tion of Number 9, in allusion to nine tailors. He used terms of extreme reproach and contumely in mentioning these gentlemen-declared that he conceived the object of the people to be legal stated his opinion that they were acting in a weak manner to yield to the suggestions of the magistrates, and invited them to meet him on the 16th of August. The obscure situation of most of the people residing at Manchester-their habits of labour, and the moderateness of their circum. stances had induced them to pay some respect to the magistracy, who constituted the sole authority there, as there was no corporation, or any body of that description. Their conduct, when the prohibition was issued, af. forded a sort of security that they were rather disposed to take the ad vice and obey the authority of the local magistrates; but when Mr Hunt came down to Manchester, (he having been occupied in assembling mobs at other places,) and said that the people behaved pusillanimously, and that the time was come for acting, he induced those persons, in the face of the constituted authorities, to determine on a meeting. He gave notice that a meeting would be held on the 16th of August-not a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Manchester, but of the population of the surrounding country. Having given this notice, that the meeting of the 9th was adjourned to the 16th of August, he proceeded to the residence of Johnson, near the town of Manchester, which he understood to be called Smedley-cottage. Whilst he was there, he would shew the Jury that Mr Hunt received a visit from Knight, another of the defendants. As Mr Hunt had acquired a sort of popularity in the town of Manchester, which it was not difficult for a man to do who headed a mob, and spoke the language of sedition, he proceeded to mature the plan of the meeting. The magistrates now received information on which it was very difficult to act. They were informed that movements had taken place among the people composing the immense population of the neighbourhood of Manchester, in the dead hour of the night, five, six, and even ten miles off, which were of a nature quite unprecedented. The magistrates thought it necessary to take measures for the preservation of the peace: they felt that the calling of a meeting by a person who had no connexion with the town, who had no property in or about it, was likely to lead to serious mischief. They determined to ward off the evil; and the prudence of their determination appeared evident, when they were informed that on the 15th of August, in the night time, a number of persons assembled at a place called Whitemoss, and had been observed going through the evolutions of military discipline, in such a manner, that no one who had seen soldiers performing their exercise could entertain a doubt that the persons thus employed had some ulterior_object in training at such an hour. The two persons who gave the information drew near to these individuals—so near that they were discovered and pursued; they were followed by bodies of men detached from the main body, and, when overtaken, were beaten most unmercifully. One of them of the name of Murray was discovered to be a special constable he was obliged, in order to save his life, to fall on his knees, and abjure his allegiance. This circumstance would give the Jury some idea of what the object of these people was. On the morning of the 15th August circumstances took place which threw some light upon those motions which were observed in various parts of Manchester and its vicinity. The magistrates of Lancashire having received an intimation that a gentleman from London had been preaching his dissatisfaction to the populace on account of the prohibition of the meeting of the 9th, and that he had declared his intention to hold a meeting on the 16th, deemed it prudent to take those precautions which were necessary when vast assemblies of the people were assembled together for any purpose whatsoever. It was now his duty to open a scene, which, he would venture to say, in the whole history of public meetings in this country, had no equal. On the morning of the 16th of August, it appeared that bodies were seen advancing towards Manchester from various places, some of them at the distance of ten or twelve miles from that town. They were provided with banners, the inscriptions on which he would by-and-by describe to them, and they marched upon Manchester with all the regularity of an army. From Rochdale, from Lees, from Middleton, from Oldham, from Stockport, and from many other places, which would be named in evidence, parties might be seen marching towards Manchester. Indeed from every point of the compass persons might De observed arriving there, manifesting all the discipline of soldiers, and differing from them only in this, that they had not uniforms and arms. At Middleton, Mr Bamford was seen placing in marching order a body of 2000 men; they were without uniforms, but he displayed talent sufficient to put them through their evolutions. He addressed them, and gave to each of them pieces of laurel leaf that they might distinguish one another. Two thousand more were seen marching from Rochdale. It would also be found that Mr Healey, another defendant, advanced from Oldham with a body of men. He would not say that this defendant commanded that hody, but he would prove ex pressions of a very extraordinary nature uttered by him, when he was, as it were, singing in triumph, in anticipation of the glories of that day. The town of Manchester was, in fact, surrounded by an immense force, who appeared as if they were going to invade it. Every road which approach. ed the town was covered with parties marching in a military manner. This was going on, he believed, up toll o'clock in the day; and amongst those who were advancing to the town, some of the individuals who had been training at Whitemoss were recognized. It was necessary that they should pass the house of Murray the constable, who had been extremely ill, and unable to remove from his bed, in consequence of the bruises he had received. The party stopped opposite his house and huzzaed, and gave evident tokens that they recollected the proceedings of the former day. They hailed him either to confirm him in the abjuration of the preceding day, or to intimate to him, that if he gave information he might expect their ven geance. At 11 o'clock Mr Hunt and his party were preparing to enter the town from the residence of Johnson. He came in an open barouche, and he, Johnson, and Moorhouse, were seen to approach the place where the meeting was assembled. Mr Hunt was attended by a triumphant band; the Middleton and Rochdale force had united-they became his guards-and thus surrounded, he advanced into the town of Manchester. The first place, he was told, which they approached, was the house of Murray the consta ble. When they came opposite to it, Mr Hunt took the command of the body; he stood up in the barouche, and commanded them to halt. The same expression of feeling was then shewn as had previously been manifested by the party which had gone before him, and much hooting and hissing took place. Mr Hunt then made his way to Deansgate; and, on passing the Star Inn, where the magistrates were assembled on one of the most arduous duties they could possibly be employed in, he ordered his corps to stop again, and the magis. trates were assailed with groaning, hooting, and hissing-a pretty good exemplification of the manner in which they would have been treated had he been in authority. He next passed the place where the head-quarters of the constables were held, whom they also treated in the same manner. Mr Hunt ultimately proceeded in triumph to the place of meeting, which had been previously visited by the other defendants. While the forces which he had described were assembling, Saxton, Swift, Knight, and all the remaining defendants, were employed in preparing hustings for Mr Hunt. The magistrates determined that a line of constables should be formed from the house in which they assembled to the cart on which the hustings were formed; and it would be proved, that when those parties found that the constables approached so near to them, they caused the hustings to be removed fifteen yards farther back; and the mob (he did not mean offence by using the word) formed in great strength around the waggon, in order to protect it. Speeches were made by two or three of those whom he had mentioned, particularly by Jones, who said it was the direction of the committee, (so that there was, it seemed, a committee,) that they should take close order till Mr Hunt came. They were then to open and let him pass, after which they were to close immediately; and they were to take particular care not to let any but friends enter, as their enemies were abroad. The Jury would also find, that most of the parties whom they approached were provided with large sticks, which they shoul dered and brandished as they marched along. They were all provided with ensigns and banners, and advanced either six or four a-breast, with a firm military step, and presenting every appearance of troops upon their march. When they arrived at St Peter's area, the word of command was given, and they wheeled off with perfect regularity, and took the ground which their commander directed them to occupy. One of them, Healey, was particularly active on this occasion; and indeed everything connected with the entrance of those large bodies of men bore the appearance of an established and cultivated habit of military discipline. Next came Mr Hunt with the largest band, consisting of more than 4000 men. He ascended the hustings, and his partisans took their places around, displaying their flags and banners. On some of these flags they would find described the words, " Equal representation or death." What could be the object of such a sentiment as this? "Equal representation or death" was by no means a vague expression; and he thought the mob, with all respect for those who had a better opinion of their understanding, had better attend to their different avocations, instead of discussing political opinions, for which their education did not always qualify them. Were the mass of the people to be told, by those who urged them on, that equal representation was to be purchased even at the expence of their head? Were doctrines to be disseminated which no man durst utter with his lips, though he might display them on his banner? Were they to be taught to consider equal representation as the sine qua non of their existence, and that they should rather perish than not procure it? Another banner bore the inscription of "No Corn Laws." He came not to that court to discuss whether the law on the subject of corn were good or otherwise but would it not be a most dangerous thing to say to a mob of 60,000 persons, for the purpose of getting rid of such a measure, particularly when the minds of the people were irritated and inflamedwould it not, he asked, be an appeal of the most inflammatory nature to say to them, "We will have no Corn Laws; we will force the Legislature to do as we please?" Next came the inscription of "Annual Parliaments:" there were men in this kingdom, and no doubt respectable and honourable men, who thought annual parliaments would be very useful; but would any of those individuals say, that such a proposition was to be carried by violence, as the sine qua non of their existence? Let the people meet to petition for reform-let them submit to parliament what they thought expedient for the public good, and no man could complain. But was it the business of a public meeting to dictate to parliament, and to declare that they would effect a certain object, or they would have nothing? The next inscription was, "Universal Suffrage, and Election by Ballot;" these two points, with annual parliaments, were the three pretexts advanced for calling this assembly. Seeing that Mr Hunt, (whom he had heard defend himself on other occasions, who had more talent than the mere itinerant orators who travelled about from place to place,) was at the head of that meeting, he felt considerable surprise that he did not perceive that those three terms taken together, meant nothing but the subversion of the constitution; but as long as these questions were sub judice, what right had any man to say, "We will, in spite of all opposition, have these three things?" To do so was illegal; and it was most unfit that, on the subject of public grievances, the mob should be suffered to dictate to the legislature. Let them meet and petition; let the weavers, and shoemakers, and other artisans in this kingdom, who were destined to get their bread by the labour of their hands, inform the legislature of the best course to be pursued with respect to public affairs, if they had more wisdom than those by whom they were now conducted. The law enabled them to do this; but let not demagogues state to them that those three points were the only things which could be got to serve them; they ought not to do so, for this reason-because, when the mob got hold of a grievance, they were apt to consider it as the great source of all their evils, and they were at length led to believe that the removal of that alone would operate as an effectual panacea to cure the whole of their complaints. The ridiculous folly of a mob had been exemplified most humorously by that eminent painter, Mr Hogarth. It was found necessary, many years ago, in order to prevent a confusion in the reckoning of time, to knock eleven days out of the calendar, and it was supposed by ignorant persons that the legislature had actually deprived them of eleven days of their existence. This ridiculous idea was finely exposed in Mr Hogarth's picture, where the mob were painted throwing up their hats, and crying out, "Give us back our eleven days." Thus it was at the present time, that many individuals, who could not distinguish words fromthings, were making an outcry for that of which they could not well explain the nature. Another inscription was, "Let us die like men, and not be sold like slaves." Who, he should be glad to know, had been selling the people of Oldham, of Rochdale, of Middleton, and of the other places, the inhabitants of which went to Manchester that day? He never heard of any such sale; but some person, who did not choose to speak these words, thought fit to place it on his banner. The pole to which one of the banners was affixed, was surmounted by a pike-head, painted red, as if to shew the sanguinary feelings of those who bore it. Another flag had painted on it a dagger. God forbid the time should ever come when they should see any man who had the courage to declare to the people of this country, that the dagger was the instrument by which lost rights were to be recovered. But he was afraid that though no man had the courage or audacity to preach such a doctrine to a mob, yet that there were persons who had insinuated that the dagger was a fit weapon to be used; and he would make no farther comment on the consequences which such a doctrine had led to. A dagger was not the weapon which Englishmen were wont to use, and he trusted that those who said our rights were lost, and wished to regain them, would not declare to the people that they should arm themselves with such an instru. ment; because he was sure, the moment the people imbibed such a feeling, they might give up all idea of a free constitution, of morality, of order, of all that was dear to them. He had thus described the form in which the people assembled, and the progress of the meeting. What was that meeting? Was it a meeting of the people of Manchester, or of the county of Lancaster? No. Was it a meeting of a particular trade, to procure the repeal of some obnoxious bills? No. Who assembled at it, and who presided over it? Were the former inhabitants of Manchester? and was the latter any person interested in the welfare of the town, or intimately connected with the county? No. These were questions, however, which must be left to the Jury to decide. This, at all events, he knew, that the effect of the meeting, whatever might have been the design of those who called it, was to strike terror into the minds of his Ma jesty's subjects. Would any man tell him that the respectable inhabitants of Manchester must not have felt great alarm when they saw the shoemakers, the weavers, the journeymen of all descriptions, advancing towards that town as if to invade it? The law had determined that any meeting of people, even for a legal object, in such array and such numbers, was an unlawful meeting. But did it require law-books to tell them that? Why had they laws to prevent the rude hand of power from destroying and devastating property? But if they were to be told that a mob might be suffered to advance from every part of a county, to the terror of the peaceable inhabitants, their laws would be of little use, and it would be better to return to a state of nature-to sink into the original mass, and declare that force must be repelled by force. Let individuals look to the consequence of such a system. If meetings of this description were to be tolerated, it would be impossible to sustain the constitution of the country, except by means of such an increase of the military force as no good man, as no man who loved the constitution, wished to see established in a time of peace. The common civil power could not do any thing against such numbers; for what could sixty constables effect against as many thousand individuals? The magistrates of Manchester finding the meeting thus drawing together, perceiving parties coming from diffe rent quarters, and not knowing to what distance the ramifications of the system might have been extended-perhaps to Birmingham, or more distant places; seeing also that the assembly was headed by a man who had no local connexion with the town, thought it necessary to interpose. They proceeded to do so, particularly as it was deposed by various persons in the town, that they felt considerable alarm. |