Hunt, Henry, 1773-1835; Social reformers -- Great Britain -- Biography
When I drove into Warminster, the town was as still and as quiet as
possible, without any of those bustling indications which I had been
accustomed to witness at a public meeting. While I was taking my
breakfast at the Lord's Arms Inn, some of the requisitionists made
their appearance, and they were soon followed by the remainder, and a
considerable number of the landholders of the county, amongst whom, as I
sat at an up-stair window, I recognised Mr. Wyndham, of Dinton, the High
Sheriff; Paul Methuen, Esq. one of the Members for the county; and the
said John Benett, surrounded by a few of the requisitionists. I sat
very quiet while my friend Cousens reconnoitred their forces, and
communicated their arrival. At length we saw them all proceed to the
Town-hall, perhaps twenty-five or thirty of them at the outside--as
pretty a little snug cabal as ever was mustered upon any occasion. They
passed my window and went smirking along, little dreaming that they
should meet with the slightest interruption or opposition to their
measures, which were all ready cut and dry, and safely deposited in the
pocket of the celebrated attorney, Mr. Charles Bowles, of Shaftesbury.
As the train passed up the street, the town's-people took little other
notice of them than by now and then _eyeing them askance_ with a jealous
look. I had remained the whole time snug in my room, without one soul of
them knowing or suspecting that I was in Warminster; but, as soon as I
saw them all safely housed, out I bolted into the street, and made my
way after them. As we walked up the street, my friend Cousens intimated
to two or three of the shopkeepers who I was, and the news flew like
wildfire round the town, that Mr. Hunt was arrived, and gone up to the
Hall. As, therefore, something like fair discussion was likely to take
place, the said meeting, which, ten minutes before, excited no interest
whatever amongst the town's-people, was, in a very short space of time,
crowded by the shopkeepers, and attended by almost every respectable man
in the town. When I entered the Hall it was very evident that I was not
a very welcome guest, and that I had not been expected by any one. As,
however, I was a landholder of the county, and one of those who were
invited, it was impossible to make any objection, as I was as much
entitled to be present as any man in the room. Mr. Grove, whose name
stood at the head of the requisition, was called to the chair. This
gentleman, who is descended from one of the most ancient families in
the county, having shortly stated the object of the meeting, Mr. Benett
arose, and, after some wriggling and twisting, addressed them. As the
following report, which was published in Keene's Bath Journal, on the
Sunday following, contains a brief outline and an impartial account of
the proceedings, I will insert it verbatim, as it was afterwards copied
into almost every newspaper in the kingdom:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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