"When I attacked them backwards, I used to crawl out of the window on my belly, and lie upon the wash-house leads with my arms; I have heard them say, "You that have arms are to fire upon him, and you that have stones are to heave, and so many to break the door, and so many to climb the wall." If they got up there, they could get in at the window from the leads. I had Gilberthorp below to guard the door, for part of the front door was broke. I got off, I believe, about nine in the morning, when I had no more ammunition left, only the charge that I had in my blunderbuss, except what was in the musket, that would not go off; so I said to the men that were in the house, 'You see they are firing from every quarter, there is no help for me, they will come in, and I can make no return upon them to check their insolence; the best way to make them desist, is for me to get out of the house, you will all be very safe whether I make my escape or not.' Mr. Gilberthorp said, 'Do what you think best.' I said, 'They only want me, if they get me it is all over, or if they know I am gone, they will desist.' I took my blunderbuss over my arm, and my drawn hanger in my hand, and went out
of the back window upon the leads; I saw several of them in the alley, I levelled the blunderbuss at them, and said, 'You rascals, be gone, or I'll blow your brains out, especially you (that was to one under me); but I scorn to take your life.' He said, 'God bless you, Mr. Green, you are a brave man;' he clapped his hand on his head, and ran away. I went over into Mr. Mereton's ship-yard, one of the shipwrights met me; just as I jumped, he said, 'Mr. Green, follow me;' he took me to a saw-pit, and shewed me a hole at the end where the sawyers used to put their things; he said, 'Go into that hole, you will be safe enough;' said I, 'Don't drop a word but that I am gone over the wall;' I got in, he left me; there I lay till the guards came. I heard the mob search for me; some said he is gone one way, some another; they were got into the yard, I heard one of the shipwrights say he is gone over the wall, and gone away by water.
"When the guards came, one of the shipwrights came to me, and desired to know what I should do; I said, 'Go and tell the officer to draw his men up and come into the yard, and I will surrender myself to him.' The soldiers came, and I came out of the saw-pit; I had nothing but my handkerchief about my head; I had been wounded between ten and eleven at night; I surrendered myself to the officer; Justice Hodgson said, 'Mr. Green, you are one of the bravest fellows that
ever was; who do you intend to go before, me, or Sir John Fielding?' I said, 'I do not care who it is;' then said he, 'you will go before me;' accordingly we went, and when I came there he committed me to Newgate.—In the course of this evidence it does not appear, that the deponent swore to the identity of any of the prisoners, as engaged in the act of firing against, or otherwise assailing his house, though he did to some few of them threatening him at Billingsgate; but this identity was sworn to by the next evidence, George Crabtree, in the persons of Cornwall, David Clark or Clarey, Lynch, Flaharty, and Grainger. The first he saw fire several times towards Green's windows; Clark he also saw fire after Green had shot his brother; Grainger he saw heaving a stone, or brickbat, at Green's windows, and Lynch with a musket in his hand, but did not see him fire. Robert Anderson swore to Clark's and Cornwall's firing several times, as did also Andrew Evenerus to Clark's firing. Thomas Cummings swore to the same as committed by Flaharty, Clark, Lynch, Cornwall, and Murray, and he particularly accused Flaharty of getting into his own house and firing out at his garret windows. Philip Oram and William Burgess corroborated the same as to Cornwall; and the latter saw M'Cabe and John Grainger firing, knowing their persons but not their names. M'Cabe asked him for his sleeve-buttons to load a piece with to fire at
Green, and moreover examined his coat, and wanted to feel in his pocket for something to load: M'Cabe also inquired in the house, where he the deponent lodged, for the pewter spoons and pots to cut them in pieces for shot, saying he would pay for them. There were several other evidences to prove the identity of the prisoners as concerned in this riot. Some of the prisoners declared their innocence of the charge; others said they were there with the design of keeping the peace, and preventing the escape of Green, who had been guilty of murder by firing out of his windows. Several appeared to their character, but all seven were brought in guilty, Death , and were executed the 26th of July pursuant to their sentence."
The last disgraceful act of this turbulent æra was marked with additional depravity: a set of Spital-fields weavers had constituted themselves a deliberative body, and decreed that all possessors of looms should send them a tax of four shillings each. Their place of rendezvous was the Dolphin in Cock-lane, and their denomination the "Cutters;" and, justly dreading the consequences of their conduct, they were provided with swords and fire-arms, to defend themselves, and intimidate those to whom they wrote. A Mr. Hill exhibited the following order to the Magistrates of Bow-street in October 1769: "Mr. Hill, you are desired to send the full donation of all your looms to the Dolphin in Cock-lane. This from the
conquering and bold Defiance to be levied four shillings per loom"—and obtained a summons for the keeper of the Dolphin, which that person disobeyed. Officers were then dispatched to ascertain whether the Cutters had really assembled; and oath having been made that they were sitting, a warrant to search the house was issued, and a Magistrate, several officers of the Police, and a party of Soldiers, went to execute it between eight and nine o'clock in the evening. They found this diabolical assembly in full progress, receiving the contributions of terrified manufacturers; and almost at the same instant received the fire of the whole number. A soldier fell dead, and the miscreants fled over the house tops; but four were apprehended. A detachment of the guards afterwards did duty in the neighbourhood, and had their quarters in the Parish-church. This precaution terminated the operations of the Cutters.
From 1776 till 1780, the inhabitants of London enjoyed a degree of tranquillity they must have long panted for. Temporary disturbances of the peace through sudden resentment, and the riots arising from inebriation, are too common for recital, and are seldom heard of beyond the parish in which they occur; but the effervescence of June 1780 spread like a torrent through every avenue of the Metropolis, and convulsed every quarter of the Kingdom. That one man should
accomplish such an effect, and that his weapon should have been intolerance only , where tolerance is one of the gems which distinguish England from all Europe, is most astonishing. Our Legislature, acting upon the long-approved system of religious benevolence, would have erased from the Statute-books those restrictions which were calculated to repress a powerful enemy, and which had become useless through the lapse of time and the cessation of hostility; yet, Protestants objected, and acted the part of tyrants and bigots marshalled by a madman .
When an incendiary seizes upon a real grievance, or upon the presumed violation of any favourite point with the publick, let the peaceable Citizen beware how he listens to his interested declamations; let him remember that his passions may be excited by inflammatory insinuations; in short, let him remember the sophistry of Lord George Gordon; the errors of his predecessors, the cries of No Popery, the burning of part of London, the triumph of thieves, the exaction of money—realized in the horrors of 1780!