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began by breaking down the doors and windows, and from every part of the house flung the elegant superb furniture into the street, where large fires were made to destroy it. They then proceeded to his lordship's law-library, &c. and destroyed some thousand volumes, with many capital ma nuscripts, mortgages, papers, and other deeds. The rich wardrobe of wearing apparel, and some very capital pictures, were also burned. Here they were very much incensed by the appearance of a small party of the army, which soon subsided, and they forced their way into his lordship's wine cellars, and plentifully bestowed it on the populace. A magistrate attended, read the Riot Act, and then was obliged to give orders for a detachment to fire, when about fourteen obeyed, and shot several men and women, and wounded others. They were ordered to fire again, which they did, without effect. This did not intimidate the mob; they began to pull the house down, and burn the floors, planks, spars, &c. and destroyed the out-houses and stables; and in a short time the whole was consumed. After the house was on fire, two engines arrived, but the firemen refused to play till the soldiers were removed; which being complied with, the populace would not suffer them to play till the whole was reduced to ashes; they did not however hinder them from playing on Mr. Baron Hotham's house, which was thereby preserved.-Lord and Lady Mansfield made their escape through a back door a few minutes before the rioters broke in and took possession of the house. The inhabitants were obliged this night to illuminate their windows.

It is impossible to give any adequate description of the events of Wednesday. Notice was sent round to the public prisons of the King's Bench, Fleet, &c. by the mob, at what time they would come and burn them down. The same kind of infernal humanity was exercised towards Mr. Langdale, a distiller in Holborn, and several other Romish individuals. In the afternoon, all the shops were shut, and bits of blue silk, by way of flags, hung out at most houses, VOL. I. No. 27, 4 L

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with the words, No Popery,' chalked on the doors and window-shutters, by way of deprecating the fury of the insurgents, from which no person thought himself secure.

Government, in this exigency, exerted itself, as far as their force in town and their power under the direction of the magistrates would extend. Now, however, it was become necessary to make use of the royal prerogative, and give discretionary powers to the military. Nothing could convey a more awful idea of the mischief dreaded, than the guard placed in the Royal Exchange for the protection of the Bank, as nothing perhaps could have equalled the national desolation, had the diabolical purposes of the insurgents upon this place succeeded. Besides, soldiers were distributed at Guildhall, in the Inns of Court, in almost every place tenable as a fortification, and in some private houses; and the cannon was disposed to the best advantage in Saint James's Park.

As soon as the day was drawing towards a close, one of the most dreadful spectacles this country ever beheld was exhibited. At the same instant, the flames ascending and rolling in clouds from the King's Bench and Fleet Prisons, from New Bridewell, from the toll-gates on Blackfriars Bridge *, from houses in every quarter of the town, and particularly from the bottom and middle of Holborn, where the conflagration was horrible beyond description. The houses that were first set on fire at this last-mentioned place, both belonged to Mr. Langdale, an eminent distiller, and contained immense quantities of spiritous liquors.-Six-and-thirty fires were all blazing at one time, and all to be seen from one spot, made from the furniture of the inhabitants, and the wrecks of their houses in and about various parts of the metropolis.

Two attempts, through the course of the day, were made upon the Bank; but the rioters were so much intimidated by

The toll-gates at Blackfriars appear to have been burnt for the sake of the plunder some lives were lost there, and one man who was shot, ran thirty or forty yards before he dropped.

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the strength with which they beheld it guarded, that their attacks were but feebly conducted; as they were repulsed at the first fire from the military. They made an effort to break into the Pay Office likewise, and met the same fate. Several of them fell in these skirmishes, and many were wounded.

It is impossible to ascertain the number of unhappy wretches who lost their lives in the course of this dreadful night.-Powder and ball was not so fatal to them as their own inordinate appetites. Numbers died with inebriation, especially at the distilleries of the unfortunate Mr. Langdale, from whose vessels the liquor ran down the middle of the street, was taken up in pails, and held to the mouths of the deluded multitude; many of whom killed themselves with drinking non-rectified spirits, and were burnt or buried in the ruins.

The regulars and militia had poured in so fast, in consequence of the expresses dispatched for that purpose, that the citizens on Thursday, began to recover from their consternation. They were, however, so thoroughly alarmed, and so much affected by the depredations they beheld on every side, that the shops were universally shut from Tyburn to Whitechapel, and no business of any kind, except at the Bauk, was transacted.-The military were exceedingly active this day, and secured great numbers of disorderly persons; several were taken in the cells of Newgate, attempting to rekindle the fire in those parts which had not been totally destroyed.

The universal destruction of the prisons was a vast project. But history cannot parallel the depth of their schemes upon the Bank, the Treasury, and the demolition of the water-works, thereby to prevent the extinguishing any conflagration they had begun; and that these schemes were not the chimeras of fear, was evident. A strong guard was sent to the New River Head, and continued there on constant duty. Exclusive of these, the grand arsenal at Woolwich, the Mansion House, the Inns of Court, and many other places of the greatest

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greatest national concern, were devoted, and there was scarcely a person but what was unanimous in supposing the desolation of the city and country was intended.

The arrangement of the military force made on Thursday, produced so good an effect, that there was no riot or disturbances in any part of the town, in the course of the night, and the next day (Friday) peace and tranquillity was so far restored, that men had leisure to reflect on the horrors to which they had been exposed, with temper and coolness. They now returned to business, which had been suspended for the time, and the only uneasiness which they felt, was, that the metropolis was subjected to martial law. This very disagreeable apprehension arose from the proclamation which was issued, declaring that orders were given to the military to exert their utmost endeavours for the restoration of peace. In order, however, to dissipate this idea, the following handbill was circulated in every part of the town:

"Whereas some ill-designing and malicious persons have published, for the purpose of disquieting the minds of his majesty's faithful subjects, that it is intended to try the prisoners, now in custody, by martial law; notice is given, by authority, that no such purpose or intention has ever been in the contemplation of government; but that the said prisoners will be tried by the due course of law, as expedi tiously as may be."

Many sacrifices to insulted justice followed: but the tale of terror already related, is sufficiently horrid, without dwelling longer on this part of the subject.

The effects produced by this dangerous insurrection were so sudden and so extraordinary, that a remark upon them is applicable here, because from the preceding account, posterity will learn to avoid the causes which, in this case, led nearly to the destruction of the metropolis. "We have to observe, in the first place, that the leading members of the Protestant Association took great pains to demonstrate that their society had no concern with the riots; and this they attempted, by disavowing the conduct of the rioters, and

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by declaring that, in all the subsequent trials, it was not proved that any one of the rioters was among the association in St. George's Fields: but these excuses are made with a very bad grace, when we recollect the dangerous and personal insults offered to the members of both houses of parliament, on the day this association assembled; and when we recollect the depredations which followed were directed, at first, against the chapels and houses of the Roman Catholics. All this was expressly in the true spirit of intolerance and persecution, which dictated their opposition to the obnoxious act of parliament. With respect to the assertion, that no one of the rioters was a member of the association, it is at least liable to suspicion. Men who assemble to awe the deliberations of parliament, and personally to insult the Commons and Lords, were rioters in every sense of the word, and guilty of a very high crime. The right of individuals to petition parliament is indisputable; but it was not in the very nature of things, that so immense a concourse of people could be assembled without laying the foundation for a riotous temper and disposition. The order of our accounts sufficiently shews, that, whatever the intention of the well disposed members of this association might be, their assembling directly and immediately produced the riots, for which there was at first no other pretext than a dread and abhorrence of Popery.

It may be remarked also, how dangerous it is to assemble a great concourse of people, low, illiterate, and tumultuous, upon any pretence. This mob at first directed their hostilities against the Roman Catholics: here was something like a principle, though a very bad one; but no sooner had their evil dispositions (and that disposition must be evil that leads to persecution) been glutted with these first objects of their indignation, than they began to destroy all property, and endanger all persons, in defiance of every constituted authority. How this mob, however, came to acquire such ascendency, is a matter of astonishment. They were, it is very remarkable, always unarmed, unless with weapons proper for the destruction of houses, and they always fled on

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