CHAPTER XI.
IT is almost impossible to write about anything connected with Spa Fields, without mentioning the famous "Spa Fields Riots," which occurred on Dec. 2, 1816. In every great city there will always be a leaven of disquietude: demagogues who have nothing to lose, but all to gain, will always find an audience for their outpourings; and, often, the ignorant, and unthinking, have only to be told, by any knave, that they are underpaid, downtrodden, or what not, and they are ready to yell, with their sweet breaths, that they are. So was it then in 1816.
And it is also remarkable how history repeats itself; for, part of the scheme proposed by the agitators on that day, was exactly similar to the proposals of certain Irishmen and Socialists of our time—teste the following handbill, taken from the Times, the newspaper of Dec. 7, 1816.
"Spence's Plan. For Parochial Partnerships in the Land, is the only effectual Remedy for the Distresses and Oppression of the People. The Landowners are not Proprietors in Chief; they are but the Stewards of the Public; For the Land is the People's Farm. The Expenses of the Government do not cause the Misery that surrounds us, but the enormous exactions of these 'Unjust Stewards.' Landed Monopoly is indeed equally contrary to the benign spirit of Christianity, and destructive of the Independence and Morality of Mankind.
"'The Profit of the Earth is for all.'
"Yet how deplorably destitute are the great Mass of the People! Nor is it possible for their situations to be radically amended, but by the establishment of a system, founded on the immutable basis of Nature and Justice. Experience demonstrates its necessity and the rights of mankind require it for their preservation.
"To obtain this important object, by extending the knowledge of the above system, the Society of Spencean Philanthropists has been instituted. Further information of it's principles may be obtained by attending any of it's sectional meetings, where subjects are discussed, calculated to enlighten the human understanding, and where, also, the regulations of the society may be procured, containing a Complete development of the Spencean system. Every individual is admitted free of expense, who will conduct himself with decorum.
First Section every Wednesday at the Cock, Grafton Street, Soho.
Second " " Thursday " Mulberry Tree, Mulberry Ct., Wilson Street, Moorfields.
Third " " Monday " Nag's Head, Carnaby Mrkt.
Fourth " " Tuesday " No. 8, Lumber St., Mint, Borough."
There! does not that read exactly like a modern speech delivered in Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, or Dublin? Of course it was the old story of Demagogy. The pot boiled, the scum came to the top, and it boiled over, so that, one fine day, there was a riot. It was a period of distress for the working classes, who did not then, as now, swarm into London from all parts of England, and expect Jupiter to help them; but then, as now, the rich were ever willing to help their poorer brethren, for, in the very same Times newspaper that gives an account of this Spa Fields Riot, there is a list of subscriptions towards the relief of distress in Spitalfields alone, amounting to over £18,000.
The story is one that should be told, because it has its lesson and its parallel in all time. The ruling spirit of the movement was Henry Hunt, generally called Orator Hunt, a man fairly well to do, and who did not agitate for the sake of his daily bread. The occasion of the meeting in Spa Fields, at which some 10,000 people were present, was to receive the answer of the Prince Regent to a petition from the distressed mechanics of London and its vicinity for relief. It was held first of all in front of the "Merlin's Cave" (a name which still survives at 131, Rosomon Street, Clerkenwell), and afterwards in the adjacent fields. The following account of the riots is from the Times of Dec. 3, 1816: