To add also to the injuries of the people, and as an increased cause of complaint from the citizens, a bill was introduced in parliament, "for enabling certain persons to enclose and embank part of the river Thames, adjoining Durham the house of two publishers of newspapers, Thompson and Wheble, who being cited before the house, refused to appear; upon which a proclamation was published with a reward for apprehending them. This produced the desired effect. Mr. J. Wheble, one of these booksellers, was apprehended and taken before John Wilkes, Esq. the sitting alderman at Guildhall: but he discovering that the person who appre hended Mr. Wheble had no accusation against him, and only apprehended him on the authority of the proclamation; and at the same time Mr. Wheble declaring that the apprehender had forcibly detained him, and brought him there, the alderman immediately discharged him, and bound him over to prosecute his accuser. Mr. Miller, also printer of a public paper, was likewise taken into custody by a messenger from thẹ house of commons, who, on his refusing to go with him, took him by the arm, in consequence of which a constable was sent for, and Mr. Miller gave him charge of the messenger for assaulting him in his own house; he was therefore taken to the Mansion House, and a hearing came on before the lord mayor, and the aldermen Wilkes and Oliver. In the mean time, the serjeant at arms being informed of this transaction, came to demand the bodies of the messenger and of Mr. Miller. The lord mayor asked the messenger, if he had applied to a magistrate to indorse the warrant, or to any peace officer of the city to assist him; and on his replying in the negative, his lordship declared, that no power could seize a citizen of London, without an order from him, or some other magistrate; and that he was of opinion, the seizing of Miller and the warrant were both illegal; he therefore declared Mr. Miller to be at liberty and proceeded to examine witnesses to prove the assault by the messenger; which being accomplished, his lordship asked the latter if he chose to give bail. This he at first refused to do; but his commitment being actually made out, he thought proper to comply, when he himself was bound in forty pounds, and two sureties in twenty pounds, for his appearance at the next sessions at Guildhall. Wheble had been taken by Twine Carpenter, a printer, and carried before Mr. Wilkes, who not only discharged him, but took recognizances for prosecuting the person by whom he was apprehended. Mr. Dowdeswell, who attempted to interest the house of commons in Carpenter's behalf, received the following whimsical answer from Wedderburne. "As to the affair of Mr. Twine Carpenter, I can see no reason for Bupporting him as I understand it, the man is Mr. Wheble's devil: Wheble Durham Yard, Salisbury Street, Cecil Street, and Beaufort Buildings, in the county of Middlesex." Many objections were made to this bill; it was asserted to be destructive to the antient rights and property of the city of London; but notwithstanding this and other equally forcible assertions, one line of conduct was pursued, and the bill was passed. Some of the peers protested against its injustice; the city petitioned. They complained in this petition, that the step was violent, unjust, and a peculiar invasion of the property which they claimed from time immemorial in the soil or bed of the river. A deaf ear was turned to all these representations; the bill received the royal assent; and thus arose the Adelphi Buildings. Wheble was arrested by his own devil: he was discharged out of the illegal arrest of this devil: the devil was bound over to answer: whether printer beats devil, or devil beats printer, is of no consequence; there may be the devil to do; there will be the devil to pay if the devil has had the reward that was advertised, the devil has fairly outwitted the noble lord near me: whether he has or not, I do not know; but I hope this house will have nothing to do with him." After many and tedious debates, the house of commons having resolved, "That the proceeding of the lord mayor and Mr. Oliver, was a breach of the privilege of that house," committed them both to the Tower, where they continued till the prorogation of parliament, which happened on the eighth of May, when his majesty terminated the session with a speech from the throne. During the continuance of the lord mayor and Mr: alderman Oliver in the Tower, they were addressed and applauded for their spirited conduct in maintaining the authority of the laws of their country, by every ward in London, and by several of the principal towns and boroughs in England. Great preparations were made for conducting the two patriots from the Tower; but the parliament being prorogued one day sooner than was expected, a few only of the aldermen could attend. The procession was, however, magnificent, and they were conducted to the Mansion House amid hosts of applauding spectators. From this time, without dreading the effects of parliamentary displeasure, the printers have regularly published the debates of the two houses, in the prints of the following day: nor is it to be supposed, that the sources of that intelligence will be withheld from the people, by the legislative body. At At a court of common council held the 28th of May, it was resolved and ordered, "That it be referred to the committee appointed to assist the lord mayor and alderman Oliver in the Tower, to state cases, and take opinions, whether there is any, and what method to bring into a course of trial, the legality of an imprisonment by a vote of either house of parliament."It was father resolved, "That in case the said committee should be advised, that the legality of the commitment of the lord mayor and alderman Oliver can be put into a due course of trial by law, they be authorized so to do." At another court of common council held the 5th of June, the opinions of the counsel who had been consulted by the committee abovementioned were read to the court, when it appeared, they did not think any action could be commenced on that account. At the same time the report was made from the committee, who had been appointed to consider of a proper mode of proceeding against the Goldsmiths, Grocers, and Weavers companies, for their disobedience to the lord mayor's precepts. This committee reported, that they stated the following queries to counsel; namely, the power of the lord mayor in calling common halls-The obligation of the master and wardens of the several livery companies to obey the lord mayor's preceptsAnd the method of punishing them on refusal: whether they were punishable by the lord mayor only, or by the court of aldermen, or court of common council separately, or by the common hall or livery in common hall assembled. The answers to these questions were as follow: "We conceive it to be the duty of the proper officers of the several companies, to whom precepts for summoning their respective liveries have been usually directed, to execute those precepts; and that a wilful refusal on their parts is an offence punishable by disfranchisement. If it be thought proper to prosecute with that view in the present case, we think it most adviseable to proceed in the usual way, by information to be filed by the conamon serjeant in the mayor's court, court, which the common serjeant may file, ex officio, if he pleases, or at the instance of either of the bodies mentioned in the query. ALEX. WEDDERBURNE. J. DUNNING. T. NUGENT*.” At a court of common council held the 18th, a motion was made by Mr. alderman Wilkes, which produced the following resolution of the court: "That the lord mayor, or sitting alderman, upon complaint made before him of any person or persons, suspected of forestalling, engrossing, or regrating any kinds of provisions, shall, if such complaints appear to him well grounded, be empowered to direct the solicitor of the city to prosecute the offender or offenders at the expence of the city." On the 30th of June, came on at Guildhall the trial of Edward Twine Carpenter, for an assault, in seizing and tak ing up the person of J. Wheble, according to the royal proclamation for that purpose, when he was found guilty, fined one shilling, and ordered to be imprisoned for two months in Wood Street Compter. On the 17th of July, the lord mayor, Sir Richard Glyn, Mr. alderman Peers, several of the city officers, the gentlemen of his lordship's household, attended by the city marshal and under-marshalmen, held a court of conservancy at Stratford for the county of Essex; after which they went to Woolwich, and held another court for the county of Kent. They then embarked on board two yatchs, and proceeded * A motion was made and carried on the ensuing Midsummer Day, "That the livery of London do desire the common council to present a silver cup to the right honourable the lord mayor, of the value of 2001. with the city arms engraved thereon; and to the aldermen Wilkes and Oliver, one each of the value of 1001. as marks of their gratitude for their upright conduct in the affair of the printers, and for supporting the city charters." Though this motion was readily agreed to by the livery, it met with some obstacles in the court of common council; and so long was it before it was carried, that the cups were not presented to the different parties till the month of January following. VOL. I. No. 25, 4 G down down the river, as far as the city's jurisdiction extends, to see what encroachments had been made, that the parties offending might be proceeded against according to law. His lordship arrived at Rochester, on Tuesday afternoon, and was immediately complimented by some of the principal persons in the town. The next morning the whole company embarked again, and landing near Upnor Castle, marched in procession to the stone that marks the bounds of the city jurisdiction; on which the sword of state was immediately laid. His lordship observing some letters fresh cut on the side of the stone next the land, and being told they were intended to signify a claim of Mrs. Hill, lady of the manor, be ordered them to be erased, and attended while the following inscription was cut on it--BRASS CROSBY, esquire, LORD MAYOR, 1771. On Michaelmas day, an order was given to the city solicitor, to file an information of disfranchisement in the mayor's court, against the masters and wardens of the three refractory companies of Goldsmiths, Grocers, and Weavers, for refusing to obey the lord mayor's precept for a common hall. Mr. alderman Plumbe, as late master of the goldsmiths company, was one of the delinquents. On the 16th of October, John Wilkes and Frederick Bull, esquires, who had been elected the two sheriffs, sent the following letter to the keeper of Newgate: SIR, Mr. Reynold's Office, No. 39, Lime Street, "We are very well satisfied with your general conduct in the office you hold under us, and in particular with the humanity you always shew to the unhappy persons under your care. There are, however, two glaring abuses of importance, which we are determined to rectify at the ensuing session on Wednesday next, and all the subsequent sessions during the time we are in office. "The first is, the prisoners remaining in irons at the time of arraignment and trial. This we conceive to be equally repugnant to the laws of England and of humanity. |