Parliamentary Reform taken up by the ignorant and uneducated -Extended circulation of the writings of Cobbett-The Hampden Clubs-The Spenceans-Orator Hunt and the Spafields Meeting-Riot in the City-Meeting of Parliament-Outrage on the Prince RegentSecret Committees-Habeas Corpus Act suspended, and other stringent measures-Oliver, the spy-The Derbyshire Insurrection-Lord Sidmouth's Circular Letter-Prosecutions for Libel-The Three Trials of William Hone-The Government and the People-Eulogies on Francis Horner in the House of Commons. THE call for Parliamentary Reform seems to have made itself very feebly heard in the Lower House in the Session of 1816. With the exception of some four or five petitions that produced very slight discussion, it would scarcely be thought, from an inspection of the Parliamentary Debates, that such a question agitated any part of the nation at all. On one occasion, in June, some Members spoke very briefly upon the subject. One complained of the apathy with which the question was regarded in England; another (Mr. Brougham) mentioned the cause as "opposed by some, deserted by others, and espoused by persons whose conduct excited no small degree of disgust out of doors." But from this time the name of Parliamentary Reform became, for the most part, a name of terror to the Government-to the elevated by rank and wealth-to the most influential of the middle 1816.] THE WRITINGS OF WILLIAM COBBETT. 73 classes. It became fearful from the causes which would have made it contemptible in ordinary times. It was " espoused by persons whose conduct excited no small degree of disgust out of doors." It passed away from the patronage of a few aristocratic lovers of popularity, to be advocated by writers of "twopenny trash," and to be discussed and organized by "Hampden Clubs" of hungering philanthropists and unemployed "weaverboys." Samuel Bamford, who thought it no disgrace to call himself "a Radical" —a man of real native talent, and of honest intentions,-says, "At this time [1816] the writings of William Cobbett suddenly became of great authority; they were read on nearly every cottage hearth in the manufacturing districts of South Lancashire, in those of Leicester, Derby, and Nottingham; also in many of the Scottish manufacturing towns. Their influence was speedily visible." Cobbett advocated Parliamentary Reform as the corrective of whatever miseries the lower classes suffered. A new order of politicians was called into action-" The Sunday-schools of the preceding thirty years had produced many working men of sufficient talent to become readers, writers, and speakers in the village meetings for Parliamentary Reform; some also were found to possess a rude poetic talent, which rendered their effusions popular, and bestowed an additional charm on their assemblages; and by such various means, anxious listeners at first, and then zealous proselytes, were drawn from the cottages of quiet nooks and dingles, to the weekly readings and discussions of the Hampden Clubs."* But let it be remembered, that though the Sunday-schools of the preceding thirty years had made some working men readers, writers, and speakers, the mass of the labouring population were in the lowest state of ignorance, and were consequently ready to accept the crude and violent opinions of a few of their own class as the only true maxims of political action. The speakers at the village meetings echoed the strong words of Cobbett, without the qualifying prudence which generally kept that master of our language pretty safe in argument and phraseology. He was not the man to tempt a prosecution by a rash sentence that could have been construed into sedition. Up to the 2nd of November, 1816, "Cobbett's Weekly Political Register" was a publication not addressed to the "cottage hearth," but to persons who could afford to pay a shilling and a halfpenny weekly for a single octavo stamped sheet, printed in open type. His writings, singularly clear and argumentative, strong in personalities, earnest, bold, never halting between two opinions, powerful beyond all anonymous writing from their rare individuality, would have commanded an extensive influence under any form of publication. But at the beginning of November, he announced his intention to print "The Twopenny Register." We see, therefore, why, at the end of 1816,"the writings of William Cobbett suddenly became of great authority, and were read on nearly every cottage hearth in the manufacturing districts." Never before had any single writer in England wielded such a power. That his cheap Registers gave the discontent of the labouring classes a new direction cannot be doubted; that they did much to repress riot and outrage * "Passages in the Life of a Radical," by Samuel Bamford, vol. i. p. 8. 74 THE HAMPDEN CLUBS. [1816. may fairly be conceded. But that they were scattering the seeds of a greater danger than the outrage and plunder of infuriated mobs cannot be denied. Their object was suddenly to raise up the great masses of labourers and mechanics into active politicians; to render the most impatient and uncontrollable materials of our social system the most preponderating. The danger was evident; the means of repression were not so clear. The effect of Cobbett's writings may be estimated by the violence of his opponents, as well as by the admiration of his disciples. From the date of his twopenny Registers he was stigmatized as a "firebrand "-"a convicted incendiary." "Why is it that this convicted incendiary, and others of the same stamp, are permitted, week after week, to sow the seeds of rebellion, insulting the Government, and defying the laws of the country? . . . . We have laws to prevent the exposure of unwholesome meat in our markets, and the mixture of deleterious drugs in beer. We have laws also against poisoning the minds of the people, by exciting discontent and disaffection; why are not these laws rendered effectual, and enforced as well as the former ?”* The answer is very obvious. The laws, as they stood at the end of 1816, when this was written, could not touch William Cobbett. He knew well how to manage his strength. He risked no libels. He dealt with general subjects. He called upon the people to assemble and to petition. He exhorted the people against the use of force. He sowed the dragons' teeth, it is true, but they did not rise up as armed men. They rose up in the far more dangerous apparition of the masses, without property, without education, without leaders of any weight or responsibility, demanding the supreme legislative power-the power of universal suffrage. The idea ceased to be a theory-it became a tremendous reality. In a Report of the Secret Committee of the House of Commons, presented on the 19th of February, 1817, the Hampden Clubs are described as "associated professedly for the purpose of Parliamentary Reform, upon the most extended principle of universal suffrage and annual parliaments;" but that "in far the greater number of them, and particularly in those which are established in the great manufacturing districts of Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire, and which are composed of the lower order of artisans, nothing short of a Revolution is the object expected and avowed." The testimony of Samuel Bamford shows that, in this early period of their history, the Hampden Clubs limited their object to the attainment of Parliamentary Reform-a sweeping reform, indeed, but not what is understood by the term "Revolution." They contended for the right of every male above eighteen years of age, and who paid taxes, to vote for the election of Members of Parliament; and that Parliaments should be elected annually. These demands Bamford describes as "the moderate views and wishes of the Reformers of those days." He adds, "It was not until we became infested by spies, incendiaries, and their dupes-distracting, misleading, and betraying-that physical force was mentioned amongst us. After that, our moral power waned; and what we gained by the accession of demagogues, we lost by their criminal violence, and the estrangement of "Quarterly Review," vol. xvi. p. 275. "Passages in the Life of a Radical," vol. i. chap. ii. |