The Dawn of the XIXth Century in England: A social sketch of the timesAshton, John
History
The Dawn of the XIXth Century in England: A social sketch of the times
Ashton, John
England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
On the 18th of September the King arose in his Majesty, and issued
a proclamation, with a very long preamble, “strictly commanding and
requiring all the Lieutenants of our Counties, and all our Justices
of the Peace, Sheriffs, and Under-Sheriffs, and all civil officers
whatsoever, that they do take the most effectual means for suppressing
all riots and tumults, and to that end do effectually put in execution
an Act of Parliament made in the first year of the reign of our late
royal ancestor, of glorious memory, King George the First, entituled
‘An Act for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies, and for the more
speedy and effectual punishing the rioters,’” &c.
Still, in spite of this terrible fulmination, the rioters again
“made night hideous” on the 19th of September; but they were not so
formidable, nor did they do as much mischief, as on former occasions.
On the 20th they made Clare Market their _rendezvous_, marched
about somewhat, had one or two brushes with the St. Clement Danes
Association, and, finally, retired on the advent of the Horse Guards.
Another mob met in Monmouth Street, the famous old-clothes repository
in St. Giles’s, but the Westminster Volunteers, and cavalry, dispersed
them; and, the shops shutting very early—much to the discomfiture
of the respectable poor, as regarded their Saturday night’s
marketings—peace once more reigned. London was once more quiet, and
only the rioters who had been captured, were left to be dealt with by
the law. But the people in the country were not so quickly satisfied;
their wages were smaller than those of their London brethren, and they
proportionately felt the pinch more acutely. In some instances they
were put down by force, in others the price of bread was lowered; but
it is impossible at this time to take up a newspaper, and not find some
notice of, or allusion to, a food riot.
The century would die at peace with all men if it could, and there
was a means of communication open with France, in the person of a M.
Otto, resident in this country as a kind of unofficial agent. The
first glimpse we get of these negotiations, from the papers which were
published on the subject, is in August, 1800; and between that time,
and when the _pourparlers_ came to an end, on the 9th of November,
many were the letters which passed between Lord Grenville and M.
Otto. Peace, however, was not to be as yet. Napoleon was personally
distrusted, and the French Revolution had been so recent, that the
stability of the French Government was more than doubted.
A demonstration (it never attained the dimensions of a riot)—this time
political and not born of an empty stomach—took place at Kennington
on Sunday, the 9th of November. So-called “inflammatory” handbills had
been very generally distributed about town a day or two beforehand,
calling a meeting of mechanics, on Kennington Common, to petition His
Majesty on a redress of grievances.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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