When William IV. Was King :: CHAPTER XVIII. 1835

CHAPTER XVIII. 1835

First cargo of ice to India — Election riots at Halifax and in Scotland — A female sailor — The new temporary Houses of Parliament — The King and others hissed — Question of admitting ladies — A political skit — Deaths of Hunt and Cobbett.

The chronicle of this year must be made up of odds and ends, for there is no one thing of absorbing interest to record. And first, we find a paragraph in The Times of January 11th (quoting the Mechanic's Magazine), headed

"Exportation of Ice to India.

"Lord William Bentinck has presented to Mr. Rogers, supercargo of the ship Tuscany, a handsome silver vase, bearing the following inscription: 'Presented by Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India, to Mr. Rogers, of Boston, in acknowledgment of the spirit and enterprise which projected and successfully executed the first attempt to export (sic) a cargo of American ice into Calcutta.' The quantity of ice landed by the Tuscany was about one hundred tons, and the selling price being 6-1/2 cents per lb., it is calculated that the owners received $12,500 upon an investment which, including the cost of all the extra precautions for preserving the ice, did not exceed $500."

Owing to the resignation of the ministry in November, 1834, Parliament was dissolved, and a General Election took place—which, after the manner of the times, conduced to riotous behaviour in several places. At the close of the poll at Halifax, on January 14th, the yellow, or Reforming party, attacked various houses, public and private. In some, they contented themselves with breaking windows only; in others, they entered the premises, broke all the window frames, window shutters, inside and out, and other wood-work, and completely demolished every article of furniture within their reach. The mob, three hundred in number, entered the house of Mr. J. Norris, simultaneously, through the dining-room windows, library windows, and by breaking down the principal door. All the windows were broken to pieces—the window frames, in many places; and the whole furniture in the dining-room and library, and all the pictures, with the exception of six or eight, which were badly injured, were destroyed; whilst the plate was stolen, the bookcase was smashed, and quantities of books were taken from the shelves and torn to pieces. These, with music books and prints, were scattered over the lawn in front of the house, and in the garden, until the place looked as if it had been covered with snow. A grand piano was smashed to atoms, together with other musical instruments; a marble mantelpiece was broken, and the place was wrecked.

A similar attack on the vicarage was repelled. At Shaw Lodge, the residence of Mr. J. Holdsworth, the mob entered the house, and demolished all before them. At the Field, Mr. J. Staveley's house was attacked and entered, and all the furniture, pictures, etc., were smashed, as well as the windows and window frames of the house and warehouse adjoining. Many other houses were attacked and received different degrees of damage, and the mob did not disperse till the arrival of a troop of lancers.

In Scotland, serious rioting took place at Jedburgh and Hawick, polling places for the County of Selkirk, when Captain Elliot, the ministerial candidate, was defeated by Lord John Scott. On the morning of January 17th, the second day of polling, the Jedburgh mob, having learned the probable success of the Conservative candidate, began to assume a surly aspect. Lord John Scott, on making his appearance, was loudly hissed; and, when leaving the town, a few ruffians assaulted him, by throwing pieces of ice, etc., but, fortunately, without doing him any injury. In the afternoon, when the certain defeat of Captain Elliot's party became evident, symptoms of restlessness were displayed by a great part of the crowd, and several voters and others, in the interest of his lordship, could only with great difficulty reach the polling place; later in the evening the conduct of many of those assembled became more outrageous, and several of the friends of Lord John Scott were struck and abused by the mob; but the streets were quiet at night.

At Hawick, the mob was much more riotous. On the 16th, the first day of polling, notwithstanding the strong constabulary force sworn in for the occasion, the crowd got very noisy, and used every sort of annoyance to the voters for Lord John Scott, such as pushing, spitting, throwing stones and snowballs, and tearing clothes, etc., while they cheered the voters for Captain Elliot. As the day advanced, the rabble got worse and worse, insulting and maltreating all voters, and others friendly to his lordship's cause, in defiance of the strenuous efforts of the sheriff and a number of the justices of the peace, the bailies and others. The Sheriff ultimately found it necessary to read the Riot Act.

On closing the poll for the day, the mob surrounded the Tower Inn (where Lord John's voters were), and, whenever any person attempted to leave the inn to go home, he was immediately attacked and abused; in consequence of which a great number were compelled to remain at the inn during the night. The doors of the inn were frequently attempted to be forced open, most of the windows were broken; and, in the course of the night, the windows of the houses of many of the inhabitants were riddled with stones. An additional number of constables were sworn in on Saturday.

The mob appeared more desperate than on the preceding day, and every means of intimidation were practised to prevent Lord John's voters coming forward; in one case where a voter in that interest was going to the booth in a carriage, the crowd attempted to upset it—and, upon his voting and returning from the booth, he was seized, in spite of the efforts of the constables, and abused and maltreated. The Riot Act was again read, and the town became quieter, especially when a troop of the Scot's Greys arrived. Captain Elliot, the defeated candidate, in his address after the election, thanked the populace for their orderly conduct!

I have given these as specimens of ante-ballot elections in time when William IV. was King.

Most of us know the ballad of Billee Taylor, how he was impressed and taken to sea—and how

"Soon his true love followed 'arter
Under the name of Richard Carr,
And her lily white hands she daubed all over
With the nasty pitch and tar."

And some of us may probably know the true history of Mary Ann Talbot, who fought both in the army and navy, and was wounded both in the ankle and in the thigh, a little above the knee, in the action of the "Glorious First of June." She lay in Haslar Hospital without her sex being discovered, afterwards was taken prisoner by the French; then shipped to America as steward, and when going a voyage to the Mediterranean, was impressed, and discovered her sex rather than serve again in the navy.

But her story belongs to the latter part of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Here is one, happening in this year, and is thus reported in all the newspapers of the time, and in the Annual Register.

"Mansion House, 10th Feb.—The Lord Mayor having observed a statement in the Observer newspaper relative to a female who for some time past had performed the duties of a seaman, directed an inspector of police to make inquiries into the circumstances, in order that, if the girl required assistance, it might be rendered to her, without subjecting her to annoyance. The inspector now appeared before the Lord Mayor, accompanied by the girl, the captain of the vessel in which she came to London, and several gentlemen who felt an interest in the remarkable details of the case.

"Captain McIntire, of the Sarah, from Belfast, stated that he met the girl, whose name is Ann Jane Thornton, at St. Andrew's, in North America. She was dressed in sailor's clothes, and had all the appearance of having been brought up to that employment. He engaged her at nine dollars a month to act as cook and steward, and considered that she was what she seemed to be, until a few days before the arrival of the vessel in the port of London. It appeared that some of the crew had suspected her sex before she was seen washing in her berth, from the circumstance of her having repeatedly refused to drink grog.

"The Lord Mayor: It has been reported that she was ill-treated by her captain and the crew. I wish to be particularly informed upon that point. Captain McIntire said he would call upon the girl to say whether he had not uniformly treated her with kindness, and whether, when her sex was discovered, the degree of kindness and care was not increased. The girl declared that Captain McIntire had acted towards her with humanity, and had desired her to complain to him if any of the crew attempted to treat her harshly. She had been, in the course of the voyage, struck by some of the sailors, because she could not work as hard as they did—a thing she found it difficult to do in a gale of wind, but she did not tell the captain, as she determined to endure as much as possible, without grumbling.

"The Lord Mayor: Is it possible that this mere girl, for she cannot be more than sixteen or seventeen years of age, performed the duties of a seaman? "Captain McIntire: It is, my lord. She performed them to admiration. She would run up to hand (sic) the topgallant sail in any sort of weather, and we had a severe passage. Poor girl! she had a hard time of it, she suffered greatly from the wet, but she bore it all excellently, and was a capital seaman.

"The Lord Mayor: Is the account of the romantic pursuit of the person she is said to be attached to correct? Is it true that she went to America after the captain who was said to be her sweetheart?

"McLean said that the account she had given him corresponded with that which had appeared before the public; but she would, herself, mention the particulars.

"Captain McIntire said that he had no doubt of the correctness of her statement. She was not at all given to loquacity. On the contrary, she did the duty of a seaman without a murmur, and had infinitely better use of her hands than of her tongue.

"This description of the female sailor seemed to be accurate. Her hands appeared as if they were covered with thick brown leather gloves, and it was only by repeated questioning the Lord Mayor got from her the facts, of which the following is the substance—

"Ann Jane Thornton stated that she is in the seventeenth year of her age. Her father, who is now a widower, took her and the rest of his family from Gloucestershire, where she was born, to Donegal, when she was six years old. He was owner of stores in that part of Ireland, and in good circumstances, and was always affectionate to her. She regretted that she had quitted her home, for her departure, of which she had given no previous notice to her father, must have caused him many a sorrowful hour. When she was only thirteen years old, she met Captain Alexander Burke, whose father resided in New York, and was the owner of vessels there; and, before she was fifteen, they became strongly attached to each other. Soon after, Burke was obliged to go to New York, and she took up the resolution to follow him. She quitted her father's house accompanied by a maid-servant and a boy, and, having procured a cabin-boy's dress, she exerted herself to obtain a passage to America. The servant-maid and boy took leave of her immediately upon her embarking, the latter being charged with a message to her father, informing him of her intention. By degrees she became reconciled to the labours of her new employment, but she beheld with joy the shores of New York, where she thought her labours would terminate. The moment she landed, she went off in her cabin-boy's dress to the house of Captain Burke's father, and said that she had worked under the captain's orders, and wished to be engaged by him again. It was by the father of the young man she was informed that his son had died only a few days before. America, however, was no place in which to look for sympathy. In the belief that the sea (which no doubt her affection for Burke recommended to her) was a more probable mode of existence than any she could adopt in the dress of her sex, she applied for and obtained a situation as cook and steward in the Adelaide, and, subsequently, in the Rover, in which latter vessel she sailed to St. Andrew's, where she fell in with Captain McIntire. The captain of the Rover had agreed to take her to Belfast, but he received an order from the owners to sail for the West Indies, and, as she was resolved to return to her father as soon as possible, she refused to accompany him. For thirty-one months she had been engaged in these remarkable adventures, and participated in the most severe toils of the crews of which she formed part.

"The Lord Mayor: And are you not weary of so harassing a life?

"Girl: Yes. I am anxious to get home. I hope and believe that my father will forgive me for the sorrow I have caused him. I have had my own sorrows, too.

"The Lord Mayor: How did it happen that you fancied the sailor's dress, well knowing that by assuming the appearance of one you pledged yourself to perform such terrible duties?

"Girl: I couldn't think of any other way, and I did the duties as well as I could. I underwent a good deal. I travelled from East Port in North America to St. Andrew's by myself, a distance of seventy miles through the woods. I walked all the way.

"The Lord Mayor: And without sustaining any injury?

"Girl: I received none. I knew the sailor's clothes would carry me through safe, and at St. Andrew's I met Captain McIntire.

"The Lord Mayor: I will give directions that you be taken care of until I can hear from your father, to whom I shall write to-night. You have done him great wrong by abandoning him under any pretence, but you have suffered bitterly for your disobedience.

"The information which the Lord Mayor received from Ireland was that, soon after the girl had left her home, her father had emigrated, with many others, to Canada, for the purpose of seeking his fortune among the numberless adventurers who ran away from Irish turbulence and starvation at that period, and that he had sent back no intelligence to Ireland since his departure. In Donegal, however, a sister of the young woman was found to reside, who expressed great joy at hearing of her relation. The Lord Mayor gave the girl adequate means of defraying her expenses to Donegal."

Parliament was to meet on February 19th, and there was but scant time to prepare and furnish places for them to meet in. As these temporary premises have long since been consigned to limbo, and as even very little tradition remains of them, I may be pardoned for giving a short contemporary account of them, which contrasts forcibly with the beautiful palace in which our legislature is now housed.

"The approaches to the House of Lords are very limited; the Peers, as well as the King, must enter by the Royal doorway and gallery throughout the session, and both parties must enter the body of the house by the same doorway—namely, that at the end of the Royal Gallery, formerly opening into the Painted Chamber, now the House of Lords. Facing this doorway is the woolsack, and a very small one it is compared with its predecessor; and, immediately behind it, and to the right of the doorway, is stationed the throne, against that end of the House which abuts upon the Thames; this, like the woolsack, is of very diminished proportions, when contrasted with the grand and gorgeous affair in the former House of Lords, as may be inferred when it is stated that it is the identical throne constructed for George IV.'s Council Chamber in a room in Carlton House.

"The present House of Lords is remarkably narrow, as may be imagined from the fact that the cross benches (the arrangement of the old house being followed, though somewhat in miniature) will not conveniently accommodate three or four peers each. There are side galleries for the peers, approached by staircases in the body of the House, but in line with the bar. All the furniture, the forms, etc., are covered with crimson and brass binding, as was the case in the former House. There are six richly gilt chandeliers, suspended by long lacquered chains, for the purpose of lighting the House. Both Houses are to be heated by steam apparatus, similar to that used in King's College Chapel, etc. In the Lords the conductors appear in the House, but are neatly enclosed with iron casings: in the Commons the heat ascends through a large grating in the centre of the floor of the House.

"There is a large gallery for strangers in the House of Lords, that is, that it projects well into the House, instead of being out of the House, as was the case with the accommodation formerly accorded by their Lordships. The front row of this gallery is arranged for the Press, separated from the rest of the gallery by a high partition, or backboard, and approachable at the end of the gallery by a passage for the exclusive advantage of the front row.

"The arrangement of seats in the Commons differs materially from that which characterized St. Stephen's. Here, all is remarkably open. There are no places under the gallery; all the members' seats, to the very end of the House, and even in the members' side galleries (there being no woodwork, only two iron rails in front) are as visible to all the House as the Treasury or Opposition benches, so that there will no longer be the opportunities of retreating into recesses or behind curtains, and there indulge in high-sounding sleep, or in still more unparliamentary, because far more modern, exclamations and imitations, when midnight may have approached, to give notice that the 'crowing' of the cock or the 'braying' of patient steeds may be expected. These things may again distinguish the assembly, but those who contribute to such distinction must now, at least, be seen by strangers as well as members. This may not be without its good effect in awing even the most refractory into something like respect for others, if they have no great deal for themselves. The woodwork is entirely of oak, and the seats are covered with green leather. The Speaker's chair is constructed like the old chair, which was after a design furnished by Sir C. Wren, though that chair is introduced in the celebrated picture of Oliver Cromwell desiring the 'bauble' to be removed. The Royal arms are not at the top, as that would have intercepted the view of the gallery behind the Chair, which will be chiefly appropriated to the press, and under the Speaker's control."

At the opening of Parliament, the Dukes of Cumberland and Wellington, several of the bishops, and some members of the House of Commons, were soundly hissed; nay, the King himself, when he opened Parliament on the 24th, was served the same, and two men were taken up for the said offence—one of them not only having groaned in a violent manner, but having called out, "There goes a d—d villain." Both had to find bail to keep the peace, self in £40, and two sureties in £20, which, not being forthcoming, they were locked up in default.

Whilst on the subject of this new Parliament, I may mention that on March 12th, the Hon. C. Berkeley gave notice that on May 1st he should move that a portion of the Strangers' Gallery in that House be set apart for the accommodation of ladies—which elicited "great laughter." But his motion never came off, for, on the date fixed, the House was in its Easter vacation, but was referred to a committee to report on. On April 9th Sir Robert Peel and his ministry resigned, and was succeeded by Lord Melbourne as Prime Minister.

Anent this, on June 1st, two men were charged at Bow Street, with causing a great mob by halloaing forth an harangue, entitled, "The political form of Matrimony between the Whigs and the people"; a portion of which is as follows:—

"Now, there was a man in the House of Incurables, whose name was Melbourne, and that man was perfect and upright. There was a day when the Reformers came to present themselves before the King and Bobby;[17] and Billy[18] said unto Bobby, 'Whence comest thou?' And Bobby answered, 'From going to and fro from St. Stephen's.' And Billy said, 'My servant Melbourne is perfect and upright, and one that feareth the King and supporteth the rights of the people.' And Bobby said, 'Do they serve the people for nought? Put forth thine hand and touch his office, and he will mock the people to their face, place for place, pension for pension—yea, all that the Whigs have, will they give for their pensions.' And Billy then said to Bobby, 'His office is in thy power.' And a messenger came unto Melbourne and said, 'Thy Ministry is dissolved, and Bobby is chosen in thy stead, and I alone am left to tell thee.' Then Melbourne arose and rent his wig, and shaved his head, and fasted three days in sackcloth and ashes. 'Pensionless came I unto office, and pensionless shall I go out. Billy gave, and Billy taketh away; and blessed be the name of Billy.'"

Lord Melbourne, however, remained Premier during the whole of the King's reign. Whilst on politics, I may mention that two noted Radicals died this year—Henry Hunt in February, and William Cobbett on June 18th.

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