it is invigorating to the constitu
tion, and economical to the pocket. It will be found far
superior-to common coffee, both in flavour and salubrity;
and one pound of ths Prepared Roasted Grain will go as
far^s one pound and a half of coffee, at less than one-third
of the expense ; and it will be found to be peculiarly
wholesome and nutritious, without possessing any of the
heating qualities of that deleterious foreign berry ; it is
peculiarly adapted for the use of schools and young per
sons, whether employed in sedentary or active occupa
tions. To enumerate all its virtues would look too much
like puffing, but medical men of the greatest eminence
have pronounced it to be the very best beverage for those
who have disordered stomachs, from indigestion or bilious
affections, and as a sea store it stands unrivalled, as Mr.
Pormley, the dentist, in Pali-Mall, found it to be a complete
antidote to sea-sickness in crossing the Atlanticin boisterous
weather, when nothing else could be kept on the stomachs
of himself and fellow passengers. Mr. Tomkins, a skilful
practitioner of Yeovil, found it to be the only beverage
that would resist the nausea produced by a canceronthe root
of thetongueofoneof his patients. Mr.Lee,surgeon,of Cas
tle Carey, not only recommends it as the most wholesome
and nutritious general breakfast beverage, but he has
found it of peculiar service to those who have weak
stomachs, and require nourishing food. If I were to enu
merate half the certificates that I have received of its sa
lubrious and nourishing qualities, I should have little room
for anything else in this address ; its best recommendation,
and the unerring proofs of its superiority, both for whole-
someness and economy, is, that those who use it once sel
dom leave it off. Those who wish to become agents, will
receive prompt attention to their orders, by communicat
ing them to Mr. Robert Wilde, at the manufactory,
Broad Wall, or 177, Blackfriars Road, London. The most
liberal allowance is made to those who sell retail, and as

21
it is sold in packages of pounds, half-pounda, and quarter-
pounds, neatly tied up in blue paper, signed with a fac
simile of my name and writing, (without which none is
genuine), it will be found a profitable addition to most
•trades, without incommoding any.
The following extracts from the Irish newspapers speak
for themselves, and will prove the best answer to the false
hoods of envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitable-
ness. — "More succour for the Poor. Last evening,
the True Blue, with Mr. Hunt's donation of Breakfast
Powder for the poor of Limerick, addressed to Mr. Morgan,
arrived at the Custom-House Quay. The Vegetable
Breakfast Powder consigned to Richard Ronayne, Esq., for
the poor of Cork, has been sold, and produced 13l. net, af
ter all expenses had been paid, which has been handed
over to the Relief Committee of that city: the powder
consigned to Mr. Morgan will be delivered to-morrow.
These donations of Mr. Hunt', under his present circum
stances, mustbe considered exceedingly generous." (Lime
rick Paper.) The five hundred weight sent to Cork, was
all sold in a few days, and it met with such universal ap
probation in that city, that I have received an order for
two tons, to be sent immediately, so that you will see,
my friends, that which Mr. Cobbett had the malignant im
pudence to call an insult to the Irish, has been estimated
in a very different way by the Irish themselves.
DEATH OF MR. THOMAS JACOBS, OF TAUNTON.
Such was the universal opinion of this worthy man,
that the corrupt and venal knave of the time-serving
Taunton Courier has been compelled to give him a good
character, as will be seen by the following extract, pub
lished by Mr. Marriott, the magisterial lick-spittle of that
town, on the 17th of July last.
" Died, on Saturday last, aged 46, after an afflicting
illness of more than twelve months' duration, Mr. Thomas
Jacobs, an eminent brewer of this town. The disease of
which this amiable man died, was a strictured or contract
ed gullet, produced, as appeared on examination after
death, by an ulcerated enlargement and induration of the
substance of that tube, occupying a space of about three
inches, and extending to within a short distance of the' up
per orifice of the stomach. The whole circumference of
the diseased part of the gullet was so disorganised, thick
ened, and hardened, as to have nearly filled up the cavity

22
in that situation. Scarcely any substantial nutriment had
been swallowed for the last twelve months, during which
time liquid sustenance passed the contraction very slowly,
' and often with great difficulty. Intervals of several days
repeatedly occurred, in which the obstruction was so
complete as to cause even all the fluids that were attempt
ed to be swallowed, to be immediately rejected. For the
last 28 days of life, nearly the whole of every article that
was taken into the upper part of the g-ullet was instantly
thrown back, so that very little, if any, aliment could
have reached the stomach during that long period. The
deceased was eminently distinguished for universal kind-
heartedness, active benevolence, and an ardent devotion
to the true interests of Civil Liberty. His religious prin
ciples, concerning which much misrepresentation has gone
abroad, were purely and exclusively Deistical, in which
persuasion he conscientiously and avowedly remained to
the close of his existence. The natural amenity of his
disposition, joined to the accredited rectitude of his inten
tions, deservedly procured him the esteem and confidence
of all who intimately knew him, and will justly entitle
his memory to sincere and lasting veneration. The long
and singularly afflicting illness which terminated his exist
ence, was endured with an exemplary fortitude and resig
nation, and his approaching end was anticipated with a
corresponding composure of mind, which he preserved to
the latest moment of his life." — (Taunton Courier.)
When it is considered that this Marriott is an apostate
to the cause of Liberty and real Reform, and that since he
has gone over to the supporters ofthe most corrupt system
that ever disgraced any country, that he has been the in
veterate political enemy of Mr. Jacobs, the above will
show the high estimation in which our excellent friend's
character was held, even by his enemies. The town of
Taunton has for years been nearly equally divided between
the two corrupt factions of Whig and Tory, but Mr. Ja
cobs had, by his upright and independent example, brought
his fellow-townsmen to a sense of their own political im
portance, and an address to our late Queen was very nu
merously and generally signed by the worthy inhabitants
of that town, in spite ofthe active exertions and malignant
efforts of both the factions, and our worthy much-lament
ed friend had the honour to present it in person to her
Majesty. When I was first sent to this Bastile, Mr. Jacobs
was one of the first to fly to my assistance ; and although

23
unacquainted with me personally before, he tendered his
services in the most unqualified manner, inveighing in
strong terms against the cruelty and injustice of my sen
tence. He proved to the very last an active, warm, and
sincere friend to me. He had often been subject to the
galling and harassing inconveniences imposed by the petty-
fogging tyranny ofthe upstart Magistrates, who did every
thing that malice and meanness could suggest, to incom
mode my visitors and to annoy me. He had frequently
to contend with the vulgar insults of the brutal Bridle,
and his brutal agents, all of which he brooked, and he
smothered his just indignation to serve his friend. When,
by the intrigues of the pure and disinterested Squire
Dickenson, the pious and christian-like Dr. Colston,
and the upright and venerable Judge Best, I was doom
ed to solitary confinement in this Bastile, poor Jacobs did
not stand idle in the market-place;- he caused a petition
and remonstrance to be numerously signed by the brave
men of Taunton, which was very opportunely and prompt
ly presented by Mr. Warre, the Member for that borough.
Poor Jacobs was in private life an affectionate husband
and father, a warm-hearted and sincere friend, and a tru
ly benevolent, upright, honest man. In public, he was
the determined, inflexible advocate of rational Liberty,
and the uncompromising enemy of Despotism. He has
left an amiable wife and family to deplore their irrepara
ble loss, and amongst all his numerous friends, no one la
ments or feels it more than I do.
MR. HUNT'S LIBERATION.
I have lately received numerous written and verbal
applications, to know the exact time of my liberation
from this Bastile. The period of my sentence of two years
and six months' imprisonment, expires at twelve o'clock
on the night of the Twenty-ninth of October ,- but I shall
not leave my dungeon to step without the walls of the
Gaol, till the doors are opened the next morning, at
Eight o'clock on Wednesday, the Thirtieth day
of October. At that time, if I am alive, I intend to
quit'-the pestilential atmosphere of this Bastile, and to
breathe once more the pure air of life and Liberty. It is
intended by my friends that I should partake of. a public
breakfast at the Castle Inn, in this town ; from thence I
shall proceed to Taunton, to meet the worthy Freehold
ers of this county, who have undertaken to provide a

24
public dinner upon the occasion, and to which the Com
mittee have so kindly invited me.
The following extract from the Manchester Observer,
will show that the brave Radicals of the North have kept
a correct reckoning as to the period of my liberation, and
that they intend to honour me by celebrating the event
in the most flattering manner : —
" Bolton Union. — Mr. Hint's Liberation.— The brave Boltoni-
ans keep up their character of being the first in every step which can
promote the cause of the Union and Radical Reform. At a late meet
ing at the Union Rooms, it was unanimously resolved, that they would
assemble on the night of the 29th of October, at eleven o'clock, to
celebrate the liberation of Mr. Hunt from his ciuel and unjust confine
ment in Ilchester Bastile ; that the Union Rooms be illuminated on the
occ.ision, and a few patriotic toasts, &c. drunk until one o'clock, when
the meeting should adjourn till two o'clock on the afternoon of the
30lh, at which time a lecture is to be delivered, and a collection made,
for the benefit of the incarcerated Reformers ; after which, the. joyous
event will be further commemorated by a public dinner. It was also
resolved, that an address should be prepared for presentation to Mr.
Hunt on the day of his liberation."
If one quarter of the Reformers in the United Kingdom
were as honestly devoted to the cause of Radical Reform
as the brave and generous lads of Bolton are, I should not
despair of accomplishing our object within six months of
my liberation. I have also received intimation from vari
ous parts of the kingdom, particularly from Yorkshire, to
to say that it is the intention of the inhabitants to cele
brate the hour which terminates the period of my incar
ceration, by adopting the plan intended to be carried into
execution in this county, namely, lighting Bonfires on the
Hills at 12 o'clock on the night of the 29th of October. Be
you assured, my excellent friends, that I look forward to
that time with the greatest composure, free from the slight
est particle of impatience, agitation, or anxiety. In the
interim my time will be fully, and, I trust, beneficially
occupied for the good of my country, and for the honour
of that cause which I have so long and so consistently
advocated. I am, my beloved Friends,
Yours very sincerely,
h. Himr.
The Ballad of " BUYING a BRUSH" is printed separately, and
sold for One Penny. The wholesale price is Three Shillings per Hun
dred. Ladies and Gentlemen, ot the Ballad-singing " Profession"
may be supplied on still more liberal terms, on application to the Printer.

Printed by T. Dolby, Britannia Press, 290, Strand,

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Ilchester Bastile, 9th day, 2d month, 4th year of the Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
September 25, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
This day five weeks I leave this Bastile! How quickly
time passeth away, even in a dungeon ! ! What will the
tyrants have gained by my incarceration ? Since I arrived
here within these walls, three summers have passed away,
to return no more. The leaves of the high poplars that
overshadow my dungeon begin to fall for the third time ;
and the shrill notes of the robin announce the arrival of
the third autumn since I have breathed the fresh air. Are
the Boroughmongers more secure than they were when
they unfeelingly doomed me to two years and six months
incarceration in this Bastile ? Have they been able to
extinguish the cause of Radical Reform, by the imprison
ment of its most zealous advocates? Has Sir Charles
Wolseley, Mr. Wooler, the Rev. Mr. Harrison, Mr. Lewis,
or myself, or any one of those worthy to be called leaders
in the ranks of- Reform, for one moment offered to com
promise with, or bend to our persecutors? We have been
taken prisoners, but we have neither disgraced our colours.
nor tarnished the cause of Reform. We shall see whether
there is one friend of Reform less when I leave this Bastile,
14 A

Printed by T. Dolby, 209, Strand.

than there was when I was sent here. The Radicals have
been for nearly three years silent; they have been lying
upon their oars, but they are neither dispirited nor de
feated. We shall soon see them rally again round their
old standard of Universal Suffrage and Vole by Ballot,
and swear never to desert it as long as they have breath
to draw. Mr. Fawkes has sounded the tocsin in the county
of York, and the brave Radicals of Yorkshire will answer
his call, I'll warrant you. If Mr. Fawkes stands true to
the people, the people will stand true to him: if he boldly
and manfully demands for the people universal, not par
tial Liberty, the Radicals will manfully rally round him
with their overwhelming support: but if there be any
shifting or shuffling — if there be any undefined or partial
plan of Reform proposed at the York meeting, I will
pledge my life that the Radicals will have none of it.
The people, and particularly the people of the North,
understand the question too well to admit of any partial,
or any undefined proposition, obtaining their support.
Mr. Fawkes is a very able, and, I believe, a very worthy
and sincere friend of Liberty, the speech which he made
at York, which has been published in most of the papers,
was most excellent, as far as it went; but I own it would
have pleased me better if he had been a little more explicit.
The Radicals all know what the vague term of Reform
means; it means any thing, or it means nothing. Lord
John Russell is a Reformer, and Sir Thomas Lethbridge
is also a Reformer, at least he says he is, but they are not
the sort of Reformers that we want; the people will
never enlist, under their partial banners. Mr. Fawkes is
just such a man as the people want to join their ranks,
and to take a-lead in their cause. Mr. Fawkes has only to
speak out plain, in a language that is intelligible to the
people, and millions will flock to his standard , but be
must unequivocally declare for Universal Suffrage and
Vote by Ballot, before the people, the Radicals of York
shire, will stir one step to support him.
I shall take leave to caution my worthy friends of York
shire to guard against any equivocal plan of Reform being
imposed upon them, orat least against their being tricked
into giving their support to any thing equivocal, or any
petition for Reform expressed in general terms. Let us,
my friends, repeat the solemn vows that we have so often
made at the altar of Liberty, that we will never petition
for any Reform that does not unequivocally pray for Uni-

virtal Suffrage and Vote by Ballot. And my serious and
deliberate advice is, that we never petition the House of
Commons again, without including- a prayer that its Mem
bers will forthwith take our petitions into consideration.
that were presented to the House in the year 1817. Those
petitions were signed by a million and a half of people ;
they were never even discussed or taken into considera
tion ; therefore, let us in firm but respectful language call
upon the House to have those numerous petitions then
presented, which were so impudently and so infamously
disregarded at that time, now read over again, and so
lemnly and seriously discussed. I trust that we shall pray
for nothing new ; we have neither risen nor lowered our
demands, because a few of our leaders have been perse
cuted and incarcerated in dungeons; we demanded jus
tice then, we demand justice no w ; we demanded no more
than we were entitled to then, we scorn to ask for less
now. Let us, my friends, beware how we listen to those
who wish us to join them in praying for a MORE EX
TENDED SUFFRAGE, and who seriously talk about
procuring such a Reform as would cause Members to be
elected by a LARGER PORTION OF THE PEOPLE.
I believe that Mr. Fawkes is too sincere in the cause of
Reform to propose any such partial measures : at any rate,
I believe him to be too well acquainted with the charac
ter of the Reformers of Yorkshire ever to expect them to
join any one who should attempt to impose upon them in
this way. Let us recollect that we have one gentleman
in Parliament, Mr. James, one of the- Members for Carlisle,
who declared himself, during the last session, the friend
and advocate of Universal Suffrage. This g-entleman has
also joined the Great Northern Union, so that we have
now two Members ofthe House of Commons at any rate
openly and avowedly with us, Sir Francis Burdett and
Mr. James ; and if Mr. Fawkes will but speak out plainly
at the York Meeting, we shall have many other Members
join us before the next session of Parliament draws to a
close. The gentry may writhe and twist, they may wrig
gle and shuffle as long as they please, but they can do
nothing without the People, unless they manfully
join the people in demanding an Universal not a partial
Reform, their estates will be taken from them to pay the
Placeman, the Pensioners, the Army, and the Fundholders."
Let the Country Gentlemen arid the Yeomen think coolly
upon this subject, and take their choice ; they may as well

decide to act the part of men and Englishmen at once, for
to the people they must come at last, if they mean to save
their estates and to keep out of the workhouse ; many of
the farmers are come to this already, and the yeomanry
and gentry will soon follow them.
In Warminster market wheat sells from two shillings
and sixpence to five shillings a bushel. I have often said
that no good would come to the country till wheat was
either down to five pounds a load, or up to fifty pounds a
load. It is now down to five pounds a load, from which
circumstance I expect ultimately the happiest results.
The farmers have been throughout the whole of the
French War the most besotted and wilfully blind of man
kind ; they supported the war and the Pitt system, be
cause it gave them high prices for their cattle and their
corn; as long as this lasted they were the abject tools
and blind supporters ofthe system; as long as the system
worked well for them, they cared not for the sufferings of
the rest of mankind, they were the deadly enemies of all
Reform, and the unfeeling persecutors of all Reformers.
But the case is altered ; Mr. Hardy, the worthy Keeper of
this Gaol,'.has this day informed me that he has purchased
four beautiful little fat porkers, weighing twenty-four
pounds each, for sixteen shillings. This is just two-pence
per pound for the most beautiful pork, exactly such as I
used to give Mr. Shum, of Bath, oneshilling, and fourteen
pence a pound for. Lambs, that used to sell for one
guinea or twenty-two shillings each, now sell for about
five shillings and sixpence or six shillings. Good cows,
that used to sell from fifteen to twenty-five pounds each, now
sell for from two pounds tenshillings to six orseven pounds.
Executions and seizures for rent are almost daily occur
rences. The farmers are becoming Radicals thicker and
faster ; a farmer is now becoming a rational creature, he
begins to talk rationally, and he listens to reason with at
tention. Formerly half a farmer's time was taken up in
guzzling ale or cyder, and singing God save the King ;
which meant nothing more or less than continue to give
us high prices for our corn and our cattle, and we will
support the system with the last drop of our blood. High
prices are gone, and you may go to a hundred farm houses,
say to a thousand, nay, you may go into every public-
house in the country without hearing God save the King
sung by a set of drunken ideots, who would insult and
.ill use any one who did not pull off his hat and join in, the

chorus. To be sure, there is a great deal of delusion still
kept up amongst the farmers by their landlords and the par
sons, joined by the attorneys, who still try to screw the
last shilling out of them, by endeavours to persuade them
to have patience and wait for better times, which they
assure then will soon come, and many of the farmers
are still willing dupes to this doctrine ; for instance,
a tenant of Lord Westmoreland's, who rented a
farm of his Lordship's at Cokeer, having been com
pletely ruined, ran away the other day, to save himself
from a gaol. His Lordship is said to have ordered
his steward to lower the rent and get a new tenant, but
when he came to make inquiries of the steward, there had
been upwards of twenty applications for the farm, without
any word being said by either of them about a reduction
of rent ; therefore his Lordship ordered the farm to be let
again on the same terms, consequently a great deal of this is
the fault ofthe farmers themselves. But in many instan
ces the landlords are thorough-bred Shylocks. My friend
Cousens, from Heytesbury, visited me again the other day,
to inform me that he had called upon one of the Duke of
Somerset's tenants, by the name of White, in his road
down here to me ; that the Duke, or his agents, had dis
trained upon him for rent, amounting to near eight hun
dred pounds. Mr. White's friends came forward and
offered to pay the money, if the Duke would let him off
his lease, in which he is bound to occupy this farm at a
high rent for another year and a half. The Duke refused,
and all Mr. White's stock was sold, which was barely
enough to satisfy the demand of the landlord. Beautiful
milch cows sold for four and five pounds each. Three
years ago Mr. White's stock was worth nearly three thou
sand pounds, and he could pay his rent and support his fa
mily by his industry. Mr. White is now a beggar, with
out sixpence, yet the Duke will not allow him to give up
his lease, because he knows Mr. White has some wealthy
relations. Mr. Robert Gourley, another tenant of the
Duke's, who occupied Deptford farm, a few years back,
and who had then a stock worth four or five thousand
pounds, is now breaking stones upon ihe roads for ihe
parish ! This is the gentleman who, after being ruined
upon the Duke of Somerset's farm, went out to Canada,
and, for interfering in politics, was sent into a prison in
that colony for his pains. His case has been laid before
the Parliament, but he is now come home to his parish,

and is breaking stones upon the roads. The Duke of
Somerset is a Whig Duke. — Now let us see how the Ra
dicals act under such circumstances. A little before I
came to this gaol, I let a farm at Edgerly, for 1501. a year,
that I had for many years received 2001. a year for: I
lowered the rent 25l. per cent, in consequence ofthe de
clining state of agricultural produce. My tenant still
complained, and it was with great difficulty I could get
my rents paid, and when I did, I made considerable allow
ances and abatements. He having laid considerably be
hind in the payment of his rent, I wrote him a letter, urg
ing the payment of it, and reminding him of repeated
broken promises: a friend of-mine saw this letter handed
about amongst the gentlemen Gown-and-Wig men, at the
Wells assizes. Whether this letter was lost by my tenant,
and got amongst these men of the law by accident, or
whether it was conveyed to them intentionally, I have not
yet had an opportunity of correctly ascertaining, although I
understand that my tenant says, it was either picked out
of, or lost from, his pocket ; but as this letter was made
public without my consent, and as my tenant has had two
executions put into his house since, and as his stock has
been seized upon and sold under these executions by a wor
thy limb ofthe law, at Glastonbury, and under these cir-
cumstances,by giving the Sheriff noli ce,I was enabled to re
cover half a year's rent ; and as this tenant still remains up
on my farm without one head of stock, or scarcely a bed to
lie upon, the whole not being sufficient to satisfy the de
mands of Mr. Attorney for these executions ; and as he still
refuses to give me up the possession ofthe farm, although
I have offered to take it, and forgive him a considerable
portion ofthe rent still due, I think it proper, as I shall be
compelled to take immediate steps to recover the posses
sion of this farm, to lay before you, my friends, a copy of
the said letter that I wrote to my tenant, and which was
the subject, I understand, of much comment amongst the
Wig-and-Gownmen at Wells, and then let us see whether
there is any landlord in the county of Somerset has offered
his tenants fairer or more liberal terms than I have done.
My tenant cannot blame me for publishing this letter, as
he it is that has made it public, and not me ; therefore I
feel it indispensibly necessary to publish a copy of it to
prevent misrepresentation, which is as follows : —

" Ilchester Bastile, July t7, 188*.
" Dear Sir, — When you took my estate at Edgerly,
in consequence ofthe alteration of the times, I letit to vou
for 1501. a year, instead of 200Z. which both the Mr.
Browns had successively given me for it, they putting and
keeping all things in repair, and paying all outgoings.
At our first settlement I allowed you 20l. for repairs, and
threw you back 101. more. - At the next settlement, up to
. last Michaelmas, which I could not ever bring you to,
without recourse to an attorney, you refused to pay me
15l. for five acres of land in the Moor, which Chassey oc
cupied when you took my estate, and which you have since
taken possession of. This I considered a deduction of 151.
a year more against my consent. At Lady-day last, when
your half year's rent was due, you promised to pay me in
six weeks if I would wait, which payment you have put off
from time to time. When you were here last, about six
weeks back, you promised faithfully to come to pay it in
a fortnight, but I have neither heard nor seen any thing of
you since. This is infamous conduct to a man in a prison.
This is the last time I shall write to you upon the subject
myself, as you know I want the money very bad. If you
will come and pay your last half year's rent by Monday
the 5th of August, I will make you a further deduction of
12l. 10s. upon the last half year's rent, so that I will receive
from you 621. 10s. for the half year, instead of 1007. which
I used to receive, But if you do not pay me on that day,
and you drive me to the disagreeable alternative of em
ploying an attorney to recover it, I shall then make no
deduction, but I shall claim 7bl. for the half year's rent of
Edgerly, and 7l. 10s. for the Moor, making 9,21. 10s. for
the half year then due.
" By your attending to this, you will save 20l. less on
the half year's rent, besides expenses, and also save me
from a most disagreeable alternative, which, on no account
can I delay an hour later than the 5th of August, and pro
bably you will laugh at me for being such an easy fool to-
delay it so long, knowing, as I do, that you have property
of your own, and that it is want of inclination, and not the
want of means on your part, that causes me this trouble
and inconvenience ; and seeing that I get no deduction
for the property that I rent, and understanding that
Squire Dickenson has not sunk the rent of his tenants,
your neighbours, one penny per annum yet.
" I am, Sir, yours, &c.
"H. HUNT."

1 beg to observe also, that the moment my tenant began
to complain of the times, that I offered to cancel his lease.
Now, I leave it to the candid reader to say, what sort of
a landlord I am, when it is taken into consideration, that
I now pay a portion of the outgoings, and that my former
tenants paid all outgoings ; it will be seen that I have
offered my tenant to make a reduction of full fifty per
CENt. and to take for this estate one half of what I used to
receive. Let other landholders go and do likewise, and
follow the example of the Radical Landholders, and then
join the people in demanding Reform, and they may yet
save their estates from becoming the property of Jews and
stock-brokers, and contractors, and Government agents ;
if they do not do this, they may rely upon it that their
eatates will soon be divided amongst those who live upon,
and have been living upon the taxes drawn from the
pockets of the industrious people. As for the parsons,
their time for wearing " sackcloth and ashes" is fast ap
proaching, we have only to g-ive them rope enough and
they will hang themselves. Read the following police
report, my friends, here is a companion to run in couples
with the Bishop of Clogher, Percy Jocelyn : —
PUBLIC-OFFICE, WORSHIP-STREET.
The Rev. Wm. Eyre.— The prisoner was brought to this office for
final examination. About one o'clock G. Minshull, Esq., one of the
Police Magistrates of Bow-street, arrived, being also a Magistrate for
the county of Buckingham. The examination then took place in the
parlour, before this Gentleman and the other Magistrates, S.Twyford
and J. Milward, Esqs.
Mr. Wilks, as Solicitor, appeared on the part of the parish of St.
Luke ; and Mr. Alley, as counsel, appeared with Mr. Harmer's clerk,
on the part of the prisoner.
The whole of the evidence taken on a former day before Mr. Twy.-
ford was then read by the Clerk, and all the witnesses, except
Joanna Quinlan, the little girl, confirmed the testimony before given.
The little girl was then examined de noco, and her evidence, with
some variation from her former testimony, went to prove the crime
alleged against the prisoner. She cried very much, and seemed sen
sible of the judicious remarks which were given to her previous to
taking the oath.
After some discussion which took place by Mr. Wilks and Mr. Alley,
as to the nature of the offence, whether it was a capital offence, under
the Statute of Elizabeth, or only a misdemeanour at Common Law,
Mr. Minshull said, he should request that Mr. Wilks would withdraw
with the representative of the parish, and deliberately consider whether
it was their intention to indict for the capital offence, or for the misde
meanour. They were entitled to indict according to their own determi
nation, but as a Magistrate, it was for him to commit according to his
own discretion.
Mr. Wilks expressed a desire to adduce further testimony as to the
practices of the prisoner in other cases similar to the present.

9
Mr. Minshull objected to receive any testimony but that which re
garded the felony now charged. He would not hear any thing which
generally applied to the character and habits of the prisoner, who
ought to stand or fall solely upon the evidence which applied to the
crime for which he was now charged.
Mr. Wilks then retired with the Churchwardens and Overseers of tho
parish, and soon afterwards returned.
Mr. Minshull — Have you, Sir, consulted wilh the persons on whose
part you are employed ; and after deliberate consideration, have they
decided, with your advice, whether they intend to indict for the capital
offence or for the misdemeanour?
Mr. Wilks- — I have consulted with the Churchwardens and Overseers,
and concurring with my advice, however painful it is to their and my
own feelings, the determination is to indict for the capital offence.
Mr. Alley rose, and expressed his regret that he should have been
applied to professionally upon a subject of this description. He would
rather have given 20 guineas than have been employed as Counsel upon,
the present occasion. It was true, that every man was presumed to be
innocent until found guilty ; and therefore it was his duty to defend his
client, and he must say, upon his honour, he did not think the evidence
sufficient to commit for the capital offence.
Mr. Minshull observed, that after hearing the determination of the
parish, with the advice of their Solicitor, so competent to direct this
prosecution, that they had decided to indict for the capital offence,
he had no discretion as a Magistrate but to commit for the capital
offence. The prisoner now appeared under the greatest agitation ; he shed
tears, and with all the earnestness of emotion declared his innocence.
Mr. Dyer, jun., the son of the worthy Magistrate, and whose tutor
the prisoner formerly stated himself to be, attended in the parlour.
He appeared to consult with the prisoner for his good, and to behave
towards him, though fallen and degraded, with the greatest kindness,
which called forth the admiration of the worthy Magistrate, Mr.
Minshull, who justly observed, that it showed a nobility and
Generosity of -mind seldom to be witnessed in the general character
of the world.
Mr. Alley then suggested that it might be convenient for the prisoner
not to be committed to tlie county gaol of Buckingham, but to remain
committed to prison in Middlesex. Under all the circumstances it
might be advisable to produce the depositions before a Judge for the
purpose of bail, and in that case it would save much expense, and be
particularly convenient that the prisoner should not be committed to
Aylesbury. Mr. Wilks could see no reason why the prisoner should not be com
mitted to Aylesbury at once, but he did not mean to oppose the commit
ment suggested by the Learned Counsel.
Mr. Alley said he had not expressed much upon the present occasion,
but he thought there was a degree of severity exercised towards the
prisoner. He was dragged from Buckinghamshire to Middlesex, to an
swer for offences committed in theformer county, and now, though it
was convenient for the prisoner to remain in town, the expediency was
urged of his being committed into Buckinghamshire.
Mr. Wilks observed, that until the examination he was not aware of
all the facts having been committed in thatcouilty.
Mr. Minshull then proposed it to the choice of the prisoner, and
after consulting with Mr." Dyer,. jun., he stated his wish to be commit-
ted to Newgate. 14 B

10
Mr. Minshull said, that in case of commitment to^Newgate, he could
only commit as a Middlesex Magistrate, and therefore he trusted that
Mr. Twyford would sign the commitment.
Mr. Twyford said he still remained unconvinced of the legality of
his committing to Newgate, for an offence done in another county, to
which his commission did not extend ; but he would on this occasion
comply, on account of tbe practice so long used, and acted upon at the
police offices.
Mr. Minshull regretted this course had not been pursued in the first
instance. The prisoner was then committed to Newgate for trial.
So much for the worthy tutor of young 'Squire Dyer,
the son of the police magistrate. I should like to know
how this amiable preacher of the gospel, this Parson Eyre,
this reverend and holy sinner is treated in Newgate, and
I should like to compare it with the treatment I received
from the Reverend Dr. Colston, the Reverend Mister
Thring, and the Reverend Parson Justice Whalley, in
this Bastile. Speaking of Bishop Jocelyn, I find the
following curious fact recorded in Oldfield's History of
the Boroughs. In his account of the rotten and corrupt
Borough of Wells, in this county, page 425, vol. II. part II,
is this remarkable fact: " The cathedral of this city,
(Wells) the greatest part of which, as it now stands, was
erected in the year 1239, by Bishop Jocelyn de Wells."
So that it is not improbable that the Bishop of Clogher is
a lineal descendant of the founder of Wells cathedral, and
that they, the family of the Jocelyns, have been a sort
of hereditary set of Bishops ever since — a pious and moral
crew. So much for the Parsons. Now let us have a squint
at the Lawyers. The following account of their fallen
state, as exemplified upon the Western Circuit, at the last
Summer Assizes, appeared in all the West-country papers ;
and although these papers are in general the vehicles of
the greatest falsehoods, yet I believe this account may be
relied upon as pretty correct :
" No class of persons at the Assizes on the Western
Circuit (with the exception of convicts and losers of suits)
have less teason to be satisfied with them, than the bar
risters. We believe there are not less than seventy of
those learned gentlemen on the circuit ; and at Salisbury
they had but half a dozen cases, or about eleven briefs to
share between them. From fifty to sixty learned and
eloquent gentlemen touched neither paper nor fee ! It was
still worse at Dorchester, where the assizes produced but
five briefs altogether — not one per dozen ! At Exeter
there were twenty-eight cases— at most but forty briefs ;

13
and the whole of these were engrossed by about half a
dozen leading and popular men. In Cornwall, there ap
pears to be but five prisoners, and it is said an equal lack
of business on the law side."
Here, at any rate, is one good effect resulting from the
return to cash payments, and the consequent non-pay
ment of rents. Why, in the time of the high price fever,
and high rent mania, the 'Squires upon the Western Cir
cuit used to have double the number of actions, and give
treble the number of briefs to the learned friends in ac
tions upon the game laws alone, than the whole business
of every sort now produced. The game-preserving
'Squires are now contented to wreak their vengeance
upon the poor poachers, as it costs them nothing to send
these poor devils to gaol by shoals. A week seldom passes
without some persons being committed to gaol for setting
wires or taking up wires laid to catch hares or rabbits.
It is high time that these game laws were abolished. Pro
bably there are more persons committed to our gaols
every year upon these laws, than for any other offence
included in the statute books. When any person is brought
into this Gaol, upon inquiring what is the offence, the
answermost commonly is, bastardy or poaching. The
worthy 'Squires and Parsons appear to punish all poach
ing upon their manors, whether committed upon their
young women or upon their haras. I wonder whether
the notable framers of the New Marriage Act intended,
by that precious measure, to correct and remedy this
evil. At any rate, it will not enable the 'Squires to col
lect high rents while wheat is at four shillings a bushel •
therefore, the 'Squires, the Parsons, and the Lawyers are
in a fair way to have their noses brought to the grind
stone, as poor old Mr. Charles Hill said of Sir John Ac-
land. But if we have patience, and look steadily on, we
shall see. The Parsons and 'Squires of Winchester are
floundering about like fish just' taken out of the water.
They appear likely to make a pretty mess of it for the
poor of that district this winter. I understand that Rod-
mead Farm, belonging to the Duke of Somerset, has been
completely burnt to the ground ; part of it was first burnt
down, but one barn escaped for a few days, and that has
since followed the fate of the others, and not one vestige
remains. Surely the worthy Magistracy of England ought
to take warning from the fate of Irish injustice. Once
rob the poor of all chance of justice, and the people of

12
England will become full as desperate as they are in Ire
land. I have persons coming to me almost every day, com
plaining of acts of injustice and petty tyranny the most op
pressive. Poor people come from a distance of 20 to
30 miles round to ask my advice, and I find that there is
but one general opinion prevailing amongst them, which is
this, " that there is neither law nor justice for apoor man."
For the benefit of my northern manufacturing friends, 1
will here insert the proceedings of a bench of Magistrates
sitting at Winchester, in the county of Hants, with one
ofthe loan-jobbing family of the Barings at the head of
them :
" A New Regulation of Allowance to the Poor.
" At a Meeting of the Magistrates acting in and for the
Division of Fawley, in the county of Southampton, at
their Petty Sessions, held at the Grand Jury Chamber,
Winchester, the 31st day of August 1822:
" Present — The Rev. Edmund Po niter (Chairman), the
Hon. and Rev. Augustus George Legge, Sir Thomas
Baring, Bart, the Rev. William Hill Newbolt, D. D.
William Nevill and George Lovell, Esqrs. the Rev. F. W.
Swanton, and the Rev. Robert Wright, eight of his Ma
jesty's Justices of the Peace; and a large and respectable
number of the Yeomanry residing within the division,
who were requested by the Magistrates to attend on this
occasion. " The Magistrates having taken into their consideration
the allowances usually made by this Bench to Paupers ap
plying for relief, and the diminished price of every article
of life, resolved unanimously,
" That in future the Magistrates, acting at this Bench, in
making their orders, either collectively or individually,
for the maintenance and relief of such Paupers, will not
exceed the following allowances:
" When the family shall consist of a man and his wife,
with one or two children ; or a man with two or three
children ; or a woman with two or three children — To
each of them the price of a gallon loaf, of the best wheat-
en bread, and 4d. each over per week.
" When the family shall consist of a man and his wife,
with three or four children ; or a man with four or five
children ; or a woman with four or five children — To each
of them the price of a gallon loaf, of the best wheaten
bread, and 3d. each over per week.

13
" When the family shall consist of a man and his wife,
With five or more children ; oi- a man with six or more
children ; or a woman with six or more children — To each
of them the price of a gallon loaf, of the best wheaten
bread, and 2d. each over per week.
"And whereas a practice has been prevalent amongst the
labouring classes to absent themselves during a part ofthe
year when their services are most required, and to return
after the harvest, and become a burthen to their respec
tive parishes ; the Justices recommend to the officers of
every parish, when a family shrill consist of a man and
his wife, or a man with one child, to offer to each such
man, 4s. per week from Michaelmas to Lady Day, and 5s.
per week from Lady Day to Michaelmas, so that he might
be engaged to serve the whole year ,• and any man refusing
that offer shall not be entitled to any relief. If no such
offer be made, or no sufficient employment can be found
whereby any such man can maintain himself and his wife
or child, the allowance is to be 3s. 6d. per week, and no
more. " To every unmarried man, the Justices recommend the
officers of every parish to offer 3s. per week from Michael
mas to Lady Day, and 4s. per week from Lady Day to
Michaelmas, so that he may be engaged to serve the
whole year ; and any unmarried man refusing Ihat offer
shall noi be entitled to any relief. If no such offer be made,
or no sufficient employment can be found, whereby any
such unmarried man can maintain himself, he shall be al
lowed 2s. 6d. per week, and no more.
" To a woman with one child, 3s. 6d. per week, and no
more. " To every single woman, the sum "of 2s. 6d. per week.
and no more.
" And the Justices do declare, That all paupers maintain
ed and relieved by their parishes, and able to work, shall,
for the allowances so to be made to them, be compelled to
perform such proper work as the parish officers shall direct
or require of them ; and it is earnestly recommended to
the parish officers to provide as far as possible employment
for all such paupers, and if they neglect or refuse to per
form the work found for them, they will be punished as
the law directs.
" Ordered, that the foregoing resolutions be inserted in
the Hampshire County Newspaper.
" T. WOODHAM,
" Clerk to the Magistrates."

M
When the weavers and spinners and manufacturers and
artisans of the North read this document, only let them
think what a state the agricultural poor are reduced to —
3s. a week for a labourer to live upon. Why some of my
labourers, who work at the Breakfast Powder Manufac
tory, grumble at not receiving more than 3s. a day; and
one of them, a common labourer, has been discharged
because he refused to work for less than twenty-four shil
lings a week — eight times as much as the Winchester Ma
gistrates allow to a Hampshire, labourer; and I will ven
ture to say, that many of my labourers, when I farmed in
Hampshire, have performed as much real labour, and done
as much work, in two days, as this poor fellow was ever
able to do in a week. Only look at the contrast ! Only
see how a Radical is obliged to lower his rents, and what
a price he is made to pay his labourers, while the Nobi
lity, the aristocratical 'Squires, the political Parson-Jus
tices, and the -retired stock-jobbers and loan contractors
keep up their rents, by lowering the wages of their la
bourers to three shillings or four shillings a week. The
following account of the state of the yeomanry in the
county of Sussex, may be considered as a pretty fair esti
mate by which the condition of the whole of the agri
cultural population throughout the kingdom may be as
certained :
" An intelligent correspondent, a native of Sussex, who
has lately travelled through the eastern districts of this
county, represents the condition of a greater part of the
yeomanry as being truly deplorable. He writes to us as
follows: — ' Almost daily, sales of live and dead stock take
place ; and such is the scarcity of money, that in many in
stances they are literally given away. Ease, affluence,
and plenty, which seven or eight years since so universally
predominated among the Sussex yeomanry, have nearly
disappeared, and penury, g-rumbling, and discontent pre
vail in their stead. This alteration in their circumstances
has greatly operated upon their political opinions, and
they now loudly declaim against the men and measures
which they formerly most strenuously and vehemently
upheld.' " — Brighton Paper.
It will be very curious to watch the motions of the Li
verpool Mountebank, when the Parliament meets. Whe
ther he will be able to keep the landlords and farmers in
order by his antics and gambols and slight-of-hand tricks,
remains yet to be seen. As for the Reformers and Reform,

15
it appears that he means to put them down very easily.
They are a '• low, degraded crew," still, I suppose ; and
of course this high-minded, high-bred, high-mettled gen
tleman will be able to silence them with great ease. But,
I rather suspect that it will not- be quite so easy a matter
to silence the complaints of the 'Squires, and that the
jolterheads, with empty pockets and no rents, will be
quite as intractable as the Radicals are : also that the doc
trine of patience, which the impudent buffoon So flip
pantly recommended at the Liverpool Dinner, as the
nostrum to cure all the complaints of the landholders and
farmers, will not be listened to with quite so much pati- .
ence as the noble descendant of Mrs. Hunn appears to have
anticipated. " We shall see."
HUNT'S BREAKFAST POWDER.
I must apologise to my numerous friends in various
parts of the United Kingdom, for any delay that has arisen
in executing their orders so promptly and correctly as
they, as well as myself, could have wished. My servants
in London, who carry on the concern for me, have a thou
sand little obstacles to contend with at the commencement
of such an undertaking in the absence of the principal,
which will in a few short weeks, I trust, be completely
obviated, by my presence and attention upon the spot.
In the mean time they will do their best* and I shall rely
with full confidence on the indulgence of my friends to
make such liberal allowances as the peculiarity of the case
appears to warrant, I am very much gratified to find
that the principal complaints arise from the want of a re
gular and ample supply ; that in every instance the article
itself has given great satisfaction to the agents and their
customers, ahd where one quarter of a pound is sold one
week, a pound is required the next. I have the great
satisfaction to say, that out of nearly one hundred agents
who have been supplied, a considerable number have ex
pressed their pleasure at finding the Breakfast Powder,
upon trial, to be very superior, both in flavour and quality,
to what they had anticipated ; and that not one agent out
of the whole number has expressed any disapprobation of
the article itself ; the only disappointment has been the
want of a supply for their customers. As I have now-
made arrangements that I trust will at once remedy this
inconvenience, my agents may rely upon a regular and
prompt supply. Agents will receive a very liberal allow-

ance, and as I hope to have one established in every prin
cipal town in the kingdom soon after my liberation, I take
leave to observe, that any person may sell my prepared
roasted grain by taking out an annual license, price 2s. (id.,
except coffee and cocoa dealers, no other persons being
prohibited by the Act of Parliament. Tea-dealers are per
fectly eligible ; in fact, I have agents who belong to every
trade and" profession. Druggists, bakers, and genera!
shopkeepers are peculiarly eligible, so that they do not
sell coffee, cocoa, or chocolate, these being the only per
sons prohibited by the Act.
MR. HUNT'S LIBERATION.
Messrs. Hayward, Cresswell, and Perrott, the gentle
men who compose the Committee for conducting the Pub
lic Dinner to be given me at Taunton, on the day of my
liberation, Wednesday, the 30th of October, have request
ed me, in the name of thirty respectable yeomen and free
holders, who have agreed to act as stewards, to announce,
through this medium, that the dinner will take place
precisely at five o'clock on that day, at the London Inn,
Taunton ; tickets 8s. each, including a pint of wine and
all expenses. They have also requested me to say, that
the BEAUTIFUL SILVER FLAGON AND SALVER,
VALUE ONE HUNDRED SOVEREIGNS, which they
intend to present to me on that day after dinner, in the
name ofthe people of Somersetshire, will be publicly ex
hibited, for the inspection of the curious, at the shop of
Mr. Payne, silversmith, Union-street, Bath, from the 20th
of October till the 26th, when it will be transmitted to the
Committee, preparatory to the presentation on the 30th.
When the Boroughmongers sent me to be incarcerated
in this Bastile two years and six months, I believe that
they thought they were sending me amongst my enemies,
far away from all my friends. I have good reason to think
that the amiable gaoler Bridle petitioned, through an
under-strapper at the Secretary of State's office, to°have
me committed to his care. When the news arrived at
Ilchester that I was committed to the New Bailey at
Manchester, Bridle was sitting in the Bar of the Inn in
this town reading a newspaper, and he exclaimed, with
an oath, " I wish they would send him to my Gaol, by
G-d, I w'ould take good care of the fellow— I should like
to have the care of him, I would bring the fellow to his
senses, and teach him what it was to be in a prison." As

17
soon as the verdict of the York Jury was known at Ilches
ter, Bridle and his wife allotted a particular room and bed in
his house for my occupation, and they used to call it pub
licly Hunt's room, and Hunt's bed, and the servants were*
sent to fetch things out of Hunt's room, or bring such a
thing from Hunt's bed. Bridle was returning from Salis
bury in his way from Portsmouth upon the Subscription
coach, when the guard informed him of my sentence of
two years and a half in Ilchester Gaol. " Aye, aye," said
he, " I expected I should have the fellow — I will teach
him manners, I'll warrant you." He appeared to be quite
aware that I was coming here, and enjoyed the idea of
having me in his clutches most amazingly. This amiable
gentleman, this most worthy agent of the system, little
dreamt that I was destined to detect and expose all his
goings on — that himself, the surgeon, and two of his
turnkeys would be discharged — that a Commission sent
down by the Government would report him guilty of all
sorts of atrocities — that he would be tried and convicted
of committing torture upon one of his prisoners by a So
mersetshire Special Jury. The Government little thought
the vile and horrible system of torture practised in their
Gaols, would be so completely exposed. The worthy
Parson and Squire Magistrates little dreamt, when they
chuckled at my being sent here, that they would get their
conduct so exposed in the House of Commons, and that all
their plans, &c. for persecuting me would be turned to
their own disgrace — they little dreamt that they would be
compelled to pass sentence and discharge their own
Gaoler and associate, Bridle — they never dreamt that
they would be compelled against their will to denounce
their own crack Gaol of Ilchester, and that the Grand
Jury of the County, of which they themselves formed the
materials, would be compelled to present their own dear
Gaol at the assizes as totally unfit and unworthy to re
main any longer as a County Gaol — they little thought
that they would be compelled to come to an unanimous
vote at the quarter sessions that their dear gaol should be
removed and razed to the ground — they little thought
that the county rates, which they had the disposal of,
should be reduced from twenty-eight thousand a-year to
eight thousand a-year, thus reducing the expenditure of
the county money more than two-thirds, and at the same
time reducing their patronage two-thirds — they little
thought that the expenses of this precious establishment
14 c

18
of a Gaol would be reduced from six thousand a-year to
two thousand a-year. The pious and humane Parson
Justices little thought that all the implements of torture
would be abolished in this Gaol, and that I should be the
means, and have the pleasure of witnessing, while I yet
remained here, all the heavy chains, bars, and bolts with
which the prisoners used to be chained and fastened down
to the iron bedsteads, should be knocked off and totally
abolished — they. had no idea that fetters andirons would
be removed from all the prisoners, and that not one pri
soner would have irons on — they never thought that all
the prisoners would be allowed to receive and send their
letters without having them opened and overhauled, by
the Gaoler, theTurnkeys, and their families— ihey never
dreamt that the walls which surround my dungeon would
be lowered from twenty feet to seven feet — -they, good
souls, never thought that all my friends would be allowed
to visit me at all hours in the day-time without the slight
est interruption, in spite of their positive printed rules and
regulations to the contrary, made and sanctioned by a full
Bench of Magistrates in quarter sessions, and signed by
Judge Best — they never thought it possible that I should
be the means of liberating poor old persecuted Charles
Hill, who had been incarcerated here sixteen years. Yet
all these things have taken place, -and I have received the
thanks of all the prisoners, not only in this Gaol but in all
the Gaols of the county, and from upwards of twenty
County Gaols, acknowledging that the beneficial influence
of my exertions here had reached even to them. If the
Government and the Magistrates had been told, when they
sent me here, that the:^ things would have happened
while I was here — if they had been told that I should have
received the kind attention and sympathy of all classes of
the inhabitants ofthe county except themselves," and that
on the day of my liberation I should be hailed as the de
liverer of their county from oppression and bondage, and-
tbat the freeholders and yeomanry would give me a pub
lic dinner, and present a handsome piece of plate to me,
value one hundred sovereigns, as a tribute^ of their ap
probation, respect, and esteem; I think if they could have
believed this possible, they would have, like Castlereagh,
become their own executioners, and have cut the caroted
¦arteries of their own throats, to save themselves from the
disgrace that was in store for them. If the Ministers had
thought that the table of the House of Commons would

19
have been covered with petitions from all parts of the
kingdom, praying for my liberation — if they could have
anticipated Sir Francis Burdett's motion, and that eighty-
four Members of Parliament should have voted for my li
beration — and if they had anticipated all that I have ac
complished since I have been here, and that such respect
and attachment would be evinced towards me, that such
honours would be conferred upon me, even ther!, I think,
their folly and their malice would have induced them to
have done as they have ; there is always a fatality in -the
proceedings of wicked rren, which Providence ultimately
turns to their own destruction. Let the ideots read the
following announcement, which was published in the
Xeeds Mercury ofthe 21st instant, and then let them blush
with shame at their own folly and stupidity; this will
teach them a lesson that they have never before had a fair
opportunity of learning, nr-.mely, that the people of England
never did desert a man, unless he first deserted them.
" Intended Public Rejoicings lo commemorate the Libe
ration of Mr. Hunt. — The friends of freedom intend to
commemorate the liberation of that intrepid, consistent,
and indefatigable Champion of Public Liberty, Henry
Hunt, Esq. in the following manner: — Bonfires will be
lighted on the 29th of October, and- on tbe 30th a Public
Dinner will take place in Leeds. Tic'kets to be had of
Mr. Mann, Mr. Wass, Mr. Fox, &c. &c— - The Reformers
of Leeds take this opportunity of publicly contradicting
the falsehoods and base insinuations contained in Mr.
Joseph Johnson's letter to Mr. Hunt, respecting his public
entrance into Leeds on his way to Yo/k ; they, therefore,
cannot help applying the same motto to Tir. Johnson's let
ter be applies to Mr. Hunt — ' By heavens thou are all
lie!!'" " Leeds, Sep. 20, 1822."
I shall only add, for the gratification of my friends, and
the mortification of my enemies, that my health is very
much restored since the walls that surround my dungeon
have been lowered from twenty down to seven feet high
only, and since the doors, which Dr. Colston ordered to be
closed upon me, have been thrown open, so as to admit a
free circulation of air. All my friends and visitors have
free and uninterrupted access to me, from the time the
doors are opened in the morning till it is dark in the even
ing; that so far from receiving any annoyance or intevrup-

20
tion, every attention and civility is shown them by Mr.
Hardy and the officers of the gaol ; that the latter are al
together as civil as they used to be insolent and brutal in
Bridle's time ; in fact, that I have, thanks to the exertions
of my numerous kind friends, and the folly of my malignant
and imbecile enemies, now got every indulgence and ac
commodation that it is possible for me to receive in such a
pest house as Ilchester Bastile ; that I have totally got
rid of the old gangof Visiting Magistrates, who never come
near the Gaol, and that the present Visiting Magistrates
never interfere with me for any other purpose but to pro
mote my comfort and convenience, and that of my friends
and visitors.
I beg my excellent friends, the Reformers of Notting
ham and Hollinwood, to accept my grateful thanks for
the kind and flattering testimonies of their approbation,
respect, and confidence (see Addresses) ; and I beg to as
sure them, that no time nor circumstances shall ever in
duce me to forsake that straight-forward path of public
duty which has insured me that confidence, respect, and
approbation, and which I shall ever value far above all
that it is in the power of princes, kings, and potentates,
to confer upon me.
Twice more, while I remain here, shall I have the plea
sure of addressing my friends, in Numbers 44 and 45 of
my Memoirs, which will be published on the 15th of Oc
tober, and the 1st of November, in which numbers I in
tended to have completed my Memoirs, but j find by the
manuscript that it will take two or three more numbers to
complete the work as it oug'-t to be; the three years of
my life, before I came here, being the most active and la
borious, and the most important as to my public exertions,
I shall be very anxious to give a faithful record of them.
The Number 46, to be published in the middle of Novem
ber, will contain a faithful report ofthe proceedings which
will take place upon my liberation. In the mean time,
believe me, my friends and countrymen, to remain
Yours, most faithfully,
H. HUNT.

11

ADDRESS FROM THE REFORMERS OF HALLINWOOD.
Dear Sir, — Impressed with a deep sense of the many
obligations we owe to you for having so nobly, honestly,
and constantly inculcated the necessity of Parliamentary
Reform, that we beg most respectfully to present you with
our warmest thanks for your patriotic efforts in the cause
of truth and justice. We also thank you for your noble
exertions in the cause of humanity, in causing to be in
stituted the inquiry into the corruptions of Ilchester Gaol.
We have heard with indignation of the petty malice of
your enemies there, who seemed not satisfied with the
sentence passed by the Court of King's Bench, but, we
have also heard with pleasure, that, through your manly
opposition to their contemptible measures, they have
been so greatly defeated. We have followed you through
the various circumstances in which you have been engaged,
and with tender feelings have we watched over you in
your endeavours to alleviate the miseries of your fellow-
creatures. We are anxiously waiting for the 30th of October to
arrive, when you will be restored to your countrymen, we
hope, in perfect health, and that you will live to see the
enemies of the people — the perpetrators of the outrages
on the awful Sixteenth of August brought to justice. We,
on that fatal day, witnessed the thirst for blood — heard
the cry of havock — and saw " let slip the dogs of war."
The deeds of that day gave the finishing stroke to the
characters of our enemies. We assembled with our fel
low-countrymen and country-women, our wives and
daughters, confiding in the protection of the law ; the
Magistrates gave us no notice bf their intention to dis
perse the meeting — no Riot Act read — no time given to
disperse peaceably, but we were exposed to military execu
tion, even without the knowledge of having committed
any crime ; meditating no breach of the peace, we assem
bled unarmed, relying on the justice of our cause. But,
we hope, that the Great Northern Union will, at no very-
distant period of time, put you into that place where you
will be able to bring- them to justice, in spite of a Lan
cashire jury.
With the best wishes for your happiness and welfare,
we have collected a trifle towards indemnifying you for
the many losses you have sustained ; we regret it is no
more, but hope you will receive it as the widow's mite

82
was received, not according to its nominal value, but as
coming from a willing but oppressed people.
Signed on behalf of the Reformers of Hollinwoo.l,
HENRY DIXON.
Hollinwood, near Oldham,
3d of July, 1922.
Amount of the enclosed subscription - 71. 3s. 9d.

ADDRESS FROM THE REFORMERS OF NOTTINGHAM.
Nottingham, Idth September, 1822.
My Dear Sir — From the great length of time which
has elapsed since I last had the pleasure of writing to
you, as well as from the delay in answering your esteem
ed favour of the 30th of June, you will, I fear, think me
unpardonably negligent and impolite. The truth is, that
a variety of untoward circumstances, which it was impos
sible either to foresee or prevent, have been the sole cause
thereof; and I assure you, Sir, this delay has been not less
irksome to my mind, than it must have appeared sf.rt.nge
and unaccountable to you.
It is, my dear Sir, with feelings of inexpressible plea
sure that I at length address you on behalf of the Friends
of Reform in this town and neighbourhood, for the pur
pose of expressing our gratitude for your very able and
disinterested exertions in the cause of freedom and huma
nity; to congratulate you on your glorious triumph over
those cruel and despicable tools of corruption, the Somer
setshire Magistrates, by causing the " Investigation,"
and, through that, the thorough reformation of the gross
abuses which existed in their Bastile at Ilchester ; and,
lastly, very respectfully to entreat your acceptance of the
enclosed small addition (£13) to our former remittance
towards indemnifying you for the great pecuniary sacri
fices you have made, and the losses you have sustained
through having stood forward in so distinguished and un
daunted a manner to advocate the rights and liberties of
your countrymen.
The remembrance of your long, zealous, and unwearied
exertions in the cause of Parliamentary Reform, can never
be obliterated from our hearts; nor can we ever cease
deeply to lament and sincerely to sympathize with you in
those personal sufferings which, contrary to law, to rea
son, and to justice, our shameless tyrants have so inhuman-

23
ly inflicted on you; and our fervent prayer is, that you
may live to see a reformed House of Commons cause
them, also, to be arraigned at the bar of justice, and, on
conviction, suffer the punishment clue to them for their
manifold offences.
Sincerely wishing you the enjoyment of health, and
with mos<: ardent congratulations on the near approach of
your liberation from the thraldom ofthe Boroughmongers,
I am, my dear Sir, ,
On behalf of the Subscription Committee,
Most respectfully yours,
JOSHUA DOUBLEDAY.

Saxion's Address to Joseph Johnson, Esq. BrusJimaker,
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster , $"c fyc. 8?c.
My Lord Duke, — The talent and ingenuity you have
displayed, in your Letter to Mr. Hunt ; tbe original in
vention and mode of embellishing the production, which
would have done credit to an older author than yourself,
and the fearless intrepidity exhibited in bringing it for
ward a month after it was ready for delivery, have com
bined to call forth the warmest applause of your friends,
and the sober approbation of your enemies. Were I to
neglect noticing your wonderful literary bantling, I
might perhaps justly be accused of a dereliction from my
duty. Be not however alarmed. I am neither going to
dissect you nor your pamphlet: you have lived your day,
and the fame of your Book and its Author will expire to
gether: but whenever your Grace will so far condescend
as to honour me with a personal and public interview, I
can assure your Grace it will give me a feeling of satis
faction- Your Grace may think, that John Thacker Saxton is
guilty of presumption, in addressing a personage of your
exalted rank and character, and who has deservedly ac
quired such an interest in the State ; but I trust the timi-
ditv which I feel in doing it will plead my excuse.
In the mean time, I take the liberty of transcribing, for
the perusal of your Grace, a paragraph from Wheeler's
Chronicle, on the Saturday preceding the Burnley Meet
ing, which I earnestly request you will mark! read! and
digest! It cannot but yield you the most exquisite plea
sure :
" As a proof that there are hostile feelings here as well

54
as in London amongst the Radicals, we are well informed,
that a chief leader in this district, when in prison for the
affairs of the 16th of August, made numerous overtures to
those in authority to obtain his release. He engaged, as
a condition, to make considerable pecuniary sacrifices,
and to give all the information in his power respecting the
Plans of the Reformers — to tell all he knew against the
great leader, and to deliver up all his letters." — Wheeler's
Chronicle, Nov. 13, 1819.
If your Grace's recollection serves you with faithfulness,
you will remember, that when dining with Mr. Service
and Mr. Knight at the table of your Grace, I accused your
Grace of having made the overtures alluded to in the
above paragraph, which you then acknowledged and en
deavoured to explain.
I have the honour to be, my Lord Duke,
Your Grace's most obedient Servant,
JOHN THACKER SAXTON.
Manchester, Aug. 27, 1822.

SELF-DEFENCE !
The Radical Tailor, John Johnston, corner of Cooke-
street, Chapel-street, Salford, having been repeatedly ask
ed if he were the writer of a scurrilous pamphlet, called
" A Letter from Joseph Johnson to Henry Hunt, Esq."
To save the trouble of answering a thousand times to as
many individuals, John Johnston says to the Public, NO !
NO! NO!
Joseph Johnson, Brush-maker, is entitled, to the sole
honour of priding himself upon the SUPERIOR EXCEL
LENCE of his TABLE, and the richness of his CORN
CHEST, treating his guest's horse for a month together,
with " FROM FOUR TO FIVE PECKS OF CORN PER
DAY!!!"— the rider with WINE and GOOD TAXED
Tea!!!
" Eat what is set before you, asking no questions for conscience
sal<e." — St. Pacl.
" Bull Beef and Pure Water ! at Hunt's table !" — Joseph Johnson.
"A TRUE SON OF FREEDOM ; but no Party man amongst the
Reformers."
JOHN JOHNSTON.
Manchester, August, 1822.

Printed by T. Dolby, 299, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
.MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.

Ilchester Bastile, 27th day, 2d month, 4th year ofthe Manchesteii
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
October li, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Country men,
and Countrywomen,
Although the Manchester Observer has been once
more stopped, yet the communication which has been
hitherto kept up in the columns of that paper between the
Radicals of all parts ofthe kingdom shall not be totally
cut off while there is a printing press in the metropolis,
I had made up my mind, that as soon as I had completed
the publication of my Memoirs, and bid adieu to this Bas
tile, that I would discontinue my publications addressed
to you, my friends. I have long witnessed the declining
state of the Manchester Observer, and I was fully aware
that it could not be long carried on under such a system
as appears to have regulated the movements of its con
ductors for some time past. I am not unacquainted with
the arts that have been used, and the plots that have been
constantly formed by the agents of all the political factions,
to put an end to the Manchester Observer, merely because
it was a paper devoted to the cause of Radical Reform,
upon the principle of Annual Parliaments, Universal Suf
frage, and Vote by Ballot ; and because it avowedly pro-* ¥
15 A

PrlBted by T. Dolby, 289, Strand.

fessed to have its columns open to the communicatioas of
the Radical Reformers of the United Kingdom, and to
record the proceedings ofthe various branches ofthe Nor
thern Union, established at my suggestion since my incar
ceration within the walls of this Bastile — I am fully aware
ofthe difficulties that its proprietors and conductor have had
to contend with — I know that there are many who anti
cipate, with feelings of savage delight, the arrival of that
period which shall put an end to the communication which
I have kept up with you, my excellent friends, by means
of my Memoirs, since I have been confined in the Borough
mongers' dungeon in this Bastile. These malignant
beings, who are the greatest enemies of Liberty and real
Reform, shall not be gratified while I have the means of
preventing it. It is therefore my intention to address you
as usual in the Addenda ofthe Numbers of my Memoirs, till
that work is complete, up to the period of the sentence
which was passed upon me by the Court of King's Bench,
which will probably consist of about four more numbers
after this, making in the whole 47 or 48 numbers.
After this I will endeavour to keep up the communication
by publishing either once a fortnight, or once a month,
an Address to the Radical Reformers ofthe United King
dom, in a sixpenny number, under the title of " HUNT'S
UNION ; or the RADICAL RECORDER." A considera
ble portion of this work shall be devoted to the communi
cations of the Radical Reformers, and it shall put upon re
cord all the proceedings connected with the Great Nor
thern Union, to the promotion of which it shall be par
ticularly dedicated. It is absolutely necessary that the
Radicals throughout the kingdom should have some
means of communicating with each other, and this work
shall be devoted to that purpose. I am happy to see that
the independent proprietor of the Stamford News has in
his paper of last week devoted some of its columns to the

promulgation of what is going on amongst the real Re
formers, under the title of " Radical Records, No. I."
which evidently shows that Mr. Drakard intends to con
tinue publishing such records in his valuably and public-
spirited paper. The Black Dwarf, published by Mr.
Wooler, has always been open to the Radicals ; that Gen
tleman, whether in gaol or out of it, has been always the
steady friend of the people, and the able advocate of their
rights. With the exception of my Memoirs, and the Man
chester Observer, the Black Dwarf has been the only pub
lication that has either supported the principle of the
Northern Union, reported its proceedings, or done "com
mon justice to the patriotic and public-spirited views of its
members, while it has been assailed openly by some of
those who profess to be friends of Liberty, and all sorts of
underhanded and mean insinuations have been industriously
propagate d by the agents of envy, hatred, and malice. Y6t
the Northern Union lives, daily increases and prospers,
and I will take care that it shall not stand still or linger
for want ofthe means of publicity, and of its members
com municating with each other. As a specimen of Dra
kard's Stamford News, I will insert the whole article, as
I find it published in that paper under the title of
RADICAL RECORDS.— No. 1.
Liberation of Mr. Hunt. — The period of Mr. Hunt's
sentence of two years and six months imprisonment ex
pires at twelve o'clock in the night of the tvventy-ninth
of the present month, October ; and at eight o'clock on
the following- morning, as soon as the doors of tbe gaol
are open, he intends to quit the pestilential atmosphere of
his bastile, to breathe once more the pure air. His friends
at Ilchester will give him on that morning a public break
fast at the Castle-Inn ; after which he proceeds to Taun
ton, where a public dinner is to be given him, of which
not less than thirty respectable yeomen and freeholders
have agreed to act as stewards, and over which that staunch
Reformer, Thomas Northmore, Esq. will preside. After
the cloth is drawn, a silver flagon and salver, value one

hundred guineas, will be presented to " the Captive." — In
many other places in the kingdom, and particularly in the
manufacturing districts, announcements of public re
joicings on the occasion have been made. Bonfires are
to be lighted on hills at midnight of the 29th, and public
dinners are to be partaken of on the 30th.
By a letter which at the time of writing this we receive
from our Manchester correspondent, we learn that the
whole of the front of the Union Sunday-school room,
George Leigh-street, in that place, containing ten large
windows, is to be brilliantly illuminated on the evening
ofthe 29th, in honour of Mr. Hunt's liberation, a subscrip
tion to defray the necessary expense ofwhich is already-
commenced. We also learn that the hills about Man
chester are on that evening to have immense bonfires on
their summits, in commemoration ofthe event: and further,
that it has been resolved to call a public meeting on Mon
day next, to determine upon sending a congratulatory
address to " the Captive," previous to his quitting prison.
Sir Francis Burdett has very properly and humanely
visited Mr. Hunt in his prison, to congratulate him on the
approaching termination of his confinement.
We have heard from a source on which we place reli
ance, that Mr. Hunt has accepted an invitation from the
Reformers of Lynn, to dine with them on an early day
after his liberation. We shall give notice of the day as
soon as it is fixed, and, when it is over, an ample report of
the proceedings.
Treatment of the Rev. Joseph Harrison. — We
have before had occasion to complain ofthe conduct ofthe
Gaoler of Chester-Castle, towards this able friend to
Reform, in obliging him to wear the gaol dress of a felon.
The notice which the press took of that affair had the
effect of producing a discontinuance of the abominable
practice; but we learn from a letter in the last Black
Dwarf, that the outrageous passions of the governor  as
these namesakes of the brutal Wall who so recently ex
piated his crimes on the scaffold, are called — have broken
out in another shape. By some new regulations, for
which he pleads the authority of the Visiting Magistrates,
he will, if they are rigidly carried into effect, deprive his
prisoners of the use of beer, milk, meat, fruit, and gro
ceries ! This is, however, tenderness when compared
with the attempts that have been made to add to tbe in
carceration of the body the imprisonment ofthe mind.—

About two years ago an order was made at the Knutsford
Sessions, prohibiting all newspapers from the ward in
which Mr. Harrison is confined, except the Macclesfield
Courier: Mr. H., however, obtained possession of a Chester
Guardian, a paper more congenial to his taste: the stealth
was discovered, and the offender punished. But how?
Gentle reader, you have read of the brute of the Bastile
who destroyed the spider that alleviated the sufferings of
a prisoner by descending from the wall at the sound of
the convict's flute ; but did you ever before hear that a
man in a country calling itself Christian, was put eight
days and nights into solitary confinement for having a
newspaper in his possession ? " O, the envy of surround
ing nations and the admiration of the world !" Solitary
imprisonment for a poor dissenting parson, for having in
his possession an interdicted newspaper ; and free egress
from the kingdom, " the world before him and Providence
his guide," — Providence mend him — with 150,000?. to
boot, for a bishop of the establishment, who commits an
offence ofthe most abominable nature, whether in Jew or
Gentile, and ' among Christians not to be named !"
Sir Charles Wolseley. — From the observations of
Mr. Brougham in Ridgway's case, at the late Lancaster
Assizes, it appeared there was a probability that that perse
cuted individual might be detained in gaol after the ter
mination of his present imprisonment, unless he incurred
the expense of a journey to London, where he is almost li
terally a stranger, and could put in bail in the Court of
King's Bench. This circumstance no sooner became known
to Sir Charles Wolesley, than he wrote to Ridgway, and stat
ed his willingness, at the proper time, to undertake a jour
ney to London, for the express purpose of bailing him.
Sir Charles has also liberally subscribed towards Ridgway 's
legal expenses.
" Great Northern Union." — An association, bearing
this title, has been formed by the Radical Reformers of the
North, the object of which is to raise a fund, by repeated
small subscriptions among themselves, for the purpose of
returning to Parliament, by any means which the present
corrupt system allows, the most able and strenuous advo
cates of Radical Reform. Sir Charles Wolseley is treasurer.
Mr. Northmore is a member; Mr. James, M.P. for Car
lisle, has also enrolled his name ; and Sir Francis Burdett,
we hear, countenances the scheme- As Mr. Wooler has
very justly observed, " the walls of corruption will not fall
like those of Jericho, at the mere sounding of the ram's

horns. They are too formidable to be taken by storm.
They must be sapped and mined in detail, until practica
ble breaches are made in the weakest parts: — and surely
those who think the House of Commons the most accessi
ble, may without blame direct their efforts to that point.
What is to be done with our oppressors by argument,
must be effected there. The floor of that house is the si.
tuation on which the advocates of Reform can best apply
the most powerful lever to the public mind. An ancient
philosopher wished to find a spot from which he could, at
the same time, address the whole human race. As far as
the British empire is concerned, this wish is realized to him
who holds a seat in the House of Commons, if he have wis
dom to perceive, and courage to avail himself of, the ad
vantage it offers."
On Thursday, the 3d, live men from Ashton-under-Lyne,
were compelled to enter into recognizances to appear at
the nex,t New Bailey Sessions, if called upon, to answer to
a complaint or accusation of holding a meeting contrary to
the Act for preventing seditious meetings.
CASE OF MR. LEWIS.
An Address from the Committee of the Birmingham Union,
or Patriots' Friend Society, to their Townsmen, and to
the Nation al large. ',
The partisans of despotism are never more daring, never
more alive to crush the liberties of a nation, than when
they are allowed to proceed unmolested in their career ;
or when, by an apathy as cowardly as it is disgraceful, the
people suffer those individuals who have boldly stood for
ward to defend the rights of their fellow citizens, to be left
to pine away their days in unwholesome dungeons, neg
lected and disregarded: — hence it is, that, when oppres ¦
sion has selected its ' victims, men have not been wanting
to ridicule their sufferings, and laugh at a recital of the
miseries they were compelled to endure: hence itis, that
many of the bravest spirits of the land have been consigned,
some to the scaffold, and others to the solitary cell.
It is, however, a cheering- consolation to find that the
people in general are become more disposed lo cast aside
this degrading- stupor, and act as their interests require,
and as their country and posterity demand. Already
checked in their course, it would appear that the enemies of
popular liberty have despaired of crushing the energies of
the Reformers by persecution ; and that they are, by this
time, fully sensible of the weakness of the attempt. Yes:
they have discovered that " DUNGEONS CANNOT

HOLD THE SOUL !" and struck with consternation and
terror, it requires only resolution and perseverance on the
part ofthe united Reformers, to obtain a glorious triumph.
But it shou'd be recollected that many praiseworthy in
dividuals are still undergoing imprisonment, for having
been honest enough to assert the freedom of the nation,
and to stimulate their countrymen to imitate their exam
ple : future ag-es will contemplate with horror the suffer
ings and privations many of them were doomed to under
go ; and, in reference to a few years back, they will shed a
tear of sympathy for the fate of the brave and unfortuate
Ogden, of Manchester, who, for the high crime of being a
disinterested patriot, was torn from his family, dragged to
a pestilential dungeon, and loaded with chains, the weight
of which, in conjunction with his natural infirmities, pro
duced sueh excruciating torture and bodily suffering-, that.
at one time his entrails were in the hands of his surgeon !
Among the Reformers now incarcerated, perhaps no
person's case is more peculiarly subjected to hardships
than that of Mr. W. G. Lewis, a prisoner in Oakham
gaol, in the county of Rutland : — This gentleman's exer
tions are known to the whole kingdom, and particularly
to the town of Birmingham ; and it is hoped every well-
wisher to the glorious and heart-cheering cause of Liber
ty, will lend a friendly hand to extricate him from his
unmerited confinement: the term of his imprisonment ex
pires on the 25th of November next ; and, previous to his
liberation, he must not only find security for his good be
haviour, but also pay a fine of 1501. ; 100Z. of which was
imposed for selling Breakfast Powder ; and the remain
ing 50l. for what the law-authorities were pleased to call
a ' seditious libel !' It is generally known that Mr. Lew
is's finances are such as will preclude him from paying his
fines at the termination of his sentence; and even if it
were in his power to discharge them, it would be- the
duty of the people to prevent him, by raising the money
by a subscription among themselves ; he having suffered
in attempting to secure to them a great practical good. In
a case of this description, an appeal ought not to be ne
cessary to rouse the Reformers to the performance of their
duty ; and, unless they come forward, and act as they are
bound to do, by the ties of humanity and justice, they
will allow a never-dying stigma to attach itself to their
character, and suffer one of the most forward of their

body to drag out his life in tha worst of bondage. Signed
by order of the committee, THOMAS LAKINS, Chairman.
Coffee-rooms, Union-street, Sept. 16, 1S22.
The smallest subscriptions will be thankfully received in
Birmingham, by Mr. Edmonds, Union-street; Mr. Tib-
bits, 68, Dale End ; and Mr. Thomas Lakins, High-street,
Bordesly : and the Reformers of Manchester, Leeds, Not
tingham, Coventry, Leicester, and throughout the coun
try, are solicited to lend their assistance upon the present
occasion ; and forward their collections to Mr. T. J.
Wooler, 76, Fleet-street, London, who has accepted the
office of general treasurer.
The proprietor of this paper will be happy to receive
any subscription in furtherance of the above-named pur
pose. The members of the Lynn Union have sent Mr.
Lewis a subscription of one pound, through the hands of
Mr. G. Dinmore, our agent in that place. — Mr. Lewis, as
our readers know, has published an ingenious English
Grammar. He is now, we observe by advertisement,
compiling a Patriot's Book of Martyrs, under the title of
' A History of the Persecutions of Parliamentary Re
formers? which he intends publishing in numbers, after
his liberation next month. Such a record, well written,
will be valuable, and we are sure that Mr Lewis possesses
the requisite ability. Subscribers' names for the pre
sent, we understand, may be left with any reformist book
seller. At a general quarterly meeting of the teachers of the
Union Sunday School, George Leigh-street, Manchester,
held pn the 6th instant, it was unanimously agreed, that a
public lecture should take place in the school-room in a few
weeks, of which due notice should be given by placard
ing the town, when a collection would be made towards
assisting Mr. Lewis to pay his fines.
Meeting at Boston, to celebrate Mr. Hunt's
Liberation. — The Radicals of Boston and its vicinity in
tend to celebrate the approaching liberation of Mr. Hunt
by a social meeting ; of the particulars of which, as soon
as the necessary arrangements have been made, due notice
will be given. It may be proper to observe, that this
measure has been some weeks in contemplation, that Mr.
Hunt has been apprized thereof, and that his letter to J.
Jackson, in reply, may be seen, on application, by any of
his friends.

So much for the Radical records in Drakard's Stamford
News, of the llth instant, upon which I shall make a few
brief observations, and to which I beg to call the serious
attention of all my Radical readers, and of every friend of
humanity, liberty, and justice in the kingdom. With re
gard to my own liberation, I shall take occasion to say
more hereafter. The next thing which presents itself is the
infamous, cruel, and unchristian treatment of the Rev.
Joseph Harrison, in Chester Castle. The sufferings of
this worthy man have been great indeed, for a length of
time: for nearly two years he was compelled to wear
the gaol dress : this was the handy work of the Cheshire
Magistrates, the old keeper of the Gaol being a very hu
mane man, and never inflicted any torment upon Mr.
Harrison that he was not compelled to do by the unchris
tian-like orders of the Magistrates. But the old Gaoler
of Chester is dead, and a brother of the keeper of the New
Bailey at Manchester is appointed in his stead. It ap
pears that Mr. Harrison has been placed in solitary con
finement for eight days, in consequence of his having had
a Chester Guardian newspaper in his possession, he being
prohibited from reading any newspaper but the Maccles
field Courier, by order of his inhuman keepers, the Col
stons, the Thrings, and the Dickensons of Cheshire. He
is threatened, by some new regulations to be put in force
by his new Gaoler, to be deprived of beer, milk, meat,
fruit, and groceries. " We shall see." You will not fail
to recollect, my friends, that the Somersetshire Justices
made an order of Quarter Sessions, which they got backed
with the signature of the venerable Justice Best, for pro
hibiting all persons from having any intercourse with me,
and which order they carried into execution in the most
rio-id and unfeeling manner, by placing me in strict soli
tary confinement for forty days and forty nights, and they
absolutely denied me the assistance of my surgeon during
16 B

10
eleven days, whilst I was suffering extreme bodily pain for
the want of such assistance. This they did under the beastly
pretence that they had not the power to alter a rule sign
ed by a Judge. One fact which occurred during this
illness and this bodily suffering, has rather curiously como
to my knowledge, which is as follows: — On the eleventh
day of my illness, or rather the eleventh night, to relieve
myself from the pain of a violent paroxysm of the cramp
of the chest and spasms of the heart, 1 took, about three
o'clock in the morning, sixty drops of laudanum, which
threw me into a sound sleep, where I lay till nearly ele
ven o'clock, in spite of all Mr. Hardy's efforts to rouse me,
the outward door of my dungeon being barricadoed ; it
happened that five Magistrates were assembled at the
Gaol on that morning — three 'Squires and two Parson-
Justices. Mr. Hardy, alarmed at my serious illness, had
employed one of the turnkeys, by a ladder, to get at my
window, and by that means 1 was aroused at length from
my slumber, although extremely weak and ill. Mr. Har
dy then applied, in a serious and earnest manner, to the
assembled junto, for permission to admit Mr. Shorland,
my surgeon, to visit me, as he said he -could not be an
swerable for the consequences if it were any longer re
fused. He was ordered to withdraw, and the propriety
of assenting to this was warmly discussed by the con
clave. At length it came to a division, whether the sur
geon should be admitted to me or not. The three
'Squires voted for his admission, and the two Parsons,
Colston and Thring, voted against his admission. The
lowly and pious followers of Jesus, the Parsons, were
left in a minority ; but if a third Parson had been present,
and it had been carried against the admission of the sur
geon, their pious and humane intentions would have been
frustrated, for on the same day a peremptory order came
down from the Court of King's Bench, directed to the
keeper of Ilchester Gaol, to admit my surgeon and my
attorney. Only think of this Christian conduct of these
Christian preachers of the Gospel. However, my surgeon
was admitted when I was ill, but in all other respects I
was kept in solitary confinement for twenty-nine days
longer. By the aid of the press and the force of public
opinion, 1 was, at the end of that time, relieved from this
worse than Algerine persecution : by the aid of the pub
lic press poor Harrison was relieved from the degrading
persecution of wearing the gaol dress : by the aid of the

1 1
public press and the force of public opinion, I have full
confidence that this worthy man will be rescued from the
persecution that his keepers premeditate to inflict upon
him. He is a brave, a persevering, and a zealous friend
of Liberty. Time passeth on, and he will come forth
from his dungeon an honour to himself, to his country,
and to the cause for which he is suffering such a martyr
dom. As for Sir Charles Wolseley's liberal and patriotic con
duct to poor Ridgway, no one who knows him will be
surprised at it. Of all the old aristocratical families in
the kingdom, 1 know of no one who has stood so boldly
forward as the friend of the oppressed and persecuted Ra
dicals as Sir Charles Wolseley. His manly conduct at
Lancaster, when Saxton, Bamford, Wilde, Healy, and two
others were imprisoned after the 16th of August, for want
of excessive bail, Sir Charles Wolseley came forward and
bailed them all. He flew to be my bail, in conjunction
with my brave friend Mr. Thomas Chapman, of Manches
ter. He and Mr. Northmore have voluntarily given se
curity for my good behaviour for five years, in five hun
dred pounds each ; and when poor Ridgway was likely to
remain in g-aol for want of bail, Sir Charles Wolseley is
the first to stand boldly forward the friend and the pro
tector ofthe oppressed.
The case of the four men at Ashton-under-Line, is very
important, and requires attention. I believe this is the
first instance of any person being held to bail upon the
provisions of either of the SIX ACTS. This should be
attended to and narrowly watched.
THE CASE OF MR. LEWIS.
The first to take up the cause of this persecuted, and,
I am sorry to say, neglected real Reformer, has been the
Members of the Northern Union, assembled at Leeds, from
the towns of Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield,
Leeds, &c. This is as it ought to be ; the Great Northern
Union was formed expressly for such purposes. In a let
ter which I have received from Mr. James Mann, of Leeds,
he says, " I have attended many meetings of the friends
of Reform, and I never was more gratified with witness-
in0- such a general devotion to the cause as was mani
fested on that occasion. The Radical Reformers in York
shire are not diminished, but increased in numbers ; and
if they have been resting on their oars, they are ready on

12
all occasions to use their Utmost exertions to promote that
cause for which their forefathers bled." The address
from the Committee of the Birmingham Union, signed by
Mr. Lakins, speaks for itself; and I fully concur with
them in saying-, " unless the Reformers do come forward
and act, as they are bound to do, by the ties of humanity
and justice, they will allow a never-dying stigma to at
tach itself to their character." But the Reformers will
not allow this: / will pledge my life upon the event, that
they will not allow so brave and staunch a friend to their
cause to remain one minute after the period of his sen
tence expires, for want of 1501. to pay his fines. By Hea
vens, rather than the Reformers should be disgraced by
such a, base act of desertion towards one of their staunchest
friends, I would submit to live upon bread and water for
a year. No, no, this cannot happen. I beg you to recol
lect this fact, my friends : — The only persons prosecuted
by the Government for making or selling- Breakfast Pow
der, have been Reformers, and Reformers suffering impri
sonment. Myself, as the grand offender, the inventor,
was fined 2007. ; Mr. Lewis was fined 100Z. ; and Mr. Ed
monds, of Birmingham, was fined 60/. I was in Ilchester
Bastile, Mr. Lewis was in Oakham Gaol, and Mr. Ed
monds was in Warwick Gaol. Look at this, my friends.
The bloodsuckers of the Excise did not wait for my libera
tion : no, Mr. Attorney-General sent down an extent from
the Crown with an order to seize and sell my estate, the
manor of Glastonbury, in this county ; and the Sheriff was
actually preparing to put it up for sale by auction, which
would have been accomplished in a few days if I had not
paid the 200/. When Mr. Edmonds's imprisonment ex
pired, a detainer was lodged against him for 60/. : what
an amiable Government, the pride of England and the
envy and admiration of surrounding nations. But " we
shall see." Let it not be forgotten that the Ministers of
the Crown have since been compelled to bring in and
pass an Act of Parliament to declare it legal to manufac
ture and sell Breakfast Powder ; but, mark, it must be
called Roasted Corn. Ha ! ha ! ! ha ! ! ! But the Re-"
formers have not disgraced themselves by deserting any
one of their advocates who have been persecuted, and we
will shew the Ministers that we are not going to begin
the trade of desertion in the case of Mr. Lewis. In a
letter which I received from a gentleman who has known
Mr. Lewis for a long time, he speaks of him as follows:—

13
" He is a young man of good education and unimpeach
able integrity, and as sincere a Radical as any in Great
Britain. He was married, not long before he was con
signed to a prison, to a most amiable and accomplished
young woman, and they have both, from a delicacy which
virtuous minds only can feel, refrained from unfolding the
tale of their bitter privations, although I know that they
have scarcely been able to procure the common necessa
ries of life." When you have read this, my friends, I
know you will, every man, woman, and child of you, fly to
their relief. I shall be at liberty in a fortnight, but I
shall not rest till I know that Mr. Lewis's fines are paid,
at least till the sum is raised to pay them.
When you have read the following correspondence
between tho Rev. Mr. Cresswell and Thomas Northmore,
Esq. you will have some idea of what is going on in the
West of England:
"Liberation of Mr. Hunt. — A Committee has been
formed, for the purpose of arranging a public breakfast at
Ilchester, and a public dinner at Taunton, on the 30th of
October next, when Mr. Hunt will be restored to breathe
the free air of Heaven, without control. The Rev. Henry
Cresswell has accepted the office of secretary, and the fol
lowing correspondence has passed between that gentleman
and Thomas Northmore, Esq. who is to preside on the
occasion. " TO T. NORTHMORE, ESQ.
" Taunton, September 20, 1822.
" Sir, — The Committee for arranging the proceedings
of ' the Liberation Dinner/ in honour of Henry Hunt,
Esq. and to be held at the London-Inn, Taunton, on the
30th of October next, have deputed me to express to you
their sentiments. We heed not remind you, Sir, of the
manly and patriotic virtues ofthe above-mentioned indivi
dual, whose whole life has been devoted to the public wel
fare ; nor need we now particularize the more immediate
benefits arising to this county, from the late never-to-be-
forgotten transactions at Ilchester; when we hail the day
on which your name shall be enrolled amongst us, as a
freeholder, these matters shall be more fully developed,
and submitted to your attention. With anxious eye then
to future, and in admiration of your splendid talents, we call
upon you to throw a lustre and brilliancy over our pro
ceedings ; we call upon you yet by a stronger claim as

14
Englishmen, determined not to barter away our Rights ;
at the same time, well knowing how to appreciate the
social blessings of order and sobriety — we invite you,
of a neighbouring county, in your public capacity as a
Magistrate, to fill that chair, which, with shame be it
spoken, (on account of the Cloud now hanging over them)
not one of the Magistrates in our own, is worthy to be in
cited to. Thus to their eternal disgrace, shall it hereafter
be recorded, that from amongst their ranks, the individual
was not to be found, honourable enough to disown the un
gracious acts of his colleagues, or to welcome to more than
life — to Liberty — the man so severely galled by their
harsh and undue restrictions.
" I am, Sir, in the name of the Committee, your's
respectfully, " HENRY CRESSWELL, Secretary."
" To the Reverend Henry Cresswell, Secretary lo the Com
mittee for arranging the proceedings ofthe Liberation
Dinner, in honour of Henry Hunt, Esq.
" Rev. Sir , — I return the Committee my heartfelt thanks,
as well for the distinction of which they have thought me
worthy, as for having deputed you to be the organ of their
sentiments. You judge rightly in deeming it unnecessary
to remind me, either of the manly and patriotic virtues of
Mr. Hunt, or of his devotion to the public welfare. They
are seen afar, as the beacons of the night ; and as well-
known as is that corruption, which, by his laudable and
persevering exertion, now totters, like the Bastile of Il
chester, to its very foundation.
'¦' That my becoming a freeholder of a county, from
which my family originally sprang, should afford to the
committee any gratification, is an honour of which I feel
proud ; and I am happy to inform you that I am now a
freeholder of Somersetshire.
"What you are pleased to observe of my humble talents,
I attribute solely to the too-favourable feelings pf private
friendship ; for I trust I shall never be weak enough to
suppose myself capable of throwing any lustre on such an
assemblage of patriotic talent as Somersetshire produces —
men who, if I regard only the support they have given to
the Ilchester sufferer, are above any praise of mine. But
you call upon me, Sir, in the name of Englishmen deter
mined not to barter away their rights; this is a call which,
in whatever light I may regard myself, I consider it as a

IS
duty to obey ; particularly in times when corruption and
aristocratic intimidation, seem to have overspread the land,
and, if I were to judge from a neighbouring city, have
almost changed the nature of Englishmen.
" You are pleased also to call upon me as a Magistrate ;
I am sure that the people of Somerset will need no Magi
strate to enjoin order, or sobriety. Britons, when left to
themselves, not only know what is right, but never fail to
practise it; it is corruption which is disorderly ; it is the
minions of plunder who create confusion. Look at the
triumphant procession of Mr. Wooler into Birmingham ;
fifty thousand people, unreproached by a single act of dis
order ! uninjured by a solitary accident ! and why ? be
cause they were left to themselves, and their own pru
dence. Even the poor solitary police-officer found no
employment ; nor did I see any occasion to swear in (as
I had threatened) any one of the four spies who a'ttended
the dinner, as special constables to keep the peace. But
your mention of me in the capacity of Magistrate, in which
capacity I have ceased to act for many years, calls to my
mind a piece of private history, which I will reserve for
another opportunity, as it will tend to develope the secret
and remote workings of that system, under which the
nation, through the permission of the borough-holding
Whigs, still groans. " I remain, dear Sir,
" Your's, very sincerely,
"T. NORTHMORE."
" Cleve, Sep. 22, 1822."
HUNT'S RADICAL MUSEUM.
Read the address from the Reformers, or rather from
my constituents of Preston, and you will see that they are
not unmindful of the man that they honoured with their
voluntary and unbought votes ; neither are they unmind
ful of the Radical Museum, for they have sent me a beau
tiful model of a loom in full work, with an elegant speci
men of a shuttle, accompanied with an ode, written by a
weaver, wherein its wonderful powers are melodiously
described. This loom and shuttle, which shall be placed
in a conspicuous part of my intended Museum, and which
will confer equal honour upon the institution, as upon those
who have so handsomely presented it to me, is greatly
enhanced in its value, in my estimation, in consequence
of its having been made by my much-esteemed friend, Mr.

16
John Irvin, the independent elector pf Preston, who
proposed me to his fellow-citizens as a candidate for the
representation of that borough at the last general election.
In the same box which brought me the loom and shuttle,
was packed a neat pair of slippers, as a present from my
brave friend, Mr. James Huffman, the sturdy; unbending
Radical shoemaker, who seconded- the proposition made
by Mr. Irvin : these slippers are not only rendered valuable
as coming from such a man, but they are rendered doubly
curious, as having been the identical pair of slippers
which were made by Mr. Huffman's sons, during the pro
cession ofthe late Preston Guild. Although they fit me
as neatly as any pair of shoes that I was ever measured
for, yet they shall be carefully preserved in my Museum
for the inspection of the curious ; but if I live till the
next Preston Guild, I shall be nearly seventy years of
age, and if we can preserve the slippers, and I am able,
I will wear ihem at the masquerade then and there to be
given. With the address from-the Radicals of Preston I
am particularly gratified, because it is signed by the very
men who formed the committee that conducted my elec
tion, which fully establishes the fact, so honourable to
them, and so pleasing to myself, that I have not lost one
friend of that committee since I have been incarcerated in
this Bastile ; and that the good opinion which the electors
of Preston entertained of me in 1819, instead of being di
minished by time, and the vulgar and malignant attacks
of my open enemies, and the dark and assassin-like stabs
of envious and jealous pretended friends, that this good
opinion has been g-reatly increased by the proofs which
they have had, that I am the inflexible friend of Liberty,
and the uncompromising enemy of despotism, whether 1
walk at ease, and breathe the pure air of Heaven in a
free country, or whether I inhale the pestilential atmo
sphere of a damp and dreary dungeon, within the walls of
an English Bastile. Thus have the Radicals of Leeds, of
Manchester, of Bolton, and of Preston, at once disclaimed
and denounced the falsehoods of the contemptible author
of a scurrilous pamphlet, published at Manchester some
time since, against me, which pamphlet was impudently
dedicated to these very men, who have so unequivocally
dashed the slander back again into the teeth of its author.
The beautiful presents from my friends at Preston, will be
a valuable addition to my Museum.
I am happy also to inform my friends, that the ingenious

17
Mr. Joseph Lawrence,- of Glastonbury, is preparing a
correct and beautiful model of Ilchester Bastile, perfect in
all its parts in the most minute particulars. This specimen
of Radical talent in the art of Modelling- will be a very
valuable acquisition, and it wi!! be placed in the centre
ofthe Museum, upon the table on which I have written my
Memoirs, and my Addresses to the Radical Reformers of
the United Kingdom. I also intend to have for the in
spection of the curious a piece of the skull of a poor lad of
Stockport, about the size of a half-crown piece, which
was cleft from the forehead of this young man, with a
newly-sharpened sword of one of the drunken and in
furiated Manchester Yeomen, on the never-to-be-forgot
ten 16th of August, 1819, and preserved by Mr. Cheet-
ham, the surgeon of Stockport, who presented it to me.
I shall have this curious specimen of loyal English blood-
spilling exhibited in a battle, hermetically sealed, that it
may be handed down to posterity as a relic of the nine
teenth century, during the last year of the reign of George
the Third. MR. HUNT'S LIBERATION.
I take the earliest opportunity to inform my friends,
that in consequence of some shuffling conduct on the part
of the poor timid slave at Taunton, who had been en
gaged by the Committee to prepare a dinner on the 30th
instant, to celebrate my liberation, that a majority of that
Committee have assented to my request, and the urgent
solicitations of the whole of my numerous friends in this
countv, not to dine at Taunton on that day ; but, after
having partaken of the Public Breakfast to be given at
the Castle Inn, Ilchester, that the procession shall pro
ceed to Glastonbury, where the event will be celebrated
bv a Public Dinner; the particulars of which will be
announced in the Sherborne Mercury, and the Bath Jour
nal. I feel particularly obliged to the Gentlemen of the
Committee for having made this judicious alteration in
their arrangements as to the place of dining, Glastonbury
bein0- altogether as convenient and centrical, as Taunton
was Inconvenient and detached from the great body of my
friends. Going to Taunton, which is situated nearly at
the Western extremity of the county,' would have been
takin"- me a distance of twenty-four miles further from
homeYhan 1 now am. Going to Glastonbury, which is
situated in the centre of the county, will be taking me
forward twelve miles on my road towards home ; thus
15 ©

18
saving me a distance of sixty miles: this of itself is mo
trifling accommodation to me personally, particularly
when the season of the year is considered ; but it will
also enable me to attend my own Court-leet for the manor
and hundred of Glaston, 12 hides, which will be held on
the 30th of October, and which will give me an oppor
tunity of personally swearing in the two constables of the
hundred, and all the peace-officers of the town and
within the hundred of Glastonbury; which are all ap
pointed by the twelve Juries that do suit and service at
my Court-leet, and sworn by my steward, who holds the
same. In fact, at Glastonbury I shall be surrounded by
my friends ; and of all the places in the county, it is the
most appropriate to have a dinner upon such an occasion;
and the alteration made by the Committee, so much for
the best, has given me and all my friends the greatest
satisfaction. At Glastonbury, we shall be at home ; at
Taunton, we should have been thirty miles further out of
the world. I am, my beloved friends,
Yours, most faithfully,
HENRY HUNT.
P. S. A Public Breakfast will be given at the Castle
Inn, at Ilchester, at half-past eight o'clock in the morn
ing, of which I shall partake. Admission tickets to be
had at the bar of the Inn, price two shillings each.
I have received several letters to inquire what favours and
colours are to be worn on the occasion. Every one must
please themselves in this respect; but myself and friends
have provided green silk handkerchiefs with white bor
ders, which have been purposely ordered from London,
and they are to be purchased of Mr. White, draper, at
Ilchester. Green and white, the victorious colours worn
by Mr. Uphill's friends at the late election for Coroner,
are the colours adopted by my friends in this county.

19
ADDRESS TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Undeviating Patriot — Permit us, a few of your un
shaken admirers, Radical Reformers, of the borough of
Preston, in Lancashire, to congratulate you on the near
approach of that long looked-for day when you shall
come forth from your long and unjust incarceration amid
the enthusiastic plaudits of millions of your admiring fel
low-countrymen, who will rend the air with grateful ac
knowledgments of your persevering endeavours to ame
liorate the condition of suffering humanity, and by bring
ing to trial, and we hope to condign punishment, one
of its most remorseless enemies ; and what will give
more energy and life to the splendid scene, that of hav
ing before our eyes some of the greatest victories ever
achieved by man under such circumstances. There are
so many of the noble acts of your long political career im
pressed on our minds, that leave no place there for the
voice ofthe green-eyed fiend jealousy, embittered by vin
dictive malice, with all the force of eloquence possessed
by the whole host of tbe bravos of character. O, how
we laugh when we think of such beings as " I myself I"
and 'Squire Bristle, the late Smedley Cottage coward,
setting themselves up to attack a man who is so deserved
ly engrafted on the hearts of his countryrmen ! The for
mer, who fled his country to escape persecution, and left
those, to whom he pretended friendship, in the jaws of
their tyrants, and flew to America till the blast had pass
ed over his suffering country ; the latter wretch, as far as
our knowledge of the thing goes (for a man we blush
to call him), never was any thing in his life but a down
right coward. The only thing which we fear is, that you
should degrade yourself by taking the smallest notice of
such reptiles : leave them to the execrations of their coun
try, for the unfounded and slanderous falsehoods they
have so basely propagated, to endeavour to injure the
character of one of the most illustrious advocates of the
inherent birthright of every rational son of nature, whe
ther he be Protestant, Catholic, Dissenter, or whatever
his conscience dictates to him, if he is to be governed by
the law of the land in which he liveth. Those endearing
principles, so ably and so sincerely professed and openly
avowed by you, Sir, are the great cause why you are so in
separably linked-to our hearts.
We have long counted the days of your bondage in the
Boroughmongers worse than Egyptian slavery: their

20
slaves were' allowed the light ofthe sun, which you were
cruelly denied. Thanks to the Great Author of Freedom,
at whose nod the obedient seasons roll round in one har
monious whole, you have completed the Herculean task
with a greatness of soul which would reflect everlasting
honour on the most renowned martyr that ever suffered
in Freedom's cause. We are as impatient of the arrival
of that day as ever the youthful fair one was for the morn
on which she was to be united to the man she loved.
We are only sorry we cannot be participators in such soul-
cheering scenes as will take placebetween your liberation
and tlie day when we shall have it in our power to ex
press our feelings more fully than we can jointly do in
an address, particularly when we take into account the
man whom we are addressing. This sight we trust we
shall be gratified with as soon as you can make it conve
nient after you leave your present wretched abode, which,
thank Heaven, is not now so bad as the enemies of man
kind had once doomed it to be. One of our greatest and
proudest reflections is that of being the first to cry aloud
for your liberation, or else a remission of Judge Best's
sentence. The latter, we are proud to say, that we were
in some measure instrumental in accomplishing; thefor
mer, time will, in spite of all the base intrigues of the ma
lignant enemies of humanity and justice, soon bring about:
that will be the time which will put the cowards to si
lence, who have been vile enough to attack a man within
the gloomy walls of a prison. Sir, your name and me
mory will be admired as long as history will be able to
hand it down to ages yet to come ; likewise your Radical
Museum will both perpetuate your and your Radical coun
trymen's talents and industrious ingenuity ; which plan we
highly approve of; and as an earnest of the esteem in
which we hold the institution, we have come to a re
solution to present you with a Loom, in full working
order, with every necessary utensil for working a nine-
treadle spot, made by Mr. John Irvin, of Preston, who for
many years has been one of the unshaken friends and sup
porters of Freedom. The healds, through which the yarn
is worked, were knit by a woman eighty-four years of
age ; the reed was made by a staunch Radical, Mr. Thomas
Jackson, one of your late voters ; the design drawn by
Mr. Edmund Atkinson, of Ribbleton-lane, and gaited or
mounted by Mr. William Atkinson, son of the above.*
* Who voted for you at tha Preston election, and was obliged to

11
This loom, in its working state, was intended to be ex
hibited at the grand festival called the Preston Guild, and
was actually on the ground ; but, on account of the wet
ness of the day, we thought it. advisable to take shelter in
a house, so as to preserve them from the rain. Their di
mensions are small, but no smaller in proportion than the
weavers' wages are at present: they stand within thir
teen inches square. Their curiosity consist in their small
ness, and if our tyrants had not incarcerated you until
1829, or the fourteenth or fifteenth year of our glorious
peace, with the full enjoyment of Judge Bayley's bless
ing, there is little doubt but we could have accompanied
the loom with a workman as diminutive in size ; but as
we have heard of many mechanical branches of Radical
Reformers sending, or going to send, something to add to
the institution, we thought these would be in some mea
sure appropriate, and we flatter ourselves they will be ac
ceptable. Sir, we almost think it a waste of words to
ask your acceptance of so small a tribute, but with a heart
sincere we have sent them. Sir, there is one thing we
must not forget ; that is, the first news you heard on the
morning ofthe last anniversary of the bloody 16th of Au
gust, 1819, which remains yet unatoned, with the excep
tion of that very act. Your feelings on that occasion
were fully in unison with those of every friend of huma
nity and justice: such events as the above fully prove,
that though " Justice slumber, yet she never sleeps;"
and shews how hard a thing it is to bear a conscience
stained with the blood of innocence.
Where shall a wretch be found hardy enough to take
his place? Will the sun of mother Hunn drop into his
shoes ? It is true his mind is base enough, if he has a face ;
but our hard-earned gold will, we fear, make it as ada
mant to every complaint of the people, and should that
fall short there is the bayonet.
We remain, Sir, on behalf of the subscribers,
Your sincere admirers,
EDMUND ATKINSON,
JOHN A. STEWART,
WALTER SMART,
LAWRENCE DEWHURST, >The Committee.
HENRY ISHERWOOD,
JAMES HUFFMAN,
JOHN IRVIN.
Preston, Sept. S(\th, 1822.
produce the Bible in open Court to prove that he was at the age of
twentv-one.

22
SONG.
Tune, — " Rule Britannia."
When wicked tyrants, England's foes,
Tried to enslave this happy land,
In majesty Britannia rose,
And, smiling, gave to Hunt her hand.
chorus.
Then Britons rise ! on Hunt attend,
Britannia's faithful, guardian friend.
Thou hast defended me, she said,
And thou shalt still my cause defend ;
Through thee shall Freedom raise her head,
By thee my children's slavery end.
Corruption's sons, a filthy train,
With all their might have thee assail'd ;
In vain they rag'd, they raved in vain,
For thou hast over them prevail'd.
They laugh'd, they shouted on the day,
When they my guiltless children slew .
They weep, they fall, with wild dismay,
When thou shalt give them vengeance due.
Imprison'd by perverted laws,
They thought thy glorious course was done ;
But thou, still faithful to my cause,
Hast only fairer laurels won.
The cruel rulers of thy gaol,
Completely thou hast overcome ;
Justice and Truth again prevail,
And all thy enemies are dumb.
Those that in heavy chains were bound.
Here thy successful labours bless ;
And thus shall all thy works be crown'd
With vast applause, complete success.
Britons ! this is the joyful morn *
That sets him from his dungeon free ;
Then haste, arise ! his brows adorn
With the fair wreath of Liberty.
With shouts of triumph Hunt attend,
Britannia's great victorious friend.
* Wednesday, October the 30th.

23
ODE TO THE SHUTTLE.
Let poets proudly sing the boasted feats,
Of belted knights, with shield and smoking blade ;
Their tales of love and hermitage retreats :
I sing the shuttle, ^pilgrim of the shade ;
Thou tool by which the weaver gets his food,
I must extol thy great, though partial good.
Without thy wand'rings, optic powers decrease ;
The rich, the poor, alike when naked shine :
Tremendous thought ! should eye-distinction cease,
And rank resemble multitudes of swine.
But slaves, and tyrants, despot and divan,
By thee we can distinguish man from man.
Thou deck'st the fop, haif-form'st the nymph offashion,
From age decrepit shield'st the winter storm :
Thou garb'st the shivering children of compassion,
And serv'st to keep the new-born bantling warm.
'Tis thou that form'st and deck'st the couch of down ;
To thee the mitred Bishop owes his gown.
The maid, that gold has doom'd the dotard's slave,
Should death, in pity, burst her hated ties ;
As with mock-grief she follows to the grave,
Thy labours serve to wipe her tearless eyes.
Her formal mourning-duty done, she tries
By thee, to deck her charms for future joys.
In hostile rage, when line does charge the line,
And broken columns baffle martial skill,
Each national, adopted garb of thine,
Instructs the hireling warrior whom to kill.
When flags, with murd'rous pomp the fields array,
The boasting banners, works of thine display.
Thou driv'st the ocean's plow, by flowing sheets,
When dauntless voyagers distant seas explore;
And smiling traffic's wealth-emburdened fleets,
On canvass-wing, that scud from shore to shore
Thou render'st fame to the magnetic guide,
Without thee, what were Neptune's boasted pride ?
To every clime that intercourse refines,
Thy works of .use and ornament extend ;
And from the pole and equinoctial line's
Intensity, the human race defend.
Whom, in return, thy drivers scanty give,
The toil-begotten privilege to live. CHARLES DEVLIN.
Preston.

24
THE CAPTiVE'S RELEASE ; OR, THE PATRIOT
SET AT LIBERTY.
Tune, — " Rule Britannia.' '
Britons, rejoice in highest strains !
Behold the auspicious day i| come,
That breaks the tyrant's cruel chains,
And brings the captive patriot home.
CHORUS.
Then Freedom's sons rejoice with me,
The Patriot's set at liberty.
Yes, he has left the dungeons' gloom,
And all the pain and horror there ;
Like one emerging from the tomb,
He comes, the sweets of life to share.
Who can describe the woes he felt,
Immur'd in that accursed gaol ?
Well might the heart to sorrow melt,
Did pity tell the mournful tale.
Think of the dark pestiferous cell,
From which each friend and comfort's driven ;
There tortured by the imps.of hell,
And reft of all the gifts of heaven !
But he has borne unharmed their strife ;
His firm, undaunted, noble mind,
In -duty's path e'er stood upright,
Nor gold could bribe, nor fetters bind
Though troubles thick around him rose,
His heart nor fear nor danger knew ;
Boldly he fought fair freedom's foes,
And brought their deeds to public view.
Shall we forget the patriot brave ?
And not his glorious name revere ?
Shall we forget the men who gave
Sentence so unjust and severe ?
Tremble, ye brutes in human form,
Who joy'd to tread Jhe Captive down ;
Lest, Sampson-like, the people's arm
Sudden destruction scatter round.
But, Freedom's sons, arise, rejoice!
You, for whose sakes these woes he bore !
Come forth with heart, with hand, and voice,
And spread his fame from shore to shore.
Come toast him loud with three times three,
The Champion of Liberty.
T. Dolby, Printer, 299, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
or
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.

Ilchester Bastile, 13th day, Sd month, 4th year ofthe Manchester
Massacre, without retribution or inquiry.
Octobers, 1822.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Country men,
and Countrywomen,
The first thing that I did on the morning after my
arrival here, the 18th of May, 1820, after having written
to my family, I addressed the following Letter to you, my
friends, which was published by Mr. Dolby: .
" To the Reformers of England, Ireland, and Scotland,
and especially to those of Lancashire, who attended the
fatal Meeting at Manchester, on the 16th of August,
1819, and toAhose of Yorkshire, where a Special Jury
returned a Verdict of Guilty against Myself and three
Others, who attended that Meeting.
Ilchester Jail, in the County of Somerset,
May 18, 18S0.
FRIENDS AND FELLOW COUNTRYMEN.
I was brought to this place at ten o'clock last night to
expiate a fault of which I was deemed guilty by a YORK
SHIRE SPECIAL JURY, namely, of having attended
A MEETING, CALLED SEDITIOUS, AT MANCHESTER, ON
the 16th of August last. After enjoying an excellent
16 A

Printed by T. Dolby, 900, Strand.

night of undisturbed repose, my first care this morning ha*
been to communicate to my anxious and afflicted family
(from whom I had been unexpectedly dragged without
a moment's notice) the account of my journey from Lon
don, and safe arrival at this destination. That duty being
performed, my next occupation is to address those of my
injured, insulted, and oppressed Fellow Countrymen, who
have been actuated by the same principles as myself; but,
my Friends, you must not expect to hear from me the lan
guage of whining or complaint, either in regard to the
sentence passed upon me or the sufferings to which I may
be exposed: that man would be unworthy of the honour
of being denominated the Champion of that Reform for
which you have so honestly and perseveringly been con
tending, if he were to lower the dignity of a just cause, by
abject wailings on his own fate, or waste his energies in
impotently railing against our common persecutors. Be
assured that I shall do neither the one nor the other, but
shall continue to exert every means within my power, to
promote the freedom and welfare of my Fellow Country
men, and endeavour to alleviate their sufferings and priva
tions. Persecution never yet made converts to any doc
trine, and it would be extraordinary if I were the first pro
selyte made by such means.
It is a curious coincidence, and deserves to be recorded,
that during the early part of the protectorate, one of my
forefathers, Colonel Thomas Hunt, was imprisoned in this
ver'y jail, and here sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and
quartered, for having raised, clothed, equipped, and
mounted a troop of horse jn the county of Wilts, for the
purpose of making war against Cromwell, who, in this in
stance, it appears, was more humane than some of his suc
cessors, for he mitigated the sentence to that of his being
simply beheaded. However, my great-grand-father con
trived to escape out of the prison, habited in the clothes of

'one of his sisters who came to visit him the night before
his intended execution, and remaining in his bed till the
next morning, he was enabled to land safe in France, where
he joined and remained faithful to his Prince the Second
Charles, and returned with him on his restoration. During
his absence, Cromwell not only imprisoned his sister for
two year* in this same jail, but he confiscated the whole of
his property and estates, which the faithless, treacherous
Monarch never restored when he became King.
On the 17th day of May, 1820, in the first year of the
Reign of George the Fourth, I, Henry Hunt, the lineal
descendant of the said Colonel Thomas Hunt, was incar
cerated in the same jail, under a sentence. of the Court of
King's 13eneh of TWO YEARS and SIX MONTHS im
prisonment, and then to find security for my good beha
viour for Five Years, myself in One Thousand
Pounds, and two sureties iu Five Hundred Pounds
each, for having accepted an invitation, and attended a
Public Meeting of the People held at Manchester, on the
16th of August last, for the advertised purpose of taking
into consideration " the best and most Legal means of
obtaining a Reform in the Commons' House of Parlia
ment," which meeting, although conducted in the most
peaceable and orderly manner, was charged and violently
dispersed by the Manchester Yeomanry Cavalry, aided by
-two troops of the Cheshire Yeomanry and the 15th Regi
ment of Hussars ; when, melancholy to relate, Fourteen
persons were killed, and Six Hundred and Eighteen
wounded ! ! !
Thus you see, my Friends, that an individual of one
generation was condemned to suffer an ignominious death
for being a royalist, but having escaped from the power
of Cromwell, his property and estates were confiscated ;
and that an individual, a descendant of the same family, of
another generation, is now sentenced to be immured in a

dungeon, in the very same jail, for two years and six
months, and he\d to excessive bail for five years longer,
ibr having advocated the right ofthe people to meet Ind
petition for redress of grievances and restoration to the
fundamental principles of the British constitution. These
two case'.* afibrd" a convincing demonstration, that, whether
a man opposes the tyrannical measures of a Common
wealth, or whether he exposes the corruptions of a mixed
government, he" is equally liable to the vindictive persecu
tions of the ruling powers.
T'he principal object of this Address, is to place on re
cord the names .of a11 t'J>e Parties that have been concerned
"i th e prosecution gainst myself and the other defendants
ln thiig affair, that wheY we are m more> !t may be useful
t0 Yto descendants to pos.sess smyw document of sufficient
F authority. To those to whv.°m hono--r is due, honor ought
lo be awarded, and I doubt nov that the'^e gentlemen and
their partizans, will consider it a «omplimeni to be recog-
' nized in this list. The glory and the accountability
equaly attaches to them ; and, as in England, all agents of
power are by law considered responsible, and further dis
cussions may arise on this great national question in and
out of Parliament, in either sense it may be an act of duty
to determine the share of glory, and legal and moral re
sponsibility which attaches to the several parties con
cerned. In the first place stand pre-eminent, the Man
chester Magistrates, viz. William Hulton, of Hulton, Rev.
R. Hay, of Rochdale, Ralph Fletcher, of Bolton, Ralph
Wright, ditto, Rev. C. W. Ethelstone,  Tatton, J. Sil
vester, Wm. Marriot, Jer. Fielden, and J. Norris — Edward
Clayton, Boroughreeve of Manchester — Major Trafford and
Captain Birley, Commanders of the Manchester Yeomanry.
Colonel L'Estrange, Commander of the District. Then,
Mr. Attorney-General Gifford, and Mr. Solicitor-General
^Copley, Mr. Scarlett, Messrs. Sergeants Hullock and

Cross, and Mr. Littledale, the six Counsel for the Crown.
Next, the JURY ; Wm. Hall, Esq. Foreman, near Hull,
Wm. Chaytor, Esq. Thomas Parker, Esq. of Layton,
John Hutton, Esq. of Marsk, George Atkinson, Jun.
Esq. Thomas Robson, Esq. Timothy Hutton, Esq.
of Clifton, George BESwicK,Esq. John Chad wick, Esq.
William Selby, Esq. Septimus Bromley, of Sculcoats,
near Hull, and George Addy, 1 believe of Halifax ; (be
fore whom the presiding Judge was Mr. Justice Bayley.)
The four Judges of the Court of King's Bench, who con
curred in the sentence which was passed by the said Jus
tice Bayley, were Chief Justice Abbott, Justices Bay-
ley, Holroyd, and Best.
Nor, ought it to be forgottent that Mr. Justice Bay-
ley, in passing sentence (which he did in a soft tone and
mild manner) said that the Court having taken into con
sideration the punishment I had already suffered, the ill-
usage, assault, and solitary imprisonment inflicted upon me
at Manchester and Lancaster, the heavy expenses and
great inconvenience arising from the prosecution attending
at Lancaster and York Assizes, the expense and trouble of
various applications which I had made to .the Court of
King's Bench; the expenses alone, by-the-bye, amounting
to two years of my Income; taking all these things into
consideration, did, notwithstanding, sentence me to two
years and six months further imprisonment, &c. Now,
it would be desirable to know what would have been the
sentence if there had been none of these sets-off? We had
been charged for High Treason, and thereon imprisoned.
Next we were indicted for a Conspiracy, a Riot, a Tu
multuous and Riotous Meeting, Marching in Mili
tary Array, with Clubs, &c. creating great Terror
and Fear amongst his Majesty's Subjects, and, last
and least of all, there was a count charging us with at
tending a Seditious Meeting. The Jury acquitted, ov

in other words, declared us innocent, of all the seriou*
charges contained in seven out of eight counts, and found
us guilty only of what appeared to be a nominal count;
this count merely declaring that it was an illegal meet
ing. What therefore would have been the nature of my
sentence, supposing the Jury had found me guilty of the
Conspiracy, and the other serious charges in the indict
ment ; and supposing that I had bsen the cause of any riot
which led to the slaughter at Manchester, and supposing
that I had not been there seized and assaulted by the con
stables — ill-used and cut by the yeomanry — my brains
nearly knocked out — insulted by the magistrates — drag
ged to prison and confined eleven days and nights in a so
litary dungeon — supposing that I had not been put to the
expense of two years of my income, besides the loss of
time, and the harrassment of mind, added to that which I
feel more than all the rest — supposing that my innocent
family had not been worn out by anxiety for my safety —
supposing that all these circumstances had been quite the
reverse of what they really were, and that there had been
NO SET-OFF, nothing to be taken into consideration
by the court, what could have been the sentence then?
Slitting of noses and cropping of ears, are out of
fashion now. But under such circumstances, to have had
me sentenced to have had my nose slit, my ears cut off,
my eyes put out, to have been confined, for life in a loath
some dungeon, and to have daily undergone the torture of
thumb screws and the rack; I say, that if the Jury had
found me guilty of all the charges in the indictment, and
there had been no circumstances to have been taken into
consideration, such a sentence as the above would have
been duly proportioned to that which I now suffer.
But, my Friends, you will think that this is tbe very lan
guage of complaint which I have deprecated. I mean,
however, no such thing ; even under "such dreadful punish-

ments, the noble mind, conscious of its own rectitude,
would have borne the torture without being subdued into
complaint. Wehave all of us great sacrifices to make;
but if we can ultimately obtain that constitutional Reform,
for which we have been struggling, in the hope of secur
ing the freedom, the happiness, and the prosperity, of our
country, we shall have the consolation of knowing that we
have not suffered in vain.
With regard to the mere personal inconvenience of be
ing in jail, I esteem it a trifle, light as air; I have been
amusing myself this morning by reading the Historical
Memoirs of Napoleon, written by himself, in St. Helena.
Good God! even the reflection that such a man is a pri
soner, even this alone, would be sufficient to make any cot
temporary ashamed to complain of imprisonment, seeing
with what fortitude and magnanimity he bears his fate.
Although I am not much of a copyist, I shall feel a pride in
following in another respect the example of so great a
man. I have, therefore, my worthy Friends, already de
termined, during my confinement here, to write the history
of my own life, and public transactions. I propose to bring
it out in numbers which will be published once a month,
and to dedicate it to the Reformers, male and female, of
the united kingdom; by this means I shall be enabled to
communicate with them twelve times in the year, and I
will endeavour to get the first number published in the se
cond week in June, and regularly afterwards: a number
shall be ready for delivery, on the first of every month.
Although but an humble individual, yet mine has been a
life of activity, and mixed with interesting events. During
the last twelve years, I have been intimately connected
with public men and public affairs; and, at any rate, the
Reformers shall have an opportunity of knowing the his
tory of that man who has never refused, when called upon
by the people, to come forward to aid and assist in obtain-

8
ing their rights and demanding a redress of their griev
ances ; who has been the consistent undisguised advocate
of annual parliaments, universal suffrage and vote by
ballot. My time in this place will, therefore, not be wasted
in idleness, but shall be employed in the endeavour still to
extend the principles of Liberty, and promote the interests
of my country. This memoir of my life I intend to have
published by Mr. Thomas Dolby, in the Strand, to whom
all persons who desire to become subscribers are re
quested immediately to forward their orders, through the
medium of their booksellers. I intend each number to be
sold either for 6d. 9d. or ls. according to its bulk, and a
price such as shall enable all persons to purchase it; at the
same time, paying the publisher for his trouble, and myself
something to maintain me, while I am shut up in this
place. In regard to letters and communications which my
Friends in various parts ofthe empire may be disposed to
send, I am under the necessity of requesting that the post
age be paid, otherwise they must be returned, as my for
tune is incommensurate with the payment of large sums for
postage. Any parcels sent to Mr. Dolby in the Strand,
free of carriage, will be forwarded to me, once a week.
For the present, I remain,
Friends and Fellow Countrymen,
In high health and spirits,
Your sincere Friend,
H. HUNT.
P. S. In answer to various inquiries whether the ma
nufactory of my Breakfast Powder and British Herb Tea
has been stopped, I beg to inform my Friends and the Pub
lic, that it is still carried on with activity and success, un
der the inspection and care of my son : I can assure them
that both articles are now brought to the highest state of
perfection. Orders, for ready money only, will be at
tended to, and will be executed with punctuality."

The last thing that I shall do on the last day of my in
carceration, with the exception of writing to my family,
will be writing this short address to you, my friends.
During the period that I have been incarcerated in a
cold, damp, unhealthy dungeon for two years and six
months, there have been five different sorts of rules made
to annoy, to harrass, and to perplex my family and my
visitors. I was, by the petty malice- of my petty, vindic
tive, local persecutors, sentenced, and actually suffered
forty days solitary confinement, although there has never
been one, single accusation made against me or any of
my visitors, during the whole time I have been here. I am
writing this as the Gaol clock strikes nine, on the last
night of my sentence. 1 have been locked into my room
eight hundred and ninety six nights as soon as it
was dusk, never having had one friend or one human
being to speak to, after it was dusk, any one evening during
that time ; I have, therefore, spent 896 nights following
in solitary confinement, having been locked into my room
alone every one of those nights as soon as it was dusk.
But here I am, just the very same man in every respect,
with this difference, that I am 896 days older than I was
when I came here. To-morrow I leave this place, and if
I live till that time, what have the Boroughmongers
gained by my incarceration ? — I have detected and caused
to be exposed some ofthe most horrible atrocities of their
inhuman system — I have brought my Gaoler to justice,
and caused him to be dismissed and disgraced — I have
overawed and kept in complete subjection for six months
past the bench of Magistrates who had endeavoured to
destroy me ; and the Gaol wherein these atrocities have
been committed is ordered to be razed to the ground.
I have now fearlessly to ask those who have done me the
honour to read the letters which I have addressed to the
16 B

10
Radicals since I came here, to say, if they have ever dis
covered one sentiment that ever came from my pen tinc
tured with inconsistency — if ever they have found me
wavering? I fearlessly and deliberately now proclaim
myself the inflexible and uncompromising advocate of
Universal Rational Liberty, which can never be obtained
without Universal Suffrage and Vote by Ballot ; for these
I will contend as long as I draw breath.
With this deliberate and voluntary pledge, I now take
leave , briefly to offer my grateful and heartfelt thanks to
all those kind and considerate friends to whom I am in
debted for their subscriptions to assist me in the public un
dertakings in which I have been engaged. The subscrip
tions now amount to upwards of nine hundred pounds.
Although these subscriptions have been perfectly volun
tary, and without any solicitations from me, yet I esteem
it a bounden duty, which a public man owes to his own
character under ^Such circumstances, unequivocally to ac
count to the subscribers for the manner in which the sums
subscribed have been expended. I shall, therefore, un
derneath give a rough sketch of some of the sums which I
have paid since I came here and immediately preceding
it, subsequent to the verdict of guilty having been pro
nounced against me by a Yorkshire Special Jury. Which
sums I may fairly say have been expended solely on ac
count of my public exertions in the cause of the people,
' and which expenses would not have been incurred if \ had
not publicly advocated the Rights and Liberties of my
fellow-countrymen : — namely,

11
Paid the High Bailiff of Westminster, for £. *. d.
the Hustings, &c  470 0 0
First application to the Court of King's
Bench, for relief from the restrictions
imposed upon me in this Gaol  100 0 0
Expenses of Ilchester Gaol Investigation, 300 0 0
Penalties for making Breakfast Powder, ... 200 0 0
Additional expenses that my family have
been put to in consequence of harsh re
strictions, &c  100 0 0
Paid an Attorney's Bill  150 0 0
Paid a second Attorney's Bill  260 0 0

£1580 0 0

I have paid several hundred pounds more than this
within the last three years, which have been exclusively
incurred in consequence of my public exertions; but I
have enumerated the above sums to show you, my friends,
that the money which you have subscribed towards pay
ing my public expenses have not been put into my own
pocket, or expended for my own private use. [I esteem
the subscriptions made for me to be most liberal and hand
some, when it is considered that they have been sub
scribed by those who occupy the humble walks of life —
by those who daily labour for their bread. But although I
have never solicited aid for myself, yet I now most earnestly
implore you not to neglect and desert others who are left
in the dungeons of the Boroughmongers. Let us recol
lect that Mr. Lewis has 1501. to pay in fines before he will
be suffered to leave Oakham Gaol . I have suffered my
self, and I, therefore, know how to feel for the sufferings
of others. When the law was passed during the last ses
sion of Parliament for legalizing the sale of Breakfast
Powder, it was intimated by the Ministers that they would

12
remit the fines that had been imposed upon those who had
been convicted upon the prosecution of the Attorney-Ge
neral; but not one penny has ever been remitted to the
Radicals — not one shilling has ever been remitted of my
fine of 200/.
The clock is striking twelve ; the cannons are firing,
the rockets ascend the air, the bonfires are blazing, my
friends rejoice, our enemies tremble, and I must retire to
rest, to prepare for to-morrow. Adieu, my friends, and
believe me to be, whether in or out of a gaol, the same
man, and your's sincerely,
H. HUNT.

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Respected Sir — Condescend to accept the enclosed
trivial subscription of 21. But paltry as this contribution
may appear, we earnestly assure you that it is a faithful
testimony of the gratitude with which we esteem your in
flexible exertions on behalf of justice and suffering huma
nity. Nothing would more eminently promote our gratifica
tion, than ability to indemnify you against the pecuniary
losses you have sustained by advocating the natural rights
of mankind. By promulgating the genuine principles of
•the British Constitution; by averting abused and almost
unbounded prerogative from the hands of a lawless and
implacable monster; by depriving of power those mis
creants who retained it as a means of wreaking their ven
geance upon hapless individuals who might render them
selves obnoxious either by their honest rectitude, or resist
ance of oppression ; by abolishing the awful implements of
torture; by exposing horrid and unprecedented cruelty
and injustice; and by instigating the establishment of a
milder administration of local gaol discipline, you are
justly entitled to the applause and admiration of the
world. We beg leave to subscribe ourselves,
Respected Sir, your grateful and admiring
Fellow Countrymen and Countrywomen,
On behalf of the Subscribers, &c.
ANDREW KAY, HELEN KAY,
JOHN LATUS, MARGARET GRAY,
WILLIAM WOODS, « BELLA BIRCH ALL,
JAMES WOODS, MARGARET COUNCELL,
THOMAS FENTON, pRACE LATUS.
Through the hands of Peter Kay, No. 52, Singleton Row.
Preston, October 16, 1822.

13
Of the Fifteen unfortunate Individuals, who died in Con
sequence of Wounds received from the Yeomanry Ca
valry and Others, on the Plains of St. Peter; on
Monday, the 16lh of August, 1819, whilst peaceably
assembled to exercise the legal and constitutional Pri
vileges of Englishmen ; and on which fatal Day, up
wards of 600 Persons were also severely Wounded.
NAMES OP THE KILLED.
Thomas Ashworth, Bull's Head, Manchester.
John Ashton, Cowhill, near Oldham.
Thomas Buckley, Baretrees, Chadderton.
James Crompton, Barton.
William Dawson, Saddleworth.
 Fildes, Kennedy-street, Manchester (an infant.)
Mary Heys, Rawlinson's-buildings, Oxford-road, Man
chester.
Sarah Jones, Silk-street, Manchester.
John Lees; Oldham.
Arthur O'Neill, Pigeon-street, Manchester.
Martha Partington, Eceles.
John Rhodes, Pits Hopwood.
Joseph Whitworth, Hydes. ,
William Bradshaw, Lilly-hill, near Bury.

NAMIS OF THE MAGISTRATES WHO TOOK AN ACTIVE PABT ON TB> ABOTS
OCCASION.
Rev. W. R. Hay, Vicar of Rochdale.
Rev. C. W. Ethelstone, one of the Fellows of the Col
legiate Church.
Wm. Hulton, Esq. Hulton Park.
Robert Fielden, Esq.
Wm. Marriott, Esq. Manchester.
Ralph Fletcher, Esq. Bolton.
James Norris, Esq. Manchester.
Ralph Wright, Esq. Flixton.
T. W. Tatton, Esq. Whitenshaw, Cheshire.
J. Silvester, Esq. Chorley.
NAMIS OF THE MANCHESTER VEOMANBY ON THI SIXTIINTB •»
AUGUST, 1819.
HUGH HORNBY BIRLEY, COMMANDER.
Ascough, Christopher, butcher.

It
Anthony, Joseph, cheese-monger, Deansgate.
Ashton,  , fustian manufacturer, Cotton Court, Deans-
gate.
Bowker, Wm. King's Head, Old Shambles.
Bowker, John, cotton dyer, Back Salford.
Bowker, Wm. corn and flour warehouse, 25, Bridge-street.
Beeston, John, Windsor Castle, now of the George Inn,
Deansgate.
Barns,  , spinner, Miles Platting.
Benson, William, the Fox, Jackson's Row, Deansgate.
Briddon, Samuel, butter factor, St. Mary's-gate.
Barns, Thomas, cotton dealer, Ardwick-green.
Burgess, John, corn dealer, Worsley.
Burgess, Geo. late of the Hen and Chickens, Deansgate.
Bailey, George, watch-maker, near St. Ann's-square.
Bailey, John, Broughton.
Barker, James, Newton, (son of Joseph Barker).
Bourne, Jos. Andrew's-lane, (son ofthe coachmaker.)
Bentley, John, labouring man, (substitute for Thomas
Goodier, butcher, Stretford.)
Calton, Wm. horse breaker, sign ofthe Fox, Deansgate.
Cope,  liquor vaults, corner of Bridge-street.
Chadderton, Jacob, Wool Pack, Pendleton.
Chorlton, James, butcher, Stretford.
Chappee, Paul, Pendleton, (a foreigner).
Cooper, James, near the Cottage, St. Peter.
Coates, John, (son of Richard Coates, cotton dealer).
Chadwick,  , (son of Chadwick, late Chadwick and
Clogg.)
Derbyshire, George, shopkeeper, Stretford.
Day, pork-butcher, St. Mary's-gate.
Fiddian, Edward, (for T. and R. Barton).
Fletcher, Jacob, Eceles.
Fallows, William, Stretford.
Fox, Edward V., Lieutenant, Cannon-street.
Green, Samuel, dyer and printer, New Garratt.
Green, John, attorney at law.
Green, Robert, Hargreave-street, Red Bank, iron-liquor
merchant.
Gibson, William, farrier, Toad-laue.
Goodier, Mark, butcher, Stretford.'
Greenhalgh, John, (son ofthe Sheriff's officer.)
Gregson,  , Serjeant Major, 15, Back King-street.
Grimshaw,  , warehouse in M'Donald's-lane.
Hollis, John, Bath-lane, near Bury, gentleman's servant.
Hardman, James, tobacconist, Salford.

15
Hughes,  , cotton-spinner.
Horsfield, Parker, British Protection, Water-street.
Hulme, John, calico-printer, Cannon-street.
Holdgate, John, partner with Lindsey, Deansgate.
Heyward,  , cheesemonger, St. Mary's-gate.
Hamnett, James, hackney writer, Salford. ,
Hulme, Edward, Blue Cap, Salford.
Hardman,  , brewer's clerk, Milier's-lane.
Halton,  , ironmonger, Salford.
Hindley, Robert, captain, brewer, Salford.
Harrison, Samuel, Miles-Platting, (for T. Porter, Bradford.}
Hilton, John, calico-dealer.
Hulse, Henry, watch-maker.
Jones, Richard, (for T. Marriott,) Water-street.
Jackson, John, Park House, Trafford-road.
Jackson, Peter, Under Trafford, of Trafford Hall.
Krauss, John, drysalter, Cheetham (a foreigner).
Knowles, John, jun., painter, 10, Meal-street.
Lilly, Frederick, flour-dealer, Shude-hill.
Lavender, William, Bury-street, Salford.
Lovatt, Richard, tobacconist, Market-street.
Lomas, George, print works, Strangeways.
Lees,  , Crown and Thistle, Half-street,
Long, James, sadler, Market-street.
Moon, James, cotton-dealer.
Milne,  , liquor-merchant, Apple-market.
Meagher, Edward, tailor, Trumpeter.
Oilier,  , (son of Dr. Oilier.)
O'liver, Alexander, (son of tbe publican on Shude-hill.)
Pollard, Jonathan, jun., cotton-spinner, Ancoats.
Pixton, William, jun., butcher, Stretford.
Pickering, Thomas, late coachman to Mr. Kay.
Payant, William, wine-merchant, Fountain-street.
Pitt, J. M., dancing-master, 12, Bridge-street.
Rodgers, Benjamin, commission agent, Oxford-road.
Reid, John, Globe, Gartside-street.
Raingill, Parker, butcher, Stretford.
Savage,  , Stretford, quack-doctor.
Shawcoss, James, near Flixton.
Shelmerdine, Thomas, (for John Collyer, dyer, SpYing
"field-lane? Salford.)
Sharp, R. iron-dealer, Market-street.
Smith, John, Shaw's-brow, Salford, (son ofthe landlord of
the York Minster, Deansgate.)
Stott, William, No. 9, Parsonage, stable-keeper.
Simpson, Richard, cotton spinner, Miller's-lane

16
Street, Samuel, land surveyor, Bridge-street.
Sykes,  . son of the landlord of the Red House,
Tib-street.
Shawcross, William, labourer, Stretford.
Tebbutt, Edward, manufacturer, Peel-street.
Trylet, John, 69, Bridge-street.
Thorpe, Robert, s -rgeon.
Taylor, Robert, sadler, Stretford, (substitute for Peter
• Hume.)
Turner, William, for Smith and Ingle, paper-makers.
Withington, Richard, Tanner's-lane, Pendleton,
(warehouse, Back-square).
Wilde, James, surgeon, Eceles.
Wilson, Richard, Albion-hotel, (son ofthe landlord).
Whitlow, Meadowcroft, Richard, attorney.
Ward, William, plumber and glazier, Deansgate.
Whitworth, James, back Bridge-street, (for Mr. Cheshyre,
attorney.)

T. Dolby, Printer, S00, Srrandi

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.

Middleton Cottage, December 6, 1832.
My beloved Friends, Fellow-Counlrymen,
and Countrywomen,
Once more I breathe the fresh air, and now address you
from without the walls of a Dungeon, after having, in the
space of the last Two Years and Six Months, written forty-
six letters, addressed to you from within the walls of a
dungeon, and published in the Addenda of my Memoirs.
I beg of you, my friends, to look back upon those letters,
and then say what our tyrants have gained by persecuting
me. I shall now proceed briefly to detail the circumstances
attending my liberation from the Bastile at Ilchester ; and
some of the particulars which have occurred since, arising
out of that event.
On Tuesday, the 29th of October, my excellent friends
Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. Northmore arrived at
Ilchester ; these two gentlemen had voluntarily become
my bail, and had previously entered into recognizances
in 500Z. each, and myself in 1,000L as security for my
good behaviour for five years, to commence at the ex
piration of my imprisonment ; thus had all the forms pre
scribed by the mild and dispassionate sentence which the
venerable and upright Judges of the Court of King's
17 A

T. Dolby, Printer, 899, Strand,

Bench, had passed upon me, been strictly and legally
complied with on my part. By the middle of the day my
friends, Cousens, of Heytesbury, Mr. Oliver Hayward,
Mr. Perrott, and others, arrived, together with two
gentlemen from the Times and Morning Herald London
Newspapers, who came down to Ilchester, a distance of
127 miles, in order to report the proceedings. In the
evening friends arrived from Rochdale in Lancashire,
form Bath, Frome, Devizes, and other places at a dis
tance, so that the little town of Ilchester was so crowded,
that a bed could not be obtained at an)' of the inns. The
dirty Justices and petty-fogging attorneys, their diaboli
cal and time-serving agents, foiled in their manifold at
tempts to destroy me while I was within their power, and,
writhing with agony at the thoughts of my release, had,
devil like, been setting their heads together, in order,
if possible, to damp the general joy that pervaded every
honest and humane breast, in anticipation of the day of
my liberation. These attempts had been communicated
to me, and although they excited the fears of my family,
and gave pain to my friends, yet they elicited no other
feelings in my breast than those of pity for their weakness,
and the most sovereign contempt for their impotent ma
lice. However, as they could effect nothing real that
would serve their purpose, they resorted to the most
cowardly, wanton, and diabolical falshoods, which they
fabricated and propagated with the most industrious per
severance, by all manner of reports, calculated to annoy
my friends, and to deter the people from coming to
Ilchester, to testify their abhorrence of that system which
had consigned me to a dungeon, for such a lengthened
period ; and their execration of those dirty minions of
power, who had inflicted every species of torture and
privations upon me, during that time, in order to heighten
the punishmerit which the Ministers of the Crown had
intended to inflict upon me.

The first thing communicated to me was, that the bro
ther ofthe amiable and venerable Judge Best had asserted
at Yeovil market, that he had it from the highest autho
rity that the Government had issued a Secretary of State's
warrant to have me apprehended the moment I left the
Gaol, and that the worthy Somersetshire Yeomanry were
to be ready upon the spot to cut me and the people to
pieces, if there was any show of resistance, or any the
slightest disapprobation evinced. The next report was,
that the Secretary of State had given orders that I was
to be turned out of the Gaol at twelve o'clock at night,
the hour at which my imprisonment expired : these and
many other reports were industriously circulated, in order
to deter the people of the neighbouring villages and
towns from coming into Ilchester to welcome me on the
morning of my liberation ; but as these appeared likely
to fail of their intended effect, a last expiring effort was
made by some of the blackest tools of the blackest
agents ofthe system, some worthy gentlemen of the law.
It was communicated in a very confidential way to some
of my friends, that a detainer was to be lodged against me
in the Gaol for some pretended debt that I owed to some
body, and that this would be done late at night on the
29th, so that it would be necessary to send to Wells to
the Under Sheriff, in the morning, a distance of eighteen
miles, before I could procure my liberation, even by pay
ment of the said debt. This was said to be done avowed
ly to delay the period of my liberation several hours after
the time fixed upon. It was expected that this would
create a sensation amongst the assembled multitude, which
some Government or Magisterial emissaries were to
heighten into violence, upon which the body-guard of the
Boroughmongers, the Yeomanry Cavalry, were to have a
treat a la Manchester, and cut the people to pieces. AH
this was to be communicated to nie in confidence, and

the surgeon of the town was fixed upon as the dupe to
convey it privately to me, as if coming as a hint from a
friend. These little dirty acts, as a matter of course, an
noyed my friends, and precautions were taken to meet
and overcome the difficulties in case any such should oc
cur. In the mean time, Mr. Hardy, the keeper, conduct
ed himself, as he had always done, with the strictest pro
priety. He came down to my room in the evening, and
addressed me in the presence of Sir Charles Wolseley, .
Mr. Northmore, and other friends, as follows : —
" Sir, when the prison clock strikes twelve you are no
longer my prisoner, and if you wish it the doors ofthe prison
shall be thrown open to you, but if you wish to remain till
the morning you are at perfect liberty to do so, although
after twelve o'clock you will no longer consider yourself
my prisoner. I have heard of the foolish and malignant
reports about detainers, arrests, &c. of the truth of which
I do not believe one word. If any such should be lodged
against you before the doors of the Prison are closed for
the night, you shall have the earliest intimation ; but at
twelve o'clock you are perfectly free from my controul, and
after that hour I shall receive no detainer against you ; at
any rate, I shall not act upon any such so as to detain you
one moment." Nothing could be more fair and honour
able than this, and it was perfectly consistent with. Mr.
Hardy's conduct during the whole time that I was under
his care. I thanked him for his civility, and told him that
I did not fear any detainer or any creditor that I was una
ble to discharge his demand, and that I would sleep in
my dungeon bed once more, and leave the Gaol in the
morning. At twelve o'clock I retired to rest for the
898th night in Ilchester Bastile. The moment the clock
began to strike I heard the cannon roaring from my friend
Oliver Hay ward's Battery, at Mudford ; this was a signal
for the bonfires to be lighted upon the surrounding heights,

and the rockets ascended from Ilchester. In the midst of
these 'rejoicings and flattering testimonies of respect, I
dropped into as sound and as sweet a sleep as ever was
enjoyed by the most happy and contented being upon the
face ofthe earth, and without the slightest interruption 1
slept till the clock struck seven, and I heard for the last
time the door of my dungeon unlocked. The morn was
lowering, but it soon began to clear up, and before I was
dressed, my worthy friends, Wolseley and Northmore, with
my son, were admitted to congratulate me on the arrival
of the long-expected hour, which, by the bye, no man in
England anticipated with more calmness and patience
than did the Captive himself. A little before nine we
took leave of Mr. Hardy and his amiable family, and, ac
companied by these excellent friends, I stepped from the
threshold ofthe Bastile into a barouche that was standing
at the door to receive me, amidst the spontaneous cheers
and blessings of thousands of my fellow-countrymen and
women. The horses had been removed and the carriage
was drawn to the inn by those who had suffered persecu
tion within the walls ofthe Bastile, headed by the venera
ble Charles Hill, the original Captive who had been per
secuted there for sixteen years. The shouts of the peo
ple made the old rotten walls of the Bastile shake again.
To the inn we were accompanied by a band of music,
where a public breakfast was provided for the occasion by
the high-spirited hostess, in spite of the fears of her less
spirited husband, who was, or pretended to be, dread
fully alarmed at the threats and bullyings of some of his-
dirty magisterial neighbours. The great room and every
room of the inn were filled with the most respectable far
mers, yeomen, and gentlemen of the surrounding neigh
bourhood, some having come from a distance of two hun
dred miles. Nothing could be more grateful to my feel
ings than this testimony of respect shown to me by such a
respectable body of my countrymen, and nothing could

testify the feelings ofthe people of Somerset in a more de
cisive manner. The beautiful silver flagon and salver
value one hundred and ten pounds, purchased by the peo
ple of Somerset to be presented to me, was then intro
duced and exhibited to the company. I should be doing
an injustice to the people of Somerset if I did not here in
sert the following inscriptions, elegantly engraven on
these handsome and massy pieces of plate.
Upon the Flagon, headed with my Crest:
A TALBOT.
" To the Patriot,
HENRY HUNT, ESQUIRE,
The Inflexible, the Persevering, the Undaunted Champion
Ofthe RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES of his FELLOW-MEN,
This Flagon is presented
BY THE PEOPLE OF SOMERSET, ON THE
Thirtieth of October, 1822,
Tlie joyful Day of his Liberation from a Cruel and Unjust Incarce
ration of
TWO YEARS AND SIX MONTHS
In tlie County Gaol at Ilchester, since appropriately named
ILCHESTER BASTILE.
AS A GRATEFUL MEMORIAL
Of the just sense they entertain of his unparalleled
and successful Exertions
In the cause of Humanity and Freedom ;
Exertions which brought to light the most fiend-like
Practices,
And the most diabolical acts of Persecution and Torture,
Together with the most Wanton and Wasteful Expenditure of the
COUNTY MONEY,
Long sanctioned by the gross negligence of those whose duty it was
to have protected the Prisoners from
CRUELTY AND OPPRESSION,
And the Rate-Payers of the County from
PLUNDER.
Oliver Hayward, Mudford. i
Henry Creswell, Creech St. Michael, > Committee.
Thomas Perrott, Middlezoy, *

Inscription on the Salver:
A TALBOT. TO THE
Patriotic Friend op the People,
HENRY HUNT, ESQUIRE,
This Salver belonging to and accompanying the Flagon,
Is presented by the undersigned Committee, on behalf of tha
PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF SOMERSET,
On the Thirtieth Day of October, 1822, the Day of his Liberation from
ILCHESTER BASTILE.
On it they proudly record their just abhorrence of the
CRUEL, VINDICTIVE, AND OPPRESSIVE SENTENCE,
Which consigned hira to a Dungeon for
TWO YEARS AND SIX MONTHS ;
To which unjust Incarceration were superadded,
Bv the Local Authorities,
RESTRICTIONS,
At which Humanity shuddered ; the sympathies of the People wer«
aroused ;
At the shout of their indignant voice
The inmost door of the Dungeon flew open,
Injustice and Oppression fell baffled to the Earth.
THE GAOLER
Was dismissed, disgraced, and brought to Justice !
His Abettors and Supporters
Hid their Heads abashed and confounded ! I
THE GAOL
Was ordered to be razed to the ground 1 ! !
AND SOMERSET
Redeemed her Character III!

Oliver Hayward, Mudford,
Henry Creswell, Creech St. Michael, J- Committee.
Thomas Perrott, Middlezoy,

!¦

This piece of Plate weighs about one hundred and fifty
ounces, and, for its size, is equal in beauty and workman
ship to any thing of the sort ever seen. About eleven
o'clock, after a requisition to the Sheriff for a county meet
ing had been' drawn up and unanimously signed, we pro-

ceeded inthe barouche towards Glastonbury, where a Public
Dinner was proyided on the occasion. The multitudes
that accompanied us very far exceeded what I expected,
in such a thinly populated county; the enthusiasm
manifested at Somerton and Glastonbury was unbounded,
and the shouts ofthe people must have convinced the petty
tyrants of Somersetshire, that the people of England are
not to be persecuted and enslaved quite so easily as they
might have anticipated. When we got to Glastonbury,
I attended my Own court leet, and swore in the whole of
the peace officers residing within |Jje " Manor and Hun
dred of Glaston Twelve Hides," extending over a district
within a circumference of about one hundred and twenty
miles: the number of peace officers annually sworn in at
this court are about fifty. After they had been sworn in,
I addressed them shortly as to their duty, on the behalf of
the King, in whose name, as Lord of the Manor, I was
bound .to act, and to hold the said court. Unfortunately,
one room' would only hold a limited number, and a great
many of my friends who intended to have joined us were
prevented dining ; however, every house in the town was
filled to overflowing. The next morning, after having
given my friend Northmore possession of a garden and
orchard that he had purchased of me, to make himself a
freeholder of the county, we took leave of him ; he re
turned to Cleve, and Sir Charles Wolseley accompanied
me and my son to Middleton Cottage, where we arrived
some hours before we were expected, which prevented the
people of Andover testifying tlieir joy in the manner .they
intended ; however, they celebrated the event by bonfires,
&c. &c. As we passVd through Shepton-Mallet, Frome,
and other places, the people assembled in great numbers
to greet me with a hearty welcome ; and 'my old neigh
bours at Amesbury rung me, through their town with a,
merry peal.

I had been invited to a Public Dinner, to be given upon
my liberation at the London Tavern, on the llth of No
vember ; I had also been solicited to enter the metropolis
publicly; both these invitations I had accepted: however,
it was ultimately decided to give up the dinner at the
London Tavern, and to have it at the Eagle Tavern, in
the City Road, for two reasons ; first, because that at the
London was considered too expensive for the mechanics
to dine at ; and next, because in going to the Eagle Tavern,
the procession would pass quite through the metropolis,
from one end to the other. This arrang-ement was perfectly
satisfactory to me ; and on Sunday, the 10th of November,
I slept at Hounslow, on my way to Knightsbridge, where
I had promised to meet the people on the Monday morn
ing at ten o'clock. About that time I arrived there in a
post-chaise, accompanied by my son, where I was received
by the people of the metropolis in a manner which was
most flattering and grateful to my feelings. The Com
mittee of the useful classes had prepared a barouche
drawn by six horses, into which they conducted me and
my son ; and after having received an address of congra
tulation and welcome from Mr. Gast, who was deputed by
the Committee to deliver it to me, and I had shortly
replied, the procession moved forward, and I once more
publicly entered the metropolis of England, after an ab
sence of two years and a half, amidst the deafening cheers
of the people. When we left Hounslow, the fog was so
dense that we could scarcely see across the road ; but be
fore we reached Kensington, the day was as clear and as
mild as any day in May. Heaven and all nature appear
ed to welcome me with smiles and cheers : never did mor
tal man receive more spontaneous and unbought homage
than Henry Hunt received from his fellow-men on the
llth of November, 1822. The whole active part of the
17 B

10
population of the metropolis appeared to have turned out
to greet me on that day. The multitude consisted of one
solid mass from Knightsbridge to the City-road ; and in
passing that distance, I may fairly calculate that half a
million of my fellow-countrymen and fellow-country
women welcomed me into the metropolis. In Finsbury -
square, where the greatest multitude were assembled, I
can honestly say that they did not amount in that one
place to less than one hundred thousand persons. Such
an honour was never paid to any other individual in Eng
land. There never lived an Emperor, a King, a Prince,
a Conqueror, a Hero, a Patriot, or a man, in any age or
country, that would not have felt himself highly honour
ed and gratified by such a reception, and by such marks
of respect from his fellow-creatures as was given to and
conferred upon Henry Hunt on that day. What were
the feelings of Henry Hunt on the occasion, may be much
easier conceived by others than it is possible for him to
describe. The observations and falsehoods of some ofthe
dirty editors of some few of the London newspapers, ex
cited by the envy, the hatred, and the malice of the base
and unprincipled men who for hire fill that situation, are
far too contemptible for me to notice. I have heard, for
I never see the paper, that one unprincipled and abandon
ed villain, who writes for hire in an evening paper, which
professes to support liberal principles and almost exclu
sive patriotism, had the unblushing folly to expose his
raging envy and malice, by saying, that " they understood
Mr. Hunt was so dissatisfied with his reception in London,
that he intended to go into the country on purpose to
make another entry," &c. When a person gives way to
envy, malice, and lying-, how weak and contempti
ble even a sensible man becomes. When we arrived at
tbe Eagle Tavern, the crowd was so great that it was
nearly a quarter of an hour before the carriage could be
drawn up to the door. The great room, in which a din
ner had been ordered for about 280 persons, the full num
ber it was supposed to be capable of containing, was
orammed, it was said, by nearly 400 ; and after every
room in the house was filled, even to cramming, many
hundred retired disappointed for want of room. If the
largest room in London had been engaged, or, in fact,
one that would have held 1,000 people to dine, it would
have been overfilled : and yet some were fools enough to
discover their own chagrin and mortification by saying,

1 1
that Mr. Hunt was dissatisfied with his reception. Mr.
Parkins, the late Sheriff, was called to the chair, and he
was supported by Mr. Wooler, Mr. Gale Jones, Mr. Birt,
Mr. Galloway, Mr. Fuiham, Mr. Goodman, of Warwick,
and gentlemen from all parts of the country. My wor
thy friend Sir Charles Wolseley had engaged to be pre
sent, and had in fact promised to meet me at Kensington,
to have accompanied me through the city, but he was
unfortunately detained in the country by an accident that
befel Lady Wolseley on the Thursday previous, which
unavoidably detained him at home. Even this accident
was sneered at in the evening paper I have alluded to, and
made the subject of a vulgar joke, by the editor asserting
a downright falsehood, intimating that it was all a hoax,
as he pronounced Lady Wolseley to be in perfect health
a few days after ; although Sir Charles informed me in
a letter, a few days back, that her Ladyship was still
extremely ill from the effects of the accident, which was
as follows, as it appeared in the Stafford newspaper: —
" We are sorry to state that an accident, which proved
nearly fatal, happened to Lady Wolseley, of Wolseley
Hall, in this county, on Thursday last (7th instant). Her
Ladyship being indisposed, a medicine was prescribed on
Wednesday, and was ordered to be placed by her bed
side, that it might be taken early on the following morn
ing. Unfortunately, however, a female servant by mis
take substituted a phial with an embrocation containing a
quantity of laudanum, whichLady Wolseley unsuspectingly
drank. Sir Charles Wolseley, Bart, being at home, dis
patched a messenger for medical aid, which fortunately
arrived in time to avert a calamity which would have been
universally deplored. After severe suffering for at least
twenty-four hours, her Ladyship, we are happy to add, is
considered out of danger." — Stafford Advertiser.
After we had retired from the dining-table, Mr. Wooler,
myself, and a few friends took some tea in a private room ;
amongst the number was Mr. Harmer. Soon after we
were seated he was called out of the room, and when he
returned, he informed me that a Mr. Becket, a Magistrate,
was waiting in the house, and wished to know whether I
slept there ; and if not, where I slept, as he had orders to
communicate to the Secretary of State what hour I left
and where I intended to sleep that night. Of course I
did not condescend to gratify either the worthy Magis
trate or the worthy Secretary of State, although I have

12
thought since whether the venerable and upright Judges
ofthe Court of King's Bench might not, upon application,
rule that I had forfeited my recognizance, by deciding that
this was not good behaviour. What fools these fellows
are. I had forgotten to mention that the efforts of all
the factions in London were united to prevent my public
entry into London ; and when they found they could not
prevent it, they exerted every nerve to prevent the peo
ple from coming out to meet me ; but all would not do.
I slept at my lodging over Black friars Bridge, near my
" Roasted Grain Manufactory," where I fonnd that
my attendance had become absolutely necessary to pre
vent the utter ruin of the little remaining property that I
possess. I have devoted the whole of my time and atten
tion to this national concern ever since, and with the as
sistance of my son, I think I may venture to say that my
" Prepared Roasted Corn" is now become an article
worthy public attention and public patronage. I have been
under the necessity of parting with the person who has
had the management ofthe concern for the last 1 8 months ;
I have also disposed of the shop, 177, Blackfriars-road,
and I have now taken the sole management of the con
cern into my own hands ; and I flatter myself that, with
the assistance of my son, I shall be enabled to supply my
friends and the public with such a superior article as will
ensure a constant demand, and give universal satisfaction.
I have the consolation to say, that, since my arrival in
town, there has not been one single complaint from any one of
my numerous agents, any otherwise than that the parties
could not obtain the Roasted Grain fast enough. This
single evil is now completely remedied, and I earnestly
solicit the support and patronage of my numerous friends,
particularly in those towns where I have not at present
any agent. I have much respected agents at Greenock, in
Scotland, and Cork in Ireland ; and John Drakard, Esq.
the Patriotic Editor of the Stamford News, has kindly
undertaken to be my wholesale agent for Lincolnshire,
Rutlandshire, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, &c. &c.
I shall feel much obliged if gentlemen in those counties
will apply for agencies, and for my Prepared Roasted
Grain, to Mr. Drakard, of Stamford, who will take care
to have them promptly supplied upon the same terms that
I supply my agents, he being appointed my sole wholesale
agent for those counties. I am in want of agents for the
excellent towns of Nottingham and Leicester. In fact,
I will undertake to say, that it will answer the purpose of

13
an agent in any town in the united kingdom, as I have
now the article manufactured in the highest perfection ;
and as I have a large sale, I am enabled to make a very
liberal and handsome allowance to those who sell retail.
All letters and orders are requested to be directed to me,
at the Manufactory, Broadwall, Blackfriars, London, the
only place where it can be obtained wholesale in the Me
tropolis. In many places persons have been induced to
set up Roasted Corn Sellers, and in some instances I un
derstand they undertake to sell under my wholesale price.
I fear not competition, and I defy any one to sell the arti
cle so good and cheaper than I do, unless they have a very
large sale indeed.
I beg to draw my readers attention to the following
facts; while I was making my experiments in the year 1819,
I did not keep my labours any secret, and several persons
set up manufacturers of Breakfast Powder. I believe
little Waddington was the first, and he manufactured this
solely from roasted pease. I understand Waddington hired
a person of the name of Griffin, who very soon set up
against his employer. Mr. Lewis, of Coventry, also ma
nufactured roasted pease, for which he, as a staunch Re
former, was prosecuted by the Excise. After very consi
derable labour and expense, I brought my experiments to
a successful conclusion, and erected some ingenious appa
ratus to form a manufactory of some consequence. I soon
found that the article I manufactured would have a consi
derable sale, and at the request of two of my friends, I
appointed them my wholesale agents ; one in Wych-street,
for Westminster, and the other in Fore-street, Cripplegate,
for the city. These persons I supplied and allowed them
a large discount; they sold a great quantity, by which they
cleared a handsome profit. I also supplied Mrs. Carlile,
whose sale soon amounted to eight hundred weight per
week, by which sale she cleared a profit of nearly sixteen
pounds per week.
This was the state of affairs when I was called away to
take my trial at the York Assizes. Soon after I returned,
I found that my agents were roasting grain for themselves,
and that they were selling it in my name. The person
who I had employed at my manufactory had also set up a
roaster for himself, and was supplying my customers with
his own trasti. We all at once found that Mrs. Carlile's
sale fell off almost to nothing, and upon my sonU inquiring
the cause, Mrs. Carlile confessed that she had purchased
some of the Powder manufactured by others, at 2d. per

14
pound less than I charged her, and that she had sold it ;
but the effect was, that all her customers were surfeited, and
she totally lost her sale, which she could never recover ; in
fact, she could never sell half a hundred a week after
wards. Mrs. Carlile was perfectly justified in doing this
if she pleased, as she was not bound to purchase of me ;
and all I ever complained of was, that she sold this trash
while my bills were in her window, and her customers did
not know but they were buying and using my Breakfast
Powder. At this time the Excise had seized upon my manufac
tory, and the Attorney-General had instituted proceedings
against me, although they suffered the other persons I
have alluded to above, to continue to roast their grain, and
dose the public with their trash as long as they would use
it; this was the state of affairs when I was called up for
judgment, and sentenced to Ilchester Gaol. However,
I soon learned that Messrs. West and Poole, my former
agents, and Mr. Mullet, my former manager, had worked
themselves to a stand still; having completely surfeited all
those who bought of them, their shops were soon shut up;
so ended this opposition: and if these persons had only
deprived me of my sale for a time, it would have been but
of little consequence to me ; but the fact is, that they so
completely surfeited all their customers, that they will not
easily venture upon any thing of the kind again in future ;
the truth being, that Common Roasted Grain is no more like
my Prepared Breakfast Powder, than Roasted Horse Beans
is like the best Turkey Coffee. Well, while I was in Gaol,
I was convicted in two penalties of 100Z. each — one for
making, and the other for selling Roasted Grain, under an
Act of Parliament, made and passed to protect the public
from Adulterated Coffee. Although the Chancellor ofthe
Exchequer assured Sir Robert Wilson, that it was only
meant to try the legality of the question, and that the
penalties would not be levied, as it was clear no fraud was
intended, yet an Exchequer Writ was issued to seize my
property for the payment, and afterwards an Extent from
the Crown was issued, and the actual sale of my property,
estates, and manor of Glastonbury, was not only con
templated, but proceeded in by the Under Sheriff, and
which sale was only stopped by my paying the Two
Hundred Pounds into the Sheriffs hands. Well, Sir
Robert Wilson persevered, and Sir Francis Burdett and
other Members having denounced this proceeding against

15
me as most infamous, a Bill was brought in and passed
the House, to allow the Manufacture and Sale of Roasted
Corn, upon taking out a Licence of 2s. 6d. per annum.
When the Act was passed, its author unequivocally pro
mised that all fines levied would be remitted, upon appli
cation to the Lords of the Treasury. Much against my will
I complied with the recommendation of Sir Robert Wilson ,
and I sent him a memorial, which he delivered to the said
Lords ofthe Treasury, who have never yet condescended
to take any notice of it. What think you of this, my
friends ? " But we shall see" when the Parliament meets
again. Those who wish to sell, or make, must apply to
the Excise-Office, and make an entry in the following
form : —
I Shopkeeper (or as the case may be)
do hereby make entry, that I intend to deal in and sell
Roasted Corn, in a Shop, No. Street, in
the Town of Parish of and
County of and that I shall keep Roasted
Corn for Sale, as above, in the Shop only (or any number
of Rooms, being distinguished by a leiter in the alphabet),
such Shop being Room A (if more, the next will be B,
and so on). [Here sign with your Christian
and Surname in full ?}
N. B. Those parts in parenthesis are of course to be omit
ted in the Entry.
Those who wish to become my agents will receive
every necessary explanation and instruction, by applica
tion in person, or by letter (postpaid) addressed to my
Manufactory, Broadwall,BIackfriars, London. The profits
which I allow to Retailers is very great, which I shall
continue to allow in spite of all opposition or threats
whatsoever. I have heard of a scheme to start an
opposition by another of my quondam Radical friends,
and that the plan is to undersell my Breakfast Powder ;
but the great reduction it appears is to come out of the
Retailers' profits. But we shall see. I envy not the re
tailers the profit I allow, although it is treble what I get
myself ; neither shall I be induced to make any alteration
in price, by coaxing or threats. I know my own business,
and now I have, thank God, got it once into my own hands, I
will take good care that it shall be regularly, punctually,
and honestly conducted, being quite convinced that all fu-

16
ture attempts to injure my sale*, to excel my article, or to
impose upon my friends or the public, will ultimately prove
as futile and abortive as those attempts have hitherto prov
ed, and which I have noticed above. Hunt's carefully
Prepared Roasted Corn is sold only neatly packed and
tied, in blue paper bags of pounds, quarter-pounds, and
half-pounds, with the following label pasted on each pack
age, as the Act directs :
ROASTED CORN !
Prepared by H. HUNT, at his Manufactory,
Broad Wall, Blackfriars Road, (Surrey Side) London.
Residence, Middleton Cottage, Hants.

The Roasted Grain, being kept quitedry, when ground
in a mill, crushed with a rolling-pin, or pounded in a
mortar, makes
MIT'S
BREAKFAST POWDER.
DIRECTIONS FOR USE.
To one Ounce of the Powder boiled well in a quart,
or three pints of Water, add a little Milk and Sugar,
and it produces an economical, pleasant, and nutri
tious Beverage.
N. B. None is genuine unless signed as follows, to
imitate which is Felony :

None is genuine, or can be warranted, unless it bears the
fac-simile of my signature, as above. Its wholesome and
nutritious qualities are too well known to require any puff.
If this were necessary. I have the certificates of several
medical men, of the first respectability, who rank high in
the profession ; but as one trial has convinced even the
most prejudiced of its salubrious and invigorating qualities,
I shall not intrude them upon my readers.
It has, I understand, been asked " What is Mr. Hunt
about ?" He begs deliberately to make this answer to the
inquisitive, whether friend or foe — He is assiduously and

17
perseveringly attending to his own private concerns, from
which he has been forcibly abstracted for the last twoyears
and a half, for having advocated the public Rights and
Liberties of the People ; but at the same time he begs it
to be clearly understood, that although he is" he hopes,-
most justifiably attending to his own private affairs, yet
he is as resolutely as ever determined in no instance to
abandon his Public Duty . Should the people of Eng^
land, Scotland, or Ireland think that Henry Hunt is
capable of serving them, and they will give him a fair
opportunity to make the attempt, their call shall not be
made in vain. I am, my friends,
Yours faithfully, H. HUNT.
Manufactory, Broad-Wall, Blackfriars,
Dec. 10th, 18-22.
P. S. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of upwards of
one hundred Addresses of congratulation from various
bodies of Reformers, from all parts of the kingdom. I
must refer my readers as a specimen of the whole to one
or two only, for which my publisher can find room to
insert in this Number. — As to the war between France
and Spain, let the former fools strike the blow if they dare ;
when they do it will be a parting knell to the race ofthe
detestable Bourbons ; and I fearlessly predict that Despot
ism will ultimately find its grave in the defiles of Spain. —
But we shall see.

ADDRESS FROM THE INHABITANTS OF MANCHESTER,
TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Sir — We, the inhabitants of Manchester and its vicinity,
in public meeting assembled this 14th. day of October,
1822, beg leave, Sir, most respectfully and sincerely to
congratulate you on your approaching liberation from the
dungeon of the Boroughmongers, in which, Sir, to your
eternal honour, and to their everlasting infamy, you have
been cruelly imprisoned for the space of eight hundred and
ninety-eight days, for boldly and fearlessly exercising
those surprising and uncommon talents so liberally be
stowed upon you by the Patriot's God, (that God who,
having created man in his own image, never intended that
he should live the slave of his fellow-man), in endea
vouring to give to millions of your oppressed and enslaved
fellow-countrymen, the inestimable blessings of liberty
and equal rights.
17 c

IS
The Borough tyrants, Sir, know to their confusion, that
knowledge is power. To their consternation they have
long seen knowledge, like a mighty majestic river, flow
ing through the land, and the people, almost as one man,
with eagerness and avidity drinking in the stream. Know
ledge begot a spirit of inquiry, which tore off the tinsel
trappings with which the Borough tyrants had for ages
been covered, and exposed them in all their hideous de
formity. Public opinion began to denounce their enor
mities — public indignation, which had collected into a
mighty avalanche, hung suspended over them in terrific
portent. 'Tis true, as yet, public opinion was but one huge
chaos, which wanted some superior mind to give it form
and order, and that accomplished, one who possessed cool
ness, firmness, prudence, and daring courage, to direct and
guide this mighty irresistible power. It was at this awful,
this important moment, when men of weaker nerves stood
aghast, or from fear, like cowards, ran away from the dan
ger ; like a cool, but intrepid and daring pilot, you dashed
through the sea of peril, and seized the vacant helm to
guide yoar countrymen into the haven of Liberty. —
Wherever the people assembled to express their opinions,
there, in spite of all the danger with which tyranny
threatened, you, Sir, braved its fury, and dtsfied its threats;
you was at your post, showing to the world what a Patriot
ought to be, and to your countrymen what an Englishman
should be. No sooner, Sir, did the Borough tyrants see
in you a man peculiarly endowed by nature to effect his
country's liberation, place himself at the head ofthe peo
ple, than with savage, brutal ferocity, they determined
upon your destruction. Your appearance at jour post on
the never-to-be-forgotten 16th of August, 1819, furnished
your enemies with an opportunity of putting their hellish
purpose into execution ; here was an armed band of bap
tized barbarians, eager to perform a deed which tigers
would disown, and demons startle at ; and we are convinc
ed that these blood-hounds were loosed from the slip,
that your life, Sir, might be sacrificed in the horrible car
nage ; but your presence of mind in surrendering yourself
to the civil power, happily saved your life.
The proceedings at law, which followed this horrible
massacre, and which led to your memorable trial, wherein
you displayed talents which will be read of in ages yet to
come with surprise and admiration, are a foul blot on the
page of our national history ; and the verdict, and the

19
sentence which followed that verdict, will, to the latest
period of time, cause the flush of honest indignation to
mantle o'er the cheek of every true Englishman, while
his eye shall trace the severe adjudication. In tracing
your conduct, Sir, after the cruel sentence that doomed
you to an incarceration for two years and a half, in the
most infernal of all the infernal dens of the Borough
tyrants, we are at a loss for language in which to express
our admiration at your mighty efforts ; we have heard of
the mighty achievements of heroes at the head of armies,
but it has been reserved for you, Sir, a captive in the dun
geon of your tyrants, by your unaided exertions, to drag
their crimes from the caverns of their Bastile, and cause
them to be published in their citadel itself, and an English
Jury have sealed the truth of your accusations.
When, Sir, the Delilahs of the law had delivered you
strongly (and as they thought safely) bound, into the
hands of the Borough-Philistines, what a satanic grin of
exultation distorted their countenances. Like the Phi
listines of old, the Borough-Philistines thought they would
mock you, and have some sport with you ; but, like Samp
son, you got hold ofthe pillar* of their temple, which you
have thrown down, and the Philistines are crushed in its ru
ins. But, Sir, while with pleasure we b.-iefly notice some of
the many important services which vou ha\e rendered to
the causeof Freedom, itiswith regret that we feel ourselves
called upon to notice a villainous, false, and scurrilous
pamphlet, addressed to you by a townsman of ours, which
we are induced to do, to show our contempt and detesta
tion of the vile slanderer. It is, Sir, inseparable from
greatness to meet with calumny. Thnt the very sink of
corruption should be raked for filth, with which to bespat
ter you, who are tlieir deadliest foe, was expected by us ;
and that this townsman of ours should sweep together the
leavings of the venal tools ofthe Borough Tyrants, is not
to us surprising : we, Sir, know his natural propinquity to
filth, and, in this instance, we see him in his element ; that
ever he was lifted out of it by you, is a pity. From osten
tation, Sir, he invited you to his house previously to the
fatal 16th of August, for which act ws forgot the pitiful,
contemptible thing he had been ; and, out of love for you,
we gave him our respect. It was, Sir, the genial warmth
derived from you that gave this caterpillar his gaudy plu-
niao-e, and his wings, which he had no sooner got, than,
like a moth , ho began to flutter about the light, which

20
shone so brilliantly from your patriotism, till at length his
envy induced him to rush right into the blaze of it, for
the purpose of extinguishing it, by which he has burnt his
wings, and has again tumbled into his native mire. That
he has been a tool in the hands of more artful knaves than
himself, is clear: these men, Sir, have envied you, and,
because they could not rise up to the standard of your ex
cellence, thev attempted to pull you down to the level of
Ihemselves ; but they have shared the fate ofthe Lacede
monian, who, envyina- the honour conferred on one of his
fellow-citizens, by a statue having been erected to his
memory, he took a whip, and went by night to lash his
statue, when it fell upon him and crushed him to death.
During your incarceration, Sir, we have been prog-ress-
ing towards Reform, which, we are convinced, we must
shortly obtain. In the day of trial we know, Sir, we shall
not need to ask your assistance; you will be at your post,
and betwixt you and us there is an awful compact ; it was
written on the Plain of St. Peter's, on the ]6th of August,
1819, with the iron pen of Despotism, in characters of
blood— yes, in our blood! — it was witnessed by the Al
mighty Father of the universe — it is registered in the ar
chives of Heaven ; and may the spirits of the Martyrs, who
fell on that day, hoot our souls from bliss hereafter, if we
fail to discharge our duty in the sacred cause, in which we
stand with you so solemnly, so awfully pledged.
Signed bv the Chairman on ) .

behalf of the Meeting,

JAMES COX.

ADDRESS FROM THE INHABITANTS OF BOLTON, TO
HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Sir — After being for three beautiful summers and two
dreary winters immured within the wails of a pestilen
tial Bastile, deprived of the cheerful beams of the life-in
spiring sun — of all those scenes which the God of Nature
and of Liberty intends for the enjoyment of his rational
creatures — and debarred from the enjoyment of all those
pleasures arising from the social intercourse of man with
man — of those domestic endearments which give a zest
to human life — of every thing valuable save life, and
the pleasure arising from a source over which human
tyranny can exercise no controul — the consciousness of
having performed your duty, of having deserved and ob
tained the applause and confidence of'all whose confidence

2 J
is worth possessing, or whose esteem is gratifying— the
enlightened and virtuous — we welcome you to liberty •
we hail your return to that society from which you have'
been forcibly abstracted; we congratulate vou on re
gaining those rights of which you have been so cruelly
and unjustly robbed. Gloomy as the walls of a dungeon,
and cheerless as the precincts of a prison, must be— heavy
as the hours of confinement, unmarked by any of that va
riety which constitutes so great' a portion of the pleasure
oflife, must roll — we feel confident that to a mind like
yours, Sir, ardent in the pursuit of Liberty, exerting its
energies to improve the social, moral, and intellectual con
dition of man; to destroy the debasing influence of ty
ranny; in all its appalling forms ; to root from the earth
the wide-spreading tree of Corruption, beneath the shade
of whose benumbing branches every thing noble and
excellent in the human character withers and dies ; to a
mind thus constituted, the events of the interesting pe
riod of your imprisonment must have enlivened the dull
monotony of confinement, and cheered the gloom of your
dungeon; must have made time pass more swiftly on, by
inspiring a confidence of the speedy consummation of
your wishes. At the time when those transactions, the
recollection of which must ever awaken the keenest sen-,
sations in bosoms of Englishmen, which will be an eter
nal disgrace to their authors, abettors, and perpetrators ;
which has stained with eternal infamy the then existing
administration ; when that blood was shed which still
cries to Heaven for reparation, at the period of the never-
to-be-forgotten and never-to-be-forgiven transactions of
the 16th of August, 1819; when a cruel, wanton, and bar
barous violation of the rig-hts and liberties, laws and con
stitution of Englishmen was committed with impunity
and sanctioned by Royal authority ; when high treason
against the people of England was perpetrated in face of
Heaven by those who assume' the characters and offices of
g-uardians ofthe rights and liberties, and administrators of
the'laws — of protectors of the weak and punishers of the
guilty. At that period, we, the Reformers, had to con
tend with a class of individuals who, from their character
and situation in life, had an extensive^and powerfuFjn-
fluence, which made them by far the most formidable op
ponents of the Reform we wished to effect — we [mean,
Sir, the farmers, yeomen, and land-owners. They had
apparently profited by the system which' has ruined our

22
country; nor could they be persuaded that ruin and dis
tress and misery would so soon be their lot. In vain
were tbe rights of Englishmen asserted and prov
ed — in vain were the ruinous effects of the system of mis
rule, corruption, and oppression pointed out to them.
Our demonstrations were treated only as the idle vagaries
of disordered imaginations ; our complaints as ignorant
impatience of temporary inconveniences ; and our pre
dictions of impending ruin as gloomy foreboding what
would never be realized. Time, however, the great trier
of events, the revealer of the truth of predictions, has at
length placed before them astounding proofs of the justice
of our claims, the truth of our predictions, and the correct
ness of our conclusions. To our demonstrations of the rights
of universal representation have been added incontroverti
ble and feeling proofs of the absolute necessity of Radical
Reform. The working of the events which have pro
duced this change are well known to you, and must, in
their operation, have afforded you much pleasure. We
rejoice, Sir, that the situation to which " the thing" has
been continually approaching, has tended to alleviate
your sufferings ; that the shafts of malevolence have lost
much of their poignancy by the cheering assurance of the
speedy dissolution of the system which has inflicted so
much misery upon its honest opposers. Accept our thanks
for the services you have done to the cause of Radical Re
form — for your exertion's in the behalf of humanity. Re
ceive our commiseration for your sufferings, and our heart
felt congratulations on your restoration to liberty.
We have the honour to be, on behalf of the Reformers,
your fervent admirers and friends,
Wm. Naisby, John Kell,
John Entwisle, M. Wolstonhulme,
James Brown, James Heywood,
Wm. Hart, Henry Hibbert,
John Morley, Robert Greason,
James Worsley, Thomas Allen,
L. Bradley, Rich. Thomason,
Committee to Bolton Union.
Union Rooms, Bolton, Oct- 24, 1822.

ADDRESS FROM THE INHABITANTS OF LEICESTER, TO
HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
Respected Sir— The friends to a Radical Reform in
the representation of the people, resident in Leicester-

?3
cannot suffer the period of your enlargement from a long,
unjust, illegal, and merciless imprisonment, to pass by
without offering a feeble tribute of congratulation on that
propitious event, and a still warmer testimony of their
thanks for your unwearied and exhaustless exertions in
the cause of the people — labours which provoked on your
head a relentless and inhuman persecution by the usurp
ing faction, unexampled, in the baseness of its motives
and in the atrocity of its purpose, since the worst reign of
the worst family that ever disgraced the British Sceptre !
In celebrating your emancipation, or, perhaps, with
more propriety, your resurrection, and in joining our fee
ble voices to the general acclamations of our united bre
thren ip all parts of the kingdom on this exhilarating
occasion, we are anxious to assure you that your past con
duct has obtained our unqualified admiration and esteem.
We hope and trust that the recollection of past sufferings
will not damp your ardour in the glorious cause in which
we are engaged, and that a victory so complete, a triumph
so auspicious, will serve to stimulate and encourage your
redoubled efforts, till our common enemies, the Borough-
usurpers, are utterly discomfited, and every Briton en
joys his birth-right — a voice in the framing those laws by
which he is to be governed.
Our gratitude is not less for the zeal, ardour, judgment,
discretion, and transcendant ability with which you have
invariably advocated tho Rights of Man in the Field and
on the Forum, than for the Herculean strength, the un
daunted firmness, the intrepid courage, and the consum
mate prudence with which, during your abominable in
carceration, you have dragged to light the hellish, hidden
secrets of the Prison-house, and exposed to the everlast
ing execration of mankind a diabolical system of extor
tion, cruelty, and torture, equally revolting to humanity
and sound policy, and which has no parallel, except in the
caverns of tlie Bastile, and the dungeons of the Inquisi
tion — the main agents and abettors ofwhich horrors were
men, or rather — :  , exercising the Priestly Office !
We now see why you were consigned to the salubri
ous cells of Ilchester, and to the fostering care of Bridle !
But the altar prepared with such solemn care for your sa
crifice, has become the triumphal monument of your glory,
and ofthe eternal infamy of your persecutors!
It is a singular, yet accidental >and unpremeditated cir
cumstance, that the day we "thus vote our felicitations on
your deliverance, is the one hundred and thirty-fourth an-

niversary of our national deliverance from the meditated
slavery of the -Stuarts. This epoch in our history is call
ed the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
We ardently hope that another celebration of the par
tial benefit obtained by that event will not take, place
without one united struggle of the unrepresented part of
the community for a Revolution still more glorious ; be
cause more consonant with the eternal principles of Jus
tice and Liberty, a.id consequently more beneficial to so
ciety ! — A Revolution which shall restore to every man
his freehold inheritance in the constitution of the country,
of which, to use the language of the greatest political
philosopher of any age or state, " the person is the title-
deed." In thus avowing our wishes without any reserve, we
proclaim our cordial and unfeigned assent and consent to
the good old constitutional principles — that laws ought to
be obeyed only when they emanate from their legitimate
source — a representation of the whole people, fully, fair
ly, freely, and equally chosen, in which every man of adult
age, sound mind, and unimpeached conduct, shall have a
vote ; and that the obligation to pay taxes springs from
the same source ; therefore, all taxation not founded on
representation is, in fact, robbery and confiscation!
For these principles we are ready and willing, when ne
cessary, to imitate the laudable example of our virtuous
ancestors — either to shed our blood in the field of glory,
or sacrifice it as political martyrs on the scaffold. Obedi
ence to laws, enacted by an usurping Borough Oligarchy,
being merely a question of prudence and not of duty.
Believing, as we sincerely do, that you cordially par
ticipate with us in these wishes and sentiments, we con
clude with every fervent aspiration for your health, safe
ty, welfare, and domestic happiness : and finally, that you
will live to share the blessings resulting- from that great
political change, whether called REFORM or REVOLU
TION, which your noble example, your exalted conduct,
and your indefatigable exertions so eminently contribute
to facilitate and obtain.
Signed, at the desire and on the behalf of the several
assembled meetings for celebrating Mr. Hunt's Liberation,
Robert Webb, Thomas' Archbold,
Thomas Bailey, William Bell,
William Scott, John Martin,
H. Scott, William Lilley,
John Warburton, John Wood.
William Wittring,

T. Dolby, Printer, 999, Strand.

TO
THE RADICAL REFORMERS,
MALE and FEMALE,
OF
ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
Middleton Cottage, July 8, 1823, 47th Month after the
bloody Massacre at Manchester, without inquiry or
retribution.
My beloved Friends, Fellow -Countrymen,
and Countrywomen,
Seven months having passed away since I addressed
you in the 46th Number of my Memoirs, an apology for
that long silence is necessary before I address you again.
As honesty is the best policy, so I feel that to deal honestly
by you and to speak the truth, is the best and only apology
I can offer upon this occasion. The plain honest truth then
is this, that I have not left London for one single day since
the 1st of February, with the exception of a short visit I
made to my friends in Somersetshire at Easter ; and al
though I have several times sat down with the intention
of writing this the 47th number, yet I have found it im
possible to proceed in the midst of my private affairs, and
the multifarious calls attending my Manufactory in the
Metropolis, and I have not been able to leave that business
with satisfaction to myself or with justice to my family,
till Sunday last, when I threw myself into the mail, re
solved to shut myself up in this cottage till I had performed
18 a

T. Dots y, Printer, 299, Strand.

the task due to myself as well as to my readers, by writing
this present Number. In saying this I have to remind my
readers and numerous kind friends who have done me the
honour to patronise this work, that I am not a writer either
by profession or habit, and that I should never have under
taken the task of writing these Memoirs, if I had not been
sentenced td be incarcerated in a distant gaol for two
years and six months. It has been very aptly asked,
why I did not complete the work while I had leisure and
time in Ilchester Bastile ? In reply, I think I may with
great propriety ask, whether any reasonable person can
accuse me of inactivity or indolence while I remained
there. It is perfectly true that there are many persons
who would have written and published ten times as much
as I did ; but, I ask, would any'such persons have under
taken and accomplished what I did there ? I certainly
intended to have completed the work before I quitted the
walls of the Bastile, and I had made up my mind to devote
the last three months of my time while I remained there to
the accomplishment of that purpose; but the fact is, that
for the last four months I found that I had less time to
devote to writing than I had at any other period of my
incarceration, and that I found considerable difficulty in
bringing out the numbers once a fortnight, without writing
the copy to be published in the remaining numbers after I
left the Bastile. It cannot be forgotten that I obtained a
complete victory over my local persecutors, the mean,
pitiful, dastardly Magistrates ofthe County, who I have no
doubt intended that I should in earnest have finished my
life, before the period of my incarceration was at an end.
I had defeated them several times, but the clerical heroes
returned to the charge of persecution again and again,
determined not to be wholly overcome by one whom they
had in their power and under their own lock and key,
they having obtained an order of Quarter Sessions, and
got the signature ofthe amiable, the venerable, Judge

Best, to exclude all persons from entering thegaol: having
done this agreeable to the Act of Parliament, they flattered
themselves that nothing I could do, would relieve me from
the solitary confinement in which they had so placed me.
But by perseverance, and the assistance of my kind friends,
the determined enemies of persecution, who inundated the
table of the House of Commons with their Petitions and
Remonstrances against such cruel, unmanly, and unjust
proceedings, the Parson Justices, with Squire Dickenson,
Lighthouse Dickenson, with Cavalry Dickenson at their
head, found themselves so completely beaten, routed, and
discomfited when the order came down from the Secretary
of State, ordering Mr. Hardy to admit all my friends to see
me, that they actually not only abandoned all further
attempts to annoy me, but, like cocks of the real dunghill
breed, they overwhelmed me with all sorts of officious
kindness — like true spaniels, the more I flogged them, the
more they cringed, crouched, and fawned upon me. By
their orders the doors of the gaol were thrown open to
all my friends at all hours of the day, and from morn till
night my time was occupied not only with my own family,
but with receiving the visits of friends from all parts ofthe
kingdom, who flocked to congratulate me upon the victory
I had obtained over the petty tyrants of Somersetshire.
At scarcely any period of my life had I less time that I
could call my own, than I had for the last four months
that I remained in Ilchester Bastile. This is the reason and
the only reason that I have to finish my Memoirs without,
instead of within, the walls of a gaol. Let it never be for
gotten that my persecutors in Somersetshire were princi
pally Whigs. Whig Dickenson — Whig Goodford— Whig
Phillips — Whig Hanning — in fact all of them were the
Whig faction, the Whig tools of Whig Dickenson, the
Whig Member for the Whig faction of Somerset. It is
very curious that the great Whig lawyer Scarlett was
selected as the counsel against me at my trial; that I had a

Whig jury to try me at York, that it was a Whig verdict
and a Whig sentence, and that it was the Whigs alone
who persecuted me while I was in gaol ; let it never be
forgotten that the great Tory or Ministerial leader of the
County, Sir John Acland, came to visit me soon after I got
to the gaol, and that Sir John Acland granted me every
request that I made, saying they were all reasonable ; and
these were all that I ever asked for or demanded while I
remained in the gaol — namely, that my friends should be
admitted to visit me during reasonable hours in ihe day
time. But when the Whigs, the dirty, filthy, mean-spirited
dogs called Whigs, came, they did every thing th at was base, '
cowardly and malignant to annoy me, persecute me, and de
stroy me; butwhen all their malignant efforts proved abortive,
they turned round and actually persecuted me with their
filthy kindness. When Dickenson used to come tome cring
ing, fawning, flattering, and canting, endeavouring to make
me believe that he was not the cause of my persecution and
ill treatment, I really felt such disgust and abhorrence of
the fellow, that I could scarcely forbear spitting upon him.
I detested the fellow ten times more for his abject base
ness, fawning, and cringing, than I ever did for his open
hostility. You must have seen by the public papers, my friends,
that I have never lost an opportunity of asserting your
cause, the cause of the People, and the Rights of Man.
You must have seen, since I addressed you last, that the
question of Agricultural Distress has occupied a con
siderable portion of public attention, and you will perceive,
that although many of the Farmers still persist in the
folly of calling for " protecting duties," yet many, very
many of them, have shewn that they are come to their
proper senses, and are no longer to be humbugged and
duped by such quacks and impostors as Webb Hall and
Thomas Buckler Lethbridge : the " wild and visionary
notions" of these incendiaries begin to be exploded and

scouted by every man of common honesty and common
sense in the kingdom. Amongst the number of those who
have thrown off the yoke of delusion which had been
bound round their necks, and who have completely scouted
and discarded the mad, wild, and visionary notions of
such ridiculous impostors as Mr. Webb Hall and Sir Tho
mas Lethbridge, stands pre-eminent the whole mass of
the Farmers and Yeomanry of the County of Somerset, as
will be seen by the Petitions which were unanimously
adopted at two large County Meetings which were held
at Wells in the commencement of the present year ; which
Petitions I shall record in this work, with a short account
ofthe proceedings ofthe Meetings, which I flatter myself
will be interesting to my readers, particularly as they will
develope the real policy of the Whigs of that and other
Counties. You will recollect that the first thing I did, on
the morning of my liberation from the Bastile at Ilchester,
was to draw up a requisition to be presented to the She
riff of the County of Somerset to call a County Meeting to
take into consideration the sufferings of the Agriculturists,
and to consult upon a Petition for Reform. This requisi
tion was immediately signed by myself, Mr. Northmore,
Mr. Hayward, Mr. Perratt, and nearly 100 respectable
Farmers, Freeholders, and Yeomen of the County, who did
me the honour to breakfast with me at Ilchester on that
day ; it was afterwards signed by nearly 200 Freeholders
and delivered to the Sheriff, Vincent Stuckey, of Lang
port, who took no notice whatever of the said requisition.
I understand that he did not even condescend to write any
answer whatever to Mr. Oliver Hayward and his friend
who presented it to him.
However, in the beginning of January, a Somersetshire
Gentleman who was in London, asked me if I had seen a
Requisition that was published in the Sherborne Mercury,
by the Sheriff, calling a County Meeting on the 21st of
January at Wells. I replied, that I had neither seen nor

heard any thing of it. I, however, walked to Peel's
Coffee-house, where all the obscure Country Newspapers
are filed, and after looking over the Paper, where such
advertisements are usually put in, I returned to the Gen
tleman and told him it was a mistake, that there was no
such Notice in the Sherborne Paper; he informed me, that
I had overlooked it, that it was crammed in at 'the lower
part of the last page of the Paper. On further investiga
tion, there I found it. Only think, my friends, a County
Meeting advertised in an obscure corner of an obscure
Local Paper, and that Paper the Lying Mercury ; or,
Magisterial, alias Gaol Gazette. However, as soon as I
saw this, I wrote the following letter, had several thou
sands of them printed, and forwarded down to be distri
buted in the Market Towns in the County. The Whigs of
the County thought I was so busily engaged at my Ma
nufactory, that they should have a nice, snug humbug of
their own ; in fact, I know that they flattered themselves
that I had had enough of Politics, and that they would be
allowed to bamboozle the People of Somerset once more
in true Whig style, without the interference of that trou
blesome fellow, Hunt. I have since been informed by one
of their party, that this was their talk, and under this im
pression, they got the Sheriff to call the Meeting.
" To the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the County of
Somerset.
" Gentlemen, London, January IS, 1823.
" The High Sheriff has appointed a Public County
Meeting- to be held at Wells, on Tuesday, the 21st instant,
to take into consideration the propriety of Petitioning both
Houses of Parliament, relative to the Agricultural Dis
tress. " This Meeting, it appears, has been called in compli
ance with a Requisition signed ' Cork,' ' T. B. Leth
bridge,' aud about thirty other persons, acting as Magis
trates in our County.
" You will not fail to recollect, that the same Sheriff
refused to call a County Meeting in February last,
when two Requisitions were presented to him for that

purpose, one signed by upwards of 200, and the other by
2,000 persons, equally respectable with the present thirty
Requisitionists, although they did not hold any magisterial
or other official situations under Government in the Coun
ty. This proves one of two things ; either, that the She
riff has come at last to a sense of his duty to the Public, or,
that some hoax is meant to be played off upon you ; some
endeavour to obtain your sanction either to a partial or a
ridiculous measure, which yon will afterwards be ashamed
of. If the latter purpose be the present object, it shall be
my duty to endeavour to frustrate such attempt, and to
save you from the humiliating disgrace and disappoint
ment which would ultimately follow, if you were to allow
yourselves to be so entrapped.
" These Magistrates who have now called you together,
are the very men who inflicted such torture and imposed
such infamous restrictions upon me, when confined in their
Bastile at Ilchester, which you and the whole nation de
clared to be such ' at which humanity shuddered ,•' which
the Parliament condemned ; and which even the Ministers
of the Crown scouted, as impolitic and cruel, and caused
to be abolished.
" Although I will lose no opportunity of meeting these
men, and exposing their hypocrisy, in the presence of nn'
fellow-countrymen, yet 1 have a higher and more import
ant object in view, in attending the Meeting at Wells, on
Tuesday, the 21st, which is, to make one more effort to
save our Country from the danger and disgrace which has
so long been impending over it.
" The present Requisitionists have, by exerting a cor
rupt influence in the County, caused Sir Thomas Leth
bridge and Mr. Dickenson to be sent to Parliament for
many years as your representatives. One of these men has
invariably voted for every measure that, has tended to
brin0- you into your present deplorable state of distress ;
the other, who never failed to do the same, while the
faction to which he belongs was in power, has further
contrived to pocket annually large sums of the public
money as his share of the plunder.
" Let us then, my friends, narrowly watch the proceed
ings of these men, and I call upon you as men, and as
Englishmen, to meet me at Wells, on Tuesday, the 21st of
January instant, that we may convince them to their faces
that the day is passed for any further humbug to be
openly imposed upon a brave and a loyal, tdthough a much
injured people. " I am, Gentlemen,
J H H "Your faithful Friend.
" H. HUNT."

'"• P. S. I understand Sir Thomas Lethbridge has been
prattling about ' Itinerant Orators' attending the Meeting.
I shall come from my estate at Glastonbury — perhaps the
bristly Baronet will come from his estate — in the Moon."
As soon as this letter was circulated in the county,
matters began to take a different turn, all was bustle
amongst the people; it was doubt and dismay amongst the
Whigs: consultations and meetings were held in various
parts of the county. Two days before the meeting was
to be held, I went down to my friend Oliver Hayward's,
at Mudford, who kept me in one roar of laughter the
whole time I was with him, by his accountof the tricks and
antics that the worthy promoters ofthe meeting had been
playing off since they had got my letter. However, as I
meant to put some serious questions to Squire Dickenson,
relative to the monies that he received annually from the
public, as Colonel of the Somerset Yeomanry Cavalry,
and another little Job as Lessee of the Flatholm Light
house in the Bristol Channel ; 1 wrote to him as a matter
of courtesy, to inform him of my intention, requesting
that he would be prepared with his accounts to give his
constituents a satisfactory explanation of his conduct,
&c. &c. I fairly stated that I gave him such timely notice,
to deprive him of all fair pretence for saying that he was
taken by surprise, or making any shuffling excuse to avoid
giving an open and explicit answer to the questions I
should put to him. After these preliminaries we started
off, and called upon my worthy friend Perratt, of Mid-
dlezoy, and several other most respectable farmers in the
county, to ascertain what were their honest opinions as to
the cause of the agricultural distress, and what ought to
be adopted as a remedy, and what steps should be taken at
the approaching meeting. I found them one and all of
the same opinion, and that they were quite ashamed of
being any longer identified as supporters of the wild and

visionary schemes of Mr. Webb Hall and Sir Thomas
Lethbridge ; they requested me to draw up some resolu
tions and a petition, to be submitted to the meeting, in
unison with their feelings, and they all promised to come
to Wells and support them.
We slept at Glastonbury and prepared the petition,
where great numbers of the Yeomen had an opportunity
of seeing it in the morning as they passed through that
town to the meeting. When we arrived at Wells, the
Sheriff, surrounded by all the Whig Faction ofthe county,
had got possession of the hustings, but we were received
by such an universal shout of applause, as quickly caused
the gentry to make way for us, and there we took
our station. As soon as we mounted the hustings, the Rev.
Henry Cresswell approached and offered me his hand,
which I as freely accepted: thus, without any palaver of
explanation, was the little trifling misunderstanding that
had previously taken place between us publicly buried in
oblivion, and a sincere reconciliation took place, which
gave the greatest pleasure to our mutual friends, and
formed such a solid and invincible union of public prin
ciple and patriotic feeling, as I predict all the art and
cunning of the Tories, and all the cant and hypocrisy of
the Whigs, will never be able to overturn. This was a
death blow to the Whigs, the real enemies of public
liberty, who had flattered themselves that they would
have triumphed from our disunion, but all their hopes
were thus in one moment blasted and destroyed for ever.
They knew that Mr. Cresswell was universally beloved
and respected by the Yeomanry of the county, and they
knew that he was deservedly so beloved and respected,
therefore they calculated upon gaining a temporary victory
over the good sense of the people from our disunion ; but
their diabolical calculations were as visionary as their
politics. 18 B

10
When the Sheriff had opened the meeting, Mr. Hanning
came forward and moved some resolutions of the true
Whig manufacture; and a younker by the name of Sand
ford, who lives somewhere in the lower part of the county,
seconded him. I moved the following petition as an
amendment, which was seconded by Mr. Oliver Hayward
and Mr. Cresswell. During my address to the people who
stood before the hustings, and who were principally
respectable Farmers and Yeomenry of the county, and
not less than ten thousand in number, I gave Squire
Dickenson such a dressing as will stick to his skin as long
as he lives, and it was a dressing pf that nature too, that
is very likely to penetrate to the very marrow of his
bones. Only let the reader imagine a caitiff, a culprit
having a sentence passed upon him for something that
he knows he is guilty of, and then let him picture to
himself a tall, thin, gawky-looking fellow, endeavouring
to hide his face from a multitude, every one of whom has
their eyes fixed upon him. Thus stood Squire Dickenson
before his constituents. The petition which I moved em
braced a prayer for Radical Reform as the only cure for
all the evils which the agriculturist and all others suffered
in this country. The Sheriff obstinately refused to put
the question till the clause relating to Reform was
struck out, and I as determinedly refused to put my
petition without it, unless the Sheriff would fix an early
day for calling a County Meeting to discuss and petition
for Reform. This the Sheriff was ultimately compelled
to do, and he fixed that day week, the 28th of January.
Upon this I agreed to withdraw that part of my petition
which related to Reform, and the following was put as an
amendment to the Whig Petition, moved by Mr. Hanning
and young Squire Sandford. It was carried by an im
mense majority, 10,000 hands being held up for it, and
only twenty-seven against it.

11
To the Honourable the Commons ofthe United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled:
The petition of the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy, and Free
holders of the County of Somerset, assembled in public
meeting, convened by the Sheriff at the City of Wells, in
the said county, this 21st day of January, 1823,
Sheweth,
That your petitioners have cheerfully made the greatest
sacrifices at all times, for the defence of their country, and
to promote the safety and honour of tbe throne.
That to recite the sufferings of your petitioners would
be in vain, they are now well known, and are at length
become past all endurance.
That those calamities have been brought upon your
petitioners by excessive taxation [which has arisen solely
from the want of a fair and equal representation of the
people in the Commons' House of Parliament.]
Your petitioners therefore pray,
First — For a great reduction of the standing army,
including staff, barracks, and colleges.
Second — A total abolition of all sinecure and useless
places, and all pensions, grants and emoluments, not
merited by well-known public services.
Third — A great reduction of the civil list, and of all the
salaries of the Royal Family, and especially that of the
German Prince Saxe Coburg, which your petitioners
humbly pray may be reduced at least to GOOOl. a year, the
sum paid to the President of the United States of
America. Fourth — Corresponding reductions of the salaries of all
the officers of state, the judges, and every other person
paid out of the taxes.
Fifth — An immediate repeal of the taxes on salt, malt,
hops, leather, soap, and candles, farmers' riding horses,
and tradesmens' draught horses.
Sixth-^-A repeal of the odious and tyrannical game
laws, and for a law to be passed to authorise every farmer
and his friends to kill game on the land which he
occupies. Seventh — For a law to be passed to exclude all clergy
men from holding commissions of the peace, or acting as
commissioners of taxes, sewers, or turnpikes.
Eighth — A repeal of the general turnpike act, passed
during the last session of Parliament, which act authorise:?

12
the commissioners to levy a heavier tax on the poor man's
cart than the gentleman's carriage.
Your petitioners further pray, that your Honourable
House will be pleased forthwith to adopt such measures
with regard to church and state, as will ensure the free
dom and happiness of the people, the security of the
throne, and the prosperity of the country.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray, &c.
The Sheriff declared that the Amendment moved by
Mr. Hunt was carried by a very large majority, but he re
fused to sign it as the act of the meeting : upon which I
moved a vote of censure upon him, which was carried
unanimously by acclamation. On the 28th, we met again.
The Whigs mustered very weak ; only a few desperate
characters attended, and a most despicable figure they
cut ; it evidently appeared to be a desperate, forlorn hope,
the last expiring effort of a desperate, contemptible fac
tion, whose cant and hypocrisy had mainly, by my means,
been detected and exposed. An old person, by the name
of Sandford, the father of the young person who cut such
a ridiculous figure the week before, was now put forward
(evidently against his will) to play the first fiddle, or ra
ther to sound the last knell of an expiring, despicable fac
tion. — He begged, and prayed, and raved, and foamed at
the mouth, but all would not do ; the more he begged,
and prayed, and raved, and foamed at the mouth, the more
the people laughed at and hooted him ; at length he be
came downrightfrantic, and scolding like an old Billings
gate fish-woman, he called all sorts of names, and finished
by asserting what he, and all who heard him, knew to be
a barefaced falsehood, without the slightest shade to give
a colour for its invention. I moved the following Petition
as an Amendment, which being seconded by Mr. Cress
well and put to the meeting by the Sheriff, it was carried
unanimously, probably by much the largest meeting that
was ever assembled in the County of Somerset, there being
between ten and fifteen thousand hands held up for it, and

13
only those of nine poor discomfited Whigs against it. I
beg the Radical Reader to read over these Petitions care
fully, and ask himself whether he can discover any alte
ration or twist in the principles of Henry Hunt, since he
quitted the walls ofthe Boroughmongers, and whether he
did not prove himself the same inflexible advocate for the
People at the County Meetings for Somerset, which
he has always done at the great Public Meetings held in
the Metropolis and at other places where he has attended.
When I desert the cause of Universal Suffrage and Vote
by Ballot, let me then be struck out of the list of Radical
Reformers, and be scouted as an Apostate to the cause of
Truth and Justice.
" To the Honourable the Commons, &c.
" The Petition of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants
ofthe County of Somerset, assembled in Public County
Meeting, convened by the Sheriff, in the City of Wells,
this 28th day of January, 1823, —
" Sheweth — That your Petitioners have, for a great
number of years, contributed large sums of money annu
ally towards defraying the expenses of long and bloody
wars, and for the support of a system of government which
they were taught to believe, by the public press, by the
parliament, and by the great landed and monied proprie
tors of the country, was absolutely necessary for the pro
tection of the throne, and for the safety, happiness, and
welfare of the people of England. Your Petitioners la
ment to find that their confidence was grossly abused, and
that they have been deceived, duped, and cajoled by the
above-named parties, who conspired together to oppress
and plunder your petitioners, to carry on wicked, unjust,
and unnecessary wars, entered intoVnd continued, as your
Petitioners, to their sorrow, now find, solely for the pur
pose of upholding and perpetuating a corrupt state of Re
presentation in the House of Commons.
" Your Petitioners now plainly see that the cause of all
this wanton, wicked, cruel, and unprincipled sacrifice of
the oceans of blood, which were so unfeelingly spilled ;
the profligate waste of the wealth and property ofthe na
tion, which was wrung from the earnings of a suffering,
patient, and confiding people, and which were so lavishly
squandered away ; that all the long and cruel past suffer
ings of the manufacturing and labouring parts ofthe Com-

14
munity; and that all the present insupportable sufferings
of your Petitioners, have their origin in, and are solely to
be attributed to the want of a fair, free, and equal Repre
sentation of the People in the Commons' House of Par
liament. " Your Petitioners now very plainly perceive, that the
Seats in Parliament have all along been filled with the
Relatives, Hangers-on, and Dependents of certain great
aristocratical Families, by means of borough and other
corrupt influence ; which persons, having no interest nor
feeling in common with the people, have contrived, by
their corrupt majorities in Parliament, to appropriate the
Crown and Church Lands (the undoubted Property of the
Public) amongst themselves, their relatives and depen
dents ; and by the same corrupt and unjust means, they
have contrived to obtain' large grants of the Public Mo
ney, arising from the sweat of the industrious labourer's
brow, which they have annually divided and apportioned
amongst themselves in Pensions, Sinecures, and Pay, for
useless and unnecessary Places.
" Your Petitioners, therefore, most earnestly and most
confidently pray, that your Honourable House will forth
with pass an act, to insure such an immediate and complete
Reform in the Commons' House of Parliament, as will
»ive to every Englishman, Scotchman and Irishman, a
vote for the Representatives who are to sit there ; and
your Petitioners further pray, that, to enable every man
to give his vote honestly and conscientiously, they may
be protected by the Ballot. These, your Petitioners
firmly believe, are the only safe and effectual remedies for
their present sufferings, and that without these your Peti
tioners can hope for no security in future for their lives,
their liberties, and their property. When such a Reform
is effected, your Petitioners will have full confidence that
such freely and equitably chosen Parliament will, without
loss of time, adopt such measures in Church and State as
will secure the future freedom and happiness of the Peo
ple, the safety and honour of the Throne, and the peace
and prosperity of the Country. And your Petitioners
further pray your Honourable House to take into serious
consideration, and attend to the Prayer of those numerous
Petitions which were presented to your Honourable
House in the year 1817, praying for Reform ; which Peti
tions, although signed by One Million and a Half of Eng
lishmen, were totally disregarded and thrown under the
-Table of your Honourable House.
" And your Petitioners will ever pray."

At both these meetings I received a vote of thanks,
and after the last meeting a deputation of gentlemen
from Bridgewater waited upon me with an invitation to a
Public Dinner, to be given me in that town ; and a Re
quisition, signed by several hundred Freeholders of the
County, has been presented to me to request me to become
a Candidate for the representation of the County at the
next General Election, or whenever a vacancy may occur,
the parties undertaking to support me free of expense.
When the next day of nomination arrives, we shall hear
what sort of an account the present Members will give of
themselves. These Petitions have been signed and for
warded to me; the first, with upwards of 3000 signatures,
I put into the hands of Sir Thomas Lethbridge, who pro
mised to present it to the House and to support a conside- .
rable number of allegations contained in it, as he per
fectly approved of many of them ; this he informed me he
would do, in the presence of Mr. Sheriff Parkins. About
an hour afterwards, Mr. Parkins went with me to the
House to hear this hero present it, when, lo and behold !
he stood up, and declared that although he presented the
Petition, he totally disapproved of it, and of every allega
tion which it contained. — Mr. P. exclaimed, good God,
what a * * * *. The Petition was brought up and laid
upon the table without one word of it ever being read, and
without any Member of the House knowing what it con
tained. The second Petition for Reform, signed by 5000
People, I took to Sir Francis Burdett, at the request of some
of the Freeholders of the County ; this was in February
or March. The Honourable Baronet promised to present
it and do the County justice, but we have never heard
one word of it since. I suppose the Gout has prevented
Sir Francis from presenting it. Mr. Oliver Hayward has
also sent up a Petition some months past to Mr. Hume,
stating some curious facts, and praying that William Dick
enson, Esq. the Colonel of the Somerset Regiment of Yeo-

16
inanry Cavalry, may be made to pass his accounts, and
account for all monies that have come into his hands on
account of the said regiment, since he has been Colonel of
the same ; but we have never heard one word of this Pe
tition since. So much for petitioning- the Honourable
House. — So it has been, so it is, and so it will be, till we
get some other sort of men in the House who will do jus
tice to the prayers of the People.
In accepting the invitation of the gentlemen of Bridge-
water, I had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with
the worthy men of that part of the County of Somerset,
and I have no hesitation in saying, that, for public spirit
and truly patriotic* principles, they are not to be surpassed
by any men in the United Kingdom ; the brave men, like
all other brave men, are slow to move into action ; but
when once they take the field their power is irresistible.
The kind and hearty reception I experienced from the
worthy Vicar of Creech, as well as from the freeholders
in all that part of the County, was most flattering and
grateful to my feelings, and it is to me an earnest that
when the day of reckoning comes they will not be absent
from their post. While I was in Somersetshire it was
suggested by Mr. Northmore the beneficial effects that
might be produced by holding a public meeting in London
to enter into a subscription to aid and assist the Spanish
Patriots with arms, to enable them to contend against
their blood-thirsty Invaders. In this suggestion 1 fully
concurred, and the moment I got to town early in April
I waited upon Sir Francis Burdett and proposed to him to
take the chair at public dinner, at a moderate price, to
be held at the City of London Tavern, for the purpose of
promoting a subscription to purchase arms for the Spa
niards. Sir Francis Burdett readily assented to the pro
position, and said it was an excellent idea, to give the
people an opportunity of expressing their abhorrence of
the atrocious conduct of the French Government. Sir

17
Francis promised to see the Spanish Ambassador and invite
him to attend the dinner; in the meantime I was to look out
for Stewards ; as the Aristocracy had attended a dinner
and done nothing, it was thought advisable that the people
should meet to do something. The next time I saw the
Baronet I had obtained the names of about a dozen re
spectable gentlemen to act as stewards, but now I found
the Baronet rather cool upon the subject, who asked me
whether I did not think it would.be better to get some of
the City men to take it up and set it going? I replied, if it
were made either a Westminster or a City concern, the
people would not subscribe ; and I told him I thought it
ought to be made a general meeting, unconnected with
any particular party. In this he appeared fully to concur,
and I parted with him and sent to inquire at the City of
London Tavern to know what day we could have the
room, and a previous meeting was appointed to arrange
matters for the dinner without delay, when, lo and behold,
after mentioning the subject to Alderman Wood, I
accidentally heard that some of the City men, Messrs.
Favell, Galloway, and Taylor, had sent a card to him
(Alderman Wood), inviting him to attend a meeting at
the Crown and Anchor, for a similar purpose, on the fol
lowing Monday. The fact appears to be, as soon as it
was ascertained that Sir Charles Wolseley, Mr. North-
more and myself were preparing to hold a meeting to aid
the Spaniards, these City men were set in motion to take
it out of our hands. Well, I had no objection, so that
the thing was done honestly and not made a job of, I
therefore made up my mind to wait a little and see what
these heroes would do, only determined to watch their
motions. I attended their first meeting at the Crown
and Anchor ; it was attended by very few persons ; Mr.
Taylor, the printer, in Shoe-lane, and Mr. Bowring, ap
peared to take the lead ; Mr. Denman, Colonel Davis and
Mr. John Williams were present ; a Colonel Stanhope was
18 c

lfe
called to the chair, and every one appeared to be of opi
nion that a subscription should be raised for the Spaniards,
and that no time should be lost ; this was the general
feeling, when Mr. Hobhouse arrived, and in a speech that
he made he threw cold water and put a damp upon the
whole proceedings: he declared that a friend of his had
seen the Spanish Ambassador, and the Commissioners
who came over from the Cortes: and this friend of his had
offered them a considerable loan of money, which they
declined, adding, that they did not want money. Mr.
Hobhouse further declared, that jt was his opinion that a
subscription would not succeed, that the people of Eng
land were worn out with subscriptions, and he therefore
thought it ought not to be attempted: he had no objection
to a meeting to express the opinion of the people, but he
totally disapproved of a subscription, fo-r the reasons he
had assigned. I took the liberty to refute the assertions
of the little Honourable Gentleman, by requesting to
know the name of the party who had offered the said
loan, begging- to be informed upon what terms this loan
had been offered and rejected. I also added, that I had
no doubt but the people of England would subscribe for
such a laudable purpose, provided they were sure that the
money would be placed in respectable hands, who would
appropriate it as it was intended, and not misapply it, as
many former subscriptions had been. Mr. Hobhouse,
in reply, said he had only heard this, that, and the other,
and felt hurt that he should be accused of throwing cold
water on the subject. It was finally settled and agreed
upon, that a public meeting should be held somewhere,
not at the Crown and Anchor, on the 22d of May. This
resolution was moved by Mr. Denman and seconded by
me, and it was carried unanimously. Then came the
question who was to be chairman ; one proposed Lord
Holland, another proposed Marquis Lansdown, a third
proposed Mr. Alexander Baring ; this person I opposed ;

19
he having lent the French Government a large loan to
enable them to make war upon the Spaniards, was, I con
tended, a very improper man to take the chair at a public
meeting to raise a subscription to aid the Spaniards in that
war, and more especially as he was an avowed enemy of
universal suffrage, that sort of government for which the
Spaniards were fighting. I proposed that Sir Francis
Burdett should be invited to take the chair ; this was ob
jected to, and it was ultimately proposed to leave it to
the Committee, to be appointed out of the company ; I
had no objection to this, provided the Committee was
fairly chosen. Well, the Committee was appointed, and
who should they be but the Old Rump themselves ; to be
sure, several respectable names were mentioned, but I ob
served that they would none of them attend, and the
management of the business would ultimately fall into the
hands of the Old Rump Committee, therefore I declined
to have any thing more to do with them, till the public
meeting was held. Well, the 22d of May came, but no
meeting — another day was appointed ; that day, «. third
time, it was adjourned sine die, and no day was fixed, and
a person who regularly attended the meetings informed
me that it was the intention of the Committee not to call
a general public meeting at all. This was just what I
expected ; I therefore advertised a previous public meet
ing, to be held at the City of London Tavern on the 2d of
June, which was attended by several hundred very re
spectable persons, when the following resolutions were
unanimously passed :
At a Public Meeting convened at the City of London
Tavern, on the 2d of June, 1823, Henry Hunt, Esq.
was unanimously called lo the Chair, and the following
Resolutions passed.
Resolved I. — That this Meeting avow the principle of
its bein0- the utiiversal right and common interest of all

10
mankind to enjoy that self-government which constitutes
freedom. Resolved 2. — That this Meeting acknowledges two,
and only two justifiable motives to war, namely: first,
when it is become necessary to the immediate self-defence
of a people ; and second, when it is become just and wise,
in aid of another people whose self-government is violated
by despotism.
Resolved 3. — That the war now made on Spain, by the
King of France, for the avowed purpose of depriving the
Spanish people of the sacred right of self-government, is
an unprincipled and atrocious violation of the freedom,
not only of the Spanish people, but of the whole commu
nity of mankind.
Resolved 4. — That it is the opinion of this Meeting,
that the people of England, Scotland, and Ireland, in
justice to their character, are ready to manifest the sense
they entertain of the French King's blood-guilty violence
and impious tyranny, as well as their lively sympathy in
the wrongs of Spain, by a voluntary subscription towards
her defence.
Resolved 5. — That the long-talked-of and thrice-pro
tracted General Public Meeting, in favour of the Spanish
people, should, without further delay, be publicly an
nounced and held.
Resolved 6. — That a handsome and useful sword of
British manufacture be purchased by small public sub
scriptions, and immediately forwarded to Sir Robert
Wilson, as a proof of the high estimation in which his
conduct is held by his fellow countrymen.
Resolved 7. — That the thanks of this Meeting be given
to Sir Robert Wilson, for his brave and public spirited
assistance rendered in such a time of need to the Spanish
people. Resolved 8. — That a Committee be elected out of the
present Meeting to confer with the gentlemen who call

21
themselves the Spanish Committee, to co-operate with
them in promoting the cause of the Spanish patriots, and
that H. Hunt, Mr. Birt, and Mr. Goodman, be such
Committee. Resolved 9. — That the thanks of this Meeting be given
to Henry Hunt, Esq. for his uniform conduct upon all occa
sions, when the liberties of the people are attempted to
be invaded, and particularly for his promptness in calling
this Meeting, as well as his independent, impartial, and
gentlemanly conduct this day.
The next day Mr. Goodman waited upon Mr. Taylor,
the first appointed Secretary to the self-appointed Spanish
Committee, to ascertain where we could see the gentle
men who were so appointed : all the information he could
get was, that Colonel Grant was appointed Secretary to
the Select Committee, who sat at the Crown and Anchor,
and he begged to refer him to Colonel Grant. On the next
day Mr. Goodman wrote the following letter to Colonel
Grant, to which he never received any answer :
TO COLONEL GRANT.
Sir, 33, Craven Street, Strand, June 4, 1823.
In pursuance with the above, (viz. 5th and 8th) Reso
lutions, I have called several times on Mr. Taylor, Printer,
Shoe Lane, to ascertain when and where tbe Committee
could meet the gentlemen above alluded to, "to confer
with them on the subject of the afore-mentioned Resolu
tions ; he has referred me to you, as the present Secre
tary of the Select Committee, appointed at the Crown
and Anchor. -*
I shall be obliged if you will inform me, as soon as
possible, when the Committee can have an opportunity of
carrying the above instructions of the Meeting into effect
I am, Sir, &c.
W. Goodman.
Understanding that Mr. Lambton was appointed Chair
man of the Select Committee, I wrote him as follows : —
TO J. G. LAMBTON, Esq. M. P.
Mr. Hunt presents his compliments to Mr. Lambton,
and will thank him to say when Mr. Hunt and two other

22
gentlemen appointed at a Public Meeting, held at the City
of London Tavern on Monday last, can have an interview
with the gentlemen who composed the Select Committee,
formed at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, in the Strand, in
aid of the Spanish cause.
The following is a Resolution (No. 8) unanimously
agreed to at that Meeting.
22, Great Charlotte Street, Blackfriars,
June 6, 1823.
On the 9th I received the following answer from the
Chairman of the Select Committee: —
Mr. Lambton' s Answer, dated the 7th, received the 9th.
Sir, Cleveland Row, June 7, 1823.
I must beg to decline the office of communicating your
intentions to the Spanish Committee, And am, Sir, &c. &c. &c.
H. Hunt, Esq. J. G. Lambton-
These documents require no comment, they speak for
themselves. A few days afterwards the Public Meeting
was announced to be held at the London Tavern, which I
attended, and after having waited nearly an hour after the
time appointed for taking the Chair, I got upon the table
with the intention of informing the Meeting, previous to
the Chair being taken, how far I, as one ofthe Committee
appointed at the Meeting previously held at the City of
London Tavern, had obeyed the instructions given to me
at that Meeting ; but the moment I got upon the table, a
howl was set up that would have disgraced the frequenters
of the lowest brothel in the purlieus of'St. Giles's: this
howl commenced before I had opened my lips, therefore
it must have proceeded from some of the Rump, who
anticipated what I was going to say. In fact, it was one
of the most disgraceful Packed Meetings that I ever
attended, and was altogether one of the greatest hum
bugs that was ever attempted to gull and deceive the
people of England. Seeing that the Three Rumps and
their agents were determined that none but their own
patrons should be heard, I was standing very composedly,

•23
when in came a party of the Rump, headed by Little
Mister Hobhouse, who jumped upon the table, and from
thence upon a chair, which was placed upon the table,
and knowing that he was standing before a Packed
Meeting, surrounded by his myrmidons, this little spawn
of a sinecure placeman, hoped and trusted that the Meet
ing would not allow itself to be insulted by listening to
any thing that I had to say ; and he went on in the most
insulting manner, to say that I was come to the Meeting,
as I always did, to throw the torch of discord amongst
the Friends of Freedom," &c. &c. Now this little thing
would not have dared to insult me in this manner if he
had not been shielded from a just chastisement by my
recognizances, and that of my friends, in penalties of
£2,000, not to commit a breach of the peace. It would
be a waste of time to say much of this Thing of the
Baronet's. 1 remember his father, just such a politician,
only that he possessed more talent ; the first opportunity
he turned apostate, and took a place, during- which time,
he contrived to get a perpetual sinecure settled upon him
of £2500 a year, which sinecure he has received out of
the pockets of the people ever since. The present Mr.
Hobhouse, Sir Francis Burdett's Thing, has been living-
with his father the whole of this time, except during his
Travels to Newgate, &c. therefore the very blood that
runs in his veins has been nourished by the vitals of the
people ; the clothes that he wears have been purchased at
our expense ; he is also the friendly cousin of Sidmouth's
Under Secretary of State. His insolence at this Meeting,
prompted another Bully, Rowcroft, to insult me, but he is
too worthless to notice. Well, Lord Erskine was called
to the Chajr pro-temporc ; a good beginning, he has re
ceived a pension of £4000 a-year out of our pockets ever
since 1807, and his family receives £4500 a year more. The
next Chairman is Lord William Bentinck, a pensione r and
a placeman, to the amount, as it is stated in the Peep at the

24 ^
Peer:, of £9000 a year. Next came Sir James Mackintosh,
he receives upwards of £2000 a year. Then came Lawyer
Brougham, the Serjeant at Arms to the Treasury. Then
came Lord Lynedoch with £3000 a year. Then came
Lord Ebrington, who, with his father and family,. receive
£6000 a year; in fact, I saw that it was nothing more than
a set of Whig Sinecure Placemen and Pensioners, met
together to dupe and deceive John Gull. No wonder
these hirelings would not hear me, they knew that it was
impossible that I would forget to notice this in some way
or other, therefore it was that Mister Hobhouse antici
pated, that I was come there " to throw the torch of dis
cord amongst the Friends of Freedom." Friends of
Freedom ! What an insult to the very name of Freedom !
Well, then, I was determined to cast a Torch amongst
these combustible Friends of Freedom, that if it had been
properly applied, would have blown every one of them
out of the Pension List. Now for the Torch, here it is ;
a Resolution which I drew up after the insult offered me
by Sir F. Burdett's Thing. This, with very considerable
difficulty, I offered to the Meeting, and ultimately got the
Grand Pensioned Chairman to put it himself to the Vote-
Behold the Torch :
"Resolved, — That to further the patriotic suggestion of
Sir Robert Wilson, namely, (the giving up the price of
one day's labour of the people of England) that the
Committee be instructed to write a Circular Letter to each
of the persons who receive Pensions and Sinecures,
paid out of the earnings of that people, requesting them
to give up some portion of their present year's salary in
aid of the Spanish Cause."
Aye, aye, there's Hobhouse's Torch, as dreadful to
his imagination as Macbeth's air-drawn dagger. There's
the Torch of Discord that I have been throwing
amongst Hobhouse's Friends of Freedom for the last
twenty years ; and by Heavens I swear, I will continue to

25 e
throw this Torch amongst the Hireling Pensioned Slaves
as long as I live. Oh, my friends, how I wish you could
have seen the faces of these Pensioned Dogs, when I
threw this Torch amongst them ; poor little Hobhouse,
who always looks like the knight with a woeful counte
nance, looked ten times more pitiful than ever, and
his face was extended nearly as long as one's arm:
even when the precious packed meeting voted against my
resolution, although his countenance brightened up a
little when he thought of the many good things of this
life his father's pension had furnished him with, which he
must otherwise have gone without, even then he
looked like poor Hob just drawn out of the well. Such
an effect had this Torch of mine produced upon this pen
sioner by birth, parentage and education. Only ask Mr.
Wroe, of Manchester, how the Gang looked — how this
Pensioned Gang of Friends of Freedom looked — God
only knows what they felt, when they saw the Torch ;
even the very smell of the Torch, before they saw it,
drove them all nearly into fits. Ha ! Ha ! ! Ha ! ! ! Oh
the Torch ! ! !
I have named a pointer Torch. I will christen a
thorough-bred filly that I have, Torch. I thank thee
for that name, Hob. I will never be without some ani
mal to remind me of it. These Whig worthies knew that
I had received the following excellent Address from the
Members of the Northern Union, and that they had re
quested me to read it to the Meeting — they knew this, and
therefore they took good care that I should not be heard.
They knew the brave Reformers of the North were
honest in their wishes for the Spaniards to enjoy that
liberty which they had been fighting for themselves,
Universal Suffrage, which not one man cmongst the
Whigs would support. To prevent this excellent Address
from being read, I have since learnei, was one great
cause of the interruption I received.

26
ADDRESS FROM THE MEMBERS OF THE
NORTHERN UNION.
" For a Nation to love Liberty, it is sufficient ihat they
know it. For a People lo be Free, it is sufficient ihat
they will il." " BRAVE SPANIARDS !
" The inhabitants of Manchester and its vicinity, who
compose the Northern Union,. who have drank deeply of
the bitter cup of despotism, and whose blood has been
quaffed by the retainers of Legitimacy, cannot view with
indifference the unprincipled aggression which has been
made upon Spain by the despots of Europe. For although
France only is ostensibly engag-ed in this unhallowed
invasion of the rights of man, the subscribers to the
Northern Union are convinced that the present invasion
of Spain has emanated from the congregated despots who
blasphemously call themselves the " Holy Alliance."
The characteristics of this attack upon Spain proclaims
evidently that it is the last desperate effort of expiring
despotism upon the liberties of Europe. It cannot be
mistaken ; all its features bear the indelible characters of
the source from which it has originated ; it has been
" produced in the infernal alembic" of Legitimacy ; may
it meet with its deserts ; and may Spain, the cradle of the
Inquisition, prove the eternal tomb of tyranny. To fur
ther an object, so " devoutly to be wished," the sub
scribers to the Northern Union appropriate 100Z. of the
funds, which they have contributed for the purpose of
obtaining what the brave Spaniards are now so nobly
contending for, " Liberty and equal Rights," to be ex
pended in arms, that the Patriots of Spain may be enabled
completely to carry into execution what they have so
nobly resolved, Spaniards, life without liberty is not
worth possessing; a brave man would prefer death to
slavery ; in arming the Spaniards, the Northern Union are
giving brave men an opportunity of realising those bles-

27
sings which they themselves are determined to enjoy, and
which it is their most ardent wish that the Spaniards, in
their present struggle, may obtain. Death or Liberty is
our motto — Spaniards prefer death to slavery ; it is our
duty to assist them. " James Cox, Sub-Treasurer."-
Although these worthies did not like this torch, yet
they made a dead set to get the 1001. into their hands, and
by a trick which they imposed Upon Sir Charles Wolse
ley, they very nearly succeeded : if they had, the Members
of the Northern Union would have never heard another
word about their 1001. I have the pleasure to inform the
Subscribers to the Union, that Sir Charles Wolseley, my
self, and Mr. Northmore, have furnished the means where
with to render their Subscription of some consequence.
One hundred stand of muskets ofthe best sort, with accou
trements complete, are ordered from a respectable manu
facturer of Birmingham, which will be forwarded to Spain,
as soon as they are finished. " English Northern
Union" will be stamped upon the barrel of every musket,
and the names of Wolseley, Hunt, and Northmore en
graved upon some part of the arms, so that the Union may
depend upon havingtheir wishes carried fully into effect.
An eminent manufacturer is also preparing an elegant
sword, to be forwarded to Sir Robert Wilson, which will
be purchased and presented to him without the slightest
assistance from his constituents-, or the Rump of the Bo
rough of Southwark.
Since I had the honour of addressing you last, I have
received an elegant piece of plate, presented to me by the
Female Reformers of Manchester, accompanied by the
following Address : this mark of their kindness and at
tachment shall be handed down to future generations as
a proof that an Englishman has only to do his duty ho
nestly and boldly, to ensure him the best of rewards — the
approbation and applause of his countrywomen.

28
"TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ.
" Sir, — The Female Reformers of Manchester, as a
token of the high esteem in which they hold the patriotic
and manly exertions which you have from time to time
made in defence of Liberty, beg leave most respectfully
and sincerely to congratulate you on your liberation from
your cruel, vindictive, and unmerited imprisonment, for
the part you took at the Manchester Meeting, on the hi
therto unexpatiated, but, we still trust, yet-to-be-atoned-
for Sixteenth of August.
" We, Sir, accompany this sincere expression of our re
gard, with a Silver Urn, which has been purchased by
voluntary contributions, made amongst us, which we pre
sent to you through the hands of the Patriotic Mr. Lewis,
as a token pf the high sense we entertain of the many im
portant services which you have rendered to your country ;
and we hope you will accept it as a humble tribute offered
at the shrine of Patriotism.
" The Females of Manchester have often been taunted
by those who are revelling in luxury, wrung from the
brow of Poverty, with interfering in Politics ; but when it
is considered that the relentless and remorseless hand of
despotism has reduced our native land, regardless of sex
or age, to a state of slavery and oppression, unknown to
any other country in the habitable globe, in our estimation
we consider this reason sufficiently weighty to demand our
most serious interposition ; and while the same causes exist,
as English women, as wives, as mothers, and as daughters,
we will never cease to exert ourselves in promoting the
cause of Freedom and Reform; it is the cause of virtue,
and therefore a laudable object for female exertions.
" In the possession of these feelings, Sir, we need not say
with what anxiety and admiration we have witnessed the
nobleness of your actions : our admiration has only been
exceeded by your ability. Courage, fortitude, and perse
verance in the cause nearest to our hearts, and our anxiety
for your success, has only been equalled by the magnitude
of the object. Persevere, Sir, in the same path; success
must eventually crown your exertions. There are only
two principles on which man can be governed, Love and
Fear, Tyrants cannot possess the former, they have there
fore recourse to the latter ; and when they can no longer
intimidate, despotism dies. The reign of terror has been
tried, our streets have been drenched with blood,
you have been immured thirty months in a dungeon,
and what have our Tyrants gained ? not our fears ! no !
Infamv has recorded their names in characters more dur-

-'9
able than brass, and the only feeling they have excited in
us, is everlasting hatred and contempt. Reform is inevit
able, and you are again at liberty to give the finishing
blow to the Hydra of Corruption, who is now staggering
from your former well-aimed thrusts. May the God of
Liberty grant you success, and that you may long live in
health and happiness, to enjoy the fruits of your well-
earned victory, is the prayer of the Female Reformers of
Manchester. " Signed by the Committee, on behalf of the Subscribers,"
" Anne Oddy.
Anne Thompson.
Elizabeth Baker.
Mary Gibson.
Agnes Aspinwall.
Mary Evans.
Susannah Saxton."
inscription on the urn.
" In grateful remembrance of his Patriotic Services in
the cause of Liberty, this Urn is presented to Henry
Hunt, Esq. by the Female Radical Reformers of Man
chester, who were witnesses of the aavage and cruel
murders committed on St. Peter's Plain on the 16th
day of August, 1819."
I have received several Subscriptions, which will be ac
knowledged upon the wrapper of this Number ; if any
should be omitted, I will trouble the parties to forward me
an account of them, and they shall be inserted in my next.
ROASTED CORN.
With respect to my Roasted Corn concern, I have great
pleasure in informing my friends and the public, that I have
now brought it to that state of perfection which will defy
all competition, and give my agents, and all those who
use it, the greatest satisfaction. I now fearlessly an
nounce my prepared Roasted Corn to be very far superior
to common coffee, although it is sold for one-third the
price. Its salubrity and nutricious qualities stand unri
valled as a pleasant and cheap beverage ; the certificates
of its wholesomene&s, which 1 have received from some of

.30
the most, eminent Physicians and Medical Men, both in
London and the Country, would fill a volume of them
selves, therefore I must decline inserting them here ; but I
shall be most happy to satisfy any one who may wish for
any information upon the subject, if they will apply to me.
I have made great improvements in the apparatus, and
considerably extended my Manufactory, and I have no
doubt now but I shall be able to give complete satisfaction
to my numerous agents, and afford them a regular supply,
which during the last winter I was sometimes prevented
from doing, in consequence of the unexpected demand for
the article, owing to the celebrity it had obtained all-over
the kingdom, without my having advertised it in one sin
gle newspaper, since the Act passed. So thoroughly con
vinced are his Majesty's Ministers ofthe great value ofthe
discovery to the public at large, and the important benefits
which will be derived from the general use of my prepared
Roasted Corn, that they have restored to me the penal
ties of two hundred pounds which I had paid for the
first invention of it. I remain, my Friends,
Yours, very sincerely,
H. HUJVT.
P. S. I have received an invitation from the Reformers
of Birmingham and Greenock to dine with them at Public
Dinners, which they intend to give me ; which invitations
I have accepted, and shall meet my Friends at Birmingham
on Monday next, the 14th of July.

31

TO HENRY HUNT, ESQ,
The Congratulatory Address of the Reformers at Leeds.
Respected Sir, — To say that we with the most rap
turous sensations of delight congratulate you on your
emancipation from a dreary and cruel incarceration, would
be far too feeble to express our feelings ; were it possible
for, you in your own glowing and energ-etic language to
pourtray your feelings on the occasion, such would, be
lieve us, Sir, be a faithful transcript of ours ; for not a
thorn has been planted in your breast but we have, by the
power of sympathy?' participated in the pain; not an ar-
t'ow has pierced your manly soul but we have felt its
barbed point quiver in our bosoms. What then must now
be our sensations, to know that the phial of the fierce
wrath of the Boroughmongers is emptied, and that with
dauntless mien and soul unshaken, you fearlessly again
can front your country's foes. And permit us, Sir, to ex
press our unqualified approbation of your political and
patriotic exertions, both previous to your captivity and
during that state of suffering. We have seen you in the
most perilous times, wben corruption's boisterous waves
threatened to overwhelm Britannia's bark, and engulph
the last remains of British Liberty. — We have seen you,
regardless of your own personal safety, seize the vessel's
prow, and with a prudence and intrepidity which com
manded the admiration of even your direst foes, striving to
save the vessel and its crew in this situation, for we be
held you at the great Manchester Meeting on the ever-
memorable sixteenth of August. We have seen you at
York, when confronted with your vile accusers, display
a magnanimity of mind that will for ever perpetuate your
own fame and the infamy of your persecutors ; and when
pent up within the pestilential walls of a dungeon, we
have seen you evince a greatness of soul that all but fiends
were constrained to admire ; for there you have shewn
yourself to be no sunshine Patriot — no weathercock Re
former — but the steady, staunch, and skilful combatant of
Corruption — there we have seen you with Herculean
strength, and patience unexampled, cleansing the augean
stable — there we beheld you, though yourself enchained,
rend asunder the chains of your fellow-captives. But al
though such have been your labours for your country's
weal, that whilst a single spark of freedom continues to
glow within a British bosom your name will be revered

32
and associated with British Liberty, yet painful it is to per
ceive that persons have been found, who, with the sacred
name of freedom on their lips, to rank amongst your most
deadly foes, who, viper-like, when warmed with the ge
nial rays of your friendship, would have stung you to the
heart. But as for the doughty knight, of corn-measuring
memory, he will ere long be smothered in his own dirty
sweepings ; the mass of falsehoods and filth that he has
raked together has so bedaubed himself, that whilst the
ethiopian retains his colour, and the leopard his skin, so
long will infamy be associated with the Brush-maker.
But we have beheld another of your foes, who ought to
have been the foremost of your friends, and much as we
admire his talents and skill, we are not afraid to tell him,
that for once he has mistaken his game. He is only great
when fighting freedom's foes, and ne'er will shine in com
batting her friends. But, thank Heaven, you are now at
large — you have exhausted the malice of your open ene
mies, and thousands of Britons, whose bosoms burn, with
the love of freedom, will instinctively start forth to shield
her brave champion from the insidious attack of his se
cret adversaries. And now, Sir, that you may live to en
joy the fruit of your indefatigable- labours for your coun
try's good — that British Liberty may be established in
your day — and that you may be found legislating for a free
people, and continue to enjoy the patriot's blessing, under
the protection of the patriot's God, is respectfully, Sir,
with every feeling of admiration and respect, the ardent
desire ofthe Male and Female Reformers of Leeds.
Signed by the Chairman, on } TAMFS iuaiviv
behalf of the Meeting, $ JAMES xMANN.

T. Dolby, Printer, 899, Strand,

A,