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shallow and contemptible sophism, that it was time enough to bring forward the military when the peace was disturbed; and that the meeting having, up to the moment when it was dispersed, been conducted in an orderly and peaceable manner, its violent dispersion was, therefore, in the highest degree criminal. Upon this principle a man should wait patiently till his house was thoroughly and wholly in a blaze, before he called for help, or sent for the engines to extinguish the flames. Was it not enough that the meeting was illegal? Was it not enough that it was avowedly assembled for the purpose of enforcing its demands by the terror of an overwhelming multitude? Was it not enough that it imminently endangered the public tranquillity and that, in the existing condition of men's minds, and with the entire combination that prevailed, no limits could have been fixed to the crimes and atrocities which might have been the result, had such an enormous mass of human beings been at once roused into action? Who can pretend to govern, or guide the conduct of one hundred thousand men, whose minds have been sedulously and thoroughly inflamed with the most rancorous hostility to the government of their country, who are suffering under the most severe privations, and who have been taught to believe that their hardships and misery are the result of the tyranny, oppression and corruption of their rulers? The very men whose labours mainly produced, or at least accelerated the French Revolution, were among the first of its victims: they had indeed broken down every barier of religion and law, but the torrent they had thus set free, to pursue its inevitable course, soon proved too mighty for their feeble efforts to restrain it, and they were swept away in the common destruction of

the barriers they had undermined, and the landmarks they had unsettled. None but a fool or a knave will pretend to assert, that the consequences of such an aggregation of the discontented, as the meeting of the 16th, might not have been dangerous and disastrous. What, for example, took place in London in 1780? Was not the capital, for many days, in the possession of a mob, at first as peaceable and orderly as that of Manchester, and assembled for a purpose certainly not more criminal, that of petitioning against the proposed concessions to the Roman Catholics? Let any sober-minded man read the history of Lord George Gordon's riots, and then say, whether he will condemn the violent dispersal of the Manchester Meeting: and let him farther reflect, that the head to which the rioters ultimately came,—when they destroyed the prisons, and set at liberty condemned felons, to prey on the defenceless citizens, and when they even attacked the Bank itself at one moment with every chance of success,-was entirely ow. ing to the pusillanimity of the magistrates, who hesitated, and wavered, and shrunk from the acting till action had nearly become useless ;-let him reflect on this, and then demur a little, before he anathematises the energy displayed by the Manchester Magistrates. On the former occasion, the decision and presence of mind of the late king saved the capital from conflagration, and the country from the insane fury of religious mobs on the latter, it is impossible to calculate from what evils these much and unjustly-aspersed men were the means of delivering their country.

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But before we proceed to the more immediate business of this chapter, let us stop for a moment to inquire, how far the designs of the disaffected were aided and abetted by the

particular circumstances of the country. We have already seen, that at the commencement of the year circumstances symptomatic of a revival of trade and commerce had made their appearance. Unfortunately, however, the hope founded on these appearances proved delusive. Ex. cessive production, the natural consequence of a superabundant population and improved machinery, glutted the market; while our foreign customers, as much exhausted in their means as ourselves, and feeling as deeply the withdrawing from circulation of that immense capital which the war had put in motion, had no longer the means of purchasing to the same extent. The demand had, therefore, diminished, while the supply continued as great as before, owing to the difficulty of suddenly withdrawing capital from those employments in which it had been invested. These evils were greatly aggravated by the state of the currency, which, during the continuance of the restriction, and by the facility of obtaining discounts and bank credits, had greatly encouraged speculation and overtrading, and enabled men to embark in commerce to a great extent who were possessed of no real capital to meet any exigency that might arise. To such men the contraction of the Bank issues that necessarily followed, nay, in some degree preceded, the passing of Mr Peel's bill for the resumption of cash payments, must have been a fatal blow; and the unavoidable conse. quence was, the columns of the Ga. zette teemed with lists of bankrupts in all parts of the country; a fact which will be easily understood by all those who know how intimate is the connection subsisting between the Country Banks and the Bank of England, and how completely the operations of the former depend upon and are regulated by those of the latter.

The first and most obvious effect of these failures was to diminish the quantity of employment for the labouring classes, and, by consequence, the rate of wages, already almost as low as they could possibly be reduced, in order to enable the labourer to live. Many were therefore thrown out of work altogether; and those who were fortunate enough to procure it, were, by the lowness of wages, accompanied, as it almost always is, by excessive labour, reduced to great misery. Other circumstances tended still farther to depress the operatives, and, if possible, to add to their sufferings. The passing of Mr Peel's bill, and the consequent contraction of the issues of the Bank, raised the value of money, and altered the relative values of all contracts.. Of this the purchaser was naturally the first to take advantage. The price of goods fell; the result of which is always a corresponding diminution either of profits or of wages, which vary inversely as each other. Here, then, we have an additional evil inflicted on the labouring classes by the measures of last session relative to the currency; an evil which was aggravated and rendered almost intolerable by the circumstance, that, though wages rapidly accommodate themselves, especially in the way of depression, to the existing state of the currency, a considerable time must necessarily elapse before this accommodation spread itself over the whole surface of society, and before the prices of commodities fall to the extent of the rise that has taken place in the value of money. In a time of brisk trade and abundant employment, the resumption of cash payments would have been comparatively little felt; but happening to combine with so many other causes, all operating towards the same result, it could not fail to exasperate the misery previously but too widely

and deeply felt. Let it not be sup-
posed, however, that we condemn
that wise and necessary measure. It
was agreed, on all hands, during the
discussion in Parliament of the ex-
pediency of resuming cash payments,
that the evils attending a return to a
sound and legitimate standard would
only be tenfold increased by post-
ponement, and might, if much long-
er delayed, have entailed ruin and
bankruptcy on the nation. In this
opinion we entirely coincide; al-
though we cannot shut our eyes to
the immediate effects of the measure
upon the of labour, and the
wages
prices of commodities.

Matters being in this state, it is not difficult to calculate the effects which the harangues, the nostrums, and the inflammatory publications of evil and designing men would produce upon a starving population. The measures which it was deemed necessary to take for the preservation of the public tranquillity induced his Majesty's Ministers to advise the re-assembling of Parliament, a summary of the proceedings of which we now proceed to lay before our readers. This summary, circumstances unavoidably compel us to make brief; which, however, is the less to be regretted, as the speeches will in general be found to contain little else than various and contradic tory versions of the occurrences at Manchester on the memorable 16th of August. We shall, therefore, content ourselves with giving only such an abstract as is necessary to explain the nature of the several acts passed, for the purpose of checking the designs of the disaffected, and restoring the tranquillity of the disturbed districts.

The 23d of November being the day fixed for the re-assembling of Parliament, his Royal Highness the Prince Regent having proceeded to

the House of Peers, whither the members of the House of Commons had, as assual, been summoned, opened the session with the following speech:

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"It is with great concern that I am again obliged to announce to you the continuance of his Majesty's lamented indisposition.

"I regret to have been under the necessity of calling you together at this period of the year; but the seditious practices so long prevalent in some of the manufacturing districts of the country have been continued with increased activity since you were last assembled in Parliament.

"They have led to proceedings incompatible with the public tranquillity, and with the peaceful habits of the industrious classes of the community; and a spirit is now fully manifested, utterly hostile to the constitution of this kingdom, and aiming not only at the change of those political institutions which have hitherto constituted the pride and security of this country, but at the subversion of the rights of property and of all order in society.

"I have given directions that the necessary information on this subject shall be laid before you; and I feel it to be my indispensable duty, to press on your immediate attention the consideration of such measures as may be requisite for the counteraction and suppression of a system which, if not effectually checked, must bring confusion and ruin on the nation.

"Gentlemen of the House of Commons, "The estimates for the ensuing year will be laid before you.

"The necessity of affording protection to the lives and property of his Majesty's loyal subjects has com

pelled me to make some addition to our military force; but I have no doubt you will be of opinion that the arrangements for this purpose have been effected in the manner likely to be the least burdensome to the country.

"Although the revenue has undergone some fluctuation since the close of the last session of Parlia. ment, I have the satisfaction of being able to inform you, that it appears to be again in a course of progressive improvement.

"Some depression still continues to exist in certain branches of our manufactures, and I deeply lament the distress which is in consequence felt by those who more immediately depend upon them; but this depression is in a great measure to be ascribed to the embarrassed situation of other countries, and I earnestly hope that it will be found to be of a temporary nature.

"My Lords and Gentlemen, "I continue to receive from foreign Powers the strongest assurances of their friendly disposition towards this country.

"It is my most anxious wish, that advantage should be taken of this season of peace to secure and advance our internal prosperity; but the successful prosecution of this object must essentially depend on the preservation of domestic tranquillity.

"Upon the loyalty of the great body of the people I have the most confident reliance; but it will require your utmost vigilance and exertion, collectively and individually, to check the dissemination of the doctrines of treason and impiety, and to impress upon the minds of all classes of his Majesty's subjects, that it is from the cultivation of the principles of religion, and from a just subordination to lawful authority, that

we can alone expect the continuance of that Divine favour and protection which have hitherto been so signally experienced in this king-dom."

In the Lords the usual address was moved by Earl Manners, and seconded by Lord Churchill, when Earl Grey rose to move an amendment. In a long speech he went over all the topics alluded to or suggested by the speech; entered at large into the history of the reform meetings both in Scotland and England; animadverted severely on what he thought the premature approval expressed in the name of the Prince Regent, by the Secretary of State, of the measures which had been resorted to by the Manchester Magistrates; alluded to the answer given to the address of the Common Council of London, relative to the dispersal of the Manchester meeting; condemned the removal of Earl Fitzwilliam from the Lieutenancy of the West Riding of Yorkshire; commented on the addition made to the army of 10,000 regular troops: and, after a multitude of miscellaneous observations, concluded by moving an amendment in substance as follows:

"To assure his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, that while we deeply lament the unexampled distress which exists, we shall take into our most serious consideration the various matters contained in his Royal Highness's most gracious speech. That it is impossible to express approbation of the attempts which were made to persuade the people to seek relief from the distresses under which they labour, by means dangerous to the public tranquillity, and inconsistent with the security of the community; and that it is our duty, as well as our determination, to adopt measures for the prevention of those attempts.

"That we humbly represent to his Royal Highness, while we thus declare our determination to give full vigour to the law, that we feel called on, by a sense of duty, to satisfy the people that their complaints shall at all times receive that just attention which is indispensable to their safe ty.

"That this seems to us peculiarly necessary at this period, in order to create a confidence in the public mind, that they have a sufficient safeguard in the laws of the land against all encroachment on their just rights. "That we have seen with deep regret the events which took place at Manchester on the 16th of August; and without pror ouncing any opinion on the circumstances which occurred on that melancholy occasion, that we feel it demands our most serious attention and deliberate inquiry, in order to dispel all those feelings to which it has given birth, and to show that the measures then resorted to were the result of urgent and unavoidable necessity, that they were justified by the constitution, and that the lives of his Majesty's subjects cannot be sacrificed with impunity." The Noble Earl was answered by Lord Sidmouth, who replied at large to his statements, and went into the history of the proceedings at Manchester, and particularly defended Government from the charge of precipitation in the approval which they had recommended to his Royal Highness to express of the energy and decision with which the Manchester Magistrates had acted on a very trying occasion. On the illegality of the meeting of the 16th of August the Noble Secretary express ed himself with the greatest confidence, both from the nature of the information of which Government were in possession, and from the opinion delivered by great legal au

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thorities, who had pronounced it not only illegal but treasonable. then adverted in succession to the topics discussed by the Noble Earl who had moved the amendment, and concluded by declaring that he should vote for the original address as it stood, and that, if the amendment was persisted in, he would move the previous question.

A considerable discussion followed, the most remarkable feature of which was the solemn and deliberate opinion expressed by the Lord Chancellor, that the meeting at Manchester was an illegal one; an opinion which he said he must hold while he found in his law-books that numbers constituted force, and force terror, and terror illegality. Lord Liverpool also entered at very considerable length into the question; maintained most explicitly that the Magistrates of Manchester would not have received the thanks of the Govern ment unless they had done their duty; and stated the circumstances, which, in his judgment, rendered the meet. ing decidedly illegal, if not treasonable. It is somewhat remarkable, that of all the Noble Lords who supported the amendment, and animadverted so severely both on the proceedings at Manchester and the subsequent conduct of the Government, not one risked an explicit and decided opinion that the meeting was a legal one; that eighty or a hundred thousand men could, without violating the law, assemble with revolutionary ensigns, and with the attitude of defiance and intimidation, not merely to petition for redress of their grievances, but by menaces to awe the Government into submission. The question being put, the amendment was negatived by the enormous majority of 125.

In the House of Commons, the address was moved by the Honour

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