"With our freshened interest in the Far East, American readers ought not to neglect the new possessions in that region which now fly the Stars and Stripes."—Chicago Evening Post.
"Now at least there should be no difficulty for the American student to gain a clear view of the difficulties which both the Spaniards and their successors have had to contend with in these islands, when they have this work before them, and have not, as formerly, to obtain information from obscure Spanish sources, in a language hitherto comparatively little studied in the United States, ... welcome to all students of the Far East."
—English Historical Review.
FOOTNOTES
[1] For a brief biography of William Cobbett, see Flint's Letters, volume ix of our series, note 4.—Ed.
[2] In 1811 the growing hostility of those employed in the manufacture of stockings to the introduction of knitting frames, culminated in the Luddite Riots, and in Nottingham over six hundred stocking frames were broken. The riot spread rapidly among the artisans in the cotton and woolen industries in Lancashire and Yorkshire, mills were burned, machinery of all kinds destroyed, and it became necessary to call out seven regiments before quiet was restored. The government became alarmed, especially as the mobs had stormed the militia depots and secured arms for themselves, and several repressive measures were hurried through Parliament. The first, passed March 5, 1812, made frame-breaking a capital offense; the second, the Nottingham Watch and Ward Bill, passed the same month, enabled the lord-lieutenant or sheriff to establish watch and ward if further riots occurred; and the third, the Preservation of Public Peace Act, passed July 27, 1812, empowered any magistrate in the disturbed district to search for secreted arms, and to call upon the people to give up their weapons. See Parliamentary Debates, xxi, pp. 859, 1166; xxiii, pp. 1099, 1251.—Ed.
[3] The year 1816 was a time of intense suffering among the working classes in England. Corn reached famine prices, and at the same time the return of peace, by reducing the foreign demand for manufactured articles, created an over supply of labor. Riots again occurred, but the general discontent found a new outlet in the demand for parliamentary reform. In this, Cobbett was the leader, and under his direction Hampden Clubs were established all over the country. Sir Francis Burdett, president of the London Hampden Club, was first chosen to further the cause in the House of Commons. A graduate of Oxford, he entered Parliament in 1796, when twenty-six years of age, and served almost continuously until his death, in 1844. He was throughout an earnest advocate of parliamentary reform, of freedom of speech in the House, and of other liberal measures. Cobbett, Hulme, and the Radicals disliked him because his methods were too moderate for them. The incident mentioned by Hulme refers to a large meeting held at London at the end of the year (1816), to which all the Hampden Clubs sent delegates; and to avoid which Sir Francis, who had a horror of popular demonstrations, fled to Leicestershire, and sent a letter stating his inability to be present. See Cobbett, Weekly Political Register, September 13, 1817.—Ed.
[4] Next to Cobbett, the most important leader of the reform movement during this period was Major John Cartwright. Born in Nottinghamshire (1740), he had entered the navy and was being promoted rapidly when he refused to join his commander, Lord Howe, against the American colonies, thus putting an end to his professional advancement. Turning his attention to politics, he began (1780) the agitation which earned for him the title of Father of Reform. He was a frequent contributor to Cobbett's Register, in the cause of parliamentary and other reforms.—Ed.
[5] Henry Hunt, familiarly known as Orator Hunt (1773-1835), belonged to a Wiltshire family. He was engaged in farming near Bristol when, during a visit to London (1807), he became interested in the Radical cause, and immediately set to work to organize the Radical party in Bristol and the surrounding country. An eloquent speaker, and of magnetic personality, he exerted his influence by addressing popular meetings, undergoing two years' imprisonment for a speech delivered at a Manchester meeting in 1819. After several unsuccessful attempts to enter Parliament, he was elected in 1831, but held his seat only two years, when, becoming estranged from the other Radical leaders, he retired from politics.—Ed.
[6] December 2, 1816, a large mob collected at Spa-fields, London, and after addresses by certain Radicals and Spencean Philanthropists (members of a society which aimed to abolish private property), it proceeded to take possession of the Tower, but disbanded before much damage had been done. Feeling confident that sedition was being plotted in all the newly-organized clubs throughout England, Parliament (March 3, 1817) authorized the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. March 25, the Seditious Meetings Act was passed, prescribing the death penalty for refusal to discontinue any meeting when required to do so by a magistrate (see Parliamentary Debates, xxxv, pp. 795, 826, 1083, 1227). The reformers regarded these laws as subversive of all liberty; Cobbett headed the articles in his Register, "A History of the Last Hundred Days of English Freedom, ending with the passing of the Absolute-Power-of-Imprisonment Act, in the Month of March, 1817."—Ed.