THE BRISTOL RIOTS.
THESE disgraceful proceedings were consequential upon the rejection of the Reform Bill, to which allusion is made in the last article. Sir Charles Wetherall, who was recorder of Bristol, had, throughout the debates which took place upon this most important subject, in his seat in parliament, delivered himself of sentiments strongly opposed to the great measure, which was justly looked upon as so important to the interests of the people; and his conduct had procured for him on this account a notoriety as unenviable as in the sequel it proved dangerous. The wishes and the desires of the people were treated by him with levity, and even with contempt; and in Bristol, more especially, a strong feeling of hostility was excited against him, from the near connexion by which he was bound to that city.
It was pretty generally known that Sir Charles would enter Bristol on the 29th of October, 1831, for the purpose of opening the commission for the trial of offenders; and very natural apprehensions were entertained that his appearance would produce some popular commotion. The mayor and civic authorities were apprised of the impending danger; and with a degree of discretion not usually found to be exercised on such occasions, they procured the aid of the military, and swore in a great number of special constables, in order to be ready to meet and quell any disturbance or riot which might arise. The office of special constable was looked upon by the more respectable portion of the inhabitants as one which, under existing circumstances, it would be irksome to hold; and many persons were sworn in, whose conduct in the end unfortunately showed how ill the confidence placed in them had been bestowed. The consequences were of the most fatally appalling nature; and the following statement of the occurrences of the 29th, 30th, and 31st of October will be read with pain, not unmixed with disgust at the excesses which were committed.
On Wednesday, the 26th of October 1831, Sir Charles Wetherall arrived at Bath; and, contrary to his usual custom, which was to take up his residence at the house of his sister-in-law, the lady of Colonel Jones, he repaired to the York-house Hotel. During his stay there, although there existed against him a good deal of angry feeling, no particular notice was taken of him. Bills, announcing the place of his sojourn, were distributed through the town; but even this failed in so far exciting the minds of the people as to induce them to offer any injury, or even insult, to the learned gentleman. The ill-feeling which prevailed against him was, however, known, and its consequences apprehended; and so desirous were his friends to avoid any popular outbreak against him, that the period of his departure from Bath was determined to be concealed. Friday night was therefore openly named as the time at which he should quit Bath, but, in reality, he did not retire from the city until Saturday morning at ten o’clock. His carriage at that hour was drawn up in the back-yard of the hotel, ready for his accommodation; and, drawn by four horses, the learned gentleman was quickly driven off.
Although he thus stealthily quitted Bath, Sir Charles had repeatedly expressed his determination not to enter Bristol in a covert manner. He declared his belief in a “reaction,” which would produce a strong feeling in his favour; and although he was warmly and strongly recommended not to adopt the course upon which it was understood he had fixed, he persisted in pursuing the line of conduct pointed out.
At about half-past eleven o’clock, Sir Charles was perceived to approach Bristol at a rapid rate, in a chariot drawn by four greys; and, on stopping at Totterdown for the purpose of being handed into the sheriff’s carriage, he was instantly assailed by the most deafening yells, groans, and hisses. The constables were then, in considerable numbers, placed around the carriage; a gentleman on horseback riding close by the side of each door, and three or four hundred preceding and following. In this manner the cavalcade, which comprised also the usual number of mayor’s and sheriff’s officers, mounted, with favours, proceeded slowly towards the city. Just as Sir Charles was passing over Hill’s-bridge, his carriage was assailed with four or five stones; but no movement took place with a view to apprehend the offenders, the whole force being anxious only for the protection of the recorder’s person. As the procession moved onward, the expressions of disapprobation from the multitude became more and more deafening. In Temple-street, the windows of the houses were crowded with spectators, and the lower orders of females were particularly vociferous in the expression of their feelings, frequently charging the men with cowardice and want of spirit. In passing from the bridge to High-street, one of the constables, a respectable tradesman, received a dangerous contusion in the head; and, in the latter street, also, some few stones were thrown.
On arriving at the Guildhall, in Broad-street, it was with the greatest difficulty that Sir Charles could alight, from the pressure of the immense multitude; but, after the lapse of a few minutes, he was handed out in safety, and proceeded to take his station on the bench. The doors of the hall were then thrown open to the populace, and in a few minutes the area was completely choked up.
The usual forms for opening the commission then commenced; but the noise and confusion occasioned considerable interruption. Amidst a scene of indescribable uproar, they were with difficulty gone through; and, at their conclusion, an adjournment of the court to the following Monday morning took place. The recorder then withdrew from the bench, and the populace, after some further marks of their displeasure towards the learned judge, gave three cheers for the king and retired into the street. Some considerable time then elapsed before the recorder was taken up for the purpose of being conveyed to the Mansion-house. During the interval, Broad-street, and, indeed, the whole line of the route, was occupied by a dense mass of the population. Beyond the mere vocal expression of their feelings, however, there was nothing in their conduct, at this period, calculated to excite alarm. On Sir Charles’s reappearance, he was greeted with a repetition of the same favours which had before been so liberally bestowed upon him, which continued through the remainder of his progress, with the exception that, at the Commercial-rooms, in front of which a body of his admirers had placed themselves, he was greeted with three cheers. But there was no violence until the arrival of the carriage at the Mansion-house, in Queen-square. There a few stones were thrown, and a lamp or a window of the carriage was broken; but the recorder himself received no injury.
We have now arrived at what we conceive to be the most important part of our narrative, inasmuch as it was the universal opinion, that the proceedings which directly followed the arrival of the recorder and corporation at the Mansion-house were the more immediate cause of all the disgraceful events which subsequently occurred. A few minutes after their alighting, a rush was made on the populace by a posse of special constables, for the purpose of securing the persons by whom the missiles had just been thrown, and an individual was taken hold of, and dragged into the Mansion-house. Again another rush took place, and another capture was made; and this was repeated several times; the conviction being pretty general, that persons were selected at random. The least show of opposition on the part of the populace, who, during these proceedings, were really guiltless of any new outrage, subjected them to the most brutal attacks of some of the persons who assumed to be special constables, many of whom, by imprudently brandishing their staves, did much to excite the feelings of the people.
At this moment the number of persons collected in the square could not have been less than ten thousand; and a cry having been raised of “To the back,” where piles of faggots and firewood were usually kept, a large body proceeded thither, and having armed themselves with sticks, returned in a few minutes to the scene of action. It was then that, for the first time, any serious collision was apprehended; but the constables rushing out in a body, in a moment infused terror into the people, and the sticks were soon to be seen strewed in every direction upon the ground. These were gathered up in bundles and carried off. This was about half-past twelve o’clock. From that period till about four o’clock, the time was passed in occasional skirmishes between the constables and the populace, which generally ended in some one being taken into custody. During these proceedings it was visible that the people were becoming more and more exasperated. Now and then a pane of glass was smashed in, or a club hurled at the heads of the constables; and these attacks generally led to measures which heightened, rather than allayed, the popular feeling.