Riots and agrarian outrages — Colliers, &c., coming to London — "England in 1816" — Riots in Newgate — Marriage of the Duke of Gloucester — A chimney sweep's wedding — Cruelty to a "climbing boy" — The Mortar at St. James's Park — Lighting by means of Gas — The Coinage.

And what was the general state of the Country at this time? During the very celebration of the Princess's Wedding—the people, owing to high price of provisions, and the stagnations of trade, were in very evil case. In those days an empty stomach, and rioting, generally went together, and, consequently, about this time the newspapers had to chronicle riots of a more or less serious description. On the 6th of May, we hear of one at Bridport where the windows of the principal millers and bakers were smashed, and a few hogsheads of beer stolen from a local brewer. It was soon put down by the law-abiding inhabitants of the place, and was nothing like so serious as that which took place at Bury St. Edmunds a few days afterwards, which sent the Sheriff of Suffolk packing off at once to London, in order to consult with the Home Secretary, and to request his assistance in overcoming the rioters.

For some time there had been various agrarian outrages in the Eastern Counties, such as breaking thrashing machines, and firing barns and ricks, and these were supposed to have arisen because an increase of wages had not immediately followed on the rise in the price of bread. Impunity begat audacity, and they demanded that wheat should be sold at half a crown a bushel, and prime joints of meat at fourpence a pound. Some of the principal inhabitants, especially at one place, Brandon, near Bury, temporized with the Mob, and promised them that their demands should be complied with for a fortnight, which would give time for their grievances to be discussed.

This satisfied them for the moment, and they dispersed giving three cheers. But they again broke out, and, this time, destroyed some houses—and, moreover, demonstrated with bludgeons studded with short iron spikes, and, to shew their organization, they paraded a flag, having the legend, "Bread, or Blood!" They threw fire balls about, smashed the street lamps, made an attack on some mills, and stole therefrom a quantity of flour, some of which, in their unreason, they threw into the river, and some they carried away. Some of the West Norfolk Militia, and a party of the first Royal Dragoons, having arrived, they were supported by the respectable inhabitants, and for a time some kind of order was restored.

But the demon was abroad, and men began to be riotous in other places. In Norwich the mob smashed lamps, windows, &c., and threw fire balls about, besides stoning and wounding the Military, Yeomanry and Militia, who were there to keep the peace. At Bury, a Mob wanted a manufacturer to deliver over to their sweet will, a spinning jenny, swearing they would destroy his premises if he refused. This he had courage enough to do, and some two hundred special Constables being enrolled—peace was once more restored.

At Cambridge they feared an irruption of the rioters from the Fen districts, swore in three hundred special Constables, and the Vice Chancellor, and heads of Colleges, resolved to arm the students, if considered necessary. But the Fen Men were busy in their own district. They rendezvoused at Littleport, attacked the house of the Rev. Mr. Vachel, a magistrate resident there, and wrecked it, doing about £2,000 worth of damage. They extorted money from the inhabitants, they nearly emptied the publican's cellars, and they loaded a waggon with every gun they could find.

The decent people in those parts thought this was carrying a joke a little too far, and we read, "These riots have at length terminated by the exertions of the magistrates, aided by a number of the gentlemen, and inhabitants of Ely, and the Royston troop of Volunteer Cavalry, together with a small detachment of the 1st Royal Dragoons, consisting of eighteen, who had, in the first instance, been sent for from Bury. These proceeded in a body, on the 25th of May, to Littleport, and a very severe struggle ensued between them and the rioters, who had secreted themselves in different houses, and were armed with guns, with which they fired many shots at the military and civil power, and severely wounded one of the soldiers, but not dangerously. The military then received orders to fire, and the man who had wounded the soldier was instantly shot dead, and another fell, who, having lost the lower part of his face, and part of his tongue, is since dead. When this took place, the rioters were completely disconcerted, and fled in every direction; but, by the perseverance and activity of the military and civil power, no less than seventy-three of the rioters were taken, and are now lodged in Ely Gaol. Many more were also taken, who, appearing to have been forced to join the mob, have been liberated. Amongst those taken, and now under confinement, are several persons of some property, and apparent respectability of life; and it is very evident that rapine (not want) was the principal instigation of this unprecedented disturbance, as the parish of Littleport, on Wednesday and Thursday nights, resembled, in every respect, a town sacked by a besieging army, the principal inhabitants having been compelled to abandon their homes for the protection of their lives, and leave their properties to the mercy of this daring banditti of robbers.

At least fifty guns and nine or ten large fowling pieces, such as are used by gunners for the destruction of wild fowl, each carrying at least four or five pipes[22] of powder, and as many of shot, were taken from the rioters, and plate and other articles to the value of £300 or £400 have been recovered."

In those days the Isle of Ely had a Chief Justice of its own, an office which was only abolished by the Act 6-7 William IV. cap. 87, and to him the King sent two Justices to hold a Commission on these rioters, which terminated with the Capital Conviction of thirty-four persons on charges of burglary and robbery: five of them were left for death without hope of mercy, and, on the 28th of June, they were duly executed.

But these riots were not merely local—say in the Eastern Counties, they were in many parts of England.

At Bideford—there was a small riot which was soon suppressed, at Newcastle, and upon the Wear, disturbances among the "Geordies" about the high price of food, which wanted cavalry to suppress. More riots in Essex—another at Honiton, where they burnt a farm house, at Liverpool (but that was purely political). In very fact trade was very bad, and, to give one example, I take four consecutive paragraphs from The Morning Chronicle of July 3, 1816.

"As a proof of the unprecedented stagnation of trade, one day last week there was not a single entry for export or import at the Custom-house of London, a circumstance without parallel in the annals of that extensive establishment."

"In the neighbourhood of Bilston-moor, where there are many Collieries, and a number of iron works, the workmen, consisting of some thousands, have been thrown out of employ. They have solicited in vain for work in Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and the neighbourhood. With a view of drawing particular attention to their case, they have resorted to the experiment of presenting a petition to the Prince Regent in person, to be accompanied by a present of three waggon loads of Coals. About fifty men are yoked to each waggon to drag it to town. One of the waggons proceeds by the route of Worcester; another by Coventry and Birmingham; the route of the third is by Stourbridge. The men proceed at the rate of about twelve miles a day, and receive voluntary gifts of money, &c., on the road as they pass along, declining of themselves to ask alms: their motto, as placarded on the carts, being—'Rather work than beg.'"

"Upwards of ten thousand livery servants are said to be now out of place in different parts of England, owing to the prosperous state of the times, and the numerous emigrations to foreign parts."

"The state of the times has had a very singular effect upon livings—the threat now of taking the tithes in kind, no longer alarms the farmer, as it is what he wishes the Clergyman to do; and, on a Calculation, the value of Church preferment has diminished one half."

I may as well tell the sequel of the Bilston expedition, and cannot tell it better than in the words of the same newspaper.

"One body of the Colliers, with the waggon of coals from Staffordshire, had reached Nettlebed, near Henley. Report had mentioned two, nay, three such bodies, each with a waggon. One of them proceeded by the road that leads to London through St. Alban's. They reached that place, we understand, on Tuesday evening. The Home Department had sent down Magistrates to each of the three roads, by which the Colliers might approach the Capital. Sir Nathaniel Conant[23] was dispatched to the St. Alban's road. The men were found reposing on and about their waggon. The Magistrate stated to them the impropriety of the step they had either taken of their own accord, or by the advice of others—that this was not the mode to obtain relief—that it rather tended to prevent the accomplishment of their object, because it might lead to a breach of the peace. The Colliers listened with much interest and attention to the remonstrances of the Magistrate. It had not struck them, they said, in the light in which he had placed it. They confessed they had been ill-advised, and evinced a readiness to return immediately to their homes. In consequence of this declaration, the Magistrate purchased the coals of them, which were left to be distributed to the poor, and gave each man as much money as would carry him back to his home.

"Another waggon with a party of Colliers, the one which had come by way of Henley, was met by the Magistrate at Maidenhead. The same representations were made to the men, and with the same success as at St. Alban's. The coals were bought, and, the men agreeing to return home, received sufficient to carry them thither."

A few days later on, is a paragraph which shews that this method of "stumping the Country" was coming into fashion. "The example set by the Bilston Moor Colliers in dragging their waggons and petitions through the Country, is likely to have many imitators. Besides those that entered Birmingham on Wednesday and Thursday last, soliciting relief, and who, on Friday week, passed through Wolverhampton on their way to Liverpool, on Saturday week, a waggon load of coals, drawn by eighty men, with ropes, arrived in Leicester. A strong sensation of compunction for their sufferings was excited, and they collected a considerable sum of money. A second load arrived on Monday, but the Collection was, of course, for a smaller amount. The men behaved remarkably well. They had a certificate of their necessities, signed by the minister of their parish. Another team of Colliers passed through Leicester on Tuesday last, begging their way northwards."

A little piece of poetry very well sums up

In August we had riots in Glasgow and Preston, and this in spite of the "Association for the Relief of the Manufacturing and Labouring poor." Nay, even the prisoners in Newgate caught the infection, and organized a riot of their own, which had a somewhat frivolous beginning. On the 25th of August a visitor to the prison had his watch stolen, and naturally complained of the matter to the Keeper, who ordered all the convicts and their visitors to be searched, and no more visitors allowed until the watch was found. The Convicts considered this as a breach of their privileges, and not only refused to be searched, but took possession of the Common Yard, and turned out, by force, all the officers, and turnkeys. Of course, this conduct could not be allowed, and the Convicts were ultimately driven into the upper wards—where, being armed with the iron railings of the staircase, they barricaded themselves as well as they could, and awaited results.

The Keeper, on his side, did not like the look of things; he did not want any of his force injured, as they probably would be, if they attempted to force the wards, held by these desperadoes—and he disposed his men, so as to watch them well, to see they did not escape, and then sent for instructions to the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, but all three were out of town. However, the Lord Mayor arrived on the Scene about two in the morning, and waited till six to see if the malcontents would yield—but, as there seemed no chance of this, they were informed, when the usual time of calling them to breakfast arrived, that unless they surrendered, they would have no food that day. This was an argumentum ad hominem not to be denied. One soon gave in, and, within an hour, they were all secured.

Yet another Royal Marriage: which took place on the 22nd of July, between William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, grandson of Frederick, Prince of Wales, to his cousin, the Princess Mary, fourth daughter of Geo. III., and, consequently, his cousin. It was a suitable marriage, for they were born in the same year (1776), and had long been attached to each other. There was nothing particular about the ceremony except that it was solemnized in the grand saloon in the Queen's palace, where an altar was erected—and transformed, according to the fashion of Royal Marriages, into an unmeaning buffet of plate. "The gold Communion plate was the most massive and costly that ever was displayed upon one occasion. It consisted of the Altar plate belonging to King William; from Whitehall Chapel, two uncommonly large dishes, richly chased with appropriate devices of our Lord's last supper with His disciples; the compartments round the dishes having also appropriate designs. Two immensely large flagons, from the Chapel Royal, beautifully chased; also a large number of ewers; several chalices, or cups of solid gold. Each corner had most superbly gilt tripods for six candles."

By way of contrast, and also to illustrate the manners, of the times, let us read the following account of a "Singular Wedding. Tuesday evening the neighbourhood of Drury Lane was thrown into the utmost confusion, in consequence of an extraordinary phenomenon very seldom witnessed. Some sweeps, residing in Charles Street, having been married, they resolved to celebrate the day, and, about eight o'clock in the evening, the bride and bridegroom, attended by eleven couples more, all mounted on asses, and followed by several hundreds of spectators, with tin pots, horns, dust bells, watchmen's rattles, flambeaux, etc., proceeded through Drury Lane, and made their grand entrance into Holborn up Newton Street to the Bank public-house, where they stopped to get some refreshment; but in forming the procession again, the bride's Arabian was unfortunately thrown down by the pressure of the mob, and the lady precipitated in the mud. This enraged the bridegroom, who immediately dismounted, and began by dealing several blows among his neighbours, with extreme fury. The consequence was, that a general battle ensued, and several heads were broken. Gardner, the beadle of that district, came up, backed by about a dozen Knights of the lanthorn, who succeeded in securing several of the sable warriors, which finally dispersed the merry group."

Apropos of chimney sweeps, we know that there was much legislation in behalf of the climbing boys, who were still much used, as a great deal of senseless prejudice and opposition prevailed against the use of Machines: and that these poor boys needed some protection from their brutal masters, the following case on the 10th of July, at the Middlesex Sessions will show.

"At ten o'clock yesterday morning, the trial of William Molys took place at Hick's Hall. Our readers will recollect that the prisoner was a master sweep, and lately stood his trial at the Old Bailey, on a charge of murder, for having, by brutal treatment, caused the death of John Hewlings, a child of five or six years of age, his apprentice. He was, however, acquitted of this charge, but retained on an indictment for an assault on the same child.

"To this charge the prisoner pleaded Not Guilty.

"Mr. Walford, for the prosecution, stated the case. He related several cases of atrocious violence on the part of the prisoner towards the deceased John Hewlings, who was little more than five years old, and had been for a few months his apprentice. The learned gentleman's statement was fully confirmed in evidence.

"Elizabeth Ware proved that she saw the prisoner striking at the child's legs with a brush, to force him up a chimney, which he was unable to ascend, and then dragging him down, and dashing him with violence against the floor. The child screamed bitterly.

"Sarah Reeves corroborated the last Witness's testimony, and added, that the Prisoner declared he would 'serve the boy out' when he got him home. The boy complained bitterly that his knees were hurt.

"Anne Chandler proved that the prisoner came to her house in Whitechapel on the 23rd of April, with the deceased boy and another, to sweep a chimney, into which he put up the former, who stuck in the flue for nearly an hour. The prisoner was, at length, prevailed upon to get to the top of the chimney, and extricate the child, which he did, with loud imprecations upon him. The moment he got him down, he knocked him against a chest of drawers in the room; and when the child, almost senseless from the blow, was endeavouring to recover himself, he kicked him across the chamber, and, in this case, as in the former, repeated his asseveration that he would serve him out when he got him home. "Mary Craig, who lived next door to the prisoner, proved, that on helping the wife of the latter, who was drunk, into her own house, she saw the child on the ground near the prisoner, who desired him to get up, which he was unable to do without the assistance of a stick. Witness looked at the boy's leg, which she found greatly swollen. At her suggestion, the prisoner rubbed the wounded part with ointment, and when he found the boy still unable to walk, he dashed him on the ground.

"George Rose, and Esther Jacobs, proved their having, on the 23rd of April, while accidentally passing near the prisoner's house, been alarmed with screams and cries of Murder, and Mercy. Rose kicked in the door, and upbraided the prisoner and his wife with their unnatural conduct. The latter held a strap in her hand, with which she avowed she had been beating the child, and repeated that she would do so again.

"The prisoner, on being called upon for his defence, put in a written paper, containing a general denial of the charge, and stating that he was a victim of persecution. He did not call any witnesses.

"The Court then summed up the evidence, and the Jury instantaneously returned a verdict of Guilty. The Court, after severely animadverting on the atrocity of the prisoner's guilt, sentenced him to two years' imprisonment." All Londoners know the Mortar on the Parade of the Horse Guards, which was taken from the French at the siege of Cadiz in 1812, and presented by the Cortes to the Prince of Wales. Its elaborate allegorical carriage makes it a notable feature. It was uncovered on the Prince Regent's birthday, August 12, 1816, and from that moment it was assailed with a storm of ridicule principally addressed at the Regent. Pictorially the satires would scarcely suit this fastidious age, but some rather smart things were written anent it both in prose and rhyme. Of the latter, the following caustic epigram is a good example:—

"On a Recent Embellishment of the Metropolis.

Useless, and hollow, and unsound,
And silly splendour all the plan,
With venom'd reptiles guarded round,
How like the Mortar to the Man!"