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deny. But that the other dinner, though attended by the magistrates, answers sufficiently to my description, there is evidence enough.

The high-church party who dined at the Swan Tavern in Bull Street, if I be not misinformed, used the most horrid execrations, drank Damnation to the Presbyterians, and prophesied what dreadful havoc would be made. A person who heard this, persuaded those who dined at the hotel to disperse; and then returning to the company at the Swan, said, "Gentlemen, your sport is spoiled, the company is breaking up;" and this seemed to mortify them exceedingly.

That the magistrates themselves, and no doubt other persons of their party, were either intoxicated or worse, at the breaking up of this meeting, the facts I shall presently relate abundantly prove. If they seriously meant to keep the peace, their measures were very ill laid, and certainly had no success. To pretend that they feared a riot from the friends of the Revolution dinner is too absurd to be alleged. They were not of that class of people; and there was no dinner, or preparations for any dinner, except at the hotel.

Among other circumstances that indicated a design in the high-church party to promote a riot, I mentioned a report of some shops being shut up, that the workmen might be at liberty for that purpose. Of this Mr. Burn says, "If any instance of the kind does really exist, it has eluded our research."* He adds, that "many churchmen took pains to keep their men in the shops." Of this I have no doubt. The generality of the church people in Birminghamı were far from favouring the Rioters, nor have I ever given that idea of them. The promoters of the Riot were a few, but certainly all of them churchmen.

The state of the town of Birmingham is still such that it is not easy to procure positive evidence against any Rioter or favourer of the Riot; nor can it be deemed extraordinary that I should in some instances have been misled by the exaggerated reports of the time, when I wrote my Appeal. Whether, however, I wrote without some authority, let the reader judge from the following circumstances. Mr. Russell remonstrating with one of the Rioters at his own house, he said, "What would you have us do? We cannot work, for our masters turned us out of the shop on Thursday morning, and declared we should not enter it again all the week." The

* Reply, p. 51. (P.)

name of the man was Patric, and he said his master was a buckle-maker.

It is possible also, that the Dissenters might get the idea of the persons excluded from the shops being more numerous than they were, from the following circumstance, viz. that a little after nine o'clock, on the 14th of July, Mr. Carles, after saying to the Rioters, "Come, my boys, huzza," added, "if they turn you out of work, I will employ you." What he meant by that language he best knows himself. It is, I own, more probable that his meaning was, that if the Dissenters should turn any persons out of their shops for having been concerned in the Riot, he would endeavour to find employment for them.

That too many, though far from the majority of the church people in Birmingham, favoured the Riot, and did as much to promote it as the shutting up their shops, though they might not do that specific thing, is sufficiently evident, and therefore this could not of itself appear improbable; and that great numbers of the common manufacturers were well enough predisposed for the Riot is evident from the following circumstance: on the 13th of July a churchman talking about the intended dinner, said, "I have got fifty hands in my shop, and if I was to go to them to-morrow, and say, My lads, your church and king are in danger, they would turn out every man of them, and break every window in the hotel."

Another circumstance that I shall mention is one that I own I do not perfectly understand; but as it has been mentioned as some evidence that even Mr. Curtis himself expected a Riot, that in it recourse would be had to fire, and that he did not wish such fire to be soon extinguished, I shall relate it, that Mr. Curtis may have an opportunity of exculpating himself.

The keys of the fire-engine were taken by him out of the custody of the person who usually kept them, and delivered to a Mr. Brooke, a clerk in his own church, who, when he was applied to for them, as the Rioters were demolishing the Old Meeting, said, that he had orders to let nobody have them. At length, however, an order was procured from the churchwarden, who expressed much surprise that this should be necessary; when Mr. Brooke (finding that he could not refuse them) said, "If you must have them, you shall, but they will do you no good;" which was actually the case, the engine not being suffered to play on any but the neigh bouring houses.

What makes this story the more extraordinary is, that it appears from Mr. Curtis's own account that, in the course of that night, the clerk went to the vestry, and there wrote a letter, which he sent by a special messenger to Mr. Curtis, to inform him that, at the order of the churchwarden, he had delivered the keys of the engine. Does not this look like anxiety to make an apology for having done what he knew would not be pleasing to his superior? It behoves Mr. Curtis to explain this extraordinary conduct with respect to the fire-engine, with respect to which it does not appear that he had any proper authority.

That something was concerted by the high-church with respect to the Dissenters previous to the dinner, is evident from this circumstance, that a Dissenter, but not known to be one by Mr. J. Green, a busy and not very discreet man, going to him about business the day before the Riot, received for answer, "I have not time to settle your account now, the damned Presbyterians give me so much trouble. There are gentlemen now at my house consulting what is to be done with them."

The behaviour of one of my maid servants affords a pretty strong presumption that some mischief was designed me on the 14th of July, and that she was apprized of it. She asked leave to go and see her friends some days before, and desired to stay a few days after that time. When she went, she desired the servant boy to write to her "if any thing happened." She not only was not solicitous about the clothes she lost, but evidently dreaded being obliged to attend the assizes. When she was subpoenaed, though on the part of our opponents, she endeavoured to evade it, by denying her name; and she either actually went to Ireland, or her friends pretended that she did, so that she could not be found at the time. Some of her connexions were with the high-church party, and from some of them it is not improbable she received a hint that it would be better for her to be out of the way. Many other persons in the lower classes appear now to have had the same apprehensions of a Riot. Nothing of this, however, came to my knowledge, and I had no more apprehension of any such thing, than I had at any other time in my life.

See the alarms excited in Dr. Priestley's neighbourhood at Clapton, previous to the 14th of July, 1792, Vol. XV. p. 521.

SECTION VI.

Circumstances attending the Commencement of the Riot.

I SHALL now proceed to relate some circumstances which immediately preceded, and accompanied the Riot, at its first breaking out; and I think they will sufficiently prove not only that there was no exertion on the part of the magistrates, or any of the principal church people in the town, to prevent the Riot; but that, not then knowing how far it would proceed, many of them were well-wishers to it. I may, no doubt be deceived; but all the particulars that I shall mention have been voluntarily declared upon oath, and the reporters are now ready to attest them in any court of judicature, whenever they are called upon to do it. How. ever, let our enemies have an opportunity of vindicating themselves they have the same access to the public that I have, and will have a much more favourable hearing.

When the company were going to the hotel, and the mob were throwing at them, the justices, who were present, took no notice of it, and did not endeavour to disperse them. Between seven and eight o'clock, Mr. Carles and Dr. Spencer were in the midst of the mob, in passing from the hotel towards Bull Street, and seemed to encourage them by bowing and nodding to them. When some of the mob came out of the hotel, where they had been to look for those who had dined there, one of the magistrates, standing upon the steps, took off his hat, waved it round his head, and huzzaed with them, but made no attempt to check them for a quarter of an hour, while the witness was with them. When one of them was haranguing the mob on the steps of the hotel, the other stood behind him, laughing heartily, and hiding his face with

his hat.

When the windows of the hotel were nearly demolished, one of the justices cried, "Well done, my lads, well done, my lads. We will do what we can for you; and if I had it in my power I would make you all drunk." A little after nine, he said to the mob, " Do no mischief, or murder; and if you are taken up in a right cause, and brought before us, we will acquit you :" and he shook hands with several of them. One of the Rioters asked the justices, if they would give them leave to shake a little powder out of Dr. Priestley's wig and to this they made no answer, but laughed,

took off their hats, waved them three times, and huzzaed. One of them said again, "You are all hearty fellows; if I had it in my power I would make you all drunk." A boy saying, "Damn them, seize all the Presbyterians," one of them put his hand on the boy's head, and said, "Well done, my hearty chicken; thou wilt make a damned good cock;" and laughed. The mob laughed with him, and huzzaed, crying, Spencer for ever.

66

The most serious charge against one of the magistrates is the following: while the Rioters were throwing at the windows of the hotel, he said, My friends, do not revenge yourselves upon this man, who gets his living by making dinners for gentlemen. If you wish to be revenged upon them, go to their meetings." On this the mob cried, "To the New Meeting; the justice will protect us." They were so near him, that he must have heard them. A young man of my congregation told me before I left my house, that he was standing close by one of the magistrates when the Rioters mentioned going to the New Meeting, and that he said nothing to restrain them.

While the same magistrate was walking up Bull Street, some of the Rioters followed him, and among them was a woman, who cried, "Damn all the Presbyterians in the town;" but at this the magistrate only laughed. Being incommoded by the crowd, one of the justices bid them not follow him. Ön this they cried, "Where must we go?" He answered, "Go down to the Meeting to the others." They then went to the New Meeting, and joined those who were destroying it. He also said to them at the same time, "Do no other mischief than pulling down the meetings, and I will stand your friend as far as lies in my power." Afterwards, when one of the Rioters, who was demolishing the New Meeting, was told that he would be hanged for it, he said, "No; for Justice Carles sent us down hither."

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"It is but justice," says Mr. Burn, "to Mr. Brooke, at that time Under Sheriff, acting with the magistrates, and since deputed by the hundred as their sole solicitor on the trials, to observe that no individual appears to have risked more by his personal exertions during the Riots than him. self." I have no objection to admitting this with respect to Mr. Brooke, or any other person, after the Riot had proceeded farther than they wished, in consequence of which they might think they had particular reason to be apprehen

Reply, p. 121. (P.)

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