Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. — Volume 2

by Henry Hunt

But the truth shall now be told. Alderman Cox paid me a visit here, some time back, and upon my joking him, on his having deserted the cause of reform, and gone over to the enemy, he frankly told me the whole story of his secession from our ranks. He was, he declared, as sincere a friend of reform and rational liberty as he ever was; but, during the time of his imprisonment, he found those with whom he had acted during his youthful ardour, so treacherous and so ungrateful, that the moment he was at liberty he resolved to have nothing more to do with them; and he, therefore, quitted city politics altogether, and went to reside in Dorsetshire, out of the reach of all their turmoil and unprofitable labour. "When," said he, "I was committed to Newgate by the House of Commons, I certainly did expect that I should have received the attention and kindness of those whom I had endeavoured to serve, and of those who professed to be the friends of that party in the city of London, where I was imprisoned; and especially, I expected every attention from Sir Francis Burdett; which attention, indeed, I conceived I was entitled to from him, not merely for my having run such a risk, and got myself imprisoned, by striving to do him a service, but from the double tie of friendship and politics—a friendship which we had contracted while at school together." Having experienced the nature of the Baronet's friendship, I anticipated what was coming. "Will you believe me," said he, "Mr. Hunt, during the whole time that I was in Newgate he never wrote to me, never called upon me, nor ever once sent to inquire about me. I was in prison, yet all the city party with whom I had acted, kept away from me, and not one came near me. At length I sent for Waithman, who came at my request. I complained to him of the ingratitude of Sir Francis Burdett, and he appeared to concur with me, and to regret that I should be so treated; but he added, that he had no power to compel the Baronet to do his duty. He was full of professions, and said he would do any thing to serve me; that I had been treated cursedly ill, and that something ought to be done for me. Upon this I urged him to call a Common Hall, and take the sense of the Livery upon the harsh proceedings of the House of Commons; and if he could get a vote of thanks for me (which I knew he had only to propose to carry), that would be some consolation to me in my imprisonment. He hemmed and har'd, and at length declined this measure, for fear it might not be carried, for fear he might be outvoted. Well then, said I, will you get a piece of plate voted to me, by a few of our friends, whom you can easily call together at a private meeting? The answer was, that he had no objection to doing so, but that all our friends were so very poor, that he doubted whether he should be able to raise a sum sufficient to purchase a piece of plate worth my acceptance. I replied, that the value of the piece of plate was of no consequence, as that was not the object; but, to set that question quite at rest, and to make his mind quite easy upon it, I desired him to get the piece of plate voted, and I would take care to send him the money myself to pay for it. He went away, saying he would see what could be done; and I never heard from him, or saw him afterwards, until I left Newgate: upon which I washed my hands of the whole of the ungrateful set, and I have never had any thing to do with them since." This fact speaks for itself, and is a fair specimen of the conduct of the worthy politicians of that day.

At the latter end of this year, 1807, our magnanimous ally, the Emperor of Russia, suddenly broke off all communication with Great Britain; and, on the 1st of November, declared war against us. War was also declared, at the same time, between England and Denmark. In the mean time, our ally, the King of Portugal, was so alarmed at the hostile movements of Napoleon, that he embarked with all his Court on board a fleet, which was joined by an English squadron, under Sir Sidney Smith, and sailed for the Brazils, immediately afterwards. The day after this, the French army, commanded by General Junot, entered Lisbon. At the same time Jerome Buonaparte was proclaimed King of Westphalia, and Napoleon was formally acknowledged King of Naples.

Napoleon having now actually subdued and made peace with all his enemies upon the Continent, he had nothing to do but to turn his attention to the suppression of English trade; which he did by issuing decrees, declaring England in a state of blockade; which were answered by England issuing Orders in Council, for blockading all the ports of France and her allies. This was the state of England at the end of the year 1807. The average price of the quartern loaf had been ten-pence three-farthings through the year.

The year 1808 began with Napoleon making an offer to treat for peace with England. This offer was, as usual, rejected; upon which he, and the Emperor Alexander, strove with all their united might to embarrass England in all her continental connections. The secret articles signed between these two Emperors, at Tilsit, plainly indicated their intentions to aggrandise themselves at the expense of England and her allies; Russia in the north, and France in the south. The throne of Naples was now transferred to Murat, the brother-in-law of Napoleon. The Papal dominions were completely subjected to France, and the Pope was placed in confinement.

The state of Spain at that time is worthy of notice. The Spaniards were in a deplorable situation. They were governed by, or rather had at the head of the government, an imbecile monarch, Charles the Fourth, a profligate Queen, notoriously intriguing with and led by Godoy, Prince of the Peace, prime minister; while, on the other hand, Ferdinand, the heir to the Crown, who was plotting and intriguing against his father, was weak in understanding, destitute of every noble quality, and totally incapable of governing a people who were emerging from the gloom of superstition, and becoming enlightened with the age. Ferdinand having joined in a conspiracy, headed an insurrection against his father, whom he compelled to abdicate the throne in his favour. This disgraceful conduct on the part of a son to his parent, speedily met with its due reward; for he was compelled to surrender up his pretension to the throne, and resigned the crown into the hands of his father, who once more resumed the reins of government, while the beloved Ferdinand retired, loaded with ignominy.

Charles the Fourth, however, very soon again abdicated his throne, not to his son Ferdinand, but in favour of his friend and ally, the Emperor of France; and the beloved Ferdinand and his brothers issued a solemn proclamation, renouncing all right and claim to the Spanish throne. But the Spaniards were not disposed to be transferred thus, like cattle, without being consulted on the subject. A formidable insurrection broke out, at Madrid, on the second of May. The inhabitants fought with a bravery and perseverance which did them infinite honour; but, after a desperate and sanguinary struggle, they were overpowered by the numerous French army which was under the command of the governor, General Murat. Nothing daunted by this failure at Madrid, the people of the Asturias, Andalusia, and other provinces of Spain, hurried to arms, and resolved to expel the invaders, or perish in the attempt. Juntas were formed, to direct the popular efforts, eloquent and animating proclamations were issued, and every thing that the time and circumstances would permit, was done to prepare for the approaching tremendous contest.

The British Government had appeared to be panic struck by the intelligence that Napoleon had seized on Spain. It, however, in some measure, recovered its spirits, on the arrival of two Spanish noblemen, with the news that the people of Spain were determined to resist to the last; and it instantly promised the most effectual assistance to those welcome allies. All the Spanish prisoners of war were released and sent back to Spain in English ships, and a treaty of peace and alliance was made with the Spanish patriots. The merchants of London gave the Spanish deputies a grand dinner at the London Tavern, and every lover of Liberty wished the cause of the Patriots complete success.

In England, meanwhile, considerable dissatisfaction prevailed. The Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons of the city of London, petitioned both Houses of Parliament for reform, and the abolition of sinecure places and pensions. The foreman of the grand jury of the county of Middlesex, in conjunction with Sir Richard Phillips, the Sheriff, petitioned the House of Commons, against the conduct of the officers of the house of correction in Cold Bath Fields, and the treatment of the prisoners confined therein. In compliance with the petition of the citizens of London, a bill passed the House of Commons to prevent the granting of places in reversion; but it was opposed and thrown out by the Lords. Petitions for the restoration of peace were likewise presented from numerous towns in the manufacturing districts of the north, which were laid upon the tables of the Houses; but no further notice was taken of them.

The disaffection which distress and misgovernment had already excited in those districts was naturally increased by this contemptuous neglect of their petitions. At Manchester there were some serious riots. At Rochdale there had been some disturbances, and some of the rioters were seized and thrown into prison; but the people rose in great force, burned down the prison, and released their associates. These misguided men had not then been taught to look for redress by obtaining a reform in the representation. Those who had urged the people on to commit depredations upon the friends of Liberty, during the early part of the French revolution, the aiders and abettors of Church and King mobs, now began to taste the bitter fruits of their dastardly and cowardly conduct. The time was not yet come, though it was rapidly advancing, when the people were to see their error, and to recover from the dreadful state of political ignorance and delusion in which they had been intentionally kept by the authorities; and the consequence was, that those who had kept them in such ignorance, and trained them to violence, found their own weapons turned against them, and reaped the reward of their own folly and baseness. The weavers at Manchester and the neighbourhood created great disturbances, on account of their wages; they endeavoured to accomplish that by force, which could only be legally obtained by an alteration of those laws, and that system, which had brought them into the dilemma. During the period of Church and King mobs, they had been taught to carry into effect the wishes of their employers by force, and they at length thought it time to set up for themselves in that trade which they had been taught by their masters and employers. Having had no one to instruct them in political economy; or advise them how to obtain, by legal means, their political rights, was it wonderful that they should resort to acts of riot to obtain their domestic rights—a rise in the price of their wages, in proportion to the rise in the price of provisions, and all the necessaries of life, which had been caused by the excessive increase in taxation?

Let it be observed here, that the maxim will always hold good, that those who are careless of their political rights will always be sure to suffer and be imposed upon in their domestic rights. Those who have robbed the people of their political liberty, will not fail to rob them of that proportion of their earnings, to enjoy which, can alone make life worth preserving. The people who do not endeavour to possess and enforce the power of appointing those who are to make the laws, by which they are to be governed, have but little right to complain, if laws are made to enrich the few at the expense of the many. They must not be surprised at combination acts, corn laws, and banishment acts. They must not be surprised, if a select few have the privilege of choosing those who are to make laws; and if the laws that are made by persons so appointed tend to benefit those select few to the injury of the whole community. The mechanics and artizans, if they have no voice in electing Members of Parliament, must not be surprised if, under the title of combination laws, they see laws made to prevent them from obtaining the fair market price for their labour, while their masters are permitted, nay, encouraged, to combine and conspire together to keep down the price of their wages. Again let me impress on the mind of the reader, that a people who are careless and negligent of their political rights, are always sure of being plundered of a great portion of what they earn by the sweat of their brows; they imperceptibly become slaves of the basest cast; and, like slaves, when they become infuriated with their oppressions, they commit the most wanton and brutal acts of cruelty, in their fits of desperation.