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Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. Volume 1

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[Illustration: HENRY HUNT, ESQR.]

_Engraved by T. Woolmoth from a Drawing taken in the Kings Bench Prison
the Morning after Judgement was given._

_Published June 5, 1820 by T. Dolby 299 Strand_.



MEMOIRS
OF HENRY HUNT, ESQ.

_Written by himself,_

IN HIS MAJESTY'S JAIL AT ILCHESTER,

IN THE COUNTY of SOMERSET.




Volume I



Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see,
Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be.
In every work regard the Writer's end,
Since none can compass more than they intend;
And if the means be just, the conduct true,
Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due.
POPE.


LONDON:

PUBLISHED BY T. DOLBY, 299, STRAND; AND 34, WARDOUR STREET, SOHO.

1820



TO

_THE RADICAL REFORMERS_,

MALE AND FEMALE,

OF

ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND,

_And particularly to the Reformers of Lancashire, who attended the Meeting
of the 16th of August, 1819, held on St Peter's Plain at Manchester, and
more especially to the Reformers of Yorkshire, in which County a Jury
found me Guilty of illegally attending that Meeting, for which, the Court
of King's Bench sentenced me to be imprisoned in Ilchester Jail for_ Two
YEARS _and_ SIX MONTHS, _and at the end of that period, to enter into
recognisances for my good behaviour, for Five Years, Myself in_ ONE
THOUSAND POUNDS _and Two Sureties in_ FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS EACH.

* * * * *



_Ilchester Jail, May 22, 1820_

FRIENDS AND FELLOW COUNTRYMEN, In dedicating this work to you, I will, in
the first instance, briefly record the fact, that--on Monday, the 15th day
of May, Mr. Justice Bayley, as senior puisne Judge of the court of King's
Bench, in a _mild and gentle manner_, passed the above unexampled sentence
upon me for having attended a public meeting at Manchester, by the
invitation of seven hundred inhabitant householders of that town, who
signed a requisition to the Boroughreeve to call the said meeting on the
16th day of August last, for the purpose _"of taking into consideration
the best and most legal means of obtaining a reform in the Commons House
of Parliament."_ This meeting was no sooner assembled to the number of one
hundred and fifty thousand persons, young and old of both sexes, in the
most peaceable and orderly manner, than they were assailed by the
Manchester yeomanry cavalry, who charged the multitude, sword in hand, and
without the slightest provocation or resistance on the part of the people
(as was clearly proved by the trial at York), aided by two troops of the
Cheshire yeomanry, the 15th hussars, the 81st regiment of foot, and two
pieces of flying artillery, sabred, trampled upon, and dispersed the
unoffending and unresisting people, when 14 persons were killed and
upwards of 600 wounded. I, and eleven others, having, by a mere miracle,
escaped the military execution intended for us, were seized and confined
in solitary dungeons in the New Bailey, for eleven days and nights, under
a pretended charge of high treason. At the end of that time, upon a final
examination, I was sent under a military escort, upwards of fifty miles,
to Lancaster Castle, although bail was ready, and waiting to be put in for
me. After this sentence was passed, I was sent to the King's Bench Prison,
where I was confined till four o'clock on the Wednesday following, when I
was conveyed in a chaise to this prison, where I arrived at ten o'clock
the same night, being a distance of 120 miles. Thus, after having been
confined in _three separate jails_ since the 16th of August--the New
Bailey, at Manchester, Lancaster Castle, and the King's Bench, I am doomed
finally to be incarcerated in a dungeon of this, the _fourth jail_, for
two years and six months, while _Hulton_ of _Hulton_, and those benevolent
gentlemen of the Manchester yeomanry cavalry, are at large, without even
the chance of any proceedings, that might lead to the punishment of their
crimes, being instituted against them. Yet, we are gravely told from the
bench, that the laws are equally administered to the _rich_ and to the
_poor_; of the truth of which assertion, the above will, in future ages,
appear as an unexampled specimen.

In addressing this work to you, my brave, patient, and persecuted friends,
I hope to have an opportunity of communicating with you once a month,
during my incarceration, and during the progress of the work, I shall take
care to avoid all exaggerated statements. I shall confine myself to a
strict relation of facts, and I shall be very particular not to gloss over
or slight any one political or public act of my life you shall be in
possession of the faithful history of _that man_ whom you have so
unanimously honoured by the denomination of your _champion_, and in whose
incarceration a deadly blow is, with savage ferocity, aimed at your rights
and liberties--one who, during his whole political career, will be found
to have been the consistent and undeviating advocate of _real_ or _radical
reform_, one who always, under every difficulty, at all times and seasons,
boldly and unequivocally claimed for the people, the right of every man to
have a vote for the members of the Commons House of Parliament, and who
never, under any circumstances, paltered or compromised the great
constitutional principle that "_no Englishman should be taxed without his
own consent_." Even when its most zealous professed advocates had
abandoned the intention of maintaining this proposition, even at the risk
of loosing the friendship of his dearest political connections, he stood
firm upon the solid basis of that incontrovertible principle, "_equal
justice and freedom to all_." No pretended expediency, no crafty policy,
although urged with the greatest force and zeal, by the most experienced
and acute reasoners, neither flattery, bribes, nor threats, could ever,
for one moment, shake his determination to support the principle Of
UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE, or in other words, the right of every freeman to have
a share by his representative in the making of those laws, by which his
life, his liberty, and his property, are to be governed and disposed of. I
allude, more particularly, to the meeting of delegates, (by some called
deputies) in London, some time in the beginning of the year 1817. The
principle of _Universal Suffrage_ was nothing new. I claim no merit in
having proposed any thing novel--this right is as old as the constitution
of England; it had been advocated by Sir Robert, afterwards Lord Raymond,
by Sir William Jones, and afterwards, with great perseverance and ability,
by the Duke of Richmond, who brought a bill into the House of Lords, in
which he claimed this right for the people, and proposed to carry it into
execution. At that time, however, no part of the people had petitioned for
it, and the bill was thrown out. At that period, the attention of the
populace of the metropolis was directed to other matters--they were
engaged in Lord George Gordon's disgraceful riots. The Duke of Richmond,
disgusted at the apathy of the reformers, to which he attributed the
failure of his favourite measure, soon afterwards accepted a place as
master general of the ordnance, and became a complete tool of the
ministers. The cause of reform languished till the year 1816, although
Major Cartwright, Sir F. Burdett, Mr. Cobbett, myself, and many others,
had made frequent efforts to call the people's attention to the only
measure calculated to check the progress--the fatal progress of
corruption, and its consequent effects, unjust and unnecessary war,
profligate expenditure, the funding or _swindling_ system, and the rapid
annual increase of a ruinous and irredeemable debt. It will be said that
these subjects will naturally be included in, and make part of, my
history. They certainly will, but there is one circumstance connected with
the events of 1816 and 1817, which is very imperfectly known to any of the
reformers, and which I feel it a duty to detail to them all before I
proceed any further.

In the latter end of the year 1815 and the beginning of the year 1816, the
evil effects of the war began to be severely felt amongst all classes
throughout the country; and, in the North of England, it was particularly
felt by those employed in the manufactories. Great disturbances prevailed,
and the Luddites, as they were called, committed repeated depredations, by
destroying the machinery of their employers. This ultimately led to the
employment of spies and informers, by the agents of the government; by
which means, many of the unhappy men were convicted and executed. Major
Cartwright and Mr. Cobbett, in the most laudable and praiseworthy manner,
endeavoured, by their writings, and the Major, I believe, by going amongst
them personally, to draw the attention of the starving manufacturers to
the real cause of their distress, and recommended them to petition for
reform instead of destroying the machinery. This had the desired effect,
and petitions drawn up by the Major, praying for reform in the Commons
House of Parliament, and demanding suffrage for those who paid taxes,
poured in from all quarters. In the beginning of November some persons in
London advertised and called a public meeting of the distressed
inhabitants of the metropolis, to be held in Spafields, on the 15th; this
originated with Dr. Watson and some of those who called themselves
Spenceans. As I have learned since, they sent invitations to Sir Francis
Burdett, Major Cartwright, myself, and Lord Cochrane, and even to Mr.
Waithman, and several other political characters, earnestly requesting
them to attend the meeting, to advise with and to assist their distressed
fellow creatures, as to the best means of obtaining relief. In the mean
time, the parties calling the meeting had drawn up and prepared a
_memorial_ to the Prince Regent, which was, if passed, to have been
carried immediately to Carlton House, by the whole of the meeting, and
presented in person to the Regent. When the day arrived, of all the
persons invited as political characters to the meeting, _I_ was the only
one who attended, and, having prevailed upon those who called the meeting
to abandon their famous memorial, and to relinquish the plan of going in a
body to Carlton House, I proposed the resolutions and the petition to his
Royal Highness the Prince; which the next day I caused to be presented to
him by Lord Sidmouth: on the following day his Royal Highness was pleased
so far to comply with the request of the petitioners as to send Four
Thousand Pounds as a subscription to the Spitalfields Soup Committee. The
resolutions proposed by me, and unanimously passed by the most numerous
meeting ever held in this country, avowed the principle of UNIVERSAL
SUFFRAGE; and the petition to the Regent claimed his pecuniary assistance,
as an immediate and temporary relief; but declared that the petitioners
had no hope or expectation of permanent prosperity and happiness, till a
reform of Parliament was effected, which would give to _every man_ a vote
in the representation. This was, therefore, the first time that _universal
suffrage_ was petitioned for at a public meeting; and I had the honour,
and I shall ever feel a pride in the reflection, of being the first man
who publicly proposed at a meeting of the reformers this measure, and of
having caused to be presented the first petition to the throne, praying
the Prince to assist the people in recovering their right of universal
suffrage, in the election of members of the House of Commons. You must all
recollect the infamous manner in which I was attacked and assailed by the
whole of the daily London Press at that time, with the single exception of
_the Statesman_. However, the reformers of the north, south, east, and
west, became instantly alive to the appeal that was made to them in the
resolutions passed at Spa Fields; public meetings were held, and petitions
to the House of Commons were signed, all praying for _universal suffrage_;
and, by the time of the meeting of Parliament, the delegates from
petitioning bodies came up to town, in consequence of a circular letter
signed by Sir Francis Burdett, to consult, and to settle upon the extent
of suffrage and other matters to be recommended, for the adoption of all
the petitioning bodies of reformers throughout the country. This was most
unnecessary, for they had, _one and all_, already adopted the principle,
and followed the example, set them by the inhabitants of the metropolis at
Spa Fields. When the delegates were arrived from _Scotland, Yorkshire,
Lancashire,_ and most of the counties in the north, from _Bath, Bristol,_
and other places in the west, with the petitions entrusted to them, the
signatures to which, together with those of the petitions previously sent
up, did not amount to less than half a million; I came to town as the
delegate from Bath and Bristol, both of which cities had held public
meetings, most numerously attended, and passed similar resolutions to
those agreed to at Spa Fields. The Reformers from each of those cities had
sent me up a petition, to be presented to the House of Commons, praying
for _universal suffrage_, one signed by 24,000 and the other by 25,000
persons. To be brief here, (for I shall detail the circumstances more
fully hereafter, as they make a most important epoch of my life); the
delegates met, 63 in number, at the Crown and Anchor, Major Cartwright in
the chair, who, together with Mr. Jones Burdett, attended as a deputation
from the Hampden Club. The Major, in opening the business of the day,
stated that the members of the Hampden Club, with Sir Francis Burdett at
their head, had come to a resolution to support suffrage to the extent of
householders, _and no further,_ and that they recommended the adoption of
this plan to the delegates. The Major was particularly eloquent, and went
out of the usual course of a chairman, by requesting, almost as a personal
favour to himself, that the delegates would adopt the recommendation of
the Hampden Club. Mr. Cobbett then rose, and, in a speech replete with
every argument which this most clear and powerful reasoner could suggest,
proposed the first resolution, that the meeting should adopt the
recommendation of the Hampden Club, and agree to recommend the reformers
to petition to the extent of _householder suffrage only;_ urging, as Major
Cartwright had done before, the necessity of agreeing to this plan,
because Sir F. Burdett had positively refused to support any petitions for
universal suffrage. This resolution was seconded by Mr. Jno. Allen, my
brother delegate, from Bath, although he had positive instructions not to
agree to any thing short of universal suffrage; but Mr. Cobbett's powerful
though fallacious reasoning, had convinced him, of the necessity of
curtailing the right to householders only. I rose and moved an amendment,
substituting _universal_ for _householder suffrage_, and, with all the
reasoning and energy in my power, I combated the arguments of my friends
Cobbett and Major Cartwright, deprecating the narrow-minded policy that
would deprive 3-4ths of the population of the inherent birthright of every
freeman. My proposition, and the whole of the arguments I used in its
support, were received by a very large majority of the delegates with
enthusiastic approbation; so much so, that it convinced Mr. Cobbett of the
folly as well as the inutility of persisting in his motion. My amendment
having been seconded by Mr. Hulme, from Bolton in Lancashire, and being
supported by a very ingenious argument of my brave friend and fellow
prisoner (now in Lincoln Castle) Mr. Bamford, Mr. Cobbett rose and begged
to withdraw his motion, he having been convinced of the practicability of
universal suffrage by the speech of Mr. Bamford, who had at the time only
said a few words upon that subject. The question was put, and _principle_
carried it against _policy_, there being for my amendment I think 60, and
only 3 for the householder plan. Thus then, my friends, whether I was
right or whether I was wrong, I not only was the first to propose the
adoption of the wild and visionary scheme of _universal suffrage_ at a
great public meeting, but I also stood firm to the cause, when those who
have since so ably advocated the principle, were (in evil hour) from
policy about to abandon it. Let, therefore, all the blame of the reformers
having so determinedly advocated the wild and visionary scheme of
_universal suffrage_ rest upon my shoulders, which, thank God, are quite
broad enough to bear it without feeling it in any degree burdensome,
particularly as Sir F. Burdett has at length come fully up to our mark.
From that time to this I have never deviated from, never shifted to the
right or to the left, but always, at all times, through good report, and
through evil report, undisguisedly enforced and maintained, with all the
ability I possessed, the right of the whole of my fellow-countrymen to be
fairly and freely represented, in the Commons House of Parliament. If
there be any merit in what was then called a stubborn and pertinacious
adherence to this great principle, I am only entitled to share that merit
jointly with Mr. Hulme, Mr. Bamford, and the other brave and patriotic men
who came from different parts of the country, as delegates. Without their
manly support, this measure would have been lost, and the reformers
throughout the kingdom would then have been recommended to abandon the
high ground they had taken; to give up petitions, already signed by half a
million of men for _universal suffrage_; and in its stead to petition for
suffrage to the extent of _householders_, or to the payers of _direct
taxes_ ONLY.--Having established this position, for the correctness of
which I appeal to all the delegates who were present, I shall leave it for
the present, although there are very important matters, and some _very
curious circumstances_ connected with the events of that period, which
have never yet appeared before the public, which must come out, and which
will form a very material part of my history. The government, or rather
the ministers, had their eye upon this meeting of delegates, and they well
knew ALL that passed there; and I should not be surprised if six months of
my imprisonment may be fairly placed to the account of what the editor of
the Macclesfield Courier called, "my most uncompromising
perseverance."--The editor of an obscure Sunday London Newspaper, in
observing upon my sentence, says most exultingly, "_The game its now
up_--with this man we have done, to the people we now turn:" and what do
you think he means to do, how does he propose to relieve their distresses?
In speaking of your prospects of relief he says "_Suffer they must for a
time, it would be vain to deny this, it would be dishonest to hold out any
other hope_. IT REMAINS WITH THEMSELVES WHETHER THEIR SUFFERINGS BE LONG
OR SHORT." So this gentleman tells you first that the game is up, and then
he consoles you by telling you that the game is in your own hands. Was
there ever such paltering, ever such base and stupid attempts to delude
rational beings? The _Morning Post_ of the 23d of May, a few days after my
sentence, gives vent to his malignant joy in the following words.

"The political matters of fact of the last month will descend to
posterity as the proudest _mementos_ of the age in which we
live; never at any period since Trial by Jury has been the
stipulation of our allegiance, never has that grand perfection
of Justice been more sacredly guarded. The trial of Mr. HUNT at
York is a precedent of almost unattainable impartiality in
judicial proceedings. Pending that trial the reports of its
progress gave radicalism a confidence it undisguisedly evinced,
that the result would be favourable to its heart's worst wishes.
The _Io Pæns_ of Faction were in full rehearsal, when the
bringers of _evil tidings_ announced the triumph of Truth. The
conviction of a _burlesque on baronetcy_ was expected in sulky
helplessness--but the overthrow of the CHAMPION of LIBERTY, the
ORATOR whose eloquence was to have been the passing dirge of
Justice--_his_ overthrow was the overthrow of thousands. With
_his_, hearts sunk, and menaces grew silent; the monster at his
whetstone dropped the half-sharpened dagger at the conviction of
_Henry Hunt_; and the tool of his excitement unscrewed the
pike-head and threw away the musquet. I have no hesitation in
declaring, that _all_ the numerous verdicts for the Crown, that
of late have asserted the majesty of Law, including the
convictions of high treason, have not done HALF so much for the
real interest of social quiet, as the radically never-dreamt-of
conviction of '_the Lord of the Manor of Glastonbury_.'"

This you see, my friends of Yorkshire, is meant to quiet the conscience of
Mr. SEPTIMUS BROMLEY and his brother TALESMAN. The SPECIAL Gentlemen being
above any thing of the sort. I wish some friend who lives near the said
_Septimus_ would give me a line, and tell me who and what he is, and what
he says for himself. I hope some radical in his neighbourhood will send me
a good and particular account of this gentleman. But I see by the
Newspapers that the _game is not quite up_, or if it is, a new game is
begun. If the Honourable House have got rid of one set of petitioners, a
new set is sprung up, not of radicals to be sure, but a set of
agriculturists, merchants, manufacturers, and shipowners, who all appear
to be petitioning against each other, or at least each of them is
petitioning for that which would add to the distress and ruin of the
other. The Honourable House is placed in a very ticklish and delicate
situation. It does not dare to serve the petitions of these new applicants
as they did our petitions, my friends for reform--kick them out of the
House; but having for the present got rid of the radicals, they have now
plenty of leisure to attend to the numerous petitions of all the rest of
the community. The Yeomanry Cavalry, good souls they are in distress, and
they want another CORN BILL. But then you see his Majesty's Ministers,
kind-hearted creatures, and the considerate merchants, the _Barings_, and
the _Ricardos_, they say this must not be. By management the _New Corn
Bill_ gentry got a majority: my Lord Castlereagh is quite shocked, and
even Mr. Holme Sumner, benevolent heart, he is quite astounded with the
unexpected and undeserved success of his own motion. Mark their
proceedings well, my friends--for you to petition I fear will be in vain,
but mark their proceedings. It so very much resembles the proceedings when
the last Corn Bill was passed, that I have little doubt there is foul play
going on somewhere. The farmers cannot pay their _rents, rates_, and
_taxes_ unless they can do it by a rise in the price of the _quartern
loaf_. Baring and Ricardo do not approve of this--each of them has his
scheme for the relief of the general distress, agricultural and all.
Baring hints, but he only hints, at something _tangible_, he hints that
_rents should be lowered_, and his brother stock-jobber, Ricardo, proposes
then to pay off the national debt, by making the land-holders pay down at
once 15 per cent. upon the value of their estates. The Honourable Members
stare with astonishment at the propositions of these wise law-givers--and
well they may. Although the "game may be up;" although the assertion of
the editor of the Morning Post may be true, "that the verdict against
Henry Hunt has proved the overthrow of thousands, and rendered twice as
much service to the real interest of social quiet, as ALL the other
verdicts for the crown put together;" yet I perceive by the language of a
petition from the inhabitants of the town of Kirkeaton, presented to the
Honourable House by my Lord Milton, that even the locking me up in a jail,
in consequence of this verdict, has neither contributed to remove the
distress, nor to put food into the mouths of the poor reformers of
Kirkeaton. Good God of Heaven! what must Lord Milton be made of to
present, _merely present, mind_, a petition shewing that 1729 of his
constituents, in one parish had been, and were living, or rather starving,
upon 11 3/4_d_. each per week, that the average income of 1729 human
beings in that county, Yorkshire, where he is their _virtual
representative_, is under _one shilling_ per head per week?--Gracious God!
the present member for this county, Sir Thomas Lethbridge, once declared
in the Honourable House, that the language of Sir Francis Burdett made
_"his hair stand on end upon his head."_ To have seen Lord Milton present
such a petition as this, to have heard the officer of the Honourable House
mumble out a description, a recital of the privations and cruel sufferings
of my poor insulted fellow countrymen of Kirkeaton, without rising to say
one word in their behalf; without calling down the vengeance of Heaven and
Earth upon the heads of those who had by their acts reduced the country to
such a state of wretchedness and woe; to have witnessed this, I say,
although it might not have made my hair stand on end, it would, I am sure,
have chilled every drop of blood in my body. I can conscientiously say,
that the mere reading in the Times newspaper the account of your cruel
sufferings, my poor countrymen of Kirkeaton, has given me more pain than a
years' imprisonment would have done, if I could have known that you were
enjoying a fair equivalent for your honest industry. Talk of imprisonment
indeed! why it is a perfect Paradise compared with the wants and
privations which you are doomed to endure. The situation of a prisoner in
this jail, let him be confined for any thing less than high treason or
murder, is heaven upon earth compared to your lot. Let us see; there is a
prisoner who is appointed to wait upon me here, an old soldier, who has
enjoyed rank in the army as an adjutant, but having a large family, and
meeting with many reverses of fortune, he became reduced in his
circumstances, and, in consequence of great persecutions, was at length
driven to seek relief from the parish. The sufferings and privations of
his wife and children daily stared him in the face, without even the hope
of relief; and, brooding over his unmerited persecutions and neglect, he
was driven to drinking, &c. In a fit of temporary delirium he attempted to
lay violent hands upon himself and wife, for which he is sentenced to be
imprisoned here for twelve months. His wife and family are supported by
the parish; and I will now tell you what he receives for his week's
allowance, exclusive of clothes, lodging, fire, and washing, all found by
the county. He gets _one pound and a half of good bread and one penny
every day_. Ten pounds and a half of good white bread, and sevenpence to
purchase potatoes and salt, or milk, per week. Bread and pence, at the
very lowest, two shillings and six-pence per week. Now, if we reckon one
shilling and six-pence, at the very lowest rate, for _washing, lodging,
clothing_, and _firing_, which are all found in plenty and very good of
the sort, he receives the value of four shillings per week. The bread, &c.
is quite as much as, or rather more than, a moderate man can eat; and this
person, who has seen a great deal of the world, seriously informs me that
he enjoys here, happiness, ease, and comfort, compared to what he had to
encounter out of prison; and as he professes to be very well pleased with
waiting upon me, he dreads the approach of his release. Every person in
the jail has the same allowance, and if they choose to work, the Governor
enables them to earn from threepence up to one shilling a-day over.

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