"September 3.—This King is a queer fellow. Our Council was, principally, for a new Great Seal, and to deface the old Seal. The Chancellor claims the old one as his perquisite. I had forgotten the hammer,[9] so the King said, 'My Lord, the best thing I can do, is to give you the Seal, and tell you to take it, and do what you please with it.' The Chancellor said, 'Sir, I believe there is some doubt whether Lord Lyndhurst ought not to have half of it, as he was Chancellor at the time of your Majesty's accession.' 'Well,' said the King, 'then, I will judge between you, like Solomon; here' (turning the Seal round and round), 'now do you cry heads or tails?' We all laughed, and the Chancellor said, 'Sir, I take the bottom part.' The King opened the two compartments of the Seal, and said, 'Now, then, I employ you as Ministers of taste. You will send for Bridge, my silversmith, and desire him to convert the two halves, each into a salver, with my arms on one side, and yours on the other, and Lord Lyndhurst's the same; and you will take one, and give him the other, and both keep them as presents from me.'"
We, lately, have heard a great deal against the House of Lords, even to its being abolished, but this was as nothing compared to the feeling excited by the Reform Bill. At half-past five on the morning of September 22nd, the Bill was read a third time, and passed, in the House of Commons, by a majority of 113. It then went to the Lords, and on the second reading Lord Wharncliffe moved, "That the Bill be read that day six months." The Lords had five days' debate upon the Bill, and rejected it on October 7th by a majority of 41.
This raised the ire of the Reform party; and, as was the custom of the age, riots ensued. The Annual Register gives the following condensed account of them:—
"The rejection of the Reform Bill caused some partial disturbances in the country. At Derby, a mob, on Saturday and Sunday, the 8th and 9th, committed several outrages, attacked the city gaol, set the prisoners at liberty, and then proceeded to the county gaol, where they were resisted and foiled in the attempt: on Monday evening quiet was restored, but not before several lives were lost, and many persons wounded. One young man, son of Mr. Haden, surgeon, was killed by the mob.
"At Nottingham, the castle, which belongs to the Duke of Newcastle, was burnt down; Colwick Hall, the seat of John Musters, Esq., was broke into, the furniture destroyed (including several valuable pictures, particularly Sir Joshua Reynolds' whole length of Mrs. M.), and the house set on fire, which, however, was soon extinguished. A factory at Beeston, belonging to Mr. Lowe, was burnt down. The House of Correction was attacked, but, the 15th Hussars arriving, the mob dispersed; fifteen of them were made prisoners. Some trifling disturbances took place at Loughborough.
"In the metropolis, also, fears were entertained; on the 10th the inhabitants of Bond Street were thrown into a panic, by a report that a mob of several thousand persons were coming, with the determination of breaking all windows where the shutters were not closed. Although it was only six o'clock, every shop was instantly closed, and the street presented, from one end to the other, a very dark and gloomy appearance. In Regent Street and some other of the great thoroughfares, the shutters were closed; and where there was property, more particularly valuable, boards were nailed across. Several Reform meetings were held on the same day, and various stratagems were had recourse to, by their promoters, to induce the shopkeepers and other inhabitants, to make a display of revolutionary emblems.
"On the 11th, as three policemen were coming through St. James's Square, with a prisoner in their custody, the crowd surrounded them, and rescued the prisoner. The constables took out their staves, but were pushed along until they arrived at Waterloo Place, where they were joined by a party of police. At the corner of Waterloo Place, the crowd took advantage of a heap of macadamised stones, which they flung at the police in every direction, so that the latter were glad to make their escape.
"Between two and three o'clock, a large assemblage took place in Hyde Park. Stones were thrown at Apsley House, and a few squares of glass were broken. When some of the Duke of Wellington's servants presented themselves at the windows, great hissing and hooting followed, and immediately afterwards, a shower of stones was thrown at the house, and almost every square of glass in it was demolished. Some policemen, who were upon the spot at the time, endeavoured to drive the crowd out of the Park, but violent resistance was made, and the constables were, ultimately, compelled to make a precipitate retreat, and take shelter in his grace's mansion. Notice of these proceedings having been given to St. James's police station, a large party of the C and T divisions, headed by a superintendent and four inspectors, proceeded with all possible haste to Hyde Park, where they formed in a body under the statue. They had not been there many minutes before they were saluted with several showers of stones. These attacks were, for a time, borne with exemplary patience; but, at length, a large crowd having collected in front of the Duke of Wellington's house, the police, in number about 200, sallied forth, and, in an instant, the rabble ran in all directions. Several of the ringleaders were taken into custody, and conveyed to Knightsbridge barracks.
"After the mob had been driven out of Hyde Park, they proceeded to the mansion of Earl Dudley, and commenced throwing stones at the windows; but a strong body of police, who had been stationed in his lordship's stables, suddenly rushed upon them with their staves, and the mob were beaten off.
"Some desperate attacks were made upon the new police by regularly organised gangs of pickpockets, and several constables were very severely beaten. At the corner of Charles Street, St. James's Square, some young thieves were taken into custody by three of the police, who were detached from the main body; the prisoners were rescued, and the constables were obliged to make their escape. One of the inspectors of the C division, who was parading in Pall Mall in private clothes, was recognised by some of the rabble, who kicked him and beat him in so cruel a manner, that he narrowly escaped with his life.