Hunt, Henry, 1773-1835; Social reformers -- Great Britain -- Biography
About the time that the populace in London were committing great
excesses, by breaking the windows of those Members of Parliament who
took a prominent part in favour of the Corn Bill, Lord Cochrane, who was
confined in the King's Bench prison, in consequence of a verdict given,
or at least _procured_, against him, for the part it was pretended he
had in the Stock Exchange hoax, made his escape from that prison, a
circumstance which caused a very considerable sensation throughout the
metropolis and the country; for it was rumoured that his Lordship had
made his escape with the intention of placing him self at the head of
the London rioters, who had by this time increased in numbers and daring
resistance to the authorities. In descending by a rope from the top of
the wall, his Lordship fell from a very considerable height, and injured
himself severely, so much so, that he was for a great length of
time unable to raise himself from the earth. His Lordship remained
undiscovered for some weeks, and then appeared in his place in
Parliament, where he was discovered sitting upon one of the benches of
the House of Commons, and from thence he was taken by the civil power,
and delivered once more into the custody of the Marshal of the King's
Bench prison. Let the reader bear in mind what I have already mentioned,
that the Parliament of England was obliged to be aided by the military;
that Westminster Hall and both Houses of Parliament were encircled by
troops, and all the avenues leading thereto were guarded by soldiers
with their bayonets fixed, and that thus this law, this infamous Corn
Bill, to enhance and keep up the price of bread, the staff of life, was
passed under the protection of a military force, in defiance of the
prayers, the petitions, and the remonstrances of a great majority of the
people of England; a fact which clearly demonstrated that the House
of Commons, where the Bill originated, were so far from being the
representatives of the people, that they acted in direct hostility to
them, and had no feeling in common with them, but were more like a band
of venal, corrupt, profligate, dishonest, and merciless oppressors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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